Recipes

January 26, 2010 Misc

Haiti

I know so many of you have donated to the Haiti Relief effort already. Others, like me, may still be waiting. Waiting to decide whether to give, how much to give, where to give . . .

If you feel moved to give, I urge you not to wait too long - it's easy to forget these things. I still kick myself for doing the exact same thing after the earthquakes in China. I waited . . and then I didn't give.

So, I have decided to join the Blog Away Hunger campaign. This is a group of bloggers coming together and agreeing to donate a portion of their ad revenue towards the Haiti Relief effort.

I will be donating 5x my ad revenue for the months of January and February to the American Red Cross. Furthermore, the company I work for has offered to match my donation dollar for dollar (if made by Feb. 12, 2010), resulting in a total effective donation amount of 10x my ad revenue for the months of January and February.*

If you have ever wanted to explore my old posts, now's a great time to do it, since ad revenue is counted by number of impressions (clicks). I have put some links to my favorite posts after the jump.

If you are a blogger and want to donate your ad revenue as well, check out the Help Haiti Campaign over at Blog Away Hunger.

If you want to make a much more direct impact, please donate directly. I urge you to give unrestricted funds (instead of earmarking them for Haiti specifically). This allows the organizations as much flexibility as possible to use the funds where they needed most.
The American Red Cross
World Vision
Doctors Without Borders

Exploring Tiny Urban Kitchen
I often like to do series. For example, you can check out some of my favorites restaurants in the Boston area or my favorites eats in Southern California. Many of these series are based on the eating trips that I take, such as the Foodbuzz Festival in November, Camping at Yosemite, my birthday in New York City, Christmas in California, and the current series, celebrity chefs in Las Vegas.

There's the trusty Restaurant Index (which I try to keep as updated as possible), if you ever want to explore by region.

Of course, I don't eat out all the time. There's plenty of cooking. As a starting point, there's always the Recipe Index. Some of my favorite cooking posts:

Oven to Pan Seared Steak an awesome method for making steak in a tiny urban kitchen.

Sauteed Hollow Heart Greens I harvesting this "noxious weed" from my pastor's garden and cooked it!

Ratatouille A simplified yet just as stunning version of Thomas Keller's famous dish

French Macarons I'm not a baker, so this felt like a rite of passage - and they turned out ok!

Hi-Rise Vanilla Loaf I was tickled to finally learn how to make my favorite loaf from my favorite bakery!

Mochi Sushi Part I and Part II These were just fun - wacky creative energy flowing

Wheatberry Salad: getting on a health kick lately! See related posts on Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Cauliflower, and Green Mango Salad.

Hello Kitty Rice Crispy Treats - my cousins loved these. Check out related post about Rice Crispy Totoros.

The following are the recipes I use most often:
Taiwanese Meat Sauce over Rice (Lo Ba Bng)
Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo mi fan)
Oven to Pan-Seared Steak
Microwave Steamed Fish With Black Bean Sauce (Chilean Sea Bass)
Lion's Head Casserole
Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy
Cold Asian Cucumber Salad
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Ro Gen Mian (Ban Genh) - Pork, Bamboo, and Mushroom Soup
Homemade Kettle Corn
Italian Biscotti
Hi Rise Vanilla Loaf

I love doing the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 posts. I've done three so far in 2009:

A Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia
A Stroll Through the Night Markets of Taiwan
and my personal favorite: Kyaraben On Steroids

Of course there are plenty more, but this post is getting long enough. Enjoy exploring!

Jen

*Because of the Feb 12 deadline for the company match, I will have to do some guess-timating for the amount of revenue that will be generated in the second half of February.

January 26, 2010 Las Vegas

Mesa Grill

This post is part II of the larger series: Celebrity Chef Dining in Las Vegas. Other posts in this series include Part I: Mario Batali's B&B Ristorante.

Unlike many of the other Food Network celebrity chefs, Bobby Flay only has one restaurant in Vegas. That might be part of the reason why that restaurant is always SUPER crowded. It almost seems like it’s a given you have to wait if you don’t make a reservation.

What’s the draw?

Well, it does not hurt that this restaurant is in Caesar’s Palace, one of the most popular and crowded casinos, partly because it’s attached to the huge Forum Shops Shopping Plaza.

But that can’t just be it – Wolfgang Puck’s Spago (in the same complex) is not nearly as crowded. And even Rao’s is not crowded in quite the same hectic way.

Well, I don’t know the exact reason, but I can tell you that the food at Mesa Grill is amazing. Bobby Flay is truly a master of using interesting, bold flavors to spice up ordinary dishes. His dishes are nowhere ordinary, and everything has some creative kick to it. I love it.

This was my second time here, and Bryan’s third, so we tried to order some newer things, one of which became one of the best duck dishes Bryan has ever had in his entire life. I’ll let you know what you should order if it’s your first time there at the end of the post.

Bread is awesome – I love blue/yellow corn jalapeno muffins.

For starters, I ordered the salmon and tuna tartare. Served with fried blue corn and plantain chips, I thought the dish was pretty good, although not my favorite. I felt that it was a bit too sweet and spicy for me, although Bryan liked it (he can handle more heat than I can). The raw fish pieces were marinated in some sort of sweet and tangy dressing, and then each one was paired with a different chili sauce.

Bryan got the fried calamari, which was paired with an avocado chili sauce that was amazing! Definitely we both liked Bryan’s appetizer better than mine, even though mine was still pretty good.

Bryan got the ancho chili duck, which he thought was incredible. He said it was one of the most enjoyable duck dishes he's ever had. That’s saying a lot, considering he’s had the famous Peking Duck at Celestial in Taiwan, the signature “Duck for Two” at Salts, and the pressed duck with fois gras terrine at Daniel in NYC. The duck breast was juicy, flavorful, and paired immaculately with a sweet and spicy sauce that had hints of fruit and chili.

The duck came with a tamale filled with bacon - yum!

I ordered the "Tiger Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale" off of the appetizer menu as my entrée. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, and tasted delicious when combined with cornmeal of the tamale and the sweet, rich, and creamy corn sauce covering the entire dish. The tamale has a wonderfully strong sweet corn flavor. It’s definitely a rich dish, and is probably better shared as an appetizer!

We got a side of carrots, which was only OK. I’d order something else next time.

Dessert was freshly made cinnamon and anise churros dipped in dark chocolate. These were good, and the chocolate sauce was a fun touch. Compared to the monster-sized churros I like to get at Costco, these were more refined and had a lot more sugar on the outside. Honestly, I think I like the Costco ones better (shhhh!!!). These were still delicious though (especially after I brushed off about half of the excess sugar), and were immensely enjoyable with the dark chocolate sauce.

Over all, this place makes excellent Southwestern food with various creative kicks. If it’s your first time, you should order some of his signature dishes, which are all amazing. Definitely get the duck blue corn pancakes as an appetizer and the New Mexican rubbed pork tenderloin as an entrée.

Enjoy!
Caesar's Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(877) 346-4642

January 24, 2010 Las Vegas

B&B Ristorante

No! Not OFFAL! I don't want to eat brains!!!

I couldn't believe it. After having heard amazing things about celebrity chef Mario Batali’s Babbo in NYC, (and pasta basically being Bryan's favorite food in the world), we had decided to try B&B, Batali and Joe Bastianich's joint venture in Las Vegas. This restaurant has been most closely compared with Babbo, Batali's restaurant in New York. Both Babbo and B&B have signature eight-course pasta tastings which change seasonally.

While at the airport en route to Las Vegas, I thought it would be fun to look up the pasta tasting online. Uh oh. Bad idea. B&B had just started featuring their seasonal offal pasta tasting.

In case you don't know, offal is defined as basically parts of an animal that most people don't want to eat. Hmmmm . . .

Now, being Chinese, it's not like weird animal parts are foreign to me. I grew up eating tripe (cow stomach), pig intestines, and chicken hearts. I've had frog legs, sea cucumbers, duck tongue, and all sorts of other things. Really, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Nevertheless, there are a few things that have always grossed me out, and one of these is brains.

And the first course of the tasting menu? Ravioli made with lamb's brains.

I looked deploringly at Bryan - "No brains . . please? please? PLEASE????" “No brains!”

He looked crestfallen. The pasta lover had been looking forward to this meal for like a year.

We entered the restaurant and the waitress RAVED about the pasta tasting. She said the various dishes were REALLY GOOD. And after looking at the other menu options (which looked much more ordinary and less interesting), I was stuck in a bind.

Bryan looked at me again, smiled mischievously, and said, "pasta tasting?"

I sighed. . . defeat . .again. How does this always happen?

So here is a detailed summary of my first offal pasta tasting ever.

Lamb’s Brain “Francobolli" with Lemon and Sage
Honestly, if no one had told me that the pasta was filled with lamb's brain, I would have had no idea. The brain itself is mild, and when mushed up and mixed in with the ricotta, it basically tastes like it is part of the cheese. The pasta texture was absolutely perfect, and the lemon sage sauce was light, yet bright and crisp at the same time. I hate to admit it, but it was really good.

Spaghetti Neri alla Chitarra with Ricci di Mare
The second course was our favorite entree by far. The pasta was a handmade squid ink pasta with a lovely chewy texture. It was mixed with uni (which is only arguably "offal" I think) and a surprisingly amount of hot peppers. The pasta had quite a bit of kick. It was great. The combination of the strong squid-ink flavor with the creamy uni and the spicy peppers was perfect. Really really delicious. I sincerely believe this is the best dish.

Tomato Conserva “Gettoni” with Ragu Norcino
The third dish is an interesting melange of various organs (liver, hearts, cockscomb, and "duck fries" - more on that later) stewed for three days into this gloriously rich and flavorful sauce. I was surprised that I actually liked the cockscomb (the red comb on a rooster), which I had never had before. It’s sort of gelatinous not unlike cow tendon. The sauce is then tossed with fresh coin-shaped mini-raviolis filled with a beautiful tomato sauce (made from fresh tomatoes jarred in the summer), which was absolutely spectacular. All of their homemade pastas were nice and al dente, super chewy, and just all around perfect.

Heh heh, silly us - we understood everything the waitress said except for "duck fries." What are duck fries? I was highly suspicious that it was a euphemism for something really awful. Bryan thought they were French fries cooked in duck fat. I was NOT convinced, and was even more suspicious when the dish that arrived had no fries in sight.

We finished the dish and it was truly delicious. While waiting for the next course, I whipped out my Blackberry and searched the term "duck fries."

I almost spit out my drink. Are you ready for this? Duck Fries are duck testicles. I couldn't believe it. I was soooo glad I had already finished the dish. I had always avoided "Rocky Mountain Oysters" (cow testicles) because the idea grossed me out. Oh my . . oh my . . I’m so glad I had already eaten it . . .

Pici con Cibreo
This dish consisted of thick chewy spaghetti-like pasta tossed with various livers. Because I don’t like liver, this was one of my least favorite dishes, although Bryan really liked it.

Goose Liver Ravioli with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Butter
I'm not a big liver fan, and thus the liver flavor turned me off a bit, but I must say the sauce was fantastic. Though quite sweet, the strong, balsamic vinegar reduction worked beautifully with the strong liver flavor. And of course, the ravioli texture was perfectly chewy.

Blood Orange Sorbetto
This was the perfect palate cleanser to a very well-executed rich and satisfying meal.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
The dessert was good. The pumpkin bread pudding was nice and custardy. The entire dish had a pumpkin theme, including toasted pumpkin seeds that added a deliciously toasty crunch to the dessert, cutting through the rich creaminess of everything else.

Concluding Thoughts - was the Offal Awful?
Well, what can I say? B&B surely knows its pasta and competes, if not surpasses the top restaurants we've tried in Boston's North End. The dishes here are more unique, exotic, and expertly executed than most that I've tried. All of the pastas are homemade, and they all have incredible texture. The sauces are also top notch. Bryan, who loves liver and loves pasta, says this is one of the best pasta eating experiences he has ever had.

This tasting is not cheap - it's $99 a person and the whole table has to order the tasting. If you want a cheaper option, go to Babbo in NYC, where the pasta tasting is only $69 a person, and is mostly likely just as good, if not better. For some reason, there is a premium on everything in Las Vegas. It's not a place for "value" dining, although you can't deny the quality. Despite the fact that the offal sounded really gross to me, B&B was able to execute these dishes beautifully, and I have to concede that the meal was stunningly good.

B&B Ristorante
The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 266-9977

January 22, 2010 Las Vegas

Celebrity Chef Dining in Las Vegas

This is the first post in a six-part series titled "Celebrity Chef Dining in Las Vegas."
Part II: Joel Robuchon (The Mansion)

Part III: Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay)

Part IV: Enoteca San Marco (Mario Batali)

Part V: B&B Ristorante (Mario Batali)

Part VI: Raos

My favorite thing to do in Las Vegas is to watch the Bellagio fountains. I never miss it. I can watch show after show after show. The magic never loses its touch on me, for some reason. I am just mesmerized by it. Maybe it's the music. Maybe it's the majestic heights that these fountains reach (with the help of fireworks). Maybe it's the way the music is timed so perfectly with the artistic movements of the water.

Last year on the way to Bryce Canyon, we stayed at the Bellagio in a fountain facing room for one night (rates were cheap in the dead of the hot summer on a Sunday night). I just sat next to the window, for about two hours, watching every single fountain show. Every 15 minutes. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Just a few weeks ago, Bryan and I went to Las Vegas again for our annual CES trip. This time, we decided to hit up a bunch of celebrity chef / famous restaurants. I believe all of these restaurants or chefs (except for one) have been featured on the Food Network. The last chef is just super famous. I have interspersed some pictures from these restaurants with other random Las Vegas scenes. Can you guess where I went?

A signature dish at this old world Italian restaurant was fantastic.

Agate stone stairway at the new City Center.

Shrimp tamales with fresh corn!

One of these restaurant gave a box of chocolates "to the lady" to take home.

An eight course pasta tasting showcasing interesting ingredients.

Utter decadence! A gold leaf, caviar, and salmon.

Of course, I leave you with my favorite fountains, at dusk. This series will continue all next week, as I showcase detailed descriptions of Las Vegas!

*thanks to Bryan for taking the fountain pictures as I was too mesmerized to take any photos

January 21, 2010 Appetizer

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I love oven roasted Brussels sprouts. Similar to the way roasting glorifies its humble cruciferous cousin, the cauliflower, oven roasting transforms Brussels sprouts as well, but even better! Brussels sprouts have these thin leaves that, when roasted, crisp up into these addictive crunchy morsels, not unlike the kale "chips" I made recently. And I just can't stop eating them. Seriously, I was making these at night after dinner and then I ended up gobbling up like ⅓ of the tray before I forced myself to stop. By the way, they do taste the best straight out of the oven!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make sure to cut off the hard bottom and any leaves that look wilted. I also like cutting up the sprouts in half (or big ones in quarters) to speed up the cooking time. Plus, cutting ensures that all the pieces are relatively the same size, which ensures even cooking.

Blanching is optional, but it allows you to roast at a higher temperature to crisp up the edges. I blanched my Brussels sprouts for just a few minutes before shocking them with cold water.

Toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper until well coated. The key, actually, is to add quite a bit of salt. Add a bit more than you would normally add for other vegetables. For some reason, salt really makes this dish stand out.

I peeled off some leaves because I wanted more crunchy bits. 🙂 Roast for about 20 minutes, but check periodically to see how they are doing. Once they are a nicely brown and tender (with crispy edges!) you can take them out. If you did not blanch then earlier, check one to make sure it's tender all the way through. At that point, if it's also nicely brown and tender, you're done!

Note: I used a convection microwave oven to make this. I basically set the oven to cook for 30 minutes (this includes preheat time) at 400 degrees. The Brussels Sprouts came out perfectly after the 30 minutes was up.

That's it! So easy! And honesty - so incredibly delicious! Brussels sprouts pair amazingly well with smoked meats, such as bacon, guianciale, etc. Experiment! This recipe is super flexible. I might try pulling off all the leaves next time and try making Brussels sprouts "chips"!

Enjoy!

January 20, 2010 Recipe

Wheat Berry Salad

I love wheat berries. I first tried them at the salad bar at Whole Foods Market and I was hooked. They are slightly chewy, and "pop" when you bite into them. I love it. Plus you feel really good after eating it, probably because it's loaded with vitamins, fiber, and other very good stuff.

What's a wheat berry?
A wheat berry is an intact wheat kernel. It's what gets ground up to make wheat flour. I could go into a long dissertation about the benefits of keeping your grains whole as long as possible, but I'll save that for another post. Suffice it to say, wheat berries are packed with nutrients and fiber since they are virtually unprocessed.

For now, let me show you how to make wheat berries!

Inspired by The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger

Ingredients:
1 cup soft white wheat berries
2 cups water
dash of salt

Toast the wheat berries in a skillet for ~4 minutes on medium high heat. Stir often, for the wheat berries will begin to brown and even start popping. You may want to get a lid just in case. I had one fly off the pan and onto the counter! This step is optional, but it does give a nice, roasted nutty flavor and the grains will smell fantastic while they are cooking in the rice cooker!

Soak the wheat berries for 1 hour in water.

Drain the water and then cook the rice + 2 cups of water in a rice cooker at the brown rice setting. I use my awesome Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker (mine's actually an older model they don't make anymore). If you don't have a rice cooker, you can bring the wheat berries to a boil in a pot of water on the stove top and then let simmer for about 45 minutes.

note: Rice cookers come with a "cup" that is actually only ¾ of a regular cup. The recipe shown above is for regular cups, not rice cooker cups. You can also try using the rice cooker proportions (i.e. add 2 rice cooker cups of wheat berries and fill the water up to level "2" under the "brown rice" section of the rice cooker)

This is what cooked wheat berries look like. Some of them will split open.

Now the possibilities are endless! Some Asians find that, just by replacing their white rice with a whole grain like this, they can actually lose weight. This stuff is filling (from all the fiber), super nutritious, and delicious (nutty, toasted flavor). I usually feel really good after eating this. I feel balanced, not stuffed, not unsatisfied. I think it's because my body is getting enough nutrients and fiber, and thus it doesn't crave munchies or desserts as much after a meal. I'm just starting to get into whole grains thing, but so far I love it!

Of course, you don't have to treat it like rice. You can make interesting salads (which is how I first enjoyed it at Whole Foods). Toss with a "dressing" of some sort, and mix in vegetables, cheese, meat - whatever you fancy.

For this "recipe," I finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, ⅓ red onion, and 2 mini-cucumbers. I then dressed the cooked wheatberries with a bit of sesame oil, soy sauce, and sugar to taste. You can add hot pepper flakes or ground black pepper if you like a bit of kick. Finally, mix everything together.

And that's it! Of course, this is very flexible and you can add whatever you want. I bet a Greek version with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives, peppers, and feta cheese would be really good as well.

Enjoy!

January 19, 2010 Boston

Market by Jean-Georges

There are only four restaurants in New York City that have received the sacred three-star Michelin rating: Le Bernardin, Daniel, Per Se, and Jean-Georges. Imagine the excitement and hype that followed when we Bostonians found out that finally, finally Jean-Georges Vongerichten was going to open a restaurant in Boston.

It's been 24 years. Jean-Georges opened his first US restaurant in Boston. Called Lafayette, it was located in the former Swissôtel near Chinatown. A year later he moved to New York, and still lives there today.

Market by Jean-Georges
Situated in the new W Hotel, Jean Georges' new Boston venture is called "Market." The concept behind this restaurant is that everything is locally sourced. The restaurant relies "entirely on the bounty of area farms and fisherman," only the fourth of its kind in the Jean-Georges Empire (the others are in Paris, Vancouver, and Atlanta). The restaurant also aims to serve seasonal ingredients, and Jean-Georges insists that all of his shellfish is fresh and wild. Many of the dishes are local interpretations of "greatest hits" from other Jean-Georges restaurants around the world.

A few weeks ago, I visited Market by Jean-Georges for lunch with Bryan and our friend Peter (guest author of the awesome Melisse review). Peter and his wife, Chia Chi, had just enjoyed an absolutely incredible dinner at Jean-Georges in New York. Bryan and I had also tried their amazing $28 three-course lunch last year and thought it was very, very good. Naturally we were super curious about this place.

Three Course Market Lunch
If you go for lunch, I would highly recommend getting the Three Course Market Lunch, which is a great value at only $24. I have written the prices below of what these items would have cost, a la carte (you can see it's much much higher).

Tuna Tartare Avocado, Spicy Radish, Ginger Dressing ($14)
My favorite dish of the meal! The tuna, avocados, radish - everything was really fresh. The dish was surprisingly spicy, and seemed to have hints a Srirachi sauce-like flavor, which I loved.

Slowly Cooked Salmon Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Truffle Vinaigrette* ($21)
Shredding Brussels sprouts seems to be the in thing to do these days. I actually liked them prepared this way. The brussels sprouts were flavorful with just the right amount of texture. The slow-cooked salmon was perfectly soft and tender, flaking off easily with a fork. The truffle vinaigrette was fine, although unmemorable. Over all, it was a decent dish considering the price of the Market lunch, but definitely not up to par with the food I typically associated with Jean-Georges.

Parmesan Crusted Organic Chicken, Artichokes, Lemon-Basil Butter ($18)
Peter got this dish, and unfortunately, he hated it. Though it was decently fried, it was severely over-salted. You can see the salt crystals in the picture! It ruined the entree for him, sadly. I tried a bite and I agree it was super salty, although I tend to be sensitive to salt. Bryan can eat much more salt than I can, and he even agreed it was too salty.

Green Apple Crisp Cinnamon Ice Cream
Dessert was solid, but again, nothing particularly remarkable. The crumble part was quite enjoyable, and I'm pretty sure I finished everything,

Chocolate Pudding Gently Whipped Cream
Bryan loves pudding, so it's not hard to please him in this department. This pudding had a nice, dark chocolately flavor and was not too sweet. I typically associated pudding with what you get in those JELL-O boxes, and I cringe a bit when I think of that. This was nothing like that. It was quite pleasant, and I was wishing I had ordered this instead of the crumble, mostly because it was less heavy.

Over all Thoughts?
Ignoring the overly salty chicken (which may have just been an anomaly?), this restaurant is not bad. I like the idea of a "Market" selling food that aims to be local, seasonal, wild, and fresh. The Market Lunch is a great deal; all of the food (except for the chicken) was prepared pretty well. Don't expect the amazingly inventive flavors and perfect execution that you'd see in his three-star establishment in New York. However, you will get a solid three-course lunch made with fresh, local ingredients for only $24.

Would I go back if I had to pay their normal prices? My initial answer might be no. Especially if the over-salting of food is not an anomaly, then I really would be hesitant about coming back. At that price range, there's plenty of competition in Boston.

But perhaps it's a bit too early too make any final conclusions.

I should at least try dinner there once. The 6-course Market Menu is only $58, which feels "cheap" after our trip to Las Vegas (posts coming soon!). I'll definitely report back once I try this place for dinner!

Market By Jean-Georges
Theater District
100 Stuart St.
Boston, MA 02116
www.marketbyjgboston.com
617) 310-6790

January 18, 2010 Recipe

Truffle Roasted Cauliflower

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover how delicious cauliflower tastes when roasted. Chinese cuisine doesn't really use the oven, and thus I grew up eating food that was mostly stir fried, steamed, or boiled. Not that stir-fried cauliflower isn't delicious. It is. And I absolutely love Chinese food.

But there's something about the roasting process that especially brings out some amazing flavors in cauliflower that you don't get from stir frying, steaming, or boiling.

And it's so incredibly simple . . . and so delicious. There's really no need for an actual recipe. Just preheat the oven to 400 degrees; toss together cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper; and put everything in a single layer onto a baking tray. Roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Check the florets halfway through and stir.

That's it! And they will brown and look like this!!

Oh yum . . .

Finish the dish off by drizzling some white truffle oil on top. You can optionally add coarse sea salt (or normal salt) to taste. Oh yeah . .once you add the truffle oil, it's hard to stop eating it.

The truffle oil really kicks this humble side dish up to another level. I recently brought this to a potluck and people gobbled it up. Yeah, they gobbled up the veggie dish. It was awesome.

Enjoy!

January 14, 2010 California

Melisse

This post is the conclusion and culmination (Part V) of the larger mini-series titled "A California Christmas." Other posts in this series include Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station, Part II: Din Tai Fung, Part III: Sushi Gen, and Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant.

I would like to welcome my first guest writer, Peter! Peter does not have his own food blog (yet!), but loves good wine and good food. This past Christmas Peter and his wife, Chia Chi, generously treated us to Melisse as a belated birthday gift for Bryan. (Thanks Peter!) Peter is a huge fan of Melisse, so I thought it most appropriate to invite him to guest-write this post.

Enjoy the post! Peter is an engaging and hilarious writer, and I hope to hear more from him in the future!

Two Michelin stars, ten courses, $100.
Add a $10 corkage for two bottles of wine, Melisse's ten year anniversary tasting is one of the best fine dining deals of 2009. My wife and I had the privilege of partaking in this belly-bursting feast twice last summer and it was amazing each time.
Grapes with pistachio encrusted goat cheese
This past holiday season, I had the chance to invite Jen and Bryan to this award winning Santa Monica establishment. To my great delight, the ten course tasting was still being offered (albeit without the $50 dollar gift certificate give-aways). The corkage was much higher at $30 for the first bottle and $20 for the second, but we live in un-enlighted Massachusetts where corkage is outlawed in most towns. For how I feel about corkage, see the sidebar on “Corkage is Evil: Die Die Die.” Even at $150, it was a no-brainer to try it a third time.

Amuse: paper thin scallop slices with a touch of sea salt, chives, roe, and seaweed

The concept behind the ten year anniversary is sheer genius. Take the ten favorite dishes ever made by the restaurant and treat your customers to it. Every established restaurant should provide a similar offering. Being the faux-sommelier of the group, I chose two wines I have been meaning to try. The first is a sparkling pinot noir, Argyle Extended Triage Willamette Valley 1999 (WS 95, 2009 Top 100 #18) and the second is a classic Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 (WS 96). The women favored the pinot and its bubbly goodness. The men like the more powerful red.

Bacon bread and basil bread

Chia Chi: Peter hates basil. Yet Peter can’t stop eating Melisse’s basil bread. Almost like a pesto brioche, we’ve never had anything like this.

Put it this way: we never crave for bread at restaurants. Yet, between the first and third time we went, Peter and I probably sampled every single piece of bread they had (resulting, partially, in the “belly-bursting” experience described in paragraph 1). All of the bread selections were excellent - French, ciabatta, brioche, bacon and olive bread. To be honest, we probably would have been quite happy just eating the free bread with a bowl of their soul-warming soup (see Wild Mushroom Soup below) for dinner.

Egg Cavier Lemon Creme Fraiche, American Cavier

Jen: One of Melisse's signature dishes, the egg caviar was absolutely divine. A perfectly cut egg shell is filled layer by layer: a barely poached egg, lemon crème fraiche, and topped with rich caviar. The tart crème fraiche cut the richness of the creamy soft egg and the salty caviar very nicely. Definitely one of my favorites. Plus it paired nicely with the sparkling pinot noir.

Wild Mushroom Soup Mushroom and Potato Hash, Truffle Mousse

Peter: Soups are meant to warm your soul and the soups at Melisse do just that. In our summer visits, the second course was an unctous tomoato soup with a tomato sorbet resting on cubes of seasonal tomato. Our winter variation used more hearty ingredients like mushroom and potato. Regardless of the ingredients, the effect in your mouth is the same. The interplay of the hot, earthy soup and the cold, sweet mousse heightens your palate’s awareness of flavors causing an explosion of umami. After licking the bowl clean, you are left longing for more.

Furthermore, the execution on this dish was perfect. The potatoes holding up the cold truffle mousse were identically cubed. The soup poured tableside was piping hot and velvetty smooth. The dollop of cold truffle mousse was canaled and served at such an ideal temperature that it kept its shape for over a minute after the soup was poured.

Duo of Hamachi & Tuna Celery, Meyer Lemon, Black Truffles

Jen: Just look at the intricate knife work on top of the fish! This dish was like a work of art, painstakingly created with machine-like precision yet artfully plated with a touch of whimsy. The fish was super fresh and paired beautifully with the crisp Meyer lemon sauce and the earthy black truffles. The tiny chopped celery on top added a surprisingly unique but fresh complexity, both in terms of flavor and texture. Excellent, excellent dish.

Seared Fois Gras Persimmon, Pain d'Epice, White Balsamic Reduction

Bryan: This was good, but not as good as Alex. [editor's note: Bryan is a man of few words]

Lobster Bolognese Fresh Capelinni, Truffle Froth

Peter: I never understood surf and turf. I am convinced that most establishments see surf and turf as an excuse to put two expensive ingredients, lobster and filet, on the same dish so they can overcharge for the luxury. Especially now that lobster is $3 a pound, seeing lobster dishes costing northward of $30 is criminal. See my sidebar on “Lobster: Why the cockroach of the sea should be cheap.” But once you taste the lobster bolognese at Melisse, you will understand what surf and turf can offer. Take freshly made capelinnli, infuse it with a meaty, rich bolonese, mix in perfectly cooked chunks of sweet lobster, then top it with a truffle foam. What results is culinary orgasm. The three distinct flavors of lobster, ground beef, and truffle keeps your taste buds guessing so that you are compelled to keep going back to the dish for more.

Wild Stiped Bass
Gnocchi, King Oyster Mushrooms, Brown Butter Truffle Jus

Peter: The wild "stiped" bass was lacking. It lacked seasoning, it lacked flavor, it lacked pizzazz, it lacked an r in its name. The fish was cooked well, and the gnocchi was buttery soft (see my sidebar, "Gnocchi, the Italian Boba"), but the dish just didn't come together. It could be that the r-less version of bass is less flavorful than the r-ful version, but more likely it was a failed attempt to replace the addictive dover sole "goujonnettes" that seduced us on our first visit. Quite simply, the sole had more soul. Not the most memorable dish of the night. So forgettable that we actually forgot to take a picture of it. So, let's forget it and move on.

Dry Aged Cote de Boeuf Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Brown Butter Truffle Jus

In contrast with the bass, the dry aged cote de boeuf was best the third time around. The chef must have responded to the complaints of previous tenth anniversary patrons who were incapacitated by the quantity of food and had to be rolled out of the restaurant. Usually, the boeuf course is when you start realizing that what your swallowing is awaiting right outside of your stomach and looking for room to get in. Compared to last time, the potato-leek torte was less buttery and half the size. I actually finished the torte this time. The aged beef was more flavorful and was cooked to a perfect doneness. I'm no expert on new-age cooking, but it appears that this expensive cut of prime cow flesh had been sous vided as a whole loin and then seared in a skillet before being sliced (see my sidebar, "Immersian Circulators: Build one in your Bathtub for $100"). The wild mushrooms were fresh and had a nice "gamey" flavor. It was excellent all three times.

Reblechon Tart Honey-Pepper Gastrique

Jen & Chia Chi: Bubbly cheesy goodness in a crusty puff pastry. This cheesy rich tart had a nice, strong cheese flavor that wasn't "stinky" at all (heh, I'm a wimp when it comes to the stinky cheeses, but this was totally fine). The salty cheese worked nicely with the honey, although Chia Chi thought there wasn't quite enough honey, and longed for more. At this point I was starting to feel stuffed, and thus the mesclun salad was a nice (albeit short) welcomed relief.

Chocolate and Caramel Mousse Chocolate Sorbet, Teachino Sauce

Jen: Solid execution, but short of "Wow." This dish was good, as most chocolate dishes can be, but was not particularly memorable. It probably didn't help that I was beyond stuffed at this point.

Strawberry Vanilla Yogurt

Jen: And finally, nearing the end. The strawberry sorbet tasted very real, like fresh strawberries from the summer. Together with the yogurt, it offered the perfect tart, palate-cleansing finish to a wonderful meal with great friends.

Jen: Over all, an exquisite meal for an incredible price. If you're in Southern California, and you're looking for a real treat, Melisse is the choice. It's a bit more subdued than a grandiose place like Daniel; and arguably the food is less perfectly executed than either Le Bernardin or Daniel. Nevertheless, Melisse is still very much worth a visit. The service is top notch, the environment is very relaxing (we sat next to a fireplace!), and the food is fantastic.

Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-0881

January 14, 2010 Recipe

Green Mango Salad

After three weeks of being on the road - first in California, then Miami, and then Las Vegas - I was really craving something light. Something healthy. Refreshing. Cleansing.

Not that I didn't enjoy to the fullest extent those fantastic soup dumplings, melt-in-your-mouth fatty tuna, or cavier topped dishes (more on that soon, I promise!). Not at all. But a girl can only do that for so long before her stomach and her mind get a little overwhelmed. Not to mention the belt buckle!

So the tired belly craved something clean. Something light and tart.

Oh I forgot. It's winter. And there's anything but an abundance of fresh produce right now here in the cold Northeast.

But wait. I remember a delightful dish that my mom taught me how to make when I was home in Ohio last October. This dish is great because it's made with green, unripened mangoes. Similar in concept to the green tomato, a green mango is just a really hard mango that has not ripen yet. And since it's winter, all of the fruit in the market is shipped from Mexico anyway, so they probably aren't "vine-ripen" by any extent.

This recipe works best with rock-hard totally unripen mangoes.

Using a peeler (or a knife), peel thin slices of mango into a bowl. You can see from the picture that some of these slices are yellow/orange. I made a mistake and picked out one mango that was a bit too ripe. Ideally, they would all be a pretty light shade. Add salt (about ½ tsp? - I didn't measure), and mix throughout. Let it sit for at least 15-20 minutes so that the water can come out.

See how the water is coming out? Drain off the liquid and squeeze the mango slices to make sure you get out as much water as possible. I actually drained it in a colander and then pressed on the mango slices a bit to squeeze out more liquid. It's similar to the way you would make a marinated cucumber salad.

Finally, toss with some sesame oil and cilantro, and salt to taste. That's it! It's so easy. And the flavors work surprisingly well together. If you use really raw mangoes, sometimes your guests will not even be able to guess what they are eating. It's crisp, tangy, fresh, slightly crunchy, and a perfect antidote to the heavy, buttery dishes from the holiday season.

Enjoy!

January 13, 2010 Cambridge

East by Northeast

I really wanted to love this place. I really did.

East by Northeast is an Asian-inspired restaurant with a tapas-style concept. Chef Phillip Tang, the brains behind this new venture, is a 27-year old chef trained in Taiwan and throughout Boston at various establishments including Hungry Mother, T.W. Food, and Lumiere. There's already quite a hype. In fact, the Boston Globe calls his new venture "Momofuku-esque," suggesting that it is the closest thing Boston has to David Chang's culinary style.

Bun du Riz from Ma Peche (Momofuku Midtown) in New York

I love Taiwanese food, and I really enjoyed Ma Peche in midtown. But the clincher that made me super excited? Chinese handmade noodles.*

In fact, the moment I found out it was open, I literally dropped what I was doing and headed straight out to Inman Square to try this place. On a Tuesday night at 7:30pm, we were able to land a table with no problem. By 8pm though, all the seats were essentially full.

The menu consists only of small plates. The chef encourages diners to order 3-4 dishes each and share family-style. The food is served "Japanese-style," which apparently means the food comes out the moment it's done cooking. There aren't too many items on the menu right now. In fact, after ordering 8 dishes (4 each), it feels like we have ordered more than half the menu items.

Curry Dusted Carrot Chips - $4

Our starter "snack," the curry dusted carrot chips, are delicious. The curry adds a unique twist to the chips. They remind me of Terra Taro Chips, but freshly made. We gobble these right up.

Pickled Vegetables (Daikon, Rutabaga, Beets) - $5

A trio of pickled daikon, rutabaga, and beets comes next. It's OK, although not particularly exciting. I personally think the vegetables are too astringent, and I nearly cough more than once when I accidentally inhale too much vinegar. I typically like pickled vegetables, but I like them just a bit sweeter and less sour. I prefer Chinese "pao tsai" (picked cabbage). I think I even prefer regular Korean kimchi more, mostly because it has a much more complex flavor profile.

Sauteed kale with lemon, garlic, and spiced rutabaga relish

I appreciate Phillip Tang's focus on local produce. A twist on a typical Chinese leafy greens, Tang stir-fries kale with plenty of garlic, lemon, and rutabaga relish. The spiced rutabaga relish and garlic give the dish a deep, rich flavor that's quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, the kale is a bit tough (not tender), and the dish is borderline too oily for me. Over all, though, the flavors work in this dish and it has potential to be quite good once the kinks are ironed out.

Crispy Pork belly (daikon, Man Tou bread, sweet bean paste) - $10

Pork belly seems to be all the craze right now. Of course this dish will remind diners of David Chang's famous pork belly buns. I've never had the Momofuku version, but I've had the authentic Chinese version at Shangri-la (made with mustard greens, pork belly, peanut powder, and hoisin sauce). Tang's version is pretty tasty, although Bryan thought it tasted sharp and less complex compared to other pork belly dishes he's tried. The pickled daikon is really tart, the pork belly richly fragrant, and the bean paste sweet. Yet for some reason the flavors did not meld together in a synergistic way. It's not bad, but there's room for improvement. Bryan did comment that the texture of the bun ("mantou") was excellent. Mine was a tad dry, but over all the dish is enjoyable.

Pork dumplings with butternut squash, five spice - pork jus - $10

I love the hand-rolled skins on these dumplings. Really, I don't think I've had such good dumplings skins since Din Tai Fung. It's super fun to chew on. Having said that, the flavor of the dumpling is a bit weird, and I'm not sure if I love it. The sweet butternut squash seems to overpower the pork, without enough pork umami to balance it out. But again, we may be biased with preconceptions of what a perfect dumpling should taste like. I think some people would like it.

Home Made Thick Cut Noodles with beef shank, celery root, parsnip, spicy beef broth - $10

Yum - thick cut noodles. The noodles are definitely homemade. I wish they were a tad chewier, but I'm just happy they are homemade. The beef shank is tender and the soup broth is enjoyably spicy. We both thought the broth lacked a certain depth that usually comes with beef noodle soup. Perhaps it's the lack of MSG, or maybe his soups are not stewed for as many hours, or maybe he was aiming for a lighter broth. I think the addition of the sweet-tasting parsnips also cuts the richness of the soup. Over all, this dish was pretty good, but I've had better beef noodle soups in Boston.

Shrimp dumplings with ginger, cilantro, and green sauce - $10

This is my favorite main dish. The same gloriously-chewy-but-thin-hand-made dumpling skin contains a delicious shrimp filling bursting with flavors of ginger and cilantro. Perhaps I like this one more because it's less "fusion-esque" and incorporates more traditional flavors. I'm not sure of the reason, but I happily chew on this one, savoring the lovely texture of the skin.

Hand - Rolled Short Rice Noodles with chicken, daikon, shiitakes, XO sauce

This dish really reminded me of the bun du riz I had at Ma Peche (Momofuku midtown) at the end of last year in New York. Sadly, it's not nearly as good. The thick hand rolled rice noodles feel like a cross between Chinese rice cake (nian gao) and Italian gnocchi. I was wishing for more chewiness, and these were just soft. If you like pillowy-soft gnocchi, however, you might really like this. The flavors were OK, although a bit strong on the deep fried baby shrimp flavor.

Initial Thoughts?
I'm slightly disappointed. I really wanted to love this place.

I agree with others that the restaurant is a bit pricey for what you get, especially since the flavors are not jaw-dropping delicious. Our total bill was around $82 including 2 beers and 1 pot of tea. Portion sizes are small. We did not take home any leftovers because we finished everything without a problem.

I still want to love this place though.

I'm really rooting for these guys. I WANT this place to succeed. It's not every day that you get a restaurant in your backyard that specializes in Taiwanese-inspired small dishes with a focus on local, organic, and sustainable ingredients. There's a premium for that, and I'm willing to pay that premium. I just want to love the flavors of the food as well.

I'll give this place another try in a month or so after they have ironed out some things, and I will report back!

East by Northeast
(Inman Square)
1128 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 876-0286

*Ever since Noodle Alcove closed in Chinatown, we have been longing for hand-pulled noodles. Beijing Star in Waltham has hand cut noodles, but it's a bit far from Cambridge, and still not as good as the former Noodle Alcove.

January 11, 2010 North End

Modern Pastry

It's the age old question: "who makes the best cannolis in the North End?" For some reason, if you ask the question, you are bound to get strong opinions going both ways.

A couple months ago ago, I visited Mike's Pastry in the North End and enjoyed a taste of their delicious cannolis. Soon after I wrote the post, I started receiving various comments that ranged all over the map. Many loved it. Some thought it was a tourist trap, and several thought that Modern was better.

On a quiet Monday evening, we sauntered into a Modern Pastry that was almost empty. Unlike the weekends, where the line goes out the door, this dark, rainy Monday evening was relatively calm. Apparently we had just missed Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who had visited Modern the Saturday before.

According to fans of Modern Pastry, Modern's big selling point is that they make the cannolis fresh on the spot. In other words, the shells are not pre-filled, unlike those at Mike's, and therefore the cannolis are arguably less soggy. Also, at Modern, the cannolis come in two different sizes. You can get a mini cannoli or a larger one. Neither one is as large as the one from Mike's.

Two differently sized cannolis from Modern Pastry

So what's the best way to test them? We purchased a cannoli at Mike's, and then walked down the street to Modern and bought a mini cannoli and also a normal sized one. Monday night is a good night to do an experiment like this because you don't have to wait in line at either establishment to get the cannolis, thus both are pretty fresh!

The one super large cannoli from Mike's Pastry

The verdict? I think what people say is generally true. The Mike's shell is just naturally harder and crispier - more cookie-like. The modern shell is delicate, more refined, more pastry-like. It's by no means soft, but definitely more delicate. The cream inside the Mike's cannoli is sweeter, although neither struck me as being too sweet or not sweet enough.

In the end, I think it's a matter of personal preference. I don't think the Mike's cannoli tastes at all soggy. I think the stronger, more durable shell withstands moisture pretty well, and I found that the Mike's cannolis actually last longer than the Modern cannolis, which get soggy pretty fast (definitely within 24 hours) since the shell is more delicate.

Bryan and I both preferred the Mike's cannoli a bit, although I appreciate the fact that Modern has two sizes from which to choose.

Like I mentioned last time, you can't go wrong going to either one. In fact, you really can't go wrong just by visiting the North End while you are in Boston. It's such a vibrant neighborhood, the food is fantastic, and the cannolis are unbeatable.

Modern Pastry
The North End
257 Hanover St
Boston, MA 02113

January 8, 2010 California

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant

This post is Part IV of the larger mini-series titled "A California Christmas." The posts in this series include: Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station, Part II: Din Tai Fung, Part III: Sushi Gen, Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant, and Part V: Melisse.

Knotts Berry Farm is a theme park not far from Disneyland. Looking at it today, it looks like many other theme parks across America. The park is filled with characters from the Peanuts gang, wild roller coaster rides, and various other rides.

What's different? If you look closely, you'll notice there's this fried chicken restaurant right at the park's entrance that always has a HUGE line out the door. What's the deal with this restaurant?

Guess what? This little fried chicken restaurant is what started this entire theme park.

I won't go into a detailed history here, but here's a super brief synopsis. The Knotts family were berry farmers, and Mr. Knotts had just started selling a new berry created by a man by the name of Rudolph Boysen. The Knotts family bought a plot of land in Southern California and created a berry farm. Mrs. Knotts set up a tea house there, and one day was frying up some chicken for dinner when a tea guest commented on how delicious it smelled and whether it was for sale.

The Knotts decided to temporarily sell fried chicken to make ends meet (it was the Depression, after all). However, the fried chicken became so popular people just kept coming back for more. Mrs. Knotts kept insisting she wasn't in the restaurant business, but the people loved the chicken, and the lines grew and grew and grew. Eventually, Mr. Knotts started building some rides to entertain the people while they were waiting in line for the fried chicken. And that is how Knotts Berry Farm (the theme park) began.

Of course, with all that hype, I was really curious how the fried chicken would taste, since to this day the lines are still super long. This is why I have never gone before - I never wanted to wait so long in line.

Amazingly, this past Christmas Eve, our party of 14 was seated immediately. No line! Note to self: Knotts Berry Farm is a great place to come on Christmas Eve. None of the rides have a wait, and you can go into the Fried Chicken restaurant without a wait at 12:30PM for lunch!

The wait staff are dressed up in traditional gingham outfits, maybe as part of the thematic experience. We started out with some nice hot rolls, which were delicious! Reminiscent of monkey bread, they were very warm, soft, and tasted great with butter.

The sides/starters were actually quite disappointing. The rhubarb was just boiled with a bit of sugar, and the salad had a dismal dressing to vegetable ratio. The chicken soup was nice and thick and pretty good - probably the only redeeming starter.

The fried chicken was good. I know fried chicken is all the craze right now, and every celebrity chef seems to want to offer his or her own version of fried chicken. This fried chicken is not fancy nor expensive. It's just good, solid fried chicken. Crunchy on the outside, nicely flavored, and moist meat on the inside. I can definitely see why it was so popular decades ago when Mrs. Knotts first started making it. Definitely order fried chicken if you come here!

And if you go, you have to get the boysenberry pie - more for historical nostalgic reasons than pure taste. As I mentioned earlier, the Knotts' family started out as berry farmers, and this was the berry that Mr. Knotts had invented. Definitely try the pie - it's good.

Over all impressions?
The fried chicken is definitely good, though by far not the best I've ever had. At this point, I think the hype surrounding the restaurant is more historical and nostalgia than purely the quality of the food itself. The story itself is really cute, and it's kind of fun to eat in this restaurant knowing that history. It's worth visiting once, especially if you can avoid waiting in line. Having said all that, I don't think I would be willing to wait in a long line just for the food. In this day and age, there's plenty of delicious fried chicken to be had.

January 7, 2010 California

Sushi Gen

This post is Part III of the larger mini-series titled "A California Christmas." The posts in this series include: Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station, Part II: Din Tai Fung, Part III: Sushi Gen, Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant, and Part V: Melisse.

If you haven't figured out by now, I'm a huge fan of sushi, and I try to seek out the best sushi in every city that I visit. Top picks include Kyubei in Tokyo and Sushi Yasuda in New York City.

One particular night, when Bryan went to a Laker's basketball game with one of his other friends, his parents decided to entertain me for the night by taking me to Little Tokyo. Of course, the moment I heard "Little Tokyo," I jumped onto the iphone and started to do some research.

Over and over I kept seeing Sushi Gen show up on various sites as a excellent place to try. It was not until after the fact that I realized I had already blogged about Sushi Gen! My mom had told me that all the Taiwanese people know about this place and rave about it. So funny that I forgot.

So, of course I had to go try it. I had heard that the lines there are super long but it's worth the wait. Luckily, they actually take reservations, and I was able to reserve a coveted 7pm reservation without any problem, calling earlier the same day.

We arrived a bit early and ended up having to wait basically until 7pm for our seats. It seems like the turnover is relatively fast, but sometimes you might still have to wait a bit even if you have a reservation. There's a pretty big sushi bar and also lots of tables (all of which are filled!)

Between the three of us, we ordered a Sashimi Deluxe Combination ($35), a Sushi Deluxe Combination ($26), Steamed Clams ($8), and a few nigiri a la carte.

The deluxe combinations come with a bunch of stuff, such as this deliciously simple salad with greens, bonito flakes, and a simple dressing. It was light, well-flavored, and a great way to whet the appetite!

We also got an interesting side of mountain yam and seaweed. If you have never had mountain yam before, you might be a bit weirded out by it. The texture is sort of slimy. I thought the dish was good, but if you've never had anything like it before, you just might think it's a bit weird.

Of course, there was also miso soup. I did not drink the miso soup, so I actually can't comment on it.

The clams were delicious, and I think they were Bryan's dad's favorite dish. The soup had a beautiful clam flavor, and the clams themselves were fresh, juicy, and delicious. For $8, this was a great value.

And then the most amazing dish of them all - the Sashimi Deluxe Platter. Wow! I was really amazed. This entire platter (including those yummy starters) was only $35! You can look at the picture to see what it includes, but it had at least 5 slices of toro (fatty tuna - yum, my favorite!), salmon, maguro (tuna), mackeral, octopus, squid, and much much more. Everything was really fresh and delicious. I still couldn't believe this was only $35. I kept thinking about Sushi Yasuda, where each piece was about $5 . . .

The Sushi Deluxe, though not as awe-inspiring, was still a good deal for $25. It included a nice array of various nigiri and also some simple rolls. I also got some of my favorite nigiri a la carte, such as salmon, toro, and hamachi belly.

Everything was deliciously fresh and the service was good. I actually really appreciated our server. She suggested that we share a few deluxe orders (definitely the most cost effective option!) and actually dissuaded me from getting an a la carte order of toro sashimi because she knew our sashimi deluxe combo would already have it. She also piped in "I just saved you $35!" I was sooo appreciative. We were stuffed after our meal, and the extra toro order would have been too much!

Is it the Best Sushi In LA?
I really can't comment on that, since I have only been to a few sushi places in Southern California. I would say it is definitely worth the visit mostly because it's such a good deal. The fish is very fresh, the food is delicious, and those deluxe specials are awesome. In terms of over all excellence, it's not quite in the same league as restaurants such as Kyubei and Sushi Yasuda, mostly because their fish options are more ordinary run-of-the-mill fish and not the more interesting and exotic ones you would see at both Kyubei and Sushi Yasuda. Neverthless, if you are looking for expertly prepared fresh and delicious sushi for a great price, Sushi Gen is definitely a great place to go.

Note: I heard lunch is even a better deal because you get the same fish for cheaper prices. I can't verify that the fish is the same, but according to the lunch menu, the Sushi Deluxe is only $12.50 and the Sashimi Deluxe is only $25. Next time I go, I'm definitely going to try the lunch!

Sushi Gen
Little Tokyo
422 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

January 6, 2010 California

Din Tai Fung (Arcadia, California)

This post is Part II of the larger mini-series titled "A California Christmas." The posts in this series include: Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station, Part II: Din Tai Fung, Part III: Sushi Gen, Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant, and Part V: Melisse.

I love love love dumplings. When I was in Taiwan back in April, we went to Din Tai Fung three times!! And we were only there for five days! Yeah, exactly. I even passed on beef noodle soup while I was there to have more dumplings. Call me crazy. I know, I know, beef noodle soup is like Taiwan's national dish. *sigh* Maybe next time. ANYWAY . . I digress.

The soup dumplings at Ding Tai Fung are amazing. The skin is super thin, yet does not break. It holds the hot soup perfectly (look at the picture above!). When you bite into the soup dumpling, a gorgeous chorus of pork-crab soup flavors explodes into your mouth. Finish the experience by chewing on the perfectly thin, stretchy-yet-unbreakable, "Q" skin that has been lovingly hand-rolled multiple times to achieve this texture. Soooo delicious.

So when I found out that the son of the Din Tai Fung founders wanted to open a new outpost in the US, I was beyond excited. Finally! I could taste these heavenly dumplings in my own country! And only a 45-minute drive from Bryan's parent's home. Definitely do-able.

It's interesting to note that only the Taiwan and US locations are owned by the family. The remaining Din Tai Fung locations throughout the rest of Asia are actually franchises. Fortunately, the rules and training requirements for opening a franchise are very strict, so I'm sure the dumplings at all the locations are delicious.

If you go . . .
Of course the soup dumplings are a MUST-GET, but there many other dumplings that are delicious as well. My favorite steamed dumpling is the vegetable pork dumpling, which actually is mostly finely chopped vegetables, with only a hint of pork for flavor. Since I love vegetables and I hate oily dumplings, this one is perfect for me. It tastes relatively light, yet is still so flavorful. And of course, the texture of the skin is fantastic. The vegetable dumplings are also pretty good too. They are filled with finely chopped vermicelli, greens, and possibly tofu.

Bryan's mom really likes the wonton soup. The broth is delicious - clear, clean, yet flavorful at the same time. The wontons are also really good. The skin is delicate and almost melts in your mouth, while the meat is moist and very flavorful.

Their signature dish is the juicy pork/crab soup dumpling, and is definitely worth getting! If you love crab, you'll love the flavor of the soup inside this dumpling. (Note, the more orange dumpling in the picture is the pork/crab soup dumpling while the other ones in the picture are the normal pork soup dumplings).

Like at all Din Tai Fung locations, you can watch the dumpling cooks hard at work hand-rolling out all the skins, filling the dumplings, and steaming them. The operation itself is amazing to watch, as these guys churn out thousands of dumplings a day. One noticeable difference between the Arcadia restaurant and the ones in Taiwan are that most of the workers here are Hispanic.

How Does This Compare to Taiwan?
The food is definitely very close. The menu is a bit more limited, though. For example, my brother-in-law's favorite dumpling, the dessert taro dumplings, are not available in the US location. Also, there's a particular charm about the original Din Tai Fung in Taiwan that is a bit lost here. Nevertheless, the dumplings seem to be made with the same recipe and technique, and thus are still very delicious. Definitely worth the trip - especially since it's a lot cheaper than buying tickets to Taiwan!

Note: There are two addresses because they recently opened a new annex right next door (yes it's THAT popular!) Don't worry! All of the food comes out of the same kitchen. I would recommend going early, especially on weekends, as the line gets really long!

Din Tai Fung
1088 and 1108 S Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007

January 5, 2010 California

Ten Ren Tea Station

This post is Part I of the larger mini-series titled "A California Christmas." The posts in this series include: Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station, Part II: Din Tai Fung, Part III: Sushi Gen, Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant, and Part V: Melisse.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a term in Taiwanese that has no perfect equivalent in English (or even in Mandarin Chinese, as far as I know). This term is "Q" (pronounced like the letter) and is typically used to describe a particular food texture. More specifically, "Q" foods are chewy, dense, but resistant at the same time. They bounce back . . . like thick, chewy, fresh Chinese noodles, stir-fried rice cakes, and arguably, good quality gummy bears.

I absolutely love foods that are "Q". I could chew on fresh homemade udon forever, and mochi is one of my favorite snacks. So of course, (the reason for this super long winding intro) - what can be more representative of the quintessential "Q" food than Boba, which originated from Taiwan?

What is Boba?
Boba are huge, chewy tapioca balls. The classic boba drink literally translates as "Pearl Milk Tea" and consists of strong black tea, milk, sugar, and boba balls. You slurp the boba balls along with the milk tea using an unusually wide straw. The balls are super fun to chew on, and the possibilities of drinks/juices with which to pair the boba are endless. You can also enjoy boba drinks hot or cold.

Los Angeles, one of the most Asian-dense cities in America, naturally boasts some of the best Asian food as well. Tea Station is no exception. The US franchise of Ten Ren (one of the most well-established Tea companies in Taiwan) Tea Station is a delightful tea shop that opens until late at night and also serves a wonderful array of Taiwanese snack foods.

I love coming to Tea Station because it totally reminds me of Taiwan. The menu has fun, street-food like snack items, along with a vast collection of tea, tea products, and tea drinks. They even have fun tea dishes, such as tea-eggs, tea flavored fried spring rolls, and tea flavored edamame (boiled soy beans).

The weather outside was a bit chilly by 10PM the night we went, so I opted for the classic pearl milk tea (below) but hot instead of cold. It's huge!!!! The pearls are nicely "Q" and the tea is top notch. After all, Ten Ren is first and foremost a tea company. My friend ordered one of the multi-colored jelly ices (shown above), which he described as being like "chewing on a bunch of Gummy Bears."

Tea Station also sells a vast array of loose leaf teas and tea bags, all Ten Ren Brand.

My favorite tea to drink at home on a regular basis now is Ten Ren's King's tea No. 913. It is mostly oolong with a touch of ginseng which just adds enough sweetness to round out the harshest bitter notes of the tea. I love it, and I drink it all throughout the winter. A pot of it costs $12 at Tea Station, but you can buy a canister of loose leaves, which will last you all winter, for only $24.

The ambiance at Tea Station is relaxed. My friends and I often bring along cards or a board game. We sip tea, enjoy some Taiwanese snacks, and play games. It makes for an absolutely perfect late night outing.

Tea Station
11688 South St Ste 101
Artesia, CA 90701

January 4, 2010 California

A California Christmas

This begins yet another mini-series on delicious eats of Southern California.

Being married to a California native, I have the benefit of getting away from the cold weather in Boston every Christmas to enjoy the bright and warm sunshine, the amazing Asian food, and the great shopping that Southern California has to offer - not to mention the priceless company of family and friends.

With respect to food (this is a food blog, after all), this past trip I enjoyed some old favorites and also some amazing new places. Everything from casual Taiwanese street food to the highest Michelin rated restaurant in Southern California. Stay tuned this week for detailed descriptions, impressions, and of course, plenty of photos!

Here is a peek at what is to come!

Soup dumplings from my favorite dumpling restaurant in the world. Will the Southern California outpost match up to the original restaurant in Taiwan?

Deliciously chewy boba matched with high quality tea - this tea place in Cerritos is our favorite place to hang out late at night.

Probably the best sushi in Little Tokyo and arguably among the best sushi in LA - how would this compare to our favorite places in NYC and Tokyo?

A signature dishes from one of the most highly rated restaurants in Los Angeles. How will it compare to the other two Michelin rated restaurants we've tried in New York?

UPDATE: Here are the posts related to this series:
Part I: Ten Ren Tea Station
Part II: Din Tai Fung
Part III: Sushi Gen
Part IV: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant
Part V: Melisse

January 1, 2010 Misc

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!

What a year it has been! With "Tiny Urban Kitchen" officially born in September, the Foodbuzz Festival in November, and meeting new blogger friends in New York, it's been a whirlwind year for this little blog.

Thanks so much for your support and readership this past year. I really enjoy and appreciate all the comments and conversations.

Above is a pictoral collage of the top posts from 2010 based on number of clicks. Feel free to click on any of the photos, which lead to the blog post. A countdown to the top post also appears below.

Chinese Egg Tarts

As part of Foodbuzz's Tastmaker's program, I recently received a package of Pepperidge Farm's frozen puff pastry. I have been meaning to try to make Chinese egg tarts (Dan Ta) for some time now, but was hesitant about all the messy steps involved with rolling out the shortening (or lard or butter) with flour. This seemed like a perfect experiment - can I use commercial puff pastry to make Chinese egg tarts?

The first thing to do is you have to defrost the frozen pastry. Let it sit out, preferably covered with a plastic wrap, for 30-40 minutes at room temperature.

Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees as you prepare the custard and the shells.

The Custard
Ingredients
1 cup milk (heated)
⅔ cup sugar
4 eggs (lightly beaten)
optional: yellow food coloring

Lightly beat the 4 eggs until yolks and whites are mixed, trying not to incorporate air into the egg mixture. Set aside. Heat milk and sugar over medium heat in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Remove the saucepan from heat.

Add the egg mixture in a slow stream to the heated milk while stirring. Continue to stir gently as the egg mixture is being added to ensure proper mixing and to prevent clumps of solid egg bits from forming. Once added, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and let it cool as you prepare the shells.

Note: you can optionally add yellow food coloring if you want the egg tarts to look like the ones you get at dim sum places. I added a few drops, but this is totally optional. Without the food coloring the egg part is a pale yellow color.

The Shell
Cut out circles with a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter (or just manually cut with a knife, tracing around a bowl).

Press the pastry circle into a normal sized muffin tin, stretching it a bit so that it forms a small cup.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or so.

Cut a small hole in the middle of the pastry (for the filling!)

Fill with the egg custard mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the middle seems set. That's it!

Serve!

These are pretty tasty. The crust does not taste exactly like a traditional lard-made Chinese crust, although it is flaky and buttery in a similar way. This crust is a bit puffier (to be expected) and the crust-to-egg ratio is a bit heavy on the crust. I was sort of wishing for more egg mixture - maybe I should try to make them taller?

Over all, the puff pastry shell works OK and is a decent substitute. Definitely a workable way to make these if you are in a hurry. It might be interesting to try this same egg custard mixture in different sorts of pre-made pastry shells to see which works best. 🙂

Enjoy!

December 30, 2009 Dessert

Hello Kitty Rice Crispy Treats

After successfully tackling Totoro Rice Crispy treats, I decided to make these cute Hello Kitty treats for my little cousins this Christmas. Here's the detailed tutorial on how to make them. Thanks to my mother-in-law for snapping some pictures of me while I was making these!

Ingredients
Rice Crispy Treat:
6 cups Toasted Rice Cereal (e.g. Rice Krispies Cereal)
4 T butter
1 package 10.5 oz mini marshmallows
Decorations:
M&M's (ideally red & pink ones)
mini-dark chocolate chips
Note: Hello Kitty's nose is actually yellow. If you have access to mini yellow candies of some sort, you can try those. The normal yellow M&Ms were too big, and this supermarket had no yellow alternative, so I stuck with the mini chocolate chips.

Make rice crispy treats according to the instructions on the package. In this case, I melted 4 T butter with one 10.5 oz package of mini marshmallows. Once melted, add 6 cups of rice crispies cereal and stir until combined.

Once it's combined, work quickly!!! Wet your hands slightly and start shaping the rice crispy mixture into oblong spheres with ears. If you work too slowly, the mixture will cool down and harden, thus become difficult to mold.

Instead of shaping the ears, you can also make the egg-like balls first and then attach little ears after the fact.

I also made some Totoros, which are essentially cones with 2 ears on top.

A finished Totoro pre-chocolate dunking.

Once you have shaped the Hello Kitties, add the mini-chocolate chips by ramming them point-first into the "face." Likewise, press two M&M's into one side of her head below her ear. I actually think I put the bow on the wrong side, but it doesn't really matter!

Again, this step is easier to do when the mixture is still sort of warm.

For the Totoros, you can optionally dunk them in chocolate (see this post for details). Unlike last time, I did not mix the melted chocolate with oil at all. Instead, I just melted the chocolate chips in the microwave (45 seconds - stir - then another 45 seconds), and dunked the Totoros directly. The thick chocolate is a bit harder to handle but the chocolate ends up hardening much more solidly, which I prefer.

If you don't want to form ears, you can use large chocolate chips instead. I dabbed each white chocolate chip into a bit of melted chocolate and attached the ears onto the rice crispy "face".

And that's it! It's pretty simple, theoretically. It takes awhile to get used to handling the sticky rice crispy mixture and also the thick chocolate. Once you get the hang of that, though, you can spit these out pretty quickly.

Enjoy! Yum yum . . .

Rice Crispies, Rice Krispies, Rice Crispy, Rice Krispy

December 25, 2009 Misc

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I spent a part of my holiday making these cute treats for my little "cousins" (they are ages 2-9 but technically are part of our generation - you know how big families were a generation back). My "aunt" (who is close to my age) had seen my post on Totoro Rice Crispy Treats and had asked whether I could make them for the family Christmas dinner.

Of course, I happily obliged and also made trays and trays of Hello Kitty.

Yum yum . . .

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! 🙂

December 24, 2009 Chinese

Mala (Spicy and Numbing) Broth for Sichuanese Hot Pot

This post is the fourth part of a mini-series anchored around the following post: A Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia. The other parts of the series can be found here: Part II (Preparing Filet Mignon for Hot Pots) and Part III (Seryna - Kobe Beef Shabu Shabu).

Sichuan, China: This was the the first stop of our Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia

What sets the Sichuan hot pot apart from typical Chinese hot pots is its classic spicy broth, called mala.

The term "mala" in Chinese literally means Numbingly Spicy. This wonderfully flavorful, numbingly spicy broth gets its characteristic flavors from Sichuan chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The chilies give the soup a fiery burn, while the peppercorns have an unusual numbing effect on the tongue.

I recently tried a home-version of the mala broth based on a recipe by Fuchsia Dunlop from her highly regarded book, Land of Plenty. Fuchsia Dunlop was the first foreigner to study Sichuanese cooking at the acclaimed Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, China.

Warning! This broth is really spicy and not for the faint of heart (or stomach!). People with sensitive stomachs probably should not try this. Also, turn on the vent and open the windows when you prepare this broth. The chilies will smoke a bit when you fry them, and can cause some spicy coughing fits. I would not recommend preparing this recipe if you have any sort of lung condition.

Adapted from Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

Ingredients
· ¼ cup fermented black beans
· ⅓ cup Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
· 1 chunk fresh ginger, about 3 inches long
· ¼ cup dried Sichuanese chilies, or regular red chilies
· ½ cup peanut or vegetable oil
· ⅔ cup beef drippings or lard
· ½ cup Sichuanese chile bean paste (la doban jiang)
· 3 quarts good beef stock
· 1 tablespoon rock sugar
· ½ cup Sichuanese fermented glutinous rice wine (optional)
· Salt to taste
· 1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns

Mash the black beans with 1 tablespoon of the Shaoxing wine in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. Wash the ginger and cut it into slices about the thickness of a coin.

Snip the chilies into one-inch segments and try to remove as many seeds as possible.

Heat 3 T of vegetable oil over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). [Make sure the fan is on and the windows are open!] Cook the chilies in the hot oil until crisp and fragrant, taking care not to burn them (the oil should sizzle around the chilies). Make sure they don't start turning black!

Once crispy and fragrant, remove the chilies with a wooden spoon. At this point, the recipe says to add the ⅔ cup beef drippings/lard to the oil until melted. In an effort to make this more healthy, I omitted this step and just used vegetable oil.

Once everything is melted, add the hot chili bean paste (la doban jiang) and stir-fry for a minute or so until the oil is richly red and fragrant. This should sizzle gently - take care not to burn it. You can turn down the heat periodically if you think you are in danger of burning it. When the oil has reddened, add the mashed black beans and the ginger and continue to stir-fry until they are fragrant. Then pour in about 1 ½ quarts of the stock and bring it to a boil.

When the liquid has come to a boil, add the rock sugar (or granulated sugar if you don't have rock sugar) and the rest of the Shaoxing rice wine, with the fermented rice wine if you have it, and salt to taste. (Note, I did not have fermented rice wine, so I did not add any of this).

Finally, add the prepared chilies (the ones you had fried up earlier) and Sichuan peppercorns according to taste and leave the broth to simmer 15-20 minutes, until it is wonderfully spicy.

I won't lie to you - this broth is REALLY SPICY! If you aren't used to spicy foods, just be careful! Don't eat too much! My digestive system did not react most favorably to this - maybe it was just too spicy for me. Bryan was fine, but then he usually eats much spicier than I do! It is very fragrant, and has a lovely blend of different flavors. I'm sure it would have tasted even better with the lard!

Serve this in conjunction with a non-spicy broth, as your guests will most likely need to take breaks from the spice!

Enjoy!

December 23, 2009 Japan

Seryna - Kobe Beef Shabu Shabu

Update: This post was originally published on April 23, 2009 soon after I returned from Japan. I have since updated it with more pictures and more text in conjunction with A Culinary Tour of Asian Hot Pots as Part III of this mini-series. The other part of this series can be found here: Part I: A Culinary Tour of Asian Hot Pots, and Part II: Preparing Filet Mignon For Hot Pot.

-------------

Seryna is known to have one of the best Kobe beef shabu shabu in Japan.

I typically don't even eat much meat when I eat hot pot / shabu shabu because I just don't enjoy meat that much. I find it sort of tough, dry, lacking in flavor. I tend to focus on the vegetables because they have so much inherent flavor. Honestly, on a typical hot pot night, I'll have at most one or two pieces of meat the entire night.

I realize now that I avoided the meat not because I did not like meat, but because I had never had really good meat. REALLY good meat. Meat that's decadent, buttery soft, and utterly deliciously full of flavor. Meat that has absolutely no hint of toughness when you chew it. Meat that almost melts in your mouth.

Hello Kobe beef. Shabu-shabu meat at its finest. Really, it does not get better than this.

The meat was SUPER soft - it almost seemed to melt in your mouth. The flavor of the fat was rich, but it didn't feel at all fatty in a bad way. As I've mentioned before in a previous post, Kobe beef has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fat (good fat). I wonder if that's why it doesn't taste greasy, but instead just rich, buttery, and absolute heavenly.

For $150 you get 150g of meat and a small portion of vegetables on the side. I have to say, after being used to US portion sizes, I was a bit disappointed with the vegetable sides. Literally, it was like 1 mushroom, 1 tofu piece, 2 leaves of lettuce, etc. Clearly, the focus was on the meat.

But man, it's really good. Although very expensive, I think it's worth trying once, because it's so different from any other type of meat.

At Seryna, they give you three types of sauces. A sesame paste, a ponzu sauce, and a spicy one. I liked all three. The spicy one was the most flavorful, but the ponzu sauce was crisp and light, and served as a nice light interlude between bites of meat with the heavier sauces.

The Japanese are meticulous about cleanliness. Every diner receives a bib/apron of sorts to protect your clothing from any potential splashes or spills.

The waiter also periodically comes by and scoops out any stray bits that are floating in the broth. It's very important that the broth remains pure and clean.

At the end of the meal (which doesn't take that long since there's actually not THAT much food), you get a small bowl full of noodles. The waiter fills it with the delicious clear, kombu-based broth from your hot pot. The soup is clear, light, and cleansing after a rich meal. A perfect finish to a perfect meal.

I highly recommend coming to Seryna and ordering the Kobe beef shabu. Compared to the meat you typically eat at a shabu shabu restaurant, it's like nothing you've ever had before. This and Kyubei were probably the two best meals I had in Japan.

On a side note, thinly sliced filet mignon is actually really good in shabu shabu as well, and much cheaper! ~~Maybe in a future post I'll talk about~~ Click here to find out how I purchase filet mignon meat from Costco, partially freeze it, and then thinly slice it myself for shabu shabu (hot pot) meals we have at home!

Enjoy!

December 22, 2009 Beef

Preparing Filet Mignon for Hot Pots

This post is the second part of a mini-series anchored around the following post: A Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia.

Filet Mignon for Hot Pot?

Are you serious?

Yes I'm serious, and let me tell you. It's totally worth the extra cost. It is soooo delicious. It's got the most buttery and soft texture. You'll never go back to supermarket pre-sliced hot pot beef.

If people are willing to dip Kobe Beef into hot pot, then filet migon really shouldn't be a stretch, should it?

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I had recently discovered the amazing taste of filet mignon in Chinese hot pots. My brother-in-law first introduced this awesome idea to us, and we have been hooked ever since. The first time I served it to dinner guests, it was the most popular item of the night! They couldn't stop eating it!

Unfortunately for us, most Asian restaurants do not sell filet mignon pre-sliced into those thin slices that are ideal for hot pot. So, I had to take matters into my own hands.

It's virtually impossible to slice meat thinly when it's at room temperature. So, the first step is - freeze the meat. It's probably best to separate the meat out into manageable chunks before freezing. I accidentally forgot to do this, and I struggled a bit in the beginning to chop up that huge hunk of frozen meat (see above) into manageable sized pieces (ideally about 3 inches by 4 inches or so - sliceable chunks).

Once you have manageable pieces of frozen meat, take each chunk and, using a cleaver, slice away (see picture above). The result won't be as thin as what you'd get from a meat slicer, but it won't be bad, and it will still be better than what you could have done with refrigerated meat.

Finally, let it finish defrosting, and serve! There is probably a window of about 30-45 minutes in which you can work once you start defrosting the meat. If the meat gets too soft, it becomes hard to slice thinly. If it's too frozen, well, it's hard to slice at all. Use your judgment. Work relatively quickly, but don't fret too much - you do have some time and you should be able to finish with no problem. I was able to slice almost 3 lbs of Filet Mignon without having it get too soft.

Most important tip!
Don't cook this meat for too long in the hot pot! Don't EVER let it drop into the bottom of the pot and get lost (and then overcooked!) That would just be TOO SAD! Instead, hold onto your meat (either with chopsticks or with a wire mesh spoon), stick it in the boiling broth, and swish it around for about 5-10 seconds. Our waiter from Seryna in Tokyo taught us to swish the meat while chanting three times: "Shabu Shabu - Shabu Shabu - Shabu Shabu." Then quickly remove the meat from the broth, dip in your desired sauce, and enjoy.

Not sure if chanting is a foolproof method, but it's fun to do. In any event, the closer the meat is to being rare, the better it will likely taste. 🙂

Enjoy!

December 20, 2009 Chinese

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia

Oh the weather outside is frightful . . .

We just experienced our first major snowstorm of the season! Snow has been falling outside continuously for the past 15 hours. It’s times like these when I just want to stay indoors and enjoy a nice, warm hot pot with family and friends.

Although I've grown up eating hot pots Taiwanese-style, this past year I had the opportunity to enjoy hot pots from a variety of cultures and venues. Join me as I take you on a culinary tour throughout Asia, exploring various renditions of the hot pot.

What is a hot pot?
Well, most simply, it’s a hot communal pot in the middle of a table filled with a flavored broth. Diners cook their own food by briefly dipping raw ingredients into the hot broth. Ingredients can vary widely, but typically include thinly sliced meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, fish cakes, and the like.

Culinary Tour Stop 1: Sichuan, China
It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the hot pot style of eating first appeared in China, although Chinese scholars have found evidence of people cooking and eating around a boiling pot of broth as far back as the fifth century B.C. However, it was not until the Ming and Qing periods (1368-1911), that the hot pot actually gain popularity. In fact, the imperial court of the Qing dynasty served hot pots both on the emperor's winter menu and also at the feast celebrating the new emperor, Jia Qing in 1796.*

What sets the Sichuan hot pot apart from typical Chinese hot pots is its classic spicy broth. This wonderfully flavorful, numbingly spicy broth gets its characteristic flavors from Sichuan chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The chilies give the soup a fiery burn, while the peppercorns have an unusual numbing effect on the tongue. The Sichuan hot pot originated from the city of Chongqing, where street peddlers would sell "beef trip hot pot," a hot, spicy soup consisting of chopped up water buffalo innards cooked in a spicy broth filled with chilies and Sichuan peppers. In the 1930's, the hot pot became elevated to restaurant status with the opening of the first hot pot restaurant in Chongqing. It has been popular since.*

Dining Out at a Classic Chinese Hot Pot Chain

Because I can't just hop over to China for this post, I am taking you to the next best thing. Little Q is a well known hot pot chain in China and (lucky for me) migrated over to Boston a few years ago. It is the best example of Sichuan Hot Pot here in Boston. The mala (literally "numbing and spicy") broth is my favorite, and I like to order that one in conjunction with a non-spicy broth in a "ying-yang" pot (pictured above), thus allowing a balance of flavors. Little Q offers a variety of meat, vegetables, and all sorts of other hot pot sides, including exotic ones like tripe, intestines, beef tongue, and pig's blood. It's most fun to visit with a large group, as you will be able to enjoy a much larger variety of things. For more details on Little Q, please check out my previous post on this restaurant here.

Cooking@home

I also recently tried a home-version of the mala broth based on a recipe by Fuchsia Dunlop from her highly regarded book, Land of Plenty. Fuchsia Dunlop was the first foreigner to study Sichuanese cooking at the acclaimed Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, China. ~~Stay tuned this week as I share~~ Update! Here is the recipe and a photographic tutorial on how to make your own spicy mala broth!

Culinary Tour Stop 2: Tokyo, Japan
The Japanese version of hot pot is called "shabu-shabu" and was invented after WWII in 1952 by Tadakazu Miyake, owner of a restaurant called Suehiro in Osaka, Japan. The story goes something like this. During WWII when Japan occupied Manchuria, Japanese soldiers had the opportunity to try “Syu Wan Yan Row,” a Chinese dish where lamb is eaten with sauces made from sesame seeds or soy sauce. Combining that with the traditional Chinese hot pot, Miyake perfected these ideas to open his first shabu restaurant in 1952. He named this new cuisine "shabu-shabu" because, one day, as he was watching his assistant wash towels in a large basin, he thought the swishing sound of towels in the basin sounded like the sound of raw meat being dipped and "swished" in the broth. His restaurant became so popular that he eventually trademarked the term "shabu-shabu".

Japanese shabu differs from traditional Chinese hot pot in a lot of ways. First, the broth is simple - a light dashi based broth made from kombu (Japanese seaweed). Unlike the Sichuan Hot Pot, which arguably does not need a broth because the soup itself is so flavorful, Japanese shabu-shabu usually comes with a few dipping sauces, such as ponzu, sesame seed sauce, and spicy sauce.

When Bryan and I went to Tokyo this past spring, we decided to treat ourselves to the most decadent shabu-shabu imaginable - Kobe beef shabu-shabu, truly the pinnacle of this once humble dish made with water-buffalo innards on a riverside! After doing some research, we found out that Seryna was the best known shabu-restaurant in Japan.

I must say, that the Kobe beef was incredibly decadent, buttery soft, and utterly delicious. Check out the fine marbling in the picture! It's insanely expensive (the meat is literally $1/gram) but totally worth it - at least once! An interesting difference we found between traditional Chinese hot pot and Japanese hot pot is that the Japanese are pretty meticulous about keeping the broth clear. A waiter would come by periodically and scoop out any stray bits that were floating in our soup. I find this greatly amusing because Chinese people couldn't care less about that. We think that the more stuff that's in there, the better tasting the rich broth!

~~Later on this week I will post a~~ Update! Here is the detailed description of our meal at this most fabulous and decadent shabu-shabu restuarant.

Culinary Tour Stop 3: Taiwan
I have enjoyed hot pots at home for as long as I can remember. In lieu of the traditional turkey dinner during Thanksgiving or the goose served during Christmas, my family has always enjoyed a hot pot. Here I will share with you how my Taiwanese family typically enjoys the hot pot. This past Saturday, as part of Foodbuzz's 24, 24, 24 event, I enjoyed a Taiwanese-style hot pot at my home with 9 other guests.

The Taiwanese version of hot pot involves various forms of thinly sliced meat, fresh seafood, and fresh vegetables.

You can typically buy thinly sliced beef, lamb, and pork at Asian grocery stores. These are perfect for hot pot because they cook quickly. Plus, it's hard to slice meat so thinly at home. Various forms of tofu are also very popular. The deep-fried tofu square are especially popular because they absorb the flavors of the soup very well. Various types of fish-cake type balls (fish balls, beef balls, shrimp balls) are also popular. Chinese fish balls are similar to imitation crab meat, which is also made from a similar type of fish product.

I recently discovered, thanks to my brother-in-law, that sliced filet mignon tastes absolutely fantastic in hot pot! You can pick up filet mignon for about $11/lb at Costco. This was definitely the hit of the night, and my guests could not stop eating it! ~~Later on this week, I will post a~~ Here is the tutorial on how to prepare filet mignon for hot pot!

Hot pot is typically pretty healthy because of the vegetables that you eat. You can use whatever you like. The most classic vegetable used in a hot pot is called "Tong Hao" (a green leafy vegetable, also known as edible chrysanthemum). Other common vegetables include watercress (upper left), enoki mushrooms (upper right), sliced lotus room (lower left - my favorite!), and shitake mushrooms (lower right). Napa cabbage (already in the broth) is also a classic - the sweetness of this vegetable flavors the broth really nicely.

The broth is typically made of a light stock, such as seafood stock or chicken stock. You can heat up chicken stock and just add some aromatic vegetables, like some Shitake mushrooms and napa cabbage, like I did in this case. For a Taiwanese hot pot, the broth flavor does not matter as much because the meat and vegetables added later will continue to flavor the broth.

Also, similar to the Japanese, the Taiwanese use a dipping sauce. The most popular dipping sauce contains a mixture of Satsa (Chinese BBQ Sauce), a raw egg, and soy sauce. The theory is that the boiling hot food from the hot pot will "cook" the egg briefly as you dip it into the sauce, thus preventing any risk of diseases from eating the raw egg. At our dinner party, almost everyone used the raw egg, although typically there are some that are squeamish (like me!) who choose to forgo the egg and cook it separately in the hot pot instead!

Interestingly, one of our guests' family was from Southern Taiwan. He mentioned that his family typically adds peanut butter to this mixture of Satsa, raw egg, and soy sauce. Several of our guests tried this concoction and reported that they liked it very much.

When it's time to eat, everyone can just starting throwing whatever they want into the pot! The hardest part is being famished and waiting for the water to boil again so you can eat!!

At the end of the meal, we add rice vermicelli noodles to the pot and end the evening with a nice bowl of noodle soup. At this point, people are typically stuffed, although it's hard to avoid hunting the pot to see if there are any treasures that were left unearthed!

Trying Your own Hot Pot
If you ever want to try your own hot pot, it's pretty easy. I usually use an electric skillet which I just plug into the wall. It keeps the broth boiling, and is wide and flat enough so that everyone can access the food relatively easily. Furthermore, they are inexpensive and work quite well.

There are also dedicated hot pots that are sold in Asian grocery stores. These are more convenient because the inner part of the pot can be removed for washing. With an electric skillet, you have to make sure that you don't get water on the electric outlet part!

Closing words . .
So our tour has finally come to an end. From a classic Chinese Hot Pot chain in Boston, to a high-end shabu restaurant in Tokyo, and then finally to a Taiwanese hot pot party in my humble home in Cambridge. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Bon appetit!

*Land of Plenty by Fuschia Dunlop, pages 344-347

December 18, 2009 Boston

Beacon Hill Bistro

Beacon Hill is the probably THE most expensive neighborhood in Boston. It's where Senator John Kerry and Todd English live. It's where John F. Kennedy lived before he became president. The charming intimate neighborhood is filled with brick and brownstone homes with real gas lamps lining the streets.

Not only that, this quaint neighborhood is in an awesome location. It is a short walk from the Public Garden, Boston Common, the Charles River, Newbury Street (high end shopping), a subway stop on the Red Line, and Charles Street, which is filled with cute artisan shops, locally owned restaurants, and a lovely little market.

Boston Bibb Lettuce, Heirloom Melon, Hearts of Palm, and Goat Cheese with Tarragon 9
Because rents are so high in Beacon Hill, it's natural to expect that prices, from a toothbrush at the local drugstore to high end dining, will be significantly higher.

I had to keep this in mind as we visited Beacon Hill Bistro. This restaurant sits on the first floor of the Beacon Hill Hotel right on Charles Street, the cute street lined with small shops, a local market, and restaurants.

Fresh Maine Crab over Heirloom Keener Corn Grits, with Oregano and Sorrel 14
We had a coupon from Restaurant.com, which lessened the blow.

Our over all impression? We thought some of the dishes were excellent, while others were mediocre and seemingly overpriced. I had the Boston Bibb lettuce salad (pictured above), which was fine. Nothing particularly special, but it was nice.

The fresh Maine Crab, on the other hand, was really good - definitely the best item we had that night. The sauce had a rich lobster flavor that went really well with the corn grits. Delicious.

House-Made Pappardelle, Braised Chicken, Bacon, and Brussels Sprouts, Olive Oil Toasted Breadcrumbs 24
I was quite disappointed with the pappardelle. I guess it was OK, but tasted pretty ordinary for the price tag. I really think it was not even as good as the pasta at Basta Pasta Enoteca or Bottega Fiorentina, which cost a lot less.

Special of the day: Pan seared scallops with zucchini in a white wine sauce
The scallops were pretty tasty and well executed. No complaints about this dish.

Looking back, I'm pretty sure the prices affected my over all impression of the place. If I feel that a meal is overpriced, I begin to think more critically (and often negatively) of the food. I adjust my expectations according to how much I pay for the meal. If it's expensive, I expect it to be really good. But, as I said earlier, I need to remember that rents are super high in this area, and thus I really should factor that into the prices of the dishes.

I guess if you're in the area, this is not a bad place to visit. The food can be quite good depending on what you order, though I would not call this a "destination"-worthy restaurant.

They do have a nice Sunday night special menu with pretty recession-friendly prices. They also have a fun "Wine & Dine Mondays" dinner where you can enjoy a prix fixe menu with 4 wine pairings for $55.

Beacon Hill Bistro
25 Charles St
Boston, MA 02114

December 17, 2009 Recipe

Roasted Fennel, Carrots, Zucchini, and Parsnips

As much as I dislike anise, I was surprised to find out how much I loved fennel. Roasted fennel is sweet, mild, and delicious, and does not really resemble the strong, cringe-worthy (at least for me), scent of anise (think black licorice). Roast it with whatever other veggies you might have in the fridge, and you've got yourself a simple, healthy, and mouthwatering side dish!

If you have never seen a fennel bulb before, it's the white bulb-y thing with greenish stalks/hair sticking up in the photo above. It sort of reminds of me an onion in some ways, as it is white and has a lot of layers. This time, I happened to have some zucchini, carrots, and parsnips in the refrigerator. So, inspired by this post, I chopped up all my veggies and tossed them together with some olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. I had some fresh rosemary on hand, so I crushed up the leaves a bit and sprinkled it throughout.

The larger your pieces are, the longer the roasting time. I was in a bit of a rush, so I cut up the vegetables into pretty thin slices (less than 1 cm thick) and roasted the vegetables in a single layer. Roasting in a single layer helps with the browning/caramelization. If the vegetables sit on top of each other, they tend to just steam.

Roast at 425 degrees for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your vegetables. I would open the oven once during roasting to stir the veggies. This smells really yummy while it's roasting!

Serve and Enjoy!

Note 1: Allison from Local Lemons says you can preheat the oven with the pans inside so they get hot as well. I imagine this would help the charring. I did not do this, but it sounds like a great idea.

Note 2: This recipe is very versatile! Substitute with whatever roasting-type vegetables you might have on hand. I would imagine that eggplant, potatoes, peppers, or squash would be delicious as well!

December 16, 2009 Harvard Square

Cambridge 1

I've always loved thin crust pizzas, and I've been so excited lately as we have been getting more and more wonderful options in our neighborhood. Cambridge 1 has actually been in Harvard Square for at least a few years. Started by the same guys who own Miracle of Science, Cambridge 1 is a smart, hip pizza joint that serves pizzas grilled over a coal fire.

arugula, shaved parmigiano, extra virgin olive oil, lemon ($8)

For the location and the quality of the food, the prices aren't bad. Typically Bryan and I will share the arugula salad, which is simple, fresh, and just plain good.

Maine lobster, corn, scallion, parmigiano, lemon butter ($13 half/ $24 whole)

Bryan always gets the Maine lobster and corn pizza, which is delicious. You really only need to get a half pizza (pictured above) - the portions are pretty generous.

tomato, fontina, romano, garlic, basil = $7 half / $13 full

I love the #1, the simple Marguerita-like pizza. The crust is nice and thin and crispy while the tomatoes provide a juicy contrast. I actually thought the crust for my pizza was better than the crust for the lobster pizza, which was slightly soggy and weighed down by all those rich ingredients! I love simplicity, and this pizza satisfies me everytime.

I really love this place, and so do many others. On weekends, you may have to wait before being seated. It's worth it though!

Cambridge 1
27 Church St
Cambridge, MA 02138

December 15, 2009 Dessert

Æbleskivers and Takoyaki? Chinese egg cakes?

There are certain types of food that transcend culture. A recipe that is so basic, it is adopted by virtually every cuisine. One example I thought of recently was the egg custard. Americans have custard pies, the French have their creme caramel, the Spanish have flan, the Japanese have their own version of creme caramel, and of course the Chinese have dan ta (egg tarts).

More recently, I discovered the Æbleskiver, a Danish pastry that is sort of like a round pancake popover cross-over. Chad, the owner of Aunt Else's (a family run business), was passing out fresh, hot Æbleskiver samples at the Tasting Pavilion. They were divine! I couldn't stop eating them! And they also reminded me of some Asian versions of this cake . . . but more on that later.

He offered to send me a free starter kit to review. I couldn't wait!

I received my starter kit about two weeks ago and I have been experimenting with it.

The first thing you have to do is to season the pan. As a cast-iron newbie, this was new to me. It's not too hard, though a bit messy. You coat the pan in a thin coat of vegetable oil and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. Make sure to put a thin pan on the lower level to collect any stray oil drippings.

After an hour, the once dark gray pan becomes brownish and is considered "seasoned." It takes on non-stick qualities. You can handwash it, but don't stick it in the dishwasher. Of course, if this happens, you can always re-season by baking the pan again the same way.
Once you're ready to make the Æbleskivers, preheat the pan! This is really important!!!! The first time I tried this the pan was not hot enough and it was a MAJOR FAIL!!! And I had guests over too! It was so embarrassing. The batter stuck to the pan and became a goopy, embarrassing mess. My guests weren't too thrilled with the "bread pudding" that I set out in front of them. *sigh* Please learn from my mistake!

The second (successful) time, I put my electric stove at medium heat and heated the pan for at least 5 minutes, if not more.

The kit comes with a package of mix that's pretty easy to use. You just whisk together 3 eggs with 2 cups water. Then you stir in 2 ¾ cups of the mix. That's it. It's really easy. You don't even have to mix that hard - Chad says it's OK if the batter is a little lumpy.

Fill each hole with a dime sized pool of vegetable oil. (Actually, looking back, it's probably better to add the oil in the beginning before you preheat the pan).

And once you're pretty sure your pan is hot, add the batter. If it's hot enough, it should sizzle like it's frying and the batter should bubble a bit.

Let it cook for several minutes (at least 3 or so?)

The next step is a bit tricky, but Chad has a great video that shows you exactly how to do this. Use a chopstick or knitting needle and flip the half-cooked batter (the edges should already be cooked) ¼ turn (90 degrees).

Let it cook for another minute or so, flipping ⅛ of a turn each time part touching the pan starts to dry up. This definitely takes some practice, and I don't think I've mastered it yet, which is why my Æbleskivers are not as beautiful as Chad's yet!

The Æbleskivers are done when a toothpick comes out cleanly after being inserted in the middle.

As I was looking at these Æbleskivers, it dawned on me that these look just like Japanese takoyakis! Takoyakis are savory octopus filled cakes that are very popular on the streets of Japan.

After doing some research, I realized that the recipes for takoyaki is eerily similar to the recipe for Æbleskiver. Inspired partly from this recipe, I decided to try adapting it by using the Æbleskivers mix.

I replaced the water with dashi stock and filled the inside of the Æbleskiver with fish cake. Now, takoyaki is traditionally made with octopus (after all, tako means octopus in Japanese). However, octopus may not be that easy to come by in a normal supermarket, and Maki from Just Hungry says that you can substitute the octopus with other things, such as squid, fish cake, or even cut up hot dogs!

Takoyaki Recipe
2 ¾ cups Aunt Else's mix
3 eggs
2 cups dashi stock
optional (2 teaspoon soy sauce)
cooked octopus leg, cut up into small, 1 cm cubes

Notes
Depending on how salty your filling is, you may not need the soy sauce. I did not add any. Although it was a bit light, I thought it tasted OK. It also depends on how salty your dashi stock is.

I made my own dashi stock (I'll post a tutorial soon), but you can also use store bought hondashi powder and make stock that way. It's faster and more convenient, but most likely has MSG and more salt.

If you don't have the Æbleskivers mix, you can always use staple ingredients using this recipe.

Here's a picture of the takoyakis cooking with the kamaboko (Japanese fish cake) inside.

Success!

This pan is really versatile, and you can definitely use it to make either Æbleskivers or Takoyakis. I think the holes are bigger than those in a typical takoyaki pan, so you'd be making larger takoyakis. In any event, the finished cakes are delicious! Maybe I'll try those mini-circular Chinese egg cakes next! Again, another one of those foods that transcends multiple cultures. Popovers anyone? 🙂

The pans are made in Minnesota and have a lifetime warranty. The mix is all organic as well.

The Æbleskivers (or Takoyakis!!!) are best enjoyed hot, but can be reheated in a toaster oven to regain that beautiful crispy crust. I had them for breakfast this whole week. Yum.

Right now, Aunt Else's is generously offering a 10% discount to all Tiny Urban Kitchen readers if you fan or follow Aunt Else's on Facebook, Twitter, or Foodbuzz. You can also visit them at their Foodzie store here. To apply the discount, just type "Tiny Urban Kitchen" and the fan/follow option you chose in the "add special instructions to seller" box during checkout. Plus, right now, there is free Priority Mail shipping anywhere in the US for orders over $50.

December 13, 2009 Recipe

Oven Roasted Kale "Chips"

Kale is another one of those super-nutritious vegetables that I never know exactly how to prepare. Several years ago I joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) for the summer. Every week we received a random assortment of crops from the farm. For some reason, the farm I joined grew TONS of kale. Maybe kale is just easy to grow in Massachusetts. I'm not sure, but I found myself just sauteing it with garlic Chinese style every week.

About a year ago, while perusing Joy's excellent blog, I came upon her post about kale chips. I was definitely intrigued. Not only would this be a new way of making kale, she said it reminded her of nori (dried seaweed) which I love. Furthermore, she was able to bring it as a snack to a baseball game!

This definitely sounded like something I had to try.

Oven Roasted Kale "Chips"
1 bunch of kale leaves, shredded by hand
vegetable oil to coat (or optionally, vegetable oil spray)
salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and dry the kale leaves. It's ideal if you can dry the leaves as much as possible, since you will eventually need to desiccate them completely in the oven. I used an OXO Salad Spinner, which works quite nicely. Tear the leaves into "bite size" pieces (the leaves will shrink, so you can be generous with the size of your "bite").

Toss the leaves with vegetable oil to coat. I tried two trays with two different types of oil - olive oil and sesame oil. You can use whatever oil you like.

Alternatively, you can spray the baking tray with oil, lay out the kale leaves in a single sheet, and then spray liberally with more oil.

Salt lightly. This is important. If you are used to stir frying veggies, you might think there's a certain amount that is necessary. Add LESS than that!! These leaves will shrink significantly and most likely you will have added too much salt! I made this mistake!!!! Maybe about a teaspoon max for the entire bunch of kale!

Roast for about 15 minutes, checking at least once during baking to toss/stir the leaves.

Let cool and enjoy!

These were pretty delicious - just a bit too salty, which I think can be easily remedied. The texture was great, and it really is like Japanese nori - fragrant, delicate, and crumbly. It's good at room temperature and lasts for weeks. It's a great way to preserve kale if you are afraid of it going bad soon.

December 11, 2009 Michelin

Daniel

Oh New York, how I love thee, especially thy food.

This is truly the culmination of this five-part mini series on some of the amazing food I enjoyed in New York City during a short trip we took for my birthday. Of course, this pinnacle is Daniel, the three-star Michelin restaurant (one of only four in NYC) where we enjoyed an absolutely perfect evening.

There's something to be said about these three star Michelin restaurants. Every single dish is executed flawlessly. I almost never see that at any other restaurant. Usually, there's something I don't like. Maybe the dessert was just too boring, or maybe one of the dishes was over-salted.

Not here. Not only is the service impeccable, the food is incredible. From the amuse bouche to the courses to the desserts, every single dish was perfectly done. Immaculate presentation, perfectly paired flavors, and the right combination of textures.

The atmosphere at Daniel is really relaxing and incredibly enjoyable. They make you feel pampered without being stuffy or formal. The people that served us were warm, friendly, inviting, and even joked with us throughout the evening. We sat in a rounded cushioned bench facing the entire restaurant. Just that comfy sofa alone already made us feel infinitely more at ease (plus, that big bench is the perfect place to put down the big hand bag with the camera inside!!)

They were very attentive to our needs, and made sure we were absolutely thrilled with everything we had. And course after course, we were continually surprised and delighted by the food. Really, truly, probably the BEST overall dining experience, hands down, that either of us has ever had.

And the space! It's absolutely gorgeous.

Join me as I share with you, mostly visually, the incredible meal that we enjoyed. One cool thing about the chef's tasting menu here - Bryan and I actually got distinct dishes (from each other) for almost all of the courses. So, in some ways, it was almost like a 16 course tasting (since we had to try each other's dishes!). In fact, maybe a 20-course tasting is more accurate, since they throw in all these other freebies here and there.

Bryan absolutely loved his cocktail. I ordered a mojito, which I thought was too sweet. Bryan said, "mojitos are always sweet, and that's why I don't like them that much." I felt bad, but I didn't want to say anything since it's not really Daniel's fault. Nevertheless, the waiter noticed I was not drinking it, and offered to let me try something else. Their number one priority was to make sure I was happy. At the end of the day, they did not charge me for any of my drinks, calling it "birthday" on the receipt.

Amuse Bouche - this was a celebration of local seasonal ingredients. In this case, the star seasonal ingredient was squash - different kinds. I think the middle might be a pumpkin soup of sorts, and the one on the far right butternut squash with chorizo. Every single one was incredibly delicious. A perfect way to awaken the palate.

And then the courses began to arrive . . .

Pressed Duck And Fois Gras Terrine
Chimay Gelée, Chestnuts, Red Cabbage Chutney
R. Haart Riesling "Piesport Kabinett," Mosel 1999

Mosaic of Capon, Fois Gras, and Celery Root
Pickled Daikon, Satur Farms Mache, Pear Confit
The blocks of the "mosaic" are separated by thin films of black truffle.

Duo of Hamachi
Lettuce wrapped tartare with North Star Cavier / Vodka Beet cured with Walnut Pistou, Mache Salad
Sancerre, Franck et Jean Francois, Bailly 2008

Marinated Fluke with Seaweed
Pine Nuts, Radishes, Matsutake Mushrooms, Bonito Gelee

Fascinating cocktail with a fennel slice - delicious. The waiter brought me this after he took away the mojito that I did not drink. He continually checked up on me, asking me multiple times whether I was sure that I liked my new drink. He said "now are you SURE you're happy?" Smiling, he added, "if you don't tell me the truth, I won't bring you any dessert!"

Butter Poached Abalone
Yellow curry braised greens, crispy rice, chayote

Maine Sea Scallop "Rosette"
Fennel Marmalade, Orange, Saffron Veloute
Domaine de Terrebrune, Bandol, Provence 2006

Handmade Tallegio Agnolotti with Alba White Truffle
This was the BEST truffle I have ever had. The white truffle dishes were actually an optional addition, costing an extra $60!!!! But it was so worth it. Back in Boston, we had started wondering whether we really liked truffle. It seemed like every dish we tried with truffle shavings tasted bland and lacked a truly deep, truffle flavor.

Now I realize that we were probably not eating high quality truffles. These are white alba truffles from Italy, and oh man, they were heavenly. This was Bryan's favorite entree out of all of them.

Oeuf en Cocotte
White Truffle, Spinach, and Chanterelle Coulis
Meursault "Chevaliers" Joseph Matrot 2007
The truffle flavor in the eggs was a bit more subtle, but the flavor of this dish was still phenomenal. A barely cooked egg topped with white truffle slices and a light touch of sea salt. Oh my . . I could eat this forever.

Turbot Baked on Himalayan Salt
The presentation of this dish was dramatic as they brought out the huge chuck of sea salt (which is pink!) on which they cooked the fish. A waiter then gingerly cut apart the fish into two heart-shaped pieces and presented them to us (see next picture).

Turbot Baked on Himalayan Salt (plated)

Brussels sprouts, Parsnip Chip, Ommegang Abbey Ale and Gingerbread Sauce

Chehalem, Pinot Noir "Three Vineyards" Willamette Valley, Oregon 2007
The fish, of course, was perfectly cooked. Soft, just cooked enough to be done but still very tender. The accompanying Brussels Sprouts slivers were surprisingly delicious. Full of a rich flavor that must have come partly from the fish. Bryan never thought he even liked Brussels Sprouts until he tried them here. And I love the attention to detail, like the perfect single Brussels sprouts cup on the side.

Elysian Field Farm Lamb Chip
Garbanzo Bean Fricasse, Chorizo, Rutabaga, Chickpea Tendrils
La Rioja Alta, "Vina Ardanza", RIoja, 2000
Typically in these multi-course chef's tastings, I am usually so stuffed by the red meat course that it's a struggle to eat. For some reason, that did not happen here. The portion sizes were small enough and spaced out far enough that it was just perfect. I was perfectly satisfied and I felt good.

Bosquet des Papes "Cuvee Grenache" Chateauneuf du Pape 2001

Amused that I was taking so many pictures of the food, one of our waiters setsthe wine next to the floral centerpiece and lined it up with the candle. He told me he was trying to set up a nice shot for me.

Fois Gras Stuffed Scottish Grouse
Celery, Caramelized Salsify, Beets, Wanut-Calvados Jus

Wild Scottish Hare "A La Royale"
Porcini Marmalade, Sunchoke, Chestnut Ravioli

Duo of Fruit and Chocolate Desserts
Reisling "Trittenheimer Apotheke" Beerenauslese, Weingut Boch, Mosel 2006
After the hare, I told Bryan, "I really crave something citrus-y right now. To cleanse the palate. I wonder what's next?"
I was shocked and delighted when the citrus fruit dessert arrived. I almost started wondering whether there was a secret device recording everything I was saying. How did they know?

And then round 2 of dessert! A candle and a special plate! 🙂

I usually find that it's rare for a restaurant to both have excellent food and excellent dessert. This was definitely an exception. The desserts were outstanding here. Every single one.

And then the post dessert "snacks." These were tasty, though not quite at the same level as the desserts. They were less complex, each little "snack" having its own monodimensional flavor (e.g., truffle chocolate, vanilla macaron, or fruit "tart"). Still, it was a nice treat.

And of course, my favorites - the madeleines!

And then it was time to say good-by. Good-by to a fabulous evening where everything was just right. We had been there for four hours . . if you can believe that. And yet, we never felt at any moment that the evening was dragging on. Instead we felt relaxed, and genuinely just happy.

At the end of the night, they gave us personalized menus that spelled out exactly what we had enjoyed that night.

Here's to a wonderful night and a fabulous birthday trip.

Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Le Bernardin
Sushi Yasuda
H&H Bagels
Ess-a-Bagel
A New York Birthday
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

Daniel
Upper East Side
60 E 65th St
New York, NY 10065

December 10, 2009 Michelin

Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin holds a special place in my heart because it was my first three-star Michelin experience ever.

And, oh my goodness, it was truly the best meal I had ever eaten. Right at that point I decided Le Bernardin was my favorite restaurant in the world (heh, I hadn't tried Kyubei at that point yet!)

It's possible I'm slightly biased. I absolutely love seafood, especially when it's raw. Le Bernardin specializes in seafood, and man, the food is amazing. It's rare that every single course of a 10-course tasting is a "wow" dish. At Le Bernardin, every single dish was absolutely incredible. I really think you can't go wrong. Order anything on the menu. It will be good.

On this trip, we decided to try lunch at Le Bernardin. Before we even looked at our menus, they set down before us a lovely free amuse - a simple salad of chopped salmon tossed with mayonnaise and herbs. It tasted wonderful with the bread and the rice crackers.

Because we did not really have time to do an extensive tasting, we opted for the three course lunch ($69), which includes a first course, main entree, and a dessert. I love the names of their first courses. You can choose from either the "Simply Raw" section or the "Barely touched" section. This is my kind of seafood place! Why cook fish?

Kampachi Tartare; Marinated Japanese Cucumber; Aged Citrus Vinegar
Of course I chose something from the "Simply Raw" section and I loved it. The raw kampachi was deliciously flavorful, reminding me of nice fatty pieces of yellowtail sashimi. The citrus-y vinegar cut the richness of the fish perfectly - making it an overall light and refreshing dish. A great way to start the meal.

Sautéed Calamari filled with Sweet Prawns and Shiitake Mushroom; Calamari Consommé
We had sampled this dish last year during our Chef's tasting and we couldn't stop thinking about the amazing consomme. We even had friends visit the restaurant later on in the year and they too, raved about the consomme. The consomme somehow captures the intensely rich umami flavors of the calamari and the prawns. It's clear and light, yet intensely flavorful at the same time. Perfectly executed.

Baked Wild Striped Bass; Corn "Cannelloni"; Light Perigord Sauce
Bryan ordered this as his entree and thought it was delicious. The chefs here are experts at cooking fish, and even their cooked fish is super soft, never overcooked, and exquisitely flavored.

Pan Roasted Monkfish; Hon Shimeji Mushrooms; Turnip-Ginger Emulsion; Sake Broth
I loved loved loved my dish, despite the fact that it was actually cooked. The surface of the monkfish was perfectly seared to form a thin, uniform crust beautifully infused with fragrant flavors. The mushrooms added a lovely, earthy depth to the dish, and the surrounding Sake broth was beautiful. Everything was so good.

Yuzu parfait, meringue, green tea biscuit, and ice cream
The dessert was solid, though perhaps not in the same league as the seafood. My dessert was tart and refreshing, which is the way I liked it.

Dark chocolate, peanut, and caramel tart; Meyer lemon puree, peanut powder, praline citrus sorbet
Bryan actually could not decide between two desserts, so the waiter was kind enough to bring both to us without charging us for the extra dessert. Three star restaurants have a way of making you feel special and treated well. What service!

And of course, the classic free baked madeleines at the end of the meal. I love these, and I think we ate the whole basket!

What can I say? This is one of only four three-star Michelin restaurants in New York. Of course it's an incredible restaurant, and definitely a wonderful place for a celebration, especially for a seafood lover. One thing I really like about Le Bernardin (compared to almost any other place), is that the chef's tasting is not overwhelming because it's all seafood. For me, I am often so full by the time the heavy red meat entrees come around, I struggle to eat them. At Le Bernardin, the nature of the food is less heavy, and therefore you just feel so much better at the end the meal. Deliciously satisfied but not stuffed. The perfect place to be.

We love this place so much, this was actually our third time in two years! And we don't live in New York!

Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Daniel

Sushi Yasuda
H&H Bagels
Ess-a-Bagel
A New York Birthday
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

Menus
Lunch prix fixe: $69
Dinner Tasting menus: $138 or $185

Le Bernardin
Midtown West
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019

December 9, 2009 New York

Sushi Yasuda

There's plenty of hype surrounding this New York Sushi institution. It has won numerous awards, received high ratings from prestigious institutions, and has been muttered, more than once, in the same breath as Kyubei in Tokyo. While doing internet research for sushi restaurants in Japan, I repeatedly observed comparisons between top Tokyo sushi joints and this place.

Of course, "this place" is Sushi Yasuda.

The interior is bamboo colored, relaxing - almost zen-like. The sushi chefs are very serious about their craft - which is really like an art.

We start off with a small "amuse" on the house - a tiny deep fried croquette of sorts in a light umami broth. Delicious.

We then order the "omakase" - essentially letting the chef decide what to feed us. The waitress asks about preferences and the dietary restrictions. I tell her, I prefer raw fish, and I'm not a huge fan of cooked shellfish, although uni is OK. Oh, and I LOVE toro.

A beautiful tray of sashimi arrives ($38.25). The waitress gives us a description of each fish. Sadly, I can't remember the details anymore (and it's not on my receipt!) All I can remember is that each piece of fish is wonderfully fresh, deliciously sweet, and amazingly good. Fresh, well cut, and simple. Nothing fancy. Just good, solid, delectable slices of fresh fish.

The waitress teaches us the proper way to enjoy sashimi. DO NOT put your wasabi in your soy sauce! Instead, put a tiny bit on top of the sashimi, and then lightly dip the fish in the soy sauce (shoyu). Bryan typically loves wasabi and usually his soy sauce looks more like a thick green paste with hints of soy sauce. Here, he relents and agrees to eat sashimi the recommended way.

Our next course is the sushi. With sushi, you should not put ANY wasabi in the soy sauce. If the chef thinks wasabi is needed, he will have already put the perfect amount inside between the rice and the fish. No need to add more!

Here is what we enjoyed (from left to right starting at the top):

Netoro Maki: this fatty tuna maki was sooo rich and delicious. Toro is probably my favorite sushi of all times ($9 a roll)

Toro: I love love love toro, and this was no exception. The rich fatty flavor of the tuna belly just cannot be surpassed. Absolutely heavenly. ($8 each)

Maguro: Although not as rich as the Toro, this tuna still had very good flavor and texture. ($4.50 each)

Coho: This salmon is the state animal of Chiba, Japan, which is where sushi Chef Yasuda is from. The fish was surprisingly lean yet still soft and flavorful. ($4.50 each)

Shima aji: Striped jack - long considered a luxury fish in Japan, this white fish is reminiscent of yellowtail ($4.50 each)

Sanma: A type of mackerel, this fish was rich, buttery, salty, and just really deep in flavor ($5 each)

Hotate: Raw scallops - these were amazingly sweet with absolutely no hint of fishy-ness ($4 each)

Uni: Raw sea urchin - I had never liked this until I tried some in Japan and realized how sweet uni can be. It's not always stinky like I thought! The uni here was very good, though still not as good as Kyubei ($5 each)

Shirayaki: grilled eel - tender, fragrant, delicious ($5.50 each)

Dessert: mixed mochi ($8) - green tea and red bean. It's OK - nothing special, probably not the best mochi ice cream I've had. I'll stick with the sushi.

Our Thoughts
Over all, we think the food is fantastic here. The sushi and sashimi are all incredibly fresh. The rice in the sushi is also perfectly cooked. Really good texture. Definitely one of the best sushi places I've visited in the US.

Having said that, we both agreed that Sushi Yasuda does not even come close to our experience at Kyubei in Tokyo. At Kyubei we were given our own sushi chef who entertained us for the entire evening, teaching us about each fish and preparing each morsel one at a time. The service was incredible and the experience unique and really fun. Furthermore, the fish at Kyubei is truly top notch - Kyubei is right down the street from Tsukiji Fish Market.

At Sushi Yasuda, even though the food was very very good, the experience felt more normal. A waitress came and brought us our dishes and we ate our food. And that was it.

But then, it's really not fair to compare Kyubei with Sushi Yasuda. Kyubei cost us over $400 USD while this meal was closer to $200.

I still stand by my opinion that this is one of the best sushi places in the US. However, if you ever make it out to Japan, you have to try a place like Kyubei!

UPDATE - 2011
As suggested, I returned to Sushi Yasuda and sat at the sushi bar by myself. I completely agree that the experience at the sushi bar is much more intimate, fun, and more similar to the experiences I had in Japan.

I was also able to get out of there with a total bill of "only" $34 by ordering one of the set-menus (instead of the omakase) and then supplementing with additional pieces that I wanted to try. The sushi was still absolutely fantastic, and I walked out of there a much happier person, having only spent $34 but enjoying one of the best sushi meals I'd had in a very, very long time.

Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Daniel
Le Bernardin
Sushi Yasuda
H&H Bagels
Ess-a-Bagel
A New York Birthday
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

Sushi Yasuda
Midtown East
204 E 43rd St
New York, NY 10017

December 8, 2009 New York

H&H Bagels

Bryan and I love bagels from New York, and we always pick up a few dozen and freeze them whenever we visit. While we have tried several, H&H is still our favorite. We love their fresh bagels, which, of course, are freshly made on the premises. The bagels are warm and crispy on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.

Of course, the store also happens to be located conveniently close to our aunt's Upper West Side apartment (where we stay every time). Aren't we lucky?? 🙂

One of our favorites is the Everything Bagel, which smells intoxicatingly fragrant when you pick it up. That mixture of garlic, onion, sesame, poppyseed, etc. smells soooo good! It's really hard not to eat a couple right on the spot (heh heh, that's about 600 calories please). We also love the Sesame Bagel, which smells really delicious even toasted at home.

The place is very simple. Nowhere to sit, nowhere to relax. Essentially, there's this huge space in front dedicated for the crowds of people who line up each day to get their bagel fix. Rows of refrigerators on the left side of the store are filled with drinks and tubs of bagel accompaniments such as cream cheese, lox, white fish spread, etc.

Without fail, we always order a dozen Everything Bagels (you get one for free when you order a dozen!) and a dozen Sesame Bagels. We then proceed to eat at least one bagel each immediately before heading back to Boston, usually on the $25 bus! It's hard not to eat another one while sitting on that bus, especially with the sweet aroma of the freshly baked bagels beckoning the entire 4-hour ride.

According to a recent Serious Eats article, "[a] bagel's half-life, untoasted and unadorned, is no more than half an hour." Serious Eats tried to do a blind test of New York City bagels, only to find (in their first experiment), that the freshest bagel from a relatively unknown local bakery won the title of best bagel, while well known bagels from far far away fared quite poorly. It was all a matter of how old the bagel was.

Alas, it will always be debated and likely never resolved who makes the best bagel in NYC. Since we don't live there, we have not had the luxury of trying out that many places. However, you can be sure that, wherever you go, make sure that the bagels are made fresh on the premises, and that you enjoy one right away! You really can't go too wrong if you just do that.

Of course, if you happen to be near an H&H, do check it out! You won't be sorry. 🙂

-------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Thanks for the reminder Bryan! (see comment #2) Of course, it's totally OK that H&H does not have a huge variety of bagel accompaniments because Zabar's is right next door. This market is fun, unique, totally crowded, and full of incredible food including an amazing selection of bagel spreads that you can schmear to your heart's content.

Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Daniel
Le Bernardin
Sushi Yasuda
Ess-a-Bagel
A New York Birthday
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

H&H Bagels
Upper West Side
around 80st and Broadway
2239 Broadway
New York, NY 10024

December 7, 2009 New York

Ess-a-Bagel

I had heard great things about this bagel place (Midtowners hail it as the best bagel in NYC) but had never visited it, mostly because it is much further away from my aunt's place than H&H Bagels. My aunt lives in the Upper West Side, so we invariably pick up bagels from H&H every time we stay with her.

This time, we were staying in Midtown, so there really was no excuse not to visit Ess-a-Bagel.

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was the amazing spread of bagel "accompaniments" that are available! This FAR trumps H&H, which just has some refrigerators along the wall with tubs of spreads.

Here, the deli counter is full of good stuff. Various smoked fish, different spreads, salads, cream cheese, etc. You can really make any kind of bagel sandwich you want, including fixings such as lettuce, onions, tomatoes and the like. This place is much more like a full service bagel sandwich shop, not just a bagelry that solely bakes bagels.

Since we would be enjoying a special lunch later in the day, we saved our appetite by sharing one sesame bagel "schmeared" with smoked whitefish, a very classic spread. Yum. The bagel was quite good. It was fresh, decently chewy, and the smoked whitefish was delicious. The bagels at Ess-a-Bagel are significantly smaller than the bagels at H&H, which is good for weight control but maybe not as much for your wallet.

In the end, we both agreed that we liked H&H better, but that might just be a personal preference issue. H&H bagels are chewier and denser, which is something we both love.

All the bagels are freshly made right on the premises. I snapped a picture of the huge vat in which they boil all the bagels.

Over all, it's a great place to get a bagel if you're in the neighborhood. There's a decent amount of seating (unlike H&H), so you can actually sit down, relax, and enjoy your bagel sandwich as you people watch. It's pretty fun to see the various types of people who stop by to get a bagel early in the morning.

Postlude
I must confess, right before we left NYC, we took a special subway ride to the Upper West Side just to pick up two dozen H&H bagels to take home . .like always.

Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Daniel
Le Bernardin
Sushi Yasuda
H&H Bagels
A New York Birthday
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

Ess-a-Bagel
831 3rd Ave Ste 1
New York, NY 10022

December 6, 2009 New York

A New York Birthday

Oh New York, how I love thee, especially thy food.

This begins a five-part mini series on some of the amazing food I enjoyed in New York City during a short trip we took there during my birthday. I won't give away all the details yet, but I can give you a hint of what is to come. I'll be comparing two very well known bagel establishments in New York and our thoughts about them. I will also discuss my experience at one of the top sushi restaurants in New York City and how it compared to my amazing sushi experience in Japan. Finally, I'll share TONS of detailed photographs from incredible meals at two different 3-star Michelin restaurants. Stay tuned!

Today, I'd like to just share some random photos from this amazingly diverse and rich city (including a glimpse of some food shots!)

Mosaic of fois gras

My Melody in midtown.

Hello Kitty in Midtown. If you love Sanrio or cute Japanese characters, you'll have to check out my Kyaraben on Steroids post where I make a bunch of Sanrio and Totoro characters from sushi!

The proper way to use wasabi.

Grand Central Station

Kampachi tartare

The High Line at Chelsea Market

Bagel with smoked whitefish salad

Update:
Other posts from this mini New York Series:
Daniel
Le Bernardin
Sushi Yasuda
H&H Bagels
Ess-a-Bagel
Me Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

December 4, 2009 Baking

Italian Biscotti

I love a nice cappuccino paired with a lovely biscotti for dipping. Unfortunately, I am a bit picky when it comes to sweets. For some reason, I don't particularly enjoy whole nuts in my desserts, and I really don't like the taste of anise (black licorice).

Imagine how disappointed I was when I bought biscotti from the North End. Every piece either had whole almonds inside or was doused with anise extract.

It was time to make my own.

I love this version from The Joy of Cooking. It uses lemon and orange zest and has absolutely no nuts! Furthermore, it's low fat, with each serving having only 2g of fat! And finally, most importantly, it's delicious!

Ingredients
Dry Ingredients

3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ ts salt

Wet Ingredients
¼ cup corn or canola oil
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the dry ingredients thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the wet ingredients together with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. You can zest the lemon and the orange with a small grater, like I did in this post.

Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well blended and smooth. Shape the dough into two even shaped logs, about 11 x 1 ½ inches. The dough is a bit sticky, so you can either use plastic wrap or use lightly floured hands.

Arrange the logs far away from each other, as they will expand. Flatten each log. Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the logs from the baking sheet and let them cool for about 10 minutes on a cooling wrack (if you have one - I didn't have one for years, so I just let them cool on the baking sheet). Carefully move the log (trying not to break it) onto a cutting board.

Slice diagonally into ⅜ inch slices.

Lay the slices sideways on the sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and the bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Let cool and serve!

Enjoy!

December 3, 2009 Chinese

Winter Melon Soup

With the cold weather fast approaching, I find that I am craving soup a lot. Winter melon soup is a great, healthy soup that taste light, cleansing, and satisfying all at the same time.

It's really easy to make. You need stock, winter melon, and salt + pepper to taste. You can optionally supplement with other soup flavoring agents, like I added some dried squid for fun.
To prepare dried squid, just use scissors and cut a few small pieces (about 1-2 cm squares) to add to the soup at the beginning.

That's it!

I decided to use pork neck bones to make stock similar to the method I used for daikon pork bone soup. Of course, you can easily use chicken broth, or even vegetable stock.

Getting a Clear Broth
Quickly boil the neck bones in boiling water for about 5 minutes. The initial boiling releases blood bits and other unsightly particles that would appear in your soup later. Rinse the bones with some water to make sure all particles have been washed off.

Refill the pot with clean water, about enough to cover the neck bones. Add the chopped winter melon, bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes.

Flavor with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

December 3, 2009 Restaurant

A Tour of a Chocolate Factory?

This is exciting! A chance to tour Taza's chocolate factory this weekend! I've never seen a real live chocolate factory - only in the movies! 🙂 If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that I'm a big fan of their chocolate. I especially love stone ground chocolate with Mexican Guajillo Chilis. SO GOOD!

TAZA "Stone Ground Organic" Chocolate Factory's Open House Event

Saturday, December 5th from 10AM - 6PM

FREE! Open to the public!

You can take the tour and learn what a winnowing machine does, see their red Barth Sirocco roaster, or check out their vintage Mexican molinos. If you are short on time, you can at least stop by and taste the free chocolate samples! There will be hot chocolate too. Of course, there is a gift shop where you can purchase your own chocolate to go. 🙂

Even if you can't make it in person, you can visit their website and get 10% off orders all day on Saturday. Or, of course, you can wait for my blog post and salivate at all the pictures of the chocolate. 😉

Taza Chocolate Factory
561 Windsor St.
Somerville, MA

December 2, 2009 Greater Boston

Shangri La

In the Chinese community, word of mouth is potent, and if a new delicious and authentic Chinese restaurant enters the scene, EVERYBODY knows about it immediately. Good Chinese restaurants never need to advertise because word travels like wildfire. Lines are predictably long, yet people are willing to wait.

Shangri La in Belmont is definitely one of those restaurants. Unlike most of the restaurants in Chinatown (which are more Cantonese-style), Shangri La specializes in Sichuan and Taiwanese cuisine. Their special weekend Taiwanese brunch is especially good.

Come any Saturday around lunchtime, and be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for a table, if not more. The place is teeming with Asians. The food is excellent here, and everybody knows it.

We went on a Saturday around 12:30 and had to wait about 25 minutes before being seated. The restaurant is super crowded, and it's hard to wait inside the restaurant. There just is not enough room to accommodate all the people waiting. We eventually walked to the Middle Eastern store next door and bought some snacks to kill time (and the hunger pangs!).

It was worth the wait. The weekend brunch menu is fabulous. Almost all of the dishes are generally excellent, with several outstanding dishes and just a few mediocre ones. Here's what we got and our thoughts . . . .

Salty Soy bean milk (咸豆浆) unsweetened soy bean milk is "curdled" with the addition of vinegar, giving this soup the consistency of really soft tofu. Chopped up fried crullers and pickled vegetables are then added to the mix, making this taste like a salty soybean soup. It was OK here, but definitely not as good as the one at Mary Chung in Cambridge.

Fried Cruller (油條) A Taiwanese breakfast classic, this was good. Typically you dip this into the sweet soy bean milk (甜豆花), which we also ordered.

Scallion Pancake 蔥油餅 ($4.25): These were fried to a nice, crispy consistency, and we not too greasy, which was nice. Solid, definitely solid.

Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麪) This was AMAZING!!! One of the best beef noodle soups I've ever had in Boston. The soup had a rich, beef flavor that was just spicy enough to have a slight kick. The beef was soft and tender, as if it had been stewed for a long time. Bryan said he preferred the one at Mary Chung (which is excellent!) because it is spicier. Although I love the one at Mary Chung, I liked how the spice in this dish did not overpower it, but instead added a subtle kick that was just perfect. If only they had fresh handmade noodles. Everyone agreed at the table that this dish was one of the best out of the ones we ordered. If you come here, definitely try this!

Taiwanese Stir Fried Vermicelli 炒米粉 ($6.95): This dish was fine, though nothing extraordinary. The best fried vermicelli I've had in Boston is from Chung Shin Yuan in Newton.

Cattle Tendon ($6.95): I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish and can never stop eating it whenever I order this dish. I swear there's some salty addictive agent in it (heh heh, maybe MSG) that just keeps making me come back for more. The tendon has the perfect chewy texture and a great spicy aroma that comes from the tendon being tossed in a mixture of sesame-oil and chile oil. Another one of my favorites here.

Beef wrapped with Sesame Pancake (牛肉夾餅) This was excellent (sorry you can't see the beef in the picture). The sesame pancake was flaky and crispy; the beef inside had great flavor. The scallions gave a nice, sharp contrast to the heavier, meaty flavors.

Pork Belly and Pickled Mustard Greens Bun (刮包)
This is another MUST GET dish. I bet David Chang's signature Momofuku Pork Belly buns are inspired from this traditional Taiwanese dish. Pork belly and pickled mustard greens are topped with sweet ground peanuts and cilantro in a steamed bun. The resultant flavor combination of the rich pork belly, the salty pickled mustard greens, the sweet crunchy peanuts, and the crisp cilantro and incredible. Really delicious. Definitely a must-try.

Pan fried Rice Cakes 炒年糕 ($6.95. This was the only dish that I found to be VERY mediocre and not worth ordering again. The rice cakes were doused in this generic brown sauce, and this dish was more reminiscent of Americanized Chinese food than an authentic pan-fried rice cake dish, which, frankly, needs more oil and less goopy sauce.

Nevertheless, despite this one pitfall, the rest of our dishes were either very solid or absolutely delicious. This is definitely one of the best restaurants for Taiwanese dim sum in Boston, and it's easy to see why people are willing to line up.

In conclusion, if you go, you should definitely try the beef noodle soup, the beef wrapped with sesame pancake, and the pork belly buns. If you are willing to try tendon, then you should really get the cattle tendon as well. If you've never had dim sum, the sweet soy milk and the fried cruller are worth getting, just because they are such a classic part of the Taiwanese breakfast experience. Oh, so are scallion pancakes!

Note: several of the menu items described above are only available on weekends during their special weekend brunch. Their normal dinner menus is still excellent, but you will not be able to order all of the Taiwanese dim sum dishes.

Shangri La
(617) 489-1488
149 Belmont St
Belmont, MA 02478