Search Results for: din tai fung

Joe's Shanghai

April 13, 2010 by Jennifer Che

In Nanxiang, China over a century ago, legend says the soup dumpling made its humble entrance into the world. Next to a famous garden on the outskirts of Shanghai, a man started selling these precious soup-filled pouches in his shop. Called a "xiao long bao" (which literally translates to little steamer buns), this unique soup dumpling caught on and soon found its way to downtown Shanghai. In the past several decades, it has spread around the world.

This fervor reached Taiwan, which still houses my favorite soup dumpling place in the world. It also made its way to America (lucky for us!). And thankfully, finally, it came to the East coast. In the mid-nineties, the xiao long bao craze took off in New York, culminating in the opening of Joe's Shanghai in 1995.

This place quickly had a cult following, and it's easy to see why. Their soup dumplings are very authentic, filled with hot, satisfying soup housed in delicate, thin, yet chewy skins.

Bryan and I had a chance to visit this iconic establishment during our last trip to New York for a quick, Saturday lunch.

The original Joe's Shanghai is in Flushing (which, by the way, is an aboslute mecca for Taiwanese dining if you ever get a chance to go there!), but several more have opened up in places like Chinatown and Midtown. It's been said that the one in Chinatown is better than the one in Midtown. Though we would have loved to trek down to Chinatown, we were staying in Midtown and didn't have much time, so we walked the few convenient blocks to 56th street to try this outpost.

Crab and Pork Xiao Long Bao - $6.65
This is their most famous dish, and definitely the one that made them famous - a must-get if you come here. The dumplings are juicy and flavorful, and the skin is good. I still much prefer the xiao long baos at Din Tai Fung, but these are probably among the best dumplings you'll get in the East Coast. It definitely beats the soup dumplings in Boston.

Pork pan-fried dumplings. $4.65
These were solid, with a chewy skin and a flavorful filling. Not being a huge meat person, I couldn't help but wish there were more vegetables inside, sort of like my favorite dumplings at Din Tai Fung. Of course, that is a matter of personal preference. I also wished the skin was a bit thinner - again, a matter of personal preference.

Here's a closer view . . .

We asked the waiter if he had any suggestions for a noodle dish, and he suggested this pan-fried seafood noodle. I'd say pass on this and stick with the dumplings. It was alright, but probably similar to what I can get an a normal Chinese restaurant. I will say that the noodles were reasonably chewy, which is always nice.

Overall, the food was good, and this is definitely a solid and safe choice for excellent soup dumplings. After having tried (what I think is) the best dumpling in the world, it's hard not to be just a bit disappointed every time I try a soup dumpling elsewhere. I'm curious whether the one in Chinatown or Flushing is significantly better than this Midtown one. Anyone have thoughts on this? Please comment!

In any event, you should definitely come and try some soup dumplings, especially if you have never tried one before. Just be careful - the soup can be hot! Oh, and it's totally OK to slurp. 😉

Other posts in this Big Apple Series
Per Se
Morimoto
Waldorf Astoria
Smorgas Chef

Joe's Shanghai
Midtown
24 W 56th St
New York, NY 10019

Chinese New Year Recipes

February 10, 2010 by Jennifer Che

It's all about what they symbolize . . .

Because Chinese New Year is coming up, I thought I would compile some useful posts related to various Chinese dishes and the reasons behind why they are popular during Chinese New Year.

Happy Chinese New Year! And I hope you find these useful!

Lion's Head Casserole
A Shanghai tradition, this dish resembles lions heads because the greens look like the mane while the meat ball looks like the head. The lion symbolizes power and strength, while the meatballs symbolize family reunion.

Microwave Steamed Fish With Black Bean Sauce (Chilean Sea Bass)
Fish is very classic and is typically served on New Year's Eve. The word for fish in Chinese also sounds like the word for "wish" and "abundance." Eating fish at the end of the meal symbolizes a wish for abundance for the coming year.

Jo Tsai (Chinese Chives) with 5-spice Tofu
Flowering chives symbolize eternity and are another popular dish served on New Year's Eve.

Tea Eggs
Eggs are a symbol of fertility in Chinese culture, thus making eggs of all sorts popular.

Ro Gen Mian (Ban Genh) - Pork, Bamboo, and Mushroom Soup
Noodles symbolize long life because the strands are long. Make sure not to break the strands when you are eating it!

Finally, homemade dumplings are really popular too, especially in northern China. It's traditional for families to make dumplings on New Years Eve and then eat the dumplings at midnight. Typically, one of the dumplings will be filled with something special, such as a gold coin or something else. The one who gets that dumpling will have tons of good luck! Dumplings are popular because they resemble ancient Chinese money.

Well, I don't have a post about how to make dumplings (unless if you count my Din Tai Fung posts), but I'll at least try to post a tutorial on how to wrap dumplings this week.

Stay tuned!

Other Side Dishes
Chinese Sticky Rice
Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy
Preserved Salted Mustard Greens with Garlic
Sauteed Hollow Heart Vegetable with Chinese BBQ Sauce
Spicy Tofu (Vegetarian Mapo Tofu)
Taiwanese Meat Sauce over Rice

Melisse

January 14, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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

East by Northeast

January 13, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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.

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant

January 8, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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.

Sushi Gen

January 7, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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

Ten Ren Tea Station

January 5, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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

A California Christmas

January 4, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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

About me

January 1, 2007 by Jennifer Che

Who is Tiny Urban Kitchen?

Hi! My name's Jen.

Tiny Urban Kitchen was born out of my tiny urban condo situated between my alma mater and the other school in Cambridge. My tiny urban condo came with a tiny urban kitchen, hence the name of this blog. It was bit tight at times, but over all, it worked for me, and I spent lots of time there exploring new recipes and cooking methods.

I then moved out of that condo into a medium urban townhouse in Cambridge. My kitchen had a bit more space. In September of 2017, I moved to Hong Kong, a land known for its tiny, tiny apartments (they even call them "nano" or "micro" flats). In many ways, I've moved back to the roots of this blog, back to a true "tiny urban kitchen."

I am an experimenter by nature. I worked as a research chemist for years synthesizing new molecules in the lab. At home, I am always trying new things in the kitchen, exploring fun, new creative ways to cook.

I also love eating, and am very willing to travel for good food! That's why this blog also includes my takes on my various eating adventures around the world. I love sharing about my food adventures, and I also love hearing what you have to say. So, please leave a comment, say hello, and feel free to give me your thoughts and suggestions too. If this is your first time here, welcome!

If you're interested in cooking, definitely check out the Recipes link, which is a compilation of all the recipes on the site to date. If you like Asian food, visit the Chinese Recipes Gallery, which gives you a quick, photolicious way of browsing through the Chinese recipes on the site. For dining out, a great way to start is top restaurants to visit in Boston, posts from other US cities, or food from my worldwide travels.

Interested in the sous vide technique? Here's a primer on sous vide, including links to several recipes I’ve made from famous chefs like Thomas Keller and David Chang.

How did Tiny Urban Kitchen get Started?
Check out my entry for round 1 of Project Food Blog which describes not only how this blog began, but really the core of what motivates me and what defines Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Dining Out
Since I lived in Cambridge for over 20 years, many of the restaurants on this site are in the Cambridge/Boston area. The best way to search my neighborhoods is to hover over the Travel/Restaurants tab at the top of the blog menu, go to US, Boston, and then pick the neighborhood. You can navigate the entire blog that way.

For a fun photo gallery of all the Michelin Starred restaurants I visited, check out the Michelin Stars Gallery. I do travel extensively, and thus you’ll find all sorts of food from places such as New York City, Las Vegas, and Napa/Sonoma in the US, tons of places in Asia (Tokyo, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and of course, Hong Kong), as well as several countries in Europe.

I've written up a few travel guides for cities that I know better. Feel free to check them out here.

What has surprised you most about food blogging?
I think everyone says the same thing, and I have to agree. The community is AWESOME. Most people start food blogging to share recipes with friends and family, or to keep a record of all the restaurants they've visited - at least that's why I started my blog. You never really realize how food blogging can connect you to so many like-minded people around the world. I've had the great privilege to "meet" people from Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and, of course, all over the US. Things like the Foodbuzz Festival are great ways to connect with other food lovers. I never would have thought that starting a food blog would open the door to so many other friendships, opportunities, and experiences.

What has been the most amazing food opportunity that you've had as a result of food blogging?
No question it would be my trips to Napa Valley (both in 2010 and in 2011) to Napa Valley to blog about the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. In 2010, Foodbuzz and S. Pellegrino had hosted a contest to send one person there. I was thrilled and beyond belief that I had actually won the contest. The trip really opened my eyes to what the food industry is like. The food industry, especially the restaurant industry, is grueling, and it takes a ton of hard work and perseverance to make it. I was so privileged to be able to see this up close. It really gave me a new perspective and added respect for those who choose to follow this career path. Of course, Napa Valley is also beautiful, and I had a fabulous time there just checking out the vineyards and trying some amazing restaurants!

What camera do you use? What's your process in photography?

I switched between my Sony Cybershot DSC RX1R, (which is more pocket-sized so I carry it around with me everywhere I go) and my Canon 5D MKIII depending on the situation. The SLR is really big and heavy, so I use it more during vacations and food events that are clearly "camera-friendly." I would say 80% of the pictures on my blog are taken with the pocket sized cameras. I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to catalog and work up my images, which are all shot in raw format. I then export them to the blog on WordPress, which hosts all my images.

Between 2012 and 2016, I used the Sony DSC RX1, and the Canon 5D MKIII. Before 2012, I used either a Panasonic Lumix GF1, Canon 5D, or Canon 5D MkII, all of which are excellent cameras.

Which posts did you have the most fun making?
Man, that’s a tough question! Before Project Food Blog I would have said my first 24, 24, 24 post titled "Kyaraben on Steroids." I spent the day making sushi and other foods in the shapes of my favorite Japanese anime characters. It was a ton of work and took all day, but to this day I still love looking at the pictures of the cute Hello Kitty, Domokuns, Totoros, and Keroppis that I made for this post. However, I had a lot of fun creating posts for the numerous rounds in Project Food Blog. My favorites would have to be a toss up between the final post in the last round (“Final Reflections”) where I made a moving stop-animation video of Boston constructed out of vegetables (and sang a song!) and the hand-pulled noodle instructional video that I made for Round 7. In general, I love playing with my food and photographing them in different angles, and therefore some posts whose photography I really enjoyed creating are the ones about dragon fruit, meyer lemons, ratatouille, and inside out apples.

What are you favorite restaurants in Boston?
My favorite neighborhood restaurant is Bergamot, a place we visit on a regular basis. The staff there is incredible and they really take good care of you. Of course, Chef Pooler makes fantastic food, and Paul makes great drinks at the bar.

Ten Tables in Cambridge was also a favorite. Although chef David Punch is no longer there (moved on to open his own fantastic restaurant), Chef Dan who took over is still great, and executes well thought-out, flavorful dishes reflecting the most seasonal ingredients. The menu changes constantly, so it's always fun to return.

Before we moved, we used to love going to Garden at the Cellar. The truffle fries alone are the best I've ever had, and the rest of the menu is excellent and priced very very reasonably. Since then, the original chef Will Gilson has moved on, and we have moved away from the neighborhood as well.

My current favorite place in Cambridge for casual dining is probably Area Four. They make excellent salads, delicious and creative pizzas, and have a pretty fun beer list.

Hungry Mother (French/Southern American cuisine) was excellent, but has now closed! For fancy dining, Craigie on Main, formerly Craigie Street Bistrot, is fantastic - some of the best food I've had in Boston. O Ya (Japanese inspired cuisine) is also an amazing dining experience - hands down one of the best restaurants in Boston. Similarly, Menton by Barbara Lynch also executes incredibly good food.

For outdoor dining during the summer, some of our favorite places in Harvard Square include Upstairs on the Square, Monday Club [update, now closed!], Rialto, and The Red House. Muqueca (Brazilian coastal food) is one of my favorite little ethnic family restaurants, while Mamma Maria or Prezza just might be my favorite North End restaurants (of course you can't forget Mike's Pastry or Modern!). Though it’s not Italian, Neptune Oyster in the North End is one of my favorite seafood places - a perfect taste of New England. For excellent non red sauce Italian, check out Erbaluce.

Outside of the North End, we love Gran Gusto and Basta Pasta, both the original Cambridge location and the new Quincy location. Giulia is also a super popular Italian place in Cambridge, and Posto makes some of the best (and most authentic) Neapolitan style pizzas.

As for Asian food, because I'm Taiwanese, that cuisine tends to be my favorite, which is why I love going to Taiwan Cafe, Gourmet Dumpling House, Dumpling Cafe, Dumpling House, and Shangri-La. I also love the hot pots at Little Q (more recently moved to Arlington) and the more unique "dong=bei" (Northeastern Chinese) food at Golden Garden, our favorite take-out place right outside of Cambridge. My all time favorite noodles? Hands down the hand-pulled noodles at Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe.

My favorite high end sushi places are probably Uni Sashimi Bar and O Ya, both of which are Japanese inspired but not purely traditional Japanese. For less astronomical pricing, we love Cafe Sushi, which is creative, inventive, and overall delicious. Oishii has been a favorite in the past for traditional sushi, though recently I've been a bit more disappointed. Gen Sushi in Belmont is reasonably priced and serves generous portions of very fresh fish. Fugakyu has one of the best sushi lunch specials around and the old Cafe Sushi (before it got revamped!) used to be our favorite place for Sunday evening sushi dinner specials ($1/piece nigiri! - update, no longer available).

Hi Rise Bakery is one of my favorite bakeries (love love love their vanilla loaf) and also one of my favorite sandwich shops. My favorite ice cream is from Toscanini's (though his brother’s place Rancatore’s is awesome as well) and my favorite pizza is from Emma's or Area Four. My favorite burgers are from Bartley's and (surprise!) Capital Grille, while Bryan loves the burgers at Craigie on Main, Radius (no longer open) and Smith & Wollensky.

What have been some of your favorite dining experience ever? In the world?
One of my most memorable dining experiences was at Kyubey in Tokyo, my first real omakase experience.Kyubey is a sushi place right down the street from Tsukiji Fish Market. We got the omakase and essentially had our personal sushi chef for most of the meal, creating interesting bites for us. All the chefs speak excellent English, so it's very convivial and friendly experience.

I've had some pretty incredible sushi experiences in Tokyo, including the world famous Sukiyabashi Jiro, Sushi Mizutani (Jiro's disciple), and many, many others.

As a seafood lover, my favorite restaurant in terms of food is probably Le Bernardin in New York City. One of my favorite dining experiences was at Daniel, where the service, food, everything was so impeccable, it really made for an unforgettable experience. I also love dumplings, and therefore Din Tai Fung in Taiwan (and China!) is also one of my favorite dining places in the world.

Final Thoughts?

I love interacting with my readers through comments the blog. I like to think of the blog as a forum for communication about food. Although I offer lots of information on the blog, I have also learned a lot of things from my readers. The communication totally goes both ways, and I love it that way! So please, feel free to leave comments and say hello. I definitely read every single one. 🙂

Thanks for visiting!

Warmly,

You can contact me at jen{at}tinyurbankitchen{dot}com
Follow me on facebook, twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, or subscribe via RSS!

Lijiang Mushroom Hot Pot 野生菌火鍋

February 2, 2025 by Jennifer Che

Lijiang's Famous Wild Mushroom Hot Pot

One of Lijiang's most famous foods is the wild mushroom hot pot. This is because this region of Yunnan Province more diverse mushrooms (over 800!) than anywhere in the country, and possibly the world.

The best time to enjoy mushroom hot pot is during July and August, when fresh mushrooms are in seasons. During other times of the year, the mushrooms will be frozen. In our short 3 day trip right in the middle of mushroom season, we tried to eat as many mushroom hot pot meals as we could!

Jun Wo Zi Wild Mushroom Garden Restaurant 菌窩子野生菌花園餐廳

There is a particularly famous variety called jian shou qing (見手青),that has hallucinogenic effects. Jian shou qing must be cooked for at least 20 minutes to destroy its psychedelic effects. Supposedly you start to see images of little people (小人人) if you eat undercooked mushrooms. The internet in China exploded in 2023 after Janet Yellen, while visiting China, was photographed having some.

Jian shou qing literally means "meet hand blue/green" because the mushroom turns blue when it comes in contact with a human hand.

We ordered both a stir-fried version of this mushroom as well as in a hot pot. It was always the most expensive item on the menu (by far), with a small plate of sauteed mushrooms costing around USD $20 (which is a lot in Yunnan considering that our entire 4-person hot pot set menu was only RMB268, roughly US $37).

Other mushrooms we tried included 牛肝菌 (porcini), 羊肚菌（morel), and 金耳菌 (golden fungus). We also tried a local wild potato (with pink center!), two wild local vegetables, and a chicken broth made from local free range chicken was was sooooooo flavorful.

It was fascinating to see how the professional restaurants handle serving these "poisonous" mushrooms. We were particularly impressed with the safety measures. The staff kept detailed records, taking a tiny vial of "sample" (our soup!) and recording detailed notes for every hot pot served.

At this restaurant we were able to try several more fun local dishes, such as these multigrain steamed buns served with a side of wild mushroom filling. 野生菌雜糧窩窩頭

Lijiang China Dry bread filled with quinoa

This is an interesting dry mountain bread filled with a stickier quinoa-like filling.

Deep fried pancake (“bing” of sorts) that was flaky and crispy, not unlike a scallion pancake but filled with black sugar inside. It was delicious!

Chi Jun Ke Yunnan Wild Mushroom Hot Pot 吃菌客雲南野生菌火鍋

吃菌客：雲南野生菌火鍋 "Chi Jun Ke" Yunnan Mushroom hot pot Lijiang China

We sought out Chi Jun Ke Yunnan Wild Mushroom Hot Pot (吃菌客-雲南野生菌火鍋) because our friends told us it was the best mushroom hot pot they had EVER had . . . and they live in Yunnan Province!

With views overlooking the river and plenty of mushroom themed decorations everywhere, this place was indeed fun, well-established, and a great place to enjoy a mushroom hot pot meal.

I really appreciated this poster, which is a like a little cheat sheet explaining a little bit about each of the mushrooms.

The 4-person Mushroom Hot Pot Set Meal

We went with a 4-person set that included a really nice variety of different mushrooms.

Aside from mushrooms, Yunnan province grows all sorts of produce for China. The availability of fresh vegetables is astounding. We had local pink potatoes (again) as well as some other local greens.

This particular set menu included A LOT, such as Yunnan ham (another local specialty), and oddly, fried chicken strips with chili powder??

The "liang pi" (涼皮), cold noodles tossed in a spicy and slightly acidic dressing, was refreshing and quite nice.

We also ordered some scallion steamed buns.

Interestingly, there were a few mushrooms that were served "sashimi-style", including the golden fungus (which has a really nice texture, sort of like tendon?) and black truffles (!).

The Hot Pot - in Stages

Although our friend highly recommended the free range chicken broth, we decided to try something different since we had chicken broth the day before at our first mushroom hot pot. Here, we went for the duck broth! It was more intense, and also quite good (though I probably prefer chicken, but that's personal preference).

Usually you cook only the mushrooms first to keep the overall flavor profile of the broth "clean". If you have a "poisonous" mushroom, they will make you wait 20 minutes before you can eat.

Once everyone has finished eating the mushrooms, you can add the vegetables and the ham, which will impact the clean flavor of the original broth + mushrooms.

We decided to order (again) the hallucinogenic jian shou qing mushrooms stir fried with chilis. This dish is not for everyone. The mushroom is quite dry and leathery in texture, especially when prepared in this wok-fried manner. Those who love it enjoy the texture because they can chew on it for a long time, savoring the intense and rich flavor of the mushroom. For me, it was VERY spicy and a bit too chewy.

Frankly, aside from the novelty, I would not order this on a regular basis. As mentioned above, it's quite expensive compared to the rest of the meal.

Posts in this Lijiang Series (links to be added once published)
Lijiang China Trip Report: Lijiang Old Town
Blue Moon Valley of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang, China
Yu Hu Village in Lijiang, China 玉湖村
Baisha Village in Lijiang, China 白沙村
Lijiang Food: Mushroom Hot Pot 野生菌火鍋

Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng

May 22, 2023 by Jennifer Che

Hong Kong has no shortage of top restaurants.

However, most fall into one of two categories: high-end traditional Asian cuisine (e.g., Japanese, Cantonese, other types of Chinese), or high-end European (French, Italian, etc.). There are fewer that are attempting what Chef Vicky Cheng sought out to do, which is the fusion of Chinese and French.

Chef Vicky Cheng took this fusion concept and established himself through his first restaurant in Hong Kong, VEA (1 Michelin star). After achieving success with his first endeavor, Chef Vicky Cheng decided to go back to the roots, opening Wing in April 2021.

Wing is the middle character in Vicky Cheng's Chinese name, and the restaurant explores high end Chinese cuisine, especially luxurious Chinese ingredients.

Wing has quickly achieved its own accolades, including being ranked 34th on Asia's 50Best.

We came with a larger group, who had made the reservation quite awhile ago. Wing is difficult to book, so definitely book ahead! We got the premium tasting menu, which costs HKD $1,980 per person.

Below is a (mostly) visual "essay" of our meal. Enjoy!

Amuse drink?

Starters

Main Dishes - Seafood

Signature Main Dish

Wing Clay Pot Rice: Two Acts

The first "Act" includes the claypot rice served with house preserved pork and dried velvet shrimp from Tai O (a fishing village in Hong Kong).

For the second Act, a King crab "soupy rice", or 泡飯.

Soup

Dessert + Sweets

Snow gum, coconut sorbet, and osmanthus. Snow gum is a fungus that is similar in texture to bird's nest, a very expensive Chinese delicacy. Osmanthus is a flower that has a pleasant sweet scent that is commonly used in Hong Kong desserts.

Mignardises

Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng
29F, The Wellington
198 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong

Ming Court Hong Kong - Excellent 1-Michelin starred Cantonese food in Mongkok

January 31, 2020 by Jennifer Che

Ming Court is a high-end Cantonese restaurant inside the Cordis Hotel in Mongkok. The restaurant has been serving refined Cantonese food for over a decade, maintaining its Michelin star since 2009. The theme is the Ming Dynasty, and the dining room is adorned with pottery and decor from the era.

Though it's three-Michelin starred sister T'ang Court is more famous, Ming Court still offers up excellent Cantonese cuisine in an elegant setting.

...

tfvsjs - 談風 VS 再說 - Hong Kong

January 24, 2020 by Jennifer Che

The name alone sort of catches your eye. What kind of restaurant is called tfvsjs? And what does it mean?

It turns out that it's a mixture of Chinese and English. tf stands for 談風 (taam fung) , the "vs" stands for versus in English, and js stands for 再說, (joi shut) in Cantonese. In fact, the name belongs to the indie Canto band that owns the restaurant.

Interestingly, the band first obtained this spacious underground (basement) space near Hong Kong University because they wanted a large enough space for a band room and a recording studio. However, in order to fund it, they had to have some kind of business. Thus, a modern fusion cafe was born.

...

Reflections on a Decade of Blogging: Happy Birthday Tiny Urban Kitchen!

October 1, 2019 by Jennifer Che

I nearly missed it, actually.

They say when you get older, you start forgetting your own birthday and anniversaries. Just the other day I had celebrated two years in Hong Kong. Yet I totally missed the fact that on September 8, 2009, I had announced that my baby "blogspot" blog had been renamed to Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Here's what I originally said:

I picked this name because it aptly describes the small kitchen that I work in everyday. Not in the far future, I plan on moving the restaurant reviews over to a new blog. This will become more of a cooking/food blog.
Jen on Tiny Urban Kitchen's "first day" - September 8, 2009

It sort of blows my mind that it has literally been a decade since I began this blog. Never would I have imagined that the blog would grow to what it is today. Nor would I have imagine it would still be here, 10 years later.

So I took an opportunity to reflect a bit about this unique journey.

...

Four Great Singapore Hawker Centres

April 16, 2019 by Jennifer Che

Hello Singapore!

It's been five years since I last visited Singapore, so I was excited to experience some more of this richly diverse and vibrant island when I visited in November.

Singapore is famous for its hawker stalls. In fact, the Michelin Guide has awarded two hawker stalls with a Michelin star, and 28 out of the 50 restaurants listed in the Bib Gourmand section of the guide ("good quality, good value restaurants").

More recently, hawker stalls made an appearance in the movie Crazy Rich Asians, where main character Rachel and her fiancé Nick meet up with some friends at Newton Food Centre soon after they get off the plane from the US.

I have hardly tried all of the Singapore hawker centres (that would take a lifetime). However, below are some pretty famous and popular ones that have great food.

...

Xihe Ya Yuan Hong Kong 羲和雅苑 - famous Peking duck chain from China

November 25, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Xihe Ya Yuan Hong Kong

Bryan and I lived in a serviced apartment right above Harbour City, a HUGE shopping megaplex in Tsim Sha Tsui, for several months before moving to Wan Chai. At the time, I don't think I fully realized or appreciated how much of a mecca Harbour City (together with Ocean Terminal and Ocean Centre) is for its concentration of world famous restaurants. It is almost mind-boggling how many globally renowned chefs have a presence in this one shopping complex . . . Joel Robuchon, Gordon Ramsey, Michael White, just to name a few.

On top of that, you also have lots of famous restaurant imports from all over the world, especially from Asia, such as Crystal Jade from Singapore, Tsuta Japanese Soba Noodle from Tokyo, Du Hsiao Yueh from Taiwan, and on and on. It's sort of like the Strip in Vegas, but condensed into one walkable set of buildings.

Xihe Yayuan falls into the second category. It is a very famous Peking duck restaurant from Beijing, China. The location in Hong Kong is right at Ocean Terminal and has gorgeous views of Victoria Harbour. The restaurant mostly focuses on traditional Chinese dishes but adds a slight, creative touch of modernity to certain dishes.

Bryan loves Peking duck, so he was quite curious to try this new place that was located so close to his workplace.

...

Yum Cha Hong Kong - modern Chinese dim sum

February 1, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Yum Cha Hong Kong

This is post #11, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

One of my favorite types of restaurants that I've discovered in Hong Kong are the modern Chinese dim sum places. These places take traditional Chinese dishes and just add a fun twist to change up the flavor a bit.

Oftentimes truffles are involved (ha ha), or an occasional upscale twist. These restaurants also tend to elevate the artistry of their dishes, making cute animal-shaped dim sum items or carving up their vegetables into the shape of a dragon. My love of good Chinese food, slightly upscale ingredients, and cute things makes me the perfect target for this type of restaurant.

I had read a lot about Yum Cha.

Their "vomiting" custard buns are all over social media. Accordingly to reviews online, the food at Yum Cha is not only cute, but is also quite good (unlike places like the Hello Kitty Cafe, they said). The restaurant uses fresh ingredients and no MSG in its cooking, and explores a wide variety of Chinese cuisines (Cantonese, Sichuan, among others).

I still have yet to visit the Hello Kitty Cafe, but a good friend and I headed out to Mongkok one evening to try the modern dim sum at Yum Cha....

Kam Wah Cafe - Hong Kong Breakfast and the Best Pineapple Bun

November 19, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Kam Wah Cafe

This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors

If you come to Hong Kong you must experience traditional Hong Kong breakfast from a Hong Kong style eatery called a cha chaan teng, literally “tea restaurant”. These are old school, no-nonsense, casual breakfast spots where prices are cheap, the dining space is cramped, everything moves lightening fast.

There are many, many excellent places around the city. Different ones specialize in different things. Some of them do multiple things well.

I first heard of Kam Wah Cafe because I was desperately searching for the best boloyau, a pineapple shaped sugar encrusted buns served with a slab of ice cold butter. Time after time, website after website, I saw the same few bakeries pop up, with Kam Wah Cafe appearing more than any other place....

Exquisite Chinese food at Blossom Aria in Las Vegas

January 16, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Blossom Aria

This is the eighth and final post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, Exploring Downtown Las Vegas, Mr. Chow, Lotus of Siam, and Tao Asian Bistro.

There are very, very few places in the United States where one can truly experience authentic, ultra high end Chinese dining. A vast majority of American associate Chinese cuisine with styrofoam take-out containers, egg rolls, and fortune cookies. Those who get to enjoy authentic food typically see Cantonese dim sum, prevalent in Chinatowns across America.

More recently, we've seen an explosion of Chinese food. At least here in Boston, we've had opportunities to enjoy Sichuan, Taiwanese, Xi'an, and even Dong Bei, or Northeastern cuisine. The Chinese food here is definitely getting more diverse.

However, it's almost always still pretty inexpensive.

Chinese New Year display at the Bellagio

Las Vegas is unique in that it receives A LOT of visitors from China every year. The Strip has responded by catering to these visitors. The Chinese New Year celebration seems to get bigger every year. Tons of Asian restaurants, including several very high end Chinese restaurants have sprung up. These places offer exotic Chinese delicacies that you typically don't see, such as shark fin, bird's nest, and abalone.

We had a chance to visit Blossom, a very refined and elegant high-end Chinese restaurant located at Aria. Executive chef Chi Kwun Choi, who has been at the restaurant since 2009, is from Hong Kong and draws inspiration from food trends in both Hong Kong and Beijing.

I must say, I was very, very impressed. I don't think I had ever had Chinese food at this level before, at least not until my visit to a 2-Michelin starred restaurant during my trip to Hong Kong this past year. Here's a look at some of the dishes we enjoyed!
...

Marta New York

December 30, 2015 by Jennifer Che

This is the first post in the 2015 New York series.

I have very fond memories of Rome.

Bryan and I first visited the city in 2001, the first stop of our extended honeymoon in Italy. We were wowed by the numerous ancient buildings, inexpensive but delicious food (the country was still on the lira currency back then!), and friendly people. It took us over 10 years to visit again, a short weekend trip after one of my European business trips. On that second trip, we focused a lot more on the food. We researched heavily before we went, and visited some fantastic restaurants.

One especially fond memory related to the pizza. Although Rome is not as known for its pizza as Naples, the pizza there is still unique and very, very tasty.

pizza from dal Paino in Rome

We especially loved the light and crispy - super thin crust on the Roman pizzas. It was almost like a cracker topped with gorgeously flavored toppings. In the U.S., we soon discovered that most restaurants aim for Neapolitan-style pizzas, which have a thicker, chewier, breadier crust. Though we loved the many excellent authentic pies we found in the U.S., we still missed the uber-thin crusts that we experienced in Rome.

This is why we were so excited when we heard about Marta, a new Roman-style pizzeria in New York from Danny Myers' Union Square Hospitality Group. ...

Coppa Boston

March 3, 2015 by Jennifer Che

Congratulations to Elizabeth (#17) for winning the Giveaway! Elizabeth said “My favorite casual place is Picco – always fun and great food. And, they’ll be at the event!”

Bryan and I have a tradition that we started years ago. We'll take vacation from work on our birthdays and spend it together somewhere. Certain years, we'll actually go on a trip (e.g., Paris, Sydney, or Tokyo), while other years we'll just explore Boston together for the day.

It's during these times that we finally get around to visiting some of those places that are typically hard to access. For example, this past year we finally visited James Beard Award winners Ken Oringer's and Jamie Bissonette's Spanish restaurant Toro on Bryan's birthday. We showed up about 15 minutes before the restaurant opened so we could ensure a table without the crazy up to 2+ hour long waits.

For my birthday this past year, we stayed local (no trips since our Hawaii trip was coming up in a week!), and explored Boston for the day. This time, we decided to stop by Chef Oringer's and Chef Bissonette's other collaboration, an Italian enoteca called Coppa for lunch.
...

Santouka Ramen Harvard Square

February 23, 2015 by Jennifer Che

Hello Santouka!

A popular ramen chain from Japan finally arrives in the East Coast, with its first location in Harvard Square. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see the window on Bow Street with the plastic models of all the different ramen. It totally reminded me of Japan!

Santouka began as a single ramen shop in Hokkaido back in 1988. Founder Hitoshi Hatanaka was inspired to open a ramen shop after watching the Japanese movie Tampopo, a comedy about a ramen shop.

Santouka began with just one item on the menu - the Shio Ramen. Guests absolutely loved the flavors of the creamy, elegant broth together with the thin noodles. The ramen shop quickly grew in popularity, and pretty soon was basking in all sorts of media attention. As time went by, Santouka expanded to more and more locations. Currently, there are locations all over Japan as well as internationally, including Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillipines, Thailand, and the U.S.

Up until recently, there was only location in the East Coast: a shop inside the Mitsuwa Market Place in Edgewater, New Jersey. Hungry patrons in Boston who craved Santouka would have to drive a good four hours for their fix.

Then just a couple weeks ago, in February 2015 amidst Boston's numerous snowstorms, the first New England location opened right in Cambridge, in Harvard Square.

We showed up on day two of the soft opening!
...

Phew I did it! 31 Posts in 31 Days Reflections

June 1, 2014 by Jennifer Che

Eric Ripert and Jen at Le Bernardin kitchen

Easter breakfast @crispbakeshop in Sonoma. This cakes spills out eggs when cut - hee hee

The photos say it all.

Each photo above represents one of the posts I wrote this past month. Click on any image to lead to the post. In the month of May, I wrote 31 posts. Contrast that with the months of January through April, where I only wrote 41 posts in total. Clearly this past month was a crazy whirlwind of activity.

Happily, I have finally started making a sizeable dent in my backlog of food photos I've taken over the last couple years, though I'm nowhere near finished.

In this month, I've written about restaurants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Napa / Sonoma Valley, Las Vegas, Sydney (Australia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Tokyo (Japan), and Montreal (Canada) plus a handful of recipes. I haven't even started on the rest of Canada or New Zealand.

Still so much more to write.

What was it like?
My original goal in trying publish 31 posts in 31 days was to see if I still "had it". Did I still have the same drive, passion, and pure energy to "pump" out high quality, detailed posts like I used to when I was first ramping up Tiny Urban Kitchen?

This is no surprise to me, but the experience reaffirmed to me that I am a very goal-oriented person. Give me a goal, challenge, or contest, and my motivation skyrockets. Pending deadlines are good for me. They force me to execute at my highest, most efficient level.

Sure, there were a few nights where this challenge caused me sleep deprivation. There were times when I felt like kicking myself for setting such an unreasonable goal. It would happen on those days when an evening activity would occupy most of my night and I wouldn't get home until closer to 10:30 PM. Church stuff would take up a couple more hours, and then I would begin writing the next day's blog post . . . . at 12:30AM.

Thankfully, those days were few, and by and large, I managed to front load photo editing on weekends and just focus on writing during the weeknights, which wouldn't take more than 1-2 hours.

What's next?

Will I continue publishing a new post everyday?

Ha ha, depends. I still have A LOT of backlog content to post (e.g. recipes like quick Taiwanese beef noodle soup in a pressure cooker (!), Boston restaurants I've visited lately, plus many other travel photos).

But I don't want to overwhelm the blog either.

I would love your feedback.

Please comment below and tell me what you think. I am extremely motivated by what others want, and since this blog is totally for you, my readers, I want to do what you all prefer. Below are some things I've been wondering, and I would love to hear your thoughts.

And to those who have emailed me personally supporting me in this challenge and telling me how much you love it, THANK YOU. It means so much to me and it really keeps me motivated to work even harder to make this blog as enjoyable and useful as possible.

OK . . here are some questions for thought!

Questions
Did you like how I skipped around between travel series or would you prefer to have each series be serial?

Do you wish for more Boston and recipe posts? Or do you like the heavy emphasis on travel?

Was a post every day too much to keep up with?

Would you prefer less frequent long, detailed posts or more frequent shorter, "snapshot" type posts? (Of course, I can do a mix of both, though I think currently most of my posts are on the long side)

Any other general feedback?

Thanks everyone!

I'm not sure what I'll do next month. I may still continue to increase my posting frequency compared to before. However, I just may give myself a break on weekends.

🙂

Thanks everyone for joining me in this fun little challenge!

Jen

Dumpling Cafe {SNAPSHOT}

June 26, 2013 by Jennifer Che

This is a {Snapshot} of Dumpling Café based on my recent experiences at the restaurant. The original post of this restaurant (written in 2010!) can be found here.

Dumpling Café is located in Boston's Chinatown and has a nice selection of Taiwanese dishes, Sichuan dishes, and various types of dumplings. It’s almost never as crowded as Gourmet Dumpling House (which invariably has a long line outside), even though there’s quite a huge overlap in the menus and the food is comparable in quality. Perhaps less people know about this place, partly because it’s just a tiny bit off the beaten path (5 minute walk from Gourmet Dumpling House).

I like it also because it’s fast. It’s as fast as Taiwan Café, which in my mind has always been one of the fastest restaurants in Chinatown. I swear, within 5 minutes of ordering, your food starts to show up on the table. We were trying catch a movie at Lowe’s Cinema once and came here for dinner beforehand. We were in and out of the restaurant in about 20 minutes. As long as you don't have to wait for a table, coming here could be faster than a fast food joint, and most certainly tastes much, much better.

Here's a look at some dishes we've tried during our past few visits.

“Sen Jian Bao” are flat buns filled with meat and vegetables that are pan fried to form a crispy edge. The best ones I’ve ever had were in Shanghai from a famous street vendor. These were still nicely pan fried and were reasonably tasty.

The xiaolongbaos (soup dumplings) are tasty here, and probably among the best ones in Boston (though they still pale in comparison to the ones available out west or in Asia). I much prefer the flavor of the crab roe with pork dumplings, though the pork ones are still not bad.

They are pretty huge (a negative in my book, because it's hard to put the whole thing in your mouth), and thus can be tricky to navigate. Definitely use a spoon and be careful! They are delicate and may break, and the soup inside is hot! I like to wait a bit before eating these, otherwise they seriously burn my tongue.

Steamed dumplings are fine - nothing particularly exciting, but they are reasonably tasty and not greasy at all.

The spicy fish dish (shui zhu yu) is bold, flavorful, and quite similar to the one at Gourmet Dumpling House, which is also quite good. Be prepared for the numbing sour zing from the Sichuan peppercorns, which are used quite liberally in this dish.

Beef with longhorn peppers is fine, though not particularly memorable.

Stir fried hollow heart greens with garlic (a simple dish I often like to order no matter where I am) were tender, flavorful, and light.

I enjoyed the rice cakes with pork and mustard greens (a classic Taiwanese combo), which were nicely flavored and not too greasy. It reminded me of simple home cooking.

A similar dish made with tofu sheets was simple and light – something I could imagine eating reasonably frequently. [yes, eating Chinese food out can be healthy!]

Overall, this restaurant usually falls on my short-list of places to visit when I’m in Chinatown. The food is good, the service is crazy fast, and the dishes are reasonably healthy. It's a nice option if other places have long lines. Keep in mind I’m a bit biased towards Taiwanese and Sichuan cuisine, so other restaurants on my short list would be places like Taiwan Café and Gourmet Dumpling House.

Dumpling Cafe
695 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

Los Angeles Eating Adventures

March 1, 2012 by Jennifer Che

Ever since I've been married, without fail, we head out to sunny Southern California for the holidays. Most winters, it's been a great reprieve from the harsh winters that we experience in Boston.

Boston gets dark so early (think pitch black by 4:30PM in the dead of winter), there's a part of me that's secretly glad that I'm always in a region where the sun doesn't set until around 6PM during the shortest days of the year.

I digress.

This past holiday we again went to Southern California. This time around, we visited Disneyland (riding the new Star Tours ride FOUR TIMES), ate at our favorite Chinese haunts, and checked out a few new exciting places. This next series will highlight some of these fantastic restaurants.

Can you guess where we went?

Our favorite Northern Chinese hole-in-the-wall in Westminster serves gorgeously crispy beef filled scallion pancake rolls, handmade noodles, pot stickers, and many other dishes, all at prices that look like they haven't changed in over a decade.

Of course I had to stop by my favorite dumpling place.
By visiting this location, I have now visited every single one in the world. Aren't these cute snowman-shaped TKO's?

This highly regarded sushi place only offers omakase and provides one of the most authentic sushi experiences I've ever had in the US.

A premium ice cream shop opened by a food blogger?

Molecular gastronomy is prominently featured at this restaurant within a restaurant in Los Angeles.

This is what Christmas in LA is like - sunglasses and no jacket!

Hope you enjoy the next series!

Happy Chinese New Year (& Giveaway Winners!)

January 24, 2012 by Jennifer Che

The Bellagio in Las Vegas

I'm just a little late, but Happy Chinese New Year!

We enter the year of the dragon this year, a year that many people think is the luckiest of all the Chinese zodiac signs.

Bryan and I just came back from Las Vegas not too long ago. The Bellagio always puts out a fantastic display every year during Chinese New Year. This year, they went all out, complete with huge dragons that blew smoke out of their noses, larger-than-life firecrackers that lit up and made cracking noises every so often, and tons of flowers. There was even a pond filled with live fish!

We celebrated this weekend by having hot pot! Apparently we weren't the only ones in the city who had the brilliant idea of having a hot pot during the new year. Several Chinese supermarkets in the city ran out of thinly sliced beef. We finally "sacrificed" a couple of our USDA prime steaks from the freezer and sliced them up for hot pot (!!).

Although it was delicious, I still think thinly sliced filet mignon (which I prepare at home) is by far the best way to enjoy beef during a not pot. The New York strips were good, but the texture of filet mignon can't be beat.

Giveaway Winners!
Congratulations to our three winners who win a personally autographed copy of Nina Simonds' brand new book: Simple Asian Meals.

Our winners said the following:

Lindsay of Eat, Knit, Grow says her favorite Asian dish is "Pho!!"

I still haven't actually made real, beef pho before, but I've attempted chicken pho!

Janice said "it's tough to pick a single favorite dish. I love all Asian food! But if I had to, I would say Ramen is my favorite dish. I could probably eat a bowl daily."

I'm just starting to learn about ramen! I've had incredible tsukemen (dipping ramen) in Japan a few times, pretty good ramen in Boston, and fantastic ramen at a pop-up restaurant. However, I have still yet to try some of New York's most well-known ramen, such as Ippudo or David Chang's Momofuku ramen!

Finally, Emily said, "my favorite is gyoza. I grew up helping my mom fold the gyoza skins - painstaking but worth the effort!"

I love gyoza (Japan's version of dumplings) as well! It's one of my favorite foods and I love making it at home or at some of my favorite dumpling restaurants!

Congratulations everyone and thanks for playing!

Here's to a wonderful new year!

Menton - White Alba Truffle Tasting Menu

January 13, 2012 by Jennifer Che

I was born in November. November has always been sort of a dud month in general. I’ve always been jealous of Bryan, whose early October birthday coincides with glorious fall colors and perfect, crisp hiking weather here in New England.

November is that weird month after all the leaves have fallen but before the magical snow of Christmas has blanketed the ground. For my birthday, I could never go on a leaf peeping hike, a lovely outdoor picnic, or a trip to the beach. Instead, for the last five years or so, we’ve bundled up indoors, enjoying a traditional Chinese hot pot for my birthday.
Then I found out something awesome about November.

Two words: white truffles

Yep, November is when the white truffle season goes full bloom. I have been in love with white truffles ever since the moment I tried them. Their fragrant, earthy aroma is intoxicating, and I am drawn to anything that incorporates this mystical fungus.

I even told Bryan I wanted to go to Alba, Italy for my birthday someday.

Well, I didn’t get a chance to visit Alba this past November. However, Bryan did treat me to a White Alba Truffle Tasting Dinner at Menton.

This meal was really like no other meal I had ever enjoyed. For the first time, we got to dine at the Chef’s Table at Menton.

Now, before I go on, let me tell you something cool about the kitchen at Menton. If you’ve ever been to Per Se or the French Laundry, you can’t help but notice an uncanny resemblance of the Menton kitchen to those kitchens.

As it turns out, Menton's kitchen was designed by the exact same people. According to a chef I met at Menton, the Menton kitchen is probably one of the nicest (if not THE nicest) restaurant kitchens in Boston. Once you cook there, you really become spoiled because no other kitchen is so well-designed, well-organized, spacious, and stocked with so much special and useful equipment.
Anyway, back to the Chef’s Table. The Chef’s Table is actually inside the kitchen. You walk through the kitchen (a cool experience in and of itself) to enter the door to this small, exclusive room. The room has one long table (seats about 20), and has a HUGE window that looks into the kitchen.

It’s seriously front-row seats to all that intense action going on in the kitchen.

It’s fascinating to sit there and watch. There’s a mirror on the other side of the wall opposite the window, so people seated on all sides of the room can enjoy the spectacle.
The manager of the restaurant, Alec Riveros, sat with us throughout the evening and taught us all about white truffles. The dinner was both educational, fun, and (of course), delicious. Because of the intimate nature of the room, you actually get to know the people at the dinner, which is kind of fun.

Before the meal began, the staff brought in the huge white truffle we would all be eating today. The aroma alone engulfed the room, making everyone just a little swoony from the luxurious smell. We passed around the huge white truffle, admiring this rare jewel. White truffles, unlike black truffles, cannot be cultivated. For some reason, no one has figured out a way to farm these precious nuggets. As a result, the only way to obtain white truffles is to go to the Alba region in Italy and hunt for them during their short season. The truffles are buried underground (about 6 inches?), so you can’t even see them if you go into the forest. This is why truffle hunters bring truffle dogs of truffle pigs, whose keen sense of spell can pick out white truffles that are buried underground. The price of white truffles varies wildly depending on availability.

This year was a sparse year for truffles, which is why prices shot up as the season progressed and not a lot of truffles were harvested. Alec told us that the executive chef, Colin Lynch (no relation to Barbara Lynch), is quite picky about truffles and will spend quite a bit of time smelling the various truffles that the truffle vendor brings before picking one out. (Can you imagine being a truffle vendor? Walking around town with that box of truffles! I would so be afraid of getting mugged!)
Butter Soup
Nova Scotia Lobster, Royal White Sturgeon Caviar, Honey
NV Ferrari Brut

We started with a non-truffle dish, actually, the signature “Butter Soup” from Menton. This soup seriously reminded me of melted butter, yet was more velvety, luxurious, and refined. The addition of caviar and lobster just made the entire soup that much more decadent. Of course it was delicious, though I couldn’t help but feel just a tad guilty that I was literally drinking butter!!
Bay Scallop Ceviche
Chives, Honeycrisp apple, Celery
2010 Cascina Roera Arneis "Ciapin"

The next course was a simple dish of bay scallops topped with the first magical shaving of white truffles. The Bay scallops were fresh and very sweet, which was offset nicely with the crisp apple and celery components. The white truffle smelled incredible on the dish, and worked perfectly fine with the components. Part of me did wish I could taste the white truffle more. In this dish, there were many equally strong flavors going on in conjunction with the shaved white truffles. Unlike simpler preparations where the white truffle is clearly the star, here it acted as an equal player in an orchestra of several flavors.
Chestnut Agnolotti
Fondutta, Braised Lettuce, Madeira
2005 Cascina Roera Barbera d'Asti Superiore "Cardin"

The chestnut agnolotti was one of my favorite courses of the evening. The fresh, homemade pasta had fantastic texture, and the fondutta sauce (a rich, creamy sauce made from fontina cheese, butter, milk, and egg yolks) bound everything together beautifully. Of course, the white truffles added a gorgeously sweet, earthy aroma that worked really well with the other components in this dish.

Braised Beef Cheeks
Ris de Veau, Parsnip, Sauce Perigueux
2007 Bianco Aldo Barbaresco
2006 Oddero Barolo

Our last savory course was braised beef cheeks and ris de veau (sweetbreads) in a Périgueux sauce (a rich, brown sauce made from Madeira wine and black truffles!). They came with these peculiar looking seashell shaped root vegetables that none of us had ever seen before. They sort of tasted like a cross between water chestnuts and potatoes, and were actually quite good. The braised beef cheeks went very well with the deep, rich Périgueux sauce. The white truffles were a nice balance to the intense flavors in the meal, though (again), part of me wished I could taste the white truffle more.
The meal included wine pairings, which was pretty unlimited. In other words, if you were a fast drinker and finished your wine before the course was over, they would just pour you some more. Of course, I had the opposite problem. I had trouble finishing so many glasses! This is why so many red wine glasses started "piling up" in front of my plate!

We moved onto a simple cheese course. I regret to say that I cannot remember the name of this cheese. I can say that it was nutty, creamy, had nice depth, and was lovely with the accompanying toasts, Marcona almonds, and fruit jam.

Chocolate Mousse
Cardamon, Milk Chocolate Crumble, Grand Marnier Glace
2010 Marenco Brachetto d'Acqui "Pineto"

Though we were all crazy full by the end, we ended with a few more sweet bites! The decadent chocolate mousse was nice - rich and chocolatey yet not too sweet.

Before we left, the last thing we enjoyed were these baby mini-macarons! This was not the first time I had seen these, but they were still just as fun to eat! Each color is a different flavor. I think we had espresso, mint, raspberry, and orange (though I am not positive!).

All in all, these special Chef’s Table dinners are really an interesting and different way to enjoy dinner on a Sunday evening. Instead of paying the crazy $2000 minimum to reserve the Chef’s Table for yourself, you can just pay the price of a dinner.

The white truffle dinner was significantly more expensive than most largely due the the cost of the ingredients. However, they often have other, more “normally” (normal for Menton, that is) priced set tastings (usually in the $100 to $150 range) that are probably fun, informative, and (of course), delicious.

Thanks Bryan for a such a fun, unique "visit" to Alba. Maybe next year we can go for real. 🙂

Menton
354 Congress St.
Boston, MA 02210

Tapas Molecular Bar

March 29, 2011 by Jennifer Che

This post is part 2 of my series: Tribute to Japan which will explore Japanese culture through my trip there back in November 2010.

It's not everyday you get to feel like you are sitting atop the clouds, staring down at the city below you. Here, on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo, floor-to-ceiling windows display unparalleled views of the city's shimmering lights.

Better yet, each night seven seats open up at the bar (once at 6pm, once at 8:30pm) for one of the most unique molecular gastronomy experiences in Tokyo. Instead of just an extended tasting menu of twenty or so courses, think of this as a show - an evening of entertainment and delight both for the eyes as well as the palate.

Welcome to Tapas Molecular Bar, a one-star Michelin restaurant that really takes "Tasting Menu" to a new level. Here, you'll experience familiar flavors delivered in unconventional ways. It's both a lesson in science as well as food. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted, and entertained the entire evening. I came here on my birthday and enjoyed a night that was full of surprises and loads of fun.

Sparkling Muscat
We started out with a sparkling muscat jelly, which was light, fruity, and a wonderfully bright way to begin the meal.

Bryan got a fun fruit (maybe lychee?) flavored cocktail.

Matsutake Gohan
This dried out rice "cracker" reminded me of a pork rind, except that it was made out of rice and Matsutake, a kind of Japanese mushroom. I loved the earthy flavors.

Aero Cheese
Next up was aerated cheese between two slices of pear (shown on left).

Apple Manchego
A super thin slice of dehydrated apple was wrapped around Manchego cheese sorbet.

Caesar Salad
A frozen Romaine lettuce hemisphere was topped with shaved Parmesan "snow." This was a unique gustatory experience, as the flavors were very reminiscence of Caesar Salad (something I've had hundreds of times), yet the vehicle of delivery was so whimsical and different that it was still surprising.

Next, the chef took out a rack of syringes and began pressing out black liquid into a clear bath. If you're familiar with molecular gastronomy, you'll recognize this as spherification, the process of using calcium chloride and sodium alginate to make tiny little balls filled with any liquid you desire. They short of remind me of salmon roe.

Here's a close up of the chef making the deep black spheres.

Amaebi
These spheres were then used in this "Amaebi" dish filled with seaweed, rock shrimp, and tiny little grape tomatoes.

Porcini Cannelloni
Thick slices of Porcini mushroom wrapped in a gelatin shell.

Tilefish, Powdered Aromas
This dish was subtle. You dip the raw fish slice into the warm foamy broth and also into one of the three powders (I believe they were different types of spices). To be honest, I had a hard time tasting the nuances of the broth. I also used so little of it (we didn't drink it), that I sort of felt bad wasting it all.

Duck Panna Cotta
Next we had super tender (I'm guessing sous vide) duck breast alongside kabocha panna cotta and a lime and cumin foam.

Emperor's New Mojito
The next course was a funny play on the diners. The bartender put on this whole convincing act of pouring nothing into these empty mojito glasses. The chefs then handed each of us the empty glass, which had a metal straw inside. Perplexed and confused, we sipped at the straw. BAM! A tart, minty, and rum-like concentrated shot exploded from inside the straw.

That was it - a surprise that made some gasp, others giggle . . .

Xiaolongbao
I was totally expecting to see some sort of dumpling when I saw the name of this item on the menu. Imagine my surprise when I saw a lamb rib! It turns out, the lamb is actually filled with hot soup! Thankfully, they strongly advised us to eat the entire thing in one bite, so most people did not have any squirt incidents. The experience was fun and not too messy! This was paired with a very young peach on the side.

Wagyu
We then had a super tender sous vide cut of Wagyu alongside a strip of parsnip.

Miso Soup
This next course was quite unique. Essentially, you have this HUGE spherified miso-soup flavored ball. It totally reminded me of an egg yolk. Once you bite into it, miso soup oozes out. It's surrounded by scallion oil and tiny spherified tofu. It was an odd juxtaposition of very familiar flavors delivered in such an innovative way.

Music by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0".

Liquid Nitrogen?
Next up we had a really funny and interesting dessert. It was a meringue of sorts frozen in liquid nitrogen. You have to watch this really short video (16 seconds!) of Bryan trying it - it's sooooo funny!

Puff; Fois Gras; Kinako; Raspberry Soda; Chocolate Pumice

This was followed by an assortment of interesting and whimsical desserts. A simple "puff" that was like cotton candy (mostly air); a fois gras filled savory doughnut; thin pieces of freeze-fried raspberry that sort of "fizzed" to give the impression of soda; aerated chocolate pumice which reminded me of Aero chocolate from England. Kinako, roasted soy bean powder, is commonly used in Japanese sweets. It was the coating on the "lollipop"-like dessert.

Birthday Egg
As I had mentioned before, it was my birthday. They gave me an intact but super light egg shell (no holes!), which they told me to break, revealing a paper crane (with the words Happy Birthday Jennifer!) inside. I have no idea how they got the crane inside of the egg. They must have either used molecular gastronomy techniques to create an egg shell or somehow re-fused it together.

Fruit
Our last dessert was a plate of citrus fruits. First they told us to taste the lemon, the lime, and the orange. Nothing that spectacular. If anything, they were pretty sour and not that enjoyable. Next, they told us to bite into the little red nut and roll it around our tongues for 30 second.

We then tried the fruit again. Whoa!!! Miracle berry! Everything tasted like it had been infused with lots of sugar! I felt like I was slurping lemonade and limeade. Surreal and weird, everything tasted like a sweet cousin of itself.

Miracle Berry is a fruit that temporarily suspends your ability to taste sour for about an hour. This berry has a glycoprotein called miraculin that binds to your taste receptors, altering the way you perceive acids. It's great fun to get one and then try all sorts of acidic foods, like vinegars, various fruits, sodas, coffee . . . you name it!

We had a great time enjoying this crazy interesting meal. I wouldn't say that any of the flavors were mind-blowingly sophisticated. Instead, the experience is more about the way the food is presented and less about the uniqueness of the actual flavors. For example, the "miso soup" tasted just like a normal miso soup you would get at any Japanese restaurant. It just happened to be served in a really unusual way. Coming to Tapas is really about enjoying the crazy science behind novel and unusual ways of presenting familiar tastes.

It was quite helpful that at least one of the chefs spoke English. Two chefs entertained us the whole night. One who spoke Japanese (and served 3 of the Japanese guests), and one who spoke English (who served the 4 foreign guests). Having the meal presented in English enhanced the experience greatly, as we could ask questions and learn much more about each dish.

A few negatives - you are in a bar, so there will be smoking. Everything from my coat to my sweater smelled like stale cigarette smoke the next day. Also, the ambiance is a bit more casual than you might expect for such a nice and expensive meal. There's live music in the background plus the low roar of lively conversation from the hotel bar area. Some may prefer the casual environment while others may wish for a more quiet atmosphere.

All in all though, a meal at Tapas will be undoubtedly fun, interesting, and entertaining.

Plus, you absolutely cannot beat the view - even from the restrooms*!!

Tribute to Japan Series

This post is part 2 of my series: Tribute to Japan which will explore Japanese culture through my trip there back in November 2010.

Part 1: Kappabashi-dori

Part 2: Tapas Molecular Bar

*Accordingly to Bryan and many others, the view from the urinals in the men's restroom is incredible. Imagine the sinks in the picture above (which is of the womens' restroom) replaced by urinals.

Happy New Year! Top 10 Posts of 2010

January 1, 2011 by Jennifer Che

Happy 2011!

What did you do for New Years this year? Since Bryan and I have been traveling like crazy (just came back from flying cross country visiting both sets of parents for the holidays and are on our way to Las Vegas tomorrow!!!), we decided to take it easy and just hang out at home.

I absolutely cannot believe it's 2011 already!

In some ways, it really feels like this year has totally flown by. In another sense, I also feel like I have come so far since the same time last year.

Highlights of this year?

Well, participating in and ultimating winning Project Food Blog was definitely incredible. The challenges were difficult but really fun. I really appreciate all the new friendships that I made.

I also loved my trip to Napa Valley where, on behalf of Foodbuzz, I covered the 8th Annual S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. Having never been to Napa Valley, I totally enjoyed this first visit. As a bonus? At the very last minute, The French Laundry had a cancellation, which meant we scored a reservation for dinner there!

Travel
Bryan and I traveled a lot this past year. Many of these excursions included some excellent eating opportunities! On top of the Napa Valley trip in March, we also tried several celebrity chef restaurants in Las Vegas in January and sampled some of New York's best restaurants in February, including Thomas Keller's flagship East Coast restaurant.

In April we visited Bryan's sister in Washington D.C. We were so fortunate to arrive right during the heart of cherry blossom season! We also tried some pretty cool and famous eats there.

After all that traveling, I actually stayed put in Boston for the entire summer (a time when the rest of the world is traveling!). It was exciting to be featured on CNN back in June. I also signed up for a farm share, which has been quite interesting as I have been discovering new vegetables week after week!

Throughout the fall, Project Food Blog took over my life. Despite all that, I still somehow managed to visit Japan and China a couple times (the China blog series is still ongoing).

I love to travel, and seldom do I have the opportunity to travel so much in one year.

So I'm very very thankful.

It's been a really really good year.

Here's to 2011.

Happy New Year to all!

If you haven't noticed, the pictures point to the top 10 posts (based on traffic) from 2010.

Dumpling Cafe

November 23, 2010 by Jennifer Che

The Taiwanese restaurant scene in Boston today is eons better (and continually improving) compared to what it was 15 years ago when I first moved to Boston. Back then, Wisteria House on Newbury Street (now closed) was the only option around. Cantonese dining was the predominant Chinese cuisine, and most of that was in Chinatown.

Fast forward to 2010. Not only do we have a nice variety of excellent Taiwanese-style restaurants from which to choose (e.g., Taiwan Cafe, Shangri La, and Gourmet Dumpling House), we also have upscale Taiwanese inspired restaurants along with Taiwanese restaurants in the suburbs.

So is there room for another Taiwanese restaurant?

Just a few months ago Dumpling Cafe opened in Chinatown. Though its name implies it's merely a dumpling house, Dumpling Cafe actually has quite an extensive menu of authentic Taiwanese dishes, traditional Chinese dishes, and (of course), dumplings.

A couple weeks ago I was in Chinatown with my friends Peter and Chia Chi filming footage for my Hand-Pulled Noodles video (you can see me walking into Dumpling Cafe in the video). Because I had heard initial positive reports about this place, we decided to see what it was all about.

Though "Dumpling Cafe" does not necessarily scream Taiwanese restaurant, once you take a look at the extensive menu it's quite obvious. The menu reminds me of Taiwan Cafe or Gourmet Dumpling House. You see a lot of your classic Taiwanese appetizers such as oyster pancakes, stinky tofu, intestines, duck tongue, and scallion pancakes. There's also a huge assortment of more traditional Chinese dishes, as well as dumplings (jiao zi) and soup dumplings (xiao long bao).

Given the restaurant's name, we knew we had to try their dumplings. We ordered the mini juicy buns with pork and crabmeat ($6.50) and the pork and leek boiled dumplings. My friend Peter got the noodle soup with pork and special mustard greens ($5.95), and we also tried the Taiwan style hot and sour soup ($4.95).

I was actually quite pleased with both the soup dumplings and the handmade boiled dumplings. I tend to like a thinner dumpling skin, and their homemade boiled dumplings had decently thin skin. The flavor was also pretty enjoyable.

I was even more pleasantly surprised by the soup dumplings. Though they are still a far cry from the best soup dumplings I've had in both California and Asia, they are up there with the best soup dumplings in Boston. I am almost tempted to say they are better than any other soup dumpling in Boston, but I think I should go back and try it a few more times before I make that conclusion.

The soup dumplings have a nice thin skin that is quite strong and does not break (good sign). They are quite juicy and have a pretty pronounced crab flavor. Soup dumplings are best enjoyed fresh, so I would recommend avoiding take-out if you can. Chia Chi ordered take-out soup dumplings a few weeks back and was not that impressed. She confirmed that it tastes much better in the restaurant.

Peter was not that impressed with his noodle soup (he was sick so I didn't try his soup). Though Chia Chi and I thought the hot & soup soup was pretty good (generously full of bamboo, wood ear, tofu, and pork), Peter though it needed more white pepper.

Overall, I was still quite pleased with our first visit to this newcomer to Chinatown. If nothing else, the dumplings are very good and reasonably priced. If I were to go back again, I would be tempted to try their wide array of Taiwanese specialties.

Dumpling Cafe
695 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

A Pizza Tour of My Travels

October 17, 2010 by Jennifer Che

My family has always loved traveling. Even though my parents were incredible frugal with everything else, we somehow always could afford plane tickets to fly to various parts of the world. Heck, my paternal grandfather founded what became the largest travel agency in Taiwan. When you have something like that in your lineage, you know you're destined to travel.

To this day, the travel bug has never left me, and I'm always wondering what trip to take next.

The next round in Project Food Blog is to create our own interpretation of pizza. I decided to take this opportunity to reflect upon the last decade or so of travel and express those trips by creating the flags of the countries I have visited as pizzas.

Now mind you, I do mostly Asian cooking (although Bryan does have an affinity for fresh pasta, so I do make lots of various pasta dishes). Nevertheless, I have never ever made pizza before.

Pizza dough is easy enough to make, ha ha, if you have a bread machine, which I do.

Pizza Dough

¾ cup warm water

1 T olive oil

2 ¼ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dry yeast

Just throw in water, oil, flour, salt, sugar, and yeast into the machine (in that order), set the machine to "dough only cycle," and before you know it, out pops some pizza dough. Of course, you can also purchase pizza dough, either from the supermarket or your favorite pizzeria. You'd be surprised to learn that they are often willing to sell the dough for a very reasonable price.

Silly me, I thought you had to toss the pizza dough and magically stretch it in this laborious way.

So Not true. Rolling out with a rolling pin works just fine.

In fact, it's a lot easier to control the shape of the pizza dough that way, which was important for me, since I needed rectangles for my flags.

You don't need a pizza stone, but it really makes the pizza taste so much better. It's best to heat the pizza stone in the oven for about 30 minutes at 450 to 500 °F before putting the pizzas onto the stone. After that, bake for about 10-12 minutes.

It's really surprisingly simple. And you can totally use your creativity for the toppings - heh, just like the way I did in creating these pizzas. I tried my best to incorporate bits of each country's actual cuisine into the pizzas (in some cases easier than others).

Sooooo . . . without any further adieu, allow me to take you on a short, virtual tour of my travels in the form of pizza flags!

Canada

I grew up about an hour's drive from Windsor, Canada, so my family went there frequently to shop for Asian groceries and eat good Chinese dim sum. However, my most memorable trip to Canada was a family trip to the Canadian Rockies in 1998. This is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The scenery is breathtaking, especially the soaring mountains and the unusually turquoise water.

Canadian Rockies, Canada

This pizza takes an ordinary pepperoni pizza and jazzes it up by caramelizing the maple-leaf shaped pepperonis with maple syrup in a toaster oven. The red sauce on the side is a simple tomato, butter, and onion sauce. Feel free to use your favorite tomato sauce recipe.

The United Kingdom

I visited London for the first time back in 1999 when my college a cappella group went to work with a Chinese church in London for a week. I have fond memories exchanging cultural ideas with those Chinese Christians in London.

This pizza is a play on "Bangers and Mash," a British dish I learned about during that trip. The pizza sits on base of purple mashed potatoes ("mash"), and has strips of sausage ("bangers") as the red stripes. Thinly sliced mozarella cheese act as the white part of the flag.

Italy

Bryan and I spent our honeymoon in Rome, Venice, and Florence. We enjoyed absolutely fantastic food in Italy, and learned how good, fresh ingredients can really make simple dishes shine. This pizza is inspired by the classic Italian salad Insalate Caprese (tomato, basil, and fresh mozarella). In this case, instead of using basil, I have added peppercress, a pungent and fragrant green that adds a lovely bite to the pizza.

A rooftop champagne toast in Venice, Italy

France

I studied French in high school and have always loved the beautiful language. For a special milestone birthday, Bryan and I spent a week in Paris, staying right on the grounds of Versaille. It was in Paris where I first discovered my love for the Pierre Hermes Ispahan macaron.

This simple French flag pizza comprises fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella cheese, and mashed blue potatoes. The flavors are simple yet delicious when you use high quality, fresh ingredients. For a taste of France, you can incorporate a strong blue cheese into the mashed potatoes for a more unique flavor.

Versaille, France

USA

Bryan’s family loves to camp at national parks, and I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of seeing some of these beautiful parks with his family ever since we got married.

Capitol Reef, Utah

This USA flag contains blue potato slices, mozzarella cheese, and a simple red tomato sauce. The stars are sprinklings of feta cheese. For an alternative way, you can use a base of mozarella cheese and then make the red stripes using bacon.

Japan

I studied Japanese in college and spent a summer working as an intern right outside of Tokyo. I fell in love with the food and culture of Japan while I was there. However, it wasn’t until 10 years later that I had the chance to return, this time with Bryan. Bryan and I enjoyed incredible food in Japan (fresh sushi and Kobe beef, just to name a few). This rice-based pizza is inspired by the sushi that we had in Japan. Prebake a "crust" by baking a square of dough without any toppings. After the crust is done, top with sushi rice and sushi-quality raw tuna (maguro). Optionally, put a dab of wasabi right underneath the tuna (out of sight).

Kyubei in Tokyo (my favorite sushi place!)

Taiwan

Of course, my parents are from Taiwan, so I went to Taiwan frequently as a child. My favorite foods in Taiwan? Traditional Taiwanese breakfast, shaved ice, and dumplings! I gave this pizza an Asian twist by blending roasted red peppers and “spiking” the mixture with Sriracha sauce to create a spicy and sweet base sauce. The blue portion is mashed blue potatoes, and the “sun” is a sliced mushroom.

Ice Monster, Taipei Taiwan

So that's it! I have hardly touched every country I've visited, but at least I've taken you to visit some of them, albeit brief! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey around the world in the form of pizzas!

Bon Appetit!

Thank you so much for those of you who voted for me the last several rounds. This blog entry is my submission for The Next Food Blog Star’s fifth challenge: Pizza! If you are so inclined, please vote for this entry. Thanks so much for your support!

Project Food Blog Round 3: A Luxury Interpretation of China

October 3, 2010 by Jennifer Che

China is a vast and beautiful country. Despite the fact that Bryan and I spent over 2 weeks there, we really felt that we had barely scratched the surface of seeing everything that China has to offer.

We visited many amazing historical sites, such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, and the Summer Palace.

One of the best things about China is the food. You can get absolutely amazing food for really really cheap prices. We tried several handmade dumplings in Beijing (top left photo), and also tried spicy Sichuan fish (top right photo). Congee or "jook" is a popular breakfast item (bottom left photo), and of course, we had to eat Peking duck while we were in Beijing (bottom right). Oftentimes an entire meal between the two of us would cost less than $5 U.S. It was so cheap and infinitely better than the Chinese food we get in the US.

Even though China is filled with cheap, delicious Chinese food, it also has its share of expensive high-end food. You can enjoy imperial banquet-type dishes that royalty used to enjoy, or sample a modern chef's take on Asian fusion concepts. Here in America, in contrast, Chinese food is almost always considered a cheap cuisine. People seem reluctant to pay a lot for Chinese food, and you'd be hard pressed to find fancy Chinese Michelin-starred restaurants (though there are a few exceptions).

The challenge for Round 3 for Project Food Blog is "create a luxury dinner party." Inspired by the foods we had enjoyed in China and as a nod to my ethnic heritage, I decided to do a luxury interpretation of Chinese cuisine.

I devised a menu that was largely influenced by the foods I had enjoyed while in China.

How does one go about creating what looks like a hugely intimidating meal? In my case, I literally got home off the plane from China around midnight on Friday evening. I knew I essentially had less than 24 hours in which to create the meal, serve it, and write a post.

I called up my foodie friends Peter and Chia Chi.

"Hey guys, are you free for dinner Saturday evening? Wanna help cook up a crazy 5-course meal?"

I love my crazy friends who say yes to these seemingly impossible tasks.

Fois Gras and Pork Dumplings
I was inspired to make these dumplings after having tried goose liver xiao long baos (soup dumplings) at my favorite restaurant in China. I didn't have time to make soup dumplings, so instead I made up my own version by mixing ground pork with scallions and fois gras. I also rolled out my own dumpling wrappers.

Inspired by an absolutely divine black truffle xiaolongbao that I had also tried in China, I invented my own interpretation by mixing chopped wood ear mushrooms and scallions with ground pork and fois gras. I finished it off by drizzling in a generous amount of black truffle oil. These were also made with the homemade wrappers I had rolled out earlier.

Lobster and Scallop "Jook"
Traditional Chinese congee is made with chicken stock or water and can be filled with various ingredients such as pickled cucumbers, pork floss, peanuts, and salty duck eggs. Peter and Chia Chi suggested making a high-end version using scallops and butter/truffle oil poached lobster.

This version was extremely complex to make, as it involved making lobster broth by baking the lobster shells, blending them with broth, and then filtering the mixture through a cheese cloth. Once you have the clear broth, you cook rice in the broth, creating a congee with a lovely rich lobster essence.

On top of all that, you take the lobster meat and cook it sous vide at 140 °F for about 20 minutes with butter and truffle oil. It smelled absolutely amazing and tasted divine.

I have to thank Chia Chi for doing most of the legwork for this dish!

Chilean Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce
This dish was the most straightforward, as it just involved steaming a few ingredients together. The "luxury" aspect of this dish was the use of Chilean sea bass (MSW certified!), which is a beautiful buttery fish that tastes absolutely amazing with the black bean sauce, scallions, and ginger.

Peking Duck Two Ways
Bryan loves Peking duck and we had it many times while in Beijing. I decided to do an elevated version of this dish by cooking the duck sous vide and then presenting it in a slightly different way.

Again, I made homemade wrappers by rolling out a dough made from water and flour and then steaming it in bamboo steamers.

I tried drying out the duck as much as possible in order to ensure crispy skin. Peter was very helpful in the kitchen as he took care of searing the duck and plating it.

Finally for dessert, black sesame ice cream! This is my signature dish with my friends and I've made it a million times. It incorporates a common Asian ingredient (black sesame) and makes it into a fusion dessert.

The Grand Finale . . .
And finally, after about 4 hours in the kitchen, we plated our crazy, crazy luxurious interpretation of high-end Chinese cuisine.

Lobster and Scallop Jook with Caviar

Fois Gras and Pork Dumplings
Fois Gras, Wood Ear, Black Truffle, and Pork Dumplings

"Peking Duck" - Sous Vide Duck Breast with Scallions, Hoisin Sauce, and Handmade Wrappers

Chilean Sea Bass with Ginger, Scallions, and Black Bean Sauce over a bed of Korean Spinach Salad

Black Sesame Ice Cream

To top off the luxurious evening, we enjoyed dinner with a fantastic bottle of champagne.

Epilogue
I am now official exhausted! Spending the afternoon cooking at least helped keep me awake in spite of the serious jet lag that I had. Thanks so much to my wonderful friends for helping to create this fantastic meal. Seriously, Chinese food can totally be high-end as well, even though it's not really considered that way in America. Hopefully by doing this little experiment I can help you all to think a little differently about Chinese cuisine.

Thank you so much for those of you who voted for me last round. This blog entry is my submission for The Next Food Blog Star’s third challenge: A Luxury Dinner Party. If you are so inclined, ~~please~~ ~~vote for this blog~~. Voting for Round 3 has ended, but you can still vote for this blog in Round 4. Thanks so much for your support!

Myers + Chang (and an unexpected surprise)

August 2, 2010 by Jennifer Che

Totally unsuspecting. Completely oblivious. Little did we know what was actually going on.

Oh little did we know.

We had been invited to a lovely dinner at Myers + Chang hosted by My Blog Spark, a blog network I had recently joined. I was so excited. I have always wanted to try out this Asian restaurant by Joanne Chang (of sticky-bun fame) and her husband, Christopher Myers (founder/owner of various well known restaurants in Boston including Rialto, Great Bay, Radius, and Via Matta).

Joanne and Christopher, who met while working at Rialto back in the late nineties, are an interesting couple. Both studied at Harvard, yet left their original careers to pursue their passions for food. Joanne became a pastry chef, training in several prestigious places before finally opening up Flour Bakery in 2000. Chris has never had formal restaurant training, yet has successfully opened multiple restaurants throughout Boston.

Joanne and Chris felt that Boston really needed a fun, hip Asian restaurant that would serve the foods Joanne grew up eating and have a trendy and stylish atmosphere characteristic of Chris's other restaurants.

Would it deliver?

The decor was definitely very inviting. I loved the Asian accents all over the place, such as the beautiful paper lanterns strung in a line against the wall. The space was big, bright, with lots of light coming from the dragon-decorated windows.

Plus, the bar menu looked interesting. Nice drink choices, great, hip vibe. We were off to a great start.

Bryan and I settled into our cozy table and started off with some drinks. I liked how the dining space was an interesting mix of casual and upscale modern. One the one hand, they kept disposable chopsticks bundled up at the table reminiscent of casual noodle joints and used cut up Chinese newspapers as place mats. On the other hand, the surrounding decor was trendy and modern, and the food selection was definitely creative and unique.

Crispy Spring Rolls - garlic chives, bamboo, shitake mushrooms
We started out with these crispy spring rolls. Instead of the usual cabbage filling, these spring rolls were chock full of garlic chives. I personally loved the abundance of fresh vegetables in this spring roll, and I liked how the garlic chives gave the spring roll a unique flavor.

Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Potstickers
I'm a little biased when it comes to potstickers or dumplings because I prefer dumplings that have quite a bit of vegetables. These potstickers were more reminiscent of your typical dumpling, which is mostly pork with a few bits of chives. The flavors were solid and they were fried perfectly. Of course, no comparion to my favorite dumpling places in the world or the US, but it was still enjoyable and definitely could compete with the best dumplings in Boston.

Wok Roasted Mussels - lemongrass, grilled garlic toast
Bryan though these mussels were really good. The sauce had a beautiful fragrant flavor that tasted great when dipped with bread. I personally thought it was borderline too salty, but again, I tend to think that a lot. Bryan thought it was fine.

Chilled Dan Dan Noodles with Fresh Peanuts and Chili Sambal
This was our least favorite dish out of all the appetizers. The sauce was very thick and rich, yet still managed to taste undersalted and a little bland. The noodle texture was alright, but overall I found the dish to be bit to thick and heavy for my tastes.

And then things started to get weird. After our appetizers, we just sat there and waited a long long time. The waitress came out and apologized using the the ever-so-famous-and-overused phrase, "the kitchen is experiencing some technical difficulties."

Technical difficulties? What kind of machines or tools are they using to cook our food???

She offers us another drink, which we gladly accept.
Shrimp Chips

Another 15-20 minutes go by. The waitress comes back again and apologizes some more.

"Would you like some shrimp chips?"

Sure. We looked anxiously at our watches. It had been well over an hour already. What was wrong?

Then finally . .finally . . the food arrived. Two large bowls, served family style. Sweet & Spicy shrimp and Szechuan-style chicken.

I remember remarking to Bryan, "these dishes are really Americanized." Earlier we had struggled to pick entrees that actually looked appetizing to us. After quickly picking out the appetizers, we had to choose between dishes like General Gau's chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Beef and Broccoli . . . you get the idea.

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp

Szechuan Style Chicken

The Truth Revealed
And then just as we were about to take our first bite they sprung the surprise on us. Guess what? Our main entrees were actually frozen dinners! Could we tell? Did we think it was from Myers + Chang? In fact, it was not! This dinner was actually sponsored by General Mills, who owns the Wang Chai Ferry Brand. We were eating Wang Chai Ferry Frozen Dinners!They had set up this special dinner to see whether people would be able to tell the difference.

The people around us gasped in surprise. Some were amazed, thinking that this food was really good and "they had no idea." Even Bryan remarked, " you couldn't tell that it was frozen."

OK, I guess he's right. And I'll concede that the texture of the noodles were decent. In all honesty, the food didn't taste all that bad. It's not a bad weeknight meal, especially if your other choice is to get greasy Chinese takeout anyway. It definitely tasted healthier than Chinese take-out, and it's probably cheaper and reasonably easy to prepare. Out of the two we tried, I definitely liked the Szechuan-style chicken better. I thought the sweet & spicy shrimp was way too sweet and totally reminded me of that saucy Americanized Chinese food you get at take-out restaurants. The Szechuan-style chicken was better. Like I said earlier, the texture of the noodles was decent, and it was reasonably enjoyable.

Having said all that, these dishes just did not taste like something Myers + Chang would make, which is why I wasn't that surprised. It totally explains why the menu seemed so weird when we got it. I still remember looking at other tables (who had received their main entrees well before we did) and thinking that the food just didn't look that appetizing. It was just too different from the rest of the food at Myers + Chang, which is presented in a much more delicate, artful way.

Chocolate and Cocoa Nib Terrine with Vietnamese Coffee Sauce

"Technical Difficulties"
And why did the kitchen have so much trouble? Turns out that (surprise!) the Myers + Chang staff was not used to cooking frozen dinners in bulk. In fact, MyBlogSpark had to purchase a microwave for the event. Unfortunately, that was not enough to solve all the problems. The commercial stoves were way too hot for your typical frozen dinner. The result? The cooks kept burning the food and having to start over.

Thankfully, they gave us dessert afterwards. These are two desserts off of the regular Myers + Chang menu. Both were fine, though neither really wow-ed me.

Coconut Cream Pie with Lime Whipped Cream

Epilogue
I thought the idea was really clever and it would have been really interesting to see how it would work if executed properly. Unfortunately for us, the experiment was fractured in many ways, starting from the kitchen "technical difficulties" to the fact that they gave away the surprise before we had a chance to really taste and evaluate the food objectively.

I still think the food at Myers + Chang is reasonably solid (everything else except for the entrees are actual dishes at the restaurant). Nothing is mind-blowingly amazing, but the restaurant does achieve what Joanne and Christopher wanted to achieve: a hip, trendy place in the South End that serves good Chinese food at relatively reasonable prices.

I'd be willing to go back and try an actual real meal there!

And the frozen dinners?
Don't worry. Myers + Chang is not serving frozen dinners on a regular basis. This was a one time promotional event sponsored by General Mills and MyBlogSpark.

You can get these frozen dinners (sold under the Wang Chai Ferry brand) at most supermarkets. They have several different types of Americanized Chinese dishes such as orange chicken, kung pao chicken, beef & broccoli, sweet & sour chicken, and shrimp lo mien. It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, and everything is included (the rice, the meat, and the veggies). It's cheaper and healthier than ordering Chinese takeout, and it tastes decent.

MyBlogSpark was kind enough to give me five coupons for a free package of Wang Chai Ferry frozen dinner. If you're interested in trying one, just comment below letting me know you would like one. I will mail a coupon to the first five commenters who express interest.

Myers + Chang
1145 Washington St
Boston, MA 02118

Disclaimer: Time to time I receive products, meals, etc. for free. I do not receive any payment for these posts/reviews. The views expressed in the posts are completely my own. This meal, the giveaway coupons, and a $50 gift card to cover the cost of parking and other incidentals, was provided by
MyBlogSpark.

Unique Dumpling {NOW CLOSED}

March 30, 2010 by Jennifer Che

Ever since Noodle Alcove closed in Chinatown, we have been lamenting the loss of fresh, handmade noodles in Boston. More recently, we discovered that Beijing Star in Waltham makes their own "dao xiao mian," or knife-cut noodles. Though pretty solid, it was a bit far to drive for a weeknight meal. We had high hopes for East by Northeast as well. Unfortunately, that place was quite expensive and had unconventional flavors, which again left us with no comforting, authentic fresh noodle soup restaurants nearby.

Imagine our delight when we received a phone call from our good friend Peter.

"Hey guys - guess what took over the old Wisteria location? A Taiwanese/Northern Chinese place that makes fresh noodles."

We had been circling around Union Square looking for parking to try out a new Mexican restaurant. Moments after he called, we immediately stopped looking and headed straight to East Cambridge to try this place out.

Unique Dumpling has two menus - an American one (which has all your "classics" such as Crab rangoons, General Gau's chicken, and egg rolls) and a gloriously authentic one with items such as shredded pig tripe in chili sauce, pork feet braised in soy sauce, and tea flavored eggs, not to mention the fresh homemade dumplings and noodle soups!

Pork and Leek Dumplings ($5.95)
You can order a set of 12 dumplings for around $6, or take home a frozen pack of 50 for around $15. We thought the dumplings were OK. For Boston, it's not bad. Of course, it's nothing close to my favorite dumpling place in America, or even my favorite dumplings in Boston, but it's decent, and they are definitely homemade.

Steamed Juicy Pork Buns ($5.95)
Similarly, their soup dumplings are also only OK - authentic, but not particularly exciting. The skin is thicker than what I prefer, and the flavors are average. Nevertheless, it's nice to have access to these types of authentic dishes so close to home, and the prices are not bad at all.

Shredded Pig Tripe with Chili Sauce ($3)
This was one of the most flavorful dishes, and they are not shy with the chilis! It was borderline too hot for me, but Bryan loved it. Nice flavors, and they recommend it as one of their best dishes.

Pork and Mustard Greens Noodle Soup ($6.95)
We ordered this noodle soup after coming back to Boston from a late flight. It really hit the spot. In general, their soups are relatively light, not too oily, and pretty healthy. Of course, this dish has the wonderful fresh chewy handmade noodles that Bryan loves. The texture of the noodles was quite "Q" (al dente in Taiwanese) and had a good bounce to them. The soup was pretty light, to the point that some might find it not salty enough. I am generally sensitive to salt, so this worked perfectly for me. Plus you can always add more salt if you think there's not enough in there.

Beef Tendon Noodle Soup ($6.95)
This is supposedly one of their signature dishes, and it's pretty good. The beef and tendon pieces have been stewed for a long time, and thus are quite flavorful and soft. I love beef tendon, so I really enjoyed the meat in this dish. The soup is a bit lighter and has less depth than other good beef noodle soups I've tried. Perhaps this goes along with their whole theme of healthier, less salty dishes. Of course, the fresh chewy noodles make this dish pretty enjoyable, though be prepared for a sizeable soup-to-food ratio (i.e. the bowl is huge but a big portion of that is just broth).

Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic ($8.95)
A lot of restaurants cook their green vegetables in a ton of oil. I really like how the stir fried spinach here was pretty light and healthy. It still had a nice garlic flavor infused throughout, but the dish tasted more like home-cooked stir fried spinach (cooked in juices) rather than restaurant shiny-oily spinach (cooked in oil). Portions were super generous.

Da Lu Mian ($6.95)
The authentic version of this dish is not soupy, but saucy. This version of Da Lu Noodle ~~Soup~~ was definitely saucy, poured over the fresh, chewy homemade noodles. I thought it was funny how they crossed out the word "soup" on the menu, since I'm sure more than one person expected a big bowl of broth and was disappointed. This dish was fine, though not as good as some that we've had in California.

Beef Pancake
This beef pastry was OK- I didn't love it. It was a bit greasy and didn't have particularly exciting flavors, but it was alright. It was decently crispy and flaky, and the filling was nice and hot.

Sweet Red Bean Paste Cake
This dessert was awesome! Imagine a red bean mochi cake pan fried so that the edges are nicely golden brown and crunchy while the insides are gooey and hot. I loved this dessert.

Overall Thoughts
The menu here is pretty authentic. I don't think any of the dishes are earth-shatteringly amazing (I still like Shangri La and Gourmet Dumpling House more), but for Cambridge, they are pretty good. I especially like how they don't over-salt their dishes, and I like how there are several relatively healthy and tasty options on the menu. The owners are really nice, and the lady actually told me we could try ordering anything we wanted, since the chef actually knows how to make many dishes. One example we thought of was "three-cup chicken," which she confirmed they could definitely make.

So finally, finally we have an affordable and tasty option for fresh handmade noodles in Cambridge. Best yet, it's open late and they deliver. Definitely check this place out if you're in the neighborhood and looking for a good, inexpensive, and authentic bite to eat.

Unique Dumpling
569 Cambridge St.
Cambridge, MA 02141

Green Mango Salad

January 14, 2010 by Jennifer Che

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!

Ravioli Rumble

November 22, 2009 by Jennifer Che

Last Sunday (November 14, 2009), Dante in Cambridge held a "Ravioli Rumble" where local Boston chefs competed to create the best gourmet ravioli dish. For only $20 a person, we sampled unlimited amounts of raviolis made by some top chefs in Boston. We then all voted for our favorites.

The following 5 descriptions refer to the picture above

1. Jason Santos, Gargoyles - BBQ pork "ravioli" with a side of cucumber kimchi

This "ravioli" tasted basically like a badly made Chinese dumpling with Chinese BBQ roasted pork (char siu) inside. You could taste the fatty bits of pork, which was a bit distracting. The skin was also thick and unrefined. Not a good way to start this tasting.

2. Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar - Pork Belly "ravioli" in kimchi broth

I think Will Gilson is a fantastic cook, but I think this was a fail. The kimchi soup was relatively bland, and the pork belly dumpling was ordinary. I know Will can make excellent pasta dishes, so I'm not sure what happened here. Perhaps because I am Chinese, my dumpling standards are higher than average. I still have not found anything in Boston that comes close to my favorite dumpling place in the world.

3. Andy Husbands/Isadora Sarto, Tremont 647 - "Stick to your Ribs" ravioli with mushrooms in a tomato based sauce

I found this ravioli to be way to salty, and thus not enjoyable at all. I was starting to wonder whether this meal would be worth the $20 I spent on it.

4. Evan Deluty, Stella - chocolate and ricotta fried dumpling

Finally! Something that tastes good! This dessert "ravioli" was pretty tasty, although it's hard to imagine any deep fried chocolate ricotta dumpling tasting bad. Several members of my party wished it had more chocolate. I thought it was good, but not particularly creative. In response Bryan said, "when have you ever seen a chocolate ricotta ravioli?"

5. Colin Lynch/Ralph Fiegel, Barbara Lynch Gruppo (includes No. 9 Park) - lamb with pine nuts, raisins, and EVOO

This ravioli was really delicious with an excellent blend of flavors. The deep, rich flavors from the lamb, the sweet raisins, and the really fragrant olive oil came together really nicely.

Louis DiBiccari, Sel de la Terre - "T.V. Dinner"

This was an interesting creative idea - they decided to put a T.V. dinner inside of a fried ravioli. I thought this dish was quite greasy, but one member of my party really liked the unique fried shell, and went back for seconds.

Rodney Murillo, Avila - butternus squash ravioli

This was DELICIOUS, and I almost voted for it as the winner. The texture was really unique. It was soft, chewy, sweet . . . really good. The entire ravioli had an unique chewy texture that was almost like soft mochi, which I love. The ravioli was served in a sweet cream sauce. I loved it and I went back for seconds. Hmmmm . . I wonder if he serves this in his restaurant. . ..

Anthony Caturano, Prezza - meat ravioli with brown butter and black truffle

Another one of my favorites - anything with truffle is already going to be pretty tasty. In this case, the ravioli, which was filled with a tasty meat sauce, was solid. Of course, the truffle added a nice earthiness to the dish and made the dish even better.

Josh Ziskin, La Morra - braised beef ravioli with butter and sage

I was really impressed with the texture of the ravioli "skin". In terms of texture, it was definitely one of the best, with that chewiness that can only come from fresh homemade pasta. Unfortunately, the filling was only OK, and thus he did not get my vote.

Mark Orfaly, Pigalle - Chicken cacciatore with chicken sausage

Again, this dish was fine, but did not wow me in any way, and thus was hardly memorable.

Mary Dumont, Harvest - chestnut ravioli with duck confit

I thought this ravioli was too sweet and could have used a bit more saltiness from the duck.

The Final Verdict
So which one did I vote for? I really liked the raviolis from Anthony Caturano (Prezza), Colin Lynch/Ralph Fiegel (Barbara Lynch Gruppo), and Rodney Murillo (Avila). In the end, it was a toss up between Lynch and Murillo, but I ended up choosing Lynch because I thought the flavors were a bit more complex.

And who won? Well, I'm not positive, since I did not stay until the end, but from my brief research on the internet, it appears that Anthony Caturano (Prezza), Colin Lynch/Ralph Fiegel (Barbara Lynch Gruppo and Andy Husbands/Isadora Sarto (Tremont 647) won. I guess I'm not surprised at the first two (I almost voted for them myself), but I thought Tremont 647 was wayyy too salty.

Heh heh, oh well, it was fun, and definitely a fun, cheap way to try a lot of different raviolis in a nice, outdoor setting. (Did I mention the weather was unseasonably warm that day? It was great!)

Gourmet Dumpling House

July 16, 2009 by Jennifer Che

My husband once asked me if I had to live on just one dish for the rest of my life, what would I choose? My answer - dumplings. Not only do they encompass three food groups in a neat little, flavorful package, they taste heavenly when made right, and I can't stop eating them. Ding Tai Fung in Taiwan (one of the most famous dumpling restaurants in the world), is one of my all time favorite restaurants.

Imagine my utter excitement when I found out about this relatively new restaurant in Boston's Chinatown with "dumpling" in its title! I was even more excited when I heard (unsubstantiated, by the way) that it was started by a chef who had left Taiwan Cafe, another one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Boston.

Gourmet Dumpling House does not disappoint, and makes lots of excellent dishes. Below are some of the my favorite dishes to order.

Mini steamed buns with pork ($6.95) otherwise known as "soup dumplings" or "xiao long bao." These delicate buns are filled with pork and hot, flavorful soup. Be careful when eating! You may accidentally squirt your neighbor's eye out or burn your own tongue!

I have been spoiled by the soup dumplings at Ding Tai Fung, so I think these are only OK. The flavor of the filling is good, but the skin on the dumplings is nowhere as thin or as delicate as those from the soup dumplings at Ding Tai Fung.

Sauteed Chinese watercress with garlic (special house sauce) - $9.95. This "hollow heart" vegetable (literal translation in Chinese) has stems that are hollow, not unlike a pile of green, crispy straws. The chef here did an excellent job cooking this vegetable - it was crisp, bright green, not too greasy, and very flavorful. I love this dish.

Taiwanese Style Sauteed Rice Cake with pork and vegetables ($6.25). I have a weakness of the chewiness of rice cakes, so I may be a bit biased here. This dish is great because it has everything - the robust, meaty flavor from the thin, julienned pork; the refreshing crunch of the napa cabbage, bean sprouts, and scallions; and the wonderful chewy texture of the sauteed rice cakes.

Sliced fish - Szechuan style - $12.95. If you like hot and spicy food, you absolutely have to try this dish. Literally translated as "water-cooked fish" in Chinese, this dish looks and tastes nothing like what its deceptive name might imply. The fiery red sauce is pungently fragrant, screaming of red Szechuan peppers and peppercorns. The pieces of fish are velvety soft, and taste absolutely incredible when combined with this glorious red sauce. Although the dish looks insanely hot, it's actually quite manageable. Just make sure to order some rice too! I get this dish every time I come here.

Sauteed Sliced Beef with ladies' fingers. The ladies' fingers, as you can see from the photo, are actual pieces of okra. This dish is cooked in Chinese BBQ sauce (sa-tsa), and is surprisingly good. I have never had anything like this before, and would not have ever ordered it had I not heard rumors about this dish's amazing flavors. The BBQ sauce gives the dish a nice smoky flavor, and it was definitely one of the favorites at the table when I went with a large group the other day.

Gourmet Dumpling House is a great addition to Boston's Chinatown area. Being of Taiwanese descent, I used to go to Taiwan Cafe almost exclusively whenever I was in Chinatown. These days, I find myself going to Gourmet Dumpling House more than 50% of the time when I'm in the neighborhood.

52 Beach St

Boston, MA 02111-2020

617-338-6223

Ice Monster

May 25, 2009 by Jennifer Che

Shaved ice is a classic Taiwanese dessert in the summer. One of the best known places in Taipei is called Ice Monster.

For around $5-$6, you get a HUGE bowl of shaved ice with your choice of toppings. I heard the mango one was incredible (with chunks of sweet, fresh mango on top). I did not hear of this until after I had visited Ice Monster, so I did not order that dish. If I ever go again, I would definitely try it. The Taipei Times has an interesting article here that talks about how the owner, under the pressure of difficult business and tough financial times, developed the mango shaved ice that shot business off the ground.

Anyway, I didn't try the mango. Instead, I ordered the mochi shaced ice.

It was still incredible! It had mochi balls of all different shapes and sizes, and even a huge flat mochi pancake on top. The dish also had sweet red bean topping (azuki) and condensed milk. It was really good! The various mochis had subtly different texture and flavors, so it was fun to try them all. Some were really chewy ("Q" in Taiwanese), while others were softer and sweeter. Over all, they complemented the azuki and condensed milk perfectly. The portion size is generous, and I shared one with my mom. We could have easily shared with a third person.

Ice Monster is located at 15 Yongkang street. Right off of Ding Tai Fung (original), not too far from other good places to eat. Apparently, one of the famous beef noodle restaurants is also on this street. The original Ding Tai Fung is also nearby.

Ice Monster
15 Yong Kang St., Da'an
hours: 11am-11pm

Southern California Favorites

May 14, 2009 by Jennifer Che

A friend of mine is going to California for a wedding and asked me for food recommendations in Southern California. We go to California at least once a year since Bryan is a native Californian. However, most of our eating is centered in Orange County, since that is where his family lives.I don't claim to be anywhere close to an expert on Southern California's best eats. However, I would like to share with you some of our favorite places. I can attest that these places are excellent. Peking Restaurant
8566 Westminster Blvd
Westminster, CA

Excellent Northern style Chinese food - I would definitely order the homemade noodles, the niu ro jia bing (beef slices rolled in a scallion pancake with hoisin sauce and cilantro - incredible! -- see picture above), pan fried dumplings, and boiled dumplings. It's cheap, delicious, and totally authentic. Be prepared to wait if you go on a weekend during lunch.Ding Tai Fung
1108 South Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia,California
91007

If you read this blog, you probably know that this is one of my all time favorite restaurants. Even though it's a 45 minute drive from Bryan's home, we drive there almost every time we are in California. My favorites are the vegetable pork dumplings and the soup dumplings. Be prepared to wait no matter when you go. The last time we went, they had expanded and had taken over another space within walking distance of the original restaurant. We went to this other space and didn't have to wait.

Sushi Gen
422 E 2nd St (Little Tokyo)
Los Angeles, CA
I actually have not been to this restaurant in Little Tokyo, but it's widely regarded as one of the best and freshest sushi places for a reasonable price. My mom told me that all the Taiwanese people know about this place. I definitely want to try it the next time I go to LA!

In & Out
All over Southern California
This hamburger place is classic - with everything made from scratch and to order. Order off the "sceret" menu by asking for a "two by two" burger (2 patties / 2 buns) and "animal style" (with grilled onions and special sauce). I really love the burgers here, and the prices are cheap too.

Tea Station

11688 South St #101
Artesia, CA 90701

(562) 860-7089

This tea shop totally reminds me of Taiwan. Not only does it serve excellent tea (Ten Ren brand plus many others), it serves a host of Taiwanese late night eats, such as noodle soups, tea eggs, popcorn chicken, tofu, and Taiwanese sausages. The ambiance is relaxed, friendly, and nice. When we were in California, we came here almost every night to sip tea, enjoy snacks, and play board games.

Happy Nest (Formerly Little Bean)

18902 Norwalk Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701

(562) 860-8843

This is also another fun Taiwanese place that serves shaved ice, boba tea, and Taiwanese snacks, similar to Tea Station. The store is brightly lit with fluorescent lights. I have not been here too many times, so unfortunately I can't comment as extensively on the menu. Everything I've had there has been good, and it appears to get excellent reviews on various food sites.

Above I've listed our favorite haunts. We've tried other restaurants only once, such as celebrity chef Tom Colicchio's Craft or various other ethnic restaurants (e.g., Peruvian, Italian, Szechuan, and Japanese places). However, we are really not that familiar with the LA foodie scene. I would welcome other suggestions for great places to eat so I can try them the next time we are out there!