mmm-yoso!!!

Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern Asian Bistro (Sabre Springs)

In the comments section of my post on the Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky, "FOY" Dereck mentioned the Beef Noodle Soup from Zen Modern. I found this interesting since Calvin had also mentioned enjoying the Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern. So, I guess it was time to make my way to Sabre Springs to check things out. 

I found the location of the restaurant to be interesting, right next to the MTS parking lot, in a small strip mall with a tight parking lot, squeezed between a 7-11 and a location of March and Ash which was doing some major business.

As for the restaurant, well it was empty at a few minutes past eleven.

Once seated, I was handed a menu that had everything from Egg Rolls to Salt & Pepper Wings to Udon to Kimchi Fried Rice to Nigiri to a huge collection of "Rolls"....you kinda see why I hesitated in visiting. Both Dereck and Calvin advised me to only get the Beef Noodle Soup. Which I finally found on the menu below the Crispy Chicken Spring Roll and above the Chinese Chop Salad.

So, I placed my order for the Beef Noodle Soup ($19) and the default dining utensil was delivered to the table.....

Hmmm.....luckily there were packs of wooden disposable chopsticks in the container on the table. 

This is what the niu rou mian looked like.

    This was actually not bad. The soup could have used more anise and beef flavor for my taste, but it had a mild peppery spice, a balanced sodium content, good soy sauce tones, and was not bad at all. In fact, I've definitely had worse in the Convoy District and at a popular chain from Taiwan in Mira Mesa...this was definitely better in my opinion. The richness and texture of the soup was on par with what I've had in San Diego.

The noodles were slightly over cooked, thus they lacked a good "QQ" springiness but were fine.

The beef were a mixed bag, some really under cooked and tough pieces, while some bits were very tender and tasty.

Overall, I was rather pleasantly surprise considering the almost Americanized Asian Fast-Foodish looking shop and menu with dishes from all of East Asia. The price at nineteen bucks wasn't a bargain, but like I said, I've had worse in the "Asian districts" of San Diego. If Zen was in my 'hood, I'd probably have the NRM every once in a while.

Who knew; NRM in Sabre Springs!

Zen Modern Asian Bistro
13510 Sabre Springs Pkwy Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92128
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 10am - 9pm
Friday            10am - 10pm
Saturday       11am - 10pm
Sunday          11am - 9pm

Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

Lunches from Rising Sun Collective (Pre-Grand Opening)

During the middle of last month I headed up to North Park to grab a late breakfast from a place I hadn't been to in a year or so. Sadly, the place was closed....I'm not sure what's going on but will do an update once I get all the info.

Anyway, it was about 1030 am and I decided to just go ahead and take a stroll on 30th Street. As I was crossing University, I thought that it was perhaps time for me to finally revisit Shank & Bone, but another place caught my attention.

In the location of what used to be Sipz was something named "Rising Sun Collective"? I decided to cross the street and take a look. Well, I took a gander of the menus and quickly figured out that this was a conglomeration of various businesses (thus the "Collective", duh...) with drinks from Cafe Maiko, bread and pastries from Salt & Butter by Okayama Kobo, which used to do pop-ups in Sorrento Valley. Okayama Kobo is the chain which has outlets in Little Tokyo and Honolulu, Sipz, and "Rising Sun".

Needless to say, it caught my interest. So, I decided to return at 11 and check the place out. I returned and was kindly greeted by a gentleman, who was quite friendly. The space is quite large and of course, Japanese themed.

There were separate menus for lunch and dinner. I decided to do the Tonkatsu Panini, which came with fries, which was nicely priced at $9. I went for another stroll and returned to pick up my sandwich which was cheerfully handed to me and I headed home.

  I will say upfront that my favorite item were the fries, which had been dusted and were perfectly seasoned and still crisp after the 15 minutes drive home.

As for the Panini....this was a "Salt & Butter" roll that had been stuffed with some really tough and chewy tonkatsu and cheese and pressed. The breading of the tonkatsu hadn't handled the trip home well. The roll was dry, doughy, though I liked the balance of flavors; lightly buttery, decent salt, and not overly sweet.

The katsu sauce was very good, super flavorful; almost too strong.

Overall, not terrible, and at these prices I could easily return for a follow-up.

A couple of weeks later I decided to return.

Things looked like they were really in grand opening mode. It was again lunch time and I decided to order the Salt and Pepper Chicken. ($14). I'm guessing they were in Sipz mode because I had to make sure to order "chicken", not tofu which seems to be the default.

The gentleman working the front was very nice and told me they had starting serving a variety of breads from Salt & Butter and even brought on over a plate of samples.

They had really started selling the breads from Salt & Butter.

I had a sample and it's really not my kind of thing. Too doughy and sweet for my taste. But I'm sure there are folks who will like this.

My Salt and Pepper Chicken really looked like a "classic" Sipz dish, except that it had chicken.

 The rice was on the drier, harder end of the scale. I was asked if I wanted "spicy" sauce with my lunch and I said yes, but I think they forgot it. It's ok, I'll leave that to the "soft" opening.

Lot's of broccoli, which wasn't bad. It still had a bit of crunch to it. There was a good amount of spicy jalapeno as well. Not too much garlic tones and such; very basic and straight forward.

The chicken seemed to have been fried, sliced, and then incorporated into the the dish. It still had a nice crunch to it, salty-sweet-spice. Think a level above Panda Express.

   The "pot stickers" were like a very bland, chewy, fried mandu. This was not terrible; very fast-casual in nature, though not my kind of thing.

So, if you're into that style of food. 

One interesting thing to note, I made sure to indicate that my visits were before the grand opening. What I found strange was that the place just had their grand opening last weekend. Which I found kind of disturbing....a place named Rising Sun had their grand opening on December 7th?  Really, do they know what happened on December 7th, 1941?

When I mentioned this to some folks I was told by a good friend, "well, the owners are not Japanese and I don't think they know". I was told by another person that I'm "just woke and overly sensitive"! Hmmm...... I told him that there's a difference between being "respectful and woke".

Rising Sun Collective
3914 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104

Paik's Noodle

A few months back; "FOY" Elle asked me if I'd been to the new location of Paik's Noodle, which had moved from the Zion Market Food Court, where it was known as Hong Kong BanJum, to a location next to the Hive in the same strip mall as CoCo Ichibanya and Da Nang Corner. I felt a bit hesitant about checking them out. You see, I tried Hong Kong BanJum way back at the end of 2013 when they first opened and I really didn't care for the Jajangmyeon. It was greasy and much too sweet, so I never went back. Those were the days when I used to make sure to visit at least twice before doing a post, so those photos ended up in the recycle bin. I thought about returning once or twice, especially since Cathy seemed to enjoy her visit, but I just never made it back.

So finally, about two weeks ago, I decided to head on over and check the place out.

The location is shared with the Hive. Go right, it's the Hive, go left it's Paik's.

The space is elongated and quite spartan.

The two folks working here were so very nice. This was especially admirable when I watched them deal with the very rude, demanding, and entitled young men that came in a bit later on.

Ordering here is done off a tablet like display.

I knew I had to give the JaJangmyeon another try. I saw an option I thought I might enjoy; I ordered the JaJang Rice ($14.95), which came with an omelete and a side of the Jjampong. Also, based on my previous experience, I asked for the JaJang, the black bean based sauce on the side, so I could control flavors and texture.

Soon enough, some Takuan Danmuji arrived. 

Accompanying the JaJangmyeon, which according to several sources derives its existence from Chinese workers in Incheon in the late 19th, early 20th century. I've always found it kind of interesting that the Missus does not care for this dish, since it's origins have been traced to Shandong Province, where She is from!

    I'm glad I ordered my dish in this fashion as it was a heck of a lot of JaJang! While it still has a bit of that greasy mouthfeel, this wasn't overly sweet, had some decent umami tones, and some interesting pungency. It was definitely better than what I had experienced at Hong Kong BanJum in the Zion Food Court.

The rice was moist, there was also a good amount of fairly fluffy egg, which I guess because of the JaJang didn't seem to be seasoned at all.

While definitely not a "go to" dish for me, this was not bad. The portion size was quite generous.

I was glad that the Jjampong was included as it was my favorite of the meal.

Another dish which claims an interesting history, this was comfortingly spicy, with good savory - pungent - umami tones. I'm thinking I'll order the Meat Jjampong if I return.

Overall, quite a hearty meal, generous portion for the price. And while not claiming a place among Korean (or Korean-Chinese) eateries on my rotation, I'm glad I visited under the auspices Paik's which I think is better than the former iteration of Hong Kong BanJum. I also enjoyed reading about the history of these dishes while doing this post as well.

Paik's Noodle
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat        11am - 10pm

Thanks for the reminder for Paik's Elle!

Oahu - Revisiting The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl Five Years Later

After spending a nice couple of nights in town, we were back in Ewa Beach. The Missus wanted to do Her morning swim, so we decided to head on out to Ko Olina. We hadn't been in years. It was a Sunday morning so we went pretty early. We easily found parking near Lagoon 4. The Missus did Her swim while I went and strolled the four lagoons.

You know, I don't think I've been here since the Aulani opened? Geez, all the huge resorts.

For some reason, I got major Mission Bay vibes Kohola Lagoon, except the water looked beautiful and didn't smell like kukae!

Heading back to the car we noticed that the parking lot had filled up! Good things we got here early!

After freshening up back in Ewa, the Missus was craving some Oxtail Soup. The Alley, in Aiea Bowl opens at 10 on weekends and the Missus really enjoy our last visit there back in 2019. So we headed on over.

Man, the place sure has expanded the eating area since we last visited. And now, get so many signs and instructions.....

The young folks working were so nice and friendly. And we were seated behind the lanes.

We ordered our "usual" here, the Oxtail Soup (of course) and the Tasty Chicken.

The Tasty Chicken arrived quite quickly.

We really like the way they do brown rice here; nice texture, nutty flavor. As for the chicken, well, it was different from what we'd had here on previous visits. The batter was hard and crunchy, not light and crisp like we'd had before. The glaze was much sweeter; much like the overly sweet K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken), which I can get anywhere in San Diego. While not bad, it was not what we'd enjoyed before.

We were happy to see the "tower" arrive soon after.

As we deconstructed the "tower" we knew something was amiss as the usual beefy-anise fragrance was missing. In fact, looking at the broth, we noticed that it looked quite "thin".

   My goodness, this was pretty bad; the soup lacked richness, it tasted like salty "shoyu-water". The thin broth was terrible.

The Oxtail had a nice texture, very tender, but it also seemed to have all the flavor cooked out of it, like it had been boiled in water for ages. This was so bland! What the heck is going on here?

This was quite a disappointing meal, which was too bad. After all, this had been our favorite Oxtail Soup spot on Oahu. It was sad, since we'd had decent grindz at old favorites like 8 Fat Fat 8 and Kim Chee II during this trip.

The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl
99-115 Aiea Heights Dr, Ste 310
Aiea, HI 96701

What a bummer.....

Honolulu - Kim Chee II, Hanauma Bay, and Musubi Cafe Iyasume

After our wonderful dinner at Izakaya Uosan and our walk along Ala Moana Park, we took a stroll thru Ala Moana Center up to Kapiolani and proceeded to head back to the hotel. I had a moment of nostalgia when we passed the corner of Kapiolani and Ke’eaumoku. And no, it wasn't because there used to be a KFC on this corner forever. Close to the corner was a favorite stop of mine; Tower Records. And even before that was a place near that corner that in my mind changed the music scene in Hawaii. A club named Toppe Ada Shoppe.

Of course, locals from my generation will either quickly say C&K or Kalapana, whom we saw there. But, on one of the times my friend's brother sneaked us in, I saw a certain band. I still remember the lyrics - "I wish upon a Summer moonbeam....."

Oh-kay.......that got to me. I had to play the song. I still have the CD in one of my boxes too!

Just in case you like listen:

Anyway, the Missus noticed that it was almost 615...so She said we needed to head to the Lanai in Ala Moana Center. You see, around 630-645 Musubi Cafe Iyasume in the Lanai which I've posted on before will sometimes have discounts on their musubi, which I'll have for breakfast. And on this evening....

Yep, 50% off....so I had breakfast for the next morning!

Ah yes, breakfast with a view.....

Musubi Cafe Iyasume (In the Lanai - Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

We'd be heading back to Ewa Beach on this day, but the Missus told me She wanted to go to Hanauma Bay first in the morning. Sigh. I don't know what it is, but on the last couple trips, the Missus has been wanting to do some tourist kind of stuffs. And like many of those "activities", I hadn't been to Hanauma Bay in like 30 years? Back in those days we used to take frozen peas to feed the parrotfish! Of course things have changed a lot since then; nowadays if you don't have a local or military ID, you need to make reservations, there's an admission fee of $25 per person and $3 parking for the small lot. The reservations are actually for the 9 minute orientation video which you need to view before heading down to the beach.

We found some good parking and got into the line at our appointed time for the video before heading down to the beach.

It still looks quite pretty on the walk down.

We had brought our own snorkeling gear. Once in the water....well, it was kinda sad, while there were fish in abundance, the coral looked bleached. The coral must really be under stress. I immediately wanted to leave to not contribute to this.

Seeing this made me glad that there are limited hours and visitors for Hanauma Bay..... I remember it being so beautiful.

On the way back, we decided to stop for lunch. It seems that the Missus is starting to take to more local kine places these days. So, I asked if She wanted to try Meat Jun? She asked "Meat Jun, what's that?" Well, I explained that it is basically a take on Jeon (seen it spelled jyun as well) in which marinated beef is dredged in an egg and flour batter before frying. Much like Soegogi-Jeon which I've had before. You can find a nice recipe on Maangchi's blog. I'm not sure of the exact history origins of Meat Jun in the islands and was shocked when I first moved away and couldn't find the dish at Korean restaurants in SoCal. I did see it at different plate lunch places, I think Homestyle Hawaiian might still serve it. I tried it twice after moving to the mainland and it was terrible, so I just gave up. But now, driving back to town on Kalanianaʻole Highway opportunity struck as the Missus said "ok, let's try it!" This meant an instant detour to Waialae Avenue and a place that I had gone to when growing up in Kaimuki. I know ex-pat Kama'aina's and longtime "FOYs" Kyle, James, and Alan are smiling and nodding their heads now. Of course it's Kim Chee II, which has been around since...like the sign says 1977! Ho' am I old or what?

We parked in the back lot. There's a back entrance to the restaurant, but I just wanted to thru the front of the place. It was just after 11 and the place was already pretty busy with a lot of hungry "bruddah's" waiting to eat!

Of course I went with the "lunch special"; heck at $14.90 it's cheaper than a sandwich I had here last week!

I told the Missus that I think the portion might be pretty big so She decided just to get some tofu. I also told Her that "KC2" is really a local kine Korean place, so set your sights low with regards to any panchan. Which ended up being regular cabbage slightly pickled, not fermented. It actually goes ok with the BBQ.

The Tofu with "veggies" was fine; though the shoyu sauce tasted kinda watered down.

But of course, I was just waiting for what I had ordered. Which was enough for the Missus and I to share for lunch

 Ok, the beef in the meat jun was nicely marinated, if a bit on the chewier side; sweet-salty-hint of garlic, very bulgogi-ish, the batter was a bit thicker and gritty than I prefer and it had been over-fried a bit. But, the Missus enjoyed the mild eggy-ness and the combination of flavors. She liked the meat jun dipping sauce which also had a hint of vinegar, some spice, balanced sweetness.

She also enjoyed the chicken, nice soy-sweet and hint of pungency. She told me "this is like the chicken you make...way better than the terrible 'Hawaiian BBQ' stuff in San Diego!"

The rice was fine. The mandu wrapper was a bit thicker and chewier than I recalled; though the filling was nicely flavored.

And so, based on this meal we have a Meat Jun convert! Of course, the Missus now wants me to make this at home!!! 

Kim Chee II Restaurant
3569 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

This was a nice blast from the past for me! I also recalled a Korean restaurant that used to be near Monsarrat that I used to go to. Perhaps my "FOYs" will remember that place?

Speaking of "FOYs", I'd like to thank Kyle, James, and Alan for keeping Kim Chee II on my mind all these years!

And thanks so much to all of you for dropping by and allowing me to share a place from my hanabuddah days with you!

Egglet (Regents Road/UTC)

While reading thru Eater's post on new restaurants in San Diego, I came across a mention of a Korean Egg Sandwich place that opened in the UTC area. So, I took a quick look online and man, unless I've been missing something it seems like Korean Egg Drop Sandwiches had finally made it to San Diego? Not that I'm really into those fads and such; but the location was quite convenient as were the hours, so I thought I'd drop by and check the place out for a "brunchy" kind of meal.

I find the location to be quite interesting, in the same strip mall off Regents that houses Leucadia Pizza, Von's, the "ABCDE" (American-Born-Chinese-Dining-Establishment) where I had ok Chicken Wings a zillion years ago. I really hadn't been to this mall in ages; the last time was when I needed some cash from the ATM probably before Covid. The name of the place sounded familiar....then it came to me; Egglettes are those silicon boiled egg cooking cups. Also, the location, wasn't this something like Yakimono Restaurant and then a ramen place and then a sushi restaurant in previous lives?

Taking a look at the interior, you can kinda see where a sushi bar used to be and a flat top in the back, all blocked by nicely lined up boxes.

There are a couple of smaller tables out front, some seating indoors, and what looks like an outdoor dining space.

The prices looked to be quite reasonable by today's standards. It's one of these modern you can use the QR code and they'll give you a buzzer for your food. I went with the Egg Double Cheese Egglet ($8) and was curious about the Truffle Hash Brown ($4.50). Soon enough the little bugger buzzer went off.

    Wasn't sure what to expect with the hash browns....there were three to an order, more than I could consume. This was typical Sysco quality, fast-foodish hash browns dusted with a truffle-Parmesan powder. It had a sweet tinge to it, I later found out that it is also dusted with black garlic. Not sure what hash browns are going for these days at your local fast-food joint, but I'm guessing that it's pretty reasonable for $4.50. Not that I would order it again though.

Speaking of not ordering again; the Egg Double Cheese Egglet was quite large for eight bucks; but the brioche, while decently toasted was way too sweet for my taste.

   Just having the mix of cheddar-mozzarella which made things nice and gooey and the under-seasoned egg was not enough to overcome the brioche toast. There was a lack of savory flavors to me. I'm sure that some folks might really take to this, but it was just not my kind of thing.

Still, at these prices, I was more than willing to give them another try. This time I went with something from the "sandwich" menu, rather than the egglet like I had earlier. I was told that the sandwich rolls are not as sweet as the toast by the really nice woman. I wasn't feeling like having a burger though, so I thought I'd "hedge my bets" by getting the Smoked Bacon Sandwich ($9.75) in hopes that the bun wouldn't be too sweet for my taste.

   This was a pretty messy sandwich. The bacon, which almost reminded me of "Canadian Bacon" hadn't been crisped up enough and was quite rubbery. Still, the savory-saltiness...it didn't seem smoky to me, really added balance to the sandwich.

Also, I'm thinking the roll, which was nicely toasted wasn't quite as sweet as the toast, though the caramelized onions, something I would usually enjoy on a savory sandwich/burger was a bit too much for this. Also, the egg was folded over to one corner of the sandwich. I had to open it up. The cheese, once again a mozzarella blend had a nice stringiness, but really lacked milky-savory-sharpness and other than texture, didn't bring much in terms of flavor to this.

In the end, Egglet is an interesting fast-casual concept, which I think a certain demographic (which I'm not part of) might enjoy. I also think the prices are good for the location, especially in this day and age. And the prices give you a chance to try them out yourself!

Egglet
7728 Regents Road Suite 501
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Daily 7am - 2pm

Thaipan Kitchen (In the Pyramid on Miramar Road)

It's funny how things sometimes turn out. In the comments of my post on the Cuisinery moving to Miramar Road, "FOY" Sandy happened to mention that there used to be a Chinese Restaurant in the Pyramid; currently known as the San Diego Innovation Center. I'm sure you'd recognize the structure if you've ever driven on Miramar Road.

A few weeks ago, when heading home after shopping at the Cuisinery, I noticed something on the signage for the Pyramid.

Do you see it? It says "Thaipan Kitchen". Hmmm...... So, after doing a bit of research, I found that it's owned by the same folks as Ping Yang in the Market on 8th. I also noted that they are only open from 1030 to 330 Monday to Fridays.

I like the 1030 opening since I enjoy an early lunch these days. Plus, the Cuisinery now opens at 10, so I could coordinate my visits! A few days later, I dropped by.

I saw the sign and decided to step into the Pyramid. Funny thing, we've lived in San Diego for over 20 years now and I'd never been in this structure. Never had a reason to visit I guess?

I opened the door and walked on in.

The bottom floor was a huge space. There didn't seem to be much going on, I'm not sure what the occupancy of the building is right now? There even seems to be coffee stand that doesn't seem operational?

The tiny shop was open and I walked on over.

The gentleman was hard at work in the kitchen, so I had a look at the menu; which features standard Thai dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Yum, and also Japanese items like Karaage, Gyoza, and Tonkatsu.

And looking at the register, it seems like they are venturing into Filipino dishes. Right now they do Spamsilog and Tocilog....it seems they also do Katsu Sandos. I asked the guy worknig about the hours and he told me that they tried to open at 830 but things were too slow. All of the dishes are available from 1030 to 330 in spite of what the menu says.

I mean, there's no way you can do "everything" well, right? So, knowing that the owners are Thai, I decided to stick with that side of the menu. 

I wasn't feeling like Pad Thai or a curry; the Ka Prao with Pork Belly ($16.50) sounded good. It was also the most expensive item on the menu. I was given one of those buzzer things and just cooled my heels in the dining area.

Soon enough, my lunch was ready to go. I had decided on takeout.....I just didn't feel like eating at the cold and empty dining area.

Once home I unpacked the fairly hefty bowl.

   The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from Thai Test Kitchen. I got this medium spicy and it wasn't bad, not dumbed down for sure. Loved the crisp, sweet-anisey fried basil. I could make out a hint of fish sauce, it wasn't overly sweet, loved the flavor of the pork, which was a bit too chewy and tough though.

I'm not sure if it was the drive home, but the egg was overcooked for my taste.

The rice was fragrant, but on the chewy side.

Overall, this was not bad, definitely not overly "Ameri-Thai" and in terms of flavor and all that basil in line with Thai Test Kitchen in my mind.

A couple of weeks later I returned. This time, I went and placed my order then went to the Cuisinery to shop before returning. But that's not before I saw something interesting. If you look closely at the photo below. You'll see the microwave below what looks like a portable griddle. Well, I noticed as I walked toward the entry to the building that a large plastic bag of rice was bein put in the microwave. That explains the texture of the rice.

Anyway, this time I went with the Thai Omelet over Rice ($13.50). For some reason I was just craving some Kai Jeow!

This really looked lovely when I unpacked it at home.

 It usually has Sriracha drizzled on the egg, but the gentleman nicely asked if I'd prefer to have it on the side. I really didn't even need it. The egg was slightly crisp and quite fluffy. Nice savory tones; the ground meat used, I'm thinking it may be ground chicken was moist and tender. Nice savory tones; quite "eggy" without any off flavors. Quite nice!

The rice though, as you can see was dry and chewy.

Overall, not bad. In spite of the rice, I enjoyed the omelet enough that it managed to push the dish over mediocrity.

I'll probably be back. As for a comparison to Thai Test Kitchen; I think the overall quality at TTK might be better, though the prices and portion at Thaipan seems better.

As for the location; well, wouldn't having a food hall in the Pyramid be a great idea? Not sure if it would make it; but I believe there are so many businesses in the area, along with MCAS Miramar that perhaps it would succeed?

I do need to make it down to the Market on 8th one of these days. I tried twice, but the parking situation was terrible.

As for Thaipan; well Sandy, you see, there's an actual restaurant in the Pyramid now!

Thaipan Kitchen
7310 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 1030am - 330pm
Closed Sat/Sun

London - Dinner at A Wong Part 2

**** So, this is part 2 of our dinner. If you haven't read part 1, you can find it here.

After the "Banquet" and the "Dim Sum", the next set of items up were named "Fish".

Anhui Province Red Braised Fermented Wild Seabass, I'm thinking that this was supposed to be a homage to Chòu Guì Yú, which uses a brine based fermentation technique?

We enjoyed the textural variations within the dish. The ikura like fish roe presented a savory-brininess. The fish was tender, not overly salty.

The "Why We Don't Need to Eat Shark's Fin Soup" was interesting, subbing agar for the shark fin.

We were told to pour the soup, which had a nice gelatinous richness onto the Braised Abalone with Shiitake Mushroom and Sea Cucumber which was part of the "set". It was a bit of overkill. For some reason the abalone tasted somewhat bitter?

And then there was the Garlic Steamed Tiger Prawn, Mung Bean Noodle, with "Superior" Soy. Not sure why they needed to add the Superior Soy to the name.....I use it in my dishes all the time and think of it as a kitchen staple?

Nice balanced garlic-ginger tones in this; but the tiger prawn was over-cooked and tough.

Next up were the "Snacks".

Starting with the riff on Rou Jia Mo; something we loved during our trip to Shaanxi.

   A very interesting put it together yourself presentation. The mantou was a bit too doughy; it should be more crisp as well. The lamb had really been stewed in the juices and sauce, but was quite mild in flavor. It seemed a bit "tame"...which I think was the issue we had with many of the dishes here.

Soy Chicken with Ginger Oil and Oscietra Caviar. Man Ossetra Caviar, with Soy Sauce Chicken?

It was accompanied by some soy sauce for dipping. The caviar and soy sauce did a great job balancing out the dish which skewed sweet.

We did enjoy the texture of the Pulled Noodle Cracker with Japanese Wagyu and Shrimp Chili Oil.

But the Wagyu seemed a bit lost here. The chili oil was savory, but wasn't particularly spicy.

Next up were the "Five Flavours"; now you know how much I reference suan-tian-ku-la-xian, the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for balanced dishes.

Gong Bao Chicken, Roasted Peanuts, and Hot Pot Essence.

This was a nice bite as the ma-la (numbing spice) came thru cleanly.

We were provided with Nashi Pear edges with Sichuan Peppercorn as a palate cleanser for the final dishes.

The presentation of the Sweet and Sour Corn Fed Chicken, Thai basil, Pineapple and Candied Walnuts was eye catching.

But like many of the other dishes, the "Emperor had no clothes". It was too sweet; the chicken was not crisp enough and bland. Not enough basil to really add that anise goodness to the dish.

Not sure why the Roasted Cashew, Tamarind, Dried Shrimp and Coriander Cheung fun wasn't on the "dim sum" menu.

The Missus enjoyed the crisp youtiao that crowned the dish; it again skewed a bit sweet, though the cheong fun was nicely texture with a nice "pull" to it.

The silken tofu in the Chrysanthemum Tofu and Lemongrass Broth was beautifully silken.

The dish came with a very nice soup spoon of sauce on the side.

We were told to eat the tofu in combination with the Yunnan Seared Beef with Mint, Chili and Lemongrass.

Which was fine. As you can tell, we were getting a bit worn down by this time.

And my notepad on my phone was getting quite full.

On the bright side; the last "main dish" was quite interesting. The Young Coconut with Madagascan Black Pepper Sauce.

I know, doesn't look like much from this angle. But turn the plate around a bit......

Yes, there's more black truffle here. We were surprised that it went well with the slightly sweet and nutty coconut. The black pepper sauce really balanced the dish out with the fried shiso leaf adding in that touch of minty-anise-vegetal tones.

As you all know, I'm not much of a dessert guy, but I found the Coconut Water Ice to be quite refreshing. Especially after so many items.

The Candied Walnuts with Blue Cheese was an interesting, very non-Chinese item for dessert.

The Missus enjoyed the version of Dragon's Beard Candy provided.

We took the Petit-Fours with us. The Missus enjoyed them with coffee the next morning.

So, if you've made thru both posts, I'm sure you can figure out what we thought of the meal. The service was a bit hovering, but very nice. The presentation of the dishes were quite excellent; but we don't eat with our eyes. For a place whose owner claims to be a "Chef-Anthropologist", many of the dishes really didn't capture the essence and soul of the cuisine of the various regions of China to us. 

As for the price; it was 200£ per person plus another 200£ for the wine pairing....which the Missus liked BTW. So, all told including service charges/tips the bill came out to about $1k US!

We'll have to mark this one up to "well, at least we finally tried A Wong".

A. Wong
70 Wilton Rd.
Pimlico, London, United Kingdom

London - Dinner at A Wong Part 1

**** OK, this is going to be a two-parter, since dinner was 30 courses!

I was really excited about our first dinner in London. I'd made reservations at A Wong which has the honor of being the first Chinese restaurant with 2 Michelin Stars outside of China. I had purchased the A Wong Cookbook which is no longer printed, way back in 2016. I'd tried some recipes with mixed results. Yet, I believed eating at the restaurant would provide some insight.

The restaurant was located about a mile-and-a-half from our hotel and the Missus decided we should walk. It was a pretty nice walk as we strolled thru the Green Park and past Buckingham Palace.

I did enjoy the walk.

A Wong is located on Wilton Road in Pimlico and it's a fairly low-keyed spot, between a Mexican restaurant and a Brazilian Steakhouse. We were welcomed as we arrived and seated at the bar.

The menu is like a book, the 30 courses divided up into 6 sections with specific "themes" like the "Banquet", "Dim Sum", and "Fish". We also took the wine pairing as well. As for the Chef/Owner, Andrew Wong has quite the story, as does the location, which was formerly his parent's restaurant.

You can read the link and the page from the menu below if interested. 

 

Apparently, the Chef has travelled across China and wants his menu to reflect his travels. I don't think I need to say how difficult it would be to pay homage to all 8 great traditions as well as regional cuisine like Hakka, Yunnan, and others. Chef Wong does fancy himself as a Culinary "Anthropologist" so this was going to be interesting.

The staffing of the restaurant is kinda amazing; it seems like there's a 1:1 ratio of staff to customers. The downside is that there's bit of "hovering" going on, which can be somewhat uncomfortable at times.

The meal was brought out in "groups", the first 8 dishes, comprising the "Banquet" arrived in unison. I must say the presentation was quite good.

That's Fish Fragrant Oyster on the right and Beans with wasabi soy sauce, and Osmanthus Jelly on the left.

The Yúxiāng Qiézi (fish fragrant aubergine) Oyster was first.

The oyster was nice and briny; but things basically stopped there as the "flavoring" was quite mild. I was looking for the layering of flavors, pungent-sour-a hint of sweet-spice, but this really lacked that.

We were instructed to have the Osmanthus Jelly next.

Mild pungent tones from the wasabi soy; we enjoyed the refreshing jelly.

We found the Yunnan Sweet Potato with Tamarind and Shrimp Caramel to be overly sweet.

The sweet potato noodles were the highlight of this, great texture, not overly sweet, somewhat vegetal.

The Smacked Cucumber with Trout Roe was decent.

Crisp cucumber, the briny trout roe added a nice layer of flavor, but it could have used more garlic and assertive - refreshing flavors which to me, are the hallmark of this dish.

The "Tiger Salad" with Cumin Lamb and Split Buttermilk was too sour-tangy, though I guess if you added more cilantro you could have gotten some weird Jeera Chas, but then that wouldn't be Chinese cuisine.

To be perfectly honest, the lamb was pretty much lost in this.

I was looking forward to the Cantonese Honey Roasted Pork with Grated Foie Gras.

Loved that foie gras powder; it did provide that "soul of foie gras", liverish-offaly-savory tones. Heck, I'd sprinkle it on my toast every morning! The pork was barely lukewarm, chewy, and the marinade too sweet.

The Isle of Mull Seared Scallop and Honey Glazed Char Siu was way too sweet (it seemed a common theme here?). The "crackers" on each side of the filling was really crumbly and really made a mess.

Our favorite dish of the set was also the most interesting looking.

That's the Zhou Dynasty Cured Scallop and Stuffed Crab Claw. Within the confines of the crisp noodles resided briny-savory-pleasantly sweet scallop and a stuffed crab claw.

Balanced flavors-seasoning and great textural contrasts. I mentioned how funny it was that our favorite dish so far looked like a "palm tawashi"!

Next up were the "Dim Sum" courses. Would they be changing the course of the meal? Six dishes were delivered to our table.

First up was the "Shanghai Steamed Dumplings" (aka Xiao Long Bao) with Ginger Infused Vinegar.

The "skin" was on the gummy side, the "soup" was very "gingery" (I guess there's no false advertising here), which overwhelmed the flavor of the dumplings.

The Wood Ear Fungus acted as a good vehicle for the mild sweet-sour tones of the dish.

The slice of onion was definitely needed to balance things out.

The Dim Sum Duo was up next for us.

First off, the wrappers on both the shumai and har gow were really "rubbery". The pork cracklin' was an interesting addition to the shumai, in fact, like the vinegar foam for the har gow, both were the most interesting features of the dish, which otherwise would be very mediocre dim sum to us.

We were instructed to have the Choy Sum with Century Egg as a palate cleanser before the last two dishes.

The Missus, who loves pidan, thought this too mild.

Next up was the Raw Wagyu, Fermented Meat Paste.

Being a big fan of tartare, I was looking forward to this; but it was way too sweet in my opinion. The slices of raw pear just exacerbated things.

Another dish that caught my attention was the "Memories of Peking Duck", foie gras, and smoked duck.

Oh my, caviar on one end, truffle on the other! We were instructed to eat this in two bites, to fully enjoy the dish.

Not a fan of the pancake like wrapper, but the smoked duck was very tasty. We couldn't make out the foie gras. The "truffle bite" added a pleasant mildly sweet-earthy flavor to things. The caviar seemed to amplify the saltiness of the smoked duck and seemed like overkill.

Well, at this point we had made it thru the dim sum but were still less than halfway thru the meal! There were still 16 more dishes left!

If you're still intrigued by the dishes here, stay tuned for part 2!

Where is the world are we - part 2

It was quite obvious from my previous post that we were in Australia.

We're headed home today from HNL, but I thought I'd do a quick post.

We spent our last couple of days "Down Under" in Sydney. For a change of pace we stayed in the Chippendale area. Which was quite bustling, but the main reason for staying in the area was....

Yes, Chinatown. When doing some research, it became obvious that there was not only Chinese cuisine here, but Thai Town and Korea Town abut the area. It is so culturally diverse!

The area also houses several Universities and the population near Chippendale really skewed to the younger crowd.

We did two wonderful activities during our three days.

The first being a morning kayak journey in Sydney Harbor. 

The Missus and I were the only two people on this tour, so we had the guide, "Sam" all to ourselves. It was so much fun!

Like Sam said, "this is like paddling in a postcard!"

The second was an all-day adventure. This was a private tour, with a local and it was amazing! It was customized to our desires and we got to see wonderful views.....

Where tour groups don't venture.

We got to learn about the plants in the region.

We stopped at an area with Aboriginal drawings. It's kind of hidden off the side of the road. We were the only folks there. And I guess the site is not visited by many non-Aboriginal folks because a ranger came over to check. And it was great listening to him.

We stopped at seaside village where it's mostly locals since transit doesn't go here.

But the highlite was a stop at a Wildlife Sanctuary/Rehab where we got to meet the wonderful inhabitants of Australia up close.

And we got to spend some "Koala-ty" time with this fella!

His name is Arnold!

One of the great benefits about staying in the Asian district was enjoying the diversity of food! Sydney has such a great variety....and some of the items were delici-yoso!

We spent our free time wandering down streets and alleys.

That's not to say that the Missus didn't get Her share of Barramundi....

Anyway, we're leaving for our flight in a few minutes.

Hopefully, my next post will be done from San Diego!

Thanks for stopping by!