mmm-yoso!!!

Taipei - Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant

On the way back from our Tea of Taipei tour, our driver/guide started asking about what we had enjoyed eating in Taiwan. Of course we mentioned Lu Rou Fan, Turkey Rice, and how I could not get enough pork chops! And inevitably, the subject of Xiao Long Bao came up. We mentioned going to the original location of Din Tai Fung on Xinyi Road which got a nice nod. Then he quickly asked if we'd been to Kao Chi. Kao Chi? Both the Missus and I had never heard of the place. He then wove us a story of how Kao Chi was started by Kao Su-mei (高四妹) 8 years before Din Tai Fung, back when DTF's owner was still only selling cooking oil. And Kao Chi should have been the famous Xiao Long Bao, but there came a moment when some international news outlet; I couldn't find much to corroborate my story except this, the owner of DTF got the interview instead and the rest, like they say is history. 

You know how much we like a good story! We decided to head to Xinsheng South Road, where the restaurant had moved from it's original location on Yongkang Street and check things out.

It's a nice, bright, and modern storefront. There's a case in front of the shop selling snacks. The restaurant is definitely not as packed in as DTF, more relaxed, and the Missus told me that the customers seemed to be overwhelmingly Taiwanese.

The Missus placed our order which soon started arriving. 

We had enjoyed all the veggies in Taiwan and when we saw white bittermelon on the menu we had to order that.

We loved the texture of this; slightly firm, yet tender. And for some reason, at least to us, white bittermelon while still being quite "puckery" is not a strongly bitter as the green species. 

And of course, we had to get the Pork Xiao Long Bao.

   So, how did this match up? Well, the wrapper was not as tender and more brittle than what we'd had at DTF. The "soup", the aspic based liquid was porky and flavorful. The filling was tender, though not quite as flavorful as DTF in our opinion. Though, it could be that having been to several locations of DTF around the world we've been indoctrinated?

What we really did enjoy was the Shen Jian Bao.

The buns arrived in a metal pan and really didn't look too impressive. But, with a slight adjustment of turning them over.....

At first glance, the tops didn't seem to be as fluffy as we'd prefer our SJB, but we were surprised when biting into them. The dough had a nice mild sweet-savory-yeastiness and that pan fried bottom really added to the textural contrast.

The filling was moist, slightly soupy, tender, porky goodness.

We'd gladly have this again!

Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant
No. 167號, Section 1, Xinsheng S Rd.
Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Man, we were so sad that our tirip to Taiwan was coming to an end. We'd be leaving in the morning. We decided to take a longer walk back to the hotel, walking all the way to Chongqing South Road. And this is where we came across one last, wonderful, surprise!

Stay Tuned!

Shanghai Alley (Clairemont) - Hidden in Plain Sight

I was driving along last week, minding my own business, when I noticed something. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it looked like a folding restaurant sign, but not with the name of the place generally associated with the location.

Shanghai Alley? Well, that was a new one to me. I believed that I had a pretty good idea of all the restaurants in the area, but I guess I was mistaken? Upon returning home, I went and did that "Google thing". And yes indeed, there was a new restaurant named Shanghai Alley. The interesting thing is, this version of the restaurant does lunches, while the "original" place takes over in the evening. Can you guess where?

Well......

Yes, it's the location of King Bistro, which is in the location of what used to be our favorite restaurant in San Diego, Ba Ren. I'm not going to drone on about how we miss Ba Ren. And even though I had never visited King Bistro, Shanghai Alley had me interested. I noticed online that the place opens at 10am....and you know how I'm an "early lunch" kinda guy these days. So, I drove down and arrived the very next day right after 10am.

In the back of the sign is more info.

I walked in and immediately noticed a chalkboard menu leaning up against the counter.

The prices seemed very reasonable and the young lady working was very sweet and friendly. She told me that Shanghai Alley started business a month ago. She was going to hand me a paper menu, but I just went ahead and placed my order and had a seat.

Looking around I quickly noticed how worn the place looks.

The young woman quickly brought out black vinegar and chili oil for me.

And soon in enough, my Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi ($13.99) and Niu Rou Mian ($14.99) arrived.

The jiaozi was super hot!

   The wrappers were good when the dumplings were first delivered, fairly tender, but got brittle and chewier as the dumplings cooled off. The filling was tender, moist, nicely seasoned, and full of pork flavor. This was a pleasant surprise. The filling was more finely chopped than many versions I've had recently. I think this compares favorably with Ju Feng Yuan. And does have a definite "homestyle" edge to it.

I was not as fond of the Beef Noodle Soup.

  The pieces of beef were decently tender and nicely flavored, good anise tones, with a hint of sweetness. The soup was of the clear variety and had some five spice and white pepper seasoning going for it, but it lacked beefiness and decent richness. At least it wasn't overly salty. The noodles were overcooked for my taste and lacked the springiness I enjoy.

Overall, a pretty good meal. There was one item I wanted to try before doing a post. So, I returned a couple of days later; again at a bit past ten. This time a gentleman was working. I went ahead and ordered the Xiao Long Bao ($9.99). 

It did a take a while for the XLB to arrive, which was fine since I wasn't very hungry. I did notice on this visit that there were quite a few delivery orders being picked up during my meal.

Soon enough, the XLB arrived.

 There were 8 dumplings in all, enough for a light lunch. One of the XLB, the one on the bottom had, ahem, an incontinence leakage problem and all the soup had leaked out. The rest were fine. The wrappers, while on the thicker side were again decent, perhaps even better than the ones on the jiaozi. There was an abundance of tasty "soup", the filling was tender, moist, full of swiney goodness. And like the jiaozi, it does have a homemade feel to it.

I was pleasantly surprised with the XLB and the jiaozi here. The prices aren't bad. I'm hoping they'll expand their menu a bit. I'll definitely have the dumplings again and definitely try the intestine and pig feet noodle soups.

Just goes to show; you never know what's "hiding in plain sight".

Shanghai Alley (In King Bistro)
4957 Diane Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Wed - Mon 10am - 3pm

Taipei - Din Tai Fung, the Original Location (Xinyi Road)

We were a bit sad to be leaving Chiayi. We'd had such a fun time, wonderful people....and that turkey rice! But it was time to move on. We made good time on our return to Taipei. I picked interesting accommodation in Taipei. Since we had upcoming travel and staying in the vicinity of Taipei Main Station would be beneficial; I elected to stay at Sky 19 Hotel as it was right along an exit of Taipei Main Station....we really never figured the Main Station out, but the locale was great. The "hotel" was actually located on a single floor (the 19th of course) of a high rise. It was actually a great location for us. We were staying in Taipei for 1 night before heading to our next destination, then returning two nights later. 

So, here we were back in Taipei when the question arose, "what's for dinner"? Actually, we had kinda planned things out. We had always wanted to dine at the original location of Din Tai Fung and this was our opportunity. So, we walked to Xinyi, and got to the original DTF on Xinyi Road.

And of course, this being Taiwan, there was a line. Which in this case is a good thing!

We checked in and provided our cell phone number; we'd be called when there was a table available and went for a walk.

After a bit we returned and even though we hadn't been called, when the Missus asked, we were told that there was a table available.

As with all the locations of DTF I've been to; you can watch dumplings being made.

This shop has multiple floors and we were seated on the third floor.

The service was very efficient and professional, without being "stuffy". You are provided with a order sheet which you fill out and hand to the Server.

There is actually an "instruction card" on each table with directions, in 3 languages no less, on how to devour your XLB.

In the blink of an eye, a little dish of soy sauce-vinegar and ginger is provided. The Missus also requested some black vinegar which was provided as well.

Soon enough our dishes started arriving. We had really been enjoying the veggies in Taiwan; it's usually perfectly blanched and simply flavored. I've always loved Warabi/Pohole back home in Hawaii, so when I saw stir fried Bird's Nest Fern on the menu, I just had to have some.

For me, when it comes to fern shoots and such, it's mostly about the texture and these did not disappoint. So tender; a mild sweetness, lightly seasoned with soy and a bit of garlic. Man, this was so good. From this point on, I'd make sure to order this if I saw it on a menu.

Speaking of having to order something......well, like the Missus said regarding my fondness of a certain cut of swine in Taiwan, "you didn't meet a pork chop you didn't like." And the version here was no different.

Nicely seasoned; just enough soy-five spice-white pepper, with a mild sweetness. A slight crispness, nice pork flavors. Yes, the streak continued.

And then our first XLB arrived, the version with Green Squash and Shrimp.

First thing I noticed was how delicate the wrappers were; quite light. The filling had a mild "crunch" to it courtesy of the shrimp, along with a slight briney-sweetness from said crustacean. Just on its own, it tasted a bit lacking in the sodium department; but that's what the soy-vinegar-ginger condiment was for.

The wrappers for the Spicy Pork and Vegetable won tons were equally as delicate and light.

They've really got a handle on creating a pork filling here; it's very tender, just perfect amount of flavoring to add a touch of savory and sweetness, which highlights the oinkiness of the filling. That spicy sauce was a bit too mild for us...probably because we're used to Sichuan ma-la. Still, this was quite good.

Then the pièce de résistance arrived; the Pork Xiao Long Bao and I've got to say, in my opinion, the "DTF reputation" is totally earned.

   

I thought the wrapper looked a bit thick; but it was soft and delicate. The filling had a wonderful pork flavor and was quite tender. The dumplings were very "juicy", the soup wonderfully flavored. These were easily the equal of the amazing Guan Tang Baozi in terms of wrapper and seasoning, but possibly a step above in refinement. It's certainly the best XLB I've had to date.

Last up was the Crab Roe and Pork XLB.

Same wonderful wrapper, tender filling, perhaps a bit on the sweeter side, and less "juicy".

In the end, the food was wonderful, though we'd definitely go with the "OG" pork XLB all the way. The Service was efficient, and we had a memorable meal. I'm sure we'll be hitting up DTF whenever we're in Taipei in the future.

Din Tai Fung Xinyi Restaurant
No. 194號 Xinyi Rd.
Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106

After dinner we wandered around the area a bit; then took a nice leisurely walk back to the hotel. We'd be heading to Hualien the next day; but not before exploring a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip - Jiou Chu Dumplings (Rowland Heights)

So, the Missus's new favorite restaurant is Mountain House. And since that meal we've been back three more times, I'll combine that into one post later! And we've stayed overnight on each visit. On the first revisit, we dined at places I'd posted on before, so I'll do that in a COMC post. The third time we did a bit of a longer road trip, that'll be coming up. This was the second revisit. We were looking for a place for lunch. On our previous trip, I'd read about a new dumpling shop opening in Yes Plaza. Aaaah, Yes Plaza, I'd posted on our "history" with Yes Plaza before and my has the place changed. Anyway, after having dinner at Mountain House on the previous trip, we took a drive to the strip mall. It was 730pm and at that time Jiou Chu Dumplings was only open from 5pm to 830 pm and there was still a line of folks waiting outside! The Missus looked at Her Instagram and wouldn't you know it, so many influencers showing off! Of course, often times it's all about the "content" and attention than the actual food.

The week before we left for Rowland Heights, Jiou Chou started opening at 11am. We decided to go for lunch and arrived at around 1040. The place was empty, there was no line, so we headed off to Hong Kong Market to buy some snacks and returned. It was just after 11am when we parked and noticed that there was a line!

Notice the 85° logo on the signage? Well Jiou Chu is owned by 85C and has two restaurants in Taichung, where we had just been a couple of months prior! This is the first location of the dumpling restaurant in the U.S.!

 There was a sign posted saying that the place wasn't doing takeout orders on this day. I guess they were anticipating a major lunch rush? By the way, this was a weekday. One thing we noticed, that is usually a positive sign were that most of the customers were older folk, which to us is usually a pretty good sign.

We were led to a table and seated. The restaurant was pretty sizeable.

Folks just kept on coming in and within fifteen minutes of being seated we noticed that the place was full!

Listening in, the Missus noticed that folks were placing orders to dine in and additional orders to go! I guess that's how they got around "no to go orders" for the day?  Several of the parties around us had apparently been here before. Ordering was done, at least by us, using the QR code. We noticed that many of the older folks struggled a bit and had their orders taken by the very accommodating staff.

Of course we started with the Pork Xiao Long Bao ($11.99). We quickly noticed that the prices were pretty good, perhaps that's why all the folks were coming out?

    These were not very good. The wrapper was chewy and brittle, there was some "soup" in the XLB but it was very bland. The filling was tough and chewy and also pretty much tasteless.

Kinda sad overall.

Next up were the two versions of Pork Chops. When we were in Taiwan the Missus said several times that I "didn't meet a pork chop that I didn't enjoy".

The Fried Pork Cutlet ($8.49) had a nice black pepper flavor, decently salty, but was over fried, tough, and dry.

The best item of the meal was the Fried Pork Strips ($8.49).

Think of this as a pork version of the typical Taiwanese "popcorn chicken". It was crisp-crunchy, moist, with a good amount of five-spice, white pepper, and salt.

We had wanted to order some Guotie since the photos looked quite good. They were out of several versions so we ended up getting the Kimchi-Pork version ($11.49). Good lord, this was a mistake.

The wrappers were gummy, the filling was weird, the "kimchi" lacked flavor as did the pork which was chewy. The menu warned that these dumplings contained hot soup, but that was a false alarm as there was none. This was our least favorite item of the meal.

Well, this meal was a fail. Unlike Taiwan where "lines don't lie", here in the states things can get over run by hype it seems. That's too bad as we were kind of excited about eating here. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

At least we tried it......and we'd be headed to Mountain House for dinner.

Jiou Chu Dumplings
18156 Colima Rd.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling Cafe

Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling opened back in January and created a bit of a buzz. I know that "FOYs" SDJulie and RD both highly recommended the place. And Calvin, who lives fairly close by also liked the place, though he said that the Xiao Long Bao weren't always available. So, I decided to wait past the soft opening period before driving up to Scripps Poway Parkway in search of Ju Feng Yuan.

When I arrived, I cracked up, just a short while back this was Rooster Rice & Noodles! Well, they didn't last too long did they?

I had heard that the place gets a bit busy so I told Calvin to meet me there right when they opened. I arrived ten minutes before opening and Calvin parked and walked on over a few minutes later.

Except for the center seating area, the interior is fairly austere and simple....they also filled up fast.

The menu and ordering is done by QR code. The menu is a mish mash of various regional dishes ranging from la zi ji to niu rou chuan, as well "ABCDE" type favorites like fried rice and orange chicken!

I had really wanted to try the Jiaozi, but Calvin was looking forward to the XLB, so I figured I'd get that on my next visit.

We started with the Shrimp and Pork Wonton in Chili Oil.

I liked the wrappers, which had a nice pull, but as still tender. I also enjoyed the large pieces of shrimp on the won ton; you could really make out the flavor of the shrimp. The filling was moist with a bit heft to it. The "chili oil" was short on chili and too heavy handed in the black vinegar department....it's usually the opposite way around, but here, it was way too sour.

After trying out those colorful multiflavored XLB at places like Dian Shui Lou in Taipei I'm of the mind that it's kind of a gimmick, Just give me good Pork XLB any day of the week.

    Of course we're talking about good pork XLB. This was basically, meh.... The wrappers were too thick, there wasn't enough "soup" in the dumplings, and the pork filling was tough.

I sent my friend "YZ" who is from Shanghai and is even more picky about XLB then I am and she basically said "that looks too dry, the wrappers too thick, I bet it doesn't have enough soup?" Correct on all counts.

My two favorite dishes were not the dumplings.

I enjoyed the String Beans.

Nicely stir fried, with a pleasant mild crunch, a bit of fermented black bean and garlic to add savory-pungent tones. This was quite good.

And the Garlic Spareribs, which were more like a good Salt and Pepper Spareribs.

Nice black pepper, perfectly seasoned, hints of garlic, crisp outside, fairly moist meat, great for gnawing on the bones.

Overall, this was a nice lunch. It was interesting to see what folks were getting....from the young Asian hipsters with the signature XLB and tomato beef noodle soup, to the folks who looked like they worked in the area getting won ton soup, orange chicken, and what looked like pineapple fried rice?

I of course had to return to try the jiaozi.....but, I guess because of the distance, it took a couple of months before I returned. Again, I got to the shop before they opened and just sauntered in when that sign lit up. I was alone this time so ordering was easy....except, when I placed my order, they were out of the Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi. Even though I like to have the baseline standard, it was easy enough to order the Shrimp, Pork, and Chive version. Finding out that my next three choices were also out (no niu rou chuan!!!! no smacked cucumbers!!!) was kind of a bummer, but I found something to order. 

As for the jiaozi.

    It was good. I liked the wrapper, which was tender, with a bit of heft, and a nice al dente pull to it. The filling was also nicely seasoned, more of a course chop with large pieces of tender, briny-sweet shrimp. There were perhaps a bit too much Chinese chives in this, but overall no complaints. I did not care for the dipping sauce that came with the jiaozi, it had sweet tones I didn't care for. I just ended up using the black vinegar provided on the table.

As for my other dish. Well, I chose the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce.

Well, the eggplant was nicely cooked, initially firm, but then giving way to molten melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. The sauce however, was overly sweet, overpowering every other flavor and there was a certain gloppiness to the dish I didn't care for. I could only finish a couple of bites.

Still, it was great to finally have some decent jiaozi in the area. The problem being the distance from home. I wish it was closer to work/home Still, I finally have a place that I can take the Missus to for Jiaozi, if She'll let me.

Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling Cafe
12265 Scripps Poway Pkwy Suite B109
Poway, CA 92064

Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling Cafe
12265 Scripps Poway Pkwy Suite B109
Poway, CA 92064
Current Hours:
Mon, Wed - Fri 1130am - 3pm, 5pm - 830pm
Sat - Sun 1130am - 330pm, 430pm - 9pm

Thanks for the recommendations RD and Julie!

 

Taichung - Yizhong Night Market, Revisiting Miyahara (Twice), and Doing Some Shopping

This is a pretty long post, so I'm going to try to keep the verbiage to a minimum.

After our late lunch at Taichung Rou Yuan we took the short walk back to our hotel and took a break. For dinner, we decided to visit another night market. We didn't feel like getting a cab to Fengxia Night Market, which is said to be the largest in Taiwan. Instead, we decided to take the 20-30 minute walk to the Yizhong Street Night Market instead.

Along the way we strolled thru Taichung Park, which has a large man-made lake.

Folks in Taiwan really know how to relax and seem to be very social.

As we crossed Jingwu Road onto Yizhong Street, things didn't look too busy.

But one block further down....well, man it was super packed.

It was just overwhelming to say the least.

Some of the lines were crazy. We walked from one end of the road to the other end.  Not only were the stands busy, but the shops that line the street with everything from food, to cosmetics, gifts, clothes, and knickknacks were as well. As we hit the far end of the street, things calmed down a bit, the crowd seemed a bit older and there was even some seating.....

From here we took a quick loop around the stands again and found our places.

This booth made Rou Jia Mo, which looked good. It wasn't the typical Shaanxi style rou jia mo like we had in Xi'an, but featured and light and almost flaky bread, not like the typical "baijimo" (flatbread). This was very tasty.

This booth was selling XLB like dumplings.

Which were being made on the spot.

You placed your order, was given a number. When your order was ready it was called out.

These were pretty darn good...so porky!

Because we'd had a huge breakfast and a late lunch; this was enough for us. Plus, even though this was a bit of fun; the crowds were getting to us.

We took a quieter, roundabout way back to where our hotel was located.

On the way back, we decided to drop by Miyahara again.

As I mentioned in that earlier post; Miyahara is owned by Dawncake whose main store we visited earlier. This place has all kinds of "stuffs" that you never knew you needed.

While this fanciful, "Harry Potterish" shop used to be an ophthalmology clinic, it's now known for all their stuffs and the ice cream served here is super popular. We loved this "punny" sign.

After all the walking we'd done, we slept quite soundly.

The next morning we woke refreshed.

And availed ourselves of the nice and huge buffet breakfast.

The variety was impressive.

Our train to Chiayi was not leaving until 120pm, so we packed and stored our luggage at the front desk and headed out to do some additional Pineapple Cake shopping for my MIL. On Ziyou Road we found several shops selling pineapple cake, after having tastes, two of them past muster and we bought some.

I thought that the Pineapple Cake from this shop was the best I tasted during our entire trip.

Of course, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and I've had my fill of Pineapple Cake so don't even ask me to taste any......

We saw a location of Ten Ren Tea and having visited the SF location many times were curious. We walked in and were greeted by the sweetest woman.

The Missus loved one of the Oolong Tea's and was told it's a limited crop and is only sold in this area and is not exported so the Missus got it.

While chatting with the woman, the Missus was constantly cracking up. Later She told me that the woman was dissing other tea producers, but doing it in the most "sweetest" way that She couldn't help but crack up!

We did a bit more exploring.

And took our required tea break.

And even headed back to Miyahara.....

Before heading back to the hotel, picking up our bags and making the short Taichung Station. We weren't catching the HSR, so we could leave from the station in the city.

The original Taichung Station has become a historical park and the structure along with the very modern station next to it makes quite the juxtaposition of buildings.

The old rails have been converted to sitting and dining areas....

And of course, there was yet another craft market going on!

Of course we had a train to catch and did not have much time to dally, so my wallet was left unscathed!

And soon enough we were off to our next stop! Chiayi!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taipei - The National Palace Museum and Lunch at Dian Shui Lou

Our next destination in Taiwan was to be Taichung. Usually, I'd arrange for transportation and time our arrival to close to check in time at our destination. This time though, there was a little problem. Apparently, there a holiday Qingming Jie (清明节 - "Tomb Sweeping Day") which is big deal in Taiwan. Traditionally, during this period  families visit the gravesites of their ancestors and clean (thus the "sweeping") the sites and present offerings. This was a Saturday and the start of a 5 day holiday weekend where it seems everyone travels. Well, I had a heck of a time arranging transportation and in the end we'd juggle the HSR (High Speed Rail), TRA (Standard Rail), and Private Car hire to get us to our destinations. There were no HSR nor TRA tickets available during regular hours. I finally managed to get us a high speed rail ticket form Taipei to Taichung that left at 545 pm. And our hotel was nice enough to hold our luggage.

So, this gave us more time to explore Taipei. We really wanted to visit the National Palace Museum. There was one item we really wanted to see, the Jadeite Cabbage, dating from the Qing Dynasty, it is probably the most popular item in the museum. In fact, folks I know from Taiwan have called it the "Mona Lisa" of Taiwan!

Initially, the Missus wanted to walk the 5 1/2 miles to the museum! But I was kinda bushed from the 12 miles plus we'd walked the previous day and taxis were so reasonable in Taiwan, so I talked Her into getting a cab. Which turned out to be fun. The Missus got some good dining tips from our drivers and some input on the place we had lined up for lunch!

We arrived and paid admission, then headed to where the main treasure(s) of the museum are, only to find that the Jadeite Cabbage was on loan! Oh well, at least got to see this.

Can you guess what it is?

It's called the "Meat Shaped Stone" aka the "Dongpo Rou". Sure does look like it, yeah? Here's the version we had in Hangzhou....

Man, do the Taiwanese have a thing about food or what? So, while we missed the "Mona Lisa" of Taiwan, I' dubbed the "Dong Po Rou" the "Venus de Milo of Taiwan"!

All kidding aside, the collection here was amazing.

We were especially impressed with all the jade carvings and vessels. Some were so tiny and of course in keeping with the food theme, see the "eggplant" snuff bottles?

The carvings and designs were so intricate.

There's quite a bit too see here, but we enjoyed the ceramics and jade collection the best.

 Of course, in typical fashion, when there's just too much to see, like when visiting the Louvre, we called it after about 3 hours.

I think the next time we visit, we might arrange for a private or small group tour to get the most out of our visit. After all, we gotta see that Jadeite Cabbage right?

It was time to head off to lunch. During our walk the previous day, we passed a location of Dian Shui Lou, a restaurant that specializes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang style dishes and also serves Xiao Long Bao. According to the Missus, the poster outside the restaurant indicated that DSL had beaten DTF for best XLB in Taiwan! So, we decided to head off there for lunch.

In the basement of the museum is info desk and the friendly folks there will call taxis for you. When the woman asked where we were headed, the Missus replied "Dian Shui Lou, Huaining Street." The friendly woman told the Missus that her family often goes there for celebration dinners! 

A cab was called for us and we were given the Taxi's number, clearly visible on the vehicle, and instructed where to wait.

Our Taxi Driver this time around was super chatty and was quite enthusiastic about food. In fact, he made a recommendation for Taichung, his daughter lives there, and for a place we'd visit later in the trip. He said he preferred DTF over DSL though.

The restaurant wasn't very busy when we arrived, though it filled up quickly thereafter. I believe folks with reservations were guided upstairs. The decor is quite upscale.

Of course, after seeing "Venus de Milo" we had to order the Dong Po Rou.

 The fat on this was quite velvety, but the meat kind of dry. The flavor was a lot milder, lacking in the sweet-soy, ginger, and slightly pungent tones I'd used to in this dish. It also had a bit too much of a greasy mouthfeel for us as well.

We also ordered the Crab Meat Rice with Egg Yolk.

Lovely looking dish, but the rice seemed to have the texture close to congee which we didn't care for. Not much "crabiness" to this as well. The egg yolk added a touch of velvetiness.

We also ordered the combination Xiao Long Bao. Which in retrospect might have been a mistake.

It's because our favorite was the traditional pork version. First off, the wrappers were too doughy for us, second, some of the dumplings, especially the versions with basil and the shrimp and gourd were really bland. Of course, there was the "19 folds make it better thing"......but as far as we're concerned, you can have 30 folds....if there's a lack of flavor and "soup" and the texture is not to your liking it doesn't really matter, does it? I could go on in detail about each flavor, i.e. the shrimp and gourd didn't have enough "soup" and was really bland, etc......but I won't. I'll only say this wasn't as bad as what we've had here in San Diego. Still, we weren't particularly impressed.

Our favorite dish of the meal was the Bittermelon with Salted Egg.

Nice puckery-astringent taste with the savory-salty flavor of preserved egg. This was quite interesting and satisfying.

We also ordered the Chou Doufu here.

But while being nicely fried; crisp exterior, creamy interior, this was not especially savory and funky.

As a whole this meal was our biggest disappointment of the trip. Still, in terms of damage, at least from the US point of view; at $60 this wasn't too bad.

Dian Shui Lou (Huaning)
No.64 Huaining St
Zhongzheng District, Taipei 100 Taiwan 

And we got to see what I call the "Venus de Milo" of  Taiwan.....

TJ Dumplings - Almost Gou Bu Li (and no "TJ" does not stand for Tijuana)

**** TJ Dumplings has been replaced by Tenkatori.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so not much time to have lunch. I headed out to grab a sandwich and noticed a new business in the former location of Lai Chen and BT Chinese Kitchen, so I headed into the parking lot.

TJ Dumplings????? Even though the sign said they open at 1130; it was 11 and the place was open, so I decided to head in.

The menu was quite small; Xiao Long Bao, Baozi, Guotie, Jiaozi, and stuff like Pineapple Fried Rice and Kung Pao Chicken? No Chinese, all in English.

I asked the nice gentleman behind the counter about the name and was told; "it's our hometown". To which I asked "Tianjin?" He immediately brightened up and let out a sigh; "I know, we didn't think when we named the place....people think we mean Tijuana!" I was also told that they had just opened two weeks prior.

I immediately asked if the steamed bun was "Gou Bu Li" (the famous baozi of Tianjin)  and he smiled and said; "it is based on Guo Bu Li; even the amount of folds!" So, of course, how could I resist. I got an order of the steamed buns and potstickers to go. I liked that the baozi took about 15-20 minutes, it meant they were steamed to order. I was happy that they packed Chinese black vinegar with my order.

When I got back to the office, I noticed that Calvin had finished his lunch, but still seemed hungry, so I shared some of this with him. It was too much for me. The bun was decent; it was slightly fragrant and fluffy, the filling by the book; moist, porky, good savory tones (slight ginger/scallion), fairly tender. Not bad at all.....no, it's not the best I've had, but perfectly fine for lunch.

The baozi had 15-18 folds which puts it in gou bu li territory.

I didn't enjoy the guotie much though.

It was mostly about the wrapper and cooking technique than the filling; which was basically the same as the baozi. The wrapper was too thick; chewy, and it had a certain greasiness to it that I didn't particularly care for. Call me spoiled by QingDao Guotie....yes, I've been indoctrinated.

Still; those baozi were pretty good. So, on one of the days where I was able to get away and Calvin had a meeting running thru noon, I headed back over to TJ Dumplings for baozi. Upon entering I quickly noticed all the "Peach" insulated bags on the tables and seats.

So, I guess delivered food is a big part of the business here.

I got the baozi, jiaozi, and Calvin was really curious about the Xiao Long Bao, so I ordered that as well.

First things first; the baozi on this visit was better than on my previous visit. The dough fluffier, though it also had a bit of sweetness this time; not sure if they are stilling trying to get their formula right. The filling tasted the same; but there was a bit of "soup" in the baozi making it very moist. Also, the meat in the baozi wasn't formed as tightly, making it very tender.

The jiaozi was just ok.....here's one I'm not going to order take-out in the future as the wrappers stuck to the take-out container. The wrapper were fine, a bit more doughy-chewy than I prefer.

While not even close to being my favorite or my MIL's, this would have been decent home-made jiaozi. One funny note; the lady working asked me how I knew the Chinese names of the dishes and I told her the Missus is from Qingdao. As I took my package to go she told me; "sorry, no pounded garlic for you." Which cracked me up. Pounded garlic with black vinegar is the signature accompaniment to jiaozi in Qingdao.

As for the XLB.

I was surprised they made it back to the office intact. The wrapper is thinner than most; but a bit too brittle and lacking in a nice pillowy pull.

The filling was basically the same as the jiaozi, but with a tad more sweetness and just a few drops of soup in them.

This wasn't bad; I've had worse, but it's definitely not the headliner here. For me, it's the baozi.

Which is not bad. A solid version.

And so, I'll try to drop by and actually eat in the place when things slow down a bit.

So there you go; it's "TJ" as in Tianjin, not Tijuana. And almost Gou Bu Li.

TJ Dumplings
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

A Collection of Dishes from A-Bowl

**** A-Bowl has closed

Cathy did a post on A-Bowl a few months back and over the last couple of months, both "YZ" who is from Shanghai and Calvin joined for multiple meals at A-Bowl. We had a nice smapling of the menu and some of the dishes multiple times.

So here's a collection of dishes; from the picks to pans....

Favorites:

So, YZ's favorite dish at A-Bowl hands down is the Crispy Fish Fillet with Seaweed. One of her friends (and folks on Weichat) recommended we order this dish. I've had it three times so far.

It's been crisp, light, the fish moist all three times I've had this. It's mild in flavor so the nori adds a nice oceany-savoriness. It's lightly salted and seasoned and not a bad dish at all.

Calvin's favorite dish is an easy pick. He wanted it on our first visit, but was told it would take 20-30 minutes to prepare and we didn't have the time. So on a day where it seemed all our meetings were cancelled we headed over....and as we walked in the door, Calvin ordered it; even before we got our menus. Yes, he was determined to have this... yes, we waited for the Pork "Elbow" with House Sauce.

And it was pretty good. Not overly sweet, the skin held form but was nice and gelatinously gooey. The flesh was fork/chopstick tender. Nice pork flavor, moist, not overly salty.....a pretty good job on this!

Speaking of pork; I actually enjoyed the "Crystal Pork Jelly".

I enjoyed this version of jellied pork; it had a good amount of fat to pork and was pretty tender, but not falling apart. Loved the crown of "aspic", nice swiney notes. I really enjoyed the sauce as it was salty-sour-pungent-sweet; nice amount of garlic and black vinegar and quite to my taste.

Inconsistent But Will Try Again:

There were a couple of dishes I had twice and were good on one visit and not so good on another.

The Mei Cai Kou Rou was pretty good the first time I had it.

On the first visit; the pork was a luxuriously fatty, melt-in-the mouth tender. The sauce while being quite rich, had a decent soy sauce-sweet-acidic balance, and the preserved vegetable, which looked mushy, actually had a nice, mild crunch to it.

The next time we had it; it was too salty and pork was drier and tougher.

The Shanghai Marinated Duck also followed the same pattern.

On the first visit; the color of the duck wasn't great, but this worked out fine as the duck was tender, full of flavor, and the sauce just sang in harmony....it elevated the dish. The second time around, the duck was tougher, the sauce way too sweet and sticky....it was trying to be the star of the show and just over-shadowed the duck.

Perhaps Will Try Again:

On that visit where we couldn't wait for the Pork Knuckle, the really nice young lady working recommended we order the House Special Pig Feet.

This was not bad; but the skin was a tad on the chewy side and the sauce way too sweet.

The Deep Fried Corn with Salted Egg Yolk was nice and crunchy.

But the salted egg yolk flavor was muted, making this a bit on the sweet side. Still, I really enjoyed the crunchiness.

Probably One and Done:

Minced Cumin Lamb with Pancake.

While this definitely had enough cumin for me; I missed the palate cleansing flavor of cilantro. This was also salty and I wasn't a fan of the lamb used; it lacked the nice gaminess and had a mealy-chewy texture to it. I think I'll try the regular cumin lamb out.

While the Sheng Jian Bao was better than the version down the street at Tasty Noodle House, it wasn't even close to those served at Tasty Noodle House in Hacienda Heights....which by the way, isn't even close to my favorite pan fried baozi being served at a Tasty Noodle House.

While the bottoms were decently crisp, the rest of the baozi was doughy and wet...it lacked any fluffiness. The filling was on the sweet side, but kind of tough.

I might try this again, but am not sure.

One and Done:

The Xiao Long Bao was a disappointment.

I can sum this up quickly; no soup, wrappers too thick and rubbery, folds hard and chewy.....I'll stop there.

The Beef Noodle Soup wasn't to my taste.

Actually not to Calvin's either. We shared this and after one spoonful of broth and a bite of the mush noodles we both were silent....then we cracked up. The broth was very one-dimensional with some spice; but that's it. No beefiness and a certain greasy tongue feel; not even the preserved vegetable helped. The beef was very tough as well. This was just not an enjoyable soup.

And yet, I thought the Chao Nian Gao was even worse than the NRM.

I'm not sure what happened to the wok skills of the chef on this one. The Nian Gao were mushy, there was very little flavor....not enough vegetable. The pork was tough, chewy, and had no taste. There was a strange greasiness to the dish; as if it wasn't stir-fried at the right temperature.

So there you go; a collection of dishes from A-Bowl. I'm sure the folks from work will want to return; they enjoy this place way more than Tasty Noodle House. So pork knuckle here we come......

Check out Kirbie's and Faye's posts on A-Bowl as well.

A-Bowl
4690 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Soup Weather in April! Revisits to Facing East and Woomiok (Yet Again)

Good lord, is it really almost May? We've sure been on a bit of a weather rollercoaster this year, eh? Anyway, this rainy-cooler weather means I can get more "soup fixes" and here's a couple.

Facing East:

Man, has it been nearly two years since my post on Facing East? Time sure does fly. Based on those three visits, I was surprised to see Facing East still alive and kicking a few weeks back while I drove up Convoy. They must be doing something right. It was probably time for a revisit. After all, I revisited Steamy Piggy, right?

Upon arrival, I was a bit shocked at how much the menu had changed. Gone were all those gimmicky Xiao Long Bao and in its place was Ramen (?), Nabeyaki (??). I mean I expected the Asian-fusion Baos and heck even teriyaki chicken and the legion of fried foods....but Drunken Noodle?

Well, this was going to be interesting indeed.

The young lady who was my Server was very nice, though again the food took a while to come out. Even though I was the only customer in the place.

While there was no way I'd be having ramen here; I thought the Duck Noodle Soup, which looked like a play on Niu Rou Mian would work out well for me.

There were six nice slices of roast duck, which had been torched. The duck was fairly tender and retained a nice sweetness and gaminess that had carried through being added to the broth. The standard issue noodle were over-cooked and on the mushy side for my taste. The broth was like what I'd had in the NRM on my previous visit, slightly spicy, lots of pepper, more greasy than rich, lacking in enough savory and anise tones for me. I really enjoyed the pickled vegetable, which helped to cut the greasiness, though the bok choy was mushy by the time the bowl hit the table. The portion size was quite generous.

So, while there was no more Foie Gras XLB, the Pork and Crab XLB was still on the menu.

On the positive side, while the tips of the wrapper was too hard, the wrapper as whole was better than what I'd had before. It had a bit of pull to is and nothing leaked. There was also a good amount of soup in the XLB. The meat however, was tough with rubbery bits in it and I couldn't make out any crab! I had three and took the remainder back to the office where I had folks try them out....both Calvin and "YZ" mentioned how tough the meatball was.....and both were surprised that there was supposed to be crab in this. It even lacked the normal sweet-porkiness I expect from a good XLB.

So there you go. A revisit. The menu has changed a bunch, but I still found the dishes to fall short.....

Facing East
4647 Convoy St Suite 101C
San Diego, CA 92111

Woomiok (Yet Again):

A few drops of rain and the Missus wants to head back to Woomiok. Though I should be happy that Woomiok has become a favorite of Hers.

On this visit, we noticed that there have been dishes added to the menu, though the Missus got Her usual Seolleontong. I went with the #7 which had Brisket, OxTail, Ox Knee, Cheek, and Shank.

The panchan has also been enhanced with the addition of japchae. Unfortunately, it's pretty weak in flavor. We noticed that folks on other tables didn't finish theirs as well. Though, to be perfectly honest, I think the baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi has been getting better on each visit.

As always, the Missus enjoyed the  the kkakdugi and the squid panchan.

As for my version of Seolleontang, well, I thought it was quite large. Enjoyed the strips of egg and the king mushrooms.

The broth coated my tongue nicely, and with the perfect amount of salt and scallions added it was quite nice. The meats were fine; though I really missed the tendon. I'll be going back to the regular mixed meat next time. Also, we might tell them to just hold off on the thin noodles which always seem to be overcooked....we just like to add rice to the broth....it becomes like a comforting porridge of sorts.

So that's it....I promise; no more Woomiok posts for a while.

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope you had a great Monday!