mmm-yoso – Page 306

Honolulu: Royal Kitchen and Nam Fong

December 13, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Honolulu, Oahu, Travel

My Father In-Law thought it would be a great idea to have the Missus' visiting cousins a taste of an "American Thanksgiving" so he ordered the basic heat and eat Thanksgiving meal from Zippy's. My job was to provide "back-up" if you know what I mean. No offense against Zippy's or any other of the heat and catered Thanksgiving meals, but they really aren't known for great flavor and quality if you know what I mean. We weren't arriving until the wednesday afternoon before T-Day so making anything was pretty much out of the question. So I dug into my "black book" looking for something that might suffice. Several folks had recommended Nam Fong in Chinatown to me, so I called from San Diego and reserved a duck and some pork for Thanksgiving Day. Nam Fong opens pretty early which worked out well as I made a nice 530 am drive from Ewa Beach to the Chinese Cultural Plaza at the edge of Chinatown in downtown. Arriving at about 6am on Thanksgiving morning I was surprised at how busy things were. There was a large group doing Tai Chi on the plaza alongside the River Street Canal. Now those that know where Nam Fong is located may ask what the heck am I doing at the CCP? Well, I drove up extra early to hit up this place:

Man, it has been at least a dozen years since I'd been to Royal Kitchen. I remember first having a baked manapua from Royal Kitchen waaay back in the early 1980's! What is manapua? It's Hawaii's riff on the Char Siu Bao which I mentioned in my post about Char Hung Sut. Why is it called manapua? Depending on what source you get your info from it could come from Hawaiian phrase "mauna pua'a", which means "mountain of pork"……now what non-vegetarian could resist a mountain of pork, eh? Or perhaps it's from the phrase "mea ono pua'a" which means something along the lines of "delicious pork thing", "mea ono" could also be translated to mean "cake" and "pork cake" would be a apt description, right? Whatever the origin, it's all good. Royal Kitchen changes things around when they started making baked manapua, they then put it sidewards by replacing the pork mixture with a whole lup cheong (Chinese sausage – my favorite) and Chicken Curry. Stuff like Portuguese sausage and kalua pork came later.

The shop is tiny and sells noodles and Chinese Barbecue as well.

But of course, I was all about the manapua, still priced pretty well at $1.15 each. Three trips ago (circa 1999), I bought a couple of these to eat on the trip home from Honolulu. Unfortunately, we forgot the package in the rental car….man was I bummed. So to set things right, I bought a box of eight. I even called from San Diego to make sure they'd be open on Thanksgiving.

This time eating was top priority so no views of the fillings. I seem to recall the exterior to be a bit more baked. I've never considered the char siu version to be stellar and it's still not my favorite. This time around the kalua pork overtook the lup cheong and Portuguese Sausage. Who knows what will win out next time? I'm looking forward to that……

Royal Kitchen
100 N Beretania St, Ste 175
Honolulu, HI 96817

Mon-Fri 5:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sat 6:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sun 6:30 am – 2:30 pm

I packed my box in the car, walked along the canal, crossed the street, then down Maunakea Street, the heart of Chinatown. The area has been cleaned up over the years, but there are still homeless folks sleeping in the doorways and it's easy to imagine how the area must have been when the area was the entertainment district or during the post World War II era (remember all those stories about Club Hubba Hubba?) or even as I grew up in Honolulu.

I was told that Nam Fong would be opening earlier than usual and I found the place doing a steady business when I arrived at about 615am.

Though there are a couple of places doing Chinese BBQ along this stretch of road, the ducks in the window sure looked good.

NamFong02

The roast pork hanging inside the shop didn't look too shabby either! There was a makshift set-up with what looked like a dozen Chinese style roasted turkeys that looked really delicious. The woman working the counter was really friendly and my order was ready when I arrived.

Anyway here's the rundown, first off the Roast Pork wasn't bad, it was moist with good flavor, but too chewy and the skin hard.

I ended up chopping up most of it and doing a saute with vinegar, chilies, soy sauce, onions, and scallions a la sisig which turned out rather good.

The Char Siu was pretty good, most places here in San Diego make it really salty and overly sweet, pouring sauce over it to keep it moist. This was mildly sweet, but not salty and I could make out the flavor of the pork for once.

A whole roast duck here costs a very reasonable $16,and while the skin is not quite up there in terms of texture, this duck was very good, much better than anything we have in San Diego. You can just tell by the look of the meat in this photo……

The meat was very tender and moist, the flavor of the duck came through. Initially, even though I could make out a mild five spice-bean paste flavor, I thought the duck too mild. Until I poured some of the jus on the duck, which immediately brought all the flavors out. It was delici-yoso!!! Thanks to everyone who recommended this place to me!

I'd like to revisit on my next trip home to see if the duck is just as good….then I'll be able to make recommendations of my own.

**** Sadly Nam Fong has closed

Nam Fong Restaurant
1029 Maunakea St
Honolulu, HI 96817

Mon-Sat 7 am – 4:30 pm
Sun 7 am – 1 pm

One thing I realized as I drove back to Ewa Beach…..I really enjoyed these morning drives….on days when there was no morning traffic.

"Round and round up and down
Through the streets of your town
Everyday I make my way
Through the streets of your town"

Streets of Your Town – Go-Betweens

Sunday Stuffs: Asian Balsamic-Mirin Glazed Strip Steak and other “stuffs”………

December 11, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes, yoso-silly

While on Lana'i we had a chance to check out Lana'i City Grille at the Hotel Lana'i. As renowned chef Beverly Gannon is the Executive Chef, we had to try the place out. It was a decent, if not fantastic meal. One of the items that was a bit disappointing to both the Missus and I was the mushroom risotto, which I'll go into a bit more in a future post. So of course the first thing the Missus wanted when we returned was mushroom risotto. Which is what She got today……

She has been cutting meat out of Her diet. I on the other hand desired some red meat. Since I very rarely have a steak, I'll usually splurge on prime and/or aged cut. This time around, I wanted to play with a pseudo, almost wafu type steak, so I decided on doing a choice New York Strip seasoned with sea salt/ala'e, fresh cracked pepper, and granulated garlic. To finish, I did a balsamic-soy sauce-mirin glaze….I thought the glaze might be too much, but it turned out rather well.

Combined with some mushroom risotto and Asian style sauteed rapini on a braised mushroom, this turned out to be quite a meal. I finished the rest of the steak for dinner. I really didn't reduce the sauce too much, maybe by a third, but you can go farther if you want a really thick glaze. I used some of the remainder as a sauce for the leftover steak and it tasted quite good.

Balsamic-Mirin Reduction:

1 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Cup neutral flavored soy sauce (Yamasa or Aloha)

1/2 Cup Mirin

3 cloves garlic smashed

Black Pepper to taste.

Combine ingredients over medium heat, bring to a boil then reduce as much as desired.

Other stuffs……

While on vacation, I reconnected with a "small kid time" favorite of mine:

Don't ask me why or how……I've been eating this stuff like crazy……I just finished one 26 ounce jug and am starting on my second. I better just finish that off and be done with the whole thing! Just call is PNS – Post Nostalgic Syndrome.

The other night we were at Zion Market and the Missus saw something that thrilled Her!

Placenta! Yikes….turns out that it is a pretty common ingredient in shampoos, lipstick, and lotion. The Missus was happy to be able to buy this stuff at such a good price! I on the other will be checking the ingredients on my bottle of shampoo tonight! For some reason this gives me the heebies……..

I spent a nice day watching Sammy's favorite shows on television. He loves Dogs 101 and Dog Whisperer. Here's his favorite seat.

So how's that for a wacko household? I'm stuffing my face with one ton chips, the Missus is rubbing placenta on Her face, and Sammy spends most of the day glued to the television………

One last thing…….

I know I always mention how beautiful the sunsets are in Hawaii; but they aren't so shabby here in San Diego either!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Jianyang: Jianyang Mutton Soup (sort of)

December 10, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Jianyang, Travel

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Missus' cousin lived in Jianyang, about 80 kilometers outside of Chengdu. And while he and his family really weren't "foodies" he went out of his way asking friends and acquaintances for recommendations. We really appreciated his efforts. On our first evening, he took us to have what is Jianyang's signature dish, Jianyang Mutton Soup. Located down a dusty side street, this little shop was doing some major business….though the customers seemed overwhelmingly male.

This restaurant was supposed to be the "original" Jianyang mutton soup shop…………

There were a few side dishes ordered and it seemed like there were two standard condiments for the dish that came out. The first was simply salt and ground chilies. The second was lamb consomme with chilies.

The broth of the mutton soup seems to made from rapidly boiled bones, creating a milky white appearance, a process that leaches all of the nutrients from the bones. When the Missus used to get sick as a child, Her parents used to make bone soup to nurse Her back to health, so it is something appreciates.

The actual broth was very mild, thus the condiments. The meat was slightly gamey, some of it rather chewy, but not as "wild" tasting some mutton/lamb I've had, and some of it had a slight sweetness to it as well. It was milder than much of the mutton/lamb/venison that I've had.

Do you notice something about the soup? If you've read our little blog long enough, you'd know that one of the items that I'm not a big fan of is jellied blood and this soup is teeming with cubes of blood. Being the guest, the Missus cousin made me the first bowl and I was honored, but it was full of cubes of blood. I looked at the Missus and shrugged, what could I do? I had to eat it…….

And it was delicious….sweet, without that livery-iodine flavor that I don't enjoy. In fact, it was the best thing about the soup. After returning to San Diego, I immediately went to a couple of my favorite Vetinamese restaurants and decided to have the cubed blood again…gaaack, sorry to say, it ain't the same.

The side dishes were very tasty. The minced meat with celery was well executed. The meat in this was rather rich so the celery and tomato helped to cut the flavor.

The second dish, consisting of some pretty fatty and greasy looking meat was amazingly mild as well.

It was a very hearty meal which made both the Missus and I quite sleepy.

The Missus cousin had put us up in a very nice looking hotel…….

Which overlooked the main city park.

There's not much happening here during the day….it's very quiet and tranquil.

But much like the rest of China, after the work days ends, the park is full of people getting their exercise, watching a movie on the big screen over the park, dancing, or just plain socializing.

As for the "sort of"……the Missus hadn't read or even noticed the sign of the restaurant when we ate there. After we returned I asked the Missus to translate the sign and all She could say was "oh my"……

Oh my indeed…….

Feeling Pho-rozen: Pho Lucky and Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista)

December 8, 2011 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Man, the cold has hit me like a ton of bricks…….. I've even mentioning adopting another pup to the Missus since we've definitely had a couple of three dog nights and we're one mutt short! I'm usually not so wimpy. I'm not sure if I became used to the 80 degree plus weather on Oahu over ten short days, but walking out of the airport to temps in the high forties stopped me dead. Geeez, what a wimp……

So of course I've been craving soup, and Pho' obviously comes to mind.

Pho Lucky:

I was quite surprised when the Missus, being not much of a Pho-natic requested a bowl of Pho. We headed up to Pho Lucky.

I ordered a bowl with just tendon, brisket, and flank. The broth was on the dark side but very soothing and not too salty. Nice mild anise and onion tones. Noodles could have used less cooking time but I wasn't complaining. To my surprise (and to the really funny Server's) the Missus ordered a large Dac Biet (Special) and plowed through most of it (left the rare steak).

Timing as they say, is everything.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Hiep and Grill – Linda Vista:

Deciding that a Pho double dip might be just the thing, the next day I headed to Pho Hiep and Grill.

I grabbed a large bowl of Flank-Brisket-Tendon-Tripe. The protein items were pretty good, especially the usually tough flank cuts. The broth left something to be desired; the anise flavor was much too strong and it was salty as heck.

Can't win 'em all I guess.

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

So what have you been consuming to stay warm?

"You can raise your arm, you can wiggle your hand
And you can wave goodbye to the frozen man"

The Frozen Man – James Taylor

Hawaii: Poke Paradise – Poke Stop, Alicia’s Market, Tanioka’s Seafood and Catering, Ono Seafood, and Lana’i Ohana Poke Market

December 6, 2011 mmm-yoso Honolulu, Lanai, Oahu, Plate Lunch, Poke, Seafood, Travel

Even though our trip was a mere ten days, we made sure to get in as much Poke as possible. The Missus, who by now is a full fledged poke-phile and I would often discuss the merits of the poke we ate during our trip. We tried five different shops during our stay and here's the consensus, in reverse order of our favorites. I think our favorite will be a bit of a surprise.

#5 – Poke Stop

On our previous trip I had the pleasure of chatting with a former coworker of my MIL and lifetime Leeward resident Melissa, whom I also had a great time sharing dinner with on her subsequent trip to San Diego. It was really great getting her feedback on a number of places in the Ewa/Waipahu area.Poke Stop was one of the really hyped up places, but Melissa told me that the poke was very salty and perhaps not her favorite, so we passed. On this visit, the Missus and I stopped by the little shop for a light lunch. We enjoyed the "trio" of cooked items which I'll post on later, but unfortunately, the poke here was our least favorite, that's not to say it was bad, but someone had to be numba five. The shop is rather small and the choices rather limited, some of which looked like it had been sitting around for a while, but we ended up getting two different poke along with our plate lunch, a Primo, and headed outside to one of the tables overlooking Farrington Highway.

The two poke were totally at different ends of the spectrum…..

The Sesame Ahi Poke, really didn't look much like what I usually consider to be Ahi (Big Eye or Yellowfin Tuna) at all as it was really pale in color…it was almost like Tombo Ahi, aka Albacore.

But Tombo tends to be kinda mushy and this was firm, so I'm not sure. Overall, this was really bland and the fish, though firm didn't have the richness nor oil content to carry the poke on its own. You could barely make out a whiff of sesame oil on this.

At the other end, the Kimchi Tako Poke was super salty.

The Tako (octopus) was prepared well, chewy, but not too tough. It was just much too salty. We did like the service here; the older woman and her younger counterpart were very friendly. When we said we'd be eating at the tables outside, they told us to go ahead and have a seat and brought our food to us.

Poke Stop
94 -050 Farrington Hwy, E4
Waipahu, HI 96797

#4 – Alicia's Market

This little market on Mokauea in Kalihi is known for sparse parking and great poke and roast pork.

I was really lucky, as I was driving up a car left one of the maybe ten stalls in front of the market (and drive in next door), talk about good luck!

This being a football Saturday the place was packed.

You get into one of the free-form pseudo lines and when you think you're next you tell one of the folks behind the counter what you want….and there's no need for long explanations like "one pound of spicy masago ahi poke" as simple "half spicy masago" will do. If you don't notice when it's your turn one of the other customers will likely let you know…after all, this is Hawaii, and "you no cut in line" here. On busy days you can just pay cash at the fish counter, bypassing the single cash register in the front. It just works better that way.

Of the three we bought on this day, my favorite was the Sweet Onion Ahi, which seemed very fresh, with just enough saltiness for my taste. The onions were indeed "almost Maui" in sweetness.

The Spicy Ahi had too much mayonnaise for the Missus and I, though my MIL enjoyed it.

This one also got on the bad side of the Missus…more on that later on.

There was a lot of "suji"(tough tendon/fishing line like tissue) in the Spicy Masago Ahi Poke. You really couldn't tell by looking at it. It seems like they used the cuts with the most tough connective tissue hiding under all that masago.

Did you notice the banner for Alicia's read "Broke the Mouth"? Well the spicy poke almost broke the Missus' teeth…twice She pulled bones from the poke. I chewed on a couple of scales in the masago poke, which made it not only too tough, but also scaly as well.

Not much else to say…….

Alicia's Market
267 Mokauea St
Honolulu, HI 96819

#3 – Tanioka's Seafood and Catering

We dropped by twice….once right after getting off the plane and once I braved the Saturday line out the door and down the sidewalk. The Missus and I were looking forward to the poke from Tanioka's since our previous visit.

On both visits we were lucky as the Ahi Limu was brought out fresh both times and ended up being my favorite.

It was quite good both times, nice balance of flavor, fresh fish, everything you need…..

For some reason, I found the dried aku poke much too salty this time around.

While the Pipikaula (dried beef) Poke seemed much too tame and mild.

The main reason for the revisit is that the Missus' cousins love Ocean/Seaweed Salad, something I find kinda, well, mundane….but I was told that this stuff is really expensive in China.

They could eat this by the pound….but didn't care much for poke, or poi for that matter.

The lines were long, but moves fast. The security guard who doubles as a doorman to handle the weekend crowd is very nice as well.

Tanioka's did come up numba' one on another list, stay tuned for that post.

Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering
94-903 Farrington Hwy
Waipahu, HI 96797

#2 – Ono Seafood

This one is located in my old stomping grounds; Kapahulu. It's actually in what I believe used to be the manager's studio/office for this apartment complex, apartment numba' 4. Just look for the blue apartment…..

The poke here is a couple of dollars cheaper a pound and some of the items they make up fresh for each order. The interior is tiny. This being a two person operation means that you don't move along quite as fast.

The poke here is fresh and unfettered from too many sauces and salt.

The Missus enjoyed the Wasabi Ahi:

The fish was wonderful, bright in color and with a firmness at first bite which gave way to an almost melt in the mouth texture. I did feel that it was made a bit too much restraint with regards to the "whisper of wasabi".

I enjoyed the simple Ahi Limu, except that I found the limu to be really hard.

Other then that, I thought the flavor was really balanced.

We saved the Smoked Tako for my FIL, who loves the stuff.

If I had my druthers, I might have put Tanioka's number two since I thought eating the poke at Diamond Head Look-out affected our opinions a bit.

Still, the Missus wants to make sure to revisit Ono Seafood on our next trip.

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave.Apt 4
Honolulu, HI 96816

#1 Lana'i Ohana Poke Market

**** Sadly, Lana'i Ohana Poke Market has closed

This one was a nice surprise for us. I'd heard that there was a nice little poke shop on Gay street right off of 8th. Unfortunately we arrived on a Wednesday when it was closed. I returned the next day……

The little shop was pretty busy when I arrived….three fire fighters and probably half of the police force (two officers) were either eating or waiting for their food. The woman working the front counter was really nice. I found out that even though there's a 5pm closing time posted, they make one pan of everything a day and once that's gone it's pau hana time.

The Missus has been eating a lot of brown rice recently, and has been overjoyed to see that many Honolulu restaurant are now serving brown rice as an option. I really didn't think the brown rice movement had made it to Lana'i, but I was wrong. When I hesitantly asked the woman if they served brown rice in their poke bowls she said "of course we do". Ha….teach me a lesson…..

The Missus absolutely loved the Spicy Poke bowl with brown rice.

Not overdressed, this had a mild kick, the fish really stood out. This was Her favorite until…..

She sampled the furikake-masago ahi poke.

Put together with a restrained hand, you could make out the flavor of the furikake without it overpowering the poke. The masago added a nice crunch to everything.

Still, my favorite was the shoyu poke.

Again, the flavor didn't take over the poke. I believe there was even oyster sauce in this adding a touch of extra savory flavor. I'm not a big fan of oyster sauce in my poke since it takes over the dish, but here it was used in just the right amount. There was even a slight sweetness to the whole thing as well. The fish literally sparkled……

Much like Ono Seafood, perhaps eating our poke at lovely Hulopo'e Beach might have something to do with our enjoyment.

This was taken at about noon………the Missus and I would joke about over-crowding when there were more then ten people on the beach.

Doesn't this look like the perfect place for one of those Corona Beer commercials?

And the view when you turn around ain't so bad either…….

We actually caught the shuttle back to Lana'i City a bit early to see if we could grab some poke to stick in the fridge for dinner. Unfortunately, they had run out of poke before we returned at two pm. You can't win them all……

Lana'i 'Ohana Poke Market
834 A Gay St
Lanai City, HI 96763

Never would I have thought that'd we'd find poke this good on Lana'i.

OK, I'm getting close to the 1700 word mark, time for bed.

Thanks for reading….I gotta go check my blood mercury levels!

We’re Back……

December 5, 2011 mmm-yoso Honolulu, Loco Mocos, Oahu, Travel

Over a year ago, when we visited China, we promised the Missus' cousins that if they visited Her parents on Oahu we'd be there. Of course we had to keep that promise, right? So we're back after ten or so days and countless visits to Ala Moana and Waikele Outlets……

And during the in-between time, we were able to visit a couple of places that I'd been itching to check out.

And I managed to reaquaint myself with places I'd been thinking about for years…..places I really missed.

And newer favorites as well…..

So you know they'll be more than enough poke for a post……

We even managed a short side trip……

To the Pacific Northwest….juts kidding. By the looks of the Cook Pines can you guess where this is?

Or perhaps the ranchland???

Here's the answer…..

My father was from Lana'i and I hadn't been back in at least seventeen years. I thought it would be interesting for the Missus to visit a place with no traffic lights, seventeen miles of paved road, and a speed limit of 20 mph.

And of course we had to eat, right?

It felt great to be "home", where there is an endless supply of sunsets……

And beautiful orchids….

And of course there are those items that just grab my attention for some reason or another as well.

So let me regroup and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Stuffs: Revisits to the Original Sab E Lee and Pinoy Fiesta, Sakura temporarily closed.

November 20, 2011 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, yoso-silly

I hope everyone is having a dry Sunday…this one has been a cold one!

I dropped by Izakaya Sakura this past week and they were closed. They had this sign posted:

I guess the place suffered some smoke damage from a fire next door….. I hope they reopen soon!

**** This location of TOSEL has closed

About every two weeks or so I drop by the Original Sab E Lee for take-out. I decided after my seventh post on the place in April 2010 to cut back on posting about the place. Over the course of the last year and a half, we had some really take out meals and some that weren't quite as good. I found that it's all about who is in the kitchen. Last week, the Missus told me that we should drop by the place and actually have a meal there……….which turned out to be quite nice.

There's something about getting everything fresh from the kitchen……

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

This past weekend, I happened to be in the National City area at around 10 or so. I thought I'd drop by Pinoy Fiesta since I hadn't been there for a while.

So here's the two item combination…. Menudo(which tasted like Mechado) and Sisig.

Breakfast of champions……

The menudo was nice and tangy, the beef was fairly tender, there was a nice bit of pepperyness to it. The sisig was like before, gummy, waxy, bland, and this time ice cold to boot. I'll make sure to show some restraint and pass on it next time. Like everywhere else, prices have gone up and is now in the high six dollar range.

Pinoy Fiesta
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Chengdu: Long Chao Shou (龙抄手) and what seems to be the favorite pastime in Chengdu

November 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Chengdu, China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel

Our next stop after Xi'an was Chengdu….and boy, when I first planned this stage out, I was excited! Apparently, one of the Missus' cousins lived in Chengdu so we'd be visiting….then I found out that we wouldn't exactly be staying in Chengdu, but Jianyang a smaller city (of course "smaller" is a relative term as the population of Jianyang is about 1.5 million!) about 80 kilometers from Chengdu. Oh well, I'd have to wait until next time to try all the places listed in Food and Drink Chengdu. We got off our flight and crossed the street to wait for the Missus's cousin to pick us up. While waiting the Missus and I noticed this woman just stop and squat, derriere hanging over the road to take a text message…..I mean really, was that message so important that you had to stop right where you were to take it?

Eventually, our ride arrived and introductions were made. I quickly surmised that this cousin was deeply involved in the "new" China……business and commerce was king. And even though he wasn't familiar with the restaurants in both Chengdu and Jianyang, nor very interested in eating out, he'd made quite an effort for us during our stay. Maybe too much of an effort as the Missus and I would have managed fine ourselves, but we really appreciated the effort.

He had asked around and found a place for us to have lunch. The car was parked near Tianfu Square which is considered the center of the city.

This was once the location of the Imperial Palace which was destroyed after the Cultural Revolution. A huge status of Chairman Mao now overlooks the square.

A couple of things we noticed right away. The pace here was pretty leisurely, at least in comparison with Beijing, Qingdao, Xi'an, and Hangzhou. The sky seemed quite overcast and the temperature mild. We were told that this is pretty common weather for Chengdu, and the mild weather, overcast skies in combination with the hot and spicy food was why the complexions of the women from the area were so beautiful!

We walked through the shopping district and to the Chengdu institution called Long Chau Shou (龙抄手):

The restaurant is huge and cafeteria like.

The restaurant specializes in "snack" type dishes, of which there is quite a variety….and of course Long Chao Shou, which we know as wonton soup. I could clearly see the trays of wontons stacked up in the kitchen area.

I'm still not wuite sure of the system, but it seemed like you walk up to one of the counters and order, pay, then hunt down a table. You aren't given a number, placard, or anything. I truly had doubts that our food would find its way to our table in this mass of humanity. But I would be proved wrong as the blue clad workers had no problems finding us.

There were only two items that I really concentrated on during the meal. The first was the Long Chao Shou. I had chosen the spicy version.

This was quite good. Long Chau Shou's wontons are famous for their "kou gan" – mouth sensation, a combination of textures and a slippery, noodley-ness (is there such a word), and these were really nice. For me, it was all about the thin wrappers. The "soup" was interesting, I had been told and have also found that there was definite difference between Chengdu and ChongQing style food. And the meals we had in Chengdu and Jianyang pretty much confirmed it for me. The food in Chengdu is lighter and less spicy. In fact, I really didn't think this was very hot at all. What did surprise me was the intensity of the "ma", the Sichuan peppercorns were very floral and numbed me from the tip of my nose down my neck. This made getting Sichuan Peppercorns from Chengdu a must have for our return. (Which of course, I did)

I also had to try the Sichuan Liang Mian – the spicy cold noodles…….

This was ok, we've had versions here in the states that are every bit as good, if not better. But again, that wonderful numbing feeling was great…..I'm sure that shipping and irradiation does something to what we get here in the US.

Some of the other dishes:

Not much into sweets…so I passed.

After lunch we were driven to an area known as Jinli Old Street, an area that dates back to the Qin Dynasty and was once known as the "First Street of the Shu Kingdom".

Chengdu was the capital of the Shu Kingdom (221-263).

The street is full of cafes, shops, and little stands plying all types of crafts, knick-knacks, snacks, do-hickeys, and thingamijiggies.

It was a nice area to stretch our legs, browse, and wander around for a bit.

We were headed for a specific spot. This was where I first learned what one of the favorite pastimes in Chengdu was…… socializing in a tea house.

A coworker told me that her dad tried to discourage her from going to college in Chengdu, telling her "you are going to spend all your time in tea houses and not learn anything."

Folks ante up an purchase a cup of tea, hot water is refilled upon request, snacks are purchased…the young folks play cards, older folks read books, socialize, or like this guy, have a major nap.

This guy was sleeping when we arrived and was still napping when we left over two hours later!

The funniest site was watching the monks bum off cigarettes from folks in the tea house…they would sit down, have good smoke and chat with folks……I've seen a monk smoking a cigarette in a tea house in Chengdu…now I've seen it all!

Chicago: Johnnie’s Beef (Arlington Heights – again), Mr Beef (Dunning), and Superdawg

November 17, 2011 mmm-yoso Chicago, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches, Travel

Johnnie's Beef again:

I had the television in my room on, but my mind was elsewhere. Even after my meal at Kurumaya I was still thinking about food! Specifically, an Italian Beef Sandwich….especially since Johnnie's Beef was a couple blocks away. Finally after about an hour of rumination (and digestion), I jumped in the rental car and headed for Johnnie's. They were pretty busy as usual, but things move quickly, and really all I needed to say were three magical words when it my turn at bat; "beef……juicy….hot". Translated, Italian Beef Sandwich, " juicy" means it's left in the broth a bit longer than "dunked", and "hot" stands for the hot peppers (giardinera). It's just about the only time you'll get away without being slapped for uttering those three words at a restaurant counter.

The sandwich was just as good as my previous one was. It's not huge, so I didn't feel too bad about having it as a snack.

It was indeed "beef….juicy….hot….."

You can find more details on my previous post on Johnnie's.

Johnnie's Beef
1935 South Arlington Heights Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Mr Beef on North Harlem:

This was actually the first place I had an Italian Beef many moons ago. The Missus had made a request, so I checked out early and made it down to the area on the Northwest side of Chicago known as Dunning. I knew that Dunning was a traditionally Italian neighborhood, but after reading this I found out it that the area has a very strong Polish influence as well.

I wondered how my tastes had changed since I last ate an Italian Beef from this unassuming shop. I had arrived a bit before the posted 1030 am opening time, so I sat in the car checking text messages and such. I was concentrating a bit too hard as a little old lady knocked on my window scaring the daylights out of me! She lifted a sack up and told me "they're open already….you're late!" Which really cracked me up…..

Things looked exactly the same as I remembered……and the same really friendly guy was working the counter as well. I ordered my beef, juicy, hot, and we chatted about where I was from, the weather, the heavy flooding a couple of nights ago while I waited for my sandwich.

When my sandwich arrived I looked at it in stunned silence. I didn't recall it being as large and I don't remember being given a fork along with my napkins either. As you can tell….it was indeed quite juicy.

Man this thing was humongous. It basically sprung open as I unwrapped it…..

The beef was very tender but was not quite as herbaceous as what I had the evening before at Johnnie's Beef. I was just amazed that the roll made it to the last bite….can you imagine if I ordered it "soaked"? The giardinera was also much milder than what I recalled.

What was not up for debate was that this was indeed a two-fisted, juice dripping on your feet sandwich.

I guess I need to make it back to Al's to see how that Italian Beef holds up…..

Mr Beef
3917 N Harlem Ave
Chicago, IL 60634

Superdawg:

The Missus' request? She wanted me to bring home a hot dog. Yep, all the way from Chicago on the six hour flight to San Diego…a hot dog…..I tried to convince Her that it would be a cold, soggy mess, and a total waste of time, but She insisted. Ok, you want a hot dog, you get a hot dog….but not just a hot dog…. but a Superdawg! I had thoughts of just grabbing a Vienna Beef dog in the standard issue Mary Ann poppy seed bun, dragged through the garden, but since was here, why not check out this iconic shop. I'd had a Superdawg before, it was a terribly limp dog, served up in a soggy bun with cold greasy fries. At least I pretty much knew what the Missus was going to be getting! Of course, that one was from Midway Airport…… This one was going to be from the location on North Milwaukee.

What was pretty amazing was that I plowed through my Italian Beef sandwich and drove up from Mr Beef, making it to Superdawg before 11am! And there were people in line waiting for the place to open!

The menu is pretty compact, so I don't understand how the folks in front of me had such a hard time ordering, after all, they had a good long time to check out the menu while waiting. And furthermore, this place is called Super "dawg", right? So of course they ended up ordering burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and fish…..

If you're used to typical Chicagoland hot dog prices, you may go into sticker shock here as the Superdawg costs $5.25. Of course it comes with crinkle cut fries. Gene and Jude's this ain't.

The entire set-up of the place is very neat, part 1950's car hop drive in, part roadside attraction. There's a glass enclosed dining area next to the ordering window. With folks peering in at what I was eating, it felt like I was on display….

And what I was eating….was a superdawg of course. Yes, even after devouring that beef sandwich. You gotta love the packaging…..

The dog was tucked in nicely with fries lying to one side.

The hot dog is a bit different from the usual all-beef Chicago wiener. It is made by Vienna Beef using a proprietary formula with a different spice blend. There seemed to be a bit more more garlicky-ness and the dog was larger in circumference than the standard issue stuff. It did have a bit less snap than what I'm used to, and frankly I still enjoy the generic Veinna Beef dog more. What I did really like was pickled green tomato, the firm and crunchy sport peppers, and the very tasty fries. Looking at the fries I suddenly realized that the heat from the fries would end up making the entire thing into a soggy mess. But what the heck, She wanted a hot dog right?

There was quite a line as I made my way to the car…check out the dude with the camcorder…..

So, I sealed the Superdawg in a ziploc bag and stowed it in my carry-on. The Missus picked me up at the airport and when we got home She got Her hot dog….She did love the pickled green tomato and even enjoyed the hot dog, sogged out bun and all. Of course She went and put ketchup on the thing….yikes…..

Superdawg Drive-In
6363 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60646

Bellying up to the Belly of the Beast at Underbelly

November 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Ramen

Say that fast five times! I recently had the pleasure of grabbing lunch with one of my favorite people, Candice. And as always, I had a great time as she told me about her recent travels. Of course, eventually the conversation got around to food. During that conversation Candice asked me if I'd been to Underbelly yet. Underbelly? When she explained that it was basically a ramen bar that opened in Little Italy a few bells went off. I'd heard that the owners of Craft and Commerce were opening up a ramen bar in Little Italy, but had not heard that it had opened. A part of me wasn't really excited or thrilled as I had visions of what "hipster ramen" would look like dancing through my head….which is patently wrong. I think we sometimes suffer from reverse discrimination when it comes to food, thinking that non-Asians are not capable of pulling off Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese dishes. And then we go home and make our lasagne, risotto, or BBQ claiming it to be darned good, the match of anything a good cook anywhere would create. I do have problems when something is dumbed down for the sake of revenue, the product is bad, or when something lacks soul and is not true to the dish it is named after. Sliced processed turkey in a baguette is not a banh mi, even if it is in fresh baked bread. There is a place that does that….it's called Subway, ok? Enough….time to put away the soapbox. what really caught my attention was when Candice told me of something called the "Belly of the Beast"…….and I really couldn't get that out of my mind.

So, of course I just had to check the place out. The shop seats maybe 30-35 people and is located on the corner of West Fir and Kettner.

The restaurant has a very slick design. The glass windows open and fold over to become counter tops for the restaurant.

There was a line when I arrived at opening, I don't think I've stood in line for lunch since my visit to Hot Dougs.

Often times, great form has functional pitfalls. If you happen to sit on the street side of the counter be careful as the counter will tilt if you lean on it….like what happened to the poor guy sitting a couple of feet from me who almost fell off his seat as the counter tilted….he did save the glass of flowers and his dignity though. I'm hoping that the folks here will find a way to secure those dual purpose panes of glass before someone has a few too many local craft brews and upends an entire counter of hot ramen on customers.

The drill here, at least for lunch is much like Santouka, you stand in line, look over the menu, order at the bar, and end up with a metal numeric placard to identify you. The menu is focused, not a mishmash of mixed parts which I like. The topiary of Chairman Mao is not focused and I'm wondering what part it really plays in the theme of the restaurant. I thought it kind of bizarre….

This uber al fresco theme is a mixed plate as well. It's going to be great eating here during the fall and early spring when the weather is still cool and crisp enough. It was kind of breezy where I was sitting, and though I enjoyed it, the folks sitting facing Kettner quickly retreated. I hope the place has some plans for when it rains….

OK, enough about all that stuff, how was the ramen. I got the Belly of the Beast ($13) with the additional of Pork Belly Chashu ($3)…..$16, or about three usual lunches for ramen. It's served in a large white bowl, but only comes up about 3/5 way up the bowl. In other words, this place ain't for the Santouka price and portion haters.

First things first, for me the broth was super oily, even beyond that bowl of Kotteri broth I had a Daikokuya years ago that seemed to wrap around my tongue and not let go. This one is for those who think they can drink straight nuoc beo (beef tallow), as it is indeed rich. If you think regular tonkotsu broth is over the top, this is on another planet. In spite of how rich it was, the broth was pretty mellow and really seemed low on the sodium scale. The noodles would be fine for many, but was a bit overcooked for my taste. I'm glad I ordered the pork belly chashu, in my opinion it was much better flavored than the two beef cuts….I couldn't taste any smoke on the smoked beef brisket(though it was super tender), nor could I make out any savory beany sweetness from the hoisin glazed short rib. The pork belly was cooked well, not falling to pieces, but still velvety enough to melt in my mouth. Oxtail dumplings sound like a great idea, but just like when I tried kalua pork won tons (these were pretty much won tons), lack of a contrasting texture made these kinda mushy.

The boiled egg was excellent, the yolk a golden orb that called to me. It could have been more aggressively soaked in a stronger flavored sauce, but perhaps not, as I could make out the wonderful flavor of the yolk as a ate it.

In the end that broth did me in as I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I'm thinking that perhaps having the kimchi version might do better as perhaps a bit of acidity or pungency might help cut the oil in the soup.

In the end, I appreciated the effort. Even though they are kind of off target for me (remember, I'm more hip-replacement than hip), I don't think they're doing anything that resembles something from the "springroll of the month club". Perhaps time will tell, heck, I didn't enjoy Santouka when they first opened, they needed to iron out a couple of things to bring it up to snuff. So maybe in a couple months…..if I can find a seat…..

UnderBelly
750 W. Fir St
San Diego, CA 92101