Chinese Restaurants – Page 57

Chicken Wing Thing: 777 Noodle House, Olde City Grill, The Original Sab E Lee, and Que Huong

August 16, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's a post to add to my Chicken Wing category, an additional Chicken Wing Thing post. As regular readers know, I love my chicken wings……..

777 Noodle House:

I've already done a couple of posts on this bargain of a Chiu Chow Noodle House. And since they also own the "Louisiana" Fried Chicken shop next door, it was only right that I try their chicken wings.

On the good side, this was very juicy and lip melting hot! On the not-so-good, the batter was pretty crumbly, and it was a pretty bland wing overall. I enjoy a few dishes here, but this is not one of them.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Olde City Grill:

*** Old City Grille has closed

Of all the Cheesesteaks I posted on, Olde City Grill in Pacific Beach was the best I had hands down. A week or so later, I visited again to confirm my findings. I also decided to have some wings….which are sold "by the pound". I decided to go with some pretty straightforward "Buffalo" wings.

I was surprised to find that a "pound" here consisted of 6 wings. I've often mentioned the "Kyochon line" when it comes to pricing. Anything over, say a dollar a wing should be darn good. From the sauce point of view, it was pretty routine… fairly tangy, decent heat, but nothing special. From the size point of view, these were some fairly hefty size wings. I am however, a fan of smaller wings, since the skin/crust to meat ratio is much better. If I wanted plain meaty…. I could get drumsticks, right? There was one other item I didn't care for…. the Bluecheese dressing was more like mildly flavored Bluecheese Mayonnaise (or if you really want to be fancy aioli).

Personally, I'll stick with the cheesesteaks…..

Olde City Grill
967 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

The Original Sab E Lee:

**** This location of Sab E Lee has closed

Actually, I've had the wings at TOSEL a couple of times, but have never thought of it as something the place does well.

I recently returned just to have the wings……. and it confirmed that even though there is much to like at TOSEL, and I do mean a lot, I don't think chicken wings are on that list. The wings just don't have that spicy-sweet-savory flavor or crisp, yet sticky texture of the good wings in Thailand.

The bitter burnt garlic did not do the dish any favors…….

Don't even ask me about the neon orange sweet-sour sauce…..

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

Que Huong Restaurant:

**** Que Huong has closed

I recently had a wonderful lunch with one of my favorite FOYs (Friends of Yoso), Dennis. As always I enjoyed the company, and you can read about our meal here. I'd first eaten at Que Huong back in 2005, and have been going back off and on since then. I never did try the Fish Sauce Chicken Wings until FOY "Yummy Yummy" mentioned it to me in 2008. I gotta say, it was love at first bite…. and yet, there are several different version of wings on the menu, and I wanted to try the Tamarind Wings……. and Dennis was nice enough to help me through a meal. I ordered a half and half… a half order of Fish Sauce Wings, and a half order of Tamarind Wings.

No these aren't gigantic wings….. they are "small but mighty"… you know folks like that. They may be diminutive, but are full of attitude and flavor. The Fish Sauce wings delivered that sweet-salty punch that they always do for me.

The Tamarind Wings……

Were like the Fish Sauce Wings' weaker cousin……. I wanted something with a tangy "punch", but these were fairly mild. I still gotta try the butter wings…… and other stuff……

Thanks for putting up with me Dennis!

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

So there you go, a few more wings for my collection.

Spicy House a first look

August 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** Another post on Spicy House can be found here.

I mentioned that Shanghai City was gone in this post. A few days later the sign went up announcing "Spicy House". Of course being the good Chinese Restaurant they were schedule to open on 08/08. I was told by several sources that this place was run by the group that owns Spicy City. For some reason, I've never been enamored with Spicy City, but thought we should give this place a try.

The interior has been freshened up slightly…….

And like most of these types of restaurants, there's a selection of cold dishes on display. The interesting thing, was there was one item that gave signal that there was something more then the signature Sichuan-Yunnan Spicy City thing going on here.

And one look at the menu verified what we thought.

We had spied what looked like Hunan Suan Dou (pickled green beans) as one of the cold dishes.

After a brief discussion with the Server, the Missus found out that they have three chefs working here. They've retained the original Shanghainese Chef, which is why I saw several of the old Shanghai City menus, and have brought on a Sichuan Chef, and a Hunan Chef. Now this sounded interesting, but I was still not sold……. and especially after having a selection of the cold dishes.

The Fuqi Feipian was too tough, and lacked Sichuan Peppercorn. The pig's ear was also lacking in flavor. The Kaufu, wheat gluten was too chewy, not melt in the mouth soft as, say what they serve at Tianjin Bistro.

The pickled long beans were also disappointing; salty, but lacking that true pickled flavor. Earlier in the week, I tried to explain the difference between salty and briney to someone…. and these were a pretty good example.

We were ready to be underwhelmed when our Dried String Beans with Duck($10.99) arrived.

Man, this smelled good! It was a sort of hybrid Sichuan/Hunan dish. The dried green beans, sliced into tiny pieces, almost like a brunoise, were nice savory surprises. Three different types of chilies were used, and the orange/red peppers we enjoy with many Hunan dishes added a nice, fruity sweetness. The addition of minced ginger, slices of garlic, and peanuts, meant that every bite would have a different flavor. The duck was typical of Hunan/Sichuan dishes; it was less meaty, more chewy, with a mild gamey flavor. Not too many seeds as is typical with Hunan dishes, but there were a few there. Not quite Hunan Chilli King, but not bad.

There were a couple of things that surprised us about the Crisp Fish with Pepper ($10.99):

First was the portion size, it was huge. This was all fish, there wasn't anything in the middle or bottom to "prop up" the food. Second, we noticed this was eel! We found out later that it was supposed to be Crispy Fried Eel with Chilies on the menu, but there was some mix-up. Third was the distinct smell of one of my favorite seasonings hitting me when the dish arrived….. the smell of cumin. And yet, the flavor of cumin was in the background…. I think it was added to the batter. Though the middle pieces were on the greasier side, the pieces of fish on the outside were nice and crisp. I'd say this was a pseudo-Sichuan dish, as there were Sichuan Peppercorns present, though not in large quantities. An interesting note was, even though this dish looks aggressively flavored, you could still make out the taste of the sesame seeds that topped the dish. The Missus, who loves Chinese Eel dishes, thought this was good. Strangely, I thought the dish could have used more salt!

The dishes we had shows enough promise…. i think we'll be back to try more in the future. The service was adequate…. though on a very hot day, they seemed to not want to turn on the A/C which made me do a "double sweat"…. one from the chilies, the other from the heat! The portion sizes were generous, and the prices pretty good. We were sad to see Shanghai City go, but this place shows some promise.

Spicy House
3860 Convoy Street #105
San Diego, CA 92111

Some Revisits: 777 Noodle House, Pho Hoa Huong, Sandwich Emporium, and more……

August 1, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Just some revisits, mostly in photos…..

777 Noodle House:

We’ve visited a couple of times since returning from China. We’ve posted on these dishes in our previous posts. The Missus still enjoys the Thai Style Seafood Fried Rice ($6.77):

There are several dishes that are bargains, one of them is the Egg Noodle Soup with Duck Leg, just $4.77.

The broth seems to be getting even better, not overly salty, but with a nice almost seafood influenced broth.

The duck leg, is fairly small, but for under five bucks I’ll take it. On this last visit it was nicely crisped, and I’ll use whatever sweet-soy is left over and pour that into my soup.

For more info check out my previous posts.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Pho Hoa Huong:

Man, it’s been a long time since I last visited the “fastest Pho in the West” (not necessarily in a good way). But my last two bowls from Pho Hiep and Grill in the same strip mall had been quite weak. I’ve gotten used to Pho inconsistency here in San Diego, but two in a row was a sign to visit elsewhere.

It’s been so long since I last visited that they’ve gone and changed the dining room furniture, from the red cheapo dining room looking furniture, to something looking more…. like wood….

In terms of service, not much has changed….. much like Pho Hoa on ECB, the menu that’s “dealt” out to your table is pretty much an afterthought. As soon as you sit, someone hovers over you….. as if you should know what to order before even looking at the menu. But what the heck, if it’s good enough for Hanoi, it’s good enough for here, right?

I got the Flank, Brisket, Tripe, and Tendon……which has gone up a measly 15 cents in three years.

On this day, there was no “Ngo Gai for me”…. I asked and they didn’t understand me at first, then they understood, but ignored me…… finally I was told, “no more today…” To add insult to injury, the bean sprouts were getting a bit on in age.

As for the bowl….. the broth was not half bad, mild anise-clove with a beefy finish. Also, it was not too salty. In previous visits, the broth had always been on the dark side, but not today. It was still on the cloudy side. The super quick arrival usually means that the noodles here were sometimes not ready for consumption when they arrive, but today they were perfect. The meat was ok, the flank was decent, as was the brisket. There was one tiny strip of tripe, which actually tasted good. The tendon was on the hard side for my tastes.

Overall, not bad, and I always dig the metal chopsticks….

One of these days I gotta time these guys again, and see if I can get a bowl in under three minutes, which was the old record for this place.

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 8am – 8pm

Sandwich Emporium…. yet again:

My good “FOY” TammyC hit it on the nose when she told me this shop always smells like bacon frying…… it must be some savvy marketing move. Nothing fancy here, just solid sandwiches. Of course, smelling bacon means you have to order something with bacon. Like the Club House Melt:

I’d still like to know what my FOY’s go-to neighborhood sandwich shops are (I still need to check out Royal Mart Lynnea), and what I should order. I’m thinking that’ll be a nice post!

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

After having the coldest July since 1916 here in San Diego, things seem to be warming up. Perhaps I’ll be transitioning from Pho to Banh Mi soon….. and eating stuff like this:

From you know where……

QingDao – Donkey and Brain Tofu (Doufu Nao) for breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan

July 22, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

We had time to explore QingDaoon our fifth day in the city. Many of the Missus's cousins had to travel back to Shanghai and Shenyang for the upcoming work week. The Missus and I wandered around a bit, checking out the European influenced architecture……

And some of the older buildings which still stand amongst the tall business buildings of downtown QingDao.

That is not to say we didn't have a goal in mind.

I had wanted to check out Pi Chai Yuan food street yet again. There was something specific I was after here, but on our previous visits, the place was always closed.

What was so special about this place? Just take a gander at the sign….. you won't have to understand Chinese to know what they serve here. I really enjoyed the Lu Rou Huo Shao I had in Beijing, and had been looking forward to an opportunity to try it again.

And on this day, the place was open!

The first thing we noticed was that this place really, really, loves signs……. there are signs everywhere.

There was a good variety of donkey dishes. All these restaurants have similar pictures of docile and peaceful looking donkeys on the signs and menus…… it almost makes me feel bad about eating them…. almost.

The Missus placed our order, and one of the little dishes from this table made its way to us.

What I remember the best were the slices of green daikon radish….. very crisp and a bit sweeter than ripe radish.

A bowl of good bean paste was placed on the table as well.

Along with bowls of a clear broth, which I'm assuming was donkey soup. It was fairly bland.

And my very own plate of Equus africanus asinus…….

Along with some "pancakes" for wrapping…. a la duck style……

There's a famous saying; "tian shang long rou, di shang lu rou" (天上龙肉，地上驴肉上), translated as "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth." And as far as I'm concerned, you can have your dragon meat….. I'll take the slightly sweet, vermilion colored donkey meat. The meat can be pretty tough, and in this case it was a tad drier than what I had in Beijing, but I loved the flavor. The tendon also has a unique flavor, slightly more gamey then beef tendon.

The Missus went with a already wrapped version….

Think of it as a donkey burrito…… or perhaps an a$$ burrito??? It sure didn't taste like, ummm….. well, you know.

While walking back to Zhongshan Lu, we passed this tiny place which was doing some brisk business.

The Missus was intrigued, and walked up to the window in the back of the dining area.

This little shop specialized in Doufu Nao – Brain Tofu. This traditional dish uses a silken tofu, that sorts of looks like grey matter, with a creamy texture like brains as well.

This was really bland……. the Missus had never really liked Doufu Nao, but thought that perhaps time had changed Her opinion. It hadn't….. it's really not to our taste.

The stuffed fried bread, though, was another story……

Stuffed with pickled daikon and scallions, the crust was light and crisp, and it had a decent amount of salt as well.

It was very good. And even though we didn't care for the tofu, the overall price of the Doufu Nao and the bread was 7 yuan…… a tad over a buck.

We left satisfied, and ready for the rest of the day…… and it was to be another pretty busy day!

Royal Mandarin reopens and Honey Pig revisited.

July 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

Royal Mandarin reopens:

I thought it would be fun to do an ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) post, in the midst of my posts on China. And the reopening of Royal Mandarin would do just fine. I first posted on Royal Mandarin waaay back in 2005. Most folks who have been in San Diego for a good number of years tell me that Royal Mandarin was the first place to sell the very popular version of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings in San Diego. These wings have become a staple at Filipino (and other) parties across the South Bay. Of course popularity breeds imitation, and now there are many imitators. By the time I held a Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing comparison in June of 2009, Royal Mandarin’s rings had seemed ot have lost some luster. Then, on December 30th, “Johari” left a comment, and a link which detailed that Royal Mandarin had burned down. I dropped by during the beginning of January, and the sign posted said that Royal Mandarin had not given up the ghost, and was to reopen in March. On April 3rd, I dropped by and found that while the place was being worked on, the sign now said the place would reopen sometime late in April. Of course I was gone from late April through the end of May, and since returning, the last thing I really wanted was ABCDE food…. Then on June 21st, FOY “Sandy” commented telling us that Royal Mandarin had reopened. So about a week later, the Missus and I decided to drive down and see how, or if things had changed at Royal Mandarin.

The front counter looks the same, and they’ve even rebuilt the divider/waiting area that blocks the view to the dining area. For some reason the interior, though it has been brightened up, with new tile, and some strange paintings of fruits and vegetables (c’mon, when you think of Royal Mandarin, do you really think about fruits and vegetables?), it still looks like Royal Mandarin. It is, without a doubt, a good example of “lipstick on a pig”.

The Missus had some concerns about the food. You see after Mandarin Canton reopened following the tragic murder of the owner. The Missus took some friends to eat there, and was disappointed. The one strong point of many of these restaurants are the fried items, and everything seemed very pale, and underflavored. After mulling theories, the Missus came up with the possible reason the food lacked color and flavor. She told me, “they must’ve changed their cooking oil!” In Her mind, there’s a vat of well seasoned cooking oil that has seen batches of shrimp and chicken wings, and like a good wok, it had become well seasoned. Actually, if you think about it…… that would be kind of scary. But since that day, we’ve called examples such as that “changed oil syndrome.” We both truly hoped that Royal Mandarin didn’t suffer from changed oil syndrome.

Frankly, there’s only one thing I really like at Royal Mandarin….. and you know what that is, right? The Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings:

I was very pleased, these were even better then the last few orders of wings I’d gotten before the fire. It’s like crack I tell ya’……… it was also crisp and fairly light. And yes, the full pleasures of salt and MSG is brought to it’s ultimate glory…..

The Missus ordered the upside down pan fried noodles which I found disappointing.

It suffered from too little “gravy”, and the noodles had a strange, almost powderiness to them. They were also too tough and chewy, and the afore mentioned lack of sauce meant that the noodles never got softer. I also can’t recommend anything with chicken that’s not fried. The Missus in total contrast to me, liked this.

One of the Missus’s favorites here, the Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Shell, was much lighter than I recalled.

The flavor of the shrimp came through, and it was cooked well, still soft and tender, and not overcooked.

So there you have it…… Royal Mandarin…. you can still get your ABCDE Fry-o-rama on here.

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Honey Pig revisited:

*** Update: Honey Pig has closed and is now Old Village ***

Recently, the Missus wanted some Korean BBQ. And She really didn’t want to spend fifty bucks, which seems to be the usual lay-out at Buga. We both thought that it would be a great time to revisit Honey Pig.

Not too much to say that I didn’t cover in my previous visit. The portions are about 1/2lb, Honey Pig serves Certified Angus Beef, prices run from $8.99 to $15.99 – which is for the bulgogi which is a double portion.

There’s a bit more in terms of panchan served, and the service has gotten better. All the items for “bossam” are delivered on time, and seconds are brought out on request.

The bulgogi here is decent, fairly tender, not overmarinated.

By San Diego standards this was pretty good…. not too sweet.

The one surprise was what FOY “YY” recommended. On the menu it is called “Natural CAB Finger Meat”, and reminds me, in flavor of Tsuruhashi’s Prime Skirt, a usually tough cut. In this case, it dies have a good chew, but has a nice beefy flavor to it.

The food is perhaps a step (or two) behind LA standards, but is a good alternative to the higher priced Korean BBQs in town. And it seems to be getting better everytime we visit.

Honey Pig
4681 Convoy St Ste B
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip: Beijing Restaurant – San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

July 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Beijing Restaurant has closed

A couple of days after my post on Huguosi Snack Bar in Beijing, I received an email telling me about the recently opened "Beijing Restaurant" in San Gabriel. The person made note of Chao Ge Da (炒疙瘩) and Ge Da Soup on the menu. Personally, after having both dishes in Beijing, I wasn't really going to Beijing Restaurant for the Ge Da(flour knots), but to check out what else they had on the menu. Beijing Restaurant on the second floor of the strip mall that houses Green Village Restaurant on where else? Valley Boulevard……

The interior looks like a hundred other restaurants in the area, but the menu itself has some interesting items, such as the afore mentioned Ge Da. Some of the dishes on the menu, and the style of the menu looked suspiciously familiar, which I'll get into later on.

There were also a couple of what seemed to be Moslem/Shaanxi style lamb/mutton dishes. A couple of which we had in Xi'an, like Rou jia mo(meat sandwich). The Missus was pleased that there was the classic Xiang Chun (shoots of the Chinese Mahogany tree) with Bean Curd dish ($4.99):

This was prepared decently, but the Xiang Chun Ya was very old, and the usually profound flavor was sorely muted. It's kinda sad, but if you were to have Xiang Chun Ya for the first time here, you'd wonder what the heck was so special about it. We noticed that several tables of folks coming in after us were ordering this, so I figure it's not very common in the area.

As soon as I saw Lily Bulb (Baihe) on the menu, I had to have it. In this dish it was Celery with Lily Bulb ($3.99):

As I expected, lots of celery, and the sum of one bulb of Baihe in petals. We both didn't care for the cut of the celery which was too large and didn't look right for the dish. The Baihe was delicious, though, as I mention before it was rather scarce. Flavoring was simple, salt and sesame oil. On the plus side, the Missus engaged the gentleman who seems to run the place in conversation, and he told us where to get the Baihe, right down the street (an update on getting Baihe in San Diego is coming up soon).

Earlier I mentioned that there was something familiar about many of the dishes on the menu. It really looked as if many of the dishes were lifted straight off the menu at Tianjin Bistro (which I've posted on twice). One of my favorite dishes at Tianjin Bistro is the Yang Rou Suan Cai – Mutton Soup with pickled vegetables, and since it's almost always better the next day( I even had it on Christmas Day) , we decided to order it, have a good taste, and take the rest home.

After tasting this, I'm certain that Tianjin Bistro and Beijing Restaurant are somehow connected. This was quite good, very nice balanced sour flavor. The Suan Cai has a taste profile similar to Sauerkraut, and works well with the fattier pieces of mutton in the soup. Good, gamey mutton flavor without overpowering the dish. Frozen tofu acts like a flavor sponge and soaks up the wonderful flavor as well.

There was one dish in Xi'an that I wished we ate more than once; Yang Rou Pao Mo. Out of curiosity more than anything we decided to order it. When this arrived at the table, both the Missus and I laughed.

We wondered how many folks had ordered this, and sat puzzled when the ice cold, hard unleavened bread was plopped on the table. Basically Yang Rou Pao Mo is a mutton soup dish. A few "Cakes" of unleavened bread is delivered to your table. You then break (crumble would be inappropriate because the bread is pretty tough) the bread into bite sized pieces in your bowl.

Once you've broken up the bread, the bowl is whisked away, and returns covered in a slightly thick and rich mutton broth. It is topped with a few pieces of mutton, you add some cilantro, top with chili paste, and perhaps munch on a couple of cloves of pickled garlic as well. The bread in Xi'an has a nice, almost Naan like flavor. This one tasted like really bad, stale hardtack.

Here's what we had in Xi'an:

A rich and hearty, almost soulful bowl.

This is the Yang Rou Pao Mo ($6.99) here:

It was not bad by any means, but the bread was lousy, and stayed hard for the entire meal. The broth is basically the same as the Yang Rou Suan Cai, but without the sour vegetable flavor. So we basically had two almost exact soups…. which was our fault for ordering, but as a whole it was a disappointing dish.

The bread didn't soften until the next day!

The service was somewhat scatter-brained, and the younger kids who work here really aren't into it, and could probably care less about serving you. The prices are quite cheap, and the menu very interesting, so we'll probably return.

Beijing Restaurant
250 West Valley Blvd. #B2
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Open 11am – 10pm Daily

QingDao: Pi Chai Yuan again…. and it’s May Day…..

June 30, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

The Missus had noticed that cousin Long Hui's son really, really enjoyed the Guotie (pot stickers) at the previous nights' banquet. At that moment, the Missus decided that we needed to take him to Pi Chai Yuan Food Street for breakfast…. even though we had the wedding banquet for lunch, and dinner at Sixth Aunt's scheduled. When we had visited Pi Chai Yuan, we noticed that the Guotie shop was doing some major business. Since we needed to pick up my suit, which Fourth Aunt had gotten made for me, we decided to meet Long Hui at their hotel. It was a good walk, which made us feel better about the amount of food we knew we'd be consuming that day. As is typical for this family, Fourth Aunt had thought ahead, and realized that I'd probably need a decent dress shirt for the suit and got me one. Like I said before….. I love this family!

After picking up the suit, we headed to Pi Chai Yuan, which was on the way back to our hotel. Being fairly early in the morning, it wasn't as crowded as our previous visit.

But the pot sticker shop was doing some pretty good business.

We did manage to find one table, and the Missus ran into the shop to order for us….. Meanwhile Long Hui took off…… only to return with four bowls of Liang Fen.

I really enjoyed this, a bit of chili, a nice bracing sourness……. as I was putting the second bite into my mouth, Long Hui scampered off….. And returned a minute later with these!

Yes, it is what you think….. a potato sliced on a rotating peeler which is skewered and deep fried. Potato chips on a stick… the coup de grâce is a line of ketchup strategically squirted…. not a single chip is missed. Long Hui's son hated the Liang Fen, but loved these. It seems like the younger generations enjoy more westernized flavors, potato chips, ice cream, and chocolate comes to mind. The Liang Fen didn't go to waste though, as Long Hui said She hadn't had that in perhaps two decades…….

The Missus returned to the table with a plate of Guotie with two different fillings. If I recall, a pork version, and a three treasures version. I've read articles online which have mentioned QingDao Guotie as one of the premier snacks in the city.

Do you think Long Hui's son enjoyed them????

Yes, even the skin dissolving heat didn't deter the young man! The Missus had also gotten bowls of porridge for us.

This was rice with a small amount of red bean for color and added flavor. The Missus placed the bowl on the table and went to order some Lu Baozi from a shop down the alley. This of course, prompted Long Hui to stand up, and walk on over to the stand across from us…..

And grab us some grilled chicken necks…….

I thought the necks were delicious. Salty, mildly spicy, with a hint of sweet and cumin, gnawing on these were almost therapeutic…… it made you forget about everything, and let your mind wander, happily munching your way through meat, connective tissue, and cartilage. You know, I often joke about the Missus's love of sunflower seeds and chicken feet, and how the "return on investment" is really low. But I think I get it now.

Meanwhile, the Missus had returned, looked at us, and shook Her head. Long Hui told the Missus something which made Her start laughing….. it was a phrase I'd heard before. This time I asked the Missus what Her cousin had said. And the very non-poetic translation is something like this; "aaaah, we're middle aged, we should resign ourselves to our fate and enjoy ourselves."

Meanwhile, the Missus had finished Her bowl of porridge, and while I was distracted by my chicken neck (that does sound wrong, doesn't it?), finished mine as well. It seems that one of the dishes the Missus really reconnected with during our trip were the various porridges. She enjoyed these so much, She stood up and decided to order another for Her. I grabbed Her arm, and whispered, "please be quick, who knows what your cousin will get when you're gone…. I'm expecting the whole roasted pig any minute now!" And of course LH got up, and soon arrived with something that I found surprising……

These looked just like Takoyaki……. and were even topped with Katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and the mayonnaise was even Kewpie, or a very similar facsimile. It was, however, not very good, very gummy….. and like I expected, contained no Tako.

Long Hui and her son had also discovered the Haw vendor right next to us by this time, and ordered a couple of Haw drinks, and some Haw Jelly, which the young man thought was delicious.

By now the Missus had returned for Her porridge, and was wandering what happened to Her Lu Bao…… She had ordered it from a place down the alley, and wasn't sure that we'd ever get it. As She stood up, a young man met Her with the plate of Lu Bao.

These are sort of Shandong's version of Shengjian Bao. I really liked the crisp bottom, and the filling of the one I had…. pork and vegetable was very good. But by this time we'd extended ourselves beyond our limit.

There was something I picked up on during this meal…. it was how happy both the Missus and Her cousin were with how the young man took to the Guotie and Haw Jelly. The Missus summed it up for me later: "most of the generation after us do not enjoy the traditional foods, so it was very rewarding to see that he enjoyed them. It gives me hope that items like the haw jelly won't disappear and become a thing of the past." On the topic of things of the past. While doing a bit of research, or should I say trying to track down what little there is in English on Pi Chai Yuan, I found out that QingDao's old food street (i.e. Pi Chai Yuan) had been condemned and was set for demolition, when it was saved due to public outcry. If you want to see what it looked like before renovation, there's a photo here.

I didn't mention this earlier in the post, but today was May first, the May Day Holiday. And as we arrived back at out hotel, I recalled something I'd been told earlier…… if you want affirmation that China is the most populous country in the world, visit any large city during a holiday. I was astounded at the mass of humanity we walked into…….

If you were to click on the photo above to enlarge, in the background you'll see the long line of folks walking on Zhan Qiao Pier. I've read that the population of China is 1.3 billion +…. I think that "+" was walking down Zhan Qiao Pier on this morning!

What seemed even more strange…. and perhaps a bit funny to me were the folks walking down the stairway and on the walkway around Number 6 Bathing Beach….

Many of them seemed to just follow the person in front of them, with nary a look to the ocean, they'd make a loop and walk right back up the stairs…..

I didn't have too much time to contemplate this, as a a few minutes after I took this photo, a mini-van weaved through traffic, and picked us up for the "wedding banquet"……..

QingDao: The original family home and banquet #3

June 24, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

After stuffing myself on the fantastic mantou at the Pig's Feet Banquet, I climbed back on board the mini bus with the Missus's family. The Missus whispered to me…. "we're going home". Meaning a visit to the original family home, the building where my MIL was born, and where the Missus was raised.

The house, or I should say building is located on a side street in the older part of QingDao. In its heyday, it was the tallest building on the street at three stories, and the Missus's family occupied the entire compound. Then came the Chinese Revolution, and with the victory of PLA the concept of private ownership of land evaporated. But that is a story for another day. Eventually, the family was given back a portion (the second floor) of the home, where the Missus's Fourth Aunt now lives.

The Missus was quick to point out various landmarks to me. Like where the family used to hang sausages to dry in the winter. A number of times I heard Her say, "it all used to seem so big……"

As with multi-generational homes, there are many stories, and the Missus told me a couple about…. well, chickens. The family once raised chickens in this spot.

Of course, there was a purpose to raising said fowl….. it was to end up on the dinner table. One day, a chicken was selected to meet its maker, and the Missus's Grandfather set out to dispatch the bird. The details are lost to the sands of time, but the gist of it was that Grandpa's blow to decapitate the chicken was not true, and said bird only suffered a "flesh wound" to the neck. This bird was obviously no "dumb duck" and and made the only move it could have…… you get the picture, right?

This is usually where I lose the Missus to the giggles…… something about Her Grandfather chasing the bleeding chicken around the courtyard. And then there's the one about the large, beautiful chicken Sixth Uncle bought the family when he was still courting the Missus's Sixth Aunt. Somehow the chicken ended up eating a bar of soap and dying…… "chicken noodle soap anyone?"

China is growing in leaps and bounds, and prime neighborhoods like this aren't spared. The whole block is set to be razed in the near future. So I'm glad the Missus and my MIL had a chance to visit their "home" for one last time.

After taking photos of each family member stepping out the doorway, we walked up the street and boarded the minibus which dropped us off in the central shopping district where Sixth Uncle helped us to find gifts for our friends back home. This was followed with a walk to our next banquet, which happened to be in the hotel right next to where we were staying….. the Oceanwide Elite Hotel.

As folks trickled in, I managed to take some photos; like this one of the Missus and cousin Long Hui checking out the view:

While waiting for us to get our act together and get our gifts, the girl cousins each chose a piece of costume jewelry. When everyone was together, we started taking photos, and this is one of my favorites.

On very rare occasions I take a photo that will transcend any written description, this is one of them.

It was a nice setting……

Ready for another banquet?

Just hang on for a minute……… before eating there was a sort of ceremony that needed to take place. You see the Missus's Grandparents had six daughters, and there are twelve symbols in the Chinese Zodiac. When the family had found out that everyone would be gathering together they wanted to do something special. The Missus's Sixth Uncle is the artistic one in the family, and his daughter, the youngest cousin, has been the recipient of those artistic genes, becoming an art teacher. Together they took the lead in designing beautiful commemorative tokens, twelve in all.

Through a formula that took in year of birth, generation, a limit of two per daughter's family, a recipient of each one was determined. And guess what? I was the only one born in the Year of the Tiger. Beautiful, isn't it? And very special since this my Ben Ming Nian (Zodiac Year of Birth 本命年)

Ready for the food?

The Missus enjoyed the green peppers with preserved duck eggs.

I realized that I just can't get enough jellied pork.

Right before taking this photo, I noticed a little hand dart out and grab one……

They learn about good food early on in this family……

Cousin Long Hui's son just couldn't get enough of the QingDao Guotie…..

Like I said…. I can't get enough of Jellied Pork…..

Sorry about the bad photo…. this was sea cucumber in broth…..

This was one of our favorites, a melt in your mouth, mildly cumin-ny flavored lamb, over a mildly spicy silken tofu.

This is another favorite of ours. Can you guess what it is?

Those were shredded mushrooms, which were deep-fried. Earthy and savory, they were delicious!

No meal would be complete without a whole fish.

And a noodle soup tops things off (except for the fruit plate, of course):

I'm stuffed just looking at the photos……

Meanwhile, the Missus and Long Hui were planning our next meal. Since Long Hui's son enjoyed the Guotie so much, we decided to pay a visit to Pi Chai Yuan before our next banquet. Suddenly energized, they also decided to go shopping after dinner! I was bushed, and decided to head back to the room and hibernate. I did manage to take a photo of the Oceanwide Elite Hotel.

Leave it to this family to start planning the next meal before the last one was finished! Stay tuned…..

In case you want to check out my previous ChingDao posts:

Post 1 – Lunch and Dinner at Fifth Aunt's

Post 2 – Morning in QingDao, Tianhou Temple, and Zhongshan Park

Post 3 – Our first visit to Pi Chai Yuan, and Banquet #1

Post 4 – St. Michael's Catholic Church and Banquet #2

QingDao: St. Michael’s Catholic Church and Banquet #2

June 21, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

On our second morning in QingDao we took a morning stroll up Zhejiang Lu. You can't really miss the twin spires and crosses of St. Michael's Catholic Church.

The Cathedral has quite a history, and you can read in this Wikipedia post. Over the last century, QingDao has been under the control of Germany (1898 – 1914), Japan (1914 – 1922), the Republic of China (1922 – 1938), back to Japan (1938 – 1945), the KMT (1945 – 1949) which allowed QingDao to serve as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet. On June 2, 1949 the Red Army marched into QingDao.

The Cathedral itself was completed in 1934 by the Divine World Missionaries. The Mission Hall, built in 1902, and still standing, actually preceded the Cathedral.

Boy, the stories that hall could tell. During the Cultural Revolution, the Church was defaced, and the crosses, a landmark in a QingDao before all of the high-rises, were removed. You can read an eyewitness account here. According to Lonely Planet's China Guide, the crosses were saved by local Catholics and buried. In 2005 workmen found the crosses while repairing water pipes nearby.

Going past the Cathedral, we walked over to the hotel where The Missus's Second Aunt and two of Her cousins were staying. Waiting for us was a minibus, the destination? A visit to the Missus's Grandparent's grave site to pay respects. The Missus's Grandmother had a huge part in raising the Missus and Her older cousins, so this was an especially emotional moment for them. Their Grandmother was the Matriarch, of a Matriarchal family. The Missus Grandparent's had six daughters, those daughters had six daughters and one son…… so it's the women who shine brightest in this family….

One quick note about the drive to the cemetery and back. No sooner had the bus left the hotel, then the snacks were broken out, tomatoes (treated as a fruit in China), cucumbers, dried dates, you name it! God forbid anyone go hungry between breakfast and the banquet lunch that awaited us.

The Missus's Great Grandfather's family was from Liuting, the area near QingDao airport. According to the Missus's Aunts, this area has been known for pig trotter's, i.e. pig's feet, since the Qing Dynasty. So I guess that it was appropriate that we stopped for lunch in the area. According to the Missus's, Her Sixth Aunt took several trips to the area to search out the best pig's feet banquet. And the winner was……..

Liuting Fu Sheng Hotel. According to this "wiki", Fu Sheng pig trotter's are made from a secret recipe passed down for over 100 years. Sixth Aunt sure knows how to pick'em!

I had mentioned how nice it was to have the family together to the Missus. The Missus had responded with, "we're not complete yet, Yu Yu is not here yet. When she arrives, we'll be complete." It just so happens that Liuting is where the airport is located, and Yu Yu, Fifth Aunt's daughter had just arrived from Shanghai and met us here. Now the circle was completed.

And yes, there was nice gelatinous pig's feet, which I enjoyed……

But if that wasn't your thing……. maybe pig's tail would do the trick. A bit more chewy and crunchy, but perhaps with a bit more "wildness". The Missus preferred tail to trotters…..

And if this wasn't enough, there was crisp, and well flavored fried pork skin……

The fried skin, a sliver or two of scallion, a bit of the plum sauce, all wrapped in a paper thin crepe-like pancake…… As you can tell, this ain't "the other white meat".

And all is right in the world. And yet, beyond this pigfest, was something surprising. An item we both really enjoyed….. it was the giant Mantou (steamed bread), which looked strangely like a derriere.

The bread was slightly but not unpleasantly chewy, moist, with a good springiness and graced the table with a wonderful aroma. There was a slight sweetness that I noticed while chewing. I remember telling the Missus that this put mantou into a totally different light, and I'm going to have problems finding anything this good back home.

I didn't know until this hit the table that Tofu Lees, what I grew up calling "Okara" is big in Shandong cuisine, where it is called "Xiao Doufu".

And of course, it seemed that no meal in QingDao is complete without…..clams of course.

Other then the Ga La (clams)……

And the Jellyfish.

Most of the dishes focused on "mountain" ingredients. Including Vacation 2010 01 864 a savory and earthy mushroom soup.

One thing I noticed quite early on in our trip was the amount of raw vegetables that were being eaten. I'd always been told that Chinese didn't eat raw vegetables… one of the reasons being, that eating too many raw vegetables "cool" down and weaken your digestive system, etc, etc, etc…. The Missus told me that folks seem to be eating much more raw vegetables these days.

Cousin Yang Yi, Third Aunt's daughter, the one whose wedding celebration we had come for, got my attention. She pointed to the table……. she had noticed that I missed taking a photo of one of the dishes!

I loved this family……..

While lunch was winding down, Yu Yu guided me down the steps and into the shop in the lobby of the hotel so I could check out the mantou, and other stuff……

Soon enough we were off to our next destination…. and then dinner, which was to be another banquet!

QingDao: Our first visit to Pi Chai Yuan and Banquet #1

June 17, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

After our visit to Zhongshan Park, we caught a bus back to Downtown QingDao. The Missus's Fifth Aunt had recommended we check out Pi Chai Yuan, a revamped food street located in downtown.

Basically an alleyway that cuts across a block on Zhongshan Lu, with another perpendicular alleyway bisecting it. Pi Chai Yuan hosts a number of small eateries.

Here you can find shops selling QingDao specialties like QingDao Guotie(pot sitckers), Lu Bao, and stands like this one selling……

One of the Missus's (and Her Mom's) favorite things…… Haw (Chinese Hawthorne 山楂) Jelly….

A taste of the Missus's childhood…. we came back on later visits to buy the "homemade" and a good half-dozen of those in packages suitable for bringing back to the states. The funny thing was, there seemed to be a cut-off age-wise as to who enjoys this and who doesn't. The Missus's younger cousins really don't like the stuff…… but those around the Missus' age love it.

The Guotie shop was doing some major business…… we'd be hitting that place on a future visit for sure.

While the Missus was buying up all the Haw in sight, I wandered into one of the courtyards, and watched this show for a spell….

And while there were many temptations, we knew there was a banquet on the horizon (actually four banquets in three days!), and had already decided to return when we could, we were looking for something filling yet light. So this shop seemed to fill the bill.

This little shop specialized in Won Ton Soup, with prices ranging from 5RMB for Veggie, Pork, or Three Treasures Won Ton Soup (that's about 75 cents), 6 RMB for Shrimp Won Ton Soup, and a whopping 7 RMB (about a buck) for Squid Qon Ton Soup!

As with all of these places….. you pay first!

While waiting the Missus ran out and got some Yang Rou Chuan (2 RMB each), since She saw the look in my eye when I passed the stand…..

Sorry to say, that even though these were well spiced, they lacked salt, weren't very gamey, and were quite tough.

Our Won Ton Soup however, was pretty easy to take.

The broth is mild and light, but there were a dozen won tons in each of our bowls…..

More than enough to fill us up.

All told, our lunch came out to 14 RMB, about two bucks……

As we walked out back to the street…….

We made plans to return, which we managed to do twice more during our stay in QingDao.

Soon enough, it was back to the street, and on yet another bus…. this time to meet the Missus's youngest cousin in QingDao's "new city", full of wide streets, huge hotels and resorts, business buildings, and skyscrapers….

And of course…. constant construction.

The Missus and Her cousin were headed to… where else, the mall, of course! After a shopping excursion, the three of us headed back to our hotel room, and after a short break, walked the couple of kilometers to the Hotel where the Missus's Second Aunt, and two cousins were staying. After a brief reunion at the hotel, we headed off to the banquet location, across the street.

Just a brief word on crossing the street in China, 1) Pedestrian's do not have the right of way, 2) Vehicles do not yield when making a right turn, 3) Now I know why Chinese like poker so much….. crossing the street, or driving itself seems to be a battle…….. whomever has the most nerve will win. 4) In the US, we try to minimize risk…. in China they seem to play the odds! Like Fifth Uncle said, "you look six ways, and listen eight". Apparently, Second Aunt was a bit worried that I may have problems crossing the street….. so walking of the curb, she grabbed my arm to make sure I made it ok! You gotta love family……

I smiled as I walked to the banquet room in the rear of the restaurant. No matter which country you live in……. you'll know this was a Chinese Restaurant.

As folks poured in the atmosphere got quite festive….. photos, laughter, conversation. We were seated in the traditional manner….. the older generation on one table, the younger on the other. The Missus is the oldest of cousins, though the next is only a month younger. I liked cousin "LH" from the first time I met her…. she has a carefree spirit, a great sense of humor, with a touch of outrageousness that is contagious. LH told the Missus that she enjoyed taking photos with me since, I'm "very slimming"…. Whenever she saw me taking photos of her, she would wave me over, telling me, "yes or no, yes or no…." Meaning she had first right of refusal on any photo I took….. I'd let her look at the photo, and if she approved ("yes") I'd move on… if not ("no"), the photo was deleted.

Now on to the food. First off, I only got shots of fourteen courses…. later on, I'd have help, everyone would make sure that I got my photos of the food! LH, "I dare not touch the food until 柯克 (my name in Chinese according to youngest cousin) takes his photo!" he-he-he……

You have to understand that we had four banquets in three days! If I went over every dish…. well, if you thought my three part post on Urasawa was long! I'll just go over the dishes we found the most delicious and/or interesting. Other then that, it's mostly photos.

Check out the papaya stuffed with almond jelly in the background…..

The braised bean curd was quite flavorful.

Who doesn't love deep fried pork chops…..

Check out the minced meat to be folded into the pancakes……

It was a delicious combination of sweet soy flavored pork belly mixed with this……

In Chinese this is called "Hai Chang" (海肠), literally "sea intestine" according to this site, it's also called "sea earthworm". My friends in Hawaii used to call it a "living poop shoot", a pest who messed up crab nets, here it's what's for dinner. It did add a nice slightly crunchy counter-point to the tender braised pork. As to taste, I'm not sure I could make out anything beyond the sweet-salty-porky flavor.

These "lamb pockets" were also delicious…….

Youngest cousin clapped her hands in joy when the Durian Pastry arrived.

Everyone got an individual dish with a quail egg and sea cucumber. This was the only steamed rice I had in QingDao, Beijing, or Jinan.

Surprisingly, I didn't miss rice at all…..

Man, this was some meal! But beyond the food, I was so delighted in the smooth and effortless way in which I was invited into this family…… The Missus had always said that folks "up North" are "straight-forward, but also friendly, generous, and fun." And She couldn't have been more correct. We rolled on out, and even though folks wanted to us to catch a cab, we decided to bus it back to the hotel, and in what would become a tradition, take a after dinner stroll to help us digest, both the meal and the moments we shared during the day.