Friday, December 27, 2013

Noodles for Dessert? Yes please.

Last night we stopped into one of the Tong's favorite ChiuChow restaurants in Richmond, JC Kitchen. The Tongs go there for the fantastic sweet and sour pork among other things. The food was delicious but the blogworthy item was what we had for desert- pan fried noodles with sugar and vinegar. 

Big Plate O' fried noodles



Served with sugar and Chiangking vinegar

The noodles are crunchy on the outside and warm and chewy in the center- the sugar on the noodles made me think of cereal, but the counterbalance of the vinegar reeled me back in to the more savory nature of this desert.

Carved up like a pizza- and sprinkled with sugar and Vinegar to taste
Crispy on the outside - chewy on the inside.

These noodles loosely approximate well-done shoestring fries in texture. They are also slightly reminded me of shredded wheat.


A big hit with the Tongs

Ian's sister Carol mentioned that there was also a Jewish tradition of making sweet noodle casserole dishes-- we call them Kugels, or noodle casseroles. Somehow that had escaped me- probably because I'm not a big fan. I think it will be time to revisit that notion at the next big Jewish festivity. Many thanks to the Tongs for the excellent meal and company, and for introducing me to my first Chinese noodle dessert!


Thursday, December 26, 2013

Vancouver is winning

The soup dumpling perched delicately on my spoon at Dinesty restaurant in Vancouver, BC was the unintended and delicious consequence of events that were set in motion 170 years ago when the Qing dynasty refused to sell opium to the British Empire. As a result, a war ensued in which the port of Hong Kong became a British colony and, for other than a brief period when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong during WWII, remained so until July 1, 1997, when the land was finally returned to China.

The HK Chinese, who had prospered greatly over the post war decades while those on the mainland adjusted to a new social order and economic system, were not eager to be repatriated to China. As members of a relatively prosperous colony with British Commonwealth status, Hong Kong citizens were able to immigrate to nations such as Australia and Canada with relative ease. Vancouver, with its temperate climate, natural beauty, and relative proximity to Asia became the prime focus of Chinese immigration. British Columbia was transformed, and as a result, I was able to partake of a delicious Xiao Long Bao dumpling at this extraordinary restaurant called Dinesty today. 



Ian, Will, Taimei, and me @ Dinesty

Richmond, the city next to Vancouver where most Chinese Canadians make their home, is bustling with Asian stores, restaurants, malls, and businesses of every kind. The majority of the signage is in Chinese, and sometimes English too. The density and diversity of the food choices in Richmond will boggle your mind, and with an Asian population of over 100,00,  your restaurant will need to be very good to succeed. Richmond is where we found Dinesty, thanks to our friends' Will and Taimei's suggestion. Will and Taimei live in NYC too, but Will was raised Richmond and judging from his choice of restaurants, he seems to know his way around a chopstick.

Dinesty seems like a Taiwanese/Shanghainese hybrid much like the world famous Din Tai Fung of Taipei, a restaurant with outposts in Shanghai, Beijing, and even LA and Seattle. They are especially known for soup dumplings, but also for the all around greatness of just about every dish on the menu and the crispness and efficiency of service. When I ate at Din Tai Fung in Beijing with Ian and Joan last year the food was excellent, but the price was steep for Beijing; around $150 for three of us. Dinesty reached the same level of excellence as Din Tai Fung for only $20 each, although the excellent soup dumplings at DTF have just a slight edge over Dinesty for depth of flavour.

My first impression as we walked to our table after a very small wait was, every single dish on every table looked incredibly delicious. I wanted to grab dishes off other people's tables on the way to ours but I felt that might be frowned upon. I was also impressed with the open kitchen-- nothing to hide here. And did I mention speed? Will ordered for the table and within a few minutes the food began to flow in an uninterrupted stream of deliciousness.

Love the open kitchen

We started out with some spicy, garlicky cucumbers with just the right amount of crunch and these were quickly followed by some braised pig ears dusted in Mala (Sichuan) peppercorns, one of Will's favorites. I found the interesting texturally, they were loaded with cartilage, but a little bland in the flavor department.

Ears and Cukes

As you can see, Ian had fun with his pig's ears:

Can you hear me now?

This was followed by some remarkably fresh and garlicky pea shoots

Green and healthy but most of all- delicious pea shoots.

And then the food just kept coming-- The soup dumplings or Xia Long Bau were light and delicious but a little less fatty and smaller than I am used too. Dainty is a good thing when it comes to Xiao Long Bao- the dumplings aren't as filling, and they aren't as messy to eat. After eating dumpling's at NYC's best soup dumpling restaurant, Joe's Shanghai, where the XLB are much plumper and fattier, my plate often looks like the scene of minor border skirmish. There are many other dumplings I would like to try at Dinesty, including an intriguing looking and most certainly hand rolled pan-fried pork dumpling that is much longer than the more common half-moon shaped variety.

Scrumptious and dainty Xiao Long Bao
The table started getting really crowded after that with so many delicious dishes we had to eat as fast as we could just to keep up- I've posted the rest of the meal below. What about noodles you may ask? Well... we did have a chicken soup, it was pretty nice but not a heavy hitter, the noodles were pretty soft...as they were intended to be in this type of soup I suppose, but this meal really wasn't about noodles. There are a dozen or so noodle dishes on the menu, and a few of them, including a spicy sesame noodle in a broth that looks like a relative of Sichuan Dan Dan noodles look like they could be pretty exciting. As far as diversity, quality of food, and the tastiness/fun factor- the $20 I dropped at Dinesty is by far the best value for money spent on a meal in 2013. And its just a great place. I really, really wish I could taste every dish on the menu-- and I wish NY could support a restaurant of this caliber. Instead of opening the umpteenth Sichuan restaurant in NYC in 2014, it would be great if we could have a Dinesty or a Din Tai Fung in NY. Is there anybody out there?



Delicious pork that we wrapped in pancakes- NOT Mu Shu tho


The very best Shumai- shrimp on top meat and a little soup on the bottom



Chicken Soup with soft noodles



Turnip Cakes



Turnip Cake- interior view


Really delicious beef roll

Will


Taimei








Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Too many noodles and not enough time in LA

I'm spending a lot of time in California over the next month or two and there are just so many amazing places to eat out here there really just isn't enough time or room in my stomach for it all. Thankfully I've been doing some yoga out here because to eat all of this food without doing a little work is just a recipe for disaster. Yesterday I met my very good friend and fellow noodle junkie Michala for lunch in LA's Little Tokyo at a ramen place she loves called Daikokuya.  We had to wait around 20 minutes to be seated at the counter- but these noodles are definitely worth waiting for.

Michala and I are dead fucking serious about our noodles!

The first thing Michala mentioned was that although there were many great "set menu" options to add a chicken, beef, or even delicious looking tuna sashimi with rice for a few extra bucks, it just wasn't worth it because countless sessions at Daikokuya had taught Michala to concentrate on just the ramen, or else one risked committing the sin of leaving unfinished ramen in the bowl. She also told me not to get distracted by the spicy miso ramen,  a rather serious temptation for me.  The correct thing to order at Daikokuya is the Daikoku Ramen, essentially a deliciously milky and porky Tonkatsu style ramen.

Daikoku Ramen don't be jealous

 As usual, my piggy nature prevailed and I just had to order the "chicken and egg" bowl along with my soup- which also comes with a delicious little cabbage salad slathered in a lip-smackingly good ginger miso dressing. These were delicious and possibly a nice small meal by themselves- so I would have done well to heed Michala's warning... but I just can't change my nature at the drop of a dime.

The soup had a creamy texture but the fat didn't coat my tongue like the Tonkatsu broth in the Akamaru modern at my favorite NY ramen standby Ippudo. If anything, it was a little lighter, and that is welcome at lunch time, because, although I'm sure everyone would love to, we can't all just find a bed and curl up into fetal position after lunch. The flavor of the broth was very porky and meaty and redolent of the sesame seeds that bathed in it. Although It lacked the finishing punch of Ippudo- that punch is slightly incapacitating. Even so, a similar sensory overload can be obtained at Daikoku too- for a few dollars more you can add the Kotteri broth made with more back fat. In my opinion, the soup is very delicious as it is although I would love to try the augmented option on one of these visits.

Another crowning glory to this ramen is the inclusion of an egg. No, I did not have to pay an extra $2 for it- it came with the soup. What ingredient is more delicious and welcome than a half boiled egg in one's ramen?  Especially when one isn't nickel and dimed about it.  I also loved the balance of ingredients: scallions, sesame and bamboo - they were well appreciated for their taste, color, and texture. The noodles were toothsome and al-dente and really everything you could ask for in a traditional yellow ramen noodle. And the pork; delicious, center-stage, and just fatty enough to have great texture without being over-indulgent.

The Pork is center stage- 2 lovely pieces.

This was a great bowl of soup, what a sin that I wasn't  able to finish the whole bowl. Take Michala's advice, don't get distracted, all you are going to need is this soup. And the price is just right- $9 for an ample serving of ramen. Did I mention they have free pureed garlic and pickled ginger to add to your bowl? You really don't need to pay for any add-ons here at all.  This ramen is about half the price of an outing to Ippudo to NYC, and every bit as good too. The cost of ramen-living is just too high in NYC, but its just right here in LA.



Thursday, October 17, 2013

It's a Pho King Long story



This week I found myself in Silicon Valley for my company MobileIron's annual global sales meeting. I always like coming out to California and one of the main reasons is because there are so very many delicious things to eat. That usually means Mexican food, In-N-Out Burger, and of course, my most favorite food of all, noodles. Luckily for me, the valley is jam packed with noodle-loving Asian engineers. By the way, someone out here suggested I change the name of my blog to "White Boy Does Noodles"-- I might just have to go and do that.

Marlon, Patrick, and I all work for MobileIron in NY, so when our colleague Stacy from our Mountain View office  invited us to a local Pho place, we were excited to check it out. The name of the joint was Pho King Long (no joke) just South of Milpitas in San Jose. We rolled up around a quarter to 9 - the place was busy but they gave us the stink-eye as we walked in... most of the noodle places close at 8 or 9 PM, and so we were the last table to be seated, and also the last to leave.

Thanks for the bean sprout Marlon


We started out with some summer rolls. I have to say these were nice big ones, and pretty fresh too. You can always tell when a summer roll has been sitting around too long, the rice paper starts get a little tough and the shrimp are a little too bouncy.  Incidentally they aren't called summer rolls here- instead they were listed on the menu as spring rolls. I wonder if calling them summer rolls is just a NY thing?

Summer Rolls were fresh and tasty

Everyone ordered Pho except Patrick, who opted for a very tasty and spicy Bu Bon Hue. He loved it and mentioned there were small snails in it which is interesting but I was too distracted by absolutely massive bowl of very beefy Pho to pay attention. Actually I was so distracted I didn't even remember to snap a picture of his soup. Good thing I don't do this for a living!


Stacy actually has the "small" bowl in front of her

If the Pho is good I usually finish the bowl. But these servings were so massive that it just wasn't possible. The broth was a deep brown and somewhat cloudy. It's not a very nuanced broth - for instance it was difficult to taste the star anise in it, but it was beefy and hearty in a really satisfying way. it It also wasn't too salty, like the Pho I has a few nights earlier at another place in San Jose. The noodles were thinner than the ones I am used to in NY and also a little softer, almost like an egg noodle, and just as fun to eat. It was like an immersion chamber, only I was floating on Pho. 

My Universe

Check out the skills on Stacy- the chopsticks are a blur
Pho King Long is really Pho King good. I'm ready for another bowl already. It was a great finish to a day that also included an animal style detour to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. And yes, I will probably die young, but at least I won't be hungry.

Animal Style for three






Sunday, September 22, 2013

Sunday noodles with friends at Excellent Pork Chop House

Just some fun pics from lunch today with Ian, Jasmine, Jesper, Claire, and Ejay. We've already reviewed EPCH before- it's a great Taiwanese place with amazing fried chicken with noodle soup and great sichuan wonton- here are some pics for you to get jealous over..

Jesper and Claire- So serious
Ian was in a diabolical mood


Hello Ejay


App attach- cold cucumbers and tofu/seaweed half and half on the bottom, sichuan wonton and scalded vegetable above




This delicious soup comes with fried chicken- I asked for broad Ho Fun noodles

How did these get here?
Head on over to EPCH on Doyers Street,  the most crooked little street in the city. Maybe I'll see you there.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Rich noodle poor belly- we travel for Cold Korean Sweet Potato noodles

Jasmine, Ian, and I made the most of a long weekend to trek out to the McMansion dotted North of New Jersey where the rich Koreans live. We were on the hunt for delicious cold Korean noodles, and we found them too, at Homung Nangmyun in Closter, NJ.

Bring on the noodles please.

Although Homung also serves hot noodles, anybody in the know will opt for the cold kind when it comes to Korean food, especially in the humid, waning days of August. Maybe serving noodles cold is just a better showcase for this unusual and verrrry chewy pasta which is made from sweet potato flour. The Koreans have a thing for the sweet potato, excellent drinks like Soju are also derived from it. 

I order the spicy noodles with a sliced boiled beef in the style of brisket but without a morsel of fat. Boiled beef doesn't sound good right? Actually nothing could be farther from the truth. Combined with the spicy peppery sauce and the sour kimchee, the beef was uber tasty. 

Goki Bibim Nangymunin in the house- an order was $12.45

But lets not jump too far ahead. This being a Korean joint, there were bonchon, and pretty tasty ones too. 

Bonchon included sour Kimchee

Melt in your mouth potatoes served in a soy sauce and refreshingly pink sour kimchee, basically sauerkraut's more grow up cousin with a snappier texture and a less cloyingly sweet flavor. The salad was just there, just like at every Korean restaurant I have ever been to, but I guess it's time I admitted I really like eating completely nutrition-less iceberg lettuce.  They should vitamin enhance this stuff.

They are very serious about cold broth here, and Ian even found a small iceberg in his Goki Mool Nangmyun.

Noodle and iceberg still-life

Still it doesn't look like it detracted from his enjoyment. 

Sluuuuurp

We also ordered up some Kimchee Mandoo, they were good but to be honest the Koreans are in third place when it comes to dumplings after the Chinese and the Japanese.

Kimchee Mandoo

Jasmine also loved her veggie version of the spicy noodles. These noodles are very chewy and just feel so nice and refreshing sliding down your throat. Eating cold noodles is much more of a textural experience and the very good cold noodles like these are nice and light. The slightly snappy sour kimchee is also a nice foil to the chewiness of the noodles.

All for me?

After lunch, We hit up the little bakery next door for a frozen taro bubble tea and some chewy almond cookies and began the tasty voyage back home across the Hudson. As Cameron Diaz once famously said, "I travel for cock"... Only we just travel for noodles. 

I adoringly ogle my noodle baby.


Saturday, August 31, 2013

Tan Tan at Ippudo is good but no Akamaru Modern

Ah my neglected blog, I guess it's time to check in and show just a little love. Ian, Marlon, and I stopped in again at Ippudo to sample the Tan Tan Ramen. Lets keep this short but sweet, it's good, but the Akamaru Modern is better.  The standout feature in the Tan Tan were the reddish chili pepper noodles, but  they were overwhelmed by the extra dose of sesame that made the soup just a little too thick, and not in a great pork-fatty way. Below are some pics... Enjoy!
Actually I have Akamaru Modern- couldn't force myself to stray


Spicy Tan Tan Ramen
Look up Ian in the dictionary under "nonplussed"
Marlon in full noodle action