FoodMayhem

My mom has been wanting to take us to her friend’s sister’s restaurant, Hunan Tea Garden Hunan Tea Garden, for a while now, but it’s in New Jersey and we rarely get out there. To be more efficient, we planned a day of tax-saving shopping (poor Lon) to work up an appetite for the massive meal to come. My mom had pre-ordered all her favorites, several in double portions, and then some complimentary dishes were added, culminating in one of the largest meals Lon and I have ever eaten!

We started with complimentary bowls of Hot & Sour Soup, more sour and more peppery than standard, but not better or worse than standard.

Shortly after our soups were done, two giant platters of Ginger and Scallion Sauteed Crabs arrived. We only had 7 people, less then the standard 10 at a banquet table so I don’t know why my mom ordered two platters, but we cleared those dishes! The crabs were perfectly cooked and hard to resist.

Eye-catching Salt & Pepper Jumbo Shrimp arrived with tasty heads. Yes, we eat the heads. Lon thinks these were the best shrimp he’s had in the U.S.

My mom was so excited to share the Scallop dish with us; she had tried it on her last visit. It was indeed unique, something like a General Tso’s Scallop. Why hadn’t anyone else thought of this before? The execution was excellent: very crunchy coating, tender scallop, not too sweet, and served piping hot. Yum Yum (or as Justin and Lon kept saying “nom nom nom”)! Good thing my mom ordered two servings of this one too.

Midway through, we were introduced to their House Spicy Sauce with scallions and chilies. It was pretty dang spicy but really good.

Two different platters of soft shell crabs arrived. I didn’t care much for the onion and scallion version that was served over thinly sliced tomatoes.

I did enjoy the version with black bean sauce over thinly sliced oranges, but my brother and I agreed that we prefer the simple preparations of soft shell crab, where the natural flavor shines through. Extra flavors mask the crab a bit; at least these were very meaty soft shell crabs.

The Beef and Peppers dish with bean curd was pretty standard. I was so full already that I only took a few bites, knowing more was coming.

The Silk Squash was a nice break: a light vegetable without much added.

Honey Ham with Lotus Seeds is a very sweet dish, but for some reason, I like it.

The steamed buns weren’t as soft and warm as I would’ve liked, but the ham and lotus seeds were nice contrasting textures in a natural honey flavor. We ate these in the traditional way: opening the bun and adding some lotus seed, ham, and coating with the sweet sauce.

The Steamed Bass arrived a tad over-cooked and chewy, but I was so full — really, really full — that I was almost thankful I didn’t want it.

Alas, surprise! There was one more complimentary dish!! A Carp in Tomato Sauce:a mild version of sweet and sour. The flesh was tender and the sauce was perfect. It was a little sweet, a little tangy, and very garlicky.

This was such an obscene amount of food for seven people and several plates were cleaned off. It was a totally enjoyable pig fest, ending with a suitable food coma… I slept all the way home.

I am pretty much against eating dim sum in Chinatown/Manhattan these days but it was the convenient thing to do for 7 people on our way to New Jersey. We tried Grand Harmony Grand Harmony and the short version of it is, it’s not very good. We forgot the camera in the car but nothing looked that appealing anyway. Several plates were cold or room temperature. The fish balls (according to Lon and my mom cause I don’t like them) were more starch than fish. The shrimp wrapped in rice noodles had good chewy dough but the shrimp were pretty small. The duck feet were acceptable. There was some dumpling we got with very hard, dry skin. The beef ribs were clumpy and fatty (much more than the usual), pretty gross. None of us were too satisfied so we headed to a bakery for some bread in case people got hungry in the car.

For dim sum, stick to Flushing/Queens.

Yesterday was one of those uncomfortably humid days. My clothing was getting stuck to me as I walked with Xiu to Nirvana Cafe Nirvana Cafe, where we met with Sarah, for a fun dinner of Sri Lankan cuisine.

Inside, the air conditioning was on so low, it was barely noticeable. I was sticking to the chair and trying to fan myself for most of dinner until the AC was turned up towards the very end. I really liked our waiter though, who was welcoming, almost as if he was inviting us into his home, and helped us pick out our menu.

Similar to Indian restaurants, a plate of Pappadum was offered. It wasn’t crisp though, soft and bendable, possibly from the insane humidity.

Our first dish arrived and we were all excited to see that Lamprais reminded us of our Zongzi.

We chose the Lamb Lamprais and it was oily but still the favorite for all three of us. The rice was mixed with fried green plantains, caramelized onions, eggplant, chunks of lamb, and a fried boiled egg. The flavors and textures all went well together. I did think it was odd though that there was one salty and spicy fish fritter inside. It was only about 1″ in diameter so we just ate that first and ate the rest mixed together. The red sauce/gravy provided is unnecessary. My favorite thing about the Lamprais is the base heat. It’s not immediately spicy, but it builds in your mouth over time and never got too hot (at least for me).

The String Hopper Kottu (we chose chicken) seems to be like a fried rice, but with chopped crepe instead of rice. It’s served with that same red sauce that came with the Lamprais, but this time we used it. The dish was quite bland and under-seasoned on it’s own.

The Hopper was most interesting, something I had never seen or tasted before. A batter is formed into a bowl-shaped crepe, thicker on the bottom, with holes towards the top. We received four, one with an egg inside, which didn’t add much for me.

The hopper doesn’t have a lot of flavor on it’s own. It is meant to be eaten with a filling (we chose vegetable) and/or chili paste.

For dessert, we shared the Wattalapan, described as a baked mousse. The dessert is like a hard, dense jello, tasting of only jaggery, with the texture of a few nuts on top. The nuts didn’t have any flavor though; we had to ask to find that out that they were cashews.

We finished every bit of the meal and it was enjoyable. For me, most of the enjoyment came from the trying of new and foreign dishes. Aside from the Lamprais, I wasn’t interested enough in anything else to have it again. It was all good enough though that I will seek out more Sri Lankan food.

I think this is visit #14 to Sushi Yasuda. (I forgot to number it last time.) I can’t believe I still always have new fish to write about. Tonight, we had Tarpon, the red colored one on the left. Depending on the part of the fish, the flesh ranges from deep red to almost purple, a very striking piece. It tastes very much like non-fatty tuna but the meat is more loosely packed together. Blackfish, on the right, is actually a pinkish colored flesh inside and tastes much like other white fish.

Octopus eggs is one of the most unique pieces I’ve ever had. The tiny eggs are packed so tightly together that it tastes like one piece. The eggs don’t have much flavor on their own, but it is paired with a shiso leaf and sweetened with something, making the overall taste very different from most nigiri. It ended up being too sweet for me but I’m still glad I tried it, especially since it’s only available once a year.

Sadly, Sushi Yasuda is closed July 4th and 5th next week so we may not get our weekly treat.

I’m generally bored of the modern look these days but Ippudo Ippudo manages to have that clean modern look, without feeling stale. $13 and up seems steep for a bowl of noodles, but I figured I would just try it once.

My assumptions were all wrong. I was expecting a glorified version of the ramen packets you get at Asian markets…you know, those 75 cents dry ramen bags (which I admit I like), jazzed up with some pork and vegetables, served in a fancy bowl. Forget that image completely. This was a bowl of fresh chewy noodles in a rich and robust stock, richer than any Japanese soup I’ve ever had. I ordered the “Modern” version which has the addition of a garlic paste and Ippudo’s special sauce. It seemed like the perfect winter comfort food, a bit heavy for the current weather, but I was still impressed. A wonderful slice of Berkshire pork, seaweed, scallions, and pieces of minced pork all added to my enjoyment. It was something new to me.

I looked over at my friend Sara, enjoying the original recipe. The broth was rich enough on it’s own and more suitable for summer. You can see how both soups are opaque. It definitely makes you feel like you got your money’s worth.

For $3 more during lunch, you can get a tiny salad and the choice of rice with pork, or rice with cod fish roe. I chose the cod fish roe which was delicious stirred up with the rice, seaweed, shredded cabbage, and mayo sauce. The tiny roe smear like a paste. The pink color looks like shimmery sparkles on your rice and the smooth brininess just melts on your tongue.

The other option for extending your meal is an extra serving of noodles. I did have soup left over so I would’ve paid the $3 for more noodles if I hadn’t gotten the codfish roe bowl. I was certainly full.

The meal at Ippudo was enlightening. I had never had Japanese food like this before but I’m glad I now have. I will be back with Lon of course.