Pekoe Peony Prattles

Saison, San Francisco

2011-10-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

In 1971 Alice Waters revolutionalized cooking in America when she opened Chez Panisse, a restaurant trumpeting the virtues of seasonal, ingredient-driven local cooking. Many restaurants in the Bay Area still carry on the torch of California cuisine, but none so prominently espouses locality and seasonality as Saison (French for "season"), which opened as a pop-up restaurant just two years ago and is now one of the top dining destinations in San Francisco. Many of the ingredients at Saison are hand-foraged in the area, and they offer just one tasting menu per night except for their six-seater "Chef's Table" in the kitchen.

To celebrate my husband's birthday at the end of July, I took him to Saison to see what all the fuss was about. First, the restaurant was a little difficult to find, located in a small alley in a semi-industrial area of the Mission. Inside the atmosphere was decidedly casual, with a courtyard for al fresco dining, a partially-covered bar area with a wood-fired oven, and the main dining area which had a large barn door open to the kitchen where we could check out the action.
The evening's menu was spare and a bit cryptic: what were heartbreads, brassicas? We would soon find out!

First Course: Reserve Caviar
Domaine d'Orfeuilles, Vouvray Brut, Loire, France

Hearth-smoked American caviar was paired with a flatbread of creme fraiche, sieved egg yolk, shad roe, gold leaf, foraged herbs. The caviar was incredibly smoky, which lent a deep, rich flavor which complemented its briny saltiness perfectly.

Trio of Amuses

Miyagi oyster with cucumber, lemon verbena espuma, olive oil; radishes with nasturtium honey and flowers; parsnip, carrot, egg, oxalis

Second Course: Flight of Fish
Les Chataigniers, Sancerre, Loire, France 2009

I think they are (left to right): amberjack, lobster, horse mackerel, tuna belly, barrelfish, yelloweye snapper, sea bream. Served with a dipping sauce and a rice cracker topped with river vegetable & shrimp floss. Can't go wrong with perfect slices of raw fish.

Third Course: Brassicas

Domaine de la Folie, Rully, Bourgogne, France 2008

Toasted grains, bonito, egg, sea lettuce. After eating this, I still don't know what a brassicas is.

Amuse #4: Summer Vegetable Aspic

With crispy eggplant, avocado, yellow tomato granite, sweet corn pudding, fava beans, basil seeds. Refreshing!

Fourth Course: Cruistaceans
Boeckel, Riesling, Alsace, France 2009

Dungeness crab fondue, Santa Barbara uni, nasturtium leaf, meyer lemon cream, basil tarragon broth; poached spot prawn; prawn salt.

Fifth Course: Pasternack's Rabbit
Domaine de Fondreche, Ventoux, Rhone, France 2009

English peas, foraged greens. To paraphrase the old BK ad: where's the rabbit?? Just kidding, it's really under there (see the tiny hint of pink?).

Amuse #5: Heartbreads

Very similar to sweetbreads, and delicious!

Sixth Course: Nuvola di Pecora
Inacayal, Pinot Grigio, Mendoza, Argentina 2009

Honeycomb, almonds.

Seventh Course: Preserved Lemon 1:19

Meyer lemon custard, lemon gelee, lemon sorbet, chrysanthemum flowers. The 1:19 refers to January 19th, the day the lemons were preserved. Not too sweet, not too tart -- the perfect transition from savory to dessert.

Eighth Course: Red Raspberry
Pigeade, Muscat Beaumes de Venise, France

Raspberry sorbet, popcorn ice cream, candied raspberry, jellied raspberry, fresh raspberry. The popcorn ice cream was a winner!

Saison
2124 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.828.7990
saisonsf.com

Cheng Long Hang Xie Wang Fu, Shanghai, China

2010-12-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

One of the happiest memories of my last visit to Shanghai 11 years prior was sitting around a large communal table eating pots of Shanghai hairy crab. The hairy crab, which are in season only from October to December each year, are a very prized delicacy that can fetch very high prices (close to $100 USD per small crab!!). Supposedly the crabs from Yangcheng Lake near Shanghai are supposed to be the best and can be outrageously expensive -- there are many scams around where people will take crabs from other areas, dunk them in Yangcheng Lake for a short while, and then sell them as "Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs".

I asked my friend who lived in Shanghai to take us to a good restaurant specializing in hairy crab. She asked around her office, did some research online, and in the end suggested Cheng Long Hang Xie Wang Fu, better known as just Xie Wang Fu, just off Nanjing East Road in the midst of Shanghai's popular shopping area. She warned us that it would be outrageously expensive but my husband said if it's the best, that's where we'll go.

From Pudong we took the subway to Puxi and walked a few blocks to the restaurant. After a short wait, we were shown to our table, which was a large round one shared with three other groups. It was a bit crazy to me that here I was, at a restaurant in China where we would easily spend over $100 USD per person, and still needed to share a table! But so it goes at in-demand restaurants.

Picking live hairy crab

Once seated we were asked to follow the waiter to a side room to choose our live crabs. Crabs are priced by size and gender, with larger crabs as well as female crabs (due to their having roe) being more expensive. As a note, when we visited it was 6.8 RMB per US dollar, so when we chose a 388 RMB crab, that was definitely $50 each! As another side note, the next day we went to Zhujiajiao, a water town about 30 minutes outside of Shanghai, where they had many hairy crabs from the local lake. Live hairy crabs there were just 10 RMB each (about $1.50) and cooked ones at a restaurant were 40 RMB (about $6) -- a bit difference from the Yangcheng hairy crab offered here!

Back at our table, we picked a bottle of Chinese rice wine, which I greatly enjoyed from our dinner a couple days prior at a Shanghainese restaurant, as well as a bunch of Shanghaiese dishes. Here is a quick rundown of what we ordered.

Chinese rice wine

While on this trip I developed a taste for Chinese rice wine -- especially when drunk with the dried plums -- but somehow this bottle was not as good as we had two days prior, although it was the same brand and same type of wine (the only difference was the previous one was "export quality"). Seems quality control isn't so great for this company.

Pork in Aspic

Aspic jelly meats and seafood seemed to be popular in Shanghai, so we gave this a try. The aspic had a slight taste of ginger, but otherwise the dish was good but not special.

Lotus Root with Sticky Rice

This was another famous Shanghaiese dish, and again proved the Shanghai penchant for sweetness: sticky rice was stuffed inside a lotus root, which was then braised in a sweet vinegar-based liquid that seemed to contain rice wine, and then sliced. It was tasty but a bit too sweet.

Braised Tofu

Nothing special, I don't remember if there was crab in the tofu or not.

Super tasty Crab in Wine Sauce

These were smaller crab offered dead for only 58 RMB each, and they were the star of our dinner! Small hairy crab were marinated raw in rice wine (another popular Shanghaiese preparation) and served -- the sweetness of the rice wine complemented the crab so well, I could have eaten a lot more of these.

Crab with Asparagus

Despite the plethora of crab, this was one of the more disappointing dishes of the menu. The asparagus didn't taste that fresh, and though crab and asparagus are a classic combination, for some reason this didn't work well. Perhaps hairy crab is too delicate to pair nicely with asparagus.

Fried Rice with Braised Crab Sauce

Despite our doubts, this dish came highly recommended and was another pleasant surprise. The braised crab sauce was poured on top of the fried rice and mixed together, which really created a lovely textural and delicious combination.

Red Cooked Pork Belly

Another Shanghainese specialty. I love pork belly and make a similar dish at home, and while solid, this rendition wasn't a favorite of mine.

Baked Crab

Crab was mixed with bread crumbs and other ingredients, stuffed back into the shell, and baked. I expected this to be a creamy delicious mess of crab, and while good, it didn't quite live up the expectations.

Sauteed Spinach

Nothing special.

Another bottle of Chinese rice wine, not as good as the first bottle

The four of us speedily finished our first bottle of rice wine and decided to order a different one. Sadly, while the bottle here is much prettier and the price more expensive, we did not like it as much.

Freaking expensive Shanghai Hairy Crab

Finally the main event, the hairy crabs, were brought out! We ordered one male and one female per person -- supposedly the males have slightly sweeter meat, and the females have the much-coveted eggs.

Female crab with the dipping sauce

The crabs were served with a light vinegar sauce. I opened my female one first and had the luscious eggs, then carefully picked out the meat. While sweet and very good, it was in my opinion, not worth $50 for this crab that was not much larger than the palm of my hand.

De-assembled crabs

For no extra charge, the restaurant will de-assemble the crab for you for eating convenience. My friend and I did this with our male crabs, and it came out like the photos above. For the money you're paying, I *highly* recommend this service -- you can actuallly focus on enjoying the sweetness of the crab (via larger bites) rather than slowly picking out the pieces of meat. I don't know if the de-assemblage played a part on it, but my friend and I both agreed that the male crab did taste sweeter than the female -- it wasn't a large difference, but noticeable.

Happy stomachs but sad wallets

Overall we had a good experience at Xie Wang Fu except when the bill came. I would come back to this restaurant again, but not to order the expensive live hairy crabs -- instead I would get the crab marinated in wine sauce, the fried rice with crab, and a few other dishes, and call it a day with a very reasonable tab. As mentioned before, the next day we had hairy crab for 1/10 the cost at Zhujiajiao -- while the crab here were better than the ones we had the next day, they weren't 10x better (perhaps just 2x), so for my money I would just get no-name hairy crab.

Cheng Long Hang Xie Wang Fu

No.216 Jiujiang Road, Huangpu District

Shanghai, China

Phone: 021-63212010

Reservations Recommended

Kejia Cai, Beijing, China

2010-12-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

KEJIA CAI: We arrived for a late lunch of foil-wrapped fish, skewered shrimp on rock salt, scallion beef. The room itself is nicely atmospheric, reminiscent of an upscale old-time casual restaurant, and the location is just across a narrow street from the shores of Qian Hai. The food itself was nothing special, but we might return for the combination of location and atmosphere.

More comments to come, but enjoy the photos!

Outside view of the restaurant, on the shores of Qian Hai

Menu cover

My hubby perusing the menu during lunch

Shrimp in rock salt

Baked fish in foil

Fried rice noodles with sliced beef

Da Dong, Beijing, China

2010-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

We went to the Jinmao Place location which was right across the street from our hotel. We originally made reservations for 7pm, but that day we had a late lunch, and when we tried to change our reservation time, they only allowed us to do walk-ins. We showed up around 8pm and were told the wait would be 45 minutes, but in the end we had to wait a little over an hour for our table, so definitely make reservations and stick to them.

The restaurant itself was by far the nicest and most impressive of our Beijing stay, with a stylish modern look and the cooks in the middle of the room making the roast duck.

[More comments to follow, but for now enjoy the photos!]

Dian Ke Dian Lai, Beijing, China

2010-11-14T23:29:00.000-08:00

For me, one of the great treasures of traveling is trying new and unique cuisines. Yunnanese food is not something I've ever had in the United States, despite my living in the Asian hotbed of the San Francisco Bay Area, so when it seemed like a common cuisine in Beijing, I was very excited to try it. Yunnan is a province in the far southwest of China, sharing a border with Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. I was a bit worried that the dishes would be too similar to Vietnamese and Burmese dishes, but was happily proven wrong by my trip to Dian Ke Dian Lai.

I discovered this restaurant through the tripadvisor.com and chowhound.com forums, which are indispensible travel sites -- it seems too new to be written up in the travel books and magazines. It's located not far from Wangfujing -- we didn't realize it took cash only, and so had to give them all our money on hand and didn't have any left for a taxi, and thus walked back about 15 minutes to our hotel, the Park Plaza Wangfujing. That said, the restaurant is *extremely* hard to find -- fortunately I had a detailed map (the slightly outdated but extremely valuable Periplus Shanghai map, which you can buy on Amazon) and was able to point out the street to my taxi driver. Also please take note of the photo of the door at the bottom of this post -- it is the only sign there's a restaurant in that space!

Dian Ke Dian Lai has a set meal of either 98 RMB or 198 RMB per person -- no other options. We made reservations through our concierge and specified the 198 RMB/person menu. Upon arriving, we were overwhelmed by 15 dishes which were served almost all at once. Almost all were quite tasty, but the service was quite spotty, and we didn't seem to be getting twice as much value as the 98 RMB menu.

Left to Right: Shrimp in Tomato Broth, Mixed Bean Salad, Papaya Salad with Sour Fermented Soybeans

First came a trio of cold dishes, shown above. Although I enjoy Thai and Vietnamese green papaya salads, I did not care for this version at all -- it was my least favorite dish of the meal. The shrimp with tomato broth had a lovely depth of flavor, balancing the acidity of the tomatoes perfectly with the sweetness of the shrimp. The mixed been salad was also good, leading to a promising start to our dinner.

Left to Right: Mushroom and Chicken/Pork Soup, Mushrooms in Banana Leaf

Same dishes, with the mushrooms exposed in the banana leaf.

Next were two very comforting and delicious mushroom dishes. The soup seemed typically Chinese but with a touch of lemongrass, and the mushrooms in the banana leaf were extremely tender and infused with rich flavor from the leaf as well as large garlic slices and small amounts of chili pepper.

Top to Bottom: Crab Claws with Shiso, Chicken Skin with Fried Mint

The crab claws were similar to those served at Cantonese banquets except for the tangy and slightly sweet sauce drizzled on top which gave the needed bit of acidity. The chicken skin was delicious but a tad bit soggy, and the tomato-based sauce was an interesting counterpoint.

Fried Mushrooms with Bacon and Fish Egg

Pork Stir-Fried with Herbs & Chili Peppers

Apparently mushrooms are a big thing in Yunnanese cuisine. One can't go wrong with wrapping them in bacon, and the light pop of the fish eggs was a refreshing counterpoint.

The pork with chilies & herbs reminded me of the Thai dish larb, without the often high degree of spiciness. The spicing was light and the whole dish had a lovely touch of acidity to balance out the meat.

Baby Zucchini

Scallops with Rosemary Sprigs

Butterflied Fish with Chili Dipping Sauce

The baby zucchini, only 1-2" long each, were very simply prepared to highlight the delicate flavor and crunch -- delicious! The scallops with rosemary were fine but didn't wow us, unlike the fish -- two whole ones covered with a lemongrass/cumin marinade and grilled, and served with a herby dipping sauce. The fish was delectable but by this time we were getting pretty full and had a hard time finishing it.

Roast Pork Belly with Spicy Sauce

Sticky Rice with Wild Rice

Rice Noodle Soup with Pickled Vegetables and Tomatoes

Pork belly is one of my favorite foods, and this version was well-done, lightly sliced to highlight the fatty meat. The rice noodle soup was also good, but we really could not eat much of it or the sticky rice since we were totally stuffed by this time!

The outdoor courtyard of the traditional Beijing house

The hard-to-find door leading to Dian Ke Dian Lai

Overall this is an excellent restaurant to take visitors since no ordering from a menu was needed, the food was very Western-friendly, and the atmosphere was comfortable, though the server's English skills were poor. Would I revisit? Yes since Yunnanese food is pretty hard to find in the United States -- but for the 98 RMB menu. Also I would study the map carefully before going, since our friend who was to join us for dinner could not find the restaurant with his taxi driver, and had to turn around and go home.

Dianke Dianlai – 滇客滇来

8 Dafang Jia Hutong, off of Chaoyangmen Nan Xiao Jie

(大方家胡同8号，朝阳门南小街)

Beiijng, China

Telephone: 010-6512-0930

Reservations Required

98 or 198 RMB/person prix fixe menu, 50 RMB corkage

Er Jie Rou Bing (Second Sister's Meat Pies), Beijing, China

2010-11-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

I read a mention of this hole-in-the wall Beijing eatery on a blog and since it was near Wangfujing (across the street from the Hotel Kapok), we went on our first night in Beijing for a light meal. I have to say, this is not a place to take squeamish visitors -- it's small, dirty (the floor was littered with used napkins, discarded skewers, and bits of food), and full of cigarette smoke. Every table had many bottles of the local Nanjing beer, and there was a convival atmosphere in the air -- my husband compared it to a Chinese version of a Japanese izakaya, where you have lots of beer and little snacks to go with it.

The nail meat patties were extremely greasy and very lamby -- we only ate a couple bites before abandoning the rest of the dish. I asked the waiter for recommendations, and his favorite dish was "Sautes in Thickened Sauce in Vinegary Woody Must" was a the gloppy, messy wood-ear mushroom / egg dish -- the flavors were interesting, but not really that tasty. However the other recommendation, "Pan Mutton", was an absolute standout: cumin-coated lamb chunks were wonderfully crispy on the outside, and tender inside. However, one needs to be fond of cumin to enjoy this dish.

Almost all the diners had handfuls of skewers at their table -- when I asked the waiter, he pointed us to the chuanr (skewer) stall a few steps down. I thought the skewer preparation was interesting since the guy used a hair dryer instead of the traditional fan, but the lamb meat skewer was really tasty and cuminy. The lamb leg ligament skewer was quite different -- it was rather chewy, and didn't have much flavor. However at 1 RMB they were an absolute steal, especially since the touristy Donghuamen night market was only a block away and was selling inferior skewers for 10 RMB each.

Overall I would not recommend this restaurant based on our experience, but I'd definitely try the skewer guy again if you're nearby. That said, the prices are very reasonable, so if you're on a budget it might be an okay choice in expensive, touristy Wangfujing.

Second Sister Meat Pies 二姐门钉肉饼

25 Donghuamen Lu (across from Hotel Kapok), Dongcheng District

东城区东华门大街25号
Beijing, China

Nail Meat Patty (3 RMB each)

The inside of one of the Nail Meat Patties. Sadly they were greasy and extremely gamey.

"Sautes in Thickened Sauce with Vinegar Woodenly Must" (32 RMB)

Super delicious "Pan Mutton" (35 RMB)

Sign outside

Lamb skewer guy a couple doors down. Skewers were a bargain at only 1 RMB each!

Chuan Jing Ban Canting, Beijing, China

2010-11-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

Chuan Ban, as this restaurant is known, is considered by many to have the best Sichuanese food in Beijing since it's operated by the Sichuan provincial government. After taking the subway to the Jiangguomen stop and having quite a bit of troubling finding it (fortunately someone directed us), we walked in, got a number, waited about 15 minutes, and then sat down at this very large but very popular restaurant.

I had more difficulty communicating here with my broken Chinese than any other restaurant in Beijing, but in the end we were able to order a few items recommended by various Chowhounds. As a side note, my husband and I eat regularly at San Francisco area Sichuan restaurants since it's our favorite type of Chinese cuisine, and we have a moderate (me) to high (him) tolerance for spiciness. All the dishes here (as well as at the other three Sichuan restaurants we tried in China during our two week trip) were all very moderate in spicing so that you can really taste the flavor of the food.

Like many restaurants we visited, their menu had English dish names, although there was also a smaller menu (which I couldn't read) all in Chinese with specials.

Steamed Rib with Sticky Rice

(18 RMB)

This was a dim-sum sized serving of steamed pork ribs coated with sticky rice. Although I'm not sure if this is a Sichuanese specialty, it was still very tasty -- the tender rice and very tender pork were complemented by a hearty and slightly sweet soy-based marinade. I could have happily ordered another portion but my husband thought it wasn't as special as I did (though he also enjoyed it).

Vegetable in Chicken Oil

(20 RMB)

We had difficulty communicating with the server on a veggie dish, so finally he recommended this one, and with some hesitation due to the boring appearance, we agreed. Our low expectations were totally blown out of the water -- the "chicken oil" was an extremely rich chicken-based sauce that lent so much flavor to the Napa cabbage. We really enjoyed this, and as a side note, we had the same dish three days later in Shanghai at South Beauty, a famous Sichuanese chain. The version at Chuan Ban was head and shoulders better than the South Beauty one.

Spicy Bacon Fried in Chili (huiguo larou)

(18 RMB, not sure the spicy rating)

We didn't see this item on the English-name menu but since it was highly recommended on a couple of boards, I asked the waiter in Chinese and he was able to (barely) understand. This is a dish that I've had a couple times in the San Francisco area, but the Chuan Ban version was definitely superior, with a more well-rounded and complex flavor. Slices of pork belly were stir-fried with lots of leeks in a spicy chili sauce. Good but not one of the best dishes of the night.

Boiled Fish in Red Oil(68 RMB per kilo, 2* spicy)

The dish we most looked forward to was the boiled fish in spicy oil, another common dish we order in SF. I had the most trouble here since the waiter kept asking me which of four different types of fish I wanted, and honestly as I didn't know what the translations of the types were, we both became a bit frustrated. Finally he was able to understand that I wanted him to decided for us. Not long afterwards, someone came by with the fish for us in a bucket to inspect -- we were happy to know that they were using live fish.

Finally the star of the show arrived in a pot of spicy, numbing oil. I was surprised that there wasn't that much fish meat (the fish shown to us looked larger), but as we were getting a bit full by then, it was fine. The fish was very tender and flavorful -- as with the bacon, the flavors were more complex than SF area renditions, though surprisingly it was less spicy. We both hugely enjoyed this dish.

To go with all the food, we ordered steamed rice. My husband had the ubiquitous local Nanjing beer (green bottle on the left, below), whereas I ordered (by pointing) a jug of the plum/prune juice (on the right) which I saw at many tables around us. This juice seemed to be a Sichuanese specialty since we also saw it at a Sichuan dry pot restaurant the next day, as well as at South Beauty two days after (didn't I say we loved Sichuan food?).

Overall this was a very solid meal, and we'd be happy to go back again with a larger group to try more items.

Chuan Ban 川办餐厅

东城区建国门内大街贡院头条5号

Dōngchéngqū Jiànguó Mén Nèi Dàjiē Gòngyuàn Tóutiáo 5 Hào

JianGuoMen 100005

+86 10 6512 2277 x6101

Xiong Di Chuan Cai, Beijing, China

2010-11-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

One of the most fun places to eat in Beijing is "Ghost Street" (Gui Jie), the stretch of Dongzhimen Inner Street between the Beixinqiao and Dongzhimen subway stops. There are over 100 restaurants on this area, many decorated with bright red Chinese lanterns outside and specializing in spicy hot pot, spicy crawfish, or other spicy little eats. I heard that Xiong Di Chuan Cai was one of the nicer restaurants there and offered the trendy "spicy dry pots", so we decided to stop by.

When we arrived, it seemed "nicer" meant tablecloths under the glass top -- the atmosphere was very casual, with the restaurant full of many happy 20-somethings with lots of beer and bubbling pots of spicy goodness. Dry pots weren't heavily featured on the menu, so I asked (in my poor Chinese) the waiter what to order and after some difficulties, got a wonderful meal of tasty Sichuan dishes.

They have a menu with English names of the dishes, as well as a chili spicy level rating. The levels below are from their standard, not mine, but I thought their 3 chili rating was moderately spicy (but I can eat relatively spicy food, so your mileage may vary), which was perfect to feel a bit of the burn but still get all the flavor.

House Bullfrog

(88 RMB, 3 chilies spicy)

A *huge* (probably 20" diameter) bowl arrived filled with large pieces of bullfrog, lotus root, garlic cloves, taro stalk, Sichuan peppercorns, several types of chili peppers, and scallions, all floating in spicy oil. The Sichuan peppercorn starred in this dish, imparting a pronounced numbing/tingly feeling to our mouths on top of the spiciness. The bullfrog and veggies were perfectly poached in the oil, and they were absolutely delicious. Despite the size of the dish, the amount of frog/veggies was just right for the three of us.

"Shrimp Fra'Diavolo"

(68 RMB, 3 chilies spicy)

Next came a slightly smaller pot with lots of shell-on butterflied shrimp, in a oily, spicy broth redolent of garlic, oil and peppers. This broth was much deeper flavored and slighly spicier than the bullfrog -- although Sichuan peppercorns were to be found, they did not add much to the flavor. The shrimp were also excellent, with the richness of the oil broth really enhancing their sweetness.

Olives, Beans and the Chicken

(49 RMB, 0 chilies spicy)

We were a bit surprised when our waiter said his favorite dish on the menu was this strangely-named "Olives, Beans, and the Chicken", but we decided to give it a try and were glad we did since this was two of the three diners' favorite dish of the night, even though we loved the other dishes too. Bits of chicken were stir-fried with long beans, scallions, and what seemed to be a type of caper to meld into a salty, crunchy, garlicky perfection. If you don't like salt then this isn't for you, but with some rice and lots of beer, it was a real find.

Overall I really enjoyed our meal at Xiong Di Chuan Cai and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone for a casual dinner out. Next time we'd probably check out other offerings on Ghost Street, but this is definitely a solid win.

Xiong Di Chuan Cai (兄弟川菜)

Dongcheng Qu Dongzhimen Nei Dajie 162 Hao

( 东城区东直门内大街162号 )

DongCheng District, Beijing, China

+86 10 8402 5686

Festive red lanterns outside another restaurant on Ghost Street

Ramen Dojo, San Mateo, CA

2010-11-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ramen Dojo is a relatively new (a few months) ramen restaurant just off downtown San Mateo. It's owned by the folks behind the wildly popular Santa Ramen in San Mateo, which happens to be my favorite ramen stop in the Bay Area, and is located in their former location which can seat only around 30 diners at a time. The ramen style at Ramen Dojo is quite different than that at Santa, with Dojo emphasizing their "spicy" styles.

We came in for a slightly early lunch on a Sunday and were seated right away; if we arrived 15 minutes later, there would have been a wait. The ramen is all listed on their blackboard with three types of broth: soy sauce, garlic pork, and soy bean. In addition, diners can ask for their broth to be non-spicy, or they can choose between three levels of spiciness: mild, regular, or extra spicy. All ramen bowls come with two pieces of roasted pork, fried whole garlic, kikuuage mushroom, fresh green chives, a quail egg, shredded red pepper, and this thing which they call "chicken gravy", namely, a mixure of cooked ground chicken, chopped ginger, and chopped shitake mushrooms. Diners can, for an extra fee, add other toppings such as more roasted pork, curry powder, corn, etc. Other than the ramen, they have only a few other offerings, such were gyoza (potstickers), edamame, seaweed salad, and a couple of desserts.

Garlic Pork Flavor Ramen

Being the garlic and fatty pork lover that I am, I ordered the garlic pork flavor ramen, mild. Although I can eat relatively spicy food, it's not my preference, especially for a comforting bowl of ramen.

The roast pork was supple and flavorful, much better than the roast pork in Santa's ramen. The broth had a rich roasted garlic flavor, and was quite delicious, with the over-easy fried quail egg a lovely addition. However there was way too much green chive in the bowl, and it lent it an overly raw, vegetal flavor that wasn't that pleasant. However if you take out half the chives and dunk the rest in the broth to cook for a while, they because much tastier. The lettuce leaf was also pure decoration and I wished it wasn't there, but overall I would definitely come back for another bowl of this ramen.

Soy Bean Flavor Ramen with Extra Roast Pork

My husband ordered the miso flavored ramen with extra pork, extra spicy. I took a sip and the extra spicy isn't that spicy, but the broth flavoring was rich and delicious. Like in my bowl, the chives were too strong and so he took almost all his out of the bowl.

Dessert

There was a discount on the dessert, which was some type of gelatin (lychee flavored?) in a light green tea custard-gelatin base. It was a refreshing ending to the meal but I'm not sure I would order it again.

Overall, good times and another solid Peninsula ramen joint!

Ramen Dojo

805 S B Street

San Mateo, CA 94401

(650) 401-6568

Chez TJ*, Mountain View, CA

2010-11-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I went to a college (MIT) more known for its technical programs than its cooking programs, so when I heard that a fellow alumni, Scott Nishiyama, had taken up the helm of the Michelin 1-star Chez TJ in Mountain View, I was curious enough to stop by for an anniversary dinner in late May.

This was my second visit to Chez TJ, but the previous one had been more than 10 years prior under a different chef. The restaurant is located in a converted house a couple of blocks off the bustling downtown Mountain View area. Two menus are offered nightly: a four-course "Menu Gastronomique" for $85, where the diner can choose each of the four courses; and an eight-course "Chef's Tasting Menu" for $120. Since we weren't that hungry, my husband and I opted for the four course menu, and we chose different items for each course.

Amuse: Beet 4 ways
A very beautiful amuse bouche of beet four ways was served, which was perfect since beets were just beginning to be in season. They are, in order from left to right:

Beet marshmallow fluff
Beet gelee with mango, coconut, almond on top of beet reduction
Yellow beet with pepita and basil dots
Beet macaroon with beet/wasabi/creme fraiche filling

Each taste had a slightly different take on beet, and it was a wonderful start to the dinner. The macaroon would have been a bit moister, but that was a small failing.

First Course: Appetizer
Wild Yellowfin Tuna Spaghetti
Cauliflower, Lardo, Egg Yolk, White Balsamic

Salad of White Asparagus
Raspberries, Dungeness Crab, Garden Blossoms
The tuna spaghetti sounded very bold and daring, reminding me of the seafood "spaghetti" on the Ame/Terra menus, but in execution it was much safer and seemed almost like a tuna tartare. Medium-cut slices of ahi tuna -- the pieces could have been thinner and more spaghetti-like -- were mixed with similar-sized slices of pork fat, and dressed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. Still, it was delicious, with the unctuous lardo nicely complementing the tuna. Crab and asparagus is a classic combination, and the raspberries added an interesting piquant note. White asparagus were also in season then so it was nice to see them on the menu, although in flavor they were a pale shadow to the white asparagus I tried in Berlin a week later.

Second Course: Seafood
Massachusetts Sea Scallops
Haricot Vert, Bluefoot Mushroom, Marcona Almonds, Sherry Emulsion

East Coast Monkfish
Spring Vegetable "Risotto", Lobster Banyuls Jus

The seafood courses were not as strong as the earlier ones, though still satisfying. Although they looked beautiful, the scallops were slightly underseared for my preference, and the spring vegetables weren't very risotto-like. At this time I started to become a bit worried since Chef Nishiyama was a protege of Chef Corey Lee, and we had a very disappointing anniversary dinner the year prior at the French Laundry under Chef Lee's helm.

Palate Cleanser

Next was served a refreshing palate cleanser of a lime/thyme gelee paired with a lime/thyme sorbet. This contrast of textures and temperatures brought back the delight to the meal.

Third Course: Meat
Mountain Meadows Farm Loin "Poche en Tahitian Vanille"
Barley, Thumbalina Carrots, Long Pepper Jus
Petaluma Chicken Wing Confit
Applewood Smoked Bacon, Globe Artichokes, Red Pepper, Yogurt, Moroccan Inspired Jus
Our faith was restored with the absolutely delicious chicken wing confit -- tender pieces of chicken wing were deboned and pan-seared to crispy perfection. The artichokes and red pepper flavor wasn't that strong, but overall the jus lent a very satisfying, earthy flavor to the dish. The lamb loin was nicely cooked but nothing to write home about.

Fourth Course: Dessert
Trio of Fromage
Cowgirl Creamery, Mt. Tam, Pt. Reyes Station, CA: Belgium Waffle, Truffle Honey
Panache d'Aramits, Aquitaine, France: Figs, Green Olives, Hazelnut
Montbriac, Auvergne, France: Caramelized Apricots, Fennel, Black Pepper Goat Cheese and Berries
"Cheesecake", Almond, Lemon Thyme Sorbet
We were a bit surprised to see the ubiquitous Mt Tam cheese in the cheese course, but maybe Chef Nishiyama didn't want to mess with a good thing :) I thought it was a bit overwhelmed by the waffle, but otherwise the cheese course was satisfying. The cheesecake had a lovely tang from the berries and goat cheese -- yum!

Fruit Gelees Next was served a selection of interestingly flavored gelees such as guava black pepper, mango fennel and red pepper with pepper, sugar and smoke salt. We each tried a few and thought they were interesting, but not mind-blowing tastes.

Chocolate Endings Finally instead of the chocolate tray was a lovely serving of mini-desserts, including chocolate lollipops. This set was much tastier than the usual chocolate bon bons and provided a great ending to the meal.

We also had the premium four-course wine pairing ($55) with our meal, which included:

First Course: Punkt Genau Sparkling Gruner Veltliner, Weinviertel, Austria
Second Course: 2009 Sarl le Clos du Tue-Boeuf "Le P'tit Blanc", Touraine, Loire Valley, France
2007 Terre des Papes, Cotes du Rhone, France
1998 Chateau La Grave Sainte-Croix du Monte, Bordeaux, France

Except for the 1998 desssert wine, the selections didn't seem that expensive to be worth $11/glass, but they were solid, easy accompaniments to the dishes. Overall we were very satisfied with our dinner at Chez TJ. It was a bit safer than what I had expected from the menu in terms of flavor combinations, but there were enough happy surprises and solid cooking to recommend it.
Chez TJ
938 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
650.964.7466
cheztj.com

Alinea*, Chicago

2010-04-26T11:03:00.001-07:00

For my birthday, my husband flew me into Chicago for dinner at Alinea, which was the one place in the US I really wanted to try. Even with my high expectations, I felt this was the best meal of my life, better than the Michelin 3-star French Laundry, Paul Bocuse, and Le Louis XV. It had the highest ratio of outstanding dishes for a meal -- many high-end tasting menus have many good dishes, with a few outstanding dishes and a few so-so dishes. However Alinea had a steady progression of mind-blowing courses, each so intricate and unique that I absolutely enjoyed my meal despite being unwell that day.

The restaurant is very discreet, sleek, and modern -- the entrance is unmarked, and we drove by it a couple times without finding it. In the end, the presence of the valet parking person tipped us off to where it was. Inside is a progression of rooms in grays and blues, interspersed with muted purples, glass, and sharp-angled art. We were seated in an upstairs room with only two other tables -- the amount of space (more than 15 feet separated us from our nearest neighbor) was unheard of for any restaurant I've dined at.

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Course #1:

Liquid nitrogen frozen peas w/ fried peas, honeydew gelee, chinese rice wine gel beads, etc.

So many textures and flavors of peas. Sometimes light & springy, sometimes rich and deep, sometimes warm, sometimes ice-cold. A great start, but the blue background to the dish seemed pretentious.

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Course #2:

Salt cod shad roe wrapped in bacon, tempura battered. Superb, can't go wrong w/ bacon.

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Course #3:

Yuba w/ shrimp in miso mayo. The sweetness in the shrimp was a perfect combination with the hint of sweetness in the miso, and the yuba (dried tofu skin) and sesame seeds added texture and reined in any chance of too much sweetness .

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Course #4:

"Chao Ton" -- play on Vietnamese shrimp on sugar cane. The sweetness of the former was balanced by a light touch of fish sauce and cilantro.

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Course #5: Distillation of Thai flavors

This liquid palate cleanser of lemongrass, kaffir lime, cucumber was a bit disappointing after the splendors that came before.

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Course #6:

Rice paper roll w/ marigold, pork belly. Garnishes of red pepper coulis, microgreens, red onion, banana, cucumber, hawaiian black sea salt, cashews, lime segments. Super delicious. Similar to a Thai spring roll but filled with pork belly goodness.

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Course #7:

"Lobster Parfait". Lobster foam, pistachio ice cream, grapefruit, lobster gelee, etc. Tad spicy, tart, lobstery. Excellent.

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Course #8:

Lobster Salad. Poured over broth with drained into bottom bowl. Ate w/ chopsticks. Mung bean seeds, mustard, cilantro, lobster.

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Course #9:

Lobster parsley Chai soup. Strained. Too salty.

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Course #10:

DIfferent cuts of duck: foie gras, gizzard, tongue, thighs, etc. Chamomile tea foam, asparagus, honey, morel mushrooms, english peas, lettuce.

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Course #11:

spicy dried peanut butter

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Course #12:

applewood smoked bacon wrapped in butterscotch w/ thyme. Nice play of sweet & salty flavors, pronounced thyme.

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Course #13:

salzerac. Kumquat w/ rye whiskey gleee. Not my favorite, rather bitter with a sweet aftertaste.

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Course #14:

pear rings w/ pushed foie gras. White wine gelee, pear <>

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Course #15:

house smoked sturgeon -- applisheat? parsley, <>, potato & leek. celery strip.

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Course #16:

hot & cold potato soup. hot soup, cold pistachio, truffle, parmesan reggiano. pull out pin to drop cold items into hot soup, eat asap. So turffley! Contrast of temps.

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Course #17: Escoffier's "Beef Godard"

A5 nishima beef, cocks comb, beef tongue, panko sweetbread, duxelle, mushroom (in puff pastry?). While fine, not exciting. Didn't seem to fit into rest of dinner.

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Course #18: Black Truffle Explosion

Black truffle infusion, pramesan cheese, romaine lettuce. (radish?)

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Course #19:

birch w/ squab. Burnt strawberry & framboise. Hazelnut crumble, eucalyptus jam, olives. SUper tender squab, aLmost like foie gras

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Course #20:

Fresh (barbi?) date stuffed w/ lemon. maple soup w/ cognac foam.

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Course #21:

lemon soda. Melts on your tongue.

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Course #22:

hibiscus gelee. vanilla cream. BUbble Yum bubble gum infused raspberry gelee tapioca. Suck it like a straw.

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Course #23:

Raspberry chip. Sweet tart raspberry, kind of tastes like a raspberry lollipop / candy / Jolly Rancher like but not as sweet.

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Course #24:

Creme of earl gray scent in pillow. Earl gray cookie. Lemo curd in ball. HOney gelee. Pine nut praline. Carmelized white chocolate noodle. Rose. Bit too sweet.

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Course #25:

Mint chocolate. Frozen coconut mousse, frozen dark chocolate mousse. Menthol. Chewy coconut. Coconut milk. Warm chocolate pudding. Chocolate menthol crumbs. Menthol ice.

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Birthday Surprise

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Alinea Restaurant
1723 North Halsted
Chicago Illinois 60614
312.867.0110
http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/

Coi*, SF

2009-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, my husband brought me to Coi restaurant in San Francisco. I love new and exciting tastes, and heard Coi was the place to be in the Bay Area for the adventuresome eater, so I was very much looking forward to my meal.

Surprisingly, Coi is a rather small restaurant: only nine tables in the dining room, and another four or so tables in the lounge. The dining room only offers the prix-fixe tasting menu ($125/person), whereas the lounge offers comfort food, a la carte, and the prix fixe option. My birthday being in April, Coi offered some intruiging tastes of spring.

------

Amuse: Milk & Honey

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Course 1: Pink Grapfruit
ginger, tarragon, black pepper

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Course 2: Asparagus, Raw and Cooked
flowers and herbs

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Course 3: Inverted Andante Dairy Goat Cheese and Black Olive Tart
chicories, green apple, mint

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Course 4:

Winter into Spring
chilled English pea soup, buttermilk snow, thyme flowers

Abalone/Oyster
fennel in different forms

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Course 5:

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter
glazed young carrots, burnt breadcrumbs, almonds, wood sorrel

Fried Chicken Consomme
artichokes, fava beans, radish, green garlic

------

Course 6: Earth and Sea
steamed tofu mousseline, yuba, fresh seaweeds, mushroom dashi

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Course 7:

Nettle-Ricotta Cannelloni
wild mushrooms, oxalis flowers

Sturgeon Poached in Smoked Oil
pig's head, caviar vinaigrette, nasturtium scented potatoes

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Course 8:

Slow Cooked Farm Egg
green farro, erbette chard, brown butter-parmesan sauce

Bellwether Farm Baby Lamb
sprouted seeds/nuts/beans, wheatgrass

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Course 9: Trio (Soyoung Scanlan)
toast, spring lettuces

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Palate Cleanser: Pomelo and Coriander Soda

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Course 10: Olive Oil Shortcake
strawberry-rhubarb, lemonbalm, long pepper

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Course 11: Carmelized Jasmine Custard
hazelnut and cocoa textures

------

Birthday Surprise:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Truffle
Vanilla Creme / Olive Oil Milkshake

------

Coi
373 Broadway
San Francisco, CA
http://www.coirestaurant.com

Chili Garden, Milpitas, CA

2008-07-15T22:18:00.003-07:00

My favorite site for food reviews and news is chowhound.com, and one of the great things about the Chowhound community are restaurant visits (called chowdowns). For lunch today I attended one at the new Sichuan restaurant Chili Garden in Milpitas.

Chili Garden is located in the huge Asian-centric Milpitas Square strip mall (largest Asian shopping complex in Northern California), home of many very good Asian restaurants and anchored by a Ranch 99 store. It occupies a location next to the venerable Chinese BBQ joint Won Kee (one of DH's favorite finds) and where a vegetarian restaurant was located for many years. At dinnertime the restaurant does pretty brisk business but at the lunch we attended, it was about halfway full.

Eight of us ordered many Sichuan standards. DH & I are quite fond of Sichuan restaurants -- DH especially is a spicy food nut -- and often frequent them when possible. Little Sichuan in San Mateo is one of our standbys. Thus I was eagerly looking forward to our meal at Chili Garden and comparing the dishes to other places I've tried.

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Spicy Pork Ear

The waitress recommended that we try the Spicy Pork Ear as one of our cold appetizers, and we heartily agreed. Upon arrival, I was very surprised by the elegant appearance of the dish -- it was definitely the fanciest plate of pig ears I've ever had. The ear pieces were attached in long pieces and sliced extremely thin, as were the seedless cucumbers accompanying them. A light dressing of chili oil and chili sauce topped the dish.

While the presentation was very beautiful, personally this dish did not push any of my buttons. There was very little ma la flavor in the sauce, the ears were less marinated than I like, and with such thin slices I didn't feel like I was receiving the full texture and crunchiness which are so much a part of the appeal of pig's ear (which are normally rather flavorless).

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House Soup (complimentary lunch special)

Although we ordered off the menu rather than the lunch specials, the restaurant generously gave us complimentary bowls of egg drop soup. I didn't pay much attention to it but it was fine -- the small pieces of peas and corn still had great texture (not mushy), and the flavor was delicate but balanced.

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Couple Beef

This classic Sichuan dish (almo known as Husband and Wife Beef) was a plate of tender beefy goodness. I believe they used brisket (could be wrong) as the cut of beef, but it had just the perfect amount of tenderness and toothfulness to the bite, with a delicious garlicky coating with just a hint of spice. I enjoyed this dish quite a bit but wished it had more "la" (spicy) to go with the "ma" (numbing) flavors.

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Beef in Fiery Sauce

This classic dish is sometimes known as "Water Boiled Beef", and in the Little Sichuan version, it is so spicy that I need to eat 3x (or more) rice as beef in each bite in order for my mouth to not die.

Although the dish certainly looked spicy, it was disappointingly not. On the good side, that meant I could taste a lot more beef, which was certainly acceptable but not special.

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Twice Cooked Fish Fillet

Here, pieces of white fish fillet were first deep fried, then stir-fried with scallions and chili sauce. The crust was beautifully golden and crispy, with the second cooking just enough to soften the scallions and coat the fish. The dish was not a standout but still quite enjoyable.

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Cucumber in Vinegar Sauce

For a reprieve from what we had inaccurately feared would be a barrage of super-spicy food, we also ordered this cold cucumber dish. While very simple -- pieces of cucumber (nice knife work, again) and red bell pepper marinated in a vinegary sauce -- the flavors were very bright and lovely.

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Sesame Bread

Although our receipt specified this as "Steamed Bread", in reality we ordered and received (and were charged for) sesame bread. Darda, the Islamic Chinese restaurant a few doors down from Chili Garden, is especially famous for this dish, and while it was good at Chili Garden, it wasn't as special as the sesame assault at Darda (or at Ma's, my favorite location for sesame bread and less than five miles away). Some other Chowhounds thought it was a bit undercooked but I thought it was cooked fine, with a nice oily (but not overly so) interior.

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Spicy Pork Intestinen

Honestly I don't like tripe at all and was not looking forward to this dish. However I guess frying makes anything taste good since I really enjoyed the dish. The tripe slices were coated in a numbing salty mixture and stir-fried -- how could you go wrong? This dish was only on the lunch special menu, not as an option on the normal menu.

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Chong Qing Spicy Chicken

Like all the other dishes, this was nowhere as spicy as it looked. The chicken pieces (a respectable size -- sometimes restaurants have more bone than chicken) were beautifully fried to give them a nice crisp exterior. Surprisingly the dish was more sweet than spicy, but it was still delicious (though I wouldn't recognize it as CQ Spicy Chicken).

--------------------------

Stir Singua

Singua is a Chinese gourd used in cooking. I was surprised that Melanie asked to order this since I've never enjoyed it before, finding singua tasteless and mushy. While I suspect singhua cannot help but be mushy, I actually enjoyed this dish -- apparently it was a very good quality Singua and so retained a delicate sweetness that seemed closer to Cantonese cooking than Sichuan.

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Chicken in Hot Sour and Fruit Flavor

This was another cold dish recommendation from the waitress, and I had thought it would be similar to a drunken chicken preparation but spicy. Boy was I wrong. The dish was very lemony but yet not tart or bitter. I really like lemon and thus this was probably my favorite dish of the luncheon.

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Green Onion Pancake

The pancakes looked great, with perfect thinness and crispyness. Sadly I was preoccupied eating everything else and thus don't remember what I thought of this dish.

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Roasted Lamb Leg with Cumin

Chili Garden has quite a few interesting cumin lamb preparations, and after consulting with the waitress we settled on the roasted lamb leg with cumin. Sadly I forgot to take a photograph until it was mostly consumed, but a decent-sized leg shank was brought out, glistening with its cumin coating. Small dices of green & red bell peppers, onions, carrots, and other vegetables, also with a cumin sauce, surrounded the shank.

The cumin-covered vegetables had wonderful cumin flavor, but sadly the shank itself was a bit tough and chewy. While not terrible, it was probably the least successful dish of an otherwise exemplary meal.

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Ground Pork Noodle

One of Little Sichuan's signature dish is the cold noodles with ground pork, and others at the table are fond of dan dan noodles. As such we ordered this dish to compare, and it's quite different from either. The noodles themselves were surprisingly curly, soft, and thin, almost like instant ramen noodles. The sauce itself was very watery and almost like a broth, but it had great Sichuan pepper flavor (probably the most of any dish at the luncheon).

--------------------------

Overall I really enjoyed the lunch, though I wish that the dishes were spicier -- if I come again I'll definitely ask them to increase the spice level. The quality of the food was consistently good -- no dish was terrible, and the skills in the kitchen are obviously high with the precise knife work and delicate flavorings. On the down side, the portions were not large -- despite ordering 13 dishes (admittedly some were appetizers), eight of us were able to finish up pretty much everything in the course of a lunch. I wasn't even stuffed to the brim like I sometimes am. However, as the prices were quite reasonable (the total was only $104 before tip), we felt very satisfied and were glad that we could try so many dishes so inexpensively.

Chili Garden
210 Barber Court
Milpitas, CA 95035
408.526.9888

Le Louis XV***, Monte Carlo, Monaco

2008-07-15T22:14:00.002-07:00

Our honeymoon brought us for one night to Monte Carlo, where we were easily able to secure lunch reservations for the next day at the Michelin 3-star Le Louis XV. The restaurant is located in the elegant Hotel de Paris and is decorated in the grand style of the Sun King -- the interior could have been an airier, brighter version of a room in Versailles. While we were excited to try our first Michelin 3-star restaurant, we were also a bit uncertain after a mixed experience at the Alain Ducasse owned Mix in Las Vegas.

We opted for the three-course seasonal lunch. In typical French style, my menu did not have prices on it but I believe it was slightly under 100 euros per person. Everything oozed quality and elegance -- my husband remarked that even the waiters wore better quality suits than he did. That said, the waiters (who numbered more than guests for most of the meal) were all extremely polite and attentive.

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Bread Selection

The grandest bread and butter presentation I've ever seen started our meal. First, a cart was wheeled out with a large mound of their special butter. The butter waiter then proceeded to carefully scoop out a slice of butter, as can be seen here:

Then a huge bread cart was presented with a dazzling assortment of breads. Normally I'm not a bread fan but I wanted to try them all, settling on a pesto loaf and an olive loaf (see photo of dessert menu, below, to view the breads I chose).

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Amuse Bouche:
Crudites with Pan Bagna

For a starter we were served a local Provencal speciality of extremely fresh vegetables with an anchovy dip. While beautiful to behold, I felt the dip was too refined -- it felt like it should be more rustic with a stronger garlic/anchovy kick.

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Appetizer:

Pissaladiere aux anchois de la Baie marines,
un condiment pile au mortier

Being an anchovy fan, I ordered the pissaladiere with no idea what it was. Afterwards I discovered it's supposed to be similar to a pizza, but the dish above did not look or taste anything like a pizza, although if I had known it was to be a pizza, the crisp layer underneath the fish would have made more sense to me. The extremely fresh anchovies were very muted in flavor, and I missed the strong brininess and fishiness that I associate with anchovies.

Courgettes du Val de Gorbio en fin veloute,
ravioli de ricotta et buratta

My husband ordered a cheese ravioli to start, with a zucchini sauce. Again the flavors were very refined, but it didn't excite our taste buds.

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Main Course:

Grenadin de veau fermier cuisine en cocotte,
oignons noveaux, girolles et amandes

For my main, I ordered a veal with baby vegetables. The dish was good, with tender veal and beautiful vegetables.

Morue de Bilbao pochee puis effeuillee,
brandade au persil plat, jus vert

My husband had a poached cod dish served on a potato brandade.

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Cheese Course:
Selection de fromages affines pour nous

One of the great things about France is the cheese cart, and the one at Louis XV was a glorious thing indeed. There were so many cheeses we didn't know what to choose, but our patient waiter recommended a few. Sadly I don't remember what we tried, but I do remember it was my first experience of the (in)famous Epoisse cheese of the smelly old sock funk.

The Epoisse is in the upper right corner of the plate in the photo below. While I did not enjoy Epoisse this first time, when I tried it again a week later in Burgundy, my tastebuds had acclimated and I greatly enjoyed it with a hearty red wine... yum!!

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Dessert:

We were given a separate menu (in English this time) with dessert choices, broken into "Seasonal Fruits", "Chocolate, Milk", "Traditional Fare", and "Ice Creams".

Rum Baba, served with your choice of rum,
lightly whipped cream

Alain Ducasse is famous for his rum baba, which I tried before at Mix. However I was curious how it would be different at his flagship restaurant. Here, it was listed under "Traditional Fare". The most interesting thing about Ducasse's rum baba was the option of selecting one's rum!

Afterwards, the sponge cake was brought out, and unlike other rum babu preparations where the rum is mixed with a sugar syrup and added to the cake, this time the rum was directly poured on top. While an interesting concept allowing for full enjoyment of the rum, it nevertheless made the dessert too alcoholic tasting for my preferences. It was not the same version as at Mix, which was sweeter and not as alcoholic, but drier. I didn't love either version but it was worth a try.

Seasonal Fruit

I don't remember what my husband ordered, but it was one of the "Seasonal Fruit" offerings which came out like a large ravioli:

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Extras:

Mignardises et Chocolats Alain Ducasse

At the end of our meal, a selection of cute little desserts and chocolates were sent to fill us up.

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Shortcakes

Not listed on the menu, but given to us to take home, was this super cute bag of soft loafy cookies. We didn't eat them for two days, but when we did, they were so moist and full of flavor -- absolutely delicious!

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Le Louis XV had the best service of any restaurant we've ever been to, and have been to since (though we'll see if that holds up with our upcoming French Laundry visit). The service was polite, inobtrusive, and attentive, and the room was stunning in an updated traditional French manner. The food itself was not as stellar as the surroundings and the service, but with the whole package we were well-satisfied with our 3-star experience. However as may be apparent by this time, part of our lack of enjoyment may be our unfamiliarity with local French dishes, since quite a bit of our meal were riffs on French classics. I doubt we would revisit Le Louis XV if we were in Monte Carlo again, but we did not regret our sojourn.

Le Louis XV
Hotel de Paris
Place du Casino
Monte Carlo, Monaco
+37 (0) 79 806 8864
http://www.alain-ducasse.com/public_us/louis_xv/fr_cuisine.htm

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Las Vegas

2008-01-28T22:00:00.001-08:00

When acclaimed chef Joel Robuchon opened the double-whammy of The Mansion and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon a few years ago at the MGM Grand, it caused quite a stir in the Vegas dining scene. The Mansion's $350+ tasting menus were a bit pricy for me, but L'Atelier's innovative dishes caught my eye and I had wanted to try it for some time.

L'Atelier is a flashy, high-concept restaurant very reminiscent of the 80s, full of high gloss reds and blacks. Guests are primarily seated around a large U-shaped counter where they can peer into the entirely open kitchen. A few tables for group dining are also available in the back.

There are three main options when ordering from the menu. Option one is to make a meal of several small plates, listed on the left hand side of the menu. While these sounded very interesting, the exorbitant prices for the tiny portions made the tapas a bit hard to accept for me.

Another option was the traditional a la carte appetizer/main/dessert trifecta, listed on the right hand side of the menu:

And the third option, which we opted for, was the $135 "Discovery Menu" of nine courses (including amuse) plus coffee:

Below is a recap of our Discovery menu dinner.

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L'Amuse-Bouche
Foie gras parfait with port wine and parmesan foam

Our meal started out with a bang. The amuse had all the beautiful big flavor of foie gras (one of my favorite foods) but was much lighter and more delicate. The port wine added a lovely warm richness -- great start.

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La Langoustine
Langoustine carpaccio with roasted poppy seed dressing

Pristinely fresh thin slices of raw langoustine were meticulously arranged into a perfect square and topped with oil, poppy seeds, chives, and piment d'espelette. While I wouldn't order this dish by itself, it was a light and delicious next course -- the langoustine was incredibly sweet, with the crunchiness of the poppy seeds providing a surprising and pleasing texture. This was also the first appearance of piment d'espelette, which was featured on many of the subsequent dishes (look for streaks or dabs of red powder throughout).

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Les Huitres
Poached baby Kussi oysters with French "Echire" butter

Shellfish (mussels, clams, etc.) dipped in butter is a classic combination, but this was the first time I've had such a quantity of butter poured into each shell to poach the oysters. The combination was delicious but I was a bit psychologically disturbed to drink so much butter at once. Bits of fresh thyme provided a pleasing additional tasting note, and more powdered piment garnished the plate.

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L'Oeuf
Egg cocotte topped with a light mushroom cream

When I read the menu, I was expecting something like the Manresa egg, which I've enjoyed immensely a few times (Manresa is famous for its "Arpege egg" and is fortunately both located a reasonable drive from my workplace and also easy to get reservations). While tasty in its own right, the L'Atelier egg was not quite as transcendent, and I could not help but compare the two.

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L'Asperge Verte
Capuccino of green asparagus with black truffle

So far Robuchon was proving throughout the meal that his grandiose naming justly highlights the main ingredient of each dish -- if he were a challenger on "Iron Chef", he would get high marks for his "use of the secret ingredient". This dish retained an assertive asparagus flavor despite surprisingly having the consistency of a light cappucino -- I was expecting something heavier and more creamy, along the lines of similar soups at other restaurants. The addition of thin black truffle slices was a luxurious touch, but since the capuccino wasn't very hot, the truffle texture was a bit hard for me.

At this point, in full disclosure I have to admit that I find truffles (both black and white) one of the most overrated ingredients in the world. While little specks in food often add a nice tasting / aroma note, I've yet to find that fresh slices to be worth the cost.

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Le Saumon
Slightly smoked salmon served with warm watercress and crispy potatoes

If nothing else, one has to admire Joel Robuchon for running a tight ship despite the many far-flung outposts of L'Atelier. Each dish we had was perfectly cooked, with precisely calibrated flavors, and the salmon was no exception. The smoking was so light and perfect, and the salmon was exquisitely cooked on the outside and exactly rare on the inside. Unfortunately with the overabundance of salmon on menus these days, it's hard to get excited over it, so while I enjoyed this dish it wasn't a highlight of the night.

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La Caille
Free-range quail stuffed with foie gras and served with truffled mashed potatoes

I had heard that Robuchon was famous for his mashed potatoes, and these did not disappoint. The mashed potatoes were so soft and flavorful, bursting with rich potato and butter flavor, with hints of chives and a few other ingredients. They were the most decadent mashed potatoes I've ever had, and I enjoyed every bite. The slice of black truffle on top was, in my book, an unnecessary addition (see asparagus comment above).

The quail stuffed with foie gras is another famous Robuchon creation, but here was the only tiny misstep of the night. I agree it's very difficult to stuff tiny quail legs, and one of my two pieces was slightly overcooked and had no foie inside. One might overlook the imperfection more if the other dishes had not been so perfect. The other piece was justly filled with foie and deliciously moist, displaying a kitchen at the top of its game.

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Le Chevreuil
Venison medallion with caramelized quince sweet and sour sauce

The Discovery Menu had a choice of mains: either the quail (which I ordered) or the venision (which my fiance ordered). I tried a bit of his venison but can't give a full review since it was just a bite.

On "Top Chef" there was an episode where the contestants were given venison to cook, and they all complained that it was difficult to make it delicious since it was so lean. My brief bite found no dryness in the dish, and the gaminess was well controlled. Even so I wasn't wowed by the venison as much as most of the rest of the menu.

A spoonful of mashed potatoes was also served with the venison, which was a plus so that everyone could enjoy the justly fabled dish. However it came without the slice of truffle on top.

------------

La Poire
Banyuls wine gelee, pear sorbet, and crunchy ginger bread

This palate-cleanser was refreshing but nothing special.

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La Mangue
Hazelnut cremeux, fresh mango and coffee-caramel streusel

It seems desserts are not the highlights of a meal at L'Atelier, as both this dish and The Pear, while perfectly acceptable, were not up to the level of the previous dishes.

------------

The last item on the discovery menu was "Le Cafe (coffee or espresso)", which they graciously substituted with mint tea when I indicated that I didn't drink coffee. Note the cute chocolate imprinted with the restaurant logo. While fine, my mint tea was nowhere as delicious as the pot I had at B&B the night previously.

------------

What did I think of my visit? Honestly I thought it was totally worth the money, despite having dropped $350 for two, before tip, for the two tasting menus and two glasses of wine.

All the ingredients were incredibly fresh and obviously of the highest quality, and the time, effort, and detail put into each dish really highlight the care and attention put into the meal. Some might find L'Atelier to be a bit cold and soulless in the atmosphere and the food, but for a cerebral but not overly-fussy celebration of dining I highly recommend the Discovery Menu. I still think that paying $30-40 for **one** of the dishes on the tapas menu is too expensive, but the tasting menu is quite reasonable for what you get. Before going my fiance and I were a bit concerned about our experience since my fiance had tried one tapas on a previous trip and been unhappy at the high cost/food ratio, but for our tasting menu visit we were extremely happy and satisfied.

That said, I'm a bit concerned about the long-term prospects of L'Atelier in Las Vegas. We went during prime dinner time on a weekday night, and throughout our meal (which took about an hour and a half), the restaurant was at most only halfway full. Our experience at L'Atelier was the highlight of our mini-trip, and based on our meal there we'll likely bite the bullet and splurge at The Mansion on a subsequent visit.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
The MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702.891.7358
http://www.mgmgrand.com/dining/atelier-joel-robuchon-french-restaurant.aspx

Shrimp Station, Kauai

2008-01-26T22:29:00.005-08:00

In the town of Waimea in Kauai, at the entrance to the magnificent Waimea Canyon (so-called Grand Canyon of the Pacific), is the Shrimp Station. It is a very touristy spot, with ads in all the local brochures (look for coupons for $1 off or a free drink), but I had heard very positive reviews so we stopped by for lunch after a morning of admiring the Waimea Canyon drive.

Each of the shrimp plates was about $12, so we ordered a few to share. Each plate came with the choice of french fries, boiled potatoes, or rice. We ordered the well-regarded Coconut Shrimp, which came with a creamy mystery sauce that really made the dish:

The Garlic Shrimp was absolutely finger-licking good (but then again, I love garlic), mostly due to the copious amounts of butter (they claim it's olive oil but I'm suspicious) and garlic:

The Spicy Thai Shrimp was somewhat spicy but also tasty, though it wasn't as outstanding as the other two dishes.

Overall the Shrimp Station was one of our favorite eats in Kauai and a place we'd definitely return to.

Shrimp Station Restaurant
9652 Kaumualii Hwy
Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii
808.338.1242
http://www.shrimpstation.com/

Tropical Tacos, Kauai

2008-01-26T22:29:00.003-08:00

Every visitor to Kauai must drive to the northern Na'apali Coast, so one semi-rainy day we loaded into our rented SUV and did the same. Around lunchtime we found ourselves in the tiny town of Hanalei, proclaimed by tour books as cute and charming. We were hoping to have lunch at the Postcards Cafe but unfortunately it was closed for lunch, so we wandered into Tropical Tacos across the street.

Tropical Tacos is a very clean and simple place, with a few tables, a small register where they take orders, and a kitchen behind that.

The menu is short and sweet, though I had a bit of sticker shock paying almost $10 for a taco.

I ordered a fried fish taco:

Now I live in San Francisco where taco-eating is a regular pastime. These tacos were the largest ones I'd ever seen, with remarkably puffy fried tortilla shells. Despite this sacrilege of barely being able to be called a taco, the dish itself was satisfying and filling. $10 was a bit of a rip-off, but in overpriced Kauai, what can one expect...

Tidepools, Kauai

2008-01-26T22:28:00.002-08:00

We stayed one night at the Grand Hyatt Kauai in Poipu, supposedly one of the two best hotels on the island. Unfortunately we came in the midst of a tropical storm and weren't able to enjoy the extensive lagoons and grounds due to the pouring rain.

Tidepools is one of the signature restaurants at the Grand Hyatt, comprised of an adorable group of thatched huts situated around koi ponds and a waterfall. We were given a table next to the waterfall, but due to the downpour the view had to be partitioned off so that we wouldn't be soaked. Otherwise I would highly recommend Tidepools for its ultra-romantic atmosphere -- make sure to request a water-side table.

We started out with the Tidepools Pupu Platter for two ($14), comprised of a trio of Thai Spiced Furitake Crab Cake, Hawaiian Style Beef Ceviche, and Sugarcane Shrimp Cocktail.

The crab cakes were small but delectable, with plenty of crab and almost no filler. Two super-jumbo shrimp made up the sugarcane shrimp, which were tasty but a bit skimpy. Unfortunately the beef ceviche was overwhelmed by fiddlehead ferns, which seemed to outnumber the beef by several magnitudes. While not entirely a home run, the pupu platter was still satisfying.

We decided to share our entree, the Seared Opah ($36). It was described as one of the specialties of Tidepools, a "Hawaiian Moonfish Topped with Blue Crab and Lobster accompanied by Mango-Scallion Rice and Tahitian Vanilla Hollandaise". The restaurant was kind enough to split the plates into two for us, here is my half:

Unfortunately something went very wrong with this dish -- it was overly contrived and poorly executed, with a very dry fish and no flavor of lobster at all. No mango could be detected in the rice, and overall it was a huge disappointment.

We also ordered a couple of non-memorable drinks before running back through the rain to the main lodge. While I wouldn't give Tidepools a thumbs-up, I may try it again in hopes of a better entree and to enjoy the beautiful and romantic scenery.

Tidepools Restaurant
Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa
1571 Poipu Road
Koloa, Hawaii, USA 96756
808.742.1234
http://kauai.hyatt.com

Hamura's Saimin, Kauai

2008-01-26T22:28:00.001-08:00

For vacation my family decided to take a five-day jaunt to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Our first stop off the airplane was the hole-in-the-wall Hamura's Saimin Stand in Lihue, which received an "America's Classics" award from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. Apparently the "America's Classics" award to given to small establishments that celebrate America's cultural heritage, and as saimin is one of classics of Hawaiian cuisine, I was looking forward to it. I had tried saimin only once before, at a nondescript shop in Maui on my previous trip to Hawaii a few years prior, and had come away unimpressed.

Hamura's is a bare-bones operation, with a w-shaped counter and a few extra tables along the sides. The offerings all fit on a board above the kitchen:

My fiance and I both ordered the specialty saimin, regular portion, which came out with some greens, wontons, sliced fish cake, ramen-style cha sui, ham, green onions, and half a hard-boiled eggs:

The wontons had a lovely gingery bite, and though the bowl was certainly warm and satisfying, it didn't seem particularly special. My fiance remarked that it seemed like a bowl of noodles he could get anywhere, and while I didn't necessary agree with him, I'd say he wasn't too far off the mark. However it was a welcome reprieve from the upcoming days of exorbitant Hawaiian prices on the rest of our trip.

Hamura's Saimin Stand
2956 Kress Street
Lihue, Hawaii 96766
808.245.3271

Bong Su, SF

2007-07-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Before catching the latest Harry Potter movie in IMAX 3D, my fiance and I stopped for dinner at Bong Su, another upscale fusion Vietnamese restaurant from the creators of Vung Tau (various South Bay locations) and Tamarine (Palo Alto). Vung Tau is our go-to Vietnamese restaurant, but it had been a couple years since we'd last visited Tamarine, so we decided to give Bong Su a try, especially due to its proximity to the Metreon.

Bong Su is a small plates restaurant, and our waitress recommended that we order two dishes in each category (appetizers, soups/salads, and entrees) to share. We were cheap and ordered two appetizers but only one soup and one main. She also offered us a glass of J sparking rose champagne ($15) to start our meal, which SO accepted.

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Goi Kampachi ($13)
Kona Kampachi served sashimi-style with Vietnamese greens and drizzled with a chili-lime shrimp sauce

Our waitress highly recommended this dish, and while I didn't love it, I was happy to have ordered it since the bright flavors of the minced cucumber, fried shallots, jalapeno, and lime/chili oil were perfectly balanced and uniquely juxaposed with the butteriness of the kampachi.

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Honey Roasted Quail ($11)
Honey and five-spice roasted quail stuffed with sticky rice, Shiitake mushrooms, and green onions

My fiance said this was a very classic treatment since his mom (who worked as a caterer when they lived in Saigon) often makes a version with either young chicken or Cornish game hen. We were instructed to squeeze the lime over the salt/pepper and use it as a dipping sauce, which is another common method but here it was done much better since the salt didn't overwhelm the meat like it usually does. My SO mentioned he preferred the bolder flavors of the quail at Vung Tau, but I preferred this version since the meat was very tender and had a delicately sweet flavor, versus the often dry and overpowering fish sauce version at Vung Tau. A nicely-dressed watercress salad accompanied the quail. This was my favorite dish of the evening.

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Ha Long Bay Soup ($12)
Crab and asparagus wontons in a lime and coconut milk infused chicken stock

At first we both thought the flavors in this dish didn't meld well, but we came to appreciate different aspects of it. SO liked the wontons and didn't care for the broth, while I enjoyed the asparagus/lemongrass/coconut/chive oil flavors of the broth but thought that the crab in the wontons were overcooked. In the end we were satisfied with the dish but I don't think we'd order it again.

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Mekong Bass ($28)
Crisp whole black bass served with green mango, chili, tamarind, and cashew salad

SO loves crispy fish, and this was a winner. The whole bass was mostly deboned, then lightly breaded and deep-fried for an exuberantly crispy skin and stuffed with slivers of green mango, red onions, and cilantro. A few cashews and scallions were sprinkled into the mix, and a sweet tamarind-based sauce was poured tableside over the top.

Other than the occasional annoyance of running into a bone, this dish was delicious, especially with the tart mango and sweet sauce providing a perfect foil to the crispy fish.

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Lemongrass Rice ($2)
Lemongrass and kaffir lime

Bong Su offers several styles of rice, and we decided to try the lemongrass rice since it was different. While the rice was fine (they seemed to use basmati instead of jasmine rice), we weren't excited by it and SO said that next time we should order the coconut rice (even though I feel that it's become a cliche, like molten chocolate cake and tuna tartare).

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Hitachino Nest
Belgian-style white ale from Japan

The bottle design was so cute, so I had to take a picture :) I didn't taste it (not being a beer drinker) but SO pronounced it nothing special.

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Candied Lotus Seed with Jasmine Tea

Before the dessert we were served a palate cleanser of a dried lotus seed (the kind usually found in the Vietnamese New Year dried fruit candy assortments) and a small cup of jasmine tea. For some reason the candy brought out a strange licorice taste in the tea, which I thought was a bit off-putting but got over once the candy was finished. This picture was taken after I had eaten half the lotus seed.

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Chocolate Trio ($10)
chocolate toffee mousse, warm chocolate cake, vietnamese cafe mocha cream soda

My SO really enjoyed the mousse and the cake, but I preferred a stronger chocolate taste. Neither of us enjoyed the coffee cream soda, which for me was frankly weird. That said, the arrangement was very cute, especially of the lollipop stick in the mousse.

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Inner Blossom Osmanthus Tea ($8)
scented white tea

I'm a sucker for these flowering teas, even though they're considered a gimmick in serious tea circles. However I should have paid more attention to the white tea designation since I usually find white tea too delicate for my preference, and this wasn't any different (though it got better with longer steeping). However the inner orange lily blossom was truly beautiful, so I wasn't entirely disappointed.

---------------

Our check was brought out in a pretty box with a real flower blossom inside. The total came to $135 with tax and tip, and while not everything was entirely successful, overall we enjoyed our dinner and would go back.

Service seemed a bit condescending at first but improved over the course of our dinner. The restaurant is elegantly lovely, with dark woods, a striking king's table, and sheer white curtains to cut down the sunlight and screen the diners from the busy street outside. I had heard that the waitresses wore shirts which exposed their entire back, but none of the waitresses near us had such attire. The restaurant was quite empty, which was surprising for a Saturday evening (though we did dine early, leaving at 7.30pm for our movie), which may have contributed to our overhearing snatches of kitchen conversation from our seats even though we weren't that close.

Bong Su
311 3rd Street (/Folsom)
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.536.5800
http://www.bongsu.com

Joy Restaurant, Foster City (SF area)

2007-07-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Honu and I organized a chowdown for twelve at the popular Taiwanese eatery Joy Restaurant in Foster City. I've dined at Joy at least six times previously with mixed results, but never in such a large group. Our ordering was aided by other 'hounds and also a careful search of the Chowhound board, along with copious cross-references to Robert Yu's translation of the Joy "secret menu".

Joy's been around for many years and its age is starting to show:

However their Taiwanese / Shanghainese specialties are still mighty tasty!

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Zhong Hua Road Pot Stickers

Zhong Hua Road potstickers are a bit different in that the ends of each dumpling are open. Joy also cooks all six so they're stuck together, but somehow they achieve an extremely crispy crust on one side (one 'hound speculated they used cornstarch). The interior of the potstickers aren't that special, but the crispy skin and wonderful sauce make the dish!

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Gold Thread Roll (Fried)

I forgot to take a photo until only one bite was left, but here it is! Steamed dough was deep-fried for a lovely crispy exterior and a soft, custardy interior. However some 'hounds detected an aftertaste of stinky tofu, leading to speculation that it was fried in the same oil as that pungent dish.

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Tangerine Peel Crispy Freshwater Eel

I thought this was the most unique dish of the evening. Small eels, each about a finger length, were deep fried and covered in a slightly sticky sweet citrus coating. They very much reminded me of Chinese fruit-flavored beef jerky, which I love.

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Salty Sincere Delicacy

This classic Shanghainese soup is called "yan du xian" and is often served around the Chinese Lunar New Year. Some info on this dish:

http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/0109/cu18-2.html

While the tofu was elegantly tied and the bamboo and ham pieces well-cut, I felt this was the worst dish of the night since the broth was extremely bland. I had a much better rendition at Classic Shanghai in San Jose, but this one required the addition of vinegar to give it any interest.

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Red-Striped Whole Duck

This was one of the two dishes that required pre-ordering, the other being the steamed pork hock. Most of the bones had been removed from the duck before it was braised, and it was meltingly tender and full of rich flavor. A few slices of bamboo shoot topped the duck, but I'm not sure why it's designated "red striped". Due to the size and robust flavor, it was difficult to eat a lot of the duck and it was the only dish (other than the soup) to have leftovers.

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Clay Pot Lion's Head

This is one of the dishes that Joy is known for, and it's easy to see why: the meatballs were so fluffy and perfectly-cooked, and they covered a small clump of delicious cellophane noodles.

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Nitrate Pork (steamed pork hock)

I was experiencing technical difficulties with my camera and so didn't get a photo until the dish was more than half eaten. The Chinese name for this is "da shao ti".

I order a dish similar to this occasionally at Little Sichuan, and it's one of my favorite dishes there. While this ham was tender and tasty, somehow it didn't stand out against the other wonderful dishes at Joy.

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Chicken With Basil (3-Cup Chicken)

This dish seems to get better every time I order it at Joy. There was quite a bit more basil than I remember from previously, and the sweetness of the chicken complemented its tender delicacy. Highly recommended.

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Wu Xi Spareribs

There was nothing wrong with this dish, but it also didn't stand out against some of the stellar competitors. I don't remember much about the ribs except that they were slightly sweet.

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Green Beans with Minced Meat

This common dish was well-cooked and a good accompaniment to the rest of the meal.

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XO Sauce Hand-Cut Noodle Seafood Chow Mein

Joy is famous for its hand-cut noodles and these chunky ones were nicely chewy and had great flavor.

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Crispy Bean Sea Bass

This dish is one of my favorites at Joy, and apparently it's one of their most popular ones since we saw it brought out to two other tables as well. Two tender steaks of sea bass (I've also had it with just one large fish steak), topped with crispy soy beans and scallions, were brought out on a sizzling platter. A small sterno kept the platter hot and the delectable sauce sizzling -- the sauce was wonderful spooned over rice. A good number of 'hounds said it was their favorite dish of the evening.

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Water Spinach (On Choy) With Garlic

On choy is one of my favorite vegetables, and one I cook all the time at home. However the chef at Joy showed what a skillful hand and a super-hot stove can do, producing a version much better than my home-cooked one. Joy's on choy was laden with minced garlic, always a big plus in my book!

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Shaved Ice with Red Beans, Ai-Yu Jelly, and Grass Jelly

The Joy secret menu has separate versions of shaved ice with red beans, lemon ai-yu jelly, and grass jelly. I had my dad call (since he can speak Chinese and thus did the ordering for me) and ask for the toppings together, but he was informed they usually don't carry ai-yu jelly and grass jelly, and that I should buy some at an Asian store and bring them in. Thus, I made a quick run to Ranch 99 right before our chowdown and bought a can each of the lemon ai-yu jelly and grass jelly.

For a while it seemed like we wouldn't get shaved ice at all since the ice wasn't setting, but after a while the restaurant decided the block was set enough and served us this large bowl. Unfortunately most of the ice melted before it was even spooned into the various bowls, and I wished afterwards that I hadn't brought the canned jellies since the red beans were good but the jellies were just so-so. Even so, it was a sweet (from the condensed milk) and refreshing end to the meal.

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Overall I had a very satisfying experience at Joy. I'd be happy ordering everything again except for the soup, but there are many more items on the secret menu that sound so delicious that I'd want to try them too. If anyone else organizes another chowdown at Joy, please invite me!! :)

Joy Restaurant
1495 Beach Park Blvd
Foster City, CA 94404

Total including tip was $17/person.

Winterland, SF

2006-07-10T00:19:00.000-07:00

Winterland has a bit of a buzz in the Bay Area for its unusual flavor combinations -- last night my bf and I tried it for the first time and weren't disappointed. The restaurant is located a few blocks from Japantown in a residential neighborhood; inside the decor is swanky, with a large bar/lounge area and a cozy single room for the restaurant. We were seated promptly at 7.30pm and were surprised at how empty the restaurant was. Later on more people tricked in but it was never full, which was surprising for a Saturday night.

The menu is divided into Crudo, Starters, Entrees, and Dessert. Dishes can be ordered a la carte; optionally one can choose a 4-course tasting menu for $65 or a 7-course menu for $95. Since Visa was running a promotion for July where the 4-course menu was available for $55, we went with that option and were asked to choose one option from each of the courses. You can see images of the menu below:

* Crudos

* Starters

* Entrees

* Desserts

The wine list was a reasonable length for the size of the restaurant, with mostly Californian wines but with a selection of European wines as well. About ten wines were available by the glass and there was also a cocktail menu. I opted for the "@Winterland :)" cocktail, described as muddled cucumber, orange, Campari, on the rocks with a splash of ginger ale. Honestly I did not care for it, especially after the delicious cocktails I tried at Aziza the night before.

The bread basket consisted of a long roll each of olive bread and sourdough, with a light and crisp crust and perfectly warm interior:

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Amuse-bouche: Melon Gazpacho with Lime Cream

A wonderfully cool and refreshing start -- right away the chef makes a statement of his unique flavor pairings. This ain't no sunchoke soup!

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Crudos

Oregon Spotted Prawn
Spicy mango pickle, chilled tomato water, rice crisp

Tuna Tartare
Fresh wasabi, American sturgeon caviar, beet root gelee

I'll write more later!

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Starters

Soft Shell Crab
Tomato watermelon gazpacho, basil oil

Grilled Sardines
Asian pear, hazelnut, mache

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Entrees

Roasted Ocean Trout
French lentils, piquillos, tarragon sabayon

Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly and Braised Cheek
Grilled peach, amaranth, black pepper jus

--------------------------------------------

Dessert

Warm Chocolate Cake
Laudemio olive oil ice cream, chocolate ganache, salt maldon

Carmelized Brioche
Vanilla & lemon meyer marmalade, brown butter ice cream

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Petit Fours: Panna Cotta with Peanut Brittle and Raspberry Fruit Pate

--------------------------------------------

Winterland
2101 Sutter St. (at Steiner)
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.563.5025
http://www.winterlandrestaurant.com

Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas

2006-05-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

The problem with high expectations is that it's often difficult to meet them. Such was my experience at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, which is hailed in many foodie circles. Gourmet Magazine even called it the best Thai food in North America.

LOS is located in a small strip mall off the Las Vegas strip, near the Gold Coast casino. For those who need a Strip reference, it's around the latitude of the Sahara casino. The mall has many other Asian offerings but few were open on the Sunday night I visited with three friends, two of who did not eat meat.

We arrived at 8pm. I had made reservations but it was immediately obvious they weren't necessary since only a few tables were taken, all by people who did not seem to be locals. The menu is extensive, with many items that I've never seen before. In addition to the regular menu, one can ask for a menu with their Northern Thai (Issan) specialities.

When ordering, we were asked how spicy we wanted the dishes, on a scale of 1 to 10. My boyfriend loves spicy food (he eats Thai bird chiles straight) and after a long business trip to South India I acquired a tolerance with somewhat spicy dishes, so we asked for level 5 at the outset.

There was also a very large selection of white wines as well, especially rieslings. We asked for a bottle suggestion and the waiter recommended the Leitz Dragonstone riesling, which he said would complement the broiled catfish well. He was nice enough to give us a small glass to sample beforehand; personally I thought the wine was too sweet, but my boyfriend decided to go with it anyways. I figured it was okay if it would go with the fish.

I also ordered a limeade drink, which was not very exciting -- I think it had too much sugar.

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#14: NAM KAO TOD
Minced sour sausage mixed with green onion, fresh chili, ginger, peanuts, crispy rice and lime juice

Since half our number were vegetarians and I heard this was the dish of the restaurant, we ordered both the standard sour sausage version and a version with tofu instead of sausage. The tofu version is shown in the photograph above.

The dish is comprised of crispy rice puffs (like the crusty rice at the bottom of one's rice pot) stir-fried with fish sauce, red onions, cilantro, either the sour sausage (which looked and tasted like slightly minced sour ham) or tofu, and other spices. Even though we asked for it to be a level 5 (out of 10) in spiciness, the heat level was quite intense -- it was probably the maximum I could take and still taste the food. I was quite glad of the raw vegetables served alongside to cut the spiciness factor. The flavors were definitely unique and I enjoyed the dish very much -- it was the best dish of the night.

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#27: SPICY VEGETABLE SOUP
Spicy and Sour soup with assorted vegetables, lemon grass, lime juice and straw mushroom

If we thought the previous dish was spicy, this was significantly more so. Unfortunately it was too spicy for me to drink the soup -- I could only fish out the vegetables to eat. What flavor I could discern was good but I do think they overdid the spice factor. During this dish my boyfriend asked the waiter to tone the rest of the meal down to a slightly less spicy level; unfortunately this was taken to mean that the rest of the dishes should be served mild which was not what we wanted at all.

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#48: PLA DOOG YANG
Charbroiled whole catfish, served with spicy sauce

I forgot to take a photograph before removing a piece of the fish, which explains the picture above :)

Posts on Chowhound recommended the charbroiled dishes at LOS, so I had ordered the charbroiled whole catfish. It was certainly very impressive upon arrival, and we looked forward to it. Unfortunately it was by far the worst dish of the evening, and I thought it was a poor pairing with the wine. The burnt skin lent a very unpleasant bitter taste to the fish which permeated the flesh, even when we tried to scrape the skin off. The two sauces -- one a light vinegary sauce, the other a tamarindy sweet/sour sauce -- did not do much to enhance the fish either. Avoid, avoid!

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#116: DRUNKEN NOODLE SEAFOOD
Pan fried flat wide white noodle topped with sauteed assorted seafood with fresh & dry chili, Thai basil served on bed of green

Many Thai restaurants serve a similar dish, and this one was about average of the pack, though the vegetables and herbs were very fresh and bright.

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#83: PAD PRIK KING
Tofu sauteed with spicy red chili paste and green beans

This dish came with the choice of meat, but we chose tofu. Pad Prik King is one of my favorite Thai dishes but this was unfortunately one of the worst preparations I've had, with dull and uninspired flavors.

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COCONUT ICE CREAM, STICKY RICE, MANGO, FRIED BANANA ROLL

The waiter mentioned that they'd bring out a combination plate with all their desserts. At this point I was hoping the dessert would salvage our unhappy meal and so we attacked it and forgot to take a photo. The fried banana roll was my favorite part since it was wrapped in a spring roll wrapper, which is different than how I've had fried bananas at Thai restaurants before, and that lent it more of a crispy and light texture. The mango and sticky rice were about average (the version at my local Thai temple is better), and the coconut ice cream was fine but I wished it were creamier.

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In the end all of us were disappointed with our meal at Lotus of Siam. Did we bring it upon ourselves by asking for the dishes to be less spicy after our second course? That may be partly the cause, but I don't think it's an acceptable answer since the flavors should be from more than chili peppers. Their spiciness factor also seemed a bit gimmicky to me (I've noticed quite a few restaurants like to do this), designed more to cause comments than be a real indicator of spiciness.

I highly suspect that LOS is the Slanted Door of Las Vegas -- the critics and many people love it, a few dishes may be good, but overall it's a bit of a tourist trap. Maybe I need to give it another try with other dishes -- there were many unique and interesting-sounding items on the menu -- but I won't be rushing back anytime soon to find out.

Lotus of Siam
953 E. Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89104
702.735.3033
http://www.saipinchutima.com

Red Square, Las Vegas

2006-05-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

Some friends of mine had a small wedding in Las Vegas and had their reception at Red Square, located in the Mandalay Bay hotel, since the bride is Ukranian.

I'll write more on our experience later when I have time.

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Cocktail

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Vodka flight

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lobster salad

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short ribs

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carrot cake

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dessert #2

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My Canh, San Jose

2006-05-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

On a Friday during Lent, three Vietnamese friends and I visited My Canh in San Jose, which is one of the few restaurants in the area serving the Vietnamese seven courses of fish. Anh Hong (famous for their more traditional seven courses of beef) in San Jose also has this speciality (which I've not tried), and the sadly departed Miss Saigon in Milpitas had an excellent version (which I've tried a few times). I also tried it once at a Vietnamese restaurant in Westminster (SoCal).

At My Canh, the seven courses are significantly different from other renditions in that different types of fish are used in each course. Traditionally the courses use the same fish but with different preparations, much like the more common 7 courses of beef. The price for the 7 courses of fish at My Canh is $25.95 for two, but as with most 7 courses of whatever at a Vietnamese restaurant, you can usually feed three on the two-person portion.

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#1: Goi Ca Sturgeon
sturgeon salad with ginger sauce and rice cracker

The sauce seemed a little weak for the salad, but it was still a refreshing start to the meal.

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#2: Ca Hoa Tien
fried smelt roll with sweet and sour sauce

#3: Ca Nuong La Lot
grilled ladyfish wrapped in Hawaiian lot leaf

In the photo, the smelt rolls are in the back and the lot leaf rolls are in the front.

The smelt rolls were my favorite course of the meal, perfectly fried and with a lovely strip of sweetness (caramelized onions?) alongside the fish. The lot leaf rolls were bitter and the ladyfish had a strange mushy texture; this was my least favorite course.

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#4: Chao Ca Thu
porridge with gingered tuna

#5: Bun Ca Salmon
grilled salmon over vermicelli with tamarind sauce

In the photo, the tuna is on the left and the salmon is on the right.

The porridge was savory and tasty, perfectly complemented by the ginger, though the depth of flavor was not as strong as at Miss Saigon. The grilled salmon was quite tasteless and the tamarind sauce did not match it well.

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#6: Com Xa Xiu Sea Bass
sweet roasted white sea bass over sticky rice

This dish was definitely the most unique. The sea bass was treated exactly like char sui (Chinese red-spice roast pork); it was strange eating a dish so closely associated with pork, but having the sea bass be the meat. Sadly the nori (seaweed) under the rice was quite soft and wilted; if it were crispy it would have lent a very nice textural contrast to the dish. I didn't love this course but it was intriguing and worth trying.

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#7: Ca Bong Lau Nuong
baked catfish with lettuce, assorted herbs and rice sheets

Maybe the restaurant needs to do a more careful job roasting the catfish, since aluminum foil was adamantly stuck to the bottom of it and would not come off unless we lost significant portions of the fish skin. Generally I love Vietnamese catfish preparations but this fish tasted muddy and dull. It was the first Vietnamese restaurant I've seen that served sliced bananas as part of the side veggies, but two days later my Vietnamese boyfriend's mother did that as well, and with sliced pineapples too. One never stops learning :)

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Overall all of us were a bit disappointed in our meal at My Canh. While it was a different take on the traditional courses, the flavors were not there and with all the great Vietnamese restaurants in the area (Vung Tau is only a block or two away), I highly doubt we'd return.

My Canh
374 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
408.293.8955

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, SF

2006-04-13T01:45:00.000-07:00

For my birthday my boyfriend took me to the Dining Room, regarded by many as the top dining destination in San Francisco. We had sampled the cuisine of chef Ron Siegel when he was working at Masa a few years prior and had loved the experience.

Several dining options are offered; click on the links below for images of that menu.

* 3 course menu for $68/person, with extensive choices for each course. We did not photograph the choices for that menu but you can find them online

* Set 6 course tasting menu for $89/person

* Set vegetarian 6 course tasting menu for $89/person

* Set 8 course salt-and-pepper tasting menu for $100/person

* Chef's 9 course tasting menu for $115/person

Although I was strongly leaning towards the salt and pepper menu, in the end we decided to go for the chef's 9 course tasting menu. We wanted to compare it against the chef's 9 course menu at Masa's, and also we appreciated how different dishes, with the same main ingredient, are served to the two diners for each course. In the courses below, my dish is shown first, then my boyfriend's. Not being big drinkers, we also shared a wine pairing.

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Amuse #1: Asparagus Soup with Candy Cap Mushroom Powder

Wow, what a starter! What really made the dish was the mushroom powder, which lent a sharp earthiness to the soup. I'm now inspired to make mushroom powder at home.

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Amuse #2: Hamachi Sashimi with Yuzu Gelee and Watermelon Radish

Another great amuse, with the crunch of the radish and the delightful citrus notes of yuzu accentuating the hamachi.

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Amuse #3: Sea Urchin Panna Cotta with Lobster

I may be mistaken and the lobster might have been abalone (I have poor memory and the dinner was a while ago), but this was another home run.

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Course #1: Soup
Engelgarten de Bergheim, Marcel Deiss, Alsace, 1999

Butter Bean Soup
crouton, thyme leaves, pickled mushrooms

Chilled Salsify Veloute
golden osetra caviar

Both soups were elegant and refined, with the light white wine lending the perfect counterpoint to the creaminess.

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Course #2: Sashimi
Gruner Vetliner, Rotes Tor, Hirtzberger, Wachau, Austria, 2003

When our plates were brought out, our waiter also appeared with a sharkskin grater and a tuber of fresh wasabi, which he then proceeded to grate tableside. I've had fresh wasabi at high-end Japanese restaurants before but never had it grated next to me, so this was fun to watch.

Sashimi of Live Spot Prawns
wasabi, japanese sea salts, lemon juice, sauteed heads, yuzu gelee

The lemon juice was poured into the small dipping plates, one of which contained dried ground shiso pepper and the other which contained a special Japanese sea salt. The prawn head had been split and deep-fried, which is common when ordering amaebi. The prawn sashimi was a bit tasteless by itself but the shiso/lemon mixture was a great accompaniment to it and the fried heads.

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Sashimi of Blue Fin Tuna
radish, orange gelee, fried yuba

This was good but not great.

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Course #3: Fish
Peay Vineyards, Roussane/Marsanne, Sonoma Coast, 2003

Sea Bass
lobster ravioli, artichokes, leeks, coconut citrus reduction

I had almost this exact same dish at Masa about three years prior: a heavy sauce was poured over the pan-seared sea bass on the top dish, and it then dripped through the holes to flavor the lobster ravioli in the dish underneath (the "surprise"). Good but not great.

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Poached Turbot
ice fish, carrots, asparagus, lemon fumet

I honestly don't remember what this tasted like, so you can see the impression it had on me.

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Course #4: Lobster
Macon-Villages, Domaine de la Bongram, Jean Thevenet, Burgundy, 2001

Maine Lobster
pork belly, hearts of palm, short rib reduction

Maine Lobster
swiss chard, hearts of palm, lobster carrot broth

From his stint at French Laundry and from his winning Iron Chef Japan appearance in Battle Lobster, you would think Siegel would have lobster down pat. In fact I remember delightful and succulent butter poached lobster at Masa. Unfortunately the pork belly did not match the lobster at all in my dish, and my boyfriend's dish was rather bland.

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Course #5: Foie Gras
Riesling, Auslese, Dorsheimer Pittermannchen, Diel, Nahe, Germany, 1998

Hot Foie Gras
spicy pickled huckleberries, crouton, apple juice infused with black pepper

Chilled Foie Gras
pinot gris gelee, ginger rhubarb jam, mache, candied pecans, grilled bread

Another pairing that closely matched our dinner at Masa. The hot foie gras was by far our favorite dish of the night. It was so rich and sweet and creamy, pure heaven, and better than the hot foie gras at Masa. The chilled version was good too but no match for the hot rendition.

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Course #6: Poultry
Gigondas, Domaine Santa Duc, Rhone, 2002

Milk Fed Poussin
tonka bean, rhubarb, abalone mushroom, natural reduction

Squab Breast
satsuma mandarins, napa cabbage

The poussin was fine but I had a better version three days later at 231 Ellsworth in San Mateo. The squab breast was forgettable.

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Course #7: Meat
Lancaster Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, 2002

Niman Ranch Lamb
white and green asparagus, spring garlic, potato gnocchi, lamb reduction

Beef Tenderloin
baby artichokes, swiss chard, green garlic, italian butter beans, bordelaise

When the plates were served, one of the waiters came by with a block of Brazilian salt which he then grated over our dishes with a very fine grater. This was interesting to watch but we weren't convinced it added much taste. Back at Masa we felt that Siegel's meat dishes were his weakest points, and unfortunately it seems they didn't get much better through the years. Neither of these were special.

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Course #8: Sorbet

Blood Orange Sorbet
citrus segments

Lychee Sorbet
blood orange soup

The lychee sorbet was considerably better than the blood orange one, but both were pleasing palate cleansers.

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Course #9: Dessert
Brachetto d'Acqui, Luigi Coppo, Piedmont, Italy, 2005

Chocolate Manjari Caramel Cake
milk chocolate ice cream, five spice foam, hazelnut dentelle, maldon salt

Cardamom Panna Cotta
pineapple syrup, fresh fruits, pineapple chips

Both desserts were good but not great. What was most memorable about this course was the wine : it was a light, fizzy, purple wine -- it honestly tasted like grape juice champagne! It was very drinkable and an excellent finish to our meal.

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Candy Cart

After our dinner, the candy cart was wheeled by and our waiter gave us one of each type of candy. Since we couldn't eat them all, he graciously boxed the rest of them up, and gave us the list of courses and wine pairings from our meal.

I had also ordered tea to go with my last two courses and was given a bag of camomille and a large jug of hot water. I wish that the Ritz had higher-end teas; I particularly remember a nice tea presentation at Manresa a couple months before.

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Overall we were happy with our meal at the Dining Room although some of the courses could have been better. Service was very professional though a bit aloof. We were seated at probably the worst table in the room, right by the entrance and next to the waiter station, but I guess someone has to sit there and we probably seemed like the youngest/poorest in the room. The tables are quite far apart and comfortable, and the lighting was pleasantly muted and dim. Since each course has two separate dishes, I feel the 9 course tasting menu is very reasonably priced, and the wine pairings were some of the best we've had.

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton
600 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
http://www.ritzcarlton.com

The Herbfarm, Woodinville (Seattle)

2006-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I travelled to Seattle to visit my boyfriend. While there, we went to the Herbfarm one evening in nearby Woodinville.

The Herbfarm has the highest ranking in Gayot of any restaurant in Seattle. Housed near a charming inn in the midst of wine country (next door are the Chateau Ste Michelle and Columbia wineries), it presents itself as a cozy and elegant dining destination on a faux herb farm. The reason I call it faux is that I grew up on a real working farm, and this one is all quaintness and charm to amuse and entertain guests -- there are only several small herb patches onsite, as well as a few ducks and a couple of pot-bellied pigs for the guests to feed (as opposed to vice versa). Apparently there are some greenhouses nearby with more herbs, but we did not see them.

There is one seating a night with one set price and meal, which was $189/person, including food and wine pairing but not including tax and tip, for our "Menu for Kobe Beef (Super Cattle in Seattle)". Each menu is in effect for a few weeks at a time. The price is in line with most high-end dining destinations in San Francisco (excepting the French Laundry of course), but a bit high for Seattle. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 6.10pm to wander around the extensive wine collection, or by 6.30pm for the garden tour.

In better weather the garden tour would consist of the guests being led around the herb patches, but since it was the first week of March, ours was held in the rather crowded restaurant foyer. Samples of various herbs that would be featured in the evening's meal -- sage, shiso, lemon geranium, marjoram, etc. -- were passed around for guests to sniff and taste, while a staff member described each one. I appreciated the effort that the staff made to educate the guests, most of whom were not foodies but instead were celebrating special occasions. Afterwards we were all ushered into the dining room and seated at our respective tables.

Many of the tables at the Herbfarm are communal tables; we were seated at one with eight others. This reminded me a bit of being on a cruise ship, but it's nice to chat with your table-mates; I think this is a key part of the restaurant's popularity. The chatting also helps fill the very long pauses between courses. The room itself is stunning, all warm, lovely, and elegant with little whimsical touches -- quite romantic. Each of our place settings was set with a large lettuce charger and five glasses (for each of our five wines) plus a metal water glass.

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A MENU FOR
Super Cattle in Seattle
Saturday, March 4, 2006 * 7 O'Clock

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Early Tastes of Spring
Paddlefish Caviar on Shallot Flan
Sunchoke Soup with Sunchoke Chips
Duck Fois Gras with Parsnip and Pear-Caraway Thyme Sauce
1997 Argyle Brut from Magnum

The dinner started out wonderfully, with a plate of adorable treats. The thyme really accentuated the silky fois gras, and the chips were so tiny and cute, with a delectable subtle sunchoke flavor. The sunchoke soup was delicious, though it did seem to rely a tad too much on cream and chicken stock, and the paddlefish roe made a lovely salty counterpoint to the flan, which had a distinct shallot flavor.

The champagne was crisp and refreshing, and before they served it, servers came by and dropped tiny pieces of herbs into our glasses. After this course, the chef and another person came out and described each dish and wine in detail. A bit of merchandising also occurred with the restaurant's cookbook (signed by the chef) and various other Herbfarm products being highlighted.

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Basilwood-Smoked Ivory King Salmon
With Burdock, Salsify, Bloomsdale Spinach and Carrot Vinaigrette
2004 Solena Pinot Gris

Ivory salmon are ones that aren't able to pigment as well, so they are much paler than normal salmon. Our salmon was perfectly cooked and very light-tasting, with a light smoky flavor. However, the dish didn't excite me (or anyone else at my table).

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Celery Root, Black Truffle,and Egg Yolk Ravioli
With Truffled Celery Salad
2004 Ken Wright Cellars Celilo Chardonnay

I enjoyed how the ravioli was so tenderly cooked so that the egg yolks were still runny. Sadly, the celery salad was a tad too hard for the softness of the ravioli, and the truffles (which were generously sprinkled over the dish) did not have much taste.

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Wagyu Beef Carpaccio
2004 DiStefano Cabernet Franc, 'Sogno'

During the description of the dishes, the chef mentioned that the wagyu they were serving was very high quality, about a 7 or 8 on the Japanese rating for beef (USDA prime, on the other hand, is about a 4). Unfortunately I think the chef was overdoing it -- I've had wagyu several times before in America and in Japan, and this wagyu was really one of the worst.
The beef itself was virtually tasteless -- the light glaze of olive oil was stronger than the beef. However, with the capers, herbs, and cheese it became quite good, if one didn't mind the non-existent beef taste (the texture was nice, though).

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Apple and Shiso Ice

A refreshing palate-cleanser. The addition of shiso was a really nice touch, but the apple juliennes were cut a tad too large and unevenly.

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Rib Eye of Wagyu Beef
With Herbed Garlic-Leek Marmalade, Chard Gratin, and Potato Croquette
2002 DeLille Cellars Meritage Red, 'D2'

Unfortunately this was another disappointing wagyu dish. The chef said this would melt in our mouths (and I've had wagyu melt in my mouth before), but it did no such thing. In fact, I wouldn't say it was any better or significantly more melting than a thinly-sliced piece of prime steak at a good steakhouse. The garlic-leek marmalade was a little strong for the beef, the croquette had no taste, and the chard was unpleasantly overly bitter (tasting almost burnt).

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A Selection of Northwest Cheeses
With Tart Cherry Tricorn

Three cheeses were brought out: Cougar Gold (for Washington State alums), a Point Reyes blue, and another cheese for which I didn't remember the name. At this point I wished for the standard observance of our waiter's explaining each dish as it was brought out, since it was almost three hours since the chef explained what the cheeses of the night were. The tart was fine but not special, and I liked the blue and the unnamed cheese.

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Udder Delights
Rhubarb Cobbler with Lavender Ginger Ice Cream
Lemon Geranium Yogurt Ice Cream Cone
Chocolate Jasmine Pot de Creme

The dessert dish was mixed -- I loved the lemon geranium flavor in the ice cream cone but wished that the texture was not so rough and icy. The lavender ginger ice cream was good but the rhubarb cobbler was a bit watery. The pot de creme was nice but nothing to write home about.

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Brewed Coffees, Teas & Infusions

We were given a separate menu of "Coffees, Teas, Tisanes, Infusions" with many choices. Since I was at the tail end of a cold, I had the Sniffle Tea which was quite good, but I'm easy to please when it comes to tea. Some of my tablemates were in raptures about the Wedding Tea, and the Smart Tea came with some puzzles to figure out.

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A Selection of Small Treats
Vintage 1916 Barbeito Malazia Madeira

Sadly I ate the treats -- 4 small pieces of chocolate or candy per person -- before I remembered to take a picture. The madeira was very light and smooth, but we each only had about a large thimbleful and so it was hard to judge.

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Multigrain Rolls & Rosemary Sourdough Loaves * Chive-Chervil Butter

I have to say, I *loved* the herb butter!! It was probably my favorite part of the meal, and I ended up eating significantly more bread than I usually do to get the butter.

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The restaurant's web site mentions that each dinner is comprised of nine courses, but as you can see from our menu, that's a bit of a stretch -- I consider the shiso ice to be a palate-cleanser, and when does post-dinner candy count as a course? Most restaurants would even serve the "Tastes of Spring" as amuse-bouches, so one can make a strong case that we only received six courses. And I was expecting that in a beef tasting menu, more than two courses would contain beef (though my boyfriend did say this was mentioned when he made the reservation). Oh well, I guess they need to hype the marketing up.

Service was excellent. Whenever one of us would leave to go to the restroom, our napkin would be nicely replaced, as below, and they were quite good at refilling our bread and water. The only minor complaint I had was near the end, when I finished my tea early (I'm more of a tea chugger than a sipper). I wanted more hot water for my tea, but the waiters magically disappeared then and I was not able to flag one down for the rest of the evening.

I had read that the Herbfarm would have an almost theatrical show at the end where they opened the velvet curtain separating the kitchen from the dining room and introduced the chefs. However, this did not occur (perhaps since the owners were not present that evening) and the curtain was open for almost the whole dinner.

Overall, I felt that the atmosphere was very beautiful and elegant, making the Herbfarm a wonderful choice for a romantic night out. The food was fine but not that special (it's not really worth the money), and the merchandising was a little tacky, but the mood created was so pleasant and warm that it made the food seem much better than it was. I wouldn't go to the Herbfarm soon, but I'd be willing to go again (in the summer when it's lighter and warmer outside) for the great camaraderie and lovely atmosphere.

The Herbfarm
14590 N.E. 145th Street
Woodinville, WA 98072
425.485.5300
http://www.theherbfarm.com