Gastro888
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Posts posted by Gastro888
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Ah-ha! I knew we saved plastic bags for a reason. Funny, the address says 79 Elizabeth Street as well. Huh, interesting. The tendons are GREAT, you must try them. But I think it's quite pricey relative to the price of a whole duck or chicken.
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Ok, so I made a quicky one day trip to NY's CT via the DC/NY CT bus this weekend. (never, ever, ever again will I use a CT bus...)
The store (I forgot its name!) that is on Elizabeth that spans the entire block that sells all sorts of prepared foods is very good for the scallion oil chicken. I remember the duck being good when I had it before from there. The chicken I got yesterday was fantastic for $9 and the beef tendon is DELISH for those who are into tendons. Pricey at $3.50 for the one tendon I got (by weight, mind you) but considering all the labor it takes, eh, better them cook it than me. Anyone get any good duck this weekend?
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Penang on Route One near Mercer Mall.
They do an excellent job with Malaysian cuisine. Very reasonably priced and you can definitely get your grub on.
Oh and PJ's Pancake House on 27 in Princeton proper. Just for GP. =)
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Coffee with milk and sugar, 1/4 of a white lotus past mooncake w/ 2 yolks and a white peach.
Gotta love mooncake season!
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The newest branch of the chain, in Lawrenceville, NJ, does most of the classic Penang dishes quite well, with a much lighter touch than the Philly branch...
My friends and I ate there last month. It was fantastic! My only complaint was they didn't use the proper noodles for the chow kuway taow - they used noodles similar to pho noodles! Otherwise, everything was delicious. The space is small and in an unexpected strip mall near a Home Depot, though...
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Leftover duck? Well, you could take the leftovers and stir-fry them with some soy sauce and scallions the next day. Moisten it a bit with some broth so it's not dried out. It's something my mom does with leftover roast pig, too. Give it a new flavor. I think it's a Toisanese thing, I haven't heard of anyone else doing it.
PS: Pfft to the idea of smelling up public transportation. At least it'd be a nice smell.
Shoot, you think those with BO care that they stink up the place?...
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I ate at Pho Hiep Hoa last week, too!
OK, being a restaurant kid (Ya know, growin' up in a restaurant and all -can I still call myself a kid? Hmm.), I totally understand the pains and roadbumps small, ethnic, family owned-places face when they open. Totally understandable.
But unless I'm mistaken, looking at their menu, their offerings are NOT that complicated. If they had their stuff in one sock they would need only 2 servers at lunch working the room, not 3 and there wouldn't be any lapse in service. It's just pho, com (rice dishes), bun and some apps, drinks and desserts (I think). Not a complicated menu.
But it took forever to flag a server to take my order and then I got flack for asking for a small dish on the side to mix my dipping sauces in. And the server was dour. Ai ya...
So why the crappy service? Who knows? On the day I went, I ordered pho and ca phe su da. I never got my drink AND I got charged for it. It took me 10 minutes to pay my bill and the owner was complaining about her brother's incompetence (my server) to me. "Yeah, he doesn't like to work the front but oh well..."
(Perhaps it's cause I'm Asian - and look Viet - that she felt she could be a bit more familar with me? Sounds strange but sometimes being of the same ethnic group, you DON'T get good service...PM me if you want an explanation)
The pho was very good - clear broth, good flavor and nice green plate to go with it. The problem was the portion was INCREDIBLY SMALL. Holy moly. It was like a kid's pho. OK, maybe it's cause they have to pay alot of rent and for the beautiful decorations but c'mon! Couple extra pieces of meat and noodles wouldn't have hurt.
I'll try again in a month...I hope they shape up, I'd hate to see them not have business.
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Smith & Wollensky on the menu for last night. I'd definitely go there again for RW. We had great service and great food. There was none of that "red-headed stepchild" feeling you get at some restaurants during RW. We weren't rushed (in fact, it took us quite a while to get the bill settled!) and our server was gracious.
I had:
-Blue Point oysters
-Casear salad
-Filet mignon (served w/ wild green and matchstick frites as sides and Béarnaise sauce)
-Cheesecake
My gripe: slim menu selection. I wish there was more to choose from for the apps than just 2 salads and pea soup. The desserts were carrot cake, cheese cake or fresh fruit. It would've been nice to mix it up a bit and have some originality but the filet made up for it...a bit.
The filet was very good & tender - suprising considering you'd expect restaurants to skimp on the quality of the meat during RW. Perhaps we didn't get the center cut filet but whatever cut of filet we got, it was great.
The oysters were good - large and fleshy. Are Blue Points supposed to be more "earthy"? (In a good way!) I like my oysters briney and salty with a crisp finish. Eh, it's just me.
Tomorrow, Ten Penh and Saturday Cafe MoZu.
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OK, went to Galileo for the first time ever for dinner the other day. Note for men: I saw lots of business casual and not many jackets. Perhaps they relaxed the rules during RW?
What we ordered:
Le Capesante
Sautéed Scallops wrapped in Bacon served with a Ragu of Cherry Tomatoes, Pattypan Squash, Chiceri Beans and Asparagus in a White Wine Clam Broth
Linguine Con Molecche
Linguine tossed with Soft Shell Crabs, Marinated Tomatoes and Basil
Il Grosso Rombo
Sautéed Filet of Halibut Dusted with Porcini Mushrooms served with a Ragu of Chiodini Mushrooms, Fresh Peas and Fennel Lobster Sauce
Il Manzo
Tower of Grilled Beef, Grilled Eggplant and Roasted Local Tomato served with Potatoes Dauphin and Beef Jus
Carpaccio di Ananas
Carpaccio of Pineapple with Passion Fruit Dessing and Mango Sorbet
Napoleone di Pesca
Chocolate Mousse Puff Pastry Napoleon served with Peach Salad
I really enjoyed the antipasta and pasta that we had. The scallop was well prepared and cooked exceptionally well. The pasta was very light and reminded me of food I had in Italy.
The fish was great - definitely get that if you go. The sauce was delicious - very intense. The beef was alright, I felt it needed more salt to bring out the flavor of the meat (why are there no salt shakers at upscale restaurants? I know why, but c'mon...) and the chocolate dessert was a tad too sweet while the sobert was a good palate cleanser.
Overall, I wasn't impressed. I had high expectations b/c it's Roberto Donna's restaurant and all that jazz but honestly I was, to use Al Dente's words, just whelmed.
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Montreal is lovely! Atwater Market is a definite must see for foodies. Cheese curds are a new addiction. I didn't have the poutine but I don't know if my body could've handled it!
Had a great cappucino cake at a chain bakery - starts with Au (I know, that's no help at all and making me sound like an idiot) on St. Catherine near Simons. Kum Phung has excellent Cantonese food - definitely try the dim sum. The Jade Garden has great baked goods - egg tarts are a must have. Will definitely go to Montreal again - love it!
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Last night was comfort food served up with a heapin' side of love and affection from my friends. That's better than eating a meal at El Bulli!
Summer salad - mixed greens, sliced baby carrots, sugar snap peas, feta cheese and pine nuts with balsamic dressing
Penne and gnocchi in tomato sauce w/ turkey meatballs and grated parm
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Wow, carswell! Thanks for the tips.
How is the Chinatown in Montreal? Is it big like Toronto's?
Also, where would you go for the best sushi in Montreal?
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For dinner tonight, I'm making:
Tuna poke salad w/ mango pineapple salsa
Greek cucumber-tomato salad
Grilled dry-aged rib eye steak
Sauteed spinach and mushrooms w/ garlic
Rice (eh, the 888 should give the reasoning away...hee hee)
Chocolate foundue w/ strawberries and bananas
I'm debating on the tuna - should I make it poke style or make it more ceviche style. I like the flavors of the poke - soy sauce, sesame oil and a pinch of chile fakes but the ceviche is cool, too. Hmm.
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For me, Lotte Furama is a strange name for a Chinese restaurant. I associate Lotte with the Korean supermarkets - there's a chain of them in the local DC area.
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Wow, thanks for the advice! We'll be staying in McGill U rooms and using the local public transportation as our means of getting around. Are any of these accessible via subway or bus or on foot from McGill?
Lotte Furama looks interesting. What I truly want is classic HK dim sum - gotta bring that real dim sum!
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Hi y'all!
We'll be making a short visit to Montreal at the end of the month and really wanted to try the dim sum in your fair city. Does anyone have any recommendations for an authentic (and of course tasty) dim sum restaurant for a Friday lunch? How is the Chinese food in Montreal - is it mostly Cantonese or are there other regional cuisines as well?
Thanks!
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I guess to be specific: Chinatown, Grey's Papaya, street cart food and bagels.
Oh and good Italian food. Summer street fairs! Can't forget those.
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The fact that any type of cuisine can be found in the city.
It's a mecca for foodies. Seems like you can pretty much find any "authentic" food there.
Love it, love it, love it.
Just need a sugar daddy to live there...LOL!
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Palena was closed for cleaning on Monday. Apparently it's a two-day process that started on Sunday.
Oh, I see. Wow, I wonder who they use as their cleaner? Hmm. Interesting.
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Oh, and if you find out, please let us know.
God, driving all the way from Montgomery County to Palena and finding it closed was sooooo disappointing. And then a crappy meal on top of that...<sighs>
All the way from Montgomery County? Come on, its not that far.
Although I understand the disappointment.Hey, hey, hey - in the rain, it was a hike.
Took me 45 minutes from where I was with all the @#$! traffic and such.
We wouldn't have been as disappointed if we had a "oh-look-a-great-new-discovery-of-a-restaurant" meal instead of the Sorrio's episode.
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Oh, and if you find out, please let us know.
God, driving all the way from Montgomery County to Palena and finding it closed was sooooo disappointing. And then a crappy meal on top of that...<sighs>
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*gasp*
Banh mi!!!! IN WHEATON!!!
Oh wow, I'm on it like white on rice.
Yippppy!
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I knoooooow! I'll never go there again.
There was a sign on the door that said it was closed - no reason given.
<sighs>
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gnatharobed and I planned to dine off the cafe menu tonight at Palena. We looked forward to trying the Monday night menu and comparing dishes together. We both left work, excited to enjoy the food and ready for some great dessert.
BUT IT WAS CLOSED TONIGHT!
Ai ya, I shoulda called before I drove all the way from Montgomery County to NW. We were *so* disappointed! It was a bitter way to end a Monday - no Palena! And we had been planning this for 2 weeks!
No burger, no chicken, no lime tartlet...
<mock sob>
Sidebar: We ended up at Sorrio's across the street. Overall, substandard food. We had the pizza, homemade pasta with wild mushrooms, seafood stew and creme brulee. The pizza with wild mushrooms, spinach and onions was solidly decent - they could've caramelized the onions prior to adding them, used a lighter hand with the cheese and made the crust crisper. The base for the seafood stew lacked the essence of seafood - the broth was mostly tomatoes. I'm waiting for the mussels to kick in - let's see if Bourdain was right about Monday and seafood. The homemade pasta could've been stellar had they actually used wild mushrooms, less herbs, made a sauce and added more pasta. (For $17, the portion shouldn't be something that's as small as my fist. Note: my fist of fury not that big.)
The kicker was the creme brulee. 'Twas more like creme anglaise. Who knew creme brulee could run? Run, creme brulee, run...
Yes we ate it (hey, we don't waste food!), no we didn't complain 'cause it wasn't horribly bad, just not great enough for us to come back.
URGENT! Great Cheap Eats DC?
in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining
Posted
Chinatown Express near 6th and H. You can eat a plate of stir fried hand-pulled noodles with a choice of meat and a platter of dumplings fo under 15 bucks. Pretty decent eats - nowhere near New York's quality but definitely better than the Chinese American "Danny's" food.