dumpling
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Posts posted by dumpling
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Has anyone been there?
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Appetizers: An array of dim sum including pai gwot(steamed spare ribs), soup dumplings, and yu chi gao(shark's fin dumplings)(It's a chinese cafeteria, Elyse)
Entree: 3 lb Steamed Lobster with drawn butter and
Dungeness Crab with ginger and scallion(I eat a lot)
Side: garlic wasabi mashed potatoes
Dessert: Macedonia that the cafeteria just happened to have shipped in from restaurant G. Ranieri in Rome(the cafeteria supervisor's brother-in-law works there and sends it to him periodically).
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China 46 serves excellent Peking Duck. As does Beijing Duck House in Bergenfield.
Note: Topic Merge to encompass all of NJ's Peking Duck offerings.
Beijing Duck House in Bergenfield just got written up in the Bergen Record Go section this past Friday-got 2 and a half stars I think. Good review.
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Rachel- I could help with the kids games thing. need to check a couple of things and will let you know in a couple of days.
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How long does it actually take and is it worth it?
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We went to Les Halles(Park Avenue South) Sunday night. Given the trek in from Jersey, I was hoping that it would live up to its billing. The first thing we noticed as we approached was the French feel of the building on the outside. As you enter, there is a boucherie on the right with a nice display of meats for sale. To your right is the hostess' station and the hostess who is French. The restaurant itself is set like a classic brasserie. There is a big wooden bar with an array of wines and liquors, small tables set against the walls and a few bigger tables in the center. The lighting was dim, bordering on the pitch black. I heard the captain telling another table that it was "romantic" and I suppose it might be if you were actually able to find your lover through the darkness. Of course you would not not be able to find him by calling for him, as he would not be able to hear you over the incessant beat of whatever music that was playing. My friend commented that it reminded him of Satuday Night Fever and a guy with his chest showing wearing chains. My friend's wife jokingly asked for a flashlight in order to be able to read the menu. At a certain point, however, our eyes and ears did adjust.
One of the things I've always enjoyed about France is their baguettes. It is difficult to find comparable here. Just before I would leave on the plane, the last thing I would usually do was get a baguette, a last vestige of France to take with me. Zagat's describes LH as "Almost Paris" and the bread does not disappoint. It is very close; even the butter is like the President butter which is all over the country. In addition to the baguette, other bread with a country taste was also served.
Our captain addressed us in a relaxed, almost laconic, and easy manner. He ran the specials and we(5) ordered things he recommended-the hanger steak, rib eye, steak au poivre and the duck special. First, however, we started with escargots and foie gras with prunes. The escargots were plump and nice, although the sauce was rather bland. The general consensus with the foie gras was that it was overpowered by its sauce. The sauce was very much appreciated for dipping for the bread. When the entrees arrived, the steaks which had been ordered medium rare were served too rare and had to be sent back. My steak au poivre which I had ordered medium was cooked just right although the pepper was a little too much. When the other steaks returned they were done exactly right and were quite good. All the steaks were accompanied by a little salad and frites. The frites are definitely the specialty of the restaurant and are excellent, crispy on the outside, soft and hot inside, very nicely done. For $17.50, you can get a rump steak, the frites and salad. The fifth meal was enjoyed by our youngest compatriot. Josh, the 14 year old, was enamored of his duck special, roast duck breast pieces served medium rare over spinach and mashed potatoes with a delicious accompanying sauce. He saved one piece of duck until after he ate everything else, so that the duck would be the last thing in his mouth. At least until the dessert.
We shared creme brulee, profiteroles and the warm bananna and chocolate tart, my favorite being the creme brulee. With the coffee came a little square of something that tasted like a brownie.
The service throughout the meal was good. Water was assiduously refilled, our bread was replaced and the captain checked on us a couple of times to make sure everything was okay. I did not find it too crowded but it was a Sunday night which the hostess said is an easier night. It was however, full by the time we left, although not overly so. I had to change the reservation twice but the restaurant had no problem with that, again probably because it was Sunday.
If you can chalk up the lighting and the din to the rollicking charm of the place, the experience as my friend noted was quite "lovely", a nice time with solid classic brasserie food.
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Matlaw's Stuffed Clams(Hey i like these things)
London broil in a horseradish roasted garlic crust
Garlic Mashed potatoes
Buttered shoepeg corn
Warm bannana and chocolate tart
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Peking Duck House in Closter has good duck-just get the duck don't get the three course thing cause the soup is not that great.
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But you guys haven't actually checked out my breasts...
Little rub, little heat and there you are...
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Went over to friends' house, and brought some brie, petits basques, and truffle mousse. My friends provided some delicious crisp grapes. We then had a delicious grilled London broil with beautiful even redness, accompanied by some fresh sweet corn. For dessert we had a tart tatin I made. I was disappointed with the tarte tatin. When I made it last it came out beautifully but I used apples. This time I used pears. The puff pastry really did not become flakey the second time although it had been beautiful the first. I think the pears may have had more water content than the apples. I think it didn't puff beause the toppping was too liquidy. Thoughts?
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Varmint, if you like after the lunch at Sweet N Tart, we can take you up to Arthur Avenue and do a cannoli hunt. I used to go to school at Fordham and lived in an apartment near there for a short time.
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Oh wow I suddenly had a strange craving for mullet. Oh sorry I was just looking at the back of Tommy's head.
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When I was a kid I used to have this periodic and strange craving for cocktail party rye bread. We'd buy it at the store and then by that night, I would have eaten the whole loaf(well, they were small little slices!).
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Hey Tommy, you look cute from the back. Where's the frontal shot?
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Chad's right. I post every time I cook, although I am not always the one cooking. I think the amalgamated dinners-the leftovers, the Kraft Macaroni and cheese, the Uncle Ben's-all that is pretty interesting too. I mean let's face it; food isn't about how fancy it is or how gourmet we get. It's about taste and fun and enjoying ourselves. Sometimes the simplest meals are the best. I love setting a beautiful plate but I enjoy just as much the comfort foods I had when I was a kid. And there are days when everyone feels like vegging and not doing much of anything-"give me a sandwich" days. We all eat/cook things that we wouldn't necessarily confess to because it doesn't fit some ideal we think exists. Who cares? If you like it, eat it and tell us about it and maybe we'll be converted too. If you make it and it's horrible tell us so we can avoid it. It's all an adventure anyway.
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It's a PIE day! (Hey Elyse!
):Pizza with artichoke provencal sauce, feta, black pearl olives, baby Bellas, carmelized onions and scallions.
Tarte Tatin-first attempt, not bad, very cool looking.
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It sounds funny to say but it was actually college and bologna that started me on my adventures with food. Before that for the most part all I had were the "healthy"(translation: no taste) meals of my parents. In college I went to the student deli and discovered their bologna hero. This thing was a behemoth! As long as a city block and the width of a sturdy man's arm. And the height! They must have, without exaggeration, sliced half a bologna to put on the one hero. It was Boar's Head, it was spring and I was in love. I realized that in buying this hero I was violating every one of my parent's rules to healthy eating-it had additives, salt, fat, no nutritional value, etc. That made it all the more exciting. It was through the transformative nature of that bologna that I began to realize the vastness of the culinary universe of the world, and my passionate dance with food had begun.
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Ondine from Australia - cool! Welcome.
There are some dinners I wish I had figured the digital camera on to the computer thing. Tonight was one.
Peking Pork Chops served surrounding a pineapple full of yellow rice, sweet sausage (I didn't have roast pork), shrimp, pigeon peas, scallions and avocado.
Buttered brussels sprouts and haricots verts.
Pineapple Orgasm(name is egullet user's suggestion because I didn't know what to call it):
In individual souffle dishes, buttered and sugared, pignoli nuts then pineapple. Then poured on top, a mix of Beaten eggs, sugar, almond paste. Cooked about eighteen minutes and then turned out and plated with fresh mint and confectioners' sugar. Topped with a triangle of grilled pineapple dusted with cinnamon.
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One thing to be aware of - the barbecued meat is cooked at your table only if you get at least two orders of meat. Otherwise it is cooked in the kitchen and brought to you. The cooking at the table is a neat facet of the meal. A guy will actually come out with the hot coals in a container walk up to your table and stick it in the space in the middle of the table which they will then put a rack over. It is quite hot as it passes you, believe me. They then will cook the meat for you and you can stir it and play with it if you wish.
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I ate at Han Il Kwan on Lemoine Avenue in fort Lee last night with alanz and his family. It's open late as I recall at least to 1:00 a.m. I've eaten there before with starving martial arts students so needless to say the restaurant can set a reasonable size plate. Its specialty is the Korean barbecue, but they also serve sushi and a good mixture of other Korean dishes. They have a separate sushi bar area and a main dining area.
Their assembled complimentary appetizers are good and plentiful-there was kimchi, greens, cabbage, radishes-sweet and hot, a steamed egg custard dish, spicy pancakes and a raft of other little things. One of their better complimentary appetizers was smoked mackerel. Two thin bony whole fish, very nice flavor. For those unfamiliar with this type of restaurant, you are given somewhere between 10 and a million little appetizer plates that can completely fill your table as part of the meal. Be conscious of this fact when ordering. Even when I've gone in there myself I think I still received at least ten dishes.
We started off with broiled eel and a noodle dish served like a soup in a cold broth. The eel was a big hit particularly with the kids and lauren, Mrs. alanz. Even I who am not a big eel person liked it. It came served on a hot platter over onions. The sauce on it was slightly sweet and the eel itself was incredibly soft and delicate. The noodles were a complete departure in flavor and texture. Buckwheat noodles that were something like Chinese bean thread noodles, a little beef and half an egg. The broth was mixed with mustard by the waitress to give it a bit of a kick. Interesting taste and good just not sure I would rush out to order it.
Next we had a BI Bam Bab-rice, meat and vegetables mixed together served in a hot stone dish. Good complement to the barbecued meat, we ordered the rice not spicy to balance off the other spicier dishes.
For our barbecued meat we had two orders of Gal Bi(beef short ribs) and an order of the spicy pork. With the meat you are given lettuce , some sliced spicy scallions, hot bean paste and garlic. You mix everything together inside the lettuce leaf, fold it up and you're all set. The Gal bi was delicious; that and the eel were the hits of the meal. The spicy pork was also good. I personally prefer the Gal Bi over the Bulgoki here because it's thicker; the Bulgoki tends to be very thin something like a minute steak if you've ever had those. It's tasty, just not the texture of the thicker meat.
We asked for some bowls of white rice on the side during the meal and we finished the dinner off with ice cream and rice punch. The rice and the desserts were included as part of the meal.
All in all, a very sucessful meal and a place well worth visiting.
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Don't listen to tommy. He's all talk and no action.
as opposed to me, all action, no talk.
Oh baby, Oh baby,Oh...
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There were, for example, these fried wonton skins stuffed with cream cheese and and referred to as "Rangoons." What's up with that? I can't believe they eat anything like that in Burma. Or Myanmar.
Just about every buffet here in Houston has these things. I have never heard of them referred to as "Rangoons" but maybe it is just that I am not paying attention. I have often thought that the cream cheese won-ton thing was weird. Like you, I wonder... What's up with that? Cream cheese??? I like them with hot mustard and soy.
For the New Jersey crew- they have these at the Shanghai restaurant in River Edge-this was their "on the house" thing if you bought over I think 25 dollars worth of food. Weird thing yes but I rather liked them but Shanghai made them good. I've seen them elsewhere and they've been horrific.
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Tom Kha Gai(Coconut Ginger Soup with chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, basil, and cilantro).
Pad Thai with lots of shrimp
Steamed spareribs with scallions, garlic, ginger, soy and chicken broth and some hot oil and sesame oil.
Chicken with carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, basil, cilantro, scallions, garlic and ginger with chicken broth based sauce
Lemon Meringue PIE
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I volunteer to chaperone Mrs. Varmint. Even though I am Chinese(at least half of me is), I can understand a certain caution over strange foods. I mean there are certain things I will not eat. My favorite enticing menu item out of a Chinese restaurant was "Boiled Intestine and Things". Somehow, I was never motivated to find out what the "things" were.
Have you been to Chinatown before, Varmint?
If you'd like, I'll keep a count of who we've got coming and do the organizing thing.
Coolest Experience Ever @ C-46
in New Jersey: Dining
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Steven - that's so cool!
You have discovered the secret! This is why I like to make friends with waiters. It isn't because I'm a friendly human being; I'm really a snotty s.o.b. It's just that I want their food.
Herb's post really is the case. I've found that, generally, the stuff the staff eats in a Chinese restaurant is infinitely more interesting than stuff on the regular "American" menu. I've had some incredibly delicious homestyle stuff at different places. There is less of a concentration on meat(similar to the way it actually is in China) but again it depends on what's available.
I've eaten amazing stuff including the going away party for one of the kitchen staff which was pretty cool and a New year's banquet.
If you are friendly, are a frequent guest, try to speak some Chinese, act semi knowledgable about Chinese food, and compliment the staff's food, you may be invited into the secret brotherhood of the Chinese restaurant.
By the way jiao zi are available in many places in Chinatown. They really should be served more here in NJ. Here it's just generally guo tie, the regular fried dumplings with the thick dough of which most people are aware. You can buy bags of frozen jiao zi from the Chinese store in River Edge(albeit not as good as eating it from and with the restaurant staff).
When I start my dumpling place, jiao zi will be up there on the board to order.