Dinner 2016 (Part 4)

[robirdstx]

 

Chicken Quesadillas!

[liuzhou]

Five years ago, I visited the nearby provincial capital, Nanning and had an interesting meal in a restaurant called Ubud. I reviewed very it favourably here.

 

So when I heard of an identically named restaurant here in town, I had to check it out. The menu contains similar dishes but there the similarity ends. I suspect they have just copied the name and some of the menu - either that or their standards have slipped dramatically.

 

My partner and I had:

 

 

This was described on the menu in both Chinese and English as "Avocado Salad Vegetables". There may have been an avocado in the neighbourhood sometime, but there was certainly none in the salad. It was 90% lettuce and cabbage decorated with a few bits of chopped carrot and halved cherry tomatoes. All dressed with Kewpie mayonnaise. In desperate need of seasoning. I'm sure there wasn't a grain of salt in there.

Then:

 

 

"Chicken Curry with Coconut". Vaguely Thai. Vaguely SE Asian. Vaguely chicken. It was 98% sweet curried potato. Garnished with a few scraps of chicken. Total rip-off dish.

Their menu states that the images provided are "for reference only". Unfortunately, they refer to totally different dishes! This wasn't even the same colour as the "reference".

And bizarrely, it came with two slices of stale bread spread with  - well I hate to think what it was spread with. Certainly nothing that had ever met a cow or even a field. Industrial effluent.

Then:

 

"Spicy Seafood". Two shrimp. Some crab legs and a lot of lotus root, wood ear mushrooms and unidentifiable vegetation. It wasn't bad. Could have been a lot better.

 

 

This was the best dish I ate in the original place in 2011. "Beef with Mango". Unfortunately, whoever cooked this had only ever seen pictures of the original. The original was spicy and sweet and sour in perfect balance. This was like mango jam. Nothing sour and again totally unseasoned. A great disappointment.

 

Finally, "Steamed Scallops with Garlic"

 

 

Actually, not very garlicky. Steamed scallops with vermicelli would be closer. But they were fine. Yet, I could have bought them round the corner for half the price.

Despite the disappointment with the food, I had lovely evening with lovely company. It was a birthday celebration or as the local cake shop has it "Brithday"

 

 

Despite my notorious aversion to all things sweet, this was actually the best thing I ate all evening. The cake was moist and chocolately and the fruit on top was fresh.

Happy Brithday!

Edited May 21, 2016 by liuzhou
typos (log)

[Anna N]

16 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Five years ago, I visited the nearby provincial capital, Nanning and had an interesting meal in a restaurant called Ubud. I reviewed very it favourably here.

 

So when I heard of an identically named restaurant here in town, I had to check it out. The menu contains similar dishes but there the similarity ends. I suspect they have just copied the name and some of the menu - either that or their standards have slipped dramatically.

 

My partner and I had:

 

 

This was described on the menu in both Chinese and English as "Avocado Salad Vegetables". There may have been an avocado in the neighbourhood sometime, but there was certainly none in the salad. It was 90% lettuce and cabbage decorated with a few bits of chopped carrot and halved cherry tomatoes. All dressed with Kewpie mayonnaise. In desperate need of seasoning. I'm sure there wasn't a grain of salt in there.

Then:

 

 

"Chicken Curry with Coconut". Vaguely Thai. Vaguely SE Asian. Vaguely chicken. It was 98% sweet curried potato. Garnished with a few scraps of chicken. Total rip-off dish.

Their menu states that the images provided are "for reference only". Unfortunately, they refer to totally different dishes! This wasn't even teh same colour as the "reference".

And bizarrely, it came with two slices of stale bread spread with  - well I hate to think what it was spread with. Certainly nothing that had ever met a cow or even a field. Industrial effluent.

Then:

 

"Spicy Seafood". Two shrimp. Some crab legs and a lot of lotus root, wood ear mushrooms and unidentifiable vegetation. It wasn't bad. Could have been a lot better.

 

 

This was the best dish I ate in the original place in 2011. "Beef with Mango". Unfortunately, whoever cooked this had only ever seen pictures of the original. The original was spicy and sweet and sour in perfect balance. This was like mango jam. Nothing sour and again totally unseasoned. A great disappointment.

 

Finally, "Steamed Scallops with Garlic"

 

 

Actually, not very garlicky. Steamed scallops with vermicelli would be closer. But they were fine. Yet, I could have bought them round the corner for half the price.

Despite the disappointment with the food, I had lovely evening with lovely company. It was a birthday celebration or as the local cake shop has it "Brithday"

 

 

Despite my notorious aversion to all things sweet, this was actually the best thing I ate all evening. THe cake was moist and chocolately and the fruit on top was fresh.

Happy Brithday!

"Despite the disappointment with the food, I had lovely evening with lovely company."  And that says it all. 

[ninagluck]

who knows tarhana? I did not! I do have this dear friend from Turkey, who loves to bring me things he thinks  I don't know. However, I turned this into a risotto like dish with braised beef. I will try to do it this summer by myself, its so good!

[Anna N]

@ninagluck

 

 What an interesting ingredient.   It is certainly new to me.  

[BonVivant]

On 17/05/2016 at 0:30 AM, Okanagancook said:

Crunchy, fatty, porkie bits nestled in little pillows!....

 

Thank you, OC! Give it a go someday. Look up "Gua Bao".

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

Simple dinner today: Uruguayan tenderloin. Mostly just slicing, shaving, and assembling.

 

Sharp mustard cress provides a taste contrast

 

First 4 chive flowers from the garden

 

Left out egg yolk on purpose

[sartoric]

Sumac dusted lamb cutlets with a caper sauce, spicy potato & pumpkin mash, plus sautéed garlic spinach.

Love gnawing those bones !

 

[huiray]

Patagonian toothfish ("Chilean Sea Bass") steamed Cantonese-style.

A 1.5 lb fillet cut into two (the other half kept), the half-piece split into two and the larger piece slit in the middle. Dressed w/ ginger, scallions, rice bran oil, salt; then simply steamed till just done (It takes just a few scant minutes). The fish pieces were retrieved (all other solids & liquids discarded), plated, dressed w/ fresh scallions & ginger & a sauce of hot rice bran oil quenched w/ a mixture of (double-fermented soy sauce, water, rock sugar, ground white pepper, good Shaohsing wine) poured over.

 

Stir-fried lettuces w/ garlic and quenched w/ a sauce.

Green romaine [Silverthorn Farm], red romaine & green leaf [both Van Antwerp Farm], hot oil, garlic; quench w/ a mixture of (oyster sauce, hon-mirin, sesame oil, dash of fish sauce, water).

 

Eaten with several bowls of white rice.

 

On the way there:

 

Fish almost all gone...

 

And afterwards, fresh longans.

No, I didn't eat all of them. :-) 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by huiray (log)

[liuzhou]

15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

So when I heard of an identically named restaurant here in town, I had to check it out. The menu contains similar dishes but there the similarity ends. I suspect they have just copied the name and some of the menu - either that or their standards have slipped dramatically.

 

Sadly, I have learned that it is the same company. They have expanded their business from one restaurant to eight and apparently thrown all standards out the window. Shame.

Edited May 21, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[shain]

Two Indian style curries, over basmati rice with nigella seeds and yogurt.

The first one in peas and courgette in tomato sauce with carrot, onion, many spices with notable anise & fennel note.

Second is cauliflower and chickpeas with browned onion. Again, many spices, but notable fenugreek, turmeric and cumin note.

 

[mm84321]

^{Quite a mushroom..}

 

[Anna N]

 

 For various reasons it has been many days since I had what I consider a normal (for me) evening meal.  This addressed the problem!  Duck breast, sautéed tomatoes and snap peas and a piece of bread used to wipe out the pan in which the tomatoes and peas cooked.  

[Ann_T]

Thursday's dinner.

 

New York Strips with Green Peppercorn sauce.

 

and for dessert,

 

 

Rhubarb Pie.

[liuzhou]

Tonight, a simple but satisfactory dinner of pork and beef meatballs in ragu with spaghetti.

 

[huiray]

4 hours ago, mm84321 said:

^{Quite a mushroom..}

 

 

Curious about its provenance...?  Oregon, Italy, elsewhere?

 

For those who are interested: Oregon spring boletes are acknowledged nowadays as a separate species, Boletus rex-veris.  The traditionally-thought-of porcini mushrooms are Boletus edulis.

[mm84321]

1 hour ago, huiray said:

 

Curious about its provenance...?  Oregon, Italy, elsewhere?

 

For those who are interested: Oregon spring boletes are acknowledged nowadays as a separate species, Boletus rex-veris.  The traditionally-thought-of porcini mushrooms are Boletus edulis.

Yes, Oregon.

[sartoric]

Pork satays with peanut sauce. Served with rice, stir fried bok choy and pineapple salsa.

 

[Norm Matthews]

We had sesame chicken this evening.

[Anna N]

 

Easy to make, easy to eat and easy on the pocket book. Onion, cabbage and bacon sauté. 

[mm84321]

Lobster with cepes

 

[huiray]

Last night:

Chicken wings w/ Caribbean Jerk dressing; from Keystone Sports Review (go to page 4), w/ the celery & carrots plus the very good in-house blue cheese "sauce" they make.  Plus fried rice – from 2-day-old rice, a Black Silkie chicken egg, scallions, julienned ginger.

[HungryChris]

Steamed snow crab is becoming a favorite. The recent "buy 4 pounds and get a dollar a pound off" at Stop & Shop is a curse and a blessing, depending on how you look at it. I think it was the latter, last night.

HC

 

[zend]

Freezer party: Mussels in thai red curry sauce

[liuzhou]

Here is tonight's starter.

 

Fresh (live*) shrimp stir fried with sea salt, Sichuan pepper, lime zest and chili flakes. Served with more lime.

 

 

The main course was pork with fermented black beans which I have posted here at least once before, so won't bore you with again. Not that it wasn't good!

*I had an amusing few minutes scrabbling around the kitchen trying to retrieve the more energetic shrimp which sensibly jumped out the wok the second they felt the heat!

Edited May 22, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[zend]

I've had an amusing minute looking for those chili flakes, Ambassador