Chinese Restaurant in the ID

[Blue Heron]

LainerX and I had lunch at Takohachi yesterday, and the saba shioyaki is to die for.  It comes with your choice of steamed rice, curry rice, or fried rice.  My husband recently couldn't stop talking about the fried rice, which I never usually order, so I got it.  OH MY GOD.  It's better than any fried rice I've ever had, mostly due to the very generous amount of BACON.  And the mackerel was stunning.

We had a lot of fun reading the little posters on the wall that have descriptions of some of the dishes on their menu.  Our favorite quote was "You can make your own hotness," which we thought might be a good headline for the cover of Cosmo or Maxim.   

←

Thank you for the recommendation Kathy. We went for lunch at Takohachi a few days ago and my husband and I agree, it is probably the best fried rice we have ever eaten! I took your rec and ordered the mackerel, which was very tasty. I don't think I'd ever had it before except as sushi. This was a rather large beautiful piece of fish that I shared with my husband, as a little mackerel goes a long way with me. I took a photo and will post it soon. I found the service a bit slow, but I think they were understaffed the day I was there, 1 waitress with all tables full (note, the place is small, though).

[laurel]

Joe likes to go to the Ocean City noodle shop (ie. not the main restaurant), which he calls "Duck Chop", because that's where they chop the BBQ duck. We always get some form of the noodle soup with roast duck.

[white lotus]

Joe likes to go to the Ocean City noodle shop (ie. not the main restaurant), which he calls "Duck Chop", because that's where they chop the BBQ duck.  We always get some form of the noodle soup with roast duck.

←

Good for Joe. I am glad that someone else goes there too. I usually end up going there after 9:00 in the evening on my way back to Tacoma and I just want something simple, quick & inexpensive. There is a woman who cooks with all white hair who I really like. Somehow she seem to get the food/noodles/congee the way I like it. I probably wouldn't go there as much if she was not cooking. Sometimes they have dim sum leftover from the nicer restaurant. If they have any of my dim sum favorites, I just have them warmed it up for my late night meal. WL

[Susansea2003]

We both had Congee--didn't try the noodles like Susansea, and maybe we should have. The Congee was lukewarm, very bland, not much of the featured meats and goodies. The BBQ comes from the place next door (actually connected) but I didn't catch the name.

Now I want to try Takehachi....

←

[tamiam]

Thanks to egullet pnw I am now officially turned on to Seven Star Pepper. The food is great (no extra grease, excellent and distinct flavors, veggies cooked, yet still crunchy just how I like), the staff is friendly. Those hand shave noodles are very fun. I've only been there twice this week....

[vinelady]

I just tried a newer restaurant in the ID. Vegetasia (5th and King in the old Top Gun). While it is vegetarian, it is definately traditional authentic cantonese. We had the fried bean curd sheets with vegetables, the seaweed deep fried rolls and the Crispy Taro Roll. All that I can saw is Wow. Each dish was great, however if I had to choose one dish it would be the fried bean curd sheets. I had never had a dish using the bean curd sheets in fried form. They picked up the sauce while still being crispy. I am going again tomorrow with one of my co-workers.

[white lotus]

Many thanks Vinelady about the heads up for "Vegetasia". I love good vegetarian when I can find it. I am hoping to try it on my next venture to the ID.

On a different note, I had dinner at "Takohachi" last Saturday. It has been a couple of years since I ate there last with my late Japanese dad. Our last experience there had been a good one. They do a good job for what they charge. They have a great menu. That said, I was not expecting much on this visit and it was a good thing. Perhaps it was an off night but I hate it when they give you bad service when you dine alone. The place was not busy as it was just after 5:30 when they opened. They could have been nicer. I am trying to overcome my inclination to bolt out of Asian restaurants for no good reason other than"bad vibes" so I stayed. I got the miso ramen and fried rice combo. I had been looking forward to trying the fried rice again after reading the posts on this thread. The rice was good except that onions were (temperature) hot but not cooked. The sharp raw onion overpowered the rest of the dish. I love onions but this gave me indigestion afterwards. I didn't feel that it was a good idea to complain or send back the dish as they didn't really seem to care if I was there or not. The miso ramen was just okay. Even though I have complaints about this place, I would probably go back again but probably a friend.

One of my current Japanese favorites in ID are: Fort St. George (accross the street from the old Uwajimay site, on the 2nd floor) 601 King St. Ste. 202, (206)382- 0662, for Japanese spagetti, Japanese dorias (rice gratins) and their hamberger steak and funny colored soft drinks with ice cream and whip cream.

The other favorite is Fuji Sushi, 520 Main St. 98104 (206) 624-1201. A little more expensive than Takohachi but still a good value for the money. I may have posted this before but excuse the repeate info. This restaurant was a particular favorite of my dad's and other Japanese ex-pat's. This is the restaurant that the Seattle Go (board game) center takes visiting Japanese professional "Go" players to.

By the way, I recently had dinner at "I Love Sushi" in Bellevue for the first time and did love it. I am aware that this is topic for restaurants in the ID. I didn't have any of the sushi but had the tempura, many of the fabulous tofu dishes and the fried banana-strawberry spring roll (with fruit/ice cream/chocolate sauce et al) dessert. I would drive to Bellevue for this place. Most likely based on this last wonderful experience of great service and food I was sorely dissapointed with Takohachi. Sincerely, WL

(edited for lots of typos and errors) wl

Edited January 11, 2005 by white lotus (log)

[little ms foodie]

There use to be an "I love Sushi" on eastlake, is it still there??

[laurel]

Each dish was great, however if I had to choose one dish it would be the fried bean curd sheets.  I had never had a dish using the bean curd sheets in fried form.  They picked up the sauce while still being crispy.  I am going again tomorrow with one of my co-workers.

←

If you like bean curd sheet, Teapot on Capitol Hill uses them a lot. There's a fried seaweed/beancurd sheet thing that sounds similar to what you describe. It's called Treasure of the Sea or something like that...

[rockdoggydog]

There use to be an "I love Sushi" on eastlake, is it still there??

←

Yup, haven't been there in almost a year and half though, they had complete turnover in their sushi chefs all of a sudden and I just stopped going.

Rocky

[vinelady]

If you like bean curd sheet, Teapot on Capitol Hill uses them a lot.  There's a fried seaweed/beancurd sheet thing that sounds similar to what you describe.  It's called Treasure of the Sea or something like that...

←

I have been to teapot many times and this place is really so much better. Teapot tends to be more americanized than I like.

Edited January 11, 2005 by vinelady (log)

[little ms foodie]

Just back from Dim Sum at the China Gate. Yum! I thought it was great. And the price was sooooooo cheap!!

Can't recall everything we had but I am chalking it up to research for Char Siu Bao that I'm attempting to make this weekend.

eGullet Cook Off

Edited January 21, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[Blue Heron]

... We went for lunch at Takohachi a few days ago and my husband and I agree, it is probably the best fried rice we have ever eaten! I took your rec and ordered the mackerel, which was very tasty.  I don't think I'd ever had it before except as sushi.  This was a rather large beautiful piece of fish that I shared with my husband, as a little mackerel goes a long way with me.  I took a photo and will post it soon.  I found the service a bit slow, but I think they were understaffed the day I was there, 1 waitress with all tables full (note, the place is small, though).

←

This is my long overdue photo of our lunch at Takohachi.. from top down, miso soup, mackerel w/ pureed daikon on side. Bowl of bacon fried rice, (forget what the tiny bowl is), steamed rice topped w/housemade furikame (that came with hub's lunch), salad w/ 2 croquettes and bowl of udon (more of hub's lunch). Quite tasty, all of it.

[

[SeaGal]

Wow, that looks like a nice chunk of saba! And they didn't skimp on the daikon, either. I'm going to have to get down there soon....Thanks for the great picture BH.

Jan

[BradS]

I visited Seven Stars Pepper recently, first time in a while, so I thought I would report. It was my fifth visit, spread out over the several years since it's opened. It's probably a good sign that, in a group of five people, two Chinese, this was the place we were able to agree on. (I'm not Chinese.)

I can't remember the name of every dish we ordered, but I will try. We ordered fairly randomly, trying what to me were all new things. The real standout was the deep fried chicken, Szechuan style. I was the one who insisted on trying this and I was actually very confused. I thought maybe they would deep fry a whole chicken, the way they deep fry a whole crab (we had that the first time and as everyone says it's awesome, especially the crispy edible pieces that form at the thin pieces near the joints). But no, this was little chicken pieces deep-fried in breading. Fortunately, the breading was fantastic. Also, it came with green beans that had been stir-fried with some hot peppers. Really really good chicken nuggets, I guess. Very addictive.

Nothing else was quite so memorable, but nothing was bad (well the sweet-and-sour chicken was boring except for the mild shock of the accompanying raw onion, but we only ordered it because we had a suspected spiceophobe in the group). Baby bok choy and garlic was nice, the vegetable flavor pretty intense, cooked in a nice broth. The crispy noodles wasn't that exciting. Neither was the twice-cooked beef. (All this was ordered in Chinese, so I have no idea if the noodles were hand-shaved, if that's even an option. But quite likely not.) I do love how when you order things here, you get so much more than you expected. It's true that you get crispy noodles, but you also get all this unannounced stuff on top of them, like mushrooms and onions and chicken (if I'm remembering right) and whatever else. The beef also came with all kinds of vegetables. It's one of those menus where you really have to order everything to figure out what you like.

Scallion pancake was good, but not outstanding. The fortune cookie contained a flattering message. OK! I think that's plenty long enough. Definitely don't skip the deep fried chicken, Szechuan style, next time you go.

BradS

[Abra]

And don't skip the Dan Dan noodles, which are hand-shaved. I could eat that every day of my life.

[kiliki]

We took a group of 6 friends to Seven Stars the other night-none had ever been-and everyone was blown away. They loved every single dish we ordered, esp. our favorite, the Szechuan crab. Brad, I too like to randomly order dishes there-my latest delicious discovery is the hot pepper shredded potatoes.

I'm going to NYC later this week and have planned a meal at a highly recommended Szechuan place (Grand Sichuan International). I've never made it a point to seek out Szechuan food when I travel so I'm interested to see how it compares to my Seattle favorite.

[little ms foodie]

Just saw this list of The Best Chinese Restaurants

[tamiam]

(All this was ordered in Chinese, so I have no idea if the noodles were hand-shaved, if that's even an option. But quite likely not.)

I love Seven Star Pepper. I could eat there every week. That is exactly what I've done the past 3 weeks anyhow. It has never been crowded when I've been there (off-hours admittedly), so I hope they are doing well.

You would know if you had the hand-shaved because instead of being skinny and string-shaped, they are white-ish and about 1/4 inch thick, uneven, and have a wonderful melting texture that is just so very right and perfect for the Dan Dan Noodles!

[MsRamsey]

I went back a couple of weeks to Takohachi when I was in town, and I swear the saba shioyaki and fried rice was one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. If I had to pick a "last meal," that would be it, without hesitation.

[SeaGal]

I went back a couple of weeks to Takohachi when I was in town, and I swear the saba shioyaki and fried rice was one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life.  If I had to pick a "last meal," that would be it, without hesitation.

←

I went recently and I have to agree. The saba shioyaki is probably the best I've ever had. Also, I went for lunch and it was a huge portion of both the saba and the rice and my total was less than 10.00 if I remember correctly. I really love the little pickled cabbage too, but I wanted more of it....greed!!

Jan

[little ms foodie]

I ate at Purple Dot cafe the other day and thought it was fine. I had shanghai noodles with meat- they were a bit addicting. Saw their dim sum carts going by. I was the only caucasion in their which must be a good sign????

[little ms foodie]

daily lunch report- today I tried Tropics on Weller. very tasty thai food! it was packed but they seem to move people through pretty quickly. It will also be a return stop as I would like to try many things on their menu. (obviously not chinese as this thread is titled!)

Edited October 25, 2006 by little ms foodie (log)

[gingerpeach]

little ms foodie, have you tried Phnom Penh on King St.? They have big bowls of seafood noodle soup that are perfect on cold, rainy days. Wish I could get there more often!

[little ms foodie]

little ms foodie, have you tried Phnom Penh on King St.?  They have big bowls of seafood noodle soup that are perfect on cold, rainy days. Wish I could get there more often!

←

no I haven't! where abouts on King is it or what is it near...I'll put it on my list!!