Maekawa

[rockdoggydog]

Yeah, but in Taiwan they look at you funny when you say you don't want the bubbles.  Besides when I'm in Taiwan I'm too busy drinking guava juice and grass juice to get bubble teas.

Rocky

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no bubbles? but they're so much fun to spit out the window while driving! just try not to laugh too hard...promotes choking.

yes, i am 16.

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They are fun to spit out the window. But all I really care about is the tea, so no bubbles equals more tea. It's ok Reese, we're all 16 sometimes.

Rocky

[ScorchedPalate]

We could head for Vegas after that in one of those!

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Ooh, when are we going? ROAD TRIP! ;)

Edited April 27, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[laurel]

no bubbles?  but they're so much fun to spit out the window while driving! just try not to laugh too hard...promotes choking.

yes, i am 16.

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Why else would they include a blowgun/straw?

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Once you get tired of blowgunning them at passerby, you can also line up a horizontal row of 6 or 7 of them behind your lips, open your mouth slightly, then smile sweetly at your companion.

Pat

[JasonTrue]

Essentially the same... If you order "shochu" in Japanese at Maekawa, they will ask you if you want Iichiko or Jinro. If you're in a part of the planet where the shochu selection is not tightly controlled by a state liquor board, you might have a wine-list like assortment of choices, including sweet potato-based, various assortment of grain based, and so on.

One of my business meetings on Monday extended into dinner at Maekawa. The person I was meeting was heading back to Portland within an hour or so, so we skipped the shochu. I think he was hoping for ochazuke, but it wasn't on the menu and he wasn't willing to make a special order. I later stopped later at Crave for wine and cheese with a friend of mine.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I should point out that I got one detail wrong: the shochu is Japanese, not Korean, vodka. There is also soju on the menu, which is Korean vodka. However did I get this wrong?

There's an energy and comfort level about Maekawa that I think I didn't really capture. It's hard to imagine ever turning down an invitation to go there.

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corrected typo

Edited April 27, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

[JasonTrue]

A Hong Kong friend of mine who was living in Seattle until a couple years ago had nothing but scorn for Purple Dot. She was really unhappy with the food there.

I only went there once, prior to the "new management" banners. I thought the food was incredibly uninteresting, though the fruit or bubble drink I had was nice enough... I've forgotten what I ordered at the time. I also remember a similarly unwanted amount of grease.

Another importer I know who works in the I.D. was convinced their "new management" sign was just a ploy to re-attract customers who have been disappointed before.

I'm not quite that excited about it.

Fort St. George was nice enough when it opened, back when the building was called "Play Center Yume," but I don't feel that much of a compulsion to go there. I have, on the other hand, hunted down a kabocha gratin or wafuu spaghetti from time to time in Japan.

I'm surprised to see that people like the Purple Dot.  I ate there once, and my food (vegetables and tofu) was a big blob of goo served in a 9" pie pan.  The spring rolls were incredibly greasy.  Maybe I just ordered the wrong things, but did I mention the roaches?

I walked by about a month ago; there was a sign outside about new management. Perhaps things have improved, but I'm scared to go back.

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[rockdoggydog]

I am a sucker for om-rice, japanese curry, croquettes, and chipped beef on rice, there's something about japanese diner food I CRAVE every now and then. Fort St George has been the spot for me so far to take care of that. I also love that the bar doubles as the salad station there.

Rocky

[JasonTrue]

I hadn't realized croquettes and omu-raisu had joined their menu... when it started I think it was mostly doria and wafuu spaghetti. I guess it's worth another look when I feel like I can stand the smoke. I am a bit of Japanese-style croquette fan... I didn't expect to be, because in my exchange student days, "Kroketten und Gemuese" was the buergerliche German restaurant equivalent of the token vegetarian "steamed veggie plate", and usually only a short step above canned peas and frozen tater tots. The Japanese version, on the other hand, I took to immediately.

On the other hand, I can pull off an omu-raisu and a decent range of croquettes on my own. Also I haven't been much of a Japanese curry fan, and don't eat meat, so I guess the appeal is still a little limited for me.

(Takana croquettes and tofu salad with yuzu-honey vinaigrette).

I am a sucker for om-rice, japanese curry, croquettes, and chipped beef on rice, there's something about japanese diner food I CRAVE every now and then.  Fort St George has been the spot for me so far to take care of that.  I also love that the bar doubles as the salad station there.  

Rocky

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Edited April 28, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

[Nana_Kat]

Just a note about Purple Dot Cafe (which btw can have kind of disgusting food sometimes), many Chinese restaurants that have "Cafe" in the name are modeled after the restaurants in Hong Kong that have Americanized food.

A weird kind of irony--they were popular over in China for having Americanized food, then the idea came back over to the US. Another example is Cafe Ori (with better food) on the Eastside. There are a plethora of these cafes in the San Gabriel Valley in California.

[JasonTrue]

I thought of Cafe Ori as Taiwanese food, with a few "cafe"-like features such as bubble tea/milk tea... then they have Chinese-style Indian curries. I can't remember seeing westernish food... did they have spaghetti on the menu? I always ordered garlicky green beans, some tofu dish, or vegetable curry... maybe my memory isn't what it used to be, and I haven't been there in a while... but I would have never first entered the place had my Taiwanese coworkers not craved it... It took going inside and seeing the menu and tasting things for me to realize its potential.

Just a note about Purple Dot Cafe (which btw can have kind of disgusting food sometimes), many Chinese restaurants that have "Cafe" in the name are modeled after the restaurants in Hong Kong that have Americanized food.

A weird kind of irony--they were popular over in China for having Americanized food, then the idea came back over to the US. Another example is Cafe Ori (with better food) on the Eastside. There are a plethora of these cafes in the San Gabriel Valley in California.

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[Fay Jai]

GLAD to hear about Cafe Ori...'cause I was at The Pacific Garden last night and was told that they would be closing in June...

First Koraku, then Cam and Anita leaving, now this....

Yesterday was a personal sad day for Seattle food.

On the bright side, tho, the 2 folx I took to Pac G. really liked it, and they now know what Chinglish food is...