Fun Playing With Food in Richmond VA

Once again, we headed for Virginia Beach to ring in the New Year with friends. In order to avoid wasting the first beach day with an all-day drive, we spent the night before in the Short Pump suburb of Richmond VA. Our Richmond resident friend Amy recommended Lehjah, an Indian restaurant literally one step from our chosen hotel. We got there at 9pm, and enjoyed a lovely dinner. Lehjah is not your momma's Indian restaurant - drawing from culinary traditions not restricted to the Punjabi style usually featured in US Indian restaurants, the unusual combinations of spices and seasonings danced on our tongues.  

Special Lamb Appetizer

This tasty cross between a kebab and a kofta (meatball) packed some heat, especially when dipped in either of the two sauces on the plate. A bit of white radish balanced out the spice, which stood up to the lamb but did not overpower it. 

Achari Warqi Paratha - Paratha with Achar (Indian pickles)

The achar cooked into the loaf merely accented the buttery bread, without overtaking it.

Bob's: Chicken Chettinadu: Chicken Morsels, Coconut, Roasted Coriander Powder, Star Anise, Chilies

Mine: Paneer- Asparagus Lazzatdar: Paneer Chunks, Awadhi Style Garlic-Tomato-Cilantro Sauce, Asparagus

Both entrees presented different palates of flavor, and the house made Paneer (cheese) was worth the price of admission all by itself! You can see the Basmati rice, and other omitted photos from this set, by clicking through any photo to the Flickr album. Good thing we stuck to "medium" on the heat with these!

Though our Hyatt House offered a made-to-order eggs breakfast until 9:30am, we decided to hold out for Virginia Chef Peter Chang's latest venture - a noodle and dumpling house literally across the sprawling shopping mall from our hotel.

Dumplings are made by hand

There is a magnificent spread of condiments and sauces to try

The beet-colored one features, well, beets. And ginger. Recommended for the Bao, which we did not sample, I tasted it with the pan fried dumpling and thought it worthy of tasting. 

麻辣牛肉拉面  Mala Beef Noodle Soup

This steamy bowl, combining beef and noodles with Baby Bok Choy, offered a beautiful hit of "ma la" or numbing hot from Szechuan peppercorns. The noodles in this dish, and the Dan Dan Noodles below were also made in house. What a difference a freshly made noodle makes!

四川担担面 Sichuan Dan Dan Noodle, Sichuan bean sprouts, Diced tofu, Scallion

Forget tasting any tofu in the tofu - it merely acted as a foil against the rapier heat of both red chilies and Szechuan peppercorns. Glad we ordered this version "mild."

猪肉饺子或锅贴 Pork Dumplings (Pan-fried), Ground Pork, Napa cabbage, Scallion.

Beautiful made-from-scratch potstickers, served with a garlicky dipping sauce (also available on the condiment bar). These can also be ordered steamed, and the steamed dumplings we saw go by made me regret that we already had leftovers and couldn't try one more bite.

Yes, we sweated a little while enjoying this brunch, but we had fun playing with this food!

Noodles and Dumplings by Peter Chang

11408 W.Broad St., 

Glen Allen,VA 23060

http://www.noodlesdumplings.com

804-918-1352

804-918-1250

918-1352

Fun Playing With Lunar New Year Food in Cleveland Asiatown

The Year of the Snake began on February 9, 2013, and in many Asian communities, people are still celebrating. We were fortunate to attend several events that fed our souls and our bellies in connection with Lunar New Year, beginning at the newest Asian shopping center in Cleveland - Asian Town Center. We visited the Center on the second of their two day New Year party. Arriving early and hungry, we began with some Vietnamese treats at Pho 99. All three of these dishes were new to us.

Banh Bot Loc (Vietnamese Ravioli, Pork/Shrimp), Dipping Sauce

There are few things in life that make me happier than chewy dumplings, and these steamed banh bot loc really delivered! The fried shallot garnish added just a bit of crunch, and the dipping sauce a hint of spice.

Banh Beo (Steamed Rice Cakes Topped With Egg and Scallion), with dipping sauce 

These little rice cakes are very similar to the Chinese ningko, but were a little softer. The topping tasted like scrambled egg yolks, with scallions and a slightly salty seasoning powder. The dipping sauce served on the side was very similar to the sauce served with the banh bot loc; indeed, all three cups of dipping sauce were very similar. 

Banh it Tran (Boiled Dumpling Stuffed with Shrimp and Pork) with Dipping Sauce

This dumpling was chewy, yet in a completely different way from the banh bot loc, which was a stiffer dough. Though the fillings were similar, the different skins made for a different tasting experience for each.

In addition to enjoying these delicious bites, we couldn't help but get suckered in by the cheesy kung fu comedy movie playing in the almost empty restaurant on the big screen TV. The film, in Mandarin (with English subtitles), was called Shaolin Soccer. I started paying attention when the plot turned to Mui (Vicki Zhao), a female baker with severe acne who uses T'ai chi to make mantou (dumplings). After watching her special-effect-aided dumpling prowess (think Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-special effect martial arts, with dumpling dough), we couldn't wait to tuck into the above goodies. As much as Bob was getting lost in the film, though, it was almost time for the Kwan Family Lion Dance in the center of the plaza, so we missed the ending. I'm sure the good guys won. 

Heading to the performance area, we caught the end of the classical music presentation, followed by Japanese drumming by Mame Daiko, then finally the Kwan Family Lion Dance.

As always, the Kwan Family Lion Dance entranced the crowd; hopefully, it would usher in good luck for the New Year. Too busy feeding the lion to take pictures! We finished our celebration at Asia Town Center with a visit to Asia Food Company, to shop for produce and pantry staples.

Pho 99 is definitely worth a visit, whether to sample soup, sandwich (neither of which we got to try, but we'll be back!), dumplings, or full on entrees of Vietnamese specialties. Also of note is that they deliver to downtown with a $2 delivery charge and a minimum order, and have plenty of free parking at the Center, located at 3820 Superior Avenue, 44114, (216) 586-6969. Note that they are closed on Wednesday.

We had great fun playing with Asian New Year's treats at Pho 99 and dancing with the Kwan Lion! Gong Xi Fa Tsai (Happy New Year)!

More Fun With Japanese-Style Food

Inspired partly by the film Jiro Dreams of Sushi and our fabulous Japanese repast at Cleveland's Ginko (recounted here), partly by an excess of rapidly aging eggs left over from our Passover festivities, and finally by a timely post by my favorite Japanese food blogger, Hiroyuki, on several eggy subjects, including Ougon Chahan (Golden Fried Rice)/黄金炒飯（チャーハン）- we recently had fun playing with food in a few variations on these themes.

First, the "Golden Fried Rice." This is a little misnamed (in English, anyway) because it isn't fried rice at all in the way we usually think of it - pre-cooked rice that is fried with solids, then accented with liquid. Here, the precooked rice is soaked in egg before it is pan-cooked, yielding a completely different type of dish.

We began with a package of smoked Pacific salmon and our fabulous Breychak Farm bacon.

Render the bacon fat, then scoop out the bacon bits and saute some chopped veggies in the fat:

In the meantime, some previously cooked rice soaks up Miller Farm eggs:

First the rice is added to the pan and stirred until the eggs just begin to set, then the salmon, then the bacon bits are added back to the pan, together with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil:

Top with chopped scallions and serve with your choice of hot sauce (we used Sriracha):

Our second round of play inverted this recipe into the more familiar Omurice, or rice omelet, depicted in the film Tampopo.  In an eggy double-dip, we used the leftover Ougon Chahan as the filling:

After the omelet is folded over in the pan, it is slid onto the plate such that the seam is on the bottom. After slicing a line through the top of the eggs, a fine line of ketchup is applied in a zig-zag.

Oops - ketchup squeeze bottle fail. But you get the idea. And yes, it was delicious!

And speaking of the Passover leftovers - the very last one was a quart of chicken soup. Here, it is re-purposed Tampopo-style with fresh vegetables, together with pork dumplings I made for a dinner club meeting in February and packaged Chinese noodles from the freezer:

Fun playing with Asian-style food - a perfect warm up for the Cleveland Asian Festival which will occur this weekend in Cleveland's Asiatown! More on that will follow shortly.

Fun Slurping Noodles Slowly at Noodlecat

All of the soggy weather we've had lately in Northeast Ohio has left me hankering for a steaming bowl of noodles. One of the first scenes of my favorite food movie, Tampopo (which is a Noodle Western), begins in the rain. And so, it was perfect timing that Slow Food Northern Ohio decided to offer a slurpilicious dinner on October 13 at Jonathon Sawyer's new Noodlecat restaurant in downtown Cleveland, just around the corner from his delicious Greenhouse Tavern.

We began with a platter of house made pickles, served family style.

Items included pickled onions and green tomatoes, hot Hungarian pepper slices, beets, turnips, slices of Asian vegetable (was it wintermelon or bittermelon?), ginger (my favorite item, at the center of the platter), sliced egg (next to the ginger) and cucumber.

Two more appetizers would be served family style:

Broiled Rice Balls with Market Spices and Mushroom Infusion with Sesame Oil Dipping Sauce

This time-honored Japanese technique for using up yesterday's rice delivered crisp texture, simple but tasty flavors, and a big hit of umami from the mushroom creme dollop up top.

Chickpea-Stuffed Gyoza w/Chef's Garden Vegetables and Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce

When Chef Brian Reilly told us that the filling was chickpea, I almost didn't believe him. It was that good.

Bob and I both selected the same entree from the three choices on the menu: Pork Miso Ramen with roasted Ohio pork, miso, scallions and greens.

The noodles, jointly developed by Chef Sawyer and his team and Ohio City Pasta, which handles production, were pretty darn close to  noodles I've enjoyed before in Asia and New York. The broth was deliciously porky but balanced by the miso without being overpowered by it. My only disappointment was that the bowl did not come to the table steaming hot as it should have. But it was still delicious, and I can't wait to return to Noodlecat for another ramen (or udon or soba) fix. 

We also enjoyed the company of other supporters of Slow Food's mission to encourage local and sustainable eating. Joining us at our table was Ed Butdorf, the self described "Director of poultry relations at Happy Chix Farms." Though we have not sampled his products (including chicken, duck and rabbit), I've heard nothing but great things about them - if you are interested in trying them, contact Ed through the Happy Chix Facebook Page and he'll fix you up - he delivers to several Cleveland-area restaurants regularly and will happily meet you on those journeys!

Fun playing with ramen in Cleveland - Noodlecat satisfies the craving.

Fun Playing with Dim Sum in Cleveland

Inspired by last week's episode of Top Chef, "Dim Sum Lose Some," my friend Tom asked if we wanted to visit Cleveland Asiatown Dim Sum stalwart Li Wah for lunch on Sunday. Hmmm - I'd been thinking the very thing! Looking at my photography records, I realized that, for no particular reason, it had been two full years since I've dined at Li Wah. While I have honestly had better dim sum in my life (and what was with those flimsy bamboo chopsticks?), our meal was mostly satisfying and very tasty. And lots of fun to play with!

Six of us convened. We were seated right by the roasted/BBQ meat stand:

Ducks and Chickens and Pigs, oh my!

That tiny specimen of roast pork on the upper right started out as a full side of pork that I tried (and failed) to photograph as the cooks schlepped it past our table towards the food stand.

Eggplant Sandwich

Our first bite. A shrimpy filling generously sandwiched between two slices of Chinese Eggplant is battered and fried - delicious!


Stuffed Bean Curd Skin

Whereas the first dish of eggplant was a little cold, these morsels were piping hot!

Right about here is where the shao mai, or steamed meat/shrimp dumplings go - looks like I didn't photograph them. They were hot and tasty. I also missed the Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings). Oh well.


Chicken Feet

The Top Chef episode had our mouths watering for properly made chicken feet. These were ok, but weren't cooked to fall-apart creamy perfection. Better than Casey's, I'm sure, but I've had better.


Baked Coconut Bun

These lacked profundity.


Prawns

The smell of soduim polytriphosphate hit my nose before the meat could reach my mouth.  These last three items were the most disappointing dishes of the day. Fortunately, we got them out of the way early, and the rest of the meal was much, much better.


Taro Dumplings

Shredded taro surrounds a scrumptious ball of minced taro, creamy pureed taro, pork, and shrimp. Yum.


Chive Dumplings



Fried wheat-starch based wrappers stuffed with fresh chives, pork and shrimp - more yum.


Roast Duck

Skin crisped to perfection enveloped the ducky goodness.


Turnip Cake

Though not as ethereal as the Wonton Gourmet version, we all agreed that we enjoyed these fried squares of cooked turnip/Chinese radish, pork and dried shrimp.


Fried Rice Noodle

These noodles had intense flavor from dried shrimp (and they may have had other shrimp components) - a little too intense for my taste, but we again enjoyed the dish.


Shrimp Stuffed Bell Pepper

Though I'm not a huge green pepper fan - the exquisite freshness of the vegetable combined with a very agreeable shrimp-based filling for a lovely bite.


Shrimp and Chive Dumpling

I love this wheat-starch based dough, which surrounded inoffensive shrimp and more fresh chives.


Pork Fun Gwoh



One of my favorite dim sums - this version satisfied with chewy, slightly sweet dough and savory pork.


Beef Rib with Black Pepper Sauce

Black pepper sauce is one of my favorites, and the meat fell tenderly off the bones. We were actually offered a choice between pork or beef for this dish.


BBQ Pork Bun (Steamed)



These buns were lovely. The dining companion to my right ate three of them. 'Nuff said.


Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

We lamented how it seems that the green vegetables always seem to show up after the table is gorged on dumplings, rice and buns. However, since we'd skipped the rice and gone easy on the buns (well, most of us had gone easy on the buns) we decided to share one last plate. It was the one thing we'd been lacking - roughage! And tastefully done. Though in retrospect, the other thing our meal lacked (which was not remedied) was any truly fresh or auspicious fish or seafood - a hallmark of genuine dim sum. Still, being in landlocked Cleveland, I can say that no one at our table left hungry or unsatisfied.

Tom had saved room for a bubble tea from Cleveland's venerable Koko Bakery, and we all decided to pick up some sweets for later.




Dan Tac or Egg Custard

No one in Cleveland (or anyplace else I've ever tasted this) makes it as well as Koko Bakery.



Chocolate Stuffed Bun



Don't be fooled by the apparently small bit of chocolate. Trust me that behind that little spot flowed a veritable river of chocolaty goodness.


Taro Bun

Monday's breakfast.



Moon Cake



Proprietor Jessica handed out mooncakes to all at the register. These were wrapped in cellophane and I do not know if they were made at the bakery or not. I'm guessing that they were - I've never had a more silken, gentle mooncake; it was delicious. Usually a dry, tough dough, this tender specimen surrounded a thick, fruit-based filling (think Fig Newtons on steroids). The mooncakes were welcome tidbits for the holiday season that continues for our Asian friends through February, when Chinese New Year is celebrated beginning February 3.

We had fun playing with the heart's little treasures in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio at Li Wah and Koko Bakery!