Fun Playing with Real Chinese Food at Beijing Garden, Twinsburg-Hudson, Ohio

It has been too long since a post has made it out of my larder! I am currently cooking for the Cleveland Area Mensa Regional Gathering in September, trying to utilize the bounty of our garden, planning some trips, working on a new business idea, and, oh yes, working my day job as an attorney. Busy, busy, busy - but always delighted when fellow blogger Tom Noe, picking up on a comment someone left on one of my recent blog posts, suggested that we visit a relatively new Chinese restaurant sitting on the Twinsburg/Hudson border. And so, four of us descended upon Chef Shawn Chen and his lovely restaurant, Beijing Garden, this weekend.

Located in a small strip mall on Rt. 91 (Darrow Road), and easy to drive to, even in a monsoon-like rain that whetted our appetite for Sichuan flavors, all of us made it from different directions around Cleveland-Akron in less than thirty minutes. Bob and I arrived a bit early, and enjoyed a couple of Tshingtao beers (happy hour priced, even on Saturday, at $1.75 each until 8pm). The restaurant has two sides - the left side, with kitchen in full view, is the casual/take-out side, with a few tables for dining in. The dining room on the right is a freshly built-out, contemporary space offering tables and booths (including two large round tables with turntables on them, for traditional Chinese dining). The restrooms (at least the one  that I visited) are spotlessly clean and fully handicapped accessible - my mother and her scooter would be perfectly comfortable here.

Service was friendly and enthusiastic. Chef-owner Shawn Chen was everywhere - front of house, dining room and kitchen. He explained his menu, emphasizing Northern China and Sichuan cuisines. We couldn't wait to dig in!

Our sturdy plastic kuàizi (chopsticks) came in this wrapper, a celebration of Beijing. A nice touch.  

Since there were only four of us, we knew we'd need to exercise some restraint in the number of dishes we'd order. We settled on two appetizers and four entrees, which we knew would generate some leftovers, without overloading ourselves.

Dan Dan Mein 

Wikipedia tells us that the name of this dish "refers to a type of carrying pole (a dan dan) that was used by ambulatory vendors who sold the dish on the streets. Literally, the name translates as Peddler's noodles." I hadn't had it in years; the story I'd always heard was that the name derived from the slapping sound produced during the actual noodle making.

The tender noodles have a gentler texture than your standard Lo Mein noodle, though they are similar in size. These were very fresh.

 

I could have slurped a big bowl of these noodles for my meal! Pork, vegetables and seasonings were expertly proportioned, and we all got a bit of mouth numbing heat from the Sichuan peppercorn in the sauce.  Yum.

Chef's Special Dumplings Pork and Shrimp

Dipping Sauce

We loved these dumplings. Smaller than a potsticker, and not sauced, this little package offered great flavors and textures - a little crunch, a little chew, and savory filling that did not upstage the wrapper, but harmonized with it. The dipping sauce leaned a little to the vinegar side, which cut nicely through the richness.

We took our time and ordered our entrees after enjoying the appetizers. Our servers were impressed, as this is a very Chinese way to order and eat; many Americans are in a hurry when they dine out.

Ma La Eel 

Shredded eel strips were battered and fried with sweet onion, water chestnuts, and a Sichuan Ma La sauce. Wikipedia tells us that "[t]he term málà is a combination of two Chinese characters: "numbing" (麻) and "hot (piquant)" (辣), referring to the feeling in the mouth after eating the sauce." This sauce absolutely delivered. The eel - not so much. I had failed to communicate to my dining companions what Chef Shawn had told me before they arrived - most of his seafood is frozen (which, given his location and price points below $15/dish, is not at all surprising or even disappointing). Though the breading and frying solved any textural problems the eel might have suffered - like most frozen seafood, it just didn't have a lot of genuine flavor. 

Chicken with Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

This was Tom's entree selection. Chinese eggplant was stir fried with lots of garden-fresh zucchini, onions, green peppers, whole dried chilies (Stuart actually ate one - I was impressed), and chicken, in a light garlic sauce. The sauce was much gentler than the sweet-and-soy-heavy versions often seen on Americanized Chinese menus, and it really allowed all of the flavors of the ingredients to shine through. We all thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Our next dish came out of the kitchen on a flat plate, with a bowl inverted over the food. I immediately recognized this technique from a Chinese cooking class as a molded presentation. The contents had probably been steamed in the bowl, which was topped with a plate. Now, plate on bottom, the server coaxed the steaming hot bowl off of the top of the dish with her bare hands:

Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetable

In contrast to the Ma La or chili heat of the previous dishes, this dish said "Beijing" loud and clear! The preserved vegetable had to have stewed for hours to reach this consistency, and it was very tasty. The pork could have used some additional braising time - the connective tissue was still a little tough. But the meat tasted clean and the meat, vegetables and rice came together as a nice dish. I got the impression that they don't serve it often, and that is a shame. This is a dish that demonstrates how much more there is to Chinese cuisine than stir-fry, by combining braising and steaming with a lovely presentation.

Ironically, the order for our last dish got confused somewhere between the server and the kitchen - after we waited quite a while (remembering that we were being served Chinese style, which means dishes are served as they are ready and not in pre-ordained courses), we asked where our Ziran Lamb was.  This is ironic because the pork dish above could have used that extra cooking time.

Ziran Lamb

Sliced marinated lamb and slices of sweet onion were cooked in "cumin flavor spicy sauce," a "signature dish," says the menu. I love Cumin Lamb, which is a classic Sichuan item, and this version had all of the elements for a wonderful dish - tender lamb, bold spicing and crunchy onions. Unfortunately, I think the kitchen may have rushed this plate a bit because of the ordering mix-up - it was a little over-seasoned for my palate. But don't let that comment deter you from trying this dish - if you like lamb and you like bold spice - you will probably love this dish. 

I was very happy to see two groups of Asian diners enjoy some traditional-looking treats during our visit. I was less happy to see that the restaurant wasn't well populated on a Saturday night. We left around 8pm, and I don't think they ever had more than 4 other tables occupied, in addition to ours, at the same time. So, I'm getting the word out! You'll find all of your Chinese-American favorites priced under $10 a plate (except seafood items, which average $12), and a lunch special ranging from $5.50-7.95.

Beijing Garden has a beer and wine license and happy hour is 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and all day on Sunday. I didn't look at the wine list and I don't know what the happy hour discount is; the small beer list is light and lagery, which pairs well with spicy food, and is priced at Happy Hour at $1.75 for the imports and either $1.25 or $1.50 for domestic (sorry, I should have written that down). The restaurant offers four different varieties of tea. The menu has recently been revamped a bit, so the one you are handed may not entirely follow the on-line version, but the substance is the same.

If you enjoy Chinese food - whether authentic or Americanized, you will enjoy dining at Beijing Garden. Put yourself in Chef Shawn Chen's hands and be prepared, if you are willing, to journey to Northern China, Sichuan - or both! We had fun playing with Sichuan and Beijing food at Beijing Garden and look forward to returning.

Fun Dining With Strangers

On my recent birthday, we decided to do something completely different. We enjoyed Dinner With Strangers, a collaboration between Please Catering (which also has a small website here) and Made in the 216. They don't seem to have a website, but their Facebook page is here. As explained on the FB page, Chef Ryan Santos selects a theme and creates a five course menu, and partner Danielle DeBoe selects approximately 24 guests from a list of people who have expressed interest, and who hopefully don't know one another (for the most part). Selected guests are notified by email, and pay in advance online. The dinner costs $30 per person and is BYOB. The theme this evening was: BBQ.

We arrived at the patio of Chartreuse, in Lakewood Ohio, at the appointed day and time. Since the host venue was a design firm (NOT a kitchen design firm) and not a restaurant - how would Chef Santos pull off the food prep? A method dear to my heart:

Kitchen Improvisation

Everyone brought a beverage of choice, and we spent some time sipping and introducing ourselves. We then took our seats around the long table (there were actually two tables, to accommodate the two levels of the patio).

Loved the Water Pitchers a/k/a GLBC Growlers

Looking around, I discovered that I actually knew a few of the attendees (well, one I had only known by reputation until this evening). 


Chef Ryan Santos Introduces the First Course

It was a perfect evening - the day had been hot and hazy, but by the time we took our seats around 7pm , the weather was pleasant, especially with a cold glass of wine in hand. Since it was my birthday, we'd brought enough to ensure a celebratory experience.

Amuse: Grilled Lemonade




The lemonade was the perfect refresher - though I honestly missed the "grilled" part - no matter.


Amuse: Fried Black Eyed Peas + Old Bay

This crunchy snack started us off with a bit of salt, texture, and a unique flavor from the Old Bay seasoning combined with the toasted legumes.

1st: Pickles: bread & butter + kool aid + dill + rosemary garlic + scape, green tomato jam, pig trotter rillettes, duck chicharron + hot sauce + black salt, cornbread crackers

Well now, that description is certainly a mouthful. I'm pleased to report that despite the presence of four different cucumber-based pickles on the plate - I loved this dish! The rilllettes and chicharron were prepared perfectly, and their richness was nicely cut by the refreshing green tomato jam.

Kool Aid Pickle

Yes - the camera does not lie! I drank the Kool Aid, so to speak, by taking a bite from this pickle. I almost wanted another. Almost. (Sorry Ryan - loved the Kool Aid treatment, but I really hate cucumber.)

2nd: Candy Onion + beet & rootbeer BBQ sauce, beet greens + char puree + jowl bacon

Another beautifully executed dish - I love jowl bacon (or guanciale), no matter how it is used, and here it  highlighted sweet grilled onion and a purree of beet greens and char, accented by a touch of root beer flavor. 

This plate was followed by an amazing Intermezzo:

White Dog Sour: Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1, lemon juice + egg white + sugar + regan's orange bitters

A bottle of the star ingredient was passed around for us to investigate, but I was too busy enjoying the cocktail to take a photo of it. While I'm not ordinarily a big fan of whiskey, I found this to be a well-crafted, balanced cocktail that did indeed refresh my palate. 

It was somewhere around this point in the dinner when Danielle asked those who had a cafeteria-style serving tray under their place to please pick it up and move themselves to another seat. She did ask, not require, that people do this, and most of them did with great merriment. And that way, we all got to meet some more strangers!

3rd: Bourbon Braised Pulled Beef Beef Cheek + Watermelon & Sour Apple Tartare, Watermelon pickle + Green Jalapeno Puree + Smoked Salt, Sweet Potato & Radish Coleslaw

Unfortunately, by the time this plate came out, we were losing the light, and I was losing my appetite because I had enjoyed the first courses so heartily!

Though this Watermelon/Apple Tartare did not hold its shape as well as was probably intended  - it succeeded in evoking a visual of its namesake, while providing crisp, refreshing flavor and mouthfeel to counterbalance the heavier beef, which was tender and redolent of the gentle bourbon treatment.

Dessert: "Peaches and cream" Mousse + Sun Tea Roll Up, Shaved Caramelized White Chocolate + Corn Coulis + Blackberry, Lemon Verbena Scented Pie Crust 

One look at this plate and I instantly regretted not saving more room for dessert. The photo does not do justice to the fresh, fresh ingredients and Ryan's artful combinations.

And so, I had great fun playing with the food of Please and the company of Danielle and the other guests she selected for my birthday dinner. If you live in or near Cleveland and this kind of surprise/eat it or leave it dining appeals to you, I suggest that you check out the Dinner With Strangers Facebook Page and get on the guest list for a future dinner!

No Fun Playing with Iced Tea Today

A series of trips in May and June have put me way behind in blogging (and other things). A topic I very much have been wanting to share involved a fun discovery I made at McDonald's, of all places, on one of those trips. I'm writing about it today because of another, not so fun experience I had at a McDonald's this morning.

Though I don't have much use for the food served at McDonalds, for a lot of reasons, I have become enamored of the iced tea. I am drinking a lot of iced tea these days, as I try to wean myself off of diet soda and its many chemicals. The problem is that packaged iced teas are, ingredient-wise, almost as bad as the pop. Also, the  pasteurization doesn't help the flavor. So, I really prefer freshly brewed tea. 

I'm not sure how I stumbled on McDonald's unsweetened iced tea, but during the summer a very large cup costs only $1 (depending on which outlet you buy it from - technically it is the sweet tea that they are promoting, and some franchisees only sell the sweet for $1), and it tastes good. I've sampled the iced tea offerings from other fast-food outlets since, and there is no question that McDonald's has the superior product (the Burger King outlet in Solon doesn't even sell unsweetened tea, only sweet tea - shame on them!). Though I could have looked up the info on Micky D's website, I never did - I knew a good quality product when  I tasted it, though I wondered about how processed it was - it was McDonald's, after all. My thought process was, just because it says "freshly brewed" on the cup doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't processed in some fashion.

 

Well, it was during one of those road trips that we stopped at an interstate rest stop. We stepped into the McDonald's to purchase beverages, and I ordered a large, unsweetened iced tea. As with most rest stop food outlets, we were handed empty cups and directed to the self-serve beverage station. As I started to fill my iced tea cup, however, the dispenser (which I realized was not attached to a soft drink machine, but to an air pot on steroids, which is to say, a giant air pot) began to sputter - it was empty. I returned to the counter, and the person there apologized and said they would bring out a new supply. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. Someone retrieved the empty airpot from the service line, and still we waited. Where was the replacement already - how long could it take to fill a serving container with a prepared product?

Finally, it dawned on me - they were actually brewing a giant supply of tea from scratch! This was confirmed by the manager, who appeared every few minutes to apologize for the delay, and who then presented me with two huge cups of iced tea to take with me, even though the air pot hadn't returned to the serving line. I asked her and she confirmed that the tea was brewed from scratch in a large quantity and, the laws of physics being what they are, it takes some time. I left a happy camper; it is nice to know that something you consume so much of is truly made from scratch with honest ingredients.

 

Fast forward to today. I stopped at the usual drive-through for a morning cup of that freshly brewed iced tea. $1 later, I was on the road again. I don't think I'll ever be this grateful for a red light holding me up at the corner of Richmond and Miles Roads - because I took a big drink from the cup only to taste - iced coffee!!!!

What is the big deal, you might think. Even if you don't like coffee, you just turn right back into the parking lot and change the drink out, right? Well . . . not exactly. You see, when I was a toddler, I had a very un-fun experience with hot coffee. Mom had just put a steaming hot cup down on the kitchen table when the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it. Little Nancy just had to toddle over to see what was in the steaming cup. She put her tiny hands around it and lifted - and seared by the heat of  the steaming cup, tossed it up out of her hands. To this day, I don't know what happened to the coffee cup, but I do know what happened to the coffee - it landed near the bottom of my left shoulder, where a souvenir of the severe burn (and trip to the ER) remains to this day. Something else remains to this day - a total aversion to all things coffee. 

Ironically, I had commented to a lunch companion at B Spot just two short days ago about how it seemed like the aversion had lightened up a little - I truly adore Michael Symon's Coffee BBQ Sauce and Lola Ketchup - both of which are full of coffee, 

 

and I really loved the Shortrib with Redeye Gravy (read: loaded with coffee preparation) that Chef Jonathon Sawyer made for the recent Chefjam event. 

Indeed, a sip of hot coffee did accidentally cross my lips about ten years ago at a hair salon, when a helpful assistant re-filled my tea cup with the wrong beverage - but at least, that was just a sip, and it had cream and sweetener in it. The gulp I took this morning was just straight coffee, and I'm still feeling it. Yuck - fun playing with food fail.

Oh well - at least I now know, having finally looked it up on the McDonald's website, that the unsweet tea is made from only "Orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea," and the sweet tea is the same with sugar (NOT high fructose corn syrup) added. Except that I will remember to inspect it a little more closely before I drink it next time. Because it really is fun to get something inexpensive, tasty and fresh from the drive through, but today was not my day!

More Fun Playing with Dim and Den Sum

I have been fortunate enough to catch the Dim and Den Sum truck a few more times since my last post about Cleveland's first food truck. The food just keeps getting better and better, despite flat tires, short bread supplies, empty propane tanks, and any other number of things that just seem to happen when you are trying to feed a lot of people honest, freshly made food from a converted box truck. Dim and Den Sum rocks!

My second visit with Dim and Den Sum was again at the parking lot of 24865 Emery Road. This time, I took advantage of the picnic tables.

Tater Tots with Spicy Sauce and Truffle Pepper

I don't know how they get these basic tater tots to have such perfect crunch and taste, but they do! Perhaps it's the special sauce?

Chicken Nachos with Asparagus Slaw

Loved this lunch selection. I would have liked a little more of the exquisitely fresh  and celery-free chicken salad, but I did not leave hungry.

The asparagus slaw captured the essence of spring, in a way I'd have never expected. Fresh, crunchy, yet also a creamy texture when eaten with the beans. Worked for me.

By my next visit with DDS, the venue had moved to the main street outside of the Progressive Insurance campus, between the corporate office buildings and the lovely park (300 N. Commons Blvd Mayfield OH - hopefully to be the "regular" Thursday lunch spot). And the menu had improved from a xeroxed sheet taped to the truck to this cool "chalkboard paint." The only thing missing was a place to sit, but hey, this is street food after all!

Cheesesteak Steam Bun: Shaved beef, pickled red onions, cheese, & "horsey sauce", BBQ

This wasn't exactly the format I was expecting - I expected a char sui type item, fully encased in pastry. This version, an almost pancake-like fresh bread circle topped with savory beef, incredibly tasty pickled onion, horseradishy sauce and cheese whiz, was a little messy to eat, but fabulous in tastes and textures. 

Pulled Pork Taco

This creation featured succulent pulled pork, fiji apple creme fraiche, kimchi slaw, and hot sauce. Yum!

Jjang Dawg: Local dog, pulled pork, kimchi slaw, smashed tots, Bourbon soy bbq sauce

Wow. This may be the best thing I've had from DDS (though that Cheesesteak Bun is a darn close second) - an amazing locally-sourced hotdog, perfectly grilled, which went "snap" when I bit in and which  further rewarded me with juiciness in every bite. This dog was served on the "home-made" bun the DDS boys are sourcing from a pal at Fire Restaurant, topped with tender pulled pork, crunchy kimchi slaw, smashed tots, and Bourbon BBQ sauce - I almost wished I'd hadn't eaten anything else, so I  would have room to enjoy a second  one of these, it was that good. Almost wished, because the other items were truly delicious also. But this dog left me feeling happy for the rest of the day!

 

A lone tater tot that got away. How sad!

The next week at the same locale - here was the menu:

Both Chefs, Jeremy Esterly and Chris Hodgson, were "in the house," so to speak, this gorgeously sunny day.

Sarah's Jalapeno Tots

As described on the menu, except no bacon. The bacon was not missed at all - the flavors and textures were delicious, though a little messy for finger food.

Meatloaf Melt: Beef and Veal Meatloaf, Duck Confit, Sweet Soy Ketchup, Green Onion Cheese

 

Thought this sandwich "suffered" from not having the wonderful homemade bread (the supply had gotten stale, and the Chefs decided that packaged bread was the better choice) - the fillings more than made up for it! The duck confit tasted wonderfully ducky, and the meatloaf was moist and flavorful. The cheese was an interesting and different product - it all worked together beautifully.

I haven't mentioned the beverages because I've mostly stuck to water, but Dim and Den Sum offers a small variety of unusual libations to accompany the eats - so far, I've seen an Apple Soda from China, an Apple Soda from Mexico (all cane sugar and no high fructose corn syrup), and a Coconut Soda.

And so, another three Dim and Den Sum lunches delivered a pause from the workday that truly refreshed. Please check out their website, twitter (I understand that they are about to launch an IPhone app that makes them easier to find) and Facebook page, so that you can have some fun playing with Dim and Den Sum's made-from-scratch, tasty food. It is definitely worth the the sticky fingers!