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China Red by Day

Mar04

Restaurant: China Red [1, 2]

Location: 855 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007. (626) 445-3700

Date: January 23, 2020

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: A- dim sum

Continuing our Lunch Quest series of random lunch visits we decide to check in on the China Red dim sum.

For some reason I’ve been on a run of places on the slightly more “Eastern” half of the main SGV. Slightly more annoying drive too as it’s 10-15 minutes further.

The outside.

The interior is typical midsized Cantonese. There is some DM (deferred maintenance). This is very Chinese, but the place is only a couple years old and is showing some wear and tear.

Zoom.

Sauces.

Har Gow (shrimp dumplings) – large, but hot and good.

Chicken feet in XO sauce.

Pork ribs — ugly but tasty.

Shu Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) — large but tasty version of the classic.

Shrimp and Leek Dumplings — quite nice. One of the better dumplings.

Sticky rice in lotus leaf — good.

Crunchy baked BBQ pork bun — slightly mushy interior.

Pork Rib Chow Fun — I didn’t realize that this was just the ribs on top of some chow fun. I would have ordered a different one had I known.

Dumplings with an interesting peanut and meat paste inside. I didn’t adore.

XLB (Xao Lao Bao) – juicy pork dumplings. Very nice version.

Shrimp paste with almonds – Basically a shrimp spring roll covered in almonds. Interesting texture.

Another dumpling type with a brown spinach mush inside — not my favorite at all.

Beef balls — ok.

Crispy fried squab — very dense and meaty. Not my favorite squab.

Spicy cabbage — I love this dish as always.

Double Shot Gelato — Hot brewed espresso gelato with house-made dark chocolate hazelnut ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — this will keep you up! — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #chocolate #valrhona #espresso #coffee #hazelnut #ganache

Peppered Lemongrass Ginger Creme Brûlée Gelato — A blended milk and Thai coconut cream base steeped with lemongrass and ginger and then juiced up with yuzu and black pepper. For sugar, I used coconut palm sugar and even torched the top! — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemongrass #ginger #CremeBrûlée #BlackPepper #coconut #yuzu

China Red is a solid “made to order” dimsum place. It’s better than pretty much all the cart places, but it’s not the best ever, and the menu is pretty small and straightforward. Which place is the best in the SGV is always changing, but generally 2-3 are A+ and a whole bunch are good but not quite as good — that’s where China Red falls.

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese Food, Dim sum, dimsum, Gelato, Har Gow, Lunch Quest, SGV, Yarom

Quick Eats – Dim Sum House

Oct02

Restaurant: Dim Sum House

Location: 1822 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 441-9651

Date: August 20, 2019

Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum

Rating: Mediocre but theoretically fast

Dim Sum House is a newish strip mall take on dim sum.

It’s just in the mini-mall, right south of Santa Monica Blvd, on Westwood — next to the little Pharmacy and dry cleaners. I think it’s owned by the same people as Hop Woo.

The interior is very Chinese — could be in the SGV — but it’s not. Oddly, even though it was about 1pm, there wasn’t a soul in here except for the loan employee (behind the counter).

The daytime dim sum menu.

This is an interesting sort of place. By day, it’s a small (greatest hits) classic Cantonese dim sum menu. I think at night they have skewers.

Har Gow (shrimp dumplings). Probably the best item. Fairly typical, but kinda limp and chewy.

Shu Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings). These looked hideous and tasted better, but not great. A bit mealy.

XLB (soup dumplings). Pasty skins. Filling was okay.

Pan fried bun. Basically the same pork filling, but with a very heavy chewy exterior. Filling was good and I picked that out.

My service experience was very weird here — and not in a good way. I was the only person. Staff person was eating themselves when I came in. Very slow to notice me. Slow to take my order. Then I waited. And waited. After quite a while 2 of the items above came out. Girl just sat behind the counter on her phone. Eventually she brought two more items. I had to get up and ask her for necessities like chopsticks and napkins. Then I waited for some more. The 5th item never came. I went up and asked. She checked in kitchen and told me it was coming. She rang up my bill. I waited. Eventually I asked again and she checked again and then told me “they were out of it.” She had to refund me the money even. Clearly not very concerned about customer service. Staff in back were probably eating and smoking too rather than steaming the dumplings — which clearly were made long in advance, or maybe just frozen.

They didn’t taste great either. Now it’s sort of like bad pizza in that it’s not THAT bad, but for dim sum it was quite lousy. I like the idea of this kind of quick smaller format — which Tim Ho Wan is doing also — but the execution was abysmal.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese Chinese, Dim sum, dimsum, Har Gow, Westwood Ca

Tim Ho Wan – Dim Sum Pedigree

May16

Restaurant: Tim Ho Wan

Location: 2700 Alton Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92606. (262) 888-8828

Date: May 15, 2019

Cuisine: Hong Kong / Taiwanese Dim Sum

Rating: Solid, new format, but not amazing

Tim Ho Wan, the Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant from Hong Kong, opened last week in Irvine at the Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center.

It’s the first Southern California location of Tim Ho Wan, which has 47 outposts in nine countries, with U.S. restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas and Hawaii. The restaurant earned worldwide acclaim when it opened in 2009 as a 20-seat dim sum restaurant in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, earning a Michelin star a year later. The restaurant has continued to earn a star for nine consecutive years.

Tim Ho Wan is best known for its baked BBQ pork buns, made with a sweet, sticky char siu (barbecued pork) encased in a cloudlike fluffy bread with a sweet, crunchy top. In addition to the buns, there are the usual dim sum favorites, including har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), siu mai (steamed pork dumplings with shrimp), braised chicken feet with abalone sauce, congee with pork and preserved egg, steamed egg cake and fried turnip cake.

And the restaurant is known as much for its long wait times.

Mid week, Yarom and I, dedicated Chinese eaters that we are made the full on 1 hour+ pilgrimage to the OC just to try the new “hot” dim sum place.

It’s one of those newish maxi-malls (10 years or so) — a bit nicer than a traditional strip mall but cheesy construction. There were all the usual suspects like 85 degrees, hai di lao, etc.

11:15am — 3 hour wait! Yep! The buzz is a-buzzing. We were lucky though and were only 2 people (we had a third join us mid meal), so we got seated in about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile we went next door and got some 85 degrees coffee.

Besides the regular tables there is a bar, but it’s not open yet. This will make coming in by oneself easier/faster eventually.

The main dining room is attractive, with some build out, but it’s quite casual. Even more downscale maybe than Din Tai Fung and set up for smaller 2-4 person parties (younger audience) and not the traditional giant round tables of a big Cantonese banquet house. More on this later at the end.

The menu is small, and everything (pretty much) is pictured on the placemats.

The older sheet. Today about 1/4 of the items were not available, as they haven’t come “online” yet. It’s still in soft opening.

Tea.

Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimp and Chives. As I always mention, in my family, when I was a kid, this was called “shrimp slime.” We liked it then, I love it now. This particular one had nice fluffy texture, but the taste was a bit reduced. Maybe less grease? (which is a good thing in dim sum). The sauce was a bit mild too, not as sweet as it usually is.

Braised Chicken Feet with Abalone Sauce and Peanut. Nice abalone sauce and good texture on the little chicken claws.

Foot fetish (not everyone loves a good chicken foot).

Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf. A dim sum classic.

Inside the meat and sausage bits of the rice were good, but it also tasted a bit under-seasoned. Not salty enough? Texture was pretty good though.

Braised Beef Brisket with Turnip. Just like mom’s Rosh Hashanah brisket with potatoes! Actually pretty close. Beef was excellent. Soft and full of flavor.

Braised Beef Brisket with Thin Rice Noodles in Soup. Soup was delicious. The meat was the same as with the turnips — and just as good. The noodles are a bit thin and soft, which is traditional with this soup, but I like more al dente noodles in general. The bowl size, which is hard to tell here, is single person small. It’s not the bigger bowl that most Chinese places use. More on that later too.

Pan Fried Noodles. Very simple, classic pan fried egg noodles. Nice taste and light texture though. A bit less greasy than the most traditional version. I’m thinking they use a different (or less) oil than traditional Chinese.

Steamed Pork Spare Rib with Black Bean Sauce. Bone in. The usual sketchy looking pork niblets, but great flavor. Also maybe a touch lighter than usual at most dim sum places.

Deep Fried Spring Roll with Egg White and Shrimp.

You can see inside the fluffy egg white. Very nice light roll. Good crispiness, good texture on the filling. Slightly lighter grease though so I think the flavor was a bit muted. The sauce is more a slightly sweetened soy. I kinda like the sweet sauce for this kind of fry. This may be a Taiwanese influence?

Deep Fried Bean Curd with Avocado and Shrimp and Golden Chives. It’s bean curd, but fried up like a spring roll. The inside with the avocado was interesting and flavorful, adding a bit more heft than the fluffy Spring Roll. Again a sweet sauce would have worked.

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings. Nice texture on the skin and chunky vegetables inside. Light skin too which I like. Still a touch under salty/greasy?

Steamed Dumplings with Shrimp and Chives. Great texture again for the skin, but soft on the inside and muted in flavor.

Har Gow. Steamed Shrimp Dumplings. Nice skin, big chunk of meaty shrimp. This was the best dumpling and fairly classic.

Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd Skin. Nice soft meat ball with a good beefy flavor.

Siu Mai. Steamed Pork Dumplings with Shrimp. Small like I like them, and very good texture, but again had that slightly muted flavor.

Steamed Rice with Minced Beef and Pan Fried Egg. Rice less sticky than typical Chinese rice (on purpose). Pretty much a flat layer of the same meat as the beef ball on the rice, with a fried egg and the sauce from the Rice Roll. The whole thing was pretty great. The beef on the rice, with the richness of the egg, and the sauce soaking into it all.

House Special Baked BBQ Pork Buns. Soft crunchy outside. A good bit of sugar.

Inside was delectable sweet pork. This was a great pork bun. As good as I’ve had. It’s of the slightly crunchy type. There are several other types like the steamed white ones, or the baked syrup glazed ones. I probably like this and the glazed ones best.

Tim Ho Wan is interesting. They are clearly making a play at becoming (expanding?) a little empire of fine casual focused dim sum eatery. It’s very new generation. Very millennial. The table layout is for 2s and 4s instead of the giant round tables of the big old Cantonese palace. The decor and format are more casual. The menu is smaller, maybe 1/4 the size and focused only on the dim sum greatest hits. Also importantly there is no “second chef” and giant banquet menu. It’s all the same focused small set of dim sum.

Service, particularly for being in soft opening, was excellent. They kept checking on us. They were speedy. Some confusion but they were on it double checking and made sure everything was perfect in the end. They are clearly very dedicated to improving and doing a good job. There were some minor quirks, like they had no chili oil (only chili sauce) — but they promised to get some by next week!

Plate/order size is smaller than a tradition dim sum house. I actually like this as it allows more dishes. They don’t have any large plate items. This is more consistent with the likes of DTF (Din Tai Fung). It works better with parties of 2.

Food wise, the textures were consistently good, which is the standard thing that many dim sum places mess up. Food was pretty fresh and very hot and not soggy. Problem for me was that on many dishes the flavors felt muted or light. I think it’s under seasoning. Maybe there isn’t so much salt (MSG?). Maybe they use a lighter oil. There is this standard dim sum oil taste that I really like and it wasn’t present or at least was very much more reserved. That oil and salt thing is one of the things I love about dim sum. As I mentioned, the menu is fairly small. We ordered every dish available the day we went and all are pictured above. There were about 6 or so on the menu that weren’t online.

So in terms of actual dim sum quality, places like Elite and Grand Harbor are a notch better at current. I can hope that Tim Ho Wan tunes up a bit, but it’s also possible that they are deliberately going for a lighter less coma-inducing style. It has this new faster/more casual format too, but with a long wait, that’s offset. Eventually though, it probably will be easy to get in on a weekday — it’s always going to be a long wait on weekends. Of course, there is always 85 degrees while you wait. And for me the long drive. I hope one opens on the Westside up here!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dim sum, dimsum, dumplings, Har Gow, Hong Kong, lunch, Lunch Quest, Orange County, pork buns, sticky rice, Tim Ho Wan, Yarom

Lunasia Dim Sum

Jun23

Restaurant: Lunasia [1, 2, 3]

Location: 500 West Main Street Suite A, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 308-3222

Date: April 29, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum

Rating: Excellent

My brother and I continue our epic quest to sample all the top San Gabriel Valley dim sum restaurants. I’ve actually been to Lunasia before, for a big Cantonese Banquet, but this is my first trip here for dim sum (which is really their specialty).

Pictures are helpful, even for a dim sum veteran.

Jumbo shrimp har gow. As good a version as I’ve had.

Jumbo pork siu mai. Perhaps more succulent and tender than many.

Spinach shrimp dumplings. I’d swear these also had scallops in them. Interesting (and tasty). A different mealier texture to the skin.

Baked chicken bun. Full of meat and flavor, probably a bit better than at King Hua.

BBQ pork buns. Excellent rendition. Shanghai #1 might have the best of these.

Pork dumplings. This is the sticky fried mochi variety. They are slightly sweeter and have a wonderful texture.

Shrimp rice noodles. Great sauce and a nice version of this dish too.

Crispy Shrimp Roll. These have a lovely light crunchy texture. They came with a mayo! But I thought they went better with the sweet duck sauce.

Shanghai pork dumplings (XLB). The inside of these favorites (and we got 3 tins) were filled with really solid little pork balls. They tasted great, but Elite’s were certainly better (with a lighter thinner skin).

Hong Kong Roasted Duck. Tasty, but a little boney.

Duck sauce for the duck.

Sticky rice wrap. The classic lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice.

Here is the inside. I know it’s not the loveliest, but it was good.

Pan-fried vermicelli Singapore Style. My brother and I got this dish as kids — and it’s still just as good.

Egg yolk buns. Like Chinese Cadbury Eggs!

Sweet yolk inside! Kinda different, and very sweet.

Macao Egg Custard. This version was a little eggy.

Overall, another fabulous dim sum place. It’s hard to say which is best among Shanghai #1, Elite, King Hua, and this, as each has certain dishes they do better. Really just an embarrassment of riches.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Alhambra California, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, dimsum, Har Gow, Lunasia, san Gabriel valley, Shanghai, Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Shao Mai)

Elite Dim Sum

Apr29

Restaurant: Elite Restaurant [1, 2, 3]

Location: 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-9998

Date: April 8, September 22, October 29, 2014, April 18, 2015, August 22, 2015, February 21, 2022, and many other times

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: 31337

This post is a composite of several trips to Elite (necessary to get a true handle on its greatness). These include two 2015 Hedonist blowout brunches (with wine) and several with my brother (who is also a dimsum fiend).

Elite is clearly one of the top 2-3 dimsum places in the SGV (and hence all of Southern California). Many of our group think it’s the best one. Everything is made to order.

Elite is at the top of many people’s list.

The interior is upscale, but hardly the most modern. There are tanks hidden in the corner and they serve upscale Cantonese banquet in the evening.

Yay pictures!

A controversial thing about Elite is that they charge for sauce. $0.75 for the mustard on the left and $3 for the XO. The restaurant is so cheap, it hardly matters.

Spicy jellyfish. Not bad at all.

Chicken feet in house sauce. Not my thing, but some like it.

Har Gow (Crystal shrimp). Excellent versions of the standard.

Pork Shui-Mai. Also great versions of the classic.

Dumpling. Not sure which dumpling this was, but it had a blend of shrimp and veggies and other yummies all fried together inside.

Scallop Dumpling. This was one of the best scallop dumplings I’ve had. There are all sorts of trefy goodies in there.

Meat and Mushroom dumpling. Another cool shape. Delicious too.

Shark’s fin and red clam dumpling. Hopefully no actual sharkfin (feel bad for those finless sharks). However, this was a delightfully clammy dumpling.

Dumpling. This one had peanuts and some other seafood bits inside.

Fried shrimp dumpling. There is a mild white sauce behind. This dumpling had an interesting coconut flavor to the interior.

Shanghai Style Steamed Bun. We love XLB, and these particular examples were awesome. My brother and I snarfed a tin each on at least 2 trips.

“Free” Sauces. A sweet one on the left (for duck and the like) and the XLB sauce on the right.

Tofu wrap. Mostly vegetables wrapped in bean curd. Hot and soft and delicious.

Shrimp with chow fun roll. Basically one of the chow fun “slimes” cut into a cut roll.

Spinach pancake?

Golden Corn BBQ Pork Rice Noodle. Historically in our family we called these “slime.” This was some excellent slime.

Shrimp Rice Noodle. One of the most classic of the “slimes.” An excellent one too.

Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle. I’ve never had a “slime” like this before. There was a big shrimp in here sort of Chinese tempura fried. Delicious.

Shredded Pork Rice Noodle. Not the best of the set.

Elite BBQ Pork Bun. Like a jelly donut, just filled instead with porky goodness!

The bun interiors.

Baked chicken bun. Delicious slightly sweet crunchy exterior top filled with chopped seasoned chicken meat.

Fried Meat Stuff Dumpling. With a title like that, I had to order. This was the chewy fried rice coating with sweet ground meat paste inside. Kinda delicious except it was fairly hollow (not enough filling).

Baked BBQ pork dumpling. Little flakey. pastry triangles stuffed with the usual red BBQ pork.

Fried shrimp ball with almond. This is the usual shrimp cake but coated in almond. It really added a nice texture. Quite fun.

Beef ball.

Macau style pork belly. What it looks like!

Chicken wings.

House Roasted Duck. The duck does not suck. In fact, it was great. There was that usual authentic Chinese bone factor, but the taste was first rate.

Spare Ribs. The fatty creepy-looking spare ribs.

Beef short rib in pepper sauce. Like a bulgolgi pepper-steak.

Pork “leg” with lotus root and peanuts. “leg” turned out to mean feet. Ick.

Soy sauce chicken. The usual mild and tender chicken.

Chinese Broccoli.

Some other slightly different green.

Buddhas delight.

Spicy mushroom caps. Just mushrooms in brown sauce. Didn’t seem spicy.

Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap. Also excellent. Full of goodies.

The rice interior.

Salty Fish Fried Rice. Not for everyone, but quite delicious to my taste (very umami).

Elite fried rice. A bit of everything.

Seafood Chow Mein. Those crispy little noodles I love soaked in a seafood sauce. Great noodle dish.

Beef chow mein. Excellent, although I liked the seafood a bit better.

Salt and pepper prawns. Eat them shell and all giant prawns. Yum.

The Lobster Noodle was only $16. Unfortunately, it was the weakest dish. The meat itself was okay, but the sauce was bland and the noodles over cooked. We barely ate the noodles (although we did finish the lobster).

Durian bun. One of the best Durian buns I’ve had. With a really creamy mushy (banana texture) interior with that weird but yummy Durian flavor (rotten bananas with pineapple and petrol?)

Macau Egg Tart. Nice custard pies. Just a smidgen inferior to Shanghai #1’s version, but still fabulous.

Milk Buns. Filled with almond creme filling. Scrumptious.

A custard filled bun.

Almond milk pastry. Under that pastry shell is a sweet almond soup.

All in all, Elite really lives up to the name, serving some seriously tasty classic Cantonese Dimsum. They also have a great banquet menu for evenings. Some of the set banquets even go up to $2800 (a table?) and involve all sorts of epic dishes like suckling pig with foie gras!

A large percentage of my fiends who go to dimsum think it’s the best in the SGV. I personally think it’s about tied with King Hua. Certainly Elite, King Hua, and Lunasia are at the top, and there is a tier slightly below including Sea Harbor and maybe Shi Hai.

For more Chinese dining reviews click here.

On our April 18, 2015 brunch we had three tables in a private room and a lot of wine. Since it’s pointless to “pair” it, I’ll just list the bottles.

NV Angéline Godel Champagne.

1998 Deutz Champagne Blanc de Blancs. JG 92+. Tart and crisp. Clean and refreshing but not a lot of subtle aged champagne flavors poking out.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Réserve. VM 90. Light, bright gold. Fresh red berries, orange zest and white flowers on the perfumed nose. Juicy and precise, offering energetic redcurrant and blood orange flavors that show good concentration and a supple texture. A mineral nuance adds bite to the finish, with the floral note echoing.

NV Taittinger Champagne La Française Brut. Burghound 88. An overtly yeasty nose speaks of apple and a hint of petrol. There is good verve to the delicious if only moderately complex flavors that are underpinned by a medium level of effervescence on the clean and reasonably dry finish. This is one of those wines that has no faults but no major attributes either.

1996 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch. VM 94. Green-gold. Extraordinarily penetrating, musky, Burgundian aromas are a cross between Chassagne truffle and herbs and Meursault roasted grain and toasted nuts (and the structure is akin to that of a Puligny). Great purity and intensity of fruit in the mouth; sharply focused and restrained today, with near-perfect fruit/acid balance. Finishes with terrific grip and palate-staining persistence.

2013 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia. 87 points. Aromatic nose with barrel notes and lemon. Medium weight textured palate emulates the bouquet, fairly pure fruit leads to a medium plus finish. Very toasty but fruit has some elegance.

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Compagni Portis. VM 91. Melon, white pears, green pears, mint and jasmine lift out of the glass in the 2012 White Compagni Portis Heritage, which emerges from a site planted in 1954. This crisp, beautifully aromatic white field blend is an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years.

2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Golden Slope. VM 92. Light yellow-gold. Heady, complex scents of poached pear, lemon curd, toasty lees and iodine, with a bright floral quality gaining strength with air. Sappy, penetrating orchard fruit and candied ginger flavors stain the palate, with notes of anise, honey and smoky minerals contributing complexity. Powerful yet lithe chardonnay with superb finishing focus and spicy persistence. I’d bet on this wine as a cellar candidate.

2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. VM 92. The 2012 Chardonnay White Hill is bright, focused and tightly wound. Lemon peel, crushed rocks, pear and smoke jump from the glass as the 2012 shows off its energetic personality. The style is focused and taut, especially with the style of the Sta. Rita Hills. Imagine a Chablis like sense of energy with the depth and radiance of California. If that sounds like an appealing combination, well, it is! the 2012 was done mostly in neutral oak, with some of the wine seeing only stainless steel.

2012 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet. Burghound 89. Here too there is enough reduction to push what appears to be ripe fruit to the background. The pure and well-detailed middle weight flavors possess a highly seductive mouth feel along with lovely balance and excellent persistence for a villages level wine. The class of a fine Puligny is very much in evidence and this is worth your attention.

2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. VM 91-4. Pale straw-yellow. Lemon, chamomile, vanilla, ginger and a faint lactic nuance on the restrained, minerally nose. Pliant and sweet in the mouth, offering good concentration and fat to the vinous lemon, guava and grapefruit flavors. Very minerally on the long finish, showing lingering notes of peach, vanilla and coconut. This should age splendidly and will probably be at its best between 2020 and 2035.

From my cellar: 2010 Domaine de Saint-Just Saumur Chateau Brézé – Clos David. 90 points. A geeky dry Chenin I wanted to try with dimsum. Turned out to work well, bright and floral at the same time. Peach and pear.

1999 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Medium yellow in color. Lovely aromas of sweet summer orchard pit fruit compote, lemon-grass, flint, hint of petrol and honeysuckle. A thick, viscous palate shows good depth to the quite cooked yellow fruits, creamy vanilla poached pears and minerals on a long and sweet finish.

2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. VM 93. Exotic bouquet of passion fruit and mango, lifted by fine floral nuances. The wine’s luscious peach pit flavor and velvety texture are given shape and verve by a finely chiseled minerality. Dense yet airy, this spatlese boasts great refinement and stunning length. One of the stars of the vintage.

2013 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese. VM 91. Brilliant aromas and flavors of apple, cherry blossom and oyster shell enlivened by herbal spices. At once dense and juicy, with finely chiseled acidity refreshing the palate. This delicate, well-balanced Riesling finishes in its own pure and invigorating style. While this is often my favorite Spätlese at this estate, my nod this year goes to the Hermannshöhle.

2006 Louis Guntrum Niersteiner Rehbach Riesling Spätlese. 85 points.

2010 Domaine Joseph Roty Marsannay. Burghound 88. Moderate wood still allows the ripe aromas of black cherry, cassis and a hint of underbrush to show through. There is a lovely vibrancy to the cool and delicious flavors that possess solid depth and length in the context of the appellation. This should drink well early on if desired yet reward mid-term cellaring as well.

1976 Bonneau du Martray Corton. 93 points. Very mature, but with a good bit of fruit and all sorts of secondary and tertiary complexity.

2012 Freestone (Joseph Phelps) Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards. Burghound 89. There is a trace of menthol to the notably ripe aromas of essence of black cherry and plum scents. The medium-bodied and solidly well-concentrated flavors possess a lush and very round mouth feel before terminating in a dusty and generously proportioned finish. The supporting tannins are well-integrated and while there isn’t great depth at present the underlying material is such that more should develop with a few years of bottle age.

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine. VM 90. Vivid ruby. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of cherry skin, raspberry, licorice and lavender, with a bright mineral topnote. Juicy and incisive, with sappy dark berry and bitter cherry flavors. Supple tannins add grip to the spicy, floral finish.

Supervising the remains. The two of us ate EVERYTHING pictured above!

A sign of of the authentic Chinese kitchen

By: agavin
Comments (7)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, China, Chinese cuisine, dimsum, Elite Restaurant, Har Gow, hedonists, Hong Kong, Monterey Park, Monterey Park California, XO sauce

Mark’s Duck House

Apr29

Restaurant: Mark’s Duck House [1, 2]

Location: 6184 Arlington Blvd # A, Falls Church, VA 22044 703-532-2125

Date: April 23, 2011

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very very good cantonese.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This seeming hole in the wall in Falls Church Virginia features some of the best Cantonese food I’ve had in the states. So much so that wine guru (and foodie) Robert Parker is constantly eating (and tasting) here.

You can spot an authentic Chinese restaurant by the unassuming facade.

The minimalist decor.

The menu of sketchy meat cuts unsuited to white-bread American taste.

And the rack of roast ducks!

This was a late night family dinner, so Chinese beer seemed to suite the mood.

I’ve loved hot and sour soup since I was a kid, and this is an exemplary example. Basically perfect.

Classic Har Gow, little shrimp dumplings wrapped in rice pastry. Delectable too, as good as at various Dim Sum joints like Ping Pong, The Palace, or Xino.

They even have their own special sweet and vinegary soy for them.

And the deadly hot chili oil.

But there is one real reason why one goes to a restaurant named “Mark’s Duck House.” The pecking duck! Crispy roast whole duck is carved off the bone and brought to the table.

With the traditional scallions.

And my all time favorite, the plum sauce. This stuff has a sweet and tangy quality typical of Chinese cuisine that I just can’t get enough of.

All of the ingredients are combined in a pancake.

And then rolled into a burrito like shape. This is a delectable mix of textures and flavors. The rich duck meat, the crispy skin, the hot dripping fat off the duck, the tangy sauce, the scallions, the dry texture of the pancake. Yum! And this is as good a duck as I’ve had in the states. We wen’t to a place in Bejing a couple years back where we had three whole ducks each done a slightly different way and flayed at the table by a master carver who could have had a part in Kill Bill. That was some serious duck, and slightly better. Still, you don’t have to go all the way to China for great duck like this.

Lobster, causeway style, in crispy garlic, chillies, and chives. I’d never had this exact dish before, but it was wonderful. The closest I’ve had was at a Chinese friends 20-some course wedding banquet where the lobster was sauteed in a ginger garlic sauce. This version is dry (more or less), a little bit hot, and vary garlicky. But damn good!

Sauteed chive blossoms in oil and garlic. We asked the waiter for a vegetable recommend and out came this seasonal dish. Chive blossoms. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, and it looks like a big pile of chives. It turned out to be one of my favorite Chinese vegetable dishes in the states. Again in China I had some crazy good stuff, including one or two great all vegetable meals, but these were nice and garlicky again, piping hot.

Mark’s Duck House never fails to disappoint, but the menu is gigantic and potentially perilous. There are like 12 pages of densely packed dishes. Abalone, sea cucumbers, shark fin, you name it. One time a couple years ago we ordered oysters in garlic and ginger sauce and got this plate with three monstrous oyster beasts we nicknamed the “Grenades.” Each was about the size of a World War II weapon of the same name. Just the meat of the oyster, the size of a grenade!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Cooking, Dim sum, Falls Church, Falls Church Virginia, Har Gow, Home, Hot and Sour Soup, Lobster, Mark's Duck House, Peking Duck, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, side dishes, vegetarian

More Modern Dim Sum

Apr04

Restaurant: Xino [1, 2]

Location: 395 Santa Monica Pl, Ste 308, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 755-6220

Date: April 1, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Dim sum

Rating: Ordered lighter this time for a delicious and reasonable meal.

Another gorgeous 78 degree LA day, with that perfect mix of warm and ocean moisture in the air. So we headed back to Xino, one of the new promenade restaurants with a huge roof deck and somewhat modernized Dim Sum. For my first review, click here. Our first time we had a few issues all of which we managed to avoid here. We had ordered too much food, as the individual dishes, despite being dirt cheap, are fairly large. There’s also a lot of fried stuff on the menu, so if you want a bit lighter, order carefully. Still, it’s all tasty.

Xino has a really nice deck. You can see the couch-style booths in the background too.

Again we ordered straight from the extremely reasonable Dim Sum menu. This is all Hong Kong style small plates. There are no carts, but it’s made to order. This time we made sure to specify in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that they needed to bring out the dishes slowly (last time they hit us with 11-12 simultaneously!). They brought them one at a time today and it was no problem.

Notice also that the fried section is much larger than the steamed section, and that the specialties are also mostly fried. They’re good, but you have to know what you’re getting. We tried to order only a couple fried things.

Condiments. Chinese mustard, hot sauce, and soy sauce behind.

“Shrimp Dumpling ‘Ha Gow‘ Shrimp, Bamboo sShoots, Rice Wrap.” Classic Cantonese dumplings. Good examples of the type.

“Shanghai Dumpling, Pork, Ginger, garlic, Vinegar & Ginger.” These are basically the classic soup dumplings, but very good examples of the type, and nicely served with the vinegar in the little cups so that they don’t break apart on the steamer. Wow!

“Crispy Chili Calamari, Jalapeno Vinaigrette.” These were seriously tasty. The fry was heavy, but deliciously and a bit sweet, as was the jalapeno sauce. In some ways almost like a desert, but yummy.

“Salt & Pepper Soft Shelled Crab, fresh chili, spring onion, toasted garlic.” This is Xino’s take on the classic (chinese) lightly friend shrimp. The traditional version has a bit less fry, but requires you to peel the shell to eat them. These have been pre-shelled which is nice. Certainly tasty, and good with both the mustard and the jalapeno sauce above.

“Shrimp & Chives potstickers, shrimp bamboo shoots, chives.” These were nice, a bit lighter than the classic pork potsticker (which they also make).

“Pork Siu Mai, Pork, Shrimp, Shitake, carrots, Egg Wrap.” Another typical dim sum dish, executed very well.

“Seafood Spinach Dumpling, shrimp, spinach, bamboo shoots, rice wrap.” These slightly green fellows are a little different. There was a lot of shrimp in there, but it did taste slightly fishy. Not bad, but the pairing with the spinach also was just slightly funny. Personally, I think these would be awesome with basil instead, or even a bit of pesto — but that’s modern me.

“Baked Pork Buns, sweet pork in glazed flaky baked bun.” These were a slightly new take on the classic that really worked. The sweet red BBQ pork inside was very typical, but what was different was the crispy light AND SWEET outer shell. It reminded me of a Beard Papa cookie shell!

This is a photo of the pastry cookie shell from Beard Papa, it wasn’t at Xino, but it was awfully similar to the pork bun! Still, the pork bun really worked. Sweet on sweet, with a nice interplay of crunch/flaky with the gooey meat.

“Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice, ‘Lo Mai Gai’ egg, chinese sausage, dried shrimp.”

Examine the goodies inside. Good, although the more traditional Palace (review here) has a very slightly tastier version.

Not only is the food good, but look at the price! $47 (with tax) for all that food! I think Xino might be even cheaper than the traditional Dim Sum in the area!

For another Xino meal CLICK HERE.

For a review of traditional west side Dim Sum, CLICK HERE.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beard Papa, Brunch, Cantonese cuisine, Dim sum, dumpling, Har Gow, Hong Kong, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica California, Santa Monica Place, shrimp, side dishes, vegetarian, xino

Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica

Feb09

Restaurant: Xino [1, 2]

Location: 395 Santa Monica PlSte 308Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 755-6220

Date: February 7, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Dim sum

Rating: A little heavy, but I’m glad to have some more good dim sum on the westside.

Xino is another of the new Santa Monica Place restaurants. I detail the whole deal with the new mall and it’s transformation in my Zengo review.

This one is more or less Chinese, but a sort of modern Chinese, and at lunch they serve real dim sum!

View from the patio. Lunch, on a monday, February. 79 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

My brother presents the dim sum menu. This place is a lot like Ping Pong (REVIEW HERE), the modernized dim sum I went to in Washington DC. It doesn’t have the traditional cart format, like The Palace (REVIEW HERE). This has advantages and disadvantages. The carts allow more control over the pace of the meal, but made to order is fresher.

Chinese mustard, chili, there was also soy and various sauces served with different dishes.

“Chili Spare Riblets, Sweet Chili Sauce, Asian Slaw.” These were pretty meaty, but fried up like orange beef. Gratuitous, but pretty darn tasty.

“Shrimp and Mango Dumpling, Ground shrimp, mango, firecracker sauce.” Crunchy wanton fried, tasty shrimp and mango inside, and a zesty soil garlic scallion sauce. What’s not to like.

“Shrimp Dumpling ‘Ha Gow‘ Shrimp, Bamboo sShoots, Rice Wrap.” Classic Cantonese dumplings. Good examples of the type.

“Stuffed Eggplant with Shrimp, black bean sauce.”

“Crab Rangoon, Cream Cheese, Sweet Vinegar Reduction.” Not the totally typical rangoon, at least the sauce. Good though, and more filling than most examples. The sweetness of the sauce went nicely with the fry and the cheese.

“Kung Pao Chicken Lollipop, Sweet and Tangy, Crushed Cashews.” This was my least favorite dish, not that it was bad, but it was a little heavy, like hot wings crossed with that nut crusted chicken you sometimes get on the airplane. Very fried.

“Salt and Pepper Soft Shelled Crab, Fresh Chili, Spring Onion, Toasted Garlic.” This was some good crab. The only problem was that it cooled so fast. Basically, fried soft-shell. Nothing wrong with that.

“Candied Walnuts & Honeyed Prawns, Orange Zest & Frisee.” This is a variant of the classic prawn, walnuts in the sweet mayo sauce. This one is lighter, zestier, very yummy.

“Lobster Potstickers, shrimp, pan fried crisp.” These were some pretty awesome potstickers, typical on the outside, nice yummy lobster on the inside.

“Pork Siu Mai, Pork, Shrimp, Shitake, carrots, Egg Wrap.” Another typical dim sum dish, executed very well.

“Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice, ‘Lo Mai Gai’ egg, chinese sausage, dried shrimp.”

Open the little packet of joy.

Examine the goodies inside. Also an excellent example of type, one of the best I’ve had.

Cool couches and booths on the patio. Pretty slick spot. And the food was pretty tasty, and reasonable. The above feast was only $66 including tax! What makes the real difference here is that they have a real Hong Kong dim sum chef — so despite the corporate trappings and location, and the slightly jazzed up variants, this is some solid dim sum.

For a second Xino review, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Christmas is for Dim Sum

Dec26

Restaurant: The Palace

Location: 11701 Wilshire Blvd, Second Floor, Los Angeles, CA. 310-979-3377.

Date: Dec 25, 2010

Cuisine: Chinese Dimsum

As we don’t celebrate Christmas, and very few restaurants are open, Chinese is a long standing tradition. These days we go to Dim Sum. For those of you who have lived in a culinary hole for the last couple decades, Dim Sum is a Cantonese brunch tradition in which tasty little delectables are served on carts. Dim Sum is hard to find on the westside, and this particular place recently changed owners and names. It’s actually slightly better in its current incarnation, although they may offer less items at current. This is a pretty traditional or classic implementation of the cuisine. Last month I reviewed Ping Pong in Washington DC which offered a more expensive but updated variant.

This, for example, is the “fried stuff” cart.

And this young lady is organizing some of the “steamed stuff” carts.

There are condiments too. Vinegar, Chinese mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce, and tea — which isn’t really a condiment but is certainly present at every Chinese meal I’ve ever had.

We don’t go in so much for the fried, but these are shrimp and scallop rolls with sesame seeds.

Shrimp and scallop dumplings (pounded rice batter) with cilantro.

Vegetarian dumplings shaped like Hamantash.

One of my favorites — and readily available. Pork shumai.

Another classic, Har Gow. These are shrimp pockets. They are very light. Dim Sum is also often VERY hot in a physical sense. Seared oral tissue is a significant hazard.

Shrimp, scallop, and some other green.

Shrimp and scallop. You may notice a trend.

Curried shrimp balls. This is shrimp chopped up, reconstituted, and covered in curry sauce.

Tofo stuffed with vegetables. Surprisingly tasty.

Another classic, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf.

Inside is a blob of rice filled with various bits of meat, vegetable, and egg.

These are pork “crepes” (ripe noodles). As I’ve been eating Dim Sum for over 30 years, as kids we used to call this “slime” (we meant it as a compliment). It has a jiggly consistency. I still love it. They come in various “flavors,” this one being “pork slime.” “Shrimp slime” is also ver popular. The sauce is a somewhat sweet soy.

Steamed pork buns. These fluffy rice flower buns are stuffed with a red tinted BBQ pork. Essentially they are BBQ pork sandwiches.

For desert pineapple bun. These buttery pastries are stuffed with a very yolky egg custard.

Same place, new sign. This is solid Dim Sum. I’ve certainly had better, but in LA you have to travel pretty far east for amazing Dim Sum. The current chef also makes some really really good “soup dumplings,” but they ran out on Christmas eve and none were available. We were crushed. Four of us also pigged out (or maybe shrimped out) for $67.