Ramen c/o Nom Nom Ramen

I completed my final full-time busy season at work in early January and then put in one more week to make sure that all my responsibilities etc. were properly shifted to those who would remain. Every year the company has an annual retreat, which I was generally happy to miss this year. But the retreat was one of the very few opportunities for those of us working in Philly to meet/see our colleagues who work exclusively off-site. I did want to touch base/say goodbye to a few of those folks so while I didn't attend the actual retreat, I did stop by their snacks and drinks event afterwards. Before I did this, however, I decided that I'd have one last bowl of ramen in Philly. While I know there are a few other spots I never got around to trying, the location of the retreat after party made led me to decide that Nom Nom Ramen was the most sensible choice as far as where to get my fix. In times past I've ordered their spicy broth ramen, but on this particular evening I decided to go with the miso broth. Satisfying as always, though I think I actually liked the extra heat from the other preparation.

Fried Chicken Buns and Lamb Ramen c/o Dassara, Plus Darts

During our super busy season my job overwhelms my waking and sleeping life (oh the stress dreams) and makes it so that most all evenings are spent at home, alone, lying down with zombie eyes and preserving energy for the next day. I don't really mind how crazy it can be because I do enjoy some generous vacation days in exchange for my hard work, but work/life balance during these times is a pretty much foreign concept. So lying down and staying in was  pretty much what I planned on doing a Friday a few weeks back when I received a text from L. suggesting I come up to Brooklyn for her friend's annual big pig party the next evening. I think I surprised both of us by taking her up on that suggestion. I finished work later than usual and then packed myself up and hit the road, making pretty good time on the whole, though getting off the NJ Thruway and towards the Goethals and Verrazano bridges was especially stupid. Once I arrived I got loopy from the socialization of L. and Fat T. It had probably been far too many days since I had had any lengthy conversation with anyone about anything other than work. Though, of course, I also talked about work because when it's the only thing you really have going on, then it's really the only thing to talk about. In any case, after some much needed laughter and fellowship, L. and I went out into the world to have dinner while Fat T. stayed home because he is a party pooper and hates dinner. L. and I, on the other hand, love parties and dinner. So out to Dassara we went. It was a little on the late side, so we were pretty much the only folks eating, though there were a few people sitting at the bar. The lighting in the main dining room was challenging in a similar neon-like way to Morimoto, though I feel like I did a slightly better job dealing with it in this instance. We started by splitting the fried chicken buns, which I found to my liking. The soft and pliant buns made a nice contrast to the crispy chicken bit and slight saltiness of the pickle.

Dassara isn't a 'traditional' ramen spot like Ipuddo but its variations on the traditional ramen set up were definitely interesting. I ultimately found myself most drawn to the lamb ramen with braised lamb belly, market greens and a soft-poached egg. The thing I usually like about ramen is that the noodles have a little more 'toothiness' to them...Japanese al dente if you will. While I enjoyed the broth of the dish well enough, I will say that I found the noodles themselves not to have that especially good resiliency. They were a wee bit too soft and mushy for my taste. I feel like L. had a similar feeling about her noodles as well. So the conclusion I had was that the buns were good, the broth was good, but the noodles weren't very exciting.

After dinner I suggested/requested that we seek out a dart board and play darts with some strangers. And that is just what we did. Here you will see L. properly celebrating the double bull she threw that won us a game.

Good times.

Dumplings and Noodle Soups c/o Cheu Noodle

At some point a week or two back Mr. Ass and I made plans to make plans. Just exactly what we'd be doing, and with whom we would be doing it, were unclear. In the end it turned out to be just the two of us, and location became Cheu Noodle. I've been wanting to check out the culinary stylings of this spot and its earlier pop up and controversial iterations for what feels like two years. And finally the moment arrived. We were seated at a bar table near the back and service was prompt and friendly. The dude who told us about the specials was very enthusiastic and upbeat. I ordered a vinho verde, which wasn't my favorite version of the wine and could have been just a little colder. We chose to try their special dumplings of the night as well as a soft shell crab/cantaloupe gazpacho special. The former was especially compelling to Mr. Ass while (unsurprisingly) I was immediately drawn to the crab dish. None of the photographs of the crab dish are worth sharing. I liked it though the cantaloupe and crab elements, for me, didn't quite come together. The gazpacho was really neat though, sweet but somehow still a little savory. The crab itself was good too. I wasn't really that taken with the dumplings and Mr. Ass also felt a little let down by their quantity, size and overall taste.

I debated about what kind of noodle dish I wanted. Mainly I was see-sawing back and forth between the ramen and the lemongrass options. Ultimately I chose the lemongrass dish, which included corn, favas, rice noodles and coconut broth. There were things to like about this bowl, and that included the creaminess of the vegan broth and its lemongrass aroma. But at least for me, the noodles in this dish were quite a disappointment. They had no bite or spring left and were, instead, really mushy. I don't know if that's just how it's supposed to be or what. I know that rice noodles aren't the same as a ramen noodle or udon, but I really prefer a pasta noodle that has at least a little fight left.

Mr. Ass ordered the ramen with pork shoulder, egg, sea beans and miso broth. I didn't try the noodles, but I did try the broth as he tried mine. There was a moment where we both expressed perhaps a bit more appreciation for the other's dish. We probably should have just switched. The ramen's broth was thick and porky to the max and so very savory. I liked it.

We left glad to have tried the place, but not quite as blown away or itching to return as I think either of us expected we would be. I do think I'd like to go back at least one more time to try more of the regular dishes in their menu.

Birthday Dinner for Fatty c/o Congee Village

So I went on a vacation a bit ago and the planning of it was not without its iterations. The final plan resulted in my deciding to fly out of JFK Airport in NYC because it would be a direct flight to Nassau at a better price and time. This led to my asking L. if I could stay with her and Fatty the night before my trip, as the flight was at 7 AM. She said yes and the plan was good. Then as we got closer to the date in question, it turned out that they were going to celebrate Fatty's birthday that Friday. Celebrations would include dinner out and then a musical show. I was all in for the dinner, but less so for the concert, as it would keep me out far later than I would think prudent for a needed 5 AM airport arrival time. So I stuck with dinner, which was at Congee Village on Allen Street. I think we turned out to be a table of 10 with a variety of tastes and eating restrictions. At least one glutard and one vegan if I recall correctly. We ordered a nice variety of dishes.  SP ordered a whole roasted chicken that was all chopped up and marvelously garlicky and tender. I ordered a tofu in soy sauce dish and a thick noodle dish. Greens were well represented as well.

Scallion pancakes, no doubt.

A plate with greens, chicken, noodles and fried rice.

After dinner this group headed off into the night towards music while I made my way back to Brooklyn with the intention of making sure everything was ready for the trip, a bit of blogging and an early bed time. I ended up dealing with the pre-travel awakes for much of the night, but I think it was still good that I didn't go out. At least when the cab picked me up at 4 something in the morning I wasn't groggy or hungover. Glad that I was able to celebrate Fatty's big day a bit early. This was definitely a good last experience in the States before my Caribbean vacation.

Cucumbers, Dumplings and Beef Noodle Soup c/o Nan Zhou Noodle House

Dart nights are Tuesday. Generally I practice a bit at home before heading to wherever the night's match may be (half are home bar games, the other half away) but a few weeks back LW and I decided that before our respective matches that it might be nice to grab a bite. In this instance we decided on Nan Zhou Noodle House. I'd been to their original location with Mr. Ass when I first moved to Philly and while I saw its charms, whatever particular dish I ordered that day had me feeling a little funny for the next two, so I never returned. But I am aware that those who like cheap good eats in town definitely sing the praises of Nan Zhou, so I was up for trying it out again. We had their cucumber appetizer, which was nice and refreshing ... reminiscent of the spicy cucumbers at Han Dynasty but not as drenched in hot chili oil. Instead it was more of a rice vinegar/garlic thing going on. We did not let a single cucumber morsel go to waste.

Then we had an order of the steamed chicken curry dumplings. Definitely a different flavor combo, but to me they had a little too much of just 'curry powder' taste to them as opposed to a true amalgamation of individual/fresher spices. Good, but I think I'd try a different variety next time.

For the main event I chose the sliced beef noodle soup. This was pretty darn good. The noodles really are special. They have far more of a bite to them and stand up to the heat of the broth quite nicely. And the broth was also nice and hearty with a depth of flavor I appreciated. It's not pho, but you can't not see the similarities. On the whole my true wish would be the noodles from Nan Zhou with the broth from my favorite pho place. Oh man. Now that would be something.

Obligatory noodle shot.

Yep held up quite well.

Dinner c/o Sampan

The Saturday after our wondrous Modo Mio meal was spent largely in prone positions. I went out in the morning and bought a few breakfast goods (and about $30 worth of juice because I was sooooo thirsty) and returned home to start frying up bacon. After we enjoyed our bacon, eggs and Three Peckered Goat coffee, I created something I have since dubbed 'Afternoon Slumber Party' time. This basically consisted of me bringing out the air mattress, inflating it, lying down on it after having placed the computer on the television console and pressing play on Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Oh yes, and closing the curtains so the living room became a cave-like space perfect for Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman to shine through. M. cozied up with Zul on the sofa, and even my roommate came out to watch a bit of it. Once the movie concluded we went to the museum. But what I really want to talk about is the dinner we had that night. Sampan had been on my list, and I've been following the restaurant's twitter feed for a while, so that is where we ended up going. It's a very neon lights, bumping music, attractive waitstaff, 'let's be a scene' kind of place. But not necessarily in a bad way. At least not where the food is concerned. We decided to go the tasting menu route: 7 courses for $45 per person. We could choose two small plates, one kind of satay, one dish from the 'cold/hot' section, one meat, one fish and one side. And boy were there some tough decisions to make. One decision that was a little bit easier to make was what to drink. We went with a carafe of the white snow sake. As for the meal. It began with hamachi ceviche with tempura flake, soy and truffle. For such a tiny spoon, there was so much going on. It was the perfect opening to the meal. Really fresh, the tempura gave it a little crunch and the dab of truffle oil made the whole thing have this wonderful after mouth glow.
Next up were the General Tso's Soup dumplings with chicken, soy and ginger. I've long wanted to try a soup dumpling and expected the meat to liquid ratio to be slightly more in the liquid's flavor. Good, juicy, flavorful, but not quite as exciting as I had expected.
We had a moment's deliberation when it came to the satay, I alternately leaned towards the lamb or the Kobe beef, but in the end we decided lamb was the way of the winners. And win we did do. The cilantro element and 'citrus crust' were nice, but it was really the meat in and of itself, nice and pink, that made me the happiest about this dish.
For the hot/cold option, we went with their special of the night, which was some crazy dumpling with foie gras and something else fancy, but I forget what. I liked the crunch of the dumplings, and the pickled cauliflower that accompanied them, but it didn't have that melty rich taste that I most associate with foie gras. Still good. No complaints.
We chose the kim chi fried rice with egg for our side, which M. did a great job of stirring up while I was taking photographs of some of our other dishes. Not the spiciest or most pungent of kim chis, but this place isn't exactly a bastion of authenticity (and that's not a bad thing) so it was all good. I also think that I've just never really understood the appeal of fried rice. Give me the choice of any noodle or rice, and I'll go with the noodle nine and a half times out of ten. The one exception being, perhaps, risotto.
For our fish course we chose the seared tuna with chilled soba noodles, avocado and tomato. M. loved this course a bit more than me. Again, I think this is less about the quality of the food and moer a matter of my own foodie preferences. That or maybe it needed a little extra burst of flavor in the form of citrus or vinegar. That said, the tuna was well prepared and the presentation was delightful.
I was a much bigger fan of the crispy Szehuan chicken with Chinese greens, sesame, garlic and delightfully pickled slivers of cucumber. Perhaps not as 'exciting' a dish, but it was so much better than your corner store takeout Chinese store's version. And those cucumber slices were a nice cooling touch.
And then there was M. For dessert we were given two mini cones of soft-serve ice cream they make in house. One was chocolate chocolate chips ahoy (I think) and the other was Capt'n Crunch flavored. M. especially enjoyed the Captain while I was more drawn to the chocolate chip.

It was really a great meal. Definitely a good deal for the amount of food. And while not all courses took me away into foodie nirvana, enough did that I definitely want to go back and try a completely different combination of dishes (well, that hamachi ceviche I would have again). And, as the blog continues, you'll see that I actually have made it back, albeit more for drinks than food.

Monkfish Pate and Ramen c/o Doma

So in the last month or so, there has been a lot of press and foodie talk about two new ramen options in the city. The first, Roundeye Ramen, is still without a physical location and has held two 'pop up' events at Matyson. I planned on going to the first with a few folks, but they all, independently of one another, canceled, and I just couldn't bring myself to go alone. Then the second one, which was last weekend, required you to call and make reservations at 10 AM the day before. I called and left a message at 10:17, but got a call later saying I hadn't called soon enough and asking if I wanted to be on the waitlist. I just wasn't that hardcore. The other new spot, Ramen Boy, only opened in the last three or four weeks. I've been jonesing for ramen since my initial introduction in NYC and subsequent (slightly less awe inspiring) experience in Wheaton, and have been following the twitter feeds of both new establishments. I also follow a number of other restaurants, so when Doma tweeted that its ramen was only going to be on the menu for a limited time, I decided that it was time to return...C. and I went there what now feels like years ago (because it was), and I loved it but somehow never got back. So on a Friday a few weeks back, I went to Doma solo. I started with the monkfish pate appetizer, which remained an interesting and tasty dish. So creamy and rich, with a taste all its own...and a little wasabi tobikko to boot.
Then I went with the spicy brothed ramen, which came with half a medium boiled egg, jalepeno, skinny mushrooms, a square of seaweed and greens. I enjoyed it very much, but the broth wasn't quite as porky/fatty as the NYC version. I am still such a newcomer to ramen, but I know that it comes in different styles, so I'm glad to try them...though so far the fatty pork version is still my fave.
The noodles had that nice spring to them that most food writers mention or discuss in depth when they turn their attentions to ramen. Doma is a nice place, and I really should go there more...though I don't really love their high top tables and not 100% comfortable chairs.

Planatee Adventure

Last Saturday LW and I went on a bit of an adventure. We had three destinations, all in new places for me in Philadelphia. And the route, once determined on Google maps, resembled a manatee's body with a platypus' beak (beak?). It started with driving up Route 1 to Pho Hoa. This was a new pho place to try for us both. And unlike my still-favorite Pho Ha, this is a chain. They have locations in Philly, California, Florida, even Missouri. It was a big space, a little run down in the corners, but not to such an extent that I felt uncomfortable eating there. We sat in a booth with sprung springs and decided on what we were going to eat. I decided to try their summer roll to start, and then pho with steak, flank and fatty flank.
This was an ok roll, the the grilled pork version at Pho Ha had a lot more character and punch in terms of flavor. Decent, but forgettable.
The pho itself was pretty good. By the time my bowl got to me, however, the meat was all entirely cooked, which was a bit of a bummer. I don't need bloody steak or anything, but I like to at least start with something a little more pink. I think what I may have to do, no matter where I go, is to really make it clear that I want my meat rare.
Then we both had the hot condensed milk coffee treat that opens your eyes and wonders your mind. Yes. It wonders your mind. Deal with it.
This was sort of on the back of the manatee.

Ramen c/o Ren's Ramen and Old Stomping Grounds

On the Friday after Thanksgiving I didn't have a lot of plans. Earlier in the week I had reached out to G. to see if he might like to meet up. G. and I grew up together. His mother watched me when I was little, and we lived about a 1 minute walk from one another and spent our entire elementary school and middle school years waiting at the same bus stop. We were buds back in the day, I'd say. But it's been a while since we've hung out and with time on my hands I thought 'why not,' especially when I saw a write-up for Ren's Ramen in Wheaton. Braving the Black Friday traffic, I wended my way over, parked, exchanged a dollar for four quarters, paid for my parking, and finally sat down. G. and I both liked the option of ordering pork belly into the mix, but he went a spicier route than me. I thought I'd be able to find their menu online and tell you exactly which dish I ended up ordering, but that seems to be a wash. In any case, it was porkful and I added a seasoned hard boiled egg to the mix of pork, seaweed, springy noodles, tofu thingies and scallions.
The broth wasn't quite as complex or creamy as my first true ramen experience in NYC, but it was still a marked improvement over the Top Ramen type of sodium laced water that often is what we think of when we think ramen. Tasty. Wheaton is not the most appealing of suburban cities. It's chock full of congested traffic, strip malls and real malls, and copious numbers of boring brick apartment buildings that eventually taper off into rather forgettable neighborhoods. I think the the regrettable thing about Wheaton is that it has no secret magic spaces of the outdoor variety. It's all concrete and brick with very few parks, and even those parks (I actually can't think of one) are sad. That said, Wheaton has also been a veritable cornucopia for adventurous eaters. It was to Wheaton that we would go to get dim sum on Sunday mornings, or Vietnamese on an odd week night. I believe Wheaton is also where I tasted my first pho and enjoyed teriyaki beef for the first time. Indonesian? Check. Salvadoran? Yep. And there used to be this really neat Viennese bakery, but that, unfortunately, is long gone. Anyways. G. and I both enjoyed reminiscing and catching up; pulling out names of past classmates to reflect over, often with no idea of what has become of them. As well as a few of our shared experiences. After lunch it was decided that we'd get coffee closer to where we grew up.
But once at the establishment that once was the Country Store, we found that it was closed and would not give us the glory of espresso. So, coffee-less, we traipsed through the woods, perhaps trespassed a little on the new construction, made a big loop and ended up on the train tracks, which truly did form some central part of both our childhoods I think. While the trains no longer honk their horns (horns?) as they barrel down in the tracks like they did in my youth, they are still an ever present part of the neighborhood and landscape. After scrambling up a relatively steep incline just feet away from my old house, we were up.
Took some photos.

Saw some deer parts.

It was nice to see G. I think we hadn't seen each other in the flesh for about 10 years or so, which certainly meant there were a lot of life experiences to share and catch up on.

Real Ramen c/o Ippudo

On Sunday as we were driving to the park for L.'s kickball game, I noted a small ramen shop and mentioned the fact that I'd never really had proper ramen. This sparked the decision that Monday's lunch would be ramen. Fast forward to Monday. L. and I took the subway into Manhattan and made our way through the serious heat to Ippudo. After just a few minutes' wait, we were seated at the large wood bar-like area in the middle of the dining space. This allowed us to have a view of the chefs, most other tables, and ourselves (there was a mirror). Worst explanation ever. I ordered a Sapporo on draft.
For my meal I did a lunch special set. Which meant the choice of a small rice dish in addition to a specific ramen. For my rice course/dish I ordered the Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) over rice. It wasn't as spicy as I might have expected, but it was good.
While a number of preparations appealed to me in terms of the ramen options (wasabi shoyu ramen I'm looking at you), I decided that for my first ramen experience it would probably be for the best to start out with a more classic version. So I ordered the Shiromaru Hakata Classic, "the original 'Tonkotsu' noodle soup topped with pork loin chashu, kikurage, menma, red pickled ginger, sesame, and scallions." I added a seasoned soft boiled egg to the mix. Unlike pho, or the 'ramen' you make at home, this broth wasn't something you could penetrate with your eyes. It was cloudy, creamy and rich with fat and porky goodness. Nuttiness of the sesame nicely accompanied by the occasional crunch of pickled ginger. The noodles, as many a review of ramen I had read mentioned, had a little springiness to them. Sigh. Now I'm thinking about ramen at 8:30 in the morning.
The mirror was confusing in some way to me. It so totally reflected the restaurant and even though I saw myself in it, I still felt like I was in some way looking at something in front of me instead of something behind me. Weird.

Rock Shrimp Tempura and Shredded Duck and Udon c/o Sang Kee Asian Bistro

So, on that Saturday I did a few things with my day before heading out into the suburbs during a particularly rainy night. Like, really, really rainy. Why, you might ask, was I going out to the suburbs? Well, my new-ish friend G. was performing at a bar mitzvah and asked me to video tape him and his cohort doing their belly dancing thing. When I agreed to do it, G. wasn't sure exactly when they would be performing. He only knew that they had to be there at 7. I wasn't all that interested in sitting in a backroom for an undetermined amount of time, so we agreed that I would come separately, have dinner nearby, and he'd let me know the details when he knew the details. And lo' a plan was made. I then got down to the very important task of determining where I would eat. After sussing out my preference for Asian cuisine, I considered a few different spots within the synagogue's immediate vicinity. It didn't take me long to narrow it down to Sang Kee Asian Bistro. I had heard good things about their Philly location, and figured that I might as well take advantage of this strange jaunt into suburbia to try their fare. It was relatively packed - even for a rainy evening - but since I was just one person, I was quickly seated at the bar that runs along the back of the space and faces the kitchen/prep area. There was some delay in actually being served, due mainly to the fact that my server thought I was waiting for someone. That is, I guess, one of the risks of eating alone; people have a hard time believing that you're eating alone. In any case, the delay gave me a good amount of time to look over their menu, and at the food others were eating. An older couple to the left of me struck up a conversation and told me that basically nothing I ordered wouldn't be phenomenal. I was drawn to their special rock shrimp appetizer and their shredded duck udon, though I also considered their big bowl broth noodle soup, as well as the special shrimp stuffed relleno peppers. I went with the udon and rock shrimp, but the man to the right of me had the peppers and my god did they look incredible. Their incredible-ness was confirmed by the many exhortations the man made to his wife and the waiter about the dish. I began having order remorse, but soldiered on. They start the meal with a little pickled veggie bowl. It doesn't look like much but it was a nice palate cleansing beginning.
The rock shrimp tempura weren't quite as typically tempura-like as I expected. Less panko, more standard crispy breading. But not overly breaded, and still quite good. I liked the creamy spicy sauce drizzled over it and the addition of blueberries really added something to the tastes and textures.
The duck udon was described as Shredded duck, Napa, scallion, carrot in XO spicy sauce. I liked it very much, but I wouldn't say that it was all that spicy at all. Later on I made friends with the couple to the right of me, and they also agreed that you really can't go wrong with Sang Kee. I look forward to going to the Philly location and trying more of what they're selling.
After I finished my meal I got lost for a while. Then I finally figured out which direction I had to go in to get un-lost. I arrived in plenty of time for the dancing. This was my first time getting anywhere near a bar or bat mitzvah. I imagine I would have found it more fun had I been 13 ... now I simply find scores of teenage boys running around thinking they're the shit terrifying. It's been so long since I've taken photographs of people that I don't know that I forgot that you really do need to direct and cajole them, while also putting them at ease. I took a few photos of the group, and this was the best of the bunch ... and it's not very good. Sigh. Photography fail.
Their dancing was entertaining and it seemed like the crowd enjoyed it. One woman in the group danced with a sword on her head ... and then did the splits with the sword on her head. I found it quite impressive. Afterwards I bid the dancers adieu and began the drive back home. It wasn't as torrentially raining, but the steady fall over the hours before had caused many a road to start flooding. I chose not to go on 76 and to take Kelly Drive instead, which definitely had some serious pools of water overflowing to the road. I'm always a little afraid of hydroplaning. Even though I don't really know what that means. I just know that a cool older neighbor of mine hydroplaned once when I was younger, and that has stuck in my mind as something I wouldn't want. Not taking 76 was a really smart move. G. and his crew ended up stuck on it for hours because of a mudslide.

Soup, Curry and More c/o Thai Tida

Once Mr. Ass was finished with his responsibilities we gathered ourselves together and began to play a game of Scrabble. Unfortunately I may have gotten us a bit off the topic of Scrabble and the game was never completed. Actually, that may have actually worked out for Mr. Ass's pride in the long run since I had a pretty good chance of getting a bingo. Heh. L. met up with us and then we all went to Thai Tida in Lambertville. While the man at the front was, to put it mildly, a bit less than cordial to us upon our entrance, our servers were quite friendly. I wanted the Tom Yum soup, so I ordered it.
Mr. Ass wanted the sweater shrimp. So he ordered them.
I made a game time decision and went with the green curry with chicken. This dish started at 'medium' and then you could add 'one pepper' 'two peppers' or 'three' for additional spice. I assume these were figurative peppers not literal ones, though I guess it could work either way. I went with one pepper over medium.
L. ordered the duck with three peppers, or maybe two? And Mr. Ass ordered the Drunken Noodles. My dish was definitely spicy, and L.'s spicier than that. I really couldn't take L.'s dish. Yes, there was flavor there and I knew it, but my mouth burned and burned. The drunken noodles were more my style. I guess this is my foodie weakness: an inability to really appreciate food that makes my mouth burn. I mean, I love wasabi, but that's more of a head rush than a slow, neverending burn.
Spiciness aside, it was a good dinner and continued my weekend's eating tour of Asia, you'll see that it continued.