Com Tam Thuan Kieu - Garden Grove, CA

Have you ever read a food blog review and gone, "I have got to get me a piece of that?" Go on. Admit it. I know you have. If you're reading this blog and the ones that link to it, you probably love food as much as I do.

It happens to me all the time. One moment I'm reading A Passion for Food or mmm-yoso!!! while I eat my lunch, the next moment I've got a serious jonesing for a deep fried Monte Cristo sandwich or Spam Curry that no amount of the green salad and grilled chicken breast I packed from home can alleviate. So tasty, yet so out of reach...

So, you can understand why when I read this review by Elmomonster about the broken rice at Com Tam Thuan Kieu and realized it was less than fifteen minutes away from my office, I tossed my barely touched salad back in the fridge and went looking for a partner in crime.

(Yes, I'm reviewing the place less than a week after Elmo did. In this case, I'm a biter. Mea culpa, though I am giving full credit for the discovery to my primary source. Consider it a supplemental work. =b)

Although I actually had to wait until the next day to realize my com tam craving, I eventually located a suitable second for this daring escapade; fellow manager and next door office neighbor, "the Family Man". The family man is Vietnamese and a com tam fan, so convincing him that we needed to check this place out wasn't difficult. After a fight through traffic due to construction, we arrived.

At this point, I need to make sure you've read Elmo's review, otherwise this article won't make as much sense.



Coincidentally, Com Tam Thuan Kieu is less than a block away from Furiwa Seafood Restaurant, which I reviewed last weekend. Con Tam Thuan Kieu is located on the corner of Lyndon and Brookhurst, just after the 11th and Brookhurst intersection if you're headed into Garden Grove from Fountain Valley.

Let me tell you, bringing along the Family Man was a stroke of genius. I speak about as much Vietnamese as I do Spanish, which means I can name random food items. My guess is that our server that day spoke English to roughly the same degree. Luckily for me, the Family Man is first generation Vietnamese, which means I was in with the in crowd that day. Obtaining seating and water were not issues.



In his review, Elmo covered the #7 Com Tam Thuan Kieu 7 mon A pretty well. So I ordered the #8 Com Tam Thuan Kieu 7 mon B. I've tried to figure out what was actually on my plate to the best of my ability, using the picture I took and the help of the Chinese characters on the menu.



As far as I can tell, despite the confusing English description, my plate contained the following:

• Bi - Shredded Pork; the noodley stuff in the middle. According to Elmo, this item was "Wispy strands of translucent pork skin and julienned meat tossed with toasted rice powder." But if I hadn't know that from his review, I would have sworn I was eating oddly seasoned rice noodles. The pork had a firm, chewy, gelatinous texture with a mildly pleasant taste that wasn't remotely meat-like. As a textural component, it added a bit of variety, but I could take it or leave it.



• Cha - Vietnamese Egg Quiche; the pie-like stuff in the upper left with the disturbingly orange-red top. Made with bits of sliced pork, wood ear mushrooms, and glass noodles, it was savory and juicy, with a soft, fine curd. Probably one of my favorite items in this plate.



• Nem - Broiled Beef Meatball; the two brown, heel-shaped things in the lower left. From the Chinese characters, "nem" just means meatball. My guess is that Com Tam Thuan Kieu switches up what meat the meatball is made from depending on the day, since Elmo's was pork and mine was definitely beef. I've always been a big fan of Asian-style meatballs, which are made from a finely minced, seasoned paste of meat, and are usually boiled or steamed before any other cooking techniques are applied to them. These were cooked well, but unremarkable in flavor.



• Cha Gio - Vietnamese Egg roll; if I have to describe it, you've been living in the boonies. An excellent example of its breed, this one was filled with seasoned pork. A proper egg roll isn't too large, is crispy on the outside, is warm and cooked through on the inside, isn't to greasy, has a good balance between its ingredients, and is able to retain its crispy skin indefinitely. This egg roll delivered in the spades.



• Tau Hu Ky - Shrimp Sausage wrapped in Bean Curd Skin; the rectangular thing on the bottom right that looks like a block of deep fried tofu. This is my all-time favorite Vietnamese food item. Finely ground, seasoned shrimp meat was steamed in a block, then wrapped in yuba bean curd skin and deep fried. The resulting crispy and springy texture was highly appealing to me, although I think some might find it a bit bland. Cat is quite fond of these things too.



• Chao Tom - Shrimp Sausage Broiled on Sugarcane; the curled, orange hemispheres in the upper center. Very similar in texture and flavor to the tau hu ky, but the sugarcane added an extra bit sweetness and caramelization. Quite enjoyable.



• Suon - Charbroiled Pork Chop; far right of the plate. Simply seasoned with salt, it had nice caramelization, but was a little dry. I prefer Taiwanese fried pork chops.

I think I was supposed to be able to choose something other than the pork chop; at least that's what both the Chinese characters and English description let me to believe. However, that topic never came up during my admittedly limited conversation with the waiter. Might have been for the best. As Elmo warned me, this plate was huuuuuuuge. Two-thirds of it is still sitting in my fridge at the office.

Since the Family Man ordered in Vietnamese, I have no idea what number plate he selected. I'm guessing it was something like "Com Tam Bi Nem Heo", since his entree contained:

• Bi - Shredded Pork. See above.



• Nem - Broiled Beef Meatball. See above.



• Heo - Charbroiled Sliced Pork, which he was nice enough to share with me. The pork was a little dry, but well flavored with soy sauce, nuoc mam, ginger, scallions, and other spices.

The main draw was, of course, the com tam. The broken bits of rice were steamed and had a texture somewhat reminiscent of couscous. I thought it was a little oily from all the fried and broiled items piled on top, and also a bit too dry. The Family Man thought it was pretty good. But since he prefers his com tam plain, fluffy, and without excess moisture, the extra juices that had seeped into the rice from his heo turned him off a little. We both thought the com tam was ok, but not the best we'd ever had. I think Com Tam Thuan Kieu might benefit from separating the rice from the toppings in its presentation in order to cater to different tastes.

The nuoc cham was excellent, although I felt the need to kick it up with some extra chili garlic paste. I also downed about seven of the Thai bird chiles with my meal for extra flavor and heat. The trick to surviving such an ordeal is in the order of consumption.

1. First, apply some nuoc cham to your food. The Family Man likes to sprinkle it on his rice. I like to cut off a piece of protein and dip it.


2. Then, eat your piece of protein with a spoonful of rice. As typical Asian eaters, the Family Man and I use small pieces of protein and large spoonfuls of rice.


3. While chewing your food, take a healthy bite of the chile. The Family Man though I was crazy. The heat from Thai bird chiles isn't too bad. If you want to start off slow, eat the red chiles first. Immature chiles are hotter than ripe ones.


4. If the heat becomes too much of you, eat some of the julienned carrot and daikon pickles provided. The sugar used in the pickle brine will bind to the capsaicin in the chile and neutralize it. Certain chemicals in the daikon will also help.


5. Sip some of the broth to wash away the last of the pickle and the heat.


6. Take a bite of cucumber to clear your palate.


7. Repeat.

Com Tam Thuan Kieu - A good place to satisfy any com tam cravings.


Bill (for one):

#8 Com Tam Thuan Kieu 7 mon B - 7.95

Tax - 0.62
Tip - 1.43

Total - 10.00


Flavor: B+
Ambience: C+
Service: A (As long as you have a handy native speaker.)
ROI: A+

Overall: B+



Com Tam Thuan Kieu
14282 Brookhurst St.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
1-714-531-4852


Other Locations:
Com Tam Thuan Kieu
120 E Valley Blvd., Ste. I
San Gabriel, CA 91776
1-626-280-5660

Read More

Photos Finished? - [Crazies]

Can I take your picture? Let me zoom out a little. I want to get your plate too. Actually, if you could maybe move back so I can get the plate centered? A little more... Little more... Would you mind switching places with me?

My angelic food blogging friend Passionate Eater posted this thought-provoking article on restauranteurs' reactions to photo happy food bloggers. A very interesting read.

As a side note, I follow each of the rules listed at the end of the article. They just make good sense.

Read More

Curry House Redux - [Crazies]

Had a pretty full day today. Managed to do some more writing for ye olde food blog, but nothing whose hideous countenance I'm quite ready to expose to the light of day. Still, all that work without posting something would make me sad. So, here are a few shots of my dinner.



What's in the box?



Mmmm... Una-ju from Curry House! Eeltastic!

Yeah, yeah. I know. All the mental institutions are full right now though.

I sleep now.

Read More

Furiwa Seafood Restaurant (Super Post) - Garden Grove, CA

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100.

Edit: 2007-08-14 9:35pm
Click here to read my review of how Furiwa's catering service performed on our wedding day.)

You know that scene from the Incredibles where Mr. Incredible goes to visit E and her first comment to him is, "My God you're gotten fat!" My scale and I had one of those moments yesterday morning when I weighed-in and I discovered that I'd gained seven pounds since the start of the month; not a good thing. It didn't take long for me to realize that my recent foray into the delightfully delicious world of food blogging was the culprit. Over the past two months I've published 11 articles and amassed pictures and data for 35 more; a fairly obvious case of supply outstripping demand.

With a body that's highly efficient at converting food -> energy -> stored energy a.k.a. fat, and a passion for food, I've struggled with my weight my entire life. So unwanted weight gain of around five pounds is fairly familiar to me. I know exactly how to resolve it; resume counting calories, diet healthily, and increase the amount of exercise I take. By this time next month, I'll be back to normal. I know what I need to do. I've done it before, and it's fairly easy for me once I get started. So why oh I did the day my scale gave me a rude awakening also have to be the day I was supposed to do a menu tasting for my wedding banquet next year?



Furiwa Seafood Restaurant lies in the heavily Vietnamese belt that runs along the border of Huntington Beach, spanning the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove. In addition to its excellent pho and bahn mi shops, this area is also known for some of the best Cantonese cuisine restaurants in Orange County. Furiwa itself is a relative unknown, having garnered very little attention from the Chowhound community in North OC. Cat and I were turned on to it by the catering manager for our wedding site. Furiwa came highly recommended as a licensed and bonded wedding caterer, and was one of the few restaurants the hotel would permit on its grounds. It was also the only hotel-approved vendor that served Chinese-style wedding banquets. Hey, it pays to be the only game in town.

On the plus side, due to its unique relationship with the hotel, Furiwa is allowed to bring its own wok burners and fryers to set up in the hotel's kitchen. They hook their wok burners directly into the hotel's main gas line, thus allowing them to prepare and serve restaurant quality food in a banquet setting the way is was meant to be served; hot out of the wok, one or two dishes at a time, using just-in-time delivery. This will hopefully result in higher quality food than might be supplied by a vendor required to transport the finished product to the wedding site and reheat it.

Since Cat and I both work in the part of Huntington Beach bordering Westminster, Garden Grove, and Fountain Valley, Furiwa is ridiculously convenient for us. Cat and I already stopped by for an undercover preliminary tasting last month. Last night’s visit was with Cat's parents to finalize the menu.

We arrived at the restaurant at around 6:50pm. The first thing I noticed was the lack of clientele. At prime dinner time on a Friday night, there were only two occupied tables in a dining area large enough to seat hundreds. I had noticed the same low number of guests the last time Cat and I had visited, but had hoped it was just a fluke. Still, since we were doing a tasting for a catered event, it was all about the food.

While the exterior of the restaurant is a little run down, much like the strip mall that hosts it, the interior is actually fairly posh, with lacquered wood furniture, white linen tablecloths, and monogrammed china. Of course, the restaurant has obviously seen better days. An area along the back wall is being used as a storage area for extra tables, chairs, ladders, maintenance supplies, etc. The carpet and wall decorations are tasteful, but have clearly been around for a while. The wait staff's uniforms are clean, but visibly worn. The linens are also very clean, but not exactly fresh or new. In terms of its decor, Furiwa isn't a first-class Cantonese restaurant by any stretch. However, it observes enough of the niceties that I would consider it a top, mid-scale dining locale.

The service at Furiwa was quite good. The wait staff was fast and efficient, and did a great job of making sure dishes were cleared away and leftovers were packed up. At one point, my water glass remained empty for over half an hour. However, that's a quirk of service at most Chinese restaurants. You rarely get more water unless you ask for it. The teapot, on the other hand, was always full.

The catering staff was far less acceptable. While we were about twenty minutes late to our tasting appointment (we called ahead and let them know we were running behind schedule), the lady with whom we'd made the tasting appointment hadn't gotten there by the time we were seated. We were told that she was with another client and was running late. A little while later, her assistant, a young woman named Anne, came out and explained that she would be helping us with the tasting in place of her boss.

Things were fine as we began discussing the wedding menus Furiwa normally offers and choosing substitutions for some of the dishes. The sticky point came when I asked if we could substitute a beef dish in lieu of the Honey Walnut Shrimp. Anne responded by telling me about how special their Honey Walnut Shrimp was compared to others. I said that I understood that, but that there was at least one wedding guest who was deathly allergic to shellfish, and a few others who didn't eat seafood. Anne countered by telling me that Chinese wedding banquets were all about the ultimate luxury food, seafood, and that people who ordered Chinese wedding banquets understood this. I told her that since close to 80% of the wedding guests were going to be Caucasian, and since the comfort of our guests was our primary concern, we needed to make sure there were at least a few dishes which would satisfy people with different dietary considerations. At this point, every dish we had on the menu so far contained some form of seafood, shellfish, or shellfish product.

Things rapidly deteriorated from there. I, thinking of the wedding guests, insisted on including non-seafood dishes. Anne stubbornly insisted that things weren't done this way, and seemed particularly fixated on getting the Honey Walnut Shrimp onto the menu. She was also unwilling to remove any of the restaurant's signature dishes from our wedding menu. I finally lost my temper and told her to get the manager, Ken, whom I'd met and exchanged business cards with the last time I'd visited the restaurant. Once Ken arrived, a quick exchange in Cantonese and Mandarin (which Anne didn't speak) settled the issue. Our tasting would include the Honey Walnut Shrimp, a beef dish, and a chicken dish so that we could decide which we'd rather have. Ken handled our tasting from that point forward and was efficient, courteous, and utterly professional. I realize that from Anne's point of view, I was probably being a difficult customer. However, I wanted to make sure certain friends and family (from both Cat's side of the aisle and my own) had things they could eat at our wedding!

Enough with the drama, on to the food!



We started off with this Seven Star Appetizer Platter, which looked a lot prettier before we started taking it apart. We were so hungry at that point that by the time I realized I hadn't taken a photo of it yet, everyone was already on their second helping! The platter consisted of the following "delicacies".

• Cuttlefish marinated in a spicy chili sauce - Tart and spicy, this was one of my favorite items. The cuttlefish slices were nice and tender. The marinade was just sweet enough to counter the heat of the chili sauce without being cloying.


• Jellyfish marinated in a sweet and sour vinaigrette - The strips of jellyfish were appropriately crunchy. The vinaigrette, made with rice wine vinegar and sugar, was quite refreshing, if a little stronger than I would have preferred.


• Bamboo clams in a Chinese mustard sauce - Another favorite of mine from this platter. The clams were firm, yet soft and easy to chew. The sauce was probably one of the best Chinese mustard-based sauces I've had. Mayonnaise had been used to soften the impact of the peppery mustard while adding subtle flavor.


• Ham sausage - Made with seasoned pork that had been whipped into a paste and steamed, the texture was similar to Spam. I wasn't particularly impressed by this dish. Since it was resting on a mound of Chinese pickled vegetables, the subtle flavors of the ham sausage were completely overwhelmed by the sweet and sour flavor of the pickles.


• Chicken sausage - Similar to the ham sausage above, this dish was made with seasoned chicken meat which had been whipped into a paste and steamed. Once again, the flavors of the meat were drowned out by the pickled vegetables, although I could taste the faint presence of the chicken as it struggled to be heard.


• Head Cheese - Some sort of meat suspended in aspic and thinly sliced. From the looks of it, pork and pig ears were involved. I was told by Ken that there were also pickled oysters in there. If the pickled vegetables hadn't so successfully overwhelmed the flavors of the cold cuts, I might have been able to deconstruct the item better by taste.


• Shrimp - Not pictured since they'd all been eaten at that point. This was probably my least favorite item. The poached shrimp had a rubbery, chewy texture and were completely covered by a sweetened mayonnaise. Like the cold cuts, they suffered from being paired with the pickled vegetables.

As part of the fairly impressive presentation of the plate, the cold cuts and shrimp were displayed as part of a dome tureen with pickled vegetables in the center. From the flavor, I could tell the tureen had been prepared well in advance. As such, the juices from the vegetables had been fully absorbed by the meat, resulting in overwhelmed flavors and funny textures. I would have preferred to have tasted fresher preparations of these items. The general consensus at the table was that while the presentation had impact and the items were novel, the platter was probably too adventurous for a number of the guests. Furthermore, I wasn't fully satisfied with the quality of the tureen in the center. We decided to replace this platter with a Chinese barbecued meat platter that would accommodate our less adventurous guests, guests with food allergies, and guests who didn't like seafood.



Next up was a Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup. Large chunks of crabmeat were simmered in a thick, gentle seafood broth with pieces of tender, peeled asparagus stems. Beaten egg whites had been swirled in the hot soup to add additional texture and flavor. This soup has an instant hit with everyone at the table. However, it had some competition.



This thick and luxurious Fish Maw Soup was made using a deep-fried fish head, which had been simmered in a soy-based broth to make the soup. The head had been removed before serving, but small pieces of the batter and thin shreds of fish meat filled the soup, adding flavor and texture. It was a tough call.

The base menu set that we were working off of offered a Shark Fin soup, which hadn't particularly impressed me when I'd had it during my last visit. These two soups were our replacement options. Cat's mother really liked the Fish Maw Soup, which both Cat's father and I also liked. However, Cat strongly preferred the Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup to the Fish Maw Soup. Her father and I both agreed that the Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup was slightly better and would appeal to a greater number of guests. Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup was added to our menu, but I highly recommend both soups to anyone who visits the restaurant. Stay away from the Shark Fin Soup.



After the soups, we moved on to the contentious Honey Walnut Shrimp. It was very good, no doubt about it. The shrimp were battered, fried, and lightly coated in a sauce made using honey, mayonnaise, and orange juice, so they were nicely crunchy. The walnuts were crunchy as well, with a thin layer of caramelized sugar and sesame seeds that blended well with the bitterness of the walnuts, helping to cut the richness of the shrimp. The overall effect was very balanced.

Cat's father was very impressed by the shrimp. I also thought the dish was very good, but not much different from other Honey Walnut Shrimp dishes I'd had in the past. I still couldn't understand why Anne had been so insistent that we have this on the menu. Cat and her mother had no strong opinions either way. Since Cat's father liked the shrimp so much, the dish was added to our menu.



This French-style Crispy Beef was my dish of choice for our more terrestrially inclined and seafood challenged guests. Pieces of marinated filet mignon were diced, floured, and flash fried before being tossed in a sauce made with soy sauce, butter, course ground pepper, and other spices. The resulting dish combined the tastes and textures of a well prepared French filet mignon with a distinctly Cantonese flare. While Chinese chefs are known for being able to transform tough cuts of meat into delicious food, what they can do with high quality ingredients can be absolutely extraordinary. The dish was a hit and was added to the menu by universal agreement. As far as I'm concerned, this is a must-have dish at Furiwa, and one that I'll probably return time and time again to sample.



As an alternative to the French-style Crispy Beef or Honey Walnut Shrimp, Ken suggested that this Orange Peel Chicken might appeal to larger number of the Caucasian guests. The chicken was quite good, and similar to one of Cat's favorite dishes from the Red Onion Cafe, albeit of higher quality. Floured pieces of chicken were deep fried, then tossed in a mild sweet and spicy sauce made with Chinese fermented orange peels. But, no matter how well made it was, Orange Chicken was still Orange Chicken, and we felt that it would be too reminiscent of steam table Chinese takeout. Don't get me wrong. Comparing Furiwa's Orange Peel Chicken to the Orange Chicken offered by say Panda Express would be like comparing a Honda Civic to a Lexus LS; they're both cars but what a difference. Still, not quite the flavor we were looking for in our wedding menu.



Since we were considering dishes without seafood, Ken had this tasty dish brought out to us. An entire duck had been butter-flied, de-boned, breaded with panko crumbs, and deep fried. Served with steamed buns and a sweet and sour duck sauce, it captured the heart of Cat's mother. I liked it as well, although I couldn't help thinking of it as a giant duck katsu and imagining it with curry sauce and rice. My only complaints were that the duck meat was a little dry, that the skin had been removed, and that frying process had rendered out most of the tasty fat. Still, enough excellent duck flavor remained in the meat to satisfy me. Cat was not particularly enamored with the dish. Cat's father thought it was good, but not wedding menu good, and I agreed. The dish wasn't selected for our wedding menu.



The last dish we tried was Cat's personal favorite, and her dish of choice for the wedding menu; Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste. An entire chicken was butter-flied, de-boned, and coated with seasoned shrimp paste. The skin side was seasoned while the shrimp paste side was breaded with panko. The whole thing was then deep fried, sliced, and served. Plain, the chicken was awesome, with crispy skin, a gentle, complex flavor, and a springy texture from the shrimp paste. With either of the two condiments provided, sweet and sour duck sauce or course ground pepper, salt, and lemon, the dish was amazing. For us, it was a shoo-in. Cat's parents liked it as well, although her mother seemed a little disappointed that we weren't going with the duck. This is Cat's must-have dish at Furiwa. Whenever I go to sample the French-style Crispy Beef, I'm sure she'll be ordering the Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste.

Furiwa is an excellent restaurant. I must say that after tasting the food, I'm even more surprised at how empty it was on a Friday night. In my opinion, its cuisine is being overlooked in favor of, and overshadowed by, some of the better known restaurants in the area. The service from the manager and the wait staff was superb and the food was wonderful. The prices were highly competitive. The average dish on the regular dinner menu was around $12-$15, and the labor-intensive Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste was only around $20. I would recommend Furiwa for anyone looking for high-class Cantonese cuisine at a reasonable price. It's not the best Cantonese food I've ever had, but for it’s certainly one of the best I've ever had with that price point, creativeness, and flavor. It deserves some Chowhound consideration. Have dinner there and order the French-style Crispy Beef and the Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste. I guarantee you'll love it.


Bill:

Since we were doing a wedding tasting, we were dealing with a lot of half orders and whatnot, so the bill I paid at the end of the evening wasn't indicative of their standard prices. Just expect to pay around $12-15 per dish for dinner, and around $20 for their more intricate items. Here's what we ended up selecting for our wedding menu:

• Five Star Appetizer Platter


• Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup


• Candied Walnut Shrimp and Shrimp Balls


• French-style Crispy Beef


• Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste


• Whole Steamed Fish


• Yang Chow Fried Rice


• Sliced Oranges

For a dinner party of four, I would recommend:

• Crabmeat with Asparagus Soup or Fish Maw Soup


• French-style Crispy Beef


• Crispy Boneless Chicken with Shrimp Paste


• Pan Fried Whole Scallops

Flavor: A- (They lost some points for the tureen in the Seven Star Platter)
Ambience: B+ (As mentioned before, the restaurant has seen better days)
Service: A (I'm ignoring the behavior of the catering associates. One no show and one more interested in having her way than in making customers with a several thousand dollar event account happy does not equal good service in my book. I'll post a follow-up article next year with pictures of the food from our wedding and a critique of how the catering staff handles the event. We'll see how they do then.)
ROI: B+ (In the middle range, but cheap when compared to the amount and quality of the dishes provided.)

Overall: A-


Furiwa Seafood Restaurant
13826 Brookhurst St.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
1-714-534-3996


Edit: 2007-08-14 9:35pm
Read the review of my experience with Furiwa's wedding catering service: Furiwa Seafood Restaurant (Wedding Catering) - Garden Grove, CA [Eating]

Read More

Irvine Global Village Festival 2006 - Irvine, CA

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100.)

Every September, the City of Irvine holds a large cultural festival in the park next to city hall. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the city's rich cultural diversity.

"Cultural diversity? In Irvine? Hah!” you scoff.

As most SoCalites know, Irvine boasts large populations of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean descent. But, believe it or not, Irvine also has significant numbers of Americans with Indian, Persian, Russian, Jewish, and South African backgrounds. In short, we're not as white-washed as all that.



The highlight of the euphoniously named Irvine Global Village Festival is the food. Dozens of stalls ring a huge eating area with bands and live entertainment. Restaurants from all cultures and all over Orange County compete for customers, offering tasty tapas-like samples from their menus are dirt cheap prices. It's a Chowhound's paradise.


(The wagon isn't mine. It was being used by an enterprising father of two who was kind enough to let me take a picture.)



Since there were more dishes available at this festival than one man could possibly eat, I enlisted the aid of two assistants. First off, there was me, your humble food blogger:


Chubbypanda

Then there was my partner in life and gastronomic crime:


Cat

But since Cat is a slender slip of a girl with a birdlike appetite, despite her love for tasty eats, I needed some backup; a real heavy hitter with good taste buds, a stomach of iron and two wooden legs. I knew just the man for the job. I called up my old friend and house mate from college:


The Shire Nomad

With my team assembled, it was time to get to work. I tweaked my normal rating system to take the fair atmosphere into account and headed out of the dugout. Game on!



First up to bat was this combo plate from a booth jointly run by Koba Tofu House and the Irvine Korean Parents Association. For five dollars, you got the following:

• Three individual pieces of bulkogi - Grilled, marinated Korean short ribs


• A generous portion of oi kimchee - Spicy cucumber pickles


• Four fried dumplings


• A bowl of rice

The price was right and the portions were decent, but frankly I was disappointed. The bulkogi was undercooked and still raw by the bone. Cat refused to even touch it. I'm Asian and, since I paid for it, I ate it. It was seasoned well, but chewy and gristly in the way only undercooked meat can be. While I understand the difficulty in preparing food in outdoor conditions, Koreans are the Asian masters of the grill, and this food was being prepared by a restaurant. There was no excuse for undercooked meat that might have made their customers sick. The oi kimchee was all right, if a little over-salted for my taste. The dumplings were mediocre; crispy on the outside and bland on the inside with a filling of chicken meat, celery, carrots, and spices. The steamed rice was standard, and probably the best part of the place.

While I hesitate to judge a restaurant by the quality of the food it serves in an outdoor setting, I'll probably try the other tofu houses in Irvine before I make my way to Koba.

Price: $5

Flavor: D (undercooked meat)
ROI: D

Overall: D

Koba Tofu House
14370 Culver Dr
Irvine, CA 92604
1-949-262-0261




Next up to the plate after Koba struck out so unequivocally were these two samplers procured by the Shire Nomad.

The first was the sampler on the left. An appetizer plate offered by Supatra Thai Bistro, it consisted of a steamed dumpling, a crispy fried wonton, and a stick of chicken satay. This plate was all right, but nothing to write home about. According to the Shire Nomad, the flavors of the steamed dumpling were completely drowned out by the soy-based sauce. He was unable to figure out what was used in the filling. The crispy wonton was mostly texture with little flavor. The wrapper was nicely fried and the filling was meat based, but he could barely taste either the filling or the sweet, orange sauce drizzled over the top. The killer app for the sampler was the chicken satay. It was a little dry, as satays tend to be, but tender and flavorful. The peanut sauce compensated nicely for the dryness and nicely complemented the flavors of the meat without overpowering them.

Yorba Linda is a little out of my way, but I just might give Supatra a try the next time I'm visiting one of my friends in the area.

Total: $2

Flavor: B (The satay was good, but the dumplings were unremarkable.)
ROI: B+

Overall: B+

Supatra Thai Bistro
21560 Yorba Linda Blvd. E
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
1-714-693-2888


Mozambique was up after Supatra, with their Seafood Curry Sampler (pictured above on the right). Tender chunks of white fish were poached in Mozambique's coconut-based house curry sauce and served with a mini roll. The Shire Nomad thought the fish was excellently cooked, and that the curry was rich and spicy without being too strong or hot. Unfortunately, the combination of fish and curry didn't appeal to his palate.

The Shire Nomad isn't particularly fond of seafood. I, on the other hand, eat a lot of fish. I thought the bit of the sauce I tried was intriguing, and am planning on making a trip to the restaurant to try out the real deal.

Total: $2

Flavor: B (Based on the Shire Nomad's review.)
ROI: A

Overall: A-

Mozambique Restaurant
1740 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
1-949-715-7777
http://www.mozambiqueoc.com





With Supatra on second and Mozambique on first, we needed a reliable hitter to load the bases. I thought I had a sure thing when I got into the loooong line in front of the Otafuku Foods booth for some vegetable okonomiyake. Like House Foods of Curry House fame, Otafuku Foods is an import company marketing Japanese condiments. They'd set up the okonomiyake booth at the festival in order to showcase their company's sauces in a city with a high Asian population. It worked, since without their sauce, the okonomiyake was really nondescript. Made with a thick flour batter, their okonomiyake contained cabbage, green onion, carrots, corn, soybeans, and tofu, was the approximate size and shape of a hockey puck, and tasted like... Otafuku Foods Okonomiyake Sauce, of course. The surface area was more charred than crispy and, other than the textural component added by the soybeans, the okonomiake was a mediocre example of its breed.

Otafuku sauces are available in most Asian grocery stores. The sauces are actually pretty good. I just hope the company never tries opening an okonomiyake grill.

Total: $1

Flavor: C
ROI: A

Overall: B

Otafuku Foods, Inc.
377 Van Ness Ave., #1208
Torrance, CA 90501
1-310-787-8000
http://www.otafukufoods.com





Otafuku had whiffed it and been tagged out. We only had one more shot or the inning would be over. A smart manager would pick a reliable player, like Stonefire Grill or Cha for Tea, to load the bases and maybe even bring one of the boys home. But I was weak and decided to gamble it all on the dim sum from Russell's Seafood Palace, with surprising results.

For only two dollars, I was able to choose a dim sum sampler with three items. I chose the following in clockwise order, starting from the upper left of the container:

• Lotus Seed Jin Dui - Sweetened glutinous rice dough wrapped around a ball of sweet lotus seed paste, coated with sesame seeds and deep fried.


• Cha Siu Bao - Pork marinated and barbecued in a sweet Chinese sauce, minced, enclosed, and baked in a light, brioche like bread.


• Hom Sui Gok - Unsweetened glutinous rice wrapped around a savory pork, dried shrimp, and mushroom mixture, then deep fried.

Russell's had made an excellent calculation in choosing what to bring. Their lineup consisted of either baked or deep fried items with what's known in the food industry as "stamina" or "staying power", meaning that their items could sit out at room temperature for long periods of time without any noticeable decrease in quality. I know Russell's has a poor reputation with my fellow Chowhounds, but I was thoroughly satisfied with my choices.

The Lotus Seed Jin Dui was very crispy on the outside, with a soft, chewy crust. The lotus seed paste inside was mild, pleasant, and not overly sweet. The Cha Siu Bao was excellent, with just the right amount of sauce and tender pork filling. The crumb of the bun (the spongy part under the crust) was so light and fluffy it felt like it might blow off of my hand. I was a little surprised at how sticky the glaze covering the top was, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the dish. The Hom Sui Gok was a little oily, but not unpleasantly so. The exterior was crispy and flaky, like a piece of high quality tempura. The wrapper was soft and chewy, and just the right amount to spread the flavors of the filling throughout my mouth.

Russell's dim sum was panned by my fellow Chowhounds when it first opened. However, if the items I tasted at the festival were any indication, they may have improved significantly in the year and a half since. I think it's time to revisit Russell's, and I've added it to my list of places to review soon.

Total: $2

Flavor: A-
ROI: A

Overall: A

Russell's Seafood Palace
1818 Main St.
Irvine, CA 92614
1-949-476-1818
http://www.russellsseafoodpalace.com





Two outs, bases loaded. I'd gotten lucky with Russell's, but now I needed a home run or we might lose it all. Luckily, I spotted Formosan Restaurant and their combo plate of delectable Taiwanese fare. I'd never been to Formosan before, but I know I could count on a Taiwanese restaurant to deliver serious good eats, and it did in the spades with a combo plate containing:

• A chicken drumstick - Braised Taiwanese style in a soy-based, five spice and tea broth.


• A tea egg - Braised in the same broth as the drumstick.


• Crispy, grilled Taiwanese pork sausage.


• A large helping of Taiwanese mixed rice with pork, dried shrimp, and shitake mushrooms.

Southeast Asian cuisine in general, and Taiwanese cuisine in particular, revolves around the concept of cheap street food. Some of the best meals I've ever had in this region have been served from rickety carts by the side of a road. So it's no wonder that when it comes to fair food, nobody throws down like the Taiwanese.

The chicken was moist and meltingly tender. The meat had been infused with the tea and spices, and was absolutely delicious. Cat enjoyed it very much, leaving nothing behind but the bone. Tea eggs are one of Cat's favorite Taiwanese dishes. This one was delicately scented by the tea, and had absorbed just the right amount of salt. The yolk practically melted when it hit the tongue. Cat scrummed this one up as well. The pork sausage was spectacular. Crisp on the outside but loaded with hot juice and fat on the inside, it burst in the mouth with every bite. This was a fresh sausage, which meant it hadn't been dried or cured. The flavors were milder than in the dried version, but pleasingly so. The mixed rice was complex yet simple, elegant yet profound. Small pieces of cooked lean pork, dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms, and Taiwanese fried shallots had been mixed with soy, spices, and steamed, short grained rice. Individually, the components were tasty but nothing special. Together, they became much more than the sum of their parts. My only complaint was that due to the time it had spent in the chafing dish, the rice wasn't as moist as it should have been. I'd love to have had it freshly made. I'm also used to having this dish made with more glutinous rice. However, the version Formosan served at the festival was still very satisfying.

I will definitely be visiting Formosan Restaurant often in the future. If what they served at the festival is any indication of their talent, Formosan has the potential to become one of my favorite Taiwanese restaurants.

Total: $5

Flavor: A-
ROI: A

Overall: A

Formosan Chinese Restaurant
23702 Rockfield Blvd
El Toro, CA 92630
1-949-458-7125



With Formosan's home run, I was quite satisfied with my Irvine Global Village Festival experience. However, that didn't mean we were done eating. Here's a quick lightning round of the rest.



The Shire Nomad picked up this combo plate from Chakra Indian Cuisine. We weren't sure what all that was, but it was essentially a plate with a samossa, rice pilaf, and some weird white stuff none of us had ever seen before. It also came with an amazing amount of cucumber yogurt in the bowl to the right.

The Shire Nomad loved the samossa, which contained an intriguing blend of mushrooms, herbs, and spices. The white stuff he described as some sort of spicy cottage cheese-like mix, and the rice pilaf was described as unremarkable. The cucumber yogurt was declared an utter failure, given the huge chunks of yogurt and the lack of incorporation of all the elements. The flavors hadn't melded.

The food in this combo was just a little too weird for all of us, even though we're all experienced lovers of Indian cuisine (Hooray for India Cook House!). I might give Chakra a whirl one of these days, but the reviews haven't been promising and the food they served at the festival didn't impress.

Total: $2

Flavor: C+
ROI: B

Overall: B-

Chakra Indian Cuisine
4143 Campus Dr.
Irvine, CA 92612
1-949-854-2425
http://www.chakracuisine.com/





Cat, the tea egg lover, scored this magnificent tea egg from the Champion Food booth. Champion is a chain of Chinese preserved food markets and supplies a number of preserved and prepared products in its stores, including frozen dumplings and buns, as well as preserved soy, meat, and seafood jerkies. What was surprising was that the Champion Food store participating is this event wasn't the one in Irvine, but was the one in Fountain Valley. The egg was pretty good. Saltier and more strongly flavored that the one from Formosan Restaurant, it was redolent with the flavor of Chinese five spice powder. Unfortunately, the flavor of the cloves in the powder was quite strong in this egg. Since cloves aren't Cat's cup of tea, the Shire Nomad and I split it.

I need to hit one of their stores and get me some tofu jerky.

Total: $1

Flavor: A
ROI: C

Overall: B

Champion Food Corporation
17090 Magnolia St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
1-714-841-0398





I was feeling the need for dessert, but instead of hitting Strickland’s, I decided to try some of the nosh at the African Hut. The African Hut is an online retailer specializing in South African wine and dry goods. They have a small brick and mortar presence tucked between a used bookstore and an antique gun shop in Laguna Niguel, but the bulk of their business is mail order. A few South African friends from the last video game development house I worked at introduced me to the African Hut and South African food several years ago, and it was love at first sight.

I picked up a piece of milk tart, which I'd never tried before, and a Stoney Ginger Beer with which to wash it down. The milk tart was wonderful. Sweet, custardy, milky, and light with a hint of cinnamon from the top, it enveloped me in its gentleness. The crust was flaky and moist, but not overly buttery or rich. I actually suspect that lard was used in its construction. The Stoney Ginger Beer as a perfect accompaniment. Sharp and peppery with a strong ginger flavor, it wasn't too sweet and helped cut the richness of the tart. The perfect closer to my food adventure.

I highly recommend the African Hut and its products to all of you.

The African Hut
27601 Forbes Rd
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
1-949-582-9546
http://www.africanhut.com/


On a strange note, although I normally don't play the race card, I thought I detected some racism from one of the South African women at the booth. There were two South African women there that day. The younger one was very friendly to me, but there was a definite cold wind blowing towards me from the older one. I still wouldn't have thought anything was wrong, except that the older one had been all sweetness and light to each of the two white customers who had been in front of me, and was friendly again to the white customer behind me. It could be that she just didn't like me, but my English is perfect (since I was born here), and I'm unfailingly polite to everyone I interact it (a holdover from my high school days in retail and food service). Most of my South African friends are my age and have been here for a while. However, I think that with some of the older generation, while they may have left apartheid, apartheid hasn't left them. Food for thought.

That one strange incident doesn't change my overall experience with the Irvine Global Village Festival, which I found an utterly worthwhile experience and quite enjoyable. It also shouldn't affect whether or not you decide to do business with the African Hut. I've actually met one of the owners in a professional capacity, since we both work in the IT industry. She struck me as warm, friendly, professional, and competent, and I'm happy to give her shop my custom.


The Irvine Global Village Festival
Bill Barber Park
4 Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606
http://www.cityofirvine.org/globalvillage/

One day every September from 10:00am-6:00pm

Read More

Irvine Global Village 2006 - Reminder

Quick reminder for any of you Chowhounds in the area. The Irvine Global Village Festival for 2006 will be this Saturday (9/16) from 10:00am - 6:00pm. The participating restaurant list this year looks as impressive as always. I'm particularly interested in trying the offerings by Formosan Restaurant in Lake Forest, as I haven't been there before.

In pseuso-C++,

if (formosan.value == "taiwanese" && food(formosan).tasty == true)
HappyPandaDance(Chubbypanda);

Cat and I will probably be there for an hour or two. I'll be posting a review of the event, and I'd love to see what some of you guys think as well.

Elmo, Prof, I'm eyeing you two. =D


Irvine Global Village Festival @ Bill Barber Park
4 Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606

10:00am - 6:00pm
Food service concludes at 5:00pm.

Admission is FREE! (Chubbypanda likes free.)
$1.00 Food Tasting Tickets will be available for purchase the day of the event

http://www.cityofirvine.org/globalvillage/default.asp

Read More

Lee's Sandwiches - Irvine, CA

It's 12:30am. I had a late lunch and no supper. I've been food blogging for the past three hours, and the latest round of photos that sexy bastard Kirk from mmm-yoso!!! put up has planted rumblings and grumblings in my tummy that just won't stop. It's crunchings and munchings time.

Fridge? Some leftover tomato soup and lotsa raw ingredients. Screw cooking. Push on.

Freezer. A few of Cat's emergency TV dinners (ain't touchin' those) and lotsa raw, frozen ingredients. Crap. I'm really getting hungry now.

Snack cupboard. Trusty old cupboard. You won't let me down. I believe in you. Whadda ya have for me today? Tins of chicken noodle soup, a few packets of kimchee ramen, and some candy bars. This is what I get for forgetting to hit Costco this weekend.

Great, some assembly required for everything other than the candy. Dammit, I'm an American! Instant gratification is my god-given right. I live in the land of plenty. Surely there must be a place nearby where I can get something decent to eat before bed. Aw hell. I forgot. I live in Irvine, the city of plenty, but only until 9:00pm. I'm facing a valley of dearth, beset on all sides by the tawdry temptations of fast food and the tyranny of the Irvine Company.

Chowhound. Chowhound will show me the way. Let's see, late night places in Orange County... Too far, can't make it in time, can't make it in time, too far, too far and scary as hell at night- hang on a second. Lee's Sandwiches in Westminster, eh? Definitely too far, but I think there's one near UCI. That's doable. I can get there, score some grub, and be in bed by 1:30am. Gotta be rested for work early tomorrow.



Wow, this place looks awfully superficial. That doesn't bode well for the food. Meh, it's Irvine. Everything is polished. I've still got a shot at style with substance. Why hello pretty counter girl, bahn mi me baby!



Now we're talking. Rub a dub dub, time for some grub.

Hot Wings - Huh. Came from a tray under a heat lamp. Heat lamps aren't evil; they're just the tools of evil. Mmm... Crispy, salty, spicy, chickeny. This stuff is pretty good. Is chickeny even a word? I've definitely been awake for too long.

Shrimp & Pork Spring Rolls - Uh oh. Came prepackaged. Hey! Who are they kidding!?! If this crap is goi cuon, I'm a flag-waving Chinese Communist. Flavorless shrimp, dry and tough BBQ pork, and shredded Romaine lettuce. Where are the herbs? Where's the flavor? Oooh! Thai basil leaf! Bah. Tastes like grass. Maybe the sauce will help. ... So this stuff is like hoisin with peanut butter and oil, eh? Awesome. Instead of flavorless goi cuon I now have goi cuon that tastes like ass. Mr. Garbage Bin, meet Ms. Goi Cuon. Awww... Don't you two make a cute couple.

#4 Grilled Chicken Sandwich - Hefty. Not bad. The meat is pleasant. Good pickles:meat:cilantro:jalapeno ratio. Mayo used sparingly. Baguette is kinda chewy, though. Seems a bit dry and stale. At least they used the right pickles. It's not Westminster/Garden Grove good, but it'll do. I'm just happy I'm not at the bloody Taco Bell.



Might be the goi cuon talking, but let's go for broke.

Medium Gelato Cup (half durian/half honeydew) - Aww jeez. How long has this been in the case? It's gooey and lumpy. I can't tell which is which, and they both have that nasty sugar-crystal crust you get when ice cream sits in the freezer for too long. Mr. Gelato, meet Mr. Garbage Bin and Ms. Goi Cuon. Uh oh, it's a three-way love triangle. That's not tasty.

Time to get my ass home and into bed, with a brief stop to post this.

Lee's Sandwiches in Irvine: If you're hungry early in the AM and you want to avoid hitting the nearest McCrap Shack equivalent, you could do a lot worse. But stick to the sandwiches; it's safer.


Bill (for one):

Hot Wings (5 pieces) - 2.75
Shrimp & Pork Spring Rolls - 2.50
#4 Grilled Chicken Sandwich - 2.45
Medium Gelato Cup - 3.64

Tax - 0.59
Tip - 0.00 (Not the type of place where you leave one.)

Total - 11.93


Flavor: C-
Ambience: B
Service: B+
ROI: A (As long as you're careful.)

Overall: B


Lee's Sandwiches
4127 Campus Dr. @ University Center
Irvine, CA 92612
1-949-509-9299
Open daily from 8:00am - 2:00am

http://www.leesandwiches.com/

Other Locations:
Aww hell, I've gone corporate food whoring again. Here's the list.

Read More

The Cravery - Huntington Beach, CA [CLOSED]

(Edit 08/25/2013: The Cravery has closed. However, Orange County residents jonesing for a meat pie fix should hit Pie Not, its spiritual successor on 17th St in Costa Mesa.)

I am a corporate whore, although I think it's more due to my environment than personal taste. A majority of the restaurants in the Irvine area are corporate chains or corporate owned. While, one of my favorite activities is ferreting out all of Irvine's little mom & pops, sometimes the convenience and cookie-cutter predictability of corporate nosh can be hard to resist.

But hey, this blog is all about the places I wander to and the things I eat. It would be dishonest of me not to admit that I, as much as any other resident behind the Orange Curtain, occasionally submit to the almighty will of our corporate overlords. Besides, as Sarah from the Delicious Life so eloquently points out in this post, the image of food bloggers as elite gourmands leading charmed lives as we flit from one flavorful experience to another is just plain silly. So, why bother trying to live a lie? Or to lie about living a lie?



A few weeks ago, I read Elmo's excellent review in Monster Munching about the Cravery in Irvine and was immediately intrigued. I'm a genuine pie enthusiast. If you can stick it in or on a flakey crust, I've probably sampled it. So a restaurant chain devoted to serving posh versions of one of my favorite foods, the Cornish pasty, was highly appealing to me. I showed the review to Cat, who also became interested in giving the place a try. Surprising, as Cat is one of the most anti-pie people I know. Since we both work near the Bella Terra mall in Huntington Beach, we decided to have a late lunch at the Cravery there.



The decor was pretty much what I expected; trendy, upscale, and soullessly anonymous. We could have been at a Starbucks, Panera, Corner Bakery, or any of the other faux-stylish eateries that infest Orange County. I wasn't particularly moved by it, one way or another. The pies on the back of the chairs were a nice touch, though.



Elmo's review had promised big posters of people far prettier and fashionable than I would ever want to be holding pies. I wasn't disappointed. Notice that neither of these hipsters is actually holding their pie like they intend to eat it, much less actually biting into one, although the girl on the left sorta made me want her pie. Or her. Huh, maybe that marketing technique isn't as lame as I originally thought.

(Silly side note: I was grabbing a bite to eat in a Sbarro at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while I was waiting for a connector flight when I noticed similar posters of air-brushed models holding pizzas like they had no idea what to do with them. Ya gotta love those marketing firms.)

On to what's really important; the pies!



Cat and I both opted for one of their pie and house salad combos. She got the mushroom chicken pie, which they called the "Chix Mushroom". I have no idea why. Maybe "Chix" sounds cooler than "Chicken" or something. I got the Veggie Curry pie, pictured above. Since both plates were almost identical, I didn't bother taking more than one picture.



My Veggie Curry pie was filled with green peas and chunks of potato, carrot, and onion, all flavored with a mild yellow curry. It tasted much like a vegetable sammosa; not surprising given the similarities in construction between the two. It was pleasant, but entirely unremarkable.

Cat's Chix Mushroom pie was somewhat more promising. Hefty pieces of chicken and mushroom were held together with a thick, mushroom, chicken, and white wine gravy. It was pretty good, although I thought it could have done with a little more salt. Cat, on the other hand, felt the sodium level was just right.

The pies held together quite well while we ate them. I think I'd hesitate before trying to eat one in the car, as the potential for disaster is a little too high with one of these babies. The crust was somewhat disappointing. It might have been because we were there around 3:30pm, but it had a mushy, gooey, and almost soggy consistency. I imagine the pies had been sitting under heat lamps for a while.

My favorite part of the meal was the wasabi ginger vinaigrette that I got with my house salad. It was light and tangy, with just the right touch of zest from the wasabi.

Overall, I'd say the Cravery was a decent experience. I didn't regret going there for lunch. I'll probably go back every so often. It isn't a must-visit location by any stretch, but it does provide a welcome lunch-time alternative to the sandwich shops and fast food franchises that dot the area, although I doubt its pies are any less bad for you. My only real complaint is with the price, which is far too hefty for what you actually get. To me, the phrase "less is more" only applies to restaurant's like Lucques, 6ix Park Grill, or Le Chat Noir. It does not apply to a fast food alternative chain.


Bill (for two):

Chix Mushroom pie and house salad combo - 7.50
Veggie Curry pie and house salad combo - 7.50
Drink - 1.45
Drink - 1.45

Tax - 1.39
Tip - 0.00 (Not the type of place where you leave one.)

Total - 19.29


Flavor: C+ (No strong feelings one way or another.)
Ambience: B (Stylish in a cookie-cutter sort of way.)
Service: A (Girl at the counter was friendly and helpful.)
ROI: C- (Fit my rule that lunch specials should cost under $10/person with tax and tip, but the neither the amount nor the quality of food justified the cost.)

Overall: B-


The Cravery
7811 Edinger Avenue, B-128
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
1-714-894-2927

http://www.thecravery.com

Other locations:
Irvine, Torrance, and Los Altos (NorCal)

Read More

Red Onion Cafe - Irvine, CA [CLOSED]

(Edit 08/25/2013: Red Onion Cafe has been closed for years. I still miss it.)

Since Cat was feeling a bit restless tonight, I took her to the Irvine Spectrum for some shopping and people watching. We swung by Windsor to take a look at some of the evening gowns, but the fashions this season were so hideous that we didn't stay long. Our stomachs had begun to rumble after our brisk turn around the mall, so we decided to head over to the Red Onion Cafe for a late dinner.



When I'm craving hearty Taiwanese cuisine, the Red Onion Cafe always delivers. Formerly called the Oshine Cafe, the Red Onion Cafe was rechristened after management of the restaurant was passed on to younger relatives in the same family. As Oshine, the restaurant had a dubious reputation with Irvine locals. Its eclectic and highly varied menu offered a confused combination of Taiwanese street fare and Hong Kong coffee shop dishes. Experience and a sense of adventure were required to figure out which dishes were good and which would leave you regretting your order. In addition, a few bad apples in the restaurant's staff resulted in an inconsistent level of service and poorly timed product delivery. It's a testament to the level of quality of the restaurant's more popular dishes that it was able to maintain a loyal following of local customers; mainly young Taiwanese professionals and college students.

Earlier this year, the Oshine received a much needed makeover. The interior of the restaurant was remodeled to appeal to the taste of its core clientele. New servers and kitchen staff were hired to replace problem employees, new serving ware was purchased, and the look-and-feel of the restaurant was changed from that of a traditional Chinese restaurant to a hip, modern Taiwanese cafe. The most important changes were made to the menu, where seldom ordered and less favorably received items were stripped out. Gone were many of the Hong Kong style dim sum dishes that, to be brutally honest, the restaurant never did very well. Gone were also many of the strange and more eclectic dishes that failed to appeal to the restaurant's core clientele. Instead, the new menu focused on the most popular items from the old menu, as well as a few new items marketed towards the tastes of the restaurant's loyal customer base.

The result was the Red Onion Cafe, which continues to offer many of the same great dishes at the same great prices in better surroundings with vastly improved service and taste. Service at the Red Onion Cafe is now spectacular. Our waitress was courteous and efficient, and our dishes started arriving within ten minutes after we placed our order. Not only did the kitchen staff time the cooking so that our entrees arrived piping hot and within a minute or two of each other, our waitress also informed us as to which items would take more time and which items weren't recommended due to lack of freshness, and also suggested alternatives that would appeal to our tastes based on what we'd attempted to order. I was quite impressed.



For her dinner drink, Cat ordered a watermelon juice. Similar to a Mexican aqua fresca, this refreshing beverage is made by pureeing chilled watermelon with a small bit of additional sugar if needed. The resulting beverage is light, cool, and refreshing, but not too sweet. It reminds me of warm summer nights in NorCal, sitting on lawn chairs in the backyard with my family and eating slices of fresh watermelon my mom had chilled in the fridge. If summer came in a glass, it would probably taste like watermelon juice.

I ordered a small Taiwan Beer, the national beer of Taiwan. Served properly in an ice cold bottle with a chilled glass on the side, the beer was dry, mild, and crisp with just a hint of sweetness from the addition of rice to the brewing process. It's one of my favorite beers, right up there with Asahi Super Dry and Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale.



To go with my beer, I ordered a plate of fried chitterlings. Slices of pork intestine were deep fried to a rich, golden brown, dusted with salt, served on a bed of thinly shredded cabbage, and garnished with chopped green onion for a flavor combination that was out of this world. The delightful sting of the salt, the crispiness of the fried intestinal membrane, and the melt-in-your-mouth decadence of the fat inside came together exquisitely. The shredded cabbage added crunch and a hint of sweetness to balance the salt, and the green onion added just the right astringent touch to offset the richness of the fat. This was the perfect accompaniment to my Taiwan Beer and, for me, the killer app of the evening. An African-American gentleman sitting in a booth next to mine was so enamored that he ordered a second plate. As usual, Cat wouldn't touch the stuff which just meant more for me. Yum!



For her entree, Cat ordered her usual; the Orange Chicken set. It came with a big bowl of rice and the vegetable sides of the day. A real bargain and a big meal for only $6.50.



Large chunks of marinated chicken were dredged in cornstarch, deep fried, then tossed in a lightly spiced, sweet and sour orange glaze. The crunchiness of the chicken was perfectly preserved, and the balance between sweet and sour in the sauce was well calculated. The aroma of orange in the dish was enhanced with the addition of Taiwanese dried and fermented tangerine peels, which added complexity and body to the dish. The chili paste in the sauce had only a minimal presence, used to add an additional flavor component and not for its heat. People more accustomed to the fiery heat of Sichuan cuisine may be surprised by the gentleness of this dish, but it complies well with the basic tenets of Taiwanese cuisine; emphasizing a number of simple, natural flavors and combining them in a comforting and harmonious melody of taste.



The sides also reflected this focus on balanced flavors. On one side, crisp Taiwanese cabbage, smaller and much sweeter than Western cabbage, was simply stir-fried with a little salt. On the other side, small pieces of marinated, simmered, and smoked firm tofu were stir-fried with red bell peppers, green beans, and a dash of soy sauce. Both sides displayed a balance between salty and sweet, and played a refreshing counterpoint to the heavier Orange Chicken.



Since I was in an adventurous frame of mind, I succumbed to the temptation of one of Red Onion's new, post-Oshine dinner sets; a special pork and rice noodle soup with a side of braised pork belly. Like most islanders near and in southeast Asia, we Taiwanese love our pork. This meal set appeared to be chock full of piggy goodness and I was more than ready to take up its porky challenge.



The lynchpin of this noodle soup was the broth. Thick, rich, and full of flavor, this invigorating pork-based stock warmed me to the depths of my soul. With each sip, I could feel energy surging from within my bones to the tips of my fingers. It was a late dinner, and I'd been somewhat tired before I began eating the soup. The broth refreshed me and gave me back my energy, which is why you find me still typing such a long review at 2am. To my surprise, the rice noodles in the soup were short and very thick, instead of the long, gossamer thin strands I was expecting. However, they paired perfectly with the broth, soaking up the rich flavors and sliding smoothly down my throat with each mouthful. Strips of lean pork and bits of cilantro dotted the soup, adding texture and additional elements of taste. The only flat notes were the cubes of deep fried tofu. While they didn't detract from the dish, they didn't add anything to it either. I couldn't help but wonder why they'd been included.



The braised pork belly was also excellent. Slices of pork belly had been marinated soy sauce and spices, then slowly braised to render out almost all of the fat. The resulting dish was served cold, garnished with green onion and a very light drizzle of sesame oil. The pork belly was tender and chewy, with just the right balance between salty and sweet. The flavors of the pork belly were somewhat overpowered when eaten with the pork and rice noodle soup, but that was my only complaint.



Because our meals were light on vegetables, Cat and I decided to split a small plate of Chinese spinach. Flash fried with garlic and salt, just the way my grandmother made it, it made a pleasant accompaniment to our meal. Eat piece was tender, crunchy, and very fresh. I highly recommend it.



Our final dish was a plate of Taiwanese boiled dumplings, which came last since they take a little longer to prepare. This is one of Cat's favorite dishes at the Red Onion. Thick, hand-made dumpling skins are used to envelope a tasty mixture of ground pork and chopped chives. The ginger and Chinese black vinegar dipping sauce provides a tart accent to the mild sweetness of the dumplings. Unfortunately, this batch was a bit of a disappointment. The dumplings had been cooked for too long, resulting in dry, tough filling and watery skins. They also hadn't been properly drained, which made the bottom portions of the skins even more gelatinous. Cat and I had one each, and decided to take the rest home. We were full and they weren't worth the stomach space.

The food at the Red Onion Cafe isn't revolutionary or life altering. It won't blow you over, knock your socks off, or challenge any preconceived notions you may have about Taiwanese cuisine. It's not food the way grandma used to make it. What the Red Onion serves are simple, wholesome, and delicious Taiwanese cafe-style meals in a classy atmosphere with good service. The food at Nice Time Deli across the street is certainly as good if not slightly better than what's served at the Red Onion. But Nice Time lacks the soothing ambience and classy environment that Red Onion provides. Furthermore, there are a number of excellent dishes on Red Onion's menu that you won't find on the menus of any other Taiwanese restaurants in the area. If you're in the neighborhood and craving a tasty Taiwanese meal, I strongly urge you to give the Red Onion Cafe a try.

The Red Onion Cafe - Food that nourishes both the body and soul.



Bill (for two):


Taiwan Beer (small) - 3.75
Fresh Watermelon Juice - 2.50
Fried Chitterlings - 4.25
Orange Chicken Set - 6.50
Veggie sides - included with orange chicken set
Fried Tofu, Pork, and Rice Noodle Soup Set - 8.95
Braised Pork Belly - included with pork noodle soup set
Stir-fried Chinese Spinach with Garlic - 6.95
Taiwanese Boiled Dumplings - 4.95


Tax - 2.93
Tip - 6.00

Total - 46.78

Flavor: B+
Ambience: A
Service: A+
Overall: A-


Red Onion Cafe
14805 Jeffrey Rd., Ste H
Irvine, CA 92720
1-949-559-5888


-=Addendum January 16, 2007=-

The Red Onion Cafe has sadly closed. Read the articles below for more details.

• Farewell Red Onion - Irvine, CA [OC Food Blogs]


• Red Onion Cafe (Final Bow) - Irvine, CA [Crazies]

Read More

White Spot - Vancouver, BC

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100.

This was one of the few times I used flash when takinng photos for a review. I was dissatisfied with the quality and haven't used a flash since.)



When you're looking for a place to eat in a strange town, ask the locals. Fortunately for Cat and I, these friendly, fuzzy, Canadian gourmands steered us toward the "world famous" White Spot restaurants; advice we didn't regret following. (As a side note, I didn't give the little guy on the left that French fry. He scrounged it from a nearby trashcan.)



Cat's mother is actually from Vancouver, so whenever we go visit her relatives, we always start our trip off by following one of her family's traditions; dinner at the White Spot. After eight hours of travel with only the mediocre offerings from Manchu Wok to sustain us, Cat and I were primed and ready for some delectable grease-burger action.



The White Spot is a Vancouver institution. Starting as a roadside burger stand in 1928, it grew to ten privately owned restaurants in the Greater Vancouver area before being franchised and sold to General Foods in the late 1960s. The company now claims over 60 restaurant locations throughout Canada.

Although it's been called Canada's version of Denny's, the White Spot probably has more in common with Southern California's own In-N-Out than any other American fast food franchise. Like In-N-Out, the White Spot maintains a strict focus on the freshness and quality of their product. Meat and produce for the restaurant chain are raised on specially designated farms with commitments to sustainable agriculture. The buns used in their signature sandwiches are baked in company-owned bakeries, some of which have been supplying the White Spot since the late 1930s.

Unlike In-N-Out, whose menu and look hasn't changed much in the last 50 years, the White Spot has devoted itself to a process of constantly evolving with the times. While it's maintained its signature burgers, hand-cut fries, and triple thick shakes, the restaurant chain has undergone a number of transitions through the years, from hamburger stand to carhop drive-in to diner to sit-down family restaurant. Its menu has also evolved with the addition of a number of modern, West Coast and Asian fusion dishes. The result has been a stylish, friendly, mid-scale family restaurant with top quality food and a nationally (Canada) renowned level of service.



For Cat, stepping into a White Spot is a lot like coming home. Her childhood is redolent with memories of family visits to the restaurants and eating with her parents and grandparents. I think we eat there as much to savor her memories as to taste the food. For me, the restaurant's decor lands right in my comfort zone, with soft lighting, pleasant dimness, rich wood tones, and comfortable booths. Since the White Spot we went to this time is in downtown Vancouver, it's primarily frequented by young professionals and couples. That was perfect for me, since the main thing that ruins my trips to family restaurants tends to be certain types of families with out-of-control children. (This wasn't our only stop at a White Spot during this trip. I'll be posting a "White Spot Revisited" article covering our second visit to a different White Spot, with slightly different results.)

Our server this night was named Gillian. Not only was she friendly and efficient, traits I've come to expect from White Spot staff, she was remarkably patient with my lousy jokes and insistence on taking pictures of everything. Our orders arrived quickly and correctly, our glasses were never empty, and our check was processed with appropriate speed.



Since it had been a long drive from Seattle to Vancouver, I was guzzling Diet Cokes like there was no tomorrow in a desperate attempt to stay awake. Cat, on the other hand, opted for one of White Spot's signature chocolate triple thick shakes. There's a scene from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, where John Travolta and Uma Thurman end up in a retro diner. Thurman orders a five dollar shake, and she and Travolta get into a discussion about whether any milkshake is worth five dollars. The argument is settled when Travolta is talked into trying the shake and comments, "That's a pretty @#$%ing good milkshake. I don't know if it's worth five dollars but it's pretty @#$%ing good."

Stealing a sip of Cat's approximately five dollar (Canadian) shake sent my mind straight to that scene from a movie I haven't watched in over ten years. It was the richest, creamiest, smoothest shake I've ever had. The texture was unreal. Thick enough to coat the tongue evenly, yet soft enough to be sucked through a straw without causing an aneurism, the shake was a sinful concoction of cream, sugar, and cocoa. The chocolately sweetness was a gentle accent that was all that kept you from free-basing the rich, buttery cream, and this was before you even got to the whipped cream on top. My "sip" took a full inch from her glass. Not to worry, since one shake order came with enough creamy goodness to fill two glasses. It was definitely worth five dollars.



For dinner, Cat ordered their BC Chicken Burger without tomato. A juicy grilled chicken breast was served on a buttered and toasted bun with Cheddar, bacon, lettuce, red onion, and White Spot's famous Triple 'O' sauce. Divinely decadent and full of flavor, this chicken burger exploded in the mouth with a rush of juice and sauce. A Vancouver native told me later that in the 60's, the "Triple 'O'" meant "Triple May-O". Nowadays, their Triple 'O' sauce is a mix of mayonnaise and red relish, resulting in a unique and delightful flavor sensation. The BC Chicken Burger came with a side of their light and creamy coleslaw, and an unlimited number of their hand-cut steak fries.



I opted for the BC Burger. A quarter pound of prime ground beef with bacon, Cheddar, and the ubiquitous Triple 'O' sauce, this thing was a serious grease ball of beefy meat goodness. While I enjoyed my taste of Cat's chicken burger very much, something about this simply hamburger appealed to the primal carnivore within me. Hearty, juicy, and irresistible, it was quite possibly the best hamburger I've ever had. It had a bit more Triple 'O' sauce than I would have preferred, but a bit of judicious scraping quickly fixed that.

Since I was feeling particularly hungry that night, I'd chosen to upgrade my meal with a Western Plate, which meant I got onion rings and a small Caesar salad in addition to the standard coleslaw and steak fries. The coleslaw was just the way I like it; light, sweet, and creamy, but with a satisfying crunch, it blew KFC's coleslaw right out of the water. The fries were a disappointment. Dry and overcooked, they tasted like nothing so much as deep fried cardboard without enough salt. I'd ordered an additional side of gravy, a Canadian custom, to go with the fries, but even that wasn't enough to save them. I ended up leaving quite a large number of them on my plate. The Caesar salad was well seasoned, but nothing remarkable. The onion rings were the killer app of the plate. Perfect, crispy, flakey breading on the outside with melted, soft onion on the inside, they released gentle flavors in my mouth with each crunchy bite. My only complaint was that the bread crumbs were a little sharp, so some care was needed to avoid cutting the roof of my mouth.

The White spot: Fast food comfort fare in a classy environment. I highly recommend it to any of you if you're ever in Canada.

Bill (for two, converted from Canadian to US dollars):

Diet Coke - 2.17
Chocolate Shake - 4.07
BC Chicken Burger - 8.15
BC Burger - 8.15
Western Plate upgrade - 1.80
Side of Gravy - 0.91

Tax - 1.46
Tip - 4.53

Total - 31.24

Flavor: A-
Ambience: A
Service: A+
Overall: A


The White Spot
718 Drake Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 2W6
1-604-605-0045

http://www.whitespot.com

Other locations:
The White Spot claims over 60 locations in Canada. Previous attempts to establish footholds in the US have failed, although there's some hope if you live in a northern border state.
http://www.whitespot.com/whitespot/locationsalljs.htm

Read More