The last go-to restaurant is A&J. Admittedly, the dumplings at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐are better, but I just haven't been impressed with their side dishes. These are what I REALLY miss:
What's that? Close up pictures? Ok, if you insist. Starting from the top left:
Um... I don't know what this is. I think it's beef tendon, but the only beef tendon on the menu has garlic. Don't recall heartburn, so .... ????
Tofu rolls with assorted mushrooms -#5206.
Most of these side dishes are cold. This one has a slight sweet soy sauce flavor. Usually known as what I call, "cow fu." Which is also the term for your uncle from your mother's side. The parental generation insists that what I call the food is incorrect, but when I ask them to repeat the name it sounds EXACTLY the same to me. SO..... oh well. I'll worry about it more once I've learned the Cantonese tones. (Even though this is Mandarin-style dim sum).
Sliced pork ears with spicy seasongs -#5205.
I don't always get this, but once in a blue moon I crave it. Kind of the satisfaction you get from eating jerky. Not at all like jerky.
Bean curd with 1000 year old egg -#5201.
My uncle used to love this type of egg (can't eat it much anymore for health reasons). First time eating this was in middle school with them. My parents don't actually like it, so I was mostly on my own with this dish. The sesame oil is different from what my aunt makes, and is great!!!
This place also makes the best smoked chicken ever, and this salad thing which you think you find in Asian grocery stores, but it's salty and is crap!
Except when you get the salad thing at A&J. Then it's freaking awesome.
Bean curd skin with soybeans and mustard greens -#5207.
Mom said what ruins it in the grocery stores is the preservatives they have to use to get it there in the first place. I've seen it in the pre-made food sections (where you might find the korean style sushi rolls or kimchi) and even in cans.
The pre-made section stuff is horrible and is supposedly made "fresh," so I fear and avoid trying the canned kind. I guess it's the magic of A&J. Just like how they make this:
Szechuan spicy beef and tendon noodle soup -#1110.
Again, not so great elsewhere, but here there's that special ingredient of yum. And yes, you bet your butt those are hand-pulled noodles. Want to see it again?
You're welcome.
The following will probably horrify those of you who are familiar with this cuisine. I only assume so because it upsets my parents everytime they watch me do this. (Don't worry, they'll be desensitized eventually. Just like they are now when I put egg noodles in my congee or put vinegar in).
The broth is so good I use it as sauce for everything else. Not pictured is jiaozi (we didn't get any this time but it usually is the big sidewise kind - so over stuffed it's more like a taco instead of a dumpling). I also dip scallion pancakes!
Mom: "What are you doing?! You ruin the pancake - it's not going to be crispy anymore!"
Ah, but you gain all that FLAVOR! And if you time it right you still get some crispy. Muahahaha. Also she doesn't like soup noodles, so pfth on that. She's biased.
Ironically, the xiao long bao #4202, is probably my least favorite here. I know I know, it's my favorite dumpling. Raved about it in previous posts, etc. But lately what they've served here the dumpling skin is thick and there's hardly any broth. Those are the parts of the dumpling that make it so unique!
No comments:
Post a Comment