Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

{swoon}

14 Oct 2013

{swoon} Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbons at Salt & Straw

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Lemme tell you about my first taste of Portland. It was an unseasonably wet and chilly night when Nastassia and I climbed out of our cab (a Prius, of course) and onto South East Division Street. Our dinner destination, Pok Pok, greeted us with indifference and news of an hour long wait. Rather than get hammered at the bar across the street, Nastassia and I did what we do best—we sought out the very best sweets.

Ice cream before dinner might not be the most responsible call, but it made perfect sense this evening, especially with highly-touted Salt & Straw located a few storefronts away. It was fate.

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Restaurant Review

10 Oct 2013

Yai’s On Vermont – Los Angeles (Hollywood)

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Yay for Yai, Yay for Yai! It’s a really great place for eating Thai!

As my mind was shifting from deep sleep to mild consciousness early this morning, this cheery poem crept into my head. It was an admittedly strange way to wake up, but hey, that’s how introductions to blog posts get written sometimes!

With two locations around town, one on Vermont and the original on the edge of Thaitown, Yai’s is a favorite of my friend Natasha. She suggested we dine here to catch up on life’s happenings, along with our friend Lien.

I am a creature of habit when it comes to Thai restaurants, mostly because Pa Ord and Ruen Pair are so damn good, so I was excited to test drive a potential new favorite.

Natasha was in a noodle soup kind of mood this evening, so an order of boat noodles ($5.95) was a must. The version served here arrived tripe- and liver-less to our dismay, but somewhat made up for it with plenty of squeaky meatballs, thinly sliced beef, and pork cracklings. Rumor has it the original Yai’s, whose clientele is mostly Thai, doesn’t skip out on these tasty odds and ends.

Innards aside, the broth was warming and tasty, especially after Natasha doctored it up with the slew of table-side condiments. Still, Pa Ord’s bowl reigns supreme for me.

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Restaurant Review

08 Oct 2013

Henan-Style Hand-Pulled Noodles at Zheng Zhong He Nan La Mian Guan – Shanghai

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We smelled the broth before we spied the noodles at Zheng Zhong He Nan La Mian Guan (now, that’s a mouthful!). We happened to stroll by the storefront on our way to Yu Garden, sometime mid-morning when the place was still sleepy, and after taking one whiff of the curry-kissed soup simmering in the entryway, we vowed to return for lunch when the restaurant was in full swing.

Zheng Zong He Nan La Mian Guan, which roughly translates to Zhao’s Genuine Henan-Style Hand-Pulled Noodle Place,* has the honor of being the only restaurant in China that we visited twice during our stay. It was that good.

On our first visit to the restaurant follwing our explorations of Yu Garden, we dug into the restaurant’s classic noodle soup. Nearly every diner was slurping the same.

What sets the hand-pulled noodles from Henan Province apart from other styles is the distinct yellow-tinged broth, according to our cultural informant.* The soup that seduced us was made of beef bones and redolent of warming spices. Cilantro added a dimension of freshness to the bowl.

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