Bangkok Golden in Seven Corners

All the food writers and food forums have been talking about Bangkok Golden in Seven Corners lately.  The secret Laotian menu now is handed out with the Thai menu for the non-buffet customers.  Since the region is teeming with Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, the addition of a Laotian menu is remarkable for its uniqueness.  Described as a melding of Thai and Vietnamese flavors with a higher spice intensity, I was eager to try some of the recommended dishes.  

 

While the address is 6395 Seven Corners Center, directions from our iphones let us down.  Easiest way to find the restaurant is to look for Hong Kong Palace (which also owns Uncle Liu's hot pot restaurant), and Bangkok Golden is three storefronts to the left.

Nam Khao ($8.95)

Crispy Rice Salad with a fantastic textural composition.  Vibrant cilantro and fresh herbs, mixed with crispy rice, peanuts, red onion, shredded coconut, lime and a gentle heat/chili.

Wrap in a lettuce leaf and eat with your hands.

 Larb Kai ($9.95)

Minced chicken seasoned with Kaffir lime leaves, fragrant toasted rice powder, shallots, garlic, green onion, red pepper, cilantro, mint. A little sweeter and sour rather than spicy.  Bright and fresh flavors.

Moak Fish ($8.95)

Steamed Banana Leaf-Wrapped Tilapia with a curry and coconut sauce.

***

Somehow we missed ordering any dish that had an abundance of chili heat which I had been looking forward to testing out.  I enjoyed the prevalence of fresh herbs and lettuce leaves to wrap the different dishes in.  The sticky rice was described as tasting like mochi by my boyfriend, and he's right.  This rice would be excellent with some fresh mango and coconut milk.  I'm planning a return trip with some friends, and hopefully we'll try a Koi (ceviche-esque fish), Orm (stew) and the Papaya salad.  The dining room is on the small-side, but the service was pleasant, and it's definitely worth a visit.

"It's the Super Bowl, we can't eat salad..."

According to my boyfriend, the Super Bowl is no time for dieting.  We decided to recreate the Korean fried chicken recipe again from Saveur magazine.  This time I added a little more red chili pepper powder to the sauce.  Yum!  The combination of corn starch-flour-water and double-frying technique creates a special crunch missing from regular Buffalo wings.  We picked up 1.8 lbs of chicken wings from Lotte for under $12.  The only downside was having to separate and cut the wings into pieces, but it meant I had plenty of wing tips to roast and make a nice broth with.

 After the first 6 minutes of frying.

 After the second 6 minutes of frying, the wings turn a lovely brown color.

 Toss the wings in the sauce (I should have made much more).

 I also prepared a small roasted potato with roasted garlic and scallions, some carrot and celery sticks, a chunk of blue cheese and roasted garlic cloves.

 Fresh kimchee.

Korean-style bean sprouts.

***

It's a really good thing we went to the gym earlier in the day.  We didn't really care which team won, but it was fun to watch and eat some football food with a twist.  I think I liked the commercials the best.

Cafe Asia in Rosslyn

Life has become increasingly hectic lately.  I feel like I've been moving belongings for months since the office move just finished and I'm preparing to move apartments now.  Weekends mean sorting and packing up my belongings now that the apartment search is finally over.  Today I was able to catch up with one of my favorite people for lunch near my apartment in between boxing up kitchen things and clothing.

 Lemongrass chicken soup with vermicelli noodles.

 A good friend is one who not only waits for me to take a quick photo of the dish, but also does a noodle pose for me. (^o^)

Curry Laksa with shrimp and fried tofu puffs with egg noodles.  It's not as spicy and flavorful as the version at Malaysia Kopitiam, but it's a nice bowl that helped make the rainy gray day a little warmer.

Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner

I love cooking for my boyfriend.  He is willing to try anything and thinks everything tastes great.  It's wonderful to cook for someone who's so appreciative and open-minded.  Usually he lets me decide what I feel like cooking, so when he makes a special request I pay attention.  He enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner this year and was interested in a repeat.  Since it's easier to find chickens, I substitute roasting a chicken instead of turkey.  It's really the perfect meal for Sunday, when you have extra time to spend in the kitchen.  Plus we'll have some great leftovers for lunches this week.

 Arugula salad with fresh orange champagne vinaigrette.

 Roast chicken.  Lightly salted and roasted at 350F on top of onion and carrots.

 Mashed potatoes.

 Green Bean Casserole.  Fresh beans are quickly boiled and blanched in cold water.  Nice bright flavor.

Homemade stuffing.  Japanese-style bread is toasted in the oven, then mixed with celery, mushrooms, onions, herbs and chicken stock.  I also made some chicken gravy with the pan drippings and roasted onions and carrots in the roasting pan. 

Christmas in Florida

We headed to Florida for the Christmas holidays.  Driving south, we stopped for the night in Savannah, Georgia.  Looking online, we debated which place to try out for dinner.  We ended up going to the southern classic, Lady & Sons, owned by Paula Deen.  Now Paula is not really known as a "less is more" kind of gal, but we were on vacation.

The buffet has a nice variety of southern classics.  Fresh fried chicken, collard greens, creamy macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a variety of beans.  There were also ribs and ham, corn on the cob, salad and desserts.  Really nice collards. 

***

We finally made it to Florida after another day of driving.  It was the first time for my boyfriend to meet my parents, and happily everyone got along really well together.

Christmas Eve dinner we had portabello mushrooms stuffed with crab, shrimp and a cheesy rice mixture.  With a light salad, rolls and a crisp Pinot Grigio, we had a very relaxed night before Christmas.

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Christmas morning tradition:  coffee, juice, fruit salad and cinnamon rolls.  This year we had orange cinnamon and regular glazed cinnamon rolls.

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Christmas Dinner

Grilled potatoes, grilled pork tenderloin and asparagus.

Shrimp casserole

***

After a bit of home-cooking, we picked up some pizza to eat after watching True Grit.  It's become a holiday tradition to go see a movie. 

Vegetable lovers pizza - garlic, onion, fresh tomato, olives, mushrooms and peppers.

Mushroom, onion, sausage, and pepperoni.

Bombay Bistro in Oakton, VA

http://www.bombaybistro.com/ We headed out to Vienna to visit with some friends.  Afterwards, we tried this Indian restaurant out.  It's a pretty decent hike from where we live, but I liked it and the price point was reasonable.   

 Vegetable Samosa with spicy chana and two sauces. ($1.95)

 Chicken Tandoori with salad and rice. ($10.95)  Very flavorful and juicy.

 Saag Ghost. ($12.95) Lamb cooked in mildly spiced spinach.

 Lamb Vindaloo. ($11.95) Lamb cooked in a spicy sauce with potatoes.

Special Vegetarian Thali ($15.95).  Lentils, raita, a puri (puffed bread), mattar paneer (peas and cheese in a tomato curry), palak paneer (spinach and cheese), baingan bharta (roasted eggplant with tomato, onion and spices), and mango with papaya chunks. 

***

The thali was very good, exceptionally filling, and satisfied my urge to try a bit of everything.  Reasonable prices, fairly prompt service, and worth a look if you're out that way on Chain Bridge Road.

Tex-Mex Challenge: Cactus Cantina v Rio Grande

I had a craving for Tex-Mex.  After a spree of Korean restaurants, it was time for a change.  So we headed up to the National Cathedral area to Cactus Cantina.  http://www.cactuscantina.com/ I'm a sucker for the salsa and thin tortilla chips.  Unfortunately our server was not the most efficient or pleasant.

Queso and guacamole duo ($6.95).  The chips were a little too thin to dip effectively into the molten cheese.  We should have stuck to just the salsa.

 Burrito Gordo with shredded chicken.  ($9.45)  Ok, but not remarkable.  Should have ordered the fish tacos.

Fajitas al carbon with chicken and steak. ($12.75) The boyfriend loved the charred jalapeno and butter dipping sauce.  The only downside was the plate didn't come out steaming.

Side of rice and beans.

***

The next night I met the girls at Rio Grande in Ballston.  Rio has a similar menu, but it's location in Ballston always has a longer wait for a table than Cactus Cantina.  http://www.unclejulios.com/ 

 Hornitas margarita with Grand Marnier ($11)

 Chicken flautas ($11.95)

 Chicken fajitas ($16.95)

Shrimp quesadilla ($13.95). The shrimp were a little too oily.  Wish they would have a spinach quesadilla on the menu as a regular item and not a special.

***

In Cactus Cantina v Rio Grande, the restaurants have very similar menus, but Cactus has a few more non-meat items like spinach quesadillas, spinach enchilladas and seafood enchilladas, and prices are a little lower.  Service was much better at Rio Grande from the initial greeting onwards.  Rio makes a better margarita, but the wait for a table can be much longer.  In the end, I prefer Cactus Cantina, with a different server.

Mark's Duck House

Mark's Duck House in Falls Church is a very popular weekend destination for dim sum with their rolling carts of nibbles.  They also have an  extensive menu of over 400 dishes.  It's Hong Kong-style with a growing Vietnamese clientele.  Specials and the menu are written in Chinese, Vietnamese and English and the restaurant  has been around over 25 years.  With a large number of round tables, it's good for groups and families.  http://www.marksduckhouse.com/mainmenu.htm

Salt-baked prawns with chili, head and shell ($15.95)

A bit cumbersome to eat, it was one of the recommended dishes from reviews I read.

Diced chicken with cashew nuts ($10.95)

Sliced chicken with asparagus ($11.50).  The asparagus were delicious.

Half Duck ($16.95) with scallions and pancakes. 

It's not sliced tableside like at Peking Gourmet Inn, but with a name including "duck" you have to try it.

Seafood Lo Mein ($13.95)

Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon

I have a favorite neighborhood place.  The atmosphere is convivial yet relaxed, the bartenders and servers are polite (except for one I loathe) and the food and wine are always reliably good.  It's a great place to grab a drink  when I want to catch up with my girlfriends.  It's good for first dates and family visits since the menu has something for just about everyone.   My favorite bar manager works there, constantly finding interesting wines from the most unexpect places.  Did you know there's a delightful red from Idaho?  Or that pineapple sparkling wine is quite refreshing?  Well, Andy did and he's out to let everyone know.    http://www.boulevardwoodgrill.com/Boulevard_Woodgrill.html

 Balsamic Beef Bruschetta ($10)

 Blackened Grilled Salmon with mashed potatoes and woodgrilled asparagus ($17)

Tilapia with rice and asparagus ($22)

 Duo of seafood kabobs on a bed of rice ($15)

Side of Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese ($6)

Gooey and delicious. 

 Grilled Greek Shrimp Salad ($14)

 Seared rare Ahi tuna salad ($15)

 Kingston Wings ($9) - Caribbean jerk chicken wings with a guava and scotch-bonnet sauce.

Pan-seared monkfish with grilled aspargus over a potato-scallion cake ($20)

***

I've enjoyed their ribs, cheddar-bacon burger, steak salad and love the hummus.  If you ever see polenta fries on the specials' list, try them, they're great.