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.

Honeypig Annandale

I loved Honeypig for many reasons, but never for its service.  For a brief period, it felt like the waitresses were trying a bit harder with the non-Korean speaking clientele.  For the last few visits, there have been more non-Asians dining there, and the service has been returning to the semi-uninterested state from two years ago.  Sigh.

 My boyfriend loves the galbi.  It's a pricier option at $24.99 per order but we were planning to cook spicy pork belly at home soon.

 Grilling the jalapeno slices and garlic on the pan adds nice flavor.

 The waitress came by to turn the meat.

 She returned to use her cooking scissors to cut the meat off the bone.

 Delicious soon dubu with seafood.

Mandu.

Miso Soup for Breakfast

We're trying to curb the toasted bagel at the office breakfast.  One toasted bagel with cream cheese can ring in at 436 calories, and buttered bagels are around 495.  Eeek! Trying to fit in breakfast at home is going to be a necessary challenge.  It's tough to get up early when it's still dark and cold outside, so I made the soup last night.  This helped make reheating our breakfast miso soup much easier this morning.

Onions, carrots, tofu, mushrooms and miso paste.  Around 40 calories, the soup is much lower in fat and calories but the sodium content is pretty high. I think I can do better, but I'll have to see how my boyfriend felt.

Japanese at Home

My boyfriend and I are trying to be more economical with our food expenditures, cook more meals at home and eat less processed foods.  This means I need to think about what we're eating for dinner and lunch bentos for the week before we head to the store.  I planned to make meals that take less prep time during the week, and the more time-intensive ideas on the weekend.  Tonight's dinner was a return to Japanese meals and included leftover soon dubu and hamul pajeon from last night's Lighthouse dinner.

 I have fancy lacquerware bento boxes I picked up at Ching Ching Cha in Georgetown.  The boxes help set the mood and presentation.  I also have lacquerware covered soup bowls I received as a gift from my Board of Education Office colleagues in Japan.

 Leftover soon dubu (spicy tofu soup) from Lighthouse Tofu in Annandale.

Hamul pajeon (seafood pancake), tonkatsu (fried pork) on cabbage and bell pepper, brussel sprouts with bell pepper, umeboshi with kyuri, and Japanese potato salad.

Kaz Sushi

Some restaurants you like for a while, but they fall out of the regular rotation.  I used to love Kaz Sushi Bistro in early 2003.  The Asian short ribs in the bento box were meltingly tender and flavorful, and the sushi combinations were inventive.  But then price point and atmosphere seemed so much livier and relaxed at Sushi Taro so I stopped going to Kaz.  Fast forward a few years past Sushi Taro's major renovation, concept change and price increase.  It's birthday time for my sushi-loving friend and we needed a good place to celebrate.  Sushi Ko in Glover Park is just inconveniently located, especially on bitterly cold winter evenings.   Since we were going after work, I made a reservation at Kaz. http://www.kazsushi.com/  

 Age-dashi Tofu ($5).  Good but I like

the dashi to be hotter.

 Coriander-Crusted Calamari Salad with a Ginger Dressing ($8).

Assortment of sushi. 

Yellowtail-scallion maki ($6.50), salmon-jalapeno maki ($5.25), spicy tuna maki ($5.25) and ume-shiso maki ($4).

Tuna tapenade nigiri ($6) and seared Albacore tuna w/ chili-daikon nigiri ($6). 

Kaz uses koshikari rice, which is cooked and seasoned well, and the portion size of both rice and fish is done correctly.  Definitely the best sushi I've had in awhile.

***

The evening started out nicely.  We ordered some hot sake and caught up.  Everything on the menu sounded good to me, and we decided to share appetizers and sushi, which is one of my favorite ways to eat with friends.  Then a loud, inebriated couple sat down nearby.  It was like a car wreck in progress. You know you shouldn't look, but you're compelled to see what happens next.  A regular customer came in, gave the waitress a hug and put his fedora on her.  The gentleman next to us seemed to have a nice time surreptiously watching us watch the drunken antics across the room.  It was almost like dinner theatre.  If only there had been a mute button.

Great Wall Sichuan Take-Out

I finally tried the ma la dishes at Great Wall on 14th St NW.  Their menu is 3/4ths American-Chinese dishes, but the last page has the Sichuan dishes that make this bare bones take-out place worth trying.  We did carryout and waited only 15 minutes for our bag of spicy treats.

 Mapo Tofu $8.95 Soft tofu with ground beef, chili and Sichuan peppercorns.

 Dan Dan Noodle $7.95.  Fiery mixture of chili, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions and ground beef.

 Baby pak choy with garlic $8.95.  Not bad, but I liked the baby bok choy with garlic at Mark's Duck House better.

Ma La Wontons $5.50.

***

Everything was good, although the last bowl of Dan Dan Mein I had at Sichuan Pavillion on K Street was definitely hotter.  We ordered enough to share and still have leftovers.  The next day I boiled some dumplings and mixed them in the leftover mapo tofu.  Delicious.  If you like Sichuan dishes and don't feel like trekking to Rockville, Great Wall is a solid alternative.

Present Restaurant in Falls Church

My MBA classmates met for a reunion brunch.  After spending so much time together in class and working on group projects, it's been an adjustment now that we've graduated and rarely see each other.  With a variety of dietary needs to factor in, we ended up at Present Restaurant in Falls Church. 

Silken Shawl Imperial Autumn Roll ($3.95) and Blue Paradise Seafood Summer Roll ($3.95)

The Autumn roll includes minced prawn and pork wrapped in a rice thread wrapper.  To eat, wrap the roll in lettuce with mint and shredded carrot.  The summer roll included pork, shrimp and crabmeat.

Special coconut shrimp appetizer with a coconut dipping sauce. Very good.

Frugally Green Spring Rolls ($3.95 for 2).  Lettuce, mint, shredded carrot mixed with rice noodles in a rice paper wrapper.

Green Paradise Spring Roll without Pork ($3.95).  Scallion, lettuce, mint, shrimp and rice thread in a rice paper wrapper.

Sophisticate Golden Chicken ($12.95). 

Sleeping Duck on the Golden Pond ($9.95).  Roast duck simmered with herbs, mushrooms and egg noodles.

Country Banquet Vermicelli ($8.95).  Grilled lemongrass pork on rice noodles with crispy roll, mint, bean sprouts and carrots.

Pig at the Seaside Vermicelli ($8.95).  Thick white noodles with crab meat, shrimp and pork in a light broth.

Haystack in the Field ($10.95).  Assorted vegetables with rice noodles.

Hard-Working Piglet ($11.95).  Ordered because of the name, it's clay pot carmelized pork ribs.

Calling the Mountain Dewdrops ($8.95).  Fried tofu with sweet and sour tomato sauce.

***

It was great to catch up with everyone.  For the vegetarian, the expansive Vietnamese menu fell a bit short.  The items that really shone were mostly meat-inclusive dishes.

Super H Mart's Food Court

Super H Mart 10780 Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22030.  If you've never ventured out to the Super H Mart in Fairfax, it's worth a trip.  The produce is varied and inexpensive.  They have fresh curry leaves and lemongrass stalks, boxes of mangos, and hard-to-find ingredients for Indian curries, Japanese nabe, and Latin American recipes.  The fish area is very good.  Look at the whole fish, and you'll see clear, glassy eyes, signifying freshness.  I love it.  I also love their food court area to the right of the entrance. 

 Late Saturday night, this was the only food counter still open.  The sushi and Korean fried chicken stalls had already closed for the evening.  You place your order and pay at the counter.  Our 3 items totaled ~ $23.  When the order is ready, they'll call out your number.  Hot tea and water are available at the counter next to the utensils.

 Seolleong-tang (ox-tail bone marrow soup) soup with radish kimchee, cabbage kimchee and rice.

Yukgae-jang (hot and spicy stew with shredded beef) with kimchee and rice.

Haemul-Soondoobu (spicy seafood soft tofu stew) with kimchee and rice.

Vit Goel Tofu (Lighthouse Tofu) in Annandale

While DC lacks a Japan Town, Annandale is a mini-Korea Town with a plethora of restaurants specializing in different dishes.  The hardest part is learning where to go and what to order, but if you're adventurous it's full of delicious and affordable surprises.  Honey Pig is great for Korean bbq  but some times the wait is too long.  Saturday night our HP plans were dashed when we drove through the full parking lot and saw many people waiting.  Instead, we headed down the road to Vit Goel Tofu Restaurant at 4121 Chatelain Road. http://www.menusarang.com/xe/293

 It's a brief menu, and specializes in soon dubu.

 The panfried mandu were flavorful and better than at Honey Pig. ($5.99 small)

 The pan chan are much nicer too.  Water kimchee, fresh kimchee, cucumbers in kochujang, steamed beansprouts in sesame oil.

Large (seafood pancake) hamul pajeon ($12.99).  Baby oysters, crab, shrimp and baby squid studded  pancake with scallions.  A bit greasy but delicious.  We should have ordered a small.

 Soon dubu #3 (tofu stew) with clam, shrimp and oyster ordered spicy. ($9.50)

My boyfriend ordered his #2 (clam, shrimp, oyster, beef) spicy spicy, and it was hot enough to make sweat drip from his brow. 

***

Lighthouse is great in the colder months when you need a hot bowl of bubbling soft tofu stew to warm you up.  Cracking the raw egg into the stew is optional, but the stew is so hot, it will cook the egg quickly.  The seafood noodles (jukumi bokuem) looked good too, fat udon noodles mixed with squid, vegetables and a special sauce.  They serve the rice out of a hot stone bowl, and pour a barley tea into it after serving the rice.  You put the rice with tea into a small bowl and it reminded my boyfriend of ocha-zuke, the Japanese dish of green tea poured ontop of rice. 

Honey Pig Pig-Out

We love Honey Pig.  It's open 24-hours, there's a nice variety of Korean dishes to try, and it's relatively inexpensive.  Now there's even one opened in Centreville near Spa World.  Two of my favorite Korean things have come together.  Mentally planning a trip already.

Panchan.  These free little dishes vary each visit. 

Soju and Cass beer.

Mandu ($7.99)

Fried beef dumplings. 

Jumuluk ($13.99)

Seasoned boneless ribs.  These were recommended to me by a Korean friend, and they are tender and delicious.

Pajeon ($6.99)

Hamul pajeon is a scallion pancake with seafood, but we mistakenly ordered just a pajeon.  It was still crispy and wonderful with beer and soju.

Soon doobu ($6.99)

Bubbling soft tofu stew with seafood.  One of my favorite Korean dishes.

***

I've noticed that the staff at the Annandale Honey Pig has become more friendly towards English speakers in my last few visits.  I haven't seen the surly Korean server in the last year or so, and I've enjoyed the dinners there much more.

Joe's Noodle House

I'm that special kind of person that thinks...fall down, hurt your hand, visit urgent care... eat some spicy ma la food from Joe's Noodle House. I luckily have a great friend who not only took me there, but did not for a minute question my desire to eat with chopsticks with a non-functioning hand. Despite the hurt hand, it was great to try out this Szechuan restaurant in Rockville. If I lived closer, I'd try more things from the ridiculously long menu. http://www.joesnoodlehouse.com/

Spicy and tasty fried tofu ($9.95).

The ma-la dishes are definitely mouth-numbing. This was fiery.

steamed dumplings ($4.95). A nice counterbalance to all the szechuan peppercorns and heat. cabbage and mushroom soupup close...see the fiery flakes? Man...this burned...

Beef Noodle Soup Szechuan Style ($7.50). This was a large bowl of fiery soup. Definitely large enough to share.