Malaysia Kopitiam...Where's the Heat?

I needed something spicy but flavorful and was debating the merits of Heritage India Bistro or Malaysia Kopitiam.  I liked both in the past, but the need for noodles pushed me towards the basement-level Kopitiam.  It's kind of a dive, and usually the restaurant atmosphere doesn't affect the meal.  Usually.  Unfortunately the heat in the restaurant was not working and the interior felt as cold as the winter evening.  Bundled in my coat, I did enjoy the roti canai and chicken curry laska with egg noodles, but next time I might just order take-out.

 The roti are buttery-flavored and delicious dipped in the curry.

I've had the laksa numerous times, and this was the first time I wondered, where are the bean sprouts? 

Post-Workout Ramen and Lunch Bento

 

After a post-work trot on the treadmill, I came back to a nice surprise.  My boyfriend brought back some spinach and dumplings from his work dinner for me.  With some miso ramen, a boiled egg and  leftover beansprouts, it was lovely. 

Afterwards I made jap-chae for his lunch bento.  Bok choy, carrot, mushroom, onion, leek, garlic, zucchini and a bit of sliced beef with the dangmyun noodles.  The sauce is soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and water.  This could easily be made with tofu or only vegetables.  With a side of green grapes and celery sticks for a snack, he was all set for the day.

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.

Let Him Eat Carbs

Despite my best intentions, my boyfriend does not seem to be ready for a world without complex carbohydrates.  He had a business lunch where the buffet was too tempting and he went wild like a kid in a candy store.  He sounded so bashful when he admitted he had a piece of pita bread with some hummus.  Aww.  My man cannot survive on salads and small portions alone.  Time to dial back the diet.  On a positive note, he said he's feeling ready to start working out again.  I don't think that diets should feel like deprevation.  A mixture of healthy foods and moderate exercise will get him farther towards his goal than a strict diet alone. 

 Arugula, tomatoes, yellow peppers, kalamata olives on 1/2 portion of buckwheat soba with a small piece of roasted cod.  Buckwheat is gluten-free and a slow-releasing carbohydrate, and a nice addition to the salad and fish.

Side of boiled dumplings with soy sauce and rayu, a chili-infused sesame oil.

Pho 75 in Rosslyn

My boyfriend was volunteering for a Japanese festival all day and I was left to my own devices.  For the past few weeks I have been slowly sorting and making piles of items to donate, items to pack in boxes, and items to dispose of immediately.  After completing the books and one closet, it was time for a break.  Wandered up the street to Pho 75 for a comforting bowl of pho.  Unfortunately I hit peak hours and had to wait in line for a while for a seat.  It was worth the wait.

 Large #12

Fresh basil, bean sprouts and thin slivers of jalapeno.

 Lovely noodles.

Add a little dark miso, sriracha and toss the bean sprouts in the hot broth.  I think Pho 75 has one of the best, delicate but flavorful broths.  Cash-only, cafeteria-style room, definite neighborhood gem.

Yasai Tappuri Miso Ramen

I love ramen.  Another freezer staple I like to keep on hand is a package of fresh ramen.  I'm a big fan of tonkotsu and miso since I lived in western Japan, and my boyfriend prefers shoyu because he's from Kanto.  Next time we head to Super H I'll have to pick up a bag of shoyu-flavored ramen. 

There have been so many changes lately in the ramen world, with tsukemen becoming popular, Tokyo ramen shops gaining cult status and novel fusion bowls like green curry and tom yum ramen.  Next trip to Japan I really want to visit the Ramen Museum in Yokohama to try some different styles.

Yasai-tappuri miso ramen.  Pretty much an "everything but the kitchen sink" bowl.  I included sauteed onion, mushroom, carrot, celery, green beans and arugula to a boiled egg and the noodles.  The arugula was unexpectedly good.  It's nice to find a way to use up all the odds and ends of our vegetables for the week.

Jjambbong at Home

We picked up a frozen jjambbong kit on the last trip to Super H Mart.  It's great to have in the freezer for those cold winter nights when I'm home hours before my boyfriend.  With the addition of some frozen vegetables and shrimp, and some fresh red pepper, I had a fast meal that was easy to put together again later when the hardworking boy finally made it home.

 You can find this in the freezer section of Super H in Fairfax.  At $7.99 for 2 servings it's fine as is, or you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand to make a more robust bowl.

 The noodle package with frozen seafood, mushrooms and chili peppers.  A sauce packet is also included.

 We also had a some frozen mixed vegetables and shrimp in the freezer. 

 Bring 2 cups of water to boil, add the frozen vegetables and noodles.  Stir in the sauce packet.

Enjoy.

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.

Moving in December, What Were We Thinking?

Luckily the office move took place on a blustery cold day in December that was a high of 43F instead of yesterday with its blustery 28F.  However, all the accompanying headaches with moving have felt like an onslaught.  Holiday cards?  Probably will arrive mid-January at the rate we're tackling all the hurdles.  The one nice bit is moving closer to my friends who work downtown.  Met up with one at Malaysia Kopitiam for some vegetable curry laksa.

I think the flavor of the chicken one is a little better, and I could use a bit more spice, but this is savory, and very satisfying.

Today's Bento

Yakisoba with Napa cabbage, shrimp, mushrooms, onion and pickled ginger.

In preparation for Needless Turkey Murder Day, I used up some leftover vegetables in my yakisoba to make more room in the refrigerator.  Yakisoba is a great dish for improvising and incorporating leftover bits of vegetables and proteins.

Pho Viet House

For a different kind of lunch, we went to my boyfriend's favorite neighborhood pho place.  Pho Viet House located at 6226 Richmond Highway in Alexandria is a step above Pho 75 decor-wise.  The menu is more expansive too, including appetizers like summer rolls ($3.25) and even vegetarian options.

 Large #8 with well-done flank and skirt flank ($8.25)

 The toppings were a little light on the basil for two bowls, but they were very fresh.

 A squeeze of lime, basil leaves and bean sprouts, with a bit of sriracha and dark miso paste help to make a wonderful bowl of pho.

www.phoviethouse.com 

Choong Hwa Won in Annandale

My boyfriend and I have been eating our way through Annandale lately.  It's hard to think of another area with so many interesting and affordable options.  Last night we tried out a Korean-Chinese place recommended by his coworker.  Choong Hwa Won is on John Marr Drive, right behind the Popeye's and near Il Mee and Shilla Bakery on Little River Turnpike.  It's super casual and open until midnight.

 The English explanations for each menu item are ok, although it helps to know a little about Korean dishes.

We were there for the jjambong, spicy red pepper soup with noodles.

 The service was fast, efficient and nice.  The kimchee was good, and I liked the pickled daikon. Never figured out what the dark paste in the middle was.  They serve a warm barley tea when you arrive which helps on cold November nights.

 Large fried dumplings ($7.99).  They were not panfried, but deep-fried with a taste that reminded me of egg rolls.  Inside was a mixture of bitter greens.  Good.

 #31 Sam Sun Go Chu Jham Bbong ($9.99)

This is a fiery red hot pepper soup with shrimp, squid, scallops, mussels, vegetables and noodles.  The server will cut the noodles with a pair of scissors if you'd like.  Excellent and spicy.

#28 Sam Woo Gan Jha Jang ($8.99)

Shrimp and onions in a black bean sauce

 The noodles come on the side with cucumber, and the server will cut them for you with scissors.

All mixed together.  It tastes better than it looks. I wanted it to be spicy, it was not. 

***

I heard about jjanjangmen from my Korean friend who told me about Samos in Baltimore.  I trust his judgement and had wanted to try jjanjanmen for awhile.  Online reviews about Choong Hwa Won rave about the jjangjanmen and jjambbong.  Maybe I'm just a spicy gal, but I liked the jjambbong a lot more than the jjanjanmen. 

The portions are huge.  They provided smaller bowls and my boyfriend and I shared our respective choices with each other.  I would skip the mandu the next time and order a steaming, spicy bowl of #32 next time.  Even without anything else, I doubt I could finish the whole bowl by myself. But I would have a good time trying. 

Experimenting with Spam

My boyfriend and I were walking around the grocery store and he remarked that he had never eated Spam and wondered what it was like.  He's an adventurous boy so we picked up a can.  My Korean friend loves pan-fried Spam with a fried egg.  With that in mind, I made him a Spam donburi.  A bowl of rice was topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions, spinach, shrimp tossed in kochujang, fried spam and a fried egg.  Last night, I used the leftover Spam for Spam Ramen. 

 Boiled eggs, fresh ramen noodles, corn, pickled ginger and the soup base.

 Pan-fried slices of Spam.

A bit of sesame seeds and dried nori plus green beans finish off the concoction.

***

Tonkotsu-shoyu, or a pork-based broth, worked well, however the Shoyu-aji, soy sauce flavored broth, was a little too salty with the addition of the fried Spam.  Surprisingly the green beans and Spam were a good combination.  The boyfriend has now experience Spam and although he enjoyed the ramen he preferred the donburi. 

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)

Cafe Asia in Rosslyn

Rosslyn really needs some better restaurants.  Ray's is great for burgers, Pho 75 and Guajillo are pretty good too, otherwise it's a restaurant wasteland.  In a pinch, Cafe Asia is ok, but it can be hit or miss. Pretty good for groups.

Edamame $4.50

Tempura $7.00

Shrimp Curry Laksa with egg noodles ($12.00)

Not as good as Malaysia Kopitiam, but ok.

Happy Hour Sushi each piece of nigiri is $1.25 until 7 pm.

The sushi was surprisingly good this one time.  The rice was seasoned appropriately and the fish was fresh.  Hit!

Cafe Asia (tuna, crab, avocado) maki ($5.00), Salmon maki ($4.25), Spicy Tuna maki ($4.75), Avocado maki ($4.00), salmon, tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, tobiko nigiri ($1.25 each)

Yellowtail scallion maki ($4.50), spicy crab maki ($5.50), Avocado maki ($4.00), tuna, salmon, yellowtail, tobiko, squid, crab stick, octopus nigiri ($1.25 each)

This time, the nigiri rice was cold and hard, making me thing they were pre-formed. 

Blech.  Definitely a miss.