Review: Xi'an Famous Foods, East Village NYC

One surprise that hit us when we moved to  the Bay Area was how Americanised a lot of the Asian food was. After moving to NYC we found a heavenly array of very authentic and reasonably priced Asian foods. Xi'an Famous Foods offers one of the things I missed most about home - reasonably priced hand pulled noodles. 

Xi'an Famous Foods has several restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn but I tend to favour their restaurant in the East Village since it's close to a number of businesses I frequent and around the corner from a delightful Italian cake shop (more on that later).

The food is decidedly cheap and cheerful but delicious spicy Western Chinese food. The noodles are all made on site and if you're lucky you can catch glimpses of the cooks making them. 

Being Manhattan the restaurant is reasonably small and New Yorkers have no patience for those who lose them a New York Minute. Be prepared to order if you step in line, don't take a seat until you get your food, clean up your own station and be prepared to get up as soon as you've finished. Those who do not follow the unwritten rules will get passive aggressive interruptions by people waiting to eat. 

Spicy and Tingly Beef Hand Ripped Noodles $7.50USD

Chewy delicious hand ripped noodles are stir fried in a numbing chili spicy oil that is not for the feint hearted. Try the mild first before attempting hotter! The noodles are served with vegetables and fatty meat.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand Ripped Noodles $8.25USD

Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger $4

Both the lamb noodles and the lamb burger contain a cumin drenched dry lamb with vegetables. The burger is on a mantou style bun grilled on a flat top until crispy. The noodles are stir fried with more of the cumin, vegetables and chili oil. 

Mount Qi Pork Hand Pulled Noodles $7.00USD

Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

Spicy and Sour Lamb Dumpings $7.00USD

The Mount Qi pork is cubes of pork belly grilled with noodles and a slightly less spicy sauce. The Zha Jiang noodles feature ground pork fried in an umame soy bean sauce, deeelicious! The spicy and sour lamb dumplings are stuffed with a ground lamb filling and served with vinegar and soy.

Close up of Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

This is easily my favourite dish on their menu and reminds me of a dry tantanmen without the sesame. 

Go in expecting exactly what it is - a cheap limited menu of food made extraordinarily well. Not pictured are the noodle soup versions of each dish. Everything they make is excellent. Make sure to eat in, the delicate nature of the noodles does not survive delivery or a walk home. Cold drinks are available like Chinese teas and Coke products. 

I really rather wished they offered condiments,, I keep wanting black vinegar to cut through the oil. Also the chopsticks they use leave a lot to be desired and if you're willing to endure the odd looks of your fellow diners I would recommend bringing some of your own from another restaurant or home. Still this is one of my favourite cheap food desinations in NYC, try it out.

Xi’an Famous Foods

http://xianfoods.com/menu/

81 St Marks Pl

New York, NY 10003

Ph: (212) 786-2068

Cheap and cheerful artisan noodles, good for the spicy food lover

Recipe: Lamb Kofta (egg & gluten free)

This is a healthy and fragrant dish, just delicious for grilling in the summer and serving with salad or on slider buns with hummus.

Lamb Kofta

4 cloves garlic
1 tbpsn grated or crushed ginger (or 1 tspn ground dried ginger)
1 tbspn ground coriander seed
1 tspn cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
4 pods cardamom (or 1 tspn ground cardamom)
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
1 lb ground lamb
salt & pepper

Method

• Before you begin prepare a large mixing bowl and a tray to place the formed kofta on
• Grate or dice the zucchini finely and add to the bowl
• Cut the onion into chunks and add to a food processor

• Add all the spices to the processor - salt, pepper, cinnamon, cummin, coriander, cardamom, all spice, garlic and ginger
• Puree the onion until the spices are well integrated - you may need to grind the cardamom pods before adding to the onion mix. 

• Place the onion/spice puree and the ground meat into the bowl and mix with your hands until the spices and vegetables are well distributed throughout the meat
• Pull a small ball of meat out of the mixture and roll with your hands, then play "patty cake" and toss the meat slightly between your hands. This ensures a firmer and consistent shape. 
• For sliders form into burger patty shapes or for kofta kebab roll into a small cylinder and thread onto a kebab. 
• Makes 8 small patties (155 cals, 3g fat, 2.5g net carb) or 12 kofta kebabs (103 cals, 2g fat, 1.5g net carb)

• Grill on a hot barbecue or a cast iron skillet until browned ~7 mins
• The vegetables lighten the dish and add 'stickiness' meaning you do not need egg or wheat making this a perfect gluten free or keto dish when served with salad
• This is a great dish to prepare in large batches. Anything you are not eating immediately can be covered in plastic and moved to the freezer. Once frozen remove the kofta from the tray and store in an airtight plastic bag or container. 

Kofta Sliders

A trip to Sonoma - Downtown Healdsburg

Being so close to wine country in California it seemed amazing that we hadn't made more of an effort to explore the fantastic cheese and vineyards nearby so we made a weekend of it and visited some highlights around Sonoma County.

We stayed at a local apartment hotel not far from Healdsburg and used this as our central base. I'll follow up with some more places that we visited but this town really had that "couple's weekend away" vibe down to a tea.

Downtown Healdsburg has that quaint small town America feel with old style brick architecture and a delightful central square - like something straight out of the Gilmore Girls but on the West Coast.

Antiquing is a past time that could easily be a real habit if you lived nearby, there's plenty of these cute little knick knack and furniture stores mostly owned by older families or gay couples who've moved north from the hustle of San Francisco. Sadly the prices are reflective of the tourist nature of the town and the nearby Silicon Valley dollars - no bargain basement prices here!

There are plenty of other local sites to see like this Fan Museum which was sadly closed on the day we visited. 

Numerous local wineries have store fronts in Healdsburg and offer tastings at very reasonable prices during the day. We're really here for rest and relaxation but you can see many people hopping from one show room to the next trying many tipples. You could easily spend an entire day or two just trying different tasting rooms, but we limit ourselves to just a couple. A full list of all the showrooms can be found on the Healdsburg town website.

Kendall Jackson are well known for their Californian classics like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The style of Syrah found in California is very similar to the Shiraz (same variety, different name) found in Australia due to the similar climate. 

Portalupi wine is a much more Italian style wine, good with food but probably a little strong for my tastes. They focus on casual approachable wine with an Italian flaire like Vaso di Marina which comes in a unique milk jug familiar to those of us who buy organic milk in California.

They have a very casual tasting room and feature tasting plates to try with the wine.

The town is also filled with great coffee shops, featuring local and freshly roasted coffees like this Flying Goat Coffee house. Not a Starbucks to be seen (phew!) Try picking up a book from one of the many local stores and sit down for a peaceful brew. 

One thing I love about small town America is the great diners and all day breakfasts that can be found. We've earnt a good meal after all the walking around and the Center Street Cafe and Deli doesn't disappoint. It's all cutesy Americana with 1950s original signs on the wall and a sausage and biscuit breakfast plate with bottomless cups of coffee. Sadly it looks like this diner has closed since we visted but there were plenty of other local stops with similar fare.

We have an apartment with a full kitchen though so we're keen to cook some of the amazing local produce rather than eat out after a day of site seeing and snacking.

The locals recommend we stop by Big John's Market which is a little like an independent WholeFoods Market. The entire shop is stocked from top to bottom with local oils, wines, coffee and more, it's a foodies paradise.

The best part though is the cheese cabinet which is an entire row of delicious morsels. There are fantastic local Sonoma Cheese like Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Farmstead, Marin French Cheese Company, Bodega ranch and Cover Stornetta many of which feature regularly in our fridge at home! If you're interested in knowing more about local cheeses then defintely check out the Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail with details of dairy openings and tasties. My favourites have to be the Point Reyes Blue and the Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor and the quality of goats cheese in Northern California is unparalleled outside of Europe.

They have great local produce and an amazing butcher at Big John's inspire us to make lamb souvlaki with greek salad and pita. Yum!

There is so much food related tourism in this town you could hardly fit it in in one day. Charcuterie and cheese places, coffee shops and restaurants featuring local produce abound. If this has given you a taste for a cute little town and the perfect weekend getaway then check out the chamber of commerce's town map featuring all the places fit to eat and see!

Healdsburg 

http://www.healdsburg.com/

A quaint small town in wine country perfect for a weekend away

Snapshot: Blue Front Cafe, San Francisco

The Blue Front Cafe is my go to casual eatery in The Haight, the oh so San Francisco hippie heartland. Nestled in between the vintage stores and bong shops there are some really great eateries. 

Blue Front never fails to hit good quality food and friendly service and is a great place to stop before or after shopping. They do a range of cafe stables like wraps, sandwiches and brunch dishes but I come for the Mediterranean platters. 

Though they never quite mention where the owners are from I assume Greece with some of the flourishes that come with the food rather than say Turkish or Lebanese. Dolmades and feta abound. 

Chicken Schwarma Platter $12.95USD

As well as meat the platter comes with a greek salad, spiced rice, felafel, dolma and some of the best Hummus to be found in the Bay Area. A basket of warm pita is provided to dip, wrap and devour!

Gyros Plate $12.95USD

More of the same with different meat options; I like the fact that they have a number of Lamb options since  Lamb rarely seems to make an appearance on American menus. All the meats I've tried here have been delicious, if you've walked off the calories then I would recommend the Kofta. 

Another great option for fussy eaters since there are many low carb and vegetarian options; request a vege platter without the cheese for easy and satisfying Vegan.

Service is super casual, it's a pay and seat yourself, wait for your number sort of place. The coffee is decent and there's a huge range of cold drinks. Sit at the window to people watch the very random assortment of folk that visit Haight St.

Blue Front Cafe

http://www.bluefrontcafe.com/

Casual cafe and Mediterranean eats

Sandwiches and brunch items 

Review: Chez Panisse, Berkeley

Chez Panisse is somewhat of a legend in the food industry; it held a Michelin Star for many years and was once named the "best restaurant in America". It is the child of food activist Alice Waters and is the first restaurant acknowledged for working with local farmers and producers to secure a 'local food movement'.

Accordingly this means that the menu is a set service - no choices or substitutions and all the food is seasonal and grown in the area.

Zinfandel Flight $45USD

The restaurant often has themed specials and we were there for Zinfandel week. The flight offered the same wine in 3 different vintages rather than a range of wineries. This might sound 'boring' but it's definitely an interesting expose of the effect of aging and the peak taste for a wine - older is not always better. While my family are what you might call "wine people" our knowledge of US wines is still building so this made for an interesting pre dinner drink (or 5).

The meal we arrived for had a decidedly Spanish flair to it which suited me perfectly. The set meal varies in price throughout the week - 'date nights' such as Friday and Saturday were significantly more expensive. We happened to get a booking on a Monday night and ergo was a very reasonably priced $65USD - you can expect to pay twice that on the weekend. 

Marinated olives

I have a weakness for all things pickled and while I find the olives in California generally disappointing these were wonderful. 

Baked in house artisan breads

Good bread is so hard to find in the US so this range of crusty old world loaves was a sight to see. 

Tortilla Bacalao with dandelion and radish salad

Bacalao is a Mediterranean salted cod preparation, very strong in flavour but well suited to this Spanish style potato tortilla with seasonal greens.

Cordero Andaluz

Roasted lamb shoulder cooked with saffron and honey - served with a kale potato cake and roasted fennel. The fennel and saffron was an unusual but delicious combination that I will need to remember in future. The lamb was easily the best I've had in the US, it's not a meat they serve often. Generally when one can find it is either Mutton or imported from Australia after who knows how many weeks. Fresh light lamb was well received.

Almond Panna Cotta

Again calling out to Spanish flavours it came served with quince and Valencia orange coulis. I like the lightness of the fruit and the almond flavour, very palette cleansing after the heavy lamb dish. This super creamy texture is one I love dearly and I will often seek out panna cotta when I can.

I will say this - never in my life have I struggled so hard to get a restaurant reservation, it felt like the plot in a romantic comedy television show. My parents had missed out on a reservation the last time they came to the US and were keen to get one this time. Panisse only takes reservations 1 month in advance (no more and less will leave you without one). Despite desperately logging on at the correct time I still managed to only get a 9:45pm seating. This is definitely a night a foodie needs to plan for.

Overall impressions? The food was very good and the service at its best but the Farm to Table concept is now a well touted one and while this was definitely a top class restaurant I would struggle to call it one of the best in America. That being said the movement they created is one that must be given its dues, without restaurants like Chez Panisse the modern food movement in the US would never have become what it is. Worth a side trip on a vacation and perhaps a special occasion meal but I feel little need to return.

Chez Panisse

http://www.chezpanisse.com

1517 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
Phone: (510) 548-5525

High class farm to table dining


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Review: Koi Palace, San Francisco

Yank Sing was nice but we were really looking for a more authentic yum cha experience in the Bay Area without having to drive an hour South to Sunnyvale. A quick search for decent dim sum turned up Koi Palace in South San Francisco located conveniently near one of our regular Saturday shopping locations.

On arrival it was total chaos - the right kind of chaos - comprised of an army of eager Chinese families waiting for brunch. Very little English seemed to be on display but the queuing system was efficient; take a number and watch the electronic board with hungry eyes. 

Once seated the dining room is as chaotic but in a cheery way. There are tables shoved in every possible corner to maximise the number of diners. Bustling waitresses wander by with carts and trays or for the less adventurous you can order from a convenient paper menu with pictures - similar to those given at Din Tai Fung restaurants. 

Hand roasted suckling pig $18USD

Finding good roasted pork with crackling in the US turns out to be surprisingly difficult. This was excellent - the meat was tender and juicy the crackling crisp and separated from the meat for the unadventurous. 

Green onion pancake $4.80USD

Scallion pancakes are much more common in the US than at home presumably due to the regional foods brought by the local immigrant population. This is the largest pancake I've ever seen, light and chewy and not at all greasy. Delicious!

Crispy Taro Puff $3.95USD

My favourite dumpling of all time. Mashed taro is filled with a combination pork and vegetable filling then deep fried. This is an excellent rendition but leaves my friends a little wanting due to the fry oil; I don't mind since this is more for me.

Spinach and Shrimp Dumpling $3.95USD

The wrapper is light and thin, the filling is made from large chunks of prawn with vegetables and water chestnut. Fried slightly on the side and served straight from the steamer.

Xiao Long Bao $9.80USD for 10

I'm impressed that Koi Palace have Northern dishes as well as Hong Kong classics so I order a large tray of xiao long bao. Again I can't help but feel I have been spoilt by the paper thin Din Tai Fung wrappers that leave me wanting for other dumplings but the perfectly spiced and steamed filling of these dumplings more than makes up for it. The SF habit of placing soup dumplings in metal wrappers helps with the inevitable juice explosion.

Char Siu Bao $2.95USD

Well it's just not a yum cha lunch without BBQ pork buns is it? These are light and fluffy and obviously made from scratch on site which isn't always the case for high volume dim sum. The filling is good with plenty of meat and not too sweet. 

Sizzling Mongolian Lamb Buns in Hotpot $5.80USD

I have fallen in love with these Northern style buns after finding them in bakeries in Inner Richmond in San Francisco. A thicker bread style wrapper is seared and filled with seasoned Mongolian lamb served piping hot with Peanut oil and Sesame seeds. My eating companions declare them absolutely fabulous and manage to rival the Pork Buns as best yum cha dish of the day and possibly of all time. 

Egg Yolk Lava Bun $4.95USD

Now these are not to everyone's taste and my man put his down and handed the whole plate to me, but for me this is a perfect morsel. A creamy lard based pastry is filled with a salted whole egg yolk custard; it's like a hot Moon cake. Moon cakes are one of my all time favourite foods - I would like to eat more of this dish.

Durian Puff  $6.90USD

I had mistaken these for a similar radish puff that I used to buy at bakeries in Sydney, but the waitress didn't speak English and I can hardly resist an Asian pastry on an off diet day. Crisp rolls of pastry are filled with a Durian cream custard and then deep fried like a donut. Delicious and without the horror of dealing with the smell in preparation. 

Dan Tart $2.95USD

Another tea time classic; whole egg custard tarts in flaky pastry. I skip these but they disappear in seconds into my friends' mouths. 

What's the summary of Koi Palace? This is easily the best Asian food I've eaten in the US and this is some of the best yum cha I've eaten in my life. It's twice as good as Yank Sing for 2/3 the price. The food was so good I couldn't stop eating until I waddled out the door - calories well spent though I can't remember the last time I had a meal that satisfying.

Service is kind of what you expect - rushed, busy, chaotic and with varying levels of English. Who cares when the dumplings are this damn good?

Koi Palace

http://www.koipalace.com

Serramonte Plaza
365 Gellert Blvd
Daly City, CA 94015
Tel: (650) 992-9000

Authentic Chinese tea house and restaurant
Expect to battle hungry Chinese grandmas for a table


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Keto friendly recipes: Souvlaki with Tzatziki and Greek Salad

Tzatziki

1/2 a lebanese cucumber

1 clove of garlic

250g pot of plain yoghurt

• Tzatziki is best made the day before as the raw garlic needs time to mature in the yoghurt
• Dice the garlic as finely as you can, place in a bowl with the yoghurt and mix thoroughly
• Dice the cucumbers into small pieces and add to the yoghurt mix, stir thoroughly to coat
• Place in the fridge overnight, before the meal drain off any excess water that has come from the cucumbers and stir again
• Serve in a small bowl or on the side of your meal
• Many yoghurts in the US are non fat, I recommend Brown Cow Plain Creamtop yoghurt which is whole milk and free of Bovine growth hormone, it is also low lactose and I can digest this without lactase

Greek Salad

1 cup of green leaves

1/4 a lebanese cucumber

1/2 a red onion

8 grape tomatoes

10 kalamata olives

100g of herbed goats cheese

• Place the leaves on the base of your plate or bowl
• Cut the cucumber into rounds 
• Dice the onion and slice the tomatoes
• Drain pitted olives
• Place all the vegetables in your bowl 
• Crumble the cheese on top
• If desired dress with a balsamic/olive oil dressing

Souvlaki

500g leg of lamb
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 tbspns of extra virgin olive oil
Salt for seasoning

• Marinate the lamb as long as you can, either over night or from lunchtime for a dinner meal
• Dice the lamb into evenly sized bite sized morsels and place in a bowl
• Season liberally with salt, break the leaves off the rosemary and place in the bowl
• Drizzle the oil on the meat, no need to be precise with the amount just ensuring that the meat is well coated
• Mix through to ensure that the salt, herbs and oil are coated onto each piece
• Place the bowl in the fridge well covered to seal

• The oil may have turned cloudy or solidified due to the cooling, this is normal
• At the time you're ready to cook take the meat out of the fridge and thread the pieces onto skewers
• Leave the meat out to reach room temperature before cooking

• Souvlaki can be cooked in any means you choose, over a wood barbecue is best 
• In my case I'm frying because I've recently moved countries and have limited cooking equipment
• Place flat on one edge of the meat and turn the skewers every 2-3 minutes until the meat is cooked

• Once cooked be sure to leave the meat to rest before serving for around 5 mins
• If you're a bay area local I recommend organic lamb from the Haight St Market

• Whether you're low carb eating or not this is a delicious family meal just perfect on summer evenings. 
• This recipe will serve 2 heartily. 
• If you need your carbs back then serve with Pita and hummus for a delicious do it yourself wrap.

The Equality Dinner at Quay Restaurant, Sydney

With marriage equality and Quay desserts hot on TV this evening it seems to be a fitting time to showcase The Equality Dinner that I attended at Quay Restaurant as part of the Sydney LGBT Mardi Gras festival. Gender and sexual equity is a huge part of my ethical landscape and as a member of my company's LGBT support group I was lucky enough to attend this Black Tie event complete with divine dishes and inspiring speakers. 

As well as an important event to discuss Marriage Equality in Australia it happened to be at the Iconic Quay Restaurant. For those not acquainted Quay is one of the most prestigious and well celebrated restaurants in Sydney. Currently home to Sydney's Chef of the Year Peter Gilmore, holder of 3 SMH Hats and recently celebrated in San Pellegrino's list of the 50 Best Restaurants in the world. Imagine my delight at a dinner at this notoriously difficult to book venue!

While we hear wonderful speeches by the likes of equality advocates Mia Freedman and Dr Kerryn Phelps we were served a series of dishes far elevated from the usual "chicken or beef" so lets take some time to review the deliciousness.

Sashimi of Hiramasa Kingfish, horseradish cream, smoked eel tapioca, horseradish cream, cherry bell radishes, nasturtiums.

Loin of Riverina Lamb with artichoke emulsion, fennel, leek, confit tomato and Arbequina olives.

Roasted Mulloway, stone ground semolina, heirloom carrots, buckwheat, farro and brown butter. 

Petit Fours 

White Nectarine Fool, Moscato d'Asti Grania and White Nectarine Ice Cream

Quay's Seven Texture Chocolate Cake

For those who are fans of foodie television you may recognise this dessert as the recent 'pressure test' menu item featured on the 2012 season of MasterChef Australia

For extra fun a number of charity auctions and raffles were held throughout the evening and as a ticket buyer I walked off with a number of beautiful Becker Minty luxury goods for my trouble.

Quay Restaurant

http://www.quay.com.au/

Formal dining

Expect to book several weeks in advance

Though this was an event ticket without menu prices please expect to pay $300+ per head for food and wine

Upper Level

Overseas Passenger Terminal

5 Hickson Road

The Rocks NSW 2000

Phone: +61 2 9251 5600 

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