The Kiwi Project

ALMOST PERFECT

2012-02-13T01:19:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Fresh Crab with Ginger-Scallion Sauce over Egg Noodles.

VENUE: New Star, International District, Seattle, WA (12-23-11 Friday, Dinner)

Sometimes, I am presented with the following question: "What is your favorite restaurant?" A seemingly straightforward question elicits a rather non-committal response from me.

It depends.

Please let me explain. Every restaurant has its signature dishes and also offers other items to round out their menu for catering to popular demand. One restaurant might create amazing pasta dishes but be a total flop when it comes to desserts. So rather than seeing the decision as picking a restaurant, I look at it as picking a favorite dish.

Then, what is my favorite dish? If you throw in off-days, chefs leaving restaurants, whatever I ate too much of the few days before, the occasion, mood, people I'm dining with, budget, location, etc., then I feel that it is impossible for me to answer either question.

Sorry for the long-winded cop-out response :P

However, as mentioned before, I do have a soft spot for noodles -- as long as they are expertly cooked (preferably al dente, but crispy works too because who doesn't like crispy fried noodles?!) and are accompanied with delicious flavors.

Pair noodles with fresh seafood, and you'll get this lovely combination. My picture does not do this creation any justice. This dish definitely makes it to my favorites list and is suitable for special occasions, such as birthdays, with its fresh seafood element along with the noodle's symbolism for longevity. The incredibly fresh, live crab was literally plucked out of the fish tank and brought by the table for inspection before meeting its fate in the kitchen.

Why was it so good? Sauce. It was the agent of every ingredient and flavor that went into the dish. A common Chinese-cooking practice is to thicken the sauce with corn starch. Here, they thickened it just enough to coat the noodles sufficiently, but not in excess where it would resemble a thick, goopy, science project. They added onions and green onions for sweetness and some bite. Ginger slices were also in there to give off an essence to balance the seafood-sweet crab flavors. This precise concoction coated the springy egg noodles with just enough sauce to make each mouthful as addicting as the next.

I must mention that the crab was cooked very nicely -- it was thoroughly cooked so that the meat would part with the shell, but not overcooked to a rubbery texture. The meat was firm and obviously fresh.

If I had to pick an MVP for the sauce, it would be the fresh crab. Something about the crab juices infused into the noodles really took this dish to the next level. If you're brave (and also don't have high levels of cholesterol) mix the guts from the big crab shell with the noodles for an extra savory treat. Please don't sue me if you get a heart attack from that experience.

Unfortunately, the egg noodles had a slightly detectable taste of lye in them, so I had to dock off a kiwi for that. Lye water helps give the egg noodles that satisfyingly springy and chewy texture. The off-putting alkaline taste can be somewhat mitigated by soaking the noodles in cold water for a while longer before use.

Service that night was great -- the chef's wife took good care of us and checked on our table often. They even garnished the crab with some cilantro to enhance the presentation, which is somewhat atypical for a Chinese restaurant. Given the type of cuisine, this dish was relatively more expensive, but one must step back and acknowledge the premium that comes with maintaining an inventory of live seafood.

We agreed that it was worth it :9

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

2012-02-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Taiwanese Pork Chop over Rice, Popcorn Chicken, Spiced Meat Sauce over Rice, Onion Pancake, and Bubble Tea.

VENUE: HardWok Cafe, International District, Seattle, WA (12-22-11 Thursday, Lunch)

Ever since I saw the signs go up for this place, I have been eagerly awaiting the chance to see what they're all about. HardWok Cafe -- yes, that is their actual name -- took over the spot in a strip mall that a jewelry store used to occupy (under Seven Star Peppers.)

Apparently, I was a little too eager and came in during their soft opening; they were still working out kinks and running with a condensed menu. However, I was pleased that they genuinely solicited feedback from all of the customers. I really hope that they take the suggestions into account and launch themselves to that next level because that would be a win-win scenario for them and for the Taiwanese food scene in the Seattle area.

Taiwanese Pork Chop over Rice - this one is my pick of the meal. The pork chop was thin enough to be tender, but it was still juicy and a little crispy. Also, I liked how the batter was relatively thinner and had a nice spice flavor to it. The pickled vegetables were also decent since they weren't too sour. Served with half of a braised egg and garnished with cilantro.

Popcorn Chicken - they seem to have the texture of their fried dishes down because this one was also juicy and crispy. Unfortunately, some of the pieces were too salty, but others had a good level of seasoning. Garnished with a crispy fried basil leaf.

Spiced Meat Sauce over Rice - stewed pork belly pieces over rice served with half of a braised egg and garnished with cilantro. The flavors were fine, but I really wish they would put more pork into this dish. The rice portion of this dish became very lonely after a few bites...

Onion Pancake - my friend and I originally wanted to order the Taiwanese pork burger, but since they were still in their soft opening, that dish was not available yet. We ended up picking this one as a game-time decision and regretted it. It was too thick, tough, and lacked onion flavor. Skip it.

Bubble Tea - they gave us free bubble tea for visiting during their soft opening. It wasn't bad, but could benefit from some fine-tuning. The tapioca was chewy, but I would have liked their milk tea to be stronger and more fragrant. The sweetness level was fine though.

The place looked clean, and the windows let in lots of natural light. It doesn't have very many tables for seating though. The strip mall does have parking, but someone may want to check if the spots are of legal size...

Our server was friendly and spoke Mandarin and English, so that was definitely a plus. I see lots of potential for this place, especially if they implement their customers' suggestions. With that said, I will return another day to try out some of their other dishes and also to see if they followed through with the feedback that they gathered.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Taiwanese Pork Chop over Rice: 7
Popcorn Chicken: 6.5
Spiced Meat Sauce over Rice: 6
Onion Pancake: 4
Bubble Tea: 5

JUST FOR KICKS

2012-02-09T01:06:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Brioche Escargot, Spicy Curry Pan, Brioche Japon, Caramel Apple Kouign Amann, and Green Tea Danish.

VENUE: Fuji Bakery, International District, Seattle, WA (12-19-11 Monday, Snack)

I've been here before when it opened and didn't really think much of them. Since we passed by it again, I decided to give it another try -- just for kicks. After all, Seattle Magazine featured it as one of the best new restaurants of 2011.

I did not change my mind about them.

Why? For starters, the pastries weren't warm. And the bakery didn't have that aroma of fresh-baked goodness either... Although, I do admire the uniqueness and style of their creations. They are probably the only people who bake this type of bread in the vicinity. But for me, if the caliber of the flavors, taste, and texture don't back up the presentation, then I can't help but feel ripped off. Perhaps I am spoiled by my travels to other countries, but my logic is if people can bake amazing pastries there, then why can't someone make it happen here?!

Nothing was bad, but nothing was that good either. And that just leads me to thinking about all sorts of other things -- like wondering what would compel Seattle Magazine to give them such high praise... and it's not like there was a line at all on both occasions.

The almond flavor was very slight, while the tea flavor was a tad more detectable. This one might be my pick of the five because of the uniqueness of having tea flavor in a pastry. One great thing about all their pastries is how they are not too sweet.

Top view of the Brioche Escargot. Texture was like an dry cinnamon roll.

This one is panko-crusted but is definitely not spicy. If we rounded generously, we might get to mild -- but that's really stretching it. The cashier advised me to nuke this for about 15 seconds before eating it.

Inside the Spicy Curry Pan, you can see the ground beef. It was not bad, but didn't really seem to do Japanese curry any justice.

Artful dusting of the powdered sugar on these small pastries. They were about one-inch cubes.

You can see the raspberry and red bean combination on the inside. The brioche was just okay -- the brioche used in Cafe Pirouette's french toast was way fluffier. This one was a little on the drier side, and I wasn't really a fan of this flavor combination.

You can't go wrong with sugar and butter, right?

It's like an apple pie with a tiny essence of ginger. I thought the bread was supposed to be looser though, but it wasn't.

The shape, black sesame accents, and shiny egg wash give it a professional-grade appearance.

Inside, you can see the green tea incorporated throughout the layers. I really wish that the matcha flavors would be more prominent and fragrant. This pastry was somewhat looser in texture though.

Would I go back? Not for a long time... I might go again just for kicks, but that didn't do me any good this time around, did it?

MASS CUSTOMIZATION

2012-02-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Soup Noodles, Congee, Sauteed Lettuce, Mixed Noodles with Beef Brisket, and Rice Stone Pot.

VENUE: King Noodle, International District, Seattle, WA (12-19-11 Monday, Lunch)

I have a soft spot for carbs -- especially noodles. With that said, a restaurant with a name like King Noodle is kind of tough for me to pass up. I have to point out that the Chinese name of this restaurant has nothing to do with kings nor noodles though, but that seems to happen with many Chinese television series and movie titles as well.

Anyways, this place is great for lunch and is reasonably priced for the amount of food you get. When you sit down, they hand you a form to build your own dishes. For the soup noodles, you get your choice of broth, noodle type, vegetables, and a couple toppings. The congee and stone pot rice dishes also work in a similar manner. With all the different options, you can probably eat here for ages without ever repeating the same dish, if you so desired. But if you don't want to think about what to get, they have some preset items to order as well.

Soup Noodles - we chose the original fish soup, vermicelli noodles, shredded BBQ duck, and wonton. The vermicelli noodles are a little thicker and a little chewy. I like chewy. The shredded duck is moist, and although the wonton was a little springy in texture, it still has room for improvement (e.g. could use a more delicate wonton wrap, fine-tuning on the flavors and texture, etc.) They claim to not use MSG in their soup, but they never made that claim to the other ingredients going into the dish. Garnished with cilantro, chopped green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and fried onions.

Congee - we decided to go with something a little lighter, so yes, we ordered fish filet. We also got sliced deep-fried fish cake, which added a little chewiness, sweetness, and fish flavor to the congee. The congee base was pretty smooth, but most importantly, it came out bubbling hot. Use caution when navigating the table because one touch to the clay pot can really burn. Since this included fish, they added ginger to balance out the fish flavors. Garnished with chopped green onions and drizzled with sesame oil.

Sauteed Lettuce - this is the one with the "preserved tofu." This white preserved bean curd is very strong and pungent, so it needs to be used very carefully since a little goes a long way. Although the mix of flavors was decent, they went a little too salty for me. Garnished with cilantro, chopped green onions, toasted sesame, and fried onions.

Mixed Noodles with Beef Brisket - this one had a thin egg noodle base, similar to the ones found in wonton noodle soup. It's called "mixed noodles" because they toss the noodles in condiments and sauces to flavor the dish rather than relying on a broth. The beef brisket pieces were tender and had a slightly salty, sweet, and subtle five spice flavor to them. This came with a little seaweed soup for the option to add additional moisture to the dish. Served with bok choy and garnished with (I feel like a broken record) cilantro, green onions, toasted sesame, and fried onions. The egg noodles were springy and smooth, so Mike's Noodle House better watch out!

Rice Stone Pot - with "dried duck, and dried pork." Also known as preserved duck and pork belly, these two proteins are heavy hitters but go with rice really well. I knew not to expect too much, but it would have been great if the rice was more infused with the flavors of the preserved proteins. Served with bok choy and a bowl of lightly sweetened soy sauce to adjust the saltiness.

I'm always a fan of how the rice becomes toasted in clay/stone pot dishes. It just makes me happy :D

This place is pretty small, but they move their food in a timely manner. The portions are also very fair, and dwarf the bowls found at Mike's. Don't come here expecting top-notch service or stylish decorations, but it does seem clean. I was also pleasantly surprised that they put in a little effort to garnish their dishes since most Chinese restaurants could really care less about presentation.

... I'll be back!

Kiwi Breakdown:

Soup Noodles : 7
Congee: 7
Lettuce: 6
Mixed Noodles: 7
Rice Stone Pot: 6.5

GOOD FOOD, GOOD COMPANY

2012-02-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Octapodaki tou Yiorgou, Complimentary Bread, Kolokithokeftethes, Souvla Tis Emeras, Kokinisto me Manestra, Moussaka, Galaktoboureko, and Baklava.

VENUE: Kokkari Estiatorio, Financial District, San Francisco, CA (12-18-11 Sunday, Dinner)

With mixed feelings, we finally reached the finish line of our San Francisco food marathon. While I was a little sad that it had to end, we all agreed that this was a suitable duration of time to spend here. Besides, I'm pretty sure we're going to come back someday and cross off more restaurants on our "to-eat" list :9

Kokkari is a Greek restaurant that we received multiple recommendations to visit. It was pretty hyped up for me, so I think it says a lot when it met the hype on the savory dishes.

Octapodaki tou Yiorgou - "grilled octopus with lemon, oregano, and olive oil." All of the savory dishes here were pretty solid, but this one stood out to me for its delicious simplicity. The octopus is a funky creature to cook because it starts off tough when raw (e.g. sashimi) but when cooked properly, it transforms into a more gentle texture. Then, if you continue cooking after it reaches that state, it becomes tough again and would dry out. This nicely-charred octopus was not rubbery and was more like a tender chicken breast. Despite being a sea creature, it was not fishy at all and also went well with a little bit of lemon. Good stuff.

Complimentary Bread - tart and chewy sourdough bread.

Kolokithokeftethes - "crispy zucchini cakes with cucumber and mint-yogurt dressing." Normally, there are two cakes per order, but our server convinced us to have one each. The crispy zuchinni cakes had a moist interior with strips of zuchinni, along with some sweet corn kernels, and some cheese (maybe feta?) The pickled cucumbers and the creamy Greek yogurt were a great way to bring it all together.

Souvla Tis Emeras - "today's rotisserie." This Berkshire pork was one of the special dishes of the day. Our server said that this loin portion has been slowly roasting in the rotisserie since noon that day. It had this really nice and porky pork flavor to it. Seasoned with brown sugar, fennel, and mustard for a little sweet with a little bite. Served on a bed of yukon gold potatoes and garnished with wild arugula. For me, the vinaigrette makes it unnecessary to have the lemon (wrapped in cloth) but it was nice to have it as an option. The skin attached to the loin pieces was a little tough, but there was also a crispy pork skin chip sitting on top (yay!)

Kokinisto me Manestra - "aromatic braised lamb shank with orzo and myzithra cheese." This dish was heavy, but it was so satisfying... the lamb shank was fork tender, so the juicy meat just fell off of the bone with minimal effort. It was quite the flavorful dish that utilized various spices (e.g. cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, etc.) and of course the lamb fats and au jus went with the soft orzo pasta very well. This is a great pick for cartilage fans out there since the bone had some of that smooth, jelly-like delicacy attached to it.

Moussaka - "traditional baked casserole of spiced lamb, eggplant, potato, and yogurt bechamel." This was like a very comforting lasagna with homely spices. The potato and eggplant chunks added soft and rich textures to the dish. Jessica A. succinctly described this dish as ratatouille meets shepherd's pie, where "you have a French and English dish, and then they have a Greek love child."

Galaktoboureko - "Semolina custard in filo with quince spoon sweet and pistachio ice cream." The ice cream had a great, nutty pistachio flavor. The firmer texture of the honeyed spoon sweets reminded me of Aplets & Cotlets. The custard in the filo was smooth, but I wished that they made the filo more crispy towards the middle section of the pastry like how it was on the two ends. It was still quite good though.

Baklava - "Traditional walnut and honey baklava with vanilla-praline ice cream." Served with some chopped hazelnuts. The nutty baklava was way too sweet for me, but the ice cream helped with that slightly...

Our server was pleasant, helpful, and she patiently described the dishes for us (while I took notes furiously.) The setting had a good ambiance to it, but that also meant it was dark. I'm still working on taking pictures without overexposing the brighter-colored foods lit up by my flashlight, so please bear with me on that :)

It was pretty neat seeing that a restaurant brought together so many different people in one place -- there was a large family gathering in one room, a party of fashionable women celebrating a birthday in another, a little girl occupied by her iPad while dining with her grandmother, some young professionals in polite discussion, and of course, couples having a romantic date night.

That is the power of good food and good company.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Grilled Octopus: 8.5
Zucchini Cakes: 7
Berkshire Pork: 8
Braised Lamb Shank: 8
Moussaka: 7.5
Greek Custard: 6.5
Baklava: 5.5

BOMBS AWAY

2012-02-03T00:11:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Quince Bombolone, Chocolate Almond Bombolone, and Pistachio Custard Bombolone.

VENUE: Village Market Specialty Foods, Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA (12-18-11 Sunday, Snack)

Before we went to lunch, these plump, circular, doughnut-looking pastries caught our eyes. We asked the lady running the stand if she would still be there after lunch -- to which she responded, "I'll be here until we're out!" (And she also hinted that they had more boxes in the back.) After lunch, we eagerly returned to the stand and exercised our separate dessert stomach once more!

Quince Bombolone - this one was the most unique of the three with its fruity filling. Quince looks like a pear, but it is more dense like an apple. Its yellowish flesh turns into a deeper red color after being cooked for an extended period of time. I'll take this lightly sweet, tart filling over jelly doughnut filling anytime.

The stand displaying all the bomboloni is located just outside of Village Market Specialty Foods in the Ferry Building. I'm pretty sure they don't bake them here and have a feeling that this table only makes an appearance on the weekends.

Chocolate Almond Bombolone - very light on the chocolate and almond flavors.

Pistachio Custard Bombolone - there was an essence of pistachio among the smooth custard.

Although the bomboloni were at room temperature, you could tell that they were fresh by the texture of the dough. They had a soft and tender bite to them, and they were fluffier than old-fashioned doughnuts. I also liked how they were lightly sweetened. Their appearance reminded me of Chinese sugar doughnuts :)

TOURIST TRAP

2012-02-02T00:28:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Caramelized Catfish Claypot, Crispy Imperial Rolls, Broken Jasmine Rice, Capay Farm Kabocha Squash, and Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef.

VENUE: The Slanted Door, Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA (12-18-11 Sunday, Lunch)

I already looked like a tourist with my camera -- might as well complete the experience by wandering around the waterfront and marching straight into a tourist trap. I'm confident that everything here is overpriced. After all, you're paying for the location, view, and the experience.

Caramelized Catfish Claypot - "with cilantro, ginger, and Thai chili." Easily the best dish of the meal. Soft, flaky, catfish in a sweet soy sauce that was just too easy to gulp down with some rice. I found the sauce a tad too sweet, but it was still addictive. The julienned ginger balanced out the fish flavors while the green chili peppers added that very slight kick. That went really well with the sweet, caramelized sauce. Garnished with chopped green onions and cilantro. Watch out for the bones -- though, that was probably the only obstacle preventing me from eating too fast :P

The Slanted Door is located in the Ferry Building Marketplace with a wide open view of the water. Lots of natural light :)

Crispy Imperial Rolls - "with shrimp, pork, glass noodle, and peanut." Glass noodles sound more gourmet than rice vermicelli noodles, don't they? Clever folks.

This one is basically a fancy egg roll = deep fried and crispy. They came with lettuce and "mint" to help cut the greasier aspect of the rolls. The combination of the hot egg rolls with the cool, fresh lettuce was kind of nice. The flavors were milder, so this was a nice dish to start the meal with. However, it was difficult to eat because the square-cut lettuce leaves were not quite large enough to make a sturdy wrap. That did not bode well for a clumsy eater like me. Served with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce made with fish sauce.

Broken Jasmine Rice - logically speaking, something that was broken would probably sell for less than something that was not broken, right? Yet somehow, they were still able to tack on their premium to this -- such business geniuses. The texture was slightly different since the grains were fractured into smaller pieces. This also meant that they were more difficult to pick up with chopsticks, so I resorted to using a fork. Blasphemous, I know... and I swear they laced this with oil to make it go down more smoothly. Garnished with chopped scallions.

Capay Farm Kabocha Squash - "with coconut milk and rau ram." The Vietnamese "mint" that often comes with pho has been chopped up and stir-fried with garlic to make a fragrant base for the kabocha squash to soak up. The coconut milk added a rich, buttery feel to bring everything together. (Maybe there was butter.) It was a little too salty to eat on its own, so it went well with the broken rice.

Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef - "cubed filet mignon, watercress, red onions, and lime sauce." This one was the biggest letdown out of all the dishes. The taste was fine after using the lime sauce, but with a $36 price tag, I would expect more beef. They used a pretty lean (tougher) meat, put a nice sear on it, and cooked it so that it still had some pink in the middle. Nevertheless, it would have been less of a sore point if they used a more fatty and tender piece of beef.

I think this meal was pretty representative of what they did to everything here: take a classic dish, make it a little more presentable, and then charge a hefty premium for their efforts. Now that I have tried this catfish dish, I'm going to look for it around Seattle -- but prepared in the non-fusion, traditional, and more pocketbook-friendly way :)

Kiwi Breakdown:

Caramelized Catfish Claypot: 8
Crispy Imperial Rolls: 6.5
Broken Jasmine Rice: 6.5
Capay Farm Kabocha Squash: 6.5
Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef: 5.5

HITTING AN OIL SLICK

2012-01-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Ramen, Sake, Hamachi, and Hirame Usu-Zukuri.

VENUE: Oyaji Restaurant, Outer Richmond, San Francisco, CA (12-17-11 Saturday, Late Dinner)

To conclude our evening, we made our way to Oyaji for some Japanese food. I've always had the impression that Japanese cuisine in the Bay Area was better than in the Seattle area, so it made perfect sense to include that into our meal schedule. This restaurant was decent -- but either Seattle is catching up or they had an off night.

Ramen - "Japanese Noodles in Tokotsu Broth, topped with sliced Cha-Shu, Egg, Bamboo Shoots, Corn, Seaweed, and Green Onion." The savory broth was all right (but could have been more flavorful) while the pork was moist and juicy -- not like that tough and dry stuff found at imitation ramen joints.

However, I think the seaweed went bad -- more specifically, the oil that the seaweed was toasted in tasted spoiled and rancid. Besides the seaweed, this dish was okay. The noodles were a little softer than I would have preferred, but we did let it sit for a while before digging in.

On the other hand, I was quite fascinated by the half egg. The egg white was thoroughly cooked and not rubbery, but the yolk was cooked and not stiff. And then the egg was well seasoned, all the way through. The flavored yolk yielded a smooth, moist, and pasty texture. I'm guessing that impeccable timing and special procedures were involved just to get this egg the way it is.

Sake - salmon sashimi. It was fresh, but the pieces were quite petite. Served on a shiso leaf and delicately cut strands of daikon radish.

Hamachi - yellowtail sashimi. Also fresh... and miniature.

Hirame Usu-Zukuri - "thinly sliced halibut, ponzu sauce." Seattle-area restaurants seem to rarely ever serve this, so we jumped on the opportunity to try some. When they say thinly-sliced, they really mean it. But that is important because this fish is relatively more chewy and less fatty than other fish. It's a little milder in flavor and was accompanied by the tart ponzu soy sauce, sliced green onions, and hot chili sauce.

Although this restaurant was decent, the spoiled seaweed in the ramen ruined it for me. That egg was the only element in the noodles worth ordering it for. We were also seated near the window and door, so the place felt a little too cold for us. As for service, they liked taking their time with everything, even though there were only two other parties there besides us.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Ramen: 5.5
Sake: 7
Hamachi: 7
Hirame Usu-Zukuri: 7

The quality of the sashimi was decent, but the portion to price ratio was a little harder to stomach...

PIT STOP

2012-01-27T00:18:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Double Pain au Chocolat, Frangipane Tart, and Buttermilk Scone.

VENUE: Tartine Bakery, Mission, San Francisco, CA (12-17-11 Saturday, Snack)

Even though it was dinner time, we were still quite content from our delicious brunch. However, we did feel that there was sufficient stomach capacity to fit in a snack -- so we decided to make a pit stop at Tartine.

We heard about this bakery from several different people as well, but maybe the combination of too much hype along with going at night contributed to my disappointment. Nothing was bad, but nothing really made that great of an impression on me either. Granted, the baked goods weren't fresh out of the oven, but there was still a lengthy wait and dealing with a horrendous parking situation just to get a taste of these treats.

Double Pain au Chocolat - Valrhona chocolate croissant - super flaky thin layers. This was the last one they had and was my pick of the three. It's nothing too special but was a safe item to order.

Frangipane Tart - "Light almond-cream filling baked in a flaky pastry shell with seasonal fruit." Crispy sliced almonds with a fruity filling that's not too sweet. The tart also had a buttery and flaky crust like the croissant and was dusted with confectioner's sugar. This pastry is a little more unique, but again, it didn't really stand out either.

Buttermilk Scone - with blackcurrants and sprinkled with sanding sugar. The outside of the scone is crispy and does have a pleasing fruity essence to it, but it was a bit too dry for my preference. I think the scones at the Hi Spot Cafe are better.

This place was so crowded inside, and people had to squeeze by just to exit -- so we sat outside and did some people watching. Many very interesting outfits, dogs, and failed parking attempts to witness. The people seated indoors cunningly left one bite on their plates so as to pretend that they were still eating. I thought that it was common courtesy to finish eating and let others use the table when it was obvious that many were waiting to sit down and eat.

I guess people don't practice that here.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Double Pain au Chocolat: 6
Frangipane Tart: 6
Buttermilk Scone: 5

WHOLE GREATER THAN SUM OF PARTS

2012-01-23T00:51:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Baguette French Toast, Coffee, Caramel-Pecan Sticky Bun, Brown Sugar Smoked Bacon, Croque Madame, Persian Flat Omelet, Chocolate Pot de Creme, and Lemon Tart.

VENUE: Foreign Cinema, Mission, San Francisco, CA (12-17-11 Saturday, Brunch)

On our way here, the one thing that stood out in my mind were all the quinceañera dresses hanging from so many nearby shops. There is a clear Latino influence to this neighborhood, and the older buildings really have a lot of character to them. It's not really a place I would think to look through for a brunch place, but we arrived here after getting multiple recommendations -- many thanks, fellow foodies!

The price was not cheap, but to justify it, they really focus on quality here. Every dish we ordered from the brunch menu was quite tasty. Though, I can't quite say the same for their dessert menu.

Baguette French Toast - all the entrees were great, but I'll make this one my pick of the meal because it just says "brunch" to me. The outside of the toast was eggy and crispy, while the inside was super moist and soft, like a custardy bread pudding. The custard had a zesty flavor too. The banana slices weren't too mushy while the mango chunks were tart and provided a great balance to the rich sweetness in the rest of the dish. I thought the scoop of blended brown sugar-orange-cardamom butter took the flavors to another level. Beautifully dusted with confectioner's sugar.

Their hanging chandeliers reminded me of salmon roe!

Coffee - latte. Just okay... can't really compare to Seattle (e.g. Zoka) in taste nor presentation though :)

Caramel-Pecan Sticky Bun - warm, loose texture and falls apart nicely. The top layer of caramelly toasted pecan reminded me of a pecan pie that wasn't too sweet. The outside was slightly crisp while the inside was soft, but it bordered dangerously close to being too dry. Paired well with the coffee.

Slow-cooked, Brown Sugar Smoked Bacon - it's everything they say it is, sweet and smoky. It was also a little crispy. Our waiter suggested to eat it with the French toast, which was a spectacular idea.

Croque Madame - a ham and cheese (gruyere) sandwich with an egg on top in a bechamel sauce. Nice toasty bread, and I liked the cheesy and creaminess of it all -- and of course the runny egg yolk. We asked for a little mustard to help balance out the heaviness of this dish. Served with fries and salad.

Persian Flat Omelet - chicken sausage, tomato chutney, crispy fried straw potatoes, and sliced avocado on a flat green omelet. The omelet was soft, moist, and glistening from some oil, but it was so good. I'm not exactly sure what made the omelet green, but I suspect it involved spinach and various herbs. The slender potatoes were lightly salted and crisp. I couldn't stop picking at them even after being so full from eating everything. The chicken sausage was not too salty and had a nice springy texture to it.

Chocolate Pot de Creme - with dollop of chantilly cream and two delicate shortbread cookies. The dark chocolate was not too sweet and pretty smooth, while the cookies were loose and had a light touch of salt. This dish didn't have the same cleverness as the brunch items though.

Lemon Tart - with huckleberry compote and coconut sorbet. This dessert is on the lighter side of the dessert spectrum with its slight sweetness and bright lemony tartness. Even the coconut sorbet was tart at first taste, but the coconut flavor finally showed up at the end of the bite. The tart crust has a buttery shortbread-like quality to it.

When I visit San Francisco for food again, I would like to return here. They really have a knack for putting together simple and fresh ingredients to make the whole dish greater than the sum of its parts. I hear that their dinner is quite tasty as well :9

Minus points: the table legs got in the way... chairs should ideally fit in the space between table legs, right?
Plus points: they changed our plates and utensils so as to not mix up the flavors and experience them as intended.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Baguette French Toast: 8.5
Coffee: 6.5
Caramel-Pecan Sticky Bun: 8
Brown Sugar Smoked Bacon: 7
Croque Madame: 7.5
Persian Flat Omelet: 8.5
Chocolate Pot de Creme: 6.5
Lemon Tart: 6.5

I guess my categories don't work so well because the french toast and sticky bun are sweet :P So for this post, "Savory" is for brunch menu items, while "Sweet" is for dessert menu items.

UPDATE TO THE KIWI SCALE

2012-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm finding that an overall scale is not very meaningful when the disparity between dishes are great. Therefore, I'll continue ranking each dish individually.

In addition to that, all the nasty dishes and commentary of the like will be moved to the Angry Kiwi. Hopefully that one won't need to be updated too often, but you never know...

Let's keep this blog a happy place :)

EXERCISING THE SEPARATE STOMACH

2012-01-22T00:31:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Nutella-Banana Crepe and Egg Puffs.

VENUE: Genki Crepes, Inner Richmond, San Francisco, CA (12-16-11 Friday, Snack/Dessert)

In case it was not apparent from the previous post that we were full from dinner... yes, we were stuffed. But that's why dessert goes into a separate stomach.

Nutella-Banana Crepe - Eileen ordered a plain Nutella crepe, while Jessica ordered this one and let me take several bites :9 Nutella and sliced bananas in a crepe. That's it. The ingredients sound simple enough, but it's all about the combination -- which they have plenty of different ones to choose from! They also make everything fresh to order (aka longer wait times.)

The proportion of Nutella to banana was decent, so you can enjoy the flavors from both the fragrant hazelnut-chocolate spread and the banana without either one overpowering the other. You can't go wrong with Nutella, but the banana does add another light sweet flavor profile to the crepe. Though, one thing that caught me off guard was that the crepe itself was crispy. The taste and texture reminded me of a fortune cookie, but thinner. So, if you're looking for a more traditional crepe, better look elsewhere.

Genki Crepes is also a mini mart that has an eclectic inventory of Asian merchandise -- from Pocky to Gatsby hair wax, mini One Piece toys, and gummy candy burgers. The creperie counter is just inside the entrance.

Egg Puffs - fresh from the egg puff iron, complete with crispy crusts with chewy insides. These are the original (vanilla) flavored ones, and they're a great dessert option for those seeking something that's lightly sweetened and not too heavy. Egg puffs are originally a Hong Kong waffle-like street food snack. They're easy to share and graze on while roaming around ~ best when enjoyed fresh!

This was Ben's crepe, which I believe had green tea ice cream, red bean, and whipped cream. Sounds like a solid combination to me. I didn't try any, but it looked pretty good -- which he confirmed verbally (and also by devouring it.)

FIRST STOP

2012-01-20T01:25:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Beef Kimchi Fried Rice, Gyozas, Spicy Chicken Wings, Calamari with Bulgogi, Seafood Pancake, and Seafood Soybean Paste Soup.

VENUE: Toyose, Outer Sunset, San Francisco, CA (12-16-11 Friday, Late Dinner)

This restaurant marks the starting point of our San Francisco food marathon. We decided to play it by ear since flights can get delayed, so we didn't make dinner reservations for this night. By the time we arrived in the city and checked into the hotel, it was already past 9:30pm. Eileen and I were searching Yelp like no tomorrow, but to our surprise and dismay, most restaurants nearby closed at 10pm.

Being the problem-solver that she is, Jessica called her foodie cousin, Ben, for suggestions. It turns out that he and his friend, David, had a super busy day and haven't eaten yet either, so we all assembled across town for some Korean food.

Beef Kimchi Fried Rice - my pick of the meal - diced kimchi, beef, and green onions incorporated into a fried rice topped with a sunny side up egg, seasoned seaweed/laver, chopped green onions and dusted with toasted sesame seeds. Mash it all together and enjoy! This dish has an excellent level of spiciness to it while the runny yolk works its magic in binding the dish together. It's not too wet, but also not too dry -- I do dare to say that this one's better than the kimchi fried rice at Marination Station.

Ben explained that this restaurant used to be a garage, and somewhere along the way, it was converted into a restaurant. With that said, space was pretty cozy in there. Each table had a handy call button for service. Despite it being later than peak dining hours, all the tables were filled -- but it was a Friday night after all. Look for this scratched-up bird with the red polka dot bow tie to find it. I kind of feel bad for that bird...

Gyozas - these are hot, hot, hot -- in terms of temperature -- so be careful not to let the pork juices burn your taste buds! The wrapper on these fresh dumplings are a little thicker, but that's what gives them a sturdy and crunchy shell all the way around. They probably deep fry them to achieve this result. These gyozas are pretty standard but have a good meaty flavor to them and come with a cabbage slaw. Served with a dipping sauce containing a little red chili, sesame, green onion, garlic in a soy sauce base.

Spicy Chicken Wings - these were crispy with a slight kick, but seemed to be over-fried tonight. Although you can see the chili seeds on the exterior, the flavors would have been better if the level of heat was kicked up a notch -- similar to the fried rice.

Calamari with Bulgogi - with sauteed vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions, etc.) and sweet soy sauce. The beef was tender, a little spicy, and a little sweet. Garnished with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds. I somehow forgot to eat the calamari, so I can't say anything about that. Oops...

Seafood Pancake - with green onions, sweet onions and peppers. This pancake was crispy on its outer surfaces. The inside had a softer doughy texture between all the ingredients in there. Served with a soy sauce based sauce with sesame (different from the gyoza one - Jessica thought it might have contained fish sauce?) I must note that this was probably the least greasy seafood pancake I have ever eaten.

Seafood Soybean Paste Soup - this soup had a fragrant, beany, miso-flavored soup base. It was also slightly tart and spicy. Seafood consisted of clams, shell-on shrimp, and very chewy calamari. Vegetables included enoki mushrooms, button mushrooms, zuchinni, green onions and slice of red pepper for color contrast :) Large blocks of tofu were also in there.

Plus points: open late
Minus points: cold draft every time the door opened
Quadruple minus points: people smoking inside the restaurant. Yuck!

I think they're short-staffed here, but then again, there wasn't much room for more people to be walking around either. Food here was not bad, but I am grateful that they were actually open for business.

Kiwi Breakdown:

Kimchi Fried Rice: 7.5
Gyozas: 6
Chicken Wings: 5
Bulgogi: 6
Seafood Pancake: 6.5
Soup: 6

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

2012-01-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Apple Fritter Bread Pudding, Baer 'Ursa' '08 Washington, Columbia Valley, Crab Cake, F.I.G.'lets, Mt. Townsend Cheeses, Lamb Empanada, The Flat Iron Platter, Poblano Polenta with Montrachet, Roasted Cauliflower & Vintage White Cheddar, Blue Bird Farms Farro Risotto, Chocolate Cake, and Dark Chocolate Peppermint Puffs.

VENUE: Flat Iron Grill, Issaquah, WA (12-10-11 Saturday, Dinner)

Flat Iron Grill is a steak and seafood restaurant located in Gilman Village of downtown Issaquah. They take classic American dishes, then incorporate South American flavors and flair. Tables here are made from real metal, as demonstrated by how strongly my magnetic flashlight clung to the surface -- and to all of the silverware as well.

Kind of dangerous when steak knives made their appearance.

Apple Fritter Bread Pudding - "brown sugar crème fraiche, apple compote & cider caramel." This is my pick of the night as a sweet, yet not overly sweet, but sufficiently unhealthy dessert dish :) It's a donut in bread pudding form that is steaming hot with a creamy sauce and moist interior. Something about the frying process of that fritter gives this dish that extra deliciousness...

Baer 'Ursa' '08 Washington, Columbia Valley - red wine blend to go with the proteins of the night, especially the steak. This made the Wine Spectator's top ten list (#6) of 2011 -- I don't know much about wines, but I think it tasted better as the night progressed.

Crab Cake - "dungeness crab, rock shrimp, kataifi, quince soubise & membrillo gastrique." The soubise (white sauce) is mild and milky, while the membrillo gastrique (orange sauce) reminded me of a fruity jam. There is a lot going on here, but the flavor that stood out the most for me was the cumin in there. This crab cake is packed with fresh crab meat and has a springiness to it from the shrimp inside. Served with a side of greens tossed in vinaigrette.

F.I.G.'lets - "nueske’s smoked bacon, figs, goat cheese & saba." Can't go wrong with bacon, especially when it's Nueske's smoky bacon. The sweet and soft figs are stuffed with gorgonzola and go quite well with the smoked bacon flavors.

Mt. Townsend Cheeses - "house marinated olives, panzanella crackers & gastrique." Please excuse the newb lighting on this picture -- these cheeses were quite good. They were smooth and creamy and easy to spread onto the crackers. Served with balsamic and orange oil. I was informed that they make their own olives, and they sure pack a strong, fragrant olive flavor in them.

Lamb Empanada - "braised leg of lamb, harissa, goat cheese, watercress & cumin vinaigrette." And here, we have more cumin, but this time accompanied with tender lamb meat and a good amount of heat from the harissa, a spicy chili sauce with other spices. Beautiful braiding along the side, but I wish there were less dough and more lamb filling :)

The Flat Iron Platter - "flat iron steak & grilled ½ chicken with jumbo prawns, chorizo, chimichurri, salsa criolla." The most efficient way to eat your way through the menu. We requested that the prawns be served on the side (below.) The flat iron steak was medium and had a nice grilled char flavor. The chicken was nice and juicy while the chorizo had a spiced flavor. The chimichurri sauce and salsa provided fresh, tart flavors to balance out the savory meats.

And here are the jumbo prawns. They were executed pretty well as they were cooked thoroughly but were still juicy. Seasoning here was enough to enhance the natural flavors of the prawns, but did not mask them nor overwhelm the palette.

Poblano Polenta with Montrachet - side dish #1 - the goat cheese was very creamy, and the polenta was quite smooth and rich. Garnished with chopped chives.

Roasted Cauliflower & Vintage White Cheddar - side dish #2 - these cauliflowers are sweet -- in a natural cauliflowery way -- they have a nice toasted and grilled essence to them. If I could only choose one of the side dishes to order, I'd pick this one.

Blue Bird Farms Farro Risotto - side dish #3 - this farro is of the softer variety and blended in with the risotto. The dish didn't really stand out, but I suppose it is a solid starchy base to go with the other dishes.

Chocolate Cake - "dulce de leche, chocolate sauce, peanut brittle & vanilla ice cream." The chocolate cake is similar to a moist molten cake and came with an ultra-rich and fudgy chocolate sauce. I really liked the peanut brittle for its great crisp texture. Some peanut brittle are too hard, to the point where your teeth curse at you while trying to chew it up. But this one is more "fragile," so it cracks relatively easier.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Puffs - "white chocolate peppermint candy." The cream puff shell could have been looser, but I suspect that these were made well in advance as the moisture from the filling made the shell slightly soggier. Also, the creamy chocolate filling was cool -- perhaps it's fresh from the fridge? The minty white chocolate and white chocolate sauce was definitely appropriate for the season. Textures could be improved, but the taste was nice.

This is a solid restaurant for the Eastside. But it's missing the "magic touch" that would make it more competitive against the Seattle food scene. Business looked good as it caters to the residential area nearby, and they do have decent food to back it up -- but it mainly comes down to location, location, location!

Note: names of dishes and words in quotes are straight from their menu.

HITS THE SPOT

2012-01-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Dolsot Bibimbap, Korean Side Dishes, Pork Side, and Kalbi.

VENUE: Southgate Garden, Eastgate, Bellevue, WA (12-10-11 Saturday, Lunch)

I have been told that the better Korean food in Washington state is found in Shoreline or Federal Way, but I think people sometimes forget that my driving skills need lots of work :) My experience with genuine Korean food while in Korea (for a couple days many years ago) was enjoying sam gye tang, kalbi, and bulgogi. So, with my limited knowledge and expertise of real Korean food, here is a place I consider to be decent for the Bellevue area.

Dolsot Bibimbap - julienned carrots, daikon radish, zuchinni, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, spinach, toasted seasoned seaweed, sunny side up egg, and beef over white rice. They also give you a bottle of spicy red chili paste to adjust your own level of heat. There's just something great about a dish where you mix a whole bunch of stuff together, and it just hits the spot. The veggies give it that nice crisp texture and freshness while the runny yolk adds smoothness.

My favorite part of eating any dish that comes in a stone or clay pot is the crunchy rice layer that forms at the sides and bottom. Crispy rice with this fabulous toasty flavor. Yum...

Korean Side Dishes - they have a salad bar with various side dishes where you can help yourself, but they brought these particular ones to our table. Bean sprouts, seaweed, that next one was our kalbi with button mushrooms, pickled peppers, sweet fish cake, sweet potato(?), sweetened potato, mung bean starch jelly cakes, pickled daikon slices, spicy pickled daikon cubes, pickled cucumber slices, and kimchi. The cold non-spicy ones are great for alternating between the spicy and freshly-grilled BBQ meats.

The classic "black rice" and miso soup with chopped green onions.

Pork Side - pork belly slices = bacon on steroids. The oils dripping down feed the fire below while the emanating smoke whets our appetite.

It grills up so beautifully. Just one more side to go -- then, it's ready to eat!

The lady there saw that we looked like novices, so she decided to intervene and help us cook some of the food. She grabbed a pair of scissors and deftly cut up the grilled sweet onion and pork belly slices for us.

Lettuce Salad - they serve this with a sesame/soy vinaigrette to go with the BBQ dishes. You can also request whole lettuce leaves to wrap the grilled meats as well. Other variations include radish or rice paper wraps.

Dipping Sauces - the one on the left is a Korean red chili paste with miso while the one of the right one is a sesame oil with salt and pepper. One way to enjoy all this good stuff is to take the grilled meat, dip it in the oil, then put it in the desired wrap, add some of the chili paste and lettuce salad on there, and savor it all together. Everyone seems to have their own favorite method to enjoy Korean BBQ, but hey, I say do whatever you find most enjoyable!

Kalbi - marinated beef short ribs with button mushrooms. The marinade is a sesame, sweet soy and garlic sauce. This particular version rolls off neatly from the bone like a ribbon of grilling goodness.

This was just what I needed on that dreary and gray kind of day. I have no idea if it's authentic, but the freshly grilled meats and toasty rice dish sure tasted fine to me! The barley tea they served was somewhat weak and seemed watered-down, but at least it was hot. Other Korean BBQ places I have visited don't usually help you with the cooking, so I think their service is relatively good here.

A HEALTHY DISGUISE

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Steakhouse Salad and Complimentary Break Basket.

VENUE: John Howie Steak, Bellevue, WA (12-9-11 Friday, Lunch)

Move over El Gaucho! John Howie's got this dish down pat. Ashley says that this is the best steak salad in town, so I just had to try it. I think I will have to agree with her on that claim -- unless anyone else has any other solid leads for a yummy steak salad in the area.

So when I hear the word "salad," I think of something that tastes... healthy. But this salad tastes good. It must be one of those mythical foods that is healthy and also tastes good, right?! (Please just let me delude myself for a moment -- thanks.)

Steakhouse Salad - "mesquite grilled prime sirloin steak, wild greens, Valdeon blue cheese, marinated mushrooms, tomatoes, crispy sweet onions, white balsamic vinaigrette, and Roquefort fromage." The vinaigrette and blue cheese dressings were requested to be served on the side (above.) The steak was well seasoned with salt and black pepper while the mushrooms had a nice herby, balsamic and spicy garlic flavor to them. The blue cheese was super smooth and melts in your mouth. And sweet onions are already great, but then they go and fry them up to get that crispy texture. So evil... obviously not a salad you would order on a diet.

I have been conditioned to order my steak medium rare because it usually turns out anywhere from medium to a black, overcooked piece of carbon. Here, it looks like the middle piece turned out rare/medium rare, but the outer pieces were indeed medium rare.

Complimentary Bread Basket - various carbs in a basket served with a buttermilk spread. The round one was soft, warm, and cheesy. There were also other kinds of bread in there, including a couple crispy bread sticks and herb-flavored La Panzanella crackers.

Sea Salts - fleur de sel, pink sea salt, and black lava salt. The fleur de sel is good for grilled meats, fresh cooked veggies or salads. The pink salt is for prime rib, pork loin (and other Hawaiian dishes.) Finally, the black lava salt is good for sprinkling onto seafood and... basically everything else! Okay, I'll confess -- I don't know if I accurately remembered what they told me, but all three of those salts work great on steak.

Service was very professional and serious, but almost to the point of being cold... but as long as they were attentive, water glasses were filled, and we got the right food, perhaps I can overlook that.

Minus points: visible water stains on the water glasses.

Note: words in quotes are the descriptions straight from their lunch menu.

HYPE DISPELLED

2012-01-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Noodle with Sesame Sauce (擔擔麵), Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar Dressing (小菜), Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup (肉菜餛飩湯), Juicy Pork Dumplings (小籠包), and Black Sesame Dumplings (芝麻小包).

VENUE: Din Tai Fung, Bellevue, WA (12-7-11 Wednesday, Lunch)

When Din Tai Fung announced that they were going to open a branch in the Seattle area, there was an incredible amount of chatter and anticipation. The PR campaign was a huge success as folks traveled from all over, even from Vancouver, B.C., to see how they would fare. And just like Krispy Kreme, the long wait lines disappeared quickly since they fell incredibly short of expectations. Their food isn't bad, but they charge a premium for their name/location. And the portion sizes are noticeably smaller...

Fun Fact: in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung parallels what Cheesecake Factory is in the United States. It's a successful franchise that serves edible food, but not known to be the best by any means.

Noodle with Sesame Sauce (擔擔麵) - my personal favorite is not their juicy pork dumplings, but this noodle dish. It's simple, but the flavor of the sauce is quite addicting. There are crushed peanuts, sesame oil, and red chili oil in there -- so a nutty sauce with some heat. This is a good dish to order because the pork dumplings will not fill you up. And it just tastes good :9

Din Tai Fung is known for its juicy pork dumplings. This branch is located in Lincoln Square (attached to Bellevue Square.) I've had the privilege of visiting their original location in Taiwan, so I can confidently say that this place has a long ways to go before doing the pork dumplings any justice... but yes, for the Seattle area, they are among the best. I have to give them credit though -- their first few months of operation were not so great; however, they have improved somewhat since then.

But I must reiterate: they have a long ways to go.

Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar Dressing (小菜) - julienned Chinese "dry tofu" (豆乾), sweet red peppers, green onions, seaweed, and rice vermicelli noodles in a spicy sesame oil sauce with red chili oil. This cold appetizer dish has a crisp springy texture with a good amount of kick to it.

Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup (肉菜餛飩湯) - wontons in a clear stock yielding a slight ham flavor garnished with chopped green onions.

The pork filling contains leek with a bit of ginger. The wrapper is relatively thinner and chewier than your average wonton. The filling could be smoother though, as is the case with their...

Juicy Pork Dumplings (小籠包) - the skin on these pork dumplings are tougher, chewier, and not as delicate as I expected them to be. The texture of the pork filling isn't as smooth nor as fragrantly pork-flavored as the ones served in their original Taiwan location. They do taste fine and have a good amount of soup, but if you don't scarf them down while they're steaming hot (aka under thirty seconds) the dumpling wrapper gets even tougher.

That is somewhat unreasonable to expect people to do. The narrow window of enjoyment was not an issue in Taiwan, so why are they imposing such a condition to something that should be enjoyable? :(

Black Sesame Dumplings (芝麻小包) - the speedy drying out process of the dumpling wrapper is even more apparent in this dessert since there is no soup inside to help its case.

However, the filling of the black sesame was fragrant and lightly sweetened. The chewy wrapper is more passable for a dessert, but it sure dries out quick!

Would I come back? Perhaps, but I would like to see them continue to improve and find ways to close the food quality gap against their Taiwanese counterpart. Food choices in the Greater Seattle area have been improving, so let the competition be a win-win for everyone in the area! :D

Kiwi Breakdown:

Noodle with Sesame Sauce: 8
Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar Dressing: 6
Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup: 6
Juicy Pork Dumplings: 6
Black Sesame Dumplings: 5.5

CONSISTENCY

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Sloppy Joe and Spiced Jar Cake.

VENUE: Lot No. 3, Bellevue, WA (12-6-11 Tuesday, Lunch)

With its close proximity to the office, Lot No. 3 has become one of our dependable lunch spots. Their grilled cheese sandwich with the candied bacon still tops my list of what to order, but I decided to branch off today and order something different. I have to say that nothing else has been as spectacular as that grilled cheese sandwich, but everything else we've tried has been consistently decent.

Sloppy Joe - "ground angus beef, bourbon-tomato sauce, cripsy onion straws served on a sesame roll." I remember eating sloppy joes in elementary school for school lunch and did not have a pleasant memory of those... but this one is not bad and successfully salvages the image of sloppy joes for me. It's got a nice and savory tomato sauce with a little kick to it. The bun is soft too, so they add in some texture contrast with the crispy onion and kale chips. Served with a side salad and their honey-balsamic vinaigrette.

Spiced Jar Cake - "cinnamon-pudding cake, maple glaze." The cake has this sweet, sugary crust that encases the whole cake. It definitely has a cinnamon spice taste to it with a loose crumble to the cake that borderlines on being too dry -- it might have been better if I decided to splurge and ordered the extra ice cream to go with it.

Note: words in quotes are the descriptions straight from their lunch menu.

GOOD FORTUNE

2011-12-31T00:30:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Yang Chow Fried Rice (揚州炒飯), Sauteed Pea Vines (清炒豆苗), Tofu and Fish Clay Pot (豆腐班腩煲), and White Sauce Pork Chops (白汁肉排).

VENUE: New Star, International District, Seattle, WA (12-4-11 Sunday, Lunch)

New Star is located on the north side of Chinatown/International District -- closer to the Downtown area. It's pretty convenient to get here by bus/light rail since the tunnel station is just kitty corner to it. It's also one of the few places around here that offers parking during dinner and weekend dining hours. However, if there is a Seahawks or Mariners game that day, don't count on getting a spot unless you're there early. With that said, their prices are somewhat higher than your average Chinatown restaurant, but it's worth it if you know exactly what dishes to order.

Yang Chow Fried Rice (揚州炒飯) - fried rice with peas, chopped green onions, scrambled eggs, diced BBQ pork, and shrimp. The shrimp has a nice springy bite to it so you know it's fresh. I'm sure there is a good amount of oil in this, but it's definitely not swimming in grease like some other places. Once in a while, the rice is a little too moist, but this time it wasn't mushy at all and had the appropriate firmer rice grain texture for fried rice.

Sauteed Pea Vines (清炒豆苗) - pea vines run at a higher price because restaurants usually pick out the more fibrous vegetables and use only the tender vines in this dish. Sometimes that can mean throwing out more than half of the box of pea vines that they purchase. Since they sort through it pretty well at this restaurant, only the good vines are used in this dish. Cooked until wilted, but not overcooked (that's when it turns yellow and mushy *shudders*)

Tofu and Fish Clay Pot (豆腐班腩煲) - the menu says that the fish here is flounder, but I suspect that they could be using swai. It has a soft, flaky texture with a mild fish flavor -- but what makes it so tasty is how they first deep fry the chunks of fish and then saute them with the rest of the ingredients in a salty and starchy sauce. Served with re-hydrated dried shiitake mushrooms, carrots, ginger, broccoli and tofu. The ginger is there to balance out the fish flavor while the broccoli sitting on the bottom gives the dish a little veggie crunch and picks up the sauces. They normally use fried tofu and saute them together with the other items, similar to how they do the fish, but we requested them to use the soft/silken tofu instead.

White Sauce Pork Chops (白汁肉排) - so imagine honey walnut prawns (without the walnuts) then swap in pieces of pork for the prawns, and voila! The bone-in pork chops are cut into strips, deep fried, and then smothered with a sweet mayonnaise. Usually, this dish is good, but it was exceptional today as it was juicy on the inside, a little crisp on the outside, and had just enough mayo to make it all go down smoothly :P Garnished with cilantro and served on a bed of chopped raw cabbage.

My fortune cookie gave me a sign -- a very good sign ;)

Service here is consistently good during weekend lunches because it's a relatively slower time for them. It probably has to do with the higher prices because many residents in the International District are very price sensitive. However, since they take the stress out of looking for a parking spot, that gets built into their prices -- which I think is worth it for people who drive.

The other aspect about Chinese restaurants that we like is how they take any substitutions or requests and just make it happen if they have the ingredients! However, beware of ordering items that aren't on the menu because that means the prices are not set. Best practice is to inquire on prices for any off-menu items just in case.

And since it's not incredibly busy here during this time, we don't feel any pressure to eat quickly and can enjoy our food at a leisurely pace while catching up with each other.

LOGIC-DEFYING CRISPINESS

2011-12-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Fried Butter Chicken Wings, Seafood Rice Noodle Soup, and Braised Duck with Egg Noodle Soup.

VENUE: Huy Ky Mi Gia, International District, Seattle, WA (12-2-11 Friday, Lunch)

Huy Ky Mi Gia is located in the "Ding Hao" shopping complex -- same place as Seven Star Peppers, Lemongrass, and the recently-opened HardWok Cafe (no joke, that's really their name - blog post to appear later.) They call themselves a "Chinese Noodle House," but Amy and I will have to refute that claim. They are a noodle house that has Vietnamese style Chinese noodle dishes.

Fried Butter Chicken Wings - I seriously think there was something lost in translation on this one, but that doesn't matter because these wings are delicious. They came out piping hot eight minutes after they (finally) took our order. We noticed that the pieces were winglets with only one drumlet, which we didn't have a problem with at all -- but maybe the next customer might get all drumlets and not be too thrilled about it :P

Okay, why were these wings so great? First, they're freshly deep fried and still juicy on the inside. Next, they're not too salty, but just salty enough. Then, they were tossed in and garnished with this aromatic green onion, garlic, and red chili mixture. Finally, the batter was loose and crispy with a tiny hint of sweetness to balance the spiciness.

And twenty-five minutes later, these wings were still crispy. How amazing is that?!

Sriracha and Chinese red chili sauce = arguably the essential accompaniments for noodles.

Seafood Rice Noodle Soup - Do Do fish balls, prawns, imitation crab sticks and squid with the wide rice noodles. Garnished with chopped green onions, lettuce, bean sprouts, and crispy garlic, onion, and pork belly pieces. How do those pork belly pieces stay crispy when drenched in the soup? They're fried all the way through so that the outer regions form a barrier against moisture, and it stays crispy in the center. This dish is a lighter option, which was the original intention making this trip out here for lunch... but we kind of botched that plan with the chicken wings xD Not bad, but doesn't stand out.

On an interesting note, Amy discovered that Sriracha sauce with Do Do fish balls is not a good combination because it brings out an intense fishiness to the Do Do fish balls.

Braised Duck with Egg Noodle Soup - with bok choy, red dates and chopped green onions. The braised duck is cooked in a mixture of five spice, soy sauce, sugar, Chinese wine and other good stuff to give a nice flavor to it. The meat is tender and flavorful, savory and sweet. However, the noodles were a big disappointment for us...

Since this is a Vietnamese noodle house, they used the Vietnamese version of the egg noodles. Amy and I were expecting the Chinese version because they said that they were a Chinese noodle house. The noodles were not quite as springy nor smooth and looked much yellower than the Chinese egg noodles we're familiar with -- like the ones served at Mike's Noodle House.

Plus points: they moved us to a bigger table that seated four despite having only two people in our party.
Plus points: they checked in on us once, were prompt with the check, and even helped us split a twenty dollar bill into two ten dollar bills.
Plus points: they understand English :P
Minus points: they took a long time before they got around to taking our order.
Minus points: the egg noodles...

Kiwi Breakdown:

Chicken Wings: 8
Seafood Rice Noodle Soup: 6
Braised Duck with Egg Noodle Soup: 6 for the duck; 4 for the noodles.

SIDES STEAL THE SHOW

2011-12-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Chicken Consommé, Popover, and Grilled Angus Burger.

VENUE: Mariposa, Bellevue, WA (11-30-11 Wednesday, Lunch)

Mariposa is located in the Neiman Marcus at the Bravern and is somewhat parallel to the Nordstrom Grill at Nordstrom. I've never gone to the Nordstrom Grill before (but I have dined at the Nordstrom Cafe. They used to have a killer New York Style Cheesecake, but after the renovation, it just wasn't the same...)

Chicken Consommé - with a cheddar biscuit. At first glance, it looked much like a cup of tea. But then it took me by surprise with its super strong savory chicken broth flavor. The biscuit was dry, but quite cheesy in flavor -- it needs to be dipped into the comsommé. This was a very flavorful soup, so I wouldn't be surprised if some mystery ingredients (that most people can't pronounce) made their way in there to produce that result :P

Popover - warm, fresh, eggy popover with a creamy and fruity strawberry butter. Jessica J. said that it reminded her of strawberry cream cheese :)

Close up of the hollow inside. The popover was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Super addicting, especially with that strawberry butter...

Grilled Angus Burger - served with lettuce, tomato, Tillamook cheddar cheese, sliced pickles and red onions with a side of fries with ketchup and a "secret sauce." The "secret sauce" reminded me of mesquite BBQ sauce mixed with mayonnaise. The fries were pretty good - still crispy even after it cooled down. The burger bun was warmed and slightly crisped up. However, the burger patty was overcooked and dry despite my ordering it medium... thank goodness the sauce was there to help with that.

I thought it was amusing how their menu told me that this dish was 990 calories total. Wonder what the real total caloric intake was including the popover and consommé... and is it sad that I liked the complimentary starters and the fries better than the burger itself?

Our waitress was very friendly and pleasant, checking on us from time to time at a good pace until after we gave her our credit card to pay for the meal... then it took ages before we saw it return.

I have been diligently reconciling all of my credit card receipts ever since :P

Kiwi Breakdown:

Chicken Consommé: 6
Cheddar Biscuit: 5
Popover + Strawberry Butter: 7
Burger: 4
Fries: 6

MONDAY STEAK NIGHT

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Braised Pork Belly Banh Mi Sliders, Apothic Red Wine (2010), Bread, French Onion Soup, Parisian Gnocchi, D’ Anjou Pear and Hazelnut Salad, Pan Roasted Poussin, Grilled Wagyu Ribeye, Seared Wagyu New York Pepper Steak, Wagyu Steak Frites, Chocolate Bomb, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, and Orange-Cranberry Bread Pudding.

VENUE: Fresh Bistro, West Seattle, Seattle, WA (11-21-11 Monday, Dinner)

I've been curious about this restaurant for a while now, but never made the trip out to West Seattle because it's not really a place I think of going to. They made their appearance on SRW and Dine Around Seattle, so we decided to take advantage of this deal. They also let us swap in any of the steaks from "Monday Steak Night" for the Dine Around entrees.

This restaurant was okay... but it definitely will not bump West Seattle any higher up on my "to eat" list. However, I am content that I have finally extinguished my curiosity for this restaurant.

Braised Pork Belly Banh Mi Sliders - pick of the night - "Foie Gras Aioli, Traditional Accompaniments, Serrano Chili." The traditional accompaniments were onion, lettuce, and pickled veggies. This was so good that John finished it before I could try a bite. He said that they were "delicious and a little bit spicy," and then he concluded that these were the best dish of the meal. Since he prefers foods with a good kick, I'm betting this dish will resonate with the spicy food fans out there :)

Fresh Bistro's decor very much resembled a hotel lounge/ski-lodge. Betty said that it felt a little too commercial for an ideal restaurant. I'm not quite sure what these were supposed to be, but they looked interesting...

Apothic Red Wine (2010) - red wine blend of Syrah, Zinfandel and Merlot. On Mondays, bottles of wine are at half price. This wine was not bad - pretty smooth and had a noticeable amount of tannins - great for steaks. Our waitress really sold us on getting a bottle of wine - someone should give her props for that.

Bread - charged per basket - not complimentary! We were irritated to see the charge on our bill for the bread. Their regular menu did indicate that at the bottom in smaller print, but our attention was directed at the Dine Around Seattle menu, which did not disclose that extra charge. We also told our waitress that it was our first visit to the restaurant, but she did not caution us on this charge when asking if we wanted any bread. Anyways, it still seemed unusual when other Seattle restaurants run in a similar manner provide complimentary bread (though, sometimes you have to ask for it.)

The football-shaped bread was fresh, soft, and chewy while the other one had an onion flavor and was more crumbly. The first round of bread came with spreadable butter, but the second round came with cold, firm, non-spreadable butter.

French Onion Soup - "Gruyere, Crusty Baguette, Caramelized Sweet Onions." This soup had a very strong onion flavor, but was too salty for me. It was thick and oniony with a slightly crunchy toasted top. Unfortunately, there was a large and tough onion peel in my soup = minus points.

Parisian Gnocchi - "Chanterelles, Brown Butter Butternut Squash Puree, Smoked Curado." The gnocchi was chewy and soft with one side seared to be a little crisp. However, the seasoning was off -- as in, there was not much flavor going on here.

D’ Anjou Pear and Hazelnut Salad - "Hazelnut Brittle, Cabrales Blue Cheese, Butter Lettuce, Pear Hazelnut Vinny." These pears were sliced super thin, quite crisp and apple-like in texture. The hazelnut toffee added a nice sweet crunch while the blue cheese just melts in your mouth. The rest of the salad was not that notable: butter lettuce with a tart dressing.

Pan Roasted Poussin - my other pick of this meal that I actually ate - "Cranberry Gastrique, Truffled Sweet Potato Puree, Celery, Candied Pecans." This was a super juicy bird. The sauce reminded me of a sweet soy sauce while the cranberries had a little spiciness to them. The truffle flavor was not too apparent in the puree though.

Grilled Wagyu Ribeye - "Caramelized Shiitake Mushrooms, Wilted Spinach, Au Jus, Crispy Onions." The fried onions are great, but alas, the sauce was way too salty. It had a nice sear on the outside though and was juicy on the inside. Our waitress didn't ask how Dawn wanted this done, but it came out medium anyways.

Seared Wagyu New York Pepper Steak - "Bordelaise Sauce, Butter Glazed Market Veggies, Scalloped Potatoes." John asked for this to be done at medium, but got a way overcooked steak that looked very well done instead. At least it had the fresh-cracked peppercorn flavor.

Wagyu Steak Frites - "Harissa Bearnaise, Simple Bistro Salad, Truffled Smashed Fries." Soft, tender steak with crispy fries that came with an essence of truffle oil. Good, but not impressive.

Chocolate Bomb - "chocolate mousse, hazelnut marshmallow, praline crumbs." To be honest, the marshmallow was a little scary because it was so stretchy and reminded us of mochi, but even tougher than that. I usually envision marshmallow to be less rubbery than this, so they should have called this chewy nougat instead. The brownie bites were chewy too, but dry. The airy mousse came with a berry sauce, which together, helped salvage the dry brownie bites. Also came with some chopped hazelnuts.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee - the creme brulee was super creamy and the sugary top was almost burnt. For sure, a very rich and heavy dessert. Came with a macaron that was a little too sweet and too delicate to the point where it just fell apart at a light touch. I'm pretty sure that meant it was too dry because other macarons I've had before didn't act that way...

Mmmmm... Ladurée...

Orange-Cranberry Bread Pudding - the bread pudding was also a little dry, but the candied cranberries were pretty neat. They were juicy and tart while the sugary shell gave it a little crunch. Came with a white chocolate ganache sauce.

Overall, not terrible, but not great - so let's just say it's "average." The food seemed to take longer to come out, but that tough onion peel and sentiment regarding the bread charge was quite a dampener. Granted, it could be our fault on the bread, but we just couldn't help but feel gypped.

Besides that, sometimes the food was too salty while other times it lacked flavor. And the pastry components of their desserts were consistently dry. (At least they're consistent on one thing.)

Then there were little things like the cold, non-spreadable butter... please put in some quality control! This place definitely does not stand a chance against competition from other parts of Seattle.

Probably won't be going back...

Note: words in quotes are the descriptions straight from their dinner/dessert menu.

ONE OF EACH

2011-12-20T16:54:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Cerdo, Pan Tostada, Caracolillos, Caña de Cabra, Txistorra, Huevos a la Flamenca, Tortilla Española, Sopa de Calabaza con Gambas, Brandada, Sobrasada, Revuelto de Puerro Confitado, Torrija Andaluza, and Buñeulos.

VENUE: Harvest Vine, Central District/Madison Valley, Seattle, WA (11-20-11 Sunday, Brunch)

What is the most difficult task after you have arrived at a restaurant? Figuring out what to order. Since we had eight people in our party, we took the easy (yet logical) way out: order one of everything off the brunch menu :)

Cerdo - pick of the meal - "pork loin with panadera potatoes & a fried egg." It's a mini cylindrical tower with buttery potatoes at the base, a juicy and tender pork loin, then topped off with a fresh sunny side up egg and minced piquillo peppers. There is a nice smoky flavor happening in this dish that's accompanied with a couple bright sauces. I suspect they are variations on olive oil-based sauces infused with herbs, peppers, and spices (e.g. basil, red piquillo peppers, etc.)

Harvest Vine is a tapas restaurant that utilizes Spanish/Basque flavors. There is a definite style to their brunch dishes -- vibrant colors and clean presentation. That makes for tantalizing pictures, but it's a pity that overall, the seasoning was way too salty in many of the dishes.

Pan Tostada - "grilled bread with chocolate spread or house-made fig jam." Chocolate sauce on the left; fig jam on the right. The chocolate sauce was smooth and not too sweet while the fig sauce had a nice fruitiness to it. The toasted baguette are lightly doused with olive oil.

Caracolillos - "carolina’s sweet buns: buttery layers and vanilla bean sugar." This was literally the very last one they had that day. Not enough for eight of us, but I've had this one on a prior visit and remember it to be pretty decent. It's warm, fresh and flaky with a crispy and sweet outer layer.

Caña de Cabra - "seared goat’s milk cheese with caramelized onions." This goat cheese was smooth and had a good strong goat cheese flavor with a slight tartness to it. The sweetness from the caramelized onions and tartness of the balsamic sauce paired well with the cheese. Garnished with pea vine sprouts and served with their grilled bread.

Txistorra - "grilled navarran style pork sausage with grilled bread." This sausage's texture is denser and tougher than your typical sausage, almost similar to the Chinese preserved sausage. However, the flavors were more tart but quite flavorful and savory. It also had a little bit of kick from that red chili oil.

Huevos a la Flamenca - "baked eggs with chorizo, jamón serrano, piquillos, fried tomato sauce & béchamel." The pork here was also very tender and had a slightly smoky flavor. There are also some buttery potatoes mixed in there. Garnished with minced piquillos and chopped chives and served with grilled bread.

Tortilla Española - "potato-onion omelet & ali oli with mixed green salad." This is such a simple dish in terms of concept, but it's one of my other favorites in this meal. It has this fragrant potato flavor enhanced by the pan frying process and a little sweetness from the diced onions. There is just enough egg to bind everything together, but the potato is the star of this dish. The ali oli sauce is like a mayonnaise, but the traditional sauce uses only garlic and oil -- no eggs. It adds an extra smoothness to the potato patty.

Sopa de Calabaza con Gambas - "squash soup with jamón wrapped prawns." The soup itself was too salty for me, but the texture was smooth. The prawn was also super salty, but the ham had a nice smoky flavor to it. If they dialed down the salt on this dish, I would be a much happier camper. Drizzled with flavored (basil or red chili infused?) oils.

Brandada - "salt cod potato mousse with oyster mushrooms, spicy tomato sauce & fried egg." There was a lot going on in this dish, but it definitely had a seafoody taste to it. They recommended that the ingredients be mixed together before eating it, but the end result was pretty watery. Garnished with minced piquillos and chopped chives.

Sobrasada - "mallorcan style pork sausage with red beets, fingerling potatoes & poached egg." I keep forgetting how much I like eating beets -- if fact, we went and bought a beet the very next day. Anyways, the sausage in this dish was also very salty, but the sweet beets were great. They weren't overcooked so that they still held their form but were still soft enough to enjoy. The potatoes also provided a nice texture contrast to the salad. Topped with a poached egg, minced piquillo peppers, and garnished with pea vine sprouts. The red pepper-infused olive oil smoothed everything together in this dish.

Revuelto de Puerro Confitado - "lightly-scrambled eggs with leek confit." The egg is thick and creamy with a fragrant leek flavor. It's too salty to eat on its own, so it's absolutely necessary to utilize the grilled bread in this case. Garnished with chopped chives and pea vine sprouts.

Torrija Andaluza - "egg & sherry battered fried toast with fig syrup." The chopped and cooked figs had a chewy texture to them, while the familiar grilled bread went through a french toast-like preparation this time. The sherry added a nice aroma to the toast. Dusted with powdered sugar.

Buñeulos - "fried pumpkin fritters." These warm and fresh fritters had a zesty lemony flavor to them. They had a crispy exterior with grooves to provide more surface area for the white cane sugar to cling to.

They gave us another order on the house because they messed up our initial order. You can see the dense interior and that golden color from the pumpkin.

Despite that gesture of goodwill, I should note the following to explain how I came to the final ratings:

minus points: a very persistent flying insect kept trying to land on our food. I know that they can't prevent all bugs from sneaking into the restaurant, but it's still quite unappetizing and detracts from the experience.
minus points: MSG usage is suspected -- or else it was the intense sodium concentration in so many of the dishes. Many of us were abnormally thirsty an hour or so after the meal.
plus points: presentation
plus points: usage of fresh ingredients and adapting the menu for the seasons

Note: words in quotes are the descriptions straight from their brunch menu.

A SWEET DEAL

2011-12-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop, Chef's Cioppino, and Grilled Chicken Club.

VENUE: Pearl, Bellevue, WA (11-18-11 Friday, Lunch)

Pearl is located in the Lincoln Square of downtown Bellevue. I don't usually think of going here for lunch, but their $10 entree selections had some pretty enticing descriptions. And to sweeten the deal, we got 20% off our bill as part of the Bellevue Collection discount (thanks, Ko!)

Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop - served on several slender broccolini, golden parmesan polenta, and accompanied by a brown sugar glaze. The broccolini is cooked to a crisp and firm texture while the pork chop was juicy and had a lightly sweet flavor. The corn polenta was also sweet, soft and smooth -- but pretty heavy and buttery as well. The sweet plus sweet combination was a little too one-note for me though. The portion size of this dish is a little smaller, but I think it's a good amount for lunch. Diners with larger appetites may leave hungry though.

Chef's Cioppino - crispy bruschetta with a coarse olive tapenade on assorted seafood in a tomato and garlic soup. There were clams, shrimp, and various kinds of fish in there. The olives (probably kalamata) had a strong flavor that was combined with a garlicky red pepper rouille. The shrimp was cooked nicely with a fresh bounce to its texture. This dish could have used more seasoning overall -- either citrus or spice/heat would have taken it to the next level. The portion was a little smaller, but this was still a pretty good deal for the price tag -- it is seafood after all.

Grilled Chicken Club - tomato, bacon, avocado and romaine lettuce with chicken breast encased in a chili-spice rub. Served on a brioche bun with a red pepper aioli, side of fries and slaw. I didn't actually eat this dish, but the chicken looked dry to me. However, Beth said that it was fine -- so I'm guessing that the aioli and the avocado helped with that. Ko said the fries were just okay and paled in comparison to the ones from Mel's Market in downtown Seattle.

While the price tag was pretty sweet, perhaps the flavors could have used some help. The restaurant has a nice ambiance and modern feel to it. However, since I base my dining decisions mainly on the food quality rather than the service, atmosphere, etc., I probably won't be thinking about this place for lunch again anytime soon.

OUT OF THE FRYING OIL, INTO THE FIRE

2011-12-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

FEATURE: Green Tea Milkshake, Banzai Bites, Seasoned Fries, Le Japon, and Tokyo Classic.

VENUE: Katsu Burger, Georgetown, Seattle, WA (11-11-11 Friday, Lunch)

I want to like this place. I really do. The concept is fun, but this entry quickly turns into flaming comments rather than compliments. There is this notion that fried food will taste good. This place is a great example to counter that assumption. Fried food is only good if it is fried well. The ideas and flavors are great here, but the quality control is missing. The only items that were noteworthy were the ones that could be calibrated in advance by someone who actually knows what they're doing.

Green Tea Milkshake - this one took me by surprise, and will be my pick of the meal. Ever try green tea kit kat? People either love it or hate it, but I happen to be a fan of it. Well, this milkshake tastes exactly like green tea kit kat, but in a smoother form (and without the wafers, of course.) The creamy milkshake base parallels the white chocolate base of the kit kat, while the matcha flavor is subtle but present. It's quite a large milkshake, so I took what wasn't finished back home. Since it melted, I decided to put it through the ice cream maker. The matcha flavor became stronger due to the time elapsed. Still good, but wasn't quite the same... so, if you want to try this, enjoy it right away! :)

Katsu Burger is located in Georgetown, a southern Seattle district. It's quite small and gets busy during lunch. Since everything is freshly made, the food doesn't come out as fast as your typical fast food joint.

Banzai Bites - deep-fried white meat chicken coated with the signature panko breading. It's quite a bold move to use white meat because it dries out so easily -- a tricky protein to fry well. It seems like these were left in the fryer too long and resulted in dried out meat. I also suspect their frying oil has not been changed recently and caused these chicken strips to not fry up so well. The dark exterior and lack of looseness in the panko breading are telltale signs of the frying oil's condition.

Seasoned Fries - these fries are seasoned with nori, and the seaweed flavor went well on the fries. They also offer curry flavor as an alternate choice. I was puzzled by how incredibly fast these fries became stale. The fries came out hot, so I'm thinking it has to do with the way they fried these up (aka overcooked.) And the old frying oil probably didn't help either.

The banzai bites and seasoned fries came with dipping sauces, and there were plenty of sauces to choose from. We picked the miso honey mustard and wasabi mayo. The miso honey mustard had a blend of sweet and savory to it and went well with the Banzai Bites. The wasabi mayo was very smooth yet held the distinct Japanese horseradish kick. It's clear that the flavors in these sauces were fine-tuned, and they were the only relief from the dryness and staleness of the sides they came with.

Le Japon - chicken katsu, sliced ham, melted swiss cheese, cabbage slaw, tomato and red onion slices. Hydrated by Japanese mayo (a little more tart than classic mayo, laced with MSG) and tonkatsu sauce (tastes like worcestershire.) Again, the chicken patty here fell victim to old frying oil with its dense and dark crusty panko. However, since the chicken used here was dark meat this time, it was actually moist and tender. That's the least I would expect from a burger they're normally charging $9.95 for. If they're asking this amount of money for a burger, they should consider putting it on a plate and working on the presentation. And heating up the cold bun.

Cross-section of the Le Japon lets us see the tender chicken meat. It's kind of neat how the classic katsu dish with its side of slaw was combined with the familiar presentation of the hamburger.

Tokyo Classic - panko fried beef burger patty, cabbage slaw, tomato and red onion slices. With Japanese mayo and tonkatsu sauce. I sound like a broken record: old frying oil ruined this burger as well. Bad timing on the execution occurred on this one too. What was with the patty being beyond well done? It was so overcooked and drier than a bad veggie burger patty. It could have been something other than beef for all I know, since the flavor of the beef was really not that obvious.

Cross-section of the Tokyo Classic. I sure hope this is not representative of the classic burger in Tokyo.

Plus one for the lady taking my order -- she combined some of my a la carte orders into a combo to save us money. Minus one for the prices being exorbitant considering what they're serving. I guess they net out :P

Since the quality of the foods consumed varied so drastically, here is the Kiwi Breakdown:

Green Tea Milkshake: 7
Banzai Bites: 5
Fries: 5.5
Le Japon: 6
Tokyo Classic: 4
Dipping Sauces: 7

Would I return? Maybe if I called ahead and found out that their frying oil was changed that day. However, the people behind the counter might not know when to remove the food from the oil anyways.

So probably not.