Eating Out/Restaurants « Chinese Southern Belle

Bubble Tea & Taiwanese Street Food: Bento Cafe

I love and miss the Taiwanese street food and fresh fruit/tea drinks! In Taipei, a line a block long will indicate the best fried pork chop vendor, even though there is another vendor right next to it, with no line. Folks will stick with the line and wait. The cart and location is a coveted spot that is often run by a family through multiple generations. Working long hours, the income may support several families and enable kids to go to college.

Bento Cafe is a colorful slice of Taipei in Norcross, 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd. not far from 285/85 interchange. Sometimes I drive out to Bento just for the beverages. Few other places make fresh bubble tea anymore (mostly powders). I also recall that Bento is run/owned by a young female artist/designer. Good to support her efforts at entrepreneurship.

For more on Bento Cafe and what to order, see Creative Loafing review

Gourmet Grits and Artisanal Fried Chicken?

Jennifer Aniston isn’t the only one making a splashy comeback. As a food marketing guru who is in the process of getting “re-orientaled” to the plethora of diverse Atlanta eateries, I couldn’t help but notice the rise in popularity (and price) of Southern comfort food.

When I was a kid in Smyrna, eating out meant being treated to the Fat Boy’s fried chicken (and a fried peach pie), Ponderosa Steakhouse (with A-1 Steak sauce) or later, the fancy Piccadilly’s Cafeteria kid’s plate (and to-die-for pecan cream pie). Today, few places seem to be billed as a “restaurant” anymore but rather a pub, gastro-pub, cafe, book cafe, diner, marketplace, eatery or grill that is Tex-Mex, Pan-Asian, Fusion, Vegetarian, Dim Sum, New World or Tapas serving artisan bread, gourmet grits, microbrewed beer, organic chips, hand-cut fries, multi-grain biscuits, imported cheese, heirloom turkey or heritage grains. As a former school lunch kid and fan of airplane food (gone with the good old days), I’m feeling quite unsophisticated!

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy (and jump at the opportunity) of eating most of these genres and gastro-delicacies and am a supporter of Slow Food International and Georgia Organics. Being a Ponderosa girl, I am more often amused by the creative marketing and happily impressed by the complexity or simplicity of flavors of my meal. Admittedly, there have been times when I’ve ordered a dish that had a description as long as this paragraph and as tantalizing as a Danielle Steele love scene but was left disappointed and hungry. Is this a spa or a brewpub? Granted, small is beautiful, food is art and overeating is an American tradition, but satiate my appetite and give me leftovers (how hard could it be at five feet tall)!

Then there is price. When did a side of grits cost five dollars and fried chicken, twenty? Is it a golden chicken? Being the good green shepherd, I also looked into reserving a non-traditional “heritage bird” for my mom at Thanksgiving. The smallest size would have cost nearly $100. Yikes. As a home-style cook and CSA shareholder, I know how much time and effort it takes to grow and cook a good meal with quality ingredients, especially local, fresh and organic. I also realize that in a restaurant, we’re often paying for the ambience, service, etc.

Maybe it’s a cultural Asian thing. When I was in Bangkok, I discovered that our beloved Pad Thai was actually peasant food costing fifty cents from a street cart (and not on the menu at nice restaurants). No wonder the server looked at me like I had just ordered a hot dog! The same was true for many favorite dim sum and authentic Asian treats. In New York City, my friend and I broke the bank in a “Korean vegetarian shrine.” In Atlanta, the gourmet trend is heading East with several upscale Asian restaurants. I’m saving up for them.

Fortunately for the budget-conscious, on Buford Highway, you can still get a table-full of authentic, cooked-to-order dishes for twenty dollars, including tea, appetizer and dessert! Maybe that explains my love-hate relationship with gourmet food. A change in our food and agricultural policies so that the price of organic or locally-produced products are more digestible and accessible. Maybe as the distance between the farm, table and family members has grown, we are comforted by (and seeking?) meals and gatherings that remind us and ground us with a connection to family, culture and community.

Go to Georgia Organics to find a local farmstand or market near you! They also have a great “Eating Seasonally” growing chart to show what vegetables are fresh and in season each month…

Asian Starbucks? White Windmill Bakery and Cafe

Actually, White Windmill Cafe is much better and more ! It offers a wonderful, diverse variety of baked items, snacks and hot or cold beverages. I hear that some snacks and cakes are better than others and that the bubble tea is not the best, but I think the fun part is trying different things on each visit. I like the fact that most Asian pastries and cakes are a lot less sweet. You can read specific reviews and tips from visitors.

I enjoy the atmosphere and I’m usually there with good friends, family or even business colleagues so for me, it’s not just about the food.

A few of my favorites:

* Hot green latte (very chic)

* Green tea buns and cakes

* Almond and coconut cookie crisps (can’t eat just one)

* Fresh fruit smoothies (mango, kiwi or mixed with peach)

* Sweet Potato Pastry (can’t remember exact name but very good!)

* Sticky Rice Red Bean Buns

On Buford Highway, just outside I-285, next to big Tower Liquor store. Enjoy!

“Happy Long Life Noodle Day!”

Noodles are traditionally served on birthdays because they symbolize long life (chang shou). So don’t break your noodles when you boil them! My favorite is my mom’s Chinese Chili Spaghetti (featured at the Dunwoody Chili Cookoff).

In celebration of my long life noodle birthday, here are my favorite noodle highlights of 2009:

Fresh ramen noodle soup at Umaido Japanese noodle shop (Korean-owned) in Suwanee and Yakitori Grill in Smyrna
Noodle fun with the kids at my Chinese Hotpot party with friends and going overboard with 5 different kinds of noodles. Everyone was so full, they couldn’t finish the noodles, served as part the hotpot closing ceremony.
Eating at a new Korean noodle house in Duluth with a non-English-speaking server and haplessly trying to figure out which noodles were cold, hot, dry or wet (soupy), with meat or no meat. I learned that Korean “buckwheat noodles” are not the same as soba/Japanese buckwheat noodles. Meanwhile, I see my dad “washing” his kimchi in a glass of water to take off the hot chili edge. I laugh at him, but then adopt the practice myself. The food was good!
The Oodles of Noodles overview of our Asian Market Tours– 3 whole aisles of noodles!
Watching the Noodle Master make homemade noodles by hand–no pasta machine –at Man Chun Hong in Seoul Plaza on Buford Highway. Even as I’m watching him, it still amazes me how the lump of dough is transformed into long, skinny threads of noodles, in a matter of seconds!
Seeing a three year-old baby slurp up our Chinese Chili Spaghetti and clamoring for more and more. The kid had good taste (or was starving), perhaps both!
Serving noodles made from tofu at our Cook’s Warehouse class, a first for everyone!
Learning that a 4,000 year-old bowl of noodles (millet) was discovered in northwestern China in 2006

Slurp and twirl your way to long life and a Happy New Year!

BYOC (chopsticks, cups, cutlery and containers)

Like fashion trends, if you wait long enough, the “look” will be in style again. After years of ribbing, especially from family members, my BYO habits are in-style, hopefully to stay, and they would make my frugal Chinese grandma proud!

As kids, we used to laugh at my non-English speaking grandma when she tore her thin Kleenex tissues into quarters and stuffed them into the little silk pocket of her Chinese vest, despite my father’s reassurances that if she ran out, we’d buy her another box. On my first trip to Beijing in 1988, I recall having to bring our own bowls and plates when buying food from the street vendors. Unfortunately, everything had turned to styrofoam disposables when I went back in 1994.

Most of us are familiar with tearing open the individually wrapped, disposable chopsticks at Asian restaurants. As someone who hates to waste food and loves leftovers, I don’t like having to use disposable take-home containers. (I kept a couple of Tupperware in my trunk but kept forgetting to carry them into the restaurant.) Like remembering the shopping bags, it takes a change of habit and advance thinking. I’ve also started a transition to glass containers. (Tip: I collected a dozen large glass pickle/olive jars, perfect for storing flours, rice, etc. free from a deli.)

I’m excited by the increased public awareness, new organizations like GreenPlate and more choices of reusable, portable eatware and energy efficient cookware on the market. Now, we can spread the BYO Movement and I won’t be the only hipster whipping out my cool BYO-Chopsticks!

I’m testing out a few different types of portable chopsticks and cutlery and will share my feedback. Stay tuned…

Amazing Portable, Uplugged Eco-Cooking Pot

Love my Tuff Mug!

Check back for more posts on my favorite eco-friendly products!

For more on favorite eco-friendly eating and cookware, see my Favorites and Recommendations in the side bar

Best Honey-Braised Chicken & Wings: China Cafeteria

I saw a billboard advertising Wendy’s Asian Sweet & Spicy Wings. Checkers sells teriyaki wings. Pizza Hut has 30 flavors of wings with zing. When my dad transitioned from running full-service, full-menu Chinese restaurants to developing a new fast-food business model and creating Atlanta’s original “honey-braised wings” in the 1980’s, wings were cheap and often discarded. He experimented and sold several versions over the years. The first ones were marinated, fried wings sold in Cumberland Mall in 1976. Then came others with different sauces, stir-fried with peppers and onions, lightly-breaded and finally, honey-braised–all pre-dating the ascendance of orange-colored buffalo wings and sports bars.

I remember smelling like a big chicken wing after working all day in the restaurant. I hand-carried braised wings on the airplane during visits from college, and had everyone on the airplane sniffing and licking their lips in my direction. My mom referred to the old Chinese proverb, “Buddha jumped over the fence” when I craved braised wings as a vegetarian and how I would “jump the fence” to the meat side. I am eternally grateful to my father and his entrepreneurial instincts—the success of these restaurants helped me pay for college.

There’s a lot more competition these days and the economy has been hard on the family business. The eggrolls are still made fresh by hand, served with sweet tea, of course, and I still crave the original honey braised wings. It’s a little place with a steam table and clean booths. Don’t expect gourmet. But if you have a craving for Asian chicken (sesame, orange, General Tso’s), fried rice (only place I will eat), traditional-style eggrolls (thicker skin) and good quality Chinese fast-food (not an oxymoron) at recession prices, check out China Cafeteria.

Two original China Cafeteria locations remain, 2910 Rainbow Drive, Decatur, across from S.Dekalb Mall and 4231 Snapfinger Woods Dr across from Wesley Chapel Home Depot. Beware of imitators with the same or similar name but lower quality ingredients! Only these two locations are under our management. Check out the website!

Viet Tofu for “Vietnamese Fast Food”

My dad recently introduced me to a great little Vietnamese Deli/Fast Food spot on Buford Hwy, Viet Tofu, next to Mini-Hotpot Restaurant and Hoa Binh supermarket, in Orient Center shopping plaza. I haven’t tried everything (working on it!) but these are my favorites:

Fresh soymilk (traditional-style, minimal processing, sweetened or unsweetened, maybe too beany for some, often available still warm in the jug! If it looks light green, it’s not an illusion, it’s pandan leaf extract)
Soft tofu pudding/custard (with syrup/honey, popular, simple, light dessert/snack for Asians)
Sweet, sticky rice with coconut and variety of beans (Asians often eat beans sweet)
Fresh soursop or avocado smoothie/shake, tapioca balls optional (not always available so call ahead)
Vietnamese sub sandwich, only $2.50! (I get mine with extra vegetables, white bread but still good. Stuffed with pickled carrots, daikon, roasted pork, cilantro, jalapenos, dressing. BYOBread?)
Ready-made dishes (I tried a variety of the veggie ones–stew, salad, lemongrass chili tofu)
Black sesame crepe crisps (new discovery–super-thin, made fresh in clear bags near the entrance/window)
Tofu Hot Bar! (different flavors, sizes, mostly fried–good plain or cut up in stir fries, soups, kebabs)

Let me know if you discover favorites and share them here!

Lost in Translation: Asian Restaurant and Store Names

Great little Japanese grocery store, tucked away in Smyrna

Some good eateries and grocery stores remain a mystery to newcomers, including several along Buford Highway, because they sometimes have different Asian and English names or no English names at all on signs. What you call it often depends on if you can read the Asian characters, the English name (if given) or like most of us, guess at the phoenetics, usually a mangled Americanized pronounciation.

Glimpse of Restaurant Research “Process”

When I ask my Chinese relatives or their friends to give me their restaurant recommendations, we go through this “a.k.a.” or also-known-as ritual:

1) They give me the Chinese name (or translation). I write it down in pinyin with the tone marks- Yi Tiao Long.

2) I clarify the Chinese name – One Dragon? (Yes) What is the English name? (We only know it as Yi Tiao Long. We’ll take you there to eat.) What road is it on? (Don’t know. It’s near Gwinnet Place Mall.)

3) Eventually, we eat there together and I take a look at the English on the sign and menu. Nothing says One Dragon, but it does say Sydney’s Buffet!?

4) I tell my non-Asian-speaking friends about the Chinese and Japanese buffet at Yi Tiao Long, a.k.a. Sydney’s Buffet in Pleasant Hill!

The photo above is the storefront of a great little Japanese grocery, Tomato, in Smyrna (Windy Hill Rd/Cobb Pkwy). It’s next to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants for lunch, Umezono’s. You can find good quality soy sauce, my niece’s favorite candy (Hi-Chews), oodles of noodles, refrigerated/frozen food, plus non-food items, like Asian herbal medicines.

I will do my best to dig out favorites in the community then “translate,” locate and share them with you here…

For more on restaurants, the Sweet & Sour of Eating Out and other tips…

It’s Asian Hot Pot Season!

The Chinese Hot Pot, also known as huo guo, Mongolian Hot Pot or Chinese Fondue boasts a history of over 1000 years (!) With a simmering pot of stock in the center of the table and an array of hot pot healthy and fresh ingredients — sliced meat, leafy vegetables, tofu, fish balls, dumplings, noodles – plus savory dipping sauces, the hotpot is a popular tradition across Asia.

Get your hot pot fix at Mini Hot Pot (4897 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341) or I’ve heard Chong Qing Hot Pot in Chinatown is good (5385 New Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30341). Or contact us and we’ll throw a hot pot party at your house or office. It’s warming, healthy and a lot of fun!

Funny note: Whenever my dad comes back from a visit to Taiwan or China during hotpot season, all his old friends there treat him to bottomless hotpots and he gets “hotpotted out.” He comes back to the U.S. craving a BK Whopper or Steak ‘n’ Shake! I guess there can be too much of a good thing…

Pung Mie (or Feng Mei) Dumplings & Potstickers

My dad is a “Chinese Yankee” and he likes the dumplings at Pung Mie on Buford Highway. We went together recently and got a nice variety of steamed dumplings, fried/potstickers and boiled dumplings, with meat or vegetable fillings. The only dish we ordered besides dumplings was garlicky Chinese greens so I can’t comment on any other dishes.

Everything we had was yummy. Dad likes to eat chunks of fresh garlic clove with his dumplings. I like hot chili sauce and their pickled radish as condiments.

Note: My “picks” and recommendations are not meant to be restaurant reviews or endorsements but FYI-tips of good food, eateries or interesting spots and people.