Marco's is really, truly a favorite

a tasty b'dinner to remember thanks to Stephen at Marco Cucina Romana

saffron/fontina arancini w/ marinara
papradelle with duck meatballs (it appealed to the Chinese palate - think slmost chow fun-like texture with the yumminess of duck)
butternut squash risotto with crispy pork (braised, then deep fried hunk o pork)
roasted broccoli rabe
roasted lamb with polenta frites (polenta so cheesy, you'd think it was a polenta cheeto)
chocolate panna cotta (just perfect on the texture and flavor)
and fabulous wine

mama chang's pork and chive dumplings

double oyster omelette

hakka eggplant

myers+chang - Visit #1

http://www.myspace.com/myersandchang - www.myersandchang.com - 1145 Washington St. Boston

On a whim, I asked Esteban to drop me off at Myers and Chang, a new Asian food joint by lovely Flour Bakery diva, Joanne Chang (and restaurant guru Christopher Myers). All I had was an intersection, and will of appetite. I couldn't find an exact address since the restaurant "website" wouldn't appear in my mobile Google searches and because the restaurant was unlisted in Google-411. Yuck.

After a couple of spins around the block and with the help of a friendly police officer we made our way there in the dark of Boston nightfall. You would think a building with an entire wall dragon graphic in the window would be obvious, even in the dark, but it's not.

I sat myself at the counter overlooking the open kitchen. I remained unphased by the chinese newspaper diy placemats and empty tea tin utensil/menu holders. The server was nice, even helpful when it came to pick out my items, but he reeked of cigarette smoke. Not hot. My mini-dinner lasted only about 40 min., which was fantastic. [It meant I could rush home in time for Stacey's chicken adobo.] Here are some brief tasting notes.

Ginger/Plum Sparkling Juice.

Wow! This refeshment was super tasty! The plum happened to be a substitution for their regular Ginger/Cherry sparkler, but the just-enough sweet, super fresh flavor of plum and steady ginger finish couldn't have been more well-balanced. I'd want it as a martini one day.

Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Dumplings.

Meh. People on the blogs have been raving about her potstickers. They were decent, but didn't wow me. The fillings were well balanced and had adequate chive flavors and were well salted. I was only a little disappointed because the skins, while nicely browned, had a very store bought, ordinary texture. I just wanted something a little more luxurious-feeling in my mouth. I think I got 5 pieces in the order and at the first three without trouble. I ended up just gutting the last two before I left to get my money's worth.

Hakka Eggplant.

Super tasty. I knew I had to order this because of an interview I read with Joanne. When asked (as were a number of hot shot Boston chefs) where she goes for good cheap eats, Joanne picked the garlic eggplant from Taiwan Cafe. She definitely improved on the extra gooey/sometimes oily failings of the Taiwan Cafe version. The egglant pieces were perfectly seared an defintely not overdone. They were just enough saucey and garlicy.

Double Oyster Omlette w/ sriracha/"rooster sauce" in Felicia speak.

Hurray! I liked this dish a lot. The exterior of the omlette was nicely browned. The fresh oysters were plump and delicious! And the spring onion and sweetened sriracha made every savory bite worth it. It definitely beat the tinned mini-oyster omlettes of my youth. It's so good, I'll make it a point to bring my mommy here should she come to visit!

Shanghai Gate

After softball on Friday a group of us decided to go to dinner. We were in Brookline Hills, so I thought we'd end up some place typical for the beer crowd. Perhaps Bertucci's?

Bless our team captain, Ted, for suggesting Chinese food instead.

From the confused looks of others, I hoped to lend a worthwhile suggestion: Shanghai Gate?

Shanghai Gate opened up the year I lived in Allston. The minute it opened I knew I had to try it. The menu was small, the setting was s. clean, and it's patrons were almost exclusively Asian. I've been in love with it ever since.

We inevitably go just for the Lion Head Casserole, a Shanghai-style oversized pork meatball served with single piece of baby bok choi and thin soy gravy. It's absolutely tender and salty, with subtle contrasting bits (of water chestnuts?). We've on occasion taken the meatballs to-go just so we could eat them with rice at home. Stephen, a connoisseur of Shanghai food in his own right, says they're one of the top two Lion Head Casserole he's had outside of China.

They also serve stir-fried pea shoots ("pea pod stems" on the menu). It's a simple, huge portion of crispy, tender veggie in a little garlic and oil and salt. They are an excellent, better tasting alternative to spinach. It as a first-time veggie for two in our group, but a big hit. The xiao long bao (pork dumpling with soup on the inside!) was added a year or so into the restaurant menu. It's gotten a lot better since. It's especially nice with the black vinegar and ginger dipping sauce.

I haven't tried to many of the cold appetizers, but specials and fish dishes are always winners. Here's a Phoenix review if you're curious. If you're up for a wild and crazy dish, ask for the corn pancake. a slightly sweet, enormous corn fritter.

Asia Fabulous II - Debriefed

Yesterday was pretty awesome. Pretty much everyone who said they'd come visited the house and joined us for an afternoon of eating and drinking outside in the sunshine. The bonus is that our house is really quite clean and attractive-looking.

beverages included Thai and Malay iced teas and mimosas

dishes included "filichino" pancit, Korean bi bim bap, penang curry, korean-fried tofu with a chili soy sauce, asian salad, adobo wings & hard boiled eggs (we ran low on the chicken and I couldn't stand wasting all the gravy goodness), Shanghai baby bok choy with veggie oyster sauce and toasted sesame seeds, & char siu bao

desserts included Vietnamese seamed sweet mung bean-filled glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaf, egg tarts, Asian cakes via baobaobakery, mango mochi, & sweet red bean buns

The main party crowd left and the die hards moved inside for gender war taboo. Then the babies came! Lisa brought both Holly and their doggie Acer. Jesse came by with Isaiah, too!

In all, good times were had and bellies left full. Until next year's Asia Fabulous!

Asia Fabulous

I'm doing a second annual potluck with my roommates in honor of APA heritage month. It's always interesting what people decide to bring.

Working Menu Basics for Potluck
* Adobo Wings
* Veggie Pancit
* Chicken Pancit
* Thai Iced Tea
* Teh Tarek
* Vietnamese Sticky Rice & stuff wrapped in Banana Leaf
* Asian Snacky-Snacks (shrimp chips and chocolate Pocky)

Potluck Contributions
* dumplings
* curry
* Kalbi
* More TBA

Cooking to Discover Your Roots

I've always imagined that I'd one day want to spend time travelling Malaysia and the Philippines to learn how to go about authentically preparing foods from the homelands. So many of my cookbooks and food memories have compelled me to spend more time understanding what I eat through a more historical and political context.

The cookbook Memories of Philippine Kitchens does just that. It explores chapters by region and by distinct Philippine dishes. And more than just a cookbook it provides family and cultural history behind recipes and ingredients. The authors, restaurateurs in NYC, do a wonderful job of why describing we eat what we eat. I particularly love their research about where dishes originated and how they were named. It's a huge volume and makes interesting reading.

Taco Mex - Yummy Tortas y Pupusas

The roommates with out-of-towners Vicki and Percy ate lunch today at Taco Mex, a Mexican/Latin American restaurant in East Boston's Maverick Square. I had a Pork Adabado Torta - slightly spicy and sour marinated pork.. mmm. The bread was oustanding as was the portion size for $4.75. The chicaronnes pupusa was also a winner. The burritos were reported standard but satisfying, and Thuy approved of the sweet plantains.

I was also happy to try the special drink of the day, atol de elote, beverage made from corn, milk, sugar and cinnamon (lika a corn version of horchata).

6 of us ate well under $50 with tip. The place seats groups of up to 4 comfortably. 5 0r 6 max can sit with the help of extra chairs.