Yogurtsoda – Page 80 – Eating my way around the world by Mariam Hosseini

Wat Mongkolratanaram

August 11, 2011August 11, 2011

Wat Mongkolratanaram, better known as the Berkeley Thai Temple, is one of those secrets that you’re excited to learn about, only to discover that everyone was already in on it. When my colleagues organized a brunch outing to celebrate the Thai new year this past spring, I was delighted to learn that one of the East Bay’s brunch locales is really a temple and community center. The place is immensely popular for brunch with Thai folks and non-Thai alike, with more hungry stomachs than seats. (No matter, eaters spill out into nearby Berkeley lawns.)

Wat Mongkolratanaram serves brunch only on Sundays, but the process is simple: arrive early, get in line, and exchange your cash for tokens. There are separate lines for different dishes and drinks and food can be eaten at the temple’s garden or packed up as take-out. The dishes are very reasonably priced, which means more sampling of what’s some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had. My colleagues and I shared our food family-style, and I got to taste a bit of everything.

Everything arrived so quickly that I could hardly keep up, but the first dish I tried was a rich, mildly-spiced meat curry over rice. I was ravenous, so this quickly whet my appetite.

Next came the ubiquitous yellow chicken curry. Filled with chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes and spiked with a hit of coconut, this was better than anything I’ve had at a restaurant.

My favorite dish of the meal came next. I’m not sure what this chicken was spiced with (I think I detected coriander but I’m not sure what else), but it was fried to perfection: crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

A simple but flavorful vegetable and tofu stir-fry also came around. Flecked with bits of baby corn and mushrooms, this lighter plate was welcome after so many rich dishes being passed around.

There was simply too much going around for me to capture it all: soups, noodles, and more curries made their way around our communal table until I couldn’t take any more.

And yet there was still dessert. Fried bananas and black sticky rice lent our meal a sweet finish before we got up to explore the rest of the Wat Mongkolratanaram.

With a thriving vegetable garden, a Sunday school for children, and cultural programs for the Thai Buddhist community, the temple is a Berkeley gem. I may have been late in learning about the East Bay’s unique brunch secret, but I’m making up for it now.

House of Nanking

August 7, 2011

I must have walked past House of Nanking dozens of times in the last year, but I never paid it much attention. Located on the border of San Francisco’s Chinatown and North Beach, this colorful, slightly wacky restaurant attracts its fair share of tourists, so I tended to eschew it. That is, until a friend suggested we try it out for lunch one day.

We began with the fried calamari, which was a welcome change from the greasy run-of-the-mill fried calamari dishes I’ve had so many times before. Lightly battered, velvety, and served with a light sauce that smacks of vinegar, I couldn’t stop nibbling these.

Our next dish was the Nanking sesame chicken, which is touted as one of their specialties. Served with paper-thin sliced and glazed sweet potatoes, this decadent entree was rich, savory and perfect alongside rice. My only complaint is that the sauce coating the fried chicken was a little too sweet for my taste, and yet it was entirely complimentary with the potatoes.

Service is brisk and borderline curt at House of Nanking, but that’s because it’s so perpetually busy. Be prepared to share your table with other diners, as there is often a line. Dishes are served family style and the menu is pricier than comparable Chinese eateries, and it’s also less authentic. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you’re looking for something a bit different without sacrificing flavor, then House of Nanking is your place.

Sazon

August 6, 2011August 6, 2011

I’ve written before about the proliferation of ethnic cuisine in Sonoma County in the last few years: Ethiopian, Thai, Korean – the list goes on and on. It was with delight that I recently learned Santa Rosa can now add Peruvian to that list. Located in Santa Rosa’s Roseland district, Sazon is in an unassuming building on Sebastopol Road. You could easily miss it, were it not for the crowd inside.

Sazon’s interior is small, with only a few tables and a short bar to accommodate hungry diners, and when I arrived with my family on a weekend night, it took over half an hour to be seated. The staff was accommodating and attentive, bringing us drinks as we waited.

Instead of the usual complimentary bread and butter, Sazon brings diners a plate of canchitas, or fried Peruvian corn, to nibble on. These were addictive: salty and crunchy; like corn nuts, only more refined.

I’m a sucker for plantains, so I couldn’t resist ordering a plate of fried plantains with sour cream as an appetizer. The sweet, buttery plantains were plated on top of pickled red onions, which helped offset the richness of an otherwise heavy dish.

I know I need to branch out, but nine times out of ten, I can’t help but order lomo saltado when I dine at a Peruvian restaurant. I can’t help it: sirloin marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, tangy spices, and served over rice and French fries. What’s not to love? My only complaint was that my lomo was on the dry side, with little sauce to sop up my fries with.

Sazon is a welcome addition to Sonoma County’s changing restaurant scene. I’m welcoming the ethnic food trend with open arms, and couldn’t be happier that Santa Rosa now has a Peruvian restaurant to sate my lomo saltado and plantain cravings.

Tahoe Galbi

July 17, 2011July 17, 2011

Let’s be honest: The Bay Area has nothing on Los Angeles when it comes to Korean food. San Francisco’s Koreatown dwarfs in size to LA’s, and while there are pockets of mouthwatering Korean restaurants in the South Bay and Oakland, Los Angeles simply has more. So it was with great anticipation that I visited Tahoe Galbi, located in Los Angeles’ Koreatown with a group of colleagues.

Tahoe Galbi bills itself as an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant, which, if you’re familiar with Korean barbecue, can be a very dangerous thing for your waistline. Sure, Korean food is healthy, but endless plates of meat? My stomach says yes, but my pants say no.

We nibbled on small plates of banchan while we waited for our first plate of meat to arrive. I went for the fish cakes and pickled cucumbers, my favorites.

Our plate of thinly-sliced rib eye soon arrived, and we grilled at the table, dipping into our bowls of chili bean paste to season the meat. A bite of rice here, a mouthful of steak there, and I was in heaven.

While we mostly ordered red meat, we opted for a plate of shrimp and baby octopus as well, which were very good. The shrimp in shell were messy but just perfect dipped in tiny plates of sesame oil and salt.

We shared a couple more plates of steak before moving on to pork belly, which was a first for me. I tried a bite and was surprised by the super rich flavor, which paired well with vinegary, spicy kimchi. My favorite, however, was the tender, marinated bulgogi beef.

Tahoe Galbi gets very busy, so service is accommodated by a buzzer at each table to signal for a waiter each time one wants to order something new. Want some more banchan? Buzz. Another plate of ribs, perhaps? Buzz.

I left Tahoe Galbi wishing we had an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant in the Bay Area. Although I’m not sure how much self-control I could exercise living so close to one, so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. It’s a good thing Los Angeles isn’t too far away.

Wokcano

July 15, 2011

Please don’t laugh. Despite the cheesy name, Wokano actually serves up some quality fare. I can’t speak to the Asian fusion entrees on their menu, but when a colleague and I arrived in Los Angeles for a work trip one late weeknight, we were craving sushi. Wokano was located just down the block from where were staying, so we decided to give it a shot.

Part lounge, part restaurant, I admit I was a little apprehensive about what to expect. But my colleague and I were ravenous, and in our hunger, we ordered the Sushi Love Boat for Two. Don’t judge us; it was a strategic decision.

But first, we started with the ubiquitous miso soup and salad, which were both very good. The soup was invigorating after our tiring flight, and I’m still wondering what they put in the salad dressing to make it so tangy and lip-smackingly good.

Next came our, ahem, Love Boat for Two, consisting of assorted sushi, sashimi, tuna hand rolls, tiger rolls, and eel avocado rolls, oh my. Okay, admittedly, this was not the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life. But for a late weeknight evening in what was an otherwise mostly deserted downtown Los Angeles, it was very satisfying. Our only disappointment was the tuna hand roll, which had been chopped into a paste-like oblivion. But the yellowtail, salmon, and ahi? I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

Service was prompt at Wokcano and if you can put your sushi puritanism aside for an hour or two, Wokcano is a good choice. I’m used to stumbling into the nearest eatery at random after a flight just to hold me over, so Wokcano was a welcome surprise.