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.
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.
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.
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.
Forget food trucks. The Bay Area’s latest food trend is the izakaya – they’re opening up so quickly that I can hardly keep track anymore. Not that I’m complaining. I ate at a few izakayas during my trip to Japan a couple years ago, but it wasn’t until last fall when food writer Michael Bauer wrote a review on Berkeley’s Ippuku, that Bay Area izakayas began to get on my radar.
Located just a few steps from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, Ippuku is less than a year old and prides itself on a waste-not-want-not ethos when it comes to ingredients, and a shochu menu unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I met my cousins there one evening for dinner, and was immediately impressed with the inviting atmosphere the proprietors have created amid the concrete walls and intimate booths.
We started with a flight of shochu while we checked out the offal-friendly and chicken-centric menu. It must have been a busy night, because Ippuku was out of every single offal-based item on the menu that we were interested in. Hearts, gizzards, necks, tongues, everything. Apparently you have to show up early to get the good stuff. Our very friendly and informed waiter made some alternative suggestions for us, and we started with the chicken gyoza.
Relegated to the frozen food aisle, gyoza have gained a bad wrap (pun unintended). But these were among the best I’ve ever had, and the dough was especially smooth and well, perfect.
Next, we had the grilled mountain yam, which can be hard to find. I’d never tried mountain yam before, and it was light and crunchy, but not very flavorful. I thought of this dish as a palate cleanser.
The chicken wing yakitori came next, which was my favorite of the chicken dishes we shared that evening. Wings are one of my favorite cuts of chicken, and the dark, flavorful meat was so satisfying.
We tried the nori-wrapped grilled mochi next. The mochi itself was flavored very sparingly, so the nori was where it was really at. I would have liked more seasoning on the mochi itself (shoyu perhaps?) but the chewy, sticky texture was fun.
Then came the chicken thigh yakitori wrapped in chicken skin. This tasted pretty similar to the wings, but I appreciated the creative twist on making sure to use every bit of chicken.
Our favorite savory dish of the meal was the raw duck on a bed of miso and green onions. Maybe it was the beautiful presentation, or maybe it was the interactiveness of mixing the raw duck at the table to make sure the coals didn’t burn the meat, but honestly I think it had to do more with the taste. The salty sauce was incredible, and I love duck, so this dish was a winner.
We ended our meal with a bowl of ume ice cream, which was perhaps the most surprising dish of all. I love pickled and sour foods like ume, but the vanilla ice cream and pickled plum combination was a little too sweet and a little too vinegared at the same time for my taste. I love the idea though.
I’ve been meaning to return to Ippuku since they were out of most of the dishes I was meaning to try, but even with that disappointment, their menu and service was solid. Next time, though, I’ll make sure to arrive extra early.
