Archive for the ‘I District Eats’ Category
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Technique notes:
- When your non-American companion says, “Oh.My.God.” pull over and dig around behind your seat for the camera.
- Don’t bother checking the camera settings. Instead, just shoot the photo. When the shutter refuses to close, say,”Oh, that’s not going to work!” and then wave the camera around for a little bit until the shutter finally does close.
- Admire your results.
Our favorite is still this place in Kirkland because we can’t help but admire the minimalist color scheme and the supreme attention to detail. We also have to acknowledge the sheer excess of this place, on the right as you come in to West Seattle. I believe it has four Santas, several penguins, a pair of elves, deer and, hmmm, is that a polar bear, along with the requisite blinky lights, bows, and snowflakes.
And while we’re at it, it’s time again for Citizen of the Month’s Blogger Christmahanukanzaakah Online Holiday Concert. (Wow, that is not going to fit on the back of the tour t-shirt!) I sent in “I’ve got my love to keep me warm” - a swell little Irving Berlin tune. And if it sounds like I’m playing from the bottom of a well, consider yourself lucky that it doesn’t sound like I’m playing right next to you. I love this open mic day on the web, so thanks, Neil, and may your dreidl always land on gimel.
Christmas lights, photography
Posted in I District Eats, Seattle | 4 Comments »
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Hing Loon has hand written placards taped to almost every available bit of wall space. “Deep fried tofu hot pot,” they say, and “Country style pancake with shrimp” and “Radish with fish ball.” You can order your dinner without opening a menu, if you like, and you won’t miss out. The food arrives fast and furious from the kitchen, which you can see through a fish tank like window. The waitresses are sturdy with suspicious haircuts and they’re super efficient with a cheerful edge.
The salt and pepper squid is a favorite, as are the green onion pancakes and the chow fun with prawns - dry, not with gravy. We skipped the duck this time - this was our second visit to Hing Loon - and subbed in some tofu dishes for our vegetarian friend. The hot pot was hot all right, but only okay for flavor, but the Szechuan tofu, in a spicy red sauce, was yummy. We also had an order of pea vines with garlic - always good - and it’s important to eat your greens. The people next to us had sizzling eggplant so we had to have it too - it arrived sputtering in pale bubbling sauce, so hot as to be dangerous. We had to wait for it to simmer down to taste it. I found it odd - eggplant is tricky - but the sauce did have a spicy bite that sneaked up on you when you weren’t looking.
Hing Loon brings your bill - 19 dollars a head for 7 dishes plus beer - with fortune cookies and sesame balls. It’s a good place to go with lots of friends - that way you can order some old standards and something new and still get plenty to eat.
Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant is at 628 Weller. Here are some pictures of Hing Loon taken by people I don’t know.
International District, Seattle, Chinese food
Posted in I District Eats, Seattle | No Comments »
Saturday, February 17th, 2007
I absolutely adore Seattle’s International District. It smells funny, it’s crowded, the streets are unforgiveably dirty. The supermarkets are chaotic, the restaurant menus are mysterious and sometimes risky. The alleys smell bad, there are sketchy people everywhere. Parking can be a complete trial and walking can have its own challenges. But I love the I District and was happy to find myself wandering there in good company for today’s New Year celebration.
The Wing Luke Asian Museum was free today and that was our first stop. The museum documents the history of our local Asian population and highlights the shameful period of the “relocation” camps in a heartbreaking exhibit complete with barbed wire. It wasn’t sad in the museum today - the place was packed with kids making little red lanterns.
After the museum, we squeezed our way in to the crowded Union Station hall to watch a few traditional dance groups. The sound in the hall was a nightmare (yo, festival sponsors, maybe you want to hook the I District community up with some decent audio next time?) but the dancers were gorgeous and the little girls too adorable for words. Overwhelmed by the crush and the unbearable noise of the sound system, we got the hell out of there and went for bubble tea at Ambrosia - Seattle’s first bubble tea shop. The young man behind the counter looked exactly like an Miyazake hero - shocking good looks, perfectly cut hair, flipped up collar and sharp smooth cheekbones. Mango bubble tea and anime fantasy, 3.25.
Then we wandered over to Higo to flip through fancy books, admire the ceramics, and generally adore what the new owners did with the store. Higo used to be a stuffed to the rafters variety store - I used to wander around in there for hours eyeing the plastic doo dads and house coats and chopsticks and well, they had all kinds of stuff there. The west wall of the store still has a the old display cases and odds and ends from Higo’s old inventory on display.
On the way home we passed an herbalist and tea shop, another housewares store featuring rice cookers and religious icons, a teeny tiny burrito counter, a handful of jewelry stores, a Mexican market, and the old Wonder Bread factory. I never get tired of this part of the city, it’s a wonderland.
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Speaking of the I District, we did indeed eat on Jackson Street this last Friday night. The choice? Lemongrass, a little Vietnamese place that supposedly serves up “the best five spice chicken on the planet” - or some such glowing review. While the chicken was good, all right - perfectly cooked, crispy, not oily - I wouldn’t have gone so far as to call it the best on the planet. On the other hand, the lemongrass ginger chicken? Delicious. Lemongrass is something of a subtle flavor, but this stuff must have stewed in it, so richly did it have that lemony grassy taste. Yummy. The only downside was that we’d ordered heavy on the meat and ended up asking the waiter to bring us a plate of garlic green beans to round out the meal. Good stuff, speedy service, and with four entrees on the table at 32 dollars, totally affordable. Good service, too. If you’re there on a cold night, sit away from the door, it’s a small place and gets kinda drafty.
Lemongrass is at 1207 South Jackson in the Ding Ho Plaza. Parking is available in the oddly signed garage underneath. Make a risky left turn off Jackson and go right down the ramp as you pull into the shopping center.
Seattle International District
Posted in I District Eats, Kultcha, Seattle | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
Tai Lin is a brightly lit little place at the intersection of 14th, Rainier, and Jackson. It’s brand new - they’ve been open for two weeks. There are twinkle lights and mirrors and two TVs battling for your attention - one showed a Vietnamese stage production with a singing nun and the other showed a Chinese costume drama. There’s a big blue and white ceramic fish on the counter and a red and gold altar below a shiny Buddha in an alcove on the floor. It’s a little overstimulating, but it’s warm and cozy on a slushy night when no one is out.
We were the only guests at Tai Lin so the waiter doted on us, indeed, he lit up like - well, like his own restaurant - when we wandered in. He was delighted to be diverted from his newspaper. He kept coming back to pour the tea for us and he rushed to the kitchen mid-order so his chef, who’s also his Mrs., could get our spring rolls started.
The restaurant has a decent vegetarian section on the menu and we suspect that the veggie dishes were the better, though the husband’s Shrimp on Skewers certainly looked impressive.My Tofu with Lemongrass and Chili was quite good, though I wanted more of the sauce and chili “cracklin’s” that flavored the tofu. B’s Kale and Mushroom Tofu was a winner, the best plate at the table. The meat eaters gave their dishes a resounding “meh.”
I’d absolutely go back to Tai Lin. The veggie dishes are good, the spring rolls are fresh, and the service, from Tai and his wife Lin, is charming. Nine dollars gets you plenty to eat and, though this may not always be true, it’s a delight to eat in a place where the owners are so transparently happy to see you.
Vietnamese restaurants, Seattle’s I-District
Posted in I District Eats | 2 Comments »
Friday, January 12th, 2007
The Pacific Rim center is an odd mixed use complex that feels a bit like a smalltown airport. It’s home to New Kowloon, a smashing place for dim sum, a manicure salon, a Vietnamese restaurant, a dental clinic…it’s also home to the recently opened LA Cafe. We stumbled in to LA Cafe on accident when we found that Quoc Te, another restaurant was closed.
LA Cafe has a hip, brightly colored interior - lime green booths and red vinyl chairs, orange walls. The staff wear wacky wide neckties. And the menu is a trial. With tiny type and not very sensible categorization, it’s hard to know what to order - especially since there are so many things to choose from. Navigating the L.A. Cafe is, well, a little confusing. But also, wow, it’s totally worth it. Before I launch into what we ate, let me give you two pieces of advice:
- Go now. Seriously. They just opened and I don’t think the gringos know about it yet.
- Ask a lot of questions when you order. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with something that looks like the blue plate special at Denny’s. I’m not making it up.
The menu is a mix of Western style plates and Asian food. Japanese noodles and steak and eggs. It’s, as I’ve said, hugely confusing and the pictures are no help, they’re just clip art and have no bearing on what’s on the menu. You’re going to have to ask questions. There are a few things I’ll recommend.
Fried Tofu with Dry Scallop Golden Mushroom comes with some baby bok choy and rice. The tofu has the perfect texture and the plate has plenty of Enoki mushrooms on it; they’re almost like noodles. Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice has big chunks of pineapple and the rice tastes of sesame oil. The Seafood and Udon with Black Pepper Sauce is spicy and delicious with shrimp, fish, and squid tossed in with the peppery noodles. The Eel on Curried Rice was melt in your mouth delicious.
On the not-so-great side? The Shrimp Toast we had as a starter was odd and tasted like it came from the freezer section of your supermarket. The Pumpkin and Spare Rib Hot Pot was rather plain. And the Sole with Green Vegetables, well, that’s the one that seemed to have come from another restaurant entirely. The fish was attractive but plain and came with mashed potatoes and mixed green veg - also looking like they came from the freezer section.
The dishes we had that were good were not just good, they were exceptional. I’d go back just for the Udon with Black Pepper Sauce. I enjoyed the bright colors and it’s fun to eat in a place where you’re the only gringos. This place isn’t for unadventurous eaters - there’s a certain feeling that you’re not sure what you’re going to get. But hidden in this difficult menu are some real gems.
LA Cafe has been open for only a month. I’ll be back. If they can suss out the menu, this place will be great.
LA Cafe is at 900 Jackson in the Pacific Rim shopping center. They even have free, off street parking.
Posted in I District Eats | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
If you’re coming from the Tercel message boards, well howdy! You should know that we’ve since sold our old friend Theodore Tercel. He’s still running, though, and I saw him the other day in my old neighborhood, happy as ever, with a dog sitting in the front seat. Theo always wanted a dog, I’m glad he’s got one now. For the record, we replaced Theodore Tercel with a Pontiac Vibe, a four door hatchback made by, that’s right, Toyota. I still kinda miss Theo, though, and today, when I pulled in to the supermarket next to an 87ish 4WD Tercel, I got a little weepy. The Vibe is nice, but it’s just a car, something I’d never say about my trusty old 85 Tercel.
Last night, a light bulb went out in the kitchen. I was handing the glass cover back to Mr. Nerd’s Eye View when he knocked it out of my hand. It hit the floor with a tremendous crash and shattered in to, well, I don’t know how many pieces.
Today, off we went to the hardware store to get a replacement. You know, you can’t buy replacement parts for hardly anything anymore, you have to throw the whole thing away and get a new one. This makes me crabby. There I am, crabby in the parking lot of the hardware store when I see that some fucker, excuse me, but that’s the best word I can think of, has plowed in to the front driver’s side panel of my car. It didn’t happen when I was in it, I think I’d have known. I was angry, to say the least.
Perhaps you do not know about my car. It is a 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon. At the time, Toyota called it the deluxe model, which is a hilarious thing as this car has no power windows, no power steering, no power locks, the defroster has two settings, full and off…well, let’s just say that this car is free from features and in some places, paint. It’s kind of a hippie car and indeed, has served remarkably well on three long haul hippie odysseys, one to British Columbia and out to Calgary, one to the great national parks of the Rockies, and one along the spectacular Highway 1 Pacific Ocean/Yosemite route. When the Tercel first joined us, it got a whopping 44 miles to the gallon on the freeway. I thought it was a mistake in my math (I went to art school) until it continued to get 44 miles to the gallon for another several years.
I was pretty grumpy in the first hardware store and this did not get any better when it turned out there was no replacement glass or even a full fixture that would do the trick. We drove my wounded car across town to the next hardware store where they also did not have what I wanted. We made a quick stop in the appliances section where a whopping giant of a man asked me what he could do for me. “Find the bastard who hit my car,” I said. He stared at me for a minute. “What do you want me to do with him?” he finally responded. “Oh, I’ll take care of that.” He then offered me a great price on an appliance, but I was not interested in that unless he was going to drop it on the hood of the car that hit my Tercel.
We made one final stop at Alexander lighting where I was able to get what I needed almost, but now I have a extra fixture with no glass. I hate to waste stuff that’s perfectly good, it makes me irritable. (Yes, yes, I will put it on Freecycle.) While we were driving home from the lighting store, I made a snap decision to stop at A-1 Chinese Buffet. We stood on the steps in the rain next to another crazy tall human, a woman who was an officer with the Seattle Police. The door was locked. People were inside chowing down on chow mein while Officer Seven Feet Tall paced back and forth along the sidewalk trying to get someone’s attention. I thought for sure that this was just another broken experience, but the door opened and the hostess explained. “Sorry, someone broke our door. We got burgled, someone came and took a lot of money. Please…” she put an hand on my shoulder, “sit down. Can I get you something to drink?”
A-1 Chinese Buffet isn’t exactly A-1, but it’s not bad. I don’t mean just adequate, I mean a-okay! Thumbs up in a cheery way! For seven bucks you can eat all the General Tso’s or Kung Pao or or or - they just keep it coming. They had a big tray of poached salmon with lemons and another batch of rather tasty mussels with some kind of black bean sauce. Their chow mein uses the fat tasty noodles, not the cheap greasy ones. The veggies are crispy, not overcooked. They have tiny eggrolls - but eat as many as you like - and funny little wontons stuffed with something that tastes like cream cheese and these roasted potatoes that are really good and, well, it’s a huge buffet.
And it’s a fun scene. At one end of the restaurant sat a table of 20 or so lunching ladies, Asian looking but probably locals, they chattered at the buffet in unaccented English. A couple of Spanish speaking girls stuffed breathtaking amounts of food in to ‘to go’ containers. A kid named Ezekiel - his mom called him - walked down the buffet line with his big sister while his dad, in a jumpsuit that said Washington Facilities, sat at the table. There was dessert too, jello, which Ezekiel really wanted, we heard him say so, and sesame balls and cream puffs and fruit.
I wouldn’t say it’s the best Chinese food in the city, but it was a-okay. The trick is, I think, to eat what the guys are bringing from the kitchen as they bring it - and they bring it, baby, they do. It keeps coming - and you can taste that everything is quite fresh. (Also, you with the take out containers? Don’t waste all that real estate on rice!) The only downside was that the dishes were not quite hot enough - hence the tip to eat what’s just come from the kitchen. FYI, I asked on the way out and dinner is a little different - they add King crab and salt and pepper prawns, among other things.
I’d recommend A-1 Chinese Buffet and hey,they could use your business, post burglary. May that thieving bastard that hit the nice folks of A-1 sit next to the fucker that hit my car in hell. If I have anything to say about it, you’ll all be at the level reserved for bicycle thieves. It’s nasty there. Also, Officer W., who came to take the report about my Tercel, told me that I should ask around and see if anyone saw the intentional accident. If you were on Cap Hill and saw someone crush my car, would you go to the hardware store, get a fridge, and drop it on the car that hit the Yodler? Thanks ever so. And yes, to my annoyance, I am now in the market for a new car.
A-1 Chinese Buffet is at 701 Rainier. Lunch is from 11-4, dinner from 4-930. Go hungry.
Episodes featuring the Tercel, from the archives:
Posted in Fish Wednesday, Food, Glorious Food, I District Eats, Seattle | 5 Comments »
