Drive-bys, May 10, 2008

Two drive-bys and an update:

*There's a new deli that has moved into the old Mr. Taco building on Clippert, just west of Frandor. (This is a building which is back to back with the Wendy's on Homer.) They have "Corned Beef" written in large letters on the windows. Hmmm. It's also convenient to swing by before work. I'll likely give it a try next week.

*On Michigan Avenue, just east of the ball park -- in the block next to Claras, that has both the city shelter and several nightblubs, there's a little corner restaurant that has a lot of turnover -- there was a Caribbean place, Turkeyman, and Ballpark Franks. Now it has a sign that says "Authentic Mexican Food."

As for an update: I have pictures. Watch for reviews of Bangkok House and Hobies.

Drive-bys, March 29, 2008

Sorry I've been away for so long. This will continue until May, most likely. In the meantime here are a couple of notes:

*A reader emailed me to say that Banyan Tree has closed. I am very sorry to hear this. It can be very hard to establish a small and unique restaurant any place where it is affordable to do so. (If anybody heard further news -- good or bad -- please leave a comment.)

*Midori is under new management. They have changed their sushi menu, and though they will make the old rolls if you ask, watch out for anything with cream cheese in it. They use a whipped and sweetened cream cheese that totally overwhelms everything else. (The Futomaki, which did not have cream cheese in it at all before, was like sushi with frosting in it.) However, they have added some great new rolls of their own. We had the B.S.C.R -- baked scallops on top of a bed of California Roll with a little sauce dribbled on top. Very nice. And it looks like the "Lady Roll" has the same fillings as the old Futomaki, but with a bean skin wrapper rather than nori. We will go back, but we seriously miss the old Spicy Shrimp Tempura with good old sour -- and solid -- cream cheese.

RECIPE: Chinese BBQ Pork

Barbecue pork (or Cha Siu -- which means "fork roast") is a basic ingredient for a lot of Chinese cooking. In a big city, you would be able to buy this lovely red-roasted pork, already cooked, by the pound. You know that taste in fried rice and lo mein and soups, and so many other dishes that you can't quite accomplish at home? It's probably from char siu.

This weekend I finally got the taste right on homemade roast pork. And now I have a freezer full for making char sui bao, or fried rice or soups or twice cooked pork....

The key here is the cut of pork. It can't be a lean cut. I used a Boston Butt Roast, cut into strips. "Country Style" spare ribs, or pork shoulder steaks are also good. The country style ribs are about the right shape and size to get the best surface area to meatiness ratio. (This is also important.)

The second key is the preparation method. You need to marinate the pork in the sauce for a couple hours. (I did about two.) Then when you roast it, you have to be sure that as much surface of the pork is exposed to the hot air as possible. I can tell you from experience that if the meat sits in its accumulated juices, it just isn't the same. In China, they hang the meat in the oven on hooks. Many cookbooks recommend putting them in a pan that has a roasting rack.

I didn't have a roasting rack, or hooks, but I had a pork roast and I wanted Char Sui! So I used a little tender loving care. I separated the pieces of meat so that they were not touching. (In this case, I put them in three small pyrex dishes -- but they probably could have been put in one really big on.)

Since the marinade has sugar and soy in it, the pan drippings are likely to burn. If you have a roasting rack this is easy to deal wiht by simply filling the pan below with water or broth. I simply made sure I watched the oven -- which was at a hot 425 degrees -- and every time I could smell that "pre-burning" smell, I poured in a very small amount of sherry into the pan -- about 1/8 of an inch. I started basting it with a souped up version of the marinade after the first fifteen minutes, and after another five or ten, I flipped the meat over, so the bottom side could get some love.

It probably took 45-60 minutes of roasting, and I turned the oven down later in the process. You could stretch the second half out a long time in a slow oven.

The Marinade (enough for approximately two pounds of meat):

• 1/4 c sherry (broth or water will do)
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbl. honey (or brown sugar)
• 2 tbl. hoisin sauce
• 1 tbl oyster sauce

Put the meat in a ziploc bag or a container where it fits closely, and pour over it about half the marinade. Reserve the rest of the marinade for the basting sauce. (Do NOT use the marinade that has touched the meat! Throw it away! It is full of bacteria and such, and the basting sauce will not be thoroughly cooked enough to be safe.)

Basting sauce:

• The remaining marinade
• 1 tbl oyster sauce
• 2-3 tbl brown sugar
• garlic, ginger or whatever other spices sound good to you.

The sugar and garlic are prone to burn, so you don't want so much of it in the marinade, but it is fine for basting later on in the process.

This marinade, btw, would also be good for chicken thighs and wings. You need something with enough fat if you are going to cook it as dry as the instructions here. But a lean meat would be okay if you cook it slower, and with more basting (and maybe more crowded in the pan to keep the moisture in).

Drive-bys, February 3, 2008

*SanSu sushi house in Hannah Plaza has moved. They're in the same building, but they have moved from the back to the front of the building. This is a better place for them, imho. They are a popular sushi joint, and this gives them more room and visibility, since they face Hagadorn Road now.

*Gung Hay Fat Choy! It's Chinese New Year on Thursday! Have a feast this week or weekend, as we end the year of the Boar and begin the year of the Rat.

Banyan Tree Thai Cuisine

(We're sorry to note that Banyan Tree closed a while ago.)

I've been to Banyan Tree several times now, and I was sorry to see that the menu keeps getting smaller and smaller. However, I think they've settled on a nice, minimalist menu that suits a neighborhood restaurant. You won't find anything unusual or exotic on the menu, but what's there is reliable, well-prepared Thai food.


For appetizer they have good spring rolls, although the sauce is a little marmeladey. (The sweet chili sauce is better.) Then there are the Rangoons (pictured above) which are very nice, especially if you like a high filling-to-wrapper ratio. I myself prefer more crunch because the filling is so rich, but these were awfully good. They are, as at Lamai's, meatless. The filling is cream cheese, carrot and green onion, and yet even my carrot-hating friend really finds this Thai version the yummiest of rangoons.


Tom Kha Gai is a soup I find irresistable everywhere I go, and it is great here. It's a very sharply flavored soup of chicken, ginger and coconut -- with a lot of citrus from lime juice, lime leaves and lemon grass. Lamai recommends having it at her restaurant with a scoop of rice, and she is right. The soup is so rich and strongly flavored that even though it is a medium spicy, my tongue sometimes starts to get that numb novocaine tingle. The rice ameliorates that without taking anything away from the wonderful excessive experience of flavor. (So I advise asking for a side of rice in any Thai restaurant when you order this.)


The entrees are limited and pretty standard for a Thai restaurant, but every thing we've had has been good. We went for the Banyan Tree Fried Rice, which, though plain, turned out to be exceptional -- fried rice with chicken and shrimp, seasoned strongly with yellow curry. It's got a good kick at medium.


In the past we were really happy with the Green Curry, which is no longer on the menu. We are told that if they are not busy and have all the ingredients on hand, the cook will make some special dishes by request. My only wish is that they had a little more in the way of vegetables, and maybe offered a Yum or salad. The Pad Woon Sen (pictured above with spring rolls) comes close, but is still pretty plain. (I bet you could ask for a lime wedge, though. That's exactly what it needs....)

They are now open for lunch from 11-2 Tuesday through Friday, which I am glad of, because their simple menu is ideal for a quick carry out. Their dinner hours are 4-8 on Tuesday through Thursday, and until 9 on Friday and Saturday.

Banyan Tree Thai Cuisine, 1001 East Mount Hope Avenue, Lansing. (At the corner of Mt. Hope and Pennsylvania -- in the same building as Korner Kitchen.) 517- 482-0939.

Drive-by, January 21, 2008

It's much too cold to go anywhere (and certainly too cold to take my camera). So I'm just going to pass on a tip and mention the leftovers I'm eating....

*Got an email tip on a new restaurant in south Lansing which opened this weekend: "Alicia's Authentiic Mexican Deli (Dine in or Carry Out) 6424 W. St Joseph Hwy., Lansing, MI 48917. 517-323-6430. Opening Day!! Friday January 18, 2008." I know nothing about them, but if anybody gives them a try, drop us a comment.

*A friend made an excellent corned beef and cabbage. I'm going to make pirogies from the leftovers. Corned beef with potato and a little cabbage for the filling. I'm going for the easy version of the wrapper: goyoza wrappers from Oriental Mart. Moisten them and slap two together, and they really make a great thicker wrapper. I will steam them then pan fry in butter. You can also boil them. Serve with apple sauce, sour cream, or as I am doing, Labana.

Korea House - Count on it

Korea House is a little mom and pop restaurant on Trowbridge, at the far end of the building containing Goodrich Shoprite and Woody's Oasis. It's hidden around the corner, but that doesn't hurt business much. This is the place to go for real authentic Korean food.

They've been there for a very long time, and a few years ago they expanded to have a sushi bar too. They also have a lot of expensive, wonderful-looking hibachi specials on the walls, and on the tables of Korean customers. (Those are the kinds of dishes where they put a little gas grill on you table and a big heap of food -- sometimes to be grilled, sometimes to be stewed.) Unfortuately I can't tell you how good they really are, because this is our "Count On It" place. You know, the place you go when you are tired, or your stomach is upset, and you just want great food you can count on. When you're in that mood, you stick to old standbys. (You also need a larger group for some of those special dishes.)

Bulgogi is probably the main old standy here. I've mentioned this thin sliced grilled beef dish in my Midori review. It's a little like a Korean teriyaki -- but less sweet, and more beefy. Unfortunately, since it is cooked in the kitchen (as it is everywhere in town) it releases juices on the way to the table, so it's a little stewed. You can also get the Kalbi, which is a version made from rib meat (with or without bones). Then there is the Boneless Spicy Chicken stirfry, which has some vegetables with, and is one of my stand-bys.


You can always get good noodles and soups in a Korean restaurant too. Japchae, or Chapchae (above),is made with a transparent, jiggly noodle made wth yam starch. It's a little like a cellophane noodle, and cooked with garlic, soy sauce and oil, rather like a really strong lo mein.


Recently a friend ordered Rice Dumpling Soup -- which is a hearty but mild soup (which you can spice up if you like). The rice dumplings are chewy slices of a thick rice flour cake, kind of like a fat rice noodle. They are simmered in a thickened egg-drop style broth, and served in a BIG bowl with, I think, chicken or pork in it. Perfect for a cold night.

Most of the time dinner is served with the usual selection of side dishes. (Sometimes noodles or soup won't come with them, but you can ask.) There are dumplings and many kinds of soups. If you like seafood, you should really try Korean seafood soups, although they are often very spicy. I've heard fans of squid talk about their calimari. And then there are things like Goat Roast. On the more familiar line, you can get Bibimbap (as described in the Midori review) either with or without the hot stone bowl.

Be sure to browse the menu so you don't settle too early on what you decide is YOUR "count on it" dish.

Korea House, 978 Trowbridge Rd, East Lansing. (517) 332-0608.

Hong Kong Restaurant

(Hong Kong is now a very authentic Sichuan restaurant, and the review below no longer applies. Check out the new review called "Heavenly Sichuan Food."

Hong Kong is a restaurant hidden down on South Homer, south of Frandor, just north of Kalamazoo. It's been around a long time and has has many owners. It was once a tiny Dog n Suds, and the first Chinese owners operated the first buffet in town there -- with four tables and a small heated buffet stand in the corner. Subsequent owners have expanded the place, and changed the menu around.

The current owners are Korean Chinese, and have had the place for a while. Their standards are slipping a bit, but it's still my favorite place for a Chinese buffet lunch. (They only have buffet at lunch.) They have some good Hunan flavors, and just about the best lo mein in town. They used to have the best General Tso's Chicken -- a dish I normally avoid, but here it isn't just spicey ketchup on fried chicken. They have an excellent, well balanced sauce. Sometimes they drench it in too much sauce these days, but it's still good. Their fried four-season beans (i.e. stir fried green beans) were the first and best in town, and I've always been partial to their Hunan Pork.


The greatest thing about Hong Kong, though, is the fried stuff -- particulary their fried won tons. They season the meat just right, and it actually goes well with the red gunk sweet and sour sauce. (Don't expect a lot of meat in a fried won ton -- they have to be fried quickly, and the meat doesn't cook through if there's too much.) The other really great thing is Curry Beef Kok (or "curry triangles" if you find it embarrassing to say that aloud). This is not on the menu, but you can ask for it, and it's always on the buffet along with the won tons. Curry Kok is a Chinese version of a samosa -- ground beef fried up with onions and Chinese curry, and wrapped in a triangle of won ton wrapper, then deep fried. This recipe was handed down from a previous owner, and I'm really glad they still make them.

(One dish that was NOT handed down was a really great red-cooked chicken wings. They were delectable -- wings stewed in soy sauce, honey and chili. Oh, man. I make them myself sometimes, but it sure would be nice if I could still get them here.)

Hong Kong Restaurant, 315 S Homer St, Lansing. 517-332-5333.

Drive-bys: January 7, 2008

*AI-Fusion is a new fusian (i.e. Japanese food merged with western upscale casual dining styles) restaurant up and running in the old Pistachio's location over by Golden Wok (across from Coral Gables, behind the IHOP on Grand River in East Lansing). They are associated with Ukai (or at least their website is). All they have up is the lunch menu, which is mainly a lot of sushi. Since they don't list what's in it, I can't guess if the sushi is exciting. (The rest of the lunch menu looks pretty plain -- although I'm always happy when I see a lunch place that does bento boxes.)
*Speaking of bento boxes, here's a fun and instructive website on the subject for interested foodies: Just Bento.
*Also speaking of bento lunches, don't forget to try Q Sushi's bento lunches. They're in East Lansing along the strip.
*Check out the Eat Lansing blog. While this person posts even less frequently than I do, there are posts for restaurants I haven't reviewed (and different info on some that I have).
*Addendum to the Yorkshire Pudding post (which I have added to the post): At this year's Xmas dinner, I experimented a little, and the sizzling hot pans do make a difference. I just stuck them back in the oven a minute before pouring the batter.

RECIPE: Celery Peanut Salad

Some Chinese places will give you a little bowl of some kind of salad as an appetizer, if they think you will appreciate it. Usually something like the Korean side dishes -- sometimes sweet or sour or spicey, or all three.

This summer I made a whirlwind strategic-strike eating tour out in LA, and one great place we went was Luscious Dumpling in San Gabriel, California. This was a very specialized little noodle and dumpling house. Just a tiny place filled with old Chinese guys eating big bowls of noodles and plates of, well, luscious dumplings. They are famous for their Xiao Long Bao, which means "little dragon dumplings", known popularly as "Soup Dumplings." This is a dumpling filled with hot soup, which will squirt out when you bite into it.


When you sit down at Luscious Dumpling, they give you tea and a little bowl of Celery Peanut and Pressed Tofu pickle (pictured at top). The great sweet, sour and nutty taste reminded me that I used to make a celery and dried shrimp salad like it. Dried shrimps are fine, but ever since our visit to LA, I've been making this peanut version, and it has beena major hit.

And very simple to make. It's basically sesame oil, sugar and vinegar. I like to use a combo of distilled vinegar and sherry, but you can replace both of them with another vinegar. (Rice wine vinegar is traditional. I think apple cider vinegar would probably make a nifty experiment.)

• 1 tbl sugar
• 1 tbl distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp rice wine or sherry
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 handful of roasted cocktail peanuts

You can add garlic, ginger and or hot pepper slivers or flakes. The flavor of the garlic is really strongly enhanced in this dish, so while raw garlic is great (and traditional) you can use garlic powder or no seasoning at all if you sensitive to the taste. (Just don't use garlic salt, as the peanuts already add salt to the dish.)

You can eat it right away, but it is best to let it marinate at least a half hour. It will be great all day, but not as good the next day, so I tend to whip this up as I need it.

Recipe: Yorkshire Pudding

It's Christmas. If you have roast beef at the holidays, you really should have Yorkshire Pudding with it.

Yorkshire pudding isn't really pudding by modern American standards. It's more of an eggy quick bread, but it is so tasty, and actually pretty easy to make. Just eggs, flour, milk and a hot oven.

The problem most people have is the timing. The original recipes were developed for the massive heat and lack of control you get with a wood fired oven. It requires a practiced touch to get the depth of batter and the temperature right, and if you don't know what you're doing, it won't puff up -- it'll just dry out and get hard. Plus the traditional way has you hold the roast AFTER roasting for about forty minute while the pudding cooks. Puh-lease.

I'm here to tell you how to make it good and right and easy. (And this works best if you either make it ahead of the roast, or you do like I do, and don't make a roast at all, but pan grill a couple of nice delmonico or rib-eye steaks. It also tastes good with just plain fried mushrooms.)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt.
• fat -- either fat from the beef or butter

This amount cooks great in two bread pans, or an 8x8 cake pan. (You can up the quantities to 1.5 cups each of flour and milk and 3 eggs, and cook it in a 9x9 pan.)

Use a whisk or a mixer to blend the flour, salt and milk. Get rid of most of the lumps. Then add the eggs. Beat or whisk it up good. There should be no lumps, and a little bit frothy on the top, but not a lot. Set the batter aside in the fridge. It can sit there overnight if you want to do it ahead, but 15 minutes is fine.

Next preheat the oven to about 350. (No hotter -- this is where the traditional recipes make it hard.) It doesn't hurt to warm the pans, but you don't have to have them sizzling (which is the traditional way). You just want them to be warm enough for the fat to melt. (ADDENDUM: having the pans sizzling hot when you pour the batter in does indeed make them rise a little higher. You can just stick the pans in the oven for a moment after coating them with fat, and THEN pull them out and pour in the batter.)

For flavor, beef fat is best. Traditionally you get this from the roasting pan, after the roast is done. However, I usually fry up some suet or trimmings to get some fat. You can also do it the easy way and just use butter. Butter is always good.

Coat the inside of the pans with the melted fat. The pudding will rise up, so cover the sides as well as the bottom. Don't be stingy with it. There should be a bit of a pool of fat in the bottom of the pan. (If it starts to thicken, stick it back in the oven for a minute or so.) Stir up the batter and pour it into the pans. It should be about a half inch deep, maybe a little less.

Stick the pans in a 350 degree oven. After 12 - 15 minutes, turn the oven up to 400, then after another 12- 15 mintues to 450. It should be done after about 10 more minutes. It should be nice and golden. If it seems to be burning, you can take it out.

(Traditional recipes will tell you to put it in a 450 oven and turn it down, but if you get the amount of batter or timing or temperature wrong, it won't puff up, and will end up overcooked and dry. By cooking it in a slower oven, you give the whole thickness of the pudding a chance to puff a little and firm up, and then the hotter temperatures at the end crisp the outer layers. NOTE: if you decide to try to make popovers -- the muffin sized version of this -- do follow traditional recipes, as you will not be working with the same bulk of batter, and the traditional way is the only way to make them pop.)

The pudding will fall by about half as it cools. Don't worry about that. Let it cool and firm up. The hardest part will be to get it out of the pan. The bottom will stick a little, especially if you use the deep sided breadpans like I do. One easy way to get it out is to cut it in half, and use a metal spatula to loosen the bottom from the middle. Just beware, these things remain full of hot steam for a long time. Don't burn yourself.

If you are making a roast, make the pudding first and cover it until the roast is ready. You can pop it into the oven for a few minutes to heat it back up again. (It makes great leftovers.) If you're making it with steak, just cook the steak while the pudding is in the oven.

And that's a great holiday tradition.

Posting Schedule

I will be cutting back on the amount I'm posting in future, but I will at least try to keep to a regular scheule -- new posts on Sunday Nights. I probably won't get the chance to post again until January 6, 2008, when I'll get back to posting reviews.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open for a holiday recipe.

Snowball Slushie -- make one now!

The snow is fresh, pure and deep right now. Go scoop up a big bowl of it, and make yourself a snowball slushie! (It's best if the liquid you are using to flavor it is very very cold. I put ice in my Coke before adding the snow. You could use juice or Coolaid or wine or whatever.

I used my medium cookie scoop to make hard packed little snowballs. They absorb the liquid fast, so admire it quickly!

(More restaurant reviews coming soon...)

Podcast: Feed Me Bubbe

In honor of Hannukah, I should put you on to my very favorite video podcast: Feed Me Bubbe. It's a home made cooking show, where a Jewish grandmother shows you how to make all sorts of great food.

Feed Me Bubbe podcast (click here)

Spartan Gyros: real gyros, real fries!

Editor's Note: Alas! Alack! Spartan Gyro is no more. Olympic Broil, on Seymour on the North Side, is your best bet for good old fashioned fried food now.

Oh, my god, they have Real French Fries! I haven't had french fries like that since... well at least since MacDonald's stopped using beef tallow. Ahem. Anyway....

I stopped by at Spartan Gyros today, in East Lansing in the old Taco Bell building. It's hard to park down there yet, but I think the new parking ramp they are building right across the street will help. Right off, I was impressed by the big grill menu. Burgers, bbq, corn dogs, fried perch or shrimp. And of course, Greek salads, gyros and baklava. I went with the gyro, because it seemed like a good place to start. And I went with the combo because, well, they asked, and I figured I'd try it.

The gyro gives Lou and Harry's a run for their money. (Gyro afficianados will prefer Spartan -- it is authentic as well as good.) Lou and Harry get points for the spicing and searing on their meat (which comes from cooking it on a griddle rather than the traditional rotisserie). Both have good tsatsiki (yogurt sauce with herbs and stuff) though Spartan's chunky with fresh herbs and maybe some cucumber. And Spartan's wins hands down on the toppings -- with good onions and REAL TOMATOES! Tomatoes with flavor!

They also fill the gyro really full with a lot of meat -- which is either good or bad depending on how much meat you like in your gyro.

As for the Fries.... They are the thin kind. Plain, well fried from good potatoes. Crispy and yet with a creamy, steaming inside. I had a problem getting home, driving in the dark , trying to tear open the stapled shut bag so I could sneak more fries. (These are especially good take-out fries. Like the chips I had in London, they steam themselves just enough in the bag to enhance the flavor but not destroy the crunch. This, however, could be part of why I liked them so much. Very few fries these days stand up to the bag test. Most take on the mealy texture of stale potato chips.)

I am a french fry snob. I can't abide those crappy coated fries which are basically just fry-shaped tater tots. And don't talk to me about yuppie "seasoned fries", or the tasteless yet macho potato-skin fry. All of those are basically just a way to cover the fact that they are made with bad potatoes and "healthy" grease that can't handle the right temperatures.

A good fry is a wonder to behold. Nothing but potato, grease and salt. Sigh. Next time I go there, though, I want to try the corn dogs.

Spartan Gyros. 565 E. Grand River in East Lansing. 332-1833. (The menu says that they now deliver!)

Goodrich Shoprite - grocery, gourmet, boutique, convenience mart.

Goodrich Shoprite, at the corner of Trowbridge and Harrison near the train station, is one of the oldest grocery stores in the area, and probably the best. You could call it a "boutique." They're a regular grocery store, but they also have fine wines (they are the best place in town to get wine or beer), an excellent cheese and meats counter, unusual brands of nearly everything, plus toys, dishes, gifts. They carry their own baked goods (great donuts!) plus a variety of premium baked goods, like Zingerman's breads....

Not that they are a big store. Far from it. They're just a litte neighborhood store.

What they have is a buyer with taste and a sense of the cosmopolitan neighborhood. They are located right next to campus, and north of them is the "Flower Pot" (an old neighborhood of professors and the like with streets named after flowers) and Spartan Village to the south (student housing that serves a lot of foreign students and graduate students). Plus it's right at the on ramp to the freeways, so that alumni and others coming to MSU find it convenient.

I am a great fan of Meijers (hate Walmart, love Meijers, which is still family owned and has a great company mission of being both thrifty and "your everything place") but Goodrich is an amazing mini-Meijers with personality. The only downside of Goodrich is that you can't get near the Trowbridge area on a football saturday. So be aware of the schedule of major sporting events when you go there. (If you must go there on a football saturday, the best time can be during the game, actually.)

Goodrich Shoprite, 940 Trowbridge Road, East Lansing, (517) 351-5760

Aladdin's Delight - Quick, Filling, Good

Aladdin's Delight, in Frandor next to Apple Jade, is one of my favorite places to grab a quick lunch, especially when I'm in the more vegetarian mood. Their flavors are similar to Woody's Oasis on Trowbridge in East Lansing, in come cases identical (even their Big Board menus on the wall are essentially the same). Both places have Lebanese cuisine. Both share the title of best falafel sandwich in town.

This place is a great choice for both meat eaters and vegans. The menu has about half and half, meat or veg -- and many dishes have a meat or vegetarian version. While a few of the vegetarian dishes have dairy, it's always the main ingredient, so easy to avoid.

Aside from the falafel sandwich, a few other favorite items are the samosas -- a little fried pastry of patatoes, peas and spices (and very spicy). Fried or baked kibbee comes in meat or potato version. There's good hummus and babaganouj. (Hummus is a mixture of ground chickpeas, sesame paste, lemon and seasonings -- served as a dip or spread with bread. Babaganouj is a smilar dip made of roasted eggplant.) The bread is the very thin Lebanese kind.

There are a number of main dishes on the menu, and many come with a salad. My favorite combo is the Hashwi with yogurt salad. Hashwi is rice, beef, pinenuts and seasonings all cooked together, then mixed with a little shredded chicken. The yogurt salad is cucumbers in a yogurt, lemon and garlic dressing. If you pour the salad over the hashwi, it's a real taste delight! (I've been known to buy the salad just to dress up a quick roast chicken dinner of any kind.)

Send me menus!

You can learn a lot from a take out menu. Anything from the overall style of a restaurant to their hours and prices. Not to mention the name of that dish you had that you can't remember once you get home.

I'm asking readers (and restauranteurs) to send me take out menus from around the Lansing area. I'm not promising any reviews of particular restaurants, but if you include a note mentioning a favorite dish at the restaurant, I will include a line in a "reader recommendations" post once in a while. (Something like "G.K. says the salsa at El Whatever is out of this world. M.P. recommends the tortellini at Great Pasta Place, but only with the cheese sauce." If you want your actual name, or a screen name, included, say so in the note. I will also create a link to your blog or site, if you like.) And, of course, having a menu in hand will definitely encourage me try a new place, or to write up that review of a place I have already been to.

Also, for my personal interest, I'm learning to read Chinese. In particular, I'm learning to read Chinese menus. I sure would like to collect more menus with the dishes written in Chinese and English. (Or just in Chinese, even.)

So to reiterate, I'm looking for:

1. Takeout menus from the Lansing, Michigan area.
2. Menus from anywhere written in Chinese (preferably both English and Chinese.)

Send these to: Lansing Food News, P.O. Box 6362, East Lansing, MI 48826.

Thanks a bunch!

Make Your Hot Chocolate Richer

Since we have a winter storm heading our way, I'll pass on a little tip on how to make even the most ordinary hot chocolate cup a little richer. Just use an ordinary vegetable peeler to grate in a little bit of unsweetened baking chocolate.

Not only is it easy, but it can be cheaper than the gourmet mixes (which tend to be full of transfats and artificial ingredients, especially the kind you mix with water). I usually just use a spoon of Nestles in some super hot milk, and then grate in the baker's chocolate.

A quick dash of cinnamon is also nice. And apparently good for you -- they say it helps your body deal with blood sugar, and perhaps can help those who are insulin resistant. (Given the latest studies on Alzheimers -- that it may be another form of diabetes -- that's a really good thing. Who knows, cinnamon may have as much to do with the low rates of Alzheimers among curry eats as Tumeric does.)

Dim Sum Primer, Pt 4

Okay, I'm finally finishing up the Dim Sum Primer, with the larger plated items and desserts. You can skip back to the beginning of this series by checking out the Where to find Dim Sum in Lansing post.


Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaves. You could call these Chinese Tamales. Dried lotus leaves wrapped around a bundle of filling and sticky rice, and steamed. The rice is sweet and sticky, and the leaves have a faint tea aroma. The fillings vary. Most of the time, they have some meat -- maybe the drumstick part of a chicken wing and some chinese sausage, maybe some mushroom. Those are usually cone shaped and about the size of a baseball or bigger. The ones you see pictured are a dessert version -- filled with red beans and red banana. You can get the meat version at either Little Panda or Golden Wok. The dessert version is available most days at Oriental Mart -- the Asian grocery on Grand River across from Golden Wok. (They have a lot of dim sum items in the case and freshly made -- including some amazing, and yet greasy springrolls.)

NOTE: The sticky rice in lotus leaves is sometimes called "Sweet Rice with Chicken and Pork" or something like that. It makes it easy to mix up with the "Sweet Rice Dumpling" whch is fried. If you are unclear what you are ordering, ask how it's cooked -- is it deep-fried or wrapped in a lotus leaf?


Greens and oyster sauce. These are a great accompaniment to dim sum, especially if you want to up your vegetable matter. I don't think they have it at Little Panda (though I have never asked), but Golden Wok has it on request (and sometimes on the cart). The greens, which may be a broccholi raab rather than the little bok chois pictured here, come with a little dipping bowl of salty oyster sauce. I've never seen either place in town offer similar platters of meats, but most larger dim sum houses will also have platters of sliced bbq pork or duck as well.


Silver Noodles. There are several kinds of platters of noodles available for dim sum. These silver noodles are hand rolled, fresh rice noodles. They have a nice chewy texture like other rice noodles, but unfortunately look a little like worms. However they taste really good. At Little Panda they serve these stir-fried with some vegetables. Another favorite noodle dish which is available both at dim sum and on the regular menu is Singapore Noodles (or "Fried Vermicelli Singapore Style"). This is a stirfried thin rice noodle, seasoned with curry and served with shrimp and chinese sausage and peapods and other veggies.


Congee, Juk or Joke. Congee is a dim sum tradition -- a brunch food. It's a thick rice soup or gruel, made with chicken broth and often served with a "cruller", or a stick of fried bread to dip in it. It may be plain or with various meats, seafoods, or even a thousand year old egg. The picture here is of my own homemade congee -- which I make with whole grain rice, and corn and greens. What you get in a restaurant will be whiter and creamier. You can get this at Peking Express and other more authentic type Chinese restaurants too. Lamai often serves it with a little toasted garlic, grated ginger and cilantro sprinkled on top.

Sesame Balls. (I don't have a picture of these, but I'll add one when I get one.) These are our favorite dessert at Dim Sum. They are a ball of sticky rice flour dough, filled with either sweet red bean paste or sweet yellow lotus bean paste, coated in sesame seeds and deep fried. (You can often get these at Oriental Mart as well.) We call them Chinese Jelly Donuts. The wrapper is chewy and sticky, and the filling only lightly sweetened.


Mango Pudding. It's not really pudding. It's jello, made with a little milk. Not as sweet as American jello, and pretty refreshing, though we usually skip it because there are other things to fill up on. It comes in a bowl with a maraschino cherry on top. You often have a choice of Almond pudding as well. Sometimes they call this tofu or bean curd rather than pudding -- but that's because jello resembles bean curd to many Asians. (You can buy packs of this at Oriental Mart labelled "Do Fu Delight.")


And then there's Red Bean Pudding, which is also milk jello. At Golden Wok, you get this in big squares. Again, not as sweet, and the red beans add a grittiness to it.


Red Bean Pastry. This is a cool show peice that you don't see often, but may be able to ask for. It's flakey pastry dough, spread with sweet red bean paste, and rolled up, slashed, and baked. Really pretty, and I think it's one of the best ways to eat red bean paste. This you only get at Golden Wok (and that is true of all dishes which require pastry). They also have the little custard tarts -- which are exactly what they look like.

There are many other dishes you may come across. A lot of other dumplings that are similar to those I've already described. I haven't taken pictures of the chicken feet, or the tripe. If you want them, they are available at all dim sum houses. Chicken feet are gelatinous and many people like to suck on the bones. The tripe sometimes comes "red-cooked" or simmered in sweetened soy sauce and spices, and I just might try that sometime.

(NOTE: if you are a more sophisticated dim sum eater, you might notice that there are some dumplings listed on the Golden Wok menu called "Pork Dumplings". The Chinese characters for these list them as xiao long bao -- "little dragon buns" otherwise known as "soup dumplings." They are NOT xiao long bao. They are just pork dumplings. They're good, but they don't spit hot soup at you when you bite into them.)

Happy eating!

Where to find Dim Sum in Lansing
Dim Sum Primer, Part 1
Dim Sum Primer, Part 2
Dim Sum Primer, Part 3
***
Recommended Reading from Amazon.com:

The best book on dim sum, imho is Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch. The recipes are good and they also demystify just what a lot of those dishes ARE for those who just want to eat. (This one is also available at the East Lansing Library, but it's pretty popular and often checked out.