Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Source in Washington, D.C.

The Source is one of the restaurants owned by the renowned chef Wolfgang Puck, who built his own empire of restaurants starting from L.A. This restaurant is located right next to Newseum, an interactive museum for news and journalism, located right in the heart of DC. I went there for lunch after some important morning ceremony. We were their first customer. The restaurant had a very up-scale and flashy feel with windows and industrialized interior design.

The Source serve dishes that they call "Asian fusion". To me, someone who's not so picky about Asian food, those dishes just seem Asian to me. I failed to see any New American inspiration from those dishes.



Pork Potstickers with Chinese black vinegar dipping sauce.



Steamed Atlantic Salmon "Hong Kong Style" Baby Bok Choy, Ginger, Soy



"Thai Style" Drunken Noodles, Gulf Shrimp, Thai Chilies, Holy Basil

There is nothing uniquely different about those dishes unfortunately. I would use one word to describe my experience at the Source: Fancy. The jacked up price I believe is partially due to the location, extravagant ambiance, and sounding of Wolfgang Puck.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Green Onions in Water, 2014

For the past month I have had a nice dozen of roses sitting in my new studio apartment. However, everyone knows the beauty of the fresh rose does not last forever. I ended up drying the roses, leading to a couple of maroon-colored objects that I felt reluctant to touch. It is difficult for me to associate those dried roses to myself another fifty years down the line -- when I became older, when my skin became wrinkled, when I am exhausted of the problems of the world, and when I finally understood things around me but am too late to correct what I have done. It was saddening to watch roses dried up, immobile, facing down. They looked abandoned, non-living, like they have already gave up.

Well I just got rid of those roses today, leaving an empty glass jar. Too lazy to chop up the green onions and stick them in the freezer, I stuck them into my flower jar and called it art. This is what they ended up looking like:


Because it was simple, I would call it minimalism. I also named this work of art: Green Onions in Water. I hope these green onions will grow and prosper, instead of running down on the biological clock. 

Friday, August 29, 2014

Daikaya in Washington, D.C.

Daikaya in Washington D.C. is a ramen noodle shop that has been popular since it opened only a few years ago. It is a small restaurant with small wooden tables and chairs. On one side of the restaurant are large industrial standard stoves where the chef wipe out those awesome noodle soups. If you are lucky enough to be seated next to the bar, you can actually try to figure out the reason behind the fresh crispy bean spouts. It is quite difficult to get seating during dinner hours on Friday or Saturdays, hence I usually go there after 9pm on a weekday.







There is pretty much no point in pointing out which ramen is which since they all look the same: seaweed, bean spouts, scallions emerged in soup.



We were very happy with their ramen. The partial reason for our satisfaction was our enormous hunger before approaching the noodles. Although the scent produced from tossing the bean spouts in the chicken or pork broth will stick onto you and follow you onto the public metro system.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Ikko Sushi in Silver Spring, Maryland

Ikko Sushi is a restaurant I encountered totally by coincidence. It is tucked away at a corner of large luxurious apartments on a fancy street with minimal pedestrians. I guess this restaurant is geared more towards local residents, which doesn't seem so financially stable for me. The nicer part of the restaurant is that it is quieter than other restaurants. The awkward part of the restaurant is that you have to use the bathroom that comes complimentary with the apartment.



Menu! I didn't take a look at it unfortunately since I was too lazy to make decisions.



Quiet and peaceful outside seating.



Sushi bar with attentive sushi chefs.



This restaurant is located in the nicer area of silver spring, with newly built apartment complexes and modern city designs.



We had complimentary salad and miso soup.



D.C. Monument Roll. 8.5/10.



Fresh sashimi, 10/10.



IKKO Dragon Roll, 7/10.



Discovery Roll, 9/10.



They provided watermelon and oranges when we checked out. The waitresses were extremely friendly and attentive. They were very open to their guests and don't mind sharing their stories.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

At Home Desserts

I had a friend over for dinner last night, and we were debating what to have for dessert. Because she was from Japan, she has a preference for typical Japanese dessert. Unsure what exactly to have, we decided to tour around Trader Joe's, which happened to be located right next to where I live. We bumped into Mochi Ice Cream, the dessert that people in Japan have all the time.



This wasn't my first introduction to Mochi ice cream. My family up in New York have this all the time as snack, not necessarily specifically for dessert. To be honest, I was never a fan of the teeth-sticking layer of flour around the ice cream. Plus, the room-temperatured surroundings yield too much of a contrast from the ice cream on the inside. I always get a unexpected shock when I actually bite into the ice cream -- too cold.



We ended up having green tea flavored mochi ice cream with some frozen grapes. I really liked the frozen grapes.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Keren Restaurant & Coffee Shop in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.

Keren Restaurant & Coffee Shop is a hidden gem located in dupont circle. Unlike other good restaurants, it does not have a glamorous store front, no outside seating, and no fancy logos. From what appears from the outside, it seems like a simple take out place where people are desperate to get out. But! It is not what it appears to be. The waitresses were extremely friendly and attentive, as if you were visiting family friends.





They do have a small bar, but rarely does it have people sitting at the bar. People were definitely more eager to try their food rather than drinking.

There are a number of Ethiopian style restaurants located in the heart of DC, and Keren is one of them. Their Ful has very good ratings. This is actually my second time trying out Keren, and they do not disappoint me at all.





We tried the Keren Special, which portion is large enough for two people. It comes with either Chicken, or Beef, spicy or non-spicy. We went for Spicy chicken, which is the only hot side dish that goes with the Keren Special.



The food was superb. Chicken was spicy but not too overwhelming, potato and spinach side dishes were delicious as well. I would definitely recommend this place to people who are new in the city who are looking for a good affordable Ethiopian restaurant.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Painting Lessons

I took an acrylic painting course offered by the Smithsonian Associates. It was a six week course, offered on Friday from 6-9. I gotta say, I don't do well with night classes. Scrambling after work is tiresome enough lead on the need for a long attention span for three hours was brutal. I am proud of myself for completing the course. We had a very attentive instructor, who teaches us experience instead of theory. Six lessons will not be enough time to teach newly starting students everything they need to know about painting. Instead, our instructor told us some of tricks one can do during painting that we will eventually understand once our experiences in painting accumulate.

I was talking about my painting experiences with some of my friends, whom label his way of teaching quite arrogant, due to his inability to talk theory. Their arguments do sound legitimate. An instructor does have to offer factual knowledge in order to convince students of his expertise. However, within a short period of time (18 hours of teaching) on top of the awkward time of day, students are less likely to obtain much factual information.

Even through I wasn't able to fully understand some of the lessons I have learned from my instructor, but I believe that once I have done more paintings and became frustrated with certain failures, I will appreciate what my instructor has told me.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

St. Arnold's Mussel Bar in Washington, D.C.

St. Arnold's Mussel Bar offers craft Belgium beer, and they are good. My friend and I stopped there last night just to find a place to get a drink. This place has a very low key and friendly vibe. Because it is tucked away at the corner of a small residential street in dupont circle, it doesn't get a lot of attention from the normal shops with big store fronts. The bartender/waiter was extremely nice and attentive to all of our requests, and that attitude really made us feel like at home.





I guess there wasn't a lot of people inside the bar when it is 12 o'clock at night on a Wednesday. Most people were locals and were sitting at the bar. There are a couple of TVs playing sports, but people were not paying much attention to them.



We tried their spicy white wine mussels just because I want to compare to the white wine mussels I had from mussel bar the other day. It turns out they are equally as delicious. The addition of the spice just adds some extra kick to the flavor of the mussel. I would definitely return to this place again, or visit their sister store in cleveland park.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Mussel Bar and Grill in Bethesda, MD

Mussel Bar and Grill in Bethesda is a restaurant that I have visited a number of times. It was indeed the first restaurant I visited in the town of Bethesda. It has a nice convenient location on Woodmont avenue  in Bethesda row, with outside seating surrounded by lighted trees and red brick walk ways. My friends and I stopped by this place last week because it was a place that all of us agreed upon. We had White Wine Mussels and Kennett Square Mushroom Pizza with fries.


I have tried other mussels from this place, but the white wine mussels are the best ones. It is also the dish that they are well-known for. When you are finished with the mussels, throw in some complimentary bread pieces inside and let it soak up some soup -- it will taste great. The Kennet Square mushroom pizza were okay, but I have had better stone-oven baked pizzas.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Rice Paddies Grill in Bethesda, MD

Rice Paddies Grill is definitely a hidden place in Bethesda. It is tucked away on the corner of Bethesda and Wisconsin Avenue slightly off to the side of the infamous Bethesda Row. Because they are located on a hill, leveled platform provides the outdoor deck for people who wants to enjoy food as well as the weather. The interior of the restaurant reminds me of another chinese food takeout store. What was different was their offering on Coconut water, which is something you rarely see in take out stores.



Summer roll - cellophane noodles with shrimp, lettuce, a hint of mint, and cellophane noodles dipped in peanut sauce. This is perfect for the summer because of the addition of mint. It is actually pretty to make on your own.



Beef pho - Pho noodles are known to be from Vietnam. I am pretty sure that I had pho noodles somewhere in maryland or dc that are way more authentic than this. The beef broth were delicious, but beef tendons and briskets were over cooked.

For a casual dinning restaurant located in a small town like Bethesda when Vietnamese food is not in main demand, I was pretty impressed. I would definitely return to this place again.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Macarons

I have never tried macarons before, despite how popular and recommended they are as epitome of the french pastry. Of course there are people that are constantly on the hunt for "authentic" and "delicious" macarons. My response for such passions and interests were often indifferent. 

At first I was even confused with the difference between macarons and macaroons. They sound the same, so I assumed that they were the same thing but spelled differently in different languages. Then I realized, after googling, that they are indeed two different kind of pastries.

Common macaron flavors are vanilla, chocolate, caremel, blueberry, orange, etc, which is pretty much what I have tried from this macaron box obtained from a french influenced korean bakery. It is commonly known that food coloring is used in some of the macarons with brighter colors. I am more curious to find out the true colors of macarons before them being stained with those un-natural brighter colors. 


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Restaurant Week at Belga Cafe in Washington, D.C.

Belga Cafe is known for their German cuisine, but I think it more like New American. It is located in south east, DC, the quadrant of DC that I am not too familiar with. Apparently there are some very nice hold-in-the-wall restaurants there that are quite popular and worth scoping out.





The outdoor area was small but nice. We were able to enjoy the nice weather and fresh air of a Sunday afternoon.



The restaurant week menu serves some of their chefs' recommended dishes.



Starter: Homemade Lobster Ravioli



Starter: Le Beef Carpaccio



Main Dish: Mussels "Garlic Butter"



Main Dish: Pan-Seared Salmon



Dessert: Le Dame Blanche



Dessert: Belgain Crepes

Due to the interests of time, we were not able to give it a score of all the dishes. We all ended up in a food coma after the meal because their portions were larger than we expected.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Restaurant Week at Daikaya Izakaya, Washington, D.C.

It's restaurant week this week, so a long term friend of mine decided to go for a food critic experience. We happened to choose Daikaya Izakaya due to some special connections with the appearance of entrance.



The inside of restaurant was nicely decorated in a summer booth fashion, feels like a vacation as oppose to a restaurant. It gave me ease and relaxation.



 

The dinner course came with variety of choices in the form of a multi-course meal. This restaurant is Japanese fusion, therefore expect a lot of japanese cuisine element within the dinner. I went for a few things that I was not familiar with on the menu. Overall the food was great, good portions, and enough for people to not complain.



I went for the Onsen Egg and Grilled Avocado. 10/10



Zucchini was grilled with sauce. 5/10



Aji-Fry was not fried enough, sauce added over powering flavor to the dish. 4/10



Chicken Kara-age was crunchy and not too greasy. 7/10



Donburi of the day was a mix of seaweed, roe, and mayonnaise. 4/10



Chocolate ice cream was wonderful, just enough to get ride of all the heavy meal I just had. 8/10