East Side King - at The Liberty

This was my first Christmas with my bf and I was invited to join him and his family at a lake house in Canyon Lake (an hour south of Austin). We had a ton of fun and food! I'm very glad and grateful that I spent the holidays with such a great group of people. :)

On Christmas Eve Eve, we went into Austin with his 2 sisters and brother in law. We had dinner reservations at Qui, Top Chef Winner Paul Qui's new restaurant. Our reservation wasn't until 8:30PM so we wandered around Austin and decided to get some snacks before dinner. My bf's brother in law recommended this bar called The Liberty. But more importantly, they had the food trailer, East Side King, in the back. I had heard of ESK and even bookmarked it on yelp, but I didn't know there were multiple types of cuisine from each trailer. This location was just a few yards down the street from the restaurant.

East Side King - at The Liberty
1618 1/2 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 422-5884
www.eskaustin.com
Price: $

This one was the Asian fusion trailer. I also learned that it was a collaboration between Paul Qui and another guy. So we're going double Qui today! :P It was pretty cold outside but we were able to order and wait for our food inside the bar. I wanted to try everything on the menu, but gotta leave some room for dinner!

Poor Qui's Buns (2pcs. - Roasted pork belly in steamed bun, Hoisin sauce, cucumber kimchee, green onion) $7~ 

 

I can't resist pork belly. And I thought the name was so smart and playful. "Qui" is pronounced "key", so the name actually sounds like "Porky's buns. Teehee. :P The pork belly was totally tender and the buns were soft and steamed properly. Nommy!

Beet Home Fries (deep-fried roasted beets, Kewpie mayo, Shichimi togarashi, green onion) $7~ 

I've only had roasted beets one other time and it was pretty bland. This was the complete opposite! Fried to perfection, the outside was crisp and the inside tender. It had lots of flavor and paired so well with the mayo dip. I think this was my bf's favorite. It changed his life. hahaha.

Brussels Sprout Salad (fried Brussels sprouts, sweet and spicy sauce, shredded cabbage, basil, cilantro, mint, onion, jalapeno, deep-fried bun) $7~ 

I also lurrrrrv brussels sprouts, and these came highly recommended. It was fantastic. The sprouts with the fragrant herbs contrasted by the sweet and spicy sauce. Flavor explosion! I wished there was more brussels sprouts to herb ration though. I feel like there was some fish sauce in there, which added more complexity. The deep fried bun on top was great too. Lots of textures and flavors.

Chicken Buns (2pcs. - deep-fried chicken thigh in steamed buns, Thai flavored spicy mayo, basil, cilantro, mint, onion, jalapeno) $6~ 

This was delicious. I think it actually beat out the pork belly buns for me. The kicker... the Thai spicy mayo. That stuff was amazing!!

Everything was fantastic, but the restaurant actually texted me that they have a table for us earlier. We had checked in earlier so they said they would let us know if anything opened up. So we got in 30 minutes before our reservation! But that also means we scarfed down our snacks like a pack of hungry wolves. haha. Still tasty. I'd definitely go back next time in Austin. I still have 2/3rds of the menu to try!!! Great recommendation!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Royal China

Last Friday I had dinner with a group of my friends. I suggested going to Royal China since I've heard so much about their noodles and dumplings and it seems so popular. Yet I've never been!

Royal China
6025 Royal Lane #201
Dallas, TX 75230
(214) 361-1771
http://www.royalchinadallas.com/
Price: $$-$$$

Good thing I was able to get a reservation for our party of 9 because when we arrived at 7pm, the place was insane! Super crowded, all people waiting for a table. There wasn't even enough room to stand around in the front of the restaurant! And I got worried b/c half my party was stuck in traffic. I was afraid they would give our table away, but we were seated after about 20 minutes. Whew! I'm soooo glad I called ahead!

They have a dumpling bar here which is pretty cool. You can see them hand making the dumpling wrappers and pulling the noodles. This made me have higher hopes for this place since I'd say at least 75% of the clientele is non-Asians. haha.

We finally ordered. I chose to share with some people while others ordered their own thing. We mostly stuck to dumplings and noodle dishes since that's what they're known for.

All their dumplings are..
"Handmade from the dumpling bar. Steamed or pan seared in freshly hand rolled wrappers. Made with wheat flour and fresh vegetable juice extract for colors and nutrients."

Dumpling Sampler (2 each of pork, chicken, shrimp, and vegetable dumplings) $10~ These are the flavors:
Pork (with chives and napa cabbage)
Chicken (basil, jicama, mushroom)
Shrimp (shiitake mushrooms, jicama, ginger)
Vegetable (mixed vegetables, vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms)

This was a gorgeous dish. The vibrant colors and uniformity of the dumplings was impressive. However, it is only good to look at. The dough itself was a little too thick and quite chewy. I'd say if I had to choose, the chicken was my favorite one. But even then, the flavors were just meh. The shrimp had a fishiness to it... didn't seem that fresh. My friend did not like the vegetable one at all so I didn't even bother to try it. haha. Gotta save those calories for other stuff! So... it was disappointing. At least it makes for a great picture! :P

Xiao-Long Bao (steamed soup pork dumplings) 6 pieces per order $8.50~ 

These were better than the other dumplings but still same complaint. The wrapper was too thick and chewy. It did have a good amount of soup inside though. And the flavor was decent. JengChi is wayy better in my opinion. Better dough and cheaper! You get 8 pieces for under $7 at JengChi! :)


One friend got the Pan Seared Pork Dumplings (6 per order) $7.50~ Again, looks great, but he said it was meh. He also said the potstickers at JengChi totally kicks this one's ass. haha.

Pork Belly Gwa-Bao (slow braised tender pork belly in clam shell bun with scallions and pickled sweet and sour vegetables) 2 per order $9~ 

Gwa Bao is essentially a steamed bun with stuff in the middle. $9 for 2 pieces?!?! That's a little ridiculous. At least they were pretty big. The pork belly was tender and I liked that a lot. But the buns were hard. Meaning they were set out too long after they were steamed and they hardened up. Bleh. I took 2 bites and didn't want anymore.

Scallion Pancake (thin, crispy wheat pancake seasoned with salt and chopped scallions) $5~

This was one of my favorites of the night. It was nice and crispy. And seemed cheap compared to everything else we got. However, for this price, you can get TWO orders of green onion pancakes at JengChi and theirs is pretty delicious.

The other thing Royal China is known for are their hand pulled noodles (lamian). I LOVE hand pulled noodles so I was excited to try it... They have 2 kinds of lamian:

"Lanzhou: one of the cities on the Silk Road, NW of China. Famous for its hand pulled noodles. Lanzhou Lamian are thin and round noodles."

Lanzhou Dan-Dan Lamian (spicy, sweet and sour with tany Sichuan peppercorn) $10~ 

I ordered this. It was served cold and topped with crushed peanuts. It's supposed to be SPICY! It was not. Mostly just sweet... Needed more sour too. :/ Eh... if I didn't think of it as dan-dan noodles, it was actually ok. The cold temp made it quite refreshing. It needed some sort of meat though.

Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup (clear beef broth with slices of braised beef shank, topped with cilantro, daikon and green onion) $14~ 

A friend ordered this. It was a massive bowl. But for $14, it better be!! Actually, all the noodles were pretty big. I liked the noodles in this one better than dan-dan since it was thicker. Both had good texture though. So at least the hand pulling and cooking technique was done well. The broth was kinda bland. I usually prefer spicy beef noodle soup anyways.

"Henan: located South of Yellow River, in Eastern Central China. The noodles are stretched, pulled and torn from one piece of dough into strands of wide and flat noodles."

Henan Lu-Rou Lamian (slow braised meat sauce with pork belly, five spices, mushrooms, and soy sauce) $13~ 

This was probably my favorite noodle dish. The noodles were much wider and had great texture. It was chewy, which I like. And there was lots of meat in it. Mmmmm fatty pork! It definitely needed some heat, but overall I liked this one a lot.

Happy Family (Shrimp, scallops, beef, chicken sauteed with mixed vegetables in a brown sauce) $17~ 

This was the only entree we ordered in our group. So expensive for what... stirfry?!?! Geez! It was basically Americanized Chinese stirfry in "brown sauce". I think I prefer to go to Panda Express for that. For $17 I can get a meal for 2 people! At least the ingredients seemed pretty fresh. But totally not worth it!

Overall I was really disappointed. The good thing is that the noodle textures were legit. The bad thing is, all the flavors and other dishes were lacking. And oh yea, it's freaking expensive for what you're getting. The service was meh as well. I think they're overwhelmed with the amount of people (although you'd think they'd be prepared by now..) And it took a long time to wait for some of the dishes.

I definitely recommend skipping the crowds here and go to JengChi for cheaper and better food. But if you really really wanna go... make sure you reserve in advance. I probably won't be going back. There's way more better places to eat around town.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Taipei 2013: Part V - Restaurants

 This is my final post for Taiwan. Get ready for a butt load of pictures!!! (I really shouldn't be writing this right before lunch.. me so hungry!): 

Yi Yuan Dim Sum - at The Sherwood Hotel
My dad's friends treated us to this fancy dim sum lunch. We ordered the dishes from a menu and they served it to us course by course. Not the typical dim sum carts that comes around. Apparently The Sherwood Hotel is a really nice and famous hotel in Taipei... The food wasn't spectacular but were very delicate and pretty. The service really is fantastic. 

- Lettuce with Meat Sauce

- Seafood Pancake 

- Congee Station 

- Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings with Abalone 

- Steamed Pork Dumplings with Truffle 

- Steamed Fish Rice Rolls 

- Steamed Shrimp Dumplings 

- Steamed Pea Shoots Dumplings 

- Steamed Chinese Chive with Shrimp Dumplings

- Pan Fried Cantonese Turnip Cakes

- Golden Fried Butter Cream Buns 

- Honey Ham with Bread 

- Steamed Taro Cakes 

- Steamed Bean Curd with Scallops 

- Deep Fried Bean Curd Rolls with Shrimp 

- Stir-Fried Cantonese Turnip Cakes with X.O.Sauce 

- Clams with Black Bean Sauce 

- Baked Cabbage with Cream 

- Soup with Dried Scallops Dumpling 

- Assorted Desserts (Blueberry Panna Cotta, Egg Tart, Pineapple Cake) 

Su Hung Restaurant (and Afternoon Tea)
We had lunch here then moved to their downstairs room for afternoon tea immediately after! haha. My dad likes to eat just as much as I do! :P 
- Snow Pea Leaves NT$180~ 

- Lettuce Wraps NT$330~ Soooo good! 

- Veggie & Shrimp Dumplings NT$140~ 

 

- Xiao Long Bao NT$90~

- Dong Puo (Stewed Fatty Pork) NT$360~ 
- with Steamed Buns NT$20~ per piece (x5) Melty fatty pork... Mmmmmmm... droool....

- Veggie Dumplings NT$90~ 

- Red Bean and Sesame Mochi Cakes NT$90~ 

Afternoon Tea (all items half price)
- Green Onion Pancake NT$45~ 

- Mustard Greens and Pork Noodle Soup NT$160~ 

- Honey Pancake NT$30~ 

- MaLa Cake NT$40~ 

- Red Bean Snowflake Cake NT$40~ The "snowflake" turned out to be coconut flakes. Bleh. 

Shin Yeh - Afternoon Tea 
NT$500~ per person 
My parents took me here for my early birthday celebration. It was one of the most epic meals ever!!! Amazing buffet. Lots of food choices including a sashimi bar, where they freshly slice sashimi to order!!! O.O LOVE! 

Crystal Spoon - Thai Food (inside Sogo - 10th Floor). 
Hanging out with my cousins. I didn't really eat because I just came from Shin Yeh afternoon tea. haha. But what little I had was ok. Not the greatest Thai food. 

Until next year... maybe... 
Sigh~~

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~