Engagement Anniversary at Uchi

July 4th was our first (and last) engagement anniversary. By this time next year, we will already be married! Gotta do it big for this eh? I made a reservation for the new Uchi in Dallas. I've always wanted to go to the one in Austin but never made it.

I also heard that their happy hour is pretty good and it's for the entire restaurant, not just at the bar. I love that. Makes it easier instead of having to fight for a space. So I made our reservation for 5PM, right as they opened for dinner service. This way we can take advantage of the Sake Social (Happy Hour 5-6:30PM daily).

Uchi - Dallas
2817 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 855-5454
http://uchirestaurants.com/dallas/
Price: $$$$$+

We arrived 10 minutes before 5PM. We were the 2nd group to show up. The first couple were waiting by the front door. They haven't even opened up the restaurant yet. Within the next 5 minutes, more and more cars pulled up and in the blink of an eye, there was a long line waiting at the front door already. A waitress came by with little sushi rolls for all the people waiting in line. That was a nice little treat.

At 5PM, the doors open and we all filed in to check in with the hostess. We were immediately seated (obviously). The decor is modern and sophisticated but felt warm with the wood paneling on the walls and the tables. I really liked the decor. For our party of 2, they gave us a table for 4, so that was nice to have the extra space. I also said it was our anniversary when I made the reservation so from the hostess, to our waiter who sat us, to the waiter who took our orders, all wished us a happy anniversary. That was really thoughtful. :)

Our waiter brought us some water and gave us the rundown of how things operated. Their dishes are more tapas style... smaller plates, meant for sharing. And we can order as we go but just not order one dish at a time since that tends to slow down the kitchen. Makes sense. So we decided to do it in rounds.

I had a big list of things to try. hehe. So we started with the Sake Social menu. The portions are smaller but they are from the regular menu so you can try it before paying the full price.

ROUND 1:
Koshu Hot Sake $3~ I don't like sake, but I drank a small cup. For $3, it was a really good amount. Their sake bottle is bigger than some other Japanese restaurants.

Machi Cure (smoked baby yellowtail, yucca crisp, marcona almond) $6~ 

This was different than what I expected. But good. It was like a yellowtail nacho. But with yucca. The yucca was sliced super thin and fried. The yellowtail was super fresh. I liked all the elements together in one bite. There was about 4 yucca pieces in this dish. Small portions for sure!

Yokai Berry (salmon, dinosaur kale, asian pear, blueberry, yuzu) $6~ 

 

I was interested about this one. When everything's eaten in one bite, it's pretty good, but on their own, it's quite underwhelming. The salmon is super fresh which was great. But eh, I was bored. I didn't get much flavor from it all.

Walu Walu (oak grilled escolar, candied citrus, yuzupon, myoga) $8~ 

This seemed to be a popular dish from all the people that have already been to Uchi. I wasn't nearly as impressed with it. The fish was cooked ok. Could've been more tender. I loved the candied citrus on top though, an interesting flavor combination. The yuzupon sauce on the bottom, however, was way too sour for me. If it hadn't been for the candied citrus, it was way too acidic. My fiance liked it better than I did.

Bacon Otoshi (pork belly, kimchi, onion, jalapeno) $6~ 

 

Yum! Thick chunks of pork belly. And I loved the texture with the thin rice chips or whatever it was. The Korean flavors definitely came through on this one. Bold. A mixture of tangy and salty and spicy. I liked it a lot.

Brussels Sprouts (crispy brussels sprouts, lemon chili) $7~ 

This was the only item in round 1 that's not on the happy hour menu. But it's brussels sprouts, so we must get it. Plus I heard great things about it. The waiter also said it's the best.. and he doesn't even like brussels sprouts! Well that just totally hyped it up. And of course, it didn't meet my expectations. It was really delicious, don't get me wrong. But I've had my fair share of brussels sprouts and this is not the best. haha. It definitely had a great char on it. But flavors weren't mind blowing. One of the best ones we've had is still the late Village Kitchen in Highland Park Village that closed down mid 2014. :( Sadness. I miss it.

We're ready for Round 2! Since the portions from the first round was small, we went all out for the next one... looking back... probably not the best idea, since these are now all from the regular menu. haha.

ROUND 2:
Kabocha Tempura (japanese pumpkin) 2pcs. $2.50~ 

Expensive for 2 pieces of tempura, but really yum! It made my top 5 list for the night. The kabocha was perfectly tender, the tempura was light and crispy, and the seasoning was spot on. Reminded me of something I had in Japan.

Karaage (fried marinated chicken, sweet chili, fish caramel, seasonal pickle) $10~ 

 

This was highly recommended by the waiter. We were skeptical... he said they won some award with this recipe or something. But why not? It was sooo yummy! The chicken was sooo juicy. Fried really well and that sauce was delicious. Korean flavors... tangy and a little sweet and spicy. It's in my top 5 as well. I didn't care for the pickles though. My fiance ate all of them.

Nabe (duck, mushroom, chili) $24~ 

 

I heard really good things about this dish so I wanted to try it. It comes in a clay dish and so the rice gets crispy. Love that! The dish was served with the egg yolk on top. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture before the waitress mixed it up for us. Then she told us to let it sit for 5 minutes or so to get the rice crisp up. It smelled really good. So... I don't think 5 minutes is enough for the rice to crisp so we left it in longer after I tried a bite. Everything was good except there's a really sour taste in there. I thought it was the sauce she poured in before she mixed everything so I just continued eating. Later, my fiance realized that a certain mushroom in there... the one that looks like a giant enoki mushroom, was the culprit. I tried one... yes! OMG it was so sour. Not sure if that's how they marinated it, or it was bad...? But I picked all of them out and then the dish was great. At first it was a little underwhelming, but with each bite, the more and more I liked it. So at the end, it still made my top 5... MINUS the super sour mushrooms!

Oh... during the meal, they came and gave us some scallops, compliments of the kitchen. Yay! The scallops were cooked to perfection. So tender. I loved the combo with the sauce and mini potato chips.  

Roasted Beets (skyr yogurt, bitter greens, local honey) $8~ 

Super fun and colorful dish. The beets are prepped 3 ways. I don't remember it all, but one was "brioche", which I thought I misheard. But it was basically like a beet crouton. Crunchy and crumbly. Wasn't my favorite. The other 2 preps were fantastic though. There was one that just kind of melted in your mouth. Top 5. Yup!

Foie Nigiri (seared foie gras) $9.50~ per piece. 

This was the last thing we ordered. We were hesitant to since it's $10 a piece. A PIECE!!! Whoa. But I've heard rave reviews and neither of us had ever had a really good piece of foie. I've mostly had it as a mousse and never saw the hype behind it all. Plus it was our anniversary. Go big right? So we each got one. The waitress said usually nigiri is inserted right side up when you eat it. But for this, we should turn it upside down so the foie touches our tongue first. It's a little tricky... the rice started falling apart when we did that. So I chucked it into my mouth. I immediately put my hand to my mouth because it was SO GLORIOUS!!! OMG. THIS IS SO GOOD. WHY HAVEN'T I EVER HAD FOIE GRAS LIKE THIS BEFORE?!?! I had this giant grin on my face... and I almost teared up. SERIOUSLY... one of the best bites of my life, to date. I never knew foie gras could be that good. I'm a believer now! It was just so perfectly buttery, literally melted in your mouth. And the combination with the rice texture was PERFECTION. And that sear?? WOW! Get it, just do it, you'll thank me after. Best thing ever, definitely was my number 1.

We were pretty stuffed by now. The rice and chicken sure filled us up. So we were thinking we were only going to try 1 dessert. However, we were curious about another and the waiter basically talked us into trying it as well. :P

Fried Milk (chocolate milk, toasted milk, iced milk sherbert) $9~ 

We knew we wanted this one. Quite interesting... especially the iced milk sherbert, it was so light! But you can still taste the milk. My favorite was the milk chocolate mousse/bar thing on the bottom. So freaking silky. And I liked the texture from the corn flake bits or whatever it was. The fried milk is on the left side, and it's actually like a custard (and you can see the vanilla bean specks in it) and the dough on the outside. That was my fiance's favorite part but for me, I could've done without it. The chocolate bar was my fav.

Lime Cream (puffed rice, seasonal fruit, herbs) $9~ 

 

The waiter said the cream on the bottom is standard but the fruit/flavors on top change frequently, which is kinda cool. So you can try different variations all the time. The seasonal fruit was watermelon. So they had these Dippin Dots type frozen watermelon balls. There's also compressed watermelon in salt. It was such a cool looking dish. It's like a terrarium! Almost not sure if we wanted to eat it or grow it. haha. But uber interesting!!! So many textures and flavors. I particularly liked the puffed rice that was on the bottom. Added that crunch and the compressed watermelon added a savoriness. I've never had anything like this before. Be adventurous and try this at least once. I can guarantee 100% that it won't taste like anything you THINK it might taste like. It made my honorary top 5 for the night.

It was a great meal. I was a little surprised by how I felt overall. I had the expectation that everything was going to be just absolutely amazing. And while everything was fresh and cooked well, I wasn't super excited by most of it. The foie gras was the only thing that was MIND BLOWING. So I'm not sure if I will return. If anything I'll just order 5 pieces of foie gras nigiri and call it a day. hahaha. :P And also, all of my top 5 dishes are non-seafood. I had the perception that since this is Japanese, then sushi would be at the forefront. But honestly, most of the beginning fish dishes were not very memorable, albeit tasty. The service was great. I particularly like one waitress (we had several serve us), because she would explain the dish but also tell us why SHE likes it, I thought that was a nice personal touch. All in all, the bill came out to be around $150 after tax and tip. Wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I think going for the social hour helped a lot. And we were stuffed!

I still remember the flavors and my reaction when I put the foie gras in my mouth. I think I'll go back just to have it again. haha. If I was just rating this one dish... it would be a 10 out of 5 cookies. :P

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Victor Tangos

The birthday celebration continues! This past Saturday was my bf's bday dinner with his friends. I suggested Victor Tangos because from my experience in the past, they have an interesting menu and a pretty good bar. Also, they take reservations for large parties!

Victor Tangos
3001 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 252-8595
www.victortangos.com
Price: $$-$$$

FYI. Parking on Henderson is pretty much nonexistent. But they offer complimentary valet. Trust me, just do the valet. haha.

We had a party of 17 people for 7PM. Most of us arrived early and they were able to seat us earlier. When arrived, there wasn't that many other people in the restaurant. I specifically made an earlier reservation because I knew VT gets super packed. And I was right. By 7:30 the entire bar was full and the dining room was getting there. And I was surprised for a restaurant that's not that big, there were 4+ groups of more than 12 people. One group had almost 30? The place gets pretty "energetic" so it's a little hard to hear when talking across the table. But I think it's the vibe at VT that draws a lot of people in.

Some people already got drinks at the bar. After we sat down, the waitress came by for more drink orders.

(Sorry for the grainy pictures... it was really low lighting in there.)

My bf got the Pepper Smash (gin, red bell pepper, local mint, lemon, clover honey) $10~ It was quite good! Sweet, so both of us liked it. You can taste the bell pepper but it just added a fresh sweetness to it. He really liked it.

I got the Passionfruit Gimlet (vodka, fresh thyme, passion fruit, freshly squeezed lime juice, extracted pineapple) $10~ I asked them to use gin instead of vodka. It was also really good. Definitely sweet enough for me but still strong. I enjoyed it very much. But it was time we got some food in our stomachs. haha.

We later got the Peach Blossom (gin, white peaches, Japanese basil, lemon, honey) $10~ (was too busy eating so I didn't take a picture, sorry. haha) But this was my favorite out of the 3 cocktails. Peachy and refreshing. Yum.

As we were looking through the menu, I noticed there were many changes from their online menu. I hate it when that happens! Cuz usually the dish that I want is the one that's not available anymore.. Same case this time. I wanted a pork belly dish that was no longer there... Same for one of the desserts. :( So it took me awhile to finally make up my mind. Most things sounded ok, but nothing really stood out.

Ahi Tuna Nachos $15~ 

 

Multiple people ordered this. My bf got one too. The dishes at VT are kind of made for sharing but I wouldn't say it's tapas style or anything. The nachos were good. Crispy chips with fresh bits of tuna. I really liked the chili cream sauce and the jalapenos on top. You know I like my spicy! Seemed to be a popular dish all around. I thought it was good, but I've had better.

I ordered the Summer Vegetable "Fried" Rice (green curry, poached egg) $11~ 

The waitress told me the rice was puffed rice. It sounded so interesting! It was delicious. The presentation was nice. The contrasting colors between the white puffed rice and green curry. She instructed me to mix it all together then eat. So I broke the perfectly poached egg and mixed it all up. 

Really enjoyed it. Although the puffed rice got soft pretty quickly, the first few bites where it was still crunchy was fantastic. Lots of textures and flavors and wasn't too heavy.

I also got the Roasted Mushrooms (leeks, black garlic and pea greens) $12~ 

 

I didn't mean to get 2 vegetable dishes, just happened that way. But I loved both of them. This was my favorite of the night. Different types of mushrooms gave it different textures. The black garlic sealed the deal. It had such bold flavors. I even scraped up the bits of garlic and sauce and ate it with the fried rice. Mmmmmm! So good. I wish the portion size was bigger!

Here are things other people ordered...

Jar of Pickled Baby Vegetables $4~ The sourness hits you like a truck, but then slightly mellows out. Had some sweetness to it. Not my thing, but I'm not a huge fan of sour stuff in general.

Mini Crispy Carnitas Tacos $10~ 

Also a popular item at our table. And probably the most bang for your buck! It was massive. Our friends said there was like 6 tacos or something, all loaded to the brim. And they said it had lots of flavor. I think at VT you take a chance with the portion size, some things are quite filling, and some are not. But they all taste good.


Tempura Asparagus with Olive Aioli $10~ Didn't get to try but looked good.

Sweet Tea Marinated Short Ribs (with Spring garlic and cucumber salad) $24~ 

Loved the presentation on the wood platter. The bright vegetables peeking out from the charred meat. It was tasty. You can't taste the sweet tea marinade though.

Whole Market Fish (crushed lemony potatoes, crispy capers, pimenton aioli). 

This was an impressive dish. Also served on a wood platter for some added drama. hehe. It was a big piece of fish! I think I overheard someone saying it was a branzino. Normally the whole branzinos I've seen in other places are 2/3rds of this size. The fish was cooked well and had lots of flavor. Only downside.. a lot of bones. But that can also make it a fun challenge to eat! hehe.

Green Bean Panzanella (avocado green goddess, smoked trout roe) $11~ 

Pretty dish, quite small. I got to try part of the egg topped with the trout roe with the green beans. Very good. All the elements worked together well. My friend said that if you don't eat all the elements together though, it didn't really work.

Warm Sticky Toffee Cake (with mascarpone cream) $9~ 

 

I ordered this when I ordered the entrees and asked them to bring it out later with a candle. Holy crap! This thing is massive! I saw pictures online and knew it was big but it was at least another 30% bigger than I imagined. It was literally the size of my face! (And believe me... I got a pretty big face. hahaha.) The cake was warm and the mascarpone cream was essential to it. The bites without the cream was a bit dry. But overall a good dessert. Doesn't compare to the whiskey cake at Whiskey Cake in Plano, but was still a success with the group. We passed it around and everyone was able to take a big bite or more!

It was a good dinner. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Some people did say they were still hungry though since some of the portions were smaller. But overall everyone said the food was tasty. The service was good too. The waitress had no problems dealing with the big group. The food came quickly and she was always around when we needed something. The water glasses were always filled. And the checks were split with no issues.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion

We went to Roy's again last Friday. Love that place! The main purpose was because my bf wanted to try their limited time Winter Trio. (And luck would have it, I happen to get a $20 off coupon in email! It was meant to be. haha) I had emailed the restaurant a couple weeks ago to see how long it's around for and they told me April 6th, so I made a reservation for 3/28. However, the day before our reservation, I came across an article saying that the dish is only through 3/23. Wait, what? So I called the restaurant to check. Apparently the lady I had first communicated with from corporate had sent the restaurant a message saying to have this for us when we went. How awesome is that? We definitely felt super special! :) Roy's has always had amazing service and I was completely impressed with this.

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion
2840 Dallas Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(972) 473-6263
http://www.roysrestaurant.com/locations/tx/plano.asp
Price: $$$-$$$$

We arrived for our 7:30PM reservation and was immediately seated. I immediately noticed that they had changed the entire look of their menu. It's thinner and more sleek looking now. And they've just updated to their spring prix fixe last week.

We got some waters and their spiced edamame and ordered a couple of cocktails. We really like their low calorie Coconut Frappe and Mai Tai Ultra.

We started with the Lakanilau Roll (Wagyu beef, snow crab, asparagus, avocado, sesame miso, truffled greens) $16.95~? 

I recently saw this posted on their facebook page and it just sounded amazing. A tad pricey for a roll but it was sooo worth it. The quality of ingredients were great. I could definitely get the hint of truffle which paired really well with the wagyu beef. Wagyu literally means "Japanese cow", they are well fed and have a high amount of marbling. In Japan, wagyu can be synonymous with Kobe. The beef was sliced thin on top, really tender, and the asparagus had a nice crunch to add texture. I normally like to dip sushi in a thick wasabi paste (meaning I put a bit of soy sauce with my mound of wasabi, haha) but the sesame miso was yummy on its own and I only used minimal wasabi. We both loved it.

My bf obviously got his Winter Trio (Hoisin-Glazed Duck, grilled Kalbi Beef Short Rib, Singapore-Style Crab Cake; served with Asian vegetables and noodles) $26.95~ 

I'd say the duck was my favorite. The beef short rib was his. He really enjoyed the dish, I thought it was just ok. I've had much better other stuff at Roy's. It was just a bit sweet overall. Everything was cooked well and tender. But the crab cake was too salty. It did taste better when we ate it together with the duck. The noodles were a tad overcooked, and I'm a stickler for soft noodles.

I came in with the mindset to try new things this time, since I normally get the butterfish. I decided on the Dynamite Baked Hawaiian Swordfish (bok choy tempura, oshizushi rice, dragon sauce) $26.95~ 

I think I've only had swordfish one other time in my life so I wanted to try it again. I know that swordfish is a denser fish and it was... it was more like a steak. haha. I loved this dish. It was on the heavy side with the dynamite sauce on the fish, the cream sauce, and the tempura but oh sooooo good. If you've ever had a volcano roll, it was like they took that sauce, covered the fish, and baked it. Deeeeelicious. The rice was seasoned and had a slight tang to it like sushi rice. It paired sooo well with the sauce. The dragon sauce is basically a Korean chili sauce, not really spicy and had some sweetness to it. And I've never had tempura bok choy before. It was nicely fried and added another texture to the dish. I liked my dish way better than my bf's. :P I scraped my plate clean! Had to get all that yummy sauce.

For dessert, my bf assumed we were getting the chocolate souffle cake, but guess again! Trying new things, remember? The waitress mentioned the Lemon & Ginger Creme Brulee (topped with berries), and it sounded really good. 

I don't normally prefer creme brulee but the lemon and ginger combo sounded refreshing. And it was! The flavors made it seem lighter than normal creme brulees and it was a great finish to our meal since we were both pretty full.

Once again, we had a great time at Roy's. I got to try a bunch of new things. :) Our waitress was all smiles and did a great job. I'm sure we'll be back again in no time.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~