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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 ~~
This past Saturday was my last Restaurant Week destination. I chose Dallas Chop House since I have never been there and their menu looked pretty good.
Dallas Chop House
1717 Main St.
Dallas TX 75201
(214) 736-7300
http://dallaschophouse.com/
Price (for RW): $$$$
I've heard different things about DCH so I was a little nervous. People I know that have been there say it's just ok. And online reviews were hit or miss on RW. I really hoped our experience would be a hit!
We all arrived a little earlier than our 7:30PM reservation. We had a party of 7. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I was already a little impressed. I loved the decor of the place. Plus they have a really nice patio/bar area. The host and hostess were really friendly and told us that we can be seated immediately even though we were early.
Our waiter welcomed us to the restaurant and presented us with a complimentary bottle of champagne! How nice! So we all toasted to a wonderful night out with friends and upcoming delicious food! :)
Deviled Egg (with caviar). This was compliments of the chef after we got the champagne. Another nice little treat. It was good. Not too rich. A nice little bite to get us started for the night.
I had 5 Central Market certificates so I gave that to the waiter. Their CM 4th course was Chicken Fried Sweet Breads (with blue cheese sauce and apple salad).
Sweet breads are actually the pancreas of the lamb or calf. Sounds icky, but it's delicious when done right. And anything battered and fried is yummy! The dish was great. It was fried nicely, the sweet breads were creamy and paired really well with the crispy shell. The blue cheese sauce was just enough, not too overpowering. And I loved the contrast of the apple salad on the side. It added so much freshness to the fried counterpart.
Then they brought out the Popovers (with honey rosemary butter).
We got 2 large plates of them. OMG! Very impressive looking on the plate. Everyone loved it. It was so airy and soft. The inside was hollow. And the honey rosemary butter added sweetness to the bread. I wish I could eat more of it, but had to save room for the next 2 courses!!
**Sorry for the lighting in the pictures. It's hard to get the right lighting without killing it with too much flash!**
We also got some cocktails during dinner.
My bf got the Featured RW Cocktail: Double Barrel Old Fashioned (DCH's herradura double barrel reposado, Texas honey, absinthe, grapefruit bitters) $12~ (left) Tequila, not my thing. haha. It was strong!
I got the Daisy Collins (Bombay Dry Gin, green Chartreuse, fresh lemon juice, tarragon) $12~ (right) I liked it. It was fresh, and just sweet enough for me. I've never had tarragon in a drink before. It wasn't overpowering, I quite liked it. :) Plus it was twice the size of my bf's drink. hehehe.
Now...to the actual meal!
Appetizers:
Tenderloin Steak Tartare (cornichons, capers, sharp mustard, aged parmesan, topped with a quail egg yolk).
I was the only one that got this. It was presented on a giant wood platter. It was a fun presentation. They had little dishes of chives, mustard and cornichons on the side that you can mix to your own taste in the tartare. The tartare was very fresh. The beef was buttery and was really good with everything mixed into it. I spread some of it on the popover too. That was pretty awesome. haha. My bf said I had the better choice of the appetizers.
Ahi Tuna Crudo (togarashi mirin chili oil, micro basil, orange segments).
Everyone else got this. It was a pretty teeny plate but considering we already had like 3 courses before this, it was ok. haha. The colors on the plate were very vibrant. The orange segments paired really well with the tuna. Everything was fresh. But yea, my tartare was better. :P
Entrees:
14 oz. Certified Angus Beef Ribeye (green onion mashers, cognac mustard sauce).
Most of us got this. Can't come to a chop house without getting a steak! I pretty much decided on this a month ago when I first saw the menu. I love ribeyes. It comes 2nd (behind prime rib) to my favorite cuts of beef. I like fattier meat so the ribeye was great with lots of marbling throughout. The steak was great...even when they cooked mine slight more medium than medium rare like I wanted. It was still tender and I loved the seasoning and sear on the outside. They also included a bulb of roasted garlic on the plate. I just scooped out the soft garlic and spread it over the steak. Everyone at the table followed suit and agreed that the garlic made it even better. The steak was also a good size. I was already getting full so I took more than half of it to go! The green onion mashers came on the side. It was ok. Pretty standard mashed potatoes. The steak definitely stole the show.
Surf 'n' Turf (petite filet and diver scallop, green onion mashers, basil garlic emulsion). The others got this. It was a pretty presentation with the green from the basil emulsion. I got to try the scallop and it was cooked perfectly.
Dessert:
Chocolate Terrine (dark chocolate mousse, creme anglaise, pistachio).
Half the table got this, including me. Can't go wrong with chocolate. It was a rich dark mousse. Very creamy and luxurious. It paired really well with the creme anglaise and the pistachios added a hint of nuttiness. I enjoyed it very much.
Strawberry Shortcake (strawberry sorbet, creme fraiche sauce). The sorbet was SUPER bright. I've never seen strawberry shortcake presented this way before. It was interesting. Didn't get to try it but my friend said it was good.
Donuts & Coffee (Henry's homemade coffee ice cream with dark chocolate sauce).
The rest of the table got this. I love Henry's ice cream, but I can go to the actual shop in Plano so I didn't feel the need to get it. hehe. The ice cream was rich and delicious as always. The donuts were dusted with cinnamon sugar and I think some nutmeg. There was definitely another spice on it and made it more interesting. The donuts could've been a little lighter but it was still good. The chocolate sauce was awesome. If I didn't already have a rich chocolate dessert, I think I would've drank the whole thing. :P I'm glad I didn't. hahaha.
It was a fantastic dinner! Great start and carried all the way through. I thoroughly enjoyed all courses plus all the complimentary items. We had a lot of fun and everyone left feeling full. :) Our waiter was great as well. He was efficient yet still had some playful banter with the table. The water glasses were continuously refilled without asking. A wonderful end to this year's restaurant week. I'd like to go back to DCH when it gets cooler to enjoy their patio!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This is quickly becoming one of our favorite places in Rockwall. Last weekend I went there twice. :)
The Life House
506 N Goliad St.
Rockwall, TX 75087
(469) 264-7962
http://www.thelifehousetx.com/
Price: $
I stopped by on Friday afternoon just to pick up some pastries. They had new items that I didn't see last time I was there so I wanted to try everything...
The Matrix (danish dough topped with mocha and caramel drizzle, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar) $4~
The way they described this to me was their version of a donut. They don't fry the dough though. The dough texture was fine but there wasn't enough drizzle to dough ratio. It looked better than it was... If they had filled the pastry with some sort of cream or custard, it would've been a game changer! :P
Strawberry Hibiscus Scone $2.50~
Last time I was there, they were out of scones, so I got to get some this time. I love scones. I like the denseness of it (which is also the reason why some people don't like it... including my bf). But it's so good with tea! I really liked this one. It wasn't overly sweet and it wasn't as dense as most scones I've had before. It's actually a little fluffy! The hibiscus gave it a hint of floral flavor which I quite liked. It wasn't enough to make it taste like soap, just enough to make the flavors more interesting. I'd totally get this again.
Caramel Cinnamon Scone $2.50~ I got this for my bf's friends that were visiting from Austin...so I didn't get to try it. I hope they liked it! :)
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie $2~ There were only 2 of these left, and they were my favorite out of the batch of stuff I got the last time. So I took both of them. Still so awesome!
Fig and Honey Empanada $2~ I didn't like this so much. I tasted goat cheese (so I'm assuming they put goat cheese in all their empanadas??) The goat cheese flavor was much stronger in this one than the Ambrosia one I got last time. Yea... wasn't for me.
So that Sunday, we went back to get some late lunch. I've been wanting to try their sandwiches for a while.
I got the Garden Melt (spinach, onions, mushrooms, garlic chevre, in a pretzel roll) $5~
The pretzel roll is what sold me. They bake all their bread in house too so it's a homemade roll. It was yummy! Slightly salty from a bit too much cheese, but there were lots of veggies and I didn't really miss the lack of meat. The pretzel roll was great too. I'd get this again, but I would request less cheese.
I also got a Roasted Almond Tea Latte. I smelled their roasted almond tea blend and it smelled really good. It was nutty and fragrant. The latte was very lightly sweetened. Even though it had milk, it wasn't heavy at all. My bf liked it even more than I did! (He ended up drinking half of it... ) :P hehehe.
He got the Zebra Latte. We didn't see the zebra stripes, but I guess they shook it up before we got it. It was pretty strong coffee!
For lunch he got the Hole in One (egg, cheese, and choice of addition) $5~ He chose chicken sausage as his free add-on and then also added mushrooms +$0.50~ And got it on wheat bread.
I really wanted to try this. It would've been my choice if I didn't get the Garden Melt. It looked so cool. The egg was so perfectly nestled in the toast and cooked well. The yolk ran out as you cut into it. The extra piece they punched out was slathered with honey. It was delicious! I kinda just want a whole piece of toast like that! It was a really good sandwich. I think next time I'll get that.
One of his friends got the Chocolate Almond Croissant $3~
And also the Claudio (chicken, grapes, walnuts) $5~ This looked pretty fresh.
The other friend got The Captain (almond bread, cheese, choice of addition) $6~ He added chicken sausage and spinach, and mushroom +$0.50 each. He also added an egg to make it a hole in one.
This wasn't what I expected at all. I thought it was going to look more like the hole in one, but it's actually more of an open faced sandwich. The almond bread was interesting. A little grainy, kind of like a drier version of polenta. Smothered with cheese, you can barely see the egg in the middle. :P It was pretty tasty. A little too salty as well since there was so much cheese.
We also got some pastries to go. They had a basket of discounted items that were $2~ each. Those were items baked the day before.
Chocolate Chip Muffins (usually $3~) We later heated this up. It was good, wasn't too sweet. I liked the dark chocolate chips in there. Was good with tea!
Vegan Brownies (usually $4~) The texture was more like a muffin or cake. It wasn't as dense or fudgey like normal brownies but I didn't mind it. It was a nice light version.
It was a yummy weekend. Everything's fresh and homemade. And I like how in a matter of 2 days, I got to try a bunch of different things. I wonder what goodies they'll have the next time I stop by? Oh yea... My bf went back just 2 days later on his own. :P hahaha.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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