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I had lunch with several friends about a month ago, they chose to go to Kimchi, a fairly new place in the H-mart area in Carrollton. I've heard it's good and have been wanting to try. The place is not very big, but super cute, light colored wood tables and chairs. The decor reminded me of being in Korea, very quaint.
Kimchi Stylish Korean Kitchen
2625 Old Denton Rd. #320
Carrollton, TX 75007
(972) 242-9242
http://kimchi-kitchen.com/
Price: $$
Maekombap (kimchi's spicy tomato sauce, julienne green onion, cheese, and choice of meat; with side of pickled radish) $8.95~
I wasn't sure what this is but it was indicated as spicy so I thought I'd give it a try. The waitress described it as a spicy fried rice. I chose beef as the meat. It was delicious. I was hesitant about the cheese at first but you really can't taste it. It mostly added a creaminess to the fried rice. It wasn't really spicy at all but the tomato sauce had a nice flavor. I've never had anything like this in Korean cuisine before! I loved the green onions on top for crunch and freshness. Plus it added a nice splash of color. The beef was seared nicely and went really well with the rice. The portion was pretty big too. I took half of it to go and had it for lunch the next day. :) I would totally get this again.
Side Salad (mixed greens; picture seen above) $2.95~? Since the fried rice didn't have much veggies in it, I got a salad. It wasn't on the menu but the waitress said they had it. I think it was only $3... and it was in a fairly big bowl. I really liked the dressing, I think it was ginger vinaigrette.
Bulgogi Bokkeumbap (bulgogi fried rice; with side salad and kimchi) $7.75~ Two friends got this. It's probably the best bang for your buck. Comes with the fried rice, salad, and kimchi. And the plate was nicely presented. It was yummy.
Small Cool Smoked Beef (certified USDA choice beef, julienne green onion, salad, kimchi's mustard sauce) $6.95~ One friend also got this. It was very pretty and impressive looking. The beef was sliced thinly and definitely full of smoky flavor. If you want something lighter, this is a good choice.
Grilled Pork Belly (with three dips: sesame sauce, kimchi's mustard, doen-ma, julienne green onion salad; served with rice and kimchi) $12.95~
Two other friends got this. I so wanted to as well since I lurrrrv pork belly. But I'm trying to eat less fatty meats cuz my cholesterol's gone up! Getting old... :( The meat was grilled well. It was chewy yet tender, how pork belly should be. The sauces were all good. Koreans definitely know how to cook their meats!
The prices seemed a little high when I first got there, but seeing the quality and portions, I'd say it's pretty decent. I would definitely go there again. :)
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I'm so sorry I haven't been posting lately. But as of tomorrow night, I will be done with school FOREVER!! Yes... after 8 long years of part-time school, I will be graduating! Woohoo! Needless to say, this last quarter has been very stressful.
I'm gonna try and get all caught up. I've got several places I need to write about!
Of course I did Dallas Restaurant Week this year. I posted about Hibiscus earlier and our second location was III Forks. I've been there twice back in 2012. I was sad to hear that my favorite waiter was no longer there. :(
As most of you know. Restaurant Week runs for anywhere from a week to 3 weeks in Dallas, depending on the restaurant. It's either $35 or $45 a person and partial proceeds go to the the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home. III Forks was still $35 a person, and from what I remember, they give quite a bit of food!
III Forks
17776 Dallas Pkwy.
Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 267-1776
http://www.3forks.com/
Price (RW): $$$$
We had a pretty big group of 12 people and an early reservation at 6:15PM. I was surprised that the restaurant was already packed by the time we arrived! And if you've been to III Forks, you know the place is huge! We waited at the bar for a bit for everyone to arrive and for them to prep our table. This time we were sat "outside". It seemed like we were outside but it was covered and there was A/C, thank goodness. haha.
The waiter came by and took our drink orders and I gave him the Central Market 4th Course certificates. We had enough for everyone. Yay! (Some restaurants offer a 4th course which you can get free if you get these certificates. However, you have to spend $25 at Central Market to get one.)
Lobster & Lump Crab Shooters.
These were interesting, I'm not sure if it's in a good way. I wasn't too impressed with them. No one could really figure out which was the lobster and which was the crab. Even though one of them had a chunk of the meat in the shooter. We think thats the crab...? The one on the right was cold, which caught me off guard. Almost like a cold tomato soup, maybe gazpacho? But no chunks of lobster or crab in that one. The other was warm. I'm not sure which one I liked better. Both were meh. Can't compete with the awesome lobster shooters at Abacus that's for sure. I dipped some bread into the soups and that was better.
First Course
III Forks Salad (green apple slices, Wisconsin blue cheese, toasted pecans and field greens with housemade vinaigrette) Pretty standard salad. Although they kinda went blue cheese happy with it. Great if you like blue cheese a lot. haha.
Heirloom Tomato Salad (UglyRipe beefsteak tomatoes, pickled onions and Bosque blue cheese) I was told this was good. I didn't get to try.
Crawfish Bisque (a rich Southern Louisiana specialty with simmered crawfish, tomatoes, cream and cognac).
I knew I wanted to get this when I first saw the menu a month prior. I loveee bisque and crawfish too! It was a pretty big bowl with quite a bit of crawfish in it. However, by the time it came out, it wasn't that hot anymore, you can see the film over the top. I didn't care for this soup either. The crawfish was too fishy... And the bisque flavor needed something, either another spice or some type of crunch maybe? I didn't finish it... Hmm... maybe this is why the past two times I came here I ordered off the regular menu?
Entrees
Aged Midwestern Beef Filet Mignon (with Colbert butter and Worcestershire demi-glace). This was highly recommended by the waiter. And his recommendation was valid. The steak was cooked well and super tender.
Georges Bank Flounder (pan seared with blood oranges and fennel pollen, with basil-hazelnut pearl couscous).
I opted for the fish. I've had their seafood before and I know it's good. I liked it over the filet. The portion was huge! The fish was flaky and buttery. I loved the sauce. And pearl couscous is probably my favorite type of couscous. And as always, their creamed corn is pretty awesome. I enjoyed my plate a lot!
USDA Prime Hanging Tender Steak (four pepper crusted, with brandy cream reduction and caramelized cipollini onions). I didn't get to try this one but from the description it sounded tasty. I heard it wasn't as good as the filet though.
I was pretty full by now. I finished my entire entree! The dessert was chef's selection so we didn't really know what we're getting. There were 2 options when we ordered and we didn't get much of a description for each.
I got the chocolate cake.
I think it was the better choice. I loved the thick ganache layer on the top and side. It was super chocolatey and rich. The cake itself was a tad dry though. And this is nothing compared to their regular dessert menu which is amazing.
Summer Bread Pudding (cold bread pudding with berries).
When I found out this was cold, I knew I didn't want to order it. It was strange. Bread pudding shouldn't be cold. I think if they had called it Berry Trifle or something, we would've accepted it better. haha. Someone commented that it would've been better if it was just the berries and cream. The bread part made it weird.
For the most part, everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. I was disappointed. I know for sure now I will order from the regular menu, especially for dessert. It's like night and day! The waiter(s) were nice but service was slow. We were there for almost 3 hours and some of the food came out warm instead of hot. Oh well, at least I really enjoyed my entree and got to spend time with some great people. So that ends my Dallas RW for this year. Until next time... I hope they add some new places next year!!
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I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately but I'm at my last quarter of school (before graduation!!) and it's totally kicking my butt! But I can't skip Dallas Restaurant Week! (Benefiting the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home.) This year I'm only doing 2. Partially to save money and I have no time, but also the list was quite uninspiring honestly... I've been to most of the places on the list already. I really wish they would add more new places.
Restaurant week is well underway, and my first stop is Hibiscus. They only participate for the first week so you have to book fast. I went for the first time in 2012 and had a good time, so I thought I'd take a different group there this time.
Hibiscus
2927 N. Henderson Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75206
(214) 827-2927
http://www.hibiscusdallas.com/
Price: RW $35/person (not including tax+tip)
If you've been to Hibiscus or it's surrounding restaurants, you know that there's absolutely zero self parking whatsoever... Unless you want to be circling an area with terrible traffic and walk several blocks to your destination. It was raining Saturday (last time I went it was raining too.. is that a sign? haha) And I'm assuming it's because of the storm, the lights at the Henderson/75 intersection were all flashing red. Everything was backed up, and the valet to Hibiscus is probably one of the worst locations ever since it's right on the corner of the intersection. Business was crazy, as usual, and the valet was backed up too. We waited in the car, in line for a good 15-20 minutes, causing us and half the group to be late. The valet guys were trying their best. I felt bad for them...
Finally we made it in. There were a lot of people waiting in the front bar area. Our group was seated after we got there. I think they wanted the entire party there, but I told them several people were stuck in valet so they took us to our table. We were seated in the back room again, which is nice because it's not as loud. While waiting for the others, we were given the menu and our drink orders were taken.
Hibiscus does their menu differently than most other places. They offer the 3 courses but the appetizer, sides, and desserts are served family style and it's 1 order to every 2 people. Since we had a party of 12, we were able to get multiples of each. And everyone orders their own entrees.
We got 2 of each of the appetizers:
Perla Burrata (fig mostarda, radish, sourdough).
This was my favorite. Sweet and creamy and crunchy! The burrata was very delicate, it's an Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It spread well on the sourdough crackers. The fig was sweet and paired the burrata perfectly. I think I ate half of a plate myself!
Lamb Ribs (brown sugar-sherry glaze, smoked mustard).
This looked delicious, and I don't even like lamb. I had to try some though. I could taste the gaminess which I didn't like, but it was pretty mild. But the crust on that rib was crispy and pretty amazing. The sauce and mustard was fantastic. I think this was the table's favorite.
Boston Bibb (citrus, chevre, candied cashews, avocado).
I liked this for the freshness. It also paired really well with the burrata. But it was underwhelming. There wasn't any dressing which puzzled me. But the bibb lettuce was fresh and tender and the other elements went well with it.
We're off to a good start. I've enjoyed the appetizer round. While waiting for the entrees, I succumbed to peer pressure and ordered a cocktail. haha. Basil Gimlet (pearl cucumber, basil, lime) $10~
The waiter said it's normally made with vodka but I requested Hendrick's Gin (my fav). And he said he would make it sweeter for me. :) It was yummy. Very refreshing, and just sweet enough for me.
For the entree round, no one ordered the chicken option... booo. So no pictures. Sorry.
I got the Sea Scallops (corn pudding, saffron squash, chanterelles).
I knew I wanted this one as soon as I saw their menu posted on their FB page. All the elements sounded fantastic. The plate was really pretty, but the portion size was quite small. But most scallop dishes tend to be this way. The scallops were seared and cooked perfectly. However, I did get a little bit of grit in one of them. The corn pudding was sweet and I liked the squash and chanterelles, I just wanted more of it. It was good, but not the best scallop dish I've had.
Tenderloin (marfa tomato, charred onion).
The more popular choice around the table. I thought it was missing something when they served it. It looks so sad on the plate... no sauce and so small. I found it weird that it came with no sauce whatsoever. But the steak was tender and paired well with the tomato and onions. It was just eh in general.
For the sides, we had 3 choices, so we got 2 of each as well.
Bloomsdale Spinach. Garlicky, yummy. It was nice to get green veggies with the meal.
Potato Puree. Smooth and creamy, loved it. The orders got messed up and we were given a 3rd one of this and 1 less spinach. So we told the waiter and he brought us another spinach. Extra potato! Score! :)
Mac & Cheese. This was by far my favorite of the night. Creamy and spicy. I loved the crunch on top. It was super rich and I loved it. haha. We all wanted more! They had changed everything on the RW menu since the last time I was there except this dish, and 1 of the desserts. I'm glad they didn't change these!
Annnnd it's time for dessert. There were 2 options so we got 3 of each.
Warm Chocolate Tart (blackberry, orange, Marcona almonds).
Sounded more interesting than it is. It was pretty but it's basically brownie in a tart shell. The tart itself was a bit dry. A scoop of ice cream or glass of milk was much needed. But I could really taste the orange infused in the tart. We actually had leftovers of these and no one cared to take it home..
Ice Box Pie (butterfinger, vanilla ice cream, oreo crust).
Amazing. Another favorite of the night. I'm so happy this stayed on the menu from last time. We really should've just gotten 5 of these and 1 chocolate tart. haha. Who doesn't love butterfingers and oreo? Perfect amount of oreo crust to ice cream ratio. YUM!
It was a great dinner. I think everyone enjoyed the food. However, when we were finishing up dessert, we noticed there was an ant on one of the tart plates. Just climbing on an almond... haha. We showed the waiter and he was very apologetic and said he would tell the kitchen. But that was pretty much it. Nothing else was really done about it. We didn't make a big deal out of it either. It was a nice evening, and it was just an ant... not something grosser. haha. But hopefully they'll get that fixed or under control or whatever they need to do. For the most part, the waiter and assistant waiters were all good. Friendly and just attentive enough. Our bills were separated with no issues. I'd go back again for another restaurant week in the future.
**I also want to give a special shout-out to the valet. Somehow during the rain/traffic/running late at the beginning of the night. I had lost my valet ticket. We went to the valet stand after dinner and knew they were swamped. But no one was rude to us and they tried to help me look for my keys. However, sometimes they keep the keys inside the car, in which case... I think mine was in my car. So they radioed out to the guys to look for it. I kept apologizing and they were totally cool about it. They found it pretty quickly too, considering they had more than 300 cars that night! I totally appreciate their attitude and prompt service. They definitely deserved the big tip! :)
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