It’s been a couple of months since my last Chop Suey, and it felt like time for another. And, maybe something a little different from the usual dumpling and a kung pao or something similar as a litmus test. Maybe a couple of litmus tests first….
I have also decided that 2019 is the year of no really negative reviews. If I find something that would fall into my completely not recommended rating, I’m not going to write it up. Though I will add it to my various maps there in the right hand column with a short note.
Shanghaied in Recoleta
Shanghai Ting’s, Austria 2087, Recoleta – New spot here in the ‘hood for eat in and take out Chinese. Lots of blond wood, feels a little like sitting in an IKEA store. The two folk attending the room are about as bored and inattentive as they can be, and, a pet peeve, both are chewing gum with mouths open, continuously. An older Chinese woman was sitting at one of the tables outside, alternately staring into her cup of tea and gazing into the restaurant and shaking her head. Over the course of an hour, one person came in for a take out order. But then, it is new.
Litmus test time – the dumplings. Delicate, beautifully cooked, tasty filling, teeny. These things are the size of my thumb. And six of them, for 150 pesos (140 pesos takeout – which turns out to be a thing here, they charge more to eat there, which I didn’t know at the time I ordered.
The Kung Pao chicken. The flavor is good, actually, really good, but it’s kind of sloppily made. The chicken pieces aren’t all separate – several times I picked up one piece and had 2-3 others hanging by little bits of flesh because they hadn’t been cut up well. And no peanuts. I like peanuts on my kung pao. But as I said, really good flavor, and even a decent kick to the sauce. 280 pesos in-house, 250 for takeout. That’s annoying.
Don’t really like the room. Service sucks. But the food is good. And it’s cheaper for takeout, so I will likely grab some when passing by and in the mood for decent takeout Chinese.
New in the Delivery World
Rice and Shine, somewhere…given their delivery area, probably in Once near to Recoleta. One of those newer spots that pops up on the delivery services but doesn’t seem to have a physical street presence anywhere. Over time I’ve found that either they’re sort of hidden away kitchens that just do food for delivery via the services and really don’t have a storefront, or they’re just a marketing gimmick for other restaurants that already have a delivery presence and just offer up the same or similar menu under additional names, to garner more business. (Which turns out to be the case as I explored a little – they have an identical menu to two other “new” spots on the PedidosYa delivery service – Busai and Palacio del Oriente.)
This one has a name that you’d think would be more in use around the world – it’s kind of an obvious play on words for an Asian restaurant. As best I can tell, however, there’s a Filipino pop-up and/or café, and a caterer in Los Angeles that use the name, and that’s it. Kind of an odd choice, though, for here, where the majority of folk don’t speak English, and the play on words isn’t going to register.
Good dumplings, not great, but good. Nicely seasoned filling, the dough a little chewy. The one minor negative – no “a la plancha”, or potsticker option, just boiled. And, a dish I’ve not seen on a local delivery menu here before, specified as Szechuan style beef, with a “homemade soy sauce” and very spicy. I’m guessing they don’t mean they make their own soy sauce, but rather blend soy sauce with other things to make their own style soy based sauce. As to spicy, even with a request to make it extra spicy, it had at most a hint of heat. Mostly it was just a lot of stir-fried onions with thin shreds of beef in a slightly gloopy brown sauce. Meh. At 265 and 440 pesos, respectively, it’s really expensive too. Not going onto my repeat list. Especially given that the place above delivers too.
Good Morning Vietnam!
Saigon Noodle Bar, M.T. Alvear 818, Retiro – A few months back, everyone’s favorite local Vietnamese spot, Saigon, opened up a second branch, in Retiro, specializing in their noodle dishes rather than their soups. And, it’s all available for delivery (I get a lot of delivery when I’m prepping for the Casa S dinners – it’s easier than taking my focus off that and cooking something else). Quick and easy, at my door in barely over half an hour, delicious springrolls (I think of the cold ones as summer rolls, but it’s their menu) packed with prawns, herbs, and veggies, and mild peanut sauce for dipping. Also available with tofu or mango fillings. And, a large cold noodle salad called Bún Bo, topped with five spice beef and crunchy peanuts. Respectively, 260 and 265 pesos. This is going to be a regular spot to order from!
Hey, Fat Boy!
Niño Gordo, Thames 1810, Palermo – The hot new property from the guys behind La Carniceria and Chori, both pretty damned successful and popular (I have to go back and retry the latter, I wasn’t that impressed but everyone tells me I’m wrong), who decided to take on the world of Asian street food. But not done as street food, reimagined as semi-fine dining. It’s also getting written up as the most Instagrammable restaurant around – and the main dining room is filled with Asian trinkets and weird lighting and yeah, people taking photos. In fact, they’re playing it up, and although people have to wait outside for a table, they’re letting in people who just want to take photos and go, which happened numerous times during the dinner.
There’s also a long bar at the kitchen, which for me is far more Instagrammable than the dining room. Short menu of a dozen interesting sounding dishes….
Really creative specialty cocktail menu, and cute presentations. This Genma Saotome is a blend of Jimador tequila, passionfruit, smoked ají amarillo chili, sugar syrup. It was supposed to be decorated with a dehydrated slice of dragon fruit, though that looks an awful lot like a slice of dehydrated orange to me. Delicious either way. 200 pesos.
Ostensibly this is small plate food meant for sharing. I’d put it as more of medium plate food – so there really is enough to share. But I was solo, so this meant only getting in two plates on this visit. You don’t get a lot of clues from the menu. This dish just says: Langostino – Panceta – Coliflór – Coco, or Prawn – Bacon – Cauliflower – Coconut. Turns out to be coconut and spice crusted head-on large prawns, cooked over searingly high heat in a cast iron pan, served over blocks of melt-in-your-mouth glazed pork belly, and a cauliflower puree. Surf and turf taken to a whole new level. 350 pesos and worth every peso.
The same can be said of the Molleja – Chili – Miso – Choclo – Akusai – Cilantro, or Sweetbread – Chili – Miso – Corn – Napa Cabbage – Cilantro. This turns out to be miso and chili laquered crispy sweetbreads served over charred corn, with a shaved cabbage salad and a cilantro mayo. And every exquisite bite worth the 395 pesos they charge for it. My guess is this place is going to become a regular spot to go and hangout for me.
Re Carniceria: I agree with you. The 1st few times we went, fabulous. The last 2 times, really bad cuts of meat. But great sides. I won’t go back. Maybe if they recognize you, you will get a good steak. This place sounds like it’s all sides so we will have to try it.
You misread that – I said “the latter”, referring to Chori, which is good, but I don’t find it as good as many people make it out to be. I’ve had better choripans here in the city. At La Carniceria, I’ve never had anything but spectacular – although non-Argentine in style, it’s easily my favorite steakhouse.
Please keep posting both good and not good reviews. That’s what critics do. I am fed up with positive only reviews in La Nación and Clarín, I never trust them as it smells like advertisement and favor exchange. You are the only real unbiased food critic with an international background I have found here and I enjoy reading your reviews, also the negative ones, because I learn the do’s and don’ts.
I’ll still be critical where deserved, but I’ve come to really dislike just writing an all around bad review, i.e., trashing a place that I’ve only been to once, even if it was really bad. And at the same time, I don’t want to go back and give them another shot just to see if it was a one-off problem. It’s a conundrum.
It also, unfortunately, but a reality I have to consider, has an impact on my own place. More than one person who is either owner or chef of a restaurant I’ve given a negative review to has gone out of their way to then go and post negative reviews of Casa SaltShaker, even though they’ve never been. I hate to bow to that kind of potential pressure, but it’s a reality that hits in the wallet, versus a blog I write for free.
A revisit to Niño Gordo – the chef’s recommended Tataki de Bife – Yema – Wasabi – Shiso or Beef Tataki – Yolk – Wasabi – Shiso. Excellent. Tender slices of raw beef, just seared on the outside, egg yolk, crispy shallots and sesame seeds, dots of wasabi mayo, and shreds of shiso leaves, all over sushi rice. 330 pesos. And, the Pho Agripicante de Pato, or Spicy-sour Duck Pho, loved the broth, that sour bit is just a perfect note, not as spicy as I would have liked, even though the cook in front of me warned me it was super spicy after drizzling about a half teaspoon of sriracha sauce over the dish – I asked if I could have more, he handed me the bottle, I added about a tablespoon more, that gave it enough picante to taste. But I found the dish a little lacking – not enough noodles, way too many beansprouts, and hardly any duck at all, just four thin slices off of a small duck breast – you can see them at the back of the photo. So, while tasty, not a dish I think I’d order again. 360 pesos.
Several in person visits to Saigon Noodle Bar. I actually like it more than the original in San Telmo, more just the layout and the feel of the place, and, of course, it’s a lot closer to home – I can walk to it in about 20 minutes. Favorite lunch on and off has become an order of summer rolls and a banh tom salad of prawns, herbs, greens, and peanuts. What’s not to love?
[…] I gather comes to us from the owners of the two branches of Saigon Noodle Bar, in San Telmo and downtown. It’s got to be one of the stranger spots I’ve seen as a restaurant. It’s also […]
[…] Ting’s, Austria 2087, Recoleta – I reviewed this spot a couple of years ago when it first opened. At that point, I noted that the food was […]