And, following on my fancy sushi post, a bit of an Asian round-up in my Chop Suey series, which I haven’t offered one up for awhile. There was this pandemic thing, you know? Still, mostly takeout and delivery….

 

Shanghai 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 good, though somewhat poorly presented, the service sucked, and they had an upcharge for eating at the restaurant. I suppose, in retrospect, it’s no different than the places that have a cubierto charge to sit at a table, they just spread it out over the pricing of the dishes. I’ve picked up food to go from them on and off over the last two years, and just thought I’d put them back on the radar here. An order of hot and sour soup – conveniently timed just a few days before I did my China entry of the Bread & Soup Project. Nice flavor, but a bit light on substance. It was really heavy on chopped green onions and slivered tofu, but not much else – there might have been two or three pieces of pork in the entire container. Ma-Po Tofu had great flavor, but odd textures – they used extra firm tofu, where most times I’ve had it it’s been a softer version, the pork was fried to a crispy crunch and clearly added at last minute, rather than cooked into the sauce, which was heavy on bell peppers. Good, but odd. And service still kind of sucks, even when picking stuff up they just seem to be completely disinterested – having called ahead and been told to be there in fifteen minutes, the order took almost forty, and when I began to get a little impatient (no one else was there, and they only had one other takeout order going), she just waved me off with a shrug and an “it takes as long as it takes”. 350 and 650 pesos, respectively, typical for this neighborhood, coming in at roughly $10. Good food, I just wish they were more hospitable.

Kikiriki, Terrero 1525, Villa General Mitre – Invited over to a couple of friends’ house for lunch last weekend. Wow, socializing! The first time I’ve spent more than a moment in someone else’s home (other than our next door neighbor, with whom we’ve “bubbled” quarantining) for almost 16 months. A chance to try out one of the massive combos from this Korean fried chicken spot that opened up recently. Their biggest combo, which we got, comes with all four of their fried chicken styles, waffle cut potato chips, and an array of sides and dips. The chicken is good – we didn’t realize it was chicken nuggets rather than pieces of chicken – not a problem, just a note. The flavors offered are plain fried chicken, soy sauce and green onion coated, a sweet honey mustard and coconut version, and what was supposed to be the classic gochujang spicy chicken, but had virtually no spice to it – just kind of a sweet barbecue sauce with a hint of spice in the background. Luckily one of the sides was a container of pickled jalapeños, so there was some kick available. Overall, it’s good, but it’s a sort of toned down Argentine version of Korean fried chicken. Actually sort of surprising for that area of town, where there are big communities of Koreans, Bolivians, and Peruvians, all of whom eat spicier fare. The big combo runs, I think, 2400 pesos, or about $24.

Sushi Bravo Mar, Santiago del Estero 125, Monserrat – A new spot on the sushi delivery rounds, new enough that it wasn’t even on Google Maps (I just added it). A selection of four sushi rolls (enough for two meals). What attracted me in seeing a new spot was that almost half the rolls offered didn’t have cream cheese in them, rather than just one or two. Creative, nicely presented as far as being packed into plastic containers allows. Somewhat uneven in the cutting. The rice was good, the fish was fresh, and the more creative offerings were really tasty. They send little teeny packets of wasabi and ginger on the side. Teeny. Almost not worth having sent. Also relatively inexpensive with each roll running around 400 pesos, or about $4.

Kenji, Nicaragua 4424, Palermo – A delivery order from one of two new spots named Kenji, though they are, it turns out, unrelated – I asked – they know each other, but that’s about as far as it goes. I love onigiri, the triangular rice balls filled with different tidbits, and almost always order them when I see them on a menu, which here, isn’t often. These were filled with broiled salmon and crowned with bonito flakes. Very good, and I’d happily get them again. Nice pork gyoza, not the best I’ve had, but good, with a tangy dipping sauce that was almost more like a sesame salad dressing. A good tonkatsu, the Japanese version of a pork milanesa. It suffered slightly as all fried things do, from time in transit, and wasn’t as crispy as one might like, but good flavor, properly cooked so it was still juicy, and accompanied by a decent amount of rice and salad, along with an excellent tonkatsu sauce. Priced at 480, 480, and 760 – and not quite enough for two meals, but one and a snack, for a total with delivery (190) and tip of 2000 pesos, or about $20.

And, let’s finish off with a bigger review AT the other one, Kenji Bento, Seiki Ramen, Sarmiento 4518, just off Parque Centenario in Almagro. I hadn’t planned on eating there – I was out taking my daily “constitutional” (I try to get in 5-10km walking a day). I’d planned on walking there, picking up an order and taking the bus home and eating, but they have an open storefront, and have setup just two barstools at a counter just inside the open door. There was one person just finishing eating, and as he stood up and left, and they proceeded to do a complete alcohol wipe-down of the place setting, the counter, and the stool, okay, they’re taking things seriously here, and thought, why not? So I sat and ordered. I wondered what they might do if another person dame in and wanted to sit at the other stool, and the woman at the counter told me they’d move the stool to the other end of the bar way down around the corner there. The place doubles as a little store with various Japanese products available for sale for home cooking.

Okay, I overdid it. I was just excited about actually eating out, sitting in a restaurant, and not at a table on the sidewalk. I mean, it’s not supposed to be done here yet – officially we’re just recently back to outdoor seating only, though I’ve seen, while walking around, that a lot of places have gone back to indoor seating, and not all of them are keeping tables and patrons spaced apart.

They have a selection of onigiri here, and while they’re offered as two-of each kind, they were happy to make it one and one, so I got one with barbecued pork and one with ume plum, one of my favorites. They come adorned with furikake, a mix of nori seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, and sometimes more. Yum. Hmm… better than the ones at Tori-Tori, which have been my go-to onigiris in town. I’ll probably still mostly stick with the latter, since they’re an easier walk from home, but… these are top-notch. Also excellent pork gyoza, perfectly cooked, seasoned, and interestingly, with the same sort of sesame salad dressing for dipping as the other Kenji. I was going to go with another tonkatsu just for comparison’s sake, but it was a chilly day, and I haven’t had a good bowl of ramen in over a year and a half, so… their shoyu ramen it was. Very good. A bit vegetable heavy for my preferences – I think I’d have liked a few more noodles and a few less peppers, onions, and corn kernels, but tasty. I asked for togaroshi, the Japanese powdered chili blend, but they didn’t have any – the kitchen sent out some of their housemade koshu, if I were to guess, tangerine and chili based. Really good. I want a container of that for home… well, I make it myself and always have some in house anyway. Prices: 280, 450, 580, plus a water, with 10% off for paying in cash, 1250, plus tip rounded it out at 1400, or $14. I couldn’t quite finish the ramen, it was too much food, but delicious all around. Definitely on the stop back in and/or order for takeout or delivery circuit.