Chow Down Atlanta

So guess what? I found Chef Danny Ting!!! The slippery-as-Peter-Cheng chef came full circle and ended up where he started from: Wan Lai. I’m guessing his stint at BoBo was aimed at having a better opportunity; and his briefer stint at Golden House was all about fame and success. After all the politics have died down, he’s back to his roots and will start what he set out to do from the very beginning: cook. Where is he now? Coco’s Chinese.

The original Coco’s replaced Wan Lai after it closed. Opened on October of 2010, it stayed afloat for one year closing in exactly one year on October 2011. It reopened on January 20, 2012 and the savvy owners kept the name and the sign, I’m thinking, to save money. While the old Coco’s specialized in Fuzhou cuisine, the new Coco’s under the helm of Chef Danny, specializes in what he does best — Cantonese food. The menu is the exact replica of Wan Lai, BoBo Garden, and Golden House, except tinier. A lot tinier. The dishes are also a lot cheaper. I’m not gonna go through great lengths about the food. The food is as fantastic as ever. And, tastes just like when he was at the other three places.

Beef Tripe and Tendon: fork-tender meat and amazing savory sauce with a just a hint of five-spice powder

Spicy Pork in Garlic Sauce: this Cantonese style dish differs from its Sichuan cousin in that it is a tad sweeter and the sauce is thicker

No one does Salted Crispy Shrimp better than Chef Danny. No one.

There’s one tip I want to share, however. Go at lunch. Lunch combos cost $5.50 and comes with soup, egg roll, and rice. And while this deal sounds just like at any other Chinese places, the difference is that the portions you get are almost as big as the dinner ones. The pictures above are lunch portions. So… get two or three combos like I do so you can sample a bunch in one sitting.

I am so happy that Chef Danny finally came to his senses and decided to lay low and start cooking again. I hope he stays here longer than anywhere he’s ever been. Now don’t complain when he finally leaves again and you never had a chance because you were always meaning to go one day. There is no excuse. Go NOW.

Pictures of the menu are on my Flickr.

Coco’s Chinese Restaurant
4897 Buford Highway, Suite 104
Chamblee, GA 30341
(404) 555-1212

Technorati Tags: Cantonese, Danny Ting, Buford Highway, tidal

A few years ago, there were these thin slices of pork stir-fried with fresh bamboo shoots (operative word: fresh) and strips of Chinese dry tofu. And a plate of ground pork stir-fried with mustard greens. Delicious was an understatement. Those two dishes made a huge fan out of me. The place? Sichuan House in Duluth. The chef? Chef Gu.

Fast forward to these days. Chef Gu‘s brilliance is showcased in his own place bearing his name. While I never really enjoyed his $15 per person weekend dim sum, I keep going back for favorites that demonstrate his talent and expertise in the kitchen. One thing you will notice when you eat his Szechuan food is that a highly-skilled man of wisdom cooked it — that a novice, run-of-the-mill, ordinary, sometimes notorious, groupie-followed chef could not have cooked his kind of dishes. Not by a long mile. My favorites, in no particular order…

Chengdu Dumplings. These aren’t the usual dumplings you’re used to. And don’t mistake them for wontons, gyoza, or pot stickers. The dough is very thick, doughy, and super chewy. Get it with red chili oil which adds a little heat to the savory filling and provide a slightly sweet aftertaste. They are fantastic.

Chengdu Cold Noodles. The ever so slightly sweetish yet savory, chili oil-laced sauce goes so well with the cold, chewy noodles. Beware of the fresh minced garlic on top unless you don’t plan on talking to anybody after your meal.

Twice Cooked Pork. If you want to think like you’ve died and gone to pork heaven, then you MUST have this. If there’s one dish you must eat here, this is it. The ultra thin slices of pork belly (read: bacon) are first smoked then stir-fried in leeks. Heavenly. Amazing. Fantastic. Delicious. You get the picture.

Beef Tendon. Asians love chewy anything. In fact, a good 80% of Asian desserts are all chewy. This dish is no exception. A play on texture, the slices of beef tendon in spicy-savory sauce is a great appetizer.

Tea Smoked Duck. Most places serve duck with shriveled, dried, stuck-to-the-meat skin that is such a turn-off for me. Here, the duck pieces are so tender, the skin is perfectly crisp, and the taste and smell of tea on the meat is evident. Really good.

Spicy Dried Eggplant. What separates this dish from those at other places is the very thin, tasty batter. Not only that, the eggplant is so tender and soft, lending a contrast to the crispy coating.

Kung Pao Lotus Root. The nutty flavor and crunchy slices remind you of peanuts. Except better.

Chongqing Spicy Chicken. This fried chicken nuggets dish is excellent. Each piece is dusted so lightly with flour then fried. Spicy and delicious.

Beef Jerky. These aren’t your jaw-breaking American version. The tender pieces has a slightly chewy texture. Don’t let the chili oil distract you, it provides contrast to the sweetish meat.

All these dishes can be found on their Traditional Chinese Menu where you should be ordering from when you go here. You’d love the food here. Trust me.

Gu’s Bistro
5750 Buford Hwy NE, Suite A
Doraville, GA 30340

Tuesday-Thursday: 11:00am – 3:00pm, 4:30pm – 10:00pm
Friday-Sunday: 11:00am – 10:30pm
**Closed Monday**

Technorati Tags: Sichuan, Szechuan, Gu, Chinese, Buford Highway, tidal

While cities around metro Atlanta boast of weekly Farmers markets, the Asian side of metro Atlanta pride themselves with street and sidewalk markets. Grandmas hawking fresh, organic fruits and veggies, seafood, sauces, and many more.

Right outside Quoc Hong, mostly on weekends, Grandma sells the sweetest oranges on earth. Softball-sized variety is $10 per a 10-pound bag. Huge, freshly-caught, Gulf Tiger shrimp as long as 8 inches (stretched out) go for $5 a pound (6-8 count). A steal considering they go for $15 and upwards a pound at supermarkets.

But what you shouldn’t miss is her organic veggies. Potato leaves work just as well as spinach. And the water spinach? It’s the only place you’ll see them. Also known in English as straw vegetables (there’s a hole inside like a straw), the USDA has classified this plant as a noxious weed in 2010. That means you won’t find this plant in any Asian store. But you’ll find it in our own Buford Highway! $5 a bunch gets you freshly-harvested ong choy (Chinese) or rau mong (Vietnamese), or kankung (Malaysian), or pak boong (Thai). Stir-fried with soy sauce or steamed with oyster sauce and you have a fantastic veggie dish.

Over in Duluth, Grandma sells her goods out of a mini van, in the parking lots of Korean restaurants. She makes her own kimchi (both red and white), doenjang (miso paste), and gochugaru (chili powder). She sells organic fruits and veggies from her garden: sweet potatoes, persimmons, green Korean pepper, napa cabbage, peanuts, and dried red chili peppers. Her sweet potatoes are so sweet. Boil or roast them then slather lots of butter for a great snack.

She makes amazing kimchi. This big bottle of special kimchi goes for $20. It includes fat, organic green onions. There are other grades of kimchi — $10 for the not so special (no special green onions), and $30 for the huge jar of white kimchi.

While Chinese grandma stays put inside Asian Square, Korean grandma is more of a gypsy. You’ll find her mini van all throughout the week in Duluth and as late as 8PM — in the Super H parking lot, Point Berkeley International Village, Market Square — all within 5 miles of each other on Pleasant Hill.

As always, merchandise vary. Check often. Also, these grandmas barely speak English. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to communicate. I do. And of course, cash only please.

Do you know what Omurice is? It’s a very thin omelet filled with fried rice then drizzled on top with ketchup. Growing up, going to Japanese restaurants were filled with the anticipation of eating this fun dish. It’s a very common item on the kid’s menu. In fact, I’ve never really noticed any grown-up eating it. Basically, it’s kid food. When I got older, I would get this as a side to my Japanese grown-up meal.

In Atlanta, you’ll find more omurice in Korean restaurants than anywhere else. I love the Korean version — rice, stir-fried in ketchup with beef, eggs, peas, and carrots. The picture above was a $7.95 platter that came with a huge omurice, a big piece of tonkatsu, and cabbage salad. Banchan and hot soup all complete the meal. Yum.

Find this meal and similar others at Don Quixote in Duluth and Buford Highway.

Technorati Tags: omurice, Korean, Japanese

Late to the game but nevertheless… I wasn’t really planning on writing about BoBo — every single person in Atlanta has been to it and written about it. It’s still my favorite haunt for over two years now. I’ve been going a lot more lately especially for late night dining, and, before things get shaken up a bit once more, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what I’ve been eating here when most everyone is asleep.

BoBo’s chef is one of the most pedigreed Chinese chefs in the city. He’s been around for decades and headed the kitchen of one of the first Chinese restaurants in Atlanta. His famous work was seen at Wan Lai and after leaving there, moved to take up residence at BoBo. That’s partly why I also never wrote about this place; it’s because the food was exactly the same as Wan Lai. His signature dishes remain the same, too. I absolutely love his Crispy Fried Chicken. Garlicky, crispy, tasty. The dry-fried Beef Chow Fun is smoky with a tiny hint of sweet, it’s perfect. The Three Dumpling Soup has this amazing clean, flavorful broth that spells comfort in every single way. Of course, you cannot miss the hot casseroles. They take 20 minutes to prepare but they are so worth the wait.

What I’ve really been eating lately aren’t the mainstream dishes. This isn’t the place to get slutty Chinese. This place is where Chinese elders go to get a taste of home. Just take note that such elders eat late… like around 11PM so it’s quite common to see the place packed around this time of night. A great alternative to the popular dumpling soup is the Beef and Cilantro soup. The light broth has tender pieces of beef and specks of cilantro with the cilantro lending just a slight taste of green but not enough to overpower the soup. Love it.

Beef Intestines. Warning, not for the squeamish. Why? Because for the uninitiated there’s that teeny, tiny off-putting smell and texture. Don’t worry, they’re all erased by the fantastic taste. So savory. So tender. So delicious.

Deep-fried Sea Bass. The very light coating of corn starch right before frying gives this dish the crisp. It’s topped with julienned garlic and scallions and drizzled with sesame oil-soy sauce. A very common Chinese dish. They do it here right.

Beef with Bittermelon. Another dish not for the faint of heart. Think collard greens except way more bitter. And crunchier. There is a trick to get the bitterness out of these veggies but what’s the point, right? People want to taste the real flavor of the veggies, not dumb them down! Worry not, the flavors are so balanced, you’ll welcome the hint of bitterness in the black bean sauce. Mm, really good.

Spare ribs (read: pork) are so delicious in every which way. Yum. Yum. Yum.

So you say you miss Wan Lai? Come to Bo Bo. For the exact same food you were used to.

Bo Bo Garden
5181 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30340
(678) 547-1881

Technorati Tags: tidal, Atlanta, Cantonese, Chinese, restaurants