Chow Down Atlanta

A quickie post as I’m afraid this Chinese-Korean place is on its way to my “Death Watch” (if I ever had one). Death Watch is a term coined I first heard from my good friend Eli Zandman of Tomorrow’s News Today. It’s a list of businesses that, according to him, are “good as dead or should quit while they’re ahead.” Seems it was originally from Eater.com. Now I love Fung Mei. The food and service are both exemplary. The ambiance and decor are both top notch — you ought to see the huge aquariums that double as dividers. However, with the opening of Golden House nearby, I’m sure the clientele will shift to the new Cantonese place.

Jajangmyeon. Homemade noodles with a side of fermented soy bean sauce has always been my favorite. The version here is good. A little less smoky and a bit more sweetish than what I prefer, but tasty nonetheless.

Did you know? This smoked pork is amazing. There’s no other word to describe it. The thin slices of pork belly are smoked then stir-fried with leeks. There is no other place that makes it better in this part of town. Get it.

The menu is extensive so there’s something for everyone. Food is really good. Go before it’s too late.

Fung Mei
1605 Pleasant Hill Rd Map
Duluth, GA 30096
770-935-8888

Technorati Tags: Chinese, Korean, Duluth

The illustrious chef, Mr. BoBo, (as I fondly call him) also known as Chef Danny Ting, has moved again. First Wan Lai. Then Bo Bo Garden. Now, Golden House. Mr. BoBo is a star chef among the Chinese. He’s like the Linton Hopkins of Cantonese cuisine and the talented version of Peter Chang minus the “wide-eyed” groupies and the New York Times. I was told he’s been around since the early 80s, starting at the very first Chinese restaurant in Atlanta. His new venture — yes, he has a financial stake — Golden House, is aimed to be the best Cantonese restaurant in the south.

Mr. BoBo went all out in creating his restaurant. Not only is the place humongous, it is grandiose. It is an exact replica of a fancy Chinese hotel restaurant, complete with the 95% Chinese clientele, 5% tourists, an army of servers, bowed chair covers, round linen-topped tables, huge chandeliers, red carpet, and fountains everywhere. As my eating buddy said, “Wow, it feels like we’re in China!” Its grand opening was held on September 10th. A momentous date. It coincides with the Chinese Mooncake Festival. It was also a Chinese public holiday.

my favorite mooncake (served during grand opening): with salted duck egg in the middle

The menu — and the food — is an exact replica of Wan Lai and Bo Bo Garden with one exception: dimsum on weekends in the coming weeks ahead. I have visited twice since its grand opening and Mr. BoBo’s food is as exceptional as ever. You can read more about his food here and here.

Go now and taste real Cantonese cooking from a highly-experienced, brilliant chef. Trust me, it’s worth the drive.

P.S. FnS was also there during opening day. You can read his impression here.

Golden House
1600 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 921-2228

Technorati Tags: Cantonese, Chinese, Duluth, Pleasant Hill, tidal

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

I used to eat here a lot back when they were still located in that trailer-type digs in the middle of Pine Tree Plaza. Now that they’ve moved to a fancier place a few steps away, complete with centralized heating, I guess you could say the food has become more consistent. Generally, food here is decent. Some, better than others. Like the famous Xiao Long Bao. Soup dumplings.

A misnomer, they’re actually steamed dumplings with soup inside. The version here has been top notch every time I visit. I don’t know, just lucky I guess. The filling is very tasty, the wrapper is soft, translucent and chewy, with lots of soup inside. Eat them fast, eat them first. They tend to get gummier if you wait too long. I like the Cantonese version the best because the wrapper is thinner. Now if you ever get the chance to go to the west coast, or Asia, there is only ONE place that serves the BEST xialongbao: Din Tai Fung. A childhood favorite, it will blow you away. No other place in New York or San Francisco, or elsewhere in the US makes them better. Joe’s you ask? Not even close.

Steamed Dumplings. Nothing more I can say except ordinary. Skip. Get the fried instead.

Cha chiang mein. These are thick noodles served with black bean sauce on the side. You mix them up. I’ve eaten this everywhere. It’s not good here. The sauce needs a stronger flavor to balance the tasteless noodles: it needs more black beans and black bean paste. Also absent? Ground pork. It’s like eating a cheeseburger but without the cheese. Why bother.

The famous leek pie. I don’t know what the fuss is about. Not a big fan. I’m not into that floury wrapper they use. But that’s just me. You go ahead. It’s got lots of chopped leeks and clear noodles. Leek pies in general are ordinary tasting, if you ask me. But they’re a good veggie accompaniment to a meal. And at $2.50? Why not.

Sesame Paste Topping Noodle. Stellar. Chewy noodles. Peanutty. Sweetish, gritty sesame paste just as it should be. Served cold.

Yang Zhou Fried Rice. Because Chinese meals are better eaten with a side of fried rice. Smoky and greasy. Love it. (This is also known in Cantonese as Young Chow fried rice.)

Shredded Tofu. Delicious. Sweetish. Chewy tofu. Served cold with lots of wood ear mushrooms, peanuts. Great appetizer or palate cleanser.

Chicken Basil Hot Pot. Not on the menu. Tender chicken pieces. A soy-based stew with lots of basil. The caramelized sauce provides a tiny hint of sweet but still savory. Delicious is an understatement.

Eggplant With Garlic Sauce. Delicious. A good play on savory and garlicky. The eggplants aren’t mushy which is nice.

If you’re craving for decent, inexpensive Chinese then you should come here. It’s clean and service is fast and cordial.

Chef Liu
5221 Buford Highway NE
Doraville, GA 30340
(770) 936-0532
Open Daily 9am-10pm

Technorati Tags: Chinese, Buford Highway, Atlanta

Verdict: RUN, don’t walk. And. Get. There. NOW!!!

Chinese Elvis. Better than the King himself. He provides live entertainment nightly.

Family friends invited us to the grand opening on July 3rd. But I was in Sanibel at the time. Talks of real, authentic Cantonese cooking circulated and wouldn’t die down — with the chef coming from the Guangdong province and apparently a brilliant one to boot, including lengthy stints in Hong Kong under his belt. But then I got a hold of the menu. And felt deflated. Disappointed. With the location being right-smack in the middle of suburbia, I kind of expected it could not sustain a menu worthy of Buford Highway clientele. And the menu was testament to that: all Americanized dishes. Yeah, I’m talking Panda Express Americanized.  The only thing I hoped for was that there was a good chance they had a Chinese menu. You know, the one reserved for the lucky Chinese people.  Written in Chinese. Well, what do you know… they don’t.

Can you read (computerized) Chinese? These are part of what we ordered.

But we still gave it a chance, banking on familiarity with Cantonese cuisine; we knew we can make the chef make dishes we liked to eat in Hong Kong. And boy, did he surprise us. Forget Bo Bo Garden and Wan Lai. This is real Cantonese food. Exceptional is even an understatement. Every single thing we ate was just beyond perfection. Do note, however, that there are no names to these dishes. We basically asked what is fresh that visit, what they had in the kitchen, and gave very loose guidelines as to how they should be prepared.

The Pig’s Ears cold dish is a great appetizer. The ears are sliced thinly but big enough to constitute two bites. Tender yet still gelatinous with the requisite chew. The cucumber slices and cilantro provide texture and added background flavor with the soy sauce and sesame seed oil serving as the main yet subtle tastes in the foreground.

Quite possibly the best dish of the night. And my favorite: Giant Clam. Served in its shell. The meat was sliced into tender pieces then stir-fried in XO Sauce. I wouldn’t be surprised if the chef made his sauce from scratch. I’ll remember to ask next time. The Chinese chives provide a tiny hint of sweet that offsets the savory flavor of the sauce. Brilliant. (Tip: mix the accompanying cilantro with the dish for added oomph.)’

Soft slices of taro are underneath the duck.

The Duck+Taro was another stellar dish. First, the duck is steamed and then braised. The result is tender pieces of duck with bones crunchy enough to eat. The sauce is infused in every bite. Delicious.

The Steamed Flounder is just absolutely divine. The fish was so fresh, buttery, and just melted in the mouth. The ginger-scallion sauce was amazing. In Chinese restaurants, always opt for salt-water fish. They go better with Chinese cooking. For future reference. That’s all.

Other items that were attacked either before I could take pictures or pictures that weren’t as good because it was unbelievably dark in there include a “two-way fish” — a deep-fried Tilapia dish (freshly fished from a tank). The head is used for tofu soup and served along side the crispy fish. It will blow you away. A delicious black bean sauce is used to top the fish. Seriously delicious.

The stir-fried Sea Cucumbers were so tender yet still have a slight chew. Bite-sized pieces are laid on top of steamed baby bok choy. The sauce is light and thin. I like this version a lot because this is what I was used to eating.

Fresh Manila Clams in dry XO sauce is an excellent finger food. The clams are salty-sweet. You can taste the ocean!

The Dry-fried Beef Chow Fun has that addicting smokiness.

The Chinese Fried Chicken is crispier and doesn’t have that cloying five-spice after-taste. The stir-fried Shrimp with Oyster Mushrooms is refreshingly light. The Seafood Hot Pot puts all hot pots to shame. And the Yeung Chow fried rice (a staple in every Cantonese meal) uses sweet barbecue pork. Everything. Is. Fantastic.

Additional notes:The chef has been with the family for decades and used to cook in their old joint in Buford Highway.

Located on the corner of State Bridge Road and 141/Peachtree Pkwy/Medlock Bridge. Inside the plaza where Regal Medlock cinema is. In a free-standing building that used to be a Greek diner that used to be a Mexican place.

All servers speak English. Use this post as your guide as dishes have no names and are not on the menu.

Hong Kong House
5710 State Bridge Rd.,
Johns Creek, GA
30022
678-584-5855
Sunday-Thursday: 11AM-10PMFriday-Saturday: 11AM-11:30PM

More pictures here.

Technorati Tags: Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Cantonese, Chinese