Shoryuken Ramen - Go Before It's Sold Out

It took us two tries to get in and we still had to wait for a table. But Shoryuken Ramen was delicious and well worth the effort.

From now until the end of April they have taken over Lunch on Mondays and Tuesdays. Go early. Prepare to wait. Go next door to Supper to have a drink or a brew. Get seated. Slurp those noodles and that wonderful broth.

Ramen Heaven

Arriving early is key; on most nights they sell out.

Jewish Food Festival

Last Sunday as the snowflakes began their furious descent, we visited the Jewish Food Festival at Keneseth Beth Israel on Patterson Ave.

First of all, the place was CROWDED! and a bit chaotic. Everyone had turned out for this celebration of food and tradition. A band was warming up, but the overwhelming presence of humanity distracted me from the music.

One purchased tickets and exchanged them for food. Tickets were $1 each and any unused tickets would be refunded. I liked the offer of a refund. We acquired a menu and tried to keep out of the way as we decided what to eat.

We shared 5 items:

Salt and Pepper Kugel - Noodle Casserole

Chicken Schnitzel - Tender with a good crust

Cholent - A delicious stew with beans, barley, potatoes, and meat

Matzah Ball Soup - A first for me! Very flavorful!

Potato Latkes - My favorite dish!

We would have considered trying more, but the crowded conditions proved to be too stressful for us. We definitely want to return next year. The food was fabulous. We might have to consider take-out, however.

Philippine Cafe

Growing up, my hubby had school friends who were Filipino. He regularly consumed pancit (a rice noodle dish) and lumpia (egg rolls). As he lost touch with his friends, he lost the source of this cuisine.

Yesterday he found it again as we lunched at Philippine Cafe on Courthouse Road. We went to lunch late and walked into an empty, neatly decorated establishment. We were warmly greeted and were invited to sit anywhere. We chose a cozy booth.

We ordered Pancit Bihon - rice noodles with chicken and pork and Egg Rolls with ground meat and veggies.

We consumed a generous portion of egg rolls served with duck sauce. A good balance of meat to vegetables. Very satisfying.

The pancit was not as dry as my hubby remembered, but still a nice flavor. The portions, again, were generous. While we wanted to scarf the entire dish on the spot, we refrained and took some home. We reheated it the next day and discovered it was even better. The flavors had infused the noodles and the reheating made the noodles drier. My hubby was transported back to his childhood.

SOJ 6/11/2011

A hot one today at the South of the James Market, but that did not stop folks from attending. Many thanks to all of the producers who harvested yummy items this past week to have available for today. The weather has been brutally hot. I applaud your stamina!

We picked up a fresh chicken from Ault's (we plan on smoking it tomorrow!); radicchio, Japanese turnips, and garlic from Manakintowne Growers; Yukon Gold potatoes and arugula from Fertile Crescent Farm (picked and washed!); spring red onions from Pleitez Produce; carrots from Bill's Produce; pork chops from Root Force Collective (from year old pigs that foraged on acorns and such in the forest); a spot of tea from Koralee Coffee; iced coffee from Blanchard's (they always have a sugar syrup to sweeten your cold brew - much better than granular sugar); noodles and egg rolls from Tropical Safari; and a pork taco from El Cielito Lindo.

Of course, all manner of other goodies were also available. Tomatoes were beginning to trickle in and beets and other greens were also abundant. As we entered and exited the market, our favorite bluesman, Markiss Blowfish serenaded the crowd and tried to stay cool.

Here are some photos. If you have photos of any of the local markets, post them here.

Huynh's Vietnamese Cuisine

We tried a new Vietnamese place last week called Huynh's. Located in the West End of Richmond at 5905 W. Broad, the storefront is unassuming. We were glad they had an "Open" sign to let us know they were, indeed, open.

The interior was neatly laid out with a few decorative touches.

The menu contained some of the usual Vietnamese offerings for this area, but also carried a few different items. So, we took our time perusing the menu before ordering.

To start we had Fried Chicken Potstickers

and Jicama Root Shrimp Rolls.

The potstickers left a lot to be desired. The dough was thick and the chicken rather bland. The Jicama Root Shrimp Rolls were outstanding! I liked the use of the jicama. I would definitely order these again.

For entrees hubby had the Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry (pineapples, celery, carrot, onion and bell pepper in a tangy sweet and sour sauce).

This dish was a lot lighter than a traditional sweet and sour chicken. The sauce was more subtle and the dish more fresh-tasting.

I ordered the House-Grill Vermicelli - pork, shrimp, chicken, and spring roll served with iceberg lettuce, basil, cucumber, bean sprouts, marinated carrots, crushed peanuts, and fish sauce.

Since I detest bean sprouts and cucumbers do not agree with me, the kitchen kindly left these off of my dish. No matter the restaurant, I love this noodle salad. At Huynh's the appeal was the variety of the meat ingredients. I liked having both grilled chicken and pork and shrimp. The spring roll was a bonus. Very satisfying.

Lovely experience for our tastebuds and we plan to return. The only suggestion I would have is to consider a delivery service.

Korean Garden

On Friday we found ourselves south of the river and I insisted that we try Korean Garden. The last time I was in this building it was a Red Lobster (yes, I know, I'm showing my age). We arrived early to a nearly empty restaurant, but as the evening progressed more diners entered.

The menu offered Korean specialties as well as traditional Japanese dishes and sushi. But we came for the Korean dishes. Since we had a hard time deciding we ordered some steamed dumplings and hot tea to start. The dumpling wrappers were delicate and filled with beef. Our waitress, dressed in a traditional outfit of red and black, realized we still had problems deciding and suggested that we order Bul Gogi, one beef and one spicy pork. We readily agreed. Both dishes featured thinly sliced seasoned meat. With the Korean BBQ dishes a bevy of traditional side dishes accompany the meal as well as rice and lettuce leaves. To eat the meat, one takes a lettuce leaf, spreads a bit of flavorful paste on the leaf, adds a dollop of rice, and then some of the meat. Wrap the leaf around everything and consume. The lettuce was red leaf and of high quality - no bad spots or blemishes. Very delicious.

The side dishes were small but numerous and featured spicy hot, vinegary/sour, sweet, and salty as well as steamed eggs with a bit of green onion. My favorites were the radish in a sweet/sour vinegar, seaweed, noodles, and kimchi. Hubby liked the bean sprouts, the black beans, and the radish. Anchovy slivers were also served and we tried them, but they were not as appealing to us.

We were clumsy in making our wraps, but enjoyed the food and the different flavors immensely. The wait staff brought more lettuce as we continued to devour our meat. The meat portions were big with the side dishes being small and served family style.

A tasty evening. The little side dishes were the surprise of the evening and gave us a peek into the flavors of this cuisine. In the back of the building is a Korean market with a wide variety of items including big jars of kimchi.

Korean Garden
6827 Midlothian Tnpk
Richmond, VA

804.675.0511