My Favorite Things from Huynh's

Every time I eat at Huynh's these days I always order the same items. They are so good and satisfying, I seldom stray off course. When I do take another path, I end up having regrets.

First off I just gotta have the Jicama Root Shrimp Rolls. I love that they use jicama. The fresh crunch makes for a pleasant beginning.  Two plump rolls are served up with peanut sauce.

Next up, BBQ Pork and Crispy Spring Roll Noodle Salad. Thinly sliced grilled pork with a fried roll chopped up into bite-sized portions. The roll adds a bit of crunchy pizzazz to the noodle dish. And one mustn't forget the fish sauce. Yummy!

Tasty, delicious, and decently priced. If only they would stop rolling around the big cart to bus tables. The wheels travelling over the grooves in the tile can be distracting from a delicious noodle salad.

Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Orangery, and Min Jiang

We really enjoy walking in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The vast expanses of green with tall, tall trees. The little areas that burst with blooms. A sculpture that delights. The waterfowl and lakes. The horses being exercised every morning. And (as mentioned before), the dogs that are free to roam the park without a leash. It's all good.

And don't forget Kensington Palace which was home to Princess Diana. The gift shop has loads of princess accessories.

The canvas-backed chairs always look cute, but beware; you must rent them. One day when it was unusually sunny, many Londoners took advantage of the weather and picnicked in the park. Unfortunately, most of them did not pick up after themselves and there was trash everywhere. Very disappointing. A great green space deserves a bit more respect.

We had lunch at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens one afternoon. We had dined here on our last trip and was mightily impressed. This time, the food and tea were still very good, but our waiter was found lacking in the service department and while the desserts seemed tempting, we decided to skip the treat (and added expense) because of him.

Salad with Fennel and Mixed Lettuces

Rillette of Roast Pork

On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed dinner at Min Jiang. A Chinese restaurant located on the 10th floor of the Royal Garden Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens. Wow. Our main dishes were some of the best Chinese we have ever had. The other cool thing was a wonderful wine list. We enjoyed a lovely Alsatian Pinot Blanc with dinner. If you dine here, make reservations. The place is very popular, including the bar area.

The View from Min Jiang

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Roasted Chicken with Ginger Sauce

Gong Bao Chicken

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens together is one of our favorite London places. Great to explore and people-watch and meet new furry and feathered friends.

Have a Delicious Evening at Accanto

Okay all of you living in the Far West End/Short Pump area - Listen up! Accanto is nestled amongst you and it is very good.

Accanto is connected to Little Venice and located on Ridgefield Parkway. It was tough for us to find, but all of you locals out there should be able to zero in on the location very quickly.

When you walk in, the space looks like a bar. Well, it is a bar, with contemporary black bar stools and furniture. A full complement of cocktails can be mixed. A decent wine list is available.

But the best thing about Accanto is the chef - Ryan Baldwin. Ryan used to delight my taste buds at Tastebuds American Bistro. He decided to try a new venture and landed at Accanto to showcase his considerable talent. His menu is creative and inventive.

I'll let a few pictures entice you.

Guajillo Duck Confit Tacos with radish, pear-jicama-tomatillo salsa, crema, queso fresco, plantain chips

I'm always a sucker for duck. This was very good. I loved the plantain chips as well as the pear-based salsa. 

Ginger Pork Barbeque Spring Rolls with cucumber-cilantro dipping coulis, daikon, and mango

Crispy roll, but not oily. The pork had a lovely smoky flavor.

Braised Pork Belly Sliders with Scotch Bonnet Goat Cheese

This dish came with three HUGE sliders. The pork belly was oh-so-tender. The goat cheese was not scorching hot. I ate one and took the other two home to make tasty leftovers.

with Grilled Pineapple Jicama Napa Slaw

This was such an incredible slaw/salad. Perfect for summer time dining. A bit of sweet, a bit of crunch, many mouthfuls of delight.

Curry Salmon with Marcona Almonds

Hubby is usually a sucker for salmon. Very satisfying for him.

Lavender Creme Brulee

We both marveled at the floral tones and we were very pleased with the presentation.

Yummy, yummy.

Of course, we wish Ryan were closer to our home, but Accanto is worth visiting. Ryan is a talented young chef and can conjure up dining magic. If you live nearby and you are pining for delicious creativity, you must go! At last you will not have to venture into the city proper (and the tax is only 5%!).

Yes, I Ate at Peter Chang's, Too

And I want to go back. Real soon. We arrived on a Saturday at 4:45 PM and lined up with the other eager eaters. Folks navigating the parking lot from Walmart slowed up and gawked at the line up. The doors opened promptly at 5 PM and we were seated along with two friends who had joined us for dinner.

Peter Chang sports a decent wine list!! Hooray! We ordered a Silvan Ridge Pinot Gris from Oregon. A nice complement to the bit of spiciness ahead.

Pinot Gris

For starters Spring Vegetable Rolls and Steamed Buns with Beef. The rolls were nice and crispy. The beef had a hint of spice. Unfortunately, the buns were okay. (We were so spoiled by the Duck Buns at the now defunct Ejay Rin. May the buns and kimchi be resurrected in another life!)

Spring Vegetable Rolls

Steamed Buns with Beef

For entrees, a mix of beef and duck dishes. Orange Flavored Beef was tasty and traditional (at least from an American point of view).

Orange Flavored Beef

The Beef Stew in Clay Pot was unexpected and very tasty. Presented in a big cauldron of a pot and consisting of beef brisket, potato, carrot, and tomato in a special sauce that was spicy without being hot. The beef was extremely tender.

Beef Stew in Clay Pot

My favorites, of course, were the duck dishes. Guangdong Gulu Duck was boneless, deep fried, and served with a sweet and sour sauce. And such a beautiful presentation. Hubby really liked the taste and flavor of both the meat and the sauce. He was also very pleased that the water fowl was boneless.

Duck with Sweet and Sour Sauce

I ordered Tea Smoked Duck with Deep Fried Onions. Lovely smoky duck! This fowl did include the bones, but tender enough to strip away the delicious morsels. The onions reminded me of onion straws, but had a prodigious amount of red pepper flakes mixed in. A bit of heat (and even hotter heated up for leftovers the next day!). I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Tea Smoked Duck

And what's so great is that Peter Chang offers even more duck dishes as well as a wide variety of other delectable dishes. I want to go back. Real soon.

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.

Yum Yum Good

Last weekend we attended an incredible Chablis tasting at J. Emerson and then jaunted over to Patterson to enjoy Chinese food at Yum Yum Good. This tiny place has been around for years, and continues to serve up decent and inexpensive meals. A few tables were occupied, but most of the traffic came from take out.

We began with Wonton Soup

and a Spring Roll

Both tasty. The soup was very welcome on this chilly, windy evening.

For the main couse we ordered General Tao's Chicken

and an evening special of Chicken and String Beans

The General Tao's was what one would expect, but the breading was crispier than most places around here and a few peppers and baby corn graced the sauce. The special was very good. The string beans were steamed and then fiercely sauteed. A few tree ears were also tossed in. All of the plates had been kept very warm, thus, keeping the food warmer during the meal which I thought was a nice touch.

And our traditional fortune cookie contained a fortune in Spanish!

Nobody knows what he can do until he tries (translation courtesy of iGoogle).

All in all a quiet satisfactory evening.