Gourmet Dumpling House

I make no bones that I love a good, cheap meal! As much as I adore fine dining and an excuse to get dressed up and put on some make-up, I love a meal that is down and dirty and just delicious. So Chinatown is a section of the city I often find myself wandering towards. My faves use to include Taiwan Cafe and Hong Kong Cafe. But lately, I've noticed the quality of the dishes at both places going a bit south. It made me a little sad and I found myself in need of a new place to fill in the gap. This is how Gourmet Dumpling House came to be near and dear in my heart. Elizabeth and I passed by it a few times and often said we'd stop on and try it soon. But E's not a huge fan of Chinese food and I was a little worried about her not enjoying her meal if we tried a new Chinese joint. But the place got rave reviews from my friend W and so we had to try it out.

First of all, the menu is huge! For such a little place, it's got one of the biggest menus I've seen. And don't let the name fool you. Dumplings are not the only thing they serve. However, the dumplings are very good. I especially like the long, pan fried Taiwanese style ones. They take longer to arrive but they're worth the wait. One dumpling dish I wouldn't order again from them would be the soup dumplings. They were a little dried out and not as soupy on the inside as I'd hoped. For soup dumplings I'd stick to Taiwan Cafe.

Among the other things they seem to do well is seafood! Recently, I had the crabs with ginger and scallion and the clams with black bean and basil sauce. Both were excellent. The portion on the crab was insane while the portion on the clams was a little less insane, it was still a very generous serving.

My standard favorite of watercress with garlic is hard to mess up but sometimes it comes out of places and is kinda not good. This is not the case with this place! Everytime I've ordered it, it's fantastic. Crunchy stems and soft leaves with sweet slivers of garlic.

And if you like that old standby, scallion pancake, definitely order it here. It's really flaky and good.

Like most places in Chinatown, the space and the decor leave a lot to be desired. The space is small and the family that runs really packs it in. Take for example, the picture up above. This was my seat one night. I was by myself and got the table that was jammed next to the fish/seafood tanks (literally the table ledge was jutting over the lower tanks). I swear they were staring at me the entire time I was eating. It was a bit creepy but with so much yummy food, I soon got over it. It was also the table in the corner next to a very dirty broom/dust bin and so led me to believe that perhaps it was the staff dining table. But on other occasions I've seen them seat other couples at that table so clearly it's used by other diners as well. I will note that all of them and me aren't Chinese, hmmm....jk. The service isn't the most pleasant and they don't mind bumping into you, shoving you aside to get by but given the space and the number of people vying for a table, I actually don't fault the servers too much. Plus I've had one of the owners just seat me when I was waiting for another person in my party and as I apologized and said I'd just go ahead and order while I wait, he waved his hand and said there was no need. I appreciated that he tried to go the extra step in courtesy.

Overall, this place rocks. And as word has gotten out, it's become busy as f-ck but I'm sure it will kinda die down soon. It was like this for Taiwan Cafe as well; when it first opened, it was literally mobbed every weekend. Overall, this just affirms that the best, cheapest meals are to be found in Chinatown. And if you ever want to find me during the week, just wait for me at the Dumpling House. Chances are I'll show up before too long!

How We Do Leftovers at 184 B-

Lately, Elizabeth and I have been trying to economize and eat out a bit less. We try to be careful with our limited funds, but even still we enjoy eating well. Since we both had Monday off, we decided it would be nice to try the $17.50 lunch at Sel de la Terre. I love Sel de la Terre. I had never been to the new Back Bay location but I was familiar with the waterfront locale. My friend, Beth, enjoyed the food there and so we'd sometimes go for dinner, splitting the fries and loving the in-house made bread. I had fond memories of the first Sel de la Terre but only ever went for dinner, never went for lunch and thought it'd be fun to try.

Elizabeth and I walked from our apartment, one of the perks of city living, and found the day to be beautiful but really chilly. The next day it was 93*! Oh Boston! What a strange spring you have. Anyway, we opted to sit at the bar. The bartender was nice and competent enough. Elizabeth was able to get her sazerac and I tried something from the bar menu called "London Calling" it's a gin based cocktail that was light and refreshing. We both decided on the $17.50 prix fixe lunch. It changes everyday but when we were there it was a starter of salmon croquettes and then duck meatballs with harricot verts and potato puree. We also opted for a side of french frieds. Yum!

The bread from Sel de la Terre is really good. My favorite bread in the bread basket was the olive bread. It had a chewy crust and the flavor of olive was very prominent.

The salmon croquettes came and were clearly made ahead of time, taken out of the fridge and seared on each side for a nice crust. They did arrive a bit on the cold side, which I was cool with, but E wasn't so certain she was down with it. The little side salad that came with the croquettes are lovely. It wasn't your usual mixed green salad and included flowers and pea shoot leaves. It was nicely dressed and I really appreciated that they treated the salad as important as the croquettes. I really enjoyed the first dish because they took me back to the days of my Grandma E's salmon croquettes (her's will always be tops in my book!!).

I was pretty much full after the first dish but we still had duck meatballs and french fries coming! The meatballs were very good and came with an accompany compote of some sort. It looked like a bit of caramelized onion and since E doesn't do onions, she handed hers over to me. I prompted ate it and realized it was onion but citrus of some sort. Elizabeth tasted some and realized it was blood orange, her favorite fruit! She was crushed that she didn't know. It was a lovely accompany to the rich meal. The pureed potatoes were really just a pool of butter with a bit of starch for show. The french fries were wonderful. Hot and not too skinny for me but still skinny enough for Elizabeth.

All in all, it was a HUGE lunch. Both of us were stuffed and only finished half of the meatballs on our plates. We decided to take it home and do something fun with the leftovers.

I was hankering for some Greek food as I often do and thought the meatballs would be really good in a sorta gyro sandwich. I mentioned my craving to Elizabeth and told her I was thinking soft flat bread with a yogurt and cucumber sauce. Pita bread wouldn't cut it. How about naan? But would the grocery store even have anything like naan?

So last night E and I took a trip to the Shaws across the street in search of ingredients. And guess what? They did have naan. Elizabeth spotted it in the fresh bread/bakery section and it was the last one too! I was really impressed that they had it at all and that it was the last package. We also got some Greek yogurt (again so happy but so shocked that they had it at Shaws).

Elizabeth put together the sandwiches which consisted of the leftover meatballs and beans. These she put on the naan and threw into the oven. On top she put shredded carrot, roast red pepper and oil cured olives. She chopped some mint and cucumber and mixed it into the yogurt and when the meatball topped naan had warmed thru, she put everything on top.

It was a delicious meal and a great way to use the leftovers. I was so happy that I mentioned my idea to Elizabeth because it truly was a very yummy dinner. It was so yummy that I was 1/3 of the way thru and then took the picture. Sorry! (burp)

So if you're stuck with leftovers, don't ever be sad! Just think about something you're craving and see where that takes you.

Oatmeal with Soy Sauce

Given the fact that I've eaten this dish non-stop for two days it is a little sad that I don't have proper picture. But trust me when I say that this is a good, dare I say great, little dish.

A little while back Mark Bittman made mention of adding scallions and soy sauce to oatmeal. Little did he know that he'd started off a sh_tstorm. The comments all over the internet came pouring in. Some were curious, even supportive but the majority of people found it strange and gross to put soy sauce in a good associated with milk, brown sugar and raisins.

I admit to being very intrigued but never really followed up on the idea. I had grown up on oatmeal for breakfast as a child and actually never really cared for it. No amount of brown sugar or raisins made it sweet enough for me and it would often sit in front me getting cold and going uneaten. My mom, trying to get me to eat a proper breakfast, would often threaten that if I didn't eat the oatmeal that it would reappear for my dinner. And lo and behold, it would. For dinner I'd sometimes be faced with the very oatmeal I had not eaten for breakfast. Only this time, it was cold from the fridge. Bad childhood food memories indeed.

Oatmeal had a place in my kitchen but only as an ingredient in oatmeal cookies and it sat beside the sugar and flour in my pantry. But again, my curiosity got the best of me and I found myself hungry after a workout. I didn't have anything in the kitchen worth fixing before I had to scoot to work but I was tired of my usual pumpernickel bagel. Ahh, now seemed like a good time to try the Mark Bittman oatmeal trick.

I cooked the oatmeal according to the instructions but without milk and when it was finished I added a handful of chopped scallions and about three spoonfuls of soy sauce. I stirred it in and tasted. It tasted familiar and comforting. Infact, it was delicious! It was like rice congee but without the rice! The scallions added crunch as well as flavor. How could something so simple be so good or so controversial?

I went to work but thought about the dish all day. That evening after it had cooked I added a bit of sesame oil and another handful of chopped spinach. The sesame oil didn't really add much and provided a lesson in keeping things simple but the spinach added a bit more green crunch and was lovely. I imagine asparagus would be great as well. Later, I added a chunk of herbed goat cheese and some oil brined olives; it was wonderful as well. Not as good as the soy sauce version but different and still really tasty.

Not convinced? I say, "try it!". Considering how cheap oatmeal is, you have nothing to lose if you don't like it. Plus, if oatmeal isn't really your thing, you can just make some cookies with the leftover oats.

Leah's Riff on Mark Bittman's Savory Oatmeal Idea:
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
dash of salt
(cook oatmeal, water and salt as directed)

1 cup fresh chopped spinach
2 stalks of scallions
4 teaspoons of soy sauce (more if you're a salt fiend like me)

Once the oatmeal is cooked and still hot add the spinach, scallions and soy sauce. Stir like crazy and eat.


Leah's Second Try:
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
dash of salt
(cook oatmeal, water and salt as directed)

1 good sized nub of goatcheese
6 oil brined olives pitted and chopped (or if you're like me, ripped apart with your fingers).

Once the oatmeal is cooked and still hot add the goat cheese and olives. Stir like crazy and eat.

I'm still a big fan of the soy sauce version but if you're a goat cheese fan, the second version will probably win you over.

March Food

I'm become such a sloth when it comes to blogging lately! I won't even bother to say much about these photos except this kinda sums up the food I ate this past month.


I'm sad the picture of this pizza is so small. It's from Picco in the South End and it's one of my favorite places for pizza in the city. The crust is perfect...not too thick or thin and the perfect char on the bottom. I should have done an upskirt pic but I'm an amateur so you're left with this crappy photo. Trust me, the pizza is good stuff. The service is hit or miss. Sometimes I get nice people who are very attentive and other times I've had servers that I wanted to throw knives out. But go for the pizza and the home made ice cream!





For our anniversary, E made triple battered chicken for me. I love fried chicken and I tend to love a thick crust. She did a great job getting a thick crust. How she got all that crust to hang into that poor little drumstick is beyond me. It had good flavor and made sure the chicken was juicy but it was a little too thick, even for the likes of me! But A+++ for effort.

In keeping with my needs for Korean food, we went to a place in Chinatown that was eh. But sometimes when you crave something you just have to have it no matter what. But seriously, can someone come up with an amazing Korean place in Boston already?!?

Facebook and Twitter = Recipe for Disaster

A friend emailed me via Facebook with a link to an article on msn.com where Anthony Bourdain does picks and pans of food shows on TV. The best quote from Tony was regarding the show, "Semi Homemade with Sandra Lee."

The most terrifying thing I've seen is her making a Kwanzaa cake. Watch that clip and tell me your eyeballs don't burst into flames. It's a war crime on television. You'll scream.

Those seemed like might strongly words even for Bourdain. I was intrigued but too busy/lazy to seek out an episode of Semi Homemade involving Kwanzaa cake, but decided to Tweet my thoughts:

Sandra Lee made a Kwanzaa cake at some point?? Omg so wrong on so many levels and I really want to see that episode. about 7 hours ago from web

And wouldn't you know, I got a response from a friend a few minutes later:

msdixon@denimmafia Ask and you shall receive http://tinyurl.com/4jtbu2about 7 hours ago from TwitterFox in reply to denimmafia

It was a link to the Sandra Lee Kwanzaa cake fiasco. And for your viewing pleasure I'll embed it here for you as well:



O.M.G. Seriously, how do angel food cake, chocolate frosting, apple pie filling and cornnuts (aka acorns) go together? Who does that? And how does anything in this cake reflect Kwanzaa? How do cornnuts become "acorns" and suit cake decorations? It's as if Sandra Lee is a complete stoner and just mashed a bunch of things together because she got the munchies.

And honestly, what about this cake reflects "kwanzaa"? So yeah, while Bourdain's word seemed intense, they were absolutely befitting in this situation. A war crime indeed. And yes, I screamed!

Back to Basics

I love Ina Garten. Although I've only experienced limited success with her recipes, I love her show on Food Network. She makes the sorta food I want to eat. She's not overly chipper ala Rachel Ray, sexpotty like Giada or overly geeky like Alton Brown. No, she's the kind of woman I imagine being good friends with. I imagine her as friendly, smart and extremely generous. So this might be why I always refer to her cookbooks first whenever I decide I want to cook something up for myself that I'm unfamiliar with.

I own almost each of her cookbooks and they all live in my tiny kitchen so I can quickly refer to them. Even so, I wasn't feeling overly inspired by any of them lately. But Ina recently came out with a new cookbook called Back to Basics that I thought looked awesome. So awesome that I bought it was a gift for food buddy Caroline and was a little sad to give it away. So E bought it for me as a Xmas gift so I had a copy of my own.

I found a yummy sounding butternut curry soup inside and have been wanting to try it for a while now. It looked very simple and easy. And since I had a day off from work, I figured I might as well give it a whirl. I also decided that I wanted dessert too and was craving chocolate mousse. My craving is odd given the very bad experience I had with chocolate mousse in the 8th grade.

My 8th grade French class was having a party, and I was given the task of making chocolate mousse. How I ended up with this task is beyond me, because I had no clue how to make it. But sure, I told the teacher I'd give it a shot if she gave me a recipe for it. Too bad the recipe she gave me involved things that a 13 year old knows nothing about, such as brewed coffee, cognac and an ice bath. All I can say is that the mousse was a disaster and turned into lumpy chocolate soup sans coffee, cognac and ice bath. That was the first and last time I made chocolate mousse until tonight.

I, being an Ina devotee, checked to see if she had a recipe for chocolate mousse and she did. It, of course, involved two different types of alcohol. Given my experience with Ina's tiramisu and the sheer amount of rum in that dish, I decided that I'd use a different recipe. I wanted something fairly simple but with a slight depth of flavor. I looked in my Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe that involved a total of four ingredients: chocolate chips, sugar, egg yolks, whipping cream. And while the recipe was idiotically simple (why didn't my French teacher give me this recipe to make?!?!), I was afraid the taste would be dull as well. I decided to improvise a bit and added instant espresso to the cream I had to heat as well as some good vanilla extract too.

What resulted was an incredibly rich and light mousse with the exact depth of flavor I wanted as a result of the espresso and vanilla. Yum! It's the sort of thing that you can't eat a lot of, but boy, you really wish you could! Thanks Betty Crocker Cookbook!

So back to the curry butternut soup...it was simple, simple, simple. Roast cubes of butternut squash, onion and apple until they're soft and cooked thru, run it thru a food mill (or a blender in my case), add to chicken stock, sprinkle with curry, salt and pepper and garnish with coconut, banana and cashews.

I liked how easy the soup was to bring together, although I hate, with a passion, cutting the squash. It's just so boring to me and seems like it always takes forever to peel and cube. So I roasted and pureed and soon dinner was ready. E dressed the greens I purchased with a simple oil and vinegar dressing and I pulled out soup bowls.

The soup was nice. It was sweet because of the butternut squash. The curry flavor wasn't as apparent as I had hoped though.

I wonder if I'll always be kinda lukewarm about the actual outcome of my Ina Garten recipes. I mean, I love her so much, but everything I'd ever followed of hers, turns out eh. It's good but never great. Perhaps I love Ina so much, too much that nothing will ever live up to my expectations. Maybe I need to start building a lower pedal stool in my head for my Ina. I'll think about it...

Lunar New Year

Just to clarify before I go on, I'm Korean American. I was raised by a white family so my knowledge of Korean culture is limited at best. I do know that Korean's don't really get into the Lunar New Year Celebration. However that said, if I have to give offers to any sort of god, I'd rather have it go to a "Kitchen God" any day of the week!

At Lunar New Year, many Chinese families pay their respects to the Kitchen God known as either Zaowang or Tsao Wang. One of the most popular lesser gods and credited with the invention of fire, the KG is the one who oversees the virtues of a family. Why the kitchen? Well, the heart of any family tends to be here, in the kitchen.

So apparently, KG duties include going back to heaven to report on how good the family is. And the idea is to bribe him before his big trip up. So families will put offering for him by the stove. Food that symbolizes sweet life, prosperity, longity, etc. I think wine is also set up in hopes of getting KG boozed up so he'll be even happier to sing the praises of the family once he arrives in heaven.

There is something so adorable about this practice and yet so familiar. It sorta of reminds me of the wine that Jewish families leave out for the holy spirit. Offering to gods and spirits cross so many culture borders and I really love that. But I love the idea of the KG so much b/c I love the idea of a god living inside my stove!

Perhaps, I should give my KG an offering so he will not only sing my praises in heaven but also so he can figure out how to get that darn electric oven to bake cakes evenly.

Even though this really isn't a holiday that I celebrate, I do plan on going to Chinatown next Monday to feast on clams, dumplings, pork and noodles! Yum!