Aug 05 2012

Review of Asian Kitchen in Durham, NC

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Asian food, and having been in the Durham, NC area long enough to have tried nearly every Asian restaurant nearby, I can say with confidence that Asian Kitchen offers some of the best Chinese and Thai dishes around. Before discussing their outstanding food offerings, it’s important to note that they received the prestigious award of being amongst the Menu Asian’s Top 100 Asian Restaurants in the United States. Even more impressive is that they were one of just three nominees in the state of North Carolina, and that one of the other two is a national chain. Such an award doesn’t come just from having great food, but also encompasses the friendliness, courtesy, and professionalism of the staff, the cleanliness of the restaurant, and various other elements that make up the overall dining experience. As such, Asian Kitchen excels in all of those categories as well.

Now, getting down to the primary focus of a restaurant review–the food–I would like to talk about the dishes that I have had. Unfortunately, it might be a bit of a long read if I mention every offering that I’ve had there, as I have eaten nearly every appetizer and main course listed on the menu. Instead, I am going to focus on some of the ones that I’ve found to be their bests. In terms of appetizers, their egg rolls and spring rolls are both very good, especially if you want to stick to some starters with which you’re more familiar. If, however, you would like to venture out into some items that aren’t found on the menu of nearly every Chinese restaurant (fine or greasy spoon), I would highly recommend their “Steam [sic] Dumplings” (either the standard ones with pork, or the vegetarian ones). I personally prefer the veggie variation, as they are a bit lighter, but the pork dumplings do pair very nicely with the ginger-garlic soy sauce. Another fantastic choice is the “Thai Style Summer Role” which reminds me of some of the rolls that I’ve had in upscale Vietnamese restaurants. Prepared in moistened rice paper with shrimp and mango, they are slightly different from the Vietnamese-style rolls which generally have fresh tofu and vermicelli noodles.

Moving onto the main courses, some of the highlights for me are teriyaki chicken (I know, I know, that is a Japanese dish), orange chicken, and–undoubtedly my favourite–their green curry tofu. The teriyaki chicken features beautiful slices of nicely grilled breast meat, and some incredibly fresh vegetables mixed with a scrumptious glaze of soy and mirin. Though I very rarely will eat fried foods, the orange chicken at Asian Kitchen is a dish that should not be missed; it is simply remarkable! They very lightly bread huge chunks of white-meat chicken (where the breading is nothing more than a thin layer around the juicy centre), and toss it with a sweet and syrupy (yet light) sauce and orange rinds. If I’m going to splurge and eat something fried, I want it to be perfectly done, and their orange chicken is just that. Last, but absolutely not least, my favourite dish on their entire menu is the “Tofu with green curry sauce.”

Asian Kitchen in Durham, NC - Tofu in green curry sauce
Click to enlarge

With an outstandingly fresh medley of broccoli, courgettes, green bell peppers, white onions, and beautiful, crisp French beans, the stir fried tofu sits in a fragrantly floral green curry sauce made from coconut milk, oil, and cymbopogon (lemongrass). Though red curry is also nice, I find it goes better with a heavier protein (like beef or possibly pork). The green curry is also a little spicier, which I really like (the hotter the better, provided that one can still taste the flavours). My favourite part of the whole meal, though, is taking the leftover green curry sauce, and mixing in the white rice:

Asian Kitchen in Durham, NC - Rice in green curry sauce
Click to enlarge

The rice absorbs the sauce and takes on an incredibly creamy consistency that is both appealing and comforting. What an excellent ending to an already wonderful meal! If you are ever in the Triangle area, you would be foolish to not stop by Asian Kitchen (tell Julia that Zach sent you)! Oh, and by the way, at the time of writing, they offer 10% off of your order if you place it online through their website (just to sweeten the deal).

Cheers,
Zach

Aug 04 2012

Wine tasting review – 04 August 2012

At the Saturday tasting today, the wines were all in the 90+ point category, so it made for some great choices! Four of the wines were from the West Coast of the United States (three from California and one from Washington), and one was from Argentina. I didn’t leave with any of them today, but one in particular was quite nice. As a quick sidebar, there isn’t a photo this week because apparently I couldn’t hold the camera steady whilst taking the photo; sorry about that.

The first wine was a 2011 Riesling from Columbia Valley, Washington. Known as Poet’s Leap, it was the 90-point recipient from Long Shadows Winery. It was a light golden colour at the edge, and nearly clear when viewed straight on. It had very few legs, but the ones that were there were thick and slow-running. There was a great peach flavour, and I picked up some hints of honey in the mid-palate and at the finish.

The second offering was Domaine Eden’s 2009 Chardonnay. Receiving 90 points from Wine Spectator, it exhibited a light yellow colour throughout. To me, the acidity was light, and the wine was not as crisp as the previous Riesling. Interestingly, this wine reminded me of a potato soup that I had at a nice restaurant several months ago. I believe that it was likely due to the combination of the buttery mouth feel and the mild flavour of dill.

The third pour was the 2008 ‘Q’ Malbec from Zuccardi Wines, and it received 91 points from The Wine Advocate – E. Robert Parker. Zuccardi is the largest family-owned estate vineyard in Argentina, and they have been producing for over 40 years. It had a medium garnet colour with medium, quick legs. There were hints of plum and some mild spice that came through to me. However, I thought that it had an almost astringent mouth feel, and that the finish was a bit dull.

The fourth wine was the 2009 Tanbark Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from producer Philip Togni, and it received 93 points from The Wine Advocate. It had a deep red colour that was nearing purple, and thick, slow legs. There was a mild spiced scent of cloves, and a fantastic finish that had hints of smoke, tobacco, to me, some black olive. Though I didn’t purchase it today, it was my favourite by a long shot.

The final pour of the day was 2008 ‘Muldoon’ (which is a Syrah [57%] and Grenache [43%] blend) from Grey Stack Cellars, which took home 92 points from the Wine Spectator. It had a deep red centre, with a medium red edge. It was a bit cloudy, but that is due to the producer using absolutely no filtering or fining, and as such, it had some nice depth. There was a beautiful cigar and suede scent to it, but those aromas didn’t seem to manifest themselves in term of flavour to me. Instead, I picked up a heavy blackberry flavour. Along with it came a very heavy mouth feel and a huge punch of fruit at the finish. It was nice, but a bit tannic given the age. I think that it will be fantastic in about four or five years.

Cheers,
Zach

Aug 03 2012

Ip Man review

I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for quite some time now, but one aspect that I don’t use nearly often enough are the prime videos on demand. This past week, I took advantage of the free films that were available and watched one entitled Ip Man. I thought it was a little unusual that a martial arts film would have such high ratings, and considering I was in the mood for something like it, I decided to give it a go. I was very pleasantly surprised!

Ip Man - Donnie Yen

The film focuses on Yip Man (also spelled Ip Man), who was a martial artist in the southern Chinese town of Foshan. Foshan was known as one of the primary kung fu hubs for many decades, and many travelled there in order to learn from one of the many masters who opened martial arts schools in the city.

Even though there were several inaccuracies about Ip Man’s life (which were likely there for cinematic effect and drama), much of the story was factual and based during the Second Sino-Japanese War (taking place from 1937 to 1945). During that time, the Japanese were infiltrating regions of China and attempting to enforce their cultural beliefs and systems. Though I’m unsure if Foshan was one of the targeted cities, or if Ip Man really had any influence on the war, it was fascinating to get a little bit more background regarding an event about which I essentially knew nothing.

Yip Man studied the martial art of Wing Chun, and trained many students throughout his career. Amongst those students was the very well-known Bruce Lee. Having not read anything about the film before I watched it, I actually didn’t know that until right at the end as the credits were starting to roll.

As I said, the film was surprisingly good! I expected just another martial arts show, but this one had a great story (no matter how embellished it may have been regarding his life, the war, et cetera), some great drama, and nice cinematography in spots. The only problem was that the version to which I had access was dubbed instead of subtitled, and the voices were a bit distracting. In any case, I would recommend you watch it. It’s not the most exceptional film I’ve ever seen, but it was entertaining, and provided some perspective on a historical event. I would say that it’s deserving of 7 stars:

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Cheers,
Zach