Sunday nights shouldn’t be humdrum, and now you have BAZI’s Shanghai Nights $10 Chinese Classics to look forward to! Have one last fling before you start your work week. 7 Chinese classics are available through the week but discounted only on Sundays. Enjoy these favorite Chinese classics while you can, they can be paired with dishes from their a la carte menu which are all scrumptious or savored as is. Drop by if you’re going to the beach, shopping in South Beach or want a good Chinese without MSG in beautiful surroundings!
Our favorites were spare ribs, they were tender and not slathered with sticky sweet sauce like most Chinese restaurants and Moo Shu Pork.
BAZI’s take on Chinese food is delightful, I’ve had their Thanksgiving dinner with Peking turkey. You can find out why an Italian Chef, Mike Pirolo and Jen Chaefsky decided to open a Chinese restaurant and why I chose BAZI to host my Chinese New Year celebrations here and here.
Chinese food
Wok Town, South Beach
I am not a fan of Chinese food in Miami, it’s full of MSG, way too salty and every dish arrives swimming in brown goopy sauce. And tonight proved to be the same old repertoire at Wok Town in South Beach! Too bad, because they actually do a nice job with their concept which is pick your protein and choose your sauce. I prefer the downtown location with very zen white and orange decor and wonderful large scale photos. The South Beach location has dark wood and black chairs which are not very cheerful and it’s dark in there!
They’ve expanded the menu and added a few more salads. I saw Chicken Satay Appetizer $5.95 with crispy noodles. Sounds good but not sure about the portion or flavor. All the satays I’ve had outside of Asia usually uses chicken breast! It’s dry, rubbery and tasteless because they don’t marinade it properly and leave in one slab stabbed on a skewer.
With the Groupon deal, we had to purchase two entrees, so we opted for Mongolian Pork $10.95 and Bulgogi Steak Salad $12.95. My hubby loves Crispy Brussel Sprouts, so we ordered that as well. Major disappointment, small plate for $5.95 again swimming in way too much sickly sweet sauce. There was nothing Mongolian about the Mongolian Pork, no hint of spiciness or Szechuan flavors, just more brown goopy sauce. I guess it was accentuated because we didn’t have rice to sop it up. The pork tasted like it was Chinese Char Siu (roast/BBQ pork), we just had a nibble because we decided to take this home.
The Bulgogi Steak Salad ended up being the best dish! It was a good portion enough to share. The skirt steak was nicely grilled and very tasty, not chewy. Good presentation in a large orange rectagular bowl, salad was simple field greens with chopped scallion, shredded carrots and sliced cucumbers with side of kimchi and bulgogi dressing. Definitely would recommend this dish.
Other dishes I’ve had downtown was Singapore noodles and pan fried pork Gyozas, both were pleasantly yummy. This was quite a few years’ ago though, so don’t hold your breath. The minute they change chefs, you just never know what to expect. I think the South Beach chefs need to back off on their salt, sauce and sweet, the three ‘s’!
My hubby always says, when you go to a Chinese restaurant, you have to have the Fortune Cookie. I liked that fortune: “You are an exciting and inspiring person”!
Asian Markets in Broward
Asian Markets in Broward
Thanks to many who have contributed with their suggestions of Asian Markets in Broward since I am not familiar with that area. I’ve been to most to check them out though. My approach to food shopping is always Eat, then shop…
LAUDERDALE LAKES
The following 3 markets are in same Oakland Shopping Center as Silver Pond Chinese Restaurant & Saigon City (now Huong’s Bistro), so stop in to eat first! That’s always my approach to food shopping, ha, ha! Eat, then shop…
Gou Lou Cheong Chinese BBQ
4139 N. State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33319. 954 739 7377
BBQ meats, home made siu mai, sticky rice in lotus leafs, etc….
Cho A Dong
Oriental Foods Market, 4245 N. State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33319. Phone: 954-485-9450 / 305-769-1258
Maxin Bakery
4269 N State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33319. 954-335-1388
Roast pork buns and other great yummy stuff.
**********************************
PEMBROKE PINES
Chung Hing Oriental Mart
9803 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, FL 33024. 954-438-1060
Kimchi Mart
11230 Pembroke Pines, FL 33026 (954) 404-8756. Open 7 days, 9am-8pm
2420 North Dixie Highway, Hollywood, FL 33020 (954) 376-7070, Open 7 days, 9am-8pm
Also one in South Miami, see Miami Market list here.
All things Korean and has an interesting Korean Town section in the Hollywood store with different vendors who sell ready cooked foods. I got some tasty seaweed soup from Mom’s Kitchen.
P K Oriental Mart
2350 N University Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33322. (954)748-5971
DAVIE
O.K. I’m calling this wonderful strip mall, an Asian Village! It’s where Food Town is located and has numerous fabulous Asian restaurant choices so you can eat PRIOR to food shop. Watch for another post about those. I also went on a fabulous Food Crawl with a culinary historian/journalist, Carlos Olaechea and really wish he would do this again. It was a lot of fun hopping from one to another and hearing about them.
Food Town website
6431 Stirling Road, Davie, FL 33314. 954-797-7790
Mon-Sat: 7am-11pm; Sun: 7am-10pm
This store is located in a strip mall which is like an Asian village of its own. See above. This is my fav market! It’s HUGE, so be prepared to spend some time there to explore all the aisles which includes ALL ETHNICITIES. Lovely fresh veggies section. Below are all shots at Foodtown Supermarket…
SUNRISE
Patel Brothers (Indian)
Take a trip to India! Seriously, Patel Brothers, the Indian market in Sunrise is filled with shelves and shelves of 10 different Chana, 5 different types of chipati, 100 varieties of chili powders, whole section of Indian snacks, ready made Indian food and desserts, even Indian ice cream. I’m exaggerating with choices but really loved it there! They have many Indian vegetables you don’t see in other markets. I’m going to post in a blog more details about this fabulous store. They even had an Indian wok shaped vessel!
New York Mart
10065 Sunset Strip, Sunrise, FL 33322. 954-748-0065
Mon-Sun: 9am-8pm
This Asian supermarket is in the same center as Pine Court Bistro which is a good dim sum restaurant, not sure why the name, very confusing. So, have lunch and shop till you drop. This is adequate but not as huge or have as much selection as Foodtown Supermarket in Davie.
Hong Kong Market Oriental Groceries & Gifts
5371 N. State Rd. 7 (441), Tamarac, FL 33319. 954-485-6688
Fortune Cookie Oriental Supermarket
2700 Forest Hill Blvd., WPB, FL 33406. 561-433-5818
Very comprehensive market.