"Asian fusion"

SOBEWFF Dinner at Novikov Miami hosted by Chef Charles Phan

February 26, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Food Network Cooking Channel and South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF) are doing a fantastic job with their dinner series, I love their tag line – Eat, Drink, Educate. Guest chefs from all over the States are matched with Miami restaurants who share similar cuisines. Having dined at both Novikov Miami and The Slanted Door, Charles Phan’s San Francisco restaurant at the Ferry Building back in 2004, I was curious to see how their dishes complemented each other. Seamless and flawless are two words that come to mind!

I got a chance to chat to Charles Phan before the craziness started and glad we took our photo then, cause I noticed some splashes of what looked like caramel sauce from his delicious Spanish Mackerel, ha, ha!

SOBEWFF just celebrated their 18th year! It started as a one day affair and now spans over 5 days with 100 events. Food lovers gather in South Beach from all over the world, so it’s not surprising most events were sold out.

About Charles Phan in a nutshell…
Phan was an architecture student for 3 years before dropping out to help his mom at her sewing shop prior to becoming a restauranteur with NO KNOWLEDGE of running a restaurant or cooking professionally, the closest thing he did was bussing tables. 1995 was when he opened The Slanted Door in its original location in the Mission, San Francisco. 24 years later, Phan owns and operates 5 restaurants with one opening soon in Las Vegas. I see he has applied his architecture into styling and cooking his food and into his restaurants. He enjoys merging modern Chinese, Vietnamese, French food using classic techniques to tell “stories” about his dishes.

About Novikov…
Head over for the full scoop of my Miami Spice lunch at Novikov here.

Nothing is ordinary at Novikov Miami, this unique sculpture greets you as you enter!

The ambience with the curved outdoor patio and pendulum lights, the gorgeous breeze coming off Miami River made for a perfect setting.

Top: Phan’s Mung Bean Dumplings and Gau Choy Gow Pan-Fried Wild Shrimp & Garlic Chive Dumplings. I could’ve devoured 100 of them! Paired perfectly with Ferrai-Carano Dry Sangiovese Rose 2017.

From Novikov: Marinated & Grilled Chilean Sea Bass Skewers with Ginger, Jalapeno & Cilantro. I probably had six of these, so good. Paired with Ferrai-Carano Dry Sangiovese Rose 2017.

From Phan: Refreshing Green Mango & Cucumber Salad, Thai Chile & Garlic Fish Sauce Dressing paired with Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc 2017.

From Phan: Spanish Mackerel with Caramel Sauce paired with Ferrari-Carano Pinot Noir 2016.

From Novikov: Tender morsels of Wagyu Skirt Steak, Yuzu Chimi, Garlic Crisp & Micro Herb Salad. Paired with Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon 2015. We sat next to pescatarians so they gave us theirs, ha, ha. Oh our tummies and taste buds were so happy.

From Novikov: Dessert – Crunchy Sesame Ice Cream Cone. Gorgeous end.

NOTE: this was a media dinner but doesn’t sway my judgement.

Wok Star Supper Club, huge success at Drunken Dragon

August 16, 2016 By Eleanor Hoh 3 Comments

Thank you everyone who came out to celebrate my Wok Star Supper Club at Drunken Dragon this past Sunday. Everyone raved about the exotic flavors of each dish, what a successful dinner gathering to conquer the summer blues and celebrate what would have been my mom’s birthday, my mom would have approved!

Crack Ribs was my fav dish, made with sambal, tender, fall off the bone!

Chef Xavier Torres had a few surprises for us, see menu below. This is the part I love most about organizing these events, I work with the chefs and staff to make it the best experience for you and your taste buds!
We had other surprises, the General Manager, Ryan Hamilton arranged for their art gallery two doors down to be open so we could view some pretty amazing art before going through a back alley to visit Foxhole Bar. It was a lovely evening with 3 activities rolled into one. Thanks also to Alex Tanaka the manager and Alexia Tapanes who was so patient with my wish list. And of course, Voss who hydrated us all evening.
I hope you’ll return and try other dishes and don’t forget their Korean BBQ, and say that’s what you want to do when you make your reservations, not all tables have the BBQ grill. Visit Drunken Dragon for more details.
Missed my Wok Star Supper Club? You can drool over the photos below. I’ll be organizing more this fall, so stay tuned.
Sign up for my free newsletter in right sidebar so you’ll get first dibs into my Wok Star Supper Club—->>
To find out more about my Wok Star Supper Club (previously called Hoh Wok Club.)
Note: I don’t get paid to organize these events. I do it because I love introducing people to good Asian cuisine in Miami! I do get 2 complimentary dinners.

EleanorHoh-ChefXavierTorres-DrunkenDragon — Yours truly with talented Chef Xavier Torres, thanks for making it so much fun and so successful!

DrunkenDragon-Tunatacos — Tuna Poke Taco was so light and refreshing, a perfect starter and set the tone for what’s to come!

DrunkenDragon-Edamame — Appetizer: Edamame with black pepper, sea salt, radishes

DrunkenDragon-SaltRoastedBeets — Appetizer: Salt Roasted Gold and Red Beets with blackberry, pea shoots, miso yogurt, dry miso and red quinoa.

DrunkenDragon-Voss-Hamachi — Appetizer: Hamachi with kalamansi ponzu, cashews, orange and grapefruit segments, red onion and mint. Thanks VOSS for hydrating us.

DrunkenDragon-lobsterroll — Appetizer: Lobster Roll, crispy brioche, sriracha aioli, cavier, Bottarga, tarragon.

DrunkenDragon-CrackRibs — Entree: Crack Spare Ribs with serondeng sambal, scallion, coriander, red chili.

DrunkenDragon-TwiceFriedChicken — Entree: Twice Fried Chicken with Asian slaw, Miso Ranch, Red Dragon Sauce.

Sides: Taro Truffle Hash with 63 egg, Chinese sausage, corn, snow peas, taro chips. Not shown: Drunken Dragon fries with curry salt and truffle aioli.

Stir fry vegetables with sweet soy-ginger sauce and garlic salt.

MarketGallery — Visit to Market Gallery after dinner and Foxhole Bar through an alley wrapped up this 3 event evening!

HOH WOK CLUB: Year of Monkey at BAZI

March 5, 2016 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

This year’s HOH WOK CLUB’s annual gathering to celebrate Chinese New Year was a huge success with food and cocktails overflowing. Thanks to BAZI and all who came, it was like a big private party except Chef Mike Pirolo and his team did all the work, so I could hang and enjoy! So happy my sister, Valerie and her husband, Dennis were able to join us, at least I had one family member with me.
Feast your eyes on this food gallery, I already posted everything you need to know about BAZI in a post here. Don’t miss Chef Mike Pirolo’s video below describing his BAZI concept! Also go check one of my fav Wok Stars, blogger and super photographer, Brenda Benoit’s post here.
If you missed this outstanding fun celebration, stay tuned for upcoming HOH WOK CLUB gatherings! Numerous Asian inspired restaurants have popped up in Miami and I’d like to introduce you to them. Sign up for my free newsletter in right sidebar so you’ll get first dibs into these events.