"Chinese food"

Chinese New Year Miami Roundup 2019

February 3, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh 1 Comment

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Pick from 5 of my fav restaurants to celebrate Year of the Pig, some with Special Menus and Lion Dance. ENJOY!!
The Year of the Pig starts TUESDAY, February 5 and festivities last 2 weeks. Since I’m not organizing a Chinese New Year gathering this year, I’ve put together a list of Chinese/Asian restaurants celebrating Year of the Pig so you can experience it.

You can catch me on Facebook Live talking Chinese New Year with Linda Gassenheimer on Food News & Views and get tips for a Simple Skirt Stir Fry! We continued with a radio interview on 880thebiz, hear it as a podcast!

So, what’s the significance of Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is a time to spend with family and friends and celebrate LIFE! My mom used to cook for days, there was one of everything, so duck, beef, pork, shrimp, you get the drift. The whole table would be filled, it was our favorite time of the year, what a feast for the eyes and tummy. And we got red packets filled with money when we visited our cousins or friends.

Chinese New Year gives you another chance to wipe the slate clean and start over if you’ve fallen off the wagon with your New Year resolution. It’s an opportunity to kick old habits and start new ways of doing things that bring you happiness.

If you’re superstitious like me and don’t want to chance it, here are a few things I do…
• No sweeping on New Year’s Day or you’ll sweep away good luck, great excuse for no housework.
• Wear red or gold or both and eat things like Dumplings, wontons or gyozas resemble gold ingots. They signify Prosperity, Longevity, Good Luck and Happiness.

Find out Pig traits, compatibility, predictions of fame and fortune and celebrities who are Pigs.

And now for the roundup of 5 of my fav Miami restaurants celebrating Chinese New Year, contact them to find out about menus etc. and order some of those good luck foods. Do call them PRIOR to going to reserve and check for Lion Dance appearances to avoid disappointment, I’m just the messenger.

Hakkasan
February 5- February 24, 7:30PM
$108pp
Reserve here.

I took my Wok Star Supper Club for Chinese New Year Yum Cha a few years’ ago and it’s been the talk of the town ever since! Check it out here, you’ll understand why! It’s elegant, the food is exquisite and you get treated like royalty.

Hakkasan celebrates the Year of the Pig with a limited edition menu created by International Chef de Cuisine, Jian Loo alongside an exclusive cocktail and dessert. There’ll be a special lion dance on February 5 at 7:30PM only. Known for its modern take on authentic Cantonese cuisine, you’ll enjoy New Year dishes like Peking duck with crispy bean curd and mango, Fortune Macaron and Liáo liáo cocktail. Every dish features ingredients believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year.

No Name Chinese
February 5, 5:30-10pm
$45pp + $30 wine tasting
Call 786-577-0734 or on OpenTable

I have really enjoyed No Name Chinese for its interesting fusion and modern takes, check my review and video here.

One-night-only 4-course tasting menu. Chef Pablo Zitzmann will be serving dishes like “the Crudo Yusheng that is a really celebratory dish. We got a red braised pork belly that is eaten during Chinese New Year for wealth, long Lo Mein Noodles for longevity and whole roasted fish for a good start and end of the year.”

OG Supper Club and 1-800-Lucky
February 6, 6:30-9:30pm
$55/pp
Tickets here.

1-800-Lucky is the only hip, Asian food hall in Miami with outdoor garden lounge and offers everyone’s favorite dishes like Dim Sum, Chinese roast duck, Thai, ramen, you get the drift.

A Chinese New Year filled with Good Fortune and Good Food…
Upon arrival, each guest will receive his or her own map to present to each of Lucky’s vendors to receive one of their signature dishes.

Throughout the evening, indulge on specialty, holiday cocktails, snap pics at the event’s pop-up photo booth, enjoy live entertainment and partake in a live karaoke competition held one night ONLY in the venue’s outdoor patio with special prizes for three selects winners and much more!

Sugar at East
February 5, 8pm
Lion Dance and Chinese drummers
Check here.
This is a fabulous rooftop garden bar lounge with exquisite Asian accents. Small bites and amazing panoramic skyline views make this one of the best venues.
It doesn’t look like there’s an extra charge for the Lion Dance, so just pay for drinks and eats.

Tanuki
Monday, February 4 to Saturday, February 9
$45pp

This modern, zen Japanese restaurant also offers Chinese Dim Sum and South Asian cuisine. What a clever idea their Chinese New Year menu…

Tanuki is ringing in the Year of the Pig by offering a special 4-course menu (full of pig). Pork Belly Fuku Buns, Pork Gyoza, Pork Fried Rice ending with Miso Chocolate Mousse with Pork Crackling Crumble and Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream.

Other specials include: A whole Roasted Pig Porchetta for $26 (limited availability) and Korobuta Double Chop for $35.

Restaurants not celebrating with special Chinese New Year menu but you can still enjoy without the fuss?…
Black Brick
They’ll be celebrating Spring Lantern Festival, Feb.19. Check menu here.
Komodo
They didn’t post anything special for Chinese New Year. Check their menu here. I went when they first opened, ambience, food and execution was excellent.
Novikov
I must say for a Russian owned Chinese restaurant, it was one of the best dining experience I’ve ever had, see my post here.

If you want to experience a Chinese New Year Festival with a Lion and Dragon Dance, Chinese food, with lots of activities for kids, The Chinese Foundation puts on an annual event at the Miami Dade Campus.

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY everyone!
May your year bring you much happiness, good health and prosperity!

Easy to Make Singapore Noodles!

November 4, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh 2 Comments

You’re going to LOVE this easy Singapore Noodle dish, so simple a novice can make it! It’s so delicious and addictive with curry flavors, colorful, crunchy veggies and two different meats, an irresistible one-dish meal. I discovered this popular dish is not from Singapore, what a shocker. I don’t care, my mom who was born in Singapore used to make it for us and that’s all that matters.

How I decided to make Singapore Noodles was because a journalism student, Lei Huang is producing a documentary for her thesis and wanted to videotape me cooking a dish that reminded me of my family and the stories behind it.

The KEY to Singapore Noodles is to fry everything separately, it’s the same concept to a stir fry dish. Once you’re in the flow, it goes really fast. You can apply this technique to ANY noodle dish. Remember, put your personal spin on, that’s what being a Wok Star is all about!

My short Singapore Noodle video gives you an idea of the steps.

Lei’s beautiful version of my Easy, Yummy, Singapore Noodles . Behind the scenes of Lei’s shoot.

Noodles – start by soaking 3 bundles of rice vermicelli in hot water in a pot and cover for about 5 minutes, test if done. Drain in colander and run under cold water, drain well. Add a few swirls of sesame oil and use chopsticks to separate the noodles. Cover with kitchen towel so they don’t dry out. When anything is wet, it’ll stick to the wok and becomes mushy and messy.

Vegetables – typically, onions, green, red bell peppers and bean sprouts, use only a handful and literally flash fry them, otherwise they get watery. I’ve used shredded savoy cabbage (Napa tends to give out water), rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms (don’t use fresh ones, too watery).

Protein – typically, shrimp and Char Siu (Chinese Roast Pork) are used but feel free to try different meats. Use tofu or seitan for vegetarian or vegan version.

Stir Fry in sequence as with any stir fry dish…Vegetables, Eggs, Protein, Noodles and combine.

If you’re a noodle lover, I found this great article all about different types of noodles.

As a Wok Star, I don’t use recipes or measure but I’ve given some guidelines below. This quantity is for 4 people, there was leftovers after 3 of us had 2 servings each. I also got some roast duck and Char Siu as a side dish.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. shrimp
1/2 lb. Char Siu
2 eggs beaten

1/4 each green, red, orange, yellow bell peppers, julienne
Handful rehydrated dry shiitake mushrooms squeezed dry and thinly sliced
2 scallions cut diagonally
3 cloves of garlic diced
thumb size ginger shredded
cilantro chopped

3 bundles of rice vermicelli

Grapeseed oil for frying
Toasted sesame oil for noodles

Curry powder (either from myspicesage.com or Babas curry powder)
TSPC: San-J tamari, medium sherry, white Pepper, cornstarch

Wok Stars, you know the drill…

Soak, drain, add sesame oil to noodles, cover as directed above.
Leave all cut veggies on chopping board as shown in photo
Beat eggs
Pat shrimp dry, marinade with TSPC. Slice Char Siu into thin slices.
Heat wok till piping hot, squeeze 3 rounds of grapeseed oil, add 1/2 G&G (garlic & ginger), immediately add all the veggies and fry till how you like it, sprinkle Tamari and curry powder till all gets covered, taste and adjust, plate them on serving platter.
Heat wok till piping hot, squeeze 3 rounds of grapeseed oil, add egg and swirl to make omelet. Once it sets, chop into small chunks with spatula, add to plate of veggies.
Wipe out wok, repeat: heat wok, this time swirl in 4 rounds of oil, add G&G, add shrimp in one layer and let fry till golden before flipping and frying. Just as they’re near ready, add in Char Siu to warm through. Sprinkle curry powder till all gets covered, add to plate of veggies and egg.
Wipe out wok, repeat: heat wok, swirl in 4-6 rounds of oil, add in vermicelli, sprinkle curry powder and move quickly with spatula to toss the noodles. Keep adding curry powder to noodles till all covered. If you keep moving noodles, they won’t stick. Now, add in veggies, eggs, meats and toss to combine well. Plate and garnish with cilantro and serve at once! ENJOY!

Do share your version of Singapore Noodles in comments and let us know how yours turn out?

Novikov Miami Spice Excites Your Palate

August 10, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Alright, so now we have a Russian opening a Chinese, Japanese restaurant in Miami that’s world famous, love it, bring it ON, Novikov Miami! I didn’t get a chance to meet owner, Arkadiy Novikov but hope to one day soon. I want to get into his head what his thoughts were with his restaurant concept and to date have 50 concept businesses around the world. I find out he graduated as a chef and into environmentally friendly products. I like that.

**WA WA:** Shrimp Cilantro Dumplings, Saffron Sweet Corn Dumplings set our palates tingling, wow! Good wrappers are an indication of what’s inside. You could taste flavors of each ingredient, how did they do that? Definitely order these as your appetizers.

So, I think he’s onto something. But to do it with flair and style and to succeed worldwide is another story and Novikov is on the right path.

Their London outpost attracts celebrities and such and so will Miami I’m sure but it doesn’t detract from the fact they serve excellent quality Chinese Banquet style food. It’s very rare to find that any more, so we are lucky we get to experience it. So, don’t wait too long to visit.

About the decor…
Theatrical, whimsical comes to mind! As you enter, a beautiful sculpture with colorful swirls, twirls and red flowers immediately sets the ambience of the space! Don’t just go and sit at your table, stroll around to see EVERYTHING.

The designers did a fantastic job, the artwork and colors are right up my alley. Red is dotted throughout, it’s not only my favorite color but it represents prosperity, good luck, happiness, good health in the Eastern philosophy.

My favorite areas are of course the line up of fresh produce and fish with yes, you guessed it, RED backdrop! Red makes the impeccably arranged vegetables and fish stand out, both are for sale. His concept was to resemble Asian markets and in this case, a very upscale one. I miss fresh markets terribly, I used to adore going food shopping with my mom. What a nice touch, there’s nothing like the aromas and freshness with the display of vegetables and fish.

Their stainless steel kitchen is immaculate, tidy and very organized. Don’t miss the hanging Peking Ducks, they were the highlight of my lunch!

Look up, those lampshades remind me of Asian hats, with different shapes and configurations. Bright purple and white orchids make this humungous space a lot more cozy.

There’s also a very zen sushi bar with a magnificent wood table and red accent cushioned chairs. Red banquettes are along the back wall with an area for private dining for 12 but I didn’t see it.

About the food…
I was invited to preview their Miami Spice Lunch menu, so it was perfect to have my friend from Miami Drink Scene join me so we could have more variety. My explanations are in the captions of each photo, so enjoy! I marked WA (Wok Star Approved) on ones I liked some with double WA, ha, ha.

About the cocktails and sakes…
What a gorgeous bar area with lit up counters. Fancy cocktails are the in thing and they definitely made some exotic ones like their signature Wasabi and Lychee Martinis and Apricot Margarita. I love their display with Sakes encased in a glassed area which means they must be very premium, exclusive ones.

About the service…
As I asked our server, Eduardo about certain dishes, his explanations were so detailed I asked if he was a chef? Of course he was, so interesting that he is now a server. He had a lovely personality and smile which I think is so important. If you’re going to have a complete experience at an upscale, elegant restaurant like Novikov, a server can elevate your experience no end. And their charming General Manager, Alex Manuel circled back several times to make sure we were taken care of.

I definitely want to return and try their a la carte menu and already know a few dishes I want to try! Share your experience in the comments, what dishes spiked your fancy?

Whimsical, colorful sculpture wows as you enter!

Theatrical main dining area with Asian looking hat lampshades.

Delighted with pickles as we sat down. Pickles were traditional at good restaurants in Asia, helps to open your appetite.

**WA:** Dim Sum appetizers of Shrimp Cilantro Dumplings, Saffron Sweet Corn Dumplings set our palates tingling, wow! Good wrappers are an indication of what’s inside. You could taste flavors of each ingredient, how did they do that? Definitely order these as your appetizers.

I know nothing about drinks but this looks fully loaded and the bartenders make exotic cocktails!

I love the modern Asian decor. Red is my favorite color and it was dotted throughout, good job!

Beautiful presentation this Wok Salmon with Black Bean Sauce. **WA:** Robata Hangar Steak was melt in your mouth and perfectly grilled.

Very zen looking Sushi Bar, we didn’t experience any sushi this time.

Stocked with Sakes, beautifully displayed.

Loved the red backdrop for fresh fish display, didn’t realize they were for sale.

Just realized fresh produce were for sale too! This display with vegetables and the platters below is so beautiful, I could stare at this all day.

**WA WA:** The highlight for me was their Crispy Peking Duck! At first I was like, don’t mess with my Peking Duck. Never before have I had Peking Duck with a crispy crust but still tender. The contrast was exquisite. The San Pei Chicken with Aged Soy Sauce came in a cute clay pot.

What an end to our **Miami Spice Lunch**…Umeshu Black Forest and Key Lime Tapioca paired with Lychee Martini. They were very light as it turns out, whew.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of their very neat and tidy kitchen with the Robata Grill. Our server, Eduardo who is a chef explained there are 3 levels of heat. No wonder our hangar steak was so tender.

You can’t leave without taking a peek at those hanging Peking Ducks.

Note: Full disclosure, I was invited to a media preview for Miami Spice Lunch Menu but doesn’t sway my judgement. I try to be as honest as I can.

"Chinese food"

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