Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

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Good Chinese Food in Miami at No Name Chinese

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Starved for good Chinese food in Miami?  Starve no more, welcome No Name Chinese.  Opened by Asian food lovers, business partners of Uvaggio Bar & Restaurant fame, Heath Porter and Craig DeWald and helmed by Executive Chef Pablo Zitzmann Sicard and his wife and pastry chef, Natalia Atuesta. Be prepared for a refreshing take using Chinese techniques with a modern twist borrowing from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.

Please don’t miss my guest post on Miami Curated for another perspective of No Name Chinese especially if you enjoy good wines, hint, there’s a video! 

About the decor…
You’ve guessed it, No Name Chinese not only has no name but doesn’t have a sign at their entrance.  However, when you enter, you’re immediately struck by the serene ambience. It’s bright and zen with wood floors and exposed brick walls with little decoration so you focus on the food, smart! They succeeded in creating a feeling that you’re here to EAT!

For food lovers: a huge, gorgeous marble counter with blue velvet high chairs gives you front row seat to gawk at chefs chasing high flames while they wok up tantalizing dishes.
An intimate corner flanked by a beautiful fig plant and tile mural showcasing Chinese junks and pagodas. Opposite the counter is a wall lined yellow leather banquette with mirrors above so you can catch the wok chefs in action, neato.
The main dining area has floor to ceiling glass panes with modern wood chairs and industrial looking tables.
The rear bar lounge is a lovely cozy space with green velvet high chairs and a smaller dining area.
About the Food…
No Name Chinese clearly has my vote, hats off to Chef Pablo who’s worked with Michelle Bernstein, Nobu and Jean-George Vongerighten as well as worked in Asia and Japan, learning many of the techniques he’s put into practice at No Name Chinese. I’m all for non-Asian chefs putting their twists on Asian flavors and techniques. It reflects the way I teach which is to base your dishes on technique and driven by ingredients rather than following recipes.

You’ll notice he adds seasonal fruit and citrus components to many of his dishes which is a very refreshing element instead of goopy sauces that you find in many Chinese restaurants. 

His small menus for lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch showcase popular Asian dishes. I’d rather have less choice and GOOD food, rather than a bunch of bad food.  I got a chance to chat with Chef Pablo to find out his cooking style and his love of music. If you enjoy this video, give it a thumbs UP and subscribe to my Youtube channel to get notifications of new videos!…

There are still so many dishes to try at No Name Chinese like Salt & Pepper Shrimp or Angus “au poivre.” For Brunch, I spy Braised Brisket in Beef Broth topped with a slow poached egg and Cajun seasoning I’m dreaming about. 

PLAN OF ATTACK…
When eating at Chinese restaurants, you must have a Plan of Attack…

  1. Gather as many family and friends so you can share “family style” instead of just ordering your own dish, this way you get to experience a variety of flavors.
  2. Check menu and discuss with your server who is happy to guide you with how many dishes you’ll need. Try a dish from each section of the menu from Fresh & Light to Bowl if you love carbs or Sung for low carb but you MUST have DIM SUM because that’s Pablo’s specialty. Forget low carb for this visit.
  3. Busy and need to get back to work? Have the Sum Sum Box!

After visiting four times with friends, I have a pretty good handle of my favorites and will mark it
WA (WokStar Approved) in photo captions.

I met Cheryl Tiu on Instagram @chertiu She is an international lifestyle, food and drink journalist and fellow Asian food lover.We both love promoting Asian Cuisine and Culture.  She uses @cross.cultures an “events platform promoting the exchange of cultures through food!” and I do it through Wok Star Supper Club!  I gather people and visit good Asian fusion restaurants, so if you’re interested, subscribe to my newsletter in right sidebar. I hope to visit No Name Chinese this fall, these gatherings get filled up and I give first dibs to subscribers. —->>

Here’s my foodie buddy, Brenda Benoit Dudley, on Instagram @masalacha She’s a food writer, an amazing photographer and she calls herself “A Grenadian Soul living in Miami.” We like to visit restaurants and take photos and blog about them! It’s so interesting how we sometimes have totally different perspectives of the same restaurant, so check out her take on No Name Chinese and subscribe to her blog for her latest restaurant hops!
A Few Notes about the food…
Turnip cake
The consistency and flavor is definitely unusual, I am SO SO SURPRISED Americans like this dish. Pablo says it’s one of their most requested dish, beware, only available for dinner. I love that Dim Sum dishes usually only available in Asia during lunch time are also available for dinner at No Name Chinese, very smart. 

Turnip cake has a special meaning for me, my mom’s Malaysian spin was to pan fry in the wok with pounded red chillies and scallions with crispy edges and dip in chili sambal and rice vinegar, oh my, so good. Just writing this brings back such fond, fond childhood memories and now I’m going to have to hunt down some to fry! 

Smashed Cucumber Salad, Jiaozi and Shiu Mai
I learned how to make these 3 dishes at Pablo’s cooking class in Wynwood, video and blog coming soon!  One of my colleagues at the class used the Smashed sauce for steak, who’d have thunk?

Love this article, “What’s the difference between Gyoza and PotStickers”

WA Clockwise: Crudo Yusheng, fish changes daily, interesting to have strawberries with fish but works; Smashed Cucumber Salad, toss for the sesame cream at the bottom; Shrimp Dumplings and Xie & Xia Noodle Salad with Shrimp, Crab, cold buckwheat noodles and an exquisite spicy peanut dressing, make sure you toss well so all the flavors meld together.
WA Turnip Cake, interesting combination of Japanese OKONOMIYAKI STYLE (a savory pancake) and a popular Chinese dim sum called Lo Bak Go. Topped with KATSUOBUSHI (bonito flakes) and Kewpie Mayo, a version of Japanese mayo made with rice vinegar. Only available at dinner time!
WA Mr. Lee’s Jiaozi, named after the dumpling master Pablo learned from in Hawaii. These are substantial dumplings, juicy inside and crispy outside. Fear not, I will share how to make these soon.
WA Grass fed beef with oyster sauce, pickled cucumber, scallions, picked onions, fresh strawberries, red chillies to wrap with Bibb Lettuce or mooshu pancakes. Sarina, the bar manager who’s super efficient, gave us both to try!
Kung Pao Chicken with Szechuan peppercorns,Tianjin chilies, smoked cashews, orange slices garnished with cilantro and scallions. My friend, Brenda ordered it.
Wok Shaken Farm Chinese Eggplant with maple and black bean sauce, crushed nuts and herbs.
Crispy potatoes, special dish Pablo sent over, my friend, Brenda was in heaven!
Duck “a la Hoisin”, Magret duck breast, seasonal fruit (Asian pear), leeks, pickles and cucumber with mooch pancakes, a very interesting combination.
WA Walnut tart got it spot on with the crunchy tart and baby meringue pearls and not too sweet, def order this, I’ve had it twice, so good!

How to make crispy noodles and dumplings fast

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My second 5 minute Facebook Live experiment didn’t pan out as well as expected. So, more experimenting.  Under the broiler vs frying in your wok requires much less oil and effort.
The traditional technique to crispy gyozas/dumplings is to fry with oil, then add liquid and cover but it requires vigilance and can only be done in small batches. That, for me and most of you will be frustrating especially when you’re doing it for a big party.

Watch and see what you think, leave your questions and what you’d like to see more of and join in the conversation HERE or if you prefer, comment below.

#techniqueoverbrand hashtag on  Instagram was so true, the Nasoya brand definitely didn’t work as well as the Wei Chuan dumpling brand I normally use. They turned out perfect as you can see here. They now have Shan-Dong dumplings without MSG.
As I always say, not all brands are equal.  FYI, neither of the posts were sponsored.

Shanti Christensen's Book Giveaway and Umami Kale (updated)

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Book Giveaway details below, ends tonight Sunday, April 16: 12am ET, good luck! 

If you crave real home cooked Chinese food, you can win Shanti Christensen’s book, “Family Style Chinese Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from My Culinary Journey Through China!” (see details below!) It’s a MUST.  Shanti’s quest to learn authentic Chinese cooking led her into 40 families’ homes over a 3 year period and culminated in this treasure trove of family recipes. Her superb story telling makes us feel like an extended family, privy to secrets that have been passed down for generations.

You’ll learn about Chinese traditions, the importance of family and with meager ingredients, you can cook up feasts. Lamb Fried Rice Xinjiang Style (p.161) and Braised Pork Ribs in Aromatic Sauce (p.111), umm, not bad bedtime reading or to dream about.

Simple, no frills recipes. They won’t intimidate you or make you keel over with impossible-to-find ingredients like many Chinese cookbooks. My favorite part of the book?  Reading Shanti’s endearing stories about the families gave me a sense of what life was like in China. I was born in China and left when only 9 months old. 

You can experience more of Shanti’s China trip here.

And if you’re lucky enough to live in San Francisco,
she produces outrageous popup dinners serving dishes from all over Asia.

To celebrate this book giveaway, I chose Shanti’s Stewed Kale (p.156) because the day I wanted to experiment from her book, that’s all I had in the fridge. And I loved that because it reflects my whole philosophy of using what you have and make the best and tastiest dish you can!

Creating a sauce to put over veggies is a very efficient way of adding flavor
to a big batch of veggies and gives them a different texture and flavor. 

As always, I couldn’t help being a Wok Star and put my personal spin on it… 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. kale (ready washed and torn into pieces)
Grape seed oil
Sesame oil

Sauce:
1 tsp Koon Chun brown bean sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp i.e. few dashes of sherry
1 tbsp i.e. few dashes of tamari
1/4 cup chicken broth

METHOD…

  1. Combine all sauce ingredients in bowl
  2. Heat cast iron wok till hot, add sauce and fry till fragrant
  3. Immediately add kale and cover with sauce.  Add broth, tamari and sherry.
  4. Cook till kale is wilted, taste for doneness, if not enough sauce, add a little more broth and cook till tender.

This kale goes well with ANYTHING.
I’d love to hear about some of your favorite ways for preparing kale in the comments.

Ready for Book Giveaway?  Keeping it simple, here you go:

1.  Subscribe to my free newsletter in right sidebar —->
2.  Follow Shanti Christensen on Instagram @showshanti
3.  Follow Eleanor Hoh on Instagram @wokstar and leave comment on Book Giveaway post
4.  Leave a comment below why you deserve to win Shanti’s cookbooks?  Then email me eh at eleanorhoh dot com so I have your email if you win.
5.  Eligibility:  Only for United States residents. Closing date:  Sunday, April 16 , 12 am ET. Check back here for winner announcements Monday, April 17.
6.  A random winner will be picked and contacted via email. Respond ASAP, otherwise I will pick the next winner.
7.  Your book will be sent directly to you, good luck everyone!

If you didn’t win, you can still buy Shanti’s cookbook here. 

Want more ideas for vegetable dishes?…

Simple Kale Stir Fry

Three Ingredient Broccolini

How about more Kale recipes?

Serious Eats: 15 Kale recipes

All the Kale Recipes You’ll Ever Need

Umami Stewed Kale