Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

restaurant

Phuc Yea: Vietnamese Pop Up Restaurant

By 5 Comments

Imperial rolls with shrimp and pork are always a delightful starter especially when you're starving.
 
Oodles of Noodles was a lovely mix with the ground pork and crunchy wood ear mushrooms and bean sprouts.
 
The Confit Duck was crispy outside and still moist and juicy inside, exactly how I like it. The radish pickles that came with it was just right, not too sour. The presentation was beautiful with the deep fried lotus root. All wrapped in crunchy romaine lettuce leaf, nom, nom.
 
Dessert was a nice end as we were not expecting to get this on the house! Tapioca is one of my favorite and it came with coconut, mango bites, okinawa purple sweet potato and peanut brittle. It kinda sent us over the top but happy we had it.
 

Very important:  Phuc Yea, a pop-up Vietnamese restaurant has only 5 more weeks before they pop-out, so go experience it!
What a dynamic trio:  Daniel Treiman, Aniece Meinhold, Cesar Zepata open a pop-up restaurant in downtown Miami.  I’ve ‘known” Aniece for years but didn’t realize she was partly Asian though till only a few years ago!  Many of the dishes are based on her mother’s cooking and then they give their own spin (it’s what I want Wok Stars to do!)  Her partner in crime, Cesar is not only a chef but also an animation artist by day and both work the social media circuit and obviously do a fantastic job. Daniel, I met at a Manera opening with another friend I probably shouldn’t mention who.  He’s also a drummer and freelance writer for New Times. They really are a motley “cru” as they like to call themselves. I musn’t forget to mention Christine assisting on her days off while working full time at another restaurant, this gal never stops working but seems to enjoy it.
Their outrageous name creating so much media buzz, and then to succeed in making some delicious Vietnamese nosh makes me so happy for them.  On the night we went, Belkys Nerey was shooting her Style File segment there.  If you blink, you’d miss me on the segment, eating.  You may have read an earlier post of my Hong Kong trip where my sisters and I ate at a popular Vietnamese restaurant nearly every other day!  I’ll be posting a LOT more about my Asian food journey soooooon.
Everything we had at Phuc Yea was delicious, clean and modern.  A little on the expensive side with smaller portions but considering the preparation, it’s understandable. Check their site for daily specials.
This is kind of a modern Asian food that I pine for and I’m so glad Phuc Yea “popped up”. I’m desperately trying to connect them with a new space so they’ll keep feeding Miami with their yummy food.  Honestly, I hope they ‘pop-up’ somewhere and not disappear.  Go experience it and tell them Wok Star sent you!
Note:  Our dinner was not complimentary, only the Tapioca dessert.
Love to hear what you tried there!
 
Phuc Yea! on Urbanspoon

Banana & Leaf: Grab & Go

By 2 Comments

Banana & Leaf (Fusion & Fancy Sushi)

OPENS TODAY!  Wed, 19 October 2011, 11 am to midnight
$2 Grab and Go for just this week!
This gorgeous hip, modern and very cool Sushi Fusion Indonesian is in downtown Miami. From the same owners at Little Lotus Tapas.  Perfect lunchbox for busy lifestyles and the freshest sushi and sashimi at a great price!
There are a few bar seats and cozy couches with incredibly rich colors that immediately make you think of Indonesia! It’s inside a very posh building called The Loft.
Their concept is Grab and Go Lunch box for busy professionals, students and anyone who loves Asian food. All healthy and freshly made with everything priced around $5.  How can you beat that?  I didn’t have the menu at the time I was posting this but by the look of the photos Andi sent, they look like just what I’d enjoy eating for my lunch!
My husband and I were honored to be invited to their private party a couple of weeks prior to the opening. Wow, they made the BIGGEST sushi boat that was the length of the whole bar!  Their eel was very fresh, so tender and tasty and quickly disappeared.  There were mounds of seaweed salad, mayo seafood sticks that was very addictive, summer rolls, a very yummy seafood salad and mountains of salmon and tuna sushi. Funnily enough, I was the only Asian guest there apart from the seafood distributor, hmm.  All the guests were loyal regulars at Little Lotus Tapas.  I really enjoyed meeting these foodies.
I’ll leave you with a teeny secret, they’re expanding, can’t tell you where yet but Sari is a little empire builder.  I so admire her passion for bringing good Asian food, especially Indonesian food to Miami in a clean, modern environment that you want to hang out at.
Grab & Go and tell them Wok Star sent you!  And spread the word, share on Facebook, twitter, you know the drill. They deserve to be noticed.
Grab & Go, Dine In, Take Out & Delivery
234 NE 3rd Street Unit CU-1A, Miami, FL 33132
7 days a week from 11 am to midnight
photo credit: Tabgha Photography (Interior bar and food shots at top and bottom, all the good ones!)
 

Yardbird: Top Chef Jeff McInnis new restaurant

By 2 Comments

I think Yardbird is going to be a huge success.  The whole cozy feel of Southern cooking and atmosphere is just what’s needed in the heart of South Beach! There’s even a wood deck with outdoor seating for people watching.
Chef Jeff McInnis looking very calm on his first night’s opening at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.  I so enjoyed hanging with my foodie friends and thanks to Gretchen for inviting me. We sat at the high table with comfy bar stools so you can watch the chefs cook! Best seats in the house. Even though it was ridiculously busy, the wait staff were all very well trained and friendly. I can’t wait to try Cast Iron Chicken because as you know, I’m a HUGE cast iron wok advocate. Produce and meat are all sourced locally here and proudly stated on their website here.
I remember watching Jeff as a contestant on Top Chef.  Soon after, I went to see him “grill” Chef Tom Colicchio in an amusing interview session at Arsht Center in Miami. Next, Jeff was the chef who helped open up popular Gigi’s and asked if I wanted to ‘work’ one of the wok stations there when he found out I teach wok cooking!  He actually remembered our conversation last night.

Left: Meatloaf Slow Braised Short Ribs, melt-in-your-mouth tender & tasty bite!
Right: Ham wrapped peach, didn’t get to try this.

Very fresh & perfectly fried Catfish.  Deviled Eggs

Left: Smores, cupcakes, cookies. Right: Smoked Drumsticks were juicy, yummy!

Left: the crowd didn’t slow down at the bar!
Right: Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke photo slides to go with theme of Southern cooking!

Left: Chef plating my fav: Meatloaf made of Slow Braised Short Ribs!
Right: Mama’s Fried Chicken Biscuit (ID by Yardbird, thx!) with pepper jelly.
Didn’t get to try this.

All the details at the bar with the fixings were beautiful.  Showing all the wonderful food canning along the wall.

Goodie bag of Moon pie, pickled onions, bourbon and a calculator?

I love Jeff’s mission and what he’s trying to do with his restaurant!  You can read more about Yardbird here, here and here.  And here’s Gretchen’s writeup. Last but not least from one of my fav writers.

Well, good luck to Jeff’s first night (yeah, I got this up before he opens to the public tonight.) I’m all about supporting chefs who have the guts to open their own restaurant, it’s a tough business.

I was very honored Jeff’s mom emailed to say, “It was great to live it through your eyes!”

Like to hear what you ate?
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar on Urbanspoon