Yelp Greatest Hits this Week

"I like that they didn't censor the music so that we ended up happily eating our baos alongside rap music saying how they are going to kill my family." - Debbie K.

"Really, before you go to Baohaus you need to have the right expectations. Imagine that the people who work there have an incredible secret ability to cook ridiculously good Baos, but only when they are completely shitfaced.

They forgot your order and made you wait forever? come on, their drunk, what did you expect?
They ran out of the meat for one of the only two meat Baos that they offer? shit, if you were 8 shots deep would you remember to cook enough meat?
They are unexpectedly closed when you wanted to eat? are you trying to kill the chefs, their livers can only handle so much!
The Baos are too expensive? Think about how much they have to spend on alcohol to stay drunk enough to keep pumping out these beauties.

You can use this excuse for everything there... the space is poorly optimized, dirty plates are piling up... you get the idea. Sure, as far as I can tell everyone there is completely sober... but thinking they aren't helps me keep my cool while I wait for suuuuper tasty Baos." - Paul B.

"Best of all, they were playing Clipse. And this 3-yr old there said to his Mom, "the man on the radio said "chameleon"!"* I guess better that he recognized that word than most of the others.

Anyway, yes, this isn't fast food - I'd say serve time is about the same as Caracas' take-out place - you should go expecting a similar experience, you know, the space is tiny so don't bring your full posse, be patient, etc.

But there is no reason for you to not eat here; you absolutely should; probably multiple times.

*"Pusha in that Bentley, G-T-Oh No
Flow chameleon, worth bout a million
Sell Bolivian, Feds in oblivion"

- Michigan Gourmet Club with an assist from Pusha-T

Nice work all around....

Let that Bitch Breathe!!!!!!!

Dayyyaaammmm NY, who knew yall liked baos like dat? People are upset, but I blame cows. Who told these heifers to grow only one diaphragm (skirt steak)? On friday I had 75lbs of skirt in the fridge for Saturday/Sunday (usually we only need 25lbs a day). I get a call at 1am Saturday morning from staff saying we 86'd skirt. I woke up and called mad butchers Sunday cause my purveyor was closed. No one had enough skirt. So, I got real desperate and called Duane Reade cause I know they always got diaphragms. I asked for 75 lbs. Nuttin... some old ladies and careful teens bought them out. So I had to break out my personal stash of kobe zabuton. You win, I lose.

Sorry for the waits this weekend, as many who read the blog know, I opened this spot with $300 left in my personal savings account and ZERO in the biz. This space is all I could afford. 90% of people are understanding, know the story and I thank you for your patience. When I could, I gave out cannolis, beijing peanuts, fries, etc. while people waited in line. We flipped 600 buns out of a 400 sq ft space with NO BASEMENT Saturday, you can't knock the hustle.

But, there are also a lot of people who come in now mad at me saying my space is too small and that we should have a bigger restaurant.... So, as a gold digger once told Daddy, "Buy me sumthin."

The Beatards

DJO comes thru all the time for the Chairman Bao. He sent me his video. They on some feel good music steez. You know I like that thug shit so I was disappointed there were no cadillacs, but they are independent so its probably more important to pay them bills. Don't want to end up like Peter Gunz and Lord Tariq with one single, two navigators, and 3 baby mamas. Ning likes bunnies so she co-signs this video. I like the video, catchy. He a neighborhood dude. Get your paper kid!

White Lightning!

Here's the photo of the white lightning from Feast Available this Saturday!

Cock Size and Cock Sauce

So, people always ask for hot sauce at the restaurant and I don't carry it. They ask why.... Because, if I was at home and tried to put hot sauce on my food, my mom would hit me on the hand with chopsticks. I'm glad she did because you can't taste food if you pour hot sauce all over it.

There's this idea amongst "foodies" that spicy = good. Or that eating spicy means you know food. Or that you have a giant penis. I don't know. I've never gone around measuring the penises of people who eat a lot of hot sauce, but I'm guessing there's more of a correlation between people eating hot sauce and needing proactiv than a correlation between cock size and cock sauce.

I'm not saying there are rules to the exact place and time to eat hot sauce, but definitely, on a pork belly or steak bun, I wouldn't use hot sauce. Now, with the Uncle Jesse (our tofu bun) I serve it with a sweet chili sauce I make myself. Its not that I don't like hot sauce, it just neutralizes all the flavors when you put it on the pork or steak bun. The reason why the buns are so good is because the notes are balanced. Believe it or not, we braise the pork/beef in a TON of chilis. But, its balanced with sweetness, ginger, soy, green onions, etc. We hit a lot of notes and if you fart a big mound of hot sauce onto it, all you hear is the fart.

When I see people put hot sauce on BBQ, I wild-out. If the bbq is the least bit good, there's no reason to be putting hot sauce on it unless its a spicy sauce that is meant to be used because it balances the rub. Maybe a chopped steak, fried chicken, fried okra, fine, but not your pulled pork or ribs.

BUT, for you hot sauce lovers, here's where I do like hot sauce on:

1) Banh Mi (i cant spell) - The small fresh jalapeno slices when cut the right size and balanced are awesome. They bring heat and balance out the light muskiness of cold meat in a very delicate way.

2) Tofu! - Tofu is a blank canvas. I love eating tofu in the raw with a very minimal savory broth or raw tofu with a dash of soy sauce, green onions, and thousand year old egg. BUT, a lot of times, adding hot sauce to tofu gives it that oomph that tofu naturally doesn't have. Tofu does have a nutty essence (pause) which does well with chili. One of the all-time great Chinese dishes is Ma Po Tofu. Killer!

3) Fried Food - Fried food is usually already very heavy, greasy, and one or two notes. It stands up to hot sauce.

4) Soup - soup is great spicy because again, like tofu, its a little bit of a blank canvas. Obviously its water based so you bring all the flavor to the table. Yookae Jong (korean beef stew, again, i cant spell), Beef Noodle Soup, Spicy Kalbi Tang, Tortilla soup, all do great with strong chili. BUT, I don't put sriracha in my Pho!!! Use the raw peppers!

5) Fish - I love szechuan fish. Again, a lighter meat, something that could use extra "body" or kick. River fish with spicy pork miso. Szechuan Water Cooked Chili Fish, amazing.

Some of my favorite hot sauces: XO Chili Sauce (dried shrimps, scallops, peanuts you know i love peanuts, and oily chili sauce), Chili Oil with crushed chilis (that old standby you see on every table, great with cantonese egg noodle dishes and beef noodle soup), Ha Ha Chili with beans, Chinese garlic chili chopped fresh and preserved in oil. I like the oil based sauces a lot more.

As for sriracha, i see it in people's houses all the time, on fancy menus in the 90s with "Sriracha mayonaise", gimme a break. Sriracha is so wack and played out. Its like Southeast Asian Tabasco. I love tabasco, but only because it makes cafeteria broccoli taste good (my mom used to always make me eat the broccoli on the blue plate specials at Morrison's.... all i wanted was the roast beef!!! stupid broccoli). Sriracha is coarse and I feel its more popular in America because it goes with coarse food like day old pizza and crappy burgers your friend burned while watching football. Sriracha makes burned food taste bearable because its equally unnecessary and heavy handed.

Snow and White Lightning Cannoli

The snow came just in time! I didn't like the morning snow cause it was wet and sleety, BUT, Matt from NBC's Feast came by, Anthony from Artisan Cannolis, and John from Sushi UO so we hung out, ate the "white lightning" cannolli (coming saturday!). John brought some ill chirashi. UO is officially my new go-to sushi spot. The uni flight is spottie ottie dopalicious. For real, it feels like the first time i bonged some headband. Mind blowing uni. He has Japanese, Maine, Maine in its own water, and California. Lot of fun. I got caught up on prep too so that was nice.

My favorite part of the job is cleaning skirt steak. Its a lot of fun pulling at the skirt and ripping off membrane. The motion is like hulk hogan tearing his shirt except I hold a giant piece of skirt steak in front of my chest haha. Quiet days to prep are really cool. I never complain about cooking, I love it and if you prep right, the night is easy on the line. But at the end of the day, cooking is simply a lot more fun when there aren't 20 pacing people waiting to get back to work with pork buns. haha.

The white lightning Cannoli is awesome. Anthony and I hang out a lot so we just put it together. You gotta try the rest of his stuff like PB&J, Smores, Mint/chocolate cannolis. The White Lightning is made with Pineapples Poached (thanks for the tip Lucy!) in Moutai (ya boy's favorite liquor besides henn-rock),vanilla bean and brown sugar that's mixed in Anthony's cheese. And the shell is hand dipped in dark callebaut chocolate.

I'm an idiot and didn't take my own photos, but I think Matt is gonna put some on www.nbcnewyork.com/feast/ tomorrow so check it out!

Post 100: New York Times $25 and Under

This is post #100! Thanks for the support yall. Couldn't have done it without you.... New York Times $25 and Under

Yelping.... fun?

Woke up early on day off today and was still thinking about dinner at Sushi UO so I wrote a yelp review. But, classic eddie.... i was incapable of writing something positive without saying something negative. So, after making fun of Sachiko's I had to review them too so people didn't get the wrong idea. Sachiko's is really a good place and I'm sure plenty of people disagree with me and like it better than Sushi UO. Man... being a responsible yelper is tough. THATS WHY YOU YELPERS WHO ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE SHOULD QUIT! But, it was fun to be on the "other side" reviewing restaurants. I can see why its fun to big-up a place you hope does well. I see it as "rooting" for the good guys and trying to bury the "bad guys". But, to be honest, I don't think anyone should be "buried". This business is tough enough. Then again (I'm schizophrenic now), it does feel weird not saying something when you've had a real bad experience. You don't want to go tell the owner of a restaurant if you don't know them, but you feel bad not saying something.... Like, when you're on the train and someone has a suspicious package in their hand and then pees on the door with it. You feel bad cause the guy needs to pee, but, at the cost of everyone having to smell his pee again?

All in all..... I will say this. It aint easy being a yelper, if you care to be a good one. Yelp got me twisted.... So many values to uphold.... so little time....damn it feels bad to be a yelper...This is such a catch-22

Food Network Trailer!

check it out: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/the-party-pact/48681.html

don't believe bon jovi, i didnt make no pact with this dude!

Prank Yelp Announcements!

click here to see

I Cook Food..... that's it

Normally, this is a strange photo. But in the context of it being from the night of our soft opening in December and we were playing flip cup with moutai (bai jo), its pretty appropriate that titties were out. Since the Times article came out, I've been getting a lot of emails and comments. Thanks! For me, the New York Times writing about this blog undoubtedly obscures things because in the context of the dining section: my blog, my quotes, and myself get watered down. This is a very raw, unedited, personal blog. When you try to take it out of its context and put it in line with some other blogs/tweets to point out a cultural movement, its going to get modified to fit the article's objective. And when you look at me through the lens you usually see "chefs" through, I'm going to disappoint you. My favorite chef is Raekwon. Please don't try to put me in a box that you put other chefs in, I don't fit. The titties are too big.

I thought it was a good article. I don't really read dining much, but the one article I have bookmarked and send to people frequently is Moskin's article on flushing restaurants. I really like her reviews of Chinese food and even last week's article on Balkan burgers was dope! I feel she identified an interesting trend (at least to me) about cooks on twitter. I can't say she did a good job separating each chef and his/her intentions, but its a pretty big task to write one general article about this "phenomenon" when every one is using it in a different manner. She tried to capture one common thread tying us all together and it seemed to culminate in the angle that chefs need more than just good food now and that we need "celebrity" thus the internet is a primary platform.

One guy's yelling at his purveyor's, another is trying to get fired, I really just don't like Rickshaw/Joe's Shanghai/etc and why can't I talk about it now? Personally, the internet has forced me to respond because people talk about me and my restaurant. I've never backed down from anyone/anything my whole life so why would I start now? If I have something to say, I'm gonna say it whether I'm 27, Taiwanese/Chinese, fat, stupid, or a person who cooks food. For the record, so that I never have to follow chef rules, please no one ever call me a chef again. I am a person who COOKS FOOD. I have business cards that say chef, but once I run out, they're done. I really don't want to be "part of the scene", I never read food blogs until they covered artichoke (cause they're my boys) or Baohaus. I was oblivious to the "food scene" until they (artichoke) opened up on 14th st when I lived on 12th. I thought it was cool to see ordinary, blue collar guys, just fuckin make it in NY. Its a real rags to riches story those guys. Like me, they put every penny they had and bet on themselves. I helped em design the artichoke tees, the led zeppole logo, and got my first taste of NY Food Biz.

On another note, what does Anita Lo care? She's counting martha stewart money! Someone said, "I just think it's odd that Eddie called out Anita Lo who is a consensus top chef in NY." Really? What consensus? Did you poll the frushing readers who don't speak Engrish? When they consider Anita Lo a great chef, maybe I will too. Consider the context and the people creating these "consensuses". I know that for Times readers, it doesn't matter what Frushing thinks because the palette they cater to is different, but when can we get an Asian food writer to write about Asian food. The Kelly Choi chick doesn't count. She should be on CCTV Project Runway or a MAC commercial not in a kitchen wearing every piece of intermix she owns. That's not to say Sietsema, DiStefano (this dude is the truth, I ate with him. mad cool), Digregorio, or Moskin don't write great articles. I'm just saying it would be cool to have an Asian (korean, chinese, taiwanese, japanese, vietnamese, whatever-ese) in the house to have an opinion. I'm sure these writers would love to have an opinion like that to bounce off of and consider too! And please don't pick a squeaky clean model minority Asian who is lateraling from a consulting position and never ate soup dumplings at home with flip flops, socks, a v-neck and hong he cigarette. Not that some consultants don't have good taste, I just want some hood shit. Pull the one dude from a Beijing hu-tong who speaks English and give him a greencard, non-cotton shoes, and a dining column, BONG BONG. Let's replace the model minority stereotype with hutong chic LOL.

I think its crazy that since I cook food professionally, I now lost my right to air out shitty food. Am I not allowed to post on yelp? I hate the stupid warning you get as a business owner on yelp when you go to respond to a comment. They don't moderate the yelpers, why should I be moderated? Yelp is not my mom. I already have a mom. She's loud, Taiwanese, and still lobbies for me to be an attorney. I don't need yelp on my ass now too :)

That said, most yelpers are cool and really have good intentions when reviewing restaurants. I LOVE getting feedback from yelpers about things to improve like plating, music, hours, flavors, etc. and I always consider them. Chowhound readers are really helpful in suggesting new menu items. And I personally use menupages the most cause I'd rather judge a restaurant looking at the menu than a review. Just my opinion.

I actually like when people disagree. If you see in my previous posts, I know when I'm wrong. The chowhound guy mentioning he never had vinegar in his peanuts in Taiwan, I was overly defensive to. I thought he was implying our food wasn't Taiwanese, but he was just saying he never saw it. DiGregorio got me on a day I fucked up the tofu. Great, let me fix it. I think it is important for people to understand.... THE GOAL IS FOR RESTAURANTS TO GET BETTER! So, let us know the problem, give us a shot to fix it, and don't get infatuated with burying people on the internet. YELPERS, you have a lot more power than you think. Please use it wisely. People put their hearts and souls into these fucking restaurants and with one stupid one-star post, you can really bury someone. Just like Lionel respects the sword of omens (thundercats, thundercats, HOOOO), respect yourselves when posting. I'm not perfect either. I put up a lot of dumb shit on the internet, but I'm trying....... In the words of Hova, this is my "moment of clarity"...i cook food... "What more can i sayyyyyyyyy?"


P.S. There's something I have to correct in the article. I didn't get into hip hop cause i was designing street wear as the article suggests. I was making street wear BECAUSE I've been a hip hop head since green girbauds were hot. A lot of people will never understand hip hop. She asked me if I cared about rules of being a chef in the chef community and I responded saying I'm not in the community. And in the context of the heads I do identify with, my shit is a heat rock.

nyt article

Check out the article

Pics from the Baohaus CHINESE NEW YEAR Dinner!

Thanks so much to all that attended the Baohaus Chinese New Year Dinner! It was great to see so many familiar (and new!) faces, and I hope you all had as much fun as we did! Xing Nian Quai Lu Gongxi fa cai! (my pinyin sucks, apologies)


Mantou Bread Pudding w/ Moutai Sauce


Lion's Head Casserole w/ poulet rouge broth






Old Beijing Vinegar Peanuts


3 cups fried fish bao (Photograph by Nicole C. Wong/www.nicolecwong.com)


Fried Tofu Bricks with sweet chili paste (Photograph by Nicole C. Wong/www.nicolecwong.com)


Da Ji Pai (fried chicken taiwanese street market style) w/ red sausage fried rice

Still trying to get some good photos of the dumplings! Definitely send em if you got em

Think Blue!

One of the best deals you'll see, $30 all you can drink beer, wine, and BAO (haus, chair, uncle jesse, bao fries) all included!

https://tickets.tribecafilm.com/Online/default.asp?brand=cinemas3

Erryday Shit

I'm sure you've been bored of all the pairings posts of late for those not coming to CNY, BUT, I have not forgotten you. Here are some things you can do on your own. Some hood pairings fo dat ass.

1) Boone's Farm & Stinky Tofu - Ohhhhhhh weee, what goes better with fermented stank tofu than Boone's farm. The smell of foot that accompanies Taiwan's national dish goes great with any flavor of Boone's but I especially like Watermelon and Strawberry Daiquiri cause its some classy shit. Although Boone's Farm was shunned by www.bumwine.com I standby it as a wine fit for the finest bums.

2) MD 20/20 & a Plastic Pool - this is one of my favorite recipes. One day, when me and my homie ryan were real bored. We invited over some girls and filled a plastic pool with mad dog. Only costs us $50 and we literally swam in mad dog.

3) Brooklyn Wine w/ Shanghai Steamed Fish - I made a shanghai steamed fish for my friend doug aka canal st tyler florence and he ate it with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJvw4Di4xl8

4) Moutai & Dumplings - Late night in Beijing, I lived on this shit

5) Miller High Life & White People - I love hanging with white people and miller high life. always a good time LOL

Wine for CNY

Pairings from September Wines

La Croix Belle 'Le Champ des Lys' grenache blanc/viognier--med/full body white with plenty of white flower aromas, herbs, melon, citrus and a hint of spice. Round yet crisp and refreshing. $13.99

Mercer Riesling--Lush, ripe palate of peach and citrus with a dry mineral driven finish. $16.99

Oddero Barbera--Round red cherry fruits, notes of violet, herb, and smoke, medium body, and bright acidity that longs for food. $19.99

Les Hautes Noelles Gamay--Light, fresh, and earthy. Great textural minerals and aromas of beets, nice slightly chilled. $12.99

Val d'Oca Prosecco--go bubbles! Ripe peach and apricot fruits lead to a creamy, just slightly, off-dry palate. $12.99

via Eva Zorad!

Sake Suggestions for CNY

So, I could get real fancy and suggest a sake with each course, but knowing a few of our regulars, they're going to end up doing the above with their sake anyway :).

With that in mind, I'd say grab two bottles of sake that go fairly well with the whole menu. Our CNY menu has range, but not to the extent of like yuzu oysters one course and sa gwo fish head casserole the next. I'm going to recommend a few sakes that I think would be fine throughout the course of the dinner.

The dumplings, lion's head, bread pudding are more mellow dishes (yin foods) and these sakes would go well:

Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo - One of the best sakes I've had. Crisp but complex and still light. Very rare. September Wines has it. I think that is what I like about sake over wine, it feels much more clean but if you find the right one, equally complex.

Dake Mild & Creamy - This one is a nigori, unfiltered sake but lighter than most. It would be great with the bread pudding and would also do well with dumplings because it handles pepper well.

Namazake - This is a unpastuerized/draft sake. Anyone that drinks with me knows I love draft sake. Its my favorite style. Had my first draft sake at Kasadela in the village. Draft sake doesn't mean it comes out of a keg. It is unpasteurized and has a very fresh flavor. It is usually hard to find draft sake and usually I just buy whatever draft/namazake is available and it's never been bad. Sakaya on 9th st has a good selection.

"Yang" dishes: Tofu bricks, 3 cups fish bao, fried rice & chicken

Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo - This brand is usually not to hard to find in the city. I would recommend a rich Junmai Daiginjo with the "yang" dishes. They are hotter, have oil, and are heavier.

Bijofu Junmai - I also like Junmai with no added alcohol. They are a little more rustic and heavier. This is a run of the mill variety that's a good introduction.

For the shawties

Chikurin Sparkling - if your girlfriend likes "sparkley" things, buy her this but under no circumstances drink it yourself. J/k. I like this one if no one is watching.

FYI, I've only been drinking sake and keeping track for like 6 years. Before, I would just get real hammered and drink it like Boone's Farm. I think this is a good list, but if it sucks, please, let a brotha know.

What Makes Food Taiwanese?

The photo above is a classic taiwanese kid reaction to taiwanese food. When you are a Taiwanese kid, your parents throw a lot of foul shit at you LOL. A lot of people come into the restaurant or go on message boards trying to figure out if our food is "taiwanese". Someone left a funny comment about the peanuts on chowhound

"their site claims some vinegar in the peanut but that doesn't sound familiar to me as a taiwanese flavor; I think it's usually pretty plain or as buttertart said, star anise, like the typical liquid that they do tempura/tienbula/oden/eggs in."

Vinegar is not a familiar taiwanese flavor? Really......What do you dip your soup dumplings in? Vinegar. Your small radish pastry? Vinegar. Stinky tofu? Vinegar. Your ass when you have stomach problems? vinegar douche! Pun intended lol

As for tienbula/oden/eggs, what usually goes in are: Chinese five spice, rice wine, sugar, soy sauce, and salt. Anise is only one of the spices in five spice. And, plenty of people have their own innovations such as adding tea leaves, garlic, onion, etc. So, before you start an avalanche of people boiling things in solely star anise, please, ask yourself this.... What makes food taiwanese?

THE PEOPLE and their respect for the Taiwanese flavor profile and regional character. I am Taiwanese (parents by birth, chinese by blood, lets not get into it :). To me, what stands out about taiwanese food is an essence or "stink" if you will. You smell stinky tofu everywhere and good dishes like oh a mi shwa (my pinyin sucks) always have a smelly essence and many times vinegar. You have the natural essence of intestines, the odor from cooked oysters, mixed with some white pepper, black vinegar, thin noodle, corn starch and together, its the prototype taiwanese dish.

For those that are always trying to hold people to the past, like i've said before, please read Emerson's "American Scholar". I think our food is Taiwanese not because I've seen it in Taiwan or because wikipedia/yelp/chowhound says it is, but simply because I am Taiwanese. It came from my hands. And I created the food with the Taiwanese flavor profile as the guiding force. Without innovation, we'd be eating soy milk and curlers the rest of our lives. Its good, but I'm "on to the next one" (HOVA). Over time, we will be doing a lot of different things in an attempt to create everyday food that pushes the boundaries of Taiwanese cuisine. We only have 400 sq feet so be patient :). It starts with the CNY Dinner this weekend and we'll keep it moving like TCQ.

Now, to address reader sentiment. I do empathize with you concerning "real taiwanese" food. I get very upset when on the menu a dish is say "dan dan mien" and it comes out some strange crappy hybrid. In those instances, yes, hold them to the classic expectations. We tell people our pork bun is "authentic" but that the tofu, beef and bao fries are our own innovations that are true to the flavor profile. My beef noodle soup is "authentic". There are minor tweaks to it. But, I can see why people would be upset if I threw hoisin and tangerines into it. You don't have to worry about us becoming a fancy schmancy place that sells art food. We will always make everyday Taiwanese/Chinese food, but I'll play with things to see how far we can push Taiwanese cuisine.

Beer Pairings for Chinese New Year Dinner

We got some help from our friend Charlie @ Brew York City for some suggested beer pairings for the Chinese New Year Dinner. As a rule in pairings, do not drink full beers. We suggest that three people share a 12oz bottle, 4oz being a good serving size per course. They are below:

Fried Fish Bao
While the fried might connote 'heavy' or 'oily', the fish is fairly delicate because we use a light almost translucent batter. With the lightness of the fish and the crispy, oily texture of the batter (and the fact that this is the first course), I'd start with a wheat beer. There is enough pop to wheats that they won't be outgunned by the batter, but they're light and delicate enough accompany a flaky fish.

Beer-Braised Pork Dumplings
This dish sound really good, and fennel as well as sichuan peppercorns are a strong flavor so you'll need something with legs or else the beer will get lost. Since I suggested a wheat first and a light lager third, you don't want something too light here. A nice American IPA could work here. Sichuan peppercorn is "mala" and tingly so this would be perfect.

Fried Tofu Bricks
This dish has a garlic chili and cilantro dressing with a hint of sweetness. You might try a Pilsner or German Dortmunder. These are light, golden lagers, with crisp, grassy hops. They'll counteract the sweetness, pair well with the fried aspects, and may help bring out some of the earthier tones of the tofu and cilantro.

Taiwanese Fried Chicken &
Eddie's Taiwanese Sausage Fried Rice
NOTE: We decided after several tastings to serve these two courses together. Charlie had suggested a darker beer here because of the sausage but I'm calling an audible :). Taiwanese/Chinese sausage is sweet and savory. I would suggest Allagash White Ale or another good white ale like Hitachino. Our fried chicken has really subtle spices so it's not as heavy a fried chicken as many are used to. The white ales accent the chicken and sweet sausage, but won't overpower the egg/rice/white pepper/green onions in the dish.

Lion's Head Casserole
This dish is a bit milder than the others. The poulet rouge broth and clear noodles are intentionally light so that the focus is on the giant meatball. What might be nice here are any of a variety of Belgian beers, specifically any lighter examples of Saison, Tripel, or Golden/Pale styles. These should have a touch of sweetness maybe to lead the way into dessert, they'll have some yeast and subtle malt bodies to accompany the noodles and broth, and they'll have very distinct and even changing hop characters that will probably provide enough tang to accompany the meatballs without being too heavy.

Mantou Bread Pudding
I assume this is dessert. It's always a pretty good bet to serve a more serious beer as a bit of a digestif with dessert. It's tough sometimes to encourage people to drink such a hearty brew not only after a whole meal (with pairings) but also with dessert, but have just a small amount to sip, and it should be ok. Most US craft breweries are trying out barleywines as Americans love big styles of anything.

That's all for now, September Wines will also be sending in wine pairings later today and I'll be putting a sake list together!

Ultimate Recipe Showdown

I just blanked on this and forgot to post about it, but Food Network announced the air dates for URS. Just remembered after seeing my dumbass in the commercial haha. I'm the Asian guy with a yellow t-shirt in the commercial. I haven't been able to see the cut so hopefully I come off looking more like the Situation and less like Snickers LOL. This is the press release they sent out... for the record, I rep 11217 so don't believe the hype:

Premiering Sunday, March 21st at 9:00pm ET/PT

“Party Food”

Food Network looks for the ultimate party food recipe. From finger food to full-on entrees, four contestants take party food to the next level, serving up dishes like Chicken Cordon Blue Roll-Ups and Plantain and Shrimp Party Boats. Contestants include: Barbara Estabrook (Rhinelander, WI), Thalia Patillo (New York), Eddie Huang (Orlando, Fla.) and David Fogelman (Stamford, Conn.).

Places that suck

There are very few places that suck so bad I will put them on blast, but these restaurants upset me so much because they parade around like they offer quality products, but they have to know their food sucks. These are the restaurants/people that perpetuate shitty stereotypes and make restaurant owners look bad.

1) Rickshaw Dumplings - you can tell this was the brain child of some scheming b-school grad. The dumplings are horrible and the kitschy Chinese branding is offensive. I'm not even going to break down why the dumplings are so bad because we'll be here forever. Watching Anita Lo teach Bobby Flay how to make dumplings made me not want to be Asian or at least excommunicate Anita Lo from the tribe. Bitch, you're fired.

2) Baoguette/Pho Sure/and all the other shitty spin-offs - There's no balance of flavor with Bao's sandwiches. They're all either too salty, too one-note spicy, or too one-note sweet. I hate using big vocab words, but you always get palette fatigue eating this guy's food. And the corny show he put on at the Mikey's Opening teaching people how to flip burgers was retarded. We know how to flip a burger, but do you know how to make a real pho? All you taste is anise in this dude's broth.

3) Joe's Shanghai - these soup dumplings are horrible. dark, salty, unrefined soup dumpling gelatin. people like them simply because soup dumplings are the shit and most people have their first soup dumpling at this hell hole. put one of joe's shanghai dumplings next to one from nanxiang xiao long bao and taste the difference yourself.

4) Rice - this place is just stupid. the combinations don't sound good on paper, taste good in practice, and should never be replicated again. the focus of the restaurant is to sell gimmicky fusion pairings from different regions instead of focusing on delivering honest food that is fused simply to taste good.

5) Republic - this place is always packed and it is hilarious to hear the union square lunch crowd rave about it. i can understand if you got dragged there by some B&T girl/guy you want to smash, but otherwise you have no excuse to be there.

6) Wo Hop/Hop Kee - people, stop acting like this place is good. Yes, I eat here late night. Yes, Bourdain came here with some fool, but the food sucks. Its only cool cause its open late and fun to watch drunk people fall down the stairs. The food is so bad I've refused it after taking giant rips of headband. That never happens.

I'm tired, this list is constantly growing. Please feel free to add your own horrible restaurants.

Great Article on Food Writing

Best article I've read in a while. Its written by of all people, Sietsema, who wrote the Island of Taiwan review I trashed months ago. I love this article though. Too many people are doing reviews that just don't know what they're talking about. If you know what's really good, then this doesn't apply to you...

I love Yelp and people show us love there, but we really do need so-called "experts". There's a balance that needs to be struck. I think there is a tendency these days to think we don't need experts or that the internet can make anyone an expert. I guess blogspot is the new civil service exam LOL. I love the do-it-yourself attitude, new innovations, etc., but I think there should be more of a focus on "education" and "history" as opposed to just chasing trends and shiny new food items. If you want to write (or cook), do your homework! I'm not saying you need to adhere to tradition or revere the past, but be familiar?

Also, the "gawker" style reviews have got to go. Eating should not be a "scene". Its fucking food, people. Yes, pork fat is sexy and I do enjoy when soup dumplings squirt on me like flower tucci, but its really just a part of life to eat and watch porn. I never knew about shopsin's until last week, ate there, changed my order, broke all the rules and enjoyed myself. I told some food nerds and they lose their shit because I didn't know the "rules" @ shopsin's. Gimme a break. If you want to be a food nerd, be a nerd about the food, not the food "scene". You may know the back story behind every trendy restaurant in the city, but can you make a gravity bong? I can, that's cooking. In the words of Cam'ron, who dropped "Cookin' Up" last summer:



"Put the oven on 500." -Killa Cam

There is so much food culture still uncovered, we should take our time, absorb, and let things sink in before seeing how far any particular rabbit hole goes. If anyone wants to know who my favorite chef is, I'll tell you right now: Raekwon. That brotha knows his fuckin ice cream.