Kushi

I'm just catching up with my dining experience back in March. I've received an email from a source that there will be a new Japanese restaurant opening in end of March. The concept was very similar to what I had in mind about what new restaurant should open in DMV area. I was intrigued that someone else besides me thought of the idea and I was very eager to make a visit. I guess having a high hopes for something is to let down many things... Keep reading as this is my first very harsh review.

Kushi is located in downtown DC close to Chinatown. At first, I didn't mind the outer appearance as interior is much more important for setting an Izakaya ambiance. As I walk in, there were few employees greeted me with pleasant smile and and I waited for seating. I looked around. High ceiling with open grill with bar sits and few tables. As I was escorted to my table, there was bigger space to the left of the entrance, with sake bar and sushi bar. The place was very clean as I've expected from a new place.

I sat at the sushi bar and I was pleased with table setting. This is how things are done, if you have gone to decent Japanese restaurant: Good Chopstick, wet towel, and upside down dish for soy sauce. It was clean enough to eat with your hands as that's how you are suppose to enjoy good sushi in fine Japanese restaurants. I looked over the menu and ordered a Japanese beer that you can't really find in DC area.

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale from Kiuchi Brewery, Japan.

It has a nice dark amber color. Somewhat similar to New Castle, where you get nice aroma of orange, fruit, and then the taste of wheat.

Onigiri
My taste buds are very similar to Japanese as I always order onigiri to start off. Also, onigiri also tells you what your foods will be taste like from that restaurant as the rices and sea weed will tell you alot about their ingredients. This onigiri was okay. It had enough pickled plums inside and portion of rice was good. However, seaweed was little to salty and rice was not dried enough or should I say cared enough like how sushi rice is made.

Madai and Hamachi
I think sushi is the best in this restaurant. They were super fresh and rice was made well. There was good balance of rice vinegar, sugar and water in the rice that went well with fish without killing the taste of fresh fish.

Edamame and Maki (Eel and Lump Crab)
It was saltiest edamame... It was nice to see that they used sea salt but they killed it. Maki was just ok. Nothing special about them.

Eringi Mushroom
Another disappointment. It was very salty. so salty that we couldn't even eat 1/3 of it. They must have cooked in salt water and sprinkled more salt on it.

Buta Bara Pork belly
This was decent. Fat pork belly was seared evenly and outside was cooked right. Inside was still soft and I was able to taste the soft pork fat. I wish they smoked it little longer and did little sauce on the outside. It was little salty but my sense of saltiness was disoriented by previous dishes.

Anago
I was glad to see that they didn't use packaged eel like most cheap Japanese places do. Sea-water eel was fresh and portions were generous.

Asari no Sakamushi (sake steamed clams)
I guess these guys are high on salt diet. They killed the taste of clam with overly powerful salty sauce. At this point, we wanted to cancel the order and go some place else to wash our taste buds.

Kawa (crispy chicken skin), Sweet Onion, Chicken breast with wasabi
After tasting lots of inedible dishes, I thought maybe, just maybe, since this place is claimed to be Izakaya, their bar food should be good. There was hit or miss on that assumption. Kawa is very popular bar food in Japan bar scene along with skewered sardine which this place doesn't have. It was ok. If you done it correctly, there should be little fat left on the skin so that when you grill it, you get smokey flavor. It was little to dry and I didn't know if it was fried or grilled. Sweet onions were good but anyone can grill sweet onions. Chicken breast was undercooked and there was no signed that it came from the grill.

So I've wasted good amount of money, trying different dishes on the menu. Sushi was good but I wouldn't come here to eat sushi. This place is suppose to be a Izakaya. Picture this in your mind: Overly worked and tired Japanese businessmen looking for quick drink before heading home after work. He walks into narrow street where there are tiny Izakayas one after another. He walks into tiny space, greeted by smiling employees and you can smell nice smokey meat on the grill. This is how they are in Japan and even in New York City. Kushi has modernized Izakaya so much and food selection is so off that they should not be called izakaya. Even modernized Izakaya in Japan is not like this. It's just another wealthy person who knows nothing about the true experience of Izakaya and going cheap with hiring all Chinese employees who knows nothing about true Japanese food. I can't wait to goto my favorite spot in New York to erase this bad experience...

The Dining Room

I visited "Volt" back in January to try Bryan Voltaggio (runner-up in "Top Chef")'s creations. His dishes were good and I started wonder how his bother, Michael Voltaggio, the winner of Top Chef Season 6, compares to Bryan. I had an opportunity to fly out to California and thought 'hmmm why don't I pay a visit to his restaurant and compare?'. So the journey and my comparison began.

The Dining Room is located inside the Langham Hotel at Pasadena, California. It is rated One Michelin Star and also received exceptional scores in the 2009 Zagat Los Angeles/Southern California Restaurant guide. It is described as new American cuisine using classic disciplin and modern trends. Chef Micheal also utilizes the seasonal produce that California offers. I couldn't take a good picture but the center of the dining room is decorated with different shaped wine decanters. Each bottle of wine is served in these wine decanters. It was beautiful to see these delicate pieces of art.

So I tried a Seven Course Prix-Fixe Menu.

Powdered Parfait of Bagels and Lox
Bagel, cream cheese, and salmon in pulverized form by dry ice. It reminded me of my visit to The Fat Duck, where molecular gastronomy was used by Heston Blumenthal. All the senses in your tongue could taste the bits of bagel, cream cheese, and little sweetness as the cold powder melts in your mouth. It was a great way to star your appetite.

Langoustine
White Asparagus, Tiny Eggs, Fried Calamari, Squid Ink
Asparagus cooked just about right and saltiness of fried calamari were accompanied by the yolk from the tiny egg which it brought the all flavors together. However, I thought that there are too many components in one dish.

Trouffle Brioche
served hot, very moist and hints of trouffles. It was good bread. It was served with Echire Butter from France, Goat Cheese Butter, and Butter from Vermont. Trouffle brioche tastes the best when eaten with the goat's milk butter. They were little cheap on the extra bread, somewhat similar to "Volt". Be sure to ask for more breads when you goto either "Volt" or "The Dining Room".

Foie Gras Terrine
Minus 8 Vinegar. Wild Rice, Wild Strawberries
I was little surprised to see this dish. It was almost identical to one of the dishes served at "Volt". However, this tasted little more like foie gras than the one at "Volt". Little tangy flavor from the wild rice brought out the taste of foie gras very well. This was very excellent.

Tasmanian Sea Trout
Hibiscus, Pink Peppercorn, Puffed Mushroom Cracker
Again, too much things going on... Sea trout was little too salty as I think it was slow cooked--rare, raw almost. The porcini crackers brought an earthy finish to the course. I guess the hibiscus air left me with ambivalent. Was it used to balance the saltiness of sea trout and bring harmony to the dish? hmmm. I had to rinse off my mouth with my wine couple times.

Seaweed Mashed Potatoes
This was served along with the fish course. Very tasty!

Pastrami Pigeon
Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Rye
The meat was moist throughout and tasty. Nothing special...

Lamb Shoulder Confit
Tomato-Coconut, Chickpea Cake, Coffee Cardamom Soil, Blossom Leaf
Little too much going on. I would've liked more if it was just a simple lamb creation. Meat was cooked well and moist though.

Wagyu Beef Cheeks
Marrow Toast, English Pea Cluster
Meat was very tender yet savory with red wine sauce. Some might not like the texture if you never had Wagyu beef.

Peanut Butter and Jelly
Before the dessert, Voltaggio's version of Dippin' Dots was served. Globules of peanut butter and jelly frozen with liquid nitrogen. It was quite tasty with light and airy texture.

Choices of Desserts
Fools Gold
Chocolate, Salty Hazelnut Praline, Milk Sorbet
This dessert is quickly becoming his signature dessert so I had to try this over other desserts. A serpentine block of granache-like chocolate combined with the hazlelnut praline on top. The salt worked well with the sweet this time, unlike the fish dish from previous. The sorbet had a good contrast of cool and calm.

It was little disappointing at the end that I wasn't served with the mignardises. I wanted to try Chef's famous chocolate pop rocks lollipop and fruit candies wrapped in rice paper. It was definitely worth to try Chef's creations and see what is all the fuss about Michelin Star rated restaurant. There were quite of hit and misses in courses. However, I always believe that every day is not the same and there will always some misses on given day. After all, "Volt" was great but "The Dining Room" was little better with presentations, ideas, and tastes. I should revisit "Volt" again soon and reexamine it with Table 21.

Ping Pong Dim Sum

Of many emails about new restaurants and shops that I receive daily, I got this email about a new dim sum place in DC. The concept of modern interior design of traditional dim sum place caught my interest and decided to check out with good friend of mine. I recently went back to try few other exotic drinks and dishes.

The concept of Ping Pong Dim Sum originated from London, England. There are only 12 locations in London and three international locations, one each at a location: Brazil, Dubai, USA (only in DC). It takes on an ancient Chinese tradition of little savory dishes and fragrant teas. At Ping Pong Dim Sum, there are many non-alcoholic cocktails, exotic teas, and very creative drinks such as Wasabi bloody Mary and lychee and roses.

The restaurant has open space that welcomes everyone and there is a bar area, small steam kitchen area and the main dining room.

A perfectly served beer! A tall glass that is so cold that the foam at the top is frozen.

Steam kitchen area.

started with Jumbo prawn and citrus
Generous amount of jumbo prawns and just tangy enough to be a good salad. A good starter to have your taste buds working.

Honey glazed ribs.
very tender. not too sweet and there are some spices to it. very good.

Pork puff.
This was my favorite dish. very fluffy yet crispy pastry with honey roasted pork and caramelized onions. They got this right every single time I visited.

Spicy chicken dumpling.
Chicken and vegetables in chili sauce. There is little bit of cilantro inside so be aware.

Char sui bun.
Honey barbecued pork in a fluffy white bun. Salty inside blends in perfectly with dull tasting white bun.

Crispy hoi sin duck spring roll.
well diced duck with spices inner filling. good enough but nothing special.

Seafood dumpling.

Pork shu mai.
pork and king prawns in pastry with a Chinese wolfberry

Selection of exotic sliced fruit V.
slices of exotic tropical fruits with tangy sorbet .

Overall, the dishes were very tasty. Teas were great and cocktails were good. It is good idea to have a happy hour for great drinks and few quick bites. Food are brought out at faster than you expect so order small amounts in timely manner. Servers were great and very helpful at deciding the dish. The reservations are accept for party of 5 or more. For less than 5 people, it's first come first served. Wait isn't too long and you can always try new drinks at the bar while you wait. Ping Pong Dim Sum is located in Chinatown, DC, just two blocks north from Gallery Pl-Chinatown metro stop. More info at http://www.pingpongdimsum.us

Volt

So my search for perfect comfort food continues in 2010. I was lucky enough to be invited to New Years dinner by close friend.

This month is at Volt Restaurant, owned by Bryan Voltaggio. If you are keeping up with Bravo channel's "Top Chef", Bryan was one of the finalist in the show. I was delighted and excited to see what celebrity chef can create and how his creations will taste.

The historic mansion was built in the early 1890s, which is refinished and served as Volt now.

From the entrance, a long hallway leads to this chef's dining room that is directly attached to the kitchen. You can watch chef Voltaggio and his staff working. There are only six tables and a bar seat called Table 21(21 course tasting menu). This is inside the kitchen. There is a main dining room across the hallway from this room for private dining.

There is also a lounge at the entrance where you could enjoy your martini while waiting to be seated. Bar also serves six different types of coffee.

Crab croquette amuse bouche with caviar on top -- quite delicious

Sea bass with basil in light olive oil.

I thought this was the best tasting hors d'oeuvres.

Beet macaroons with foie gras center.

This was puffy outside that melts in your mouth and you slowly get to creamy foie gras center.

Sea salt bread.

It was sooooo good. They bake new bread every 30 minutes. So they were little cheap on giving out bread. One bread at a time.

Bacon and thyme brioche.

They have 5 different kinds of bread. I wish I could've tasted them all. =(

Scallop with truffles , caymus vinaigrette.

This cold dish was very fresh and light to start off before other dishes.

Goat cheese ravioli in sage brown butter, butternut squash, shiitake mushrooms.

I didn't realize the goat cheese in ravioli is a great combination along with shiitake mushrooms. This this was so delicious.

Duck liver,seckel pears, pistachio, anise and vanilla brioche.
It tasted more like apple sauce/pear sauce than pate. very creamy and fruity, it's more like dessert. Very creative and good.

Sturgeon, I think. It was not dry at all as the picture might look.

Chef working by Table 21.

Iberico-red wattle port belly, cranberry beans, calypso beans, red ribbon sorrel, mostarda.
It was little too dry and thus it became little too salty. It should be little crispy outer layer and be able to taste the pork fat that should melt in your mouth. I thought this was a total fail...

Chapel hill farm randall lineback veal, fondant potatoes, carrot variations.
Perfectly cooked medium rare. =)

Ordered extra cheeses and whole grain bread.

Double chocolate cake with hazelnut ice cream and mango sorbet.

The idea of sharing hazelnut ice cream and mango sorbet was interesting.

Mini ice cream sandwiches.

Something to take home with. Volt didn't want diners to go home empty handed so they gave individuals with house baked muffins.

With my friend from high school and Bryan Voltaggio.

So overall experience at Volt pleasant and up to my expectation. The service could have been little better to keep up with the restaurant's image that they hope to create. Nevertheless, staffs were very friendly and they will get better as they get more training. The menu changes as Chef changes his ingredients as the season changes. I wouldn't mind going back there again and also try Table 21 and see what other creations that Chef has in his mind as he did so well in "Top Chef". Don't forget to reserve a table one month before the date. They only serve Wednesday through Saturday between 12pm~2:30pm for lunch and Wednesday through Sunday between 5:30pm~10pm for dinner. Table 21 has shorter hours. Phone number is 301-696-8658. You can find more info here: http://www.voltrestaurant.com/