Long's Noodle House

It's been quite a while since I've been to Long's. I don't go very often now that they're so busy all the time. I can still remember going for lunch in high school when they'd just opened and it was empty. Those were the days.

To be nostalgic, I ordered the Tan Tan Noodles (擔擔麵) and the Steamy Pork Dumplings (小籠包). Then since B was eating with me, I also added the Spicy Wontons (紅油抄手).

The noodles were good. The noodles themselves were properly cooked and the sauce / soup was peanuty. The broth wasn't as thick as I remember but I'm not mad at it as it still had great flavour.

At first I was apprehensive about the dumplings because the owner wasn't making it herself anymore. However, they were still the juiciest/ soupiest xiaolongbao I've had. The skin was paper thin. It's still the best xiaolongbao I've had. I personally think it's better than Ding Tai Fung - even the one in Taipei. It's just juicier. Sorry for the ugly photo, I couldn't wait to dig in and forgot to take a picture before I started eating.

We ordered the wontons because it was supposed to be spicy and B loves spice. Unfortunately, it wasn't spicy at all. However it was still good: the meat was moist and tender, the wrapper had a good texture. It was a little on the oily side. I also couldn't wait to eat so I messed up the presentation a bit for this picture as well.

At the end we were overly full. We probably could have done without the wontons.

The owner still recognized me after all these years. Which was a nice touch. I would love to go back. If only I were okay with waiting in line. But turnaround is quick so luckily we didn't have to wait long. I definitely recommend simply for their amazing xiaolongbao - and of course everything else tastes good too.

CinCin Restaurant & Bar

Went to CinCin with some friends for a birthday. I had been here previously for a work dinner. Interestingly enough there was another branch in Daejeon that I used to frequent. That branch in Daejeon was actually my first experience of CinCin. It was one of the rare places I went to for meals whilst in Korea because I really didn't have a lot of choices.

I had the Tuscan Style Braised Duck Breast, pappardelle, red wine, tomato, black pepper. It's not on their online menu - I can only assume they'd run out of short rib and replaced it with duck breast. I had the small portion and added 2g of black truffle. At first, I couldn't really taste the truffle. But then I mixed it in to the oil and grease at the bottom of the plate and then it was delicious.

The duck was seasoned well and very tender. Another friend of mine had the same dish without the truffles but says it was too salty. I tasted the meat by itself, while well seasoned, I didn't think it was overly salty. Once you add the pappardelle to the bite, then it's perfectly balanced.

For dessert the five of us shared the Tiramisu, the fall spice panna cotta, and the macarons.

The fall spice panna cotta was like a pumpkin spice latte in solid form. The spice in the ginger crumbs were so aromatic and warm. It was the taste of Thanksgiving. The Panna Cotta itself was creamy but not gooey. It had set very well.

The marcarons were kind of a disappointment. Although I personally enjoyed the green tea flavoured one. My friends did not enjoy the others. They said that all they tasted was cream and they all taste the same.

Lastly the Tiramisiu was quite different from what you'd normally get. The ladyfingers were soaked with so much espresso, it was a mush in the bottom of the shot glass. And the taste itself was so strong of espresso you hardly tasted anything else. We also found the mascarpone was diluted with too much whipping cream, making it a lot lighter in texture than normal. I don't blame them, as mascarpone is so much more expensive than whipping cream. But honestly, I expected something more authentic from an Italian restaurant that charges you $12.50 for this tiny shot glass. The biscotti were a pleasant surprise though. It had a great balance of coffee and chocolate flavour.

When I first came I enjoyed the food. I didn't have to pay for it so I was in a great mood. I wouldn't have returned if not at the request of the birthday girl. I thought there were many more Italian restaurants in the city that had more bang for the buck. For example, the now closed down Quatro. The food is good, the service is good. It's just so darn expensive. Especially with all the good Italian food in the city, I will not return. But I will recommend if someone is looking for a fancy place to take someone for a special occasion.

Yolks

Had breakfast at yolks today. I waited a long time to be able to visit on a weekday when it's not so busy. No wait at all.

Three of us had the Benedict. And B had the chicken and waffles.

My aunt had the single egg on portobello and English muffin, with the aged cheddar sauce. She really enjoyed it and said it was very flavourful.

I decided to have the bacon and topped with goat cheese. I thought the hollandaise sauce was too tart for my taste. But I couldn't be sure if it was the sauce or the cheese. I think I will need to try it without the cheese. The egg was cooked perfectly. But the bacon and the muffin were a little over cooked in my opinion and were very tough and hard to cut and chew.

My cousin decided to have the egg on bacon and lemon truffle hash browns. When I first saw it, I thought, I wish I ordered the hash browns. But then I tasted a piece and it was very bland and normal tasting. I couldn't even smell or taste the truffle. My cousin said it was rather mild - until she got to the bottom of the plate where the truffle had collected in a pool. I think perhaps they did not toss it well.

B ordered the chicken and waffles. It's really amazing how something can be both sweet and savory at the same time. The chicken was nice and crispy yet juicy. The waffles and a nice crunch on the outside yet soft in the middle. The gravy was well seasoned and very good.

I always try a Benedict when I first visit a breakfast place as a standard test. The eggs were cooked perfectly but the hollandaise was not good enough. I enjoyed my time there and the service was great, but I don't know if I'd go back on a weekend because I don't think it would be worth the line up. Definitely worth a try on a weekday.

House of Dosas

We decided to get take out from House of Dosas because we had heard good things about their food but bad things about their service. The place looked busy even at 5:30pm.

We had the Chicken 65 to start because we'd heard good things about it. I'm not sure if it's because the food has been sitting in their containers or if it is how it's normally cooked because it was soggy. We'd hoped it would be crispier. But the taste was good and the chicken was tender.

Next we thought the Uthappam sounded cool - pizza? Who would've thought? So we got the cheese and onion one. It was okay. I personally found it too sour and doughy. B thought it was interesting, but we wouldn't order it again. It's like eating dough.

Lastly, it's not a visit to the House of DOSAS if we didn't order Dosas, so we got the lamb dosa. It was really good. The lamb was so tender and well seasoned. Normally it's probably crispier, but unfortunately because we got take out, it was a little soggy. I wished it had more dosa, a larger dosa to lamb ratio.

All the sauces that came with the food were great. We may go back, but it wouldn't be a priority. We'd recommend it for people looking for Sri Lankan food and definitely try some dosas.

Seoul Doogbaegi Korean Restaurant

Had dinner at the closest restaurant that wasn't our normal go to. I've been to Seoul Duck Bae before with friends and family, and it was always solid. It's very quiet at 5:30pm.

Since it was so cold, we wanted something spicy and warm, so we started with the Yuk Gae Jang, which is a spicy vegetable soup with beef and vermicelli. It was really well seasoned and the right amount of spice. Split very well between the two of us.

We also ordered the Goon Man Du and the Jeyuk Bakum. The prices may shock you at first, because I used to order Man Du in Korea for less than $5 and here it's $9. What the take out Man Du in Korea  did not come with was all the side dishes. Here we have, potatoes, daikon, bean sprouts, kimchi, and two bowls of rice. I'm sure we could've got unlimited refills on those too.

The Man Du were really tasty. Crispy on the outside and flavourful on the inside. It also had a nice balance of meat to vegetable ratio.

The Jeyuk was really great. The pork had great texture and the sauce was very well seasoned and had great flavour. Don't be fooled by the word "vegetable" in the description though, I think there was one leaf of cabbage on the bottom and then it was all pork - not that I'm complaining.

My one complaint is that there was no drink menu presented and she didn't come back to ask us if we wanted anything to drink. If she did, I would've ordered some makgeolli. But we couldn't get her attention until she came with the food and by then I felt it was too late.

Overall, it was a positive experience and we'd recommend and return. Not only did it feed us dinner, but we packed enough to make us really full for lunch the next day.