LIttle Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot

Tonight I had no idea what I wanted for dinner.  I had tried to make a reservation at a seafood restaurant in La Jolla, but couldn't get anything before 8:45 pm.  I was definitely not going to wait that long, so I did a little surfing and came across Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot.  I'd heard of hot pot before, and seen it in t.v. food shows, but I'd never actually had it.  I'm always up for trying authentic ethnic cuisine so I decided that's where we were going to go.

First off, for a place I'd never heard of before the place was huge and packed.  My roommate and I seemed to be the only caucasians there who weren't with Asian friends or relatives, (Always a good sign!) and the smell coming out the door was amazing.  It smelled spicy and woodsy and meaty.

 There was a short wait.  The front entry of the restaurant is very chilly, but I imagine that's because the dining room is full of steam from the pots on the tables.  When we were seated, we were given a menu on which one is to mark off the items that they want.  First is the broth.  You have a choice of their original, spicy original, half & half or vegetarian broth.  Then choose your meats.  There are too many choices to list here but include various kinds of beef, lamb, chicken, pork, seafood, tofu, meat and fish balls, blood cake and on and on.  Next the vegetables, then the noodles and accompaniments.  Many of the choices are available in half orders, which was good for us since we were only 2 people.  Their online menu only shows a fraction of the items that are available, and features the items that would be most palatable to the average American diner.

I like spicy foods, my roommate, not so much, so we got the half & half broth.  We both like beef, and if you've read my blog before you probably know I love lamb, so we got the lamb and beef combo.  We had considered getting chicken, but the only option was breast meat which I don't care for.  I also ordered a 1/2 order of tripe.  I'm not sure if that was more because I wanted it, or just to annoy my roommate.  Because the majority of the vegetables were ones I wasn't very familiar with, I decided to play it safe on our first time out.  We got Napa cabbage, spinach, corn, enoke mushrooms, seaweed knots, wide fresh noodles and lamb won ton.  We also ordered the sesame pancake, which was not a pancake at all but a fairly dense bread that was crisp on the outside and covered with sesame seeds, Mongolian kimchi and street style lamb skewers.

Many cultures have their own version of a hot pot.  I have had other culture's versions of hot pot before which usually have a fairly bland broth, I was not expecting the strong aroma of the broth.  It smelled spicy and delicious with an overpowering woodsiness.  I'm not sure what it was flavored with, but it did take a moment to get used to, it had a very strong umami flavor.  Besides green onions and garlic there were various pods in it including goji berries and dragon fruit pods.  I wasn't able to identify the others.  The lamb skewers also had that same distinctive woodsy flavor.  The kimchi was totally unlike other kinds of kimchi I've had before.  It was spicy but it was also sweet and crunchier than others.  It was probably my favorite item of the whole meal.

The staff were very helpful and patient.  At first we had marked many other items on the menu, but the waiter looked at it, suggested it was too much for the two of us and helped us decide what to take off.  When we were done, one of the waitresses packed up our leftovers for us as I'm sure we would have made a mess of it.  At the end of the meal they brought orange slices to the table.  The oranges were a perfect way to end the meal, cleansing and cooling the pallet.

The only problem I had with this restaurant was that the wall we were seated next to probably could have been wiped down a little better after the previous diners had finished.

I'm sure next time we go it will be an even better experience as we will have a better idea of what to order.  I am definitely looking forward to it.

Review revisit - Awash Ethiopian restaurant

A few years ago, shortly after starting this blog, I did a review of Awash Ethiopian restaurant. I've been back several times since but thought it was time for an update. Not much has changed since 2009. It's still comfortable and relaxed and serves really good, authentic Ethiopian food.

We went there for dinner tonight and I purposely chose a menu item I had not tried before. I ordered the fried beef ribs. These were very different from what I have ordered in the past. Instead of small bits of meat mixed with spices these were slices of rib with bone that were seasoned and fried with jalapenos and onions and awaze (spicy sauce which tasted very similar to the sauce meats are mixed with in other dishes.

The ribs were served fajita style. First they brought a plate covered by a piece of enjera and a bit of salad and accompanied by a side of the awaze. Next, the waitress brought out a sizzling platter with the ribs, onions and jalapenos, and spooned it all on top of the enjera. The ribs were very good and seasoned nicely, but I think I prefer the other dishes I've had in the past. Although the awaze had that same flavor I'm used to, it didn't have as big a flavor impact served on the side as the dishes that are cooked in sauce.

In my previous review I stated that I had not tried the tej. I have since tried it, but not tonight. It was good, but not something I would drink on a regular basis. It's not too sweet as I feared it might be, but if I'm going to drink wine with dinner, I prefer something dry.

I also wanted to try wot this evening. I had ordered the collard greens wot, unfortunately I never got it. Although the waitress apologized profusely, somehow it didn't get in my order. Oh well, something new to look forward to next time I go. This is an example of the one problem I have with this restaurant. The waitresses are very nice but don't have a good grasp of English and this is not the first time my order wasn't exactly correct. This evening, after we were finished eating the waitress and I did a little "Who's on first" regarding taking our leftovers and ordering baklava to go. I'm willing to overlook this because the food is so good, it was just a side dish and the order has never been so wrong that I was completely unhappy, but if you're a stickler for perfect service you may be quite disappointed.

All in all, I still highly recommend this restaurant for those with adventurous taste buds. Just remember to wash your hands before dinner.

Himalayan Cuisine

A pleasant surprise, not too far from home... Himalayan Cuisine

Just on accident we stumbled across this restaurant. We don't spend much time in the East County but were on our way home from Parkway Plaza tonight. I did a quick search for restaurants in La Mesa and Himalayan Cuisine came up. What is Himalayan Cuisine? Well, it's a lot like Indian food. In fact, I could not tell you the differences. Their sign says Himalayan, Indian and Nepalese food.

This place is in a strip mall on El Cajon Blvd. You can see the sign for it on El Cajon Blvd., but the restaurant is farther in the strip mall hiding behind the 99 cents only store. It's a pretty big place, but it seems they probably use the larger back area for special occasions. We were seated in the front, along with everyone else who came in while we were there. There were 4 or 5 small booths and a few larger tables in this area. It's fairly dark inside, so if you need light to read your menu, bring one with you. The overall look of the place is pretty drab, but the ceiling included some panels with interesting designs on them.

What did I get?

Everyone gets a cup of lentil soup to start. It was very hot to the touch, but I would have liked a little more spice. We ordered vegetable pakora appetizer . Very tasty, shredded vegetable haystacks coated in what tasted like lentil flour then fried, served with mint chutney. They also have samosas which some may prefer, but those came with a tamarind chutney. I can eat gobs of mint chutney, thus the pakora.

I love lamb!!! I got the #29. Sorry, didn't write down its name. It is lamb in a slightly sweet and hot, flavorful sauce, served with your choice of Basmati rice or "bread". The waiter didn't specify, but I'm thinking it probably would have been naan. I got the rice and ordered it at level 6 for heat. I could have gone hotter and been fine. It was very good, lots of sauce, and I love sauces. The best part was that the lamb tasted like lamb. I've often been very disappointed when ordering lamb and getting something that I could not distinguish as being lamb. If I want lamb, like I often do, I want it to taste like lamb. If you can't taste that delicious gaminess, then you might as well order beef. My dinner companion ordered #46, I think. It was kinda like an Indian version of fried rice with lamb, served with Raita. It was pretty good, but of course I liked mine better because it was saucy. For dessert we tried the "juicy milk balls". Not really my kind of thing. Cake balls with honey or something really sweet in the middle, served warm in a very sweet syrup. I'm not a big sweet eater to begin with, and I didn't care for the texture, kinda like tres leches cake but denser on the outside and even sweeter.

He also ordered a chai tea. This is nothing like you get at the coffee monopoly stores. You could actually taste the tea, which had a grassy taste. The spices were not as pronounced as many people may be used to. It was served hot and unsweetened. After adding 3 sugars, he was happy with it.

They also feature a number of chicken and vegetarian dishes, all of which also sounded good.

As usual, whenever we go out to eat we bring home at least another meal's worth of leftovers. I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow.

What's cool?

The waiters are very nice and it's pretty relaxing inside. Even though it's in a strip mall, all the windows except the glass door are covered with fabric so you can forget you're just steps away from the 99 cent store. The music playing was pretty interesting (if you're weird like me). It kinda sounded like a cross between native American and Celtic, different than I remember ever hearing in an Indian restaurant.

What sucks?

Nothing really sucked besides the dessert, but it just wasn't my kind of thing.

Rating...Good food and a nice change of pace.

Review - Awash Ethiopian restaurant

A tasty adventure...Awash Ethiopian restaurant

Awash Ethiopian restaurant is sparsely decorated but clean and comfortable. Their menu offers a pretty long list of authentic Ethiopian food. If you’re new to Ethiopian food but are adventurous, you’re in for a treat. What makes Ethiopian food unique is the spices they use and the way the food is served. All the entrees are served on enjera, a thin bread with a spongy texture and a tangy taste. You’ll also get plenty more enjera on the side. The enjera is the utensil they use to eat. After tearing a piece off you use it to pick up your food. Some might be afraid this would be messy, but the enjera prevents the sauce of the food from getting all over your fingers.

They offer entrees made with beef, chicken, lamb, a large variety of vegetarian options and fish (only served Wednesdays and Fridays). To start try a sambusa, seasoned beef or lentils wrapped in a flaky pastry and fried, served with a really spicy hot sauce on the side. The portions are large enough that they can be shared by two. With the most expensive dish being $16, it’s quite a good deal. Most dishes run around $9 or $10. They offer beer and wine from Ethiopia as well as American beer and wine and a few popular import beer brands. There’s a happy hour on certain weekdays with $2 beers including imports.

What do I get?
I love lamb and they offer a few different lamb entrees so I usually choose one of those. I also love their sambusas and their home made baklava is great. It’s served warm and isn’t as sweet or as rich as Greek Baklava. I like it much better. Someday I’m going to try Tej, an Ethiopian honey wine, but haven’t yet.

What's cool?
If you’re a true coffee lover you’ve got to try their Ethiopian coffee. They roast the beans when you order it and bring them out in the pan for you to smell before grinding and brewing. It’s served in an African pottery pitcher with demitasse sized cups. As you might imagine it’s very strong.

What sucks?
Their American wine choices. At the same price as their Ethiopian wines ($4 per glass and $14 per bottle) they only offer Charles Shaw wines, commonly referred to as 2 buck Chuck. Some of the Charles Shaw wines are pretty good, but it’s difficult to see paying $14 for a $2 bottle of wine.


Rating...You must go if you’re ok with eating with your fingers.

Recipe - Greek Broiled Lamb Chops

When it comes to red meat lamb is my absolute favorite. I love it. The dish I most often make for special occasions is Greek Roasted Leg of Lamb. But that’s expensive and not really practical when you’re only cooking for two. I came up with this recipe when I found some nice lamb chops at the store. It’s quick and easy, so you can whip it up on a weekday.

Ingredients:

2 lamb chops

2 teaspoons of your favorite Greek or Mediterranean spice blend*

1 medium lemon

1 teaspoon salt*

* My favorite spice blend is Mediterranean Sea Salt from San Diego Coffee, Tea and Spice Inc. http://www.sandiegocoffee.com/. Since it already contains salt I use one tablespoon of it and leave out the added salt.

Preparation:

Sprinkle chops on both sides with spice blend and salt. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the side of the chops facing up. Save the other half for the other side. Place chops under broiler. Broil for approximately five minutes. Turn chops and squeeze remaining lemon over them. Broil another five minutes or until they are done to your liking.

Quick and simple, huh?

Serves 2.

How do I like mine?

Rare