Sweet Willie wrote:client and I were doing some food hopping last night, based on your post we stopped by and had this, very worthwhile.marothisu wrote:The "pan fried smoked pork cake" is a menu item that, according to my girlfriend, is really hard to find in the US anywhere and is very authentic.
Also had cumin lamb, I forgot to order the bonein cumin lamb. Still tasty.
marothisu wrote:Awesome! Yeah, that is good stuff and pretty awesome they have it on the menu. I think anybody who likes sauces similar to Peking Duck sauce and smokey meat (Beef or Pork) should try it.
stevez wrote:marothisu wrote:Awesome! Yeah, that is good stuff and pretty awesome they have it on the menu. I think anybody who likes sauces similar to Peking Duck sauce and smokey meat (Beef or Pork) should try it.
There is also an excellent version of this dish that is served at Ed's Potsticker House. If you like the one at Homestyle Taste (which I do), it's worth your while to try the one at Ed's as well. Personally, I like that one even better than the Homestyle Taste version which is saying something.
Ed's Potsticker House
3139 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 326-6898
botd wrote:Come on guys, it clearly says on the menu that it is a Smocked Pork Roll.
stevez wrote:marothisu wrote:Awesome! Yeah, that is good stuff and pretty awesome they have it on the menu. I think anybody who likes sauces similar to Peking Duck sauce and smokey meat (Beef or Pork) should try it.
There is also an excellent version of this dish that is served at Ed's Potsticker House. If you like the one at Homestyle Taste (which I do), it's worth your while to try the one at Ed's as well. Personally, I like that one even better than the Homestyle Taste version which is saying something.
Ed's Potsticker House
3139 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 326-6898
Octarine wrote:This will be the final stop on our S Side centric Open House Chicago tour tomorrow, it will make all the walking worthwhile:)
On a side note, I was introduced to a Dongbei dessert the other night. My girlfriend's mom made it - basically chop up something like sweet potato, and then bring peanut oil + sugar to heat, and mix. When it's hot and you lift up a piece of sweet potato into the air, the sugar strings up (ala really cheesy pizza, but thinner). Dip it into water to break the sugar strand and eat it while hot. It's really, really good (really sugary though) but gets really hard within 5 minutes. We had to use a knife to cut it once it was cooled. Apparently they do it with all sorts of fruit like bananas and apples too. We were hoping Homestyle Taste would have it, but they don't. Really hoping that sometime they consider getting it. I wish you guys could have tasted what I tasted - apparently it is not the easiest thing to make even though the ingredients are simple. I think if a restaurant in Chicago did that and did it well, it would probably become a fad if people found out about it.
marothisu wrote:On a side note, I was introduced to a Dongbei dessert the other night. My girlfriend's mom made it - basically chop up something like sweet potato, and then bring peanut oil + sugar to heat, and mix. When it's hot and you lift up a piece of sweet potato into the air, the sugar strings up (ala really cheesy pizza, but thinner). Dip it into water to break the sugar strand and eat it while hot. It's really, really good (really sugary though) but gets really hard within 5 minutes. We had to use a knife to cut it once it was cooled. Apparently they do it with all sorts of fruit like bananas and apples too. We were hoping Homestyle Taste would have it, but they don't. Really hoping that sometime they consider getting it. I wish you guys could have tasted what I tasted - apparently it is not the easiest thing to make even though the ingredients are simple. I think if a restaurant in Chicago did that and did it well, it would probably become a fad if people found out about it.
Rene G wrote:Many of these restaurants served a roughly similar hodgepodge of a menu characterized by hot and sour soup, sizzling rice soup, moo shu pork, Peking duck and glazed bananas for dessert (often dumped from a pan into a bowl of ice water).
marothisu wrote:Do you know of anywhere in Chicago that serves it?
Santander wrote:I grew up on these (candied fruits, and also hard sugar ginger glazed iced cream, they make a big production of out of it with a crystal bowl of ice water at the table, and fire) at Tae Fu in Villa Park: https://taefurestaurant.com
312 East St. Charles Road
Still on the menu. They also have exceptional sizzling rice soup and above-average Mongolian Beef and egg rolls and a few back-of-house Korean style dishes on request.
marothisu wrote:^ Very nice. Do you know of anywhere in Chicago that serves it? The sweet potatoes with it are delicious - you should try it. Don't have the chunks too big, but not too small...really good (and I don't even love sweet potato usually).
botd wrote:My understanding is that the caramel coated fruit/vegetable thing is still very popular in China, so I find it a bit strange that it seems relatively rare in Chicago.
botd wrote:I think I am talking about the same thing. Ba si, which Dongbei is known for, as seen in this image http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2015/03/20150323-dongbei-taro-robyn-lee.jpg with taro. You typically lightly caramelize sugar in oil before dunking already fried fruits/vegetables in it.
justjoan wrote:i dont want to argue with you, but they arent the same. there's no carmelizing of the sugar and no batter. only a clear, hard sugar glaze on the fruit, and no oil is involved. the fruit arent cooked before being dipped.
marothisu wrote:My girlfriend's parents visited Chicago for the first time last weekend (loved the city). They're originally from Dongbei, but have lived in Shanghai for something like 15 years.
Her dad was really excited when we showed him the menu because even in Shanghai, they don't have a lot of restaurants serving this style of food. We had lamb skewers, sliced pork leg, stewed fish (more like from szechuan), chicken iron pot dish, some dumplings, and a vegetable dish (Di San xian).
They thought everything but the chicken dish was pretty damn authentic. They thought everything tasted good, including that chicken dish, but that it was the least authentic flavor wise. To be honest, my girlfriend and I a month earlier had the pork iron pot, which according to her was way more authentic taste wise than the chicken we had. Oh well..
They thought the lamb skewers were really good and the dumplings tasted like you'd get homemade from your grandma (that's a good thing - but I still thing QXYD is better). They also thought the fish was good and the sliced pork leg was decent.
Apparently her parents have tried numerous Dongbei restaurants in Shanghai, and many of them didn't pass their test. They said that this one passed their test more than most places in Shanghai, and is better than many they've had there even (which is amazing). Her dad would taste each dish and then tell me if it was OK to eat, as in if it was authentic or not. He said "OK" for every dish but that chicken one.
The most amazing thing though was around the vegetable dish (Di San xian) we ordered. They told me it was so authentic here that it was more authentic than anything they've ever had in Shanghai for the same dish. I thought it was good but nothing amazing - however, it's amazing they said it's more authentic than anything they've gotten in Shanghai.
On a side note, I was introduced to a Dongbei dessert the other night. My girlfriend's mom made it - basically chop up something like sweet potato, and then bring peanut oil + sugar to heat, and mix. When it's hot and you lift up a piece of sweet potato into the air, the sugar strings up (ala really cheesy pizza, but thinner). Dip it into water to break the sugar strand and eat it while hot. It's really, really good (really sugary though) but gets really hard within 5 minutes. We had to use a knife to cut it once it was cooled. Apparently they do it with all sorts of fruit like bananas and apples too. We were hoping Homestyle Taste would have it, but they don't. Really hoping that sometime they consider getting it. I wish you guys could have tasted what I tasted - apparently it is not the easiest thing to make even though the ingredients are simple. I think if a restaurant in Chicago did that and did it well, it would probably become a fad if people found out about it.
chezbrad wrote:I am not splitting hairs here. Promise.
I've been fascinated by the use of the word "authentic" in this post. Are we supposed to take it as synonymous with delicious, or is it really supposed to be more of a descriptive comparison--i.e., whether it "passes the test" of having the same qualities as the same dish made in China?
cilantro wrote:Was it Fu Run? I love that place.
on previous visits, the fries were not in the dish. I feel my memory is solid on this as a couple friends in yesterday's group who came with me on prior visits remarked on the addition of the fries as well.Jazzfood wrote:The fries in the hand tear beef have always been there.