Lotte Plaza: A Hidden Spot for Korean Food

If there is one thing that Ellicott City is known for, its the Korean community and the businesses that they operate along Baltimore National Pike.  There are many Korean owned eating establishments, like restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores.  One of these markets is Lotte Plaza, a nationwide chain that began in Silver Spring, MD.

This post is not about the supermarket; its about the food court inside the market.  This place is really a hidden gem when you consider that most people only know about the barbecue joint Honey Pig, which isn't all that great in my opinion.  This is an excellent place to get good food made with ingredients from  the market at affordable prices.

There are four main stalls here, serving a variety of Korean and Japanese fare, and a bakery.

Ikkyu

Basic Japanese fare is served here.  Curry rice, tonkatsu, soba, and tempura are just some of the offerings available.

Au Rang Sushi

As the name suggests, this place serves sushi rolls.  They can be purchased individually or as part of a bento box.  There is also a variety of spicy seafood soups available.

Seoul Soondae

Also as the name suggests, this place serves soondae, Korean style blood sausage with rice.  This is the more adventurous stall here.  The signature dish is the soondae platter with boiled pig's blood, tongue, and intestines.  They also have something called jukbal, which is broiled pig's feet that is served sliced.

Manna

This is my go-to place when I'm in the market.  Manna has stall has two parts: A main stall and a satellite stall.  The main stall serves traditional Korean soups, noodles,  and ramen.  The 20+ variety of soups here show how Koreans are absolute soupholics.  The cost will be around $6-$11.  My favorite is the soondooboo, which is a spicy tofu soup with clam, shrimp, and baby octopus.  The satellite stall serves Korean snack foods like mandu (dumplings), fried rice, and dok bokki (spicy rice cakes).

SB Bakery

This is a typical East Asian bakery serving a variety of breads.  There's a variety of sweet breads, breads with fillings, and cookies.  My personal favorites are the butter cream and sweet cream buns.

Shanghai Taste

This may be a shock to some people, but there is much larger variety of Chinese cuisine.  Shanghai cuisine is quite different from its Cantonese counterpart, which is served in most Chinese restaurants.  And I was so happy to hear that there is a couple of places that served this kind of food in Rockville.  One of them is Shanghai Taste.

I actually have driven past the location of this restaurant many times before during high school to my club swimming practice at the Rockville pool at the end of the road.  But it was only in 2012 that this placed opened, replacing an old Chinese takeout.  This is another example of a hole in the wall as there are at most 20 seats in this restaurant.  There are two menus here: one with takeout style food and the other with 

This food isn’t new to me or my family.  My mom likes to order certain dishes to gauge the quality of the restaurant, such as Shanghai chow mien, hau fu, rice cake, and soup dumplings, if offered.  I don't know why she does it that way, but I went with it.  

To start, we had hau fu and smoked fish.  Both are cold dishes.

Hau fu is a vegetarian dish.  It contains gluten, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.  It’s amazing and apparently labor intensive to make.  My mom tells me of how her aunt or my grandaunt, originally from Shanghai, used to make the greatest hau fu ever.  Mom never knew how it was made.  My guess is that the ingredients are cooked down, marinated, and chilled in the savory sauce for about a couple of days.  

The smoked fish is fried, cut up into steaks, and then covered in a savory brown sauce.  The fish was really good with all of that sauce, but filled with a lot of little bones.  I ended spitting out the bones while eating this.  This dish isn't for everybody, but if you can tolerate fish bones, it's a must have.

Next came the Shanghai chow mien and stir fried rice cakes.

 

Personally, I didn’t find anything special about the noodles.  It was just egg noodles stir fried with Chinese broccoli and beef.  But the rice cakes were actually quite good, albeit very greasy.  It's served with bean sprouts and pork.  Cooking this requires precision and skill.  The cakes are very sticky, so they must be soaked well or else it will be impossible to cook them.  The wok is then well oiled to ensure that the cakes won't stick.

The main event was the soup dumplings served with ginger infused vinegar, the quintessential food of Shanghai.  They are filled with pork and gelatinous soup, which liquefies during steaming.  Wow, this was just unbelievably good.  The dumpling skin is thin, but is still able to hold the pork and liquid soup.  The soup is light and aromatic.  Although this may look simple, eating it is an art form that requires specific directions to be followed:

1.     Place the dumpling in spoon.

2.     Pour the vinegar into the spoon with the ginger.

3.     Nibble the side of the dumpling and suck out the soup.  If you take a big bite, the soup will splatter all over you.

4.     Eat the rest of the dumpling with the vinegar and ginger.

To my surprise, my dad ordered a special dish, Hainan Chicken Rice.  It’s half a deboned fresh, not frozen, chicken in soy sauce, served with rice cooked in chicken broth and fat, ginger and chili sauces, and seaweed soup.  The chicken was absolutely fresh and delicious.  The skin very loose and quite gelatinous, which is caused by the chicken being shocked in ice water after cooking.  It was so good that my dad got another order for carryout.  To me, this is one of my favorite dishes ever, along with the soup dumplings.

They only prepare 5 chickens a day, or 10 orders.  This is not on the regular menu.  It’s on a red sign written in Chinese near the front door. 

Our dessert was a pastry filled with red bean paste and pine nuts.  I was really amazed by how flaky the pastry was.  The bird's nest texture of the outside is really cool.  The pine nuts did surprise me since I didn't realize that pine nuts were used in Chinese cooking.  Or that there were any pine trees in the Shanghai area.  

Personally, I would come here just for the soup dumplings and the chicken rice in the future.  It’s very authentic, just like the way they make it in Shanghai.  I don't know how many people order the chicken rice, but there's a reason why it's the national dish of Singapore.  There are many more dishes that are good as well.  Shanghai is also known for noodles in soup, which this restaurant has plenty of. 

Shanghai Taste
1121 Nelson St 
Rockville, MD 20850

Lunch Specials: La Limena

Now it's time for the second installment of Lunch Specials!

For this special, I go to another Peruvian restaurant in Rockville.  Who knew that there is a significant Peruvian presence in the area?  Well, that's good for me and anyone that likes good food.

Tucked away in strip mall covered up by IHOP (cue the vomit) when driving down Rockville Pike is La Limeña.  Not only is it in the strip mall, it's located in a far corner, so it took a bit of a walk from the main parking lot.

I came here for something that they have on Fridays.  And it's only $9.50!  So what is it exactly?  It's a bowl of whatever soup they make that day and a big plate of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken).  And I do mean BIG.

 

The rice cooked with cilantro, giving it its green color.  The chicken varies week to week.  In my previous visit, the white meat was cooked in cilantro while the dark meat was used in the soup.  In my first visit, it was rotisserie chicken or pollo a la brasa, which is divine by the way.  It's made fresh everyday and you see it when you first walk into the place.  

 Everything you get also comes with a little plate of two sauces: ají verde (spicy) on the left and huancaína (mild) on the right.  Great for the dipping the chicken.

So next time on your Friday lunch, head on down to 765 Rockville Pike and start your weekend off with a nice big lunch.  I mean, its Friday after all, what could go wrong...

Dinner at Yuraku: A Oceanic Feast

When I posted on my time at Yuraku's lunch buffet, I said that I would talk about what it's like to have dinner there.  This is no ordinary dinner.  This is a gorgefest of oceanic proportions.  A dent to the world's supply of seafood.  Well, sort of.  But I can say that the sushi overall is of better quality during this time.  

As my family and I look through the menu, we receive a bowl of carrot, celery, and cucumber sticks with a dipping sauce.  The one thing I always get here is the platters of sushi, sashimi, or a combination of both, which come in a variety of sizes.  The one my family got consists of 4 rolls and 66 pieces of nigiri sushi and sashimi.  The one thing I always get here is the platters of sushi, which come in a variety of sizes.  But I will get to that in a bit.  

Before we get our sushi, we get additional complementary items.  First, a small egg custard called chawan mushi, with fish cake slices.  

Then, a plate of grilled salmon head and collar, which I absolutely love.  They only serve half of a head.  Since we were all excited about it, we devoured it like a pack of wolves before a picture could be taken.  So here's one from a previous visit.

Finally, the house salad of lettuce and cabbage served with a peanut dressing.

Now on to the main course.  The combo platter: it's massive, colorful, and diverse.  A barrage of seafood such as squid, octopus, mackerel, tuna, white (albacore) tuna, toro, salmon, salmon belly, red snapper, flounder, yellowtail, and clam.  Dragon, tempura, eel, and masago rolls round out the platter.  As a sushi purist, I just eat the sashimi and nigiri, which was all good for me.

Somehow we managed to finish every single piece.  As we got our check, the dessert arrives to our table.  This time, it's hand rolls, or temaki, filled with salmon and masago.  At this point,  none of us could bare to eat anymore.  But we managed to anyways, overwhelmed by how amazing the service was.  

Disclaimer:  We were only able to get all of the complementary items by spending a substantial amount of money on the platter ($100).  And I believe they only give the fish heads to Asian clientele.  Finally, since my family and I have been coming to this place for years, I have to admit we do get some special treatment.

Il Pizzico: Finally, Truly Authentic Italian Food

Italian food: it seemingly everywhere and the average Joe knows what it is.  There's pizza, pasta, and anything else that's covered with tomato sauce and/or cheese.  I, like many adventurous people, understand that way of thinking is wrong.  Italian food is very diverse and regional, just like many major cuisines.  Don't believe me?  Let me introduce you to Il Pizzico.

At first glance or thought of this place, you might think it is your typical pizza joint.  Wrong.  But don't worry that's my family thought too.  Looking at the menu, there is no spaghetti and meatballs or fettucine alfredo.  I see this as an opportunity to try something new and exciting.  Oh, did I mention that they make their own pasta?  Yes, every pasta they serve here is made in house: spaghetti, ravioli, tagliatele, bucatini, penne, rigatoni, gnocchi, and maltagliati.  I bet you didn't even know half of these.  And finally, there is nice modern decor in the interior.  

We start with two appetizers: prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella dressed with olive oil and grilled calamari with balsamic vinegar.  The mozzarella made with water buffalo milk is rather dense and packed with flavor you won't find in regular mozzarella made from cow's milk.  The calamari was a appetizer special for the night and had a very nice grilled taste.  

Mom: Spaghetti allo Scoglio (spaghetti with mussels, shrimp, calamari, and scallops in a tomato sauce)

Seafood and pasta: a good combination.  Fresh shellfish and handmade pasta: an amazing combination.  Not to mention a light tomato sauce that complements each element of this dish.  The pasta itself is dense, starchy, and cooked al dente: a true sign of homemade goodness.  Before serving, it is lightly tossed with the pasta and seafood in a pan so that every element is incorporated together.

Sister: Ravioli di funghi al pistachio (mushroom ravioli with pistachio cream sauce)

This is the most unique pasta I have ever seen.  Homemade pasta filled with diced mushrooms and served with a sauce made from something I would have never expected.  This dish traces its roots to Sicily, where pistachio nuts are cultivated.  The pasta itself was soft and complemented the mellow mushrooms stuffed inside.  The sauce is both creamy and aromatic.  This is Il Pizzico's best selling dish, which explains why it was the best dish of the night.

Dad: Grilled Mahi Mahi 

This was one of their dinner specials of the night.  A thin slice of fillet that is grilled, topped with onion crisps, and served with roasted potatoes.  The fish itself wasn't fresh at all, which was shocking for a special.  Maybe he should have just stuck with a pasta.  Oh well as least there are potatoes to help fill the void.  

Me: Duck Breast in Cherry Sauce and Balsamic Vinegar

This is another dinner special offered that night.  This is rift on the French classic, canard à l'orange (duck in orange sauce).  So I will call this anatra alla ciliegia.  The breast was crisped on the skin side, cooked medium, and then thinly sliced.  But there wasn't that much skin on this piece, but it made up for it in the meat.  The cherry glaze and fresh sour cherries gave the dish a sweet and sour taste that goes well with the duck.  Sour cherries are usually used for cooking unlike its sweet counterpart.  It's served with broccoli rabe and potatoes.  I liked this dish quite a bit, and I don't even like cherries.  

I think that this is a lovely place in a location which can kindly be described as a "shithole."  If you are familiar with the intersection of Gude Drive and 355, you know what I mean.  When you're sandwiched between a car repair shop and a gas station, next to the Metro line, and near the industrial part of town, it would be a little uneasy for most people to come by.  The parking lot behind the restaurant is also sketchy, which probably explains why there aren't many luxury cars parked even though the clientele can certainly afford them.

But despite this, the pastas and service make it worth the trip for me.  I mean what other restaurant serves truly authentic Italian or even makes their own pasta?  This place is a prime example of a hidden gem.  But now that I have mentioned it, it's not so hidden anymore.

Il Pizzico
15209 Frederick Ave
Rockville, MD 20850

Lunch Specials: La Canela

Update: I would like to start a new series I like to call Lunch Specials.  I reveal some of the best deals and steals wherever I go to eat what some consider the least important meal of the day.

If there was one restaurant that I have recently visited that has caught my attention, it would be La Canela in Rockville.  When I had dinner there it was one of the most exciting meals I've had in a while. There were new flavors and interesting ingredients that we have never tasted before.  Since it was my birthday, I family and I decided to celebrate by having lunch since I have other commitments at dinner time.  Little did I know that lunch and dinner time at La Canela would be like night and day.

It was very bizarre walking into the restaurant as my family and I were the only diners.  It was too quiet.  I quickly realized that this was the normally the case since since the surrounding Town Square looks like a ghost town.  Despite the amount of workplaces in the vicinity, there isn't much activity during lunchtime.  Either they prefer to bring there lunch or don't have the time to sit down and eat.  That's a shame because there is a great deal to be found here. The highlights of there lunch menu include a two-course meal or single dishes for $15.  I chose a single dish while the rest of family had the two courses.

To my surprise, we started out with a complementary amuse bouche of a warm ceviche wonton with hunacaina sauce.  The ceviche consists of mahi mahi, citrus, and aji chili.

For the first course, my mom got the yuquita rellena, or fried yuca stuffed with crabmeat.  It was served with salsa and a sauce made with rocoto peppers.  It's a chili pepper grown in Latin America and is quite spicy.  My dad got the calamari with apparently came with yuca fries, making it a smaller version of appetizer we got last time.  My sister had yuca fries with huancaina sauce.  The amount of yuca we had was astounding considering how starchy and filling it is.

Now to the main event.  Mom and sis have the pesto fettuccine with a breaded beef cutlet.  Once again, the pasta was cooked al dente and the beef was perfectly fried, just like last time.  What was also perfectly fried was my dad's trout with even more yuca fries and garlic and olive oil scented rice.  The rice was shockingly fragrant and tasty.

And my single dish was cabrito guisado, a braised lamb shank on a bed of polenta.  To me, there is nothing than meat slow cooked until it falls off the bone.  The polenta is more chunkier than what I'm used to.  Most places would add a lot of cream or milk to make it look like mashed potatoes.  But here they don't use as much, giving it a consistency similar to oatmeal. And to make it clear, polenta is cornmeal not cheese.  But regardless, each entree was very filling and similar in size to the dinner portions.

Although it was tempting to have dessert, there was just no room for that with all of the starchy yuca we had.  Nevertheless, it was very filling and a great deal.  Although it was awkward eating in a nearly empty restaurant, it is a lot brighter inside since the lights are during the night, which is especially important if you want to take good pictures.  This visit reinforces how much I enjoy this restaurant and its food.  I'll be going back there on occasion and so should you.

Cool Fish from Temari

Smelt (Shishamo/シシャモ)

These are small saltwater fish from Japan that are fried to the point where they can be eaten whole, head to tail.  When I bite in it, it is not the flesh I taste but the roe.  There isn't a lot of meat in it, so it is mostly the eggs.  So eating it was a bit of a surprise.  Instead of melting in your mouth, there is a salty crunch to it.  A little fun fact: shishamo means "willow leaf" based off of its appearance.  ($5.95)

Pacific Saury (Sanma/サンマ)

Commonly marketed as mackerel pike, this fish is surprisingly smaller and thinner than I had expected. It's about a foot long and about 1.5 inches thick.  This fish is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids and little bones, making it a delicious but difficult fish.  But I'm a strong believer of working for your food, which makes the eating experience more exciting.  And what makes this fish great is that, once you finish the meat, you can eat the head whole.  It's a crunchy, salty goodness that only fish like this can deliver.  ($15.95)

Black Cod (Gindara/ギンダラ)

This fish is actually called sablefish and is very similar to Chilean Sea Bass.  It is both flaky and very buttery.  The taste reminds of a very mellow sweet cream.  It is one of the most amazing fish that I have ever tasted and I have tasted a lot of fish.  Like the sanma, this fish is simply broiled.  This fish was apparently made famous by Nobu as part of his signature dish, black cod with miso.  First created in his New York restaurant, it is has been imitated by many chefs due to its simplicity.  In fact, I have had this version served at EN Japanese Brasserie in New York's West Village.  But Temari's version is much more rustic and simple.  Just a couple of bone-in filets that are seasoned with salt and then broiled skin side down.  ($23.95)

Temari Japanese Cafe
1043 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852

Fu Lin: A Great Deal in an Obscure Corner

As part of an Chinese family, I am always kept aware of any Chinese restaurants wherever I am.  Some are very obvious to find, especially in southern Montgomery County.  But in the upper part of the county, they are usually concentrated around the downtown areas of Wheaton and Silver Spring.  Outside of this part, you would be hard pressed to find any restaurants that serve authentic cuisine.  But there is one hidden place located in a strip mall surrounded by residential homes: Fu Lin. 

When I walk in, the place was kind of empty.  I wondered 'How could such a place stay in business like this?' But with every ring of the phone on the counter, I quickly realize that this place is primarily a take-out joint.  So yes, they do have that Americanized stuff that we have all know.  But knowing what authentic Chinese food is, it's a Pavlovian response for me to try avoiding that stuff.

One thing that most people do not understand about Chinese cuisine is that dishes are meant to be shared, banquet style.  This is shown in the preset menus that Fu Lin offers.  Each set varies depending on the size of the party (there are 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 people) and are reasonable in prices.  My parents and I selected the one for 4 people ($39.99).  

We start with what they call West Lake Beef Soup.  It is like an egg drop soup with ground beef.  

The second course is tilapia stir fried with vegetables in black bean sauce.  There is a decent variety of vegetables in this dish, including chives, lotus root, carrots, and onions.

The third course is Peking Pork Chops.  It's pork chops cooked in a thick red sauce.  I believe they use pieces of shoulder rather than the loin, so the meat is tougher but much tastier.

The fourth course is a dish of boiled vegetables, in this case bok choy.  It is sauteed with garlic.  Very simple and refreshing.

The final course is a whole chicken served in 3 ways: salt fried, garlic fried, or steamed and served with soy sauce (Hakka style).  We chose the garlic fried version.  The chicken is topped with crushed garlic and sliced chiles.

There is a dessert served with every menu.  But since it is orange slices, I wouldn't count as a course since it's insignificant compared with the rest of the dinner.  I was hoping to get a hot tapioca soup, which is a traditional way to end a Chinese meal.  So I guess you can it was a slightly disappointing end but hey, fruit is good for you.

The next time I come back here, I hope to bring along more people as Fu Lin's dinners for 6, 8, and 10 people include lobster and whole fish, which they store in tanks in the back of the restaurant.

Fu Lin
2235 Bel Pre Road
Silver Spring, MD 20906

La Canela: The Finer Points of Peru

For much of my life, I have heard that Asian cuisines was the best in the world.  And yes, I still believe that.  But I have also wondered about where else would there be good food.  How about South America?  How about Peru?  It would seem to make sense.  It has the Pacific, the Andes, and the Amazon, so there's got to be some interesting food.  I certainly thought there was after watching an episode about Peru on Anthony Bourdain's CNN show Parts Unknown.  I was impressed by what I saw that I immediately started looking for Peruvian restaurants near my hometown.  I was fortunate to find one in a place that I least expected: La Canela in Rockville Town Square.  Now I was surprised as I am not fond of any restaurant in that part of town as they mostly consist of standard American fare and chains.  But this restaurant is tucked away from the hustle and bustle, which makes for an intimate setting.   

As I approach the restaurant, I am already impressed with the old Spanish colonial architecture of the exterior and interior.  It gives an aura of authenticity and makes a very unique ambiance.  As my family and I looked through the menu, we were amazed by the diversity of dishes that were offered, especially the appetizers and entrees.

For this meal, it was an absolute gorge-fest.  We went the whole nine yards with appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  Yes, there were multiple desserts involved.

We start with 2 appetizers.  First, a tiradito of flounder with aji amarillo, lime juice, garnished with lima beans, potato, sweet potato, and roasted corn.  Think of this as Peruvian sashimi.  The flounder was very fresh and went well with the aji sauce, which is made from the aji chile.  Contrary to what you might think, it isn't very spicy.  What is spicy, for some strange reason, was the potato.

The second appetizer was calamari with yuca logs, sarza criolla, and Peruvian tartar sauce.  The squid was ultra fresh, perfectly fried, and went very well with the tartar sauce.  This is the best calamari I have ever had.  The yuca, or cassava, was also very good.  Since it's a root vegetable, it's like eating potato fries.  But yuca is more denser and has a sweeter starchy flavor. Once you have had this stuff, you will never go back to those greasy french fries ever again.  The sarza criolla is a South American salsa.  There are a variety of ways to make it but this version has onions, tomatoes, and cilantro.  This was also served some of the main courses as you will see.

Now it's time for the main course.  Even though each member of my family had separate entrees, we always share every plate with each other.  Each dish was very exciting and filling.  Even though this restaurant is a little more upscale, they don't skimp on the portions.  

My dad got the arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood), which is pretty much like Spanish paella.  It is filled with a colorful array of seafood on spiced rice.  Fresh seafood on top of flavorful rice, what could be better?

My mom ordered the asado de tira or boneless short ribs braised in a cilantro based dark beer sauce, served with lots of pureed canary beans and jasmine rice on the side.  This was the heaviest of the entrees.  The short ribs were absolutely fork tender and moist.  The beans were really good especially when eaten with the rice.

My sister ordered the fettuccini al pesto served with a breaded sirloin steak and huancaina aji oil.  Now you might be thinking why would anyone order a pasta dish at a Peruvian restaurant?  But let me tell you, this pasta is shockingly good.  It is cooked al dente style, meaning it's has a slight chewiness and no mush.  And who doesn't like steak?  Biggest surprise of the night for sure.

Finally, I got the arroz con pato (rice with duck).  The rice is scented with cilantro and beer, huancaina aji oil, and sarza criolla.  The duck leg is extra crispy and boasts a lot of flavor.  The skin was the best part.  As I bite into it, the fat underneath it melts in your mouth.  The rice was a completely new experience for me.  The beer and cilantro infusion made the rice very aromatic.  

Now on to the desserts.  At a first glance at the menu, we weren't sure of what to get, so we asked a waitress for recommendations.  She recommended us the panna cotta de lucuma, torta tres leches, and the creme brûlée de quinoa.  So we picked all of them.

The panna cotta is served with chocolate ganache, almond crunch, and pisco drunk raisins.  This was the best tasting desserts we had.  It was our first time trying lucuma, which is a fruit only found in the Andes mountains.  The dessert was very nutty, chocolatey, and had a hint of caramel from the fruit.

The tres leches cake is served with raspberries and whipped cream.  It is a sponge cake dipped in 3 kinds of milk, hence the name: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.  The cake itself was good, but I felt the sauce on top of it sort of masked the flavor of the actual cake itself.  This was also one of the most highly regarded desserts too, but I felt somewhat underwhelmed for some reason.  Maybe I was just too full at this point.

I have had creme brûlée many times before and will keep on having it many times again.  But this version of creme brûlée is the most bizarre and unique one I have ever tried.  When most people have creme brûlée, they like it for the crusty sugar coating on top covering a smooth, creamy vanilla custard.  But now imagine it with cinnamon and quinoa infusion.  Wow, whoever knew that would work.  The quinoa adds a healthy touch to an otherwise rich and fatty dessert as well as a new texture to the custard.




Wow, I had a lot of enjoyment eating and writing about this meal and I hope you enjoyed reading this.  This place is truly a gem in an otherwise substandard and stuffy, albeit charming, town center.  There is really nothing quite like it.  I'm really glad I discovered this hidden gem and shared it with my family, especially in an area saturated with Asian restaurants, and I think it will be the next big culinary trend along with the rest of South America.  When I go back (and why wouldn't I?), I plan on trying some ceviche.

La Canela
141 Gibbs St
Rockville, MD 20850