Archive for September, 2007

Dd33 reminds me of l33t-speak, the practice of using letters and numbers in combinations for the sake of cryptic writing. Instead, it denotes the initials and age of the chef at a far west-end restaurant that I have now visited a number of times, including this past weekend.

First-up is their appetizer of fried oysters, among the flavors include seaweed, sweet, and sour. The best part is the crunchy exterior with its coating of panko bread crumbs.

While the flavors work on this dish, the underlying seaweed atop lemon wasn’t for me… I’m not fond of the seaweed texture or ultimately, the flavor. The oysters, however, were large, and still had good flavor underneath their breading.

The star entrée has been their sablefish. Luxurious for its fat and smooth flavor, this typically is done with a miso-topping.

This time around, the fish flavor was weak. Subtle would be the positive word here; weak I chose instead because the dish has transformed since its initial offering. The more sweet miso glaze that first came on this fish, for me, was a stronger statement. The fish was done perfectly, however, and without the comparison with its earlier incarnation, I might not have been as critical.

Dd33 typically likes to serve “Shangai” with their dishes. In this case, they’re talking about baby bok-choy. Everytime I find this bland. Yes, it’s good, and it’s got a palatable flavor in its immature form, but I can’t help but notice the wateriness of the bok choy when it’s cooked this way. There are so many sweet and savory broths that could be used to add more definition to the bok choy.

The wasabi mashed potatoes that came with the dish were both a curse and a revelation. On their own, they were the spot-on consistency, they were punchy with spice and bite, and they were well-seasoned. However, the base/side dish shouldn’t compete with the main star. In this case, the potatoes were too overwhelming compared to the subtle, muted flavors of the fish. Against a steak, these would have been a better match.

The second entrée were “short” ribs, with a sweet, anise-inspired spice rub.

I have ordered their ribs as an appetizer, which have been superb. These were as well. The downside was the sweet potatoes. I’m not a fan of sweet potato/yam, and found the sweet, signature flavor appropriate. Yet, there was simply too much of that. A small side tasting of the sweet potato, alongside another starch, would have been preferred.

I’ve always been impressed with the friendliness of staff at Dd33, and our waitress was great. One service note that displeased me, however, was when the waitress replaced my dirty fork from the appetizer back onto the table for use as my entrée silver. I think when a customer puts the utensil on a finished plate, it should be removed and replenished. Previously at Dd33, the silver has been brought-out anew with each course.

Dd33 still is a place I’d return. It’s got a strong menu with many creative combinations of Asian-fusion flavors. There’s always room for improvement, but I’m glad to see someone in Richmond is trying.

This weekend I returned to Vietnam One, near the Tan-A Supermarket in Richmond’s west-end.

To be had was their restorative chicken-noodle soups, this one with shrimp dumplings:

Two varieties of rolls were ordered while the noodle soup came:

This (above) are the fresh shrimp-based spring rolls. They were delicious. Below, are the pork-filled fried rolls, also, tasty as usual.

In all, my re-visit has confirmed that Vietnam 1 is an inexpensive, yet tasty place to dine. Both their chicken and beef-based noodle soups (pho) are consistently good.

The Messy Chef does it again… For larger (and additional pictures), click on any one in this post and see more detail courtesy of Flickr.

For the MessyChef show on September 8, 2007, we elected not to take video. Instead, we took photos, which I may turn into a video. Nevertheless, I will outline the meal here. It combines flavors from both “East” and “West,” my two favorites.

• Appetizer: Foccacia Bread with Roasted Red Pepper, Basil/Pesto, and Mozzarella Cheese
• Mixed Grill: Chicken Thighs, Andouille Sausage in a Hoisin BBQ Sauce
• Ginger Rice
• Side: Grilled Eggplant with a Pepper/Tomato Sauce
• Dessert: Gourmet Vanilla Ice Cream with Rum Banana Sauce

Appetizer

I purchased the basil/pesto bread from Panera Bread. I topped it with roasted red peppers, salt, and fresh mozzarella cheese. I next placed it on the grill long enough to begin melting the cheese.

After it came off the heat, I added fresh basil and cracked pepper. It was cut into quarters and served to each diner.

Mixed Grill

I like variety, and decided to combine a no-fuss spicy sausage with an Asian-themed chicken. I marinated the chicken for 25 minutes in soy sauce and Chinese cooking-wine, salt, and pepper. I then added 4 Tbsp. of the sauce (recipe below). The chicken was then grilled until done, turned once, and at the last 5 minutes, coated in the BBQ sauce.

BBQ Sauce

• scallions
• ginger
• garlic
• hoisin prepared sauce
• salt, pepper (lots of pepper)
• olive oil
• roasted sesame oil
• Worchestershire Sauce

I combined this sauce in the food processor, chopping everything fine. The hoisin is sweet, so it cannot go on the chicken “bare” at the start of cooking or else it will burn. You can also lighten this sauce with a few Tbsp. of apple juice.

The sauce was used to top the chicken at the end of cooking and also used on the sausage to unify the flavors.

Ginger Rice

More common to so-called “Asian Fusion” cuisine, messing with the rice is sometimes frowned upon. I used a well-rinsed Thai Jasmine rice, added puréed ginger, and some honey and salt to the water. I prepared the rice in a rice cooker, and garnished it with basil leaves.

Grilled Eggplant

Grilling oiled-eggplants is about one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to prepare this member of the so-called nightshade family.

• Eggplant, sliced in 1-inch slices, coasted in EVOO
• Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Pine Nuts
• One small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small can chopped black olives
• salt, pepper
• EVOO, balsamic vinegar
• Roasted Red Peppers (I used small spicy ones)
• fresh basil (preferably chopped, and mixed in the sauce ingredients at the last minute)
• one tomato, sliced into eighths

Grill the eggplant until it has significant lines on both sides. It’s important it has a light coating in oil before you place it on the grill. While this is grilling, mix the other ingredients over medium-high heat prepare a sauce. Start wit the onion, garlic, and sun dried tomato in EVOO. Next, add the roasted peppers, tomato, vinegar, salt, pepper, olives, and finally, the pine nuts. Add more EVOO as necessary.

Top the grilled eggplant with this “sauce.” It went-over very well.

Ice Cream with Banana Sauce

This was a simple way to garnish good-quality vanilla ice cream. Combine butter and sugar in a pan, and convert into a light caramel. Add a flavored rum (we used coconut; dark spiced rum would also be good) to make the sauce, combined with two sliced bananas. Spoon the sauce over each serving of ice cream.

Downtown Richmond has a new Asian-fusion cuisine restaurant, located in the former home of 1421, a very good Italian restaurant. 1421 on Cary Street did not last, and I wonder if the Buddha, too, will.

Among our favorite things were the $3/piece steamed buns; we sampled the vegetarian and the AsianBBQ Pork versions, which both came covered in a sweet and spicy sauce.

The fried spring roll with pork was less successful, it coming with a cilantro-vinegar sauce and the same red, sweet sauce.

For entrées we ordered the seafood stirfry with rice, and the sesame/beef noodle bowl. Both had merits, but were not overwhelmingly spectacular. The seafood dish was too plentiful (enough rice for 2 diners), and the beef dish, while good (I loved the mushroomy broth), it was ultimately a little disappointing… it was missing “something” that made it sing. I guess it was ultimately boring.

Too full for dessert, we left it at that. The Buddha’s atmosphere is interesting, and while service was good, it wasn’t stellar. A few waits intervened during the evening, when, for a Saturday, few patrons visited. Certain some flavor combinations and offerings may appeal to diners tired of simple Chinese food, but… improvements could be made with the layout of the restaurant (there’s a big, wide-open space near the kitchen entrance that makes you feel the place is empty), and the quality of presentation, and boldness of flavors.

Shopping at Elwood Thompson’s, I spied their mushroom collection, and bought crimini and shiitake varieties. “You have chicken at home,” I heard in my head, and so it would be.

Mushroom Chicken

• Chicken Breast
• Olive oil, butter
• Salt, Pepper
• Mushrooms, chopped
• One-half Sweet Onion
• One clove garlic
• Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• Mushroom broth
• Marsala Wine

I first cooked the chicken with no coating in a mixture of olive oil and butter. Next, i added the onions, after turning the chicken once. I stirred them around in the pan, using medium-high heat. I then added the tomatoes and mushrooms, chopped. I then turned the chicken again, on top of the mushrooms and onions, and then poured-in marsala wine, and covered the pan.

The wine reduced while I made other things.

Once it was “gone,” I deglazed with mushroom broth, and reduced the “sauce.”

Asparagus

I parboiled the asparagus for 3 minutes in boiling water, then put the spears in a glass container with balsamic vinegar. I later hot-sautéed them in olive oil, with garlic, right before service, with salt and pepper.

Marscapone Potatoes

Yukon gold potatoes make excellent mashers; they are naturally creamy, and not too starchy. In this recipe, I riced the boiled potatoes, added salt, a little hot cooking water, and marscapone cheese. This sweet, Italian cream cheese is smooth and decadent. I also added one large clove of garlic to the mixture, then kept it warm in a metal bowl over hot water while I prepared other things.

This is a common trio of things I make, and everything turned out great.

I garnished the plate with grated parmesan cheese.