Tuesday, March 13, 2007
To Philadelphia and back, sans cheesesteak :-(
So I've recently returned from a number of days in Philadelphia. We spent our time at the Marriott just across the street from the Reading Terminal Market. It was all for the Annual Drosophila Conference, which is a non-stop orgy involving fly biology. Ahhhh yes. Science.
I have returned, quite possibly fatter, and very exhausted. But I will update with the meal highlights... for now, detox.
I have returned, quite possibly fatter, and very exhausted. But I will update with the meal highlights... for now, detox.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The Japanese branch of the noodle family
I'm a big fan of gorging myself every once in awhile. But, I've recently noticed that I can't recover from binging like I used to. Now I experience the “food hangover”, which includes symptoms such as general malaise, mild headaches, lethargy and bloating. Chronic sufferers of the “food hangover” may notice longterm bellyaches followed by gradual muffin top formation.
On that note, I’m excited to report that I’ve visited Sobaya a couple times now, and found that, regardless of the amount consumed here (ginormous is one word I would use to describe the food volume that went into my body), I have not been plagued by the hangover. I highly recommend this restaurant, where soba and udon noodles are handmade on the premises. Naturally, noodle dishes feature prominently, and are supplemented by a large appetizer and sake menu.
I’m a fan of their pickle platter, lightly pickled assorted vegetables, including daikon and bamboo shoot. Also, I recommend the dish with yam cake, which had a pleasing texture, jellyfish-like, but with a gentler crunch.
If you are looking for something more luxurious, the Berkshire pork belly with poached egg will satisfy any craving (see photo on the left). This dish is soya-saucy yet not too salty or overpowering, and should be eaten by dredging the quivering hunks of belly through the yolk, so that every piece has a velvety egg/sauce coat. I think I just drooled on myself while I typed that.
Noodles, oh, noodles. They are excellent here, and I’ve had the Nabeyaki Udon and the Chirashi Soba noodles. There’s a photo of the Nabeyaki Udon, which is a sort of noodle soup casserole/hot pot, and contains shrimp and yam tempura, chicken, fish cakes, vegetables, and yet another poached egg. Delicious, but this definitely came in a solid second after the Chirashi Soba noodles, which happens to be part of the seasonal menu. The Chirashi contains deep fried tiny shrimp, bean curd skin, fish cakes, and quite possibly crack. And I mean that in the best way possible.
If you still have room, or even if you don’t, I suggest some dessert. After all, most of the dessert selection is ice cream, which is designed to melt and fill in the cracks between the other pieces of food in your stomach. We ordered the green tea, back sesame, and the honey wasabi ice cream. I’d been eyeing the honey wasabi for a while, and boy-oh!-boy, it did not disappoint. Creamy and cold, with a quick, sharp wasabi bite, this ice cream is rounded out with wispy honey finish. I could definitely eat this ice cream ALL day, it was that good, and the flavour combination was a revelation. I shit you not. I also really enjoyed the strawberry tofu pudding, which had a more complicated name/ingredient list that I can’t recall now.
So if you think I can’t rave about Sobaya anymore, think again. The service here has been great and the environment is friendly and relaxing. I am seriously in love with this place. And if you are still wondering whether you should dine at Sobaya, let me tell you that the toilet seat in the ladies’ room is heated—and has a dual spray angle bidet function, with water pressure control. You can feel fresher than ever after an amazing meal.
I’m not even commenting on the sake… I don’t want to embarrass myself now.
On that note, I’m excited to report that I’ve visited Sobaya a couple times now, and found that, regardless of the amount consumed here (ginormous is one word I would use to describe the food volume that went into my body), I have not been plagued by the hangover. I highly recommend this restaurant, where soba and udon noodles are handmade on the premises. Naturally, noodle dishes feature prominently, and are supplemented by a large appetizer and sake menu.
I’m a fan of their pickle platter, lightly pickled assorted vegetables, including daikon and bamboo shoot. Also, I recommend the dish with yam cake, which had a pleasing texture, jellyfish-like, but with a gentler crunch.
If you are looking for something more luxurious, the Berkshire pork belly with poached egg will satisfy any craving (see photo on the left). This dish is soya-saucy yet not too salty or overpowering, and should be eaten by dredging the quivering hunks of belly through the yolk, so that every piece has a velvety egg/sauce coat. I think I just drooled on myself while I typed that.
Noodles, oh, noodles. They are excellent here, and I’ve had the Nabeyaki Udon and the Chirashi Soba noodles. There’s a photo of the Nabeyaki Udon, which is a sort of noodle soup casserole/hot pot, and contains shrimp and yam tempura, chicken, fish cakes, vegetables, and yet another poached egg. Delicious, but this definitely came in a solid second after the Chirashi Soba noodles, which happens to be part of the seasonal menu. The Chirashi contains deep fried tiny shrimp, bean curd skin, fish cakes, and quite possibly crack. And I mean that in the best way possible.
If you still have room, or even if you don’t, I suggest some dessert. After all, most of the dessert selection is ice cream, which is designed to melt and fill in the cracks between the other pieces of food in your stomach. We ordered the green tea, back sesame, and the honey wasabi ice cream. I’d been eyeing the honey wasabi for a while, and boy-oh!-boy, it did not disappoint. Creamy and cold, with a quick, sharp wasabi bite, this ice cream is rounded out with wispy honey finish. I could definitely eat this ice cream ALL day, it was that good, and the flavour combination was a revelation. I shit you not. I also really enjoyed the strawberry tofu pudding, which had a more complicated name/ingredient list that I can’t recall now.
So if you think I can’t rave about Sobaya anymore, think again. The service here has been great and the environment is friendly and relaxing. I am seriously in love with this place. And if you are still wondering whether you should dine at Sobaya, let me tell you that the toilet seat in the ladies’ room is heated—and has a dual spray angle bidet function, with water pressure control. You can feel fresher than ever after an amazing meal.
I’m not even commenting on the sake… I don’t want to embarrass myself now.
