Santander wrote:But what, you've never made a cephalopod out of encased meat before?

Behold the Octodog.

Santander wrote:But what, you've never made a cephalopod out of encased meat before? I can't wait to introduce the forum to a heaping platter of "nautilus" bratwurst.

For that meal, perhaps I could fashion some contemporary nautilus cups. As you might know, cephalopods, specifically of the subclass Nautiloidea, were the inspiration for elaborately gilded drinking vessels common to 17th-century Wunderkammern. Less known, are the versions carved from more modest materials like nuts. I credit King's College historian Anne Goldgar for bringing my attention to this nautilusbeker, which I secured last year for reproduction in her book Tulipmania.

stevez wrote:

Santander wrote:But what, you've never made a cephalopod out of encased meat before?

Behold the Octodog.

Excellent! And they have eyes! Now, THAT's attention to detail.

happy_stomach wrote:Mama happy_stomach: "What they'd do with the body?"

Great anecdote. Our mothers are cut from the same cloth. When mom is itching for an argument, there is no way to win, so I too have learned to just bite my tongue and not question. Funny, my mom loves crime shows also.

At La Cazuela in RP, they often have a Puplo en Salsa Picante special (and it is muy picante). They serve baby octopi like the ones in your picture, but they have the bodies attached. The bodies are slit and hollowed out. They look like uninflated balloons and have a semi-rubbery consistency. The slits in the bodies allow them to fill with the hot sauce, which squirts out when you bite into them. Once you get past the creepy crawly nature of the dish, it is delicious.

stevez wrote:

Santander wrote:But what, you've never made a cephalopod out of encased meat before?

Behold the Octodog.

Actually, this is part of a real craze for cut-hotdog obento molds in Japan which fascinates me:

Crabdog
Tulip dog
Penguin Dog

Instructions for dog menagerie

d4v3 wrote:At La Cazuela in RP, they often have a Puplo en Salsa Picante special (and it is muy picante). They serve baby octopi like the ones in your picture, but they have the bodies attached. The bodies are slit and hollowed out. They look like uninflated balloons and have a semi-rubbery consistency. The slits in the bodies allow them to fill with the hot sauce, which squirts out when you bite into them. Once you get past the creepy crawly nature of the dish, it is delicious.

Sounds good. I'm going to see if they'll it this weekend and stop by. I like food that squirts.

Mhays wrote:Actually, this is part of a real craze for cut-hotdog obento molds in Japan which fascinates me:

Crabdog
Tulip dog
Penguin Dog

Instructions for dog menagerie

Are these what Sparky brings for lunch? I love the tulip dogs.

Quick lunch at Sun Wah with the Bride of Foodie.

Due to the fairer half's aversion to duck we had the house special chicken. Impressive stuff and certainly well priced.

A first time dish for us from Sun Wah was the pan fried rice noodles and they were great. I didn't ask but I suspect if the noodles are not in house they are made fresh locally.

We also had a spinach dish not on the menu which was huge and yummy. I think I have seen the dish as a special before - spinach and garlic.

My only regret about the meal was that there were only two of us and we had to order accordingly.

At long (overdue) last, we finally made it to Sun Wah last weekend for the Peking duck. We ordered a number of dishes, including shrimp with vegetables and egg noodles, steamed dover sole with ham and assorted greens, octopus whiskers, and crown daisies. (FWIW, I was particularly interested in having the pea shoots, but they were out. Indeed, had Kelly not made a special trip and handpicked them, we would have been crown daisy-less as well. Thank you, Kelly!) Accompanying the duck, of course, we also received duck soup and duck fried rice. Suffice to say, for a group of seven, there were leftovers, but not great quantities of leftovers.

In our previous visits to the shrine to Chinese bbq, we’ve somehow managed never to have the Peking duck. That omission has now been remedied. We were very fortunate to have as our guide to the duck, the inimitable Kelly. When the duck was ready, we were treated to an explanation of the dish, including an explanation of how to put our “sandwiches” together. Sun Wah chooses to use fresh, hot bao instead of the traditional pancake because they consider the pancakes to be too filling over the course of the meal. Fortunately, too much Peking duck was not a problem that afternoon.

After the intro-duck-tion (sorry, I just couldn’t resist)...



...Kelly got right down to work. In her spotless, formal duck-carving coat (complete with emblem), she expertly dis-assembled the duck for our gustatory enjoyment.



She explained a bit about duck anatomy and the preparation of the duck, but she worked quickly and soon we were awash in multiple dishes of duck: skin with duck and, of course, skin without duck.



The little duckwiches were quite easily created: take one very fresh bao, open (as with a biscuit), lay down as much (or little) duck and/or skin as desired, dollop on the hoisin sauce, top with julienned carrots and scallions, fold top of bao down, and eat! As we worked at assembling our little bao-filled delights, more dishes arrived, starting with the shrimp with vegetables and egg noodles:



The table was soon covered with more food, including the octopus whiskers (really, baby octopi, deep fried):



and steamed dover sole:



and “crown daisies”:



Upon inquiry, Kelly told us that the name “crown daisies” resulted from a Google search she undertook using the Chinese name, tong ho. When I returned home, I tried the same thing and, although I came up with “crown daisies” as well, I also found a couple of other things (such as turnip greens, which isn’t right) and garland chrysanthemum (several websites called it by this name, which it most definitely appears to be).

Eventually, the duck reappeared in somewhat different costume, to wit:


duck fried rice and...


duck soup!

My hands-down favorites were the little duck-filled bao-wiches (or would that be bao-filled duckwiches?). The table agreed (without dissent, so far as I know) that the steamed sole was excellent. Most seemed to be happy with the shrimp/vegetable dish as well. Speaking solely for myself, I enjoyed the duck fried rice, but was disappointed with the duck soup (bland and not a lot of ducky flavor) and the octopus whiskers. I don’t know if the latter were overfried (my suspicion), but I found them a little too crunchy and a little too flavorless. In the circumstances, however, so much was so good that a few misses hardly affected my good time. Excellent company and top-notch food. I only wish that my fortune cookie had predicted more Peking duck in my future!

I've been on a Sun Wah kick the past month or so and have been there for a meal every week. I'm not sure if it's been noted on the board before, but it seems like Sun Wah has a lot of Filipino regulars so they are very familiar with, and very willing to do, some Fil-Chinese food off-menu. Their Pansit Canton is not on the menu, but it is so much better than the version at many other Filipino restaurants in the city. I've also asked them to do " ampalaya con carne" or beef with bittermelon (I think they have a chicken with bittermelon on the menu) which was terrific.

Terrific pictures, Gypsy Boy, thank you for those and the great narrative.

When were you there Gypsy Boy? I sort of hosted a dinner for about 15 there early on Saturday evening.

We took a simple approach - ordering a couple of ducks and then letting our affable hostess (who looked amazingly similar to the lovely lady in your picture, go figure), and then let her just provide the rest of the food based on her whimsy. We did have one member of our party who did not eat meat, so our other dishes leaned heavily toward seafood.

I was enjoying the conviviality of the evening and did not take notes on each dish, but I can say this for sure.

Food - great
Service - excellent
Price - a steal (to the extent that my companions asked me multiple times if I was sure it was correct, and whether I had included a tip).

The place was mostly empty when we arrived at 530, but was full with a line by the time we left at around 730. We actually would have left sooner, but they were slammed by 7 and it took them a while to get us the sorbet (papaya was quite nice) and check.

Sorry we missed you, Mr. Dickson. We were there for a late-ish lunch, from about 1-2:30 or so. I concur in your overall assessment and, indeed, one of our party was also quite surprised at the total price and wanted to make certain that I had included everything. FWIW, I think that the total for food came to about $73 (tax included). Quite the excellent deal. (Our only surprise was that in the entire time we were there, the room was never much more than 1/2 to 2/3 full. Humming, but not packed.)

let me just say, that that was a very very VERY (did i mention VERY?) crazy day and weekend overall for us. when gypsy boy was there, we definitely were not crazy. dinner on the other hand, was an entirely different story. people showed up out of nowhere. however, i want to thank every one of our customers for their understanding and patience. hope to see you all again very soon. i wanted to include a picture of the equipment for our next surprise. something for you all to look forward to... but my brain is dumb tonight and i can't see to figure out how to do it. another night then.

quack quack!
kelly

Tonight we ate for the third or fourth time at Sun Wah and had our best meal yet. I really recommend the shredded duck with dried scallops soup--slightly smoky and rich with black mushrooms in medium thick brown soup. Salt-baked chicken was very juicy and tasty (as always), although the little sauce served with it is too salty for my taste. The "dover sole" is excellent too: bits of ham, scallions, mushrooms, ginger and garlic in a light brown sauce. We also had beef with vegetables over pan fried egg noodles--the "large" was huge, and we have a whole other meal sitting in the fridge now. My teenaged son insisted on bbq pork, which is done well but is not as outstandingly different and delicious as other dishes on Sun Wah's menu. Thank you, Sun Wah (Chef Laura waited on us), for a great meal, very reasonably priced!

Don't miss the soft-shell crab at Sun Wah. A large crab for $4, cut in half, lightly breaded with a salt and pepper kick. Crispy and salty on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. Terrific. I don't know how much longer they will be available, but definitely worth a trip.

EvA wrote:Don't miss the soft-shell crab at Sun Wah.

Agreed! Had it this weekend during my first-time visit to Sun Wah and they were delicious. Nothing to add regarding their Beijing duck -- it was wonderful...as was Kelley, with her exuberant personality and clear passion for the food she provides. Home-made Hoisin was great. I found the flavor of the crown daisies to be very enjoyable (nice umami flavor for a vegetable, with nice bitterness), but did not enjoy how many times you have to chew the thing down before you can safely swallow. It might be my own proclivities, but I usually don't tend to enjoy foods that require what I perceive to be "too much" chewing.

It was a wonderful meal, with lots of food, and an excellent price. Can't wait to go back.

i can't break free from the bbq pork,in fact i'm eating it as i post!
kelly couldn't be nicer and she told me to watch for the upcoming "sidewalk chicken" special that's a whole chicken based on her father's recipe.

Do you eat the shell? I love the taste of crab but dealing with the shards of shell is a deal breaker.

There's a reason they're called soft-shell. After the eyes, mouth, gills and apron are removed, they're completely edible, including the shell.

EvA wrote:Don't miss the soft-shell crab at Sun Wah. A large crab for $4, cut in half, lightly breaded with a salt and pepper kick. Crispy and salty on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside.

EvA,

Thanks for the tip, the S & P soft shell crabs were indeed tasty. I should point out that, even though it is the season, the soft shell crab is frozen not fresh, but at $4 per the crisp juicy perfectly fried soft shell crab really hit the spot. Background is a daily Fresh Vegetables special, jalapeno stuffed with shrimp, scallion, carrot, bound with lard. I truly love a restaurant that includes pork in the vegetables.

3- Soft Shell Crab (they are cut in half), Stuffed Jalapeno in background


We also had a platter of particularly good watercress, one of my wife's favorites.

Watercress


Pan fried noodles with bean sprouts and pork sounds, and looks, boring, I was mildly resistant to ordering the dish back in September of '06 when Mike G suggested it at lunch. Turned out to be a damn tasty dish with textural crunch from pan fried noodles/bean sprouts contrasting with tender pork and smooth (slippery) sauce.

Pan fried noodle w/pork and bean sprouts


Kelly, who chatted with us for a while, gave us a small plate of house cured pickles. Seems the always innovative Steve Z was there last week and tried a preview version of Sidewalk Chicken and suggested pickle would prove the perfect accompaniment.

House cured pickle


Kelly also informed me that Sun Wah will offer a special Baby Pig Roast on June 28th at 4pm. Cost will be $20 per person, more specific details forthcoming. This is limited to 20 people, total. I'm going to post a Save the Date on the Events board.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

You're very welcome for the tip--I'm glad you enjoyed the crab. I have enjoyed many meals at places you have recommended! We also had the stir-fried greens you picture above at Kelly's recommendation. I believe on the menu it's called "u-toy," more commonly called yu choy. I thought it was a member of the cabbage family, the edible rape (which sounds scarier than it is) rather than watercress. For sure it was delicious.

EvA

EvA wrote:We also had the stir-fried greens you picture above at Kelly's recommendation. I believe on the menu it's called "u-toy," more commonly called yu choy.

EvA,

We ordered Watercress, though both Tong Ho (Crown Daisies) and Ton Toy (Water Spinach) were available last evening.

Fresh Vegetables (6.2.08)


Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

EvA wrote:We also had the stir-fried greens you picture above at Kelly's recommendation. I believe on the menu it's called "u-toy," more commonly called yu choy.

EvA,

We ordered Watercress, though both Tong Ho (Crown Daisies) and Ton Toy (Water Spinach) were available last evening.

Gary,
We ate ours all up, so I can't compare what we had to your picture, but I'm sure you're correct. We ordered it off the regular menu, not the specials card you picture. Next time we go to Sun Wah, I'll just have to order the watercress.
Thanks,
EvA

During a recent visit to Sun Wah, I had a chance to catch a preview of the baby pig roast that some of us will be attending on June 28. On this particular night, the chefs were doing a dry run for a few family members and chef Laura invited us to take a few pics . . .


It takes a lot of fortitude to keep the pig moving over the red-hot coals; 3 chefs alternated taking turns doing it.



Pig in motion



Piggy looking good enough to eat, to say the least.



Back in the kitchen, chef Laura poses with her culinary masterpiece.

=R=

HI,

How did the piggie taste?

Regards,

Well, now that the pig's out of the bag, we had it the other night too as another family member (their brother) made a test run. He, however, was camera shy, so we just had to settle for, alas, eating it.

Delectably crispy skin, a slight porky funk over tender and juicy meat, it's a fine rendition of the animal (and presumably is getting better every night). As we were divvying up leftovers, that was the first to go...

Mike G wrote:Well, now that the pig's out of the bag, we had it the other night too as another family member (their brother) made a test run. He, however, was camera shy, so we just had to settle for, alas, eating it.

Delectably crispy skin, a slight porky funk over tender and juicy meat, it's a fine rendition of the animal (and presumably is getting better every night). As we were divvying up leftovers, that was the first to go...

I was with Mike that night and I can back up that review. The skin was beautifully well seasoned and crisp and I was surprised by the flavor of the pork that stood far and above Sun Wah's other standard roast pig offering.

And it's darn pretty to look at on a plate too:



Best,
Michael

The 1st photo in the alley is brilliant.

Also, a great place got much better when Chef Laura arrived. I was very sad to see Thai Grocery close, but for every loss on Argyle, there seems to be a gain. I'd add the bakeries and some of the newer Viet places to the list of good additions.

Cathy2 wrote:How did the piggie taste?

I wish I knew, although it seems like Mike G and eatchicago enjoyed it quite a bit. On the night we were there, the pig being prepared was for some family members who were coming in after normal restaurant hours. Believe me, I would have rather tasted it than photographed it.

I'm definitely looking forward to the 28th, so I can experience it for myself!

=R=

Also, a great place got much better when Chef Laura arrived.

Laura, Kelly and their brother (I don't know his name), to be fair!

At one point I was outside and I saw a scene like Ronnie's shot through the narrow space between the buildings, but from that distance, you'd have thought the people crouched intently over something were shooting craps in the alley, not roasting a pig.