Showing posts with label beef tendon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef tendon. Show all posts

GB Hand Pulled Noodles (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, January 12, 2019 by

Torontonians have an affinity for noodles. Whether it be pasta, pho, udon, or ramen; as soon as the weather gets cold, a hefty portion of the comforting carbs is something I yearn for. The new kid in town is the Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles. Chefs take a giant ball of dough and slam it onto a hard surface … fold, pull, and then repeat until it gets elastic and forms into long strands.


They’re then pulled to various levels of thickness. At GB Hand-Pulled Noodles, it ranges from super thin to extremely wide with five other options in between. Hearing people order before me, I decided on the medium wide, which is one notch under the widest side of the spectrum.

Visiting during a weekday lunch, the place already had a queue of ten at the door. But, the line moves fairly quickly since they have streamlined operations that would make many automated facilities proud. However, the waiting process is a bit haphazard given they don’t give out numbers – you just wait in line and remember who is before and after your table. Once you get near the front, they will ask for the number of guests and as a table is about to clear, you’re handed a laminated menu so you place your order before even being seated.

Within minutes of taking our seat the appetizer arrives. The Lanzhou spicy beef shank ($8.99) consisted of seven long slices of tender lean beef are tossed in a peppercorn laced chili oil, which looks fiery red but has a very mild heat. My coworker describes it perfectly – you taste the spice on your tongue but not in the throat.


Since we visited on a Friday, I ordered the braised beef tendon noodles ($13.99), a dish only available Friday-Sunday. Perhaps it was the first day of the weekend, but about a quarter of the pieces were still hard to bite through and didn’t offer that lovely chewy gelatinous texture. The smaller pieces were well braised and tasty.


Nonetheless, it really doesn’t matter as I was there for the carbs. GB’s noodles are one of the better options I’ve had in Ontario, the dough evenly pulled so even the medium wide noodles didn’t become chewy in the centre but mushy around the edges. Moreover, they stayed fairly chewy throughout the meal as it took me a while to attempt to get through the huge portion … alas, I had to just finish the beef and leave the noodles, a practice my parents have engrained in me as a child.

The broth itself was fairly simple and clear, most of the beefy flavours coming from the braised tendon liquids that get spooned into the bowl. Adding some of the chili oil at the table and it became a rich soup that went so nicely with the doughy strands. The bowl is finished off with blanched bok choy, turnip slices, and a sprinkling of scallions.

I love all the hot steaming bowls of noodle options we have across the city. With the cold weather descending upon us, I’ll be tucking into bowls of the stuff for weeks to come.

Overall mark - 8 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 66 Edward Street

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

GB Hand-Pulled Noodles Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Fancy Chinese Cuisine 利嘉盛 for dim sum (Markham)

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2017 by

I may have found a new go-to place for dim sum: Fancy Chinese Cuisine. However, I’m hesitant to label the restaurant with the title as its predecessors over the last few years gradually were replaced – mainly as the wait times during their special pricing hours became unbearable. 

Fancy also has the special (between 8:30am – 11:30am or after 1:30pm) where anything classified as small, medium or large is $2.98. Nonetheless, even if you dine during the prime lunch period (11:30am – 1:30pm) prices aren’t much higher: medium dishes are $3.28 and large/special sizes a mere $1 more for $3.98.

These relatively stable prices means there’s less people rushing to get in before 11:30; most visits we were seated within a short wait when arriving before 10:00am. Finally! A place that caters to my impatient personality.  

Fancy also executes dim sum in an OG fashion. Sure, they’re not shaped into Instagram friendly flowers or animals, but they do offer strong flavours and traditional elements. The shrimp dumpling (har gow) and pork dumpling (siu mai; both L) are solid versions of the favourites – the shrimp not overcooked and the wrapper relatively thin on the har gow while the siu mai has the customary juicy pork mixture studded with shrimp.


The shrimp and chives dumpling (L) is also decent: a large size and the chives adding a herby element to the dumpling.


Rather than layering peas or watercress under the steamed beef ball (S), the chef opts for a sheet of parchment paper instead, which makes separating the balls a breeze. The recipe could use a bit more coriander, but the consistency was bang on. Personally, I prefer the beef ball Chew Chow style (M), essentially the same meat balls but served in a broth with watercress. The soup is your typical salty MSG version, but keeps the beef warmer and moister.


With seven fillings available for rice rolls, there’s something for everyone. Having tried the steamed shrimp (L) and BBQ pork (M), they’re both good: enough ingredients so each bite has filling and slits made to allow the soy sauce to permeate further. Although the rice sheets are on the thicker side, the wrapper was still silky and soft.


On the other hand, the fried Chinese dough rice roll (M) was terrible, where the dough fritter was either stale or so over fried that it shatters into oily shards.


Similarly, the conpoy with dumpling in soup (L) was a disappointment. The dish was overcooked rendering the shrimp into small bites of rubber and the actual wrapper mushy.


Normally considered an extra-large dish at other restaurants, you can still order the beef tendon in special sauce (L) at the special pricing. Tendon has a soft chewy gelatinous texture that’s an acquired taste – even for myself, it wasn’t until my adult years that I started enjoying the dish. Fancy’s “special” sauce is a cross between the sweet red sauce used with chicken feet, a spice (perhaps curry?), and tons of garlic. The dish certainly doesn’t lack flavours.


Similarly, the cuttlefish with curry sauce (M) is one of the more powerful ones I’ve had over the last few years.  


The chicken and mushroom steamed rice (L) is served in the typical clay pot. Despite skimping on the soy sauce (a mere tablespoon), there’s sufficient amounts of chicken, black fungus and golden needle (a Chinese herb) to make up for it.


While the mixed meat and seafood congee (L) looks plain, once you dig into the bowl you’ll find a decent portion of fish and pork rind mixed throughout – both white ingredients that simply blends right into the rice. The salted pork and preserved egg congee (L) offers more contrast and I’m surprised by the large pieces of meat and egg within it, it seemed as if every spoon was filled with the ingredients.


Fancy’s dessert offerings, on the menu, does seem skimpy with five choices. However, it’s augmented by options pushed around in carts, so you may want to save room for those. The dumpling with black sesame paste (S) was sweet enough with plenty of coconut, peanut and sugar inside. I loved the sesame casing, which was soft, chewy and fresh.  


How wonderful it feels to have a place to regularly visit again. I appreciate the short waits for a table and my parents love the small touches such as asking whether you want a newspaper with the meal (complimentary and yours to keep afterwards). It’s friendly and comforting, a restaurant you’ll likely find me at most Sundays, on a going forward basis.

 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 7750 Kennedy Road

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Fancy Chinese Cuisine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

CLOSED: Ginger and Onion 嘉仁宮 (Markham)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Markham, Canada
Address: 7131 Kennedy Road (in Market Village beside Pacific Mall)
Type of Meal: Brunch
I’ve visited Ginger and Onion throughout my childhood and due to its convenient location continues to be my family’s go-to dim sum choice. Admittedly, it’s neither the most delicious or cheapest option, but they are consistent and prices reasonable - $2.80 per dish (certain items such as steamed scallops & oysters cost more) and a $1 tea charge per person.

What attracts me most to Ginger is the variety of dishes they offer - there must be almost 100 types. Since dim sum is served cart style (read more about it here) they often have new "special" dishes adding further choices. They also offer many vegetarian options (a rare occurrence for most dim sum restaurants) so there's always something for everyone.

Of course, you will find steamed shrimp (har gow) & pork dumplings (siu mai) or BBQ pork buns here. These are traditional staple dishes that can be found at any dim sum restaurant. But, there are so many others dishes to try! In this post, I hope to introduce readers to some other common choices and encourage you to order them at your next brunch.

The steamed curry cuttlefish is simply prepared with the seafood marinated in a thick salty curry sauce and then cooked. The curry isn’t spicy and really is more for the colour and aroma. If you’ve never had cuttlefish, it’s similar to squid and octopus – the texture of squid but the thickness of octopus. The dish worth a try if you enjoy seafood. As a warning, sometimes the head of the cuttlefish can be gritty if not cleaned properly; just spit it out and wash your mouth out with some tea.


If you like steamed rice rolls, you’ll find plenty of options at Ginger. Essentially, soft white rice sheets wrapped with a choice of fillings. Shrimp (pictured below), beef paste and BBQ pork (my favourite) are the most popular. At Ginger, they also offer fish (tilapia fillets) and two vegetarian options that I also enjoy (Buddha delight and Chinese greens with prince mushrooms).


An alternative to the above you may want to try is the shredded chicken rice rolls. They’re smaller but has the same steamed rice sheet wrapped around a much bigger portion of filling. Made of tender dark chicken meat, crunchy black fungus and some other ingredients it’s more protein based and flavourful.


The steamed beef tendon takes some getting used to. As a child, I never liked it and found the sticky soft consistency off putting. But, I persisted through the years and it’s grown on me. The tendon is marinated in a savoury gravy/stew like sauce, then steamed until it gets soft and chewy. Plus, it’s rumoured to have beautifying properties from the natural collagen present in the tendon.


Wheeled around in a large clay pot and then spooned into smaller dishes are braised mixed vegetables with gluten. This may only be offered for dim sum at Ginger but can sometimes be found at vegetarian Buddhist restaurants. A mix of crispy snow peas, napa cabbage, earthy black mushrooms, crunchy white fungus and soft sauce soaked gluten pieces are cooked together in a thick flavourful sauce. Another vegetarian friendly choice.


During cold weather, it’s great to warm up with a bowl of steamed dumpling in soup. A silky piece of dough encapsulates ground pork, mushrooms, dried scallop and imitation crab. Everything is cooked in a flavourful seafood consume. Although it arrives with vinegar and ginger, I recommend you eat it by itself first to enjoy the delicious broth without the tart condiment.


You can also get congee at dim sum. It’s not as good as what you’ll find at congee restaurants but still decent. There are limited flavours (pork with thousand year preserved egg or dried fish with peanuts), my choice is the pork and egg. It’s fairly watery, so not as filling, but generally still has a nice amount of ingredients with it. They top it with green onions and peanuts, if you don’t like either just warn the lady to not add it when ordering.

 

For dessert, the egg custard sago pudding is a good choice. Best eaten warm (look for a cart that is filled with them) it’s a thick custard pudding mixed with sago (small clear tapioca balls) and a lotus paste centre. It’s not too sweet but has a rich satisfying quality to it.


When visiting with more people (I’d say at least four) you should try the large deep fried sesame glutinous balls. You’ll recognize them as they’re huge and arrive three to an order, there’s a smaller version of it that come in fours that’s filled with lotus paste. The larger ones are delicious especially when freshly fried. Although they look huge, it’s hollow inside but can still be quite filling due to the thick slightly sweet shell. All in all, a great combination of textures - a crispy sesame covered exterior but then soft and chewy on the inside.


For the dishes below, you can likely tell the picture is taken from a far. Although I’ve tried them in the past, they’re not my favourite so it’s rarely ordered unless during larger gatherings. With the rising in popularity of offal, here is an inexpensive way to try it.  Both are wheeled around together in stainless steel warming plates and are spooned into bowls as ordered to keep them piping hot.

One is a hodgepodge of offals that’s boiled for hours in a fragrant Chinese master sauce (lo shuy). You’ll often find stomach (tripe), liver and tongue in it. Juicy pieces of turnips can also be found throughout soaking up the delicious sauce (actually my favourite part of the dish). Chili oil is served on the side to give it more flavour should you require.


Another is blood jello. I know what you’re thinking … blood? But, it’s becoming a mainstream ingredient – Toronto’s Buca uses it. At dim sum the blood is mixed with a thickening agent so solidifies. Cubes of it are cooked in a thick savoury sauce and served with blanched chives and a liberal sprinkling of white pepper.


After reading the above, I’m sure there are some dishes that sound appealing and others a bit gross. Hopefully, it’s intrigued you enough to try something different on your next visit. My suggestion is try it once. Even if you don’t like it, persist and trying it again throughout your lifetime. After all, you may just develop a taste for something new and find it delicious.


 Overall mark - 8 out of 10
Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

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