Perfectly Braised Eggplants and Slimy Chilean Bass at Taiwan Cafe in Boston

There was one Chinese restaurant in Davis, California, that my family and I used to frequent. I would always get its lunch special of General Chicken (fried chicken "balls" marinated in sweet & spicy sauce) and chow mein or fried rice with eggroll and today's soup. After realizing how greasy and MSG-loaded Chinese food is, however, I tried to avoid it as much as I can. I actually haven't been to a single Chinese restaurant since I came to college, but my cravings won over and I decided to go to Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown for early dinner on Sunday.

According to my friend, the place was closed for a while for renovation and recently had its re-grand opening. That would explain the confettis, ribbons, and ballons in the restaurant. The first dish we ordered was Home-Style Braised Eggplant with Basil ($9.95).

I would order this dish over and over again. The eggplant was cooked just enough that it wasn't too mushy or tough. The eggplants were lightly sauteed and mixed in slightly spicy and sweet sauce. The basil added a layer of savory yet bittersweet flavor to the dish.

I have never ordered a fish entree at a Chinese restaurant because the skeptic in me doubts what they serve is what is actually on the menu. Because my companion was wanting to try the bass, we decided to order the Steamed Chilean Bass with Ginger & Scallions ($18.95).

The filet was cut open, served flat on a wide plate. It was marinated in soy-teriyaki sauce with julienne-styled scallions on top. The fish tasted very tender and soft, although I didn't like the bits of bones throughout the filet. I also wished the chef had taken the scale because it was disgusting to look at! It certainly made me squeamish.

Enjoying the Raw Food Trend at Quintessence in East Village

Whether one orders a burrito, pizza, or burger, the entree that comes to the table at Quintessence—a 100 percent organic, vegan, and raw restaurant in East Village—will be served uncooked. Quintessence takes the diners on a unique culinary experience, offering innovative dishes made with ingredients that are not found in a typical kitchen pantry, such as kamut, nut meat, and fofu (yes, that's tofu with an f!).

For an unconventional taste of traditional dishes, try the Italian sausage pizza ($15.50) topped with savory nut meat, nut cheese, and tomato sauce. It was a bit weird trying a cold pizza, but it worked for this one since it didn't have cheese to begin with.

The pizza had an interesting dichotomy between strong nutty and sweet flavors. The pizza dough, which is not baked, had some sort of a grainy, granola-bar like texture. The tomato sauce tasted sweeter than your usual marinara sauce, whereas the nutmeat and the nut cheese had flavors that were surprisingly reminiscent of their real counterparts.

The Indian platter ($21) is a lighter alternative to the typically rich malai kofta, a vegetarian meatball made with chickpeas. The Indian platter included two chickpea balls covered in creamy almond curry sauce with sweet mango chutney and tamarind sauce, side salad, two pieces of kamut bread, and tangy cucumber “yogurt.”

I really enjoyed the cucumber yogurt. Since I am lactose-intolerant, I tend to avoid dairy products unless I am really craving them. This yogurt satisfied my cravings without the sore stomachache aftermath. I am not sure what the green dressing was, but it complemented the salad well. The kamut bread was rather disappointing because it tasted so bland.

The malai kofta didn't disappoint! Traditionally, this Indian dish uses loads of heavy cream and the chickpeas are deep-fried, adding tons of calories to the meal. However, this lighter dish came with chickpea balls that were binded without frying, and the creamy almond curry sauce didn't have any cream. It probably used almond fat or coconut milk.

The sweet mango chutney on top of the chickpea balls were pleasant additions. My only wish is that I could had more of it! The brown tamarind sauce tasted like teriyaki sauce to me.

The chickpea balls were quite dense and a bit dry on the edges. I would have preferred it if the chef had put the curry on the plate first and then the chickpea balls, but because he/she did it the other way around, there were no curries to dip the chickpea balls underneath. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my first raw-food experience!

Colorful Vegetable Frittatas and Pistachio Meringue at Tatte

Kendall Square is home to a couple vintage coffee shops and bakery, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe. I don't have a huge appetite for baked goods (or at least I try to resist them), but I decided to check out Tatte because I heard the cafe also has a great lunch menu. Tatte offers an outdoor dining option, which is perfect for the sunny days in the summer.

I got this picture from Tatte's blog, but when I got there around 12:30pm, the place was completely packed that we actually had to wait for a couple minutes to find a place to sit down for two people. The bakery had an extensive display of cookies, pastries, and other sweets in addition to a full lunch menu that includes sandwiches, salad, and plates.

My friend and I decided to have dessert first. We ordered two Pistachio Meringues, which were served on a china plate with flowers. Perfect for a tea party?

Each meringue was about the size of a fist. It was sprinkled with toasted pistachio. The meringue itself didn't taste like pistachio, so I am guessing it was just a plain vanilla one. The meringue was crispy and light.

We were about half way through our meringue when the waiter brought our orders. My friend's Balkani ($8) is a roasted eggplant, feta, fresh basil, tomato, and pesto sandwich served on Ciabatta bread.

The sandwich was served on a wooden cutting board, which gave off the aura of freshness. The square-shaped Ciabatta bread seemed pretty dense. It was served as an open sandwich, with one side of the bread smothered with pesto and the other topped with basil and feta cheese.



I had Vegetable Frittata ($13), a colorful assortment of housemade vegetable frittatas served with creamy yogurt sauce and fresh cucumbers. The three vegetables were sweet potato, zucchini, and cauliflower.

I was afraid the dish might be too heavy for lunch, but the frittatas were super light and fluffy! I loved the slightly mushy texture of them. Each frittata also had a distinct taste of its respective vegetable. I think my favorite was the sweet potato. The only downside about the dish was that the frittatas were topped with large chunks of sea salt that made the flavors too strong.

 

Ethiopian Cuisine At Its Best

I had my first Ethiopian food in Berkeley, California, during a Model UN conference at UC Berkeley in high school. At the restaurant, I had no idea what to expect and just went with the flow as the teacher ordered some dishes for the table. Soon the waitress brought us a huge edible platter of vegetables and meat that you eat with your hands. Welcome to the world of Ethiopian food.

Ethiopian food is by far my favorite cuisine. It can be a bit heavy at times because the sauce usually incorporates a lot of oil and butter, but as long as as I am not eating it every single day, I think I can survive.

I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Addis Red Sea near Porter Square with a friend in Pfoho who I have been meaning to treat to a meal for awhile. We ordered the "Addis Red Sea Special Combo" ($28.95), which featured six highlights/recommended entrees.

Ethiopian food is eaten with hands, which provides such a bonding experience. Probably not the best place for a first date though because it can get quite messy. In addition to the huge platter you get, you also get a basket of injera, or Ethiopian flat bread that you use to scoop up the meat/vegetables.

Gomen Wot, or chopped collard greens cooked in herbed oil with onions, green peppers, and garlic. The collard greens was cooked so thoroughly that it was really soft and tender. I liked that the seasoning for this dish wasn't too strong.

Doro Alcha, or chicken simmered in a mild sauce of butter, ginger, and onions. I couldn't really taste the butter, thankfully. The chicken was tender and the sauce was, indeed, mild. Suitable for those who don't like spices!

Doro wot, or tender chicken marinated in lemon, sautéed in seasoned butter and stewed in a red pepper sauce. I liked the tang of spicyness in this dish, but it was a bit greasy.
flavored with onions, garlic & ginger root with a pinch of cardamoms & nutmeg

Zenge, or exotic beef stew. The beef was a bit tough. The sauce was right in between spicyness and mildness.

Lega-Tibs, or beef chunks sautéed in oil seasoned with onions, green peppers, rosemary, and black pepper. This dish was quite spicy. Like the spicy chicken dish above, it was also too oily.

Ethiopian-style salad with onions, tomatoes, and hot green peppers. I love when the injera underneath soaks up all the flavors from the entree. It tastes so rich!

I think Ethiopian food has a beautiful presentation.

I think the cuisine is an acquired taste. For example, my mom, who doesn't like spices (and therefore no Indian food for her!) probably won't like Ethiopian food either.

The dish is served on a colorful "table" that resembles an upside down sombrero.

Apparently, his name is "Mesob" and he's very fragile. Haha.

You Be The Chef: Grilling at FiRE + iCE

When my family visited Harvard for the first time during my East Coast college tour trip, we wanted to go to a restaurant called FiRE + iCE, which offers "diners a chance to create their own delicious meals in a fun, exciting and interactive environment." Unfortunately, the restaurant turned us down, saying that the wait would be more than an hour. I have been wanting to go ever since, and I finally got a chance to go with a freshman whom I promised to treat to a meal since the beginning of the year.

Fire + Ice is an all-you-can-eat grill in which you grab a bowl and fill it with items from the "marketplace," a display of fresh meats, seafood, pastas, exotic and domestic vegetables as well as a broad choice of internationally influenced sauces.

This is the vegetable section, featuring summer squash, potatoes, carrots, brocoli, roasted eggplants (my personal favorite!), mushroom, bell peppers, and baby corns. The vegetables were pretty fresh in general, but it was sometimes messy because people would overfill their bowls and the vegetables fall out.

The fresh meats section was a heaven for carnivores, featuring everything from sausage, turkey, chicken, and beef to all sorts of seafood.

Andouillie sausage, turkey tenderloin, and chicken tenderloin at the bottom, and tofu (mindful of vegetarians!), sweet Italian sausage,and cajun pork on top. I don't know how I feel about having all these different meats grilled together.

More selection of meat. The top sirloin at the bottom right looked so lean!

The seafood section had haddock, salmon that had odd, non-salmon color, tilapia, shrimp, and squid. I personally don't like fish with other vegetables or meat...Fish is best when grilled by itself.

The grill wouldn't be complete with some carb! The noodle section had rice noodle, udon noodle, bowtie and curly pasta, and egg noodle. Lots of variety so you never get bored.

The Marketplace also featured a salad bar with sufficient toppings (cucumber, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, olives, etc) for a decent salad. Since I eat at a school cafeteria with salad bar that is always available, my footsteps didn't necessarily lead me to this section.

You can also make burgers, either regular hamburgers or veggie burgers. These are toppings you could ask to be grilled, ranging from bacon, mushroom, and onions to spam (ew) and meatballs (weird).

Once you fill the bowl with all the ingredients, you go to the sauce section and fill that blue bowl with whatever combination of sauces you would like. There are also tiny sample cups.

The variety of sauces were incredibly! The taste of your dish totally changes depending on which sauce you put in. There were marinara, alfredo, sweet and sour, carribean jerk, pineapple curry, szechwan, BBQ, fruit sauce, just to name a few.

Now that you have everything--the bowl full of ingredients and sauce--you gather around the 25’ round grill located right in the middle of the dining room.

Part of the entertainment is watching the grill chefs work their magic, firing up your creations right in front of your eyes.

My food grilling up on the grill.

It must be so tiring to be grilling up all night.

My finished concoction! I had eggplants, cauliflower, bell pepper, baby corns, water chestnuts, and a few pieces of top sirloin with udon noodle. Like the name of the restaurant suggests, I could taste the fire (er..the grill) in the ingredients.

I liked the slightly burnt parts from the grill, especially the udon noodle because it tasted crispy.

I added some salt and pepper because the seasoning was bit lacking. Perhaps I put a little too less sauce? I chose the pineapple curry and fruit sauce for this dish, and it was a poor choice because both sauces were too sweet.

My friend's dish looked completely different. She had a bit of rice noodle with cajun pork and vegetables.

I wonder how her dish turned out so red!

For the second round, I opted for egg noodles, squash, egg plants, and tofu with sweet chili and BBQ. I liked the choice of sauce much better because it had a little bit of Zing from the spicyness of the chili, together with the sweetness from the BBQ sauce.

I still sprinkled salt & pepper and hot sauce for extra seasoning.

The beauty of Fire & Ice is that you can create and customize your own dish to fit your taste and preference.

It's definitely exciting to be the chef of your own food at a restaurant. Sure, you may not be doing the actual cooking, but you are picking out all the ingredients and the sauces to create a dish of your own.

For dessert, we decided to share chocolate fondue with fresh fruits, pound cake, and marshmallow. The presentation of the dish was not the most appealing.

Dipping the pound cake into the chocolate. The pound cake was really dry, but the milk chocolate (even for someone who doesn't like chocolate) was really good! It's probably really cheap milk chocolate though haha. I love warm, gooey, melted chocolate.

Marshmallow and chocolate. Classic.

The honeydew and the whipped cream doesn't really go well together, but the combination of strawberry dipped in chocolate with a bit of whipped cream is to die for.

...and the fun begins.

The girl I had dinner with is a potential VES concentrator, so her artistic flair showed. We drew some smiley faces on the fruits and the marshmallow.

Smile, it's contagious!

I was extremely satiated after the meal (as I always feel after eating at a buffet), but I really enjoyed the experience of hand-picking the ingredients in my food, especially since I am so picky.