Entries categorized as ‘Buford Highway Eats’
November 14, 2009 · 1 Comment
It has become quite clear to me that my eating at, thinking about, photographing, and spending money at Sushi House Hayakawa has become a bit much. And, to add fuel to the fire, I’m heading back there tonight at a friends request (and because it is absolutely delicious, fresh, and reasonably priced). In order to refrain form repeating content on this infant of a blog, I will quickly highlight some of the new bites of Japanese food that have entered my belly.
ikura, ikura, galora
Sushi rice topped with chopped seaweed and ikura (salmon eggs). Simple, but intensely flavored with the sweet (from a soy/wine marinade), briny egg goo. When this arrived, I asked for a plate upgrade and got a few plops of uni (sea urchin).
oh how a lil uni can change a dish
It tastes as good as it looks – superb.
I’ve covered parts of my trio in the past (think Would You Eat This? and Dreaming About), so here is the big picture:
salty ikura with creamy uni, sour umeboshi flavored jellyfish, spicy wasabi raw octopus
It’s my version of a well balanced combination platter.
Lauren ordered a couple of rolls and I helped eat them:
spicy tuna
I'm special tonight!
The special roll had shrimp tempura, crab, tobiko (flying fish roe), eel sauce, wasabi mayo – while the size of each roll made it difficult to tackle, the taste made up for it.
blow torching
As always, the personable Chef Hayakawa, provided some entertainment with his blow torch act.
After tonight, I will most likely decrease my frequency of visits to Sushi House Hayakawa – if only to up the anticipation/appreciation ante.
Sushi House Hayakawa
5979 Buford Hwy. Red & Green Steakhouse Shopping Center A-10
Atlanta, GA 30340
http://www.atlantasushibar.com/
Categories: Buford Highway Eats · Dreaming About · Would You Eat This?
Tagged: atlanta, atlanta restaurant, atlanta restaurants, buford highway, buford highway restaurant, caviar, chef, chef hayakawa, chefs, crab, eggs, fish, flying fish roe, ikura, japanese restaurant, jellyfish, octopus, sea urchin, seafood, shrimp, sushi, sushi house hayakawa, tobiko, tuna, umeboshi, uni, wasabi
When visiting Sushi House Hayakawa, I have been riskier in my ordering. I’ve tried new things; ordered what was freshly flown in from Japan. Simply put, I’ve been sky diving sushi style.
Take the dish in the photo above. Can you tell what it is? No? Take a closer look.
what am I?
Need a bit more light?
Ah, there it is – Raw Octopus in a Wasabi sauce! I have been wanting to eat raw octopus ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain and David Chang chomp on live octopus in Queens on a recent episode of No Reservations. The staff stared at me and asked me questions like “have you ever eaten raw octopus before?” and “are you sure you want that – the texture is ‘different’?”. This led me to believe I was embarking on a dangerous adventure; one that may end badly (god forbid I leave that night with disdain towards the lovely octopus).
When the small bowl arrived, it looked harmless enough. I noticed the octopus was cut into small pieces, most likely to avoid any chewiness. I took a small piece, let it explore around my mouth, and swallowed. The texture – I loved! The taste on the other hand was of an extremely strongly wasabi, so much so that I could not even get all of the octo down. I couldn’t taste much other than horseradish at full blown strength. I want to try raw octopus again – but this time I will ask Hayakawa to go easy on the wasabi.
Anyone else want to eat this?
Sushi House Hayakawa
5979 Buford Hwy. Red & Green Steakhouse Shopping Center A-10
Atlanta, GA 30340
http://www.atlantasushibar.com/
Categories: Buford Highway Eats · Would You Eat This?
Tagged: anthony bourdain, buford highway, buford highway restaurant, david chang, hayakawa, no reservations, octopus, sushi, sushi house hayakawa, sushi restaurant, sushi restaurants, wasabi
November 11, 2009 · 1 Comment
So…..let’s get back to the main act of my meal at Chateau de Saigon. Well, it wasn’t exactly my meal but I did get to take part in the awesome experience that was La Vong Sizzling Fish. On the menu, it’s stated as ’sizzling marinated fish filet chunks with sauteed onion & fresh baby dill served with lettuce, fresh seasonal herbs, and our House dipping sauce along with rice paper for rolling wraps. Cooked at the table’. Get ready for the Disney World ride of Vietnamese food. It is, in fact, a small world after all.
Explained best via photographs:
tableside cooker
onions and dill join the party
waiter brings over a pan of marinated fish and gets to work
squeezing in fresh lime juice
needs a lot of lime
time for herbs and veggies
stir it all around
necessary elements to create the wraps
dip the paper into water
put lettuce, fresh herbs, cucumbers, apples onto rice paper
throw on some noodles
and the cooked fish
We also added peanuts and super spicy chilis.
Let’s get rolling:
time to eat!
As you can see, this dish is uber interactive and a lot of fun with a group (or with people who are food nerds, i.e. ME!)
Chateau de Saigon
4300 Buford Hwy NE
Suite 218
Atlanta, GA 30345
ph: 404.929.0034
http://www.chateaudesaigon.com/
Categories: Buford Highway Eats · Group Fooding
Tagged: atlanta, atlanta restaurant, atlanta restaurants, buford highway, chef, chefs, cilantro, cooking, fish, food nerd, food nerds, foodie, foodies, fruit, herbs, mint, rice paper, seafood, vegetable, vegetables
My first meal at Chateau de Saigon was excellent. I craved the Lemon Grass Tofu dish everyday, so I was pulled back for a visit a few days later.
Of course, I had to get the tofu:
must snap a
photo before
diving in
It was just as delightful as I remembered: crunchy outer layer with a silky smooth innard, topped with a nice bit a heat.
My friend, Lindsey combined her Jewish roots with traditional soup and ordered the Pho with brisket:
meat - check, broth - check, noodles - check
It came with the expected herbs, sprouts, and flavor enhancers:
add-ons
I caught her picking some of the white fat off the meat, but I believe she enjoyed the broth.
Meredith (of the home-made blintzes fame) had a salad and noodle entree:
Goi Xoai Tao Tom Thit – Shrimp (no pork) Apple Mange Salad with mint leaves, fried onions, crushed peanuts. The salad was only ok – it does not live up to C’om’s version but it is passable.
noodles, where are you?
hiding
Crispy Fried Egg Noodle with chicken – the noodles were crunchy (as advertised) and the chicken was tender. I did not love the sauce, but there was nothing wrong with it. It was just a bit glossy and a touch sweet.
I ordered the Seafood Clay Pot or Hai San Tay Cam:
covered with herbs
bff
It came with shrimp, scallop, calamari, calamari ball, fish filet, and tofu – for the most part, the seafood was cooked correctly, slightly veering on overdone (read: rubbery). I bet this tends to happen in clay pots since the bubbling sauce continues to cook your protein as it sits in front of you at the table – you gotta eat fast!
I had a love affair with my favorite bite:
meant to be together forever
just me and you
ahhh, life is good
The main event of the meal was Lauren’s order of La Vong Sizzling Fish. There’s a lot of ground to cover so it’s coming up next………
Categories: Buford Highway Eats · Group Fooding
Tagged: atlanta, atlanta restaurant, atlanta restaurants, buford highway, buford highway restaurant, calamari, catfish, chateau de saigon, cooking, fish, foodie, foodies, fruit, salad, scallop, seafood, shrimp, squid, vegetable, vegetables
