Atlanta, Georgia
Midtown
This week's Yelp adventure was a bit of a let down - maybe we went on a bad day?
I have been trying to go try the new Taiwanese hotspot that has rave reviews on Yelp and finally made it over the weekend. When we arrived, we were politely greeted by super nice staff and quickly seated. The decor was a clean modern Asian vibe with lots of the "lucky red" everywhere. The cozy little booth in the corner gave us a nice view of the restaurant, which quickly filled up after being open for dinner for only 15 minutes.
The menu is short and simple, with a small handful of snacks (appetizers), soups, traditional baos (buns) and rice plate entrees.
We decided on a hot and sour soup which was quite nice. The bowl was a fairly large portion and came out nice and hot. It had a good amount of heat and lots of ingredients floating in the thick eggy broth.
Another appetizer we chose to share was the egg pancake roll, egg, scallion, pickled daikon radish wrapped in a flour tortilla. This was a nice mildly flavored roll, that had lots of fluffly egg inside. the tortilla was just a touch crispy, but a touch on the greasy side. It actually reminded me of an egg breakfast wrap type dish. The sweet and tangy sauce is really what completes the roll.
The Fried Pig Ears- fried pig ear strips with chopped scallions tasted like a fried, salt and pepper pig ear. There is a good deal of thick gelatin in the ear but after deep frying, it melts into a soft buttery texture that is a nice textural contrast to the thin crispy crust. The flavor is also quite flavorful and tasty.
Pork Belly Bao - pork belly, pickled mustard greens, cilantro, crushed sweet peanut
If you are like me an do not like the fatty portions or meat, you should probably stay away from this bao. While the flavor was okay, and the portion of the meat that wasn't fatty pretty good, it wasn't enough to convert. Yes, I know that pork belly is supposed to be fatty and all that and I did want to try, but I wasn't a huge fan. For those that like that, this is probably a good bao for you. :)
Dirty Bird Bao - Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet, housemade wasabi aioli, pickled daikon radish and carrot
This bao was probably my favorite of the ones we tried. There is a large crispy breaded piece of chicken topped with very slightly pickled shredded carrot and radish. The proportion of the meat to crunch was nice. The wasabi aioli a too mild for me- I really couldn't tell that it was wasabi to be honest, but the bun was actually good either way.
Beef Tongue Bao - Slow-braised beef tongue, chili hoisin sauce, thinly sliced green onion
The bun overall is decent- again nothing special. I think most of the dishes that boast the spicier ingredients need a bit more of a kick- I don't recall any dish being particularly spicy or being anything beyond mild.
Veggie Bao- Fried tofu, portobello mushroom, carrots, cilantro
This bun is a great choice for those who eat meat free. The tofu and mushroom have a great texture that really doesn't leave you missing meat. The flavors are fresh and savory and was pretty satisfying.
Lu Rou Fan - slow-cooked minced pork over steamed rice with egg and pickled daikon radish
Lots of rice to make the portion larger and enough sauce to make it all at least somewhat flavorful, given the smaller portion or meat, but the star anise was a bit overpowering. The meat was pretty good and very tender and was really balance by the pickled radish.
For dessert we ordered the green tea mochi. Made to order in house, this dessert came out nice and hot. The mochi pieces were very soft and tender and had a nice smooth texture, but lacked enough green tea flavor.
I hear the salt and pepper chicken and the beef noodle soup are really good so I feel I should give the place another try, but to be honest, if it weren't for the amazing online reviews, I probably wouldn't.
Aside from the food...
Parking- This shopping center is shared by several other restaurants, stores, and Trader Joes, so it does get pretty busy.
Service - Our waitress was polite and cheerful and gladly answered all of our questions on portion sizes and dishes. She was also sure to keep all of our water glasses full and ensure we had enough to eat.
Value - So being in Midtown, you expect smaller portion for higher prices. That is still the case here- you'd probably need 3- 4 baos, a rice dish and a snack, or combinations of the dishes to be satisfied.
Overall, How Nuts Are We About Ah Ma's Taiwanese Kitchen?
No comments:
Post a Comment