Peking Tavern: Noodle Tasting Event

This week on pandagrub I am going to be telling you about the Peking Tavern noodle tasting event. The chef handmade the noodles and dumplings.  Peking Tavern is a new restaurant that is going to be opening in downtown LA this November. At the Peking Tavern there is going to be Beijing Street food such as noodle,dumplings, and beef rolls.

The panda in the picture above is named Linja. Instead of a ninja he is a Linja! I just got Linja. He is just a smaller version of my panda named Jeremy Lin. Linja is very excited to be trying the hand pulled noodles and homemade dumplings.

The chef made the noodles very fast. It only took a few forceful THWAPS on the table and the dough became long even strands of noodles.

Now its time to eat the noodles! 

Shown in the picture above are all of the toppings for the noodles. The toppings are tofu in red bean sauce, pork, bean sprouts, and cucumber.

I put all of the toppings on my noodles. Linja and I thought the noodles were very delicious because of their texture. The texture was perfect, smooth, and not too thick or thin. My favorite topping was the pork because the meat was seasoned perfectly.

Now it's time for dumplings! There were two kinds of dumplings (pork and fish) at the tasting. In the picture above are the pork dumplings.

Linja thought that the pork dumplings were better than the fish dumplings, but the fish dumplings also tasted good. Linja and I were very happy and thought that the overall meal was delicious. When the Peking Tavern opens in November I hope I get to go there.

Savory Tomato Galette

This week on pandagrub we are going to be making a savory tomato galette. 

The panda in the picture above is named Hua Mei. Hua Mei is sitting with the ingredients for the tomato galette. The ingredients for the tomato galette are three regular tomatoes, one heirloom tomato, fresh basil, puff pastry sheets, and ricotta cheese.

First cut each tomato in four to six slices.

 After slicing the tomatoes place in a large bowl. Then drizzle with olive oil and season with oregano,salt, and pepper.

 Now get out your defrosted puff pastry sheets. Gently place your tomato mixture in the center of the dough and fold up the excess dough. Then brush the excess dough and exposed dough with egg wash. Now the tomato galette is ready to go into the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

 After you take the galette out of the oven cool for 15 minutes. While the galette is cooling cut up some of the fresh basil. 

 Sprinkle the basil on top of the galette and serve. Hua Mei is very excited to eat the galette.

For the final touch, add a scoop of fresh ricotta cheese. The cheese adds a creamy texture to the crispy crust and the fresh tang of the tomatoes. 

Restaurant Review: MIHO Korean Restaurant

This week on pandagrub we are going to be a restaurant review on MIHO which is a Korean restaurant in Garden Grove. MIHO's address is 9735 Garden Grove Blvd. 

The panda in the picture above is named Beanie. Beanie is very excited to be going to MIHO and trying samgyetang which is a young chicken stuffed with rice. The chicken is in a simple chicken broth. This is a Korean comfort food. Koreans usually eat this on the hottest day of summer. 

 In any Korean restaurant you will receive side dishes called banchan. My favorite banchan is kimchi. Beanie is sitting with two kinds of kimchi. Kimchi is a spicy pickled cabbage. The kimchi on the right is the traditional cabbage kimchi. The one on the left is a radish kimchi.

 Now Beanie is sitting with some spinach. The spinach is flavored with garlic. 

 Finally for the last side dish of the day, Beanie is sitting with spicy bean sprouts and soy-glazed potatoes.

 The first entree has finally arrived. Beanie is eating a leek pancake that is dipped in soy sauce. Beanie thought that the pancake had too much leek inside of the pancake and not enough batter. Of course this didn't stop my brother from eating most of it.

Finally! Beanie's dream has come true! The samgyetang has arrived! The broth is bubbling right before our eyes.

Inside the chicken, Beanie has found a treat. The young chicken is stuffed with sweet rice. The tender young chicken and the sweet rice go perfectly together. 

In the picture above, Beanie is showing us some of the herbs included in the broth: jujubes,garlic, baby onion, and ginseng. Ginseng is a Korean root plant that is similar to a radish.

My family and I went to MIHO for my mom's birthday. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!