Today was my second day of the “Getting to Know Chicago” trip. With the apartment hunting behind me, I can finally focus on exploring the city and try out some eats while I’m at it. So far, I’m enjoying the vibe that the city is giving off, but the wind chill and the cold makes it really tough to breathe in a breath of fresh air. None-the-less, the idea of living in the heart of the city is very exciting.

I started the day a bit late. Windows Vista decided to install an automatic update around 3:00am even though the machine was in hibernation mode. The update failed and caused my laptop to go into a reboot loop. After spending most of the morning troubleshooting and recovering the system, I was ready to head out for breakfast.

I decided to try out the cafe at Fox and Obel Food Market. In the hierarchy of food markets, it stands one notch above other stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. It was located only a mile away from my hotel, so I decided to take a power walk and check out Michigan Ave on my way there. By the time I arrived at the market, my legs were burning and I was gasping for air. That’s what happens when you haven’t worked in months and stay home to play video games all day.

Once inside, I walked through the aisles and perused the items to get a sense of what the store was about. I wasn’t blown away by it, but it did remind me of a food market called Market Basket in Franklin Lakes, NJ. I’ve been to Market Basket many times in the past and this doppelganger in Chicago certainly has the same feel. I made my way to the cafe towards the back and ordered the Cobb Egg White Omelet.

The omelet took a little while to come out but it was really well cooked. With the grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, scallions, and avocado in the mix, it turned out to be a great power breakfast and helped restore some energy and gusto that I had lost during my brisk mile-long walk. The portion was generous, and the eggs were cooked very well. The egg whites were neither burnt nor runny, and the ingredients were well distributed.

I liked the place. The cafe has a nice atmosphere for getting some writing done or for casual conversations. I also like how this place is two blocks away from my new apartment.

The next stop was Chinatown.  I heard it was the second largest in the US and since I’m Chinese, I had to visit it.  I have to say, Chicago’s Chinatown is pretty clean, in fact it was too clean to be called Chinatown.  My lunch destination was Lao Shanghai.  It had received pretty decent online reviews and I looked at the menu online before I went.  The fancy and well put together menu gave me pretty high expectations of the place.  Sadly, the food and the restaurant didn’t meet any of them.

Upon entering, I saw an old Chinese couple just finishing up their meals.  In my mind I thought, “Ah, old Chinese people are eating here, this place must be good.”  The size of the restaurant was smaller than I had expected, and while the walls were elegantly decorated, I couldn’t say the same for the tables and the floor tiles.  Each table had a white piece of parchment paper covering the white tablecloth underneath and it reminded me of the Macaroni Grill.  I had the weird sensation of asking the waiter for crayons.  The floor tiles clashed with the rest of the decor.  It was something more suited for the bathroom.  Ok, on to the food.

The first dish I ordered was the xiao long bao, or Shanghai soup dumplings.  Since the place is called Lao Shanghai, I figured it would be fairly decent.  The dumplings came out in a bamboo steamer and boy, was I ready to dig in.  As I lifted the lid, I noticed the dumplings were a bit undersized.  Is the shrinkage from the cold weather?  As I took the first one out of the steamer, I noticed that the wrapper was a bit on the thick side.  Taking a bite, I thought to myself, “where’s the hot, steamy, mouth-blistering broth?”

Look closely at the picture above.  Do you see any broth?  Just barely.  All in all, I was extremely disappointed with the dumplings and I would compare them to store  bought brands.  There’s a restaurant by where I live in New Jersey and it’s far better than what was served at Lao Shanghai.  Damn, Chicago – 0, New Jersey – 1

The next dish that came was the Braised Pork Belly in Preserved Bean Curd Sauce.

I was expecting something like the picture shown in the menu, but instead out came this gelatinous mass that was a little too heavy on the red food coloring.  After brushing off the thick red sauce, the pork belly that was revealed underneath was actually quite tasty.  After downing all that pork and pork fat, I realized that I didn’t really taste any of the bean curd that it was braised in.  I don’t think I’ve had that much pork fat in a while.  I felt like a pork slut afterwards.

Next was the seasonal Tong Cai greens stir-fried with garlic.  This dish was fresh, the flavor was just right and didn’t have the overpowering taste in garlic.  All in all, a job well done.

The forth dish I ordered was the Beef Short Ribs in Chef’s Special Sauce.  Odd, I didn’t find anything special about it.  The short ribs were dry, a bit chewy, and way too salty.

I thought the food at the restaurant to be average.  Maybe I went into the restaurant with high expectations and high hopes.  There’s nothing that really distinguishes this place from all the other Chinese restaurants I have eaten at.  Even though the place is called Lao Shanghai, a good number of dishes are not Shanghainese, but in fact remind me more of Cantonese cooking.  On a lighter note, the price point will do little damage to your wallet.  Each lunch portion I ordered hovered around the $4.50 mark and the portions are more than enough for the average person.  If you’re looking for an authentic Shanghainese Restaurant, this place isn’t it.

The day ended with a bit of sunshine.  I took a pretty lengthy subway ride and walk to Sunshine Cafe in Andersonville.  It’s a small restaurant and it specializes in home-style Japanese cuisine.  There’s no sushi to be found here, and that’s quite alright with me.  The menu might seem run-of-the-mill, but don’t let that fool you.  The Japanese Chef has perfected the craft of Japanese home-style cooking.  The food is simple, yet wholesome and delicious.

I’m a sucker for handmade dumplings, so I had to order the pan-fried gzoyas.  The spicy dipping sauce that came with it really made the dish harmonious.

Next up were the potato croquettes.  Perfectly shaped and fried, there’s no better way to eat a potato.  They paired nicely with the tonkatsu sauce.  I would come back to the cafe just for these babies.

Finally, the tonkatsu made it’s way to the table.  Perfectly breaded and not greasy, this was a real treat.  In fact, I savored it.  By the end, I was too full to move, even breathing was difficult.

The food was served by a little old Asian lady in an apron.  She reminded me of my grandmother, except my grandmother just sits on the couch and watches Chinese dramas all day long.  Sunshine Cafe has been around for 15 years.  The owner used to have a sushi restaurant in the area, but she got tired of it and decided to do home-style cooking instead.

I know there are many great restaurants in Chicago such as Alinea and other gastro pubs.  But it’s not fun to go to those places alone.  Those dining experiences are best shared with friends.  Time to make new friends!

Fox and Obel
401 E Illinois St
(between New St & Park Dr)
Chicago, IL 60611

Lao Shanghai
2163 S China Pl
Ste 1F
(between Princeton Ave & Wells St)
Chicago, IL 60616

Sunshine Cafe
5449 N Clark St
(between Catalpa Ave & Rascher Ave)
Chicago, IL 60640

While a scientific study was conducted to confirm the findings, it’s pretty much common sense.  The underlying principle of getting good service is simple, reciprocity.  If the customer treated me well, and with respect, I had no problem returning the favor.  As a matter of fact, I went beyond my call of duty to make sure the customer  had a great dining experience.  My favorite customers weren’t the ones who tipped the most, but were the ones who treated me well.

So when do waiting staff cross the fine line from providing good service to providing crap service? Well, that depends on the customer’s behavior  That’s right, the customer has as much to do with service as the server.  Dr. Vicky Browning of Otago University says, “customers have a huge role to play in deviant behavior interaction is not just a one-way process.”  Remember, the customer isn’t always right.

Browning’s research found that frontline hospitality staff tend to mirror the behaviour of demanding or aggressive customers. Their retaliatory behaviour ranged from minor incidents, such as being rude or argumentative, to more serious behaviour where employees became verbally or physically abusive. Sabotage, such as spitting in a customer’s food, or collaborating with other staff to carry out some revenge, did occur but was not common.

Let me make more sense of this.  Let’s take customer complaints for example.  I expect customers to complain about the food once in a while, after all, you can’t please everybody.  But there’s a right way in complaining, and there’s a wrong way in complaining.

A complaint I received  more than once was that the broth in the noodle soup wasn’t hot enough.  To me, that’s not a problem at all, I’ll take it back, and I’ll either give it a zap in the microwave, or add more hot broth into the bowl.  But does it mean I’ll do it right away?  Well, it depends on how you complained to me.

Here’s the wrong way to complain:

“Sir, this soup is cold, how do you expect me to eat this, take it back and make it more hot…please!”

Well, in my mind, I was thinking, “what an ass.”  Of course, I politely said,  “I’ll go take care of it right away.” But did I take car of it right away?  You bet your ass I didn’t.  I placed the noodle soup on the side and went on working on other tasks until I felt it was time to take care of the complaint (usually a good 5 minutes go by).  When I returned the soup, I just placed it on the table and said, “here you go,” and walked away  For the rest of the night, my attentiveness to the customer was pretty much non-existent.  You might say that it’s not right to treat the customer that way.  Well, in my mind, I didn’t want to serve a customer with an attitude.

Here’s the right way to complain:

“Excuse me sir, I know you’re busy, but the soup seems to be on the cold side, would you please take care of this for me?”

The complaint is sincere, calm,  and it shows that the customer acknowledges I’m a bit busy.   Which means the customer knows that it might take some time to take care of the problem.  Well, since the customer was so nice, I went out of my way to take care of the issue right away.  When I returned, I apologized for the cold soup and I asked the customer if there was anything else I could take care of.

As a customer, know this:  Don’t mess with the people who handle your food!  Don’t give attitude, understand the situation, and have a bit of patience.  Whatever the reason for poor service (waiter, cooks, management), a restaurant employee is just a person, so don’t treat him or her like you are high and mighty.  And don’t forget, a difficult customer isn’t easily forgotten.

~ Kin

Upon hearing about bulgogi hot dogs from a friend some months ago, I was skeptical of a modern mish-mash between East and West.  I am familiar with the concept of fusion, but this just sounded ridiculous.

In one corner, a Western classic that’s as American as baseball.  In the other corner, a traditional Korean dish that is passed down from generation to generation.  How did the idea of intertwining the two items come about?  Was it from a stroke of genius, or a thought from half-baked randomness?

New York Hot Dog and Coffee has 107 branches in Korea, so the idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds.  It must be doing something right.  Last year, the company opened it’s first American branch in Greenwich Village in New York City.

I have confessed my love for bulgogi, but the hot dog on the other hand, is akin to having an illegitimate child begging for my attention.  I don’t remember the last time I had a hot dog, and I don’t miss it.

You see, hot dogs never did strike me as food, more like unwanted mixed and packed meat scraps that are reminiscent of my high school cafeteria’s mystery meat.  Yet, this odd couple has intrigued me, and has rattled my culinary curiosity.

After reading reviews and being somewhat satisfied by the ratings, I decided to venture out to New York Hot Dog and Coffee.  I would put my hot dog prejudice aside for the day.  Like drinking and driving, like fire and ice, like sleeping pills and laxatives, hot dogs and bulgogi don’t go together.

Or do they?

My fellow foodies Boon and Meishan came along for the ride.  As we approached the entrance, one of the employees opened the door and greeted us.  It was a quiet Saturday afternoon there and we didn’t see many customers.  Somehow I doubt there’s going to be door service if it gets really busy.

Adorned on the wall directly across from the counter, are larger than life pictures of people stuffing their faces with hot dogs.  One of the employees approached us and asked if we were first-timers.  Indeed, we were.  He told us that the most popular items on the menu was #6, the Bulgogi Hot Dog, and #7 the Kimchi Bulgogi Hot Dog.  Fair enough, #6 and #7 it is.  As we waited for the kimchi, bulgogi, and hot dogs to be cooked on the grill, we walked around the place and noticed a back room where the decor took a page out of a bar lounge.

When we received our food, we found our way to the back area.

Left: Kimchi Bulgogi Hot Dog, Right, Bulgogi Hot Dog

One of my friends was disappointed with the small amount of kimchi, so she went back to ask for more.  A wise decision.

It doesn’t hurt to ask for more kimchi, now that’s more like it!

We dug into the kimchi bulgogi hot dog first, because, well, because it’s pretty and colorful.  Surprisingly, the flavors went together rather well, and the toasted bun is a nice touch.  Each layer of flavor is easily distinguishable and the flavors don’t seem to overpower one another.  The hot dog, buried underneath the bulgogi, reminded me of 7/11’s Big Bite.

Closeup!

After eating the kimchi version first, the original bulgogi hot dog didn’t have as much of a flavor impact on the palette.   In fact, before the last bite of the second hot dog, I scooped up scattered bits of kimchi from the first hotdog and placed them into the bun.  Kimchi makes everything taste better.  It didn’t have the spiciness and savoriness of the first dog, but the sweetness of the bulgogi complemented the salty hot dog nicely.

Another closeup

In the end, we weren’t blown out of the water by this unlikely combination of meat, but it was good enough to warrant a future visit to the shop.  The Korean toppings on the hot dog are simply just that, toppings.  Think chili cheese dogs and you will understand.

New York Hot Dog and Coffee
245 Bleecker St
(between Carmine St & Leroy St)
New York, NY 10014
(917) 388-2608

~ Kin

My New Year’s resolution is to track my finances better and to stick to a budget. I’ve been saying that for the past 4 years, but this time around, I’ll be using Mint to help to stay the course. So it looks like my most frequented merchant for the past month has been Whole Foods. No surprise there.

~ Kin

I’m off tomorrow, so I spent some time tonight experimenting with a couple of ideas.  I tried to make a dessert with a custard filling. After a couple hours of trying, the end result looked nothing like what I had in mind. I also tried to make a rather simple noodle dish. It came out alright, but the flavor of one of the ingredients was too overpowering.  It was a night of failures, but I’ll try again tomorrow.

~ Kin