malokd

Got take out on New Year’s Day. Vegetable dumplings— these were not good. Filling was bland, wrappers were soggy pork/chive dumplings: filling was good chicken shiitake: filling was good dan Dan noodles: was ok— missing the greens normally found as a condiment scallion pancakes: standard sesame noodles: good but unremarkable overall: I did not feel that these dumplings stood up well to dumpling and beyond in dc or mama’s in Rockville— their wrappers just aren’t as good. I do like a slightly thicker dumpling tho. I didn’t try their soup dumplings because we were doing take out.

Had a great dinner here on Friday night. We ordered: Oysters with a tomato mignonette Hiramasa crudo with a strawberry vinaigrette Roasted potato with chicken and pork cracklings and a seaweed butter Hamachi collar with sesame gpchuchang mole Jonah crab rice Basque cheesecake ice cream Spanish French Toast( torrejas?) Total: $300 for two -- gratuity is included I have seen posts about the price and portions and I have to say-- we were absolutely stuffed after desert. The cooked food was very rich. It's important to balance it with fresh/cold appetizer selections. The only bust was the Hiramasa crudo-- the sauce had an off taste that was not described well in the menu. The rest of the food was delicious. Standouts were then hamachi collar and the oysters. The Jonah crab rice was delicious but reaaally rich. It was clear that there was a lot of work going into each dish-- felt the price was fair. I would definitely go back once the menu changes.

Wife and I had childcare for the first time in a while— was last minute and we just wanted a reliably good meal. The last time we had gone to Fiola Mare was pre-pandemic and was a great experience. We had been to Fiola since then and had a good experience— we thought this would be reliably good— big mistake. At some point this restaurant has turned into more of a club than a restaurant. Bugatti parked outside, neon lights in the entryway and club music pumping at 8pm. Four people at check-in. None of them could find the reservation we had called and made that night. They had to call a 5th person to find it. We were brought to the table and immediately the hard sells began. Trying to convince us to start with a caviar course or a smoked signature drink that was brought to many of the surrounding tables with great fanfare. We knew the prices before we went so there was no sticker shock— but despite having premium prices the waitress pressed us to order every add on in an uncomfortable manner. We order a crudo platter which was described as a portion for two ($65) and the Dover sole($115) which was also described as a portion for two. We wanted to share a clam pasta. When ordered the pasta course the waitress asked what my wife would be having. She said she would be sharing my pasta. The waitress replies that they do not allow sharing of plates. We are welcome to order two have portions instead. I inquire about the price difference since the half portion prices were not listed. She avoids the question and says you get an ounce more of pasta with two half portions vs one full plate. I ask again if there is a price difference— she says well of course since we are giving you more we will charge more, ends up being an $8 difference. My wife gave me the look as I was getting annoyed and I just said fine— we will do a half portion of the lobster ravioli and a half of the clam pasta. The irony was when the brought out the two half portions they places them in the center of the table —- for us to share. food: crudo platter($65)— raw fish and shrimp with yogurt and an Israeli/Palestinian salad underneath. It was ok. It was a cold dish, but the plates they brought us to eat on were super hot to the touch— we ended up not using them clam pasta half portion: it was a small portion of pasta with a generous amount of clams— prob the best dish lobster ravioli half portion: this was a joke— one small claw portion and one ravioli dover sole: basically a meunière style— well cooked but a small sole for the price midway through the meal the waitress comes by with rolls. She dropped them off at all the surrounding tables but when she drops it off at our says,” since you didn’t order that much I brought you this”. We had desert and each had a drink. Bill comes to $400. She stands over me watching me as I am filling out the tip section. Completely awkward. This brand used to be all about hospitality— what a shitshow. I am contemplating writing to them but not sure if it’s even worth it

My recent take out experience here was poor. Got the Shanghai pork buns— there was no “juice” inside, no sauces given despite being specifically requested, and overpriced. It did not taste like it did at the beginning of the year.

Can you describe the chicken with stuffed peppers dish? What are the peppers stuffed with--sounds interesting thx

The charred mushroom/Treviso? was in the faux cheesesteak they had at happy gyro I think— I felt the smoke/burnt flavor was over the top in that too— but everything else was great

This restaurant is in soft-opening mode still with little web presence and a limited menu (not all the items on the printed menu are available yet)...that being said I think it is a game changer for the miserable state of dumplings in Alexandria. We went on a Sunday morning and had the following: Pork Soup Dumplings(XLB) --- I thought these were better than the XLB at all the Rockville joints. Great flavor to the soup--perfect mix of fat and meat. Thin delicate wrapper, yet sturdy enough not to tear when removing it from steamer basket. Steamed shrimp (har gow)--crisp shrimp, well made tapioca wrapper, held up without becoming mushy Scallion Pancake--were fine--Ive had better--less flaky and more flat Pan Fried Buns with egg and Chive--these were deep fried and tasty with fresh chives Pan Fried Buns with shrimp and Chives-- These were in a har gow style wrapper but pan fried with crispy bottoms--excellent Vegetable Stir Fried Noodles--these were a bust--we wanted something with the hand pulled noodles and these were the only veg option--noodles were good but sauce tasted like it had tomato sauce or ketchup in it--very weird This place is a franchise from NYC and is well reviewed there. I am excited for the full menu and will definitely be back. I think this place is going to be mobbed once fully opened and reviewed in the press. No website yet-- so I am grudgingly putting the yelp link here.

Off topic but how was GLOW Eric--worth taking the kids for?

Went here tonight and ordered the following: sourdough bread with : chicken liver mousse and nori butter with cane sugar—- the liver was the winner here— smooth , subtle spicing, delicious. Nori butter was fine, tasty but the cane syrup was out of place pickled enoki mushrooms from cart: pleasantly sour,tasted like they put maggi seasoning in it— enjoyed it gem lettuce salad with scallion vinaigrette: had nice crunch from sesame seeds strewn all over but scallion vinaigrette had very little acid to it and just came off as oniony and salty. We added the pickled mushrooms to the dish and it fixed the flavors Scallop crudo with fried okra and curry leaves — this was excellent. Fresh, crisp , bright. My only quibble was the used a kaffir lime oil in the sauce that overpowered some of the other flavors—but it was a minor issue only cavatelli with vegetarian nduja— this was excellent. Tender cavatelli with a tart sauce . Bread crumbs added nice crunch. Sautéed with lettuce leaves that did not hold up to the rest of the dish Branzino with maitake mushrooms, pickled mustard greens, ginger scallion oil, and a Sichuan flavored dipping sauce, and a cup of dashi. This dish would have been excellent but for the cooks heavy heavy hand with the salt. We were at the bar watching him cook and we could see him dousing the mushrooms and the fish with salt. The condiments tasted great but were, as they should be, salty further accentuating the over salting . The fish itself was expertly cooked with skin crisp from being coated with toasted rice powder prior to frying. With a less heavy hand with the salt this dish would have been perfect. One last weird point— we sat at the chefs counter. It was counter height but with normal chairs instead of counter height seating— I felt like I was a little kid at the table— it’s a beautiful counter but they need to fix the seating. overall takeaway— good flavors but needs some care for details with the salting and acidity of some of the dishes. I

Going with a group this weekend---anyone have recommendations? A couple of the members of the group have an aversion to szechuan peppercorn so would love a few options for them as well

Had a disappointing experience here on Saturday night. I agree that the quality of the fish was great, but the rice really tanked the nigiri and the rolls. We ordered a ton and with drinks came to $150/ pp( 2 drinks and bottle of sake). Drink were the highlight( service was excellent as well) Has potential but I have feeling consistency is going to be an issue with a place that large. The vibe of the place reminded me of Tao meets nobu — not my favorite. If I am going to drop bucks on sushi would prob go to ogura or omakase at Takumi.

Had a great experience here last night. For apps we got the kara-age and the veggie/shrimp tempura soba. Karage was crunchy, but not overcooked served with mustard and spicy mayo on side. The soba was really good---noodles had a nice bite with buckwheat flavor coming through--small dishes of pickled cucumbers, scallion and wasabi, and seaweed/lotus root on the side. Expertly fried tempura shiso leaf, whole pepper and shrimp--not greasy at all. Nice cool mentsuyu for dipping. Excellent I had just eaten at Daikaya two weeks ago and had a great bowl of ramen there--so it was nice to compare. Got the spicy ( volcano) ramen---and it was on par at the very least. Friend got the tempura ramen and that was a bit of a bust. Definitely will return. Worth going to if you live in the area

Superlative dinner here on Sunday night. Total of 5 of us--to a person, all of us felt that this was the best restaurant meal we had in the DMV in 2017. I went in expecting a decent dinner and was really happily surprised at how good a meal we had. The drinks were excellent as well, all with interesting bar pieces made the drink more enjoyable. Drinks: BRESCA FRENCH 75: honey gin- clarified citrus- bee nectar- champagne syrup: This tasted great, not too boozy with nice acidity SIRÉNE: vodka-oyster shell- dry vermouth-manzanilla-verjus- olives: While I could not detect any seafood taste--this was a good dirty martini with good olives and an interesting fish shaped glass BEE'S KNEES: bee's wax gin- truffle honey- citrus: The only bust from the drinks section POLLINATION: vodka- bee nectar- gentian- citrus- chamomile cordial. This was well balanced, sweet but not overly so STAN THE FISH: jasmine mezcal- grapefruit- elderflower- soda. Tasty mezcal drink, not too smoky Food: OCTOPUS: harissa- hummus- tabouleh- yogurt- black lime: This would have been a star on any other table--combo of black lime and harissa was a nice sour spicy combo NANTUCKET SCALLOP CRUDO: yuzu- asian pear- ponzu- charred scallion. Excellent crudo---the charred scallion has this nice flavor that is not overpowering elevating the ponzu SEA URCHIN LINGUINI: truffle – chili – yeast butter – porcini: We enjoyed this but the uni gets lost. This was really good buttered pasta CHESTNUT AGNOLOTTI: rabbit – sunchoke – pear – mustard seeds: This was my favorite dish. Acidity from the pickled mustard seeds, sweetness from the pear and the sunchoke, and buttery chestnut. My favorite pasta dish this year OIL POACHED HALIBUT: vadouvan & mussel chowder - squash - parsley- kaffir lime. This was really good but came at the end when we were stuffed and could not do it full justice. Halibut was perfectly cooked and the vadouvan gave it a gentl "curry" flavor HONEY LACQUERED DUCK; duck fat brioche with apple butter- duck egg- red cabbage- spaetzel- comte- sausage of duck and fennel- fall truffles- coriander & lavender honey. This was portioned to share and we demolished it. Every thing about it was delicious. Well salted duck breast with expertly rendered skin, great tasting sausage, and the spaetzle were delicious. The brioche was fried which was a little too rich but no one complained. Will definitely be back soon

Thanks---based on those pics alone I am looking forward to my meal! Will give full report on vegan omakase

Has anyone tried the Kobo omakase at Sushiko? I have reservations for the vegan one for my pregnant wife's birthday Thanks in advance