Ericandblueboy

It's a pop-up for the time being. I'm sure when he has his own place and his staffed trained, it will be a legit 1 star place. I still don't know why Maydan gets a star and is one of the most sought after restaurants in DC. At Nakazawa, his movements are serene, not slapping things together as fast as he can.

It's a big step below Nakazawa based on our experience tonight at 5:30. Uchi is slapping shit together as fast as he can and then passing them on to his helpers. The rice is hot and almost mushy. The fish hasn't warmed to room temp. For $100, it's still a bargain based on the ingredients but it's far from a Michelin star experience. Dunno what Rooster and Owl is charging these days but at one point it was $85 for 4 courses and that was most definitely a Michelin star worthy dinner. On a night when his counter isn't full and he's fully prepped, I can see this being Michelin worthy.

I think Boston's got some great Chinese food. We had some delicious dumplings, baos, stinky tofu, sticky rice wrapped in intestine, and greens at Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown. We also had some delicious dim sum at Dynasty, also in Chinatown. Dynasty opens early (9 am). Tried some acclaimed seafood. Neptune Oyster had the best fried Ipswich clams I ever had (just great breading and nicely salted). The kids loved their clam chowder. I thought the Acadian redfish and chips were pretty good as well. Unfortunately their Monday night special of lobster spaghetti was not good at all. The lobster was way overcooked. The spaghetti sauce was just your typical marinara (unlike Joe Beef in Montreal, where the sauce was made with lobster stock). The scallop crudo was also fishy. The Daily Catch at the North End doesn't take reservation or credit card, but a few blocks away is a branch (Waterfront) that takes reservation and credit card. We had clams Siciliano, shrimp scampi, fritto misto and Vongole Neapolitan linguine. Their clam linguine is chopped clams while the Vongole Neapolitan has clams in shells. They didn't purge the clams so they were sandy. The other foods were good but nothing special. Le's Vietnamese around Harvard is decent. There looks to be some good food around Harvard but parking is a pain. We stayed at the Harborside Inn. The room was quite big with adjustable temperature. The fridge worked but there were no coffee/tea maker. The location is great though, right next to Quincy Market. We parked a couple of blocks away at 21 Well St. It's valet only but with in and out privileges. Found the parking on Spot Hero. Quincy Market looks more like a mall food court than a food hall. Nearby Boston Public Market isn't much better. The Isabella Gardner Museum is amazing if you like sumptuously decorated palazzos.

Basically gigantic food courts (think 50+ stalls) except the rent is controlled by the gov't and because of competition, the prices are super low.

Singapore Somewhat delirious after flying 18 hrs and driving almost 4 hrs home from Newark. Singapore classics that aren't really that exciting: Hainan Chicken (Tian Tian), Soya Chicken (Hawker Chan in their store and at their stall in Chinatown complex), Pork Noodle (i.e., current 1 star holder Hill St. Tai Hwa), Fish Head Curry (Banana Leaf), Nasi Lemak fried chicken. I tried the most acclaimed places and just don't get the hype. Singapore classics that I think are tasty: Tulang Merah (Deen Tiga Rasa at Golden Mile, choose the beef bones), Bah ku Teh (Song Fa), Murtabak (Zam Zam), Chili Crab (Long Beach) Lol....my favorite laksa is still in Urban Hawker in NYC (but I tried 2 in Singapore, the real Sungei Rd and a place in Hong Lim called Trishaw Sungei Rd, which had a Bib Gourmand designation). I will not dissuade anyone from trying out the classics so I suggest you sign up for Monster Day Tour's food tour. $70 Singaporean with visits to 3 hawker centers in Chinatown, tasting some of the most acclaimed foods. Alternatively, download the Michelin app and just hit up all the ones in hawker centers. We stayed around Robertson Quay (not the most exciting neighborhood for food). I prefer Chinatown to Little India or Kampong Gelam in terms of hawker centers and proximity to other sights.

For some reason I thought this is some small operation but it's not. Same owner as the Izakaya next door, basically catering to the well-to-doers in Arlington. Potstickers are teeny tiny......generally overpriced but some of the dumplings were decent (lamb with carrot was heavy on cumin, soup dumplings were juicy). The best part is they have good dumpling wrappers but the fillings weren't plentiful. I wouldn't go back. There are better dumplings elsewhere. We spent $200 for 2 adults and 2 kids (with a bottle of pinot grigio for just under $40) - shocking amount of money for half decent Chinese food.

Going to Boston with my kids. Any thoughts on where to eat? Not looking for tasting menus.

Aren't they (i.e., Parc, Le Dip, Balthazar, Pastis) all Disneyfied versions of a French bistro? Le Petite Cerise wasn't particularly good when I went. Convivial is great but apparently not Disneyfied enough to draw a crowd.

Went to the new location today. A sign says they no longer have hot water. So no hot tea. They give everyone a bottle of water instead. I was with the kids and we just had some seafood pancakes, bulgogi and chicken noodle soup. Everything was good, but nothing really stood out.

Went to A&J Annandale today around 10:30. The restaurant wasn't open because they're no longer doing weekend brunch (i.e., soy milk, you tiao, stuffed stick rice balls, etc.). Not sure when this happened. Did they stop doing brunch in Rockville too? Where can I go to get good you tiao? Bob's Shanghai?

Ironic that the Washers claim to be Christians but all they want to do is to destroy their neighbors' business.

Any update on the booze situation?

Why did DePue want to close it? I think his main gig is catering?

Took the kids to London - their first trip to Europe - for pre-Christmas break. I shall recount our adventure over the next few days. For 6 nights we stayed at The Resident Hotel in Soho. We had a superior room but it was just one large bed and a cot. There's a Brita filter on the faucet, a small fridge, a tea kettle and a Nespresso coffee maker. Pretty quiet even in Soho....you can hear the occasional drunk howl but it's pretty muted. I really liked the location but I always stay around Leicester Sq. We walked alot....and Leicester Sq is very central. So the big thing about getting in the city from Heathrow is the fairly new Elizabeth Line. It goes to Tottenham Court Rd station, which is a a few blocks from our hotel. It's faster than the tube but slower than Heathrow Express. Also, you can just tap with your contactless credit card instead of getting an Oyster card (on the tube as well).

Jiwa is closed for good. Not surprising. Tysons can't support anything high end other than steak houses. Also, the food wasn't great.