Chinese New Year Dim Sum

For those of you that celebrate the Lunar New Year, gung hay fat choy! M and I decided to head over to Ala Shanghai for a light lunch and welcome in the year of the snake. And just as expected, the place was packed. Most people made reservations, but luckily there was an open table for us.

The meal was primarily vegetarian, but I had to get the pork soup dumplings. I mean, come on… soup dumplings. Delicious as they should be. I didn’t realize it before, but one of the little dishes of sauce was on the sour side. Perhaps it’s a dark vinegar? Better on the spring rolls than on the dumplings.

 

Soupy dumplings aside, the rest of the dim sum consisted of scallion pancakes, spring rolls, and these vegetable dumplings. I may have had them before, but I can’t remember. I didn’t like these at all. The filling is minced, which is fine, but it was a bit on the mushy side and too mushroom heavy. It tasted like they used reconstituted shitake mushrooms, which unless really drained, has a weird taste to it. The spring rolls were crispy as they should be, but the inside was mush. And it’s mostly cabbage in there… and mushy tasteless cabbage is the worst.

I didn’t think the dim sum would be enough, so I ordered some vegetable lo mein. A safe enough option for a picky eater, but it was pretty underwhelming. It reminded me of pancit canton (which basically that is) only it needed more seasoning. Maybe if I had some chili oil or chili paste I would have sung a different tune.

When I asked M what he thought of the place, he said he really liked the scallion pancakes and that was it. He also said if we were to go out again for dim sum, we should go somewhere else. And as much as I hate to admit it… I agree with him.

Sorry all you AS lovers out there, it’s just not our thing.

Now That's a Steal!

I was at Roma Foods on a pork belly mission when I spotted this in the freezer. I didn't actually see the price at first, just saw that there was tiramisu. On closer inspection is when I noticed the price. Three cents, for that one slice... really?

Curious, I grabbed a sliced and headed for the register. And well well well... it was indeed the correct price!

The best three Lincolns I have ever spent.

Lanthier’s Grove (Latham, NY)

Not too long ago I went over to Lanthier’s Grove for a weekend outing with some co-workers. We went there to kick back, have fun, and enjoy lots of good food.
Two out of three ain’t bad.

Freeosk!

With just a swipe of your Advantage Card, you too can get a Special K snack bar… for free!

I don’t know if they have freeosks in other Choppers, but if you just happen to be in Latham, you’re in luck.

Shalimar (Latham, NY)

Have you heard the story about the Shalimar's of the Capital Region? About how it's a chain, and not a chain? But it's still a family thing, although not immediate family. Both Steve Barnes and Bill Dowd have done the Shalimar breakdown, so there's really not much for me to comment on it... except there is no mention of the Shalimar in Troy and where it factors into all of this.

The Latham Shalimar is in the space that was once occupied by Afghan Grill, which from what I hear was sold. Shame, since I really wanted to try it out. I know there's at least two other Indian restaurants in Latham, but none that I can think of on that stretch of Rt. 7.

The interior seems a little cramped with all the tables, but somewhat sparse with the decorations. There are pictures that line one of the walls, and some decorative wall hangings, and all those lights! But still... it felt sparse.

I started with the Mulligatawny soup - made with lentils, tomato, lemon and spices. It was served with a lemon slice and cilantro, which is the first time that has ever happened. I crushed the lemon and it... I guess lightened the flavor? Lemoned the flavor? I'm not finding the right way to describe it, but it was good.

Lamb Palak - lamb meat cooked with spinach. I normally order Chicken Palak, but M pushed the lamb, claiming it would be more authentic that way. The meat was tender and the spinach was creamy. It's good with the rice that accompanies it, but even better with naan. Imagine they made burrito-like things with naan and any type of palak? Or even better... what if there were samosas filled with lamb palak? That would be an amazing appetizer!

Oh those tangents! I liked it. A little of it totally filled me up, but can you really complain about leftovers?

M went with the Mattar Paneer - green peas cooked with homemade cheese. In typical fashion, he inhaled his meal... I didn't get a chance to sneak a bite! It seems that this dish is commonly found on the lunch buffet menu, which is why he went with it. M also said something about it being the only non-meat item so... something something something.

If you are interested, they have a daily lunch buffet from 11:30 - 3:00. The sign along the road had it priced at $6.99, but I don't know if it's more on the weekends.

Our meal, which consisted of soup, two entrées, one order of naan, and one soda (with free refills) came out to 33 dollars, tax and tip included.

Shalimar
952 Troy Schenectady Road
Latham, NY 12110
(518) 389-2500

M-Th: 11:30 - 10:00
F: 11:30 - 11:00
S: 12:00 - 11:00
Su: 12:00 - 10:00

Bombay Grill (Latham, NY)

I don't think there is an Indian restaurant in the Capitol Region that M and I haven't tried yet. It's getting to be as bad as Japanese restaurants around here... it isn't yet, but it's getting there.

The Bombay Grill is in Latham across the street from Bella Napoli. I think that's the intersection of 155 and 9? Anyways, the place used to be a Japanese restaurant that I'd been trying to go to (even though it's been closed for years).

You can see the remains of the Japanese restaurant on the exterior windows and some of the fixtures inside. The dining area is open for the most part, with the section that's partitioned off the designated buffet area. I just love Indian lunch buffets. I'm still undecided, but I may come back just to check their buffet out.

Our waitress filled our water glasses and promptly served poppadums with dipping sauces. It's kind of neat that they fried it like that, but only one per person? I guess they think we'll be ordering a lot. Because of M's stubbornness, we ordered the plain Naan, but meat or not, it wasn't bad. I liked how it's poofy, other places it's flat and boring. It's cut in half, but it was the size of our dinner plate. Niiiice.

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Biryani, extra spicy. Ohmyfreakinggoodness, this stuff was good. Pretty darn good. And unlike other places, I didn't have to worry about biting into a bay leaf or clove. It was served with raita, which I normally don't get when I order Biryani elsewhere, but only learned that you're supposed to add it to the dish when one of my co-workers brought it in for a party. A trip to the Bombay Market is in order, ASAP.

M ordered the Mattar Paneer, which is peas and cheese in a spicy tomato based sauce. I didn't try any of it, but M said that it reminded him of one of the pre-made Indian dinners he has in his kitchen. I'll take that as a "good, but not really."

Bombay Grill
571 Watervliet Shaker Road
Latham, NY 12110
(518) 783-783

Kooky For Kabuki? **MENU ADDED** (Latham, NY)

After buying a ton of kimchi from Kim's and eating plenty of it at Kobe, I was still craving something Korean. I've passed by Kabuki a couple of times, but never got around to actually eating there, until tonight. The Korean I've had so far in the CR has been alright, but I was still hoping there would be one place that would just wow me.

After some googling, I discovered that Kabuki used to be out in Clifton Park, and recently moved to the Peter Harris Plaza. As you're turning into the plaza, it's on the far left side. I never see cars on this side of the Plaza, and when M and I went in for dinner it was empty (but then again, it was a little after 8 on a Sunday night).

 

As you can see, the restaurant is one open space with tables on both sides of the room. The sushi bar is one of the first things you see when you walk in, along with the specials written on a dry erase board hanging behind the bar. Seating seems sparse, but understandable if they're waiting for the approval of hibachi tables.

We were served hot tea immediately after being seated and after a quick glance at the menu, I decided on the Dolsot Bibimbap and a salmon skin roll. M, as usual, ordered the Tofu teriyaki. Both meals came with miso soup and salad, and were pretty average. At least the iceberg lettuce wasn't wet before they plopped the dressing on.

My salmon skin roll came out next. This was fantastic, one of the best I've had up here. I also like how they don't serve a huge mound of pickled ginger and wasabi. It's so wasteful.

The difference between regular bibimbap and the dolsot is the bowl it is served in. The dolsot came in an extremely hot stone pot. I let my food sizzle before I broke into it, allowing the rice to crisp on the bottom and turn into happy yummy crunchiness.

 

One thing I completely forgot about was the egg. I am not a fan of eggs for the most part, and really not a fan if the eggs are runny. But my fault, right? So I just mixed it as fast as possible so that the egg could cook more. It was good, but left much to be desired. Maybe bibimbap just isn't the dish for me. And once again, the pepper sauce wasn't hot enough for me.

 

According to M, his dinner was passable. Unlike Okinawa, which gives their tofu a coating before stir frying (a method which M thinks is perfect), it seems as if Kabuki half assed the tofu teriyaki. In M's words "they cup up some firm tofu, warmed it up, and doused it in hot teriyaki sauce." He thought the noodles (you're supposed to get the option between rice or noodles, the server didn't even ask) were alright, but the tofu was bad.

Our dinner came out to $39.00, including tax and tip.

I think from now on, I'll leave the bimbahp for cooking at home. There were other items on the menu that I would like to try again, but I'll have to go with someone else other than M.

Kabuaki Sushi & Teriyaki

952 Troy-Schenectady Road (Peter Harris Plaza)

Latham, NY 12110

(518) 782-6909 fax

Click on images below.