Cold Korean Black Soba or Chik Naeng Myun

Ok, when I say that I probably have eaten more chik naeng myun than any other person on the planet in the last 15 years, I'm being more  accurate than most would believe.  I would gladly and on occasion have eaten this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and craved it again late at night. Only Mr. Choi the owner of Yu Chun restaurant in Honolulu that introduced me to this variation of Korean soba has more knowledge and maybe a slight edge in appreciation (although I doubt it) of this dish.

First allow me to "school" you on naeng myun.  It is the dish that is one of the most Korean of dishes.  You might argue kimchi, but kimchi is now eaten all over the world, and to say that pickled vegetables are the bastion of one culture is a losing argument.  

Naeng myun in Korean literally translates into "cold noodle". Now, my research has shown that very few asian or any cultures for that matter have many cold noodle dishes.  Most noodles, pastas, etc around the world are served hot, inside soup, drowned in rich sauce, or stir fried. Koreans and Japanese do enjoy soba noodles and naeng myun cold.  How cold is the big question? I'll get to that soon......

Naeng myun noodles like their soba cousins are mostly made from buckwheat powder, which gives them their unique chewy texture, and grey color.  Anyone that knows the fiber content of said grain will tell you it's extremely high in fiber, and digests very slowly.  This makes naeng myun among the healthiest of noodles one can ingest, and later ahem.....excrete.  The high fiber is great for your colon, and the slow release of carb sugars is a much healthier alternative to any white flour noodles that tend to spike one's blood sugar and thus releases too much insulin.  The variation that I have come to really appreciate is chik naeng myun that is a variety made mostly from arrowroot.  It gives the noodles an even chewier texture, earthy aroma, and the black-purple coloration that is it's trademark.  Like most true pasta lovers can really appreciate the unique qualities of squid-ink pasta; chik noodles hold the equivalent reverence among true naeng myun lovers. 

I have eaten chik naeng myun in my hometown of Honolulu, LA, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, and Manila. Most chik naeng myun I've eaten was in a chain of Korean restaurants called Yu Chun. However, recently in Singapore and Manila I have found very very good copycats at Seoul Garden at the Esplanade in SG, and BiWon on P.Burgos street in Makati.  

The noodles are only part of the equation.  The yook-soo or cold beef soup broth that is served slurpee style (ice cold) along with the fresh cucumber, garlic chili paste, shredded Korean bbq-beef, and hard boiled egg all combine to give your mouth a tremendous taste EXPLOSION! Nothing in my eating life has turned out to be sooo good and SOOOO addictive.  

Everyone has asked themselves if I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life what would it be?  I would have to walk down the aisle with Chik naeng myun.

Elbert's Steak Room

This is a restaurant with no signs, no advertising, lots of exclusivity.  

Word of mouth among Manila's elite have made Elbert's the talk of the steak town.  Adrian the chef and brother of Elbert does an amazing job serving up great steaks in an elegant yet cozy dining room.  These guys really understand how to run a great steakhouse.  It's actually the KISS principal.   Keep it simple stupid.  

1. Great, over the top rated USDA aged prime cuts chilled-never frozen
2. simple menu offerings, that empahasize freshness.  Baked potatoes, grilled vegetables, fresh salad, and some nice desserts!
3. dark, classy ambience

I finally got a great steak after months of trying to get one.  It's true that I am an unabashadly great admirer of grain fed USDA prime beef.  The taste is second to none.  It gets it's taste from the bone, meat, and aging rather than the marbling and tenderness that wagyu does.  For a bloodthirsty carnivore Elbert's delivered and then some.

Elberts is in makati on Delacosta somewhere.......you are in for treat if you can find it.

Gilak Middle Eastern Restaurant by Hossein

Gilak's is Mr. Hossein's latest restaurant newly opened at Greenbelt in Makati.  I was luckily invited there by my customers who have been long time diners at his Hossein's location on Makati Avenue.  I will say that middle-eastern is NOT always my favorite, but like my Dad used to correctly state, " great cuisine is found everywhere, and it doesn't matter how it's cooked, as long as it's cooked well".  Thars some wisdom in dem words Pa!  Mr. Hossein went on to knock my socks off with the wonderful talent with which he showcased in the meal he served us.

We had braised lamb shanks, shrimp arab with yogurt sauce, naan, salad, and tandoori chicken.  All these are dishes I've had before, but he does them exceptionally well.  Think a steak from TGI Friday's vs. a steak from Mortons...

for more pics and details on Gilak check out my friend Rica's blog: http://heart-2-heart-online.com:80/2008/10/12/gilak-by-hosseins/

TSUKIJI

PURE QUALITY comes to mind when I think back to the dining experience I had at this premium Japanese restaurant in Makati a few days ago.  It's NO secret that well heeled filipinos have tremendous spending power and Tsukiji offers them the best of the best that japanese cuisine has to offer right in their backyard-for a hefty price.

They get their name from the world famous fish market in Tokyo where they also happen to get direct shipments of the best fish cuts 3 times per week.

The restaurant is located on Pasay right behind the Greenbelt shopping complex.  From the street it's very unassuming and appears to be inside a lowrise office building.  Once you take the lift to the 2nd floor and you enter the restaurant it looks like any standard japanese restaurant with the obligatory private rooms where you sit on the floor and a sushi counter with wooden seats.

However, open up the menu and you realize that this is going to be an expensive meal.  For  good reason though as most of the items are premium ingredients imported directly from Japan.

I ordered:

 

Sashimi moriawase (mixed raw pieces of fish)

This dish is always about freshness and quality of fish.  Super high marks for both requirements. The tuna belly (o-toro), salmon, hamachi (yellowtail), squid, uni (sea urchin), and salmon eggs were among the best I've EVER tasted.  The uni in particular deserves a nod.  Uni is by far one of my favorite foods and I've tasted uni around the world.  This was uni from the icy siberian waters of Hokkaido Japan.  The consistency was like eating spoonfuls of mayonnaise.  Probably just as full of fat as well because the cold water requires the uni to develop a high fat content.  It was also bright orange/red; a color I have never seen before in uni.  Easily the best I've had.  Yes, even better than the Santa Barbara uni......sorry Cali.  

Wagyu Yukke

This is Korean steak tartar.  It's a raw chopped beef dish marinated with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and garnished with asian pear, cucmbers, spring onions and chili powder, and the force-de-resistance a raw egg yolk on top.  Furthermore it was decadantly made of fresh Wagyu beef that is among the best in the world.  The first bite of this dish at Tsukiji was a life-altering experience.  I grew up on eating dishes like this as a Korean.  However, I never thought the best yukke in the world would be eaten in a Japanese restaurant.  It was such a bittersweet moment as my taste buds viciously betrayed my nationalistic feelings.  But it was definitely NOT hard to swallow.

Kani Fry

this is deep fried battered oyster and I kick myself for ordering this dish in a high end restaurant like Tsukiji. 

I washed down the meal with cold sake and green tea.  This was easily a top 3 dining experience in my life.  Unbelievably delicious.

They offer a 13 course menu called Kaiseke that basically is a chef's selection of all the best and freshest ingredients.  However the catch is you have to order 3 days in advance and a minimum of 3 persons is required.

Expect to drop about 5,000 pesos ($120)  if you order premium fish and beef.  Worth every single peso-trust me.

Cha Cha An Japanese restaurant

This is yet another of a myriad of Japanese restaurants that has opened up in the Sukhumvit zone from Sukhumvit 24-Ekamai.  It makes sense as there are a tremendous amount of Japanese expats and also well-heeled Thais that tend to appreciate Japanese food in this area of Bangkok.  

Cha Cha An opened 5 months ago after renovating an old house On Ekamai soi 10/4 right behind the large Healthland.  I know the place very well as it's in front of my house.  Understandably, it's first few months were very quiet.  I rarely saw a car parked in front.  However, it's really picked up during both lunch and dinner.  So, recently I went for lunch. 

The decor indicates an attempt by Cha Cha An to create a premium atmosphere.  Basically it looks expensive.  However, upon examining the lunch set menu, the prices are down right affordable.  Salmon grill set runs 200 baht with sides, rice, and miso soup.   Most of their lunch items run from 160 THB - 350 THB.  Many choices ensure that Cha Cha An is a great place to lunch at least once a week for locals around Ekamai/TongLor.  

The regular menu did indeed have some premium items like Kobe Beef sukiyaki, and uni-ikura sashimi.  However, it seems that Thailand now has regular suppliers for such items that were until recently only avaialable in the most premium of japanese restaurants here.

I'll be going back as the atmosphere inside is beautiful and serene.  My goal is to try every lunch item by the end of October.  The fact that they have free wi-fi internet access inside is a big plus as I usually lunch alone.

The only negative was that I had to ask them to change out my grilled sawara white fish as it was dried out and had a hint of freezer burn.  It could be that it was frozen solid, and then defrosted in a microwave.  Rather than being light, moist and flaky it was dry and crunchy especially on the edges.  However, they graciously handled the problem and the salmon grill that I chose to replace the fish disaster was suitably good.

to your next great meal!

Lunch

20 oz of Silverside ground beef - Nuff said!