The Chili Basil Tasting Menu event was quite a treat. Yelpers, I hope you don't miss your shot…read more (I.e. don't be a no show)
Supo, son of the restaurant owners and manager of the restaurant, explained everything to us throughout the meal, from their journey as immigrants, their 15 years at this restaurant, and their unknown future - at the crossroads of deciding what to do with the restaurant. Parents want to retire, and mom is the cook, who by the way, is a PhD in agricultural sciences before giving up all that to create opportunities for their children. The sacrifices of an immigrant family!
Supo specifically asked for feedback on some of their dishes, so my review is written with that in mind. A couple of other notes. The restaurant currently operates primarily for take-outs; they have four tables for dine-in, which are predominately reserved on a typical weekend. Given their small dining space, they don't have the staff to handle dishes. As such, all plates, serving dishes, etc., are made from compressed wood layers. At the end of each restaurant day, mom takes the used dishes home, put them through a woodchipper and spreads them on her garden. Nifty!
The Food and Tea:
Tea Heaven Teas
Supo offered each of us amongst a selection of one tea from The Tea Heaven company. He is exploring rather to procure from them moving forward. I chose the Instant Chai Mix while my husband chose the Blueberry Hibiscus. His is rooibos based with notes of blueberry and hibiscus; he liked his enough but not a big rooibos fan, a detail he missed when choosing the tea. Mine requires hot milk and water. Needing to have milk complicated the process. If Supo is to proceed with the tea company, offer only the non-milk tea options.
Appetizers - 3 Fried options
All are exploratory dishes, not on menu
1. Skinny sticks are made with shrimp inside
I'm calling these shrimp chopsticks. The outside is the same wrapper as spring rolls. The inside has a touch of chew with the shrimp. I like them - a good balance of the crisp with the chew. Hubby wasn't as big of a fan, but he's a "big filling" type of person; everything needs to be well-stuffed.
2. Middle pieces - chicken and shrimp wontons
These were hubby's favorites - crispy on the outside and a well-filled bite for a good chew on the inside.
3. Curry Chicken wonton (pieces with green onion)
I like the flavor of these. The chicken seems to be more finely chopped so the texture is mushier vs. meaty. I suggest a coarser chop. I also suggest dusting the wrap with the curry paste or powder for a stronger curry flavor.
Crispy Pork Belly Bites (mini appetizer)
Menu: Marinated Pork Belly, topped with Green Onion, Chili, Garlic, and Lime
We were specifically told to eat these with garlic and a chili piece, which gave a nice spicy kick. The pork belly is incredibly flavorful with the marinate. A definite thumbs up.
Spicy Flower Noodle
Menu: Cotton Tree Flower, Pork Spare Rib, Minced Chicken, Bean Sprouts, Herbs, Spicy Savory Sauce, and Rice Vermicelli
This dish is northern style, meant to be extra saucy, but not to the point of being soupy. After stirring the ingredients together, the sauce coated every ingredient superbly well. I've never had red cotton tree flowers before. It has a pleasant texture with a bite of chew, which complimented well with the softer rice vermicelli, which doesn't have as much of a chew. The minced chicken is part of the sauce, while the bigger pieces of pork spare ribs are the "main protein" of the dish. I ranked the spiciness to be 3+/4- out of 5. It was pushing hubby's limits, while it's deliciously spicy for me.
Savory Eggplant with beef and jasmine rice
Menu: Mom's Secret Stir-fry Sauce with Eggplant, Bell Pepper, Carrot, Onion, Curry Powder, and Basil
We both love eggplants, so this dish is a homerun, especially because hubby loves beef dishes. We've seen this called basil eggplant also. Perfectly savory, this dish felt homey.
Mango Sticky Rice
Menu: Fresh Ataulfo Mango Half, Warm Sticky Rice, Coconut Cream, and Mung Bean
I don't recall seeing this dish served with the chopped mung beans. As Supo mentioned, not everyone likes the mung bean. I'm one of them. I don't like polar-opposite hard texture with the otherwise soft and smooth textures of sticky rice and mango. Hubby was fine with it. I also like a light drizzle of coconut sauce under the mango. (I know, too specific.)
We were very happy with our sampling of these dishes. We snooped at the menu and paid a fair price for hubby's portion of this meal and tipped for the full meal.
A big thank you to Supo, his mom, Alexa, and Yelp for organizing this wonderful event. Whatever they choose to do in the future, I wish them great success.