Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

I know I usually write my travel posts as a day-by-day recollection, but I'm going to do it differently this time. A and I were in North Carolina for about five days, mainly so we could go to M and J's wedding in Durham. But since M is one of my oldest friends from Texas, this trip included lots of pre-wedding things (bachelorette party, bridal shower, baseball games, etc.) and we also stayed with another brilliant couple, N and J (who should be getting married next year, woohoo!) Point is, a lot happened, but it was a mix of eating / drinking / hanging out with friends / celebrating an awesome marriage, which I will just throw into this one post. Here goes.

The night of M's bachelorette party in Raleigh, we started with dinner at Gravy (135 S Wilmington St  Raleigh, NC 27601). For some reason I wasn't feeling like pasta (though a lot of people ordered pasta dishes and they looked delightful). So I went with a starter of poached egg and pancetta on polenta, which was so not something I would ever recommend eating BEFORE you start in on a main course, but did wonderfully for my purposes, along with a gorgeous side dish of broccoli which was flavored with anchovies (speaking of, the anchovy-broccoli combination is absolutely genius and I can't believe I ate broccoli for over 20 years without tasting it in harmony with anchovy).

The next day A and I wandered around Chapel Hill, where we picked up a Snowy-the-dog keyring at Chapel Hill Comics (316 W Franklin St  Chapel Hill, NC 27516), and also toured the Sarah P. Duke Gardens (420 Anderson St  Durham, NC 27708), commonly known as the Duke Botanical Gardens. They are stunning, and with full sunshine it was an ideal afternoon. But you're not reading this to hear about comic books and gardens are you? So instead let us gaze upon our lunch at Bullock's Bar-B-Cue (3330 Quebec Drive, Durham, NC 27705), where we attempted to order a normal amount of food for two people, to our waitress's distress. After explaining that we wanted to try the Brunswick stew (a local specialty), ribs and pulled pork, but wanted to order the smallest amount of food possible, she came up with some sort of combo platter arrangement for us to share. The coleslaw that accompanied it was actually amazing - really finely chopped cabbage, with barely any dressing (whoa have I just decided that I might like some forms of coleslaw?!) And I found the hushpuppies slightly addictive. But alas, this was nowhere near as good as Melvin's in Charleston. 

Onwards to Full Steam Brewery (726 Rigsbee Ave, Durham, NC 27701) where A was carded and found out that North Carolina state law doesn't accept foreign driver's licenses as proof of age. Thankfully no one thought I was under 21 so I was able to get drinks for us both. Outside of the brewery, the Chirba Chirba dumpling truck was offering plates of soup dumplings and gyoza - they were a nice snack but not anything I'd make a special trip for.  And finally, a Durham Bulls minor league baseball game to properly Americanize A and introduce him to the national pastime of drinking beer, eating hotdogs, and very occasionally watching some sport.

The next morning was my birthday, and we had the best birthday breakfast ever. No, really. If someone could wake me up for every birthday with a chicken cheddar biscuit I would die a happy woman. Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen (1305 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill NC 27514) is a little drive-through biscuit place in Chapel Hill. That glorious biscuit above was eaten while standing outside on the edge of a parking lot, looking at a ditch. And it is still one of my favorite memories.

In the afternoon there was a lovely bridal shower tea at the Washington Duke Inn, and then N, J, A and I headed off to Lantern (423 W Franklin St  Chapel Hill, NC 27516) for a dinner to celebrate my birthday and N & J's engagement. This was my favorite "fancy" meal of the trip - I find it hard to describe the food other than saying it's Asian with Southern influences. For example - a beautiful appetizer of crispy five-spice pork belly, pickled radishes, and chicharron was a balance of salty, fatty, crisp and sweet. The salt and pepper shrimp with fired jalapenos, coriander and sea salt were as good as my favorite salt and pepper shrimp from Tien Jin in Austin. And my Japanese pot on fire main (braised Red Poll brisket, oxtail dumplings in broth with rare sirloin, local vegetables and potatoes, fresh wasabi, sea salt) was something I wanted to last forever. Great cocktails were ordered, fun was had, and we teetered out into the night with big smiles.

 

We all know how dangerous it is to attend a wedding without eating beforehand (the bubbly is just going to go straight to your head!) So we all piled into Hog Heaven (2419 Guess Road, Durham, NC) for a pre-wedding lunch. A was still seeking barbecue (specifically pork ribs) - but in a giant misunderstanding he ordered the pork at Hog Heaven, which was pulled pork (I don't think they even do ribs). I went straight for the fried chicken, which was the right decision. Man I would kill for another plate of that crispy crackly goodness. Sides were merely ok, collard greens were too salty and fries were fine though not the kind that you just can't stop eating. But you know, this capped off a week of some terrific eating - and I can't wait to get back to North Carolina.

Pearl Liang

8 Sheldon Square
London
W2 6EZ

Pearl Liang was the last meal for our west London weekend, and boy was it a doozy. I can now see why so many people have gone hunting for this restaurant in the strange area known as Paddington Basin - on a Sunday morning, there is nothing else open in the area except for a lonely little Sainsbury's and a Starbucks. We probably over-ordered for two, but it didn't matter - A and I polished off everything like champs. Next time I have a craving for dim sum, I will be running back here - everything we had tasted fresh, with good quality ingredients, and the atmosphere inside the restaurant was great too.

List of goodies we ate, with the really exceptional ones in bold: Wasabi Prawn Dumpling, Shanghai Dumpling with Pork, Pork Shu Mai, Shredded Taro Crispy Prawn Roll, Crispy Aromatic Duck Roll, Fried Octopus Cake, Bok Choi with Garlic, Chrysanthemum Custard Buns

Chinese Potstickers (Dumplings)

This is a pretty traditional dish for Chinese New Year since dumplings resemble the gold ingots that people used to use as currency. If it looks like money, it must be lucky! Below is an estimate of my mom's recipe (though we never really follow a recipe, I just throw things in until it looks right). It makes a ton of dumplings, but these freeze really well and then you can have yourself a plate of dumplings whenever you feel like it.

Chinese Potstickers (Dumplings)

2 kg pork mince
1/4 ginger, minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 packages of Chinese chives, minced
1/2 head of garlic, minced
1/3 cup sesame oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
4 packages round dumpling wrappers (I use Golden Dragon brand)

Mix all of the ingredients except for the dumpling wrappers together in a large bowl. Sometimes it is easier to just get your hands in there and mix it all together. If you are worried about whether the mix tastes right, take a spoonful of the mix and fry it in a pan and taste - then you can add more of anything to the mix if you think it is missing.

To make the dumplings, take a wrapper and put 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and then moisten the wrapper along the entire edge. Fold the wrapper in half, pinching in the middle, so you get a half-moon shape. Then with one side of the wrapper, make a fold towards the pinch in the middle, and then seal it against the other side. Do the same from the other side of the pinch. (If this is too difficult to understand, just seal the dumplings into half moons. The most important part is that the dumplings are sealed - the folds just make them prettier.)

Once dumplings are wrapped, you can either cook them or freeze them. To cook, either from fresh or frozen, pour some vegetable oil into a non-stick pan and place dumplings in the pan in one layer. Add enough water to the pan to come halfway up the dumplings, then put a lid on the pan that has a little vent for steam to escape and put pan on high heat. Check after about 10 minutes - the water should be boiling off. You can remove the lid at this point and then just keep checking them - once they are brown and crispy on the bottom and all the water has boiled off, they are done. Serve with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and chopped scallions for dipping.

Dim t

32 Charlotte St
London, W1T

Thank goodness for Wednesday lunches with J or else I might not have much to blog about these days! Dim t is a chain of Asian restaurants - there's dim sum, noodle dishes, rice dishes and salads, and it seems to go from Chinese to Malaysian to Thai, so let's just call it pan-Asian. We went with their "Dine under 10" special which is a starter and a main for 9.95. To start with, I got the chicken satay and J got the chicken and asian greens steamed dumplings. I really liked the satay - nicely grilled, crispy chicken with a great savory satay sauce with a tiny bit of heat to give it a tiny kick. Thought the dumplings were ok (but would prefer my own potstickers, or better yet, my mom's...) I ordered the tom yum soup noodles with salmon which was deliciously lemongrassy and packed with bok choy, bean sprouts, red peppers, red onions and slippery wide flat rice noodles. That is probably way too much food for lunch but I was certainly full enough to skip dinner later that night. J had the Malaysian butternut squash curry which looked good (and I think she enjoyed). Nothing inspirational here but it's certainly a solid Asian restaurant.

Red Chilli

70-72 Portland Street

Manchester

M1 4GU

H & G planned a fantastic night out, which included karaoke at Lucky Voice and then dinner at what is apparently one of the UK's finest Chinese restaurants, Red Chilli. They specialize in Szechuan and Beijing cuisine, and since we were in a large group of eight, we went a little crazy when ordering. Half a crispy duck with pancakes, two orders of salt and pepper ribs, two orders of spring rolls and an order of Beijing dumplings were soon on the table and everyone dug in eagerly. The crispy (and not-at-all greasy tasting) spring rolls had what was maybe a charsiu pork filling which was delicious, though some of us burned our mouths on them as they were so piping hot. Duck was scrumptious and flavorful, and the ribs were amazing, to the point where I was left gnawing on the bone to try and get every last scrap of meat off of it. Then the mains started coming, and what you see pictured above is the spicy stir fried belly pork, baby pak choi with garlic sauce, and a spicy poached lamb dish. Some of the other things that were ordered include spicy fried prawns, spicy fried chicken, a meat and seafood hot pot, lemon chicken, and a noodle dish which A had to send back as it ended up being spicy even though she specifically asked for something that was not spicy at all. Aside from that, and the rather boring crispy noodles (stick to the steamed rice), everything else was fantastic and we finally had to quit once everyone started moaning about how full they were. All of this food, plus a couple of rounds of beer, came out to slightly under 20 quid a head (normal people that don't order like greedy nutters should be able to get out for half that). If you're ever in Manchester, make sure you go here.

New Culture Revolution

42 Duncan Street
London
N1 8BL

Met up with J here for dinner - I've been a couple of times before for various dumplings but we tried all new things this time. Veggie gyoza were tasty (and spicy! which is not in their description). J liked her carrot/apple juice as well. Then we shared a braised beef and aubergine dish, and ma la niu rou mien (szechuan spicy beef noodles) - both were good though the szechuan dish could have been way spicier for my taste. I like how clean it is inside and service is a little slow but very nice. Another place to go if you're in the neighborhood, but certainly not destination dining.

It's also conveniently located by The Island Queen, a cute pub that has one of my favorite summer fruit beers, Fruli. Unfortunately renowned among my friends for being the site of a double pickpocketing during a birthday party, so keep an eye on your wallet if you're there.