Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Mie and Who?? (Mie N Yu)

Last Sunday was my mom's birthday. For her birthday dinner my sister made reservations to Mie N Yu located in Georgetown. I've actually been there before, 4 previous time to be exact, and each experience was disappointing. What confuses me though is that women LOVE Mie N Yu. I don't know if it's the Arabian Nights theme of the restaurant that makes them feel like Princess Jasmine or the award winning (but dirty) restrooms, women LOVE this place!!!

If you want to get laid by your date guys then definitely bring her here. The wow factor that you'll get from your lady friend will guarantee that you will get some action after dinner but be prepared to pay for it.

I didn't take any pictures of the food because it was so bad I was worried it would spread to my camera. Kind of like shaking a fugly person's hand, the fugly might spread to you (a quote one of my friends use to say all the time). To make things simple below is a list of what we ordered:

  • Pu Pu Grille
  • Thai Greens Salad
  • Szechuan Peppercorn Scallops
  • Roasted Wild Salmon
  • Vietnamese Duck Breast
  • Char Masala Lamb Kabobs
  • Hummus
  • Toasted Flat Bread
  • Chicken with Rice - This item isn't on the online menu. I don't remember the name
  • Buddha Chocolate Cake
The online menu can be found here which provides a thorough description of what's in each dish.

The Pu Pu grille was their taste platter appetizer. It contained pretty much all the appetizers they had on the menu. Nothing on the Pu Pu Grille made me go "Wow". The tempura vegetables were not crispy and a bit too oily, the panko shrimp was a bit too oily and also not crispy, the chicken skewers were dry, and the spare ribs were average. The highlight of the Pu Pu Grille were the lamb sausages. I'd say most people would NOT like the lamb sausages. The consistency and texture of the sausage reminded me of a blood sausage. It has an over powering lamb flavor that I'm pretty sure most people would not like but I actually like that flavor.

The lamb kabobs were your run of the mill kabobs. They were made of ground lamb and served with a cilantro yogurt sauce.

The Thai Greens Salad really confused me. The description says "mixed asian greens", which to me would be something like lettuce, mint, parsley, bok choy (chinese cabbage). The majority of my greens was ARUGULA . Last time I checked arugula was not an Asian green. Other than that the salad wasn't bad but it's not that hard to make a salad. As long as your ingredients are fresh, you have a nice proportion of varying fruits and vegetables, and a decent dressing you're good.

My mom had ordered this dish the Szechuan Peppercorn Scallops which were cooked and cleaned well. The scallops were fresh and didn't have that ocean/sea water taste to them. Interestingly enough the dish is served with black sticky rice which I love. Too bad the rice was kicked so improperly that it was barely edible. Black sticky rice is a very difficult to cook especially for people who are use to Minute Rice. Because of the thicker and tougher skin, black sticky rice needs to be soaked in water for hours before cooking it.

My sister ordered the Roasted Wild Salmon. The portion was actually very generous and presentation was decent. The fish though was VERY bland and a bit over cooked. Imagine taking a salmon steak and deep frying it with no seasoning whatsoever and on top of that it's DRY.

I had ordered a chicken and jasmine rice dish. The jasmine rice was overcooked and incredibly dry. My chicken was also incredibly overcooked and dry. It was just bad.

My dad ordered Vietnamese Duck Breast cooked medium rare. By the time it came around to trying a bite of my dad's dish I was done. I had tasted too much bad food to venture any further. From what my dad said it was "average".

My sister was raving about the Buddha Chocolate Cake was we ended getting a slice ($15) to share between everyone. The cake was extremely rich and it seemed like they used quality chocolate but the batter mix was just off. I enjoy my chocolate cakes to be silky smooth or velvety. This cake was like eating peanut butter. The cake was chalky and gooey and seemed that the batter and chocolate wasn't not incorporated together very well. I really do have an affinity to chocolate cakes but I'm not really a sweets person so take my criticism of Mie N Yu's cake with a grain of salt. I mean maybe it was suppose to taste the way it did and it's the preferred method of preparation.

Whenever I took a date here it usually cost about $90 for two. This is a place you should skip unless you're bringing a date. It seems that Mie N Yu is aware that it's a great date place as it says so on its website.

Rundown:

Price: Overpriced

Service: Bad

Food: Bad

Restaurant Decor/Setting: Casual/Business Casual

3125 M Street, Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20007
(202) 333-6122

http://www.mienyu.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Choupi - Crepes To Go

When I use to work in Rockville I would always drive by a little yellow cart on the corner of 9th and Lynn in Rosslyn. The aroma from the cart was always inviting but I was never able to satisfy my curiosity until recently.

I've always had an affinity to crepes ever since I was a child. I prefer them over pancakes and waffles, especially non-dessert crepes. Choupi offers a comprehensive choice of toppings for both dessert and savory lovers. The list of toppings can be found here. They also offer a list of Choupi's Favorites which are suggested toppings that go well together.

I decided to head to Choupi during lunch one day and was a bit dismayed to see that there was no line. All other carts in the Rosslyn area had a pretty significant line during the lunch time rush. I was a bit hesitant seeing the lack of interest by others but decided to give it a shot anyway. I ordered a crepe with ham, mozzarella, and mushrooms. The owner was very nice and promptly started on my order. Crepes start at $3 each with each topping costing an additional 50 cents. As I waited for my crepe I noticed that the ingredients inside the cart looked pretty fresh and everything was kept organized, labeled, and clean. I've been to a few questionable carts before.

A short line (3-4) people started forming as my crepe was being made. Choupi has the ability to make two crepes (2 hot plates) at a time but they definitely take their time making crepes as a few people left before having their order taken. I would say that my crepe took about 5 minutes to make which is a pretty long time for a food cart.

The crepe is folded into a triangle shape and wrapped in wax paper. There was a generous portion of toppings and everything looked to be cooked well (not over or under done). On my first bite I noticed that how balanced the crepe batter was. It was light (not too greasy), a little sweet, and had a nice crispness to it. The batter was not too doughy and had a good butter flavor. The toppings inside tasted fresh and were cooked well.

For $4.50 I wasn't full but not hungry either. It's great value if you want something quick, easy, and tasty. If you're in the Rosslyn area I would definitely say give Choupi a try and look for the yellow cart on the corner of 9th and Lynn.


Rundown:

Price: Cheap

Service: Good

Food: Good

Restaurant Décor/Setting: Street Food

http://www.choupi.com

http://twitter.com/CHOUPICREPES