Flashback Friday - Hakata Tonton

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 16, 2013.
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Regular readers of Minxeats know that I'm a pretty adventurous eater. I also come from a Polish immigrant family who valued what we now like to call "nose-to-tail" eating. My Mom used to rhapsodize about a dish my Grandma prepared long ago called chłódno nogi, or cold jellied pig's feet. While the "jellied" part of the equation never turned me on, I was curious to try pig's feet. I've been a fan of crispy pork skin and collagen- and calcium-rich cartilaginous goodness practically since birth. And lucky me, there's a restaurant in New York that specializes in that very thing - Hakata Tonton.

When I was in New York for the Fancy Food Show earlier in the month, I met up with my regular NY dining companion, David, for dinner. Hakata Tonton is conveniently close to his place of employment and seemed like the obvious choice. For me, at least. Thankfully, David trusts my judgement and is willing to eat adventurously.

The menu at Hakata Tonton is fairly voluminous for such a tiny place. When we were asked if we had a reservation - on a Monday night - I at first thought the restaurant was pretentious. But then when we got inside, I saw that there were only about eight tables, plus six seats at the bar, and all were full. They squeezed us in and made us feel very welcome. After hemming and hawing over what to order - and I wanted most of it - I narrowed my choices down to three: soft shelled crab, a sushi roll, and tonsoku, aka pig's feet. Because one can't not eat the specialty of the house.

My dishes came out in rapid succession, first the crab, which was lightly battered and served atop a delicious ponzu sauce of sweetened dashi and the aromatic Japanese citrus known as yuzu.

Then came a simple maki roll with lettuce and fried shrimp.

And finally, the main attraction - three hunks of grilled pig trotter with scallions and more ponzu. The skin was crunchy/crispy, the little meat on the bones was gelatinous, and overall it was finger-licking-good.

David went for the snow crab croquettes, which had bits of tonsoku inside and sat atop a sweet-ish puree of Japanese sweet potatoes. The croquettes were very soft under the crisp crust, hence the spoon. The flavors were very mild and I wished there had been more actual crab inside.

After quite a wait, David's deep fried chicken showed up. Each of the six blobs of meat were about the equivalent of a de-boned chicken leg. The meat was juicy and perfectly cooked, and the crust was delightfully crunchy. And of course there was more of that lovely ponzu sauce on the plate. Really excellent fried chicken.

We both enjoyed our meal, and I wished that we had been a bigger party with bigger appetites so we could try more things from the menu. Several diners around us were eating hot pots filled with tofu, dumplings, vegetables, Berkshire pork belly, and tonsoku, and it smelled outstanding. I would have liked to try the ankimo (monkfish liver) in yuzu miso, the slow cooked pork buns with spicy mustard, the collagen soup gyoza, scallop fritters, and the okonomiyaki. And...maybe next time.

Hakata Tonton
61 Grove St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242-3699
Web site



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - A Quick Trip to NY

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on August 2, 2011.

Earlier in the month, I had a crazy week scheduled in which I was pretty much booked solid: Fancy Food show Sunday through Tuesday, media dinners on Wednesday and Thursday, and a trip to NJ-DE-PA on Saturday. Then I received an e-mail from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Felicia, whom I had not seen in about eight years. She was visiting her sister in New York and could I possibly get together with her? During that crazy week? After I explained my schedule, she resorted to bribery: a trip to the Met to see the Alexander McQueen show and dinner at Prune, an East Village restaurant that I've wanted to visit for a while now. I thought about it for 30 seconds or so and put in a leave slip to switch my days off work. When I got home, I ran my rearranged schedule plans past Mr Minx, who advised me that I would have more fun with Felicia than I would have at a food show.

He was right.

We met at Momofuku Milk Bar Midtown and started off the day with some blackberry Kaffir lime soft serve before heading up to the Met. We waited in line for 45 minutes, but it was well worth standing around. The show was magnificient; I loved seeing both the genius of McQueen up close and the amazing curation. For more info, and photos, check out the Met's blog.

After the show, we went to Mario Batali's all-Italian food court, Eataly. While perusing the various mostardas, fresh and dried pastas, sauces, and other imported products, we sipped glasses of Prosecco. I managed to control myself and come away with only two bags of pasta and some brown carnaroli rice. Unfortunately, the fizzy wine + lack of food made me a bit dizzy; suffice it to say that this did not make for a fun rush-hour subway trip to our next destination: Prune.

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton has been in the news recently because of her well-received memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter, which is on my must-read list. After settling ourselves at a two-top in the front of her tiny restaurant, Prune, and guzzling down a couple of glasses of ice water, I was ready for some sustenance. The menu at Prune is short and sweet, but it still made for a difficult decision. Because Felicia is a vegetarian, we tried several veg dishes, all of which were simple yet fantastic.

Dandelion greens with mastic and feta

Smoky eggplant with flatbread

I'm not sure I actually tasted the mastic in the dandelion dish, but the combination of olive oil-drenched greens and creamy feta was completely delicious. As was the eggplant dish, although it could have been smokier. The flatbreads were corrugated, which made for lots of crispy surface area, and I loved their toasty flavor.

Suckling pig with pickled tomatoes, black eyed peas, and chipotle mayo

I was torn between ordering the grilled quail and the suckling pig, and when I realized that I'd probably have to eat the quail with my grubby NY-ed fingers (despite having been thoroughly anointed with hand sanitizer), I went for the pork. The meat was simple, well-seasoned, tender, but the standout item on the dish was the pickled tomatoes which were redolent of chile and coriander. Oh, and the chunk of crackling. Mmmmm!

Parmesan omelette

Felicia enjoyed the Parmesan omelette, which she said was fluffy and cheesy. I took her word for it because I'm just not a fan of browned egg yolk. While the dish looks austere, she gussied it up a bit with the leftover mastic-flavored olive oil from the dandelion dish.

Celery salad with bleu cheese

While I'm not a huge fan of celery, the celery salad served with a hunk of brie-style bleu cheese on buttered bread was a lovely bridge to dessert. The cheese was outrageously creamy and I wish I had noted the exact brand and variety (I'm thinking Cambozola). Finally, we had dessert - a simple scoop of very firm mascarpone ice cream topped with lightly candied shreds of lemon zest and a shot of espresso, meant to be poured over top, on the side.

Mascarpone ice cream with espresso and candied lemon

This is known as "affogado" or "drowned," and what a way to die!  I loved the combination of coffee and candied lemon (a proper espresso should be served with lemon) and thought this was the perfect ending to the meal.

Compared to other somewhat exotic New York restaurants in which I've dined, Prune is a plain Jane, but in the best way possible. All the dishes we had were very well thought-out, perfectly seasoned, and a meal there was a pleasant way to end a perfectly lovely day in New York.

Prune
54 E 1st St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-6221
www.prunerestaurant.com



Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Fishtail by David Burke, New York

One of my many very pleasant NY dining experiences.

--Kathy

This post was originally published on February 10, 2012.
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Fishtail by David Burke, New York

While I'm normally going to New York to attend a fashion or fragrance industry function, my favorite thing about making the trip is exploring the city's many dining options. Whether I want cheap eats or something more pricey and indulgent, there are a thousand examples of both in that town, plus twice as many in between. On my recent trip up north, during which I spent about 36 hours in the city, I had two opportunities for lunch and one for dinner. Dinner was easy - I knew right away that dining at Baohaus with my friend David was ideal. As for lunch, I was completely undecided and made and cancelled several reservations. Eventually I settled on Fishtail by David Burke, since it was very close to where I planned to spend a morning shopping: Bloomingdale's.

I got to the restaurant early, at about 11:40AM. I was completely exhausted from walking all over town the day before, didn't sleep well on the hotel's too-soft bed, and I was lugging my suitcase with me. Other restaurants nearby were already open for business, but Fishtail doesn't open until noon, a fact related to me in a rather brusque way by the manager, who nonetheless allowed me to enter and hang out at the bar. Michael, the bartender who would be my server and chief entertainment for the next hour-and-a-half, hid my luggage for me and brought food and drink menus. He also proved helpful in guiding my food choices. The lunch menu at Fishtail was available both a la carte and as a three course prix fixe with two price levels, one at $24.07 and another at $37 even. The two price levels seemed to me a bit bizarre, as none of the menu's prices varied wildly enough to require a $13 difference, but it was Restaurant Week.... In any case, I stuck to the less-expensive end of things and settled on the cracker crab cake, the whole roasted branzino - which came highly recommended - and the chocolate torte.

I'm always curious to see how chefs interpret Maryland's iconic dish, the crab cake. At Fishtail, "crab cake" is really just a play on words. What I received was actually more like a light crab salad flavored with a bit of bell pepper, the sides coated with what appeared to be tiny senbei, or rice crackers, stacked between two ultra-crisp Ritz-like crackers. A tomato marmalade sat atop the tower, and a spicy gastrique decorated the plate.

I loved it. The crunch of the crackers was a perfect compliment to the crab meat, which tasted fresh, sweet, and briny. While not a classic crab cake, it was far better than literally dozens of "real" crab cakes I've eaten in the past.

I had a book to read while waiting between courses, but I had a hard time concentrating because I really wanted to sing along to the music playing in the background - a melange of Van Halen, Journey, Aerosmith and other popular hard-rock bands from my youth. Michael and the sushi chef stationed next to the bar did not experience the same compunction and sang randomly here and there while going about their lunchtime tasks.

My branzino was plated simply, with a pile of wilted spinach and a tomato-mint sauce. It was a great choice for lunch. The fish's flesh was fluffy and soft inside a nearly fried-chicken-skin-crisp exterior, and I appreciated the generous quantity of perfectly-cooked spinach. The sauce was rich and tomato-y with a hint of heat and was a welcome accompaniment that jazzed up the otherwise very straightforward flavors.

The final course was a square of very rich chocolate torte topped with chocolate frosting. It was much like a brownie, but a bit too sweet for my palate. The almond ice cream was nicely almond-y, but also too sweet. And the swath of what I think might have been creme anglais was again too sweet, and rather unnecessary with ice cream also on the plate. Something tart, perhaps raspberry- or apricot-flavored might have worked better for me. I found no fault, however, in the accompanying cup of full-bodied coffee.

Overall, a very good and relaxing lunch. I sat at the bar the whole time and pretty much had the place to myself. (I guess people eat lunch late in NY.) Nobody rushed me, and at one point the now-friendly manager encouraged me to go upstairs and check out the dining rooms. I didn't take his suggestion, but maybe I will in the future, as I would very much like to dine at Fishtail again.

Fishtail by David Burke

135 East 62nd Street
New York, NY 10065
(212) 754-1300




Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Prune

The menu at Prune is pretty simple, and I was a bit skeptical of all the kudos the restaurant had received--until I ate there myself. Gabrielle Hamilton's memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef and her cookbook, Prune, are must-reads for any serious foodie. And for those lucky enough to have been able to dine at Prune, the cookbook has recipes for just about everything ever served there.

This post was originally published on August 2, 2011.
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Prune

Earlier in the month, I had a crazy week scheduled in which I was pretty much booked solid: Fancy Food show Sunday through Tuesday, media dinners on Wednesday and Thursday, and a trip to NJ-DE-PA on Saturday. Then I received an e-mail from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Felicia, whom I had not seen in about eight years. She was visiting her sister in New York and could I possibly get together with her? During that crazy week? After I explained my schedule, she resorted to bribery: a trip to the Met to see the Alexander McQueen show and dinner at Prune, an East Village restaurant that I've wanted to visit for a while now. I thought about it for 30 seconds or so and put in a leave slip to switch my days off work. When I got home, I ran my rearranged schedule plans past Mr Minx, who advised me that I would have more fun with Felicia than I would have at a food show.

He was right.

We met at Momofuku Milk Bar Midtown and started off the day with some blackberry Kaffir lime soft serve before heading up to the Met. We waited in line for 45 minutes, but it was well worth standing around. The show was magnificient; I loved seeing both the genius of McQueen up close and the amazing curation. For more info, and photos, check out the Met's blog.

After the show, we went to Mario Batali's all-Italian food court, Eataly. While perusing the various mostardas, fresh and dried pastas, sauces, and other imported products, we sipped glasses of Prosecco. I managed to control myself and come away with only two bags of pasta and some brown carnaroli rice. Unfortunately, the fizzy wine + lack of food made me a bit dizzy; suffice it to say that this did not make for a fun rush-hour subway trip to our next destination: Prune.

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton has been in the news recently because of her well-received memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter, which is on my must-read list. After settling ourselves at a two-top in the front of her tiny restaurant, Prune, and guzzling down a couple of glasses of ice water, I was ready for some sustenance. The menu at Prune is short and sweet, but it still made for a difficult decision. Because Felicia is a vegetarian, we tried several veg dishes, all of which were simple yet fantastic.

Dandelion greens with mastic and feta

Smoky eggplant with flatbread

I'm not sure I actually tasted the mastic in the dandelion dish, but the combination of olive oil-drenched greens and creamy feta was completely delicious. As was the eggplant dish, although it could have been smokier. The flatbreads were corrugated, which made for lots of crispy surface area, and I loved their toasty flavor.

Suckling pig with pickled tomatoes, black eyed peas, and chipotle mayo

I was torn between ordering the grilled quail and the suckling pig, and when I realized that I'd probably have to eat the quail with my grubby NY-ed fingers (despite having been thoroughly anointed with hand sanitizer), I went for the pork. The meat was simple, well-seasoned, tender, but the standout item on the dish was the pickled tomatoes which were redolent of chile and coriander. Oh, and the chunk of crackling. Mmmmm!

Parmesan omelette

Felicia enjoyed the Parmesan omelette, which she said was fluffy and cheesy. I took her word for it because I'm just not a fan of browned egg yolk. While the dish looks austere, she gussied it up a bit with the leftover mastic-flavored olive oil from the dandelion dish.

Celery salad with bleu cheese

While I'm not a huge fan of celery, the celery salad served with a hunk of brie-style bleu cheese on buttered bread was a lovely bridge to dessert. The cheese was outrageously creamy and I wish I had noted the exact brand and variety (I'm thinking Cambozola). Finally, we had dessert - a simple scoop of very firm mascarpone ice cream topped with lightly candied shreds of lemon zest and a shot of espresso, meant to be poured over top, on the side.

Mascarpone ice cream with espresso and candied lemon

This is known as "affogado" or "drowned," and what a way to die!  I loved the combination of coffee and candied lemon (a proper espresso should be served with lemon) and thought this was the perfect ending to the meal.

Compared to other somewhat exotic New York restaurants in which I've dined, Prune is a plain Jane, but in the best way possible. All the dishes we had were very well thought-out, perfectly seasoned, and a meal there was a pleasant way to end a perfectly lovely day in New York.

Prune
54 E 1st St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-6221
www.prunerestaurant.com



Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.



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Flashback Friday - The Modern Bar Room

I've had many good restaurant experiences in New York, but this one was among the very best,

This post was originally published on May 3, 2011.
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The Modern Bar Room

I went to New York this past weekend primarily to attend the fragrance event, Sniffapalooza, but also to eat. Sniffa lasts two days, both of which include a prix fixe lunch, but after last year's debacle at Opia, I wasn't going to waste my money, taste buds, and sanity on grilled chicken breast and two extremely long hours of guest speakers. Being cooped up in a room with over a hundred gabbing women (and a handful of men) makes me a little, well, homicidal crazy, so I opted instead for a nice quiet luncheon elsewhere with Anthony Bourdain as company.

That is, my copy of his most recent book, Medium Raw.

I asked the good citizens of the Manhattan Chowhound board for suggestions for a Saturday lunch in the vicinity of Bergdorf Goodman and the restaurant that got the most mentions was the Bar Room at The Modern. I made a reservation post haste and was glad for it.

After nearly four hours at Bergdorf's and already laden-down with perfume samples and purchases, I was happy to check my overflowing tote bag and settle down in a comfortable chair in the middle of the restaurant and peruse the menu. Divided into three pages of starters, fish, and meat selections, the menu suggests that diners choose one from each category to create a personalized tasting menu. Bucking the trend, I decided to order two courses from the fish category, with a third meat course possibility waiting in the wings were I still hungry afterward.

Grilled Diver Scallops with baby carrots, spring peas and rhubarb broth

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to start with the scallops or the skate; my very able server suggested that the scallops would be an appropriately light appetizer, and he was right. Two half-dollar-sized mollusks, lightly grilled and still translucent at the centers, were served with a carrot puree, grilled yellow baby carrots, very tender young peas, and a tangy broth. There was something vaguely Southwestern in the scallops seasoning, definitely a hint of cumin, but overall the dish was the essence of Spring. I just wish those scallops were, oh, twice the size. At least.

Alsatian Buckwheat Späetzle with Yellowfin tuna paillard crudo,
roasted foie gras, pine nuts and black pepper gastrique

My second course was perhaps one of the most unusual restaurant dishes I've ever eaten. It was certainly not going to win any beauty contests: a slab of heavily-seared foie gras rested atop a blood-red piece of raw tuna, from under which oozed some brownish liquid and a few nubbins of gray stuff. I first lifted the edge of the tuna to sample some of the large colony of buckwheat spaetzle that was hiding under the fish. They were very tender and buttery, but without the pleasant chew of other spaetzle I've eaten. Then I took a forkful of tuna and was immediately disappointed that even though it was raw, a state of being that my brain normally registers as "cold," was actually warm. As I continued eating, however, I began to realize that not only was the tuna not cold, but the spot under the seared foie was actually being cooked by its heat. At that point, I thought the dish was brilliant. I never cared for the textural contrast of seared tuna, with the dried-out edges and cold, raw insides. The lightly cooked portions of this tuna, however, were moist and delicious, bathed as they were in hot duck fat. As for the source of that duck fat, the foie gras, it was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The top was a bit crusty and salty, and the inside was quivery and melty. Swoonworthy. Perfect, if the spaetzle brought a texture other than soft to the party.

With the savory courses, I enjoyed some of The Modern's terrific bread, including lovely little torpedo-shaped rolls schmeared with sweet butter that had been topped with sea salt.

After clearing my plates, my waiter brought the savory menu just in case I did need to try the pork belly I had been contemplating earlier. He also had the dessert menu, which I barely glanced at after he mentioned its newest addition: panna cotta with pistachio ice cream. I love panna cotta. I love pistachio ice cream. Sold!

White Chocolate Panna Cotta with blackberries and pistachio ice cream

The custard itself was extremely rich, the ice cream accompaniment smooth and delicious and almost light by comparison, but my favorite elements on this plate were the little surprises of a sesame biscuit under the panna cotta and a tiny square of lemon-infused cake under the ice cream. I also enjoyed the white chocolate wafers which were flecked with not only bits of lemon rind, but also sea salt, which gave them a bit of a potato chip quality. (Potato chips and vanilla ice cream were a favorite childhood treat. Don't knock it until you try it!)

With my meal I enjoyed a pint of draught Brownstone ale and a rather strong cappuccino. And my Bourdain, but only between courses. I didn't need his snark interrupting my enjoyment of the food.

Overall, I enjoyed my lunch - the food, the service, and the ability to relax in comfortable surroundings after having been on my feet for several hours, doing strenuous shopping. It was an excellent choice, and I would definitely go back.

The Modern
9 W 53rd St
New York, NY 10019
www.themodernnyc.com
(212) 333-1220

 



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Fatty Crab

I'm occasionally amused by the way restaurants view themselves. Fatty Crab, a Malaysian-influenced restaurant owned by a non-Malaysian, Zak Pelaccio, seems to think it's a "joint." The Web site makes the place seem really funky, but it's just a small Meatpacking-district restaurant with tall front windows and a menu with lots of interesting and tasty stuff on it. Maybe we ate early, and the funky/joint stuff happens after dark. I'll never find out, nor do I particularly care. I have never been a scenester, so vibe isn't nearly as important as the food, and the food was good.

My semi-regular NY dining companion, David, and I chose to split three apps and one entree. We got the green mango and papaya salad, which was the typical Thai-style salad with chili, lime, and peanut. It was tasty, but not the best version I've had. The mango wasn't particularly green, but it was appropriately fiery.

Next up were pork belly buns served with a sriracha soy sauce and a cilantro salad. These were really nice, with tender fatty pork and nicely pillowy buns. The pork was flavorful enough without needing the sauce, and the cilantro salad added a bit of herbaceousness to cut the fat.

Not to be redundent, but we also tried the Fatty Sliders, made from a blend of beef and pork with sambal aioli and caramelized onions on potato rolls. The aioli was incendiary, but the burgerettes are something I'd love to replicate for one of summer's many grilling occasions.

Finally, we had the beef rendang, which was gorgeous. Short ribs had been braised forever in a mild lemongrass chili sauce and served with coconut rice and a side of pickles. So much better than the local version I had earlier in the year, I wished I didn't have to share this dish with someone else.

We didn't order dessert, but were brought little squares of sweet glutinous rice cakes, which were delish.

There are lots of other interesting items on the menu, including chili crab (with Jonah or snow crab, at either 45/60 bucks - a little rich for my blood) a clay pot chicken, a Malaysian fish fry, and Szechuan pepper lobster.  Maybe next time I'll splurge.






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Blackened Carrots with Harissa Yogurt and Carrot top-Mint Pesto

I have developed a passion for carrots. Cooked carrots. I especially enjoy young carrots, so fresh they still have the greens attached. So when I saw a charred carrot dish on the menu at Bobby Flay's new restaurant, Gato, I had to have them. And they were wonderful.

There are recipes for "charred" carrots on the interwebs, but they are more caramelized than charred. Flay's carrots were literally black with char, as if they had been dropped directly into a fire and forgotten for a few minutes. I figured I could do the same thing at home, blackening the carrots over an open gas flame much as I do when I roast peppers. It took a few minutes to get the carrots black all over, and they had to be moved around regularly, but it worked beautifully. Although charred, the carrots were still mostly raw at this point, so I popped them in the oven after oiling and seasoning them.

Flay's carrots were served with a spicy yogurt flavored with harissa, a Tunisian spice mix heavy on chiles that can be found in both paste and dry form. The one I use is Frontier brand and not too spicy, so use your own tastebuds when seasoning your yogurt. I hated to waste those glorious carrot tops, which are a bit too metallic in flavor to eat like other greens. At first I was thinking a carrot top vinaigrette, because I had eaten one on a salad locally, but then I remembered that I really didn't care for that particular dish at all and opted to make a pesto, instead. And rather than remake Flay's crispy parsnip chips, some recently purchased fried shallots became the topping. The combination was stellar, if I do say so myself. (And I do!)

I think blackened carrots will become a part of the summertime vegetable rotation. Next time, with feta cheese and dill....or preserved lemon yogurt.

Blackened Carrots with Harissa Yogurt and Carrot top-Mint Pesto

For the carrots:
1 pound small to medium carrots with tops, scrubbed but not peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the pesto:
About 1 cup loosely packed carrot tops, washed thoroughly and dried
Handful fresh mint leaves
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Handful of fresh grated Parmesan
Few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

For the yogurt:
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
Harissa
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt to taste

To make carrots: Turn on a couple of the gas burners on your stove and place the carrots directly on the flame. Use tongs to turn and move them around occasionally to make sure the entire carrot gets mostly blackened. Once carrots are nicely charred (about 10 minutes), remove them to a plate and set aside.

To make pesto: Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined but still slightly chunky. Set aside.

To make yogurt: Stir either harissa paste or harissa powder into yogurt to taste. Season with a squeeze of lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To finish dish: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place charred carrots on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, turning once or twice during baking, until the carrots are tender.

Serve with harissa yogurt and carrot top-mint pesto.



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Ma Peche

The Minx wrote about Chef David Chang's Midtown Manhattan restaurant Ma Peche a few years ago, but the menu has changed since then to a dim sum-style format. Given the menu change and the fact that I had never been there, we decided to give it a try. The restaurant is located in the basement level of the Chambers Hotel. Amber light filters through walls covered in muslin, creating a quiet and serene atmosphere quite apart from the bustling world outside.The old communal tables have been replaced with conventional two- and four-top tables so the dim sum carts can be maneuvered around the room.

Like traditional dim sum, the diner is provided with a sheet listing all the small plate dishes that will be brought around on carts. When a cart comes by, the diner selects whatever items he or she wants, and the server marks it off on the sheet. Larger entree-style dishes can be ordered from your waiter. When the meal is over, the items marked on your sheet are added up and the bill is tallied. Unlike traditional dim sum, however, the selection  is smaller and more eclectic.

The first cart to arrive offered a broccoli salad with toasted pine nuts and a mayo-based togarashi dressing. A pleasant, light start to the meal.

Also on that same cart was an avocado crab dip with toasted Cassava crackers. Hey, it's creamy avocado and crunchy chips! How could you go wrong? The slightly spicy kick helps as well.

One item the Minx definitely wanted me to try was the pork bun, so we ordered two. Slabs of tender pork belly are wrapped in a pillowy steamed bun. The Minx said that these were less fatty than the ones she had eaten before, but that was just fine with me since I'm not a fan of fatty pork. At the same time, the lean pork did not have as much flavor as I would've liked.

One of the chef's specials that we ordered was the lamb noodles. The noodles and shredded lamb are topped with scallions, cabbage, chili jam, and a soft egg. Stir all the items together with your chop sticks and you have a thick, spicy, and thoroughly unctuous soup. The lamb flavor is prominent and the noodles are silky smooth. This was something I could have eaten as a meal by itself.

There was still more dim sum, however, and one must do what one must, so we also chose the fritters and jerk chicken wings. These were recommended by one of the attendants in the hotel lobby and they turned out to be solid choices. Surprisingly, neither dish was terribly spicy, so it's possible Chef Chang is toning down the heat factor for the Midtown crowd.

Since my eyes are always larger than my stomach, I decided to order the spicy rice cakes as well. This dish truly was spicy in the best possible meaning of the word. Crunchy shallot bits top a bed of soft rice cakes about the size of small gnocchi. Underneath is a pork ragu and water spinach.

Would I prefer this form of dim sum over the traditional dim sum found in a strip mall Chinese restaurant? Probably not. But for sheer inventiveness, Ma Peche is worth the experience. I can honestly say that I've never tasted anything like the lamb noodles or the spicy rice cakes, and I'm always quite happy when a restaurant can introduce me to a new taste experience.

Posted on Minxeats.com.