Chop Suey #33
Chop Suey: Americanization of zá sui, literally, “assorted pieces”, and anecdotally, deriving from a Taiwanese tradition, tsap seui, “miscellaneous leftovers”.
Most of you know how this goes. A mix of Asian restaurants - a bit of this, a bit of that. The first one of these was just over eight years ago, and was just two Chinese spots (and both still exist and I still stand by my reviews, in fact, Central is probably the place we order the most delivery Chinese food from). Leaning Japanese this time around.
"Don't dunk your nigiri in the soy sauce. Don't mix your wasabi in the soy sauce. If the rice is good, complement your sushi chef on the rice." - Anthony Bourdain
Let’s start along the pedestrian gastro-mall next to the now elevated railroad tracks in Barrio Chino. A recent opening, Cruz Omakase, is in the section between Mendoza and Olazabal. There are half a dozen seats at a sushi bar, plus some tables on the sidewalk. The latter offer a menu of different sushi options, the former is omakase only, with a choice of six or eight “courses”, noted as either twelve or sixteen pieces - though that turns out to not be at all accurate.
In the six-course version, which I ordered, there were actually seven courses. The first was two different fish tartares, both delicious. One thing I noted, and particularly liked, was that instead of the usual simple rice vinegar in the sushi rice, they use a mature, black vinegar, which adds another dimension to the flavor. There were a couple of nigiri…
…followed by a nine piece sashimi bowl, then two more rounds of nigiri pairs (each of the pair, different, and creative), a handroll, and then two pieces of tamago, the sweet egg finish. By my count that’s twenty “pieces”, in one form or another. And it’s both absolutely delicious, and creative, and, a steal at only 25,000 pesos. I also grabbed an onigiri, which was one of the best I’ve had in town. I may not be overly fond of the setting along a pedestrian mall, sitting in the open, but it’s far and away worth it.
On the other hand, Sombra Sushi Bar, José León Pagano 2754, recently opened here in Recoleta, was pretty much the opposite experience. It’s elegant, beautifully lit, things are presented in an eye-appealing manner, but for basically the same price, 27,000 pesos, their 10-piece omakase is a complete disappointment.
Here, and I forgot to take the photo before eating three of the ten pieces, I received two pairs and two trios of only four different types of nigiri. And half of them, a pair and a trio, were covered with so much sprinkled sea salt, they could have attracted deer in winter. There was also no warmth or friendliness to the service - it was barely interactive. When this was placed in front of me nothing was said. When I asked the sushiman in front of me what the four different nigiri were, he had no idea, and had to have one of the others come and explain them, which he did with a rapid-fire perfunctory couple of sentences before turning around and walking away. There’s nothing about this place that I would recommend. A shame, too, since it’s just a five minute walk from home and we could use a great, creative sushi bar here. (With the last new neighborhood one I recently reviewed, Rashomon, that’s two disappointments in a row.)
A pop-up “you might be interested” post on Instagram led me to the newly opened (last week) Yuna Izakaya, Uriburu 1068, taking over the space vacated by the Recoleta branch of La Birra. Probably good for my waistline, as I’m quite fond of the chain’s burgers, but the idea of a good Japanese spot only a five block walk from home….
First, I’ll leave service alone. We literally were there on their third day open, and it was the first day for our waiter. Everyone seemed hyper-nervous, and there were constant questions about the food and service, with copious note-taking going on. Our waiter was so nervous he was making us nervous. And when he said it was his first day, I think he meant his first day as a waiter, not just there.
Pork gyoza, and I like that they were sort of inspired by the traditional way of serving them with a “veil”, turning it into a crunchy tuile. Makes for a pretty presentation, and the dumplings themselves were excellent, albeit a trifle pricey at 12,000 pesos for five.
Mixed thoughts on the tonkatsu ramen. The broth was way too light, and completely unsalted - bordering on flavorless until we added a good splash of soy and some togarashi. On the other hand, quite good noodles and roast pork. The nicely textured, fudgy eggs could have used a bit less time soaking in soy sauce, as their salt level was pretty much the opposite of the broth’s. I’m not sure I recall seeing “French” radishes used in a tonkatsu rather than Japanese, i.e., daikon. It was, once seasoned, pretty good. And they took notes on our comments, so I look forward to seeing if they change it up a bit. Again, a tad pricey at 34,000 pesos.
Overall, worth going back in a week or two and checking out some more dishes - they have a nice array of dishes, some classic, some Japanese adjacent - sushi, ceviches, tiraditos, baos, rice bowls, ramen, a few “main courses”. I have the feeling this is going to be a regular spot.
We’re back to Barrio Chino, and behind the train station itself at what used to be one of my favorite Chinese spots in the city, Xin Le Yuan Mei Shi. This is one of those things that I find inexplicable - I, we, used to go here regularly. It was almost always the place I went to on my near weekly shopping trip to Barrio Chino. And, haven’t been since just pre-pandemic. At first, I think it was closed up for awhile, and then it just sort of faded into the background. The woman who owns the place, in red, came over to greet us and note it had been a very long time since we’d been. It was nice to be remembered. And, pretty waiter. Plus, as the place filled up, it once again filled up with a decent number of very attractive young Chinese guys.
Really, really good potstickers, some of the best around.
I couldn’t resist their spicy Szechuan chicken. Not so much on the Szechuan peppercorns, but heavy on chilies. More hua jiao than la ji zi, something I noted way back. Fiery goodness!
As I said, they didn’t stint on the chilies… after eating all the chicken and most of the peanuts and onions, this is what was left….
Also a good, albeit pale in comparison to the previous dish, stir-fry of vegetables and razor clams.
I don’t have the itemized bill, but the three dishes above plus two beverages came in at 59,000 pesos (with a 10% upcharge if you pay by card or transfer, bringing that to 64,900) - main courses here run around 17-20,000 apiece with a few outliers - which, with the change in the value of the pesos, both official and blue, is roughly the same as it was seven and a half years ago when I first started going to this place. Most of the menu is Sichuan or similar food - there is a section at the back that’s sort of basic Chinese takeout - like stir-fried rice and noodles - for the folk who aren’t adventurous. Not sure I’ve ever seen anyone order from that part of the menu here before.
When it comes down to it, this place serves the best Szechuan (or Sichuan) food in the city, hands-down, at least of any place I’ve yet to go. And, it’s back on my near weekly rotation for lunches.