King of Dumplings--Newark (Chinese cuisine)

I've found another place that makes great noodles by hand. Located at 39229 Cedar Blvd. in the Quickly milk tea shop in Newark, I would have never known this place existed if not for a coupon I found online. For a place that specializes in dumplings, I was pleasantly surprised to discover everything else was good too. They also deliver on certain days and offer online ordering. This is not a fancy dining establishment. I would say it's more like home cooking, if my mom made noodles and dumplings from scratch all day.

http://www.kingofdumplings.net/

I've visited King of Dumplings a couple times now and here are some of my favorite things.

This is their Green Chives Pancake, which is a stuffed, savory pancake that is pan-fried and filled with fresh chinese chives and dried shrimp. The outside is nice and crispy and I feel like I'm getting a good serving of veggies eating one of these.

An entertaining part of coming here is watching the noodles get made. Each noodle is hand pulled until it's just the right thickness. It's amazing how uniform the noodles are and they have a great chew. This is the Bean Paste Noodle; one of my favorites. It comes unmixed and you toss it yourself. The sauce is savory and has a slight sweetness. Fresh cucumbers give it a nice crunch and the ground pork gives it a good heartiness.

This is the Beef Shank Noodle. Same noodle, just a slightly sweeter and thinner sauce, served as a cold dish. Also delicious. They also serve some really big bowls of noodle soups. I haven't tried those yet, but they look really comforting.

Of course, one cannot visit the King of Dumplings without getting some dumplings. These are also made from scratch. These are the Shrimp & Chive dumplings. The shrimp had a nice snap which indicated freshness and the skins had a nice chew. Nothing is overly salted or bland and each piece is a perfect mouthful. You can also purchase frozen dumplings to go and boil them yourself at home.

They also have regular, non-carb dishes like the Mapo Tofu. This is made with the silky version of tofu and has a spicy sauce with bits of ground pork. Perfect over some steamed rice.

The Mu Shui Pork was also very tasty. Basically it's scrambled eggs with pork, wood ear mushrooms, and cucumbers. Every bite was a little different but all delicious.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a "regular" here since it's close to where I live and look forward to many more wonderful noodle (and non-noodle) dishes in my future.

The Ace of Sandwiches--Palo Alto (Sandwich shop)

I seem to be on a sandwich kick lately and I recently discovered this tiny little family-owned sandwich shop at 3864 El Camino Real in Palo Alto. The place is about as big as my living room, but the service was very friendly and the sandwich making fast and delicious.

All their meats, breads and vegetables are super fresh.They also have quite an extensive selection on their menu with pre-set sandwiches or create your own from over 25 different meats and more than 18 different add ons like artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes. For a small additional charge, you can even get six ounces of meat rather than the standard four, widening your flavor options.

Their web site: http://www.theaceofsandwiches.com/

I ended up getting three sandwiches on this visit. This one was "The Sub" with ham, salami, prosciutto, lettuce, tomato, olives, pickles, dijon mustard, mayo, artichoke hearts, oil & vinegar. I opted to have this on Foccacia bread rather than the soft roll that it normally comes with. Delicious and a nice size. Eating the whole thing would have put me over the edge.

Sandwich number two was "The Ace of Clubs" with low-sodium turkey, honey maple ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, monterey jack cheese, mayo, and yellow mustard on a grilled soft roll. The soft roll was soft on the inside and had a nice crust on the outside. The bacon was nice and crisp too. Delicious.

Sandwich number three was my own creation. I opted to get extra meat. On a soft roll I had cracked pepper turkey, liverwurst, prosciutto, mortadella, mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomato, pepperoncini, mayo, lettuce, oil & vinegar. It was fantastic. They should name this sandwich after me (The Chu-wich or The Chu) and have it on a separate "$11 sandwich menu". I think it would be a hit.

Open seven days a week, you can get your sandwich fix any time. And judging from the sampling I had the other day, it will be good.

Chop Bar--Oakland (American cuisine)

After a whole week of being sick and not being able to taste anything, I'm slowly coming back to life. I felt well enough to venture out into the world last night, during a storm no less, to Chop Bar. Located at 247 4th Street in the Jack London Square area of Oakland, this was a teeny tiny place that looked like a garage that was transformed into this fantastic restaurant. No reservations are accepted, so come early or be prepared to wait, as seating is limited.

Their web site: http://www.oaklandchopbar.com/

I started off with a Basil Gimlet. With Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka, fresh basil, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur and lime juice, this was super crisp and refreshing.

I had to try the Charcuterie as a starter. A lightly toasted baguette drizzled with olive oil was centered amongst smoked pork tenderloin with sauerkraut, house-made pate, trotter terrine, house-pickled green beans and carrots and a very nice grain mustard. Everything on this board was fantastic. The pork was super tender and moist, the pickled veggies very crispy and tart, the pate soft and tasty, the terrine was an excellent mix of meat and veggies and it all went very well with the grain mustard. Yum.

As an ox tail lover, I had to have the Ox Tail Poutine. This was a super savory cream sauce topped with fresh french fries, chopped ox tail and Fiscalini cheddar. I think this is my new favorite cheese. It was nice and sharp and went very well with this dish. The ox tail was tender, but the sauce it came with really made this dish. I wished I had some bread or rice to sop up that sauce. Delicious.



I also ordered the Macaroni & Cheese as a side. This came bubbling hot in its own mini iron skillet with that super yummy toasted melted cheese on top and a cheddar, swiss and parmesan cheese sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the cheese sauce was creamy and just sharp enough. So comforting. So good.

My boyfriend ordered the Rainbow Trout. Expertly cooked in butter and served with butternut squash, several varieties of cauliflower and a lemon dressing, this is what I would have ordered had I not ordered the Ox Tail Poutine. The fish was flaky, the veggies were seasoned well and the lemon dressing was light enough to complement everything without overpowering anything. Very nice.

Even though the portions of all the dishes were much larger than I expected, I had to try their Chocolate Bread Pudding for dessert. This was one of the best bread puddings I've had. Not soggy and not dry, this had the perfect balance of liquid to bread ratio. Nice and crusty on the outside with a wonderful drizzle of melted dark chocolate on top and served with fresh whipped cream with toasted hazelnuts and a fresh mint leaf. Absolutely devine.

I will definitely be coming back since their lunch and brunch offerings sound excellent. They also have a pig roast once a month during the warmer seasons. I can't wait till Spring.