I tried these places a week ago (W) at lunch. The first two are in Chinatown (Westside Crossings). The second are the last of the stalls in the Lotte Supermarket. Both on West Colonial.
Shanghai Lane - They just opened four months ago. I thought it would be more of a sit down, full menu place. It has some seats, but, it has more of a modern fast casual feel. They serve around a dozen dishes. Some interesting ones were made with soy milk. I also remember a boiled chicken (kind of Hainese looking), wonton soup, fried rice, bao and hot noodle dishes. I had the Nanxiang (they said an area north of Shanghai, but, Google says a town in the Jiading district of Shanghai. Maybe the same diff?) Soup Dumplings (6) for $7. I'm not sure if I've had these regular sized suckers. I've had the softball sized one. These were ok. The problem was the "wrapper". It wasn't "delicate". Tough. And it leaked easily. Not great when filled with liquid. The "meat" inside also wasn't anything to write home about. Soup was bland. So, I guess, with time to think about it, they weren't that great or worth a buck plus a piece. They came with a vinegar sauce that I have to put in the category of "why exactly is this necessary?". It has its own sauce. That said, I shorted them when I realized I could do a quick snack here and save a trip back here by lunching at the next place in the review. I'll give them a second chance someday. Especially now that I know that easy take out is also an option. I'll take the opportunity here to tell you of a dish I saw on tv. Fried milk. Google says it's from Shunde in the Guangdong province. I've got to find some place that makes it. Even though it's probably gross.
*4/28/2021 - Returned and tried salt soy milk soup ($5) and Shanghai pan fried pork buns ($6). Soup was bad. Had some vegetable like spinach in it. They put old bread in it. Didn't help. They said put vinegar in it. Didn't help. Pork buns were outrageous. Not really buns. Similar to dumplings. I usually prefer steamed dumplings. The way they do these has the race at least even. Better in this case. Better than their steamed dumplings. So good. Crispy. Pork juice. Moist.
Tokyo Ramen Poke Tea - I think I was informed that they took over the spot where people say the first real ramen restaurant came to Orlando. I can't remember the name. Though my notes say something about old Mr Wong's. Maybe I've got them and Da Sun mixed up? I thought it was just ramen and that is what I ordered. They serve more than that. They sell: poke, teppan yaki, noodles, fried rice, donburi and a variety of apps. They also refer to themselves as Japanese Fusion. That explains the twelve types of ramen I had to choose from. I settled an one of the odder ones. I guess it is Filipino inspired. It is called Menudo Ramen. It is slow braised beef in a beef (or something brown) broth. It cost $12. It was ok. Much better than their neighbor Da Sun Ramen. The noodles were perfect. Don't see the need for fish cake in a beef soup. The beef was plentiful. Big hunks. A little tough. Here are some of the weirder ramen: shin kimchee, pork chop, hot and sour, spicy chicken and a chasu (pork belly) that must be somewhat off called Paitan. The place also looks ten times better than Da Sun. Much bigger, cleaner and better decorated. Nice murals on both walls. Mustard trim. Black hard plastic tables and chairs. The only flaws were a buffet area and a big plastic curtain they think stops air born viruses. They also take your temp (another waste of time). Service (1) was fine. Food came out at a reasonable speed. Way better than I expected. Open for a year. Closed Monday.
Izziban Katsu - A weird, disjointed menu of around twenty things. I think it is Koreans selling Japanese food. They had a Korean fish cake on a skewer special called Odeng for instance. I grabbed two chicken yakitori skewers to go because nothing else was calling my name and all the things seemed too pricey for a food stall in a supermarket. They cost $8. They were average. They seemed to be topped with Gochujang sauce. a Korean thing. They didn't even sell much katsu. The one interesting dish was a special Nagasaki fish soup. But, that is just because where it comes from.
Joen - They sell the usual Korean dishes. I saw a bibimbap in a stone pot that looked good. I tried (to go) a special pork backbone soup because it sounded weird. It was ok. 3 vertebrae. Not much meat on them. Kind of like ox tail. Good flavor. Tender. Two potato pieces. Kimchi. Red broth. Rice on the side. Three average bonchon (kimchi, spicy radish, spicy zucchini). It cost $12.
*Travel Notes - Texas: I had pretty decent beef tacos with charro beans and a loaded potato at Marisela's Tamales in Beaumont. I had a Jazz Martini (shrimp and crab and hearts of palm and avocado) and shrimp and blue cheese grits at some 100 year old institution in Galveston called Gaido's. Galveston was more interesting than I expected. Many old Victorian homes. They said it was the biggest city until some hurricane early in the 1900's. I had bad lean and marble brisket sandwiches at Smokin R BBQ in West Columbia. I had an ok burger at some small chain called Billy Bob's Hamburgers. This one was in Hondo. West of San Antonio. I had pretty good brisket and a gamey barbacoa taco at David's Old Fashioned Pit BBQ in Fredericksburg. So many wineries now. A new bubbly maker called Heath Sparking Wines opened a beautiful tasting room. I'll also point out a brewery called Altstadt. I had a chocolate tasting in Stonewall at Chocolates El Rey. It's just past F'burg. They claim to be world gold medal winners in white chocolate. It was good. They make the stuff in Venezuela. I also bought a toffee and chocolate and pecan thing called Holy Moly. Mostly toffee. So, disappointing. Some of their other offerings (chocolate covered) are: white discs, dark discs, coated almonds, covered pecans, cherry bark, pistachio bark, citrus cashew bark, chili crumble, fruitful bark, kitchen sink bark, peppermint bark and mango cayenne. In Austin I had a three chili sampler of venison and beans, beef and white pork with hatch chilis at Texas Chili Parlor near the capitol building. One the other side of the river, I had an interesting tortilla soup with achiote chicken, avocado, cheese, kale and pickled cauliflower and a shrimp taco with kale at Fresa's on South First. Did you know kale, spinach and strawberries have the most pesticides in them of all things? Think on that the next time you order a smoothie. For breakfast I had a gingerbread pancake and an egg dish with chicken, beans, salsa and sour cream on a corn pancake at Magnolia Cafe. Real good. Real big, I also grabbed a Migas (egg) taco from Torchy's Tacos on the way out. I had the best barbeque of the trip in some little joint (Smitty's Smokehouse) in a little town called Jasper. I had a half smoked chicken and a quarter pound of brisket. Very tender. Chicken was great too. And that is that. I'll say that Texas (and I like it) is truly an ugly piece of property. It's funny that it is so populated. Just flat, brown and dusty. Even the trees looked like they were in a forest fire. FYI. I'm sure you have heard. The Governor just lifted their mask mandate.
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