Embeya: Restaurant Week 2013

 Posted by
Feb 112013
 
Lemongrass Tea Embeya

The perfect cuppa

One of the fun things about Restaurant Week is trying new places. Embeya was on my list, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten to it as soon as I did if it weren’t on the list.

Wow. So good.

Embeya is a beautiful restaurant. Lattice work and temple bell light fixtures accent a very posh, modern space. It got a little loud as it filled up, but that’s the only complaint I had. Service was great.

Things were cold and sleeting the night I went, so I started things off with some Lemongrass Tea. I don’t know where they get their blend, but I must find out because this went down so well.

Tofu Embeya

All tofu should be this tasty

My friend and I perused the R.W. menu, but truthfully the regular menu of authentic Japanese comfort food looked more intriguing. We skipped the R.W. choices and went straight for the Tofu. Though they make their silken tofu, the firmer tofu in the appetizer isn’t made in-house. It was still an amazing vehicle for the sweet pepper and Szechuan peppercorn sauce. The bit of roasted chestnuts were a nutty counterpoint, and taken together, it was a perfect bite of heaven.

Noodles Embeya

Highly slurpable

The dishes are served family style. I’m not really sure what that means in terms of the serving size because the entrees weren’t appreciably larger than what I’d expect in any other Asian restaurant. The Noodles we ordered were delicious with a meaty mushroom sauce dotted with Chinese celery and bay scallops. I have been craving this dish ever since.

The Sazuki, a light fleshed Japanese sea bass, was served atop a banana leaf and swimming in a delicate ginger sauce. It was addicting, too. I kept dishing the sauce onto the side order of short-grained fried rice. We rounded out the meal with a side order of bok choy that wasn’t too spicy despite the sprinkle of candied jalapeno.

Green Tea Puff Embeya

Japanese desserts tend to be light, and to my American palette, rather bland. Found that to be true, here, too. We ordered the tapioca topped with toasted almonds, dates and dried logan. In theory it should have been enough sweet, but the flavor didn’t penetrate the tapioca. The creme puff top was filled with a delicious matcha (green tea) cream filling surrounded by a bland profiterole. It was a bit of a let down after the rest of the meal.

Would I go back? Yes! I may skip the desserts, but I’m eager to try the rest of the menu.

Embeya
564 W Randolph Street
(312) 612-5640

First look: Slurping Turtle

 Posted by
Dec 142011
 
Chiyan Pon | Slurping Turtle

Chiyan Pon must be turtle speak for Damn, that's good

After a long, cold Saturday, an early supper at Slurping Turtle sounded like a great idea. What could be better than soup to warm up? I expected the place to be a little busy since they just opened, but it was packed! I quickly accepted a seat facing the cooking station rather than wait for a booth or a spot at the long communal table in the center. Food was the goal, people watching could wait.

I was a little surprised that menu was largely taken up with things that weren’t soup: sashimi, grilled items, dumplings, tapas, and noodles without broth. An overly broad menu is usually my cue to move along, since I haven’t noticed sushi expertise to live companionably with other types of Asian cuisine. But I was hungry, cold and had already shucked off several layers of outerwear. I zeroed in on the Chiyan Pon, a fried egg noodle dish topped with stir fried shrimp, scallops, and calamari, which the waitress pointed out wasn’t soup but was hot, hearty and very filling.

I expected a nice little stir-fry, but was served a dish that was as startling as it was tasty — hot mustard, fragrant celery and heaping mounds of seafood. The sauce was pleasantly salty and was actually a little soupy — it paired well with the crunchy noodles and toned the shockingly hot mustard down just enough.

The entrée was fascinating, so I said yes to the dessert menu even though I was stuffed. After noting the lack of mochi and the inclusion of a quail-egg shooter, I picked a yuzu macaron to finish the meal. It was the perfect bit of sweet I needed.

I enjoy having my expectations confounded, so Slurping Turtle can expect me to return to try the rest of the menu and perhaps angle for one of the cool booths overlooking the main dining area. At about $20 per person, it’s hard to think of reasons not to go back.

Slurping Turtle
116 W. Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL

 Older Entries