Sad State of Dim Sum in Madison

What happens when 3 Asian friends plus Mike get together for weekend brunch?  The craving for dim sum becomes so overwhelming that we dared to try dim sum in little ol' Madison.

Bad idea!  We should have had logic win over our craving!

We had a choice between China One, which Bing and Jenny said they've tried before and were scarred by the buffet/dim sum experience, and the harmless but nothing special Hong Kong Cafe.

Bing and Jenny never tried Hong Kong Cafe and Mike and I never tried their dim sum so we bravely headed there the weekend after the "Polar Vortex."

Let's start with the positives.  The Saturday-only dim sum at Hong Kong Cafe has a good variety considering the Asian ingredients limitations in Wisconsin.  The service is attentive and friendly. 

Menu of Dim Sum Dishes rather than Carts

Now the one major negative that detroyed our taste buds: Over salting all the dishes!

We started off with the best dishes that we tried: Pork Congee, You Tiao (Fried Savory Doughnuts) and Chinese Veggies topped with Oyster Sauce (they didn't have the traditional Chinese Broccoli)

Pork-Filled Tofu Skin (drenched in an untraditional extremely salty sauce) and Shrimp Dumplings (frozen?)

Shrimp-filled Fried Eggplants (drenched in an untraditional and extremely salty sauce again) and Singapore Noodles (a better dish than some of the other ones we tried)

Shu Mai (better than some that we tried)

Daikon Radish Cakes

Chicken Feet (super salty)

Fried Tofu and Shrimp Balls (super salty)

 

 

It would've been a signficantly better idea to wake up early and drive 2.5 hours to Chicago for great dim sum!

Mike's Favorite Restaurant: Vintage Brewing Co.

Vintage Brewing Co. has become our default Friday night restaurant because not only do they serve up the best fried cod sandwich that we've had so far in Madison, the S. Whitney Way location is conveniently right across the street from Hyvee and in the same strip mall as the new Asian grocery store, A Mart, which re-stocks fresh produce from Chicago on Tuesdays and Fridays!

Another plus is that they do brew their own beer as well as specialty sodas (usually root beer and one other monthly special like vanilla creme soda).

We usually start our meal off with the spinach artichoke dip:

Spinach Artichoke Dip

 

Then either one of their gigantic burgers, rueben sandwich, or cod sandwich:

Corned Beef Reuben

Cod Sandwich

 

I think what makes their cod sandwich so addictive is the buttery flakes of cod, crunchy batter, and lack of fishy smell.  It's the best dish on the menu!

 

Vintage gets packed in the evenings so arrive early to avoid waiting.

Middleton, Wisconsin: National Mustard Museum





 Besides cheese, what other culinary delights can Wisconsinites be proud of?  Apparently, mustard to go on their beloved brats! 

The National Mustard Museum in Middleton shows off 5,566 mustards from all over the world.  The best part are the free samples in the mustard store!  You can get a taste of any mustard in the store by asking a staff in the mustard bar!  I tried the truffle mustard.  Mmmmmm!

 

National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI

Mustard Vending Machine

5,566 Mustards!

No-Name Bao Zi (Filled Buns) and Rou Jia Mo (Meat-filled Burgers) Trailer

I'm starting to see great potential in Madison's Chinese food scene!  I can't believe I said that, but one visit to the bao zi trailer on N. Mills and University Ave. on the University of Wisconsin campus made me somewhat "glass half full!"

 

I have no idea why the trailer doesn't market itself better with at least a name so admirers can spread the word.  Afterall, they did go as far as paint nearly all that's on their menu on the trailer...in Chinese...

 

This awesome trailer focuses on Chinese pork steamed buns 包子 (bao zi) and Shaanxi-style "burgers" 肉夹馍 (rou jia mo).  Besides these two items, they also have daily specials that they write in Chinese.  I don't know what advice to give besides go with a friend who can read Chinese or be adventurous and point to one of the specials to try out.  I believe the bottom special remains the same everyday, 豆浆 (dou jiang) soymilk.  

 

包子 "Bao Zi" and 肉夹馍 "Ro Jia Mo"

Daily Specials in Chinese

Unlike Dumpling Haus, the bao zi here tastes homemade rather than frozen.  This trailer serves up authentic baozi.  The quality of the filling is high.  It's juicy and flavorful without being too oily.  My fear with dumplings and baozi when I'm eating out is that they would just fill it with low-quality meat or drown the ingredients in oil.  No worries here!  

Shaanxi-style burger and bao zi

 

The Shaanxi-style burgers are delicious but very different from what is shown in their trailer photo. Instead of sliced roasted pork, the meat is ground or finely shredded and chopped braised pork. It doesn't have the smokiness and crunchiness that I expected from their menu photo. It's also a lot bigger too! Even with these disparities, the burger is juicy, fluffy, and super filling. Perfect for cold, damp days. 

Manna Cafe and Bakery

One of my recurring weekend highlights is sleeping in and getting brunch.  Our favorite spot on the east side is Manna Cafe and Bakery because not only can you get awesome breads and pastries, they offer a number of well made breakfast dishes.

 

Pastry Case by the Counter

I stupidly neglected to take photos of my breakfasts at Manna so you'll just have to trust me that the dishes are beautiful and delicious.  It's no wonder that Manna is always packed in the mornings.

 

Mike likes getting the Cravenous Carnivore, which is an egg sandwich with bacon AND sausage, jack cheese and basil pesto.  This gigantic sandwich is also served with fruit and pan-fried potatoes.  We make sure that we sleep in late so we can eat this enormous dish for breakfast and lunch without feeling guilty. 

 

We also like the various egg scrambles Manna offers, from the standard American ham, cheese and scallion scramble (Wisconsin Sunrise Scramble) to the creative Ojibwe Scramble, which has wild rice, mushroom, bacon and scallions.

 

Too bad we live on the West side...this means we'll have to get up earlier to make the trek over.

 

Food Dilettante's Return to Food Blogging!

I'm still here!  I went on food blogging hiatus due to two major career changes.  I've since settled in Madison, Wisconsin, the land of milk, cheese, brats, and beer and found an unexpected job that I actually love!

I admit.  I came to Madison with a bad foodie attitude.  The relative lack of cultural diversity compared to Texas and D.C. made me not want to seek out restaurants in town.  I replaced going out to eat in Madison with eating out on my weekly business trips to either St. Louis or Tucson.  When I was in town, I grudgingly bought boring groceries and cooked at home.  Copps and even Metcalfe's pale in comparison to HEB and Central Market in Austin.  I used to relish in grocery shopping.  In Madison, I find moldy jalapenos next to tiny avocados that sell for more than $1.50.  I became uninspired by the sudden change in weather, job (which was a nightmare, by the way), local cuisine, and produce. 

Recently, I quit the horrendous job that caused me to move to Madison in the first place and started an amazing new job.  My colleagues are well-traveled, many are multi-lingual and have sophisticated and varied palates. My outlook on life in Madison is starting to change, and with the help of my colleagues and Yelp, I will hunt down awesome eateries around town and be inspired to cook with what I can find at the grocery stores and farmer's markets!

Stephanie, a new friend, colleague, and fellow foodie/food blogger, works remotely from Tampa but plans on touching base in Madison once a month.  We came up with a plan to try out at least one unique local eatery every time she comes up.  We celebrated our first restaurant tasting yesterday at Himal Chuli, a Nepalese restaurant close to the University of Wisconsin campus.

I've only gotten a taste of Nepalese food once when a Nepalese grad school friend shared some homemade momos with me.  I've longed to try out more Nepalese food as the memory of the tumeric-seasoned momos stayed with me over the years.  Lo and behold, Madison has a couple of Nepalese restaurants! 

We picked Himal Chuli for the higher Yelp reviews, and I was pretty happy with my experience (though my Nepalese friend's momos were still way better)! 

I don't think Himal Chuli's chicken and turkey-filled momos are seasoned with tumeric like my friend's, but it's dressed with a tomato and coriander sauce, which made the dumplings taste tangy and smokey.  Stephanie ordered the vegetarian momocha, which has peanut paste as the filling binder.

Chicken and Turkey Momos

Vegetarian Momochas

As good as the momos were, I was most excited about going beyond the one dish that I knew was Nepalese.  I opted for the roti and cauliflower takari.  My knowledge of South Asian and Himalayan cuisines is extremely limited, but based on the little exposure to Indian and Nepalese food, it seems like Himal Chuli's dishes taste like a lighter (no ghee?) version of comparable Indian dishes.  The cauliflower takari was comforting and well-portioned.  I liked the option of squeezing lime juice on the dish to cut through the heartiness of the dish.  The whole wheat roti is awesome - fluffy, slightly buttery, and thick.  I couldn't finish my last slice of roti but was still sad that my boyfriend helped me finish it off. 

Roti and Cauliflower Takari

Himal Chuli was a great way to finally kickstart my Madison food adventure!  And now that my job doesn't require me to work 60 hours/week, I no longer have an excuse to not blog!

- Food Dilettante