Asian Archives - Page 2 of 4

MoMo Hibachi (Soddy-Daisy, TN)

January 5, 2015

MoMo Hibachi is a popular hibachi restaurant that serves great, inexpensive hibachi food in a casual atmosphere in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.

I’m not really sure how MoMo Hibachi has been in Soddy-Daisy for at least a year or two and I have never been there. That doesn’t really matter, though. Saturday was the day. It was a terrible rainy day and we have been working on giving our kitchen a facelift, painting the cabinets and countertops (that, my friends, is a process!) so we didn’t want to venture too far away from home. We headed over to MoMo at about 2 p.m., when there was only one other table occupied.

We had a seat and the server brought us menus and took our drink orders. The restaurant is clean and fairly sparsely decorated and is somehow smaller than I had envisioned (El Metate takes up a large portion of the strip mall). We spent a few minutes perusing the menu, which consisted of appetizers, salads, fried rice dishes, and yakisoba dishes.
We decided to order some spring rolls, which came out very quickly. The spring rolls were light, perfectly fried, and stuffed with cabbage and a few carrots. They came with a packet of hot mustard and a couple of packets of duck sauce in those telltale takeout plastic packages.

Entrees come with a side salad, which is served with ranch, honey mustard, and ginger dressing; we both chose ginger. The salad was a pretty standard hibachi restaurant salad, just iceberg lettuce and carrots, but the ginger dressing was not the thick orange dressing that you find at Ichiban. It was a thin, very sweet gingery dressing and was very tasty though maybe a bit too sweet right at the bottom of the salad.

I couldn’t decide whether I wanted chicken, steak, or shrimp, so I decided to get all three with fried rice. The rice was well-seasoned and the meat cooked well and, again, seasoned well. I would have liked to have gotten a little more of the vegetables (zucchini and onions) and maybe some mushrooms too. However, I really liked the dish and it was a large portion for the price ($7.75) and I brought home leftovers. A bottle of “MoMo sauce” was brought to the table as well. It was the standard Japanese Yum-Yum sauce, sweeter than my Japanese White Sauce but very tasty.

Philip also decided to get the chicken, steak, and shrimp combo but he decided to get the yakisoba noodles instead of rice. His dish was very similar to mine, except, of course, for the noodles in place of the rice (the yakisoba chicken, steak, and rice combo was $7.95). The noodles were thick and chewy, very delicious. We liked them a little bit better than the rice. This will probably be the standard order for both of us when we go back, though I’ll probably order the steak from now on as it was my favorite of the three meats.

The service was good. There was one server working. While we were there, quite a few tables filled up and she managed to check on us several times, keep our drinks filled, and take our credit card when we were finished while waiting on the other tables. The food came out quickly and was fresh and tasty. The portions were good for the price.

I’d recommend MoMo Hibachi for a quick and tasty hibachi meal.

MoMo Hibachi is located at 9332 Dayton Pike, next to Soddy-Daisy Wal-Mart. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. You can call them at (423) 332-3003. They do not have a website, but you can “like” MoMo Hibachi on Facebook.

Noodle and Pho Vietnamese Cuisine

November 9, 2014

Noodle and Pho Vietnamese Cuisine is a small, locally-owned restaurant that serves great Vietnamese food in Hixson, Tennessee.

Okay, I’ve actually been to Noodle and Pho once before, but it was when I was seriously absorbed in my new-car purchase and couldn’t bring myself to think about writing a blog post. Why it took me more than three months to get back there is beyond me. Actually, I don’t even know how long Noodle & Pho has been in Hixson (in the Hobby Lobby complex on 153), but it’s been there for a while and it’s shameful that it took me so long to get there. According to some reviewers on Urbanspoon, it actually used to be called Sushi and Pho, but after they stopped selling sushi they changed the name (good choice, though Philip maintains that they should have renamed it “What the Pho” since pho is pronounced “fuh”).

There are always several people in the restaurant when we go in…not a huge crowd, probably because of the location and the fact that Hixson is not exactly a hotspot of people seeking Vietnamese food. There are regulars, including a couple of ladies who were there today as well as the last time we were in there. It’s a very clean restaurant with decor that, while not completely “tied together” is still welcoming. Definitely look at the three metal signs by the “employees only” door to the kitchen. Very out of place and good for a laugh (I wish I’d taken a picture!).

I apologize for the glare on these menu photos!

The menu at Noodle and Pho isn’t huge-just appetizers, pho (which is Vietnamese noodle soup), vermicelli (rice noodle) dishes, and rice dishes. We decided to order the summer rolls, which we ordered the other time we dined here as well. Our server checked to make sure that we understood that summer rolls are not fried, so I suspect that a few people have been disappointed to get the chewy rice paper wrapped rolls instead of the shatteringly crisp spring rolls that they were probably expecting. We definitely wanted summer rolls, though. The summer rolls are rice paper wrappers, shrimp, a little bit of pork, vermicelli, and lettuce with a sweet/tangy dipping sauce laced with sriracha. They’re extremely fresh, light, and delicious. The slightly spicy sauce is the perfect complement to the rolls.

I decided to get the pho tái, or rare beef noodle soup. This is a gigantic bowl of broth with vermicelli noodles, slices of rare beef, sliced green onions, sliced red and white onions, and cilantro. It’s served with a plate of bean sprouts, basil, lime, and more cilantro. I shredded all of the cilantro and basil into my bowl, squeezed the lime wedge over, and added a big handful of the bean sprouts. Then I dipped into the soup. The thing that amazes me about pho (the experience was very similar at the Vietnamese Bistro in Dayton) is how rich and aromatic the broth is. I love the smell, and it tastes just like it smells…almost like it has cinnamon in it, but it’s actually infused with lots of delicious things like fish sauce (which smells terrible but adds a wonderful flavor to pretty much any savory thing), ginger, cloves, and star anise. The beef was perfectly tender and all the herbs, onions, and noodles just add to the amazing flavors and textures. It’s not an easy dish to eat by any means…basically I had to use a fork to eat the noodles (I’m too green to use chopsticks) and the little spoon they give you to slurp the broth, herbs, and meat.

Philip decided to go for the bún bò xaò, or stir fried beef vermicelli. This was a gigantic bowl of rice noodles with strips of beef, chunks of cooked onion, shredded carrots, shredded lettuce, and jalapeño with a thin sauce on the side. The lady told Philip to pour all of the sauce over the bowl and mix it well before eating. Most of the components of the dish were cold, with the meat, onions, and green onions warm. It was basically like a beef summer roll in a bowl, with the sauce adding just a little bit of sweet, tangy spice as well as moisture. Delicious.

In addition to the regular menu, there’s a board hanging above the aquarium (near the restroom) with a few different dishes written on it. I’m not sure if these are specials or if they’re regularly available items that just didn’t make it into the menu. Bánh mì, a French-influenced Vietnamese sandwich, has been on this board both times we’ve been in and next time I go I think I’ll try it. I feel pretty certain that no matter what I try, though, I’ll be happy. This is very fresh, beautiful, and amazingly tasty food. I can’t attest to its authenticity, but it this is Vietnamese food then count me in. It’s also very affordable-our lunch was around $23 pre-tip.

Get to Noodle and Pho!

Noodle and Pho is located at 5450 Highway 153 (in the Hobby Lobby complex near the dress shop and the Dollar Tree), Hixson, TN 37343. You can call them at 423-531-3462. Unfortunately, they do not have a website or Facebook page.

Sitar Chattanooga

July 29, 2014

Sitar Chattanooga is a delicious Indian restaurant located in Downtown Chattanooga Tennessee, near the Tennessee Aquarium.

Sometimes choosing new places to eat (and write about) can be daunting. I’ve written a lot of blog posts! There are times that I feel like I’m running out of restaurants. I know that’s far from the truth, but sometimes it feels that way when I’m trying to find a place that (a) is open when I want to do a restaurant post; (b) serves something I’m in the mood for; and (c) fits into my budget (we try to save the upscale places for special occasions. Now, I know there are a ton of restaurants around that I haven’t tried, so if you have suggestions, feel free to make them!

In an attempt to make Saturdays my “blogging day” we are going to start doing as many of our restaurant trips as possible on Sundays (adjusting that schedule, of course, for those restaurants that are not open on Sunday). This week we decided to try out Sitar Chattanooga, an Indian restaurant located next door to 212 Market downtown. We’ve been on a bit of an Indian cooking kick around the house lately. We’ve heard lots of great things about Sitar and considered going for our anniversary two weeks ago but I ultimately decided that I just wanted to enjoy my evening with Philip rather than concentrate on blog-type things, so we went to Sweet Basil instead.

Now, we don’t go out on Saturday nights very often because we don’t do crowds. Sunday night definitely turned out to be the right time to head downtown for dinner and Sitar was gloriously uncrowded (though there was a steady stream of diners while we were there). We were seated immediately. The floor plan is open and the place is not very decorated…tablecloths, goblets, cloth napkins, and paper placemats on the tables and some Indian artwork scattered around (particularly behind the bar). A server poured water for us immediately and our glasses stayed filled the whole time (we drank water, of course).

The menus were fairly large, divided into the following sections: appetizers/condiments, roti char (homemade bread), lamb/seafood (yes, an odd combination), chef’s specialties, chicken, vegetarian, biryanis (rice dishes), and desserts. Philip had a different menu from me and his menu included goat dishes in the lamb/seafood section (more on that in a minute). We decided to order some panir pakora-cheese fritters made with the fresh Indian cheese panir (also spelled paneer). The fritters were large chunks of panir with spices wrapped in dough and deep fried. They were served with a sweet, thin dark sauce that I did not get the name of. The pakora was good, but I didn’t really fall in love with it. I did really like the sauce and thought that it added a lot to the flavor of the pakora.

I had a difficult time deciding whether to order sag panir (spinach and homemade cheese with ginger and spices) or vegetable biryani (basmati rice cooked with fresh vegetables). Ultimately I decided to order the sag panir so that I could compare the version that I make at home to theirs. They offer you the option to get the spice level at mild, medium, or hot; you guys know that I opted for mild (once I made this dish to the specifications suggested on Food Network’s website and had to make myself something else for dinner because it was so hot). Each dish was served with basmati rice and we also ordered a side of homemade naan bread (pictured below with Philip’s food). The sag panir (by the way, that’s also spelled saag paneer and I’ve also heard the same dish called palak paneer) was delicious, perfectly spiced with decent-sized chunks of cheese. The rice was cooked and seasoned perfectly as well. For me, though, the naan was the crowning glory of this meal. It was slightly charred, crispy around the edges, chewy, and dripping with butter. What more could you ask for? I could have made a meal out of naan alone.

Okay…back to the goat. When we visited India Mahal last year, Philip noticed goat curry on their menu and decided that he wanted to try it. Now, here in Chattanooga we don’t eat a lot of goat and it kind of gave me a little shiver…I’m not very adventurous when it comes to trying new types of meat (Philip, on the other hand, will try anything once). The meat was cut into large chunks and was served still on the bone, which was not an issue since it had been cooked in the spices and its own juices until it was completely falling apart. Philip compared it to a combination of beef and pork, so I gave it a try. And it was good! It was extremely tender and you guys, I promise that goat doesn’t taste weird at all! The curry spices were delicious.

While I’m not the biggest fan of rice pudding, Philip loves it and he really wanted some kheer. Kheer is a lightly sweetened rice pudding made with basmati rice and spiced with cardamom. It was nice and creamy, a little thinner than what us here in the States usually expect of rice pudding, and just sweet enough to taste like dessert. I loved the cardamom kick in it-that was definitely my favorite part.

Including the appetizer, two entrées, an order of naan, and the kheer our dinner was $35 pre-tip…not inexpensive but definitely not exorbitant. The staff was very friendly and attentive. As I mentioned before, the place was not packed out but there were quite a few tables occupied, many of them by regulars. The food was tasty but I’m not qualified to testify to how authentic it is. They serve a buffet for lunch and a full menu for dinner (can someone explain the Indian lunch buffet to me? All of the Indian restaurants around here do it). Sitar is actually a very small (five locations) chain that, based on my reading on their website, I believe is based out of Knoxville.

If you like Indian food, give Sitar Chattanooga a try!

Sitar Chattanooga is located at 200A Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. You can call them at 423-894-9696. You can check out their website: http://www.sitarknoxville.com and “like” them on Facebook. They serve lunch from 11-2:30 Monday through Friday and 11:30-3 on weekends; dinner is served Sunday-Thursday 5-9:30 and Friday & Saturday 5-10.

Parking: Park on the street or in one of the lots. Carta lots are less expensive than Republic lots. If you are willing to walk you can save some money (and if you are really willing to walk-which we are-you can find free parking in some of the lots at night and on the weekends).

Accessibility: Sitar is located on a city street with wheel-chair accessible sidewalks. The entrances are a little cramped. The open floor plan allows a bit of space for maneuvering a wheelchair. There is a handrail in the restroom.

Other restaurants in the area: 212 Market, Bluewater Grille

El Kyoto Mexican and Japanese Restaurant

November 24, 2013

El Kyoto, now closed, was a restaurant in Hixson, Tennessee (Lakesite) that served both Hibachi-style Japanese and Mexican food.

So, when I wrote some time back about Kyoto (then spelled Kioto) Japanese restaurant just down the street from my Lakesite-area home, I told you guys how I had to laugh just a little when I first saw it. I was apprehensive, needlessly so since it turned out to be quite good. So, I’ll admit that I laughed again when Philip and I were driving down Hixson Pike and saw the new sign hanging on the side of the building for El Kyoto Mexican and Japanese Restaurant. I’m really not sure why; the owners of the restaurant are of Mexican descent, and in my opinion-and many others of which I’m aware-our other nearby Mexican option is lacking these days (I won’t name names but if you are familiar with this area you know what I’m talking about….I haven’t written about them).

Philip and I decided to go over there Tuesday night of this past week when I wasn’t really in the mood to cook and we knew that we had to squeeze in a restaurant review at some point. It’s been a month, you guys! I’ll be playing catch-up in my time off from work for the upcoming holidays; I have some reviews planned. We have tended to avoid the restaurant because of the less than desirable parking right on Hixson Pike, but then we realized that they have spaces on the side of the building as well, so problem solved. There were several other people in the restaurant but it wasn’t crowded per se so we were seated immediately.

Our server, who was very friendly (but unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name) quickly took our drink order and brought us chips and salsa, which are complimentary upon request. The chips were good (not as good as Delia’s, though), fresh (not stale, which, unfortunately, seems to be a problem at some other establishments of late) and warm, and the salsa was fresh-tasting, not overly chunky, and a little spicier than what you typically get. We also ordered queso dip, which was a little thicker than that served at a lot of other Mexican restaurants, with just a tiny bit of spice.

The menu of Mexican items is a lot smaller than most other local Mexican restaurants, but that is fine with me. I got my standard-traditional Mexican tacos (known in some other restaurants as Mexico City tacos or street tacos), served on corn tortillas (doubled up!) with meat, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro. I got one tilapia (grilled, not fried), one steak, and one al pastor (pork)-they come in an order of three. All three were very good, though the al pastor was my favorite, just a little bit crispy, very well seasoned. The steak was a little bit tough compared to what I’ve had at Delia’s, but the flavor was good. The fish was nice with a light seasoning on it and cooked just right-not dried out as overcooked fish would be.

We got a laugh out of the “100% American Chimichanga” listed on the menu, which is what Philip decided to order since that is pretty much his standard Mexican restaurant order. He ordered it with chorizo (Mexican sausage) which he always orders it if it is available (at some restaurants it is not). There were two chimichangas that were a little bit smaller than the usual Mexican restaurant chimichanga, with grilled peppers and onions stuffed into the tortilla with the meat (this is not the standard) and queso sauce on top. There were refried beans on the side as well as lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. He was disappointed that there was no guacamole on the side, though I’m sure that they would have brought him some if he had asked. He liked the chimichanga a lot and thought that the chorizo was very good, though not the best he’d had, and not overly greasy. He was not, however, able to eat both of the chimichangas. It was definitely a very large portion!

So, I guess you have probably figured out my position on El Kyoto. Just like comparing it to Ichiban for Japanese….it’s not the best Mexican food around (in this area, Delia’s still takes that honor, and if I’m willing to drive downtown, of course, Taqueria Jalisco reigns supreme) but for a weeknight dinner when I just can’t even bring myself to think about leaving the Lakesite area, it’s definitely a worthy dinner option. The food was not fantastic, but it was good and the prices were decent (especially since we had a buy one get one free coupon!).

El Kyoto was located at 8719 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343 (in the Lakesite/Dallas Bay area). You can call them at (423) 521-8444. They do not have a website or Facebook page.

More Mexican Food: Delia’s in Soddy-Daisy or Dayton, El Metate, Taqueria Jalisco, Taco Roc

Vietnamese Bistro (Dayton)-May 18, 2013

May 18, 2013

Vietnamese Bistro is a tiny and quaint Vietnamese restaurant in Dayton, Tennessee with delicious food and friendly service.

Vietnamese food is not exactly easy to come by in this area, and I’m not going to lie….the first time that I noticed a “Vietnamese Bistro” in Dayton, I was a little suspicious. Dayton is pretty much a hole in the wall sort of city, a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” sort of place (just like my hometown of Soddy-Daisy, so I’m really not making fun) and I just had to wonder how well they could really do Vietnamese food. Which was a dumb thing to wonder because of course Vietnamese people know how to make Vietnamese food, and several months back I got an email from a reader who was raving about the Vietnamese Bistro in Dayton, telling me that it was better than Old Saigon. Well, ma’am, you have my attention, because I freaking love Old Saigon, so….

Somehow it still took us a while to get down there. I don’t really know why. I guess it’s because there’s really not a lot to do in Dayton, so the typical Saturday doesn’t really see us driving thirty minutes just to eat Vietnamese food. This week, though, I was off on Friday so we’d gotten our typical running around out of the way. We stopped at the antiques store in Sale Creek for a fruitless Fiesta ware search (lots of pieces but not a single one in a color that I want) then headed down to the Bistro.

There were a couple of tables occupied in the tiny restaurant, which was truly a blink and you’ll miss it sort of place; in fact, I had to point out the Philip exactly where it was in the former Wal-Mart complex as we drove by to park. There were probably not more than ten tables. A friendly young man told us to sit wherever we wanted then brought us menus and took our drink orders. The place is definitely about food, not atmosphere….several large photographs of Vietnamese scenes on the wall and photos of menu items under the glass on the tables is pretty much all the decoration you’ll find. I didn’t go there for atmosphere, though, so no big.

The menu is large and a little confusing to read; I actually found the to-go menu a little easier to follow for whatever reason. The regular menu begins with vegetarian selections then moves into the regular (carnivorous) selections. We decided on a couple of appetizers: 2 pork & shrimp spring rolls for $3.50 and an order of fish ball dumplings (which I never would have ordered on my own but Philip wanted to try them) for $1.99. The appetizers came out quickly, the dumplings on a skewer and drizzled with sriracha and some other sauce (hoisin, perhaps?). They tasted like…fish. The texture wasn’t weird and the flavor was fine, but I don’t know that I would order them again. But that’s just me. The spring rolls were amazing, stuffed with shrimps, a thin slice of pork, rice noodles, lettuce, and mint leaves. The mint really set off the flavor. I’ve got to make these things at home. I’m not positive what the sauce was….I want to say that the menu said it was ginger sauce, and it had fried shallots and some chili oil in it as well. It was pretty tasty and just a little spicy.

I pretty much knew before I went here that I wanted to order the phở bò (beef rice noodle soup), which is the Vietnamese national dish (by the way, that is pronounced fuh bah). I waffled briefly, though, when I saw a rice noodle salad on the menu…but in the end the regular-sized bowl of phở bò ($6.99) won out (by the way, chicken phở is called phở gà). What came to me was a gigantic bowl of broth, strips of beef, meatballs, rice noodles, onions, scallions, and cilantro, with a side dish of bean sprouts, basil, and lime, and bottles of sriracha and hoisin. I pulled the cilantro off the sprigs and dropped it in, tore up several basil leaves and dropped them in, put in a couple of handfuls of bean sprouts, and doused it with a little sriracha. This stuff was not easy to eat, because (a) it was so hot! and (b) how do you eat the noodles? Fork? Spoon? I ended up doing both, and once the soup cooled down enough I pretty much put my face in the bowl and shoveled it in (as evidenced by the photo below). The meatballs had some oddly textured little pieces in them but tasted good; the strips of beef were perfectly textured and delicious, and the broth was flavorful and perfectly seasoned. I would order this again…and again….and again.

Philip got much deeper into the entrée portion of the menu than I did, eventually settling on the thit kho (which I believe was pronounced “teet kuh”-no comments from the peanut gallery, please!) for $7.99, which was described as caramelized pork in condensed fish sauce (most of the descriptions that I found online called it caramelized pork belly, which this was not). All of the plates were served with either steamed rice or a choice of rice or egg noodles. Philip asked our server what he would recommend and he said that he usually eats it with steamed rice, so that’s what Philip ordered. It came with cucumbers (which Philip gave to me), bean sprouts, and shredded carrots on the side and a little bowl of spicy dipping sauce. It was thinly sliced, braised pork that was then caramelized and sauced with, well, a condensed fish sauce. Fish sauce is interesting stuff, very salty and stinky but delicious. The meat was indeed pretty salty and definitely had that fish sauce flavor but was tender and delicious. The rice was pretty plain (which is how Philip likes it) and the sauce on the side was spicy but not overwhelming.

A little piece of paper under the glass on the table said “desserts available, please ask your server” so we did. If there was anything disappointing about this restaurant, the dessert menu was it. I was hoping for a dessert menu like that at Old Saigon, which includes fried bananas, rice pudding, and mango sticky rice. Our server told us that sometimes they have two or three items available, but all they had that day were mung bean wontons. At $0.50 each, it was hard to pass up at least trying them, so we each ordered one. They were filled with a creamy batter made from mung bean puree and fried crisp. I was a little concerned about how the beany batter would taste, but I needn’t have been. It was just a sweet, custardy, vanilla-y paste in a perfectly crispy fried wonton. Pretty tasty and a nice sweet end to the meal.

Our total was about $24 before tip. Like I said, the atmosphere is lacking, but who cares? The food was fresh and delicious. They’ve been there for about five years and to last that long in a small town like Dayton speaks volumes about the quality.

I highly recommend that you check out Vietnamese Bistro!

Vietnamese Bistro is located at 200 Able Drive, Suite 11, Dayton, TN 37321. You can call them at 423-570-0100 or 423-285-7106. They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Since they are located in a larger shopping complex, there are curb cuts that allow for wheelchair accessibility, but the very cramped quarters would keep this from being an easy/comfortable place for a diner who uses a wheelchair.

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