Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Mr. Hui's opened a few weeks ago and seems to see steady business. Just call in, drive up, open your window (with mask on, of course). Buddhist's Delight is a favorite lunch of mine. I also ordered won ton soup. I had enough soup to save some for the next day's lunch. Nutritious, filling, tasty---thank you!

Mr. Hui's closed for several weeks but then reopened. I'm very glad they did. Their Buddhist delight lunch is a treat. Thanks, folks!

I needed some vegetables to go with my pork belly. Imperial Palace fit the bill. The staff was very friendly; my bag was ready to go when I arrived. The obligatory bag shot. My mixed vegetables hit the spot, just what I needed. Thanks, Imperial Palace!

Several of us enjoyed tasty food and great conversation over a hot pot dinner at Perfect Diner on 27th Street in Lincoln. Hot pot seems to be the thing to eat here---several other tables ordered it as well. This is the prep tray. We used two broths, spicy and non-spicy. The time needed to cook gives plenty of time to talk, just what we were looking for. And the food was tasty---my favorite was the spicy broth.

Witty and I went to lunch today at Lan House, one of our favorite spots. We chose a Chinese restaurant deliberately. My Atlanta neighbors, the Centers for Disease Control, offer a number of recommendations for preventing the coronavirus that you can find here . Avoiding Chinese restaurants is not one of those recommendations. Let's remember our Chinese friends and neighbors and take the time to remind them how much we appreciate them.

A dinner meeting at Mr. Hui's gave us the chance to try several new dishes.

I hadn't been to Northern Chinese Eatery in awhile and was happy to see that they are going strong. The place was hopping; it seems to have become a hip destination. I think that their scallion pancake is one of the very best, if not the best, on Buford Highway. It combines a flaky exterior with a rich interior. These pork dumplings are perfect comfort food. I haven't tried the soup dumplings before and they were excellent. The soupy interior is like a surprise package.

Witty and I decided to take a break from pre-Thanksgiving emails for lunch at Lan House. This gave me the opportunity to try something that I have seen go to other tables. The pork belly was extremely tender, just north of fall apart. The sauce had a touch of peanuts to give a rounder sense of savoriness. The meat, fat, peanuts, and salty soy sauce all made for a symphony of pleasure, wrapped in little buns. A wonderful Thanksgiving to everyone wherever you are!

I found Mr. Hui's in a strip mall on Cornhusker Highway on the north side of Lincoln. It is popular with the student set; its combination of good food, fast service, and low prices are all powerful attractions. The menu has a range of menus, some of which are more traditional than the normal Chinese-American menu. On my first trip, I enjoyed my fried tofu, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I ordered mapo tofu on my second trip and was impressed to see the sizzling platter come out. The food was great, with bits of pork swimming in a nicely hot sauce along with their tofu chunks.

I rarely travel to Tampa but I have always enjoyed the airport. Its Florida version of midcentury modern is cleanly stylish. The original terminal has been augmented with new buildings that extend the theme with some current touches while maintaining the integrity of the design. I chose P. F. Chang in the main terminal for lunch before I boarded my first flight. I started with a nice bowl of wonton soup. My main course was tofu lettuce wraps. The filling was well spiced but not too hot. I ran out of lettuce leaves a little early; perhaps my technique for this dish is a little rusty. I was very satisfied as I took the train to my gate.

I visited the food court at Chamblee Chinatown for lunch and was treated to a demonstration of Lan Zhou noodle making. You can see the video here on the Atlanta etc Channel.

Royal China Restaurant in Chamblee is closed. I noticed the For Rent sign as I drove by. This is both sad and surprising given their popularity.

A quick campus lunch was the order of the day and Imperial Palace, an outpost of a Lincoln Chinese restaurant, fit the bill. My dumplings were very tasty, with good pastry and rich filling. My vegetables with brown sauce topped me off for the afternoon with a savory touch.

My Nebraska friends suggested Lan House for a good Chinese lunch near campus. As usual, their suggestion was spot on. My dish came with this comforting bowl of egg drop soup. The dumplings were tender and flavorful with a dash of vinegar. The restaurant's name comes from their Lan Zhou noodle. My bowl of noodles had the trademark toothiness and plump richness of handmade Lan Zhou. The hot sauce gave the tofu a nice punch and infused the noodles as well. Lots of complex flavor, great stuff.

Shengqi enjoyed a delicious, huge Mongolian hot pot at Little Sheep as we caught up with our lives. Beef and lamb were the stars of the show. Our pot was half spicy, half not spicy broth. We also had plenty of vegetables and some tasty shrimp. I am always a sucker for this red bean paste cake.

I made tofu dan dan noodles as a tasty dinner. I used this recipe from Serious Eats with a few substitutions: tofu for pork, rice vinegar for Chinkiang vinegar, a little mustard powder for Preserve Sichuan Vegetable. I fried the tofu in chili powder along with garlic. I then added the peanuts. The noodles went into the water. I added the scallions. The last touch was the noodles. I mixed and ate. This is a delicious, savory meal. I love the peanuts and the vinegar nicely offsets both the tofu and the carbs.

I wanted to do something different with my tofu. This recipe from Serious Eats inspired me to try dan dan noodles, a favorite of mine. Along the way, I made a few modifications, mostly out of pragmatism. The effort started a few days before when I toasted some red pepper flakes and added them to sesame oil to make my own hot chili oil. I couldn't find anything labeled Chinese wheat noodles at Buford Highway Farmers Market so I cooked some spaghetti. I added a little baking soda to give them stretch and springiness. While that cooked, I fried some tofu as a substitute for pork. Next came scallions and garlic. I broke up some peanuts in the Ninja and threw them into the pan. I also added some rice vinegar and a few drops of soy sauce. The recipe called for a dark Chinese vinegar but I didn't want to invest in a bottle that I would use twice. The result wasn't classic dan dan noodles but it was tasty and satisfying. The vinegar worked very well with t...

I frequent Harmony for their delightful Chinese vegetarian food but rarely for lunch. This dish is a satisfying summary of their food: sesame "chicken", curry treat, brown rice. I also enjoyed a cup of won ton soup. A meal at Harmony is a lesson in the pleasures of expert vegetarian cooking technique. The faux-chicken sesame dish had all the pleasures of the meat version: savoriness, a little sweetness, crunchy outside and tender inside.