Nah, I would be "jaded" if I avoided the first obvious blog post title that presented itself.I enjoyed my experience at this place so much last night, that I'm resurrecting my weblog. Next step: finding and charging my camera, taking pictures of things that I cook again, etc.
THIS PLACE ROCKS. Now. Disclaimer. Part of the reason that it rocks so strongly is because it's like the proprietors designed it with Carrina's dream restaurant in mind from start to finish. Adorable but unpretentious exterior? Yup. Sunny, laid-back, high-ceiling interior? Indeed. Oh, yes - the food. Menu with Vietnamese baguette sandwiches (banh mi, right? All that pickled crunchy daikon goodness) in the center, but splayed out in all directions, from sticky fish sauce wings (yes) to pho (YES) to spicy rice noodles of varied shapes and sizes (YES!).
But wait. You call yourself a "Teahouse and Patisserie." Meaning that I could sip on what sound to be satisfying teas and enjoy the free wi-fi or board games that are hanging out in that casual section toward the back? I won't, because this place is far, far from my neighborhood - but I COULD, which edges this place towards its third Carrinalin star.
And... what's that - patisserie? I'm sorry, in addition to baking your own fantastic baguettes for the sandwiches, you also have a cornucopia of baked, puffed, and/or filled goods? As we were walking out, I saw someone being served a layered, moussy, cross-section invention in pale green - some sort of matcha tiramisu? There were also multi-colored sandwich macaroons, a broiled s'more cookie (Mike liked it) and, and, AND - an amazing chewy sesame ball* (think cream puff or beignet except the texture is fifty times better) with pureed and fluffed angels' wings inside. Oh, I'm told that was actually some sort of combination of sweet bean paste and coconut. Served with a caramel dipping sauce. And the caramel dipping sauce officially gets Jade to its fourth star.
Mike had the sandwich with the barbecued pork. He couldn't eat a lot of it because he didn't pay attention to the cilantro advisory, but I sampled quite a bit and can tell you that it was everything wonderful. The daikon slices were as thick as maybe three pieces of copier paper. Carrot, cilantro, cilantro mayo, a little marination magic on the veggies, and barbecued pork - BOOM. Magic. And magic bread that holds up through it all.
I had the sticky fish sauce wings and rice. I've heard people talk about them at Pok Pok but have a bit of a chip on my shoulder for that place. I'm not a wings person, but I had to try them and was glad I did - crispy, sticky, SALTY, sweet. Good meat. Cilantro sprigs on top. Some cucumber, tomato, and plenty of wing-y juice to entertain me while I waited for my molten wings to cool down. They weren't braised wings drowned in sauce, which is what I have on occasion observed when I see others eat wings. Each individual wing was a crackling little treat. The coating reminded me in some weird way of a candy store at the coast - but if that creeps you out, don't listen to me, because all you need to know is that they were awesome.
In summary - I am now a fangirl. Now if only this restaurant-in-a-house could take a Dorothy-like journey up the river to St. Johns - I would be SET!
*appears in the left-hand corner of the picture
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