kiku (기꾸)

kiku (기꾸)

서울특별시 용산구 이촌로 303 현대맨숀

지번 서울특별시 용산구 이촌동 301-160 현대아파트상가 31-110호

tel: 02-794-8584

what was consumed: omakase sushi ... !!!

omg, sushi. so delish. and when it comes from a place like kiku, even better! fresh fish, simple presentation, interesting (and tasty) combinations:

if you get a chance, and you're in a small group (like two ... or one!), be sure to sit at the sushi bar and chat with the sushi chef as he prepare the dishes. he might tell you that you're eating the wasabi incorrectly and give you instructions on how to enjoy it (or maybe that's just me ... hahaha), but for sure he makes for a good conversation partner and story teller. 

so, be sure to make your reservation, and include me! i'm ALWAYS game for some kiku!

sushi shi-ro

sushi shi-ro

208-26 seogyo-dong, mapo-gu

tel: 02) 336-8353

what was consumed: omakase menu!

friend connie was in town with her dude and they wanted to go and eat sushi. i'm in! she did a naver search and said that one of the top suggestions was shi-ro in the hong dae area. thanks for the recommendation! one of my new favorite japanese restaurants.

when at shi-ro, i opt for the omakase menu, aka chef's choice. i like to trust the more knowledgeable (and trained, i will choose to believe) sushi chefs to tell me what is in season and what is delicious. additionally, i'm happy to try variations that come from the creative minds of the chefs.

shi-ro's omakase menu goes through a variety of different dishes, including some sashimi, tempura, and udon. at the end, they ask you which was your favorite and they bring one more of that out to you. YES! and, to top it off, they have a palate cleansing dessert, a sort of cheese tofu that is lightly sweetened. YUM.

shi-ro does 2 seatings: once at 6pm, and once at 8pm. be sure to make reservations because they will usually not be able to accommodate walk-ins (though i've gotten lucky).

can't wait to go again!

thai x-ing

thai x-ing
515 florida avenue NW, washington, DC 20001
tel: 202) 332-4322
hours: tuesday-sunday 5:00pm-10pm

what was consumed: fixed price special dishes menu (chef's choice!) which included a cilantro and onion chicken salad, soup (2 kinds), squash curry, poached fish, mussels, noodles (like drunken noodles ... ?), and dessert (mango slices with sticky rice)

thai x-ing had been on my list of "must eat" for some time now. but the thought of making reservations well in advance and a fixed price menu was sort of intimidating (i'm not sure why). but when friend m invited me along, i was in!

our entire party met at the east u street exit, out of convenience (the nearest metro is shaw/howard university), then walked the loooooong walk (ok, it wasn't that long. but it was a hot summer DC night. blech) over to the ledroit park location. when we approached 515 florida avenue NW, a rowhouse turned restaurant, i was quickly overwhelmed by the delicious scents that were coming out of the place.

thai x-ing has a downstairs and an upstairs. after a quick peek downstairs (it's super duper tiny - looks like that's where the kitchen is?), we head up the stoop stairs, took off our shoes (as directed), then head to the upstairs dining area.

thai x-ing has take-out options (or so i hear), but the way to go is to make reservations (which you will have to do well in advance) and enjoy the chef's specialties available through the fixed price dining option. i found the multi-course dinner to be well worth the money that i paid. we even left with food to go! which means we had a lot of food considering the size and characteristics of our group (i.e., i was in the group and i eat A LOT). thai x-ing also does not serve alcohol, but is not opposed to you bringing your own and enjoying it during the meal. we surely did!

our meal began with a fresh chicken and cilantro salad. it was chock full of cilantro and onions, had a really fresh flavor, and was lightly dressed with thai flavors. while i love the flavor of cilantro and onions, i don't particularly enjoy chewing them. i.e., the salad was quite tasty, but i didn't eat a whole lot of it. the others at my table seemed to thoroughly enjoy.

next was the soup. we were given 2 kinds! one was similar to tom yum soups i've had at thai restaurants in the past (maybe that was what it was. i don't know what all of these dishes are called and our server referred to them simply as "soup" - haha. despite the heat of outside, the warm soup was delicious. i prefer it more spicy, but it was still delicious. a lighter broth filled with veggies, and welcomed hints of lemongrass. the other soup had a light broth with cooked cucumber stuffed with beef (or was it pork? anyway, stuffed with some sort of meat) which i hadn't seen too much of, but still greatly enjoyed.

next was a squash (i think) curry and poached whole fish (there were, like, 3 huge fish for the 8 of us. i love it!). this was, of course, served with (white) rice. we piled the rice onto our plates, then drowned them in the curry sauce that was flavorful and chock full of squash, veggies, and other goodies. and the fish! i love fish and wish i was better at preparing it myself. the fish came out with a sauce that we poured all of the fish. the sauce helped to take away what others would describe as the "fishy" smell (it's a fish, what else is it supposed to smell like?) and don't enjoy. anyway, we proceeded to devour the fish, leaving pretty much just the bones.

after the fish and curry, and we (mistakenly) thought we were finished with the main portions of our meal (we were pretty full), we were served baked thai-style mussels that had its own sort of curry on top of it. it's sort of hard to see, but there were grilled veggies that accompanied the mussels, which were topped with basil, garlic, etc. - the usual delicious toppings that often accompany thai cuisine. oh, and it was not one, but two plates of mussels. we were thoroughly stuffed by the end of this course.

and then, AND THEN, noodles. i love noodles! but i was so full, i didn't get to eat that much of 'em (we took the leftovers home), but i made sure to at least have a bite. so delicious! our noodles were similar to what you would get if you order drunken noodles (that is, the noodles were fat), but the noodles were covered with much more curry/sauce.

our meal ended with some dessert. yes, there was even dessert - sticky rice with sliced mango. the sticky rice was just the right sweetness (i.e., not a lot), and a great end to the meal, despite me already being totally full. i passed on the mangos (i'm not a fan of fruit AND i was overly full), but my party kept telling me to try as they were really delicious. i'm sure they were!

we all rolled out of thai x-ing, leftovers in hand, talking about how great our meal was. agreed, agreed, agreed!

do you have reservations for thai x-ing? do you have an extra spot? let me know! i want to go! delicious delicious delicious!

online: http://www.thaix-ing.com/