Lunch #31: Uwajimaya - Chef Kenzo

The MSG150 troops headed out in full force today to commence a frontal assault on Seattle's Uwajimaya food court. We had a little skirmish back in early January with a glancing blow off of their western flank. Today we returned to begin what will be a long, hard fight. We are optimistic, however, that we will make a clean sweep of the food court before the end of March. It will not be easy, but we have a dedicated force that will see it through.There will be bad days. In the end the good days will prevail and we will walk away with stories of heroism and bravery that will be passed on to generations to come. Or we may just be happy to be moving on.

We counted nine distinct lunch options in that Uwajimaya food court. Three appear to be part of the Uwajimaya Deli and the other six are independent restaurants. We have already eaten at Herfy's and so thankfully don't have to do that again. We assessed the options as we entered today and quickly came up with a plan. We would start with the Uwajimaya Deli, working east to west and then move to the northern edge of the food court and work down the line again from east to west. This put us today in a line at Chef Kenzo's Japanese food counter.

Uwajimaya - Chef Kenzo, Seattle
Address: 600 5th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Japanese
Average rating: 2.1 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/26/2005 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 5 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 30 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?: ?
Where is the owner/chef from?: Japan
Number of tables: 0
Number of occupied tables: 0
Number of business lunch tables: 0
Number of "local" tables: 0
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Large Bento + Stuffed Squid Torso - $17.49
Rating:

Geary's Review

Most of the food under Chef Kenzo's heat lamps is sold by the pound or a la carte. The large and small bentos are the only meals offered. The large bento appeared to contain small tastes of everything, so I grabbed one of the pre-made boxes. Michael convinced me to add on the stuffed squid at the end. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of it before being sliced.

All of the food smelled good and had the appearance of being carefully prepared, but as we dove in, it became clear that if it had been carefully prepared, it hadn't been done recently. Everything was cold and a bit dried out. The flavors of most of the items in the bento were good, but I think it all passed its prime sometime the day before. The rice in the bento was cold and hard like leftover white rice gets in the fridge. The cold tempura bits were horrible. Anything breaded and fried needs to be eaten hot. A couple of the included fish dishes were still tasty, but for $10, I don't expect leftovers.

Emmett suggested that everyday we are in Uwajimaya we head into the store and each purchase something to mention in our review. Today I chose Kukagumi, Super Fish Cracker (Ikan Super). Strike one. Even though the woman on the package gave it the thumbs up, I can not do the same. They tasted like fish sauce flavored styrofoam. Not my thing.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Salmon + Tempura - $8.60
Rating:

Emmett's Review

We've arrived. The Uwajimaya food court is NOT my favorite place for lunch. Yet here we are, in Asian Food Heaven. There are literally a dozen options for lunch here. We start at Chef Kenzo.

Our large group quickly made a thick queue at the tiny buffet stand that is Chef Kenzo. Some big fella behind me rolled up and was like 'hmph', as if our venerable group is preventing him from getting his quick fix of Kenzo. I gave him a look that said 'fuck off dude - we're here on a mission.' The polite man behind the counter was friendly, welcomed us, and moved the line along quickly.

The salmon under the heat lamp looked good. They let me pick out my slice. I wanted some veggies to go with it, and all they had was Tempura - not the healthiest of options but looked tasty. For $8.60, I was on my way.

I put my food down on the table and ventured into the heart of the store. I wanted something unique to go with my greaseball lunch. Something I couldn't get at your average American 7-11. I saw it - Calpico - tangy and sweet, with a little bit of Hello Kitty for flavor. For $1.99, I was on my Calpico high.

The salmon itself was alright - flavorful, with a nice seasoning and a little bit of char that gave it a crispy flavor. It was, however, cold. The Tempura came with sauce, and while average in taste, it was cold. For $8.60, I would expect hot food.

The Calpico, aka Calpis, on the other hand, had an interesting zing to it, like yogurt. Otherwise it was kind of like milky gatorade.

So Chef Kenzo didn't impress. For Japanese food, I'd totally head back to Kaname over this place. We'll see if Uwajimaya improves in the coming days.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Eggplant with Miso Sauce + Curry Croquette + Peking Pork Chop - $4.80
Rating:

Adam's Review

This is going to be short and sweet. The eggplant was oily and not that tasty. The croquette was flavorless. The Peking Porkchop was meat-candy-esque, which isn't my favorite thing.

When in the Uwajimaya food court... don't visit Chef Kenzo

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Salmon + Vegetable Tempura - $9.62
Rating:

Rob's Review

The Uwajimaya food court onslaught has started. There had been far too much debate about how the MSG150 would tackle the UFC, and it was still a little up in the air as we walked in, but eventually we settled into line for the culinary expressions of Chef Kenzo. The two fish options, black cod and salmon, both looked interesting. The salmon was a couple dollars less per pound, so I went with that, and a selection of the veggie tempura. Chef Kenzo printed out some stickers, slapped them on the styrofoam containers, and handed them to the cashier who rang me up for a total of $10.48 (with tax). Whoa. Not the most I've paid for lunch, but definitely up there.

The salmon wasn't bad. It had a nice sweet edge to it. It was warm but not hot. The various veggie tempura also wasn't bad, except for one piece, which may have been the sweet potato, but I'm not sure. The tempura was barely warm. So, while it wasn't bad, it very well might have tasted better if I'd taken it back to the office and microwaved it for a bit. You'd think, though, at the start of lunch hour that the food under the heat lamps would or should have been warmer.

In conclusion, I spent over $10 for a moderately warm lunch that didn't fill me up, and actually left my stomach feeling a little off.

Luncher: Yvonne

Lunch: Large Bento + Eggplant with Miso Sauce + 2 Tempura Shrimp - $15.52
Rating:

Yvonne's Review

Presentation was beautiful. However, in the end the food was cold and not as tasty as the presentation led me to believe. The squid rings were very good but the rest was lackluster at best. For the price, $16, this was not the finest Japanese culinary moment.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Tempura Shrimp + Some other Shrimp + Vegetable Tempura - $10.92
Rating:

Jared's Review

Food was cold and expensive.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Assorted Tempura + Tofu with Unagi + A bit of everything else I could sample - $14.00
Rating:

Michael's Review

The Uwajimaya Food Court is a fantastic place to have lunch. There are at least 8 different cuisines to choose from. It's fast, and relatively cheap. You and your lunch posse don't have to agree ahead of time on what you want to eat. Everyone can get their own thing and meet back up for a fine multicultural shared table food court dining experience. You will end up sharing your table with someone. Maybe a homeless guy, maybe an 80 year old man who was born in china, or maybe a bunch of bored software industry people with too much time on their hands. Suck it up and enjoy your pacific-rim food court melting pot. This is why you moved to Seattle. Oh, and if you do end up at a table with a homeless guy it is polite to offer him the other half of your lunch as you leave.

Within the food court there are some great places and some not so great places. Today we ended up at a not exactly awesome place. Chef Kenzo and his amazing ala carte Japanese cuisine!!!!

This is my second trip to Chef Kenzo so I had an idea what to expect. Hint: this is not cheap lunch food. You order a few pieces of this and a few pieces of that and suddenly you are out twenty bucks. So go easy on what you order.

The neat thing about Chef Kenzo is the wide array of very tasty looking items he has on display. The layout of various Japanese dishes is much more appealing to the eye than the Chinese counter down the way. This is also the down side, some of the dishes have sat too long.

Let's take a minute to talk about general rules for food court dinning. If the tempura or any fried object is sitting under a heat lamp *don't* order it. Tempura should be very hot and very fresh. If your food came from under a heat lamp you are wrong.

My bad. I ordered the tempura. It wasn't hot, fresh, or particularly tasty. I won't make this mistake again.

I did order the tofu with unagi. This was really great. I traded some to Rob for a bite of his salmon. It was also a happy thing. There are dishes here that rock but you need to choose wisely.

Food court dining rule #2: pre-packaged equals bad. Several of my fellow dinners purchased pre-made bento boxes. You can tell who they are cause they are giving Chef K bad reviews. Don't order pre-packaged food unless you are heading for LEO or some god forsaken BFE spot in the GWOT.

What else? oh the squid. Thank you Geary for getting the stuffed squid! This is a great big freakin purple squid stuffed to the gladius with a mushroom and rice filling. Sliced up into bite size morsels this was the high point of lunch.

I'm giving this lunch spot high marks for visual appeal, and uniqueness of food. Some of the seafood dishes are great. But sadly several items suffered the slow death of the heat lamp. Although there are better and cheaper places to eat at the food court I will go back someday for more stuffed squid.

Luncher: Wayne

Lunch: Small Bento Box - $6.00
Rating:

Wayne's Review

I had high hopes for this lunch. I’d heard good things about the food here, I have great fondness for bento lunches, and I haven’t eaten Japanese food in way too long. Unfortunately, the loftier the expectations, the farther you fall in disappointment.

There was a great variety of items in my bento lunch. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bento with such a variety of dishes. I’m not sure of what most of the items were , but two that were particularly tasty were the egg plant and chicken skewer. They were both probably great when they were freshly made. The cold, soggy tempura offered no appeal. I wish I could have tried it when it was still warm. It’s too bad really. I think most of the food in front of me had been good or great when it had been prepared. Unfortunately, everything that should have been warm had long since cooled off.

This meal left me sad. I could taste a hint of what the meal had offered when it was freshly prepared. I wish I could have had that lunch instead.

Uwajimaya - Chef Kenzo Photos

Uwajimaya - Chef Kenzo


Heat Lamp Fish and Tempura


More Heat Lamp Offerings


Stuffed Squid


Large Bento


Michael's Lunch


Yvonne's Lunch


Small Bento


Tempura


Tempura and Salmon


Adam's Lunch


Hello Kitty Calpico


Emmett's Lunch


Gindaco Savory Puff Balls


Kukagumi


Oishi Ribbed Cracklings


Notime Toothbrush Gum


Japanese Pop Rocks

Lunch #30: China Gate

Another dim sum... this is awesome. We walked in, and instantly recognized the man seating us-- he also sat us when we went to Vegetarian Bistro. He's actually the owner of China Gate but the owner of Vegetarian Bistro is a friend, and they help each other out when needed. (Sorry for the blurry pictures today. Primary MSG150 camera was a no-show today.)

China Gate, Seattle
Address: 516 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/25/2008 @ 12:05:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Plastic
Do they use MSG?: The server didn't understand my question... and I gave up. My Body is screaming "Yes... they used MSG."
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 29
Number of occupied tables: 5 (17%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (20%)
Number of "local" tables: 4 (80%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Hum Bow
• BBQ Pork Turn-over
• 3 x Sticky Rice
• 3 x Shu Mai
• Shrimp Ball
• Pork Spareribs
• 2 x Sesame Ball with Shrimp and Veggies
• Green Beans with Pork bits
• Vegetable and Shrimp Steamed Dumpling
• Fried Bean Curd
• Taro Root
• Pork and Mushroom Football
• Beef Spare Ribs
• Fried Rock Fish
• Fried Shrimp Ball with Seaweed

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

China Gate is all that separates us from our our Mt. Everest - the Uwajimaya Food Court. The outside is pretty groovy looking, and they have karaoke every night - seems like a recipe for something good.

We were seated immediately. As I walked through, the spacious interior was medium full - a good sign for a restaurant this size. And the clientele definitely originated from the Far East. I think they were blinded as I walked in, cause they gave me a quick glare and returned to their food. Our friendly server had previously served us at Vegetarian Bistro. Service was quick, and the Dim Sum staples soon covered our table.

I snagged some lotus sticky rice first, which was dang tasty, and went through some Sui Mai, Shrimp Balls, Shrimp Dumplings, some crab and shrimp thing. They brought out some beef short ribs in a sweet tangy sauce, and some rock fish deep fried, which was delicious. It was all pretty tasty, a little better than House of Hong, but not quite Jade Garden. On the flip side, they use a ridiculous amount of MSG. I can feel it in my brain.

I'll be back for Karaoke.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

I was scared this was going to be another low-traffic old-food Dim Sum place. Luckily there were more people and fresher food than I expected.

We ordered a ton of food. And after we ordered all that food, the owner came over and cooked us some special food (I'm pretty sure he figured out we were reviewing the place). The dim sum was pretty standard. The only really outstanding dish we had was the Rock Fish (which was one of the specials that the owner brought out). It was lightly fried and served with red peppers and jalapenos. The spice was perfect and the breading flaky and not overdone. The shu mai was good... but it's always good.

The other special dish that the owner made for us, the beef spare ribs, were a little too sweet for my taste. One diner in our group called it "meat candy." The owner also described another dish that he makes, with a sauce based on coffee grounds. It sounded interesting... and I hope to remember it next time around.

This place is a Sunday morning favorite. So that is a really fun time to go.

Standard Dim Sum. Good food.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

It's two days later as I'm writing this and I'm just recovering from the massive dose of MSG that we were hit with on Monday. China Gate has a cool, fortress like exterior and like some of the other large Dim Sum joints they are clearly trying to make up for average food with flash and color. The inside is much more subdued and has a bit of a cafeteria feel. Dim Sum needs a crowd to work well and there were only five other tables seated when we arrived. Not a good sign.

We were seated quickly and loaded up on most of the non-chicken feet options. The Dim Sum cart ladies seemed pushier than other places. Luckily we arrived early enough to get mostly hot dishes, but as the lunch progressed, it was clear that the few carts that made the rounds (or sat parked in the corner) were no longer being reloaded with fresh, hot dishes. There was nothing really stand out. The sticky rice was tasty, but about half the portion of Jade Garden. The green beans had good flavor but were over cooked and not even comparable to Veggie Bistro. The dumpling dough was dense and chewy. The shrimp in most dishes was fishier than I like. The owner was very friendly and when asked for recommendations he prepared two special dishes for us. I suspect one of these was the MSG bomb that destroyed me for the rest of the day. I can take MSG in reasonable doses, but after China Gate I had ringing in my ears and was slimy with sweat for the rest of the day and I wasn't able to fall asleep until 4 am. Three chopsticks minus one for excessive MSG and no sleep equals two chopsticks.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Jeff's Review

I really liked China Gate. The staff was friendly, plenty of seating, plenty of food, and lots of options. If we weren’t comparing to other lunch stops, I’d probably rate China Gate as 5 Chopsticks.

Like Jade Garden, this really is first rate Dim Sum. And, as usual, I eat way too much at these stops. My only gripe with China Gate was price. We ordered about the same amount per person as we had at Jade Garden. However, at Jade Garden we got out for ~$9.00. At China Gate it was $13.00 per person before tax.

I’d happily go back to China Gate… but with Jade Garden only a block, I’d just as soon go there and save my $5.00.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Jared's Review

Very good food. I also liked the fact that they gave us water right at the start.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Al's Review

> House of Hong and < Jade Garden

Luncher: Erica

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Erica's Review

Candied meat (yes, I was the diner referred to by Adam), sesame adorned hot dumplings, and scary looking Alaskan King Crabs in the aquarium as you enter. I just can't ask for more.

China Gate Photos

China Gate Restaurant


BBQ Pork Turn-over


Shu Mai


Fried Shrimp Ball with Seaweed


Sesame Shrimp & Vegetable Ball


Green Beans


Fried Bean Curd


Beef and Mushroom Football


Taro Root Puff Ball

Lunch #29: Harbor City

Seven of us braved the unfamiliar, threatening fireball in the sky and set out today for our next MSG150 adventure. Having scouted out Harbor City BBQ & Seafood Restaurant last week after the mixed results of Fortuna we had some hint of what we were facing, another meat-in-window joint with dirty windows. We drug the ailing JohnAt along on his first MSG150 experience assuring him that Harbor City would certainly have a nice soup that would cure his ills.

Harbor City, Seattle
Address: 707 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/19/2008 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 20 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: A little bit, but you can order your food sans MSG.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 12
Number of occupied tables: 3 (25%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (33%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Roasted (BBQ) Duck Lunch Box - $6.50
Fortune: #1: There is prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you. #2: You will dine in an exotic restaurant.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Although Harbor City looks a lot like Fortuna from the street, on the inside it is quite different. For starters, it is on a single level and is much more spacious feeling. The cafeteria like dining area is sparse on character but very clean. However, like Fortuna, there were only two other tables seated when we entered. These places must survive on their dinner business.

In addition to the regular menu there was a MiW lunch box menu over the counter, a lunch specials menu on a white board on the wall in the dining area, and a dinner specials chalk board on the opposite wall. Fearing the worst, but recognizing my obligation, I ordered the Roast (BBQ) Duck Lunch Box to make a completely fair comparison to the two chopstick lunch box from Fortuna.

The Lunch Boxes arrived first and it was obvious from the start that Harbor City had Fortuna beat, even with the $2 extra cost. The generous portion of BBQ duck was laid out on hot steamed rice with a side of freshly steamed bok choy. The Lunch Box came with a couple of accompanying sauces: a dark brown, rich sauce that tasted like liquid BBQ duck and a sweet dipping sauce. The duck was delicious, although I think Asia BBQ may have them beat on the duck alone. As a whole meal, however, Harbor City wins that paring. The brown sauce was amazing and with the additions of their house special hot sauce the lunch box was a definite four chopstick lunch.

Also today I got twin fortunes in my cookie, a first for the MSG150. They were fraternal, thanks for asking. I wonder what the actual rate of twins is in fortune cookies. Maybe the folks up the street at the Tsue Chong fortune cookie factory would know. For the MSG150, so far, it's 1 out of 218 cookies.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Roast Pork with Rice Lunch Box - $5.75
Fortune: You will excel in something in which another failed.
Rating:

Adam's Review

They may look similar, but Fortuna and Harbor City share nothing but a common wall. Whatever I ordered this time, I was damned-well going to make sure it included some of the meeting hanging in the front window (which was my mistake at Fortuna Cafe)

I ordered the Roast (BBQ) Pork... because I knew Geary would order the roast duck (he's so predictable). Geary and I were served quite promptly, in about 5 minutes; the rest of the suckers had to wait upwards of 20 mins. What is the morale of the story? Order the food that is already cooked (and hanging in the window).

The Roast Pork was delicious. The main word that comes to mind is: succulent. It was juicy and flavorful. It was a little salty, but I chalk the use of salt up to an attempt to strengthen my heart. The pork by itself was already delicious, but the nice people at Harbor City decided that they needed to bring us some sauces too. We had 5 different sauces to try from: 2 hot sauces, and 3 tangy sauces. The darker of the hot sauces was awesome. The tomato-ier of the hot sauces is skippable.

If you're in the market for Asian BBQ, and want to try somewhere other than Kau Kau... definitely give this place a try.

Nice atmosphere. Very courteous service. Above average food.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice - $5.95
Fortune: You will excel in something in which another failed.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Another day, another hole in the wall. Harbor City looked very discreet on the outside, but you walk in and it was quite nice on the inside. There is a framed letter from the health department on the counter, basically congratulating the establishment for their cleanliness and professionalism. A good omen! The restaurant was clean, a bit dark, but with nice art on the walls. We took a big round table in the back, which was already set for us. The waitress seemed excited to see us, and was very welcoming and inviting.

On opposite walls they advertised two boards of specials - one pricey, indicating they were more special perhaps? The opposite board was clearly labeled 'lunch specials'. I went with the Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice. It sounded interesting, and twice cooked! Couldn't be bad.

The food came, and the presentation was fanastic - a big steaming plate of pork and veggies, stir fried, along with a big bowl of rice all to myself. I tore into it - it was good. Spicy, salty, fatty, and good. Though tasty, the cuts of pork were super fatty - I was certain they came from the Pork Belly. It was basically a greasy plate of bacon stir fried with veggies. Now I'm all for bacon, but they added too much grease and salt, which got in the way of the flavor of the pork. I tried a bit of Michael's cod, which was tasty, and some of Geary's duck, which was fatty and good, but not fantastic.

The service was awesome, food was slightly above average.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Roast Duck Stir-fry with Rice Stick Noodle - $5.95
Fortune: Your popularity will increase.
Rating:

Jeff's Review

I’d like to give Harbor City a higher rating. However, I have to review based on what I had for lunch, not what others had. I had a Roast Duck stir-fry lunch special. Several other people had roast duck dishes which looked a lot better than mine. It wasn’t that my dish was bad… it was just bland. The portion size was fine. It was fresh and hot. This price was fair. Serve was good. In comparison to some other plates at our table I had less meat, but I can even let that slide. I was simply disappointed in the lack of robust flavor. I tried Michaels fish – excellent. I tried Emmett’s Pork – excellent. I tried some of the sauces on the table – excellent. My own stir-fry plate… average.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Steamed Black Cod with Black Bean Sauce - $5.95
Fortune: You will make someone's heart grow fonder.
Rating:

Michael's Review

So I broke the rules. The MSG150 is supposed to be about ordering 'typical lunch fair'. I had to break the rule when I saw that the specials board had Cod with Black Bean Sauce. So what if it cost three times as much as anything my fellow lunchers was ordering? That just means that my lunch was three times better than every one else. Ha!

Luncher: JohnAt

Lunch: Wonton Noodle Soup - $4.00
Rating:

JohnAt's Review

It's not got the reputation nor the swank confines of its around-the-corner neighbor, Sea Garden, but the BBQ cum Cantonese restaurant does have its charms. I had the remnants of the flu, which called for soup. Ordering by the trusted method of pointing at a man eating soup with noodles at the table beside us, I gulped down a hearty bowl of won ton noodle soup with a healthy portion of shrimp won tons, bok choy, green onions in what seemed to be a homemade beefbone stock and fresh tasting shrimp. It was delicious and just what the doctor ordered. The server, who also was a part owner of the establishment, was just as charming as the food. When I finished the soup, she offered me a second portion free of charge. Considering the size the first, I was not up to the challenge and politely declined. After seeing what several of my friends ate from the dinner menu -- the twice cooked pork and the BBQ duck, I would definitely recommend a return visit. Four Chopsticks.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice - $5.95
Fortune: You will be approached with an interesting proposition.
Rating:

Al's Review

Salty, fatty, and spicy: too much of a good thing is even better.

Harbor City Photos

Harbor City


Meat in Window


Harbor City Lunch Menu


Roast Pork Lunch Box


Roast Duck Lunch Box


Won Ton Noodle Soup


Spicy Twice Cooked Pork w/ Rice


Roast Duck Stir Fry w/ Rice Stick Noodle


Cod with Black Bean Sauce


Fraternal Twins

Lunch #28: Fortuna Cafe

A new MSG150 record today, 11 lunchers, and two were newbies. Welcome Lydia and Jason. We also crossed over to the south side of King and left the well trodden "Miracle Mile" section of our path. We moved into unknown territory today with lunch at Fortuna Cafe. Recon trips had identified it as a meat-in-window Chinese BBQ, but little else was know.

Fortuna Cafe, Seattle
Address: 771 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 2.8 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/14/2008 @ 12:05:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 6 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 20 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 65 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 11
Number of occupied tables: 4 (36%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (25%)
Number of "local" tables: 3 (75%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $4.50
Rating:

Geary's Review

Fortuna Cafe looks pretty typical from the outside, steamed up window with various BBQ'ed meats hanging on one side and a window full of menus and news clippings on the other, however, the inside is unlike anyplace we have been yet. There is a second floor dining room with a balcony that overlooks the entrance and a large chandelier. If there had been wall full of whisky behind the bar instead of BBQ meats and if the round tables near the bar had guys in cowboy hat instead of old Chinese couples, it would have been exactly like a western saloon.

Since there were 11 of us the owner suggested we eat upstairs. Even before we ordered, she showed up at our table with two huge bowls of what she described as Black Eyed Bean soup and served everyone a bowl. The soup consisted of mostly just an opaque tan broth with a few black eyed peas and the occasional mushroom bit. Despite the lack of content, the broth had a simple but rich chicken stock flavor. If was the best part of the meal.

The lunch menu contains a handful of Chinese American standards but they also offer a few lunch sized soups and BBQ Lunch Boxes. I went with the BBQ Duck Lunch Box. As is typical with these small places, the food arrived one at a time, but this place took longer than normal. It doesn't appear that they get very big lunch crowds and are not very equipped to handed them. It's a good thing another group didn't show up while we were there. Luckily for me my lunch arrived near the front of the pack. It consisted of some steamed rice with a brown sauce, a few steamed baby boc choy, and chopped BBQ duck. It all arrived cold. Even the rice and duck were cold! The sauce on the rice had a nice flavor, but it was cold. The boc choy was a over steamed and a bit too wilty for my taste. It was also cold. My serving of duck was cold and even bonier than normal. It would have all be passable if it had been at least lukewarm, but, as I mentioned earlier, it was cold.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: BBQ Duck Sui Kau Noodle Soup - $5.50
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I like rolling deep with my homeboys. Especially to a place called Fortuna. Our crew assembled in the upstairs of a cafe and after an uncomfortable silence where all we could hear was the cleaving of meat, the server/operator/owner came up to take our order.

There were several lunch options, but I was feeling soup. For a little background, I woke up with a little upset tummy after filling up on 24 ounce beers at some Ballard dive and a late night run of Jack in the Box egg rolls. So my stomach, which when presented with the option of Meat in Window, was like "hell no you clown - gimme some soup!" Soup it was. I ordered the BBQ Duck and Sui Kau Noodle Soup.

The broth was tasty, and had little yellow noodles like Mike's. The Sui Kau were flavorful, but not quite as large as Mike's and there were only two of them. The duck was an added treat - it had a really juicy flavor, and was quite good. It fell apart in the soup so I could eat little duck pieces and sip the sweet duck flavor as they marinated in my bowl.

The servers were great, I like the atmosphere. And the other food definitely looked tempting. I'll be back.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Hot Braised Chicken Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Adam's Review

Out to the far corner of the DLZ we went again. I think today's lunch may have been a record-breaker: 11 lunchers. Thats hot

I actually had pretty high hopes for Fortuna. I love the MIW (Meat-in-Window) joints and was looking forward to some good ol' asian BBQ. I ordered the Hot Braised Chicken lunch special thinking it would be from one of the chickens deliciously hanging in the front window... I was wrong. I got chunks of chicken in a spicy gravy, and a plate of white rice. Unfortunately, I didn't really think the sauce on the chicken was good... so that kind of ruined the meal.

The hot sauce looked promising, but ended up being too salty for consumption.

The food is inexpensive. Its also cheap and too salty. Skip at will.

Luncher: Wayne

Lunch: BBQ Pork Fried Rice - $5.75
Rating:

Wayne's Review

It was a tough choice, but I moved off the lunch special menu and chose the BBQ pork fried rice, Always a favorite of mine. I was rewarded with some of the best fried rice I've ever had. The pork was tasty, and the pieces were small. Just how I like them. I'd like to come back and order this dish again.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Hot Braised Chicken Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Michael's Review

Fortuna is a bit of an old run down dive. It was obvious that they weren't geared up to have a dozen of us show up for lunch all at once. And yet they pulled it off.

We wandered upstairs and shoved a couple of tables together. It was nice that we had that section to ourselves. Need a quiet place for a lunch meeting? This could be it.

We started off with two giant bowls of a black eyed bean in pork broth soup. This was a refreshing change from the usual rather boring fair that most of the local places serve. I'm tired of the typical boring hot and sour or egg drop soup. Fortuna's soup was simple, tasty, and different. Bonus points for this.

The understaffed kitchen did a fair job of cranking out the dishes one after the other and they delivered each as it was finished. If you are expecting all the food to arrive at once it's time to get over it.

Most of us ordered standard lunch menu fair. I asked for the Hot Braised Chicken - and received a large plate of rice and chicken cooked in a spicy sauce. The chicken was well cooked and the sauce was just spicy enough. I found the quality of my food to be above average compared to other low cost 'lunch special' fair. And for $4.50 its a great deal.

While this isn't a fine dinning experience it was a pretty great and very cheap place to eat lunch.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Soft Tofu Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Rob's Review

I almost didn't go to Fortuna because everyone was referring to it as a MiW place. At the last minute, however, I read an online review that suggested Fortuna served more than just chopped up meat, and so I decided to give it a try. As it turned out, the lunch specials menu had an option for me: Braised tofu or soft tofu. The regular menu had another couple of options, as well. I ended up going with the (soft) lunch special. The soup that comes with lunch wasn't veggie, so I passed on that, but it was different from all the other Chinese lunch soups I've seen -- black-eyed peas and pork. The main dish was fine. Soft tofu, steamed bok choy, a non-congealing and non-bland brown sauce, and white rice. The hot sauce gave it a nice kick. Not bad, not bad at all. A solid three, in my book.

Luncher: Jason

Lunch: Mongolian Beef Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Jason's Review

Good Fortuna was not mine to be had this Valentine’s Thursday in February. Our lunch at Fortuna, a meat-window Chinese restaurant with the requisite open door mop closet in the upstairs dining area, left much to be desired. Granted, this was my first experience joining the MSG150, so perhaps my taste buds have not been dumbed-down enough yet to fully appreciate the distinctly non-descript taste of the black-eyed bean soup (served half into bowls and half directly onto the tabletop) but my Mongolian beef left little room for interpretation. For those who realize the need for protein but prefer the texture of rubber bands, this dish is a must-have. For anyone else, veer away. The mystery meat itself was camouflaged with thick sauce and vegetables were nowhere to be found in the brown mound heaped on top of a big pile of white rice. On the other hand, it was a lot of food for a mere $4.50, the company was charming and the wait staff created an entertaining atmosphere by bringing one item up the stairs at a time and not offering us water until we were pretty much finished with lunch. The dark wood paneling made me nostalgic for the home I grew up in (which has since been condemned.) All in all, I look forward to a bit more variety in future MSG150 lunches.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: BBQ Pork Lunch Box - $4.50
Rating:

Al's Review

Meat in window; lead in stomach.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Wonton BBQ Duck Noodle Soup - $5.50
Rating:

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Sweet & Sour Pork Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Luncher: Lydia

Lunch: Sweet & Sour Pork Lunch Special - $4.50
Rating:

Fortuna Cafe Photos

Fortuna Cafe


Fortuna Lunch Specials Menu


Serving Black Eyed Bean Soup


Hot Sauce


Balcony & Chandelier


View from Above


Cold BBQ Duck Lunch Box


BBQ Pork Lunch Box


BBQ Duck Sui Kau Noodle Soup


Wonton BBQ Duck Noodle Soup


BBQ Pork Fried Rice


Soft Tofu Lunch Special


Sweet & Sour Pork Lunch Special


Dueling Spicy Chicken Lunch Specials


Mongolian Beef


Overhead shot 1


Overhead shot 2

Lunch #27: Jade Garden

It was touch and go today getting out of work, but in the end 7 of us headed out for Jade Garden with Erin joining in from her perch on the hill. All of us have been to this spot many times and everyone was looking forward to it today. The last MSG150 non-veggie Dim Sum lunch experience was not good.

Jade Garden, Seattle
Address: 424 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 4.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/11/2008 @ 12:08:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 2 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 20 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 33
Number of occupied tables: 32 (96%)
Number of business lunch tables: 5 (15%)
Number of "local" tables: 25 (78%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Pork Spare Ribs
• 2 x Shu Mai
• 2 x Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
• Beef with Rice Noodles
• 2 x Pork and Ginger Dumpling
• Shrimp-stuffed Eggplant
• Shrimp and Chive Dumpling
• Pork, Shrimp, and Mushroom ball
• Scallop and Shrimp Dumpling
• Honey Walnut Prawns
• Chinese Broccoli
• Fried Calamari
• Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion Balls

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

Probably the best dim sum in the city. I was split on whether to give this place a 4 or a 5... and I settled on a 5. This place is really good. No matter how busy Jade Garden is, I've never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get a table... even with groups as big or bigger than 10 people.

All of the food was delicious. The pork spare ribs seemed bigger and tastier than normal. But, the highlight of the meal for me was the Pork and Ginger Dumpling. I'd never had one before, but they were simply awesome. Very tender and well flavored pork along some tasty ginger.

Good price for dim sum. The dim sum restaurant in the ID.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Jade Garden is where I come when I want Dim Sum in Seattle. This place has huge tables, is always crowded, and the selection of food on the carts is terrific. And you never have to wait more than 30 seconds to get your food. They use liberal amounts of Pork and Shrimp in everything, which just plain rocks. Compared to other places, the dim sum here just tastes a little fresher, a little more flavorful.

My favorites are the Sui Mai, the little bits of pork spare ribs, and the rice in lotus leaf. You can also order a plate of fresh fried calamari, which tastes terrific. I also tried the garlic pork buns for the first time, they were also good. And then everything with shrimp in it and sesame seeds on it - good.

As much as I love this place, it's missing something that I can't put my finger on. The service is kind of rude, but that doesn't bother me. I think I'd just like to see more specials - new dim sum every time. In any case, it doesn't matter. The dim sum here is good every time.

By the way, I had dinner here, and it sucks. Stick with the Dim Sum.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

Jade Garden is large, yet it still somehow maintains the feeling of a small restaurant. The 30+ tables are packed into five or so distinct eating areas, some at slightly different elevations and one, at the back of the maze, in what was once a neighboring restaurant. It is exactly how I expect a popular Hong Kong dim sum restaurant would be: always packed, lots of dim sum carts, great food, and lots of locals. It doesn't have the splashy decore or the bright fancy exterior that others use to cover up their sub-par offerings. But what it lacks in style, it more than makes up in taste and attiude. Also unlike its neighbors, Jade Garden is packed for lunch every day and by mostly Chinese speakers. It is not unusual to have to wait a few minutes for a table. However, since hot carts are always passing by, it's easy to get in and out in forty minutes or less.

Today we walked right in and got one of the large tables in the far back room. (Note: If you get stuck back here, make sure you get an early seating when the carts are still moving through. If not, you have to be a bit more assertive to get food flowing past.) We started with dumplings, shu mai, and noodle rolls, then the sticky rice and spare ribs and more dumplings. We topped it off with Chinese broccoli, deep fried calamari, and honey walnut prawns. Everything was great. The standouts today where the Pork and Ginger Dumplings, the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, and the Calamari. The dumplings were hot, with a nice meaty wrapper and tangy, gingery pork filling. Yum! The sticky rice is always great and today was no exception. It has the perfect combination of rice, pork, mushrooms, and tiny shrimp. The calamari was amazing. It is spiced with diced fresh red and green hot peppers that add just the right bite. Every piece I was able to sneak away with was hot, tender, and tasty (just like I like my... er, other types of things). The Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion balls are usually a highlight, but today our order was a bit cold. Still delicous though.

The other great thing about the Jade Garden is the price. We ate more than we should have today and walked away paying $9 each after tax and tip. Usually it's only $8. Again, that's all you can eat of the best Dim Sum in Seattle, for well under $10!

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Jeff's Review

The Jade Garden may be nearly the perfect ID dim sum experience. Before I even get to the food – let me clarify. It’s fair and affordable. There is plenty of seating. During lunch, the service is nearly immediate. The food is hot, fresh, and readily available. The establishment is staffed to support large lunch rushes. The table service for extras like beverages is good. Payment check-out is efficient. The only potential complaint is that it’s busy and somewhat loud. If you're looking for a quaint personal lunch with soft ambiance... this isn’t the right choice.

About the food - this is where I show my naivety. Essentially any time I go to dim sum with Geary, I simply default to whatever he pulls from the cart and I try everything. In this lunch I ended up eating more than I should and didn't have a single bad item. I had seafood, pork, vegetables, rice in varying combinations. Everything was warm, well cooked, and appropriately flavored. Even though I don’t know what everything is called, and I don’t even know what some items were - I feel confident that a dim sum rookies could randomly select just about anything from the carts and end up with a great lunch. The Jade Garden just makes great food - and makes it easy to enjoy your lunch experience.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Al's Review

"Fast food" that tastes great

Luncher: Laurent

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

VIP Luncher: Erin from Harborview Medical Center

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Erin's Review

Jade Garden is yummy. Today we had an excellent selection of dim sum, all of it tasty and fresh. Although the selection is somewhat standard for dim sum, we did have a delicious pork and ginger dumpling, which was my personal favorite today. I also enjoyed the stuffed eggplant. I think this is one of the best places for dim sum in the ID. I burned off all of the calories walking back up the hill to Harborview!

Jade Garden Photos

Jade Garden


Beef in Rice Noodle


Pork Ball


Eggplant with Shrimp


Sui Mai


Spare Ribs (not blurry in real life)


Shrimp & Scallion Dumpling


Pork & Ginger Dumpling


Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf


Deep Fried Calamari


Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion Ball


The HCG in all its post dedication glory

Lunch #26: Vegetarian Bistro

Today was MSG150's third backtrack. The MSG150 route is an integral part of our plan. Without it we would wander the ID aimlessly and eat at the good and known stuff up front and leave the dives to the end. So, to keep us on the rails, we follow the route and only backtrack if necessary. We had to backtrack for Szechuan Noodle Bowl, it's closed on Mondays, Mike's Noodle House, it was too crowded on our first attempt, and now the Vegetarian Bistro since it was closed on Tuesday when it was due up.

Vegetarian Bistro, Seattle
Address: 668 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 4.4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/6/2008 @ 12:20:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 60 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: No, but apparently you can order some.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 11
Number of occupied tables: 1 (9%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 2 x Steam Sticky Rice with Lotus Leaf - $3.00 ($6.00)
• Sui Mai - $3.00
• Steamed Vegetable Dumpling - $3.00
• 2 x Pan Fried Vegetable Pot Sticker - $3.00 ($6.00)
• 2 x Deep Fried Mashed Potato Stuffing Pear - $3.00 ($6.00)
• Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine
• Salt and Pepper Tofu
• Spicy Green Bean
• Green Onion Pancake

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You or a close friend will be happily married
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Vegetarian Bistro is a beautifully decorated restaurant. It is clearly targeting the higher end ID market. We arrived a bit after noon and were the only people there. This is now my third visit and it is always empty. I hope they do better business with the dinner crowd. In the past, the owner has served us. She is very friendly and clearly passionate about her food. Our waitress today was also friendly and a bit wacky. We ordered a good selection of Dim Sum offerings and a couple of greens. We stayed away from the meat substitutes, but they have some amazing ones. Lots of "shrimp" and "pork", but the oddest was the abalone steaks. Is there really a large demand for vegan abalone steaks? Our waitress tried to push the General Tsoa's "Chicken" on us, but we were having none of it. She was certain we were not going to get enough to eat. She was wrong.

The food was all delicious and all very carefully presented. For presentation, the Steamed Dumplings (not pictured) and the Mashed Potato Pears get top marks. Each "pear" consists of mashed potatoes with a mushroom based center, a crisp rice flower breading exterior, and a single rice grain as a stem. Not only are they a wonder to look at, but they are delicious to eat as well. For taste, however, the winners were the Salt and Pepper Tofu, the Sui Mai, and the Pea Greens. The tofu was piping hot on the inside and crispy on the outside; the Sui Mai had a deliciously complex makeup of textures and tastes including something with a bit of a spicy kick; and the Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine was heavenly.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will use your ideas for great benefit.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I didn't think it possible, but I'm giving out 5 chopsticks twice in two days. Vegetarian Bistro surprised in every way possible. I'm definitely an omnivore and tend to go nuts on meat, but veggies can be pretty good too. Vegetarian Bistro succeeds with inventive takes on chinese dishes that are hearty and flavorful. The restaurant is well decorated. The service is attentive, and the food is outstanding.

I started with the Jasmine Tea, and let the veterans place the order for food. We got an interesting tea made from Chrysanthemum, which also had little prunes and orange raisins floating in it. I tend to dislike teas made out of flowery shit, but this was pretty good. It also came with a little candle below the pot to keep it warm.

The dim sum came out and was fantastic. The Sui Mai were delicious, as were the Steamed Vegetable Dumplings. The Tofu was freshly fried, liberally spiced with salt and pepper, and was probably the best Tofu I've ever tasted. It was actually crispy. The Pot Stickers were the highlight - they had a starchy crunch on the inside that could have been potato or perhaps a baked chestnut. The Deep Fried Mashed Potato Pears actually looked like Pears, and also had a nice crispiness to them. The Pea Vines and the Spicy Green Beans were both perfectly cooked and had great taste. The only thing that was kind of average was the Steamed Sticker Rice in Lotus Leaf. Jade Garden's, which has pork, definitely 1-ups them here.

I sampled a bit of everything and got nicely full. Their deep frying doesn't lend a greasiness to the dishes, and unlike other Dim Sum places, I didn't leave with a knot in my stomach. Everything was vegetarian. I couldn't believe it. I'm definitely coming back.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will inherit money and jewelry.
Rating:

Adam's Review

Oh the irony of veggie Dim Sum. Dim Sum should be all sorts of combinations of pork and shrimp in some sort of dumpling form. Unfortunately, I knew there was no pork+shrimp combos to be had at a place like this. *tear*.

How does Vegetarian Bistro make up for not having meat? Their strategy is three-fold:

• Have fake meat. Not just the standard fake meats of "chick'n" or "beefe." You can order fake ABALONE! I'm no vegetarian, but none of my veggie friends have ever said: "man... I've got a wicked hankerin' for some Abalone."
• Their second prong of attack is "presentation." The food comes out, and it just looks good. The mashed potatoes come out shaped like little pears. PEARS! And they havea a little piece of mushroom inside (yay!) and a little piece of waterchestnut (boo!).
• And the finally tactic is having the pushiest server to date. This lady kept telling us to order more and more and more. And we did and did and did. The server was great though. Super nice and very attentive. Our tea pots (all three of them) were always full.

This place is definitely a great place for lunch. It was kind of sad how few people were in here, but with food this good... they must do a killing at dinner and on the weekends.

Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. Definitely check this place out.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will have good luck in the springtime.
Rating:

Rob's Review

Yay! Finally, the MSG150 reached the one restaurant in the ID where I'll happily eat anything on the menu. And yes, I happily ate everything on the menu that we ordered. The waitress was very helpful with our ordering. Yeah, okay, so the waitress was a little too helpful with our ordering: she happily tried to convince us to order twice the amount of food we did end up ordering, and if we spoke too loudly about other dishes while waiting and then while eating, she tried to take that as a cue that we wanted to order more. She was good-natured, and it was funny, but it made me feel like I was in a Seinfeld episode. Soon, though, the lazy susan in the middle of the table began to turn and turn, and scrumptious veggie dishes kept going by, one after the other. The dim sum choices (favorites: potstickers and potato "pears", and sticky rice, and dumplings, and... okay, you get the idea) were all good -- some were steamed, some were fried, but all were good. The regular dishes we ordered to share also got two thumbs up from me. The salt and pepper tofu was particularly noteworthy, I thought. Breaded and quickly deep-fried nuggets of soft tofu -- crispy on the outside and soft on the inside -- not your usual fried tofu. Overall, it was our most expensive lunch so far, but worth it, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I can hypnotize the other MSG150 folk and make them believe we haven't yet gone to the Vegetarian Bistro so that we can go again soon.

Luncher: Kara

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will be called to fill a position of high honor and responsibility.
Rating:

Kara's Review

First, you can't really beat a vegetarian dim sum place when you are vegetarian..they had my at the Meat-Free Zone sign on the door. Not being the biggest fried food fan...the greens were amazing. I applaud Geary's great push for the pea vines...those were the best. Followed closely by the spicy green beans (though not really spicy but nice and crunchy) and then the 'pear' that was really potatoes. I also loved the green onion pancake...I think I'm listing all the food because it was all quite tasty. I'm still in a bit of a food coma as I write this. The only thing I didn't really love the crysanthimum tea...though I appreciated the orange raisins and plums floating in it that improves one's eyesight and general good health. The presentation alone would make me choke some down.

All that said, our waitress was the best. I would go back just for her..and to try the General Tzao's 'chicken' that she was pushing so hard. Just don't mention a dish that you don't want with her around. She'll hear you from the back kitchen and want to add it to your order.

Vegetarian Bistro Photos

Vegetarian Bistro


Tea


Green Onion Pancake


All Spiced Up


Salt and Pepper Tofu


Sui Mai


Pot Stickers


Mash Potato Stuffing Pear


Steam Sticky Rice with Lotus Leaf


Sticky Rice Disrobed


Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine


Spicy Green Bean


Meat Free Zone


Our tea. Apparently it's good for the eyes.

Landmark: Historic Chinatown Gate

A group of ID business folks formed the Historic Chinatown Gate Foundation with the goal of building a Chinatown Gate for Seattle's International District. Construction started in 2006 and was finalized last week. The unveiling was Saturday as part of the Chinese New Years celebration. According to the PI, the archway cost $500,000 to build and the HCGF has set aside $50,000 a year for maintenance (graffiti and bird crap removal).

The MSG150 crew has passed under and around the gate for the last year during its construction. It's good to see some rejuvenation in the area. However, it's a shame that such a fantastic structure is surrounded by vice and decay. Maybe the gate will encourage the building owners on either side to step it up a bit. The city might be encourage to fill a few pot holes as well. Maybe they're maintaining one section of street undisturbed since it was built by the original Chinatown settlers. I hope there weren't any twisted dragon dancer ankles during the celebrations on Saturday.

Historic Chinatown Gate in the News

• Seattle PI - http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346306_gate07.html
• NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/us/06seattle.html
• NW Asian Weekly - http://www.nwasianweekly.com/20062918/chinatown20062918.htm

Historic Chinatown Gate Photos

Historic Chinatown Gage with Scaffolding


HCG with Scaffolding removed


The pot holes really accentuate the beauty of the new gate


HCG preparing for unveiling


Adding Feet


Official Looking Inspection


HCG Man-lift Action

Lunch #25: Pho Bac

MSG150 is on a bit of a roll. Except for a single turdlet, since Unicorn Crepes we have had a string of great lunches. And we have three of MSG150 favorites coming up: Vegetarian Bistro, which we had to skip today since it's closed Tuesdays, Pho Bac, and Jade Garden.

Pho Bac, Seattle
Address: 415 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Average rating: 4.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/5/2008 @ 12:25:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 14 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 49 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: No... but the server didn't seem to understand the question very well. So, we really don't know.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Vietnam, somewhere in the south.
Number of tables: 13
Number of occupied tables: 9 (69%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (44%)
Number of "local" tables: 5 (55%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: #30 - Com Suon - $7.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

This place is LEGENDARY. All Pho places pale in comparison to the greatness that is Pho Bac. I've had the privilege of eating here dozens of times since working in Pioneer Square. The store front is small, opening into a large, quaint place that is nearly always crowded. The servers are always friendly and courteous.

The first 30-45 times I came here, I ordered number 8 small – Pho Tai. It’s Pho with beef broth, rice noodles, some steakums. Add some thai basil, sriracha, hoisin sauce, and a squeeze of lime and you have the best bowl of soup ever. Others swear by the Jalapeños, but I don’t need it.

I gently branched out into the other dishes. The Vermicelli noodles, if it’s at all possible, could potentially be better than the Pho. They give you some cold noodles, your choice of meat, some veggies, and sometimes some salad greens. You then pour the fish sauce over it and it’s ridiculous.

This time I opted for the Cơm (white rice), which like the Vermicelli is served with meat, salad greens, and fish sauce. I got it with grilled pork, which is really good. I could come here and just eat their pork it’s so good.

Go for it.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: #29 - Bun Heo Xao - $7.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

Pho Bac is a very popular lunch spot for the area tech industry and it has been a top tier spot for our group for years. It's quick, cheap, and DELICIOUS. The restaurant is small and usually busy, but there always seems to be at least one free table when we arrive. Luckily today was no different. The friendly woman who usually runs the front of the restaurant was in Vietnam on vacation today but the young woman (clearly related) taking her place was also very friendly and helpful in answering all of our questions.

Today I went with the Bun noodles with BBQ Pork and was not let down. It was fantastic. The portions were generous; the pork was delicous; and the fish broth was perfectly tangy. With the addition of some Sriracha it was the perfect lunch.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: #20 - Pho Bo Xao - $7.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

What is there to say about Pho Bac? This is a place where you can go to lunch 100 times, and still love it. In fact, I would classify most of the people on the MSG150 as Pho Bac Century-ans. I knew what I was going to rate Pho Bac before we even got there. Its a 4. Amazingly consistent. Good food. Great service.

I ordered the fried Pho noodles with beef this time, to try something new. Guess what? They were awesome. The noodles were tasty. They gave me a nice big portion of them. The beef was flavorful and tender.

If you're going here, start off with the standard Pho soup. You may not think you'll be able to know a good Pho broth when you taste one (because you're dumping Sriracha in there), but you can definitely taste the love in this broth. The next time you go, get #29, the Bun noodles with pork. They're excellent... but make sure you're not going going on a cross-country road trip with friends, because they'll hate you and the fish-sauce you ate.

Go here. Go here. Go here. Always good food. Very consistent. Delicious.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: #9 - Pho tai bo vien - $7.00
Rating:

Joey's Review

I was pleasantly surprised by the fla