Chicago: The Purple Pig

To round up my Chicago trip, we had just enough time to squeeze in dinner at the wildly popular Purple Pig on Michigan Avenue. The restaurant serves up food that I would categorize as gastro-restaurant with lots of shareable dishes, served with a Mediterranean flavor. Unfortunately the restaurant does not take reservations so there was a large crowd waiting outside for a table at 6pm.

The restaurant has seating inside with communal tables, a bar area and the coveted outdoor patio area. Since it was just a friend and myself for dinner, we knew our chances of getting a seat was higher if we chose to sit at the bar. The hostess was nice enough to let us know when a party was closing out, so we really only waited for 10-15 minutes.

There are quite a number of pork dishes on the menu, but The Purple Pig also has a nice selection of cheeses, vegetables and other meats (clams, veal, lamb).

The Purple Pig has a nice selection of charcuterie and spreads.
Pork Neck Bone Rillette and Mostarda ~ I liked that the rillette was spreadable. It was rich and salty, and paired with a tangy-sweet fruit preserve. The only disappointing factor was that the bread was burnt. Even when we asked for more, they came out burnt too. Must be something wrong with the kitchen timer.

Roasted Corn ~ A nice side dish to help balance out all the meat dishes that we ordered. I liked the texture of the roasted corn which had a slight char to it and a bit of caramelization. The corn kernels were mixed with mushrooms, nuts and fried rosemary. I liked the sweet- salty combination, and how fresh this dish was.

Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale ~ Seems to be a one more their more popular dishes. The thinly sliced pigs ear were lightly breaded and crispy on the outside with a crunch from the cartilage. I just love the texture of pigs ear. Also loved the combination of fried kale and pickled cherry peppers. I thought the fried egg did a good job of holding everything together. Once you broke the yolk and mixed everything together, what seemed like a salad quickly because a warm creamy dish.

Octopus with Green Beans ~ The texture of the octopus was firm, but tender, and its flavors were not too oceanic. In fact, when you cut up the octopus to pieces, they could pass off as a firm calamari steak. The octopus was served with fingerling potatoes and a acidic and zesty salsa verde. I was glad to have ordered some lighter dishes to compliment the heavier pork dishes.

Pig's Tails Braised in Balsamic with Grated Egg and Parsley ~ I really enjoyed this dish. The meat from the pig's tail was very tender and fell off the bone. There was also lots of bones to the tail, which made it fun to slurp up all the meat and sauce around the bone. I've had pig's tail before but only in Asian preparation so I found the flavors interesting in the use of the sweet/tangy balsamic vinegar.

Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes ~ Probably the only dish that I was not impressed with as the pork shoulder was not tender. It was tough to cut through and was rather stiff. Also, it was topped with an unsightly yellow mashed potatoes.

The Purple Pig is a fun place to grab a bite if you are relatively new to the city. It's loud and vibrant, and the dishes are unique and fun to share. Granted there were many tourists (you could tell, they were wearing sneakers and toting cameras) but I found the dishes interesting and the food good.

The Purple Pig
500 N. Michigan Ave.,
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(312) 464-1744
Thepurplepigchicago.com

Chicago: Tavernita (River North) - the corn pudding to die for!

While in Chicago, my friend and I ventured to River North to meet up with friends for a drinks. Even though we bar hopped and nibbled on dishes all night, I was hoping to check out at least one of the recommendations from my colleague. Tavernita was one of them - it is a Latin/Spanish restaurant from the same owners of trendy Mercadito.

They have a great wraparound patio seating area which has kind of a trendy yet casual gastrobar feel to it. The noise level was high and the patio was rather happening. Unfortunately every seat was taken.

We ended up grabbing seats inside, which had a completely different feel to it - it was more sophisticated and uber swank, with modern lightning and flooring. Clientele seemed older compared to the patio outside.

The menu at Tavernita is Spanish inspired, with a variety of small plates for sharing. The dishes are not entirely Spanish flavored, you can find the typical croquettes, patatas and gambas, but also hamachi crudo and lamb sausage.

I ordered a quartino of the refreshing Albarino. I was surprised that the serving was quite large (it felt more than a glass and a half) but it only cost $10.

Because I live in the no-foie state of California, I was so excited to order anything foie. 

Foie gras mousse with cherry compote really hit the spot. Thick and smooth with intense livery flavor. Gosh, I really miss the rich and decadent foie gras. It was paired well with freshly grilled baguette.

Corn pudding with shrimp was such a wonderful surprise. I wasn't expecting a large skillet of baked corned pudding that was soft in the center with zing from poblano, and topped with a nice crust. The corn pudding was topped with large pieces of succulent shrimp and a fresh herb salad. Such a unique dish that I was glad to have ordered.

I was quite pleased with what we ordered. If we weren't so full, I would have loved to order more from their menu such as pork belly bocadillo and braised short ribs with crispy potato puree. But the foie mousse and corn pudding was enough to whet my appetite. It's definitely a place that I would recommend for a fun night out with some good food.

Tavernita
151 W. Erie
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 274-1111
www.tavernita.com

Nirai Kanai: Okinawan cuisine in Singapore

I met up with a few old friends from middle school in Singapore. We decided to try an Okinawan restaurant in Tanglin Shopping Center. It's located in a pretty ghetto building that smells of moth balls, not to be mistaken for Tanglin Mall, a much newer shopping mall.

There were four of us so we were seated in the private tatami room.

The food are served small-plates style, with both popular Japanese dishes as well as Okinawan specialties. The menu is huge, sort of in the vein of Cheesecake Factory. There were lots of stir fried and stewed dishes. They also had a special menu focusing on kurobuta (black pig) dishes.

I don't usually like to order salads but the lotus salad was surprisingly so good that we ordered two of these. It was almost like a Caesar salad, with fresh creamy homemade dressing (you could see specks of raw egg yolk) and mayo. The lotus roots were sliced thin and deep fried. They were crunchy and very delicious.

Tuna Carpaccio was thicker than what I expected from a carpaccio. They were much like sashimi slices. The fish was fresh and nicely seared. The tuna was topped with Japanese mayo.

The beef takaki was fresh and soft. I really liked the texture of the beef. The dish was served with a salty dipping sauce.

The Okinawan Pancake was just ok. It was thin and tasted like a crepe, but it was lacking in flavor. It definitely needed the dipping sauce. I also thought that the bonito flakes had a strong fishy smell that was rather repulsive.

Lady finger with tofu and pancetta. The okra was rather slimy so it's not for everyone, but I couldn't stop myself from eating it. I really enjoyed the texture.

Chicken Cartilage was crunchy and not greasy. They were served in pretty large pieces. I liked that it was seasoned appropriately.

Chicken teriyaki was pretty standard but I was glad that the thigh meat was juicy and not dry.

This pork belly is their signature dish. It was pan fried and had layers of fatty and tender meat. The meat had a very distinct porky flavor and topped with crispy skin.

It was Ladies Night on Mondays so it was 30% off drinks of parties of all women. I really liked being able to share and sample various dishes. The pork belly and cartilage were my favorites, but everything (apart from the pancake) were also very good.

Nira Kanai Okinawan Restaurant
19 Tanglin Road, #04-05
Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore

dineLA: The Bazaar (the novelty never wears off)

For our last dineLA Restaurant Week selection, we scored dinner reservations at Jose Andres's The Bazaar at The SLS Hotel. Apparently everyone had the same idea because the place was packed mid week. I've dined there a couple times but it was a first for my dining companions. The menu focuses on traditional and modern Spanish tapas, with many dishes prepared using molecular gastronomy techniques. Most of the dineLA deals out there consist of 3 courses (appetizer, entree and dessert) but given their smaller portions, The Bazaar rightfully upped it to 5 courses for $45. If you do the math, it's an amazing deal since most of the dishes are priced in the teens. Additionally for dineLA, the menu selection is large and includes many of their signature items.

The SLS Hotel, designed by Philippe Starck, is luxurious, chic yet playful. When you dine at The Bazaar, it's great to absorb the whole experience by grabbing a drink at Bar Centro, then dinner in the dinning room, followed by dessert in their Patisserie.

When we were seated, I liked that the waitress brought up the dineLA menu. Often times, restaurants don't try to promote it or worse still, make you feel cheap when you request it.

“Philly cheese steak”* Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef
"Hilly cheese steak” Air bread, cheddar, mushrooms
This is a fan favorite, it seems that everyone that has dined at The Bazaar has enjoyed this dish. I liked the play on the traditional cheese steak. The bread was just that. Airy. The cheddar was sharp and oozed out of the bread, but not in a messy way. And the Wagyu beef transformed this into an upscale dish.

Gazpacho estilo Algeciras, traditional gazpacho
A light, fresh zesty soup was a nice starter that woke the palate.

Green asparagus labne, macadamia nuts
The asparagus was ample and cooked to a tenderness without turning mushy. The sauce was a sour yogurt cheese sauce that added a tang to the dish.

Jamón Serrano Fermin (2 oz)
When you dine at a Spanish restaurant, you have to order Jamon especially if there's a leg of ham hanging by the kitchen. The cured ham was very fresh and sweet, unlike the tougher and greasier version I recently had at Julian Serrano in Vegas. I was quite surprised with the portion of this dish. I was initially planning to order two plates but I'm glad I didn't. This was more than sufficient for the four of us.

The Jamon was served with traditional Catalan style toasted bread with tomato.

Sautéed shrimp, garlic, guindilla pepper
I thought this was a very simple but well seasoned shrimp dish. The chili and garlic sauce brought some lovely flavors.

Sea scallops romesco sauce
There were two large scallops to a dish so we ordered two plates. It's so easy to screw up scallops but the kitchen did an amazing job. The scallops were plump and tender, with a nice sear. The romesco and pine nut sauce richen the dish and brought a Spanish flavor to the plate.

Croquetas de pollo chicken and béchamel fritters

I shied away from bechamel sauce after an ill reaction to a moussaka I had in Barcelona. Thankfully, I've had The Bazaar's croquettes before and knew I could stomach it. The sauce was creamy and tasted exactly like a pot pie. The breading was light and crispy so it didn't add any more heavy components to the already rich filling.

Boneless chicken wings green olive purée
I thought the presentation was absolutely elegant. The boneless wings were delicate and not what you would expect from wings, which can usually be a chore to consume in public. The wings were lightly breaded and the meat was juicy. The dollop of olive puree under the leaf added an intense briny flavor.

Brussels sprouts, lemon purée, apricots, grapes, lemon air
This unassuming dish was perhaps one of my top dishes. The leafs were separated and had a bit of a crunch to it.The nutty sprouts were dressed in a lemon sauce. We all loved the lemon air which added a restrained citrus element.

Beef hanger steak, piquillo pepper confit
The beef was cooked to a nice medium rare. I thought this was a good dish but perhaps not as exciting as the previous courses.

Butifarra Senator Moynihan Catalan pork sausage, white beans, mushrooms
The Catalan sausage was very flavorful with a bit of a spice. I actually really enjoyed the beans. They were crispy on the outside and added a crunchy texture. The components of this dish reminded me of a hearty cassoulet.

I was quite surprised when we were done with our savory courses. I thought I would have been painfully stuffed but the portions were just right. We decided to continue our meal with desserts at the Patisserie across the hall.

Creamy Chocolate Heart, Coffee and cardamom
The chocolate cake was similar to a molten chocolate cake with a gooey center. It was very rich and decadent. The additional piece of chocolate ganache was added an elegance to the dish, which was apropos for the fancy setting of the Patisserie.

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta, apricots and muscat gelatin
The panna cotta was surprisingly rather heavier. I liked the flavors of the dessert but it almost had the consistency of pudding. And I wished it was served a little bit colder- it was lukewarm.

Ice Cream and Sorbet Selection

Traditional Spanish Flan Vanilla and fruit
This was my favorite of the desserts. The flan was light and doused in a sweet caramel sauce.

The Patisserie was still churning out sweets at 9pm. Their selection included bonbon, cookies, pastries and cupcakes.

Of course I had to get something to go - the green tea cookies and financiers (my favorite).

A lot of people mention that The Bazaar is great, but only for a first time experience. After that, the novelty apparently wears off. True my dining companions were wowed, but I was equally impressed even after a couple visits. Yes, I am no longer bewildered by the liquid nitrogen and theatrics, but I am still in awe of the food. It's solid. The execution is spot on, the flavors were there and the food was well portioned. I thought the service was also great despite being a full house. I liked that they embrace the restaurant promotion and didn't make you feel second-class for partaking in it. I also appreciate that they offered a large menu selection and included their popular dishes. You can tell that they definitely wanted our dining experience to be similar to a full-price paying diner. Even after five visits, I can say that dinner at The Bazaar is still an excellent and exciting experience .

Hits: ambiance, good deal, philly cheese steak, scallops, Jamon, Brussels sprouts
Misses: lukewarm panna cotta
Rating: ****

The Bazaar at SLS Hotel
465 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 246-5555
http://www.thebazaar.com/