Even though I currently have a daughter studying in Taiwan, I totally didn't understand the name of this restaurant until I walked in the door. Inside, there is a large photograph as a mural of downtown Taipei, Taiwan. The center of the photo is the wonderful 101 Building.
I was telling my friend, Vickie, who was dining with me, that Anna had recently been to the 101 Building and there was a very high-end mall in it, when the owner came over. She agreed with me and told me that she and her family were from Taipei.
The reason I tried this restaurant was because of positive reviews on Yelp.
The menu looked like regular Chinese dishes. Where other menus sometimes go overboard with choices...I found this one a little lacking. So, when she came back to take our order I asked her if there were any shrimp dishes in a spicy brown sauce. I said I like a variety of vegetables like cabbage and broccolli, etc. She looked at the menu in the seafood section and said, no. She then directed me to the "Chef's Specials" and told me to get the Seafood Delight. I asked her if it was in a brown sauce, (as dishes like this are usually in a seafood sauce (white)). She said yes. I ordered it. I also ordered some hot and sour soup and an egg roll.
Vickie ordered off the Special Diet Menu and got some chicken and broccoli.
The hot and sour soup was good. It was thicker than usual but had good flavor. The egg roll was fried well but it was kind of mushy on the inside and the cabbage seemed overcooked.
Now, to the main entree. It arrived. It was shrimp, scallops, and fake crab. All of these were actually prepared very well. None of them were over cooked (which is what usually happens). There was also a nice amount of seafood (they weren't skimpy). But the only vegetables were some bok choi (the crunchy part...not the leaves), some onions, some thick cut carrots, some water chestnuts, and 2 pea pods. The onions and carrots were the only thing with flavor. The other vegetables were there for crunch, and there was almost no color to the dish. Everything was white. Now, to the sauce. It was tan. I think they had just added some soy sauce to the regular sauce. It was not flavorful. It all also had a slight taste of char...like being cooked in a wok that wasn't cleaned well.
It was not bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for.
Vickie's chicken and broccoli was exactly like the menu said...steamed. Blah! It did come out with a soy dipping sauce. She was fine with it as the chicken was tender and it was all cooked well.
So, nowhere on the menu does it reference that this family is from Taipei, Taiwan. As we were leaving, I notice on the board by the cash register that they make the Taiwan national dish...Beef with Noodles (think big bowl of pho). Anna loves that in Taipei.
I probably wouldn't feel the need to return, but maybe I'll give the beef noodles a try.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Monday, October 21, 2019
Urban Chestnut Midtown 10-19-19
Just a quick shout out for Urban Chestnut brewery on Washington Ave in midtown STL. We went there on a Saturday afternoon. I had never been there before.
We were with a group of people who were much more hip and much younger than we were.
They had a nice selection of beers. Mike easily found one he liked.
I saw people eating pretzels with whole grain mustard and a cheese dip. Others had some fairly nice looking sandwiches.
One bummer...if you are not a beer lover (like me), the drinking is really limited. They offered me water or a Riesling or Malbec wine. I chose the riesling. It was fine.
There are 15-20 picnic tables outside and on this nice day people were gathered talking, one table was playing board games, other were having a party (birthday, bridal shower??).
It is a hip, fun place for a weekend afternoon.
We were with a group of people who were much more hip and much younger than we were.
They had a nice selection of beers. Mike easily found one he liked.
I saw people eating pretzels with whole grain mustard and a cheese dip. Others had some fairly nice looking sandwiches.
One bummer...if you are not a beer lover (like me), the drinking is really limited. They offered me water or a Riesling or Malbec wine. I chose the riesling. It was fine.
There are 15-20 picnic tables outside and on this nice day people were gathered talking, one table was playing board games, other were having a party (birthday, bridal shower??).
It is a hip, fun place for a weekend afternoon.
Bellefontaine Cemetery architecture tour 10-19-19
On Saturday 10-19-19, Mike and I went to a tour of Bellefontaine Cemetery. It is a
huge (400+ acre) cemetery in North St. Louis city. The tour was
sponsored by the Young Architects of St. Louis. So, because of that, we
got to see a lot of unique architectural elements of several of the
mausoleums. The tour director had a whole set of keys and took us into
about a half dozen mausoleums. I don’t know what I was expecting, but
they were very impressive inside. There is a lot of marble and some
have little places to sit/benches. They get cleaned twice a year (or more
if the family visits). They aren’t dark or scary at all. Here are some
interesting facts...
1. The biggest collection of Tiffany windows in the Midwest is in
Bellefontaine Cemetery and we saw 5 of them in on mausoleum.
They were very pretty.
2. The outsides of many of the tombs have A LOT of symbolism
(palms, upside down torches (a life extinguished), crosses, angels,
etc.)
3. Some of the tombs were huge in their capacity. The mausoleum
for the Lemp family (a famous brewing family in St. Louis at the
turn of the 1900s) could hold 36 bodies. It doesn’t have that many people in it,
but I was surprised to see that one of the sons married someone
from the Pabst family (another famous brewer).
4. One of the tombs actually had door knockers...weird.
5. One of the tombs was partially designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
It was an amazing thing for the Wainwright family in St. Louis.
The outside is very gray with a great deal of stone work, but the
inside is crazily night and day different...it is entirely done in
mosaics and the dome reminded me of the Cathedral Basilica in St.
Louis.
6. The most interesting story is that of the Sayman family. Their
grave marker is not a big mausoleum, just a medium sized
“fainting bench.” The story goes that Dorothy Jean “DoJean”
Sayman of St. Louis married Peter Smithers. He was a diplomat
and a spy from England. He worked for MI6. He was friends with
Ian Fleming (the writer of James Bond). Ian Fleming is said to
have fashioned Bond after Smithers...even once giving him a
pistol that looked like a pen. Through some odd story his wife was
given a solid gold typewriter, that Fleming wrote some stories on
in his “hunt and peck” style. Somewhere the phrase “gold finger”
was formed. In the James Bond stories, Agent Q has an assistant
name Smithers. DoJean died first and was buried at Bellefontaine.
Peter, who had now been knighted by the queen and become an
avid photographer and horticulturalist, even hybriding a new
flower...the DoJean Peony. The grave has the peony bushes
around it and the tour guide told us that once Peter died in
Switzerland at the age of 92, his ashes were brought here. The was
to get into the grave is not but digging up the ground in front of the
bench, but through a secret door on the back...which is a very
James Bond type of thing, don’t you think.
Mike and I found this all very interesting. We know that there are a lot
more stories like this about other graves. Since this tour was mostly
concerned with the architecture, I may go back and do another tour some
day and see what other stories I can find.
huge (400+ acre) cemetery in North St. Louis city. The tour was
sponsored by the Young Architects of St. Louis. So, because of that, we
got to see a lot of unique architectural elements of several of the
mausoleums. The tour director had a whole set of keys and took us into
about a half dozen mausoleums. I don’t know what I was expecting, but
they were very impressive inside. There is a lot of marble and some
have little places to sit/benches. They get cleaned twice a year (or more
if the family visits). They aren’t dark or scary at all. Here are some
interesting facts...
1. The biggest collection of Tiffany windows in the Midwest is in
Bellefontaine Cemetery and we saw 5 of them in on mausoleum.
They were very pretty.
2. The outsides of many of the tombs have A LOT of symbolism
(palms, upside down torches (a life extinguished), crosses, angels,
etc.)
3. Some of the tombs were huge in their capacity. The mausoleum
for the Lemp family (a famous brewing family in St. Louis at the
turn of the 1900s) could hold 36 bodies. It doesn’t have that many people in it,
but I was surprised to see that one of the sons married someone
from the Pabst family (another famous brewer).
4. One of the tombs actually had door knockers...weird.
5. One of the tombs was partially designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
It was an amazing thing for the Wainwright family in St. Louis.
The outside is very gray with a great deal of stone work, but the
inside is crazily night and day different...it is entirely done in
mosaics and the dome reminded me of the Cathedral Basilica in St.
Louis.
6. The most interesting story is that of the Sayman family. Their
grave marker is not a big mausoleum, just a medium sized
“fainting bench.” The story goes that Dorothy Jean “DoJean”
Sayman of St. Louis married Peter Smithers. He was a diplomat
and a spy from England. He worked for MI6. He was friends with
Ian Fleming (the writer of James Bond). Ian Fleming is said to
have fashioned Bond after Smithers...even once giving him a
pistol that looked like a pen. Through some odd story his wife was
given a solid gold typewriter, that Fleming wrote some stories on
in his “hunt and peck” style. Somewhere the phrase “gold finger”
was formed. In the James Bond stories, Agent Q has an assistant
name Smithers. DoJean died first and was buried at Bellefontaine.
Peter, who had now been knighted by the queen and become an
avid photographer and horticulturalist, even hybriding a new
flower...the DoJean Peony. The grave has the peony bushes
around it and the tour guide told us that once Peter died in
Switzerland at the age of 92, his ashes were brought here. The was
to get into the grave is not but digging up the ground in front of the
bench, but through a secret door on the back...which is a very
James Bond type of thing, don’t you think.
Mike and I found this all very interesting. We know that there are a lot
more stories like this about other graves. Since this tour was mostly
concerned with the architecture, I may go back and do another tour some
day and see what other stories I can find.
Cunetto's Pasta House 10-19-19
When young people, or people new to St. Louis, ask me where to go for Italian...Cunetto's is always our answer.
We have been going to Cunetto's for over 30 years. Frank and the gang of waitresses know our faces.
Cunetto's may not be pretty on the inside (could really use some updates), but it still has our favorite red sauce of all the places on The Hill...and believe me we've probably been to a dozen or more Italian restaurants on The Hill.
I always start the meal with Rosamarina soup (beef and chicken broth vegt. soup with beef and chicken) with tiny pasta.
Usually I then have a pasta dish with some sort of red sauce.
Mike almost always has a dish that the major player is some piece of meat (veal parm, veal saltimbocca, chicken parm, etc.)
Our kids (who are all adults now) have also been going here since they were born. They get all kinds of things...alfredo pastas, seafood pastas, toasted ravs, chicken picatta.
This is the restaurant where we taught our children how to eat in a nice restaurant. They learned how to wait. Since Cunetto's doesn't take reservations, I can't tell you how many nights we waited 1-2 hours with 4 little kids. We always got an appetizer and 4 Shirley Temples (with extra cherries) for the kids, and we sat in the upstairs waiting area. They also learned how to be order for themselves, how to ask if something could be prepared in a different way, and how to behave in a more formal public space (and if they didn't...we went outside...I can't tell you how many times Mike or I walked around the lobby or parking lot with a naughty or fussy child).
Just a side note...one thing we learned over the years...and good Italian (or Chinese, or Greek, or almost any) restaurant can put together almost any protein, with any pasta they have, with any sauce. All you have to do is ask. But please note...in fancier restaurants that have a legit chef...this idea of asking for things different, or sauces on the side, is considered an insult to the chef.
Now that our children all live in different states...when they come home, we go to Cunetto's. It continues to be in our family's memories.
We have been going to Cunetto's for over 30 years. Frank and the gang of waitresses know our faces.
Cunetto's may not be pretty on the inside (could really use some updates), but it still has our favorite red sauce of all the places on The Hill...and believe me we've probably been to a dozen or more Italian restaurants on The Hill.
I always start the meal with Rosamarina soup (beef and chicken broth vegt. soup with beef and chicken) with tiny pasta.
Usually I then have a pasta dish with some sort of red sauce.
Mike almost always has a dish that the major player is some piece of meat (veal parm, veal saltimbocca, chicken parm, etc.)
Our kids (who are all adults now) have also been going here since they were born. They get all kinds of things...alfredo pastas, seafood pastas, toasted ravs, chicken picatta.
This is the restaurant where we taught our children how to eat in a nice restaurant. They learned how to wait. Since Cunetto's doesn't take reservations, I can't tell you how many nights we waited 1-2 hours with 4 little kids. We always got an appetizer and 4 Shirley Temples (with extra cherries) for the kids, and we sat in the upstairs waiting area. They also learned how to be order for themselves, how to ask if something could be prepared in a different way, and how to behave in a more formal public space (and if they didn't...we went outside...I can't tell you how many times Mike or I walked around the lobby or parking lot with a naughty or fussy child).
Just a side note...one thing we learned over the years...and good Italian (or Chinese, or Greek, or almost any) restaurant can put together almost any protein, with any pasta they have, with any sauce. All you have to do is ask. But please note...in fancier restaurants that have a legit chef...this idea of asking for things different, or sauces on the side, is considered an insult to the chef.
Now that our children all live in different states...when they come home, we go to Cunetto's. It continues to be in our family's memories.
Lona's Little Eats 10-4-19
We had heard from several people to go to Lona's. Since we are from the Wentzville area, I knew we needed to be in St. Louis and then go to Lona's since it is about 50 minutes from our house.
We had been to the History Museum, which closes at 5 p.m., so it was the perfect time to head over to Lona's.
I am not familiar with the Fox Park area. It is very close to Lafayette Square.
When we arrived (about 5:30) it was not super busy, so we were able to sit and read the menu and even ask questions.
We decided to try a bunch of things...
We had been to the History Museum, which closes at 5 p.m., so it was the perfect time to head over to Lona's.
I am not familiar with the Fox Park area. It is very close to Lafayette Square.
When we arrived (about 5:30) it was not super busy, so we were able to sit and read the menu and even ask questions.
We decided to try a bunch of things...
- Spring rolls (3 rolls, each a different kind). Came with dipping sauces. Very yummy.
- Dumplings (we got 3 steak and 3 mushroom). Both were good, but nothing great.
- I got the rice paper burrito with steak and stir fried glass noodles (and some veggies) with the lime, ginger, peanut sauce. It was GREAT. It was too much to eat at one sitting. I didn't know how well it would save, so once I started getting full, I just ate out the good stuff (shrimp, glass noodles) and tossed the outer shell
- Mike got grilled steak on stir fried rice with Lona-Q sauce. This sauce was kind of a cross between a teriyaki and a BBQ sauce. I asked him about the steak and he said it was tender and good...didn't seem to have been cooked way ahead of time. If Mike says the steak is good...this is good...he knows steak!
The restaurant is not a big space, but it has seating inside and out. It is very casual, you order at the counter and they bring you your food.
They do have alcoholic drinks, but we were excited to see Ski brand soda (which our sons turned us onto about 10 years ago). I was happy because several of the Ski flavors were caffeine free.
It was a pretty quick meal and we enjoyed it. It is a fun, interesting menu and I would recommend this place.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Pulitzer Prize Photos at the History Museum 10-4-19
I know this isn't about food, but I want to put it out there...
There is a great exhibit at the St. Louis History Museum in Forest Park. It is running now through January. They have all the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, since the award began in 1961.
Some of them are heart-wrenching, some are hear-warming, and some are just plain amazing. I laughed, I cried (which is nothing new), I was inspired.
There is a great video that is 19 minutes long at the back of the display...take the time to watch that.
Two bonuses...
1. They have an inner exhibition of all the famous St. Louis Post Dispatch photos (one of the ones from Ferguson was actually a Pulitzer winner)
2. They have this great display in the middle of the room, that I almost missed because I was so engrossed by the photos on the walls, for visually impaired visitors. They took some of the most famous Pulitzer photographs and added texture to them and there was a lot of explanation in Braille. I thought it was GREAT! Most people wouldn't think that a person with limited vision could enjoy an exhibit like this, but maybe they can.
Here are some photos of the displays for the visually impaired...if you look close, you can see the texture.
There is a great exhibit at the St. Louis History Museum in Forest Park. It is running now through January. They have all the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, since the award began in 1961.
Some of them are heart-wrenching, some are hear-warming, and some are just plain amazing. I laughed, I cried (which is nothing new), I was inspired.
There is a great video that is 19 minutes long at the back of the display...take the time to watch that.
Two bonuses...
1. They have an inner exhibition of all the famous St. Louis Post Dispatch photos (one of the ones from Ferguson was actually a Pulitzer winner)
2. They have this great display in the middle of the room, that I almost missed because I was so engrossed by the photos on the walls, for visually impaired visitors. They took some of the most famous Pulitzer photographs and added texture to them and there was a lot of explanation in Braille. I thought it was GREAT! Most people wouldn't think that a person with limited vision could enjoy an exhibit like this, but maybe they can.
Here are some photos of the displays for the visually impaired...if you look close, you can see the texture.
The Rack House in Cottleville 10-18-19
This is the 2nd time we've been to The Rack House. They have a pretty skilled chef, but currently I don't agree with all the menu choices. They have recently switched over to their new "fall" menu and a lot of things have a squash/sweet potato feel to them. I don't really like sweet food with my savory meal, so I was not drawn to anything on the menu. Even the crab cake (which is typically one of my favorites) is on a bed of sweet potato gnocchi. No, no, no. The soup was, of course, squash soup. All these flavors of fall with cinnamon and nutmeg are great in breakfast muffins, but to me, I don't want them on my dinner plate.
So...we decided to just go for wine and charcuterie. (Funny...spell check doesn't know that word and is trying to change it to "charioteer." LOL!) Of course I did some research using my favorite wine app Vivino. The Rack House has several interesting red wines. We decided to go with a Red Blend from Napa call The Prisoner. It was good. It was very fruity without being sweet (I know, that's difficult to imagine). It had a BIG nose and little to no tannins (another word this spell check does not know). It was a little too "girly" for Mike but it went well with the meat and cheeses.
Funny side story...
Our friends, Laurie and Beth, called The Rack House on Friday night and tried to get a reservation for 6 or 6:30. They were told they were too full and couldn't get anything until 7:30 or 8. We walked in at 6:30 and got a table on the patio (next to the heaters). There were empty tables out there all evening. We were probably there from 6:30-8.
Here are a couple photos:
So...we decided to just go for wine and charcuterie. (Funny...spell check doesn't know that word and is trying to change it to "charioteer." LOL!) Of course I did some research using my favorite wine app Vivino. The Rack House has several interesting red wines. We decided to go with a Red Blend from Napa call The Prisoner. It was good. It was very fruity without being sweet (I know, that's difficult to imagine). It had a BIG nose and little to no tannins (another word this spell check does not know). It was a little too "girly" for Mike but it went well with the meat and cheeses.
Funny side story...
Our friends, Laurie and Beth, called The Rack House on Friday night and tried to get a reservation for 6 or 6:30. They were told they were too full and couldn't get anything until 7:30 or 8. We walked in at 6:30 and got a table on the patio (next to the heaters). There were empty tables out there all evening. We were probably there from 6:30-8.
Here are a couple photos:
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