Harvest Buffet

Ever since I caught wind of Harvest Buffet in Tacoma on IG, I really wanted to check it out.  Even though I like Feast buffet in Renton, I needed an alternative in the area for comparison.  Sure, there are other Asian buffets in the region, but not to the size and selection as Feast.  So on our way back from Portland, we made a stop at Harvest for an early dinner.  Upon entering the place, we noticed similarities with Feast.  Multiple food stations including a made-to-order noodles and a Mongolian grill.

But for the kids, it was all about the Sushi and really, there was a considerable selection of rolls and nigiri.  Naturally, many of the rolls were based on a California roll, but most of them were decent.  I found the sushi rice to be fairly on point, especially for a buffet.  As you can see, the nigiri was acceptable as well with a good fish-to-rice ratio.  The fish quality was also decent. They did a good job keeping most of the options well-stocked.

I personally love Soup and I swear I have an extra stomach just for that.  So I decided to try out 3 of the available 5 options (Hot & Sour, Miso, Wonton, Egg Drop and Coconut Taro Tapioca).  The Hot & Sour was surprisingly flavorful with spice and vinegariness.  Egg drop was rather bland, but the fluffy egg was appealing.  Wonton soup didn't taste like it should be, but was still okay.  Wontons were alright.  Meat was a bit weird in texture though.

Nearly the entire back wall of the restaurant was dedicated to Chinese Food (or something related to Asian cuisine) and the picture above is only one section of 4. I thought most of it was mediocre at best.  For instance, the broccoli beef featured meat that was far too overmarinated that it became too soft.  At the very least, the broccoli wasn't completely overdone.  Same with the green beans.  That was a positive.  Orange chicken had a dense texture and the sauce was sweet but lacking tang.

So the Chinese food also featured some Seafood including fried crab, honey shrimp, clams and baked mussels.  The crab was not very good as the meat was mushy, but that was to be expected with frozen crab.  Shrimp was actually quite good as well as the buttery black bean clams.  Mussels were motoyaki style and were serviceable.  There was also roast beef and that was cooked to well-done.  It was a bit dry.

Continuing on the Chinese theme, there was a small section with a variety of Dim Sum.  Most of them were some form of steamed bun while we also found Lo Mei Gai (sticky rice), Siu Mai, Beef Tripe and Chicken Feet.  The sticky rice was not bad being flavorful albeit rather wet.  The tripe was very tender, almost a bit too much as there was no bite.  Chicken feet were not fried/steamed enough as the skin and cartilage was a bit hard.  Siu mai were terrible.  Meat was mushy and it tasted weird, like there was too much onion (and there shouldn't be onion in siu mai).  The steamed bun was ok, but a bit stiff.

Over at the Mongolie Grill, there was a selection of meats, noodles and veggies.  There was also sirloin steak available.  I went for a mix of items and choose garlic and teriyaki as my sauces.  The items were cooked up nicely were the noodles were chewy while the meats were not overdone.  Veggies still had some crunch.  No absence of flavor either.  The steak was unfortunately quite chewy.  Adjacent to this was the noodle station and you could add a variety of meats and veggies to it.

Onto Desserts, we found a small section of treats and around the corner, there was a selection of fruit. Also available was hard ice cream available.  The desserts were serviceable but nothing special.  Fruit was fresh and the ice cream was good.  Overall, I found Harvest Buffet to be "okay".  Sushi and Mongolian grill were the highlights while the cooked food was serviceable.  The selection was massive though, especially for the price of $25.00 for adult weekend dinner.

The Good:
- Huge selection of eats
- Decent sushi
- Good Mongolian grill

The Bad:
- Cooked food is average
- Desserts are lacklustre

Matsunoki Ramen

While we were dining at Buranko Cafe the day before, I noticed that Pine Street Market was right across the street.  You see, we were scheduled to check out Matsunoki Ramen, which is located right in the market.  The place has only been in operation for less than a year, but the people behind it are no rookies.  They have countless years of experience in producing delicious and authentic ramen.  We were excited to try the place out and really loved the vibes of the market at this counter-service food stall.

Before we got to the ramen, we began with an array of appies including the Fried Shishito Peppers with chili mayo and the Popcorn Tofu with spicy soy-sesame sauce.  These were yummy little bites with the shishito being fairly mild except for a few outliers.  The chili mayo was a good compliment, but since the peppers were salted already, they ate well on their own.  The little fried cubes of tofu were pretty crispy and mildly-flavoured.  It definitely needed the soy sauce on the side.  Nice balance with the sauce.

As much as Matsunoki serves ramen, they also feature fried chicken on the menu.  We had their Jumbo Tenders marinated in soy, ginger and spices.  As such, the tenders had plenty of impact.  They were fried until crispy (as the menu suggested) and served with a side of curry dip.  Despite the appearance of an aggressive deep fry, the chicken tenders were actually quite moist and almost juicy.  The ginger really came through.

Onto the ramen, my son went for his usual in the Black Garlic Shoyu with fresh garlic, black garlic oil, garlic crunch, ramen egg and pork belly chashu.  This was legit with a rich broth that wasn't too heavy, but still had plenty of umaminess and aroma.  Lots of meatiness with the triple garlic making an impact where we had texture, fermented essence and the sharpness of the fresh garlic.  The thin noodles were al dente while the chashu was buttery soft and nicely torched.

My daughter had something from their Winter Special Menu in the Hokkaido Butter Ramen with a tonkotsu shoyu, black pepper, butter, diced chashu, ramen egg, corn, green onion, bean sprouts and sesame.  As expected, the broth was buttery with the nutty fattiness of the butter coming through.  It was not heavy, yet still full-of-depth with a certain silkiness.  Nice addition of some black pepper to offer a background bite.  This one had the thick noodles and there was a much more firm texture.

Viv had the Spicy Garlic Ramen with triple garlic, ma-po tofu, green onions, ramen egg and pork belly chashu.  Yah, they weren't kidding when they said "all the fire".  This had a real kick, but at the same time, wasn't painful to eat.  We could still discern the garlic from the spicy broth.  Loved the addition of the tofu as it added a silky texture while offering up another layer of spice.  This came with thin noodles and personally, I would've chosen thick instead to stand up to the intensity of the broth.

For myself, I went really off-the-board with the Vegan Tokyo Shoyu with corn, collard greens, green onion, sprouts and marinated tofu.  You know what?  This was good!  It is true that this was the lightest of the 4 bowls of ramen, but it had a clean broth that had umaminess, sweetness and surprising depth.  The thick noodles were chewy and appealing while the seared tofu did its best "meat" interpretation with a firm texture.  Overall, the food at Matsunoki Ramen was delicious and reasonably-priced.  Appies were good, but the real stars were the bowls of ramen.  Can't go wrong with any of the ones we had.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Discernible differences with each bowl of ramen
- Impactful flavors
- Things are prepared properly

The Bad:
- Being in a market, seating can be hard to find during busy times

Alpenrausch

Back in November, I did the dumbass thing of not checking as to which location of Olympia Provisions we were supposed to visit.  Hence, we showed up at the one on SE Division instead of the one on SE Washington.  Turns out that this time around, I would be going back to SE Division, but not to dine at Olympia Provisions.  Rather, it is their new concept, the Swiss-themed Alpenrausch.  They have changed up the decor to reflect that and the menu has followed suit.  Mind you, there are still some classic Olympia Provisions influences lurking around.

As such, the Venison Tartare looked suspiciously like the beef tartare we had at Olympia Provisions.  Yes, the protein was different, but it was just as delicious as previous dish.  It came with the same butter-soaked grilled bread which was the perfect vessel for the well-seasoned venison.  Usually venison can be rather tough due to its leanness.  However, this one ate quite buttery and was probably influenced by the mix of egg yolk, horseradish, capers and shallots.  Super tasty!

We also had another OP staple with the Charcuterie Platter featuring Summer sausage, fioncchiona, pâté cubes, mortadella and saucisson.  This also came with pickles, grain mustard and crackers.   Since I've already had their famed charcuterie at Olympia Provisions at SE Washington last year, I knew this would be solid.  We really enjoyed the pâté cubes as they were aromatic and meaty.  Went well with the crackers.  Mortadella was delicate while the saucisson was firm with the usual salty nuttiness.

Something specific to Alpenraush was the Smoked Trout with rösti, chèvre and trout roe.  This was not an overly complex small plate, but it was still very delicious.  The smoked trout itself was so buttery soft and lightly smoky.  Combined with the rich chèvre and a bit of trout roe, there was a bit of smoked salmon and cream cheese vibes going on.  However, this was much more elevated.  Loved the crispy rösti as it was potatoey and well-seasoned while not overly greasy.

For me, I just love fries and I'd rather have some excellent fries over a lobster tail.  No joke!  So I got the French Fries with aioli.  Um, for $8.00, this was a crapload of fries.  But they were excellent fries though!  So very uniformly crispy and served piping hot.  These remained crispy even until the very end.  To top it off, they were perfectly salted and yep, the side of aioli provided that creamy garlickiness.

Now for the thing we were really here for!  The Fondue!  We ended up with the smaller one at $39.00 that serves 2-3 people because we ordered a lot of other dishes!  This fondue consisted of melted emmentaller & gruyère cheeses served with OP kasekrainer, bratwurst, cured meats, fruit, new potatoes, pickles, seasonal veggies and bread.  This was such a treat!  The fondue was so creamy and rich with the unmistakable flavour of the cheeses and white wine.  It coated each piece of meat, veggie, potato or bread beautifully.  We had lots of fun with this!

For some bigger dishes, we had the Schnitzel a la Holstein with pasture-raised pork, soft-boiled egg, anchovy, capers and lemon.  This was a large flattened piece of pork that was a touch dry.  The breading on the outside was crispy and nutty.  With a squeeze of the lemon wedge combined with the anchovy, we had some salty tangy and briny flavors going on.  Add in the silkiness of the runny egg yolk, this was full of textures as well.

The kids just love duck and we couldn't get out of there without ordering the Duck Breast with rösti and dried cherry jus.  The duck breast was prepared to medium where it was still juicy and moist.  It was seasoned enough that it could stand on its own but the sweet and tangy cherry jus was a perfect compliment.  As for the skin, it was fairly rendered and crispy.  Once, again, we found the same crispy rösti on the plate.

Our last main was the most surprising in the Chicory Wrapped Grilled Trout with späetzle, foraged mushrooms, brown butter and herbs.  Nothing could describe how flaky and moist the fish was after we cut into it.   So natural tasting and fresh.  I would say that this might be a bit mild for some people, but we enjoyed the simplicity of the fish.  The späetzle was nicely browned in butter being nutty and chewy.

For dessert, we shared the Pannacotta with tart cherries.  Texturally, this was more akin to a cheesecake rather than a pannacotta.  With that in mind, it was good in that manner.  It was thick and creamy while being lightly sweet.  The tart cherries made this sweet and tangy.  Overall, the meal at Alpenrausch was fantastic.  Food was prepared properly and the fondue was super fun.  Loved how this was a bit different than most other meals I've had.

*Partial food credit paid for this meal*

The Good:

- Something different

- Loved the fondue

- Has some OP classics

The Bad:

- Tables can be a bit small

Buranko Cafe

Often, when we combine multiple Asian cuisines into one restaurant, it can be disastrous.  I've seen some places that have pulled it off, but that would be the exception.  So when I got an invite to try out Buranko Cafe, I was a bit skeptical.  However, never judge a book by its cover right?  Actually, the cover was quite nice as Buranko Cafe is nicely appointed and really cute inside.  But what about the food?  There was Korean, Japanese and Thai on the menu.  I guess we were about to find out!

So we started with the Okonomiyaki Fries topped with the usual bonito flakes, kewpie mayo and unagi sauce.  Well, these were delicious!  The fries were super crispy and held up to the wet ingredients very well.  I found the flavours of Okonomiyaki were present including the sweet creaminess of the mayo and sweet tang of the sauce.  Add in the considerable amount of briny bonito flakes, it was a flavor bomb.

For myself, I decided on the Soft Shell Crab Pad Thai.  This was a decent portion of chewy noodles that were nicely caramelized by the stir-fry.  It could've used a bit more charring though as it was missing some of the classic smokiness.  But it didn't lack impact though as it was sweet with a balancing amount of tanginess as well as a touch of spice.  I loved the soft shell crab as it was creamy and soft while the batter was thin and crispy.

For my daughter, she decided to try the Chashu Bowl with marinated pork belly, sweet soy glaze, ramen egg, pickled cucumber, fukujinzuke and rice.  This was a pretty robust bowl of food as the pork belly was meaty, yet fatty at the same time.  Really tender and full of impact from the sweet glaze.  This went well with the chewy rice while the pickles added some needed crunch and acidity.  Ramen egg was custardy and flavorful.

Viv decided on the Spicy Seoul Chicken Bowl with KFC breast with Korean garlic-chili sauce, cucumber salad, sesame and kimchi on rice.  Once again, this was a hearty bowl with big pieces of tender chicken.  Being breast meat, it was not as juicy as leg meat, but it was still moist.  The batter was crispy and the sauce had plenty of spice and sweetness.  Loved the addition of kimchi as it provided a tangy spiced crunch.

My son had his favorite with the Galbi Bowl with Korean short ribs, sesame, zucchini, kimchi and rice.  This featured a bevy of tender beef short ribs that were perfectly marinated.  Lots of sweetness to go with the savouriness.  The char on the ribs added smokiness and texture.  Again, the rice was chewy and went well with the meat as well as the kimchi.  He loved that there was enough meat to go with the rice.

We were told to try the Miyagi Sandwich and yep, that was a good call.  This consisted of a deep fried chicken breast sandwiched in a soft, yet robust bun.  It kept everything together including the lime aioli dressing, tomato, lettuce and avocado.  The combination of ingredients worked well together as the tempura batter on the chicken was crispy and light.  It was complimented by the creamy and tangy dressing.

We also had dessert in the Mango Coconut Sticky Rice featuring butterfly-infused rice.  A simple, yet delicious treat, the mango was ripe and sweet (hey that rhymed!).  Perfectly-textured, the sticky rice was aromatic and creamy from the sweet coconut cream.  A nice finish to a delicious meal all within a cute dining space.  We also had some cocktails and those were good too.  Great place for lunch and also for dinner where you can hang out and grab some bevvies.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Impactful flavors

- Has a spot just for kids to play

The Bad:

- Portion size could be small for large appetities

Sang Nuua Catering

Of all the blog posts I've ever done, this would be the most unique of them all.  So after I had visited Portland in November, I got a message from Sang Nuua Catering asking if I was interested in trying out their catering services.  Yep, I was definitely interested, but there were a few issues.  First, I don't live in Portland and second, wouldn't we need a kitchen?  The first problem was solved quickly as I was heading down to PDX with the fam.  Second problem was alleviated since I was staying somewhere with full kitchen facilities.  Since plates and utensils were provided, we had nothing else to worry about.  Hence, we made arrangements for the fam to try their Pan-Asian dinner.

We started things off with the Vietnamese-Style Glazed Wings.  Chef Aurora has worked at the famed Pok Pok and Nong's Khao Man Gai, so she knows a thing or 2 about Thai cuisine.  Hence, it was by no surprise that the wings were fried up crispy, but were super juicy and tender inside.  The fish sauce caramel was pungent being briny, sweet and garlicky.  I thought this was a great start.  My only wish is that the wings were darker in color (for aesthetics, as it made no difference in the eating enjoyment).  It is true that it is more difficult to get a darker color with rice flour though.

Next up was the Green Papaya Salad served with sticky rice on the side.  This was a fairly large portion, just like the chicken wings.  This meal could serve more than 4 people in my opinions (stay tuned for the rest of the dishes).  Fresh and crunchy, the salad featured julienned green papaya, green beans and tomatoes.  The dressing was sweet, briny and plenty tart that was an excellent appetizer.  It only whet our appetites for the rest of the meal.

We moved from that onto 2 salads including the Thai Steak Salad (can be had as Mushroom for those who are vegetarian).  This sported a considerable amount of tender strips of steak that were first seared, then stir-fried in herbs and seasoning.  It was then plated with Thai basil, onions and cilantro in a spicy dressing.  The result was essentially an all-meat dish that was sort of a "salad".

Chef Aurora then proceeded to fry up some eggs (Fried Egg with Vegetables) in oil until they were crispy on the outside, but still fluffy on the inside.  These were served on a bed of greens with fish sauce dressing.  Not a complex dish by any means but super tasty nonetheless.  I love eggs, so this was a textural delight to go with the fresh crispy greens.  Of course the dressing was at its briny and fishy best with sweetness and some acidity.

One of my favourite dishes was the Turmeric-Fried Catfish over rice noodles and herbs.  The fish was fried up beautifully where the color was appealing and the texture was buttey soft.  Lots of flavour from the marinate itself, but it didn't hurt that we had a spicy pineapple sauce to go with it.  Normally, catfish can taste quite muddy, but this was kept to a minimum.  Rather, it was more naturally sweet than anything else.

Lastly, we were served the Whole Roasted Bird (that was dressed and put into the oven at the start) served with GinGar sauce and sweet garlic sauce.  Slathered with hoisin and 5-spice, then roasted with herbs, the chicken was aromatic.  The skin was crispy while the meat was moist, even the breast.  Loved the gingar sauce as there was both ginger, garlic and scallions.  But really, the sweet garlic was pretty rad too with lots of fresh garlic.

For dessert, we were served something simple and refreshing in a sliced ripe Mango.  Overall, the food prepared by Chef Aurora is restaurant-quality, but served at your choice of venue.  Ingredients are fresh and prepared beautifully.  The amount of food is enough for more than 4 people.  So there we had a lot of leftovers, but Chef Aurora packed-up everything for us.   As mentioned by Chef Aurora, a kitchen isn't necessary for her catering services.  The menu would just be altered for the venue.  However, I wanted the full-meal deal and ensured that my hotel had a full kitchen.  I guess an Airbnb would work for this purpose as well.  Whatever the case, I am glad we got to experience this.  Totally spoiled with delicious food!

*All food for this blog post was complimentary*

The Good:

- Lots of food!

- Impactful flavors

- Beautifully cooked proteins

The Bad:

- To get the full-experience, a full-kitchen with enough counter space would be ideal

 

Nong's Khao Man Gai

With not really a plan for dinner on our second night in Portland, we decided to go back to the well with a PDX classic - Nong's Khao Man Gai.  Yes, it is that famed food stall that dishes up one dish - poached chicken and rice with an addictive sauce.  However, quite awhile back, they opened up several B&M stores including the one at SE Ankeny.  This little counter-service spot is small and overflows into the outdoor sidewalk seating.  Well, it was a bit cold for us to sit out there and luckily, we scored one of the precious indoor seats.

Of course, we had to get the regular portion of the Khao Man Gai featuring a poached chicken breast atop Mary's non-GMO chicken rice.  Sure, we also got some cucumbers and a side of soup, but the star of the plate is their addictive sauce.  Sweet, gingery and garlicky, this sauce is like liquid crack.  You can put that on shoe leather and it would taste great.  But in this case, it was on tender and moist chicken with an aromatic and chewy rice.  To customize your plate of food, they also have a small fridge with all the condiments including hot sauce.

Naturally, we wanted a bit of variety with the meal so we also got the Super Soup which was essentially the previous dish in one bowl.  So imagine the same sweet daikon chicken soup with slices of the tender chicken and chewy rice.  This was so comforting and full of impact from the intense sweetness of the broth.  The bevy of chicken made this hearty and fulfilling.  Add in the rice that absorbed the soup while not being soggy, this was a Thai chunky soup.

Another variation of the same ingredients was with the Chicken, Rice and Peanut Sauce.  So the same chewy fragrant rice with sliced chicken breast on top, but drizzled aggressively with a thick peanut sauce and some crushed roasted peanuts.  This came with a side of lightly blanched broccoli.  I found the peanut sauce to be nutty and aromatic with some sweetness.  I thought it was pleasant, but for me at least, I much prefer their signature dish with that crack sauce.  I did think the peanut sauce went well with the broccoli.

Lastly, we had the Khao Kha Muu which was also very comforting.  It consisted of stewed pork, pickled mustard greens and boiled egg on jasmine rice with Thai chili sauce.  This had Cantonese Miu Choy Kau Yeuk vibes (Stewed Pork Belly with Mustard Greens) and that was a good thing.  So rich and meaty with tanginess where the rice soaked it all up.  So as much as the rest of the dishes were good, it is all about the signature chicken rice here.  You can't go wrong with it.

The Good:

- That sauce with the chicken rice...

- Reasonably-priced

- Other dishes are decent too

The Bad:

- Limited indoor seating