Chen's Noodle House - Rediscovering a Hidden Gem

In this town burgeoning with hot new restaurants, it's easy to forget the tried and true favorites that deserve our support. We recently revisited Chen's Noodle House after much too long an absence, and while I'm delighted to report that it was even better than I remembered it, I also felt a pang of regret for not having patronized them more often.

If you haven't been to Chen's, it's a VERY unassuming hole-in-the-wall in a pretty divey strip center near 183 and Spicewood Springs Road. Chen's is so on the down low that when we were there recently, there was absolutely no signage to be found on the exterior of the restaurant. I neglected to snap a photo of the storefront to share with you, but if you're facing Asia Market (which seems to be closed at the moment), Chen's is to your left.

You order at the counter and serve yourself silverware, napkins, and tiny cups of tepid tap water. And then the food comes out and you're reminded of why you came.

These lamb skewers ($9) were some of the finest specimens of lamb I've ever tasted. They were impeccably seasoned and so tender. I really wanted another order of these, but as you'll see in a moment, we had already ordered too much food.

These fried dumplings ($10) came out next. Super tasty.

I'm looking at the online menu right now, and I think these sesame pockets were only $8. Which confounds me, because they were substantial enough that I think four light eaters could make an entire meal out of them. They were generously stuffed with flavorful pork, and pockets were soft and came out warm. The sesame seeds added a nice crunch and toasty goodness.

My combination noodle soup ($9) was the stuff cold days were made for. My friend suggested that I add a sauce called jia jiang to it, as well as a healthy dollop of their wonderful house-made hot oil. The noodles are handmade. How do they even sell this for $9? The bowl was gigantic. You can see the soup spoon on the bottom right, dwarfed by the massive bowl.

We were so sated and happy as we walked out of Chen's, and vowed loudly not to wait so long before returning for another visit. I hope you follow suit - I know you'll be happy you did.

Chen's Noodle House

8650 Spicewood Springs, Suite 127

Austin, TX 78759

512-336-8889

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Food Photo Friday - G'raj Mahal

Most of the dishes at G'raj Mahal, while delicious, are not particularly photogenic. Chunks of protein swimming in sauce and served in a cardboard bowl do not make for the most compelling photos (but don't think I didn't try).

The exception is their rack of lamb, which is cooked to tender perfection in their tandoor oven. This dish is now going to be a staple every time I visit G'raj Mahal, along with their fantastic beef kashmiri, which was far less sweet and delivered more of a kick than I expected. If you go in search of these dishes - which you should - try not to arrive at peak hours, as they curtail their lamb tandoor production when it's too busy.

Tasty, tender, spicy goodness on a plate.

On the other hand, if you're there when it's not too crowded, you might feel more intimidated by the critters that make up the Austin Bike Zoo. They are typically hanging around G'raj Mahal, casting their beady eyes upon the diners, plotting their next move.


Quietly encircling the unwary masses.


Sweet butterfly bicycle, or creepy alien food-stealer? You decide.

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Lamb Kofta

A couple of weekends ago, I had the great fortune of wandering about a couple of Austin's fine farmer's markets with the elusive Penny de Los Santos. At the SFC Farmer's Market at Sunset Valley, we dallied to visit with Loncito Cartwright of Loncito's Lamb fame (Loncito does not have a website, but you'll love Penny's blog post about a gathering she attended there). Penny picked up a couple of pounds of ground lamb, all the while raving about a lamb kofta recipe she knew of. When Penny raves about food, I listen, so I stocked up on some of Loncito's best ground, myself.

Later, Penny sent me her recipe via Twitter. Of course, since Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters apiece, there were a few quantities missing, so I sort of filled in the blanks. As a result, I can't really promise that this recipe is exactly as Penny intended it to be, but I can assure you it was quite delicious all the same.

Lamb Kofta
Ingredients:
For Kofta:
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1/2 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 egg
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• red pepper flakes (to taste)

For cucumber yogurt sauce:
• 1/2 seedless cucumber
• 7 oz plain yogurt (I am partial to FAGE Greek Yogurt (Total 2%))
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• olive oil (apparently optional; this was in Penny's list of ingredients, but I completely forgot to use it and I thought my sauce turned out fine without the added oil.).

Purée the onion and garlic in a food processor (you can also grate it with a grater if you don't have a food processor or don't feel like getting it out). Mix the purée with the ground lamb, the egg, and all the spices. Form the lamb into hotdog-like shapes on skewers if you'd like to grill them (if this description is too confusing, check out the photos on this blog post from The Food in My Beard). If you prefer to cook them in the oven, you can form the meat into smaller oblongs in a rectangular pan and bake them at 425° F for 10-12 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, you can whip up the yogurt sauce. Dice the cucumber, then combine it with the yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Voilà. You're done. So easy and SO good. Serve the lamb with warm pita bread, the cucumber sauce, and fresh diced tomato. Penny leaves off the tomato and drizzles hers with honey, which really brings out the subtle flavors in the lamb. Marvelous.

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Back in the Saddle

I've been remiss in posting here, of late; a little emergency eye surgery threw me for a bit of a loop. But now I'm back to my eatin' and bloggin' ways...

Last night, we were invited to the home of some friends of my friend Kimberly. Long story short, I was basically introduced to hosts Kurt and Michelle via Kimberly's Facebook page, and after weeks of making snide remarks on each other's status updates, Michelle finally decided to kick it up a notch and invite us over (along with a few of their other friends) so we could all meet in person.

Michelle had made this out to be a casual tapas party, but she and Kurt really pulled out all the stops and put together a fantastic spread. We started with a beautiful plate of olives, cheese, crackers, fresh blackberries, and kiwi; plus a platter of wonderful bread served with some mind-blowingly garlicky (in only the best way) homemade pesto...and an endless supply of excellent wine.

A preview of things to come

Kurt, an architect and real estate developer (who, BTW, designed a lemonade stand for the freakin' Neiman Marcus Christmas book in 1992), gave us a tour of their gorgeous home. Since I was just meeting these people for the first time, I didn't think it was appropriate to be taking pictures of their house, but I couldn't resist this shot in their son Miles' room:


The Kings of Pez

Following the tour, which included tons of amazing stories and a viewing of a signed speech given by former Texas governor Pat Neff introducing the first female governor of Texas, Ma Ferguson, Kurt and Michelle kicked the kitchen into high gear and started to turn out some seriously awesome food. There was prosciutto-wrapped shrimp, lamb chops with fresh rosemary, fried yucca with incredible homemade aioli, and an asparagus salad with toasted cashews. If it is true that the way to a person's heart is through their stomach, Kurt and Michelle must have a LOT of friends.


Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp


Lamb - the "after" shot


Nothing yucky about this yucca

For dessert, we had Kimberly's healthy, yet surprisingly addictive, concoction of steel-cut oats covered with goji berries, fresh blueberries, and luscious lavender-agave whipped cream. Heavenly.

We feasted outside, enjoyed the gorgeous evening, and reveled in the company of our new friends. What better way to spend a Saturday night?


Out past the birthday girl's bedtime...

Oh, and I dropped my camera on the ground - again - exacerbating the war wound it had previously sustained at Mindy's "doggie shower" last year. It might just be time to splurge on that Canon G10 I've been coveting...

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