eaten! @kin shop

Harold Dieterle could do no wrong in my eyes.  That was until I ate at Kin Shop.

When I left the restaurant after eating there a few weeks ago (which was maybe a week or so after its opening), I was almost dreading this post.  I knew I had to write it because well, it’s Harold.  And he did Thai.  But in the pit of my stomach, I could feel nothing but mediocre words and moderate songs of praise brewing (amidst all the squid ink soup and spicy duck laab).

I thought of all the hours he must have spent laboring over that menu, designing that dining room, planning that kitchen…and how just a quick meal and a few words could render all of that for naught.  Well, in my eyes at least.

Kin Shop | Wishful Thai thinking

I was dining with Steph and Carrie that night, so I knew we were in for a great spread.  Us Hong Kong girls know how to eat.

But first I want to say a quick word about the decor.  We all noticed it was a little outdated, a little “blah” for lack of a better word.  There wasn’t much of an Asian theme going on, and yet it didn’t accommodate by being sophisticated or wordly either.  It was just odd shades of washed out teal and lime boards on bare white walls…

OK, the food.  We started with the squid ink soup….

It was daunting at first, but actually tasted quite good.  It was mildly salty, earthy and creamy even.  Peppered with bits of squid, it was a pleasant enough start.  But not particularly Thai in my eyes.

Next came the duck laab salad…

In a review I had previously read, this was supposed to be the most Thai dish on the menu.  It didn’t look like much, but boy did the duck pack a punch! It was as spicy as any green chili I’ve eaten in Thailand.  The crunchy green beans, the sweet onions and the spicy, spicy duck was tasty…until I broke a sweat!

Next app, roasted bone marrow…

Bone marrow can never really go wrong because of it’s fatty goodness.  But these bones were a little skimpy and for $14, I was hoping to get a little more out of them.  What little I tasted was rich enough to melt in my mouth, however, which is always a good thing.

Now on to the main courses.  We got the pan fried crab noodles…

Nothing was very “Thai” about this dish to me.  It was rich in Asian umami flavors, but lacked that delicious lime, basil and lemongrass aftertaste that I love about Thai food.  The celebration of Thai ingredients was lacking int his dish.  Not what I was expecting from Harold.

My choice was the roasted duck breast with curry sauce and roti…

The roti was actually amazing.  If this was made in house, then I’m impressed.  But I’m not sure I remember when roti was served in Thailand?  Are we in Malaysia now?  Regardless of geography, the duck was succulent and tender – very well cooked.  The skin wasn’t too overpowering (darn?) and the accompaniments were a nice refreshing touch (shredded green mango, fresh basil).

OK, so Harold showed up this time.  But was it the wrong time?  I almost wanted to have an unapologetic bowl of hot coconut Thai curry with fatty pieces of duck bobbing around just waiting to be scooped up and eaten with some freshly steamed white rice.

Alas, unexpected refinement is not always a good thing.

Dessert wasn’t looking too appetizing (it was mostly different sherbets), but we decided to try the steamed passion fruit pudding with buttermilk sherbet just to round out the meal …

Passionfruit is such a deliciously tropical treat that I wasn’t holding my breath for an authentic taste here.  I’m glad I didn’t.  It was more sugary than sweet and almost too tangy and tart than the fruit itself.   The cashew brittle was the highlight for me.

All in all, it was a rather ordinary meal.  None of the dishes we ordered were amazing.  And I couldn’t tell if Harold was going for authenticity or a nouveau/modern interpretation.  At the duck laab I was hopeful for a damn good attempt at a real Thai meal (hot flashes and all).  But at the roasted duck I was seeing a more refined, conceptual attempt.  I was confused.

Maybe these are dishes from regions of Thailand I haven’t been too?  Maybe it was opening week jitters?  Whatever it was, I’m giving it 2 out of 5 stars.

top chef…where are they now?

As the seventh season of Top Chef draws near (the premier is June 16th in DC…hooray!), I thought it’d be nice to write about my latest encounter with a Top Chef chef!

A few weeks ago I made a visit to Harold Dieterle’s restaurant, Perilla, tucked away on a quiet little street in the West Village.

Harold, for those of you who don’t remember, was the winner of season one way back in 2006.  After my last visit to his cozy little restaurant (the first was for brunch which was also fantastic), I will boldly claim that he his the most successful of all the Top Chef winners.

Shall we review?

Season #1 Harold Dieterle: Owner, Executive Chef at Perilla, NYC (one star by NY Times critic, Frank Bruni)
Season #2 Ilan Hall: Owner, Executive Chef at Gorbal, LA (two stars by LA Times critic, S. Irene Virbila)
Season #3 Hung Huynh: Executive Chef at Ajna (formerly known as Buddha Bar), NYC
Season #4 Stephanie Izzard: Opening a small plates restaurant called “Girl and the Goat” in 2010, Chicaco
Season #5 Hosea Rosenberg: Executive Chef at Jax Fish House, Denver (ironically, Hosea made a trip to my very own HKG as documented on his blog, just a few weeks ago!)
Season #6 Michael Voltaggio: Executive Chef at The Dining Room, Pasedena

OK, so perhaps my claim was completely biased and utterly unfounded…it seems as though each Top Chef has been successful in their own way.

But Harold is still my fave

Let me show you why…

The above is a farro risotto with artichoke compote, parmesan and a chilled grape salad.  I love risotto of any kind, but I especially love when dishes use a variation of the traditional risotto rice grain.  And farro is this wonderfully nutty, crunchy grain that just reeks of hearty goodness.

Coupled with the oozing, creamy parmesan – delightful! It was so modestly presented in the stainless steel pan that one could easily disregard it as a frivoulous side.  But no, this dish was worthy of being the main star, a center of attention.

The above picture, dear readers, is probably the reason for all this “Harold is my hero” nonsense.  Tea smoked duck with bok choi and brown rice.

The duck was so robust and so smokey, I could have sworn it was slathered in BBQ sauce.  The crispy skin was juicy and added that wonderful duck flavor that only skin can.  The entire peice was tender and succulent…ahh, it’s making my mouth water right now!

Sadly, this wasn’t my entree so I only had a few bites, but I was enviously eying Lisa as she enjoyed it.

Absolutely amazing.

My dish was a grilled branzino with spicy cumin lamb cubes and water chesnuts.  I think I may have set this dish up for failure in my own mind when I began to expect insanely spicy BBQ lamb like the stuff from the Xin Jiang lamb cart in Flushing.

When I eagerly tasted a piece of the lamb, it was disappointingly subtle and refined – unlike the Xin Jian meat for sure.  The fish, however, was cooked very well.  And as most white fish go, it  the flavors of the sauce and plate very well.

I especially liked the water chestnuts scattered about the plate, plus those other small nods towards Eastern ingredients (tea, bok choi, cumin).

To end the evening, we split a simple dessert of banana upside down cake with salty caramel ice cream.  Say salt and caramel and I’m pretty sure Lisa and I will always say yes!

The cake was delicious, but I couldn’t get my mind off that duck!…

Oh, and the fact that Harold D. himself was standing but three feet away from our table also made it a tad bit difficult to concentrate on the sweets at hand.

Sadly, I didn’t brave the embarassment to snap a quick paparazzi shot, nor did I have the balls to ask for a picture with the chef, but I did have a huge goofy smile on my face as he was chatting with some good friends at the bar.  That counts, right?

To leave us extra satisfied, we were given two small petit fours – little toffee cookies.

I often say that a good restaurant in my eyes is one that I would visit again.  In New York, there are simply too many places to discover to go visiting the same mediocre restaurants over and over again!

Well, I can say with absolute certainty that I will definitely go back to Perilla.  If one small side of risotto can make me swoon, and one tea smoked duck can totally blow my mind – imagine what else there is to discover!