ámaZ

It would seem, after the amazing dinner that we had at Astrid y Gaston, that everything else would be rather anti-climactic.  We did however, come across several articles/TV shows mentioning s restaurant in Lima that focused on Amazon cuisine.  This sounded really interesting and while there may have been a few things on the Astrid y Gaston menu that may have come from the Amazon region, it was not explicitly focused there.  This restaurant was called ámaZ and we decided that it was a place we were interested in trying out.  It helped that we happened to wander past the place when we were exploring near our apartment, so we made a reservation and went the following evening.  The place is located in an office building and there is just a sign in the window, so it was kind of a wonder that we noticed it.  The dining area comprises two levels, the lower level, where the entrance is located has tile floors and turquoise walls with banquette seating and a bar in the center of the room with hanging lights over it.  The upper dining room very much had a jungle hut motif.  It had wooden floors and round booths around the edges with wicker "roofs".  The round tables in the center of the room used black lounge chairs around inlaid wooden tables.  The menu had a lot of stuff that looked potentially interesting, it took a little bit of time to decide what we wanted to order.  I say what we wanted to order, because everything on the menu was designed for two or four people.  An odd numbered party would have to plan accordingly and a single diner would be eating a lot or bringing something home.  We started things out with Giant Amazon Snails which were sliced up, mixed with Chorizo and Quinoa with a Camu Camu Sauce (Camu Camu is an Amazonian fruit plant similar to Guavaberry), and returned to their shells, which were about the size of my fist.  We were given wooden spoons with which to eat the mixture.  The snail was cooked perfectly and was very tender and had a very savory taste with spice provided by the chorizo.  It was unusual and very good.

We then proceeded to a Jar of Pickles.  What this means in a lot of finer restaurants is a jar of mixed pickled vegetables and possibly fruit (which this one had).  The jar contained Starfruit, Red and Green Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes and used a sweet and sour pickling liquid similar to that used with sweet pickles.  I like pickled vegetables and this was a plus because it had the starfruit, which I had never had.

For our main course, we had Barbecued Ham with Fried and Mashed Plantains and a Side Salsa of Red Peppers and Onions.  This was a fairly simple course, but it was good.  The ham was well cooked and the barbecue was both sweet and spicy.  The plantains reminded me of slightly sweet mashed potatoes and the salsa provided some textural variety with a nice crunch and some spiciness.

We also got a side of Turmeric Rice with Brazil Nuts.  This was also very simple but very flavorful and good.  The turmeric provided a light mustard/curry flavor and the Brazil nuts added crunch.

While everything up to this point was really good and we enjoyed it a lot, dessert was something else.  It was called a Jungle of Chocolate and was served in a cacao bean shell.  It had an amazing variety of textures and colors and started with a very creamy Chocolate Mousse on the bottom with Albaquilla Sponge Cake (an Amazonian Basil), Cilantro Meringue, Cocona (an Amazonian fruit with a flavor between a lemon and a tomato), Bitter Orange, and Macambo (White Cacao, a lesser cousin of the Cacao tree that grows in the Amazon).

Dinner at ámaZ was amazing even if it was slightly annoying to have to coordinate with someone else what we would order.  The flavors were great and I definitely had several things that I have never had before and likely may never be able to have again.  I would happily recommend this to others and would happily return if I were to be in Lima again. 

Gaston Acurio: Tanta and Astrid y Gaston, Part 2

In my last post I had talked about Gaston Acurio, his cafe, Tanta in Larcomar, and the beginning of dinner at his flagship restaurant, Astrid y Gaston.  As I mentioned, the dinner was about our memories and the dining room was designed to evoke childhood memories.  As the dinner was 28 courses, it would be difficult to talk about every single course individually, so I will talk about them in the "acts" in which they were presented.  I will say though that all of the dishes were very different and creative and that I had several things that I had never encountered before.  The first act that we were presented was Sweets After School which were presented in one container that was similar to a cookie tin.  We were instructed to start with the Barquillos, the thin and delicate biscuit rolls, that were served with a Lemon, Basil, Strawberry, Rocoto Pepper, and Yogurt spread that we were to eat with it (lower picture).  We then proceeded to the Ice Cream which was a small sugar cone filled with Lucuma flavored Ice Cream (Lucuma is a South American fruit with a dry flesh and a flavor similar to Sweet Potatoes and Maple) and topped with Chocolate-covered Chestnuts.  Next were the Camotitos, crunchy wafer cookies of Ginger and Chicken Skin, the Meringue Kisses made, surprisingly, with Black Botija Olives and Anchovies, and finally, the Charada made with Prawns rolled in Peanuts.  While they all looked like sweet treats and there was some sweetness to them, they were not exceptionally sweet, but they were creative, provided a wide variety of textures and flavors and tasted good.

The next act was presented in 3 courses and were about Home Memories.  There were three courses presented individually.  We were first presented with a large Ice Cube filled with Medlar Juice (a Medlar is an Asian Fruit that is hard until it has been frozen which causes it to soften).  The dish was called Garden Fruits tasted very much like lemonade.  Our next course was called Mama's Patita which was presented on a tripod and consisted of Ground and Roasted Pig Trotters with Mustard and Cress.  And finally, Grandma's Torrejita which was like a small, warm Tortilla with Chickpeas, White Asparagus, and Caviar.

For the next act, we remembered A Summer at the Beach and were served Raspadillas, a dish of Shaved Ice.  This Shaved Ice was a combination Vegetable Ice, Syrups, and Fruits and Herbs from their gardens (which are in the front of the restaurant).

The next memories were of Products That Are Leaving Us and there were two courses.  The first course was a Frozen Delicia Apple which was thinly sliced and presented as a Ceviche with a Leche de Tigre of Rocoto,  Sea Urchin, and Borage (the small flowers).  The second course was called That Pink Clam Chowder which was kind of funny actually, because it was neither pink nor contained clams.  It contained Fake Pink Clams made from Pacae (Ice Cream Bean, a legume native to South America that produces an edible and sweet white pulp), Spicy Seafood Broth, Fava Beans, and Creamy Potatoes.

We then had a couple of dishes representing Recipes That Are Leaving Us.  We started with Memories of a Shrimp Ocopa which was a dish that looked and tasted like a shrimp stew.  It consisted of Shrimp Tails, Shrimp Essence Oil, Roasted Peanuts, Garlic, Roasted Onion Broth, Mirasol Pepper, Nuts, and Huacatay (a Marigold plant native to southern South America whose leaves are dried for seasoning and also known as Black Mint Paste).  The second dish of this group was the Escabeche of Cojinova (Escabeche is a dish similar to Ceviche except that the fish, in this case Cojinova or Palm Ruff, is poached first).  This was one of my favorite dishes.  It also used Lightly Smoked Marinade Oil, Onions, Tomatoes, and Aji Peppers.

The next act was about Going Back Home and for this course we were presented with an Homage to Mashed Potatoes with Fried Egg.  Potatoes are very much a staple in Peru with over 3000 varieties grown, so I was not at all surprised to see a dish based on potatoes.  The dish consisted of Chaulina Potato Cream, Chicken Jus, Dried Tomatoes and Porcini, Fried Quail Eggs, Tomato Powder and Spinich.  I wish I had been a little better with the focus on this dish.  Suffice it to say that it looked as good as it sounded and tasted just as well.

The next act contained three courses and was about Regional Longing.  With these courses, we got into the final savory courses.  We started with Between a Potato Ajiaco (a hearty potato stew with beef) and a Tongue which contained Semi-Dried Native Potatoes, Fresh Cream Cheese, Onion, Roasted Yellow Aji Pepper, and Beef Tongue.  We then went to Rabbit Pachamanca (the rabbit is baked with spices using hot stones) made with Rabbit Loin and Liver, Corn and Garlic Cream, Oca (Sweet Potatoes) and Olluco (a South American plant grown primarily as a tuber, but secondarily as a leaf vegetable).  We finished this act with an Homage to Shambar (a traditional Peruvian soup typically containing three types of meat, beans, and spices.  This version had Brisket, Pork Rib Broth, Bean Germs, and Peppermint Sprouts.

The last several acts covered the wide variety of desserts we were served.  The first set were called Children's Pranks and were presented in four courses.  We started with The Tasty Banana and Cheese with an Isla Banana, Spices, Caramel, and Pisco, Crumbs of Paria Cheese (a semi-hard cheese with wrinkled skin), Arugula, and Black Pepper.  We then remembered Pomegranate Wars During the Break which was a Pomegranate Bombe (ice cream frozen into a spherical mold), after which we remembered Strawberries and Milk which was a Strawberry Gelee and a Strawberry Flavored Condensed Milk Ball and finished with U-Alianza, an Homage to Mazamorra Morada (a Peruvian Purple Corn Pudding) and Arroz Con Leche (Rice Pudding).

The next act which consisted of two courses was a bit whimsical and was called Sweet Memory.  It started with Lima Blanquillos (I am not exactly sure where the name came from because blanquillo is synonymous with huevo, which is egg.  Blanquillo though, has a rather derogatory negative slang meaning).  The dish consisted of Apricots cooked with Chamomile, Almond Cake, and Apricot Kernel Ice Cream.  The second dish was called Why is it Called King Kong?  It consisted of a Quince Compote (Cotton Candy), Peanut Jelly, Herb Soup, and Flower Ice Cream.

We finished Lost Flavors.  Which was an act in two courses.  We started with a Real Chocolate Bar with Peanut Cocada (the coconut bark cookie).  The chocolate was a little on the dark side but it was very good.  Eating it together with the cocada though, was like eating a deconstructed Mounds Bar.  The last course was a little strange.  It was called an Emoliente in Two Temperatures.  An Emoliente is an herbal tea and the flute we were presented with had a leaf in it to start.  The server then poured a different liquid into each side and pulled the leaf out.  The liquids were not only two temperatures, but two colors and two consistensies as well.  We were to drink the drinks side by side to get both flavors at once (The flavors were different as well).

Dinner at Astrid y Gaston was an amazing experience and while I am sure I didn't do justice to the individual courses, I was very happy that I had the opportunity to experience this.  If I return to Lima, this is a place that I would try again as well as some of Gaston Acurio's other restaurants. 

   

    

Gaston Acurio - Tanta and Astrid y Gaston, part 1

Before I travel somewhere, one of the first things I do is to look at what good restaurants, I might have the opportunity to try there.  When I first thought about traveling to Peru, I looked, and quickly discovered Astrid y Gaston.  It was listed as one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World, but I wanted to find out what it was about.  In my investigation, I learned about Chef/Restauranteur Gaston Acurio.  His history really interested me and his restaurant aims convinced me that Astrid y Gaston was a restaurant that I really wanted to go through.  The son of a politician, Gaston, first went to Law School thinking that he would follow in his father's footsteps, but he discovered that he really didn't want to be a lawyer and went to Paris, where he went to culinary school.  He met his wife in Paris and they returned to Lima in 1994 where he decided to apply his acquired fine dining skill to Peruvian food and try to introduce the world to Peruvian cuisine.  Through the years, Gaston Acurio has opened about 40 restaurants in several countries including the United States (La Mar in Miami, San Francisco, and San Diego, and Tanta in Chicago).  I had been to Tanta in Chicago and found that Peruvian cuisine was a fusion of various influences and it really interested me so, when plans for a trip to Peru started happening, I knew that Astrid & Gaston had to be on the list of places to visit.  We made plans to do an organized tour, but also to spend several days in Lima after the tour ended, so we would have a chance to explore things at a more leisurely pace and to see things that we might want to see on our own.  Looking at our schedule and what day might work to go to Astrid y Gaston, we found that our best day to go was going to be on the day our tour ended so that is when I made the reservation.  We left our tour hotel and settled into our apartment in the morning and our reservation wasn't until the evening so we decided to explore.  We were fairly close to the coast, which was a cliff and there was a mall, Larcomar, built into the cliff.  It was a place recommended while we were on the tour so we decided to check it out.  It was a very nice mall with a lot of high end stores, but what makes me mention it is that Gaston Acurio's Cafe Restaurant, Tanta, was located there.  As it was lunch time and we had not eaten yet, we decided to stop there for lunch and use it as kind of a preview for Astrid y Gaston.  I will start out by saying that Tanta Larcomar and Tanta Chicago have very little in common except that they serve Peruvian food.  Tanta Larcomar is very brightly colored, using a lot of reds and yellows in their color scheme.  It reminds me of a restaurant/bar that you might find on the beach which is appropriate.  It actually has two levels, the main level which is primarily bar and patio with a red and yellow canvas tent roof.  The interior of the restaurant is on the side of the cliff and you actually have to go down from the main level to get to it.  The outer walls were windows overlooking the ocean and allowing for a lot of light.  While the place looked relatively casual, the waiters were dressed very professionally with black pants, bright blue shirts (with a Tanta logo) and ties.  The place looked very friendly and casual and the menu looked very good, but as we were going to be having a 29 course meal for dinner, we thought it a good idea possibly, to take it easily and eat lightly.  After ordering and seeing other people's orders come out, we determined that that was not going to really be possible.  I started things out with Tiraditos Dos Cremas.  I knew from having it earlier that tiraditos is a dish of raw fish or seafood prepared similarly to ceviche and it sounded good.  This Tiradito was prepared with Corvina, a Drum Fish native to the Southeastern Pacific, and two sauces, Aji Amarilla (yellow pepper) and Rocoto (Red Pepper).    The Corvina was very thinly sliced and covered in the sauce, so when the plate came, it looked at first as it if I was getting a plate of sauces divided by garnishes (Sweet Potatoes, Peruvian Corn, and Red Peppers).  I had to stab my fork into the sauce to find that the plate was actually covered with fish before the sauces and garnish went on.  The corvina was very tender and tasty and went very well with both sauces.  The sauces also use a lot of lime juice so they were both pretty sour.  Of the two sauces, I would have expected the red to be spicier, but it was actually the yellow that was more spicy.

For my main course, I went with a Roast Pork Sandwich with Vegetables with a side of French Fries all served with a Yellow Pepper Sauce.  The vegetables were fresh and crisp, the pork was thinly sliced and the French bread that it was served on was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside like good French Bread is supposed to be.  The way the flavors and textures came together, this really reminded me of a Banh Mi and I really liked it.

My dining partner had a Chauffa, a Peruvian Chinese (Chifa) dish of Fried Rice and Potatoes with Shrimp, Onions, Corn, and Beef.  While it was similar to Chinese Stir Fries that I was familiar with, it very definitely had a Peruvian bent to it with the potatoes and the sauce.  Everything tasted very fresh and it tasted very good.

While some of the desserts that we saw looked very good, we really wanted to have room for dinner that night so we waived dessert.  The food and service here were very good and I would happily return. but on this trip we had other hills to climb.

We arrived a little early for service at Astrid y Gaston that evening and were told we could sit at a high top outside the restaurant which was part of the attached bar.  The place was actually an old Spanish-style farmhouse and was enormous.  There were actually herb gardens and green houses in the front that I would have investigated further had I been able to see better, it was night after all.  When we were first seated inside the restaurant, we were seated at low love seats with a low table and a round light between us.  We had a view overlooking an inner courtyard and a kitchen which was great, but my first thought was that if we were going to be sitting here for an extended time, it could get uncomfortable.

We were told that the theme for tonight's dinner would be Things We Remember.  Our first course was then served which consisted of a Sparkling Cocktail, Guinda de Huaura, a drink containing some Sparkling Wine and Morello Cherries, and some Pate Finger Sandwiches.  The drink was very bright and flavorful and the sandwiches were delicate and flavorful.  It was a great start and I was excited to see where we might go next.

Where we went next actually was on a tour of one of the restaurant's five kitchens before being seated inside in one of the interior dining rooms which was decidedly more comfortable.  The room had tall ceilings and several round tables with comfortable chairs.  The windows were curtained and there was a tall bookshelf with knickknacks and shelved mirrors on either sides.  There were also several paintings in the room that were seemed meant to evoke memories of childhood.

Such was the start of our dinner.  To be continued in part 2.  
 

El Señorio de Sulco, Lima, Peru

While most of the dinners that we had on our tour in Peru were buffets (good buffets, but buffets, still), the last restaurant we went to for our farewell dinner, El Señorio de Sulco in Lima, we ordered a la carte from a small menu we were given on the night before we went.  Located in Miraflores, like most of the places we saw and visited while we were in Lima, it also is very much a tourist restaurant.  While the tables in the restaurant were generally set up for large parties, the art work and the design of the place were very nice with glass walls, large ceramic jugs, and a large wall of masks that was located just inside the entrance.  It is apparently also very popular with visiting celebrities.  The wall of fame included bands, Franz Ferdinand, Stone Temple Pilots, REM, and celebrity, Paris Hilton.  Other than the rows of very long tables, it looked like a very nice restaurant.

I started things out with a soup, Chupe de Langostinos, a soup with Prawns, Diced Yellow Potatoes, Corn, Milk, Cheese, a Poached Egg, and Rice.  The prawns were shelled and perfectly cooked, the poached egg was tender and very flavorful.  The corn was the large kernel corn that I had previously seen in many other places.  The broth was creamy and had a tangy and spicy flavor that brought everything together, and there was a lot of well cooked rice.  The other dishes that I saw were another soup, a ceviche, and a causa (a dish of mashed potatoes with, in this case, herbs and vegetables) also looked very good.

For my main course, I ordered what looked to me like the Peruvian spin on Chinese Stir Fry.  It was called Lomo de Res Saltado al Wok con Papas Fritas.  What it turned out to be was Stir Fried Beef Tenderloin with Sliced Red Onions and Tomatoes, topped with French Fries, and served with Steamed Rice. The steak was tender and went well with the onions and tomatoes.  The rice was steamed well and went well with the stir fry but, I think this is a combination that will go well in any format.  The french fries that topped everything seemed a little odd in the context of stir fries, but they did taste good and french fries go well to beef in everything from burgers to steak frites, so I guess it works.

My dessert was something that I had actually had at Tanta, the Peruvian restaurant in Chicago, and I wanted to compare it to what I knew.  I got Picarones, Sweet Potato and Squash Fritters, served with Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream.  When I got them in Chicago, I really liked them and the actual Peruvian version compared positively to the version in Chicago.  They were sweet and fluffy and had a nice crunch on the outside.  While the maple syrup was good and went well with the fritters, it wasn't really necessary.  The whipped cream on the other hand, was a good finish and was going to be eaten in any case. The food here was very good and it was a good finish to our tour.  We did stay in Peru for four more days and explored several other fantastic restaurants, but this was a good finish for our organized tour.

Dining in Cusco, Peru

 I recently made a trip to Peru and spent three days in Cusco.  While all of my breakfasts were covered, as was one buffet dinner, there were a few restaurants (recommended to us if not brought  there by our tour guide) where we ordered on our own.  While Cusco is a fairly large city, most of the main places to see were on Av El Sol and Plaza de Armas (the public square).  Our hotel was on Av El Sol so most of the stuff that we would want to see was within walking distance.  The first two restaurants that we went to Limo and the Inka Grill were small second floor restaurants on the square.  Limo, the first restaurant we went to, was a Peruvian restaurant that focused on the Asian side of Peruvian cuisine.  The space was both rustic and Asian, with a lot of wood and the food focused a lot on seafood.  I started out with an Octopus Tiradito, octopus marinated in lime juice to make it tender and served with corn, sweet potatoes, and served in an olive sauce.  It was a very nice presentation with tender, octopus, crisp vegetables, and a very sour flavor and I really liked it.  For my entree, I went to the Chinese side of things and had a Chauffa which is Peruvian Fried Rice which had vegetables and shrimp and was seasoned with sesame.  This was very good and flavorful, but after the tiradito, it left me very full.

 Limo we went to for lunch.  For dinner, while I didn't really need it, I went out again to a restaurant that featured a menu that was very whole animal and farm to table, the Inka Grill.  I decided to eat light and ordered a couple of skewers, Alpaca and Anticucho.  They were served on banana leaves with Potatoes, Peruvian Corn, an Arugula Salad and a Yellow Pepper Sauce and while they looked similar, they were very different.  The Alpaca, texturally was like any other grilled meat.  As far as flavor was concerned, it reminded me of lamb or goat and I liked it.  The Anticuchos, being marinated beef heart was very different texturally.  It wasn't as fibrous as regular steak was and was pretty dense and firm.  As far as flavor was concerned, it did have a bit of a minerally iron flavor, but it wasn't nearly as strong as liver is.  I did really like it and while I could see that it might be an acquired taste, I would definitely have it again.

On the last day we were in Cusco, we were brought to Valentina's for lunch, which was on the other side of Av El Sol.  At the beginning of our meal, we were given a demo of how to make a Causa, a mixture of Mashed Potatoes and Shredded Chicken covered in a Yellow Pepper Sauce which we were served for our appetizer.  My entree was Lechon, a Fried Pork Leg, which was served with Stuffed Yellow Peppers, and a Cheese Stuffed Tamale.  We were also served a side of Choclo, or Peruvian Corn.  While we were eating, a Peruvian band came in to play and entertain us.  All of our meals were very good and I really enjoyed them.  The food was definitely a good part of our trip in Cusco and I would definitely return to any of these restaurants.   
    

Roxie's By the Slice

I like pizza.  Having said that, going out by myself, or even sometimes with two people, depending on the pizza, can make it hard to get a pizza without ending up having to eat it for the next several days.  This makes places that serve pizza by the slice advantageous.  To this end, I went to a place whose entire menu is built around pizza by the slice, Roxie's By The Slice.  It's a small place in Wicker Park with a very rustic feel.  The widows are small, the walls have exposed brick and building blocks, the tables are like cafeteria tables, and the kitchen is open with a bar facing it.  Orders are done at the counter just inside the door.  Roxies offers two pies, Red and White, and has 8 toppings that can be added to each slice (including anchovies) for a dollar a topping.  The pies are precooked and then reheated with toppings when ordered.  I was told that two toppings was probably best because any more than that and the flavors get muddled.  I decided to order one white slice and one red.  For my White Slice, I ordered Prosciutto and Mushrooms.  It was a pretty enormous slice, about 12 inches, and was well layered with the prosciutto and mushrooms.  The crust was thin and foldable, which made it easier to eat.  It was also very nice to eat.

With my Red Slice, I got Pepperoni and Sopressata.  With this slice, there was a good covering of pepperoni with paper thin sopressata spread over the entire slice.  It was salty and meaty and the crust had a good chew.  I really enjoyed my slices and will definitely return.  In addition to the prosciutto, mushrooms, pepperoni, and sopressata that I got on my slices, they also have olives, arugula, sweet peppers, and anchovies on the menu so there are many other choices to try.  I have heard really good things about the Red Slice with Arugula and Sopressata, so I have an idea where I may go the next time I come here.         

Furious Spoon

When most people think of ramen, they think of the really cheap dried noodles that are covered with salt and they loved as kids or survived on in college.  When one goes to a ramen shop though, people are quick to discover that ramen is much more than those dried noodles.  There have been a number of ramen shops that have opened in Chicago in the last couple of years, due to the growing popularity of ramen.  I like authentic ramen and I like trying new things, so I went to one of the new ramen shops, Furious Spoon, for dinner recently.  Run by Shin Thompson of the former Bonsoiree and Kabocha, this is small, but simpler and more low key than his previous ventures.  I still had an expectation going in though, of some really good food.  The restaurant is pretty small with the order counter at the front of the open kitchen just to the right of the door.  The place will seat about 40 people between to communal tables and banquettes and a counter facing the kitchen.  The walls, tables, and chairs were all dark and heavy wood, and the space was relatively dark.  I walked in, looked over the short menu (5 ramens, toppings, 5 sides, and  drinks), ordered, was given a number and was directed to seat myself.  I sat at the inside of one of the communal tables, so I could get watch the flow of the restaurant.  The ramen that I ordered, Furious Ramen,  had almost everything offered in it.  I also ordered an order of pickles, which I have learned, is much more than just pickled cucumbers.  I like to order pickles when I see them on the menu because I like pickles and it is interesting to see what it is exactly that I am going to get.  This order of pickles consisted of Red Onions, Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms, Cucumbers, Potatoes, and a single Red Pepper.  The vegetables were crisp, with a good sweet and vinegary flavor.  The mushrooms were firm and had a good flavor, and the potatoes were good as well.  While I do like spicy food, I do not make a habit of eating whole hot peppers, whether pickled or not, so the pepper was left uneaten.

I was very surprised, when my ramen arrived, of the size of my bowl and spoon.  I was warned, when I ordered it, that it was pretty spicy.  I was not warned, however, how big it was going to be.  The bowl looked to be able to hold about a quart of ramen and the spoon that came with it was about the size of a cooking spoon.  The method that people seemed to use was to grab a spoonful of ramen, eat the noodles and meat out of the spoon with chopsticks, and slurp the broth from the spoon a the end.  While I will not say that I liked the color of the broth, there was a lot of stuff in it that did look good.  The broth was pretty spicy, but it was still flavorful and good.  In the broth was Sesame, Spicy Miso, a Poached Egg, Beef Brisket, Pork Belly, Pork Cheeks, Marinated Mushrooms, and Garlic Relish as well as a lot of noodles, of course.  In addition to being spicy, it was very meaty, and had a good garlic and sesame flavor.  The egg was poached perfectly.  It was solid enough to be picked up with chop sticks, but it was soft enough that it probably could have been sucked through a straw.  Despite the size of the dish, I managed to plow through it, and left happy and very satisfied.  I liked the food here and will be sure to be back.