Chef Krishna Bhandari from Nepal puts a lot of care and time into his meals. Akbar Jumani, General Manager of Nanking from Bombay who was also a chef in Switzerland, makes it clear that he does not like spicy and hot to be the star of Nanking’s meals. He feels that spicy can overpower a dish and he likes for patrons to taste and relish every ingredient in their meal. However, have no fear, Nanking does have spicy offerings for those who like to walk on the hot side. So let’s get into my 2-day dining experience at Nanking which varied from Indian Lemon Gingerale (nothing similar to American ginger ale) to bird saliva for dessert
Day 1: First Tasting Menu
First up to bat from Nanking’s “first tasting menu,” I ate Mumbai chili chicken ($10) which is wok steamed with cayenne peppers, ginger and coriander. This dish was excellent and the flavor was robust. It was not spicy per say but definitely left your taste buds wanting more.
I also ate the “drums of heaven” ($10) from the first menu which is cooked with chilies, garlic and herbs. This dish was more on the mild side and the flavors of the ingredient were subtle.
Asian Drinks: Japanese Pineapple and then some Indian Lemon Gingerale (both $4)
While chowing down on Mumbai chili chicken and the drums of heaven, I decided to try some drinks that are popular in Asian culture.
First, I drank a Japanese pineapple drink fused with aloe vera and garnished with cilantro. To my delight this drink had a natural sweetness that made it great. The sweetness was from the fruit, not corn syrup and mystery ingredients.
Next, I ordered the Indian lemon ginger ale. I must admit it takes an acquired taste. Although ginger ale is in the name, this drink which is very popular in India contains no ginger. Indian ginger ale is made with club soda, lemon and cumin seeds mixed with Indian spices including black pepper. People in India drink this beverage to help them break down food after a meal. If you are not accustomed to drinking this kind of beverage, it may take a while for you to get used to the taste.
Specialty Dish menu—Imperial Fish (Red snapper) $22
The Imperial fish which is red snapper with spicy garlic infused with tomato sauce is well worth every penny! The fish is fried in peanut oil with tempura flour and topped with a tasty semi sweet spicy tomato sauce. This fish was definitely a winner.
Dessert: Birds Nest Soup (Bird Saliva, $14) and Banana Egg Roll ($6)
To round out dinner, I started with the Birds nest soup with rock sugar on the dessert menu. Birds nest soup, a very popular Chinese delicacy, is actually bird saliva (yes, bird spit). This dessert is mixed with rock sugar that cooked overnight with touches of ginseng (korean dates) added. The soup had a clear color with a thick texture. Health experts also say that bird saliva is very good for the immune system. After getting over my mental barriers, I took a taste and thoroughly enjoyed it. I even took some back with me. Check out the video below.
Next up, I had the banana egg roll served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge
The banana wrapped in egg roll wrapper is deep fried and drizzled with cold chocolate fudge. Of course, this was good!
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Day II: LUNCH
The following day I tried some items from Nanking’s Dim Sum, curry dishes and teas.
I started first with the Lemongrass Beef Lollipops with spicy chili glazed pierced with bamboo stick in the middle. The dish was very tasty and mild in flavor. $10
The snow crab and chive dumpling from dim sum menu was made with tomato, tamarind and mango chutney (all sauces are made in house). The shredded crab is blended with tomato. The tomato is brought down to its base, and then blended with the crab so the tomato flavor is mild. The dumplings are served over bed of cabbage and lettuce. If you love mild flavored food, this is right up your alley. $10
I absolutely loved Nanking’s Som Taum salad which is raw papaya, peanuts and cherry tomatoes. The salad is tossed in a vodka citron vinaigrette which is made in house with Indian spices and red chilis. The papaya is imported from India and South America and is prepped fresh daily at the restaurant. ($9)
Diving into the meats menu, my first meal was Mongolian lamb which is cooked with peppers, scallions and ginger sauce. This dish was mild and even flavored.
However, the lamb curry (with the spicy green curry sauce made with bell peppers) was AWESOME. the curry is very creamy, sweet and hot. The dish also has zucchini, eggplant and bamboo shoots. I highly recommend lamb curry.
Mongolian Lamb $20, Lamb curry $20
While dining at Nanking, also try some of their Golden Monkey tea that is imported from the Providence region of China. Centuries ago monkeys were trained and used to fetch the tea leaves. Lovely.
Some more pics of Nanking:
First pic is a center view of the restaurant.
The next two pics are the semi-private and private dining rooms.
This new restaurant located inside the Showboat Atlantic City is a hidden gem. I almost wonder if patrons on the casino floor know about this Italian steakhouse that makes their own pasta and sauces, the brainchild of acclaimed chef and owner, Chris Scarduzio. I came to the restaurant unannounced before my scheduled reservation. Upon entering the restaurant which has beautiful décor including an extravagant knife set hanging on the wall, we were greeted promptly by manager Robert Grabowski. As a food blogger, I will intentionally crash a reservation sometimes to see what the actual service response is like for the average patron when they enter a restaurant. Scarduzio’s passed that test as they greeted all persons promptly.
There is something to be said for a restaurant that pays close attention to detail.
First up to the tabl
e was this delicious trio --cornbread, Lavash French flat bread with sesame and parmesan and Rustic Italian bread. The butter was seasoned with a tasty kick-ass black lava salt which is literally sea salt scraped off of lava rock. How’s that for culinary detail? (Chef Giancarlo Generosi who is actually the chef for Scarduzios broke it down for us). The cornbread was made from scratch and was amazing. Tasting the chunky corn kernels in the cornbread gave it a very nice taste. The cornbread was sweet, but not too sweet. The Lavash was flavorful as was the Italian bread.
But, the cornbread stole the show in the bread department.
Photo on left: butter sprinkled with black lava salt
Before diving in fully with entrée options, we were served Scarduzios signature appetizer, homemade cavatelli pasta with spicy tomato butter and sundried tomato pesto,—great and hearty.
I also had th
e Diver Sea Scallops made with fregola sarda (which is pasta or Italian couscous) and pancetta cream. Excellent. What made this dish spectacular was the temperature. The pasta and cream was at a slightly lower temperature than the scallops allowing your tongu
e to taste every bit of natural goodness.
My non-foodie friend (i.e. just cares about the taste, not the particulars) ordered the tuna tartare with masago, cucumber, jalapeño, caper and crispy wonton from the sushi appetizer menu. Although I am not a fan of sushi in general (with the exception of California rolls), I must say that Scarduzio's sushi was awesome. The fresh ingredients and texture of the Sushi made this appetizer refreshing. Not bad for $15.
Traveling off the menu a bit, we decided to try the special for the evening which was sesame Ahi tuna with seaweed salad and spicy sweet sauce courtesy of Chef Generosi. The tuna was well cooked but very tender. Once again, this dish had this “temperature texture thing” going on which makes their dishes spectacular. Chef Scarduzio informed me that once their food is cooked they let it sit for a little bit (I think there is more to his secret).
Now 
for the main feature—the steak (all steaks served at Scarduzios are USDA certified prime beef), which I also ordered with a lobster tail since that was a special for the evening. I ordered the 12 oz center cut filet mignon well done (photo on left, $43). My guest ordered the 8 oz Tajima Wagyu filet (i.e. Japanese steak, $85) medium rare as our wonderful server Ming recommended (photo left). My steak was served well done, yet very juicy. I love Scarduzio’s presentation with their steaks—especially the roasted garlic clove on the side of the dish with a rosemary towering from it where you simply spread the garlic over the steak 
with your knife for optimum taste.
My guest’s Tajima Wagyu filet (photo on left) was superb which is saying a lot since I am not a fan of medium rare anything. It was tender, very moist, juicy, but not runny.
Desserts
We ordered tw
o desserts: Peanut butter cheesecake with miniature vanilla milkshake with chocolate straw (left) and a pistachio crème brulee with Bacardi Rum 151 proof. The peanut butter flavor is more prominent than the cheese with this dessert. However, I ate most of this great dessert when it set at room temperature where the cheese and peanut butter flavors compliments each other perfectly.
Our pistachio crème brulee, which was fired up table side and was very nice dessert to wrap up the dinner. The brulee was so good I even saved some to eat for breakfast the next morning.
Check out Chef Generosi, server Ming and the crew fire up the brulee.
BARBADOS (September 18, 2011) - "Cut back on table salt!" That's the message from a Barbadian chef and entrepreneur who wants Caribbean people to abstain from over-consuming salty foods following reports of tragic life-altering strokes and other serious medical conditions.
This weekend I went to the Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show and caught up with Regina Fraser and Pat Johnson. They talk about their upcoming travel show "Grannies on Safari" debuting May 2011 on PBS which features their international journeys around the globe. Check your local listings and be sure to watch! (Photo: Pat Johnson (L), Monica Peters (m) and Regina Fraser (r)
