HA! Thanks so much for calling me out. It’s so hard to tell folks with masks on…
I did my own Chinatown Bang Bang that day. I had a rare few hours free before a late afternoon and needed to run a quick errand in Downtown, so I felt that I could pull it off… I ALMOST did… ugh…
Aside from visiting PDR, I also visited the new Katsu Sando location. I ran home and instantly stuffed my face with the Walnut Shrimp Sando…
I really liked Katsu Sando when I had them at Smorgesborg because of how nice their panko crust is. And this was no exception. Even on a longer than expected trip back home, it was super crunchy! They used just enough slaw… but overall… the flavor profile was walnut shrimp. It was great… especially if you share it. I usually have two bites of walnut shrimp and I’m good… so this was just ENOUGH.
Then I had a meeting… when ran super long because… REALITY… And sadly the item I really wanted to try had steamed too much. I’m actually not the biggest fan of Sandos. I was mostly excited about their curry… And I wasn’t going to fall into the trap of comparing them to Kagura… So I ordered Chicken Katsu, which I also really like…
First, I was really suprised they used a pounded chicken breast. So it wasn’t soo surprising having it sit around for 45 minutes, even uncovered, some of the breading steamed off… le sigh. But when I took a bite… I was SHOCKED at how good the chicken was!! Tender and juicy! I can’t remember the last time I had a chicken katsu that was this good. Just wonderful and I’m sure even better FRESH. The star however was the curry… it was wonderfully balanced but robust Not too salty or peppery or gingery (But they pile on pickled sweet ginger which I LOVE) but with a deep curry flavor.
It was a hefty serving. It also came with a scoop of potato salad which is okay (Better with the pickle mixed in) and rice which was very good. Look forward to ordering this again maybe with the Menchi
After having this giant bowl of curry…even sharing it… there was no way I was going to be able to have the won ton soup. I didn’t want to do it… but i had to reheat it for another day… And amazingly it all held up beautifully!!!
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The won tons are are good as they say… just stunning. The egg noodles held up beautifully, especially since they were packed with the broth on the side. As other have noted, the broth needs some umph like vinegar. On a tofu run recently I bought the S&B Chili Crisp that @js76wisco’s recommended and it was super tasty! I think I still perfer the Trader Joes for a most crispy and toasty taste. But this one melded well with the broth and won tons. The Chasu was perfect. I am a huge fan of Harlam’s Kitchen version of this with braised beef…but this one is truly next level.
Finally… Like @J_L I would not resist the mini pies I spotted at AmBoy (along with the Badmaash Chai). I also got the Calamansi Pie and it was indeed wonderful. The crust was a perfect specimen of a graham cracker crust which was impressive because it was rather thin.
Great food… a quick chat of with good folks… supporting some wonderful makers… Even when I was doing this on the regular… it was always such a special thing…
–Dommy!