Four Things We Loved Eating in October

Nick Richards | Nov 1, 2013 10:00 am | Add a comment | 1132 reads

Every month in the magazine column P.S. We Ate You, we shine a spotlight on some of the most delicious dishes we’ve stumbled upon recently. Dig in!

Pesto shrimp spaghetti
Union Bar and Grille, RMB 98
A 2013 Burger Cup finalist finally wades into shrimpy waters with this fine dish. The pesto complements the other ingredients perfectly. The shrimp are grilled and then placed atop al dente spaghetti, a noodle chosen for being more svelte than the fettuccine usually served with pesto.

1950s Korean "NE38 DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) Army Pot"
Iki, RMB 36
Pork, spam, sausage, kimchi, egg, and tuna fish. Sounds awful, amirite? So does war, but if there’s one good thing that ever came of it, it’s this. The broth is salty and flavorful with all sorts of meaty treasures, bedecked with ribbons of pungent kimchi. This is not for the faint of heart, but then again neither is the DMZ. Your choice of instant noodles or udon: if you're classy? Udon. If you like keepin' it real? Fangbianmian.

Madeleines
Maison Boulud, complimentary
Airy and perfumed with lemon, these small gems are the sensible end to any meal – ever. Luckily, Maison Boulud is on that tip and you can expect generous basket of the spongy cookies to finish your visit to Chi'enmen 23. True gentlewomen will daintily devour the tiny shells in two or three bites. The rest of us monsters? One chomp will suffice.

Xiaocongbandoufu （小葱拌豆腐）
Wang Pangzi, RMB 10
The shop may be known for donkey, and we usually stick to that, but a recent foray into their numerous cold dishes offered a welcomed surprise. The ricotta-like tofu is remarkable. Fresh and pure, it could be banal but the clean flavor comes through with such clarity, it is anything but dull. Sprinklings of green onion counterbalance soft curd with their sharp notes.