Duke's Pad Thai restaurant in Cayce

 

Viv and I popped into Duke's today for a late lunch.  This is definitely my No. 2 Thai place in town.  Sorry, Duke's, but Mai Thai has held my loyalty for many years now, but I like you guys too!

Viv is a big fan of the Thai Tom Yum soup at Duke's, so that's her go-to when we come here. Their description is spicy sour base with mushrooms, red peppers, basil and cilantro.  Viv likes hers with extra mushrooms. Also, she likes to order the large bowl, so there's more for supper tonight. 

I chose a dish I haven't had in quite a while and have missed.  Pad See Eew. Duke's description of this dish is wide rice noodles with egg, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini in a Thai soy sauce.  Mine today also had some bean sprouts, so BONUS! It was delicious and as good as I remember. 

If, by chance, you haven't made it across the river to Duke's, get on it!  They also have a separate, yet together restaurant on site that specializes in bahn mi. The two are under one roof, open to each other, so you can order from either side or both.  This is great for when you're with friends and someone might want pho or curry and the others wants boba tea and bahn mi sandwich.  Check them out!

Alley Street Eats in Rosewood

Everyone in the neighborhood has eagerly awaited the opening of Alley Street Eats. I read an article about these folks and their concept.  Asian street food, of different styles.  The decor is cool and modern. The menu is extensive without being overbearing and features the variety we so desperately need in our area.

Viv and I shared shrimp and zucchini tempura to start.  Their tempura is light and crispy, just as it should be.  Next, we had an order of the Sichuan wontons. 

These are delicious.  Pork wontons with soy, scallion, cilantro and garlic. I was expecting them to be spicy, given "Sichuan" but they were actually pretty mild, but very flavorful.  I bet next time I can just ask for them to be spicy and they would oblige. 

Next, we had the Yaki Udon Noodle with shrimp.  This was also quite delicious. Soft, pillowy Udon noodles in a soy based sauce with red bell pepper, scallion and mushroom.  The shrimp were nicely cooked, which as we all know, can be a 50-50 shot in some restaurants.

Viv and I are excited about this place.  We've often lamented the fact that almost every Chinese place we know of has a zillion dishes on their menu, yet they all taste the same.  We love, love, love Mai Thai but sometimes the trip to W.C. just isn't in the cards. And, our Korean and Japanese choices are limited.  Now that we have Alley Street Eats right here in the neighborhood, we can get our Asian food fix much more readily!  Here's the link to their MENU. Support our locals!

Ramen for Breakfast

I'm not  much of a morning eater, even though I know that I should.  But, when your daughter wakes you up with breakfast in bed, you get up and eat.  

My 13 year old has already had a busy summer. Camp in the mountains for a week, then directly to a lacrosse tournament in Charleston, so this week she's taking a break.  Her room has been cleaned (what?!?) and rearranged, list of chores has been decided and today she decided to embark on some cooking.

So, I'm woken to a big, hot bowl of ramen this morning.  Lots and lots of ramen.  Turns out, she had used 2 packages of noodles, which is about 5 times as much as I can eat in one sitting. She cooked her noodles in chicken broth, added chopped chicken and scallions and topped it all off with a poached egg.  This was a first attempt at poaching.  So, to quote Vivian, "Gordon Ramsay would say 'What? Are you eff'ing kidding me, mate?  This egg is as hard as my Gandy's flip flops.'" I think she's being a little hard on herself.  

Oodles of Noodles

No, no, not that kind!  Although I will admit ramen does have its place in the world every now and then.  I'm talking about the real thing.  My little one loves Chinese noodles.  And I love that about her.  The only problem with ordering from our neighborhood Chinese take-out place is having to (slightly) deconstruct the food.  You see, the Vivver doesn't care for celery.  She is her mother's child after all.  She is also a little wigged out by the bok choy.  I have observed some sneaking into her mouth and she's none the wiser, but when she spots it, she makes that supposition that she won't like it.  Innate in kids?  So, after I pick out the celery and greens, she's ready to chow down.

The even cooler thing is that we can whip up noodles at home and she's happy as a little Chinese clam.  Last night we were bachelorettes so a quick dinner of noodles was just what the doctor ordered.  As seems to be a pattern with me, I just opened up the fridge and pulled out what was staring back at me.  So, our noodles consisted of this:

I stir-fried onion, carrots, zucchini and baby corn.  I removed the vegetables from the wok and then stir-fried bite sized chunks of chicken.  Meanwhile, I cooked spaghetti noodles and made a sauce for the little gourmet.  For her, I mixed soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lemon juice and a little honey.  Then, I just tossed some noodles and the chicken and veggies in the sauce and there you go.  For mine, I used one of the sauces Neil picked up at that Asian market in Atlanta.  This one was labeled Coconut Curry Sauce.  Interestingly, under that it says "Portuguese Sauce."  I've been to Portugal twice and I've never encountered a Portuguese curry.  Curious.

Anyway, I used this sauce and a little water to toss with my noodles and veggies. I wasn't sure about the spice level, so that's why I made something different for Vivi.  Now I know she could easily handle this sauce next time. It was very similar to Panang curry, which happens to be one of my favorites at Mai Thai.  Next time I'll have some jasmine rice instead of noodles though, because the rice soaks up the sauce much better.  And I know from experience that Panang is awesome with shrimp.  So, this little jar from Atlanta has opened up all kinds of possibilities Chez Akre.  Stay tuned...