Basan Restaurant Review

Hi everyone~!

I hope you have been well. It's been a very busy month and half with the family visiting and getting back on schedule at work. 

I know I promised to share my stories from my vacation and photos. They are coming soon~! I promise~!

I was able to get off work early today and wanted to treat myself to a really good lunch since I haven't had much an appetite lately. The problem was I didn't know where to go and I didn't have a craving for anything. I decided to go to Basan. It is a fairly new restaurant that opened up in Durham and it was about time they received a visit from me~!

So here is my review of Basan. 

It was my first visit here at Basan.  It was was a little difficult to find since its on the back side of Moes and Only Burger. You can park at The American Tobacco Campus and walk over to the restaurant. 

When you walk in the hostess stand is right in front and they have ample seating to accommodate groups as well. The restaurant has a nice clean interior with an open kitchen layout. You can see everything, all the action in the kitchen if you sit at the sushi bar. 

I asked the hostess if I could sit at the sushi bar. There was only one other person there and I felt that if I ordered sushi the service would be quicker. 

I took a seat at the sushi bar and waited for any of the servers or even the sushi chef to notice me and offer me a menu. It took about 3-4 minutes before no one came. I saw the hostess walking toward the kitchen window and asked her for a menu. I ordered the spicy pork belly donburi. It came with a miso soup and salad. The waitress asked if I wanted the house dressing but I asked for ginger. The salad that came out was not the usual iceberg, it had arugula. For those of you who know what it tastes like, you would know that it is strong and peppery in flavor. It didn't taste all that great with their version of ginger dressing. The dressing was very watery. The tomatoes on the salad looked as though they were sliced yesterday. Key rule for tomatoes is to slice them to order or right before shift. It was my first time trying a donburi. My first bite was not exciting because the visual of the pork and vegetables seemed very plain and minimal. I was pleasantly surprised after the second bite. It was pretty good. The pork belly reminded me of Korean Bo Ssam which is braised pork belly. The version that was in this donburi was super soft. If you like rich tasting food you will like this dish.  I could taste a lot of butter on the rice and vegetables which isn't a bad thing but also not the best thing. There wasn't enough meat to fat ratio in the bowl. I loved the vegetables that were cooked well and still had a bite to them. The pork belly doesn't look spicy but it does have a mild heat. The spice level is perfect for anyone who likes very mild heat. I would have liked for the dish to have been more spicy or reddish in color to for the menu to indicate that it is spicy. Overall, I would definitely order it again but I would ask for more heat. If you're a big eater, this may not be the best dish to choose because it is a small portion. Think small rice bowl with meat and veggies. If needed you may need to double the order. As for me since I have been on a "change in lifestyle" the portion was just right but it could have used a few more pieces of vegetables and meat. 

The service was not the best for being a half empty restaurant at lunch time. Maybe it's because I sat at the sushi bar. The waitress only came when she brought me my food and then when I was done eating, she refilled my water and asked if wanted dessert. The whole time I needed something I kept looking for the waitress or anyone else. Maybe it was an issue with being understaffed or not caring. The dessert menu had about 6-8 items. I would have liked to try the mango mousse cake but I had a prior engagement with Rose's Meat and Sweet Shop. :)

Well here is the photo of the "Spicy" Pork Belly Donburi. ( I was hungry so I mixed it all up before I took the picture. 

Photo taken by LifestyleofaFoodie. 

Spring Fever and a Sandwich in my Belly

Hi everyone~

How has everyone been?  I have been very busy with work and life as usual.  It's been very pleasant weather wise and sunny here in Durham. 

I must apologize for not being so active on my posts lately  but I have not forgotten about my bi-weekly reviews~!  I will try to get back on that task after June or so.  It's going to be pretty hectic for me for the next few months.  I've got family coming to visit the U.S. and lots of traveling to do. 

I'll keep you posted about my travels and delicious things I eat and see~ ^^

I was wondering if you have stopped by my Facebook page lately? http://facebook.com/LifestyleofaFoodieLOAF.  This is where I post most of my recent cooking adventures in a quick format.  I present my how-to recipes in a single frame photo with basic steps.  I started thinking about people wanting recipes for the food that I make.  I would like to eventually evolve into posting recipes with the food but there are thousands and thousands of recipes out there on the world wide web.  Everyone has different tastes and prefers different ingredients. My primary focus is to show you the basic steps so that you can make that dish your own.

If you love a variety of Korean and Asian cuisines, I am the one to follow.  :)

Follow and like my Facebook page.  Lifestyle of a Foodie Facebook

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Today feels like it's Saturday~! Well, it's actually Friday~

I've been getting some rest and relaxation by doing completely nothing until I got the sudden growl in my tummy. :)

I've been meaning to make a banh mi sandwich for sometime.  My very first experience was a lemongrass chicken banh mi that was so tender and Mmm Mmm~ delicious~!!

If you've read my previous post about the food truck rodeo, you'll see that there is a photo of the second banh mi that i've ever tried. 

It's a delicious sandwich filled with meat and pickled vegetables.

I love the taste of pungent fish sauce with the garlicky and sweet carrots and daikon.

I've noticed some banh mi's have pickled cucumber slices and I love that too~!!

Today's banh mi that I made was with the ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry.  I used a piece of ribeye steak, cilantro, Mu (Korean radish which is like daikon), carrots, fish sauce, sugar, minced garlic, vinegar, crushed red pepper, cucumbers, jalapeno, Hellmann's mayo, apple vinegar, honey wheat bread, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I have to confess, my mom just went grocery shopping for dinner and also had some radish left over from making Kkak Du Ki (radish kimchi) so I just took some of her ingredients. :)

I went ahead by prepping the pickled vegetables first because they needed time to get tasty.  I used a mandoline and thinly shredded the carrots,cucumber and mu.  You can slice the vegetables any way you like as long as it's thin enough to become pickled quickly.  I made the marinade with the vinegar, fish sauce, water. sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper. The cucumber was pickled separately with salt, vinegar and a paste of the jalapeno, sugar and garlic.  I did not have any lime or lemon juice but the original recipes ask for it.  I put in a splash of the Korean apple vinegar in place of the rice vinegar for the carrots and mu pickles.  Lets just estimate it should sit for about 15-30 minutes depending on thickness. Next, I sliced some of the ribeye steak thinly on the bias and marinated it in a little bit of soy sauce, organic cane sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I didn't let that sit too long, maybe about 5 minutes since the slices were thin.  I substituted fresh garlic for the garlic powder because I only wanted to use a little and the pickled vegetables already had enough garlic in them. I would have loved to add lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves to this marinade but I could only use what I had. :)

I sauteed the beef in a frying pan with no oil because the ribeye is generally a fatty cut of beef and I didn't want to add extra calories.  You can use a leaner cut of beef, pork or chicken breasts to make this dish  .  

The assembly: I toasted the two slices of honey wheat bread and put a thin layer of mayo on each side. I added a few slices of the cooked beef, topped it with the pickled cucumber, then the pickled carrots/mu and then some cilantro leaves and jalapeno slices.  I put the second slice of toast on top and sliced it in half. 

The ending result: A smile on my face and a party in my mouth~! :)

Hope you enjoy~ Let me know when you've made your own banh mi~

All photo credits:  LifestyleofaFoodie.

All photo credits:  LifestyleofaFoodie.

Snowed in keeping the kitchen hot

Hi everyone~!! 

It's been such a long time since we've last seen each other. The temperature has been below freezing on and off giving us some weird winter weather in NC. We had snow on Monday night and now it's falling again. It's beautiful but it's keeping me from work which is a bad and a good thing. It's good because it gives me more time to focus on my cooking and blogging. So it's definitely a good thing~

Maybe it's "snowmaggedon" again?? The puffy flakes of snow are falling fast and piling up~. Since it was confirmed today that I would be off again tomorrow I decided to cook pork tenderloin. I haven't cooked this in a while and I am trying to give red meat a break. I've been eating red meat like there's no tomorrow. :)

I found this recipe off FoodNetwork.com 

I scaled the recipe to 1lb of pork and used pork tenderloin tips. It has a bit more fat between the meat. Don't forget that fat equals flavor~!!

It calls for the meat to be pounded a 1/2 inch thin and rolled with the stuffing. I didn't grill my meat because of the electric stove that I have but I'm pretty sure if you grilled the roulade it would have been extra flavorful because of smoke~!  

Here are my photos of each step of the cooking process. Enjoy~!!

3-4 slices of bacon, 1 clove garlic, 4 oz mushrooms

Sauté bacon in olive oil until crisp, add mushroom

Add breadcrumbs, parsley, s/p, let cool

Pound meat 1/2 inch thin

Add cooled stuffing to center of pork and roll. 

Drizzle olive oil and season heavily with s/p

Cook at 425F for 10 minutes and finish at 375F for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of the roll. After 5 minutes move rolls to cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes. 

Make a gremolata with olive oil, grated lemon zest, parsley, s/p

Cut rolls on the bias. 

Drizzle the gremolata mixture on the sliced rolls and serve with your favorite vegetable. 

All photos were taken by LifestyleofaFoodie. 

Recipe retrieved on 2/25/15 from Foodnetwork.com. "Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin"

Chef's Night Out at Bar Virgile

Hi everyone~!

A lot of things have happened since my last blog post and I've been so busy that I've been unable to keep everyone updated. Sorry~

As I mentioned recently on my Facebook page, I will be to reviewing on a bi-weekly basis many hot spots in and around Durham. 

The first place that I am reviewing will be Bar Virgile. 

This place actually was not on my list of places to visit because I didn't know it existed. I came upon the place while driving past the building and saw their sign. The photo of the sign was retrieved online. 

I met one of my schoolmates at this place on Friday night after 7pm.

To my surprise it was really small inside and there was a long wait. I wasn't sure if you needed reservations or if you could make them. I figured it's a bar and you could probably get seated quickly.  The space between the bar and the wait line for an actual table gave little leeway for guests leaving the establishment to actually leave with out bumping shoulders with other guests. After about 20 minutes we were able to be seated at the bar. The host who seemed like he could be the general manager was very pleasant. The bar seats were near the entrance and less suffocated because people didn't have to be standing directly behind us while eating. My schoolmate and I ordered a few things to share. We ordered the Fried Oysters, Chicken Confit Wings, Spiced Pecans and Dried Cherries and Bowl of Ribs. 

My drink of choice for the evening was a lager beer. I believe the bar tender said it was cranberry but it was not over powering. The ice cold beer was very refreshing.

The exposed brick behind the bar and lighting gave it a pleasant atmosphere. The music was very vibrant and fun. There are coat hooks against the walls where people are standing in line for a table and hooks underneath the bar tables for us ladies to hang our purses. This is a detail I love because I dislike sitting on the edge of my seat to accommodate my purse that might fall on the floor. 

On a scale between 1 to 10, I would give this place a 7. I enjoyed the food that was served and the service was decent. The bar tenders were more attentive than most bar tenders usually are filling drinks for other people and table guests. 

If you're into trying new places and love enjoying good food with drinks, this is a happening spot and is the place to go~!

One word of advice: parking is typical downtown parking. Can't find a place on the side streets? then you might have to walk a few blocks over. The night I went, DPAC had a show going on so the parking deck next to the courthouse was being used for paid parking. I paid $3 which was not bad compared to walking three blocks in high heels~! Ouch~ 

Fried Oysters with Bacon Jam and Pickled Green Tomatoes 

Confit Chicken Wings

Bowl of Ribs

The Fried Oysters were my favorite dish I had. This was the dish I chose to order. The oyster were super fresh and cooked perfectly!! The batter was crunchy and well seasoned. The bacon jam.. (Let me catch my breathe..) it was unlike any jam that I've ever tasted. It was sweet, tangy and bacony. I enjoyed it so much with the oysters.  The pickled green tomatoes were interesting and had a very distinct flavor that kept my fork going back for more. 

The confit chicken wings were very tender and almost falling off the bone. The sauce was exactly what I would want on Korean fried chicken wings.  If you've ever had Korean fried and marinated chicken you know what I'm talking about.  It was sweet with a bit of tangy goodness. I could taste the hint of ginger or citrus on the sauce. I would have liked to have a small bowl of the sauce served along side the wings which were already tossed in the sauce. The sauce made the tender wings even better. 

The ribs were a bit different and my least favorite. The ribs were smoked and served with a tomato sauce. It was almost like having your favorite marinara on the ribs. The smoked flavor overpowered and was a bit offensive. 

Overall, most of the dishes were seasoned just right with just enough seasoning and sauce. I would have preferred the ribs to be seasoned a bit more because even with the tomato sauce it seemed a bit under seasoned. 

I hope that your enjoyed my first review of 2015 ~! 

If you have any suggestions of places you would like for me to review please let me know~! 

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All the photos were taken by LifestyleofaFoodie.