Slurping Turtle – Chicago, IL

Being the Asian that I am, I made it a point to scope out as many Asian restaurants as I could.  As if I don’t get enough Asian food in Hawaii right?  The Slurping Turtle was located very close to our hotel so we decided to give them a try one night for dinner.  The restaurant was very busy but we were able to score a seat almost immediately!  As we were greeted by the waitress, we were informed that a future Top Chef contestant was the chef of this restaurant!  How exciting!  He even had a special tasting menu but since I was dining with others, I decided to order just noodles.  I guess this gives me an excuse to go back to the restaurant next time I return!  Let’s take a look at the food shall we?

130908-01Cute ah?  Sorry for the shiny spot on the menu…

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Shaw’s Crab House – Chicago, IL

After my cousin’s white coat ceremony at her school, we decided to celebrate at a nice restaurant.  After searching through the many restaurants to choose from, we made a reservation at Shaw’s Crab House.  Busy busy place so I assume it’s great.  I think the food was good but the service was lacking.  The waiter seemed disinterested right after we declined drinks.  Sorry guys, we don’t all enjoy alcohol.  He all but disappeared for the rest of the meal which by the way lasted like half an hour (seriously!).  I can say that the food was delivered quickly and it wasn’t too bad to eat.  I do think you’re paying for the atmosphere, it’s really too bad the service was poor.  We did enjoy the food otherwise.

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King crab legs!! 

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Wow Bao – Chicago, IL

Okay, so I’ve been to Chicago three times now.  The first time I went, I went with Kristian and we saw Wow Bao in downtown.  We both giggled like school kids at the name and the tagline.  Take a look at the cup, can you see it?  Yes, there it is.  Hot Asian Buns.  How can you not laugh at something so silly?  My second trip, I couldn’t help but go in and see what the big deal was.  Yes, they do specialize in hot buns.  This place is awesome, they make the food fast and as far as I can tell…pretty fresh.  They also make salads and dumplings.  So in my second trip, I totally got hooked on the spicy peanut noodles.  HOOKED.  I think I went there two or three times in the second trip.

This last trip I was a bit more disciplined.  Only once!  Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad.  It is SO good, I wish we had a Wow Bao here or that I could duplicate that recipe.  I was also able to try a seasonal ginger tea which was very refreshing.  Here are the pictures!

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Noodles, cilantro, cucumber and peanut dressing – there’s nowhere to go wrong with this!!

Alive

I am alive, indeed!  I’ve been back from Chicago for about a week now and it’s taken me about that long to get back to Hawaii time.  I spent last week waking up at 4 am almost everyday.  I had a very nice trip to Chicago.  It was incredibly hot the first two days but cooled down a bit for the rest of the trip.  The trip was definitely spent moving my cousin into her apartment for school.  It’s quite all right because we definitely got in some good eats and some sight seeing!  I wasn’t holding my camera too much this trip but did get some pictures through my phone that I will be sure to upload.

I’ve gotta admit, I’ve been in a bit of a slump for the past few weeks.  I don’t know what it has been and I don’t know how to get out of it. I also think the word slump is underselling what I’m feeling but what can I say?  It’s on me to get through this.  I hope everyone is doing well.  I leave you with my first meal of Chicago.  A Chicago dog from Portillos…along with cheese fries that I did not capture!

130902-01I’m not a fan of the hot peppers but everything else is winners.