Tag: Pork

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Chuan Shabu’s half herbal, half chicken broth

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Chuan Shabu in Worcester offers hot pot cooking, which means you get to pick a broth then add you choice of items to create a unique dinner for yourself. Some of the broth choices are herbal, chicken, or vegetarian.  Then you have a long list of vegetables to choose from, everything from the normal broccoli and carrots to the more adventurous enoki mushrooms and lotus roots. Everything is à la carte so it’s all customizable to your choice of flavor platte. We went with the half herbal, half chicken broth and ordered Angus beef, shrimp, pork, mushrooms, udon noodles, and greens to share. I loved the sauces served with the meal and we loaded our broths up with chopped garlic and scallions.

The meats were of good quality and the vegetables were fresh and green—a big plus! The à la carte portions were plentiful in size, so you do get a lot for your money. Even ladling from the broth was fun and felt adventurous to the dining experience. Learning how quickly the meats cooked was a fun challenge we enjoyed and shared the labor among all our friends; it was a very communal and entertaining dinner. My favorite part of our Chuan Shabu experience was at the end of the meal we all put the noodles in the broth. That broth was made so flavorful from all the cooked meats and veggies, and eating the thick yummy noodles after all that swirling and mixing turned out delicious. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavors and meal, it felt very healthy and certainly this soup hit the spot for a cold winter’s night.

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Tai Nam Gan Sach

Tai Nam Gan Sach from Pho Dakao on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Tai Nam Gan Sach from Pho Dakao on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA99% of restaurants have “safe” options in their menu, food everyone will recognize that is prepared and served in a familiar way. This being my first time experiencing Vietnamese food, I wanted nothing to do with safe. What can I say, I must be an adrenaline junkie.

Having skipped lunch, I jumped at the chance to order an appetizer and was intrigued when I saw the Vietnamese Crepe. In all my crepe experience (which is extensive and gluttonous) I had never run across this variety. Described as “a mixture of shrimp, pork, and bean sprout folded into a rice powder pancake,” I had no way of knowing if this dish was authentically Vietnamese and still have my doubts. It was slightly underwhelming in taste and overwhelming in portion. Though not unpleasant, it simply lacked flavor and was easily large enough to be a main course. It would also have benefited from more pork and shrimp, but is a fantastic choice if you have a unique and passionate love of bean sprouts and are looking for a socially acceptable way to order a garden’s worth.

I went with the recommendation of a fellow foodie who is well versed in Vietnamese cuisine (read: if a pretty girl recommends it, I will eat it) and ordered Pho for my main course. Sticking to my “nothing safe” plan, I ordered the Tai Nam Gan Sach: Rare Steak, Well-Done Flank, Tendon and Tripe. It was wonderful. The sweetness of the broth combined perfectly with the saltiness of the different meats, and though I’m not usually a fan of onions they accented the dish beautifully. After further recommendations I began adding several of the table sauces to the dish without knowing what they were (call me Evel Knievel) and firmly cemented my very positive opinion of Vietnamese food.

While I may try a different appetizer next time, there will most assuredly be a next time for Pho Dakao and its relaxed, unassumingly kitschy atmosphere.