Chong Qing Hot Pot at the Chinatown Food Court

Chong Qing Hot Pot reminds me how American kids made fun of me in grade school by making "ching chang chong" sounds. Maybe if Chong Qing Hot Pot existed back then, they would've called me Chong Qing Kitty. Or maybe not, since this place hides inside Atlanta's Chinatown, and most Americans don't know this place exists.

I don't like calling it Chinatown. It feels more like a Chinablock. Atlanta Chinatown is just one strip mall filled with Chinese stores and a food court. The food court has some authentic, cheap Chinese places like Top One Gourmet, Yanmi Yanmi, Ocean Garden, Hong Kong BBQ, and of course, Chong Qing Hot Pot.

About 8 years ago, I used to go to the Chinatown food court often. They were cheap and decent. Back then, none of the restaurants offered an English menu. You needed know Chinese, or you wouldn't be able to order. I even learned to say, "san bao fan" at Hong Kong BBQ. And still to this day, even after they put up an American-translated menu, that's the only dish I know how to order at Hong Kong BBQ.

Even after going to the food court so many times, this is my first time I'm trying Chong Qing Hot Pot.

So How was Chong Qing Hot Pot?

Even though they used to only have a Chinese menu, today, Chong Qing Hot Pot offers an English translated menu with pictures—it's the thick book that's sitting on their counter. It's great because of the big pictures. That's a smart move for them with their increasing popularity of Spanish and American visitors. 

Chong Qing Hot Pot looks like a Sichuan place. Some people claim it as the best Sichuan place in Atlanta, not Peter Chang's or Tasty China. Well, that got me curious, and it prompted me to check it out.

Their Many Many Dishes

I got to taste The Beef Noodle Soup. It had thin rice noodles, bok choy, and a ton of beef. The Beef Noodle Soup was okay. It tasted a little bland. The meat was tough, and the noodles felt overdone. I guess it's a decent dish if you want a cheap, quick meal.  

Beef Noodle Soup

Next, I got one of my favorite dishes at Peter Chang's: the Double Cooked Pork. Chong Qing's version tasted okay. It wasn't good as Peter Chang's. Chong Qing's version felt less spicy than what I'm used to.

Double Cooked Pork

The Chong Qing Steamed Pork was a disappointment. It looked good in the pictures, but it was tasteless and too fatty. Okay, so it's pork, so it should be fatty. But it felt like I was eating pure, tasteless fat. I think my problem was that I just ate the meat itself. I think I needed to mix it around and eat it with the sauce and cabbage at the bottom. It doesn't matter, I probably won't get it again.

Chong Qing Steamed Pork

Chong Qing Chicken was better. It was dry and spicy. I felt they over-seasoned it with salt, but I didn't mind. At least that gave it some taste. I liked the texture of the fried chicken. I consider it one of Chong Qing's better dishes.

Chong Qing Chicken

Surprisingly, I loved the Fish in Chili Oil. I actually liked Chong Qing's version than Peter Chang's. Peter Chang's version felt too overpowering with its chili, oil, and spices. Chong Qing's version seemed more subtle. It didn't overpower me. The amount of spices felt just right.

Fish in Chili Oil

Protip: you have to go behind the counter and scoop up your own rice. Besides the rice cooker, there is a big vat of egg drop soup you can get too. It's not the best egg drop soup I've tasted, but hey it's complimentary.

Egg Drop Soup

Conclusion


Just like all the places at the Chinatown Food Court, you can expect average food with great prices at Chong Qing Hot Pot. After eating at Peter Chang's and Tasty China, I felt the flavor and heat were underpowered at Chong Qing Hot Pot.

I don't consider it better than Peter Chang's. I don't know who would say that unless they're smoking some opium. But you do get what you pay for. If you want a low-budget version of Sichuan cooking, try Chong Qing Hot Pot. Mr. Kitty gives it 3 paws up.

Chong Qing Hot Pot
5385 New Peachtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 936-1379

Something Looks Familiar in Austell

Since there's Giovanni's in Austell, I was hoping to find more hidden gems around Austell. I saw Joe's Mexicana Grill and hoped it was some awesome Mexican place that no one heard of. But was it? 

That sign looks very familiar.

When we walked in, it looked like a standard burrito joint—kinda like Moe's, Willy's or Chipotle. I didn't mind. I like burrito places. I hoped it was another alternative to the big three chain burrito places. Was it? Nope. It was basically Willy's.

The strange thing was, it looked like Willy's from the past. Their menu was simpler, like the old Willy's.  All their ingredients, from their vegetables, meat, and even their tortilla looked like Willy's. Then I made the connection. Willy's is called Willy's Mexicana Grill. This place is called Joe's Mexicana Grill. So is Joe Willy's brother or something?

That's too bad. I don't really like Willy's. If they were to copy a burrito joint, they should've copied my favorite: Chipotle.

They use Willy's red basket, their chips, and their ingredients. 

They pretty much used all of Willy's ingredients. 

They did have something original: Their mucho hot sauce. It did taste hot. But this wasn't enough to distinguish itself from Willy's.

Finally, something original: Their mucho hot sauce.

There aren't any burrito places I know of in Austell. So I guess this is probably the only place you have if you're in Austell. In conclusion, this place is Willy's. And I'm not a fan of Willy's. Mr. Kitty gives this place 2.5 paws up.

1025 West Connector

Austell, GA 30106

www.joesmex.com

Hidden Gem in Austell: Giovanni's

Austell is the land of the chain restaurants and other mediocre restaurants. They're in the middle of nowhere, and they don't have much quality competition. So usually, the restaurants don't try hard to bring quality products. But can you believe there exists a great Italian restaurant deep inside Austell? 

I do admit that the last time I went, the quality seemed to have gone down. But I can't blame him. The owner, Mr. Giovanni, is on his last legs. Nobody goes to his restaurant. Yes, it's one of the best places to go to in Austell, but he has several problems:

• Giovanni's is hidden in a small shopping center. It's very easy to miss if you don't pay attention. So unless you are consciously looking for it, you'll probably drive by it without noticing it. 
• The entire area is dead. You see closed restaurants and shops everywhere. It looks like Giovanni's is going to have the same fate.
• Because of lack of business, it looks like he's more focused on moving his restaurant than making quality food. 

Giovanni told me he might move to Kennesaw. That's even farther than Austell. But hopefully, he'll find better business there. I do hope he does well, because it's depressing to be the only one eating at his restaurant. 

The Food

Most of his entrees come with house salad and garlic bread. His house salad comes with balsamic vinaigrette. It's your standard house salad, nothing special. 

Another standard house salad.

His garlic bread is the bomb though. It's sweet and garlic-y due to the butter and garlic. It's like crack to me. I can eat this stuff all day. This is probably one of my favorite complimentary breads they give out in restaurants.

Great garlic bread.

I think the main star are his pasta dishes. They're all delicious. Some of my favorite pasta dishes were eaten in Giovanni's.

The pasta is cooked well and his sauces are delicious. Mrs. Kitty sometimes complain that it can be a bit oily. But I think that's what it makes it taste so good. For example, his alfredo sauce (not pictured here) is very creamy and heavy. But it's one of the best tasting alfredo sauce I've had.

Penne with pink vodka sauce

Good old spaghetti with pomodoro sauce.

Mr. Giovanni does everything here. He is the owner, the cook, the server, and the host.  He is friendly, polite, funny, and seems to know a lot about traditional Italian food. When you enter his restaurant, it seems like you're going into his home for a nice, home cooked, Italian meal.

Mr. Kitty gives this place 4 paws up. It used to be a 5 paws, but like I said, the quality has gone down.  I hope the quality doesn't go down further. Perhaps the move to Kennesaw will invigorate him again. If you guys are willing to drive all the way to Austell, you should check this place out before it gets worse or close down completely.

Giovanni's Restaurant
2495 East West Connector
Austell, GA 30106
www.giovannisgenuineitalian.com

Rumi's Kitchen

The first thing you'll notice at Rumi's is the valet service. Screw that. Just park your car behind KC Pit BBQ. Sure if you want the ultimate comfort, do the valet. But I just self park and walk a few more feet. 

When you walk in, it looks like Rumi's Bedroom than her kitchen. I kinda liked it. The space was large but arranged in a cramped, intimate style. The atmosphere also felt high class with their folded napkins, silverware, and glasses-not to mention the fancy cars parked outside parked by the valet. But don't let that intimidate you. I slummed it in here before just wearing my shorts and t-shirt. 

Like the other Persian restaurants, before the start of the meal, they give their traditional platter of flat bread, radish, mint, cheese, walnuts, olives, and other Persian-y food pieces. One time I ate at Rumi's, a Persian lady sitting to the table next to me showed me the proper way to eat it. But I forgot how to eat it since I haven't been to Rumi's for so long. I think you wrap the bread in the raw pieces of nuts, mint leaves, radish, etc. But I don't know. I should've asked the waitress.

The bread you eat with the raw veggies, herbs, and nuts. 

For the appetizer, we ordered the dolmeh—rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves with special sauce on top of it. It was a bit messy, but it had a good flavor.

Dolmeh

You can choose among 4 types of meat for the main entrees: beef, chicken, veal, and lamb. The beef dishes are usually good and is usually a safe choice. It's no frills, just seasoned beef with rice. You can't go wrong with that. They season the meat well, the meat is tender, and they also use decent cuts of meat.

Koobideh–I call those beef noodles. 

The lamb shank is a gigantic portion of rice combined with a gigantic bowl of lamb. I thought the lamb was cooked well, and and it tasted good. I like lamb in general, so you can't mess it up too much for me.

Lamb Shank. You can feed at least two people with this.

Close up of the lamb shank's lamb.

Close up of the lamb shank's rice.

Feeling adventurous, we also ordered the Ghormeh Sabzi. Despite its name, it definitely didn't look gourmet. Like the lamb shank, it also came with 2 ginormous plates: rice and veal stew. We didn't like this dish. The veal stew tasted sour. I think that was unexpected. Even Mrs. Kitty didn't like this dish. And she loves sour stuff. She would suck on lemons all day if she could.

It was hard to finish because of the sourness of the veal stew. If you like sour foods, I guess you can try this. I'll just avoid it.

Ghormeh Sabzi—another huge entree.

That lemon does not show how sour this dish is.

I never had dinner at Rumi's; I only had lunch. But it looks like it'll be the same experience. If you like Persian food or want to try it, you should try Rumi's. I've been to a couple of Persian places in the same area, and they're all decent but not spectacular. Rumi's is probably the best out of all the Persian places. Still, however, I don't consider it amazing. It's just decent food. I guess if you want an exotic—yet pricey—lunch, you can try Rumi's. Mr. Kitty gives Rumi's Kitchen 3.5 paws up.

Rumi's Kitchen

6152 Roswell Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30328

(404) 477-2100

http://www.rumiskitchen.com

Meat Heaven at Fogo De Chao

What else can you say about Fogo De Chao that hasn't been said already? If you don't know, Fogo De Chao is probably the best Brazilian churrascaria in Atlanta. A churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse. Basically, gauchos—Brazilian cowboys, although I'm not sure if Fogo hires real Brazilian cowboys—stick a sword through some chunk of meat, salt it, and cook it over fire. A good churrascaria is known for their grilling technique, their seasoning technique, and their cuts of meat. 

I've been to Fogo a lot, and I love them. But I always dread going there because most Atlanta churrascarias suck. Other churrascarias usually over-salt or overcook the meat. So I always think Fogo is the same and think they'll suck. Luckily, I'm wrong all the time. Fogo knows how to cook their meat. Also, it's all you can eat. Where else can you eat tons of fillet mignon, picanha, top sirloin  and other great meats until you're about to burst?

Their gauchos work fast. They need to work as fast as possible so they can satisfy their meat-hungry, blood-thirsty customers. Those gauchos work so fast, they won't even pause long enough for me to take a decent picture. 

Besides their meat, their salad bar is the best I've experienced in Atlanta. Besides your fresh, common vegetables like lettuce, beets, and tomatoes; the salad bar also includes vegetables that many people in Atlanta might not have seen before like hearts of palm and certain peppers. Their salad bar also includes great cold meats and excellent cheeses.

I like the salad bar so much, sometimes I come here just for the salad bar. It's cheaper than the meat option. Although, I always regret it because of the delicious aroma of grilled meat.

Standard salad stuff

See those bright red peppers at the bottom? Try those, they're very hot but good. 

Gigantic asparagus, hearts of palm, and Tabbouleh 

Fresh mozzarella, some peppers, and salmon. 

If those weren't enough, they also have great sides such as yucca—where you have to ask for—polentas, garlic mashed potatoes, fried bananas, and their awesome cheese rolls. If you love to eat, then Fogo is a great place for you. They will find a way to make you full for the entire week. They have every option you want whether you're a vegetarian, a meat lover, or a regular omnivore. Everything, from meats to breads to vegetables, at Fogo tastes great. Mr. Kitty gives this place 4.5 paws up.

Fogo De Chao
3101 Piedmont Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
www.fogodechao.com

Double Zero Napoletana, A Solid Addition for Pizza

Wow, Double Zero Napoletana is a huge place. When you walk in, you feel like you're walking into a stadium. 

Just half of the restaurant.

Even the men's bathroom is like a stadium's. In case a mass rush of men need to go to the bathroom, fear not, there are plenty of urinals to use.

Just half of the men's bathroom.

It's funny though. Even though they have this gigantic space, they still arranged the tables close together. For such a huge space, I didn't like listening to the couple behind us argue about stupid stuff.

Enough of their Size, Let's Talk About Their Food

I mainly went to Double Zero to try their pizza. I love pizza, especially the Neapolitan style. So I couldn't wait to try Double Zero's.

They have 2 wood burning ovens that burns at near 1000 degrees. They also seem to use a lot of high quality, fresh ingredients for their pizza.

One of their ovens

I ordered their Margherita Pizza, which is my standard on how good a Neapolitan Pizza can be. I think they make a solid pizza. The crust was near perfect. The sauce was a bit too tangy for me, but I think that's fine. The cheese was fine. But they only had a few basil pieces sprinkled.

I don't like it when pizza places don't sprinkle the basil evenly on the pizza. I love tasting the combination of the perfectly cooked crust, basil, mozzarella di bufala, and sauce at once. If the basil isn't spread evenly, I can't enjoy that with every slice. Oh well. I think if Double Zero spread the basil around evenly, their Margherita could be even be better.

Also, I love how they give scissors to cut the pizza. I hate cutting pizzas with a knife. It is hard to do. Scissors make it easier.

Pretty good pizza, but why only a few basil pieces on one side of the pizza?

Besides their pizza, they had an extensive menu of tapas style dishes. I tried two of their appetizers: Arancini and the Cotica di Maiale.

I let Mrs. Kitty order the Arancini, and I didn't know what it was. She should've known that I don't like lemony foods—unless it's lemonade. Arancini is a croquette stuffed with lemon saffron risotto, peas, red pepper, and Scamorza cheese. It also had some lemon sauce drizzled on it.

Mrs. Kitty loved the dish, but I didn't. Again, it's because of the strong lemony taste. If I actually read the menu and saw it had lemon, I wouldn't have ordered this dish. So I'm not the best judge for this. But if you don't like lemony flavors, don't order this.

Arancini—too lemony for me.

The Cotica Di Maiale had so much potential. If you look at the picture below, it looks awesome. Heck, when it came out, it smelled great, and it gave off a delicious sizzle. My mouth started drooling when I saw the entire plate.

Unfortunately, it was only so-so. Each individual piece tasted decent, but the ingredients didn't seem to mesh together. In fact, I didn't know how to eat it. Did I have to eat all the layers at once? Do I turn it over and mix the ingredients together? How do I eat this thing? I asked the waiter, and he didn't know either. But he asked the chef, and the chef said you should eat it one layer at a time. That didn't really make sense, but okay.

One problem with eating it a layer at a time is that the bottom most layer is the bread. The bread soaks up all the grease, broth, and other liquidy stuff from the layers above. So it becomes inedible. The bread turns soggy and inedible. won't order this dish again.

Cotica di Maiale—Awesome Pork Belly dish? Nope. 

Double Zero also has sampler of cheeses and meats. They are pricey, but they are good. I do commend them of their cheeses. I'm not a huge cheese fan, but Double Zero's cheese plates turned me into one.  Along with the pizza, I think their meats and cheeses are their strongest dish.

Deliciousness.

Now for the grand fanale: their dessert. I think I had the best dessert at a restaurant. If you want to try something exotic and different, you must try their Formaggio Tasting dessert.

The Formaggio Tasting is 4 different kinds of cheese flavored gelato—yes, cheese flavored—paired with something solid like figs, chocolate truffle, etc.

They give you Goat Cheese gelato, Parmesan gelato, Gorganzola gelato, and red wine gelato. I would've thought Gorganzola gelato would be disgusting, but it was heavenly. That was my favorite. I do have to caution, it might be too strange for some people because Mrs. Kitty thought it was too weird. But I loved it. On the other hand, Mrs. Kitty loved the Goat Cheese gelato and the Parmesan gelato, and so did I.

Best dessert ever. I would come here just for this.

Double Zero is new, and they're working out their kinks. Their pizza and their cheeses are already top notch. But once they get into their groove, I think this will be a solid addition for Pizza and Italian cuisine in Atlanta. Mr. Kitty gives this place 4 paws up.

Double Zero Napoletana
5825 Roswell Road
Atlanta, GA 30328
www.doublezeroatl.com/home/

Blogger Screwed Up My Rumi's Kitchen Post

For 2 days, blogger.com went down like a cheap hooker and lost my final copy of Rumi's Kitchen review. I knew I should've saved my blog posts locally. Now I have to go back and re do it. Sigh.

Taka Sushi-Sushi and Passion

Ah, good old Taka—one of Buckhead's best sushi restaurants. Heck, it's probably one of the best sushi restaurants in Atlanta. Taka Sushi's main chef is Taka Moriuchi. He even has his own food blog that I read. I'm guessing the restaurant is named after him.

Taka's Omakase

People seem to buzz about is his omakase. Omakase is where you give all your trust to the chef, and let him choose what to feed you. So Mrs. Kitty and I tried both of his omakase: the standard and the nigiri omakase.

For the standard omakase, you get to taste Chef Taka's special creations. They are unique and show off Taka's creativity. 

You can opt for the 6, 8, or 10 course omakase.  I chose the 6 course option. I'll list what I had using pictures:

1. Gazpacho–cold tomato soup with crab meat, in honor of Cinco De Mayo.

2. Seared Tuna with Guacamole–it had a nice kick thanks to the jalapeño peppers.

3. Salmon Tartar–tomatoes, daikon?, salmon, olives, and pickles with some sort of sauce. It was very interesting.

4. Shiitake Mushroom Croquette

5. Gobo Root Tempura. 

6. Cucumber Salad–A nice medley of seafood and cucumber.

7. Taka's Omakase bonus! Yaki Buta–it tasted like the pork he uses in his ramens. 

Overall, I thought the omakase was impressive, creative, fun, and great to look at; but I didn't love it. I know what Taka was trying to do, but it didn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it. It just left me feeling unsatisfied.

One reason was its low value. For $40, all I got was small bits of seafood and vegetables. Yes, Taka was cool enough to give me the bonus pork dish at the end—which concluded the meal well. But if the 7th dish didn't come out, I would've felt something was missing. Maybe that's why Taka gave us the 7th dish.

Also, I might be a traditionalist on Japanese cuisine, and the omakase had a lot of fusion dishes and interesting variations of Japanese cuisine. I guess that took me by surprise since I didn't know what to expect.

The Nigiri Omakase


Taka also has a nigiri omakase, which also comes in 6 course. This time, like the name implies, it's all nigiri. Again, here are the sushi in pictures:

Taka's sushi tastes and looks top notch. He uses fresh ingredients. He also gives high quality stuff like fatty tuna and live scallop. I also like the fact he puts wasabi in his nigiri. That's how I'm used to eating sushi from Japan.

Just like the standard omakase, the nigiri omakase costs a lot. But I think it's a better value. Why? Maybe because I like Taka's sushi so much. Also, like I mentioned earlier, it's because I'm more of a traditionalist for Japanese cuisine. You can't get more traditional than nigiri.

Noodles!

Our stomachs still grumbled after the omakase. So I did what I always do at a Japanese restaurants when I want something extra: order ramen.

Taka has the best Shoyu Ramen in Atlanta. When it comes out, I suggest not jumping in slurping up the noodles right away. Let it settle for a few seconds. Drink the great, flavorful broth first. Try piece of the pork. Mix the ingredients around. And then dig in. In a nutshell, eat it like that old ramen master scene in  Tampopo.

As for the best ramen in Atlanta, Yakitori Jinbei's tonkotsu ramen still is number 1. But Taka's Shoyu Ramen is no slouch.

Best Shoyu Ramen in Atlanta?

Mrs. Kitty got the Zaru Soba. It came with a great tsuyu—the dipping sauce—and the soba was cooked perfectly. This was first time Mrs. Kitty tried Zaru Soba.

I realized not many people know how to eat Zaru Soba correctly. Sometimes, I see people dumping all the noodles in their tsuyu. That makes me shake my head. To eat Zaru Soba, it's easy. Pick up a chopstick full of noodles from the bamboo plate, dip the noodles into the tsuyu, and slurp the noodles up. You don't let the noodles sit in the tsuyu. You just dip and slurp.

Other Stuff At Taka


Taka's menu looks huge. They seem to have packed a ton of stuff in there. Taka also features a bunch of creative sushi rolls. They have American sounding names like the Home Depot Roll. I haven't tasted much of his rolls, but if they're anything like his nigiri, I expect them to be stellar.

There's also a "secret" Japanese menu that features a few traditional Japanese entrees such as their Shoyu Ramen. It's not really a secret menu. It's actually called, "The Japanese Extended Menu." But I call it the secret menu because its mention is hidden in their massive, regular menu.

I tried their curry rice from the extended menu, and it sucked. The rice came out fried. And the curry tasted like it had cinnamon in it. That was a weird combination and made it unbearable to eat.

Taka Sushi is pricey. We spent over $100 for just the two of us.  It's not a place we can go often because of our budget. But it is one of our favorites. Even though it seems like I didn't like the omakase, I suggest you to still try it. It is an interesting experience. And of course, try his sushi. They taste great. Mr. Kitty gives this place 4 paws up.

Taka Sushi
385 Pharr Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 869-2802