Posts Tagged ‘far west’

ZenZen Taste

Sunday, February 19th, 2017

20170208_120315Next time you’re at Woodman’s on the west side, see if you can spot ZenZen Taste across the street. It’s a hidden gem for Chinese food adjacent to an Asian grocery store called J&P Market. If you can forgive the service, it’s worth a trip for the large portions and unique cuisines.

On the latter point, it’s nice to see items you wouldn’t find at other Chinese restaurants. For example, there’s pot chicken with bamboo ($12.95), Hunan fish head ($32.95), roasted pork chop with honey ($12.95) and boiled beef in spicy sauce ($10.95). Unfortunately, there are no descriptions of the menu items, and only some of them have a photo.

The egg drop corn soup ($4.95) is a safe bet and a bargain. I had three bowls from the serving bowl, and there was still enough for at least another serving. The soup has a delicate flavor, having the right amount of egg and corn.

On the opposite end of the spectrum for your tastebuds is the dongbo pork elbow ($16.95). If you like pig hocks, you’ll like this meatier version. It’s tender and very flavorful, but it’s salty, so you will need some rice with each bite to tone it down.

20170214_115315The century eggs ($6.95) were some of the best I’ve ever had. Perfect gelatinous texture of the whites, paired with the creaminess of the yolk, mixed with the spiciness of peppers, makes for a satisfying appetizer.

The roasted Peking duck ($58.95 whole, $38.95 half) is served in two parts. The first is moo shu-style, with super tender sliced duck combining with the crunch from the julienne onions and cucumbers you can add to a Mandarin pancake. Much to my surprise, this huge meal also comes with a pot of soup, containing the rest of the duck (on bone). You can easily share this large spread with 1-2 people.

While I enjoyed the food here, service needs improvement, as the restaurant is understaffed. There’s always just one server, and one time I had to walk into the kitchen to get served by one of the cooks, as no one was in the dining room.

ZenZen Taste is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

ZenZen Taste Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sliced Deli

Sunday, November 6th, 2016

20161028_121212A long-time Arby’s on Gammon Road closed and turned into Sliced Deli in August. It’s not actually a deli; instead, it’s a reasonably priced sandwich shop that shares similarities with its predecessor.

For example, the drive-thru still exists, and the curly fries ($2.75 large order) here taste exactly like Arby’s version. Even the bread tastes the same.

The majority of the sandwiches are hot sandwiches. The fish filet sandwich ($3.99) sports a pretty sizable cod filet for its price. The deep-fried fish sort of resembles McDonald’s filet-o-fish, but it’s much meatier, a bit crunchier and more flavorful, plus it’s topped with a smear of tartar.

I found the smoked brisket sandwich ($4.99) to be satisfying. It’s got tender, fairly smoky brisket, gouda cheese and fried onion strings, and the somewhat sweet BBQ sauce complements the flavors.

dsc02302I was pleasantly surprised by the pulled pork sandwich ($2.99) because it uses a Carolina (mustard-based) sauce. It’s actually quite good–the meat is super moist, and the bread does a good job of keeping its structure.

My only disappointment was the Philly cheesesteak ($4.99). The sandwich had barely any meat, and the green peppers and onions were under-cooked. Next time, I’ll try either the gyro ($4.49) or the buffalo chicken sandwich ($3.99).

The rest of the menu includes build-your-own sandwiches ($4.99), sides (e.g. mozzarella sticks) and two salads.

Sliced Deli is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

Sliced Deli Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Haldi Masala

Sunday, October 30th, 2016

20161025_120014New management closed Kangchen Indian Cuisine, located in a strip mall between West Towne and the Beltline, in August and quickly reopened it as Haldi Masala. The focus here is south Indian cuisine, which focuses primarily on rice, lentils and stew.

The sizable menu includes southern Indian specialties such as nellore kara dosa ($6.99, crepe coated with chili paste), royyala iguru ($13.49, shrimp cooked in onion, tomato and spices) and Haldi special biriyani ($16.99, Basmati rice with chicken, herbs, spices and pepper gravy).

The buffet only is available at lunch time. While it seems small, the buffet does offer a representative assortment of items from the menu.

Vegetarian items

  • The hot and sour vegetable soup slightly resembles the soup you would find at a Chinese restaurant, except this version is heavy in carrot taste.
  • I keep seeing cauliflower on more and more menus. Here, the gobi is lightly breaded and sauteed. The chili flavor is prevalent, but you can still discern the cauliflower.
  • Similar to the gobi, the fried lentils let you still taste the lentils in addition to onion and cilantro.
  • The biryani seemed dry and lacking in ingredients.
  • The Daal fry (loose lentil stew) is best complemented with the naan that is served at your table.

20161025_121416Non-vegetarian items

  • Hope you like your eggs spicy. The guddu fry consists of hard-boiled eggs in a sauce that is heavy in onions and jalapenos.
  • I really enjoyed the chicken 65. It’s fairly meaty and breaded in corn flour and spices, then deep fried and tossed with jalapenos.
  • The tilapia is very tender from sitting in its own  stew, which has hints of eggplant flavor.
  • Usually tandoori chicken is too dry for me, but here it was juicy, a pleasant surprise.
  • The baby goat is tender, just be careful of the numerous pieces of bone in the dish.

Haldi Masala is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

Haldi Masala Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

  • Blog Home

    You are currently browsing the EatDrinkMadison.com blog archives.

  • Archives

  • Categories