Haven’t been to Mister Jiu but that’s how I feel with my recent lone visit at the newly minted Bistro Na…I see the extra effort and the generally higher quality ingredients but the star boggles my mind…it’s a token star for a Chinese eatery
I’ve been to Mister Jiu’s. While I appreciate the ethos of what Chef Brandon is trying to do for the community, he’s gotta step it up a notch in the food department.
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I’m starting to get the feeling you didn’t like P+P?
Oh those damn kids.
You’re really on a roll! I hope there’s more.
Or you can go to Lu’s Garden in San Gabriel.
Ruen Pair and Hollywood Thai has a Chiu Chow-Thai menu that pairs well with plain porridge (salty turnip and egg, black egg and basil, ong choy, clams and basil, braised duck, Thai style omelette with ground pork,)
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I enjoyed my meal there, but I can see where the self-hating racist Asian Yelpers are coming from regarding portion size.
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I’ve eaten very well at Mr. Jiu’s. Sourcing, decor, service, wine list, etc. are all first-rate by contemporary SF standards. Their Michelin star makes as much sense to me as Osteria Mozza’s or SPQR’s. Given how booked up the place is, I don’t think Jew needs to step anything up a notch.
Yeah, she must be talkin’ about some other self-hating racist Asian Yelpers, lol. Because these seemed to have some valid points.
My lunch at Porridge and Puffs was my favorite meal of the year so far. For me, the portion size was perfect given the richness of porridge and the cost felt quite reasonable for a thoughtfully composed dish which radiated complexity and finesse.
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have not read the whole thread but the answer surely is that the cheap places should also be charging more. both so that employees can be paid livable wages and because the food deserves it. there’s no reason why mid-tier chinese food (in terms of quality) should be cheaper than mid-tier italian food (in terms of quality).
the price floor as a whole needs to rise. then we can have true apples to apples comparisons.
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This discussion reminds me of something Enrique Olvera said in Chef’s Table: he talked about how for a long time Mexicans themselves considered their food as not worth admiration and lacking sophistication: peasant food. He said that cooks and chefs would be sent to France/Italy to train and then apply French techniques to food back at home. But he says that with Pujol, he’s celebrating Mexican technique and finesse and challenging our notions that Mexican food is all cheap/fast/street food etc.
Here we are making the same comments about Chinese food in general, that congee or porridge is peasant food, that we would never imagine ordering it in a restaurant let alone a fancy version of it. Chef Olvera is not making street tacos, Chef Minh is not making your grandma’s congee.
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Fancy congee is not foreign concept in Asia… in the US, yes. Good fancy/elevated anything exist in Asia if you are willing to pay for it. Fancy good Chinese is rare & elusive in the U.S. What they’re trying to do is only special in Western countries. Those f***ing racist Asians she cited likely shuttle back and forth between continents on a regular basis and have a good point of reference to compare her food.
Seriously people, standard of Chinese food in the U.S and many other Asian cuisines (except maybe Korean & Japanese) is still in the fucking dark ages.
I applaud these young guns trying to improve the Asian food scene - I think its great, but don’t make it out like it’s the invention of sliced bread. And those fucking racist Asians are pretty savvy. Please don’t completely dismiss their feedback and just assume they are a bunch of FoB hicks. They might be her best critics. If she can’t take the heat perhaps she should target a more forgiving non-Asian clientele. .
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If they are actually don’t give (or understand) their feedback in the context of the location they are actually not terrible savvy and the chef might be correct with the assessment of them
Begs the question though, just who the hell is her target clientele? It’s a tiny shop on the edges of a gentrifying historic filipinotown, slanging $20pp+ porridge lunches.
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besides the types who are into conspicuous consumption, i can’t imagine most chinese embracing the appeal of gourmet jook, for the same reasons i don’t see a huge demand for gourmet oatmeal, which, despite it typically being served sweet instead of savory, is what i’d consider to be the western analog. or maybe grits/polenta is the more appropriate analogy? there are various countries that eat some form of corn based porridge. i’d be interested in identifying any variants that would be considered gourmet. i don’t think that there are, though they may be used as vehicles for gourmet toppings, what have you, like shrimp and grits, or various italian sauces one might use with polenta.
as to the issue of portion size, if there’s anything porridge should do, it should fill you up. for cheap. maybe it’s growing up with oatmeal that reinforces the idea. the bottom line: i find myself agreeing with those who suggest re-positioning the product.
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Did you even read the eater interview?
She plainly says that if you make the comparison between her porridge and SGV jook and congee you’re missing the point. As far as her targeted clientele I get the sense that her peoples are asian americans. She wants to be a neighborhood restaurant in a historically asian neighborhood.
Its unfair to compare Porridge and Puffs to food you can get abroad…P+P is a neighborhood LA restaurant. Market produce, asian american inflections. Im sure you can get better/cheaper/tastier dishes outside of the US but like you said this is special in western countries. This is special for LA.
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Yes I read the article. You basically reinforced what several other posters have suggested .
yeah man, if she wants to say “nobody blinks an eye about $20 pasta” then serve a freaking 2.5 course lunch - small app/salad, porridge w/1 puff, course it out and charge $23.
FFS I can go to Pizzeria Mozza, sit at the bar, get 1 pizza, 1 glass of wine, and dessert for $30.
Ironically the one blow my socks off congee in the U.S was from a non-Asian chef. David Kinch’s abalone porridge. PITA to prep and dammed good. I’d regularly pay $$$ for a bowl of that congee.
I think a lot of people are commenting based on pictures and articles, and already have a preconceived notion on what her porridge is. She is using expensive rice (Koda Farms), she is doing different flavor combinations, fermenting and all sorts of techniques not used in regular porridge.
She is doing this while paying a fair wage and opening the restaurant on her own terms. As far as I know she doesn’t have any large investors, she is really trying to give a thoughtful rendition of porridge and not just “fancying” it up.
If you read the actual reviews from this board alone, her food seems to be well worth it and it seems everyone likes it.
I say try it, her price is really not asking for too much compared to pastas out there. Maybe get 2-4 porridge’s with your group so you can taste them all. I mean we do that at other restaurants so why not here? A lot of people here have paid $30 or more for a roast chicken so why not $12-15 for porridge?
I’ve had it, I loved it and I think her point of view is clear when you eat her food. Maybe you won’t get it and that’s ok, but for me it was a revelation on what humble food can be.
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