That's all, yolks! Asian egg dishes delight around Orlando
Done perfectly, it's wok-fried in a generous pool of oil, soft and tender inside with a crispy, wispy exterior and heavy with vegetables — all of them. Broccoli and carrot, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, rough-chopped hunks of baby corn. Every restaurant does it differently and I'll often pass on the gravy (some are too heavy on thickening agents, too light on the soy or oyster sauce umami), but I love it, with or without.
Orlando's first Kyuramen location is ready for its close-up | Review
I'd just finished up at the gym. And the salty protein-carbohydrate bomb was just what my body wanted. I could feel it replenishing me, in fact, like it was going directly into my cells. It was fabulous. I might have heard myself say 'mmm' a few times.
Folks in foodie online circles can be pretentious about American-Chinese food.
I've seen people joyfully post their glistening containers of General Tso's only to have some troll call it inauthentic, which frankly, I don't get.
How?
It's an iteration of Chinese food, invented by Chinese immigrants, as they forged new lives in a new place. There is Tahitian Chinese food. Caribbean Chinese food. Indian Chinese food. Peruvian Chifa. Same story, different countries. None are 'traditional.' All are examples of Chinese people using the ingredients available to them to create something familiar, but uniquely Chinese-plus.
Happily, zero trolls responded when I posted an open question on the Orlando Sentinel's food-centric Facebook page, Let's Eat, Orlando.
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'I love American Chinese food,' wrote group member Alana Conel. 'There's something about the comfort of it that I crave at least once every two weeks. I love authentic Chinese food no doubt, but take-out Chinese food … literally is making my mouth water right now.'
Raised in China, Janet Zhang noted that American Chinese cuisine's flavor and presentation feel foreign, but she still likes it.
'I think the American Chinese restaurants have some of the best chicken wings I have ever had, and the twice-cooked pork made with cabbage and charsiu, though (they) bare [sic] little resemblance to the dish I was familiar with, (are) still delicious.'
Chefs, too, weighed in.
'If you say you don't like [American Chinese food], you're lying,' said Boku, Soseki and Uncle Dendog's alum Denni Cha, whose favorites include moo shu. 'Egg drop soup is my everything.'
Vegetable egg foo young is mine. I'm not apologizing. And as we say goodbye to both Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and National Egg Month, I can't think of a better dish to go out on.
That's all, yolks!
Well, that and this round-up of some other Asian egg dishes you might want to try.
Though not technically an omelet, this eggy-battered pancake of Japanese origin, in particular the chonky kind where the goodies are studded within instead of layered on top, has definite egg foo young feels. In Japan, you might find grill-top tables where you can cook your own, but at chef Lewis Lin's Orlando-local izakayas, Susuru and Juju, you can sip fine whiskey or whimsical cocktails while the pros in the kitchen do the work. Here, they churn out thick, Osaka-style okonomiyaki that's studded with cabbage and slathered in kewpie and where you can add on pork chashu or bacon. It's quite popular with the regulars, says Lin. Go. Be one.
Susuru: 8548 Palm Parkway in Orlando, 407-778-4813; susuruorl.com
Juju: 700 Maguire Blvd. in Orlando, 407-412-6678; susuruorl.com/juju-restaurant
I couldn't post the wild video I have of my server, deftly slicing open this trendy, Yoshoku-style omelet, at Kyuramen's location just outside the UCF campus on University Boulevard, but Google Kyoto's famed Kichi Kichi restaurant (or check out Phil Rosenthal meeting chef Motokichi Yukimura on the Kyoto episode of 'Somebody Feed Phil' on Netflix) and you'll know what to expect when you show up for your own taste of this gorgeous dish, wherein a delicate, thin-skinned purse of eggs is layered over chicken fried rice, flayed open theatrically, then doused with sauce. At Kyuramen, the choice is curry or demiglace. You can add on pork tonkatsu, as well.
Kyuramen: 3402 Technological Ave. in Orlando, 407-668-4088; kyuramen.com
This steamed egg custard is one of the most popular dishes on the menu at Pocha 93, where Korean street food takes center stage and the eggs are a light, silky and fluffy bar snack, topped with scallion and ideal for enjoying alongside something saltier and, of course, happy hour sips.
Pocha 93: 7379 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando, 407-420-0157; pocha93.com
A recent add to Domu Chibi Ramen's fast-casual menu in Waterford Lakes, and a protein-packed steal at $3.50.
These thin, delicately rolled omelets, says chef/owner and 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef: South, Sean 'Sonny' Nguyen, are something every chef specializing in Japanese cuisine aspires to do well.
'The more you make it over time, the better you get,' he says. 'I make a very amateur tamagoyaki at home for my kids for breakfast and they love it.'
It was a natural add to Chibi's menu, he says 'because we were focusing a little more on Japanese street foods for our fast-casual outpost. One of the most memorable bites I had at the Tsujiki Market was tamagoyaki on a skewer, made fresh at a corner storefront. It was cheap, simple and delicious.'
It takes those who try it on a trip to Japan without booking a ticket, he says.
'If you're into eggs, it's worth a try.'
Domu Chibi Ramen: 869 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando, domufl.squarespace.com/chibi
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let's Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
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