The Lantern House - my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church

 

Caramelized fish in clay pot

Not too long ago, The Lantern House, a Vietnamese restaurant, opened near our home. While the Eden Center (Little Vietnam of the DC area) is not too far from where we live, this place would actually be walkable on a nice day. 

We have already visited it twice for dinner and once for lunch and would not hesitate to crown it our current "favorite" restaurant in town. If you are in the Falls Church, you must try it - you wont regret it. 

Vietnamese food has become one of my favorite cuisines - mostly because it feels lighter in comparison to most Asian food, yet flavorful enough that I can develop an appetite for it. And most importantly, if you are like me, i.e. middle aged and counting your calorie intake, you don't end up feeling guilty after gorging on it.  

We tried their chicken Bahn mi sandwich for lunch. Served with pickled cucumbers, onion and extremely well flavored grilled chicken inside a fresh baguette, it was a delicious protein-packed lunch for a reasonable price of $10. You may be able to find a bahn mi at the Eden center for $5 (and I have had it there too) but this one definitely weighs more on the meat and you get to enjoy a nice(r) ambience (it has limited outdoor seating too - definitely a plus)! 

Chicken curry stew with noodles

For dinner, so far, we have tried their shrimp summer rolls (vegetables, vermicelli and shrimp rolled in a rice paper and served with a peanut sauce), lemongrass chicken with chillies, caramelized fish in a clay pot with sticky rice, and chicken curry stew (where you have an option of either pairing it with a baguette, or noodles). I would highly recommend the caramelized fish in the clay pot, which has always been my favorite of the dishes on a Vietnamese menu. It is fried fish in a sweet and spicy sticky sauce, served with sticky rice. To me, the lemongrass chicken resembled the "Indian style chilli chicken" - cooked with peppers, onions and soya sauce. Finally, the chicken curry stew with the vermicelli is simply so refreshing that you can't just have enough of it.   

There are lots of others dishes on their menu I haven't tried and I look forward to trying their popular soups (phos), salads, noodles, and other specialty rice dishes, after which I will update this blog. Lots of pork and beef on their menu too!

The last time we were there, the servers gave us a complimentary milk tea. There are several other drinks on the menu (e.g. the sugarcane juice) that I look forward to trying. 

Chicken Pineapple macaroni salad

 -- By Sania Nadkarni 

Ingredients: 

1 bell pepper

1 tomato

1/4th cabbage

7-8 pieces of pineapple

3-4 chicken breasts 

1 cup macaroni

12-15 pieces walnuts

For the dressing

2 Tablespoons Mayo

1 teaspoon olive oil

1. Cut all vegetables [Capsicum or bell peppers, tomatoes, cabbage] into small cubes. 
2. Cut pineapples into tiny cubes, add a little bit of sugar and freeze it for 5 minutes. Don't miss out on the pineapple. It is juicy and really adds flavor to the salad. 
3. In a pan, add some olive oil and cook chicken pieces into cubes with salt and pepper. Keep the chicken aside. 
4. Toss the cut veggies in the same pan for a few minutes [ don't add more oil]
5. Cut walnuts into small pieces and add to the bowl. 
6. Boil macaroni pasta [in 5 cups of water] with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1teaspoon salt. 
7. Mix the chicken, vegetables, pineapple and macaroni in a bowl. Squeeze 1/4th lemon, mix and leave aside. 
8. For the dressing, mix the mayo with 1 teaspoon olive oil and little milk. [It should not be very thick or watery]
9. Mix and pour it over the macaroni-veggie mixture. 
10. Mix well and refrigerate for some time. 
11. Serve chilled. 

Posh toast!

Homemade Avocado toast

 Avocado Toast is my new favorite posh toast. Perfect for breakfast, it is healthy and ready in minutes. While I have had several avocado toasts on breakfast menus in restaurants, my favorite was the one I had at Philadelphia's Reading Market. 

Here's a recipe to a version I tried : 

Ingredients

1 ripened avocado (mashed) 

Sea salt and pepper
2 slices of bread of your choice 
1 teaspoon chilli oil (store bought Chinese chilli oil) or Chilli flakes and olive oil
Topping of your choice: smoked salmon, fried egg or smoked ahi tuna

Avocado toast with fried egg, Reading Market

Step 1: Mash avocado and add a little bit of lime.
Step 2: Spread it on toasted slices of bread. 
Step 3: Add toppings of your choice. I have tried smoked salmon, fried egg and smoked ahi tuna.
Step 4: Add pepper, salt, and sprinkle chilli flakes and olive oil. Alternatively, you can use the ready made chilli oil. 

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients
8 Chicken thighs
3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
3 green chilies
2 large onions
3 tomatoes
1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
2 potatoes
4 eggs
1.5 cups of basmati rice
2 Star anise/cinnamon stick.

For the marinade
1 cup yoghurt
2 teaspoon each chili, turmeric, cumin-coriander powders
2 teaspoon garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Boil eggs, cut them into halves and keep aside.
Step 2: Cut potatoes into slices, lightly sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes at 350F. Alternatively, you can also shallow fry the potatoes.
Step 3: Cut the chicken thighs into small pieces, and marinate them in yoghurt and spices listed above and keep aside for a few hours.
Step 4: Sauté the sliced onions and slit green chilies in ghee or oil of your choice on low-medium heat until they are caramelized.

 

Step 5: Add the diced onions and let it cook well.

Step 6: Finely chop the fresh coriander leaves and add it to the mix and let it cook.

 

Step 7: Add the marinated chicken to this and let it cook until the chicken is well done. Add salt and more spice to suit your taste.

Step 6: Pressure cook the rice separately with some oil, star anise and cinnamon stick.

Step 9: Once the chicken is done, in a separate dish, layer the curry at the bottom, add rice, potatoes. The top most layer should be rice. 

Step 9: Garnish on top with some more coriander leaves and boiled eggs. Once its layered, let the biryani cook on low heat for around 10-15 minutes.

Step 10: Serve hot with a side of yoghurt/or salad of your choice.

My experience with Bengali cuisine

Mutton curry

  Paturi           

Kolkata, for those who don't know, is one of the India's largest cities. It is also the capital of West Bengal, a state located in the east of the country which shares a border with Bangladesh.

In my college days, I had Bengali friends and consequently had the opportunity to try a lot of Bengali food. At Bengali restaurants my preferred dishes were the fish cutlets while the home favorites were fish curries/fried fish. With respect to local (DC) restaurants, I am partial to the roast chicken and biryanis at one of Arlington's Bangla restaurant, Gharer Khabar.

With many memories linked with food, I was really keen on visiting Kolkata during my visit to India. Last winter, we got to spend a few days in Kolkata  and had a chance to enjoy some of its local cuisine.

The Mughlai influences on its food were reflected in their preparations of biryani, mutton curry and kathi rolls. I absolutely loved their mutton curry which I had the chance to try with freshly made pooris (or as the Bengalis would call them "loochis"). The kathi rolls were also delicious. Many of the dishes we tried could be found at our hotel. The Bengali breakfast we tried at Westin was surprisingly authentic. It was mostly a simple preparation of veggies with "loochis". The hotel also offered a vast menu comprised of Indian breakfast items from idli-vada to pao bhaji, all of which were quite good.

Kathi Rolls

Bengali cuisine boasts of a lot of fish, predominantly river fish. While the fish dishes I tried didn't entirely disappoint me, the strong mustard flavor in the dishes wasn't to my taste. I loved the home-made styled fish curry (macher jhol), which was cooked with veggies (ours had cauliflower and potato) and served with rice. We also tried some other traditional delicacies of fish cutlets and paturi (fish cooked with mustard in a banana leaf) at a highly recommended local favorite called 6 Ballygungeplace.

Finally, Bengali sweets are well-known. If you are ever in the city, one must not miss out on their very popular rashogollas. My personal favorites are Kheer Kadam and Chom Chom, that brought back memories for me of a small Bengali restaurant in Pune that first introduced me to the cuisine.

My take on British food

Fish cutlet, poached egg with hollandaise sauce

I spent a week in Britain and had multiple opportunities to sample the local cuisine in restaurants as well as people's homes. Our breakfast go-to included "smashed avocado toast", poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, sausage, potatoes - all cooked with minimal seasoning that allowed us to add condiments to our taste.  These portions were typically accompanied with a modest pot of tea which seemed to be an integral part of all their meals. Most of the restaurant cooked meals felt like a welcoming diversion from the typical restaurant experience in the U.S., which is characterized by large meals laden with salt and sugar.

Fish and chips

Of course, I tried the fish and chips - batter fried cod fish with fries and vinegar dressing. There was an option to add tartar sauce, mushy peas or beans to the order. Fish was fresh on both the occasions I had it. It can be a heavy meal - so best eaten early in the day. We also tried several of their baked fare like the Cornwall pastries, scones and quiche. While I wont say I absolutely loved the fish and chips (a bit bland for my Indian palate), it is something I would fancy once in a while. We also visited a tea-shop, where the tea was served tea in a modestly sized teapot along with cakes, tarts and pastries. The ambience of these shops felt very cozy and welcoming.

Homemade Eaton Mess (with rhubarb syrup)

I loved the experience of going to a local pub for a beer or two. It seemed like an activity that most of the locals partook in and consequently I felt a sense of community. I visited two villages which had a pub or two that served a full dinner along with a range of beers. Our dinners were comprised of meats cooked with minimal or no spices and served with boiled or baked veggies. My favorite was the roasted slow-cooked lamb with home-made mint sauce that a family member prepared one evening.

Finally, we tried several homemade English desserts including puddings, apple crumble pie, Eaton mess and absolutely devoured them. While not overly sweet, the integration of some fruit felt refreshing.

India's culinary connection with Britain

Beef marrow 

I spent a week in England and got to experience that county's version of Indian cuisine. Not surprisingly, India's connection with Britain had a strong influence on its culinary scene resulting in a diverse range of Indian restaurants, or atleast in the two places I visited: London, York and Hull. Often, there was atleast one Indian(ized) dish in the menu of regular delis and pubs that we visited in London. We also came across a store in central York that was an Indian equivalent of a "Blue Apron". They sold customized packets of Indian spices for a range of Indian curries, including the quintessential Goan dish, Chicken xacuti (smile).

I sampled the menus in several South Asian- run restaurants in London and Hull in northern England. Clearly, there were way too many Indian/South Asian restaurants (Bangladeshi/Pakistani) to choose from. These restaurants served a range of dishes from street food like pao bhaji or vada pao to its own versions of dishes like the "Balti". While I wont say that these represented the most authentic Lucknowi murg or Chicken Chettinad, it was full of flavor and delectable. What was most interesting to me (that is not seen in Indian restaurants in the US) was the integration of dishes like lamb-balti or chicken balti (meaning bucket) throughout Britain akin to the American Chinese

Chicken Balti

dishes such as the General Pso's chicken in the United States. I had a Balti dish on one occasion - it was meat served in a "kadai" dish to be had with naan or rice.

My most memorable experience was at a Sri-Lankan restaurant called "Hoppers" in London that I visited twice over three days. We tried a range of dishes from kheema (minced goat)-stuffed paratha, beef marrow (their specialty dish), chicken curry and prawn curry with appams or hoppers. Very authentic, reasonably priced. The coconut-based flavors and spices created a pleasant memory of an authentic Chettinad/Goan experience for me.