Food Bits - Delicious Kabob and Lee's Bakery

A few Buford Highway culinary adventures to report on!

Thanks to Ashley Chang for power lunch at Delicious Kabob last Friday. This newcomer is hot with the Atlanta Gasto Elite for good reason. View this experience as a two prong affair - mandatory meat kabobs (from non-Han Northern China) as starters and Szechuan delicacies from the main menu as entrees.

We started out with lamb and squid kabobs that arrived at our table right off the grill in the front of the restaurant. I am not a huge lamb fan but this was the best I have ever had. Spicy and crunchy without being over powering or too gamy. The squid had the same spicy effect with just the right snap. You squid fans know what I'm talking about.

For our main course we ordered crispy fried beef with chili (very good), greens/vegetables (usual fare) and dry fried eggplant (life changing). As an eggplant obsessive I can honestly say that eating these perfect strips (almost like french fries) covered in red chilies made me reexamine the universe and my place in it.

Delicious Kabob is a must! Just keep the GPS on and your eyes open or you will sail right past it.

Yesterday Shannon and I enjoyed Vietnamese sandwiches (bánh mì) at Lee's Bakery. A byproduct of French colonial times, the bánh mì is a delectable combination of the perfect baguette and a variety of meats and spices providing the Vietnamese side of the sandwich equation.

Lee's is famous both for the quality of their sandwiches and great prices. Take aways are less than $3.00 each. We opted for chicken sandwiches and loved the sensation of the prefect crunch-and-release of world-class bread followed by a spicy, cilantro laced kick before hitting tender, well seasoned chicken.

A great deal and a great meal. Next trip I will man-up and get the original headcheese version.

Peace in 2010

Business travelers, tourist and natives alike (especially Chris Arnold) are happy at today's report that Shanghai landmark the Peace Hotel is on schedule to reopen in March of 2010.

A little of the history of the Bund. I recommend Stella Dong's

Shanghai : The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City 1842-1949 for your next plane ride. This is an entertaining history of the days of anything goes Shanghai complete with vice, larger than life charters and the struggles leading to the formation of the modern PRC.

Hot Off the Presses

May Day in China is not the same without the Golden Week holiday, but celebrate anyway by exploring the Global Times.

This new English language newspaper goes head-to-head with the existing English language broadsheet China Daily. While I have the feeling the competition between government outlets will be minimal, I do prefer the layout of the web version of the newer publication.