An open mind = a happy mouth
Published: December 16th, 2007 12:00 AM
Last Modified: December 16th, 2007 04:09 AM
Photo by ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News
Sous chef Khamtane "Joy" Keunkham places barbecued pork in the display case at International Kitchen inside the International Market in Midtown.
What was Ric Manrique, chef and owner of Manrique's Brasserie, doing at a tiny counter inside Midtown's International Market last week?
Having lunch: pork adobo and fried tilapia.
Officially called International Kitchen, the modest glass case and little counter fill a corner at the busy Asian grocery in a strip mall just next door to Campobello Bistro. Since May, the Kitchen has developed a steady following, including foodie regulars like Manrique, who arrives at noon in his chef garb.
The draw? Simple, authentic Asian cooking.
Before we go too far, know this: You shouldn't visit the Kitchen if your idea of Asian food is the Americanized fare currently sitting under grocery store heat lamps across the city. You won't find General Tso's chicken in this case. But, if you are open to exotic options, you'll be rewarded with surprising flavors.
The menu, a rotation of dishes influenced by produce availability, is targeted at the palates of the grocery store's large Asian clientele, who come in looking for the tastes of home, such as starchy cassava, tongue-shocking bitter melon and tender fish balls.
Presentation is modest. Most items are sold deli-style, at $8 a pound for meat and $5.95 a pound for other entrees, or in a small or large combo plates, each enough to feed more than one person. A regular combo with rice or noodles and two entrees is $6.95. Add another entree for a dollar.
Angela Wong, the Kitchen's owner and head cook, comes from China. Her apprentice chefs are from Laos. The offerings span traditional Filipino, Lao, Thai and Chinese cooking.
The store offers a nice selection of ready-to-eat items aside from the lunch counter food, including sushi, Thai pudding desserts and locally baked, Chinese and Filipino-style pastries. There's also a wide variety of imported juices and teas in cans. But there are no tables or chairs; be prepared to stand and eat at the counter or take out.
My first time to the shop, a friend and I each tried a large combo meal. I followed Manrique's lead and went for white rice, pork adobo, tilapia (a small white fish, lightly fried with head and tail intact) and barbecued pork. My companion went with noodles, spicy tofu, stir-fried long beans and three cuttlefish balls on a stick. To wash it down, we sipped cans of cold Honey Bee Thai-style iced tea (95 cents each).
If I were to construct the perfect lunch combo, melding our two meals, it would be: barbecued pork, which was moist and richly flavored with anise and plum sauce; long beans, which were simply stir-fried and crispy; and spicy tofu, which was made with the softest variety of bean curd adorned with a hot, sweet sauce.
In the starch department, the white rice had nice density and stickiness, but I would probably go for the noodles, a combo of bean threads and chow mein, tossed with cabbage and strips of green onion. The noodles were more interesting than the rice, and I like the crunch of cabbage.
I had a thing for the cuttle-fish balls. Made of processed fish, their flavor was mild and their texture springy like a tofu dog -- but it's not for everybody.
The Manrique menu didn't do it for me, probably because of timing. The tilapia might have been better an hour earlier. The flavor was delicate, but overall it was a little soggy. The adobo, sadly, had become a casualty of the heat lamp, making it too tough to choke down.
Following my own advice to be open to new flavors, I returned to try the duck. I'm usually not a duck person, as I've found it tough and too fatty. The birds must be purchased whole ($20) and can be sliced into manageable portions. There's enough easily for four people.
What followed, though a little embarrassing, is exactly why you should leave expectations at door of International Kitchen.
When I popped in a duck morsel, I was sitting at a stop light. Sweet, salt and a round, nutty flavor filled my mouth in sequence. In its foam box, the bird glistened invitingly with sticky sauce. I should have waited, but I grabbed a drumstick. The meat was tender. The fat didn't bother me.
The stick was clean before the light turned green.
? Daily News reporter Julia O'Malley can be reached at jomalley@adn.com or 257-4325.
International Kitchen
***1/2$
Location: 601 W. 36th Ave., No. 8
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Phone: 561-5755
Agree with our reviewer? Want to rave or pan? Write your own review of this restaurant or any other recently reviewed place at play.adn.com/dining.
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