Cheap Eats: Delicious Kabob
March 5th, 2009 by Jennifer Zyman in Restaurants
There is no better evidence of our superior ethnic dining scene than the proliferation of restaurants specializing in sub-cuisines. The newest hotspot is Delicious Kabob (3640 Shallowford Road, 770-457-4948), an off-the-beaten-path restaurant specializing in Northern Chinese and Szechuan dishes. Owner Zhiqiang Zhang hired one of Atlanta’s Chinese superchefs, chef Lu Liu and his partner, chef Beijing Yang to oversee the menu. Chef Liu and chef Yang hail from Northern China as do Zhang and his sister, Shomey, who runs the front of the house. But Liu is an expert at cooking most regional Chinese cuisines and took home the gold in a National Chinese cooking competition.
Northern Chinese fare dominates the menu. The lamb kebabs encrusted with cumin seeds and chili oil delight with a hint of game on the tongue, the crunch of char rife with kiss of the fire and the seductive aroma of toasted cumin. “Tofu skin with pepper” plays on subtlety. Chewy pappardelle-like noodles made from crosshatched tofu skin—the film that forms atop tofu—are stir-fried with slender pieces of juicy pork and slivered green hot peppers. A clay pot filled with “Lamb stew with goji berries and dates” hints at Morocco with the waft of clove and sweetness from the dates and chestnuts. The stew’s broth is slightly thickened with cornstarch (instead of time), but the flavor is there.
The Szechuan menu is small, but strong. Paper-thin pieces of beef in the “Szechuan crispy fried beef spiced with chilis and peppercorns” are lightly breaded and wok-fried to a crisp. The Szechuan peppercorns, dried red chilis, cilantro and green onions perfume the meat and add that quintessential “ma la” heat (numbing and spicy). The chili and green onion laden broth in the “Fish boiled in spicy chili oil” isn’t slick with oil, but just fatty enough to play against the confit-esque pieces of grouper and crunchy Napa cabbage. Comparisons to other Szechuan restaurants are inevitable. But this restaurant’s breadth of warming food and equally warm staff give it more than enough strength to stand on its own.
(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)
March 6th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Today I had the dry-fried eggplant, which people on Atlanta Cuisine seemed to like. It was definitely good, but I preferred the “stir-fried eggplant” (on the Northern menu) that I ordered on my first visit. I am still not sure that it is stir-fried, as the texture is much more similar to the dry-fried version.
I just thought I would mention it here as I have not seen it referenced anywhere else, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
your first mistake was listening to anything the peeps on the AC say…
March 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
So where do I find an advice that is more helpful than on AC?
Will try DK for sure, thanks for reviewing it.
March 6th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
So where do I find an advice that is more helpful than on AC?
Well, here of course!
March 6th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Thanks for all the comments, guys. It is a great restaurant and I have enjoyed every meal there thus far. I have more pictures from my initial visit and a couple of shots of the menu (before they updated it) here: http://blissfulglutton.blogspot.com/2009/02/delicious-kabob-chinese-restaurant.html
March 7th, 2009 at 2:43 am
jennifer i enjoy reading your work.
September 20th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Whats the name of the dish in the picture. The one withe the heaps of chillis
September 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm
The “Fish boiled in spicy chili oil.”