Ponto Crepe de Herbe Italian Herbs Pancake

These Ponto Crepe de Herbe Italian Herbs Pancake have been in my freezer for a while. It's not that they're not good, it's just that they seemed an odd choice for dim sum. Would you put chili sauce or mushroom sauce on it, you know? I think we bought them at Kam Man, on our last trip close to a year ago, and haven't managed to work them in. The Italian Herbs part is a standard Italian blend, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil. The herb flavor is noticeable but not overwhelming. The pancake itself is a pretty standard flaky and chewy pancake, but that's a good thing. We've been having them pan fried as a side with our last batch of split pea soup, and they work really well in that context so that's how I will likely use the rest of the package. A note on the pan frying, I did use just the smallest dash of oil, and the layers did puff up during cooking, which is always a good sign to me. Past Ponto pancakes had the same flaky quality, so I think I like the brand for their pancake offerings.

Score: 4.5/5 - While these Italian herb pancakes don't quite match up with dim sum, they are flaky and well flavored. Using them as a side worked out great.

Companion Crispy Vegetable Rolls

These Companion Crispy Vegetable Rolls are another H Mart frozen purchase. The outside is a tofu skin, while the inside is a soft, chewy textured vegetable protein with small chunks of water chestnut. The flavor has a touch of five spice or perhaps just licorice. We put these in the toaster oven, our usual, and the little crispness it gave to the skin was nice. The quantity in the package is quite small, there were five of those rolls in there, so I can't say it was a good deal. I liked these rolls, and I think they'd be good sliced up and put in a stir fry.

Score: 3.5/5 - These were pretty good, but they seem more like an ingredient than a finished dish. I liked them, but they're pricey.

China Pearl: Another Visit

Another visit to China Pearl! I mostly enjoyed retreads of dishes from these two posts. They sometimes surprise with new vegetarian offerings. In the case of our most recent trip, one of the servers suggested this veggie dish. I believe it came off the big serving station at one end of the dining room, like the Chinese broccoli. This dish is basically a fresh tofu roll. I've bought stuff like this in grocery stores in the past. The outside is a tofu skin roll, flavored with a little five spice and/or licorice, layered with cooked veggies, mushroom and carrot, and tofu pieces, and rolled into a spiral. There was a black coating or layer on the tofu, too, it might have been a little bit of nori seaweed, not sure? The roll was already sliced when it was brought to the table, which made it easy to share. It's served cold, which is typical for this kind of veggie roll. I think it's supposed to approximate a certain type of prepared duck. I like the flavor, and the texture, I am not sure if it would be for everyone. Cold, the flavors of the spices stand out a bit more, but I think more people would like it warm. It's a little sweet, and chewy. The layered prep helps lighten the density of the dense tofu in the filling.

And here's a re-tread of the veggie steam dumplings. These are simple in terms of flavor but still nice! The frozen peas and carrots on the top are funny.