I Just Can't Eat as Much as I Used too... Does That Mean I'm Getting Skinnier? (Jasmine Chinese Cuisine)

"If you want to know if the food is authentic, pay attention to who is dinning there... "  Most of my Asian friends love this place.

Crispy Tofu with Meat Sauce

I was a habitué of Jasmine... At times, we (friends, significant others, co-worker, bosses, teachers, people I may have never met) went to Jasmine weekly and more often than not 2-3 three times a week.  When I first went there, it was a hole in the wall (it has expanded quite a bit).  There was a grand total of five-six tables and much of the time, we would take up three of them (10+ people in our party).  Going there often wouldn't be too abnormal... it's just... we lived like 25 minutes from it, almost an hour round trip for a meal... and it was worth is almost ever time (every one is entitled to some bad days, even a chef)...  Jasmine is located where Shelbyville Road meet I-265 (Middletown Area). 

Spicy Chicken Chunk

You might wonder what makes Jasmine so special?  Louisville has a plethora of Chinese Restaurants... However, there is a fallacy many people haven't quite understand yet... The majority of Chinese Restaurants in Louisville don't serve authentic Chinese food... Authentic as in, you will find it a common stable in the respective native country.  Common known dishes such as Sweet and Sour Chicken (random thought... the sauce is made of ketchup and sugar...), General Tso's Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and most of the dishes on the Chinese menu did not originate in China.  Many people call these "fusion" food, as they took some ideas of Chinese dishes and Americanized them.  That doesn't imply that it isn't tasty, it just means that those dishes would occupy the various denizen kitchens... (Similarity exist for Mexican and Japanese Restaurants...)

Cold Sesame Noodle

Do be careful when you go to an authentic Chinese Restaurant, ask for the Chinese menu... as they have a tendency to just give you the American menu.  When I dine at a authentic Chinese Restaurant, they give me the Chinese Menu (and start speaking Chinese to me from time to time... I just stare blankly and nod for a little bit until they realize I don't know a lick of what they are saying...).   

Authentic Chinese food are based on the regions (Hunan, Schezuan, Mandarin (Beijing or Peking), some might throw in Taiwanese and Cantonese).  In Louisville, there are five authentic Chinese restaurants (That I'm aware of that is...):  Oriental House (Cantonese), Tea Station (Taiwanese - I think... never actually eaten there), Peking City Bistro (Taiwanese), Jade Palace (Catonese), Jasmine (Schezuan). Oriental House and Jade Palace also serve Dim Sum (One day I'll write about this... I'll really enjoy writing about it.  A delicacy.)

I had a standard meal that I liked at Jasmine... We (Jeni Rogers and I) started with Cold Sesame Noodle... I must say, I'm not too fond of cold dishes but Cold Sesame Noodle is one of those rare ones.  It consist of Lo Mein Noodle (egg and flour), sesame oil, peanut butter, scallion, ginger, rice/white wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar.  We followed that with three entrees:  Crispy Tofu, Spicy Chicken Chunk and a Beef  Brisket Soup Pot.  Crispy Tofu is lightly breaded tofu, fried and dipped into a meat sauce.  You can't find tofu anywhere else like this.  Spicy Chicken Chunk is chicken that is chopped into bite size pieces (I think they marinate it beforehand), deep fry, then stir fried with dry Thai Chilli Peppers.

Beef Brisket Hot Pot

Then there is the Soup Pot... More commonly known as Hot pots... Americans may relate to fondue (The Melting Pot Restaurant)... It seems that all Asian cuisines (Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai & many others) seem to have a Hot Pot.  During the winter or when the cold air seems to bind your body and slowly seep into your bones... the moment where your clothing begins to feel tenuous is the ideal time for a hot pot.

The unique part about hot pots is that one gets to cook the food as you go and eat as you please.  Hot pots consist of a pot with a unique type of broth (This varies based on the style: herbal hotpot, Numb and Spicy Hotpot, Vietnamese Canh Chua hotpot, Japanese Sukiyaki or Shabu Shabu, Thai Suki, Korean Jjigae Chongol) over a cooker and raw ingredients ready for to be dipped and cook.  Ingredients varies... Some common ones are beef, shrimps and other seafood, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, noodles... almost anything you desire.  With a group of friends, the fun is immense.

Our particular hotpot was precooked so we didn't get the pleasure of playing with our food.  However, it was still exceptionally delicious... beef brisket, tofu, Chinese black mushroom, cilantro, clear noodle (bean thread noodle), thai chilli pepper, garlic, mushroom, black muer (cloud ear mushroom), and others ingredients that I don't know.

I used to be able to finish almost the whole meal with very little leftovers (of course with the assistance of company)... This time, I didn't quite finish... lots for lunch/dinner the next day.

"It isn't what you do, it's the company with which you share." ~ Quy Vo...

I don't know where to start about the wonderful company... but good food never hurt.  Oh yeah... we started the meal by drinking Jasmine Tea. 

Rating
Food: 9.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Overall: 9.5/10

The rating is biased of course, because I simply love eating at Jasmine.