Lunch with Atsu

Sunday we had lunch with Noah's Uncle Atsu (man that kid has uncles!). After dragging Atsu all over Detroit looking for good Japanese food (largely closed - most of the auto suppliers are on holiday, so the restaranteurs are as well), we went to Shilla in Troy, which has wonderful Korean food.



They have great Korean barbecue (cooked on the grille in the table, below), but we were there for stone bowl bi bim bap. Here are beautiful appetizers we enjoyed while we waited for our bowls to get hot. Noah is partial to the spinach and the mashed potatoes. I spared him the kimchi, for now.



This is the main event. Bi bim bap is a complete meal in a bowl: protein, grains and vegetables. The bowl is very hot, and it continues to cook the dish after it arrives at the table. The rice gets crunchy, and the egg cooks into the dish. You add hot sauce to taste and mix the whole thing around. It almost goes without saying that we cleaned our bowls; I can't recommend this enough.



Since Noah is not exactly ready to handle a giant stone bowl full of rice and hot sauce, we got him "steamed eggs," as seen in the first picture. It's basically an souffle with chicken broth, and it comes to the table with a jet of steam flying out of the top like a geyser. Once you break it up and let it cool down, it's fine baby eating. Those Cheerios are his after lunch snack.