Steve Lin - Classical Guitarist

It’s what got me into cooking in the first place. My journey began as a sophomore in college–I missed some of the everyday foods I enjoyed in Taiwan so I did something about it. I have memories of watching my mother and my grandmother in the kitchen; those visual implants serve as a kind of cookbook even today.

It has been a very long time since I’ve cooked Chinese food, maybe a year. I had forgotten the pleasure of super-heating the cast iron wok, watching the rustically chopped ginger and scallion pop in the screaming oil and finally enjoying the bay scallops and shrimps come together in a few short but exciting minutes. Then there was a simple soup built from nothing but chicken, ginger and burdock–perfect for winter (except it’s not really cold out). I love soft tofu, how it melts like clouds; contrast that with a spicy and sour curry stew and it was happiness. A steamed pork resting on top of some small taro pieces also brought back some memories. There was so much more, I don’t remember what else I made!

Desert was an tri-colored jelly (firmed up not with gelatin but with agar agar): barley tea, mango and coconut cream. I wrapped everything up with some really great jasmine tea, one of my favorite teas. It was somehow liberating to return my roots and to get my hands back on ingredients and procedures that I truly loved.

The tempura was exactly as I remembered it. The shrimp tasted like shrimp: meaty texture and pleasantly sweet. The veggies were the main attraction for me though: the eggplant melted in my mouth and the sweet potato was so sweet. Simply fried, a nice bowl of rice, perfect.

I also treated myself to an order each of baby hamachi (yellowtail) and hotategai (scallop). The baby hamachi was the day’s special, reddish, very different from regular hamachi, with a firmer texture. It didn’t leave much of an impression though, at least, not the way hamachi (one of my favorites) does. The scallop was fine, smooth and creamy, though somewhat bland.

I remember that the last time the tuna was very good and the uni (sea urchin) was fine. My search for the ultimate Boston raw fish will continue for sure.

After the recital a bunch of us went out to that Boston landmark. Natalie’s teacher, James Buswell was there as well! The cookies were wonderful and the martinis were great. I wasn’t too sure about the fried calamari however. The texture of the creature was fine but the batter was somewhat tasteless, under-seasoned and grainy. The tangy dipping sauce wasn’t exciting but it did help to hide questionable batter. The chopped jalapenos were also out of place.