*Shu

L and I have dinner every month or so. She is a really good friend from b-school and we spent two fantastic weeks in Melbourne for class. I love hanging out with her, we laugh a lot and she is a true friend. Last month we had an amazing dinner al fresco at this great Italian place. This month, we were going to have Korean BBQ but her friend that really wanted it couldn't come. I was feeling like having something light so I suggested Shu.

I somehow randomly read about Shu in the local newspaper and have been wanting to try it ever since. It is located in the same strip mall as Petunia's vet and the Trader Joe's. So, you know I'm there all the time.

The chef is from Mr. Chow's and I like how there are lots of different kinds of cuisines represented (in addition to it being vegetarian and healthy). I eat a lot of Asian food so it is nice to have something different. We shared a really good spinach wonton soup. The clear flavorful broth was really soothing, julienned veggies gave it good texture and who doesn't love wontons. Then, we had 2 apps: roti with Malaysian curry (so yummy and I'm happy to have a healthy alternative to the roti with curry dipping sauce that I normally get at Penang) and steamed veggie dumplings (really good). Not feeling like having Asian food, I got a whole wheat pasta with pesto sauce. I asked the poor server if there was dairy in it because pesto usually has cheese in it. She said no. I said, "Are you sure? Promise?" Honestly, it needed a bit of salt and just wasn't that good. L, on the other hand, got this awesome entree of bean curd wrapped in nori in tamarind sauce with sauteed broccoli rabe over a rice cake. Maybe it was because it was fried but it was really good. The presentation was really nice. See photo of side of brown rice served wrapped in a banana leaf. We were happily full but the waitress said the mango pudding was really good - "is there any dairy? are you sure? promise?" Lovely tapioca pudding made with soy milk topped with this nice mango sauce and crushed almonds. Really excellent.