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From Pan To Mouth, 1111 W Riverside Dr, Kohler, WI (2026)

06/07/2026

Yang’s Dumplings – Shanghai, China
Overall: B

Yang’s Pork Dumplings

Overview – Yang’s Pork Dumplings is a small chain of dumpling shops specializing in sheng jian bao. I visited one of their locations in Shanghai’s Huangpu neighborhood. They had a small-medium casual space with QR code ordering.

Dumplings – Medium-size dumplings fried crimp-side down and topped with sesame seeds and a tiny amount of chives. Served with a bit of vinegar. They had somewhat thick skins that were chewy and a little tough where they had been fried. They were filled with a mixture of moderately flavorful pork and rich broth. They had a nice maillard flavor from browning and nice sesame notes.

Summary – I heard ab lot of hype about Yang’s dumplings. I enjoyed they, but they did not live up to the hype, especially compared with some of the amazing xiao long bao nearby.

06/06/2026

Minnan Minnan – Xiamen, China
Overall: B

Minnan Burritos
Minnan Ginger Duck

Overview – Minnan Minnan is a Minnan restaurant in the Mixc shopping mall in Xiamen. They have a medium-size space with a semi-refined aesthetic.

Burrito – A mixture of egg and shredded vegetables (carrot, scallion, cabbage, not sure what else) came with thin pancakes, raw scallion, very umami seaweed, and peanut sugar. It was almost sort of analogous to a sauceless moo shu. It was well balanced with mildly vegetal and mildly sweet flavors in the vegetable mixture paired with the bolder topping flavors all combined the very tender wrappers.

Duck – A mixture of bone-in duck pieces and thin-sliced ginger. A light fresh ginger flavor mixed with rich duck permeated the dish and was very pleasant but the duck was a little dry, which also make it hard to get off of the bones.

Summary – I enjoyed the “burritos”. The duck had a nice flavor but I wish the duck had been more moist.

06/05/2026

Yanyu – Xiamen, China
Overall: B+

Xiamen Sipunculid Worm Jelly - Sipunculid worm jelly is Xiamen famous snack. Sipuncud worm grows on the beach where salt and light water meet. The scientific name is peanutworm, as it is rich in collagen, the soup is thick when cooked, and natural, cements after cooking. Crystal and clear sipunculid worm jetty looks like amber and is a good choice.
Hokkien Style Lormee - Lormee, the standard dish in southern Fujian. Chef Rong Wu upgraded the traditional soup base. He selected 30 pieces of shrimps and boiled them into umami soup weighed 2500g.
Deep-Fried Black Pork with Aged Vinegar
Deep-Fried Needle Mushroom with Black Truffle - Needle mushroom becomes crispy after being deep fried in hot oil lt smells delicious with black truffle shaved on it.

Overview – Yanyu is an upscale Fujianese restaurant in Xiamen. They have an elegant, nicely decorated, medium-size space. Yanyu also has a location in Shanghai.

Jellied Sea Worm – A Xiamen specialty that’s definitely among the more unusual dishes I’ve come across in China. Pieces of sea worm (sounds terrible in English but honestly not that different from chewy seafood like squid) set in jelly and topped with some intense sauce with prominent dark fermented and hot horseradish/mustard character. I’ve had this a few times and this definitely felt like the most refined version.

Lormee – A pleasant soup with a bold dried shrimp flavor. Filled with very tender noodles that seemed to me to be a little overcooked and bits of small shrimp.

Pork – Cubes of pork were creaded and fried until crispy. They were lightly chewy and had an incredibly complex and intense pork flavor that paired well with complex black vinegar and fresh crunchy jicama.

Needle Mushrooms – Served room temp. Crispy, slightly stale feeling texture (I don’t think they were stale, but the texture was reminiscent of that). Nice mushroom flavor - umami, earthy.

Ending – Finished with complementary very underripe plums.

Summary – Service was very nice. The pork was incredible and the jellied sea worm was a very good version. The lormee and mushrooms were decent but not memorable. I didn’t understand the underripe plums at the end of the meal, not sure if they were just bad or if I don’t have context for them.

06/03/2026

Wangs Broth – Taoyuan, Taiwan
Overall: B

Braised pork on rice with Shiitake mushroom combo - steamed minced pork with pickles in broth, braised duck egg, fried tofu, braised cabbage, shredded bamboo shoots, cold brewed tea

Overview - Wangs Broth is a casual Taiwanese restaurant known for its braised pork rice. I visited their Taoyuan Airport location.

Pork Rice Combo – The braised pork rice itself came with a mushroom-forward savory pork mixture over steamed white rice. It was light, umami, and earthy. The soup had some pork meatballs that tasted as though they’d started tough and been cooked until tender. The egg was quite tough and I didn’t enjoy it. Braised cabbage and bamboo shoots added a nice vegetal element.

Summary – My cynicism tells me that as an airport restaurant, this is probably just a facsimile of the real deal, but it was still quite tasty. I hope one day to eat in Taiwan more properly.

06/02/2026

Comet – Milwaukee, WI
Overall: A-

Compact Turkey Dinner - Thanksgiving dinner, all rolled into one! A mix of slow-roasted turkey, sage stuffing, & chive mashed potatoes that’s beer-battered, fried, & topped with country gravy. Served with Vegetable of the Day
Buffalo Chicken Sammie - Hand-breaded fried chicken, house pickles, chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, on a sesame seed bun. Served with fries & a pickle spear

Overview – Comet Café is a diner in Milwaukee’s east side. They have a medium-size space with a wrap-around bar – half standard bar and half low-top counter seating. Their menu includes a mix of breakfast food, sandwiches, a few entrees, sides, salads, apps, and pie all of which are elevated beyond conventional diner offerings.

Turkey Dinner – Turkey and stuffing were folded into mashed potato balls that were then battered and fried until crispy. They came drizzled with gravy and served with a side of green beans with almonds and cranberries. The balls were mashed potato forward with most of the flavor coming from the potatoes, chives, and the gravy, which combined nicely. Stuffing was pretty muted and the turkey was present mostly in texture with a mild flavor. The creamy-tender-crunchy texture combination was very nice. The beans were cooked simply and effectively. The almond added a nice textural contrast. The cranberried added acidity but I found them to be an ineffective flavor pairing.

Buffalo Chicken Sammie – The crispy chicken sandwich ordered buffalo style. Chicken sandwich was great – tender chicken with crispy breading, great buffalo character with moderate heat and tang. Pickle acidity, chipotle mayo added creamy richness, lettuce and tomato added vegetal balance, bun was tender. Fries were very crispy and tender inside, well salted.

Summary – Elevated yet non-pretentious comfort food. Comet integrates into Milwaukee in a way that makes it somewhat under the radar yet simultaneously a celebration of Midwest food.

06/01/2026

Publican Tavern – Chicago, IL
Overall: B+

Pub Burger - Slagel beef, Bongards american cheese, gem lettuce, balsamic onion, special sauce, brioche. Side upgraded to fries.

Overview – Publican Tavern is an outpost of the lauded Publican in Chicago O’Hare airport. They offer farm-to-table simple American dishes in their medium-size space with a bar and a dining room.

Burger – A beef patty with actual beef flavor! About ½” thick, ordered medium, came medium-well. Mild-flavored American cheese was fairly melted. Tangy and rich special sauce with a nice horseradish kick. Crispy lettuce, balancing onion. Great toasted brioche bun.

Fries - Potatoey, moderately crisp and moderately fluff. Sprinkled with coarse salt.

Summary – Expensive, but probably the best restaurant in O’Hare. Quality ingredients, good ex*****on.

05/23/2026

Bakehouse – Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Overall: A

Sourdough Egg Tarts
Sausage Roll
Salted Egg Caramel Bolo

Overview – Bakehouse is a small chain of bakeries in Hong Kong run by Swiss Chef Gregoire Michaud. I visited their Tsim Sha Tsui location which was strictly to go with a coffee window and a queue along the street to buy pastries.

Egg Tart - Lightly sweet, rich flavor. Custard was very creamy and barely set. Lightly crispy slightly soggy pastry on one of the two at the bottom. Great blend of custard and butter character.

Sausage - Super flaky and extremely short pastry. Great flavor from fennel and poppy with the rich smooth sausage. Buttery, rich. That’s a winner.

Bolo – A phenomenal deep salted caramel flavor defined the profile. Tender bread, crispy edges, crispy craquelin. Custard was more heavily set than the egg tart.

Summary – World class bakery. All of the pastries were great but the sausage roll particularly wowed me.

05/23/2026

Lok Tin – Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Overall: B+

Pineapple Bun

Overview – Lok Tin is a café in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood. I visited close to their closing and ordered from their street window.

Pineapple Bun - Like a fluffier pan dulce. Very airy, very lightly sweet, nice crunchy topping.

Summary – My first pineapple bun. It was very pleasant!

05/22/2026

Lu Niang Zi – Xiamen, China
Overall: A-

Spicy Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles with Braised Beef Tongue

Overview – Lu Niang Zi is a noodle shop in Xiamen. They have a small high-ceiling space.

Noodles - Thicker noodles maintain some chew. Beef was thin, tender, and gelatinous. Broth with rich and beefy with a light heat. Mustard greens were spicy and a little numbing flavor. Cooked lettuce leaves were at the bottom of the bowl, a concept I’m a little foreign - lightly vegetal and bitter.

Beef Tongue - Chewier than the beef in the soup but with great beef flavor. I added it in to the soup.

Summary – This was an awesome bowl of noodles.

05/20/2026

Lao Zheng Xing – Shanghai, China
Overall: A-

Stir Fried River Shrimp
Stewed Soft Silky Tofu and Crab Meat
Smoked Fish, Shanghai Style

Overview – Lao Zheng Xing is an upscale Shanghainese restaurant. They have a medium-sized second floor location with minimal decoration.

Shrimp - Delicate - lightly sweet, very lightly briny, clean flavor. I normally dislike shell-on shrimp where you’re intended to eat the shell but these were cooked perfectly with moist meat and just crispy enough shells to not feel like fingernails. Really perfectly done.

Stewed Tofu with Crab Meat - Delicate tofu with crab, mostly roe with little meat. A pleasant tofu flavor dominated the profile with a little crab character in the background. Needed salt to me.

Smoked Fish – Fish was crispy with dense flesh. Some pieces had bones. Simply lacquered, lightly smoky, very tasty.

Summary – Everything was good but the shrimp really stood out as a dish unlike anything I’ve had before.

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