What a chef wants

Braised dishes - ingredients slow cooked for a long period - are some of the most delicious foods in any culture, especially Chinese. I'm not sure if people get braised dishes, so even though I love them, you won't see them on the regular menu.

But that's the challenge for most chefs - balancing the menu with foods you love to eat versus what everyone else wants. Lucky for me, we have a way of sharing with our guests the kinds of dishes that the majority may or may not clamor for, but for the minority that do, they're truly appreciated.

At Big Bowl, specials are a great vehicle for exposing our guests to more adventuresome dishes (please keep in mind that adventuresome is relative). You may have noticed that specials change more frequently. It's our way to take advantage of the seasons and to work in our more creative side.

For the next several weeks, you'll have a chance to try our Shanghai noodle soup, which for all intents and purposes is a braised dish. You may think the star is the braised shortrib - which it is because the meat is so flavorful and succulent. But this special includes the deliciousness that results from slow roasting our teriyaki rib appetizer - a liquid flavored by cassis, star anise and rock sugar.

The soup also includes a stock made with roasted chicken bones and the soaking liquid from the accompanying shiitakes. These four sources - the mushroom liquid, and the broth from our all natural beef, chicken and pork - truly exemplify our philosophy of building good food by building layers of flavor. It's rich, hearty and filling. The noodles have a great chew and I love that.

We also top it with a few slices of fresno chiles for a bit of contrasting heat. Give the soup a try, slurp away. You'll see very quickly why I love braised dishes and why slurping noodles are all the rage right now.