I had a lot of Asian food in Charleston recently. But Main Kwong is one that had been on my list for a while because I've heard it is an "institution" in the town. And, luckily, it was right around the corner from where I was staying.

From the outside, it's your typical Chinese takeout. Inside, there are the usual faded photos of Chinese-American dishes and a few tables if you wanted to eat inside. I went with my usual General Tso's Chicken with white rice. The woman working also threw in some free dessert for us (score!)

When we got back to the apartment, I dug in. The general tso's was pretty good. It was more on the sweeter side rather than the tangier side. But good nonetheless. My eggroll was pretty baller - fried to perfection, with crisp veggies inside.

And though the dessert was generic, it was still fresh for being so late in the day.  

 Grade: A

My friend heard a local radio DJ announce a contest to win VIP tickets to a pre-opening of this restaurant. We tweeted him and not too long afterward, we had shiny black passes in our hands.

@candace07 I will leave 2 passes in @melmoraes name at @wvaq Pick up tomorrow between 8a-5p..We will see you at #FondueFactoryWV
— Lacy Neff (@LacyNeff) January 10, 2013

The Fondue Factory is located in the former Rain club location. But it's totally revamped. The outside looks classy and retro. Inside has a bar to the left, as well as some booths, and upstairs has a long bar area and more booths! We were sat as the last two at the bar area. I would've preferred a booth, but we didn't have an option. The inside has a couple cool murals with retro gangster themes. Almost like a chic speakeasy. The servers have long white shirts, vests and fedoras.

We were pretty close to the couple next to us, but I turned inward so as to create that invisible barrier. However, the knob for the heat was nearly directly under my lap. That's pretty awkward placement. Especially if it's someone wearing a skirt or dress. They may want to rethink that setup.  The counter had a hot plate where our fondue pot was placed, and our waitress turned on the burner to get things started.

Our waitress, while very sweet, admitted they hadn't trained them in how to make all the different types of fondue. That's not ideal. Since this was a soft opening, there were definitely some hiccups - forgetting plates, forgetting ingredients, not coming back frequently enough, not knowing exactly how the menu works, etc. All things they can work to improve. The bones are definitely here, though.

We had a "select" menu, so they may have more on the grand opening. But the basic setup is that there are four courses: appetizers, salads, main entrees and desserts. You can pick any or all. We did all but the salad.


Appetizers: These are all served with fresh breads, veggies and apples (if you need more of these dippers, it's $8/person). You can only pick one, since you only have one pot, so we had options of a classic Swiss cheese fondue, a southwest Chipotle cheese fondue, and American cheddar fondue, a crab fondue, or a spinach artichoke fondue. We went with the classic Swiss fondue, which was Gruyere and Swiss cheese, combined with white wine, garlic and a blend of spices.

This was good, but the wine was so strong here. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to taste - it may be - but it was definitely too strong on the wine side, and I would've like to actually taste the cheese.

At this point, our waitress didn't turn off the burner, and our pot began smoking pretty heavily. A manager had to turn it off while my eyes stopped watering. We were also waiting for quite some time, so hopefully that gets streamlined. Like, more than an hour between finishing our appetizer and waiting for our entree. In between each course, they take the pot away in a bucket so you can start fresh.

Entree: (We skipped the salad). You have to agree on a cooking style: Factory Bouillon, Chicken Bouillon, or French Bourguignonne. We went with the French, because it's traditional and features their "flavorful Canola Oil Blend." And then you choose which meats you want. I went with the surf and turf platter so that I could try chicken, filet mignon and shrimp. It is $21/person or $41 for two. It also comes with potatoes and vegetables.

We were puzzled why it took so long for our meat to come out, since it was raw. I haven't been to a fondue restaurant before, so I was surprised we actually cook the food on our own. But once things were finally up and running, and our oil was smoking, we tried cooking a shrimp. The oil popped all over the place, so they had to turn down the burner. Once we finally got that settled, we started cooking up all our food. The meats weren't marinated, and the oil wasn't really flavored either. Just seemed like regular oil. So, for some basic meat, it's good. But really, there should be some seasoning going on.

For that flavor, we found it in the sauces. Our server brought out a set of sauces to share: a sweet chili sauce, a sour cream and parsley sauce, and a Chipotle cream sauce. While I still would have preferred my own sauces (Mel does have cooties, afterall), they were pretty good. The quality of the food was good, too. Very fresh. But the cooking is all on you. And I did pretty well, I think. The potatoes, actually, took the longest to cook, but we ended up dumping a bunch in and just skewering them after a few minutes. That worked well.




Dessert: My favorite! We got the Crazy for Caramel, which was caramel, milk chocolate and pecans. And their dippers were awesome - rice krispies, marshmallows, brownies, cheesecake bites, strawberries, bananas. Just fantastic. This is dessert all on its own!

But really, the chocolate and caramel is just phenomenal. It's creamy and sweet and decadent, and this was splendid. My only complain was that there actually weren't enough dippers. If you think about it, we only had about 8 pieces each to devour a whole pot of chocolate. With the appetizers, you get way more than 8 dippers per person. But, this is a good problem to have. It's so good that I wanted more of it. A few extra dippers would set this dish over the top. We also got a complementary drink, which we ordered at dessert. My Moscato was fabulous.

I think the idea here is really cool. It's more than just a typical dinner - it's also interactive and entertaining. It's an experience. There aren't a whole lot of options for this kind of dining experience in Morgantown, besides hibachi. And here, you don't have to worry about shrimp flying at your face. The servers learning the menu and how to cook everything will come in time. It is a little pricey - I think about $50 total, including tip. But that's if you go all out. You can definitely do it for cheaper. BUT, make sure you have a good chunk of time set aside. We were there for 4.5 hours. I think that will also improve over time, as well.

As far as the food goes, our appetizer definitely needed less wine. Our entrees needed more flavor - either marinated meat or flavored oil or something. Show me why I should go here instead of doing it at home. The dessert's flavor was grand. But that's what a soft opening is for. I can't wait to try it again in the future - when I have the extra dough.

Grade: B

I was writing an article on My Kitchen Cooking Classes for Savor! WV Magazine, but due to its untimely demise, I will opt for a blog about this cool experience.

Looking for something different to do? Maybe a fun date? My Kitchen Cooking Classes, located on Grafton Road, allows you to have a a class with a trained chef - Chef Chris Hall. He has a formal education and has worked in every type of restaurant you can imagine, in addition to teaching culinary education.

He hosts themed classes most days of the week, from Indian Cuisine to Kitchen Essentials to WV Comfort Foods to Busy Mom Dishes. In addition, you can book private classes to learn anything you want or just have a fun friends' night. Typical classes are four to six people. Private classes can go up to 10. Most classes are about $55/person

His classes can range from beginner to experienced chef, and they're all very hands-on. Chef Hall provides a recipe for students to follow and all the products they need. If they need extra help, he'll demo. But mostly, he's there to help guide and give little tidbits of knowledge here and there - like how to separate an egg easily (with a water bottle) or how to cut an onion without making your eyes water.

His favorite? Southern Italian because he grew up eating that kind of food - spicy, lots of sauces and pasta. His least favorite? Sauces - because it's tedious and fundamental.

Chef Hall is extremely passionate and funny - it's definitely entertaining take a class. He continues to do it as a retirement hobby for the past 2.5 years (and more than 2,000 students!).

One of his favorite, simple recipes?


Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons
EVOO (3T)
Multi-Grain Bread (2C) in half-inch cubes
Tomatoes (2.5LB) in half-inch dice
Garlic (1T) minced
Sugar (2T)
Salt (2t)
Pepper (1t)
Basil (1/2C) slivered
Parmesan Cheese (1/2-3/4C) grated
Fresh Mozzarella (1/2C) sliced thin

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high. Stir in bread cubes to coat and then brown in pan.
3. Combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, sugar, slt and pper in a large bowl.
4. Add mix to browned cubes in pan and book about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
6. Pour into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish and top with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly.

Serve with a nice salad.

More Info
Email: mykitchenwv@aol.com.
Location: 3391 Grafton Rd. It's only 6.2 miles south of Walmart Super Center off I-68, heading toward Grafton.
Phone: (304) 241-4901

A friend took me to Kawayan (which is a Filipino term for Bamboo), a nice Asian-American bar/restaurant that seems to be somewhat of a hidden gem. When we first walked in, my friend noticed a friend of hers working and asked if we could be sat in her section. The manager seemed put-off, but she obliged.

The restaurant was pretty empty, save for another couple or two. They have a sushi bar, which is pretty cool. The decor was nice - romantic, dim, lightly decorated. Our waitress was amazing - entirely accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. They serve Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and American food.

I tried their lumpias, which are veggie spring rolls filled with mixed vegetables and tofu. Served with a sweet chili sauce. It's like a lighter version of an eggroll, and it was pretty tasty. I stuck with a California crunch maki roll, which consisted of crab, avocado and crunchies. It was basic, but it was tasty. Just what I was in the mood for.

For dessert, I had a taste of bread pudd- ing, which was simply divine. In my top three favorite bread puddings ever. It was so warm, with a light caramel drizzle and whipped cream. It was just so homey, so comforting and so delicious.

The food here was really good, and the service was great. The management, though, kind of turned me off. From the way they treat the servers to how they accommodate guests, they just definitely give off the best impression.  

Grade: B

For a quick lunch, we popped over to the mall in Charleston for some Japanese food. At Sakkio Japan, they really only offer teriyaki dishes, and it's reminiscent of the Soup Nazi line.

What do you want? Chicken Teriyaki
With vegetable? Yes
Double-meat? No
Drink? Yes
Squirt of sauce? Yes


They do cook it to order on a huge grill right in front of you, so it took a little time while I just stood there waiting for it to be done. They plop a generous portion in a styrofoam box, and you grab it up and dig in.

I gotta say, I wasn't super impressed. Yes, it's mall food, but the teriyaki seemed so mediocre. So bland. So generic. Nothing special here. It almost had a charred taste, so I had a few bites, but didn't even finish it. I think I'd check out the other options if they're available next time.

Grade: C