Hey, there. I'm Guy Fieri and we're rolling out looking for America's
greatest diners, drive-ins, and dives.
This trip...
[both laugh]
[Fieri] ...we're diving into dynamite dumplings...
My middle name is Dumpling.
...and a trip around the world.
That sounds like a good combo.
There's Lebanese-Armenian specialties in Los Angeles.
This is the way I wanna eat five nights a week.
[Fieri] I've tasted Nepal in Sisters, Oregon.
When I heard your story, I had to come meet you.
And a legit Japanese joint in Cincinnati...
-Just put it on the napkin, I'll eat it. -[laughs]
...right on track...
That is my kinda jam.
...and off the rails.
I've never heard of anything like that in my life.
That's all right here, right now, on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
[theme music playing]
[upbeat instrumental music playing]
Now, typically on Triple-D, it's a story about an immigrant
coming from their country to the United States
and opening up their culture's restaurant.
Well, this one's a little bit different.
You see, I have a Japanese couple that lives in Cincinnati,
and their son decides that he's gonna go to Japan,
get his culinary degree, then come back four years later
married with a wife, and open up his own style of Japanese restaurant.
This is KiKi in College Hill.
One shio ramen, straight fire.
You can't go wrong with anything you pick off the menu.
I have your curry.
This is unlike any other Japanese food that you can get in our region.
[Fieri] That's because Hideki Harada brought it all back
from a completely different region in Japan.
My wife and I wanted to open something that is not your typical Japanese cuisine.
So we're taking everyday Japanese food,
bringing it here, and putting it in a restaurant experience?
Yeah. Basically, anything that we had in Japan
during the time that I lived there,
-and I was like... -[both] "I want that."
Small plates, elevated bar food. Really great range of flavors.
-[Fieri] What are your favorites? -Really like the pork gyoza.
Gyoza's in the pan.
It's just a great combination of the cabbage and the ginger and the pork.
Just reminds me of Japan.
-[Fieri] What are we gonna make? -Ponzu.
-The sauce for the pork gyoza. -Let me see it.
[Harada] Soy sauce, fresh orange juice, yuzu.
-Do you call yuzu a Japanese lemon? -The fragrant lemon, I think.
-[Fieri] Okay. -Lemon juice, rice vinegar.
-Just put it on the napkin, I'll eat it. -[laughs]
-Is that all we're gonna have? -We're gonna make pork gyoza.
Cabbage that's been salted, squeezed, and rinsed.
Fresh ground pork, soy sauce, sake, lard, ginger and garlic, black pepper, salt,
and then...
-MSG. -I was just gonna say it, it's either sugar or MSG.
-[Harada] Now we wrap. -[Fieri] Yeah?
Ingredients in, now we'll crimp.
-Chef, let's see it. -[Harada] Little bit of oil, put the dumplings on.
We go straight to water. We're gonna cap 'em.
And while that's steaming, we'll make the tuile.
-The water, flour, and corn starch. -[Fieri] Okay.
Mix this up. Tuile water.
[Fieri] I don't think we've ever seen this on Triple-D.
-A little sesame oil, crisp up that skin. -[Fieri] Got it.
This is silly, this little dipping sauce.
The tuile on this is fantastic.
-Let me show you how to do it. -[Harada laughs]
-Inject it. -Yeah, you inject it!
The ponzu, nice, light, bright.
-You want the last one? -Oh, yeah.
[both laugh]
And your pork gyoza.
It has this crispy texture that's pan-seared.
It's unlike any other dumpling.
In the world of dumplings, where would you rate this, one through ten?
-15. -I like that Cincinnati math.
Got karaage.
[man] There's so many different restaurants in Cincinnati,
but KiKi's definitely stands out.
[Fieri] Why do they call you KiKi?
As a child, nobody could pronounce my real name, Hideki.
[Fieri] Dude, I drove up and I look at the building and saw the sign and I'm like,
"That's all the sign that you're gonna put out there?"
But your reputation is massive.
-You just got James Beard-nominated. -Nominated.
It's a pretty big deal.
Obviously, a great cook. Well-deserving of all the accolades he's gotten.
Quality of the food is fantastic.
And they're constantly changing the menu
so, every time you come, you get to try something new.
Today, I had the pepe meshi.
We got a pepe meshi.
I loved the rice and the noodle blend. The broth was incredible.
And the chicken that was served with it was delicious, as well.
-[Fieri] What are we making next? -Pepe meshi.
-The hooby-heeby? -Fancy Rice-A-Roni.
Starting with a pot of water, add chicken bones, dry shiitake.
-[Fieri] Onion, celery. -[Harada] Garlic, ginger.
Bay leaf, star anise.
[Harada] White pepper, kombu. We'll simmer that for 12 hours.
[Fieri] What's up next?
So we're gonna work on the chicken.
Salt, black pepper, white onion,
-Some shiso leaf, bay leaves, chicken fat. -[Fieri] Got it.
-[Harada] Cover. -[Fieri] How long?
-[Harada] One and a half at 325. -One and a half minutes.
[chuckles] One and a half hours.
-So it's chicken tartar. -[laughs]
[Harada] Then we'll cut it, and then we'll stick it with a skewer.
-Throw it on the grill. -[Fieri] Got it.
-Next up? -[Harada] We're gonna start with a shio broth.
Add the noodles.
-Is this just, like, regular spaghetti? -[Harada] It is.
Confit garlic, black pepper butter.
-So it's just black pepper and compound butter? -[Harada] That's it.
Let that reduce. That'll go on top of the rice.
Finish it with the chicken skewer,
a little plum sauce, with a little seaweed.
-Bro, this is very different. -Oh, yeah.
[upbeat instrumental music playing]
Texturally, the rice to the pasta is spot on.
Little bits of the nori, that umami that you get from that, love it.
The confit chicken, outstanding.
And, then, the acidity and the funk of the plum sauce,
and you've found magic.
That is my kinda jam.
Pepe meshi is my favorite. The chicken is fantastic.
[woman] Oh, this is all mine.
-You don't share? -No, not this.
I've never heard of anything like that in my life.
We're in Cincinnati, so we put chili on spaghetti here.
-More curry. -I'm here once, twice, sometimes three times a week.
[Fieri] You love what you do, you love your culture,
you're staying traditional when necessary.
But then as soon as you wanna bounce off the beaten path,
-and go do what you do, you do it. -[laughs]
I'll be back.
Up next, I'm bringing in an expert witness...
I feel the family heritage in this dish.
[Fieri] ...to meet a mother-daughter duo in Los Angeles...
You two make a perfect team.
[Fieri] ...serving up off-the-hook shawarma.
I feel so warm-a from the shawarma.
-And a dumpling detour... -Mmm.
...turned into a destination dish.
This is the type of dish that's worth driving an hour across town
to come and get.
[instrumental rock music playing]
[Fieri] So I'm here on the East Side of Hollywood
in an area close to Little Armenia,
and I'm with the one and only superchef Nyesha Arrington.
All right, you know where I'm taking you?
I do. I've actually been wanting to get to this restaurant
for a long time. The incomparable Jonathan Gold
wrote about this place and my restaurant.
Fantastic. Well, if you're into falafel, if you're into shawarma,
if you're into Armenian-Lebanese food,
you are gonna love Marouch.
I need more yogurt sauce.
There's nothing flashy about it,
but when you come in, the food is just killer.
[Nelli] Tabbouleh on the plate.
We live down the street. We pay the sunshine tax and the Marouch fee,
and it's so worth it.
I've had a lot of Lebanese-Armenian food.
This is easily the best.
[Fieri] And it's stayed that way even after Haikuhie Tataryan
took over from the original owners in 2018.
And she brought in her mom, Nelly, to run the kitchen.
So how long had the restaurant been here?
Since '82. The original owners were retiring.
She called me and said, "Would you like to do this thing?"
I know there's a large Armenian community in Los Angeles,
-I don't see a lot of Armenian restaurants. -True.
You're from here, you're from LA.
More towards the Valley, I feel like.
-Yes! -No?
-Glendale, NoHo. -Totally. Absolutely, yeah.
But here, in LA proper, there's not a lot?
-There's not a lot. -[Fieri] Okay.
And now, were you a chef before this?
Uh, no. But I love the kitchen.
-[chuckles] -Okay, well, I love planes, but I'm not a pilot.
-So, you know... -[all laughing]
-So that kinda worked out. -She loves to eat.
-She loves to eat? -Yes.
Okay. What are we gonna make today?
-We're gonna make manti. -What is that?
-[Nelli] A small dumpling, sauteed in yogurt sauce. -[Fieri] Okay.
I got a manti coming up.
I love manti because of the dumplings. It's something different.
All right, so what are we starting with?
[Nelli] Dough for manti, flour, two eggs, salt,
mix it, warm water.
-It's a good workout. -[Fieri] And then we cover it with plastic.
[Nelli] For two hours.
And while that's resting, we make the filling?
-[Nelli] Onion. -[Fieri] Pureed.
[Nelli] Black pepper, paprika, salt.
-Okay, what do you think of this? -Let me see.
-No, you can't smell. You can't smell, no! -Come on!
[Fieri] I think I know what it is.
-Aleppo pepper. -Aleppo.
-[Nelli] Mix it all together. -[Fieri] Into the ground beef.
[Nelli] Now we're gonna roll out the dough for manti.
This is how I cut it.
[Fieri] I got what you got going here.
Just don't lose the ruler.
There we go. Okay.
-Oh, so we're gonna make each little square? -[Nelli] Yes.
-[Arrington] Wow. -[Fieri] All right, show me one.
All right, we have the meat.
That amount of meat is gonna fit in that?
-[Arrington] My kinda dumpling. -[Fieri] Wow!
That is about the craziest ratio I've seen
How many come with an order?
-[Nelli] Nine to ten. -Why nine to ten?
-[Arrington laughing] -Nyesha comes in, there's ten. Guy comes in, it's nine.
-What are we making now? -[Nelli] Tomato garlic sauce.
Oil, garlic. We're gonna saute it until you start smelling it.
Who taught you how to cook these dishes?
-My grandmother. Every time I mention grandmother... -You wanna cry.
-...I wanna cry. -That's the soul and the love.
[Nelli] Tomato paste, red pepper paste, dry mint.
-That sounds like a good combo. -[Nelli] Water.
-Smells incredible. -[Nelli] Salt.
We're gonna cook this three to five minutes.
The last part for the dumplings is what?
[Nelli] Rice and noodle pilaf.
-Margarine, noodles. -[Fieri] Your thin...
-[Nelli] Vermicelli, yes. -So, basically, angel hair.
[Nelli] We're gonna brown it.
-Developing flavor. Toasty, nutty. -[Nelli] Yes.
-Rice. -[Fieri] That we rinsed.
[Nelli] We have water.
-[Fieri] Okay. -[Nelli] And, then, salt.
-And, then, we're gonna cook this covered? -20-25 minutes.
We're gonna start with rice pilaf.
Pick the dumplings to the yogurt.
-What's in the yogurt sauce? -[Nelli] Yogurt, salt, and garlic. That's it.
-A little bit of water. -[Fieri] Okay.
-[Nelli] Ready? All right. -[Fieri] Yeah.
Wow.
-No holding back on the yogurt on this one. -Not at all.
[Fieri] Slinging it.
Now we're ready for the sauce.
[Arrington] Smells incredible.
Top it with almonds.
[all laughing]
Wow, I love the tang and the brightness that comes from the tomato sauce.
Beautiful. I feel the family heritage in this dish.
-The more she talks, the more dumplings I eat. -[all laughing]
The dumpling is nice and meaty,
but the real body of the dish is the rice pilaf.
It's really just an amazing dish.
I mean, there's flavor all the way through your palate.
This is the kind of dish that's worth driving
an hour across town to come and get.
[Nelli] Manti for table six.
The manti is, like, mouth-watering. I could get lost in that sauce.
It's that good, like, sour and sweet sort of mix.
Lamb luleh ready for seven.
Everything is served family-style, so there's huge amounts of food.
Just keep bringing it and bringing it till you have to waddle out the door.
[Fieri] This is Gabe and Dillon, the son and brother
of the great, late Ben Lefrancois.
Ben was a manager for me in LA back in the day.
What do you think, bud?
This food is, honestly, really good.
I would definitely come back here.
This is the kinda place you bring somebody to,
they're gonna have to be a little bit adventurous, but worth it?
Yeah, 100 percent. So good.
[Nelli] Lamb kebab, ready.
We're gonna fight for the last dumpling.
When we come back, you're gonna make another dish?
-Oh, yeah. Beef shawarma. -[Fieri] Fantastic. Don't go anywhere.
Oh, do you see that over there, the picture they have of you?
[Nelli laughs]
-[Fieri] I know those kinda rulers so well. -From elementary school?
-Mmm-hmm. -[laughs]
Yeah, that's exactly how I knew them.
Welcome back, Triple-D. Hanging out in Los Angeles at Marouch,
with Chef Nelli and of course the one and only Chef Nyesha Arrington.
I called Chef and I said, "Listen, I've got a place
that does Lebanese-Armenian food. Are you down?"
-And she said... -100 percent.
The veggie combo.
I always have an incredible time when I come in.
[Nelli] Beef shawarma, ready.
Today, I had the beef shawarma and I am the happiest boy in the world.
I killed all of it.
-[Fieri] What are we gonna have, Chef? -Beef shawarma.
Vinegar and white wine,
oil, allspice, seven spice, black pepper, cardamom.
We have salt, onions, bay leaves, lemon juice.
Now we're gonna put our meat in it.
-It's tri-tip. -[Fieri] How long will we let this marinate?
[Nelli] Two days.
-And then, we'll put it on the skewer? -Yes.
Small pieces first.
-So the bottom will be narrower. -[Arrington] Mmm.
[Nelli] Now we're gonna top it with the fat.
-Continually basting itself as it cooks, I got it. -[Nelli] Mmm-hmm.
-[Fieri] And an onion. -[Nelli] There we go.
All right, now we throw this on the rotisserie.
How long will it stay on the rotisserie
-before we're ready to start slicing? -[Nelli] 20 minutes.
-[Fieri] That fast? -[Arrington] Wow.
-So we're ready to make hummus. -Yes.
[Nelli] Cooked and cooled garbanzo beans.
-Tahini. -[Arrington] Wow.
Salt, garlic.
-[Fieri] Lemon juice? -[Nelli] Lemon juice.
Olive oil. Mix it with hands.
-With hands? -Yes.
-[Fieri] Squeeze the beans. -[Nelli] Squeeze the beans.
Kinda break 'em down a bit. Sort of a layering and blooming of flavors.
So you create this really beautiful experience.
It's like she's doing interpretive dance.
When do they go to the food processor?
[Nelli] After they rest a couple of hours.
-[Fieri] And they we add more lemon juice, more salt? -[Nelli] Yes.
-[Fieri] More olive oil, more tahini? -[Nelli] Yes.
This is onions and sumac.
-[Fieri] And parsley. -[Nelli] Parsley.
[Fieri] And a little tahini.
-[Nelli] We're gonna cut... -Can I do it?
-[Nelli] Yeah, sure. -[laughs boisterously]
[Fieri] It's the holiday carving knife that's my favorite part.
[Nelli] There we go.
-That enough? -Yes.
We're gonna put some here, and your bread.
-Start building. -[Arrington] Okey dokey.
-It's really light and fluffy. -Yeah.
I feel so warm-a from the shawarma.
The flavor of the lemon is incredible.
-Yeah. -And how it, sort of, tenderizes the meat.
There is so much flavor in the meat, and when you get that hummus with it...
-[Nelli] Mmm-hmm. -[Fieri] ...and the pilaf...
-that's a meal right there. -[Arrington] Beautiful.
-This is the way I wanna eat five nights a week. -Delicious.
[Nelli] Beef shawarma.
You can't come here and not have the beef shawarma. The meat is so juicy,
and it's so tender.
The hummus is smooth and creamy. It's got a ton of flavor in it.
Ooh, that sesame sauce hits.
-Chicken yogurt. -No matter where you are in Los Angeles,
this is worth the trip.
What a fun place. You put so much of your heart in the plate.
-Yeah. -You can really taste it.
Your daughter was very smart in getting the restaurant,
but really smart in bringing you in to command the ship.
You two make a perfect team.
Coming up, real deal Nepalese flavor in Oregon.
It's like shazam!
I don't know why I didn't say that myself.
Stuffed in the dough...
It's part potsticker, part ravioli.
...and on the bun.
It's more than just having something to eat, it's a full experience.
[instrumental rock music playing]
Well, it's not many times that we have to 68 it out in the snow,
but this trip is worth it.
We're about 25 minutes outside of Bend, Oregon, in Sisters, Oregon,
and we're here to check out a restaurant that's got a great story.
It's a husband and wife team from Nepal.
They're making great food, Himalayan food. Lot of people haven't had it.
But even more importantly, they're raising a bunch of money
and sending it back to kids that are in need.
This is High Camp Taphouse.
Chau Chau's out for table five.
Typically, you don't find something this special in our region.
Chicken curry for number three!
The food is delicious, beer has a great selection, and people are wonderful.
[Fieri] And those wonderful people are Nurbu and Pema Sherpa
who are firing up traditional recipes
straight from the Himalayan region of Nepal.
My mom owned a restaurant in Nepal, and she is known as the best chef
in the Sherpa community.
-That's a big title. -That's right.
Three momos gone.
Momo is a type of Nepalese dumpling.
You bite in the side, tip it up, and drink hot, juicy soup.
Seems like a fusion between Chinese and Indian cuisines.
What are we making, Chef? What's the first thing?
Bone broth for the dumpling.
My middle name is Dumpling.
[Nurbu] Water, bones going in, and onion, cabbage.
-Carrots. -Green onion, garlic, paprika, salt, and garam masala.
-Got it. -[Nurbu] More water.
Bring them to the boil.
[Fieri] And this is gonna be the liquid inside of the dumpling?
-[Nurbu] Yes. -[Fieri] While that's going,
what are we gonna work on next?
-Momo filling. -[Fieri] Okay.
[Nurbu] Onion, green onion, garlic, bone broth that we made.
Get the ground beef. In Nepal, we don't eat beef, but we eat water buffalo.
Yeah, real easy to get that water buffalo.
Cabbage, Sichuan pepper, jimbu.
It's almost like chives, but you can only find up in the Himalayas.
Garam masala, red chili flakes, soy sauce, salt.
-And then, our mixture. -[Nurbu] So we just mix it just like that.
[Fieri] All right, next up.
-The dough for the momos now. -Got it.
[Nurbu] Water and flour.
Rest it 15 minutes, and we knead a little bit.
-[Fieri] Run this through the sheeter. -Till it's smooth.
And then, you cut it, get the filling, pinch it.
This is all-time. Every culture has a dumpling of sorts.
And we call it momos.
-[Fieri] How long do they steam? -[Nurbu] 15 minutes.
-While those are steaming, we'll make the sauce? -Yes.
Red onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, paprika,
green onion, cilantro, vinegar.
Once it's cooked, we blend it up.
-Got it. -[Nurbu] We're gonna plate 'em, sauce 'em.
It's part potsticker, part ravioli.
That's outstanding. Yeah, this could be a problem.
There's a lot of flavor in this, it's not just a dumpling.
You're getting flavor that is beyond ground beef.
That bone broth, great pieces of herbs, the little bit of the cabbage,
there's texture in it.
But the thing I love the most about it
is the dumpling wrapper is tender, juicy, delicious.
Here's your momo.
It's fresh, it's real savory.
A lot of spices in it. Then the sauce is sweet.
It's kind of like one of the last discovered types of food.
Yeah, that's very good.
Shapta's out for table number eight!
Pema and Nurbu are doing so much for the Nepalese community back home.
We have 68 kids that we sponsor
-to go to school in Nepal. -You're amazing.
Their fundraisers are sold out.
The owners put their heart and their soul into this restaurant,
and that means a lot.
Bao order's up!
Bao wow sandwich, it's basically a pork belly that they marinate.
It's almost like a taco-style with a sticky bun
The whole package is just wonderful.
What are we into next?
-Bao dough. -Like bao bun?
[Nurbu] Yeah. We start with flour, yeast, milk.
-Not like yak milk or anything. -No. Yak is a male.
-Don't milk the yak! -I knew I was doing something wrong!
[all laughing]
-What's a female called? -Nak.
-So yak is the male... -[both] Nak is a female.
Now the dough is rested,
we just give it a little bit of a knead, roll it out and, then, cut it.
-Just like that, fold it in half. -Right.
[Nurbu] And we steam right away.
-Okay, what are we gonna stuff it with? -[Nurbu] Pork belly.
-[Fieri] Sear it. -And now we cook it in the pressure cooker.
Oil, red onion, garlic, pork belly, soy sauce,
salt, and good old beer.
Oh, I thought this was the "Enjoy it while you watch" beverage.
[Nurbu] Cook for 15 minutes.
This whistling has stopped, the buns are steaming. Next up, Chef.
Shosom sauce. Some blue cheese.
-This is blue cheese dressing? -This is blue cheese dressing.
Green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, water.
That's blue cheese sauce knocked up a little bit.
[both screaming]
That's good! [laughs]
-Ready to dish. -[Fieri] Okay.
God, I was scared he was gonna grab another one out of there.
I'm like, "I can't handle this."
[Nurbu] Greens.
Shosom that we made.
The bun is hot!
The bao bun is delicious. Perfectly steamed.
The pork belly is nice and tender.
You've got the richness and the fattiness of the pork,
a little bit of that soy sauce, some of that beer
and, then, all of a sudden, you get punched
with this tangy funk from the blue cheese.
It's like shazam!
[laughs]
I don't know why I didn't say that myself.
Bao's almost ready.
The pork belly is very tender and it's got a unique sauce with the blue cheese.
Really citrusy and light.
Some of the best food I've ever eaten in Central Oregon here.
Pilsner and here's your Bodhizafa.
It gives you a little feel of Nepal. Definitely have to make sure
you stop in and try it.
[Fieri] It's more than just having something to eat, it's a full experience.
When I heard your story, I said I had to come meet you.
This whole visit was...
-[both] Shazam! -[chuckles]
So that wraps this edition of Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives.
If you wanna get some of the recipes from today's show,
go to FoodNetwork dot com.
I'll be looking for you next week on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Yeah, people have mistaken yak milk for nak milk.
-Nak milk? -Yeah.
-Don't nak it. -No nak.
-Right-- -No, you nak it, don't yak it.
[all laughing]