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I'm a convert to congee for the common cold. I used to reach for clear Thai soups with their lemongrass zings, or to Vietnamese pho with extra mint. But lately, particularly since I discovered this rice gruel at Jo Moon Ting, in two dozen varieties, I'm a congee girl.

I've been buying Jo Moon's barbeque duck and lacquered slow cooked pork for about a year now, since this family run business first opened and since I happened by the window where the Jo Moon meat hangs. The aroma of those ducks and pigs wafts delectably down the block, and my nose and wallet made a beeline to the take away window. The lads have been perfuming their school lockers with JML pork sandwiches ever since.

But lately I've been sitting down. Options for that do not abound in this busy, pokey little dining room, but if you're lucky, or have booked ahead, you may find a berth at one of the ten Jo Moon tables, the laminate protected with wipe-clean picnic cloths.

When you open Jo Moon Ting's golden menu you will find some 40 ways with congee listed on page one. Order up some sweet breadsticks to go along side and you have a cold on its way out the door by the time you've settled the $8 bill.

Although it's tough not to be tempted by a few little nuggets of dim sum. Not much choice here, and most of it pretty familiar stuff, nevertheless, eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste and steamed shrimp dumplings (har gow) should not be overlooked, nor should the house siu mai (open faced pork dumplings). The pot stickers are also very fine, bulbous treats filled with moist gingery minced pork, and I quite like the kidneys with ginger and scallion.

I tend to skip the noodle soup and the lo mein dishes and head straight to the BBQ section - chickens, roast pork and BBQ duck, perfumed with the sweet warmth of anise and five spice.

They whip up a very fine crispy beef here. It has some pow about it, but if you like a lot of Szechwan fire you will need to ask for a peppier version. Beneath the crisp, the meat is tender, and the sweet sauce is balanced, not cloying. Baby bok choy, when available, is braised with lots of garlic and I like the Szechwan green beans with pork.

Call me crazy, but I keep the congee for last. It's a comfort food, dessert-like for me, mild and sludgy, like runny oatmeal or coddled eggs or my mum's rice pudding. Haven't had the sniffles in months.

Cuisine: Chinese
Cost: $: Main dishes range from $5.50 to $14

Hours: Open 11AM to midnight, Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays

Features: Late dining.
Accessibility: One step to front door, tiny washrooms.

832 Somerset St. W., Ottawa, ON
613-237-8887

DiVino is the brainchild of Antonio Mauriello, sommelier, wine educator, Italian travel guide and now owner of Ottawa's first 'enoteca', or "the place where the wines are kept."

The wines kept at DiVino are exclusively Italian. When I first bumped into Mr Mauriello, he was managing an all Ontario and Italian list at the newly dearly departed Ambiente on Beechwood. At DiVino, the Can-con has been dropped and The Boot rules.

As you might expect, Mauriello has put much thought into the storage of his wines. On the north wall is the impressive enomatic wine serving system, which allows open bottles to be protected from the ravages of oxidation. On the mustard coloured south wall is a striking strut of Italian bottles, paraded by region. There is also the blackboard of weekly finds, two reds and two whites, available by the glass or bottle. DiVino's wine list is called "Explore" and it's a loose leaf booklet designed to be changed readily. It starts with sparkling wines, follows with the enomatic selection, a few half bottles, and then the list is divided by region, starting in Piemonte and travelling south to Sicilia, finishing with dessert and something called "meditation" wines.

For those looking for a 101 on Italian wines, or seeking to delve more deeply, DiVino is a wonderful resource. Among the clever people available to guide you, resident sommelier Kate Parsons is a very good place to start. But there are hosts of hosts. Some are students of wine from the Algonquin College classes Mauriello teaches, some are staff.

For those looking to DiVino simply as a place to eat and drink, and then settle a bill that seems fair, there are problems.

The food menu relies on small plates designed for sharing - though some share more readily than others. The polenta ragu in its little cocotte dish has a tasty meat sauce and a rich béchamel. A 'summer salad' of bouncy greens with capers and bresaola arrives in a crunchy 'nest' of fried parmigiano, which lends bite and balance to the soft leaves. But there were more disappointments from the kitchen than pleasures. King Eryngii mushrooms are lovely in both the risotto and a pasta special, but the risotto relies too heavily on cream and truffle oil for flavour, and the noodle dish could use a flavour boost. The eggplant parmigiano is similarly bland and features undercooked eggplant. The trout one evening is unseasoned and overcooked. Olives stuffed with veal and beef, panko crusted and deep-fried, seem an enormous waste of effort since all you taste are salty olives. We order the scallops and are surprised to find them breaded too (no mention of this in the menu). The mix of textures and flavours in the pappardelle alle noci (in a leek and walnut sauce) is pleasant, but the portion, for $13, is paltry. The cheese plate is a pretty display, but for $14, it seems a skimpy amount too. They make a very nice custard here - both the almond flan with frangelico and the crème brulée are luscious - but they are small portions for $9. Which brings me to price. There is not a single full glass (5oz) pour on the wine menu for under $19. The gorgeous Amarone that matched my food order cost $30. (Free advice - be sure to ASK what everything costs BEFORE you order. I didn't have the menu in front of me when I accepted the recommendation.)

Dinner at DiVino can feel like a classroom. Lights are bright, especially during a tasting; wooden chairs are hard, not designed for lingering long. Your evening can be interrupted by the noise of a guided wine tasting for a group perched around the open kitchen; or because the entire staff is required to serve a private party in the back room. Twice, I've felt abandoned with empty plates and empty glasses while other things are going on. When they are with you service can be charming, but the wine students don't seem to know the menu and must run off to find maitre d' Ezio (delightful fellow) for answers to food questions.

For sure, there is much to applaud here, particularly for wine aficionados. But DiVino needs to find a balance between the needs of the dining public and those of the classrooms. I'd start with bolder food and a few more affordable grapes.

Cuisine: Contemporary
Cost: $$$: Small plates range from $6to $15

Hours: Open for dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday, and for private group bookings

Features: Wine list worth noting.
Accessibility: .

225 Preston Street, Ottawa, ON
613-221-9760
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