So I'm starting this post on my last evening in Taipei - my mom brought her laptop so we've been connected, and I am so incredibly stuffed that I don't want to get up.
SOOO a lot of my friends have gone to Taiwan regularly throughout their lives because of family and such, but this was my first time. My mom was born and raised there, and immigrated to the US for grad school. Since immigrating, she's gone back 3 times, the third being 25 years ago, or when she was pregnant with me! So times have been a changin' since her last visit. Anyway, since all my friends go here quite often, I heard many things about the food - mainly that it is amazing. I came with high expectations. I don't know if that was to my detriment, because as I'm nearing the end of my trip, I am excited to go back to Bay Area food.
But before I dive into my food experiences, here is my TOP 5 foods of Taipei:
1. Shaved Ice @ Ice Monster
2. Beef noodle soup @ that one place.... (see below)
3. the fake zwa bing
4. Lemon jelly drink
5. Large fried chicken
What am I talking about?? Sorry Alice, Jason, Kevin, Jess et al... but Taiwan's food AIN'T ALL THAT! At least not what I had. I talked it over with my mom, and I think it's just cause the Bay Area has such great food already... that it's pretty comparable... so I was expecting better and it wasn't necessarily. Granted, most of the food I had was Northern Chinese cuisine and I didn't have that much actual Taiwanese food... but I don't think that matters. My mom and I have come to the conclusion that... the food there is good, no doubt. But we're lucky to live somewhere in the US where the same food is just as good, or even better.
Sooo what did I have is the million dollar question. I obviously couldn't try everything, but I tried to at least cover what was hyped:
- unique chinese banquet food: I've been to more than a fair share of banquets, and this was the first time I (and my mom) saw some of the dishes there, like a honey glazed pork with fried tofu skin wrapped in a wrappy thing
- Hello Kitty sweets: I didn't eat here, but this was right across the street from my hotel (my landmark for remembering where we were staying). This picture is really for Alice, since she LOVES all things Hello Kitty <3
- lots of guava, dragon fruit and starfuit: nothing new here, except that I had actually never seen actual dragon fruit opened (I had previously only had dragon fruit flavored things like in vitamin water, or seen the fruit unopened at grocery stores)
- all kinds of bing (bing!): hm I'm not really sure how to translate these phonetically... but we had many variations - tsong yo bing LOL... uhh that's supposed to be the green onion pancake. a leek one I don't know the Chinese name for... a beef one I also don't know the name for... and ... zwa bing? So, the "zwa bing" we had really wasn't zwa bing. I don't know if I've ever had the real thing, but although this one was very good (off the street), it was really just a tsong yo bing fluffed up, whereas real zwa bing is supposed to puff up naturally when it cooks (according to my mom)
- shaved ice @ Ice Monster: this was definitely good, and you can't get it in the US really. Well, Yogurt Harmony in Berkeley has some, but it's not nearly as good. At the same time... how hard is it to make shaved ice? My mom used to make it at home - all you need is... ice... condensed milk, some tea-syrup, and fruit. Ta da! But I wouldn't definitely not go out of my way to crank out that ice.
- Mochi thing off the street: best when eaten hot. Not good lukewarm
- these peanut and black sesame filled rice cakes: made by a deaf man, which threw me off because my interactions with him weren't far off from me communicating with a Chinese person who wasn't deaf
- beef noodle soup: this was another highlight - there are two noodle shops right next to each other that are well-known, and the one on the right (while facing the store fronts) is the good one. The beef is the key, and it was really soft and sooo good. The rest was whatever - noodles eh, and soup was good. This is going to sound blasphemous, but my mom and I both really like Panda Express' beef noodle soup, at least at the location near my parent's house in Fremont. Their beef isn't good, but they have good soup, and it was kind of like that but spicier. I have probably lost all credibility now. Ha!
- ro zou fan, kind of: so that's supposed to mean like this pan-fried ground beef/pork? in a certain sauce... there's this place in Fremont called Little Taipei that my mom always gets this at, and it's one of my favorites. But, people make things differently, and this was actually neur ro fan, not ro zou fan. Wow, I'm even butchering Chinese in writing, not just orally. At this same place, their pan fried ground meat was actually soupy and with noodles... before we knew what it was my mom asked if we could have it with rice and they absolutely refused. I guess it's no different than American chefs wanting to have their dishes eaten a certain way and not customizable
- lemon jelly drink: by the time I got to the Shilin night market, I was so full from my lunch that day that I just couldn't eat anything. I did manage to down two of these though. It's just lemonade with Chinese jelly in it, but it was just what I needed
- fat on a stick @ Shilin: there was this sausage stand where everything just looked amazing (or amazingly dripping with fat) that I had to force myself to eat something. I watched almost everyone in line get this big sausage cut in half, doused in sauce, ginger, and other condiments, then stuffed with another smaller sausage! Although I was curious, I knew I would pass out if I got that so I just got a small sausage which I took two bites out of then threw away
*** EDIT ***
So Jason said that the "bigger sausage" is actually rice in sausage casing. That definitely makes more sense! Less of a heart-attack-waiting-to-happen
- "large fried chicken" @ Shilin: this was another highlight. It was like eating popcorn chicken (Chinese style) times 10000!
So that wasn't bad, right? I thought I had a good share of what Taipei had to offer. There were definitely some things I liked, some things I wish I had tried... but overall, I'm not sad I'm leaving because I know I can get food just as good back home.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
To Taipei and Back: Top 5
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Asian Food in the Sticks
At Geoffrey's request, here is my list of Asian food in the Richmond/Sunset
richmond:
- shanghai dumpling king (balboa & 34th): good xiao long bao (ghetto and dirty)
- shanghai house (balboa & 38th): hand-cut noodles
- oyaji (clement& 33rd): japanese tavern food
- burma superstar (clement & 4th): burmese - super trendy, long wait, but good!
- mandalay (california & 5th): burmese - less trendy, no wait, still good! and cheaper than burma superstar. the "special noodles" are really good
- tofu house (geary & 11th): korean tofu soup
- brothers (geary & 3rd i think): korean bbq
- taste of formosa (clement & 26th i think): taiwanese
- kitaro (geary & 18th i think): cheap japanese/sushi
- mayflower (geary & 27th): chinese - good for specialty dishes (and more expensive), supposedly good dim sum
sunset:
- san tung (irving & 11th): korean chinese, good dry fried chicken, dumplings, spicy peanut noodles
- "korean restaurant" (taraval & 40th i think): don't know the real name, but there's a sign outside that says "korean restaurant"
- cheung hing (irving & 30-something?): good BBQ pork
- PPQ (irving & 19th): pho and other vietnamese food
- pho hua (irving & 19th): I like their pho better, but some of my friends don't agree
- south seafood village (irving & 15th): decent dim sum
- ebisu (9th? & irving): decent sushi (a bit on the expensive side)
- hotei (9th? & irving): decent udon
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sushi Partay
A little while ago some of us got together for a sushi party! We got the goods from Mitsuwa, a Japanese market in San Jose. Gigi says this place is better than Nijiya, which is the only one I've been to. I'll take her word for it!
You name it, we had it: amaebi, unagi ("salmon skin roll"), hamachi, salmon, tuna, wakame (seaweed salad)... so much food but soo good. It was my first time rolling, too!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Viva la France! et Cynthia!
Resident Francophile, Cynthia, turns 25 today! In honor of her quarterlife, she threw a French themed potluck, and despite some groans, a lot of people made food!
I had some lentils, so I made a Coq Au Vin and just threw them in with that. It ended up looking like brown mush (or barf, according to Kevin), but it was quite tasty. Cyn made some crepes for dessert a la Ikea mix, and we also had a fruit tart from La Farine (which, btw, ain't all that). Other dishes people made/brought included:
- Mini quiches a la Costco
- Potato Puffs a la Gregoire
- Cassoulet w/ white beans, ham hock, sausage, other random meat
- Ratatouille!
- Beef Bourguignon
- Mussels cooked in white wine
- Chocolate bread pudding
What talented friends! =)
Joyeux Anniversaire Cynthia!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Before there were microwaves...
Our microwave is broken, so we've been steaming our food. I suppose that's probably better, anyway?
Leftovers from Great China (sorry for the glare)Monday, February 18, 2008
Great China
2115 Kittredge (between Shattuck & Oxford)
(510) 843-7996
Northern Chinese (Szechuan) in Berkeley
I've known about this place for a long time, and I have even gotten take-out (random veggies... I was hungry and in the area) during my college days without knowing what this place had to offer. There's a ridiculous wait, despite the 3 floors this place occupies. You can make reservations, and I'm glad we did. Thanks to my super yelper father, my family went here to try the peking duck it is popular for.
Why is this peking duck so lauded? Basically because they trim off the fat under the skin for you, and remove all the bones. This is perfect for the lazy (me) and the non-Chinese (stereotypically HM and afraid of getting down and dirty, which can also describe me). So was it as good as everyone praises it to be? Well, honestly, the only reason why I liked it so much was because it was so easy. If it had come normally (in bone and with fat), it wouldn't have been much different than your regular peking duck.
My mom agreed. She thinks that Mayflower in Milpitas is comparable, and that Mr. Fong's in Foster city is probably the best of the three, although the meat is fatty (Mr. Fong's is actually a roast duck).
Aside from the duck, we got some other dishes I have never seen before (nor had my parents). There was a "double skin" dish with the pea or whatever noodles (like vermicelli) and egg (the 2 "skins") mixed up with a bunch of other stuff. There was also a crab dish chock full of meat, but I had to hand over my portion to my sister because I could barely swallow my first bite. I hate ginger, and that's all I could taste. My aunt also didn't care for this dish. =P
So all in all, they have good duck, but not necessarily the best, although many people swear by it. My mom also said it probably depends on the duck, too, so who knows! I would probably go again because I like not having to work for my food (I don't like eat things with small bones, or shrimp still in their shells, etc).
VDAY: A Nice Bottle of Wine... and In N Out
Late, I know! As a surprise "appetizer," Mike also made some gnudi like the Spotted Pig is known for. He got the sheep's milk ricotta from Cheeseboard, and we used a Batali recipe for a brown butter sage sauce to serve it with. Good thing I run haha.
You can't go wrong with Animal Fries
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Farina
3560 18th St (& Guerrero)
(415) 565-0360
Italian in the Mission
The best meal you can ever wish for when you have a canker sore :).
haha isn't that appetizing. When we went to Farina I was dying in pain and starving because I couldn't chew. I was planning to just get soup but luckily they have gnocchi with parmesan and truffle shaving and I was blown away. It was awesome. I also tried some of Kathy's chickpea soup and it was pretty good also. For dessert I got the Pearmisu and it was ok. I would definitely go back just for the gnocchi.
Pictures after the jump!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Apple Confit w/ Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta
Since Michael Laiskonis, pastry chef of Le Bernardin, started blogging, I've found myself starring every single entry in my feed. He just shares so much knowledge and his recipes are so innovative... I still have yet to eat there, but I'm sure once I do I will enjoy it even more after reading his blog!
For a potluck, I wanted to make something that could be easily shared family style but still had an edge... I didn't want to make anything too fancy, so I thought his apple confit recipe pared down would work well, as well as his panna cotta. I changed the recipes so it would fit my schedule (e.g. I could easily make the caramel powder without the smoke, but I was trying to make both things at 9pm on a weeknight).
Unfortunately, I never got a chance to take real pictures of it! This is the only one I have, which is just a peek at the end product. =( It tasted good though! The panna cotta could've been silkier though. Not sure if that was me (making one giant one instead of 40 small servings) or the recipe.
Altered recipes after the jump.
Apple Confit
8 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (original recipe calls for granny smith - I used pink lady and some other organic apple I don't remember)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 stick of butter
- Combine brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon
- Melt butter and vanilla together
- Butter deep pan (hotel pan), apply coat of sugar mixture
- Arrange one layer of apple slices. Brush on butter-vanilla mixture. Coat with sugar mixture. Repeat until done with apples.
- Bake at 300, covered with foil, for 45 min.
- Remove foil, bake for 15 more min.
- Place parchment/wax paper on top and put something that will keep the apples flat on top (I didn't have another pan of the same size, so I used smaller pans with flat bottoms and ramekins. Ghetto, I know). Bake for 1 more hour.
- Let cool, refrigerate for at least 4 hours - overnight.
Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta
1.5 cup cream
2/3 cup sugar
zest of 2 cara cara oranges
10g gelatin (I used powdered bc it's hard to find sheets retail) "bloomed" in a few T of water/juice
1 cup cream fraiche
- Cream + sugar + zest over medium
- Add gelatin, temper into yogurt. Strain (removes all the zest and possible chunks of cream fraiche)
- Spray mold(s) and refrigerate for a few hours-overnight (or freeze for 2 hours)
La Note
2377 Shattuck Ave.
(510) 843-1535
French (or Provenal) in West Berkeley
I've been here many a time in the last few years, and it's definitely one of those places that gets majorly hyped. I first heard about it back in 2003 from my co-RA in the dorms who had spent a year studying abroad in Paris. OK, I thought, this place must be pretty good since she's probably been to Provence. I remember being completely let down by the supposedly divine raspberry oatmeal pancakes, as well as the eh eggs.
I had also gone for dinner once with a friend, and I remember being a believer in monkfish after my meal. Buttery and rich, that dinner was one of the best I had in college. But then again, that was pre-SF and before I really began fine-tuning my palate. I went here for another brunch last year, and got the deliciously sounding open-faced omelette with potatoes and caramelized onions, which was disappointingly bland.
After my let-down brunch experiences here, I went here again this past weekend, only because Mike had never been before. This time it was actually quite good. I would usually average the stars in the review, but I'm feeling generous. I believe that this restaurant can be redeemed, given these crucial factors:
- Know what to order. Since I had already gone through disappointing menu choices, I knew what to avoid and we picked dishes that were actually good this time. Mike had lemon gingerbread pancakes which he raved about (they were ok for me. I'm not a fan of gingerbread, and that flavor was very strong). It was cutely plated with blueberries and poached pears. I had a normal ham & cheese omelette accompanied with roasted tomatoes which were yummy. Mike had a side of homefries which were roasted with rosemary and garlic = mmm. I remember having the homefries before and feeling pretty indifferent about them, probably because they're easily burnt... which leads me to the next factor....
- Beat the rush. Sure, there are practical reasons behind this (you don't have to wait, less crowded, blah blah blah), but the main reason, especially in this case, is that the busier the restaurant is, the worse the quality of the food will be. We went at 9am whereas typical brunch time is 10am, and we didn't have to wait at all, and we also got good food. I have no idea if the food would've been comparable at 10am, especially given my previous experiences there.
All in all, La Note was redeemed this weekend, but hopefully they're consistent from here on out. We'll see!
*** UPDATE ***
Tartine
600 Guerrero St. (and 18th St.)
(415) 487-2600
[French] Bakery/Dessert place in the Mission
One of my favorite places in SF. What I love about this place is the atmosphere -- it's so comfortable. It's the type of place where you can spend an hour or two just reading by yourself. The quality of the desserts is very good, as is the food (try the sandwiches). The only thing this place lacks is originality/innovation in their menu (although that's not what they're going for, anyway).
*** UPDATE ***
I've never tried their loaves of bread before, but I finally did last week. Here's a sourdough with dates & hazelnuts... the crust was very caramelized which I'm personally not a fan of, but the bread was fluffy and the flavors subtle.
Friday, February 01, 2008
What Did Mommy Cook?
I woke up this morning with an email from my mother, with the subject line "What did Mommy cook," including a series of photos as follows.
Ooh the suspense is killing me!
RATATOUILLE!!! =)
Mommy got a bit of inspiration after watching Ratatouille last week. I borrowed the DVD from the Fremont Lib. Plus we watched the Keller, the chef/owner of French Laundry cooking show on KQED last Saturday and he made this eggplant quiche with a topping that is like the thing that Remy made in the movie (slices of tomato, yellow squash and zuchinni, but no eggplant b/c the eggplant was mixed with goat cheese and stuff as the pie stuffing and it was baked). Does not sound very appetizing to me as goat cheese is gamey.
Mommy needs to slice her veggies more thinly. While it may look good, the taste is ahh ... I’ll just say that I am not a vegetarian.
Plus, Mommy wants to show off her bowl cover thingy that she just received from the mail order vendor.
Before and after baking
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
AWESOMENESS in the form of a phone
I received a special package today! Unfortunately, I don't have a LAN line at home, nor does it work at my office =P That's ok. Novelty phone it is!
Friday, January 25, 2008
$20,000 cup of coffee x 2
Note: I wrote this the day the cafe opened (23Jan08), but I had to wait for the pictures to post. These were taken from Alice's camera phone! Such good quality for a phone. And here's a chat from today:
[13:34] alice: i went to blue bottle againSpoken like a true crack fiend.
[13:34] alice: and had the kyoto iced coffee
[13:34] alice: I'M AN ADDICT
[13:34] katwork: are you serious??
[13:34] katwork: with who?
[13:34] alice: my friend
[13:34] alice: lalalalalalal
[13:34] alice: i love coffee
So today was the opening of the new Blue Bottle Cafe at the Mint Plaza. I normally wouldn't care that much, but there was a NYTimes article about their new machine, the "siphon," and it dramatically described their brewed coffee as the greatest thing next to sliced bread. I am not a coffee connoisseur whatsoever, so I was fully expecting to not even be able to tell the difference.Alice and I trekked over to the shady Mint Plaza, and after a good 5 minutes of being confused, we finally found our way to the happenin new space that is no longer a kiosk. There were 3 roasts from the siphon bar that we could choose from, and each was served with a different treat. At roughly $10 each, I went for the $11 Nicaraguan brew, and Alice the Ethiopian. I really just chose mine based on the snack that was served with it (Miette toffee). Not until later did we realize that each pot can serve 3 cups. Whoops! But $20+ worth of coffee? We might as well try more than one. Also to our surprise, we HAD to drink it there - you can't take it to go. There wasn't an explanation as to why, but I can make up my own: drinking it 30 seconds after brewed in a glass cup enhances your experience, as opposed to drinking it all out of a paper cup. Am I right???
Since the siphon can only make 5 "pots" at a time, we had a little while to wait and take pictures. There was also a taller and more ostentatious display of a machine that made slow-drip [iced?] coffee that took about an 8-hr process according to one guy. I won't really go into detail about the machine itself since the article is pretty thorough. But yeah, those Japanese. "They must have nothing better to do," says Alice.
Iced coffee machine
Alice's Ethiopian brew, on the other hand, was distinctly different in taste - very fruity with hints of blueberry, according to the menu. Unlike the Nicaraguan roast, this one lost its flavor once we added cream and sugar. Alice preferred this one, and ended up drinking more even after she started feeling dizzy. Anything with caffeine (e.g. coffee, soda, red bull, etc) usually has no effect whatsoever on me, but after 2 cups, I started feeling light-headed, and even as I'm writing this 4 hours and one bathroom visit later, my head still hurts. That must be some potent stuff!
Despite having to drink the coffee there, we were able to take the rest back with us. Now I'm not really sure what to do with it, since it gave me a headache... but it's $11 coffee! Sacrifices will have to made this time. My health (sanity??) is more important! You win this round, Blue Bottle!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Boo the Rain!, or Oatmeal Cookies
I made some oatmeal cookies using my favorite TJ's trail mix: almonds, pistachios, and tart cherries. I usually eat just the nuts and throw away most of the cherries, but this time I thought they'd be useful. I just "fattened" them using some sugar and white wine. Recipe was Sherry Yard's, although what it says on the website is actually different than what's in her cookbook (in her cookbook, she calls for 3/4 t cinnamon, and 1.5 t nutmeg).
93 and a Chinese cake
*** UPDATE ***
Note from my mother:
A) I have dry cleaned the clothes you selected and ready for you to pick up at your nexrt visit.B) Nice pictures and description in your website about the cake.C) There are some corrections needed about the description of the cake in your website:“… so my mom squeezed in just happiness & longevity (left out wealth/career or something like that)” -> The first word is “luck”, not “happiness”, not” left out wealth/career”. You’d better correct it.D) Some reference info for you:The 4 letters are (to see the Chinese characters, click the following from the manual bar: view -> encode -> try Unicode or various Chinese font options (such as Chinese traditional, Chinese simplified, etc.)Fu2 (福): LuckLu4 (祿): careerShou4 (壽): longevityXi3 (囍): double happiness (such as wedding)The 3 letters your grandma requested are: Fu2, Lu4, Shou4.The 2 letters I wrote are: Fu2, Shou4About the taro: Cantonese pronounciation is “vu3-tao2” that is close to the pronouciation of “wealthy beginning”.LoveMommy
I made a birthday cake for my grandmother's 93rd birthday. Here is what was requested:- not too sweet, light
- taro (something about longevity I think?)
- fruit
- walnut exterior
That pretty much equates to a Chinese bakery cake. I ended up making a chiffon cake based on Annie's recipe (thanks!) in 3 layers, with two fillings - a taro cream, and then a vanilla custard with strawberries & kiwi. So this was my first time working with taro, and to make the filling I peeled it, cut it up into smallish pieces, boiled it, then pureed it up in my food processor. It was super gooey and thick, so I added some coconut milk and sugar, where it then became a less sticky paste. It was still pretty dense, so I whipped some cream up and folded it in to lighten the texture.
The cake turned out fairly well... although my grandma's initial reactions were that (1) it was too small, and (2) there were no Chinese characters written on it. After a quick run to the grocery store, the latter was soon fixed. Since my small cake was also covered in fruit, there wasn't much space to write the usual 3 characters, so my mom squeezed in just happiness & longevity (left out wealth/career or something like that). The only pictures I have of the inside of the cake to see the slices are blurry, so I'm not going to post them, sorry. I really need a new camera!
Not bad for my first time. A little taro root goes a long way, and I'll try experimenting with the leftovers. Chinese birthday cakes are a bit restrictive, but maybe next time I'll be able to think of something more creative. I'll also make it square/rectangular (easier to cut) and bigger with thicker layers (the cake rises as it bakes, but sinks significantly as it cools).
L: chocolate chip cookies for the kiddies, R: my mom's deft hands at work
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
TOP 5 of 2007
I know I'm very late with this post, but eh.
Top 5 Hit Dishes of my own
- Truffle Crab Mac n Cheese
- Mascarpone Cheesecake
- Fruit Tarts
- Lavender Shortbread
- Molten [Peppermint] Chocolate Cakes
Top 5 dishes worth drooling over
- pancetta-wrapped quail w/ porcini bread pudding @ A Cote
- baked chanterelles w/ leeks & truffle oil @ A Cote
- my aunt's sticky rice
- cheese rolls from Taste of Texas
- grilled cod @ Oyaji
Top meal that did not sit well with my stomach and sent me on a 24-hr trip with a porcelain bowl
- Google MVizzy!!! Darn you, oysters!
Top 3 experiments that didn't quite work
- plum mochi cake
- beer floats (they ended up being 90% ice cream)
- "caviar" + phyllo
Top 5 Korean restaurants that will hook you up if you are [with] a Korean that orders in Korean
- My Tofu House
- Teo
- The "Korean Restaurant" on Taraval
- Brothers
- ALL KOREAN RESTAURANTS! Darn you, Chinese people!
Non-food-related TOP 5's after the jump (so handy!)
Top 5 Songs (in no order)
- Radiohead: "All I Need"
- Bat for Lashes: "The Wizard"
- Grizzly Bear: "He Hit Me"
- Feist: "I Feel It All"
- Panda Bear: "Bros"
Top 5 Albums (in no order)
- Radiohead: In Rainbows
- MIA: Kala
- Feist: The Reminder
- Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Is Is (EP)
Top 5 songs that will make me start dancing and distract me in the kitchen
- Kanye: "Good Life"
- !!!: "Myth Takes"
- Of Montreal: "Gronlandic Edit"
- MIA: "Bamboo Banga"
- Daft Punk: all of Alive 2007 (not a song, I know)
Top 3 awesome shows
- Grizzly Bear @ Great American
- MIA @ the Rickshaw
- Will Shortz @ Zellerbach (kind of counts)
Top awkward and uncomfortable showing of animated porn
- Notes to a Toon Underground
Top 3 Non-food-and-music blogs I stumbled upon and instantly added to my feed
- Poplicks
- The Sartorialist
- Kanye's (he finds some cool stuff!)
Top video game (despite being the only video game I played all year)
- ROCKBAND!
Top venue to avoid after grocery shopping
- Mezzanine
Top 5 milestones of 2007
- Finishing the Nike Women's Half Marathon (undocumented: post-marathon meal was at Shanghai House = hand-cut noodles!)
- Catering my sister's wedding (and of course, her getting married)
- My little sister starting college!
- The birth of Isabella Su-Ah Chang!
- Starting a new job
What a year! I'm excited for the year to come though... yay 2008!
Monday, January 07, 2008
Banana [Nut] Muffins
I make banana muffins quite often - whenever I have bananas that are going to go bad soon, but I felt like posting today because I think I finally figured out the perfect recipe (at least what I think is the perfect recipe).
The key is to use overripe bananas because they get sweeter the riper they are (i.e. brown spots = good)... that way you don't have to add as much sugar.
When I first started this blog, I didn't intend to put up my recipes because I thought it would make posts too cluttered and the blog too long... but I finally took the 10 minutes to figure out how to make expandable posts, so here you go. FYI, I've written my recipes approximately the same way that I write them for myself... which means that if you've never baked in your life you may need more detail (reference other recipes I guess?). I love me some muffins + milk!
Recipe after the jump.
Recipe for ~10 large muffins
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter @ room temp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla
1 egg
3-4 overripe bananas, mashed
1 cup oats (optional)
1 cup roughly chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup AP flour (or 2 cups if not using oats)
1/4 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
- Cream butter + sugar, then oil
- Add rest of wet
- Sift dry, add to wet until just combined
- Add oats & nuts, if using them, until just combined
- Bake at 350 for about 25 min. (or until they pass the toothpick test) middle rack, rotated halfway
Note: This can definitely be made as a bread or mini muffins instead. You'll just have to adjust the baking times (lower and longer, or lower and shorter, respectively).
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The House
1230 Grant Avenue (and Columbus)
(415) 986-8612
Asian Fusion in North Beach
It's a bit random to find an Asian Fusion restaurant in central North Beach, but this tiny place seems pretty popular, and for a reason. Decent food, decent prices, good location... I definitely was not close to blown away, but I didn't really have any complaints with this meal.
Their porkchop was cooked very nicely - extremely moist (my mom thought it tasted too "fatty" - well, what do you expect?), but the pomegranate glaze was a bit too intense and sweet. The scallops app was good - you can't go wrong with dousing anything in butter. My dad said their noodles were hand-pulled, but I find that highly unlikely because they looked and tasted like normal noodles... plus, he got that piece of information from yelp, which is very unreliable.
The only thing unreasonable about this dinner was the cost. It was a bit overpriced for what it was, especially a $5 tiny pot of Chinese tea? Uhh....
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Ending 07 with LOTS OF FOOD
I spent the end of the year (and the beginning of the new one) with my family and relatives, which usually means... LOTS of EATING. That's really all we do - I mean, I have a family full of yelpers! No wonder why I have a food blog (I don't do yelp though).
Last weekend we went to Yank Sing with my sister's in-laws, and hung out in the Ferry Building. I finally got those snowflake cookie cutters I had been ogling for the last few weeks at 50% off! I also tried my first Miette macarons and they were pretty good. I haven't made any since those random post-wedding batches, but mine were definitely way more delicate and less stable. Their stuff is just so cute - flavor and taste is maybe above average, but they are really just selling their presentation. There are also these adorable cake stands by Whitney Smith that are sold there as well. Too bad they're like $65 each!
I also had dinner with my dad's side at the House. It was surprisingly super busy - probably because of the holidays. It was pretty decent - a bit expensive for what it was, but it was a satisfying meal - recap to come. We followed up at Golden Gate bakery with the best egg custard tarts in the city. Nothing like scarfing down on the street with crumbs all over your face and clothes... with your parents looking just as stupid.
NYE was spent at Sushi House with the in-laws again. I like saving the best bites for the last of my meal, but I had eaten so much that I couldn't even enjoy the last piece of hamachi... so I saved it to pop in my mouth right before we left. This lone slice was repeatedly mistaken for me wasting food, so I had to ward off many chopsticks trying to swipe my fish. I ended up making a barricade of chopsticks so my family would stop trying to take my yellowtail!
And last, but not least, my first day of 2008 has been spent trying on all my mom's vintage clothes (not vintage to her, although I've seen one or two of her dresses in some style/fashion blogs) and her feeding us veggie "hamburger" patties. My little sister was not a fan. "It tastes like human flesh!!"
Happy 2008! I have a feeling that this will be a good year. =)