S.O.F.A.T. Blog

Post 72.2: Wrapping Up Two Weeks in Taiwan

2011-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Wrapping up two weeks of eating in Taiwan is not an easy thing to do. It seems like every time I have finished deciding on the highlights of the trip, I find more that simply can't be left out. Here are some more places I frequented while in Taipei.

Big, fat, fluffy pork belly buns:

藍家割包 (Lan Family Guabao)

台北市中正區 / Taipei City, Jhong Jheng District

羅斯福路三段 / Roosevelt Road, Section 3

316巷 8弄 3號 / Lane 316, 8th Alley, No. 3

全家便利店隔壁 / Next door to Family Mart

Potstickers grilled to order:

永和佳佳香鍋貼/ Jia Jia Xiang

新北市永和區 / New Taipei City, Yonghe District

永和路一段 114號 / Yonghe Road, Section 1, No. 114

臺灣銀行對面 / Across the street from Bank of Taiwan

AYCE spicy hot pot with unlimited Taiwan Beer:

馬辣頂級麻辣鴛鴦火鍋 (Mala Hot Pot)

台北市中正區 / Taipei City, Jhong Jheng District

汀州路三段 86號 / Tingzhou Road, Section 3, No. 86

捷運公館站 4號出口 / MRT: Gongguan Station, exit no. 4

Organic pineapple cakes:

幾分甜烘焙工坊/ How Sweet Bakery

台北市松山區 / Taipei City, Songshan District

南京東路五段 80號 / Nanjing East Road, Section 5, No. 80

Buttery soft cranberry pineapple cakes:

佳德糕餅 / ChiaTe

台北市松山區 / Taipei City, Songshan District

南京東路五段 88號 / Nanjing East Road, Section 5, No. 88

Thanks to Christine, Diana, and Duke for suggesting and bringing me to these hot spots. Thanks also to Anna, Anne, Christine, Diana, Jimmy, Kevin, Nicolas, Rina, Sophia, Tiffany, Yvonne and everyone else for romping around Taipei with me... fun times, indeed. And extra big thank you to my aunt and my relatives... hope to see you all again soon! Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 201109XX

Post 72.1: Taipei - Wrapping Up Two Weeks in Taiwan

2011-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

I ate so much during my two weeks in Taipei that I could write one post about each meal per week for an entire year, and I wouldn't even be finished. But since there's a huge backlog of meals from this year that need major attention, it's time for a Cliff's Notes version of my Taipei trip. Here is one picture that was the most memorable part of each day of my two weeks in Taiwan.

September 1: Anxious to board
Sporting my enthusiasm for the trip by way of button at LAX.

September 2: A more than welcome first meal
After a total of 24 hours of traveling (front door to front door, including a 6 hour layover at Incheon Airport), I was desperate for any meal outside of an airplane or airport. We stopped by a local place (金春發牛肉店) for their specialty beef dishes. The curry chow mein (炒咖哩牛肉麵) and this bone marrow dish (炒龍骨髓) stir-fried with tomatoes, garlic, chili and Taiwanese BBQ sauce really hit the spot.

September 3: A cup of home
I discovered many Western style coffee shops serving American breakfasts after waking up in our newly relocated family home of Tamsui. The cafe downstairs is owned by a Taiwanese-Australian, and it serves eggs, toast, and lattes. Heinz and Tabasco, labels of American authenticity are self-serve, a friendly reminder of home.

September 4: Pineapple cake by the box
Overly excited at the thought of pineapple cake, I immediately bought two boxes of 10 each upon seeing the organic variety displayed in a local bakery in Yonghe District. Pineapple cake or shortbread, one of Taiwan's most famous pastries, must be consumed immediately due to the lack of preservatives. I had forgotten that I had two weeks left before returning stateside. Consequently, I ate one pineapple cake per day til the day of departure... then I bought a few more boxes to take home.

September 5: Star sighting
A fellow Triton invited us to CTV (中視) for a taping of One Million Star (超級星光大道), Taiwan's version of American Idol. The majority of the audience was middle-aged housewives who squealed like school girls at the sighting of Aska Yang (楊宗緯). If seeing Aska weren't enough, a connection to the executive level of CTV led us to meet David Tao (陶喆) who happened to be a guest judge on the show.

September 6: Student union

I met up with Diana at Insomnia (睡不著), a dimly lit café filled with local college students chatting about the campus gossip and studying for exams. Diana and I reacquainted ourselves with simple phrases in Mandarin such as 7-Up (七喜), long removed from our memory due to the lack of language practice in America.

September 7: Taiwanese live to eat
During a visit to Sit Fun for traditional Taiwanese food, my uncle pointed out some of the local sayings posted up on the restaurant's walls. This phrase, uttered in the local Taiwanese tongue, says that eating trumps even the emperor.

September 8: A bowl of Taiwan's national dish
Almost a week into my trip, I finally scored some beef noodle soup from Old Chao. Sweating from the humidity, the heat, and the temperature of the piping hot soup makes for an exhilarating eating experience.

September 9: I'm eating... don't bother me
Anna stealthily takes a shot of me scarfing down some noodles from my favorite hole-in-the-wall while my aunt peers over from her side of the table. Spicy stinky tofu gets heated up by the fire under the steel hot pot. Noodles and stinky tofu... just another day in Taipei.

September 10: Merciful sub-tropic summer weather
Summer in Taiwan is a force to be reckoned with, but one this sunny Saturday afternoon in Taipei, the sky revealed some beautiful blue hues to display as a backdrop at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

September 11: Mid-Autumn Festival
This holiday means different things to different people. For some, it might mean a day to eat mooncakes to commemorate the overthrow of the Mongol rule in the Yuan Dynasty. For others, it might simply mean an outdoor barbecue in the summer night. For my family, it means eating Japanese food... no clue why... we've eaten sushi and sashimi on this holiday for years now. Not to break from tradition, my aunt and I dined at a Japanese restaurant (川賀屋日本料理) in Tamsui District. While there I was able to capture the celebration in the streets outside the restaurant.

September 12: Sausage and beer, Taiwan style
What's better than grilled Taiwanese sausage? Grilled Taiwanese sausage wrapped with a sticky rice bun! We call this delightful delicacy small sausage wrapped with big sausage (大腸包小腸). Throw in an ice cold Taiwan beer... and I'll be able to tackle on any crowd and navigate the mini mazes at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市).

September 13: Riding along the Tamsui River... on a bike
Having finally mastered how to bike ride in the recent years, namely from a biking adventure around Stanley Park in Vancouver, Rina urged me to take another biking tour... this time along the Tamsui River in Taipei. We took the ferry across away from the city to the Bali District (八里區) side of the river and rented bikes for just 100 NTD (a little more than 3 USD) for unlimited usage. Low tide, fishermen taking respite, an ah gong practicing some tai chi... there was something just so tranquil and peaceful on this side of the river. This is something I must do again.

September 14: Uni fusion
A visit to Taipei or Tokyo requires a trip to indulge in exotic Japanese fusion pastas from Bellini. Thanks Nicholas and Tiffany for joining me in the cod roe spaghetti with yuzu (和風柚子明太子麵), calamari and squid ink linguine (茄丁墨魚汁扁平麵), and this sea urchin cream linguine with king crab meat and mushrooms (北海道蟹肉海膽醬扁平麵). Oh, and don't forget about the two pizzas, appetizer, dessert, and bottle of red... a great way to wrap up two weeks of fooding in Taipei. Good job, guys.

September 15: Nanjing Road nightscape
Even at midnight the streets of Taipei bustle with rapid movement from mopeds, taxis, buses and pedestrians. While standing on a pedestrian walkway over Nanjing Road on the final night of my trip in Taiwan, I wondered where everyone needed to go in such a hurry. This city definitely inspires you to go, go, go!

September 16: A contrast to city life
From bustling Taipei proper to Tamsui District in New Taipei, anyone can distinguish downtown city life from what is arguably one of the calmer, more serene suburban areas of the city. An hour outside of Taipei City, you can hear the song of the cicada louder than the roar of the moped motor. There is fresh air, blue sky, and a street to safely jaywalk across.

There are bound to be more trips to Taipei in the near future... so far I've counted six visits in six years. Two weeks is not nearly enough to capture the essence that is Taiwan let alone experience the magnificence that is the city of Taipei. From the (second) tallest building in the world to the most humblest of people, the Taiwanese have really contributed to a place worth visiting. Au revoir for now, Taipei... I'm off to Seoul. Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

金春發牛肉店 (beef specialty restaurant)

台北市大同區 / Taipei City, Datong District

天水路 20號 / Tianshui Road, No. 20

Insomnia Café (睡不著)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

師大路 93巷 13號 / Shida Road, Lane 93, No. 13

Kawaga Ya (川賀屋日本料理)
新北市淡水區 / New Taipei City, Tamsui District
中山北路一段 157號 / Zhongshan North Road, Section 1, No. 157
頂好超市對面/ Across from Wellcome supermarket

Bellini Caffé

台北市中山區/ Taipei City, Jhongshan District

復興北路 288號 / Fuxing North Road, No. 288

捷運中山國中站 / MRT: Zhongshan Jr. High School Station

ML - 201109XX

Post 71: Taipei - Atkins Impossible (Taipei: Datong District / 台北: 大同區)

2011-12-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

When Anna visited Taipei during my trip this summer, she commented that there was bread everywhere in Taipei. The first time that she said there was bread everywhere, I laughed and didn't say anything in response. The second time Anna that said it (about an hour later), I passed her observation off as something a first time visitor to Taipei would say. The next time that Anna mentioned it, she said, "Wow, there really is bread everywhere here," so I actually gave it some thought. Everywhere I looked there was some sort of bakery... whether traditional or modern, whether truly Taiwanese or influenced by the Japanese or French, whether a brick and mortar store or one of those little shops inside the metro station... Anna was right. I guess I had never noticed it because bakeries were literally everywhere. For bread lovers in Taipei, the Atkins diet is simply impossible.

I've decided to post on the moment I realized that Atkins was truly impossible for me. It was when I was walking around Zhongshan Station, and a window display full of bread caught my eye. I didn't even look up to check the name of the store. Knowing that I wanted what I saw (not even hungry at the time), I walked into the shop and picked up a tray and tongs immediately. It was Ijysheng Bakery (一之軒時尚烘焙) that I had walked into, and this is what I picked up:

Cod roe French bread (明太子法國麵包)

Nothing can keep me from anything that has cod roe... even if there's just a little bit. Lucky for me, this loaf of French bread has cod roe all over the top and in between the top and bottom crusts. The cod roe gets toasted after it gets smeared over the bread, which means two things: the cod roe essence is completely baked into the bread, and it can't escape the bread. This cod roe French bread can't escape from my mouth either. Cue evil laughter... my aunt sliced it up for me, and it was all gone before she could return from the kitchen.

Shenmu tree bread (神木麵包)

The idea is that the little swirls of this red bean bread represent the inner vascular tissue and outer bark that run through the length of the tree. What may be water and sugar that typically run through xylem and phloem in a tree is butter cream and red bean in this faux chocolate bread. With just a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top, shredding the fibers of this fluffy, sweet bread apart is only half the fun of eating it.

High rise cheese toast (高達起士吐司)

A crispy, cheesy crust, a pillowy soft interior, and cubes of heavenly cheese throughout... what more could you want from a mini loaf of cheese bread? I love tearing the slightly burnt crust of cheese off the top first and then picking out the little cubes of cheese lodged in the niches of the bread. The only thing better than this is a second loaf.

Chocolate popsicle (巧克力冰棒)

I picked this up for one reason only: it looked cool. I mean, it's bread in the shape of a popsicle, and it even has the popsicle stick holding it all together. I wasn't the only one who thought it was cool. Apparently, my little cousin did too because while I was polishing off the cod roe bread, he picked up the chocolate popsicle bread and chomped down on it. Sadly, I have no idea what it tastes like, but the swirls of chocolate and the crushed peanuts on top sure look tantalizing.

German cheese (德國鹹乳酪)

I'm not sure what exactly constitutes this as German cheese... but if I were to name the pastry, I would simply call it a ham and cheese quiche. Why? Well, because it's simply a ham and cheese quiche. It's buttery and crumbly (instead of flaky) on the outside, and it's buttery and creamy on the inside... and it's even better reheated in the oven.

Aside from the fact that I ate everything in sight (including French toast with a fried chicken filet sandwiched in the middle and two grilled Taiwanese sausages from the vendor next door), I would submerge my fork into another one of these Taiwanese-German quiches... and another mini loaf of cheese bread. Oh, and that cod roe bread too. Yum.

On a slight tangent, Ijysheng Bakery produced an overly emotional, heart-wrenching melodramatic video about a boy's dreams of his mother's hand-made mochi. I got a good enough kick out of it to share with everyone.

Some of my favorite bakeries in Taipei include Maison Kayser in the basement floor of Breeze Center (微風廣場) and chain bakery Sun Merry (聖瑪莉). There's also another bakery inside Sogo that makes an almond and chocolate, double crusted wheel of bread with chocolate hazlenut ganache spread inside (pictured above). My favorite bakeries in the Los Angeles area include Cuban rooted Porto's Bakery, the French influenced but Japanese owned Frances Bakery in Little Tokyo, Taiwanese chain JJ Bakery, and the ever popular 85°C Bakery, which sprouted from its roots as a coffee house in Taiwan.

My love for bread is too great. Just last month I scarfed down four small loaves of squid ink garlic cheese bread from 85C with half an hour of purchase... bread addiction, much? Sorry Atkins, you'll never win me over. Until the next carb crazed moment, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Ijysheng Bakery (一之軒時尚烘焙)

台北市大同區 / Taipei City, Datong District

南京西路 33號 / Nanjing West Road, No. 33
捷運中山站 2號出口 / MRT: Zhongshan Station, exit no. 2
台北牛乳大王對面 / Directly across Taipei Milk King

ML - 20110906

Post 70: Taipei - Night Owls Congregate at the Porridge Shop (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-12-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

While the congee from Hong Kong style dim sum houses are typically served in the morning, the Taiwanese rice porridge with chunks of sweet potatoes are served around the clock. Both types of rice based soup, though, are used to wake people up. The Taiwanese porridge works best as that 3 a.m. slap of sobriety and the Hong Kong congee as a hangover help at noon the next morning.

"You tried to drink her under the table or something?"

The server glances over at my friend as she brings a pot of piping hot porridge over to the table. My friend has collapsed on the dining table... whether in complete exhaustion or in complete intoxication, I'm not quite sure... I'm feeling a combination of exhausted and intoxicated myself... attributed to a night of clubbing in Taipei. Either way, she's about to miss out on some soul warming rice porridge and my trash talking of her inability to conquer the night's liquor.

"No, she tried to drink me under the table," I reply. "And that," I point to the slumber of hair, makeup, and jewelry that is my friend, "is what happened. Huo gai."

Huo gai is a term that is tough to translate. In this instance it might mean that my friend's state of unconsciousness is completely deserved. In a sense, it's karma... karma for nudging me towards more shots of tequila. And if huo gai has been served in the Taipei nightlife, it's best to accompany it with a sobering bowl of porridge and plenty of side dishes.

My absolute favorite accompaniment to this bowl of rice soup is super spicy steamed stinky tofu. It's served in a miniature hot pot with the gas burner still running. There's nothing like a fragrant tofu in a boiling spicy broth in the middle of a hazy night. If the spicy broth isn't a natural alarm clock, then I don't know what is.

There are a plethora of side dishes to choose from. Upon arrival at the porridge shop, there is what seems like a buffet of chafing dishes... from grilled sausage to stir-fried eggplant to spicy cucumber salad to all sorts of crunchy pickles. In our bumbling and stumbling stupor, we select a recurring theme of egg, vegetable and stewed protein. Our first round of egg, vegetable and stewed protein includes a pickled radish omelette, garlic sauteed broccoli, and ginger braised calamari. The omelette, broccoli and calamari all have strong flavors which infuse well into the plain rice porridge.

Our second round of egg, vegetable and stewed protein ordering produce salted duck eggs, simply sauteed string beans, and three cup chicken. The salty and dense egg yolk makes for a great crumble over a hot rice porridge. It may even work better than croutons over salad. The ginger, garlic, and basil flavored soy and sesame oil from the three cup chicken make for a flavorful gravy over the top of the porridge. And the green beans complement the steaming stew with a light and refreshing crunch.

Our second round is also thankfully our last round of ordering since everyone has either crashed onto the table or has bickered over the last polyp of broccoli. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of another friend slap the broccoli out of another one's chopsticks in a not-so-ladylike manner. And the ratio of intoxicated and those suffering from insomnia versus the sane and sober are dangerously imbalanced. It's definitely time to go home.

There's nothing that the sweet potato rice porridge can do for us now. The only thing that can save us now is an efficient taxi driver. Mai dan so we can hui jia, please. Until the next night out on the town, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

No Name Congee and Delicatessen (無名子清粥小菜)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

復興南路 2段 130號 / Fuxing South Road, Section 2, No. 130

ML - 20110910>11

Post 69: Taipei - Japanese in Taiwan... Unaju (Taipei: Jhongshan District / 台北: 中山區)

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Taiwan was colonized by the Japanese prior to the founding of the Republic of China for about 60 years all the way up until the end of World War II. If you didn't already know, don't worry because you're not alone. Many Japanese don't even know this since many portions of the war were stricken from history books and excluded from lessons in school. The point of this post, however, is not to talk about the Japanese colonization of Taiwan, but to point out the many influences they left behind. It is highly likely that locals and tourists alike will notice the many karaoke bars on every street corner, the orderly queues in the metro stations, the many tatami mats in Taiwanese homes, and the ojisans and obasans who frequent the onsens. Arguably, one of the heaviest influences of the Japanese on Taiwan, though, was not just the language, culture, or lifestyle but the cuisine.

Even though the Japanese people are mostly gone, the influence of Japanese culinary arts can be seen throughout Taipei in somewhat of a fusion with old Chinese culinary culture. There are teppanyaki counters in mall food courts that prepare chow mein rather than yakisoba. There are shabu shabu restaurants that prepare individual sized hot pots with Szechwan style spicy soup base. There are even lunch spots that fill bento boxes with stir-fried chafing dishes rather than katsu or curry. These Chinese and Taiwanese infused Japanese cuisines can be found on every main thoroughfare in Taipei, but if you walk into the hidden back alleys, you will find remnants of true Japanese cuisine... untouched by any Chinese adaptation and without any Taiwanese adjustments.

Whenever I'm in Taipei, my aunt takes me to Hizen Ya (肥前屋), an inconspicuous Japanese restaurant that specializes in unaju (鰻重), grilled eel (unagi) over white rice. It's an authentic Japanese joint hidden down an alleyway behind Zhongshan Road in an area that is frequented by Japanese business travelers. The store has a barely visible business sign. And I'm not sure it even says Hizen Ya. You will know it's the right location because there will be a swarm of people buzzing about in front of the restaurant. Many of them have paper menus... but many more are simply waiting impatiently for their own box of unaju.

Unaju, by the way, is unagi rice in a box. Unadon, on the other hand, is unagi rice in a bowl. It's all about the unaju here. My aunt tells me that the restaurant's Japanese owner uses local Taiwanese eels, and that the eels are of such high quality that they're even exported to Japan. It seems like this is common knowledge because there is absolutely no fascination or astonishment on any of the patrons faces here when the food is served. They all seem like regulars... regulars who know their unagi. Those who are eating have stoic faces. They work feverishly through their unaju and barely speak to the company they are with. Whether small or large, there is a box of eel over rice in front of just about every single person in the restaurant. Children who haven't yet learned to appreciate the deliciousness that is grilled freshwater eel are ignored by their parents. Unaju is serious business. Those who are still ordering methodically check off the items that they fancy... from deep fried oysters to eel wrapped in tamago to grilled skewers. I do the same... unaju? Check. Sashimi? Check. I can never say no to fresh salmon or good yellowtail.

How can a box of grilled fish over rice be so delicious? Well, it's grilled not once but twice... and steamed in between the first and final round of grilling. It's first grilled to cook the eel, to render the fat, and to get the juices flowing. It's then steamed to make the flesh of the fish tender and succulent. And finally, it's grilled once again to crisp and char the outer layer of skin. The fish is then blanketed across a bed of fluffy, steamed, white rice. The rice then gets the pleasure of soaking up all the soy infused sweet unagi sauce and all the glorious drippings of fat.

I'm going to throw this unaju post over a literary cliff now and leave you hanging on that image because I'm drooling now... honestly. Where can I find the same deliciousness of unaju here in the States? Help me out. Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Hizen Ya (肥前屋)

台北市中山區 / Taipei City, Jhongshan District

中山北路 1段 121巷 13之2號 / Zhongshan North Road, Section 1, Lane 121, No. 13-2

ML - 20110915

Post 68: Taipei - Never Too Far from Dessert

2011-11-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

No matter where you are, you are never too far from dessert in Taipei. Around every corner, at every intersection, and down every alley, you can find a plethora of post meal refreshments such as handmade mochi, shaved ice, fresh tropical fruit, milk tea, and ice cream.

One of my favorite sweets is mochi (麻糬). Although the invention of mochi is usually accredited to the Japanese, the Taiwanese have their own balls of rice cake as well. Whereas the Japanese mochi is filled with sweet pastes such as red bean paste or peanut butter, the Taiwanese version is often not filled at all. Taiwanese style mochi is dense the entire way through and is also much smaller in size. The mini mochi balls are commonly rolled in peanut powder, black sesame seeds, granulated sugar, or a combination of the above. The flavor factor is on the outside rather than enclosed within the layer of pounded rice.

Mochi can even become a form of entertainment at some dessert shops. I found this out at Sweet Rice Ball (雙連圓仔湯), where I was served one giant blob of mochi (燒麻糬) plopped within a sandstorm of peanut powder, black sesame seeds, and little bits of sugar crystals. A few toothpicks were placed alongside the enormous sphere of congealed rice. My aunt picked up the toothpicks and started puncturing the rice cake. After she had perforated the rice cake, she separated it into a dozen or so miniature mochi balls and rolled them around in the sweet peanut and sugar mixture. She did it so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to try it for myself. But no worries... I saved my energy for chewing the ridiculously elastic and malleable sticky rice balls. No chocolate, no syrups, no heaviness. Just naturally and slightly sweet. It's even more fun to eat because it can be popped into your mouth in just one bite.

Sweet Rice Ball also serves shaved ice, which is one of my favorite chilled desserts. Shaved ice is one of the most powerful ways to combat Taipei's horrendous heat and humidity. What I like about the shaved ice at Sweet Rice Ball is that they not only have the traditional shaved ice toppings such as red bean, peanuts, and mochi, but they also have lots of unique toppings that other shaved ice shops don't offer as well such as sweet taro paste, corn, and white wood ear fungus. I would choose this over artificially flavored, multi-colored snow cones any day.

If traditional or unique shaved ice toppings isn't your thing, count your blessings because Taipei has a wealth of shops that serve mango shaved ice and green tea shaved ice. Literally around the corner from world famous dumpling house Din Tai Fung is a shop that specializes in shaved ice called Smoothie House (思慕昔). What's cool about the shaved ice there is that fruit and condensed milk has been infused directly into the ice.

Every part of the dessert is covered in either fruity mango ice, fragrant Taiwan mango (艾文芒果), or golden yellow mango ice cream, so every bite of shaved ice tastes like a milky avalanche of sweet, tropical mango. It's not even shaved ice or shaved snow anymore. It's like a shaved mango bonanza.

The matcha green tea shaved snow here is just as good. It is as green as Kermit, which means the flavors of Japanese green tea have been truly conquered every part of the ice. The hill of green tea ice is covered in a mound of sweet, soft azuki bean, and topped off with a panna cotta that is smooth and supple. It tastes like an East Asian Christmas party.

If healthy is your thing, then you are in luck. Taiwan is one of the best places in Asia to get fresh fruit. With its sub-tropical climate, harvesting tropical fruit such as bananas, guavas, lychees, mangoes, mangosteens, pineapples, and wax apples are no trouble at all. Fruits from Taiwan are, in a word... beautiful. The first thing you notice about the guavas at the sidewalk fruit stands is the bright color of the fruit. It's nothing like the pale pink that we get here in the States or in our cartons of Kern's Nectar. Its fruitful fertility beckons you over the stand, which is when you smell the utterly fragrant scent of the bananas, mangoes, and pineapples. Those are smells that literally open your eyes and take your breath away. It's no wonder that the Taiwanese have one of the highest rates of fruits and vegetables consumption in all of Asia.

If you're like me and hate peeling and cutting fruit, then skip the fruit stands and grocery stores altogether. Instead, head over to a café that serves afternoon tea. My favorite place to munch on juicy, succulent fruit is in Tamsui, a district of New Taipei City on the edge of the coast. Red 3 Café (淡水紅樓咖啡館) is atop a staircase that appears to have a million steps. But the hike to the top is worth it. There are ample fruits in the afternoon tea selection, and of course, there is a view overlooking the Tamsui River. Did I mention the beautiful castle that sits halfway to the top? A reward for your efforts on the brick Stairmaster, no doubt.

Too full from dumplings or beef noodle soup and can't hold down another bite? Well, Taipei offers the best iced beverages around. There are tea houses everywhere that serve fruit infused tea and milk tea. You may even see some familiar stores such as Quickly, Ten Ren, and 85C. If you are craving a Frappuccino, Taipei is abound with three or four-storied Starbucks stores. Almond milk tea? You got it. Crash milk with grass jelly? You got it. Lychee flavored Slurpee from 7-Eleven? Not even a problem.

What you may not know, though, is that Taipei also has plenty of coffee houses. Taiwan is not a major player in the coffee bean industry, but its climate makes for rich and aromatic coffee beans. Cama Café is brews its Joe (Chou in Taiwan?) to order. From first hand experience and according to A Girl Lost in Taipei, you can smell their coffee from way down the street. Their iced chocolate is also good. It's not just syrupy sweet... it's packed with chocolatey cocoa punch. Just enough sweet to seal off your appetite. Oh, and it's just plain cool that they delivery your coffee on bicycles.

Anywhere you go in Taipei, you will find a dessert that is sweet enough for your palate. Personally, though, I'd say you can't leave Taiwan without having some fresh fruit and some shaved ice. Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 201109XX

Post 67: Taipei - Din Tai Fung Black Truffle Juicy Pork Dumplings / 鼎泰豐松露小籠包

2011-11-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

Being a food tour guide that specializes in Taiwanese dumplings in Arcadia means that I get to eat the juicy pork dumplings (xiaolongbao / 小籠包) from Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) virtually every weekend while on tour. Guests on tour often ask me if there is anything different between the Din Tai Fung dumpling house in Arcadia and the original Din Tai Fung restaurant in Taipei. The first thing that I say since my return from Taipei is that the DTF in Taipei is the only store (as of now) with black truffle juicy pork dumplings (松露小籠包).

These black truffle xiaolongbao come five per long, or five dumplings per bamboo steamer. Each steamer of five delicately wrapped dumplings are 450 NTD, which amounts to roughly 15 USD. If there are five dumplings per steamer, and each steamer is 15 dollars, then each bite-sized dumpling is just about three American dollars each. Those are some expensive dumplings. They had better be worth it.

I can now tell you from personal experience that three dollars per dumpling is worth every bite. From the moment the server delivers the dainty delights, you know they're special. The server instructs not to douse these dumplings in the black vinegar that is typically used as a dipping sauce for the xiaolongbao. Heaven forbid that we use soy sauce on them too. Instead, the server advises to take a sip of hot tea in order to cleanse the palate. Wash away any remnant of cucumber or seaweed appetizer that may have lingered behind. Just one bite, he says... and beware... they're hot!

In this one bite, the subtle flavors of buttery truffle oil permeate through the tender yet firm pork and travel up through your nostrils while hitting every single pleasure sensing nerve within your oral and nasal cavities. If you go against what the server advises and take just a mere half bite instead, you would know that the little black specks in the dumpling are causing this sensory overload in your mouth. And you would definitely know that these little black specks are not black pepper. They are the shaved black truffle pieces, and they are the reason why you are charging this meal to your credit card.

If you are lucky you might spot a large shaving of black truffle within one of the five dumplings. And it might look like the dumpling is sticking its tongue out at those who have not yet experienced the indulgent taste of steamed black truffle juicy pork dumplings. It might.

Let's face it though. Even though the black truffle juicy pork dumplings make you feel like the caviar consuming first class passengers on the Titanic, you can only afford perhaps two steamers of those suckers before you realize you're still going to go home hungry. Well, if you're here for dumplings, you have to settle on the house specialty of regular juicy pork dumplings. These come ten per long at a much affordable price, although pricey for Taiwanese standards. And of course, the regular xiaolongbao can be dipped into the black vinegar. The vinegar's tangy taste contrasts the dumpling's overall savory flavor to bring out the sweetness for the pork. And all I can taste inside the dumpling is succulent pork soup. No buttery truffle? How boring.

In case some readers aren't able to tell, that's a speckle of sarcasm. The house specialty is an absolutely unparalleled steamed pork dumpling. However, I will tell you I would have much rather had finished all the regular xiaolongbao before moving onto to the fancy flavors of its truffled cousin. An anti-climatic meal is slightly disheartening.

But I must give credit to Din Tai Fung for putting this winning addition on the menu. A product that has been dug up by French pigs and then later infused into fresh Taiwanese pig? Well, that's a somewhat cannibalistic double pork whammy! Did they get this idea from the company mascot, a seemingly happy xiaolongbao that courageously serves up a steamer of ten miniature versions of itself? What will they think of next?

Before that question gets answered, though, do yourself a favor and drop by the original Din Tai Fung store on Xinyi Road in Taipei. And I would suggest you hurry. Because oolong-milktea loves his Din Tai Fung, and he loves his truffle. And oh, he can eat up a storm. If he gets there before you do, there's a high chance you're going home hungry. Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

信義路 2段 194 號/ Xinyi Road, Section 2, No. 194

永康街口 / Intersection of Yong Kang St.

ML - 20110908

Post 66: Taipei - Braised Pork Rice

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Braised pork rice (Taiwanese: loh bbah bun, Mandarin: lu rou fan / 滷肉飯 or 魯肉飯), also known as stewed pork rice, is a truly marvelous Taiwanese dish. There's nothing like it. Chicken and rice may come close, but fatty pork over rice simply can't be beat. Beef may have some beautiful marbling, but only pork has that half protein, half fat, yin and yang balance that is the perfect complement for a bed of fluffy white rice. In this sense, pork is quite unique because its fat carries such heavy importance. And it's this sultry fattiness on the outskirts of the pork belly that makes a wonderful bowl of braised pork rice. Just think about a tender cut of pork that's stewed in its own rendered, juicy lipidity along with seasonings such as soy sauce, garlic and brown sugar. One bite of this beautifully braised pork over a bed of steamed rice tastes absolutely sinful.

Any trip to Taiwan requires multiple outings for braised pork rice. Whether it's from a street vendor, a chain store like Formosa Chang, or a traditional Taiwanese restaurant like Sit Fun, the outings must be made. And since I went on a trip to Taiwan, it meant that I went out for braised pork rice... multiple times. I embarked on a trifecta of trips to obtain different versions of this precious braised pork rice... and I found a tantalizing bowl with shreds of bamboo shoots interlaced with pork from a sidewalk stall in Jioufen (九份), another bowl served with pickled ginger from Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張), and a final heart-stopping bowl with extra pork gravy from Sit Fun (喫飯食堂). Mmm....

Although it's called braised pork rice, the pork is really stewed. The braising portion of searing the meat and simmering in merely its own juices occurs never really happens. There are actually three main ingredients which get tossed into the simmering stew... swine, soy, and sugar. If you ever uncap the pot of swine, soy, and sugar while the pork is cooking, you'd see that the fat still hugs the pork and has barely melted away. You might even wonder if the fat is soluble at all. In actuality, little bits of fat from the rims of the pork have dissipated into the sweet soy sauce, and they get reunited with the meat when it gets soaked up within the sinews of protein. Circle of life, much?

It is rare to find a bowl of braised pork rice in the States with the same essence as one from the motherland. I recently had a bowl that seemed to come close, but perhaps it was because hunger took over me, or perhaps it was because the waitstaff suggested the loh bbah bun to me in the native Taiwanese tongue. Whatever the reason, the braised pork rice that I held in my hands was tops at the time. No bowl of chicken or beef donburi could knock the pig from its place at the top of the throne. Until I find one that beats it, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110904+07+12/20111106

Post 65.3: Taipei - Traditional Taiwanese, Part 3 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

As the last post in a three-part series on traditional Taiwanese food, I have decided to dedicate this post to a restaurant group that is known for their traditional Taiwanese dishes.

The Shin Yeh restaurants (欣葉) are known for preparing local fare in upscale settings. Many of the restaurants sit on upper level floors of buildings that overlook Taipei's main thoroughfares. Some are even set in lounge like atmosphere with dim lighting, trendy music, and novel cocktails. This is a stark contrast to other traditional Taiwanese restaurants like Little Lin's Seafood and Sit Fun, where the fresh ingredients are laid out by the entrance in refrigerators or over ice. According to its history, the owner of the original Shin Yeh knew that Taiwanese fare was a simple food and dedicated herself to developing it into a gourmet cuisine that could be served in banquet settings. The food here is still whipped up in that distinct Taiwanese style of fresh ingredients and simple preparation. And of course, the main ingredient in the dish is given the spotlight as the essential star of the show.

My family and I dined at shinyeh' table, a sister restaurant of the original Shin Yeh that targets a younger crowed. Shinyeh' table (蔥花) occasionally names their dishes in creative ways, utilizing puns and analogies and other tongue-in-cheek methods of capturing the guests' attention. Not all the dishes have amusing names though. In fact, most of them are pretty standard, but the ones that do bear amusing names really do stir up a chuckle here and there.

Pork song rice (猴囝仔拌飯)
Pork song (肉鬆), also known as pork floss in some bakeries, is a staple in every Taiwanese household. It's shredded, dried pork that acts almost as a condiment in items such as rice porridge, sandwiches, and even hot soy milk for breakfast. The texture has been described to be similar to cotton candy, something that melts in your mouth but still provides a slight crunch on first bite. It's a great addition to basic, steamed, white rice. The crunch of the pork song is initially a contrast to the steamed rice, but it eventually blends in with the fluff of the rice as easily as the famous little chocolates melt in your mouth.

Wok seared rice noodles (蔥花米粉炒)
Although a rice noodle dish may seem relatively simple, there is a lengthy preparation that occurs prior to the final step of stir-frying. Vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, celery, mushrooms and snap peas need to be cleaned and chopped... pork or chicken should be sliced into strips, and even eggs have to be scrambled. Most of the preparation, however, is focused on the rice noodles. The best rice noodles are said to originate in a oceanside city called Hsinchu (新竹), about one to two hours outside of Taipei. The makers of rice noodles there hang the strands of noodles out to dry with the natural sunshine and ocean breeze of Hsinchu in the same way that laundry is hung out to dry in the yard. It is this process that gets each rice noodle dried into individual threads, and it is that separation of the noodle that makes the best stir-fry.

Poached cuttlefish with five spice sauce (無情軟絲)

Squid served with a side of soy sauce paste and wasabi, fresh shredded ginger, and pickled radish is a dish that captures the essence of the Japanese influence on Taiwanese cuisine. The soy sauce paste, as the name indicates, has five different spices in it, only one of which I can actually pick out... minced garlic. It probably took more time for the chef to fan out the squid and to shred the ginger than it did for him to actually cook the sublime sea creature. Simplicity and presentation in detail... the epitome of a Taiwanese dish.

Wok fried loofah with garlic (翻滾吧絲瓜)

Loofah, garlic, and oil... the simplicity here gets carried all the way to mom and pop shops in Agoura Hills.

Great Wall of pig intestine (半里腸城)

The title employs the Great Wall of China (chang cheng / 長城) as a homonym for walls made of intestine (chang cheng / 腸城). Presented in a way that mimics the Great Wall across the Strait, the mustard greens and soy will protect you from the invading fears of consuming a digestive organ.

Crispy fried soft shell crab (啵棒軟殼蟹)

Deep fried soft shell crab. Crispy basil and spicy chili. Done deal.

Prawns stir-fried with tropical fruit (果粒纖蝦)
We all know honey walnut shrimp, but I can guarantee that these prawns dotted with pineapple, kiwi fruit, and bell pepper confetti will completely wipe honey walnut shrimp out of your mind afterward. A mouthful of natural sweetness oozes from the pores of the slightly crispy shrimp with each bite. It's a stir-fried version of what I'd eat everyday if I were trapped on a deserted tropical island.

One of the dishes that had an amusing name was a pork and bamboo stir-fry called Teacher I'm So Sorry (老師對不起). I didn't understand the attempt at humor at first, but my aunt explained that back in her elementary school days the teachers would use bamboo poles to smack the rear ends of misbehaving students. Consequently, someone must have thought of combining strips of bamboo shoots with tender slices of pork in a stir-fry dish. It's humorous in a slightly morbid way.

Some of the other amusing names are listed below. These will require a knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and perhaps a familiarity with the Before & After category on Wheel of Fortune to fully extract the humor:

歐麥咖哩麻辣燙 - a spicy curry seafood hot pot roughly translated to Oh My G--rry Spicy Hot Pot. Fill in the blanks with either 'od' or 'cu,' and the idea reveals itself.
心肝寶貝 - Precious Liver; a liver dish using liver as a pun for honey, precious, or baby as a term of endearment. In English it implies that the liver is precious because it's an essential organ to the body. Well, yeah...
白鱈公主 - Snow White Codfish; steamed codfish that uses the character for codfish (xue / 鱈) as a homonym for the snow in Snow White (xue / 雪).
虎咬豬 - Tiger Bites the Pig, a pork belly pacman bun (gua bao); the bun supposedly symbolizes the tiger's mouth, and the pig (pork belly) is trapped within its jaws.
Q呆呆杏仁豆腐 - Dummy Almond Jelly (also known as almond tofu), a dessert that implies that the jello is so dumb that it just sits in the bowl idly.
這個那個西米露 - tapioca dessert that had the name slightly altered from Ziga Zaga (zig zag with an Asian accent) to zhege nage, which means this one and that one, implying that there are plenty of tapioca balls in the dessert.
等超久蔥花小麻糬 - Waited So Long House Mochi, titled so because the patrons truly wait for a lengthy period of time for the kitchen staff to prepare the hand-made Taiwanese rice cakes to order.

Hopefully this series of posts help everyone gain a better understanding of what traditional Taiwanese cuisine is all about. It's rare to find this kind of truly authentic Taiwanese food Stateside, so perhaps this will encourage foodies around the world to take a trip to Taiwan for a culinary inspired trip. Until next time, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

shinyeh' table (蔥花)

台北市大安區/ Taipei City, Da An District

忠孝東路 4段 201號 2樓/ Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, No. 201, 2nd floor

How I get there:

MRT: Zhongxiao Dunhua Station (捷運忠孝敦化站)

exit no. 2; entrance is across the front door of Starbucks

ML - 20110903

Post 65.2: Taipei - Traditional Taiwanese, Part 2 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-27T12:00:00.001-07:00

Like black white slice restaurants, the restaurants that serve the most traditional local fare in Taiwan typically don't have menus. The freshest ingredients are laid out by the front entrance in a refrigerator case or over ice, so when the customers arrive they are able to view the meat and seafood selection for the day. Ordering is done by selecting what looks the freshest and then letting the chef know how it should be cooked... deep fried, stir fried, blanched, boiled, steamed, or made into soup are popular choices. After ordering, customers walk in and sit down.

One of my first meals in Taipei was at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant called Sit Fun (喫飯食堂). Now... there's something to be said here about a restaurant called Sit Fun in Taiwan. What doesn't make sense is that "sit fun" sounds like a translation for eating (食飯) in Cantonese, which is not typically spoken in Taiwan. What does make sense, though, is that to sit down and to have fun is what eating is all about! Am I right, or am I right?

Here are some Taiwanese dishes from Sit Fun that we had. They are cooked in the simple style of traditional Taiwanese cuisine.

Braised pork rice (魯肉飯)
Cubes of fatty pork are braised and rendered down until the juicy fat almost melts in your mouth. Topped over steamed white rice, this bowl of pork and rice is as simple and as tasty as it gets. Although it's one of the best rice items at Sit Fun, what this restaurant specializes in isn't braised pork over rice but actually just pork oil over rice (豬油拌飯). Lard, you say? Let's just call it pork-infused oil. Two words... disgustingly delicious.

Appetizer platter (拼盤)
Usually the first dish to arrive, the Taiwanese appetizer platter almost always includes the following items: fresh sashimi, tender bamboo shoots, and crisp asparagus. The sashimi for on this plate consisted of salmon, yellowtail, and whitefish... but why sashimi? Doesn't that seem more Japanese than Taiwanese or Chinese? Actually Taiwan was colonized under Japanese imperial rule for over 60 years, so it can be said that the sashimi at the start of the meal represents the large Japanese influence in Taiwanese cultural and culinary history.

Bamboo and asparagus are typical favorites for Taiwanese. And as always, those two items have a light layer of Japanese style mayonnaise for a sweet contrast. Also served on the platter are freshly cut pumpkin as well as baby octopus, both of which are the fresh picks of the day.

To truly make this a pu pu platter experience, the appetizer dish is served with toothpicks. It's the closest to finger food that we're going to get without going barbaric.

Salt water chicken (鹽水雞)
No, the chicken was not raised in salt water with the fish of the ocean. Rather, it was poached in salt water and served with a side of garlic soy. Salty much? Not so. The majority of the salt doesn't get far past the skin, but the portion that does bypass the skin serves to tenderize the chicken while it's cooking. The method of cooking is so effortless that it seems almost primitive, but the true sign of tradition and authenticity.

Tempura shrimp (炸蝦球)
Who doesn't love fried shrimp? Silence. Okay, who doesn't love spicy mayo? Continued silence. Now... who doesn't love fried shrimp with spicy mayo drizzled all over the top? Cheers. I think you get the picture.

Barbecue pork (台式叉燒肉)

What we typically know as Cantonese style BBQ pork is chasiu pork, that crimson colored sweet pork perhaps akin to the Mexican al pastor. Well, here lands the Taiwanese version... a less red, less sweet, more moist and more thinly sliced version that is served with both pickled ginger and honey vinegar. It's tastes like a moist jerky made from honey ham, and it's moist enough to be the most tender sweet and savory meat you will find this side of the Strait.

All of the dishes above have common characteristic of an easily identifiable main ingredient and an accompanying side sauce, both of which are features of traditional Taiwanese dishes. After reading the previous post, you'll notice similar characteristics. These simple dishes made from fresh ingredients is one of the ways to distinguish Taiwanese cuisine from others. And it's this simplicity that makes the dishes so delicious. Until the next simple and delicious meal, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Sit Fun (喫飯食堂)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

永康街 8巷 5號 / Yong Kang Street, Lane 8, No. 5

ML - 20110907

Post 65.1: Taipei - Traditional Taiwanese, Part 1 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Taiwanese food is a simple food.

Whereas many Chinese stir-fried dishes employ the yin and yang concept of relative equality (meat and vegetables in balanced importance), Taiwanese cooking does not. Instead, Taiwanese cooking utilizes one star ingredient and complements it with a subservient sidekick of seasoning, spice, or some form of dipping sauce.

Think of it this way: Chinese cooking is like an ice cream sundae. The ice cream, bananas, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and even the cherry on top share equal roles within the sundae. Take one ingredient away, whether it's the ice cream or the cherry, and the harmonious balance of ingredients is greatly disrupted.

Taiwanese cooking, on the other hand, is more like frozen yogurt with sprinkles. The sprinkles, while important, plays a supporting role to the frozen yogurt. Take it away, and... well, you still got yogurt.

Here's a look at some of the Taiwanese dishes that I had... along with just a... wait for it... simple explanation.

Star ingredient: Clams (海瓜子炒九層塔)
Side seasoning, spice or sauce: garlic and basil
Cooking method: Stir-fried

There's something about the combination of garlic and basil that makes anything taste good. From Italian pasta to Taiwanese seafood, the fragrant basil and biting garlic form a flavor that simply can't be beat.

Star ingredient: Shrimp (燙鮮蝦)
Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: soy sauce and wasabi
Method of cooking: Blanched

If it weren't for the shrimp being barely boiled, these sea creatures would be considered sashimi. Halfway between shrimp cocktail and Japanese prawn sashimi, dabbing cooked shrimp in the soy and wasabi combination gives tribute to the olden days of Japanese colonial rule. This is simply the way seafood was meant to be eaten.

Star ingredient: Pig's feet (紅燒豬腳)
Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, garlic, ginger
Method of cooking: Braised

Let's face it. The pig's foot isn't the most appealing body part for first timers. But if the same animal can bring joy to people with its bacon, pancetta, and sausage, how can the foot hurt at all? Its fattiness is the most flavorful part. It's part salty (soy), part sweet (sugar), part spicy (garlic and ginger), and all around tender (rice wine)... this is a great way to experience a traditional Taiwanese birthday food.

Star ingredient: Oysters (蚵仔酥)
Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Salt, white pepper powder, basil
Method of cooking: Deep fried

Think popcorn chicken. Okay, now sub the chicken with fresh oysters. And then add a forest of deep fried basil and a sahara of salt and pepper that you can dip each oyster oval into. That's a formula for heavenly indulgence... if not a heart attack in the making.

Star ingredient: Beef (烤牛肉)

Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Black pepper sauce with raw onions

Method of cooking: Grilled

This house specialty is highly recommended by the chef's wife. Funny, because she runs a restaurant that specializes in seafood. The chef sears the beef to perfection on the outside while heating the inside to a degree that is just barely passed rare. The beef is truly tender and flavorful. If you get a little squeamish about rare meat, there's a bed of raw onions under the loins to help kill off the potential rawness. Really.

Star ingredient: Frog's legs (鹽酥田雞)

Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Salt and pepper

Method of cooking: Deep fried

I had my first experience with frog's legs with these little bites. If the Colonel cooked this up in one of his famous extra crispy batches, it'd just be extremely firm, lean chicken. Roll them around in the salt and pepper powder, and you would just think that it tastes just like a moist version of chicken breast. Seriously, even the name in Mandarin means, "chicken of the field."

Star ingredient: Fresh spinach (炒菠菜)

Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Garlic

Method of cooking: Stir-fried

Everyone needs their greens, right? The best way to have Popeye's favorite is stir-fried with just a few cloves of crushed garlic. The natural water from the leaves mixed with the garlic infused oil from the wok makes a simply awesome sauce.

Star ingredient: Rice and eggs (蛋炒飯)

Side seasoning, spice, or sauce: Green onions

Method of cooking: Wok fried

Still hungry? There's always fried rice. But this, once again, is as simple as it gets. No meat, no other veggies... just rice, scrambled eggs, and finely chopped green onions. It's wok fried with pork fat and soy in such a high heat that the grains of rice separate into individual grains and eventually melt into the fatty soy sauce. So good.

Chances are you won't be hungry, though, because chances are that you will be chasing each bite with a sip of Taiwan Beer. The simple brew is so popular with Taiwanese dishes that Little Lin's Seafood Shop even has a PYT to help serve and pour it for each table. The pretty young thing could be considered poor young thing; she works the entire night in stilettos.

Not shown are the steamed whole fish, stir-fried rice noodles, and stir-fried Taiwanese cabbage. Other Taiwanese food and travel blogs such as Angie's Blog, Gygy, and Deep Blue No. 5 all have pictures from their experience.

Although the experience with Taiwanese food always starts off simple with perhaps just a few dishes, it winds up with a multiplex of various meats and seafood and even a few veggies here and there. Similarly, this post evolved from a simple explanation to a multitude of paragraphs. Chiah pa! Until some more simple food, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Little Lin's Seafood Shop (小林海產店)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

光復南路 574之1號 / Guangfu South Road, No. 574-1

大門口在延吉街 / Entrance is on Yanji St.

ML - 20110902

Post 64: Taipei - Black White Slice / 台南意麵黑白切 (Taipei: Jhong Jheng District / 台北: 中正區)

2011-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Black... white... what?

Well, it's definitely not black white magic... even though it might taste magical. Black and white placed next to each other in any Taiwanese phrase means whatever, anything, a myriad of something. If you black white talk (ouh beh gonh / 黑白講), it means that you're saying something that is black, but you're also saying something that is white... you don't know if you mean one thing or another. In essence, it means you're talking nonsense or talking bullshit.

If you black white walk (ouh beh jow / 黑白走), it means that you are walking here, but you are also walking there... you're wandering, or you have no idea where you're going. So that means that black white slice (ouh beh tzeh / 黑白切) means that you can have slices of this and slices of that... a little bit of everything.

A little bit of this... a little bit of that... and that's exactly how to eat at restaurants that serve in this black white slice style of eating. Upon visiting an ouh beh tzeh restaurant (Taiwanese: ouh beh tzeh, Mandarin: hei bai qie / 黑白切) for the first time, I was greeted first by a refrigerator case running the length of the chef's chopping counter, which is just inches longer than my wingspan. On display in the refrigerator case were all the freshest items that the chef had picked up from the supermarket and anything that the chef felt was suitable for the evening meal. From freshly boiled shrimp to bright red sausage to the greenest asparagus to a thick and tasty meatloaf to glistening white calamari... you name it; the chef's got it.

Point to something. Choose whatever you please. The chef will slice up whatever you want to eat.

The most popular dish at my favorite black white slice institution is actually not in the refrigerator at all. It's goose. And it's located next to the fridge. The chef lays the glorious geese (whole body intact) out for everyone to see. And I mean everyone. It's sitting pretty right at the restaurant's entrance. Walking to your table? Ya can't miss it.

There are usually two types: salted goose or goose with soy sauce... take your pick. The chef tosses fresh basil leaves and thinly sliced fresh ginger around the tender cuts of poultry for an exotic contrast in flavor. He also throws in some sweet chili sauce just to cover any potential gamey taste that it may have. Still apprehensive about goose meat? No worries... it tastes just like chicken.

Whether it's alive or dead, the second of my favorite black white dishes may scare you too.

Perhaps you've had shark fin soup before, but have you ever had the actual meat from a shark? Probably not. I don't know many cultures that consume the meat from a shark. Well, Taiwanese do. And by the way, a shark is a fish too. It's just... a ferocious, fierce looking, predatory kind of fish. If you've seen Nemo, you know that sharks can't possibly be scary... fish are their friends. (Hopefully, you didn't get past the fishaholics anonymous meeting.) But I digress...

Smoked shark meat is really just smoked fish. I'm not going to say it tastes like smoked salmon because it doesn't. It's nowhere close. It's got more of a firm, white fish flavor combined with a soft beef tendon texture. Contrasted with the spicy wasabi and the salty soy sauce paste it's served with, the meat actually has a hint of sweetness. If you're wondering whether it's too tough to chew on, it's not. But it's not fatty either... the meat is actually pretty lean. After all, the shark swims all day looking for friends to play with. Am I not really selling it? Okay, chicken. B'gok! It's just one of those things you have to taste for yourself to understand. And you have to try it once in your life. Ohhhh, so this is shark.

The next item is also something you have to try at least once in your life... Taiwanese stinky tofu. Wow, I just introduced the scariest three items from a black white slice restaurant... goose, shark, and stinky tofu. Good job, Michael.

The tofu is steamed and then simmered in this spicy sauce that is made with tons of garlic, red chili pepper, and Szechwan peppercorn. The tofu is served in a metal dish that gets fired up right in front of you. The on-the-spot simmering and boiling causes wafts of aroma from the spicy sauce to drift past your nose. It's fragrant, not stinky. I dragged my hungry friends from China and France here for dinner. They were a bit apprehensive at every dish I ordered, but I'm not lying when I say that the delicious goose, unique shark dish, and tasty tofu got them hooked on black white cuisine.

But if the trifecta of black white glory doesn't hold your attention, this magical bowl of chek-ah noodles (Taiwanese: chek-ah mi, Mandarin: qie zai mian / 切仔麵) definitely will. What's awesome about these noodles is that it's just noodles and broth... and it goes with each and everything that the chef has sliced up for you. Take a look around the black white restaurant, and you'll notice that every single patron has a steaming bowl of chek-ah mi in front of them. Some even have two bowls... one recently finished empty and one freshly made.

Each bowl of noodles is complete with fresh goose stock and topped off with crunchy, deep fried onions, deep green leek, and crisp bean sprouts. The leeks and fried onions add a depth of flavor to the goose stock. The profound taste of chek-ah noodle soup becomes more of a feeling than just a means of sustenance.  It presents a feeling of home and heart, perhaps the same feeling you get when you have Mom's chicken noodle soup in a warm kitchen while the howling winter winds rage on outside.

There's a deftness of chopsticks usage throughout the restaurant. Groups of co-workers, young couples, and even, ahem, friends with their tourist guests work quickly from the spicy tofu to the platter of goose, then quickly again to dip the shark meat into the soy and wasabi combination, all while swiveling noodles up in between bites. The cheap bamboo chopsticks in everyone's hungry hands are stained with red chili oils and dark brown sauces.  And bits of fried onion can barely be shaken off with the nimblest of movements. It's a whir of commotion and a blur of action. Don't be surprised if you hear a loud slurping of noodles and broth. After all, it is this simple bowl of noodles that brings the whole meal of black and white together.

But wait. There's more.

The freshest item in the chef's fridge was the cut of salmon. Its orange hue caught my eye, and dreams of sashimi began forming in my head. Not a problem. I pointed to it, and the chef knew that it would pair with my chek-ah noodles perfectly.

Now... I can't say this is the healthiest of meals, but we did have a lot of lean protein (poultry, tofu, fish in two forms). Why not further our health by selecting the two staples of any black white restaurant?

Crisp asparagus (蘆筍) and tender bamboo shoots (竹筍) are both blanched (arguably the most popular way of cooking vegetables in Taiwan) and then served chilled with sweet Japanese mayonnaise as a dip. Both asparagus and bamboo are symbolized by a common Han character (筍), which perhaps is an ancient Sino way of saying that these two vegetables go very well together. Each is sweet, fibrous, crisp and refreshing, and they both snap quickly with a firm bite. And after tons of protein and a bowl of noodles, I think fresh, crisp veggies are the only way to go. Even after my tourist buddy exclaimed that she could eat no more, I caught her chopsticks veering toward the vegetable plates... "Except this." She picks up another piece... "I can still eat this."

Well then, bring on another bowl of noodles! I think we've still got some stinky tofu to finish anyway. Until the next black white whatever, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Black White Slice (台南意麵黑白切)
台北市中正區/ Taipei City, Jhong Jheng District
濟南路 2段 53-8號/ Jinan Road, Section 2, No. 63-8

How I get there:
MRT: Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station (捷運忠孝新生站)
exit no. 2; walk through the park;
pass Mos Burger, Starbucks, Formosa Chang, 85度C
make a right at Jinan Road, Section 2 (濟南路 2段)
do not pass the produce store

ML - 20110909

Post 63: Taipei - More Szechwan Flavors / 更多川味 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Although beef noodle soup is the supposed national dish of Taiwan, it is rumored to have origins in the Szechwan region of China. Since its creation, beef noodle soup has been altered by the many generations of Taiwanese to what it is today. However, other Szechwan-branded dishes such as mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐), hot and sour soup (酸辣湯), and dan dan noodles (擔擔麵) have generally remained constant throughout their culinary histories. There may have been substitutions for different or better quality ingredients and perhaps slight tweaks in flavors to suit regional palates, but for the most part, these famous items are still considered Szechwan dishes. Chili House Restaurant (四川吳抄手) in Taipei is a great place for a taste of these traditional spicy Szechwan flavors... but it's also a great place for discovering some non-spicy items too.

On my previous visits to the restaurant, I had ordered the usuals: red chili wontons (紅油抄手), super spicy mala noodles (麻辣麵) that numb your tongue, and hot and sour cabbage pork (酸白菜肉絲) wrapped in steamed shaobing pockets (燒餅). This time, though, I had a sudden craving for fatty pork. I doubt the Szechwan origins of this dish, especially because the only remotely spicy ingredient in it is minced garlic, but hey, a craving is a craving. The English translation of this dish is cold white cut pork slices (蒜泥白肉), which doesn't sound appetizing in the least... so let's just use my translation: fatty pork in minced garlic and soy sauce. Yum!

Hey, that's exactly what it is, anyway. Lean slices of pork, which are blanched just quick enough to cook the meat, are bordered by thin, wrinkles of fat without a hint of grease. Before anything else is done to the pork, it's chilled so that the meat becomes stretchy and tender, and the curls of fat on the pork taste almost al dente. Soy sauce paste, a thickened and more pungent version of soy sauce that is widely used in Taiwanese cooking, is later drizzled over the top of the meat. And the minced garlic? Already in the soy sauce paste. No need for rice. It's like chomping on bacon and not worrying about the eggs.

But I guess you can't really eat at a restaurant that serves Szechwan cuisine without ordering any spicy food at all right? Bring the red chili wontons, please. In fact, these red chili wontons are exactly what anyone coming to this restaurant should order. After all, the name of the wonton dish (紅油抄手) is in the name of the restaurant (四川吳抄手).

The chili wontons come six in an order, and they come sitting in a puddle of soy and chili oil... unmixed. You can relish in the tossing, mixing, and marinating of the flappy, Chinese ravioli before indulging in these bite-size poppers. They're mouthfuls of savory, salty, and spicy bliss. And what's even better is that you put effort into these one-bite wonders, and you know... it always tastes better if you've had a hand in the work.

After devouring half a dozen little fists of cloud-like wontons, I dug my chopsticks into the mound of hot and sour cold noodles (冰鎮酸辣麵). The noodles were topped off with Chinese celery, chili and chili oil, green onions, sesame, and bean sprouts... a combination of of ingredients that provided notes of sour tang and chilled bursts of crunchy refreshment. The celery, sesame, and sprouts opened the way to cooling off during the hot and humid Taipei summer afternoon.

A bowl of noodles usually sustains my hunger, but after discovering the refreshing delight from the Chinese celery and bean sprouts, I perused the menu for another vegetable dish. Typical Szechwan vegetable dishes include dry fried green beans (乾煸四季豆) and fish fragrant garlic eggplant (魚香茄子), but somehow I landed on a tofu dish that contained more seafood than it did veggies. The treasure chest of seafood (海至尊) came in a shallow dish filled to the brim with kryptonite green peas, cubes of diced sea cucumber, shrimp, clams, squid, and smoked ham submerged in a sauce made from salted egg yolk.

This was the most disturbing looking dish of the meal. Perhaps the house specialty appetizer, bean sprouts wrapped in tofu skin (芝麻豆皮捲豆芽), was a better choice just based simply on appearance. But this pool of sulfuric tofu was actually pretty tasty. Each item of seafood was diced to the size of the tofu, which meant every bite had equal parts of tender tofu and springy seafood. The salted egg yolk gave the dish a hearty and homemade taste while binding the plethora of ingredients together. It looked ugly, but it tasted pretty damned good. Hey, we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover anyway, right?

One tofu dish led to another tofu dish... except the next tofu dish was a dessert, and it came compliments of the restaurant. Almond tofu (杏仁豆腐) is typically a simple, homestyle dessert, but I understand why it's offered after a spicy meal. The soft jello (it's not really tofu) has an almond fragrance with a sweet taste that soothes the tongue better than any other spice retardant... better than iced water or cold milk. With or without spicy food, the springy, jiggly tofu in disguise was a great way to end any meal.

Chili House has become a regular stop for me whenever I get a chance to visit Taipei. Hopefully, everyone finds their own favorite spicy, Szechwan stop. Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Chili House Restaurant (四川吳抄手)

台北市大安區/ Taipei City, Da An District

忠孝東路 4段 250之3號 / Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, No. 250-3

How I get there:

MRT: Zhongxiao Dunhua Station (捷運忠孝敦化站)

exit no. 4; walk east on Zhongxiao East Road

make a right on Lane 248 (248 巷); restaurant is on the left

ML - 20110915

Post 62: Taipei - We Love Beef Noodle Soup / 我們愛牛肉麵 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, tell me. Who doesn't love beef noodle soup?

Taiwanese and non-Taiwanese, locals and tourists, whoever has discovered this savory soup noodle has fallen in love with it. It doesn't matter if other cultures have variations of this dish (think Vietnamese pho); even they have the occasional craving for soupy noodles swimming in beef juice. Even our friend Diana, whose eating habits borderline vegetarianism, will have beef noodle soup. Meat on the side, please.

There are thousands of beef noodle soup restaurants in Taiwan, many of which claim to have made the champion of all beef noodle soups. It's no wonder that many of these shops are concentrated around Yong Kang Street (永康街), a main tourist area in Taipei with hundreds of visitors from Japan and Hong Kong, many of whom come specifically to visit world-famous Din Tai Fung dumpling house... and to get a taste of Taiwan's beefy national dish.

So Yong Kang St. is where Diana and I took Rina, our special guest from Seoul, who indeed fell in love with beef noodle soup (and gua bao, among other Taiwanese specialties). We sat down at Lao Zhang Beef Noodle Shop (老張牛肉麵), the 2006 champion of the annual Taipei beef noodle soup competition. Lao Zhang (also known as Old Chang's) specializes in Szechwan flavors, which means they use plenty of chili pepper, garlic, and Szechwan peppercorn, a spice that effectively tingles your throat with a numbing spiciness.

While Rina slurped up the soy and tomato infused soup and while Diana enjoyed her meatless version (think clam chowder without the clams), I took delight in Old Chang's cucumber and green bean appetizers, both of which are peppered with red chili. But what I really enjoyed from Old Chang's was the famous spicy steamed pig intestine (粉蒸肥腸). Yup, you heard me... pig intestine.

The spicy steamed pig's intestine is a fen zheng (粉蒸) dish, which roughly translates to a dish that is powder steamed. The powder it refers to is a type of rice powder, a sort of rice or grain that resembles couscous. The grains of rice look like they have been broken in half by a crushing, grounding, or pounding process. Added to the the rice powder are usually spices such as star anise, five spice powder, pepper, and sometimes cumin or cinnamon. Wash the imagery of intestine coils out of your brain, and fill them with thoughts of tofu skin with sticky rice covered in garlic, chili, pepper, star anise, and the ever fragrant Szechwan peppercorn. You will think it's amazing-delicious.

Even Rina, who may have been slightly averse to internal organs prior to tasting this dish, tried it... and liked it. When I showed oolong-milktea pictures from my trip, he made some hunger-induced oooh and ahhh noises. What he ooohed and ahhed over was the version of the fen zheng dish made with pork spare ribs (粉蒸排骨)... equally as delicious as the intestines and perhaps just a tad less gut-wrenching. Oh, and did I mention that there's a layer of soft and fluffy sweet potato at the bottom of the bamboo steamer soaking up all the spicy flavors and fatty oils that have dripped from down from the pork? Oooh, hell yeah.

But back to beef noodle soup. Before I could even finish the bamboo steamer of pork, Rina and Diana had already demolished their bowls of noodles. Tender beef? Gone. Chewy noodles? Gone. Spicy soup? All gone. Although the fen zheng pig intestines were good, it was clear that the star of the show was still the beef noodle soup.

If you can stomach it, I'd suggest heading to Taoyuan Street (桃園街) to try another famous beef noodle soup institution (one of oolong-milktea's favorites). There are tons of beef noodle stores, stalls, and restaurants in Taipei... including one owned by a Persian man married to a Taiwanese lady. You're sure to find one that you love. Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Lao Zhang Beef Noodle Shop (老張牛肉麵)

台北市大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

愛國東路 105號 / Ai Guo East Road, No. 105

麗水街口 / Intersection of Li Shiu Street

ML - 20110911

Post 61: Taipei - I Have Returned / 台北我回來了 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

2011-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

The last time I visited Taipei was just a little over two years ago. In the time that has passed, it appears that I have lost my Taiwanese aura. Pedestrians used to asked me for directions, but now they ask me how long it's been since I moved to America. Uh...

I didn't want to feel like a foreigner in the city that used to feel like a second home to me, so I headed straight for my favorite beef noodle soup stall in Taipei... to eat and be amongst the locals... and to somehow find my Taiwanese mojo. Along the way to the noodle stall, I noticed that the potsticker shop that I used to frequent had since been closed... but no worries, Old Chao's Noodles (老趙刀切麵) was right where I had last seen it.

Everything was just as I had remembered. There was the assembly line of noodle production... meat sauce and sliced cucumbers for zhajiang noodles (炸醬麵), diced green onions, roasted beef tendon, cuts of braised beef, and a boiling vat of beef broth... all in steel containers on the counter. And the makeshift condiment station had the pickled mustard greens and extra green onions for those who need it... in same location as before.

Old Chao and Chao Jr. stood at the stall. Mr. Chao, wearing bright blue board shorts, was stirring the boiling pot of noodles. Young Mr. Chao silently took orders just as his father used to. A nod of his head and a stare in my direction was his way of asking me what I want to order. He spoke only to clarify whether the noodles will be eaten here or taken to-go.

And that's when I noticed the one aspect that has changed since the last time I visited. The price. A bowl of beef noodle soup used to be just 40 Taiwan dollars, which was just a little over one US dollar back then. That same bowl of noodle soup is now 100 Taiwan dollars, which is a little over three US dollars. I was surprised when I handed Mr. Chao a 100 NT note, and I didn't get any change back. He looked back at me, and his silence asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Nothing, I guess.

If you hadn't gotten the picture from before, let me repaint the picture. This is a serious beef noodle soup stall. The noodle bowls are washed on the curb between the stand and the street, and needless to say, the bowls aren't exactly towel dried. Never mind the potential hepatitis infection. Taste takes precedence here... not cleanliness. Around the stall there are two prop-up tables with stools scattered around them. Office workers in dress shirts, delivery boys with bike helmets, and complete strangers share the communal tables... and eat in silence. One in every ten customers is a woman. But the woman usually loses her patience and leaves for another stall with a shorter line.

I picked up my glorious bowl of identity crisis medication, and I plopped myself down on the metal stool barely supported my oversized American dexterior. In the 90 degree humid heat of Taipei, I devoured each strand of noodle one of bite at a time. A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead with each strand of noodle consumed... and with each strand of noodle consumed I felt increasingly reacquainted with the land of my parents' birth.

Comforted with this feeling, I gazed upon the hustle and bustle of the noodle stall. Mama Chao appears from nowhere and begins bussing the twin tables, with chili oil still dripping from a previous customer's used chopsticks. Young Chao, who looks like he's in his thirties, helps his father pour freshly brewed beef broth from a large kettle into an even larger vat... all while smoking a cigarette and talking on his cell phone. Then he tends to customers who want a second helping of beef soup... free for those who still have noodles left in their bowls. By the way... the large vat of beef soup? Yeah, it could totally swallow Mr. Chao alive.

The waft of brewing, beef broth drifts my way and cuts through not only the thick humidity but the exhaust from otobai that speed past the noodle stall as well. Deep breath. Ahhh... the smell... the smell of freshly sheared noodles sinking into boiling water. Ahhh... here in Taipei, food reigns over weather and pollution.The last time I wrote about a piping hot bowl of beef noodle soup, it was perfect for a rainy, winter day. Ironically, I was enjoying this same steaming bowl of beef noodle soup in the hot summer heat... but it was just as exhilarating as ever. The true exhilaration, though, was the feeling that I could declare to the city, "Taipei, I have returned."

Until the next bowl of beef noodle soup, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Approximate address:
台北市大安區/ Taipei City, Da An District
信義路 4段 60之56 號/ Xin Yi Road, Section 4, No. 60-56

How I get there:
MRT: Da An Station (捷運大安站)
exit station; walk two blocks east towards Taipei 101
make a right at Da An Road, Section 2 (大安路 2段)
pass the stall for hand made egg rolls
do not pass the stall with fresh fruit and shaved ice

ML - 20110908

F.A.T. News 9: Food Becomes Fun

2011-09-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Food is food is food is food. But food becomes fun whenever a creative idea gets executed in a unique fashion. These two articles sparked my interest, but the images in the articles are what really captured my attention.

Proud of the hint of Taiwan here:
Designs on Dining

article by Jenn Garbee, LA Times / photographs by PEDEN + MUNK

The caption of the first image from "Designs on Dining" reads, "Taiwanese fog: Golden Xuan tea, dairy orbs, crisp honey and citrus essence." I'm not sure how the Taiwanese fog is supposed to be eaten... or whether it's supposed to be eaten at all. Is it meant to be looked at? Or just smelled? Either way, it's really cool that the Golden Xuan tea from Taiwan's famous Alishan (or Ali Mountain) has made its way to the innovative dining experience. The high altitude of Alishan in Nantou County of Taiwan and its high levels of moisture makes for some of the most renowned tea in the world.

This may spark a trend:

Now you can eat -- Angry Birds mooncakes

article from AFP

These Angry Birds mooncakes are pretty cool. Someone at work who has never heard of mooncakes before went crazy over this article and asked me to bring some back to the US if I happened to drop by HK. If Maxim's Group decided to sell these outside of Hong Kong, they would definitely make a pretty penny out of this. I'm not too sure about the chocolate and the pomelo flavors though, but I can definitely get used to Angry Birds mooncakes in lotus flavor.

Continue the creativity, food industry! Props to Roberto Cortez and Maxim's Group for contributing to the new trends in food innovation.

ML - 20110904 TW

Post 60: San Francisco - For Love and Adventure

2011-08-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Back in April I headed up to San Francisco to witness Boy and Girl tie the knot. Boy and Girl's wedding theme was For Love and Adventure, a very fitting theme considering that Boy and Girl love to travel, love food, and of course, love each other very much. I thought it would be creative to put a little wedding spin on this post and dedicate it to Boy and Girl. Here are something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue that I came across on my adventure through San Fran.

Turtle Tower (SF: Civic Center)

Something old - Chicken pho (pho ga long)

It's not that the chicken is stale or that the noodles are old... in fact, the chicken is juicy and tender, and the noodles are picked up by the owner fresh each day. Chicken pho is old in the sense that it's something familiar, something homey, something comforting. Speaking of comforting, this big bowl of chicken noodle soup was what cured six Saturday morning hangovers. And what better way to cure a hangover with a steaming bowl of clear broth made from organic, free range chicken? Only in San Francisco will you find the chicken used in pho to be good not only for man but for the animal as well. Think chicken pho is good? The server says, "pho ga long is better!" If you're alright with giblets, you'll certainly agree.

Little Delhi (SF: Union Square)

Something new - Badami chicken

The first dish I order at Indian restaurants is usually chicken tikka masala. The creamy yet spicy curry dish is simply irresistible. This time, however, I went for something new. The first dish that I ordered was the house recommended badami chicken, a dish prepared by adding tandoori chicken to creamy curry with ground pistachios and cashews. Grinding up the pistachios and cashews contribute a depth of flavor to the curry so that it's not just spicy but a bit nutty tasting too. It went great with the garlic naan, and it tasted even better as a dipping sauce for the samosas too. Even Kevin, who wanted nothing other than garlic naan, helped himself to a few extra spoonfuls of this exotically fragrance dish. Badami chicken was definitely something new for me. If only more Indian restaurants served this dish along with the other items on the menu.

Hong Kong Lounge (SF: Outer Richmond)

Something borrowed - Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf (秘制果蒸粽)

I'm not sure what inspired Hong Kong Lounge to create an enormous, eight dollar, Chinese sticky rice wrap at dim sum, but I wouldn't be surprised if they borrowed the idea of super sizing everything from the land that's known for foot-long sandwiches, double-decker burgers, and extra large slurpees. Often times dishes that are made to gargantuan proportions are somehow neglected if not by health, then by flavor or by lack of quality ingredients. This sticky rice wrap is not the case. It's full of savory pork, flavorful Shiitake mushrooms, roasted peanuts, fresh egg yolk, and saucy sticky rice. Check out how big the wrap is sitting next to the tea cup. That's some heavy duty Chinese flavor, for real.

SFO Aviation Museum & Library (SF: San Mateo Co.)

Something blue - Boy and Girl's wedding (SF: SFO Intl Airport)

If I were to really highlight something blue that I ate, it would just be the bleu cheese from the salad at the wedding. But how far would I get talking about the bleu cheese in a salad? What was truly blue (in color not emotion) was the wedding itself. From the Pan Am stewardess outfits on display to the creatively packaged Hershey's chocolate bars to the handmade table decorations to the groom's tie and the M&M's, there were vibrant shades of blue everywhere. A beautiful color... a beautiful wedding theme... a beautiful couple.

Cheers to the happy couple, Moritaka and Cheryl. I wish you a lifetime of happiness, much love and much adventure! I can't wait to hear more stories of food and travel. Until next time let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110428-0501

Post 59: Decimated by that Ten-Course Omakase (LA-South Bay: Torrance)

2011-08-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

After seeing pictures from the last omakase I had, a soon-to-be-wed Mr. Zhou said, "I want that." And that he was about to get. So the more we talked about that, and the more others heard about that, the more people wanted that. So that became an event, and I made it my duty to gather together the long lost souls of my fraternity (and their significant others) so we could have... that.

That became a ten-course omakase at Hirose in Torrance. In a tiny, little shop in a gigantic strip mall, ten of us attempted to devour ten courses (each) of freshly prepared Japanese art. Some succeed... some failed. Some were smart and decided against decimation. The only Japanese one at the table went for the teriyaki instead... maybe they know something the remaining Sinos and Formosans don't..? Hmm...

This is what our that looked like... and if it seems like the pictures get progressive blurry, it's because they do. Somewhere along the second or third course, I thought it was an incredibly intelligent idea to pair the remaining courses with a shot of sake (each)... and then some. The day after this omakase meal was the Sunday of Father's Day, and let's just say I learned how to say hangover in Mandarin. See how many sake glasses you count in the pictures below...

Braised pork
bonito fish broth

Itadakimasu! One bite of a simple cube of pork started off the meal. Not only was it balanced by the savory flavor of the soy and the sweetness of the swine, the lean meat to fat ratio was perfectly balanced as well. The green onions provided just a hint of fresh crunch to the square.

Sardines ambish

Ambish? Korewa nandesu ka? To my knowledge this word is not in the English dictionary. Trust me, I looked it up via Webster and Google. But from what the server told us, ambish is a word that describes something that has been deep fried and then submerged in vinegar. So that is exactly what we had for our second course... a duo of deep fried, battered sardines served chilled in a dish of light vinegar. Not eye opening, but horrible either... something to jump start the saliva, I guess.

Duck with potato salad
red and green shishito peppers

Two succulent pieces of duck lay atop a fluffy bed of whipped potato. The potato salad had just enough mayo to make it creamy, but it wasn't so delicious that it stole the duck's thunder. The duo of dueling colored shishito peppers added a vibrant color to the presentation, but the tender and flavorful duck was still the star of the dish. Oishii desu.

Raw oyster with ikura

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! When the fresh oyster had arrived, a little school girl's scream may have been heard at the table. And it may have been me. As small as this little devil was, it was just enough as a teaser to prep my tongue for the fresh fish that was about to arrive. Although the two drops of ikura on top tempted many of us to order another round.

Sashimi course
Yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, amberjack, octopus, sesame sebring snapper

Glistening fresh, vibrant in color, smooth in texture... what more could you ask for in a sashimi course? The chef even skipped out on the salmon and yellowtail that's typically served and presented us with some rare choices such as amberjack and sesame sebring. The yellowfin and bluefin tuna were both meaty, yet they melted away with ease. And the color of the sesame sebring was as beautiful as a fluffy white cloud with a metaphoric silver lining.

Salmon, tofu, yam and pumpkin braised in shoyu broth
This is usually a dish made at home and simmered in a large pot by an obachan. Like a pot roast or a beef stew, it's a hearty and somewhat soupy dish that is supposed to conjure up feelings of home and the warmth of grandma's kitchen from childhood. Halfway through the bowl of tofu and yam, I started missing the oden that my grandma makes. You know it's good when the chef can give you a feeling of home in the form of a bowl of veggies.

Tempura course
fish stuffed zucchini flower, snow crab leg, salmon wrapped with shiso tempura

This tempura zucchini flower was the product of a delicate Japanese ingenuity. Flaky white fish was the hidden surprise inside the flower of a vegetable that seemed to have more aesthetic appeal than nutritional value. The zucchini flower announced its subtle flavor without even a whisper. No self gloat, no bragging, just simple confidence. Just a little sea salt, and it's good to go. No tempura sauce necessary.

Beef top sirloin over five vegetables
bamboo shoot, Brussels sprout, eggplant and yuzu, pear and string bean, Yukon potato

Another dish was presented to us with an attention to detail so microscopic that only the Japanese can claim. Five pieces of medium rare beef sat on top of a line of five different complementary vegetables, all of which provided the meat with a evenly balanced texture and flavor. Not only were the vegetables merely placed beneath the beef, they also helped anchor the beef in a way that helped us enjoy the angled presentation. My favorite was the yuzu essence that somehow made its way down either side of the plate so that even the bamboo shoot on the far left and the potato on the far right was influenced by a hint of the spicy pepper. Consistency over variation... I liked that.

Noodles with chicken yaki
grated daikon radish, ginger, and sesame in soba sauce

Although the noodles were accredited as the lead in this dish, it was the supporting elements that really helped the dish come together. White meat chicken and carefully grated radish along with ginger and sesame created a harmonious lightness that was a great way to end the meal. Many times, Asian cultures (think Chinese and Korean) serve carbs (think fried rice) as the final dish to ensure that the guest has been stuffed full... but Hirose found a way to nudge us close to 100% rather than pushing us over the brink of satiation.

Azuki red bean mousse
grapefruit, melons and mint

Nine courses down... one to go. Even if you're stuffed, how can you refuse dessert? It's dessert! The good thing is that the dessert was served in a shotglass-sized cup... bad thing is that the shotglass-sized cup reminded me of all the sake we already drank. And if there is just one lesson that I have learned from the glory days of college, it's that dairy and alcohol don't mix. Remembering my lessons learned, I decided to have some fruit... and pass the mousse down. Okay, I had one little bite, and it was smooth, creamy, but delightfully light... a nice way to finish a ten-course meal formerly known as "that."

As I channel the emotions I felt at the end of that dinner for this post, I sensed a gradual creep of the infamous post large meal food coma... which is what I sense now. A slow, lethargic, I want to stop writing kind of feeling. I feel decimated. And so... the writing shall stop. Until the next omakase, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110618

Post 58: Be Happy... Chatting over Tartare (LA: Beverly Hills)

2011-08-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Back when I still had full use and employment of my teeth, a long lost friend and I decided to throw on our bourgeois attitude and roll up to Chaya for a five-course chef's tasting. I had B.H. tattooed on my aura for that meal. And if the letters B and H didn't mean Beverly Hills at that time, it meant be happy for the two of us. And we were as happy as two long, lost friends could possibly be... we watched beautiful people sit and just be as beautiful as their food... and we chatted as puffy, white clouds rolled away in the big, blue sky... and we chatted as the big, orange star we call the sun lowered itself to cast a shady gloom over my risotto... and we chatted until the last dollop of vanilla caramel ice cream camouflaged itself against the ceramic dish it came in. These are the three dishes from Chaya Brasserie that made us the most happy.

Melon y jamon
compressed melon, burrata cheese, salame, arugula, aged balsamic vinegar reduction

The first time I had melon and cured Italian meat in combination, I was a recent high school graduate vacationing with family in Canada of all places. It was the Fairmont resort somewhere in the wilderness of Alberta that introduced me to my first combination of sweet melon and salty Italian prosciutto. I hadn't had a serious relationship at the time, but I knew I was in love.

There's something about the contrasting sweet and salty flavors and the rough and smooth textures that makes complete sense... like when smooth slices of salty ham is placed on top of fibrous triangles of pineapple on pizza... when sprinkles of course sea salt is introduced to smooth, sweet caramel anything. I love that I can take the salami or prosciutto and fold it over a freshly cut piece of melon. I breathe a sigh of happiness when I do it... as if burdens have been lifted from my shoulders and pressures from life tip toe away from my heart. I feel the same comfort when I wrap myself in blankets at bedtime. It's not the same blanket wrap that I do when I'm freezing in the middle of winter or the blanket wrap that I do at the end of a tough day. It's a light, delicate wrap. A peaceful one that produces a sigh of happiness. The kind you do on vacation. Yes, that one. And each bite is like having your head hit the fluffiest of down pillows... again and again... happiness.

Salmon tartare and mi-cuit
tartare: wasabi tobiko, cilantro blossom, pickled daikon radish squares
cucumber raita, wild arugula, ahi amarillo aioli, seaweed jelly
mi-cuit: sovid, wasabi creme fraiche

It's not quite tuna tartare yet not quite salmon sashimi... it's a profound dish in its own right. The seemingly simple dish of salmon tartare actually produced a couple of wows. The tenderness of the salmon protein became even more supple as the light layer of olive oil marinated with the salmon's own natural lipids. Is anyone thinking about bikini mud wrestling besides me? Not so much? Hey, the analogy works.

What else works are the uniquely shaped but uniformly sized pieces of salmon. They fit together like a chaotically constructed Jenga set teetering on the edge of collapse, yet they remain as stable as the Bird's Nest in Beijing. So rather than being distracted by which piece of salmon is bigger or smaller than the other, the tongue can simply relax and focus on how fresh the salmon is... and the brain can say, "wow, this is good... wow, wow, wow." The brain will be so pleasured by the bliss of deliciousness that it won't know it's fish at all.

Spring pea risotto
Japanese green risotto, sugar snaps, English peas
Parmesan, mascarpone, curry, basil, confetti flowers

Normally I wouldn't find rice and vegetables to be very exciting, but the spring pea risotto invoked a sense of happy relaxation in me. It was as beautiful tasting as it was beautiful looking, albeit the image was marred by both the lack of natural lighting and my lack of savvy with photo editing. But no matter... what's good is still good.

The feeling of intense absence of tension in my body was brought by the sudden surprise of curry in the waves of creamy rice. I had a feeling that it was Japanese curry powder, which unlike Thai or Indian curries, is a bit more subtle and slightly sweet. The taste is not as prickly on the tongue as a Thai green curry or an Indian masala. Other surprises came in the form of a pea here and a pea there, just the right amount of healthy vileness and just the right amount of pleasant, non-shocking discovery. This was the kind of dish that I could eat by the pool. I wouldn't mind replacing the obligatory poolside cocktail with this risotto dish either. Swirling a big, metal spoon around in creamy, not firm, not mushy, perfectly spiced rice is so much more gratifying that twirling a swizzle stick in a martini glass. It's just not the same.

The final dish was a beef duo of short rib and tenderloin with porcini puree and daube sauce. It was... alright. And the dessert tasting was a chocolate croissant bread pudding with vanilla caramel ice cream. I was already too happy to be bothered with a sugar high. But no matter... good food and a good friend to jumpstart a Friday evening creates a casual, lingering happiness that carries over into the start of Saturday. To the start of a happy weekend, everyone... let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Esther of e*star LA posted on her off-menu tastings at Chaya Brasserie here.

ML - 20110610

Post 57: Wisdom Teeth Food

2011-08-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Not everyone remembers when their first tooth fell out, but everyone remembers when they had their wisdom teeth pulled out. I was fortunate enough to experience this extraction of dental knowledge this past week. After being completely scared by all the wisdom teeth horror stories from friends and family, I was hell bent on making sure I had all the culinary concoctions to make my discomfort bearable. The last few days I have been able to consume the following items... most of which are not the least bit glorious, but I guess that depends on who you ask.

Lucky me... Kimmy dropped by with a dozen mini Beard Papa's cream puffs and two regulation sized puffs. I started off by scooping out the insides of one mini cream puff... but by the end of day, I managed to devour seven mini cream puffs (the puff portion and all) and one regular sized cream puff. Yes, I did that in just one afternoon.

I also managed to spoon in two cups of my favorite Japanese flan from Mitsuwa Marketplace... along with a number (four to date) of Korean honeydew melon flavored jumbo popsicles.

Since my face was throbbing with crimson fury, and the Maytag-produced hemispheres of ice weren't sufficient, I thought that the best way to calm the swollen rage down was with some Taiwanese shaved ice. I dragged my mom with me to a local joint called Tasty To Go for their acclaimed mango shaved snow. Being the obedient son that every Asian parent hopes to call their own (even I make myself sick sometimes), I ate all the cold, frigid, brain freezing ice... and left the nutritious, fiber-filled, vitamin-rich mango for my mom. Heh, heh, heh...

After I thought that I would hit the roof with an uncontrollable sugar high, I decided to counter all the sugar with some protein... eggs. I employed a very sumptuous recipe for Japanese style chawanmushi (茶碗蒸 or steamed eggs), which is a soft and simple way (and probably the most glorious of the aforementioned food choices) to endure the discomforts of wisdom teeth extraction.

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1 can of chicken broth
1 package of ikura and/or uni (optional)

To set up a makeshift steamer, pour four or five cups of water into a large soup pot. Fill a rice bowl one-third of the way up with water, and place the rice bowl into the large soup pot. Fire up the stove.

Combine the two eggs and just half a can of chicken broth into a ceramic bowl. Whisk until smooth. Carefully place and balance the ceramic bowl carefully on top of the rice bowl into the large soup pot. This is now your makeshift steamer. Place the cap of the pot on top, and let the eggs steam away for no longer than five minutes. a chopstick into the middle to see if the eggs are still runny; the eggs are ready when the center has solidified. The texture should be similar to a soft custard or a delicate flan.

Here's the glorious part. After the chawanmushi has cooled off, spoon some ikura or uni onto the surface of the egg. All of the ingredients should be easily conquered by even those who under the effects of Vicodin or Tylenol No. 3. Here's my disclaimer: if your medication says you should not operate heavy machinery, please do not attempt to build a makeshift steamer no matter how simple it is. Let your mom and dad, spouse, significant other or indentured sibling do this for you.

I hope these eggs distract you from your dental debacle. Oh, and if the steamed eggs work, fire up the stove again... as long as there are more eggs, you still have half a can of chicken broth left! Until solid food invigorates my diet, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110728-31

Post 56: Islamic Chinese for Uncle Ma (OC: Anaheim)

2011-07-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

When I mentioned that there was Muslim Chinese people and hence, Muslim Chinese food, many of my co-workers responded that they never knew such people or cuisine existed. So I decided to do a little research by browsing online and asking various family members about this unique group of individuals that happen to make delicious noodles and flatbread.

The Muslim Chinese are descendants of Arab and Persian Silk Road travelers. Athough they have intermarried into the local Han Chinese population through many generations, they retain their religious beliefs such as the consumption of Halal meat and the restriction of pork from their diet. Chinese Muslims are considered Hui people, which are one of the 50+ officially recognized ethnic minorities in China. There is also a sizable ethnic Hui population in Taiwan as well. In China, a large portion of Hui or Muslim Chinese are surnamed Ma (馬), meaning horse. However, the root of the last name Ma supposedly originated from the Muslim name Muhammad. It's no wonder that so many of the Islamic Chinese restaurants in Southern California are named Ma.

I dropped by Mas' Islamic Chinese Restaurant to grab some Muslim Chinese food, specifically the beef noodles and the sesame flatbread as a way to remember my Uncle Joe. My Uncle Joe happens to be surnamed Ma and also happens to have parents who are Hui Chinese. In fact, they even have a Koran that has been translated into Chinese characters. But that all might just be coincidental...

Thin sesame flatbread (芝麻大薄餅)

listed on the menu as thin sesame bread with green onion

The sesame flatbread is what I came here for. And let me warn you... the flatbread is no joke. It's a platter of sixteen slices of sesame sweetness that will make your eyes open wide and your jaw drop completely open. It's larger than an XL pizza pie, and it's something that even a family of four will have trouble finishing due to its sheer size. The flatbread has a texture that is a cross between the firmness of a leftover French baguette and a spongey Ethiopian injera. The look of it is also a combination of sorts... it reminds me of the delicate nature of an Indian naan but with the girth of a rustic Australian damper (bush bread). When a co-worker took his first bite of this bread, he exclaimed, "it tastes like sesame." No kidding. There seems to be more sesame on this plane of bread than there are grains of sand on the beach. But it's the sesame and the chopped green onions inside that form the base for flavor. And it's the bread itself that forms an awesome foundation for whatever sauce or soup it gets eaten with. Hint: it tastes great with the next item we ordered.

Green onion, ginger, and garlic stir-fried lamb (蔥爆羊肉)
listed on the menu simply as lamb with green onions

The absence of pork from the Islamic diet leaves a gaping void for a Muslim Chinese restaurant to fill. And although Mas' seems to have filled that void with fish and seafood, it's lamb that seems to be the underacknowledged champion protein. Each of the lamb dishes on the menu has been prepared with strong and flavorful ingredients (pickled cabbage, Chinese style barbeque sauce, chili peppers, etc.) to minimize the gamey taste that lamb naturally has. The dish that we ordered was no different. Upon first whiff the gamey taste dominates all other smells. But one bite into the lamb, and the pungent garlic, spicy ginger, and hearty green onion immediately knock out that gamey flavor. It's almost like Taiwanese stinky tofu... the smell is horrible, but one bite and you would think someone took Febreeze to the air. Well... okay, maybe not so much.

Beef stir-fried with hand-sheared chow mein (牛肉炒刀削麵)

listed on the menu as beef dough sliced chow mein

Noodles! Oh, noodles and pasta are my weakness... especially freshly prepared noodles. This "dough sliced" chow mein refers to the way that the noodle is prepared. Rather than making hand-pulled noodles (think ramen or spaghetti), the chef takes a blade to a big ball of fresh dough and shears the noodles off one ribbon at a time (think machete). For a less violent image, think about that Tillamook commercial that shows the block of sharp cheddar getting sliced one perfect perpendicular plane at a time. But think a lot faster... and less perpendicular... and also imagen a vat of boiling water at the other end of the figurative machete plank. After a quick boil and an even quicker stir-fry with bountiful slices of beef, bean sprouts, green onion stalks and scrambled egg, the result is a chewier, more elastic version of the typical Cantonese beef chow fun.

Beware though, there was a significant layer of leftover oil on my plate. If you are an avid gym-goer, then by all means, help yourself to another slice of flatbread to swivel around and soak up the fatty juices leftover by the lamb. But if it's tough for you to hit the gym (if you have absolutely no discipline like me), then maybe taking a swig of that hot tea (to wash away the oil) is a better idea.

I have yet to learn more about the Muslim Chinese dishes or even about the people and their history, but sesame flatbread is a good start to further exploration. I hope future culinary curiousity reveals more surprises about a people or world culture previously unknown to you. To new discoveries and to my Uncle Joe... until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110725

Post 55: Dear Uncle Joe

2011-07-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Uncle Joe,

I was very sad to hear that you passed on this week. You were always a fighter, a tough guy with both your words, your spirit, and your eating habits... someone who I admired very much. I did not get a chance to speak to you in your final days, but I just wanted to say thank you for all those times you picked me up from school when I got sick. Thank you for instantly taking me and Emily to Knott's every time wanted to visit Snoopy. The one thing I really want to thank you for is teaching me to live life with spontaneity and adventure... to live it up.

The best way that I can remember you is by dedicating this post to you and by sharing some of your favorite foods with everyone. We all know that you loved spicy food, particularly mala spicy hot pot, so my mom and dad accompanied me to have some mala huoguo (麻辣火鍋) in your honor this past week. I even upped the spiciness to mid-level spiciness (中辣) just to feel the exhilaration of chili-scented sweat dripping down my face. We ordered thinly sliced beef and fatty pork, and we kept the vegetables to a minimum... just the way that you would have eaten it.

Today I also got a chance to walk through the world renowned company that produces a condiment that you seemed to have used more often than you drank water. I'm not allowed to mention the specifics of where I visited, but I'm sure you know that there's only one spicy sauce in a squeeze bottle that absolutely cannot be substituted. As we were driven on the golf cart past tens of thousands of drums of fire red vegetable, I just kept thinking that you would be amazed... and you'd probably start salivating. The smell of chili and garlic in the air definitely penetrated the depths of my lungs. It may even have popped a few avioli here and there. It is absolutely incredible that I got to see what the founder literally built with his bare hands, from the piping to the walls of the warehouse. Immediately afterward I passed by the supermarket complex that you designed and constructed, and I thought... you both built things from the ground up, and the two of you would have been good friends.

Oh, and last but not least, I'm going to stop by China Islamic Restaurant to have some Chinese Halal food. I'm sure you remember 清真馬家館... we used to have family gatherings there all the time. I could never figure out whether we frequented that restaurant because you liked the food there or because the restaurant and your family shared a common name (馬). Regardless, I'm going to chomp down on their beef noodles and the giant sesame flatbread (芝麻大餅) for old time's sake.

Here's to you, Uncle Joe. Thank you for everything that you've taught and instilled in me. Thank you for spreading your love of spicy food to all of us. Seeing someone overflowing chili sauce in their bowl of pho will definitely remind me of you. And of course, I'll continue to live my life with spontaneity and adventure.

Your nephew,

Michael

ML - 20110702

F.A.T. News 8: The Glory Days of Airline Travel

2011-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I was browsing through the Travel section of the Times when I found this electronic flip book of sorts.

This would make a cool, non-Kindle kind of book:
Airline travel then and now
graphics reporting and interactivity by Tia Lai, LA Times

We don't quite live in the glitz and glamour of the Pan Am days, but traveling around is still pretty cool. Since we can't exactly travel back in time, we can definitely tune in to Pan Am, the new TV series airing in the fall on ABC.

Makes me want to be a pilot:
Come fly with them: Upcoming 'Pan Am' TV show capitalizes on '60s airline style
article by Mary Forgione, LA Times

It has a bit of Catch Me If You Can essence... adventure, sex appeal, and young stupidity all combined together. And of course, it takes place during the glorious travel days of the 1960s. The commercials look pretty promising, so it may become a new must-watch for me. Ah, which reminds me... I should blog about the '60s-themed wedding I went to recently. Congratulations Girl & Boy!

ML - 20110712

Non-F.A.T. Post 2: Akufuncture's Samuel Wang

2011-07-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

It looks like I've been away from the blogging keyboard for quite some time... but not without good reason! Last month I was offered an opportunity to blog for taiwan543.net, an online magazine that serves to "close the gap between Taiwan and the world" by promoting the achievements of Taiwanese and Taiwanese-Americans.

I met the King of Fashion:
Akufuncture's Sam Wang on Persistence
article by Michael Lin, tw543.net

I got a chance to interview Samuel Wang, a fellow UCSD Triton alum, who created the Sino-chic streetwear company Akufuncture. The clothing line fuses urban style together with Chinese culture, which Sam believes is one way to make Chinese culture cool again.

You can read the article in its entirety here.

The interview is my first published piece beyond high school and outside of this blog.. perhaps it will lead to a guest position at the Times or Rolling Stone someday. We all start somewhere, right? Enjoy... and happy reading!

ML - 20110711/20110628

Post 54: Sushi for the Soul (SD: Pacific Beach)

2011-06-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've had a nice meal.

I've come to realize that I need a nice meal every so often just to rejuvenate my soul. It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive meal or have extravagant presentation, and it doesn't require swift customer service. It's just got to feel healthy. And by healthy I don't mean five fruits and vegetables or whole grains... I mean emotionally and mentally healthy... something that's just good for your soul.

So after a brisk run on the sands of Ocean Beach, Allie and I chased our workout with a nice breakfast at To The Point Café. The replenishment was a chicken apple sausage egg sandwich held together by a buttery croissant with pesto cream cheese. And the reward came in the form of mimosas... a traditional one for me and a lavender lemonade mimosa for Allie. Thumbs up for Sunday mornings.

But that wasn't our nice meal. Our nice meal was spent at Sushi Ota in Pacific Beach. We sipped hot green tea, eavesdropped on the conversations from neighboring tables, and watched the quick movements of the Japanese restaurant. And we did this while enjoying a platter of fresh yellowtail (hamachi) sashimi, a deluxe chirashi, and the fisherman's roll. That was definitely some sushi for the soul.

The hamachi, a favorite for both me and Allie, was fresh enough to melt in your mouth. Five beautifully carved, diamond-shaped pieces fanned out across the porcelain white plate, each piece that stood behind the first increased in size on a mound of shredded daikon and shiso. And a drop of wasabi adorned the corner of the plate like the mole just above Niki Taylor's lip. Simply beautiful. And who cares if the yellowtail was from the radiated waters of Japan? I'm ready for my superhuman power, preferably the power to move things with my mind.

Our deluxe chirashi included that same yellowtail, sweet shrimp (ebi), salmon (sake), whitefish, octopus (tako), sea urchin roe (uni), squid (ika) stuffed with fresh crab meat, tuna (maguro), freshwater eel (unagi), fatty tuna (toro), and egg (tamago) that was stamped with the Ota authentic seal of approval. Staring at this stunning box of rice and fish I completely forgot about the pickles (tsukemono) and the salmon croquette off to the side.

The fisherman's roll is what sealed the deal for us. Whitefish and avocado hide within the rice and nori, and two kinds of onion sit atop of the roll. Onions that were fried to a crisp provided the foundation for the topping of expertly sliced, raw green onions. More yellowtail? Yes, please. Slices of the beautiful sakana hung over each piece of sushi... like the smiling cheese from an In-N-Out Double Double... like the tongue of a hungry dog waiting for a juicy steak... or more like my tongue hanging out of my own mouth. Man, just look at that sushi. I'd hang a picture of this on my wall any day.

If that's not sushi for the soul, I don't know what is. Replenished, stuffed to the brim, and happy as a clam, I declared, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow!"

But I knew I was ready for Monday morning. Until the next nice meal, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110522

Post 53: National Doughnut Day 2011

2011-06-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was National Doughnut Day. I wrote a post on National Doughnut Day last year after opening my eyes to some simply amazing doughnuts in Seattle. Okay, scratch that. I wrote two posts. Counts on fingers. Yes, that's right... two posts. So to celebrate the big culinary holiday this year, I thought about heading to a local donut shop to purchase a dozen for the office... but I was running late, so no donuts. But I walked into the office with a resounding chorus of, "Where are the donuts man?"

I have a habit of wanting to feed people until they balloon to human-sized chubby marshmallows, so I think everyone expects me to bring food in. But lucky for me, I walked into our kitchen and found two boxes of Krispy Kreme, courtesy of colleagues on the other side of my cube wall. So, "hey, uhhh... there are donuts in the kitchen!"

So happy National Doughnut Day to everyone. No special doughnuts to celebrate with this year. But I have found a few places in the Orange County area that require a visit. In the meantime, check out my So Cal Krispy Kremes and my NYC Dunkin' Donuts.

And kick up your feet while bumming around to Bruno Mars', "The Lazy Song." That's what I have on repeat lately. Until the next culinary holiday, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110603

Post 52.2: Hello Orange, Part 2 - Hello Potato Tacos (OC: Orange)

2011-05-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I have been spending more time in the Orange County area, I have been able to wander around and discover some new food findings, the first of which is located right under my nose. Okay, so 'right under my nose' isn't quite the exact GPS location, but this discovery did occur in the same plaza where the office is located... so it's really not that far from whatever is under my nose.

Pepito's Mexican Restaurant is not quite El Torito, not quite King Taco, but not quite El Pollo Loco either. It's more like the kitchen and dining patio of your best friend's, little sister's, boyfriend's abuelita... just an open kitchen with counters made of tile, a cross between a restaurant and a café that serves authentic Mexican fare to locals. It is not the kind of place that foodies would deliberately search and try, but it definitely is the kind of joint that gets the unsuspecting hungry coming back as regulars. Pepito's is not a chain... it doesn't even have its own website. But what it does have is an expansive menu complete with breakfast burritos and enchiladas... there are daily specials, Taco Tuesdays, a friendly staff with easily recognizable faces, cold cerveza, a fresh salsa bar, and holy hell... there are potato tacos.

So what is this infatuation I have with these newly discovered potato tacos? Well, you'd never know until you try. I have come to love potato tacos because they are the most indulgent kind of tacos there are. I mean... you can never go wrong with the house asada or the pastor that's made just right, but there's no amount of meat and tortilla that will make you feel like you're truly guilty. If you polish off a 32 oz. rib eye with a side of mashed potatoes... you're a bad ass. But if you polish off just two or three crispy shell potato tacos... hey, you're just bad.

The root of your guilt stems from the potato itself. Commonly made into French fries, tater tots, and bacon topped skins, it's not really thought of as the healthiest of vegetables. Even though they are full of fiber, you know that it wasn't quite what your mom was referring to when she said, "eat your vegetables." Whether or not you think potatoes are vegetables or corn tortillas are actually part of the vegetable food group, the lack of a true leafy green or a browned protein in your taco connotes a message that your meal is lacking some sort of nutrient.

No matter. Guilt is guilt. If you get a chance to indulge in a crispy shell filled with a fluffy white vegetable more commonly thought of as carbs, then please don't let anything stop you. You haven't lived until you've bitten into this ingenious invention. It's one part grilled hash brown, a second part velvety mashed potato, and another part steamy baked potato... all wrapped within a crispy tortilla and doused with whatever salsa your heart desires. (Not into spicy? Pepito's makes a Gringo salsa for the japaleño adverse.) Oh, and did I mention the shredded cheese that comes on top? If you order the tacos for takeout, the cheese will melt in the container by the time you reach your destination (across the office plaza). Ahhh... delicious, heavenly guilt.

Hola, Naranja. Thanks for introducing Pepito's potato tacos. I have a feeling Orange will be good to me. Until the next carb-filled discovery, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110411+0526

Post 52.1: Hello Orange, Part 1 - International Potluck

2011-05-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Because last year's international potluck was so successful, we decided to hold another one at work again. Having co-workers that represent a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds allows all of us to learn and enjoy the cuisine from all different cultures. Basically, it's good to have good food. Here's a look at what the Orange office brought in for the picnic in the conference room... along with 5 words that they would use to describe the food from their culture.

Empanadas with chimchurri sauce contributed by Steven
Peruvian (empanadas), Argentine (chimchurri sauce)

Everybody knows a delicious empanada. Whether it's Mexican or Cuban or from another Latin American nation, these baked hemispherical pastries filled with ground beef and shredded chicken are more than just tasty. They are savory... inspiring... addicting. Could I be a pathological empanadic? I believe so, and I think it's safe to say that I wouldn't be the first. The ground beef within the empanada has a fervent personality. It's rich in spices, and the flavor permeates the air around your oral cavity, which leaves a satisfying, lasting warmth.

With plenty of parsley, garlic, cilantro, oregano and bay leaves, the chimchurri sauce is tough enough to pair with the strength of the ground beef. It's not as spicy as you would believe, but it's definitely full of flavor. A squeeze of lime will help cut the oil that the herbs are swimming in and will give the sauce a bit of a citrus kick as well. Truly delicious... break me open another empanada, please.

Medianoche sandwiches put together with Liz's personal spin
Cuban

Traditionally these heavenly sandwiches were served to the hungry in Havana after dancing the night away at the local discotheque, hence the name medianoche or midnight sandwiches. Well, in that case I might have to attach the medianoche title to Korean tofu stew. With cheese sprawled over the ham, a crunchy bite from the pickles, and butter melted over the top of these rolls, the savory sandwiches are enough sustenance to have during any meal. In fact, one co-worker mentioned that the medianoche name should be changed to mañana or morning sandwiches. Hmm... good idea. I'd throw a fried egg right in the middle of all that cheese... and I'd make sure the yolk was runny too.

Matzo ball soup made by Molly
Jewish

The soup was actually made by Molly, a Chinese from Taiwan, but you'd never be able to tell that non-Jewish hands formed the matzo dough or that the chicken soup was concocted by the rotisserie chicken from Costco. Authentic? Hell yeah. It tastes like something I'd get at Brent's Delicatessen... sans the sodium and oil overload. In fact, I prefer Molly's homemade chicken soup over the matzo ball soup at the local deli. I wasn't even suffering from a cold, and I had three bowls.

Pork and vegetable steamed bao brought by Michelle
Chinese

If life is like a box of chocolates, then opening a steamed bao is like opening presents on Christmas morning. You may have a good idea of what's inside, and chances are you are probably right... but there's no amount of shaking or peering within the wrapper that will confirm your suspicions. But... surprise! Pork and vegetable filling? Sure, I'll take it. The pork and veggies inside are just salty enough to complement the white bread on the outside. Great balance... and not at all greasy or oily like the buns I had on the streets of Shanghai. I could eat these all day.

Night market sausages with raw garlic supplied by Michael from SinBala
Taiwanese

I don't know a single person that has tried Taiwanese sausage and has not liked it. It's impossible. The lean pork sausage is bursting with savory juices and is surprisingly sweet. Who knew? Probably Taiwanese locals and tourists who routinely tour the open air night markets after dinner each night. Traditionally eaten with toothpicks and skewers, Taiwanese sausages may be treated as a night market snack, but it's hearty enough to top over rice as a full meal. Sausage donburi anyone? The thinly sliced raw garlic is a smart ingredient to use not only to cut the sausage grease but to give the sweet sausage a contrasting bite. Got to the party late? No worries. Some co-workers say they this sausage is even better eaten cold.

Cabbage rolls with bacon presented by Doreen
Ukrainian

At last year's international potluck, the Irish-Polish cabbage rolls were a hit. This year was no different. The cabbage rolls were the talk of the conference room. The only difference was that these were made with pork instead of beef. Made from Doreen's family recipe that has been passed down for over 130 years, the cabbage rolls were stuffed with bacon, rice, onions and tomatoes. This neatly wrapped, hearty dish may pair well with beer. Wait... didn't I say that last year? Polish cabbage rolls in 2010 and no beer... Ukrainian cabbage rolls in 2011 and no beer... I should have known. Alright, bring on the Russian cabbage rolls next year. 2012 I'm ready for you!

Nasch and chrusciki from Adam
Polish

Like a pu pu platter, the traditional Polish nasch plate comes with an assortment of goodies intended to help open the digestive system for the main meal. Nasch can be assembled with any items in the kitchen or the pantry. It's almost a welcome offering to visitors or guests. Our nasch came with smoked summer sausage (sub for kielbasa), brie and cubes of smoked cheddar (perhaps a sub for korycinski or oscypek), pickles (sub for ogorek kiszony) and crackers. Snooki or not, there's something on this plate for everybody.

Chrusciki or angel wings are crispy ribbons of fried dough that remind me of a flat, twisted doughnut. Topped off simply with some powdered sugar, they are great to munch on after a meal with some tea or coffee or even by themselves. Had I been the first to create these pastries, I'd make a chocolate dipped version for sure. Ooh, I just had an idea...

Snickerdoodles baked by Rachel
German

Who doesn't love cookies? Snickerdoodles are like a traditional sugar cookie but are bumped up by the touch of cinnamon and the cracked surface, which gives it a unique aesthetic appeal. The name may be complicated, but the cookie is simply satisfying.

Carrot cupcakes crafted by Amanda
American

Who doesn't like cookies? Well, who doesn't like cupcakes? The cupcake revolution has everyone scrambling for a $4 dome-shaped cake in a high income bourgeoisie location nearby. But cupcake revolutionaries have left behind the less than a dollar homemade cupcake. Amanda's carrot cupcakes were spiced up with ginger... and not just by a little bit. The cupcakes are chock full of sweet and spicy ginger, which kept me coming back for more. Why are they so good? Perhaps it's because Amanda's grandmother was a baker at Mrs. Field's back before the modern cupcake revolution. Hmm... Amanda, is your maiden name Field? Methinks either Grandma owned the place or stuffed the recipe cards in her pocket on her way home each night. Either way I may have to start a counter revolution. Anti-red? Maybe anti-red velvet. The carrot cupcakes brainwashed the words 'red' and 'velvet' completely out of my mental cupcake menu.

Chocolate eclair cake created by Deanne
American

What do lasagna, Shrek, dressing in San Francisco weather, an onion, and this chocolate eclair cake have in common? Layers! Building the eclair cake involves layering graham crackers, Cool Whip and instant French vanilla pudding... a repetition of the same layering process, and a healthy (that's figurative in all aspects) topping of chocolate frosting. After two slices of this at the potluck, I began to wonder why it wasn't called chocolate ecstasy cake. The cake was a great way to finish off a gluttonous buffet of a meal.

Thanks to everyone who participated, contributed, and labored for this international potluck. Our eyes were opened to new dishes and new cuisines, and I can safely say that we hope more co-workers join us next year for this tasty tradition. Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110426

F.A.T. News 7: World's Largest Model Airport

2011-05-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

I've been losing myself in this video of the model airplanes taking off and landing several times now, and around the one minute mark I start to believe that the model airplanes are real.

This trumps all childhood Lego sets:
World's largest model airport opens to rave reviews
article by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

This is the coolest model I've ever seen in my life. If I could have brought this home with me from Toys"R"Us as a child, I would have never asked for another toy or Lego set. But then again the article says, the model airport took six years to build, and I'm sure I would not have had the patience or the attention span to build anything remotely similar to this back in the day. That's major attention to detail... insane. I'm going to click 'play' again now. So cool.

ML - 20110506

Post 51: Lunch - Tupperware Jjajangmyeon Surprise... Coincidence?

2011-04-27T17:00:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while, we come across one of those coincidences that makes you wonder if it's anything more than just a mere alignment of stars. In my last post I wrote that I would have liked to have ground pork in the zhajiang noodles from Hot Wok. I'm pretty sure that my dad doesn't read my blog... or does he? When I opened my family of Tupperware for lunch, I found this:

Instant Korean jjajamyeon... with a side of ground pork!

My mom made the ground pork, and my dad packed the lunch... so it was my turn to put in some cooking effort. Fair trade, no? I was wondering why my dad decided to put an entire package of instant noodles into glass tupperware, but when I was looking for a bowl at lunch, my realization hit... it was right there in front of me. My dad really does think of everything.

What's your most recent surprise or coincidence? Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110419_21

F.A.T. News 6: Changes at the Airport

2011-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here are two articles in last week's news about positive changes to one airport and changes that are needed at all airports across America.

Beautification at SFO (the new Terminal 2):
San Francisco airport's new Terminal 2 'T2' dazzles
article by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Watch out for the little guy:
JFK runway collision spotlights dangers on the ground
article by Alan Levin, USA TODAY

The video of the Delta regional jet being tossed like a toy can be seen here.

On a positive note, the improvements at SFO seem to reflect Bay Area residents' strive for a greener environment. If only the same changes could be made to Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. I wonder when other airports will follow suit by allowing passengers to dump out their liquid at the security line instead of tossing the plastic bottle away. That would definitely be a milestone for those who want a greener Mother Earth.

ML - 20110419

Post 50.3: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 3 - Authentic Chinese (LA: Agoura Hills)

2011-04-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Thousand Oaks area has plenty of cookie-cutter restaurant chains that serve cookie-cutter American food. It's tough to find a good mom and pop shop that serves anything remotely close to the cuisine from the home country. The first time I was introduced to a local Chinese restaurant, I sat down to find a placemat with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and a shining, metal fork. Now... I'm not against Western silverware, but the lack of chopsticks in plain sight in an authentic Chinese restaurant is a bit unnerving. And disappointing. The second time a co-worker suggested Chinese food, I walked up to a restaurant with two abnormally large horses guarding the entrance... not my definition of Chinese food.

Thankfully, another co-worker discovered Hot Wok, a small mom and pop restaurant run by an immigrant trio from the northeastern region of China. Rather than serving overly soy sauced Americanized Chinese chock full of water chestnuts, Hot Wok (滾鍋) rolls out truly down home items like hand-made dumplings (手工水餃), scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), and spicy broiled (poached) fish filet (水煮魚片). Here are some of the dishes from Hot Wok that have saved me from the panda and the horse in T.O.

Black bean noodles
listed on the menu as cha jiang mien (炸醬麵)

With plenty of cucumbers and bean sprouts, this noodle dish is a little bit Chinese... but with a simple black bean sauce, this noodle dish mixes in the characteristic of Korean jjajangmyeon. My ideal version would include a good portion of ground pork, but the black bean sauce is enough to make me feel right at home.

Leek & pork dumplings
listed on the menu under (韮菜豬肉水餃)

Hand-made dumplings around the Conejo Valley? Unbelievable. Not only do they come close to the real deal, they are the real deal. Flavorful pork is blended with fragrant green leeks and filled into freshly made dumpling dough. These eight little heavenly clouds with just a touch of soy sauce truly spark a bit of inner happiness.

Pan fried pork calzone
listed on the menu as imperial pan fried meat pastry (京都肉餅)

I've never actually had this item ever before, but ironically, this pork pancake hits close to home. The imperial pan fried meat pastry, as Hot Wok calls it, is like a calzone in that it's stuffed with different ingredients and enclosed with a bread-like carbohydrate. Like a lasagna, though, there are multiple layers; ground pork and thin pastry are placed over each other one layer at a time within the outer casing. Soft, crispy, soft, crispy... savory, salty, savory, salty... the textures and flavors confuse my brain. And I'm also confused about what to call this item... pastry? Calzone? Pancake? There's one thing my brain knows for sure though... this thing is delicious.

Beef wrap
listed on the menu as beef roll pastry (牛肉捲餅)

While the imperial meat pastry is something I've never had before, the beef wrap is something I've enjoyed throughout my adult life. Wrapped within a Chinese tortilla are slices of braised beef and an explosion of cilantro. It's relatively small compared to the beef wraps at other restaurants, but you know what that means? I can eat the whole thing by myself.

Cumin lamb
listed on the menu as lamb with tze lan herb (孜然羊肉)

The mix of cumin and chili peppers with fatty curls of lamb creates a truly tasty flavor. The spiciness is more fragrant than biting. It's an addicting taste. You'll understand when you place the savory lamb over a bed of steamed white rice. The rice soaks up the spicy oils from the lamb, taking away just enough grease so that you can continue shoveling bite after bite into your mouth.

Stir fried loofah/luffa

listed on the menu as sauteed si qua (清炒絲瓜)

Luffa isn't your typical green vegetable. It's not leafy like bok choy, and it's not as common as gai lan (Chinese broccoli). I'm surprised this unique vegetable is even served outside of the San Gabriel Valley. Not only does this vegetable turn into the exfoliating, body cleaning sponge once it's dried, it's also special in that it tastes more like a soft cucumber rather than the squash that it is. Stir-fried lightly with just a hint of garlic, luffa will help you get your daily fiber intake in a tasty way.

Thousand layer pork
listed on the wall in Simplified Chinese only (笋千層肉)

The illusion of a thousand layers is created by slicing the fatty pork belly paper-thin and cutting the edges into the shape of ocean waves. The thousand layers of pork belly sit atop a mound of young bamboo shoots, which are tender yet crisp to the bite. Dig down deeper under the bamboo shoots, and surprise! You will find a bed of green spinach, which balances out the unhealthy fat of the pork. The pool of brown gravy is another illusion itself. Upon seeing the sauce, I thought that the dish was going to be overly salty, but a hidden sweet and savory flavor took over... if only the thousand layer pork was truly a thousand layers.

Sure, the first few items on the Hot Wok menu are orange chicken and kung pao shrimp, but hidden on the final pages of the menu are what save it from being tossed into the same category as Panda Express and P.F. Chang's. Items that are also worth trying are a Korean style spicy seafood noodle soup (jjambbong) listed on the menu as three delicacies chow ma mien (三鮮炒碼麵) and Taiwanese beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵). I'm definitely going to miss this comforting lunch spot. 'Til next time, T.O., let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110416

Post 50.2: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 2 - Bollywood in the Basement (LA: Westlake Village)

2011-04-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'll miss the commute with my cousin. But what will I miss about the food that's actually by the office? Immediately, Bollywood Indian Restaurant comes to mind. Authentic Indian restaurants in the Thousand Oaks area are already pretty hard to come by, but trying to find one that's situated in the basement of an unnamed office complex complete with man-made ponds and mini waterfalls is even harder. Hidden gem? Yeah, I'd say so.

The restaurant is located within walking distance of the office, but I've only ever employed my lower body as transport once. I'm usually too impatient to walk (or wait) for my beloved Indian food. Sipping on sweet lassi and breaking up bits of papad helps pass the time while favorites such as chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo and dal tarka are being prepared.

If there's any meal that suggests that gluttony should be limited, it's lunch. We've all experienced the post-lunch food coma that enshrouds us with the onset of impending sleep, and I'm almost certain that afternoon comatose is not conducive to the work environment. Thankfully, Bollywood serves lunch specials in smaller portions. However, I have no discipline in holding myself back from gorging on delicious Indian food. Ergo, bring on the extra samosas!

Chicken madras

In a world where tomatoes are being skimped on in fast food burgers, it's comforting to find that fresh tomatoes aren't being left out of dishes that absolutely require it... like chicken madras. No tomato in my burger? Extra lettuce please. But no tomato in my madras? I can't bear to imagine. After all, it wouldn't be chicken madras without fresh tomatoes. What I like about the madras has to do heavily with the confused veggie-fruit. Its flesh provides some relief from the spicy madras sauce. The juices are untainted by the spices... cooling, refreshing... like water from the backyard hose on a hot summer's day. The tomato is juxtaposed nicely against the sauce, teeter-tottering the spiciness on your tongue.

Chicken tikka masala

My co-workers and I usually ask for two orders of the tikka masala (a spicy version for the tough tongue and a mild version for the weaker one) just to make sure there is enough to go around. And as if we didn't already know that's it's the absolute favorite of the house, the dish is highlighted in red on the menu just so patrons take note. It's not even the chicken that holds our attention; it's the creamy tomato sauce. Over rice, slathered on naan, or even doused onto a samosa, the tikka masala sauce cannot be passed up.

Chicken tandoori

Numerous times a friend or co-worker has exclaimed that the chicken tandoori looks dry. Well, friends, let me tell you... after one bite you'll know that the chicken, as white as the meat is, is as juicy as a pear. The combination of garam masala, garlic, ginger, cumin and cayenne pepper along with yogurt give the chicken the special taste, and the mixture of red chili pepper and turmeric give it the color. After being garnished with sliced onions and a wedge of lemon, the tandoori dish becomes unbelievably mouth-watering. You'll be able to smell the exotic spices and the fresh citrus scent on your fingertips for hours after lunch is over.

Lamb korma

If the chicken tikka masala is the house favorite, the lamb korma is mine. The korma is much creamier than either the madras or the tikka masala. In fact, if you bring the plate close to your nose and take a whif, the korma has the distinct smell of butter. What I really love is not the creamy, buttery fragrance but the bits of ground almond that sit throughout the gravy. Every so often I'll bite into the bits of almonds, which conjures up images of biting into the hazlenut bits in a Ferrero Rocher. Firm but soft to the bite, the almonds make all the difference.

Lamb vindaloo

Seeing aloo in the name of this dish means that the dish contains potatoes; potatoes with curry... what a tasty concept. Toss in some lemon juice, and you've got a dish with a truly spicy kick. The lamb vindaloo is the spiciest of the dishes thus far, so I would suggest tasting it after tasting the other sauces. Like the lamb korma, the meat is slightly gamey but as tender as chicken. The strong spices and the firey kick definitely help reduce the gaminess of the lamb though. And to help reduce the fire? I'm sure glad I have some of that mango lassi left.

Lamb tikka

Like the chicken tandoori the lamb tikka is roasted with herbs and spices in a tandoori oven, and it's anything but dry. Break open the lamb, and you'll see for yourself. Glistening, gleaming meat juices flow down the nooks onto the plate. The juice from the meat along with the freshly squeezed lemon juice create a sauce in itself. Have it over the long-grain Basmati rice, and you may forget about the other dishes.

Dal tarka

I'm not particularly fond of vegetable only dishes, but I ordered the dal tarka once, and it completely blew my mind away. The menu description is simple: lentils cooked with garlic. But upon arrival at the time, I know it's not as simple as it sounds. There are bits of red and splotches of green, probably from the chilis and the cilantro or parsley, floating atop the backdrop of yellow lentils. Chopped slivers of garlic running throughout give this dish a warm and inviting taste. It's neither as spicy as the others nor creamy either. The dal tarka was the turning point for my anti-vegetarianism (the saag paneer and the eggplant bharta are great veggie dishes as well). Dip the naan into the dal until the plate is running on empty. And when that happens, bend the naan just a little bit more so that the taste of home can be scooped up by fluffy carbs and into your cavity of gluttony.

Pistachio ice cream

Many apologies for what I'm about to say. The pistachio ice cream looks like cat food. Why it's cut like Fancy Feast is beyond me. But what I do know is that I prefer leprechaun green pistachio ice cream from Rite Aid much more than I prefer this. It's worth the try, but if you can't stomach the color or grainy texture, try a different dessert item, or order another lassi for dessert. I'll pass on this one... my food coma is about to hit anyway.

Each time the staff at Bollywood sees us, they probably wonder if their lunch menu has any relevance with us. I'm sure they designed a lunch menu that tries to prevent the onset of food coma (light on quantity but heavy on flavor), but my Indian food gluttony absolutely defies their goal. Sorry Bollywood, you're food is too good.

Each time I walk out of this restaurant in zombie-like fashion, I realize why the restaurant is located in a dungeon of a space but happens to be surrounded by calming waterfalls and ponds. It's the perfect place for the post-lunch, food coma nap. Ooh, I see a bench.

Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML 20110326+0402

Post 50.1: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 1 - Monday Mornings (LA-SFV: Glendale)

2011-04-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago, I transferred from the Thousand Oaks office to the office in Orange. It's cut my commute down from 52 miles to 36 miles one-way. Since gas prices are skyrocketing, I'm sure the shorter commute will help my bank account just a tad.

One thing I will miss about my commute to Thousand Oaks is the Monday morning car ride with my cousin Monica. We would make weekly pit-stops at Porto's Bakery in Glendale on the way into the Valley. I would pick up my Monday morning OJ and a ham and cheese croissant sandwich for lunch, and Monica would buy dozens of potato balls and guava cheese rolls for her and her roommates. Every so often we would sneak one or two chicken croquettes in before jumped back onto the freeway too.

I was one of the few that made the commute from 626 into Thousand Oaks, which means I was one of the few who had access to fine Cuban baked goods. Feeling the need to share the world's best food with everyone at work, I would bring Porto's into the office every so often. And of course, we would rejoice together and celebrate in Cuban pastry revelry by dancing circles in our cubicles and dropping flaky crumbs on the carpet like sprinkles on a cupcake. Okay, that didn't happen. But you get the picture... there was pastry bliss.

It was one of those typical manic Monday mornings at Porto's that I discovered that the bakery made not only potato balls, but potato ball sandwiches. Whoa. So on top of my usual ham and cheese croissant, I ordered a papa preparada, the potato ball sandwich. Deep fried mashed potatoes with seasoned ground beef with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese gets sandwiched between light Cuban baguette bread. A bit trippy, no?

Biting into the potato ball sandwich conjured the same feeling as eating a potato taco. Oh, drool... the potato taco is my new discovery at the Mexican restaurant next to my new office in Orange. Can we say carb overload? But the bread definitely outweighs the tortilla in carb count. I still think the ham and cheese is my favorite (there's definitely a better carb-protein ratio), but the papa preparada is something that everyone should try at least once.

New office location, new morning commute. Can't wait to see what culinary delights awaits me in Orange. Oh, don't forget the Tapatío! Until next time, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110228

F.A.T. News 5: Kiwis Doin' It Right

2011-03-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Browsing through the travel section of USA Today, I came across two articles mentioning Air New Zealand.

Who wants to be the little spoon?
How to sleep - or cuddle - in economy class
article by Laura Bly, USA TODAY

Would you actually pay attention?
Air New Zealand's latest video takes humor to new heights
article by Laura Bly, USA TODAY

I'm not sure how cuddling during turbulence would work, but the couple in the image seem comfortable beyond REM status. Props to Air New Zealand for the SkyCouch concept.

And props to them for switching up the same old in-flight safety instruction video. Looks like the Kiwis are doin' it right. Hopefully the Sweet Potatoes' EVA Air and China Airlines will take a hint. But if you've ever flown a Taiwanese airline and actually paid attention to the safety instructions, it's going to be tough to film that in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English... with Japanese subtitles.

ML - 20110328

Post 49: St. Patrick's Dad

2011-03-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

I've always celebrated St. Patrick's Day in one way or another. When I was younger I made sure to scrutinize each classmate's outfit in order to sneak in a painful pinch. Later in my college days, I made sure to have a mug of green beer in my hand. And now as a full-time working professional (wow, that sounds makes me sound more mature than I actually am), St. Patrick's Day does not go without shamrock-shaped holiday cards... and a shot or two of Baileys. Hey, ya can't blame a guy for getting into the spirit, right?

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and yes, I wore green. I was beyond enthused for my post-work Irish activities, but alas, I stayed late in the office and had an even later tour guides' meeting afterward. Being the responsible, full-time working professional that I am, I decided to call it a night and head home after the meeting. I was a little bummed that I wouldn't be able to celebrate Pat's day this year, but when I got home my dad had just finished plating some homemade corned beef and cabbage for me to have as a late-night snack. Awesome! I had forgotten that my dad was even more into the Irish spirit than I was. Ever since I had discovered my love for corned beef in the fourth grade, my dad has made the dish every year on March 17. And he even wears green too.

The corned beef made me happy. And I took it with me to lunch the next day too. So here's to you, St. Patrick's Dad. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110317

Post 48: No Boos for Nobu (LA: West Hollywood)

2011-03-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a Gilt City certificate for Nobu a while back, and since it was about to expire, it was finally time to make a reservation. Procrastination... isn't that how we all do it?

So Allie and I went to West Hollywood to check out world-renowned, eponymous chef Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant Nobu. The Gilt certificate treated the two of us to four tapas style plates and two drinks each. Dessert was not included, but of course, we caved into the demands of our sweet tooth.

Here's what we ordered:

Shiso Asahi and cucumber martini

A cold beer is simply great. But throw in the fragrance of shiso leaves that permeate through the crispness of the bubbly Japanese alcohol, and your simple cold beer becomes a truly refreshing beverage. The combination is as beautiful as the pairing of mint and chocolate chip ice cream. It's cold. It's sweet. The green waltzes across your tongue. It's calmly exotic. Pour me another, please.

Yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño
Yuzu, soy, jalapeño

The combination of soy with an Asian citrus and a Latino pepper produces a great blend of salty, sour, spicy flavors. But the flavor may have had too much strength for the delicate yellowtail. I like to know that the sashimi is fresh when I bite into it, but the sauce almost drowns out the natural freshness of the yellowtail. Perhaps if the ingredients were separated upon serving, it would be easier to control the desired amount of sauce, japaleño and garnish. Personalization... who doesn't love that?

Oysters with Nobu sauces
Nobu salsa, Maui onion salsa, ponzu

Whenever I encounter a raw oyster, I feel like I am holding a newborn for the first time. It look so squishy, and I'm afraid liquid will gush out if put too much pressure on it. A part of me doesn't want to touch it at all because... well, it looks gross. The liquid surrounding the raw oyster is like the saliva that pools up around the baby's mouth. Ew. But once the fear has been overcome, whether it's swallowing the oyster or holding the fragile infant, the reward is tremendous. It's a newfound love connection. Three oysters between the two of us... sorry Allie, but I'm holding onto the last one.

Lobster sashimi tacos
Wasabi aioli, tomatillo salsa in wonton shells

I've had lobster sashimi before, and I'll tell you right now that soy sauce and wasabi alone cannot mask the intimidation that is a piece of lobster sashimi. But drizzle wasabi aioli and tomatillo salsa over the piece of uncooked crustacean and wrap it with something deep fried and crispy, and the lobster becomes nothing more than a piece of shrimp cocktail. The citrus from the lemon brings the flavor the creamy spiciness of the aioli and salsa forward, which really tops off the taco. If there's one way to have lobster sashimi, this is it.

Wagyu tacos
Aji amarillo, spicy cilantro in wonton shells

To yin out the yang of the lobster tacos, we ordered the wagyu beef tacos. Whereas the sauce stood out in the lobster tacos, the beef really shined here. It was marinated and seasoned right, and the flavor was strong but not salty. In just one bite, it was easy to tell that the filling was made with beef and that the beef was done right. The lime and the cilantro cut whatever grease happened to be there. The wonton shells cracked under the pressure of excitement, which led to beef and sauce getting all over my hands. But hey, that was just another excuse to lick my fingers.

Wagyu and foie gras gyozas
Ginger, megi, scallions with orange ginger den miso and jalapeño ponzu

If you can imagine a fatty meat mixed with another fatty substance, wrapped in a layer of carbs and then fried to a crisp, you're imaging Nobu's wagyu and foie gras gyozas. This is the higher end version of the deep fried butter from the county fair. Fat fried in more fat... mmmmm. Shivers. The gyozas, although delicious, hung in purgatorial limbo. I couldn't tell whether I liked the filling or the gyoza skin more or whether I prefered the ginger miso or the jalapeño ponzu. Shrug. I'm guessing that's why both sauces are provided with the overstuffed gyozas. You can nom and dip repeatedly until you make up your mind. But it was hard to make up my mind... bring on more gyozas please.

Scallops truffle panko crust
Panko crust, sauteed mushrooms and mizuna, yuzu truffle butter

The scallops dish was the first course that didn't feel like just a small tapas plate. The scallops were delicate but robust from the panko and truffle combination. The mushrooms were hearty and provided more substance for the stomach. And the peppery mizuna, reminiscent of arugula, cleansed the palate from the buttery truffle and the truffly butter. Compared to the previous dishes, this was like a full entree. Allie liked this dish so much that we ordered another; it was the only dish that we ordered seconds of.

Foie gras and crispy soba
Shredded daikon, sugar snap peas, aji amarillo with soba crackers

More foie gras? Can't stray from a favorite. By this point in the meal, Allie and I were both rolling from how unbelievably full we were... but no matter because there was still the fat-bursting taste of foie gras to consume. And although the foie gras was prepared perfectly, what really held my attention was the daikon that trapped the fatty oil and sauce within its hairlike strands. It was as if prey had been entangled in the tentacles of a giant King Kong octopus... and devour was the only verb that the octopus understood. Muahahaha... the analogy only works if you think you are the octopus.

New tiramisu
Tipsy coffee sponge, tiramisu gelato, frozen chocolate, kinako powder, Thai coffee drip

Asian inspired tiramisu? No, this new tiramisu is not from JJ Bakery. It's from Matsuhisa-san's restaurant, and it is the ultimate example of a deconstructed dessert. The new tiramisu looked like a house before construction... the coffee sponge, substituted for lady fingers, provided the foundation for the building... the frozen chocolate was the concrete; only it was better tasting and not as hard... the kinako powder, made from soybeans, could be thought of as the insulation for the house. It was a little chalky, so it was probably best that we didn't breathe it in. And the roof? There was no roof. There was only tiramisu gelato. Sips of the Thai coffee in between each spoonful of tiramisu made me appreciate the dessert even more. Forget the roof. This dessert went through the roof. Let it rain Thai coffee over the house.

We also ordered a second dessert called the Cebu kamameshi, and it came in a metal cauldron that was cooked over an open flame. It was filled with vanilla flavored risotto, purple yam ice cream, purple yam pieces, mochi pearls, and soba pop crunch. Although the ingredients and presentation gave it a bit of avant-garde appeal, it was simply not cooked to its full potential. The texture of the risotto tasted like stale Rice Krispies; but had it been cooked down to its meant-to-be-softness, the dish would have been tops. The dessert was sweet... but naturally sweet. Sweet from the roots of purple yam and vanilla rather than sweet from syrups, sugar, and chocolate. If it wasn't for the cardboard risotto, the kamameshi would have been extremely addicting.

So no boos for Nobu. The food was tasty, and the service was attentive al dente. We could tell that our server had a true passion for food, possibly just as much as passion that was conveyed on our plates by the master chefs in the kitchen. Between the yellowtail and the kamameshi, Allie and I became slightly intoxicated... but from the food more so than the wine. Oh, did I mention we had a couple of glasses of wine? Nobu is a bit pricey, but the food and drinks make it worth the visit. We will return! We hear they have great happy hour...

Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110122

F.A.T. News 4: Sleeping in the Restaurant

2011-03-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

I visited Nobu for the first time in January, and I recently returned from a quick 30 hour trip to Vegas. I thought these articles would be appropriate as F.A.T. news.

A restaurant hotel, the cause and solution of the food coma:
Pricey Nobu restaurant chain wants to tuck you in after dinner in Vegas
article by Barbara de Lollis, USA TODAY

Staying at the M:
Which restaurant chain would work best as hotel chain: McDonald's
article by Barbara de Lollis, USA TODAY

At first I thought it might have been a bit strange for a restaurant like Nobu to venture into the hotel business, but both Hooters, Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood have already developed their hotel counterparts in Vegas. And the restaurant and hospitality business has always been fused together. I guess it's not such a novel concept after all, eh?

Which reminds me... it's probably time to post about my time at Nobu, huh?

Next post: Nobu Los Angeles

ML - 20110310

Post 47: Chillin' Out at Lazy Ox Canteen (LA: Little Tokyo)

2011-03-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

For Duke's birthday Diana chose Lazy Ox Canteen for the birthday boy to have his dinner celebration.

The highlight for me was the dashi marinated yellowtail. The yellowtail was fresh, and its texture matched that of the avocado evenly. I wished the pork belly in the poblano soup was crispier and saltier like bacon, but maybe I'm being nit-picky. The pasta was tops, and the cauliflower was surprisingly tasty. But I was not a fan of the chicharron. Although it was fried to a perfect crisp, the fat was too much for me to handle. It was almost like cream cheese. Everything else... thumbs up.

But enough of me. I'll let the birthday boy do the talking. He's got the better camera anyway. Ooohhh, painful joke for me, Duke... hit me right where it hurts. But it's okay. Happy birthday, buddy!

Good food, good friends... it was a fun night. See Duke's post on Lazy Ox here.

Until the next birthday, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110212

Post 46.2: Another Pit-stop at Chego (West LA: Palms)

2011-02-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

A month ago I barely knew about this place. In fact, I didn't even know that Palms existed.

M1: You live where?
M2: Palms
M1: Where is that?
M2: I don't know... somewhere in West LA..
M1: I'll Google map it.

I now identify Palms by "where Chego is."

So Palms, I'm back to pick up M2... which means Chego, I'm back for the buttered kimchi chow and chubby pork belly. Bring em out, bring em out!

M1 and M2 dropped by on the way to LAX, and we planned to get some take-out, but our flight was delayed until after midnight (good job, Southwest), which means we had plenty of time to finish our food. And thank goodness for the extra time... those were big bowls of food.

The buttered kimchi chow is a bed of rice... no, a hilltop of rice... topped off with red chili tofu, edamame, chopped sesame seed leaves, bits of chicharrones, and a fried egg. The taste of the first bite reminded me of an already-mixed soon tofu with rice. The rice is buttery rich, and when it's mixed with the creaminess of the runny egg yolk, there is an allusion to the possibility of Korean risotto. What is made smooth from the buttered rice and egg yolk is contrasted by the pop of kimchi, the bumps of edamame, and the vein-textured gaenip... but perhaps not enough. I kept picking the kimchi out just to get a bit more contrast in flavor and texture. Luckily I found what I wanted in texture and flavor contrast in the chubby pork belly.

The chubby pork belly is exactly what the title says it is. Plump, fatty, flavorful pork belly in all its juicy, lipidic glory. Mmmmm... and all of that delicious fatty pork looks like it's sprouting from a bed of rice. Implanted in the rice are chopped water spinach (ong choy), peanuts, and pickled watermelon radishes. The triple combo of ong choy, peanuts, and pickled radishes in the pork belly bowl works better than the kimchi chow's triple combo of kimchi, edamame and gaenip. The contrasting textures and flavors are more apparent, which helps maintain interest and curiosity in digging deeper into the big bowl of food. This one... I like. Yum.

On my first pit-stop to Chego, I picked up two items from the End section of the menu... on this pit-stop I tasted two items from the Middle section of the menu. Perhaps the next pit-stop in Palms will yield two items from the Beginning... the ooey gooey fries and 3PM meatballs sound promising.

Until the next pit-stop, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110225

Post 46.1: Unexpected Pit-stop at Chego (West LA: Palms)

2011-02-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Simple story. It was Friday night. Time to go out to dinner with friends. I got hungry. What else is new? So while picking up the ultimate automobile-challenged friend in Palms, I dropped by Chego for a little snack before dinner.

Rose recommended that I get the Rock Yer Road, which is Chego's version of a rocky road ice cream. Perfect! Cuz rocky road is my faaaaavorite. The Rock Yer Road is chocolate ice cream with smoked almonds, caramel, brownies, marshmallow fluff on the side, and a Luxardo cherry on top. I don't usually don't care too much for caramel (way too sticky) or marshmallow (way too gooey), but I could deal with this. Yum. And what made all this super sweetness even better? Doughnuts!

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of doughnuts, but I started to eat a lot of doughnuts last year... and I'm getting hooked. I guess I could say that I didn't used to be a fan of doughnuts, but hey, I'm capable of change, ha. I think I know who's gotten me into this doughnut fad... ahem... Duke. But I digress. These hand-made doughnuts were light and fluffy inside, and they were the perfect mattress to hold the blanket of ice cream that I layered on top. Doughnuts + rocky road > Mr. Pibb + Red Vines. More than crazy delicious.

I'll make a stop for real next time to try out everything on the menu. I hear the buttered kimchi chow and the pork belly are amazing. Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110121

Post 45: Oh Mah Gahh...Omakase! (LA-South Bay: Torrance)

2011-02-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

The omakase that we had for Ashley's birthday was an inspiring way to start off the new year. I've had the omakase at Kantaro Sushi in Torrance before, but I left my camera at home the last time. Luckily, I remembered to bring it this time so I could document some of the whoa moments of the meal.

Tuna sausage with cucumber, potato salad with corn
B-b-sole and tuna sashimi with ponzu, ankimo monkfish liver

When Duke first saw the pictures from the meal, I remember him saying that some of the courses looked pretty intense. The first sashimi course with the entire fish chillin' right on the plate was definitely intense. I mean... we were eating the flesh of the fish while the body was lying right in front of us. Intense.

Bluefin toro and amber jack sushi, hirame halibut and ika squid sushi
Deep-fried whole b-b-sole with nuggets and roe

Later, that same fish was grabbed from our plates with bare hands. The cute little missus of the restaurant (do I call her Mrs. Kantaro?) whisked the dreary, gray fish carcass away to the kitchen only to return with a golden, deep-fried whole fish. That was definitely intense.

Alaskan ikura salmon roe and Santa Barbara uni sea urchin sushi
Anago freshwater eel, spicy tuna hand roll and organic tamago egg
Mini chirashi and salmon sushi with cream cheese

But what else would omakase be? Omakase is the chef's table. It's his way of showing the guest how skillful, creative, and imaginative he can be. It's gotta be intense.

The only other place I've ever had omakase was at Wakasan in Westwood... another birthday outing. Wakasan's omakase involves more hot food items such as croquettes, hamburger steak on cast iron grills, chicken hot pot, etc. That experience, just like this one, was intense. You can read about it on Duke's blog.

Azuki red bean ice cream for dessert

Happy birthday, Ashley!

And thanks for the description, Duke. That one word said it all.

Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110108

Post 44.3: Year in Review - 2010

2011-02-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to close out the year for a while now... and seeing that it's no longer the beginning of the year or the end of last year, I better get a move on.

2010 was filled with plenty of ups and downs and lessons learned. It was not without its fair share of discoveries, adventures and unforgettable experiences. Whether it was taking my first bite of poutine in Vancouver, taking in the sights and sounds of a grand slam tennis match in New York, or relaxing over a brewski at the end of the day... I cherished it all. 2010 was quite a memorable year.

Discoveries of 2010

My first discovery of the year came with the annual chaos of tax season. Sitting under a pile of 1040s and 540s at work, I began reminiscing about how simple my childhood had been... when the only numbers I could count to were 1, 2, and maaaybe 3. Desperate to bring simplicity back, I went downstairs to the convenience store in the lobby to search for a simple box of Treetop apple juice. While browsing through the various sundries in the store, my heart sunk when I discovered that the only apple juice sold there was organic Treetop apple juice. My simple, green box of childhood apple juice was no more. While I had moved on to the sake, soju, beer, and wine, Treetop moved onto organic apples.

This year was the year that I realized that the times have truly changed. But it was also the year that I realized that many things had stayed the same. Like the classic Bob's Big Boy burger. So even though I had never actually liked the taste of the Bob's Big Boy double decker, I felt relieved when it looked and tasted the way I had remembered as a child. Changing the Big Boy classic may have caused a protest with enough angst to rival the time when Coca Cola changed its classic formula. (I swear I typed 'angst' in my sentence before I found and read the history on the website.) Okay, so Obama really didn't change too much. I'm cool with that... for now.

This year brought on the discovery of new cuisines and interesting dishes that were a fusion of culinary contributions from two different cultures. Jjajangmyeon and jjambbong took a while to grow on me, while gamjatang had me at first slurp.

This year I also discovered that lettuce didn't have to be the main ingredient in a salad. Or the that the star ingredient in a salad could be something other than a vegetable. And that salad didn't necessarily have to be cold, refreshing, or topped with cheese to be good. The raw beef salad from Yummy Yummy, the tea leaf salad from Burma Superstar, and the fig and brie salad from Larchmont Grill were all eye-opening experiences.

The year also marked the first time I was challenged to eat ox penis (it's also the last time I will ever do that), the first time I squeezed lime juice into my Mexican-style Chinese wonton soup, and the first time I tried Afghan cuisine.

There's no way I can forget my discoveries during my visit to our friendly neighbor to the north. The Japadog, an all-American hot dog infused with the rich flavors of traditional Japanese sauces and garnishes, and true Canadian poutine, gloriously golden French fries topped off with cheese curds and then smothered with brown gravy, beckoned me to return to Vancouver in 2011 to have a second taste. Perhaps on my next trip to Vancouver, I could make a pit stop in Seattle to Lola just to have a bite of those delectable doughnuts that I discovered last summer. Those doughnuts blew my mind away.

And I discovered that each of these foods... no matter how it was cooked, no matter what culture created it, no matter what taste it sparked on my tongue... was made even better with a tall glass of ice, cold beer.

Cravings of the year

Those that spend a good amount of time with me know that I get sudden, incredible urges to gorge on certain dishes or cuisines. I started off the year craving Indian food, but as the craving was satisfied, I quickly developed a longing for a cabeza taco from King Taco, a desire for a beef wrap from Happy Kitchen, and any kind of Taiwanese noodle from A&J Restaurant.

My cravings were made evident with my spontaneous text messages throughout the work day to friends who shared the same feeling. My friends of Korean heritage frequently received texts regarding haemul pajeon, and friends who live and work in the Bay Area suffered from my inundation of text messages (usually in all caps) about my drooling over the tiramisu from Cavalli Caffe in San Francisco.

But the one craving I didn't mention much was actually something I only took one bite of. During our trip to Seattle, oolong-milktea and friends waited forever for a delicate Russian pastry called a piroshky... and I sat on the sidewalk of Pike Place Market waiting for them. One bite from my friend's spice-filled beef and cheese piroshky, and I knew I was a sucker. Just as Duke wrote on his Yelp review of Piroshky Piroshky... who knew this thing could be so damn good?

Tears. Anguish. I want one now. I admit I messed up... I should have gotten one. But... perhaps the more I had bitten into that piroshky, the more anguish I would be in right now. And if that were the case, I wouldn't be surprised if I were frantically checking for flights to Seattle right now. Sigh. Piroshky, I should have given you a chance...

Trips in 2010

This year, I made 6 trips out of Southern California. I visited the Bay Area three times and made one trip each to Seattle, Vancouver, and New York. Each trip presented a different experience made unique by the people, the food, and the city itself. The sun shined brightly for me on all three trips to the Bay Area... even when the weatherman said it would rain. In Seattle, the taxi driver tried to swindle us on the way to Sea-Tac Airport. In Vancouver, Amanda's car got towed as we were making our way to the airport. It seemed like something was bound to happen every time I made my way to the airport.

Well, my trip to New York confirmed it. Already on the way to the airport, Jamie remembered that he had left the tennis match tickets at his apartment. He went back for them, which caused him to miss the flight. But thanks to Continental Airlines, the change fee was waived, and CO got him on the first flight out in the morning.

And on the way back to California, Jamie happened to be booked for a flight that had already taken off. What?! No worries, it was solved by a courteous CO agent who even upgraded Jamie up from economy. And even if it hadn't worked out, seeing a grand slam tennis tournament live for the first time made any fiasco worth going through.

None of the trips would have happened without the numerous travel companions, hosts and guides, and service people in the travel industry. Thanks to you, running through airport terminals, getting questioned by Customs and Immigration, and drinking until the wee hours of the morning made for exciting stories that I will remember forever. I talked to kind strangers, yelled at sketchy strangers, and shared one of the last free economy class meals with hungry strangers. None of these experiences would have been the same without you.

I loved traveling to these great cities, and I'm looking forward to even more traveling in the new year. But you know what? Home is where the heart is. And Los Angeles, you are what I call home.

The year's favorites from home

Although I've experienced some great eats while traveling outside of LA, food from home simply can't be beat. The best food from LA comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. One of them is a deep fried sphere of mashed potato stuffed with savory ground beef... just slightly larger than a golf ball but still smaller than a tennis ball. It is known simply as the Porto's potato ball.

The best food from home can be something from the local bakery that you get on a weekly basis or something from the Japanese sushi bar you have only on occasion. The spicy tuna, fatty tuna (toro) and sea urchin (uni) from Sushi Gen is some of the best in the Southland.

Just a few blocks over to the north of Sushi Gen is where you can find a classic Philippe French-dipped sandwich. Place it next to a bowl of chili, with or without beans, and glass of 75 cent lemonade you'll get a glimpse into my childhood. You may see me here munching on a roast beef dip and using crackers to spoon chili in... it's the same way I learned to eat when I was in elementary school.

But really, what makes a food your favorite is not whether it's a classic but how it makes you feel. It could be a macaron from Bottega Louie, the beef ribs from Lucille's BBQ, a Spam musubi from King's Hawaiian, the Taiwanese salt and pepper fried oysters from Happy Garden, hand-cut salami from the store, or peeled fruit from your own kitchen. The list could go on and on.

But perhaps the best food from home is really the food from home. Mom's beef noodle soup, dad's corned beef and cabbage, grandma's dumplings (hand-made or frozen) bring the kind of comfort that not even LA classics like Philippe can bring.

Along with some of my newly discovered food, these favorites contributed to the memorable year in delicious food. I can't wait for the food that has yet to be uncovered and the bountiful favorites that will carry over into 2011. I feel very blessed to have been able to relish in food aplenty and to have made it a hobby when there are tons of people around the world that have trouble just finding a bite.

Cheers to the new year. Until the next find, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Some pictures from this post have been contributed by oolong-milktea.

ML - 20110204

Post 44.2: Yelp Top 10 Restaurants of 2010

2011-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

I've visited half of the country's top 10 on Yelp... 5 from LA, 2 from SF, 3 from NY, and not a single one from the Windy City.

Check it out:

Yelp Top 10 of 2010

post by Jason, Yelp

Any recommendations? Where should I visit next?

ML - 20110114