132. Tokyo - Fried Rice in a Pouch from a Japanese 7-Eleven (Tokyo: Shibuya-ku, Harajuku / 東京都: 渋谷区, 原宿)

While strolling down Takeshita Street in Harajuku District, Ken and I stopped by a 7-Eleven to take a look around.  Although I'm pretty fond of Taiwanese 7-Elevens because of the unique products sold there, Japanese 7-Elevens have some pretty interesting stuff too.  On top of the Kit Kats in passion fruit and salt & caramel flavors, we found fried rice in a pouch!

To wash it all down, I purchased a coffee from McDonald's down the street for 100 yen (about 1 USD).  Who would have questioned that it was full of beans? One can only hope that the beans refer to coffee beans and nothing else.

Being so fascinated with a single serving size of fried rice in a round, plastic pouch led me to buy another one.  This one was a Korean style kimchi fried rice from a Family Mart.  Even though it's been chilling in the fridge case, it is a great to calm any sudden minor cravings or to hold your stomach while waiting for a much anticipated meal... like our next meal at Maisen for some famous tonkatsu.  So until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130626

129. Portland - Blueberry Bourbon Basil at Blue Star Donuts (Portland: Southwest/Downtown)

Not that I didn't already have enough breakfast at Pearl Bakery, but on the way out I couldn't stop myself from swinging by Blue Star Donuts for just one doughnut... just one.

On top of the almost obligatory maple and bacon hipster doughnut, Blue Star has some creative flavor combinations.  Have a craving for PB&J? Well, there's a doughnut with blackberry compote dusted with peanut powder.  There's also a red berry & rhubarb, a lemon poppy seed, and a meyer lemon & key lime curd... which is delicious, by the way, even after a 10 hour flight to Tokyo.  Oh, and don't forget there's an original glazed too.

I wanted one doughnut... just one.  I could only fit one doughnut in my stomach after already consuming the croissants and coffee from just 15 minutes earlier.  However, selecting just one delicious doughnut from a display of many delicious doughnuts was no easy task.  After much pondering, swaying from side to side, and a persuasive nudge in the right direction by Travis, the very friendly cashier, I pointed to the blueberry bourbon + basil.  I'm not sure what possessed the doughnut maker to create such an interesting flavor profile, but I'm very glad this person did so.  It is sweet, soft, and amazing-delicious.  The blueberry, bourbon and basil hit your tongue in that exact order... it is sweet at first, sultry next, and there is a bit of exotic tingle at the very end.  Yesssss... good choice.  And even better with coffee.  Black, of course.

Well, well, well... that one blueberry bourbon basil charmed the pants off my tongue with such conviction that I went back to the counter to stare at the other doughnuts.  Travis, noticing that I was loitering at the counter and probably creeping the doughnuts out, suggested that I take some doughnuts home with me.  "I'm flying to Tokyo in a few hours," I told him.

No problem! Travis said that these doughnuts last for more than 10 hours.  So I grabbed the passion fruit cocoa nib, the dulce de leche & hazelnut, and a meyer lemon & key lime curd in a box to go.  Taking boxes of doughnuts on a flight seems like a recurring theme for Portland now (post: Cursed by Voodoo Doughnut).  The passion fruit tartness and the crunchy texture of the sweet cocoa nibs makes for a whirlwind of amazement.  I believe it to be one of the best doughnuts I have ever had in my life.

The dulce de leche & hazelnut is good too.  Actually, it's delicious.  The dulce de leche glaze on top almost oozes out at you.  It looks firm and congealed, but it's actually lusciously soft and gushy.  There's a slight essence of Nutella to it but without it being too sweet.

My desire for just one single doughnut quickly turned into four.  This seems like a recurring theme as well, doesn't it? Time to pack up and go meet Ken in Tokyo! Hopefully he can help me munch on these doughnuts.

This concludes my second series on Portland.  The next part of my trip away from home brings me to Japan where I will be spending five days exploring and eating through the largest city in the Land of the Rising Sun.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130624

128. Portland - Pearl Bakery is a Treasured Jewel (Portland: Pearl District)

After tasting Pearl Bakery's brioche for breakfast at Bijou Café, I wanted to check out the shop for myself to see what other wondrous bread options they had.  I stumbled into the bakery on a Monday morning when plenty of people in the Pearl District were in a mad dash for caffeine.  I'm sure those who were waiting in line behind me didn't appreciate that I ordered the croissant... and then the other croissant... oh, and then a coffee too.  Anything else? A macaron too, please.

Of course I got the standard butter croissant.  But in an instant I longed for something savory too.  So I asked for the ham & gruyere croissant as well.  It had to be eaten.  And it had to be eaten with a coffee.  Black.  Always.  I took one bite of the butter croissant... it was flaky with just enough of that butter essence.  No margarine or shortening here.  Then I took a bite of the ham and cheese croissant.  A bit more firm.  Yesss, the cheese... oh, the cheese.  Good.  A sip of coffee.  My mind was darting here and there.  I ate the pastries the way I made my selections at the counter.  If only I could make my pastry decisions the way I make my decisions about my coffee...

The white, vanilla bean Parisian macarons were staring at me in the display case.  They really were.  They were staring at me with their little vanilla bean spots... and they were saying... you want me.  Eat me.  Now.  Please.  I could envision them blinking at me.  Yes, I wanted it.  I wanted to eat it.  Right away.  Yes, please.

So a single, lone macaron was bought.  And that single, lone macaron was eaten.  Mmm... fluffy and creamy and stretchy all at the same time.  These three little pastries were enough to make me believe that Pearl Bakery makes treasured jewels of their baked goods.  Yum, but my mind was darting again.  It was time for doughnuts.  Off we go! Until we meet again at the doughnut shop (in 10 minutes), let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130624

Post 121: Portland - Salt & Straw Offers Ice Cream of All Kinds (Portland: Northwest/Alphabet)

I love ice cream... all kinds of ice cream.  From the simple strawberry by Haagen Dazs to the ghastly garlic ice cream from The Stinking Rose, I love them all.  Some of the creative flavors that the chefs from Iron Chef America put together even seem intriguing to me.  I'm down to get away from plain Jane vanilla, and I'm constantly on a quest for a nutty chocolate flavor that can top that dollar scoop of Thrifty rocky road.  Really, it's the best.  While in Portlandia, we visited Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop on bustling Northwest 23rd that serves anything but ordinary flavors.  In fact, it was even featured on an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.  But ice cream... how bizarre can it get?

Well, if it's from Portland, it can get pretty weird.  After all, as Portland residents always say, "Keep Portland weird."  And if it can be done with ice cream, then it shall be done.  From Brown Butter Popcorn with Pink Peppercorns to Pear with Blue Cheese, Salt & Straw offers it all.  And yes, there is a Double Fold Vanilla for those who are a bit more traditionalist when it comes to dessert.

There were quite a few people waiting for the all natural, organic, local Oregon ice cream offered in 15 different flavors.  Everyone in line tasted samples of as many flavors as possible.  Many of the flavors were creative, whimsical, even unimaginable... I mean, Aquabeet-Kroqstad Aquavit and Oregon Beets? What in the world is that?

The best way to try them all is to get the tasting flight and share.  Four scoops, two spoons, nine dollars, unlimited possibilities.  Okay, well, there are a limited number of combinations, but who's going to do the math? Writer here... not a mathematician. 

The first flavor we chose was the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper.  If whimsical is what is desired, then this is the one.  Strawberry... good.  Honey... good.  Balsamic... good.  Black pepper... good.  Put it all together... what am I eating? My brain couldn't figure it out, but it was so delicious.  And in just a few bites, it was over way too soon.

We also tried Almond Brittle w/ Salted Ganache.  Ah, so good.  The subtly sweet and salty combination was to die for... and I just loved the expected crunch from the almond brittle.  It's shake-my-head good.

Another one we tried was the Coffee & Bourbon.  A little extra drizzle of chocolate on top wouldn't have hurt, but this was already a good way to get in an afternoon caffeine kick.

Here is the ice cream that made no sense but so much sense at the same time.  Our final scoop on the flight of four flavors was the Chef Series of Ox-Foie S'mores, a house vanilla with hazelnut graham crumble swirled in with foie gras, s'mores, and veal stock fudge sauce.  Finally, foie gras, we meet again... but in ice cream.  That made no sense at all.  But combined with s'mores and fudge sauce, all of which are extremely rich flavors, this flavor combination didn't seem as bizarre anymore.  The fatty richness blended together in a complex yet fitting way, but I was more than glad that a few spoonfuls is all it took to finish this insanely decadent dairy dessert.

There is only so much ice cream that anyone can eat in one sitting before becoming sick, so that only means that I'll be back again to try all those seasonal flavors that I missed this time.  The Malted Plum and Horchata Sorbet do sound great on a warm summer day.

The next post will be the final in this first series of Portland eats.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120915

Post 111: Portland - A First Meal at Tasty N Sons (Portland: North Portland/Northeast/Boise)

Last September I visited Portland for the first time.  My friend Angela and I took an early morning flight out from Long Beach headed to the mecca of modern and inventive hipster cuisine.  Right after touching down at PDX, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and hailed a cab straight for Tasty N Sons, a self-titled neighborhood restaurant that has made itself into a Portland institution.

We settled down to a freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and a cup of local Stumptown brew, which was served with a very cheeky carafe of milk.  There's nothing like a good cup of acidic liquid to start your morning right.

Under the advisement of our welcoming and friendly server, we ordered the renowned Breakfast Board, which arrived complete with various proteins, an assortment of breads, fresh blackberries and pickled beets, and even a duo of supple spreads that pulled the smorgasbord together.

The strips of house made beef jerky were more moist than expected, and the hard-boiled eggs were more tender than expected.  But the double smoked applewood bacon was delicious just as expected.  It is hard for me to remember another time when I had bacon as good as this.  With a crisp crostini of chicken liver mousse spread over the top, I was in absolute heaven.  The only thing that may have been better than the luxurious chicken liver mousse was the Lebneh, the creamy yogurt cheese drizzled with olive oil.  Whether it's spread over crostini or encircling the fresh blackberries, the opulent tasting dairy spread cannot be beat.

For some heartier fare, we ordered the BBQ Chicken Hash.  It was topped off with some onion sour cream and an over easy egg.  I immediately popped the runny yolk so that it ran down the sweet and savory shredded chicken.  Ah, isn't that the best part of every egg done over easy?

We saw all of this being prepared on the spot while seated at the bar counter.  The chickens were pulled out of the oven, cooled and shredded, and blended with the barbecue sauce by hand.  Heart and soul was being injected into our fresh food live in front of us.  Very cool.

I was mesmerized by all the happenings of the open kitchen.  Everyone worked at a quick but steady pace without the frenzy and chaos of other kitchens I've seen.  No drama here... just genuine cooking.  It must have been the Portland air.

Our last taste at Tasty N Sons was the Chocolate Potato Doughnut with crème anglaise.  This was a must because it was prominently featured on the menu twice.  It was literally the first item on the menu, and it was on the desserts list as well.

It was densely packed with chocolate, and although I love chocolate, the granulated sugar coating on the exterior of the decadent doughnut and the pool of crème anglaise really made the dessert what it was.

Our first meal at Tasty N Sons gave us a solid first impression that this supposedly quirky city has to offer.  And now, next door to Chop Charcuterie and Eat: An Oyster Bar for a little taste of what they have to offer.  Let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120914

Post 99: I Love Macarons (LA-SGV: Pasadena)

Since my last post on the macarons I brought back from Chicago, I thought I would just blast a photo of the half a dozen I got from 'Lette Macarons in Old Town Pasadena.  Christina, Ron and I hit up the store after gorging on a large, post-5K breakfast.  There is always room for sweets, right?

Upon arriving, we were bombarded by two families that bum-rushed the counter.  It wasn't the daughter but the mom who immediately requested a lychee macaron.  Geez, lady.  Learn to wait in line.  We selected three pistachio ones, one Colombian coffee, an Early Grey, and a passion fruit flavored one.  The Sicilian pistachio flavored macarons really are the best ones on their menu... especially the actual pistachio nut itself has absolutely not appeal to me whatsoever.  Pistachio macarons and pistachio ice cream, on the other hand, are some of my favorites.

The 'Lette website recommends, "For best degustation, our macarons should be consumed within 3 days."  Ha, I learned a new word.  Degust.  Verb.  To taste something carefully so as to appreciate it fully.  Props to the store for extending my vocabulary.  Boo on the store for not organizing the crowds into a first come, first served line.

I love macarons.  That is all.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20121118

Post 28: First Time with Afghan (SF: Russian Hill/Nob Hill)

I slapped myself out of my low tide of culinary inspiration.  My inspiration is back.  Or... perhaps I'm just craving Afghan food, and I'm craving it enough to post about it.

My first experience with Afghan food was a couple of months ago when my manager (born in Afghanistan, raised in USA) brought some of her mom's homemade fare to the office for the team.  Although our team consists of just five people, there was enough food to feed the entire corner of our office.  (Uh... it's a pretty big corner.)

I had no clue what I was eating, but I know good food when I see it.  And logic tells me that if an Afghan mother (or any mother for that matter) is confident enough and proud enough to prepare party-sized trays of her own home-cooked deliciosities, then gosh darnit, that stuff has got to be good.

A look at what Marya brought in:


Homemade qabalee.  Qabalee is a combination of pallow rice, raisins, carrots, and meat buried within.  Pallow rice is rice that has been baked after having been tossed in syrup made with carmelized sugar.  Zeera, or cumin seeds, helps perk up the rice.  There's nothing that can come between me and the Japanese, short-grain sticky rice that I've grown up with, but I welcome long-grain rice from other cultures whole-heartedly.  Pallow rice, I welcome you into my life with arms wide open.


Shola.  Contained within the puffy rice is lamb and finely minced vegetables such as onions and celery.  At first glance this dish looks a bit like oatmeal, and the color doesn't do the flavor the least bit of justice.  If you judge this book by its cover, you're definitely gonna miss out.  It's sweet, but it's got spices.  It's soft, but it's not mushy.  It looks bland, but oh lord, it's full of flavor.  I just can't get over how the oil and juices from the meat seep from below... almost like hot lava bubbling up from a volcano, ready-to-burst... and how every other bite of the engorged sticky rice has a surprise of lamb.  Oh sweet heavens, this stuff is good.


Beef qorma.  These chunks of beef have been stewed with onions, garlic, ground coriander, crushed tomatoes, and cauliflower.  It complements the qabalee and the shola really well.  With the qabalee, the gravy (the qorma part of it) helps give the rice an extra hand in spice, but I discovered that this beef deliciousness really shines on a bed of the shola.  Because the shola is so thick, the gravy has nowhere to escape; the shola can enclose the meat and its gravy within its congealed grains.  Your mouth gets nothin' but flavor.  Perrrrfect.

Many thanks to Mrs. Hameed for introducing a new cuisine to all of us in the office.  Marya, you've got one mean-cookin' mama!

Post 25.5: Welcome to Seattle - Day 1, Part 2

continuation from from Post 25.2...

Our journey through Seattle takes us to the area around Pike's Place Market.  Our journey in numbers:

A lesson in truffle oils.

Connie gets a whiff of the buttery essence of the truffle.

5
The number of dollars it costs per person for wine tasting (and food pairing) at La Buona Tavola, a small shop with everything from wine to pasta to truffle salts, truffle oils, and truffle creams galore.  Duke and I had a red wine tasting; Connie and Diana chose some sweeter whites.  Totally worth it. 

Is the glass half empty or half full?

Well, really it's one-tenth... but who's counting?

You can read Duke's post on our wine tasting experience here.

The house that chowder built.

Small store, little space... but big chowder taste.

4
The bowls of chowder we ordered from the highly recommended Pike Place Chowder.  One cup each of (clockwise from top left) traditional clam chowder, shrimp and crab clear chowder (special of the day), scallop chowder, and Manhattan chowder.  The scallop chowder had a hint of lemon, and it complemented the dill very well.  We came back here again before our flight back to LA.

See which chowder Duke likes, and view higher resolution pictures from his post here.

Est. 1971.

The company has since gone public but has adopted a more private logo... ifyaknowatimsayin.

3
The cups of coffee we (we as in Connie, Diana and Duke) drank from the original Starbucks location.  The line to order (not to the mention the line just to get into the store) looked more like the branches that hang off of the tree that produces coffee beans.  Super touristy.  Yes, we were super tourists.  Along with their coffee purchases, they also rang up a bill for Starbucks coffee mugs.

Smelly cat?

We learned that the storefront performers share the space with each other.

One of the baristas attempted to engage the tourists in conversation.  "How many of y'all are from America?" (a few scattered whoops and shouts).  Then, "how many of y'all are from overseas?"  (silence... then nervous laughter from the crowd).  I don't think the non-American tourists quite understood her.  =\

2
Too much cheese! Also, the number of cheese-filled items we tasted from Beecher's Handmade Cheese, a cheese shop that not only serves cheese-infused food but makes their cheese in-house too.  They claim that they have the world's best mac & cheese, but I think Duke and I agree... we've have better.  However, the panini-style grilled cheese sandwich was to die for.

Duo of dairy.

The best grilled cheese sandwich and a so-so mac & cheese.

There's more of the cheese-making process in Duke's post here.

The falafel princess. 

A very shy falafel maker attempts to hide from me while another prepares with zest.

1
Gyro cut into four sections from Falafel King.  And one conversation with the store employees about where their homeland of Eritrea is. 

Me: So where is Eritrea exactly?
Employee: You know Ethiopia?
Me: Yeah.
Employee: Okay, right next to Ethiopia.
Me: (pointing at the employee's small map of Africa) Here?
Employee: (flips it in the opposite direction) HERE.

How can we split this? The knife was dull, but we managed. 

It was tough to see the meat under there, but the meat was far from tough.

Read Duke's post about our pit-stop at Falafel King here.

And those were our daytime activities for our first day in Seattle.  The next post will show of the loot I brought back from Pike's Place.  Until then...

ML - 20100709/20100529

Post 16.2: Carbohydrate Pairings

For almost every carb there is a complementary, liquid counterpart... call 'em BFF's.  For example, the perfect pairing for a warm chocolate chip cookie is... an ice, cold glass of milk, of course! How about an evenly glazed morning doughnut? It's hard to imagine that without an equally fresh, steaming cup of Joe.  Cornbread, you say? Arguably, it just might be a bowl of chili.

The complementary, liquid counterpart for my thousand-layered, hand-pulled shredded pancake (手抓餅) is the simple bowl of stewed beef soup.  If you can dunk a doughnut into your coffee at breakfast, and if your cookies can take a dive into your milk after dinner, then you can surely dip the shredded pancake into a savory beef soup.  

Like a bloomin' onion, each piece of the pull-apart pancake can picked off... and like string cheese, each shred can be torn away to its roots... if you try hard enough.  And as each piece of the pan-fried pancake sinks into the soup, each drop of soy-sauced soup ascends each fiber of the pancake... and the chili oil from the soup surface obediently follows its leader... remember chemistry class when you tested pH balance by watching the chemicals travel up Litmus paper?

And just when the pancake is holding its own weight in beef soup, it shows you that it has absorbed more than a Bounty paper towel by descending the soup back down the same fibers it's traveled up.  Xylem... up.  Phloem... down.  I hope you have a spoon handy.  And if not you had better be holding your recently drenched pancake over the bowl of soup.

Drip... drip... drip... MUNCH.  After three drips the pancake was at the zenith of perfect balance: when the soaked innards of the white carbohydrates had softened... and the crisp, brown exterior had just started to crumble under the pressure of osmosis.  I just couldn't hold back any longer.

Sometimes I take more pleasure in submerging the shredded pancake into the soup than splashing a classic French-dipped sandwich into au jus.   Ha, you can't spell au jus without A&J.  One of my favorite carb/liquid pairings can be found at A&J Restaurant (半畝園).  What's your favorite pairing, and where do you get it? Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML 20100424/20100321+0419+23