Wingggg me!

The story of the chicken wing: a food often and most commonly synonymous with the booze feast of the Superbowl. My first commercial encounter with buffalo wings occurred some twelve years ago at a grungy foodie joint in the heart of south street seaport in NYC. Fast-forward to my college years and my world is open to such midwest chains as buffalo wild wings and their deep fried poultry selections doused in a variety of ultra flavorful sauces; sweet, savory, tangy, or spicy to your liking. After a hiatus from Buffalo wings from my year abroad in Hong Kong, I have returned to San Francisco with a new appreciation and craving for chicken wings. But, this time, a whole new arena of chicken wings has been open; Asian fusion ones. Sure, I am accustomed to chicken wings marinated in soy sauce, and cooking wine, a flavor that is nostalgic of family summer bbqs back on the east coast but this is something new entirely.

SO, is a small joint tucked between the highway and across from a mini cooper dealership in San Francisco. There is little to no signage but the smells and the aromas of the restaurant lead your nose into the small take-out looking shop. My stomach was grumbling from a long day of work and I was ready to eat my heart out wings style. Leaving my friend to do all the ordering, I had my chopsticks ready to dig in. The wings surprisingly came first, and were glistening in shades of gold and caramel. The small bowl was brightly adorned with tiny red deep fried chili peppers, making for a colorful medley of deliciousness.

The taste was no exception. With the first bite, came a light crisp and crunch, without being overly fried like KFC or some other commercial fried chicken joint. The next taste is something of a sweet honey glaze only to be taken by surprise with the slow build up of the spiciness that hits your taste buds. The chicken itself is moist, tender and just the perfect size. The best part of these chicken wings was that every part of your taste palette is satisfied; sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy. All in all- a fabulous first experience of the asian-style chicken wing!

ramen whaaa?

Ramen is one of those foods that I am never really picky about. Good broth+ good noodles= good ramen no? Clearly, I am no ramen connoisseur. While San Francisco has some of the best ethnic foods in the bay area, San Mateo has some of the best japanese restaurants I have ever had in my life. Ramen is no exception. Although i left New York before the ramen craze exploded on the east coast, I have tried the likes of Daikokuya, a ramen paradise people swear by in the Los Angeles region, and Katana-Ya, the SF hidden jewel of Union Square. Both of which were tasty but not worth the ridiculously long wait.

Some of my bay area friends seem to be more in tune with the qualities that make a good bowl of ramen- the consistency and flavour of the broth to the texture of the noodles. My ramen palette was expanded when I tried Ramen Dojo. This small 10 table restaurant is often sold out of its famous broths only a few hours after opening, weekday and weekends alike.

On this particular wednesday night, I ordered the Spicy Garlic Pork Flavor broth with extra corn. The extra corn is a habit that i had acquired in Hong Kong with their famous Butter Corn Ramen, which like its title describes, absolutely delicious.

After a short 10 minute wait and good conversation, our bowls of ramen arrived. Each bowl was adorned with beautiful colors, steaming and ready to eat! The original fixings come with a quail egg, kikuage mushrooms( similar to the crunchy consistency and texture of the black fungus that chinese people commonly use), beautiful green chives, roasted garlic cloves, and 2 pieces of fatty pork.

With my first bite of the noodles, they proved to hold a chewy and almost springy texture that many ramen places fail to achieve properly. I personally love noodles that have a chew , or some bite while others prefer softer alternatives. +1 on the noodles!

With most broth soups, even pho, I generally have a hard time finishing the broth. I rather feel full from the full consumption of the carbs then feeling full from liquid. Just a matter of preference though! The broth was rich and flavorful, mostly from the fatty pork. A good broth, but a bit on the heavy side for me. All in all- a delightful meal and the noodles are everything to write home about!

SF..a food mecca of sorts

To my dear readers, I am sorry for the long hiatus of sorts; of blogging, of trying new restaurants among other things. I had a recent epiphany while commuting on the bum-infested public transit system we in the bay call BART. I missed writing. I read often on my ipad, like most commuters do, and suddenly felt my vocabulary, and proper syntactical usage slowly slip into oblivion. Let's backtrack. Almost 16 months ago today, in an attempt to transform my life, moved back from the far east food epicenter of the world, Hong Kong to another food mecca of sorts; San Francisco. Lucky for me, both cities prove to be filled with foodies who enjoy both the delicate/explosive, cheap and expensive tastes that both cities have to offer.

Don't get me wrong, I miss all that Hong Kong has to offer, food wise and all the lovely international friends i have made, but that is it. The comfort and familiarity of the US customs and immigration desk, stepping off the plane onto US territory felt as comforting as a Westin Heavenly bed.

Like Hong Kong, San Francisco's food scene is heavily segmented into many different categories. There are the hole in the wall authentic ethnic food places commonly found in the neighborhoods of that particular ethnicity, the cute one-off restaurants nestled between coffee shops and boutiques, and the high-end WOM restaurants that hold reservations as long as Santa's Naughty/Nice list.

As a foodie, I love all of the above but my favorite places have to be the hole in the wall places. The exciting thrill of finding something "new" that has not received a million hits on yelp seems slightly more satisfying. But, most of all I love these places because they are cheap and fulfilling , a win win of sorts. No frufru tablecloths, and ambient music, just nitty gritty grungy good food.

Although my food adventures in SF do not come close to the level of glamour that I experienced in HK, I hope to equally provide entertainment, and/or instill the hidden foodie in you to try something new around you! With that , I give you my first post!

My Parents, the Jet Setters- Snow Pea Garden

This meal actually goes back all the way to the week after Father’s Day which… now that I think of it was last month. So! another apology for the delay in blogging… its actually more taxing than initially anticipated. After a relaxing weekend in shanghai and a small father’s day celebration minus the hermana my parents decided to follow me back to Hong Kong. I have labeled my parents “permanent jetsetters” for they never seem to stay put in one place.

This meal was their supposed “farewell meal” back to Shanghai… or maybe for my grandma just an event to go out to eat. For at 87, every event becomes a huge production. Since my dad is quite the picky eater, and I suppose my particular likes and dislikes can be attributed to being my father’s daughter, this restaurant has become a favorite among my family. My grandma even has VIP status and is known by name…. slightly embarrassing. Onto the meal!

Snow Pea Garden is located in the heart of Causway Bay… unfortunately directly next to my office but the convenience is often favored when I am required to pull OT. Shanghainese cuisine in Hong Kong? How does it measure up? Well… its actually pretty good.

Dishes:
-Lightly sautéed shrimp, which is paired with dark vinegar
-Sautéed beef flank stir-fried with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and squash
- Deep fried pork tenderloin with chilli peppers, and salt & pepper
-Cooked eggplant in chili oil with green onions, and garlic
-Classic Shanghainese cured ham/ and pork bone broth with bamboo shoots, Chinese leafy greens and bai ye( a form of tofu… will be explained below)

Most of these dishes are very popular and common shanghainese dishes that offer simplicity in the ingredients but if made correctly exude full flavor and can appeal to any foodie's palette.

Notes:

Shrimp: The shrimp seafood flavor surprisingly melds extremely well with the dark vinegar.. which is different than western vinegars and offers a muskier and more aged flavor.

Shanghainese soup- This clear but flavorful broth is by far one of my favorite soups prepared in a Chinese restaurant. While the ingredients and preparation are nowhere near difficult, the freshness of ingredients is crucial for success in this soup. One of the main ingredients in this soup is “Bai Ye” or a variable form of tofu that is formed into sheets and then tied into knots. They offer a slight chewyness but gives texture and bite as well… hard to explain but an indescribable amount of yumminess. Most often “bai ye” is seen either in clear broth soups or cooked with meats and bamboo shoots in a soy sauce reduction…another common shanghai favorite.

Cheers! and happy eating!

SHANGHAI: Lapis Thai Restaurant

Lapis Thai Restaurant

First and foremost an apology to the small handful(? ) of viewers of this blog. The picture quality on these pictures are severely lacking because 1) it was captured on my iphone and b) the lighting of this restaurant was dim to almost non-existent. Ok! Onto the food! I have come to really love the taste of thai food, a complex mixture between sweet, tangy, tart, savory, and spicy.

Lapis is located in a small dimly lit wooden house-like frame with dark wooden interiors and offered a gentle candlelight atmosphere. This dinner was the combination of 3 Americanized Chinese families from New York all gathering together with their children in Shanghai… and so the children were seated at the end of the table. The “kids table” selection of dishes was far from inferior though.

We started with an appetizer of shrimp pomelo salad in a tart lime dressing. This is a favorite of mine in all thai restaurants but frankly speaking, there is little skill needed to produce this dish besides the essentials of fresh ingredients. The sampler appetizer came next. A variety of 1) spring rolls 2) satay flavored beef and chicken skewers 3) fish cakes and 4) shrimp cakes with a sweet tangy sauce for dipping. Per my recollection of the platter, nothing was worthy of commenting. For those who know me well should know my distinct disdain for cilantro. This thai soup contained an abundance of spices if my taste buds have not failed me; cilantro, basil, thyme, and perhaps even traces of mint with a seafood selection of mussels, squid, shrimp, and fish combined into a tomato-based broth. Like I said.. I do not enjoy the taste of cilantro.

Onto the main course! This next dish was a selection of lightly pan-fried shrimp with cooked pieces of mango, and onions in a sweet and tart mango reduction. Also, nothing to write home about. Why do all thai restaurants enjoy making a concoction of normal Chinese fried rice with the addition of pineapple and try to call it “thai food”? This fried rice dish was exactly that; a mass compilation of Chinese fried rice with pineapple.

This last dish requires its own paragraph because it was my favorite course of the meal. Desserts are the one food course that I find difficult to refuse. This small white square delight was actually dual-layered. The top layer was a light coconut gelatin while the second layer was a sticky concoction of tapioca and coconut pieces infused into a sort of layered cake. While I have started to wean myself off of sickenly sweet desserts, this selection was both light, refreshing and offered the slightest bit of sweetness without being overbearing.

Cheers! and happy eating!

SHANGHAI EDITION: Fried Dumplings!

Yang’s Fried Dumplings (Nanjing Xi Lu, #2 Line MTR, Exit 2]

Despite the blazing sun, and arid heat that was plaguing the entirety of shanghai during my visit, yang’s fried dumplings was a must-do on my visit to the traditional yet incredible metropolis. One of the fascinating things about Shanghai is despite the ever-changing infrastructure and constant beautification of the city, the most traditional and local food joints can still be found. Yang’s proves to be a hidden jewel among a strip mall encompassing everything from KFC, to Roxy, Puma, and Asics on the famous Nanjing Xi Lu.

So what makes this “fried dumpling “ so good? As a food enthusiast, I have grown up eating the [Sheng Jian Bao] which can be best described as a larger round-shaped dumpling filled with meat filling-usually pork although beef has been a recent addition in many restaurants. Seems standard enough right? There is one factor to the [Sheng Jian Bao] that makes or breaks a [Sheng Jian Bao]. In french this would be known as the “jus” but Chinese would probably use “zhi” or juice. The “zhi” in a [sheng jian bao] is a combination of soup jello(which is usually chicken or beef stock stuffed inside the dumplings with meat filling before steaming) and residue from the fatty meat. The combination of the “zhi”, crispy & thick chewy shell and the meat filling make this simple food a popular favorite of tourists and locals alike, including myself.

This may be a presumption of my own but during the cold, damp winters, there is no sign of heat and in the same manner, hot summers do not receive any relief of air-con either. Perhaps, this is a better attempt to efficiently serve the mass of people waiting for these delicious dumplings. Seating at each of the small establishments proves to be extremely limited but neither seating nor lack of heat/ac keep the crowds away. If you travel to Shanghai, this is a must try ☺

Cheers! and happy eating!

Chinese Desserts….will always hold a soft spot in my heart

As the temperature gets warmer....eat something cold!

As an Americanized Chinese girl born in the US, I would have chosen frozen yogurt or an ice cream sundae any day/night of the week. Lately, my experience and time spent in asia has made me question my choices for sweets more carefully. After my almost 9 month stint in hong kong, I have grown to really like Cantonese desserts and even crave them at times. This next feature is no exception.

Shaved Ice- The Taiwanese call it 刨冰 in pin yin bao bing, in Korean it is known as 빙수 or bingsu for its phoenetic pronunciation, ais kacang in malay or “abc “ for short.

However, no matter where you find this sweet, it is always created the same way; a large mound of shaved ice filled with toppings like jellies, red bean, tapioca, black pearls, condensed milk, fruit, coconut….etc etc…

This particular establishment in hong kong I visited uses the same concept as the traditional shaved ice in shape but chooses to embark on the new and modern approach for “bean curd textured shaved ice” as can be read about in a previous entry of this blog while mixing and matching western and eastern toppings like lychee jelly and banana or krispy cereal and kiwi.

Here are 3 particular flavors that I have tried:

a) Horlicks- which is a powder that is made into a malt beverage made popular in hong kong and can resemble the taste of ovaltine. – with wheat, strawberries, sweet dumplings, and crystal jelly.
b) Chocolate- with marshmallows, lychee jelly, and banana
c) Peanut- with sweet dumplings, kiwi, and krispy cereal of some form.

Cheers! and happy eating!