MORE SNACKS

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

Chinese Hot Pot! Chen and I decided to do something fun this year together. I made a major dinner one year, and I realized it was a lot of work. This time was so much easier and I could actually enjoy myself. Hinto finally could wear his Chinese outfit...

chocobolo

2012-01-22T17:04:00.001-05:00

Chocobolo claimed they have the best chocolate cake in the world. We decided to go find out how good it was. We got their chocolate cheese cake and pistachio chocolate cake. It was good, but it was NOT the best. Well, now I can tell people I tried it, and I am not going back there again.

Vapiano

2012-01-22T16:57:00.002-05:00

Marina has introduced an amazing lunch spot by Union Square. Vapiano is a cafeteria-style Italian restaurant with very good seatings and food! There were pizza, salad and pasta stations. And once you ordered from one of their chef, they cooked them in front of you. I also loved that they made their bread and pasta in-house. Almost all the dishes are around $10 each. Also, their happy hour is from 12pm to 8pm and their red sangria was so good!

Little Brother BBQ

2012-01-22T16:33:00.001-05:00

After the amazing cocktails at Hot Bird, we walked into Little Brother BBQ for some guilty snacks! Marina and I got their fries and Joint Dogs with Angus beef, topped with some salsa, pickles and some interesting sauces. After we got our orders, we just ran back to Hot Bird for more cocktails. The fries are gone once we set it on our tables with friends. I am really not a hot-dog person, but it was just perfect. Hot Bird has a outdoor area, I can imagine the place must be quite popular in the summer, specially Little Brother is right next door.

Iowa Christmas 2011

2012-01-22T14:27:00.001-05:00

Here is the hightlight of what we have eaten during Christmas in Iowa...

Melody turned 25!

2012-01-06T00:16:00.001-05:00

My birthday was quite special this year, when I turned 25. Time flies and it's nice to share the very special day with Curtis and my parent all together! My parents bought this delicious cake from... according to them, it was found in an fancy hotel they walked by on 5th ave. Well, the mocha cake from an unknown place was actually very good! :)

Braised Pork with Chestnut

2012-01-06T00:03:00.001-05:00

My parents came and visited around October last year. I just had some times to post the picture finally. My mom made the most amazing meal. Not sure if I can make the braised pork as good as this one!

Breakfast sandwich for one

2012-01-05T00:02:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I just really like eggs for dinner. Tonight I was alone and making an egg/smoked turkey/cheese sandwich was quite easy!

Christmas cookies

2011-12-26T21:25:00.001-05:00

Dough doughnut

2011-11-27T15:55:00.001-05:00

Another reason to go Sit & Wonder - coconut doughnut from Dough!!

Geido

2011-11-11T15:42:00.001-05:00

We went to Geido last weekend!!! We love Gen in our neighborhood, but we wanted to give this a try. It turned out that this place is also amazing! Their sashimi was super fresh. What i love the most was their homemade fish gyoza. You can definitely tasted the difference. Besides the our be-loved soft shell crab special rolls, we also really enjoyed their fried bananas with red bean ice-cream!

Camping!

2011-11-10T23:24:00.001-05:00

Adam's birthday at Alma

2011-11-10T23:22:00.001-05:00

Labor Day with friends

2011-11-10T23:07:00.001-05:00

Dinner at Hong's

2011-11-10T23:05:00.001-05:00

Hester Street Fair

2011-09-25T22:04:00.001-04:00

Peels

2011-09-25T19:37:00.003-04:00

We have heard about this popular place in NoHo. This was our first time we went to Peels. We only got 2 small things on the menu and some beer. Their outdoor seatings were quite nice. We definitely enjoyed it very much. Here we got their Plancha-seared Montauk Squid and Roasted Corn & Poblano Chowder. Both dishes are very good. We came back for brunch few weeks later, food was also excellent.

Curtis's Birthday Cake

2011-09-25T19:20:00.002-04:00

Curtis got this birthday cake at work! His co-workers made a custom cake by putting banana slices on an Almondie's chocolate cake.

Almondine Bakery Birthday Cake

2011-07-31T10:21:00.000-04:00

Following our dinner at Fatty 'Cue, we walked to the Williamsburg Waterfront to eat birthday cake. It was the signature Almondine Cake, from Almondine in Dumbo, Brooklyn. It's a Flourless cake with a wafer bottom, topped with chocolate mousse, praline creme and chocolate dacquoise. It was the perfect conclusion, enjoyed by the sunset over manhattan.

Thank you Chen and Sam for having us!

Fatty 'Cue

2011-07-31T10:12:00.001-04:00

This weekend we joined our friends at, Fatty 'Cue, for a birthday celebration. We were presented with an array of fatty meat in some very delicious variations. The menu is barbecue focused with some asian influences. The meal consisted of multiple dishes, brought out intermittently, which we shared. It was very meat focused aside a small celery salad. All amazingly delicious!

We started with their Dragon Pullman Toast and Master Fat (a dipping sauce made of rendered fat!) and the 'Cue Coriander Bacon. Followed by an amazing meat medley including Hand Pulled Lamb Shoulder, Brandt Ranch Brisket (with asian buns), Ikan Bakar (whole fish), and some fingerling potatoes in meat sauce.

It was a truly decedent birthday dinner! See our next post for dessert!

Kung Pao Chicken & Pan Seared Eggplant

2011-07-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

Good Beer

2011-07-26T23:21:00.001-04:00

It was my first time attending the Good Beer Event at BAM in Brooklyn. There were so many New York restaurants and breweries participating, including my favorite spot, Northern Spy Co.! It was very overwhelming, with all the people and happenings, I didn't have a chance to taste everything, but here are some snapshots to share with you...

Good Beer Event at BAM

Cascal Soda: I've been worked on their re-branding in the past year, it's exciting to see the 2010/2011 branding up and running. Can't wait to see their 2011/2012 new looks in the market soon!

Corn on the cob with mexican cheese and spice

Colonie: Sticky Date Cake with salted creme fraiche ice cream

Bark Hotdogs: It looked very good, even through I didn't try one.

BAMcafe: Stella Artois Braised Mussels with Katchkie Farm Graphic Scapes and Pommes Frites

Nicky's Vietnamese Hoagie: I tried their tofu version and it was delicious.

Sigmund Pretzel Shop: Huge crowds were waiting for their fresh pretzels!

Blueberries Pancakes

2011-07-20T23:29:00.001-04:00

Smoky Independence aka July 4th BBQ

2011-07-07T23:49:00.000-04:00

We took to the outdoors last weekend to celebrate Independence day. This was our second year spending the holiday in Prospect Park, and we stepped it up this year with more people and even more food. Melody and I arrived early with Hinto, but not early enough being that all the tables were taken, but that didn't stop us. Our friends turned out with so much amazing food we barely got to our own. We started off with pork chops, marinated chicken, vegetable skewers and corn with butter garlic sauce.

After a break and some frisbee it was time for round two, which included some fresh Kielbasa sausage from a Greenpoint bucher. Topped with some spicy mustard and sweet kraut, it made for an impressive bite. We also fit some jalapano poppers on the grill with it. This is a family favorite of mine filled with chive cream cheese and wrapped in turkey bacon. I have to thank my brother for that recipe.

While our crew started to thin out we stayed to finish the day with a dinner consisting of blue cheese stuffed hamburgers and turkey burgers. Finished with a mouth watering grilled fruit dessert. We halved fresh peaches topped with frozen blueberries and brown sugar. Wrapped in aluminum foil then grilled to delicious perfection after 10 min. For Melody and I it was a long day of about 13 hours well spent in the park. We were sent off into a beautiful sunset as we left the park.

Thanks to everyone who came out to make it a memorable 4th of July!

Samuri Mama

2011-06-19T22:41:00.002-04:00

After I heard about Samuri Mama from Mika (my co-worker), we headed to Williamsburg for their famous udon. She also recommended their pork belly appetizer, which we also ordered. It was probably one of the best Japanese places we have been. We walked into their dark wooden interior with cool little details of decoration. They also have an "Air Room", which is kinda like semi-outdoor seatings with an opened garage door.

They have huge Japanese Sake selections. But I went for their Japanese Mojito from their specials menu. The Mojito was grapefruit flavor with a little Japanese rice wine taste. It was very refreshing. Curtis got a Yebisu beer, which was very bubbly (in a good way).

Their Pork Betty Daikon was so tender, and it melted in your mouth. With a little Japanese mustard, it made a great flavor combination. Curtis got Spicy Bukkake, which is a Bukkake style udon noodle with spicy minced beef sauce (Bukkake means cold udon served with various toppings liberally sprinkled on top). I got a Ebi Tempura Udon served in hot soup with shrimp tempura. The soup base was very flavorful, it was definitely different from other places I have tried.

The whole experience was amazing and we will come back again!

Pork Betty Daikon

Spicy Bukkake

Ebi Tempura Udon

Pates et Traditions

2011-06-15T23:46:00.002-04:00

We were at Pates et Traditions with few good friends on a beautiful Saturday. At a quiet corner in Williamsburg, here we were, at this little french crêpe place. All the waiters/waitresses speaks French, ad they were all extremely friendly.

We all got different savory crêpes! I got a L'Orientale (merguez sausage, marmalade of peppers, egg, swiss cheese). We also had La Bergere (goat cheese, swiss cheese, fig, honey, rosemary, caramelized onions), Le Croque Madame (toasted sandwich with ham, emmenthal cheese, sunny egg & salad side). We also ordered 2 sweet crêpes in the menu. Everything was amazing. We must come back!

We love quinoa!

2011-06-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

We started to eat quinoa lately. It tasted good and it's good for you. It's definitely better than rice, at least it has some nutrition values. Curtis found this recipe online (update link soon). It's quinoa with tomatoes, avacado, black beans and cilantro, dressed with a special vinaigrette. It's a perfect side dish, or as a meal.

Simply Scrambles

2011-06-15T22:40:00.000-04:00

Eataly's Strozzapreti

2011-06-15T22:31:00.001-04:00

We finally went to Eataly few weeks ago. It was so overwhelming inside that we didn't stay long at all. After we had a cup of cappuccino, we headed to the dried pasta section and got some Strozzapreti pasta. The pasta is quite unique with a chewy texture.

Taco Party!

2011-04-25T11:11:00.000-04:00

Usually when we want tacos we go straight to Chavella's. When we came across this recipe using steak, rasins, pepper, tomatoes, olives, cumin and allspice we decided to make them for some friends. We topped them with cilantro, corn, queso fresco and lettuce. Very simple, making tacos a likely candidate for future dinners.

Brooklyn Blackout at Ladybird

2011-04-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

After a walk in the park, we often work up an appetite, and swing by Ladybird in Park Slope. It's a small bakery with a large tasty selection to choose from. Last time, Melody chose a Brooklyn Blackout cupcake. We'd seen these around, but had never had one. To our surprise, under the cake crumbs, and a slab of (not too sweet) frosting there was a chocolate pudding filled center. This will cure any chocolate fix!

Egg Croissant

2011-04-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy with our new puppy Hinto! We promised we will keep up with the posts.

H&H Bagels

2011-03-20T22:19:00.000-04:00

About a year ago I realized I'd never had a true New York Bagel. I'd eaten them on the street and various cafe's, but I couldn't say for sure if it was a 'real' NYC bagel. Recently we finally got to the heart of it. I've been told by many people that H&H has the best. We made it to H&H, and since they don't have seats inside we ended up on the bench in the median of Broadway... It turned out to be a great experience because an old New York native sat next to us talking the whole time. He also pointed out that we could have went next door to Zabars and got them cheaper. It was a great NYC moment. Thanks to Sarah for encouraging us to make the trip to the Upper West Side.

Tom's

2011-03-20T21:03:00.000-04:00

We're catching up on some old eats here. Tom's is a great comfort food diner! It's a long wait, but while your in line you can snack on everything from oranges, sausage and cookies. The eggs and sausage are always satisfying, and the variety of pancakes makes it a tough choice to choose. We also had the white fish cakes, which remind me of a fresh baked oven baked fish stick. Our favorites are the pumpkin pancakes and the sweet potato. We also split an old fashioned New York egg cream, my first time.

Cowgirl Brunch

2011-02-28T22:40:00.000-05:00

Super Bowl vs Super Wings

2011-02-28T22:27:00.003-05:00

Steak night

2011-02-28T22:22:00.003-05:00

The Glass Shop

2011-02-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

The Shanghai Place

2011-02-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

After having such an amazing meal for our early Chinese New Year celebration, we attempted to eat out with friends again the Friday following the holiday. Our first choices all had an hour wait, and despite trying to put our names down, we were turned away by the waiters. Who told us we were crazy for even thinking about waiting... So we ended up at a fairly new Shanghai restaurant, with no wait. Two indications that we should have kept looking, but it was cold out so we gave it a shot. While it had a couple famous Shanghai dishes it seemed to be Taiwanese inspired. The soup dumpling wrappers were far too thick, and the pork was transformed into a chinatown sweet and sour dish rather than the Shanghai version. We made the best of it and enjoyed the time with friends, but we won't likely be returning.

Manhattan Desserts

2011-02-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

We went into Manhattan with dessert on our minds. After searching for a bit, we ended up in SoHo at Le Pain Quotidien. This was our second time having this wonderful little chocolate dessert. It's filled with chocolate moose and is a favorite of ours. We also tried the bread pudding delicious, but couldn't compete with chocolate. Paired with a good latte, this fulfilled our dessert desires.

Chinese New Year Pudding (年糕)

2011-01-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

In addition to our dinner we made Chinese New Year Pudding, which Melody brought back from Hong Kong. It's a traditional dessert eaten to celebrate the new year. It's not the pudding most might think of. It's usually made with glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, salt, water and sugar. It's hard out of the package, but when sliced and heated it takes on a chewier constancy. We fry them with beaten eggs, and it makes for a very enjoyable seasonal dessert.

Amazing 66 (皇上皇)

2011-01-30T22:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Chinese new year to all of you! Last year, I invited friends and made a Chinese home dinner. It was way too much work, and too little time to attempt hosting a dinner again after just returning from Hong Kong. Instead, Curtis and I went to Amazing 66 (皇上皇) for our new year dinner. It's Canton-style Chinese food. It's quite a popular place, and everyone there could speak Cantonese. The food was above standard, and I would definitely come back!

Pit-zza Night

2011-01-30T22:15:00.003-05:00

Homemade Chili

2011-01-29T09:39:00.000-05:00

With so much snow on the ground we were in need of some hot chili to warm us up.

Asia Dog at the Brooklyn Flea

2011-01-29T00:11:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a Saturday at the Brooklyn Flea. It's always a good time looking through all the items, but what really tops it off are the great food vendors. We all had beef hot dogs from Asia Dog, with some of the best toppings I've ever had on a dog. Melody chose the Sidney with mango relish, cucumber, onion and crushed peanuts. Sarah had the Wangding, Chinese BBQ pork belly, cucumber and scallions. I had my favorite, the Ito, topped with Japanese curry and kimchi.

Macondo

2011-01-27T23:31:00.000-05:00

We met up with friends at Macondo for some mid afternoon cocktails and desserts. Not a bad way to spend your day. We ended up talking, eating and drinking through the brunch to dinner transition. Between us we had a bloody marry, blackberry mimosas, Torrija (French Toast), Churros, and the Brazo De Gitano (chocolate sponge cake). The food was enjoyable and the cocktails even more so, but the best part was being able to converse with friends and not be rushed out the door.

Milk Bar, Brooklyn

2011-01-25T23:13:00.000-05:00

We have reached the end of Melody's Shanghai posts, and now we're both back in Brooklyn. One of our fist stops was the Brooklyn Milk Bar. I had one of my favorites, the Bircher Muesli, oats soaked in fruit juice and cream topped with Greek yogurt and berry compote. Melody had the toast with ham and a poached egg. A nice simple breakfast with some great coffee.

Bye Bye Shanghai!

2011-01-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

Shintaro

2011-01-25T22:18:00.001-05:00

The last day in Shanghai, we went to Shintaro for lunch. It's quite an interesting place; there was a very small front door, once you reach a bamboo garden, you stepped into Shintaro. Evidently the owner is Taiwanese, even through it's Japanese style. The thing I love the most was the interior. It was raw and very structural.

Café at Tianzi Fang of Taikang Road (泰康路/田子坊)

2011-01-25T22:06:00.001-05:00

Shanghai-nese Lunch

2011-01-25T21:58:00.002-05:00

The day we went to the Expo, we had an amazing lunch with my family from my dad's side. My uncle and aunt brought us to this local restaurant by their home. They ordered so much food ( not all shown), we couldn't even try everything. The pork belly was remarkable!

Wonder Café

2011-01-24T23:51:00.002-05:00

A lazy and cold afternoon, we had to stop by this little cozy café near Xintiandi (上海新天地) Style Mall, Shanghai. Wonder Café made me wonder... if I was in Shanghai or New York. haha. The café was super tiny and it was invisible from outside. It was nicely decorated, but not over-powered. The warm and friendly service, the best barista and the cutest space gave me feeling of comfort. Their Green Tea Latte and Coco Latte sounded so good, my friends and I all got something different to try. The drinks were delicious! We went upstairs to the little corner, enjoying the quiet moment. On the way back to Hong Kong, we totally missed this secret place the most of all.

Shanghai Dumplings

2011-01-23T23:20:00.002-05:00

One of my good friends, Billy, has lived in Shanghai for over a year now. Billy was also our guest writer for this blog (see his recent post here). He showed my friends and I around for this short visit. We went to this little ghetto noodle shop to try out their dumplings. With their ingredients and homemade hot sauce upfront, it seemed like a super legit local spot. The Shanghai dumplings were truly excellent.

Shanghai Street Food

2011-01-23T23:08:00.003-05:00

Good Morning Shanghai

2011-01-23T23:04:00.002-05:00

My father was originally from Shanghai, and I have been there a few times. You might find it to be a cold city with cold hearted people, if you are not "Shanghai-nese". If you are, and you speak Shanghai-nese, you would be treated differently, with warm friendly smiles and accompanies.

Shanghai-nese always say "自己人", means "we are related", also means "we will look out for one another", or " I will give you the deal". Although I am half Shanghai-nese. I could only say few words in their own language, so I am also an "outsider".

I love the historial architecture. Every block was different and full of European culture and personality. I don't really care much about the new development in the city, I think it somewhat destroyed the "real" Shanghai.

Fresh steamed buns are so common in China. Even the smallest bakery shop would have at least 10 different flavors or fillings. I forgot how cheap they were ( about US$0.5), I wish I could get the same in New York. I had one with yam fillings, it was just simply amazing.

Hong Kong VitaSoy (Winter Collection)

2011-01-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

Fast food is not fast enough!

2011-01-23T22:12:00.001-05:00

Homemade Roasted Pork

2011-01-23T22:10:00.002-05:00

Chinese people love pork meat so much. I don't usually eat too much pork, but my mom made so many delicious pork dishes. I really couldn't resist. This oven-baked pork tasted just like Chinese roasted pork, but it's healthier and better. It was sweet and savory at the same time. The meat was so tender. With the traditional steamed fish, it made a perfect meal.

Golden Bull Vietnamese Restaurant (金牛苑)

2011-01-23T22:02:00.002-05:00

I love Vietnamese food! Golden Bull was one of my parents favorite spot for Vietnamese food. It's also located in Time Square, Hong Kong. It's definitely high-quality food compared to most Vietnamese restaurants I usually went. The beef curry casserole was so flavorful. Their seafood dishes were also excellent.

Modern Chinese Restaurant (金滿庭)

2011-01-23T21:51:00.002-05:00

I have been to this restaurant quite often, the manager at the place remembered my dad for sure. Modern Chinese Restaurant is "Jing Chuan Hu (京川滬)" Chinese style food. It's really one of my favorite kinds of Chinese food.

Homemade Chestnut Pork

2011-01-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

Homemade Drunken Chicken (紹興醉雞)

2011-01-05T08:55:00.002-05:00

My mom brought Tiffany and I to the market to choose "our" chickens. They were still alive, jumping around in the cages. By looking at their butts, you could tell how young the meat was going to be. I was really not an expert. Sometimes I wish I didn't know where the meat was from. It was hard to accept this chicken was going to be on the table, deliciously?! (Sorry, vegan...)

My mom gave me her easy recipe for Drunken Chicken. I must use fresh chicken in order to create the perfection of this dish. After the whole chicken was steamed. Quickly cool the meat in ice, until the skin was harden/crispy. Simply soaked the cold chicken into the mixture of Shaoxing wine (紹興洒) and Chinese pickle sauce(糟鹵), in 1:1 overnight. Cut in pieces right before it served.

Drunken Chicken

Steamed Japanese pumpkin with pork

Steamed Pumpkin Pudding

Tonkichi (日式吉列專門店)

2011-01-05T08:16:00.001-05:00

I am not a big fan of greasy/fried food, when I heard about this Japanese place, Tonkichi, claimed that they made the best tonkatsu (with crackling fried batter) pork cutlets, I didn't expect too much. At the end, it turned out to be the best fried food I have ever had! They used fresh ingredients, including the juicy premium pork cutlets (黑豚肉) from Japanese black suckling pigs. The meat was incredibly juicy and tender.

Once we got there, they gave you a ground tool with a bowl of white sesame seeds. You might mix the grounded sesame with their special dipping sauce which is sweet, kinda like BBQ sauce. It went well with the pork fillets. We also ordered gillette scallops and prawns. They offered unlimited cabbages & rice on the side. There were 2 different soy sauce dressings, black sesame or citrus. They both very flavorful. MUST TRY!

Agnès b. le pain grillé (round 2)

2011-01-04T08:07:00.001-05:00

Arirang Korean Restaurant (阿里朗)

2011-01-03T11:35:00.001-05:00

Arirang Korean Restaurant (阿里朗) had some really good korean dishes. I loved all the small side dishes, especially the sweet potatoes and warm tofu dishes. Fish was fresh and crispy. Oxtails was the best dishes by far, it braised very well and the bones came off very easily. The sweetness of the broth really brought out the flavors. The meal was ended with a little sweet dessert with a little kick from the ginger.

Small side dishes

Pan-fried Light Salted Mackerel Pike

Braised Oxtails in Sweet Soy Sauce

Jujube Ginger dessert drink

Family Hot Pot

2011-01-03T10:44:00.002-05:00

Record Breaking Dragon and Lion Dance Extravaganza

2011-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

I walked passed an record breaking dance event in Kowloon, Hong Kong. There were 1111 teams of Dragon/Lion Dancers on the streets. Polices blocked at least 10 streets for this events. I don't usually care much about dragon/lion dancing, but it was very impressive. There were little kids to the elder performed all together.

Beard Papa's Cream Puffs

2011-01-02T22:32:00.001-05:00

I have an obsession with Beard Papa Cream Puffs for quite a long time. There used to be a few stores in New York, but they all closed down. I have to say their cream puffs were so much better than Ferrara in Little Italy, New York. Beard Papa's cream fillings were irresistible. It's soft and smooth. There were special flavored ones when I went yesterday. I will miss Beard Papa's when I go back to New York...

Strawberry & Cream Puff

Mango & Cream Puff

Tiramisu Cream Puff

Crab/Salmon Paella

2011-01-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

My mom found the this paella recipe somewhere in a newspaper, and it seemed like it's very easy to make. All you need to do is to cook the rice, and flavor with sausage, veggie, and Spanish saffron. Simply put it in the oven for 20 mins. After the rice is fully cooked, then add toppings, and put it back in the oven for 20 more mins. The paella we made was topped with salmon and crab and cooked crab juice.

New Year Eve 2010: Hong Kong

2011-01-02T08:18:00.001-05:00

Cong Sao Desserts (聰嫂私房甜品)

2011-01-02T07:38:00.001-05:00

MI-NE Sushi (峰壽司)

2011-01-02T07:08:00.001-05:00

Agnès b. le pain grillé

2011-01-02T05:12:00.001-05:00

I went shopping almost everyday since I got here. Agnès b. opened up quite a few concept cafes at large shopping centers. Candy and I went to this one at IFC, Central, Hong Kong.

Once you walked passed Agnès b. clothing store, you were surrounded by flowers and plants, almost like you stepped into a secret garden. With small tables and lights coming through the roof, it created a nice relaxing place for people to hang out. Besides le pain grillé, there are also a petite flower shop and a chocolate shop. I love the fact that Agnès b. was not just a clothing brand, but it kinda reflected a French lifestyle, either it's a marketing strategy or simply what the founder loved.

Hunan Garden (洞庭樓)

2011-01-02T04:41:00.000-05:00

Hunan Garden's interior was inspired by European/Chinese style, even the table settings were decorative and delightful. With all the Rococo-like ceilings and wall moldings, you felt you just walked into an royal family's home. I love the large white ceramic chandeliers against with the white tablecloths. Food was very good and was inspired by Northern Chinese style (mostly spicy).

It's spicy frog meat with seasonal veggies. (Forgot the name of this dish)

Deep-Fried Whole Fish with Sweet & Sour sauce (糖醋松子魚)

Individual Chinese Noodles with minced pork

Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant (滬江大飯店)

2011-01-02T03:39:00.000-05:00

Wu Kong is one of my dad's favorite place to go. There are really not a lot of good Shanghai style restaurants, still carrying the traditional cooking techniques. You can order any main dishes in small portions. It's like "Taste of Home" for anyone who was from Shanghai!

糖醋魚片

銀芽炒鱔糊

特色餃子

南翔小籠包

上海雞湯麵

Breakfast: Homemade breads

2010-12-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

Japanese Dining SUN

2010-12-30T18:34:00.001-05:00

My parents love going to Time Square, Hong Kong, for lunch. First of all, it's free 5-hour parking because they are VIPs of Lane Crawford, and also because there are so many up-and-coming restaurants and they will never get tired of. In a very competitive market, restaurants have to serve/offer better food. Japanese Dining SUN has at least 30 lunch sets to choose from. The food is good and it's not pricy. I would love to go back!

Steamed Scallops with Soft Tofu

2010-12-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

I had dinner at home one night with my parents. My uncle is a head chef in a chinese restaurant, and he got some fresh scallops for us from his dear friend who works at a Japanese restaurant. Long story short, the scallops are so fresh and they were meant to eat raw (like sashimi). But it's also good if it's half cooked with steamed soft tofu.

Breakfast: Homemade Cranberry Muffins

2010-12-29T21:20:00.001-05:00

Harbour Grand Hotel Buffet

2010-12-29T02:03:00.002-05:00

Going to a nice hotel for a buffet at Christmas time is one of my family traditions. It started before I can remember. Harbour Grand Hotel in North Point, Hong Kong, recently had their grand opening. Their buffet is pretty much Japanese-inspired. It had a large selection of raw, cooked, cold & hot food. It was one of those times you felt like your stomach was just not quite big enough for everything.

Serenade (映月樓)

2010-12-28T22:11:00.001-05:00

Serenade was so crowded, we made a reservation and we still had to wait for table. There were a lot of different nationalities here, including Australian, British, Japanese, Korean, etc. The restaurant is right by the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, which attracts many tourists or international businessmen. The dim sum was very delicate and creative, in terms of flavors and the way they represented.

Grilled Cuttlefish

2010-12-28T21:39:00.002-05:00

On a cold day in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, my parents and I went to the boardwalk by the Victoria Harbour. There was a little street vendor making Grilled Cuttlefish. It's quite a popular street food and you can easily find these kind of snacks on any busy streets. They slice them thin and grill them fresh. And then they press them in a machine. It's savory and sweet at the same time. My mom couldn't resist and got some for us.

Breakfast: Fresh Steamed Buns

2010-12-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

The day after I have arrived to Hong Kong. I had homemade fresh steamed buns for breakfast. My parents' domestic helper, Winnie, has been practicing and made perfect buns with ease. This version was with spring onion and sesame seeds.

Tiffany, my sis, welcomed me with her homemade cookies. She made Green Tea and Ginger/Chocolate Chip Cookies. The flavors were very unique and untraditional. They were very much inspired by Japanese Desserts, which I really liked.

Good Morning Hong Kong

2010-12-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas Lunch

2010-12-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

Today we had family over for lunch to celebrate Christmas day. We had glazed ham, pulled pork sandwiches, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, cream cheese chocolates, cookies and much more. It made for a great home style lunch with the family. Being that everything was in slow cookers, or sitting out it allowed for a continuous eating all day long. That's what you're suppose to do on holiday's right?

Jello Cake

2010-12-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

My mom's jello cake is a favorite of Melody's. Unfortunately I had to eat for both of us this year. The cake is marbled with jello making a super moist and airy cake. It's covered with a whipped topping. It tastes so light and cool that you feel like you could eat the whole thing.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

Decorating sugar cookies is a bit of a Christmas tradition for my family. This year was no exception. Decorating with my mom really puts me in the spirit. Eating them is a plus too!

Mediterranean in Des Moines

2010-12-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

After a morning of sledding my parents treated me to an enjoyable lunch at Proof, a Mediterranean restaurant in Des Monies. It was nice to see a place of this kind in the area. When I lived there weren't too many food options to choose from.

I chose the paella primavera. I usually see paella served in the pan it was cooked in, and the rice having more of a burnt crispy texture. Aside from not looking like the traditional versions, I found this dish seasoned nicely and made for a great lunch.

My Dad had the scallops tabbouleh. I had a taste, the scallops were nice and soft, not too rubbery.

My Mom is a big fan on the salads here. She had the Moroccan chicken. A nice mix of vegetables and spiced chicken between two flatbreads.

Holiday Sledding!

2010-12-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

It's a white Christmas! This year it was just my parents and I sledding, but we made sure to have a great time. We went to a hill by the capitol building in Des Moines. The back yard just wasn't extreme enough for us.

Shanghai Hot Pot

2010-12-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Guest Post: This post is from our friend living in Shanghai. Hopefully the first of many!

It might not sound like much to those living in the North or West, but the cold here is different. The main reason being, there isn't any heat system in the city. Shanghai is between the South and North of China. It's not far enough north to justify installing heat, so it can get pretty painful during these winter months. I have one electric mattress and pillow, and another pillow for sitting on at work. Since there was snow, we thought it was a perfect time for hot pot. It appears people in Shanghai love hot pot because it's everywhere.

So we were suppose to sit at the table near the wall just next to us. Why weren't we? Well, here's a perfect example of human interaction in Shanghai. Lets say you are waiting in line, then you look at your watch for 2 seconds, the line moves leaving just about a foot of space between your toe and the lady's high heel in front you. Now, don't be surprised when you look up by the curly haired 4'5" pajama wearing grandma who squeezed in front of you. WARNING, don't dare say a word, they will respond with a thousand high pitched Shanghaitone (yea, like auto tone, more like "lon bo shell duck" aka u don't understand Shanghainese).

Oh, those 2 1000g of fresh hand cut lamb were rich with flavor and melted in my month. They call this "熱氣" (aka over heat in the harmony of your body) hotpot....I guess it's perfect fit for this cold weather. The soup base was super clear water, straight up boiling meat.

Many thanks to Billy for this amazing post!

Smokey D's

2010-12-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

For my first lunch in Iowa we went to Smokey D's, a BBQ restaurant with numerous state awards. We all chose to try the sliced brisket sandwich. The meat comes on a hero roll, and then you can top it with your choice of BBQ sauce at the table. The sandwich was pretty good, not too dry, but not too greasy. I chose a side of baked beans, which were also enjoyable. My mom said the mac and cheese was very good.

Dutch Morning

2010-12-23T13:27:00.001-05:00

For the first of my Christmas posts for the year I have a spread of my favorite dutch pastries. My mom drove to Pella, IA the day before I arrived to pick up a good selection. The Dutch letter is filled with almond paste, and the pillow puff is flakey filled with a fluffy cream, an apple danish and the famous almond windmill cookies.

Café Orlin

2010-11-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

We met up with our good friend, Michael, to try this little brunch place in the East Village. Café Orlin completed the brunch menu with a mix of middle-eastern flare. I had the poached eggs with smoke salmon and potato cake. Curtis got the Nova Scotia eggs, which came with a cappuccino and orange juice. Aside from being charged for refills on regular coffee (they only serve americanos) it was a pleasant place. Very busy, but that's to be expected in Manhattan when the food is tasty.

"New" Setagaya Ramen

2010-11-28T01:02:00.001-05:00

Here we ate at a ramen shop we visit often. It use to be called Ramen Setagaya, but I believe they've changed the name out front, but the bowls still say Setagaya... We tried a couple of the specials, a black sesame ramen in miso broth, and a plum / miso broth ramen. Both were very satisfying, and added a nice twist to what you usually expect from ramen.

Vegetarian Green Curry

2010-11-28T00:57:00.000-05:00

With some pre-made Thai green curry we picked up at Trader Joe's, we made this nice little curry dish. We sautéed mushrooms, tofu and a red pepper.

Official Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T00:50:00.001-05:00

The official Thanksgiving arrived. Curtis made 2 delicious pies, an apple pie, here, and also a blueberry and cranberry pie, here. He made the crust from scratch, as usual. The apartment was filled with the smells of holiday goodness.

The C ranberry Orange Sauce recipe I found on Food Network was excellent. With some orange zest and orange juice, it really enhanced the fruitiness of the sauce.

We joined Curtis's brother and a couple friends for thanksgiving dinner. For appetizers, we had some spinach cheese balls, BBQ weenies/smokies, cheese & crackers. For sides, we had broccoli casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes with goat cheese, cranberry orange sauce and cranberry bread.

Pre-Thankgiving

2010-11-14T21:58:00.001-05:00

Recently while talking about Thanksgiving plans, and how much we were looking forward to the holiday feast. We decided why wait until Thanksgiving? Plus we could celebrate amongst friends who would be with family on the actual day.

So what follows is a pre-Thanksgiving feast, where everyone pitched in to make it a complete success. Melody and I took on the pies, turkey, stuffing and brussel sprouts (see details at below). In addition we had Andrew's family macaroni and cheese w/ bacon as well as mashed potatoes (mashed with love). Sarah brought her family cranberry chutney (a nice twist on the classic). Yasuyo and Kevin brought a green bean casserole. A nice spread of cheeses, pear and pumpkin ale from Michael. Adam and Lauren provided the decedent libation, a spiced cider which included a melted stick of butter! All were amazing and thank you to everyone!

I made the pie crust using my grandmother's method (a mixture of flour shortening and water). The ginger pumpkin filling was featured in the Nov. issue of NY Magazine, here. It contains ginger, maple syrup, dark brown sugar, heavy cream, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Melody made a cornbread andouille stuffing. Complete recipe here. (substituted andouille for chorizo)

The turkey I got pre-brined from Trader Joe's. I rubbed butter with sage, rosemary and thyme under the skin and stuffed it with onions and lemons. It came out very nicely. I also used the turkey juices to make a gravy. A first for me, but went pretty well. Gravy method here.

At the end of the night, Melody was victorious in our wishbone showdown...

Arugula & Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli

2010-11-09T22:32:00.000-05:00

After sampling this ravioli at Trader Joe's we were hooked. We bought some to make for dinner, and cooked it with some spicy sausage and mushrooms topped with parmigiano reggiano cheese. A quick tasty weeknight dinner.

Roasted Chicken with veggies

2010-11-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here I roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts. I'm a fan of this recipe. While it takes over an hour to cook the time is well utilized. I put the chicken in for 30min with salt pepper and thyme. While that's cooking I chop the potatoes and carrots. Just as I'm finishing that I take the chicken out of the pan, place the veggies in, and roast another 30 min. I chose to add some brussel sprouts this time so I prepared those while the veggies roasted. These I simply coat with salt, pepper and olive oil and place in the oven, at 375, for 25min. I then put the chicken and juices back on top of the potatoes and carrots, and roasted together for another 15 min. Find the full recipe here.

City Bakery

2010-11-09T21:40:00.001-05:00

A relaxing Sunday with Curtis. We went to City Bakery for snacks!

Here we had a "crispy & soft" chocolate chip cookie, and a slice of pumpkin pie. Curtis really likes the cookies here. The pumpkin pie was okay, it's not as good as Curtis's homemade pies.

I used to come here a lot when I was working in the same area. It was definitely an excellent place to take a coffee break. Next time you go, you must try their " sweet & saltly" Pretzel Croissants.