#700

lamb, spit roasted

Yeah, I ate that.  Muahahaha

Lucky lucky me was in Beijing the same time L was there.  L is awesome because he hearts food like I heart food.  As soon as I told him that I'll be in Beijing, he knew exactly where to go.  We, along with 7 of his friends/co-worker were to eat at this restaurant hidden in the outskirts of Beijing.  By hidden, I mean off the grid, behind iron gates (no joke),  no streetlights, no signs.  The restaurant is a standalone house surrounded by a budding pomegranate grove in the middle of no where.  And yep, it was tasty.  Oh so tasty.

The 9 of us ate so much food.  Here's a random parade of just some of the dishes (yes, we ate a lot more but the rest of my pics are worse than the ones below.  sorry kids!).  Then we talk lamb.

'shrooms

The salt and pepper mushrooms were delicious.  You dip these in salt and pepper then enjoy the light and crispy umami-ness of mushrooms.

#700 loves them fermented tofu.  They use the super stinky kind and regular salty kind in all matters of sauces.  Like this one:

eggplant!

White eggplant in fermented tofu sauce was super tender and savory but retained a nice bite.

brown food!

Shredded chicken in sesame sauce.  Tasty and brown.

other shades brown

We like brown food.  Yes we do.  I loooved the cabbage salad on top.  It was tangy, crispy and delicious.  The bottom dish was stir fried black tofu.  This was the first time I've ever had black tofu.  It had a deeper flavor than regular tofu and and a chewier texture.  Tasty.

And then there was lamb

we eat meat

Meat!  In the tummy!  So many flavors and textures beckoned.  So answered, I did.  The lamb was butterflied and spit roasted.  The meat is intensely tender with a layer of awesome crispiness of the skin.  The whole shebang was heavily seasoned with cumin and other spices.  It's like eating a ginormous Xinjiang lamb skewer but with extra crispiness.

my first piece

Because the entire thing was butterflied, there was no un-crispy skin.  Which meant maximum happiness.  The fattiness of the lamb kept the meat incredibly moist.  

This is going to be hard to believe due to the amount of lamb I eat, but I was not such a lamb freak until about 9 years ago until I visited Tianjing.  The Xinjiang lamb skewers I had there were my gateway into this lovely lovely meat.  So this was kind of like coming full circle.  Except I'm going to keep eating as much lamb as possible.  Hurm... Analogy fail.

done

Yep, we win!  Yes, we had 9 very very powerful stomaches.  The lamb stood no chance.

Thanks again to L for this amazing experience!  This meal is definitely on my top 10 most memorable list!

Dim Sum in Hong Kong

I love dim sum.  Probably because I love anything wrapped in dough (dumplings, pierogies, raviolis, empanadas, etc) and dim sum has a lot of stuff wrapped in dough.  So I was super excited when I had the chance to eat dim sum during my trip to Hong Kong a few weeks ago.  And there were dough wrapped dishes aplenty.

dough wrapped!

Long noodles with shrimp is probably one of the most beloved dim sum dishes.  Silky smooth rice noodles, succulent shrimp, doused in light soy sauce.

 more dough!

Shu mai is another well known dough wrapped dish, this time with pork and shrimp.

fish balls

We also ate some non-dough related dishes, like this fried fish ball.  It was full of stinky fish sauce loveliness.  Which I'm a huge fan of.  More fish flavor, condensed.

silver fish

It was my first time eating fried silver fish, but it won't be the last.  Soft flaky fish fried to a light crispiness.  Oh yes....

fried tofu

I've had plenty of fried tofu before, but this was very different.  It was lightly breaded which gave it another savory flavor dimension.  Definitely on my to eat again list.

more fish balls

One can never eat too many fish balls in Hong Kong.  So we must have it in another form, this time, stewed in a slightly sour cabbage soup.

and more dough

More dough wrapped meat!  I didn't eat this since I was getting full, but now I regret not trying this char shiu bao.  I can almost imagine the fluffy steamed bun with the sweet bbq pork.  Sad...

more fried!

There was also another fried tofu, this time topped with scallions.  It was tasty but I preferred the fat pillowy ones above.  The lightening quick chopstick action you see there was getting some lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice chicken.  One of my favorite dim sum eats.  Probably cuz I'm a slave to any sticky rice dish.

purdy

Another dim sum first was a jello dessert made with chrysanthemum and goji berries.  It was fragrant and tasty.  Nice light finish to the meal.

dessert 2

Oh wait, I lied, I had another dessert, in the form of mango pudding soup with tapioca.  Maybe not a light finish to the meal, but definitely a very nice one.

More Than a Snack at Ah Ping Snack Bar

Ah Ping Snack Bar is tiny, like 3 tables tiny.  I kind of felt like I was in Asia - the random storefront with 3 tables, the bright halogen light, the disposable bowls and plates, the folded table and chairs.  Brought back warm fuzzy memories.

Ah Ping is all about Fuzhou food, which I haven't had in ages so I was pretty excited.  Good thing my fellow eaters were very adventurous and allowed me, the sole commander of the Chinese language in our group, to do the ordering.  muahahaha.  That meant that we had more food than 4 people can comfortably eat.

We started with the lamb with wine dregs soup.  Despite it's weird name and unaturaly red color, this was one of our favorite dish of the night.  The wine dregs gave it a pleasantly fermented flavor - complex and herby.  The soup had small lamb chunks, kind of like stewed lamb spare ribs.  Delicious.

lamb and dregs

My personal favorite dish was the razor clam pancake.  If you've read my Asia trip entries, you must know about my obsession with Chinese pancakes, preferably stuffed with some type of seafood.  Ah Ping's was awesome.  The fluffy eggs blanked chopped up razor clams (my fav clams!) and bamboo shoots.  The pancake was moist and flavorful.  Too bad I had to share.

PANCAKE!

We also got a mei fun (rice stick noodles) as our main carb dish.  The mei fun was tasty, similar to Taiwanese style - simply stir-fried with veggies and eggs.  Reminds me of my childhood.

carby goodness

The fail of the night was a wonton soup.  I misordered and thought I was getting fish ball soup.  Damn it.  Note to self to consult my mom on Chinese menu words before my next outing.  The soup was fine, just boring.  The wontons tasted like they were the kind you get at Chinese supermarkets.  Nothing special.  Although oddly addicting since I did end up eating 6-7 wontons.

wonton

Because it sounded so damn cute, we had to get the litchi pork.  It was basically a saucy version of sweet and sour pork where the pork looks like little litchis.  The pieces of pork were cut up, fried, and coated in a sweet and sour sauce.  I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

\

little litchis

Our veggie dish was water spinach in preserve bean curd sauce.  Yes, I love my water spinach (see Asia trip).  I also love preserve bean curd (preserved tofu), which is tofu fermented in salt.  The two together was a win.  Too bad I neglected to capture that win with my camera.

I am kind of in love with Ah Ping.  Even the name is cool.  Return, I shall.

Singapore Nom Nom

OMG, has it really been almost 3 months since Asia? Never mind that, I shall continue my steadfast chronicling of my Asia trip. Slow and steady wins the race! Which race, I'm not sure. But I shall win!

On to Singapore! If you love to gorge yourself silly on food and are looking for an one stop shop to sample the best smorgasbord of food, go now to Singapore. Now. Why are you still here? Go!

We had one precious precious day in Singapore, mainly to eat. I kid you not. I squeezed in Singapore in the name of culinary education. Singapore is full of hawker centers, which are the kind of food courts that I imagine gods and angels frequent in heaven. Beyond hawker centers, you can pretty much head to any one of their ginormous malls and hit up a food court. By 10:30, J-me and I made our way to a hawker center for our first meal. Yes, 10:30, we wanted to get a head start on feasting. Don't judge us. We only had one day, remember?!

Maxwell Hawker Center was a must eat on my list because my culinary soul mate, Anthony Bourdain, ate there for a Singapore episode of No Reservations. We went there to seek out not only the uber famous Tian Tian Chicken, but to get other culinary delights that won street food awards in Singapore I discovered during my obsessive research.

First up, Lim Kee banana fritters - basically deep fried banana breaded in a tempura like crust. We got a fresh piece straight out of the fryer. The banana was ripe and sweet. The breading offered an awesome crunch contrasting the softness of the ripe banana. I was pleasantly surprised that the breading was not at all greasy. This was a win.

frittered banana

Anything stuffed pancake-like needs to be digested in my tummy. Tanglin curry puff fit that description and went into my tummy. This was yum too, flaky crust and a savory curry stuffing. I liked it.

puff o'curry

Hong Jia oyster pancake was an impulse by, meaning, it was not on my researched list. But Tony ate there! and his picture was on the stall! how could I not eat it. This was good as well, very different from any other oyster pancake I've had. It was studded with shrimp and peanuts. And... I can't remember the rest. Argh, slow and steady does not win the race in recalling food memories.

oyster pancake

Onde onde are these mochi like things. Anything mochi, I like. So I ate these too.

best name ever

Finally, the main event - Tian Tian chicken rice. After waiting for 30 minutes for the place to open (the line was already 10 deep by the time we got there) and another 20 minutes for my turn, we were rewarded with a bland looking plate of boiled chicken over rice. But it was everything everyone said it was. Awesome. How could a dish that is so deceptively simple have so many tasty nuances. The chicken was oily in the best way. But that's only an accompaniment to the depth of flavor that was the rice. The rice was cooked in the stock that the chicken was braised in. It had the same oiliness, the fragrant spices, an what can only be described as umami. Tender, sweet, salty. We mixed in some soy sauce and ginger sauce to bring out the flavor even more. We licked that plate dry. Should have gotten a large!

chicken rice

After Maxwell, we sampled random food at random food courts. At one, we stopped at The Breadbox stand and got some toast with a slab of butter. No, that's not cheese you see between the two slices. That was butter. Enough said. Yum.

butter slices

For our dinner at Singapore, we headed over to No Sign Board Seafood per our cab driver's recommendation. White pepper crab? Sold! I gotta say.. this was one of the top 3 crabs ever. And I've eaten lots of them. I've never even heard of white pepper crab. Most spicy crab dishes are cooked with red chillies, but using white pepper is ingenious. It was so spicy and peppery but the subtle sweetness of the pepper (yes, pepper is sweet) really complemented the sweetness of the crab meat. It was expertly cooked, firm and delicious.

white pepper crab

Along with the crab, we also got 2 of the largest razor clams I've ever seen. These were the size of three clams in one. They were simply dressed with garlic, ginger, scallions, and soy sauce. Just enough to bring out the natural sweetness of the clams. I heart.

giant clams

To assuage my gluttonous guilt, we also ordered water spinach stir fried with dried fish. I love this dish. I must have had water spinach every other meal here in Asia.

water spinach

There was so much to eat and so little time. The story of my life.

carnage

Flushing Food Crawl Part 1

We interrupt the posts of my Asia trip to bring you... drum roll please! More food from Asia! Via Flushing that is.

Five of us went on a food crawl thru Queens on the first truly hot and slightly muggy day in NYC. Okay, maybe crawl is an overstatement since the majority of our calorie consumption was achieved at the Flushing Mall (post to come). But we did hit up a few other places. More than 1 place = crawl, in my book at least. Thanks to Jack for his bottomless knowledge of Flushing and food in general. Our stomaches thank you too. You're the best!

First up, boa zi, or steamed buns, at Oriental Glamour Inc. Yeah, I don't know why it's glamorous either. But at least it's Oriental. This is a special place, a place where Korean sensibilities and Chinese traditions meet, or rather, meat. Their specialty marries the best of both worlds and gave birth to a boa zi stuffed with kimchi and pork.

oriental and glamorous

I'm happy to report that the marriage was a uber-successful one. One that was spicy and tender, all wrapped up in a soft and slightly sweet steamed bun. The boa zi was ginormous, but that's all good since they didn't skimp on the stuffing.

child of successful marriage

We also got the cabbage and pork boa zi, another ginormous creation. Equally delicious in a milder way. Pork and cabbage mixed happily with rice noodles. Then they all mixed happily with the rest of the food we were about to consume.

pork and cabbage boa zi

Next up, the famous White Bear. Almost every New York food lover has heard of this tiny store front, famous for its dough wrapped products - dumplings, wontons, etc. Those who know me also know my undying devotion to all matters wrapped in dough - raviolis, samosas, burritos, pierogis, buns (see above). Steamed, fried, boiled, wrap that sucker up in a nice dough and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will find its final resting place in my tummy.

White Bear, the official sign

We got the delicious wonton in spicy oil. I really really loved their version. The wontons were larger than regular wontons stuffed with delicious porky innards. The skin was slightly chewy and doesn't just fall apart like bloated noodle goo like most wontons. I also love anything that is drenched in that spicy oil. So flavorful and kind of tingly/numbing from the peppers. yummm....

meat wrapped in dough

We stopped by Yi Mei Fung Bakery to get some of their famous mochis before heading to our next stop. I didn't get a mochi since I stockpiled in Taipei. So instead, I got a taro mochi bread! Okay, I have a mochi addiction... Sadly, I ate it for dinner and forgot to take a pic. But I did take a pic of the awesome Doraemon cake in their window. Awesome.

Doraemon cake

Our last stop of the day was Xi'an Famous Foods in the Golden Shopping Mall food court, made even more famous by Anthony Bourdain. Hidy got their famous liang pi cold noodles and then we all ate a bite, or five. I lost count. Damn that was good. Chewy noodles and gluten mixed with sesame oil and vinegar, and the numbing spicy oil that I love. Cilantro and bean sprouts gave the dish a crunch. It was texture and sauce explosion heaven.

liang pi

My favorite part of Xi'an Famous Foods was Mr. Liang Pi himself, wearing the coolest t-shirt ever. Stay a moment and chat with him, he may let you sample some liang pi before you buy. And trust me, you will buy.

Mr Liang Pi and his cool t-shirt

Stayed tuned for part 2 of this gastronomic journey, the mother of gluttony, the Flushing Mall food court....