Ka-Noon Thai for Lunch

So I’m always at the doctors’ lately.  I’m always coughing and hacking away….. so after another doctor visit I headed straight to Ka-Noon to meet mama for lunch.  I’ve been craving Thai for EVAAAAA… so SO glad I gott some.  I also haven’t been here in ages and the quality is always changing.  This time I liked.  It was around lunch time so actually was super busy.

MMMM… best salad dressing ever. Possibly better than that Japanese stuff… has some sort of Peanuty-ness to it. YUM

Summer Rolls

I’m trying to get my mom to eat healthier, she likes the fried ones… but I told her to stick with these. I love the non-fried ones more anyways.

Mama got a Tofu Stir-Fry with Brown Rice

Tofu Garden – Stir fried w/ mushroom and assorted vegetables in brown sauce [Broccoli, Baby Corn, Carrots, etc.]

And of course I got a Jungle Basil Curry – Coconut free curry w/ mushrooms, string bean, eggplant, peppercorn, bell pepper, wild ginger and sweet basil – with Chicken.  I LOVE Jungle Curry but it wasn’t as spicy as I usually have it, but delicious none-the-less.

Just some delicious Thai Hot Tea to drink…. I need to get some for myself to make at home.  And suggestions on where and what to get?  Thanks!

P for Pabu & Perfection [Baltimore, MD]

PABU.

SAll I can say is that I have heard so so so SO much about this place. And I am a HUGE Japanese / Sushi fan. I’ve eaten a LOT of it. EVERYWHERE.

Literally. EVERYWHERE.

Definitely lives up to the hype. I suggest you take a trip to Baltimore specifically to eat here. Make sure you have a big empty tummy ready to fill up.  If needed, walk around the aquarium first.

[Note that it's day time and bright out... we ended up skipping our original train ticket to eat more and go home later!]

I’m ready to rock and roll… [WOK and roll HAHAHA get it? Yeah I know bad joke, but AT LEAST I'm laughing!!!!]

Look familiar? Apparently they donate 1$ to breast cancer research everytime someone orders this. YAY

It’s called the Maiko Onee and contained hakutake sochu, pamplemousse rose, and yuzu. YUMMMMMM…

And before we knew what we were getting ourselves into, a little plate of small bites arrived. DELISH

Happy Spoons [oysters, caviar, mine had uni and lots of happiness], eel rilette, miso- carrot/burdock, ohitashi [the spinach], lotus root and tiny tiny white fishies.. I forgot what they’re called but so tender and yummy

SUCHHHH a palette opener. SO delicious. I could’ve used another plate. Haha. Sharing is hard when food is this good.

Good thing next course W and I both had our own bowls of sashimi.  AMAAAAAZING.

There was this one fish, seared… you eat with ginger and scallions. OMFG. Amazing. This was the most amazing fresh delicious creamy sashimi EVAAA

And suddenly we got free sake

Next came the most beautiful creamy custard-y soft homemade tofu. SOOO much better than the other day.

Some nori, scallion, mushrooms, japanese yam and OMG the tofu…….

Seeng this guy at work knew… yakitori was in the works

Foie Gras Pops wrapped in Nori.

HOLY FUCKING HELL. SOOO GOOD.  I love my foie. This was amaze balls.

At this point I was about to burst.  So I ordered some hot tea to help wash it down…

But I’m a trooper, so off I go go go

I’m pretty sure there were more nigiri… but.. just relooking at all of these makes me full again hahaha… we ended with this.  ”Just one more… just one more…”

And it was simple and delicious.

But of course there is always ALWAYS room for desserts.

Gingerbread amazement. MIND BLOWING.

Dessert

No words just perfection. Go. Now.

Sushi Taro — Kaiseki & Sushi Tasting

Me and my W wanted Sushi… so after a day of work we finally decided to go find sushi. We KNEW we wanted sushi and didn’t know where to go.

THANKFULLY we met up with L and some of W’s friends and we decided on SUSHI TARO - a tiny walk up next to a CVS

Mr Octopussy says hi

So I’ve been back and forth about how to blog about out food since we both got different tastings.. So I’m gonna do it separately.  We shared our food but it’s easier to separate it.

We decided to get two different tastings.   W got the sushi tasting minus shellfish…

Sushi

Liver……. something….. and eggplant

Sashmi

Sushi

He’s so Jiro

We actually both got this soup so you can see more detail on my tasting.. except his didn’t have shellfish i it.

More sexy sushi

W totally shared his sushi with me…

Looked gross.. but very very soft and tender… W wasn’t into the texture as much.. i think it was beltfish.. but still.. NOM

More sushi sexiness..

And for the last course he got MY spicy tuna roll…

And I got the Kaiseki with wine pairing for me…

Kaiseki

Delicious aperitif sake with flower petals…

The most beautiful soft tender tofu

With a yummy pairing

Monkfish, oyster and eggplant

By this point my pairing kept coming super super late.

My Sashimi – DEEEElicious

The soup I talked about before…

Squeeze some lime…

Shrimp, fishcake, fish, etc.. YUM

SOOO GOOOOOD….. fried soba, fried fish, wasabi lotus root, squid, sweet potato, pome seeds, tomato and squid ink fried wakame.

OH and a escargot W helped open for me.

I got a yummy fish… that tasted SUPPPER sweet.. shisito pepper and then some… YUM

A duck meatball in a daikon wrap and surrounded by crabmeat. Sadly the duck meatball was COLD so  only ate around it.

I got W’s sushi in exchange for him getting my maki roll. Eel. Scallop and Salmon. <3

Next time we will try TURTLE!!!

For dessert, W picked the chocolate cake:

And I picked the chestnut cake…

YUMMMMMMMMMM. Will go back.

Back For Mo’ — Asiana Bistro

We had just recently visited Asiana Bistro but it was pretty good so we, my parents and I, decided to go back again.  This time we ordered completely different from the first time.

I started off with a Thai Beer, Singha.  It was slightly bitter and pretty tasty.  Not the best but not bad.. definitely tastes like an asian beer, as weird as that may sound – plus it went well with the clams we ended up ordering..

Beef Chow Foon Noodles

Tender chewy fluffy fat noodles with crunchy bean sprouts and large slices of super tender beef.  The sauce was pretty light and the dish was delicious.  As much as this is like chinese takeout, this was VERY yum!  I actually ended up having it the next day out of the fridge, for a midnight snack – teehee…

Clams in Black Bean Sauce

These were large, meaty, tender and oh so delicious.  Small slices of jalapeno to spice things up… sooo good.  And the portion was HUGE. H U G E!!!!  This, a beer and a giant bowl of white rice is the perfect meal.

Sea Bass with Mixed Veggies

This was our least favorite dish – we had hoped to get a whole steamed fresh fish but they didn’t have any that day.  This had way too much starch to make the sauce thick and the fish just didn’t taste fresh.  It was a chopped up frozen sea bass filet – and while the veggies were abundant and fresh, the over thickened up sauce just made it off-putting for me.

Garlicky Stir Fried Veggies

Minus the slightly thickened “sauce” you can’t go wrong with simp;y made greens

Pipa Tofu

There were so many!!!  Minced tofu and shrimp, fried and a light sauce added.  While I’m used to having smaller portions with a small whole shrimp on top, these oval balls of deliciousness were HUGE and addicting!!!! Flavor was fabulous and they were fluffy and tender. SO GOOD.

Fortune Cookie!!!!

I love this fortune.

만두 at Mandu

W and I finally met up with Brent, aside from seeing him for a brief second at Proof.  After the longest avoidance, laziness and procrastination we FINALLY decided on Mandu [K street one, I didn't know and suggested we walk there, since we always go to the one closer to W's apt] for lunch.  So off we went.  We sat down right as it started pouring and B got a beer, W got some iced tea and I got….

Aloe Sojutini

SO. ME.  It was delish with chunks of aloe on the bottom and thru-out, lightly sweetened and – what can I say I MUST be Korean on the inside cuz I love the taste of soju.  Love it more than Sake.

Banchan 반찬

Sweet Potato, Sprouts, Cucumber, Cabbage Kimchi, Spicy Mariniated Fried Tofu and Steamed Broccoli

SO good.  I loved the tofu :]  A nice chew to the skin that gave away to a soft fluffy innard and nice heat to it.

B got the Bar Special, Pint of Beer and Pan Fried Mandu and Shrimp Tacos. YUM.

I forgot what kind of dumplings they were but he loved them.  I duno how a big guy like him ate so little.. but then again I think he had like 3 or 4 beers… hahaha..

Soon Doobu
spicy seafood stew w/ soft tofu and egg
Scallops, Squid and Shrimp with Soft fluffy tofu… a poached egg in a spicy broth. SO good.  But probably a bad idea for me to be eating this on such a hot summer’s day OOPS. SOOO worth the sweat tho.

And of course W got his
Duru Jjigee
marinated and spiced pork belly sauteed w/
kimchi and rice cakes, served with steamed tofu

With dduk, rice cakes, of course. SO GOOD.

One of the owners, Danny, also one of W’s friends, came by and let us try his favorite summer dish…. With Sliced Beef, Egg, Pickled Radish & Cucumber, a few other things and you add vinegar, mustard and chili sauce to your liking/taste.  I think it’s called 물냉면, a Naengmyeon :] YUM

The three of us shared this…

And then I got another Sojutini, since I was between two flavors, I got the other one…

Grape Sojutini

This one had fresh skinless grapes on the bottom, it was sweeter than the aloe one – both were delicious.

For dessert we got mango, strawberry and green tea ice cream mochi.  The strawberry one was my favorite!!! The green tea one’s mochi skin was a bit tough and not soft and chewy like the others… it was more cookie like, weird.. maybe it thawed weird or was old?! YUM nonetheless and we gobbled it up in mere seconds.

I tried to open these.  WHY WON’T THEY OPEN?  I want to climb it as well.. TEEHEE…

You can never go wrong with Korean :]

Father’s Day Dim Sum

Me in Daddy’s shoes!

Daddy’s little girl

In this family we tend to celebrate holidays and birthdays for a whole span of time… so Saturday we headed to Rockport for lobsters and sunshine. It was cold and a bit gray at first but warmed up and the sun came out – we ended the night at CPK for our usual meal of Veg pizza, lettuce wraps and miso shrimp salad – and of course margaritas!!!

Lobsters and Clam Chowdah from Roy Moore Lobster Co

We were supposed to go to church on Sunday but mom and I slept in… haha poor dad was ready at 8am.  We previously planned on getting brunch somewhere but haven’t had Dim Sum in ages so we decided to go to celebrate the best guy in my life!

We got to New China Pearl around 1 and it was a TON of people and a 30 min wait.  #76

As soon as we sat down we got a plethora of braised chicken feets… a few of these, my favorite!!! 鳳爪

Fatty meaty juicy steamed shortribs 豉汁排骨

Ginger Sweetened Tofu Pudding 豆花

Shumai 燒賣

Spicy Black Bean Clams 豉汁炒蜆

Water Chestnut Cake – Ma Ti Gao 马蹄糕

I would have preferred it just steamed and not also panfried but it was slightly sweet and crunchy and good.  Not greasy but still, would’ve liked it better just steamed.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake 煎蘿蔔糕

Spicy Tripe 牛百叶

Egg Tarts 酥皮蛋撻

A Dim Sum must!!!  No dim sum is complete without ending with these :D

Sweet Sesame Balls 芝麻煎堆

We got a lot more food including black sesame and egg custard buns but I didn’t take pictures of everything, just some highlights.

Dim Sum Buffet at Lotus Flower

It’s a buffet, I’m not a huge fan of chinese buffets in general because I’d rather have quality than quantity. But for only 15$ it was a pretty decent spread of Taiwanese style dimsum and some eats….  Off to Lotus Flower in Framingham it is… sister restaurant to others around such as Lotus Blossom in Sudbury, Water Lily in Wayland and Chang So in Cambridge.

As my mom and I were walking in for our much-needed mother/daughter date, STARVED to death, a father and son came walking out of Five Guys asking if this place was good. hahaha.. I duno, this is my first time.

And YES it’s ACTUALLY next to a Five Guys [and a Boston Market], as soon as we parked and got out of the car, I could smell burgers in the air.. YUMMM.. #craving – almost went in there instead. Buttttt… it was dim sum I wanted..

This ain’t no chinatown or Asia dim sum… we came for the last hour of the “Sunday Brunch” so while they had everything, they weren’t really putting anything new out anymore. So we grabbed EVERYTHING!!… well, that we wanted.

Round 1.

Xiao Long Baos, Shumai 乾蒸燒賣, Taiwanese Panfried Dumplings, Pork Belly Baos, Shrimp Dumplings, Chive Pies, etc…

The Chive pie had good filling but they were not bulging with filling and I think since they were the last batch of the day, the crust was getting a bit soggy in the steamer…  the Shrimp Dumplings were good but the skin was a bit too thick for me and they were pan-fried not just thin-skinned and steamed like I’m used to.  Taiwan dumplings were good, but they were small and more like gyoza than Taiwanese dumplings…

Peanuts, Eggplant, Scallion Pancakes, Sesame Balls, etc..

I liked the Xiao Long Baos [Soup Dumplings] and Shumai the most so I ended up getting a plate PILED with them.. like 10 each HAHAHA… #fattie. INHALED.

Sao Bin 燒餅 and Fried Dough 油條

Obviously dipped in and eaten with soy milk 豆漿… something about Chinese soy milk that is SOOO different from american soy milk. SO SO GOOD.

The soy milk wasn’t too sweetened and tasted fresh…. definitely helped cut through the greasy fried dough – it’s not the best 油條 I’ve had but it’s pretty good.. just wish they were big rods of them, instead of cut up smaller pieces….

大䁑麵綫 Large Pig Intestine with Noodle Threads… SOOO GOOD… great spices and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro. YUM.

You have to ask for this on the side, and it comes with the buffet… as many bowls as you want.  But you have to ASK for it, along with congee, and sometimes tofu pudding and oyster pancakes – which aren’t always available.  While the flavors were great and the noodles were yummy, there wasn’t enough intestines, I had like 6 pieces of so but my mom had NONE. That’s so disappointing :[ Should be more consistant, need bigger pieces and each bowl needs a good amount.

Sweet Rice Soup/Milk 米浆

This was thick and delicious but a bit too sweet for me.  I prefer my mom's more but she never makes it anymore :[  Here's a fun recipe I found tho...

Turnip/Daikon Cakes, Pig Ears, Sliced Beef, Szechuan Pickled Cabbage

After this I got another plate of just xiao long baos and shumais :] NOM

Fruits, more Sesame Balls, Cake and some Ribs & Tofu

The ribs were a bit too sweet…. but I love me some balls :D A bit sweet but nice mochi outside, fried and red bean paste in the middle, NOM!

Cake, Melon, Mangoes

Hope is the best stimulant of life.

Agreed.

Hope drives me, inspires me and pushes me in the right direction.

So does my new bag of Easter candy….

Korean Brunch at Mandu and then off to the National Air and Space Museum

I woke up craving a delicious Bloody Mary… I had nightmares all night, I’m such a 2 year old, due to ALL that yummy food from last night… hahaha probably ate too late and ate way too much for my own good – thank goodness my metabolism still semi-works – but YES woke up not hungry.. and then suddenly turned STARVING! SOOOOOOO… why not have a Korean brunch?!  Yeah, never had a korean brunch.. but then we walked downto Mandu, sooo pretty out, and I saw “Soju Bloody Mary” on a sign outside and my heart skipped a beat. WOOHOOOOOOOO

[if you're curious about the Korean Brunch Plate, as was I, I ordered it the next time I came here for brunch! YUM]

MMMMMMMMMMMM so happy!!!!! We sat at the bar and ordered…

Soju Bloody Mary

THIS WAS SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD – I’m a huge fan of Soju AND Bloody Marys so why not all together?! HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

Everyone at the bar got a little yogurt drink treat – YUM! My fav!

Banchan 반찬

INHALED – note: INHALED!!!! MMMM I love the spicy pickled cucumbers… kimchi cucs <3

Kimchi Jjigae

kimchi soup w/ pork and tofu

WEEEEEEEEEEEE spicy and happy and piping hot :] SUCH A comfort food of mine.. makes me miss going to BCD Tofu House for takeout all the time when living in the City.

Duru Jjigee

marinated and spiced pork belly sauteed w/
kimchi and rice cakes, served with steamed tofu

Fatty juicy tender pork, YUMMMY chewy QQ Duk and tender steamed tofu :] NOM – Now I know why W always gets this when he comes here! YUM What a great way to start off the day.. I’m always pretty weaksauce when it comes to first meals.. good thing we have plans for later on…. UNTIL then….

National Air and Space Museum

POOP BAG

Where’s Tom Hanks?!

I crawled into the kiddie tunnel, like dove head first into it – SOOO cramped and tiny.. but now I feel like one of the cool kids.. literally.. kids…

HAHA. They found Uranus’ Rings :D GET IT? GET IT? #dirtylittleboyhumor

SOOOOO Thirsty and SOOOOO hungry, plus the museum is gonna be closing soon… ANNNNNND the food event is about to start… time to Lamb Jam!

‘Til next time Taiwan… I’ll miss you

I got up at 5:30am

Grand Formosa Regent Taipei Taiwanese Cuisine & Snacks 寶島晶華

Mommy and I split the Chinese Breakfast Set

皮蛋瘦肉粥 / Preserved Egg and Pork Congee

Regular and Black Sugar 饅頭 [Mantou]

麵筋 [Mien Jin aka Seitan/Wheat Gluten], 豆干 [thin shreds of dried preserved tofu], 肉鬆 [Rousong aka Pork Floss]

Bok Choy with Fatty Pork

Shu Mai / 燒賣

Fried  Pan Fried Shrimp Roll in Tofu Wrap/ 腐皮捲

Pingu

rilakkuma bear

Had some Veggie Egg Fried Rice from Taipei to Japan with Pineapple Cake :]

Afterwards I got the Chicken Curry and a breakfast of Spinach Omelet w/ Brekky Sausage and other yummies….  all the way to San Fran… one of the guy flight attendents was super nice and gave me cookies and tons of wine on the way hahahaha… so boozey me ate all of my chocolate waffles, cookies and sour candy on the flight… passed out on some sour belts.. HMMMMM…

At San Fran I got a HUGE Caesar Salad from the Cafe I always eat at there and got tons of snacks on the kid-infested flight. KID INFESTED. YES. I hate traveling on holiday season cuz the 6 hour flight was kids screaming, singing, kicking, running around, and smelled like baby poop. No lie. I turned up the Jay Chou on my ipod and tried to sleep…

Got picked up… with takeout :] Thank YOU :]

Miso Soup

Hamachi Kama

And tons of sushi and sashimi.. MMMMM, Soft Shelled Crab never tasted so good as now.. LOL

Also recieved some awesome packages outside my door…

Eat Write Retreat Goodies they sent me since I didn’t make it to the event….

:D
Deliciousness and COokbook happiness

ANNNNNND… CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY’s Everlast!!!! #swoon

I miss Taiwan. Although my ever-growing waist is glad this trip is over until next time.. #fattie :]

One of Didi’s new outfits from Taiwan :D

紅豆食府 . Shanghai Shanghai

It’s been on my list of places to go to again in Taipei since I haven’t gone in a few years…  紅豆食府 . Shanghai Shanghai is one of the top restaurants in the area, or used to be, and also a bit pricey. Nevertheless it was early in the night and I needed some good grub.

The service was a bit slow even tho they were super pushy for us to order when we first sat down.  I sat next to a table of uuber old people and I swear the 90 year old man could barely move let alone eat – but he ate 20x as much as I could but made creepy noises every minute or so that kinda freaked me out. OK that sounds mean but still. It was kinda funny cuz his wife, a little more active than he was kept yelling at him and walking away from him LOL :]

Braised Bamboo

Sticky and braised in a brown sauce… kinda strange silky gooey texture but actually pretty good :] I’m usually more used to firmer crunchier bamboo but I liked this. Maybe over braised but greaaaat flavors!

Cold Appetizer: Blanched 龍鬚菜 with Sweet&Sour Sauce

Fresh cut Chilis

蘿蔔酥 / Radish Puff

These were piping hot and tasty. Great puffy crust on the outside and delicious radish and etc filling on the inside – not the BEST I’ve had but pretty tasty!  I rarely eat Dim Sum dishes here in Taiwan, except for maybe Pork Ribs & Chicken Feet butttttt :] Needed to try a bitty bit.

勝瓜 / Stir Fried Loofah

I don’t really count eating this as getting my daily greens in, but it’s soooo goooood!!!! :] Silky and slides down the throat. I swear, EVERYTHING tastes better in Asia.

山蘇松阪肉 / Stir Fried Pork Jowl with Nest Fern

The pork was SOOOO tender and just enough fat. But even the meat tasted and felt like fatty goodness. YUM! I love pork jowl :] But then again, anything to do with cheeks is delicious and tender, no?! :] SIGH.. even tho more animal parts are used nowanddays on menus, they’re still not used enough. I love how on any given menu on any given day there is various delicious body parts on any menu here in Taiwan :] HAPPY!

紅燒黃魚 / Braised Croaker

A small croaker tastes better pan fried or grilled but a larger, meatier one is great braised…  There was HUGE cloves of yummy garlic, tons of sliced bamboo, soft tofu and sprinkled with yummy scallions! MMMM meaty and tender and deliciousness!!! HAPPPPYYY!!!

皎白筍百頁 / Winter Bamboo w/ Greens

They first brought out this dish which was ALL tofu skin, like 3 pieces of bamboo and some… jamon?! Awkward…

So they brought out what we ORDERED when we told them what was up?! I came here to eat WINTER bamboo – which is a thicker one compared to the fresh young bamboo we usually eat here…

I was disappointed that the dish was so small and the bamboo slices were so thin but it was tasty!!!

Complimentary Thickened Red Bean Soup w/ Black Rice

SOOOO GOOD :] What can I say?! I love a good free dessert, especially when it’s red bean or mochi!!! WEEEEE~~~~

This place was good but not great and not really what I expected – I hadn’t been here since I was a lot younger so I didn’t really remember much except seeing chicken testicles on the menu – which was at a different location so I didn’t see it on this one HAHA –  but I passed by this place in SOGO all the time so I had to try it out again.

I may have inhaled 3 or 4 breads/pastries later that night… including creamy filled santa :] Yep, santie clause is filled with a yummy creamy center ;] Raisin eyes and maraschino cheeks!

And I snuggled up with my new snuggle buddy [I miss Didi] while watching funny Canto movies I bought and fell asleep after snacking on Wasabi Macadamia Nuts!!! :] TEEHEE