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.

Re-living a delicious memory…at TORO

W got into town to cook for the Clio 15th Anniversary Dinner June 5.  All the great names were there… and obviously my amazingly talented boyfriend <3  So Sunday night after he got in we went to re-live our faithful frigid and yummy night in January at Toro.  OK it was still a bit chilly this night.. good thing I FINALLY listened to W and switched my shorts for pants.  And, of course, I paired my outfit with super high platform heels – I can’t help it.  I love to tower.

We got there just a few minutes after A & J around 5:30 who were just starting to enjoy a cocktail and beer, and we were immediately seated.   Good thing too cuz Toro, per usual, filled up FAST — I started with one of my fav cocktails from Toro… the Cabana Boy. Canton Ginger, spiced rum, pineapple.

We even sat the way we did that night, except J replaced S :]   And no paron.  And once again, we had a ton of food. A TON, possibly more than before?! Not sure… the bread was a-flowing and some of the highlights were these: Egg Omelette, Buffalo Heart, Pimientos, Sweetbreads [amaze balls], Tuna, Oysters, Goat Cheese [which was actually really creaaaammmy and light], Salt Cod Fritters [which tasted like delicious McDonald's Filet O' Fish in a ball of fried goodness, NO LIE], Pork Belly, Pulled Pork, just to name a few off the top of my head. We had a beautiful Spanish wine picked out by A.

But the dinner started out with a special charcuterie plate from Chef Jamie Biss. UM. SWOON.

Everything was delicious.  I wanted to order another platter – JUST FOR ME – I haven’t had a “just cheese, charcuterie and wine” dinner in awhile – THIS would SO be one of the ultimates.  That Pork Pate at the right end.  Atop chopped up kimchi – fucking fantasmic. YES.  Swearing needs to happen.  Bad language is accepted with the food is this fucking awesome.

Special of the Day: Tripe Chili with avocado and Crema.  Oh you heard right, it’s like a Fat Asian Girl’s wet dream AKA MINE!  Tender pulled pork, beans, etc… all the chili components and then TRIPE. FUCKING TRIPE.  I LOOOOOOOOOVE TRIPE.  This is like tripe porno tuesday for Miss Tiffie… except.. on a Sunday… and… only two dishes of tripe.

Bone Marrow for a Double Date.  One of us an one for them.  Perfect as always.

And hands down, BEST dish of the night was the Green Curry Tripe… tripe?  Tripe that felt like TENDON.  A and I told Jamie straight up we wanted to BATHHHHHHHHE in this and lick it off each other.  Ok, I may have added that licking part in but at least I WOULD ;]  Melted on your tongue into a bliss of green curry…. and ever-so-sultry like sliiiiiiiiiiiides down your throat. I want to SOAK in this.  Hell, I’d lick it off myself. JOY.

An amazing [early] night with great friends.  I always have an amazing time eating with A & J :]  See previous.  Oh, we ended the night in churros. You know that’s always a plus.

The rest of the night? Sex, Love and Rock n’ Roll baby <3

The Last Dinner… Back to AoBa

I’m OBSESSED with this new Jay Chou song for the past week. It’s literally been playing nonstop in my head.

LOVE his new cd. GET IT.

Mine Mine <3

Hehe I love the line: 我寫的小說根本是空白黑夜 你說既然已分開 為何還要幫你撐傘

I WANT CURLS!

I’ve been thinking about it for a year or two but I finally grew out ALL of my bad bleached hair, it’s nice and long and HEALTHY, SOOOOO time for a perm. Yep. I said it. PERM

“Only f*ing jerkoffs get perms” LOL ;]

The end result: Natural looking curls/waves.  To enhance I still need to curl it myself with the iron. BUT… so much fuller an more body. Dang. Two big risks this year in Taiwan with my hair. Bangs and a perm, LOL – I might go for more BANG BANG curls next time :] LOVE my salon, Socie :]

After freaking 4-5 hours in the salon getting treatments and getting the hairs curled… LAST DINNER time!!! My choice? AoBa!

涼拌海蜇
クラゲのにんにく和え
Jelly fish salad

I actually haven’t been eating jelly fish salad that much…. strange cuz I love the stuff. In fact… now that I think about it, I may have only had it at Shin Yeh in Taiwan other than here.. HMMM.. This was light and not too garlicky or vinegary… huge chunks of cucumber and slivers of ginger… MMM… my mom thought it was TOO light in flavor but I ADORED it – crispy jellyfish. YO! I need to get on this and learn to make some.

A菜

My favoriiiiite <3 But I still say Ding Tai Fung makes it the bestest :]

Basically:
A – from Arden.
Arden Lettuce. 別名：A菜、窩仔菜 學名：Lactuca sativa L.

地瓜粥 / Sweet Potato Congee

花生豬腳
豚足とピーナツの醤油煮込み
Stewed pork feet with peanuts

My staple dish here. My must have. I crave this constantly!  I get pig’s feet as much as I possibly can whenever I see it on the menu.  But AoBa’s is just BEYOND amazing, I can’t get over how light and juicy.. tender, fall off the bone happiness this is.  The collagen is so creamy and delicious. GREAT for skin.. [that's why we asians are so young ;] hehe]

The latest anti-aging food? Pigs’ trotters. [...]

The reason for this, [...] , is that they are rich in collagen, the protein responsible for skin and muscle tone, more recognizable to beauty addicts in the form of face creams and fillers.

“Collagen helps your body retain moisture,” [...] “Your hair and skin will look better, but it’s not just for looking beautiful now. If you begin eating collagen in your thirties, you will look younger in your forties.”

- [Source]

蛤蠣絲瓜
はまぐりとへちまの炒め煮
Stir-fried clam with loofah

The last time we were here, my aunt insisted that we NOT get loofah since it’s not in season therefore not as “sweet” and “juicy” hmmmm. I LOOOVE loofah, as does my mom.. but my aunt can get stubborn about what to eat and what not to eat hahaha so we didn’t get it then, but as you can tell from my string of Taiwan posts this year I’ve been eating it A LOT [sans aunt lol] This was SUPER tasty.. the loofah was AMAZING as was the yummy little happy clams… nom nom!

生蒸魚
活き魚(ハタ)の姿蒸し
Steamed fresh fish

We actually ate this fish the other day in Hsinchu with some of my family… I THINK it was a giant Scorpion fish but lately I’m getting all my fishes mixed up :P We had it in a miso Fish soup.. but this was SOOO meaty and delicious steamed.  The head was big and boney [lol] and it was probably the meatiest fish I’ve had so far IN Taiwan.. SOO good!  Steamed, a light soy-based garlic infused sauce.  Hot oil quickly poured over skin to crisp it up and bring out the flavors of the thinly shredded scallions. SO YUM! We didn’t think we could eat the whole thing but the two of us devoured this fish, CLEAN, literally JUST bones remaining, in minutes.

鹹菜肚片湯
からし菜ともつのスープ
Pork tripe and salted vegetables soup

Light flavorful broth, you could totally taste the tripe…. a few snap peas and 榨菜 [basically a pickled mustard green] not salted veggies…  Usually we get clam soups but mommy really wanted this and I wanted a change :] Why not right?!

Mommy and I both had a glass of California Cabernet Sauvignon [红酒]

花生麻糬 – Warm Bite-sized Peanut Mochi
Little balls of warm gooey perfection per usual <3 XO

Want to be more properly fobbified?

Lollipop F – Dance

F(x) ft Shinee – Lollipop
fanmade MV

2NE1 – I Don’t Care

Yeah yeah I know, I go to Taiwan and buy mostly Korean music back home :]

Dim Sum Essentials… Takeout from Hei-La Moon

It’s Boston, what can I say, I miss NYC and it’s insane amount of food variety.. especially in the asian category… cuz when it comes down to it, nothing beats some quality comforting chinese food.  What can I say?! It’s in my blood.. blame my genes :]  Now, I’m a lover of brunch… Bloody Marys, Mimosas.. Waffles….. Gooey Eggs, Bacon.. the works, I’m all up on that.. but I’m always down for some Dim Sum aka Chinese Tapas.  There are different varieties… like Taiwanese style… and but Canto [Cantonese] style is my fav…. dumplings and ribs and tripe and chicken feet.

My godfather was sweet enough to get me some of my favorite things the other day for dinner :]  And from my favorite Dim Sum place in the area.. Hei-La Moon.  The place is huge and while it’s not really…. crowded during dinner time – I’ve been and the food is good but nothing that much special compared to all the other places in Chinatown – but the dim sum is INSANEEEEE… you wait a long time to get a table, but the wait is WORTH it.  The best part is, you can get dim sum in chinatown 7 days a week :] WOO!

Take out makes life easier :]

Godfather also got me some yummy Hainan Chicken from Penang. I LOOOVE Malaysian food and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Hainan Chicken.. I basically eat almost a whole chicken at least once a week from there :] #fattie – Read more about what it is here

海南雞 – Hainanese Chicken

It’s just simple, room temperature, steamed chicken with a red spicy sauce and a soy sauce to go with it.  Cucumbers layered underneath and some cilantro on top add to it.  I eat this stuff out of the fridge COLD :] YUM!  Americans got cold pizza, I got cold Hainan Chicken :]…And obviously a side of chicken rice.. basically rice cooked from chicken fat/stock :] NOM!

OK, back to the dealio. DIM SUM TAKEOUT!

乾蒸燒賣 – Pork Shumai

As prepared in Cantonese cuisine, siumai is also referred to as “pork and mushroom dumpling.” Its standard filling consisting primarily of ground pork, small whole or chopped shrimp, Chinese black mushroom, green onion (also called shallots) and ginger with seasonings of Chinese rice wine e.g. Shaoxingrice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and chicken stock. Bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and pepper can also be added. The outer covering is made of a thin sheet of lye water dough. The center is usually garnished with an orange dot, made of crab roe or diced carrot, although a green dot made with a pea may be used.  [Source]

For as long as I can remember, when I was a kid these were my favorite dumplings, aside from Xiao Long Bao,  from Dim Sum.  I love 蝦餃 [Hargow, Shrimp Dumplings] and Chive ones and etc… but these will always be the best.  And Hei-La Moon’s are delicious… I still stand by that, in Boston, China Pearl still has the best – dirty place but SOOOO GOOOOOD hahahaha…

牛柏葉 – Steamed Beef Tripe

“Tripe (from French tripe which is from Italian trippa) is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals…. Beef tripe is usually made from only the first three chambers of a cow‘s stomach: the rumen (blanket/flat/smooth tripe), the reticulum (honeycomb and pocket tripe), and the omasum (book/bible/leaf tripe). Abomasum (reed) tripe is seen much less frequently, owing to its glandular tissue content. [Source]“

YUM Offal <3  I love tripe. Obsessed with tripe, never met a tripe I didn’t like :] The texture, I prefer a bit chew, not too soft, thinner cut… and I’m not AS big of a fan of the honeycomb ones… but nonetheless it’s yummy.  These were perfect – a slight crunch and crispness to them.. nice chew, wonderful flavor… super fresh with a few slices of hot chili in it. OMG YUM!  Dunk in sriracha <3 HAPPINESS.

Love me, want me?! Eat this shizzz :]

排骨 – Pork Ribs with Sweet Potato in Black Bean Sauce

I’m actually not used to eating dim sum pork ribs with sweet potato.. usually it’s black bean with a bit of chili to it, but these delightful sweet soft bites or orange were lovely.  These were thankfully not too fatty.. altho I do adore it when they are hehe – I LOOOOOOVE 排骨 [pai gu / pork ribs] and my favorite kind is the Fen Zheng Pai gu [great recipe from Eating Asia]

豉汁鳳爪 – Chicken Feet

“typically deep fried and steamed first to make them puffy before beingstewed and simmered in a sauce flavoured with black fermented beans, bean paste, and sugar;^[1] or in abalone sauce.^[2]“

I’m obsessed with chicken feet, OBSESSED… from Din Tai Fung Chicken Soup, white steamed chicken feet… black chicken feet, fried, steamed, roasted, whichever and however it’s delicious.. AND it’s GOOD for you :]  These are delicious. Tender. Full of flavor and SOOO addictive. I’ve had an ex buy me like 5+ boxes of this from Flushing when I lived in NYC last year.  He was sweet… and I was a fatass :] Still am… HAHAHA… speaking of chicken feet.. had some today…. MMMM black chicken feet in the boozy Sesame/Rice Wine chicken… and now I want DUCK TONGUE

MMM Msg – All of them warmed up in plates for meeee to DEVOUR ASAP.

Ono Hawaiian Food / Waikiki

The one name that kept popping up everytime we asked around for good Hawaiian food in the Waikiki area was Ono Hawaiian Foods. Ono’s. Ono’s. Ono’s. Ono’s. And it helps that Anthony Bourdain [Season 4] has been there as well :] We took a taxi from out hotel and got there right when it opened at 11am.

I have to admit, when I first walked in and sat down… it smelled like… old.  Grungy.  Food.  It was kind of a turn-off and freaked me out at first but definitely let me know that this was an authentic place.  The staff was SO friendly and explained the food to us and taught us how to eat everything.  The whole store was filled with history and memorabilia from thru out the many years. And no worries, I got used to the smell soon after :]

Maui Onion, Tomato Salad, Poi and Chili Sauce
We were SUCH fan of the poi that we ordered another, larger, bowl of it.  The owners just gave us a small tasting in case we freaked out.  It’s definitely dense, but so delicious.  You can’t really taste the taro unless you pair it with something else, the taro flavors come out a lot when you eat it with the pork. POI IS AMAZING. Addicted

Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant (known in Hawaiian as kalo). Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm (baked or steamed) until it is a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and again just before eating, to achieve a desired consistency, which can range from liquid to dough-like (poi can be known as two-finger or three-finger, alluding to how many fingers you would have to use to eat it, depending on its consistency). – Source

LauLau [Fatty Pork wrapped in Taro Leaves]

Super fatty, moist and tender – holy crap my stomach is gurgling while i blog about this – The taro leaves on the outside are totally edible and cooked down so much it just melts in your mouth… as does the meat.

Kalua Pig, Pipikaula [beef jerky], and Salt Meat Watercress

I actually wasn’t that fond of the Kalua Pig so i wasn’t TOO disappointed when the weather was a bit too wet to go to a luau at Paradise Cove.  BUT… the Salt Meat Watercress was AMAZING.  Lightly salted in a clear broth… super fresh coarsely cut thick watercress and fall off the bone pork.

Tripe Stew

The tripe was tender and the broth was good but it was a bit too tripe-y and organ tasting to me. I’m all about the tripe too, that or I was too full and set on just eating all of my fatty savory pork!

JUST REALIZED, we got jipped from our lomi lomi salmon :[ So sad... I wanted to get some poke and/or lomi and just realized, looking at the menu I took home now, that we were supposed to get it in our combo plate [which the laulau and the kalua, etc... also came on] They also had spam on the menu, but not spam musubi….  which we ended up finding a place for later in the day.

Haupia [Coconut Jelly]

This reminded me of an asian jelly.. definitely a lot stiffer than regular jello… sooo good… but definitely a heavier jello… the coconut flavor was there and it was delicious – very refreshing, slightly sweet – a great small dessert to finish off the salty meal with.

Our neighbors were the cutest old couple who ate almost as much as we did.  The old man was ADORABLE and was telling me how he was so full and that he was gonna take a nap from food coma afterwards.

The sun started coming out a bit after our brunch so we hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel pool to lounge in a hut [the rain was coming and going pretty much the whole week so it definitely was a cooler time for hawaii] and relax for the day.. of course snacks were involved.. and face making

Peekaboooooooo

“Hibachi” Chicken Sandwich and Chili Cheese Fries

Afterwards we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and explore and shop – and shop AND EAT we did :]

Blue Water Shrimp & Fish Market

We were looking around for a snack when a tourist told us that this calamari dish he got was SO good that he had eaten it three nights in a row so far…. so OBVIOUSLY Z and I HAD to get it…..

Macadamia Nut Crusted Calamari

The calamari steaks were SO tender and cooked perfectly.  The macadamia crust was a bit on the heavy side but was seared perfectly and went great with the mango/pineapple salsa that it came with.  It also came with some delicious rice and a half of a corn on the cob. OH AND, for shame, I had some of the salad, which was lightly doused with a ranch-like dressing. OK, pretty sure it was ranch but the veggies were so fresh and crisp I couldn’t resist.

Dole Ice Cream Stand in the Market Food Court

Guava, Mango and Pineapple Shaved Ice with Condensed Milk

Refreshing, sweet and oh so artificial <3 Hahaha I was kind of hoping for some asian-fied shaved ice but this was a nice quick sweet treat!!!

After our snack we headed out to look for Musubi… ended up with sushi and ended the night with karaoke at Sensai.

happy birthday part UN – piggie/clown style

I’m all about birthdays, especially when it’s mine…as a child I HATED having my birthday in the summer. Everyone else got punch and cupcakes during class and I would be one of the few that couldn’t. Sometimes I would celebrate it in June before school let out. I felt left out :[ But it's been awhile since the days of ABC, eating playdoh and finger puppets. I LOVE having my birthday in the summer. Sunshine, great tans, and August is the easiest month to get out of work - slowest month of the year.

I abuse the fact that it's my birthday and I tend to celebrate for the whole month of August. Thankfully all my friends and family are down with it and just go along with me. This year I decided to start early and have my first party on July 31 :]

What can I say, I’m addicted to birthday parties.. and finding the perfect bday dresses ;D — of course good food is a must… Remember last year?!

I have a HUGE crush on David Chang and his food and of course, pork… so it only seemed appropriate to go to Momofuku Ssam Bar

We got the 6-Course Prixe Fix Menu… but then added on a lot of other items.. because I’m a fatty like that ;D I’ll star * the items that we added on…

* greek sardine -

arugula, strawberry, toasted rice
Amazing. I don’t get why anyone would not like sardines.. it’s fishy, because it’s supposed to be. Salty, fresh and delicious. The strawberries and the arugula just added so much to it.

spanish mackerel -

melon, mustard
Not fishy at all.. super tender and I loved the sweetness that balanced off the slight savory to it.

bread + butter -

sea salt butter (vt) + whipped lardo
Apparently I’m the only one that was super excited about having whipped lardo ;D Pork fat is an amazing thing…. we had a few plates of the bread and it was demolished asap. We were all starved… we got to the place at 545 but we probably didn’t really start eating til way after 630. What can I say, my friends always roll late – haha LAME. But we had gotten our drink on by then.. especially with the help of Matt’s White Dog.. one sip and I was done…. except.. I kept going…

White dog is what distillers call whiskey when it comes off the still, but before it goes into the barrel. It is, in other words, raw whiskey, without the mellow flavors and rich hue that the barrel brings. It is as clear as water and if it is destined for the barrel, as opposed to the bottle, is strong.

Source

country hams tasting  –



finville ham (finchville, ky)
broadbent ham (kuttawa, ky)
edward’s wigwam ham (surry, va)
Delicious!!! I don’t know which was which and they didn’t have the smoked ones – boo – but they were delish!

Toro.. the bull not the fish ;]

You know that feeling you get after eating really good food….. the afterwards… that depression? Well why let it get you down when you can continue it by eating more amazing food? The day after our O YA meal we decided that the only way we could finish off the weekend was by going to TORO.

We had brunch at Bullfinch’s and then headed off to the Museum of Science for an afternoon of Harry Potter madness.

LOVE. Harry. Potter.

More on my fb album :]

Hufflepuff is like the worst ever [hahahaha jk but seriously.. reminds us of jiggly puff]