Hot Pot!

I love Chinese hot pot (huo guo). It's basically like fondue, but Chinese style. Growing up, my family would reserve this for special occasions like Chinese New Year. It's a time for everyone in the family to get-together. Now that the weather has become more cold, coming home to eat hot pot is definitely something that warms my stomach up (even if it's just for two people). It's like drinking chicken soup when you're sick. If my stomach would allow me to have it my way, I'd go for the spicy style (ma la). It's so good, but it totally burns my stomach up. I usually end up with a bad stomachache for a few days thereafter. But I still love it. It's a love and hate relationship.

My list of must haves for hotpot:

- thinly-sliced ribeye and pork
- frozen tofu (the texture becomes chewy when you freeze tofu)
- tofu skin (dou pi)
- enoki mushrooms
- napa cabbage
- pork meatballs (gong wan)
- slices of fish
- shrimp
- squid
- mung bean noodles (the wide kind)

My sauce:

- HOT sauce!!
- soy sauce
- vinegar
- Chinese bbq sauce (sha cha jiang)
- minced scallions
- coarsely chopped cilantro

Azuki Bean Mochiko Cupcakes

I had some leftover sweetened canned azuki bean paste in the fridge that I would hate to see go to waste, so I made some cupcakes- Asian style. Instead of regular flour, this was made with rice flour, specifically Mochiko flour. I can usually find this at our local Asian grocery stores. These cupcakes are like a blend of mochi and cupcakes made with regular flour in the mouth. They are a bit on the chewy side. The dallop of sweetened azuki bean paste in the center is bliss. I couldn't resist them when they were still warm... a few minutes out of the oven.

1/2 box of Mochiko rice flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup powder sugar
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
azuki bean paste

Mix the eggs, rice flour, oil, powder sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and baking powder together. Grease muffin pan. (I used aluminum cupcake liners and greased them. Avoid paper liners if you want to use any liners. Cupcakes will stick to the paper liners.) Fill each cup with 2/3 of batter, spoon in a dallop of azuki bean paste, then top with 1/3 of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check to see if they're done with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, then they're done.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

My Love for Chocolate

Thanks to my bestfriend who knows my love for chocolate, I now have a new addition to my library: Scharffen Berger's The Essence of Chocolate.



It actually talked about how Scharffen Berger started. Reading it made me appreciate their products even more. I had some free time last week and experimented with one of their recipes: chocolate sorbet. The finished product was so smooth in the mouth that it tasted almost like a piece of frozen chocolate bar. The great thing was that it was fat-free. Yes, fat free. This will be my newest chocolate treat.

Bacchanalia

Recently I had a privilege to dine at Bacchanalia, a contemporary American restaurant in Atlanta. It was truly an experience I will not forget (next to Rome's Quinzi e Gabrieli).

The entire dining experience, from beginning to the end, was truly enjoyable. It's a four-course prix-fixe menu. The chef threw in a lot of complimentary items in between the courses, like soup, pastries, cookies. We even had a complimentary peach and buttermilk smoothie. Yes, buttermilk.

Everything they served was like a taste explosion in the mouth. I would have never thought of some of the pairings. The gingersnap cookie paired well with the peach buttermilk smoothie. Poached pears went well with my flan.

The timing of each course was perfect. We didn't have to wait too long nor did it feel like we were rushed. Portions were just right. We ate enough to savor each course without feeling stuffed. Service was excellent. Even though it was a dressy restaurant, it did not feel "stuffy" inside. The ambiance was on the casual, laid-back side.

I'd definitely try to hit this place again... maybe when I get a bonus. :)

1198 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, Georgia
404.365.0410

New York Eats

There are no other cities like New York City in the US. I love its liveliness. Being out at three o'clock in the morning can seem like eight o'clock at night. It's a city with a lot of diversity as well. I had a great time eating my way through it a few weeks ago.

There seems to be a lot of Japanese presence in the restaurant scenes. Cafe Zaiya (18 E 41st St) near Grand Central is a great place for lunch or afternoon snack. They have all kinds of bento boxes, baked goods, rice balls, and even a Beard Papa stall inside. I was hooked on their rice balls, specifically the spicy tuna ones I went back right before flying out to get a big bag of goodies for the plane ride home. In order to keep the seaweed fresh and crisp, they package them so that the seaweed is in between these plastic sheets. If you go at the right time, these rice balls will still be warm. Delicious.

Men Kui Tei (60 W 56th St, between 5th & 6th Ave) is a tiny tiny ramen shop. Tonkotsu ramen has become my favorite since my recent visit to Seattle's Samurai Ramen. Theirs was not as tasty, but I am not complaining because there are no ramen shops I know of in Atlanta.

Pizzas from John's Pizzeria (278 Bleecker Street) were absolutely something to remember. New York style... thin crust with the right amount of sauce. They were nice to make mine without cheese without looking at me funny. Cheese makes me throw up. I guess it's a taste aversion thing... since as long as I can remember.

I made my round to Forty Carrots (Metro level at Bloomingdale's 1000 3rd Avenue) for their well-known frozen yogurt. It's on the sweet-side for me. I had coffee and chocolate flavors. Their small size was huge. Compared to the Korean yogurt chains, this is more on the sweet side but much better than TCBY, while Korean yogurt chains make frozen yogurt that are more tart. Nevertheless, Forty Carrots still is superior.

Seattle Eats

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago for a mini-vacation. It's always fun to discover restaurant scenes in a new city. Seattle's got a reputation for coffee... and I actually skipped out on that since Starbucks is literally everywhere in the world. It seems like in Seattle Starbucks is on every street corner.



Pike Place Market is a big tourist attraction (trap?). I wonder if the locals actually shop and dine there. The place was packed when I was there, filled with a bunch of tourists with their cameras hanging from their necks. We checked out Jack's Fish Spot inside the market. There was a metallic counter behind where they sold fresh seafood. You can order some fresh cooked seafood there. Cioppino was a tasty treat in the afternoon. Fish and chips were on the greasy side... I guess what do you expect? Fish and chips are fried. Fried cod was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Too bad the individual pieces of fish were on the skimpy side. Nevertheless, it was the experience of eating inside the noisy (and dirty) market that I will remember.




Cafe Campagne was a little gem nearby the market. It was a nice place to escape from the chaos of the street and the market scene. The duck confit served with thyme skillet potatoes was wonderfully made. I had poisson du jour, which on that day was fresh trout, served with risotto cooked with pork stock. The trout was very moist and tasty. There was no hint of fishiness. It tasted like a freshly-caught fish.

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley
Seattle, WA 98101


Samurai Noodle, located next to Umajimaya Market, was also a little hidden gem. Tonkatsu ramen (pork broth) was excellent. Ramen was cooked to order and the broth was as tasty as one could ever imagined. The only downside to this place was that seating was extremely limited. We had to wait for a little bit and watch others slurp down their ramen before we could satisfy our hunger.

Samurai Noodle
606 5th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98138




When in Washington during July, cherries are found everywhere. Rainier cherries, the "cream of the crop" cherries are harvested usually each June or July and are best grown in the Pacific Northwest. A third of the crops get eaten by birds each season. I guess this is why they are so expensive. We found a little cherry stand on the side of the road on our way to Mount Rainier and got us four pounds for $7. This was the best snack.

Craving for a Burger

I don't know why, but lately I've been craving for hamburgers... good ones... whatever that means.

On another night of solo dining at home, I made a hamburger for myself. I didn't feel like a greasy one from a restaurant or even a fast-food restaurant. I used hamburger patties from Omaha Steaks since it was readily available from my freezer. I fried an egg to put in my hamburger to get a little more protein. I've got my buns toasted, my dijon mustard, lettuce, red onions, hot sauce... I was ready to go.



Nothing beats a custom burger made to your preferences.

Seafood Boil

From the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. A platter with craw fish, mussels, snow crab legs, shrimp, Dungeness crab legs, corn and potatoes. All eaten outside on a deck in typical Southern hot and humid weather.

Summer Salmon Salad

It has been so hot in Atlanta that I hardly feel like cooking. I basically baked a piece of salmon fillet seasoned with freshly grounded pepper in the toaster oven for a few minutes and topped it on my bed of greens, green beans, bell peppers, and tomatoes. It was a satisfying meal, especially with a Japanese miso dressing. Yum.

A Perfect Summer Evening

Summers on the East Coast can be hot and humid. For some reason, the weather was perfect this past Saturday in Baltimore. At evening, there was a gentle breeze as we grilled and dined on a friend's rooftop with a view of the harbor. Good friends, good juicy rib eye steaks, good weather... I couldn't have asked for more.

Japanese Confectionery from Minamoto Kitchoan

A friend recently introduced me to wagashi from Minamoto Kitchoan. I must say, Japanese know how to package everything so beautifully. The sweets came in this pretty box. As with most Asian desserts, these are suppose to be "healthy" and not so heavy.


Everything inside were beautifully wrapped. I almost felt bad eating them. The one on the left is a lightly-sweetened jelly with a cherry in the middle. The one on the right is strawberry/red bean jelly.

This is what the cherry jelly looked like when you open up the pretty packaging:


And finally, there were some chocolate mochi in the box...


This is probably the best east-meets-west dessert I have had recently. I savored every single one of them. The mochi "skin" was soft while the chocolate filling inside melt slowly in the mouth, sort of like a chocolate truffle. This is a perfect solution to when I desperately need a chocolate fix.

Frozen Yogurt

I was introduced on a recent to trip to L.A. to the new frozen yogurt fad. It has this tart yogurtie taste has a frozen smooth consistency, often served with toppings to your desire (like fresh berries and fruit). They advertise that 1 ounce serving has only 25 calories. This is too good to be true for someone like me who loves ice cream or basically anything like that consistency! I didn't think it was THAT great at first, but now that I am back in Atlanta, I find myself craving for this low-calorie frozen goodness. I guess it grows on you.

Pinkberry
At Pinkberry, I had a plain frozen yogurt topped with fresh rasberries and blackberries. The combination was refreshing and guilt-free. It wasn't overly-sweet. I thought their green tea flavor yogurt was pretty tasteless. I couldn't really taste the green tea in it. The frozen yogurt consistency was a little bit on the icy side.

Ce Fiore
Personally, I liked it better at Ce Fiore (located in Japantown). I had a swirl of blackberry yogurt together with green tea yogurt. They offer a little more variety in their yogurt flavors. I found their consistency to be a little smoother, less icy. Supposedly, they will be opening soon here in Atlanta!

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of talk to what the actual ingredients to this kind of frozen yogurt. It has been speculated that this stuff comes from a powder, not real yogurt. Until they can prove that this stuff is really bad for you, I think I'll still like this stuff.

Honeydew Granita

I was disappointed by the honeydew I had bought yesterday from an un-named ethnic supermarket. It was very fragrant and felt really heavy when I picked it up at the store. But when I opened it up, it was not as sweet and juicy as I expected it. Inspired by recipes for honeydew granita from Williams-Sonoma's Ice Cream and David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, I decided to save this not-so-good honeydew. To my surprise, the fragrance of the honeydew could still be appreciated in every spoonful of this granita. It was perfect in this hot Atlanta weather. I think I will try other flavors next time (maybe watermelon).

Honeydew Granita
(recipe adapted from books mentioned above)

1 honey dew (about 2 pounds), chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Puree all ingredients together in a blender. Pour mixture in a 9x13 inch pan and place in freezer. Remove from freezer after 1 hour and break up the ice on top/edges with a fork. Return to freezer. Repeat every 30 minutes until the ice becomes fine.

Beef Noodle Soup (紅燒牛肉麵)

My memories of beef noodle soup go all the way back to my childhood days while living in Taiwan. Back then, my grandmother ran a popular, large szechuan restaurant. Having the privilege on most days of ordering whatever I wanted to eat (with the only limitation being my mother's protest to my grandmother), I often requested beef noodle soup. Whether it's simply the pure goodness of its taste or because it brings back my childhood memories, beef noodle soup has become one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.

My favorite restaurant to get beef noodle soup in the States is A&J's (found in Northern & Southern California and in Maryland). While living in Baltimore, the 45 minute drive down to Rockville was well worth it in order to satisfy my craving.

Sometimes I make my own beef noodle soup. I like using beef shank because the meat is tastier and more tender with the tendon found within. I always eat mine with chopped Chinese sour mustard (酸菜) and a little chili sauce. As my husband decribes it, it "spikes" up the beef flavor even more. It's also important to serve it with a good type of noodle. I like mine with thick, fresh, chewy noodles.

If I am desperate, then I resort to the instant kind. My favorite is:
The only problem with this is that it can only be found in Taiwan. Besides having good flavor soup and non-mushy noodles, it comes with a meat packet with actual tender pieces of meat.

So in the States, if I'm craving instant beef noodle soup, I resort to:


This has a good flavor just like above, but without any real pieces of meat. This is a good midnight snack when I'm craving something savory.

Food Happiness

1. Fresh strawberries with blueberry yogurt
2. A freshly baked baguette, crusty on the outside and soft inside, eaten with cultured butter
3. Baci and amaretto gelato (especially from Vaccaro's in Baltimore)
4. Enjoying dimsum at a busy, lively restaurant
5. Taro, red bean, or green bean ice found in Taiwan
6. Fresh fruit tart
7. Sashimi from a fish caught a few hours prior
8. Fresh picked apple from an apple tree, eaten underneath that tree
9. A glass of iced coffee on a hot summer day
10. A piece of hot-off-the-grill medium-rare steak
11. Tomatoes
12. Amaretto biscotti
13. A glass of iced chrysanthemum tea on a hot summer day
14. A piece of Scharffen Berger cacao mocha after dinner
15. Pineapples
16. A bowl of hot noodle soup made with some kind of chewy noodle
17. A scoop of Maeda-en green tea ice cream with a spoonful sweet red beans on the top
18. Walking into a patisserie and eyeing all the desserts on display
19. Having a hot cup of coffee in my hand on a cold winter day
20. A slice of choclate mousse cake... made by my friend Kristi
21. Fried stinky tofu, a Taiwanese specialty
22. Cream puffs (especially from Beard Papa's)