Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

Okay, so I thought I would blog about the Sunnyvale Farmer's Market I went to back in March with my family. The thing I liked about this farmer's market was the fact that there were vendors and produce sellers. There were people selling their art, packaged food, food to eat right then and there, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The first place my sister stopped by was "La Marea of the Sea." It was a stand where this man was selling seafood. He was shucking oysters, 3 for $5.

Can you see the happiness on her face? She is BEAMING!

Mi madre le gusta mucho

My other sister and I decided that we wanted to try the shrimp ceviche, about $6. It was not so good, and this is why. It was a salty tostada topped with imitation crab meat, salsa, and 5 large shrimp. That is not ceviche. Not even lemon could fix it. I was so sad, I did not take a picture of it.

The next stop was a vendor selling Sukhi's Authentic Indian Cuisine products. My sister loves Indian food, so she was there for a while trying to figure out what to buy. She ended up getting cilantro chutney, spinach paratha, and 2 instant seasoning sauce packets. Total: $19.

Cilantro Chutney

Paratha - like an Indian green onion pancake.

Well, there were a lot of things, but I didn't take pictures of everything...only things I found interesting and amusing like:

SO RED!

This onion is the size of a baby's HEAD...

Pretty flowers

The Coke Farm...*sings Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses*
"COME ON LET'S GET HIGHHHH"

And what did I like most about this farmers market other than the free samples?

They call it cinnamon bread, I call it dessert. It was like a strudel cake XD

Fresh corn and all the condiments you could want.

JACK FRUIT! My family devoured everything before I remembered to take a picture of it. That was all that was left when I remembered


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Takoyaki and Noodle Square

So, after going to Irvine this past weekend and buying a takoyaki tofu plushie, I was really wanting to eat some takoyaki.

Me and my takoyaki tofu

If you don't know what takoyaki is, then here is a brief description.

Meaning: Tako - octopus
Yaki - grilled/fried

Therefore, takoyaki is a fried or baked octopus ball.

Originated from: Osaka.

Description: It is a "Japanese dumpling" that is made of batter, diced octopus (or a while baby), tenkasu (tempura scraps), pickled ginger, and green onions. It is topped with okonomiyaki sauce, aonori (green laver), mayonnaise, and katsubushi/bonito flakes (dried fish shavings).


How it is made: Takoyaki-nabe (takoyaki pan) is typically made of cast iron with half-spherical molds, which evenly heats the takoyaki. Commercial gas-fueled takoyaki cookers are used at Japanese festivals and by street vendors. There are electrical ones that resemble hot plates and stove top versions that are used for home use. Watch "Cooking with Dog" for a demonstration. Despite watching that video so many times, I have yet to use my takoyaki-nabe and make this at home.

So, last night I went to Noodle Square in Alhambra with my sister. It is a decently priced ramen place and the Japanese family that runs the place shares the space with the Quickly owner, so it looks like you are eating at quickly, but you aren't.

The restaurant is in the Quickly

So, I got the Spicy Ramen with pork, a coconut milk tea, and an order of takoyaki.

Ramen: I think that the spicy ramen is one of the best flavors here, but that is because I like spicy things and the little fresh red peppers are delicious. This is not uber spicy (and I asked for extra spicy plus shichimi flakes), but if you cannot eat spicy things, then be warned.

Looks really red, butI didn't think it was that hot AND I added shichimi flakes to it...

Tea: Quickly's coconut milk tea was good, but it is a little powdery, but for $2, I am not complaining, especially when you are craving something sweet and fast.

Takoyaki: Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and piping hot. So hot I burned my mouth. The tako was chewy, but mixed with the laver, mayo, and bonito it was very tasty. I really like the bonito...

YUM!

Other places you can get takoyaki:

Genki Living
651 W Duarte Rd., Ste. C
Arcadia, CA 91007

Large takoyaki (4 in an order). The batter has cabbage in it.

THAT IS ONE PIECE!

They also serve crepes. This is the Tiramisu crepe.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Vegetarian Banquet

Since I was flipping through all my old photos yesterday, I thought it would be fun to write about the vegetarian banquet food my aunt made for my cousin's wedding in New Zealand back in August of 2004. It was a big event because not only was it her oldest son getting married, but her mother and older sister plus family were coming all the way to the states for the celebration.

I won't talk too much about the plane ride, but I will say that 20+ hours on the plane can be very intense. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that it was really hard to get my bag to get my toothbrush. I cannot stand that gross "I didn't brush my teeth feeling" when I wake up and it is still like 12 hours before we landed.

And so we get there...to the farm. A very interesting experience for me. I have never been had to worry about having enough or using too much water before, but I learned to deal with it. We got to settle in and chat and, from what I remember, the banquet was that night.

I cannot remember the reception that much so I will skip over that and talk about the food. Now, food is food, but Chinese vegetarian is interesting only because it gets molded to look like meat. Throw in Buddists and take away onions and garlic and you have banquet food. Take a look:

Chinese Moss Soup
I think that it was supposed to be similar to Shark Fin soup, but it wasn't really.

Crispy "chicken"
Looks like chicken, feels like chicken, didn't taste like chicken. The "skin" was pretty cool though because the texture was similar. It was fried bean curd skin.

"Lobster"
OKAY! Strange mold pan number 1. The lobster. First of all, if you are vegetarian, why do you want your food to look like an animal? Second of all, I don't remember lobsters being that squishy. What was the texture like? you know that red, funky part in the claw that is not fleshy? Well, that is what that felt like. The weirdest part was that it had a real fishy taste...and fishy is not good...

Vegetable surprise
Vegetables encased in a bean curd skin.

"Suckling pig"
Strange mold pan number 2. The suckling pig. What vegetarian wants to eat a baby pig?!

"Abalone", mushrooms, and veggies
Abalone mushrooms, shitake, and bok choy - by far my favorite dish

Braised "Fish"
Fish made from bean curd skin and vegetables. Layered, fried, and sliced. Skin made from sheets of seaweed. My second favorite dish

Fried rice
There is fake BBQ pork in there...

"Peking duck"
Strange mold pan number 3. By far the stangest mold. It is like half a duck fillet. If you can see, there is the head, a drumstick cut into 4 pieces, and other pieces. I got the head, just to say I ate a ducks face...

Sponge cakes

Overall, the meal was fun and meeting all these family members was even more interesting than the molds XD An enjoyable experience. The only thing that I find stange are vegetarians shaping their food like real meat...does it make you feel better that you did not kill a real animal or do you miss it THAT much?

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Packaging: HOMO Milk

Today, I will rant about some food packaging and design. I was going through some old trip pictures and I ran into this:

Carton of milk chilling on the AC unit in the hotel

Island Farms Homo Milk. Now, I know you all must be thinking how immature I am (I bet that is what my family thought when I took this picture as well), but it obviously struck me funny when I saw it since I took a picture of it and I still find if funny now. First of all, I did not even remember taking this picture. My family and I were in Canada in 2006 and from what I remember, my father and sister were in some desperate search for milk. This is what we got. Homogenized milk.

Which leads to the second reason I find this funny. WAS IT REALLY THAT MUCH HARDER TO WRITE "HOMOGENIZED MILK" ON THE CARTON. Did that person designing the carton not think that people like me would find that funny or was it done purposely? And if it was done purposely...then that is pretty darned funny to me.

The other thing I noticed was that it says "island FARMS" and "ISLAND FARMS" twice on one panel. Did they think that people would forget what brand of homo milk was purchased? "...hmm I forgot the name, but you know... the reddish colored carton with the daisies on them?...umm, yeah I just cannot remember the name..." I just thought it was a little overkill.

Then there is the middle panel reading "ISLAND FRESH"...were these cows on some island in Canada? Are they chilling out on some beach by the ocean making them so relaxed that their milk is ISLAND FRESH? I don't know about you, but when I hear ISLAND FRESH, I think about fresh young coconut juice and the fleshy insides...not homogenized cow milk.

Overall, I like the color scheme, because it reminds me of Christmas and Christmas reminds me of eggnog and this...is not eggnog. Makes me a little sad inside that my associations were off yet again. The daisies kind of throw me off though because they have nothing to do with islands or milk. Why not plumeria or orchids? I don't like how the brand is stamped all over the place like they are saying I have a bad memory or I am blind/oblivious. Lastly, I don't see why you don't just type out HOMOGENIZED because there are people like me that chuckle out loud and I don't think you want people laughing at your product. But then again, there are also people like me that buy it because it is funny...so I guess that is not so bad after all.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Nikka's Specialized Sweet Dilis

Alright, so today I will be talking about this snack here:

Nikka's Specialized Sweet Dilis. I have been searching online to find out what these are, but I have not really found anything, so everything I will say is totally a guess and of course my own opinion, but if you know anything about this snack, please enlighten me.

Name: Sweet Dilis

What is it?: Filipino corn nuts

Looks like a corn nut right?

How did I get this?: A souvenir from my mom's coworker when she went back to the Philippines.

What is in it?: Anchovies (dilis), salt, and fried corn.

Taste and Texture: Slightly salted puffed corn snack, but I don't taste that anchovy fishy taste. It is a lot lighter than corn nuts, but just as crisp. The after taste is somewhat garlicky and it has that fried corn taste. It is not like the fritos or corn nuts after taste, but corn nonetheless.

Overall: It is an interesting snack, but I cannot tell if I really like it. I can eat it, but I wouldn't be sad if there was no more. This might be partially because it seems to get stale fairly quickly due to the heat and the fact that whoever ate it last, did not seal it well. The other part is that I guess I am not that fond of corn snacks. I like corn nuts and fritos, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get them unless I have a really strange craving for them. I never cared for that corn breath that one gets after eating corn snacks either. I do like the light texture of this snack more than corn nuts though. Corn nuts sometimes feel like it will break a tooth, but this snack is more puff like.

A handful of sweet dilis - look at the puff

In all, it is worth trying if you like corn snacks or if you want to try something somewhat new, but still familiar. This is the first real Filipino snack I have had, other than dried mangoes, so that is a plus for me.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Thoughts about eating

...to the point of sickness.

Trust me guys, this is not a good idea. I have just had first hand experience. So, here is the story. I went to Vegas this weekend and on Sunday, my family had the traditional hotel buffet before leaving; this time was Mandalay Bay's Bayside Buffet.

The food selection was pretty good. Prime rib, pork loin, ham, and turkey at the carving stations. There were omelets being made to order, scrambled eggs, bacon, chicken fried steak, breakfast sausage, eggs benedict, oatmeal, cream of wheat, fruits , little boxed cereals, and other non-traditional breakfast foods. There were some Asian inspired foods as well along with seafood (shrimp cocktail, scallops, mussels, crab legs, salmon, etc.) and a small salad bar. And of course, what would a buffet be without the dessert area.

Sounds like a pretty good food spread right? Well, I thought so too, but obviously my stomach would beg to differ. Okay, so here is what I ate. READY?

- 1.5 slices of prime rib (mine and my sister's. It was salty, but I was not about to waste it)
- 2 pieces of skirt steak and asparagus
- piece of baked salmon
- 1 chicken fried steak
- piece of stuffed baked bass
- 8 crab leg halves
- 1 plate of shrimp cocktail
Some of the crab and shrimp cocktail I ate

- 12 pieces of pan seared scallop
Me eating a scallop

- 1/4 bowl of oatmeal with blueberries
- 1/2 bowl blueberries
- 3 pieces of pineapple
OH SO SWEET fruit

- 5 pieces of rolls
- eggs benedict
- 1 breakfast sausage link (tasted like the kielbasa links that they sell in the Chinese BBQ places)
Starting to feel sick with that sausage...

- sampling of desserts
Chocolate cake, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue, and cheesecake

Carrot Cake

Expresso cake

another chocolate cake

Black Forest cake

*4 plates in total, not including the dessert

OKAY, so here is the thing. Even with all of that...I HAVE NEVER EVER FELT THAT SICK IN MY LIFE (next to having food poisoning). And I couldn't really figure out WHY I felt THAT full. Obviously I felt that bad because I must have overeaten, but still. I have NEVER felt like that even with overeating. And then it dawned on me (seriously it was like an epiphany)...IT WAS ALL MEAT (minus the asparagus). OMG I have never eaten that much meat in one sitting in my life (and I would have eaten some salad, but seriously, there was just no more room). And there I was eating it all and feeling really amazingly sick. I felt bloated and the sight of food made me feel like vomiting. Walking was painful, breathing was painful, sitting was painful. It was a lose-lose situation all around and all that was running through my mind was "OMG I am going to die" and "Oh man I think I am really going to vomit. I can't vomit here. There are too many people...wait, I think I am okay...OH NO, no I am not okay..." That was a first (and last time) experience for me. It was probably the worst 1.5 hours after a meal in my life.

So lesson learned: never eat that much meat in one sitting unless you want to pay for it later...or was it not to eat that much food in one sitting...which was it...

Me feeling incredibly sick

Well anyway, I am all right now. Alive and kicking and eating my lunch as I recall the horribleness of yesterday. Did I vomit? Well, I will keep that to myself. Just let it be said that it was a shameful life experience for myself that I never want to relive.



Friday, April 17, 2009

Stinky Tofu

Stinky tofu is a popular snack food in Taiwan, Indonesia, and China and one of my favorite foods.

What is it? Fermented tofu, and as the name suggests, it can possibly clear a room.

How is it made? According to Wikipedia, the tofu is marinated in a brine of fermented milk, vegetables, and meat (which could also include dried shrimp, mustard green, bamboo shoots, and Chinese herbs) for as long as several months.

How can it be eaten? Cold, steamed, stewed, or fried, which is the most common. Served with chili sauce and pickled vegetables.


Stinky Tofu in HotPot

Interesting fact: The color varies from the golden fried Zhejiang-style (YUM) to the black typical of Hunan-style (possibly the one seen in Bizarre Foods - Taiwan. That brine was awfully black).

Fried Stinky Tofu

The smell: Okay, so this is totally my own opinion, but I don't think that the stinky tofu that is found in the United States is THAT stinky, though I have friends that would disagree.
Incident 1: Once, my friend and I ordered a plate and my other 2 friends thought about trying it. So, the plate gets to the table and my one friend says, "OMG it smells so bad. Eat it fast so it will leave the table." Needless to say, she did not try it. This was the fried tofu mind you.

Incident 2: I went to this little Taiwanese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley area and my dad and I discovered that they had steamed stinky tofu. Every time we went, we would order it and usually there were a lot of older Asian people there that didn't say anything about the smell. This one time, a 20 something Asian guy and his 3 Hispanic friends came in to enjoy some dumplings and noodle soup. We had already ordered the stinky tofu and I swear, those 4 guys reactions totally amused me. They first began whispering, then one got up and casually opened the door, but that plan failed because the waitress saw it opened and closed it right away, but they kept trying. They talked about the smell and hoped that my dad and I would leave, but we just sat there, taking our time...eating and laughing at them. I know it was mean, but it was just too funny.

The taste: I personally think that the fried tofu has a surprisingly mild flavor as compared to the smell, but then again, I have a friend that would disagree. So, my other friend from "incident 1" was willing to try it, and I give him props for trying. He put it in his mouth, chewed and spat it out. He said that stink permeated to his brain and it tasted like he was eating sewer. I personally don't think it tastes like that at all, but everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Places to eat Stinky Tofu in California (that I know of):

1. Shinbala, Cupertino, CA - so good that my family ordered 4 plates the last time! The sauce is really good (some garlic in it) and it is lightly fried. It feels really light when you eat it.

20956 Homestead Rd
Cupertino, Ca 95014
(408) 257-6868
Hours: Mon., Wed-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Really good pork chop rice too!

2. A&J, San Jose, CA - service was pretty crummy, but the steamed stinky tofu was good. Only my dad and I could stomach this.

1698 Hostetter Rd, Ste D
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 441-8168

3. Yung Ho, San Gabriel, CA - the tofu is more dense than Shinbala, but if you are craving it, it is a quick fix.

1045 E Valley Blvd
#A105
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-9317

Hours: Mon-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

4. Boiling Point, Monterey Park, CA - Stinky tofu in hot pot. Good on really cold nights.

153 Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, Ca 91755
(626) 288 - 9876

I want to try:

Taiwanese stinky tofu on a stick from street vendors!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Indomie and Soapy Tupperware Sadness

Yeah so, this is a bit off the topic (but not really), but I thought I would take just a few moments to express my sadness over my breakfast I packed this morning into a gladware container.

So I was very excited to make Indomie Mi goreng today for breakfast because I was really craving it even though I had it last Friday night for dinner.



If you have not had Indomie, you should try it. My friend made some last year on our snowboarding trip and I have to say, I was instantly hooked on these instant noodles. I have tried 2 types, and I have to say, I prefer the one with the 4 packets of seasoning as opposed to the one with more.

Taste: The sauce is really want makes this so delicious. There is the spicy chili powder that gives it a tad bit of spice. There is the thicker soy sauce mix that adds a bit of sweetness and saltiness. There is the white powder that adds that more ramen noodle mix flavor. And lastly, there is the onion oil packet, which sometimes scares me because of the fact that the oil does get solid, so if that is animal oil or not, I am not sure (I have never really read the package).



Usually, I would enjoy these noodles to the fullest, but sadly, I could not. One reason being that I squirted the oil onto my jeans (don't ask me how I did it, but I did) and the MAIN reason was that my gladware tasted like there was soap on it. That taste INFUSED my noodles in a gross soapy mixture (and mind you, this is AFTER rinsing it out again to make sure that there was nothing on it or if it was soapy). I reluctantly got it all down, but needless to say, I feel sad and I am hoping that I will not get sick.

And the saddest part of this story is that I can get down soapy tasting noodles but not MorningStar Sausage Links. That is even MORE fail, MorningStar.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

MorningStar Sausage Links

OKAY! So today I decided to write an entry on one of the most disgusting things I have tried (and mind you, I usually can get anything down even if it is bad).

AND THE WINNER IS...*drum roll*

MorningStar Sausage Links! *applause*

Alright, so honestly, I thought they sounded and looked pretty tasty. I mean, look at that picture... and veggie sausages...I had to give it a try. So, my friends and I got the box, which we then forgot about. My friend tried it first and said that the sausages were bad. I should have taken her word for it, but again I say, I usually can get the food down even if it is bad. I had to taste it for myself.

So we looked at the cooking directions and followed the steps to microwave it. The result:

Looks kinda dry and DEFINITELY not as greasy looking as one pictured on the box.

Now, for the moment of truth...

I took the first bite, and from a texture stand point, it was a little mushy AND spongy at the same time; definitely not the texture of a real breakfast sausage link. The outside skin was cracking like the desert clay. The taste can only be described as the smell of dried dog food. It tasted the way that dog food smells. I tried for a second bite, but that did not work out so well. It was just too gross for me to get down...and I eat durian AND fermented fried/steamed tofu. That's gotta tell you something...

I know that there is someone out there that will totally disagree with this post and think that this sausage link is the best thing in the world, and that is fine. He or she is entitled to think that. But I will ask them this...HAVE YOU EVER EATEN JIMMY DEAN SAUSAGES?! That stuff is deliciously oily and tasty, like how a real breakfast sausage should be. This on the other hand...


dog food? OH WAIT! It is the MorningStar Sausage Link!

Is that the desert I see? OH WAIT! It is the SKIN of the sausage! HAHA

THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!

Fried Stinky Tofu
Fresh durian (or anything durian flavored)

MorningStar, your sausage links are pretty FAIL.