Present from Japan

Stephen and Aki brought much anticipated Red Bean Pepsi.
It was actually really good. It was not as sweet as regular soda, which I have a problem of cutting down, but still had a little bit of Red Bean taste.

I want some more....

Next time, I want to try Shiso Pepsi.
http://tokyobling.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/pepsi_shiso_tokyobling.jpg

Gajyumaru

Mom was in town and she took us out for sushi. Gajyumaru was not only convenient, but also has good sushi considering where we live. And yes, it's actually owned & operated by Japanese people.

They also have ramen on weekend for lunch (not on the menu, so you have to ask for it).

Maguro was good...

hamburg steak

Older post -
Gajyumaru

Gajyumaru
1659 1st Avenue at 86th Street
212-860-8857

Christmas

Chris cooked duck on Thanksgiving, so we decided to be lazy for Christmas and order a ham online. We knew about Honey Baked Ham from San Francisco. There is a store in San Francisco as well, so you can just order and pick it up yourself. But there is none in Manhattan, so we had to order online.

Sorry, picture doesn't do a justice, but it was good.
Here is instruction:

Product Care

Refrigerate the HoneyBaked Ham and Turkey Breast as soon as you receive it.

In the refrigerator, the HoneyBaked Ham will stay fresh for 7 to 10 days and the Turkey Breast for approximately 5 to 7 days.

To freeze unused ham portions for later use, wrap in aluminum foil and freeze within 5 days of thawing. The HoneyBaked Ham can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. To serve again, place in refrigerator for 24-48 hours ahead of time to thaw. Once thawed the Ham will keep for 2 days.

http://www.honeybakedham.com/default.asp

Reporting from Paris & Tokyo

My friends and family already know about my obsession with food and taking pictures of food.
Since I can't travel at the moment because of work and school, they are doing my job for me.

Michelle was just in Paris (now in London - let's see what kind of pictures I get from London) and Stephen is in Tokyo and they sent me photos of what they are eating.

Thanks guys for making me hungry...

Michelle reporting from Paris

Stephen reporting from Tokyo

Tripe stewed with daikon, onions, carrot, sweet Japanese negi scallion as garnish. Above, though barely visible is a salad of tripe on a bed of shredded lettuce in a light ponzu dressing. Served with ice cold beer (his description of what he's eating at a yakitori restaurant)

Thanksgiving - My First Stuffing & Chris's First Goose

Right... right... It's been a while.
With work and school, I don't know where last few months went. So I will be back-dating.

Let's start with Thanksgiving...

I made my first stuffing ever. I have seen Chris making it many times, but had no idea how much work that was. Christina's mother made stuffing last year with chestnut in it, so I decided to try to use chestnut as well.

I used the below recipe but changed a little bit.
The below recipe is asking to stuff it inside turkey, but I didn't, instead I just cooked it in the oven (Yes, yes, Chris had to help me...)

Have to say, it was good.


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chestnut-Stuffing-10769



Chris made his first goose.
Goose is in between turkey and duck - not as dry as turkey, but not as fatty as duck.
It was good. Let's do it again next year.

We went to New Amsterdam Market today to support Lauryn who is starting her own business. She now is starting Mother in Law's Kimchi and we are proud of her. It's her mother's recipe and we approve!!!

You can find her bottles of goodness at:

Essex Street Market in Manhattan and Marlow & Daughters in Brooklyn.
Go buy some already!!!

http://www.milkimchi.com/


http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/markets.html

Malaysia says its local dishes 'hijacked': report

Malaysia says its local dishes 'hijacked': report

(AFP) – 2 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will lay claim to its signature dishes like laksa and chicken rice which are being "hijacked" by other countries, the tourism minister said according to a report Thursday.

Those on the list include the fragrant coconut milk rice 'nasi lemak', spicy soup noodle 'laksa' and pork ribs herbal soup 'bak kut teh', Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said according to the Star newspaper.

"We cannot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chili crab is Malaysian. Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food," she was quoted as saying.

"In the next three months, we will identify certain key dishes (to declare as Malaysian). We have identified laksa... all types of laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh," she added.

Ng said her ministry will announce a strategy on how to brand the dishes as Malaysian.

"That is Part Two. We cannot reveal it yet, but we will let you know soon," she reportedly said.

Ng did not name which countries were hijacking the dishes, which are popular around the world and particularly in neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia.

Her comments came amid a diplomatic row with Indonesia, where protesters have accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage.

The dispute erupted in Indonesia in August after erroneous reports emerged that Malaysia had screened tourism advertisements featuring the traditional "pendet" dance of Indonesia's Hindu-majority Bali island.

The ad was actually a promotion for a Discovery Channel programme, but despite an apology from the network, protesters vowing to "crush Malaysia" have burned national flags and thrown rotten eggs at the embassy in Jakarta.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman will meet his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda in Jakarta Thursday in a bid to cool the tensions which Malaysia has described as a "grave concern".

Ties between the two countries are regularly punctuated by rows over cultural issues as well as the welfare of Indonesian labourers and maids working in Malaysia.

Link to actual report

Kambi

You know we love our ramen. There is nothing better than finding a good ramen shop by accident. We found Kambi just like that... by accident when we were on our way home from Trader Joe's. Apparently, after reading about it after the fact, it's owned by a Japanese Jazz musician who's in love with ramen. How great is that!!!

It also had vegetable broth option, which is a big plus.
And it has different noddle options as well for those who are picky as we are. I personally don't like thick or thin noodles. I like something in the middle.

Vegetable miso ramen

Shoyu ramen - yes, those pieces are pork

Kambi
351 E. 14th St. (bet. 1st & 2nd Aves.)
New York, NY 10003
TEL: 212-228-1366
Mon-Sun: 11:30am-11pm

Trader Joe's

Yes, we are from California and we are spoiled - more specifically we are from San Francisco.
When we had everything good in the world, we didn't appreciate it - perfect weather, kind people, amazing produce, and personal space...

Almost 7 years ago when we moved to Manhattan, we hated it. We couldn't stand it.
Winter (in Chris's case, Summer), no personal space, nasty subway/station, people, and horrible produce...

Then we found friends, started going to museums, operas, concerts, THEN Trader Joe's opened and our life was almost back to normal. The relationship with New York is somewhat of a love/hate relationship. You love everything that New York has to offer - world class museums, symphony, opera, and how can I forget... lectures and speeches... but at the same time, you hate the weather, rude people, nasty subway stations, and garbage mountains on the street.

OK, OK, about Trader Joe's. We always had it back home (San Francisco). It wasn't a big deal. But when Trader Joe's opened in Manhattan about 3-4 years ago, there was a line out the door. So we refused to go. Then we realized... New Yorkers had never seen anything like this. Fresh produce and healthy food at affordable prices. When we finally walked in for the first time, we felt like we were home... ah... home...

We were in the neighborhood, after the dentist appointment, we decided to stop by.
They had so many vegetarian options, which I never noticed before, obviously. So we picked up bags and bags of things...

The only beer I can drink... Another reason I am in love with Belgium...

Vegetarian corn dog. You gotta love Trader Joe's!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot. Trader Joe's also has a wine shop next to it and sells wine at a very good price.


Trader Joe's Union Square Grocery
142 E. 14th St.
New York, NY 10003
Phone Number: 212-529-4612
Trading Hours: 9:00 am - 10:00 pm
Alcohol: Only Beer Sold


Trader Joe's Union Square Wine
138 E. 14th St.
New York, NY 10003
Phone Number: 212-529-6326
Trading Hours: 9:00 am - 10:00 pm M-Sa 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm Su
Alcohol: Only Wine Sold


More store list, go to their website.

No Reservations

Those of you know Chris and myself well enough know that there is nothing more we love than traveling. When we have a few days off, you know we are off to another country.

So, you know it's hard for me to say that you don't have to leave the country to have good food. But I will say it. "You don't have to leave the country to have good food," because it's all here.

So there... I said it. You don't have any excuse not to try these restaurants, because it's only a few subway stops away. What are you waiting for? I am making my list!!!

No Reservations - New York Outer Boroughs, Part 1 of 5

No Reservations - New York Outer Boroughs, Part 2 of 5

Here is the restaurant list from this episode.
And I have already been to the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing.

Curry-Ya

Chris's been here before. I guess it's easy to find a good restaurant when it's right next to your favorite ramen shop:
Rai Rai Ken
214 E. 10th Street at 2nd Ave
212-477-7030

I have tried Curry-Ya's curry before when Chris brought some home. But eating there is so much better. I have to say, Japanese curry is my favorite curry, so I may be a bit biased, but I think Curry-Ya has the best curry in town.

They also have vegetable curry, which was a big a plus!!!


Curry-Ya
214 E 10th St
New York, NY 10003
(866) 602-8779

Freemans Restaurant

Being a vegetarian day #8... (we are eating eggs and cheese)

Life hasn't been that bad so far and we are learning to eat at restaurants as vegetarians. Chris used to be a vegetarian for 7 years and his sister, Vanessa, is still vegetarian. We have other friends that are vegetarians and I give them so much credit. I never knew how hard is to be one. I won't share boring stories that I have been experiencing, but the toughest time is to find something at restaurants.

This great culinary city looks down upon vegetarians.
It's hard to find vegetarian options. I don't expect every restaurants to accommodate, but I expect people to have a little bit of respect.

One good thing that I noticed is that I started reading labels. I don't read calories, but I read ingredients.

Freemans Restaurant was very accommodating. I guess brunch is little easier since we are dairy eating vegetarians. My dish originally came with bacon and they made it without bacon.



Freemans Restaurant
End of Freeman Alley
New York, NY 10002
(212) 420-0012
http://www.freemansrestaurant.com/

The Cove

There are very few movies or documentaries that have changed my life.
Even some movies or documentaries that have moved me tremendously are easily forgotten after a month or a year.

However, after watching the Cove, I have decided to change my life style and tell others about it. The Cove is about a fishing village in Japan called Taiji. This fishing village kills dolphins. They sell a few to aquariums around the world as show dolphins. Then the rest is killed and meat is sold disguised as whale meat, which is a delicacy in Japan. The issue is not only the fact that 230,000 dolphins are killed a year, but also meat with high concentration of mercury is sold.

This movie not only brought the attention of over fishing but also made me think of factory farming, which I have been against for a long time.

We are not only polluting the earth, but also we are eating fish that live the water that we polluted. However, the bigger issue is that we are eating too much of everything. We are eating too much fish and meat. To accommodate our appetite, we had to invent factory farming and we are eating sick animals that are barely alive with hormones and antibiotics. Let me tell you, eating meat does more harm to environment than driving your SUV's. Yes, it is true...

After watching the Cove, I lasted 10 days without any meat and seafood, even fish sauce and dashi. (Update: After those 10 days, we have decided to eat meat or seafood one day a week.
OK, we couldn't give up eggs, cheese, or dashi)

We are feeling great that we are doing something about global warming and we actually feel great. We are losing weight too.

So what's greater than having healthy diet and do something good for environment at the same time. I urge you to try it - eating meat one day a week. Or if that's too much for you, just reduce the amount of time. Instead of eating meat once a day, eat eat once every other day.

I gurantee that you will feel much better.
And of course, I don't have tell you about not eating fast food.





http://www.thecovemovie.com/

Gen

We have been looking for an apartment in Brooklyn for a while now; therefore we have been spending a lot of time in Brooklyn. Poor Christina has been putting up with us almost every weekend. She took us to this lovely Japanese restaurant in her neighborhood and we fell in love.
Yes, food is made by Japanese people. I need to emphasize that point!!! You already know about my obsession and anger in that matter.

We had brunch (dinner is amazing as well) and menu was very impressive.
Zaru soba wasn't even on the brunch menu, but they accommodated Chris.
If you live in the neighborhood or nearby, I highly recommend it!!!

If weather is nice, check out their charming semi-outdoor area.


Gen Restaurant
659 Washington Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-398-3550

http://www.genrestaurant.biz/

Boston for my Birthday

We have been living in NYC for almost 7 years. Boston is only a few hours away and we always wanted to go. Finally, for my birthday this year, we decided to visit Boston.

We took BOLT bus, which was only $20 for roundtrip per person, and it took 4 hours to get there. Bus was clean and it was on time.

We ate a lot of seafood and visited our future children's future schools.
Boston was a clean & friendly city and I recommend everyone to visit. Plus it's not too far from NYC, but it's completely different.


We found Barking Crab. It was a bit touristy, but food was still good.

Lobster roll... yum...

Chris was happy to dig in... crawfish... too much work for me.

Chris read about James Hook & Co Shell Fish having better lobster roll than Barking Crab. So of course, we had to try it. And it was better.

More lobster roll. I think we are done with lobster rolls for about next 5 years.

Our future children's schools...
I hope they will be happy, healthy, smart, and go to very very expensive schools... HAHA



Finished our trip with amazing fireworks provided by BOSTON!
Thanks Boston. You shouldn't have...


Bolt Bus - also operates to DC
http://www.boltbus.com/


Barking Crab
88 Sleeper St
Boston, MA 02210-1226
(617) 426-2722
http://www.barkingcrab.com/

James Hook & Co Shell Fish
15 Northern Ave
Boston, MA 02210-1852
(617) 423-5500
http://www.jameshooklobster.com/

Umaimono Food Gourmet Fair

Umaimono Food Gourmet Fair is happening at Mitsuwa.

http://www.mitsuwanj.com/en/dealnews/special.htm

Good bye, Bangkok

1 night in Bangkok was way too short, but I was more than glad that we did it. We were eating our way through Bangkok and now we were ready leave Bangkok with full stomach.

You can call me a snob or whatever you want, but I get very angry when restaurants serve fake meals. You know what I am talking about. Thai food made by Chinese or Vietnamese cooks. Japanese food made by Chinese or Korean cooks. Especially in last few years, Thai cuisine has been very popular and Thai restaurants are popping up everywhere. Except for Sripraphai in Woodside, Queens, those Thai restaurants in New York serve up some horrible food that doesn't even taste anything close to the cuisine I passionately love. I believe I may have tried more than 10 restaurants in New York and they DO NOT serve Thai cuisine, they serve what they think is Thai cuisine and people are buying it.

My trip to Bangkok was my getaway from fake Thai food and I know I still love real Thai food and will love Thai food forever!!!

We got our last fix at the airport.
Bangkok's old airport was lacking decent restaurants. First time in Bangkok, we were just annoyed that there was nothing to eat at the airport (Chris and I spent about 6 hours airport trying get on a flight). Now with new airport, Suvarnabhumi airport, we didn't have that issue. Even though Suvarnabhumi airport was built in a hurry with many issues and flaws, now we had many choices.

Mango Tree at terminal 4 was perfect. Of course, Michelle knew this place already. It was the perfect last meal before leaving Bangkok.

Pork, pork, more pork

Grapefruit salad. Who knew grapefruit tasted this good!!!

Tom Yum Kung

Back to Siam Paragon again...

Before going to the airport, we had to visit Siam Paragon one more time.

This lady is making my noodle soup

Couldn't leave Thailand without eating Phad Thai

Seafood fried rice

OK... one more mango and sticky rice before we leave

Chatuchak Market in Bangkok

We woke up early and were off to Chatuchak Market. I have only heard of this market but this was going to be my first time. The size of market was unbelievable and they had everything from clothing to household products. We apparently saw not even 1/10 of the market. But it was getting really hot that we had to leave.

We managed to picked up some t-shirts, magnets, and jewelry.







http://bangkok.sawadee.com/chatuchak.htm

Dinner in Bangkok

We decided to stay close to our hotel for dinner, since we have a long day waiting for us tomorrow. But even a restaurant nearby didn't disappoint us. Michelle's been here before, so I knew it was going to be good.

vegetables and dip

Couldn't leave Thailand without eating papaya salad

Thai beef salad

Pork with basil

Siam Paragon Food Court in Bangkok

This trip to Southeast Asia was only supposed to include Singapore and Bali. But when Michelle asked me if I wanted to go to Bangkok for a day or two, I couldn't say no. Last time I was in Bangkok was in 2004 (I think it was in 2004... on our way to Cambodia, we spent 4 nights in Bangkok and celebrated New Year's there), so yes, it's been a while. Plus Thai cuisine has to be my favorite cuisine. I think I must have been Thai in my past life. So I couldn't pass this opportunity.

Our original plan was to spend 2 nights in Bangkok, but in the end, we decided on spending 1 night in Bangkok, just because I wanted to have a fully relaxing day in Singapore before flying back home - 20 hour flight is stressful...

So Michelle and I agreed on arriving early in Bangkok, then leave late the next day.

Our first stop?
Siam Paragon Food Court!!!
Siam Paragon Shopping Mall didn't exist when I was in Bangkok last. I have been to a lot of food courts, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to see.


The size of food court blew me away.
The below pictures do not do any justice. This place was enormous.






Shopping time!!!
The size blew me away, but variety of food they had was more amazing.






It was time to enjoy what we purchased...


Open: 10:00 - 22:00
Location: Next to Siam Centre, Pathumwan
BTS: Siam

Food Court card - you can purchase a card, so that you can pay for your items with the card instead of paying with your money. Remaining balance is fully refundable.

Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang

We got back to Singapore late at night. We are back to Singapore for one day for a haircut, a show, and what else... more food. And yes, clean clothes for Thailand tomorrow.

Last time I was in Singapore by myself, Michelle and Darren took me to Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang and I madly fell in love with Tahu Telor, fried tofu. So when we had time in between things, I told Michelle that I had to eat Tahu Telor again.

This little place with plastic chairs and tables serves amazing dishes.
What can I say... I am a cheap date... Fancy restaurants with expensive furniture don't impress me. Only food matters and Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang is on my list to go back every time I am in Singapore.

Tahu Telor

Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang

13 Circular Rd
Singapore, 049369, Singapore
+65 6536 5302