mmm-yoso – Page 286

Djerba (Tunisia): Dinner, El-Griba Synagogue and the “Tower of Skulls”

November 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

After an afternoon nap and basically sitting around bored in the Green Palm, it was dinner time. Places like this have a standard dining room, with usually a typical buffet and this didn't seem to be an exception.

We walked through the rather large dining area and found a little veranda out the back of the restaurant, taking a tiny little two top away from the feeding frenzy. Our server was a really nice young man, warm, with a wonderful smile. He spoke little English but we had no problem ordering us a bottle of wine. He would turn out to be one of the typical genuinely nice people we encountered in Tunisia….one of many.

As we walked pass the dishes,we noticed that there was an unusually large amount of pasta dishes…..really overcooked looking pasta dishes. We had gotten into the habit of going after more vegetable oriented dishes along with availing ourselves of the pretty decent olive oil at these buffets. We noticed that many of these typical dishes were rather "scarce". The Missus asked our server why they didn't have mechouia, the wonderful grilled pepper/vegetable salad She had gotten to really enjoy.

The reason? "Tonight is Italian night, no mechouia." Kind of a bummer. He then asked us, "you like mechouia?" Of course we answered "yes, it is very good." He pointed to the ground and said, "tomorrow, Tunisienne night…..still…." And pointed to the ground. So, that was the deal; there was a theme to every night's dinner, and tomorrow was "Tunisia night". We nodded and went on with our meal. About ten minutes later he walks up to our table and drops off this plate….of mechouia! We're just flabbergasted. He tells us, "I tell chef de cuisine, you really like mechouia, so we make you some." Say what? Shades of Vientiane! Say what you will about the politics and religion, but I've always asserted, we as people, are much kinder then the borders built by flags and rhetoric, and more alike than different. This gesture alone, made staying here a pleasure. On our way out, we wanted to thank this young man….the only thing we could think of was giving him like 20 dinar.

On our way out, the Missus noticed a line in frontof the cheese station….which by the way, was stocked with some pretty decent cheeses. So of course, my crazy wife decided to man the station….walking up and starting to serve the guests their cheese….much to the amusement of the young man who returned to find one of the guests, albeit a slightly off center one working his station.

Walking out of the restaurant, we noticed this bulletin…..listing the "themes" for each night's dinner.

I was just glad we weren't here on Tuesday ("Mardi") for "Oriental night".

There wasn't much more to do during the evening, I went down to the bar for a beer and worked on getting photos uploaded and working on a short post. The next morning we woke early, Ben would be picking us up for the last half day portion of the tour…….this being Houmt Souk and some outlying areas.

The sun was already shining brightly, but the restaurant was completely empty except for us. I'm guessing most folks were sleeping in after a night of partying. When I went upstairs to our room the previous night, folks were coming down to go to the nightclub in the resort.

Breakfast was simple and light…..I've come to enjoy the tomato-cheese-olive and bread type of breakfasts.

As usual, Ben met us promptly at 8 am and we headed off. The first stop was the town of Midoun. This was Friday, the day of a large market in the town.

We arrived pretty early, so many vendors were still setting up……most of the booths were just filled with tourist stuff. I'm guessing many of the tourists some here in cabs from the resorts to buy souvenirs……

Our next stop was on a sleepy street in the town of Erriadh, also known as Hara Seghira ("small ghetto"). Many people are not aware that Djerba once had a rather large Jewish community which some say dates back to 586 BC, following Nebuchadnezzar's taking of Jerusalem, making this one of the oldest outside of Israel. El Ghriba Synagogue, located in Erriadhis the oldest in North Africa and the site of a major pilgrimage in May of each year.

After arriving, we had to wait across the street from the Synagogue for a detachment of soldiers to arrive and the "Fat Man" who held the keys to the place. Each visitor has to go through a metal detector and possibly some screening before visiting. The reason is written on the right; on April 11th, 2002 a natural gas truck fitted with explosives drove past the security gates and detonated; killing 19.

Though the first Synagogue was first built here when a "holy stone" fell from heaven and a mysterious woman appeared instructing people to build the synagogue, this building was constructed in the 20th century.

The colors are strikingly Mediterranean, with bright blues and whites. The interior is also full of the striking blues, but is somewhat tempered by its design.

I was told that one of the oldest existing Torahs is kept here and also the story that, "when the last Jews leave Djerba, the keys to the synagogue will fly to heaven……."

After this rather somber visit, we headed off to Houmt Souk, the largest town on the island. We stopped at Borj El K'bir Fort, also known as Borj Ghazi Mustapha.

This fort was the site of a huge massacre in 1560 when Dragut (Turgut Ries) the Ottoman Commander defeated a coalition army of Phillip II of Spain, over-running the fort.

According to the story, there were about 6000 of the garrison killed and their skulls were stacked up on the shoreline as a warning. The monument was taken apart in 1848 and the bones buried and this was placed at the site.

You really wouldn't give it but a brief glance if you didn't know what once stood here.

Ben told me that to this day, Houmt Souk is never shown on any tourist maps in Spain. not sure if that's true, but it sure makes for a heck of a story, huh?

Pasadena Farmers Market and lunch at The Slaw Dogs (Duarte)

November 2, 2012 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hot Dogs, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy blog here, with the primary subject 'food'. Today, Cathy is blogging, because Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just plain busy.

This is a continuation of our Saturday road trip to watch a road test of the 2013 Rose Parade floats. When we got to Euro Pane, The Mister grabbed a few of those free newspapers stacked at the door and was reading while we were eating while I was checking my phone for spam on the blog. He saw that The Pasadena Farmers Market was held on Tuesday and Saturday and we knew the exact location- in the parking lot of Pasadena High, on Sierra Madre Boulevard, where the Rose Parade floats line up end to end, after the Parade.

So we drove until we saw vehicles parked on the street, parked, walked across the median and into the vendor area.

and enjoyed the vast selection of fruits and vegetables in the two long aisles of booths.

I must say, the selection and prices were overwhelming- we walked through, noting prices, taking a few samples,
enjoyed the three musicians (two with guitars and one playing a zither) spread out in separate areas,

as well as checking out the fresh seafood vendor-

There was one 'taco stand', several vendors selling baked goods, one egg rancher, one olive oil stand and a honey vendor.

Then I saw these, and learned what fresh picked jicama looks like! We made some purchases and started driving East, knowing we were heading home.

At some point, we were on the Original Route 66 and in Duarte. I spotted this building

drove two blocks and turned around. The name alone…

We walked in and looked at the menu…and it was overwhelming. Because the possibilities of combinations of available ingredients and preparations is overwhelming.

-There are five dog types(1/4 lb Vienna, natural casing Vienna, 1/4 lb turkey, Kosher beef or veggie)

-Six choices of links (Vienna Jumbo 12" all beef, 7" spicy Polish, 1/4 lb spicy chicken or chicken apple, 1/4 lb Bavarian bratwurst or 1/4 lb ghost pepper pork hot link) types, three preparation choices(steamed, charbroiled or 'ripped' (deep fried and the casing bursts).

-Then there is a choice of 11 Sauces: ketchup, mustard, BBQ, curry ketchup, spicy sesame aioli, chipotle mayo, roast garlic aioli, horseradish mustard, dijon and buttermilk ranch

-Three from a list of 15 (or 39¢ for more than three) toppings: diced onions, grilled onions, relish, pickle chips, dill pickle spear, jalapeños, sport peppers, pepperocini, sauerkraut, cole slaw, diced tomato, celery salt, chopped Romaine, garlic salsa verde or habañero pickled onion…

-And you can choose from 23 custom toppings for 99¢ each: Beer chili, veggie chili, bacon, pastrami, ground beef, jalapeño bacon, fried egg, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, Nacho cheese, Goat cheese, Feta, Blue, Kimchi, avocado, guacamole, mushrooms, sauteed bell peppers and onion, olive mix, truffle oil or roast garlic pieces.

Fortunately the menu is not only "Build Your Own", but does have a choice of ten 'Slaw Dogs'. Of course, we decided to share "The Traditional"

1/4 lb Vienna beef dog, beer chili, cheddar, mustard, onions and slaw ($4.99) (the only choice was between Cole Slaw or Thai Slaw, and we decided on Cole Slaw).

A cross section view- the chili was really good and the slaw was excellent- crispy and lightly dressed with mayonnaise and a bit of spice (The flavor could have been Lawry's Seasoned Salt…very pleasant and mild)

Then there were Sides available. Not only fries and sweet potato fries, but onion rings, tots, potato salad, slaws, chili cheese bowl, small tossed salad…but 1/2 skin on fries 1/2 sweet potato fries as well as chili cheese fries, truffle fries, parmesan fries, garlic fries or, our choice…Kimchi sweet potato fries ($5.99) (yes, more than the Slaw Dog). Sweet potato fries, perfectly nicely fried and topped with spicy sesame aioli (the 'spice' may have been Sriracha)bacon pieces (large, real bacon pieces), fresh made kimchi (not too spicy; a great version) and an over easy fried egg.

There were burgers and salads on the menu also- the salads all came with a choice of butterflied, chargrilled link. The kimchi fries was a perfect melding of flavors and textures and was a meal in itself. So glad we stopped.

When leaving, I asked about breakfast , since the sign out front advertised it Friday, Saturday and Sunday only…not only French Toast, pancakes (buttermilk or seven grain), oatmeal, and egg dishes (all served with fruit and either rosemary potatoes or potato tots), but some of the omelet selections contain available links (a Ghost Buster omelet using a ghost pepper sausage, with bell peppers, onions and fresh jalapeño and cheddar cheese is $7.99) and the bottom of the list- a Belly Buster scramble (diced pork belly, cilantro and green onions ($8.99)) has the only mention of pork belly on the menu.

The Slaw Dogs 1355 Huntington Drive (the original Route 66) Duarte, CA 91010 (626)358-8898 website

Turo Turo Thursday: Revisits to R&B Filipino Cuisine and Manila Fast Food and Desserts

November 1, 2012 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Here's more steam table goodness for your Thursday.

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

Being kind of off the beaten track, it's easy to forgot about R&B. One weekend I was driving around Mira Mesa and R&B suddenly came to mind. Not sure why….but it was enough for me to take that right turn on Camino Ruiz……

They were doing pretty good business when I arrived. Taking a quick glance at what was available, it was easy to make a decision.

The beef steak (bistek) had just come out and I recalled that I'd had the tapas on a previous visit and didn't think it was too bad. The meat was pretty tender considering it was pretty low grade round or sirloin. It was too salty for my taste and whatever citrus they had in this really didn't help balance things out. The worst was the flavor I can only describe as "scummy", that weird almost offal-blood like flavor of low grade meat cooked in its own scum.

I also got the sisig (duh), which was nicely flavored, decent vinegar and heat. It was just a bit too bitter and mushy, but not bad overall.

The folks here looked pretty beat on this day, but they were nice enough. I still haven't run into the hamonado my friend's husband recommends, so hopefully one day.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I can say with some confidence that Manila Fast Food is probably the busiest of the turo turo joints in the area. Being near Seafood City helps, there are always people in the place, which makes for decent turnover. Looking over things I went with the sisig and beef mechado, easy picks. Though they had just brought out the lechon, which I've had mixed success with here. After talking to Kirbie about her rather recent experiences with the lechon here…..I probably made the right choice.

The Beef Mechado was very mild, but at least it wasn't too salty. The stew quality beef was pretty tough. Overall, it could have used a bit more flavor, perhaps a bit of al onger cooking time.

I've always thought the sisig at MFF had a decent balance of flavor, the sour-salty-spicy. My problem was how watery, mushy, and waxy the whole deal was. Well, no complaints about texture this time around. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a trade off with regards to flavor. The usual bright tones of the dish, especially the spice was now AWOL. I guess you have to choose between flavor and texture with regards to MFFs sisig?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante revisited (again).

October 30, 2012 mmm-yoso Salvadoran Restaurants

It had been a while since we'd been here and even longer since my last post on the place. The Missus is sure craving Her Latin American dishes. She had been mentioning returning here for close to three weeks before we finally made in back. In my last post, I mentioned how the place had been "freshened up" a bit. Now it's pretty much returned to the look of old….a bit mismatched and worn, but we really don't come here to gaze at the design and furnishings.

The service was fairly unorganized, but very nice….it seems like the customers were more of the problem as one of them kept walking to the counter and shouting to whomever was in the back! Sheesh….

The Missus loves the curtido, the pickled vegetables that accompany pupusas. But not on Her pupusas…She eats them with Her chips! She also misses the large communal container of curtido,which has been replaced by a bowl. I'm figuring code violations probably made this come about.

We started with Pacaya Forradas, basically the the flowering portion("male inflorescense") of a species of palm. The pacaya look much like tentacles of baby corn.

This looked much different then what we had here before. I thought the sauce tasted much like the salsa we had with the chips. It lacked body and didn't have enough of the tangy tomato flavors. It wasn't bad, in fact the Missus still loved the slightly bitter flavor coupled with the nice crunch. I thought it wasn't quite as good as before and not nearly as good what we had in Honduras, though I didn't expect that since what we had in Copan was fresh and this was obviously bottled. Still, it didn't seem too different, perhaps just a bit more tough and bitter. If you order this dish, make sure to get it with hand made tortillas, which are like pupusas without filling.

While I thought the pacaya was not as good as before, I believe the pupusas were better than I recalled. Very moist and well put together. The Pupusa con Chicharron almost squirted molten juice on me when I cut it open. Nice rich pork flavor…a little goes a long way.

And while I enjoyed the pork a lot, perhaps the queso en loroco was even better. Loroco is the green bud of the Fernaldia pandurata, a vine that grows in Central America. You can find jars and bottles of these, as well as pacaya at Northgate Market. I really like the unique, pungent-artichoke like flavor that comes through clearly.

Though it could easily be said that in spite of the cheese, you could really make out all of the different flavors in the pupusas…the Missus had three Herself.

I had a taste of the jalapeno and cheese and thought it as pretty good. The curtido also helps cut the richness of the fillings as well.

Consumption of masa will usually put me into a pre-coma state and my two pupusas were no exception. The Missus took it a step further and had an entire tamale elote en crema….a sweet corn tamale!

After which we headed home for a nice Sunday nap! On the drive home, the Missus mentioned that we haven't been to El Salvadoreno in a while. We always preferred this place….but will probably need to check them out soon….just for comparison sake, right? Especially since the Missus is still on Her Latin American food kick!

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante
3824 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Revisits to The Original Sab E Lee, Sab E Lee Santee and Koon Thai

October 29, 2012 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Here’s a trio of revisits to various Thai places we’ve been to in recent weeks.

The Original Sab E Lee:

**** TOSEL has closed

You know, we’ve been here tons of times since they opened in August of 2008. We miss Koby, who used to own this, then Sab E Lee in Santee dearly. There have been times when our meals…usually when doing take-out has been less than stellar and there seems to be a group of young kids often running the front of house, but they’ve always been pleasant, if a bit inconsistent.

I’ve found that my heat tolerance, once leveled off at “Thai spicy”, a 10, is now about a 7. And what we usually get here is a rotation of our favorites, sometimes throwing in something we hadn’t had in a while. This visit was no different.

We started with the grilled duck larb:

One need to look no further than this for a savory, tangy, sour, and satisfying dish.

The Missus was wanting something like the Shrimp Pla from SEL2, so we went with the Shrimp Larb:

This was pretty weak by SEL standards, not spicy enough at even a 7 heat level, too much lime interfered with any other flavor, and not enough really going on. We thought the Shrimp were a bit overcooked for this type of dish. At the most, we’d prefer shrimp just barely cooked.

But all was right with the Shrimp Pad See Eew.

Nice flavor, shrimp cooked quite well. There’s some “wok hei” going on….. great flavors from caramelization and the combination of ingredients, high heat, a well seasonedwok and the now ever popular and over-used “Maillard Reactions”.

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sab E Lee 2 (Sab E Lee Santee):

**** This location of Sab E Lee has closed

After our visit back in May, I received and email telling me the place had gone downhill. A couple of weeks ago, the Missus wanted Her fish fix, so we decided to head back.

The gentleman, whose name, if I recall is something like “Chud” still remember me from the days when Koby was here and our San Diego Beer week dinner in 2010. His daughter is now working there; it’s become a real family affair.

We started with the Shrimp Pla, with it’s spicy-sweet-sour-savory tones, this really perks us up and gets us ready for the rest of the meal.

Instead of my usual Garlic Rice, I went with one of my favorites at TOSEL, the Salted Fish Fried Rice. This version was much more mellow, but really delicious, and less salty. You could make out the fragrance and taste the salted fish, but it really didn’t over-power the dish.

The Missus went with the Volcano Fish, instead of Her usual the House Signature Fish.

This one had a bit too much going on for me, but the Missus enjoyed it, and that was the main thing.

We also ordered one of those typical, you pick the protein, you pick the preparation, Thai dishes…..

Which would be ok from your neighborhood Thai take-out joint, but was nothing special.

We’ll probably be coming again, the Missus enjoys the fish here…..and I want more salted fish fried rice.

Sab E Lee 2
9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Koon Thai:

Based on my previous post, you can figure out what I order here, right? The Nam Khao Tod of course.

This is pretty “wet” and I still prefer the Lao version, but the gingery-sour-salty flavors, topped by some spice I find quite refreshing.

And of course that simmered pork leg dish, the Khao Karr Moo (Khao Kha Moo), which, when done well…..about a 50-50 shot during my last couple of visits, takes me back to Thailand.

At least it’s now on the permanent menu.

On a recent visit, the Missus went with the…are you ready….pla nuer onn tod kra tom. Can we just call it crispy whole fish? Anyway, this thing took about 15 minutes longer than both of my dishes….no mention of anything amiss, just dropped my dishes off…and we waited. Finally the Missus told me, “just eat you food….if it takes more than five more minutes, we’ll be getting it to go and never coming back.” Luckily, the fish made it’s way to the table….again, no indication that anything was out of the ordinary….I guess it’s SOP here. We’re used to the “appetizer sin”, which really doesn’t bother us, but this was strange. Anyway, this wasn’t just a whole fried fish….it was 11 whole fishes!

These were sheathfish and the Missus told me they were fried and seasoned perfectly as She ate all 11 of them! She also enjoyed the sauce and asked if we could have more….and they wanted to charge us $2……really? Whatever……. I’ve had some kind of weird service here in the past, I guess that’s the norm.

I will usually come here for lunch when I have the time, not sure the Missus would want to come back, though.

Koon Thai Kitchen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

So there you go, three down and a couple of more to go……stay tuned!

Turo Turo Thursday: A Revisit to Conching’s Cafe

October 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

*** Conching is now Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor

Over the course of the last twelve weeks I managed to revisit a couple of turo turo places, which I'll post on over the next few weeks. Actually, I dropped by Tita's twice during this period, but they didn't have any sisig, so I decided not to wait in those massive lines. I've heard that they actually changed the sisig recipe when AZ(not you "AZ", the other AZ) visited; I always thought the sisig there was terrible. So it took a television thing to get them to make a better product? I guess even they knew their sisig wasn't up to par….. Well enough of that. Here's enough saturated fat for a week or so.

There was a time not too long ago, when I thought that Conching made some of the best turo turo sisig in San Diego. As of a couple of years ago, I felt that the sisig had slipped a bit. It just wasn't as good. Those thought were percolating in mi cabeza as I parked.

No matter how many times I visit, walking to the turo turo ("point point", a reference to steam table cuisine) counter, I can't help but be amused at the ice cream parlor look. Someone asked me to describe the interior once and the best I could come up with was "Farrell's meets patis". Because I had just come from the long lines and cold stares at Tita's, the stark emptiness of the place really made an impression. There were no other customers during my entire meal.

Looking over the steam table items, I saw something I never recalled seeing before, so I ordered it.

I guess it's the purple tinted red color that got me…plus this had slices of pork belly in it. Well, even more than the color, catching a whiff of it as I brought this to my table really got my nares out of the morning doldrums. I actually liked this; it was salty, in a good way, very savory, obviously from a good amount of bagoong alamang. It was also fairly spicy, a rarity in most Filipino dishes that I've had….the possible exception being bicol express and some versions of sisig. Still, I didn't know what the heck this was and the woman behind the counter wasn't in a particularly chatty mood, so I took a photo and sent it to my former coworker "MG". Who informed me that this was a dish with the catchy name of Binagoongang Baboy. The combination of pungent bagoong, garlic, chilies, tomato, and green bell peppers, adds up to salty-savory,tangy,spicy, and pretty delicious in my book. I have another dish to be on the look-out for in the future.

Of course I had the sisig.

Which was disappointing. Oh how the mighty has fallen. This was soggy, lacked vinegar, and had rather unpleasant bitterness to it.

On a positive note, I have a new dish to look out for. On the flip side, it seems that the sisig here has gone downhill. I asked MG when I saw her a couple of weeks later. She told me that the food at Conching hasn't been very good for the last six-eight months. Sad.

Conching's Cafe
3400 E 8th St.Ste 115
National City, CA 91950

Beijing: Our last day……

October 21, 2012 mmm-yoso Beijing, China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel

Man, it's taken me so long to finish all of our China posts….but I really did want to get it done, so here it is…..

It was pouring like crazy when we left the Wushan fish restaurant, so we decided to take a cab. During the drive back, the Missus talked the cab driver into stopping at a location where She could take a photo of this:

So while the cab driver took a smoke break, the Missus climbed up a median and took Her photos.

Upon first leaving Beijing, the Missus had Her mom talk to Mr Li. We wanted to thank and pay our respects to all the great folks who took great care of us during our time in Beijing. So we decided on having everyone together for a banquet. Mr and Mrs Li picked us up and drove us through the streets of Beijing, where "he with the most nerve has the right of way." And after going through a series of stops and gates ended up on the second floor of an empty restaurant. But this wasn't just a restaurant…..it looked like we were on a military base, and this looked like the VIP/Officers club. It was nice to gather and have a meal with all the wonderful folks whom we had the pleasure of meeting in Beijing.

Once the dishes started arriving, Mr Li asked the Missus why I hadn't brought out my camera….sheepishly I had the Missus explain that "tonight is for friends….no pictures". Which didn't last very long. I did restrain myself and only took photos of two dishes that Mr Li and Mr Doo explained were very special. The first was a very tasty deer tendon dish.

The second this delicious fish and beancurd dish.

It was another wonderful night. I really am indebted to these folks for welcoming me and really making me feel welcome.

The Missus and I didn't sleep much that night. We spent much of the night reminiscing……we'd done so much in our time in China.

From arriving in Beijing and hiking the Great Wall.

And my love for Suan Ni (sour milk – yogurt) and Lu Rou Huo Shao(donkey meat):

And of course the Forbidden City.

There was the visit to the Missus' High School (which is now part of the Hutong Tour!) and of course the wonderful banquet.

The Missus' soul may reside in Beijing; but Her heart remains in Her hometown of QingDao.

It was a great time revisiting all of those places that the Missus held in Her memory.

I was amazed and touched at how the Missus' family just welcomed me into the fold, as if I'd always been part of this wonderful clan. And of course, there were all those banquets…even two in one day! But what I remember most fondly is the soulful cooking of Fifth Aunt.

We had a chance to visit Jinan and meet relatives whom the Missus doesn't even remember.

I got a chance to meet some serious foodies, as the Aunts and Uncles here are really serious about their food.

In Hangzhou, I had a chance to visit West Lake(Xī Hú) which looked post card perfect.

And had a couple of chances to taste what is arguably Hangzhou's most famous dish Dongpo Rou a couple of times.

Suzhou remains one of the places I'd like to revisit. There's an amazing air of delicate artistry to the city. The Missus tells me, even the accent is rather delicate. The canals and gardens are studies in aesthetic design and beauty.

Nanjing, the "Capital of Six Dynasties" was our next stop. A proud city, with it's own unique beauty.

And it's own special dishes…..

There's a saying in Chinese that "two places ten miles apart don't share the same habits". We found that true of food as well.

There are times when grand descriptions of places really don't live up to expectations. I'll say this much, the Army of Terracotta Warriors exceeded my expectations.

As did the food!

I appreciated the the stick to your ribs flavors of Qin Cuisine.

In Chengdu/Jiangyang we met my Father In Laws family. Though we didn't have much time in the area, we managed to have a memorable dinner, with a dish that tasted like no other I'd ever had before.

We didn't know what we ate until we came home and the Missus saw the restaurant's sign…..

But hey, those Pandas at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base are really cute.

The Missus thought this was really funny…..at my expense:

Which led us back to where we started…Beijing.

There was so much we had done….so much we had seen…..we dozed off and before you knew it, the sun had risen over Beijing, morning had broken. The ever gracious Mrs Li took us out breakfast before we left for the airport….the new Beijing, pumpkin porridge.

With the more traditional youtiao…..

In my mind, this is the China I visited…..so much is changing, so new, so quick, and yet, the backbone of tradition exists. I hope that history, the pride in declaring where you came from, the sense of identity, never goes away…..

Djerba (Tunisia): Restaurant Aladin and the Green Palm

October 20, 2012 mmm-yoso North African Food, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

Our basic travels around Tunisia, except for the last few days in Djerba and La Marsa had come to an end. We were dropped off at the Green Palm by Ben, who would be picking us up tomorrow for a short tour of Houmt Souk and Erriadh. The Green Palm is located, along with what seems like a zillion other "all inclusive" type reports in the Zone Touristique. The objective is to keep you on the property or in the properties clutches the entire time. No outside food or drink allowed on the premises, distances between properties can be a bit of a hike……

The facilities are decent, there are "animation team" (I didn't even know what that was until we got here) events, a large pool, and the Missus started whining from the moment we arrived feeling trapped.

There's a definite lack of atmosphere at places like this…..you can tell, Club Med ain't for us. I will say, the folks here are really nice, more on that later.

So after freshening up, the first thing we did was to go for some lunch…..not in the hotel. We walked about a mile or so and stopped at a place where all the cab drivers were eating called Restaurant Aladin.

You can always count on cabbies, cops, and other civil servants to find places that are reasonably priced with decent fare. And this was not an exception. The food was simple, the lettuce was iceberg, but it was a decent meal, and very cheap.

The brik was a bit overdone, the egg too overcooked.

The merguez was quite good though……

For some reason, the Missus kept wanting more tomatoes…….

It was a decent meal that filled us up nicely.

We picked up some bottled water on the way back to the resort….not knowing at the time that outside drinks of any kind were not allowed…..what ensued when we passed by the guards was nothing short of hilarious. The guards stopped us and spoke to us first in French, then German, the Arabic……yeah, we really looked like we spoke those languages. We kept talking to them in English, which they didn't speak. Finally, they got a clue and asked us, "you…..English?" When we nodded in agreement, they pointed to a sign on the wall……the was WRITTEN IN FRENCH! What? I told them, "no francais, no francais….." By this time, even they were laughing, and they passed us through.

We also came to find out that there was no wifi reception in our rooms, so I ended up getting some "cafe express" in the massive lobby area, while checking email and even doing a short post.

Later that evening, as we were getting ready to go to the dinner buffet, I recall looking out off the terrace at the empty lots and other resorts thinking to myself, "this is going to be a pretty rough two days…."

Crispy Five Spice Duck Breasts aka “Three Day Duck”

October 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Here's a fun little recipe, adapted from Cecilia Chiang's autobiographical cookbook, The Seventh Daughter. I've been fascinated by the book, not only are the stories great, but the recipes are deceptively easy. Almost too easy. I finally got around to making a couple of things and I have to say, even though I think the recipes are a bit gringo-ized, the duck turned out very crisp, nicely infused with flavor, though a bit on the dry side. I did bump up a lot of the seasoning, but I was happy with the result.

I'll probably use a glaze like the one for my Char Siu Glazed Duck next time, or maybe I'll come up with something more interesting. Though this duck takes three days to prepare, it's pretty easy stuff……. So here goes:

Day 1

1 1/2 Tb Five Spice Powder (we used the stuff we brought back from QingDao)
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine (when using wine of any sort/country, get the drinking variety)
1 thumb size piece of ginger, skin removed (use a spoon), cut into thin slices – about 6-7
2 stalks scallions, green parts cut into 2" pieces, white parts chopped and smashed
1 Tb sea salt
2 duck breast halves

– Mix all ingredients together
– Place duck in marinade and rub well
– Place in a ziploc bag and let marinate overnight

The next day you'll remove the duck from the marinade and take off straggling pieces of ginger and scallions.

Day 2

– Steam these babies for 30 minutes
– Remove from plate and liquid and place on a plate lined with paper towels to cool (I gotta figure something to do with all the oil/liquid that came out of the duck)
– I actually seasoned with a bit more salt and five spice….just because
– Once cool place in the fridge (DO NOT cover) to let dry overnight

The next (big) day these babies will look like they've suffered a bit of shrinkage, which they did.

Day 3

– In my cast iron pan, I heated about an inch and a half of oil to 350 (like I really measured)
– Fry the duck breasts for about two minutes each side

Seemed a bit dry so I served with Hoisin Sauce and sliced scallions.

In her book Cecilia Chiang calls this Sichuan Crispy Duck….but I really don't think that's correct. But whatever you call it, it pretty delicious.

Last weekend when I was bored, I used up five stalks of scallions that were starting to go brown and made some scallion oil. I then used two bulbs of garlic and made some garlic oil…really…I do stuff like that when I'm bored. I served the whole thing up with some Scallion and Garlic Oil Noodles.

Three days, but not much overall time involved…..step 1 I did in the middle of a post when I got bored. Step 2 meant turning on the stove. Step three was tonight……

It was a nice dinner three days in the making.

Midweek Meanderings: Silly Stuff and Recently Consumed

October 17, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

Not much to write, here's a trio of photos that I find somewhat amusing:

In case they're planning a California Burrito museum, I've got an exhibit ready for them.

This photo is a couple of years old…..I don't even remember where this was from.

You can tell we've been spending way too much time at Northgate Market…..we started checking out the various teas, which seems to cure just about anything.

Except for maybe what you'll get if you use this as instructed:

Really? You're actually proud that this compliments MSG and Chicken boullion? But wait, I actually know a couple of Pho places where this might be an improvement.

Here's a couple of things I noticed in passing:

I've twice noticed this at the parking bump in the parking lot in front of Tan Ky Mi Gia:

Which god is this for?

Like I said, we've been spending way too much time in Northgate Market. I noticed this maguey root shaped like an heart.

I was tempted to buy it….but it wasn't Valentine Day, nor do I really know what to make with it, except pulque. Any ideas for the next time we go shopping there?

Recently consumed:

On the day I bought the antelope, I got a nice veal rib chop:

I seasoned it fairly heavily then seared it off….I forgot how fast veal cooks and really had to slam on the brakes, but it turned out really nice.

Even the Missus had a couple of bites!

We had a couple of days of cooler weather a week ago….now it's back in the high 80's! Anyway, it was time to start looking for stuff like baihe and making stuff like this.

I did see fresh chanterelles at Nijiya, but they aren't very fragrant and too firm…perhaps it's too early in the season yet? Hopefully we'll get a couple of good deliveries of it this year.

Anyway, that's it. I hope everyone is having a great week!