yoso-silly – Page 40

Wow, Laulau! And why Reid has Become a Legend

October 26, 2005 mmm-yoso Cooking, Hawaiian Food, yoso-silly

I was really thrilled this past Saturday; I received a package from Reid of 'Ono Kine Grindz. In that little box were gel packs and 3 wonderful Laulau from Young's Fishmarket:

For those who don't know what Lau Lau is, it is cubes of pork, usually shoulder and a cube of fat, sometimes a small piece of salt fish wrapped in lu'au (young taro leaves), finally wrapped in Ti leaves, in sort of a neat bundle. The Laulau are then steamed for 4 hours or more. After heating them up this is what they look like when you open them up:

The aroma of Laulau is amazing! The leaves are moist and have a slightly "al dente" texture, the taste is close to say, collard greens without the bitterness. The pork is moist, and has absorbed the taste of the lu'au leaf – delici-yoso! This taste of home really made my weekend!

Reid you are an amazing guy, thanks so much!

I'm so amazed at how Reid managed to send this to me through the mail. And that's how Reid's become a sort of legend in our household. The Mother of a good friend of ours is also pretty much a Legend in our home. For the sake of this story let's call her "Lola". When visiting "home" we'd have a meal with our good friends, their two wonderful Boys, all made by Lola. Lola absolutely adored the Missus, basically because the Missus adored Lola's cooking. Whether it was Kare Kare (Filipino Ox Tail Stew), Lumpia, or Her Adobo, Lola would watch my little 100lb Chinese Wife chow like a Longshoreman. Lola, like most "Lola's" are consumed with a desire to give and provide. So we'd be back home in Los Angeles, and receive one of those flat "shirt boxes" in the mail, and be totally amazed when there would be a pristine Bibingka(Sweet Rice Cake) all wrapped up in the box. Or the most amazing thing of all, we once received a small box. When we opened the box amid the crumpled up newspapers was a round ball of tape(???), after several minutes of unwrapping the tape, there was a little bottle of home made Bagoong Alamang(Shrimp Paste), Lola had remembered how much the Missus enjoyed her Bagoong in the Kare Kare, and sent us some! We always considered Lola to be the "Legend of Postal Dexterity"; but now with Reid's feat of sending me the Park's Brand Kim Chee Sauce, and now Laulau from Young's Fishmarket, he's joined Lola as a "Legend"…..

Since I had some chicken thawing I made a little Chicken Katsu, Laulau, mixed plate:

I even made my own Tonkatsu Sauce for the Chicken:

1/2C Worcestershire Sauce
1/4C Sugar
1/4C Soy Sauce
1/3C Ketchup
Dash of 5 Spice Powder
1Tb Dijon Mustard mixed with 1Tb Water
Pepper

In a small pot combine first 5 ingredients. Reduce over low-medium heat, until reduced by 1/3. After reduced add mustard and pepper, mix well. Remove from heat, and let sauce cool. Will keep up to 2 weeks in a well sealed bottle.
Makes about 1 cup.

Sun Cafe and a Little Walking Tour

October 25, 2005 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, yoso-silly

Ah, yes, another beautiful Seattle morning:

Just kidding…although the drizzly weather this past Sunday sure did remind me of Seattle. When I'm on vacation I enjoy getting up early and watching the City "wake", I especially love going down to Stockton St in San Francisco, or Pike's Place Market in Seattle, early in the morning, and just watch the area slowly come alive. So this morning I decided to head down to our own Gaslamp District and give it the "tourist treatment". Also, I'd received this little brochure and map during one of the movies at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and took some time to read it. I'd known that San Diego once had a "Chinatown" but didn't know that it had been declared a Historical District. There's also a Sunday Farmer's Market in the same area, so that sealed the deal.

I had no problem finding parking on this misty Sunday morning; but I'd arrived at about 830, so the Farmer's Market stalls were still getting set up. I just decided to grab some breakfast and take a short "tour". I started at the corner of 3rd and J Street, at the location of the San Diego Chinese History Museum.

The Museum is located in the former Chinese Mission Building. As I walked up the street I was fairly surprised at what I noticed; like the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Building:

These buildings really stood out, standing beside all the downtown Condominiums and development. This area at 3rd and Island Street was the heart of Chinatown in the late 1800's and early 20th Century.

As I walked up Market Street, my stomach started growling. It was time for some grub. It was my intention to grab a bite at the The Field, my favorite Irish Pub. I'd been looking at trying one of their "boxty" breakfast's. But Sun Cafe on Market Street caught my eye:

According to what I read this building was built between 1873 and 1883, and is one of the oldest buildings in the area. The Obayashi family ran a shooting gallery and confectionary at this location, but by 1926 the soup that was served here became so popular that Sun Cafe became strictly a restaurant. The Jeong Family bought the business in 1963, and still runs the Cafe. When you enter you quickly notice the old Soda Fountain counter and the old wooden booths, it's like entering a little retro time capsule diner, circa 1950's:

I sat in one of the booths and ordered Two Eggs, Hash Browns, and Corned Beef Hash ($4.90). The food is strictly diner, and carried out in efficient form. The eggs scrambled, and there was a nice crust on the Hash. And of course, I had to have a good diner quality Cup O' Joe (70 cents):

A bit of trivia; Sun Cafe is featured in several scenes in the movie Almost Famous.

I left refreshed and ready to head over to the Farmer's Market, and so I headed back. On the way back I noticed another Museum on the corner of 4th and Island. It was the William Hearth Davis House, a saltbox style house that was built in 1850. William Hearth Davis was one of San Diego's early pioneers; but did you know he had ties to Hawaii? Well it seems that Mr Davis was 1/4 Hawaiian, his grandmother Mahi was a ward of Kamehameha I. In fact he was known as "Kanaka" Bill. His full given name was William Hearth Ko'olaupoko Mahi-Davis. Amazing what you learn by reading brochures.

At this point, I headed back to the tiny Farmer's Market:

There really wasn't much going on, and only 2 vegetable vendors, and one flower vendor, though the Crepe booth was doing good business. I did get some Dog Biscuits for Sammy and Frankie:

By this time it was almost 10am, and I started seeing alot more people. It was time to leave.

Isn't it amazing what a little pamphlet can provide. I'm looking at the stuff I usually discard quickly, a bit more closer in the future! (Except those that are handed to me in Vegas!)

Sun Cafe
421 Market St
San Diego, CA 92101
Open Daily 7am-230pm

San Diego Chinese Center Sunday CFM
4502 33rd St
San Diego, CA 92116

Yoso Silly: A Bunch of Friday “Links”

October 21, 2005 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Just some odd and ends to get the weekend started:

Links – the edible kind:

I know Jo from Truly Thankful must be kind of curious as to what happened to all those sausages she generously gave me on my trip to Mountain View. Well I did manage to take a few pictures over the last few weeks when I remembered to.

The Sheboygan Brats ended up in a little beer bath:

And in a nice toasted bun with some brown mustard and sauerkraut:

With the andouille, I quickly whipped up a Jambalaya:

I really don’t remember what the heck I did. Though I did forget one thing; believe it or not, I forgot the rice! Yes, I forgot to make rice. I’m still trying to live that one down. So we ended up eating this on some toasted French Dip Rolls:

It ended being quite Delici-yoso!!! And the sausages from Dittmer’s were excellent! Thanks again, Jo!

Now links of the other kind:

I usually check referring sites; sometimes with some interesting results. Though none quite match up with Pam’s "What Brings You to These Parts" post. A few days ago I noticed a referring site that I did not recognize. When I clicked on the URL, it turned out to be a site called Casing the Joint, and it belongs to a Gentleman called Jay Porter who happens to be Proprietor of a Local Restaurant called The Linkery. It’s his personal restaurant blog; sort of the other side of the counter. Though many of the posts are "informational", that is, weekly specials and menu changes, some are very interesting, such as his "musing of reviews of his Restaurant". I even posted a comment, asking his opinion of posts/reviews of his Restaurant by Food Bloggers, and he even answered, both on his blog, and sent me a very nice Email to boot. In addition, I found it very interesting that he has links to Beth’s, Angie’s, Annie’s, and My blog, among others. I got his permission to link to his blog, and here’s his response to Bloggers doing posts on his restaurant:

"I wouldn’t presume to tell you how to blog! Truly.

I think the food blogs are a great source of serious food writing in town, between the fact that the writers are unpaid and that they have no space limitations, as a reader I get great insights into the bloggers’ experience.

As I mentioned in this post, I respect the subjective views of every reviewer, no matter what they are. That’s frankly the best part about reading food writing.

As far as the factual stuff, I think blogs are rightfully held to a lower standard than print newspapers, because a blogger can immediately correct, in the original post, an error which is called to his attention. Which newspapers can’t really do.

Anyway, please come in and blog about it. It’s very good (and helpful) to read opinions from real people. I actually Google us regularly to see what bloggers and forum users are saying about us, figuring this is probably very accurate feedback, and we can best learn what we should be (or are correctly) working on. "

"Let me add this thought: the best possible event that could increase restaurant quality in this town would be the emergence of twenty or so popular, critical, honest, prolific food bloggers, each with unique tastes, perspectives, and budgets, blogging about all their restaurant visits. In an environment like that, all restaurants would be heavily incented to provide great quality and value at least to a certain segment of the eating-out community. "

Looks like someone really cares about what us regular customers think about their restaurant!

And BTW, did you get the "link" tie-in….the place is called, The Linkery! This Internet stuff is pretty interesting, ain’t it?

Have a Great Weekend!

Odds And Ends

October 14, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, yoso-silly

Hope everyone has a great weekend; just thought I’d throw in some Odds n’ Ends. That is, places that I’ve already posted on and some of the different dishes, as well as maybe a few "silly" links.

Dropped by Buga; yet again. This time I had Yookhwe, that wonderful beef tartare like dish:

This refreshing little dish – sorry about the photo, I starting mixing and almost eating before I remembered to snap a picture. But it’s thin slices of beef with sesame seed oil, served along with thin slices of Asian Pear, with an egg yolk on top. Nicely nutty, sweet, and a bit "metallic" or cucumberish in taste. Because the meat is partially frozen before slicing, you can get a "ice cream headache" when you eat this.

Dropped by Noble Chef for a quick dinner. I still get looks of complete amazement when I recommend this place. You just have to know what to order. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT order the Chinese Fast Food style dishes. Instead go for something like the Shrimp Chow Fun (Hong Kong style) with XO Sauce($6.55):

If you think there’s some "wok hey" going on, you’d be right. Nice and spicy, with good sized shrimp, this is my favorite. We also got the Shrimp with Tomato Sauce Rice($6.55):

Nice size shrimp, with a tangy, slightly spicy tomato sauce, this is delici-yoso!!! Stick with the Fried Rice, Turnip Cake with Scrambled Egg, and Shrimp with Scrambled Egg, and you’ll do fine.

As for links, here’s a few fun ones:

Howie Email’d me his Foodieview ‘s Most Disturbing Recipe Searches. It’s fun and reminds me of Pam’s great "Asparagus" ummmm, "residual" post!

I don’t know if you read the News story on the 4,000 year old noodles found in China. I get another laugh at the expense of my Italian Food loving friends. I can still call Italian Food "Nouveau Chinese"….. Angie covers it well on her Blog.

Annie has revamped and changed the URL for Green Beans in San Diego, so check it out.

I enjoyed this really short article from The Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego about the History of Japanese Restaurants in San Diego.

And finally this sign, which always makes me chuckle it’s on the corner of Palomar and 3rd Ave in Chula Vista:

23/5 Meme

October 8, 2005 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

I had considered letting this Meme die. But seeing that it’s Reid from Ono Kine Grindz who tagged me, I thought I’d go ahead and do it. Mainly because Reid is a good guy, and I’d feel really bad if I didn’t.

The rules?

1. Delve into your blog archive,
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to),
3. Find the 5th sentence (or closest to),
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions,
5. Tag FIVE people to do the same.

So I went to the beginning and started counting; and lo’ and behold, it was one of my favorites. Hogetsu Bakery! It was a short post on June 19th of this year, and the 5th line was; "Many people I know still drive to Los Angeles to get their Manju, or just buy them from Nijiya or Mitsuwa. " Which is still probably true…..

So knowing that I’d be doing this, I drove down to Hogetsu on Friday:

And picked up some manju:

The Missus enjoyed the Kyoto-style confections that I picked up on this trip. And of course I also got all her other favorites as well. All told these five pieces cost $4.70. I also had a nice conversation with one of the owners who remembered me as the "guy with the camera".

So who am I tagging? Well, let’s do something different. I’ll let whoever feels like volunteering for this meme to carry on. Just "pencil me in" as the "tagger"!

At the SDAFF: My Girl (Fan Chan) and Sneakin’ Stuff….

October 4, 2005 mmm-yoso Burgers, Movies, yoso-silly

On Friday we viewed a charming Thai coming of age film, My Girl, titled Fan Chan in Thailand:

The basic plot is that a Young Man, Jeab finds out that the best friend from childhood whom he hasn’t seen in 13 years, Noi Nah, is getting married, and that he’s received an invitation. As a child Jeab wasn’t allowed to cross a busy street and play with the other boys, so he spends his time playing with Noi Nah. Through a flashback we see Jeab and Noi Nah as children, and eventually the event that leads to the end of the friendship. There’s alot of fun, laughter, music, and pretty good acting. It would seem that this film is directed at Thais’ raised in the 70’s and 80’s, as it features the music, television, and other "nostalgic" events of that era. But I soon found that laughter and love are universal. My Girl, is a warm and funny movie that explores universal themes associated with growing up.

One of the really fun parts of the movie was the amount attention brought to the "games" played by the children in this rural Buddhist community. Even though we may or may not have played any of these games, we all have those games of our childhood, like marbles or paper-football, which brought on all those nostalgic feelings. Another thing I remembered as a youth were the movies, as well as another thing about going to movies as a kid in the 70’s and 80’s in Hawaii, sneakin’ in food!

I mean, especially in a week long film festival; how much popcorn and hot dogs can you eat? As a kid we used to sneak in Spam Musubis, arare, or something similar. Mom wouldn’t let me bring anything that the theater served, in her words, "they have to make money, and a living too". In my early twenties, we all brought our jackets when we went to the movies, even when it was almost 90 degrees, and 100% humidity. Why? Well, we’d tie up the sleeves and you could fit 3 bottles of beer in each sleeve…..hehehe! Better watch when you stand though, you might knock those bottles down; and you’d be soooo busted! Careful when you open those bottles too! Psssst…..

Nowadays, after we burn out from the popcorn and hot dogs, we’re more apt to go with maybe the arare, or maybe roasted chestnuts or mochi, for the Missus. And no, we don’t do the dried cuttlefish, or other snacks that smell, or make alot of noise…..

Also, can’t forget those Haw Flakes for the Missus:

Though we have an all time favorite sneak in. All you need to see is this:

So we’ll drive through and pick up a couple of burgers from In-N-Out, and seal the bag well, and stash it in the Missus purse. Better than those cheese whiz nacho’s, no? We don’t bring them to movies that are too crowded though. A few movies ago, we opened up our burgers, and heard a whisper from above go; "Hey, who’s eating A Double-Double?" I never knew the smell was so distinctive! Hehehehe – giggle….. And no we still don’t sneak in anything the theatre will have, think I’ll have some Kappa-maki tomorrow…..

Open wide:

So what do you sneak in? I know you do it………

At the SDAFF: 20:30:40, Saving Face, and Dumplings

October 1, 2005 mmm-yoso Cooking, Movies, Recipes, yoso-silly

Ah yes, another wonderful day at the San Diego Film Festival. Today we went early and saw Alice Wu’s fantastic film; Saving Face. Alice Wu’s Directorial debut is a wonderfully funny, yet an a amazingly perceptive and complex tale, one that is both light, and yet reveals very deep social and cultural issues that are put at the forefront.

At the heart of the movie is the question; at what length and what price is one willing to pay to "save face". Saving Face is of the best most polished Asian American Films I’ve ever seen. After the film, Director Alice Wu, and the three lovely Leading Ladies, Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, and Lynn Chen were very generous with their time during a Q&A session. What I was really amazed to find out was that the film was completed in 27 days, all single takes! If I’m being a bit vague with the plot details, it is with good reason. The film takes some really fun twists and turns, and keeps you guessing til the end. If you’re interested in a movie that’s like a cross between The Wedding Banquet and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this is for you. By the way, I never knew Joan Chen could be so funny!

On Thursday Night we saw 20:30:40, a funny, yet very interesting and revealing Taiwanese/Chinese film Directed by, and starring Sylvia Chang. 20:30:40 portrays the life of 3 Women. Xiao Jie (Lee Sin-Jie), is a 20 year old, who has come to Taipei to become a pop star. Suddenly free, and learning about life with no responsibility, she starts learning and experimenting in her journey to find out about life and who she is. Xiang (Rene Liu), is a thirty-something Flight Attendant, attempting to find love by juggling two men, a married Dentist, and a possessive somewhat unstable Music Producer. Forty-something Lily (Sylvia Chang) is the owner of a Flower Shop. Her world is turned upside down when she finds out that her Husband has a second family.

Though the women never actually meet, they pass each other, and their lives are intertwined through associations with other characters in the film. Featuring some very funny moments, this is a showcase for the actresses and in the end a very honest and entertaining effort.

What about the food? Among the many food scenes in these two films were two that got our attention; in 20:30:40, Lily (Sylvia Chang) is having dinner with would be "Romeo", Jeff (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), as he teaches her to eat her dumplings by first eating an entire clove of garlic, he tells her; "what do you care, we’re both sleeping alone tonight…", one of the funniest lines in the film. In Saving Face, Joan Chen is making dumplings for a "mah-jong party".

So this evening, the Missus decided to end her self imposed Dumpling retirement, by saying, "hey, let’s make some shrimp and chive dumplings…" So even though it was after 6pm, I jumped into action and ran up to 99 Ranch Market to pick-up some shrimp and chive, while the Missus made the dough for the wrappers:

Sorry that there is no set recipe for this. I will go through the ingredients, though. Dumplings have been a way of life for the Missus. She was raised in Qingdao in the Shandong province in China. Dumplings, handmade noodles, and various breads are a way of life. This dough was made with flour and room temperature water. While kneading she knows at what point the dough is "ready". My job is easy; shell and devein 1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, which is then chopped to desired texture.

The chives are chopped to desired texture. Here’s a very "rough" recipe for the filling for these dumplings:

1 1/2 lbs shrimp chopped
1 bunch chives chopped
2-4 Tbs Sesame Oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Shao-Tsing Wine
2 eggs
Ginger Juice(everybody wonders what the garlic press is for)
Mix together and start filling them dumplings:

Here’s a hint; before mixing the dumpling filling, start boiling a small pot of water. When the mix is ready make a "test dumpling" and cook – it’ll be pretty quick since the dough is fresh. You can taste the filling and make adjustments. For me, the only way to eat these freshly made dumplings is to boil them. You get the full range of flavor and most of all the wonderful slightly doughy wrapper, that should have a bit of pull. Of course you can pan fry if you must:

This is one of the things that I am able to contribute to the whole process! Also making the sauce:

Chinkiang Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Green Onions
Optional – Chili Paste, Sugar, etc….

The belief is that boiled dumplings are the true test, fried dumplings are for later. Even though she declared a "second retirement" after making these, I still love and appreciate the fact that she knew after watching all these "dumplings on film", that I’d be wanting some. Also, I know we’ve now got a few dozen in the freezer! he-he-he….. Need to find more dumpling movies!

At the SDAFF: Marathon and Bibim Naengmyun

September 30, 2005 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Movies, yoso-silly

The Opening Night film at the San Diego Asian Film Festival was the Korean film, Marathon. This heart-warming drama tells the story of an autistic Young Man, Cho Won whose doting, driven Mother pushes him to succeed at running marathons. Cho Won is 20 years old, but has only a child-like understanding of the world, and loves Zebra’s and anything resembling a Zebra, Choco-pies, noodles, and The Wild Kingdom television show. But Cho Won, is unable to express his emotions, and lacks any concept of the workings of the " real world". Enter into the equation a has-been former Marathon Champion, Yun, working off his community service for a DUI at Cho Won’s school. Cho Won’s Mother attempts to get him to train him. We go through this journey along with Cho Won, and in the end there is of course, a Marathon.

Marathon succeeds in rising above the formula"underdog drama" by utilizing great acting, lot’s of humor, not stooping to "cheap" manipulative tricks, and showing the impact of the social realities of being "stigmatized" by being handicapped in South Korean society, not only to Cho Won, but to his Family as well. Though the ending is predictable, it’s the journey to that end that makes this film worth watching. I’m thinking of buying this one! A great start to the SDAFF.

A quick note, this movie is a semi-biopic, Director Jeong Yun-Cheol interviewed Bae Hyeong-Jin,on whom the story was based, over the course of two years to develop this film. Amazingly this is Jeong Yun-Cheol’s Directorial debut.

Where’s the food? In Marathon, food plays a major role. I stopped counting at 12 the number scenes where food plays a role. Choco-pies play a very important role in two pivotal scenes in the movie, and plums in one. And of course Cho Won loves noodles. Most of the noodles shown looked alot like Jajang Myeon, a Chinese based, Korean noodles dish. Here’s an example of a sad "instant" Jajang Myeon:

But I didn’t have Jajang Myeon, I ended up at Buga and had the Bibim Naengmyun ($9.95):

These somewhat chewy-elastic buckwheat noodles, are served cold, with a spicy sauce. Add to it vinegar and mustard, and you have a wonderful refreshing, spicy dish! Have the Server cut the noodles with a scissors, though, otherwise you’ll be "pulling" for quite a long while! With all of the chewing and "reeling in" of the noodles going on, this dish may take a while to eat. It almost seems as if; if I may quote the Missus; "The more you eat, the more there is…"

Notice the panchan in the middle of the picture below, there’s a funny story about this:

So I’m having lunch, and a quite distinguished looking Gentleman siting on the table in front of me calls the waitress over, holds up the little plate with the "konnyaku" (I apologize I can’t for the life of me remember the Korean name), and tells her "I thought I told you no fish!", She tries in vain to explain to him that it’s not "fish", but made from "potato", but he insists that "No potato can ever make anything like this!" So after the Waitress looks at me with a pleading look, I tell the Gentleman that it’s made from a specific potato. I get the response, "Humph, don’t tell me what this is, I know fish when I see it!" I truly hopes he chokes on his Bulgogi….."humph"

Oh, what did I have for dessert?

Choco-pies of course!

In Case You’re Wondering Where I Am….

September 29, 2005 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Every year around this time the San Diego Asian Film Foundation presents the San Diego Asian Film Festival. This year the 6th annual Festival has been expanded from the usual 4 days to 7 whole days at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas.

This is a wonderful event and we always make sure to get All Festival Passes so that we can come and go as we please. You also go to the front of the line for all events – but of course that has nothing to do with it, right?

For a listing of films and schedules – go here.

If there’s one thing that many Asian films have – its alot of food! So I may have a fun post or two up my sleeve.

The 6th Annual San Diego Film Festival – Sept 29th thru Oct6th.

So where’s the food? I found the comments to the Loco Moco Post to be very interesting. Rachel, was of course worried about my dental hygiene. Clare was worried that I wasn’t getting enough "green stuff" and also started searching for a Loco in Oz. Reid was concerned that I couldn’t find a good Loco. And of course Jo, wanted to make sure that she got the Hamburger right, while Mealcentric was worried about the gravy, while Pam immediately went searching for one! Aren’t Bloggers the best!

Just to make sure that you all know that I do eat veggies, once in a while at least:

I actually had 2 plates of salad tonight:

From our local Soupplantation. The Missus had 3. I of course went into immediate cardiac arrest, and had to be revived with a Spam Musubi. Rachel and Clare, I’m still alive and kicking!

See you at the Film Festival!

yoso-nosey: Where the Dim Sum Starts

September 20, 2005 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

As Elmo and Reid both noted, it seems like everyone has been eating Dim Sum over the last week or so. What I also noticed was that we each have our "standard bearer", that is the dish that serves as the basis for judging whether a specific restaurant serves "good" or "bad" Dim Sum. So, I’d like to see what your baseline Dim Sum dish is:

The survey has closed – results are here.

Feel free to comment away..

BTW, I did leave Siu Mai out, sorry my mistake – you can vote for it as "Other"

I’ll close out the poll on Sept 30th!