Souq Jara, Amman, Jordan

I recently returned from a vacation to Jordan with Elizabeth to see our friend Natalie. We landed on a Friday afternoon, when most shops are closed for prayers, so we headed towards Rainbow Street (near 1st circle). If you walk down the street from the circle, you head towards Jebel Amman and East Amman.
From Rainbow Street, take a detour to Souq Jara, a market that sells handicrafts and food. The food section is separate from the craft section. You have to buy tickets with which you pay for your food, so that the vendors don't have to touch food and money at the same time. It feels like a night market, selling clothes, jewelery, soap, dead sea products, etc.
I didn't get a bottle of sand, but apparently they are popular souvenirs.
There are also a few stalls with street artists showcasing small portraits and paintings.
We started out in the food section of Souq (market) Jara (the name of the co-op that runs the market; stands for Jebel Amman something or another), so the lighting might seem anachronistic.
On the way to the souq, we got free cans of Coca Cola.
I wasn't hungry, but I got a "chipstix" for the road (to dinner). They're potatoes cut in a spiral shape, deepfried, and sprinkled with seasonings. (the picture is blurry because i was trying to be stealthy taking a picture of the kid)
Seasonings include curry and ketchup (yes, in sprinkles)!

Historic Da Shi (大溪老街)

When I went back to Taoyuan, we went to Historic Da Shi; I only have vague memories of going there as a child. We got some bubble tea "to go" for the excursion. What you see here is a "beverage thong" (丁字褲). Back in the day, if you got a bubble tea to go, they would put your cup of bubble tea and a straw into a small red and clear striped plastic bag with maybe some napkins. In an effort to cut down on waste and cost of buying plastic bags, you can carry your beverage in a "beverage thong". It is basically two loops melted together, one to hold and the other one to go around the cup. Very good for delayed consumption of beverages while wandering the streets of historic Da Shi (大溪).

Historic Da Shi is made up of rows of shop-houses (store in front, house in back) that sell anything from hand-crafted toys to household goods. One thing to note is that there are no less than 4 stores that sell dou gan (豆干) within a single block, as it is the specialty of the region. All the shops are connected by a common covered sidewalk.The seal says "Taoyuan Hsien Tahsi Hoping Old Street," which is half literal and half translated into English. Hoping is actually pronounced huh-ping; it means peace. Old street is probably best translated into historic street.
The facades to the street is an odd mix of western style Japanese colonial architecture and traditional Chinese flourishes.
You can see towards the rear of the photo, someone build more floors to their unit, reminescent of how people added apartments to coloseums in Europe during Medieval times. The restoration people left one Medieval apartment but tore down the rest at the amphitheater in Arles, France (les arenes d'Arles). (The bear's name is Guy. He accompanied me around Europe in 2003)
The prices are:
"vegetarian chicken" (素雞）-15 NTD
"hundred sheets" (like mille-feuille?) (百頁豆干) -30 NTD
"vegetarian stomach" (like meat-free offal?) (素肚) -25 NTD
"black dou gan" (黑豆干) -8 NTD
Those round things in the pot are the "vegetarian stomachs". They are basically just dou gan shaped like a pouch (which is supposed to resemble a stomach).

You order whichever variety of dou gan and they prepare it for you. In the pot, they are whole slices or whole rounds; when served, they slice it, drizzle condiments over it, and stab some sticks into the dou gan for ease of eating. To the bottom left are the black dou gan, to the right is the round shaped vegetarian stomach. To me, the vegetarian stomach was more "Q" (bouncy, chewy) than the others. Our condiments were a soy saucy sauce, red pepper sauce, and lots of cilantro. There are other options, such as bonito flakes, curry, etc.
Here is a site that shows the packaged type of dou gan as well as the snacks (小吃) you would buy off the street. The most famous makers of dou gan are Huang Da Mu (黃大目) , Huang Ri Shiang (黃日香), and Da Fang Dou Gan (大房豆干). It doesn't matter which one you buy your dou gan from, they are all tasty; they are all stemmed from the same family of dou gan makers, but the different brands came about after infighting among the brothers, as explained in fact #7 of this site.

Chocolate Billionaire

Of all the extremely wealthy people in the world, my favorite has to be Michele Ferrero, the guy whose father and uncle started Nutella. They also make Kinderchocolate and Ferrero Roche, two other of my favorites. There might not be a better way to make a living than to make chocolate for a living!

Making Sticky Rice (Yo Fan) (油飯）

Feeding myself presents its problems, as making large batches of food is much easier than single portions. I have a few go-to meals that I can stand eating for lunch every day; one of them is sticky rice. Sticky rice, (or 油飯, literally oily rice, yo fan) is a Taiwanese specialty mostly associated with Tainan (台南). The ingredients are simple:

Sticky rice (糯米）
mini shrimp (蝦米）
mushrooms (香姑)
soy sauce (醬油)
sesame oil (麻油)
meat, any type, cut into little pieces
peanuts, soaked in water first
carrots
The two secret ingredients that are a must-have are fried onion and white pepper, pictured here.
The process is very similar to making a risotto. Once you cook the meat and add in all the ingredients that had been soaking (shrimp, mushrooms, peanuts), add soy sauce to taste and cook on low heat for a long time.
Here's what mine looked like. I was running low on mini shrimp, so it's not very colorful. The consistency should be sticky but not soggy like glue. It should have a bit of Q to it (chewiness).

A Poultry Valentine's Day

I realize it has been a month since Valentine's Day, but I am really quite proud of the entire chicken that I baked. I am not one who enjoys the sappiness of Valentine's, but I rather enjoy challenging myself with food (whether it is preparing it or attempting to eat roast chicken for an entire week). I have to give credit to Gudbjorg, because she and Kyle were the ones who inspired me to try baking my own chicken after a glorious dinner at their house in January.

As they teach you in home ec, always prepare vegetables before you prepare raw meats. Here, I chopped carrots, potatoes (red skin and russet), and celery. You can choose any combination to form your bed of vegetables.
It's an octopus! No, it's just half of an onion shoved under the skin of the chicken. Our old transcriptionist gave me this tip in reference to shoving 2 halves of an onion under the skin of a Thanksgiving turkey. It makes the meat more moist and naturally flavorful (and gives the bird some boobs).
Gingerly detach the skin of the chicken without perforating it, starting from the rear end, to make the pocket for your onion half. Side note: my mom made me that apron for Christmas! It is made out of waterproof upholstery fabric so it feels great but protects me from chicken juice and dishwater splashes! Also, note the Franziskaner in the background. No good cooking is done without a beverage near by.
I always have a grocery bag around for easy disposal of any rinds, skins, and in this case, chicken neck and internal organs. Creepy. I definitely would not choose to eat chicken internal organs.
I think I used 2 sticks of butter and a ton of different herbs and spices. I don't quite remember what all I used, but I think there was salt, sage, and a lot of basil.
Drizzle your butter and herbs over the chicken. I have yet to figure out how the meat on the inside gets its flavoring (I did make some cuts under the skin and try to baste the butter inside, but it didn't seem like it made a difference).
I wish I had taken a picture of the chicken when it came out of the oven. The herbs and butter formed a delicious golden crispy shell out of the skin. I know chicken skin is not healthy, but it was SO good. In the process of baking, the chicken juice and butter will cook the vegetables underneath. It took close to an hour of baking, but you should check the doneness of your chicken with a meat thermometer or make a cut in the deeper part of the thigh.
I ate roast chicken for a week. I don't want to eat any more chicken for at least a few more months.

VVG Bon Bon!

I was looking at my friend Candy's pictures on Facebook one day when I recognized the interior of the restaurant she went to was VVG Bon Bon. I would describe it as the patisserie embodiment of Kirsten Dunst's dresses in Marie Antoinette. Everything is either pink or frilly, including all the desserts and candies. I haven't been back to Taiwan, but hungryintaipei introduces VVG's newest offspring just as well.

VVG also has a brand new website. It looks like they converted the offices of their interior design entity into luxury condos. If you can afford the price, they are really in a great and trendy location in Taipei (with the added bonus of being across the street from two of Taipei's finest restaurants.

Vietnamese French Coffee

on a cold day a few weeks ago, Jench and I went to eat Pho at a Vietnamese restaurant. I had been for Pho many times before, but it was the first time I could finish the entire bowl AND have something afterwards. I prepared myself for the meal by not pre-eating (as is customary while waiting for one's dining partner), and was proud of myself for finishing the giant bowl of noodles and soup. After accomplishing my goal for the night, I ordered a cup of "vietnamese french coffee" to finish up the night. The little filter contraption used to make it is surprisingly cheap; you can get it for less than $5 here, and $6, $7, and $8 on Amazon. Because it typically takes a dark French roast, the coffee that is brewed is amazingly rich. Paired with just the right amount of condensed milk (a favorite of mine anyways), it is the perfect end to a big meal. You can also recreate the same flavor with turkish coffee, but the bonus of having a filter (no filter in turkish coffee) is that you don't drink any grounds at all.

Here is a primer on how to make Vietnamese French Style Coffee

How to Break Up Petrified Brown Sugar

I bought a bag of Trader Joe's Brown Sugar (pictured is just the sugar, without the brown) and left it in the cupboard for a very long time. When I wanted to bake cookies last night the entire bag of brown sugar was solidified into the shape of the bag. Good thing Trader Joe tells you how to re-soften brown sugar. I had to use a hammer to break up the solid piece into small enough pieces to come out of the bag. The proper way to make petrified brown sugar soft again is to put the sugar in a large bowl and drape a wet kitchen towel over the bowl over night. It worked like German engineering!

Melamine in me?

On a trip to the big Asian Food Market, I gave in to nostalgia and bought a jar of Horlicks - the gigantic-motherlode size. Horlicks is a malted dairy based drink (or is it because you mix it into milk that it is dairy based?) that we used to drink all the time while being happy bouncy kids in Taiwan. Mix a few scoops of the straw colored powder with some warm milk and you have yourself one sleepy kid. My favorite was when, sometimes, the powder didn't melt completely, and would form sweet sticky blobs at the bottom of the mug. Horlicks is made by GSK (holla! my former employer), and is widely sold in Asian countries, Jamaica, and England. I have only been able to find it in the USA imported from Asian countries. Usually, the jar is 400 grams, as you see on Amazon. The only size available at the Asian Store was 2 kilograms! FIVE times the size of the normal 400g jar! I've found the 2kg jar online for 10.99 British pounds, and also in Euros at 29.00 euros. According to google calculator, that's $16.42 and $36.59, respectively, for 2kgs of malty goodness. I think I paid $19.95, or about $1 per 100g.

When the whole melamine-in-milk scandal blew up in China and its associated businesses (which practically includes everybody), I got a little worried that my $20 worth of Horlicks would tragically be tainted with melamine as well; I would be enjoying its rich flavor at the risk of giving myself kidney stones. :-(

Luckily, it seems GlaxoSmithKline still sources its milk from English-speaking countries (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand). I looked specifically for Malaysian lists of safe dairy products because my 2kg jar is meant to be sold only in Brunei and Malaysia (translation: if you bought it in any other place, drink at your own risk). This list includes source information provided voluntarily by the companies themselves, which means it may not be 100% accurate. The products probably have to be tested individually to be sure. Although some of the sources for some of the companies look quite suspicious, (Campbell Cheong Chan (M) Sdn Bhd - Milk ingredient from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, France, Indonesia and USA...I don't quite believe that they could get milk from Singapore and Indonesia and not from China) I think (hope) Glaxo is a trustworthy company and would stick to their British roots.

If I get kidney stones, you know who to call. Until then, I will be scraping the sticky blobs of Horlicks off the bottom of my mug.

UPDATE: Hong Kong tested a bunch of dairy products and these are acceptable

Kiddie Food Critic!

I read this article in the New York Times and could not stop myself from "awwwww"-ing away. A lonely kid was tired of eating hummus alone while his parents were running late, so he went to the opening of an Italian restaurant and critiqued their food! SO CUTE! They should make it into a movie.

Tao, Midtown East, NYC

I should backdate this post to August, when my computer was broken, but I am too lazy. I went to Tao with 7 other friends on August 8 (reservation for 8 at 8pm, on 8-8-08). While everybody else was watching the Olympics' Opening Ceremony, we were eating copious amounts of sushi in a loud and huge restaurant. Reservations are months in advance, so make your reservation early (unless you are related to Uncle Richie).

Since it was the summer, we gravitated towards more refreshing dishes. Not pictured is the table-full of appetizers that we all shared. At first, the atmosphere was very much like a family dinner in a polite family. We were passing dishes around and making lettuce wraps for each other. When the sushi came out, the atmosphere changed to "fend-for-yourself."
By the time dessert rolled out, we were all in a feeding frenzy, digging madly at the mounds of ice cream and sweets.
Check out the little buddhas in white, milk, and dark chocolate! After dinner mints or after dinner buddhas?

Stanton Social, LES, NYC

Stanton Social is a bar/restaurant in the Lower East Side that was "the IT place" to go to for starlets back in 2005/2006. It is still a happening place, years later, as we had trouble getting reservations before 10:45pm on a Saturday night. For those of you who only go for the purposes of drinking, you really should try a few (or 10) of the dishes there. On a dark and rainy night, trust that Stanton Social's specialty cocktails and tapas-sized dishes will warm you up. Small groups would have a good time sharing the plates, but if you went by yourself, it is recommended that three plates will be enough to fill you up.

Well, because one of our party was related to one of the owners, we would order things and more things would come out with the things we ordered. Got that? Here are the tasty treats...I apologize for the quality of the photos. It was VERY dark inside the restaurant. I could barely see where I was aiming, much less read the menus lit by small tea light.

Crab cake corn dogs - very crispy, a little heavy to be the starting dish. - Tasty, but would probably have them serve it later in the meal.
French Onion Soup Dumplings - a portmanteau of asian soup dumplings and French onion soup. The cheesy crust is very tasty, but watch out for the HOT HOT HOT soup inside the dumplings. Six dumplings served in traditional escargot plate, with individual dimples for each dumpling. - Interesting combination that works. A Stanton Social special that should not be missed.
Chicken and Cashew Spring Rolls - I would have liked to see the "skins" of the spring rolls less browned and more crispy, but that's just the Chinese girl in me talking. It was hard to tell that there was cashews inside the rolls. - Perhaps it would be better if the sauce were more spicy than sweet?
Red Snapper Tacos - the upscale version of late night taco trucks' fish taco. The dipping sauce on the side didn't really augment the flavor of the taco that much. I was pleased that there was corn salsa inside the taco though. - Tacos with corn = THE BEST!
Herb-dusted Frites with Red chili aioli and ketchup - The fries were tasty alone or dipped in ketchup. Dipping them in aioli was a little hard to justify, as the flavor wasn't anywhere strong enough to warrant the added calories. I had AMAZINGLY delicious truffle oil aioli with frites before at Riviera, and I think that has spoiled me in the frites-avec-aioli category. - fries were good, but again, not very strong in the sauce department, are we, Stanton Social?
Stanton Social Beef Wellington - I could see how this would be the perfect meal if I had not had all those other tapas right before this was delivered. Filet mignon coated with delicious mushroom duxelles (minced mushrooms and spices) and foie gras, all wrapped up in puff pastry and baked. - If you don't get anything else, at least get the Beef Wellington.
Duck Confit Empanadas - duck confit has always been my favorite thing to order ever since I had a taste of its rich and crispy flavor at a restaurant in Arles. The strength of duck confit is that it is at the same time juicy and crispy; putting it inside empanadas is an interesting combination, but loses that crispy quality. - Despite that, I would definitely get the duck empanadas again. TASTY!
Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Ravioli - I once tried to make acorn squash ravioli and it was probably the worst thing on the face of the planet. These butternut squash and sweet potato ravioli at Stanton Social are a far cry from my acorn version. -Slightly sweet but not dessert-sweet, they are a good bridge between the "meal" and "dessert," at a restaurant where the progression of the dinner and courses are not well defined; eating outside the box, so to speak.
By the time desserts rolled out, my stomach had already left for the day. Note the double shot of dark liquid in the background. I believe it is espresso with Patron (tequila). One whiff of that and fly-weights like me will be drunk in a second. It is a very good way to end dinner/charge up for a night of going out.
The long tray is the Chocolate Sampler - Left to Right: "ring dings" (like truffles coated with nuts?), chocolate muffin, chocolate panna cotta, chocolate pudding (in the cup), chocolate gelato, and chocolate peppermint patties. The peppermint patties were VERY heavy on the mint...I would not eat it in one bite. Chocolate pudding was amazing, definitely try that and the chocolate gelato. The panna cotta was a little thick but very smooth. - For single ladies out there who spend weekends eating Ben and Jerrys Phish Phood while watching chick flicks, I would recommend putting on some clothes and ordering the chocolate sampler plate. Chances are you'll get your chocolate fix and maybe some drinks purchased for you by strange men. Win-win situation for everybody!
Last but not least is the warm donuts. These are the same donut balls you would get at dim sum (Hong Kong's version of tapas). The three sauces are raspberry, caramel, and chocolate. -This dessert wasn't out-of-this-world-omg-amazing, but it was a pretty good end to a very long meal.
Dishes I could not order but wish I had space for: beef carpaccio, chicken mole taquitos, tuna tartare roll; and for dessert, "Coffee for Two"

I definitely recommend getting reservations if you are planning on going as a group of more than 3 people. Each plate is designed to be shared among 3, but they will serve the food in servings of four and just charge you for one extra if you do go in a group of four. The bar scene was pretty lively, a good mix of down-and-dirty-LES-ers and yuppies/trust fund NYU-ers/everybody else. I've had great experiences dining out in groups, and Stanton Social is no exception. The servers are very friendly and eager to give suggestions, and they pace the plates in waves so that you aren't overwhelmed with a bunch of plates but the flow of food is constant. The total bill for 4 people, including 5 drinks, was around 200 dollars. I think that's a pretty good deal for dining out at a posh restaurant in New York.

Shaved Ice, Yuan Shu Ling

During a frigid torrential downpour in the middle of summer, I went back to the small town in Taiwan where I spent most of my childhood. It was only gloomy when we embarked on visiting our old elementary school, but the day became quite wet by the time we hit the old shaved ice store. I use the word "store" very loosely because it was just some tables set up in somebody's living room. In Slovenija they had similar house-restaurants called gostilnas, interspersed among tightly spaced houses. Unless you live in the neighborhood, these small eateries are hard to find, as they hardly post signs advertising their existence.

My old elementary school - It seemed much bigger when I was a kid. Perhaps if I were looking at the school from the perspective of the child laying on the ramp, it would still appear as big.My friend Angela seeking shelter from the rain under a lamp post. If you look carefully at the ground, you'll see how rainfall in Taiwan is unique (at least, I've never seen it in other places I've been to). When a droplet of rain meets its cousins on the ground, it doesn't merely join them in a big puddle. The droplet forms a bubble, floating on the surface of the puddles. Don't ask me why that is.What to do when there's a drenching storm outside? Eat shaved ice! Here's an alley much like the one where our shaved ice shop is located.
The brown one is chocolate flavored, and the yellow mound is passion fruit.
This one is called "trekking in the snow in search of berries."(踏雪尋梅 ta shue shun mei) The term is usually used to refer to the popular activity in Japan of trekking in the snow to look for cherry blossom trees in bloom, but the last word also means berries. Clever, eh? The little bit of yellow you see peeking out from beneath the strawberry syrup is passion fruit.

New Computer!!!

I am proudly writing this post on my new computer! The only bad part is that Dell preloads all computers with lame Vista. MWAHAHA by the end of the night it will be partitioned to less than 10% of the hard drive and I will be using linux again!

I really enjoy the feel of the keyboard! and a remote control that plugs into the extra card slot! and a 8-in-1 memory card reader! back-lit LED screen that is eco friendly and power saving! weighs 1/4 of what my computer used to weigh!

Can you tell I'm excited?! Look forward to new juicy posts as soon as I get time to load some pictures!!!

Technical Difficulties

Wow, it really has been a long time since I've posted. My old ThinkPad exploded, and while I thankfully saved all of my pictures on the external hard drive, I have no way of getting them on the internet. Please accept my apologies as you and I eagerly await the arrival of my new computer.


-the soon-to-be owner of a Dell seXPS

Rue Cler - Durham NC

Durham, North Carolina is one of the most deadly cities in America. One is more likely to be shot while walking around in Durham than in the most dangerous neighborhoods of LA or NYC. Knowing that, I find it interesting that it is also a city of glorious restaurants. One such restaurant is Rue Cler, found at the corner of E Chapel Hill St and Rigsbee St:

View Larger Map
The sun was just starting to set as we arrived at Rue Cler, and the slanted beams of dying sun flooded the entrance of the softly lit bistro. We picked a table next to the window, so that it seemed like we were almost sitting on the street; giving us a clear view of passers-by. The restaurant itself isn't decorated in any special style. The main dining room had the decor of a typical modern-looking restaurant, but then there was a perplexing little room next door that served as an extension of the restaurant. It was made to be a rustic boulangerie, quite the opposite of the polished main restaurant. Minus one point to whoever thought that one up. Another thing that was weird about the restaurant were the walls. It really seemed like they just took an old and dying turn-of-the-century store front and put up some Ikea-looking things in it, without caring that the ceiling and walls were VERY unfinished. It wasn't even raw-brick-contrasted-against-glossy-paint chic. It was more like there-are-foot-prints-on-the-unfinished-2-x-2's-nailed-on-the-wall-from-a-construction-worker's-boot. Look above the doorway that leads to the perplexingly rustic boulangerie. You'll find the dusty footprints.

The food itself was not bad at all. For the low price of $25 you can get the 2 course prix-fixe menu of something salad-like and something meat-like. For $35, you can get the complete three courses including dessert. What is a French meal without dessert?

Both Shanna and I got the radicchio salad with candied walnuts and little slices of mandarin oranges. I am definitely not a fan of the bitter radicchio. My French mom used to take away the sting of the radicchio with a sweet mustard vineagrette. The chef at Rue Cler skimped on the vineagre, but the salad was still pretty good as long as you made sure to have either a bite of mandarin orange or candied nuts with each bite of radicchio.
I got North Carolina shrimp with goat cheese and yuca. Yuca is also called cassava, and it is definitely not one of my favorite things. Perhaps I was expecting the familiar savoriness and starchiness of potatoes, but the unexpected crunch of the yuca confused my mouth while it was trying to enjoy the tastiness of the shrimp. I'm not sure that the goat cheese was necessary.
Shanna's second course was devine. The asparagus was cooked just right...tender at first bite but still sufficiently crunchy. The lone egg was a "farm fresh egg," which, as I noted before, is yellower and more flavorful than a grocery store egg. The yellow sauce is hollandaise, the CORRECT sauce to put over asparagus. (ahem....bearnaise is for steak).
Always a sucker for duck and brussels sprouts, I seem to have gotten into a rut of ordering duck every time I go to a French restaurant. The sauce was slightly sweet but mostly meaty, (with the added help of the lentils for body). The duck was barely cooked, still tender and juicy like it is supposed to be eaten. One thing Rue Cler knows how to do is meat.
Shanna got a shepherd's pie with a leg of lamb. Har Har, get it? SHEPHERD's pie and leg of LAMB?!
What is a French dinner with no dessert? Below is a crepe drizzled with chocolate sauce and creme anglaise.