Korean Chicken And Mixed Vegetables Bento Box (Chicken Japchae 닭고기, 잡채)

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

The reason why I love Korean food so much can very well be explained by the photo above.  For a lunch box at $10.95, it came with very delicious Korean BBQ chicken, a side salad, well seasoned mixed veggies, Korean pancake, Korean glass noodles, great al dente steamed rice,  and in addition to the lunch box; a bowl of soup, and numerous side dishes that includes potato salad,  and various yummy Korean pickles and seasoned veggies!!!  I come here a lot for this BBQ chicken lunch special because one lunch box has enough portion for both my lunch and dinner.  I also come here to pick up BBQ chicken lunch specials whenever I go picnics with my friends and family. A lunch box like this just makes fantastic food for picnics!!

Restaurant: Pine Tree Korean BBQ Restaurant
Address: 25890 S. Western Ave, Harbor City, CA 90710
Tel:(310) 325-1186

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Banana Foster Tarts

Recipe submitted by: Jane Ong

Knowing my limited cooking abilities, my mother-in-law emailed me a recipe that she claimed was so deliciously easy that it would keep me mellow at the end of my stressful work day and also make me feel somewhat accomplished about myself...

Ingredients: (Make 6 tarts)

• 1 package Keebler Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts
• 3 ripe bananas, sliced
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 cup brandy (I used Pierre Douchene Napoleon Brandy V.S.O.P bought at Trader Joe's)
• A pinch of cinnamon powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 375F, lightly spray the pie crusts with Pam Butter Cooking Spray and bake for 5 minutes.
2. At medium heat, cook butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan, stir until sugar and butter melt together.
3. Add brandy to 2) above, stir and heat until bubbly.
4. Add banana slices, gently stir until bananas are well coated with the liquid.
5. Remove from heat and let the mixture sit for a few minutes.
6. Spoon the bananas mixture into the pie crusts, sprinkle with cinnamon powder.

I think this banana brandy sauce will also be good on pancakes and waffles.

Cantonese Style Shrimp Chow Fun 乾炒蝦河

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

As lunch specials go, I consider the Cantonese style Shrimp Chow Fun to be one of the most satisfying.  At $7.95, I got a plate of aromatic flat rice noodles, freshly stir-fried with shrimps, green onion and bean sprouts.  On days when I don't feel like eating the same old rice for lunch (which I need to not feel hungry for the rest of the day), I opt for Chow Fun (fried flat rice noodles).  Among all styles of Chow Fun, I love the Cantonese style most because it's not drowned in greasy gravy.  Whenever it's available on the lunch special menu, I always order it because I don't think this is something that can be made in the average home kitchen. Making this dish requires very high heat and great skill of tossing and stir-frying on top of a very powerful stove.  Otherwise, the noodles will come out too bland and soggy, without the great aroma that's infused into the noodles from the high heat.  Even when it's not on the lunch menu, I usually just ask for it and the restaurant will make it for me.

Restaurant: Nice China Cafe
Address: 2543 Pacific Hwy, Ste B, Torrance, CA 90505
Tel:(310) 539-0323

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Japanese Big Fried Chicken

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Like chocolate, fried chicken is one of those foods that has tremendous universal appeal.  It's amazing how fried chicken can be done so similarly and yet taste so differently in different cultural renditions. I recently had a piece of the fried chicken in one of my favorite Japanese Ramen restaurants, I think I could be blindfolded and I could tell it was Japanese fried chicken.  Yes, it's this obvious to me and I am also a huge fan of KFC.  This Japanese fried chicken  just has this distinctive crispiness on the skin that has this burst of rich flavor for each crunchy bite.  The meat is very juicy, tender and amazingly seasoned.  As if all these great flavors aren't dynamic enough, the fried chicken comes with a side of seasoning salt. This is a special seasoning salt that gives the taste of this delicious fried chicken another kick of excitement.  As a big fan of fried chicken, I really love this one!  It's $3.00 for one piece, by the way.  

Restaurant: Hakata Ikkousha
Address: 21605 Western Ave, Suite J, Torrance, CA 90501
Tel:(424) 558-3953

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Korean Dumpling Soup 만두국 (Man Du Guk)

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I love dumplings. But I had never had Korean dumplings until today even though I go to Korean restaurants a lot.  It's because every time when I ordered steamed Korean dumplings or boiled dumplings in Korean restaurants, I was told the dumplings were sold out!!   It just made me even more curious about the Korean dumplings, and it therefore made me more eager to try them out.  I finally was able to order the Korean Dumpling Soup (laced with egg drop and topped with shredded dry sea weed) today at one Korean restaurant. I felt so lucky!! While I still prefer Chinese dumplings a lot more, I enjoyed the Korean dumpling soup very much.  The  broth was so soothing and comforting. I think the broth was infused with anchovy. But there was no obvious fish taste.  The broth  just tasted delicately delicious.  As for the dumplings, I think the filling is minced beef, glass noodles and some veggies, which I think were a little under seasoned.  But then may be it's supposed to be this way to be paired with the tasty broth and an array of richly seasoned vegetable side dishes. I love the side dishes in this restaurant because they made me love eating my veggies.  Besides, this restaurant always includes my beloved potato salad among the side dishes, while it varies the rest.  The dumpling soup also came with a bowl of rice on the side.  As a lunch special, it costs $11.95. But I usually stuffed myself up so much with all the side dishes and rice that I always ended up taking most of the dumpling soup home.  The dumplings actually tasted  better the next day.  Service can be slow, so I suggest ordering to go by the phone and go for pick-up when time is a luxury during lunch hour.  I was overall happy with the food in terms of taste and satisfaction.  I also love that I learnt a new Korean word today, "Man Du" means dumpling in Korean.    

Restaurant: Pine Tree Korean BBQ Restaurant
Address: 25890 S. Western Ave, Harbor City, CA 90710
Tel:(310) 325-1186

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Chinese New Year Food That Americans Can Serve On Halloween

Content submitted by: Jane Ong

Can you guess what this is by looking at the photo?  This is Pig's Hand Stew In Southern Chinese Miso, Chinese name is 南乳炆豬手, Cantonese phonetic: Nam Yue Mon Chue Shau. (I call the sauce miso because it's made with the same principles of fermenting the bean curds, but in this case, Red Yeast Rice is used for the fermentation).

I went to one of my favorite dim sum places yesterday and I discovered this off-the-menu special dim sum dish just by talking to the table next to me.  The couple at that table recommended this to me because they said I got to have the "must-have" Chinese New Year dish that was supposed to bring prosperity and wealth in the coming year.  Then I remembered my parents always had the dish called "Unexpected Wealth On Hand"  every Chinese New Year when I was growing up.  This is the dish that is made of stewed Pig's Hand with some special hair-like vegetables called Fat Choy, which has the similar sound as "Getting Rich" in Cantonese.  The sale and harvest of this vegetable has been banned by China since 2000, because the mass  harvest of it had allegedly caused desertization, which is bad for the environment.  There are now simulation fat choys in the market, and due to the huge demand for the real thing, there is actually a black market selling the real fat choys.  This sounds crazy.  I had it every now and then when I was a kid and it tasted nothing special to me. The vegetable had actually no taste at all, it's  like  extremely  fine glass noodles, but black in color.  

So when I ordered this special pig's hand stew, I was expecting it to come with the pig's hand and also some veggie (veggie has the similar sound of "Fortune" in Chinese).  But it turned out there were just the pieces of the pig's hand.  I took one bite and I spitted it out because it got the subtle  funky smell and taste like the fermented  bamboo shoot in Japanese Ramen.   I never liked this kind of smell and taste because it reminds me of "urine"...  I suspect that it's either the quality of the Chinese miso that was used, or the quality of the pig's feet.  It could be that the pig's feet wasn't thoroughly blanched and treated before being stewed. 

I used to love this stew when I was a kid. Last time I had it was a few years ago at a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong.  It tasted so good, and not fattening, yet it was really tender.  Back then, I loved the sauce so much I actually boxed it up to bring home to dress my steamed white rice.  I had never had this dish in America, but now that I tried, I don't think I will order it again.  But if you know which Chinese restaurants in America makes great Pig Hand's Stew in Southern Chinese Miso, please let me know.

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Taiwanese Pickled Ground Pork Rice With Marinated Egg

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I always love the little diners and tea houses in Taiwan whenever I visit.  I'm so happy to find a Taiwanese tea house within a short drive from my home to relive my vacation memory in Taiwan.  One of the Taiwanese dishes I love from my vacation in Taiwan is Pickled Ground Pork Rice With Marinated Egg, so that's what I often order whenever I visit this tea house.  I usually order a small size for lunch ($6.85).  It comes with a bowl of delicious meat sauce, a tasty marinated egg,  a bowl of steamed white rice, sprinkled with seaweed flakes, topped with corn and Chinese cabbages.  It's a comforting and filling meal, and it feels healthy to me because it's so balanced with grain, veggies and proteins.  The meat sauce makes the veggies and rice taste so good.  I'm not naturally a veggie lover, and I don't like the boiled and bland veggies side dishes in the typical American restaurant.  But I enjoy my veggies in this Taiwanese meal.  I also ordered a large iced Yami Coffee at regular sweet level (it tastes okay, not great), which is a mistake because it's pretty expensive at $5.13.  I will just stick with water the next time...

Restaurant: Yami Tea House
Address: 24705 Narbonne Ave #101 , Lomita, CA 90717
Tel:(310) 326-2650

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