catchanchan

Maple Bacon Donuts

2011-12-11T11:54:00.001-05:00

I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I am always excited about anything that is both salty and sweet. Like roasted duck with the plum sauce. Or sweet and sour pork. Sausage and pancakes. Chicken and waffles. Honey garlic chicken wings. Suckling pig with sugar and hoisin sauce. The list goes on. And to add to this now, is the simple maple bacon donut from Beast. This neighbourhood establishment has also served Anthony Bourdain when he was in Toronto in 2010, so anything that's good enough for him is good for me. I had one whole donut myself and not regretting it at all. Very satisfying on a Sunday morning after a good workout.

And look at the weird thing I noticed. Nacho and Humphrey are the same colour as maple bacon donuts. Coincidence? I think not!

Hipster's Guide to Gastown + Chinatown Vancouver

2011-12-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

My inner hipster was calling out to me on my trip to Vancouver. Loud and Clear. If you've got an inner hipster, you will appreciate the following destinations:

Roden Gray - Amazing clothing featuring local brands like Wings + Horns. Hipster staples like Rag & Bone, Alexander Wang, and Helmut Lang also fill the racks.

Bao Bei - Unpretentious Chinese food with hip interiors, a great cocktail list and the perfectly dimmed lighting. Susur Lee take note.

Old Faithful Shop - Features high quality hand crafted goods for the home. You will wish you had one of everything in your home.

Nelson the Seagull - Extremely yummy coffee in a great cafe setting adorned with Niche Modern lighting and Tolix Marais chairs. Did I mention they bake their own bread at the cafe?

Medina - Sunday morning brunch line up galore for waffles and lavender latte. So come early. It was worth it though.

Other places worth noticing are Inform Interiors, Alife, One of a Few/Two of a Few, and Lynn Steven. Equally as hip.

Picture of food from Bao Bei, Old Faithful Shop, Nelson the Seagull, and lattes from Medina.

5-course Chinese Dinner

2011-12-06T22:31:00.001-05:00

"My sister's coming over dinner!"

That means it was time for all the bells and whistles. I went directly to my Jacky Yu Food Life Attitude 2009 cookbook because I want to make a Chinese meal that had modern twists. The dinner was on Sunday and I picked the dishes and sent it to her on Wednesday. That's how excited I was. The meal was definitely well balanced as it contained vegetables, meat, and seafood. Here are the items we made:

Homemade spicy pickles
Clams in sake with noodles
Mustard greens in chicken stock with salted and thousand year eggs
Fried prawn in Thai basil and salted egg yolk sauce
Crispy roasted chicken scented with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves

If this is not a full course Chinese meal, I don't know what is. After the meal was served, we went at it like a pack of hungry wolves. Ok. Maybe just a pack of hungry corgis.

The highlight was definitely the chicken which was ultra fragrant. And here is the recipe.
You first marinate the chicken with 4tbsp dark soy, 2tbsp rice wine, and 2tbsp sesame oil. Rub the inside and out with 2 tbsp of sea salt and stuff it with 4 stalks of lemongrass and a big handful of lime leaves chopped. Marinade it overnight in a ziploc bag. The next day, take out the chicken and wrap it in aluminum foil. It then needs to be roasted first at 250C for 90 min. After, remove the chicken and preheat oven to 520C with the cast iron pan. Unwrap the foil while trying to save the juices as the sauce. Remove all the lemongrass and leaves from inside the chicken and place the bird on the hot cast iron a la Bittman style. Roast it for 10-15 minutes. That's what gave it the perfect colour and crispiness of the skin. Let it sit for 10 minutes for all the juices to settle and then cut and serve with the reserved liquids. When you taste it, you can really appreciate the infusion of lemongrass and lime leaves.
This dish will surely be on the menu the next time my parents are over for dinner. Who knew a simple roast chicken can be so impressive.

Geoffrey Lilge

2011-11-30T19:32:00.000-05:00

Canadian. Simple. Natural. Walnut.

Love.

Photos from Geoffrey Lilge

Living room light

2011-11-29T18:55:00.000-05:00

It took me a long time to find a light for the living room. There aren't any outlets on the ceiling and just to get that wired would have cost a fortune. This lead me down the path to find the perfect floor lamp for the space. My criteria included:

1) black shade to echo the drum pendant lighting in the kitchen
2) modern and unique design to fit in with the rest of the room
3) something that would not compete with the candelabra already in place.

After searching high and low, I ended up with two contenders:

1) BDDW's tripod floor lamp which looked super sophisticated

2) Roll and Hill's Excel floor lamp by Rich Brilliant and Willing that was fun and casual

The battle between the two went on for months but I chose the Excel floor lamp because the space should feel more relaxed. It is a unique piece and also quite a conversation starter. If I went for the BDDW, it would have been gorgeous too but likely wouldn't have stood out as much as it is sophisticated yet understated. The Excel floor lamp's cantilever drum shade also brought more light to the centre of the room. At the end I am super happy with this purchase and it will be something I continue to love whenever I see it.

Vancouver

2011-11-27T20:21:00.001-05:00

Here are my favourite photos from Vancouver. What a lovely city and I can't wait to visit again. Canada really has such diversity for travel.

Chinese Detox

2011-11-27T19:45:00.001-05:00

So our next vacation destination is Maui, Hawaii! I don't know if I can be any more excited. I love visiting cities but my inner granola also craves trees, water, mountains, fresh air, scenery ... all that natural goodness. But island setting also demands an island worthy body which I currently severely lack. We all know Christmas will be a lot of heavy boozing and eating so clean foods are on the agenda. For now. Less carbs and more clean proteins and vegetables. So to kick start a 2 month diet plan, I made steamed whole fish and winter melon soup on Saturday night. The wintermelon soup was tweaked quite a bit to include mushrooms, roasted duck, panchetta, dried oysters, dried shrimp, chicken stock and cilantro garnish. We had it 3 times over the weekend and finally finished it. The soup was super rich and nourishing. With all the added ingredients, there wasn't even a need for salt. The winter melon soaked up all the goodness and we managed to finish every less drop. Nothing like a meal that is tremendously tasty, good for you, and brings back a sense of nostalgia. Triple win!

Vegas

2011-10-02T21:55:00.004-04:00

People were overcome with shock when I tell them Vegas is one of my least favourite places to visit. When you are not into gambling, clubbing, or super high-end luxury shopping, there isn't much more to do. Luckily, I got to eat at a few good restaurants, got my outlet shopping fix, and saw a Cirque du Soleil show. The Cosmopolitan and Crystals shopping plaza did impress me though. The buildings are quite stunning and really redefined luxury in Vegas. It made it feel a little nicer than a Disney World for adults. All in all, I found a few things to enjoy but am glad to be back.

Creatures from NYC

2011-09-22T20:08:00.002-04:00

My abandoned blog needs some creature action to liven things up.

Paella and Lobster for Mum

2011-07-31T13:32:00.004-04:00

This is our first meal with my family after the backyard is done. It really is nice to eat outside (minus the few bees that were attacking our food). We made paella, grilled lobster and sangria since my mom really likes Spanish food and would frequent Spanish restaurants with my brother when they are in Hong Kong. We also had garlic bak choi and grilled back bacon but no photos of those (since they're just not as exciting). The grilled lobster was so yummy (love the charred shellfish flavour!) that I don't think I can go back to just regular steamed lobster for a while. Well, until winter comes.

Cheers to summer!

Corgis tuning in for Royal Wedding

2011-05-05T23:02:00.002-04:00

Can't not post. It is just too cute!

Before and After: Dining Room

2011-04-27T23:38:00.006-04:00

Well, not that much of a before and after other than the fact that we finally replaced the dining table from one Craigslist find to another. The Kayu table and bench set was originally from Design within Reach. But this piece was always meant for our soon to be completed back yard. I managed to find a Knoll Saarinen table in a great condition on Craigslist that I just could not turn down. The chairs are meant for the back yard too but for now, they will do. The Roll and Hill candelabra has certainly met its match and she is happy.

And looking at the picture, most of my pieces can find its way back to DWR (picnic bench, chandelier, chairs, mirror, Saarinen table). I better find a way to diversify!

Innovative Japanese House

2011-04-12T00:54:00.001-04:00

Only the Japanese would be so creative. But not sure about sleeping in the same room with mom at 39.

Some of my favourite Canadian Interior makers

2011-03-08T22:50:00.005-05:00

Furniture:
http://bensen.ca
http://commutehome.com
http://www.spekeklein.com
http://www.marthasturdy.com
http://www.bookhou.com

Lighting:
http://www.bocci.ca

Textile:
http://www.bevhisey.com
http://www.fluf-design.com

Family Dinner - Feasting

2011-03-06T13:41:00.003-05:00

Mark Bittman's Steamed and Roasted duck, Steamed crabs, and clay pot rice with Chinese sausage. Can it get any better? We still need to learn how to properly cut up the duck. Good thing I have my sister here to take care of things like that.

I also somehow always tear the skin of the duck as I am trying to bring it out of the pot after steaming. Turns out I need a meat hook (according to Pauline). Where would I get one of these?? Maybe I ask my parents to bring one back for me from HK.

Another tip my sister gave me is that if the clay pot rice is a little wet, just keep it covered for 5 minutes after you take it off the stove. I will definitely try this nex time. Family cooking. Sharing tips. Enjoying food. Great company. It doesn't get any better than this.

Kids

2011-03-06T13:37:00.001-05:00

...getting spoilage from the aunt and uncle.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

2011-02-14T22:50:00.001-05:00

Ok, I have a little sweet tooth. Hidden in the back behind my salty and spicy full set of teeth.

Mark Bittman's Simplest Whole Roast Chicken

2011-02-14T22:40:00.003-05:00

Anything looks sexier on a cast iron pan. Recipe here.

The Queen and Beaver Public House

2011-02-13T21:44:00.004-05:00

I can't stay awake any longer because I am so full. Full of prim rib roast goodness that is. If you can see me right now, I am leaning back and rubbing my belly. Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Oh the queen. Oh the beaver. You both stole my heart tonight (with your Prime Rib Roast, Yorkshire Puddings and all the trimmings) right before Valentine's day.

Sushi Kaji

2011-01-30T12:37:00.006-05:00

Another year of Sushi Kaji for Pat's Birthday. We get very excited for this meal because we know exactly what to expect and that is amazing Japanese food bursting with flavour. Because we expected excellence, when a few of the dishes fell short, we got disappointed. The crab meringue and uni were both lack luster. There was a ton of food so if they didn't give us those dishes, it would still have been more than satisfying. However, I would still recommend Kaji as the top Japanese restaurant in Toronto. I don't know why I am so focused on the negatives here, the rest of the food was clearly mouth watering and prepared with much technique. My favourite, which I did not expect was actually the Sauteed Monkfish. It had 3 different layers of Monkfish (I think they were belly, liver, and back) which brought in contrasting textures, something unexpected but nice.

This meal has got us extremely excited for our April trip to Hokkaido. Hokkaido is known to have, hands down, the best food of Japan. Everyone raves up the uni, unagi, squid, mutton dishes, and king crab. There is even a street known as the "Republic f Ramen'. As an ode to the upcoming trip, his birthday pressie pack included crab scissors and ceramic mortar (normally used to grind sesame seeds) from Everyday Japanese and put together a birthday gift pack for Pat. Included were also a super soft Shared hoodie and Wrench bottle opener from The Drake General Store. I love hunting for small objects of desire and seeing a gift pack come together.

A note to mention, my sister brought the sake she purchased from Kobe and that elevated the meal to a whole new level. It was an orgasmic experience with every sip. That is really the only way to put it. I think I drank most of the bottle. Oops!

Monday Eats

2011-01-17T22:03:00.004-05:00

Things happen when we have random items sitting in our fridge. All produce used were either acquired through the Ontario Artisan Share Program or Culinarium. Tonight, I was determined to make something with:

Angelo Bean Berkshire Baco Noir Infused Sausage
Red Chieftain Potatoes from Rose Mountain Farms
Green Cabbage
Fuji Apples from Warner’s Farm
Saskatoon Berries

With a quick search on Epicurious.com, I landed on the Cabbage with Sausage recipe. The instructions were simple and after chopping up a few items, I was ready to go. It didn't call for many spices and I had everything else sitting around which was nice. It was so simple that I half doubted the recipe. However, when we finally ate it, the flavours really came through. The cabbage and potatoes was made extremely flavourful with the sausage and beer. The waxy potatoes were satisfying and with a spoonful of grainy mustard, it made Monday feel a little better.

We finished off the meal with Apple-toon sauce, a recipe from the OAS Blog. It called for extra sugar but we found the apples were sweet enough for our taste. The recipe asked the dish to be finished with grated lemon peel which we really enjoyed. We rarely make dessert from scratch but with recipes like this one, we might just have to do it more often. It surely helped with injecting more fruits into our system, something that we never seem to have enough of.

P.S. The picture of the Cabbage with Sausage looks bland and does not do the dish justice.

Manor Weekend

2011-01-16T22:24:00.003-05:00

This weekend's feasting featured My Paella from 1080 recipes along with steamed lobsters. The recipe for the paella was surprisingly simple and easy to follow. I just wished we had a proper paella pan to form the socarrat. It is that yummy crunchy golden crust formed by the rice against the pan. Now that we have proven it is not that difficult, we will have to try again with the proper equipment.

As for the weekend, nothing quite like sharing good food with good friends with good wine. Even the pups had a lot of fun running free in the country and then relaxing by the fire.

Life is good.

P.S. They are now super pooped from leaping around in the foot of snow we got. They never seem to feel the cold though.

H-bomb

2010-12-01T23:26:00.004-05:00

This little terror landed in our household this past Saturday and has been stressing Nacho out ever since. He has been causing a bit of trouble so we have already enrolled him in Obedience classes. Nacho really spoiled us because she was so laid back. But with the introduction of little Humphrey, we need to enforce more discipline on both of them. Hopefully it all works out and no one gets hurt.

We are currently channeling Calm Assertive.

Pan-Sauteed Quebec Moulard Duck Breast

2010-12-01T23:18:00.003-05:00

I seriously cannot get enough of duck. I just followed a few quick instructions from Chow and this became the protein contingent in our dinner salad. The salad was just mixed greens with raspberries, dried cherries and pecans with a balsamic dressing. Everything took less than 20 minutes to prepare. I love quickies.

Zen

2010-11-22T23:10:00.003-05:00

Finally have my life back now that I finished my exam! Yes! And a week before that, I already asked my sister to book at Zen - a true gem hidden in a Scarborough strip mall. She told me about it a few years ago but we just never had the opportunity to go. Finally, we made it and it did no disappoint. The following are some of the highlights. My personal favourites included the PEI Oysters, Grilled Red Snapper Head, Tamago Sushi and the Sea Eel sushi. My brother would have been happy with this meal even though he always complains that there are no good sushi places in Toronto. It is more that we don't get the chance to take him to the good ones. ^__^

T-9 Days till the X'mas tree wakes up!

2010-11-11T20:24:00.004-05:00

Looking forward to adding even more treasures to my tree this year. Here are some highlights from last year.

My sources for X'mas ornaments include ebay, etsy, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn kids, Canadian Tire, William Ashley Warehouse sale and old stuffed animals.

This year, I already found a few cool pieces at West Elm and the Drake General Store. Can't wait to put them up! I love the Holidays!

French Laundry

2010-10-27T22:57:00.002-04:00

My Dwell Magazine Moment 3: Medlock Ames Tasting Room

2010-10-24T22:12:00.000-04:00

Medlock Ames tasting room was such a great treasure in Healdsburg. Urbandaddy, had a short article about them a few months ago and something about this tasting room drew me in. After a long bike ride from our hotel, we were glad to discover this hidden gem in Alexander Valley. Not only are they equipped with their own pizza oven, herb garden, hidden bar, and picnic tables, which already make them super cool in my books, they practice sustainable land management as noted in an article in Discoveries Magazine. I fell in love with their interiors which included re-purposed library chairs, warehouse pendant lights, and gray-washed douglas fir. The most interesting aspect though was that it was built on the footprint of the century-old Alexander Valley Bar and Store. You just can't not love a place that incorporates modern design with so much history.

My Dwell Magazine Moment 2: H2Hotel

2010-10-24T22:06:00.001-04:00

Just look at the pictures of H2Hotel, do I need to say more?

Well, actually I do. That's because not only does this place have great design details but their staff was laid back, unpretentious and welcoming. They were more than happy to give us and our friends free tasting room passes, bikes, and tell us where to go around town. With it's own pool, cocktail classes, interesting events, free bikes, and hip restaurant, it felt like it was so much more than just a hotel, but a resort. Even their seemingly plain continental breakfast stood out. I am usually the last one to rave about yummy pastries and granola mix but H2Hotel did have some goods ones for breakfast. At this hotel, we could have stayed a week in Healdsburg and not feel bored at all. H2Hotel is a big reason why we loved Healdsburg (North Sonoma) so much more than Napa.

My Dwell Magazine Moment 1: Glen Oaks Motel

2010-10-24T20:34:00.005-04:00

This little motel is definitely big on style. Here is why Glen Oaks in Big Sur won my heart and forever changed the way I feel about motels.

Every room is equipped with a fire place, heated bathroom floors and warm modern details. TV is one thing you won't find here but we were definitely well entertained. The trapezoidal communal fire pit gave way to great conversations with fellow travelers, sipping of wine and yuzu sake coolers, and eating of one too many smores. The general store just beside Glen Oaks made it super easy for us to pick up camp fire necessities. The owners always came to check up on us to make sure everyone had what they needed. We really enjoyed our stay here and would definitely recommend to anyone heading out to the Big Sur.

P.S. I also love all the succulents planted in the grounds of Glen Oaks. Those little guys just melt my heart with their beauty, architectural quality, and colour.

Mother Nature in California

2010-10-24T11:11:00.003-04:00

Pearson

2010-10-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

In a few days, I will be passing by here again.

Nuit Blanche 2010

2010-10-04T07:19:00.001-04:00

Slightly surreal. Although Nacho would freak out here as balloons are her #1 mortal enemy.

Veal Braciole in Tomato Sauce

2010-10-01T21:16:00.008-04:00

My attempt at copying Greg's recipe for pork shoulder braciole but done with veal and 3x the size. I used the Veal Cutlets from my OAS program. They were from their favourite artisanal butcher Guenther. Most importantly, the meat was tender and delicious.

Braciole Ingredients:
4 pieces of veal
1 cup of toasted bread crumbs
1/4 of a lb thinly sliced salami cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 of of chopped basil and Italian parsley
1/2 cup of EVO and a lug
twine
salt and pepper

Tomato Sauce Ingredients:
a lug of EVO
1 can of 28 oz tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
small bunch of basil, leaves picked
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut 8 pieces of twine 10 inches each.
3. Mix bread crumbs, salami, Parmesan cheese, herbs and 1/2 cup of EVO.
4. Flatten veal and season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on the veal and roll. (Channel sushi roll feeling here.) Use 2 twines to tie the veal roll.
5. Brush rest of EVO on the outside of the roll.
6. Heat grill pan and place veal roll on till grilled marks are all over. 2 minutes per side. 8 minutes total.
7. Put grill pan in the oven for another 12 minutes or till internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Right before grilling the veal, make tomato sauce.
8. Heat medium size pan and put EVO in. When pan is hot, add garlic.
9. When garlic is slightly golden, add basil and can of tomatoes.
10. Mash up tomato sauce and bring to boil.
11. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
12. Add salt and pepper to taste.
13. Serve tomato sauce with the veal braciole.

Stuff I did this summer

2010-09-26T21:50:00.004-04:00

Now that Summer is officially over, let's see how many things I was able to cross out. It doesn't seem like I scored very well.

- ~~Go to the beach with Nacho~~
- ~~Hit the Distillery - I miss Lileo, Mill Street, Soma, Balzac, Bergo~~
- Explore 2 Toronto Parks that I have never been to before
- ~~Explore the Junction~~
- ~~Go to AGO and Frank~~
- Go to the new bat cave at the ROM and lunch / tea at C5
- Make 10 portfolios of photos
- Try 10 restaurants that I have never been to (Already have more than a few on my mind: ~~Ame~~, Omi, Globe, Splendido, Earth, Lahore, Union, Edward Levesque's Kitchen, Holt's Cafe, Lee, ~~Frank~~, Gilead Cafe)
- ~~Finish the Kitchen - Still have lighting and lounge chairs to think about~~
- Antique Market shopping - Beaumont Mill in Glen Williams near Georgetown - 40 minutes from downtown Toronto, Aberfoyle, http://www.inglewoodantiquemarket.com/
- Local Antique and Reclaimed Equipment/Furniture Shopping - Queen West Antiques, Filter, ~~Smash Inventory~~, ~~Commute Home~~
- Kitchener Day trip - St. Jacob's, Farmer's Market, Timeless Shop
- ~~Smoke some ribs - with my egg~~
- Make pulled pork - with my egg
- Roast a turkey - with my egg
- Catch up with my PVR
- go to Centre Island with Nacho
- Play golf at least once (even if it means just ~~going to the range~~)
- ~~Go to Ikea~~
- Catch up on Lost, Gossip Girl, Glee, Big Bang Theory

Things I will have to do but don't really want to do:
- ~~file all the invoices that have been piling up~~
- ~~bring from uptown: golf sets, filing cabinet, christmas tree~~, snowboards

Bartlett Pears, Delicata Squash, and Royal Gala Apples from OAS

2010-09-26T21:30:00.006-04:00

I will be eating a lot of the fruit I get from OAS this week. Really need to detox before the retox in San Francisco. Maybe I can use this recipe for the squash? It is a recipe fom Grant Achatz. If I close my eyes while eating this, will it bring me back to Alinea?

Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

2010-09-25T00:45:00.005-04:00

This was made with red bell peppers, sweet Cherry peppers, and surprisingly, pistachios. I used an Epicurious recipe while substituting the chipotle chilies for sweet cherry peppers and tripling the quantities. Now that all the peppers are used, I can no longer pretend I am the Iron Chef Chairman. Sadness.

This week on OAS Program

2010-09-23T08:14:00.000-04:00

I really don't care that this stuff is organic, farm to table, ethically raised or local. Blah blah blah blah blah...

The point of this is to experience different produce that I wouldn't have normally tried. So far. Not bad.

On the Menu This Week

Royal Gala Apples (Warner’s Farm)
Parsnips (Hillside Garden Farms)
Garlic (August’s Harvest)
Bartlett Pears (Warner’s Farm)
Blue Russian Potatoes (Cherryvale)
Salad Mix (The New Farm)
Sweet Cherry Peppers (Top Tomato Farm)
Grape Tomatoes (Sovereign Farms)
Delicata Squash (Zephyr Organics)

Meat
Veal Cutlets. These come from our favourite artisanal butcher Guenther, who sources veal from humane, sustainable farms around Ontario that do not raise their calves in crates. Tender and delicious—enjoy!

Cheese
Cheese curds from Black River Cheese Company in Prince Edward County. Mmmmm...

Pantry Staple

Dried cranberry beans from Persall’s Fine Foods. These little guys are beautiful—speckled with red, with a rich nutty flavour

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

2010-09-21T23:09:00.005-04:00

This cauliflower dish comes from A.O.C. in Santa Monica, CA. The curry flavours were very fragrant and it gave life to otherwise ordinary cauliflower. I never bought this vegetable to cook before, even though it is rather common, so this will surely make me think of buying it again next time we are at the supermarket. Another item from the Food Share used and not wasted. Success!

Dinner Party Plans

2010-09-21T10:16:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday, a very much Jean-George's night:
Mango Salad, Cherry Tomato, Long Bean, and Tamarind
Lamb Chops with Lemon Garlic Crumbs
Grilled Sirloin with Shallot Soy Sauce
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Curry Mayo and Wasabi Mayo Dips
Green Tea Creme Brulee

This Saturday:
Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade (make ahead)
Planked Figs with Pancetta and Goat Cheese
Gazpacho soup with Truffle Oil (make ahead)
Spanish Garlic Shrimp
Garlic mushrooms and Asparagus
Grilled Herbed Baby Lamb Chops
Nick's Mom is also making paella

Wahhh colours!

2010-09-20T22:32:00.003-04:00

Like Chef Lynn says, "You taste first with your eyes." Look at the beautiful red of the beets contrasting with the fresh green mint. What a way to say bye bye to the warm weather and my ultra bloated weekend with Summer Beets with Mint.

Siamese Watercress with garlic, chili and dried shrimps

2010-09-13T23:31:00.002-04:00

This is my all time favourite Chinese veggie but for some reason, I never cooked it before. Finally tried it and I definitely think I will be buying it more often at T&T. I love this watercress because it just soaks up so much flavour from the different ingredients that you add to it. The stems are crunchy while the leaves are soft and light. I used a David Thompson recipe minus the yellow bean. Still great!

Boiled Peanuts...Thai Inspired

2010-09-13T23:18:00.005-04:00

Would I make this again? Probably not. I'm not a fan of the texture of boiled peanuts since they have that starchiness of beans. But since I got a bag of raw ones from the Ontario Artisan Share program, I figure I shouldn't let it go to waste. A lot of recipes online for boiled peanutes are Cajun style so I thought Thai spices might also work. I added lemongrass, chili flakes, chili powder, salt, Sriracha sauce, ginger, garlic powder and lime leaves. The taste came through very subtly and it wasn't quite as spicy as I hoped. Nonetheless, it was a fun experiment. We are definitely sold on the program. What a great way to try different local produce that you otherwise would not have bought or would not have easy access to.

Masterchef Birthday

2010-09-13T22:37:00.005-04:00

We had an amazing time at Greg's 30th Birthday bash. The surprise component was that teams had to make a dish with secret ingredients that each individual would bring and the birthday boy would have to judge. We were in team Iron Chef: Wolfgang Hugh, Bonnie Batali Nicky Flay, and Cat Cora Chan (I came up with that, although no one cared). Greg had to judge each dish on taste, time requirement, and presentation. We made prosciutto wrapped scallops and scallions with a tangy fish sauce vinaigrette. Every team put a great effort forward. It was definitely a tight race but somehow my team managed to win! YeS! The funny part was that everyone there was talking like the Food Network, describing the taste, textures, aromas, pairings to no ends.

It really is true that these days, everyone wants to know how to eat and cook better and EVERYONE is watching the Food Network. Fun times! And what a great idea for a guy that loves to cook himself.

Team Iron Chef's Prosciutto wrapped Scallops...half eaten

Team 2's Orange Bread pudding

Team 3's Store bought waffles with pears and nutella :)

Team 4's Roasted Fig and Goat cheese stuffed Pear

Some of Greg and Elaine's food:

Pizza

2010-09-09T23:48:00.002-04:00

My first pizza ever with a friend's trusted recipe. A lot of first for me these days. With the new kitchen, there is more room for gadgets. So got myself a pizza stone from the Big Green Egg Fest and a pizza peel from our Pittsburgh trip. The best part about baking is looking through the oven and seeing things change forms. That's my favourite part.

We will be having it tonight at the BBQ too.

BBQ Menu tonight:
3x Pizza
Mini Burgers
Steaks
Anthony Sedlak's Asian Spiced Chicken Wings
Jacob and Co Caesar Salad with video
Italian Sausages

Ontario Artisan Share Program

2010-09-09T08:26:00.000-04:00

Just got the email from Ontario Artisan Share Program. And this is what we are getting.

On The Menu This Week
Cauliflower (Tindall Farms)
Mixed medium-hot peppers (Sovereign Farm)
Leeks! (Cherryvale Organics)
Rainbow Beets (The New Farm)
Peaches (Warner's Farm)
Fresh Peanuts! (Kernall Peanuts)
Coronatation Grapes (Warner's Farm)
Red Sheppard Sweet Pepper (Top Tomato Farm)
Red Potatoes (The New Farm)--These sweet beauties are red all the way through--you can wow your kids with pink mashed potatoes!
Zucchini (Sovereign Farm)
Garlic (August's Harvest)

Meat
Ground Pork from Black Bow Farms. Check out the recipe below to make your own breakfast sausage!

Cheese
Whey Butter from Stirling! Instead of bringing you an actual "cheese" this week, we are thrilled to let you sample Whey Butter! Whey butter is is butter made from whey (which separates from cheese curds during the process of making cheese). It is stronger tasting and less shiny than regular butter, with a deeper, more yellow colour. I love this butter--let me know how you like it!

Pantry Staple
Extra-Virgin, Cold-Pressed Canola Oil from Pristine Gourmet. We gave you their Soya Oil earlier in the season--now you can taste this special Canola Oil!

Some dishes I have in mind already:
Roasted Zucchini and Garlic Pizza
Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic
Leek and Potato Soup
Grilled Summer Beet Salad
Roasted red Pepper Tapenade

This basket has got me more excited than I though. Can't wait to do this!

New Kitchen Nap Area

2010-09-06T18:03:00.006-04:00

Had to think long and hard before putting the kitchen together. I always think of a few options before diving into anything (and there is always a plan B and C and ..). This kitchen project has been my biggest one so far. It wasn't easy but I think it came together nicely with some new and existing pieces. It is always helpful that I have Croma to bounce ideas off of too. To make sure the whole thing felt continuous and unified, I started using a new tool I found online called pinterest and the kitchen inspirations and items have been posted to keep my thoughts in check. I took the following picture first because Commute Home wanted a picture of their finished product. More pictures will appear soon when I have more time to stage the kitchen. It always seems to be a mess these days.

P.S. I hate this picture. It's so blurry. Bad light and bad lens!

Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-06T17:42:00.007-04:00

Pure Serendipity.

Thomas Keller and I had a moment through these cookies. I went to Soma Chocolatier and bought dark and regular milk chocolate bars because I didn't know which ones I should use. Totally forgot to buy vanilla extract too while we were out. When I got home, I thought I couldn't make the cookies from the recipe I originally set out to make. Next thing I knew, the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook was staring me in the face and I decided to flip through it to see if Keller had a cookie recipe. Lone behold, he did have one that did not require vanilla extract and needed both dark and milk chocolate bars. That was the moment. The moment I knew that our upcoming French Laundry $250 lunch will all be worth it. (Yes it is expensive, but just let me justify it!)

Conclusion: I'm happy to say that the cookies turned out tasting and looking like the way they were described and shown in the book. Yeh!!!! It also helped that Keller had great instructions like sifting the cut chocolate and misting the cookies. No wonder he is a modern day master.

Gazpacho

2010-09-06T16:48:00.007-04:00

On the Pittsburgh trip, I managed to have 3 gazpacho at 3 separate restaurants - Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, Bona Terra, and Fallingwater Cafe. My spoon is always scraping the botton of the bowl when I have this soup. Acidic bite and garlicky punch really bring out the flavours of the tomatoes. It is a refreshing soup to have in the summer months. It turns out from looking at Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app (most recently went down in price from $4.99 to $1.99 after I bought it..argh), that it is quite an quick and simple soup to make. Really, you don't even need to turn on the stove. Easy!

I made this my own by adding fresh basil, 2x garlic, and 1 red chili. Next time, I might try to make it Thai-inspired by adding cilantro, fish sauce, lemongrass powder, red chili, and Thai basil.

Nacho and Lulu

2010-08-31T22:46:00.001-04:00

Heehee... Nacho making new friend...and then ignoring her.

Wahhh

2010-08-23T22:50:00.002-04:00

It makes me full just looking at these Chinese Birthday buns with a full salted egg yolk in the middle.

Poster Happy

2010-08-19T23:12:00.003-04:00

Orkposters.com

Smash

Fallingwater

2010-08-10T23:01:00.002-04:00

It really was all that I hoped it would be and more. I would love to see this again under autumn foliage. We were lucky to snap pictures while the tourists were not on the balcony. This is the money shot for the entire trip.

Magical. Serene. A true masterpiece.

Nonna's Tasting Menu at Enoteca Sociale

2010-08-09T23:16:00.004-04:00

Somehow we never managed to try Pizzeria Libretto but we found ourselves at their sister restaurant Enoteca Sociale which open recently on Dundas Street West. 5 of us decided on Nonna's Tasting Menu which included 6 courses of yummy home style Italian cooking. The use of fresh seasonal ingredients really shined through. The peas in antipasto were crunchy and sweet while the garlic scapes just felt right on this warm summer evening when paired with the lamb parmagiana. Things ended on the right note with the Sweetened ricotta, almond biscuit, and raspberries. I think I wanted seconds! Greedy!

Enoteca Sociale has done a great job in bringing Toronto more casual Italian dining experiences. Terroni's, you better watch out!

Caplansky's

2010-07-29T07:34:00.003-04:00

We were trying to go to Aunties and Uncles for breakfast on a Sunday morning at around 10AM and the line up was ridiculous. So we walked a little further east towards Caplansky's to try our luck. I ordered the special (beef bacon, eggs and potato latkes) while Nick ordered the Smoke Meat Hash (I actually wanted that too but figured we didn't want too much of the same thing). Caplansky's Smoke Meat Hash really stole the spotlight. I never knew cutting board leftovers mixed with onions and potatoes could be so heavenly. Mixed with their specialty hot mustard just made it all the better with that extra kick. I didn't let any little bit go to waste. Almost licked the plate...errks! Can't wait now to go back to do a lunch there.

Deli Duel

2010-07-27T08:35:00.002-04:00

Nick's parents and us were sampling some smokey goodness this weekend at the Deli Duel which featured Caplansky's, Goldin's, and the Stockyards. We were some of the first people to arrive and lucked out with minimal line up. Overall, the four of us thought Goldin's had the best smoked meat because of its favour, fat to meat ratio, tenderness, and quantity. However, Caplansky's won this grueling battle as they hand sliced the meat for four hours straight. Goldin's had it pre-sliced sitting in a warming tray which could be the reason why they lost votes. We found Caplansky's a little on the leaner side but had good flavour and some great hot mustard to go along with it. Supposedly it was a tight race, and I can definitely taste why. We were also wondering why we have never heard of Goldin's before and that's because they do not have a restaurant. They sell their product online and also at Free Times Cafe. Will definitely order one for our next party. As for the Stockyards, we found their smoke meat surprisingly too sweet, although it was quite fatty.

What a great way to try out some local eats. Toronto definitely needs more of these events that satisfy the locals and also raise money for a good cause.

Duck

2010-07-25T22:50:00.007-04:00

Braving the duck on the barbecue a few weeks ago. It is not a type of meat we eat at home ever, although we eat it quite often when we are out at French and Chinese restaurants. These are the two recipes I used. Because I could not steam the duck (lack of roasting pan or large wok), the raw duck was simply poured with boiling water as per recipe 2.

Chinatown Steamed and Roasted Duck
Crisp Roast Duck

The result was a very tasty dish. The meat was very flavourful but it was not quite fall off the bone just yet. I think I needed to either pour more boiling water on the duck or properly steam it. The skin also wasn't quite as crispy as expected (Peking duck style was on my mind). It is most likely because the duck did not dry enough before barbecuing and that the skin was not pierced quite enough to let the oils out. Still, we managed to finish the whole bird between the two of us. Further reading showed that peking duck required an air pump and hang dry for 12 hrs. Probably won't be attempting that at home any time soon.

This was definitely a good attempt. It will make me want to try another duck recipe again. Duck, it's not so scary after all!

NYC

2010-06-28T21:53:00.005-04:00

My favourite pic from NYC because of colour and symmetry. Taken with a Canon S90.

Shenzhen

2010-06-19T16:57:00.003-04:00

...not food related.

Barbecued Pigeons 紅燒乳鴿

2010-06-14T21:42:00.006-04:00

My sister demonstrating how to properly eat pigeons in Shenzhen.

1) Order pigeons whole. Cut up pigeon means you have failed!

2) Attempt to take it down in one bite. Even if it doesn't work, at least you gave it effort!

3) Because you know pigeon, attack the best part..the head (As a kid, somehow I decided that tasted really good..especially the brain. But I don't do this anymore)

Seafood Street Dameisha - Shenzhen, Guangzhou 深圳大梅沙新金盛海鮮酒家

2010-06-08T23:46:00.010-04:00

Another crazy LUNCH in Asia. No time can be wasted. MUST KEEP EATING.

Also, notice I am trying to add some action food shots. See last pic.

新合記北角

2010-05-31T22:50:00.005-04:00

Typical breakfast in HK...carbs and more carbs! Nick's not a big fan. But he has no choice when he is with my side of the family..Whahahhahahaa :)

Typhoon Shelter Crab

2010-05-31T21:54:00.009-04:00

Under the Bridge Spicy Crab
Canal Road at Lockhart, 2573-7698

Tony Bourdain sampled this traditional Hong Kong dish (crab with soy, scallions, salt, fried garlic) for the first time at this waterside restaurant long ago in an episode of No Reservations. I have only eaten at Under the Bridge Spicy Crab ever since it was, well, under the bridge. Last time I went in 2007, it was quite a 30-seater hole in the wall and now it has expanded quite a bit with many full family sized tables.

My siblings and I indulged in some Spicy Crab, Snails in Chili Sauce, Fried Prawns in Salted Duck Egg Yolk, and Fried chives for LUNCH. We had limited meal opportunities in HK so we had to make the most out of it. My brother does a lot of food photography too so it is always good when going out with him because him and my sister will properly stage the food for me (while Nick is usually grumping about the food getting cold). Notice how the crab is perfectly placed. Well, it didn't come like that. All the chili and garlic was piled on top of the crab but my bro moved it around for me so I can get a better shot.

For the spicy crab, we ordered mild (because my brother comes here quite often and knows the spicy levels) even though we LOVE spicy food and it was still very hot. This is not for the faint of heart. The fried garlic and chili flavours were very powerful and provided just the right amount of crunch to the crab. Since there was no way that we could finish all the garlic, my brother packed it home so he can eat it with noodles over the course of the week. We are all such piggies!

My brother also had some weird suggestion about not eating the end tip of the snail after you pick it out. He said that's where the poop stayed. I figured if it were being cooked all together anyway, then the poop would be everywhere and thus I couldn't be bothered to bite off the tip on each of these little guys. And ook, I can still live to tell!

Cats

2010-05-31T21:41:00.004-04:00

Here are Evil 1 and Evil 2 straight from HK.

Miss you

2010-05-21T10:43:00.003-04:00

I miss my blog.

Stuff I want to do this Summer

2010-04-27T13:27:00.007-04:00

- Go to the beach with Nacho
- Hit the Distillery - I miss Lileo, Mill Street, Soma, Balzac, Bergo
- Explore 2 Toronto Parks that I have never been to before
- Explore the Junction
- Go to AGO and Frank
- Go to the new bat cave at the ROM and lunch / tea at C5
- Make 10 portfolios of photos
- Try 10 restaurants that I have never been to (Already have more than a few on my mind: Ame, Omi, Globe, Splendido, Earth, Lahore, Union, Edward Levesque's Kitchen, Holt's Cafe, Lee, Frank, Gilead Cafe)
- Finish the Kitchen - Still have lighting and lounge chairs to think about
- Antique Market shopping - Beaumont Mill in Glen Williams near Georgetown - 40 minutes from downtown Toronto, Aberfoyle, http://www.inglewoodantiquemarket.com/
- Local Antique and Reclaimed Equipment/Furniture Shopping - Queen West Antiques, Filter, Smash Inventory, Commute Home
- Kitchener Day trip - St. Jacob's, Farmer's Market, Timeless Shop
- Smoke some ribs - with my egg
- Make pulled pork - with my egg
- Roast a turkey - with my egg
- Catch up with my PVR
- go to Centre Island with Nacho
- Play golf at least once (even if it means just going to the range)
- Go to Ikea
- Catch up on Lost, Gossip Girl, Glee, Big Bang Theory

Things I will have to do but don't really want to do:
- file all the invoices that have been piling up
- bring from uptown: golf sets, filing cabinet, christmas tree, snowboards

Dinners

2010-04-26T09:53:00.003-04:00

Monday:
Jacky Yu's Kung Pao Shrimps
Portobello Mushroom Zucchini Stir Fry with Oyster Sauce

Tuesday:
Leftover mac and cheese
Asparagus

Wednesday:
Gordon Ramsay Seared beef salad with pickled ginger recipe

Thursday:
Soy Sauce Chicken
Garlic King Oyster Mushroom & Baby Bak Choi

Friday:
Wontons & Noodles
Chinese Dry Fry Long Bean

Marais A56 Armchair

2010-04-13T09:28:00.004-04:00

Scoring 4 of these Marais A56 Armchair from Design Within Reach at a fabulous price from the Floor Sale List. These chairs are great for both indoor and outdoor. The description about them on the website is great:

The epitome of French café life, it’s rumored that Xavier Pauchard’s original Marais A Chair, which was designed in 1934, was created for use in the weather forecasting room on a battleship. Though never confirmed, demand for these durable chairs continued, inspiring Pauchard’s son to introduce an armchair version, the Marais A56 (1956). Crafted of sheet steel, the Marais A56 is available in varnished gunmetal grey. Slight surface abrasions and markings are characteristic of the material and part of its hardworking machine aesthetic. Rubber feet prevent damage to floors. The Marais Collection will stand up to the rigors of public use, but should be protected from wet weather conditions to maintain the finish. Stackable up to 10 high. Made in France.

I love armchairs and I don't feel that it is right for only the heads of the table. Talk about being unfair! In my home, everyone deserves an armchair!

Picture from DWR.

Dinners

2010-04-12T21:50:00.005-04:00

Finally got our lives semi back in order but Nacho is still in sunny Thornhill with Nick's parents. But with studies, there will be no blog posts. But no matter what, we still have to figure out what to eat for dinner. So far, Monday has been good. We never say no to sausage pasta, especially when it is spicy Italian ones. There is even enough leftover to pack for the both of us and the son. We will see how the rest of the week pans out.

Monday:
Giada's Fusilli with Sausage, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Tuesday:
Alton Brown's Baked Mac and Cheese
Rachael Ray's Tomato and Onion Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Wednesday:
Giada's Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette
National Post's No Cook Lime Mushroom Power

Thursday:
Thai Beef Salad

Friday - Going out!
The Queen and Beaver Pub

Hong Kong Happy

2010-03-29T08:32:00.003-04:00

I was wondering why the name Jacky Yu was so familiar when my brother recommended me to pick up his cookbook in Hong Kong. He is one of the 10 leading master chefs featured in Coco which I have recently received as a gift over Christmas. My brother thought I would enjoy this book as it fits many of my criteria:
- Has to have great pictures
- Has to be in English
- Has to have dishes that I would want to cook
- Has to be contemporary and relevant but taken from traditional methods

Jacky Yu's Food Life Attitude fits the bill. According to Coco,

Jacky Yu's restaurant Xi Yan, which opened in Hong Kong 2000, is one of the most coveted tables in the city. He has since opened three more restaurants in Hong Kong and one in Singapore, and with his own TV show and three bestselling cookbooks, Yu is China's most famous chef.

Reuters calls him "Hong Kong's answer to British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver" so I know the book is a sure win! I browsed through a few of the recipes and I liked what I saw. When I got back to Toronto, I read through it some more and was very impressed with his book. Thus I ordered all 3 of his Xi Yan Cuisine books online from 66eMart.com after some labourous searching on the internet. Luckily, I can have these delivered to my parents' Hong Kong address for $15HK. If I wanted it to be delivered to Toronto, It came out to a ridiculous amount of $290US. So I ordered it around 4PM HK time and by 6:30PM, my parents already got a call for delivery. Unfortunately they were out for dinner and the shop had no problems redelivering again at 9:30PM. Talk about efficiency and good customer service! Thoroughly impressed and will definitely shop from them again (only to be shipped to HK though).

Noce

2010-03-15T21:23:00.007-04:00

We went to Noce for Nick's birthday and people were bugging the crap out of me so I couldn't take as many pictures as I wanted to. Waahhhh.... :( I really liked this place too so I will need to go back next time and take some better pictures. Here, I only took pictures of the Scallops and Lobster Appetizer and Pear and Walnut Salad. Noce has that family restaurant charm and they treated us really well even though we were loud and rowdy. I had the risotto as main and could barely finish it. Good thing it still tasted good the next day.

Granja M. Viader

2010-03-13T08:33:00.004-05:00

Granja M. Viader is the oldest Milk Bar in Barcelona. Found these pics and decided to post now. Check out how cute the floor tiles are. Awwww....

Creme Brulee
Jamon Ibericon
Hot Dark Chocolate

Sushi Kaji - Loooong time ago

2010-03-12T22:04:00.003-05:00

My early days food pics 2 years ago...

- bad white balance
- bad crop
- bad focus
- weird composition

Yikes! Can't believe I submitted this as an assignment.

Ka Lung Court Restaurant 嘉麟閣海鮮酒家

2010-03-11T22:53:00.003-05:00

Not very happy with Ka Lung Court. We went to this place for CNY dinner because my sister had a good experience with it a few weeks before. However when we went, it was not what she had expected. When we were there, there was a huge 20 table gathering and the hall was not separated which was very annoying. Music was blasting and we had to sit through people giving speeches. A friend of ours even went as far as unplugging a near by speaker so that we can reduce the noise level from a 10 to a 9. Anyhow, the food wasn't great assuming it was because they had to serve this large group. The Geoduck fondue was not my kind of dish, especially when it was $129. I am always iffy about eating raw stuff at a Chinese place because preparing raw food for consumption is not our (the Chinese) forte. Anyhow, you do semi cook it but still, not my thing. Anyhow, the rest of the food came out slowly. The two eel dishes were good but everything else was mediocre. A couple of strange things to note, the shrimps in the Choy Pong Hai dish were sliced down the middle so it just looked like a whole shrimp but they were only half. I found that a little silly. How much money are you really saving and it ended up making the place look cheap. The paper wrapped pork ribs were recommended but it tasted like pork that has been put in the microwave with that strong pungent porky flavour. Hard to explain but those who experienced will know to never do it. Anyhow, enough said. Even though my sister said it was really good before, I will probably not want to revisit to test my luck.

Sizzling Sausage Salad

2010-03-11T19:58:00.003-05:00

Trying to get rid of a few items in the fridge before the move. With this salad, I was able to clear out a small jar of mustard and a pack of sausages. I also found some frozen strawberries in the fridge today. It must be at least a year old. Still not done though so I will be having another smoothie tomorrow.

Photos

2010-03-11T15:38:00.003-05:00

In an attempt to get better at my photography, I will be increasing the size of the pictures posted. I have fixed the last 3 posts to see how it works.

Steak

2010-03-09T22:08:00.008-05:00

I think I have fucked up enough steaks to finally know how to cook one. There's nothing sadder than a great piece of meat going to waste. This time around, I followed a recipe on chow but guestimated the timing with the bbq recipe secrets guide. I somehow arrived at 18 minutes based on the size of this monstrosity for a medium rare steak. I love visuals and when I compare my picture to these Steak Doneness pictures, I have achieved what I am looking for.

Breakdown of the 18 minutes:
It was a 2+ lbs, 1.5 inches cut of Cumbrae's striploin which I seasoned with Barbarian's steak spice, salt and pepper. I seared one side for 5 minutes, flipped it over and seared the other for 2 minutes and then put it in the oven for another 11 minutes.

Finish this off with a bit of truffle salt and all you can say is 'OHHHHH YES'!

Nick almost killed Nacho

2010-03-03T22:08:00.003-05:00

He decided to go down to the locker to get boxes. He got a set of box and left Nacho in that area with the elevator so he can get another set.
When he came back, the dog was gone and all he could see was the end of the leash going up the elevator between the closed elevator doors. At this point, he was scared that the leash has somehow strangled her.
He press the elevator for the elevator car that Nacho was in to come down but it did not. He finally got on the other elevator and took it to the main floor. To his relief, someone has tied her leash to the bench. The leash was a bit torn apart as it had been pulled up the closed elevator.

Geezus!

Moroccan Lamb

2010-03-03T20:57:00.006-05:00

Yum... sleepy....full....

Not much to say after a heavy lamb meal. Jamie Oliver, running our lives again... Recipe here.

Journey to Cassoulet

2010-03-01T21:36:00.006-05:00

I find the journey to discovering a new recipe for us pretty interesting. This one is a great example of how we discovered this hearty Duck Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet. It started with a snowboarding trip to Tremblant a few weeks ago. When I heard on the way back home, that we will stop in Montreal for brunch, I messaged our friends Mike and Diana. This was in hopes to find out where the duck specialty shop is since they introduced us to their products at bbq last year. At Le Canard Libere, we picked up a few slabs of duck liver, some prepared foie gras spreads, and some duck sausages. Without considering much on how to eat/cook any of these, we figured we would take it as it comes. Finally yesterday, Nick said he wanted to eat the duck sausages and it was up to me to find some recipe. And lone behold, I found this recipe online from Talk with Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook. If I didn't go to snowboarding, or didn't try Mike and Diana's foie gras, or didn't force Gary to drive us to the shop while in Montreal, we wouldn't be making this dish today. And that's how crazy and tasty things normally happen here. I find buying some different ingredient from the norm always forces you to try new things. Sometimes, starting with the ingredients does make things a little more interesting.

Hoof Cafe

2010-02-28T21:33:00.003-05:00

Amazing day of Hoof Cafe, Loose Moose insanity, and Canadian Men's Hockey Gold. Things certainly kicked off on high gear at the Hoof Cafe. My sister, Patrick, Nick and I went for brunch and waited 1hr before getting a table at 1:00PM. We were really hungry but gladly killed time at Enzra's Pound with some huge lattes. We got the following and everyone had their pick of favourites:

- Ploughman's (Chacuterie)
- Tongue Grilled Cheese (Pauline's Fav)
- Suckling Pig Benny
- French Toast with Foie (Nick and my Fav)
- Add a Bone (Pat's Fav)

Sharing really is the way to go. It gave us the opportunity to try a bit of everything and it was very very yummy. We had grapefruit and orange juice with the meal which definitely help us cut down the richness of the food. It was a very memorable meal and we will definitely be back to Hoof Cafe to taste the other meaty delights.

Veal Parmigiana

2010-02-23T21:19:00.003-05:00

In order to save time tonight (had to make a T&T run), I used a combination of a few recipes in order to arrive at this veal parmigiana. I made the veal using this previously recipe and a chicken parmigiana recipe from Pioneer Woman for inspiration for the sauce and cheese (which I added store bought tomato sauce but added more garlic and onions). My cheese never melted fully though because the pan I used actually doesn't have a lid. I also didn't have any fresh parsley so I added dried basil in hopes for some colour contrast but that failed miserably. At the end of the day, it was still a yummy dish worthy to be repeated, I guess that's really all that matters. Here is a picture of the veal while I was waiting for the cheese to melt. After 5 minutes and I saw that it wasn't going anywhere, I gave up waiting and dug in.

Soy Sauce Chicken 豉油鸡

2010-02-22T23:24:00.004-05:00

Combined a few recipes and now I can call this my own..whahahahaha.....
Sources of inspiration are from Rasa Malaysia, Chinesefood-recipes.com, advice from my brother and my friend's Soy Sauce Chicken Recipe that I posted before.

Ingredients:
1 Whole chicken (I got mine from Costco and it was quite large)
2 Star Anise
3/4 cup Light Soy Sauce
3/4 cup Dark Soy Sauce
1.5 cups Water
1.5 pieces of Chinese Block Sugar
A few pieces of Ginger
A few pieces of Green Onions
A bit of oil
A bit of Sesame Oil

Clean chicken and pat dry. Stuff green onion and ginger inside chicken.
Saute ginger and green onion with 1 Tbsp oil till fragrant. Add the 2 soy, water, star anise sugar and bring it to the boil.
Put in chicken, cover and cook in low heat. Turn over the chicken every 5 minutes until deep brown (about 35 minutes). Use a spoon to take the sauce from the pan and pour the sauce on and inside the chicken while cooking.
Sprinkle in sesame oil. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes each side.
Drain and cut chicken into pieces. Pour some cooking sauce over chicken and serve.

I found this dish very easy to make and the chicken came out very moist. I followed the Rasa Malaysia Recipe for the green onion dip but instead of ginger, I used ginger powder since i am not a fan of eating ginger pieces. It worked out well this recipe will most definitely be a repeat.

Jamie Oliver Leek Bake

2010-02-22T23:22:00.002-05:00

Yummy but way too rich and filling. Probably not a great way to eat vegetables too since this dish has a ton of cheese and heavy cream. I wanted to give it a try, and now I know better. I feel full just looking at this picture again.

Maple Yip Seafood Restaurant (Luk Yu)

2010-02-22T23:11:00.005-05:00

After a long drive back from Tremblant, I craved Chinese food (I rarely get sick of this) and Gary brought us to a place him and his family frequented in Scarborough. Maple Yip Seafood Restaurant was absolutely packed on this Sunday night. After waiting for 15 minutes (long for Chinese standards since they are all about the chop chop), we got our table and got started with our Chinese New Year meal. We had:
- King Mushrooms and Pea Sprouts
- Lobster with Maggie Sauce
- Pork Belly with Mui Choi 梅菜扣肉,
- Deep Fried White Bait (Bak Fan Yu) with Spicy Salt.

Everything was fresh and tasty. I rarely get to eat this pork belly and I am glad that Gary liked this dish too as Nick finds it too fatty and it is not something I can eat on my own. With some rice, this dish is true Chinese Hakka Comfort Food. This meal cost $65 tax and tip included for the 4 of us. Now that is a deal. :)

We are going back again this Saturday for Vince's Birthday Feast. Sooooo looking forward to it already especially since Gary already ordered a special soup. SLURP!

Tremblant

2010-02-22T23:01:00.003-05:00

Dinner in Tremblant was at Coco Pazzo, this Italian restaurant within the village. The crowd had mix reviews, but I found the overall experience to be quite enjoyable since the food was decent and the waitress was super friendly. The restaurant had a great atmosphere too. Although it is a bit more expensive than what we would have paid out in Toronto, we fully expected that due to its convenience at the Village. This place had some great set dinners and I would recommend others to get those since the price were similar to regular items on the menu but with appetizer and dessert. Pics I took of were the Carrot Soup, Caesar Salad, Tortellini Gigi, Linguine Pescatore, Rabbit, and Osso Bucco. Sometimes, if you set your expectations accordingly, I find that it is not as hard to be disappointed.

The Stockyards

2010-02-22T22:03:00.003-05:00

On a Sunday night, the boys and I embarked on a journey that involved meat, meat, and a wee bit of potatoes. With good reviews on their fried chicken from Toronto Life, we decided to give The Stockyards a try. The four of us ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Combo (with fries and coleslaw), a side of potato salad (because the girl at the counter said we should get some veggies), a smoke chicken, and a full rack of ribs. We had high hopes for the Fried chicken due to the reviews but we actually found the winner of the evening being the smoke chicken and the ribs. The ribs weren't fall of the bone but they were plenty tasty. The smoke chicken had a great flavour and they made the fried chicken pale in comparison. Overall, the meal was very filling and e we had quite a few pieces of chicken and ribs leftover. Maybe if I ate the fried chicken alone, it would be better. Oh...next time and I am sure there will be one.

Tip: Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are the only days they work the smoker and thus the only days you can get the ribs and smoke chicken.

Reading

2010-02-19T09:46:00.004-05:00

I have to admit that I never liked reading books as a child. For the past few years, my so-called 'reading material' consisted of magazines for interior design, fashion, and current events. You can catch me also flipping through cookbooks looking for the dinner inspiration or photography coffee table books to learn more about exposure and composition. I definitely consider myself more of a visual person. But this year, I sorta kinda promised myself to read a bit more novels and indeed I am finding it more and more enjoyable. It might also have to with the fact that I have a lot of time to kill on the subway now and reading fascinating stories rather than finance related study guides seems just a tad more interesting. Thus far this year I have read The Kite Runner and am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale. Not a bad start considering it is only February and I am by no means a quick reader. There are a whole bunch of other books in our current library that I should go through too, they include:
- Deception Point
- The Host
- Sting - Memoirs: Escape Artist
- A Son of the Circus
- Last Night in Twisted River
- The Cider House Rules
- Until I Find You

Lots of John Irving titles because Nick likes him. This should last me well into the summer before I need to buy anything else.

Butterfly Poufs

2010-02-17T21:49:00.005-05:00

Bev Hisey does it again. These poufs really resonated with my love for sculptural stools and seating. This would go perfect in my woodland themed study/office at the new house. I plan to paint the walls a crazy deep green blue with charcoal and white accessories. Hopefully, it would work out. Other things I love from her are the sightlines carpet, cross my heart carpet, die-cut tone on tone cushions, and embroidered ant cushions. It is also lovely that she is a Toronto based artist. Picture from MoCo Loco.

Design Stores that I wish were in Toronto

2010-02-10T23:12:00.006-05:00

Muji
Vincon
Conran Shop
MoMA Store
Jonathan Adler
Droog
Catherine Memmi
BDDW
Abitax
Phaidon Pop-up Store

Stores that I am glad are in Toronto:
Hollace Cluny
Ministry of the Interiors
Commute Home
Italinteriors
Filter
Design Within Reach
Magic Pony
Industrial Storm

Separated at Birth?

2010-02-09T20:20:00.001-05:00

Soya Sauce Chicken 豉油雞

2010-02-02T10:04:00.003-05:00

We tried this chicken at our friends place but I keep forgetting to try to make it. So easiest thing for me to remember is to put it here. Here is Jen's recipe:

1 whole chicken
1 cup light soya sauce
1 cup water
1 1/2 pc sugar cane
Green onion
Ginger

Note the amount of sugar and soya can be less if chicken is small.

-Wash chicken
-Stuff green onion and ginger inside chicken
-Add some Ginger and green onion into sauce pan stir fry
-Add soya sauce, water and sugar cane
-Add chicken into sauce once sugar cane is completely melted.
-Reduce heat and turn chicken every five/ten minute until sauce is thick or chicken is cooked.

I usually cover the sauce pan at least two time to ensure chicken is cooked. I also use a spoon to take the sauce from the pan and poor the sause on and inside the chicken will cooking. This will give the chicken more even colour and more flavour.

Bar Mut, Barcelona

2010-02-01T21:03:00.009-05:00

I don't know why I forgot to write about Bar Mut before but someone recently asked me for a restaurant recommendation for Barcelona and I have to say that this would be it out of all the restaurants we tried. The list included:

Day 1:
Cerveceria Ciudad Condal - Ready-made Tapas,

Botafumeiro - Old school seafood restaurant (Downed the seafood platter in record time),

Day 2:
Cafe Zurich - Super busy breakfast spot for quick coffee and a baguette,
Bar Mut - Review below,
Farga - Good for afternoon snacks and tea,
El Noti - International Cuisine in trendy setting (Very yummy too...completely wasted after this meal),

Day 3: Sick in bed. Write off. That's what happens when you try to eat 4 meals in a day.

Day 4:
Granja M. Viader - oldest milk bar serving up famous chocolate pudding (Nick wanted to go to any milk bar as the notion reminded him of Clockward Orange),
Bestial - Minimalist Italian restaurant by the sea (queue the lounge music),

Taller De Tapas - Tapas...even the crew of Vicky Cristina Barcelona ate here (Not very good paella...but apparently, Barcelona is not the place to go for paella),

Day 5:
Cuines Santa Caterina - Restaurant in the market featured in several design publications,
Udon - I was craving Asian food and settled... this was horrible, my instant noodles that I make at home is way better,
Inopia - Tapas from brother of World's best Chef that's not worth the wait (good fried chicken strips though that were battered with potato chip bits...completely wasted after this meal),

All very different and unique.

Bar Mut is located at the top end of the Eixample which makes it a great stop after some crazy shopping. Notice how we bought something from Vincon, a super fun interior design store with a ton of little nick nacks and also more substantial furniture pieces. The restaurant was not an awfully pricey or extravagant one but the food was definitely yummier than Inopia (World's Best Chef's brother's Tapas Bar), where we had to wait 2 hours for a table. I hate waiting for tables. I usually do it and then regret it afterward.

Anyhow, Bar Mut was a small place and we sat at the counter. The menu was all in Spanish so we didn't know what was there other than foie. The waiter so kindly spoke to us in English and asked us if we had any dietary restrictions. Obviously none. He then suggested a few things and we selected seared scallops, lobster pancake, foie, and suckling pig. I can never turn down suckling pig. Everything was fresh with bold flavours. The portions were big and the service was good. Happy campers! No we didn't buy any Campers though.

Sushi Kaji

2010-01-31T16:42:00.014-05:00

For Patrick's birthday, we decided to do a repeat of 2 years ago at Sushi Kaji. Last time we were there, we sat at the sushi bar and my sister fed Chef Kaji tons of Sake. I took pictures then too but at that time, I just got my DSLR and was taking my digital photography class at Ryerson. I didn't know what I was really doing before so this time, I hoped to capture better pictures (with whatever skills I have gained since). Anyhow, the meal was awesome from start to finish. The first bottle of sake, my sister bought from J-town and the second we ordered from the restaurant. Everything was just bursting with flavour and the sake really enhanced the experience. I can't even think what was the best part of the meal because everything was super yummy. As for the pictures, I decided to post every course we had to capture the experience. So amazing. So yummy. Whoever said Toronto doesn't have good sushi has never been to Kaji.

Last but not least, thanks Patrick for treating us to such an amazing meal!!! :D

The Takumi Omakase went down as follows:
1. Deep Fried Bamboo Shoot Tofu
2. Assorted Appetizer Plate - Calamari, Fish and Seaweed Wrapped Fish Cake, Radish Salad
3. Crab Meat Sunomo
4. Sashimi - Amberjack, Lobster, Salmon, Tuna with Mountain Potato, Daikon Salad
5. Sea bream wrapped sticky rice with Cherry Leaf and Miso Sauce
6. Sauteed Scallops with Burdock Sauce
7. Fish cake and chicken cake with Grilled black cod
8. Unago on rice
9. Sushi - Uni, Toro, Unagi, and more sushi
10. Soba Noodles
11. Dessert - Green Tea Creme Brulee or Coffee Cream

Sake:
Okunomatsu zenmai dai-ginjo
Otokoyama junmai

My brother's 油鹽水蜆湯+芙蓉蛋 Garlic and Chili Clams in TY Egg and Cilantro Broth recipe

2010-01-29T22:22:00.013-05:00

Clean clams, heat pot with oil, throw in chopped chili and garlic slices, add fish sauce, add clams and sprinkle with sugar, stir around, add boiling water, as clams open, throw in plenty of chopped coriander and thousand year egg (peidan), boil till clams are open, sprinkle with white pepper and enjoy :)

Tip from big brother: Watch the clams, they overcook easily :)

When I saw this recipe from my brother, I knew I had to make it. It really is a combination of EVERYTHING I like: Clams, cilantro, garlic, thousand year egg, chili. How can I say no? Same day he posted this on FB, I went to T&T to pick up all the ingredients and made it immediately! It turned out to be EVEN more yummy and the broth was full of flavour. I need to make this again for my family to try!

I bought some garlic from Fresh and Wild this week because I ran out. I normally buy it at T&T because it is quite cheap. But when I saw the size difference, it made me wonder if I was getting a good deal all along. Left one from T&T, product of China. Right one from Fresh and Wild, product of USA. See the diff?! Is the USA one on steroids or something? Or is the one from China malnourished?

Found an interesting guide about cooking seafood.

Fergus Bear

2010-01-25T21:30:00.009-05:00

Cottage life is great. I get it now!

Weekend was spent in Warkworth, Ontario with a bunch of awesome ladies. We had Fergus Bear to protect us. No worries! Picked up the camera after a one month of hiatus and it felt good. Fergus Bear was such a good subject compared to Nacho. He managed to stay still while I captured his not so natural highlights. A month ago, he got sprayed by a skunk and hydrogen peroxide was called upon which resulted in this free salon treatment.

Nature treated us well and the weather was awesome. We went around town trying to harass neighbours but most folks were out. We managed to pick up a few soup bones from Century Game Park for the doggies. Threw them on the BBQ and they could not get enough of it.

Joshua

2010-01-25T21:01:00.001-05:00

Eying Kris Kringle gifts.

Looking for Inspiration

2009-12-28T13:10:00.004-05:00

Now that we need to look for more furniture, I have to look for more inspiration. I'm hoping that whenever I come across pictures I like, I can jot those down here and build up a collection of ideas that can be reused once we move. Everything is moving so quickly so I need to catch up.

The first pictures is from DWR. I really like this black (actually, the chairs are dark brown) and white combo. Love the look of the low back Juliana Armchair with the Knoll Saarinen Round Dining Table. It would be a good smaller table in the dining room if we invite just another couple of people over for dinner.

Unfortunately, I can't remember where i found the second picture. The black side light and the glittery back splash looks amazing. Of course, the gray and white doesn't hurt with the hits of muted yellows and blues. I also adore those wooden birds on the coffee table. They are Danish Kristian Vedel birds and I have caught them in a few design publications over the years.

Dinner Tomorrow Night

2009-12-22T21:43:00.004-05:00

Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts
1/4 pound thick-cut bacon
Butter (optional)
Sriracha hot sauce
Lime
Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. With a knife, trim the hard, woody ends of the sprouts, then slice in half lengthwise through the core.

3. Cut the bacon into small chunks and cook in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat till crispy, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

4. Drain most of the fat from the pan and add the sprouts, cut-side down. Raise the heat to medium high and sear until the sprouts begin to sizzle. Put the skillet in the oven and roast until the sprouts are deeply browned, 8 minutes or so, then shake the pan to redistribute them and ?ip them over. Pull the pan from the oven when the sprouts are bright green and fairly tender (taste one to check), about 10 minutes more, depending on how large they are.

5. Return the pan to the stovetop over medium heat. Stir in the bacon and, if you want, a pat or two of butter. Swirl till incorporated.

6. Place in a bowl. Add a few squirts of sriracha hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it, and a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve with anything.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Lists

2009-12-22T21:08:00.003-05:00

I've come to the conclusion that my blog is a great place to make lists of to do items and then actually try to do those things. I am officially hosting the NYE after party. It is the after party because a bunch of us are going to the Drake first and then coming by after to ring in the new year. I tend to go over board with parties just because it's fun and there's nothing more delightful then seeing plate after plate of goodies line the table. Here are the items on my buy list
- wine sausages (found these really good sausages at Fresh and Wild. They come in Pino Grigio, Chianti and some kind of Rose)
- cheese...a few (which reminds me that I have to find my cheese markers and the non-permanent markers)
- salmon mouse
- smoked salmon
- grapes (always have to have grapes)
- a few bottles of sparkling wine
- orange and lemon fizzy drinks (costco)
- bread
- cups for jello shots

We have a ton of crackers and chips so I think we are good on that front. I think people are bringing some alcohol too so I won't have to worry. That 1 litre of Belevdere can always be back up.

Anyway, will keep on adding to this list as I think of stuff.

catchanchan

Maple Bacon Donuts

Hipster's Guide to Gastown + Chinatown Vancouver

5-course Chinese Dinner

Geoffrey Lilge

Living room light

Vancouver

Chinese Detox

Vegas

Creatures from NYC

Paella and Lobster for Mum

Corgis tuning in for Royal Wedding

Before and After: Dining Room

Innovative Japanese House

Some of my favourite Canadian Interior makers

Family Dinner - Feasting

Kids

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Mark Bittman's Simplest Whole Roast Chicken

The Queen and Beaver Public House

Sushi Kaji

Monday Eats

Manor Weekend

H-bomb

Pan-Sauteed Quebec Moulard Duck Breast

Zen

T-9 Days till the X'mas tree wakes up!

French Laundry

My Dwell Magazine Moment 3: Medlock Ames Tasting Room

My Dwell Magazine Moment 2: H2Hotel

My Dwell Magazine Moment 1: Glen Oaks Motel

Mother Nature in California

Pearson

Nuit Blanche 2010

Veal Braciole in Tomato Sauce

Stuff I did this summer

Bartlett Pears, Delicata Squash, and Royal Gala Apples from OAS

Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

This week on OAS Program

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

Dinner Party Plans

Wahhh colours!

Siamese Watercress with garlic, chili and dried shrimps

Boiled Peanuts...Thai Inspired

Masterchef Birthday

Pizza

Ontario Artisan Share Program

New Kitchen Nap Area

Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gazpacho

Nacho and Lulu

Wahhh

Poster Happy

Fallingwater

Nonna's Tasting Menu at Enoteca Sociale

Caplansky's

Deli Duel

Duck

NYC

Shenzhen

Barbecued Pigeons 紅燒乳鴿

Seafood Street Dameisha - Shenzhen, Guangzhou 深圳大梅沙 新金盛海鮮酒家

新合記 北角

Typhoon Shelter Crab

Cats

Miss you

Stuff I want to do this Summer

Dinners

Marais A56 Armchair

Dinners

Hong Kong Happy

Noce

Granja M. Viader

Sushi Kaji - Loooong time ago

Ka Lung Court Restaurant 嘉麟閣海鮮酒家

Sizzling Sausage Salad

Photos

Steak

Nick almost killed Nacho

Moroccan Lamb

Seafood Street Dameisha - Shenzhen, Guangzhou 深圳大梅沙新金盛海鮮酒家

新合記北角