Retro-Blogging: Summer, Part 2

Told you I'd be back sooner than later! Unfortunately, the reason that I can afford to blog today is because school was canceled as many others are due to the fire disaster around San Diego County. I hope everyone and their families are safe and evacuated if necessary. Where I am located, visibility is fine but the air quality is bad. As soon as I step outside, I can smell the burning. This reminds me of the fire storm in 2003 when I was still at UCSD--I remembered that it was snowing ashes and burning debris, and school was canceled for 4 days. I am thankful that my friends and their families, despite the threats to their homes, are safely evacuated. Mr. Tall's office is also closed so we are both home intently glued to the news on TV. Please stay safe out there!

Continuing on from the last post of my summer in the Motherland: at the beginning of my trip, a girl friend of mine from UCSD had the opportunity to stay with me in Bangkok for a few days, so we took a boat tour through Chao-Praya River and visited the Koh Kret (Kret Island) community. Koh Kret is known for their traditional, handmade pottery and delectable sweets. One of my favorite things that you cannot find anywhere else but Thailand is Ka-Nom Buong. It's sort of like a crispy, mini-pancake filled with coconut cream and Foy-Tong (golden and very sweet dessert made of egg yolks and sugar). The first four pictures show how they make these delicious morsels.

At last, the Ka-Nom Buong are gently folded into a taco-shaped, bite-size dessert.

As we rode around the Choa-Praya, we made various stops around the Koh Kret community. We also saw that the floating community and lives subsisting on the river are still vital in this day and age in Bangkok. We made a stop at small shop with various homemade handicrafts as well as fish cakes--Tod Mun Pla. The fish cakes are uniquely Thai because they are spiced with curry paste and served with the sweet chili sauce vinaigrette and cucumber.

The fish cake lady frying up the hand-formed fish cakes in the ginormous wok.

These fish cakes are served hot in a banana leaf bowl and topped with fried sweet basil.

One of the truly traditional Thai delicacies is Kao-Cher, or rice in iced Jasmine water. I know that sounds really weird, but it's really quite refreshing and delicious. The restaurant along the river that we visited was renowned for its Kao-Cher and traditional Thai desserts. It was actually my first time eating Kao-Cher and I really enjoyed it. The cooked rice are served with iced water that has been fragranced with Jasmine flowers. The rice is served with a variety of sweet and savory sides such as Mee-Krob (sweet crispy noodles), fried Kra-Pi (fermented shrimp paste), and pickled vegetables.

The desserts, including the one that is inside the Ka-Nom Buong, are made with egg yolks, flour and sugar and cooked in a large copper wok filled with syrup. The desserts are all hand-made. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had already finished the batch for the day (we went on a week day so it wasn't too bustling) so we could only see the finished products. They also make a variety of other desserts that you can take and enjoy at home. Because such desserts are so popular, there are other shops that hand-make their desserts in massive quantities.

The Tong-Yip is one of the egg yolk-sugar desserts. The dessert names have "tong" which means "gold" in Thai because of the golden yellow color of the sweets.

The neatly folded bunch of golden goodness are the Foy-Tong, resting before they are packaged. Here are some of the other beautiful desserts there:

Tong-Aek: bite-size sweets made of ground yellow mung beans and topped with gold leaves.

Sum-Pun-Nee: similar ingredients as Tong-Aek but colorful and usually molded with flower imprints.

The next stop we made was at a dessert house that produced a massive amount of Foy-Tong and Tong-Yod. One of the really cool things there were these old-fashioned candy that my mom was really excited to see. From old-fashioned gum to candy bars, my mom grabbed a few things for herself and my grandma to enjoy. The mass production of the desserts was really amazing. They are all still handmade but with the help of some interesting small machinery to help drop the Foy-Tong and the Tong-Yod into the boiling syrup. They sell kilos upon kilos of these desserts to retailers in Bangkok and all around central Thailand. We bought a kilo of the Foy-Tong to share with the family. The desserts are delicious but are quite sweet so one person could only eat so much before you are overdosed with sugar.

The Tong-Yod machine dropping bite-size rounds into the boiling syrup and then transferred into a resting pot.

The Foy-Tong man handling a load of the golden strands desserts.

Man, this entry is getting quite lengthy. I shall end with a handful more pictures from the rest of the trip to Koh Kret. I just realized that I took so many pictures from this trip that you'll all have to read about it for the next entry or so!

Handmade pottery before being fired up at Koh Kret.

Deep-fried flowers at a vendor.

One of my favorite non-foodie pictures: a pagoda at a Koh Kret temple.

I shall leave you with floating vendors serving noodles on the riverside. More good eats in Thailand to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Retro-Blogging: Summer, Part 1

This post is long overdue ... I have been meaning to post about yet another fantastic trip to Thailand this past summer, but law school has been life-consuming that I can't seem to find time to do much else. But here is a photographic summary of what I ate and enjoyed in the Motherland:

One of my first dinners at home: kao lad nah gai--simple and hearty chicken, mushroom and coagulated chicken blood (it's good--don't let the sound of it scare you!) gravy over rice

Moo satay--pork satay (you can hardly find chicken satay--pork is the meat of choice), served with peanut sauce and cucumber vinaigrette

Grass jelly dessert with lotus root, sweet plum, and ginkgo nuts--really cool and refreshing on a hot, humid day, which is practically everyday in Bangkok

There is a family-operated noodle house (which is literally in their house) nearby our house, where they hand-make Chinese noodles and use fresh crab meat in their absolutely simple and delicious dish.

One of my childhood favorite dishes: kao mun gai--"greasy" rice (rice cooked in chicken broth) with fried chicken, served with a side of sweet chili sauce and chicken soup

Yum Som-O: pomelo salad with shrimp and dry roasted Thai chilis (a Blue Elephant recipe)

Ka-nom Jeen (rice noodles) and red curry with chicken, coagulated chicken blood, and winter melon

Fresh mung-kut--mangosteen

Miang-kum: a traditional Thai snack of leaf wrap with peanuts, lime, red onion, ginger, chili, dried shrimp, toasted coconut, and topped with a sweet yet savory sauce

Noodles with stewed duck meat and Thai iced tea--a perfect lunch

Noodles soup with stewed duck

Kanom-Krok--coconut milk custard

Various cocktail desserts at a wedding

Foodie break: pwong ma-lai--traditional flowers for any Thai auspicious occasions

Meals on wheels--almost!

The traveling pan, frying up some glorious chives cake and dumpling

Coconut ice cream topped with taro, sweet sticky rice, and toddy palm seed

I've got many more pictures to share but I'll just end this first anthology of pictures with my I'm-a-selfish-sweets-addict-I-can't-just-choose-one-flavor birthday cake. I'll be back soon with more, I promise!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Retro-Blogging: Out & About

After almost an entire year of living in Hillcrest, I finally made it to Arrivederci a few months ago when Mr. Tall’s parents were in town for a visit. Mr. Tall and I have gotten takeout at the sister Pizzeria on the next block and their pizza was quite tasty. So, we expected the original location to be quite impressive as it is always, always crowded. It was a relatively early dinner on a Friday so luckily we beat the crowd. We were quickly seated right in the center of the restaurant.

It is very quaint and you just have to get used to the fact that there is an apparent space limitation. But that’s what is so homey and rustic about the restaurant. They had a very nice wine selection but I believe Mr. Tall’s parents enjoyed the house white wine that they ordered. For appetizers, Mr. Tall’s parents got a salad, which they said was good, while Mr. Tall and I shared the fried calamari. The dish came with some fried zucchini as well topped off with a squeeze of lemon and tangy marinara sauce; it was probably the best calamari I have ever had! The batter was light; the calamari was fresh—producing a crispy and easily enjoyable appetizer. I probably could have asked a bottle of their marinara sauce because it was so tasty. I love when the tomato is fresh and light, and not weigh down with that tomato paste consistency.

I was definitely not counting my carbs that night because I dove right in to the Spinach Gnocchi with a velvety cheese sauce (the dish was recommended by the waiter). The gnocchi were like little pillows of heaven! I barely ate a fraction of my plateful of food because they were very filling. Mr. Tall got the very rustic dish of Lamb Ragu. The addition of peas and carrots to the sauce made it light and not too tomato-y—just how Mr. Tall likes it.

I was polite and did not take pictures of Mr. Tall’s parents’ dishes, which means that I don’t remember what they ate—sorry! We were incredibly stuffed or else I would have definitely tried some of their desserts. Overall, Arrivederci was memorable and I hope Mr. Tall and I will return for another meal.

Several Saturdays ago, Mr. Tall and I were out on our usual Saturday adventure. We were at Fashion Valley and already picked up dessert at The Cheesecake Factory—Lemon Raspberry and Oreo Cheesecakes. Captain Jack’s San Diego Restaurant Review visited Limonz in Pacific Beach and I was salivating. So, after a day of shopping, we decided to check it out. Mr. Tall ordered the Half Roasted Chicken, which included tortillas, garnish, salsa and tops.

It’s a bit overwhelming at first because there are so many options, but having read Captain Jack’s review already, I knew what I wanted. Mr. Tall chose cilantro, lettuce and cheese for his garnish; cilantro rice and black beans for his tops. I went with two soft tacos—chicken and pork carnitas. I enthusiastically ordered the tops of poblano rajas and spicy pasta, achiote and mango habanero salsas. I don’t actually remember which went into which but they were all quite flavorful. The salsas were more like sauces, but tasty nonetheless.

I really enjoyed the tops and choices of the salsas; but I think because the restaurant is still relatively new, the traffic was not frequent enough (we were there early Saturday evening), the food was not as freshly cooked and heated as we had expected. Limonz definitely has a lot of potential so I hope that the word of mouth spreads that it is an innovative and delicious place to try. If only parking in PB wasn’t such a pain, I would visit there again. But I guess most places in San Diego with a good culinary selection don’t exactly have the most convenient parking. In short, Limonz = good, parking in PB = not so good, and needless to say, dessert was yummy.

A friend of Mr. Tall and I, Will, wanted to try this Thai restaurant to see if it lives up to my authentic Thai standard. Spices, located on Mira Mesa Boulevard, was a small yet welcoming
without being too cheesy or tacky with the “Thai” decorations. Will, Mr. Tall and I ordered the food and shared family-style—Pad Thai, Crispy Duck and Bangkok Chicken Curry. Like many Thai restaurant, the spice level was numbered. We ordered all the entrees to be at level 6, I think—the boys couldn’t handle as much spiciness as I could. The prices at Spices are a few dollars more expensive than most Thai restaurants, but the portions are worth it especially if you go with a large party. The Pad Thai was decent and had a good kick to it, but nothing impressive.

The Crispy Duck, served on a bed of fried noodles and topped with a spicy basil sauce, was actually pretty good—not so good as leftovers though as the fried duck became chewy. The Bangkok Chicken Curry was huge! The serving size literally had the entire breast, practically half a chicken, which lasted me 3 days of lunch after the meal! The yellow curry with chunks of potato, carrots and bell peppers was mild yet flavorful.

Typically, curries in Thailand are never served with carrots, bell peppers and the likes but I think that these vegetables have adapted well in these Thai dishes. My philosophy in enjoying Thai food is that unless you hit up Thai Town in Los Angeles, your food is not going to be entirely authentic. However, I approach each meal at a Thai restaurant as to whether they attempt to be as authentic with the availability of the ingredients, and adapt the recipes so that they maintain the integrity of the Thai soul of the dish while pleasing the palate. As much I often feel put on the spot and embarrassed to bust out my Thai in restaurants, it really does help because most of the staff I have encountered are very helpful in suggesting (or not) the dishes my friends and I would enjoy.

Now, I will leave you salivating with some of the sweets I recently indulged in, not all by myself, of course, at Extraordinary Desserts (Hillcrest location).

New York Cheesecake – The cheesecake was not so New York because the NY style is usually dense and heavy but this Karen Krasne’s version was so light and delightful.

Chocolate Croissant Pudding, served with Chocolate Ice Cream – My absolute favorite special—I can never resist ordering it when they do have it!

Viennese – White chocolate cheesecake layer sandwiched between two walnut cakes—not one of my favorites, I must admit.

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

P.S. They're opening a Pinkberry in Hillcrest around the corner right from where I used to live on 4th and Robinson--talk about timing!

Happy Summer!

Happy 4th of July to all! I found myself again back in the Motherland. Many adventures to come ... As soon as I can find that damn USB cable--I swear, I thought I packed it ... Anyway, please enjoy a hot dog, or two, for me!