the eating begins - very first lunch

after i woke up from a 2 hour nap, i immediately started eating.  just for fun i weighed myself so i can see just how much weight i will gain from this trip.

the first place i want to eat whenever i come back to beijing is always bellagio, a taiwanese restaurant.  we ordered a feast - the waitress questioned our judgment.  

my absolute must have. stewed pork with egg, over rice. fatty pork, actually.

this is called "pi dan tofu" - it's a soft, cold piece of tofu mixed with chinese pork shreds (dried - never knew what they really are), and preserved duck egg. one of my favorite appetizers.

on the menu, this is called dragon something. it's a type of vegetable i've never seen anywhere else. again, another staple of bellagio that i get every single time.

this is a tofu dish in a clay pot, cooked with pork. really rich, seasoned and flavorful.

i don't even know what this is! i just asked my mom for some kind of fish and this thing appeared. YUMMY. i think it was some sort of white fish; it's sitting over one of those heating trays.

this one is a new one for me. spare ribs dusted with cumin - i think maybe a little untraditional but i had to try it. it had a nice kick to it - i was the only one eating this! i think there may be leftovers in the fridge right now...hmmm given my jet lag it might not be such a bad snack as i write this at 7:30am!

also - did i mention i got a nikon d80 for my birthday from destructor?? (he is the best!) thanks to the new snazzy camera, i am able to shoot all this wonderful stuff on my trip.

i also ghetto-rigged it with these great close-up lenses recommended by the guy at bel-air camera when he saw my face after telling me that the macro lens was $500 (on sale!).  who needs that when i can shoot close ups like this with those things?

this was the least interesting. a seafood noodle soup dish twice the size of my head, the flavors were confusing to me. the noodles were like chow mein noodles but the broth reminded me of some thai/other southeast asian dishes.

last but not least, another staple: "san bei ji" or "three cup chicken" - chopped chicken cooked with three types of sauces.

beijing

today i am in beijing. it's been nearly 3 years since i was last here, and this trip is definitely going to be an interesting one. it's sunday, and i just got here this morning. i lost my saturday, and it feels like i've had one day that lasted more than 48 hours, packed with 6 meals. my brain is foggy but i did manage to eat a ton of food already!

anyway, this is the new international terminal. never seen it before but it has the same feel as the old one. when you go through customs there is a button that asks you to rate the service, marked with smiley faces (or frowning ones).

my sister and i come home to a nice, simple warm breakfast (it's 7am). our parents got us chinese donuts from kfc. yea, they have everything at kfc here. all types of chinese food.

after breakfast, i took a nap. my parents moved into a new apartment so i've never been here before, but all my old furniture from high school is here...truly disorienting.

this is the view from my window. unfamiliar, yet still comforting...

peruvian chicken noodle soup for a sick boy

poor destructor was suffering from a cold, so i decided to bite the bullet and try this recipe i had been eyeing in my saveur magazine.

i had been really lazy about trying this mainly because the recipe called for simmering the chicken broth for over 3 hours. who has that kind of time? but since we were staying in all saturday, it was the perfect opportunity to make this.

the soup was amaaaaaaazing. i omitted cilantro (my arch-nemesis), and added tons of lime juice (i really like tangy flavors). the chopped green stuff you see is mint i decided to add (again, die cilantro, die die die!), which worked out really well.

you can find the recipe here.

images from an analog world

headlights on hollywood blvd.

red blinds.

nikes and sichuan food.

a stroll down hollywood blvd.

shot with a holga 120cfn.

sunday breakfast: savory potato hash with smoked trout

when issues of Saveur mysteriously started to show up in my mailbox addressed to my sister, i didn't complain. there is some great stuff in the mag and it's the only one i read cover to cover (sad - i'd like to claim the same for my Economist but this is simply not true)

there are so many recipes i've seen in all the issues i've gotten, but for some reason the one i spotted earlier last week needed immediate attention. it sounded simple enough and the description sounded delicious.

so i made a classic potato hash for breakfast on sunday morning. but it contains smoked trout, which was a cool twist. it was easy even though the actual cooking time was a little long, and there were pieces of potato, chives, and onions all over my kitchen after i was done. i looooove the creme fraiche that goes on top. mmmm.

i also made a nice little fried egg to go with it. we ate this while lounging around and watching real time with bill maher, where stephen moore of the wsj said some really crazy, crazy things.

smoked trout hash
4 tbsp butter
1 lb boiled and cooled russet potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 lb boneless smoked trout flaked into 1/2" chunks
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill (i didn't use this)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 clove finely chopped garlic
salt and pepper
creme fraiche
2 tsp prepared horseradish (didn't use this)
fresh chives (substituted for dill in the potatoes, and used for garnish as well)
1 lemon

heat 3 tbsp. unsalted butter in a 10" skillet over med-high heat
add the potatoes, cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes
add 1 tbsp butter and the chopped yellow onion
cook until onions are soft - about 10 minutes
add the trout, heavy cream, dill, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt/pepper to taste
stir to combine
turn hash in parts every 2 minutes, until potatoes are golden brown, about 12 minutes
divide hash between plates
combine 3 tbsp creme fraiche with the horseradish
garnish hash with sauce, finely chopped chives, and squeeze of lemon
servings: 2

recipe from Saveur Magazine, October 2008