2012-08-31 Vegetarian Curry @ Chez Buddha

For those who has been following our blog could probably remember my struggles with the one-month Buddhist/Taoist vegetarian diet last year, or the year before.  I admit, for the past couple of years, my veggie-only month only lasted fifteen days.  This year, for some strange reasons, it seemed a lot easier.  I was more active in the kitchen innovating and imitating vegetarian-versions of meat-based dishes.  Some turned out, while others didn't...but hey, at least I tried!!!  Wahahahaha!

I was craving for curry.  With two packages of vegetarian curry, I pulled out my electric pot and tossed in zucchini, carrots, potatoes, vegetarian squid balls and curry cubes.  The curry tasted off...different than the curry that we're used to.  Don't get me wrong, it doesn't taste bad, just...different.  Nonetheless, I still managed to finish this big pot after eating it everyday for a week.

2012-08-30 Munchies @ Lido Restaurant 麗都餐廳

4231 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC

604-231-0055

I picked up Buddha Boy after work and drove down to Richmond.  Since I'm still on my one-month vegetarian diet, Buddha Boy suggested to have dinner at the food court in Pacific Plaza 太古廣場.  I ordered two dishes from Woo Ying's Vegetarian 如意吉祥素食 while Buddha Boy ordered two dishes from Taikoo Yummy Food 太古美食.  With leftovers, we left the food court and ended up here...yup, for more food...wahahahahaha!

The restaurant was small, tight and felt very "Hong Kong".  Most of the menus were in Chinese with no English.  Service was questionable...it's courteous, but slow and inattentive.  So why were we here?  To try their famous pineapple-less pineapple buns, something that MomJ has been raving about on and on and on and on and on...well, you get the picture.

The Pineapple Bun with Butter 菠蘿油包 was good, really good.  The top was delicately crispy which complimented the soft bun.  The bun was sweet, but not overly sweet.  My advise is to eat it as soon as it's served...don't let the butter melt!

Of course, the chubby couple couldn't just sit in and order nothing but buns.  We each picked an item from their snack menu.  I went with an order of Deep-Fried Tofu with Salt & Pepper 椒鹽豆腐.  Pretty decent plate for the price except we couldn't quite taste the "salt & pepper".

Buddha Boy ordered the Deep Fried Wontons 炸雲吞.  The order of pork and shrimp wontons were decent for the price, however, nothing worth noting.

Buddha Boy and I plan to return after my vegetarian diet to try their late-night menu.  For the month of September, from 9pm to 11pm, late-night menu is 20% off.

2012-08-22 "Bi Feng Tang" Shepherd's Purse Dumplings @ Chez Buddha 避風塘薺菜水餃

A benefit of having friends working in head offices of large chain supermarkets is sampling food for free!!!  Yup, I'm cheap...hehehehe!  Octopus brought over a couple sample packages of "Bi Feng Tang" Shepherd's Purse dumplings 避風塘薺菜水餃 and I was quite excited.  I've seen this in supermarkets but never got around to try it.  After carefully reading the packing and the ingredients...WHAT?  No meat?  Grrr...

There's nothing BFT about these dumplings, it's just simply a brand name.  I cooked up a pack to try.  Some broke apart, but considering the dumplings were machine-made, the wraps were overall acceptable.  The filling didn't have much presence of Shepherd's Purse 薺菜 but was full of Shanghai bak-choy 上海小白菜 (commonly known in Taiwan as 青江菜 or 小棠菜).

2012-08-17 Dinner @ Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館

#2020 - 8766 McKim Way, Richmond, BC (Excel Centre)

604-231-8006

We haven't been to our former canteen since our last unsatisfactory visit (see post 2012-05-01 Dinner @ Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館).  We decided to give it another chance after picking up our friend, HoCloud (Octopus' "potential" then, boyfriend now), from the airport.  TG staff wondered why we haven't been there for so long.  After a quick chat with Raymond (owner's brother, who, apparently, was temporarily looking after Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館), I voiced our concerned about the garlic.  He insisted that they use no jar-garlic, especially when it's more expensive.  I acknowledged the response and stated that if not from the jar, then the kitchen must've chopped a load and soaked in water/oil for ease, Raymond nodded.  Then, Raymond actually challenged us by counter-attacking and insisted that there shouldn't be any difference between freshly-chopped and pre-chopped.  On come on Raymond, you really think we're fat because we eat a lot and don't give a shit about what we eat?  If so, you're simply an idiot.

HoCloud has been looking forward to his visit to Vancouver for two reasons: (1) for Octopus (awww...how sweet) and (2) for "Canada crab".  You see, HoCloud is a prentice of my mom and he has heard MomM mentioned her love for "Canada crab" numerous times.  So, to make the his oversea short-stay worthwhile, we made sure he had a taste of our local crab.  We ended up ordering MomM's favorite Dungeness Crab in Ginger & Green Onion Sauce with Noodles  薑蔥黃金蟹加生麵.   According to Chinese Wikipedia, Dungeness Crab is known as 鄧傑內斯蟹, 鄧金斯螃蟹, 鄧津蟹, or more commonly, 黃金蟹.  When the dish arrived, MomJ and I were not too pleased...where were the noodles?  They ended up serving the noodles on the side, but it's just not the same...if you know what I mean...

2012-08-14 Cooking @ Chez Buddha

Another play date in the kitchen for the fat couple.  We previously received a Red Bean Cake Machine 紅豆餅機 just for signing up a TKEC 燦坤 membership in Taiwan.  Okay, the truth was, since we knew we're going to make purchases at TKEC 燦坤, Buddha Boy already scouted out online and knew what he wanted as a signing gift...another kitchen toy for the big boy!

Buddha Boy used his new toy and made some Custard Wheel Cakes 奶油車輪餅.  The crust was not crispy enough and the batter was not thoroughly mixed.  In the end, all I could say was...not bad for his first try.  :p

Three days ago, I made my pork version of the famous Taiwanese braised beef noodles 台式紅燒牛肉麵.  However, my husband was complaining that he prefers the clear broth.  So, being a lovely and a considerate wife, I made the pork version of the Clear Broth Stewed Beef Noodles 清燉牛肉麵.  To make this, I pretty much used the same ingredients but eliminated the bean paste, hot sauce, sa-cha sauce, soy sauce and black vinegar.  To add more depth to the broth, I added daikon and Taiwanese cabbage.  For meat, I used only spareribs.  The broth was stewed in my Tatung Rice Cooker 大同電鍋 (or, literally, Tatung Electric Pot).  After approximately one hour of cooking, I removed the inner pot and stored it overnight in the fridge.  The next day, just like the braised broth, I scooped out the fat and reheated in the rice cooker before serving.

Instead of buying dried packaged noodles, I made my own from scratch.  Unfortunately, I didn't knead the dough long enough...

Ta-da!!!  Here's the Clear Broth Stewed Pork Noodles 清燉豬肉麵 made by yours truly.  Both the clear and braised broths turned out pretty decent.  While MomJ and Buddha Boy preferred the clear, Octopus and I preferred the braised.  It's simply personal preference.

2012-08-11 Imitations @ Chez Buddha

Back in the days when I used to eat beef, I absolutely loved Taiwanese braised beef noodles 台式紅燒牛肉麵.  Nowadays, I could only reminisce the flavors in memory.  So, with lots of TLC encouragement from my husband, I decided to make a pork version at home.

In a large pot, I heated a couple spoonful of sesame oil then tossed in tomatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, scallions, ginger, pork belly and spareribs.  I then mixed in bean paste, hot sauce, sa-cha sauce, soy sauce, rock sugar, Chinese cooking wine and a few drops of black vinegar.  Next, I added water and a couple pouches of Chinese herbs used commonly for braising/stewing.  The pot was slow-cooked in low heat for approximately two hours before it was turned off and left overnight in the fridge.  Next day, I skimmed off all the fat and re-heated before serving.

For noodles, I went the lazy route and bought Long Kow Dough Sliced Dried Noodles 龍口台灣一把手刀削麵 from Kuo Hua Trading Company 國華台灣食品公司.  This was simply a package of machine-made knife-peeled noodles.

Ta-da!!!  Here's the imitation of the famous braised beef noodles 紅燒牛肉麵, my very own Braised Pork Noodles 紅燒豬肉麵.  Other than the missing cilantro/celery and being a bit saltier than expected, this home-made broth was actually pretty decent.  Not bad for my first try!  Hehehehe!

Buddha Boy joined in and had some playtime in the kitchen as well.  Using a local Cantonese-style BBQ duck, his first course was Duck Wrap 片皮鴨, an imitation of a dish served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).  Sorry hunny, for now, nothing beats Cherry Valley Duck 櫻桃鴨.

Buddha Boy's second course was the Duck Sushi 烤鴨壽司, another imitation of a dish served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).  Again, sorry hunny...it's just not the same...

With all the duck bones, I suggested to make a pot of Duck Bone Congee 鴨骨粥 instead of imitating the soup stew served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).

Buddha Boy's last imitation was his version of Black-Hearted Dumpling 黑心水餃 (see post 2012-07-17 Day 19 @ Taiwan).  This was not a bad turnout.  The filling had a strong black sesame fragrance, but, due to the sweetened black sesame paste, the filling was a bit too sweet.