2010-02-13 CNY @ Chez Buddha

ADDRESS :  Buddha Family Kitchen

PHONE #   :  xxx-xxx-xxxx

This year, since Chinese New Year landed on a weekend, Buddha Boy decided to cook the family meal instead of heading out.

 

 Well, this was bought, not home-made - Baked Salty Chicken and Roasted Pork.

 

 We made a simple spicy dipping sauce with chopped thai chili and Japanese light soy sauce (less sodium).

 

 The minced ginger that came with the baked salty chicken.

 Buddha Boy made my favorite soup (also it was my dad, my mom, and my bro's favorite) - Yan-Du-Shian - bean curd ties, chunks of pork belly, chunks of smoked salty pork, ching-gun-choi (or some calls Shanghai Bak Choy), bamboo shoots, cooked in pork broth.

 

 Deep-Fried Chinese Donuts stuffed with Shrimp Paste (I think it's some kind of deep-fried tofu on the side...not sure...can't remember!)

 

 For spicy lovers - Spicy Pork Story-Fry!

 

 My mother-in-law insisted that she must make this dish since it's CNY!  It's got shitake mushrooms, some kind of root veggie, pork belly, fa-choi (or hair veggie), dry oysters, all braised in soy sauce.

 

 Buddha Boy made my bro's favorite - Lion Heads.

 

 Of course, must have steamed fish for CNY!

 

 Um...can't remember the name of this dish...Buddha Boy kept on trying for years but still couldn't quite get the right flavors!

2010-02-05 Lunch @ Red Robin

ADDRESS :  #112 - 4640 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC

PHONE #   :  604-439-7696

It was my birthday!!!  It was great being the one scheduling all the shifts at work, so I scheduled myself a day off.  Buddha Boy also took the day off to spend some time with me.  Since we're heading to watch a movie, we thought we will just have something quick and easy for lunch, we chose Red Robin at Metrotown.

 

We ordered Chicken Sliders for appetizers.  It came with three flavors - regular, BBQ, and spicy.  We both thought it was ok...nothing special.

 

 Can't remember what Buddha Boy ordered for his burger, but it's Red Robin, you can custom your burgers any way you like!

 

 Yes, for those of you who has been to Red Robin, you know what this was for - Chicken Fajitas!

 

 The grilled chicken strips and veggies for my fajitas.

 

Finally, the fajita wraps!

 

 Gotta admit, I LOVE the Red Robin seasoning!  A must for my fries!!!

 

 No MSG??????

2010-01-23 Hot Pot @ Chez Buddha

ADDRESS :  Buddha Family Kitchen

PHONE #   :  xxx-xxx-xxxx

I love having hot pots!  It's simple!  It's easy!  And it's a great way to get together with friends and not have to worry about who can or cannot eat what!  Can't go wrong with making your own food!!!  LOL!

This time we have four pots with selections of spicy or non-spicy.

Usually, if just the two of us, we just use one pot since Buddha Boy will accommodate me not eating beef.  However, when we have people over for hot pots, We usually have minimum of three pots (since one pot is no-beef).

Oh yea, since Olympics was just around the corner, we decided to show Quatchi and Muk-Muk what hot pot is all about!

Pop, Taiwanese sour plum juice, and of course...ALCOHOL!

Our meats and veggies - I was too lazy to take a pictures of each one!

Our DIY Sauce Table.

Buddha Boy made some Egg Dumplings - ground pork fillings inside!  A common Taiwanese favorite!

Our friends brought over some desserts, can't remember whether it's from Thomas Haas or Chocolate Arts.

2010-01-16 Dim Sum @ Garden City Hot Pot

ADDRESS :  #1205 - 8788 McKim Way, Richmond, BC (Cosmo Plaza)

PHONE #   :  604-303-0909

We met up with couple friends at Garden City Hot Pot.  Since this restaurant is also owned by Top Gun Group, we can use our membership card to get 10% discount!  There are more varieties at this place then at Top Gun J&C, plus, if you want, you can also have hot pot for lunch! 

Steamed Lo-Bak-Goh - very flavorful!

Egg Custard Bun - hehe...we already ate two before I realized I forgot to take a picture of it...OOPS!

Thai-Style Chicken Feet

Can't remember the name of it...I think it's something like green onion pancakes...

Veggie Goose

Har-Gow - good!

Sticky Rice Stir-Fry

Buddha Boy's must-haves - Deep-Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls - this one was interesting as they also have seaweed and wasabi rolled together with the shrimps.  Quite yummy!

Pan-Fried Rice Rolls - as you can see from the plate, not too greasy!

This was the reason we met up.  Our friend brought us some pastries from Taiwan.

Pine Nut Puff Pastries - not really for us, we still prefer the pineapple pastries!

2010-01-15 Veggie Day @ Chez Buddha

ADDRESS :  Buddha Family Kitchen

PHONE #   :  xxx-xxx-xxxx

Since we're trying to eat a little healthier, we decided to have a veggie day every 1st and 15th of Chinese calendar.  This was my first time cooking a veggie meal at home.  Gotta love Chinese supermarkets...never knew you can have so many varieties in Buddhist-style veggie dishes.  Keep in mind that these were all VEGGIES.

Deep-Fried Chicken Patties

Taiwanese Crispy Popcorn Chicken

Ham & Cabbage Stir-Fry

Satay Fishballs

Cold Platter - bought from a veggie restaurant on Fraser.

Braised Pork Stew - bought from Lu Lu at Crystal Mall.  Lu Lu is gotta be one of the better places for veggie meals.  However, since it's a food court stall, they do have limited selections.

Cold-Marinated Green Beans

Combo Platter - bought from Lu Lu at Crystal Mall

I made some Vietnamese Salad Rolls.