Enjoying Shanghainese Food

27 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Shanghai

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Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Fu 1039, Jingang Food and Drink Shop, scallion pancake, Selfish Years, Shanghai, Shanghainese Food

While in Shanghai, Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed the Shanghainese cuisine, which is also known as Hu cuisine. In particular, we loved all of the soup dumplings in Shanghai, which I’ll go over in another post.

Aside from the soup dumplings, my favorite meal was at Fu 1039 restaurant (1039号 Yuyuan Road), which specializes in Shanghainese food. The restaurant is located in a refurbished old villa and is a part of a fancy chain of restaurants starting with the name “Fu.” We tasted two quintessential dishes there – stewed pork in sweet soy sauce and hairy crab with greens.

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The Delicious Food of the Hui Muslim Quarter

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Hui Muslim Quarter, Huimin Street, Muslim Street, Xi'an

Mr. Selfish and I were surprised to find that Xi’an has a large Muslim population. We decided to wander around the Hui Muslim Quarter, which is primarily off of Huimin Street, and sample different types of Chinese Muslim food. The quarter is quite near the drum and bell towers, which are very scenic at night.

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Succumbing to Western Food in Chengdu

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Chengdu, China, Food & Drinks, Mike's Pizza Kitchen, Peter's Tex Mex Grill, Selfish Years, Tex Mex

Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed the Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu but after a while, we started craving Western food. When I discovered that there was supposedly good Tex Mex and pizza in Chengdu, we couldn’t resist.

First, we went to Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill, which is a mini chain in China. Apparently, the first restaurant was opened in Chengdu by a Chengdu native. Mr. Selfish has been craving authentic nachos since we left the States. We’ve ordered it twice while in Thailand and both experiences left much to be desired.

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My Mouth is on Fire (aka Tasting Sichuan Food)

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Chengdu, China, ChuanBei Famous Snacks, Hot Pot, Numbness, Selfish Years, Shujiuxiang Hot Pot Restaurant, Sichuan, Sichuan Food, Sichuan Peppercorns, Wonton

Mr. Selfish and I held a belief that we could handle spicy food. Yes, I deliberately used the past tense in that last sentence. After experiencing the Sichuan (aka Szechuan) food, I seriously doubt our ability to handle spicy food.

Sichuan food originates from the southwest of China. It is known for its bold and spicy flavor due to the liberal use of garlic, chili peppers, and the Sichuan peppercorn. This peppercorn is unlike any other peppercorn I’ve ever encountered. In fact, it is not traditionally spicy but actually causes a numbness in your mouth that sets the stage for the other hot spices used.

We decided to try Sichuan hot pot at Shujiuxiang Hot Pot Restaurant. There was a long line out front so we figured it would be good. The queue was based on a number system. Luckily, the staff figured out that we didn’t speak Chinese and tracked us down when our number was up. At that point, we didn’t know how we were going to order since nothing was in English. The staff found a huge menu with lots of photos, and we just pointed to what we wanted. We chose the spicy red hot pot and then randomly pointed at meats and veggies to cook in it.

The hot pot is made of metal with a metal separator. Chili oil, chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns are heated until they come to a slow boil.

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The Non-Gambling Side of Macau

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei, China, Day Trip, Egg Custards, Food & Drinks, Koi Kei Bakery, Largo do Senado, Lisbon, Lord Stow's Bakery, Macau, Pork Chop Buns, Ruins of St. Paul's Church, Selfish Years, St. Dominic's Church

As I’ve noted previously, Mr. Selfish and I didn’t gamble much at Macau. Instead, we mostly wandered around looking for Portuguese similarities. We had found Lisbon to be quite charming (although cold and rainy).

The first thing I knew that I wanted was Portuguese egg tarts. The ones that we devoured from Pastéis de Belém in December made a lasting impression on me. Through my research, I learned that the ones from Lord Stow’s Bakery were supposed to be the best. After much searching, it ended up being inside the Venetian. They were very good but not as fresh, warm, and gooey as the ones from Belém. The turnaround in Belém was intense, and you could see them baking the new egg tarts in the back. At Lord Stow’s, it seemed just like a storefront. Nevertheless, they fulfilled my craving at the time for egg tarts.

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Searching for the Best Dim Sum in Hong Kong

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Searching for the Best . . .

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Asia, Baked Barbeque Pork Buns, Barbeque Pork Buns, China, Dim Sum, Din Tai Fung, Dumplings, Hong Kong, Maxim's Palace at City Hall, Searching for the Best Of, Selfish Years, Soup Dumplings, Taro Cakes, The Manor Seafood Restaurant, Tim Ho Wan

Mr. Selfish is partial to the dim sum in San Francisco, particularly the baked barbeque pork buns, since he’s had it since he was a kid. Since we were in Hong Kong for five days, we decided to try to find the best dim sum in Hong Kong, or at least some that would rival the baked pork buns from Mr. Selfish’s childhood.

First, we went to Tim Ho Wan, which is one of the few dim sum restaurants in the world with a Michelin star. It wasn’t fancy and the décor was quite lacking but the dim sum was delicious. Mr. Selfish was quite anxious to try their baked barbeque pork buns. Although they were sweet and fluffy with an egg custardy top, the barbeque pork was thick and savory. These baked pork buns are quite different from the ones in San Fran. Mr. Selfish still managed to eat four of them, and I had two. There are three buns in one order, which is a steal at 16 HKD ($2.06 USD) per order.

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Enjoying the Night Life in Kuala Lumpur

05 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Malaysia

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malls, Selfish Years, Tate, Times Square Mall

Mr. Selfish and I are not really party animals. Truth be told, we’re pretty much old farts when it comes to partying and clubbing in a big city. However, we do enjoy nice cocktail bars with fancy drinks. We hadn’t been to a swanky cocktail bar in a while, so we decided to go to Tate while in Kuala Lumpur.

The Tate’s website states the following as the introduction to the bar:

“Some days, Batman just wants to be Bruce. Not Bruce Wayne, just Bruce.

He wants to lounge about with his other hero friends, all of them in stealth mode. They stand at the bar and recount their adventures; play pool and puff on cigars. They are at ease, undisturbed by fainting damsels in distress . . . .”

It was an interesting introduction, and I was intrigued.

The Tate is located in the Intermark and is behind an unmarked door next to a hanging top hat. The bar is themed like a speakeasy during the Prohibition Era. All of the televisions were playing old Superman episodes, which me and Mr. Selfish found surprisingly hypnotizing.

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Mmmmmmmm…Malay Food!

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Malaysia

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Asia, Beef Rendang, Bijan, Food & Drinks, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, Malay Food, Malaysia, Malaysian Food, Nasi Lemak, Petronas Towers, Precious Old China, Satay, Selfish Years

While still in Orlando, Mr. Selfish discovered a beef rendang recipe on allrecipes.com and fell in love with it. Since there were no Malay restaurants in Orlando, we kept cooking this one recipe of beef rendang, which epitomized Malay food for us. We knew that we would try as much Malay food as possible while in Kuala Lumpur.

During our first night in KL, we walked to Kampung Baru to feast on Malay street food. The view from the night market of the Petronas Towers was magnificent, and the food was great to boot. First, we tried some delicious chicken and pork satay. They were cooked over an open flame to perfection.

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The Delicious but Expensive Food at the Conrad Koh Samui

21 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Conrad, Conrad Koh Samui, Food & Drinks, Hilton, Koh Samui, Selfish Years, Thailand

Mr. Selfish and I truly enjoyed our stay at the beautiful Conrad Koh Samui. The only downsides were: (1) the location and (2) the food.

As to location, the Conrad Koh Samui is quite far from the airport and pretty much everything else on the island. Mr. Selfish already went over how we hired Mr. Samui Samui to solve the issue of transportation. However, the location also made it very expensive and inconvenient to leave the property. As a result, other than a diving trip that we took, we stayed on property, which meant that we had to eat on property.

The food was tasty but man, was it expensive! Luckily, I am a Gold Hilton Honors member so we had free breakfast at Zest. We typically ate breakfast as late as possible to make it into a brunch and then had an early dinner. The breakfast spread was quite impressive. You could order an egg selection from the menu, including eggs benedict, English breakfast, etc., and then still eat from the buffet.

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Exploring Beyond the Sanctuary

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Phangan, Selfish Years, Thailand, The Sanctuary

Mr. Selfish and I loved our week-long stay at the Sanctuary. We attempted to explore Koh Phangan outside of the Sanctuary, but we didn’t really do that much. Here are a few of the places that we tried beyond the Sanctuary.

First, we walked to Bamboo Hutt for traditional Thai food. Although the food at the Sanctuary was delicious, their strong point was the vegetarian food, not the Thai food. However, you had to walk across a very rickety pier to get to the Bamboo Hutt so we only managed to go there once for lunch.

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I Didn’t Know Vegetarian Food Could Be So Tasty!

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Phangan, Selfish Years, Thailand, The Sanctuary, Vegetarian

During our week-long stay at the Sanctuary, Mr. Selfish and I ate many meals at the Sanctuary’s restaurant. The Sanctuary specializes in vegetarian fare and even offers detox packages as an extra option for a yoga holiday. Mr. Selfish and I did not opt to detox but we did enjoy the vegetarian food very much.

The Sanctuary’s restaurant is set right next to the beach. There were even hammocks on which you could lie and doze.

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The Best Cup of Coffee in Asia: Ristr8to in Chiang Mai

14 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Coffee, Food & Drinks, Ristr8to Coffee, Selfish Years, Thailand

I don’t know what it is about Asia but they sure do love their Nescafé (instant coffee) here. I personally find it quite disgusting but have been nevertheless drinking plenty of it to get my caffeine fix in the morning. When I found out that Chiang Mai had a fancy coffee shop, I knew that Mr. Selfish and I would try it.

We visited Ristr8to twice during our week in Chiang Mai. It was far away from our apartment but worth the trip. The coffee was perfectly brewed, had beautiful latte art, and was absolutely delicious.

The menu was a little intimidating at initial glance, but there are basically two steps to ordering coffee at Ristr8to. First, you choose the type of coffee you want – e.g., caffé mocha, flat white, cappuccino, etc. Second, you choose the type of beans – e.g., Ethiopian, Brazilian, blended, Thai, or decaf.

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Learning to Make Thai Food in Chiang Mai

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Cooking Class, Food & Drinks, Oriental Cuisine Thai Cooking School, Selfish Years, Thailand

Mr. Selfish and I have attempted to make pad thai on a few occasions. Each time, we failed miserably. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the recipes we had used may have included ketchup. As a result, I knew that we would take a cooking class in Thailand and learn the proper way to make pad thai.

Since we had a week in Chiang Mai, we decided to take the cooking class there. Chiang Mai has so many cooking schools available that it is a bit daunting to choose a class. I ended up choosing Oriental Cuisine Thai Cooking School, because we had the option to make pad thai, as well as a curry paste.

We took a quick trip to the market to buy the ingredients and then headed to the chef’s home to start cooking. Our chef was knowledgeable and funny. She also took a shining to Mr. Selfish after he said that he liked spicy food. Of course, his food was crazy spicy by the end of the day.

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Recuperating Between Temples at Downtown Siem Reap

02 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Cambodia, Food & Drinks

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Anchor Beer, Angkor Beer, Asia, Cambodia, fish spa, Haven, Khmer massage, lok lak, Selfish Years, Siem Reap, Siem Reap Night Market, Tuk Tuk

Mr. Selfish and I purchased a 3-day Angkor Archaeological Park for $40USD, so we maxed it out and saw as many temples as possible. In order to get around, we hired a tuk tuk driver, Mr. Nga. He was well-priced, always punctual, provided us with bottle water free of charge, and constantly had a smile on his face. We didn’t have to worry about negotiating with tuk tuk drivers every day because we had Mr. Nga.

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Hoi An: Vietnam’s Foodie Capital

24 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Vietnam

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Anthony Bourdain, Asia, Banh Mi, Banh Xeo, Banyan, Cao lầu, Cau Lau Noodles, Food and Drinks, Hoi An, Hoi An Specialities, Tiem Banh Mi Phoung, Tuyet, Vietnam, White Rose Dumplings, White Sail Café, Wonton with Salsa

Mr. Selfish and I have been all over Vietnam and accordingly have enjoyed the food throughout. However, I found Hoi An to have the best food in Vietnam by far. Aside from the regional specialties being amazing, I found the regular Vietnamese food to be better as well.

Mr. Selfish loves banh mi (Viet subs). We ate some in Saigon, Nha Trang, and Dalat, and they were so so. When he discovered that Anthony Bourdain had been to Hoi An and had recommended a banh mi shop (Tiem Banh Mi Phoung), he made certain that we went there our first day in Hoi An.

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