Bread

The Joy of Cooking :) I really do love to cook. It's like chemistry or wood-shop, putting things together, using heat, and hoping everything comes out alright.

I think the kitchen is quite possibly the most important room and heart of the home. We gather around it, chat, eat and live from the kitchen. I have very fond memories of hanging out with family around the kitchen island, chatting, cooking and being fascinated with how things are made. My mother never cooked, so this only happened at big family gatherings like Christmas or Thanksgiving, so we celebrated food along with time together.

I didn't actually start cooking myself until a friend of mine started showing me how to cook things from scratch. I'd watch in wonder how easy she made everything look and how awesome delicious her food was. She gave me The Joy of Cooking cookbook as a gift, and it's one of the best gifts I've ever had.

One of my favorite things to make is bread. It's not that hard, but it takes a long time to wait for the bread to rise before you bake it. I love the smell of baking bread and the work your hands do kneading it. Yes I knead with my hands and without a machine. It's actually rather therapeutic. Anyway it's been years since I've made bread from scratch, and I did so last weekend and it was a lot of fun.

There are a few kinks to work out in the recipe and the process, before I start making it for other people. My brain and hands are a bit rusty for cooking, and I'm still getting used to the gas burners and oven in our kitchen. But overall basically a success. I'd give my bread a passing C or B.

With my cooking, this is one of those things where the journey is much more important and interesting than the destination. I love to eat, of course, but making bread is just way more fun than just eating it. I hope one day I'll perfect some recipes, and possibly inspire someone to start cooking from scratch too.

Empress Pavilion - Dim Sum!

As a foodie, and fan of dives and food trucks, we planned on going to the LA Street Food Fest downtown LA Street Food Fest LA this past weekend. It looked really cool, a bunch of gourmet food trucks getting together and you can try various trucks all in one place. Unfortunately it was in a very small venue in downtown LA, and way too many people. We were there around 11:30, it started 11am, and the line was around the block and around a parking lot - approximately 2 hours. Also once inside, it looked like a crazy line zoo, and we weren't interested in lining up for 3-4 hours just to eat. Turns out it was a good idea, as later on we found out it was a bit of a disaster with too many people and not enough food trucks or space.

So we brought our hungry stomachs to somewhere even better, DIM SUM! As the day before Chinese New Year, we went and had delicious Dim Sum at Empress Pavilion, a local favorite Dim Sum place in Downtown LA. Dim Sum is cool because you sit down, women with carts of various food roll around and you point and say "I want to try that". We had an assortment of things including pot stickers, pork dumpling shiu mai, shrimp har gow, steamed and sauced Chinese broccoli, roast duck, pork shao mai, deep fried something, and other delicious delicacies. For dessert we had sesame rice dumpling balls. So yummy! The whole time you are also served a very nice hot tea.

One really really cool incident. As we were walking out, I swear that Michael Voltaggio - winner of Top Chef Las Vegas was there. We walked by him and I was like, he looks familiar. Then he sat down to eat and I could see the tattoos on his arm and it looked exactly like him. I was seriously debating to go over there and bug him and say "are you Michael from Top Chef? Can I get a photo with you?", but I chickened out plus I really didn't want to bother him or be an annoying fan, so I didn't. I just thought it was awesome that he was there and really wanted to take a photo with him, but didn't. Who wants to be bothered while about to eat. So 2nd celebrity sighting of all time. Pretty cool.

Anyway, afterwards we had Lollicup Thai iced tea boba and walked around Chinatown for a bit. Then we got some dim sum to go for my mom and sister (pictured here too). A pretty awesome afternoon.

We plan on going back quite a few times and trying different things. The white guys we were with enjoyed the food as well, especially the pot stickers and other items they didn't know what it was but thought it tasted really good. We'll have to plan more trips with more people so we can try more things :)

Life and food are good - eat up!

Cowgirl Cafe 2

Cowgirl Cafe II
2859 Hamner Ave, Norco, CA 92860
(951) 371-5465

Ok this place is AWESOME! It's on my favorites list and i've only been there once. Maybe it deserves to wait longer to get on that list, but i'm eager to put this on there.

This place is located in the little western town of Norco (short for North Corona) in the Riverside area. Norco has large sidewalks built for horses, and you can regularly see cowboys riding past. In fact we saw a large gang of men in sombreros riding by, something like the 3 amigos only authentic and cool, but with 20 or more people. Anyway, where do you see that these days? Norco is a great little town, feels like an old west town in today's modern age. It's the neatest little place on the 15 freeway.

Anyway there is an original Cowgirl Cafe in Mira Loma that I will try if i'm ever out there, but we have a friend living near Norco so we'll probably only ever visit this one.

This place is amazing. Only open for breakfast and lunch, they have dishes called the "Kitchen Sink" which includes all breakfast items except, the kitchen sink, so it's an all inclusive buffet like dish that manly men have trouble finishing. It offers great value food, large portions and hometown taste. They serve all drinks out of various mason jars - SO COOL, and the ambiance is very, well, country like.

You will wait for a table, especially on Sunday mornings, but it's totally worth the wait. The staff are friendly, nice and accommodating.

I ordered the half platter of biscuits and gravy, with a side of home fries. I am not a huge fan of bell peppers but the way they make those home fries, oh so yum! And those biscuits and gravy - GIANT portion and oh oh oh oh OH so yummy. Maybe I was hungry, maybe, but that place had such a great hometown southern feel to it. Friends got a variety of other things, BLTs, Sausage and eggs, french toast, and all said it was delish. The place is a local favorite so you know it's great.

I got to eat a few bites of their breakfast burrito as well - YUM YUM YUM! That's all I have to say.

Go eat there! This place is so divey and local that I couldn't find a photo of it online - crazy huh? But alas whenever we go back i'll take a photo and post one here :)

Good eats, no, GREAT eats! :) It's places like this that this blog is made for! Mmmmmmm Thank you Norco!

Max's Chicken

Mmmmmm mmmmmmm delicious. We went with friends to a Filipino chicken place called Max's Chicken. It's a popular chain in the Philippines, and they have a location in Glendale California next to the Galleria, so we decided to try it out. The first time we went there, many many years ago, the service was terrible and the food pretty bad as well. So I was willing to give it another shot. I became a bit more nervous when I saw a pizza being delivered to the restaurant. I mean, where do you see pizza being delivered to a restaurant? But the place was packed on a Friday night and there were many groups of people there willing to wait for a table, so I was hopeful.

As we were seated, we walked by lots of packed tables with lots of yummy looking dishes. There's also a karaoke/sports bar within the restaurant so I may have to go there for my next birthday. We had excellent fast service from a nice friendly waiter, so obviously they had very much improved since the last time I went. Anyway here's what we ordered.

Max's whole fried chicken - OMG delicious! We had leftovers and on the car ride home it smelled like peanuts so I think their secret is they cook it in peanut oil - so beware if you are allergic? ask. But yes the food was amazing yum! Definitely better than Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles - and I may even say it quite possibly is better than KFC and El Pollo Loco, some of my favorite chicken places.

Lumipa Shanghai - that's the meat lumpia aka little taquitos that Filipinos are famous for and yes every white person I know loves them. Filipinos love them too - but the most popular white boy food. The ones at Max's were yum!

Lumpia Ubod - vegetable lumpia with peanut sauce all over it and filled with hearts of palm and other veggies in a cold crepe like wrapper. One of my favorite foods, but the one at Max's was "ok". Not bad, still alright, but not great.

Pancit Palabok - it's a noodle dish topped with an egg sauce, pork cracklings, green onion, shrimp and shrimp sauce, etc. It's a traditional Filipino favorite, and my personal favorite type of pancit. I actually really enjoyed it, but it does need a squeeze of lemon to make it tastier.

Garlic Rice - OMG! :) As a Filipina, rice is amazing and so yummy and I hardly ever cook garlic rice at home so when I do have it, I have to mmmmmmmmm. So I really enjoyed the garlic rice. May not be for everyone, but it's definitely one of my all time favorite foods. Max's made good garlic rice - very good :)

So that's my review of Max's chicken. Great service, great food, and prices about average. We're definitely going back there soon, and we'll try other things so the bloggers can get a nice view of all the different dishes. Mmmmm.

Pearl Vietnamese - Hong Kong

Details
(852) 2524 9435
G/F 7 Wo On Lane, Central, Hong Kong

Vietnamese restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong serving Vietnamese food as well as fast food variations. Favorite for local businessman and this place has the best sweet/sour/tangy spice sauce that it serves up at each table in pitchers as everyone douses their food with it. I could eat here for days and still want to come back for more.

Very very much a local favorite and hole in the wall. Warning - potentially very scary to newcomers but worth the adventure.

Spring Rolls - The BEST! Just order them and eat. If you don't like them, there's something wrong with you.

Frogs Legs - Tastes like chicken - ok but messy and lots of bones.

Ketchup Rice with Beef cubes - Good stuff. Not terribly healthy but great filler. The ketchup rice is red with a sweet tomato flavor and the beef cubes are seasoned with a Worcestershire flavor. It also comes with a dollup of mayonnaise which tastes quite good mixed around in even amounts with rice and beef cubes. Again not so healthy but good.

Shrimp crackers - Really yummy stuff. Wonderfully topped with a sort of taco mix of onion, seasoned chicken, diced peanuts, parsley, and of course you must douse it with the house sauce. I love the texture, crunch of the cracker with the soft topping and soggy addition of the sauce.

De Medici - San Diego Gaslamp District

Details
815 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA. 92101
ph# 619.702.7228
fax# 619.702.7236
Dinner Served Daily from 5:00pm
http://www.demedicisandiego.com

I give it 5 stars for taste and quality - and the best Fettuccine Alfredo in the world - no kidding.
Dishes range $15-$20 each. With appetizers and drinks, easily $100 for 2 people.

This truly authentic, family recipe Italian restaurant has regulars that include real life Godfathers, Director Francis Ford Coppola, us, tourists as well as Italian tourists. The restaurant is elegant hosting prom kids and formal dinners in general. Although you can come in with flip flops and t-shirts but will just feel under dressed. The outside patio seating is the best where you can watch people walk by in the famous Gaslamp district. The waiters and staff are all very friendly and accommodating.

Cool Thing - above the Hostess podium is an autographed picture and the shell of a bullet from the Godfather I movie. The autograph has signatures of Coppola as well as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale and Robert Duvall. I talked to the manager and apparently Coppola eats there regularly and they have his wine on the menu as well. And really, we've seen mobster Italian Godfathers eating there with family in-tow. So cool!

Fettuccine Alfredo - The BEST in the world. It's the only main course I've ordered there ever. Been there 3 years in a row and each time it tastes absolutely divine. I even heard an Italian tourist come in and taste the Alfredo and exclaim "Bueno". Just watch it because the side of shrimp costs an extra $15 - crazy, and leftovers don't taste as good but they're still pretty great.

Oyster Rockefeller - ok. Nothing great.

Prosciutto di Parma e Mozzarella (Thin slices of prosciutto wrapped around fresh buffalo mozzarella) - Amazing. They use real fresh mozzarella and prosciutto from Italy.

Lasagna - awesome. The lasagna is well-balanced (not too much sauce, enough meat), thick and a hearty comfort food.