Showing posts with label seafood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seafood. Show all posts

Bee Stings (SMS), Foodie Trip to LA
I'm sad. This week's Sweet Melissa Sunday recipe was picked by Jaime and hers came out so beautifully that it makes me even more sad because mine were a big flop. Go visit her page for her wonderful pics and also the full recipe. I hope I can try this again one of these days.

Memorial Weekend we went on a foodie trip to Los Angeles. Well, we were really there for a wedding, but will take any chance we can get to eat. You see, LA has some of the best Taiwanese food this side of the world. And hubby and I were super duper excited not to have to fly 16+ hours to get some of our faves.

And now, some of our food pics (unfortunately, some things were consumed too fast to whip out my camera... yes we're fatties.)


scallion pancakes with egg

porkchop noodle soup @ yi mei

dungeoness crab @ redondo beach

clams sauteed with basil

3 cup chicken (san bei ji)

stinky tofu

taiwanese style calimari @ #1 sun taiwanese bbq

beef noodle soup @ yong he dou jiang

uh, what's a trip to the west coast without an in-n-out trip!

my fave - original double double

Of all these places, I wouldn't recommend the Pacific Fish Center. It's Korean style seafood, which is perfectly fine, but the ambiance and the value is just not there. I would try somewhere else if you were to be in the Redondo area. But all the other restaurants get two thumbs up!

Monterey Park, CA

Redondo Beach, CA

Rowland Heights, CA

San Gabriel, CA

Rosemead & Santa Ana locations
Monday, June 01, 2009 | Category: , , , , , | 6 comments

Strawberry Shortcake (SMS), Strawberry Cupcake, more crabs
Busy, busy weekend! So this week's Sweet Melissa Sunday recipe was the Strawberry Shortcake. You can find the recipe at Pink Stripe's blog here. We'll come back to the shortcake in a bit.

Coincidentally, strawberries were on sale at Stop 'n Shop. So being that I had so many strawberries, I decided to embark on something a little different on my own... I looked around for a fresh strawberry cupcake recipe but didn't come up with anything, and also didn't find anything that used preserves as a layer (instead of mixing preserves straight into the cake batter). So I decided to do a little experiementing.

I made adjustments to the following recipe:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk, so used regular milk and just added vinegar)
  • strawberry preserves

  1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt)
  2. Beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each egg white. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches.
  3. Scoop a small amount of cake batter into cupcake liners, then strawberry preserves as a layer, and then another scoop of the cake batter.
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
For the frosting, I used a regular cream cheese frosting, and chopped up itty bitty pieces of fresh strawberries into it. This made for a refreshing frosting that wasn't all cream cheese and sugar. Make sure that if you do this, you chop it small enough so that it can make it through the piping tip and that it doesn't get stuck.

I also didn't have buttermilk and after a little bit of Googling, I was able to find that you could make one cup of buttermilk by using one cup of regular milk plus 1 tbsp of vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and voila! You have homemade buttermilk.

I really have to pat myself on the back. This turned out to be one really good cupcake. The cake was a great consistency, light and fluffy. The strawberry preserves on the bottom was a nice little surprise, although I was a little disappointed that while baking, it sank to the bottom. The fresh strawberries in the cream cheese frosting was simply DECLICIOUS and also a neat little surprise, especially for the hubby. I'm glad I experimented with this!



***


For the Sweet Melissa Sunday shortcake, I followed the recipe exactly, except for the lemon zest and I also cut the recipe in half My biscuits came out light and fluffy and really, really good. I love macerated strawberries, so I made extra just to snack on... and my homemade whipped cream was easy to make and smelled (not to mention tasted) delicious. I was tempted to throw in small chunks of strawberries into the whipped cream, but decided against it. Even hubby liked these and he hardly ever eats sweets.

Here they are cooling on the rack, with the little cupcakes right behind. I also followed everyone's suggestions to make 4 instead of 3 when cutting the recipe in half and look how cute they came out. I have made note to test this biscuit recipe in the future for savory flavors (cheddar, chives, etc).

I actually have a little secret: I've never had strawberry shortcake before. So having strawberries on biscuits was something that was a little bit strange to me, since I've always associated biscuits with savory flavors and not with sweet flavors. But strawberries with whipped cream on crunchy yet fluffy biscuits... how could I not like it?

On the right is the finished product. So pretty!

***

So as most of you know from my previous post, we went to DC and had some awesome crabs, which gave hubby something to work on. We bought a pound of female crabs and our very own Old Bay seasoning, and steamed them up at home ourselves.

It was actually very simple to follow. Clean the crabs, spread the seasonings, steam for 30 minutes and enjoy!

We used McCormick Old Bay seasoning, which was found at a Gristedes in the city. Apparently, the Queens supermarkets don't carry them :(

Sunday, May 03, 2009 | Category: , , , , | 9 comments

Crabs in DC, Hazelnut Buttercream, SMS Break
So these past two weekends I've been preoccupied and therefore have not been able to partake in the SMS festivities. Apple Turnovers and Granola Breakfast Cookies can be found at the respective linked blogs.

What have I been doing? Well, we headed down to DC for a fun-filled (and food-filled) 3 day weekend. Crabs and oysters and other fresh seafood... to be quite honest I was getting a little bit sick of seafood towards the end of the trip and extremely happy to be pit-stopping at Pat's for some Philly cheesesteaks.

At Hank's Oyster Bar, we waited a good hour or so for our little table for four. It was a good wait though (and anyways, who wants to eat at a restaurant where there is no wait, right?) We had oysters, sablefish, soft-shell crab and a lobster roll. They also had something special, a Bloody Mary & sake oyster shooter. As you can see, there were only 3 'cause I was the only smart one who thought that the 3 combined was not going to be a good idea. Apparently it tasted pretty gross but was, of course, an experience to be had. The oysters were fresh and only $2 each, which is a lot less than we thought it would be. In fact, everything at Hank's was very cheap. We are so used to these outrageously priced restaurants in NYC that once we step out, we forget that the rest of the world eats at normal prices and portions. I highly recommend Hank's, but be forewarned that you should call ahead to put your name on the waitlist.

Hank's Oyster Bar
1624 Q Street NW
Washington, DC

Next stop, Maine Avenue Fish Market. I searched high and low on Yelp in order to find the perfect "stall" and I came upon Captain White's Seafood City. This place should be renamed Captain White's Seafood HEAVEN. There were fresh crabs, cooked crabs, raw oysters, cooked fish dishes, shrimp... if it lives in the water, they will have it.

We were only interested in the oysters and crabs, so that's the area we went straight to. For a dozen oysters, you paid only $11. That's practically unheard of. We also bought a dozen (which turned out to be 14) large female crabs for $26, and proceeded to the cooking station. We asked for the crabs to be cooked with spice (which is the Old Bay Spice, which is basically synonymous to Maryland-style crabs). There was a long wait; some families bought basket-loads of crabs and other assorted seafood items to be cooked. I really cannot say anymore because just thinking about it makes my mouth water. They are just really, really good. Go. There. NOW.

Captain White's Seafood City
1100 Maine Avenue SW
Washington, DC

On the way home from DC, we stopped at Pat's for some delicious Philly cheesesteaks. Okay, I must confess: I've never even tried Geno's and I already am prejudiced. I just don't like a newcomer coming in and trying to say they're the OG and they're the best. Plus, I don't like how a store needs to use flashy Vegas-like lights to attract attention. If your food is good, it will show. So yes, I'm a Pat's supporter!



This past weekend, I made chocolate chip cupcakes with hazelnut buttercream frosting. Now, unfortunately there are no pictures because I had some issues with the piping and therefore, instead of looking like yummy cupcakes, my frosting looked like piles of doodie :(

HOWEVER, the frosting was really good, so I'd like to share the recipe that I adapted to fit my needs.

Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting
(This recipe was enough for 12 cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature (3 sticks)
2 tablespoons of milk
9 ounces of hazelnut spread (I used Nutella)
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 cups (more if needed for consistency) of confectioners' sugar

In a mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add the milk and in batches, the hazelnut spread. While this is mixing, add in the vanilla extract. Once this has all been mixed, add the confectioners' sugar in 3 batches, adjusting so that the frosting is to the consistency that you like. Pipe as per usual.

Monday, April 27, 2009 | Category: , , , , , | 1 comments

Restaurant: Aquagrill
I picked Aquagrill for our group dinner to celebrate Babe's birthday. It was the big 2-8, afterall!

Keeping in mind the last minuteness and the fact that not everyone ate everything, I picked Aquagrill due to 1. everyone ate (and enjoyed) seafood and most importantly, 2. it had really great reviews on Yelp (also we were able to get reservations was a big plus too).

The restaurant is located on the quieter side of Spring Street; it wasn't the SoHo area that everyone associates the street with. There seemed to be ample parking in the area, but like most New Yorkers, we parked at the first spot we saw on West Broadway and had a 7-minute walk which was perfectly fine with me.

Aquagrill is located right on the corner of Spring and 6th Avenue; one of the guys had said there is a subway station right across the street but I didn't notice it. The ambiance is very lively, but not too trendy-noisy. We were seated immediately and greeted by a waiter. Throughout the night we were greeted by different people, so I'm not sure they have assigned waiters/waitresses or anything.

We started off with a delicious bread basket full of corn bread, biscuits and warm rolls, accompanied by a fragrant olive oil.


The restaurant is known for it's selection of oysters, which is what we started with. We asked our server to recommend some rare oysters and she brought over the top 5:

  1. Chincoteague
  2. Carlsbad Blonde
  3. La St. Simon
  4. Pemaquid XL
  5. Canoe Lagoon

And if you ask me now, I wouldn't be able to tell you which was which, or which was the best, but according to Babe, he loved 1 and 5 *shrug*.



Oysters

We also had a delicious plate of Clam Steamers, which was steamed and then dipped into Pilsner beer and garlic butter. SO DELICIOUS! The clams were very fresh and plentiful, so much so that it was recommended that we share, which we did. I cannot stress how much I loved this starter dish and that it will be something that I will order everytime I goto a seafood restaurant. Yes, it was that good.


My entree was the Chilean Sea Bass, with a crust of some sort. Unfortunately this was off the specials menu so I cannot look it up on their website for more details. Whatever it was, it was great. The fish was so tender and light, on a bed of peanuts and spinach with a light white wine sauce. The portion might be small for some, but it was definitely more than enough for me.

Babe's entree was the Striped Bass, which was also off the specials menu. It wasn't as good as my Sea Bass, but still pretty good. The little round of green off to the left? That's creamed spinach and THE BEST creamed spinach I've eaten. EVER. I finished it since he doesn't like veggies (he really doesn't, I swear!)

Some other dishes ordered by our friends were the Sea Scallops (medium rare, done just right) and the Bouillabaisse, which is basically a stew of lots of seafood in a garlic saffron tomato broth.

We ended the meal with the Chocolate Tasting Plate, which had a warm dark chocolate cake, white chocolate mousse and milk chocolate ice cream. Delicious and beautifully presented, this is one of my all-time favorite desserts.

A wonderful meal with an attentive staff and a friendly atmosphere. This is a place that I would definitely come back to.

Aquagrill
210 Spring Street (corner of 6th Avenue)
New York, NY
http://www.aquagrill.com/

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | Category: , , , | 0 comments

Restaurant: Fishtail by David Burke
As per the previous post, this meal was for Babe's birthday, but this time, it was just the two of us. I wanted to try a "well-known" restaurant and someone had recommended a David Burke joint. Now, I knew that David Burke was famous for his steakhouse in Chicago, but could he pull off fish? We decided to take a chance on Fishtail.

Let me preface this by saying that Fishtail is located near Bloomingdale's, which means that there is absolutely NO PARKING available. We drove around for so long and finally lucked out on a spot on Park Avenue and 65th Street. It seriously is a headache of a place if you were to drive, I tell ya...

But I digress.

Fishtail is located in a townhouse on 62nd Street. The lady next to me said that this used to be some other restaurant not that long ago (I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear... she was just talking way too loud). The interior is painted red, with white accents. You'd think that it would be crass and ugly, but it's actually very modern and minimalistic. There are fish paintings all over the walls and huge mirrors, giving it a spacious feeling. As with all townhouses, there are floor to ceiling windows that look out across the street to other townhouses.

The first floor of Fishtail is the raw bar and the kitchen. There are also booths, although I did not see anyone sitting in them. We were escorted upstairs to the dining area, which was relatively small and compact. Our table was a mere 2 inches away from the other two tables on either side of us. I could probably eat off of my neighbor's table and it wouldn't even have been noticeable!

We were presented with this amazing bread basket. The croissants were flakey and crusty but soft in the middle. Those "pocky" sticks were his favorite... I did not taste it (I think I forgot to?!) Yes, those are carrots. Why they are in a bread basket is beyond me, but they were by far the sweetest mini carrots we've ever had.

We started off with raw oysters (for him) and fish tacos (for me).


The oysters were noted as 3 West Coast and 3 East Coast. I had one of the smaller ones (can't remember what Coast it was) and it was sweet and fresh.

I was, by far, the most disappointed with my tacos. First, I thought they would be cooked fish. They were all raw (but I guess I just didn't notice the "Tartare" in the description) and tasteless. The 3 were -- Tuna Tartare, Crab Salad and Hamachi. The Crab Salad was too salady -- too much mayo and was just too creamy and left a filmy taste in my mouth. The Tuna and Hamachi were bland, even with the sauces provided. Sorely disappointed!

For our entrees, I had the Swordfish Steak Frites and Maitre d'Hotel Butter and he had the Giant Head-on Grilled Prawns cooked in basil and lemon.

Swordfish is one of those fishes that is hard to catch, expensive but not good. The meat is hard, there is no flavor and it's no wonder they usually serve it as a "steak". The butter did not add anything to the fish and I left 2/3 of my fish untouched. The frites, on the other hand, were amazing. There was a sprinkling of what Babe thinks is wakame (seaweed) and each fry was crunchy but not oily. It came in the little fryer basket that I wanted to steal so badly. But no, I overcame my impulses. Sigh.

If you look closely, there were no actual heads on the "Giant Head-on Prawns" that Babe ordered. Granted, we don't eat that anyways, but isn't that sort of like false advertising?! These prawns were good. Fresh and huge. Grilled to perfection. However, there were only 3. How disappointing! And this dish cost $35... that's practically $12/prawn!!! Highway robbery...

We completed our meal with a Passion Fruit Creme Brulee, and Napoleon of Chocolate Leaves. When I made the reservation on OpenTable, I noted that it was a birthday, and they thoughtfully placed Babe's creme brulee on a plate that said Happy Birthday. I thought this was indeed a nice touch. Kudos, Fishtail!

My Napoleon of Chocolate Leaves was good, but a bit too chocolately. Should've came with a glass of milk instead of a shot of milkshake!

Fishtail by David Burke
135 East 62nd Street
New York, NY
http://www.fishtaildb.com

Monday, March 23, 2009 | Category: , , , | 0 comments