I’ve posted a number of times about High Pearl, so this time I only took a photograph of one dish – though the other two dishes we ordered are things I’ve never posted here, whoops! (two noodles dishes; when I go to High Pearl with my brother, we inevitably eat rice with our dishes, so noodles aren’t ordered, but I went with just FeistyMom this time and she was like, order whatever you want, so I totally did! Seafood crispy pan fried noodles and wet fried beef broad white noodles, yum!) – the last time I went to High Pearl with my mother (and brother), the table next to us ordered the above, and I asked my mother what it was.  “Jha dai cheung (fried crispy large intestines)- we used to order that all the time, your dad loved it… but we had to stop because it’s so bad for you.”  (My dad had gout.)  Interestingly, it ties into the very same post I just linked – talking about how I forget things about my father every day that passes. 

In any case, this time, as we decided what to order for two people, I said “Oh! how about that dish you said we used to always order? I wanna try it.” and FeistyMom gamely agreed, even though just two noodle dishes would have been plenty of food.  Actually, even one split between the two of us would have been fine (my appetite is still not quite what it used to be), but she insisted we order them all since I wanted to try the intestines.  They arrived hot, crispy on the outside, meaty on the inside, along with this interesting dipping sauce that was thick, sweet and spicy.  I enjoyed eating what I could – they were quite fatty, so only a few pieces could be consumed in one sitting.  I don’t know that I’d order this all the time, but High Pearl did a good job making them look appetizing – it was also laid over a bed of pickled daikon, which helped cut through the fattiness – and I can definitely see ordering this once in a while with people who want to try it or already know they like it.  Very tasty.

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Post tags: intestines

Sometimes, when I get an idea in my head, I become fixated on it and that’s all that can be done, no way around it… and so it was recently when I decided I wanted sushi/sashimi on Lunar New Year (February 3rd this year).  Time constraints being what they were – I had tickets to see Al Pacino in Merchant of Venice that night – I quickly ordered some takeout sashimi from a local place that a friend mentioned as being yummy.  Even more yummy?  All sashimi/sushi a la carte was $1/piece, including uni and toro!  Unfortunately, they didn’t have any toro, so I didn’t get to see how much of the very expensive fish they’d have given…

Aiming for the number of pieces to be 8, I ordered two each of the following: salmon, white tuna, uni, and inari.  Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me that they’d send me the inari as ‘sashimi’ (sushi means rice…), so I received four slices of empty sweet-marinated fried tofu skin, doh!  Still, it was very yummy, and if I ever order this again from here, I’ll be sure to say “Sushi, please!”  As for the uni – in the back in cucumber cups – well, as expected, it wasn’t quite the freshest and was even a bit fishy.  I didn’t get sick, so it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, so I won’t be ordering that from here anymore.  The other sashimi – salmon and white tuna – were both sufficiently tasty, so I might have my new local Japanese joint from which to order…

I also ordered two rolls, which was a lunch special at $7.25.  Spicy tuna crunch, which had very little crunch and very little spice, was tasty enough, but I’ll order something else next time.  (Regular price of that roll is $5.75!)  The other roll was eel avocado, and satisfied my eel desires.  The lunch special came with a miso soup, and I found it tasty enough. 

Yvo says: No complaints here, a very standard menu for a local Japanese takeout place.  Perhaps next time I’ll try the cooked items, but honestly, the website looks just like the website for Fuji (I live between the two, with Fuji just a touch farther away from me than Tomo)… if they’re related, then I’ll probably stick to the cold stuff at Tomo!  I’m happy I found a cheap local takeout place for my Japanese fix though.  Yay!
recommended for what it is (don’t go out of your way)

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Post tags: sashimi, Sushi

One recent day after a quick jaunt with a friend through my local Asian supermarket, I realized I was starving, and decided we should head over to nearby Boon Chu - bypassing both Pho Bang and High Pearl, two of my favorite area restaurants.  I’ve visited and posted about Boon Chu twice before, but always find myself at Pho Bang or High Pearl; I forget that Boon Chu is just another block away.  Oops!

Bottle of water given to us so we could drink as much water as we wanted – nice touch, as in my first review from just over 2 years ago, I noted that my water glass remained empty the whole time. 

I don’t know if Thai iced tea is something that’s actually from Thailand, but I always order it.  This was satisfying, not too sweet. 

When I saw crispy catfish salad on the menu, I knew I wanted to try it.  I’d had this at Sripraphai a few times and enjoyed it quite a lot, and hoped that it would be similar here, maybe even better.  Cutely, the woman who took our order – who I think was also an owner or chef there – asked if we’d ever had it before, and that it isn’t catfish salad the way we might think.  She mentioned that other people have ordered it and then been all confused. 

The first time I had this dish at Sripraphai, I admit, I was all, where’s the catfish?  I don’t know how it’s done, but the catfish is the crispy part – it’s super crispy, almost like deep fried shredded bits, and very tasty.  I managed to push away most of the bird chilis to eat the salad, which was crisp, refreshing, and very sour if you allowed yourself a little too much of the vinegar dressing.  But the perfect bite: a cashew, julienned cucumbers, red onion, a bit of lettuce, crispy catfish shreds… well, that’s just a mouthful of joy.  Yum. 

A visit long ago with Snorlax had included sitting next to a man who came in, ordered this dish, then proceeded to all but lick the plate clean.  I recall saying that I’d have to order this next time, because the man wolfed down his food so happily, it must be good.  And it was exactly what I wanted- smooth noodles, slick with savory gravy; chunks of tender beef; a bit of veggie and a bit of egg.  Very satisfying on this cold day. 

Pork with garlic.  Lots and lots of garlic.  I thought this was very savory and quite tasty, though my friend told me it tasted like burnt garlic, too smoky.  Ah well – more for me.  I don’t know that I’d order this again, but mixed with the big bowl of small rice grains brought to our table, not bad.  Oh – I didn’t take a picture of the bowl of rice, nor the big cup of vinegar filled with diced bird chilis floating on top… which my friend proceeded to devour.  Eek. 

The next dish was chosen by my friend; pad krapow I believe or pork in chili sauce.  I only tried a few pieces before I concentrated on the two noodle dishes, because it was clearly fairly spicy and bright red, and I didn’t want to risk burning my tongue off such that I’d be unable to taste further goodies.  My friend definitely enjoyed it, finishing off the entire plate practically alone save the few pieces I ate…

Though some may mock, I like ordering pad thai at Thai restaurants, at least the first time I visit, to test it against all other Thai restaurants.  I’ve been here a handful of times and really enjoy their pad thai, so I had to order it again.  (And I don’t like the chicken version- don’t ask me why, I just don’t like the chicken that usually comes in pad thai, so even though I don’t care for shrimp, I vastly prefer it to chicken in this dish.) 

Squirt of lime all over the noodles, then toss them around to distribute the acidity.  I love how an excellent pad thai is a balance of all flavors – slightly sour from the lime juice, slightly sweet from the ‘gravy’ in the noodles, slightly salty from the same gravy.  The bean sprouts bring refreshing crunches to each bite, while the noodles are soft, yielding a nice chew, and the bits of egg and tofu scattered about lend a meaty quality to the dish overall.  Boon Chu definitely has one of the best pad thais I’ve ever sampled, with its precarious balance just right.  Sometimes I tip the scales and add more lime, but that’s personal preference, of course.  Yum! 

Yvo says: As good as it was the very first time I went, I really enjoy going to Boon Chu and trying different items from the fairly extensive menu.  I have to remind myself to consider them more often than in the past – I do always find myself at Pho Bang or High Pearl instead, even though Boon Chu is only another few blocks away and really boasts some excellent food (though a very tiny dining area) with very reasonable prices. 
highly recommended

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Post tags: pad thai, thai iced tea

You may not know this, but I’m pretty close to BF’s family – especially his dad, whom I affectionately refer to as “Pop” or “PopPop”.  I love the man dearly, though his taste in food is about as limited as possible, and at his behest, the family gathered recently for dinner at Outback in Queens Place.  I decided to take pictures because… well, why not? 

My argument over chain restaurants has been stated, restated, and continues to stand.  Since I seem to have some new-ish readers to the blog, though, I’ll toss it out again: I don’t detest chain restaurants.  They serve a very specific purpose, and some of them do a very good job fulfilling that need.  It’s relatively inexpensive food at a family/kid-friendly establishment where you know what you’re getting 99% of the time (mostly because it’s frozen and shipped from a main facility in many cases).  The food is familiar, and in general, it is mediocre to decent, sometimes good.  Chain restaurants in NYC bother me somewhat insomuch as well, let’s take this particular occasion.  We didn’t have any children with us (at 30, I was the youngest at the table), and instead of going to Outback, we could easily have crossed Queens Boulevard and hit up Mi Tio, an excellent Argentinian steakhouse with food good and cheap, sure to please. 

But honestly, for the most part, chain restaurants serve a purpose and suit a need, and I have no problem with that.  I don’t tend to seek them out (especially those available in NYC – admittedly, I do seek out some that I can’t get in NYC or that I actually enjoy, like Cracker Barrel), but when I do go, I’m not all “omfg I’m at a chain, losing foodie cred wahhh.” 

My one exception is Applebee’s.  I hate Applebee’s with the passion of a thousand suns.  They had one dish that was good and they took it off the menu, and the last time I went (again, at someone else’s request), they messed up my salad.  How do you mess up a salad that badly?  It was gross, and horrid, and my friends’ cooked food was bad, too. 

Crapplebee’s is not allowed.  But other chain restaurants, I appreciate what they do and the needs they serve, and do not take offense at them. 

Frosted mug for our root beers, which were pretty tasty (though artificial). 

Someone said “How can you go to Outback and not order a bloomin’ onion?” but this was one of maybe two times I’ve ever had this.  Not bad, and a slight kick to the dipping sauce.  Some of the onions were less cooked than others, probably due to the varying widths of each piece, but I liked how crunchy some pieces were.  Like a huge onion ring that never ends.  Crunchy, oily, fried food. 

BF gave me some of his Caesar salad, which was a bit overdressed on this occasion.  But there wasn’t a big puddle of water underneath, and the greens were fresh.  No complaints. 

Per usual, he ordered a medium rare prime rib and mashed.  He said he likes this cut a lot here; I tried a bite of the ‘crust’ (the tender, fatty part that rings the roast), and found it very soft and tasty.  It’s steak, which I imagine means it’s prepared to order (well, in this case, roasted then sliced to order) more than at other chain places.  Not bad. 

I wanted something a bit different, so I tried to order a fish dish – tilapia topped with jumbo lump crab something or other.  The served informed me regretfully that they didn’t have any tilapia left, but could instead put the same topping on salmon.  I hesitated before agreeing, but asked if they could cook the salmon medium rare.  I detest overcooked salmon.  To my surprise, when my salmon came, the topping was horrid – completely fishy, barely any crab aside from the few pieces you see in the picture above, and just… disgusting.  Pushing it all off my salmon, though, I discovered a wonderfully seasoned, properly cooked piece of salmon with a crust from searing, a moist interior that was gently cooked, still juicy, and I needed no salt to make it taste perfect.  I was really happy with the salmon – not so much with the crab topping – and can now comfortably order this again.  Probably next year for PopPop’s birthday. 

Yvo says: Yes, I’m reviewing an Outback.  The service was as expected – competent without fuss – and the food was solid, what was expected, nothing more but most importantly, nothing less.  Everyone was happy with their food (I didn’t photograph the other steaks and the fish appetizers).  We had a good time sitting, chatting, eating, and that’s what was desired on this evening.  Some time soon, I’m going to drag PopPop to Mi Tio and show him an alternative to Outback that’s really nearby…
everything is as expected

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Post tags: chain restaurant, Steak

As with every year, shortly after celebrating life, we celebrate death.  Well, perhaps commemorate instead of celebrate, though we do wind up sharing a lot of laughs, maybe a few tears, stories about my father’s life, my father’s death, the beginning, the end, the middle… but always, good food.  Good food will always bring and keep my family together. 

And so it was, this chilly Halloween evening, that we gathered at his favorite restaurant, and ordered some of his favorite dishes, and feasted together.  Some things have changed, and some things haven’t. 

Under the watchful gaze of my mother, we ate, and I wondered how, ten years later, anyone can survive the loss of their partner, their love, their life. 

And yet, my mother did, and continued to raise her three children, grown as we may have been when my father passed, with all the strength and grace that anyone could have expected from her.  Dignity in the face of an unfair hand dealt her… these are things I could not imagine myself keeping within the same situation.  I admire my mother, for her strength, her beauty, her amazing dignity, even while she endured the worst: losing a loved one slowly, witnessing their suffering, watching the indignities of a disease meant to rob one of all pride, all joy, all life.  Staying by my father’s side as kidney cancer fiercely took over his body, spreading and eventually shutting down all of his organs; I’m not sure it’s a choice I’d have the strength to make as she did. 

I’ve mentioned before that you can’t go home again; and it’s true.  Return as I may to the home in which I grew older, it will never be the same.  The newsletter my father so proudly put together using Clip Art all those years ago still hangs by the intercom; my father’s handwriting on my bedroom’s Dry Erase board telling me to wake up from my dreaming (oh, the stories I could tell you…); his touches still linger here and there, while his urn sits proudly on the entertainment center.  But in the end, it will never be the same, day to day, things change, things shift, and one day, I’ll blink, and it really will be as though it were all just a dream.  Ten years passed so fast.  I had my father for all of twenty years and four days; I could lament that it was too short, but is it really ever long enough?  Do people who lose their parents at forty ever think, “Well, I had them a good forty years, I didn’t need them anymore, anyway”?  Of course not.  It’s always too short.  It’s always too soon before you wake up and realize you can’t call just to say hi, and you’ll never be able to take back all those times you childishly yelled “I hate you! You’re ruining my life!”  You’ll never be able to look back with them and laugh about the time you insisted your hair would look good dyed… and it did.  It did. 

When he first passed away, I wondered aloud and often if it would ever stop hurting.  Both the meanest and yet kindest thing anyone ever said to me was, “No, Yvo, it will never stop hurting, and it might even hurt more than it hurts now before it gets better.”  I remember sitting there, reading those words (because they were online, of course), in total shock, but eventually realizing that he was right.  It will never stop hurting.  But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get better.  It just becomes a new kind of hurt, the kind you return to every once in a while, the kind that reminds you that you are alive, and the kind that pushes you forward, to succeed, to make your own life better, to make your father proud of who you’ve become. 

Because no, you can’t go home again, but that doesn’t mean that one day, you won’t feel as though you did anyway.  You make your own home… wherever you are. 

Love you, Dad.  Ten years, never forgotten… and my moment of realization this year, how you are so deeply a part of who I am and why I am the way I am:

You always taught me, from a very young age, that “people eat with their eyes first” – how many times did you send me back into the kitchen after trying to serve you an awesome sandwich that was plated incorrectly?  From then on, I always styled my food like someone would be photographing it.  That someone is now me. 

Thanks, Dad, for leading me to where I am, even when you weren’t there for me to follow. 

RIP – 12/28/45 – 10/31/00

Pictures of meal from High Pearl.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: feisty family, tribute