Purely for Research

Trust me. That’s OK, I wouldn’t trust me either. Heh heh.

The chefs (P & p) always talk about the differences in chocolate brands and the  quality of Valrhona chocolates (the brand they use as their base).

Right now, I’m not knowledgeable in the nuances they talk about (acidity, balance, etc). I don’t know wines either, not the way they talk about it.

Bought these two bars on sale a couple of weeks ago.

Chocolate Bar I

Chocolate Bar II

And no, I did not eat them all at once. I couldn’t even finish one bar in one seating (took me about four days for one bar).

The first one I could taste a little acidy aftertaste, even a little chalky texture. It was just okay. Not on my list as a favorite.

The second one was better, smoother texture, little or no aftertaste.

As always, just my opinion.

Have to ask them what they think of the Lindt brand later.

See, it was for research. Hee hee.

So,what’s your favorite brand? And why?

Enjoy. Eat well.

The Mouse

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Hainan Chicken Rice

Sunday breakfast.

The Cat was in the mood for Hainan Chicken Rice. Headed to Sunflower Cafe, again. That’s three times at Sunflower Cafe in three consecutive weeks.

Hainan Chicken Rice

It’s the only place that we know of that does Hainan Chicken Rice. According to one of the owners, the rice is prepared with some of the chicken broth and fat. No wonder so tasty.

I  went with scrambled eggs and shrimp  on  rice.

Scrambled Eggs and Shrimp on Rice

Visually, not exciting but tasty and easy to eat with a spoon.

Not your typical breakfast. But then again, I eat “breakfast” dishes at anytime of the day so …

Enjoy. Eat well.

The Mouse

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Feeding the Fishes

Or, better late than never.

According to legend, an esteemed Chinese poet committed suicide by drowning in a lake. The villagers, to prevent the fishes from eating his body, threw zongzi into the water.

From Wikipedia:

A popular belief amongst the Chinese of eating zongzi involved commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. When the Qin general Bai Qi took Yingdu, the Chu capital, in 278 BC, Qu Yuan’s grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent the fish from eating the poet’s body.

Last week sometime, was the day to eat zongzi but we missed it (The Cat finished work too late to pick up a few from her mother). So, today, we finally got to eat the zongzi. We want to eat it earlier to give the stomach enough time to digest.

Wrapped Zongzi

Steamed and Naked Zongzi

The top one is savory, and the bottom one is sweet, stuffed with red bean paste.

Sam, over at http://thebondingtool.com/ does a better job explaining the nuances of “sticky rice dumplings“.

Enjoy. Eat well.

Oh yeah, and Happy Father’s Day to all.

The Mouse

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Remnants

Not too exciting. Been doing quite a bit of bargain bin dining, or diving, and leftovers.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Originally an $8.00 sandwich picked up for a dollar. I didn’t pick it up, The Cat’s mother did. It was not bad, beside the smoked salmon, there were two capers, a lettuce leaf, and some dill. The bread was stale and the lettuce leaf was wilted. Dumped the lettuce leaf, replaced it with two shiso leaves. Not bad for a dollar.

Macaroons

Another bargain  bin item. If you look closely, there’s a hole in the macaroon closest in the picture. These were stale beyond redemption. Win some, lose some. Well, not for me, I didn’t pay for these.

Brown Rice and Potato Salad

Kalua Pork and Cabbage

Leftovers from The Cat’s lunch. Add a tin  of sardines to the rice and potato salad, and I’m good. The kalua pork and cabbage, I put between two pieces of bread and a piece of cheese and popped it into the toaster.

Leftovers

A loose interpretation of a quesadilla. Very loose.

Finally, leftovers from The Cat’s weekly dim sum lunch.

Leftover Dim Sum

From top, steamed mochi rice with chicken, turnip “cake”, and roast duck.

If it’s still edible, I don’t like to waste. I grew up hearing about the “starving children in (fill in the blank), and usually try to “eat it up”.

Enjoy. Eat well.

The Mouse

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Eating with the Relatives

Wednesday night, some of our favorite relatives.  The cuzzes had a turkey in the freezer since I don’t  know when, I think they mentioned Thanksgiving (what year? I dunno).

The Cat and B were off to the spa to get “beeyootified”. P and I in the kitchen (I was the apprentice).

Roast Turkey

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Roasted Balsamic Beet Salad

Fresh Berries, Pastry Cups, and Creme Fresh

The salad and dessert done by B.

Picked up some new cooking knowledge from P.

As usual, we ate, listened, talked, and laughed, a lot.

I have come to the conclusion our uncle G is the Chinese MacGyver (he is the one that put “condoms” on his banana plants to prevent the birds from pecking at the fruit. He is also a wealth of horticulture knowledge. The Cat wants to pick his brain (figuratively, not like a zombie) more often.

As always, fun to “break bread” with all of them.

Enjoy. Eat well.

The Mouse

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