Food

I made and had something like this .

Anyone missing me here?

I'm gonna show you a scary Chinese dish this time (It might look scary but this is really delicious )

Stir fry swamp eels

The best dish made with eel I think.... Originally from Jiangnan of China.

Enjoy

Pork with Garlic Sauce (From Sichuan)

^

This thread needs to be revived!

Lyon, I've never had that. The last eel I had was the ubiquitous Unagi. I've had pork with garlic sauce, but probably not that type and not chinese..:-.>

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My evening meal today was at a mid-range chain restaurant- "Longhorn Steakhouse". I've avoided this place until now. So this can serve as a review of the joint:

The restaurant had a 'Texas Cowboy' theme. It was garnished with Cowboy gear- paintings, saddles, whips, etc,etc. It resembled a cheap museum of sorts or some hobbyist's den. But the decoration was decent, and probably identical in other outlets. The seating was above average. The tables were below-average, and I had problems unloading the contents of my briefcase. The lighting was mid-way bright, and too bright for my taste (I like dark and quiet restaurants, so I can carry on a conversation). The service was thrifty, but below average, even for a chain restaurant. I felt like I was eating at somebody's house.

Appetizers:

1. honeywheat bread with butter- it was hot, right out of the oven. Butter had the texture of ice cream. Strange choice of a corporate appetizer.

2. Caesar side Salad- pretty standard restaurant fare. Cheese was hand-grated.

3. "Outlaw" Ribeye 18 oz. Medium Rare w/ fries- The Ribeye was the most outstanding part of the meal. It was seasoned, sauteed, and cooked very well and up to specification. It was picture-perfect. The meat was well-marbled. The fries were average.

18oz. is a lot of meat, and left me very full.

I've had better steak, but overall this was good American steak for the mid-range, and better than what I've had at the other comparable chains.

The below are not my pics, but a fairly accurate collection from somebody else's. My ribeye and salad were much prettier than his, though

My dinner partner had Salmon over Caesar salad. The Caesar salad was the same as my side salad and not particularly good. The Salmon, however, was a good cut and done as well as the Ribeye.

I like stir fry swamp eel better Unagi is sweet and soft but stir fry swamp eel has a lovely texture, it is firm and elastic

Seems you really like steak Do you cook steak yourself?

Lyon...thanks for those adds. My stomach sure missed this thread A LOT!

I actually wouldn't mind having a plate of that stir fry swamp eel I usually always get eel when I do sushi so I can only imagine the flavors with the dish above

Great....and Andi had to post that big-o hunk of steak. Hunger at maximum peak now! EDIT: Never mind, just read your cooking preference for steaks. So with that known, what's your favorite cut of beef Andi?

I said scary because swamp eel is much thinner and yellow unlike unagi, it looks like earthworm

I like stir fry swamp eel better Unagi is sweet and soft but stir fry swamp eel has a lovely texture, it is firm and elastic

Seems you really like steak Do you cook steak yourself?

^ As its universal known in the beef industry...fat is flavor! Good choice on the Ribeye

Now how was the honeywheat bread? I've had a few from various locations but most seem to drop the ball on that. Either the outer crust (to tough) or bland in flavor.

^

What's your favorite cut, Dave?

The bread was alright, pretty typical freshly baked bread. I have no complaints and no special memories.. Overall, the LH steakhouse's items that I had today were average besides the salmon and the steak which were above-average (and they were the main attractions, anyway..!)/

I was planning on trying their desert sampler, but we didn't have any 'room' left. This is it: Cheesecake, apple pie topped with caramel ice cream, and chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream. Pretty standard, but I missed the opportunity to see what they had come up with.

Another two

Grandma’s Braised Pork Belly (Shanghai)

Ants in Trees (Sichuan)

^ Ha, neat...Ants in Trees. That reminds me of a childhood treat called Ants on a Log. It's basically a sliver of celery with peanut butter followed my raisins on top

What's your favorite cut, Dave?

Just searched what Ants on a log is and this is co cute (Your pic is too tiny ) I wonder how it tastes

^ Sounds like it's time to make a trip to the grocery store Such a simple snack and on the cheap too!

And I'm not a huge fan of celery so Ants on a Log was one of the few ways I would eat it.

Is that a raw celery or cooked? Didn't know celery could be snack And with peanut butter on, well....

Yep, 100% raw celery, why I wasn't too fond of that snack but ate it due to the peanut butter. Ha, now you know...so hop to it...SNACK TIME!

Yeah, snack time

Here are some traditional Chinese snacks

Ding Ding Candy

Dragon's beard candy

Eggette

Put Chai Ko

Candy and Coconut Wrap

Fried Chestnuts

Sachima

Maltose with biscuits

This is only a part of trad Chinese snack

Grandma’s Braised Pork Belly

I've had pork belly (usually unintentionally... but never like that. I guess it's the type of dish for people really like pig skin and pig fat :-p

I've never had it braised, though, so that does make me wonder...:-)

This is only a part of trad Chinese snack

Do you have any others? I'd love to know what they are

Egglettes are widely available in Chinatown, NYC. They're sold by street vendors. I like them, and they get me every time. one could smell them a block away. I think they're better than pancakes and crepes. Pancakes are too thick and heavy and crepes are too thin/moist but egglettes are balanced just right... It's a very underrated food, and I wish it was broadly available outside of the ethnic district. Sachima is okay for my taste, but I do wish it wasn't so sticky..it causes me to search for dental floss...!

I don't think I've had or seen the other stuff besides the chestnuts and the 'put chai po'.

I'd have to go with a nice Filet Mignon, rare. With a nice pepper crust on mine. And use some of the pan drippings to make a delicious cream based sauce with it A close second would have to be the Sirloin Strip Steak with a good side of garlic mashed potatoes, oh how I'd be in heaven right now with that in front of me

Ribeye is by far my favorite steak. I really like the taste of beef fat, while others often don't or prefer not to have it in excess.... I'd put Filet at #2 though, and made rare.

I'll post more later

Compare to Egg Tart, egglette is a little underatted but for most of the hk people, egglette is more representative

Got a gift basket of pastries this evening:

Jewish cookies, hamentashen filled with blueberry filling, strawberry filling, and pineapple cream.

Hard-shelled Walnut pasteries and a cranberry version of the same thing:

I sampled all of them, and they were quite special. Good aftertaste via added alcohol, very rich yet lighter than norm on the sugar. Very fresh, and made with natural ingredients.