irresistible No. 2 桃源街牛肉麵

irresistible no. 2..... 就要給這個我吃了10+年 我爹娘吃了 30+年的 桃源街牛肉麵
不論台北市政府舉辦多少次牛肉麵節 選出多少個不同的第一名 this eatery would always be the no. 1 beef noodle place to me.

從我爹娘的大學時代 -- 莫約30年前 他們weekend坐火車回台北 一下車就會到這家在火車站附近(even in today's sense of distance, i think it's still far from the station, but this is my dad's account of the story anyways) 叫一碗好吃的牛肉麵 犒賞自己讀書的辛苦
就這一吃變成老主顧 幾十年來 除了隨著時代和通貨膨脹調高的單價外 據說口味也未曾換過 (maybe鍋子都沒洗過 哈哈) 當然 擅長讓人留下印象的老爸也早和老闆老闆娘 老闆娘的親戚 店裡的打工弟弟是熟識 老闆娘還會觀察我啥時比較瘦 啥時比較胖咧!!

去到源街牛肉麵 我點的always是清蒸牛肉麵+多蔥 我從來都沒有想過要點紅燒.... 因為光想吃不到清蒸的 我心裡就會難過起來 導致於我是無法跟各位證實到底紅燒有多好吃
除了牛肉麵以外 小菜"如果有"泡菜的話 這就是必點了

桃源街的牛肉麵是是我喜歡的那種白粗麵 嚼起來很有份量
最喜歡的吃法就是把麵條整整的塞滿一整口 滿滿的享受麵條上原本就附著的鮮美香甜(我覺得是)北方口味的牛肉高湯 根本就燙死我也不嚐命
牛肉高湯上浮著一小圈一小圈的亮吱吱的油 應該是在熬煮高湯的時候 骨頭(?)釋放出的精華 每次吃完以後 嘴唇上都浮著亮亮的natural gloss 哈哈
再來就是重頭戲的牛肉 -- 牛肉塊煮的很嫩 但一點都不爛 不是那種所謂用筷子一碰就散掉的 配合著一點點油脂咬起來超級柔軟 每一口都爆炸的juicy-- 吸著牛肉的湯汁 每次都讓我捨不得吞下去
每一塊肉和他的麵條一樣很有份量 每碗麵裡面的牛肉都是超過3 cm cube的大小 (哈哈) 真的咬起來 才有種爽快感 不過也拜老爸所賜 我的碗裡頭都會多一塊牛筋!!

If there's a word I have to put down for this beef noodle place, it's gotta be "essence". The place has all the essence of what a good bowl of beef noodle should taste like. The essence of the beef, its freshness, rawness, tenderness and its aroma, can all be tasted with each bite. It epitomizes the concept of how the most delicious food is only exemplified though the simplest ingredients. So, there's no doubt that this noodle place is irresistible.

吻仔魚炒飯

炒飯 話說 是一道非常家常的菜/飯 一次可以滿足一桌四菜的一盤菜 我吃過最好吃的炒飯 必要提的店就是新竹竹北的"十一街" 它不但葫瓜餃子有名 我個人認為 它的炒飯也很好吃
自從吃了十一街的炒飯 我就對他念念不忘 但是 我一直覺得(除了份量很小以外) 十一街的炒飯有點偏油 吃過之後 會有罪惡感 & 昏睡感+++的感覺

anyways 禮拜天 在檢視過我手邊有的食材之後 我發現我只缺吻仔魚 就可以做一道好吃的炒飯了 這次做的也頗成功 所以分享給大家

★Ingredients

1. 吻仔魚
   
2. 四季豆
   
3. 蛋
   
4. 大蒜
5. Extra virgin olive oil
6. 飯 -- 一定要隔夜的唷

★Directions

1. 四季豆先洗乾淨 兩頭切掉
   四季豆如果生吃的話其實是有毒的 尤其豆子的兩頭據說最"毒" 所以在做四季豆的菜時 是一定要煮熟 而且兩邊要切乾淨
   
2. 四季豆切0.5 CM寬 蒜頭切片先放在旁邊~
   
3. 中火鍋子裡熱油 熱了以後再炒切好的四季豆
   加點鹽調味
4. 炒熟了以後起鍋
   
5. 鍋子裡面再加點油 然後炒蒜片 炒香以後再把布拉魚丟進去快速翻炒 確保每一隻魚都有被garlic oil沾道
6. 加點鹽再調味
7. 在魚的中間撥個洞 加一點點油 把打好的蛋放到中間
   
8. 等到蛋差不多成型的時候 再用鍋鏟畫圓圈 把蛋打碎
9. 最後 再放入隔夜的飯 然後把火轉小一點 加入已起鍋的四季豆 用鍋鏟把飯粒炒鬆
   
10. 起鍋前加點鹽&胡椒 翻炒後確定每一口的味道都平均就可以啦

這道做起來 就不會這麼油 再加上用不沾鍋的關係 所以油可以用更少 健康又美味啦!!!
另外 一般買吻仔魚是建議要先洗過 因為畢竟很多魚不知道是用什麼chemical去養起來的 但是我買的是organic搭~ 所以我還頗放心的沒洗
再來是 白飯一定要用隔夜的 才能炒出粒粒分明! 大家試看看吧

irresistible No. 1 - BAFA Cafe specialty

每天活著 只要可以吃到美味的食物 我就會覺得今天活的又有意義了.
也因為愛吃 and obsessed with eating 老姐說我是貧窮的千金小姐
沒錢 又很挑
好 我承認 在吃這方面 雖然我不是什麼老饕 也不是什麼美食家 可是每一個吃飯的機會 我總是會希望送進我嘴巴裡的 不是單純的只填飽肚子 而是也可以滿足我味覺上享受的食物
總之 這樣的堅持 時常會導致跟我一起找餐廳的朋友們get pissed off
i'm sorry, but i can't promise i won't do it again. lol

所以我想說 這個blog既然是讓我紀錄我走向美食之夢的journal, let me start a series of irresistible food.
first on my mind, BAFA Cafe specialty....

這間店 是我在葉怡蘭的噗上面偶然看到的
原先在網路上查的時候 感覺是一般的咖啡簡餐店 想說既然葉小姐 -- as a gourmet person herself -- 推薦的話 就算是簡餐應該也不賴
第一次去的時候 was on a saturday afternoon. it was pouring rain outside. visibility was bad, and we arrived there at around 5.00PM.
本想要catch一個early dinner的 卻發現他的營業時間只到 6.00PM
店裡的服務生跟我們解釋 只剩下兩道熱食可以點 但是還是有咖啡
我們一人點了一道 搭的咖啡是巧克力拿鐵 (不是moccha唷) 和一杯蜂蜜肉桂拿鐵 (總之我對這種新奇口味都好奇心滿滿的)

坐下來以後才發現 店面其實不大 但眼見之處都是座位區XD 意味著.....space is well utilized.. or should i say, maximized
behind the bar, is the open "kitchen". where the waitress-at-the-same-time cook, works busily with the espresso machine, making the clanking sound with the portafilter.
第一次的BAFA經驗真的很"驚艷"... 雖然大家覺得honey cinnamon 這個combination的latte應該很恐怖 尤其是cinnamon這個香料很多人都會卻步
但是這杯咖啡 最上層鋪上滿滿的powdered cinnamon 還沒送上來 香味已經先傳到我鼻子了
cinnamon的味道不會過辛 很柔和 喝起來有種nutty的味道 蜂蜜消去latte的苦澀 但是卻沒有砂糖或是果糖的甜膩味 喝在口中和cinnamon 的nutty flavour是絕妙配合

這杯Latte的喝法 可以混著喝 也可以直接喝 我通常會混著喝 因為每一口都有cinnamon的味道 很推

BAFA也有一道很棒的料理 就是他的沙拉....重點是他的醬!!! 沒吃過這麼開胃又這麼香的沙拉醬
醬的base是所謂的"和風醬" -- mustard seed, soy sauce.. you know the drill. 最特別的是 他加了sesame paste and almond flakes...讓原本只是 和風醬的romaine hearts salad頓時變的風味十足
這道沙拉 真的很.....開胃!!

The House Salad -- not ordinary at all!

之後我再去 就是點他的早餐set 網路上有人說份量不夠 但是我覺得剛剛好 -- 早餐set有水果 沙拉 主菜 和一杯咖啡....
由於BAFA是以咖啡為主的 所以和一般餐廳是主餐的金額 再加價點飲料是相反的 這邊是咖啡決定底價 再加夠a餐或是b餐 很妙 但也是充分的顯現出咖啡才是鎮店之寶的感覺

每個週末 我有去台中的話 就一定會找時間去BAFA吃早餐 不過店員似乎還不熟我們 哈哈 因為都只是週末去 很難對我們的臉有印象吧
後來 我又喝到了 caramel honey latte 和 cranberry latte... 都是冰的
目前我最喜歡的是 caramel honey latte
這杯latte就一定要攪拌均勻才能喝 cream上面的caramel sauce上面還有灑brown sugar... 喝起來的口感超順口又很香甜 喝到顆粒的brown sugar的時候會停下來 把它嚼碎 瞬間釋放的甜味再度讓口中充滿甜甜柔柔的味道 說實在的 this is an over-the-top-sweetness cup of coffee. 我很愛

Caramel Honey Latte. The little cube beside the cup is the handmade yogurt. I love it too!

今天喝的呢 則是cranberry latte.... 說實在的 喝起來像stawberry smoothie, cranberry的味道太搶眼了 到至於咖啡在哪裡都不知道!! XD
但是 這杯咖啡的顏色真的超漂亮 很夢幻!!!


自從第一次走近這家店之後 我就對她的咖啡念念不忘了
In conclusion, at BAFA, the coffee is THE irresistible!

@: 台中市惠來路一段161號 (第六分局附近)
#: 04-22517701

Nordcap

I've always wondered about this coffee shop and I finally tried it today. The shop is designed like a big gift box wrapped with flowy ribbons. It's actually a complex, called "Moving Box". There are a total of three different shops: in the corner occupies Nordcap, a coffee shop, to the east, a bakery shop, Moving Box and a steakhouse, 洛克牛排.

This is obviously an installation art trying to catch people's attention on 公益路 where every inch of the road stands a restaurant, a coffee shop, a patisserie or eatery of some sort.

I ordered my usual choice of coffee, Latte, which only cost me NTD$50. I wasn't exactly expecting espresso with that price, so as far as I was concerned, if it's got caffeine in it to wake me up, it'll do. With the coffee, we ordered a chocolate marble cake, which tasted really.. well, marble-like.

The good thing about this corner coffee shop is that the whole side of the shop is covered with a big pane of glass window, so it actually looks bigger than it does from a spatial prospective. It also allows coffee-shop hypocrites like me to look out the window pretending not to give a shit about the world (while the pedestrians can do the same thing to me).

Overall, I think this coffee shop is OKAY.. like, if you really can't find a Starbucks nearby and coffee is all you crave. Except for the deco that really was wroth writing about, I find the food just mediocre, and probably was manufactured from a factory in 三重 and distributed to 700 different coffee shops in Taiwan. (Okay, I'm sorry, I don't think there are actually that many coffee shops in Taiwan.. after subtracting the number of Starbux).

Anyways, nice to have tried it though.

Stumbling upon Las Vegas

I like Taichung, for its gourmet food, designer brand shops and mobbish people.

Last weekend, a casual sunbathing in Miaoli led me and Harry down to Taichung searching for food after two hours of frying on the beach. We were in a mood for American food, burgers, fries and sodas. Since we allowed ourselves in developing a taste for finer foods, the ol' Colonal and McDonald just simply wouldn't do. So in the spirit of exploration, we tried our luck in the vicinity of SOGO Department Store. And indeed, we stumbled upon Lusso Restaurant.

The whole restaurant's image is based on Las Vegas casino, it's not hard to see, cuz the restaurant logo gave it away.

It even says Nevada down at the bottom of the business card.
Not hard to miss the connection.

The bar, with music video of Moby and The Verve playing on the screen, I think it'd be cozy at night.

The velvet chairs, comfy.

The wallpaper, is this Victorian? Gothic? I've no idea.

The waitress was cute. She sat in the empty chair while taking orders from us. Really cool.

The stack of tissue paper was already present when we were seated. It wasn't till later that I realized why the whole stack.

The food was awesome! H ordered the beef patty burger, and I ordered the Jack Daniel Chicken burger. The beef patty wasn't actually really authentic, because it was actual a STEAK sandwiched in the buns! The fries tasted really good too. Hot and freshly fried, not greasy at all. Salty but not overwhelming. I didn't need any ketchup to finish the fries on its own.

My Jack Daniel burger was huge. I had a hard time finishing it on my own. The chicken was sauteed to exact tenderness, yet the skin was crispy.The sauce was sweet and it glazed nicely on the chicken. Both burgers were super juicy and that's why we needed the tissue paper, to wipe our hands and mouths.

This is H's order of beef burger.

This is my Jack Daniel chicken burger.

Lusso would definitely be much more relaxing and enjoyable at night. There was a section closed off when we were there. It probably will open up at night since on the door was a poster of party invitation scheduled on June 13.. hey, that's this Saturday.. HRRMMMMMMM...

finer things in life

I'm lucky, my body is very cooperative when I enjoy the finer things of life. No lactose intolerance, no bulimia nervosa, no known food allergies to peanuts or shellfish or eggs etc. And yesterday, the finer thing in my life was realized at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

This is the menu book of Ruth's Chris Steak House - Leather cover with gold embossed letters, classy...

The three of us shared an order of Porthouse Steak, Ruth's Chop salad, and with dessert, an order of crème brûlée. The restaurant also provides complementary bread and butter. I'm not eloquent with words at all, so the pictures will have to tell the story for me. The dinner itself is the epitome of how a meal enlightens my life - being able to taste food of such delicatecy and deliciousness, my whole life was worth it. The steak at RC's..outdid every other piece of steak I had in my life. And now it feels kinda disrespectable to even mention the restaurant names that served what I thought was "steak" in the same paragraph.. as though this would've tarnished their name.

This was the fillet we had last nite. Cooked to medium rare, meat was tender and extremely juicy, there needed no sauce at all, a pinch of sea salt was almost even too much. The sizzling butter was made possible by the super heated hot plate.

The Porthouse Steak. On the otherside of the bone was New York Strips. This is such a big portion of steak, even shared among 3, we had trouble finishing our own portions.

This is the crème brûlée we ordered. The creme was filled with vanilla seeds, making it so fragrant and tasty. The strawberries and blueberries balanced the dessert so it wouldn't become sickening after the fifth bite. This is actually one serving, can you believe it?

The dinner was so satisfying. We all went home with an exploded stomach. I really appreciate Ruth's Chris Steak House for serving and appreciating gourmet food. This would be another restaurant I wanna work at. When I do get the chance, I will talk about Aqua in Taichung. Food is my passion, my career, my goal, and I hope I'd never forget it.

PS. I bought the salt and pepper grinders today, finally! Say good-bye to sucky ol' table s&p!

Curry, serve it smooth

I know bringing your own lunch to work in Taiwan is kinda rare -- especially in this part of the country where eating out (and cheap) is what most people do. BUT like I said, if I don't get good food, I get cranky. And so Curry has become one of my favourite recipes, cuz a big pot of it can last for about 4 meals, and variation is just as easy.

I'd been making Curry the same way for god knows how many years because Food Network Canada doesn't really teach Japanese-style curry rice. I'd start by heating the oil with some curry powder, and add in onions later. This way, it gives the Curry a hint of spiciness, which is a good balance to the sweetness of Japanese curry roux. And since I decided to take my cooking seriously, I Googled "Curry" "好吃" and "Recipe". Along came some real good tips, and by summing it up and slightly modifying it for single gals or living-on-your-owns, here's the recipe -- without the measurement. (Because I don't really have a gauging machine at home, and I always cook by feeling it out.. takes time I know, but I've never really gone awfully off track before!)

Ingredients:

• Garlic (couple gloves)
• Onion
• Carrot
• Potato
• Butter
• Sugar (Powder or Brown -- I'm not a big fan of Powder, though)
• Curry powder
• Curry roux of your choice
• Extra Virgin Olive OilWater
• + Meat of your choice

How to make it:

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil at medium with some curry powder
2. Add in coarsely diced onions & garlic into the curry-infused oil and cook until soft and tender and brown-ish
3. Add in water, enough so it submerges all onions for about 3cm
4. Add in chopped potato & carrots and bring the water to a boil and turn it down to simmer
5. Keep on simmering the veggies for about 15-20 minutes till it softens
6. Remove from heat and let it set for 5 minutes
7. Add in butter & curry roux and stir till both melt
8. Add in a small amount of sugar for smoothness

With the curry sauce done, actually you can do whatever with the meat. Slightly season and flour the meat and sautee them in a frying pan. Just remember, don't mix the meat into the sauce, so the sauce stays "pure" and smooth.