In the Bubble Zone

So I found a new study/do work place. On top of it all, it has great milk teas and TW snack/street foods. Ah, the world just got better... Wil and I spent a rainy afternoon working on our respective laptops and polishing off a good dent of the following. We over-ordered as usual and had enough elft-overs for two more meals. But hey, it's all in the name of "research." Pictured above are the fried pork chops... yum!

Braised pig trotters to go with the noodle soup next.
Mien Sian or noodles in thickened soup with black vinegar on top. I made a version of this last month. I liked my version better but I had a lot of help from a TW soup mix that my aunt gave me.
Conch sauteed with basil. Like conch, like basil. Not a problem here.
Dan dan mien - Was okay but we've had better.

Eggs with preserved radishes - the perfect dish to go with rice porridge. But good alone too.
Chittering and black pudding soup - much lighter than one would think from the ingredients and really hit the spot for the cold, wet day.
Marinated seaweed and duck wings - I really liked the seaweed, but the duck wings freaked me out a bit.
This place will become part of the regular rotation for sure....

And The Lord said, "Let there be crab!!!"

After all the chaos of the Cosco Busan spill and the delayed tox study results on our crustecean friends, we were finally able to hold the 6th Annual Mei-ling's Crab Shack Re-opening last weekend. I went with tradition on the menu and 14 of us drank liberally, ate until there was not a lick of food left (I kid you not), and generally celebrated the return of our fav delight to our Bay Area waters and our dinner plates.
Garlic Roasted Crab - I think it's safe to say I am at Thangh Long levels these days after years of experimentation with this dish. Secret kitchen, secret recipe? No so much... just a whole block of Plugra, about 20 cloves of garlic diced up, salt, sugar, basil, oregano, and thyme.
Singapore Chili Crab - Chinese red chili sauce, onions, a bit of soy, a bit of sesame oil, chicken broth, and the secret ingredient of lots of ketchup. Liang family tradition.
Garlic Noodles - They say they come for crab, but I know it's really for the noodles. Sherri would probably travel on foot if she had to cross town for them. Shanghainese style fresh noodles, heavy cream, soy, another 30 cloves of garlic, salt, fish sauce, and sugar. Sauteed long beans - blanched long beans then tossed quickly with sesame oil, salt, and more garlic.

Maybe at some point we should seek sponsorship from Lipitor (for the un-godly amounts of butter and cream I used in this meal) and Gilroy (for all the garlic). Would corporate logos detract? Hmmmmmmmm............................

Joe's Stone Crab

I forgot to add these pictures from the Miami post. Stone crabs tastes so different from Dungeness. While I am not going to say no to any crab, I think I still like our Dungeness better.

Crab Salad Conch Fritters
Stone Crab

Eating Local (well, sort of)

Phil and I went to check out Fish & Farm last week. After one meal, it has become my local, got-o place for Cal-Med type food. The main feature of the place is that it is part of the "localvore" movement - eating food produced within 100 miles of where you live.
The vibe is relaxed and intimate and the service is pleasant. We stayed mostly on the farm side of the menu. So the fish side will need further exploring. We were given creamy celery-root and pear soup topped with snipped chives as delightful amuse bouche.

GRILLED MONTEREY SQUID, BRAISED BUTTER BEANS, HARISSA, PRESERVED LEMON - wonderful appetizer that was succulent and fresh
SLOW BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER, SMASHED RED POTATOES, MUSTARD GREENS, ROSEMARY LAMB JUS - tender, melt-in-your-mouth. Not gamey at all.
GRILLED BERKSHIRE PORK CHOP, FRESH CAVATELLI AND CHEESE, SMOKED BACON, BRUSSELL SPROUTS - such sweet juicy pork.
The thing about eating local is that... it's really hard. When we asked our server about the local-ness of the ingredients... well, the proteins and produce are procured more or less within 100 miles of SF. But the spices used were not. Our wines were not (as were most of the wines of the list). How does that fit in with a low carbon footprint (in terms of shipping foods) meal I am not sure as while we may not grow spices around here, we sure do have Sonoma and Napa within 100 miles.