BlaringSmelly

With my Vancouver half-marathon came to an end, ktula’s eating marathon just getting started. His warm up was the famous Japa Dog on the corner of Burrard & Smithe St. While we were waiting in line, a Japanese media was doing coverage about the widely popular Japanese’s takes on hot dog. There were photos of celebrities next to the stand to proof its hot dog rock-star status.

Sunday morning after the race, we headed straight to Granville Island to pick up some Prosciutto de Parma and landjagar from Oyama Sausage Co. As soon as we got back to the car, ktula rolled up a piece of prosciutto and emerged himself in the salty taste of cured meat.

Next, we drove to Richmond for some Asian yummies. Shanghai River ( 滬江海派料理) is the home of the delicious soup dumplings. We didn’t have reservation so naturally it was a good 45 minutes wait. It was well worth the wait when a basket of 8 steaming soup dumplings were served to us. Ktula rushed one into his mouth and quickly realized it was steaming hot inside. These juicy little dumplings were filled with delicious broth and grounded pork. I’m not a big meat eater. But I love these dumplings.

Other dishes we ordered were good. The chive pockets were a little too greasy for my liking. The restaurant doesn’t have seasoning tray on each table. Because there’s no need for them. Dishes at Shanghai River are tasty just the way they are served.

We were quite full at this point. But there’s one more stop ktula must make before going home – Getting some roasted pork at Parker Fresh Meat (百家店(香港仔)燒臘肉食公司). Other than the delicious meat, the star of this little joint is the master butcher. He takes order from customers, pick a piece and present to the customer. Once the meat is approved, his knife does a little dance around the meat, in seconds the piece was chopped up and beautifully arranged in the container. Every time we came, his hands and knife are in constant movements. He does it with such speed and precision it’s becoming an art form.

That pretty much summed up the food destinations during this trip.

Success! This patch of cookies were a hit at home and at work. This time I followed the recipe exactly, no substitution or random experimentation. My very picky personal food critic ktula actually liked these cookies. Too bad he only had a couple before I devoured what’s left at home.

My second cookie challenge is Chocolate-Molasses Cookies from Martha Steward site.

Normally I experiment when I’m cooking. Baking is no exception, I can’t help but to tamper with original recipe ingredients – I replaced butter with apple sauce, and semi-sweet chocolate is now 60% bitter-sweet chocolates.

I brought a few finished cookies to work to share with Lara, a talented studio artist also a baking veteran. She tasted it and was able to tell I didn’t follow the recipe exactly.

The cookie was more densed than she expected. She explained when butter was swapped with apple sauce, the protein in the recipe was taken away, therefore affected the texture of the cookies.

As for me, I liked the cookies. Then again I never not like anything I made. Ktula didn’t like it though. The taste is “too healthy” for his liking. Fine, I’ll use butter next time.

I think very highly of those who bake good cookies. Naturally I want to master this art of pastry making. Last week I made several trips to stores, getting ingredients and baking goods for my very first attempt to baking cookies.

I found an Oatmeal Cookie recipe online that looked simple enough for novice like me. Slowly and unsurely, I measured and mixed according to the recipe.

It was my first time using electric mixer. In fact, it’s my first time using mixer of any kind. I was careful not to make a mess.

End products came out of the oven looking more like oatmeal cereal bars than cookies. They did taste fine though.

Ktula and I were invited to a dinner party hosted by Tizzy and Michael. A writer and a chef, they were a great team and a delight to hang out.

Here are a sample of dishes we had that night:

Poolish dough loaves and plum jam.
Plums came from their fruitful backyard plum tree.

Spiced olives
I don’t like pits or seeds in my food that I need to spit it out. But that’s just me.

Spicy garden pickles
Pickled to perfection, they are crispy and refreshing. Most importantly they are not too salty like so many pickled products. I ate these bite size vegies like candies.

Pork rillettes in the jar, fermented butter inside the white cup
Michael explained rillettes is a process of preserving meat, mainly pork. He cooked the pork slowly in duck fat until it’s tender and easily shredded. There was a slight hint of pork. Other than that, it tasted just like pâté.

House-cured duck prosciutto
Paper-thin slices of prosciutto. The fat melted in your mouth as you enjoy the delicate taste of lightly salted duck meat.

House-cured anchovies in olive oil
I love anchovies. I like the texture of anchovy and its salty smell. This dish really made my day.

Butternut squash puree
This mashed yellow goodness had silky smooth texture and sweetness just enough to put a smile on your face. I was quietly stuffing my face in this. C’est si bon.

Brick-oven roasted leg of lamb

Sea bass in flaky pastry
Chef Michael put up quite a presentation with this dish. Sea bass first arrived on the table, still inside the pastry.

Michael cut open the pastry. Guests were watching Michael and the fish slowly revealing from inside the pastry in amazement.

We finished with home made apple pie topped with honey and yogurt ice cream. In my opinion, it was cheer genius that Michael substituted sugar with honey. The sweetness was so much more rich and distinct. He apologized the ice cream was too soft because it wasn’t chilled long enough. I didn’t mind it at all. The apple pie and ice cream were great combo. I had nothing to complain about it.

At the end of the dinner, Michael gave ktula a tour of chef’s kitchen. The house-cured sausages spurted ktula’s interest to make his own sausages.

The dinner was named “Savant”. According to Merriam-Webster online definition:

a person of learning; especially: one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field (as of science or literature).

The name was appropriate for this elaborate feasting consisted of 8 starters, 7 main courses, and desserts. I can’t speak for the other guests, but I learned so much and tasted so many that night.