Taiwan: Pho Hoa

So on Facebook, I asked my friends if I should eat pho or ramen? I guess thanks to Jess, I choose pho, since I've had ramen too many times already.

I set off on another glorious food adventure in the middle of Taipei. I remember wandering about a few years ago and encountered Pho Hoa on my way to Japanese style all you can eat bbq. This time, instead of taking the MRT, I got lost on the Taipei bus system. Bus Number 262... (I appreciate the bus system cause it's cheap and efficient, unlike LA, which is experiencing carmegedon or not really)

After the bus passed the familiar underground mall at Zhongxiao Fuxing and Dunhua. I decided it was time for me to get off the bus and wander about.

Pho Hoa

No. 43號, Lane 190, Section 1, DūnHuà South Road, Daan District.
:台北市大安區敦化南路一段190巷43號1樓
You can get here by going out Exit 8 of Zhongxiao Dunhua Station, cross the street to the left and go through the ally or you can go through Exit 5 of Zhongxiao Fuxing Station.
You can also google map it ...
11:00-23:00 (damn they open late)
Tel: 2751-5578
http://noodle.zeelive.com.tw

After sweating and walking around in circles around the same block ... I finally reached my destination. I took a glance at the menu.


Oooo O M G. They have a chef's special called 火車飛機 (Train Airplane). This basically has everything all in one bowl (chicken, tripe, steak, tendon etc. that you typically find in pho). Just because it had such an awesome name in Chinese ... I ordered it : ).

Along with the Pho, I ordered spring rolls and Vietnamese iced coffee. The total came to be 270 NT. WTF ... All that for 270 NT. That's like 9 usd. That's how much I have to pay with tax and tip for just a tiny ass bowl of pho back in LA. Ah... I love Taiwan.

The first item that came was the spring rolls.

I gotta say. These spring rolls tasted like ordinary spring rolls. They were not superb and just alright. It felt kind of empty and loose. I think they put too little stuff in the rolls that made it feel thin. The sauce that went with it was just fish sauce and peanuts and squeezed lime. Just meh...

I was hoping the star of the show would be much better than the rolls.



When I saw the soup ... I was a bit puzzled. It was not clear and brown like typical pho soups. When I tasted it ... O M G...... This soup is delicious. It sort of tasted like ramen broth but with all the pho spices. The soup was creamy from the bone marrow from probably a million cow bones they used to stew the soup. I think this is perhaps one of the unusual but best pho I've ever had. I ended up drinking all the soup. It is also the first time I don't feel thirsty after drinking the soup (other soups I've had had me drinking a gallon of water).

The amount of noodles and meat also well balanced the soup. Some pho places put way too little meat or too much noodles >< . This place was just perfect.

To finish off ... I got the iced coffee and watched as it slowly went drip drip drip ... drip ... drip...


And finally stirred and poured into the ice for a nice refreshing finish to a meal.

It just started raining. Talk about good timing for getting back in time before it started pouring a lot. On a side note...

I rescued a dog from getting hit by a taxi ... then the dog bit me as thanks haha.

Now for something amusing ... Instead of using a lawnmower or grooming machine, they use a motor scooter to groom a baseball field.

Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup Shop 永康牛肉麵

Once again ... I am in Taiwan. Work has been pretty exciting though. I'm researching new techniques for designing green roads and eco friendly roads because my company's new project is near a really eco sensitive area and does not want to disturb the habitats.

Well. Of course, in Taiwan ... what is there to do??? Well, to eat and lets see to eat and more to eat. Let me start off with one of my favorite places to go and most favorite dishes to eat: Beef Noodle Soup.

This soup is delicious and can be spicy at times, but my god even if its 10000 degrees outside, I can still eat a bowl of beef noodle soup or 牛肉麵 niu rou mian as I would pronounce it with my horrible romanized Chinese.

Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup Shop 永康牛肉麵

It rained on my lens : (
No. 17, Lane 31, Jinshan S. Rd., Sec.2
(02)2351-1051

So... after a long dreaded hike in the rain and probably walking around in circles around Chaing Kai Shek Memorial Hall, I finally reached the big yellow sign that has my favorite beef noodles. For starters I get the steam hog spare ribs as they translate it in English. It is rice with some pork ribs and super delicious and flavorful.

Random Pork Rice Thing

And as I ate the rice with pork, the star of my meal arrived. BEEF NOODLE SOUP! Deliciousness. I'll tell you why it is delicious. First, the beef flavor was really delicious! Second, the noodles were very springy and QQ (as they would call it in Taiwan). Third, the spicy level was just right. Ah I can eat 100 bowls of this and not get sick of it.

Beef Noodle Soup

So... next time you visit Taiwan, this is one place to go to for beef noodle soup.

For beef noodle soup recipe:
Here's a link to my recipe.

Pork Chop with Tomato-Herb Sauce

Hello Everyone!

I am back to blogging after I have graduated from UCLA with a degree in BS in civil engineering. Man ... my senior year was one hell of a trip. Rocket propulsion class ... woot woot I want to be a rocket scientist.

Anyways, after finishing my last research paper, I decided to cook up some pork chops because that is one of my favorite cuts of meat ever. This herby pork is healthy and really delicious!

Pork Chock with Tomato-Herb Sauce

Ingredients
2 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature(yum fattiness)
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 tbsp Marjoram (fresh and chopped)
1 tbsp Parsley (fresh and chopped)
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
2 Pork chops
Salt and pepper
Corn Starch

Directionals of tons of prepwork (not really)
1. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
2. Finely chop the herbs and garlic
3. Use a fork to mix in butter and herbs and garlic
3. Punch pork chops and sprinkle corn starch all over the pork chops
4. Salt and pepper pork chops

Cooking Directions
1. Add about 1 tbsp of the herb butter in a pan
2. Wait for butter to heat up and add the pork chop
3. Brown pork chop on both sides for about 4 minutes on each side on low medium heat
4. Add tomatoes to the pan and stir until juices run out of the tomatoes
5. Add remaining butter in the pan.
6. Plate pork and tomatoes
7. Optionally use a blow torch to char the tomatoes.

Enjoy this !!

Turnip Cake with Ginger Sour Cream

Just as I thought this quarter at UCLA was going to be easy ... BAM I'm piled with homework and projects again. Man the quarter system came at me really fast ><. Anyways, despite how much work I have, I still have my food club in my tiny apartment. This week, my club ordered a Community Supported Agriculture box from South Central Farms. I will show you one of the dishes I came up with. I got my inspiration from potato cakes and used a little bit of my creativity to make the flavors work xD. Turnip Cake with Ginger Sour Cream

Ingredients for Turnip Cakes
2 Turnips
1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Bread crumbs
1 tsp Five Spice Powder
1 tsp Sesame oil
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Green onion

Prep work and cooking
1. Dice turnips into tiny pieces.
2. Place turnips in a steamer to steam until soft (10-15 minutes)
3. Meanwhile, slice green onions and measure out ingredients.
4. Remove turnips from the steam and place on a very fine sieve to sqeeze out any water and form a paste-like puree.
5. Place turnip in a bowl and add remaining ingredients.
6. Mix well.
7. Form the the mixture into a cake (like crab-cakes)
8. Fry the turnip cakes (2-3 minutes on each side) to get a nice golden crisp on each side.

Ingredients for Ginger Sour Cream
1/4 cup Sour cream
1/2 inch peeled Ginger
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cardamon
Cilantro (optional)

Directions
1. Finely dice the ginger
2. Mix everything together

Enjoy this vegetarian friendly dish. It tastes crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. You can serve it with sriracha.

Here's another lovely picture of the finished product!

Maverick Grits from S.N.O.B

O wow ... I haven't touched this blog in awhile. Well, it is the start of a new year! I will be blogging whenever possible. Grad school apps have been quite a pain, but I have been going through them decently.

During the break, my sister, Jennifer, made these awesome grits and shrimp etc. stuff when I came over to her condo. When grits come to mind, I think of breakfast, sweetness with brown sugar and raisins.

On a side note ... COOKING RAGE!! THEY DO NOT HAVE OLD FASHION GRITS IN WESTWOOD!! WHOLE FOODS ... NONE, TRADER JOES ... NONE, RALPHS ... Instant Crap!

I guess polenta, cream of rice from Whole Foods, or instant grits work just as well...
Maverick Grits from S.N.O.B

Ingredients
Grits of not really grits for my case:
4 cups Water
3 tbs Unsalted butter, divided
1 cup Stone-ground grits (polenta, cream of rice, instant grits workish)
3/4 cup Heavy cream

Topping:
2 tbs Unsalted butter, divided
1/4 lb Country ham (1/4 cup)
3 Italian Sauages
20 medium Shrimp
1 tsp Cajun spice blend (recipe below)
1/4 cup Green onion
2 Garlic cloves
2 Vine tomatoes
1 tbs Vermouth

Cajun Spice Blend
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Garlic powder
2.5 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground black pepper

1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp Dried oregano
1 tsp Thyme powder
2 teaspoons salt

Directions for Cajun spice mix:
1. Mix it all together!

Prep work for the main dish
1. Dice ham and place in a container
2. Slice green onions
3. Seed and dice fresh tomatoes
4. Mince garlic
5. Slice sausages into 1/4 in thick rounds
6. Peel and devein shrimp

Directions for cooking the grits!
1. Boil water and add grits
2. Stir until all the grits are incorporated
3. Add butter and cream and cook until desired consistency (Depending on what type of grain your cooking it can take from 3 minutes to 40 minutes)
4. Keep warm until you finish cooking the toppings!

Directions for cooking the topping!
1. Melt 1 tbs of butter in a pan.
2. Add sausages and cook until cooked
3. Add shrimp and cook until almost done (1-3 minutes)
4. Add garlic and Cajun spice blend and cook for 30 seconds
5. Add tomatoes, green onion, and vermouth and cook for 1 minutes.
6. Serve topping over grits.

Enjoy the new year!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ah... Seems like I haven't touched this in awhile ><. Well, it's because I have been busy with mainly school and a food club I started in my tiny apartment. Usually, I would be updating http://foodatucla.blogspot.com, but even I don't have time for that.

Anyways... Last week, my club made pumpkin desserts, and I thought to share with my readers (if any are left) my cheesecake recipe.

This cheesecake is not an ordinary cheesecake. It is extremely light, airy, and fluffy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake


Ingredients for Filling
4 slabs of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup Milk or Cream (depends on how healthy you want to be)
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Ingredients for Crust
1 package of Graham crackers
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Allspice
½ tsp Ground ginger
1 tbs Dark brown sugar
3/4 stick butter (room temperature)

Prep work Crust
1. Preheat oven 325F
2. Make sure butter is softened
3. Crush graham crackers coarsely
4. Line Bottom of springform pan with parchment paper
5. Mix all the dry ingredients together
6. Add dry ingredients and butter on the bottom of the pan evenly
to form the crust
7. Prepare a large and deep dish for a water bath by filling it with
water.
8. Line bottom of the springform pan

Prep work Filling
1. Beat egg whites until soft peaks
2. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, add the cream cheese
and whip on low speed for 3 minutes
3. Add egg yolks, milk, sugar and mix for 1 minute until everything
evenly incorporated in the mix
4. Slowly add the flour, allspice, ground ginger while mixing on low
5. Add vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and mix for about 2
minutes or until evenly incorporated. (Don’t forget to scrap the
edges of the bowl while your mixing).
6. Gently fold in egg whites.
7. Gently zig zag pour the batter into the springform pan.
8. Place pan in the water bath
9. Stick the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour
30 minutes.
10. Allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 30 minutes before
putting it in the fridge.

La Vecchia Cucina: A review

My food club ventured out to Santa Monica for DineLA for our weekly meeting on Fridays. It was decided by vote that we would go to La Vecchia Cucina. The menu looked great on the DineLA website! Seafood, lobster, filet mignon, and tiramisu ... what's not to like about this restaurant.

The restaurant contains an open kitchen, where you can see Chef Mollica working away at his dishes and managing his staff. With a dark lit environment, large bar space, and many tables, La Vecchia is a great place for a social gathering. Everyone in the restaurant was happily chatting loudly, sipping on wine and cocktails.

The wine list is quite extensive, ranging from California wines from Nappa Valley to Italy. Because most of the dishes were seafood, the waiter recommended a bottle of 2008 Salviano Orvieto Classico (a white wine).

As for the food, our group ordered everything from the DineLA menu so that we can sample each dish.

The appetizers were perhaps one of the best dishes of the evening. The chef utilized one of the freshest mozzarella and tomatoes for a salad that I've ever tasted. In addition, balsamic vinegar that accompanied the salad was especially fragrant and tasteful. As for the seafood salad, consisting of calamari, lobster, shrimp, and green beans with a lemon dressing, it amazed my taste buds with a perfect amount of acidity and oil. The last appetizer on the menu was a spinach ravioli with pomodoro sauce. The ravioli was pretty decent and well seasoned, while the pomodoro sauce's texture and sweetness provided uniqueness to the dish.

Unfortunately, the entrees were not as exciting and tasteful as the appetizers. The three choices were lobster and asparagus pasta tossed in light white wine pomodoro sauce, sea bass with lemon oil herb sauce, and lastly, filet mignon with a port wine reduction sauce.

I'll start with the lobster pasta. This is perhaps on par with the pasta I ate at Covel Dining Hall... too salty and some of the pasta was undercooked. In addition, the pomodoro sauce was definitely not like the pomodoro sauce I tasted from the appetizers. Furthermore, parts of the asparagus were unpeeled, thus leaving a horrible texture in my mouth. The only thing I can find right about the dish was the lobster tail and other lobster bits. Unfortunately, I do not return dishes to the kitchen because that would be wasteful, but if I was Gordon Ramsey, I would have spat it out and lobbed the dish into the open kitchen's trash.

On the other hand, the sea bass was mediocre. One of my friends had to send it back to the kitchen after an initial bite and trade it for filet mignon. The reason? The sea bass was overcooked and the sauce had enough acidity to put in a hole in your tongue. Aside from that mishap, the sauce had a nice herby flavor and the mashed potatoes and spinach were quite delicious, but those are only side dishes and not the main attraction.

Lastly, the filet mignon. Is there anything that can go wrong with this dish? The other two were already two strikes. The third one means its out. Unfortunately, the filet mignon was a home run. Perhaps one of the best steaks I've ever tasted. The outside was nicely seared, leaving the inside medium rare. The port wine reduction sauce was an additional key to making this dish successful. The flavors were sweet, savory, and brilliant. I later asked the chef for the recipe. The key is in the homemade veal stock.

Now onto the desserts. Who doesn't like desserts? I guess no one dislikes desserts. The restaurant offered tiramisu, an espresso shot with vanilla gelato, and molten cake. I will skip the vanilla gelato and espresso shot because, well, it tasted like how it would sound ... pretty normal. The tiramisu was not too sweet and the coco powder did not overpower the overall cake. The lady fingers and mascarpone cream tasted like I was eating clouds. The chocolate molten cake was also brilliant. The hot cake had a perfect level of sweetness and provided a texture to die for.

Overall, I would give this restaurant a 6.5 / 10, where 10 is a 3 Michelin star restaurant, 5 as some place like the Cheesecake Factory, and 1 as a sushi place with fish that has gone rancid.

Unfortunately, no one brought a camera :(. No pictures : (