Shanghai No 1 Seafood Village Part II

I have a new go-to place for dim sum ... Shanghai Village No 1. I've had dinner here before, and while it was good, the price wasn't justified. By a long shot. However, like Sea Harbor, they have dim sum. Both places taste more authentic, more like what I ate when I was in Hong Kong ... however, this is NOT cheap dim sum. The best bang for your buck is still NBC Seafood on Atlantic.

I haven't been to Elite or Lunasia yet, but I consider myself to be somewhat of a conisseur on dim sum. And I've had some bad bad dim sum. Shanghai Village is more of a new-age dim sum place, where there are no carts. You order off a menu and the items are brought to your table. It does take away from the fun of peeking under all the covers to find what looks delectable off a cart.

pork ribs

 har gow (shrimp dumplings)

 shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings)

 braised chicken feet

 deep fried taro

 Shanghai rice cakes

 Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce

beef rice noodles

 rice balls in sweet rice wine

egg tarts

The picture at the very top is the steamed pan fried pork buns. The bottoms are seared, like potstickers. And they are amazing, full of juice. They run out quickly so make sure you order them first thing when you sit down.

I'm very impressed with the dim sum here, and while it's a bit more expensive than the regular places, I think it's a great treat. I definitely won't come for dinner again, like I proclaimed last time, but on a Saturday morning at 1030am (before they get busy), this place really hits the spot.

Shanghai No 1 Seafood Village

250 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776



Sunday Stealing I

Hi hi ... I was requested to fill this out so I thought I'd give it a go. Reporting and common area maintenance reconciliations are eating away at my brain so a breather is in order! Ready to know some random stuff about me that you don't care about?

And yes, I know the post is called Sunday Stealing but today is Wednesday. I'm a rebel.

Sunday Stealing I

1. Tell us about something that made you laugh last night.
Boyfriend's t-shirt that had a picture of Kirby on it.

2. What were you doing at 8 PM last night?
Finishing up season 1 of Girls and reading Deresden Files.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Vendor paid-for lunch. The best kind of lunches!

4. What happened to you in 2006?
I moved out of my parent's house and bought my very first new car with my own money.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"Come on in" ... not in a dirty way, I swear.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
Three - hot green tea, iced black tea and Arrowhead water. I only drink Fiji, Arrowhead and Evian bottle waters. All other ones taste weird to me, especially Dasani.

7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black and yellow. And it's more of a comb.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Groceries. So exciting.

9. Where were you last night?
Home watching TV and cooking.

10. What color is your front door?
Brown. I wish I had a cool color front door with the knob in the middle.

11. Where do you keep your change?
In my wallet. I keep extra quarters in the cupholder of my car for parking meters.

12. What’s the weather like today?
Beautiful. 75 degrees in March!

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Winter White Chocolate from Baskin Robbins.

14. What excites you?
Almost anything can, if you present it the right way.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Cut it short? No. But I am due for a haircut.

16. Are you over the age of 35?
Nope but I'm dreading hitting 30. 

17. Do you talk a lot?
Oh god yes. Even I can admit this.

18. Do you watch Franklin and Bash?
Is this the TV show with Zach Morris from Saved By the Bell?

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes, a few.

20. Do you make up your own words?
Sometimes. Or I go out to dinner and keep using the word "stimulated" instead of "simulated"

21. Are you a jealous person?
Yes, but don't tell anyone I'm in a relationship with. As if they haven't figued it out by now.

22. What does the last text message you received say?
"I'm ok. Been going nonstop though."

23. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
Home ... and then dinner at Bahooka before they shut down for good on March 10th. *sad face*

24. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Oh there are so many ... but probably a couple of coworkers.

25. Are you crushing on anyone that you shouldn't be?
This question is inappropriate. I plead the Fifth.

*Sponsored by Sunday Stealing
Sunday Stealing - The Twenty-Fiver Meme

The Walking Dead S3E12 - BluePrint Cleanse

Before we get to the abomination in the picture above, how amazing was The Walking Dead this week? FINALLY we got some amazing acting and character development. Morgan was forgotten by me after the first few episodes in Season 1, but apparently he has been a fan favorite since he is (was?) a character in the comics. How he is back, and as koo-koo as a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

picture of Morgan

 

Good job to the writer of this episode, Scott Gimple. Word on the street is that he will be the head writer on the show for Season 4, and if he continues to write episodes such as this one and develop the characters, I think the show will definitely take a turn for the better because I do feel like it's been in a TINY bit of a slump lately. The actor who played Morgan gave a great performance and played "depths of despair so much that he's lost his mind" really well.

 

Also, I'm really glad that Carl didn't go on his "lone wolf" mission because he was being stupid and running off again, because both Boyfriend and I yelled at the screen "Why are you being stupid again, Carl?!" Thank god he didn't revert back to the old Carl.

 

don't be fooled by the fruit ... there was no fruit in the juices, except lemon

 

And now the cleanse. There is basically no recipe this week because we did this BluePrint Cleanse from Friday through Sunday. My friend Judith (hi Judith!) wanted to try doing a three-day cleanese and asked if I wanted to do it with her. I had done one before and disliked it, but thought that I'd give it another try. Plus, cleansing needs a support system! I wasn't going to leave my friend in the cold. Boyfriend and Brother decided to do it as well. Yay, group of four! That's also why there are so many juices in the picture above ... it was both myself and Boyfriend's share. That's a lot of bottles in there.

 

Basically what you're doing is going on an all-juice diet for three days (or any other number you specify). You get six bottles a day, to be drank about every two hours. We did the "Excavation Cleanse" which is the most hardcore. If we were going to do this, it was going to be ALL THE WAY BABY.

 

Going all the way means that you get mainly vegetable juices, unsweeted by any fruit. Levels 1 and 2 have more fruit in the juices (pineapple, beets, mint, etc) but this was a straight veggie juice cleanse. THE JUICES WERE SO GREEN. Each day we drank four bottles of green juice (kale, spinach, parsley, celery, apple, lemon, etc), one bottle of "lemonade" (water, lemon, agave, cayenne from around the world - Master Cleanse style), and one final bottle of cashew milk (cashews, water, cinnamon, vanilla bean, nutmeg). Everything is cold-pressed, raw and organic.

 

For three days prior to the cleanse, you're supposed to cut your carb, dairy, meat and sugar intake. No processed foods at all, so your body doesn't go into any sort of shock when you start giving it low calories and all vegetables. After the cleanse, you're supposed to introduce those items back slowly, so you don't shock your system.

 

The point of the cleanse is to rid your body of toxins and give you a kick start to healthier eating and living habits.

 

Throughout the cleanse, you CAN eat if you are desperate. But be forewarned that the items they suggest are not anything substantial ... basically stuff like two stalks of celery, or a couple slices of cucumber, or a quarter of an avocado, or 1/2 a cup of black coffee. They encourage you to drink plenty of water, green tea or herbal teas but no sweetners.

 

Ok, I'm not going to lie to you. I WANTED FOOD. It wasn't because I was particularly hungry, because those juices do fill you up pretty well. It's just that everything tastes the same when 66% of your day is based on the same "green juice" ... and no, it is nothing like the Naked Juice Green Machine, which is delicious. It's like drinking a salad. With no dressing. Not too bad, but at the same time not great. Mainly, I just missed FLAVORS. Everything started smelling so good to me. I think everyone basically felt the same, but Judith and I were a lot stronger ... all Boyfriend and Brother wanted after the cleanse was meat. Or as Boyfriend put it "I want to eat something that can run away from me" ... *sigh*

 

Don't do a cleanse just to lose weight or anything because you're still consuming about 1000 calories a day, from a usual 2000 calorie diet. At the end of three days, you would have saved 3000 calories, and 3000 calories makes 1 pound. And I lost almost exactly 1 pound. Boyfriend did complain of headaches and light headedness from the lack of calories.

 

After doing the cleanse I have come up with the following pros:

• Three days of no preservatives, no meat and organic eating is super healthy
• It does make you more aware of the foods you eat but it didn't make me desperately crave salads after doing the cleanse, like the website predicted
• Jump start to healthier eating habits ... maybe only because you don't want to have undone the work from the three days you've just suffered through
• You go to the bathroom. A lot. If you are having trouble, take a laxative and it'll help your body further get rid of the toxins that have built up.

All in all, I think all of us are glad that we did the cleanse, but have agreed to never do it again and will just try to have better eating habits from here on out.



The Walking Dead S3E11 - Seared Scallops

I think that I've blogged about seared scallops before buy Boyfriend is absolutely nutso about them. I went to 99 Ranch while he was at work the day before (on a Saturday, poor thing) and there they were ... fresh scallops the size of my palm. NOT PREVIOUSLY FROZEN. The sweet lady fishmonger that had previously helped me when I wanted to buy a live fish for steamed fish with soy sauce and ginger was there. She always treats me like her daughter and totally takes care of me. She went through the scallops and found the best looking ones just for me.

Sear your scallops in a combination of equal parts canola oil and butter, over high heat, seasoned with salt and pepper. Make sure that the pan isn't too crowded (mine is a bit overcrowded) otherwise the scallops will steam and you want to get a good sear over it. Depending on the thickness of the scallop, you only need to do it for 2-3 minutes per side. The very heart of the scallop should still be the tiniest bit raw.

I have to admit that scallops were a lot easier to eat during The Walking Dead ... nothing that crunched and nothing that was tomato sauce based. Not that there was too much to worry about though; this last episode was pretty boring actually. I don't need to have a zombie attack every time but I felt that this one was just pretty dragged out. Lots of talking with no direction. Hopefully the next one will be better because I'm thinking the new director from the midseason premiere is tanking quite a bit.

The Walking Dead S3E10 - Homemade Fried Chicken

So generally, I go pretty all out for meals during new The Walking Dead episodes. I find a recipe that's pretty time consuming, plan it out, practically come up with a timeline to schedule everything to be eaten at 6pm (we have DirecTV in Eastern time, so we get to see new episodes first!) and get super excited. Never, ever have I asked Boyfriend what HE wanted. Because who cares, right? Happy live-in-girlfriend, happy life. Or something like.

This time, however, I asked if there would be anything he's interested in me making and he responded with "fried chicken" ... my jaw almost hit the floor. Fried chicken is nothing to scoff at. nor is it easy. But my mind immediately went to a Thomas Keller Ad Hoc recipe.

brining. so much brine.

Colonel Sander's herbs and spices have nothing on Thomas Keller's!

A lot of prep work came with this chicken ... but super easy. Mainly, chicken had to be brined about 12-24 hours ahead of time, then rinsed and dried, and then left to sit out for 1.5-2 hours, to get to room temperature. This ensures that the outside of the chicken won't cook faster than the inside, leaving you with a burned exterior and a raw interior.

When Vanessa asked if I was going to fry in my new Le Creuset cast iron pan (Christmas present!), I told her no ... I was going to deep fry! She then asked "Oh cool, you have a deep fryer?" and I said "Nope, I'm just going to fill a pot with oil" ... she then proceeded to tell me how to put out a grease fire. Smother the flames, don't throw water on it!

With the help of a trusty candy thermometer, I got the oil heated and bubbling to a nice 320degreesF and started frying away. It was a great experience and though the oil bubbled and hissed super loudly, I did not get burned in the slightest.

nicely browned chicken. probably due to the spices and buttermilk.

served with steamed asparagus and Kraft mac-and-cheese

The chicken came out moist and flavorful, if a tad bit salty. Maybe less brining next time? I brined for a total of 20 hours or so, maybe I should cut that down. Boyfriend didn't think it was salty though, and proclaimed it was "one of the best things [I've] ever made" ... always nice to hear. The skin was so crisp and amazing that there were audible crunching sounds when you bit into it ...

Which leads me to the new The Walking Dead episode. I must admit, the crunching from the chicken while watching zombie bashing is seriously a bit unnerving. This week's episode was a bit slow ... and I dislike Dead Lori coming back to haunt Rick some more. Come on, woman! Just leave him alone and let him lead his people. From the trailers, it looks like next week, Rick will have a mutiny on his hands. And the Daryl/Merle abandonment didn't last very long, huh? Actually, the episode was slow ... until the very end. RIP to the best mustache on television. *sad face*

Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Fried Chicken
as much chicken as you want

Chicken - I used 5 drumsticks and 1 package chicken breast tenders

Brine
8 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 Tbsp honey
6 bay leaves
1/2 head of garlic, cut horizontally
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1/4 bunch thyme sprigs
1/4 bunch flat leafed parsley sprigs
3-4 sprigs rosemary
Grated zest/juice of 2 large lemons

Coating
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk
grapeseed/canola/vegetable oil for deep-frying

Count your hours down and start making the brine. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely before adding the chicken in. It takes about 1-2 hours.

Rinse the chicken pieces and place in the cold brine. Refrigerate overnight or for 12-24 hours. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat the chicken dry, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Let the chicken come to room temperature outside of the fridge, about 1.5-2 hours.

Mix the coating ingredients together in a bowl, transfer half to another second and set up a dipping station for easy assembly while battering: chicken, coating, buttermilk, second bowl of coating, tray.

Bring the oil to 320degreeF in a pot deep enough that the oil does not come up more than 1/3 of the way; make sure you have about 2 inches of oil so the chicken piece can submerge fully. It took almost an entire bottle of oil for me to get this, and I just used a medium saucepot (see picture above). If you have a deep fryer then feel free to use it but the saucepot method worked pretty fabulously.

Right before taking the chicken into it's hot oil bath, dip each piece into the coating, patting off the excess, then into the buttermilk and then into the second bowl of coating. Place the chicken onto the tray. I did this in batches, so while one batch of chicken was almost done frying, I'd coat another batch.

When the oil has reached the proper temperature, carefully lower the pieces of chicken into the oil. The temperature of the oil will decrease, so adjust the heat as necessary to bring the oil to proper temperature. Fry for about 13 minutes for the drumsticks, to a deep golden brown, cooked throughout and very crisp. The white meat chicken tenders took about 8 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath, so the oil can drip down and the skin won't become soggy. Alternatively, you can just transfer the chicken to a tray lined with paper towels, if you have no wire rack. Sprinkle with coarse salt (optional, I didn't do that).

Let the chicken rest for a few minutes to cool slightly. Be careful biting into it! Eat fried chicken until you explode.