Last nights trip to the Chinatown Grocery Store yielded some fun items.
We have some toasted seaweed packets for lunch, spicy peanuts and anchovies in one container, spicy sichuan peanuts in another container,Sichuan peppercorns, live shrimp,Chinese broccoli, pea shoots, kewpie mayo, various chile oils, ginger and off camera, a big bag of garlic peanuts. Total cost 36 dollars.
Good Morning everyone.. I hope everyone had a terrific weekend. I spent a lot of my Saturday in our garden then, most of my Sunday walking around and just taking it easy. It is such a rare thing for me to have both a Saturday and Sunday off, it can be habit forming.
Keeping up with that laid back vibe of the weekend, I spent most of the morning listening to some really chill Reggae Music. Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaac type stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp-41RC2IHI) . It was just too hard to get into the blues today. Further more, bopping through Canal Street, I decided to stop in for a little dim sum.
Royal Seafood
103 Mott Street
(212) 219-2338
Sorry, I have to start thinking more like a blogger. I take photos of the prep just fine, it’s just when the food comes out, well, then it is go time. So it’s hard for me to stop and add an extra step. I am sure this will take some minor readjusting.
I had to take my wife to work this morning. doing our daily routine: going over the Manhattan Bridge, driving across Canal st, through the Holland Tunnel, then along various numbered routes in N.J.
As we were pulling close to her office, we passed Union Pork Store. Home to Jabi, the famous butcher. The guy is so talented and such a nice guy. I wanted my wife to meet him and his wife as well as see their shop. Here is a link to his store.. He has well over a hundred sausages. http://www.unionporkstore.com/
Well I am glad I brought her because she spotted a 12 pound rib roast and suggested we buy it. We were going to make a quick pastrami.(smoking a corned beef) to bring to someone’s house but, this will certainly do.
Stopped by one of the fish spots on Mott Street. We picked out two Mackerel, or so we thought. A prize for whoever names this fish. It may be Saury? That is my guess.
flounders and things. they often have large sea bass steaks. but this seems to be an unusual selection for them. I did notice that most of the fish stalls in this area on Mott were relatively “light”
Yun Nan Garden
3934 Schiff Dr
(702) 869-8885
Tonight I took out a really important customer of mine. I have eaten with him all over China and all over Las Vegas. When we first met, we initially bonded over our love for food. My friend is 5.’10 167 pounds however, he eats more than any human being I have ever met. He is the type of guy who orders an extra dish or two after everyone has stopped eating. I have ordered tasting menus with him and he has ordered an extra salad or plate of food while most people at the table are working on coffee, dessert, or after dinner drinks. The man is a machine.
4745 Spring Mountain Road
Las Vegas
http://www.phoso1.com/Default.aspx
The more I travel, the more I realize just how conditioned I am to live in NY. It’s strange, most cities are not pedestrian friendly. Sitting in my hotel tonight, I google mapped one of my favorite restaurants in LV. It’s called Pho So #1. It’s this Vietnamese Spot that stays open really late. I have gone at all hours and it is always busy. Families, friends, large groups, couples, it’s a spot for sure. So, I see on google maps that it’s three miles from my hotel. It’s a hike but, what else am going to do. I am a married man, in Las Vegas, by myself. I don’t gamble, I am not going to go see a show by myself and wax museums are not my thing. What’s a guy to do with two good legs on a beautiful night.
I leave my hotel with camera in hand and start to take a walk.
What a gorgeous day it is. Spring has sprung my friends, spring has sprung. It’s amazing how much beautiful nature still exists within NYC. There are gorgeous dogwoods and cherry blossoms blooming everywhere. What else happens in Spring, Great NY Noodletown starts frying up some soft shell crabs.
Scarily, you can get soft shells crabs all year round in Chinatown. Though, it’s only during certain seasons where you want to eat them. Like anything, it is freshest while they are alive. To me, I have an incredible sensitivity to frozen shellfish. The texture is always affected. The flesh takes on water and becomes water logged. It’s really off putting to me. That is why I rarely if ever eat King Crab Legs. Frozen shrimp are slightly more forgivable but, I still can tell. But,let us not speak of such unpleasantness.
It’s a beautiful day and it’s time to go for a walk:
Where to? Why across the Manhattan Bridge
I am not a big breakfast person. In fact, I don’t like breakfast at all. Orange juice, it’s nice with a little Vodka, I like to marinate my carnitas in it but, it’s such a strange custom to start your day with a big glass of OJ. Are people not brushing their teeth?
Sure I will eat a bagel with some white fish or perhaps some sturgeon or salmon but, that’s about as breakfasty as I get. A morning cheeseburger, sounds good to me.
As I have mentioned, I drive through Chinatown quiet a bit. Is there anything better than a nice container of Pork Bun or Bun Cha for breakast? Bun is pronounced Boon.
So, we stopped in at Paris Sandwich this morning like we often do. I picked up some shrimp spring rolls for the Mrs. some sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf with beans and pork and finally a Bun thit nuong for me.
The Bun cha there is really nice. As you can see below. Here you have pork, a little egg roll, peanuts, Thai Basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, rice noodles, hot sauce and Nuoc Mam Cham, Nuoc Mam Cham is that sauce in the bottom left corner. It’s the slightly sweet and sour sauce that accompanies many Vietnamese Dishes. It is part Fish Sauce, part sugar, part lime, part water, sometimes with a little chile. It’s delicious
The price, it’s $5.50. So much better and more healthy than a stupid pancake.
This will obviously not be my last time visiting this place. I will post more photos next time.
