Oh So Boring…

I’ve decided to devote this weekend to me and myself. I’ve been under some stress and I need some time to just relax and decompress. I deserve it!

To that end, I decided that I should go get some dim sum at the newly reopened Hollywood East Cafe. Normally I’d go with the foodies of DonRockwell.com (who introduced me to their dim sum back when it was on University Blvd), and they are going tomorrow afternoon, but Sunday didn’t quite work out for me this weekend (other plans). So, I thought, go this morning, you deserve it! And here are the dishes I got. (Sorry for the photo quality. iPhone + restaurant lighting…)

First up is one of my favorites from visits past, Assorted Meat with Sweet Rice in Lotus Leaves:

Yummy glutinous rice filled with Chinese sausage, pork, some other meat, nuts(?), all wrapped up in lotus leaves and steamed. Mmm.

Next, Pork and Shrimp Steamed Bean Curd Skin Rolls:

Not sure I ever had these, but they were much better than I was expecting.

Next up the char siu bao, roasted pork buns, in their two classic varieties, steamed and baked:

I got both types because while I’ve always been a baked bun fan, some I know love the steamed and I thought I’d see if I’d changed. I haven’t, those baked buns are as good as they look, but I’ll eat either.

Next up was a revelation for me, Vegetables in Fried Bean Curd Skin:

These were great, a dish I’m pretty sure I’ve never had there. Stuffed with black mushroom for sure and maybe bamboo shoot? Not sure, but all yummy!

Finally, the dish that I have been anticipating the return of most of all, the Carrot Dessert:

These are fried, sweet desserts in the shape and color of carrots. They don’t contain carrot and they don’t taste like carrots…they are just yummy.

And I’d like to say I appreciate the patience and understanding of the nice man at Hollywood East who, I have no doubt, helped spur the kitchen on to get the Carrots made a bit faster than usual (I was at the place when they opened, not exactly the lunch rush yet).

Good start to a less-stress weekend.

So MLK Day was a Day of Eating for ol’ Matt as I met up with the fine people of DonRockwell.com at New Kam Fong in Wheaton, MD.  What transpired was a feast of Cantonese food partaken by 17 adults and 8 kids in all.

I apologize that there aren’t any pictures, but, well, FOOOOOOD. However, I hope to below list the order of food with my impressions of it. The “names” of the dishes are what I can either glean from the menu or remember from my head. There is also a chance I’ve missed a dish, but I think I got them all. Now, the food:

1. Three BBQ Meats/Marinated Delight/Platter: A platter of mystery meats. Our guesses were roast pork, roast chicken, and intestine/stomach/something. All quite good and yummy.
2. Watercress with Clam Soup: A soup chock full of clams and watercress. The broth was very good as was the watercress. The clams? Well, I’m not the biggest fan, but I was told these were good.
3. ByBa Duck (aka Pipa Duck): Perhaps the best roasted duck I’ve ever had. So good.
4. Fried Sliced Fish, Salt and Pepper Style: Slices of a white fish, coated with a crispy breading and fried. The breading itself had salty, spicy kick to it. In fact, it was probably the hottest dish of the day, spice-wise. Served with some preserved anchovies and jalapenos.
5. Oyster with Ginger & Scallion Roast Pig in Casserole: The first casserole of the day. Again, not the biggest shellfish fan, but the oysters I tried were yummy. The best part of this dish were the onions at the bottom. They had absorbed all the sauce and flavor…mmm.
6. Sauteed Abalone with Chinese Vegetables and Chinese Mushrooms: I really liked the veggies (mustard greens?) and mushrooms. The abalone? Eh. Still not a fan of its weird texture.
7. Braised Eel with Roast Pig Garlic Sauce: This too was very good. One issue I had was that the eel was not boneless or bone-cut, but rather just chopped. The eel had great flavor, but the picking the meat from the bones (the many, many bones) was annoying. However, see that “garlic” up there? In this dish were the most flavorful garlic cloves ever. I kept picking them out, perhaps to the consternation of my tablemates.
8. Salted Fish, Diced Chicken, and Eggplant Casserole: A classic of Cantonese casseroles. I’m a big fan of all the ingredients, add them together and you get a happy Matt.
9. Sauteed Kingdom Mushroom, Braised Tofu, and Snow Pea Shoots: The final dish of the day was a “on the board” special. It’s about what it sounds like, except the mushrooms were…odd. I have *no* idea what species they are, but the whole mushroom must be enormous. The slices of mushrooms were bigger than an Ike dollar. Still, a very good dish.

All in all, an amazing feast. The cost, while not cheap, was still a great bargain for the variety of dishes. In fact, the whole meal per person was probably about the same cost as one order of that abalone dish. And the kids held their own, let me tell you. They had their own table with, while not all this food, not exactly just a few dishes.

Now? Now I’m going to sit like a bump on a log and try and digest the feast.

If you are anything like me…well, no one is like me. I’m unique. But, if you want to be like me, here is an activity that you can do if you are stuck inside during a blizzard like I am now or want to pretend to be. That activity? Looking at old menus!

I know, I know, not that exciting, but, man, is it fascinating! The object of my focus this afternoon is the LA Public Library’s online Menu Collection. Just give it a whirl and I dare you not to be sucked in.  Marvel at what ten bucks would buy you 30 years ago compared to today.

I’m not the first to find this site, but I’m damn sure not going to be the last!