food punk » food history

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin: First taste of the Berkshire hog

ange — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 19:16:36 +0000

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

The most amazing tonkatsu I’ve ever had is at this little Japanese restaurant, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin just off the main shopping strip in Waikiki. Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin is a Japanese chain specializing in fried breaded pork cutlet. I’ve had my share of fried pork cutlet, there are many Japanese restaurants and even food court booths in Vancouver that serve up some pretty delicious pork cutlet but Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin serves up this incredible thick-cut, super tender, super rich Kurobuta pork loin katsu in limited quantities, only 25 servings per day. Kurobuta pork comes from a specific pig, the Berkshire hog (aka the black hog) from Reading, UK. The Berkshire hog was gifted to the Japanese from the British government as a diplomatic gift. Kurobuta pork is superior in taste, texture and marbling. No wonder it’s only served in limited quantities at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin.

Sashimi, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Appetizer tray, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

As we waited for our tonkatsu to be served, we decided to order some appetizers. We were just about to order some calamari when our server told us about some off-the-menu items. She brought over a tray and we chose the sashimi immediately. Being away from Vancouver made us very homesick for quality sashimi. The sashimi in Vancouver is top-notch but we soon found out that Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin’s sashimi is more than comparable. The fish was fresh, silky and delicious. We took our top savouring each delicately sliced piece of sashimi. Our favourite was the yellowtail tuna, so smooth and succulent, I wish there were more slices of it on the platter.

Sashimi, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

The condiment for the Kurobuta pork loin katsu was a freshly ground roasted sesame seed sauce. The catch? You have to ground the sesame seeds yourself. They armed us with a ceramic bowl filled with roasted sesame seeds and a little wooden grounder and off we went, crushing the fragrant sesame seeds to powder. Well, actually, I did a pretty poor job and barely ground up any of the seeds before our server walked by our table and chuckled. She took the bowl from me and showed me how to properly ground the sesame seeds, “Really put your strength into it!” She told me.

Sesame seeds, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Freshly ground sesame seed sauce, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

When I finally finished grounding up the sesame seeds, they smelled rich and nutty, our server scooped in a spoonful of this secret sweet and savoury sticky sauce and our dipping sauce was ready! Our entrees finally arrived, my Kurobuta pork loin katsu looked amazing, thick cut and juicy. It tasted just as good as it looked, the meat was so tremendously moist. The pork was so juicy, I barely needed the sesame seed dipping sauce but since I worked so hard to ground it up, I had to try it. It coated the pork perfectly and enhanced the cutlet flavour. This katsu makes every other katsu I’ve had in Canada seem like insubstantial flappy pieces of scrap meat. The crust on the Kurobuta katsu was extremely crispy, it definitely tasted freshly fried. Even though the pork was so thickly cut, thanks to that amazing marbling, it still had this buttery, flavourful, rich melt-in-your-mouth quality. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Kurobuta Pork Loin Katsu, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Most of the entrees at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin come with unlimited cabbage salad and you can choose any dressing you desire. We stuck with Italian dressing and this tangy pineapple concoction made in-house. But the true star of the meal was definitely that thick-cut Kurobuta pork.

Prawn tempura, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

My boyfriend ordered the jumbo prawn tempura. They were not kidding when they said jumbo prawn because just one of those prawns was practically the size of my arm. Despite their gigantic size, the meat was very tender and moist. The tempura batter was crispy and fresh as well.

Prawn tempura, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

We were so stuffed from this meal that we didn’t even have room for dessert. If you’re in Honolulu, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin is a must! It’ll completely change your perception of the fried pork cutlet.

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Rainbow Drive-In: Go-to place for Plate Lunch

ange — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 05:54:41 +0000

Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

Rainbow Drive-In

3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

The plate lunch is a staple in Hawaiian cuisine. Dating back to the islands’ plantation days, the plate lunch is a simple and filling meal eaten by plantation workers in the 1880s. Many of the plantation workers were from Asia so there was lots of Asian influence on the plate lunch, the meal could possibly have been an American twist on the Japanese bento box. The plate lunch consists of two scoops of rice, one scoop of super sweet macaroni salad and a protein, spam is popular. If a plate lunch contains more than one protein, it’s categorized as a mixed plate. The plate lunch is basically a loco moco without the gravy.

The Rainbow Drive-in, the neighbourhood eatery with the multi-coloured roof in Honolulu famously serves one of the best plate lunch in Oahu. The Rainbow Drive-in embodies everything about Hawaiian dining: casual, comfort food, usually eaten outside. The Rainbow Drive-In has been opened in Honolulu for more than 50 years and has been featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Hawaii Five-O and Lost. In an episode of Lost from the later seasons, Hurley and Sayid were filmed grabbing a burger and discussing how to get back to the island.

When the Rainbow Drive-in is not featured on screen, it’s a popular hang out for locals and surfers. Cars and trucks with surf boards in tow pull up and plate lunches fly out the window along with slush floats and fried chicken.

Cherry slush float, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

It was so hot the day that we ate there, I couldn’t wait to slurp up a slush float: ice cream mixed in with slushies. We ordered the cherry flavour and it totally hit the spot: instant brain-freeze. The thing you have to remember about Hawaii is just about everything is extreme in flavour: desserts (and for some weird reason, macaroni salad) is 10 times sweeter than regular desserts, salty items like nuts or poke are very very salty. It takes some getting used to.

Plate lunch with fried eggs, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

We ordered two classic Hawaiian dishes: the plate lunch and the mixed plate. Since we hadn’t had breakfast yet, we added two fried eggs to our plate lunch but a traditional plate lunch would only consist of rice, macaroni salad and a protein. The food is exactly as comfort food should taste, familiar, homey and delicious. I could eat plate lunches all day long. The spam (my new addiction) was perfectly fried, the runny yolks of the egg pulled everything together on the plate.

Mixed plate, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

The mixed plate featured three types of meat: fish, chicken and beef. The beef was the best thing on the plate, savory and succulent.

The Rainbow Drive-in is a must-visit in Honolulu. Make sure you order the plate lunch!

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Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center

ange — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 06:17:39 +0000

Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Polynesian Cultural Center

55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

I’ve always wanted to go to a luau. It’s hard to find one these days that are true to traditional Hawaiian culture, ones that are not kitschy, overpriced and touristy. From my research and recommendations, the Polynesian Cultural Center seemed to offer the best luau on Oahu. Along with the ticket price is entrance to the park. The Polynesian Cultural Center isn’t just one building, it’s a full-fledged theme park celebrating the culture of the Polynesian islands, Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, Aotearoa (aka New Zealand), and Fiji. The Polynesian Cultural Center is located on the gorgeous North Shore of Oahu near Kualoa Ranch. I’ll never get enough of the breathtaking dramatic backdrops of the green rolling hills on Oahu, there’s something so captivating, majestic and inspirational about the scenery here; it’s no wonder we met so many people on Oahu who moved to the island because they fell in love with the place. The Polynesian Cultural Center is part of the Brigham Young University in Hawaii and is attached to the campus. You can take a tram tour at the park that takes you around the park and the University campus. We also noticed that the employees of the park wore name tags that stated their major area of study; and the majors ranged from biology to drama.

Canoe pageant, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

We arrived at the Polynesian Cultural Center shortly after lunch. We drove there but the park also owns a fleet of coach buses that can pick you up from all over the island, you can purchase transportation options as part of your ticket. We got to the park just in time for the canoe pageant which only happens once a day. The pageant featured a float for each island, dancers on the float danced in the island’s traditional form of dance and each float traveled down the canal that ran the length of the park. I loved the Samoa dance the best, especially at the end when the dancers rocked the float so hard that the paddler steering the float fell right into the water!

Boat ride through park, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

There are many other fun activities at the Polynesian Cultural Center. My boyfriend really wanted to do the Tongan spear throwing. It was almost like he was on an episode of Survivor. One of the park officials gave a quick demo of how to throw the spears, and hands out a bunch of long wooden spears to participants and off you go. Other activities we managed to squeeze in before dinner was a boat tour of the park, we also rowed canoes and caught a few of the shows. There was even a coconut demo where we got to sample some fresh coconut.

Fresh coconut, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Then finally it was time for the much anticipated luau. At the entrance of the luau, we were greeted with leis and an usher showed us to our seats in the giant dining room. Luaus have been part of Hawaiian culture since the 19th century, they are large feasts accompanied by entertainment and music. Luaus used to be religious celebrations but in 1819, King Kamehameha opened up luau celebrations to all his subjects, regardless of religion. The Polynesian Cultural Center offers a number of different luaus, I chose the Ali’i luau based on the menu and the dinner program. I really wanted to try the famous Hawaiian dish, the kalua pig, the pig is barbecued whole in an underground pit.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The Ali’i luau also featured a presentation of the King and his court along with the ceremony of unearthing the kalua pig. The host of the luau was very thorough and informative in explaining the history and significance behind luau traditions. I also loved the seating arrangement at the luau, seats were arranged family style in long tables that seat up to 8 people. It gave us a chance to meet other people and find out what everyone else had been up to on the island. We met a nice couple vacationing from Germany as well as a couple visiting their brother who lives on the island. There was also a couple of women from Ohio sitting at our table who gave us tips on where to see sea turtles.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

As the royal court and the King arrived on stage at the luau, we were served the most delicious and moist taro buns. I’m not exaggerating. I didn’t think much of the little purple buns placed at our table until I finally bit into one, they were so soft and moist that I didn’t even need butter. There was a slight sweetness to the buns from the taro paste. Our host on stage explained that the little buns were made of taro poi, which is a Polynesian staple: pounded taro paste.

Taro buns at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Luau buffet, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The luau buffet consisted of steamed white fish, mango chicken, steamed rice, teriyaki strip loin, and my favourite, kalua pork. There was also a wide selection of salads and fruit. We went straight for the pineapple.

Unearthing the kalua pig at the Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The kalua pork was everything I expected, smoky and moist, super succulent and flavourful. I couldn’t get enough of it. Half my plate was filled with big scoops of it.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

There were also small plastic cups filled with poke. We tried poke multiple times on the island, even at Costco! My boyfriend hated it, writing it off as too salty. But we both loved the poke at the Polynesian Cultural Center, it tasted more mild than the poke at other places.

Poke at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The dessert table was impressive, laden with chocolate cake, pineapple bars, coconut cake with haupia sauce and bread pudding and of course baskets of those sweet, moist taro buns. The coconut cake was my absolute favourite, moist, rich and sweet.

Dessert at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Bread pudding at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

After dinner, there was a fire dance show called Ha, Breath of Life. The Polynesian Cultural Center park closes at 6pm but the gift shops remain open, we had just about an hour to wander around the gift shops before the fire dance show started. There were also photo stands selling the day’s pictures. Throughout the day, photographers are found throughout the park taking pictures of guests doing activities, they sell these pictures at the end of the day for $15 to $25 each. It was a little steep for us so we didn’t purchase photos even though I loved the photo of us with our leis at the entrance of the luau.

The show, Ha, Breath of Life was incredible, totally worth the ticket price and it really completed our Hawaiian experience.

If you ever get a chance to check out the Polynesian Cultural Center, make sure you spend the day there and attend one of the park’s delicious luaus.

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Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Perfect Steaks Swimming in Butter

ange — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:28:16 +0000

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

Before I came to Toronto, I’ve never even heard of Ruth’s Chris. I know, what kind of foodie am I? Turns out, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse has a major girl power back story. The first Chris Steak House was opened in New Orleans in 1927 by entrepreneur, Chris Matulich. Years after that, in 1967, a single mother, Ruth Fertel bought the restaurant in order to earn money to send her children to college. With zero restaurant experience, Ruth Fertel learned everything there was to know about owning and running a steakhouse, everything from butchering the meat to cooking and delivering high end restaurant service. For years, Chris Steakhouse was the only upscale steakhouse in New Orleans with an all-female waitstaff. Soon after, the restaurant was renamed: Ruth’s Chris Steak House. It’s now one of the largest steakhouse chains in the United States.

A portrait of Ruth Fertel is in the foyer of the restaurant. The restaurant ambiance is of any other upscale steakhouse, brick walls, crisp white tablecloths, dim lighting. Something about the restaurant conveys a warm, southern hospitality though. The cozy but formal dining room is surprisingly inviting and comfortable despite the fancy setting.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

We made sure to starve ourselves before dinner. Even the bread was delicious. I’m not exaggerating. Wrapped in a thick white cloth napkin in a stainless steel bread basket, the bread was hot to the touch, not gently warm, it was scorching hot. I didn’t mind my nearly burned fingertips though because the creamy butter melted like a dream on each slice of bread. The perfect start to a memorable meal.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

We ordered a lobster bisque to start. It was creamy and dense with substantial chunks of lobster meat near the bottom of the bowl. I love the saltiness and the subtle but present brininess in the soup.

Lobster bisque, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

The best thing about Ruth’s Chris steaks? They are served practically swimming in a dish of melted butter. We ordered a filet mignon and a sirloin. Both were cooked to perfection, with an amazing char on the outside and a bright pink and moist center. That butter really seeps into the meat, complimenting the gamey flavours.

Filet mignon steak, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

The steaks tasted like they were simply seasoned, maybe with just a dash of salt and pepper. The butter did the rest. The meat was tender and moist and each bite nearly melted in my mouth.

Sirloin steak, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

The sides we ordered were mashed sweet potatoes with a brown sugar crumb topping and mashed potatoes. I loved the sweet potatoes much more than the classic mashed potatoes. The caramelized brown sugar was amazing on top of the sweet and creamy root vegetable (and I don’t even normally like vegetables!). The sweet potatoes had a deep, earthy sweetness to them that I quickly got addicted to. I definitely had way more spoonfuls of these sweet potatoes than I did the other side dish.

Mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar topping, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

The classic mashed potatoes were tasty as well, no match for the sweet potatoes, but they definitely held their own. Lightly dressed with melted butter on top and a sprinkle of parsley, the mashed potatoes were creamy but rustically mashed enough so there was still some lively texture to the dish. The mashed potatoes were heavy on the butter, which I loved.

Mashed potatoes, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

Believe it or not, I actually saved room for dessert. We ordered a New York cheesecake with a blueberry topping. The cheesecake was dense, creamy and smooth and totally hit the spot for me. I wasn’t keen on the hard cookie crust and ended up just scrapping as much cake as I could from it, abandoning it on the plate. All in all, this was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

Cheesecake, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

I was also impressed with the service, our server happily took our picture (it was obvious that it was my first time in a Ruth’s Chris) and another server was quick and courteous about clearing our plates after each course. It was honestly my first encounter with a bread crumb sweeper, that long metal device that is swept over the tablecloth to clear breadcrumbs. I have to find out where to buy one of those.

I can’t wait to revisit Ruth’s Chris!

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Mind of a Chef: Chang and Bourdain, Kitchen Badasses

ange — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 22:20:59 +0000

Momofuku has been all the rage in Toronto. I haven’t visited yet but I’ve become obsessed with a new travel cooking show featuring Momofuku owner, David Chang. The Mind of a Chef literally takes viewers into the mind of culinary trailblazer, David Chang. Narrated by David Chang’s buddy, Anthony Bourdain, and created by the producers of No Reservations, The Mind of a Chef takes viewers around the world and into David Chang’s own kitchen to learn about all different types of food and customs, from ramen to raw scallops.

For diehard fans of Aziz Ansari, you’ll love the episode where he, David Chang and Montreal’s famed Chefs, Fred Morin and David McMillan visit a unique deli in Montreal called Wilensky for fried bologna sandwiches. The sandwich is so special, it has its own trademark.

True to the name of the show, David Chang brings viewers into his kitchen. We get a taste of what goes on in his mind as he intricately dissects seemingly simple dishes like a puffed egg.

Have you heard of a hot brown? I haven’t but it was invented as the ultimate hangover food: created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky in 1926. The hot brown is ‘an open faced meat and cheese fest smothered in sauce; arteries beware!’ warns Anthony Bourdain in the voice over dripping with his trademark hyperbole. I think I would eat the hot brown even it I wasn’t hung over.

For a taste of fine dining, in the Seafood Freestyle episode, David Chang introduces viewers to his best friend, Chef Rene Redzepi of two-Michelin star restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. I also love raw scallops more than cooked ones but what piqued my curiosity the most about this episode were the green strawberries.

Why are we watching David Chang if he’s not revealing some secrets about that famous ramen at Momofuku? Well he does, bringing viewers to markets in Japan, he talks about ‘building layers’ in Momofuku ramen broth. Other episodes include exploration into old world culinary techniques like the making of tofu in a Tokyo village as well as demystifying modern cuisine as David Chang demonstrates how strawberry foam is made.

The show is high in production quality, scenes are interspersed with sharp, clever and whimsical graphics like the egg carton in the puffed egg clip labeled with ‘Puffed Egg.’ The camera lingers for just the right amount of time on steaming dishes to make viewers drool but cuts away with just the right clean, stylized animated images that connotes a rebellious, innovative tone as opposed to drole formulaic food travel documentaries. In other words, this is the combo of two food masterminds: Bourdain and Chang exposing everything there is to know about food from Canada to Asia to Europe. Tune in at PBS, full episodes can be found here.

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Rachel at Pike Place Market

ange — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:21:35 +0000

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Pike Place Market

Between 1st. Ave and Pike Place, downtown Seattle, WA

I love visiting Pike Place Market. Even on a weekday it’s bustling busy, crowded and lively. Street performances were found at the end of each block, children were wildly running around and happy shoppers were poking around at stalls and fruit stands. We stopped in to pick up some fruit and also to visit the inaugural Starbucks. More on that later.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Pike Place Market is spilling with history and charm, having been a Seattle landmark since 1907. The market still seems to be the heart of the city, providing the freshest local food, entertainment and goods to shoppers and tourists. The Market hosts events such as Arcade Lights, celebrating local craft beers and wines. Turns out, Seattle is famous for more than just good coffee.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

My favourite thing about public markets is the accessibility to the vendors, stall owners are on hand to answer questions and greet customers. In fact, the mandate of Pike Place Market is: Meet the Producer. It’s written in big bold letters behind the lit Public Market sign at the front entrance of the market. It almost makes the fresh fruit and seafood taste better to know the stories and histories behind it. It also adds to the experience of shopping, making it a much more friendly and intimate exchange than the clinical visits at supermarkets when you can walk right through and use the self-checkout, avoiding any sort of human interaction altogether.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

As an example, when we were picking out plump, fuzzy white peaches, the owner of the stand stopped us and offered to run across the street to grab us a few riper peaches. It was totally thoughtful of him. We ended up buying more peaches and a few handfuls of local Rainier cherries. The peaches we bought did turn out to be juicy and ripe. Later on that night, we couldn’t eat them without dribbling sweet and sticky juice all over our chins. The Rainier cherries also turned out to be tender and juicy. They’re much sweeter than their ruby red counterparts.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

One of my favourite stalls is Pike Place Fish Company. It’s a major tourist attraction. I still remember coming here when I was little. Every time a customer purchases a fish, the fish mongers toss the silvery whole fish across the stall and shout the customer’s orders to each other. It’s great entertainment. I have yet to see them toss a lobster (those solid claws might just be a safety hazard).

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

We were amazed at the cheap seafood around the market: just $21.50 USD for a pound of cooked and peeled shrimp! Too bad we already had dinner plans, otherwise, we would have bought a pound each and started eating them right out of the bag at the waterfront.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Another common theme around the market that I started noticing this time were the pig sculptures. Rachel, the original bronze pig sculpture at the front of the market has always stood guard and served as the mascot for Pike Place Market. But I noticed many other pigs scattered all over the market too. Perched on rooftops, covered in seasonal flowers and there was even a small parade of pigs up high on the rooftop of the market. We spied these colourful pigs from our window seat at Matt’s in the Market.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Turns out, in 2001, Pike Place Market hosted a ‘Pigs on Parade‘ fundraiser: different pig sculptures were placed all around Seattle as public art and auctioned off for charity to raise funds for the Pike Place Market Foundation programs, a senior center, food bank, preschool and clinic. Pigs on Parade was modeled after a Zurich fundraiser, Cow Parade, featuring cow sculptures. The fundraiser also reminded me of Toronto’s Great Moose Parade a few summers ago.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

The original piggy bank, Rachel is still the main photo op, and even late into the evening, we saw little kids climbing on top of the sculpture for pictures. Japanese tourists held up peace signs and dunked coins into the piggy bank slit. I couldn’t help but take my own touristy picture as I contributed my coins to the Market Foundation.

Me and Rachel, Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

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Pumpkin Cupcakes for Thanksgiving

ange — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:14:57 +0000

Pumpkin cupcakes

Pumpkin pies are so overrated. This year, we decided to make some pumpkin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and little pretzel sticks for stems.

Pumpkin cupcakes

As you know, I’m not the biggest fan of vegetables. But guess what? Botanically, speaking, pumpkins are fruits but since they’re generally not syrupy sweet like berries and stone fruits (peaches, nectarines and plums), in the culinary world, they get lumped into the vegetable category. In Autumn, we still find this magical veggie in desserts though. Surprisingly, even with its starchy texture, pumpkins make the most moist and dense desserts! I found this Martha Stewart recipe online and decided to try it out:

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Makes 18

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Source: Martha Stewart

The interior of these cupcakes are a rich, deep orange speckled with spices. I was hoping my cream cheese frosting would turn out the same shade of orange but I’m a frosting dye rookie.

Pumpkin cupcakes

I ate two of these moist little cupcakes while decorating. I’m going to count that towards my vegetable intake for the day

Pumpkin cupcakes

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!

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Peninsula Boutique Egg Custard Moon Cake

ange — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:25:53 +0000

Peninsula Boutique Egg Custard Moon Cake

The Peninsula Boutique
M/F The Peninsula Arcade, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

It’s my favourite time of year again: Moon Cake Festival! For a complete history, check out my post on traditional moon cakes. For lovers of the fruity contemporary snow skin moon cakes, click here.

This year, my cousin faithfully stood in line at famed Hong Kong bakery, Peninsula Boutique to buy us egg custard moon cakes. I’ve never eaten an egg custard moon cake before but I’ve always been in love with Chinese egg tarts. Peninsula Boutique in Hong Kong is like Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, the lineup for their moon cakes circle the block. I can see why. Their little golden moon cakes stamped with their signature brand, PC (Peninsula Connoisseur) have the most amazing ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ quality.

Peninsula Boutique Egg Custard Moon Cake

Normally, I stray away from moon cakes with yolks, and in theory, an egg custard moon cake would be a cake filled entirely with yolk but in actual fact, upon my first bite, all I tasted was the richest, creamiest, most decadent custard. It was incredible. The buttery, sweet and dense custard melted on my tongue along with the equally delicate, crumbly and buttery, shortbread-like crust. This little golden egg custard moon cake definitely tops my list of favourites, leagues above snow skin moon cakes!

Peninsula Boutique Egg Custard Moon Cake

We also picked up the traditional lotus paste moon cakes with (count ‘em) four lucky round egg yolks. Being a classic girl at heart, I still love the traditional moon cakes. I grew up with them, and they still give me that nostalgic feeling with sticky and sweet filling that sticks to the roof of my mouth.

Moon cake

Moon Cake

Moon cake festival falls on Sunday, September 30 this year. How are you celebrating? What are your favourite moon cakes?

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Grilled Cheese Grill: Changing the World with Grilled Cheese

ange — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:51:50 +0000