Momofuku Noodle Bar in the lower east side of Manhattan is one of those places that actually live up to the hype. I’ve read about it, heard about it and now witnessed the amazingness that is Momofuku. You tend to forget about the hour long wait and over anxious crowd after you sink your teeth into one of those pork buns. Or so I’m told, I had the vegetarian friendly shiitake mushroom buns and yes they were definitely worth the wait. Guess a couple of soju cocktails help as well!
Another reason why I love this place, they are vegetarian friendly and more than happy to accommodate my non-pork-belly eating ways. But carnivores, don’t worry, the pork is amazing. Vini absolutely loved his pork belly ramen… in fact, I think his exact words were, “I think this is better than the one I had in Japan.” Now that says a lot!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: NY Eats, Reviews
Tags: asian, food, Japanese, New York
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I’ve been meaning to make a Japanese dish for a while. After my visit to Japan last year, I feel like I wouldn’t do the cuisine justice… food in Japan was simply amazing! How could I even try to imitate? I keep thinking, what would Blake like? Blake is a good friend of mine who lives in Japan… he has some of the best eateries at his doorstep so I have to make sure if I’m gonna do something Japanese, it better be good and he better like it!
I’m no sushi chef, so slicing raw fish a certain way with specific knives for different types of fish and cuts wasn’t exactly going to be my first attempt. I wanted to stay far away from ramen because if I’m going to do it right, I’d have to cook the pork broth for days. I don’t quite have the tools needed for takoyaki. I was starting to think it was a lost cause, but I’ve finally got a Japanese dish worthy of a post! Miso orange glaze cod with shiitake pea brown rice.
Ok so technically, it’s Japanese inspired. I’m a little iffy about the rice being anything Japanese but oh well! It looks pretty and taste great! The glaze itself is delicious with any protein that doesn’t require long cooking… fish is perfect, soy patties are great too. We had this served with some Japanese pickled vegetables and cucumber and of course miso soup. I mean, I tried to make it authentic! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: asian, baking, cooking, food, Japanese, recipe, recipes, seafood, vegetables
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That’s right everyone, homemade wontons! I always thought they were incredibly difficult to make, especially as a vegetarian option, but it wasn’t difficult at all. I think what put me off from making these is that my mom always used to say what a treat it was to find vegetarian wontons at a restaurant. She made it seem like they were so difficult to make and it was special occasion to have them. Now I realized she was just lazy. They are incredibly time consuming but not difficult at all. I’ve been craving veggie wontons ever since we went to Hong Kong 4 months ago. So I decided, it’s about time I called mom and asked her how to make her wontons!
I made two versions, a vegetarian version for me and a traditional pork & shrimp version for Vini. That meant, double work for dumpling fillings, double work to make stocks, and a very strategic way of cooking everything. I made a vegetarian stock for my soup and made a traditional chicken stock for the meat option. And when it came down to cooking everything, I had pots everywhere! One for the veggie stock, one for the chicken stock, a big pot of boiling water to blanch the greens and the noodles. Ladles and spoons and chopsticks everywhere… okay, I can see why my mom doesn’t do this often.
Everything said and done, it was well worth it, DELICIOUS! You don’t see vegetarian versions of this often so it’s nice to know you with a little patience, you can just make it at home! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, soups
Tags: asian, chinese, cooking, food, noodles, recipe, recipes, soup, vegetables, vegetarian
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I wasn’t quite sure what to name this dish. It’s a little Asian, a little tangy, a little crunchy, but most of all a whole lot of YUMMY! I love red cabbage slaws. My favorite would be the Szechuan slaw that comes with the Vegetarian Focaccia Sandwich at CPK. YUM. I guess you can say this was inspired by it, it’s not quite exactly the same but close!
I’m still very much on my health kick, so this dish is good for you AND vegan! I need to make sure I keep posting all my vegan recipes before I forget them! I’ve got another vegan red cabbage slaw recipe that I’ll post at a later date. For now enjoy this yummy one!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, salads
Tags: asian, cooking, diet, food, recipe, recipes, salad, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
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One of the touristy things to do… take the old tram up to the peak for a fabulous view of the city. Well, unfortunately, it was all covered with fog by the time we got up there. We got some great shots of the fog though!
I did this tram/peak thing when I went to Hong Kong about 15 years ago. It was actually one of the few things I remembered from the trip. Perhaps because my mom and I had one of those touristy picture-on-a-plate things made from up there. I think it still sits on her dresser.
The peak was completely redone a few years ago and now has a shopping mall attached with some gourmet restaurants and fancy pants dessert places. It’s pretty much expected that in Hong Kong, anything worth while will have a shopping mall attached.
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, chinese, holiday, Hong Kong, random, travel, trip, vacation
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This is by far the cheapest way to see Hong Kong - on the Star Ferry. There’s 2 decks - the older lower level and the newer upper level. They’re pretty similar, one has air con in the Summer and one doesn’t and it’s only like a HK40 cent difference. You can ride from one island to the other for about HK$2 that’s like 60 cents!
Although I didn’t have the best luck on the night view on the way back… rocky seas make for rocky pictures!
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: asia, asian, holiday, Hong Kong, travel, trip, vacation
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I don’t even know where to start, there’s food everywhere. There’s little stalls for baked potatoes, fries with toppings, fishballs, stinky tofu, fruit smoothies, coconut drinks, crepes, I can really go on forever. But there’s one that I wanted to highlight. They’re called Little Chicken Eggs in Chinese but they’re more like funny looking waffles.
This is the famous one and it’s located here:
No idea how to find it! It’s around the corner from the Wan Chai station. You can try asking around there, or follow the waffle smell! You’ll know when you’re there when you see a huge line and pictures of Chinese celebrities eating these waffle things.
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, Reviews, food, mmmm, random, travel
Tags: asia, asian, food, Hong Kong, life, random, snacks, sweets, travel, trip
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There’s several different types of Hong Kong breakfasts. 1 - traditional congee with various other savory dishes like Chinese donuts, rice noodles things, and turnip cake. 2 - sweet buns, pineapple buns with a huge slab of butter, milk tea, milk coffee or both milk coffee and tea. 3 - yum cha or dim sum. I’m sure a 4th includes McDonald’s. They love McDonald’s in Asia - not just HK, all of Asia! More on McD’s later!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, food, mmmm, random, travel
Tags: asia, asian, breakfast, brunch, holiday, Hong Kong, life, random, travel, trip, vacation
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Boy was I in heaven. There are plenty of vegetarian restaurants around Hong Kong. Might not have very much luck with street stalls but restaurants are open pretty late and you’re bound to find something. And there’s a street market in just about every area. Most markets have a section that sell fresh fruits.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, Reviews, food, mmmm, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, food, travel, vacation, vegetables, vegetarian
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On our second day in Hong Kong, we hoped on the MTR to Tung Chung on Lantau Island. Took the cable car up to the Tian Tan Buddha. It was a super foggy day and it was beautiful the way the fog sat over the mountains and over the statue. Once we made the pilgramage up to the top, we stopped at the vegetarian cafe for some snacks before heading back to Kowloon. YUM!
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, buddha, chinese, holiday, Hong Kong, life, random, travel, trip, vacation
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