Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially back! After the craziness of moving from Sydney to New York, I am finally settled in. Well as settled as I can be, I am no longer sitting on a cardboard box and my fridge has more than just a bottle of water. Although, I am still missing my cooking toys that are now somewhere in the ocean between Los Angeles and Sydney. Hopefully they’ll make it here before the holidays!
New York has been amazing so far - I eat and eat and eat. Our first week was mainly filled with pizza, bagels and occasionally a cupcake here or there. We have been ordering food or eating out every night. Needless to say, I cannot wait to cook my first meal! This past week started off with a 4 hour expedition at Bloomingdale’s kitchen department. That was followed by a couple hours at Williams-Sonoma. Then somewhere along the way I found myself downtown at Sur La Table. Even when I was book shopping, I came across a copy of the first English edition of Larousse Gastronomique, food is everywhere I turn! So what if I don’t have a bed, dresser, desk or chair…. I have a kitchen! Stay tuned for some culinary experiments from my new home in New York!
I used to always buy those packets of seasoning that you just mix into a tub of sour cream. In fact, I love that stuff! French Onion was my favorite flavor. And since I can’t seem to find the same thing here, I thought I’d make my own!
It takes a little more effort than just cutting open a packet and mixing but it’s well worth the extra 15 minutes of work. Please note, time estimated does not include chopping of vegetables… cause that takes time! This dip is great with cut vegetables but my favorite is with Ruffles chips (or equivalent), YUM! Ooo this would go really well stuffed in baby peppers too.
Another film about cooking? This one is a documentary about high school kids in Philly trying to get a scholarship to college… culinary college that is. And a teacher that’s incredibly intimidating (see trailer below!) but somehow through her unconventional teaching methods, inspires these kids to go for their goal. It’s out in the US in some places, but I have no idea how long it will take for it to come out here in Sydney!
It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Anthony Bourdain. I absolutely love him even though he hates my kind … the vegetarian kind that is. I find his humor insultingly hysterical and man this guy loves his pork! Anyway, these lunch bags are hilarious. The artist, Sam Morrison, has other funny ones like “his and her” lunch bags and Dharma Initiative ones - any Lost fans out there? You can buy some here and view more of his work here.
A movie about food, about cooking, about blogging … WOOHOO! I can’t wait! I’m sure it’ll be at least a year before I can see it in Australia but perhaps my next trip home will fall around the same time it’s in theaters. In the meantime, I think I’ll be cooking something French real soon. Yay!
Oh and coincidentally I came across this quote:
“I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” - Julia Child
I’ve been featured as a spotlight foodie on Foodbuzz! Thanks for visiting new readers, hope you like the blog. Feel free to explore and comment, let me know what you think!
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.
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.
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!
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!
It’s been a little difficult finding delicious good coffee in NY after being spoiled in Sydney. None of that brewed stuff, I’m talking about espresso based coffee. I finally found a local spot on the Upper West Side that has good coffee, Joe the Art of Coffee. Although, it’s not quite like the ones I have in Sydney, it’s pretty close. I give it a 4/5, an extra point for the mere fact that it’s the only good coffee in my neighborhood.
