Here’s one of those varieties that really makes ne scratch my head. Says it’s made in Vietnam, but it’s got Chinese on it. I remember going down the rabbit hole on this one and finding it was made for the Taiwanese market, however that text on the front is Japanese. Whatever. It’s a kimchi noodle cup. Let’s give it a shot, eh? Cota Snoopy Kimchi Flavor Instant Noodles – Taiwan A distributor / import sticker (click to enlarge). Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To…
Today, we celebrate Independence Day with...the American Flag. O-oh, say can you SEEEE? BYYY the bakery light?How so soundly they failed... to give our flag any meaning: Those brown stripes and blob "stars" ARE a scurr-i-lous sight! And the RED parts they botched... are so def'nitely leaning: And what's that O-VER THEEEERE?! [cymbal crash!!] Did the BAKER NOT CARE? [slide whistle!] A goof, what a sight - it's more THAN I can bear. (Yes. Really.) No WAY does thi-is new-fangled airbru-ush yet…
If you’re looking for the kind of easy, comforting supper that makes everyone at the table smile, these Garlic Butter Grilled Cheese Dogs are about to become a new favourite. They take everything we love about a classic grilled cheese and a good old-fashioned hot dog and bring them together in the most irresistible way — buttery, golden, cheesy, and just a little bit indulgent.This is one of those fun, simple recipes that feels like a treat without asking much of you in the kitchen. A quick…
Yappari India is an Indian curry shop located near Otsuka station. I’ve been here a couple of times - the food is great, but also the owner has such a kind and warm aura as well, which is the other reason why I like this place so much. What we always get is their thali plate (1500 - 1600 yen), which comes with two small pots of curries of your choice, some yogurt, a side of rice and some pickled vegetables. I think my favourite one so far has been the spinach curry, so I would recommend that…
A big thank you to a donor from Instagram for this – she sent two varieties of Chun Noodles after seeing my initial review. Taiwanese dry noodle is truly a favorite of mine – let’s cook it up! Chun Noodles Spicy Peppercorn Noodles – Taiwan A distributor / import sticker (click to enlarge). Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, cook noodle for 6~7 minutes. Drain. Add in sachets contents. Finally, stir and enjoy! A single pack.…
Strawberry Earl Grey for the Full Strawberry Moon Adagio's tea blends that are only available on the day of the full moon feel very specifically targeted to my interests.
I dream about being the type of cook who wanders through a farmers market, gets inspired by whatever’s in season, and runs home to make something simple and delicious without consulting a single recipe. The reality is that I am extremely recipe-bound. I shop with a detailed list, rarely impulse-buy, and usually have meals planned weeks, sometimes months, out between recipe development and content planning. And I get full-on decision paralysis at the farmers market when I try to freestyle a…
When the edible images only stick to icing, but you're too lazy to frost the whole cookie: We don't talk about the first one. I'm pretty sure they mean the soda, but tell me you don't want to drop this off in the break room when no one's looking: ::evil grin:: This next one isn't cake, but someone turned 4 pineapples into the members of KISS, soooo.... Please note Gene Simmons' tongue made out of watermelon rind.That is all. Thanks to Sarah A., Mike, John A., & Diane G. for the KISS and…
Ducking and weaving my way out of a rain squall, I took shelter under a stand of Hill’s weeping figs (Ficus microcarpa) in Hyde Park. Im not so good with my figs, so perhaps they were Moreton Bay figs, or even Port Jackson figs. Don’t ask me. The snaking, dripping root systems were mesmerising, and reinforced the fact that trees are like icebergs, with a great deal of the organism buried out of sight.
If you love deviled eggs and a good pasta salad, this Deviled Egg Pasta Salad is about to become your new summertime favourite. It’s creamy, tangy, and loaded with all the comforting flavours you’d expect — tender elbow macaroni, perfectly cooked hard‑boiled eggs, smoky bacon, and a deviled‑egg inspired dressing that brings everything together in the most delicious way. It’s rich without being heavy, easy to make ahead, and just right for BBQs, potlucks, or simple weekday lunches when you want…
Coffee Tei (皇琲亭) is a coffee shop in Ikebukuro that has been operating since 1983. With the slightly dimmed lighting and jazz music softly playing in the background, it had a really relaxing ambience and interior. They serve a couple of different types of coffee drinks - including one super-fancy one where they will dim the lights and light it on fire (or something). I decided to keep my order simple though, and got a black coffee. They had a couple of different beans to choose from - although…
La piazza è ampia, un vasto quadrato acciottolato che si apre sotto un cielo nero carico di pioggia. Lungo il perimetro si susseguono diverse panchine, intervallate da piccoli alberi dai rami invernali che si piegano sotto il vento. Al centro, un piccolo rettangolo in marmo porta un’iscrizione che nessuno si è davvero mai fermato a leggere. Sulla superficie della lastra, ormai consumata dal tempo, l'acqua scivola veloce e riempie i solchi delle lettere. Tutto intorno, il grigio dei sassolini è…
Well, another Monday and another strange week. My kids have the day off due to teacher grading day. So many days off – just had winter break, then MLK, now this one. It’s strange – we didn’t get that many, nor did we get short days on Wednesdays like they do every week. I think they get out for summer break late June – we got ouy mid June as far as I can remember. Anyways, today we’re doing another mukbang. Continuing the era of my son Miles wanting to do mukbang, I’m adding a little twist to…
FIFA splits hairs
In something I never expected to have to clarify, this is a hot dog recipe but it is not a recipe for hot dogs. I know that I have a history of making foods from scratch that most sane people do not feel the need to — cream cheese, fig newtons, bagels, vanilla extract, and [coming soon] almond extract too — but I do still leave “grinding meat with spices, salt, and curing agents into a smooth, fine emulsion” before being “stuffed into casings and smoked” to the experts, usually at Hebrew…
The Hawaiian Sunset was a cocktail from the Aku-Aku restaurant at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, circa 1960s. Famously used by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry in his books, the cocktail features vodka as a base spirit and grenadine for color and flavor. As described by Beachbum Berry, the recipe is as follows. Hawaiian Sunset – Aku-Aku Original½ oz Lime Juice½ oz Lemon Juice½ oz Orgeat1 tsp Grenadine1½ oz VodkaShake with cubes and strain into cocktail glass. If I can use a lighter style rum in place of…
Happy July, sandwich fans! And happy 250th birthday to the United States of America, a pretty cool place with some pretty cool people and a whole lot of whack jobs who are unfortunately running it into the ground. The Tribunal will spend the 4th cooking meats and crushing brews as the founders intended, and we wish for a fun, safe weekend, with as few fires and blown-off appendages across this nation as our collective idiocy can manage. In addition to smoked meats, public drunkenness, and the…
Reeva Steenkamp may not have been so excited had she known what her boyfriend had in store for her 24 hours later, shooting her three times through a bathroom door on 14th February 2013. In what was argued to be a misunderstanding, her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, said he thought an intruder had broken into his home and hidden in the bathroom. In apparent fear for his life, and that of Steenkamp, he fired four shots through the door with three of them striking the model, killing her. After…
This is a cake I posted back in 2009: "Because crime doesn't pay, kids." And this one I posted in 2011: "It's kind of a mix between 'shushing' and 'churning.'" Well recently, Deirdre M. sent me this cake: Three wrecks of the exact same design, misspelled three different ways. MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE. And to celebrate, I will now rehash a slightly dated meme for my own base amusements. You're welcome. (Psst. Hey. You know you want to read this out loud.Go on. I won't judge. Much.) Thanks to Jenn…
If you still haven’t decided which burger recipe you’ll be making for the upcoming holiday weekend, I’m going to encourage you to make Thomas Straker’s Chili Cheese Smash Burgers! Homemade milk bread buns toasted in butter, topped with a generous smear of burger sauce made with shallot, pickle relish, mayo, mustard, and cayenne pepper, two cheese-topped burger patties, and the star of the burger: pickled chillies for acid, sweetness, and intense heat. I failed at properly smashing my burgers –…
Detail of the Texan Theatre in Kilgore, Texas. The post Texan – Texan appeared first on 75CentralPhotography.
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a good potato salad, isn’t there? For many of us, it’s a dish woven right into our family memories — scooped onto summer plates at picnics, potlucks, and backyard barbecues. I grew up with the classic version: tender potatoes, a creamy dressing, and all the familiar flavours that made it a staple on our table. But over the years, I’ve discovered that potato salad can be so much more than the traditional bowl our mothers used to make.Not Your Mama’s…
Chicken Nuggets, US Open – Flushing, New York We ate “dinner” at the Star of the Open celebrity tennis game. And, I have dinner in quotes because all it was was chicken nuggets and nachos. Though very pricy. The nuggets were definitely better than the McDonald’s variety, but for $26, I hope so. This is a confirmed price. I took a picture of the menu. We went cheap with the nuggets; there was a version with either caviar or black truffle for $100. Six pieces of chicken weren’t quite enough for…
We’re halfway through 2026 and it has been a great Mai Tai year so far, including a variety of on/off-menu Mai Tais at Trader Vic’s locations. There’s an obvious emphasis on various places serving Ultimate Mai Tais, my own favorite recipe. Hey, it’s my list! The criteria is any commercial or home bar I’ve visited during the period. Separate riffs/versions get separate entries. 1. The Ultimate Mai Tai at The FinkServed as part of our Mai Tai seminar, several people told me this was the best…
When we made our Meringue Snackers a couple of months ago, I piped some of the meringue into disks so I could assemble a couple of Little Marvels, a recipe I’d skipped when it came around last June. Little Marvels, aka Merveilleux, are light and delicate meringue and whipped cream sandwich cakes. There’s a famous French shop called Aux Merveilleux de Fred specializing in these treats with locations here in NYC, so I have had them a few times. I know from my visits to Fred that, while chocolate…
wanted to try Onigiri Marutoyo but every time we've gone to Tsukiji they were closed...so I finally got to when I ran an errand at Tsukiji on MondayLuckily there wasn't a line when I got there the kari kari (crunchy) ume shirasu (whitebait) musubi/onigiri had bits of nori and Japanese mustard cabbage too...383 yen (tax included)Their musubi/onigiri are kinda largetheir karaage (fried chicken
My usual morning routine involves a blended fruit, yogurt, and nut smoothie. That said, when researching Dallas recipes from 50 years ago (which led to these pork chops), I came... Source
There is a word barakah in the Arabic language–and in Hebrew and Swahili–that is usually translated as “Blessings” in the English language. The concept of Blessings is among the most universal of human ideas–and among the most alien to me. When someone around me sneezes, I’m grateful that the German word “Gesundheit”–a simple wish for a person’s good health–exists, because I’ve never felt comfortable saying “Bless you.” I just don’t know what it means to bless someone, and it seems like a…
So it’s been forever since we’ve had a date. We have two kids, 9 and 10 years old. The best we usually get is maybe if we have an appointment while the kids are in school and we get to hang out, and dinner after they’re in bed. We wanted to get honey walnuts prawns as that a favorite of ours, and we found a place with good reviews in Bellevue, Washington called Supreme Dumplings. I remember taking Kit to Sun Ya in Seattle way back around 15 years ago when we were first getting together. She’d…
I only discovered the joy of bread salad in adulthood. If I’d known that was an option as a kid, salads with dinner might not have been such an issue! Panzanella screams summer: juicy tomatoes, golden toasted bread cubes, and a punchy vinaigrette. It’s about the only dish I need once prime tomatoes start appearing. So it was only a matter of time before I developed my own, and even better, I got to do it in partnership with one of my favorite markets in Portland, Rosemont Bakery + Market … just…
