Dinner in Taiwan first night.........Been to this familiar place before and just plain love it

Every trip to the southern town of Tainan always takes me to a restaurant that the owners of the company represent love to go.  Bill and Olivia Shih who own the company are very friendly with Jennifer the owner and they take many people there from out of town.

This Loud Restaurant and bar seems to have floating tables in the middle as we found the table constantly moving to accommodate large parties that seem to come and go.  As I mentioned in my previous post, the island's main source of protein comes from the fish that are caught close by.  Most of the places have the seafood on display where before you go in to be seated, you look at what is available and decide which you want and how you want it cooked.

We were originally 5 people and then later on three others joined us.  Which was a good thing because a 6 pack of beer arrived and we needed help drinking it.  It's not just your average 6 pack.  This was a 6 pack of 32 oz. beers.

We started off with some Edamame which was peppery and hot.  We also got an order of Sashimi.  I only had the salmon and it was very fresh.  The flesh was firm and rich in oil which gave it some great flavor.

We were next served shrimp.  I don't think I have seen shrimp like this in a long time.  they were huge and salted. like most places outside of the United States, Shrimp are served with the head on.  It's usually a very dramatic display having them on.  Plus most of the time it adds to the flavor.  That is Jennifer the owner in the picture with the shrimp.

I was told the next dish was a real delicacy but it was really just chewy.  Stomach of black fish was served with green onions.  They say it's seasonal and I told "Its good for the man to be strong".  I can see why it makes you strong, because you have to really work your jaw muscles to eat it.  it was good.  just chewy

We were served a type of sweet and sour pork rib which wasn't in rib form.  it was the bottom of the rib that have the small tough cartilage type bones.  It was really sweet.   As you will see in the photos, we had two kids with us and they like the sweet stuff.

One of my favorite dishes was the Squid with Thai basil and sliced Ginger.  The ginger was peeled and sliced long ways so you got a real good bite of it.

The next dish I they had brought out was one I had eaten there before.  It was bean sprouts with some sort of Minced pork on top of it.  it was delicious and also challenging for my customer to eat with his chop sticks.  Very amusing for me.

The final dish was the funkiest.  it was a whole fried fish that was sitting in a shallow pool of brown gravy. inside the gravy were sautéed vegetables and chili peppers.  The fish had a crispy outside and moist inside. I find that you can get this type of fish at home but mostly in NYC in Chinatown.  Many people don't like to fight the bones and the people of Taiwan are very comfortable eating something and spitting out what is not edible.  Its not the classiest way of eating but you get very comfortable quickly spitting things out on your plate while everyone else is.  It's just as fun as making a ton of noise slurping up noodles at a noodle bar in the subway of Japan.

Next came a dish that was very unusual for me but one that I enjoyed.  Everyone loves to pickle things.  I thought I have seen everything pickled and now I have.  small green mango's were sliced thin and pickled.  it was a very unusual taste because it didn't have a mango taste or a pickle taste.  What did it taste like?  I don't know but it was good. I also understand at times like this i'm not a good judge because I pretty much like everything.  But it was something I have never had before.

The last dish was also unique and guess what?  I didn't like it.  I'm not much of a sweet eater.  This dish was chopped sweet potato that was covered in a sugary glaze.  it came out as one solid mass.  our host was wrestling with it to break it apart to put it in cold water.   I got hit with some shrapnel when it was being broken up.  the kids at the table really liked it.

Overall another very successful eating adventure in Taiwan.  My only dissapointment is that i'm not sure when I will get out there again.  But I know when I do, it will be a great time.

Below is a photo of myself with my customer and the company that manufactures the machine I represent in North America.

Taiwan again starts off with a bang.........Chinese food done in a familiar way

So I'm back in Taiwan right now and I'm going to try my best to keep up with my meals here to share with you so I can remember them well.  My main reason for being here is not for the food.  That is a great side bonus but the real reason is for the final runoff of two machines I sold over a year ago.  The machines ran great and the customer is happy.  So all is good.

We had a successful morning so lunch was very relaxing and enjoyable.  We went to a different place than what I have written before.  The husband of the husband/wife ownership team was in China on business so the customer, Leroy and I went with the main salesperson Jinna and the wife of the husband/wife team Olivia.  They took us to what they called a light lunch.  Light it was not.  But it was far different from the elaborate meals we have at the hall around the corner from the factory.  

This meal was more like the chinese food we get back home. But it was lighter.  At least most of the dishes were lighter.

For starters, we got sautéed onions and green vegetables in a very bright light sauce.  They were so fresh and crisp and flavorful.  It was a nice way to start the meal.

Next came a beef and onion dish that seemed very familiar to what we have at home.  It was a stir fry that like the veggies above, it was lighter and fresher than what we get at home.  The flavors were very bright and fresh.

Then came a dish had a lot of bite.  Chicken with peanuts and hot peppers.  I'm not one to shy away from peppers in a dish.  This one as you can see is more red from the dried Chili Peppers. It was spicy and tasty.

We had rice last night so when asked, I wanted noodles over rice.  Out came again another familiar looking noodle dish but again, it was lighter than what we do back home.  I think if the people back home were able to cook like this, it would make Chinese food less fattening.  Yes Noodles are noodles but it just didn't taste heavy.

Next came the only dish I did and didn't like.  It was the only dish that was in fact heavy and very sweet.  The sweet is what I am not crazy about.  But it was Fried Tofu which I really like.  I actually like all tofu.  This dish was just heavy and sweet.  I had a few pieces just to get a taste.

The second fairly heavy dish was the tomato and egg sauté.  It was like a tomato sauce and fresh tomato scrambled egg mash.  It was ok but it was mainly gotten for Olivia who is a vegetarian.

We had gotten a soup that was very light and common when we go out for lunch.  Hot broth is simmered with pieces of pork to flavor the broth up.   it was fairly bland and not exciting but for some reason people get it at most lunches.  Its like a very light beef tea.  I know, that sounds gross but its really like a light consumme.
The last dish was really great.  Sauteed cuttlefish.  This dish was cooked and topped with a mash of garlic and peanuts and green onions.  It looked great but tasted better.  The fish was light and flaky and the topping was almost like when you get a baked cod and the breadcrumbs are on top of the fish.

I know, it doesn't look that appetizing but it was really tasty.

Again, they called that a light lunch.  The dishes weren't that big which was nice and for the most part, most of them were light.  So we were able to have a good taste of many things.

Believe it or not, i'm off to dinner.  

A Visit to the cousins in NJ and had a Hot Dog Differently than I ever had before

So we were going on a family vacation in Delaware and decided to invite ourselves to stay at my cousin's place in New Jersey to break up the trip.  My cousin Rob and Carole have always had a good sense of taste when it came to eating so we knew it would be a fun night.

I was promised the recipe for the char grilled Corn Guacamole that they first made.  when I get it I will pass it on to you guys because it was fantastic.  Nothing like fresh corn this time of the year.  And why not put it in everything.

We had some great pomagranite margaritas to wash everything down and realized that unless you go to a real unique place, there will be no better margarita than one you make yourself.  I have another restaurant report to write up about a New York City experience I had that had me drinking a Habanero Infused Tequila grapefruit margarita.  Fantastic yes.  But not something I want everyday.

So for dinner I was turned onto something I also had never had before.  Western BBQ cut London Broil.  I have never heard of this.  When I look at it, it looks like a flank steak.  But a thinner version of it.  It is a real juicy cut that grills real nice.  it also doesn't require a longer cooking time to make the meat softer.  Rob threw a whole bunch of spices on there including, cumin, Chili powder, garlic powder and a whole bunch of other good stuff.  Grilled over coals, the meat melted in your mouth.  Look for this cut.  you will love it.

But crazy as it sounds, the real treat came before the steak.  Rob said, "i will make you a hot dog like you have never had before"  He calls it a "Taco Hot Dog" and it is just that.  Except you don't have the tortilla or the ground beef.  Take a dog and a bun and then imagine it's a taco.  so what do you add?  Great Corn Guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, melted cheese.  Eat and enjoy.  Initially you look and think, all this on a Dog?  But then you eat it and it is delicious.

 Personally my favorite is a natural casing dog with deli mustard and sauerkraut.  I can eat those everyday.  But it's great to travel around an try different kind of dogs.  Chicago probably has the best selection around.  I've tried many different kinds there alone.

So I ask you my readers.  All Three of you.  How do you like your hot dog?  My kids still love it with Ketchup and it makes me mental watching them.

Let's hear it.  How do you like your dog?  Grilled?  Boiled?  Fried?  in beans?

Labor Day Seafood feast............And a mussels marinara recipe!!!!!

I know I am behind in my writing and I have about 6 other things to write about before this, but this weekend we had a meal that I had to share.  I hope that t inspires you to do the same one day.

Our friends Jim, Judy, Michelle and our kids all met at Bill and Rachel's house for a seafood feast that we had all dreamed about all summer long.  We originally talked about going to a place on the water in CT called "The Place" where you get to enjoy a real New England down and dirty lobster bake.  But it is close to an hour away and I said we can do it better.  We not just did it better, we knocked it out of the park.

While the kids were running all over the yard we nibbled on some chips and salsa and had a great selection of beers and probably one of the best bloody mary's I have had in a long time.  We also had a great drink made with lemonade, cucumber infused vodka and fresh mint and lime juice.  Very refreshing on a late summer night.

The meal started out with steamer clams.  For those of you outside of the New England area, steamer clams are a soft shell clam that has a stem sticking out that allows the clam to propel itself when it's in the water.  To cook the clams, you take any vessel you have that steams and add water, olive oil and lemon juice.  But in reality, you can add anything.  Even a little beer.

After steam starts to lift from the top of the pot, put the cleaned clams inside.  There is no science as to when the clams are done.  After all, many of us love raw clams on the 1/2 shell.  But I kept them in there for about 10 minutes.  many of them open up when they are done.  but there is a thin membrane that keeps many of them open but not widely open.  So after they are done, you take them out and then you take out the broth and place it in a bowl next to a bowl melted butter.  this night we added some sprigs of fresh herbs to flavor the butter.  As if butter needs more flavor, but it was a nice touch.  After opening the clams and peeling the membrane off the clam, clean them in the broth and dip it in the butter and enjoy.

We took a nice small break after the steamers and I heated up the mussels marinara.  This is a great dish that anyone can make.  You can even take jarred sauce and add mussels to it and you have the dish. But I like to make my own from scratch.

Start off with one cup finely chopped onion and 1/2 a cup each carrots and celery.  For my usually marinara sauce I don't add celery and carrots but for this I did.  At first I thought it was a mistake because the carrots added a lot of sweetness to the sauce but in the end it was ok.

Take a large pot and add olive oil to it and warm it up. when it's warm, add the onions, carrots and celery and saute till they are all soft.  I made a large batch so it took time.  When the veggies are all soft, add a table spoon of chopped garlic and saute till its very aromatic.

At this point, add in a 28 oz. can of either chopped tomatoes, puree, or sauce to the mix.  Now all of those ingredients are very acidy.  So you have to add some sort of sugar to balance it out. I usually add a 12 oz. can of diet cola.  Then add 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon of Oregano.   Mix all together and let it cook for about an our uncovered so it reduces and thickens.   After about an hour, add the mussels and keep them simmering for about 15 minutes.  This will allow the mussels to open up and cook in the broth.

Now as you can see, I have a lot more than what I listed above.  We had 8 adults so I multiplied the recipe accordingly.  After 15-20 minutes, place the mussels in a dish and serve with crusty bread.  With any leftovers, take the mussels out of the shell and either freeze or put in a container for the next day to serve over pasta.

After we took a break from that, we boiled up some water and cooked up some Lobsters.  At that point, I didn't take any more photos because well it's just lobsters in water and I was getting busy cracking open shells.

We cleaned up and we enjoyed the meal we just had.  it was a great feast but it wasn't over yet.  Anita had made a cherry pie that was just teasing us from the kitchen inside.  Rachel made fresh whipped cream and brought out some ice cream.  Under candlelight and the stars, we finished our meal perfectly.

These are the meals that make summer great.  Great Friends, great food and great memories.  I hope you all get a chance to make great memories too on this Labor day.  Enjoy the last days of summer my friends.  Fall is right around the corner.  Soups, Short Ribs, Stew's are all on the Horizon.