I (ECW) have lived in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for 8 years. As a new home owner in the neighborhood I plan to be here for many more. My peers are always surprised when I tell them where I live because it’s “so far out,” though most (non-Mexican, who already know) friends ask me for advice about the tacos here, which they hear are fantastic. And they are… A colleague recently moved to the neighborhood and asked me where to eat. While I made this list for her benefit, I thought I would share it with all of you so that if you do make it “all the way out here” at least you’ll know where I’m likely to eat. Because even though I love cooking sometimes I cannot resist the lure of the $1 taco.

Nerdy mostly white people enjoying dinner at Tacos Matamoros

Taco/Mexican Places:

Eclipse
4th avenue and 44th street, west side of the street. Closed Mondays. Awesome, more “upscale” (but not expensive) Mexican food place owned by the nicest Japanese lady ever. Really great Sunday brunch and they have a great back garden too. Fantastic vegetarian options!

Tacos California
5th ave btwn 46th and 47th
My favorite place for burritos and tacos. Even though they have a similar menu to Tacos Matamoros (also good, at 5th ave and 45th street), they seem tastier.

Gan Eden
5th ave btwn 46th and 47th
Mexican food and bar with bright TVs. The Huraches are amazing and you can get your burrito and hurache vegetarian with either mushrooms or pumpkin flower. The tortillas for the hurache and quesadilla are handmade. Yum! They also have good weekend brunch and cafe con leche.

Mi Mexico Pequena
5th ave btwn 45th and 46th.
Tiny place selling delicious Mexican sugar bread.

The lady who sells fruit/drinks/empanadas and greasy snacks from a cart on 47th and 5th. She’s usually there mid-day and on the weekdays and is so nice.

Chinese/Asian Food

Ba Xyuen
Bahn Mi Sandwich place on 8th ave btwn 43rd and 42nd street, west side of the street. The sardine sandwiches are highly recommended.

Gia Lam
8th ave btwn 46th and 47th (maybe further south on 8th?). Really good and cheap Vietnamese food… pho, etc.

Nyon Nya
54th and 8th ave, east side of the street, on the corner
Zagat rated Malayasian restaraunt. Can get really crowded. Really good. Cheap.

Pacificana
8th ave and 55th street (2nd floor, above the Chase bank)
We had a feast here, yes, a feast, very little money. They have dim sum as well as a full menu. So delicious.

Also any vendors selling “Hong Kong cakes”… little waffle like cakes. They are more rare than they used to be, but so yummy!

Teriyaki Chicken and Garlic Noodles from FIA

Teriyaki Chicken
Adapted from Imperrfections
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS water
1/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C cider vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Preheat over to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lay the chicken on the foil.

In a small pot, stir together cornstarch and water until free from lumps. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir, simmering until thickened. Make sure to stir constantly to avoid burning. Pour the thickened sauce over the chicken and toss lightly to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done.

Garlic Noodles
Adapted from Imperrfections

Ingredients:
½ box angel hair spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 ½ TBS butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 C green onions, chopped (we used about ¼ cup of chopped white onion because it’s what we had on hand – I’m sure the green onions would be far better in this dish)
1 heaping TBS fish sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
½ TBS brown sugar

Heat a large sauce pan and melt 1 TBS of the butter. Saute garlic and green onion for about 3 minutes then add fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and 1 ½ more TBS butter. Make sure the sugar is dissolved before adding the cooked spaghetti and toss it all together.

Whenever I get a chance to visit home I make sure to stop off at an asian supermarket to stock up on asian goodies to bring back to Kingston. I love the intense aromas of spices, fresh meats, fish and fruits and vegetables when you walk into the store. There so many different kinds of colour packaging and products that come worldwide. It’s always interesting to see the variety. My family primarily goes to T&T and Oriental in Scarborough for our asian grocery needs. I remember taking a few pictures while stocking up just because everything looked so beautiful. It was a rather rushed grocery trip so I couldn’t get more.

Beside T&T there is a Vietnamese sandwich shop. My dad had a craving for a sandwich and since the rest of my family was too lazy to make an alternative dinner we decided to eat the same thing as him. I love those Vietnamese sandwiches aka Bánh mì. It’s a baguette with pate, butter and/or mayo spread on the inside and filled with pickled carrots & daikon, fresh cucumbers, cilantro, and various meats or tofu. For those who want a little kick, peppers can be added as well.  Not only are they delicious, they’re fairly inexpensive and served up quick to your specifications. In the past, when the store first opened, my family would buy all the ingredients in larger amounts, bring it home and make it ourselves. Now, we just get a few sandwiches every time we have a craving.

The store that I go to is at:

5661 Steeles Ave E. Unit 1
Scarborough
416-292-8875

although they have another location in Chinatown in downtown Toronto.

[Flickr/OptionThis]

Wanna see The Glove (yes, the very glove that MJ wore in 1983 when he did the Moonwalk for the first time)? Well, you’ll have to make a special trip to Macau. It’s the island city next to Hong Kong that’s known for its casinos and Portuguese-style egg tarts.

The Glove was sold on Saturday night at an auction to Hoffman Ma of Hong Kong, who actually bought it on behalf of the Ponte 16 Resort Hotel in Macau, for US$420,000 (this includes taxes and auction fees). Not surprisingly, The Glove was purchased to become the resort’s main tourist attraction.

What I do find bizarre is Hoffman’s comment about the purchasing price. He told The Standard (a HK daily newspaper) that he thought it was a “discount.” Really? The rhinestones and the actual glove couldn’t have cost more than a few hundred dollars to make. I guess this means that MJ’s sweat is worth 100x it’s weight in gold.

While I am pretty sure that many Hong Kongers and Mainlanders will pay homage to the MJ shrine since it’s nearby, but will other die-hard fans flock to Macau to see it as well? I am skeptical that it will become a driver of tourism.

Sexy Thai Teen Daniela posing in nice Lingerie on the pool table. At the end of the shooting she is totally nude and shows her pink inner pussy flesh

Daniela Lei moves her panties aside and spreads her asian pussy. If you look closely you can see her pee hole

Asian Hottie Daniela Lei spreads her tight teen pussy and shows her pink inner flesh

Daniela shows her spread pink pussy in close up

I first encountered chawanmushi in a Japanese restaurant a few years back. Breaking into its soft surface and discovering the choice morsels hidden beneath is at once a surprising and delightful experience. I’ve since learned that chawanmushi is considered an appetizer. The only one, I think, that is eaten with a spoon. This is a dish that stimulates the palate, one that gets you ready for the main course. In Japan, it is customarily served chilled in the summer, hot in winter.

Traditional chawanmushi includes seasonal ingredients: gingko nuts and shiitake mushrooms that become plentiful towards fall, maybe some chicken or even grilled unagi (eel). A variation could also be made using squid, prawns, or scallops. The most important ingredient of course, is the star of this dish—farm fresh eggs.

.

Chawanmushi

3 large eggs

3 Tbsps. light soy sauce

1 tsp. sake (may be skipped if you don’t have sake)

2 cups fish stock or dashi stock

1/2 tsp. rock salt

3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped (stems removed)

4 pieces large shrimp, (shelled & de-veined)

1 fillet of cream dory fish or other white deboned fish, cut into 4 pieces

1 small piece carrot, cut into flower shapes

spring onion leaves, sliced diagonally, for garnish

Break the eggs into a large bowl. Stir to mix egg yolk and white, but do not beat. Good chawanmushi, as with any custard, must be silky, with no froth. In another bowl, combine soy sauce, sake, fish stock, and salt. Slowly stir in the eggs into this mixture, so as to avoid forming bubbles.

You can also strain the egg mixture into another bowl to make sure the liquid is smooth.

Distribute the pieces of fish, shrimps, carrots, and shiitakes among the 4 cups. Pour in the egg mixture, filling each cup up to 1/2 inch from the rim.

Place slices of spring onion leaves on top for garnish.

Put the lids on or cover the cups tightly with cling wrap or aluminum foil.

Boil water in a saucepan large enough to contain the cups, with the water reaching a little over halfway of the sides of the cups. When the water reaches a brisk boil, turn the heat to low and place the cups into the water. Cover the pan and let simmer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check the chawanmushi by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the custard. When the toothpick comes out clean, the chawanmushi is done.

Remove cups from the pan, uncover, and serve.

Ginger Hoisin Rice Noodles, originally uploaded by veganruthie.

This recipe is from Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton.

Russell really liked this, 9/10. I would’ve liked it more if it had broccoli and less bell pepper.

This is our first recipe attempt out of this book, so, yay for a success!

There is this Filipino dish I absolutely love (beefsteak) but since I gave up beef years ago (personal reasons), I haven’t had it since and that kinda sucks. Fortunately, I found some thinly sliced chicken breasts in Chinatown. I mean RICE PAPER thin.

I marinated the chicken for a day by the way:

• Soy sauce
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Sesame oil
• Minced garlic
• Sliced onions
• Pepper

I cooked EVERYTHING in a pan at the same time. Serve with steamed rice.

$ breakdown:

• $2 for a pack of the thinly sliced chicken

PS – a link to the Filipino beefsteak recipe – http://pinoycook.net/bistek-filipino-beef-steak/

This is a staple at Chinese restaurants and it’s incredibly easy (and much cheaper) to make at home.

• Diced ginger
• Diced scallions
• Minced garlic
• Seafood broth (I used chicken broth)
• Salt & pepper

So technically, you’re supposed to coat the lobster with flour and fry it a bit in some oil. I forgot to do this. PLUS, I was dealing with 3 live lobsters..

Anyway, sautee the garlic, ginger and scallions in some evoo and then add about 1/3 to 1/2 C of broth. BTW, this was all in a shallow frying pan. I am without a stockpot (Santa, add this to my list please! Thanks! XO) so I divided the garlic/ginger/scallion broth into a pan and a pot.

I wasn’t too sure how to go about cooking the lobster. Should I steam it? Drop it in boiling water? Maybe bake it? I ended up pan-frying-slash-steaming them. OH GOD, IT WAS HORRIBLE. I screamed each time they died

I pan fried the lobsters first and then stuck them in the pot and covered the pot with foil to garner enough steam. The flour & pan-frying didn’t really work but the lobsters were definitely cooked. Maybe it’s for the best the pan-frying didn’t work because at the end, we had this delicious broth to pour on top over our rice to accompany the lobster.

$ breakdown:

• 3 lobsters for $19 (YES, $19 TOTAL!!!)

I like eggplant. But I don’t like the fact that it absorbs too much oil when I stir-fry it. So, I decided to find new recipes to cook eggplant in a less greasy manner. On One Hot Stove, I found a recipe for grilling eggplant.

Miso-Marinated Eggplant

What you’ll need:

• 1 Asian eggplant, sliced into thick rounds (any variety will work, but I find Asian eggplants are naturally sweeter)
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1/2 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)
• 1 – 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (apple cidar vinegar will also work)
• 1 – 2 teaspoons sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
• Hot water

What to do:

• Turn on the broiler. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• While the oven preheats, prepare the marinade. Simply combine all the ingredients and stir well. Add in hot water slowly to thin out marinade to desired consistency (I like the consistency of a thick yogurt).
• Dip eggplant rounds into marinade, making sure both sides are well coated. Place eggplant slices on a single layer on cookie sheet. Sprinkle sesame seeds on each piece.
• Broil for 20 minutes, turning once, until eggplant rounds are nicely browned and cooked thoroughly.

My thoughts: This is my first attempt at grilling eggplant, and it sure tasted different from stir-frying eggplants. By marinating eggplant in miso sauce and then broiling it in the oven, eggplant comes out tender, soft (not mushy!) and takes on an unique, completely new flavour that just kept me eating one after another!

What’s so great about eggplant? Eggplant belongs to the nightshade vegetable family (other members include: bell peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes). It is loaded with different nutrients, especially phytonutrients which have potent antioxidant properties. These compounds have protective effect on the heart and protect our cells from free radical damage. Find out more at WHFoods.