BASEMENT FOOD HAVEN IN TAIPEI 101

As mentioned in my most previous post, Din Tai Fung Taiwan, the basement in Taipe 101 holds an assortment of food and a supermarket to boot.  Needless to say, it was a natural decision for food loving people to proceed there.

L-R:  Beef, pork & chicken jerky; gourmet teas; prepared hocks, chicken & duck; mini pastries

Beard Papas!!!

Godiva chocolates, artisanal breads and a lot more!

Supermarket goodies!

Prepared sashimi & sushi, seafood, chocolates

Coffee making equipment, buns & pastries and more chocolates!

Visit Taipei 101, head for the basement food haven, try Din Tai Fung there so at least while waiting in line you’ll still be in a climate controlled environment, go shopping in the many retail shops and don’t forget to go to the observatory on the topmost floor.

SMOKED JUMBO TURKEY LEG

Smoked jumbo turkey leg is a carnivore’s delight alright.  Huge.  Meaty.  Succulent.  Gelatinous.  Easy to pick and eat.  Can be eaten as a meal or a snack.  And that’s what a few hands did one fine day at Disneyland, Anaheim.

Jumbo turkey leg combined with ultra sweet corn. Perfect combination!

S&R sometimes sells smoked turkey legs but they are miniscule in size compared to this.

If picking with fingers w/c we did as eating utensils were not provided, ensure wipes are within reach as fingers get sticky cause of gelatinous meat portions. Yum!

Enjoy!

FARMERS MARKET L.A.

Gone away and back to stay.  While out venturing into both new and familiar territory, a number of favorite places were ticked off and deservingly found its way to TBW’s posts.

A top favorite is Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax in L.A.  For those who are regulars of L.A. but are unfamiliar with the place, it is located beside The Grove.  This specific direction will surely elicit a “ahh, yes, beside The Grove” response.

Farmers Market may not be as popular as its next door neighbor, The Grove, but it surely tops my list as a must place to go.  Why?  Because of the food, produce and quaint stores within the complex.

The freshest produce, artisanal goodies, food offerings and hard to find home essentials abound.  The vibe is laid-back, friendly and easy.  A rustic feel even. Very realwith absolutely no pretensions.  Botox, thick make-up, siliconed skins, fake eyelashes and smiles prevalent in Hollywood and most of L.A. are nowhere to be found here.  Definitely our kind of place.

Food ranging from good ol' American to Mexican to Korean, Chinese, Brazilian, Seafood, Mediterranean, Thai, French and more are for the taking.

Under-roof or al-fresco dining are parallel with the stores.

A real gem in L.A.

EASTER EASTER

MCDONALD’S SISTER

Yummy Roast.  Roasted chicken and pork in a fast food setting.  This piqued my interest and in I went.  Upon further investigation, found out from one of the crew members that McDonalds Phils. owns this.

Yummy Roast owned by McDonalds Philippines. Chicken was tenderly roasted. Flavorful =) Spaghetti had an unusual hint of spice in the sauce and had ground beef and diced carrots. A far cry from the sweet McDonald's spaghetti people are accustomed to. Unlimited rice is also available. Worth a try!

This Yummy Roast branch is located in SM Southmall near the main entrance.

TEPPANYAKI ENTERTAINMENT

Teppanyaki is a style of  Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food like beef, chicken, shrimp, fish, vegetables and anything and everything one wishes to be grilled.   The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan  which means iron plate, and yaki  which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried.

Most of teppanyaki restaurants have several teppanyaki grill stations surrounded by chairs.  A few are located in private dining rooms (if available) and most are on the main dining area.   Each station is  usually occupied by your own group especially if it is in a private dining room.  In the main dining area, a teppan grill may be shared by people who do not know each other especially if there are many customers to be accommodated.

In Taipei 101, we discovered an interesting teppanyaki place in the food court area.  Only one teppanyaki grill, U shaped is found.  Each of the 20+ chairs surrounding the grill are numbered.  Customers come in groups, pairs or  arrive alone and just take any empty seat available.  An overhead menu board and a menu card with all the food offerings are conveniently accessible to all.

Select from the menu and let the show begin.

Orders are placed.  Meat, seafood, vegetables are grilled using sea flakes salt and a special sauce. As customary, grilled food items are proportioned and served on individual plates although one has the option to have the entire piece on a serving plate.

Lights, camera action!

TBW was enthralled with the show’s performance and experience, observing the comings and goings of the crowd, amazed at the queue of people wanting a seat that photos of the final product (food) were not taken.  But believe me when I say, the food looked very appetizing and tasted so good that we ordered more.

There were 3 teppanyaki chefs to service the entire U shaped grill.  They work as a team.  When one chef was loaded with too many orders on his side, the other two would help him cook on their sides.  Having a good memory must be a requisite to work here as chefs have to remember and match ordered food with the seat assignments.

The chef assigned to our grill area did not mix up any orders, knew the menu inside out and spoke and understood a bit of English.  All that made our entire lunch experience from orders to check payment very pleasant.

Not only did our teppan chef cook excellently, he was very amiable and patient with us as well. Best performance by a Chef indeed =)

What a great way to spend lunch time!  No wonder it was (and continues to be) a box-office hit among the dining crowd.

An Early Christmas Celebration

Many are now convinced that having an early Christmas celebration is one of the best ways to get family members together especially if it means gathering a diverse group of individuals with haywire schedules to match.

December 10 was the date of choice.  Early date, traffic still manageable and the eve of Dad’s birthday.

Home was prepared for 20+ people

Calorific, Cholesterolific & Triglicerific pot-luck food....lechon, shrimps, crabs, Pampanga calderata & sisg, pancit Lukban, red beet potato salad, dinuguan, sinful desserts, etc.

A perfect formula is  always a comfortable venue, glorious food and loving family.  Believe moi, nothing beats that.

The Family's Matriarchs: The GG's

SOLO

I love this crazy, wacky, clumsy, psychy, rowdy Albert family.  Warts, farts and all.

CHEF P IS IN THE HOUSE

P is for Paco.  He seems to enjoy cooking nowadays.  Excitement gets to him when he experiments with herbs, spices, sauces, creating his own concoctions and blending them with meat, rice and whatever is available in the kitchen.  And they taste good, too =)♥

L-R Deconstructed ham sushi with sliced & seasoned marble potatoes, fragrant rice with rosemary chicken, Chef P's version of easy risotto with prawn & bacon. All of his food creations were yum! And TBW is absolutely not biased here =)

Chef P is definitely in the house…specifically the kitchen =)

HOME STYLE EVERYDAY FOOD AT PANCITERIA LIDO

Panciteria Lido started as a small eatery in Binondo during the late 1930’s.  It has resurrected as a no-nonsense yet clean and airconditioned place to eat Chinese and “panciteria” or ready made food with several branches around town.

Their specialty:  Pugon Roasted Asado

We tried other dishes which resemble home style everyday food:

Drunken Lechon Macao with sweet sour sauce

Chami special

Fish fillet in soy

Feel at home with these dishes...

PUNJABI CUISINE AT RAAZ MAHAL

A previous post was made regarding this restaurant’s beautiful interiors.  It’s time for the food experience.

http://thebutcherswifey.com/2011/03/16/beautiful-interiors-found-in-raaz-mahal/

Punjabi cuisine is from Punjab region of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan.  At Raaz Mahal, Punjabi cuisine is the specialty so expect to have Indian and Pakistani dishes on the menu.  The dishes must be authentic in taste since owner, Shala Arshad-Remo is half Pakistani  and her father who is pure Pakistani is the chef.

Parts of the menu…

For starters we had vegetable samosa with a sweet tangy tamarind sauce.  Yum!

Upon Shala’s recommendation, we ordered their house specialty Beef Nihari. Beef slow cooked for 20 hours in a curry sauce.

Squeeze some lemon or calamansi for added zest

What Tina, Janina and I really, really liked was the goat korma.  Everything on the serving bowl was eaten except the bones =)

The favorite! Tender young goat meat cooked in spicy marsala & yoghurt sauce

Of course we devoured everything with Naan bread.  It was no ordinary naan bread though…..we had the butter and garlic flavored one.  This we used like a sponge to absorb all the goodness of well prepared sauces.  Perfect with Beef Nihari and Goat Korma.

Butter & garlic naan bread

We had lassi which is a refreshing yoghurt based drink that not only quenched our thirsts but also provided our palate a respite from the deliciously spiced food. It also served as “dessert”. =)

Strawberry Lassi

Aside from the food and interiors, a good  compilation of relaxing chill music is heard throughout the place which gives it an exciting hip feel.  Surmise it to say, Raaz Mahal is a feast for three important senses…..sight, taste, and sound.