Showing posts with label Rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rice. Show all posts

Friday, February 15, 2008

Valentine's Feast #1 -- Kittichai

Last year's V-Day,
goh goh and i made reservations at
WHITE CASTLE... 0_o


HAA!
Not because of their food,
but that it was funny enough,
to mock the rave about spending mucho $$$,
celebrating a 'holiday' we don't believe in.

However, due to the snow storm & the car failing on us,
we couldn't even go through with this silly plan.

This year, however, we turned around and decided:
Hey, why not make this yet another reason
(read: excuse) for us to enjoy some good food?!


Considering that goh goh & i:
A) love sharing Thai food together
B) never miss the Iron Chef show on sundays;

We're bound to come to come here,
after watching that amazing episode:
www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ia/
episode/0,1976,FOOD_16696_47931,00.html


Taaaaa DAAAAAAAA! : D

KITTICHAI RESTAURANT



This restaurant is quite busy,
hence the required reservation beforehand.
Yay for goh goh ; ) who took care of that.





The design of the restaurant is very artistic & classy,
while the atmosphere is romantic & comforting : )


Here, take a look:



A sense of Modern Thai --the theme of the restaurant's
cuisine -- is richly conveyed in the decorations.



Hanging Orchids + Floating Candles = WOW!!!



Goh goh: "Are you done taking pictures yet?
Can we please look at the menu now?"



What's a girl to do,
when so many amazing choices are presented? : (



Appetizer:
Seabass Tempura with Sweet-Chili Tamarind Sauce



Verdict: How in the world can the seabass bites
be SO JUICY?!?!?! 0_o

After the appetizer, i was admiring the design
of their glasses: It's in a rounded square shape,
with a slight dip on each side, very well
fitted for the customer's fingers : )

I admire their detail-oriented design,
even down to one single water glass!



At the sight of the utensils presented to us,
i got all giggly and exclaimed,
"Goh goh, LOOK! These look exactly the same
as the ones we used in Bali!" **huge grin**
awww... such lovely memories : )))

Here comes our entree!



Goh goh's pick:
Wok-seared Tiger Prawns
with Garlic Pepper sauce and green beans



My pick:
Pineapple Braised Short Ribs in Green Curry,
Thai Eggplant and Sweet Basil



Side (A given): Jasmine Rice



Verdicts:
- Prawns were FRESH & HUGE!
Crunchy and flavorful ; )
But we've had better sauce before...

- The Short Ribs were so AMAZING *_*
We were speechless after the first bite,
and had to pause to let the tenderness of the pork,
the fragrance of the coconut milk,
the tartness of the pineapple,
the smooth texture of the curry... sink in.

i deliberately ate really really slow,
and drank very little water,
in order to savor every bite as long as possible *0*



However, we didn't order enough,
given the small portions of the dishes : /
Hence the Random Pick:
Baked Chilean Sea Bass marinated in
yellow salted beans with morning glory.



What's yellow salted beans?
What's morning glory?
NO IDEA.
But we ordered it anyway! : D
Goh goh said, "Let's hope that this dish is
even more amazing than the Short Ribs!"
Verdict?



Haha... goh goh said we must show the world
how fat we are, for we cleaned all the plates : b

The Sea bass, just like the appetizer,
is THICK + JUICY + SMOOTH : 0
The glaze on the fish is mildly sweet,
giving off a faint resemblance to a miso glaze.

Morning Glory turns out to be Water Spinach's
other (prettier) name : )
& somehow, the garlicky veggies complement
the fish PERFECTLY.
It was dish-licking good *0*
& i consider it a (high) tie to the Short Ribs : )



In HEi's book, meals are not complete without desserts!
But... i wanted to try so many of them 0_o
What to do?????

These days, i feel like goh goh's been spoiling me,
esp. when it comes to food.
& here he said, "Go ahead. Order an extra.
You know you want to." : )



Taaa Daaa! ; )
My pick #1: Coconut Crepes with Kalamanci Sauce


Verdict:
I was expecting coconut inside the crepes,
but it turns out to be a ball of REALLY SMOOTH
& MILKY coconut ice cream ; )
The crepes were not filled, but were thoroughly
soaked up in the citrus syrup,
topped with sweet tangerine slices & glazed orange zest.
Loved it, but was below my really high expectations : b

Goh goh's pick: Jasmine Flan on a Sweet and Sour
Fruit Salad with Jasmine Rice Ice Cream


Verdict:
The flan was OUTSTANDING.
I've never tasted anything quite like it.
The petite beauty was infused with
the unique flavor of jasmine,
& it complements the jasmine rice ice cream
like a match made in heaven! *0*
The fruit salad was top quality also ; )

My pick #2: Thai Tea Ice Cream Sundae
with Palm Seeds and Coconut Jelly


Verdict:
The chef's creativity was overflowing in this dish!
All homemade ice-cream:
Thai Iced Tea -- Silky texture,
every bite filled with the aroma of traditional thai black tea
Creamy Coconut -- as mentioned above ; )
Thai Iced Coffee -- Crushed coffee beans infused;
So glad this wasn't smooth like the others,
for the difference in texture makes a sharp contrast ; )


What's even better?

Top them all off with Chocolate + Caramel Sauce +
crushed almond caramel bits!
i was eating so slow at one point,
that goh goh had to coax me into speeding up,
before all the ice cream melted : b

The only disappointment in this dish:
the coconut jelly sat in the banana-like flavored syrup
too long : ( & the jackfruit tasted like banana, too.

(yes, i don't like bananas...
so i'm making personal preferential criticisms.)

All in all, i couldn't have been happier with this meal!
Quoting Goh goh,
"This is one of the best meals I've ever had!"

FYI:
Kittichai Restaurant
Address: 60 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012
Reservations: 212 219 2000

p.s. Don't you want to go there with me again,
to try the family/ tasting menu?! : DDDD

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Rice Pot Wonder #2!

As i promised before,
i continued to explore the potential dishes
that i can make with my microwavable rice cooker : )

Are you ready for this? : D

Minced beef --
marinated in curry powder, salt,
pepper, onion powder......



Meanwhile, i submerged the rice into coconut milk,
water and a tiny bit of sesame oil : )



Sorry, the photo came out a bit disgusting...
i added coconut milk to the marinated beef too : )



When the rice is half cooked,
i added the beef, shallots, seaweed,
peanut butter, and a little water into the pot : )

15 minutes later...
TAAAA DAAAAA!!!!!



Yeah, i suppose it's a bit Thai inspired!
hehe... ok perhaps except the seaweed : b

Probably due to the coconut milk / beef / peanuts,
this is quite a filling dish ; )
Very economical and satisfying!
ENJOY!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Welcome! Taste Testers!

It's a beautiful thing
to have friends come over to our place,
and be the taste testers of my cooking ; D



Well, as the saying goes...
Friends don't let friends go hungry... RIGHT? : D



Thanks to David,
we got some shots of my cooking in action!



Black bean Garlic Pork Chops bubbling in its sauce ; )



Lap Cheung (Chinese Sausage) diced,
awaiting to be added to the rice : )



The kindest guest, Aaron,
washing dishes for us : )



I made the stir-fry cabbage/corn dish too spicy,
with too much Garlic Spicy sauce... 0_o"
So i was trying to reverse the trauma
by adding sugar... : b haaa!



Yay for friends!
YAYYYYYY for God's blessings & provision,
that we have a home to accomodate others
while serving them with yummy yummy : )

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Rice Pot Wonder #1

This has to be the fastest REAL dinner e-v-e-r.
No, cooking instant noodles or nuking leftover doesn't count.

Thanks to Hippo Grande's Chef Fafa,
I've grown accustomed to the fabulous
Microwavable Rice Cooker years ago.
















A lot of people have doubted,
but if you've come over and tasted our RICE,
your doubt shall cease.

Now, to take that to another level,
I decided to mess around with cooking a 1-pot dinner,
Chinese style with a hei twist ; )











Marinate the beef with sugar, cornstarch, yada yada...
You know, the usual suspects.
















Then i bought a pack of spicy pickled veggie,
we call it 柞菜 (zha choy) --
It's got a crisp texture, with a slight spicy/salty taste.

Marinated with sugar & sesame oil as pictured.














Cooked some rice till the water is bubbling,
but the rice not quite done.
Stir and mix both ingredients in,
put it back to the microwave to cook some more : )




Taa Daaaaaa!
There's no going back after trying this : )

I'm now contemplating a future cookbook, written by H-E-i...
Freshly titled: Rice Pot Wonders : b

Well, until then, I gotta explore & experiment more!