But if baby I'm the bottom, you're the top!

Slightly less discreet than Cole Porter's lyrics, but I stumbled onto Piper's picture of Japantown and realized it pieced together with my picture (from a Bay Area 99 Ranch) pretty well.

Consider it a melding of the two California halves...or maybe of the corporal type.

Don't upload photos during lunch...

...especially if you haven't eaten yet. And you're hungry.

But anyways, if you're wondering what I've been doing since I last posted: food photos. That is, playing with the flower setting on my camera and realizing my capabilities of taking (for the most part) non-blurry pictures. Here's a few to share; all of them quirky brand appropriations. Photos linked to specific restaurants' menus to come later, with reviews. So, a brief tour of my spring:

Finally, the Pocky photoshoot (6, 7, 8). There is a high correlation between the quantity and quality of food photography and the quantity of problem sets to be done; the photos here were nicer as a result. Pocky basically consist of long cookies dipped in chocolate or other flavored, processed cream; this particular type (dessert) is dipped and then drizzled again with milk chocolate. And now, the photos:

The grocery store I hit up over break. It's an Asian grocery striving to become a supermarket...so it bought out a local Rainbow and promptly replaced the signage with appropriate ingredients. If I were you, I'd avoid the durian aisle.

A trip to Target (how exciting, given the limited transportation of a college student) yielded the next two items: Wildly Cherry M&Ms - not to be confused with Cherry Chocolate Rain - and Strawberry Milkshake Oreos. Though I've tried neither, the latter sounds more promising: I imagine that Wild Cherry M&Ms are a candy-coated version of cherry Hershey's Kisses. Which, for the record, was a bad idea, guys. Also, adding -ly to the word "wild" makes it that much schmaltzier.



Oreo Strawberry Milkshake Creme. Where are the Green Oreos now?

Back in Cambridge, I indulged in a Guts bar (on top of my math problem set) that someone brought me from Taiwan. Taiwanese junk food is among the most addicting...it's not too sweet, rather delicate, and if it's salty, it's laced with MSG. In this case, a Guts bar consists of a "egg roll" cookie covered in a layer of chocolate wrapped with nuts; its hollow interior is then filled with strawberry flavored creme. And funnily enough, it was only 178 calories (admittedly, still a lot, but not as much as I had expected). It had a nice combination of crunch and creme, although there was no chewy compromise and the chocolate layer was a little thick.

That said, Guts is a great name for a candy bar. It sounds so much more satisfying than Snickers.

The cross-section of a Guts bar proved photogenic (despite not being human). The strange reflection, of course, comes from the interior of the wrapper and not the bar.

Finally, the Pocky photoshoot. As you might have noticed from the top photo, there is a high correlation between the quantity and quality of food photography and the quantity of problem sets to be done. Pocky basically consist of long cookies dipped in chocolate or other flavored, processed cream; this particular type (it really is called dessert Pocky) is dipped and then drizzled again with milk chocolate.

"Cultural imperialist guilt"...

...is the best line in this article from the NYT.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the L.A. Times reports on shiso, a herb that's recently become trendy in the States. The article's courtesy of Mr. Sohovich, who asked if I had ever heard of it; I hadn't, but I've definitely eaten it: Korean restaurants include it as part of their banchan, the set of small dishes that accompany a typical meal. It's marinated and eaten leaf by leaf, and unfortunately, I'm not a fan. From what I've heard anecdotally, it's a love-it-or-hate-it herb.

Review: Wagamama

57 JFK St, Cambridge, MA 02138/617.499.0930

I figure I'll state it up front: I am not a fan of Wagamama.

I ordered the ginger chicken udon ($10.50) both visits. Actually, the udon was fairly flavorful - the ginger was strong. However, despite accepting the fact that udon does and always will have a pasty texture when stir-fried, but if anything, it meant that something - some sort of additional ingredient - had to supplement it. That didn't happen: the chicken was really bite-sized. My taste buds could not overcome the "overstick" of the udon noodles, conglomerated together in one mass.

The funny thing is, my dining companions and I agreed that my dish was probably the best tasting of what we had ordered - the yaki udon ($10.75), the chicken chili men (noodles in a spicy sauce, $11.75) and the aka-taka chicken salad ($9.95). To Wagamama's credit, the yaki udon was not a clone of the ginger chicken udon; the chicken in the salad was tasty, but the sparse quantity of it seemed out of place on the plain "mixed" lettuce leaves.

Wagamama takes your orders using an electronic reader, which means the food came fast. Unfortunately, we were ordered to leave fast (as in, less than 30 minutes). At one point, our server came by and pointed out: "Maybe I'm crazy, but didn't I give you the bill five minutes ago?"

And the opportunity cost of this: a (better) meal at any other Harvard Square establishment. So I offer alternatives to Wagamama within two blocks:

- Uno's, individual Farmer's Market vegetarian pizza: $8.79
- Penang, family-style: $10-12
- Felipe's, nachos: $5.35

And if you're willing to trek a little more,
- Bartley's, the Mitt Romney burger (including onion rings!): $9.15

In short, overhyped and overpriced.

Hot Pot, Hot Pot...

Survivor: China was the first season of Survivor that I actually watched more than one episode of, only because there was a DVR handy. (The delay on this post is proof of this fact.) In particular, one scene towards the end of the season caught my eye. As TV Grapevine puts it:

"Although Denise, Todd and Courtney seemed blown away by the sight of the Great Wall they spent their entire time complaining about the food they were provided [from the reward challenge]. It was a Chinese Hot Pot which none of the three knew anything about."

A brief definition: hot pot consists of a pot of steaming hot broth (usually chicken, although another meat base can be used). Various vegetables, thinly-sliced meat or seafood are placed by the pot, and it is the eater's job to put into the pot what he or she wants to eat at that time (by using individual mesh baskets with handles). When the food is fully cooked, the eater takes it out and eats it, after dipping it in a sauce - like a fondue, basically. The pot is kept hot throughout the meal, either by a gas/electric stove built into the table, or more commonly, a hot plate. It's also known as the onomatopoeic term "shabu-shabu," for the swishing sound the meat makes when cooked in the soup.

The variations on how people do hot pot are astounding. Some people cook with chicken broth, others splash a dash of chili sauce before boiling. Someone might make an all-seafood hot pot, while the next week, he or she might skip the scallops. Fried tofu? Soft tofu? It depends.

Then the matter of sauce expands hot pot possibilities, as people mix according to their individual tastes. Most Chinese families use a satay sauce - made out of brine shrimp - coupled with some soy sauce (to make the sauce more fluid), and then they add other garnishes, like cilantro. Some people add raw egg to their sauce for thickness as well (it's apparently better than hollandaise sauce). And one person I know adds a teaspoon of sugar to his sauce to "neutralize" the salty part, per his family tradition. Meanwhile, Japanese shabu-style restaurants (like Shabu-Zen, a new Boston favorite of mine) use a lighter, sweeter - almost vinegary - sort of soy sauce or even a peanut sauce. One adds chopped garlic, onions or hot pepper to this base at his or own discretion.

It's these regional differences that interest me the most. Sometimes, when I visit family friends for hot pot, I'm momentarily shocked that they don't put spinach in like we do at home. But ultimately, good soup is good soup. Case-in-point: not only is hot pot one of my favorite meals, it was my dinner tonight.

And so that's what peeved me about this segment of Survivor (if you'd like to look it up, it's episode 12: "Hello, I'm Still a Person"). The hot pot was part of the reward, so clearly it wasn't disgusting, not to mention too daunting to learn - in fact, there was a lot on the table, and it looked pretty good to me. What bothered me was that the Survivors were disgruntled about it and complained all the way to the Tribal Council.

It's fine to not take risks or to refuse something- admittedly, I like trying out "weird-looking" fruits more than I like more physically-trying feats. But in my opinion, it's another thing to complain about how other cultures do food (although cannibalism is another story). And honestly, hot pot is about boiling - not eating bugs or slugs or random pieces of cardboard, and it's fairly easy to do. Food flexibility shouldn't be too much of an issue...especially if you're a Survivor.

Culinary Photo Tour: Part I

KS Seafood, 2163 S. China Place, Chicago

If you're wondering about the recent dearth of posts, it's not for lack of material - I've been eating my material. That said, I tried to run through the photos I've taken this summer, and admittedly, most of them were of food - I've been trying to hone my steady-shot technique, and what better subject than my lunch.

Here's one of the restaurants I tried during then: located in Chinatown, KS Seafood is a bit more upscale than its peers, but its major difference is that it serves Taiwanese food. (On a side note, it also has a wireless service button on each of its tables.)

Shown above is the gua bao, steamed bun ($12.95) - what I crudely call "taiwanese hamburger." In fact, gua bao is more than that - it's stewed pork in a thick, sweet soy glaze, wrapped in a steam bun and garnished with chopped peanut, pickled mustard greens and cilantro. The mustard greens give the gua bao a sweet and sour feel without being overwhelmingly sweet or sour.

Another highlight was the preserved pork and leek dish. Although it initally looked simple, the pork had a complex flavor and chewy texture. Lastly, the hakka was a standout. Since most Taiwanese people - and therefore Taiwanese restaurants - are of Holo ethnicity, it was quite interesting to have a Hakka dish at the table. A mix of vegetables, including bamboo and thin Chinese celery, plus strips of meat and squid and small fish, the dish was garlicky and seasoned with chopped, spicy peppers. Despite their size, the red peppers were really what added the heat to the hakka.

NYT: Food press day!

It continues to be a good day for reading New York Times...with my stomach. These two articles, relating to food, were on its online front page today:

American Food Writing

Sushi for Two

I particularly liked the latter article; I remember sixth grade when a girl ridiculed the kids in our class that dared to enjoy tofu. It's - in sixth-grade-terms - cool that we're approaching an era of more adventurous eating. Even if it's one that began long ago.

Review: Whole Foods'/Byerly's Asian selection

My friends know that I dislike Leeann Chin (the Midwest fast food restaurant chain). I should probably note that I have had some success with their Peking Chicken Stir-Fry (mainly because it has jicama). (Yes, for the most part, these informational links lead you to Wikipedia.)

That said, I complain often enough about Americanized Asian food, although I have gotten accustomed to it. Another complaint that I have is regarding the dearth of vegetables in my entrees at Americanized Asian fast food places. More often than not, I get meat in a tasty brown sauce over my rice. No veggies - unless they involve a (not-so-very) special fungi. That said, I began a quest for vegetables, and for really good - not just edible bordering on vaguely tasty - lemon chicken. Or something to that effect.

I went to Whole Foods first and bought some sweet and sour tofu ($7.99/pound) and teriyaki sweet potatoes ($6.99/pound). Following that, a trip to Byerly's yielded me Big Bowl Chinese Express, in the same spot where Leeann Chin had been a year earlier. And my Big Bowl Chinese Express choice was the teriyaki chicken ($6.99 regular size, $5.79 small).

The sweet and sour tofu was not really typical tofu, but bean curd, a tougher, denser version that explained the more expensive price. It was nowhere near sweet and sour, and not particularly Asian, but was vaguely sweet and salty. The bean curd, because of its texture, did not absorb the sauce but was nonetheless pretty good, especially if you treated the sauce as a light dip. Chopped green onion added flavor, though I wished the red pepper slices were thicker to contribute more sweetness.

The teriyaki sweet potatoes were long, quartered and covered in sesame seeds. They also looked shriveled. Nonetheless, the interior was moist, although some potato pieces were clearly less cooked than others. The teriyaki sauce was slightly sweet and even a little bit spicy, a good complement to the chewy texture.

Finally, the teriyaki chicken. While I enjoy Big Bowl as a sit-down restaurant, its Express chains in Byerly's don't match the main restaurant's flavors. For example, the kung pao chicken on display had a significantly lighter tone than that served in the restaurant. In addition, the entrees are limited, and in particular, none of Big Bowl's noodle dishes are available via Express. Instead, a refrigerated peanut noodle salad was in the case. The teriyaki chicken that I ordered was standard Teriyaki, but the sauce was a little too sweet and rich for my taste. Green peas added color to the chicken, but were few and far between, and didn't soften up the tough texture of the chicken.

My verdict? I would pass on the teriyaki chicken, but I think it's up to you on the teriyaki sweet potatoes and the sweet and sour tofu. Of those two, I preferred the latter; I could see myself becoming bored with the teriyaki sweet potatoes after one serving.