JCC Tomo-spiced karkana ribenes - the foodies' thread

Hop Lee in Chinatown gets a lot of positive reviews for Cantonese lobster...

 

Honey Buttered Fried Chicken is going to be available for a limited in the Oakland area for the first time. I'm planning on taking advantage of this offering.

 

I truly appreciate all of your recommendations. Will bookmark Hop Lee.

Thanks a lot.

 

Due to the latest Japanese Kit Kat flavor, now I am craving the Japanese Twinkie, Tokyo Banana 's Banana Tree flavor

 

So, the box of almost-empty Tokyo Banana (regular) on my coffee table is no good?

 

A friend who recently became aware of my affection for good burgers suggested I try out Beth's Burger Bar, which I guess is a local Florida franchise.




Beth, the owner, is apparently in direct competition with Five Guys, which in my opinion is one of the better places to get a burger.

 

Holy moly. That's not a burger, it's the Empire State Building.

 

Now that is a heart attack waiting to happen.

 

That burger looks like it is saying “I’m huge!”

dp4m - my preference for chocolate and the novelty of leopard spots won the day. I bet the original Tokyo Banana would taste great with nut butter to dip it into.

 

One of the benefits of traveling to Hong Kong often... I can sometimes route myself through Narita...

 

I had to end my previous post prematurely. Here's my review of Beth's Burger Bar:

Great atmosphere. Kind of a fancier Five Guys, but in the same market as Five Guys, as opposed to, say, BurgerFi. So Beth's prices are comparative to Five Guys.

Anyway, the fries and onion rings are great. The fries seem to have a sort of batter around them not dissimilar to Checkers/Rally's.

As for the burger, the bun was great, much better than the typical, soggy slop that a Five Guys bun quickly becomes. But, I felt that the patty itself was kind of lost in everything, and therefore underwhelming.

So, my number 1 chain burger rank still goes to Five Guys, with BurgerFi's CEO burger as a close second.

 

I've rubbed a pork shoulder, marinated it overnight, seared it at 500 for 15 minutes and am now slow cooking it at 250 for the next 5-6 hours for pulled pork. I'm making a vegetarian posole to go with it and taking it over to dinner with friends tonight. Never done the pork shoulder before, so could be a huge flop.

 

posole ready to go

 

Did you finish pulling your pork ?

 

Out of curiosity, for pulled pork, why would you sear it first -- just rub/marinate it/smother in BBQ sauce, put it on the slow-cooker rack over a cup or so of water/stock, and leave it for 8 hours?

 

I went to a specialty butcher shop and listened to 2 guys behind the counter argue about how best to do it. They suggested 15 minutes at 500 to start out then x hours at 250.

 

@Rylo Ken Was that pulled pork a success, and if yes can I please have the recipe? I have a pork leg in the freezer that wants to be eaten by the end of the week, and I have access to a wood stove right now. That's three elements that sound like a combination begging to happen

 

and in an apparent "raspberry" to Kellogg's, General Mills just released this...

 

I made a rub with paprika, crushed garlic, some brown sugar, coarse salt, a bit of cayenne, dry mustard, pepper. rubbed it on a 7 lb pork shoulder, wrapped it and stuck it in the fridge overnight. Next morning, heated the oven to 500 F and stuck the shoulder, fat side up, in a roasting pan walled on four sides with foil for a sort of open tent, for 15 minutes, allowing the fat to sear and drip into the roast. Turned the oven down to 250 F and let it roast for about 6 hours. Pulled the shoulder out, let it sit for 20 minutes, heated the oven back up and did a final sear at 500 for 15 minutes at the end.

This is just a random combination of the competing advice the two guys at the butcher shop gave me. Synthesized in this way for no good reason. But somehow it worked out. Also you can save the juice from the pan, boil it down a bit and skim off the fat, then pour it back over the pork after you've pulled it if you like the meat juicy.

 

Apparently not.

 

Thanks @Rylo Ken. I'll report back by Sunday

 

@Ender Sai (or others): best Sichuan restaurant in Hong Kong... go.

 

Da Ping Huo. Easy. It's in Central, on Hollywood Rd.

It's a private kitchen, so you need to book well in advance, but my god the food is worth it.

Basically the painter Wang Hai, set up this place where his art adorns the wall and he's the maitre'd. He's an accidental Chinese hipster. His wife, Wang Xiao Qiang, runs the kitchen. It's a fixed menu of 11 Si Chuan dishes, and then Ms Wang will come out and sing Chinese opera at the end of your course.

https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/Hong_Kong-_-Da_Ping_Huo-258445-41102

This was me there in 2005, first time I went. We'd done about 4-5 martinis at Eyebar (I think, I had to Google it so it could be different) then gone over to Dragon-i in Central for a few more drinks. By the time 8pm hit, we were tipsy as all get out and just had beer with the meal. The food gets hotter through the mid course, so more beer was needed, hence: