Taiwan Cafe

Hit Taiwan Cafe for lunch the other day. I wanted to get Chinese donut and soy milk, etc., but we got there JUST too late.


eggplant with basil eggplant with basil


siu long bao siu long bao


cao neen goh cao neen goh


fried dumpling fried dumpling Was really hoping for Chinese donut, but it's okay. This stuff was good too, and I'll get my fix when I get to Vancouver. Eggplant with a basil is a great dish here. Siu long bao were a little on the big side, but very soupy inside. Neen goh was standard. The dumplings were sort of like really overstuffed gyoza moreso than average potstickers. Good stuff.
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Tokyo City

Got around to trying Tokyo City for dinner. It's right nearby on Harvard Ave., but for some reason I just haven't gone before.


ika tempura ika tempura


crazy maki, spicy salmon maki, salmon, tuna, & hamachi sushi crazy maki, spicy salmon maki, salmon, tuna, & hamachi sushi


hamachi kama hamachi kama It was really good! I wish I had gone sooner. The sushi was better than Kayuga and Maluken, and it was really cheap too. There's a deal where you can get 18 pieces of nigiri for $20 which is a steal. Hamachi kama (aka broiled yellowtail collar) was good - picked it clean. Anyway, I'm gonna start going here for the quick Japanese fix from now on.
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Bertucci's

Went back to Bertucci's the other night for dinner, after a fairly long time of not going.


spinach & ricotta gnocchi spinach & ricotta gnocchi It was pretty good this time. They finally got rid of the olive oil explanation i was talking about, and instead they just give you a pre-seasoned dish of olive oil with lots of garlic and some stuff in it. It was good though. The gnocchi was alright too, but not really great. It's about the same as Pasta Pomodoro back home.
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Pork Chops

As promised, here's another simple recipe from the same AskMeFi thread.


pork chops with red wine vinegar reduction pork chops with red wine vinegar reduction It turned out really good. Sauce is just red wine vinegar, chicken broth, garlic and sugar, all reduced down to a syrupy thickness. Veggies are just leftover takeout. Gonna make this one again... it was easy.
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Curry Rice

I made this the other day with the help of this recipe on AskMefi.


ground beef, mushrooms, onions, garlic, with curry rice ground beef, mushrooms, onions, garlic, with curry rice Looked easy enough to make and wasn't sure what to expect. The rice is just normal rice with a little curry powder thrown into the rice cooker. I thought it was pretty good, and it got some favorable reviews. I plan on trying quite a few recipes from that thread... looks like a lot of good easy stuff.
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Aneka Rasa

Finally got around to checking out Aneka Rasa, a new Malaysian place on Harvard Ave. It's similar to Penang, and from what I understand not technically an offshoot, but I think the owner used to work at Penang or something like that.


roti canai with chicken curry roti canai with chicken curry


half hainanese steamed chicken with chicken rice half hainanese steamed chicken with chicken rice


shrimp with string beans shrimp with string beans


green tea ice cream green tea ice cream Very good overall. The roti canai is good, and almost exactly the same as Penang. I still like the thicker, doughier roti prata at Straits back home though. The curry dip is awesome. The Hainanese chicken was great - very tender, even the white meat. Rice was good too... Can't remember how it compares to the Straits one. Haven't had that there in a while. The green beans sambal were very crisp. Perfect texture, but not as much flavor as at Straits in SF or at Tropika in Vancouver. The pieces of shrimp weren't that great though. The ice cream was surprisingly good (and big). Not too sweet and just the right creaminess. I'm not usually a fan of green tea ice cream, but this was good. Gotta try the mango next time. Will definitely go back.
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Pacific Garden

We had dim sum at Pacific Garden in Chinatown the other day. Of course I forgot to take pictures of a lot of stuff. Things looked pretty normal anyway.


ha gao - shrimp dumplings ha gao - shrimp dumplings


spare ribs with black bean sauce spare ribs with black bean sauce Thought the ha gao looked pretty cool with a little roe on top. The place is pretty good... a lot better than China Pearl which I went to once a long time ago.
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A1 Steak

Our place is really clean now and there's a lot more cooking going on. Threw some cheap steaks in the broiler the other night.


steak with A1 sauce, spinach, rice Smothered it with A1 and cooked it in the oven on broil... actually turned out pretty good. Steak is not hard to make though. Probably gonna start making them more.
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Den's Cafe

Went to Den's Cafe for lunch the other day. I've never been there for lunch before, and it turns out the prices are a good amount lower.


pork garlic pork garlic "Pork garlic" as they call it... also with scallions and mushrooms. A little heavy on the scallions for my taste. The lettuce turned out to actually be a pretty good balance for the sauce. I still wanna try this green curry fried rice thing they have there some time.
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Carlo's Cucina Italiana

Went to Carlo's Cucina Italiana the other night. This past weekend was graduation weekend so a lot of people were having graduation dinners with their families. Seemed like every restaurant had a line out the door... Carlo's was no exception. Had to wait about half an hour, but we got to eat.


calamari fritti calamari fritti


penne with chicken and broccoli penne with chicken and broccoli


fettucine marysa - veal, prosciutto, peas, onions, fresh tomato sauce fettucine marysa - veal, prosciutto, peas, onions, fresh tomato sauce Solid again. Calamari was good... not too greasy, and good texture. The penne was alright. Tender chicken and pretty good sauce. The fettucine was pretty interesting with 2 kinds of meat. Sauce was pretty tomato-ey but like I said before, Carlo's does tomato sauce pretty well. Pretty sweet and tangy. The fettucine itself was very good. I saw a tortellini with pesto on the table next to me, and it looked really good... probably gonna try that next time.
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Beijing Cafe

I went to Beijing Cafe for lunch the other day... figured I didn't post it really considering I go there a decent amount (though I usually get the same thing). It's a solid takeout Chinese place.


general gao's chicken, crab rangoon, fried rice general gao's chicken, crab rangoon, fried rice Lots of food for about $5. Strictly Americanized Chinese, but it's good for what it is. I like their hot and sour soup too, as compared to many of the other Chinese places around here.
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Marc's Pot Roast

We're back from Montreal now. Marc made pot roast the other night...


pot roast pot roast Good stuff. He thinks the meat was too soft but it was fine with me. I look forward to mooching off more home cooking in the future.
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Le Tournesol

Here's another poutine we had. This one is from a little place called Le Tournesol in the middle of nowhere... right before we got back to the US/Canada border.


poutine poutine This one looks nice but the other one tasted better. The fries weren't fried enough here.
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La Belle Province

So we went looking for some poutine. I read this article from the McGill newspaper, and La Belle Province was the most convenient. It was also recommended on Chowhound... Another place called LaFleur is apparently famous, but it was a little far for us.


poutine For those that don't know, poutine is an order of fries with cheese curds and gravy on top... a supposed specialty around here. This was actually really good... Fries had a lot of potato flavor, cheese was melted all over. All the artery-clogging factors that make something good. Mmm. Heading back to Boston now...
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The Main

Went looking for a smoked meat sandwich for lunch today. After I did some online research, I found that Schwartz's and the Main were the two best. Schwartz's was packed so we went to the Main.


smoked meat sandwich, cabbage salad, fries smoked meat sandwich, cabbage salad, fries Not bad... Tasted a lot like corned beef. I'd guess a corned beef sandwich from NY would taste similar. Guess I don't know enough about it to tell the difference. The salad looked and tasted like cole slaw without the creamy part. I also read that you're supposed to eat the sandwich with a black cherry cola, which we did... Drink was good. All in all pretty good, and cheap too.
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Restaurant Julien

Now reporting LIVE from Montr�al, Quebec... When we arrived we had a meal at Restaurant Julien right by our hotel, per recommendation of the concierge.


tomato and bocconcini salad tomato and bocconcini salad


steak tartare steak tartare


douceur caf� douceur caf� Good food all around, but it turned out to be more expensive than we were looking for (due in large part to the crazy Canadian sales tax we forgot about). Tomato and bocconcini salad was solid. Cheese had a nice texture. Steak tartare was very good, with a slight hint of heat. I do like having some kind of toast or something to go with it, though I'm not sure what the authentic way to serve and eat it is. The dessert was very good... It was a sort of two-layered coffee custard/cream thing. A tiny bit too sweet, but still great. Hopefully gonna grab a poutine and a smoked meat sandwich somewhere before I leave.
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Sonsie

Sorry for the lack of updates... haven't been eating much this week. Got a week off before summer school starts. Today, Keith, Yuen, Steph & I went to Sonsie on Newbury for a late lunch.


chicken caesar salad with herb-grilled chicken chicken caesar salad with herb-grilled chicken


white cheese pizza with grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions & mushroom brie white cheese pizza with grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions & mushroom brie When we got there we were surprised to see a menu with just a few salads and pizza. I guess it's because we went at such an odd hour (4pm or so) between lunch and dinner. Anyway, the food was pretty good. We didn't get one of the tables directly in front of the street, but we were by the front. The salad was solid all around... chicken was tender. Croutons could have been better. The pizza was good, but as you can see squarely in the "fancy pizza" style. Crust wasn't ultra-thin. Enough to have a little chew to it. I heard brunch is good there so I may try that some time. I'm going to Montreal this weekend with Dave, Keith & Yuen. Hopefully I'll eat some good stuff up there.
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Instant Noodle Showdown: Myojo Chukazanmai

As a cheap college student, I have started to study the art of the instant noodle. Super 88 has probably the biggest selection of instant noodles I've seen, including Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and all other kinds of them. Round One in the Instant Noodle Showdown is Myojo Chukazanmai, preferred instant noodle choice of Mike, who happens to be a professional.


Myojo Chukazanmai instant noodle package Myojo Chukazanmai instant noodle package


Myojo Chukazanmai, the finished product Myojo Chukazanmai, the finished product Mike claims he's tried them all, and this one reigns supreme. It needs to be cooked less than the directions say for proper bounciness. Notice that a package costs $1.39, which is relatively high in the instant noodle world. Results are very good - much better than the regular instant noodles. Noodles are more firm... generally closer to real ramen. They taste better than the ramen I had at that ramen stall in Super 88. More to come. Happy Mother's Day Mom!
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Infusions Tea Spa

It's here. The new camera has arrived. I am now back in business. I didn't eat anything interesting today, but I couldn't resist using the camera... so I took a picture of the egg salad on baguette I got from Infusions Tea Spa.


egg salad on baguette egg salad on baguette I recently discovered this menu item there and it's GOOD. I get it like once a week now. If you feel like food there and you don't want brick toast, go for this... it rocks. My new favorite drink now is lemon green tea with coconut jelly. It also rocks. Very refreshing as the weather gets warmer. Infusions is a lot better than the two Lollicups nearby. Try it out if you haven't.
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