thanksgiving potluck at work

© Joselito Briones
lovely people, good food.


XXX

mochi from daigaharakinseiken?

© Joselito Briones
our neighbors arisa and the kids are back from their japan trip and they brought us this present - best mochi ever!  it comes with an ampoule of molasses to drip on the mochi - how nice is that?  i googled the image and it looks like it comes from a store called "daigaharakinseiken", but as i can't read the characters i can't tell for sure.

XXX

is there a way to tell a chef that you didn't like his food?

© Joselito Briones

norie and i are visiting irma in jakarta - part of norie's birthday celebration, i guess.  eager to show us the city, irma invited us to dine at skye restaurant atop one of the tallest buildings in the city.  

the view was great and all, but i thought the food was heavy-handed (tom kha soup was heavily coconut cream, the galangal flavor was totally defeated, the seafood in it barely noticeable - as if the chef was totally aware of it, he added bits of dry seaweed to remind the diner that it really was meant to be a seafood dish, which only muddied the flavor;  the braised pork, which is meant to be a house specialty, was waaaay too sweet and the caramelization crossed (and went way past) the line to burnt bitterness; and although the flavors in the crispy pork belly was good, the pork rind wasn't crispy at all. (we were told that pork dishes are hard to come by in this city for religious reasons, so we thought we should have them when they're available)

i would have been content to ignore it all, of course, the view and the company having been more than enough to enjoy the evening - except, well, when it was all over, on the way down from the restaurant, in the lift that clearly displayed a poster photo of the restaurant's chef, irma noticed his striking resemblance to one of the lift passengers. "you look like that guy," she said to the passenger, pointing at the chef's poster-photo. "that's me," he answered, smiling. chit chat ensued, and then the inevitable happened:  he asked us if we enjoyed the food.

-XXX

freshly made rice bread with bits of nuts and all sorts of deliciousness

from our neighbors the sims

XXX

blue potato and chinese sausage getting sauteed in olive oil and thyme before joining chickpeas and leek soup

© Joselito Briones

we thought the blue potatoes were really pretty (we bought it at the jesus market), and we've had these chinese sausages in the fridge for a long time already, so i thought i'd spruce up left-over chickpeas and leek soup with these. no idea how it comes out, still on the stove, sure is pretty tho against the pale green and yellow of soup.

XXX

portioned, marzipanned, decorated, and wrapped the christmas cake.

© Joselito Briones

so we decided to share one of our home-made fruitcakes with our neighbors (we still have one soaking in brandy).  charles made marzipan from scratch (very good).

we went to the east village to get a present for one of our neighbors' new baby, then to broadway panhandler and got those green and red bits for cake decoration (above photo). we weren't gonna get anything from there - one of those things where "oh it's just there, let's see what they have" and of course we walked out with the cake decorations, a spatula, and an all-clad roasting pan.

XXX

eating mini christmas cake at 2:30am

© Joselito Briones
whoever said that patience is a virtue obviously doesn't know the smell of baking christmas cake.  this is fresh from the oven, and is supposed to be drip-drowned in brandy for days before consumption, but i'm eating it now.  the large, proper-sized version is still in the oven (charles and i started baking late at 10pm), hopefully that one will last until christmas.

XXX

mejillones en escabeche from conservas ria de arosa

rainy-day-can't-be-bothered-to-go-out food. got this from a grocery in hayes valley selling food from spain.


xxx

squash blossoms

© Joselito Briones

saw some squash blossoms at the produce market and decided to stuff it with shiitake mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and parsley.

© Joselito Briones

dipped in batter (flour, cornstarch, beer) then deepfried. yum.

XXX

strawberry mochi

© Joselito Briones

mochi with strawberry filling (much better than the ones with ice cream filling) from sf japantown's benkyodo company

XXX

dinner with marco and gau

© Joselito Briones

random pic time again - this one with marco and gau @ superfabulous champagne room @ the manila hotel.

XXX

kev's b'day bbq

ribs and oysters! very yummy.

XXX

filipino food truck at the 'how weird' street festival in san francisco

© Joselito Briones

tried the tacos with sisig-style adobo filling ($6 for 2). was yummy.

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

XXX

dinner at the marriott

© Joselito Briones
random pic time. this was at the marriott in manila. wil gave me t-shirt and marco gave me a pair of socks. I didn't have gifts for them so i gave them a steak dinner treat. first time i saw the new! and improved! marco.

XXX

congee

Photo:  Joselito Briones

this is the congee place on the street where i live - always useful on those days when i just want something quick, hot, and filling.  everything they sell here is basically starch - from the congee (rice porridge), fried noodles (chow mien), rice rolls, deep-fried bread sticks, and deep-fried bread sticks wrapped in rice rolls. so basically if you wanna catch up on carbs (after all the time that you've been on a carb-free diet), you can have the bredsticks wrapped in rice rolls, dip it in congee, and have fried noodles on the side. must-try.




XXX

scene from a cafe serving dog meat in hanoi, vietnam

i almost got robbed in hanoi. while walking around the lake near the historic district, a guy touted a cardboard sheet with some photos printed on it, offering something i didn't care to know. red flag! a cardboard with print, a newspaper, a menu, a petition list, or a photo being shoved in your face for attention is (almost) always a decoy. while you're struggling to see what's printed so you can vehemently say no, the guy's other hand is probably very busy picking your pocket already. if you're sitting in a cafe with your stuff on the table and someone shoves something on your face offering something, you can be sure that the guy's (or girl's) other hand is already swiping your things from the table. it bears repeating: anything being shoved in your face to grab your attention is ALWAYS a diversion so a thief can take your stuff. anyway, i saw the sign so i politely said no and walked on - but this one's pretty persistent. at one point, where there was a bigger crowd, he blocked my way so that i can't walk forward, still showing me his pictures. this was, i assumed right, step two. while he blocked my way, someone he works with was already busy trying to unzip my backpack. as i was aware of the play, i instantly noticed the guy behind me at work, yanked my bag, and walked away. at this point the guy with pictures walked even faster so he's still ahead of me, the other guy who was opening my bag ran a few meters ahead. when i saw that they haven't let go, i yelled and warned everyone to be careful because the guy's a pickpocket. at this point the thief closer to me stopped walking, so i just looked him in the eye and walked past. the other thief also stopped, stood with his back on the crowd, like he was looking at something from a distant, feigning innocence. when i walked passed him i felt the energy - conscious control of excitement, unnatural stillness.

so anyway, why let such an encounter ruin your trip, right?  the photo above has nothing to do with the failed robbery - other than that it was taken in hanoi on the same night.  this is supposed to be a popular cafe - on the menu, among other things, are grilled or boiled dog meat.  i read somewhere that dogs can smell whether or not you've eaten dog meat before.  is this true? if you know for sure and have an explanation for it, please drop me a line.


XXX

p.s.
i forgot to mention that the above warning isn't just for hanoi - it's for any city when you're travelling.  i remember once while in fisherman's wharf in san francisco (a tourist trap if there ever is one), amongst the thick crowd a youngish couple suddenly had a yelling row and a very public breakup.  only the whole thing was so fake and staged (they really should've taken acting lessons) - everybody's attention turned to them for a couple of minutes.  i wanted to yell "beware of pickpockets" but i was afraid there might be one near me holding a knife (they sometimes do, tho not usually)

XXX

oh and look!

awwwwwww.... and chocolates too!


XXX

free outdoor dining space at IFC

Photo:  Joselito Briones

one of hong kong's well-kept secret:  free outdoor dining space at IFC.  unobstructed view of kowloon island.  clean space under tree shade.  it's open to the public, bring your own lunch (i usually buy from city super). use the lift near city super, and go to rooftop of the podium (P4).  the rooftop is actually a small park so you can just hang around, or take photos.


XXX

dim sum @ treasure lake seafood restaurant

Photo:  Joselito Briones

i think the restaurant itself occupies 3 floors, but the dimsum place is on the second floor.  anyway, this is the dim sum place in my neighborhood where you'll find me most sundays at about noon.   neighborhood is actually not the right word to use, as it is in the city center and there's nothing neighborhoody about it. anyway this is right around the block where i live.

if you're ever in the area and you go to this restaurant, you must try the yam cake in XO sauce, dumplings with sharksfin soup (for the price that they charge, i doubt if it's really shark's fin, but it's delicious anyway) and egg yolk custard bun. this is a very basic no-frills dim sum restaurant but the food is good and the staff is friendly.


XXX

legalize gay cupcakes!

© Joselito Briones

cute, no?  can't remember the name of the cupcake shop i bought it from, tho.


XXX