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Week-Ender #79
Ramen (ラーメン, rāmen?, IPA [ɽa̠ː.me̞ɴ]) is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork (チャーシュー, chāshū?), dried seaweed (海苔, nori?), kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn. Almost every locality in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen of Kyushu to the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
Ramen is of Chinese origin, however it is unclear when ramen was introduced to Japan. Even the etymology of the word ramen is a topic of debate. One theory is that ramen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese 拉麺 (la mian), meaning “hand-pulled noodles.” A second theory proposes 老麺 (laomian, “old noodles”) as the original form, while another states that ramen was initially 鹵麺 (lǔmiàn), noodles cooked in a thick, starchy sauce. A fourth theory is that the word derives from 撈麵 (lāomiàn, “lo mein”), which in Cantonese 撈 means to “stir”, and the name refers to the method of preparation by stirring the noodles with a sauce.
Tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”; not to be confused with tonkatsu) ramen usually has a cloudy white colored broth. It is similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯) and has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk or melted butter or gravy (depending on the shop). Most shops, but not all, blend this pork broth with a small amount of chicken and vegetable stock and/or soy sauce. The noodles are thin and straight, and it is often served with beni shoga (pickled ginger). Currently the latest trend in tonkotsu toppings is māyu (マー油/麻油), a blackish, aromatic oil made from either charred crushed garlic or Sesame seeds. It is a specialty of Kyūshū, particularly Hakata-ku, Fukuoka (hence sometimes called “Hakata ramen”).
Source- Thank you Wikipedia!
This bowl of ramen was devoured at The Mall in Taipei at the basement food court but don’t let food court turn you off this chasyu ramen was NTD250 (approx. PHP375 or USD8.50) The Mall is at the Shangri-La Hotel on Dun Hua South Road, Section 1, Lane 236, #26 (106台北市大安區敦化南路一段236巷26號).
國際金融中心商場 International Finance Center, Hong Kong
The IFC in Central, Hong Kong serves as an early check in for your flight. Get there a few hours early as there is a huge mall at the finance center just an elevator ride from the check in counters. Have a good meal, shop for gifts and then hop on the train to the airport for your flight. The place is huge so make sure there are hours to spare.
Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop 正斗粥麵專家 (Shop 3016-18, IFC, 2295 0101) first opened in Hong Kongs Causeway Bay area and has been preparing it’s traditional congee and noodle dishes for the last 60 years. Apparently, the stirred fried noodle with beef is the ‘best in the world’, according to one famous Chinese food critic. There was much more food at the table but my stomach got the better of me…
Tasty is open daily between 11:30am and 11pm.
Behind this sign is the glass enclosure for the elevators to take you to Tasty
The sign that greets the casual diner outside the restaurant and left over Chinese new year deco's inside
House tea serviced by the busy wait staff
Dry wanton noodles with soup on the side-excellent and authentic
Pig trotters braised in light soy sauce-if you're a fan this is it
The so called 'best in the world' stir fried noodles with beef. Yes, it was superb but not sure about 'best in the world'...
Abalone and prawn congee-goodness in one bowl. It's big and filling comfort Chinese food
Exterior facade of Tasty
The accent piece under the chairs and foyer that greets the hungry or the stuffed
All photos captured with Canon EOS 7D+ EF 85mm f/1.8. Shot in RAW and converted to tif with Digital Photography Professional and finally to jpg in Photoshop.
Week-Ender #75
A few Sundays ago, the family got in the wagon and headed to one of the foodies markets on the other side of town. It’s a foodies haven except you couldn’t really sit down and eat as a good size crowd were all looking to eat. Yes, there were sandwiches and hand-held food items you can eat on your feet but for most of it you need to sit. Get ready to wait.
One I had to try on my feet, even if it wasn’t so good for the health was Offbeat’s burger. It is not any ordinary burger and believe me I’ve had my fair share. This one has a good size beef patty with a slice of cheese, a slice of ham and a sunny side up egg all squished together in an original Krispy Kreme doughnut. Oh, it was frightening to look at but good for the soul.
The patty was flavorful with the ham and cheese adding that extra layer of savory with the soft texture of the sunny side up egg. All the savory culminated in the sweet burst from the doughnut and that is a whole meal-appetizer, mains and dessert all in one go. Hats off to Offbeat (no pun intended) for the unique yummy item in that big white tent.
Good on you for giving us humans another way for quicker extinction. Below are more photos from the weekend market.
Sincerity
The very polluted Pasig River that runs through the Binondo area
Binondo aka Manila’s China Town akin to the dirtiest parts of the world. Where trash is controlled chaos, where the Chinese underworld operates, where wholesalers call home and where food is always a comfort.
One restaurant that stands out is Sincerity, already an institution serves up Chinese food from the Fujian Province of China. This is real, unadulterated Chinese food. On a diet? Skip this place. The closest thing they have for dieters is the Coke Zero. Armed with an 85mm f/1.8 and an empty stomach, for an hour and a half, the place gets shot with a Canon and a healthy bill at meals end.
The EF 85mm f/1.8 on a x1.6 crop sensor DSLR like the Canon EOS 7D goes all the way out to 135mm in full frame numbers. It is a great walk around lens even if zooming in and out takes a bit of walking. This is one lens where it can reach the good stuff-like say in a car, roll down the window and bang, you have the shot. Streets in downtown Manila are one way and narrow. The 85mm f/1.8 also one of the sharpest, cheapest and lightest in Canon’s lens collection. Short enough as well not to cause too much undue attention.
Remnant from the last Chinese new year
Admist controlled chaos
Interior views of Sincerity
Tableware presentation the old way
Kikiam- a roll stuffed with chicken, pork and other good stuff
Ma-chang (肉粽) or zongzi (粽子)- gluttinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves and stuffed with pork, chicken, mushrooms and nuts
Oyster omelet (蚵仔煎)- made with oysters, eggs, tapioca starch and eaten with a sweet chili sauce
Stirred fry Chinese vermicilli with various meats and seafood.
The classic and very tasty Sincerity fried chicken
Lunch time traffic
Army Navy: Burgers + Burritos
A week and a half ago, the hard drive on my old trusty iBook had a sticky fit and finally crashed. The symptom was a very simple plain blue screen once it booted. Gone was the menu bar and solid medium gray color desktop.
Had to take the Mac to the doctor and on the way passed by this new place being renovated. Made a quick mental note to try it out. Fast forward to a new hard drive, a very clean software-less comp and dinner at the Army Navy: Burgers + Burritos. Will try their breakfast burrito on our next visit.
Street view of Army Navy Burger and Burritos.
The faux brass logo on the counter top- a very nice touch.
Order counter with a full view of the clean kitchen and very friendly staff.
The interior space-excellent attention to detail-like the food.
First up, the double patty cheeseburger. Liked the meaty flavor but too much fresh onions as it over powered the burger with every bite. Still a great choice though just ask the staff to hold the onions.
Nicely wrapped beef and cheese sandwich. It
A look inside reveals all the juicy goodness. The onions were just right.
ELEGANTLY SIMPLE
The design was surprisingly elegant and minimalist.
Another shoot with Vanilla Kitchen last week had a custom themed Angelina Ballerina birthday cupcakes and cakes. The clover/flower accents brought out the cake while the chocolate cupcakes framed the detailed toppings perfectly.
Caught a little torch action with another set of cupcakes as well (second to the bottom photo). The award-winning smoke still steaming from just torched icing shot-what did I win? A cupcake…
Kelsey’s Chocolates
Once upon an afternoon, on location and surrounded by chocolates, we did a simple lighting set up. Photographed the small wonders the entire afternoon and finished just short of 7pm. Not only did we enjoy the shoot but came away with goodies from Kelsey’s Chocolates. Thereby making our wives happy for our profession.
Kelsey’s Chocolates have a premium line of chocolate truffles at very affordable prices. Hand made from quality Belgian dark chocolates.
Dark chocolates are chock full of antioxidants called flavonoids that protect us from heart disease caused by free radicals. That’s a lot of scientific words for such a sweet little treat. All that means is have dark chocolates regularly to stay alive longer-no harm, no foul and very enjoyable. Besides, I heard somewhere that chocolates are an aphrodisiac.
Kelsey’s Chocolates, order some and try for yourselves.
Christmas is just around the corner. We offer decadent, hand-made, premium chocolate truffles, available in white and dark. Order now!!! For inquiries, please call Karen@975 6737 or 0917 848 0104 (Philippines Only)
KC has more products up their sleeves and watch out for more postings soon.
SANRIO STRIKES BACK
This ones for you Clang, my dear.
One more session with the folks from Vanilla Kitchen with a revival of Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, My Melody, Shinkanzen, etc. in the form of cupcakes and a cake. The cake (bottom photo) is so detailed you would need to turn it 360º for a view of all the candy decorations.
