Japanese Meal

For the celebration of a special friend's birthday dinner.

Bottom left:

Sautéeed scallops in miso-glaze reduction.

Left placement:

Miso Soup.
Asari Gohan (あさりご飯).

Down the center plate:

Fresh wasabi (わさび).
Pickled cucumber.
Pickled jellyfish with hijiki, ginger & cucumber.
Pickled burdock (ごぼ).
Fresh seaweed salad.

Bottom right:

Scallop Sashimi.

Right placement:

Symmetric placement of left.

Sweet Sufferin' Siberia

One of the CC's close friends is leaving for Siberia to do environmental work. So she decided to throw a party that would be the perfect antithesis to a (future) Siberian winter.

Beach party, bright and early, at Brighton Beach.

After a hearty day of swimming, sun-tanning, watermelon-consumption and escaping from a swarm of jellyfish, all assembled to head out for some variegated Russian food.

First up, was a "green borscht" (made with sorrel and beet greens.) The CC's friends noticed that the CC was quite the enthusiast so they generously gave him more than his rightful share.

Next up, were vareniki with mushroom and potatoes (boiled dumplings like ravioli), blini with caviar (mmmmm ... salty), manti (steamed meat dumplings), and some excellent plov (lamb-lovers and rice-lovers, this dish is for you!)

For dessert, we had the vareniki stuffed with sour cherries.

The CC couldn't resist picking up some wondrous Russian rye bread (the smell, the smell) and some Bulgarian brined cheese. Also, a package of 100 vareniki was picked up to be placed in the CC's freezer. Cost? $11.

Aah, New York in summer: sun, sea, sand, and splendrous splendrous food.

Malaysian Fast Food

What better way to welcome a New Year than Malaysian fast food featuring "fried jellyfish"?

It's called pasembur, and being a street dish, the CC is sure it has myriads of incarnations. This rendition featured the afore-mentioned jellyfish, tofu, hard-boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cucumber, and turnips in delicious sweet-salty sauce.

The CC also ate asam laksa which is definitely not for the faint of heart. Features noodles in a tamarind broth heavily laden with shrimp paste. Definitely an acquired taste but then what interesting food isn't?

An exotic farewell to the previous year, and a scrumpalicious beginning to the present!

Sichuan Food

Last night, the CC had dinner at the most amazing Sichuan restaurant. They were told not to dumb down the food for the foreigner (the CC was the only non-Chinese person at the restaurant) but they did a slight dumbdown anyway. Oh well!

Vegetarians definitely need not apply here (or in general, for traditional Chinese food.)

For cold appetizers (traditional), we had seaweed, jellyfish and pig skin (three dishes.)

For the main course, we had carp.