Back home in Taiwan

After a serious of unfortunate events, I have finally arrived in Taiwan. The decision to come back is anything but well thought out. It was like an impromtu deicision. I had beeing feeling like I've hit a wall and wasn't going anywhere back in Washington, DC. My apartment lease was up and I thought why not go back to Taiwan for a while and figure some things out?
After 2 weeks of fun and fetivities with my friends back in DC, I am now in Taiwan. It was weird spending almost everyday with my closest friends, and then all of a sudden be on the other side of the world. It has been about a year and a half since I have been back. The feeling is sort of ambiguous. I feel like everything around me is a familiar sight, yet I feel so out of place in my home town.
The first week consist of endless family time. Everyone seems to be just like they were since the last time I saw them. I on the other hand is the one who's changed. A lot happens in a year, and I guess they're more evident than I realized.
I want to take advantage of this trip back to Taiwan. I will probably never have an indefinite amount of time. I have already signed up to run a 10km race this Sunday, October 17th. This trip around will also be the first time that I will celebrate my birthday in Taiwan since I was 8 years old!
One of my biggest goals this time around is to tour the entire country on my bike. It will be a 1000km trip around the coasts of Taiwan. The coast is flat enough and has some of the most breathtaking sights of the island. As of right now I am planning on leaving on October 25th, and estimating about 2 weeks to complete the trip. Which means that I will be biking about plus or minus 100km each day.
I don't know when I'll be back in the States, but I hope when I go back I will be able to say and feel like I have made the most out of this mini vacation.

Table 21 at Volt Restaurant

Most people know about Volt restaurant due of the recent fame of head chef and owner Bryan Voltaggio's appearance on Bravo's reality show "Top Chef". I, along with a few of my friends, too am part of that crowd. Volt is situated in the town of Frederick in the state of Maryland. It is a cute and quiet location just an hour outside of Washington, DC. I have been there once before, however, it was only to dine at the $14 lunch special at the bar, since reservations have to be made 3 months in advance.

Volt is famous for its "Table 21". Which is a tasting of Chef Voltaggio's creation of 21 dishes, coming at a price of $121. Since I have never formally dined at Volt, I thought I would dry out my wallet and finally try out Table 21. I called the restaurant back in July looking to make a reservation for September. The host very politely informed me that reservations for 21 are booked until October of...2011!!! I was, however, able to get on the waiting list. Honestly, I never thought I'd get a call back.

I got a call one day about a cancellation on August 21st, and I jumped on board immediately! I had a total of 2 weeks to get mentally prepared for the most expensive and extravagant meal of my life.

The dinner took a total of 4 hours, with us walking out at around 12:30am. The menu was not presented to us before the courses, therefore, every dish that was brought out came as a surprise. I didn't feel overly stuffed, and left with a sense of great satisfaction. My friend and I both could not stop smiling during the dinner. It was the most unique culinary experience that I've ever had. Every dish was a work of art. Even the kitchen staff at work was like a well choreographed show.

Course 1: Nitro mint lemonade with crown royal and strawberry foam. All I can say is what a way to start the meal!

Course 2: Prosciutto Chips with potato dip. So simple yet sophisticated at the same time. One of my top favorites.

3: Celeriac macaroon with foie gras.


4:Yellow tuna tartare with cilantro, jasmine rice, soy, yuzu, and avocado. All the components of the dish came together so well, yet when tasted separately presented another side to each of the ingredients

5: Chilld yellow corn soup with crab salad and coconut. The coconut was the star of this dish. The texture caught me completely by surprise.























6: Heirloom tomato salad, olive oil sorbet, with the gazpacho in dippin' dots style! Talk about creativity. Who knew olive oil could make such great sorbet?


7: Butter poached lobster with lobster gnocchi and fennel. Lobster AND gnocchi together? what
could be better?


8: Cherry glen goat cheese ravioli with maitake mushrrom. Cardamom spiced air. Cherry glen goat cheese can be bought at the Takoma Park market.





9: Chicken parmesean with parmesean noodles. This was probably the only dish that I wasn't a fan of. The chicken was too dry, but the noodles made up for it.






10: Barramundi with Cauliflower puree.









11: Sockeye salmon pot au feu.

12: Skate with peas, corn gnocchi and summer truffle. This was probably my favorite dish all night long. It was the first time I've had skate, and the corn gnocchi made the perfect accompaniment.
13: Sweet bread with fennel, kalamata olives, caper, and lemon. I'll spare the details of what goes into a sweet bread, but the flavors will make you forget all about what goes into this dish.










14: Tuscarora farm beets with arugula, goat cheese, and balsamic glaze.







15: Pork belly mostarda, with cannellini beans and kumquat.






16: Border spring farm lamb tasting with ratatouille. The rack of lamb was a bit bland, the lamb shoulder was the star of this dish.






17: Beef strip loin with new potato, bacon and lobster mushroom.







18: Point Reyes blue cheese with apple and balsamic.






19: Goat cheese cake with blackberry and marcona almond. The only thing better than a cheese cake is one that's made with goat cheese. Yum! Loved how it wasn't overly sweet or heavy.





20: Meyer lemon tart with peach, basil, and lemon curd.








21: Textures of Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Ganache and Raw Organic Cocoa.





21 and a half: chocolates, candies, and macaroons. Just when you think the meal has ended, another comes out.











Lastly, a chocolate muffin to take home!!




Chef was nice enough to have a picture taken with us after the meal (he was doing this with many customers throughout the night even though he was clearly very busy in the kitchen.)



Needless to say Table 21 is a culinary experience all in its own category. 21 courses might seem overwhelming at first, yet, every dish came as a new excitement after another. However, if I ever return to Volt again, I would probably do a normal dinner. The tastings were magnificent, but it made me want just a bit more of everything!

Restaurant Week at Westend Bistro

The week of August 16th marks the summer Restaurant Week here in Washington, DC. Despite the gloomy economy and bipolar weather, reservations were filled up weeks in advance in the most sought after restaurants. I only had a few that I really wanted to try, Westend Bistro being one of them. I have recently become a big fan of Eric Ripert, whose restaurant "Le Bernadin" earned 3 stars from the Michelin guide, the highest honor that any chef in the world can get. Naturally, one would expect similar quality of food in his DC restaurant.

Unlike other restaurants, Westend Bistro did not post their RW menu on the web, so I assumed that I could pick off their normal menu.

I arrived at the restaurant, which was right next door to the Ritz-Carlton. The decor was very impressive, modern but not overdone.

I was handed the menu and was immediately disappointed by what was offered. There were only 2 options to pick from for each course. For the appetizer there was a house salad and a heirloom tomato consomme. Entree: Fish burger with mesclun salad and Grilled Chicken with Isreali couscous. Dessert: Creme Brulee and profiterole, which is a creme puff served with a chocolate sauce.
My friend and I both opted for the tomato consomme to start. The presentation was beautiful, with the server pouring over the cold soup in front of you.


The consomme was very refreshing, especially on a hot day. The heirloom tomatoes were flavorful, and the basil and cheese added the perfect touch to the dish. My only complaint would be that it left me wanting more!

For my entree, I ordered the fish burger. I have to say I was a bit disappointed to see that it was fried. The fish patty was flavorful, but the big chunk of tomato and loose slices of fennel seem really out of place in the burger. I had to pull them out and eat them separately. The bun was buttery flavored, however, the grease of the fish soaked into the bottom of them bun which made it a little unpleasant. I did like the addition of the mesclun salad and the dressing that was served.

My friend ordered the grilled chicken, which seemed like a very tasty dish (I didn't taste it). Butthe chicken looked perfectly cooked. This would have been the dish to go for if you decided to go to Westend Bistro for RW.

The dessert was my favorite part of this meal, and usually I'm not a very big dessert person. The puffs were filled with a delicious cream that wasn't overpowering in sweetness. The chocolate added the extra kick to make the dish even more flavorful. My friend and I were both tempted to lick our plates clean in the end.

Overall, I wouldn't say this was a disappointing dining experience had I not had so much expectations out of it. But I just didn't feel like what was offered in their RW menu really reflected Eric Ripert's forte. He is known for his seafood, however, the only seafood item on the menu was a fish burger, which can scarecely reflect on a chef's usage on the "fruits de mer."
The service wasn't all that great either. I felt very rushed to order, and the waiter dropped off the check before we finished our dessert.
I wouldn't say I won't return, because there are other dishes that I want to try out. However, for restaurant week, I would suggest you look elsewhere. And if you're ever in New York, go to Le Bernadin!!

Tis the season for homemade pizza!

With the abundance of locally grown produce such as tomatoes, onions, squash, eggplants, etc. during the summer season, it is the perfect time to jazz it up in the kitchen with some homemde pizza. It is a fun activity to do with friends, kids, or by yourself! There are endless possibilities as far as toppings go. To start all you need is pizza dough and tomato sauce.

If you don't want to make either of those by yourself, you can always get store-bought pizza dough, as well as jarred marinara sauce. To me, that takes half of the fun away.

I start out with a dough that is meant to serve 4 people and cut them up into 4 single servings. I put the rest that I don't need now in the freezer and it will keep fresh for months. When ready to use, simply defrost in the refridgerator overnight.

My homemade pizza tomato sauce:

Ingredients:

- 1 onion

- 4 to 6 tomatoes depending on size

- 2 TBSP olive oil (plus more to drizzle on top of the pizza)

- 8-10 basil leaves (chopped coarsely)

- 1 or 2 garlic cloves (I tend to like things very garlicky)

- Salt and pepper to taste

- hot pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

- Sautee onions, garlic, and olive oil for abot 10 minutes.

- Dice up the tomatoes and add to the pan. The juice of the tomatoes will start to come out.

- Cook down the sauce for about 20-30 minutes for it to thicken up.

- Add salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

- Add the basil in the very end so it doesn't lose it's flavor.

Pizza:

Add the sauce to the flattened out pizza dough and bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Take it out, add your toppings and then bake it for another 10 minutes.

With mine I added bell peppers, anchovies, and Olives. But like I said there are a million possibilities.

Take advantage of all the fresh local vegetables in the summer season while you still can!

Moule Frites at Granville Moore's

Who would've thought that a small country like Belgium would be famous for some of the best food items in the world like waffles, fries, mussles, chocolate, and of course beer!!! Granville Moore is one of the several Belgian restaurants in Washington, DC. Despite its convenient location in NE DC, there is always a line outside this small dive known for its mussels. This probably has to do with the publicity it got when it was featured on "The Throwdown with Bobby Flay", a show on the Food Network.

A friend suggested this place when a group of us wanted to take another friend out for her birthday dinner. We had agreed to meet up early at 5:45pm so that we won't have to wait too long for a table. Well, we didn't get in until about 7pm. The restaurant is small and has 2 floors, each with a bar. There are several appetizers on the menu, but everyone comes for one thing, their mussels, fries, and beer. Their beer list has over 60 different types of bottled beer from Belgium. There are 5 different mussel dishes, each priced at $16. The 3 of us ordered "Moules Maniere", which is flavored with white wine, herbs, and butter, and "Moules Navigateur", which has a red curry flavor to it. The meal of "moule frites" couldn't be complete, of course, without an order of fries which came with a choice of sauces in which we chose the truffle aioli.

The mussels were fresh and meaty, and the sauce tasted refreshing. Yet, I did came across 2 or 3 mussels that wasn't very fresh. I personally preferred the white wine sauce better because I was able to taste the natural sweetness of the mussels. The red curry sauce was too overpowering for a mussels dish. However, that doesn't mean I can't soak up all the delicious juices with the sides of bread. Mussels on its own aren't very filling as a dish, but after 3 plates of bread dipped in the yummy juice, I was stuffed. The fries were average, it was a bit soggy and greasy. The truffle aioli was the only thing that made it a tad better. I have yet to find a place in DC that can actually do fries the "Belgian way."
Granville Moore definitely could be a cool hang out place if it isn't so crowded. I was satisfied with my meal, but is it really worth the trek up to NE and an hour and a half wait? I'm going to have to say no.
Granville Moore is located at 1238 H Street NE, Washington, DC.

Want an easy to make, delicious, and healthy dessert?

A few days ago, I came across something that mentioned baked apple. That was what got me the idea of making something that I bite into almost everyday into something a little fancier. This really one of the easiest desserts out there, and you will not feel the slighest guilt when you eat it!

For 1 Serving:

Ingredients

• 1 apple (any kind)


• 2 or 3 TBSP yogurt


• cinnamon


• sugar (if you like it on the sweeter side)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the apple in half and get rid of the core. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray the sheet of foil with non-stick spray. Put the apple face down and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile combine the cinnamon and sugar. Stir up the yogurt a bit to make it creamier if you're using a thicker yogurt.

Once the apple is done baking, save the juices on the bottom. Pour that over the yogurt and stir it. This gives it a nice sweet and tangy taste. Put the apples on the plate, drizzle yogurt over the apple and top with cinnamon. And there you have it! Something so simple, healthy and yummy!

Lunch at the bar at 701 Restaurant

I love dining out, but at the same time, I can't afford to eat off the regular menu in the majority of the restaurants in DC, so I take full advantage when I know of a special lunch deal. Many fancy restaurants in DC offers deals if you dine at the bar/lounge area during lunch hour. This attracts many business people around the neighborhood or people like me who have nothing to do on a Tuesday afternoon. I have been to Proof a few times for their $12 lunch at the bar special. You get to pick a glass of red or white wine and an entree. A great deal given the quality of the food and wine. It also gives you an excuse to have a glass of wine at lunch!
After meeting a friend in Chinatown for coffee today, I decided to treat myself to lunch. I was close to walking into the doors of Proof, knowing that I would not be disappointed. However, at the very last minute I decided to be adventurous and try something different. So I walked a few blocksd own to Pennsylvania Avenue, into 701 Restaurant. The lunch special at 701 is similar to that of Proof. You get a glass of wine and an entree, but for $15. What 701 offers is a choice between the 3 white wines and 3 red wines, whereas Proof only offers one of each.
I asked for a tasting of the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc. The bartender was more than willing to let me try both. I usually like the full body character of Chardonnay, but in the end I decided on the Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State. It had a light and crisp grapefruit flavor to it. The Chardonnay from Argentina had a bit of a cough medicine aftertaste which I didn't appreciate too much.
They had a great selection for entrees. It offered 2 pasta dishes, a burger, a grilled cheese, and a steak salad. I debated between the 2 pastas and decided on the Goat Cheese Cavatellis in the end. I have never had cavatellis before, and was excited to try it. The dish had a beautiful presentation. It was topped with artichokes, oyster mushrooms, broccoli, goat cheese, parmesean cheese, and a perfectly poached slow cooked egg. The sauce was made of white wine and butter and complemented well with the pasta and vegetables. The cavatellis had a doughy and chewy texture. The egg was soft with a runny yolk. I loved the way the egg was cooked, however, I felt like it was a bit out of place with the dish. My favorite by far was the generous portions of oyster mushrooms in the dish. While the dish was called "Goat Cheese Cavatellis", I found that there was actually more parmesean cheese than goat cheese. The dish was also a bit too greasy. After I scooped off my last piece of cavatellis, I found a pool of oil still lingering on the plate. The dish would've had more of a kick to it had I asked for hot pepper flakes to go with it. My selection of wine though ended up being a great pairing for te dish. It had enough taste to it yet didn't overpower the dish.
The service was great. The bartender was nice and chatty. He even poured me a little extra wine after I had finished my last sip.
I was really surprised to find how empty the bar was when I walked in at 1:30pm, but I wasn't complaining. It's not everyday that you can dine quietly and peacefully at one of the most touristy areas in DC.
I highly recommend 701's lunch at the bar for their selection of wine and entrees, the ambiance, great service and location. I will definitely go back to try some of their other entrees (and wine, of course!)