2) This classic song, "Istanbul" by The Four Lads. It's been in my head on and off for the past month. "Even old New York was once New Amsterdam..."
By the way, if you've never heard the song I'm referring to, click below. There are nice pics of many of Istanbul's famous sights, so listen and enjoy the views.
Husband J and I leave from Turkey later this week, and I'm really looking forward to it. At the same time, I'm a little nervous. Even with all of my meticulous planning (hopefully it was meticulous), for some reason I am worried about possibly screwing something up. Did I plan the flights for the right days? Will we get to the airport shuttle okay? Don't ask me where this is coming from 'cause I'm usually not like this. Maybe this is because this trip is one of the most logistically challenging trips I've planned all by myself? It wasn't too hard to do. It just took a lot of note taking and brain power (which may be why I'm freaked. Ha!)
Just based on what I've read in our guidebook so far, Turkey's historical significance is much more than I realized and its cuisine so extensive that it apparently ranks up there with Chinese cuisine in terms of breadth and variety. There will be lots to learn and most importantly lots to EAT!
If the Cappadocian countryside looks like this in pictures, I can only imagine what it looks like in person. Hot air ballooning is a pretty popular activity there.
We'll also be making a short stop in Ephesus. Paul (He wrote a good chunk of the Bible's New Testament) wrote to one of the early Christian churches here. Ephesus is the site of one of the best preserved Roman cities next to Pompeii in Italy (at least that's what I've read).
So part of me knows that I shouldn't even be giving this man a platform. Charlie Sheen is going through all kinds of craziness in his life right now, if you haven't heard. Part of me felt bad for him in part because it's sad to see someone's life implode daily on national TV. I admit I have not watched any of his interviews (just snippets here and there), but the news articles are enough for me.
Then I stopped the other day and realized that this man is either "crazy" or "crazy like a fox". I honestly think he's crazy like a fox. I think to some degree he knows exactly what he is doing, and at this point it's more about trying to keep the public's attention rather than a real display of who he truly is. Perhaps this is the cynic in me speaking, or maybe I am just not well versed enough in the effects of mental illness and drug abuse. I don't take what he is doing lightly, and I hope he gets the proper treatment to deal with his personal issues.
Either way, I am quite amused by Mr. Sheen's attempt at a cooking show. It's pretty funny even if his current life is not. I guess he's got a lot of time on his hands now that he's no longer on Two and a Half Men?
With all of the Chinese food I've eaten over the course of my life, I was pretty surprised to realize that I had never had quintessential Chinese Peking duck. Luckily, a friend from college was in town, and I was able to catch up with him at Peking Duck House in Chinatown. He's currently doing a diplomatic tour in Afghanistan. Needless to say he and his partner, Husband J, Roo Mi (you remember her) and I were up for a full Peking duck FEAST.
If you've got at least four people in your dining party at Peking Duck House, you definitely have to take advantage of the Peking Duck Dinner. We had five people, which allowed us to have a whole duck for ourselves as well as soup, appetizers, three entrees AND dessert. Not a bad spread for about $27.50 per person (add some for drinks, etc.).
Our soup course:
House Special Duck Soup
Miso, bok choy, tofu and duck.
This was nice introduction to our meal, but I honestly would have preferred a little more salt and seasoning (so says the Salt Addict).
Appetizers
Some meat on a stick, a dumpling and a spring roll
Definitely your regulation mainstream Americanized Chinese apps, but all still very good.
After appetizers, the waiter brings out the duck to show us. I guess so we can admire it? Not sure, but thanks for showing us. :) Afterwards the chef gets to carving it, and he does so super quickly I might add.
After all of that cutting and plating, our duck was ready.
The duck is served with light pancakes (sorry for the odd angle. We were at a large table, and I was too busy stuffing my face to get up and get a proper one),
celery (I think it's celery) and scallions,
and add some hoisin sauce (I lurve the salty sweetness of hoisin sauce so much that I was putting on some of our appetizers).
The duck: Perfectly crispy skin, juicy and seasoned quite well. The skin really was one of the highlights of the dish. Is it bad that I could have eaten the skin separately?
Oh, yes, we had other entrees (I was already half way full!):
Sliced Beef with Scallops
Fried Sliced Prawns with Chili Sauce
There was another main dish, but I was too busy stuffing my face. I had purposely saved my stomach and calories that day for this meal. Apparently, even after all of this we were STILL not done. I don't think I've ever had dessert at a Chinese restaurant other than ginger ice cream, but tonight was a night of firsts.
Fried Banana with Walnuts
Caramelized, everything was caramelized. That crispy coating surrounding the banana was such a nice touch and added another texture to what could possibly be a boring dessert. This was definitely not the cade. How do I do this to my bananas at home. Anyone know? I'm used to fried plantains (remember those from last week?), but fried banana was just as good.
Considering the smorgasbord of food that we got, I think this was an amazing value. I'd be interested in trying Peking duck in some other local Chinatown restaurants for comparison as I wonder if PDH is spiffed up for non-Chinatown regulars like me. Hmmm.....
Have you ever tried a new dish in a cuisine that's familiar to you?
Peking Duck House has two locations. We went to the Chinatown location.
I know people don't really say Happy Mardi Gras, but you know what I mean. :)
With today being Mardi Gras, I thought I would send a visual shout out to NOLA. I really loved our very short trip to New Orleans. The food is fantastic; the people friendly; and the history so intriguing. My most favorite historical tidbit being that although Husband J and I would not be able to legally marry in most states in the U.S. in the 19th century (or for a good majority of the 20th century, but who's counting?), I could have been his common law wife under the Placage system, which allowed this extra legal marriage and financial relationships between mostly white men and free Black and biracial women. I never even knew something like this existed in the United States. Read about that here.
While we weren't there during Mardi Gras nor did we hop across the river to go to Mardi Gras World (you can see actual Mardi Gras floats, etc. there), we did get to see a Mardi Gras exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum in the historic Presbytere, the former residence of Capuchin monks who helped to settle the New Orleans area.
You can seriously write an entire blog or book about the various Mardi Gras krewes in New Orleans and their history. I'm just going to show you the spectacular costumes that we saw at the museum.
Many of the costumes pictured here were donated by the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, one of the oldest and largest predominantly Black carnival association participating in the Mardi Gras parades.
Part of a float...
I'm not sure if this exhibition is still there, but Husband J and I learned quite a bit about the origins and history of New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebrations. I will say that many of these costumes reminded me of Caribbean carnivals as well, which make sense since they come from similar origins.
Wherever you are today, make sure you have a "Laissez les bon temps rouler" (Let the good times roll) kinda moment before Lent like true Carnival revelers. :)
You can't go to Ireland without going to a pub. You just can't. Pubs are a part of life in Ireland, and Husband J was going to make sure we had all of Guinness and Irish traditional music that we could muster for one week. To this day, I am shocked that I drank that much beer. It wasn't all that much, but I am NOT a beer drinker (a beer or two perhaps but not much more than that..I get full :( ). Our trip to Ireland was like the Beer Olympics for me. I kid you not.
Our first taste of the pubs was in Dublin. Here's the Brazen Head. We didn't actually get a chance to get a drink here, but it is (or so it claims) to be the oldest pub in Ireland and dates back to 1198. Supposedly James Joyce and Jonathan Swift were big fans and faithful patrons of the Brazen Head.
Husband J was pretty disappointed that we didn't get a chance to spend any time there. Next time, dear.
Even if we didn't get to go to the Brazen Head, we did have our fair share of pub time. The pubs were an interesting experience for me in Ireland. People were either very friendly, OR they stared at me...A LOT. I'm used to being stared at when I travel (more on that in another post), but I actually wasn't expecting that to happen in Ireland of all places. We met some really friendly people who made us laugh and allowed us to learn more about everyday life in Ireland. You take the good with the bad, I guess.
Anyway here's Pub Friend #1, Charlie, a veterinary pharmaceuticals sales rep, who warned us not to drink the water in Galway, our next stop on the trip. Apparently there had been a huge sewer issue there in the last week. Hmmm...
When we finally got to Galway, in addition to our many pints of Guinness, we also indulged in a lot of traditional Irish music called "trad music" by the locals. Most of the bars in the center of Galway have some trad music at least a couple of times per week.
This brings me to Pub Friend #2, Barry. We met him at a Galway pub, and he's actually a musician that specializes in trad music.
Here's Barry rocking out on the accordion with his partner.
Husband J said a funny thing. While he was enjoying trad music, it started to kinda sound the same after awhile. Umm...I'm going to have to agree with Husband J on this one. It's beautiful music, but after an hour I'm good to go.
Barry wasn't our only pub friend in Galway. We bumped into a Stag (Bachelor) Party of guys from Northern Ireland. We had a really great conversation with them about many of the issues between Ireland and Northern Ireland. In their minds, they're Irish first and foremost regardless of the historical political and religious divisions. They feel more connected to Irish in the southern part of the island than to anyone from England. They told us that they got a kick out of American tourists especially who say that they Irish. To these guys, you are Americans. They also dubbed us "Cool Americans" since we were actually nicer and little more open than some of the past American tourists they'd met.
Here are Pub Friends #3 & #4 Dave and his friend, whose name I'm forgetting. Hey, it's been almost four years. I'm usually good with names.
Our last major stand at the pubs came in Doolin, a small town not too far from the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin is THE mecca of trad music. It's such a cute tiny little town, too.
A whole lotta trad music goin' on.
Pub Friend #5, Simon (our last one), was from England and in Ireland for a charity bike race. As an Englishman, even he agreed that Ireland pubs had a better vibe than English ones (the English beat the Scots though). His friends were funny and encouraged Husband J to marry me. We were definitely not talking about getting married at the time. In this pic, we're supposed to be showing off my non-existent engagement ring. :) These guys actually made into Husband J's vows. Really! :)
I hope these pics and stories encourage you to go out and hang in a pub or two in Ireland. You never know who you're going to meet.
P.S. Here's a little sampling of traditional Irish music for those not familiar with it.
Have beer, bars, local music and nightlife been a central part of a trip you've taken?
Aaaahhh, comida Cubana (Cuban food). It's so deceptively simple and delicious. I often love Caribbean food from Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands because it has so many similar elements to what we eat in the rest of the Caribbean: lots of plantains, green (unripened) bananas), rice (and more rice!) and beans, etc. Yet Cuban (and Puerto Rican & Dominican food) have their own distinct flavor.
Cathy of Wifey Lifey suggested Versailles, and Amber of Ambergon Trail heartily seconded the suggestion, so I knew I needed to stop by. Versailles was very close to my friend, Big Mitts' apartment as well. Since it was my first night in Los Angeles, and I realized that I might not be able to stay up past 9pm Pacific time (I'm an old day), we had an early dinner there.
Versailles's Special Garlic Chicken
This chicken was deceptively good. You would think something as simple as Garlic Chicken would not have so much flavor, but between the crispy skin, the tender meat and tangy garlic sauce, it really was simply prepared yet quite memorable. Also check the maduros (fried ripened plantains) accompanying the chicken. Ya gotta have those! Actually I think I'll be making some this weekend. I took most of this home, by the way! This dish could easily feed two people!
White Rice & Black Beans
You can't forget the black beans. I love how Latin Caribbean restaurants make black beans in a well-seasoned, almost soupy manner, and Versailles' was no exception.
Pineapple Soda
I don't know why, but pineapple soda brings me back to my childhood visits to Antigua. I just felt the need to have some that night.
Cheap, delicious and filling! I'm going to make sure that I get back to Versailles on my next L.A. trip.
Versailles has multiple Los Angeles area locations. We went to the Culver City location.
I've been working near New York City's Korea Town for a few months now, which is essentially like saying I've been working near one of my food heavens (when it comes to food, there really is more than one heaven). I've loved being able to get a Korean meal so easily, BUT sometimes I wish I could just grab it and go. While quick with their service, most of K-Town's restaurants are sit down. Well, my problem has been solved by the opening of Food Gallery 32 a few months ago.
Food Gallery 32 is esentially a food court dedicated to Korean cuisine right on 32nd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway, the heart of NYC's Korea Town. Some stalls have traditional Korean cuisine.
Some focus on noodles.
I recently tried this vendor, and I have to admit that I am intrigued by the idea of cheese ramen. Next time...
There's even a Red Mango frozen yogurt stall, which was opened pretty recently. I still haven't tried it because this winter has made me less excited by anything resembling cold dessert. I'll be sure to check out their extensive bar o' fixins as I like to call it. I saw lots of chocolate items, and dried fruit is there too, in case you want to keep your frozen yogurt healthy.
Just in case you may not be in the mood for Korean or any other Asian food, there is Pastelo which offers Italian and some American dishes.
I will say that I do like the design of Food Gallery 32. Everything is pretty bright and airy. I will have to actually stay and eat some time.
The mezzanine level seating. There's even more on the 3rd floor.
When I finally kept climbing the stairs, I was actually surprised at what I found on the 3rd floor.
Tons of space to spread out
TVs showing Korean pop shows that I wish I could understand
I have no idea why this is there, but I love the disco vibe.
On the top floor, there is also a pastry shop with a gigantic crepe machine called the Crepe Monster. I'm definitely going back for this.
I know this isn't a pic of crepes, but these pastries look fabulous.
I am very happy that Food Gallery 32 is open, and I am going to be finding a way to eat at every stall if I can.
