Noodles at Kim's Restaurant, Spinach Pies at Aladdin Bakery

Last time Andrew got to try the noodles from Kim's Restaurant, the food was very disappointing. I still had confidence in the restaurant. Before I brought Andrew to the restaurant, I wanted to try it one more time in case the quality actually went downhill.


I ordered the usual: deep fried shrimp balls (A-11) and rice noodles with chicken (FN-04), substituting the bean sprouts for Chinese greens. Both dishes were really good. It was the same great quality I've been used to. Phew!


As I was walking to the bus stop, I picked up a spinach pie and meat pie from Aladdin Bakery to try later that evening. The temptation was too great. I warmed them both up in the toaster oven and shared it with Mom and Lucy as an appetizer before dinner. We found the spinach pie really heavy and quite sour. I liked the sourness but needed a drink to give my palate a rest. I wouldn't be able to handle a whole one for a meal or something. It's too much for me. The meat pies, on the other hand, is not a problem at all.

Cheap Beef Shanks, Bo Kho

Now that Mom has added bo kho to her repertoire, we are always looking for cheap beef shanks and/or beef short ribs.


Here's one loaded bowl of bo kho and rice noodles. It was garnished with cilantro and a small wedge of lime. My mom likes to eat bo kho with fluffy warm bread.


My cousin, KG, came over for dinner. He had a total of three bowls. This was his second round of bo kho and noodles--this time with a large bone to gnaw on. Okay, you don't gnaw on the bone itself. You're supposed to pick off the tender meat and tendons that are stuck on the bone. Some pieces of bone have marrow too. You're supposed to suck out all that creamy goodness. (That's what she said.)


He liked it so much that he had a third bowl. KG said that he took home cooked meals for granted when he was living at home. It was a great humbling experience.

Mom's bo kho really hit the spot. I liked it when the bo kho was thickened almost to the consistency to stew, but it seems like everyone else likes it more loose. I just love the flavours and richness of the bo kho.

Kongnamul Muchim, Seasoned Soy Bean Sprouts

On a rainy Saturday night, we decided to throw together a comforting meal of kimchi and mandu stew, seasoned soy bean sprouts (kongnamul muchim, 콩나물무침) and stir-fried cabbage.  It was a simple and quick meal that took about 30 minutes to put together, not counting the time it took to boil chicken broth and steam rice.

One of my favourite types of banchan (free side dishes to accompany the meal) at a Korean restaurant is kongnamul muchim, so I was excited to see that the recipe was relatively simple and easy to recreate at home.  The recipe was adapted from Maangchi's video.

It only took a few simple ingredients from my pantry (not including the soy bean sprouts themselves), including soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and green onions.  I had to reduce the amount of seasonings since I was only making a small batch to test the recipe.

It was a very forgiving recipe (adjust seasonings to taste), and it was one of the most successful Korean dishes I've been able to replicate.  This is now going to be one my favourite dishes to bring to friends' houses and throw together for those impromptu dinner guests!

Dim Sum Before Work

One day I started at 3pm and coincidently, Grandpa wanted to get together for lunch. Sweet!


Grandpa left the ordering to myself and Andrew. It was tempting to troll and just order one thing, laugh it off, then order more things. Very tempting.


I ordered a bunch of cheung fan because I wasn't expecting Grandpa to order stir-fried rice noodles or chow mein. I even told him that, but Grandpa's listening is suspect. He hears what he wants to hear. He ordered a plate of rice noodles with beef and chinese greens with extra sauce.




The taro dumplings were hot and crispy. The chicken feet, not pictured, was good as well -- so good that Grandpa asked for another order. I found that there was a bit too much sesame oil. Other than that, they were tender and full of flavour.


After lunch, Mom lectured me about how haw gow is a waste of money and how I should be ordering lots of shrimp siu mai instead. Yes Mom...

I definitely could've used a power nap after lunch. Since we finished with a lot of spare time, we just walked a bit before I headed to work. See? Shift work isn't all that bad.

~*~