baby rambutan

*raffle! raffle! reminder *

finally we made it out to the Minado Seafood Buffet restaurant in Natick! we’d been “sitting” on a joint birthday gift card from the lovely and generous “GooGoo” (auntie) A. for almost a year. (although we missed the lunch sitting and decided to go malling next door at the “Natick Collection” and run an errand or two at the posh town of Wellesley.)

i must admit i had very little confidence in a sushi/sashimi buffet. it seems to be an irreconcilable notion, antithetical. buffet means food sitting in chafing dishes waiting to be scooped up, instead of being served at the exact point of readiness.
it seemed an impossible notion. how fresh could it be?

answer: incredibly so!
above is as neat a plate i could compose for my first nibbles. i just kept portions bite-size and sample-size.
one of my favorites was the ceviche of a seafood medley. hmmm. the salmon tataki with cilantro sauce. the salmon roe and uni rice rolls, the sushi and sashimi, although not quite impeccably-cut by samurai-knife-wielding sushi chefs, were of pristine quality.
for those who don’t eat raw fish (por que por que???) there are various types of teriyaki and lots of fresh salads (seaweed and jellyfish among them) and a hibachi grill too (which i ignored but husband said was more than passable).
the surroundings are kept clean, spills being immediately cleaned up and platters constantly refilled.
they need more oyster shuckers i think–the “raw bar” was the bottle-neck-traffic congestion area of the whole place.

this photo is for my #1son who could not dine with us (he’s not on spring break, but we promised to go back with him VERY soon)–the cute petits fours (tiny frosted cakes in carrot, green tea, mocha, chocolate, raspberry flavors) were just heavenly! carrot, green tea, red bean, and mango ice creams, pineapple sorbet, cookies and jello…my younger two were quite appeased after a hard day’s malling; i must confess my eyes glazed over after a half-hour at the stores .
i fervently hope we won’t be disappointed on our return visit.

Minado Seafood Buffet
1282 Worcester Road (cross street: Speen St.)
Natick, MA 01760
Phone: (508) 647-0495

a thousand miles, roundtrip! and we are all still on speaking terms!
i guess my kids have gotten so used to car trips, that husband and i have started plotting out more of them.

husband mapped out our vacation in a flash….he’s always been an impulsiveno-nonsense and down-to-earth kind of guy, and he was able to book our accommodations in a whirlwind…. we were just happy to get out of our home town and see something different..
so the city folks became country bumpkins for two days. in a remote log cabin, far from the maddening crowds,
we highly recommend this place: a hidden treasure, well-equipped and deluxe even though we didn’t get the deluxe cabin; unobtrusive but hospitable hosts; scenic, peaceful,… and buggy (can’t win them all right?)

Jeffersonville, VT

Stella Notte restaurant, Jeffersonville, VT.
we were starving after the five-hour ride, punctuated by a flash storm where we felt like the car was underwater! truly harrowing and scary, i persuaded husband to stop for a while on the highway shoulder. then we took a little shortcut through a narrow mountain pass…not recommended! the road through Smugglers’ Notch is impassable during the winter, and i say, i never want to pass through there , ever! what can i say, i’m a lily livered spineless jellyfish….

we had to drive quite a ways to get to dinner–an Italian joint at the next town. food was so-so, a bit pricey, but we were really famished. and there were hummingbirds all around, too quick for me to photograph.
i want them in my garden! the special appetizer that night was mussels cooked in tomato and wine sauce….the kids had somewhat mediocre pasta dishes, and i had a veal saltimbocca with spinach and gorgonzola. quite belly-filling, anyway.

Waterbury, VT

this was what gave us the idea for our family trip–a pilgrimage to an ice cream paradise. we thought that the kids would get a kick out of this. gimmicky, but fun nonetheless.

the flavor graveyard. i’m still grieving….

regrettably we only had two nights filled with fireflies and lightning shows.
we were off to the big, very foreign city.

poutine. in Quebec. well i just HAD to try. i’ve already been given ample warning by Tony Bourdain no less. i must say, i fully understand the role that comfort foods play in everyone’s psyche.
this one just didn’t do anything for me: freshly fried frites ruinedsmothered in a nondescript brown gravy then showered with cheddar cheese curds which squeaked in my mouth as i chewed them up. curiosity almost killed this cat….maybe i should have ordered it with all the extras (peppers, bacon, etc…) or maybe i should try it somewhere else.

bribe me first.

strolling the old City of Quebec, where there were festivals and street performers all around. we could see Los Lobos playing in the park, from our 8th floor hotel suite. #1 son watched Gogol Bordello from NYC play on our last night.

Canadian candy! Cadbury! it’s not quite up to the British Cadbury caliber, but not bad at all!

Moisan, purportedly the oldest epicerie in North America, on Rue St. Jean which was right outside the hotel.


aaaaah. AAAAHHHH. i wanted to stay and eat and taste everything in this store, which would have been the death of me.
but what a way to go! i want this in my city. someone do this for my city! oh maybe i can do this for my city…anyone got money to burninvest?

we can’t wait to hit the open road again…
let us in,
immigration man….

husband and kids are home for the winter break.  sweet husband is the designated cook!  and we are playing tourists.

Boston, at dusk (view from inside the Museum of Science, looking out on to the Massachusetts Avenue bridge, or “Harvard Bridge”).

playing with some wild creatures…

dimsum at Hey La Moon, Beach St.–very busy: it’s Chinese New Year….kung hey fat choy!

i have aches and pains, eyes have gotten worse, hair has gotten sparse, i got “long in the tooth,” gone to seed, etc. and saggy baggy everywhere else.

but i feel content, dare i say? cautiously content, ever the pessimist who hopes for the best while expecting the worst. another birthday? you want a piece of me?! bring it on!

i was given the choice of my favorite Japanese or Thai restaurant but ultimately i regifted to my children and picked this large franchise-chain–heavy-on-the-cowboy-ambience-eatery so my kiddies would enjoy the dinner as much as i…

very very loud, peanut shells all over the floor, and if they find out it’s your birthday they make you sit on a saddle and everyone in the dining room must yell, “hee haw!”

(i threatened husband, so he was mum.)

appetizer platter of chicken tenders, tater skins, and rattle snake bites which i adored (jalapeño peppers stuffed with jack cheese, breaded and deep fried. so sinfull…)

more sins: a 10 oz. prime rib smothered with onions and mushrooms and i chose a lovely salt-encrusted baked potato drowning in chili and cheddar cheese. i must have more of that! the steak came medium rare as ordered and it was like buttah…entrees come with a choice of two sides (choose from baked potatoes, fries, vegetables, applesauce…you know, Western Hemisphere sides. i also chose Caesar’s salad and it was rich with anchovy and garlic flavors).

the valiant husband had sirloin steak and ribs combo, #1son had a bacon cheddar burger, and the two kids had mini steak “kid” versions.

it was a blast, although #2son said he found it too loud and startling whenever they did the “hee haw” gimmick (there were three other birthday celebrants last night!)

i decided to go for it and have a huge salt-rimmed bowl of frozen margarita. happiness! very tart and slushy, although it needed some more tequila (i’ll make some at home with my new blender–my loot for this milestone).

thank you thank you thank you thank you. (more…)

“ironic”

an old man turned ninety-eight
he won the lottery and died the next day
it’s a black fly in your Chardonnay
It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late
and isn’t it ironic…dontcha think
it’s like rain on your wedding day
it’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
it’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
who would’ve thought…it figures
mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
he packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
he waited his whole damn life to take that flight
and as the plane crashed down he thought “Well isn’t this nice…”
and isn’t it ironic…dontcha think
it’s like rain on your wedding day
it’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
it’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
who would’ve thought…it figures
well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
when you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
and life has a funny way of helping you out
when you think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up In your face
a traffic jam when you’re already late
a no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
it’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
it’s meeting the man of my dreams
and then meeting his beautiful wife
and isn’t it ironic…dontcha think
a little too ironic…and yeah I really do think…
it’s like rain on your wedding day
it’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
it’s the good advice that you just didn’t take Who would’ve thought…it figures
life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
helping you out

-alanis morrisette

this has been preying on my brain since i heard it again on the radio a couple of weeks ago. i don’t know, i just totally relate to the lyrics (kahit di ako mahilig sa yodeling style ni Alanis…pero magaling sana siyang umawit at ang mga salita’y makahulugan. tinatamaan me).

thank you for all the mummy day greetings, friends and neighbors!

i will be visiting you today…i want to soak in some warm friendly vibes because…
it’s a grey, gloomy, raining-cats-and-dogs kind of day…it’s been like this for the past week, and will be so for this week. i joked my #2son, let’s start the ark in the backyard!, it’s been that bad.

we didn’t go out for mummy day Sunday –husband and i were too preoccupied in the acquisition of a new old car for the kids, that we forgot to reserve our brunch buffet seats! anyway it would have been too gimmicky and crowded so we took a literal raincheck and will go next weekend. when it’s drier, i wish.

i requested husband to buy a box of cannolis ( i love the pistachio, my kids the chocolate chip-dipped) from the Italian pastry shop. craving calzone he got me an Italian-cold-cut-and-cheese-filled half, but sadly it was way too salty. bad for this old mother.

anyhow, MaMa, the kids’ Chinese paternal grandmother, eherm Mom in Law, took us out Saturday evening for a sumptuous and i mean sumptuous 16-course dinner (of course i counted heehee). there was a raucous wedding anniversary party of grey-haired Asian-Americans right next to us, but i thought it was sweet and we watched them being teased to kiss and hug.

lobster with ginger and scallion, chicken with broccoli, shrimps saute, scallops, roast duck, beef with oyster sauce, and at center, my favorite that night, a hot pot of fish fillets with soft tofu.

take out boxes, this is just half of it! we were seated with the kiddies, who were distracted and didn’t eat much. hehehe you know what that means.

great food! we haven’t been here before (although it used to be the Family’s favorite when it was “Golden Palace” around the time i just arrived in Boston) and it’s a bit cramped and noisy when there are parties.
i won’t have to cook much this week ;)

Big Fish, 18-20 Tyler Street, Chinatown, Boston.

Fratelli’s Pastry Shop, Southern Artery, Quincy (next to Quincy Police Department), near the cemetery.

didn’t do much. the things we did, were great: sleep in late, follow no schedule, be lazy.

we ventured out to some neighboring towns to explore and have some ice cream (although the weather is not conducive to eating anything frozen, the sunshine somehow draws New Englanders out of their habitat and into the local ice cream joints to form long lines and freeze in the wind).

we went up to Revere Beach (just north of Logan Airport) where there is a fine long stretch of sand (which hasn’t been spruced up yet for the beach crowd). there is a landmark roast beef sandwich place there but i was having the fried clam platter–greaseless and crunchy and inside it was squishy yummy…i only wished i’d brought some wasabi and soy for my dip! their tartar sauce is truly wonderful though with crunchy dills and well seasoned mayo.

the rest of the family had the roast beef sandwich, which is well worth the long drive up. me? i’m saving up for that clam plate for the next visit ($17 a pop, but it is a big serving and more than enough for one).

my little one was so thrilled to show me some bleached-white bones (looks like ham and chicken wing hehe)–good work on a cold windy day.

we’re back, safe and sound from our first cross country trip with all three kids. husband had to stay behind due to work commitments so it was just me and my sore hand. am so proud of my kids, they were such good sports and i am glad to report they had a blast bonding with their filipino folks for their lolo and lola’s golden wedding anniversary (though a bit anxious about how to catch up on school work).

to all you dearest friends who visited here, thank you!! can’t hold my knives yet and my left hand is quite disobedient–it’s amazing how everything is slower when your dominant hand is disabled.

no new dishes but here are some photos to reminisce with, souvenirs of what happens when a foodie reunites with her foodiefolks…

in and out of this place…i had a cheeseburger, animal style. #1son made sure he had another double-double before we left, one for the road.

el pollo loco was next, yes take out! it was too busy before the party. we turned my ate(older sister)’s house upside down with a total of 12 sleeping in at one point…

we had just a simple get together (i felt like belting out “it’s a miracle!” a la Boy George) at a residential complex’s party place which felt like a gazebo with a center fireplace. lots of room for the children to run around safely…

here’s the star of the show, that beautiful fat creature we met at the party..handsome huh?

cheesey macaroni, vegetable stir fry, chicken pastel-style, baked salmon with lemony mayonnaise topping, prawns (flown in from the Philippines!), wall-to-wall fried lumpiang shanghai…

beef caldereta, pancit sotanghon, pancit molo soup… just some of the dishes, i tried to be as inconspicuous as i could (shhh! they don’t know i have a food blog but they must be getting suspicious especially when i was taking too many photos).

“wedding cake” and a chocolate fountain. not pictured: my ma’s famous chicken-potato salad, and a buko gel fruit salad so delicious it made the diabetics in the family faint with desire.
ready to paksiw!

the golden couple

a trip to Goldilocks so #1son could satisfy his craving for halo-halo and we discovered the best dinuguan and puto we’ve had in ages….

dimsum at Ocean restaurant in downtown LA…
my kuya(older brother) visiting from the Philippines wanted to taste “real” Mexican so my ate asked her Mexican-American co-worker, a foodie himself, and he pointed us to Somis Market in Los Pasos. tucked away beside a convenience store, we ooohed and aaahed over the chimichangas and tamales.

so here we are, slightly hung over from all the bonding (the kids got acculturated quickly to the higher decibel levels and jolly gatherings) and trying to get back to our daily grind….

and i am daydreaming of strawberries and mangoes.

our #2son woke up with a hunger: let’s go to pho today! are we glad he came up with the idea.

what to do when it’s 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside?

a) dive under the duvet/thermal/flannel sheet layers and sleep all day.

b) dress up in layers and sweaters and bulky down coats as for an expedition to Lapland and go out for pho.

we chose b.

yes we were very brave, for the wind chill factor made it feel like several degrees below zero. our favorite pho place is this really high-ceilinged, mirrored, plastic-tropical-flower-filled soup haven in the heart of Dorchester where husband is expert at navigating….

we dove into the food and casual atmosphere. we love casual. we love to eat out with our kids.

i highly recommend any of the pho, brought to your table steaming hot and with the requisite table salad platter of mint and basil leaves, culantro (jagged sturdy long stalks that smell just like cilantro), bean sprouts, lime wedges and little bird chilies.

me, i dig into the great big bowl of bun, rice noodle salad with vegetables, chopped herbs and grilled pork and shrimp, dressed with nuoc cham (sweet fish sauce, lime, garlic, and chili).the cha gio (tiny little pork-and-shrimp-and-sweet-potato-and-bean-thread-noodle spring rolls) is light and crispy and well seasoned, and they sure know their way around the grill. the shrimp was sweet and tender and large!

daughter’s rice plate of cha gio and grilled chicken…her favorite. though we forgot to order it with broken rice which somehow tastes even more jasmine-y than regular…Pho So #1, Adams Street, Dorchester (Fields Corner). there’s another one in Randolph, Ma.

did i mention casual?

if anyone asks me how long i have been in the USA, i am never able to answer instantly and must think back first. sometimes i answer, in Boston? (18.) total? (22.) on and off? (went back and forth “home” a couple of times, between college and work stints.)

i only remembered it after the day was over, but yesterday was the 18th year anniversary of my arrival in Boston. so i’m doubly happy that we were able to persuade our #1son to join us for a new dim sum discovery.

steamed oysters with black bean sauce and scallions, the piece de resistance, which ended our meal with a flourish.

we were there just at the start of a minor “snow event”…yes, people around here are getting blase about the snow and storms, so much so that when the mercury hits 45F they go out in shorts and t shirts. but a snow storm was predicted, the crowd was absent, and only three tables were occupied on the second floor of the Imperial Seafood Restaurant. the food deserves attention. much more attention.
the restaurant has been there for many years, and we have tried the Cantonese fixe prix banquets several times with family and friends, but somewhere along the way we got into a routine; husband’s family favored China Pearl Restaurant on Tyler Street. and for very good reasons.

husband heard from the Chinese Restaurant Grapevine that there has been a sea change. we were seeking relief from the noise and bustle of the other famous place, and we got it. the second floor is enveloped in picture windows with a view of the Chinese American Friendship gate and it was pretty with the swirling snowflakes outside, keeping warm and cozy inside with pots of tea and delectable little pickings.

the selections are few from the carts (probably so as not to waste the food) but they gave us a menu to order the usual stuff: har gow (shrimp dumplings), chow foon (rice noodle wraps with beef or shrimp), and the siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) were hearty and tasty. everything we sampled was well-cooked and hot and fresh.

an unusual little puff pastry, stuffed with sweet red bean filling, carved like a little hedgehoglet. but the server called it a bunny so the #2son refused to eat it. daughter said it was delicious.

we are going back to sample more. we decided this is the ideal place to bring new visitors to the area for dimsum. while i would like to keep it as a little hidden treasure, i sure would like to help keep them in business as well….Imperial Seafood Restaurant, Beach Street (edge of Hudson), Boston Chinatown.

she asked for a very special cake for the party with her cousins…but we did try to do less take out this time and more home cooking. i made a slow roasted hotel-style beef rib roast, daddy bought Popeye’s fried chicken (our favorite!) and good-luck-long-life birthday noodles …

guard! trying to sneak the first bite (while waiting on the honey mustard wings), sniffing out daddy’s stuffed shrimp and kuya (#1son)’s patatas pobres…

sige na nga…go ahead sonny.

steam roasted beets with red onions, capers and mint in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing(recipe below)

smothered in hard boiled eggs and tomatoes…underneath is warm cheese tortellini pasta salad with burgundy olives, pesto, red peppers and garlicky dressing. i wanted to top it off with anchovies and feta cheese crumbles but had to restrain myself…

husband’s fond memory of childhood street food in hong kong…pork skin and fishball curry

popular item that night was the pumpkin spice bundt cake with buttermilk icing from Gourmet November 2005 issue.
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