Recipe
01 Dec 2008

Mì Cà Ri Gà – Chicken Curry with Fresh Egg Noodles

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Inspired by a killer bowl of lamb curry noodles I feasted on at the Bowrington Road Market in Hong Kong, this recipe adds a distinctly Chinese twist to my grandma’s classic chicken curry.

  • 5 chicken drum sticks
  • 3 large yams
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 tablespoons Vietnamese curry (brand: Con Voy)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 14 ounce cans of full-fat coconut milk
  • Salt
  • Fresh Chinese egg noodles

Peel and cut yams into large chunks approximately 1″ thick and 2″ in diameter; set aside. Chop onions; set aside. Heat oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Add the onions and sauté until slightly softened. Add a generous dash of salt and 2 tablespoons curry powder. Stir until fragrant; about 10 seconds.

Add chicken to pot and cook until the skin is seared and golden; approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add yams and coconut milk and cook on low heat for 2 hours with the lid on. Make sure the chicken and yams are submerged under the coconut milk. After 2 hours, salt to taste and serve with fresh egg noodles prepared according to directions on package.

Restaurant Review
30 Nov 2008

Yum Cha Cafe – San Gabriel

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A couple of weeks back, Wandering Chopsticks and I headed to the San Gabriel Superstore for some groceries—I bought coconut milk and fresh egg noodles, while WC returned some moldy tofu and picked up ingredients for curry laksa. After we finished up shopping, we dashed over to Yum Cha Cafe for a quick bite.

Yum Cha Cafe, which is more of a food court than a cafe, is located near the front entrance of the superstore. They specialize in dim sum and noodle dishes for the time-conscious crowd.

During our visit, WC and I stuck to the dim sum offerings. While I prefer dim sum served a la cart (get it?), I was curious to sample fast food-style dim sum. After queuing up, WC ordered a selection of her favorites, plus an order of pan-fried dumplings per my request.

The goods, clockwise from top left—pan-fried pork dumplings, rice noodle sheets with shrimp, shrimp har kow, and pork and vegetable tapioca dumplings. All four items were satisfactory, but none of them knocked our socks off.

Admittedly, it was strange eating dim sum from Styrofoam containers under fluorescent lights. For me, food experiences are oftentimes influenced by ambient factors such as lighting and presentation. Of course, I have treasured many a bowl of noodles in parking lots and tiny rooms with used napkins strewn across the floor, but I’ve always associated dim sum with a more refined dining experience. While the superstore dim sum was good, some of the tastiness was diminished because it was eaten with a plastic spork.

Yum Cha Cafe is a cheap and quick alternative to traditional dim sum, but something’s definitely lost in the fast food translation.

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Yum Cha Cafe – San Gabriel Superstore
1635 S. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Phone: 626-280-9998

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Yum Cha Cafe in Los Angeles

Catering
26 Nov 2008

Barbara West Catering: A Nerdy Thanksgiving

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The Astronomer and I are celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year thanks (pun intended) to the Caltech Alumni Association. In addition to gorging with our families tomorrow, we attended an unofficial Turkey Day gathering two weeks ago at the Caltech Alumni House.

The dinner took place in the garden on a warm evening that was made even warmer due to the raging fires nearby. Attendees included first year grad students (like The Astronomer), guests (like The Gastronomer) and alumni (like NASA rocket scientists).

Barbara West Catering did a great job bringing autumnal flavors to the unseasonably warm table. After a bit of schmoozing and cocktails upon arrival, everyone lined up to get some grub. The spread consisted of classic Thanksgiving foods that I wouldn’t mind eating year round. While everyone around me was piling a bit of everything onto their plates, I decided to course my meal with appetizers first, then entrees and sides, and lastly desserts.

My first plate was greens intensive. On the left, a salad comprised of mesclun mix, candied pecans, goat cheese and a light vinaigrette, and on the right, perfectly prepared haricot verts with carrots and caramelized onions.

My second plate was piled with turkey topped with chunky cranberry sauce, dried cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and candied yams with marshmallows. With the exception of the canned candied yams, which tasted unnaturally firm, everything was great. So great, in fact, that I had seconds!

After I polished off my second plate of turkey, stuffing and potatoes, I went for some pumpkin pie and apple crumble with fresh whipped cream. Two words: buttery heaven.

Happy Thanksgiving!! And don’t forget to work out. Ha!