Ahhh… It’s been such a long time! *Crack knuckles and stretch out fingers* This lovely poboy is from The American Sector in the WWII museum on Magazine Street. What’s special and fun about this restaurant is that it brings you back to the old days where everyone dressed well, combed their hair and always served [...]]]>

Ahhh… It’s been such a long time! *Crack knuckles and stretch out fingers* This lovely poboy is from The American Sector in the WWII museum on Magazine Street. What’s special and fun about this restaurant is that it brings you back to the old days where everyone dressed well, combed their hair and always served with a smile! At the same time, they serve traditional Southern comfort cuisine with some contemporary twist. And bacon. They have quite a bit of bacon on the menu. ^___^

This poboy was called the Perfect Pork Poboy and the name was well given. It was slow roasted pulled pork that was marinated with a variety of spices. One that kinda stood out to me (which I can be totally wrong on this one) was actually hoisin sauce! And in the picture you can see the carrots and jalapenos and if you just squint hard enough you will see the mint! YES! YOU ARE RIGHT! It’s a fusion Banh Mi! What I found different and refreshing about this poboy was that it used a combination of Vietnamese and Chinese spices which can be similar but still different. I don’t know how to explain it but it just tasted different from a banh mi you would get from a Vietnamese shop. And of course it was served with a choice of chips or fries. Which worked! It was just delightful. Also, they were definitely generous with the mint. If there was anything that I HAD to pick on, which is really hard for me, was that I wish that the meat to picked and fresh veggie ratio was slightly different. There was quite a bit of meat which was pretty heavily seasoned but not enough pickled veggies and cucumbers to cut the strong flavors. But it is still very very good. I was definitely a happy panda after eating that.

Also, if you have never been to The American Sector, they also have awesome milkshakes, which you can get them malted, as well as these AMAZING pickles that you can snack on while trying to figure out what you want to eat. Yes, I know. What’s so special about a pickle? Well, for someone who just LOVES sour and tart foods, their pickles are definitely a must try. Just like all their dishes, it is very well spiced with coriander and peppers and not to mention just a little bit sweet to cut the tartness. Delightful.

Finally, I would like to thank the readers for giving us suggestions and we do have a good list going! All we need is a little bit of free time to go try out those restaurants and get them posted! Keep those suggestions coming and we will try to keep up with the blogging! <3

While Kev and I were in Malaysia, green beans were not just green beans there. They had a type of green beans called green bean sprouts. It looks just like green beans (proof is the picture above!) but they are more tender and sweet.

We usually order them stir fried with garlic, which is AMAZING. Stir [...]]]>

While Kev and I were in Malaysia, green beans were not just green beans there. They had a type of green beans called green bean sprouts. It looks just like green beans (proof is the picture above!) but they are more tender and sweet.

We usually order them stir fried with garlic, which is AMAZING. Stir frying with garlic is pretty much the standard way of preparing most vegetables in Chinese cuisine. And often times, shaoxing wine is added to the mix for flavor. The hardest thing to master in stir fry, I think, is how to manage the fire of the wok. Sounds weird right? Well, true stir fry actually require a huge wok with an intense fire with a super high temp. With these two elements, the wok hei, which is the flavor of the wok, can be incorporated into the dish and bring out the true flavors of each dish. So, when you go to different places for Chinese food, try out their stir fry vegetables and see if you can find the wok hei in it. Once you taste it, and trust me, if you eat enough stir fry you will taste it eventually, you will understand why I am so obsessed with it.

p/s: Flavor of the wok is NOT the flavor of stainless steel. That sounds like it would taste awful.

Yay! Nomsdotcoms is now officially one year old!!! It’s been a while since our last post because we are now third years and unfortunately there aren’t as many opportunities to go around and eat and write posts. BUT! We will try our best to keep on blogging about food every week so don’t go anywhere!

Anyway, [...]]]>

Yay! Nomsdotcoms is now officially one year old!!! It’s been a while since our last post because we are now third years and unfortunately there aren’t as many opportunities to go around and eat and write posts. BUT! We will try our best to keep on blogging about food every week so don’t go anywhere!

Anyway, over the winter break, Kev and I took a trip to Malaysia and Singapore to visit my family and needless to say, our vacation was filled with food and great company!! So, for the next few weeks, we will blog about our trip there and the different types of foods we had.

This is a picture of dim sum. Note that there are quite a few people sitting around the table and there aren’t exactly a focused picture of one dish. That is exactly how dim sum is! There is no time to just sit down and slowly take a picture of food or else you will have nothing to eat. Dim sum is basically what many Chinese have for breakfast or brunch on weekends. It’s similar to tapas where you usually would order multiple dishes instead of just having one entree. It is usually a variety of sweet and savory foods that are prepared in several ways! Fried, steamed, stir fried, braised… You name it!

What is special about this restaurant is that they don’t have servers. They have people busing the tables after you finish but no servers. You basically grab a tray and walk up and pick out what you want, very similar to a buffet. And then at the end, you will hand them a bill sheet where they will stamp the items that you had picked out so that you can be billed later. It is so self service oriented that you have to go to a designated area in order to fill up your pot with hot water for tea! This is because during the weekends, they have so many customers, the restaurant gets too crowded to push carts through the tables. On weekdays, they have a more traditional style dim sum where there are steam carts with the food on it and it comes to you. Regardless of the way it is served, it is usually a pretty fast paced environment where you get served fast, and you eat fast (mainly because you are hungry and can’t resist the food). I personally think that everyone should at least try dim sum once because it is definitely an experience to remember.

By the way, here is a picture of Kev and I at Melaka:

We were in front of a fountain that paid tribute to Queen Victoria which was built during British colonial time. Melaka is the oldest city in Malaysia founded in 1377. It’s known for it’s historic buildings and culture which is a mix of Portuguese, Dutch and British architecture.

So, this is another recipe from the Moosewood cookbook. As you can see in the pictures, I grated the zucchini and mixed that with flour, parmesan and mozzarella cheese (in addition to a few spices) and made that into a dough. That was then baked in the oven till set and looks like a pizza [...]]]>

So, this is another recipe from the Moosewood cookbook. As you can see in the pictures, I grated the zucchini and mixed that with flour, parmesan and mozzarella cheese (in addition to a few spices) and made that into a dough. That was then baked in the oven till set and looks like a pizza crust. Then I put on toppings such as tomatoes, basil, and red onions. Then baked it till golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. And needless to say, I was amazed. The crust was mostly zucchini which is amazing!! Loved this vegetarian recipe. Who knew that vege pizza could be so rich and yummy??

As for personal life. I PASSED MY TEST!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!! Thanks for all the prayers and support. Everyone has been so helpful both emotional and academically! Needless to say, I am no longer vegetarian. I went straight to a vietnamese restaurant and got Korean BBQ and other yummy stuff. And my belly was very happy.

General surgery rotation is way more time consuming than originally thought! And as you can see I haven’t posted anything for a while! I’m sorry about that. I’ll definitely try my best to nom more and post weekly or biweekly. Anyhoo, my rotation is going well, and I finally got to suture yesterday! It is a lot of fun and I think I did pretty well for my first time.

So, I bought this cookbook called the Moosewood Cookbook right? And I had some sweet potato on my hands so I decided to modify the pumpkin pie recipe in the cookbook and substitute it with sweet potatoes. Hehe, I didn’t have a pie pan either so I just used the tart pan so the pie [...]]]>

So, I bought this cookbook called the Moosewood Cookbook right? And I had some sweet potato on my hands so I decided to modify the pumpkin pie recipe in the cookbook and substitute it with sweet potatoes. Hehe, I didn’t have a pie pan either so I just used the tart pan so the pie kinda look likes a tart shape. I mean. I don’t know. Would you call this a sweet potato tart? I think it’s still a pie. Anyhoo, it came out pretty good. The molasses is a little overpowering and I couldn’t taste the sweet potato. So, I think next time I’m gonna try less of the molasses.

When I was making the pie, I decided to make the sweet potato puree from scratch (I know, I had a lot of time on my hands before rotation started). It’s not hard to make, just a little labor intensive. I just peeled, cut and boiled the sweet potatoes and then puréed it in a food processor. So, I had sweet potato purée left over right? Why not make sweet potato pancakes?!

These sweet potato pancakes were savory which wasn’t what I was expecting when I first started making them. I used the recipe in the same cookbook and it called for shredded raw sweet potatoes. And I thought to myself, whatever, I’ll just use the puree and it won’t make a difference. I start making this recipe and I slowly realized that this wasn’t sweet and it was basically a sweet potato latke recipe. After mixing, the batter came out a little too soggy because my sweet potato puree was more wet than shredded raw sweet potatoes. So, I added more flour so that it would hold it’s shape when I pan fry them. Kevin mixed up a raita impromptu to go with the sweet potato latke’s. It all came together great! I wouldn’t use puree next time though. I’m going to stick with the shredded sweet potatoes because the pancakes were a little too flappy (does that make sense? It’s the only way that I can describe it.).

Ok. So, update with my life. I started my surgery rotation at UH and so far things are going great. Having lots of fun and I have the best team EVAAARRR. Learning so much everyday and am definitely humbled by the experience. Just try my best everyday to contribute to our team and patients. Yesterday was my first call night and there were so many firsts! Got to scrub into a surgery for the first time and saw a bunch of procedures for the first time! Didn’t get to sleep at all though so that was the downside. Can’t wait to see what this next week will bring!

Yay!!! I took my test!! And it was also the day of our one year anniversary! So, we decided to go to La Crepe Nanou on Prytania to celebrate. We ordered mussels (Les Moules Marinières) and fondue (La Fondue) to share. We also ordered a crepe with smoked salmon with capers and asparagus (shown above) [...]]]>

Yay!!! I took my test!! And it was also the day of our one year anniversary! So, we decided to go to La Crepe Nanou on Prytania to celebrate. We ordered mussels (Les Moules Marinières) and fondue (La Fondue) to share. We also ordered a crepe with smoked salmon with capers and asparagus (shown above) and it was so good. I just love smoke salmon. Needless to say, I had a very happy tummy.

Also, we decided to go vegetarian until I get my results back. Trying to build as much good karma as possible. Sure it seems there is an ulterior motive, but I need all the luck/good karma I can get to pass this test. *Fingers crossed*

So, we will do a month long vegetarian blogging for October. I also bought the Moosewood cookbook, which is supposed to be an amazing vegetarian cookbook. I already tried a few of the recipes and so far it has been great. So definitely stay tuned (Read? Stay read? Does that make more sense?) for more homemade vegetarian noms.

Here are the rules for vegetarian month:

1. No meat of any kind
2. No Seafood of any kind
3. Dairy products are ok
4. Eggs are ok

Oh. And I realize that this is also breast cancer awareness month. So I want to give a shout out to all the breast cancer survivors out there and to remind everyone to do self examinations and get your yearly mammogram!

Oh heyyyyyy!!1!!! How’s it going? Where have I been? Well, you know, studying still, for the same test, still. What? When is it? Oh, it’s next Thursday. But I couldn’t handle it anymore!! I need to blog noms!! I mean, it’s been like a whole month!

Anyway, this is a picture of a drink in Malaysia [...]]]>

Oh heyyyyyy!!1!!! How’s it going? Where have I been? Well, you know, studying still, for the same test, still. What? When is it? Oh, it’s next Thursday. But I couldn’t handle it anymore!! I need to blog noms!! I mean, it’s been like a whole month!

Anyway, this is a picture of a drink in Malaysia called Michael Jackson. Why? Because it’s black and white! Just like the song! Get it? The soy milk it white, and the grass jelly is black!

What is grass jelly? Well, um…., well, hmm…. I don’t quite know actually. I mean, I honestly have never seen it made. We’ve always just bought it from the store. I know there is supposed to be some sort of grass that is used in it (apparently from the mint family). It’s basically like jello with kind of and herb-ey taste to it. It’s really good. The more traditional one that I’ve had is usually not sweetened and actually have a very very slight bitter taste to it. It’s not like a bad bitter. Kinda like when you drink tea without sugar. It has a more “leafy bitter” taste. The more modern ones that come packaged in plastic tubes or cans are usually sweeter and isn’t bitter at all. Honestly I prefer the old type, because you are gonna have sugar into whatever drink you make anyway. So, you basically just chop up the grass jelly  (size it to your own taste preference. I like it chunky) and then put it into already made soymilk. Chill it and it is ready to be consumed! It’s perfect for a hot sunny day or for anyone who likes soymilk. It’s really good. I would recommend trying it with Yeo’s soymilk. They are the bomb.

Who’s Yeo’s? Oh, they are this huge company that makes all kinds of amazing Asian food products. According to their website they started in Singapore, and then expanded into Malaysia. I still don’t know where the HQ is for this company. But seriously, their stuff is amazing. Well, their soy milk anyway.

Oh, back to the drink. So it is easily made and it is so refreshing! You want more and more of it. Try it at home! ^_^ And email me if you have questions or a nom suggestion!

And here is a picture of Patrick Otter drinking it. He’s my pet otter.

Ipoh Hor Fun is a noodle soup dish from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (hence the name IPOH Hor Fun) with flat rice noodles. The broth is mainly shrimp based (I think. At least mine was) and you add shredded chicken, peeled boiled shrimp (boiled in the broth), chinese chives and taugeh (bean sprouts). It’s pretty easy [...]]]>

Ipoh Hor Fun is a noodle soup dish from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (hence the name IPOH Hor Fun) with flat rice noodles. The broth is mainly shrimp based (I think. At least mine was) and you add shredded chicken, peeled boiled shrimp (boiled in the broth), chinese chives and taugeh (bean sprouts). It’s pretty easy to make. You pretty much just boil the shrimp shells in water or light chicken broth for about 30 min with green onions, white pepper and salt. I might have added some other stuff in there. I don’t really remember. I’m not exactly a “by the book” kinda cook. I just add whatever I find in the pantry. Maybe garlic too? Idk. There are recipes online. This is the one I use. I just kinda eye balled everything so do so to your liking. ^___^

It came out pretty good. You should try it. ^O^

There is also a whole list of Ipoh cuisine that are really good too!~~ I like Kampar Chicken biscuits a lot. It’s a type of cookie with oriental seasonings like sesame and five spice. I don’t think there are any chicken in it. So, I have no clue where the name came from. But I don’t think you can make that. The chicken rice is very good though!

So, I finished my course in Chicago and am now back in New Orleans. It was a wonderful trip. Met lots of fun people, got to hang out with my cousin, and explored the city as much as I could. One of our last dinners for the trip was at a restaurant called Mana on [...]]]>

So, I finished my course in Chicago and am now back in New Orleans. It was a wonderful trip. Met lots of fun people, got to hang out with my cousin, and explored the city as much as I could. One of our last dinners for the trip was at a restaurant called Mana on Division St. It was a vegetarian restaurant. Yes. I know. Marie went to a vegetarian restaurant. Without the influence of Kevin or her mom. I know. Shocker.

Anyone who knows me, know that I would never be vegetarian. Don’t get me wrong. I love vegetables. But I love my meat too. However, this restaurant, was AMAZING. Everything was fresh and flavorful. And made you not even think about meat. And this fig salad was their special of the night. Very simple. Fig salad with peanuts and a house vinaigrette. So, what’s so special about a salad. Anyone whose made home made salad dressing will know, it is not easy to make a good vinaigrette dressing. The balance is delicate and takes experience and experiments to get it right. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me that’s dumb and can’t make a great salad dressing. I mean, I do ok. But this salad was AMAZING. Oh my. Just thinking of it is making me salivate. It was the perfect summer salad. The fresh figs were so good. The peanuts, oh the peanuts, were roasted to perfection (did you know it’s really hard to roast peanuts? I mean to get it to be the perfect crunch and not burnt. It ain’t easy). The greens were wonderful. The combination of everything was just phenomenal.

Why of all things did I choose to write about a salad for my last remedacation post. Because it is just so simple. A few ingredients (aside from whatever is in the dressing). A few tosses and there it is. No elaborate crazy preparation method. No multiple cooking steps. Just toss and eat. Sometimes we always search for something elaborate and complicated when a dish so simple can be so delicious that it makes you think about it days to weeks after you’ve had it. Just something to think about. ^__^

Anyhoo, I’m back in NOLA. Where will I go next?

p/s: I’m preparing for Step 1. So chances are, no where fancy. Maybe a post about something I make? Who knows?