Because food is worth it

I am writing this post because food is awesome and worth spending the time writing about…

…and because I want to tempt you with delicious, luscious photos.

After writing about the art and science of cooking (part 1, part 2, part 3), I couldn’t resist further digging into my love of food. Over the years I’ve accumulated over 500 photos of food that I’ve had, whether home-made or not. Since the “art and science” series is mostly focused on my own culinary experiments at home, I’ve decided to share with you some other goodies that I’ve had the luxury of trying (ones that I haven’t posted in previous entries). Most of these photos were taken while dining out, but a selected few were of dishes made by either family or friends. Whatever the case, all were thoroughly enjoyable 😀

Oh, since I was bored last night from my battle with scientific papers, I started up another blog (as if I don’t have enough blogs already) dedicated to food – click to check out The Food Gallery. With some 500 photos, I won’t be worried about running out of things to post any time soon.

Now onto the actual entry. Click to view large photos, and descriptions, if you’re interested, are under the gallery. Indulge, and bon appetit 😉

 

The following descriptions correspond to the items in the above gallery in the format [row,column].

[1,1] I spent Chinese new year 2011 at my ex-colleague Haiyan’s house, where she made eggs and tomato, dumplings, and sweet potatoes with sticky rice-covered meatballs.

[1,2] Gigantic burger at Den Haag, April 2011. I also had Dutch fries with it. The most memorable thing, surprisingly, was the sauce that came with the fries. So amazingly delicious but I couldn’t put my finger on its exact taste, unfortunately.

[1,3] Indian food with my Canadian-Indian nano-homie in London, May 2011. On the left is methi gosht (lamb) and on the right is chana masala (chick peas).

[1,4] Entrecôte is a legend in Bordeaux. If you don’t have to wait more than half an hour to get into the restaurant, you’re lucky. The beef fillets are succulent and tender, but the mysterious sauce is the signature of Entrecôte. Oh, and unlimited fries can’t hurt 😉

[1,5] Back at home in Toronto, my mom made Chinese spinach (tung choi) and steamed spare ribs. The ribs were a childhood favourite and I still love them to this very day.

[2,1] Apparently to become a Chinese chef, you have to master the skill of making beef chow fun. It’s almost always a must-have when I dine out with my dad. Such a common, old-school dish, but nonetheless delicious.

[2,2] Stir-fried cubes of radish cake with XO sauce, another childhood favourite.

[2,3] The ladies and I had steak and eggs for breakfast before our long hike at Tobermory. It was a pleasant surprise as it turned out to be the best steak and eggs I’ve ever had.

[2,4] Hand-ripped chicken at a Chinese restaurant.

[2,5] Home-made dumplings with chives in Toronto. Chives are my favourite ingredients in dumplings. We like to make a bunch of these dumplings at home and freeze them so we can cook them whenever we want 😉

[3,1] Salade de gésiers, or duck gizzard salad, at a French restaurant, one of my favourite appetizers.

[3,2] When LS visited Bordeaux, I felt bad because he cooked for me more than I did for him (did I even cook him a meal?) His tomato avocado salad made me feel that I could start loving avocados…

[3,3] Another creative product from LS – endives stuffed with tuna and grape tomatoes.

[3,4] Penguin made Vietnamese-styled vermicelli for a girls’ night, healthy yet tasty.

[3,5] At a Chinese restaurant in Paris, friends ordered the spicy beef soup noodles. Gah, Chinese restaurants in Paris are so much more authentic than the ones in Bordeaux 😦

[4,1] Another dish from the restaurant, rack of lamb on a bridge. I’m quite tempted to say it was the best lamb I’ve ever had. I’m drooling just thinking about it…

[4,2] To add another item to the “best I’ve had” series, here’s a plate of fish and chips during my trip to the Kawartha Lakes. Here, it’s the coleslaw that was the best I’ve ever had 😛

[4,3] A friend in Belgium invited me to dinner and made stewed pig’s trotters on my birthday…without knowing that it was my birthday. Loved the hospitality though!

[4,4] French-style pot-au-feu by Penguin, made with a touch of Chinese characteristics.

[4,5] Guizhou-style vermicelli made by Baiyu, with topping added according to personal preferences (beef, spring onions, peanuts, garlic, etc.)

[5,1] Korean-style rice balls, a dinner at my friend Ara’s place in Paris. She made the stuffing (one was kimchi, the other was mayonnaise tuna) and we both took turns wrapping them. Fun to made, fun to eat 😉

[5,2] For our Christmas dinner in 2012, there were two main dishes – moules frites and magret de canard (duck breast) by Penguin. Not only the presentation was beautifully arranged, the taste was exceptional and definitely restaurant-worthy. I need to learn the recipe!

[5,3] With the “best salmon I’ve ever had” in Rennes, I had potatoes and herring as an appetizer…

[5,4] …and this black forest cake as a dessert. What a lovely meal that was!

[5,5] Last but not least, who could possibly resist some good ol’ chirashizushi? 😉