CHOCOLATE: Theo Chocolate

Saw a cool recipe in the Seattle PI last week for a Chocolate Pecan pie. Not just any Chocolate Pecan pie, but a Theo Chocolate Pecan Pie. Theo Chocolate is based out of Seattle and they, like many, are trying to start a chocolate revolution by letting people know that chocolate shouldn't taste like vomit, like a Hershey's Bar or a Hershey's Kiss. I saw the recipe, saw the logo for Theo and knew I had seen it before. So I went to Greenie's in Richland, Washington, a store that supports living green by having various eco-minded products and bicycles. I actually went to get a glass water bottle, and decided to look in their chocolate section, which is primarily organic and/or rich chocolates. I immediately saw the Theo logo, but not the 84% type that is needed for the recipe, so I just bought the 65& one. It's dark chocolate, and it's rich. More importantly, you bust open the bar and it has that cool snap.

Now, I'm not one of those who is a purist on chocolate, but I can tell you I've eaten my share of Kit Kat, M&M's, Almond Joy, and Reese's. My mom, however, has been a dark chocolate fan for as long as I can remember and I really didn't get into it until ten years ago. I think it has to do with the quality of milk chocolate going downhill over the years, and I know I'm not the only one who has noticed this. I also haven't tried enough chocolate to where I can figure out the qualities of it, but I'd like to know.

I purchased the Theo Madagascar Dark Chocolate Bar 65% for $4.50, and the Theo website states This is a single-origin organic chocolate from the island nation of Madagascar. The dynamic fruit and wine notes in this dark chocolate reflect the unique and diverse environment of this exotic land. The chocolate is very good, and it does have a distinct wine taste. I'm not a big wine fan, but the flavor lasted a long time. I couldn't tell if it was fruity or not, I'd have to try it again. I can definitely see how it would taste well as a pie, be it chocolate pecan or a whipped cream-type pie.

Theo is a company that is organic and Fair Trade certified, which means that the cacao beans are grown specifically for the company and no other artificial additives are added in the process. The Seattle article stated that currently they can verify that "80 percent of its chocolate was organic and fairly traded", but hope in the very near future that number will go up to 95. They make sure everyone in the process, from the growers and the field workers to those who pack them on the planes, are paid well and treated with the utmost respect, and allows those growers to invest in their land so that it will provide for their families. You never hear about that on the back of a Mr. Goodbar.

I haven't tried the pie recipe yet, most likely this Christmas, but this bar of chocolate... you will understand why the bar is priced the way it is. Is it worth it? You'll want to eat the entire bar right there, but it is very good and I do plan on trying their other varieties.

(Theo Chocolate also has their own blog where you can find out about the latest activities with the company and the factory, which you are able to take a tour of.)

Kecap Manis

Kecap Manis is something I wasn't aware of until I read about it in an issue of Saveur magazine, and intrigued me. It was not available in my part of Washington State, and it would be months before I could buy a bottle, but I did.

Kecap Manis is a sweet soy sauce popular in Indonesia, and since the Saveur article reviewed the one made by the Bango brand, that's what I looked for. I grew up with different types of shoyu (soy sauce), specifically the Aloha, Kikkoman, and Chun King brands. I've stayed within my shoyu boundaries, not really getting adventurous and trying those fish shoyus I see at some stores, but kecap manis was a "sweet" one so I was curious to how it was, especially since it was said some people used it as a dipping sauce for French fries.

I ordered it from IndoMerchant.com, based out of California, and the kecap manis was in a plastic bottle (although Bango, an Indonesian company, also makes a version in a bag not unlike a bag of Capri Sun). I bought some fries for the occasion and it tasted a lot like teriyaki sauce, even had the same consistency. Teriyaki does have a sweetness, those who like their teriyaki a bit more tangy may thing this is somewhat on the light side. I tried it with some beef, and it still tasted a lot like teriyaki. A few articles online say the sweetness is more on the molasses side of things, so I'll have to try it again to find out if that's what I'm tasting.

As for the name, Wikipedia says Indonesians call soy sauce "kecap" (ketjap), and it is the word "kecap" that would evolve into the English word "ketchup".

While most regular soy sauces are generally low in calories, kecap manis is high in carbs due to the sugar content: 3 tablespoons of it equals to 38 grams of carbs. Add to that the high sodium, and it may become more potent than beer for some people.

I do like the flavor and I can see coming up with some recipes that could use this, or as a simple dipping sauce.

Curry Ketchup

I had never heard of this until I went to Oktoberfest last week in Leavenworth, Washington. I grew up eating food with a good share of ketchup, and my mom raised me on some of the best Hawaiian-style curry, but a combination of the two? I never placed ketchup on my bowl of curry, but there it was in a cheese store with wines, crackers, and a sample of this curry ketchup. I tried it with a pretzel and I was surprised that I liked it. I bought a bottle ($5.99) and looked forward to having some when I got home. However, lunch was calling so I had a bratwurst and some french fries, and decided to use the Curry Ketchup on the fries. Ono.

When I did get home, I had it with a number of other foods: sandwiches, sausage biscuit, even corned beef hash and in every instance it was great. I'm sure it would be great on/with some grilled chicken.

I haven't discovered how something like curry ketchup became a German specialty, but there are a number of brands from Germany, including one made by Heinz. There is one company in the U.S. that makes them, called Barbkoa, available through Allyson's Kitchen.


I will have to try that next.

Up next: Kecap Manis.

Article: Chicken-Fried Vision Quest

This is an article taken from Seattle's The Stranger about a woman from the South who went out of her way to find Seattle's best chicken-fried steak. Did she find it? Find out by clicking here.

Straus Organic Milk (1% Low Fat)

Yeah, it's milk but not just any milk. For me, I grew up never seeing or trying milk from a bottle. Honolulu always had cartons and plastic, so watching my share of Sesame Street made the idea tempting. My curiosity finally ended when I went to Yoke's and saw half gallon bottles of milk made by Straus Family Creamery out of California. I know of a farm in Western Washington that still bottles their milk with glass bottles, but this was something that I had to try.

I do realize that for a lot of you, milk from a glass bottle is ordinary, but again this was something from my mom's time, when people would deliver your milk to your front door. I decided to try the 1% one even though I drink 2% and could go for the whole. At $5.99 it is pricey, but it is organic and I'd rather pay a good price knowing it's decent milk and not something random. Before I had a taste, I did some research and discovered that some people feel that Straus' milk, even the 1% and fat free varieties, were creamy. The milk I normally buy isn't, it's just watery milk with no flavor or grip.

I then poured it (in an glass, no less) and tried it. It was excellent, it was not unlike a decent carton of whole milk (flavor-wise). At $5.99 a bottle I made sure I consumed it slowly but surely.

The cool thing about the bottles is that the creamery recommends returning the bottle to the store of origin for a deposit, not unlike soda bottles. I did that, and the lady I gave the bottle to had no idea what to do with the bottle. She asked the cashier and she told her to punch in a code. My return fee was $1.50! The cost of the bottle of milk is actually $4.50, which is not bad at all.

The creamery takes the bottles back, sterilizes them and puts them back into the market. I like that

New BBQ place in Pasco, Washington: Don Victor's BBQ

I think my mom found out about it at work, someone told her that an old BBQ place on Lewis Street in Pasco, Washington called BBQ Express has finally been filled in by what else? Another BBQ place. The business is literally a little house in the middle of a plot of land, I'm not sure if there were other homes in this section of Pasco but it's the kind of place where if you drive past it, you'll miss it.

Nonetheless, I had visited BBQ Express once before it shut down as quick as I became aware of it, and that was over five years ago. The place had been vacant for years and now there's a new place called Don Victor's BBQ (1623 W. Lewis Street). I haven't tried it yet but I will very soon, but it has the Don Victor's logo... well, it's not really a logo, but the name of the place is spraypainted on the side of the building. Kinda lo-fi, but that's fine. It says they serve chicken and BBQ ribs.

I will definitely have a review and (hopefully) some photos very soon.

Video: McDonald's Breakfast & Lunch? Togetha?

Damn.

News: The Close Of Moililili Mochi & Candles

A lot of small places like this have been a staple of Honolulu for years, and sadly a lot of them are being closed down forever. Here's another.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/04/business/story01.html

News: Hawai'i On Tap

Hawai'i is not a place known for its beers, although local people will tell you they know how to party (OKOLE MALUNA!) That may be changing with a number of Hawaiian breweries wanting to make themselves known. Here's an article from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin telling you about the liquid refreshment that will hopefully generate a lot of interest outside of the islands.

Video: Miracle Fruit?

I read about this, and now I'd like to try it. Would you?

Yukon Pete Goulash?

My mom has always been a fan of her goulash, where she trims cuts of beef, boils up egg noodles, makes gravy, slices onions thinly, and boom, just like Omama might make. I know my mom is a huge fan of dumplings too and sometimes used to make it with the dumplings.

I'm reading the new issue of Saveur magazine and I'm reading an article about Airstreamers, and the author talks about how a neighbor used to make Yukon Pete Goulash. It sounds very similar to what my grandfather used to make, but it was just "spaghetti with macaroni" (nevermind the pasta technicality, that's what it was called and I liked it). It's simple, and oddly enough I only found one recipe online:

Bring a gallon of water to a rolling boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add 1 pound of elbow macaroni. Stir. Do not let the macaroni stick to the bottom or to itself. In another pot or large frying pain, place 1/4 pound of bacon, chopped in small pieces. Fry it brown. Add a cup of chopped onions. Brown the onions. Then sprinkle in 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef in small pieces. Let it fry until brown. Stir often. When brown, add two cans of tomato soup (no water). Stir this until it is well-heated. When macaroni is tender to cut, pour off the water. After the macaroni is drained, pour it into the meat sauce and stir until heated through. Add salt and pepper and serve.

Has anyone tried this? I'm sure the bacon brings a nice flavor to things. As for an Airstreamer, I never saw any growing up in Hawai'i because there was no need. Parents (or really, mom) made the food in the morning, then you'd put it in a cooler or bag and eat as we drove around the island. I'd like to drive one one day.

AIRSTREAMER LINKS
Airstreamer.org
Silver Wheels (Airstream history)
Sweet Sovereign Of The Road
Vintage Trailer Jam
Young Air Streamers (blog)

Dinner @ Magill's (Pasco, Washington)

Friday, May 23, 2008
Magill's
3214 N. Road 68
Pasco, Washington
(509) 547-6448

For longtime Pasco residents, the place that now occupies Magill's was known for years as Heidi Haus, a German-looking house that served some of the best German dishes in the Tri-Cities area. It closed down years ago, but in order to get to the Heidi Haus you used to have to take a backroad to find it, it was the only way to get there. Since the Heidi Haus closed, a highway about half a mile away was built, and with that on and off-ramps. No more isolation. Recently, the house was Emmitt's BBQ, which unfortunately I did not get a chance to try (it came and went before any level of promotion was done). Then one day a few months ago, there was some construction. Could it be... something new?

Magill's, promoting themselves as being A Family Tradition, opened a few weeks ago and I had to try it. Breakfast is always packed, sometimes the parking lot is empty only to be filled during dinner. My mom wanted to try Magill's out, along with my sister and nephew so it became the big Book Ohana trip for dinner.

The place reminded me of the house I went to at the winery I visited a few weeks ago, very cozy and "traditional brown". We entered and we were quickly brought to our table. The menu selections looked great, lots of variety and I wasn't sure what to get. Breakfast is served all the time, but it was dinner so I wanted to pick a good, hearty meal. My mom had said her co-workers liked the food and that the servings were huge. Keep in mind her friends are petite, so a petite "huge" might be just "a good meal" for me. I decided to get what was called Mo's Chicken Fried Steak ($12.79), which is described as being "breaded and smothered in Magill's country gravy". I love chicken fried steak, it's a nice basic starter dish and if it was good, I was hopefully the rest of their menu was good too.

It arrived, and was it "huge"? It was "a good meal", not bigger than my head but one that I knew could carry me through the rest of the night (and probably until breakfast the next day). Oddly enough I didn't eat the chicken fried steak first but rather the vegetables. My sister commented that the vegetables were fresh, that it did not taste frozen. A plus. Then I went in. The country gravy was very nice, good flavor. The chicken fried steak was very good too, I had mine with fries (I did have the option to have that, baked, or mashed potatoes) and I'll have to ask next time if the fries are freshly cut or frozen. I could have had some ketchup on my plate, as I like to dip, but it almost seemed like an insult to want to do that to a chicken fried steak that was really good. However, I did have some Tabasco chipotle and Tapatio on the side, which was a nice compliment but I probably didn't need it either.

Service was nice and courteous, and we arrived right before the dinner rush. By the time we left, the place was slowly picking up and yet the staff did not look stresed. Maybe behind the scenes they were, but it didn't show.

I actually had my eye on the chili, which they serve in a cup ($3.25) or a bowl ($4.25), I'll have to try that the next time. They had a number of homemade soups, proudly hyped up their homemade potato salad, and sandwiches such as the Buffalo burger (with bleu cheese crumbles), chili burger, and one called "The Works" which has bacon, ham, fried egg, and cheddar. Hui! Steaks, chicken, Buffalo fettuccini, cod fillet (which my mom had, and it was very good), and on the breakfast side there's Grandma Black's cinnamon roll, buttermilk Belgian waffles, Spud Skillet, Chorizo Skillet, something called "The Rustic Benny", Magill's Big Ole Breakfast Burrito... I could eat here all day everyday, but I'd have to work there in order for me to do that. When I do have breakfast here, I will have a review.

Magill's feels like a home meal, but they also have a number of items on the menu that you'd find at a decent diner. Is Magill's worth taking the off ramp for? Definitely.

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Directions: If you're heading East on the I-182, take the Road 68 exit at Exit 9. Turn right, and you will drive down a hill. Magill's will be at the first stop light, on the corner of Road 68 and W. Argent (entrance and exit is on Argent).

If you're heading West on the I-182, take the Road 68 exit at Exit 9. Turn left, and you'll be on the overpass. Continue until you drive down the hill. Magill's will be at the first stop light, on the corner of Road 68 and W. Argent (entrance and exit is on Argent).

BBQ (Sauce): Rufus Teague Honey Sweet

This past weekend was the last weekend of "freedom" for my nephew before he had to go back to school, as it was Spring Break for him. I was doing my writing at home when I was asked if I was interested in going to a kite festival in Prosser, about a half hour drive from here. Me, a kite festival? My immediate thought was no, I'm not into kites. But I needed to unwind a bit, get some fresh air, and to be honest I don't mind watching kites. I needed to take a break, and I did, or I should say we all did.

We got to Prosser but we didn't see a thing. It was then I found out that the kite festival was at some winery. I'm not a winery person either, I drink wine maybe twice a year and get heavily drunk from one glass and tend to show how I have the ancient Chinese secret (a/k/a red cheeks as an indication of intoxication). I have been wanting to cook with wine, and if there was ever a way to learn about how to grow grapes for harvesting towards making wine, I would do it. Well, I know there's a way but that way involves a lot of cash and time, which I don't have much of right now. But to look at land and the vineyards, I was into that. We made the wrong exit, but my sister had her cell phone with internet access, and we found that while we were in the general area, the winery was about half an hour south from where the off-ramp was, in the town of Paterson, Washington. Paterson? We've never been there, but we're driving and all we see is land. No buiildings, no bridges, nothing, just acres of land. It continues like this for a good half an hour and we thought we might miss the festival, but we see a few signs. Eventually we see the sign for a Columbia Crest Winery. We head into the parking lot, we see a few kites, and we park.

As we're looking at the kites, it's about four kites. Nice and breezy, but not exactly a festival. A lot of families are sitting, a few eating cheese & crackers, and my sister goes "are we the only brown people here?" It was very... how do I say this, vanilla, and there have been times when I have been to events where it feels that someone like myself am not welcome. I don't like the stares and gawking, plus I'm a big guy so I get insecure about stupid things I can't control. I almost didn't want to bother, was ready to leave and go back home but I thought nah, we're here. The kite festival looked like a waste so my mom and I decide to look for the gift shop. We look and I got a chance to look inside of the winery with all of the barrels, about six levels deep. It was just one section, I can only imagine what I didn't see, perhaps the winery warehouse. My sister and nephew make it up and we go into the gift shop. I wish I could be enthused about wine, but I'm not, at least not yet. I can tank a good bottle of grape juice, but wine is beyond me. I did notice some books of interest, one called The Pike Place Market: 100 Years and Pike Place Market Cookbook (both published by Sasquatch Books, and unfortunately I didn't have a lot of money on me so I couldn't buy either of them (but my eyes are on the Pike Place Market Cookbook). I see some candies, chocolates, anc crackers, but what catches my eye is what was sitting in a bbq grill. I couldn't believe it, I saw the bottle I had seen online, the face, and the logo. I love BBQ and enjoy trying BBQ sauces and this was one that was high on my list. But here it was, a bottle (or I should say a flask) of Rufus Teague Honey Sweet.

A few months ago I came across a website for the BBQ Sauce Of The Month Club, and one site lead to another until I came across one that promoted the greatness of Rufus Teague. Found the website, and with an old look to their graphics, the font, the use of the whiskey flask, and the rugged photo of Mr. Teague, I wanted to become a firm believer of the sauce just by hype alone. Of course, one can't believe on hype, and in this case I wanted to try it but did not have the money to get it. I opted to wait for next time, but my nephew came to the rescue. He has become a BBQ sauce freak as well, so while he bought it for himself, he did buy it so I could try it. The winery was very nice and I want to visit again and maybe take a tour, but with BBQ sauce in a bag, it was decided that this sauce had to be tried. My mom had a BBQ the day before, but who cares, we have Rufus Teague.

Let's cut to the chase. Hot dogs went on the grill, but there was a piece of steak from the BBQ the night before, and it was coated with the sauce. It went on the grill. A few minutes later we tried the steak. Mmmmm. The flavor was nice and smooth, you can taste the honey but it's not too sweet, it still has that nice tang to it. The consistency is about mid-way, in that it's not too runny nor is it slow like molasses, so if you buy a bottle and put it on a sandwich, be careful. I did try the sauce on the hot dog too, and it was great there. Today, I had a piece of turkey in a roll for lunch, with some Rufus Teague on the side, and it made the sandwich even better. With the weather now in the 60's and 70's, it would be a good time to buy some chicken and grill it with this sauce, or make some meat loaf and let that do its magic. As the Home of BBQ blog says, this cause can be addicting. One can find BBQ sauce at any supermarket, but Rufus Teague is not widely distributed and because of that can be a little pricey (this one went for $6.50). This sauce is worth the price, and I may have to buy a jug or box and give these out as gifts. Finger lickin' and toe lickin' good.

Dinner @ P.F. Chang's, Richland, Washington (April 1, 2008)

I know, April 1st was two weeks ago, but hey.

My mom wanted to treat my sister to a birthday dinner, and I was invited so I said sure. P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened here a few months ago, in a location behind a shopping mall (the area's only big shopping mall), and a number of my mom's friends were saying "oh, that place is great" and just giving it "good raves". I on the other hand was skeptical. I like my Chinese food to feel like home, not something from a chain. Eating at Panda Express once was enough, so I was skeptical even though P.F. Chang's promoted themselves as being a bit more "classy" than a normal Chinese restaurant. Now looks can be deceiving, it might be a cover up for sub-par food, my skeptical mind said, but as I entered it looked very nice, almost the kind of place I normally wouldn't go to. Very Chic and modern, and it was weird to be eating at a Chinese restaurant and hear Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers as "atmosphere".

All of us ordered our dishes and we assumed that it was going to be our own individual plates. But it looked and felt like an a la carte-type thing, and we ate that way. What was interesting was that our waiter actually stirred the mustard with the soy sauce, we all looked at each other as if to say "whoa!"

We all started out with chicken lettuce wraps, a first for all of us, and it was really good. It was like a homemade chicken burrito without the tortilla, and it was very tasty due to the sauce they used.

I ordered the Crispy Honey Chicken and liked it, but liked what my mom had ordered, which was the Spicy Ground Chicken & Eggplant. Oh, this one was ono, the eggplant was cooked just right and the sauce, I could just eat that and rice all day. My nephew had Orange Peel Chicken, but he didn't like the actual orange peel but ate everything else. He also liked the honey chicken I had. There were a lot of families in there, and we arrived early enough to avoid the dinner crowd, which was picking up just as we left.

I would like to go to this place again and try some of their other dishes. What I'm also looking forward to is the restaurant next door that will be opening very soon: Famous Dave's BBQ.

Where have I been? (Part 2)

Sad isn't it, when one creates a blog and doesn't keep it active. I have not been able to partake in trying new places and things lately, but hopefully that will change very soon. In the meantime, what I will do (and try to keep up) is put up various new articles and reviews that I may find in some of the publications that I read on a regular basis.

I haven't forgotten about this blog, but times like these make it hard to go out and find new things when the only thing in the budget is ham & cheese sandwiches and Cup Noodles. Have patience, and very soon I'll be able to make this blog active and interactive. Thank you.

Dinner @ Huli-Huli Hawaiian Grill

A new restaurant called Huli-Huli Hawaiian Grill had been in construction for the last few months in the place that was the former Skipper's, known for their fish & chips. Skipper's went bankrupt and the building had been vacant for a year or so. When I noticed the Huli-Huli Hawaiian Grill sign ("coming soon"), I had to do my research. I discovered that they are a California-based restaurant.

We Hawaiians love good food, and we can be skeptical. Is it "true" Hawaiian food, is it plate lunches, similar to L&L? I was driving my mom around when I saw the "Grand Opening" banner. She then tells me "go back, turn around". I had to turn down another street, around the block, and back to the resturant. Since it was close to dinner, I wanted to get something quick. Spam Musubi was simple, so that was ordered. The cook there wasn't sure how to cook it, so my mom says "it's simple". We got a menu, and everything on there looked good. A call to my sister meant that it would be a "family" dinner.

We get there and there were maybe eight people waiting for their food. I decided to go for their Loco Moco, because in the past I could eat that easily. It's a meal (generally two or three scoops of rice, topped with two hamburger patties, topped with two fried eggs, topped with gravy) that is popular at beaches, since after a long day out in the waves, there's nothing like carbing up. I, on the other hand, don't need carbing up, but if it's an excuse to eat some "local kine grinds", I was ready.

As we were waiting, it seemed that the cashiers and cooks had no sense of direction. It was a grand opening, mind you, but I guess there wasn't a three-day session on food prep. There was an older man, perhaps the boss, who was yelling at the cooks, telling them "that's fish for this, and only one piece, not two. You put chicken, what the hell are you doing?" Granted, where I live does not have a strong Hawaiian community, so "mahimahi" may be a new term. But beef is beef, chicken is chicken, pork is pork. Mahimahi could be a random word. Regardless of what the cooks were trying to do, the older man was not satisfied and he was getting louder every minute. Is that true "Hawaiian spirit", of course not. I don't care what kind of restaurant it is, you don't act like that, especially not on your grand opening day. I caught a glance of one of the cashiers, and she truly looked as if she wanted to break down and cry, or just hide and say "anywhere but here". However, I have a funny feeling that the cooks will have things down within a few days, and perhaps tell the old man a thing or two.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, dinner was ready. Loco Moco looked good, but did it taste good? I tried it with a bit of ketchup, and it was good. Then I had a side of katsu sauce. The sauce itself was a bit watery, more than I expected, but it had a good flavor and it was better on the Loco Moco. I'm a rice eater, but the amount of rice I had could have fed an entire family. It was much more than two or three scoops, trust me.

As for atmosphere, it had a tropical feel but there was a display that had the Hawaiian indigenous animal known as the walrus. It was nice and cozy, looks like a fast food place (it was a Skipper's after all) but as of now they're taking a long time to figure out the meals, something that I feel will be remedied very soon. The older man, however, may scare away customers, which is not good considering the restaurant is in a town that doesn't know a lot about the concept of a Hawaiian-style plate lunch. That will change too. Next time, I want to try their kalua pig & cabbage.

VERDICT:
Food was quite good, I plan on exploring more
Service: nice, but nervous
Ambience: Crabby old man was a nuisance

Cheap Eats (Asian): Nong Shim Udon Bowl

I bought an issue of Giant Robot last year, and it was the first issue I had read in a few years. I've been an avid reader since the Maggie Cheung issue, and kind of forgot to subscribe. I will next time around, but I always like the food articles they have, especially on various packaged ramen. I've done it myself, where I'll test a random ramen and see if it's good or not. I'm a saimin guy, but if ramen is there, I'll take it. A few have been good, there was one I had that was too hot for me at the time.

My sister is always looking for stuff to bring to work, and she one day tells me to try out a ramen bowl she bought made by Nong Shim, the udon bowl:



Awww man, the udon is good, the broth is good, not too salty but not weak. I could eat two of these in one sitting, and cheap too, about 99 cents each. It doesn't taste like something in a pre-packaged plastic bowl, definitely a lot better than that 25 for a dollar bargains they have at the regular market (and those I avoid). This Nong Shim Udon bowl was at the Vietnamese store, so when I go there again, I'll have to check and see if they sell a box of them. I know they do for the kim chee variety, so I'm hopeful there is one for the udon.

Over a month later, where have I been?

I know, I start a blog and yet I've spaced off for a month? No, just watching funds, and because of that watching what I eat and not being able to do too much traveling to get the ono kine grinds. At least I'm honest, right?

I'll start adding a bit of content to keep people reading this blog in the meantime, so have patience, my friends.