I had chinese food in the caf today (bleh, prime examples of the bad points I listed below) but interestingly, instead of the standard saying, the fortune cookie contained something that *might* be a saying, but sounds a lot like an actual prediction.
It reads:
“First they ignore you, then they attack you, then you win.”
Sounds like the final battle is upon us!
I was thinking the other day about exotic cuisines, and which I like best.
Now this is just a general list, based on my own recent experience.
Also, just because something is low on the list, doesn’t mean I don’t like it.
Maybe it’s just the places I’ve been, but Chinese food tends to be greasy and sugary, dripping in thick sauces. I still like it, but prefer the lightness of Japanese or spiciness of Thai or Vietnamese.
Coincidentally, I just found out that Bamboo Hut, a great Vietnamese place nearby which I was told was closed… has been open all this time! I was misinformed! All this time, and I could have gone. Definitely have to go there sometime soon.
Sarah met me at work on Friday, I showed her around the cube warren, then left early to get some food before going to a show.
Lyn had recommended some places, and pointed us to some review sites. Sarah found a place called Kaze that serves Shabu Shabu, which looked interesting, so we went there.
It was a short walk from where we parked to Chinatown, and to Kaze. We got there around 5 so it was pretty empty. The place is nice and clean, and has an upstairs and a downstairs. We were seated upstairs. I conjectured that “Kaze” meant “wind” since “KamaKaze” means “devine wind” (turns out I was right).
Shabu Shabu (named after the Japanese sound of beef cooking in the broth, sort of like “bubble bubble” crossed with “sizzle”) is interesting, and works like this:
There is a heating element on the table (a flat glass one in this case, like the stove in my kitchen). You order your base stock, and then order items to cook in the pot. All the items come uncooked (or ready-to-heat, in the case of some of the items) and you cook them by putting them in the boiling pot of broth. I ordered Japanese Curry stock, Sarah ordered the plain stock. The pot was divided down the middle, with a stock to a side.
I ordered beef and chicken, Sarah ordered the fish cake assortment. Each came with a plate full of veggies, and some little dishes with garlic, green onions, sauces, and hot peppers.
You also choose which noodles you want, I chose spinach noodles, Sarah chose udon.
You get a little spear, like a two-pronged trident (bident?) and a stick with a basket on the end. You use these tools to add things to and extract things from the boiling broth.
The meats are cut very thin, so it only takes a few seconds for them to cook.
It’s fun but a little messy, I managed to splatter some curry broth on my shirt, but otherwise stayed dry. The server guy kept coming by the table and reminding me to stir my pot so nothing sticks to the bottom. I’m stirring, dammit! =)
It was more food than we could eat, and pretty reasonably priced, I think it was $30 total for both of us, which is probably equal to what we’d have spent at some average place like Chili’s.
Oh, we also got green tea, which was *very* green. It was Japanese green tea, made from roasted rice, much more flavorful than Chinese green tea. It had a sort of grassy, sesame flavor which was good.
It may or may not be horrible… I haven’t decided yet.
But it’s definitely not better than peanut butter.
I bought some more plastic containers and finished converting from bagged storage to plastic bin. Much cleaner!
p.s. the bottom shelf is Adam’s.
p.p.s. The Skinny Cow ice cream cones are super-delicious. (150 Calories, 3g fat, 3g fiber = 3 points)
Ok, so this is probably an obvious one, but it just manifested itself to me, so it feels new to me…
I was looking at my freezer, which was overflowing with bags upon bags of frozen veggies, when it occurred to me that rectangular items stack more easily than floppy amorphous bags. Suddenly, it hit me – I could use the rectangular plastic containers that I usually use for microwaving food or storing leftovers!
So I took all the bags out of the freezer, and emptied them into the plastic containers. My food now converted into rectangular form, it stacked neatly, taking less space. As an added bonus, I can also see what I have, rather than a pile of bags where I can only see the top layer.
Hooray for small victories!
Of course, now I don’t have enough plastic containers, and need to get more.
I just found out my favorite restaurant in Worcester, The Bamboo Hut, is now closed.
I suppose it should be no surprise, it was always nearly empty in there when I would go to eat. I guess they can only hold out so long like that.
But the food was great, and the people were nice. I’ll miss the place.
Now I have to find new secret yummy places to eat in Worcester.
I drink a sort of “cappuccino” mix stuff at work. Sometimes I buy it in the cafeteria, which is $1.31 for a small, and sometimes I make it at my desk, which is considerably cheaper. Yesterday the mix at my desk ran out, and I wondered, could I make my own “cappuccino” mix?
So today I bought instant coffee, french vanilla flavored non-dairy creamer, and Nesquick.
Test 1.
2 teaspoons coffee
2 teaspoons non-dairy creamer
2 teaspoons Nesquick
Not bad. A little strong on the coffee, perhaps if I doubled the non-dairy creamer, or added a bit of sugar to the mix. I know, I know, the non-dairy creamer and Nesquick both already have sugar in them, but I have a sweet tooth, ok?
…
Later.
Test 2.
1 teaspoon coffee
2 teaspoons non-dairy creamer
1 teaspoon Nesquick
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Yummy.
I’ll probably keep playing with the mixture, but it’s plenty passable now.
I was looking for a snack to bring to a meeting at work, and while reaching for some Quakes (flavored mini ricecakes – yummy) I noticed a solid black bag of Doritos, marked only “X-13D” in big letters, with a white box below with text saying “This is the x-13D Flavor Experiment.”
So of course, their clever marketing ploy was irresistable, so I shelled out a buck and bought the fat-laden bag of mystery.
I went to the meeting and passed the bag around, we all tried one.
*sniff sniff*
“Smells different.”
*CRUNCH*
“Tastes like…”
“A big mac!”
“Yeah!”
Yes indeed, Doritos has produced a chip that captures the flavor of a Big Mac. Which is exactly what you expect – it tastes pretty good while you’re eating it, but afterwards, you’re like “bleh”.
So, 100 points for marketing, 50 points for amusement factor, 10 points for actual flavor, 10 points for nutritional value, 0 points for “will I buy it again”.
Score out of a possible 500: 170.
Bzzzt. Interesting idea, Doritos, but try again.
My breakfast this morning:
Quick nutritional estimates shown: [Calories/grams of fat/grams of fiber]
I cut up the fruit in a bowl and then poured the yogurt over it.
Total Estimated Calories/Fat/Fiber:
252/2.2/3.8
Pretty healthy, and very yummy, to boot.