Chipotle is going to be sponsoring a number of free screenings of the new documentary FOOD, Inc. The filmmakers behind the documentary share the belief that people deserve to eat better food from better sources. The showing in Central Florida is on Thursday July 16th at the Regal Winter Park Stadium at 7:30pm. Seating is first come first served.
The story of Beard Papa’s begins across the world in Osaka, Japan where in 1999 baker Yuji Hirota began pumping out these unique custard creme pastry puffs. It has since expanded all over the globe from China to Australia to Singapore to now, the United States. Right here in our own backyard at the newly renovated Prime Outlet Mall at the northern end of International Drive lays Beard Papa’s, waiting to offer you their much touted fresh n’ natural creme puffs.
Click here for the funny, Animated Story of the Origin of Bearded Papa, the man in the beard and pipe.
Once inside, you will notice that you are able to order the pastries by first picking the shell: either original, chocolate eclair, or cookie crusts. Then order the filling which can either be vanilla custard, dark chocolate, or a original flavor that changes from time to time. In the past these flavors have been strawberry, mango, coconut, green tea, etc. Call ahead to find out.
The pastry puff shells are two-layered: a crispy outer layer and a soft pastry layer inside.
They also use whipped creme to blend with vanilla bean to make their vanilla custard.
The creme puffs do not contain any preservatives so its best to eat right there or refrigerate immediately at home.
The crispy shell pairs well with the creme-y texture of the vanilla custard.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!!
Beard Papa’s
(407) 352-2008
4971 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
www.muginohousa.com
Any recommendations for places to go and eat? nom nom nom…
Last week, the Orlando Weekly ran a cover feature article by Henry Hong from Baltimore on ramen Noodled: Instant ramen isn’t just for broke college students. It’s a great article about the versatility of the supercheapo dish when paired with leftovers and random scraps.
Usually I tend to avoid ramen because I get a headache from all the sodium/msg/etc. but some times you get in the mood for the stuff and you gotta have it :D. Some ways of reducing the amount of sodium is to use only half the amount of the soup base package that they give you.
As you can see below in the nutritional facts, this one bag of ramen has 2080 mg of sodium, 86% of your daily recommended value. @_@
Nutritional Facts of Ramen: what nutrition?
Two packages that come with the noodles: vegetable mix and soup base
The vegetables in this soup are mostly dried seaweed that expand when you add water, and theres a lot of it. Other items included dried carrot, onion, mushroom, and fish-cake, but the majority of the dried vegetable packet was seaweed.
Bam! spices and veggies unwrapped
Bring your water to a boil and add the ramen noodles in. These noodles are actually udon style, thicker and chewier than other noodles, but also a bit bland from what I noticed. The explosively spicy soup base helps the taste a lot tho.
Some people out of necessity use the microwave to cook ramen, but boiling over the stove top give the ramen a much superior taste. Also this gives you a chance to boil the ramen once, rinse the ramen from its original fried oils,and boil it again with the added soup base and veggies, allowing it to be a much healthier dish sans frying oil.
The broth in this ramen is a bit bland tasting even though it is really spicy it is more of a one dimensional flavor, so I like to add a tiny drop of sesame oil (too much and it will overpower the soup) to add more flavor.
On this occasion, I add chopped up pieces of hot dog and a fried egg to the ramen before serving. Some people like to add a egg in while its boiling to create a egg drop soup like texture. I’ll try that next time maybe.
Ramen with egg and hot dog
Nong Shim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Noodle Ramyun
You can buy Nong Shim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Noodle Ramyun and many other ramen at various Asian markets through out Orlando. This package came from the huge jumbo 1st Oriental Market in the Pine Hills / Colonial Dr area. Try it out!
I don’t know why we keep coming back to Pho 88, located on the left side of Mills Ave just north of Colonial Drive; there are plenty of other Vietnamese restaurants to pick and choose from out there in the Mills 50 District to satisfy our pho fix.
Maybe its the big open spaces in their dining room that gives us room to breathe and slurp freely as we scour our bowls (offered in regular, large, or xe lua – super sized- size).
It isn’t the service, as most Vietnamese places aren’t known for the greatest friendliest service and the waiters at Pho 88 are no different, each of them no-nonsense, straight to the point types.
What we enjoy at Pho 88 is the low prices (seriously where else can you get such a huge meal for $7.50? ) the quality (Pho is the namesake of the place, and you better make it good) and the lightning speed of the food delivery to the table (literally less than 5 minutes from order time).
Pho at Pho 88 is a cut above the rest. Their noodles are slender and tasty, their broth is layered with flavors from the spices and beef that have been simmering for hours, and the meats are pretty good. In Vietnam, you take a small sauce tray and put hoisin and chili sauce in it and then dip your meats in the sauces to taste. Their pho, although still no match for my mother’s, is a close contender.
For appetizers, on this occasion, we chose the cha gio or vietnamese fried spring rolls. I like to wrap my spring rolls in lettuce before dipping it into the fish sauce, providing it a soft texture to contrast with the crunchy crisp of the egg roll shells.
In addition to Pho at Pho 88, they serve delicious Vietnamese subs known as banh mi. It tastes really good and I recommend it here if you are extra hungry. In the phillipines, they are known to dip the french breads into pho to soften it before chowing down on the delectable banh mi. They have a wide range of offerings too from meat balls to eggs to the traditional dac biet with all the special deli meats.
If you’re not in the mood for pho or banh mi, try some of their delicious rice plates with pork chops and egg, or other noodle soup specialties.
Tasty Chomps Rating
4.5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!
We begin with appetizers: Blarney Cakes ($4.99) – Three Irish potato pancakes fried golden brown and served with sour cream, chives and applesauce. I did not particularly enjoy these cakes as they were rather small, mushy and tepid, slightly lukewarm and had the consistency of mashed potatoes rather than a fried potato pancake that I expected. It had a slight sour taste to it that did not go well together with the potato base.
Blarney Cakes ($4.99)
We also ordered the Pound O’ Wings ($7.99) which were good but I preferred Fiddler’s Green’s wings much more.
Pound O’ Wings ($7.99)
My friend, Gabe, got the Shepherd’s Pie ($8.99) which he ranked as 4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!! He finished the whole plate and was the only one to do so at our table this glorious evening. The shepherd’s pie was made of beef and vegetables combined in a rich brown gravy and covered with their homemade creamy mashed potatoes
Shepherd’s Pie ($8.99)
Myself and my partner’s sister ordered the Irish Stew ($8.99), a huge bowl of beef with onions, carrots, celery and potatoes slowly cooked with Irish Whiskey. I found the beef to be lacking flavor and a bit stringy for my tastes. It was definitely not the best beef stew ever in my book and I got tired of it after a while of gnawing on the beef cubes.
Irish Stew ($8.99)
My partner and her brother Andy ordered Corned Beef & Colcannon ($$8.99) – a humungo plate of corned beef with traditional colcannon (cabbage). It was actually quite delectable and delicious!
Corned Beef & Colcannon ($$8.99)
All in all, Paddy Murphy’s was a mixed bag and I am not sure if I will return. They need to fix a few of their dishes before that happens.
On this evening, my guests are especially hungry but we undoubtedly picked the best place to quell the beasts of hunger at Oh Que Bueno. We begin with our appetizer: the beef empanadas ($5.00) which are fried meat patties made with shredded beef and potatoes. The golden crispy empanadas were good, though a bit starchy and plain served with the spicy habenero sauce for dipping.
The main event for me however was the zomg legendary bandeja paisa ($12.50), who some regard as the national dish of Columbia. Originating from the Antioquia Department in northwestern Colombia, the dish’s name derives from the region’s inhabitants, referred to as “paisas”.
Typically, bandeja paisa includes grilled steak (either ground or whole), chicharrón (fried pork rind), red beans, rice, chorizo, morcilla, a fried egg, and an arepa (flat corn cake). It is usually accompanied by sweet fried plantains and a slice of avocado.
The Bandeja Paisa is nutritious, and particularly rich in protein from the beans and meat, but is not particularly heart-healthy due to its large amount of saturated fat (chiefly from chorizo and chicharrón).
The bandeja paisa at Oh Que Bueno! is a magnificent, opulent glory of meats, beans, and rice. The pork rind is delectable and tasty, the morcilla (black blood sausage) is luscious and spicy as is the chorizo sausage. The steak is a bit bland but tender and nothing a dose of the habenero sauce won’t cure. I also liked the rice in this dish as it had a fragrant aroma and moist, buttery texture to it that made my tastebuds dance. This is a huge meal so make sure you come hungry.
My sister orders the churrasco with papas (grilled flank steak with fries) ($14.95). It is succulent, juicy and flavorful.
My partner’s sister and brother Andy share a punta de anca (sirloin steak) ($14.00) : it is huge and tender, though a bit on the bland side as well, accompanied by the sweet fried plantains.
All in all Oh ! Que Bueno definitely serves up the meats here in Orlando. In addition to their meat induced comas, they all serve mofongo (mashed fried plaintain dishes), mariscos (seafood), and desserts. Come here hungry and leave satisfied 😀
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
The summer Florida heat this July 4th can be daunting at times so what better way to cool off than enjoy a nice smooth ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. Out of all the Ice Cream chains out there Cold Stone is my favorite because of their high quality ingredients and sweet and creamy ice cream textures mixed in with their great toppings.
All ice cream creations are offered in three sizes: “Like It” (5 oz), “Love It” (8 oz), and “Gotta Have It” (12 oz).
By mixing nuts, fruits and candy into the smooth and creamy ice cream on a frozen granite stone (Marble Slab and other places do it too but not as good!), they create these ice creams that explode with tastes and sweet ice cream goodness.
I noticed that there were quite a few Cold stone’s in other areas that have closed recently, no doubt a sign of the economic downturn. Hopefully Cold Stone’s can stick it through and stay around !
Cold Stone Creamery
(407) 599-9800
4954 New Broad St
Orlando, FL 32814
www.coldstonecreamery.com
Via: Lindsay Mannering
here is a condensed version !
1. There’s a 25% chance that the hotdog you’re eating today came from somewhere in Iowa, where 17.6 million market hogs and pigs call home. And over 150 million hot dogs will be eaten today.
2. If you’re eating salad today, more than three-fourths of the nation’s supply of head lettuce comes from the Golden State. Your tomatoes probably came from Florida, your potatoes from Idaho or Washington, and your watermelon from Georgia, which produces over 1 billion pounds of the fruit a year.
3. Beer is the 2nd most popular drink in the world behind tea.
Finally, at the end,
4. Humans up-chuck on average 1.28 times a year, the oldest hurl ever found is 160 million years old
Sangria’s in Oviedo
Sangria’s is hidden in a plaza on the corner of Red Bug Lake Road and Aloma Ave in Oviedo next to the Home Depot. It is a strictly tapas restaurant with a great selection of wines and of course, sangrias which is a wine punch made with red wine and fruits.
Tapas are small appetizer dishes served cold or warm and are meant to encourage conversation among diners rather than focusing on a large meal in front of them.
The tapa tradition began when Castile’s king, Alfonso X of Castile or Alfonso the Wise, recovered from an illness by drinking wine mixed with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns were not allowed to serve wine to customers unless the beverage was accompanied by a small snack or tapas.
Tapas derives from the word tapar or to cover, because original tapas were slices of bread or meat and they were used to cover the glasses of wine to prevent fruit flies from entering the sherry wine. Also the meats tend to be saltier to enduce more drinking and thus more profits for the owners.
At Sangria’s I am greeted by a kind and smiling Spanish woman with dark hair, possibly one of the owners. Sangria’s is small inside, decorated with iconic posters of Spanish flamenco dancers and Spanish bull fighters with a small bar in the back of the room. The rapid beats of the guitar of the flamenco music plays in the soundtrack to Sangria’s.
First, a dish of sliced bread is presented. The bread is fresh and fluffy with a slight taste of sourdough and served with some olive oil and pepper. It was really good bread.
I ordered two dishes. The first is the Pulpo a la Vinagreta ($7.95) which is octopus in vinagrette sauce served cold. The octopus is served on a bed of sweet tomatoes and crisp onion pieces and with a dash of cilantro. Although the octopus was a bit chewy, as is most octopus, the dish was well put together and tasted great.
I also ordered a side of yellow rice ($1.00), and found it to be one of the most flavorful rice I’ve had. It was aromatic and light yet at the same time had a special type of saffron seasoning that made my taste buds salivate.
I also chose the Pinchos de carne y chorizo ($7.95), three skewers of beef and chorizo sausage baked over wine. Pinchos get their name from the toothpick like skewers that they use for it. My pinchos were amazing: the beef chunks were bursting with flavor and were tender to the tongue. The chorizos, though very salty, went well with my drink and were savory to the bite.
In addition to tapas and wine, Sangria’s also serves salads, sandwiches, paella, and desserts on their menu. Overall, I would definitely recommend Sangria’s especially if you go for their happy hour on Monday and Tuesdays after work with a group of friends. Good company, good food, what more can you ask for? 😀
Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!!!
Lol whatre they talking about ???
This led us to find refuge in the halls of the Yak and Yeti restaurant, one of the only sit-in dining restaurants in the whole Animal Kingdom park. To my disappointment, there were no yak or yeti to be found on the menu that day (I am a fan of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel by the way) but there was steak and shrimp as consolation.
I am typically wary of theme-park food: overpriced, tasteless, and usually completely battered and fried. I know that the parks have a virtual monopoly on the food business on premises and that’s how alot of money is made, but hey! its a recession… I guess that five day stay deal with unlimited meals really is a good deal after all (I’m not staying five days though 🙁
When we stepped inside, we were soaking wet and the place was freezing cold… At least we were out of the rain for the moment to dry up and take our seats at the table.
The first thing I noticed about the restaurant was the decor: random artifacts from Asia, statues of various deities from eons past, the cracked yellow walls like something out of British colonial India from A Passage to India. Quaint, I thought.
Tables were scattered through out the restaurant, mostly full with vacationing families.
At our table, our waitress was kind and helpful, always attending to our orders and requests and checking up on our drinks through out the visit.
The menu at Yak and Yeti was a Asian “fusion” which usually means a lot of different dishes but none done really well. I was surprised to find and at the same time afraid to try, the “pho” the national dish of the Vietnamese, a beef rice noodle soup, on the menu. It was also $17.99 here, when you can get a large bowl down in the Mills 50 district for no more than $7.50. I gave a sigh and moved on.
Our first order for appetizers were the steamed and fried pork filled pot stickers ($7.99). The dumpling skin was too tough and had the consistency of light rubber. The pork meat filling was flaky and chewy and definitely tasted like it just came out of the freezer, maybe even just microwaved. The bamboo steamer that the steamed dumplings came with was pretty cool though the banana leaves were a tad tacky as it did nothing to add to their “flavor”.
For our entrees, we decided to split up and share our meals since the prices were pretty ridiculous. I ordered the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp ($24.99) which came with skirt steak, tempura-battered shrimp, jasmine rice, veggies, and a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The steak was surprisingly good, seared to my order of medium-rare. It reminded me of the latin style churrasco flank skirt steak that I enjoy at latin restaurants but had a hint of a soy sauce marinade. The “tempura” shrimp really wasn’t authentically tempura as it was fried in what looked like a corndog batter. It was enjoyable nonetheless. The veggies were kind of plain and the rice was fluffy and warm (definitely a plus since I’ve known some places to botch even plain rice). Is it worth $24.99 ? Not really, but in theme parks where good eats are rare and hard to find at times, it was definitely a commendable dish on their part. I would say that its my favorite dish I’ve tried so far at Disney.
I noticed that the dipping sauce they like to use is actually a thai sweet chili dipping sauce ( you can buy it at the local asian market.), they used that for everything.
I also got a side order of pork egg rolls ($5.99) and they were also surprisingly good. I don’t understand how so many places mess up such a simple dish but luckily Yak and Yeti did a good job with theirs. I think they used the same meat from the dumplings, but it was a good and meaty bite.
My fellow guests also enjoyed their plates (as seen below).
Tasty Chomps rating!!!
3.5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!
Its my birthday today and I got this free banana dessert from Thai Basil at lunch!
nom nom nom
Any suggestions for places to go for birthday dinners?
I recently decided to head out to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the first time with some family and loved ones. It proved to be a great trip for me, despite the hot Florida sun beaming down on us from above and then the torrential afternoon rains, no fault of the park’s of course. I really liked the place and would love to go back. I would recommend Disney to build a few more crazy rides to try out though 😀
The Tree of Life – I think there are over 100 animals sculpted on this huge tree at the center of Disney’s Animal Kingdom @_@
I decided to trek out to the Ba Le (located off of Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 District of Orlando about 8 blocks north of Colonial Drive) this afternoon to get my fix of their renowned Vietnamese Banh Mi, or Vietnamese baguette sub sandwiches.
Ba Le is actually an independently owned franchise (do not be afraid: they make and bake all their goods on premises) selling its famously good brand of banh mi, those French-influenced Vietnamese sandwiches that had its own journey of sorts across the Pacific Ocean to the shores of America.
The origin of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich is a reflection of Vietnam’s history in itself; its French baguette bread: the influence of 200 years of French colonialism, its various pork meat cuts: a cousin of Chinese pork slices, and its Vietnamese fish sauce and pickled carrots and daikon and other ingredients all culminating in the conception of the banh mi sandwich. Even Ba Le’s own trademark logo is a tribute to the French influence with an image of the Eiffel Tower in its center.
The French baguette and the Vietnamese style baguette are similar but there are slight differences in taste and texture. I always think the Vietnamese style, crispy and crackly crusted, is a bit lighter than the French baguette found at the local grocery stores.
The fillings of banh mi vary from xiu mai (meatballs) to sunny side up eggs to chicken to grilled pork to almost anything you want to put in a baguette sandwich. Recently in the US, the banh mi continued its evolution with polish kielbasa sausage and other meats put into the mix.
However, the popular way to get it is the banh mi dac biet option (special combo) which puts together a slice of all the most popular cold cut meats into one sandwich.
The meats, as demonstrated by this diagram from a recent New York Times article about the transformation of the ubiquitous banh mi, include: ham, headcheese (a type of ham made with pigs ear for crunch), pork liver pate, and cha lua (fish sauce seasoned pork roll).
There is also a special Vietnamese mayo sauce made of eggs and oil that is spread on the bread that gives it its incredibly addicting taste.There are also hot chilis or jalapeno peppers that are added for that extra kick as well as salt and pepper and vinegar, fish sauce and soy sauce if you like to add it to the mix as well.
Banh mi is like the fast food of choice of the Vietnamese, quick to make they are easy to carry and snack on during long road trips and really cheap (they’re $3.25 each for the dac biet special option and buy 5 get 1 free!).
As I entered Ba Le, two teenaged sisters sit idly by at the counter of Ba Le bakery and restaurant, undoubtedly the daughters of the owners of the establishment, like so many other children of Asian-owned restaurants across the US on weekends. Help out with the family business; it’s your filial duty they say.
In addition to banh mi, Ba Le sells various bakery items including cakes and patechaud (or pateso) a pork-filled meat patty, deli meats to go, baguettes, banh bao (steamed pork buns), Vietnamese dishes such as banh cuon, and even jackfruit (its fruit season in Florida).
I order the banh mi dac biet to go and one of the sisters heads back behind the counter to assemble the sandwich as the other sister takes my payment. The banh mi is soon ready.
My banh mi was delicious: the bread was baked soft and slightly sweet, the meats were all high quality and tasty and the pickled carrots and daikon crunched as I bit into them. Ba Le Bakery and its banh mi are definitely a tasty chomp. Chomp.
The Deli counter and the magical cold cuts of banh mi
Fresh baked Vietnamese style French baguettes for sale
Banh bao aka Steamed pork buns
Cha lua or pork rolls, fried or steamed
Jackfruit for sale!
Pateso or Patechaud, the pork filled meat patty
Beef jerky from Ba Le?
Glorious Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich
Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich and the white radish daikon pickled and pickled carrots
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!
There are other Banh Mi shops in orlando as described here:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/05/vietnamese-banh-mi-sub-sandwiches.html
My favorite was the dulce de leche cupcake, a sugar spice cupcake with dulce de leche frosting and topped with cinnamon sugar.
Other flavors include:
High hat, a dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting topped with dark chocolate
German, a dark choclate cake with german chocolate frosting and coconut and pecan pieces toppings.
Cookies and Cream, Boston, Red Velvet, Banana, Smores and more
Another thing I like about Sweet! is its community minded philosophy and its donations to various non profits around Central Florida. I’m happy to support Sweet! and their sweetie cupcakes knowing they are doing positive things for our area.
Sweet! by good golly miss molly
WATERFORD LAKES TOWN CENTER
| 711 N ALAFAYA TRAIL | ORLANDO, FL 32828 | P: 407-277-7746
http://www.sweetbyholly.com/
ps did you know they made Orlando Magic themed cupcakes too?
El Potro Mexican Restaurant – Oviedo, FL
man i love lunch buffets <3
I was attracted to Sazon 436 from its name and its reviews on urbanspoon.com. I mean, seriously a restaurant named after SR 436 aka Semoran Blvd? Sazon 436 also was the winner of Orlando Sentinel’s Foodie Awards for Best Puerto Rican – Reader’s Choice for 2008.
I decided to give it a try for lunch one day, and after driving past it a few times (the sign is rather hard to find from the road), I arrived at Sazon 436.
A elderly lady resembling what a grandma from Puerto Rico might look like greeted me and told me to sit wherever I liked.
The dining room was small: it can altogether hold only about 30 seats, I guess it creates an intimate feeling?
The place settings are simple and elegant with deep red napkin cloths and black tablecloths. Numerous still lifes bring to mind scenes from Puerto Rico. A view from a cabin window, fruits, a portrait of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo all hang around the room giving the place an ambiance of a Latin American art musuem.
After looking through the menu I chose the chicharrones de pollo, a fried chicken pieces appetizer. The tender chicken pieces came out freshly fried and delectable, made with fresh spices and topped off with some red lettuce for garnish.
I also decided to get the lunch special for $6.00 which I was told was churrasco (grilled flank steak) today but when it came out it was actually chuletas (grilled pork chops). The chuletas were a bit dry for my tastes but still very flavorful. The meal also came with a small side of rice and red beans (arroz con frijoles).
Overall, I enjoyed my meal alot but would like to try it out for dinner at night to see how it is. It really was a cut above other Latin American restaurants in the area though in terms of taste so for that I tip my imaginary hat off to you, Sazon 436.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Sazon 436 Restaurant
1555 Semoran Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32792
(407) 628-9447
Pollo Tropical restaurants debut their Grilled Tropical Wings menu items. The wings are available in your choice of five piece ($3.59) or eight piece ($6.59, includes a choice of two regular sides) portions.
To mark the occasion, the restaurant will be giving away samples on Wednesday, July 8 at the Pollo Tropical locations in Central Florida, Tampa, Cape Coral and Naples. Just flap your wings (that’s arms for you nonflyers!) at the cashier will receive a free two-wing sample. Those that don’t flap their wings will be offered a single wing sample.
Pollo Tropicals new Grilled Tropical Wings are dusted with mild Caribbean spices and served with two sauces: Pineapple Rum and Spicy Amazon.
from the
Cooking Gal blog on Orlando Sentinel
I went home a few weekends ago and my parents cooked up some good old fashioned home cooked Chinese food.
My dad made a chicken mushroom dish and also a chinese-style curry chicken which we dip with french bread or eat with rice noodles. My mom made bitter melon soup, a acquired taste for sure. The bitter melon is truly bitter but very nutritious. I like to eat it with eggs some times.
Here is some info about Bitter melon that I picked out from wikipedia:
Bitter melon is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea.Bitter melons stuffed with ground pork are served as a popular summer soup in the South.
Like most bitter-tasting foods, bitter melon stimulates digestion. Bitter melon is traditionally regarded by Asians, as well as Panamanians and Colombians, as useful for preventing and treating malaria.
Laboratory tests suggest that compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection and diabetes.
Curry Chicken made with coconut milk, curry powder, spices, chicken, and other ingredients
Curry Chicken with rice vermicelli noodles
Bitter melon stuffed with mushroom, pork meat, and noodles
Bitter Melon awaiting the pot
INGREDIENTS: (4 servings as part of a meal)
3 pieces of black (wood ear) mushroom, re-hydrated in warm water, and finely chopped
2/3 lb. ground pork
1 shallot, finely minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 egg
2 med/large bitter melon, cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch segments, removing spongy center and seeds
1 quart quality chicken stock
1 Tbl. fish sauce
1 small rock sugar cube or 1 tsp. raw sugar
STEPS:
Thoroughly combine the first 7 ingredients (black mushroom, pork, shallot, garlic, egg, S+P) in a bowl.
Equally divide and stuff the mixture among the bitter melon segments.
Bring chicken stock to a rolling boil and add the stuffed bitter melon.
Add the fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil.
Then, turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
At this point, the stuffing should be cooked through, the bitter melon should be tender and its color has changed from jade green to olive green.
Taste the soup and add more fish sauce if necessary. Serve with steamed rice.
Bon appétit!
Tasty Chomps rating !!!
5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!!
(because it was made with tender loving care of my parents)
on June 27 from 11 am – 7 pm
(Oviedo, FL) June 24, 2009 – — There’s a new taco in town and it’s time to party! On Saturday, June 27, Del Taco will celebrate the grand opening of its first Florida location with family entertainment such as face painting, games and prizes, free hot air balloon rides and a giant Macho Burrito that will be hand-made, cut and served at 5 pm. The new Del Taco is located at 3551 Dovera Drive in Oviedo.
The giant-sized replica of Del Taco’s popular Macho Burrito features 15 ov erlapping flour tortillas filled with beans made from scratch, taco meat, red and green sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and freshly grated cheddar cheese. The burrito will be assembled, then cut and served.
“We’re excited to celebrate our new Del Taco restaurant with the community and this giant burrito allows us to showcase Del Taco’s great tasting food and quality ingredients,” said Steve Ruff of Floridel, the Del Taco franchisee. “We look forward to opening more Del Taco’s in the Orlando area.
Del Taco operates 24 hours and serves a wide range of Mexican menu items such as tacos, burritos and quesadillas as well as burgers, fries and shakes.
Del Taco makes all menu items to order using fresh ingredients including freshly graded cheddar cheese, hand-made salsa, lard-free beans made from scratch and chicken grilled every hour. Across the country, Del Taco serves more than 3.5 million customers each week.
For more than 40 years, Del Taco has been offering menu items that appeal to a broad range of tastes with a strong emphasis on quality and value. The menu includes Mexican offerings of tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos as well as American favorites like hamburgers, fries and milk shakes. Each item is made to order with quality ingredients including lard-free beans made from scratch daily, real cheddar cheese grated on site, chicken grilled fresh every hour, hand-made salsa and fresh produce.
Del Taco operates or franchises more than 510 restaurants in 18 states. Additional information is available at www.deltaco.com.
# # #
We woke up one Saturday morning hankering for some good barbeque to chow on so we decided to head out to Oviedo to visit the recently opened Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit.
Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit is a national franchise based in Texas, most accurately called a fast-food place that serves barbeque. Chain barbeque places are almost always a disappointment and Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit would continue that general curve.
The decor here is as bland as some of its food. It’s lit by flourescent long tube lights which gives it a cafeteria like feeling and the ambiance is that of a dining room inside a K-mart.
You order your meal first at the counter, priced by the number of meats or cheaper if you get a sandwich.I ordered the two meats platter: sweet pork ribs and pulled pork with baked bbq beans and waffle fries for my sides. A few of my friends got the beef brisket and pulled pork with macaroni and cheese and waffle fries for their sides. They also serve spicy polish sausage, smoked chicken breast, and smoked turkey breast for meats and baked potato casserole (kind of like mashed potatoes) among others for their sides.
The food came out pretty fast and we began to chow down.
First, the bad:
The pulled pork was disappointingly bland and tasted like it was boiled, needing a lot of sauce to have any flavor at all. The baked beans and macaroni and cheese were both also lacking in flavor and tasted like they came out of a can/box.
Now, the good:
The sweet pork ribs were succulent and juicy falling off the bone. I enjoyed it the most out of the meal. There was a small ciabatta like roll that came with the meal and it was sweet and delicious and surprisingly warm and soft to the touch. I also mildly enjoyed the waffle fries but they seemed to have been sitting for a while.
My friend and fellow barbeque connoisseur Kha noted that the beef brisket was braised rather than smoked because of the lack of a colored ring around the meat which is typical of slow smoked barbeque. It tasted fine though.
Another of our friends Frank got the pulled pork sandwich and it was just okay.
They also have a huge pickle jar where you can get free pickles. Also as a consolation to the mediocre meal is a much-welcomed, free soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone on the way out.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!
3 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!
The rain started to fall across the Central Florida sky as I drove up to the parking lot of Chipotle on University Boulevard near UCF.
I looked around cautiously before approaching the short man standing next to his pickup truck, wondering quietly what did I get myself into this time.
I had met the man once before at a event at Jay Blanchard park; he came up and asked me if I liked dim sum, the Chinese brunch dishes. I said why of course…
He slipped me a piece of paper with his e-mail and said to write him because he sells dim sum . Ok…..
So here I was, after a few email exchanges, in the parking lot of Chipotle, as he takes out a ice cooler and opens it up. Inside are the dim sum pieces, frozen and wrapped in plastic trays.
I picked up the packages and brought them home to try for dinner using the steamer.
After about 15 minutes of steaming, they were ready.
First, I tried the ha gow, shrimp dumplings. The translucent shrimp dumplings were small and bite sized and tasted okay. I would rank it slightly above the frozen dim sum dumplings that you can buy at the asian markets.
Next were the siu mai dumplings. The siu mai tasted of minced shitake mushrooms and mixed pork and were slightly softer than I was accustomed to.
Overall It wasn’t the worst dim sum ever, but definitely not the best I ever had.
The man with the ice cooler of dim sum also had zhong or sticky rice dumpling wrapped in banana leaves as well as custard buns and other dishes. I might be coming back for that another time.
TASTY CHOMPS RATING
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Thai Basil
5800 Red Bug Lake Rd
This new animated film looks like its going to be a tasty chomp…
The new 3D animated film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, based on the children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett, follows young inventor Flint Lockwood. Flint invents a machine that turns rain into food and instantly solves the world’s hunger problems.
“Best Philly Cheesesteaks in Orlando!!”
It’s rare to find authentic food here in Central Florida, maybe because we are a city of transplants. Most of us have roots from somewhere else and came here to the city beautiful, and like Walt Disney did so many years ago, to make something of this once swampy wetland forest.
I heard about Brianto’s Original Hoagies and their notoriously good Philly cheese steaks from my friend Victor S. and after a few days of talking about it and checking the reviews for it online, we decided to give it a try and drive out to Avalon Park‘s Town Center to see what these Philly cheese steaks were all about.
The cheese steaks turned out to be, without a doubt, the best cheese steaks I’ve had in my life.
After driving allll the way down Avalon Park Boulevard, past the Publix, we found Brianto’s. Inside, the walls are adorned with photos of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team and sports memorabilia from decades gone by, thank-you plaques from local little leagues that have been beneficiaries of Brianto’s charitable giving, and a huge sign regarding the Philly way of “How to Order a Cheese steak” by I.M. Hungry “wit or wit-out” onions of course.
I order the 6″ Philly cheese steak roll ( $4.99) and my friend Victor S orders the 12″ Philly cheesesteak roll ($7.99) at the counter.
The man behind the counter slaps the sliced steak cuts onto the hot griddle and a few moments later adds the chopped onions to the mix. The steak slices sizzle and steam as they’re cooked.
Later, he adds our cheeses onto the steaks. Victor chooses cheez whiz, that infamous thick processed yellow-colored cheese sauce that has become popular among cheesesteak connoisseurs while I choose the more old-school sharp, and a bit healthier, provolone cheese.
You could also order the pizza steak, which comes with Steak, Marinara, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Cheese, or cheesesteak supreme with Steak, Onions, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, and Cheese, the Chicken Philly, Italian Hoagies, salads, and more.
The cheesesteaks and hoagies are served on authentically Philly-made Amoroso bread. The crispy, rich, golden brown Amoroso bread is specially shipped by air in to Brianto’s daily to ensure Brianto’s has the authentic taste of true Philly cheesesteaks and hoagies .
The cheese steaks arrive at our table wrapped in white paper, beckoning our curiousity and hunger to open them and ravage the contents within. After breaking the taped seal on the breads, we unfold them out onto the table.
Our mouths began to salivate at the aromatic smell of the melted cheese and hot steaks. It was a hot mess that lay out before us.
The first bite: a delicate, delicious balance of cheese, steak, and bread combined to perfection and made with the finest ingredients that there could be and made with the great care and attentiveness as if by some great Philly cheesesteak master. It was divine.
My 6in was enough to get me full and the 12 inch was definitely more than enough for Victor, it was hard to imagine that the large is actualy 18 inches, a full 1.5 foot long.
Truly Philadelphia: Brianto’s also has a stockpile of direct-from-Philly Tasty Kakes cupcakes and pies as well as Herr’s potato chips found in Philadelphia.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!
5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS
Brianto’s Original Hoagies
12001 Avalon Lake Drive.
Orlando, FL32828
Phone: (407)382-2667
http://www.briantos.com/
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