Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Every time I get caught up, I manage to fall behind again. I went to Dumpling Kitchen early on this year. I don't even remember why I was in SF, and how we ended up here. Maybe it was CAAM? I honestly don't remember anymore. Luckily, I do remember the food. After parking a few blocks away (parking can be tricky on the weekends in this neighborhood), I had a feeling of deja vu. It had been a while since I went to Shanghai Dumpling King, but the walk there, the road, the trolley, and the facade of the restaurant were very similar (yes, I know, the signs are different colors). It had been over a year so I started to question if I had actually been here before. Both restaurants have Shanghainese style food, but when the food came out, Dumpling Kitchen really stood out to me for the pork belly, and the pan fried dumplings.  "Braised Pork Belly With Preserved Vegetable" - super tender, and definitely recommend trying if you're in the neighborhood! ...

While I have a sizable list of my own for places I want to dine at in New Orleans, I am not one to discount suggestions from like minded friends. One of my friends, when I told her I had gone to Shaya , sent me a link to  a YouTube video of another New Orleans chef who ate there. She said that because of this particular video , she wanted to try Shaya. Because of that video, I wanted to try Compère Lapin! It jumped to the top of my list. On the Compère Lapin website, if you have a party over 5, you have to call to make a reservation. We didn't get the exact time we wanted, but it was still at a reasonable dinner hour (6:30pm).  I definitely felt the pressure for my fellow dining companions to also enjoy the meal. I am happy to report that everyone seemed overall happy with dinner though! The majority of my fellow dining companions also tried something new, which is always a plus for me. Am I the only one who has that dilemma when being tasked with picking a...

Hands down my favorite place to get pork belly over rice in Taipei - 金峰. When my cousin first introduced it to me she said the reviews all said it "tastes like heaven." This was at least seven or eight years ago. Since then I have gone every trip (close to annual) and have either eaten it there or taken it to go. When it's very busy, they'll combine stray diners with each other at the same table. Otherwise, you and your party get your own small steel table. Eating there is best since the food is served hot. If you take it to go, you run the chance of it cooling enough that it isn't as good. Sometimes it's worth it though. For me, it depends on my mood. Sometimes on a hot night it's actually cooler outside in the big open area at CKS Memorial. The pork belly here is my favorite because they have such a good blend of lean and fat meat. The flavor is perfect also. Not too sweet like some of the other shops. It's one of those foods where if you haven...

One of my favorite comfort foods is pork belly over rice. It's called 魯肉飯 in Chinese, but in English I just refer to it as pork belly rice. It's pork belly stewed for hours to get it extra tender. Other items can be stewed in there also which are great like eggs, bamboo, tofu, or seaweed. The ones in the States, for reasons I just don't understand, use ground pork. There's less flavor when not using the pork belly. In Taiwan though, pork belly is primarily used, and it's delicious. On a random day off while I lived in Longtan, I took the bus from one end to the other (Longtan to Zhongli). The ride itself is about 35-45 minutes depending on traffic. If you are already in Zhongli, then it's much easier for you to reach. It's about 3 blocks away from the Pacific Sogo Mall, and two blocks away from a big movie theater.  The main thing they are known for here are the stewed pigs feet. I had just walked by one day and gave it a try. Every time I passed by, it...