The things I discover when I’m listless.
Someone’s making a list of every food mentioned in Harry Potter books, from gillyweed (so you can grow gills and swim like a fish) to butterbeer to rotten-egg-flavored jelly beans. And the list-maker is actually conducting Harry Potter-themed cooking classes. I can’t think of a better way to get kids interested in cooking.
Meanwhile, chef Anthony Bourdain, host of No Reservations, one of the best food shows on TV (what can I say? I love his style, foul language included), says Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen on Fox network is “grotesque.” Hmmm, most everything on Fox is grotesque including its editorialized news and soap opera style coverage.
But back to Bourdain, he thinks he can spend the rest of his life doing TV food shows in China and not run of places to visit. The idea alone makes me drool.
Sigh. I so love Chinese food. I can eat dim sum and dumplings everyday for a year and I won’t complain.
The day before we left Taiwan, I stayed behind at the hotel because I felt too sick to go out (the heat! the heat!). After digesting the not-too-great buffet breakfast at the hotel, I knew I would have to go and eat out or buy take out unless I was willing to pay for room service which I wasn’t. When the sun started to go down, I thought it was okay to go out. My, bad — my nose bled while walking and trying to decide what I wanted to eat. I saw a small store selling dumplings, pointed to two items, waited until they were packed then I walked back to the hotel. Air-conditioning never felt so good.
Of course, what really happened was that I bought too much food. And when the group got back from the city tour (museums), my roommate had more food for me — tea food. I feasted, refusing to feel sorry for myself that I missed the city tour. Actually, the dumplings — eaten in the comfort of an air-conditioned room — weren’t such a bad substitute.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
pinayhekmi 07.27.07 at 9:11 pm
Before I got pregnant, and decided I needed more variety and sustenance in my diet, I was on a roll eating pan-fried shrimp dumplings and white rice for lunch almost everyday at work. Mmmm….shrimp dumplings.
auee 07.27.07 at 10:32 pm
oohh I miss the President even more…
Asawa ko naman kasi ka-tamad umalis ng bahay. 7 years in London and I’ve never been to Chinatown!
Connie 07.28.07 at 1:39 am
O di ba Pinayhekmi, pwedeng pang everyday ang dumplings. hehehehe
Auee, you mean no Chinese food for 7 years?? Maloloka yata ako nun.
mommy m 07.28.07 at 3:47 am
Duuumplings…..You should have tried the juicy dumplings in Taiwan. I have tried them (not in Taiwan, though), but hubby says if I think they’re good, they’re much, much better at the original branch in Taiwan.
Regarding Harry Potter food, funny, I found me some Bertie Botts beans. Tried them, they were gross. I still have a box and I don’t know what to do with it. =)
Photo cache 07.28.07 at 7:47 am
My husband and I love Tony Bourdain, way back to his Food Channel days. He is amazing. When time permits, I will read his books. I wonder why he has never gone to PI for the show? Nice blog.
rolly 07.28.07 at 10:57 am
I agree with everything you said in this post. Bourdain is not just a cook but a great writer and tv host as well. As for Gordon Ramsay and his show, that is no cooking show. I wonder how the cooks there can stand all those insults in front of the camera. I would have thrown the whole kitchen to that guy had it been me. Fox? I’ve seen Bob O’ Riley and how he lambasts his guests, not giving them time to talk at all…
As for dumplings, enough said!
Connie 07.28.07 at 11:36 am
mommy m, i want to try the shanghai street version of the dumplings.
Photo Cache, maybe he needs a reason to go. If the diversity of regional cooking in China fascinates him, he’ll have a grand time here.
Tito Rolly, re Gordon Ramsay: Why do contestants in American Idol and all its offshoots take the abuse and insults? Ramsay’s show follows the same principle. The freaking concept of reality TV which is not reality at all.
Mary 07.28.07 at 11:40 am
Hi Ms. Connie,
DH *loves* Anthony Bourdain since his old show at Food Network. Of course now he loves Andrew Zimmern too. LOL
mmmm, dumplings!!!
KK 07.28.07 at 11:46 am
I like Anthony Bourdain’s style too. I’m just wondering why he hasn’t gone to the Philippines yet. Bizarre Foods went to the Phils already.
Anyways, I didn’t know there were so many styles of dumplings. Ang alam ko lang noon, siomai. Until I was introduced to a Chinese restaurant who has special dumplings on Saturdays. Pero siopao from the Philippines(Chinese food with a Filipino touch) is still the best! I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Connie 07.28.07 at 1:48 pm
Hi Mary, I read that he had “problems” with the management of Food Network. hehehe He values his independence and I salute him for that.
KK, even in Binondo’s Chinatown, you will find dozens of different kinds of dumplings. Kaya madalang kami pumunta dun eh, nasisira diet ng asawa ko hahahahaha
chateau 07.28.07 at 11:51 pm
We love dumplings, we love dumplings (10x)
hahaha. There’s a Taiwanese-owned store along Araneta Ave QC that sells frozen dumplings by the kilo. I forgot how much exactly since it’s hub who buys our stocks, basta mura and super sarap. My kids can probably devour a kilo in one day. I also make my own dumplings when I’m in a good cooking mood. oh, and when I find good dumpling wrappers pala - so hard to find.
Rach 07.29.07 at 12:20 am
I love dumplings and don’t mind eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one day.
Kongkong622 07.29.07 at 12:24 am
Gloria maris….gloria maris….gloria maris….nuff said
C 07.29.07 at 12:35 am
If Bourdain ever gets to the Philippines, I’d like him to go to the mountain province and experience the Igorot ritual of bleeding the chicken to death before its cooked. I’m sure PETA is going to go ballistic and try to shut down the show. Tony’s ‘A Cook’s Tour’ was one of the best shows in Food Network. He doesn’t have anything good to say about Rachel Ray and Emeril and I really don’t blame him. That’s probably why he’s out of the network, he didn’t want to be associated with the rest of the Food Network ’stars’.
Connie, Zimmern is showing his stint in Taiwan next week. I don’t know if you ever get his ‘Bizaare Food’ show but if you do, please try to catch it, just to get a walk down memory lane.
I’m biased but I believe Asian cuisine is the best in the world. I mean shows like Bourdain and Zimmern validate this fact. They are practically drooling when they talk about Asian cuisine–bizaare or not.
delish 07.29.07 at 6:13 pm
i don’t think i can eat dumplings for a year… and i think i’ve somehow stopped eating them when i got preggy
Mila 07.30.07 at 9:06 am
Hi Connie, so glad to know there are dumpling lovers out there. I lived in China for two years to study, and after coming back to Manila, missed the northern dumplings the most (jiao zi). The only place in Binondo that comes close is Dong Bei. If you go with Ivan Dy on his walking tours, he’s brought a lot of folks over there. If you get someone who speaks Mandarin with you, ask for the real authentic northern (Shandong style) food and the owners will cook up great tidbits for you. Sigh. I’ll probably go back to Beijing after all the Olympics hoopla is over. It won’t be the same as it was 13 years ago, but the dumplings will be worth going back for.
Connie 07.30.07 at 10:20 am
Uy Chats, san sa Araneta? Speedy found a store in Banawe that sells all kinds of cooked Chinese food, including roast chicken.
C, I only saw a Rachael Ray show once and never did again. Ang baboy ng itsura ng food nya ha. Re Asian food: I think Asian food is the best in the world too and I don’t think I’m biased hehehehe
Mila, food is a universal language, isn’t it? And where is Dong Bei in Binondo, exactly? Someone mentioned a small restaurant at the corner or Ortigas and Santolan too…
chateau 07.30.07 at 10:29 am
Connie, the shop is called Shuin. It’s on the stretch of Araneta Ave between Quezon Ave and Roosevelt. Coming from Q.Ave, it’s on the right side, beside Garcia’s Meat Store. They also sell roast duck that they make themselves, hit na hit pag Chinese New Year. Punta ka sa likod, you’ll see rows and rows of hanging ducks!
luthien 07.31.07 at 11:10 pm
i’m still dreaming about the dumplings we ate…kung makakabalik ako taiwan, babalikan ko talaga yun. grabe san kaya ako makakahanap nun dito?
me sinasabi si emerson where i can eat the best noodles here in the metro but can’t remember where the hell it is or even the name of the resto.
Connie 08.01.07 at 12:47 am
Thanks, Chats. That’s quite near Speedy’s office. Mautusan nga.
Luthien, Julie said there’s a small resto on the corner of Ortigas and Santolan. I’m gonna find that one hehehe
chateau 08.02.07 at 6:34 pm
It has just occurred to me that the resto on Ortigas cor. Santolan might just be Mien San? (though not really on the corner, about a few blocks away pa). We used to go there for our dumplings and noodles fix when we lived in San Juan. And a few doors away is a Taiwanese specialty store.
Ay, sorry, the pork dumplings at Shuin are not by kilo-packs, but by 30s pala @ P100 or thereabouts. Mura pa rin.
Connie 08.02.07 at 7:21 pm
Yah I think that’s the name! We have to find it LOL
Re dumplings. 30 for P100 - that’s P3 per piece. Super mura nga. Thanks, thanks. Papakita ko kay Speedy comment thread. Last thread he read was the the bra discussion hahahaha
Gracie 08.07.07 at 11:06 pm
I love dumplings!!!!! especially dumplings at City Hall in H.K.. yumyum!! miss it!