Our chariot awaited for an ASIAN 'hop'.....
all the way through to our SUGAR 'high' stop.
Our day unfolded very leisurely as we set out from an Asian eatery...
to grocery stores...kitchenware boutiques as well as candy and baked goods shops.
This was another outing I was really looking forward to adventuring through.
Our very first meet up point was going to be one of Montreal's oldest district.
Here is where most immigrants from various ethnicities initially landed and formed what is today called Chinatown.
After all, who better than with a foodie to share these animated, colourful streets to hop around looking for reasonably priced oriental items:
moon cake molds, dishware, tea pots and other tantalizing treats ;o)
moon cake molds, dishware, tea pots and other tantalizing treats ;o)
Although Evelyne had planned to shop a little first...
our plans got deviated because I had an incredible need to use the wee room.
Being stuck in morning traffic longer than imagined can certainly create that desperate need.
All this road construction in our lovely city better lead to a much improved environment.
Therefore, Evelyne and I figured that lunch was to be eaten a little sooner.
I certainly didn't mind since my breakfast was cut short that morning.
Luckily, her restaurant selection was footsteps from the parking lot.
In we went and got quickly seated.
No sooner after ordering for one of their specialty duck meals...
she enthusiastically offered me a small Buddha figurine.
I somewhat interpreted this gift as a reminder of how far I'd come into my...
'awakening' and 'enlightenment' through my experimental culinary journey.
It's always nice when someone recognizes your qualities of 'generosity' and 'truthfulness'.
This will undoubtedly lead me to the greater and wiser path I baby-step towards ;o)
I haven't quite achieved the art of complete 'discipline' and 'endurance' as the Buddha
has accomplished...however, it's always something to strive for and look forward to.
Thank you Evelyne for this symbolic gesture.
After a meal, I do look forward to a yummy dessert.
It's very rare for me not to order something sweet to finish off my experience with a satisfying smile.
That day, things turned out slightly differently.
Lucky for me, I got to sample a chunk of one of my favourite childhood pleasures:
‘Sugar Sponge’ (I call it Sponge Toffee Crunch).
This was a great treat which Evelyne had made during her preparations for the Food Buzz competition.
I can't begin to tell you how ecstatic I was!
***
After our bellies were fed a good base...
off we went shopping for some...
ordinary and some not so ordinary products and items.
I was in great need of a new Herbal / Tea pot...
and Chinatown was a perfect place to content me at a very reasonable price ;o)
No sooner after ordering for one of their specialty duck meals...
she enthusiastically offered me a small Buddha figurine.
I somewhat interpreted this gift as a reminder of how far I'd come into my...
'awakening' and 'enlightenment' through my experimental culinary journey.
It's always nice when someone recognizes your qualities of 'generosity' and 'truthfulness'.
This will undoubtedly lead me to the greater and wiser path I baby-step towards ;o)
I haven't quite achieved the art of complete 'discipline' and 'endurance' as the Buddha
has accomplished...however, it's always something to strive for and look forward to.
Thank you Evelyne for this symbolic gesture.
After a meal, I do look forward to a yummy dessert.
It's very rare for me not to order something sweet to finish off my experience with a satisfying smile.
That day, things turned out slightly differently.
Lucky for me, I got to sample a chunk of one of my favourite childhood pleasures:
‘Sugar Sponge’ (I call it Sponge Toffee Crunch).
This was a great treat which Evelyne had made during her preparations for the Food Buzz competition.
I can't begin to tell you how ecstatic I was!
***
After our bellies were fed a good base...
off we went shopping for some...
ordinary and some not so ordinary products and items.
I was in great need of a new Herbal / Tea pot...
and Chinatown was a perfect place to content me at a very reasonable price ;o)
As for myself...
the ordinary and known vegetables were...
Chinese Broccoli and baby Bok Choy...
which are greens I love to make dishes with.
Here's one vegetable I used with an estrogens supplying kick in mind:
' Curry Tofu Bok Choy with
Mung Bean noodles '
I had quickly put this together with the following loosely mentioned ingredients:
A base of caramelized onions, fennel, carrots, chickpeas and bok choy sautéed with some 'silken' tofu.
All was enhanced with a sauce consisting of: pineapple juice, rice vinegar, curry paste, black bean garlic paste...
all creamed over by coconut milk!
This dish turned out incredibly delicious. A definite make over and a promise to properly record the recipe next time ;)
The not so ordinary foods which I was not familiar with were:
* Jujube fruit *
* Thai eggplants *
* Tamarind pods *
* purple Sweet potato *
First and foremost, I'll start with the Jujube fruit...
a game and small apologetic confession.
Here, I'll explain...
it all started when Evelyne was attracted to these mysterious Chinese fruits.
She had grabbed a big bag of them and insisted I bring some home and try them.
The next day, I cut into it, sniffed it and took a tiny hesitant bite.
Yes, that's how I get when something is unfamiliar to me...I trek carefully.
Only my travels are more adventurous than my palate...go figure!?!
Anyhow, it turns out that I was going to be pleasantly surprised after all.
This small, elongated rounded fruit tasted somewhat like a cross between...
an apple and a pear with a stone interior similar to one of dates.
I for one am looking forward to what Evelyne dug up on her mystery fruit.
Why wait and not look it up myself you wonder?
It's really to respect the results from a very interesting
food game Evelyne engages in.
In short, she gets attracted to a food she's never tried...
takes note of the given name...
and later scopes out some info on the product.
Ultimately...she then creates a dish with it.
Upon hearing her view, I thought it was a fantastic idea!
After all, my 'Hubby' does always call me the 'Claudia Curiosa'...
and I think I'll start playing that game too once and a while.
Thanks for the small enlightenment Evelyne ;o)
Now...for the small apologetic confession part.
That day...I did come close to ruining her fun.
As I was leaving the store, the grocer whispered to me what this Asian fruit was.
Then, in conversation, I had inadvertently passed on the info to Evelyne.
I was initially stumped about how this came out and...
believe it or not, it lingered until the next day.
It was only when she emailed me with great news that I felt a sense of relief.
She informed me that the grocer had somewhat misled me.
Phew...I was incredibly relieved because I had felt terrible...
about ruining her amusing food scavenger hunt ;o)
The lesson here is to maintain the fun aspect to food.
Maybe, now, when you see a foreign looking food...
you'll be less intimidated because you'll be able to play the same guessing game.
You will not only inform yourself about something new...
you'll hopefully be able to incorporate a sure needed change in your menu ;o)
So, until I get the complete goods on Jujubes...
I went ahead and cooked up a very tasty...
Jujube, Pineapple and Berry compote sauce.
Some fresh pineapple, raspberries and squash, along with these Asian fruits...
and voila...another 'newness' in my kitchen that was put to great use at breakfast ;o)
Now, for my 'coup de coeur'...
which happened when my eyes landed on adorable mini pumpkin looking...
Thai (a.k.a. Makua) eggplants.
Of course...it was love at first sight.
How appropriate to have been able to find these around Halloween festivities.
As I bought them...I started having big plans for these small beauties!
Unfortunately my plans were short lived.
I had enthusiastically prepared ingredients to go with stuffing these eggplants.
I also made sure to steam the eggplants so that they could keep as much of their color integrity as possible.
I had sliced the tops to keep as decor and then started scooping the flesh.
I then remembered reading that the tiny seeds should be discarded.
At about the fourth eggplant... I got curious about the taste!
Thank goodness I did because my meal would have been a major let down.
Is this what
'love at first sight'
results in?
Now...I don't want to discredit this variety of eggplant...
however, these were incredibly bitter and awful tasting!
Was this a rare event...bad seasonal timing or just a terrible batch?
Have any of you tried these?
Let me know what could have gone wrong.
***
Now, placing my attention to those surprisingly good Tamarind pods.
Evelyne had bought a big box of pods and insisted I try a few.
Truthfully, although I was intrigued, I wasn't quite sure if I'd really eat any part of it.
I had figured, at the very least they'd go well with my Autumnal table decor.
Since, she also lit an
extra spark of curiosity...
I went searching about this mysteriously, odd looking pod to find out what the heck I could use it for.
Afterwards, once, I had started dismantling the pod...
I got a better idea of what I was dealing with!
After a small taste of the paste surrounding the stone seeds...
I happily concluded that I could certainly adapt this in my Asian-Italian style meal creations ;o)
The flavours imparted by the Tamarind paste are somewhat like a blend of...
dried apricots, dates and prunes with a slightly added acidic zing.
Armed with that info...
I went right ahead and used the Tamarind paste in an
oriental dish lightly inspired by one of my very old recipe books.
I also named this creation:
'Oriental Tamarind Coconut Chicken' on a bed of Chinese Broccoli.
It turned out so amazing that even 'Hubby' who usually turns...
his nose away from anything coconut, loved this dish.
Imagine, he also extended his approval of adding...
more coconut milk next time around.
Wow, what a turn of events...
I'm slowly getting Hubby to see things my way ;o))
Yippee, because I love coconut!
*** Which brings me to the next successful blend of ingredients ***
The main ingredients that were used:
Chinese Broccoli and Chicken thighs.
The sauce mix consisted of:
Tamarind paste, Tomato paste, Soya sauce, Coconut milk and a little water.
Note: Since I was eye-balling every ingredient...I only had the time to scribble notes.
It was so delicious that it's definitely a re-make and I promise to record this recipe at a later time.
the ordinary and known vegetables were...
Chinese Broccoli and baby Bok Choy...
which are greens I love to make dishes with.
Here's one vegetable I used with an estrogens supplying kick in mind:
' Curry Tofu Bok Choy with
Mung Bean noodles '
I had quickly put this together with the following loosely mentioned ingredients:
A base of caramelized onions, fennel, carrots, chickpeas and bok choy sautéed with some 'silken' tofu.
All was enhanced with a sauce consisting of: pineapple juice, rice vinegar, curry paste, black bean garlic paste...
all creamed over by coconut milk!
This dish turned out incredibly delicious. A definite make over and a promise to properly record the recipe next time ;)
The not so ordinary foods which I was not familiar with were:
* Jujube fruit *
* Thai eggplants *
* Tamarind pods *
* purple Sweet potato *
First and foremost, I'll start with the Jujube fruit...
a game and small apologetic confession.
Here, I'll explain...
it all started when Evelyne was attracted to these mysterious Chinese fruits.
She had grabbed a big bag of them and insisted I bring some home and try them.
The next day, I cut into it, sniffed it and took a tiny hesitant bite.
Yes, that's how I get when something is unfamiliar to me...I trek carefully.
Only my travels are more adventurous than my palate...go figure!?!
Anyhow, it turns out that I was going to be pleasantly surprised after all.
This small, elongated rounded fruit tasted somewhat like a cross between...
an apple and a pear with a stone interior similar to one of dates.
I for one am looking forward to what Evelyne dug up on her mystery fruit.
Why wait and not look it up myself you wonder?
It's really to respect the results from a very interesting
food game Evelyne engages in.
In short, she gets attracted to a food she's never tried...
takes note of the given name...
and later scopes out some info on the product.
Ultimately...she then creates a dish with it.
Upon hearing her view, I thought it was a fantastic idea!
After all, my 'Hubby' does always call me the 'Claudia Curiosa'...
and I think I'll start playing that game too once and a while.
Thanks for the small enlightenment Evelyne ;o)
Now...for the small apologetic confession part.
That day...I did come close to ruining her fun.
As I was leaving the store, the grocer whispered to me what this Asian fruit was.
Then, in conversation, I had inadvertently passed on the info to Evelyne.
I was initially stumped about how this came out and...
believe it or not, it lingered until the next day.
It was only when she emailed me with great news that I felt a sense of relief.
She informed me that the grocer had somewhat misled me.
Phew...I was incredibly relieved because I had felt terrible...
about ruining her amusing food scavenger hunt ;o)
The lesson here is to maintain the fun aspect to food.
Maybe, now, when you see a foreign looking food...
you'll be less intimidated because you'll be able to play the same guessing game.
You will not only inform yourself about something new...
you'll hopefully be able to incorporate a sure needed change in your menu ;o)
So, until I get the complete goods on Jujubes...
I went ahead and cooked up a very tasty...
Jujube, Pineapple and Berry compote sauce.
Some fresh pineapple, raspberries and squash, along with these Asian fruits...
and voila...another 'newness' in my kitchen that was put to great use at breakfast ;o)
which happened when my eyes landed on adorable mini pumpkin looking...
Thai (a.k.a. Makua) eggplants.
Of course...it was love at first sight.
How appropriate to have been able to find these around Halloween festivities.
As I bought them...I started having big plans for these small beauties!
Unfortunately my plans were short lived.
I had enthusiastically prepared ingredients to go with stuffing these eggplants.
I also made sure to steam the eggplants so that they could keep as much of their color integrity as possible.
I had sliced the tops to keep as decor and then started scooping the flesh.
I then remembered reading that the tiny seeds should be discarded.
At about the fourth eggplant... I got curious about the taste!
Thank goodness I did because my meal would have been a major let down.
Is this what
'love at first sight'
results in?
Now...I don't want to discredit this variety of eggplant...
however, these were incredibly bitter and awful tasting!
Was this a rare event...bad seasonal timing or just a terrible batch?
Have any of you tried these?
Let me know what could have gone wrong.
***
Evelyne had bought a big box of pods and insisted I try a few.
Truthfully, although I was intrigued, I wasn't quite sure if I'd really eat any part of it.
I had figured, at the very least they'd go well with my Autumnal table decor.
Since, she also lit an
extra spark of curiosity...
I went searching about this mysteriously, odd looking pod to find out what the heck I could use it for.
Afterwards, once, I had started dismantling the pod...
I got a better idea of what I was dealing with!
After a small taste of the paste surrounding the stone seeds...
I happily concluded that I could certainly adapt this in my Asian-Italian style meal creations ;o)
The flavours imparted by the Tamarind paste are somewhat like a blend of...
dried apricots, dates and prunes with a slightly added acidic zing.
I went right ahead and used the Tamarind paste in an
oriental dish lightly inspired by one of my very old recipe books.
I also named this creation:
'Oriental Tamarind Coconut Chicken' on a bed of Chinese Broccoli.
It turned out so amazing that even 'Hubby' who usually turns...
his nose away from anything coconut, loved this dish.
Imagine, he also extended his approval of adding...
more coconut milk next time around.
Wow, what a turn of events...
I'm slowly getting Hubby to see things my way ;o))
Yippee, because I love coconut!
*** Which brings me to the next successful blend of ingredients ***
The main ingredients that were used:
Chinese Broccoli and Chicken thighs.
The sauce mix consisted of:
Tamarind paste, Tomato paste, Soya sauce, Coconut milk and a little water.
Note: Since I was eye-balling every ingredient...I only had the time to scribble notes.
It was so delicious that it's definitely a re-make and I promise to record this recipe at a later time.
***
Now, onto my small fascination with the solely purchased purple Sweet potato.
I had wondered if the color would come through properly after cooking it...
and YES it actually did!
It must have been my insistence on keeping the potato whole...
and steaming it instead of using any other cooking method.
I had managed to maintain the integrity of this gorgeous royal color.
Therefore, I decided to honour our highness with this delectable...seafood platter:
A blend of Matane shrimp, marinated oyster mushrooms,
pickled ginger, avocado and olive oil.
The bed of boston lettuce nestled the rest of the...
sliced royal purple sweet potato and rolls of smoked salmon...
all drizzled with homemade ginger syrup.
***
Our short time in China town was over for this leg of our day together.
It was now time to head over to our SUGAR stops on another side of town...
located on Monkland avenue in the N.D.G. district of Montreal.
Evelyne had found a candy shop named 'Sparkles' which ended up providing us with some goodies to bring back home but unfortunately lacked big time in appreciation towards their customers. Although most of my favourite chocolate covered raisins, coffee beans and hazelnuts were found at this shop...I will not step foot in there ever again. I know this may sound harsh, however, this is after all a candy shop...not a stuffy bank that turns their nose up when Food bloggers ask to take photos to share with others. Enough said! Oh, BTW, this is not to say that the sales girls were not pleasant. They probably were the only reason that we didn't just walk out empty handed.
Alright...onto a more pleasant visit across the street to a cupcake shop called...
'Petits Gateaux'.
They had a lovely lady who
was incredibly sweet and generous
with her time as well as offering us an adorable mini cupcake as a tasty sample of their colourful selections.
Since my palate was quite pleased with this small cake...
I decided to grab half a dozen and bring them home to Hubby.
Unfortunately, at our further sampling of the cupcakes...Hubby and I remained slightly and surprisingly disappointed.
with her time as well as offering us an adorable mini cupcake as a tasty sample of their colourful selections.
Since my palate was quite pleased with this small cake...
I decided to grab half a dozen and bring them home to Hubby.
Unfortunately, at our further sampling of the cupcakes...Hubby and I remained slightly and surprisingly disappointed.
Therefore...sorry, here I go again...
although the one sample we ate at the shop was very tasty and fresh...
the others I brought home felt like two day old baked goods.
I truly feel that when in the business of selling cupcakes...
moist and tasty...is what is sought after. Am I asking too much?
moist and tasty...is what is sought after. Am I asking too much?
I will however, give them another chance if I find myself
in the areas of one of their two locations again.
This might just have been one of those unfortunate days.
This might just have been one of those unfortunate days.
At this point we were almost ready to call it a day...
until we crossed the street to discover 'Cuisine Gourmet Monkland'.
This specialty shop was a real gem for seekers of...
dining ware and especially kitchen supplies.
dining ware and especially kitchen supplies.
The professionally run boutique was owned by an...
extremely charming and helpful person...how refreshing!
This is where Evelyne found her donut cutter for her upcoming...
'Daring Bakers' challenge and where I finally...
found my forever sought after Madeleine pan...
more on this small obsession in a later post for sure ;o)
***
It was time to bring Evelyne back home.
We briefly spoke of another possible meet up.
It would either be a supper with other...
Montreal Food Bloggers or...
to the upcoming charitable...
Cupcake camp Montreal event.
***
I totally encourage you to get together...
with a Foodie near you.
Hop and go through fun stops and maybe...
get enlightened at the same time like I did ;o)
All in all...once again,
our Foodie date was a real treat.
Flavourful wishes,
Foodessa
Posts
57 comments:
A day spent with a fellow foodie is a day well spent. Looks like the two of you had an adventure. This is the second time today I have heard about jujubes so they are now on my radar.
What a lovely tour through parts of Montreal. I think a full day devoted to culinary exploits will yield some hits and misses. Thai eggplant is prevalent here during the growing season. I've had luck with them in a stir fry and slicing and baking them. Now, the cupcakes - shame on them. They need to be "worth the calories." Loving the use of Tamarind paste - but what I love the absolute most is a day spent with a fellow blogger.
I've been to China Town in San Fran and what a wonderful treat. Didn't realize Montreal had a China Town. What a great post full of wonderful culture.
A great foodie get together! You seem to have had a wonderful day.
Lovely food, company and visit!
Cheers,
Rosa
Claudia, where do I start! And with all going on in my life you totally beat me to blogging about it first lol.
I am so happy to have put you in a position ?? of buying and trying so many new exotic foods. Everyone reading this will be flabbergasted by the array of new foods. Just WOW, I am so pour of you grasshopper lol! And I'll steal your Jujube recipe pic for my post as I never cooked with them but I did some interesting research. I hope to see a madeliene recipe here soon too.
Thank you again for an amazing day in wonderful company. It is always so much fun. And I also totally encourage you all to do the same.
Oh yeah, cupcake camp this wkd! Let's email each other.
Big hugs Claudia xoxox, Evelyne
Claudia darling, wish I could have been there with you two, I love Asian food, markets, etc, etc. Miami is the first city I've lived in without a Chinatown! Asian residents are not as prevalent as Latins, not many restaurants or groceries!
Never saw those little eggplants but have seen the small long purple and white ones. These seem more fiddly then they are worth.
Purple sweet potato I've had and love (love that photo!) as well as using tamarind quite often in Asian cooking. It's quite sour so usually I put some sugar with it. Tamarind is one of the main ingredients in the stir fry sauce for pad Thai noodles and also for Worcestershire sauce, so you can most definitely use it as a part of a marinade for steaks and meats. I mostly buy it in block form where you soften it by soaking in hot water and then using the liquid.
Finally, there is nothing worse than bakery goods that are not fresh! C ya Claudia!
@ Laura (LaDivaCucina)...after reading your comment...I realized that I need to look into Tamarind a little more. I didn't know that there was a block form of it.
Quite frankly...the paste was slightly sweet and didn't taste too sour to me...maybe it's because the pods were fairly fresh.
Thanks for passing by and for the great ideas ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Claudia, I love Thai food and the flavor profile for that style of cooking includes sour, sweet, savory and salty. The tamarind is in many stir fries and Thai dishes and along with lime, makes up the sour component.
The Latins use tamarind too and in fact drink it as a juice. I'm not sure what Latin dishes it is in though! Sometimes I cheat and buy the juice to use for stir fries as a short cut instead of the actual tamarind paste as it is already watered down and has sugar in it!
What lovely and nice pictures dear Claudia look awesome all!
I think you had a lovely and nice day, xxx gloria
What an exotic range of dishes!
I am in love with this post! Where do I sign up for these outings? :)
I would absolutely love to spend the day with a fellow foodie! Your meet-up looks like it was so much fun. Evelyne's Sugar Sponge looks wonderful (it's one of my childhood favorites too ;) ). The jujube fruit sounds so interesting, I would love to find that in a market around here!
Claudia, it certainly looks as though you had a wonderful day. I just love trawling through different food markets, too!
I love spending time with people that love and appreciate food as much as I do! It sounds like you had such an interesting day sampling and learning more about all that this wonderful world has to offer! Thank you for always creating such rich posts...I can find myself wanting to spend the whole afternoon looking at your pictures and reading your words! Thank you for sharing, love. May peace and beauty shower down this week!
Claudia, Looks and sounds like you and Ev had a blast and the food looks great - loving that sugar sponge! BTW, I'm blushing from your sweet compliment. However, I really do think it's just a souffle thing LOL
Claudia it's always great when you are around with friends of same interest! I enjoyed every bit of of your foodie date! I loved those royal purple potatoes, those little eggplants and Thai tamarind. Your Oriental Tamarind Coconut Chicken' dish is also mouthwatering!
I wish some day you visit India or I visit your country and we meet on a foodie date to explore the royal lanes of delicious delicacies!
Love Always
What a fabulous journey through Montreal! I love that eggplant and the sponge candy. Delcious looking everything is...I know nothing about thai foods, I just love the bok choy looks wonderful! Wow what a post, you amaze me everytime I come here marvelous pictures as usual!
Claudia,
I was touched by your worry and sensitivity about spoiling your foodie friend's fun. I appreciate your sensitivity and have seen it in your comments.I love that about you. The first time I saw a fresh jujube was in the front of the Ferry Building at San Francisco.I had bought a bag of dried ones and they tasted like dates... so I expected the fresh ones to be like plums! But, no! So different. And, as I adored (unfortunately) candied jujubes, I was curious. I would have never thought to cook with them, and enjoyed seeing you embraced your friend's "game". I really like that idea, too. I always buy one of anything new I see to taste it. Such fun. I love adventures with like minded people and have also engaged in "blind dates" with some local foodies and bloggers. They have always reaped such incredible rewards. Thank you for sharing!
:)
Valerie
What a fun day you had! Trying everything....some good, some not so good. That's what I like to do...taste everything. You never know when you'll discover something you love.
What a fun time exploring food with a fellow foodie Claudia! You made some delicious things with your finds. The compote sounds lovely and I am a big fan of tamarind! It is in one of my favorite dishes Pad Thai. You did a great job cooking up all these new things.
Wow! Great photos and thanks for sharing the info. What a fun day. I'm jealous.
Plan B
what a wonderful post. sounds like you had a blast:)lovely pictures..they are making my hungry now.
What a fabulous day you had. You've put jujubes back on my radar. I haven't had the for ten years or so. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
A day spent with a fellow foodie is fantastic and what an adventure the two of you . What a lovely tour through parts of Montreal, a city I've never been to.
Thai eggplant I find is only ever delish in green Thai curry :) What great flavors even though some were dearer than others :)
Thanks for sharing this foodie walk!
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Such a lovely idea-to spend the day with a fellow blogger exploring something you both enjoy together. You do have an eye for finding the exotic goodies and Chinatown is the perfect place for such exploits:) It's not easy reading your posts before lunch,LOL! The first time I saw tamarind pods was in Hawaii so I always think of them used in tropical dishes or in Pad Thai, which I love!
Well now I know who to call if ever the wife and I come to Montreal ;D
Your meals have great ingredients and all this before supper which I have no idea what to make. Now maybe I'll follow some of your guidelines.
Fab post as always Claudia.
Your friend Frank
Wow, I can only imagine how much fun you had with a foodie...so much to explore and from your post and pictures it sure was a nice experience. Thank you so much for sharing such a great time of yours :-)
Hey Claudia, how nice to spend a day with another foodie, how nice of her to present you with a buddha. The Sugar sponge looks wonderful, I will to head over to view this great recipe. Jujubes are new to me, but as you describe them as a mix between an apple and a pear I think my girls would enjoy these little fruits. Oh I am glad you tried tamarind, in mexico this is a common flavor and here at our house we flavor meats and make agua fresca. How disappointing the candy shop had a snooty approach and two day old cupcakes, now that's a sad. What a great day, I hope you will post about the cupcake camp..how fun..have a great week.
sweetlife
How fun an outing into Chinatown with a fellow foodie and you are getting all kinds of inspiration!
Weeat the jujube in Lebanon, fresh, when it is yellow-brown and crisp. I love it it is extremely nutritious unfortunately not known yet in the US.
Oh Claudia. I am sorry to hear about your disappointment with the Thai eggplants :( The only way I have eaten them is in Thai green curry. Tiny ones hardly bigger than large peas simmered till quite tender in lots of coconut milk and green curry paste, along with chicken and garnished with fresh basil leaves. They were absolutely delicious!!
Thank you for the virtual tour of Montreal - sounds like you had a wonderful time. Btw - those jujubes look to me like fresh Chinese winter dates.
It looks like you had a great day! I loved all the pictures and new, exotic ingredients (some of which I've seen in the Thai grocery store earlier, but never dared to try myself ;)).
@ Denise...since you are the 3rd person to mention the delight of thai eggplants in a green thai curry...I can only conclude that I probably either bought them overly mature or that they were past their prime.
You have given me hope about trying them again one day. Thanks for your elaborate comment...helps me in my culinary journey ;o)
Have a great day to all,
Claudia
What a wonderful day out and a great foodie adventure. Its wonderful that you met someone who can introduce you to such unusual foods. I have to say, when I first tried tamirand, i wasn't feeling that into trying it. I thought it looked like a cat's poo LOL!!! It tasted better than that though, I'm happy to say. I love it as something called "imblee", which is an indian condiment (sort of like a tangy ketchup). Great with samosas and yogurt.
That was a beautiful china town. THank you for taking us along with you daaaahling.
*kisses* HH
HI Claudia! Loved going on the Asian Hop with you and Evelyn--plenty of high and lows, but a fun trip nonetheless---and that's the raison d'etre!
Glad you got the Tamarind--you'll find that it is indispensable in Asian, and Middle Eastern cooking---you will enjoy it in many applications.
oddly, I am rarely happy with cupcakes--either the cake is dry, or the ratio of frosting to cake is excessive.
Hope you enjoyed the Asian hop :)
How wonderful it is to have a fellow foodie friend to explore with...
I will check out her site too :)
As far as the Thai Eggplants, I did not have that experience at all but I am not sure. Also I did not remove the seeds or anything, maybe there are different varieties?
Anyway, overall sounds like a delightful day :)
Sorry, I just read the comments too...I am so backward, lol
I did not realize who Evelyne was, and I enjoy her site as well...
Anyway, lovely and fun post :)
it looks like you had way too much fun, and I had the same experience with those lovely little eggplants....they are much prettier than they taste...
I would have just headed for the sweet side of town!
Dennis
I need to take a ride on Chinatown is funny for foodies.
Is still opened Petits Gateaux? I'm going there right now :)
Cheers,
Gera
It sounds as if you and your friend had a fun filled foodie day! What an adventure you had- so many fabulous treats. :) (And I'm jealous of your madeleine pan.)
isn't it incredible to contemplate all the food out there that each of us know nothing about? it amazes me--i see something new everyday.
Ciao! Sounds like you had fun! The food looks soo good!! Enjoy your week!
What a fabulous post! I love your sense of adventure; I really love the purple sweet potatoes! Too bad about the candy shop. I think businesses should realize the power of food bloggers. It's definitely their loss.
Looks like a fun-filled day with great food! Love those cupcakes!!! Gorgeous photos:)
My head is spinning with all your discoveries! What a wonderful foodie adventure and I totally agree that meeting up with fellow foodies can only lead to further enlightenment :) I don't think I've ever seen or cooked with jujube's so you have inspired me to look for them in the Asian markets here!
How fun Claudia for you both. Wow. There is a lot to see here. Montreal is lovely.
I just might have to start my day with that dessert first.
Sam
that sounded like FUN! I heart China Town. They have good food at a reasonable price. That Thai eggplants! ahhh..I sometimes add them in a green curry. All the food sounds yummy Claudia!
What a wonderful get together with Evelyne! Lots of fun foodie adventures throughout the day!
This is a real culinary trip Claudia. Lovely trip and beautiful clicks. Take care
What a wondeful way of spending a fun day. I love going to China Town admire and appreciate their great Asian decor.
It hasn't been that long since I've been initiated to Thai food; whatever I've tasted so far I've enjoyed. Have prepared tofu dishes sauteed with veggies, will try it with bok choy next time.
Since I'm not as daring when it comes to certain exotic foods, visualizing and reading about them encourages me to at least try.
Love those cute looking eggplants, I use them often(dark, purple ones too but this particular one, never seen it.
Also never seen purple potatoes other than the red ones but would be willing to try them too.
Claudia, what a great post, and being able to learn and visualize all this Asian culture from the comfort of our home...what a treat.
Oh! and when I saw that sponge toffee crunch, you brought back such memories, it was my favourite as a little girl.
Of course I would love to tag along these scavenger hunts. You seem to have found the perfect companion to share this beautiful passion.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Monica
Oh I do love it when my fave foodie bloggers take me on a trip to somewhere I've never been and theres loads of food to show off.., I've never been to Montreal Claudia, so thanks so much. Chinatown is always an interesting place, no matter which city or country your in, there's always so much to see and experience.
Your outing in Montreal Chinatown
sounds so exciting.
The purple sweet potatoes are called UBE in Tagalog(Philippine language).
It is hard to comeby.We use it in sweets with coconut milk and glutinous rice powder.It's in layers of different flavours which we call
sapin-sapin.
It must have been quite fresh because
the colour is so vibrant purple!
Looking forward to the curried tofu with mungbean noodles-one of
my favorite noodles!
@ Rosie...thank you very much for the very useful information. I'll have to look up the few things that you mentioned.
Your first visit on my culinary journey was very appreciated ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Have a magical Monday!
Your post is a treat for the eye, mind and tongue! What a fantastic visit you had. I love the idea of a total culinary day--maybe Chicago's China Town?!
I'm not sure what happened with your Thai eggplant. I've found it to be mild and delicious and taking on the flavor of various sauces. My favorite grower at our farmers' market does Thai eggplant. I purchase it at least twice a month and take it to my favorite Thai restaurant where they prepare it in different ways for me--usually little samplings of it in different sauces. I'll have to ask if there's a secret to picking it and/or preparing it so that it is not bitter.
Best,
Bonnie
Asian food is definitely my favourite. As you've captured, they have such great flavours and colours. Sounds like you had such an adventure with your friend. I'm jealous Claudia!!
what a great way to spend a day, you two had such a great time. great photos as usual.
an award is waiting for you on my blog.
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