hzrt8w

We like to stay in Shell Beach along that route (2 miles north of Pismo Beach). There is a Spyglass Inn at Shell Beach. It's not a B&B, just a motel. But it is situated right on the bluff facing the Pacific Ocean. If you like listening to the waves all night long like we do, you would like the atmosphere. It is reasonably close to SLO, Avila Beach and Pismo Beach for dining. In off season it was under $100/night. (a few years back) Peak season would cost more. Be sure to insist on getting a room facing the ocean and on the second floor. There is a new resort just opened, right next to Spyglass Inn. Haven't checked that out yet but it looks very nice.

This is from a Taiwan Government website: Cicer arietinum Chick pea 小藜豆、埃及豆 But I have seen references of chick peas in several Chinese web sites as: chick peas 鷹嘴豆 雞豆 In Cantonese: Ying Tsui Dou (literally means: eagle beak pea); Gai Dou (literally means: chicken pea)

I think Chili bean sauce is same as Fermented chili bean sauce. Bear in mind that many of these English translations of Chinese products are very loose. As for oyster sauce: Get the Lee Kum Kee Premium Brand Oyster Sauce. This is priced twice higher than regular LKK Oyster Sauce but absolutely worths it. I have eaten oyster sauce for over 40 years and have tried many different brands. This is my conclusion.

They are still a bit hard. But the contrast of the hard-ness of the dry fish and the soft-ness of the pressed tofu is good.

#72, Dry Fish Stir-fried with Pressed Tofu (小魚干辣椒)

Pictorial Recipe Dry Fish Stir-fried with Pressed Tofu (小魚干辣椒) This is a very popular Taiwanese snack (or appetizer). It is very easy to make at home. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 3-4 (appetizer) Preparations: Main ingredients (upper left, clockwise): - 1 pack of small dry fish, about 5 oz - 2 chili peppers (e.g. jalapeno peppers) - Garlic, use 5-6 cloves - Ginger, use 2-3 inch - 1 pack of flavored (with five spice) pressed tofu - (Not shown in picture) 4 stalks of green onions Use a mixing bowl, soak the small dry fish in water for about 1 hour before cooking. Cut the pressed tofu into small and thin shreds. Peel and mince 5-6 cloves of garlic. Grate about 2-3 inch of ginger. Trim and shred 4 green onions (diagonally). Trim ends and cut 2 chili peppers into thin shreds. Cooking Instructions: Use a pan/wok, set stove to high. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Add minced garlic, shredded chili pepper, grated ginger, 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste), 2 tsp of chili bean paste and 1 tsp of brown bean sauce. Dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Optionally, add 2 to 3 tsp of sambal hot sauce or any other favorite hot sauce. Make sure to stir the ingredients well. Add the soaked dry fish (drain well first). Add the shredded green onions and pressed tofu. Stir-fry for a few minutes. At last, dash in 2 tsp of dark soy sauce (or to taste) and 1 tsp of sugar. Mix well to spread the dark soy color evenly. Ready. Transfer to a serving dish. Drip in 2 tsp of sesame oil on top. Picture of the finished dish. (Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

It sounds like the soup is the popular "Tom Yum Goong". The red curry may be "Penang Curry" (red) Shrimp? I like Mai's (Vietnamese Restaurant) on Clement at around 7th? Their Chicken and Rice in Earthern Pot is really good. Pho Tai and Vietnamese egg rolls are good. Quite close to where you are.

True for touring the heart of La Jolla or along the coastline. But in this post... Per Mapquest: La Jolla Village to La Jolla "downtown": 4.2 miles Along La Jolla Village Drive, Torrey Pines Road. This is not a "along New York Fifth Avenue window shopping" kind of walk. This is a "pedestrian-unfriendly, no shops along the route, side walk might be missing, every car is zooming by you at 60MPH" kind of walk. (Map)

More choices for you: Dim sum in San Jose area. Some flexibility added to your trip. I am not too familiar with the San Jose area, but I have been to: Mayflower Restaurant (408) 922-2700 428 Barber LN Milpitas, CA 95035 a couple of times. Really great dim sum! I heard people (chowhound) said the "ABC Restaurant" right in the next mall is even better though I have not been to ABC. And a bonus: There is also a Kee Wah Bakery in the same mall as Mayflower. Great pastry.

Really? It always seems to take me much longer along 101 (then I-5). I think distance-wise it is about 420 miles along 101 - quite a bit longer than along I-5 because of the 101's windiness. 6 hours would assume absolutely no traffic (hard to come by unless travelling in the middle of the night), no stop plus an average of 70 MPH. No sight seeing. I think in reality it takes much longer going that route. I always plan to take a whole day driving along 101. And 2 days if I take highway 1, with many sight-seeing stops along the rugged coastline, and some part of highway 1 you can only drive through at 20 MPH - or prepare for an extremely long driving day.

If you find yourself near San Luis Obispo Monday night, I would recommend dining at Rosa's (Italian) Restaurant at Pismo Beach: Rosa's Restaurant (805) 773-0551 491 Price Pismo Beach, CA It's family run, very good Italian food, prices are quite reasonable (US$13 - $17 or so). There is another restaurant (forgot the name now. Pomeroy and Cypress St? - the only one with long line outside) which has award-winning clam-chowder soup. Not to be missed if you pass by during the day. There are many options for you in and near San Francisco. Koi Palace is the top on my list, but you gotta get there early to ensure a seat as that place is darn crowded and typically has long lines. No later than 10:30 am on weekends. Weekdays are easier (maybe no later than 11:15 am). I have tried a few others: - Fook Yuen, along El Camino Real (Millbrae) - Zen Peninsula, along El Camino Real (Millbrae) Both are good but a bit high price (comparable to Koi). Don't go to Hong Kong Flower Lounge as my experience was that they had degraded from many years ago. Within the SF city: - May Flower, along Geary near 25th Very Good - Parc Hong Kong, along Geary near 20th?? Not bad, price is good - Dim Sum King, Skyline (Daly City?) So-so but price is good Many non-Asian posters on Chowhound think highly of Ton Kiang, along Geary near 20th? I visited it but decided not to eat there. Many people also think highly of Yank Sing in Rincon Center. I think they are too pricey for what it's worth. Some paid US$60 for a dim-sum lunch for 2? Steep. This bakery is on Grant Ave, with patrons being a mix of tourists and local Chinese. I always go straight to AA Bakery, Stockton Street and Jackson Street. Don't miss the "Dan Tart" (Egg Custard Tarts) and pineapple baos, and many more. Moon cakes! You may need to rub elbows with the locals. Be prepared! I also think that you may be missing out for not having Chinese while in LA. To me the San Gabriel Valley offers much more choices at high quality within close proximity (and thus prices are quite competitive). Best Chinese Bakery in San Gabriel Valley: Kee Wah Bakery: Atlantic Blvd and Garvey Ave. A second, smaller outlet at Valley Blvd X New Ave. Best Curry Puff, BBQ Pork Puff, Chicken Pie and many other stuff. Also Moon Cakes. Best.

In the pre-microwave days... actually in today's world too: they leave the fresh rice noodles in room temperature and not refrigerate them before cooking. But one thing important is - definitely to separate the noodle threads and sheets as much as you can before cooking. (This is hard to do with refrigerated, cold rice noodles. Microwave them first to warm them up would help. Or leave them in room temperature for a while.) When rice noodles stay in clumps, cooking will be uneven. Some will be tainted with dark color from the soy sauce, some will stay pure white. Some restaurants serve the rice noodles like that... because the cooks are lazy. My pet peeve...

Yes indeed. That is very true... as illustrated from many scientific experiments, freezing carbohydrates (e.g. rice noodles) will break the polymer chains inside the carbohydrates because the water molecules will..... Oops... don't go geeky on Dejah Dai Ga Jeah....

????? Using dry rice noodles? I really doubt it, especially the ones in your Convoy area. Those bastardized American restaurants won't carry chow fun dishes. Those who do would only use fresh ones. For good reasons... fresh rice noodles cannot last too long (turn moldy or dry out). Chow mein (wheat noodles) keeps much longer. Chow fun shouldn't be too chewy. But then again this is a subjective description. Unless you can describe in scientific terms, like how many pounds per square inch of chewing pressure, and how many chewing cycles to severe the noodles... Are you going to tell the people in China Max that you won't order this dish any more now that you know how to make it?

KateC: Welcome to eGullet! And thank you for all your kind words. The rice noodles won't stick to the wok if you do it right: high heat and coat the wok with cooking oil evenly before cooking (tilt the wok in a circle, or use the spatula to scoop the hot oil and spread around.

Like sheetz said... same thing. I have modified the first post to add in this reference. I didn't in the first round because "chow fun" sounds funny...

Yes, they are pretty fresh. Benefit of living in a large Chinese community. Yes I still heat them up in a microwave before frying - to reduce the time to cook in a wok.

The ancient Chinese used the dried guord to contain water, wine or herb (??), or just about anything when they travelled. It is pretty handy because the dry guord is quite hard and tough and waterproof. Because of the narrow neck, all you need is a bit of cloth or something to seal the top. As to how to cook it... probably just treat it like winter melon. (I have never eaten one.)

I have heard my father said those vegetables were fed to pigs (especially "mother" pig). Where did the "skin" part come from?

I have posted some favorite Chinese restaurants in the East Bay. Not exactly in Berkeley, but Richmond and Emeryville. Close. (here, click) But I just realized that Saigon Harbor Village is closed for quote "remodelling" unquote.

#71, Fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Dry Style) (乾炒牛河)

Pictorial Recipe Fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Dry Style) (乾炒牛河) Frying noodles, rice noodles, and rice are Cantonese specialties. This pictorial illustrates one of the bests Cantonese style has to offer: frying rice noodles with beef and soy sauce. This dish is called "Dry style" because it doesn't offer gravy. It is quite easy to make at home. Note: This dish is also known as "Beef Chow Fun" in many Chinese restaurants. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2-3 Preparations: Main ingredients (middle right, clockwise): - Beef (chuck), about 3/4 lb - 1 small onion - 1 pack of fresh rich noodles, 2 lb - 5 stalks of green onions (Optional, use either) - 1/4 lb bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts) - 1/8 lb yellow chive This is the feature of this dish: one pack of freshly made rich noodles. The rice noodle sheets are already perforated into 1/2 inch wide, length-wise. Cut the beef into 1/8 inch slices. To marinate the beef: Add beef slices in a small mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp of ShaoHsing wine, 1 tsp of corn starch, 1 tsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, and 1 tsp of ground white pepper. Mix well. Set aside for about 30 minutes before cooking. Peel, trim and cut the onion into small wedges. Trim and cut the green onions into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Use a small bowl, add 3 tsp of light soy sauce and 3 tsp of dark soy sauce. Mix well. Take the rice noodles out of the plastic package. Use your fingers to separate the noodle shreds and fluff them up the best you can. Cooking Instructions: Use a pan/wok, set stove to high. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Add marinated beef slices to velvet for a few minutes. Remove and drain the excess oil. Clean and dry pan. Heat it over stove. Set stove to high. Add 4-5 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil start fuming. (Note: this is an important point. Must wait until oil temperature is high.) The following steps must be completed very quickly: Add the wedged onions and 1/2 portion of the green onions. Dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing wine. This may induce a flame especially if you cook with a high power wok burner. Immediately add the small bowl of light/dark soy sauce mix. Like this. The soy sauce will boil immediately. Immediately add the rice noodles. (Note: When cooking at home, it is easier to use a microwave oven to pre-heat the rice noodles for about 3-5 minutes. This will reduce the cooking time over the pan/wok.) Mix well and add the rest portion of the green onions. Mix well until the soy sauce spreads evenly over the rice noodles. Return the velveted beef slices. Continue to mix well. Stir-fry for another minute or so, completed. Transfer the rice noodles to a serving plate. Picture of the finished dish. (Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice to three times the portion shown in this picture.) Variations It is also popular to use BBQ pork slices or chicken to make this rice noodle dish.

Very nice, very nice! I always like curry of all different styles. Thanks for sharing! I haven't tried putting galangal in it. I will now! Where is the lemongrass? Is what you got already dried and shredded? I am just wondering if you shred it with a sharp knife like I do or you cook with whole fresh lemongrass like they show in some cookbooks.

"Slimy" is right. My father liked this vegetable so I ate it from time to time growing up. I believe in Cantonese it is called "San Choy" ("San" means weak, usually in terms of health). To make a quick soup, boil it with some marinated pork slices and break a salted egg or two and drop it in. I haven't had this for over 20 some years though. Have not seen it sold in Asian markets in California.

This is California where walking is not common. We usually drive from one store's parking lot onto the parking lot of the store next to it. Places within walking distance at La Jolla Village is probably not what best La Jolla has to offer. The restaurants forementioned are mostly in the heart of La Jolla, which is a few miles away from La Jolla Village. A cab would help...