The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)

[Kerry Beal]

29 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

 

Like this, I think? Looks tasty! 

 

https://ohmydish.com/recipe/turkish-apple-cookies-kurabiye-elmali

Yup - that's they - bill reads emali pasta

[Anna N]

Back in April 2021 @Kerry Beal and I had a not very successful lunch from  The Rose Garden   Today when asked what I would enjoy for lunch I said either a slow-roasted lamb sandwich from a place called Stoney‘s or some liver and onions. The slow-roasted lamb sandwich ceased to be an option when we learned that Stoney’s was serving Sunday brunch. There are not a lot of places that do liver and onions but I did remember The Rose Garden.  

 

Kerry decided she would like the beef dip (the same thing she ordered in April 2021!). 

 

And I, of course, had the liver and onions (the same thing I had ordered in April 2021!). I wish I could tell you it was everything I had been dreaming of.

 

 

The salad was lovely and fresh. 
 

Oh well. 

[Anna N]

No complaints about lunch today! We were able to enjoy it on a Saturday which gave us more options and @Kerry Bealwas more than happy to order from Sakai. 
 

Kalbi

 

Shrimp and vegetable tempura. 

Mandu yaki. 

Shrimp sashimi 

Plated.

Rock shrimp in top row not shown in containers earlier. 
I finished every crumb except for the Mandu Yaki extras which Kerry had stashed in the fridge for me to enjoy later. 
On her way to my house Kerry spotted a few more places that we haven’t ordered from in ages. We have a list!

[shain]

There's a decently large Georgian community in Israel, but Georgian food is not too easy to find. A lunch at very nice restaurant. I found the food to be mostly on par with what you can find in Georgia.

 

Pkhali. The eggplant one in particular is spot on, with a boldly flavored walnut filling.

Khachapuri. The egg is runnier than it seems and the dough is soft and crispy.

Beef stew with eggplants and peppers. I haven't tried, but was told it was somewhat spicy and well flavored, with very tender beef. 

And pastry (I don't think it qualifies as a Khachapuri) with a feeling of cheese, peppers, eggplant and potatoes.

Cold Georgian beer. 

[shain]

A recent dinner.

 

Seafood kibbeh (wrapped in bulgur dough and fried), shrimp, black barely yogurt, crumbled dried yogurt. 

Frikkeh (smoked green wheat) with green beans, mushrooms, olive oil and garlic. 

Calamari with yogurt, greens (can't remember which), flavored spicy olive oil, pine nuts.

I have no photo of the freshly baked focaccia, since we tore into it too quickly. Served with sliced olives, tahini and flavored yogurt. 

Edited October 8, 2022 by shain (log)

[Anna N]

There were three ladies lunching today: @Kerry Beal, my granddaughter and me. 

My granddaughter and I both had Tonkotsu Ramen. 

Kerry had King Shoyu Ramen. 

And we shared some gyoza and some chicken karaage. 
 

This time the pork was perfect. 

Edited October 9, 2022 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

Today @Kerry Bealwas busy sticking needles into arms in Hamilton so she picked up lunch from a Syrian restaurant, Tomah. 

For Kerry a felafel plate with rice, hummus and salad. 

She also had this complimentary lentil soup. 
 

Full disclosure – – she was kind enough to transport leftovers from my home to hers! I don’t do hummus, lentils or felafel. SHUDDER. 
 

Chicken skewers with rice, salad and hummus. I kept my eyes averted from the hummus. 

 

I also got to share some of Kerry‘s Fattoush. 
 

Dessert was a somewhat different interpretation of baklava. The outer crust was not soaked in syrup but was still somewhat crispy. 

[Anna N]

Yesterday @Kerry Bealpicked up our lunch from the Owl of Minerva in Hamilton. 

 

Kerry had kimchi soup with rice.  

I had chicken wings with kimchi. 
 

[Smithy]

On 10/23/2022 at 2:46 PM, Anna N said:

I don’t do hummus, lentils or felafel. SHUDDER. 

 

Alas, my goddess has clay feet. 😉

[Anna N]

Today @Kerry Bealand I had lunch from here. If anyone is up on their Vietnamese would love to see the descriptions translated especially if a Saigon bánh mì is something special. The place was extremely busy and Kerry was not prepared to hold up the line, asking for explanations.

 

Kerry picked up extra bahn mi so I would have a couple of meals on hand. 
today we each had 1/2 of a pork sandwich, and 1/2 of a chicken sandwich. 
The other things on the plate I have no idea what they are called. They were very tasty, but challenging to eat as they are so floppy. Anyone?

[Okanagancook]

The log shaped things at front right look like a rice roll filled with …..?

I have had the chinese ones filled with dried shrimp.  Very delicate.  I have made the rice rolls from scratch in my big steamer.

[Kerry Beal]

9 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

The log shaped things at front right look like a rice roll filled with …..?

I have had the chinese ones filled with dried shrimp.  Very delicate.  I have made the rice rolls from scratch in my big steamer.

Ground meat I'd say

[Anna N]

13 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

The log shaped things at front right look like a rice roll filled with …..?

I have had the chinese ones filled with dried shrimp.  Very delicate.  I have made the rice rolls from scratch in my big steamer.

@Kerry Bealdid a little digging and determined they were bahn cuon. This may be behind a paywall. But here’s the gist of it:

Though banh cuon (say “baan? quoon?”) literally means rolled cakes, the term refers to the steamed rice sheets themselves, which may be served as is, laid out flat with toppings such as fried shallot and fresh herbs, or they may be filled and rolled. There are endless garnishes and sides to fancy things up, but regardless of presentation, banh cuon is typically enjoyed with a drizzle of or dunk into nuoc cham, the ubiquitous Viet tangy dipping sauce.

 

I must say that the dipping sauce was much sweeter than nuoc cham.

Edited November 5, 2022 by Anna N
Spelling (log)

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

If anyone is up on their Vietnamese would love to see the descriptions translated especially if a Saigon bánh mì is something special.

 

The descriptions are pretty well translated, but I would make a couple of comments.

 

The Vietnamese on the Saigon one reads 'bahn mi with everything' or 'mixed bahn mi'. A bit of everything. Literally it means "Crucifixion" sandwich - they must be a story behind that! But I don't know it.

The last one. If it is lemongrass (likely) it should be 'xả' and not 'xé'.

 

So, to summarise

 

Bánh mì thập cẩm – Bahn mi with everything (literally ‘Crucifixion bahn mi’.)

Bánh mì thịt nướng, nem nướng – Bahn mi with grilled pork, grilled pork skewers

Bánh mì xíu mại – Bahn mi with meatballs

Bánh mì pate chà bông – Bahn mi with country style pâté

Bánh mì chay – Vegetarian bahn mi

Bánh mì gà xả – Bahn mi with chicken and lemongrass

Edited November 6, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

10 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

The descriptions are pretty well translated, but I would make a couple of comments.

Thank you so very much. 

[SusieQ]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

banh cuon

i've had this locally at Ba Bar in Seattle. SO delicious!

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

14 hours ago, Anna N said:

Today @Kerry Bealand I had lunch from here. If anyone is up on their Vietnamese would love to see the descriptions translated especially if a Saigon bánh mì is something special. The place was extremely busy and Kerry was not prepared to hold up the line, asking for explanations.

 

Kerry picked up extra bahn mi so I would have a couple of meals on hand. 
today we each had 1/2 of a pork sandwich, and 1/2 of a chicken sandwich. 
The other things on the plate I have no idea what they are called. They were very tasty, but challenging to eat as they are so floppy. Anyone?

 

 

If that's the shop on Queen North between the grocery store and the Chinese BBQ restaurant it made very good Viet sandwiches.

It was one of my go to spots whenever I had business in Hamilton. The BBQ was also pretty good for takeout char siu and duck (still is according to my brother).

 

[Kerry Beal]

4 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

 

If that's the shop on Queen North between the grocery store and the Chinese BBQ restaurant it made very good Viet sandwiches.

It was one of my go to spots whenever I had business in Hamilton. The BBQ was also pretty good for takeout char siu and duck (still is according to my brother).

 

Yup - that's the one. It was originally a bakery that communicated directly with the asian grocery then got split off some years back and became the sandwich shop. 

 

Where else did you like to go when you were in Hamilton?

[liuzhou]

I forgot to mention that xíu mại is etmologically linked to the Cantonese shumai, the dim sum dumplings. Somehow, when Vietnam decided to recreate them, they morphed into meatballs!

 

Bánh cuốn also originated in China and are also popular here where they are known as  蒸粉卷 (zhēng fěn juǎn), literally 'steamed rice rolls' - same thing really.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

9 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Yup - that's the one. It was originally a bakery that communicated directly with the asian grocery then got split off some years back and became the sandwich shop. 

 

Where else did you like to go when you were in Hamilton?

 

An Ethiopian restaurant I believe was called Wass in the downtown area.

A Portugese churrasquiera in the James and Red Hill Valley area.

It's been awhile so they may no longer be in business.

 

[Kerry Beal]

4 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

An Ethiopian restaurant I believe was called Wass in the downtown area.

A Portugese churrasquiera in the James and Red Hill Valley area.

It's been awhile so they may no longer be in business.

 

Wass is still there - last time @Anna N and I tried to go though they claimed to be open - but were keeping island time. I phoned and left a message and they phoned me back and suggested we could come 'now' but by then we were already eating elsewhere. 

 

Not sure where James meets the Redhill - wonder if it might be Alves on 157 McNabb. Couple of blocks west of James off Cannon. Lots of fabulous prepared foods - meats and potatoes being the star. Good Portuguese breads and buns available. Covid forced them to renovate and it's much more open in there now. 

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

19 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Wass is still there - last time @Anna N and I tried to go though they claimed to be open - but were keeping island time. I phoned and left a message and they phoned me back and suggested we could come 'now' but by then we were already eating elsewhere. 

 

Not sure where James meets the Redhill - wonder if it might be Alves on 157 McNabb. Couple of blocks west of James off Cannon. Lots of fabulous prepared foods - meats and potatoes being the star. Good Portuguese breads and buns available. Covid forced them to renovate and it's much more open in there now. 

 

 

Nice to know Wass is still there.

Alexander and Upper James: Toma La.

I forgot Redhill turns into LAP.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

[Kerry Beal]

17 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Nice to know Wass is still there.

Alexander and Upper James: Toma La.

I forgot Redhill turns into LAP.

 

Good to know - a place that opens 10 am on Sunday is nice to have in my back pocket!

[KennethT]

17 hours ago, Anna N said:

@Kerry Bealdid a little digging and determined they were bahn cuon. This may be behind a paywall. But here’s the gist of it:

Though banh cuon (say “baan? quoon?”) literally means rolled cakes, the term refers to the steamed rice sheets themselves, which may be served as is, laid out flat with toppings such as fried shallot and fresh herbs, or they may be filled and rolled. There are endless garnishes and sides to fancy things up, but regardless of presentation, banh cuon is typically enjoyed with a drizzle of or dunk into nuoc cham, the ubiquitous Viet tangy dipping sauce.

 

I must say that the dipping sauce was much sweeter than nuoc cham.

@OkanagancookBanh cuon is a Hanoi specialty, but is popular around Vietnam.  We had it in a place that only made it in Saigon - it was so good we went twice!  It's typically filled with a mixture of pork and mushrooms, and then topped with a shower of bean sprouts that were steamed so not completely raw mixed with herbs and tons of fried shallots.  The sauce is sweetened fish sauce, with a dish of chilli on the side.

 

 

[Okanagancook]

@KennethTthe food on your trip looks fantastic.  I haven’t made the rice rolls in quite some time but I recall I used an 8” round cake tin sprayed with oil set in my big steamer.  Poured in batter to coat the pan and bobs your uncle, they were done.  So delicious even with just some chili crisp and no meat.  I think it is time to make them again and I will try the meat mushroom idea with green onions perhaps…I can’t buy decent sprouts here.