eG Foodblog: Ling & HhLodesign - The cool kids at Belltown Lofts

[a2k]

Never trust a person who doesn't like bacon!

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Unless you're a pig!

Where in Ballard is DiVino? I'm going to have to check it out.

[hhlodesign]

5310 Ballard Ave.

[tamiam]

Henry and Lorna,

Since your blog will have to come to an end sometime soon, I wanted to thank you for sharing this week of your lives with all of us. It was really fun getting to know you a bit, and getting to see Seattle through your eyes and tastebuds. I can see that there are all sorts of new places and things to try just in the year since I re-located out to the boonies foodie wasteland that is my new home.

You each have a unique and wonderful way of communicating and of experiencing great foods. And, Lorna, you handle yourself with such grace and generosity of spirit! And of course, your drunken post is a classic, plus we got to see a whole 'nother side of you

I am impressed with the way both of you are so comfortable and inventive with recipe-free cooking, even when cooking for a really impressive audience. That's often where I run back to the tried and true. The way you interact with chefs, restaurants, and vendors, is neat, and the sheer number of excellent eating events you can pack into a short little week is boggling. Excellent comes my way maybe twice per month, but you seek and find it twice each day. I want to step up from pretty darn good to excellent. Thanks for the inspiration.

PS Thanks for getting me to look at eG again. Its been a great blog.

[Ling]

I am really honoured by your words, tamiam.

*****

We're about to leave to go grocery shopping. We have a ton of cooking ahead of us today!

BTW, the chocolate cake recipe I used yesterday was from the Tartine cookbook. It has its merits, like a very dense and even crumb, which makes it unbelievably easy to level. However, it is not nearly as chocolatey as my favourite chocolate cake recipe, and the Tartine recipe is too sweet even though I reduced the amount of sugar. I'm going to sandwich the layers with caramel and cover it with ganache today.

[stovetop]

Hi Ling

cool Blog

A guy I went to school with would collect bacon fat and use it as a toast spread

Yum

steve

[rjwong]

We'll be hosting the Chinese banquet in my studio for friends in the building. Lorna and I will be cooking. We've yet to plan the menu exactly, but so far we're thinking:

Dungenous crab with Japanese pumkin and black bean sauce

Whole steamed fish

Hot and Sour Soup

Potstickers

Red-Brasied Pork Belly

Szechuan Homestyle Tofu

Hunan Smoked pork belly stir fry

Hot and Spicy Chicken

More to come...

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Henry & Lorna, I'm looking forward to this Chinese banquet. Of course, you are going to include a green vegetable dish. You KNOW it's all about balance, ehh?? Do we really need to bring out the Chinese culinary comrades after you??

I notice a lot of spicy dishes on the list. Is Cantonese cuisine a bit subtle and/or bland for Henry?

Lorna, as you were visiting Seattle and getting to know Henry, what were your thoughts when Henry took you to these various places and he knew the culinary staff? ... he knows the chef at Mistral, he knows Mario Batali's father ... What was going on in your culinary mind?

[Parmhero]

Henry and Lorna,

Since your blog will have to come to an end sometime soon, I wanted to thank you for sharing this week of your lives with all of us.  It was really fun getting to know you a bit, and getting to see Seattle through your eyes and tastebuds. 

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What he said.

It's been a peachy week. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

[lancastermike]

Hey Kids,

This blog truly rocked. Those of us who have done this know the amount of work involved and you guys really did a great one.

[Pan]

[...]and lamb sous vide

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Wow, that photo is positively erotic!

We're full!

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You should be! How were you able to put away all that food?

Lorna, for that matter, you put away a lot of food in an average day. Are you still getting taller, or do you just have a fast metabolism? Did you inherit that?

[Ling]

Lorna, as you were visiting Seattle and getting to know Henry, what were your thoughts when Henry took you to these various places and he knew the culinary staff? ... he knows the chef at Mistral, he knows Mario Batali's father ... What was going on in your culinary mind?

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Hmm...I'm not sure I understand your question. If you're asking whether my opinion of the food at these places is somehow influenced because Henry knows the chef or owner, the answer is no. If I don't like the food, or am rather lukewarm towards it, I'm not eager to go back. I don't think I'm really influenced if we get special treatment at certain restaurants where we're known. I still evaluate the food on my plate objectively.

I think it's cool that Henry knows a bunch of chefs. I've also introduced him to some of the chefs I know in Vancouver, so it goes both ways.

Edited September 1, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

Lorna, for that matter, you put away a lot of food in an average day. Are you still getting taller, or do you just have a fast metabolism? Did you inherit that?

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I think I have a regular metabolism. I have to get in some exercise 4-5 days a week, or I gain weight really quickly with the amount of food I eat.

[Ling]

What he said.

It's been a peachy week. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

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Thanks for the compliments...but we still have 2 whole days left in our blog!

So tonight is Chinese banquet night. Tomorrow we're going back to Vancouver/Richmond for good Chinese food! (Even the "good" Chinese places in Seattle aren't that great...unfortunately.)

[Ling]

Late this morning, I insisted we visit Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast. Some of you might be familiar with Top Pots--it was recently lauded by Jan and Michael Stern as being the best doughnut shop in America.

I've eaten perhaps six of the flavours they offer. They are OK/good, but the only doughnut I really enjoy is the old-fashioned glazed doughnut.

(Some Vancouverites might also be wondering how Top Pots compare to Lee's on Granville Island. I think Lee's does better flavoured doughnuts, but the Top Pot old-fashioned glazed is better than anything at Lee's. It has a really dense, moist crumb...almost smooth like custard, but in the form of fried dough, if that makes sense.)

BTW--I had a large Americano at Top Pots this morning and was pleasantly surprised! Good coffee.

Old-fashioned glazed...

After grocery shopping, we headed to Green Leaf, one of our favourite (cheap) lunch spots.

The decor is really casual.

We got the banh xeo and the green papaya and grilled shrimp. I was thinking about getting pho, but I wanted to try the soup first in case I didn't like it. The server gave me a bowl and didn't even charge us for it! So that was really nice of them. Unfortunately, the soup base was pretty weak in flavour.

banh xeo assembled

pho broth

grilled shrimp and green papaya

BTW--the banh xeo is only 7 bucks, and the salad was only 6 bucks. Really inexpensive for the quality, and they obviously put some thought into the presentation too.

Edited September 1, 2006 by Ling (log)

[misstenacity]

Oh, gawd.... I looooove Bahn Xeo! I don't think that I've been served it with lettuce as of yet, so that looks new to me. Also, yours looks positively dry on the outside - a welcome change from some that I've had which were very greasy.

Vietnamese just rocks - it has even displaced much of the place that Thai had in my dining 'schedule'. Thank you for showing such a place on your blog!

Finding a great Bahn Xeo is just one of my culinary tasks here in the Duke City (as well as the best menudo, best pancakes, and a few other things).

Andrea

in Albuquerque

http://foodpart.com

[CaliPoutine]

Kind off off topic so I'll throw in something food related.

How is the border traffic from Vancouver to Seattle? I'm an American married to a Canadian( I actually left California for Ontario) and I frequently cross the border into Michigan for groceries and the like. The traffic is horrible, but the Nexxus pass is a lifesaver. I'd highly reccomend getting one.

[Ling]

We'll be hosting the Chinese banquet in my studio for friends in the building. Lorna and I will be cooking. We've yet to plan the menu exactly, but so far we're thinking:

Dungenous crab with Japanese pumkin and black bean sauce

Whole steamed fish

Hot and Sour Soup

Potstickers

Red-Brasied Pork Belly

Szechuan Homestyle Tofu

Hunan Smoked pork belly stir fry

Hot and Spicy Chicken

More to come...

←

I notice a lot of spicy dishes on the list. Is Cantonese cuisine a bit subtle and/or bland for Henry?

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Yes, he wants to make everything spicy all the time! I just stopped him from adding hot sauce to tonight's pork belly dish, because what if some of our guests don't like spicy food?

Revised menu:

-dungenous crab with kaboucha squash and black bean

-spicy Chinese long beans

-(vegetarian) chow mein

-braised pork belly in shao bing

-ma po do fu

-a vegetarian fried tofu dish

-Szechuan bacon and leek stir-fry

-chocolate cake with caramel, ganache, and toasted cake crumb coating

ETA: My mid-afternoon snack was all the leftover ganache and cake crumbs. Ai-ya, too "yeet hay". My throat hurts now!

Edited September 1, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

Kind off off topic so I'll throw in something food related.

How is the border traffic from Vancouver to Seattle?  I'm an American married to a Canadian( I actually left California for Ontario) and I frequently cross the border into Michigan for groceries and the like.    The traffic is horrible, but the Nexxus pass is a lifesaver.  I'd highly reccomend getting one.

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I usually drive down late at night after I get off work (so around 10:30pm at the border) and there is no wait whatsoever. It takes me 2 hours and 15 minutes to get from my house (in Richmond) to Henry's place in downtown Seattle, driving at the speed limit.

Sometimes I come down in the late afternoon on a day off, and the traffic is pretty bad...45 minutes to an hour wait at the border.

[MarketStEl]

I notice a lot of spicy dishes on the list. Is Cantonese cuisine a bit subtle and/or bland for Henry?

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Yes, he wants to make everything spicy all the time! I just stopped him from adding hot sauce to tonight's pork belly dish, because what if some of our guests don't like spicy food?

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Serve 'em dairy products on the side (I know, I know--that's alien to Chinese cuisine), or send the dish to me.

Thanks, everyone, for all the tips on how to use duck fat. I just hope it keeps as long as butter does under refrigeration, because I probably won't be using it that often--I'm trying to lose weight, and it's bad enough that I still indulge my cheese jones as much as I do. But I will try them all, eventually. Even the white sauce.

This has been a fabulous blog, and a textbook example of a "labor of love."

[rjwong]

Lorna, as you were visiting Seattle and getting to know Henry, what were your thoughts when Henry took you to these various places and he knew the culinary staff? ... he knows the chef at Mistral, he knows Mario Batali's father ... What was going on in your culinary mind?

←

Hmm...I'm not sure I understand your question. If you're asking whether my opinion of the food at these places is somehow influenced because Henry knows the chef or owner, the answer is no. If I don't like the food, or am rather lukewarm towards it, I'm not eager to go back. I don't think I'm really influenced if we get special treatment at certain restaurants where we're known. I still evaluate the food on my plate objectively.

I think it's cool that Henry knows a bunch of chefs. I've also introduced him to some of the chefs I know in Vancouver, so it goes both ways.

←

Thank you, Lorna. Your culinary objectivity is quite commendable. Haven't compromised or "sold out" yet, ehh?? I wonder how you would hold up with the "big names" over in ... NEW YORK, NEW YORK ... I think you would hold up quite well there and tell it like it is ...

BTW, did I notice someone about to eat some ... vegetables ... in one of those luncheon photos??

... doh jeh, doh jeh, shieh-shieh ...

[Ling]

I wouldn't compromise my ethics no matter where I'm eating. At the end of the day, it's just food.

[SeaGal]

I really like the food at Green Leaf. We had a similar salad the other day, but with lotus root instead of green papaya. It really rocked. Loved the grilled shrimp with the heads on.

Enjoying the blog--especially the "after hours" post

[mizducky]

Some of my Capitol Hill friends were apparently early and highly-vocal initiates into the Cult of Top Pot from the very beginning. I still don't know whether to be jealous or relieved (for the sake of my waistline) that the whole Top Pot thing did not get rolling until after I'd moved away.

Speaking of envy: any way you could Fedex a few samples of that pork belly dish down to San Diego?

[H. du Bois]

Happy anniversary to you! What a wonderful way to celebrate.

I am inspired by your style, your grace (your hummingbird metabolisms!), and that you each seem to strive to live well, in the best sense of the word.

I felt this after Henry's blog, and I feel it now - you provide a very, very compelling reason to explore Seattle and its food culture. Seattle couldn't ask for better ambassadors.

[judiu]

Lorna, for that matter, you put away a lot of food in an average day. Are you still getting taller, or do you just have a fast metabolism? Did you inherit that?

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I think I have a regular metabolism. I have to get in some exercise 4-5 days a week, or I gain weight really quickly with the amount of food I eat.

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The brat has the metabolism of a f*****g hummingbird!

[chezcherie]

The brat has the metabolism of a f*****g hummingbird!

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i think she has my previous metabolism, and i would really like to have it back!