Cat Mouse Noodles

Changhua is also known for Cat Mouse noodles, which originated at 223 Chenleng Road.

 

This is the sign outside the shop. There's no English anywhere on the sign.

Cat Mouse Noodles are thin noodles in a chicken broth with fish & meat balls. I must say I wasn't too impressed with this dish. It didn't have enough flavor.

 

 

 

2013 11 27

My Taiwanese Meat Ball

When I got home, I made my own Taiwanese Meat Balls.

 

 

Taiwanese Meat Balls

1 cup long grain rice powder—make sure there are no lumps

7 cups water

4 cups potato starch

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 oz pork tenderloin, cut into ½ inch cubes

10 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup water, chopped

1 8-oz can bamboo shoots

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice wine

2 Tbs sesame oil

20 shrimp, shelled & deveined

Oil

Add rice powder to pot and slowly add water, stirring continuously so that no lumps form. Bring water and rice powder to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. It is very important to make sure mixture is cool before stirring in the potato starch, 2 cups at a time and mix until smooth.

Heat oil and sauté garlic briefly. Add pork and brown. Add mushrooms and stir fry briefly. Add bamboo shoots. Add soy sauce, mushroom water and rice wine. Simmer on low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Add sesame oil.

Clean shrimp and spinkle with a little salt.

When ready to assemble, oil small dishes. Fill halfway with rice/potato starch mixture. Add one large tablespoon of the meat mixture and top with 1 shrimp. Cover with rice/potato starch mixture. Steam for 12-14 minutes or until translucent. Remove from steamer and place dishes into a shallow bath of cold water. Turn out. Brush tops with additional oil.

Serve with garlic soy sauce (1 cup soy sauce, 4 cloves garlic--minced and 1 Tbs sugar. Prepare well in advance.)

Also top with hot miso sauce (1 cup miso, 1 ½ cups sugar, ½ cup water, 2 Tbs cayenne pepper).

 



Taiwanese Meat Ball

Back to our Taiwan adventure... Changhua is known for it's meat ball and the best ones are supposed to be at A Zhang’s, located at 144 Changan Street.

 

 

The meat balls are glutinous balls filled with meat. A Zhang heats their meat balls by frying in oil. Even though it's fried in oil, the meat balls are not greasy. Each is NT35 and they're filling.

 

Add a hot sauce on top.

 

 

 

2013 11 27

Shanghai Garden

I wanted some Chinese food and went to Shanghai Garden again. It's located at 20956 Homestead Road in Cupertino.

 

Shanghai Pan Fried Juicy Pork Buns--$6.95. The pork filling was juicy. I just wish there were no green onions.

 

 

Beef Noodle Soup--$7.95. The broth was flavorful, the meat was tender and the greens were a nice addition. The noodles are not homemade though. I ordered it without green onions.

 

 

Tilapia with Ground Pork in Spicy Sauce--$14.95. I'm not a fan of green onions and this was loaded with them. The sauce was good but the meat sauce was a little heavy for the tilapia.

 

 

Sautéed String Bean with Bean Curd--$8.95. I loved this dish. The string beans were well cooked--still crispy but cooked through and the bean curds were delicious.

 

 

2014 03 29

Thursday Night Dinner

Last Thursday's dinner at Flavor Bistro--still $24.95 for 4 courses with wine pairing.

 

 

Tortino Di Granchio--Sautéed Dungeness Crab Cake Garnished with Basil Aioli & Crispy Shoestring Garnet Yams, paired with 2012 Isabel Mondavi (I'M) Wines Chardonnay, Carneros

 

Ravioli D'Anatra--Homemade Duck Ravioli with Crispy Herb Butter, Pancetta-Braised Escarole, Balsamic Glaze & Parmigiano-Reggiano, paired with 2009 Vavasour Pinot Noir, Awatere Valey, Marlborough, New Zealand

 

 

Bistecca Alla Griglia--Grilled Marinated Flat Iron Steak Garnished with Sweet Carrots Ragu, Wine-Poached Lentils, Slow Cooked Onions & Garlic Candy Served in Red Wine Jus, paired with 2012 Easton Zinfandel, Amador County

 

 

Limone-Mirtillo Vol-Au-Vent--Filled with Lemon Curd & Fresh Blueberries Served with Ruby Peach Syrup, paired with 2011 Bonterra Vineyards, Bartolucci Vineyard, Late Harvest Muscat (Organic), Lake County

2014 03 27

Fundraising Event At Flavor Bistro

Flavor Bistro hosted a fundraiser for the Sutter Breast Cancer Research Program last Monday.

 

Antipasti & Charcuterie

 

 

Bruschettini with Pear & Salmone Affumicato

 

 

Involtini Di Pollo

 

 

Fondue Vol-Au-Vent

 

Guazzetto Di Mare--Day Boat Scallops, Jumbo Prawns, Local Calamari, Mussels & Clams Served in Brodetto Di Vino Bianco, Flavored with Aromatic Herbs & Organic Heirloom Tomatoes Served with Saffron Aioli & Homemade Flatbreads

 

Risotto Ruspante--Arborio Rice Cooked with Homemade Country Style Chicken Sausage, Sweet Leeks, Organic Escarole & Parmigiano Reggiano

 

Grigliata Mista--Medley of Assorted Grilled Meats & Vegetables Garnished with Cannellini Bean Ragu, Garlic Candy & Citrus Gremolata

 

I was so full that I didn't stay for the dessert--Crostate Di Frutta--Warm Assorted Fruit Galettes Served with Mascarpone Cream

 

 

 

2014 03 24

Terun

I had heard that Terun in Palo Alto had a nice Neapolitan pizza and decided to give it a try. It's located at 448 South California Avenue. It was a disappointing trip.

 

We started with Burrata Cheese, Grilled Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Olive Oil--$10. Not sure why they had 6 wafer thin eggplant and 1 cherry tomato that had been cut in half. It really wasn't enough to offer any additional flavor to the cheese. Thank goodness the cheese was creamy and delicious. It was good that we asked for bread because we used the bread to spread the cheese and added the balsamic vinegar/olive oil that came with the bread to add an extra dimension of flavor to the cheese.

 

 

Brussels Sprouts, Italian Pancetta, Gorgonzola--$12. The brussel sprouts were well prepared but there wasn't much gorgonzola flavor. This was an expensive dish for $12.

 

 

Tricolore Pizza--San Marzano Tomato, Burrata Mozzarella, Cherry Tomato, Arugula--$17. The pizza had a nice thin crust and there was a generous serving of arugula with nice peppery flavor. There was a nice mound of burrata cheese--about the same size as on our appetizer.

 

Porcini--Fresh Porcini Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, Fior di Latte Mozzarella, Truffle Oil--$20. This was an expensive pizza. There was just a sprinkling of mushrooms and not much Gorgonzola. It needed a little more substance--I kept thinking sausage would have been nice. There was a nice fragrance of truffle oil though.

 

Ravioli--Homemade Veal Spinach Ravioli, Parmigiano, Tomato--$19. This was also an expensive dish. There were a total of 7 ravioli. I knew labor was expensive in Silicon Valley but this was ridiculous.

 

Gnocchi--Homemade Beet Gnocchi, Parmigiano, Taleggio, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella--$17. Another expensive dish with just a handful of gnocchi. The gnocchi were light but the beets added nothing but color. If I was blindfolded, I wouldn't have been able to guess these were beet gnocchi.

 

 

We also ordered Scialatielli--Homemade Pasta, Porcini, Parmigiano, Rosemary, Olive Oil--$17. This was perhaps the best entrée of the evening. It was a decent portion and quite tasty.

 

 

 

2014 03 22