Spring Wave: Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs

I didn't have anything to do for lunch on Independence Day. When my friend Christine texted me that morning to see what I was doing before the BBQ I had at my friend's place later in the evening, I decided to hang out with her. Of course our definition of hanging out in San Gabriel is basically eat.


Spring Wave had a new owner, who was a friend of her boss. Christine had to pick up a to-go order for her boss, so we decided we may as well eat there out of convenience.

The owner happened to be in today because she forgot it was a holiday and was understaffed. She was kind to give us suggestions to eat. She eventually recommended me to try the Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs. This was a very Shanghainese dish, which I don't eat on a regular basis unlike my friend. So I said why not, let's give it a go.

(Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs - $9.95)

The pork was fatty pork, beautifully marinated and braised. Each piece was diced into small square chunks and the five layers of color of the pork were very clearly defined. The sauce as sweet. The little bits of chive garnishing gave what would be an all brown dish some brightness and color. The stewed eggs were deep fried and covered with the same sauce.

I'm not a big fan of sweet entrees, but fortunately the braised pork was well marinated and not overtly sweet. When eaten with white rice, the pork had just the right amount of flavors and a good balance between the fat and the meat. Certainly this is not the healthiest dish around, but it was the forth of July, and my system deserved a bit of indulgence.

I was good to only eat a few pieces of the pork since I knew I had a BBQ coming at night. I also only ate one egg since egg yolks are so high in cholesterol. The eggs had a slightly chewy skin from having been deep fried then braised with sauce. The marinate did penetrate the egg lightly and reached into the whites and even the yolk. I personally like my eggs just a tad bit more flavored on the inside, but the heavy sauce on the outside more than compensated in flavor for the inside.

It's really a dish I wouldn't mind having again, but only on special occasions if I happened to be around here. In the end there's no avoiding the fact that this is a heart attack on a plate. So oncein a full moon a year, it's ok to indulge into so much fat and cholesterol.

Posted from my Taste SGV Blog

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I'm Not Blind at Green Island

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to restaurants is how they could serve the same thing at the same table at the same time but the two are not the same. I usually get pretty annoyed when I see another table get the same thing but their portion is bigger or better looking etc. But when it's for the same table, that's when it's beyond apprehension.

I was out with a new friend a couple weeks ago to the new Green Island at the new Atlantic Plaza in Monterey Park. I had enjoyed Green Island in Temple City before and was expecting to enjoy this new one. I did hear some mixed reviews on the quality of this place. One of the complaint before was that it was too salty. Nevertheless I wanted to give this a shot, mainly also because my new friend lived close to the new plaza.

(Lemon Iced Tea Sans Sugar - First Order)

(Lemon Iced Tea Sans Sugar - Second Order)

(Lemon Iced Tea With  Sugar)

As per usual, I ordered my cup of lemon iced tea sans sugar while my friend ordered it with sugar. When our drinks arrived, my cup of lemon iced tea looked significantly lighter in color than my friend's cup. I was already weary about the taste of it. When I took a sip of my tea, it was tasteless. It was basically brown water with lemon in it. There was absolutely no taste of tea in the drink. Generally I would probably just ignore it and drink what they gave me and be done with it. But since my friend's cup of tea was much darker, I didn't even need to taste his cup and knew I just got the bad brew at the end of a cycle. So I asked the waiter if they could get me another cup that actually had tea flavor, pointing to the fact that my friend's drink was significantly darker than mine.

So they took my drink back and brought me a new one also without sugar. This second cup was a lot darker than the first one. In fact it was even darker than my friend's cup and was very strong in tea flavor, to my liking. It was night and day. That second cup was definitely one of those early brews from a new batch. All of this led me to think how could a restaurant be so inconsistent with one of their most standard drink? Lemon iced tea is a stable to cafes, whether Cantonese or Taiwanese. Yet they can be so inconsistent that they can serve the same table three cups of tea in one sitting that had significant difference in color. A good cup of tea is a must for all cafes in this day and age, and to be this careless about it just showed how badly the drink bar is managed quite often at these restaurants.

(Pork and Cabbage in a Stone Pot)

Besides the drink fiasco, we ordered two dishes. I had tried quite a bit of the food at the original location in Temple City. The flavors here seems to be quite consistent with the flavors at the other restaurant. A bit sweet and a bit oily. At least they were consistent with the actual food, a good sign that they really made sure the new chefs learned how to cook it the way they originally had it.

The Pork and Cabbage in a Stone Pot was rich in flavor. The marinate sauce penetrated into the pork itself as well as the cabbage. The heated stone pot kept the dish warm for a good while. Of course towards the end, the sauce became a bit heavy since they tend to sink to the bottom soaking whatever's left. There really wasn't all that much that could have been done about it. It was a bit on the oily and greasy side similar to what's found at the original restaurant. I didn't think it was actually necessary for it to be as oily as they made it in order to keep it attractive and tasty. I needed to start remembering to request restaurants to make my food with less oil, less sugar and no msg.

(Eel Fried Rice - Serving)

(Eel Fried Rice)

The Eel Fried Rice was served in their metal sizzling plates held inside a wooden frame. Green Island was the first restaurant around the San Gabriel Valley that I had seen using this, though a few other restaurants had recently picked it up too. The Eel Fried Rice was tossed in front of us by the waiter. It really made no difference to me whether it was tossed on the spot or in the kitchen. It wasn't like Benihana where there was a lot of showmanship. There weren't a whole lot of flair and wasn't all that interesting to watch. It also didn't make the food taste any better as far as I can tell. I suppose it did change the beat of the dinning experience. Instead of the food being just tossed onto my table like at so many Chinese restaurants, the waiter was forced to actually spend a few seconds there serving. The actual fried rice was actually quite good and wasn't oily like the other dish. I could use a tad bit more eel in the dish. Still, it did make for a good balance between this dish and the oily pork and cabbage.

Despite the drink fiasco, the food was good and enjoyable. The environment was bright and clean, which I hope they can maintain after a year or two. The wait staff was actually very friendly compared to many other Asian restaurants around the area. Though like most other Asian restaurants where we don't have a specific waiter assigned to our table, they actually had a few waiters and waitresses roaming around the restaurant just to check up on the customers. I had been so used to seeing the wait staff standing in the corner watching TV, or hiding in the back to avoid going outside to work, this was actually refreshing. It was actually not difficult to find a waiter to ask for something. I almost missed having to eye down a waiter, then hunt them down to get a refill or something. This was definitely one of the better wait staff around, even better than the staff they had over at the original. Kudos to the manager of this restaurant.

So yes, I would definitely come back to Green Island simply because the waiters and waitresses were nice. But I am not blind and I do expect them to be way more consistent with their drinks in the future, at the very least in looks. However as long as there is a good staff to help me remedy the problems, I don't mind being served a drink that I had to ask for a replacement. I rather this than the other way around.

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Sheesh...It's U2 Again?

I am a Cantonese Cafe addict; that is my comfort food. I can grab a menu from any Cantonese cafes and just order down the menu from breakfast to dinner. So it's important for me to have that one go-to restaurant whenever I want this stuff. Actually I have like five go-to restaurants when it comes to Cantonese cafes, alternating depending on the deals and quality they currently have. The thing about Cantonese cafes in Los Angeles, more like in the San Gabriel Valley is that the consistency of quality is, well, inconsistent. One day I may find a certain restaurant to be my favorite because the portions are great, the quality is good and the price is cheap. The next month suddenly without warning, they would either jack up the price, or decrease the portion size, or the quality deteriorated. I am then forced to go with one of my five other main choices or even the half a dozen other second choices.

Right now, my Cantonese cafe of choice is U2 Cafe.

It's actually my entire family's Cantonese cafe of choice. Just within the first two weeks alone this year, I had already visited the cafe three times; this post is a compilation of the different visits. The other ones on my current list are JR Cafe, Face Cafe and Garden Cafe. I do have a few other ones I occasionally visit, but these are the ones I most frequent.

(U2 Cafe - Lor Sung Soup)

(U2 Cafe - Cod Cream Chowder)

In order to be a true Cantonese Cafe, the menu must be long and includes a few stable Cantonese dishes as well as some "Cantonese-ized" western dishes. It also wouldn't be a Cantonese cafe if you are not immediately served one of two soups: Lor Sung soup, a Cantonese style minestrone, and some form of cream chowder. The minestrone is the absolute essential for any Cantonese cafe, while some restaurants also serve a Chinese soup as an alternative in place of the cream chowder. U2 serve various versions of their cream chowders, sometimes it's a cod based chowder while other times it's a corn and ham based chowder. There really isn't anything fancy about this chowder. I would certainly not claim this to be anywhere near the best cream chowder I had in my life. But it certainly still hits the spot. Having cod in place of corn and ham gives the soup a bit more substance and just hits the comfort spot in my stomach. It certainly hits my mother's comfort spot. In fact for some odd reason, she chooses to come back to U2 Cafe mainly for the cream soup. I think it's most because of the fact that most other cafes have opted to replace the cream soup with a Chinese soup which she never cared for.

The Lor Sung however is my preferred soup. It is a tomato based soup with lots of vegetables and beef inside. My Dad knows how to make this really well, but we generally don't make it since it's usually made in a huge quantity. The soup served at U2 is average. Fortunately I have yet to taste it to be too salty, though sometimes it can border being too sour from the tomato sauce they use. The consistency does waiver in Cantonese cafes; it's in its nature.

(U2 Cafe - Lemon Iced Tea)

(U2 Cafe - Red Bean Ice)

Drinks came with the lunch special at U2 cafe, which is one of the big pluses. I have to get my drink fix at these cafes. U2 charges an extra 75 cents for the cold version of their free drinks, which is coffee or tea. Tea includes both lemon iced tea as well as milk tea, both of which are refillable. There's a little history behind this when all the Cantonese cafes in the area picked up this trait during the 1990's. I used to be a major milk tea drinker, but I have come to the conclusion because of the inconsistency of the quality of the tea, it is impossible to reliably get a good cup of milk tea. I like my milk tea to be very rich in tea flavor ala the Hong Kong style. There were periods of time when JR Cafe and other nearby cafes served a milk tea that's dark enough, but they fluctuate based on client feedback. That's the reason why Cantonese cafes are all average, they listen to their customers. Sometimes a restaurant just have to stick to their guns on what they believe is good instead of just constantly try to cater to the masses.

Generally speaking I order lemon iced tea with no sugar. It's been a little over two years since I started to decrease and remove sugar from most of my drinks. Most Cantonese cafe are realizing the trend for lower sugar so they usually put a different colored straw into the cup. At U2 I still had to remind them at every refill. Initially I started off with half sugar, which gradually became sugar on the side so I have control. Finally I took the plunge to no sugar for my lemon iced tea and relied purely on the juice from the lemon to sweeten the tea. On occasion we may end up ordering a red bean ice, which is pretty much the only other drink I would order from a Cantonese cafe. Generally speaking the other drinks aren't the best quality around, since their drink bars are generally staffed with waiters who were given a crash course in mixology. I basically only trust drinking their milk tea or their lemon iced tea.

(U2 Cafe - Singaporean Fried Rice Noodles)

I'm a huge fan of rice noodles, and the Singaporean fried rice noodle is a must order on my list at any Cantonese cafes. Of course I can't be ordering this dish every single time since I do enjoy various other dishes. The Singaporean fried rice noodle is curry based and can be semi-spicy depending on who's making it. It is fried with shrimp, sprouts, chasu and green onions, along with the occasional bell peppers and even chilly peppers. U2's version today was on the slightly spicier side where I almost had a little difficulty eating. They added a bit too much chilly peppers in it for my taste. Still I love the dish more then I hate how they can just ruin it by changing the spiciness of it.

(U2 Cafe - Seafood Chow Fun - Burnt)

(U2 Cafe - Seafood Chow Fun with Bad Shrimps)

The other staple of my Cantonese cafe diet is the beef chow fun. There's two different ways to get chow fun; wet style, where the chow much is white and the sauce is a liquid paste, or the dry style, where the chow fun is dark brown in color from the soy sauce and the sauce is cooked into the noodles. I generally order the dry style mainly because my parents prefer eating this. We generally order the beef version, but we do occasionally try out the seafood or other versions of the chow fun.

We ordered the beef version at one of the meals, but this time my parents opted to go for the seafood version instead. Unfortunately today was just not U2's day. The first plate they served us was burnt. I could smell and taste the burnt in the chow fun and it is no good. We told the waitress who knows us pretty well since we've been coming back so often. She was very friendly and took it back for us to remake. A short while later, she brought back out a second plate of it. It wasn't burnt, but the shrimp were bad. It boggled our minds since the shrimp in the Singaporean rice noodles were not bad, and I would assume, correctly so when we asked the waitress about it, that they were from the same batch of shrimps. Our only answer is that the shrimp on the bottom of the batch went bad while the top were still good most likely because the refrigerator was not at the correct temperature. I hope for their sake no one from the health department is reading this. The waitress was kind enough to offer to take it back again, but we decided to just pick out the shrimp and eat the rest. It was too much trouble by then.

(U2 Cafe - Black Pepper Beef Udon)

A good alternative to the beef chow fun, especially for me since I don't really like chow fun, is their black pepper beef udon. Again this plate can be ordered with seafood in place of the beef, which is true for half the dishes on the menu. A lot of Chinese food is simply replace one main ingredient with another and you got yourself another dish. This was actually ordered at a different meal here at U2 a week prior to the burnt chow fun/spoiled shrimp experience. For me the flavor to the dish was good. I could use a little bit more black pepper. The main thing I miss is a sizzling plate to serve it on. Many other Cantonese cafes serve this dish on a hot sizzling plate, which I had always been infatuated with as a child. If you do bring a child, just make sure the plate is kept far out of their reach, cause it is extremely hot.

(U2 Cafe - Baked Pork Chop Rice)

Occasionally I would opt out of something Chinese and go with something more western. Most often I would order a chicken, steak or pork chop with black pepper, mushroom, garlic or onion sauce. In fact I just had that on Martin Luther King Jr. day when I went back to U2 but forgot to take a picture. The one thing I absolutely would recommend anyone to try at U2 is their pork chop and their chicken steak. That is the true gem of this restaurant. There are three dishes that I would order for the pork chop. One, the chicken and pork chop steak combination with the sauce of your choice. Two, the pork chop over rice noodle soup that is generally served at afternoon tea time between 3pm to 5pm. Three, the baked pork chop rice.

The pork chop I believe were briefly deep fried and then baked over fried rice with a rich tomato sauce with just a little bit of cheese. They do not overload the dish with cheese since cheese isn't all too popular in the Asian population. But the little bit of cheddar then use does give it that added flavor that's needed to balance the tomato sauce. The pork chops are slightly crispy but still juicy and never over cooked. I have never had an overcooked pork chop at U2 cafe, and I think they do pork chops better then any of the other cafes around. It's also nice that they use fried rice instead of steamed rice as the base. It added to the flavors of the dish tremendously. This is one of the best made dish at U2.

(U2 Cafe - Salty Fish and Chicken Fried Rice)

Speaking of fried rice, the salty fish and chicken fried rice is one of my family's favorite. It's generally the dish we order when we can't decide what we want. That's the problem with have hundreds of items on a menu. This time they did this dish correctly. I was actually able to smell the salty fish when it came out and I could definitely taste it. The salty fish adds an edge to the flavor of the dish more than salt would do. It's almost likely having that grainy little bites of salt without being overwhelmed by the saltiness of the salt. It was one of those rare times where the dish was actually semi-well made. It wasn't the best though I have ever had. The salty fish was still in very small chunks, which mostly is because they can be a little more costly than other ingredients.

(U2 Cafe - Chicken Salad)

I'm not a big fan of salads at any Cantonese cafes, and I would never deliberately order a salad from there. Yet here's a picture of an actual salad at U2. It turns out that U2 is having a nice promotion where if we spend over twenty dollars before tax, we would get a free chicken salad. If we spent over thirty dollars before tax, we would get a free soy sauce chicken. It's actually not that easy to spend over thirty dollars with a party of three people at U2. Most dishes cost between five dollars to eight dollars. Even with the added 75 cents for a cold drink, it generally would not put your bill over thirty dollars before tax. Now with a free salad, it's really a great deal.

The salad really is nothing special as far as salad goes. But for a salad at a Cantonese cafe, it's better than your normal cut. Most salads at a Cantonese cafe uses iceberg lettuce. I always wonder if they actually ever visited a supermarket sometimes and saw that there are other vegetables aside from this dreadful one. But nonetheless it is what makes it Cantonese. They added a little bit of cucumbers and tomatoes to enhance the flavor, which is more rare than you would think for a Cantonese restaurant. I had once ordered a salad which I had to pay for with purely iceberg lettuce at a Cantonese cafe. The chicken however was very well made. I believe they make it the same way they make the chicken steak, briefly deep fried and well seasoned. That made the salad actually worthwhile, and one of the better salads I had at a Cantonese cafe. But if you are looking for good salads to eat, I suggest you go elsewhere. You won't find it in most Chinese restaurants.

(U2 Cafe - Soy Sauce Chicken)

We got the soy sauce chicken at a different meal where we had four people. That would take us over thirty dollars. U2 has a decent Siu Lap (roasted poutry and pork) department. In fact they have a section of their restaurant devoted to that, which increases their quality. In fact most other Cantonese cafes tends to be weak on this. Generally I would go to Sam Woo for good Siu Lap. The soy sauce chicken at U2 was juicy enough, though a few of their thicker pieces were bordering dry. It was free so I'm not complaining. The ginger oil sauce however could use a little work. It was not strong enough and could use a bit more ginger.

(U2 Cafe - Duck and Wonton Noodle Soup)

Their duck from their Siu Lap section is generally well made. In the soup, the duck then really becomes juicy and wet and easily palatable. The wonton however wasn't my favorite, but then most restaurant's wonton is missing the one key ingredient Dai Dei Ju. So far I believe only Sam Woo makes their wonton with that fish, without which it just taste like a ball of pork meat with very little flavor. The shrimp helps with giving it a little contrast in texture, but Dai Dei Ju is want gives it a kick. The egg noodles today was decent. It had a little spring to it, but not enough for me to be wowed. Beside, I'm not a big fan of egg noodle to begin with.

(U2 Cafe - Chinese Condiments)

Despite having a lot of issues with the consistency of the food, I still return. It's just because I'm an addict for Cantonese Cafe. I'm actually addicted to the environment. It's easy to visit with a friend, order some food and a bottomless cup of ice tea, and spend a good two or three hours chatting without any pressure or discomfort. Sitting at a Starbucks for hours going through two or three cups of coffee would easily cost ten dollars. With that same amount of money, I could get decent drinks for the afternoon and some good chow to go with it.

I'm sure I will fluctuate again in the future between which Cantonese cafe I would go to as my primary hub. One thing for sure I would never quit Cantonese cafe as my comfort food cafe.

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Old Country Cafe Isn't So Old

I have been church hopping on Sundays for a few months, but the last couple of weeks, I have been returning to a couple of churches some of my family attends just to be in familiar settings during this Christmas season. Last Sunday I went to my brother's church Chinese Mission Bible Church in Alhambra. Generally after church I would eat out with my brother and his wife, but this past Sunday his wife was busy and so it was just my brother. He suggested that we go to Old Country Cafe in Alhambra.

After so many years here in the San Gabriel Valley I am always surprised to discover some new hole in the wall places. There are just so many and some of them can be quite good. Where we ended up eating at was quite delicious. The draw back was that since it was a little chilly on Sunday, the place wasn't heated and a tad bit cold for my liking.

(Old Country Cafe)

(Japanese Comic Books For Patrons)

The place was actually split into two rooms. The main room had two large tables and a bar while the small room had a few other tables with huge shelves of Japanese comic books free to check out while inside the restaurant. The place really isn't very nice despite their attempt to be hip. The furnitures were a bit run down and in desperate need for an upgrade. The positive was that the place was clean, especially for a hole in the wall type restaurant. I didn't feel completely disgusted touching the furnitures and that's all I can ask for.

(Boba Milk Green Tea)

(Papaya Milk)

My brother ordered the boba milk green tea. I personally don't like milk green tea. It just taste too watery for me. If I add milk to tea, it has to be black tea. But some people like that so I'm not going to judge. I decided to order a papaya milk instead. It's been a while since I've had one, and it's actually a childhood favorite of mine. Papaya milk is an exclusively Taiwanese drink. It's actually quite simple in concept, blend papaya with milk and you have papaya milk. This was just that and it was a great and healthy drink.

(Minced Beef Over Taiwanese Lettuce "A" Choy)

To my surprise, my brother ordered a minced beef over Taiwanese lettuce, which is also known as "A" choy. It's similar to romain lettuce but has a slightly hint of bitter quality to it. The dish was well made with a small amount of oil. The lettuce still had a little crunch to it while the minced beef was marinated on the lighter side. I actually prefer them lighter. I find too many Taiwanese restaurants smothering their minced beef with so much sauce that it drowns out every last bit of beef flavor. This was a balanced little appetizer dish for the upcoming main dish.

(Deep Fried Chicken Rice)

On the recommendation of my brother, I ordered the deep fried chicken rice. My brother actually ordered the same. It's the dish he always gets when he dines at this little joint. I've had a few other Taiwanese style deep fried chicken and pork. This one beats them all. The crust was almost flaky. Too often the crust of these fried chicken or pork are so hard it's a little too crunchy. But this was just right. It almost melted into the chicken when I bit into them. Of course there was still enough of a crunch to it to remind you that it's still a deep fried dish. Fortunately it didn't retain too much oil making the dish much easier on the stomach.

The dish had some mixed Taiwanese style veggies and half of a marinated egg. They were all done pretty well, but they weren't the best I've had. The sour veggie was slightly too sour and the other one could use just a little more flavor. The egg though was well marinated and flavorful.

This joint is definitely worth revisiting just for their deep fried chicken rice. My brother is actually right, for a change. Alright, he has been right on many occasions and this is definitely one of them. I highly recommend if you are in Alhambra and in the mood of something deep fried without feeling like you just drank a gallon of oil, Old Country Cafe is definitely a place worth checking out.

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The Textures of Dim Sum

Can you hear the sleigh bells ring? All I can hear are the dishes clanging at Dim Sum.

It's December and the holiday spirit fills the air. Here at Dim Sum on a Wednesday afternoon, a huge crowd swarms the place making us forget that we are still in a recession. With a crowd this excited, you would almost think they are giving the food away. At $2.09 a plate, it may as well be.

(Steamed Pork Ribs in Black Bean Sauce)

Top Island Seafood Restaurant serves most of the traditionally popular Dim Sum items. Truth be told, this is not my favorite Dim Sum restaurant. A lot of it really has to do with one dish, the vermicelli shrimp wraps. Vermicelli wraps are very difficult to get right. Ideally the texture should be smooth and silky. It should go down nice and smooth almost like vodka. But I can see how some people, as a friend I have once brought to Dim Sum, would think this texture disgusting. In some ways it may even feel like eating a slurp of slimy gunk. This reminds me of the episode of Futurama when Fry couldn't stop drinking Slurm, even though he found out it came out of the back end of a giant queen slug. Alright, I'm not doing my vermicelli wraps justice, but I do love this dish; just not at Top Island. New Capital Seafood Restaurant does it much better a few blocks away.

(Vermicelli Shrimp Wraps)

Dim Sum is full of textures, and another one that a lot of even my Chinese friends can't handle is the infamous Phoenix Claws, which is just a fancy name for chicken feet. It's all in the branding right? Give it a nice name and you may actually give it a try. Top Island serves Phoenix Claws three different ways. There's the steamed version that's marinated in a black bean sauce. This is the softest version of Phoenix Claws where the skin and cartilage comes right off the bones. Then there's the White Cloud version dipped in a vinegar sauce. This is the chewiest version and there's no way around not feeling like you are chewing on claws. If you've ever chewed on your own fingers out of nervousness, it taste even more rubbery than that. Then there's a version where it's served in a soup. It's in-between the two in terms of chewiness. The soup has a lot of condiments flavoring it. The chicken feet themselves really doesn't have a whole lot of flavor. It's just skin, cartilage and bones. So in the end, it's a matter of texture as you are just chewing on bones. It's definitely an acquired taste; well fine, an acquired texture. Scared? Chew at your own peril.

(Steamed Phoenix Claws)

Before I completely scare you off from Dim Sum, most of the items that are pushed around by middle aged female servers in metal carts are pretty normal stuff. I'm not being sexist or being ageist here. I have never seen a young female cart pusher nor have I seen any male cart pusher at any Dim Sum restaurants I've ever been to around the world. Occasionally I see men walking around the room with dishes of food on a serving platter, just never behind a cart. I have no idea why this is so, but it just is and no one has ever complained: I'm not complaining.

Today we also had Lor Mai Gai - Lotus leaf wrapped sweet rice and chicken. The Chinese name has the word chicken in it, but it doesn't actually always have chicken inside. I suppose we are used to buying things that doesn't really have anything to do with its name. Blackberry doesn't actually have black berries inside: Apple computer has nothing to do with apples. Even an iPhone is hardly a phone, and I can't live without mine. Top Island's version doesn't have chicken, instead it has minced pork, mushroom and salted egg yolk inside. I prefer them without chicken anyways, they tend to be too dry. I think Top Island does a good job with this and I wouldn't mind having one occasionally. Just don't eat them everyday, they are extremely fattening and pretty bad for diabetics. I don't let my mother have any of the sweet rice.

(Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sweet Rice and Chicken)

Another favorite of mine at Dim Sum are the stuffed tofus. But as with all things Dim Sum, every restaurant does it differently. Top Island stuffs, well more like tops, their tofu with a giant fish ball. I almost rather eat just the tofu as the fish balls were just too big. Bigger may look better. It looks like we are getting a better deal cause we are getting more, but it's no longer stuffed tofu. I basically have to eat the tofu and the fish ball separately. So no, bigger isn't always better.

(Steamed Stuffed Tofu)

I don't eat a lot of fried foods, and I generally avoid donuts. I don't even remember the last time I actually went to a donut shop to buy a donut, though I had one a couple days ago because my parents visited a friend who worked at a donut shop. The irony is that my family co-owns a donut shop in Thailand. But I do like the Chinese salted donut, which are basically deep fried dough stuffed with pork. It's really hard to go wrong with this dish. You just can't go wrong with deep fried anything. The only real thing one can do wrong with this dish is either over stuff or under stuff them. Top Island is pretty consistent with a fair amount of tasty stuffing. The dough is also a very good consistency; a little crunchy on the outside and a little mushy on the inside.

(Salted Water Corner - a.k.a. Chinese Deep Fried Salty Donuts)

Generally speaking, I don't order anything off the menu at Dim Sum. But I went with my family today, and my mother couldn't pass up on their deal on squabs. The king squabs were $3.99 each and the smaller squabs were $6.99 each. If you go to the supermarket to buy the small squabs raw, they would cost $10 each. We have absolutely no idea how they can serve them at such a low price. It's so cheap it's almost scary. I mean are these squabs legit? Did they go out to some town square and took down a ton of pigeons and passed it off as squabs. Alright I'm letting my imagination run wild, but I do wonder.

Cheap as it may be, the quality of the squabs were actually good. the problem though was the marinate. It needed to be marinated longer. The flavor just never penetrated enough through the skin and into the meat, so the meat was a bit bland, though it was tender. I understand the fact that every other table in the restaurant is ordering squabs, so they simply don't have the luxury to marinate them for a prolonged period of time. It's the classic increase in demand yielding a decrease in quality. Well it does give my mother her squab fix, but as for me I much prefer my Dad's recipe. If only raw squabs cost less.

(Deep Fried Squabs)

Dim Sum is loud. The food is loud and the atmosphere is even louder. The best and most popular Dim Sum places is like a symphony of sounds and tastes with people crossing non-stop in front of your eyes. The dishes banging together as waiters clean the tables: the people talking over the noise in the room: the sound being trapped in a non-dampened room; the waiters and waitresses zig-zagging across the room unendingly to keep up with the demands of the customers. All these adds together to bring the whole place to life, which really is a great way to feel alive in a time when the rest of the world can seem like all gloom and doom.

So this holiday season instead of hearing sleigh bells, maybe it's time to hear some dishes clang.

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