Lido (麗都餐廳)

Lido (麗都餐廳)

4231 Hazelbridge Way 
Richmond, BC

V6X 3L7

Lo Po Beng

Pineapple Bun with Butter

Egg Tart

House of Tofu Soup

House of Tofu Soup

1110 - 4651 Garden City Road 

Richmond, BC
V6X 2G8

This is the second time coming to House of Tofu Soup.  First time was with Kaiser and Hazel and Anne.  Ordered pretty much similar food, and loved it.  Also had the spicy cold noodles.  

On the trip to Vancouver, that day we were supposed to go to a Taiwanese bubble tea place to have deep fried chicken.  That place was shut down, unfortunately, and we didn't know where to go.  In the same mall, I noticed House of Tofu Soup is just around the corner.  So I suggested going here instead.  Loved how Haley loved the place =D

Highly recommend this place for some hearty Korean food at a good price. 

Pumpkin Soup appetizer

Side dishes including Kimchi, seaweed, bamboo shoot, mashed potatoes

We ordered two soup combinations ($14.99 each)

Soup Combination = An item from the Soup Menu + an item from the Bulgogi Menu

Soup Menu = Pick a meat (Beef, Pork, Seafood, or Mixed) or veggie (Kimchi, Dumpling, or Mushroom). Then you pick the spicy-ness level from white, mild, regular, hot, and extra hot.

Bulgogi Menu = Beef, Chicken, or Pork

For this meal we picked, mild pork and mushroom for our tofu soup, and then pork and chicken bulgogi

The soup combination includes rice and side dishes. After the server scoop the rice for you, she will add tea to the stone bowl.  She said to eat this at the end of the meal to cleanse your palette.

As soon as the soup came bubbling hot, you break an egg and mix it into the soup.

The soup is so delicious! Lots of smooth tofu and cabbage, and your choice of meat.

Pork Bulgogi

Chicken bulgogi

Soorha ($14.99) beef bulgogi with rice cake and broccoli

Jap Chae ($14.99)

Cafe de tropika (樂園新世代)

Cafe de Tropika (樂園新世代)

3040 Calgary Trail NW

Edmonton, AB 

T6J 7C2

http://www.cafedetropika.com/index.html

西多士 ($5) with peanut butter

焗葡國雞飯 ($12)

鮮茄牛脷燴意粉 ($12)

Cerezo

Cerezo Cafe & Bar

1002 Edmonton Trail NE 

Calgary, AB 

T2E 3K2

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/15/1686915/restaurant/Renfrew/CEREZO-Cafe-Bar-Calgary

Cerezo is a Japanese fusion Taps themed cafe and bar in Calgary.  I was pleasantly surprised that Cerezo looks like a house - with a beautiful garden for outdoor dining as well as indoor uniquely European-style decorated cafe.  The staff were all Japanese.  They explained carefully about the menu is. It works like any cafes, you order up front, find a table to sit, and they will bring you the food and drinks.     

Spanish Latte and Hot chocolate

This is my first time trying Spanish Latte - which uses condensed milk instead of regular milk.  The drink is nice and sweet (but not too sweet) - perfect for a chilly spring day.  The barista carefully gave us all heart shaped latte arts <3

For brunch, we ordered a variety of quiche and paninis. I liked the salad dressing a lot.  The other food were very good too except it was getting heavy as we know we order a dessert each too lol.

Quiche and Salad

Breakfast Panini

Spicy Tuna Panini

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry short cake was amazing here! The cake is super light and fluffy. Cream were nice and light and airy too.  Delicious!

Banana Cream Tart

I really enjoyed the banana cream tart too.  Love the flakes on the outside, contrasting the smooth cream, and then finally the cruchy tart on the bottom.

Lemon Tart

Lemon tart was yummy too, although not my favourite, cuz I don't like lemony dessert too much.

Pineapple Bun (菠蘿包)

I have always enjoy Chinese style bakery buns for breakfast.  It then became a comfort home food for me when our family immigrated to Canada.  I remembered I was really happy to be able to buy these buns in Canada (even though they aren't that great in Edmonton), it gives a warm, fuzzy, comfort food feeling... a piece of home and heritage in a foreign place.

When I get older, now when I think of pineapple bun I remember Danny's happy face with his favourite pineapple bun with butter (菠蘿油) lol.  Though I never thought of making these buns myself.  The task seem so daunting!  Making bread is not an easy task!  With yeast doubling at the right room temperature, the lengthy waiting time, and finickiness of buns not being poofy and moist... the list goes on!  Especially I failed multiple times with making cinnamon buns and anything with yeast.  Kudos to Freddy for his adventurous personality to initiate the task and the most important piece of equipment - the stand mixer.  I'd like to thank Freddy here, his stand mixer has made many, many of my dreams come true.  Thank you Freddy!  Also Haley's extra warm room temperature (23oC) may have been the success to the buns!!  


Here it is!

 

Ingredients

yields a dozen very large buns

To make pineapple buns, you'll need:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast (not the instant one!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten

The topping for the pineapple buns is made separately using:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

 

Procedure

1. Mix together 1/2 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt
2. Melt the butter, then add oil and milk to the butter and warm it
3. Pour the butter/oil/milk mixture into the flour mixture
4. Add the eggs to the flour mixture, and stir well to combine. Then beat mixture for 3 minutes
5. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed
6. Dust the counter-top and knead the dough on it. Add dough little by little if it's too sticky.
7. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Let it double in size, which will take roughly 1.5 hours. While the dough is rising, prepare the pineapple bun topping following the recipe further below on this page).
8. After 1.5 hours, punch the dough down and let it rise again for another 1.5 hours
9. Divide the dough into 12 equally sized balls, then flatten them to round, flat buns. Place them on lightly greased baking sheets and cover with a slightly damp towel for another 45 minutes so that the dough can rise a bit more.
10. Take the prepared pineapple topping and roll it to a thickness of about 1/2 a cm
11. Brush the buns with a small amount of water, and place the pineapple topping on top of the buns. The water will help the topping stick to the buns.
12. Take a knife and lightly score the toppings with a criss-cross pattern, kind of like grill marks on a steak.
13. Lightly beat 1 egg yolk and brush the buns and toppings with it. The egg yolk will provide the buns with a nice rich yellow colour.
14. Bake the buns at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes on the middle rack.

Pineapple Topping Procedure:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy
2. Add egg yolk, baking soda, and milk together, and mix well.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter mixture, and mix by hand until it's smooth and not sticky. Be careful not to manipulate it too much as it will form gluten.
4. Wrap the topping in plastic and refrigerate it for an hour and a half minimum.
   

Reciped adapted from Homemade Chinese

Thoughts

 

1. The pineapple buns are so delicious!!! I'm so proud of the team that made it happen! The recipe took like 7-8 hours to complete but the result is so WORTH it.
2. I would use more beaten egg yolks to brush the pineapple topping, it wasn't quite yellow enough.
3. I would probably double the pineapple topping next time, I find the topping to bun ratio not high enough.
4. Serve with butter inside the bun is the best way!!

Steam Egg Whites with Seafood

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
2 cups of water (cooled boiled water, or chicken broth)
5 shrimps, thaw, peeled, and chopped
3 sticks of imitation crab meat, thaw and chopped
chopped green onions for garnish

Procedure:
1.  First, set up a wok with cold tap water with a metal lifter.  Place a large round glass dish on top of the metal lifter to check the water level.  The water level should reach to above half the height of the glass dish.
2.  Turn on the stove to medium-high heat.
3.  Beat 4 egg whites in a bowl and pour into a measuring cup.  Measure the volume of the egg whites.
4.  If the egg whites volume is 150 mL, add (1.5 times the volume, 1.5 x 150 mL = 225 mL) 225 mL of water and beat well.
*note the water should be cooled boiled water.  you may substitute with chicken broth for more flavour*
5.  When the water in the wok is boiling, add the beaten egg white mixture on to the round glass dish through a strainer.  Add your chopped shrimp and crab meat and green onions.  Cover.
6.  After 2 minutes, turn off the heat and cover to steam for another 20 minutes.
7.  The egg whites are done when you lightly shake the plate, and they should firm up like a jello and not liquidy.
8.  Serve like that or with a little bit of sweet soya sauce.

**a variation of this can be separately stir fry some marinated chicken strips and then add it on top of the steamed egg whites after step 6.**

Adapted from 吾淑吾食.

君.子.蘭.

君.子.蘭.


We have this pot of plant for over 8 years now.  It has always been green leaves, but this spring flowers have bloomed!!! Words cannot describe this incredible feeling seeing its flower for the first time.  I found this description about this plant in Chinese and found it much more suiting than English.  What good luck will this bring???

翠綠的劍葉烘托火紅的花團     數十朵喇叭狀小花向四方鳴奏

觀其整個植物形體     挺拔青翠的綠葉玉立亭亭  

綽約的風姿以及高雅的神韻 飄然坦蕩大有「君子」之風

 亦是「吉祥」、「高雅富貴」的象徵 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFprdzHje0o

 

Shanghai Morning (小南國上海小吃)

The story with Shanghai Morning begins about 5 years ago.  5 Christmases ago, I visited Charles' family in Vancouver.  Charles took me to a lot of Chinese and Sushi restaurants.  One of his favorites was Chen's on Alexandra Rd in Richmond. Their Shanghainese siu long bao was so good that I went to that restaurant 3 times in 2 weeks. The last time we each have an order of siu long bao (6 per order) per person lol. After two years, Chen's was sold.  And we were very disappointed that we no longer can have the BEST siu long baos ever.  

Fast foward to April 2013, because of a CNPN conference happening in Vancouver.  My boss lets me go to this conference by myself.  I visited Charles' parents and realized the owner has re-opened her restaurant in a new location with nice decor and tables and chairs.  I'm soo happy I get to eat her hand-made siu long baos again!!  I have tried a few other places in Edmonton and Toronto, and not until I tried hers that I remembered how good it can be! Here it is!! 

Shanghai Morning

小南國上海小吃
125-8291 Alexandra Road Richmond, BCV6X1C3
(778) 297-6098
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1647010/restaurant/Vancouver/Richmond-Central/Shanghai-Morning-Restaurant-Richmond

Smoked fish (熏魚)

Siu Long Bao (小籠包)

Dumplings (鍋貼)

Dan Dan Noodles (擔擔麵) 

Seasame pastry with black seasame filling（黃橋燒餅）

Five spice beef wrap（大餅牛肉卷）

Banh Mi Boys

Banh Mi Boys

392 Queen St W
Toronto, ON
M5V 2A9
http://www.banhmiboys.com/

Kalbi beef Banh Mi ($5.99) - short ribs, kimchi, asian bbq sauce

close up of kalbi beef banh mi

Korean style beef short rib with Asian BBQ sauce, topped with cucumbers, pickled carrots, and cilantro and served on a baguette.  The baquette it was served on was particularly noteworthy as it was soft and fresh.

Five Spice Pork Belly Steamed Bao ($3.49) - braised pork belly, pickled radish

The steamed bao was topped with cucumber, pickled carrots and cilantro which contrasted the fatty, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly nicely. It came with two thick pieces of pork sandwiched between the soft and chewy bun.  My favourite item of all the things we tried.  The taste resembles peking duck flavours.

Kimchi fries ($5.99)

The fries came served in a box topped with Japanese mayo, green onions, kimchi and spicy pork. The tender pulled pork was a welcome addition and the combination of all the flavours was delicious.  It's like eating a fusion poutine with Korean/Japanese influence.  I just wish the box was bigger!

Japanese Korokke (Croquette)

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. (about 4) russet potatoes, peeled and halved
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• ½ carrots, finely diced
• 2 medium sized Chinese mushrooms, soaked and finely diced
•  1 can of corn
• 1 stalk of green onion, finely diced
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. white pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs for the breading
• 2 cup Panko
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• Oil for deep frying
• Tonkatsu Sauce 

Procedure:

1. In a large pot, put water and potatoes and bring it to a boil. Cook potatoes until a skewer goes through the potato easily.
2. Move the pot back to the stove. On low heat shift the pot so that remaining moisture will completely evaporate (but don’t burn them). Remove the potato from the heat and drain the water completely. When you do so, use a lid to partially cover so the potatoes don’t fall off from the pot.
3. Meanwhile, chop onion, carrot, mushrooms, and green onion finely.Turn off the heat and mash the potatoes. Unlike mashed potato, you don’t have to mash completely. You can want to leave some small chunks for texture. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high heat. Sauté onion until soft.
5. Add carrot and mushrooms and cook until they are soft.  Saute corn and green onions lightly.
6. Add salt, white pepper, and black pepper to season. Set aside.


When both mashed potato and meat mixture are ready, add the meat mixture into mashed potato in the large pot. Make sure you leave the liquid behind. We only want dry ingredients into the pot. Discard any liquid left in the pan
7. Add an egg and mix all together until everything is well combined.
8. Set aside to cool down a bit (so you can actually hold the mixture with your hands).
   
9. Dredge each ball in flour, then egg, and then Panko.


In a wok (or frying pan), heat oil over medium high heat. Deep fry Korokke until they are golden brown. Inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to make it nice brown color.
10. Transfer Korokke to paper towels and let the oil absorbed in the paper. Serve immediately with Tonkatsu Sauce.

Recipe adapted from: http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/korokke-croquette/

Thoughts:

1. A lot of work! but so worth it!!! It is very delicious, and restaurant quality too.  Love the addition of corn in it, makes it a little sweet. And having tonkatsu sauce is key to make it delicious!