Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Review: Arooga's


The best wings in town!!!

Arooga's Grille House Sports Bar is hands down the best place for sports lovers, wings lovers, or both! Because of  the many variety of wings sauces and TV's literally everywhere in the restaurant, even in the bathroom, so you won't miss any moment in your favorite game.


Their hours are Mon-Sun 11 AM - 2 AM. What I love the most is their wing night: you can get wings for as cheap as 49 cents a piece..... how awesome is that!? Before we get to that let me show you why this place is simply the best!


Televisions everywhere!

As you can see they have their special everyday, each is different. My favorite is Wednesday because it's 49 cents per wing? Yes please!



As you can see this is the wings lovers heaven: so many sauces you can choose from, rubs, double dippers, they have them all, from extremely hot to mild.

WARNING: The hottest sauce that they have is called the "Ghost Face Killa." First of all, you have to pay 99 cents extra for 5 wings; secondly it's extremely hot that you have to sign a waiver before you order them because this sucker can actually send you to the hospital.

TIPS: The sauces I highly recommend are the hickory smoked honey BBQ and BBQ ranch; you can't go wrong with these ones. They are very unique and sensational!


Oh yes, all the waitress wear an umpire uniform, making this place really unique. And most of them wear really short shorts or yoga pants.... pretty cool right?



You can order 5 wings for one sauce. Above are sake teriyaki and hickory smoked honey BBQ. They were amazing!



And this is their signature "ghost face killa" sauce made from the hottest edible chilies in the world. Its heat has no comparison but the taste is not as high as its heat. You can barely taste the chicken; all you can feel is your tongue burning, nose running,  and you will start to sweat. And even if you survive this extreme pain, when you get home (you know) you will have the worst time of your life. I have got to be honest here: one time I ate 10 of them, got home, and the next morning spent 20 minutes in the bathroom. After that, I can't walk get to the bed and pass out..........so.........think about consequences before your pride take control over you.

If you looking for a place to hang out and have fun like so much fun Arooga's is the best choice to choose.

Ratatouille the Movie

Hello there, good to see you again.

Disney films always make excellent productions as they know just how to spark your interest; and this time.......your appetite.


Ratatouille. It's one of my all time favorite movie, not just because it's about cooking; the art, story development, character design and many more features are just absolutely gorgeous in this film. Let's see why this animation will capture your heart.

Meet

Remy


He's a rat, but no ordinary rat, who seeks good taste far more beyond the garbage in the trash can like any other rats. He has the talent of sensing good taste. His nose is a blessing: just by smelling the ingredient, he knows exactly what type of dish can be prepared to its finest.

Linguini


A garbage boy who works in a famous high-end restaurant in Paris. He has zero talent in cooking but has a very kind heart, and strong will to be better. He later on teams up with Remy, as he can appear as a human, and Remy can cook. Will they be able to work well together?

Colette

Very gorgeous young lady, a woman among men in the tough kitchen, Colette is very talented in cooking. Always follow orders and recipes from the head chef, she has a very bold personality but can be sensitive sometime.

Anton Ego


My absolute favorite character of this film. He's a critic; a very very harsh one! His famous quote is "I don't like food, I love it, if I don't love it, I don't swallow." The man is hard to please with just good taste; it must be sensational. (He will make you want to drink wine on a regular basis, trust me.)

I guaranteed you that after you watching this movie it will forever be in your legacy movie list that you will want to pass on to your family line.








Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Marco Pierre White


Marco Marco Marco Marco Pierre F***ing White!

I cannot tell you enough how much much I am obsessed with this man. Marco Pierre White is the one who released the true nature within me, he guided me to knowing myself, what I want to do, and what I love to do. When it comes to cooking, if I have to look for recipe, his name will be the first thing I will search for. He knows everything about culinary world; and when I say everything, I truly mean everything! His technique is extraordinary but simple, and everything he does with food is always the best way to do it. As you might have already known, he's the youngest chef in history to win three Michelin stars. With that said, let me tell you a little bit about him.


Marco Pierre White was born on Monday, December 11, 1961 in Leeds, England. He is the son of  an Italian woman named Maria-Rosa Gallina, whom he always referred to as "my dear mother," and an English chef, Frank White. His Chinese zodiac is Ox and star sign is Sagittarius.

Whoever is born on the Ox year is believed to be a very hard worker,  really self confident, and always judges things as black and white (see what I did there? But seriously!), so there is no mercy when he sees you for who you are. Also, as he doesn't like to be center of attention, he is always  aloof and a bit of a loner. But when he's by himself, he's always thinking very intensely, so never ever make him mad -  you will face the devil himself if you get on his angry side. 

Marco Pierre White has a keen eye for observation and a good memory, making him a lovely family man. His creativity is always outside the box. As you can see, he's a very charming person, and he has what one might say "a killer smile." His smile can make a lady faint and he's a very smooth talker.

Marco Pierre White is a very generous man. He loves helping with charity. Anything he can do to help other people, he never hesitates to do so. The only sad part is when he dedicates himself to help others, nobody seems to do the same for him.

So that's all I know about him.... if you're still interested I will tell you how this man has touched my soul and released it to the world.

When I was working at the restaurant, I looked up to my lovely manager, who also is a chef who graduated under the legend Jacques Pépin.


I wanted to know how to cook like him. He's a very busy man so he couldn't really sit down and teach me everything so he gave me this book.


Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook, Everybody loves Tony: his charming personality, how he talks, and the way he writes his ideas are just so sublime.

So...I was very excited because I have admired Tony for a long time (I knew him from his famous show No Reservations).

I eagerly searched the book for the first recipe to cook, and I stumbled upon the famous Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew in red wine) recipe. On his show No Reservations, Season 6, Episode 11 "Techniques Special," he also was teaching how to make this dish, so I studied carefully, followed the instructions in the book very precisely, and made my very first Boeuf Bourguignon. It was good, but not yet sensational, so I thought I might be doing something wrong, and I kept researching on YouTube and found this pure gem.



And I gave Boeuf Bourguignon a try once again, precisely how Marco Pierre White instructed. IT WAS SENSATIONAL! One of the best dishes I've ever had in my whole life, made by me! 

Everything he said was absolutely right: for example, Marco does not use carrots in his stew, and he explains that it will take away from the flavor of the beef. After that phenomenon, I started to look up more recipes from him. There has never been one moment when his recipes were just good; they were all sensational! My lovely wife saw that I was extremely obsessed with him, so she brought me his cooking book for a present for our 1000th day married.


All the recipes were legendary, only most of them required expensive ingredients such as foie gras, caviar, or truffles. So when I got it, I was a little discouraged because I was had been eager to cook every single dish in the book. But then I found this dessert recipe.


I was thinking "hey, we can do this, all the ingredients are not so hard to find...." 

My wife and I got to work. To be completely honest, to us, it was devilishly hard! We were fighting a little over this recipe because it's very time sensitive. When you mix the dough, the butter melts really fast, so everything is extremely messy. I was thinking about giving up, but my lovely wife insisted that once we started, no matter what, we had to finish, even it will turned out to be disaster.

But you guessed it......VOILA! IT WAS THE BEST DESSERT I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. 

First of all, something you should know about me is I don't typically like dessert because my body doesn't really react well to very sweet dishes, especially chocolate, but his lemon tart is absolutely divine! It was sensational. I could eat the whole thing myself. 

Because of him, I've found myself. My passion. Since then, I couldn't stop thinking about cooking. I can't stop myself from going to the kitchen and starting to chopping onions. Even it's not meal time, I must cook. I love the sensation of a hot stove, chopping ingredients, and creating a good taste. When guest eat over, they are always asking for more.

I strongly recommend for you to study this man and let your taste buds decide what you think of His Holiness of Cooking. I idolize everything about him: his soothing tone of voice, his body language, his fearless attitude, how he chooses his words, his knife skill, his creativity, and his laugh. In my opinion, Marco Pierre White is the avatar of an absolute great dining sensation.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Food Unites the World

Hello there, good to see you again.

If there is one thing that will bind people together, the matter that creates peace where every human races can live together with joy, the piece so vital that will solve the problem in the world, a weapon that can end all conflicts, it is this. Imagine you are wandering in the jungle, so famished you just wish you could be at diner somewhere, having a really nice cheeseburger, so juicy that it makes your entire month vibrate with the taste of pure beef. But now all you can think about is just finding anything to eat.

So then you begin foraging for herbs and vegetables and start hunting for game or any type of meat you can find. Afterwards, you start a fire and begin to slowly roast the meat that you freshly killed after rubbing the it with fresh herbs twining it with vegetables. You have just made yourself something for the purpose of not just surviving but also for the joy of eating well.

Maybe you can't picture that in your head..... how about this: You came home after a long day's work in the office, walk in to the kitchen and in your fridge there are only 2 eggs, green onion, and leftover rice from yesterday. Sighing, you really don't feel like going out to buy ingredients or eating out, so you decide just create something from what you have. Voila! It turns out to be one of the best fried rice dishes in the entire universe that you wouldn't trade for a million dollars.

Wouldn't it be nice if anything you cooked, no matter how limited ingredients, you could turn into something worth bragging about? Imagine if the majority of people around the world were able to do that! When you cook good food, it's human nature to want to share it. And sometimes when you've enjoyed a great masterpiece while eating out, you naturally are curious if you could duplicate the recipe at home.


This means if everybody can cook well, they would share with other people, keep learning new recipes, spices, techniques, and it will bring joy to the community, eagerly seeking to create something new everyday. Just imagine that how food can connect people from different backgrounds.

Food is not just the fuel that is essential for living. When you begin to see food in a different light, this is when the culture begins to experience peace. When a man can put down his gun to sit at a cafe and enjoy a nice cup of espresso, you can't find anything more human than that. When a mother gathers ingredients to make a meal for her children, using her desire to care to create something that will make them forget their poverty, this is not just food; this is love. One can taste the feeling in the food when it is meant to give you an experience. This is why so many times we are in love with our mother's cooking. Cuisine can take one many places, make us forget our conflicts, and remind us of the everyday joys in life that are all around us if we take the time to realize it.

Different types of people are just like different types of flowers: if it all scattered on the table, when the wind blows, they will all fly in different directions and destroy their unity. But when tied together, the harsh winds cannot destroy the bouquet; they will stay strong together.    

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Introduction

Hello, there, my name is Ice. This is my first introduction, so there might be quite a lot of ranting in this post.

I was born and raised in Chiang Mai, a Northern city in Thailand. The city is very well known for some of the most beautiful women in the country, But to me, it is nothing compared to the culinary experience that Chiang Mai has to offer. If you are ever planing to visit Thailand, I strongly recommend for you to start in Chiang Mai. This city has everything you could ever desire in cuisine. From Western, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and authentic Thai, all of them are absolutely sensational. The chefs in Chiang Mai bring out the authenticity of each cuisine, and are always aiming to push it further. You won't just experience the real taste of each country, I also guarantee it will spark your pallet to crave for more. The complete presentation of the food, the aroma of each spice, the texture of soft and crispy as you sink your teeth into the food, you can feel the soul of each country running through your veins.

You may think I am biased or exaggerating, but trust me, I might be, if only a little.

And of course the main key which makes Chiang Mai unique is Northern style Thai food. The one food I strongly recommend you would try is called "Laarb Gai." Here's how to easily make it at home:


Laarb Gai (Ground Meat Salad)




Ingredients


  • Ground meat (pork or chicken)
  • 3 Tbsp of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp of toasted sticky rice powder
  • 3 Tbsp of finely chopped spring onions
  • 1 Tsp of palm sugar
  • 1 Cup of chicken stock
  • Handful of chopped fresh mint leaves
  • Handful of chopped fresh lettuce leaves
  • 1 Tbsp of chili flakes
Directions

  1. In a pot on the stove, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the ground meat and boil until cooked. Drain the meat and place in a large bowl.
  2. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well.
  3. Serve with Thai sticky rice.


Quick, simple and sensational!