Kang Kang Food Court in Alhambra

The weather in Los Angeles has certainly been up and down lately. A few weeks ago on a warm, windy afternoon, Hubby and I took the kids to the park to fly their kite. We were scheduled to get some shaved ice at the Kang Kang Food Court in Alhambra, but truthfully, I was excited to meet my inspiration and fellow food blogger Wandering Chopsticks and taste test the Jing Dong Meat Pie she recommended there.

WC got a taste of the kids that day. Baby R was teething and being weaned simultaneously, so he was not a happy camper. But WC took to him immediately and graciously held him while I sampled the food. She didn't flinch a bit when R decided to go for his bowl of rice cereal, splashing milk all over poor WC's pretty dress and the floor. The other two for some reason decided to take turns going on long potty breaks with Hubby, but otherwise, they were fairly patient as Mom chatted with her Hubby-dubbed long, lost twin (because we have a lot eerily in common).

For a warm afternoon, the place was quite empty. I remember years ago before this place closed down for remodelling, and when we used to call it Shau May, it was always packed with people, but it was also a lot more grimey. The removal of the dirty carpet and a fresh coat of paint did wonders. Now the place seems roomier and cleaner.

I ordered some shaved ice for the kids at the shaved ice bar. Now, I don't know what the story is with this location and that of the Shau May in Monterey Park. Both locations offer the same stuff, so either it's a chain, or it's owned by the same people. The shaved ice bar offers the same stuff as the Monterey Park Shau May, but when I tasted the rice balls, they seemed harder than those at the Monterey Park location. Otherwise, it was all good.

On a sidenote, I want to demonstrate how sleepy and distracted I was that day. The girl at the counter who took my order asked me what table number I was at so that they could bring us our food later. I started telling her my phone number until WC stepped in with the correct info.

I decided to order two of the Jin Dong Meat Pies thinking one wouldn't be enough for all of us, but boy was I wrong. I had leftovers for the next day. WC pointed out the pretty layers in the pie, and when I bit into it, it was bursting with flavor. If you love ginger, you'll love this, because there was a lot of ginger mixed in with the pork. I didn't care much for the ginger, but I liked the texture of the pie itself and the flavor of the meat.

A few weeks later, I regretted not trying the Shanghai Pan-Fried Dumplings that they are also famous for, so I sent Hubby to order take out for dinner. The dumplings were noticeably juicier than that of the Monterey Park location, and my parents became a fan, even though the juice squirted all my mom's clothes before I had time to warn her. Yeah, they were that juicy. This photo just doesn't do them justice. We also ordered the meat pie again, and this time there was less ginger for some reason, but still yummy.

Kang Kang Food Court offers cafeteria style food for takeout also. So, Hubby also ordered some of their three item combinations.

The first combo consisted of steamed chicken with ginger and scallion, steamed shrimp, and steamed chinese brocolli. The chicken was not the usual steamed chicken I'm normally used to. The scallion/ginger dressing was not as salty, and the chicken felt soggy and actually grainy to me. I'm just used to firmer meat. The shrimp was also soggy, grainy, and not so fresh, but I liked the sweetness of the sauce. The chinese brocolli was just that, average.

The second combo had steamed cabbage with tofu, fish with black bean sauce, and soft tofu with meat and vegetables. Both tofu dishes were bland to me, but the silky texture of the soft tofu was nice. I did not like the fish at all. The sauce was overly salty, sour, and just plain strange. You also get some soup with the combos, but this "soup" is basically some broth with a bit of bean sprouts in it. Not even worth drinking.

Both Kang Kang Food Court and Shau May are comparable, but whenever I want the Pan Fried Dumplings, I'd come to this location. Just don't order them for takeout because it took them half an hour to fill our order. I think I will also stay away from their combination items, although it's a good deal for $4.25 for the three items. Parking is also tough here, but it's worth the trouble.

Kang Kang Food Court is located at 27 E. Valley Blvd in Alhambra, CA (626) 308-3898

Christmas Truffles

Happy Holidays to all of ya!

After four parties, three Christmas programs, lots of shopping, a trip to Disneyland, losing my voice, and dealing with one teething and flu-sickened baby (still sick), I'm back. Apologies to my readers who have visited and have found me MIA. I hope you had a beautiful Christmas as we did.

This Christmas, I decided to make boxes of truffles for all of the kids' teachers and our local children's librarian after seeing the recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine, of all places. So easy but makes one big mess when you have kids.

Ingredients for the Truffles:
20 squares (20 ounces) of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz. Cream Cheese

Ingredients for Decorating:
Sprinkles
Crushed Nuts
Coconut Shavings
Powdered Sugar
Cocoa Powder
General Foods International Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix
2 ounces Baker's white chocolate, melted

Baker's semi-sweet chocolate comes in packages of 1 ounce squares with 8 squares to each box, so buy two and half packages. I've tried this with Nestle Toll House chocolate also, but the Baker's gave a darker, smoother color that I liked.

Microwave cream cheese on high fo 15 seconds. Melt 8 chocolate squares according to the package and mix in the cream cheese until well blended. You can use a mixer but I did it by hand and it came out fine. Chill for about 15 minutes until the mixture firms up and then shape into 3/4 inch balls. Place each ball onto a silt pad or wax paper. I got 32 balls out of this.

Melt the rest of the chocolate squares according to the package. Take each ball and dip each into the molten chocolate. The recipe called for a fork for the dipping process, but I found a toothpick was easier. Don't worry about the hole left on top, as you can cover this up with large sprinkles, nuts, or other decorations.

Make sure you put the sprinkles or nuts on before the chocolate has already re-solidified or they won't stick. I also decorated some with coconut shavings. I also drizzled on melted white chocolate with a toothpick on some of the truffles. Make sure that the dark chocolate has already solidified before drizzling it on though.

A variation I tried was to take some of the balls and roll them into the Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix instead of dipping them in the molten chocolate. Came out nice. The recipe also suggested rolling them in powdered sugar, nuts, or cocoa, but I didn't try that.

Box the truffles up and they make beautiful Christmas gifts. I suggest making the truffles a day or two before giving them out, keeping them in the fridge, and make a note to tell your gift recipient to put the package in the fridge once they receive it from you to prevent spoilage.

Food to Go in Rowland Heights

What food to go? No, just Food to Go. That's the name of the restaurant. Located next door to T S Emporium in Rowland Heights, this little shop is literally a hole in the wall. We noticed it one day looking for C's thermos options at T S Emporium and decided to try it sometime.

So after church one day, we headed over to grab some dim sum. Hubby's Chinese is almost nonexistent, but I made him order anyways because I was busy feeding R in the van. He's usually a little terrified of ordering in Chinese, but he was able to. You'll be better off telling the staff what you want, although there was one person who spoke limited English there when he went.

I had taken a peek inside the place the first time we went by, and they sell Chinese BBQ items also, like a Sam Woo's. But I was interested in the take out dim sum because I've been on the hunt for cheap places around my area to buy it.

For $11.40 ($2.80 each dish), we got 8 siu mai (pork dumplings), dan tart (egg custards), 4 har gow (shrimp dumplings), and 4 char siu baos (BBQ pork buns). I can't remember how many dan tart they gave us, but I think it was the three as shown in the photo. Yes we ate a few before I was able to take a photo. Shame on...uh the kids? Alright, I had some too.

The char siu bao filling was quite pasty and was not too great, but it wasn't that bad either. The har gow was good, and the siu mai also with its really chunky shrimps mixed in with the pork. The dan tarts were soggy but edible. Can't expect much for cheap dim sum, and I've had so much better in the Alhambra area, but I'm just happy I found something around here.

We came back on a different day and they were out of the siu mai and har gow at around one, so come early. On that day, we got chicken baos and sesame balls, and again those were just average.

Anyone know of a better cheap take out dim sum place in the Eastern SGV?

Food to Go is located at 1425 Nogales St., Rowland Heights, CA

Whimsical Frozen Yogurt in Hacienda Heights

So after not liking Pinkberry the first time I tried it, I've really gotten myself knee-deep into the fro-yo craze. So when Whimsical in Hacienda Heights advertised its Grand Opening recently with a two for one coupon, you know I had to drag the kids there. Unfortunately, I dragged them towards the end of a very long day that consisted of church, lunch, birthday party, and dinner with visiting friends. More to come on the kids later.

My first impression of this place was that it was so very roomy. I was wondering why they needed so much empty space and why they didn't just put in more tables, but then again most of the tables were empty. Then I noticed that there was a guy serving gelato to some of the customers. I forgot that the advertisement had stated that they serve gelato here too in addition to the frozen yogurt. Not being a big fan of gelato, I dragged the kids towards the back where the yogurt machines were located.

I was disappointed at the selection of the yogurt flavors that were offered. There were ten flavors offered. I sampled the kahlua and didn't like it. There were no green tea or more exotic fruit flavored ones (my favorites). The kids got an orange flavored one and the strawberry. I didn't like those too much either. Hubby got the NYC cheesecake one, and again not too great for me. But I tried the tart and I'd have to say their tart is very yummy, better than Cherry On Top's tart. It tasted very much like the Vietnamese yogurt that I love. I just recently checked Whimsical's website and found that they rotate their yogurt flavors.

While C, and I were at the toppings bar, I heard hubby gasp and turned around to see that J had pulled the handle on the strawberry yogurt machine and that there was probably about two cups of the strawberry yogurt decorating the machine and the floor. Quickly hubby grabbed some tissue and scooped everything up and into the trash before the guys at the counter saw what happened. Otherwise we'd be paying for a lot of yogurt. By the way, the price was cheaper than Cherry On Top's at 30 cents an ounce.

The toppings were not as extensive as Cherry On Top's, and the fruits were not as fresh. They did have green mochi, but the mochi were a little hard for me. While we were still piling on the toppings, J started throwing a tantrum because he wanted his own yogurt. I quelled that tantrum in about half a minute and was quite proud of myself.

As we headed over to our table and sat down, I noticed this guy giving my kids and I a dirty look. He looked to be in his late twenties and immediately I was offended that someone that probably had no idea what it was like to deal with three tired and cranky kids would be judging me for having a three year old who threw a tantrum which I thought I did a pretty good job at handling. So immediately I aimed my camera at him and he immediately looked down at his laptop. I discovered I found a new use for my camera that night.

Anyways, Whimsical has a very good tart yogurt, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here unless I have another coupon, which I do. Whimsical's website is offering a buy one get one free coupon per person if you sign up your email address, but there are very few locations. I hope the next time I go, there will be better yogurt flavors than what was offered this time around and an absense of humbug customers in the store.

This location of Whimsical is located at 1655 Azusa Ave. Suite G, Hacienda Heights, CA (626) 965-7878

Green Mango with Sweet and Spicy Fish Sauce

Last month, a coworker of my mom's gave her this huge green mango (the size of a cantaloupe) to enjoy the way we Vietnamese often enjoy green mangoes. I'm not exaggerating the size either, and as evidence, that whole plate of mango below came from one mango.

There is a lot of confusion regarding what makes a green mango. Yes you can get the more common mango and eat them in their unripened stage, but they can be very, very sour, The mango we got is special because of its characteristics in its unripened stage, although I'm unsure of what exact species my mom got (as many varieties of special green mangoes exist). Even while unripened, specialized green mangoes are tart enough to be tart but not so sour that it makes your mouth pucker, and it has that wonderful crunchiness. As a note, if you leave the specialized green mango long enough, they do ripen to be sweeter, but usually not as sweet as the more common mangoes you'd find in a supermarket, and not as soft either. As least I've never left a green mango to ripen so much that it gets that soft or sweet- they're always eaten by then.

So getting back to how Vietnamese eat their green mangoes. We often dip it in a quick and easy sauce consisting of fish sauce, sugar, and hot chili peppers. The spicier for me, the better, but you can adjust it to your liking.

Recipe for the sauce:
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2-3 thai chili peppers (or however many you'd like)

Mix this all together to create a thick syrup, and if you'd like it sweeter, add some more sugar.
I've actually tried regular sweet mangoes with this sauce out of desperation for a spice kick, and although not as good with green mango, it's still yummy.

I know there are lots of ways to eat mangoes as a snack, from sprinkling them with chili or drying the sweet version. How do you eat your mangoes, and do you prefer them sweet or tart?

Porto's Potato Balls

I have never heard of Porto's before. Yes, that's a shame for someone living in Southern California, but I really don't like bakeries besides my Asian ones because I find cakes at other bakeries are just way too sweet for me.

When my father-in-law celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago, sister-in-law bought a cake from Porto's in Glendale. Porto's is a Cuban bakery with two branches and is supposely quite famous. But like I said, I've never heard of them before. When I tasted the cake, it was as I feared. Way too sweet for my taste, but hubby and kids seem to like it. And it was pretty. Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture, and hubby's family are not too into photos.

But the other night, hubby brought home some leftover Porto's potato balls from his sister.

These are essentially deep-fried balls of potato filled with a ground beef and I think, onion mixture. When I tasted them, I thought they were okay. I've tasted the combination before, but I started reading reviews on Porto's and it seems everyone was raving about these. So, someday I will just have to venture out there myself and taste a fresh potato ball or bribe someone to get a fresh one for me. In the meantime, yes if you're looking for something decent and very filling, a potato ball from Porto's will do.

Jujube Rice Pudding with Cinnamon and Honey

Yesterday, I had some time to come up with a snack for C and J while they were at school and baby R was taking his nap. I don't get too many opportunities like this in the mornings where I have the time and want to cook up something when I can be doing something for myself, like scrapbooking, or blogging. Like I said, I'm a selfish mommy, so don't make me cook more than once a day.

Anyways, so I promised to use up some of those jujubes I posted about previously. Rice pudding was doable enough, so here's my recipe for you to enjoy and perfect a little bit more. I also thought this would be a good submission for the online event Sugar High Friday created by Jennifer (Domestic Goddess). Hosting the event for this month is Anita (Pastry Girl) at Dessert First, and entries call for any sweet dish created using one or more spice.

Simmer about 8 diced jujubes in 1/2 cup water for 15 minutes.

Bring to boil 2 cups milk (I used 2%), 1 cup water, and 2 cups white jasmine rice. Reduce to simmer.

Add the softened jujubes to the rice and milk and simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir now and then, and towards the end, keep a watch out for the pudding. If you find that it starts to get too thick, you can add more water.

Add in 1 tablespoon honey, 1/3 cup sugar, and a 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

This makes about six servings and can be eaten warm or cold. You can definitely add nuts or raisins as a variation. The next time I make this, I will peel those jujubes because the skin got in my teeth and was quite annoying. But, if you are short of time or are just plain lazy like me, leaving the peel on is fine and is probably healthier anyways. I am thinking about trying jububes with Thai black rice sometime in the distant future. So then, anyone have any other suggestions on cooking jujubes?

Cherry On Top

I was pretty late getting into the frozen yogurt craze, and I have to admit I didn't like Pinkberry the first time I tried it because I just didn't like the flavor of the plain yogurt. Then hubby saw that a new yogurt place called Cherry On Top opened up in Diamond Bar and was offering locals two for one coupons, so we ventured over there during the dog days of summer. Then I tasted the green tea and the mango yogurt and got addicted.

Cherry On Top is part of a chain, and this one in Diamond Bar always seems to have a steady stream of customers. It's located next to a Ten Ren and a Baskin Robbins in a strip mall. From a mile away, you can see the bright pink decor through the glass windows and upon entering, you hear the loud music and notice the glass cherries dangling from the ceiling. Our boys love it.

And another thing our boys love is to run to the counter, grab a container (usually the biggest one) and then run to the yogurt machines, where they self-serve their own yogurt. They like the strawberry-banana, and in addition to the green tea and mango yogurt, I've taken a liking to the peach. I believe there were 12 different flavors of yogurt to choose from.

An advantage to getting the two for one coupon is that I don't have to taint my exclusively mochi and fruit-topped yogurt with their toppings, which include things like gummy bears, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. But on this trip, it was part of my birthday dinner and cousin was with us, so I had to share with C. So he decided to dump his white chocolate chips all over my yogurt, and he put some strawberry-banana yogurt in there too. Yes I'm a selfish mommy. The point of all this rambling is that you get to self-serve your own toppings too, and their fruit toppings are pretty fresh.

Once you get everything in your container, the staff will weigh it and charge you by the ounce. Always comes out more than what we expect, but we hand over the cash willingly.

Cherry On Top is fun for the kids and yummy to the tummy for all.

This location is at 2761 S Diamond Bar Blvd Diamond Bar, CA (714) 538-5749

Snackdown

One thing about having kids is that hubby and I often reap the benefits of a visit to doting grandparents who spoil them with the likes of these:

Or would this photo be the one to whet your appetite enough for a trip to a Vietnamese shop?

Yes, my parents went on a binge at Banh Mi Che Cali. I was too busy eating to ask them which branch they went to, but it's either the Alhambra or the Rosemead location. I usually like Van's sandwiches better because I like the pate they put on theirs, but these banh mi dac biet (cold cuts sandwiches), were not too shabby either. Tons of mayo on these, and the baguettes were crunchy and warm:

A tip for ordering sandwiches to go is to have them place the veggies in a separate bag so that the sandwiches don't get soggy during transport. We also had some nem cuon (grilled pork sausage rolls):

...and chao long (rice porridge with pork innards). That thing you see on the spoon is a cube of blood. We call them jello, and my kids will eat them.

The kids also had some chicken buns (banh bao), but they were bitten into by the time I got around to snapping pictures. For dessert, there was banh chuoi (logs of sticky rice and banana rolled in banana leaves). These are the green logs tied up with red string in the first photo above.

There was also banh khoai mi (cassava cake):

...and banh cam chien (fried sesame rice balls filled with mung bean paste):

Alright, I have to stop and make it clear that I did NOT eat all of these myself on this day. I've eaten them all before and attest to their deliciousness, but no, I'm not that much of a pig. Now onward with the goodies. The one thing I like at Banh Mi Che Cali over Van's is their selection of che (which basically means soupy Vietnamese desserts). As evidenced by those tubs of che above, my parents went crazy on the che today.

My favorite has always been the che dau (sticky rice and black eyed peas dessert). I've left it out of the photo, but you would normally douse this with coconut milk:

Che bap (corn and sticky rice dessert), usually also with coconut milk:

Che troi nuoc (mung bean paste filled rice balls sprinkled with sesame seeds in a ginger soup):

Banh chuoi hap (steamed bananas with coconut milk, which I again left out):

Che khoai mon (sticky rice with taro), usually covered in coconut milk:

...and this last one which my mom couldn't remember the name of. Anyone know? Mom are you reading this?

There you have it. This che-fest should last me until...oh..tomorrow?

Banh Mi Che Cali Alhambra is at 647 W Valley Blvd Alhambra, CA 91803 (626) 293-8396

Banh Mi Che Cali Rosemead is at 8450 Valley BlvdRosemead, CA 91770 (626) 288-5600‎

I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me

Do you celebrate the Mooncake Festival aka Tet Trung Thu aka Mid-autumn Festival? Or rather did you celebrate it last Sunday? My family and I are still trying to finish all the mooncakes we received the last few weeks. These ones are filled with lotus paste, our favorite type.

There are some who like the fruit and nut filled ones but my kids would rather douse their tongues with spicy beef jerky until they can't take it anymore. No really. At least C, my eldest, would.

Hubby actually bought some mooncakes from Costco to try, and they were actually edible and not so bad. But my dear mom, who only goes for the best when it comes to food, taught me to only get freshly made ones from the local bakeries, so this is where we get ours from nowadays:

Van's, my favorite Vietnamese bakery. My favorite bakery, period. This year, I got some of their taro paste mooncakes, but these spoiled very quickly and we never got a chance to try them. Oddly enough my mom's taro mooncake also went moldy quickly too. Must have been in the same batch.

How do you celebrate Tet Trung Thu? Last Sunday, my family gathered over at my mom's. She did her little thing setting out food for the ancestors, and then we had Thai hot pot (lau Thai) for dinner. After filling ourselves, we then had a feast of desserts. This included cocktail, mooncakes of course, and fruit. Enough glucose to turn you into a diabetic. And while we were eating, our two eldest boys ran in and out looking up at the moon and chasing the crickets. Good food, good times.