Yummies in Chinatown

Just wanted to show off a tender little morsel I devoured in Chinatown today. I got it at a bakery right on Canal Street, and it was de-lish. Soft spongecake, light chocolate mousse, and fruit on top. And the whole thing was hardly sweet, but still satisfying.

A Thousand Year Egg

I've had some trouble finding a decent Chinese restaurant in New Jersey. It strikes me as a little odd, especially since Chinatown is 20 miles away, but every place I try serves me bright yellow egg drop soup, meat dishes with only a couple of pieces of meat, and fried rice that is totally dried out and reddish in color. Everything tastes like it has been sitting in a freezer for months. Totally disappointing.

Luckily I recently had the chance to join some of my company's international rotation assignees at a little spot they had found while living in the area. It's a hole-in-the-wall Szechuan restuarant in Ridgewood called Bamboo House. I was a little late, so there were already pots of tea on the table. The staff of the tiny restaurant then started bringing out the meal, which was served family style. First I got a bowl of hot and sour soup, full of bamboo, egg, and tofu, with a dusky spiciness from black pepper. For an appetizer, they brought out steamed dumplings, handmade by the proprietress. We got both pork and chive and pork and shrimp dumplings. Both were dense and flavorfull on the tongue.

For the entrees, the plates seemed to just keep coming. First we were brought fried rice, fresh and thick with meats. Next came a noodle dish, made with string-thin clear noodles and lots of meats and vegetables. We also had fried chicken wings that turned out jucier and more flavorful than I would have thought possible. Then they brought out shrimp with peas in a white sauce and chicken with basil in black bean sauce. Everything was delicious.

At the end of dinner we started talking about the different foods that different cultures find repulsive, and eventually the conversation came around to an item called a Century Egg or a Thousand Year Egg. Basically it's a chicken egg that has been preserved in clay, salt, and ash for a period of about 10 days before sitting in plastic for several weeks. The resulting preserved egg's white portion turns black, and the yolk turns gray and creamy. The whole egg smells strongly of sulfur. Basically it looks and smells like something you shouldn't put in your mouth. The proprietress just happened to have one, so anyone at the table that hadn't ever eaten it had to join in.

As soon as I put a piece of the egg in my mouth, I started having to fight a gag reflex. It tasted rotten and foul, and my body was trying to force me to spit it out. I couldn't swallow it, and I couldn't spit it out. Finally I took a big swig of hot tea and gulped it down. The taste lingered. Now, at least, I can say I've tried it, and I know that it's not something I would ever want to eat again.

I'm Kinda Scared...

Paula Deen strikes again... Just looking at this picture makes me ill. Yes, those are doughnuts sandwiching a sausage patty, fried egg, and bacon. This isn't what ladies I know eat for brunch, unless they're 800 pounds. I snatched it from the Food Network site in case they decide it's just too horrifying and take it back down. But if this looks good to you, the recipe can be found here. And of course the photo is property of Food Network.