Gourmet Kingdom "Chinese New Year" Dinner

When I was writing this post, I realized that we have so many mentions of Gourmet Kingdom on the blog that we need to give it its own special label!

This picture was taken on our recent trip to the restaurant with a chinese friend and her family to celebrate the new year!  It doesnt do justice to the numerous delicious dishes we sampled.

Hot tea (Y8) - always good and comforting.

Special Green Bean Jelly (L17) - very intersting! Great texture on these noodles made with green bean starch. A cold appetizer in a chilly-vinegar sauce with a punch. Very similar to the mouth watering chicken in taste.

Seaweed with sweet and sour sauce (L5) - If you like sweet in your savory, this one is for you. The seaweed reatins its texture and has a nice bite to it.

Osmanthus flavor cultured sticky congee (Y3) - the dessert actually came first and the preparation was quite intersting.  The rice soup was flavored with the osmanthus flower, with bits of egg-white floating around.  A deceptive dish - the look of it makes you expect a savory soup.

Pickled Bird Fish fillet with chilly sauce (H18) - this one was by far our most favorite, may be since it was the most familiar to us Indians! The "pickled" aspect is very very mild as the chilly peppers are the pickled element and not the fish!

Salt and Pepper Pork Rib (Z7) - A tasty piece of pork!  They were dry and came in little pieces, so I appreciated not having to deal with the mess.  Made a wonderful snack the next day.

Tian Jin flavor dumpling (F2) - the same old dumplings - simple and very tasty.

Dan Dan noodle (F20) - Different from the ones they serve in PF Chang's.  The noodles were thicker and by themselves had a lot more flavor.  Its a cold dish in Gourmet Kingdom and had a wonderful chilly oil sauce.

Soup with lily flower (?) - Cant remember the name of this one.  The lily fronds (pestel) were floating in a mild broth.  Will have to check with Feng for the exact name.  Stay tuned.

The key to enjoying your meal in Gourmet Kingdom is to go in a group of at least 4.  The portions are enormous and you will end up with lots of left overs.  The spicy dishes keep well and make for a great lunch the next day.

Gourmet Kingdom (Ba Shu Chuan Cai)
301 E Main Street
Carrboro NC 27510
Phone number: 919-932-7222
http://www.thegourmetkingdom.com/default.html
Google place page

Batts grill

Batt's Grill is our favorite sea food place anywhere in the world...may be anywhere in the world other than British Columbia!  Located in Surf City, NC; this is the highlight of our summer beach trips.  We found this place in the summer of 2007 when we were at the beach for our friends Matt and Crystal's wedding and had a strong recommendation from the locals. 

Batt's is a no non-sense fried seafood place.  You can have a plate of fried shrimp, oysters, fish, clam strip - alone or in various combinations.  They also make chowders and baked stuffed crabs and such but honestly, nothing beats a plate of seafood.  Their hush puppies are great and come with the seafood plate along with two other sides.  There is a wide variety to choose from - green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, fries, peas, black eyed peas, cole slaw, rice and more.  What Salil loves is the fact that you can get desserts as sides and they make some good banana pudding!! An endless cup of sweet tea on a hot summer day is a bonus.

All in all, a highly recommended place.  Though the prices have gone up in the last couple of years, they are nowhere close to the other touristy places.  For $6-8, expect a good comforting meal without too many frills.  Fortunately, they dont smoke in the restaurant anymore!! Surf City/ Topsail Island area is very accessible from the triangle and is much less crowded than Wilmington or Myrtle Beach.   

In addition to our summer trip, we went to the beach this year for thankgiving.  Batt's had an amazing thanksgiving spread for $6.  Salil had his best birthday meal that day.

Fish filet in Bashu sauce

Am just going to say one thing - Gourmet Kingdom has never failed!

Gourmet kingdom - a pleasant surprise

Gourmet Kingdom in Carrboro. Awesome fish in Schezuan bean sauce!


Gourmet Kingdom in Carrboro - a not particularly attractive looking chinese buffet.  Many locals go past it without giving it a second look.  I went there a long time ago, when it newly opened and was actually pretty good.  The fact that I was new to USA and the novel concept of a bountiful buffet must have also played its part to attract me here.  But as the days went by, the quality of the buffet went downhill and I explored and found many other deserving places in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area.

But now the locals are in for a hot surprise.  Gourmet Kingdom has a new management and they have ditched the buffet.  The place now serves a schezuan cuisine and they seem to be really very good at that.  We went there on a sunday evening and the place was packed.  Many asians, always a good sign if the locals are eating there!

We had the fish in schezuan bean sauce which is one of their signature dish.  Hot is an understatement!!!  I am wary of hot dishes because I always feel that the heat kills all the other flavors.  But this one was good.  The fish was perfectly cooked on a bed of chinese cabbage and topped with this spicy hot chilli-garlic schezuan secret paste.  We got some bok-choy and black mushrooms, turned out a great choice to cool the tongue down which was literally on fire after the fish.  The two plates were served with a generous portion of white rice. 

Great food but the service was slow.  Next time - Ba Shu Chicken!  

Fifteen minute, kicked-up Pasta

(Post by Avani)

Although I love Italian food, it has taken me some time to warm up to anchovies and more so to start cooking with them. Decided to brave it and developed this simple recipe inspired from Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals show.

A small can of Anchovies fillet (6-7 small fillets), chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 pound pasta (spaghetti/penne whatever you like)
10 small meatballs (I used sun-dried tomato and basil chicken meatballs from Trader Joes. Guys, dont frown...its a fifteen minute, kicked-up pasta!!)
Parsley
Shredded Jarlsburg cheese
Chopped black olives (optional)

Heat olive oil in a shallow, wide pan. Once the oil starts to ripple (dont let it smoke though), add chopped anchovy fillets, garlic and chilli flakes. Its important to add the fish before the garlic...we are not going for the burnt garlic flavor here! Feel free to change the amount of anchovies/chiili flakes and garlic to suit your palate. Whisk the mixture with a fork gently and reduce the heat to low.

The anchovies will almost melt in the oil and aroma will fill up your kitchen. At this stage, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped olives and the pasta sauce. If you have some extra time on hand, use grilled mushrooms (400C for 15 minutes in a thin layer with a splash of olive oil). Once the sauce heats through, add the de-frosted chicken meatballs and pasta. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Remember, the pasta sauce is already well seasoned. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese. I chose jarlsburg for its creamy, milky, neutral taste to cut through the strong anchovy flavor.

I have to admit that I am a convert now. Anchovies are yummy and if used in the right proportion, they will give a lot of depth to your sauce.

Baked Oysetrs learnt from Jacques Pepin

(Post by Avani)


A few months back, Jecques Pepin showed this very simple yet sophisticated recipe for baked oysters. On our recent trip to British Columbia, we bought fresh oysters and I remembered the recipe. This is my take on it since I didnt recall the exact details. The thing I definitely remembered was that oysters have a mild and delicate flavor profile, so we dont want to use too many ingredients to overpower them.

12 fresh oyseters, freshly shucked, in the shell
1 green onion, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper. deseeded and chopped very fine
fresh lemon juice
Olive oil

Arrange the oysters on a baking sheet and drizzle with a couple of drops of olive oil per oyster. Sprinkle with a small pinch of jalapeno and green onions and a couple of drops of lemon juice. Bake at 350C for 4 minutes. Serve hot.

A lot of foodies claim to love raw oysters. I honestly didnt enjoy the experience. I thought I will be okay with the texture since I love sashimi, but overall it felt like seawater, sand and slime! But the baked oysters were amazing - the oven changes the texture completely and the mild jalapeno and lemon juice flavor neutralizes the saltiness of the oyster to make it a party in the mouth!!!

Visit to Port Alberni - Crab recipe

Had an amazing trip to Port Alberni, British Columbia.  Where you ask is Port Alberni?  It's a 3 hr drive from Victoria the capital of British Columbia, Canada.  While it isn't isolated it takes a loooong time to get to.
First we took a long cross country flight to Seattle, then the light rail from the airport to Seattle downtown, then walked to the ferry terminal.  From the ferry terminal we took a 3 1/2 hr ferry to Victoria.  In Victoria dad picked up up for a 3 hr drive to Port Alberni...  Was it all worth it. Yes for multiple reasons.  Got to see family after a long time and also the natural sights around Port Alberni are spectacular.

Food:
Day 1: Sisters home made Tiramisu & Lasgania
Day 2: Morning - fresh corn and quinoa porridge - yes pretty tasty.  Lunch - Left over Lasgania, poutine . Picked up fresh crabs & shrimp.  Dinner: Sauteed Crab with Singaporean Chilli crab sauce, pan fried garlic-lime shrimp, pan fried indian style Salmon, Corn bhel, roasted bell pepper yogurt raita.
Day 3: Picked up Salmon from a fisherman in China creek - came home and had sashimi... was very fearful of getting Salmon parasites but phew no parasites. Dinner - crab cakes from left over crab meat and sabu-dana kichidi
Day 4: Lunch - Matterson House Restaurant in Ucluelet, BC  - I had Oyster burger (yum), Dad had a yummy Halibut burger, others had Clam chowder with fresh baked bread, shrimp quesadillas, and amongst the best hand made burgers (mmm beef).  Dinner - skipped it and had left over Tiramisu
Day 5: Lunch - Goats on the Roof lunch - mmm poutine, chicken pastries, clam chowder, fish & chips, ... Dinner - Seafood bisque made by sister and more Salmon Sashimi, Salmon-Fig-Parmesan bruschetta, wild rice salad.

On the way back my sister made us some salmon sandwiches - thank god, we were able to keep ourself stuffed during the looong ferry ride and the flight.

Unfortunately other than the Crab and Sashimi I didn't cook much and therefore have no recipe's. Have to say it was amongst the best food vacations even though we didn't go to any star chef restaurants and mom didn't have to slave away cooking indian food in the kitchen!

Crab Recipe:
Ask the fisherman to kill the crab by breaking it in two and cleaning out the guts.
Heat oil on medium, toss in 1 tbsp of onion (diced), and a 1 chopped thai chili.  Let the oil pick up the flavour for 30 sec and toss in the Crab. 
Cover and shake the pot to make sure the oil coats the Crab.  Time for 2 min.
After 2 min pour in 1/2 cup of water cover and cook for 4 min. 
Done !!  The Thai chili gives the crab meat a nice mild heat - an awesome additon to the sweetness of the Crab meat.

Chiba's special roll

Special roll made by Chiba at Kanki.

Sent from mobile device.

mmm - Sashimi

One of my favourite things to eat in the world - Salmon sashimi.  My way to eat it is to put some soy/wasabi on it, a piece of ginger, a bit of the japanese mint leaf (see behind the sashimi) - roll it up and enjoy!

At Kanki - Chiba also makes an awesome miso sauce which complements the sashimi very well.
(the miso sauce complements everything very well)

Sent from mobile device.

fish in a bag

Woke up on a Saturday with no food plans... hmm what to eat? Wife sent me to Whole foods to buy some ingredients for a party on Sunday, where there I tasted some hummus, and ran into some roasted garlic bread and fresh cod. Idea: middle eastern type fish, with olives, hummus, a good bread, some wine.  Lunch was starting to look good.
Picked up a nice piece of cod, got an assortment of olives, picked up the hummus and a loaf of roasted garlic batard.   Why did middle eastern come to mind?  Am reading Anthony Bourdain's 'Cooks Tour' book and the last chapter was about his travels to Morocco.  Also the hummus was really tasty - local NC made hummus by EPRI foods.

Came home looked on Food Network and came across a recipe for fish baked in parchment by of all people Rachel Ray.  She has good ideas but I find her annoying.  The below is a recipe for Fish in parchment or fish in a bag a'la' Salil.

Accompanying the fish in a bag was a piece of the fresh loaf of roasted garlic bread, hummus, and Jalapeno mashed potatoes (these were made by wife).

Indegredients:
a nice piece of cod - I cut perpendicular to the spine into 2 inch pieces
tsp anise/fennel seeds
pinch of Hungarian smokey paprika
few olives
Some white wine
butter
garlic powder
kosher salt
sugar
fresh ground pepper
Japanese 7 spice powder
Cilantro (I wanted parsley but didn't have any at home)

Procedure:
Cut large piece of parchment paper - enough so you can fold it over and tuck it under itself.
Place few pieces of fish in center, sprinkle them with kosher salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder, few pinches of sugar (yes sugar) and a dash of japanese 7 spice powder, Hungarian smokey paprika, and anise/fennel seeds.
Throw on some chopped cilantro, and plenty of olives (see pic above), and a thin slice of butter on each piece of fish.
Pour on top some good white wine (I used a 2006 Bordeaux - we didn't finish the night before).
fold the parchment from both sides and roll and tuck the opposite sides under and place in a baking pan
Place pan in oven at 400 for 15 min.  (oven was preheated oto 400).
You're done.

Started meal with bread and hummus.  Accompanied the fish with potatoes and a glass of Mondavi private selection wine!  Cheers to a great afternoon of bliss-full eating.

Avani's seafood gratin

Recipe by Avani - she made this during our Christmas holidays, one of the days when we had family over. It turned out great!
The recipe is originally by Ina Garten.

I first saw Ina Garten make this dish on her show and loved it.  This is my version which lacks some of the high-fat ingredients but tastes pretty damn good.  It makes a beautiful entree on any special occasion especially around the holidays if you are in the mood to skip the turkey.  For people who are not very comfortable with cooking seafood, its a great way to start.

The below measurements make about 5 servings.  (Smallish serving size recommended)

1/2 pound shrimp

1/2 pound halibut/ grouper

1/2 pound bay scallops/ lobster

(I used grouper since halibut was out of season and scallops)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock or fish stock

1 cup white wine

4-6 sticks of saffron

1/2 coup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

leeks/ fennel

carrots

parsley

breadcrubs

butter

salt & pepper

In a wide saucepan, mix together the chicken stock, wine, tomato paste, heavy cream and milk and put it on low to heat to eventually simmer.  Add the saffron and stir occassionally till it starts to bubble gently at the sides.  Drop the shrimp into the sauce and fish it out after 2 minutes or when the shrimp turn pink and curl up, whichever is earlier.  The timing is important since we dont want to cook the seafood too much.  Repeat the same with the fish and scallops.  If you are using cooked lobster meat, you can skip this step.  Once you have cooked the seafood, let the sauce gently simmer and reduce almost by half.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat up some butter in a saute pan and cook long slices of leeks or fennel and carrots lightly for abour 3-4 minutes.  We want the vegetables to retain their crunch.

Next, use 1 stick of butter at room temperature and add about 2 cups of panko bradcrubs, salt, peper and parsley and mix together gently.  This will make the crust of our gratin. 

Spray some olive/oil or use butter to coat a baking dish and add the cooked seafood and vegetables.  Pour the reduced sauce on top and then arrange the breadcrumbs crust.  Since the vegetables and seafood is already cooked, we just need to heat the dish trhough and make a golden brown crust.  Bake in a 350C oven for 10 minutes and broil for about 2 minutes to get a crunchy crust.

I served my gratin with a good french baguette and baby spinach salad.