My kind of breakfast

The best part of waking up, for me, is my dressed up instant noodles.


I find that this brand of instant noodle goes well with beef or pork.


I added hot sauce and napa along with the noodles. After a few minutes, added the egg and leftover fatty pork.


With cilantro

Sometimes with the addition of extra ingredients, the flavor gets diluted and so, I like to add some extra sauce to balance it out. The following are a few items from my sauce collection:


Ay-Chung is a present from my brother on his vacation in Taiwan. It is one of the most spicy, intense and flavorful sauces that I've encountered. I add about 1/4 teaspoon to my noodles. I dare not add more!


This hot soybean paste is good for dumplings and stir fries. It's not as spicy as Ay-Chung, but it's easier to obtain and I'm not as worried about killing my taste buds.


This chili garlice sauce you can get just about everywhere. It adds a lot of color, but isn't very spicy and nearly as flavorful as the hot soybean paste.


Satay sauce, good for hot pots and beef stir fries

I'm out of photos, for real, now.

BBQ Hut

Located on the corner of Roselle and Golf Rd next to Denny's
Palatine, IL
Lunch starts at noon
Reservations accepted

We used to love this place for its veggie bar and reasonably priced meats. However, recently, they removed the veggie bar and had a little price hike. The quality of meat is still exceptional, but these little changes took away the comfort we've experienced at this restaurant. It'll be a long while before we go back. I miss the veggie bar...





So I wasn't done with my posting spree... it was because J found more photos!

Beehive Restaurant

700 La Salle Street, Ottawa, IL 61350
Phone: 815.4335640
Fax: 815.4335659

"The Bee Hive family-style restaurant specializes in breakfast all day long and home and country style cooking. Breakfast contains an array of omlet options, as well as crepes, pancakes, skillet choices all day."

This is our favorite breakfast spot of all time. Every time we visit Starved Rock National Park, we eat all breakfasts here. J and I love the Greek skillet especially.






Greek skillet with gyro, green peppers, onion, potato and feta cheese


Blueberry crepes with whipped cream

Shenzhen

I am at the end of my posting spree of old travel photos, for now. There are still older archives with potential shockers that I've yet to access. Until then... I bid thee adieu.


This is what the company executives have for lunch at one of the factories we visited.


The food tasted better than it looked.


Not sure if these are edible, we just thought they looked adorable.


Breakfast, these hé fěn were made-on-the-spot goodness that came in a variety of flavors.


Congee


Yep, very spicy


These salty fried shrimps were amazing. They tasted like a cross between lobster and shrimp.


Peking duck


Yum


Clam meat and rice vermicelli


Crab soup


This was from Fatman (or Fattie) Chang's Noodle Shop. Although the place looks a tad shady, they do serve the best hand-made noodles ever.


There isn't too many choices on the menu, but not once has this place disappointed us.


This noodle shop is the primary reason that we always stop by Shenzhen.

Guilin

Besides the first photo show below, this was from an unnamed (since I can't remember where it was or what it was called) restaurant in Guilin, China.


In our quest to discover local cuisine, we were not afraid to step into restaurants that were a little bit on the shady side. This was a little breakfast stand that our taxi drivers recommended. Each bowl of plain noodle costs $0.25 US and you can add your own choice of ingredients. There is also a soup base that you can choose that's not shown in the photo above. I went for the pickled radishes, pickled beans, green onion and, of course, hot peppers.


These shrimps were tiny. When eating shrimps this tiny, I often weigh the efforts spent peeling against how much meat is obtained and the tastiness of the meat. In this case, too much effort for too little return.


Pickled veggies and intestines


Mushrooms, bak choy and eggplant?


Eggplant or fish? It was 3 years ago... my memory has failed me.


Fatty pork




Catfish, does it look like a pain in the ass to eat? Because it is a pain in the ass to eat.

Guangzhou

I don't remember what the restaurant was called or where it was... shame on me. The food looked better than it tasted, except for the yellow bread thingie.


The bread was a little thinner than the Chinese breakfast style onion pancakes and almost resembles Indian bread.




Turtle stew, if you look closely, you may find a feet.


Eel stew


Fatty pork

Lijiang

A few photos of the food we found in Lijiang, China.


Across the bridge rice noodles in its ready for consumption state.


Local banquet and a must-try according to the tour books. The meal is about $3 US per person and comes with everything you see here. Personally, I had more fun poking and studying the banquet than eating.


The spicy black cake of jello-consistency inspired indigestion. And yes, that is fried dragonflies on the top right corner.


Another view of the local banquet


Steam pot chicken (Qiguoji)

According to a tour website:
"Steam Pot Chicken (Qiguoji)
Yunnanese is the ceramic steam pot, a squat, round, lidded vessel with an internal spout, or chimmney, that allows steam to enter and circulate but not escape. Chicken cooked by this technique produces a superior soup entirely from steam and natural juices. This dish, called steam Pot Chicken ( qiguoji) comes first on the list of Yunnan's specialities. A remarkable feature, which should not put anybody off, is the inclusion of natural medicinal ingredients used by the Chinese both to enhance flavour and to promote health. These might include ginseng, herbs or dried Himalayan caterpillars. "

Hmmm...

Across the Bridge Rice Noodle

Also known as "Guo-Qiao Mi-Xian", a specialty and must-have when visiting the province of Yunnan.

Excerpt from a travel blog:
"Legend has it that guoqiao mixian came about when a young scholar retreated to another place to prepare for the imperial examination. His loving wife would travel and cross a nearby bridge to bring him his daily meal. Frequently, his meal would turned cold by the time it gets to him. One day, quite by chance, she discovered a bowl of chicken soup could keep warm with a layer of oil on top. From the on, she would serve the noodles and meat slices with the oil layer soup and the young scholar could enjoy a warm meal every day. When the scholar did well in the examination, he credited his success to his wife's noodles hence, this dish Across the Bridge Rice Noodles was popularized."


This is a chain store that sells primarily these rice noodles and a few side dishes. My family and I have eaten here quite a few times. The prices are fair and the quality is reliable.


Take a peek inside


This set meal is $0.75 US


This more elaborate set meal is $1.25 US


Ingredients

The idea is to throw all the ingredients and noodles into the boiling hot soup. Ready for consumption after a few minutes.