you-food.net

About a week and a half ago, Shef and I had the good fortune to escape the NYC winter and found ourselves applying the SPF in the Dominican Republic. It was an odd time to be there, coming as it was on the heels of the big earthquake in neighboring Haiti, but at least we could tell ourselves  we weren’t staying in some big ass all inclusive resort. It was a short trip of five days so we didn’t have a chance to really explore the island but what we saw of it left us wanting to go back.    It’s a beautiful country with complex and interesting history and we met some really friendly and engaging people.  And thankfully as befits an island country with a rich tradition of cultural invasions, the food was good, homey and delicious. Click on the photo for the full story.

We didn't get to eat these but they sure looked fresh and delicious.

And I’m back.  It’s been a long  but eventful 3 months but I’ve returned and am writing my first post as a married man.  I feel different.  Or it could be that I don’t have to suck in my gut anymore.  Now that I’m hitched I can totally let myself go! Awesome.  Something else that’s awesome: Turkey – the country.  Shef and I were fortunate enough to spend our honeymoon there and fortunately for you, I’ve decided to write about it.  So without further ado, I present to you…

Turkey, a country where Europe becomes Asia and East meets West is simply put – and I can say this having spent three whole weeks there on a honeymoon – a beautiful and captivating country, rich with culture and history… and kebabs, lots of kebabs.

Click on the roasting lamb for the full story.

Horizontally mounted roasted lamb. That is some meat!

… although I’m actually a fan of eating ribs at all times of the year.  I just needed to give this post a title.

Wassup y’all?!  C Ting is back.   Sorry for the long hiatus.  I was  working quite hard (yes believe it) on a project that frankly took a lot of time and mental energy so I just didn’t have much to give back to you-food. Sorry, you-food and all you three readers of the site.  It’s been too long.  But you can thank the unemployment gods for kicking in and making sure I have ample time to to get back to basics: cooking, eating and thinking about food. You-food.net is back in effect!

Alright  the weekend before last I went to the Big Apple BBQ Festival with the intention of gorging myself on delicious BBQ from pitmasters around the country where bbq reigns supreme. Instead, I was met with ridiculous, meandering lines of people waiting for God knows how long for what were probably delicious but undoubtedly skimpy servings of bbq meat. Perhaps it was worth it and the meat was truly delicious.  I will never know because I didn’t have the patience to wait in line as the rain came pouring down.  But all the smells of sizzling, smoked meat and seeing people nosh on pulled pork, brisquet, sausages and ribs did put me in the mood to bbq some of my own ribs.  So I hight-tailed it to Chinatown, fortified myself with some tasty dumplings (I hadn’t eaten – remember, I was expecting to be filled my stomach with bbq) and went to the Chinese butchers hop where I bought myself a nice two pound rack of pork spare ribs. A couple days later, I went up to the rooftop deck of our apt building and cooked me up some ribs! And then I ate ‘em.  Click on the photo below for the full story and recipe.

eating is believing

Alright you all. You’re in for a treat.  My friends Simon and Jen recently went to Italy where they soaked in the old world culture and charm and basically engorged themselves with some of the most delicious food known to man and woman.  But don’t take my word for it.  Take theirs.  Follow their gastronomic chronicles on their excellent travel blog.  For a taste of what I’m talking about, click on this charming photo of Simon and Jen living la dolce vita for a riveting account of Simon’s interactions with some top grade Italian meat.

buono appetito!

-C. Ting

Alright here’s another post from a fellow lover of travel and food, Michelle L. who this summer did what everybody should do at least once in their lives: traveled to Southeast Asia and ate like mofo.  Actually after the first time you do this, you will be hooked probably and go several more times.  Expect more delicious posts from her in the future.
-C. Ting

Bangkok Food Court Fanatics

For those of you who love travel as much as I do, let me divulge to you the secrets of budget dining in Bangkok, Thailand. No, no you can skip the red plastic seating and no longer have to turn your head as dishes are being washed in unknown sources of water. As much as we all love to eat with the locals, I will tell you where the other locals are eating; that’s right people, they are eating in the food courts!

Click on the mango sticky rice for the full story!

After hearing Clarence speak of his adventures in The Land of the Rising Sun, my adopted country of three glorious years, I (Michelle L.) was inspired to finally add my first entry to YouFood! And now that the winds have graced us here in New York City, what could be more fitting than having hot pot! So let us begin with one day in Asakusa, one of many neighbourhoods of Tokyo, Japan. Itadakimasu!

Click on the sake bins for the full story.

The visit to Tsukiji Fish Market was really one of the highlights of my trip to Tokyo so I thought it deserved its own post.  Where else can you see dudes zipping around in these crazy R2D2-looking little trucks  carting around giant frozen tuna?  And where else can you eat the absolute best sushi you’ve ever had in your life?    Click on the beautiful slab of maguro below for the full story.

Alright, so a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend several days in Tokyo. Though it was a rather brief time and though I speak a sum total of six words of Japanese, I feel qualified to  offer a profound anthropological treatise on Japanese culture.  Actually, I think I’m just going to resort to stereotypes and generalities when I say this: Japanese folks seem to be good at everything.  I don’t know why. They just are – even with things that weren’t indigenous to their culture.  Think about it: rock gardens, bonsai trees, tea ceremonies,  samurai, samurai movies, anime, electronics, cars, all things cute, tv game shows, really expensive jeans, crazy ass fashions, even reggae dance hall. So, think about this level of perfectionism and attention to detail as it pertains to food, something that Japanese folk – no, ALL Asian people are obsessed with (generally speaking, of course) – and you’ll understand my excitement at having the chance to eat Japanese food in Tokyo.  I was not dissappointed.  In fact, I was kind of blown away.  Click on the bento box below for the full story.

Oi, tuto bem?  That’s Portuguese for “what up, yo?”  Here’s another word for you: churrasco.  That’s Portuguese for Brazilian style bbq wherein a variety of meats are slow cooked over charcoal until dripping with juicy deliciousness and then sliced into little morsels for people to eat over the course of several hours.  In other words, it’s a little slice of heaven.

And thanks to Jake and Sari who opened up their home and back yard to Almir Santre whose skill, talent and marinades have no rivals that I’m aware of, I got to spend a few blessed hours in heaven last weekend. Click on the mouth watering photo below to read more about the bbq and the rest of the blessed food weekend in LA.

Alright, so I’m back.  I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.  Sorry to all you three readers of this blog. But I’m back and in between jobs (not working) so I will be putting more stuff up very very soon.  In the mean time, check out some words and photos from my summer travels – all food focused of course.  Click on the mushroom below for the full story.