Yummy Broccoli?!!?

Who knew that broccoli could be so sweet?  Those of you who have been eating organic broccoli know this already, but those of us who haven't, something great has been kept from us.  

Okay, so I don't have an aversion to broccoli to begin with, nor do I seek it out for every meal.  I always thought it was an unremarkably benign-tasting vegetable that was supposed to have super-powers, and that's why all kids were made to eat it.  The thing is, though, if kids were fed organic broccoli, they might actually LIKE it.  Why?  Because I just had my first dose of organic broccoli tonight, and it was sweeter, greener, and altogether tastier!  I just threw some salt, pepper, and chili oil onto it, steamed it, and I was a happy little kid, sitting on the counter, swinging my legs as I shoved its cruciferousness into my anticipating mouth.  No, this wasn't a went-hiking-all-day-and-even-the-packaged-ramen-tastes-great moment.  It was genuinely, remarkably tasty.  

Tomorrow, Eric and I are headed to Lancaster's Central Market to try out more organics.  I'm excited.

Hong Kong Garden - Xiang Gang Yuan!

Since my last article, I’ve had Chinese on the mind.  Another place that seemed to receive quite a few accolades is Hong Kong Garden.  So I gathered up a girlfriend and we headed out.

I ordered similar items for comparison, then rounded out the victuals with some other interesting dishes.  

Out rolled a cup of the Hot & Sour soup ($2.95), Potstickers ($5.95), and a Spring Roll ($2.25) to start with.  The Hot & Sour soup was great.  It was a synergy of powerful flavors that was amazingly well balanced.  But with its thick viscosity and over packed plethora of ingredients, it acted more like a filling stew than a soup.  You’d never find a Hot & Sour stew in Asia, but I was pleased that the typical ingredients were uncompromised by strange fillers like carrots and celery.  And since it was so good, I’ll be coming back for more.

The Potstickers were good but unremarkable.  The dough simply overwhelmed the pork center.  My friend, who was watching her carbs, cut one in half and said, “Is there supposed to be something in here?” She found the entire center hiding in one half of the dough, ate that, and left the empty side.

Then, the Spring Roll.  Before ordering, she asked what the difference was between an Egg Roll and a Spring Roll.  I rolled my eyes; it can be a contentious question.  Once, a friend refused to talk to me for weeks because we didn’t agree.  So here’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  It’s all about the wrapper.  Yes, the Egg Roll tends to be larger, seemingly filled with more vegetables, but the inner workings of a fried roll are largely the same.  The Egg Roll has a wrapper made with egg and tends to be thicker, which lends to its doughiness.  The Spring Roll, on the other hand, isn’t made with egg and is quite a bit thinner and more delicate.  It’s a much crispier eat, and because it’s smaller, I like the ratio of wrapper to whatever is on the inside.  Lastly, I consider the Spring Roll to be much more authentically Asian.  In my travels to Asia, I can’t remember a single time I saw an Egg Roll being peddled.  It was always a delicate little Spring Roll.  And that’s exactly what you get at Hong Kong Garden.  It was beautifully crispy, allowing for a satisfying crunch before getting to a soft center of meat and vegetables that all come together so nicely.

Next came the entrees in eye-popping portions; hope you like Chinese leftovers.  We ordered Beef Chow Fun ($11.95) and Steve’s Special ($14.50), pan-fried steak sitting over steamed asparagus and topped with French fried onions.  Last time, I explained how temperamental Chow Fun can be, so it’s a pretty high hurdle.  At Hong Kong Garden, it was still missing the requisite caramelized flavor and many of the noodles were stuck together. Flavor-wise, though, it could pass muster.

Steve’s Special was quite good.  The steak was succulent and tempting.  And sitting at the bottom, soaking up all that savorilicious sauce, was the asparagus – tender, yet still with some bite.  Lastly, I was surprised to see the French fried onions sitting atop it all.  It’s a common ingredient in Chinese cooking, but I rarely see it used in American Chinese restaurants.  It was a nice touch – imparting a nice textural and flavor element.

So far, Hong Kong Garden has my vote.  And while the search will continue, it’ll take a moment’s rest.  In the meantime, I know where to go for some pretty good Chinese. 

Hong Kong Garden

1807 Columbia Ave, Lancaster

(717) 394-4336 ‎

hongkonggardenpa.com

Living Organically

For a few years now, I've been reading about the food industry and just how insipid its workings are in Fast Food Nation, In Defense of Food, Omnivore's Dilemma, etc.  I'd always been in the camp of observing on the sidelines, wondering whether these folks were just kooky left-wingers who were about to embark on "the world's ending" campaign, but now I think I'm ready to make a move.  I think these people are speaking the truth.  They're looking for food that is sustainable and locally grown, and really, it seems to be the most sensible, most logical way to nourish my body.

So the Bierker household is in transition.  We know just enough to be dangerous, but we're both excited about embarking on this new way of eating, this new lifestyle.  So here we go.

Early this morning, Eric headed out to the York Central Market where our friend, Dave Dietz, has an organic produce stand.  He came back with a box of goodies, along with a "receipt" written out on a piece of cardboard.  Yeah, we want to eat more healthfully, but we also want to know how much it's going to cost us.  And it's going to cost us a lot.  Here's the jaw-dropping list of produce purchased this morning:

1 pound of fair-trade organic Peace coffee from Sumatra  $10.75 

Bunch of Cilantro  $1.75

Loaf of Big Sky Bread  $5.00 (this is when my heart started pounding)

2 medium heads of Broccoli $4.00

7 small hot peppers $1.25

1 large beet  $0.80

1 large sweet potato and 2 med red onions $4.25

1 small head cauliflower $3.95

bunch of bananas $1.85

block of garlic & chive cheese $4.00

2 pounds of red grapes $8.70 (angina-inducing, man)

If we were to go to the supermarket down the street, we would probably pay half this amount, maybe even less.  The trade-off is that we would have no idea how many chemicals we would be ingesting and whether anything was even ripened appropriately before being picked and shipped.  But I would know how much it would be impacting my wallet.  And the thing is, consumers care a lot about the wallet.  Money is a huge motivator; you see obvious and immediate impact.  And yeah, health is something that almost everyone will put at the top of "things that matter to me most", but the impact is less obvious or immediate, and therefore, less of a motivator.  

While the large farms of the country are being held hostage by Big Agra, who in turn, lobby for enormous subsidies, which pump out very inexpensive, but freakazoid, poisonous food, the farmer who wants nothing to do with it sits out there all alone, without governmental help.  Their only hope is that people continue to buy their goods to stay afloat.  My fear is that increasing demand will only increase cost in the short term since I'm not sure how well the supply side will be able to catch up.  

But while I ponder the economics and health issues, I'm snacking on the very expensive organic grapes.  They're plump, juicy, and with a sweetness I've never tasted in a grape before.  It's simply delicious, and occasionally, I'll stare at a grape, wondering why it tastes so good - is it truly because it's organic? 

Fishy Fish

I recently switched from eating Atlantic Salmon to Wild Alaskan Salmon.  Really, you might ask, what's the big deal?  The big deal is that anytime society has decided to "farm" something, be it cattle or fish, it bastardizes all that it could be nutritionally.  

We've all heard that Salmon is packed with great inflammation-reducing Omega-3 oils, so I'm sure sales have skyrocketed.  The thing, though, is that because of the diet they are getting, the farmed salmon, aka Atlantic Salmon, has developed a higher level of inflammation-CAUSING Omega-6s.  It's not horrible stuff, we just need to be careful about how much we eat of it.  The Wild stuff?  Still stellar, giving you a better ratio of Omega-3s to Omega-6s.  

For other fish tales, visit  http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/  It's a great resource and will tell you which fishes (yes, you can pluralize fish as a species) are dangerous, which are not, which are endangered, you get the picture.  

Tony Wang's isn't #1...

Thus far, the only person to complain about the review below is Tony Wang, himself...

For two years now, I have read that the best Chinese, as voted by the Lancaster Newspaper readers, is Tony Wang’s.  I’ll admit I didn’t want to visit a Chinese restaurant that sat along a tourist strip.  That, in conjunction with the fact that Lancaster is not known for its vast Chinatown, made me shy away from trying it.  But after several years of taking first place, I thought it was time to visit.  And when I did, I could not understand what the buzz was about.  

Outside of Tony Wang’s, you can’t help but know that Lancaster thinks it’s the best Chinese around, what with all the banners and such.  The interior atmosphere itself is reminiscent of most Chinese restaurants I’ve visited, where everything is efficiently functional and the décor adorns the space with the appropriate ethnic flair. 

That evening, we ordered the Hot & Sour soup ($2.50) and the Fried Dumplings ($6.50) for appetizers.  The soup was hot.  It was sour.  But somehow when they came together, there was something rather bland about it, the flavors not combining to produce any kind of greatness.  My husband joked, “See, this version is the Hot OR Sour soup.” 

The Fried Dumplings came, and I was pleased to find that they were so hot, little tiny pockets of oil still bubbled on the surface – a good indication that the dumplings might have a nice crispiness to it.  And indeed, they did.  The pork nucleus was tasty, and the soy sauce-based dipping sauce with a touch of sweetness lent a good complement.  My only minor criticism is the doughiness that seems to be redolent of Americanized Potstickers.  In Asia, the skin of the dumpling is much thinner, more delicate.  Regardless, I enjoyed the dish. 

For the entrees, we got the Ma La Chicken ($10.75) and the special on the board, Beef Chow Fun ($8.75).  The Ma La Chicken was the recommendation of our Chinese server.  It hails from the Sichuan province and translates into “Numbing Spiciness.”  So the anticipation was great.  When it came, it had all the auspices of something delicious; lots of vegetables, a good amount of chicken, and a brick red-brown sauce that coated everything lusciously.  We dug in and my first thought was, okay, this is really, quite unremarkable.  The spicy fireworks I was awaiting were utterly missing.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good.  It was average.  Inoffensive.  Innocuous. On the positive side, the chicken was moist and tender, and the vegetables fresh and plentiful.  But when all that doesn’t taste like much…

 

Lastly, the Chow Fun, a traditional Cantonese dish of stir-fried wide rice noodles.  It’s one of my favorite dishes, but it can be a high-maintenance dish.  It must be stir-fried with a super hot and high flame, which imparts a charred, caramelized flavor to the dish. Also means you have to be quick, yet gentle, so you don’t break the noodles.  Oh, and control the amount of oil you use, you don’t want it to stick together, but please don’t make it slick. See what I mean?  At the best Chinese restaurant in town, I would expect them to make Chow Fun very well.  And yet, they don’t.  The characteristic smoky, caramelized flavor was lacking.  Sure, the noodles were kept intact, and the beef was tender, but it didn’t have the complexity in taste.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good.  It was average.  Inoffensive.  Innocuous. 

I couldn’t help but wonder, why is this Lancaster’s most award-winning Chinese restaurant?  Surely there is something better in town.  Stay tuned, because I aim to find out. 

Tony Wang’s Chinese Restaurant

2217 Lincoln Hwy E 


Lancaster, PA 17602

(717) 399-1915

Mixed Vacation Lodging - What's Best?

Without even meaning to, our trip to Montana consisted of the ultimate mix of lodging. We started with a vrbo (vacation rental by owner), moved into motels along the remote parts of Glacier National Park, pricelined the standard hotel while in Missoula, then ended in a B&B back in Whitefish. What did I think?

It was the first time we had ever experienced a vrbo. Admittedly, I was cautious about it; how do you know what it will truly be like, and what if the place was a scam? One trick that I learned along the way, reinforced by another traveler, is to choose a vrbo that actually has customer comments. If you're conservative, as we are when it comes to lodging in places we aren't familiar with, this is a good barometer. Our Whitefish vrbo was called the Whitefish Homestead, and it was entirely delightful. It didn't have the modern uplift that many hotels are in the mode of doing, as evidenced by the palm tree wallpaper in the main bedroom, but for an equivalent price of a hotel room, we basically got a 2-bedroom apartment with the most amazing view of Whitefish Lake. Its location couldn't be beat. Walkable to downtown Whitefish, and with a great hostess who lived downstairs, who managed to keep herself accessible and yet not intrusive, it felt amazingly isolated. I slept solidly every night we were there. Awesome.

Motels, motels. I can't tell you the last time I stayed at a motel. But as I would learn on the East side of Glacier, not all motels are created equal. In Babb, where we wanted to stay close to the Many Glacier entrance, there's only one value choice. Yes, you could stay inside the park for a very pretty penny for sparse accommodations, but we wanted a great value, so we stayed outside - at Thronson's Babb. There, you can have the pleasure of spending your evening killing flies that seem to appear from nowhere, and find illicit drugs in the drawer right next to the Good Book itself. Yuck. The next day, we demanded $40 back - $1 for every fly we killed.

We skipped the next night in Babb and hightailed it to our next location - the Mountain Pine Motel. While not the lap of luxury, it was clean, quaint, friendly, and a great value. The benefit here was that the rooms were set up like a village of sorts, which lent itself to chatting with other visitors, and that is always one of my favorite parts of vacation. Perhaps it was because we enjoyed our East Glacier Park experience so much; perhaps because of Doris - the spunky 80-year-old matriarch of the motel who is hard of hearing and wears huge round white framed reading glasses. Whatever it is, I do have warm spot in my heart for that motel.

We moved on to the new Courtyard Marriott in Missoula. Eric pricelined it and nabbed the room for $70 per night - the best value we had all vacation. It was new, hip, clean, unused, altogether lovely. The hot tub, however, was the cool tub, the only thing that wasn't quite right. While I loved the amenities, there is something very impersonal with the hotel chain. No one really speaks or "hangs out." You stay to yourselves. Very different from our Mountain Pine Motel's informality which promoted engaging others, this was a very pretty room in which to lay your head each night.

We headed back to Whitefish and stayed at the widely acclaimed Good Medicine Lodge. It was a wonderful cross between the hotel amenities and the warmth and intimacy we felt at the Mountain Pine. The space was beautiful and comfortable. A pine tree was actually growing in the living room. The hot tub was actually hot. But there was something a little more formal to it all, where you felt like you had to behave yourself. The rambunctious night that Eric had with the hard-drinking, fun-seeking, adventurous world-traveling motorcyclists from England most likely wouldn't have happened at the Good Medicine Lodge. However, the cocktail hour was pleasant and encouraged everyone to meet each other. The first night, we met a group from France. The language barrier was an issue, but it didn't diminish the pleasant evening. The second night, we chatted with two other couples for hours. The diversity was fascinating, no topic was barred. Former FBI agent, Special Education Coordinator, Brand Director for the H1N1 vaccine, Guidance Counselor, Candy Maven, talking about terrorism, racism, flu epidemic, what it takes for students to succeed nowadays, and which place in town had good pizza. It was a great night. The only thing about a B&B is that your breakfast is dictated in the morning. Breakfast was a big deal during our stay, and while the food was definitely detailed and without exception, if you're watching what you eat, forget it.

The best? They all have pros and cons. Well, the motel in Babb only has cons, really, but if I had to choose just one, I'd take the vrbo. It had personality, great amount of space, and an unparalleled view. Ultimately, it was also the place that I felt the most rejuvenated, the most rested. I could sleep the whole night through, and that was no small feat.

If you're gonna eat instant ramen noodles...

While indulging in one of my favorite pastimes - shopping at Costco - I walked by one of the food demos.  They were cooking up a Hot & Spicy noodle bowl; just add hot water, and you're ready to go.  Not one to pass up on free food, I took a sample.  

Now, I am a it of a connoisseur of instant ramen noodles.  Ever since I was introduced to the Maruchan brand of 10-cent instant noodles during my college years, and thought, my goodness gracious, is this awful stuff.  I've made my way through the entire aisle at an Asian grocery store, trying a lot of different brands, just sure there was something better.

So as I took my first taste of the Hot & Spicy, I was NOT impressed.  It was rather bland, the noodles without any remarkable texture to note, and yet, I saw shoppers all around me loading up their oversized carts with their new noodle purchase.  What?!?  Did they think this was actually good?  

Here's my favorite instant noodle.  It's made by Nong Shim, a Korean conglomerate, so it's got that spicy Korean kick to it.  But the noodles, as long as they aren't overcooked, have a good bite to it, and the soup is spicy and flavorful.  Often, I'll add in broccoli and some tilapia fillets, which complement the spicy broth very well, in an attempt to make it a little bit of a more well-rounded meal.

Certainly, I realize that none of these noodles-in-a-flash are good for you.  They're fried, packed with sodium, and I can't pronounce 75% of the ingredient list.  And it's not exactly gourmet.  But there is something strangely alluring about instant ramen noodles.  They're fast, and if you eat certain brands, like the one to the left, dare I say, I actually like the taste of it!  

So that's why I say - if you're going to eat instant ramen noodles, at least pick something that actually tastes good!