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