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What I Ate: April 23, 2010 (Get Sum Dim Sum, Sous vide rack of lamb)

Posted 23 April, 2010 at 11:17pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 7 comments

Lunch: We went to Get Sum Dim Sum to try their dim sum. We ordered an assortment of various dim sum items and found all of them extremely underwhelming. Previously, we had stated that Shanghai's dim sum was mediocre, but many in Austin consider Shanghai one of the best at dim sum. Given the quality of dim sum at Get Sum Dim Sum (which the Chronicle had called "great"), I can imagine how Shanghai could be considered excellent. Our Chinese broccoli was overcooked (gone from the bright green of perfectly steamed to the dark yellowish green of soft, soggy, and flavorless), dumplings all had chewy skins (especially the potstickers which was like eating a lump of dough), and vegetable fillings were gooey and gummy. The only things passable are the shrimp dumplings and the shao mai, but even those are a pale imitation of the real thing. Drive ten more minutes to Fortune or Shanghai for your dim sum and avoid Get Sum Dim Sum. You won't be catching us there again. What I would give Get Sum Dim Sum on a scale of 0-10: 5.5
Get Sum Dim Sum - Dim Sum Lunch

"Siu Mai" Pork - Steamed Pork & Shrimp Open-Faced Dumpling.
Get Sum Dim Sum -

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What I Ate: April 23, 2010 (Get Sum Dim Sum, Sous vide rack of lamb)

What I Ate: April 22, 2010 (Azul Tequila)

Posted 22 April, 2010 at 10:00pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: Tina's mom brought over dumplings which Tina pan-fried and we had for lunch.
Pan-Fried Dumplings

Dinner: We ate at Azul Tequila (4211 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 416-9667‎) where I ordered the Antojitos Mexicanos (Combination of sope, quesadilla, tostada, taco crudo and chile manzano, garnished with lettuce, radish, avocado sauce and cream) which was very tasty.
Azul Tequila - Antojitos Mexicanos

What I Ate: April 21, 2010 (KFC's Double Down)

Posted 21 April, 2010 at 9:26pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 14 comments

Dinner: After my HOA meeting, I drove over to KFC to try their new sandwich - the Double Down. The Double Down has two pieces of fried chicken breast (also available with grilled chicken) instead of buns and sandwiched in between is a slice of cheese, a couple of thin strips of bacon, and some secret sauce of some sort. The sandwich was pretty decent but I didn't much care for the sauce. I felt the fried chicken went well with the bacon (although I would have preferred some tastier bacon instead of the super thin yet limp bacon that fast food places always seem to serve) and cheese, but the sauce was a bit too salty and I didn't much care for the slight sourness to it.
KFC - Double Down

There's been a lot of stuff written about the burger and how it's a "heart attack" waiting to happen, but it is my belief that most of these "articles" have been written because it's low hanging fruit. I mean, if you describe this sandwich to anyone, it has to sound like it's the most unhealthy thing in the world, right? So, these reporters jump on this since it's an easy story to write. Unfortunately, it's a bit misleading. The Double Down is no more worse for you than a bacon cheeseburger or a Big Mac or your typical restaurant ordered Chicken Caesar Salad. I put together a quick and dirty comparison chart of some of the published nutrition information for your comparison.
KFC - Double Down

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What I Ate: April 21, 2010 (KFC's Double Down)

What I Ate: April 20, 2010 (Central Market Cafe)

Posted 20 April, 2010 at 10:19pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 2 comments

Dinner: We had creamed chicken again (apparently, I made enough for 3 meals), and I had to made new biscuits because I wasn't happy with yesterday's. I made sure I didn't roll it out to thin this time and and they came out great.
Fresh Baked Biscuits
Biscuits and Creamed Chicken

We also tried three different kinds of yams and sweet potatoes. I baked a (from left to right) Garnet Yam, Jersey Sweet Potato, and Japanese Sweet Potato. The Jersey was Tina's favorite (I thought it had the cleanest sweet flavor) while the Japanese was mine (sweet, but with a hint of natural saltiness - it was also very dry and dense compared to the other two). The Garnet Yam was very watery (but not watered down - it was just wet, but strongly flavored) and the taste was sweet but with some acidity.
Garnet Yam, Jersey Sweet Potato, and Japanese Sweet Potato

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What I Ate: April 20, 2010 (Central Market Cafe)

What I Ate: April 19, 2010

Posted 19 April, 2010 at 10:18pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 2 comments

Lunch: Tina made egg fried rice and sauteed some collard greens for lunch.
Egg Fried Rice and Collard Greens

Dinner: I made creamed chicken with carrots and peas and served it over fresh baked biscuits. I rolled out the biscuits a little too thin, so they came out mostly flat. Pretty good if you like crust, but I like a balance of crust and fluffy interior.
Creamed Chicken over Flat Biscuits

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What I Ate: April 19, 2010

What I Ate: April 18, 2010 (Red Robin)

Posted 18 April, 2010 at 11:44pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) No comments

Lunch: We drove down to Northeast San Antonio to have Hairy meet a couple of dogs up for adoption (to see if he wants to have a friend) and, after meeting a bunch of dogs (and getting lots of praise and petting from humans), we walked him over to Red Robin (8227 Agora Parkway, Selma, TX‎ - (210) 659-9229‎) where they were extremely accommodating. We sat outside in the covered patio area where I ate the Shrimp and Cod Duo. The restaurant provided Hairy with a bowl of water and I ordered him a ground beef patty (which they couldn't provide raw, so we had them cook it without seasoning as rare as possible - which was more along the lines of medium-well).
Red Robin - Shrimp and Cod Duo

Dinner: We had leftover pork, broccoli, and eggs over rice for dinner.
leftover pork, broccoli, and eggs over rice

What I Ate: April 17, 2010

Posted 17 April, 2010 at 8:47pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 2 comments

Lunch: Our local supermarket had live crawfish, so I picked up a couple of pounds and I boiled them in seasoning. Then I finished them off on the grill to dry off the shells and give it a little of that grilled shellfish smell (that smell that shrimp shells get when you grill them and they get all crisp).
Crawfish

Dinner: Tina cooked some soy sauce pork with bamboo shoots, broccoli, and eggs scrambled with scallions.
Soy Sauce Pork, Broccoli, and Eggs Scrambled with Scallions

What I Ate: April 16, 2010 (Mighty Fine Burgers)

Posted 16 April, 2010 at 10:12pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: Throughout the afternoon, I ate several bowls of corn soup with brioche.
Corn Soup and Brioche

Dinner: By dinnertime, I was craving a burger, so we went to Mighty Fine Burgers. I had a Jr. Cheeseburger with Bacon.
Mighty Fine Burgers - Jr. Cheeseburger with bacon

What I Ate: April 15, 2010 (Ryu of Japan)

Posted 15 April, 2010 at 9:20pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 4 comments

We celebrated the completion of our tax return by going out to dinner at Ryu of Japan (11101 Burnet Road, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 973-9498‎). I had eaten there once before with the Fearless Critic Austin Council, but Tina missed out on that occasion because she was taking care of Hairy. I ordered some items I had before and some new ones. We started with a seaweed salad.
Ryu of Japan - Seaweed Salad

Followed by miso soup.
Ryu of Japan - Miso Soup

Nama Kaki (Raw oysters) - these were HUGE oysters which were sweet with a creamy meatiness.
Ryu of Japan - Nama Kaki (Raw Oysters)
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What I Ate: April 15, 2010 (Ryu of Japan)

What I Ate: April 14, 2010 (Failed Sous Vide Oxtails)

Posted 14 April, 2010 at 11:15pm by Michael Chu
(Filed under: Food, What I Ate) 1 comment

Today's dinner was a bit of a failure. I had been cooking oxtails sous vide at 55°C for 40 hours - but the controller I have was registering the wrong temperature (it was reporting a higher temperature than what the water actually was when I checked with my Thermapen). So, I think the oxtails were heating in 49°C for most of that time (which isn't hot enough to break down collagen into gelatin or pasteurize). I prepared pan fried garlic-sage polenta (made polenta first, set it in a mold, cut it, and then pan fried for texture), and Tina sauteed some spinach to go with the oxtails which turned out to be a bust. I tossed the oxtails into a pot, added some water and beef broth and started it simmering on the range. Meanwhile, we ate polenta and spinach for dinner.
Pan Fried Polenta and Spinach

Later… much, much later, I ate some of the oxtail that had been cooking for 3.5 hours.
Oxtails

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What I Ate: April 14, 2010 (Failed Sous Vide Oxtails)

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