A Quick Trip to Hong Kong Sunday, July 13, 2008

I was in Hong Kong just recently for a VERY quick four day trip. And though I spent most of my time there with family, I made sure to make a special trip to one of my favorite restaurants there. Ironically, it’s not a Chinese joint either.

Lo Chiu Restaurant in Kowloon (they have three different locations) serves up some REALLY good Vietnamese food. So good that I have my favorite standbys I have to order everytime I’m there.

Beef Tripe Curry w/Potatoes

For appetizers we always order the Baked Crabmeat Loaf and Deep Fried Spring Rolls. For the main courses we love the Sauteed Crab in Curry Sauce or Beef Tripe in Curry Sauce, Beef Tripe Pho in Tomato Broth, and an order of buttered French Garlic Bread. You need the bread to sop up all that lovely curry sauce, trust me :). Their food is so damn good I think about it the minute I get off the plane. And if you love curry, you really can’t miss it.

But one tip, get there before 7pm or you’re in for a big wait.

I’ve been to so many different Vietnamese joints but I can’t visit Hong Kong without going to Lo Chiu Restaurant. There’s nothing in the way of service or atmosphere, but they make up for it in the food.

Lo Chiu Restaurant - Various locations in Kowloon (Tsim Tsa Tsui, Jordan) - www.lochiu.com

Falafel’s Drive-In Sunday, June 8, 2008

Photo courtesy of Stephen I. (Yelp)

I used to work down the street from this place and I’ve never been. Shame on me, I know. Especially since I love myself a tasty falafel sandwich. It’s even been featured on Food Network on more than one occasion.

That’s it. I needed to go.

So my hubby and I drove down to the Falafel Drive-In in San Jose for lunch and waited in the long line (that never seems to dissipate) for about 10 minutes before ordering. It moves quickly enough.

It’s a typical outdoor burger joint (and they do serve burgers and fries, too), except they serve falafels, gyros, hummus and other mediterranean specialties.

I ordered a large Falafel Sandwich and it was stuffed to the brim with iceburg lettuce, tomatos, tahini sauce, four falafel balls and their famous hot sauce, all in a pita. It was yummy and the falafels were fresh, hot and crispy. Great texture, freshness, and blend of herbs. I wish I could say the lettuce and tomato were fresh too, but they weren’t.  Better veggies would really have made this sandwich even better.

My hubby got the Gyros Salad. It had the same lettuce and tomato (not great) and the gyros had a really good, clean flavor. It didn’t blow him away, but it was definitely tasty enough to order again.

We also got a side order of hummus which is served with some veggies and two large pitas. Very tasty with again, with good clean chickpea flavor. I personally like my hummus with more garlic and olive oil, but if you don’t, you’ll love this.

All in all, the food is indeed, very good and I’d definitely come back. And I love how none of the food gave me that horrible MSG headache or aftertaste that can sometimes come with this type of food.  It was certainly one of the better falafel sandwiches I’ve had in the Bay Area, but not the best I’ve ever had. (That title goes to the ones I’ve had in NYC and Paris!)

Falafel’s Drive-In - 2301 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose - 408.294.7886

Just Like Heaven Sunday, June 1, 2008

I can’t believe I was actually considering canceling our reservation! I had booked it two months out so we’d have somewhere special yet unpretentious to go for our anniversary, but we were starting to talk ourselves out of driving up to Yountville for our meal. In the end, we peeled ourselves off our lovely new leather couch and drove up to legendary chef, Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc.

All I have to say is, “Oh…my…gawd.”

Now, it was Keller’s intention at first to turn this casual space in the Napa Valley into a burger and wine joint: casual, rustic, unpretentious. But as an experiment, he decided to make a temporary restaurant out of it with just one seasonal four course meal that changed nightly. No menu of entrees, appetizers or desserts to choose from. There’s a small selection of good wines to choose from though, and the staff knows their wines.

It became so popular that Keller decided to make Ad Hoc a permanent eatery late last year, and thankfully, started to take reservations.

Because all they offer is one four course meal a day for $48 per person (vegetarian option available), they have the opportunity to get the meal as close to perfection as humanly possible, and it shows. They’ve offered many different dishes here, but the popular ones remain their Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, and Braised Shortribs. Because the menu isn’t published until earlier the same day and reservations usually need to be made no less than one month out, it’s really a crap shoot. But Saturdays usually yield a good meat dish. If you’re really lucky, you get the Braised Shortribs.

We got REALLY lucky…

But first, we were served a salad that totally blew us away (and you know I’m a meat and potatoes girl, so that’s saying something).  It’s base was made up of whole petite romaine heart leaves that had an amazing sweetness to them.  It was accented with meaty, smokey chunks of local applewood smoked bacon, oven-roasted tomatoes (if you’ve never had tomatoes cooked this way you HAVE to try it) that were ridiculously sweet and flavorful, and a light yet creamy housemade herb dressing.  The mix of flavors, textures, and level of quality in the ingredients just made this dish sing.  It was phenominal (and my husband’s favorite part of the meal, actually).

So as far as entrees go, I’ve long considered braised shortribs to be one of my favorites to order when eating out.  But I had no idea what we were in for here.

First off, the quality of meat was unsurpassed with a flavor so rich and buttery. The meat is braised for 48 hours, then seared and roasted. The meat was so tender it barely needed my knife, yet it hadn’t disintegrated like you’d expect with a 48 hour braise. There was even a brilliant salt crust to the meat, yet it was cooked to a perfect medium rare on the inside. It was served with a light au jus and roasted sweet onions. I’m still having dreams about it.

And the accompanying Buttered Egg Noodles with Fresh English Spring Peas and Baby Carrots were no slouch. I was in heaven, literally. Those veggies were so damn fresh you’d think they just reached out the window and picked them out of the garden five minutes ago.  And there’s something so comforting about a bowl of noodles.  It’s like a hug in a bowl. 

Next up was the cheese course.  We were already stuffed to the brim, so we weren’t sure if we’d be able to make room for this.  But just one bite and we MADE room.

We were served  a cheese from the Matos Cheese Factory (”St. George”) that had similar characteristics to a gouda.  It was served with fresh cherries that we were advised to dip in our accompanying Marshall’s Farm orange blossom honey and chopped pistachios.  Again, “Oh…my…gawd.”  Follow that up with a bite of cheese and it was so crazy good that there are no words. 

As if that weren’t enough, we both had a glass of sweet wine that was made with grapes from the Malaga region of Spain (Jorge Ordonez & Co. Malaga Special Selection).  It had wonderful flavors of peach and citrus and just sent this whole third course over the top.

By the time we had gotten to the dessert, my palate was exhausted. But my husband says it “picked my palate right back up!”  Fresh local organic apricots were made into a crisp and topped with housemade vanilla ice cream.  My husband is still dreaming of the ice cream, which had the flavor of fresh, rich, full-tilt cream.  Crazy sweet and crazy good.  And the fruit was fresh and delicious.  Again, it went wonderfully with our sweet wine.

Everything is served family style, which adds to the casual, homey feel.  But there’s no ignoring the pretention that automatically comes with being in this part Northern California.  I can’t believe I have no complaints about this restaurant.  If I HAD to choose something, it would be the terrible blaring music.  I overheard three other tables around us complaining about it.  It’s so loud that it gets in the way of conversation and none of it is very good (a mix of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Buble, INXS, and Peter Cetera).  But all in all, it still adds to the charm, quality, and character of this place and I certainly wouldn’t consider it a detractor.

I can easily say that it was one of the top three meals I’ve ever had in my entire life. It’s amazing how such a casual restaurant can have such knowledgeable service, beautiful scenery (a winery is just across the street) and brilliantly executed food. I can’t even imagine what going to Keller’s other restaurant, French Laundry, would be like. I mean, I’ve been to Bouchon before (it was lovely, but it didn’t blow me away), but after eating at Ad Hoc, there is not doubt of this guy’s genius in the kitchen. 

Ad Hoc - 6476 Washington St. - Yountville, CA - 707.944.2487

Finally, some decent BBQ! Saturday, May 10, 2008

 Courtesy of www.famousdaves.com

After my last quest to find decent Bay Area BBQ went awry, I was hesitant to try anymore for a while.  MSG-dry mouth is not a fun post dining experience.

But my recently relocated friends from Texas tried the Famous Daves all the way in Gilroy recently and gave it the all important thumbs up.  It was time for us to try again…

Famous Daves is a chain started by Dave Anderson 25 years ago in the midwest.  His ribs and sauces have won more than 300 awards across the country.  Closer to home, he won the big Reno BBQ Rib Cook-off last year: the biggest BBQ competition on the west coast.

Gilroy is the closest Famous Dave’s outlet to the Bay Area, so we drove down to try some tasty pork.  And it was tasty, indeed.

First off, the menu is huge!  Every combo you can think of (ribs and chicken, catfish fingers and roasted chicken, brisket and ribs, and on and on…) is possible with the way they’ve arranged things.  Most items include at least one side dish, many with two.

We loved many things of the things we tried, but a few truly stood out:

• St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Ribs
• Chicken Wings w/BBQ sauce
• Catfish Fingers & Chicken Tenders
• The Sides! (beans & cornbread, especially)

The ribs are St. Louis style with a nice coat of sweet yet tangy sauce.  I loved them.  They were super meaty ribs, perfectly smoked and very tender and moist.  The sauce was just great.  They also have five other sauces at the table you can use too.

Now, I’m not usually a huge fan of buffalo wings, or chicken wings in general.  But these are definitely worth trying.  They’re moist, tender, and the sauce (there’s two BBQ and one buffalo) that slathers the meat is “finger-lickin’ good.”

Those catfish and chicken fingers were so good, I could’ve gone for another order of both.  Mmmmm….  The fish was moist and tender inside with a fantastic light breading on the outside.  And the chicken fingers had a coating that tasted like…well…cheese flavored Pringles.  Yes, cheese flavored Pringles.  You have to try them.  Trust me.

And those sides!  Yum on the baked beans, cole slaw, cornbread, and texas toast.  It helps round out a meat filled meal, and does it very well.

I was ecstatic to have tried this place.  And though it may be a chain, they’ve obviously earned their keep.

Famous Dave’s - 6925 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy, CA - 408.842.1400

A Different Bookstore Experience Sunday, May 4, 2008

 Courtesy of www.bookbuyers.com

My hubby and I love to visit bookstores.  We can browse, read, and wander for hours.  If you’re on the Peninsula, your options are mostly limited to either Barnes & Noble, Borders or the occasional Books Inc.  But when we’re in the mood to drive just a little further south, we go to my favorite bookstore, BookBuyers on Castro St. in Mountain View.

It’s a great street to get a good meal (there are so many great Asian restaurants up and down Castro).  And after your meal, you can walk right on over to BookBuyers.

There are lots of reasons to love this place.  First, there’s no better place to buy a calendar anytime of year.  The calendars are ALWAYS 50% off the retail price and you won’t find a bigger selection anywhere.  They’ve got calendars of every kind, size, theme and design you could ever want or think of.

Second, it’s a great spot to sell your used software, books, CDs, magazines, and movies.  They’ll buy them from you, which explains their great selection of merchandise…

And that’s my favorite thing about this place.  There are aisles and aisles and aisles of all kinds of books that are much less than at a regular bookstore because most are used.  There are books, magazines, and CDs that are out of print and you can find a lot of great literary treasures.  I love to shop for travel books and cookbooks here because many are barely used and in great condition.  The selection is remarkable and so are the prices.

I tend to spend more time here than at a conventional bookstore.  It’s like a vast well organized treasure hunt, and you’re bound to find more than a few gems. 

BookBuyers - 317 Castro Street, Mountain View - 650.968.7323

No Ordinary Food Court Saturday, April 5, 2008

Courtesy of www.wichcraftnyc.com

You’re probably wondering why on earth I would write about a food court, but the term “food court” really doesn’t do this place justice. It’s not like any other stereotypical one you’ve seen in the standard American mall. Thankfully, there’s no Sbarro, Panda Express, or Hot Dog on a Stick anywhere in sight.

A couple of weeks ago I stayed at the Hotel Palomar in San Francisco for a few days (great boutique hotel with exceptional service, btw). That meant being right next door to the San Francisco Shopping Centre (!) and an endless source of meal options in their famous food court and supermarket, Whole Foods knockoff, Bristol Farms.

I’ll list out only the places I tried.

WICHCRAFT - Fans of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” are familiar with this restaurant chain’s owner, Tom Coliccio. Unfortunately, this place falls into the typical celebrity chef trap: all style, no substance and overpriced. It bugs the crap outta me that the food here was fresh, conceptually inventive, the elements were individually good, but the result was less than memorable. Head to this next joint for a better soup and sandwich…

SAN FRANCISCO SOUP COMPANY - This chain makes delicious homemade soups that are consistantly good and made with top notch ingredients. It’s the best soup you’ll have, and I’ve been to four of their locations in the Bay Area. The Tomato Bisque, Turkey Chili, Tortilla Soup, and New England Clam Chowder are all exceptionally good, along with their Spinach Salad. They have about five regular soups, but also have quite a good selection of specials that change daily.

CATCH ISLE - I loved my first dish here so much that I went for a return visit. I tried the Linguini and Clams (I know, at a food court!) and was wonderfully surprised. It was comperable to a higher end joint and I’d definitely have it again. The flavors were clean, fresh, and came together nicely. Service was consistantly nice too, which helps. I had the Fish and Chips on another visit and a mixed green salad. It was good, but not great. My search for decent fish and chips in the Bay Area continues…

BUCKHORN GRILL - I love this place because they know how to treat a good piece of angus beef! It’s always cooked perfectly, marinated and flavored well, and surprisingly juicy. Order anything with the tri tip beef and you’ll be good to go.

PASTA MOTO - They had a real pizza oven and some tasty roasted veggies. And the Margherita Pizza was pretty tasty for a food court (but it’s no Pizzeria Delfina, of course). But on average…it was average. The weakest meal next to Wichcraft I had here.

ANDALE - There are various locations of this small Mexican chain in the Bay Area. They do a cross between Mexican street food items with a more Californian spin on preparation. I love the Shrimp Fajitas.

BEARD PAPA - You know how I feel about this place… Go!

There are many other restaurants here, including “Out the Door,” by the owner of “Slanted Door” (again, overpriced and overhyped), and some other more standard choices. But all in all, this food court has better options than some higher end restaurants I can think of. All this variety, affordability, and you get some good food to boot.

The Food Court @ The Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre - 805 Market Street, S.F. - 415.512.6776

It’s That Time of Year Again… Saturday, March 15, 2008

Courtesy of CAAM

Well, this year the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is celebrating the 26th year of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. I’ve been coming to this shindig for 12 years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how much talent there is in the Asian indie film circuit. It also makes it painfully obvious how Hollywood has no idea how much talent they’re passing up in the Asian American community…

But I digress…

This year’s lineup is in my opinion, the strongest it’s been in over five years, which really excites me. There are many great films to check out and shows that still have tickets available. Here are some that are generating buzz…

“Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” - I hate even mentioning this one, but I guess I gotta. The damn show’s already sold out! Your only hope is additional screenings that may be added or the rush line for last minute tickets.

“A Battle of Wits” - This one stars Hong Kong’s Tom Cruise, Mr. Andy Lau. He’s a real dynamo when it comes to Cantopop and badly dubbed over Cantonese movies. This one, however, is an epic drama and looks pretty good.

Spotlight on Filmmaker Wayne Wang - I had the pleasure of meeting Wayne a few years ago, and I’m glad to finally see him being celebrated at the Festival. He will be giving a talk and they’ll have screenings of a few of his films including “Joy Luck Club,” “Life is Cheap But Toilet Paper is Expensive,” “Princess of Nebraska,” and his new film, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.” He may have gone mainstream, but he’ll always be the king of indie Asian American cinema to me .

“The Killing of a Chinese Cookie” - I had to mention the documentary about food! This film takes an interesting and funny look at the origins and evolution of the beloved (and very American) fortune cookie.

There are tons more documentaries, films from America and abroad, short films, lectures, and even celebrities! Check out the schedule of films and find out how you can be a part of this fantastic event.

The Festival runs from Thursday, March 13th through Sunday, March 23rd in San Francisco (two locations), Berkeley, and San Jose. www.asianamericanmedia.org

I Heart Paris: Fave Districts & Shopping Sunday, March 9, 2008

There’s almost no other city in the world that is spoken about with as much love as Paris. And after experiencing it for myself for a week, I finally understand why.

There is a certain charm, sophistication and class that can’t be replicated anywhere else. Add to that their fabulous food, fashion, art and history, and you’ve got an unbeatable combination!

There are so many different sights to see and places to go in Paris. The city’s many different districts all offer a different vibe, which is remarkable in itself. Here’s a list of four that J.Low and I enjoyed most and would recommend for shopping and just getting lost in.

MARAIS

There’s a wealth of fabulous boutiques here on Rue des Francs Bourgeois (between Rue Payenne and Rue Vielle du Temple), like Mellow Yellow for the cutest shoes without totally breaking the bank. They’ve got beautiful patent leather flats in adorable shapes and funky bright colors. Then on the same street, head to La Chaise Lounge for the most fun gifts you’ll find (I got a pair of movable robot cufflinks for my husband there), Les Petits for the most stylish in wearable current fashion, and nearby Muji for sleek Japanese housewares.

Nearby on Clos des Blancs-Manteaux there’s also Les Touristes for drapes, table runners, and cosmetic bags (J. found a large cosmetic bag for only 8 euros in an adorable French provencal fabric), as well as Romane, a boutique that carries chic sophisticated women’s fashions. This was my favorite district in Paris. Great food, shopping and interesting people.

SAINT GERMAIN

Besides Le Bon Marche (the department store real Parisians shop at) and its Le Grande Epicerie (the king of all gourmet food stores), there’s one street for bargain hunters that can’t be missed: Rue Sainte-Placide.

J had a great time finding a pair of ballet flats for 29 euros, boots for 75 euros, and a lined trench coat for 20 euros. Great prices, especially for this part of the world. Stores like Rudy’s and Mode offer good deals on cool shoes, both designer and not. And Le Generale Pharmacie sells European skin and haircare brands like Phyto, La Roche Posay, Roger & Gallet, Klorane, Weleda, Biotherm and Rene Furterer for as much as half off U.S. prices, and slightly less than other Parisian pharmacies, which made me happy.

Rue Sainte-Placide is not a long street so browse around and you’ll find some bargains.

LATIN QUARTER

Alleyways to get lost in, pubs to chat in, and bistros to linger in. Plus, a great array of little boutiques in those alleyways and larger chain stores near the main roads like Promod (similar to H&M) and Minelli for shoes and handbags (where I got a lovely “leather-esque” metallic silver handbag for 49 euros).

RUE de FAUBOURG SAINT HONORE

If you’ve got the cash, you can plunk it down here. This famous street right behind the Louvre has a storefront for every name brand European designer you can think of. A little rich for my blood, but if you’re into window shopping, it’s worth the trip.

As for the usual department store suspects like Galleries Lafayette and Printemps, I wouldn’t suggest it for most shoppers. It is such a madhouse in there that it’s enough to make you run for the hills. I’m an expert shopper and it made me run for cover. And there are much more interesting items to be found in the boutiques around town anyway.

It’s easy to love Paris. But by the time I left, I felt like it could love me back. And that was the best part.

I Heart Paris: The Food Saturday, March 1, 2008

I was fortunate enough to visit the glorious city of Paris for a week recently with pal, J.Low. I fell in love with the city, it’s people, the culture, the landscape, all its character, and of course, the food and shopping.

For this post, we’ll talk about the food. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the cuisine at the fancy joints or the brasseries that impressed us most (though they were definitely charming and the food wasn’t anything to complain about). It was the street food that made us swoon!

LADUREE - Various locations

Macaroons to absolutely DIE FOR! These aren’t the coconut butter shortbread numbers we have here in America. These are like a soft yet crisp, light wafer cake with flavored cream, jam, caramel, or fudgy chocolate filling (depending on the flavor). They have a crazy array of flavors and colors like chocolate, rose, vanilla, coffee, raspberry, cherry, strawberry, and on and on… But my faves were the caramel w/fleur de sel (wonderfully chewy caramel filling!), cassis & violette (it totally captures the flavor and essence of Paris), and the fragrant and delicate orange blossom flower.

They have various locations throughout Paris, but the one on the Champs Elysees can’t be missed. The restaurant’s decor, boxes, and details bring every tea party fantasy you’ve ever had, to life. Both beautiful and magical.

L’ENTRECOTE - Champs Elysees

The hype with this restaurant is in its ”green sauce” that goes over their steak frites (and that’s pretty much all they serve, by the way). But tasting is believing because the hype is worth it! I’m still trying to recreate the sauce at home. We were trying to figure out what was in it and we’re pretty sure it’s a dijon base, along with porchini mushrooms and a little melted butter. Add that sauce to their perfectly cooked steak and crisp fries and we were in heaven.

CHEZ HANNA - Marais District

This kosher middle eastern restaurant was actually our second choice when we arrived in the delightful Marais district. We were looking for the world famous L’As du Fallafel, but they were closed since it was Saturday. But J. and I didn’t care because the falafel sandwich we had at Chez Hanna was simply the best we’d ever had!!! It was a warm soft pita, hummus and a tomato chutney, lightly vinegary shredded red and green cabbage and diced cucumbers, perfectly crisp falafel balls made fresh that didn’t taste full of additives, and some delectable roasted eggplant slices with olive oil. It was fantastic!

STREET CREPES - All over Paris

This, of course, isn’t a restaurant but what is arguably Paris’ most popular street food. J. and I were so addicted to these puppies we had six of them in six days! And trust me, I would’ve had more if I could :). I’m personally a fan of the savory crepes stuffed with shredded white cheese, ham, and sometimes egg or mushrooms, fresh and warm from the griddle. Mmmmm….

For a sweet crepe, I enjoyed the Nutella but actually prefered the ones filled with apricot or strawberry jam.

LA BALZAR BRASSERIE - Latin Quarter

It’s this place’s atmosphere and charming waitstaff that are worth the visit. Our waiter, Jean, was the most darling older gentleman and he was making jokes all night in his heavily accented English. I’d recommend this place simply based on the experience and less for the food. Definitely order the French Onion Soup with its wonderfully thick layer of melted cheese, but skip the tough and overcooked escargots.

AMORINO ITALIAN GELATO - Various locations

I have to trust J’s word on this one because…I’m not a huge fan of ice cream. (I KNOW I’m gonna get tons of grief for that statement.) But she didn’t say a word while she was eating it and that pretty much says it all. She loved it and thought the flavors and texture were out of this world. They let you choose as many flavors as you want for one price and then even shape the ice cream into a lovely rose. Leave it to the French to make something as simple as gelato/ice cream so beautiful.

By the way, if you want reservations to a Paris restaurant before you leave the States, check out www.bestrestaurantsparis.com to make them online!  Piece of cake.

Next week, I’ll talk all about some of the lovely districts we visited and the great shopping we found…

Shanghai: Part Two Monday, January 21, 2008

So again, MSG is in everything here. You’ve been warned.

That said, the food in Shanghai is distinctive, flavorful, and very rich.

Because China is so big, different regions have very distinctive food styles. In the south (Canton, Hong Kong, Guangzhao, Shenzhen, etc.) rice is served all the time and dishes are stirfried. In the north (Shanghai, Ningbao, and the like), meats are commonly braised in rich sauces and their main staples are noodles and dumplings; foods that are heavier, heartier, and made with flour because of the colder climate. In Beijing, there’s lots of hotpot, goat, and lamb. Hunan food is infamously spicy.

So here are three highlights from our trip to Shanghai:

JADE GARDEN - Classic Shanghainese food in a colonial French setting. The place is eternally packed, so make sure you call for reservations no less than a week in advance. We enjoyed the Braised Pork (pictured below) and the Crystal Shrimp served with dark vinegar.

XIAO LONG BAO - This isn’t a restaurant but arguably the signature dish of Shanghai (pictured below). It is steamed dumplings filled with pork and sometime some seafood like shrimp or crab. It is so damn flavorful and there’s a special way to eat them so you don’t waste the “tong” or soupy oil that’s sitting inside the dumpling. You can get them at any Shanghainese restaurant but the best have both a flavorful tong/soup and meat filling inside AND a super thin delicate dough. If there’s one thing you HAVE to order while in Shanghai, it’s a steamer full of these puppies.

YU YUAN GARDENS VARIOUS FOODSTANDS - This is a good place to experience “street food” without questioning how unsafe they are. Because these foodstands are within the Yu Yuan Gardens Bazaar, they’re cleaner and a bit safer. And the food is very tasty. You can try classics like soy sauce tea eggs, fishballs, tripe, egg rolls, and my favorite, fried stinky tofu with chili sauce. It’s like cheese for the Chinese because they ferment the tofu much like cheese. Hence the stinkiness. If you are an adventurous eater, it’s not to be missed.

Much of the food we had during our trip was sublime. But I have to admit, my husband and I are COMPLETELY burnt out on Chinese food for quite a while!