What's for Dinner #90 - the Days are Lasting Longer Edition - February 2023

Long day. To get my mind off things, my sister and I went antiquing after we put Alfie next to his brother, stepsister, stepbrothers, and cousins.

Dinner was seared pork chops seasoned with s/p and dried thyme, with a sauce of semi-caramelized onions, 1/2 cup plum ketchup from my freezer, and 1/4 cup of white wine, all whisked together and reduced.

Sides were convection oven-roasted baby yellow potatoes and Brussels sprouts seasoned with s/p, garlic powder, and dried thyme.

And Wine. It is National Drink Wine Day, after all. Not that I need a specific day designating a day to drink wine.

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So sorry for your loss, Linda. They leave such a hole in our hearts when they go! Big hugs.

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My condolences, El

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Read the recipe - looks good and easy, don’t think you could go amiss with some smoked sausage either. A mountain jambalaya.

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Penne, with herb-roasted garden tomatoes (last summer’s from frozen). Caesar salad.

For dessert, there will be a freshly baked, citrus and olive oil cake.

Gateau

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" Chi-Star, Richmond Hill " …WARNING!! - Quality in ‘steep’ decline!

Once a darling and our regular go-to place for speciality wok-hay dishes and other authentic, traditional Cantonese fare. Dining experience tonight for our group of 5 was totally abysmal!!

‘Stirred fry beef with flat rice noodle aka Gone-Chau-Ngau-Ho’, once consistently great and a talk-of-the-town candidate was pathetically and loveless-ly executed. The resulting product, lacking in wok-hay component and mediocre in both appearance and taste! 😔

Our near $100, over-priced ‘Oil poached Thai Marble Goby fish’ was bastardised by the kitchen. Known for their sweet, delicate and velvety flaky flesh, our ‘live fish’ was way overcooked, rendering the texture of the flesh tough and hard. What a sad ending to a supposedly gorgeous fish!! 😠 Maple Yip!! Please re-open!!

Last but not least, our lady server rounded off our already unforgettably bad evening by handing us the bill without our asking, hinted to us that there are other patrons waiting for our table. Then for a climatic finale, she proceeded to address our near explosive scenario by ‘pouring gasoline to the flame’, counting the cash in front of us and complaining that our tips were not adequate!!

Are you kidding me?!! 🤬

A text-book example in Yelp or Tripadvisor for a 1* out of 5* rating!!

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How awkward. I hope that complaint was unfounded.

Ground beef patty with aji verde. Fried, potatoes, peppers and onions. Garbanzo, tomato, red onion, avocado salad with sherry vinegar & oo dressing.

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Then for a climatic finale, “she proceeded to address our near explosive scenario” by ‘pouring gasoline to the flame’, counting the cash in front of us and complaining that our tips were not adequate!!

I’d love to hear more about your near explosive scenario before she poured gasoline on the flame.

We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at James on Main in Hackettstown, NJ including roasted mushrooms in a yellow curry sauce over a grilled cornbread crostini; char siu pork belly; wood fired U8 gulf shrimp; tea smoked duck breast; monkfish and mussels with handkerchief pasta; duck leg confit; truffled fries; and an outstanding sweet potato panna cotta. It went great with an excellent Shiraz and cabernet.










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We were still enjoying our desserts and wine when, out of the blue, the bill landed on our table with hints for us to vacate our table ASAP so as to make room for other patrons!

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Haven’t had skirt steak in a while since the prices are up there. Does anyone else remember when skirt was a cheap-ish cut that Mexican restaurants hid in fajitas? Now it is comparable to filet mignon. But after tonight, the price was worth it-- this may be my favorite cut after all. I didn’t have time this morning to put a marinade together, so I seasoned it before searing with Montreal steak seasoning, cracked pepper, garlic and onion powders, and a little more salt. Just delicious. Melt in your mouth tender. Side of roasted potatoes and string beans Almondine.

There was a martini.

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So sorry to hear about your Alfie :pensive:

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Linda, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your Alfie. What a dear cat.

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This is heaven on a plate! That skirt steak is perfectly done, and the taters and beans…yum!

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CCE, after the stellar and considerate job you did on the kebabs, who would rat on you?

CBC Marketplace, a consumer advocate investigative show, ran an episode called Sodium Shock. In it, they showed the extremely high levels in healthy sounding dishes at chain restaurants.

Near the end, CBC spoke with a chef couple who gave some great alternatives to take it down a notch at home.

  • Substitute salt with lemons. While sauteeing onions, she added zest.
  • Add texture. Toasted seeds or nuts, breadcrumbs, etc to excite your mouth.
  • Herbs and spices, especially the spices you blend yourself.
  • Pump up the flavour with heat. Chilis and such.

Here’s the episode in case you want to see the report on restaurants.

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Like ‘traveling’ through PBS’ travel programs, I’d say that I can ‘dine’ through your pictorial essays. Yum! If only ‘smell-a-vision’ was available… Thank you for the ‘excursions’!

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Another lovely dining experience for me through the media. I gotta find a ‘smell-a-vision’ app.

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Thank you for the compliment! I try to do the chef justice with my pictures.

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" Shanghai Frozen Dim Sum, 2549 Warden Avenue ( South of Finch ), Scarborough "

’ Northern style shredded turnip and diced preserved salted pork turnover ’
Amazing!! One of the most enjoyable, delightful and tasty frozen Dim Sum creations I have come across in the GTA!! Flaky & crusty shell packed generously with super-delicious, juicy, crunchy, salty and savoury filling! Nothing similar even come close in town!😋😋😋👌👌👌👍👍👍

( BTW, their Shanghai Sheng Jian Bao (生煎包, pan-fried pork buns) are pretty darn good too! IMHO, better than most restaurant products! Smooth, spongy and light, the minced pork filling was nicely seasoned with rice wine. The cocoon oozes with umami rich chicken broth when bitten into! Slow heat and patience will yield a crispy bottom. Yummm! )





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