Za Jian Mien redux with Tomato Egg!

I love left over Za Jian Mien. The noodles and paste are even better cold. So, for lunch, I paired the cold noodles with tomato and eggs! This is a combo my boy Greg's mom in Beijing taught me when I visited a few years ago.

Za Jian mien

Za Jian Mien for dinner today!!!! Took me 9 hours to upload cause i vaporized, ate three bowls of this and then passed out until now. I fell asleep in the 6th inning of the sawks game and missed it! Well, I wouldn't say I "missed" anything, damn 4-hit shutout....

Anyway, Za Jian Mien is from Beijing and its undergone a few permutations. In Beijing, its really salty and its 100% soybean paste with ground pork w/ cucumbers on noodles. In Taiwan, we throw a little sweet bean paste in. Korea does it too and I've seen it with peas, big pieces of cured tofu (tofu gan), but its wack. I have no idea what they are doing with it, but its not good. Japanese ramen places do it too and sometimes its good but I also never cared to figure out what they do to it so I can't say.



As for mine, I take small minced pieces of cured tofu, ground pork, 50/50 soy bean and sweet bean paste, cucumbers, noodles, serve noodles cold, pork mixture room temperature, game over!!!! Be prepared to food coma for 8 hours cause no one eats one bowl.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup!!!

This is Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. This is my mom's recipe, but I made one "secret" tweak lol. In the soup is: Garlic, green onion, chili peppers, ginger, beef chuck, dark soy, light soy, and some secret ingredients!

Cheeto Redux

So, I didn't get good photos from the first time I did Cheeto Fried Chicken my camera was messed up and Ning didn't eat it. Last night, I made it again, but this time with Cheesy Poofs!!!!! It was even better. Not as crunchy but better flavor. Smaller crumbs so it melds well. Make sure to fry on higher heat though. The cheesy poofs can get wet if the heat is too low.



I also put some in a salad, but it was much better alone. The blue cheese drowned out the flavor.

We need more Ethnic Food Writers!!!

I love the Village Voice. But I might have read the worst restaurant review of all time by Robert Sietsema titled "Fly Heads at the Island of Taiwan Restaurant".

The author dances around for paragraphs using flowery language describing things he has no idea about. We're talking about food, I want a review of a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Taiwanese restaurant, is there really a need to use words like "festooned" or allude to "ancient Spartans"? Stop masturbating on paper and just tell me if they have Taiwanese Dan Dan Mien or Intestine noodle soup (o-a-mi-sua)! He tries to gain credibility by saying he went with two Taiwanese friends, but if they're the ones you're leaning on for input, why don't you just let them write the damn article? Why is it that we continue to read articles about Ethnic food written by rookies? Would you read a review of Monday Night Football from a Kiwi (New Zealand) watching it for the first time?

Wong Wong Says......

Hello! This is Wongwong, the resident food critic at Pop Kitschen! I love food just about as much as I love money (see above photo) and have tasted and reviewed the dishes from this week... Below is the verdict!


Chinese Jamaican Ropa Vieja
Delicious and Robust, this take on Ropa Vieja was great paired with white rice! The soaked raisins gave this dish a special sparkle, and I was definitely got seconds!
8 of 10


Oxtail Pho
The oxtail pho was very much to my taste. It didn't taste like a typical Pho soup, but the noodles were light, broth flavorful, and oxtails were very tender! Also didn't have the MSG hangover afterwards
7 of 10 stars

Jamaican Pepperpot w/ Beef Neck Bone
I was excited to try this dish b/c it smelled good, but it had a slightly bitter aftertaste that I didn't like. I am also not a fan of coconut so it was kind of a turn off for me.
3 of 10 stars

Mango Ting Cobbler
I'm a HUGE fan of desserts and MANGOES, so I was pumped to eat this, and it did not dissapoint! It was not overly sweet and was fragrant and tasty! The only negative was the crust was a bit dry/sandy b/c it was not saturated in butter, but I'd much prefer that over an enlarged gut LOL
7.5 of 10 stars

Big Bang Beef Ribs
Super flavorful with sweet and salty notes, these ribs were amazing and my fav dish of the week! The meat fell right off the bone and it had a very full flavor!
8.5 of 10 stars

Cheeto Fried Chicken
Hmmm... The *cough* FAT CHEF didn't share ANY OF THIS with me and ate it all himself. NOT COOL!
0 of 10 stars