Homemade Pizza for Dinner

"Portuguese Sausage Pizza" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
“Portuguese Sausage Pizza” Cedar Park, 2019

Homemade pizza – hard to beat! Tonight’s selections were a Portuguese sausage (from Maui) and onion pizza, and a Japanese-style corn and tuna pizza. It might sound weird to Western ears, but it is so yummy.

Hope you had a nice day!

またね~

"Corn and Tuna Pizza" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
“Corn and Tuna Pizza” Cedar Park, 2019

Tacos or Burritos?

"Taco Duo" Austin, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
“Taco Duo” Austin, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I had tacos today for lunch since the taco trailer was outside the office. In the photo, you can see one taco al pastor on corn tortillas, and a sirloin steak taco with flour tortilla. Both with raw onion and cilantro, plus jalapeño and habañero salsa. It was muy delicioso!

Sometimes when I make a big batch of carnitas, I’ll take a poll from the family on whether they would prefer burritos or tacos for dinner. The vote usually swings 3-1 in burrito’s favor, which makes it a tiny bit more complicated because I have to find extra-large tortillas and that can sometimes be a challenge. It’s easy to find taco-sized tortillas, and 12-inch as well, but we want the larger (at least 16″) size which the supermarket might not stock.

Speaking of burritos, we love to visit Freebirds for our quick burrito fix. I usually will get a “monster” size for $9.60 which I can share with my wife, or save half for another meal. There’s one lady who works at our local Freebirds who really makes awesome burritos. She adds plenty of meat, a good amount of any other ingredients you ask for, and has great skill at mashing it all together nicely without the tortilla tearing. She treats us well! Actually, watching them compress all the burrito fillings while wrapping it in the tortilla is fascinating and something we try to emulate at home. Fun with food!

At any rate, I prefer burritos over tacos, but that’s such a tiny difference. It’s like I give a burrito 5 stars, and tacos 4.8.

I hope you had a delicious day!

またね~

Tonkatsu and Sashimi Dinner

"Katsu and Sashimi" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Katsu and Sashimi” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

A friend of ours brought back fresh hamachi (yellowtail) from Hawaii and my wife, along with several other lucky people, received some nice cuts. She prepared some sashimi for us, and also cooked some of the fish in a wonderful miso soup. It was delicious!

But that’s not all, because she also prepared tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet), served with cabbage and tonkatsu sauce. We also like to have it with karashi (hot mustard). It was pretty nice to have both karashi and wasabi (for the sashimi) out on the table. What a yummy meal!

"Katsu" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
“Katsu” Cedar Park, 2019

I hope you had a nice Sunday!

またね~

Hot Dry Noodles in Houston

"Hot Dry Noodles" Houston, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO800
“Hot Dry Noodles” Houston, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

When I visited China in September, we spent a couple days in the city of Wuhan (武汉). I learned later that one of the food specialties of the city is Hot Dry Noodles (热干面), but since we had already left the city when I learned of them, I was a bit sad. A missed opportunity for sure.

Fast forward to a couple months later and someone I work with (native Chinese) mentioned that she found a place in Houston that served Hot Dry Noodles, and that they were awesome. I bookmarked the restaurant and made a note to try it the next time I travel to Houston. And happily, that day was today!

I had to pick up Koa and a couple of his friends from a band camp in Baytown this afternoon so I went a couple hours early which would give me enough time to visit Jing 5, which is in Houston’s Chinatown area off Bellaire Boulevard.

When I ordered the Hot Dry Noodles, I was asked if I wanted it mild or spicy and of course, I said spicy! The noodles were very good, with the pickled vegetables adding some nice tang and crunch. I’d rate the spiciness level only a 4, which was a little disappointing, but maybe the cook went easy on me. 😆

The “dry” part of the noodles comes from the fact that they are thick but with very low moisture. I’m not sure how to describe it. They were very soft but resisted soaking up any moisture such as the oily broth at the bottom of the bowl, so it was a strange experience.

I’d rate the dish a 6.5 out of 10, which might seem low, but I’ve heard that Hot Dry Noodles are a bit of an acquired taste. I bet the next time I try them, I’ll rate them higher. Actually, thinking about them now, I’m sort of craving Hot Dry Noodles again!

"Jing 5" Houston, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO800
“Jing 5” Houston, 2019

Along with the Hot Dry Noodles, I ordered Salted Duck Neck. It’s also a special dish, and one that I’ve never eaten before so, why not? They were actually pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary (other than being neck). They just tasted like duck meat, which is a good thing.

"Duck Neck" Houston, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1600
“Duck Neck” Houston, 2019

If you are in Houston and want to try the signature Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles, make sure to stop by Jing 5.

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~