Fried food delights at Jumbo

We got to Jumbo around 11 am on a Tuesday. With only a few tables settled and it was absolutely dead, we had to order from a menu instead of the usual dim sum carts circulating around until more people show up. Sometimes, I feel like I like that method better because you never have to wait to get what you want. My sister took charge and checked a dish of pan fried custard buns we haven't noticed before. When it arrived, the buns looked like porcupines with crispy edges sticking out. I don't really like sweets, but after much convincing I tried it. I took a bite into the freshly fried, crispy exterior and greeted by a layer of soft white bun, filled with yellow egg custard. I think my eyes may have rolled back a little. It was sublime! I've never seen this dish circulating in the dim sum carts ever. So the next visit to Jumbo I looked for them in dim sum carts but no luck, they weren't out anywhere. I tried ordering it from the kitchen and explaining to the servers, describing the porcupine buns. They were puzzled. Finally, I showed the the picture I took and I received a big "AH!" They still didn't tell me what it was called though, so I guess I'll have to show them pictures each time I want to order it lol.

The next best thing on my list is the pan fried shrimp cake with chives which is only good when served hot and fresh. If they're not freshly fried and crispy, then it's a lost cause. Again, I tried ordering it from the kitchen and getting a puzzled look. Of course I showed another picture of the shrimp cakes. The server understood as he laughed and joked "Any more pictures you want to show me?". Yes, I will never stop taking pictures from now on, because you know what? That's the good thing about being a food nerd and taking pictures of everything. There's never a miscommunication and I'll get exactly what I want. This leads me to an idea of saving pictures of everything from food to utensils, glass of water, etc. So when I go travel to countries like Korea, Japan, I won't have to rely on charades and miming anymore lol.

For everything else we had that day:

Fried taro with ground pork filling

Fried chicken wings. They are pretty big, well marinated, and oozing hot oil when you bite into them.

Steamed chicken feet

Siu mai, they are quite big, but I wish there were more shrimp.

Ha gow, shrimp dumplings, Dim Sum essential.

My staple dim sum food, fried shrimp wontons.

Pan fried tofu wrapped shrimp

Ham Siu Gok, fried rice cakes with ground pork filling

I've been going to Jumbo for years since it's probably one of the better dim sum restaurants in town and it's close to my home. Price is reasonable, most of the dishes are descent (except for the kebabs, I'm not a fan of those dried meat drenched in sweet sauce). I never paid much attention to how friendly the service was. Especially when it's usually busy, everyone just focuses on table turnovers. As long as I was getting what I want, I don't care if I get a smile from the staff who were running around in circles trying to meet everyone's demands. The past visit was pretty good though, I think after I showed the server my food pictures when I was ordering, he will always recognize me from now on. As I was leaving, he made sure to bid farewell with "Show me more pictures next time!!".

Oh yeah, definitely try to order the porcupine bun if you can.

Easy way making fiery Mapo tofu recipe

I woke up half way through hibernation, hungry and cold. I glanced outside to the blizzards and wish there was already food on the table so I could quickly eat it and go back to doing my thing. Since I have a block of tofu in the fridge, and there was a foot of snow outside and still blizzarding, I thought of the spicy mapo tofu to warm me up from inside out.

While I was reminiscing about the best Mapo tofu I've ever had, which was at South Ocean Seafood restaurant in Richmond, BC, I started looking through hundreds of recipes, and each had different ways of making it. As I was wondering what the easiest way would be to tackle this dish, I have to give thanks to chef Ben who helped me simplify this recipe, making it easier for me to follow through.

I couldn't find the 2 main ingredients, szechuan peppers and chili bean oil, anywhere in my kitchen. There was no way I was going to drive out and get stuck in the snow for them that day either. But it wasn't about to stop me from making Mapo tofu. I ended up using Lau Gan Ma brand of chili oil instead. The essential elements of a good Mapo tofu are the heat (spicy and in temperature), freshness, aromatic, and soft texture. Thanks to Lau Gan Ma, it substituted for both the bean paste and Szechuan pepper, a 2 in 1 rescue. The flavours actually turned out quite nicely, and packing a lot of heat. Here's the easy way of making Mapo tofu, my way.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

300 g ground pork

2 tbsp. chopped garlic

2 tbsp. Lau Gan Ma chili oil

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp. sugar

85 g soft tofu, cubed

2 tsp. cornstarch

45 ml water

chopped green onion and cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

In a large saucepan at high heat, sauté garlic and ground pork together until well cooked. Time to add the seasoning! Throw in chili oil, soy sauce, cooking wine and sugar and swish the saucepan until the seasonings are well mixed. Pour in cubed tofu into the mixture and gently stir and swirl the sauce around. Be careful not to break the tofu. Dilute cornstarch with water and add it to the saucepan. Gently stir and cover with a lid. Lower the heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture is boiling and thickened, turn off heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped green onion and cilantro, and serve with steamed rice.