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Eating our way through Seattle and Alaska

9/1/2017

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My family loves going on vacation and, let's face it, who doesn’t?  Usually we like to go on cruises out of New York but this year we were going on a cruise out of Seattle to Alaska! We also were going to spend a few days in Seattle.  As usual, we had some good eats planned for both Alaska and Seattle.

The first place we hit up was right after we had gotten off our six hour flight from New York so we were all very tired.  The place was called Dong Thap Noodles and was in the International District of Seattle. They were famous for having the world’s biggest bowl of pho. Now, as you probably know from one of my earlier posts we visited Vietnam a few years ago and had pho all of the time, but since then I have only had one or two bowls of it in the States.  So, I was excited!  We started off by getting spring rolls and egg rolls and obviously we ordered the pho.  The spring roll was my favorite out of the two rolls it was so fresh and light and it really tasted like I was back in Vietnam.  Next was the pho. It was huge!  As soon as we got it we dug in, of course, after my dad took pictures.  In my family, we put sriracha, hoisin sauce, jalepeños, and bean sprouts which gives it a lot of bold flavors. It was the best pho we had eaten since Vietnam and it reminded me a lot of Vietnam. We actually tried a few new things that were in the soup which were tendon, and tripe.  I thought that the all of the different meats were cooked very well and that all of the flavors really went well together. The owners of Dong Thap were so nice and were so involved with the customers which I usually don’t see a lot of and is something I really appreciated. Overall, I think it should be a place you try to go to if you go to Seattle.

The next place I want to talk about is a very famous sandwich place that is owned by Mario Batali's parents and it is called Salumi. It was opened after his dad retired and he decided to learn a lot about curing meats, which eventually led him to open his store.  His store is only open four days a week from 11am to 3pm so this was our only chance to go.  We got there as the store opened and it isn’t really a sit down place. You get your order to go.  My dad and I agreed on getting the porchetta sandwich (one of the most popular sandwiches there), chicharones, meatballs, and the cured meats platter.  We took it on a mini ferry trip, we were taking around Seattle.  We started with the porchetta sandwich which had pork, peppers, and onions.  I must say it was a very good bite. The pork was tender and the peppers were soft and so were the onions.  The only thing I would say was that the bun fell apart when we ate it.  The next thing we had which I could not stop eating was the meat platter.  It had all of these different types of salami that made my mouth water.  There were six different types of salami: finocchiona, hot sopressata, salumi, mole, mustard, and agrumi salami.  My favorite salami that kept reeling me back was the mole salami, it had a lot of different flavors and it was a hard salami which I love. They had put nutmeg in the salami which was interesting because I would expect it in a mole, but I wouldn’t think it would be good in a salami, but it was.  It had made the salami pop and stand out from the others. We had gotten two orders of the meatballs which is the next thing we are going to talk about.  I am really glad we got two orders because if we didn’t there wouldn’t be enough to go around!!  To me the meatball itself is only 75% of what makes a meatball really good and the other 25% is the sauce.  Meatballs need to be moist and I like my meatballs soft and the sauce really helps to kind of of trap the moisture in the meatball and make it dense.  If the sauce that is helping to keep the meatball stay moist isn’t good then there is that 25% of the meatball gone. I don’t care if it is the best meatball in the world. If that sauce isn’t good then it is over.  I thought that they nailed the sauce and that the meatball was nice and moist and the sauce really helped bring the meatball to the next level.  Lastly, I thought the chicharones were very good, but it was a little hard and that might just be me because of my braces.  Although because it was a little hard it really brought out rich flavors in the chicharones.  I also thought it was very nicely seasoned.  I would definitely go back to Porchetta and so far I am in love with Seattle. Then we were off to Alaska!!!

We did a lot of excursions in Alaska so we didn’t have a lot of time to eat.  The only place that we ate was in a little town called Skagway.  One of our excursions there was a salmon bake and then we ate in the town.  Skagway was a short walk from the docks of the cruise ship and I wish we got to do more exploring there. We ate this dessert that was a fried bread coated in sugar and tasted like fried dough which it was just not over the top sweet, but more subtle.  The salmon bake was not what I was expecting. We took a little bus there from the docks and it wasn't even in Skagway, it was a bit little outside town. We showed up in a little school bus and there was a little buffet set up with salad, pasta and next to it was a large grill with salmon and a pineapple glaze.  It was nice, but it wasn’t what I expected.

In Alaska we also got to go on a crab boat and see how they caught crabs. We also learned the difference between female and male crabs and I got to hold a crab.  It was fun, but my favorite part was going back to land to eat as many crabs as we wanted.  When we got there they told us that there was a competition to see who can stack the highest crab shell pile and the winner would get a prize.  If you know me then you know I am super competitive so I was all in.  Compared to other groups though we didn't have a lot of people since my siblings don't eat crab and we only had four people actually eating crab.  So we were the most creative when it came time for them to measure our stack of shells. We put the plate on top of a glass and so even though we didn't have a lot of shells on the plate it still put a lot of height on it because they measure it from the ground.  We actually won!! Do you want to know what are prize was?  We got to learn a dance.  I know, not much right?  It still felt good to win.  That was our last day in Alaska.  Then it was back to Seattle!

We didn’t go straight home after the cruise, we decided to stay and explore Seattle a bit more.  As soon as we got off the ship we went to a Mariners game because my Dad has always wanted to go to that stadium and the food there was supposedly amazing.  There were a few major things on our list to eat there, one of them was to eat these fried grasshoppers that came in a little container.  I was really nervous to eat it because, like to anyone, it sounded disgusting.  We went on the line as quickly as possible because they only sell a certain amount of containers per day.  There was plenty left when we got there and my Dad and I asked what the grasshoppers tasted like and the guy working there said they tasted like hearts of palm.  Now, hearts of palm aren’t my favorite food and I don’t love them so I was very hesitant to try it.  I did end up eating it and it tasted disgusting, but I made it down.  I am glad that I ate it because now I can say that I ate a grasshopper.

The last place we went before going back to New York was the Pike Place Market.  We got a lot of food there, but there are a few that really stood out to me personally.  One of them which I still can’t get over which was this stand called Chukar Cherries.  They are different types of cherries that are dipped in different types of chocolate.  They were so good that we brought two bags home and one of the bags I ate by myself.  The next thing we had were different types of clam chowder.  One was original and the other was mixed seafood and salmon.  They were amazing they were so creamy, and full of rich flavor from the seafood.  It was really hot that day and a really long line, but totally worth it.  To cool ourselves down after the hot soup we got ginger beer.  They are really good for you and you can get them in different flavors.  We got peach, mango, and guava.  My favorite was the guava. It was absolutely bursting in flavor and had a little bit of a kick from the ginger.  The Pike Place Market was definitely one of my favorite places and I am dying to go back.

​I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go to these places and all of the food was amazing.
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Adventures in Vietnam - Part 2: A Trip to the Mekong Delta

4/27/2015

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This is the second blog post about my family’s trip to Vietnam. After we had spent a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, we took a three-hour drive down to the Mekong Delta.  We drove over cool bridges and saw a lot of motorbikes on the drive there. The hotel we stayed at was called The Victoria. It was beautiful. When we got to the hotel, they sat us down and massaged us. While they were massaging us they gave us a fruit drink that tasted like mango. It tasted so good!  After the massage, we went upstairs and changed into our bathing suits to go to the pool.  While at the pool, we ordered shrimp toast and spicy Vietnamese chicken wings.  When the food arrived, we dug in. The shrimp toast was creamy and crunchy at the same time. In America, chicken wings are usually either sweet or spicy but not both at the same time. These were both!

The next morning we ate breakfast and headed out to the dock outside for a tour.  There was a boat there ready to take us to three stops and to give us a tour of the famous floating markets.  The first stop we went to was a noodle factory.  When we got to the first stop, we had to walk down a path to the actual location.  On our way down, we stopped at a stand that sold thin banana pancakes. The pancake was a thin circle made out of bananas in an old fashioned pancake maker. She was outside over a campfire and was flipping it in a colonial looking pancake maker. It looked thin and crunchy.  We saved it for later in case we got hungry.  After a few minutes of walking, we finally got to the noodle factory.  The first step to making noodles was to make a thin batter.  Then you put it on this pan and put a cover over it and flip it from side to side, and then you let it dry and then you shred it in a hand machine to make it into strips which look like pasta.  It seems like an easy task, but it isn't.  The batter was a beige color and in the room there was traditional Vietnamese music playing.  There was a garden in the backyard and dogs in the room.  After watching the workers make noodles, we got back on the boat and headed to the next stop.  

On our way to the floating market my grandma said, “I’m thirsty.”  So, we saw a boat with drinks on it so we hooked our boat with their boat and asked for a drink.  When we asked for the drink they wanted to sell it to all of us.  So, they got closer to the boat and started to put drinks in our faces.  They were there for a couple of minutes, but we were able to get them away from us.  Just when we thought we had escaped another boat hooked onto us and wanted to give us all sorts of things, and put them in our face to try to get us to buy it.  We finally got away and got to see the amazing view of all of the boats in the floating market selling fruit.  Some families lived on the boats and others had a house on land.  Each boat was pouring with amazing fruit.  That was the ripest I’ve ever seen fruit.  There were some fruits I’ve never heard of.  It was an amazing sight.

Once we passed the floating market, we were getting close to our next stop -- the fruit orchard.  When we got to the fruit orchard, we went inside.  Inside they were selling jewelry and drinks. My mom and I went over to the jewelry table and looked at the options. There were really pretty necklaces, and bracelets, and these cool hair things.  We decided to get the hair thing and a bracelet for my cousin.  The orchard had tons of exotic fruit.  While we were walking, we got to feed the fish.  When we fed them they would stick out there heads and gobble it up.  The orchards didn't just have fruit and fish, it also had flowers.  We learned that you can tell if a dragon fruit is red or white inside.  You can tell it’s red when the tips of the leaves are red.  We were nearing the end of the orchard when we saw this bridge and our tour guide said we can go on it.   So, I went on the bridge.  I had flip flops on and I was playing with them on the bridge. Suddenly, my flip flop fell into the swamp below, which was not good.  We had to get a huge stick to fish it out of the swamp.  Plus, my grandma was on the bridge pushing it to the shore.  Meanwhile, my mom and I were cracking up.  We finally got it out of the water and it felt good to put it on.  When we ended our tour, we got to pick out a few fruits to try.  We had mango, dragon fruit, milk apple, pineapple, and jackfruit.  My favorite fruit was the dragon fruit.  After everyone finished we got back on the boat and headed to our last stop the rice factory.

When we got to the rice factory, we got to see the different types of rice.  The factory was big and had tons of machines, but no one was in there besides us.  The rice was all different colors and sizes and there was enough rice for a lifetime. After we finished with the rice factory we headed back to the hotel where we got our stuff and went back to Ho Chi Minh City.  My next Vietnam post will be about the cooking school we went to in Hoi An.
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Adventures in Vietnam - Part 1: A crazy night in Saigon!

2/3/2015

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After a long plane ride from New York, with a stop at Tokyo in between, we got to Vietnam for a two-week vacation. Our cousin Rena was there at the airport waiting for us.  We got in her car and drove to the hotel.  We talked over what we were doing on the trip.  The first thing we would do the next night would be going on a food tour in Ho Chi Minh City on motorbikes. Ho Chi Minh City used to be called Saigon, but only the people in Vietnam still call it Saigon. In Vietnam, the population of motorbikes is higher than cars.  If you look out on the streets, you’re most likely to see a few cabs and a lot of motorbikes.  The people said if you leave a car lying around somewhere it won’t get stolen because most people don’t know how to drive a car!

So the next night, we went into the lobby of the hotel and there were two girls waiting for us. They said hello and hugged us.  They were two of our drivers/tour guides. Then we went outside and met the other two girls.  My driver was named Isabel. We are still in touch and are BFF (Best Friends Forever).  We headed off to the first stop.  When we got there, another group of tourists were already there.  We took our seats and the leader Anh said, “The first dish of the night is called Bun Bo Hue.”  Bun Bo Hue is a Vietnamese soup that you can only get in Vietnam. The main ingredient is lemongrass.  Lemongrass is very strong, so when you take a bite of the soup you get a very powerful taste.  In Bun Bo Hue, the main ingredients are rice vermicelli and lemongrass.  The other ingredients are beef, fermented shrimp sauce, and fish balls. You could also add bean sprouts to make it crunchy, fish sauce to make it salty, or hot peppers to make it hotter.  After we ate our soup, we got back on our motorbikes and headed to the next restaurant.  At that point it was raining, so they gave us ponchos. We drove through Chinatown on a narrow road through a market.  It felt weird driving so close to the people and live animals there. After driving through Chinatown, we drove a little bit more and got to our second restaurant.  The first dish was goat breast and our drivers cooked it over a grill.  The goat breast was very tender and the sauce on it made it a pale yellow. I was a little bit nervous to try it, but I liked it. The next dish was stir-fried squid, which was just like I’ve had at home.  We tried to get my little brother to eat it, but he said “No way!”  The third dish was fresh, local shrimp that was caught that morning!  It was the best shrimp I have ever had. It was tender and it tasted so fresh. They were really big shrimp too! I took the head off the shrimp and dipped it in chili salt. Mmmm!  It tasted delicious! I didn’t eat the whole head, I just sucked the meat and juices.  The fourth dish was frog legs. Hold it right there.  You know how people say that frog legs taste like chicken? Well they do.  I took one bite and declared, “This tastes like chicken!”

While we were there, we played a game with our drivers that involved chopsticks. We were going to find out who the chopstick champion was! The goal was to get six peanuts into a water bottle before the other person did. The drivers picked up the peanut and placed it onto our chopsticks, which we would put over the water bottle, and then open up so that the peanut fell in. My mom and dad went first. My dad won. Then me and my brother played. He said he won, but I think I won. My mom beat my grandma too. In the end, everyone got a “Chopstick Champion” pin.

Then we headed off to our next stop.  On our way to the next stop, my grandma yelled out to me on her bike.  She said, “At the next stop they are going to serve baby duck embryo!” Before getting to the third stop, we met a Vietnamese Santa Claus and he gave us homemade candies. When we got to the next stop, the baby duck egg wasn't first. The first dish was roasted quail.  To be honest, I didn’t like the quail.  The next dish I liked more  The next dish I had was scallops served in a seashell with peanuts and spring onion oil on top which was good.  The last dish, I had was baby duck embryo. They call it balut and it is a dish in Asia that many people eat.  They came out with two versions of it. One was a seasoned kind with tamarind and herbs and the other was just an egg in a cup. I knew the egg was tougher to eat, so I challenged my dad to do this because he’ll eat whatever I’ll eat so I picked the egg.  If you notice in the video, he has beads of sweat coming down his face.  They cracked the egg open for us. Inside, it looked like a weird baby duck forming. They told us there were three steps. First, we had to drink the water from the egg. Then we ate the yolk and then the baby duck. Just to tell you, my dad was freaked out the whole time and complaining that his egg had more baby duck than mine! My mom took some video so you can see how freaked out he was. 
At the end of the night, our drivers took us back to our hotel. We had a great time. The name of the tour company was XO Tours and if you are ever in Vietnam, you should definitely take the tour and eat balut! Please keep up with my next few posts to hear about the rest of our adventures in Vietnam.
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    My name is Jordan. I am a 12th grader and I love food!

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