Hungry Panda: April 2016

Lunch at Los Tacos del Tio in East Elmhurst, NY

For lunch during a legal clinic, I grabbed some food from Los Tacos Del Tio. It's a small place and pretty inexpensive. My entire meal was $ 9. I got a quesadilla with chorizon con papa (Mexican sausage with potato) ($4 total) and two carnitas tacos ($2.50 each). The tacos were excellent, minus the onions. The quesadilla was a little greasy, and I was honestly so full from the tacos that I didn't even need them. A good, filling meal overall though.

Two carnitas tacos

Quesadilla outside. A bit harder than I expected. Looks like flipped it on flat top

Chorizo and potato filling with lots of cheese

Home-made St. Patrick's Day meal

In honor of Dan's pseudo-heritage, he made a delicious Irish-inspired meal of corned beef, steamed cabbage, and mashed potatoes. The corned beef was pre-marinated from the grocery store, and he braised it in the oven. He also whipped up some boiled carrots and potatoes, and steamed cabbage, which doesn't sound great but was delicious because Dan cooked it in bacon fat.

Full shot of the whole feast

Boiled potatoes and carrots with herbs

Steamed cabbage

Corned beef. Shrunk a little but was fantastic

Fresh gravy made from corned beef drippings

Home-made etouffee

Dan had been craving etouffee after watching numerous food tv shows about New Orleans/Cajun food. So he got some fresh shrimp at the JC Fish Stand and made some home-made etouffee. I don't think it was quite as onerous as we had originally thought. It came out delicious, not too heavy, with a nice touch of spice, and he served it over some white rice. Very NOLA-esque.

Beautiful plate of etouffee. Looks like it's at a restaurant doesn't it?

Home-made fried catfish and veggies

There's a great new fresh fish market in Jersey City called Jersey City Fish Stand. Dan picked up some fresh catfish filets, which were HUGE, and made delicious fried catfish. It was super filling - so much so that I ate about half and brought the rest of work. The place is apparently small but well stocked. Nice to know something like that is so close.

Fried catfish, mashed sweet potatoes, and asparagus. Delicious and not totally horrible for you

Homemade fettuccine bolognese

Dan made home-made fettuccine bolognese. I literally watched. Or maybe I grated parmesan cheese? I don't remember haha. The whole dish was delicious and restaurant quality. We supplemented with gluten-free cheese bread. Doesn't sound great but is soooo soo good. I forgot we had a baguette in the freezer. Perfect complement.

Beautiful fresh plate of pasta

Another glamour shot

Gluten-free cheese bread. Don't knock it til you've tried it

Dessert at Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in NYC

Following dim sum, despite it being rainy and cold, we had to stop at the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for dessert. Sooo many delicious and unique flavors. I love that the "normal" flavors are what most people would consider exotic, and the exotic flavors are things like vanilla and chocolate haha. It was a LOT of ice cream but it was so so good that I definitely overate.

(L) black sesame and almond cookie. The almond cookie is my fav and I raved about it to my cousin so she got that. (R) egg custard and rose lychee. Both delicious! I had a slight preference for the egg custard because more traditionally sweet, but I also loved the rose lychee for being floral and fragrant and still the right amount of sweetness. Both came with pocky sticks aka javelins.

Lunch at Jing Fong in NYC

My cousin and I went to Jing Fong for some delicious dim sum at lunchtime. Since it was not the weekend the service was pretty quick - didn't have to wait long at all for the carts to come by. In fact, they kept coming back within minutes. Food was delicious and we eventually learned to say no when it was too much haha. Also since it was a weekday, things were cheaper than usual. The whole meal was around $40 which is nuts!