I <3 DURIAN

Ever since growing up in Hong Kong, my family (with the exception of my brother) has developed a taste for this oft reviled fruit. I have fond memories at almost every stage of my life sucking down on some durian. These may include having the Farmington Fire Department called (not once, but twice!) to investigate the scent of natural gas in the senior dorms which mysteriously emanated from an airtight container in three plastic bags in the fridge; and chowing down on some of the best durian ice cream right after a bout of food poisoning in Saigon.

The extremely sweet flavor and the custard-like texture lends itself especially well to frozen desserts… like ice cream, milkshakes, and popsicles! I found the above box while on a food excursion in the Westgate area with Bethia and Angela at Westgate Import Market. It tastes just like the real thing! I coerced B into having a bite (he loved the milkshake at Thuy Trang Restaurant in Detroit!) and watching his facial expressions was just priceless! I will convert him yet! For the time being, this is one thing I won’t have to worry about keeping stocked in the freezer.

Tags: durian, popsicles

Jeni’s Spendid Ice Creams: Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate

I’m a lucky girl. For 35 of the 43 months that I’ve lived in Columbus, I’ve had the good fortune of living directly across the street from a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams location. I wasn’t very appreciative at first: the Wildberry Lavender didn’t really click with me (tho, I love an un-seeded berry ice cream); I bought an off batch of Bangkok Peanut (previously known as Thai Chili) that had too much almond extract; and the Lapsong Suchong with Armagnac Prunes was seriously weird.

But then I discovered flavors that appealed to my ice cream proclivities (chunky but not overly, chocolate and caramel not fruit based) and I fell in love. In particular: summer’s Backyard Mint paired with Dark Chocolate Gelato or Strawberry Buttermilk (an exception to the fruit rule); Madagascar Chocolate Stracciatella, which has spawned a couple “freckle” flavors such as the Buckeye; and winter’s Roxbury Road, smoked dark chocolate ice cream with homemade marshmallows, a caramel swirl, and Krema Nut Company’s smoked almonds. Drool.

But this post isn’t about those other delicious flavors. It’s about the single best chocolate ice cream in the world. Yes, THE WORLD. I’m sure there are plenty of other fantastic ice creameries (R.I.P. Denise’s) that made delicious chocolate ice cream (hell, Jeni’s also has Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Dark Chocolate, and aforementioned Roxbury Road in its repetoire), but they do not source Snowville Creamery cream from happy grass munching cows, and they do not source top tier, single origin, fair trade, Askinosie chocolate. This is singlehandedly the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had. It isn’t just the ingredients, it’s also the churn, the density, of the ice cream. With very little air, it’s thick but gives easily to a spoon warmed by the tongue. The scattered chunks (more like giant freckles) of Ashkinosie chocolate imparts a fruity, almost tangy, edge to the creamy milk chocolate base. The description on the container suggests letting the dark chocolate melt on the tongue but I’m greedy and satisfyingly crumble the freckles into my molars if only to savor the flavor for a few more minutes. Given the high quality ingredients, this pint was worth far more than the $10 its sold for. Get it now! It’s (winter) seasonal, unavailable in scoops, and only sometimes available in pints because Askinosie’s having a hard time meeting demand!

Tags: Askinosie Chocolate, ice cream, Jeni's Ice Cream, Krema Nut Company, Snowville Creamery, sweets

Louisville, Kentucky: Rhymes with Buoy-ville

A quick recollection of our whirlwind trip to Louisville last week. All we did was relax, sleep, eat, drink, nap, eat, and drink some more. It was awesome. And decadent.

Monday: Hour long massages at Apex Massage in St. Matthews. Kim and Emily were awesome and got the mini-cation off to the perfect start. We checked into Inn at Woodhaven and was floored by the gothic revival architecture and the total hospitality of the innkeeper, Marsha. Great room, with an awesome bed and linens, and a spa tub for two, more on that later!

We hadn’t eaten since breakfast so we hightailed it to Bourbons Bistro (I think “Bourbons” is plural, not possessive) where we both had a flight of “Old Favorites.” The last three were far more memorable than the first three and we were surprised at how drinkable the Wild Turkey was. We dined on an assortment of appetizers which included fried green tomatoes, fried oysters with horseradish aioli, shrimp and grits in a gravy like sauce, and a lobster pesto grilled cheese (pic: bottom left).

• Old Taylor 6yr. 80°
• Old Forester 100°
• Wild Turkey 101°
• Evan Willians 7yr.
• Old Fitzgerald 1849
• W.L. Weller Special Reserve

Tags: bourbon, Kentucky, Louisville, Proof on Main, The Blind Pig

A Shanghai & Beijing Eat-ologue For Mike & Katie

Two of my good friends from Columbus, Mike and Katie, are going to China in a couple months to celebrate a wedding and I wanted to compile a list of places that I love to eat at, for their reference.

Starting in Shanghai:

I blogged about crispy panfried buns when I came back from my trip and I still think about them. They are really heavy so your best bet is to pair an order (4 buns) with a clear brothy soup, like rice vermicelli and tofu skin. There may be some baby shrimp used to flavor the broth too. The best place for these babies is Little Yang’s. There is another location, on the second floor of the Number One Food Stuff Department Store pictured below (it’s in a food court and they use styrofoam & paper).

This is NanJing Road which is all pedestrian with the exception of those teeny trolleys. There are tons of snack shops where most items are measured in bulk like a candy store. The pictures along the right is just a random corner snack shop with a line a dozen deep waiting for these piping hot meat mooncakes. Flaky and pretty freaking delicious. My main recommendation for this street is the three level Number One Food Stuff Department Store. It’s got dried sea cucumbers that sell for USD1000 for half a kilogram, a huge dried meats section, and tons of season appropriate food gifts. There is also a food court upstairs with a huge prepared foods section, a dumpling joint (not so recommended), and panfried buns!

Tags: Beijing, chinese, 牛肉大饼卷, 生煎饱, 红烧牛肉面, 羊肉泡馍, Shanghai, soup dumplings, 千秋膳房, 南京路, 小龙饱, 故宫

Candy Cane Match Up!

Picked up a couple artisan candy canes recently and finally tried them! From left to right, Doscher’s, Hammonds, Doschoer’s candy canes. While both are tasty, I prefer the Hammond’s cane. It is noticeably more minty and has a more dense, sucker potential. You’ll notice that it is also a touch pink in the middle and lends a very nice finish to a special holiday treat. On the other hand, Doscher’s cane has an airy interior and will find a place in any candy cruncher’s heart (you know them and hear them!).

You can find Doscher’s at Brewer’s Yard Kroger in the candy cane aisle and Hammond’s at Bink Davies.

Brewer’s Yard Kroger
150 W. Sycamore St., Columbus, OH, 43215

Bink Davies
668 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215

Tags: candy