Asian City Dim Sum, Michigan

中文： 亚洲城早茶

Asian city is one of the very few restaurants which provide traditional Cantonese style dim sum in Michigan. 

We went on a Saturday morning for dim sum only to be so disappointed that neither of us finished our food. 

There are several traditional food carts loaded with different kinds of small portion dishes and snacks strolling around the restaurant.  When the carts pass by, you can take a quick look to see if you what you like and directly order from the waiter/ waitress.  Not many restaurants are still serving dim sum this way even in main land China. 

Steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce is ok. They are soft but a little bit chewy; tons of flavors. 

Another seasoned chicken feet dish

This one tastes really wired even for a foodie like me who has an open heart to all kinds of bizarre foods. 

Beef tendon tastes like it’s been sitting on the counter for a really long time.  By the way, it is tasteless too. 

The dumplings are very thick and way too soft and mushy that the shrimp filling falls out after he tries pick the dumplings up with chopsticks.  

Shrimp rice noodle are so thick that I don’t think we should even call it noodle.  Maybe rice cake is a more suitable name for it.  

Sesame balls are ok.  I like the red bean paste filling.

egg yolk custard buns are very very very chewy. 

Ok, that is enough.  Get the check and leave.  Probably won't come back here for dim sum again, ever.

Shangri La Dim Sum, Bloomfield, MI

中文：香满楼早茶

We were suddenly craving for dim sum a couple weeks ago.   Usually we love drive to Toronto for authentic dim sum.  We decide to look around within Michigan this time.  Some research I did online plus recommendation from a friend, we went to Shangri La Chinese restaurant. 

There are traditional food carts circling inside the restaurant, jut like the old way.  I love it.  A lot of dim sum restaurants in Toronto don’t do that anymore.   It is quite fun and amazing to order food from these tiny cute food carts loaded with all kinds of delicious snack portion food.  It is the unique experience you need to try at least once in your life. O(∩_∩)O~ 

This cart is for congee. 

One bowl of congee with pork and fermented egg coming up!

Great congee with authentic flavors

Forgot to take some photos when I was eating.  Here are some photos taken by the phone.

Shrimp dumplings, steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce, steamed egg yolk buns and beef tripe 

Egg tarts are best when served and eaten hot

Beef tripe and beef tendon

Shrimp rice noodle is a little bit too thick

Salt and pepper shrimps are not crispy as they should be. 

 The dim sum here taste pretty good overall.  So the following weekend we went back there again. O(∩_∩)O~

Steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce is always on top of my favorite list.

Egg tarts are very crispy and flaky.  They are at their best when hot. 

Shrimp rice noodle is little bit below average.  The noodle is thick and too soft. 

Shrimp dumplings are another must have item when we go for dim sum.  

Sesame balls are made with sweet rice.  I heard that a lot American people are not a fan because its sticky texture.  However that is exactly why I love it.  It has been one of my childhood favorites and it is still now. O(∩_∩)O~

Pan fried chive dumplings/buns are just ok.  I don’t’ even remember how they taste. 

Steamed baby octopuses are surprisingly tasty.  They are tender but a little crunchy at the same time.  The sauce brings out the octopuses flavor but not overpowering the whole dish.

They are so good that we order another portion right after finishing the first one. 

Salted egg yolk custard buns are different from steamed egg yolk buns.  They are usually made with salted duck egg yolk, milk, cream, sugar and some other secret ingredients. 

You have to consume them when they are still hot.  The runny, tasty, creamy golden delicious filling will be oozing out of buns.   They are super tasty. 

XiaoLongBao, on the other side, are nowhere near tasty at all.  The dough is mushy and way too soft.  The filling is just a big tough flavorless starchy meatball.  Will never order it again, ever. 

Overall Shangri La dim sum experiences have been great.  The food is good, and the wait stuff are all very nice.  When we don’t want to drive all the way to Toronto for authentic Chinese food, Shangri La is a nice substitute too.  

Mooncakes with Yolks and Lotus Seed Paste Fillings

中文菜谱： 蛋黄莲蓉月饼

2016 Mid-Autumn Day is September 15.  It is a traditional Chinese festival to celebrate harvest time, family and friendship.  Yes, it is kind of like Thanksgiving Day.  Mooncakes will be served as the traditional dessert on this special day. 

I love to make them from scratch every year not just because it is fun to do so, but also because I am trying to create the taste of home for my own family O(∩_∩)O~

Mooncakes with yolks and lotus seed paste may sound bizarre.  As a matter of fact, they are so tasty that they remain the number one flavor on my mooncake list.  The combination of salted duck egg yolks and sweet creamy lotus seed paste is very pleasantly balanced and wonderfully tasty. 

I posted how to make salted duck eggs before too. 

The whole salted duck egg process takes about a month.  So I made a batch one month ahead of time. 

Do not boil the eggs.  For this recipe, we need raw duck eggs.

Crack them into a small bowl. 

Spoon the yolks onto a baking pan.

Spray them with rice wine.  I use Vodka. 

Bake in an oven preheated to 375/190C for 8 minute

I am planning to use 50 g mooncake mold.  So the whole yolks need to be sliced into halves.  Otherwise, they would be too big in the cakes.

Each of them weighs between 9 to 12 g. 

The ready to use version duck yolks are available in most Chinese grocery store.  You can find them in frozen food section. 

Don’t forget to thaw them under room temperature before using.

Cut them into halves too. 

Now we can move on to lotus seed paste.

For the lotus seed paste：

300 g dried lotus seeds
water for boiling
130 to 150 g oil
280 to 300 g sugar

Boil the lotus seeds in water for about 90 minutes.  Puree them with a hand blender or in a food processor. Transfer to a nonstick pan.  Sautee over medium high heat; stir constantly.  Add sugar and oil in between.  Cook until the paste is thick and has the texture of apple butter. 

Completely cool down to room temperature before using. 

With a digital kitchen scale, divide the paste into 25 g each, 35 g each if no yolks is added later. 

Pat them down a little bit and add a piece of yolk.  My friend’s hand is posing here O(∩_∩)O~

Wrap it up.  Repeat until all yolks are done. 

The mooncake recipe is adapted from : http://web.wenxuecity.com/BBSView.php?SubID=cooking&MsgID=472418

For the dough:

150 g cake flour
75 golden syrup
40 g oil
1/2 teaspoon lye water  (also available in Asian grocery store)
a pinch of salt
egg yolk wash

Preheat the oven to 375F/191C

Mix flour, syrup, oil, lye water and salt together

With a digital kitchen scale, divide it into 15 g pieces. 

Gently press them down with fingers.   Add the fillin 

And then wrap it up. 

I use 50 g mooncake molds

Use the mooncake mold to shape each of them.  Transfer to large cookie pan lined with baking mat

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.  Take them out and brush with egg yolk wash. 

Send them back to oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until they are nicely golden brown. 

They need to sit in an air-tight box for a couple days before serving.  These extra couple days will help the mooncake to develop their flavors and textures. 

Pack them in pastry boxes and send them as nice little surprise gifts to my friends.

Happy Mid-Autumn Day! O(∩_∩)O~

Fire Grilled Cheeseburger Sliders

中文菜谱：迷你FIRE GRILLED CHEESEBURGER汉堡

I make some fire grilled cheeseburgers with the soft pretzel bread buns I made earlier.  The beef is from a close friend who bought from a local farm.  All of that makes the burgers so tasty! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Are you drooling yet?  O(∩_∩)O~ 

Ingredients for the patties：

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or ground cayenne pepper
1 to 2 tablespoon grill seasoning
6 oz three pepper jack cheese
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 oz Cheddar cheese

*grill seasoning contains a bunch of spices so I don’t add too many other seasonings to my burger patties

Directions：

Add ground beef, egg, onion, soy sauce, bread crumbs, garlic powder, chili peppers, grill seasoning, salt and black pepper to a large bowl. 

Mix with hand or a wooden spoon

Add finely diced pepper jack chees

Mix them together again.

Divide and shape the meat mixture into 6 beef patties. 

Preheat the grill to 450F/232C

Add patties, and grill for about 3 to 4 minutes. 

Flip them ove

Add a large piece of cheddar cheese to the top.  Cover with lid.  Grill for another 2 to 4 minutes.

The cheese perfectly melts on top of the patties. 

I don’t toast the buns here because they freshly out of the oven. 

Spread them with butter or mayonnaise, top with grilled patties, sautéed onion, bacons, tomato and of course, pan fried eggs! 

Bamboo skewers will make sure everything stay together

Finally, it is time to eat!

Don’t they look cute and tasty?

I also like to add lentil sprouts to my burgers.  They add crunchy texture and fresh taste to the burger.  I would highly recommend it.

And I posted how to grow lentil sprouts with mason jars before. 

Soft Pretzel Bread Buns

中文菜谱：PRETZEL小面包

We love soft pretzel bread, and I also loving making them from scratch in my own kitchen.  I love seeing those little cute buns turning out dark golden brown in the oven, smelling the freshly baked bread aroma and tearing apart the soft and a bit chewy bread buns and they taste so good and satisfying! 

Ingredients：

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
egg wash (for brushing the bread)
white sesame seeds

For boiling water：

2 quarts water
1/4 cup baking soda

Directions：

Microwave the milk on high for 20 to 30 seconds until the milk is lukewarm but not too hot to touch.

Add the milk to bread machine.  Sprinkle with dry yeast. 

Add flour, salt, butter and sugar 

Start dough proces

I like to restart the dough process right after the machine finishes the kneading and about to proof the bread.   Twice knead bread will have slight better and finer texture which I like. 

The dough doubles in siz

Transfer the dough to a well-floured board.

Equally divide it into 8 pieces and knead each piece into a small round dough ball.

Place them onto a half sheet baking pan lined with baking mat, 2 to 3 inches apart. 

Cover with greased plastic wrap and proof under room temperature for about another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425F/218

Bring the water to boil.   Add baking soda.

Add bread dough.  Cook each for 20 to 30 seconds. 

Drain well and put them back onto the baking mat.

With a sharp knife, make some cuts on top.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with white sesame seeds.  The cuts I make here are a bit too shallow.  I should have cut a little bit deeper. 

Bake in the oven for 16 to 20 minutes or until they are dark golden brown

Aren’t they beautiful? 

They are soft and a little bit chewy.  Smell great too.  I love everything about these tiny cute pretzel buns. 

You can eat them plain, or with jam, cream cheese, peanut butter; or you can do what I do: I make fire grilled cheese burger sliders with them.  Please stay tune for the next new recipe! O(∩_∩)O~