Chifa

Good morning! Happy Friday!

 

I woke up just a little while ago, after a fun night in Philly! Joe’s brother and a friend were in town making a quick stop in Philly before heading to Atlantic City.

 

We decided to take this opportunity to try a restaurant downtown that we have been itching to try.

 

Chifa is a Jose Garces restaurant that serves Peruvian/Cantonese fusion. Yep, that’s right- Asian & Latin cuisine. Together. As with most Garces restaurants, the food is served as small plates, which is great because I wanted to try everything.

The ambiance was very cool! (Borrowed pics from Chifa’s website)

 

 

As per the suggestions of the waitress, we ordered 2 dishes per person (there were 5 of us) and then we added two smaller items on top of that.

(check out Joe’s brother in the background- he cracks me up)

Here are some of the highlights!

(My sparkling wine! I ordered a 1/2 glass wine flight which was 3 half glasses of wine. The waitress messed up though and ended up serving me a full wine flight. Buzzzzz…….)

 

On the left- scallion pancakes with sesame ginger mayo

On the right- oyster shooter with jalapeno, cilantro, avocado, spicy tomato

 

Octopus with purple potatoes and ginger gastrique

Duck bao buns with hoisin glaze

Salt crusted shrimp (heads on! mmmm!)

Stirfried rice with edamame, mango, and scallop (compliments of the chef!)

 

Also ordered but not pictured:

 

Needless to say, we pretty much rolled out of the restaurant. It was awesome though!

 

If you’re interested in learning more about Garces restaurants (a must if you visit Philly)… click here

 

To see a post about my trip to chef Garces restaurant, Distrito…click here!

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Restaurant Recreation

A few months ago, Joe and I went out to an Italian restaurant locally.

 

I ended up getting some chicken dish and Joe got a seasonal gnocchi dish that had long hot peppers, shrimp, and arugula.

 

My dish was so-so, and we both agreed that the restaurant was way overpriced. But we did keep talking about the dish that Joe had, and thought it might be a good one to try making at home.

 

Tonight was that night!

 

I nabbed a box of whole wheat gnocchi at the store (blurry pic, sorry). It is made with mostly sweet potatoes.

 

The rest of the ingredients were easy to figure out too. I love recreating a simple dish!

Baby arugula, shrimp, Rao’s sauce (it’s so good), and some long hot peppers

 

Joe pretty much took over from here- he cleaned the shrimp, de-seeded the peppers, and let them cook in the sauce. He added the shrimp about 5 minutes before he served it.

 

Meanwhile, I prepped some asparagus for roasting

Salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil, roasted at 400 for about 10 minutes.

I topped them with shaved parmesan. YUM!

 

When the gnocchi was ready (only 2-3 min), I piled up a bed of arugula and then put everything on top. I loved making this dish at home because I used a lot of arugula to make a serving of pasta go a long way.

Topped the whole thing with grated cheese, and voila!

 

Restaurant meal at home, easy peasy!

 

We’re going to spend the rest of the night relaxing, and watching Black Swan. 

I’m also making a Brownie Batter smoothie for dessert in a little bit.

 

Do you like to recreate restaurant meals at home?

Have you seen Black Swan? Thoughts?

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Old business

..and that doesn’t have anything to do with me turning 30.

 

Okay, maybe it does.

 

So while I was on my blogging hiatus I had a big bday! I documented it all in hopes of sharing it here on the blog. So now for your viewing pleasure, my 30th in pictures (mostly)

 

The day started with a trip to Longwood Gardens. It’s a beautiful property of outdoor flowers and fountains, and the most amazing conservatory. Its on the grounds owned by the DuPont family.

After the amazing tour, we went to lunch at a cute cafe nearby called Sovana that was ranked in Philly’s Top 50 Restaurants.

I had the goat cheese sandwich on toasted raisin bread with an arugula and fennel salad. Really good except that there was roasted cauliflower in the sandwich (I thought it was on the side) and I wasn’t quite digging it.

Joe had the papardelle with wild boar ragout

He liked it.

 

Later we went out AGAIN to the Stella Pizzeria in Old City, Philadelphia. It’s a swanky Steven Starr restaurant packaged up to look like a regular pizza shop.

 

Wine in a glass (not the wine variety) nice touch!

Sausage Pizza on top, spinach pizza on bottom- good stuff, with a few leftovers

Then we were off to see Bill Burr at the Tower Theatre! He is a hilarious comedian, you might have seen him in Date Night or on the Chappelle Show.

Here’s one of my ABSOLUTE favorite sets. HILARIOUS!

(FYI- some not-so-kid friendly language)

 

Pheww…as you can see it was an awesome, fun filled day! Joe planned everything and I enjoyed every minute!

Today is not nearly as exciting, doing my remaining school work and finishing up my portfolio. TEDIOUS!

 

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

 

Celebrate any bdays recently? Wha’d ya do?
Do you enjoy stand up comedy?

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And so it begins…

Training for my half that is.

 

Today I had my first long run on the calendar.  I think I sat around in my running clothes for a little over an hour, just procrastinating going out in the cold weather.

 

I watched the food network, played online and did things like taking pictures of the roses Joe got me all opened up and blooming. So pretty, but not helping me get out the door.

Then it started to snow. Fearing it would get worse, I got on my way.

The best thing about training for a race is that you know you have to get that mileage done, because avoiding or skipping it will just make things harder for you in the long run (no pun intended).

 
The terrain was iffy in some spots, but overall not too bad.

I finished 8 miles in an hour and 23 min.

Avg pace was 10:22/mi. Sure, I’d like to be faster, but I know I will get stronger in the next few weeks.

(hot pic!)

 

Post run fuel was a banana in the car, and then when I got home I ate some salad, baked tofu, a new hummus from TJ’s, and 2 tortillas.

Dinner tonight was eaten at a local BYOB- We shared some fried artichokes for an appetizer and then I had a roasted vegetable and shrimp salad and a bruschetta with gorgonzola and figs. I washed it all down with two glasses of cabernet. YUM!

 

Now we’re watching the end of the Pitt v. Rutgers game and I’m going to crash soon.

Have a good night!

 

How do you beat procrastination when you need to get a workout in?

What’s the last thing you ate a restaurant?

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Taco Time

I don’t know about you, but I remember when I first started hearing more about dieting and the evils of restaurant foods, there was a lot of hype about the nutritional horror of the taco salad.

 

Top 20 Belly Busting Meals

Fast Food Salad – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The 272 Fast Food Items Highest In Calories

 

I guess a lot of people thought that the taco salad was your FRIEND, when really it is your ENEMY. (their words, not mine) But really, if the big fried “bowl” didn’t give it away, then I don’t know what would.

 

In reality, a taco salad made the right way can be a very healthy and delicious meal!

 

Usually when I make tacos, I end up eating them in salad form anyhow since I like all of the fixins, so at least this way I get more veggies and I actually come prepared with a fork.

 

My taco salad consists of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, ground lean turkey (made with taco seasoning according to the packet directions), vegetarian refried beans, sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt) and some hot sauce.

 

I like to warm the meat and the beans so they wilt the salad, and then mix the whole thing together.

 

Other things I add sometimes:

• Roasted corn (frozen and found at Trader Joe’s)
• Black beans
• Black olives
• Jalapeno
• Onion
• Cilantro
• Salsa
• Shredded Cheese

I mean really, the options are endless!

 

So don’t run for the border. The taco salad just wants to be your friend, ok?

Do you eat fast food? If so, what is your favorite kind?

How do you make your tacos? Hard shell? Soft tortilla? Salad?

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Little Buddha

I don’t have much to say because I’m stuffed full of the most delicious Thai food and I just want to melt into the couch and watch TV.

 

Life is good.

 

My mom’s neighborhood has a great Thai food place called Little Buddha. Their takeout is always fresh and flavorful and never greasy. The heat is also just right for my taste.

 

We ordered 4 dishes

- Rendang Chicken

- Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables

- Spicy Garlic Shrimp

- Green Vegetable Stirfry

This was my first serving. I had a few more bites after this.

All while a certain someone was circling my chair below.

This is Baci. And Halloween is her favorite holiday

 

Ok I’m going to relax and have some ice cream for dessert.

 

See you in the morning!

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Things that irritate me- Cheesecake Factory Edition

So Joe and I just got back from dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

No I didn’t take photos because we ate at the bar and I think the bartenders would have been really annoyed.

I really enjoyed my meal, but here’s the problem.

It was called Weight Management Grilled Chicken

Why don’t they just call it I have a WEIGHT PROBLEM Grilled Chicken?

I can think of a bazillion options of better names for this item. Here are a few:

1. Healthy Grilled Chicken

2. Light Grilled Chicken

Or just the Grilled chicken that is on the Healthier Fare menu.

Plus, are only people that need to manage their weight the ones that have to order the healthy option?

UGH.

This is the second Friday in a row that I’ve been forced to order an embarrassing dinner. Click Here if you’d like to see last week’s edition.

What are your thoughts on this?

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Distrito

Last night’s dinner was a special one. And that’s a good thing considering that we spent more time sitting in traffic on the way there then we actually did eating the meal.

We took Joe’s dad to Distrito, which is one of Jose Garces restaurants in Philly. Garces is Food Network’s most recent Iron Chef. And being the Food Network junkie that I am, I find this very cool.

Image Source

Distrito is a Mexican tapas restaurant. And I love Mexican, and I love small plates so it’s a winning combo. I’m going let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Wall of Mexican shiny wrestler masks

This giant movie screen plays Mexican films on mute all night

Yes, you can dine in that car

I tried to capture a picture of the upstairs dining area but this website did a much better job at it

Image Source

I hope you like pink. Oh and do you see the swings?

Oh yes that is sangria you see. Delicious, fruity, white sangria

Now for the FOOD! We ordered 7 dishes. 2 per person and one extra because no one wants to go home feeling comfortably satisfied.

Yellowtail tacos with chipotle remoulade, avocado, red cabbage and lime

A Mexican flatbread with short ribs, poblano peppers, mixed cheese and crema

Shrimp and Chorizo taco with refried beans and tomato

The BEST nachos EVER!! Skirt steak, refried beans, mixed cheeses, chile de arbol, crema, micro cilantro

Mexico City Style Quesadilla  with Squash Blossom, zucchini, goat cheese, black bean puree , poblano-avocado sauce

enchilada de cangrejo with jumbo lump crab , poblano peppers, roasted corn, and salsa verde

And finally, duck breast mole

Dessert? Are those Churros on the menu?

I think I’ll pass, I already unbuttoned the top button of my jeans. No lie.

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