Cooking with shrimp paste

 

Bok Choy with Shrimp Paste

 

I love shrimp paste with my seafood but I never tried with veggies.
Since I have already decided to go out for dinner I decided to create my own lunch with shrimp paste. I heated up my wok and tossed in some bok choy. Then goes in a combination of ingredients in attempt to get this concept taste the way I want it to.
Finally I sat down and stared at the plate I just created, thinking to myself that it is a good idea that noone else is around to try my sauce! From the first bite, it was to my delight. I blended the flavors quite well but next time I will add a hint more sugar.

All You Can Eat Primerib at Marriott

If you’re feeling hungry to the point of starvation on a Friday or Saturday evening, swing over to Marriott Quincy. They serve All You Can Eat Primerib in the restaurant and lounge area adjacent to the lobby.

It’s not bad prime rib either. It’s better than alot of other places that are not fine dining. There’s flavor and it’s not chewy like a rubberband. I managed to eat 1 and 1/8 of a prime rib. Yes, I barely made a dent on the second one. boo hoo! I can only shove so much cow in my stomach!

The dinner does come with two sides; but they are not bottomless. It’s just the beef that is all you can eat.

I did ask for a box to take the rest of my beef home. The waitress said we’re not suppose to take leftovers but she let us. Seriously, you gonna let us waste food? I hope they FedEx the leftovers to the starving children in third world countries.

FireFly’s Bodacious BBQ

FireFly's - Combo

Once a upon a time I was a fan of Firefly’s. That time was about 2 years ago when I was still living in the Metrowest. I was a frequent at the Framingham and Marlboro location.

Last night I managed to go trek to the one in Quincy since it’s been over a year since I had BBQ food. It was seriously a great disappointment.

It was the first time ever I’ve seen a Firefly so dead on a weekend evening. Just looking at this, I wonder how are they going to survive? Then again, nothing ever last in the Quincy Location. Jinxed!

The food isn’t the greatest. I had a plate of Babyback, Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket. It’s OK; but I’ve had better. I prefer my ribs to be falling off the bone which it was not at this instance.

The BBQ beans… shall I say, was BLAND! It was not appetizing at all and I love beans! The chips were also bland – no flavoring at all. Guess what then? I dipped the chips in BBQ sauce.

I will have to venture out to re-try other BBQ joints such as Smokey Bones and Blue Ribbon.

Asian Sakura

This evening I was planning to come home to cook since I’m on a roll with cooking. Before I was even able to put down my bag after coming home, my phone rang. Yup, an invite to go out for dinner. Let’s go try this new Asian Fusion restaurant.

Asian Fusion my ass. Restaurant my ass. I would classify Asian Sakura on Washington St in Quincy a dinky hole in the wall. 2 four tops and a sushi bar and wall counters. At least, it looked clean. But why would it? It’s only a week and a half old!

I tried their beef teriyaki which came out luke warm from the fry-o-later. My friend complained that the shrimp tempura appetizer was dinky – only 2 shrimps. How were we going to split that between three people? Sorry, one losa!

Avocado Salad

Throughout dinner I was trying to get over how weird the avocado salad was. Sliced avocado over a bed of iceberg lettuce mixed with mayo served with a side of ginger dressing. I’m telling mixing mayo and ginger dressing is a very complex taste. It does not go well together! I tried to over soak the salad with dressing so I can’t taste the mayo; but it didn’t fly over too well.

We also had a duck and ginger fried rice. Totally aweful combination of ingredients. the ginger was just julienned and not very thin. The sliced roast duck was sliced too thin. The pineapple did not go well with the dark fried rice. The rice itself was too moist. The bell peppers was big slices instead of diced. Seriously, have these people cooked fried rice before? Dice everything, not slice!

Out of Control Roll

I spotted this roll on the menu that had a funky name – Out Of Control Roll. How fitting! I didn’t like the rice. Icky. On top of that, I can taste the burnt taste in the eel. Funny how they garnish with sliced oranges instead of the norm of lemon.

One of my friend asked me, after we stepped out the door, if I would go back. I just stuck out my tongue. ewwwww!!

Aegean

 

Mussels

 

Trekked out to Framingham to have a birthday party at Aegean. Definitely not a good place to throw a party and not a good place to wear heels.

I almost crashed and burned heading over to the table. I was so ready to protect my camera with my body if I didn’t catch myself in time. However, I lost half my GreyGoose to the floor while I was trying to reach for a chair to regain my balance from slipping on their slippery wood floor. What the heck, the hostess only offered me napkins to wipe myself and not offer to get me a new drink. She’s lucky that it wasn’t red wine or I’ll be up her alley for dry cleaning compensation.

We started we appetizers of Grape Leaves, Mussels, Calamari, and Lamb Ribs. The Grape Leaves were not as saucy as normal. Mussels were OK – I wish it was a bit meatier. Calamari tasted bit like old oil. Lamb Ribs were never my fav appetizer.

As the first course came to an end, the server came over to tell us that they were sold out on Rack of Lamb!! Booo!!! She was only able to give us 2 orders when the table ordered 6. What a grand disappointment! Worst of all, my mom ordered me something else which I really don’t care for. Why can’t I order my own food when it’s not communal eating?

 

Lamb

 

Obviously, she doesn’t know what I don’t like to eat half the time. She ordered me another lamb dish – lamb rib; but the only cut that I really enjoy is the rack. It came out way over cooked. At that point, I was just shoving food down my throat to get the evening over with.

The service is just mediocre at best. She asked me if it’s OK to leave the bottle of wines on the table since it would be difficult for her to see who wants to drink red and wine. Sure, I can take over your job. Ya, make the birthday girl go around the table pouring wine for family! Yes, I’d be more than happy to do that if it was home; but isn’t the point of going out for dinner is to get pampered??

This is certainly the last time I’d be willing to sit in the dining room at Aegean for a wicked long time! I’m boycotting Greek food for a bit for sure. It helps when I don’t live in the MetroWest anymore. This WAS my favorite Greek Restaurant.

Basta Pasta

I finally ventured out to Basta Pasta tonight in North Quincy. It certainly was not packed for a Saturday evening. The decor does not portray the typical Italian flair.

For appetizer, we had calamari in tomato sauce. I totally enjoyed the sauce – it didn’t really taste like tomatoes! I was expecting the fried affair but it was not. Maade me feel a tad healthier eating it.

It took me a while to decide on what to try for dinner. I resorted to their special – Osso Bucco. I’m a big fan of braised meat. How can I say no to braised veal shank?? I even sucked out the bone marrow even though my friend found that bizarre.  This dish was served with riscotto and spinach. It certainly was a delectable dish. The flavor is light and not overpowering which is what i prefer. I hope they would put this on the regular menu so I can come here when I have an Osso Bucco craving!