Weekend Plans Finished

Tomorrow, Friday, After the English Exam, I am going to rest for a while and then proceed to downtown Birmingham at 6 pm. After numerous discouragement due to excuses of my peers, I finally coaxed Cecillia to come with me for dinner. We are going to either 220 or Salvatore Scallopini, probably latter for various reasons. I visited 220 with my host family fairly recently while the latter not for a while. It also depends if we can get a table too.

And Saturday, after my SAT II Subject Tests, Math2C and Chemistry, I am going on the Somerset Mall ride. Linna will join me to Brio Tuscan Grille for lunch. I am already happy reading the menus, trying to narrow down my preference before I go... Is this an antiexamum craving?

Hong Hua: Farmington Hills, MI 05/28/07

This was my second time visiting Hong Hua, both times with my host family. Coming back from Chicago, right before returning to the dorm, this was my last feast of the Memorial Day weekend. I remember that last time I liked the Wok-fried Scallops and Asparagus the last time, and wanted to try the Walnut shrimp, which I tried somewhere else and liked. Yet, Linnea's advice was that after the long weekend, it would be a good idea to stay away from seafood, especially fish, that may not be fresh as usual. So we did, even though we ended up ordering one shrimp and scallop dish.


And of course, the Peking Duck. So the table came, with the Hoi-Sen sauce, vegetables, chinese crepes and a duckling with crispy honey-glazed skin.


Rick says that it is a little too rich for him, and I agree. But I don't think it is a bad idea to order one when we have five people; we can take it. I mean, that I agree that this duck is rich does not mean that I cannot finish the whole duck by myself! It is the richness I like, and it is nice- it's not your everyday meal anyway.


So they slice the crispy skin part, and put in on individual plates. It is all set up, and all you have to do is pick it up and devour the richness. The vegetables help to make it not overly rich. Originally we got two each on five plates, but since Owen was late, Lizz and I each had one extra. I remember how our waiter was surprised when the extra plate was gone! Sorry for Owen, but being late always carries a penalty. I honestly think I can have the whole ten.


The rest of the duck was stir-fried with vegetables, and I really loved the beansprouts. The flavor was good and I know that especially Rick liked it. Actually, I think he liked the ducky crepe part too. I love how he always says he doesn't like it that much but still somewhat enjoyes it; it is just like how he says he never quite liked Sondheim but still enjoy his shows.


This was Chicken Fried Rice. By itself it was delicious, but since the other dish had their strong flavor, after a while the fried rice itself loses its taste a little. I still liked it, though I ate the other entrees with white rice and enjoyed this by its own, rather that together.


The Crispy Chicken always seems to be Lizz's favorite. It is good of course, with crispy skin just like its name, along with soft and oily flesh. The flavor is good too, also not salted too heavily or light, but still- personally, I wouldn't order this twice unless I have been here so many times that I tried almost everything. There are lot more interesting stuff to try. But Lizz insisted on it, so whatever. Haha.


Orange beef was also something we ordered again. This time it was actually pretty spicy as we requested, though it did not feel quite as spicy after eating the scallops and shrimp below. Though I liked this, I thought it was a little too sweet and there was too much sauce. Maybe next time I order something similar, I should ask them to make it less sweet. I think I like General Tso's Chicken better, though that also is sometimes too sweet. I prefer things as Mongolian Beef.


I remember this. Last time we came here, we had it just with shrimp, not scallops. I really liked this, though I thought it was too salty. The spicyness was just right though. It was very good with the shrimp and scallops. I only wish it were less salty.


So this is the feast table. I liked it because we were sharing, trying variety of stuff. My favorite was the Peking Duck- I liked it even more than the first time. Not just the crepe part but also the stir-fried vegetables. I think the orange beef was a little sweet and the scallop and shrimp dish a little salty. But I really enjoyed the meal and also, the left over of fried rice and orange beef I ate the next day for dinner instead of dorm food.

It was another delight and a fine ending to the Memorial Weekend Glutton Trip. I don't think I ever had this much food in one weekend. Yes, I came back with almost 5 pounds on the side, and hope to lose it back soon. I am going to be careful this week(though I already know where I am having dinner on Friday). Well, since I weighed myself right after this dinner, the next day it was a little better. I am not too worried, though I cannot confidently say that all my meals were worth the fat since I had a dream of gaining weight because of my hubris. But food is glorious. Yay. And so is my host family.

Friends to eat with

This Friday, the last Friday of this school year, I am planning on having dinner at Salvatore Scallopini. I remember the first time I visited that place last year for Sunday Lunch, Ms.Speck's treat for my Birthday. As much as I want the pasta, I want the cream puffs with chocolate mousse for dessert as well.

I've always wanted to go to this place, but faced couple of problems. Most of my friends are either broke everytime I plan on going, or prefers some sort of Asian food over Italian or American, and so forth. Same thing is happening this week, though this time I know at least I have one company, my Roommate Linna.

So, it is always hard for me. I do not like eating alone, especially when I am taking pictures of the food. It looks pretty morbid on a Friday night. Then, sometimes I have too big of a group, while I consider three to five ideal. I always need to balence between the two, to enjoy both the meal and conversation(that is why this memorial weekend was plain heaven). Anyway, I am hoping Lizz, who is currently broke, can make it, or it will be a rather solemn celebration with just my roommate and next year's suitemate.

Sometimes I can't help myself wondering, why are my close friends constantly broke? I know that Linna little by little spends her money on night snacks from the dorm vending machine, unable to overcome her cravings for chips. She also visits the Sweet Factory almost everytime she goes to Somerset Mall. Maybe that builds up, I guess. But there are a lot of things that taste better than heavily salted chips or heavily sugared candy! Argh.

Ridge Country Club: Chicago, IL 05/27/07

We, eleven people including myself, had an early dinner at Ridge Country Club. It was a nice sunny day, and there weren't many people when we got there, probably because it was only a little after five.

I thought it was interesting how they had crackers on the table. There was also an assortment of vegetables including broccoli, baby corn, radish and what surprised me, scallions. Since I was getting a little hungry, I ate some crackers with butter.

The soup of the day was cream of chicken. Finally I got to eat some creamy soup. This was very nice and I wanted more. Actually, I think this was the best part of the whole meal today. With some vegetables and a rich chicken taste, I love it.

Some people got salad, and I thought the color scheme was pretty and therefore took picture of Linnea's.

Lizz, who was not all that hungry, ordered a club sandwich with turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Then she ordered a side of fries, which made a not-all-that-hungry person's order bigger than expected.
Mireille ordered a 10oz. ridge burger. Of course, a tiny person like her could not finish it all and had a left over to take home.

This steak I do not know about. It is hard to take picture of meals when there are eleven people, first because the table gets too big to reach with camera far away and also because the conversation gets scattered. After all, this was a family occasion, not a ooh-let's-go-eat-taking-pic party.

George, the birthday man ordered fillet mignon, probably with Bearnaise sauce. I guess he liked it, because his plate was nearly empty, especially none of the steak left.

Bev and Auntie K ordered Chilean Sea Bass, sauteed with Champagne sauce.

Linnea ordered Brick Seared Chicken, pan roasted breast of chicken seared to golden brown and served with vesuvio potatoes. I got to have a bite of it, and I really liekd it. The meat was very soft and the seasoning was good too.

Owen ordered Shrimp and Linguini, tossed with mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and Creole seasonings. I guess today, everybody was pretty satisfied with their meal.

I ordered Veal Madeira, veal cutlet sauteed with Portuguese wine, garlic and mushroom, served over pasta. On the left is Duchess potato.

There was nothing left but a piece of broccoli when I finished. I liked the pasta and it went along with the sauce pretty well, though it was not my favorite kind of sauce and seemed a little too oily after a while. Still, the sauce was decent and with the pasta, it was good. I was a little disappointed with the veal though. The meat was not amazing and I am not sure if this sauce was the best choice for it either. Yet overall it was satisfactory.

Then we had a cake for George, each candle representing 20 years. I don't like cake except one with some kind of mousse, especially chocolate, so I did not eat the cake.
So again I had a nice dinner, enjoying the green view of Ridge Country Club. Though I was not totally satisfied with the dish I ordered, the cream of chicken soup was enough to make up for it. Besides, I liked it except that I was too excited about the veal. Anyway, It was a nice experience. Happy happy.

Meals in Chicago

So I am still in Chicago at my host family's relative's house. The weather was very nice today and I enjoyed it except the torturing sunlight that gave me a headache. Well, yesterday, after the brunch at Frontera Grill, we gathered for Grandpa George's birthday celebration. It was supposed to be a cookout dinner, but because of the rain, we grilled it out but ate inside.

I do not like blue cheese very much, though I am gradually being accustomed to it. Once I tried a steak with blue cheese sauce on it and that I liked.

The cheddar cheese was pretty good, though it is usually not my favorite.

This was an interesting combination, and I bet many people like this for an appetizer. To some the contrast may pleasure them, but to me it was just okay; I don't like melon very much, and that is probably why.

Surprisingly, Lizz, who normally doesn't eat shrimp liked this, while I only tried one. I am a shrimp lover but maybe I like it warm. The shrimp was good but I tried to stay away from it to save room for dinner; I thought I wasn't hungry.

So the grill. Ah, I just love the grill.

So here it is, nicely seasoned by Linnea, cut by Rick. The reddish color Linnea's seasoning gave it was really nice, both the color and taste.

Yes, till this point I thought I was not hungry. I was just going to take a bite. I don't like tenderloin that much anyway. I thought I could resist my carnivorous nature inside and just have a taste of it. But I couldn't.

The potatos Bev called "Oh potato where have you been all my life" was good, but the meat was excellent. I wish it were just a little warmer, but the meat was very soft and the seasoning was very good. Slightly spicy, very very good.

This morning Rick was making breakfast for us. Since he was cooking like, what, around ten eggs in two separate pans, the eggs were a little over done, but thank you!

I left the yolk uneaten. I do not like it runny, which is why I do not like hard broiled eggs. It's been a while since I didn't eat bacon, so this was nice. Also the toasted bread was good, though slightly cold since Rick was doing everything on his own, and time had elapsed. Yet, if you want to complain about breakfast, you should do it at a restaurant, not a weekend home. So I was happy.

Frontera Grill: Chicago, IL 05/26/07

Yes, Frontera Grill. When I said I wanted to go to Frontera Grill, no matter how intense that feeling might have been, I wasn't exactly expecting that I would get what I want. Yet my host family gave me another treat; I am almost starting to wonder if it's Grandpa George's or my birthday now. Yes, once it is related to food, I am spoiled.

Because I always and only come to Chicago during thanksgiving weekends, I didn't know that Frontera Grill has an outdoor seating. Well, I don't think people want to eat outside in the near-winter chicago weather when the wind makes your food cold in a minute or too. Anyway, it looked pretty nice and I would have been sitting out there if the counter seats weren't available.

Another noisy day at a Frontera Grill. Or should I say lively to make it sound nicer? Don't get me wrong. I do like the atmosphere. It's just that sometimes I have to concentrate with extra care to hear the waiter explaining the daily specials.

Linnea, Lizz and I got a counter seat, right by the kitchen. It was a place where I always wanted to sit but couldn't because we had a bigger group. Today, we were at Frontera Grill little before 11, and they served brunch menus. It was less crowded than regular lunch times, yet with quite a crowd. Since Frontera Grill does not take reservations for group less than 5, when we had traffic jam on our way to Chicago, we were joking about how we should head straight to Frontera Grill and sleep out there instead, so we can get immediately after it opens.

The first appetizer was, of course, guacamole. We knew that the little guacamole that comes on the appetizer platter is not going to be enough. The tortilla chips were nice. I like how it's not heavily salted like the chips you buy at grocery stores. I really don't understand why all American snacks are so heavily salted that you can hardly feel any other taste. Anyway, this guacamole was good as usual.

We also ordered Entremes Surtido, an appetizer platter including cheese quesadillas, chicken taquitos, jicama salad, ceviche tostadas and guacamole. I was thinking of Sopes Rancheros or Queso Fundido, but the platter sounded nice in that we could try some different stuff.

So this is the ceviche tostadas. I think it was marlin, but I am not sure. I never tried ceviche before and it was refreshing. Worth a try unless you absolutely dislike any kind of seafood.

The cute mini guacamole and cheesy quesadillas. Filled with Jack cheese, the little corn masa turnovers were delicious. This made me want to try the quesadilla with chicken or shrimp for lunch next time. Even taking into consideration that I am nearly obsessed with melted Jack cheese, this was impressive.

The jicama salad was also something new. It was my first time trying it, and it tasted like slightly sweet tasting radish without its unique flavor. By itslef it was rather bland, but with the pineapple it was interesting. I am not sure if I would order it separately, but trying a little like this was an interesting experience.

The mahi mahi it is. I forgot what the green sauce was made of, but I remember Linnea had the same dish when she came for the last thanksgiving break. I remember how we all dipped our tortillas to the delectable sauce. Yet it was somewhat less impressive than last time, and Linnea agreed. I liked the mahi mahi though, and the sauce was still pretty good. Ah, this reminds me of my last time's visit, the only disappointment I experienced at Frontera Grill. I ordered shellfish of the day, glad that it was scallops. It was too fishy for me, and after leaving I was wondering if I should have returned it. Still, I didn't because everything else that day was amazing and I tooks bits from others' dish anyway.

Lizz ordered a brunch menu, probably Huevos Fronterizos. It had two sunny-side up eggs, salad, buttermilk biscuit and a kind of ground meat with chipotle garlic sauce. We all thought the garlic sauce was too garlicky, and it is pretty garlicky when a garlic lover like me says it's a little too much. It tastes more like raw garlic extract mixed with cream rather than a garlic sauce; it was that strong. I really liked the texture and the meat, but wish they would hold on to the garlic a little. Otherwise it would have been a great dish. Maybe Lizz should have tried Sapitos, gorditas each with different toppings such as scrambled eggs, grilled chicken, chorizo- our waiter recommended it from the brunch menu. It sounded interesting, but I could not resist the temptation of...

this, Taco al Carbon, a basic classic. I remember last time having it with skirt steak. So I tried it with red chile-marinated pork, pastor style with charcoaled pineapple, slab bacon and red onions. Though there was a tiny spicyness, the chile wasn't very noticable. The other ingredients went along nicely and the meat was soft, which I really liked. The beans were good, even though I generally do not like beans, and the guacamole my favorite was again served. The only sad thing was that with pork, they do not serve roasted pepper rajas. But the onions were good enough.

These corn tortillas are nice. I like the texture, warm and moist, it actually makes me like something that is not chewy.

This was our waiter today, and I asked him if I could take a picture of him becuase I remembered that he was our waiter last time too. When I first came to United States, I remember how I couldn't quite catch his fast explanation with an accent; I was only used to standard news announcer accents on television. I used to be like, "oh, just forget about the daily specials, whatever. I don't understand English", but now that I catch things, I'm enjoying things more.

I also saw Rick Bayless today, and got today's menu signed. Now I wish that I took a picture of him, but I was a little too shy to ask at that moment. Well, hopefully there will be some other chances, for I plan to visit Frontera Grill again. I think next time I'll try the Milanesa de Puerco, breaded pork with tomato sauce, the very first entree I tried there, or the quesadillas- unless I get an unexpected attack of an attractive daily special or a new seasonal menu.

Now, the spoiled child shall go to sleep. As I always say, I feel like I hear my fat cells growing. What a glorious, painful sound I hear.