Monthly Archives: December 2020

Authentic Chinese food on the Upper West Side

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One of the mini panics I had at the beginning of the pandemic was, obviously, food related: if we were expected to stay at home and not take the subway anywhere, then how would I be able to get all my needed Asian ingredients, which I usually go downtown to Chinatown for, or Jackson Heights in Queens. Most of the better and more authentic Asian restaurants are further downtown, in the East Village, Lower East Side, and Manhattan Chinatown. But more and more as we’ve noticed, more authentic Asian restaurants seem to be cropping up further uptown, including Yu Kitchen at around 100th and Broadway on the Upper West Side. Chris placed an order via Uber Eats for the first time from this spot, and we were pleasantly surprised, not just regarding the quality of the food, but also the sheer amount of food we got. What we thought would last a couple days looks like it was enough to feed a small army of people for several days! The tray of chicken feet was probably three times the size of the usual takeout container. The spicy bone-in chicken is likely enough to feed us for over a week. And the quality of the stir-fried pea shoots was high — Chris commented several times how delicious they were. And for the portion size, the prices were more than reasonable.

While I was pleasantly surprised about the quality and the portion of food, in the back of my mind, I get worried about places like this. Would they be so good and so generous that they may end up not making any money and being forced to go out of business?

Cubital tunnel and pain management

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When I think about the way that we live our lives, I think that one thing we are never really prepared for is health issues. No one really anticipates what their life will be like if they encounter chronic pain, fall ill with an ongoing illness, or fracture their hip, requiring surgery and recovery time. When I was young, my mom used to scold me for lying in certain positions on the couch with my neck awkwardly positioned, saying that I may not know it at that moment, but that position for my neck would cause major issues for me when I was older, and she didn’t want me to have issues with my neck later on. The issue is: you don’t know you will have pain … until you are in pain. You don’t know how susceptible you are to anything until you are unlucky enough to fall ill for whatever reason.

With cubital tunnel syndrome, previously, it was only known to affect people who were affected by direct trauma to the elbows. There’s really not enough data to understand why some people are more susceptible to it than others, even when they exhibit all the same behaviors every single day; it’s unclear if genetics play a role here.

My PT said that as long as I do not experience sharp, burning pain in my elbows, arms, or hands, at this point, it’s really about continuing to do nerve gliding/flossing exercises, icing 2-3x a day, and trying my best to not perform actions that will exacerbate potential pain or cause flare-ups. Now, it’s about pain and condition management. So in other words… what does this mean? Am I supposed to have these pains, random flare-ups, hand tightness, and dull elbow pains forever…?! I thought I came to PT to get cured?! I’m not really sure what my next step is supposed to be. I’ve been told that cubital tunnel could take weeks to months to go away. After speaking with people who have suffered from carpal tunnel, which is closely related, some took over a year to fully heal and feel “normal” again, with PT exercises, stretching, splinting, and thankfully no surgery.

This just feels pretty hopeless right now, and I feel sad and frustrated.

Treats from Oz

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Since the pandemic began, Chris has been getting antsy about a lot of things. He’s upset that he cannot do work or personal travel. He’s not happy he is unable to see theater and comedy. He’s not enthused at all that he’s not able to travel back to Australia for his annual summer Christmas. And with international travel basically being blocked, his parents were unable to visit us this spring, which meant that his usual Aussie treats delivery did not happen as per schedule. The treats they intended to bring him have been sitting in their garage and and second refrigerator, waiting to be eaten by someone at some time.

One package after another, he sadly saw his Aussie treats stash being depleted. Arnott’s biscuits like Tim Tams and Teddy Bears? One by one, they were gone. Arnott’s Shapes? Oh, those were gone long ago. The All-Naturals Fruit Confectionary fruit snacks, made with real fruit and sugar, NO high fructose corn syrup in sight? Those are his favorites, and he lamented not having easy access to them as he plowed through one bag after the next. So of course, being resourceful, Chris found a solution to all his maddening snacking problems: He discovered Treats from Oz, the company that ships all these glorious treats around the world… as long as you are willing to pay for the high shipping costs. Because, as well all know, homesickness has no real cost, right? This company lovingly and carefully packs Aussie treats and even accepts requests for specific items when you have them (and Chris definitely had these to offer!). We had a box arrive today that was over 36 pounds, filled with everything from special flavors of Tim Tams, chocolate scotch fingers, all naturals fruit snacks, to even plum pudding and Lamington desserts!

This should satiate my Australian baby… at least, for now.

Grandma’s staple dishes

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Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs: a classic Chinese dish no matter where in China you are, or no matter what Chinese household you are in. It’s a simple dish that requires just tomatoes, eggs, salt, pepper, oil, and maybe some scallions or fresh garlic if you’re feeling fancy, but at its core, it’s a simple, humble, easy dish that sings with the right amount of salt and pepper to season it. When I was growing up, my grandma did a lot of cooking, both simple and complex, and tomatoes and eggs or tomatoes with beef stir fried were always one of our simplest but favorite dishes. A lot of people would never guess this was a classic Chinese dish, but ask anyone who grew up in a Chinese household with Chinese home cooking, and this is considered simple comfort food.

When I moved out and started living on my own after college, many nights I’d come home from work with few things ready to eat, so I’d quickly stir fry some tomatoes and eggs, toss them over rice, and call it my dinner. Fast food wasn’t much of a thing unless it was a treat at my house growing up, and so we always valued home cooking above all else — not just because it’s relatively inexpensive, but it’s frankly just healthier.

It’s not a sexy dish. It’s also not a dish who someone who is not Chinese would normally get excited about. But for me, it’s comfort food in all its simplicity, and it reminds me of all the fond memories I have of my grandma cooking and preparing nutritious food for me and my brother.

Chukar Cherries

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Years ago, when I used to work at a digital agency, I became friends with someone here in New York who eventually moved to Seattle and still resides there now. A generous soul, she would always come back to New York to visit family and friends, and she’d pack bags and bags of Chukar Cherries — these delicious, chocolate/cocoa-covered dried cherries that were locally grown in Washington state. There were the Black Forest cherries, the truffle cherries, the alcoholic chocolate cherries; she wanted to spread the love and deliciousness of this small business in Washington state and all the glory of chocolate covered cherries.

Chris immediately liked these when I brought these home when my friend gave them to us seven years ago, and every time I’d see this friend, he’d inquire about “cherry girl,” or just ask, “Cherries?” So given they were having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday special, I decided to indulge (because, what else is there to spend money on during COVID other than food?!) and buy a box of these cherries. We indulged in them this evening after they arrived, and they tasted just as good as we remember them. It’s my Seattle friend’s lasting legacy with us.

Tahini

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After visiting Ayat NYC yesterday in Bay Ridge, I wanted to attempt to make their baby eggplant dish at home. While in Bay Ridge, I picked up some baby eggplants as well as some Lebanese tahini imported from Lebanon while visiting Falahi Farms market, also owned by the same family that runs Ayat NYC. I’ve always loved tahini, but given we’ve always had limited pantry and fridge storage space, I didn’t want to buy it until I had specific things in mind that I wanted to use it for. And now that I cook more with the current pandemic, it made sense to buy this ingredient, as I’d have more time and opportunities to use it.

But the more I thought about tahini, and the more I spoke with the woman who worked at Falahi Farms, the more I realized that tahini is as versatile as you want it to be. For the Falahi cashier, she shared that she has tahini every single morning on her toast with honey. It’s almost like her peanut butter. But it’s also great in sauces with meat, as well as in salad and vegetable dressings. In the eggplant dish, all you need to do is literally drizzle the tahini over the eggplants, and you’re done. The tahini just needs to be mixed since it tends to get thick on the bottom of the jar.

I posted on Instagram stories that I bought this Lebanese tahini, and someone direct messaged me, insisting I mix the tahini with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley to make “the best salad dressing ever.” That’s the beauty of food: it unites people everywhere.

Palestinian cuisine in New York City

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In a city as diverse and colorful as New York City, it is a bit funny to say that cuisine solely labeled “Palestinian” is not particularly common here. “Middle Eastern” tends to be the blanket term that ends up being the category for food of cultures from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and surrounding countries. So when we found out that the new Palestinian restaurant Ayat NYC had opened in Bay Ridge just 2 months ago, we were ecstatic and knew we had to come try it out.

We had a number of small plates ranging from the delicious kibbeh (finely ground bulgur wheat and meat filled with ground beef, onions, and Mediterranean spices), to cheese manaquish (fresh sajj bread sandwiching a delicious, savory, and tangy akkawi cheese dotted with sesame and I believe nigella seeds), labneh (the thickest and most decadent strained and whipped yogurt topped generously with olive oil), to the dreamy beitenjan — fried baby eggplants drizzled with tahini and pomegranate molasses. This was my very first time having a number of these delicious bites including the sajj, the Palestinian bread, and it was amazing: stretchy, almost bouncy and soft in texture, not to mention wheaty and a little nutty. I’m a cheese lover, and the akkawi cheese did not disappoint: it was salty, tangy, with a strong savory flavor. I could get used to eating that more often! And the labneh here was the thickest and creamiest labneh I’ve ever had; it almost felt and tasted like I was just eating fully strained cream!

These cozy neighborhood spots are the places I love most when exploring New York City, the ones owned by locals and immigrants alike that just want to share their food with you and hope you will love their flavors as much as they do. They feel so homely, and the political messages and symbolism as depicted on the restaurant’s interior murals also made it a funky place to hang out.

Quinoa in everything now

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I’ll be honest and say that I have not always been that open minded about all foods — I’d like to say I’m a work in progress with how I see the world, including food, since I’m always learning new things. For example, I wasn’t always a fan of the concept of “Asian fusion.” Initially, it seemed, in my mind, to be a way to white-wash traditional and delicious Asian dishes, and if it’s not broken, why try to “fix” it? Then, as time passed, I started realizing that “fusion” is not necessarily a “bad” thing, that a lot of our favorite and most beloved dishes, without us realizing it, actually are, by definition, “fusion.” Dishes like banh mi (French married with Vietnamese), hu tieu noodle soup (Vietnamese + Chinese + Cambodian), or ramen (while people like to say it’s Japanese, “ramen” in the Japanese language actually comes from the Chinese words “la mian,” which mean “pulled noodles”) are all things that are actually fusions of different cultures’ foods. Things that are more in-your-face fusion, like Korean bulgogi tacos or Vietnamese burritos, are also just delicious, so why not eat delicious food?

But there is one thing that has really been driving me crazy lately, and that’s seeing quinoa included in everything… like literally everything. I was ready to embrace it when it started becoming popular years ago as a rice/carb replacement, especially since it has a high protein, low carb profile overall. I started making it over the stove initially with broth, then now, in my Instant Pot (in just one minute!). I’ve used it in sweet, breakfast porridges (it’s delicious), and have tried using it even in a higher protein version of masala dosa. Even Chris begrudgingly admitted it was tasty (“but the regular version is better,” he said. Well, he *is* right; when you replace the rice with quinoa, the dosa actually ends up less crispy and more soft).

I was strolling through Whole Foods this late afternoon and noticed it being used as a replacement in “chocolate crispy” treats. For some reason, this really set me off. WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE IN EVERYTHING? WHY? Why don’t we just eradicate bread and rice and just eat all quinoa then??? I’m sure the South American countries who have been eating quinoa for decades or centuries are probably looking at us like we are not only stealing foods from their cultures, but also wondering why we are so insane about what we eat.

When doctors don’t understand your condition

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Tonight’s family chat felt particularly depressing. We haven’t seen Chris’s family since last Christmas, and who the hell knows when we will ever be able to see them again. They asked about our mediocre Thanksgiving at home, which was likely the worst Thanksgiving I’ve ever had as pathetic as that sounds. We asked them about their plans for Chris’s parents to go to Sydney this Christmas to spend time with Chris’s brother. Chris’s family, even those in Melbourne, will not all be getting together for Christmas this year, either, as people are spending time with their immediate families or just trying to stay away from large gatherings. 2020 is truly a sad and divided year where we are all apart.

I was icing my elbows for some of the time that we were on the Hangout, and Chris’s mom asked about what I was doing. I reminded them that I’ve been going to physical therapy to treat my condition, which apparently has been diagnosed as cubital tunnel syndrome. Chris’s mom, being a doctor, was puzzled initially, and started explaining what cubital tunnel syndrome is to Chris’s dad. “It affects the ulnar nerve that runs down from the neck to the hand,” she told him. She turned to me: “It’s strange that you would get this. Ulnar nerve damage is usually a result of trauma.”

Ahhhh. Yes, in general, that was true once upon a time… prior to the creation of MOBILE PHONES.

This is when it hits me that just because someone may be a doctor or whatever professional title they have, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they stay up to date with the latest awful things happening in medicine, diagnoses, and society at large. Perhaps that’s why all doctors and all professionals should be trained and updated in their fields. In the last 10 years, there’s been a ridiculous rise in the cases of cubital tunnel syndrome, and the vast majority of those arise from excessive mobile phone use. Yep, you’re reading the post of one of those affected losers right here.

Four weeks ago, I had no idea what “cubital tunnel syndrome” was. I didn’t know the name of this nerve running from my neck down to my hand. And unfortunately, now I know. Sometimes, ignorance really can be bliss.

I really do wish I were still that ignorant.

Nepal Tea LLC tea

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About two years ago, I read an article in the New York Times discussing how Nepali tea is growing in popularity. While much of the world of tea lovers is aware of countries like China, Japan, Taiwan, and India for producing exquisite teas, tea from Nepal was virtually unknown, and some Nepalese folks decided to change that while spreading the goodness of tea from this part of the world in the U.S.

The funny thing about Darjeeling being world-renowned and loved is that similar to olive oil, much of the “Darjeeling” that is distributed around the world is actually fake. While I’ve enjoyed many Darjeelings, who the heck knows if they were authentic or a mix of real or fake. I’m no Darjeeling expert at all. All I know is that I still enjoyed them and their distinct flavor. Nepal, not being too far away from the Darjeeling region of India, wants to become the next Darjeeling in some respects, and if they can do it in a sustainable way, then I’d be happy to support them.

So I bookmarked Nepali Tea Traders and Nepal Tea LLC years ago, and finally I got reminded of them when I got an email from another tea company regarding their Black Friday sales last week. I remembered I had wanted to support Nepali tea small businesses, so I went to both of these websites, and I ended up choosing the second one because, well, they had a smaller minimum to buy in order to qualify for free shipping, plus they were willing to offer 15% off for Black Friday. I chose three teas: one Kumari gold tea (which is like a lighter black tea), one Ganesha green tea, and one I was wary of, but after reading so many good reviews, I figured I had to try it: Nepali Breakfast tea. This is their version of a chai blend with spices, and while I am partial to chai with just fresh ginger, cardamom, and the occasional sprinkle of fennel seeds and a single clove or two, I decided to try this out. Reviews said it was warm with a light spice. Chai blends I’ve tried previously have just been too strong for me: the pepper, clove, or cinnamon has been overpowering.

I tried the Nepali breakfast with 50/50 ratio of water to milk this morning, and I was blown away by how good it was: it really was as the reviewers described: warm, lightly spiced, and very comforting. There’s no ginger in this, which is what I love in my chai, but I actually didn’t miss the ginger at all. I even had Chris try some of it, as he’s usually averse to strongly spiced chai, especially the amount of ginger I like in mine, and he agreed this was very good.

This is definitely a great chai when I feel like chai, but I cannot be bothered to crush cardamom pods and slice and smash ginger in the morning. I’m so happy I can not only support a small business but also finally support Nepali tea while enjoying one of my favorite things.