Food Nazis and Hainanese Chicken

Had dinner tonight with Asta at my favorite Malaysian restaurant around Castro, Spice Islands. She alerted me to this SfGate.com article about the tyranny of the mass of "amateur food critics" (ahem, including myself) who are ruining fine establishments before they even get a chance to get off the ground.

Read and weigh in, but from a consumer's point of view, I think it's tough luck, buddies, and you really shouldn't open a restaurant if you're not "ready." Kinks or no, everyday people don't get a second chance on a first impression, and neither should restaurants. Just my humble opinion.

Anyway, Spice Islands really should get a second, third, etc. glance-over. I got exactly what I wanted today, which was Hainanese Chicken, the comfort food of choice in SE Asia. For the unitiated, the dish consists of cold boiled (steamed?) chicken in a pool of soy-based sauce, two kinds of dipping sauce, one vinegar-y and spicy, the other a fragrant, delicious blend of garlic, ginger, and magic. Served with rice that had been boiled in chicken broth--yum. I asked for an extra saucer of curry dipping sauce on the side.

We also splurged on the chicken satay ($6.45), juicy grilled meat lollipops that we slathered with rich peanut sauce. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I forgot my camera. Lame, I know.

Loco Moco: I'm a believer.

So I'd never heard of this dish before I started working and was exposed to Hawaiian food. Today my team went for some bonding at Hukilau in Palo Alto, ate like kings and then learned how to mix some simple drinks after a basic bartending class. But first, the loco:

1 bed of rice
2 cutlets crisp-fried chicken katsu
2 eggs fried over-easy
Brown gravy, to smother.

If that sounds like one of the most heart-hostile concoctions of pure delishousness, I tell you people, it IS. Apparently the more authentic way is to eat it with hamburger meat, not chicken. But I wasn't about to complain. Plus, I had spam musubi and that put me in a good mood already.

Anyway, I also learned how to make an Aloha:

1 c ice
1/2 c vodka
Splash grenadine
Splash raspberry liquer
Top off w/ equal parts 7up and guava juice

Shake, pour, garnish and serve. A bit too fruity/girly for my taste. My roommate made some yummy combination of Kahlua, Bailey's and Frangelico, topped w/ whipped cream, which won her "Best Presentationl."

Hello, Fellow Foodies

I've been fantasizing about creating this blog for a long time. Partially dissatisfied with the lack of really spirited, helpful Bay Area food blogs, partly because I feel an incredible need to share what I find with everyone, I wanted to make this a safe place to discuss food highbrow and low (mostly low), too good for nothing except food with no integrity. Sit, join, enjoy, share.