Sweet & Savory

Joyous Season

A and I went off to Tahoe for some relaxation and snowboarding during this holiday season so not much post about food I'm afraid. But we wanted to take this time to reflect on what an eventful year 2005 has been to the terrible tsunami in south east asia, to discovering saint benoit yogurt and going to French Laundry, to participitaing in Is-My-Blog-Burning, to learning how to compromise, and to starting rock-climbing. This year had its share of ups and downs but it's slowly winding down to a close. The new year will be a brand new start with promises of new flavors, new discoveries, and new places to see. So to everyone, we want to wish you a safe, healthy, and happy 2006. :)

Hot delicious soup noodle!

We celebrated Thanksgiving and then promptly got sick! But to help cure our nasty cold, we went for some nice big bowls of savory Japanese ramen with our good friends Joy and Mike.

We had seen lots of great reviews on Santa Ramen, a ramen shop located in San Mateo. The reviews also forewarned about the long lines. We arrived around 1:45, hoping to miss the lunch crowd. So while the line was not exceedingly long, there was still a wait. It turns out that Santa either close by 2pm or when the soup stock runs out, which ever one happens first! We arrived just in time to be the last customers. Whew!

The menu was posted on the wall for easy viewing by all. We agonized over all the possible choices and narrowed it down to two (to share of course)!

I picked the pork-flavored ramen with roasted pork while A picked the soy sauce flavored ramen with bean sprouts. Both bowls were satisfyingly delicious. The pork flavored ramen with slices of roasted pork was very rich and savory with just a hint of ginger from the bright red slivers of ginger added to the soup. The soy sauce flavored ramen with bean sprouts did not have as complex soup flavor as the pork flavored ramen with roasted pork but still very rich. A enjoyed the bite in the noodles and the abundance of bean sprouts but felt the soup was a little too salty from too much soy sauce, but I thought it was fine.

We slurped and munched our way to an empty bowl. Well, mostly empty. :) All done!

Cure for the Insanity

What I used to help finish preparing for Thanksgiving dinner! I needed TWO of these things.

Mojito for One

• 12 fresh mint leaves
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 oz. Bacardi Limon rum
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• club soda
• crushed ice

Place the mint leaves in a tall glass and crush the leaves with the sugar to release their oil. Add the Bacardi Limon and lime juice and mix. Top off with club soda and ice. Smile and savor. :)