Mien San

Thanks to my friend George, I was able to try what for me was a treasure trove of great Taiwanese cooking. Nondescript and partially hidden behind a blockade of cars parked in front, its bright yellow plastic signage unabashedly calling for replacement, Mien San is the place to go when your belly yearns for deliciously simple Chinese food that's also easy on the pocket.

I was so impressed with the place (even if the place was by no means impressive in itself) that I decided to go back tonight just to get a second tasting of all the wonderful dishes I tried the week prior. The close secondary reason was because I did not fully enjoy my meal since I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures! $#@%! Note to self: Never leave camera at home, again.

After failing to convince my parents that a drive to Gilmore at ten in the evening (this place is packed way past normal dining hours) was going to be well rewarded, I decided to bring my brother (aka my partner-in-most-crimes) instead. He needs little convincing as far as food is concerned.

Being the gluttons that we are, we let our eyes roam freely on their bubblejet printed menu and pointed to whatever caught our fancy. Hey, we said we were going to be rewarded, didn't we?

The meal started convincingly enough with the Assorted Cold Cuts Platter. Smithereens of stinky tofu, seaweed, pig's ear, tripe, kienchi, soyed egg, nuts and pickled vegetables arranged almost carelessly to set your appetite off to high gear. I grab a piece of the pig ear and tripe and start chewing heartily.

Next comes the Tofu with Century Egg. If there was one thing about Mien San that will make me scream "Oh Lordy Lordy", it is this. Beancurd served cold, its consistency so soft and silken that it glides down your tongue, it keeps you guessing as to whether it was meant to be an appetizer or a dessert. Served with century egg infused with the flavor of sesame oil, finely chopped mustard leaves on one side and minced garlic, sugar, and nuts on the other, and bathed in a soy sauce reduction that has just the right hint of sweetness, I can hardly think of any other dish that is as perfect as this in its composition.

I carefully slice a piece of the tofu and let it rest on my plate, then I grabbed a piece of the notorious aged egg and place it on the side. Next, the mixture of the leaves, garlic, nuts, and finally the delicious soy sauce. I smile. Right now, life couldn't be any better than this.

My brother orders the Seafood Cha-Mi (cha-mi means fried noodles) which is served with generous portions of vegetables, fish, squid, mushrooms, and shrimp. Unlike cantonese noodles, which has a light and almost aldente quality, Taiwanese noodles are thicker and more substantial leading to an obvious chewiness to it. If you can imagine Pad Thai noodles, then you are within the ballpark of what I am trying to describe. This is one of Mien San's best sellers, although it is hard for me to believe anything in this place wouldn't be.

I on the other hand order for myself the Beef with Tendon and Tripe Noodles. Tender pieces of beef, gelatinous portions of tendon, and several sheets of ox tripe in a warm flavorful broth filled with all the goodness of meat stewed in anise and other spices. The soup is so good it is almost intoxicating. The hand-pulled noodles are hefty and are a meal in itself, but I know better than to limit myself to one dish. Right?

The waitress looks oddly at the two of us as we chow down our meal and almost hesistates to give us the Kuchay Dumplings. I give her the look which says: "We're hungry. We're paying. We want those dumplings!" and she gets it. There is no science to making these small pockets filled with chives, meat, and glass noodles. As with many things in this restaurant, it is made with hardly a thought. Yet the result is a love-affair in your mouth. For more texture, next time we will ask them to stir-fry these babies.

Finally, we cap our meal with an order of Xiao Long Pao. Popular in most Taiwanese kitchens, they seem to be miniature incarnations of the more common siopao. Yet each one of these packs a warm and scrumptious surprise. I carefully nudge one of the pouches onto the ceramic spoon, drizzle a small amount of vinegar and ginger, and pop it whole into my mouth. As my teeth break the translucent cover, rich warm soup oozes out to titillate and prepare me for what's to come. The meat filling is next, and combined with the shredded pieces of its soft white shell, it is the perfect ending to this late night culinary adventure.

Burp!

Say "Cheese"

Bee Cheng Hiang has been in the meat-curing business for over 70 years. Based in Singapore, it has now expanded all over Asia (there are a few branches in the Philippines) peddling their insanely popular bakkwa -- which is the Chinese version (more superior one, in my opinion) of the Western jerkey. Whenever I am in Hong Kong or Singapore, I would buy these by the kilo since my dad really likes them and they make great pasalubongs (presents usually associated with travel) to relatives and friends.

So it is no surprise that when my uncle came back from a business trip to Indonesia he decided to bring home more than his fair share of these.

It is now the 21st century and even an age-old tradition like meat-curing has caught up with the times. Presenting, bite-sized bakkwa in vacuum-sealed packs! I look at the packaging and notice that the clear underside displays a thick yellowish residue covering the meat. At first I thought it was oil, but I look at the label closely and finally realize what I had stumbled upon. It was CHEESE! My eyes glisten with excitement.

Normally you can just tear off the wrapper and eat the contents but my mom placed these inside the refrigerator that evening so I thought it best to first submerge them in a tub of warm water to melt away some of the fat and drippings.

After a few minutes, the meat loosens up and you can easily slide the bakkwa free from its plastic prison. While taking pictures I had to fight the urge to just grab a piece and eat it because the caramelized scent of warm cured meat was wafting through the air. Finally I take a bite.

The sweet and salty taste of the bakkwa is a perfect partner to the slighty sour taste of the dairy. All three flavors have equal billing on my palette, giving each other equal opportunity to showcase their unique and wonderful qualities.

Sarap!

Breakfast of Champions

There are a few rituals that I try to maintain to keep myself fairly healthy. I say "fairly" because while no alarms were raised during my last physical exam, the doctor did advise me to watch my diet and maintain a regular exercise regimen. However, when you work during the evenings your food choices are usually limited to oily selections at fastfoods or instant noodles. By the time the sun comes up, you are usually too pooped to even lift a finger, much less hop on a treadmill.

So the next best thing is to actually bombard myself with food that will keep me away from trouble (most of the time). I still enjoy more than the occassional serving of fried and fatty foods (as some of you already know or will find out, I cannot resist sisig), but these nutrient-packed selections helps me lessen a lot of my guilt.

Presenting, my morning arsenal to keep me at my sedentary best. I take any combination of these daily, with some substitutes like what you will find below. I take psyllium husk to give me my daily dose of fibre, while the 'greens' are actually an orgy of spirulina, wheatgrass, barley grass, oat grass, flaxseed, assorted berries and vegetables. All of these I mix with a cup of skim milk.

Every once in a while, I fool around with different fruit juices available at home. My dad drinks juice like a little boy, so our pantry is stocked with boxes of them all the time. But while 'juice' gives you all the liquid goodness of the fruit, it is also loaded with sugar that goes straight to your waistline. So try to drink juice in moderation. Recently, I find the ones with l-carnitine of particular help specially since I am trying to maintain my weight.

We try to keep at least one type of fruit in the house, with the most frequent one being the ever humble banana. On some mornings I eat anywhere from one to three of them with a spoonful of peanut butter to tide away my hunger pangs. Bananas are rich in vitamin C, B6, and potassium which help prevent hypertension and the risk of stroke.

This is how psyllium husk looks. From afar it appears like fine oatmeal powder, but upon closer inspection it actually takes more the form of bleached sawdust. Contrary to popular belief, the husk cannot be digested. Once taken, it helps create bulk in your system which helps you 'cleanse' yourself more easily. That extra push is sometimes what it takes to leave you light as a feather, as nobody enjoys being dragged down by the burdens of yesterday. Haha. How poetic, no? It also helps bring down cholesterol and control diabetes.

The 'greens' powder is not green at all but more brownish in color. However, despite the fact that it seems like I am ingesting compost for breakfast this unassuming heap is a heavyweight in nutritional benefits. The powder is a mix of organic apple powder, organic strawberry powder, organic blueberry powder, organic raspberry power (the last three berries are the 'Supremes' of the fruit community because they are a rich source of vitamin C), organic cherry powder, organic beet powder, organic kale powder, organic carrot powder, organic spinach powder, organic tomato powder.

And I am not done. It also contains organic spirulina, organic wheatgrass powder, organic barley grass powder, organic oat grass powder, and organic flaxseed which is rich in omega-3.

I usually take 3 spoonfuls of psyllium husk and 1 spoonful of the 'greens'. Here is how it looks when mixed with milk. Be sure to stir well and drink immediately as the husks bind to water very quickly and will turn your drink to slush! The drink is harmless and tastes better than it looks. If for anything, the health benefits you are getting is well-worth the trade-off you are making for appearance.

Happy and healthy eating!