Restaurant Review: Tamam

I tried Tamam (located at 26 Powell Street)  today for a take-out lunch and WOW! I've never had Palestinian or Arabic Mediterranean before but I really liked what I had and I will be going back for more. 

I ordered  the Sauteed Fresh Talapia with rosemary, garlic, lemon and olive oil    $9.5 that came with Mujaddarah (Lentils and Rice covered with sauteed Onions) and Tabbuleh. My fish was nicely cooked with fresh herbs and I am in love with Mujaddarah. There was so much food that I didn't even get to the Tabbuleh (will save it for Breakfast tomorrow with a soft boiled Egg). Fantastic food at an affordable price. Urbanspoon, please list this as my first Really Like.

* Update - a couple of days after my post--I went back to Tamam and noticed a $5 increase in all the items on the menu.  And then a couple of weeks later I noticed that Tamam closed all together never to re-open. Have to say--this was an opportunity missed.  Gastown has many over-priced restaurants and "diners" in the neighborhood but what Gastown really needs is a healthy, cheap and cheerful option.

Greek Yogurt with Fruit and Muesli

I am not a big Breakfast person but I'll eat this:

Greek Yogurt with Fruit and Muesli

Ingredients

1-2 scoops of Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Banana sliced

1-2 handful(s) of washed and sliced seasonal Fruit (such as Strawberries,Raspberries, Blueberries, Grapefruit, Peaches, etc

1 handful of Muesli

Preparation

Assemble all ingredients to Muesli in a serving plate, or if making to go: all ingredients to Fruit in a container. Keep Muesli in separate container- sprinkle onto Yogurt mixture when ready to eat.

Food Truck Review: Feastro

Fresh Halibut Taco – crispy chickpea battered fresh halibut, tomato/anise chutney with Henry Reed organic greens, tikka masala yogurt, hand cut salsa. $7+ tax

The other day, co-worker told me about Feastro (located at West Cordova at Thurlow)--a Food Truck that specializes in West Coast Cuisine. Still in love the Food Trucks of Portland--I treated myself for lunch.

The name is Feastro, you say? Considering it was a famine rather than feast--why don't they call it Famine-a-rama? I ordered the Halibut Taco and I found it terribly bland. What could be worse? It set me back $8 and I was still hungry afterwards. I did give Feastro another try, a couple of weeks later, this time I ordered the Mussels for $13. Kind of steep considering I got a bowl of cream with a side of Mussels with some fries. Not cool. And it doesn’t look like I’m the only one disappointed:

Vincent C on Urbanspoon  wrote:

This food truck is quite sad actually and I'm surprised at the reviews.
I order a fish taco for about $8 including tax. I think it was local ingredients and all the [novelty] of ordering from a food truck was pretty cool. Now I thought it was kind of odd that I was ordering 1 fish taco, but that's how they were being sold and I figured for $8 it should be a good amount of food and something special. Well I was wrong. Let me tell you what you get:1. A tortilla2. Some mixed greens Lettuce3. Salsa (Not very good, or am I a fan of cheap salsa with tomato paste)4. Some other sauce5. A tiny little piece of lime6. And I almost forget a piece of fish, basically bit sized. I'm still new to Vancouver and this has been the biggest waste of money when it comes to food in the city. I will never eat here again. So far the only decent tacos I've had in the city have been Taco Shack. But if you want the best get in your car and drive to Seattle and go to Chipotle. Amazing! Toronto has 2 of them, the only ones in Canada. Vancouver has zero I don't get it?I hope this review will save you the disappoint that I received. And if you're stuck in the areas needing a bite to eat walk a couple blocks to the food court at Urban Fare.

Sadly, I know I’ll go back to Feastro, again, because I love the idea of Food Trucks in Vancouver. I feel like Grampa Simpson--watching Football for the first time -"If we don't support this thing, it won't last!" I figure, I'll just have to go when the weather is nice and I'm not that hungry. 

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

The night after I roast a chicken--I like to not waste anything. You can turn left over chicken into the base of many different recipes like basic broth, sandwiches, or Chicken and Dumplings. I love Chicken and Dumplings--it's savory creamy soup with hearty root vegetables and the nice fluffy dumplings.

I am still trying to find the perfect recipe for Chicken and Dumplings or should I say combination of recipes, because all I need is a better Dumpling recipe.  I've tried traditional flour and the Dumplings will come out dense, I've also tried using Pillsbury's frozen biscuits but I didn't like the texture, the best Dumplings recipe I've found to date was a British Dumpling product that I found in the long extinct British food section in Nesters.  What I liked about the British Dumplings was that it incorporated lard into the flour and the results was a satisfying Dumpling you could just eat without the Gravy. In my next attempt, I'll try out Bisquick (but only if I don't have to commit to a massive cereal sized box) and in this recipe I use Dr. Oetker's Pancake/Biscuit mix. 

Dr. Oetker's Dumplings steamed into a nice fluffy texture but a little sweet. Next time Bisquick. 

Ingredients

Roasted Chicken left overs - meat separated from bones and chopped (bones can be used for other purposes i.e. broth)

• 1 swig of Olive Oil
• 3 Celery, chopped
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 1 Parsnip
• 1 handful of frozen Peas
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 chicken Bouillon cube
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cream of Celery/Chicken/Mushroom soup

Dumplings:

• Dr. Oetker's Pancake/Biscuit Mix

Directions

Heat Wok and add oil. Add ingredients Celery to Parsnip to wok. Cook for several minutes or until the Onions start turning golden. Add Bouillon cube to Wok and stir well. Add water to cover vegetable mixture by 1 or 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.

Prepare the dumplings: per instructions  

Add Peas and cream of celery soup to the pot and simmer gently over medium-low heat. Taste the Soup--if too flavorful, add more water. If not flavorful enough add Salt and Pepper to taste. Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces and add to simmering soup. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently move the pot in a circular motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.

To serve, ladle Soup and Dumplings into warm bowls.

Roast Herb Chicken Recipe with Red Potatoes and Pearl Onions



I heard an interesting phrase, the other day, it goes: If you want to see a chef's skill--taste her Roasted Chicken. I don't personally think that I'm an above average chef but I do think this method for Roasting makes any Chicken well above average (shiiite, sure beats Nesters and Costco).

Roasting at high temperatures will give you lovely crisp skin and the Lawry's Salt and Herbs will give you that satisfying taste that all Chicken Lovers crave.  You can always change up the recipe--just keep the method. For example, a North African style Chicken: Salt and Paparika with Oil and lemon slices under the skin and wedges in the cavity or you can do a nice Honey Dijon mixture with Thyme. It's all gravy.

Note: If you have room in your freezer buy 3 birds in advance from Costco (you can end up paying as little as $4 a bird as opposed to buying a bird for $9+ at Nesters). Freezing chicken is easy: just rinse, pay dry and store in a freezer bag for up to three months. To defrost: remove Chicken a day before into the fridge. 

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken (the best you can afford)

Olive Oil (a swig or two)

Handful of each:

Fresh chopped Rosemary, Oregano and Thyme

Lawry's Seasoning Salt and Ground Pepper to taste

Potatoes (any kind) washed and quartered (1 handful = 1 serving)

Pearl Onions (skinned and 1 handful = 1 serving)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse Chicken (including cavity) and pat dry.  In a bowl mix together ingredients Oil to Ground Pepper. Gently separate the skin from the Chicken and massage Oil-Herb mixture (reserve bowl) under the skin and throughout the Chicken. Use remaining Oil-Herb mixture to dress Potatoes and Onions.

Place Chicken in Roasting Pan breast side down and arrange Potatoes and Onions around the Chicken. You may add additional sprigs of Herbs in the cavity if desired. After 30 minutes--flip the Chicken breast side up (this will keep your Chicken moist throughout the bird). Roast until chicken is gold brown and meat thermometer reads 170 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the bird). Remove Chicken from heat and let rest for 10 minutes under foil tent.

Try one of these Brussel Sprout recipes for a side.
What to do with the left-overs? Make Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken and Dumplings

Take out Review: Thailicious

What's a Take Out Review? It's a review for places that only do take out, like Thailicious. Over the summer, my co-worker highly recommended Thailicious as a cheap and cheerful Thai. He also recommended getting your meal delivered because apparently the actual Thailicious restaurant is not an easy find.

Since the summer--Thailicious is my regular take out because indeed, they serve up delicious food at good value.  I am a fan of the Spicy Calamari, the Stir-fry Noodles in Sweet Soy Sauce, or the Basil Spicy Noodles, and you can never really go wrong with any of the Curries. Adam loves the Beef with Garlic and Pepper Sauce over rice but beware: when you ask for hot--it's the real deal.  

I find Thailicious is a great alternative to cooking: the vegetables are always fresh and crisp tender, the mains are flavorful and nothing is served greasy. I, also find that the Customer Service is fantastic but the Quality Control needs some work.

The other week—I had an impromptu party of 5 show up at my apartment. I knew that ordering from Thailicious would be a safe bet.  Dinner came unusually late --and with prizes in the form of broken pieces of plastic in the curry!  The next day—I wrote an complaint email and within the hour I got this reply:

Hi,


I am very sorry to hear that.  Normally the food should not cool when it get there.  The broken plastic in the curry container is because the curry too hot and it melt the plastic of it’s cover.  Normally we will make sure the curry will sit a bit before we cover it up so it is not too hot until the cover plastic lit is melt down.  Yesterday may be we were rush to put your order out for delivery so this may happen.  We are very sorry for this. 


We are more that happy to refund your the whole order.  I have to go back to check how you paid last night.  If it is cash we more than happy to bring back the cash to you this evening.  However if it paid by credit card or debit since the process is completed we will credit you the whole amount for your next order.  This is a very rare occasion and we know what is it cause therefore we try to avoid it as we can.  We have to more carful on this both on packing and delivering processes. 


We are very sorry for this happen to you and very appreciate you let us know on what’s happen.  Finally we hope you will accept our apology. 


Best regards,


Thailicious team.

Ok, Thailicious Team, I forgive you, and I'll order from you again. Offering me credit is good business practice but what will keep me coming back regularly is a standard of good food, quick delivery and making sure my whole order is in the bag. I ordered from Thailicious, again, last night and the drop off took over an hour to arrive and what's more or should I write less--my bag was missing the rice I ordered. Shame--the food was great despite the Management issues.

Green Leafy Vegetable #26: Kale Chips with Lemon Recipe

This past weekend I went to a BBQ where I was introduced to the most delicious Kale (#26 on the Green Leafy Vegetable List) recipe I have tasted to date: Kale Chips. Kale is a hard sell for me to eat regularly--the stalks are rough and the whole leaf can be really bitter. However, if you bake it--Kale turns crispy, light and as satisfying as Potato Chips (don't argue--opinions are like assholes, everyone has one).

Ingredients

1 bunch of Kale per serving

Pam

Fresh Lemon Juice (to taste)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Wash and pat dry Kale. Cut into bite sized pieces--feel free to discard the stalk. Arrange Kale in pan. Spray with Pam. Squeeze Lemon Juice onto Kale mixture. Bake in oven for 10 minutes on each side or until edges turn brown.

For other Kale Recipes click here