Burmese food at Rangoon

I would definitely recommend a dinner at Rangoon, a medium sized Burmese Restaurant in the Chinatown area.

I ordered my usual favorite Burmese apps and all were to my liking; the roti canai tasted exactly as it should, with flakey bread and curried up dipping sauce I would have liked to drink.

Burmese style tofu is so completely different from your regular tofu, being made from chick pea, that I always wonder why it shares the same name. Either way, its worth ordering, not only just to try something new, but because of the subtle flavor of the mushy insides contrasted with the crisp fried-but- not- too -greasy outside. (the menu claims they are made from lentils, but I am almost positive that is an error)

Rangoon's version of the tea leaf leaf salad was a little more

sesame-ish than tea leaf-ish,

which was still ok by me because sometimes that tea leaf flavor can come on too strong.

For the entrees, the whole banana leaf fish was perfect with its fragrant curry sauce and crispy fried flakey fish.

This noodle dish looks nice, but it was kinda funky. I can't remember the name of it ( it may have been the Rangoon House Noodle) but the menu said something about it being the best noodles ever, it sadly wasn't. But one miss out of many dishes, is allowed.

Rangoon serves wine and beer and has a corkage fee for byo.

112 North 9th Street

Speaking of Pickles: 2-day Pickled Broccoli and my new pickle necklace

Did I mention that I was obsessed with pickles? And more importantly, do you pickle your broccoli stems? Because you really should. The NYTimes once mentioned a basic recipe for doing this and since then I have pickled all the broccoli stems left over from when I make broccoli, which gives me even more of a reason to make broccoli in the first place. Its a quick pickling process and so easy to make.

The first step is to get rid of the harder outer layer with a veggie peeler. Cut it up to your desired shape; sometimes I do long spears, but this week my broccoli was shorter so I went with round pieces. Put them in a container and cover with salt, shake it up to coat it.

Refrigerate over night. In the morning drain the water and add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, ground pepper, chopped garlic and any other spice of your choice- I like mustard powder for example.

By dinner time, your broccoli should be ready enough to enjoy.

Lookie, what came in the mail this week- my pickle necklace I ordered from roscata.com. I am a happy fashionable pickle lover now. Check out her most adorable food jewelry.

$5 Corned Beef sandwich at Kibitz Room

Foobooz pointed out this awesome October deal at the Kibitz Room: Corned beef sandwiches for 5 bucks. Normally their sandwiches cost over $10 and come with a lot more meat, but this sized more than filled me up. As expected they have a full array of Dr. Brown's, this included Cel-ray, which made me happy.

If you sit down and eat you have full access to... the pickle bar.

I like most bars, and this one was particularly to my liking, given my fondness (ok, obsession) with pickles. I tried the cucumbers (nice as a side to all that meat), sauerkraut (nice to put on your meat), spicy pickles (not my favorite), and the sour garlics (pretty good, not enough snap). I was sufficiently satisfied with Philly's version of a Jewish deli; go for the sweet deal, stay for the pickle bar.

1521 Locust

Chicken Pudding

Of all the odd things I have eaten, chicken pudding may be the most odd. I can't recall a moment where I have been more hesitant to lick my spoon. A Turkish friend had been telling me about this typical dish of his homeland for a year now, and when he brought a vat home that was cooked by his mother I invited myself over to have some. I think the basic idea is that chicken is boiled down beyond comprehension and mixed with things like sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, almonds, and milk. Yes, this is a dessert, and an apparently ancient one at that. I am not trying to explain the recipe here (there are plenty online) just trying to give you the general picture of what I was dealing with. Anyway, I couldn't exactly get into this; I couldn't get past my views of chicken not being dessert. It really was puddingy, with a texture like a watered down jello vanilla pudding, but with chunks of chicken in it... I let the Turk finish my bowl.

He meant well...

Thanks for sharing Emre!

Nice Buns

At this unassuming Chinatown bakery, I saw a bun behind the counter that I had never seen before- pork jerky with spring onion. This turned out to be a fancy way of saying dried pork and scallion bun. But it was absolutely delicious and under $1.50. Don't forget to zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to get in the maximum flavor zone.

New Hong Kong Bakery

917 Race st

Sidewalk Sticky Rice

A few weekends ago, while walking through Philly's Chinatown, I came across some ladies selling food on the street under an umbrella in front of Ming River. They had sticky rice, tofu, and other things I couldn't 100% identify- maybe some red bean paste? I picked up a container of sticky rice, they offered the standard wrapped in the banana leaf version, but I wanted to try the other because it looked different than what I am used to.

Now I don't really know what the hell was in that rice, but it was very tasty. I bought some chinese sausage to cook and added it in. And with at $2 , I am hoping I see these ladies again.

107 N 10th st

Hellooooooo Philadelphia!

Time flies when you are spending all your time in the library of a new city...

So I have moved to Philadelphia and I am now a student again, meaning much much less time and money for fooding. But I will not let my education stand in the way of my belly's happiness.

Philly is an amazing city and I am getting to know more of the delicious things around me here that I can put in my mouth. Feel free to tune in as I (less frequently) continue to write about what I eat in this new city (and NYC as well, as my visits back tend to center around eating).

I would like to turn your attention to a nifty little Philly find, the bargain cheese bin at the original Di Bruno Brothers.

The original Di Bruno Brothers is located in the Italian Market and, while much smaller, has a more relaxed and fun feel than the Rittenhouse location. Despite it being the size of a closet, I managed to spend way too much time here poking at the bounty offered. The prices here are just as hard on my little student wallet though. Thats why I was so excited at the thought of being able to bargain for my snack. The bin holds some leftover bits and the gentlemen behind the counter had no problem taking 50% off the price tag. Maybe I should go lower next time?

(This jerky sausage was also irresistible)