Tag Archives: seafood

Matthew in Hong Kong with seafood

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matthew holding a large lobster in hong kong

Matthew was in Hong Kong for a couple of weeks this summer visiting his cousin, Aaron, who works in the garment industry there – I think.  Aaron studied Chinese in college and has been living and working in various Mainland cities and Hong Kong for years now, and was nice enough to host Matt.  Matt has been interested in Asian culture for quite some time, so this trip was very special to him. 

matthew in front of a fish tank at a restaurant in hong kong

Before he left I gave him a credit card and told him to treat Aaron and his girlfriend to a really nice meal.  On our semi-daily Skype chats, I would inquire about the dinner.  “So, did you guys go out for that dinner on me yet?”  “No, but we will.”  A few days before he was to return, Matt starts regaling us about the meal, which finally took place, going on and on about a lobster “half as long as me” and razor clams and geoduck.  Geoduck!  Good God, how much did that meal cost?, thought we four.  The list went on – this and that seafood item prepared in this or that style.  Our fear about the cost was justified given Matt’s history of not skimping on quality when it comes to food.  Not that he’s a spendthrift, but Matthew, like many people his age who grew up in relative ease, doesn’t think twice about spending money on himself.  Then you have the exchange rate, which makes it all somewhat surreal, allowing  a person to claim ignorance of the actual cost later on. 

huge clam on choosticks in hong kong restaurant

While I honestly didn’t really care a whole lot about the price of the meal (Matt is fruit to my poisonous tree) we had a good time trying to calculate a worst-case scenario while laughing our asses off.  Turns out the meal was something on the order of $400, which was a good price when you think of what they ate.

large geoduck in shell in hong kong restaurant

Pink aspics

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Crab aspic in loaf form artdeco

I busted out two pink aspics today.  I’ve been hooked on aspics for some time now.  I’ve always loved them and, since I collect cookbooks, I come across lots of them in books from the 1930s through the 1960s – many of them tres outré.  Here are two retro creations, one more a molded salmon mousse and the other a crabmeat cocktail in aspic.  They are great during the summer and for a good chuckle.

Salmon aspic in ring mold form

Fish from 99 Ranch in Richmond

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Fried whole fish from 99 ranch in richmond california

Dinner last night was striped bass (two of them) from 99 Ranch Market, cleaned and prepared under their option #6, “crispy fry.”  This is very helpful if you want a decent dinner and you have no time.  All you have to do is pick out a whole fish and they’ll take care of the rest.  Grab a number and then a plastic bag from the top of the counter.  Use the bag like a glove to rifle through the fish, select one and then to pick it up to hand it to the fishmonger when your number comes up.  You pay only the price per pound, nothing extra, and I have had all kinds of fish done this way.  Sometimes they’ll have really great whole fish at $1.99 per pound.  Just buy some steamed rice at their prepared food section on the way out and you are good to go.  Throw together a sauce using a bit of chili oil, soy sauce and vinegar, if you want to add a little spice.

Boulud’s Braise

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Braised fish from Boulud's book Braise

I received Daniel Boulud’s Braise for Christmas and spent the afternoon putting together the Mackerel with Herb Curry (pg. 158), having been seduced by its glossy representation.  The Spanish Mackerel looked pretty sad at the fish store, so I substituted a small, whole, white-fleshed salmon that was on sale at 99 Ranch Market for $1.99 per pound.  $11.61 and ‘fish cleaning option #3’ later, I arrived home with a bag full of fat salmon steaks, head and tail.  Even though I did not have a Kaffir lime leaf nor tomato juice nor a red bell pepper nor the plum tomatoes, the dished turned out to be a big hit here at Chez Akitachow.  I substituted fish stock for the tomato juice (yes, there are people who have fish stock around but not tomato juice — so shoot me!), a green bell pepper for the red and beefsteak tomatoes for the plum.  To hell with substituting for the lime leaf.  I also added a whisper of Spanish paprika to make up for the loss of the red bell pepper.  Serve this baby with rice and you’ll convert even those wimps who never before looked a fish steak in the eye.

Red Lobster in Vestal

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Well, screw it, we ate at Red Lobster in Vestal, New York today.  I always hated Red Lobster, and I am able to trace this to some super-lousy coconut shrimp in Daly City in 1997.  Matt and I arrived in Binghamton like two soggy pretzels, having started our trip from Albany, CA at 4:00 a.m.  After getting to the car rental place on Vestal Parkway, we next wanted to grab something to eat before going over to the nursing home to see my father, who is in the final stages of his illness.  We both ordered the “endless shrimp” and it was not bad.  We had plates of various kinds of fried shrimp, scampi and fettuccini.  The specials came with a starch and veggies and we were fine with the whole nine yards.  It wasn’t great in that the shrimp were small and the breading-to-flesh ratio was a little lame, but it was good and the people were very nice.  Total cost with iced tea was about $45.