![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eating out
May. 25th, 2010 01:49 amWent to a Taiwanese restaurant on Main Street today called Ice Fire Land, for my mom's birthday. I've been there once before, but the reason for its name only just dawned on me: the shabu-shabu dinner = fire, while the shaved ice (or fried ice-cream!) dessert = ice. Duh. That should have been obvious!
For a quick gloss, shabu-shabu: hot pot with broth and another, larger bowl full of ingredients like vermicelli noodles and greens and pumpkin and tofu, all uncooked on the side. Typically, you order a portion of fish, pork, or assorted seafood to go with all of this, and take a variety of other sauces (like garlic, hot pepper, sesame oil, peanut sauce, scallions, etc.) to set on the table. As the water boils, you dip each ingredient into the hot pot, and then remove it, garnish it with any sauces you want and eat it. When you're done with that, you take the broth along with whatever's left of the other ingredients, and drink it as a soup. It is delicious.
After the main course, my mom ordered Taiwanese shaved ice with lychee, pineapple, red bean, and condensed milk toppings. The dish was huge, so my mom, brother, and I got three separate bowls, split the dessert evenly and then dug in. I'm surprised any of us could move after we were done eating. XD
My relatives in NJ also celebrated my mom's birthday by taking us out to The Cheesecake Factory on Sunday. I've never been there before (tried to once, and the waiting time was ridiculous), but now I can at least say I've had the honor of trying both tiramisu cheesecake and upside-down pineapple cheesecake. It was wonderful, and the funny thing is, I'm not even a big fan of cake! That's an upside to eating out with family -- you can try different dishes without being compelled to eat a great deal of anything. Aside from your own dish, that is. (And even then...)
At any rate, I really enjoyed both places.
For a quick gloss, shabu-shabu: hot pot with broth and another, larger bowl full of ingredients like vermicelli noodles and greens and pumpkin and tofu, all uncooked on the side. Typically, you order a portion of fish, pork, or assorted seafood to go with all of this, and take a variety of other sauces (like garlic, hot pepper, sesame oil, peanut sauce, scallions, etc.) to set on the table. As the water boils, you dip each ingredient into the hot pot, and then remove it, garnish it with any sauces you want and eat it. When you're done with that, you take the broth along with whatever's left of the other ingredients, and drink it as a soup. It is delicious.
After the main course, my mom ordered Taiwanese shaved ice with lychee, pineapple, red bean, and condensed milk toppings. The dish was huge, so my mom, brother, and I got three separate bowls, split the dessert evenly and then dug in. I'm surprised any of us could move after we were done eating. XD
My relatives in NJ also celebrated my mom's birthday by taking us out to The Cheesecake Factory on Sunday. I've never been there before (tried to once, and the waiting time was ridiculous), but now I can at least say I've had the honor of trying both tiramisu cheesecake and upside-down pineapple cheesecake. It was wonderful, and the funny thing is, I'm not even a big fan of cake! That's an upside to eating out with family -- you can try different dishes without being compelled to eat a great deal of anything. Aside from your own dish, that is. (And even then...)
At any rate, I really enjoyed both places.
