Happy Harbor Dim Sum

If you've never had dim sum you are missing out!

So what is dim sum?  It's essentially Chinese food served in bite-sized pieces in rounded, steamed containers or on small plates.  Depending which dim sum place you go to, they may serve your food via cart.  This is where multiple carts are circulating around the restaurant allowing customers to freely choose what they would like.  Other dim sum places will provide you a slip form to fill in your order and eventually the dishes come out one by one from the kitchen when they are ready.

Often dim sum is served in the mornings and brunch, but of course there's exceptions such as the ones in Vegas.  

I really liked Happy Harbor.  Probably would give it a solid 4 star review.  They are in a shopping center off Gale Ave. and Nogales St. in the Rowland Heights area.  Not too shabby.  Interior is gleaming with bright lights and has a clean, cut look and feel.  All of the waiters sort of look like butlers because their attire reflects that of one. 

My boyfriend and I went there to celebrate his cousins' birthday and had a good time surrounding myself with good people and good food.  

Some of my favorite dishes are the...

1.  Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings

2.  Shumai

3.  Spareribs

4.  Steamed Beef Noodles

5.  Har Gow

6.  Luo Buo Gao

7.  Lime Green Red Bean Buns

8.  Baked BBQ Pork Bun (which is heavenly!)

9.  Egg Tart

10.  Mango Pudding (even though it wasn't as sweet as I'd hope it to be).

A few snippets I took at the restaurant:

That's it for now!  See you guys next time!!!

<3 Lina Chen

1015 Nogales St.,  Rowland Heights, CA 91748

626.965.2020.

Korean New Years Tradition: Dduk Guk

Happy New Years!!!  Can't believe it's already 2013!  Hopefully everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the New Years with friends and loved ones.  I, of course, spent it with my boyfriends family stuffing our faces with delicious hot pot (火鍋) and mochi ice cream with cream puffs for dessert!  As much as I enjoyed my first year celebrating with Eric's family, I did occasionally thought of my parents back at home and how I miss their presence. 

The one other thing I longed for was the traditional Korean rice cake soup, also known as dduk guk (떡국), my mother would make for us on New Years day.  I'm not 100% sure where the traditions come from but there probably is some meaning behind it like how the Chinese believe consuming noodles symbolizes a long and healthy life ahead.

Dduk guk is usually served in a beef, chicken, or anchovy broth with bits of dry seaweed, garnished egg, dumplings, and green onions.  Meats are optional.  It's slightly seasoned with sesame seeds, egg garnishes, and a little bit of salt and pepper to add some flavoring to it. 

If you are interested in making dduk guk you would gather (ingredients):

1. 2 1/2 beef, chicken, or anchovy broth
2. 1 Package of sliced Korean rice cakes (Can be found in a Korean supermarket like H-Mart)
3. 1 Tablespoon of Dashida (Korean soup stock in power-form)
4. 1 Bunch of chopped green onions
5. 12 Korean dumplings also known as mandu
6. 4 Beaten eggs (including the yolk)
7. Sesame seeds
8. 2 Sheets of Nori seaweed
9. 1 Minced garlic
10. 1/2 Chopped white onions

How to make dduk guk (directions):

1. Rinse and soak Korean rice cakes in bowl of cold water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Preparing the egg garnish:
1. Place a dab of oil on a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat and slowly pour the already beaten eggs in the pan.  
2. Immediately lift the pan and swirl the egg around.  The idea is to evenly distribute the egg so that it is a thin-sheet like that of crepes.
3. Carefully flip the egg onto it's other side.  Once fully cooked place it on a cutting board to cool off.
4. Fold the pancake-like egg into a tri-fold and cut the egg into strips.
3. Preparing the soup base:
1. Bring the beef, chicken, or anchovy broth to a boil.  Add dashida, minched garlic, chopped white onions, salt and pepper for added flavor.
2. Optional:  Add thinly sliced cooked meat into the soup. 
   Note:  Meat needs to be cooked prior to adding in to the soup base.
4. The grand finale:
1. Add Korean dumplings into the soup base.
2. Then Drain and add the sliced Korean rice cakes as well.  Boil both the dumplings and rice cakes until they tender or start to float.
3. Add the chopped green onions and cook for one minute.  
4. Remove from heat and serve in a big bowl.  Garnish it with slices of egg, sprinkle some sesame seeds, add salt and pepper (if needed), and lastly crumbled pieces of the Nori seaweed and serve.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Prepare as much dduk (Korean rice cake) as you want be make sure to eat it all without having any leftovers.  Like noodles, dduk will become very mushy, the soup thickens, and the flavor may lose it's taste.  Personally, it's better to keep the soup and the dduk seperate to maximize your taste buds!

Consider trying dduk guk in the forth coming year.

Happy New Years Everyone!

<3 Lina Chen

Guppy Tea House

Guppy Tea House is this cute little hang out off of Azusa Ave. and Colima Road in Hacienda Heights.  So what I've noticed about SoCal is that there are well-known places amongst the Asian community all throughout the Los Angeles area.  My friend Lisa lives more towards the west side of southern California and she mentioned that both her and her friends from UCLA would drive all the way out to Hacienda Heights just for a bite to eat at Guppy House which can take about 30 minutes to an hour to drive.  So when I told her I've never been there before, she immediately said "we have to go here someday."  Although Lisa has taken me to Guppy House before, we went again last night after our intense work out.

The food at Guppy House wasn't all that pleasing, but I think people mainly go there because of their famous gargantuous shaved ice and their brick toasts, which I haven't yet tried.  The setting of the restaurant itself is also kind of neat which makes it a cool spot to get together.  Once you walk in, there's a ton of trees alongside of the walls.  There are green-leafed vines hanging above with blue lights emitting from the ceiling.  At night the atmosphere is calm because of the cool hues from the blues and there are mini fish tanks mounted on the walls with all different kinds of fishes inside of them.

Lisa got the Super Spicy Dumpling Soup.  Let me tell you, this dish was no joke.  It really was super spicy.  Like super duper SPICY!  It was also very tangy and sour which I didn't like very much.  The dumplings are served separately from the noodles and soup.  Corn is set aside for those who would like the option to add it in their dish.  Both Lisa and I concluded that we didn't care for this dish because of the zesty flavor.  The ingredients really didn't work well together.  The dumplings alone weren't all that bad either.

On the side we also ordered the popcorn chicken.  I often yearn for deep-fried foods so it was no surprise to see me getting the popcorn chicken at Guppy House.  Even though there are so much to choose from, that was what I wanted in the end.  The popcorn chicken here is lightly battered and fried until golden brown.  They use pepper and garlic to flavor the chicken but also sprinkle a refined chili powder atop of the chicken while it's crispy hot.  Most places don't do that, but I think that may be the a Chinese version, which I've slowly grown accustomed to since my move here.

To see what else they have click here for a list of their entire menu!

The food there isn't all that wonderful but I do hope that the dessert's as delicious as people deem them to be, especially the brick toast and their shaved ice...  Oh well, next time.

<3 Lina Chen

P.S.  I forgot to bring my camera to the restaurant and so these images are directly from www.foodspotting.com. 

7188 Colima Road, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

626.965.7288.  www.myguppyteahouse.com