Daisy

Grady

Most cities have dog parks, an idea which shows good sensitivity on the part of local government to the needs of its citizens. Here’s a list of Pet Friendly Places to Play with Your Pet in Florida.

Here’s the official list of St. Petersburg dog parks: St. Pete Dog Parks. Here’s an unofficial list of the same information at Pets Welcome.

Here’s the official list for Hillsborough County (where Tampa is), dog parks, and an unofficial list for Tampa, Dogster.

Almost all the above sites also have information on other cities within the greater Tampa Bay area. Here are a few more:

• DogparkUSA
• For the Voiceless
• Pet Friendly beaches

You’ll notice that dog parks come in varieties–just as dogs do! There’s leashless parks where they’re free to run. But, there are some parks where they must be on a leash at all times. There are parks that are primarily for the dogs and parks that are primarily for people, but allow dogs. Of course, there are pet friendly beaches as well as parks. Some parks have runs for big dogs separate from runs for little dogs.

Even if you’re petless, find a friend with a dog, and tag along to a dog park. The experience draws you out of yourself as you watch these rascals play together.

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Spring officially began yesterday at 7:44am. But those of us with allergies, especially oak allergies, already knew it was here. My apologies for the brevity of this morning’s post, but my army of antihistamines, decongestants, cough syrups, eye drops, expectorants, and analgesics has been totally overwhelmed by this year’s high pollen count.

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But, a trial though they are for some of us at this time of the year, you can’t help but admire the beauty of the massive, gnarly spreading oaks (and their yellow spawn covering cars and sinuses cavities) and the south’s many, beautiful, flowering trees.

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Pear, cherry, dogwood, magnolia, and many other types of flowering trees are all blooming now. So, today the best I can do is present a few pictures I snapped of some up in Atlanta last week…and go open a new box of tissue.

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Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a city park in Atlanta with my son and feed the bevy of ducks that live there. At the time, I didn’t know that it’s not good to feed ducks bread, which is what we had. I’ve since discovered that white bread and some seeds cause problems for ducks (see ducks unlimited). But…now I know. The next time I go to commune with the ducks, I’ll take the proper feed (cracked corn or wheat or chick starter from a pet store).

That issue aside, the pleasure of being outdoors, photographing some delightful creatures, and enjoying the spring air makes feeding ducks a simple, inexpensive pleasure, alone or with loved ones. Once I get the proper supplies, I plan to feed some ducks here in St. Pete, too. Most of our city parks have resident ducks. I know for sure that Lake Maggiore and Lake Vista parks both do; I think I remember seeing them on Round Lake and Mirror Lake, as well.

I’m not too sure of the distinction between wild and pet ducks, at least as it applies to ducks in parks. Park ducks seem to be in a category somewhere between wild and domesticated. Probably closer to domesticated, I would think, since they don’t seem to migrate, but live at the same lake all the time. The reason this matters is that the guidelines for what to feed wild ducks is different as opposed to the proper feed for domestic ducks. Everything I’ve read discourages feeding wild ducks anything at all.

As you can see from the photos this particular pond had several types of ducks as well as some geese. (At least, I think they’re geese. If not, please let me know.) I’m not expert enough to know the differences among the different ducks, but here’s a few websites with information on identifying different types of waterfowl:

• Green Nature
• Ducks at a Distance
• Bird Watcher’s Digest
• Florida’s Waterfowl
• Georgia Wildlife

Really, this post is only about how much fun it is to feed and photograph ducks. So, I’ll end the post on a fun note the way the Mitch Miller show used to end when I was a kid (sung to the tune of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever:

Be kind to your fine feathered friends
For a duck may be somebody’s mother
Be kind to your friends in the swamp
Where the weather is very, very damp [pronounced to rhyme with "swamp"]
Now, you may think that this is the end…
WELL, IT IS! [abrupt cut to closing credits]

All photos in this post are of
the Gwinnet International Farmers’ Market in Atlanta

International Markets

What to Expect

All too often, we pass by the opportunity to try something new, not because we’re afraid, but simply because we don’t know what to do, or what’s expected of us. We don’t like making some little mistake that betrays our ignorance or that puts us, or someone else, in an awkward position. It’s simply a matter of unfamiliarity. So we drive on by the interesting looking store, or we glance over the unusual menu item and, once again, for the hundredth time, take the known instead of the unknown.

It’s understandable. Unless you’re a veteran culinary adventurer, when you walk into an international market, you’re going to be confronted by what may be for you a bewildering array of canned foods and beverages with names you’ve never heard of, if you can even read them. You may see packages of foods with, if you’re lucky, at least one word in English you understand: seaweed, for instance (yes, the stuff you have to step over on the beach).

There will be strange utensils, forbidding pots and pans, and even small stoves and braziers in shapes and designs you can’t quite figure out. As you pass the produce department you’ll see fruits and vegetables that seem as if they’re from an alien planet. Farther back, in the meat department, you’ll discover that much of the seafood is still living and that the fowl hanging there look all too recently alive.

But, that’s the fun part. Then comes the real test. If for no other reason than you don’t want to appear cheap, you want to buy something…anything! What to buy?! That’s what I’m after, today: helping the inexperienced international shopper/eater. I want to give you a few ideas of what to buy when you visit an international market. [If you already enjoy and know a lot about international foods, please add your own suggestions for novice international shoppers in the comment section. Your comments & suggestions will definitely be appreciated.]

Things to Try

Here are some things to try. I’ve tried to come up with a short list of foods to buy that you can prepare at home with the kitchen gadgets and supplies you already have. At most, you might need to buy a prepared spice. The cooking times on all of these are extremely short. In fact, most ethnic cooking times, especially Asian, are lightening fast, which is why it’s helpful to prepare your ingredients before you start (what the French call “mis en place” because there are no leisure moments once you put the first item in the pan to cook!

Noodles

Asian noodles come in more varieties than western noodles. One of my favorites is the soba buckwheat noodle. Prepare these by just bringing to a boil until soft, drain, and put into any hot broth or soup. My other favorites are rice noodles and cellophane noodles. Soak (not cook) these in hot water until they’re soft, then dump into your skillet after you’ve cooked up some veggies (and maybe a little meat) in any sort of sauce and mix well. This is how the Italians add their pasta to the dish by mixing the noodles right in the skillet–not American style “Italian” where the sauce is poured over naked noodles.

Other good noodles to buy are the soft, fresh refrigerated wheat noodles that are used for lo mein dishes. You can use these just as you would soba or rice noodles, adding them to any stir fry or soup. There is no “wrong” way to do this. A friend once used a wonderful expression: the “Food Police.” Don’t be afraid of the food police. Don’t worry about the exact kind of noodle you buy or about trying to prepare them “authentically”…just try it. Remember, don’t be afraid of the Food Police!

Kelp

Seaweed hasn’t been part of the American diet until sushi invaded the country. But there’s more to seaweed than the thin sheets of nori that are wrapped around a makizushi roll. There’s a staggering variety of seaweeds that I don’t pretend to be an authority on. I just buy various kinds at random and try them in soups and in salads. From the big wheels of pressed seaweed, I tear off a handful, rinse it under the faucet, and tear into smaller clumps that I drop in soups just before serving. The large hard planks of seaweed I cut into smaller pieces with kitchen shears and add to a soup or stir-fry at the beginning to give it time to become really soft.

Also try prepared seaweed based seasonings. I highly recommend them to you as your starting point for getting acquainted with seaweed–in part because the seaweed seasonings are easy to use and have added flavorings, such as sesame, with which you will already be familiar. Try this: buy some Nori Furikake and use it to coat some cut-up chicken or fish before you grill them. Or, just shake some on top of some rice. Don’t be surprised if you see other variations on the shelf right next to the Nori Furikake. I promise you’ll be back to try those, eventually. Or, you might try a low calorie, low carb snack such as Tao Kae Noi which are small thin sheets of highly seasoned, pressed seaweed. There are many varieties of these kinds of snacks as well. That’s fortunate, since they are totally addicting.

Mushrooms

Other cultures use a greater variety of mushrooms than western foods do. In fact, once you get started on eating new foods, you’ll probably reach the same conclusion I have, that the same ol’, same ol’, mid-America menu is extremely limited. A good place to start with the variety of mushrooms that exist is with the packaged, dried mushrooms. The exact kind doesn’t matter. Just take a handful of the dried mushrooms out of the package and soak them in hot water until they’re soft. Add them to any dish you’re preparing (doesn’t need to be an Asian recipe). I suggest the dried mushroom because they keep a lot longer. Even refrigerated, fresh mushroom spoil rapidly, so if you buy the dried ones, they’ll be good for a long while.

Fruits

No matter how much I love it, I would not start exploring Asian fruits with durian (mentioned in my Atlanta Super H Mart post). But, I definitely would recommend you look for Asian pears. They’re super crisp with a brisk taste. They usually come individually wrapped in little stretchy perforated foam “socks.” They’re more round than pear shaped. In fact, if you were to buy only one item on your first foray into an international market, I would recommend you start with an Asian pear.

If you’re interested in an Asian fruit that doesn’t spoil quickly and that is a nice treat at the end of a dinner when you’re having guests over, try canned lychee (pronounced “lee-chee”). Extremely sweet, just chill in their canned juice and serve two or three to a person. They’re too rich to eat more than a few.

Beverages

As you walk along the aisles of strange and unfamiliar canned items, you’ll discover a greater number of different canned beverages than are available in typical western stores. Many are fruit juiced based, such as jackfruit juice, in cans or cartons. There are mango drinks, papaya drinks, many different kinds of coconut milk based drinks. And—my weakness: canned teas. Yes, you can make your own tea at home (and should!), but a cold can of unsweetened green or oolong tea is better than anything. And you can drink a 6 pack of them and still be able to hold a coherent conversation. There are a variety of brands, some including ginseng (an herb that gives a gentle energy boost), but my favorite brand is Itoen (Itoen Green Tea and Itoen Oolong Tea).

If you’re interested in what kinds of bulk tea to buy, to make either home-brewed hot or cold tea, I recommend these websites which explore the types of teas which range—basically—from white tea (which is completely unfermented), through green tea, on to oolong tea, through black, to the wine-like pu-erh tea. Each of the basic types have their own unique flavor and, research is beginning to show, their own unique health benefits. See The Tea Farm (I order from them, often) and In Pursuit of Tea.

Tofu & Soy

Although most of us aren’t going vegetarian, we’re discovering that a meatless meal once a day stretches the food budget. One way to do this is with tofu. If you’ve tried tofu and hated it, try some of the prepared grilled tofu which has a prepared spicy coating (look in the refrigerated section where other soy items are kept). Cube it and drop and mix into salads. I think you’ll like it. Or, stretch an avocado with silken tofu to make truly wonderful guacamole. Try adding little chunks of extra firm tofu to soup or to scrambled eggs!

Ultimately, the secret to using tofu is to realize that it’s totally tasteless. It adds protein to a dish that has a strong flavor all its own. The tofu will take on that flavor. If there’s no flavorful sauce, the tofu won’t have any taste. It’s not your fault…no one would like tofu just by itself! Tofu can also be fried, but I leave that to the restaurants who are set up to do it that way.

Miso paste, a soy product, as is tofu, is a paste that one ads to water to make a protein rich, flavorful broth soup. A friend of mine makes a gentle breakfast of miso soup for himself every morning. Also try crumbling up just a couple southern style good ol’ boy fried pork rinds from the 7-Eleven and throwing them in your miso soup at the last minute. Adds extra flavor and interest.

Doing Your Homework

Vegetables

When it comes to vegetables, I suggest you actually begin your international shopping spree by doing some “homework” in area restaurants. Try some new vegetables and/or new ways of preparing old ones at different types of ethnic restaurants. When you find one you enjoy, track it down at a local market. Go to this page: Urbanspoon. You may have noticed their icon at the bottom of many of my posts, linking to my reviews on their site. They also have a good list of area restaurants for the Tampabay area by ethnicity.

Yuca

In Tampabay, we are fortunate to have many well prepared “foreign” vegetables at any one of the many good Latin restaurants. Start with yuca, a root vegetable not to be confused with yucca, a cactus-like shrub. You can find yuca on any Latin menu in Tampa.

Rice

Try a Korean restaurant, an authentic Chinese restaurant, an Indian restaurant, and a Thai restaurant, then compare the rice in all four! The Korean rice—my favorite, actually–seems to stick together the most; the Thai about the same, Chinese less so, and the Indian almost not at all. This isn’t only due to the manner of preparation, but also the exact variety of rice and where it was grown.

Other veggies

While you’re conducting your rice experiment, try these vegetables in each of those ethnic restaurants: in a Korean restaurant, try the kimchi (fermented cabbage) and the jeon (Korean potato pancake). They are very mild, very fragrant, very delicious. At a Jewish deli, such as the Lucky Dill in downtown St. Pete (277 Central Ave.; 727-895-5859), compare the Korean potato pancakes with their cousins the Jewish latkas (Jewish potato pancakes).

In any authentic Chinese restaurant such as ABC Seafood in St. Petersburg (2705 54th Ave. N., St Petersburg, FL 33714; 727-522-1888), ask for a side dish of bok choy, however they want to prepare it. In an Indian restaurant, try any dish with cauliflower in it. If you’ve always hated cauliflower you might change your mind when you’ve had it prepared Indian style. In a Thai restaurant, try a casserole that has eggplant in it. Thai and Chinese dishes made with eggplant (usually using the narrow, long Asian style eggplants) are THE way to learn to enjoy eggplant. In a Vietnamese restaurant, try the green papaya salad.

Don’t stop with Asian restaurants! In a Russian restaurant (yes, there is one in St. Pete: Russian Nights), try the shchi (cold sauerkraut soup) or borscht (beet soup). In any of the numerous Greek restaurants in the area try the dolma (stuffed grape leaves) or the spanakopita (spinach pie). In a Middle Eastern restaurant try the baba ghannouj, hummus, jajik (cucumber salad), or falafel. I usually think Asian cuisine is my favorite, but I just realized that’s not entirely true, actually…I think it may be Middle Eastern cuisine that is my favorite!.

The operative word in this entire post, is “try.” Just try these dishes. If you really detest them, don’t even bother to finish them. But, if you come up with a “maybe,” then try them again in a different restaurant. If you decide you like the dish, find an international market, buy the item, look up the recipe, and try it at home. All foods—especially ethnic foods—have their origins in the home. They are meant to be prepared by mere mortals (not highly trained chefs). The suggestions above, I’ve not picked arbitrarily. They’re dishes that I can pretty well predict you’ll enjoy, that are available in almost all restaurants of that particular nationality, and don’t involve ingredients that will scare you.

Prepared Spice Pastes

Canned goods really shine, especially in international cuisine, with prepared spices and pastes. There will usually be an entire part of an aisle devoted to them. Don’t be afraid to ask for advise as to which to buy. Most of the spices will actually make suggestions as to what to prepare with them, such as meat, or fish, or vegetables. When in doubt, ask. With any of the spice pastes, put a little oil in the bottom of your skillet. As it begins to heat up, add your spice paste and “cook” the spices a little, then add your ingredients.

Seafood

Remember how it is that kids get turned off of their veggies: mainly it’s because the vegetables are prepared so poorly…same when it comes to any new foods The trick, definitely, of learning to enjoy new foods is excellent preparation. For a long time, I was of the mind that I hated squid until I had some GOOD calamari at Bernini’s, a fancy restaurant down in Tampa’s Ybor City. That experience changed my mind about calamari, and now I seek it out elsewhere. Try calamari as a way to begin widening your tastes for new seafoods.

Nifty Products You Might Even Find at Publix

The free market system has finally awakened to the new market for international foods because of the burgeoning immigrant population. Although the international markets are not about to be replaced by Publix, “regular” supermarkets have expanded their ethnic selections. Publix, for instance has an English section where you can get REAL Mars bars, HP Sauce (try this on any fried fish!), and various English canned desserts. For Indian foods, Sweetbay’s now carries at least four different kinds of lentils and a huge variety Patak’s pastes and pickles (hot relishes). There are a number of prepared Thai meals—not all that good, but OK in a pinch. As well as Jewish items and some Mexican food supplies beyond taco shells!

Online Ordering

If you don’t live near a market that carries international foods, almost all of them can be ordered online. Here are just a tiny, tiny sampling of what’s available online.
spices
• Penzeys Spices
Thai
• Temple of Thai
• Thai Market Online
UK
• British food – shipped around the world
• UK Goods
World
• World Food
• ImportFood.com
Indian
• Pataks

This post, the one before it, and the next one, all concern three Asian culinary treats I recently explored in Atlanta with my son who lives there. The last post mentioned kimchi and banchan. Those, of course, were a part of our meal at Atlanta’s Seoul Gardens Korean & Japanese Restaurant (5938 Buford Hwy NE, Doraville, GA 30340-1332; 770-452-0123).

We’d been to another restaurant in this same building ages ago, long before it was a Korean restaurant. At that time, it was a typical suburban Friday’s inspired fern bar. The Seoul Gardens owners who bought the building transformed it into a quiet respite from Atlanta’s traffic. The privacy provided by the booths create an intimate atmosphere. But the open, at-table barbeque grills enliven the ambiance. A very inviting place. As my son might say, “A good place to take a date.”

This was our second time eating at Seoul Garden and we both had the same dish again: Bulgogi. I’d become addicted to bulgogi at the Sa Ri One in Tampa (discussed much farther down the page), so I’d been anxious to compare the dish with how it’s prepared at Seoul Gardens. They were obviously made from entirely different recipes. The two versions were so dissimilar, I would never guess they were named the same. The Tampa Sa Ri One version has a heavier sauce and is a lot spicier. The Atlanta Seoul Gardens version has no sauce, but is sweet, and had obviously been marinated much longer. I love both versions! I truthfully don’t know enough to compare either version to how it might be authentically made in Korea.

It should be no surprise that the recipes for bulgogi available on the Internet are as varied as my two experiences with it; however, they all seem to share a few basic ingredients: soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper and onions. Plus, one unusual key ingredient to be revealed shortly!

A few, representative recipe links:

• http://mylittlecyberspot.aminus3.com/image/2005-04-04.html
• http://www.recipezaar.com/157213
• http://www.bigoven.com/160319-Bulgogi-recipe.html
• and countless others!

maangchi.com is a vast website about Korean food that simply must not be missed. It’s the definitive source of information about, and photos of, Korean food. She also has a blog. Here are a couple other Korean food blogs I subscribe to: Seoul Eats, whose author I quote a little later, and Food Korea. You might also enjoy this interesting article of observations on the Do’s and Don’t’s of eating Korean barbeque.

When I lived in Honolulu, a friend introduced me to the whole at-table barbeque thing. The number of Korean barbeques in Honolulu is staggering. Check out this list at Chowbaby. My favorite one in Honolulu had, as does Seoul Garden in Atlanta, at-table grills: shallow wok shaped grills set into holes in the centers of the tables. Sometimes these grills are heated by gas (as it was in my Honolulu favorite), sometimes, electricity. At Seoul Garden, the meat is brought to the table for you to grill yourself. At the Honolulu one, the meats were available in a long buffet of various raw meats, from which you chose the meat to take to your table to grill. A buffet of raw meats is a little intimidating, even to a guilty carnivore such as myself. (All due respects and acknowledgments for that expression, “guilty carnivore,” the title of one of my favorite, non-Korean-food blogs: Guilty Carnivore. It’s such an inspired title, it sums up my own food attitudes: I would love to be a vegetarian but just can’t, for whatever reason.)

The experience of getting to cook your own meat at your own table is a lot of fun. One bit of clarification. Bulgogi is a Korean barbeque, but not all Korean barbeques are bulgogi! (For a further discussion of syllogisms, see Aristotle). See this Wikipedia page for a full discussion of Korean barbeque. Further, the times I’ve had bulgogi it was served as an already cooked entree. The at-table barbeque meals I’ve had were all non-marinated meat Korean barbeques. Bulgogi is definitely a marinade in all recipes I’ve seen.

I asked Daniel Gray of Seoul Eats for clarification of this. Here is what he wrote: “Bulgogi is a marinated thinly sliced beef that’s grilled. It is a form of Korean BBQ. Essentially anything on the grill is BBQ. As for spelling, EVERYTHING is misspelled in Korea. The Korean name “Lee” is really pronounced “Eee” but people spell it like, “Rhee, Ree, Yee, etc.” I’ve seen bulgogi spelled “pulgogi” here. [Daniel is in Korea teaching English as a second language.] Real bulgogi is meat marinated with Asian pear, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and a little wine. It’s all about the Asian Pear.”

To my knowledge, there is no sit-down Korean restaurant in St. Petersburg, but there are at least 5 on the Tampa side of the bay. My absolute favorite at which I’ve eaten many times is Sa Ri One Korean Restaurant (3940 W. Cypress St., Tampa, FL 33607;813-874-2911). I’ve also eaten at Coreawon (926 East Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33612; 813-866-8262), but since I tend to favor smaller, cozier, family owned and operated places, I prefer Sa Ri One.

I’ve eaten several times at Matoi Sushi (602 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33609;813-871-3233). Although the name stresses sushi, they have a rather large number of Korean dishes, all good. There are two other restaurants I have yet to try but intend to soon. The first is Rice Restaurant & Lounge (7525 West Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL 33615-4103; 813-889-7766), which has the at-table barbeques. A very web savvy restaurant, they publish PDFs of their menus and even provide an off-site link with excellent information about Korean cuisine.

The other Tampa restaurant I have yet to try is Soul of Korea (7612 N. 56th St., Tampa, FL 33617; 813-989-9030‎). I’m also trying to track down a restaurant out on Waters where a Korean friend took me and a visiting educator from Korea for a lunar new year’s dinner (with the traditional new year’s soup). It was packed and I was the only non-Korean eating there. (A sure sign the food is good.) If I can ever relocate this place, I’ll report on it…after I finish having some more of that spectacular soup! If you know the name of this restaurant or even if it’s still in existence, please comment!

St. Petersburg does have Dong A Market (2600 30th Ave. N., Saint Petersburg, FL 33713; 727-321-3300), which carries some packaged Korean meals. I haven’t yet tried Dong A.

One parting, additional comment about Atlanta’s Seoul Gardens: their fried rice is simply—without exaggeration—the best I’ve ever had in my life. I can’t explain it. The flavor is elusive and multi-layered. I had no idea such a simple dish could be so good. I have a new quest: discovering other restaurants with fried rice as good as that at Atlanta’s Seoul Gardens.

Please take just a second and click on this link: Super H Mart. Thanks! Neat, huh? That’s the main page for a Korean grocery store chain that I truly, truly wish had a branch in Tampabay. Now, if you haven’t already done so, return to that link and in the upper right hand corner, click on the word, “English” and explore the site a bit. [Patiently waiting while Leroy Anderson’s “Syncopated Clock” plays in the background...can’t remember how it goes? Sure you do: listen to a sample of it HERE.] I hope you enjoyed your exploration of the Super H Mart website; I certainly enjoyed exploring a bricks-and-mortar store of theirs when, recently, I visited my son, who lives in Atlanta.

My son shares my enthusiasm for things Asian, including Asian food. We spent one whole day together trooping around part of the city, checking out different international markets and restaurants. I don’t know if he shares my enthusiasm for durian—the fruit pictured above near the entrance to Super H Mart. I absolutely adore durian in every form, including milkshakes. The only problem is, its smell is so foul (!) that there are signs all over hotels in Asia prohibiting taking any to your room! Even when just having a durian milkshake in a restaurant, other nearby customers glare at you and, when you order it, the waiter always asks, “Are you sure?!”

The Super H Mart has a food court that, as you can see, is extensive. What you can’t see so easily is that all of the foods are Korean cuisine. Even Korean restaurants—which, sadly, are few in Tampabay (although there are a couple to be covered in the future)—never offer as wide a selection of dishes as this food court. One could eat there daily for a month and not repeat a choice. All the foods are freshly, and continuously, prepared.

Even though my son and I limited our adventures to just a small section of Atlanta near his home, we still didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Atlanta is definitely a cosmopolitan city. Although the U.S. Census Bureau gives the Asian population of the city of Atlanta as only 1.9%, judging from the number of commercial establishments, it seems much larger. That may be because there is a relatively large number of foreign born citizens in Atlanta (6.6% of the population) who, perhaps, have an intense interest in preserving–duplicating even–the familiar resources of their original homelands.

Whatever the reason, Atlanta’s diverse population is very much in evidence, especially when it comes to food. For that reason, today’s post, and the next two, are going to cover three gems from Atlanta’s bounty of wonderful ethnic culinary treasures.

Pictured above are live (very much alive) crabs that one may choose, take home alive, and boil alive for supper. Live seafood is not at all unusual in Asian markets. Nor, for that matter, unusual in Asian restaurants. At China Yuan over in Tampa—to be covered in a coming post—you can ask for the live, swimming eel of your choice to be prepared for your dinner. Of course, live lobsters are commonplace in even non-Asian seafood restaurants. Buying and boiling live crustaceans was a common event along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi when I was a youth. It still is in certain parts of the coast and over in Louisiana.

Although there is a world-wide shortage of rice, there is certainly no shortage of rice steamers at the Super H Mart. I think it may be time to replace my own soon…wonder if there’s an under-the-counter model to conserve countertop space!

This sweet, wonderful woman agreed, happily, to pose for us and to be pictured in my blog. She was selling an assortment of fresh, sweet sticky rice cakes. If you ever have the chance to try sticky rice, please do yourself a favor and buy extra. You’re more likely to see it advertised as mochi (the Japanese word for it) than as hangul (the Korean word) or even “sticky rice.” Asian desserts are excruciatingly SWEET! Mochi is no exception. I enjoyed it far too often while living in Hawaii where it is much too readily available to us carb addicts.

Hey…what do you expect?! It’s a Korean supermarket. That’s an entire wall of kimchi! Kimchi is fermented and highly seasoned cabbage. Wonderful stuff. (Do take into consideration that that opinion is from someone who likes to drink sauerkraut juice!) Kimchi is just one of the many vegetable side dishes (usually at least 6) that are served with all Korean meals. These dishes are called banchan. Banchan is THE primary reason I enjoy eating at Korean restaurants. (Talk about getting your fiber!) Coming soon will be more on my ethnic culinary adventures in Atlanta with my son, including an outstanding Korean restaurant there…and lots of kimchi!