This was a few weeks ago when we had dinner with Christina, ET, TS and JS at Mis Trucos.

During the dinner, Christina told us that there is a Ramen Instant Noodle that tastes just exactly like what you would get at Kintaro’s. I find that hard to believe to tell the truth. Would you?

But I think Christina is a super sales woman in her past life or something like that. She is like the salesman who can sell a comb to a monk. After the dinner, the next thing she did was to send us an email with a picture of that packaging!

She was so convincing and persuasive that I felt like that monk. I just got to check that out!

The problem is the packaging is all in Japanese and we don’t even know what it is called. So, I printed the picture of the packaging (above) and went to look for it in T&T. Christina said that this could only be bought from T&T or Osaka supermarket. She even said that it is “located near the end of the aisle that is closest to the cashier and that it is on the 2nd rack from the bottom”. Aren’t you just amazed with that? LOL!

So, with the picture in hand, I went to look for it in the T&T in Metrotown after work. It was not easy looking for this because every other instant noodles bowl looked the same.

After like eternity, I finally located one that looked like it. But the box is different from the picture that Christina sent me. You know how I confirmed this is the right one? I cross checked the bar code.

I can’t read Japanese … can anyone tell how this is pronounced?

This ramen is expensive. It is $3.80 a bowl. And there was only one bowl remaining on the shelf. Despite the price, I think this particular brand must be popular.

On the way home, I deliberately stopped by the roast pork shop in Parker Place to buy a pound of roast pork. I wanted to make that ramen a bit more like Kintaro’s ramen which has char su too!

I like the roast pork from Parker Place the best. They are consistently good. Often there is a line of people waiting to buy from their roast pork. Last Chinese New Year, we waited in line for one hour (!).

Peeling back the lid, it looked just like any instant noodle bowl except that there are some dehydrated vegetables pieces (wood ear) and some kind of dehydrated meat like stuff (perhaps vegetarian meat) in it.

For flavoring, there are three sachets … one for the soup base, one with more dehydrated garnishings (green onion and sesame seed) and another with oil.

Since we could not read the Japanese instructions, we figured we just pour boiling water and then cover for 2-3 minutes.

And this is what it looked like … (more…)

Minoo gave me a piece of Himalayan Salt from her trip to Germany last October. The crystal salt is too beautiful to use it for cooking. I kept it for souvenir.

Minoo told me that a kilogram of this salt will cost about US40 if we buy it from the internet from Canada.  But, when she bought it from Germany, it only cost her about 4 Euro. What a difference in price.

Here is what Minoo shared with me about Himalayan Salt:
Pure Crystal Salt is becoming increasingly popular in the natural foods movement. The mines where “Himalayan” salt is harvested is approximately 1000 miles from the Himalayas !  It comes from the original primordial oceans that were covered up by mountains many millions of years ago. Located in remote regions of Pakistan , these mines have developed over many millions of years.

This Crystal Salt is considered by many to be the most pure and beneficial form on the planet. First, the mines were formed from waters that had NEVER been exposed to any impurities. It has had millions of years to mature under great tectonic pressure, far from exposure to any form of environmental pollution.

Unfortunately, even the highest quality sea salts can have picked harmful pollutants and heavy metals from the ocean in which they are harvested and dried. Moreover, the salts can contain trace amounts of sharp pieces of sand, which can be irritating to both the villi in the intestinal tract and the delicate cells of our body.

Secondly, all of Himalayan salt’s eighty-four minerals and trace elements are available in colloidal form . Having continually been pressurized and reduced in size for millions of years, the minerals have become colloidal in size, one of the smallest bioavailable forms minerals can take. This means that such necessary minerals as sodium, calcium and magnesium as well as trace minerals are readily absorbed and utilized by the body.

One might wonder if this form salt poses health risks for those with high blood pressure or kidney problems. (more…)

We have more samples delivered to our home.

This time it came from Mad About Food. We heard of them before. They are the gourmet food gift basket company.

Over the long weekend, Suanne and I had a little project to put into practice a couple of practical tips of taking food pictures. We learned this from Sea Salt With Food whose site traffic stands head and shoulders above every Vancouver blogs we know from the strength of her pictures.  [So, Angie, how are these shots?]

The above is Vegetarian Antipasto on Savory Crackers. We topped it with Goat Cheese. Yummy.

This is always a Canadian entertaining appetizer staple. It had a savoury blend of vegetables and spices prepared in small batches. You can also add to pasta sauce or even use it as a sandwich spread, if you want.

We also had Tomato Chutney, similarly topped with Goat Cheese. The chutney has a pleasant, bright flavour.

It is versatile and is really intended to enhance pork, chicken and fish. You can also use this to cover the top of a wheel of brie and bake. That I got to try someday. How about blending this with cream cheese for an appealing appetizer?

Jules+Kent is the latest product line launched by Mad About Food. It is a range of specialty sauces that are locally-made.

Mad About Food also launched another range of “honey” products at the same time.

The Nutty Hazel Honey is great.  I had never tried nuts with honey before. It is organic BC hazelnuts combined with pure, unpasteurized Canadian honey. It is part of the new line of products called Undercurrents.

All these and more came in a nice practical gift basket like this. (more…)