Lunch Special. You’ve got to appreciate this offering that in Asian restaurants can include a starter like this light soup with tofu, cabbage, and green onions.

And a spring roll stuffed with cabbage and carrots, to be dipped in fish sauce.

Two items that were a bit uninspired, yes, so it’s a good thing I had more of my lunch special coming to me.

Before I get to my plate, though, here’s my dining companion’s Pad See-ew.

Pan-fried, wide rice noodles with chicken, broccoli, and egg in a sweet soy sauce.

So, my plate. I’m a bit embarrassed by my order. Somehow, I don’t think you’d find this at any restaurant in Thailand:

Lunch Combo E:

Soup
Spring roll
Pad Thai with tofu
Garlic chicken
Jasmine white rice

I love the chewiness of these Pad Thai noodles.

And the crunchy contrast of the crushed peanuts.

And vibrant colors of the carrots and purple cabbage.

The fried tofu cubes also lent an interesting textural contrast.

Chicken and garlic sauce.

Chicken in garlic sauce.

Garlic sauccccce.

If something contains the adjective gourmet in its name, does that automatically make it more appealing? Something to ponder.

Along with this expiry date.

Word association and a mysterious date aside, this is what you see when you open a jar of these Taiwanese Gourmet Anchovies.

They’re just black beans and anchovies, people.

Black beans and anchovies…deep breath…in…and…out.

Extremely salty and musty black beans that have absorbed the flavor of the crispy anchovies, making them fishy-tasting as well.

I would suggest that these black beans and anchovies be eaten as an appetizer or side dish, paired with something bland like white rice because of the beans’ intense saltiness.

As I was sorting this item’s photos and continuously asking myself whether it looked gross, I realized that the third and fourth photos gave the impression that the jar contained few anchovies. I can be an oblivious photographer and because this wasn’t the truth, I took the above photo. The jar had been sitting in my refrigerator for a week, and its contents—with plenty of anchovies lining the jar’s perimeter (something else to ponder)—had congealed slightly.

So no, adding gourmet to a food’s name does not make it more appealing.

I don’t know about you, but the sight of spicy things like this chili paste sometimes makes me salivate just a little bit.

I didn’t actually use either of these condiments at the Vietnamese restaurant I ate at over the weekend. But they were sitting on the table and I wanted to photograph them and I’m a tease and…

Here we are, an order of Spring Rolls made with rice noodles, poached shrimp, pork slices, and lettuce.

A whole lotta lettuce.

These rolls had an atypical addition with their crispy wonton wrappers.

Yeah, so the lettuce-end of a roll.

The other end (remember rice noodles, poached shrimp, pork slices, lettuce, and crispy wonton wrapper?).

The sweet hoisin dipping sauce topped with crushed peanuts.

Garnishes for our entrees: bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, and chili pepper.

These are kind of fun to snack on, raw.

My friend’s Bun bo Hue.

A noodle soup comprising rice noodles, beef slices, pork slices, shrimp patty, and homemade meatball slices in a spicy broth. Topped with bean sprouts, shredded morning glory, and banana blossoms.

Okay, so the sight of spicy things sometimes gets me salivating. But the smell of pho? It always makes my mouth water. Aromatic, pho sho.

My order, a bowl of rice noodles and well-done brisket topped with chopped green onions and cilantro, and thinly sliced white onions.

I love pho and could eat it anytime. Now, if you have a few minutes to spare, check out a video of someone who loves pho as much as I do, maybe even more—food porn at some of its best.

Friends, let’s all take a moment to think about our reaction upon seeing this item.

Mine? Gasping in delight and giggling with amusement.

Someone, slap some maturity into me.

Reader Kelli introduced these Japanese cookies to me and I have to wonder why. I mean, did she deduce from reading some of my posts that I have a juvenile an offbeat sense of humor?

Anyway, I had never experienced as much anticipation about opening a box to uncover the mysterious items inside than I did with Couque D’asses.

So far, so good, because y’all know I love the convenience of individually wrapped cookies.

Couque D’asses…sounds kind of classy to an English speaker when you only think of it as a French name.

Until you look it up in Google translate. Then it’s all over.

I was nervous at this point.

And thus promptly dropped and broke my first cookie on my hardwood floor.

It’s a very delicate cookie.

Can ya see the crack that hints at the chocolate center?

Mmm…chocolate center.

This is a yummy cookie. One similar in taste to Milano Cookies, which is a good and bad thing. I like Milano ones enough that I had the Double Chocolate and the Chocolate Raspberry flavors in my cupboard when I photographed the Couque D’asses. But it would have been nice to maybe taste something different than buttery and crumbly cookie, and milk chocolate.

Oh, what am I saying?! *Self slap*

Walnut Cake, the last item of my Chinese New Year 2010 posts.

Not so much a cake as it was a candy.

Out of the 22 pieces in the package, only two had a yellow wrapper. Huh.

Does something look familiar to you?

Something like the rice-paper wrapper?

This item makes the fourth one that I’ve featured with a rice-paper wrapper. There’s also the Indonesian Ginger Candy, Japanese Botan Rice Candy, and Chinese Golden Rabbit Creamy Candy.

The candy was studded with walnuts…

that reminded me of cow spots. Candy and cows. Double huh.

Sweet like brown sugar, chewy as taffy, and interesting in flavor with its ingredient of black jujube—which tasted like red beans, I guess. And the walnuts had a soft rather than hard crunch.

Come next Chinese New Year, I won’t be getting this item again. Maybe to the Dried Persimmon. And yes to the Shredded White Coconut.

Another Chinese New Year item, one I’ve always been curious about and finally got around to trying because of this blog. The things I eat for this blog…

Dried Persimmon. The package contained seven pieces.

They were dried whole.

And covered in a white powder.

They reminded me of powdered doughnuts. I’m not surprised my mind went there.

They tasted better than I expected, as I’ve never been a big fan of dried fruits.

Sweet, and kind of like dried figs or prunes. I’m glad I gave into my curiosity, but I’m not sure I’d buy this item again.

Another year, some more red envelopes/lucky envelopes (lai see) with vibrant colors and good wishes to showcase.

This cherub-faced little girl is wishing, “Much more riches.”

And this envelope states, “Good luck every year.”

This one keeps it basic with, “Fortune.”

I don’t know which message is best…all of them seem pretty great.

Shredded White Coconut is one of the few Chinese New Year items I like to eat. It seems that a lot of the CNY things available in Asian markets right now (the holiday falls on February 14-16 this year)—the candied/dried fruits, cakes, biscuits, and candies, etc.—look better than they taste.

So I usually skip over a lot of the CNY selection and grab a container of this.

What’s beyond the gold tape?

Strips of candied coconut. Sweet and coconut-y.

These shredded pieces of coconut are actually kind of fun to eat.

Interestingly shaped strips to pick up with your fingers and pop into your mouth.

I’m not a baker but I’m thinking that if you get bored with eating this snack as-is, the coconut would make a fun (dessert) topping and add a bit of distinctive flavor to…something.

So…Honey Flavored Twist Snack…it’s what’s for breakfast?

Yeah, so I may have had a few or a dozen pieces for breakfast one day.

But you can’t really blame me.

‘Cause this snack tastes like some kind of American cereal…a crunchy and sweet and sticky one.

And who hasn’t snacked on dry cereal?

Starting with fresh Mango Juice. I think the juice was from a red-skinned mango.

Garlic Naan garnished with fresh garlic and brushed with butter. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And maybe dessert.

Steamed Basmati Rice, the perfect grains to soak up…

Chicken Tikka!!! (Yes, three exclamation points!) This dish…oh this dish. Chicken Tikka makes me want to cry tears of joy for its mere existence, and thank a deity for its deliciousness. The boneless pieces of chicken are kind of an afterthought for me, because I think this dish is all about the rich tomato and onion sauce. The sauce…oh the sauce…!!!