So I really like the mandarin orange chicken that comes in the frozen packages at Trader Joe’s. I tried the teriyaki chicken once, and it was gross. But I thought I’d give the Tempura Chicken with Sweet and Sour sauce a go. I’m not sure why they call it that, because it’s basically sweet and sour chicken, the kind you would get at your local chinese take-out. But for whatever reason, tj’s decided to slap a japanese name on it. It even says “Trader Joe San” at the top, which is clearly japanese. Do they think chinese and japanese are the same? Well, it’s slightly offensive, but I’m quick to forgive because it tastes freakin good. It really does taste just like sweet and sour chicken.
It’s pretty easy to make. You either heat up the chicken pieces in the oven or pan fry it. Then you heat up the sauce in the microwave and drizzle it over the chicken pieces. It doesn’t get much easier than that, aside from ordering in. And even though I could order this from my neighborhood chinese joint, there’s something about “making” it myself that makes me feel better. As if I’d made it myself, even though clearly, I haven’t. But I’ll take whatever credit I can pretend to give myself. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m much better at eating than cooking.

After my long flight, I was still extremely hungry. The last full meal was about 9 hours before and the snack had only made my shakes go away. I needed real food, stat. And some groceries, so we headed out to H Mart to take care of both. I keep telling H/A that he should break out of his mold and get something besides bulgogi or galbi when he eats korean. But then he ends up ordering bulgogi, like in this case, and then regrets it. I mean this wasn’t bad, but it was fairly boring. And it really wasn’t the best gulgogi out there. It was just super sweet. The banchan wasn’t that great either.
I can also be a creature of habit when it comes to eating. A few weeks ago I had eaten the jjamppong by itself. And a few weeks before that I’d eaten the chajangmyun by itself. This time, I wanted both, so I got both. I love these little dual compartment bowls. I love trying everything, so this is one of my favorite dishes at the good ol H Mart food court. I wish all restaurants would let you have two half portions of all dishes instead of just one.  I’ve never ordered anything from the japanese/sushi spot at H Mart. This was from awhile back when I was at H Mart with my mom and she got the udon. Look how beautiful it is! Next time, I’m eating this!

Welcome back to another installment of boozings, where we try all of Philly’s Top 15 Drinks! Next up we go to Kong, for the Kowloon Taxi. It is concocted with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, Ketel One vodka and cranberry juice, mixed with muddled fresh ginger and orange slices, and served straight up in a martini glass, garnished with stirrer full of candied ginger.
I was actually dreading having to drink this because I’m not the biggest fan of ginger. I like when ginger is used as a flavoring (ginger powder, crushed / minced ginger), but I don’t actually like it being visible in my food. There’s nothing I dread more than biting into a hunk of ginger. The pickled ginger that comes with sushi? I don’t touch the stuff. That’s why I was so surprised to like this drink. Seriously. This ginger-phobe liked this ginger based cocktail! It’s very gingery and spicy, but not in the campfire way that the chile infused drink was. It’s spicy in the gingery way. And incredibly strong as well. As I kept on drinking it, the ginger flavor became less offensive, and I really started to enjoy it. I still did not like it when I actually bit into a hunk of ginger, which thankfully only happened once. And the candied ginger that came on the stirrer, I even took little bites of that and enjoyed it a little bit. But I still can’t see myself ever just eating candied ginger for fun.

I’d never been to Kong before but on this monday night, it was completely deserted, which made me a bit sad. The place is beyond beautiful. I have read mixed reviews about the food, which is probably why the place was so empty, but perhaps the location in Northern Liberties isn’t the best for a place like Kong. If this place was in chinatown, it would probably be packed every night.

Ok, 8 down, 7 more to go!