Half+Half

Chef Profile Restaurant Recap Travel Vietnamese Food

Restaurant Profile: CôBa

After spending a few days in London eating, it might be time to stop picking on the Brits. Before I ever came to London I’d keep hearing that the food was terrible. Bland, tasteless, and overpriced. Even Miko, who lived there for a while, refused to eat any of the Asian food (except South Asian, which she claimed was “the best”) because it was so bad. But the past few years there’s been a new food appreciation and much more creative culinary spots to check out.

And after everything I experienced at CôBa I can safely say that delicious food has definitely landed in London!

Located off the touristy path of King’s Cross, across from a hole-in-the-wall fry joint, and down a few bus stops lies CôBa. Our amazing hosts, Luke and Jasper, had talked up this place over our conversations about a quick visit to London. It was described as “the best Vietnamese food in London, especially the lamb. Vietnamese flavors with Australian bar-b-cue techniques.” The idea was something that I had not come across before but what a wonderful combination! Charred, rich meats served with crunchy veggies, dipping sauces and acidic pickles immediately caught my attention; the delivery of all these elements is something that I believe Southeast Asian cuisine has mastered. The interplay of these variables is the biggest theme I have found so amazing about Southeast Asian foods, also making them so exciting. I’ve eaten this type of food my whole life with my friends and their families, and have been learning to cook it more and more, but getting this dining experience from a true master of the cuisine was such a great experience.

Environment

The non-descript outer building made for a great impression once inside. Large windows, and wonderful light fixtures helped to set the atmosphere of a cafe. We sat in the middle of the dining room in a large table, enough for 8 and were the closest to the bar. There were a few cozy booths, a large window corner table and a low bar against the street facing window. Lots of wood, brassy light fixtures helped to warm up the space especially on those cold London nights.

Drinks

One of the first things we had been told about this place was that the drink menu received an equal amount of attention as the food. We started our visit with a cocktail (as any wonderful meal should), Miko opted for the Mamarita which was a wonderful blend of jalapeno, paprika tequila, agave syrup, blood orange, lime (she likes spicy drinks). I opted for the Thyme is Money Whisky Sour built with whisky, apricot jam, thyme, lemon bitters, egg. It was a cool and subtle drink that made me feel like I was drinking outside in the sun.

The Delicious, Delicious Food

We started with the appetizers and all were delicious with one major standout—the BBQ Lamb Cutlets!!! This was the best lamb I’ve ever eaten. Bones on and all, you just grab and bite. When you come here, eat these. I will pay for your dish if you are not satisfied; they are so awesome. The papaya salad was super tasty, and spicy! The more I ate, the more excited I became for my main course!

Any foods that come in a bowl are more than welcome in my world, especially when its filled with noodles. When the Lemongrass BBQ Pork Noodle Salad arrived I got to mixing the slightly charred pork, chopped veggies and limes. Along with the pork you could also choose from chicken, beef, prawns and veggies. The Duck Ramen was balanced and lighter than I imagined it would be. It was the first time I had tasted anything with that flavor profile, it was sweet and a hint of licorice from the star anise. We also tried a bite of the veggie noodle bowl that featured a perfectly charred set of Okra and assorted peppers.

The empty dishes from our main course left the table and wine glasses were filled up and dessert was ordered for us. Two servings of a Passionfruit Panna Cotta, that came in a small glass jar. The top of the Italian dessert was covered in a tart sauce of the passion fruit and a few seeds for texture. It was a wonderful way to end the meal not to mention a ‘cheeky’ glass of sparkling wine for good measure.

The Man Behind it All

Let me introduce the man behind Cô Ba’s success: Damon Bui is the leader behind the popular Vietnamese ‘Table for 10’ supper club that had been his hard work for years before CôBa became what it is today. CôBa (meaning ‘Auntie Number Three’) is working to shape what Vietnamese food can be, honoring tradition by using particular flavor profiles but adding a twist that reflects the reality of the chef. Damon grew up in Australia and his story of food culture is much like other children of immigrants: food at home was from his parents homeland and food outside of the home was the country’s influence. He created a supper club and started cooking there, thus beginning his work as a chef.

We were lucky enough to be introduced to him through our mutual friends and got to ask him a few questions about CôBa and life!

Who was the person who taught you to cook?
Mum. As like most Asian kids, I helped out in the kitchen from a young age but it was when I decided to come to London that I made my mum teach me how to cook properly. Nothing like knowing you won’t have mum’s cooking to motivate you! 🙂

Your Favorite ingredient right now?
As a Vietnamese, fish sauce – it is life. All. The. Time. I even use it in my spag bol for extra umami. [Editor’s Note: we feel this. In our hearts. <3]

What should people know about CôBa?

When I am retired, there will be a CôBa somewhere less frenetic and I’ll be doing the same thing but at a slower pace. It is a labour of love.

What do you cook for yourself?
Roasts. When I have the time, I am obsessed with roasts especially pork or lamb whether in the oven or more experimentally in the smoker.

When do you know that you have a dish that is ready to be served at CôBa?
There is an aha moment where I’m like ‘yeah I’d pay for this and come back next week to have the same thing again’. Then I test it on MJ and friends.

This was hands-down some of the best Vietnamese food I’ve had anywhere, so do make sure and try it when you’re in London. Thank you to Damon for the hospitality and to Luke and Jasper for introducing us to one of our new favorite restaurants!

CôBa
244 York Way, London N7 9AG, UK
cobarestaurant.co.uk

June 28, 2017 0 comment

Travel

Justin Hates Olives: A Barcelona Love Story

written by Miko Russell

Justin hates olives. A lot. I can’t understand why because I absolutely love them. As a kid I’d put black olives from the can onto my fingers and bite them off, which seems like a pretty common kid (or grownup?) thing to do. However, on our very first date we were at a bar and I ordered some olives to snack on and Justin ate one. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, other than ‘why isn’t he eating more of these olives?’ but it turns out he hated them (duh) and was trying to act cool in front of me (aww). In Barcelona olives are plentiful and much more delicious than in Seattle, so I took this as an opportunity to force Justin to try them over and over again in the hopes that he will someday enjoy them.

This comes with one caveat: I’m no expert on olive varieties and only know the obvious kinds, so these are broken up into “green” or “black”. Sorry.

The Olive Reviews

Scared: The first olive of the trip

Olive #1: Txikiteo, Gothic Quarter
Type: Black

Justin’s first olive of the trip came unexpectedly, along the side of some marinated anchovies we had as a tapa. Everyone at the table agreed that black olives are definitely the worst olives (the kind you’d get on pizza in America). While they may be the worst kind, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad—I love black olives. They’re just the worst kind. Anyways, onto this olive:

What did Justin think? *Justin makes a fart noise with his mouth*

Maybe he’ll like it this time

Olive #2: Tapeo, El Born
Type: Green

These olives came in a glass of the house vermouth, which was a sweeter red versus the kind we normally see in America. The olives, I assume, were perhaps…. Spanish Queen olives? (Those are the kind you throw in a martini). They probably were something more interesting.

What did Justin think? “The olives were just okay… the vermouth was much better.”

A spicy one!

Olive #3: Golfo de Bizkaya, El Born
Type: Green

After a long evening of drinking we ended up here stuffing our faces with pintxos. One of the offerings was simply a few olives and peppers on a toothpick, the pintxo gilda. It’s one of my personal favorite pintxos and was the garnish of my favorite martini at the now-closed bar Txori in Seattle (miss you Txori!!).

What did Justin think? “I was a little saucy by this point and ate them without any issues.”

He actually liked this one.

Olive #4: PastaBar, Gothic Quarter
Type: Green

We ordered these on the side of some quick carb-load we were eating to power our siestas. I think they were Castelvedrano olives, super mild, buttery, and easy to eat. The group all liked these olives the best from the ones we’d eaten to that point.

What did Justin think? “These were the best olives so far. I even ate two!”

Is it olive? Or is it magic?

Olive #5: Bodega 1900, Sants
Type: Ethereal

Ok, now this isn’t fair. Albert Adria, brother of Ferran Adria of el Bulli, runs this place and has kept the famous “molecular gastronomy” olives on the menu. A la carte! They make a membrane out of gelatin and fill it with olive juice so when you eat it the membrane pops and a flood of olive flavor fills your mouth. Just wonderful. Wonderful! [You can see how they make them here]

What did Justin think? “This was the funnest one to eat! It was super-olivey. I would eat another for sure, but for the experience of the texture rather than the olive flavor. Sorry.”

These were so great that I had to post an actual picture of them

Well, I tried.

I was really determined for him to like olives, but looking at the evidence I don’t think the chances are good. I want him to share this joy that is an olive! To enhance his life! But after all these different types and flavors that he ate what does he think???

Does Justin still hate olives?
“I would not choose to eat them on my own. I don’t think they’re very good. Sorry, Miko.”

🙁

June 15, 2017 2 comments

Travel

Barcelona Cafe Culture vs Pacific Northwest Coffee Culture

written by Justin Inahara

I was able to spend seven days in Barcelona and of course I was constantly seeking out coffee to fuel my exploration of the wonderful city. When I was sitting in the sun, enjoying a cappuccino in the Plaça Reial within the Gothic Quarter I realized that this is not something that I have found in the Pacific Northwest. While I do consider myself extremely spoiled to live in a city like Seattle, where high quality coffee is a expectation and the cafe is a regular staple of the work life in our tech-heavy area, it lacks some of the casual appeal of a European cafe. With a few years of experience as a barista I have become much more familiar with how coffee is processed, what constitutes a good cup of coffee (in my opinion), and some of the habits of dedicated coffee drinkers. From my personal experience there is a consistent feel of cafes all over Europe; London, Milan, Paris and Gothenburg all featured a similar model of coffee experience to the casual visitor. While I didn’t ever seek out the best of the best, the everyday experience was quite similar. That being said there are some huge differences between the Pacific Northwest coffee culture and the cafes in Barcelona.

Environment

The European cafe is an institution, it is an extremely important social ground. Lots of friends meeting up, and breaks from the work day. This is where you spend your time resting after walking the city the whole day, take a load off, and relax. There is a standard expectation that there will be outdoor seating, an ashtray and food served. The pace of service is much slower in Barcelona, usually it’s a few minutes before someone comes to take your order, and another few before it’s delivered.
The American, more specifically Northwestern, cafe is usually reserved for the morning rush and has a reputation similar to Starbucks. It doubles as a space to work, arrange meetings for business and of course the more casual hangout spot. There is less outdoor seating and almost never an ashtray (usually a bucket or some improv container). The interior is the focus of the cafe, rather than the outdoor seating. Another difference is the amount of to-go cups that are used in US cafes. Most people grab and go after getting their drink, where as the Europeans tend to drink at the cafe.

A delicious doughnut filled with Catalan Cream!

Offerings

The amount of coffee is much less in European cafes, usually as a macchiato, flat white, or the good ol’ espresso shot. They do offer americanos for people who hold dear to black coffee, but you will be hard pressed (get it?) to find drip coffee. Cafe’s also frequently serve snacks, small plates, and cold cuts as well as alcoholic drinks. Coffee is an all day thing, not just in the morning. During the evening there will be a mix of people drinking coffee and others taking in libations (beers, wine, cocktails) creating a very casual evening bar.
In the US, drinks are usually larger in size, contain more sugar and are more complex. 12oz is usually the standard “small” size and usually tops out at 20oz. Mochas, lattes, blended iced drinks, and drip coffee are much more common for the everyday drinker. Food is roughly the same, and will change it’s offering to the size of the shop.
The most important difference between the two cafes? European cafes do not serve iced drinks—there are a few exceptions but the majority of baristas will give you a strange look if you request an iced-anything. When we did attempt to get some iced coffee it came with a hot shot of espresso with a cup of ice separately.

Coffee Quality

In my humble opinion I think that Pacific Northwest coffee shops carry a better coffee bean and more variety than their European counterparts. Especially in Seattle and Portland, there is a huge focus on quality, small batch coffee, with a focus on lighter roasts. The variety alone provides a more exciting drinking experience for the cafe-goer who is looking for coffee. The European cafe (with exceptions) is less about high quality and different varieties and more about consistent delivery of their drinks. Most of the beans for the European cafes also come in a large sealed containers that feature pre-ground beans, which takes away from some of the flavor and oils that are contained in the beans.
In all, there are some major differences in the two different coffee ecosystems but at the end of the day the cafe will hold a sacred place in people’s hearts. The cafe is where friends meet, work happens, and people get their daily fix! Drink on my friends!

May 25, 2017 0 comment

Travel

A Day on O’ahu’s North Shore

written by Miko Russell

During our trip to Hawai’i, we wanted to spend a day outside of Honolulu. We’d been staying in Waikiki, AKA TouristWorld™, so we cruised up to the North Shore looking for great beaches and food.

Starting our Day

We headed up to Hale’iwa after stopping at Don Quijote for some quick bento breakfasts and coffee. Spam for the road: it’s a must. About an hour later, after passing the Dole pineapple plantation and heading through the middle of the island, we stopped in Hale’iwa. Hale’iwa is the main hub of the North Shore. We stopped here and did a bit of shopping and walking around, then headed towards Matsumoto’s Shave Ice to meet up with my friend (but sadly we didn’t get any shave ice!).

Kawai is a local on the North Shore and, as evidenced by him waving to everyone we saw and knowing each truck that drove by, he knows everyone here. He was able to throw us in his truck and take us to some of the best spots and local places I’d never visited before.

Howzit, Kawai!

Everyone who is a mutual friend of ours and knew we were hanging out said the same thing: When you go to North Shore, Kawai’s going to take you to this one sushi place. He always does. And sure enough—he did! Banzai Sushi. Banzai Sushi is a cute-looking spot in the back of a parking lot, and we ate outside on the floor. No joke, this was some of the best food we ate all trip. The coconut shrimp actually had coconut taste, unlike the kind you get in Seattle, the avocado tempura was great, but the best thing was the Lemon Drop Roll. It’s a spicy tuna roll, topped with hamachi, lemon slices, and ponzu sauce. It was a delight. The spicy tuna and the citrus kick went so well together! Justin was a big fan of their goma-e as well. We also got the Red Dragon Roll, Gnarly Marley Roll, and the Banzai Roll. We ate a ton.

The whole shebang at Banzai Sushi

Left: Coconut Shrimp Right: The three specialty rolls

Big Wave Beaches

After lunch, Kawai took us towards Waimea Bay, turned at the Foodland in Pupukea, up the hill to the Pu’u O Mahuku Heiau. A heiau is a Hawai’ian temple, used for community gatherings, presenting offerings, worship, and other things. This one is the biggest left on O’ahu! We headed over to the ledge which overlooked all of Waimea Bay and Waimea Valley. From here, you can watch the big waves on the north end of the bay. Today they were “only” 10 feet.

Overlooking Waimea Bay from the heiau

Waimea Valley

We met a hula dog!

Being at a sacred Hawai’ian spot as a haole and non-Hawai’ian was an interesting experience. I wasn’t very familiar with what heiaus were and how they were used while I was there, so I generally tried to be respectful and to not do anything too stupid. It was a beautiful spot and there were offerings that people had left there. Some people had left garbage, too, which was a total dick move on their parts.

The outline from the Pu’u o Mahuku Heiau above Waimea Bay

Some of the offerings at the heiau. Mostly leis, some food. Some jerks left garbage. Ugh.

From there, we headed over to Three Tables Beach, learned about Mary’s Garden at Shark’s Cove, aaaand decided we needed to eat more. Of course. So we made a pitstop at Crispy Grindz, a Brazilian food truck right up the road. We grabbed a coxinha and a few pastels and headed to Ehukai Beach to watch people try and surf the Banzai Pipeline.

Buddies!

Three Tables Beach

Mary’s Garden by Sharks Cove. A large selection of carefully pruned plants and trees right along the edge of the water. Named after the woman who takes care of them.

Left: A surfer heading out towards to beach. Right: Crispy Grindz truck

We hung out here for a long time, just hanging out in the sand and eating. Watching people surf. It was nice. Hawai’i is nice. Everything is nice.

Watching the surfers on Ehukai Beach

Surfers on the Banzai Pipeline at Ehukai Beach

Left: Controversial wind turbines. Right: Justin at Shark’s Cove.

Kawai wanted to take us around the area a bit more, so we headed up into the hills. Along the drive, he was pointing out where Pete Carroll had a house, Kelly Slater, Billabong, and others did, too. He told us all about how native Hawai’ian groups and local residents have been resisting development to “keep the country country.” Land preservation is a big deal in the whole state, and there was a huge fight against adding in wind turbines, and expanding the Turtle Bay Resort, and other big development deals that would’ve brought in unsustainably large numbers of people, changing the character and history of the island.

Left: Bamboo house. Right: Mailboxes and palm trees

Chickens chillin’ in the shade.

Cruised on up to Sunset Beach after that, where they were holding the APP World Tour Sunset Beach 2017 stand-up paddleboarding championship. Justin tried to dip a toe in the water and instantly got yelled at. For good reason. (He’d die.) It was finally time to leave, which meant…time to meet Justin’s family in Hale’iwa to eat more!

Sunset Beach, O’ahu

The Half+Half team at Sunset Beach

But first! Kawai asked, “You guys like pie?” and, uhh, heck yeah we do, and so he drove us the opposite way over to Ted’s Bakery. He ordered a chocolate haupia pie, and we cut it up right there and ate a few slices. The pie has a layer of chocolate pudding, then a layer of haupia, and is topped with whipped cream. Justin just about lost his damn mind. He quickly proclaimed it to be the best pie he’s ever eaten, and said that it reminded him of Almond Joy—although the pie had nothing to do with almonds, it had everything to do with joy.

Hella dope chocolate haupia pie

Left: You know it’s gonna be good when it’s right there in the sign. Right: We met a man with a parrot at Ted’s Bakery too.

We finally got back to Hale’iwa and went to Honos Shrimp Truck with the whole crew. Honos is a Korean-owned shrimp truck that stands for “Hawai’i Ono Shrimp,” or Honos. We got a ton of food: the original butter garlic shrimp, a sweet and sour shrimp, the spicy shrimp, and a plate of kalbi. The North Shore is known for these trucks because there were a lot of big aquaculture farms, and their purveyors started selling freshly cooked shrimp from the sides of the passing roads.

Honos Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa. “어서오세요” means “welcome!”

Hella shrimp.

Evan destroying all of the kalbi

Time to Head to Honolulu
The next time we’re in O’ahu, I’d love to spend a few days in North Shore, just hanging around the beach and relaxing away from the city for a bit. Hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later!

The road to Haleiwa at dusk

Have you ever been to the North Shore? Where were your favorite spots?

March 21, 2017 0 comment

Hawaiian Food Restaurant Recap Travel

My First Hawaiian Shave Ice

written by Justin Inahara

While spending a few days in Honolulu for my first-ever trip to Hawaii I had set out with a list of foods that I have heard so much about and never eaten. I had yet to have a proper plate lunch, fresh pineapple, malasada, and of course shave ice. Shave ice is a tropical Hawaiian mutation from the kakigori (かき氷) from Japan. The only other place I can see this type of ice developing would be Okinawa because of the similar environments, but I’m not sure it things like condensed milk would have made it on the menu.

My experiences with shave ice happened in two parts: before Hawaiian style shave ice and after. Before, I had grown up with a small manual ice-shaver, that make decent ice but it was really crunchy, kinda like a snow cone. We would pour a single syrup on top and call it good. (My go-to was root beer flavor!) I had one experience with the Japanese variation kakigori when I had visited with my grandparents: I had been working outside during the summer and when I finished up my grandpa asked if I wanted to have some beans on my ice. I was puzzled but said yes immediately. The beans were a nice texture and flavor to pair with the ice, but it left something to be desired.

Fast forward to 2017 and I had my first proper shave ice in Honolulu decked out with all the goodies. I visited three different ice shops and all were tasty, and I have solidified my love for the delicious icy treat!

A very happy Justin eating his “small” shave ice at Shimazu

The Reviews

Island Vintage Shave Ice
Royal Hawaiian Center, 2201 Kalakaua Ave Kiosk B-1, Honolulu, HI 96815

This was my favorite shave ice during my trip, and the first one I tried! It was definitely more bougie than the others we visited, was the longest line, and was the most expensive of the bunch—but everything tasted more fresh, there was fresh fruit on top and the syrups were not as over-the-top sweet. I ordered the Coconut Island: a coconut/mango mix with fresh strawberries, mochi, lilikoi popping boba, and a snow cap (condensed milk). The ice was light and fluffy, once I had made it to the core of the pile of ice, there was ice cream! It was awesome.

The Coconut Island shave ice at Island Vintage Shave Ice, Waikiki

Waiola Shave Ice
2135 Waiola St, Honolulu, HI 96826

This is the most famous Hawaiian shave ice spot and my second one of the trip. They are one of the older ice shops on the island, originally started in 1940 by the Koide family. I ordered an ice with ice cream and lychee flavor. I think that Waiola’s definitely had my favorite ice, as the texture was the best and most pleasing to eat. The flavors are handmade and created in small batches to keep from getting stale. The history of this place along with the awesome ice texture make this a must visit!

A small lychee/mango shave ice at Waiola’s Shave Ice with some fun friends in the background

Justin and his cousins enjoying their shave ice at Waiola’s

Shimazu Shave Ice
3111 Castle St, Honolulu, HI 96815

My last shave ice during the trip! I was blown away by the size of the ice they serve—I got a ‘small’ and it was way too much for just myself. Rainbow Drive-In is right next door and we filled up while there so there wasn’t a bunch of room left in my stomach. This was by far the best bang for your buck, and we even had someone else order a large size cone. I was cautioned by the people working there that large is really big—It was no joke, twice the size of the cone that I had. They had decent ice, and good syrups. I got mine with azuki beans and ice cream and made it through about 70% of it before falling into a food coma.

Left: Making the ice at Shimazu’s. Right: All the flavors at Shimazu’s (they were out of durian)

Overall

This experience with shave ice was one that I loved! This was one of my favorite treats during the summer as a kid and it was made even better in Hawaii! I think that the food culture in Hawaii is unlike anywhere else in the world. As I came to discover, Hawaii is packed full of mixed culture foods. They have so many amazing combinations of cultures that they end up eating the most delicious foods from all over. I had never felt more comfortable with the people and what I was eating. Every meal was amazing and a new experience for me. It goes without saying that this will not be my last trip to the wonderful state of Hawaii!

Justin’s family enjoying their shave ice. What flavor? “I want blue and green!”

February 23, 2017 3 comments

Filipino Food Recipes

Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)

written by Miko Russell

One of the staples of Filipino cuisine, garlic fried rice, is luckily one of the easiest to cook. It’s stupidly simple: lots of garlic and leftover rice. Tada! It’s a breakfast food, mostly served with an egg and some protein (SPAM®, longanisa, tocino, etc) and called a silog (which is a combination of the word for fried rice, sinangag, and the word for egg, itlog). I seem to eat it about once a week depending on how much leftover rice I have. Here I’ll take you through the process that involved way more photos than there are actually steps in the recipe! 🙂

How It’s Done

It’s real easy. You take leftover rice from the night before and then a bunch of garlic. I normally use garlic from the bulb but I had a whole bag of peeled garlic from a dinner the week before. I use about 1 1/2 cloves of garlic per cup of rice I’m cooking.

After you have those, slice up or smash all the garlic.

Then, toss it in your pan with some cooking oil—not olive oil—and fry it until a bit browned, about five minutes.

When it’s browned you can just dump in all the rice and cook for another five to ten minutes, depending on how crispy you want the rice or garlic to be.

That’s it. Oh my god. It’s so easy. You’ll get this nice, delicious, savory garlic rice and you can eat it and be happy.

Making Silog

After you’ve made your garlic fried rice you can make silog, and all you have to do is throw a fried egg on top and some sort of protein. I normally use SPAM® that you slice and fry and serve with some tomatoes, but for this example shown I used… fried Vienna sausages. Honestly, Vienna sausages are way better sliced and put into spaghetti sauce, but these are fried and they looked real weird afterwards haha. Oh well! I usually eat mine with green onions, soy sauce, and some sriracha.

Filipino Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)

Print This

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients

4 cups leftover rice
2 tbsp cooking oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
salt, to taste

Instructions

Put oil and garlic in pan, heat and stir for about 5 min until the garlic is light brown
Put in all the rice, mix around and cook for another 5-10 minutes depending on how crispy you want it

Notes

You can substitute bacon fat for oil, or soy sauce for salt.

What is your favorite thing to eat with garlic rice??

February 9, 2017 0 comment

Travel

Weekend Trip to Vancouver, BC

written by Miko Russell

We have quite a few travels plans coming up, but we wanted a quick weekend trip nearby to celebrate Justin’s birthday. We’d done Portland a ton since he’s from there, but Justin hadn’t been to Vancouver since high school–it’s actually closer than Portland is from Seattle… So off we went!

The dim sum spread at Sun Sui Wah

What We Ate

Since we had gone up during Chinese New Year I wanted to eat some celebratory foods. Based on my (very limited) knowledge I think that the Philippines are one of the few countries in Asia that doesn’t celebrate a Lunar New Year, so our family has always relied on the help of others to guide us through the holiday. Our friend, and local Vancouverite, Marion recommended Sun Sui Wah for our dim sum feast–it was delicious!

Spicy daikon cakes

Eggplant with shrimp paste

We pretty much ordered the whole dang menu for the four of us: Hagao shiumai, jellyfish, spicy daikon cakes, rice noodles with dried shrimp, chow mein, pea tips with garlic, eggplant with shrimp paste, stewed pig ears, supreme dumpling, sticky rice, chicken wings with garlic, bean curd rolls, and fresh mango pancakes.

Mango pancakes & supreme dumpling @ Sun Sui Wah

Chicken wings with garlic @ Sun Sui Wah

Jellyfish & rice noodles with dried shrimp @ Sun Sui Wah

For dinner we all went to my absolute favorite restaurant in the city, Guu!! I always try to stop in here during my trips to Vancouver, as it’s consistently delicious, has a varied menu, and the small plates makes it super easy to share. It’s so good. It was also nice meeting up with an old friend of mine from London, Subash, who now lives in Vancouver–quite a bit easier to visit than traveling across the Atlantic.

Black cod & karaage @ Guu

We ordered a ton… garlic Brussels sprouts, grilled garlic herb saikyo lamb chops, karaage, tuna tataki with ponzu and garlic chips, ginger-soy marinated black cod cheeks, gyu-tongue chazuke, roasted “cha-shu” duck breast with miso mayo, and ginger-soy eggplant with green onion. We did a pretty great job eating as much as we did in the limited amount of time allotted, as our reservation was only for an hour!

Tuna tataki @ Guu

On our way out of town we headed to a place by where we were staying, the Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe, for a quick breakfast. The main staple of the place is a Dutch pancake called a pannekoek, which is kinda like a fat crepe. What was most interesting to me was that they served Indonesian dishes alongside these pancakes as result of the Dutch colonizers in Indonesia, having arrived in the 1500s and finally leaving after World War II after the Indonesian National Revolution.

I ordered the “Bali Bali” Pannekoek, a “traditional Dutch pannekoek topped with chicken nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), pineapples, and cinnamon bananas with peanut sauce and sambal on the side.” It was okay. It would’ve been better if it was just nasi goreng without the pannekoek, but honestly I’d rather just go to an Indonesian restaurant. (They also had some pretty good poffertjes, which are mini pancakes that I haven’t eaten since I was in Amsterdam)

Bali Bali Pannekoek @ Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe

Another stop was Nando’s, my favorite chicken from London, that I am a bit obsessed with and they don’t have in the States. I had to come here because Justin had never experienced the magic of the peri-peri spice, and now he has seen the light. Yeah it’s fast food but it’s DOPE!

The best… Chicken in a pita, medium, with peri-peri fries @ Nando’s

Stanley Park

During the day we headed to Stanley Park, the huge park right next to downtown Vancouver, to spend a little time in nature. We checked out the Totem Poles, the Lighthouse, and the Lion’s Gate Bridge. Definitely the best spot for views of downtown, West Vancouver, and the Straight of Georgia.

Cheesin’

Hip hop squat with Marion & David

Serious photography squat with Marion & David

If you have extra time, rent a bike, or do some nature walks through the park. There’s 17 miles of forest trails and all sorts of other activities. Beaches (…that are cold), aquariums, horse rides, cricket fields, and more.

The 9 o’clock Cannon

Steps leading down to the water // Justin overlooking West Vancouver

Found this fun little critter swimming around the bay.

All in all, a great weekend away.

February 7, 2017 1 comment

Duck with turnips, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, giblets & curry sauce

Restaurant Recap

Restaurant Recap: Salare

written by Miko Russell

Recently we went to Salare, in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood, to celebrate our anniversary! The chef/owner Edouardo Jordan has worked at the French Laundry, the Herbfarm, Per Se, and Bar Sajor before opening his own restaurant here in 2015. He spoke with Lucky Peach about his life and experience of “Being Black in the Kitchen”. Here at Half+Half we want to use our small little platform to support restaurants owned by minorities, and it’s rare to have a black-owned fine dining restaurant–especially in Seattle, a very white city. So when we were planning on where to go out for our big date we knew it had to be Salare.

We tried to sit down and write a proper “restaurant review” but decided to do a verbal recap instead, since we only went once–therefore it wasn’t a full review where we tried the entire menu over a few trips. This is Half+Half’s first recap… be gentle! Unfortunately we recorded more than a week after we went, so it’s not as detailed as I hope our next recap is! Also our pics are from a cell phone so they’re not that fancy. An abridged transcript is below:

The Recap

Miko: Ok so we’re here talking about Salare and we went there on Friday the 13th. Scary!
Justin: It was delicious though, we had drinks first but we didn’t get a picture. Do you remember yours?
M: No I don’t remember drinks very well, but I remember it was spicy and delicious.
J: Yeah you had tequila. Mine had oatmeal stout, and some herb and an egg. Very subtle. Tasted like an oatmeal cookie. Then I had a nice chianti after that. You had the riesling?
M: No, I had something else. I don’t remember which wine, I’m terrible at remembering which wine I have…
J: *Looks up drink menu online* Oh I had the Oatmeal Flip, with Amaro Montenegro, oatmeal stout, and an egg
M: And I had the Piperita! With tequila, brine, sherry, Calabrian chili, and lemon. I really like spicy cocktails.

Cracklin’, Smoked Chili Vinegar & Lentils $10

M: We did have some really tasty food though, we got one of each course! The menu is laid out with appetizers, vegetables, pastas, and mains. So we got one of each to split between us, family style. We started with the Cracklin’, Smoked Chili Vinegar & Lentils for an appetizer.
J: I liked it! I thought it was really good. That was what we started with. What I really liked was the lentils. They were really tasty. I feel like, ‘cause whenever I cook them it’s just a mess and they’re really hard pebbles, but these were nice and soft with a good texture and really nice sauce, what it was cooked in. The cracklin was awesome! Like a big crunchy potato chip
M:Yes, a crunchy, fatty, pork potato chip. Haha
J: There’s nothing wrong with that. You know the way to a Filipina’s heart is with pork haha.
M: IT’S TRUE! Yeah we saw it on the menu and were immediately like, yes we are ordering this.

Carrots, panisse, buckwheat groats, sultanas & herb salad $14

M: Then we got the Carrots, that were with panisse, buckwheat groats, sultanas & herb salad. I had to ask the waitress what a lot of those things were. Panisse is apparently a chickpea cake…
J: Yeah, like a polenta cake, but with chickpeas.
M: Yeah, yeah.
J: A little bit of a chewy texture, probably fried. Or double fried on the outside. Yeah it was like delicious french fries.
M: It definitely was like a big fat french fry. And then the carrots underneath were just really really nice. Very very tender. Which, I can never get my carrots to do at home, even just making a carrot super tender is very impressive to me, haha.
J: It was nice though, the carrots were on the sweet side. It had potatoes?
M: No, you’re way off. It had groats.
J: Groats! I’d never had groats before. They were not groat-ey. Grody.
M: HA
J: HA… that’s all I got.
M: The transcript will be like *miko walks out of room in embarrassment*
J: It was good though, with an herb salad. A very balanced dish.

Casarecce with lamb sugo, San Marzano tomatoes & mint gremolata $20

M: So then after that we got a pasta, which was the Casarecce, with lamb sugo, San Marzano tomatoes & mint gremolata and… I also had to ask what a sugo was. It means basically, like, a sauce. It was like a lamb bolognese sauce but more refined. A casarecce… I did NOT ask what it was because I was too embarrassed, haha. I just looked it up now, well, I mean I ate it too, but it’s a kinda like a hollow, half-tube noodle. Like half a penne, but thicker. A lot more wiggly.
J: It was really tasty. I think, for me, the one thing I can get a little anxious about with red sauce pastas is how heavy and like intense they are. This one was, I mean, it was still substantial but it was with a mint part that kinda it lightened it up a little bit. And there wasn’t that heavy, spicy, greasy feel to it. It was like, ‘oh! I taste tomatoes, I taste the delicious lamb in there.’ It felt like a refined pasta.
M: Yeah it was a thick pasta, but not a heavy greasy pasta. It was really really good. I like lamb so I was like… we have to get this one. I’m picking this one. We’re getting the lamb. Because it’s hard to find lamb out and about in Seattle, so when I see it I usually get it.
J: I wasn’t sure if they make the noodles in house. I hope they do!
M: They probably do.
J: That’s a good sign of a good restaurant. Taking good care of the basics.
M: Yes, I applaud anyone who makes their own pasta because I have not figured it out yet. At all.

Duck with turnips, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, giblets & curry sauce $26

M: So then we got to our last course, which was the duck! It was a duck breast, with turnips, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, giblets & curry sauce and then it had a little jerk duck-wing on the side. And this duck was like the most tender, delicious duck I’d had in quite a while. You just cut into it and were like… oh my god this is just plump and juicy and wonderful. I’ve eaten a lot of Chinese BBQ duck so it was nice to have a different style than usual.
J: I think for me I haven’t eaten a lot of duck, and the times I’ve had it were pretty gamey, and like, a very irony-livery-taste. And this was a big departure from that. A super tasty duck. I have to complain about the vegetables though, I didn’t think they did anything for me.
M: Did you think they were too soft? I liked them.
J: It felt like they just picked whatever was at the store and boiled it. I just didn’t like it very much. The curry sauce though… That was nice. Real nice.
M: The jerk wing was good too! I got to nibble on it. I’m a big fan of chicken wings. So just even.. Having a bonus wing was like a dream!
J: That’s how every meal should be. Here’s a bonus wing. Like an aperitif.
M: Yes! I would go to a lot more restaurants if they served a wing with each course.
J: Like a palate cleanser instead of ginger!
M: Haha yes, I’d sign up for that in a heartbeat. But Edoardo Jordan, the chef/owner at Salare, just posted the recipe for that jerk wing!

Overall

J: Well, that’s our restaurant experience. The interior was nice, not a whole lot of extra things—which I appreciated. Sometimes people put too much into it and forget the food.
M: Seattle’s been pretty good about that generally, not super flashy interiors like in LA. I mean, they all have a certain aesthetic but it can’t be as expensive as other restaurants I’ve seen around. But hey maybe you never know, it could be really really hard to make it look so simple! As in all design. The service was really excellent too, our server was extremely nice and answered all my questions and helped me pick out a wine I liked! So would you go there again?
J: Most definitely. It would be interesting to go a different part of the year since I assume they change it seasonally. Man, a plate of those jerk wings with a ginger beer in the summer? I would be very okay with that. Would you go back?
M: Heck yeah dude it was delicious. I would love to go back! Maybe for brunch one of these days? It would be a bit more affordable. I mean, we came for a special occasion so we spent a bit, but brunch would be more reasonable.

Salare
2404 NE 65th St, Seattle, WA 98115
http://salarerestaurant.com/

January 25, 2017 0 comment

Links

Food Article Roundup: January 13, 2017

written by Miko Russell

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming to our new blog. We’re going to do some periodic article roundups from around the internet. We’re gonna stick to articles about food, obviously, but we’ll add other interesting articles as we stumble across them online.

The Articles:

Food, Race, and Power: Who gets to be an authority on ‘ethnic’ cuisines?

“I wanted to know: just how many of these Chinese recipes [in the New York Times] were authored by Chinese chefs or food writers? Indian recipes by Indian chefs? Caribbean recipes by Caribbean food writers? Who is getting paid to write these recipes, and who is given a platform to share them? Ultimately, who is given the opportunity to write about how these dishes should be cooked?”

‘Ebb and Flow’ [Trailer] – A Japanese-American family, an oyster. and how they influenced Pacific Northwest History.

‘Ebb and Flow’ follows 93 yr old Jerry (Eiichi) Yamashita’s recounting of the family history to his son Patrick, himself now in his fifty’s, around a campfire on the beach next to their shellfish tidelands. Relying on Jerry’s prodigious memory, and with the help of rare archival footage, beginning with his father Masahide’s immigrating to America from Japan in 1900, we learn about the Yamashitas’ journey, spanning three generations, of seemingly unending struggle and uncertainty, met always with an unflagging entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to family. In fact, Patrick discovers for the first time what an important role his family has had in Washington State history.

[h/t Edible Seattle]

Stop Telling Me to Drink Sweet Wine Just Because I’m a Woman of Color

“As an ethnic woman, I can’t help but notice that whenever I’m at a restaurant or a beverage retailer, I am immediately directed toward the sweeter, lighter-bodied beverages. Very rarely am I offered full-bodied beverages like my non-ethnic and/or male counterparts.”

On that Loco’l Review and the Perils and Possibility of Food Writing
Korsha Wilson, writer/owner at A Hungry Feast, talks with Soleil Ho, of Racist Sandwich, about a whole bunch of interesting things like food colonization, the purpose of food criticism, the lack of diversity in food writing, and more. Love this as it’s people like them who are inspiring the journey here at Half+Half.

January 13, 2017 0 comment

Japanese Food Personal Story Words

Japanese New Year’s Meal

written by Justin Inahara

The migration over to Southeast Portland on the first day of the year is something that I will always remember. There were the times when the grass was crunchy with ice, where all we brought was a pillow to nap after the meal, and other times where some people (…I won’t out them here) that were too hungover to take part in the best meal of the year. Regardless, New Year’s lunch at my grandparents place has been a constant in the years since I have been in this world.

Our homemade ozoni for New Year’s 2017

New Year’s in Japan is the most important traditional holiday. According to Shinto beliefs, a kami (god, 神) enters the house on the first day of the new year, therefore the home must be cleaned top to bottom in order to properly welcome the guest. The kami of New Years is not to be disturbed with noise from the kitchen for the first three days of the new year, so all of the cooking needed to be done before the holiday. Most businesses would be closed the first three days of the new year and people would take time off of work. This all combined for an extremely busy Juu-Nichi Gatsu (December, 十二月), with lots of preparation for the start of the year.

The osechi-ryori (おせち料理) is the traditional meal served on New Years, and is made up of symbolic and delicious food. Most of the foods are preserved with salts, vinegars and sugars to keep for the three days when cooking is frowned upon. Examples of these dishes include kuromame (sweetened black beans, 黒豆), kamaboko (boiled fish cake, かまぼこ), kurikinton (sweet potatoes and sweet chestnuts, 栗金とん), and ebi (prawns, えび). Each dish has its own meaning and purpose; Ebi is representative of an old person with a bent back and long hair signaling a long life. The characters for ‘kinton’ (金とん) in ‘kurikinton’ literally mean “group of gold” for a wish for lots of wealth and financial gains. Food holds a dear spot in the Japanese culture, especially on the most important holiday.

The Inahara Tradition

When it came to the Inahara Japanese New Year’s lunch, it was not as traditional as above. Myself being a yonsei (4th generation Japanese-American, 四世), a lot of the strict Shinto traditions gave way to more relaxed Japanese-American ideals. The most traditional part of our gathering was the food itself. It also happened that my grandmother and her family were excellent tsukemono (漬物) picklers and we got to enjoy gobo, fukujinzuke and sunomono (ごぼう, 福神漬, 酢の物). The meals featured salmon (usually), ebi, lots of rice, fresh fruits, noodles (chow mein), fried chicken, and ozoni (a traditional New Year’s soup, お雑煮).

Mochi before being prepared to eat

Ozoni is a clear dashi (seaweed & bonito broth, だし) soup that features mochi as the main star. Mochi has always held a very special spot in the Inahara family. My grandpa’s father was one of the larger producers of Japanese confections in the Portland area and was especially known for mochi. Mochi (餅) is a pounded rice cake, that has a chewy texture and is usually filled with sweetened bean paste.

The Inahara side of my family owned a Japanese confectionery store in the 1970s in Portland. Mikado was located on 20th and SE Powell and was run by Tetsunosuke ‘Tets’ Inahara and his wife Tei. Tets was trained in Japan as a professional confectioner and moved back from Ontario, Oregon after Public Proclimation No. 21 was announced. During the weeks building up to the new year, the family would converge and help turn 200 pounds of cooked rice into the delicious New Year’s treat. The mochi would make its way into 20-30 pound banana boxes and then to the local Buddhist churches that would prepare and feed it to their members.

Tetsunosuke and Tei with the mochi machine

After the Mikado closed, the family used to gather a few weeks before the New Years and spend the day making mochi. The process was more industrialized than the traditional manual hammer method thanks to a large machine that provided the manpower. About 20–25 of us would get together and watch as the older men would work in the machine, flipping the rice and wetting the mallet between each downfall of the large wooden block. Once a giant mochi ball had been formed we would split the 25 pound rice ball into smaller, individual-sized balls and start shaping them. The end result was an obscene amount of mochi, clothes covered in cornstarch, and a belly full of the delicious treat.

[Left] The Inahara kids watching uncle Toshio using the mochi machine [Right] Grandpa Yosh making mochi

As it happens, I have moved away from my hometown and the trip to Southeast Portland is much more difficult for me to make. I figured if I can’t be there then I might as well run my own New Year’s meal in Seattle. The New Year’s meal has always connected me with my Japanese family, but the invitation was extended to friends who have never experienced Japanese New Year’s meal. Like any great meal, it brings people together from every background and cooking this meal helps to keep an important tradition alive. Just like my grandparents who grew up in a country that forcibly removed a whole population of their people based on fear, the drive to keep traditions alive was more powerful than their circumstances. I am truly humbled by their sacrifices and courage to be themselves. To put family and friends at the center of their life, to use food as a way to love and building community around tradition.

Justin with the Inahara Grandparents (2016)

This is what Half+Half is about; navigating culture and diversity through the lens of food. I strongly believe that food has become the strongest way to identify someone. Most of the racial epithets used come from food that is commonly associated with their cultures. Within the cultures of food there is a huge amount of misunderstanding, appropriation and distrust—and we hope to offset that here at Half+Half. In my humble opinion the most important and powerful way to love someone is to feed them. So get in the kitchen, and let’s get to work—we have a lot of love to spread.

January 5, 2017 3 comments

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