Secret to Sweet Alaskan King Crab Legs

When I went to my nearby grocery store and started looking at the seafood display and was contemplating whether or not to get Alaskan King Crab Legs for dinner, a lovely lady to the right of me insisted me to do totally do it and told me the secret to getting the "fishy"/"crabby" unpleasant scent out and get the natural sweetness of the crab out! I was a little hesitant at first at what that would do but I decided to just give it a try myself to see if it works and surprisingly it works! The secret is cooking the meat in simmering milk! I've been doing this every time now and very glad the lovely lady told me this!

Share this if you do this too before consuming Alaskan King Crab Legs! I placed a regular spoon to show you how massive these legs really are! I just have a huge cutting board!

Bring Milk to a Simmer!

Simmering Away!

Ready to Eat!

Deliciousness!

Freshest Oysters ever!

On my recent visit to the Bay Area, I decided to head north and head to the highly recommended Tomales Bay Oyster Farm. Apparently it can get pretty packed during the weekends but luckily enough since I went during a rainy weekend so many might have ended up cancelling their trip as it's like another 1 hour north of San Francisco.

I came only slightly prepared as I brought my own oyster shucker but ended up having to purchase coals and a lighter to grill the clams and oysters we bought. Majority of the oysters were eaten raw though just because it was so fresh. Let me tell you earlier in the weekend I tried some raw oysters at a restaurant and this was magnitudes better in taste, size, and price. The ones I had I swear tasted very salty and metallic in taste. The ones at Tomales Bay Oyster were sweet, plump, and full of desired natural flavors and most of all not salty or metallic in taste.

I will without hesitation come here again in my next visit back to the Bay Area; it's really quite the experience and nice scenic drive to get to the destination. Share if you like this post! =)

Name: Tomales Bay Oyster Company
Yelp: Click Here!
Google Maps: Click Here!
Address: 15479 Hwy 1, Marshall, CA 94940

Dim Sum at Maxim in Hong Kong

Maxim is a pretty popular brand in Hong Kong that many locals go for comfort and for the food of course. They serve relatively unique dim sum items that you wouldn't normally find at other places. Dim sum has gotten so big that in order for places to differentiate themselves they spin off original classics to fresher up the options. This place serves dim sum both the new and old school way. Old school way means they have old Asian ladies strolling carts around for customers to pick their dim sum. The new way is just simply ordering your dim sum on a piece of paper and they'll come straight out of the kitchen.

I have been to this location couple times whenever I visit Hong Kong and it's pretty decent in options. Here are the list of a few items we ordered. If you haven't ate yet, be prepared to get hungry after looking at these photos! Please share if you like it!

Name: Maxim
Google Maps: Click Here!
Address: Unit 4, Level 13, MegaBox, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon

Sweet Deep Fried Egg Twists Drizzle in Honey (蛋散)

Cow Stomach

Fried Fish Ball

Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕)

Taro Block

Lotus Leaf Rice (糯米雞)

Old School Cart - missing Asian lady in photo

Steam MeatBall (牛肉球)

Siu Mai (燒賣)

Curry Chicken Pastry

Fried Taro (芋角)

BBQ Pork Bun (叉燒包)

Shrimp Wrapped Rice Noodle (腸粉)

Random Assortment

And more

And more...

BBQ Pork Pastry

Pig Ears

Fried Fish

Malay Sponge Cake (馬拉糕)

Michelin Star Sukiyaki at Kitamura

I didn't realize there were multiple styles of Sukiyaki until I came to this place. Kansai-style focuses on cooking the aged meat with just sugar, sake, and soy sauce instead of a soup/stew type preparation. I was pleasantly surprised at the results but then again it was a Michelin star restaurant so they clearly know what they are doing.

They used a heavy iron pan that ensured tenderness. The waitress also cooked the beef and vegetables in front of you. She delicately cooked our beef and vegetables to perfection. As with many Japanese restaurants, we used raw eggs! They were used to dip/flavor our beef. Surprisingly it worked really well. There's not really any concept of Salmonella in Japan due to their high standard of care/safety/handling of their poultry. This place was a little tricky to find even with GPS/Google Maps as it was located slightly off the main strip.

Osaka is apparently known for having one of the most affordable Michelin star restaurants so I thought I'd try one out. Definitely recommend trying this place out!

Name: Kitamura (北むら)
Google Maps:  Click Here!
Address: 1-16-27 Higashishinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka

Store Front

MMmmmmm Marble Aged Beef

Stewed Egg

Iron Pan

Master cooks!

Everyone in the Pool

Mmmhmmm Beef and Raw Eggs!

Yum!

Maui's Finest....Mama's Fish House!

I don't praise many restaurants but when I do it's usually pretty rare. Mama's Fish House has left a remarkable impression on me. I have been here three times on three separate occasions and each time was as memorable as the last one. Usually I could care less about the waiter service and just want the best darn food served to me but the staff here just simply was one of the best I have witnessed. Getting excited about what they have fresh for today, popular dishes, often replenishing our drinks and bread, comp'ing appetizers because they feel like it, and etc, list goes on.

Excellent location as it's situated off the coast and have a nice little sand beach in front of it. My dish along with the other dishes I tried are top-notch and worth the price you pay for. Perfectly flavored and cooked dishes. It's really hard to pinpoint what to order here as honestly you can't go wrong with anything you order here. You can tell the kitchen takes their cooking and presentation very seriously.

Front Entryway

Restaurant Front

Ocean View!

Name: Mama's Fish House
Google Maps:  Click Here!
Location: Paia, HI (Maui)
Yelp: Click Here!

Here are the list of items I have ordered from their pretty exhaustive menu!

Fresh Hot Bread!

Ginger Tomato Bisque

Sashimi Plate

Fish Ceviche

Fish Panang Curry

Traditional Hawaiian

Macadamia Nut Ice Cream

Black Pearl

Coconut Jelly