yesterday I discovered a new (to me) korean supermarket. I actually noticed it other day when we went to see LTJ Bukem play at the weird club continental. Yesterday being my birthday- a day devoted to delicious-making- I splurged on a taxi to find this place. I knew that one day walking on the edge of the zona rosa in colonia juarez, I saw a lot of korean places and I remember one of the streets nearby...
when I found it I was surprised how large it was. Actually I was thrilled. I had a million questions for the woman working there, but she immediately retreated to the back office. Asian products have been a little to locate here in d.f. though there is a sizeable korean population. I have found tofu and rice noodles and soy sauce here and there, usually they are not in the kind of places that you would want to buy groceries in.
But this place had tons of interesting groceries. I think they cater more to the restaurant trade because there were like 6 freezer stocked with frozen seafood or maybe the mexican-korean shopper buys in bulk. Also I found huge jars of kim chee and chili pastes, rice wines, cheap coconut milk, sesame oil (Finally!), oyster sauce (its so yummy on broccoli or bok choy- which there was an abundance of), assorted noodles including soba. There were many interesting packaged snacks including cuttlefish peanut snacks, pocky-like chocolate dipped cookies shaped like mushrooms and sweet almond rice puffs or some such thing.
At the register there was a vat of homemade tofu in water. I asked the woman in charge if they made it. Now warming up at the sight of my grocery order & insist questions, she replied in broken spanish that a senora made it at her house. I was desperately searching for hoi-sin, a sweet plum-y sauce and there were these jars of a purple sweet smelling paste. I asked in english and spanish if it was made with plum and she told me no its not very spicy. a little spicy. a little sweet. sour sweet maybe. I guess its go chu kang, but it sure kicked up my sauces a notch!!
I made chicken sate with peanut sauce. The marinade for the sate I pulled off a google search, really just made a note of the ingredients and then adapted. For the peanut sauce I used this recipe without reading the directions that it needed to be cooked. oops! It still rocked!
I also made a riff on a mole (added a little coconut milk to the broth) to compare and contrast with the peanut sauce and made bagna calda from Lindsey walkers family recipe, but for some reason I didn't remember that bagna cauda calls for anchovies not sardines until my first bite. We also snacked on cuttlefish peanut snacks and little sweet red bean cakes from super Seoul.
and my birthday present to the world- the best chocolate cake recipe in the world, found last year on my favorite website in the world chowhound, by one!
Valrohna Chocolate Cake
3/4 cup sugar (5 oz.)
3/4 cup brown sugar (4 oz.) (light or dark)
3 eggs (large)
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of oil (veg or canola)
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 cups flour (AP) (6 1/4 oz.)
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder (1 3/4 oz.) (I've used Hershey's, Valrohna and Scharffenberger and like em all)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
Prepare two 8" round cake pans - butter them, line bottoms with parchment, butter and flour. Tap out excess flour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
 
Blend together the sugars, eggs, and oil until smooth and creamy. Sift together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Lightly fold until almost completely mixed. Add the pumpkin puree and fold thoroughly, but don't over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean (check at 20 minutes.) Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto cardboard cake circles.
Let cool completely then fill and frost with Fudge Frosting or your favorite chocolate frosting. I've used chocolate butter cream, the recipe on the Hershey's cocoa tin and the following.
Fudge Frosting
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate (I love Scharffenberger, and some upscale markets carry Callebaut unsweetened, which I like too.)
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (4 oz.)
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (1 lb.)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
Melt together the butter and the chocolate over a hot (not simmering) water bath. Cool slightly. Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and cream (I use a big stainless bowl) Add the melted chocolate and mixture. Beat until smooth and thick. Add a few drops of cream or milk if needed to make the frosting spreadable and smooth. This frosting gets thick fast. I put the bowl over a burner on the stove to loosen it up.............................................
i have made this cake in new york- with all high end ingredients bought from gourmet garage & here in mexico with Hershey's & mexican chocolate & homemade pumpkin puree, baked in my oven with no #s! Delicious! and do not skimp on the frosting!
Wednesday
Tuesday
area bar, hotel habita, polanco
After work we went to the chi-chi hotel habita's rooftop bar, Area. The hotel is beautiful- kind of like an Ian Shrager hotel. The facade is very modern and glassy. The hotel is furished very design-y and minimalist. It so what was cool in the states like 10 years ago. Aura is the restaurant in the lobby which is cool, but too ...lobbyish...we inquired about the menu and asked what was available upstairs. No one could tell us more than pizza and tapas. We went upstairs anyway. There was a little room by the elevator with a table full of art books. Cool!
The roof top bar was so pretty. The walls are glass and the roof is open. Its on the 6th floor and linked by a spiral staircase to the pool just below & overlooks Polanco. There was a super modern fireplace & heat lamps (the gas kind, like in miami) There was a space set up for a dj but no one there (nobody goes out on Monday in mexico) We sat near the side to see the projections on the building across the street (that I pass every night going home)
But I am sorry to say that once again my theory of expensive restaurants in mexico city was proved right.
My theory is that if you splurge on an expensive place, you will be disappointed. Its better to save the splurges for expensive groceries & do it at home or be wildly surprised at the quality of a simple fonda or economical restaurant. So far the only exception I have found to this was Cafe Omei at the Hotel Nikko. We had a pan asain buffet that was $200 pesos per person (not even super expensive considering how much food their was) and it was superb! The service was excellent. We had a great wine & will definitely return.
My problem with Area bar was basically the service. They are known for fancy cocktails which the waiter couldn?t describe. He didn't bring us menus the first time around. When we ordered tapas he didn?t bring us napkins. Later he suggested a cocktail Daniela an I said sure if its vodka based & he brought me this nasty punch tasting beverage that was like tequila with grape juice and something else super sweet. He had said if I didn't like it I could switch so asked for a cosmo- and was brought a martini glass of cold exquisite juice. I was so disappointed! This drink costs $9! also the drinks took like 20 minutes each time and their were maybe 8 people in the bar.
The food was miniature- first we had salmon on toothpicks served in shot glasses of avocado & cilantro salsa. Very cute & delicious. Then we had chicken sate- which was hard and bone dry with a very sour peanut sauce- a little disappointing, but the 3rd tapas were these mini tacos with some fish in kind of a sweet & sour chipotle sauce served with the same avocado & cilantro salsa. MMMMM so yummy!
The food took a while too- they brought it up in the elevator from the restaurant downstairs. When we left we saw a couple eating dinner in front of the fireplace. I wondered why we were not allowed to order from the restaurant but they were?
If we return I think we will stick to wine- the small wine list seemed to have some decent values. We spent $500 pesos on 2 rounds and 3 tapas. If my last drink had been alcoholic I probably would have been happy. You just can?t complain too loudly in mexico- you will always be punished. If you ask a waiter or waitress too hard a question they will just disappear. I guess its because nobody tips. They don?t even hope for repeat business, so they don?t make the effort with their clients. I proably wouldn?t mind if I had more spending money, but as it is, its a tough place for a former new yorker.
more information on hotel habita
the independent
i-escape
The roof top bar was so pretty. The walls are glass and the roof is open. Its on the 6th floor and linked by a spiral staircase to the pool just below & overlooks Polanco. There was a super modern fireplace & heat lamps (the gas kind, like in miami) There was a space set up for a dj but no one there (nobody goes out on Monday in mexico) We sat near the side to see the projections on the building across the street (that I pass every night going home)
But I am sorry to say that once again my theory of expensive restaurants in mexico city was proved right.
My theory is that if you splurge on an expensive place, you will be disappointed. Its better to save the splurges for expensive groceries & do it at home or be wildly surprised at the quality of a simple fonda or economical restaurant. So far the only exception I have found to this was Cafe Omei at the Hotel Nikko. We had a pan asain buffet that was $200 pesos per person (not even super expensive considering how much food their was) and it was superb! The service was excellent. We had a great wine & will definitely return.
My problem with Area bar was basically the service. They are known for fancy cocktails which the waiter couldn?t describe. He didn't bring us menus the first time around. When we ordered tapas he didn?t bring us napkins. Later he suggested a cocktail Daniela an I said sure if its vodka based & he brought me this nasty punch tasting beverage that was like tequila with grape juice and something else super sweet. He had said if I didn't like it I could switch so asked for a cosmo- and was brought a martini glass of cold exquisite juice. I was so disappointed! This drink costs $9! also the drinks took like 20 minutes each time and their were maybe 8 people in the bar.
The food was miniature- first we had salmon on toothpicks served in shot glasses of avocado & cilantro salsa. Very cute & delicious. Then we had chicken sate- which was hard and bone dry with a very sour peanut sauce- a little disappointing, but the 3rd tapas were these mini tacos with some fish in kind of a sweet & sour chipotle sauce served with the same avocado & cilantro salsa. MMMMM so yummy!
The food took a while too- they brought it up in the elevator from the restaurant downstairs. When we left we saw a couple eating dinner in front of the fireplace. I wondered why we were not allowed to order from the restaurant but they were?
If we return I think we will stick to wine- the small wine list seemed to have some decent values. We spent $500 pesos on 2 rounds and 3 tapas. If my last drink had been alcoholic I probably would have been happy. You just can?t complain too loudly in mexico- you will always be punished. If you ask a waiter or waitress too hard a question they will just disappear. I guess its because nobody tips. They don?t even hope for repeat business, so they don?t make the effort with their clients. I proably wouldn?t mind if I had more spending money, but as it is, its a tough place for a former new yorker.
more information on hotel habita
the independent
i-escape
Monday
my first fiesta
what do you think about having a party at our apartment? on the bus friday morning
of course, i said sure, i love house parties. what can i make?
we had our first party last night! it was fantastic! J's birthday is the day before mine and we talked about having a big bash at a bar or other rentable party space, but couldn't realy pull it together. but there is nothing like a spur of the moment party- no time for expectations.
so i went to work and invited all my colleagues, a couple of students & told everyone to bring their friends, because i have so many less friends than J who has lived here all his life. Saturday after work i bought some chick peas, pita bread & these brilliant 5 peso bags of chili-coated peanuts (Cacahuate Cobertura Crujiente con Sabor Chile- gracias a Great Value aka Wal-Mart genetically modified brand) Later J and I cleared all our valueables out of the living room and rolled the rolling rack out of the smaller bedroom to make way for the party space. He even took the door off that i have been begging him to since we moved in.
Every thing went so smoothly. I love mexico! Everyone arrived within minutes of each other, mostly in groups of 3-5 (b/c transportation is such a bitch here). There was nothing broken, nothing stolen, no complaints by the neighbors, plenty of alcohol, enough people that you could spend 5-10 minutes with everyone, nobody stayed too long. I didn't ever have to put on shoes. All my hummus was eaten. Lots of music was played & Santo films were on the tele. I made a couple of new friends & discovered that one of my co-worker's girlfriend worked for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company for 2 years & ate at The Winds (where i worked) every weekend.
Gracias a todos! Muy amable! you are all so cool! Thanks for coming to my party!
of course, i said sure, i love house parties. what can i make?
we had our first party last night! it was fantastic! J's birthday is the day before mine and we talked about having a big bash at a bar or other rentable party space, but couldn't realy pull it together. but there is nothing like a spur of the moment party- no time for expectations.
so i went to work and invited all my colleagues, a couple of students & told everyone to bring their friends, because i have so many less friends than J who has lived here all his life. Saturday after work i bought some chick peas, pita bread & these brilliant 5 peso bags of chili-coated peanuts (Cacahuate Cobertura Crujiente con Sabor Chile- gracias a Great Value aka Wal-Mart genetically modified brand) Later J and I cleared all our valueables out of the living room and rolled the rolling rack out of the smaller bedroom to make way for the party space. He even took the door off that i have been begging him to since we moved in.
Every thing went so smoothly. I love mexico! Everyone arrived within minutes of each other, mostly in groups of 3-5 (b/c transportation is such a bitch here). There was nothing broken, nothing stolen, no complaints by the neighbors, plenty of alcohol, enough people that you could spend 5-10 minutes with everyone, nobody stayed too long. I didn't ever have to put on shoes. All my hummus was eaten. Lots of music was played & Santo films were on the tele. I made a couple of new friends & discovered that one of my co-worker's girlfriend worked for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company for 2 years & ate at The Winds (where i worked) every weekend.
Gracias a todos! Muy amable! you are all so cool! Thanks for coming to my party!
my great-grandfather was a traveller too
My mom sent me this email this morning:
I have access to Grandtom's history. In 1957 he and Granddot and another couple made a trip to Guatemala and mexico in their Oldsmobile ‘98. They drove it to New Orleans then loaded on freighter to be unloaded in Puerto Barrios.
When they off loaded it the crane went down too fast and it almost bounced. It was then placed on a railroad car and they went to Guatemala City. It took two days and several tips to get the car back and get a permit to drive. Saw the national palace, Chapel Cerro del Carmen and "in the market there were a number of automobiles". Then traveled over fine concrete roads 75 miles to Antigua. Their hotel was on old monestery (Posada Belem). He mentioned cathedrals, weaving plants, hand looms, the "reclining lady" volcano which went off two days aflter they left covering 25 miles with white hot ash & taking the paint off the cars.
Drove a narrow road but on the level to Lake Atitlan (60 miles) "the most beautiful lake, trees all around water clear as crystal and blue sky. Stayed at Casa Contenta, Panajachel -red flowers everywhere.
On Sunday went to Chichicastenango, a rather perilous journey thru mountains. At the market, each place of sale had a tent over it to keep out rain and heat and help preserve the food. There were thousands of natives there. Everyone wore a hat, mostly straw. They were all well covered. There was an very old plain church with steps in front, a big arch in the center and a small tower. Here the dancers performed wearing false faces, terrorizing.
We went back to the hotel. One morning there were a lot of bird cages made of bamboo which an operator was cleaning. I think they were canaries.
We took a boat trip up the lake to the far end where there was a settlement of Indians. This village was called Santiago where natives were weaving on looms. They had a catholic church where they were having a meeting of about 8 men planning to restore the church.
Back in our boat to Solola which was quite imposing..........down the road came some children carrying a small white coffin with older people walking behind (a child's funeral). We met a boy going to market carrying 12 earthenware jugs, each jug was about a gallon. The road was a one way dirt road with places where there was a section cut out to pass and if we met another vehicle one person had to back up for a mile. In lots of places the edge of the road dropped off 4000 feet.
Later heading to pyramids of Zaculeu, Huehuetenango, then Quetzaltenango, into Tapachula, Mexico ......and he goes on mentioning Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico City, shrine of Guadalupe, Cuernavaca, Taxco, Lake Tequesquitengo, Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro, Tamazunchale, Ciudad Victoria, Laredo... all recorded with photographs -including 9' sail fish caught by Grandtom...
I have access to Grandtom's history. In 1957 he and Granddot and another couple made a trip to Guatemala and mexico in their Oldsmobile ‘98. They drove it to New Orleans then loaded on freighter to be unloaded in Puerto Barrios.
When they off loaded it the crane went down too fast and it almost bounced. It was then placed on a railroad car and they went to Guatemala City. It took two days and several tips to get the car back and get a permit to drive. Saw the national palace, Chapel Cerro del Carmen and "in the market there were a number of automobiles". Then traveled over fine concrete roads 75 miles to Antigua. Their hotel was on old monestery (Posada Belem). He mentioned cathedrals, weaving plants, hand looms, the "reclining lady" volcano which went off two days aflter they left covering 25 miles with white hot ash & taking the paint off the cars.
Drove a narrow road but on the level to Lake Atitlan (60 miles) "the most beautiful lake, trees all around water clear as crystal and blue sky. Stayed at Casa Contenta, Panajachel -red flowers everywhere.
On Sunday went to Chichicastenango, a rather perilous journey thru mountains. At the market, each place of sale had a tent over it to keep out rain and heat and help preserve the food. There were thousands of natives there. Everyone wore a hat, mostly straw. They were all well covered. There was an very old plain church with steps in front, a big arch in the center and a small tower. Here the dancers performed wearing false faces, terrorizing.
We went back to the hotel. One morning there were a lot of bird cages made of bamboo which an operator was cleaning. I think they were canaries.
We took a boat trip up the lake to the far end where there was a settlement of Indians. This village was called Santiago where natives were weaving on looms. They had a catholic church where they were having a meeting of about 8 men planning to restore the church.
Back in our boat to Solola which was quite imposing..........down the road came some children carrying a small white coffin with older people walking behind (a child's funeral). We met a boy going to market carrying 12 earthenware jugs, each jug was about a gallon. The road was a one way dirt road with places where there was a section cut out to pass and if we met another vehicle one person had to back up for a mile. In lots of places the edge of the road dropped off 4000 feet.
Later heading to pyramids of Zaculeu, Huehuetenango, then Quetzaltenango, into Tapachula, Mexico ......and he goes on mentioning Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico City, shrine of Guadalupe, Cuernavaca, Taxco, Lake Tequesquitengo, Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro, Tamazunchale, Ciudad Victoria, Laredo... all recorded with photographs -including 9' sail fish caught by Grandtom...
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