Traditional Chinese food part 2 :Tangyuan

When we will eat and meaning

Tangyuan are a traditional Chinese sweet usually served at festivals or Chinese New Year, or anything that is celebrated with family. They are little glutinous rice balls that may be unfilled or filled with sweet or savory fillings, and served in syrup or broth. The little dumplings nestled together in the bowl represent togetherness！

Differences type in China

This type of glutinous rice flour dumpling is eaten in both northern and southern China, but the name "tangyuan" is more common in the south while the older name "yuanxiao" is still used in the north. The fillings differ regionally: in the south, sweet fillings such as sugar, sesame, osmanthus flowers, sweet bean paste and sweetened tangerine peel are used, while in the north, salty fillings are preferred, including minced meat and vegetables.

Cultural significance

For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, tangyuan is usually eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls where they are served, come to symbolize the family togetherness.

Famous French Food

The French are known for their fine ways of dining and exquisite food as well. Every region in France has its own specialty, which is probably why we have different types of French food that are popular all over the world. Here is a list of all the food items that are a delicacy of French cuisine.

Croissants

Croissants are crescent-shaped bread rolls made from dough in a manner that is similar to that of making bread; however, it has some additional ingredients, such as eggs, butter, sugar, and milk. The dough is first applied with butter, and is then folded and rolled before rolling it into a sheet.

Camembert

Camembert is a type of soft cheese, first made in 1791 by a farmer from Normandy. The version of this cheese known today is probably credited to the various cheese-making processes, and their industrialization during the 19th century. 

Valençay

Valençay cheese comes from the Berry province of France, and is made from unpasteurized goat's milk. Known for its truncated pyramidal shape, this cheese has a soft texture and flavored outer layer. The cheese gets its blue-gray color from the molds and is later dusted with charcoal to give it a darkened appearance.

Roquefort

Roquefort cheese is a blue cheese made from sheep's milk. According to the French laws, only that cheese, which comes from the French region of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon can be termed as Roquefort Cheese. This type of cheese is a tad moist, and gets its taste from the addition of blue mold during its preparation.

Beef Bourguignon

Originating in the region of Burgundy in France, Beef Bourguignon -- a classic French recipe -- is a type of stew. The stew is cooked from beef prepared in wine (typically, red Burgundy) with beef broth, along with bouquet garni, onions, and garlic to taste. 

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a fish stew from the region of Provence in France. The name originates from two words; bolhir, which means 'to boil', and abaissar, meaning 'to simmer'. As per the regional tradition, a Marseillaise bouillabaisse includes at least 5 different kinds of sea fish, such as scorpion fish, shellfish, sea robin, and European conger. It can also include octopus, mussels, velvet crabs, or spider crabs.

Cassoulet

This is a slow-cooked casserole, coming from the south of France. Typically, a cassoulet consists of meat -- either from pork sausages, duck, or goose, and rarely mutton. Named after a traditional, circular-cooking vessel casserole, this dish originated in Castelnaudary and has been adapted into several variations. The cassoulet is also sold in cans, and the prices vary with the ingredients.

Crêpe

Crêpe is a thin pancake made from either wheat flour, or buckwheat flour. Originated in Brittany, crêpes are filled with different fillings, which can be sweet, or savory, and are served with cider. With the sweet fillings, crepes are served as breakfast, or dessert, while savory-filled crepes can be eaten for lunch, or dinner. The sweet fillings can include sugar, maple syrup, whipped creams, and custard, whereas the savory fillings consist of eggs, ham, mushrooms, cheese, and other products of meat.
--Starry(Wenqing Wang)

Arisun - Korean Restaurant in Sydney Review

Arisun Restaurant

Last weekend, I have a chance to try out this Korean restaurant called Arisun in China town. The restaurant's address is 1 Dixon st, Sydney, which on the same street with a chain of other restaurants. 

The first impression I have for the restaurant is that is always crowded with customers but luckily, me and my friends didn't have to wait to be seated. Inside the restaurant, you can feel the enjoying atmosphere as well as the hospitality of the employees there.

The restaurants offer a wide range of dishes with different sizes as well as prices. The prices vary from $13 to around $35 depend on the dish that you order but as can be seen from the menu, a single serving dish is $13 whilst the 2 to 3 people servings is around $20 to $30. However, there is one small thing that I don't like about it is that the amount of food for single serving dishes is kinda small, and you can't really feel full by just having a single serving dish.

Picture taken by The Hungry Plum.

Me and my friends decided to ordered a hot pot to eat together and then we will order other dishes to eat separately. The hot pot we ordered is called "Marinated Beef Hot Pot" ($35) and I have to say it was one of the best hot pot that I have ever tasted. The beef was well-done and the hot pot soup was just perfect, in other word, the hot pot is very delicious.

Overall, Arisun is a good restaurant to go to if you want to have excellent hot pot as well as Korean's food. However, if the amount of a single serving dish is a little bit bigger than it's better. I would recommended this restaurant to you to come and try it out.

P/s: I rate this restaurant 9 out of 10 for my personal enjoyment.

-Son.

Traditional Chinese food part 1 :Moon Cake

Mooncakes are traditional Chinese pastries generally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival typically involves family getting together to share mooncakes while watching the moon.

Mooncake Come from

Mooncakes are named after the moon goddess (Chang'e), who is said to make this kind of cake in china myth.

What is Mooncake

Chinese mooncakes are a traditional dessert of Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important festivals in China. They are round in shape, like the full harvest moon of Mid-Autumn Day. Most mooncakes consist of a pastry skin enveloping a sweet, dense filling.

Mooncake Packaging

Mooncake boxes can be very beautiful, and sometimes the boxes are more expensive than the mooncakes themselves! Different brands have their own unique designation of packaging, mostly colorful tins and card boxes. Mooncakes are generously packaged in their small-case-sized gift boxes. Typically there are several small boxes on a piece of yellow or red silk. Each small box contains a mooncake in a transparent air-tight wrapper, with an anti-oxidation sachet to keep it fresh.

Traditional culture Cantonese food :Yum cha

Yum cha is a southern (mainly Hong Kong) Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum small dishes (steamed, fried or baked sweets). There are various ways in which the food can be served. In highly patronized restaurants, staff will commonly wheel around heated trolleys serving small yum cha dishes that have been prepared in advance in the kitchen; this manner allows customers receive hot, fresh items quickly. In less busy places, ordering dim sum will typically involve marking an order sheet with the desired quantity of items to be ordered; this practice eliminates unnecessary preparation of dishes which may otherwise not be ordered.

Sushi Zento

Trying Sushi Zento for the very first time!!!!! :)

Last year, I went back to Malaysia during my semester break. My family and I went to this Japanese restaurant to celebrate my brother's birthday. Had a lot of great food here and i can't wait to share it with you guys!!! 

COLD GREEN TEA NOODLE

This is my favorite cold noodle dish, cold green tea noodle. the one thing that's really cool about this noodle is that they serve it with ice. The noodles are being placed on top of some small ice cube when serving to the customer. It is usually serve with a dipping sauce on the side and some seaweed slices, sesame on top of the noodle. Before eating the noodle, you need to dip it in the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce taste a bit salty, so that when you dip the noodles in the dipping sauce, it adds up a salty flavor to the cold noodles and makes it more delicious. 

SUSHI

This is the bbq sea eel sushi. The sea eel is grilled and wrapped around the rice roll and there are also some cucumber and Japanese egg in the rice roll. I really like the sauce of the grilled sea eel, it tastes sweet and a bit of saltyness. I think that you should try it if you have a chance :)

SASHIMI

These are some raw salmons and other raw fishes. The raw fish will usually be served either with the rice or by itself. I like dipping the raw fish in the soya sauce while eating sashimi because it helps to get rid of the fishy taste of the  raw fish. Besides, I also like eating it with the wasabi.

- Ivy Lee

Taiwanese cuisine

Today, I would like to introduce delicious taiwanese food for u guys.
Taiwanese cuisine itself is usually associated with great influence from mid to southern provinces of Mainland China, especially from the province of Fujian. Meanwhile, a notable Japanese influence also exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.
The following are certain typical dishes:

A flat, clam-shaped steamed white bun with soy sauce braised porkbelly, picked mustard vegetables, peanut powder, sugar, and cilantro inside.  Chewy omelette made with eggs, oysters, tapioca starch and Garland chrysanthemum leaves. It has a soft, sticky texture, and is eaten with a sweet and mildly spicy sauce, topped with cilantro. This dish is very common in night markets as it is the most popular snack in Taiwan. Minced, cubed, or ground fatty pork, stewed in soy sauce and spices, then served on rice. A grilled Taiwanese pork sausage, salty, sticky rice sausage. Usually wrapped with garlic and basil. Customer can also choose the flavor they want, such as black pepper, garlic, chili, butter, and chocolate. A Taiwanese snack, common in night market. A chicken dish which literally translates as "three cups chicken", named because the sauce is made of a cup of rice wine, a cup of sesame oil, and a cup of soy sauce. Alternatively, the sauce can also be made of a cup each of rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce.

Steamed aburaage tofu stuffed with cooked cellophane noodles and covered with surimi.   --Starry(Wenqing Wang)