RECIPE: Corned Beef Hash

While I enjoy going out in search of
good eats, I also enjoy cooking!
I will start posting a few of my favourite recipes to share with you all so stay tuned!


This week's dish is one that I grew up eating, whether for Sunday morning brunch, or for dinner. It's simple and easy to make, and super delicious!


This Recipe serves more than 5 people and takes less 45 minutes.












Ingredients:

• 5 Yukon Gold Potatoes (Any type works fine, I prefer Yukon as they taste sweeter)
• 1/2 Can of Corned Beef (Any Brand works fine)
•  Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper 
• 2 Tbsp Oil

Directions:

• Wash & Peel Potatoes
• Boil Potatoes until they are fork tender. Add a pinch of salt.
• Drain Potatoes
• Preheat a large pan, and add Oil
• Add 1/2 of Corned Beef & mince using Spatula
• In another Bowl, mash potatoes until they are in small chunks
• Once the Corned Beef is golden brown, add in Potatoes.
• Mix the Corned Beef with the Potatoes and flatten using spatula.
• Add Cracked Black Pepper and Salt to Taste.
• To ensure crispiness, mix the Corned Beef and Potatoes again and flatten the mixture.
• Once the mixture is golden brown, it's ready to eat!

Great when eaten with eggs and avocado!

Vietnam Noodle Star

It was a cold, summer night....Yup, you read that right! Cold!
This 'Summer' hasn't really felt like Summer to me. I love the Sun, heat warnings and warm nights...not the cold! Anyways, I was craving for some Pho and being right by one of my favourite places to get some, you know I HAD to stop by!
Located in an Asian Strip Mall on Finch/Midland Ave, Vietnam Noodle Star, has been in the business for almost 3 decades. That's when you know there is something special about the place.
Vietnam Noodle Star features a fairly decent menu, composed of
Vietnamese and Thai favourites such as Pho (Which I came for), Lemongrass Chicken,
Bian Hoi, Satay, Pad Thai and variety of snacks. With many tables and seats, the wait
is usually pretty short, depending on what time you go. Usually busier later on at night,
as they close at 12am. Let's get to the food shall we :)

With a variety of toppings and noodles to choose from, we decided to go with a bowl of Lemongrass Chicken Pho. Burning my tongue hot, the broth was rich and mildy sweet. The broth wasn't very salty and exhibited a nice aromatic taste. The Lemongrass chicken was tender and  still maintained it's crispiness and displayed a nice lemongrass flavour. We got the fresh noodles, which made this even more amazing as it was not overly soft and it went well with the broth and chicken.

Next up, we got one of my favourites, that being the Sliced Cooked Beef Pho. Arriving scorching hot,
the broth was just as good with the right level of rich and mildy sweet flavour. With a generous amount, the sliced cooked beef was deliciously tender and flavourful. We ordered the same fresh noodles, which once again, went well with the broth and the beef. The green and white onions add a boost of flavour to the broth which makes it even more tasty!










Vietnam Noodle Star is a great place for Pho and other Vietnamese and Thai favourites. I love how they don't skimp on the toppings and noodles, and really, it's a bang for your buck. The service here is okay, I mean it's a busy restaurant and the people just keep on coming! I know I'll be back for sure to try some other items on the menu!

Da Fu Seafood Cuisine

Just recently I've heard friends and family talk about their favourite places to get some Dimsum. Now, being the type of person I am, always on the hunt for some good food, I had to get in on this conversation!
A Majority of them recommended Da Fu Seafood Cuisine located right in the plaza on Steeles/Middlefield Road beside Milliken Park. With lots of parking and T&T right on the opposite end, I decided to spend my glorious Thursday afternoon there.

Instead of using Push-Carts, Da Fu lets you order off their DimSum menu, which I find great in a way, as the food that comes out will almost always be fresh, instead of sitting on the push-carts for quite sometime. This also lets you order exactly what you want without the possibility of  missing some of your DimSum favourites on Push-Carts. (We've all had that happened to us before)



First to arrive, were these massive Steamed Beef Balls (3/5). These were pretty decent, as they arrived piping hot. The beef was nice and soft with a nice bite and there were notable hints of Spring onion. I would've liked a bit more flavour, as they were pretty bland and instead of using Napa Cabbage at the bottom while steaming, I would've preferred the traditional
bean curd. The Worchestershire sauce helped make these more enjoyable to eat.

Up next, the Deep Fried Squid Tentacles (3.5/5) arrived piping hot once again. Right off the bat, these looked and were extremely greasy, as they were glistening from the amount of oil. Aside from the grease, these were crispy and full of Five Spice Flavour. These had a nice snap as well and were tender. After finishing these though, we noticed the puddle of oil which kind of made me regret eating like 4 pcs, haha.

Another greasy dish to arrive, were the Shrimp Paste Stuffed Eggplant (3.5/5). These were quite tasty, as the giant pieces of eggplant were not fried to the point where they were mushy and still retained it's flavour, and the shrimp paste had a nice bouncy snap to it. The Black bean sauce didn't do much justice as it was more oil infused than anything else. Other than that, these were bigger than most Shrimp Paste Stuffed Eggplant dishes I've tried at other Restaurants such as Ginger & Onion and Perfect Chinese Cuisine.

We were glad these Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (4/5) arrived next, after having two extremely greasy dishes in a row! Man, were these fantastic! Fully loaded  as you can see, bursting out of the bun, these were filled with large pieces of BBQ Pork! The bun was soft, and the sweetness from the BBQ Pork made each bite superb! These are a must try here at Da Fu! They don't skimp on the BBQ Pork!

Another must try at Da Fu, are these Steamed Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce (4/5). Loaded with diced garlic and notable amounts of Chili and black bean (Underneath), these were very flavourful and addicting. Yes...Chicken Feet. The skin and meat on the Chicken Feet were fall off the bone tender and you could definitely taste a kick from the Chili at the end. One thing though, was that the Chicken Feet was not a whole piece, meaning it was cut up so that you were eating a quarter of half of the Chicken Feet. Nonetheless, the portion was huge and these I would totally recommend!

Last but not least, the Steamed Chiu Chow Dumplings (Fun Gor) (3.5/5) arrived plump and piping hot like all the dishes we've had this meal. These were huge! Loaded with peanuts, celery, garlic, daikon, cilantro and ground pork these were a delight! The mixture inside was flavourful while being crunchy from the fresh ingredients and the dumpling skin was not too thick. They were not too thin either, and were easily picked up with chopsticks instead of falling apart.


Overall the Dimsum here that I've tried so far here at Da Fu, were pretty decent as two of them became my favourites, that being the BBQ Pork and Chicken Feet. Spacious, with comfortable seating, Da Fu is a great place to enjoy some quality DimSum for a decent price.
I've noticed some waiters holding trays of food, which
you can order right away, (Might cost a little more than the items on the Dimsum Menu)
such as the BBQ Pork Stuffed Pineapple Bun and Fried Chive and Pork Dumplings which I have to
try on my next visit for sure!


The Good:

• Inexpensive
• Spacious
• Everything arrives Piping Hot
• Ingredients are Fresh

The Bad:

• A little too much Grease

Best Pho in Markham?

I recently went to First Markham Place, having not been there for quite a while for some Curry Fish Balls at Yan's Wok. Sadly the day I went, they were closed so I had to choose something else to fill my growling stomach! Many people have told me great things about Ling's Pho, and I was craving some pho at the time as well, so it was an easy choice. The menu was simple, items you would find at any Vietnamese restaurant such as Lemongrass chicken and Satay.

I ordered the Regular House Special ($5.00) , 4/5

which had Rare Beef, tendons, tripe and beef tendon balls. 

Now as a foodie, the first thing I do when I order Pho is to try the soup. This was definitely one of the best Pho I've ever tasted. To be fair, it is my first time ordering pho here and there are many other hidden gems 

that potentially serve good pho, but this is one of the most delicious Pho I've ever tried. The soup base wasn't too sweet with just the right amount of flavour from the beef bones and spices they use. The rice noodles were tender and the rare beef they used was very fresh. The soup base had very little MSG because usually when I eat pho at other restaurants it tends to leave me very thirsty and this one did not.