Winter Bites 2017

Hello 2017! We've totally been slacking between life stuff and buying a new house! For the sake of our mortgage, we've been going out less often but have come to savor each bite we've come across this winter: 

Four Corners Luncheonette: As newly minted Delmartians, you can find us quickly becoming regulars at our favorite brunch spot. Eggs Benedict are my go to standard because nothing beats a perfectly poached egg. The Luncheonette's Lafayette is a winning new take on the classic featuring house smoked salmon that melds so well with a velvety yolk. But it's the corned beef hash that has us coming back each time. It's simply the best.

Ala Shanghai Chinese New Year: Gung Hay Fat Choy! We rang in the year of the rooster with a FUSSYlittleBLOG blogger feast at Ala Shanghai. The multi-course meal featured a bevy of specialities including Grandma's Bowl, a hot pot of seafood and fish cake; stewed pork shoulder; steamed whole flounder; and my favorite, the jumbo spicy prawns with rice cakes. The best part of whole shrimp is the umami-packed head fat that's reminiscent of lobster. You know the food is going to be great when it's staring at you! 

The Sap House at Stone House Farms: Maple weekend is your excuse to shamelessly OD on everything maple.  You won't regret taking a road trip to Sharon Springs for the all-you-can-eat maple breakfast for a mere $7. One sip of maple milk will get you hooked and don't be afraid to load up on the maple butter, maple sugar, and maple syrup on both pancakes and waffles. Don't worry, the savory sausage will offset your sugar high.

Unagi Sushi: Be still my heart! Fresh sea urchin is hard to come by and we couldn't believe it was offered as a special at Troy's Unagi Sushi. So briny and creamy, uni is a sweet burst of the ocean!

Oaxaquena Triqui: How can you resist devouring a masterpiece the size of your face! Oaxaquena Triqui is the only local place we've come across that serves huarache. The sandal-shaped masa canvas is smothered with a base of black beans and topped with crema, pico de gallo, queso fresco, lettuce, avocado and our choice of flavor-packed al pastor. A drizzle of the homemade salsa verde amps up the flavors of this "Mexican pizza". 

currently snacking on...

... Chinese Turkey on Christmas Day. We had a little Christmas Story moment at
Ala Shanghai with some delicious Peking duck, cut to order. It wasn't smiling at us though.

Ala Shanghai

I have fond childhood memories of rolling dim sum carts in Montreal. A dim sum experience in the Capital Region is nowhere near that of the bustling cities, but I'd give up the carts for quality food anytime especially at Ala Shanghai in Latham. Forget the cloyingly sweet sesame chicken takeout or crab rangoons.  Go for an authentic Chinese food experience minus the grease and MSG. 

We've dined at Ala Shanghai a number of times for dim sum, aka Chinese brunch, and dinner and every experience has always been spot on. Dim sum is a great way to try a bit of everything since they are small bite-sized plates. A typical spread includes a mix of dumplings and buns and Ala Shanghai alone has fourteen dim sum dishes to pick from a Cheesecake Factory-length menu that includes chef's specialties, soups, noodles, and fried rice too. The stars of the dim sum menu are the pork soup dumplings. What are soup dumplings? Just as it sounds, soft chewy dumplings steamed and stuffed with a wonderful rich broth contained inside an edible pouch. A drop of hot sauce and soy and they are too die for bites. Just be careful that you don't put the whole thing in your mouth, you might die from exploding hot broth. The secret to eating soup dumplings is to put the dumpling on your spoon, dress with sauces, take a tiny bite out of the dumpling just enough to break the skin and carefully slurp up the broth. It's a very interactive and tasty experience. 

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