A mystery dish!

I’ve been traveling this week, and I had the chance to sample a delicious dish that was new to me. Can you guess what it is? Its nationality? What city, region, or country I was in when I had it?

Please leave a comment with your guesses.

And if you’d like to share a food photo of your own—mysterious or not—join the WanderFood Wednesday blog carnival. Here’s all you do:

1) Post a food photo on your site.
2) Add a brief description about the photo—or a longer food-focused post—and include a link to WanderFood Wednesday.
3) Add your blog name and the title of your photo or post to the “Mr. Linky” form below, with a link directly to your post (not to your main blog). That’s it!

Tasty Travels!

Carolyn

When I was a kid, my most beloved stuffed animal was a beaver.

His name, naturally, was Beaver.

(OK, you can stop laughing now.)

I’ll spare you a photo of Beaver. In his aged, worn-out state, I’m afraid he resembles a naked mole rat. You’ll have to take my word that, at one time, he was loveable.

Perhaps that loveable Beaver somehow imprinted on me, so that when I grew up, I moved to Canada, where the beaver is the national animal.

And of course, after I moved to Canada, I set about getting acquainted with Canadian foods.

Which is how I found myself in Ottawa last winter, eating my first BeaverTail.

No, a BeaverTail isn’t the business end of Canada’s largest rodent. It’s a Canadian fried dough treat that gets its shape from its namesake’s tail.

What makes BeaverTails different than typical carnival fried dough is that they’re made with whole wheat flour, giving them a slightly nuttier flavor. They’re quickly fried and served sizzling hot.

You can slather your BeaverTails with all sorts of over-the-top toppings, from crumbled Oreos to chocolate hazelnut spread, but I like them in their simplest form: sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar and perhaps a squeeze of lemon.

The first BeaverTails were cooked up more than 30 years ago in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital.

The iconic place to sample a BeaverTail is while ice-skating along Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, which freezes in winter to become the world’s longest skating rink.

And one of the best times to visit Ottawa is during the annual Winterlude festival, when both residents and visitors scoff at Ottawa’s chilly weather to enjoy skating, ice-sculptures, food events, and other festivities. This year’s Winterlude fest runs from February 3-20.

I thought about nominating my beloved Beaver to be the official Winterlude mascot. But I think a BeaverTail is a more fitting, and definitely more delicious, symbol!

If you go…
In Ottawa, you can find BeaverTails at the ByWard Market and along the Rideau Canal. For a complete list of BeaverTail locations across Canada and elsewhere, click on the BeaverTail store locator.
For more information about travel to Ottawa, contact the helpful crew at Ottawa Tourism.

Do you have a food post to share with WanderFood readers? Join the WanderFood Wednesday blog carnival! Here’s all you do:

1) Add a food-related post—a recipe, food photo, or any other foodie find—to your site, and include a link to WanderFood Wednesday.
2) Add your blog name and the title of your food post to the “Mr. Linky” form below, with a link directly to your food post (not to your main blog). That’s it!

Tasty Travels!

Carolyn

As we settle into our table, our guide, food writer and Chinese food expert Stephanie Yuen, explains that the Cantonese expression dim sum (called dian xin in Mandarin) actually has nothing to do with food. It means “touching your heart,” which is what the artfully crafted dumplings, pastries, and other dishes that make up a dim sum meal should do. While non-Asians might suggest, “Let’s go for dim sum,” Yuen says that the Cantonese invite family and friends to yum cha—“drink tea.”

Our dim sum experience begins with tea—a smoky green tea called “Iron Buddha.” Outlining Chinese tea-drinking etiquette, Yuen explains that the host typically begins by pouring tea for the guests. Then younger guests refill tea cups for older guests.

Like many Vancouver dim sum restaurants, Jade Dynasty does not have carts of goodies circling the room. Instead, you order from the menu. Yuen tells us that she prefers this system, since dishes come piping hot from the kitchen.

These rice cakes, or niangao, turn out to be one of my favorite dishes. The English menu calls them “stir fry rice dough with XO sauce.” I love the chewy rice “coins” paired with the briny, slightly spicy sauce that’s really more like a spice paste.

My other favorite is the stuffed eggplant with shrimp paste (pictured at the top of this post). I’ve sampled this dish in lots of dim sum eateries, and this version is a fresh and flavorful one.

These deep-fried taro dumplings are nicely crunchy, a type of pastry that’s definitely better served hot from the kitchen, not riding around on a dim sum cart.

I’ve often had pan-fried radish cakes, but this stew-like version, “steamed radish cake with smoked meat,” resembles a thick radish porridge. I like the vegetal flavors, though I prefer the crispness and slight char of the pan-fried version.

“Will anyone try the chicken feet?” Yuen asks. She says that on her food tours, she usually orders a mix of more familiar fare, like shui mai, and dishes that her guests may not know or regularly eat.

And the dishes just keep coming: beef meatballs, spareribs in black bean sauce, rice flour rolls with dried shrimp, and “pan-fried crispy bean curd wraps,” tofu sheets filled with assorted mushrooms and fried.

The chef sent out an extra dish, since our visit coincides with the start of the Chinese New Year. These Thai-style fish cakes taste like a crispier, milder version of Thai tod mun pla. Note the tomato carved into the shape of a bird!

We wrap up our lunch with another New Year’s special, brown sugar cakes, also called niangao. These sticky little bites are made with rice flour and steamed—a sweet finish to our tasty tour!

If you go…
Edible Canada offers tours of Chinatown most Saturdays, departing from the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden. You can choose from a two-hour neighborhood tour ($40) or a tour plus a dim sum lunch ($65). Make reservations, which are required, on the Edible Canada website.

Jade Dynasty Restaurant (137 E. Pender St., Vancouver, 604-683-8816) serves dim sum daily.

Tasty Travels!

Carolyn