SHANGHAI SOUP DUMPLINGS

Posted in General, Restaurants by sallybr

Years ago I saw an episode of No Reservations in which Bourdain visited Shanghai, and indulged in their famous xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). His description, and the whole visual experience left my mouth watering. Thanks to Amelia, who left a comment with a youtube to that particular episode, you can watch the whole thing here. I searched for the recipes online and in cookbooks, but it quickly became clear that to make those dumplings you need to be born in China, and raised by a mom who grew up watching her own mom and Grandma making them in their home kitchen. For all the intervening years I’d hoped to find them in a Chinese restaurant somewhere, but I never did. My frustration ended yesterday, on the last day of April, when the Tan family invited us to join them for lunch at Din Tai Fung Dumpling House in Arcadia, a neighborhood 30 miles east of UCLA.

The place has a well-deserved reputation for THE best soup dumplings outside of Taipei, and you need not take my Brazilian-American word for it, (even though I am a lover of the Chinese culture). Our friend’s grandfather knew and worked with the founder of the first Din Tai Fung (in Taipei). Her family is part of the fascinating history of the place, which you can read about here. The Tans have tried countless soup dumplings in the US and Asia, and agree that apart from Taipei’s original spot, the Arcadia location is the winner.

(image from Wikipedia)

So, what makes Shanghai dumplings special? Well, for one thing, they are not called soup dumplings because you serve them floating in a bowl of soup. The soup is actually the filling! The skin surrounding the dumpling is so thin that it seems physically impossible for it to hold anything, especially a liquid! But that’s exactly what’s inside: a rich chicken stock that warms your body and soul the instant you bite into the dumpling. As you savor the delicate shell of dough only one thought occupies your mind: how many of these babies can I eat without being rude? 😉 Everyone in Din Tai Fung suffers from this same dilemma, and the solution is simple: keep ordering them. At some point you might be willing to smile at the person across the table and say, “no, thanks, you take the last one… really!”

So, if you find yourself in Los Angeles, stop by Din Tai Fung (before 11:30am, or the waiting list will scare you) and be ready for a meal you won’t forget! For directions, click here.

ONE YEAR AGO: Bite-sized Chocolate Pleasure

24Mar2011

THE ODD COUPLE

Posted in General by sallybr

Every morning when we are preparing to leave the house, the dogs get quite excited. They go out through the front door, and circle around us, being all cute and lovey-dovey, with the expectation (I suppose) that all that display of affection would make us change our minds and go back inside. However, on one recent morning we found both dogs with a completely different demeanor: they sat down, frozen as statues, in the spot farthest away from us, and simply watched as we left.

To understand such odd canine behavior we need to review events that took place a little earlier. While taking my shower, Oscar stole the left foot of one of my favorite pairs of shoes – grey Skechers’ bikers – took it to his bed and chewed it up. Once defrosted from my paralyzed state of disbelief, I went into a full ballistic-mode. Chief, although innocent of all wrong-doing, decided it was best to stay by his brother, just in case some of the uncontrollable rage would spill over.

That, my friends, is how you get a morning shot of two dogs, sitting side by side, without moving a single muscle. I bet they were barely breathing.

ONE YEAR AGO: Cottage Loaf and Yeasty Dogs

9Mar2011

MEET OUR LAB

Posted in General by sallybr

Every once in a while I get emails asking about the type of research I do. I started working with bacterial genetics when I was only 20 years old in a lab in Sao Paulo during my college years, then worked at Stanford on biotechnology of vaccines, a very exciting period in my professional life, and the beginning of me falling in love with beautiful California. Went back to Brazil, had my own lab for a few years, left to work at Institut Pasteur in France, where I met the scientist who years later would become my husband. We’ve been working as a team for almost 17 years now, trying to figure out the mechanism of a transport reaction in bacteria.

We study how bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes get iron from the environment and “swallow it up.” The metal is indispensable for bacteria as well as all other living organisms to survive, but it is very tricky to obtain. Iron can be compared to money in the sense that everyone who has it tries to protect it from being taken away. However, bacteria developed sophisticated systems to do just that: steal the iron from you and use it to survive. Since all pathogenic bacteria need to obtain iron to cause disease, we hope that our research will lead to the discovery of new weapons to fight infections.

If you want to read more about it, visit our lab website, still under construction, but already in good enough shape to give you a general idea of what we do.

Here at UCLA we are studying a different transport system, that allows bacteria to take up a sugar called lactose. A lot of what we are learning in this system will help our own research in Oklahoma in the future.

17Feb2011

NUMBER 50

Posted in General by sallybr

We are about to wrap up our 6th month in Los Angeles, and we absolutely love this place! Work is challenging and stimulating, we made great new friends, and got an unexpected bonus with our move: here we can run hills, something virtually impossible in Oklahoma (zero hills within 250 miles in any direction). The nano-house is located midway through a big canyon so we can run a steep 2 mile hill all the way up to Mulholland Drive (yeah, that one 😉 ).

Today we completed our 50th run up and down the hill, I wish I could say it was a great one, but unfortunately I felt short of breath and tired from the moment I stepped out of the house. Some days are like that, gotta take them as they come. But, even a lousy run is worth it when you reach the top and your reward is the day starting, beautiful and peaceful down below.

The second reward was waiting for us at home: a batch of “Supernatural Brownies,” a very tasty recipe from Nick Malgieri, re-printed in Saveur a few years ago. Stay tuned! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Whole Wheat Bread

7Jan2011

THE GETTY MUSEUM

Posted in General by sallybr

After our move to Los Angeles many people we encountered asked “have you been to The Getty?” Our answer was “not yet, but we are planning on it before we leave next year.” Living in a place with so many touristic attractions is a double-edged sword: you’re never in a hurry to visit must-see places, because there’s always a another weekend approaching. Then, suddenly you realize that half of your stay is over, and the clock starts ticking… We didn’t want to miss it, so last week we took an afternoon off to visit the Getty Museum, located just 10 minutes from our home.

Majestic, marvelous architecture, with breathtaking views of Los Angeles below. The Impressionist collection includes a masterpiece by my favorite painter, Vincent Van Gogh… and the museum’s garden is itself a work of art!

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We took two guided tours, the first of which highlighted the major artworks (paintings, sculptures, furniture, tapestry), and the second of which explained the design of the Central Garden . The latter masterpiece was conceived and executed by Robert Irwin. It adds a dreamy element to The Getty, from the delicate stream of water flowing down to the constant change in shape and colors of the plants. Irwin once called it “a sculpture in the form of a garden aspiring to be art.” To remind visitors of the ever-changing nature of his compostion, he engraved these words at the bottom of the central stairway: “Always changing, never twice the same.” It was unforgettable.

I highly recommend the guided tours. Just like admission to the museum, the tours are free, and they add to the whole experience.

For opening hours, current exhibits, and general info click here

ONE YEAR AGO: Crowd-pleasing Pulled Pork (an American classic not to be missed!)