Wes & Erica's vacation photo album - Carrollton, TX - December 2021

The last time we were in Dallas (probably 2018 or 2019), I discovered that there was a 99 Ranch - my favorite Asian grocery store, and Wes discovered there was a Kinokuniya - his favorite Japanese bookstore, in the city of Carrollton. They are both in a shopping center with lots of cute shops and tons of restaurants. We decided that the next time we travel to Texas, we'd spend a weekend in Carrollton to eat and shop. We were going to do this for Lunar New Year 2020 but had to postpone due to COVID. Then we were going to in August, but Zephyr got super sick the day before we were supposed to drive out. So, FINALLY, we went for my birthday. This was over a month ago but I'm just now finding time to journal. 

You can't drive by a Buc-ee's and not stop in, so the one in Denton was our first stop. We got there around lunchtime on a Saturday and it was packed. We bought snacks, souvenirs, and lunch... all the things you need to buy when visiting a Buc-ee's. LOL I got a hotdog with dill relish and some potato salad for lunch and Wes got a Lunchable-type thing with cubes of cheese, salami, grapes and almonds. We ate it all before I could take a picture. 

Our next meal was dinner. 🍣 One of Wes's friends from work suggested that we go to Blue Sushi. It is his favorite sushi place and gave Wes a stellar review. I was so pumped to try this place... and it was not as good as I had hoped for 😔 Wes said his friend probably likes this place for its vegan options. I think he likes this place because it's a hip restaurant to impress his girlfriend. LOL I'm almost certain that the patrons dine at Blue for its ambiance and not its sushi. I would compare it to Sushi Neko in OKC. The coolest part was the front room & bar that was Godzilla themed. 🐉 It had murals of scenes from the old movies. We weren't trendy enough to be seated near the front; the hostess sat us in a different dining room that wasn't themed.  

The best part of our meal was the shishito peppers we got for our appetizer. One of my rolls had cilantro in it and the other was rolled in tempura beet flakes -- the two best parts of my dinner. Wes said he liked his sushi alright but there wasn't anything special about it. I was kind of bummed after dinner, so I wanted dessert to compensate. There weren't many places that were both nearby and still open so instead of dessert, we decided on coffee. I am so glad we did because Civil Pour was so good. ☕ I got a caramel apple latte that tasted exactly like the lollipops. 

The next morning, we headed out to our Asian shopping center excursion. We had breakfast at 85℃ Bakery. We've been here before and loved it so had to go again. Dine-in wasn't available, which was actually better because we got to heat up our pastries at the hotel. They would have still tasted amazing at room temperature, but I prefer them warmed up. The potato croquette I got was SO freakin' yummy!! 😋

We spent a majority of the day wandering around the shops. It was a really good shopping day. 😁😍 I bought a ton of snacks, goodies for my pen pals, and even Wes (who never shops) bought a couple of things! Of course, we had to take a boba break so we got drinks from 7 Leaves. I got the mung bean milk tea. It was delicious, no surprise. It had bits of crushed up mung beans and reminded me of the mung bean cakes I liked when I was a kid. 

Next meal was lunch (We did do things in between meals; in case you were wondering. We went to Rainbow Vomit 🌈 and the Meadows Museum, and they will be chronicled in the next blog post.) Wes really likes Korean food but it's just so-so for me. 😕 I try to find different Korean restaurants each time we travel in hopes of finding a dish that I really like. And it worked... I found my favorite Korean dish on this trip!! We went to BCD Tofu House and all they serve is soon tofu soup. It was the absolute best Korean food I have ever eaten. Wes really liked it, too, but he didn't agree that it was the best he's had (he's had the homecooked stuff and you can't beat that).

Soon tofu is soft tofu. The soup is made with lots of different spices, ginger, onion and scallion. Chunks of tofu are added to the broth and then you get your choice of meat. I got the combination with beef, shrimp and clams. You get to pick your spice level (I'm a wimp and got 1 🌶pepper). The soup is served boiling hot in a clay pot with a side of rice, traditional Korean side dishes--one was a whole fried mackerel 😋--and a raw egg that you crack into the soup. The restaurant had televisions playing informative videos about how to cook the soup, the proper way to eat it and BCD's annual spicy soup eating competition. 

For dinner, we had Pakistani food at BBQ Tonite. 🍛 I was still pretty full from lunch so I don't think I liked the food as much as I would have if we hadn't eaten a ton just a few hours previously. We shared the beef seekh kebab and rice with lamb. Wes really liked the spice blend they used. It was a good meal albeit a bit too spicy for me. 

Our final meal was breakfast the next morning. When we were shopping at the grocery store the day before, I noticed that 99 Ranch had dim sum at their hot deli. And on their dim sum menu was congee, like the legit congee with salted pork and black preserved egg. OM-freakin'-G!!! I am the only person in my family who likes congee so it's never cooked at family dinners, and you can't find it at many restaurants around here. I was ecstatic!!! I wasn't hungry when we went shopping so I didn't get any... when we returned for breakfast the next morning, I made a beeline for the dim sum and asked for congee. The cook said it wasn't done yet and I would need to wait 5 - 10 minutes. Wes got his breakfast (a pastry and some tea) and we wandered around the store a bit, patiently awaiting. As soon as the 10 minutes had passed, I rushed back to the deli and the cook handed me a steaming hot bowl. I triumphantly brought it to our table and devoured it.  I also got some fried stuffed eggplant, which was also delicious.

We stopped in IKEA on our way home. I got a table for my serger and we got a (much needed) new dining room table. We spent three days in Carrollton and ate as much as we could. SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. Our hotel was only a block away from the Asian shopping center so we had every meal (except for sushi) there. I almost wish we had something like that in Oklahoma but then I think it would take the fun out of travelling for good authentic Asian food. And I would probably be broke from shopping --or I would just have the most awesome collection of stickers & washi tape. LOL Anyway, it was the perfect way for me to spend my birthday! 🎂

Some of Erica's favorite places are Asian grocery stores.

If you haven't been to an Asian grocery store, I highly suggest that you go visit one. Wes & I go to the Super Cao Nguyen here quite often. It's pretty low key compared to the ones in Texas and California. Those are ah-maze-ing!! There's all sorts of unique (aka weird but delicious) groceries, different languages being spoken throughout, a local restaurant and/or bakery serving fresh hot foods and the whole environment is just so much fun. They're almost like the open air markets you find in big cities and in other countries. All forms of manners and politeness are null once you walk in: there's no such thing as waiting in line or saying excuse me; if you want something, you just reach and grab it (pushing aside whomever is in your way); there are wild children running around parent-less, and if you want to tell your cousin something who is three aisles over, just yell it out loud in Chinese. Now don't get me wrong, none of these things are bad. It's actually rather exciting. (The only stressful part is the parking lot.) I love to visit the 99 Ranch Market every time I go out of town. And, I like the experience of going shopping here locally on a Sunday afternoon.

OMG just look at all those green vegetables...and ramen, tofu and chips!!

When I was younger, my cousin would often spend the weekends with me. My parents would take us to the old Cao Nguyen market (before it got a makeover and moved into a much larger building) and drop us off at the rice pallets. Toward the back of the store, there were a few pallets piled high with large bags of rice (25lb bags, 50lb bags, etc.) We would climb all over the rice as if it was a jungle gym and play "King of the Mountain." Strangers would tell us how cute we were and we would thank them in Cantonese, which made us cuter, and then they'd give us candy. Oh, those were the days!

Shrimp, lychees and choy (leafy greens)... three of my favorites.

This afternoon, Wes & I went to Super Cao Nguyen to get groceries and ingredients for dinner. For my blog tonight, I would like to share our dinner recipe with you-- HOMEMADE VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS.

Our shopping basket.

Spring roll recipe:
       Ingredients needed- 

• spring roll wrappers (I like the "baby in a box" brand)
• rice noodles
• lemon grass
• shrimp
• tofu
• mint
• shredded carrots

We're using fresh mint that we've been growing ourselves.

(Actually, if you could prepare steps #1, 2 & 3 at once, that would be ideal. It is best if the shrimp, tofu and noodles are finished cooking at the same time so all the components can stay hot and fresh for wrapping.)

1. Prepare the meat (shrimp in this case; you can use whichever meats you fancy).
       Peel the outer bark off the lemon grass. Then chop into small pieces and dice in a food processor. Set aside.

       I always get fresh shrimp from the butcher section of the market so it's necessary to peel and de-vein the shrimp. If you are using frozen shrimp, go ahead and skip this step.

       In a wok or large sautee pan, cook the shrimp with the lemon grass and a little bit (probably a tablespoon but I never measure) of water. Set aside. Lemon grass shrimp is delicious so try not to eat any...

This picture is blurry so it doesn't look as appetizing but I promise it is yummy.

   
2. Prepare the tofu.
       Slice the tofu into long slender pieces.

       Pan fry the tofu until browned on each side. Set aside.

3. Prepare the noodles-- boil a large pot of water, throw noodles in, stir around with chopsticks and let them boil until they're soft (let's say 5 minutes. We want them cooked but not mushy.)

4. Set out all your ingredients in an assembly line fashion.
       Shrimp, tofu, noodles, mint, carrots all in separate containers.

5. Fill a large bowl half full with cold water.  Soak the spring roll wrappers ONE AT A TIME in the water. Soak until they are softened and malleable. Try not to tear the wrappers. They should not be too soft, wrinkly or begin to disintegrate.

6. Place a small handful of noodles, a few shrimp & slices of tofu, some carrots and mint at the base of the wrapper. Tightly roll the spring roll, folding in the sides and continue rolling until the entire wrapper is rolled in.

7. Serve either immediately or chilled (I prefer immediately). Serve with sweet peanut sauce (yuck) or Sriracha or soy sauce.

I tried to take an artistic picture but my soy sauce went everywhere. I could never be a fine dining photographer :( 

It's the Year of the Monkey...Dallas road trip! (pt.2)

February 14, 2016: it was Valentine's Day and I wanted to go to the Farmers Market. Our conversation the night before-

       Me: "I thought you liked vegetables."

       Wes: "I do but I don't care about them in their natural habitat."

Hahahahahaha! Luckily for Wes, there was more than just vegetables at the Dallas Farmers Market. The market had an indoor shed (or maybe they called it the barn) that was mostly restaurants. I think if it wasn't early on a Sunday morning, there would be some craft vendors there, too. Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking because I love craft vendors. 

There was also a really neat community garden. If I lived in downtown Dallas, I would totally be a part of this. I don't actually know how you become a part of this. *sad face* The garden had various herbs and leafy greens growing in troughs. I suspect that by springtime, all the gardeners have a pretty bountiful harvest. This is perfect for healthy eating while apartment living since you don't really have a yard to grow your own organic veggies. 

The market had a lot of farmers selling fresh eggs (which I wanted but there is no way they would have survived the day so I passed), soaps, dog treats (I bought some cheddar apple treats and Sadie & Athena loved them), honey and a lot of food vendors--baked goods & coffee, Cajun food, grilled corn on the cob, Mexican food, seafood, etc. 

       We bought some flavored honey sticks (pictured above). They are little straws filled with honey that you can dissolve into your tea. We got an orange, cinnamon, mint and natural honey stick. The farmer selling them looked a lot like my old neighbor, Dustin. We wanted to have lunch at the market but we gorged ourselves at breakfast in the hotel so we needed to kill some time. I wanted to explore Downtown Dallas but since it was early on a Sunday morning nothing was open. My mom had asked us to get her some Chinese New Year cards on our trip but the festival didn't have any so we made a trip to one of the Chinese grocery stores. 

We missed the dragon dance at the finale the night before but we saw our fill at the Hong Kong Marketplace! We arrived just as the dancers were finishing up their performance in the parking lot. We followed them into the grocery store, up and down all the aisles and then next door to the shopping center. I think the performers at this school were better than the ones that performed at the festival. They also needed ample space to perform but they didn't ask... they just barreled through the crowd. If you didn't move, you were getting a kung fu kick in the face! 

We searched all throughout the store and the shopping center but there were no greeting cards. I always want to get groceries but I never think they'll make it home during the drive so I have to pass. One of these days, we're going to stay a week and I'm going to shop my little heart out and cook us a feast! 

Aisle 3: flour, seasonings, dragon dancers.

After an hour or so at the grocery store, we headed back to the farmers market for lunch. Wes got tamales and I got a grilled corn on the cob. Both were delicious. I wanted to visit the Fabric District (yes, this does exist and there is a fabric warehouse!) but all the shops were closed on Sunday. I think we had our fill of adventures for the weekend anyway so we headed home. Driving around Dallas is crazy & stressful but we made it! I only almost got in an accident once! (and it wasn't really my fault; I was trying to merge onto the highway and this asshole wouldn't let me merge.)
       It was a fun Chinese New Year + Valentine's experience. I'm glad Wes and I share the same interests (and ideas on how to celebrate holidays!) and that we travel well together. More adventures to come!!!