Tokyo Yakiniku Yazawa Grilled Wagyu Beef

Dear readers, a Wandering Eats post!  We took our little girl to Tokyo this summer, her first time.  What a city, a city amongst cities, a queen bee for sure!  The Blade Runner energy of it all was something to feel and see!

And the eats. Omgosh, we ate and ate and then ate some more.  Everything was so frick'in-liciously good.  One of the highlights was the grilled wagyu beef restaurant that we found one late night.  Oh my, oh my, seriously AMAZING just melt in the mouth beef-y feast of the ages!

Thai Satay Skewers

If you're one of those folks like me who think that restaurant servings of skewers are waaaay too small and few and never enough for your deep skewer hunger then you're in luck cuz skewers are actually pretty easy to make.  And if you make your own you can have as many, many mouth wateringly lusicous skewers as you can gobble down and hide under your shirt for nibbles later.  (Ouch, watch out for the sharp tips!)  

These Thai Satay Skewers of thoroughly marinated meat grilled to caramelized charred perfection are a showcase for those famously startlingly contrasts that work so well in Thai cuisine, the sweet, salty, sour, bitter and spicy present and somehow all perfectly balanced in one dish.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad Bun Bo Xao

When it gets hot and muggy (yup, that's right, it feels like summer already here in Hong Kong), there's nothing like a chilled bowl of noodles, amiright? But at the same time why not go for a refreshing green salad? Heck, why not have both at the same time?! 

One of the best kinda noodles /salads for when you want to cool down and you're in the mood for lots and lots of fabulous flavor is a chilled bowl of Vietnamese Beef Vermicelli Noodles or Bun Bo Xao : tender, chewy noodles cradled in a bed of baby greens, dressed in a tangy sweet spicy sauce and topped with more luscious greens (including mint and basil!), strips of oh so flavorful grilled lemongrass marinated beef and, to top it all off, sprinkled generously with crushed peanuts and crispy fried shallots.

Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles 牛肉炒烏冬面

Sometimes there's nothing you want so much as a good heap'in plate of steaming hot stir fried noodles.  Yuummmm...  Noodles are a great all in one dish!  

You've got your long twirling noodles that you can slurp or suck up, your various bits of lovely vegetables (healthy!), and your lovely splash of marinated meat (scrummy!).  Everything you need for a super tasty all in one dinner or lunch.  

We love to use udon noodles to make our stir fry noodles cuz you get the added perk of the udon oozing just enough starch to make a deliciously sticky, oh so satisfying! sauce that juicily coats all your stir fry.  So good!  Try this Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles, it's an easy, throw together leftovers kind of dish that makes a lovely, tasty, saucy plate of delicious noodles.

Chinese Daikon Brisket Stew 清湯蘿蔔牛坑腩

Finally we here in Hong Kong have felt the cool soothing touch of the occasional autumn breeze!  As usual, it's been a long, hot, humid summer and we're just crazy glad that the weather has cooled down enough to allow us at times to live with open windows and no air conditioner blasting away.  

The change in the weather been so uplifting in a way (silly me, I know!), that I have been inspired to start dreaming of warm, fortifying autumn dishes for our dinner table.  This Chinese Daikon Brisket Stew, or 清湯蘿蔔牛坑腩, is one of those comfort dishes that fills you up heartily, tastes just yummilicious with tender beef and meltingly soft daikon swimming prettily in a clear soup that will give you strength to fight against the autumn chills.

Chinese Spiced Beef Shin Shank 滷牛腱

We were thinking about roast beef sandwiches and naturally, this being Hong Kong, could not find any roasting type of meat cuts available. Though it does appear off and on on the supermarket shelves.  Just never when you actually want to buy it.  

So, being frustrated, I had a 'light bulb' and thought of my Mom's delicious Chinese Spiced Beef Shin Shank, or 滷牛腱, that she always makes for us on our visits home.  It is a slow cooked soy and spices flavored shin of beef that becomes deliciously tender and fragrant with beautiful stripes of translucent melty tendons patterning the sliced beef.  Ah, the pleasures of the Chinese kitchen!!