H-Mart @ Burlington, MA

HEAVEN! We found out that this little piece of food (grocery) heaven just opened in Burlington, MA (about 15-20 minutes outside Boston). H-Mart is a large Asian grocery store specializing in Korean groceries and carry a good range of Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian as well as Indian food stuff!

We’ve heard about H-Mart opening a branch just outside Boston early this year but never heard a single thing about its grand opening and thought that with the economy doing not so well, they might have cancelled the plan. We soon found out that they’ve indeed arrived in Burlington, MA and actually just opened their doors sometime in September.

Hubby and I drove to H-Mart over the weekend. Parking was big, but still not enough to hold the many shoppers who throng the store. You got to literally fight for parking in the lot and also fight your way through the grocery aisles. It was quite packed!

The prices were surprisingly very reasonable if not very competitive! Yay, this is definitely to my advantage. There’s a corner filled with a delectable variety of Korean side dishes such as KimChi. The fresh seafood aisle was awesome; lots of varieties (fish, shellfish, etc) to choose from, cheap, clean and FRESH! The vegetable and fruit corner was pretty impressive too. A case of those luscious Korean Pears are about $22.99. I’m so going to get a case of that during my next visit!! They even had a corner selling some appliances, cookware and other household items.

Oh yeah, there were even a bakery and food court which offers Korean, Japanese and Indian food in this grocery store. The only drawback of the food court, seating is limited. But I heard the food is great!

H-Mart is open from 8am – 9pm everyday. My friends suggest to go early to avoid the crowds. The building is not quite visible from the main street. It is however in the same area as the Market Basket in Burlington, the H-mart is located behind that Market Basket. I think you have to personally visit H-Mart to see how impressive this grocery store is.

Check out H-Mart’s Burlington, MA location HERE.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

I was craving for some Pork Chops but I was having a tough time trying to think how should I cook it. All of a sudden, I remembered the bottle of Balsamic Vinegar tucked in my pantry waiting for me to incorporate in one of my dishes! Perfect…Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops. I’ve never made it before, but I think I’ve heard of such dish. And it sounded yummy!

Quick introduction to Balsamic Vinegar for those of you who’s unfamiliar with it. Balsamic Vinegar is an aged reduction of white sweet grapes that are boiled to a syrup and is made in Modena, Italy. This is not made from wine as the pressing from the white sweet grapes were never allowed to ferment into wine. There are lots of grades to Balsamic Vinegars. The ones we usually get at the store cost about $4 are the commercial grade ones which are mostly used in vinaigrettes are not true Balsamic Vinegar. These commercial Balsamic Vinegar have Red Wine Vinegar added to them and true Balsamic Vinegar does not. Hence the price is cheaper, had more acidity and is not as syrupy. True Balsamic Vinegar can cost about $50 to hundreds of dollars for a small bottle and must be aged for at least 12 years.

Since I was experimenting with Balsamic Vinegar, I needed something sweet to tone down the acidity of the vinegar. In most recipes I’ve seen, brown sugar and apricot preserves are added to the sauce as a sweetener. I decided to use the next best alternative by using Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) as a substitute to the brown sugar. I used Malaysian Gula Melaka which has a darker brown color. It worked out like a charm! Don’t worry if you do not have any Gula Melaka in your pantry, regular brown sugar is just fine! =)

Here’s my version of the Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops. I paired the porky pork chops with some mushroom rice pilaf and sautéed asparagus. Hubby and I loved these pork chops, he even had 2 servings! =)

BALSAMIC GLAZED PORK CHOPS RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 4 Pork Chops, 1/2” Thick
• 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, Thinly Sliced
• 4 Oz Mushrooms, Quartered
• 1/2 Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 Tbsp Apricot Preserve
• 2 Oz Gula Melaka or Brown Sugar
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp Butter

Method:

Season pork chops well with salt and pepper. The dust pork chops with some flour. Over medium high heat, melt butter in a large a pan large enough to fit the pork chops. When the butter started to brown, place pork chops in the pan. Cook the first side for about 4 minutes and the second side of the pork chops for 3 minutes until pork is cooked. Remove and keep warm.

Lower heat to medium and stir in onions. Scrap the pan while stir frying the onions and cook onions until it’s soften. Add mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, apricot preserve and brown sugar (or Gula Melaka). Cook mixture until mushrooms shrink and sauce slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low.

Coat pork chops in the balsamic sauce before transferring them onto individual plates or a large serving platter. Scoop some of the mushroom and onion mixture onto the pork chops. Serve pork chops with some rice pilaf, mash potatoes and or sautéed vegetables.

June’s Notes: It’s ok if the pork chops does not fit in one pan; I fried mine 2 at a time. If you think you needed a little butter to fry the 2nd batch of pork chops…by all means, add another 1-2 tbsp of butter. Please note that the mushrooms will have a slightly tart and tangy flavor as they have soaked in the flavors of the balsamic vinegar.

For more information on Balsamic Vinegar, refer to the following sites:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/balsamic.htm

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookwithcondiments/a/whatisbalsamic.htm

Shop Early and Shop For A Cause?

I like start my X’mas shopping early than doing it lets say 2 days before X’mas. From November onwards, I’m always looking out for deals and gifts for family and friends. Anyway, my friend shared a 30% discount coupon for multiple use at Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy (and their outlet stores). This coupon is good for your whole purchase and is valid for use from Nov 12-15. And the best part is…you’re also doing it for a cause. They will give 5% of the amount you spend to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You could take advantage of the discount to shop for yourself, buy gifts for loved ones and at the same time you’re also donating to the Leukemia & Lynphoma Society! Now, isn’t that a sweet deal? =)

Print out your coupon @ http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/lls/. If you’re having problem accessing the site, email me and I’ll send you a PDF copy!! =)

PS: Please note I’m not affiliated with the merchant(s) mentioned above. Just sharing a money saving deal!

Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

The sound of Macaroni and Cheese sounds heavenly but the sight of it where the macaroni is all coated in Orangy goo, just scare the daylight out of me! The best macaroni and cheese I had was the King Crab Mac & Cheese @ Phillips Seafood in Baltimore, MD. The second best perhaps a Truffle (Infused?) Mac & Cheese I had at Medici Cafe @ Las Vegas Ritz Hotel. Ahh… how I would die to  be able to eat them right now!!

Anyways, having experiment with Mac & Cheese a couple times and trying to create perhaps an adult version of it, I decided to make it for my Halloween Dinner. I thought it turned out well except this silly chef forgot…SALT!! With Salt added, the Mac & Cheese was YUMS!

So this recipe was inspired by the King Crab Macaroni & Cheese I had. The cheese is overall subtle and perhaps not overly cheesy. That way you can eat more and not get filled up quickly by all those cheeses! =) If you’re looking for a super duper cheesy Mac & Cheese, this recipe is probably not for you…well unless you add more cheese to it!

LOBSTER MACARONI & CHEESE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Chopped Lobster Meat
• 5 Oz Asparagus, Cut into 1”
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
• 1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 2-1/2 Cups Macaroni Elbow
• 3 Tbsp Butter, Divided
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 2 Cup Milk
• 2-1/2 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1/3 Italian Breadcrumbs
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Boil pasta in seasoned water (oil + salt) until al-dente. Drain and set aside. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan and add garlic and onion. Once garlic and onion have started to brown, add asparagus and stir fry until asparagus is tender. Remove and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375F. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and stir vigorously to avoid clumps. Stir in milk and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add cheese and cook until cheese has melted. Add in asparagus, lobster, cooked macaroni and mix them well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer macaroni mixture into a 9” x 13” glass baking pan. Top macaroni with bread crumbs and bake in oven for about 20 minutes. This should serve 5-6 people as an entree.

June’s Notes: Feel free to use chopped grilled/rotisserie chicken instead of lobster. If you do not have Italian breadcrumbs in your pantry, feel free to use Panko breadcrumbs. Melt about 2 tbsp of butter and toss in about 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs before topping your macaroni. Bake until the panko turns golden brown!

Around & About Florence

We took a train from Venice to Florence. Now, we bought the our train ticket just the day before in Venice. It wasn’t because we were pushing our luck, but we had problems buying the train tickets from the USA. And since they were plenty of trains going into Florence everyday, we weren’t too worried about it and decided to buy the tickets almost there and then. We bought second class train tickets onboard EuroStar which cost us Euro 148 total, that about Euro 37 per person. The train was super clean, super comfy and pretty fast!

We got into Florence about 2-1/2 or 3 hours later. After getting off the huge train station, we figured how to get to apartment agency to pick up our keys and off we went! We had a bad experience with the apartment and the agency in Florence which we booked through hotels.com. I might share my agony on a separate post.

Anyways, after FINALLY getting into the apartment and washing up…we wandered around Florence. We walked everywhere in Florence and was trying to get used to the many motorcycles on the street. It felt like home (Malaysia) again as motorcycles were everywhere!!! Florence is filled with plenty  museums for those of you who’s into art and history. And since Florence is located in Tuscany, the wine region…. you’re not far from the nearest winery. We took this to our advantage and scheduled a tour to Chianti, a famous wine making region.

As much as some of us wanted to head to Pisa to see the world famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, there’s only as much time we have during our trip. We had to leave that out, unfortunately. Perhaps, we’ll return to Italy one day and visit Pisa!

After 3 days and 2 nights, hours of walking in Florence, and many bottles of Chianti we headed to our very next destination…ROMA (Rome)!