CHRISTMAS COOKIES PART 1

Christmas cookies Part 1; in this bloggie, I'll give you a simple recipe for some Tiny Tarts, a simple cookie for Xmas concoction. Ready? Here we go folks, my foodies.


1/2 cup softened unsalted real butter
1 pack of cream cheese
1 cup flour
1 whole large egg
3/4 cup of brown sugar to 1 cup
2 tbsp. of safflower oil
2/3 cup of chopped pecans or macadamia nuts


Preheat oven to about 325-350 degrees F


1. In a medium mixing bowl, add in the butter and cream cheese, and mix it together keeping it from melting totally. Slowly add in the flour and mix  it well.


2. Grease a 24 cup mini-muffin pan (see bottom), about 1 3/4 inch size, use the oil to grease it so the dough will not stick when it's baked. Spoon a tablespoon of the dough into it making sure that the dough is pressed gently on the bottom and side of each cup.


3. Make the filling by mixing the egg, sugar, and oil. and the chopped nuts.


4. Fill each cup with 1 teaspoon of the filling, and then bake it for about 30 minutes, remove and let it cool and a wire rack.

This is what a 24 mini-muffin pan looks like this is from www.lionsdeal.com and sells for around 10.79 it's nonstick.


Note: when making the dough fit inside the cup compartments, make a lip towards the sides so the filling stays inside if not your filling will ooze out towards the sides.

CHRISTMAS CAKES

Alright foodies, it's a few days before December 2011, so it's time for lots of baking, pies, cookies, and my favorite, Christmas cakes. Man there's nothing like eating a  Christmas cake that a friend baked. In fact, I know several of my foodie friends that can really kick fucking ass in the baking department, I'm not included in that department, I suck at baking really, though at times I can pull off a baking task which is rarely.


My friend Jaime Navarro is an excellent home baker, my niece Tamara same thing, it's the love they put into baking. So then what am I going to write about today as Christmas lurks a few weeks ahead? I'll be looking at some Christmas cakes, from today on until Christmas day, I'll be talking about Christmas cakes, and pies, and cookies, sharing what was shared to me. Here goes.


EGGNOG BUNDT CAKE WITH RUM FROSTING


1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup eggnog
1 pack instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2  filtered water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla


Frosting:
5 tbsp. rum
1 1/8 cup powdered sugar


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg.


Mix all of the cake mixture ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.


Prepare the bundt pan with nonstick spray.


Pour into pan, and bake for about 50 minutes. (Cool at least 20 minutes before removing from pan).


Make the frosting, add more rum if you want it thinner, then drizzle over the cake, then serve with a nice cup of hot coffee.




The pan you'll need looks like this, it's a deep pan, when you're done baking, you  flip it and the cake comes out with the rounded part as the top.

Okay, now you know what a bundt cake pan looks like, it's time you get off of your freeking ass and bake some serious ass Eggnog Bundt Cake w/ Rum Frosting. I may have some Hana Bay Rum around here somewhere, shit, what if I used beer?


Anyhow, Happy baking this Holiday season, and if you fuck up your cake who really gives a fuck? Happy Christmas and if you are Jewish, Happy Hanukkah. Ho Ho Ho, where's the Ho? Is she still on the street? Tell her to go wash up! 

In sun Fukuyama, wife of Alan Fukuyama was kind enough to be on the show, teaching us the finer points of making kim chee. Both In sun and Alan were on the set in Wahikui, and I had a great time, as Alan provided the play by play from behind the scenes, In sun demonstrated the real way to make this Korean staple. 


Growing up in Lahaina, kim chee was a staple in the fridge, next to the Best Foods Mayonnaise, and next to the tub of miso paste, most locals can relate. 


What In sun talked about was that the cabbage (close to 2 lbs Napa), had to be sliced down the center only a tad by the whitish part of the bottom of the cabbage, not all the way down. As Alan commented as his wife was plucking the cabbage apart, "You never slice it all the way, because for one thing, the leaves in the center gets messed up, when you pull it apart, you have more leaves to work with." Then she sliced the cabbage in quarters, and then into bite-sized pieces. Then she sprinkled some salt over the cabbage that was resting in the bowl, this had to sit overnight or longer, but she had one prepped for the taping.


After that she boiled some water with cornstarch to make something of a roux, or slurry, she got it over the heat and it got thicker, then she cooled it down considerably. After the thickened water cooled down, she added some garlic and ginger, and some chili powder (not the fine one), it had texture, and then some shrimp paste, and green onions, and some Hawaiian chili peppers. This technique she claims makes the sauce hotter. "When you heat up the peppers, it loses heat, you heat the water and thicken it first, then you add in the ingredients when it is cooled down." Alan explained,  "When we make chili pepper water, we never heat the chilis first, we add it in the water raw, it retains the heat longer. I learned that from a Japanese man."


Then she tossed the cabbage leaves together with the kim chee sauce, it was better than eating the bottled ones I buy at the supermarket, there's nothing like fresh kim chee, it was a great short segment that needs to be edited for Akaku TV and to be on YouTube, so I got some work to do. 
In sun and Alan Fukuyama on the set

COOKING FOR TAMA (YouTube)

RD Lick em Up! Our cooking show, not made for prime time, but we don't care really. This is part 1 of "Cooking for Tama" Tama is our families' Staffy, we cooked him a 12 oz. New York steak, and he mauled it in less than 30 seconds.

Our show is based on Ron (me) cooking, and Danny Agdeppa behind the camera and while he films, he commentates on what's happening. We also pick up on current events, and we try not to be so serious in the whole show. Mistakes are common, but that's the beauty of life, its imperfections.

Also will be doing more shows, will be on You Tube see (Chefboy Maui). And AKAKU Television Maui.

COOKING FOR TAMA (YouTube) Part 2

RD Lick em Up! Our cooking show is not made for prime time t.v., but we don't give a shit, part 2 of "Cooking For Tama" Our families' Staffy. We cooked a 12 oz. New York steak for him, and he mauled it in less than 30 seconds.

Our show is based on Danny Agdeppa behind the camera as camera man/ commentator, while Ron (me) is the front man playing the chef. Every episode is an experiment.

www.rdlickemup.wordpress.com

THE MAHALO GIVING BIRD

Thank You in Hawaiian, we say "Mahalo" (ma hah low)... Get it? In a week, it'll be Mahalogiving time, and well, most peeps will be roasting that bird also know as the turkey, the Tom, the bird. Some folks have some creative recipes for this bird. I've seen it done Chinese style, almost like Peking duck, I've seen it done somewhat Filipino/Spanish with the adobo flavors. Yes, I've seen it done with a teriyaki sauce too. Underground roasted, kalua. Deep Fried, oh this is really good deep fried, crispy on the outside, and juicy tender on the inside, man even the breast is juicy. But that good old traditional roasted turkey in the oven with the gravy made from the juices off the roasting pan, can't get better than that. There's nothing like it, some peeps will soak the turkey in a salted, herbed and spiced brine (not me though). Some peeps thaw it out early, fill a chest with ice, season it all over with seasonings, and let it just seep right into the body. My friend Uncle Al D, used to get lots of lemon grass, ginger, and garlic, with some soy sauce and soak the cavity of the bird with it. Then he'd go under the skin and put some Hawaiian salt, with pepper, and herbs, and tuck in nice and tight, lots of garlic too. He'd crank up the oven to super hot, place the bird in there, and let the bird get that crispy crust, then he'd foil it, turn the heat down to like right above 280 deg. and let it slow cook, always checking the birds internal temperature with his old culinary instant read thermometer, he'd pull it out at about 150 deg. f and let it rest on the counter, by the time people were ready to eat, it was fork tender. Also his stove was messed up, but he knew how to stroke that baby, I think now that stove is in the landfill. 


Happy Thanksgiving!

HOW TO USE TOFU FOR BREAKFAST

For those of you who think tofu is bland, think again, this is a simple recipe that is great for those of you trying to omit the meat out of your diets. Check out this list of ingredients, it's easy to purchase for I bet, you can buy these in your local supermarket.


And all you'll need is a non-stick pan, about a 10 inch pan will do, or a 12.


5 tbsp. of safflower oil
2 minced garlic
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika,1 block firm tofu 14 oz. Broken up into pieces. (organic)


1. Heat up the oil in pan over medium high heat, then add in the garlic, and ginger for a few seconds until the aroma is present, then add in the cumin and paprika, stir it  into the oil for a few seconds. Then add in the tofu, and stir around cooking for about 5 minutes until steaming.


2 tsp. turmeric
1 orange (squeezed of its juice)3
1 bay leaf broken
3 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. ume vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


2. Add in the turmeric, stir until some color changes to yellowish, then add in the juice of one orange, stir for a minute, crack the bay leaf in half, add that in as well as the soy sauce, ume vinegar, stir for about a couple minutes, you'll smell the aroma which is cool and fresh.
Add in salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with toast or any starch you like.

SWEET SOUR SHRIMP On The Healthy Side

Sweet Sour Shrimp is a very popular Chinese dish, usually the shrimp is battered and then deep fried in hot sizzling oil, to a nice golden crisp, and a sauce that is sweet and sour, and colored on the reddish, yellowish side. There's different styles because of the different chefs that make it, but the basic recipes do have lots of sugar and sodium, so then how can you keep the sugars and sodium down?


Try this recipe.


1 lb. of cleaned shrimp, tails on.


1 cup of garbanzo flour + 2 cups of garbanzo flour
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
Ice Cold water enough to make a batter with the last 2 cups of garbanzo flour


First, take the one cup of garbanzo flour and put it in a bowl. Now place the shrimp in the flour and dredge it.


Next, add the bread crumbs 1/4 cup to the 2 cups of garbanzo flour, mix it well with a whisk or a fork, then slowly add in the ice cold water, mixing it in so that the mixture will be just right, not too thick and not too runny. Then add in the dredged shrimp and coat it well with the batter.


For the Sweet Sour Sauce:


1/2 cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup of raw brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup of water
1 tsp. ground turmeric


1 tbsp. of cornstarch
3 tbsp. of water.
Mix these two together in small bowl to thicken sauce.


1. Heat up a wok with vegetable oil over high heat, until it sizzles, then turn heat down to medium high, fry the battered shrimp, 2-3 at a time until golden, place on paper towel to drain oil. Continue until all of the shrimp are cooked.


2. In the same wok, with oil drained out, put the ingredients of all the sweet and sour mixture into the wok over high heat, stir it around, then add in the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce, the turmeric should make it kind of yellowish orange.


3. Pour the hot sauce over the cooked shrimp and serve immediately with brown rice, not white rice.

Sausage Salad

Salads are getting to be quite crazy these days, I mean you go to a restaurant, and you'll see nice Kula greens, topped with 5 oz. of thinly sliced grilled flank, and the chef calls it a fajita salad. Wow, meat lovers unite!


Well, everyone that loves to eat meat, and I really try to watch my intake of it, in fact, seriously if there were more vegan joints around Lahaina or where I travel I'd really eat that kind of food. Well, that's another story for another time eh?


How about creating a sausage salad? Well, you can use any kind of sausage you like, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Ham, Pork links, whatever.


Here's my Sausage Salad, and you sick puppies are making fun of that dish right now eh sickos? But here is my Sausage Salad.


Serves 2.


Hand full of chopped romaine lettuce on each plate
A few Kalamata olives on each plate

A few thinly sliced onion slices on each plate
A few thinly sliced daikon radish on each plate


DRESSING:
2/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. sugar
In a blender blend all of these ingredients, and pour on each plate over veggies.


10 oz. of Portuguese sausage spicy
Pan sear sausage until it is blacken in the pan, use no oil or fats, let the fats come out from the sausage as it sears. Then slice it diagonally, dividing 5 oz. each over each plate, feather it over the veggies, serve with a nice red wine.


The picture is of Linguica made in a factory, these are very tasty sausage, over veggies it's wonderful.

TOFU, GINGER, PATIS, SWEET CHILI SAUCE

Here are 4 ingredients, tofu (firm), ginger, patis (fermented fish sauce), and sweet chili sauce. What can you do with it?


Here's what I would do, I'd take the tofu and drain it well, take out as much water as possible, and then cut them up into cubes about 1/2 inches in size. Then peel the fresh ginger, and grate them, about 1 tbsp., and then mix about 4 tbsp. of patis, and 2 tbsp. of sweet chili sauce.


Then to be fancy, place the tofu, divided on four saucers, because most blocks of tofu are 14 oz., so each person will get a little over 3 oz. of tofu, then I'd top each saucer with some grated ginger, and then spoon some of the patis and sweet chili sauce mixture over it.

.

BALE Spring Rolls with Veggies, Rice Noodles and Fish Sauce

If you've never eaten at Bale restaurant, a Vietnamese dig, you're missing out. The food is clean, and really low on the sat fats. Bale is located in Kahului at the Maui Market Place off of Dairy Road, it is also in Wailuku town under the bridge, there's one in the Piilani Shopping Village in Kihei, and one in the Lahaina Cannery Mall.

Pictured here is the Spring Rolls side dish, with crispy spring rolls, long rice noodles, sliced cucumber, and crisp romaine lettuce and sweet fish sauce. People can eat this anyway they want, but most will put a Spring roll into the lettuce, with a topping of rice noodles, cucumber, and dip it in the fish sauce and chomp it down.

Very filling, and clean, they also have vegetarian, and the breads are awesome too, they make great sandwiches, Vietnamese with a French touch.

COOK/FOOD BOOK RELEASE DATE EARLY 2012

The upcoming cook/food book will feature 7 dishes from the beef, pork, chicken, fish, and turkey categories. Tips on food safety, equipment, just the basics one should know when learning to cook. This book is not a book full of bells and whistles, it's a book that will give a home cook an idea of what to make, dishes that most locals like to eat. There's seven days in a week, hence the seven dishes of each group. One for Sunday, Monday etc.


Guest chefs include Mark Ellman, Ann Marie Burtell, Scottee Nakamura, Chris Lelik, Mixologist Barbara Cobey, and the late Shirley Fong Torres, the book is dedicated to my brother Harold who also passed on this year, he and Shirley were Chinese chefs and restaurant owners, Shirley in the Bay area, Harold on Maui.


Currently untitled, there's one idea, and that is to have the cover solid black like Metallica's Black album, or solid white such as the Beetle's White album.


Looking at the calendar, the book should be out by early 2012 with another follow up right after that.


Book is currently eyeballed at a retail price of 17.99, and there will be a blog site set up for it when it gets all legalized.

TEST KITCHEN: Shoyu Chicken

This morning, we borrowed a kitchen we used to test out a shoyu chicken recipe. First of all, we decided to keep the flavors true to the shoyu side, or the soy sauce side, and not make the sauce sweet like a teriyaki. This is easy, but difficult at the same time, because in a good shoyu chicken, you want some sweet, but you don't want the sweet to be over powering, also you don't  want the chicken to be tasting too salty from the soy sauce.


First off, we used frozen thighs, which to me is the best because it is fattier, more juicy than the breast, or to be frank, the leg section or dark meat works very well for shoyu chicken.


I minced up some fresh ginger really fine, and the same amount of garlic, I love that culinary blend. I utilized about a 1/2 cup raw sugar, 1/3 cup water, 1 1/2 cups soy sauce for the liquids. Minced some green onions and tossed it into the bowl and mixed it up well.


Then I soaked the thighs for about 2 hours, longer works better but because we needed to get out of the kitchen we kinda rushed the job, but that's okay, a 2 hour soak works well too.


I cranked the oven (a gas convection) to 350 deg. f, and then got a roasting pan, and laid out the marinated thighs skin side up. Then I baked the chicken for 1 hour, and this was a 5 pound box. Since the pieces are broken apart, I could have gone for 45 to 50 minutes, but went for a solid hour. What was produced was a nice dark piece of thigh, crisp on the edges, and somewhat juicy on the inside, okay some of the pieces were dry, I think because of the convection system it really heated up the oven well enough to cook through quickly. Maybe if I took it out earlier and let it rest, it would work out better, but would the skin be that crisp on the edges? Well, I am limited on funds to test more of this, so I figure baking it is good, but if you're using a convection, keep an eye on it as it bakes.


Now what did the HTRs say about the flavor? Now keep in mind, my recent testings were all good for some reason, why? Because my Human test rats were always hungry, they'ed eat a live mongoose and say it was great. But today, I struck out a few times.


HRT 1: Ron, it tastes too salty, I think more sweet would be better, and I like my shoyu chicken boiled not baked.


HRT 2: I think it needed to be more juicy, some of the pieces were too dried out, but the flavors was okay, but I hate green onions, WTF did you put that in there?


HRT 3: No, not good Ron, I would not buy this product, for one thing, there's too much garlic in there, the ginger I can handle, but garlic? Is this an Italian dish? And I must agree with the other two, too salty for some reason, needs more sugar.


Okay, that's me striking out, but I'll remember to sweeten it up more the next time, and maybe not bake it. Oh well, that's all part of testing and tasting.


Sorry no pics, the HRTs and the person who owns the kitchen didn't want it all over the internet, hey I'm just happy I got to test this out.


For my upcoming cook/foodbook. Yet to be titled.


Ron.

Japanese Influence on Da Plate Lunch

Growing up in Lahaina, Maui right out of the plantations of the sugar industry, I had friends who's parents or grandparents migrated from Japan to work in the sugar fields. Whenever I'd play with them as kids, their moms would make food for us, and because here in Hawaii we were exposed to many different styles of cooking, nothing really fazed us that much. After all, each ethnic dish had an aroma, no questions asked, it had an aroma.


Japanese foods. Many of the dishes I ate in the homes of my local Japanese friends were flavored by rice vinegar, soy sauce, dried tuna flakes, miso paste, scallions, ginger, salt, MSG, and they used lots of lean meats, lots of seafood, some poultry, but lots of veggies thinly sliced and raw.


Pickled radish was popular as a side to the entree, daikon was the Japanese radish, and when pickled, it gave a pretty whopping aroma, that the uninitiated would find offensive. But we were exposed to the aromas of the Japanese home, the food smells would be embedded in the sofas, the curtains, the air around us, but that was alright, it was part of their home. Like I said, the aroma of foods, was always present back in the day before everyone was into spraying Lysol or Glade in the air.


Fried mackerel was another such dish we would consume, fried crisp with soy sauce and vinegar with white rice. Or a stew or braise called nishime, consisting of tofu, mixed vegetables, and a sweet soy sauce gravy, some cooks would add seaweed, some would add bamboo shoots, some mushrooms. Also tempuras was popular, shrimp, veggies, fish, all battered and deep fried. Udon noodles, stirred around in a pan with some ham, and fish cake, topped with soy sauce, and sometimes a scrambled egg. And the maki and cone sushi was always part of a meal. 


When there were picnics, my Japanese friends would bring rice balls, hand crafted sticky white rice, with a ume salted plum stuck in the center, it was like licking a lollipop and trying to get the prized tootsie roll chocolate in the center. Some would bring a fried chicken that was soaked in teri sauce, it was battered and fried to a crisp, that was great. I remember one of my friends would bring a teri beef sandwich for the rest of our little league team, his mom would make it, stuck in between white bread with a piece of lettuce and mayonnaise, it was sort of France meets Japan, way before sushi joints concocted California rolls, or Dynamite.


Now if you got to a plate lunch dig here in the islands, this is where we got the shrimp tempura, the miso soup, the sushi, the udon bowls. And we can't rule out guri guri, a Japanese concocted sorbet. My friend Karl Yamada's parents ran a local Okazu Ya on Front Street in Lahaina, and I remember them having some of that there.


And shaved ice, we were introduced to shaved ice from a little Japanese man Mr. Yamamoto, Yamamoto's was a small store that sold hamburgers, good ones too, I bet he'd kick In N Out's ass today if he were alive. But he sold fishing gear on a small scale, bamboo poles, small sinkers, led, and any pound of test line you needed. Whenever we needed to go get hooks and fishing supplies we went to Yamamoto's and we got a shaved ice too while there. I liked the strawberry syrup, and if I had enough cash, I'd get the vanilla ice cream stuck in the center of the cup, you know those Coke cups? Yeah that's the ones man.


Well that's it for my short history on Japanese influencing the plate lunch. :))

LOCAL MENU FOR THE VISITOR What it Looks Like

Local foods on Maui is all about plate lunches, this is really a repetitive thing, because anyone who knows food and culture in Hawaii, with the Asian culture, the Polynesian culture, and even cultures of Spanish influence.


On a plate you'll find anything from a Japanese inspired teriyaki beef, to a Korean Kalbi style BBQ short rib, to a Chinese influenced stir fry, to an Indian curry, to a Hawaiian roasted pork, the list is endless.


Plate lunches usually consist of 2 scoops of rice, 1 scoop of macaroni salad (made up of macaroni noodles, interspersed with minced veggies, salt and pepper, with the ever so popular local favorite mayonnaise).


A typical menu would look like this as you face the girl behind the counter


CHICKEN KATSU ..........7.95
TERI BEEF.......................7.95
KALBI RIBS.....................7.95
ROAST PORK..................7.95
CHOW FUN.......................6.95
SAIMIN................................6.95
SHRIMP TEMPURA........8.95


MIXED PLATES COMBOS    $9.95 (TWO CHOICES OF ENTREES)


This is just an example but this is what it would look like.



www.jooble.org

KUNG FU PLAZA RESTAURANT: VEGAS

Looking for awesome Thai and Chinese food under one roof? Head to Kung Fu Plaza in Las Vegas, close to the Rio and the Gold Coast 702-765-4836 3505 S. Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89103.


Famous for their dishes such as Pad Thai, Chicken Curry, Garlic Chicken, Won Ton Soup.


They have catering and banquets too.

Kung Fu Las Vegas Restaurants Beginnings

KungFu Restaurant was founded in 1973 on 3rd and Fremont street in downtown Las Vegas we had enough seats for 25 guest, and a takeout counter.  Back then Las Vegas was very different, everyone who came to Vegas, visited Downtown, Nixon was in office, Bruce Lee became the first Asian starring in a lead Motion Picture production film, “Enter the Dragon”, and people thought Thai was something you tied around your neck.  But Chinese, almost everyone knew China, and that to enjoy Chinese cuisine meant you had to eat rice with chopsticks.  Thanks to Bruce everyone started to practice “Kung Fu” thinking it was some kind of an ancient warrior dance.  Little does the average person realize that “Kung Fu” or “Gong Fu” as it is pronounced in Cantonese literally means to work harder or hard at something.  Nevertheless, Mr. and Mrs. Wong decided that since everyone knew KungFu from Bruce’s films, we might as well name the restaurant after it, the work hard at something part and not the martial arts part, is what they named it after.  Back then Thailand was mostly known for their Bar girls that American service men frequented during the Vietnam war, not the rich tasting cuisine that was actually good for you.  Opening a Thai restaurant in 1973 in Las Vegas was to put it simply, murder.  Feeling undeterred Mr. and Mrs. Wong who immigrated to the United States from Thailand in 1967 decided to open the first Thai and Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas back in 1973.  Since no one knew what Thai food was, much less where Thailand was on a map, and forget spelling it, they decided to gradually introduce Thai food to Las Vegans one dish at a time.  Back then KungFu restaurant’s entire menu consisted of Chinese food dishes, but over time, one dish at a time we added more and more Thai food dishes into our menu.

The Plaza in Kung Fu Plaza

In the 1980’s this Las Vegas restaurants reinvented itself, by becoming one of the first independent restaurant operator inside a major Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, when Mr. John D. “Jackie” Gaughan, Sr. invited Mr. and Mrs. Wong’s Kung Fu Restaurant into what was then The Union Plaza Hotel & Casino, thus taking over their buffet room on the 3rd floor.  That’s how we got the Plaza in KungFu Plaza Restaurant.  With a seating capacity of well over 500, that’s five hundred seats, Mr. and Mrs. Wong felt obligated to Mr. Gaughan to try and fill up the seats as often as possible, so they marketed KungFu Plaza to Southeast Asian tourist.  And they came, by the bus loads, tourist visiting Vegas with tour operators took their passengers for sightseeing in downtown Las Vegas, and had authentic Thai and Chinese food at the same time, it was like “being home away from home with the curries, and the Teo Chew Roast Duck” mentions one patron.  The demand for our food was so widespread amongst Asian Tourist to Las Vegas, that KungFu Plaza became the first restaurant in Las Vegas to operate a fleet of shuttle buses, ferrying patrons, hungry for Authentic Thai food and Chinese food dishes, from Hotels on the Strip to our Restaurant in The Union Plaza Hotel.  Our inventiveness, and the notion to work harder at something, set off a furry of complementary shuttle operations among the Hotels and Casinos in Las Vegas, and now you see them as common place.

Chinatown and Las Vegas Restaurants

With Vegas greatly expanding outward, especially Las Vegas Restaurants expanding throughout the Strip, KungFu Plaza decided that the most logical place for it to be was in a Chinatown.  Numerous attempts was made to nail down a Las Vegas Chinatown, anywhere from East Charleston Blvd and Eastern, West Sahara and Lindell, to East Flamingo Road, but in 1994, a major investment company from Taiwan placed their bets on West Spring Mountain Road, and opened the biggest Asian Themed Shopping Mall in Las Vegas.  Getting wind of that project, Mr. and Mrs. Wong found a vacant restaurant and quickly secured the space for what is now the current location of KungFu Plaza Restaurant at 3505 South Valley View Blvd. 
As you come in and relax in our cozy Dining Room which is just ½ mile west of the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip.  Your Vegas dining experience begins as you are greeted by an ancient elephant, hand carved from a single teak wood, in an atmosphere filled with our contemporary Thai Artwork, Thai speaking waiters and waitresses.

This Las Vegas restaurants Bar is stocked full of Bourbon, Cognac, Cordials, Gins, Rums, Scotch, Tequilas, Vodkas, Wines and Whiskey, or if you prefer, ask one of our staff to make one of our great tasting Polynesian specialty drinks, Mai Tai, or Pina Coladas, Blue Hawaii, Khing Khong or a Sabai Sabai.  We could also brew up that traditional Hot Chinese Jasmine tea, or Oolong tea imported from China, to satisfy any taste and to enhance that perfect Vegas dining experience.

As you Relax in our Las Vegas restaurants dining room, You can rest assure that Your food is prepared and Cooked in a modern Kitchen that is thoroughly cleaned nightly. We use Cooking oils containing Zero grams of Trans Fat, Premium Beef that is Certified Angus and or USDA Choice, and Premium Sauces and dressing in our recipes. And all cooking is executed by a Thai Master Chef.

Today KungFu Plaza Restaurant which is the oldest and most authentic Thai food and Chinese food restaurant in Las Vegas is the foremost authority on authentic Thai and Chinese cuisine in the world, introducing as many people as
possible to new and ancient flavors from its location within an international travel destination. 

Kung Fu Plaza is dedicated to providing our patrons and guests with a culturally rich experience by sharing the most authentic Thai and Chinese recipes with an emphasis on taste, quality, and service for a reasonable price.

The Management and Associates at Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant would like to Thank You for your patronage.  We look forward to servicing your culinary needs in the future.

HOT SPICY STIR FRY

This is a simple stir fry, all you need is a wok, some of the ingredients listed here, and you're good to go.


2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced ginger
10 oz. thinly sliced chicken, into strips, use breast or thighs, I like thighs, it's juicier.
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
1/4 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
2 tbsp. hot chili paste
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. five spice
1/4 cup crushed cashews


1. Heat up vegetable oil over medium high heat, saute the ginger and garlic for a few seconds. Add in the chicken strips, cook for a couple of minutes untouched. Add in the onion, and bell pepper, stir around the wok, cook until slightly wilted.
2. Add in chili paste, five spice, and soy sauce, cook for about 2 minutes, then add in the cashews, toss around, off heat and serve.

Another One Crashes On Lava Rocks! Melting Pot Melts

I was never into fondue that much, never had the hots for it. I mean sitting around and dipping food into some melted crap isn't something that turns me on. I remember growing up in the 70's as a little kid I remember shows in the 70's, people ate fondue with Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson playing in the background. Fondue never interested me at all.


So then, last week I found out that Wok Star closed, and just a minute ago walking to Barnes and Noble here in Lahaina, the maintenance guy tells me, "Hey man the Melting Pot closed." I was like, no shit?


So for those of you bozos that love fondue, oh well, you gots ta make your ownz I reckon. Just kidding but, The Melting Pot just melted,  ha ha ha. It melted on volcanic rock! The sad thing is there were employees there that now don't have a gig, and in these times trying to land any gig is fucking hard. Fucking hard.


Okay then sorry for the cussing, I'm pissed because my project test kitchen is on hold, our test kitchen's stove decided to die. Hey this is irony or what? Is it? Everything is dying, or does irony mean something else, I'm toasted excuse me for living.


Anyhow, if there were any naysayers out there a few years ago that said The Melting Pot wouldn't last, you gotta call them yaysayers then. Whatever, The Melting Pot is closed despite the temporary sign, it is closed for good, has to be, according to the maintenance dude, "They moved out their trash dumpsters." Okay that's a good indicator a restaurant is outta biz, their trash bins are gone, why would the owners keep on paying the fucking trash collectors when they won't have any trash to haul.
Photo: Ron Sambrano

Photo: Ron Sambrano

TEST KITCHEN Shoyu Chicken Part 2

Part 2 of the Test Kitchen "Shoyu Chicken" was anything but smooth, first of all the stove we were using broke down, shit! My human test rats are still buzzing from Halloween, so actually in this case, there was zero Test Kitchen.


Now we need to find a place to test, which shouldn't be hard, we'll just go to someone else's house and make lots of noise and in the process, the owners can also be my HTRs.


Stay tuned because we should commence maybe tonight somewhere, and instead of using Kikkoman Soy Sauce we may try.... drum roll please.. drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. "ALOHA SHOYU AND LIQUID BRAGG's LIQUID AMINO...."


So to tell you all the truth about starting any projects for business, expect Murphy's Law, that yes indeed shit fucking happens, and when it does? Go get a nice pumpkin spiced latte, or go to the ocean and chill out, because there's nothing you can do, in our case the stove fucking broke down, so well, stay tuned eh?