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It’s Asian Hot Pot Season!

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The Chinese Hot Pot, also known as huo guo, Mongolian Hot Pot or Chinese Fondue boasts a history of over 1000 years (!) With a simmering pot of stock in the center of the table and an array of hot pot healthy and fresh ingredients — sliced meat, leafy vegetables, tofu, fish balls, dumplings, noodles – plus savory dipping sauces, the hotpot is a popular tradition across Asia.


Get your hot pot fix at Mini Hot Pot (4897 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341)  or I’ve heard Chong Qing Hot Pot in Chinatown is good (5385 New Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30341).  Or contact us and we’ll throw a hot pot party at your house or office.  It’s warming, healthy and a lot of fun!


Funny note:  Whenever my dad comes back from a visit to Taiwan or China during hotpot season, all his old friends there treat him to bottomless hotpots and he gets “hotpotted out.”  He comes back to the U.S. craving a BK Whopper or Steak ‘n’ Shake! I guess there can be too much of a good thing…





Lost in Translation: Asian Restaurant and Store Names

 

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Great little Japanese grocery store, tucked away in Smyrna


Some good eateries and grocery stores remain a mystery to newcomers, including several along Buford Highway, because they sometimes have different Asian and English names or no English names at all on signs. What you call it often depends on if you can read the Asian characters, the English name (if given) or like most of us, guess at the phoenetics, usually a mangled Americanized pronounciation.


Glimpse of Restaurant Research “Process”


When I ask my Chinese relatives or their friends to give me their restaurant recommendations, we go through this “a.k.a.” or also-known-as ritual:


1) They give me the Chinese name (or translation). I write it down in pinyin with the tone marks- Yi Tiao Long.


2) I clarify the Chinese name – One Dragon? (Yes) What is the English name? (We only know it as Yi Tiao Long. We’ll take you there to eat.) What road is it on? (Don’t know. It’s near Gwinnet Place Mall.)


3) Eventually, we eat there together and I take a look at the English on the sign and menu. Nothing says One Dragon, but it does say Sydney’s Buffet!?


4)  I tell my non-Asian-speaking friends about the Chinese and Japanese buffet at Yi Tiao Long, a.k.a. Sydney’s Buffet in Pleasant Hill!


The photo above is the storefront of a great little Japanese grocery, Tomato, in Smyrna (Windy Hill Rd/Cobb Pkwy).  It’s next to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants for lunch, Umezono’s. You can find good quality soy sauce, my niece’s favorite candy (Hi-Chews), oodles of noodles, refrigerated/frozen food, plus non-food items, like Asian herbal medicines.


I will do my best to dig out favorites in the community then “translate,” locate and share them with you here…


For more on restaurants, the Sweet & Sour of Eating Out and other tips…










BYOC (chopsticks, cups, cutlery and containers)

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Like fashion trends, if you wait long enough, the “look” will be in style again. After years of ribbing, especially from family members, my BYO habits are in-style, hopefully to stay, and they would make my frugal Chinese grandma proud!


As kids, we used to laugh at my non-English speaking grandma when she tore her thin Kleenex tissues into quarters and stuffed them into the little silk pocket of her Chinese vest, despite my father’s reassurances that if she ran out, we’d buy her another box.  On my first trip to Beijing in 1988, I recall having to bring our own bowls and plates when buying food from the street vendors.  Unfortunately, everything had turned to styrofoam disposables when I went back in 1994.


Most of us are familiar with tearing open the individually wrapped, disposable chopsticks at Asian restaurants. As someone who hates to waste food and loves leftovers, I don’t like having to use disposable take-home containers. (I kept a couple of Tupperware in my trunk but kept forgetting to carry them into the restaurant.) Like remembering the shopping bags, it takes a change of habit and advance thinking. I’ve also started a transition to glass containers. (Tip: I collected a dozen large glass pickle/olive jars, perfect for storing flours, rice, etc.  free from a deli.)


I’m excited by the increased public awareness, new organizations like GreenPlate and more choices of reusable, portable eatware and energy efficient cookware on the market. Now, we can spread the BYO Movement and I won’t be the only hipster whipping out my cool BYO-Chopsticks!


I’m testing out a few different types of portable chopsticks and cutlery and will share my feedback. Stay tuned…


Amazing Portable, Uplugged Eco-Cooking Pot

Love my Tuff Mug!


Check back for more posts on my favorite eco-friendly products!


For more on favorite eco-friendly eating and cookware, see my Favorites and Recommendations in the side bar


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