Making Chinese or Vietnamese food always has me a little nervous. I tend to veer towards more European dishes when I put something together because the standards are high for Asian cuisine. My mother cooked every single day when I was growing up and still does. As most people would say, no one can beat mom's cooking so when I decide to attempt anything Chinese or Vietnamese, I don't believe it can be anywhere near as good as mom's. Therefore, I opt for dishes that she has made before or just doesn't make often. I had a whole duck to play with one evening and decided to make something Teochew (my particular Chinese heritage). I saw a recipe for braised duck ("lo ack"/滷鸭) so wanted to work with that. My mom knew what it was but hasn't really made it before...and she approved! Huzzah! So below is the tweaked recipe that is Teochew mother-approved.

655 Keeaumoku St, Ste 109, Honolulu, HI 96814
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Casual, Dressy Casual | Cuisine - Sushi, Japanese

When you think Hawaii, you think seafood, right? Or at least, fresh fish. It's only natural, and with all of the buzz we had heard from past visitors, we knew we had to have sushi somewhere. The question became where. Suggestions were tossed around but when it came down to it, the first night we were on Oahu, I was craving the raw tastiness. A friend had told us about Sushi ii and how amazingly fresh and true to form it was. Luckily, our initial stop in Honolulu placed us close to the sushi restaurant so we walked on over. No regrets here. The experience was amazing, and though we didn't have a reservation at the time, I highly suggest you get one. We were just lucky that someone had canceled. We were also lucky to be in the presence and able to taste some sushi mastery.

If you're going to get dolled up for a Broadway show, you better doll up your plate too beforehand. With the start of this year's Broadway shows at Segerstrom Center for the Arts today, Leatherby's Cafe Rouge is releasing their season's set of inspired themed menus per show. It's an innovative tradition of theirs and one that puts Executive Ross Pangilinan's artistry to the test as he examines each of the upcoming shows to determine what to fill the set list with. The installment of three-course menus is usually based on the music and characters of the shows to get patrons into the mindset and mood of the storyline before enjoying the performances. The selections are quite carefully curated and after I was able to preview some dishes from this series, they proved to be masterfully executed as well.

2292 E Carson St, Long Beach, CA 90807
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To Go | Cuisine - Hawaiian
http://pokeetc.com/

We were in Hawaii not too long ago but there are aspects of it that we already miss. One of those dear things is the poke. I don't mean poke as in jabbing at someone with a finger. I mean the popular Hawaiian dish called poke (poh-kay) that is a raw "salad" of sorts usually made with ahi tuna. The chunks are tossed in inamona, sea salt, sesame oil, some kind of chile pepper, and soy sauce for starters; variations of it do exist. There have been several Hawaiian restaurants gaining notoriety in the Orange County/Los Angeles area lately for their fresh poke. I, for one, need to start seeking these out more. OC Weekly recently covered a spot that I knew I had to visit right away. Poke Etc. just opened in Long Beach as the second location of its company, and the feedback was high in praise. This was enough to pique my interest and justify a trip with some friends over to get ourselves some fresh, authentic Hawaiian poke.

My father has a tendency to do to my mother like to what Duc does to me - he finds random objects at the grocery store and buys it just to see what can be done with it. One Saturday afternoon, my mother asked me what to do with "pig potatoes." I was confused. What the heck was a pig potato? When she dropped the three pound bag of them on the dining table, I immediately recognized them as sunchokes. I pointed that out but she shook her head vehemently and said the receipt called them pig potatoes. Once that paper strip was whipped out, I realized she was right - the Korean supermarket had labeled them as such. But why?

Turns out that these tubers are called so because they are often used in pig feed. While they are quite nutritious (there was a placard at the store that was a selling point for my dad on these) and generally tasty, they do have a reputation for causing much flatulence due to an abundance of inulin. That being said, they are not common in restaurants for that reason. Digestive upset surely would deter guests! However, if you're going to eat these crisp and slightly sweet sunchokes, you can do so happily at home and perhaps in this pureed soup form! Also known as Jerusalem artichokes, these bad boys look like ginger and taste like a mesh of apple, artichoke, and celery. I like them but beware! Some people may be a bit more...unintentionally "vocal" after eating some.

How much of downtown Fullerton are you familiar with? While we have talked about newer restaurants that have cropped up in recent years, we haven't looked too closely at the eateries already in the area. When Bourbon Street Bar & Grill decided to release a new/old menu, that attracted some attention. The restaurant was founded in 2008 on the vision to provide Orange County with a place to flock to for true New Orleans-style cuisine. While some more well-known dishes fared well, there were definitely tastes on the menu that did not appeal to the crowd. A turn towards more Californian cuisine resulted in what felt like a detraction from the original intention. Now, Bourbon Street has pulled together the favorites of both menus to present an unchanging array of dishes which owners Larry Houser and John Skehan are both proud of. We were invited in one morning to take a look at this powerhouse combination.

It's been a while since we last did a Test Kitchen post but since we had some moving to do out of Duc's apartment, a lot of my cooking utensils and ingredients were stuffed in random places. One of those was the bag of wild rice which was originally supposed to be the Test Kitchen ingredient to play with. When I finally found it recently, I then thought of ways I have seen it used. The grass seed, as it really is that, is hardy and have a definite bite to it that might deter people from eating much of it. It sure does fill you up. I've seen it used in Thanksgiving side dishes before so that was the inspiration for making this into a pecan cranberry recipe with wild rice. Sweet and nutty, it is great alone but also fantastic with a side of chicken, turkey, or even mild flavored beef!

The Newport Beach community and visitors to the pier area will be privy soon to the delights of Dory Deli, a new delicatessen featuring a slew of sandwiches, salads, side dishes, coffee, and much more. The venture by well-known restaurateurs Mario Marovic and Andrew Gabriel (recently known for the successes of Hopscotch and Wild Goose Tavern about which we've done interviews) has come to fruition after several months and opens its doors tomorrow, January 26th, bright and early. Cornered up with the likes of Il Farro and Seaside Bakery, Dory Deli has a street-side facing entrance as well as a way to get in from the back. Their menu has been crafted by Executive Chef Chris Rubinstein and Sous Chef Giovanny Bolivar, two talents who have made an impressive and unique list of dishes of which many are vegan-friendly! We got to visit for a sneak peek of the space and the food. It is bound to make people happy.

Who said vegetables always have to be healthy? I don't mean to say that eating healthy is bad but sometimes, you want to eat something that you know may not be the best for you. Why not alleviate that guilt just a teensy bit by including more healthful ingredients? It can still taste quite wonderful. I really enjoy potatoes au gratin, even making a White Cheddar Potatoes Au Gratin once, but coming across a significant amount of rainbow heirloom carrots made me wonder if I could make those in the same way. Lo and behold, some maneuvering can make it happen so here is a vegetable gratin recipe to use that is vegetarian as well (not vegan)! The combination of carrots with broccoli in a crunchy, cheesy side dish is a great way to work in some extra vegetable vitamins into a meal.

[Thanks for entering! The giveaway is now over.] Are you having a hard time deciding what to do with your significant other for a date night? The Hush Experience has you covered. The company is built upon creating memorable and unique experiences for couples via pop-up date night dinner parties. That includes an exclusive prix fixe menu by a local chef, live entertainment, cocktails, and the hush of a secret rendezvous point which isn't known to guests until 48 hours before the night of the event. That even includes theme! Does it sound like you want that kind of excitement in your life? If so, good. Read on!

With Valentine's Day around the corner, it only makes sense that Hush Experience would be formulating a pop-up for then. That Friday night, February 13th, you can be a part of their AFTER DARK event which I honestly cannot tell you any other details about; even I don't know! What I do know is that Duc and I will be giving it a try ourselves (by invitation) to see just what magical pop-up date night Hush Experience is able to conjure up.

No worries - you can join us in figuring out #WhatHappensAfterDark as well. Hush Experience has graciously given Much Ado About Fooding readers two options to get in on this secret event.

You can enter below to win one pair of tickets (valued at $300) to AFTER DARK or you can jump the gun and reserve your seats before it sells out! Head on over to http://hushexperience.ticketleap.com/afterdark/details to read more about AFTER DARK and then click on Tickets to purchase. By entering in the code "MuchAdoAboutFoodingVIP," you can get a whopping 50% off the current ticket price (reduced price is $150/couple). This special code lasts until February 5th! So...what are you waiting for?

The season of restaurant weeks is here! How cruel of the Chambers of Commerce (and other organizations) around Orange County to thrust the tempting siren songs of reduced-price menus upon us so soon after new year's resolutions are made to be healthier. They started as early as the second week of January with Irvine's run but what's starting tomorrow is Newport Beach's Restaurant Week. To make it even better, the vast selection for Dine Newport Beach is available for longer than the customary one week. Face the $10/$15/$20/$25 lunches and/or $20/$30/$40/$50 dinners for two whole weeks from January 19 to February 1 this year and decide on where to visit from a list of more than 60 participating restaurants. We took a gander at all of the menus that were posted up about the celebration and spotted quite an impressive number of steals. One of those that guarantee a bigger bang for your buck during these following two weeks is Great Maple Libations and Seasonal Plates which we were invited to visit and preview.

1286 Kalani St, Ste B107, Honolulu, HI 96817 (Kalihi)
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Vietnamese
www.halongnoodle.com

Is it strange to seek out some pho after a long flight? It seems fairly regular for us to want a little bit of comfort food. Duc and I were heading to Hawaii to experience it like a native might since our Hawaiian born-and-raised friend would be back in the area then. We took a Blacklane car to the airport (thanks to them for the complimentary service!) in comfort and style which kicked our trip off to a great start. When we landed on Oahu and had just a handful of hours before our friend would land, we were curious what Vietnamese food on the island would be like. Luckily, our random turn down the street from the airport led us toward a small plaza that had plenty of restaurants to choose from. One of them was Ha Long Pho Noodle House, and it had several positive ratings on review sites. Time to check out the Hawaiian Vietnamese food!

The love for cookie butter that has grown with everyone over the last few years is astonishing. Who knew that the speculoos cookie when mashed up into a fatty spread would incur so much fandom? A friend of mine decided to gift me with a jar of the stuff (along with other dessert-oriented items), and I knew that my sweet-tooth-lacking self would have a hard time finishing off an entire container. So, after much looking around online, the idea of baking it into a banana bread loaf seemed mighty appealing. This would impart the scents of fall and winter onto a normally robust-smelling loaf while contributing to the batter inside. In fact, my whole recipe is a nice balance of chocolate, cookie butter, and banana while helping you get rid of leftover items in your pantry and refrigerator. What a perfect recipe! Give it a try and become your friends' favorite person in the whole world.

3972 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual, To-Go, Retail | Cuisine - Tea
www.stashtea.com

Tea? Portland? Yes please. We were walking around the neighborhood where Stash Tea Company was located after a hefty meal somewhere when it started to sprinkle. For once, I did not search on Yelp for a place to duck into. Instead, since there were so many small, independent shops on the street, we decided to walk towards Stash's large purple sign outside since it looked welcoming. The wording indicated that there was tea inside, and that was tempting enough for me. Once we walked through the door, we realized just how spacious it was inside and that it was dangerous for my wallet to be around so many tempting teas!