[Spareribs]

Korean mini hot dog skewers with rice cake

Went back to the cafe and got some good stuff. These hot dog skewers had a spicy glaze. Very good and highly recommend.



Hotteok with Ice Cream Sandwich

Korean pancake with cream and ice cream sandwich.

This looks trashy and I did not think it was going to be good but I was wrong. It was actually good and I really liked the texture of those Korean style pancakes. My first time eating these items. Thumbs up.

 

[Spareribs]

Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Also called Taiwanese popcorn chicken.

Went to a store that specializes in Taiwan style street food. Interestingly, these reminded me of the Japanese Karaage fried chicken I tasted in southern Japan. But these were more spicy.

Very good! I’m a fan of the Taiwanese fried chicken.

 

[Spareribs]

Taiwanese sausage

This same store I visited served deep fried sausage that kind of looked like the famous fried hotdogs in New Jersey called the ripper.

They look like hotdogs but they have their own unique different taste. I loved the chewy texture and it was juicy.

Gorgeous sausage.

 

[SilverEars]

Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Also called Taiwanese popcorn chicken.

Went to a store that specializes in Taiwan style street food. Interestingly, these reminded me of the Japanese Karaage fried chicken I tasted in southern Japan. But these were more spicy.

Very good! I’m a fan of the Taiwanese fried chicken.

I really want to try the popcorn Chicken. I need to dig around to see if they exist around me.

Oh man! That icecream looks like the worst thing you can eat, but so yummy!!!

Just like Korean friend chicken, they experiment with every ingredient imaginable. I think the classic stuff is regular breaded shell fried on the surface with sugar coated and apply ketchup to it. They really expanded the types.

I've been interested in taegeuk dang monaka, but we don't have it in the US.


I've not heard of it until I saw it on this video

Ok, so the concept of 'Monaka' snack is originally Japanese, but perhaps the ice-cream filling is Korean origin? I think also on the video, the guy says they changed the ingredient for the wafer as well.

This wiki says 1972 in Japan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaka

But yeah, big fan of mochi style snacks here.

 

[Spareribs]

Deep fried chicken curry bread

Fried curry bread is mostly associated with Japanese food culture.
Usually it’s eaten at room temperature. This bakery had a version of it.




Inside there is chicken, potatoes and Japanese style curry sauce. It was actually similar to the one I had at the Kyoto train station a few years ago. But the Kyoto version had a better crunchy exterior.

From my experience it’s best to get it around 11am in the late morning when it’s slightly warm.

Interestingly, it’s kind of like an American chicken pot pie but in a deep fried enclosure. I like this and in many ways I prefer this over many sandwiches.

 

[the1andonly]

I am a burger guy and get tired of paying like $15 for delivery on a five guys burger, so today I am going to try a local place, double cheese burger with bacon and onion rings for $15. I honestly just wish there was a damn Shake Shack around here but what can you do, guess it's time to see if the local top dog burger can beat the national favorite, I tried Chili's burgers the other day, one was damn good but the bacon one was dry as all hell, ended up throwing half of it in the trash after picking off the (super thin slices) of bacon. Now for $15 THAT was a ripoff.

 

[HWB3]

Oh Boy!

 

[the1andonly]

New fast food place was pretty good.
Burger was actually much better than it looks, it also STAYED together due to the "cheese cement"(not in a bad way) has flavor and although it wasn't not greasy, it had no where as much as five guys grease, which just turns the bottom bun into sog... I would say five guys is an A- this was a solid B+, and for me I prefer this burger a lot of the time actually, wasn't as big as five guys but came with some damn decent onion rings, actually nobody really gets onion rings right for me, these were as close as it gets.
Gotta give the onion rings a solid B though, they were fantastic in about every way, not soggy but just the right amount of crip, big thick pieces of onion and most actually able to get thru with one bite without pulling the onion....But BIG missed opportunity, underseasoned, don't get me wrong sometimes this is better for me but just underseasoned which is sad because otherwise these are the best onion rings but a bit bland, oil taste is there, and a small amount of seasoning, I could see these being B+ or A- depending on how they could be seasoned or some special sauce added, best onion rings I have EVER had though... For me this combo for $15 beats five guys for the price.

Burger- B+
Onion rings- B

The chicken was surprisingly amazing, this is the most juicy fried chicken without going into groce/undercooked levels, I have ever had with good crisp. The bread was solid too it was brioche but a bit too thick/dense, not bad in any way in fact near as great as the chicken just not the perfect bread to pair with it, not because brioche but because of the type of brioche. The fries were TERRIBLE, ended up trashing most of them, not warm, not crisp... soggy and again UNSEASONED! It was like eating potatoes, lol don't know how else to put it, absolute garbage fries, I could probably save them with a re-frying but just wow.... bad these are maybe SLIGHTLY better than like Burger King fries, even McDonalds smokes these.

Chicken- A (sorry gotta say it, as good as chick filet, blows Zaxbys out of the water)
Fries- D-
Bread- B+

This might be my favorite tray, the side item just hit, unfortunately I didn't get to take pics but it was a "chili-cheese" upgrade where they come on the side and you have to put them on yourself, which was the right move. Solid cheese, like solid A cheese, real, not wiz or fake, if it sat for 5 more minutes it would have gotten hard, cheddar mix, fantastic, the Chili also solid B+, very filling no bears, taste wasn't amazing but better than anything I have gotten from a can even the good stuff! The home made kettle chips also an A-... wow! Just amazing they were somehow thick but also not much more harder to eat than razor thin chips!!! Solid A for the kettle chips and A- for the chili-cheese combo...

The hotdog wasn't mind blowing, it looks terrible in the pics lol, but it looked appetizing in real life, a bit low on flavor but HUGE I mean this hotdog was as thick as 3 of my fingers! I am used to Nathans which is a lot of flavor but tiny dog, I almost preferred this, solid B hotdog, for the hotdog itself not huge flavor so B- but with that chili mixing it did some work.

Kettle Chips- A
Chili Cheese Kettle Chips- A-
Hot Dog- B

Would get the combo of Chicken/w chili cheese kettle chips, and burger with onion rings, and have my own seasoning, would beat 5 guys pretty often for me!

Also ratings are within the fast food tier scale, not including "fine dining" type stuff

 

[SilverEars]

^That burger looks like my kind of burger (if it was grilled from a non-frozen patty). I just make my own from fresh ground beef now. It's the ground beef that makes the biggest difference. Best burgers has to use non-frozen patties. Oh and the buns. It has to be good quality brioche buns.

You can get whatever amount of ground beef from the meat section at the supermarket. I find that 85% being the perfect amount of fat.

I use a cast iron skillet at home to make my burgers.

 

[the1andonly]

^That burger looks like my kind of burger. I just make my own from fresh ground beef now. It's the ground beef that makes the biggest difference. Oh and the buns. It has to be good quality brioche buns.

Preach.
Brioche buns are god tier, if five guys used them they would have a lot less saggy falling apart bottom buns, not to mention it saves a lot more of the juices vs ending up on the bottom of your plate.

 

[SilverEars]

Preach.
Brioche buns are god tier, if five guys used them they would have a lot less saggy falling apart bottom buns, not to mention it saves a lot more of the juices vs ending up on the bottom of your plate.

5 guys tastes like a burger made at home with cheap quality buns. It's still better than most burger joints that use frozen patties. That's the biggest different 5 guys has going for them. It's the non-frozen patty that gives it that taste.

You can make the same level of 5 guys at home for cheaper.

Another thing that I find required is cooking the onions in burger fat. Unless you are 'hold the onion' type of person, grilled onion really enhances the burger flavoring.

For me, a basic requirements of a good burger:

Non-frozen patty
mustard
lots of pickles
grilled onions (from burger fat)
cheese
brioche buns

That's the basics, and you add what other topics to it like tomatoes.

 

[the1andonly]

5 guys tastes like a burger made at home with cheap quality buns. It's still better than most burger joints that use frozen patties. That's the biggest different 5 guys has going for them. It's the non-frozen patty that gives it that taste.

You can make the same level of 5 guys at home for cheaper.

Another thing that I find required is cooking the onions in burger fat. Unless you are 'hold the onion' type of person, grilled onion really enhances the burger flavoring.

For me, a basic requirements of a good burger:

Non-frozen patty
mustard
lots of pickles
grilled onions (from burger fat)
cheese
brioche buns

That's the basics, and you add what other topics to it like tomatoes.

I second that five guys meat is nothing special, I feel like some heretic saying it but it's just not lol.
Also true about the onions, I loooove onions, that is the best way to cook it which is why I try to leave my pan covered after im done to save the grease, otherwise I usually just use oil because of the time + impatient if I don't have the pan from the day before!

Non-frozen patty
mustard
lots of pickles
grilled onions
cheese
brioche buns

literally everything but the mustard will take some good honey mustard though, a nice crisp lettuce on top for me, tomatoes can stay or go, it's often a slippery endeavor

 

[HWB3]

You are quite the burger connoisseur, my friend.

 

[SilverEars]

I make burgers at home.

 

[SilverEars]

Yes please!

My idea of a good time. Chocolate chip cookie that gushes out melted chocolate and gourmet burger. Combo is more addictive than crack! What can I say? I'm an Americaan!