Feeling Lucky at Lucky Chinatown and The Lo Han Chai

    
          So I finally got the chance to go to Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo, We were suppose to get lunch at King Chef but because of our very hectic sched we had to opt for take outs. You see I am a vampire, I live in the night.. I get to enjoy the night life 7 days a week.. err minus my rest days which makes my body clock really crazy because I don’t know what time to sleep Its just plain cray cray on my rest days. Ya get the picture? So in a hurry to get my much needed sleep we didn't have the luxury to dine in and my sister from my Chinese mama didn’t feel like going out so we opted for takeout. 

          The waiter who took our order said it might take 25 minutes for our orders to be cooked, Yay! I have 25 minutes to explore Lucky Chinatown Mall! ^_^ 1st stop: Lord Stow's Bakery.

EGG TARTS *drools*

This is definitely a "Little taste of Heaven"

Tired from our errands, this is her "suhol" to make me walk some more around the mall >.<
and it worked! haha

Ham Soi Kok

          When we got back to the restaurant our food was still not ready and so we decided to sit down and get some tea. Since its already past 3PM they have this promo 50% off dim sum and I grabbed the opportunity to get a taste of my favorite Ham Soi Kok. The tikoy like part was too thick but the filling was yummy. But in my heart It would always be Wai Ying in Binondo that has the best Ham Soi Kok evaaah. :) 

Lo Han Chai

          For some weird reasons my Chinese sisters didn’t know what Lo Han Chai was, they just knew it was veggies when we were setting the table back home. So I did a little research because all along I thought there was a veggie called Lo Han or something. haha. 

Loh Han Chai or Buddah's Deligh

is a popular braised veggie dish served during Chinese New Year which came from a Buddhist practice that a person should maintain a vegetarian diet in the first five days of the New Year as a self-purification.

It uses a lot of veggie ingredients, usually 8 ingredients to signify prosperity  but some restaurants can create a more elaborate version which has 18 and up to 35 ingredients.

Typical Ingredients for Loh Han Chai: 

1. Chinese cabbage

2. Dried Chinese mushrooms

3. Dried cloud ear fungus/ wan yu

4. Glass noodle

5. Black moss/ fatt choi

6. Dried gluten ball

7. Gingko nuts

8. Snow peas

Traditionally it was enjoyed by vegetarian Buddhist monks but now it is populardish worldwide. The name luóhàn zhai is a combination of two words which means a vegetarian diet (zhai) for an enlightened ascetic individual or the Buddha himself (luohan).

Now We Know! :) 

I liked this dish because its 1) Healthy 2) I like how the veggies texture are – crunchy 3) It tastes good. 

Deep Fried Pigeon

Black Pepper Crabs

Bamboo Shells In Taosi Sauce

Seafood with Spinach Soup

Wine to end the Day