Afternoon Madness (Part 1): Blueberry Crumb Muffins
On this lazy Sunday afternoon, right about 2PM I woke up to the sound of my father beating down on my bedroom door calling me for lunch. I walked out of my room looking like a mad witch and glanced over at the dining room table. My brother and my father were already settled in their seats eating, and they turned their heads to look at me as I was passing by to the bathroom. A look of disgust was plastered all over my face as I exclaimed that I refuse to eat that for lunch. My father was speechless and looked angry since he made several attempts to wake me up just so that I can insult the food that he made. That was wrong on my behalf, but there was just no way in the hell I was going to eat cow stomach/tripe, scrambled eggs, and some veggies.
After I washed up, I opened the refrigerator and saw whole milk and blueberries. After standing there about a couple of minutes, I decided to bake blueberry crumb muffins. I remembered my co-worker Khris told me that he had a failed attempt with those muffins on Mother’s Day, and I had promise him that I would make some to show him. I have never made it before, but I wanted to see what he experience and see if I could succeed where he has failed. Now, I’m not a fan of eating blueberries straight up, and I’m also not a fan of whole milk, so the logical thing is to make use of both.
One of the recent food blogs that I enjoy reading now is My Kitchen Cafe. I came here to look for a blueberry crumb muffin recipe and I did just that! The recipe seems simple enough so I decided to go with that.
I tweaked just a little bit of the recipe, but otherwise it would be the same!
Blueberry Crumb Muffins
Blueberry Crumb Muffin Right out of the Oven
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao) & Pineapple Comparison (Why’s it called Pineapple Bun?)
So you want to know why Pineapple Buns are called such? It’s a simple explanation but it seems sometimes it is lost in translation.
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao)
Pineapple (courtesy of timesonline.typepad.com)
The original way of creating the crust of the Pineapple Bun is to make diagonal cuts across the surface. After baking, it looks like the surface of a Pineapple. This method is sometimes lost due to individual bakeries. The bakers probably don’t bother and slap the crust on since most bakeries make it so cheap (under $1 usually) and lots of it, where as high end bakeries will charge 3-5x more for it.
For more, please read Part 1 & Part 2 of this series!
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao) with Red Bean Paste Filling Part 2
Read the first part of the post here!
Here’s how the Pineapple Bun with Red Bean Paste filling looks when cut in half. Keep in mind that it is extremely difficult to slice in half a bun thats soft. You’ll either crumble the crust or completely smash up the bun. It took some extreme care to slice it, even then, it smooshed just a bit.
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao) with Red Bean Paste Filling
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao) with Red Bean Paste Filling
This is one of my favorite Buns, a Pineapple Bun. But not just any ordinary Pineapple Bun, this one has a Red Bean filling. A combination of two of my favorite pastries!
Ever wonder why its called a Pineapple Bun (hint: Look at the Crust)? The crust resembles a pineapple, simple as that. Its a fluffy dough with a sweet crust that crumbles upon contact. Its delightful.
There are variations depending on the Bakery and upon the region/area. Some crusts are light yellow, almost white while others are deep yellow or orange. Either way, you won’t mistaken it for anything other than a Pineapple Bun. The other variations of this is the filling. A Plain has no filling, sometimes you can get it with Red Bean Paste (a favorite of mine). Another variation has a creamy egg filling (pictures next time) that most bakeries bake up in a longer or almost trianglish shape rather than round.
Pineapple Bun (bor lor boa) with Red Bean Paste Filling
Pineapple Bun (bor lor boa) with Red Bean Paste Filling
These can be found in Chinese Bakeries usually, stop by at any Chinatown and you’ll probably find them easily. Don’t believe they’re just eaten as breakfast, they can be eaten anytime and will laste a few days without refrigeration. But of course they are freshest in the mornings after being baked. When its warm, its soft and very fluffy, watch for crumbs falling. They’re cheap too! They can cost from 60 cents to about $1, again depending on the bakery. If you ever visit a Chinese Bakery, be sure to ask for Bor Lor Bau!
Read Part 2 of this post here!
Koryodang: Korean Dessert (K-Town 32nd St.)
Koryodang
31 W 32 St
(btw Broadway and 5th Ave)
(212) 967-9661
It has been a while that I’ve been back in Korea-town. I believe it’s been over 3 years and you cannot believe how much this neighborhood has changed. There are more new and exciting shops opening around for young adults and hipsters to come here to hang out. I remember there was a day that this neighborhood was bombarded with many expensive korean bbq restaurants that was glowing with red neon lights to attract customers. But now not only are there korean bbq restaurants at competitively good prices, but there are local korean restaurants w/o the bbq and ones that have both. Added to that list are korean bakeries, cell phone stores, and lots more up and rising stores. This is a great time to be in K-town!
After my dinner at Gahm Mi Oak which was literally next store, we decided to come here. From what my friend Danny tells me, there’s a Koryodang bakery in Flushing and now there’s one here. It looked really nice, and what sealed the deal was a man flipping ice cream on a pan! I thought, how cool was that.
I really love how the koreans come up with new and innovative treats for me to eat. As a first timer, I knew I would not be disappointed here.
When me and my group came in, the place was literally packed with Korean people. 
Really packed. The waiter had to grab us 2 extra crappy seats for a table supposedly for 2, but it was alright. Nice gesture instead of having us to wait. Luckily I sat on their nice leather seat and Kim and Dawen sat on the “patio” chairs as Kim would put it.
After we were seated down, we received a framed menu with choices on both sides. I was already excited about the Icepan Icecream and Danny was excited about a Pear tart. I never had one, but I was excited to see one! Kim and Dawen ordered bubble tea, but I was curious on how the Korean’s take on it.
The Icepan Ice Cream! It comes with strawberry, kiwi, mango, green tea, pineapple, banana or raspberry. Price: $6.49
Beautiful isn’t it? I chose banana ice cream because I haven’t had that in a long time and I was so craving it. The ice cream is buried underneath all the fruit. My god, this is one of the BEST dessert I have ever had. My mouth was watering for more and my mood was excellent after getting into a fight with the bf. After we both had a taste of this, all the negative energies dissipated into thin air and we were both smiling and feeding each other. I loved this so incredibly much. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you guys to try it! HIGHLY.
Here comes the honeydew bubble tea! It’s very expensive – $6.99. And I thought Ten Ren is expensive!
Honestly, this is not worth the $6.99. At Ten Ren’s, it tastes a whole lot richer and thicker than this. It’s better that all the other bubble teas, but this is not worth the price. I wouldn’t recommend this.
Next on the list is the Pear Tart! Price: $3.25 I’ve never had a Pear Tart before, but I know dam well that it sounds like a sweeeeet treat! Let’s see!
My god, gorgeous. Gorgeous. When I digged into this magnificent tart, it was like I was in heaven. This treat is so rich in sweetness that it drives my mouth wild. You have to try it to believe it. The tart itself as you can see is sweet too, which I wished it wasn’t, but it was still a very very delicious treat. At this time, Danny was bouncing off the walls because he’s very sensitive to sweets.
Overall it was an excellent idea to come here. I would definitely come here again to try their other treats. If you want to know what else is on their menu, let me a comment and I’ll show you. I don’t believe there is a menu online now but that doesn’t matter.
Ok, the NYS health inspection results!
KORYODANG
31 WEST 32 STREET, MANHATTAN 10001
212-967-9661
Current violation points: 25 – PASSED (27 to pass)
Inspection Date: 01/11/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Toilet facility not maintained and provided with toilet paper, waste receptacle and self-closing door.
2.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
3.) Sufficient refrigerated or hot holding equipment not provided to meet proper time and temperature requirements for potentially hazardous foods.
4.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.
