what food lived up to the hype OR DIDNT. I have one.

[Chopper88]

Hmm never heard that one before.

Having a thing for saltwater tanks, just like people eating all sorts of tropical reef fish on the other side of the world, eating anemones feels 'odd' to me haha.

Of course I understand they're just creatures you can eat like any other fish or a rabbit or deer etc.

No clue at all what to expect from both this type of fish or anemones.
I do know which of the two sounds more appetizing to me though
(spoiler: it's not the anemone)

 

[Rangen]

I had some amazing sea anemone noodles at a restaurant in Hong Kong. It has been some years, but I think there were tentacles in there. Or maybe just noodles. Anyway, there was a seafood flavor in there like nothing I've ever tasted, and I've craved them ever since.

 

[dchang21]

uh sea anemone? this is not in our culinary repertoire..

oh, you guys talking about jellyfish..

 

[Rangen]

uh sea anemone? this is not in our culinary repertoire..

View attachment 386716

The restaurant is, or was, in Wan Chai. If you walk out of the Lockhart Rd exit of the MTR and turn left, it is, or was, on the corner there, to the best of my recollection. It's upscale, and has its name, which I do not recall, in three Chinese characters arranged vertically. Colors are grey and white. Unusually, it has dim lighting inside.

Update: it was not jellyfish. I know jellyfish. I had never encountered whatever this was, and whatever flavor it was, before. I probably visited around November of 2018. The following year, I could not get in because no bookings were available.

Update: I think it might have been called Xin Rong Ji (the restaurant, not the dish)

 

[mengwong]

Sweet potato noodles with sea anemones (沙蒜燒豆麵). There are more than a thousand species of sea anemones in the world and the type used here is called sha suan, found on the east coast of China and so-name because it looks like a head of garlic. Due to overharvesting, sha suan went from a common find to a relatively expensive delicacy in the recent decade. A distillation of sha suan’s sweetness, the gelatin-rich sauce was a perfect match with the thick glass noodles made from sweet potatoes.

https://quantitativetravel.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/xinrongji_hk/

 

[dchang21]

humm news to me..

 

[mengwong]

Yeah, to be honest I was thinking geoduck or razor clams…

 

[SwampDonkey]

I mean..there is a saltwater fish tank in my house...might have to give a little taste to the anenome...she'll never know.

 

[mengwong]

Ortiguillas (sea anemone)

https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/fried-sea-anemone-ortiguillas-de-mar-spain

I wonder if deep frying removes the sting from all varieties…

 

[dchang21]

I wonder if deep frying removes the sting from all varieties…

in the article you posted..

 

[dchang21]

Percebes and Violets.

goose neck barnacles? deliciously briny but low edible yield and hard to get. but i do get it when i see it in the markets. no idea what violets are..

Unagi too.

anago (conger eel) i think is the better of the two. less greasy, muddy taste than unagi.

 

[Michi]

anago (conger eel) i think is the better of the two. less greasy, muddy taste than unagi.

Appears to be damn near impossible to get though outside of Southeast Asia

 

[cotedupy]

goose neck barnacles? deliciously briny but low edible yield and hard to get. but i do get it when i see it in the markets. no idea what violets are..

Yep, goose neck barnacles. Obviously tricky to find and not desperately cheap, but certainly fits the bill as something that does live up to the hype.

Violets are even more niche; I’ve only ever seen them in Marseille and the immediate surroundings. And only had them a couple of times. They come across as kinda like a cross between oysters and sea urchin.

http://spectacularlydelicious.com/2009/10/24/fruits-de-mer-violets/

 

[cotedupy]

Hmm never heard that one before.

Having a thing for saltwater tanks, just like people eating all sorts of tropical reef fish on the other side of the world, eating anemones feels 'odd' to me haha.

Of course I understand they're just creatures you can eat like any other fish or a rabbit or deer etc.

No clue at all what to expect from both this type of fish or anemones.
I do know which of the two sounds more appetizing to me though
(spoiler: it's not the anemone)

Sea Anemones aren’t actually as weird as you might imagine. They’re almost always battered and deep-fried, and the natural texture means they come out just like a really good shellfish / seafood croquette. The only thing you have to get your head around is that the goo-ey middle is… green.

You see them often in fredurias in Andalucia. And, unlike most other niche seafood delicacies, they’re not horrifically expensive. You can get a plate of them for 10€.

The only other preparation I’ve had was in a fancier restaurant, where they’d made them into cubes of jelly with a kinda grainy, membrillo-like texture. Which was ok, but struck me as little pointless, in that it wasn’t as good as the whole deep-fried version, and considerably more expensive.

 

[MtBob]

I'll throw one in the discussion: beef tongue

My Dad loved tongue, my Mom hated cooking it, lol. She would cook it in her stove top pressure cooker. I still remember watching my Dad peel the thick skin off of it. He always wanted me to try it, but I just couldn't do it. I always regretted that. He always told me it tasted just like really tender beef.

A couple months ago, my Wife and I went to a newish Mexican restaurant in town. They had a sign on the wall for specials, and one of them was Burrito de Lingua. I had to try it. I dont know how they cooked it, but they had chopped it into a small dice. I liked it. I was super tender, and did taste like beef, but not like a traditional steak or roast. It was definitely a different taste. I am really happy I tried it, although hidden in with other burrito ingredients. Unlike my Dad, who just liked it sliced, and leftovers were sandwhich material.

 

[Greasylake]

Tacos de lengua are one of life's greatest joys haha. That and tripa are my two favorite tacos. My mom boils the lengua which some herbs and spices for a couple hours until it gets super tender. Nowadays I think a lot of people just use a slow cooker but boiling works also. Then you just peel off the skin and chop into cubes. Usually if you get it from a taqueria it'll be in cubes but you can shred it also which is how I prefer it.

 

[aporigine]

Tacos de lengua are one of life's greatest joys haha. That and tripa are my two favorite tacos. My mom boils the lengua which some herbs and spices for a couple hours until it gets super tender. Nowadays I think a lot of people just use a slow cooker but boiling works also. Then you just peel off the skin and chop into cubes. Usually if you get it from a taqueria it'll be in cubes but you can shred it also which is how I prefer it.

Tongue has become stupid expensive here, but I agree with you. I have lengua in the freezer and the little street-size tortillas on the counter.

My favorite is a good al pastor. My fav taquería has lost that tiny bit of quality, and my home efforts are not consistent.

Carnitas are reliably excellent, and when pork shoulder is on sale, thrifty. I’m forced to use regular sweet oranges, since (despite the large Latino population here!) I cannot find a Seville orange anywhere.

My reserved carnitas lard smells so good.

 

[MtBob]

I've never had real, homemade carnitas. There was a great little mom and pop restaurant that we loved. My MIL had their carnitas and they looked awesome. Was going to try it the next time we went there, but they told me they were frozen.
Then the next time we went, I ordered it, but the restaurant actually closed with us in it. Weirdest thing I ever saw. We had our drinks and were waiting for our meal and the server came up and said, sorry, but we are closing.
I guess I am jinxed when it comes to carnitas, lol.

 

[mengwong]

Haha, that’s like Season 1 of Reacher right there

 

[dhruan]

What food didn't live up to the hype? Bone marrow. Never understood why people are so keen on it. I mean, beef fat on a piece of ribeye is awesome, the cooked layer of fat/lard on top of a ham is also excellent, cooked fat on bacon, yes... bone marrow? Nooooope.

 

[Naftoor]

Tongue has become stupid expensive here

Tongue regularly goes for nearly double what chuck roast does around me, which seems absurd to me. Tongue is pretty great stuff, and I’d buy it more frequently if it went for organ prices and not rib-eye prices.

 

[cotedupy]

I asked a similar (but slightly different) question here a few years back, regarding ‘overrated foods’. This was my OP:

 

[VincenteFox]

Yeah, to be honest I was thinking geoduck or razor clams…

geodude or psyduck?

 

[VincenteFox]

I asked a similar (but slightly different) question here a few years back, regarding ‘overrated foods’. This was my OP:

View attachment 390195
View attachment 390196

I disagree with almost all of these. I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes. They're fine, but most people like them more than me. And I think truffles are pretty dumb. But avocado is great. Some kinds of sausage are superb. Fish sauce is gross on its own but is a key ingredient to a lot of Asian dishes which are very much not gross. A good white pizza is great. What's not to like? It's bread and cheese. Lamb is a little more finnicky than many kinds of meat, but I love a well-made roast lamb leg once in a while, and it's crucial in a lot of middle eastern dishes. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, I cook it weekly. Burrata, like mozzerella in general, needs to be good. If it's flavorless, it's not good. And Oysters cooked into a cheesy mess are good, mostly because that's no longer about the oysters. On their own or with a little mignonette, they're still good, if weird. But primarily as an appetizer or to go along with some drinks, not as a meal.

 

[VincenteFox]

I'm glad it isn't just me. Wife and I argue about colors often. I'm convinced I see sunsets and things of that nature in a more vibrant spectrum, though I'm handicapped by my Neolithic vocabulary for color names...

Uni/sea urchin is absolutely worth the hype. I may have been a sea otter in a previous life, it's one of those automatic orders if I see it fresh on a sushi menu. Unagi too. Had some cold smoked uni at an oyster bar up in Portsmouth that was banging.

 

[VincenteFox]

I joined this thread late but re: Chicago Deep Dish Pizza:

- Go when you are hungry and ready to ingest lots of calories. If you want salad for dinner there is no point.
- Skip Giordano's, they are the most famous but I find them mediocre. For chains try Lou Malnati's.
- Order a deep dish with lots of veggie toppings (i.e. Four seasons at Lou's). Meat doesn't work well with the tons of cheese.
- Eat in portions like a cheesecake. Eat in, take out tends to get the crisp crust soggy.
- Best time to enjoy is freezing winter days, once or twice a year with a drink or two.

It's okay to write this pie off but I think it's a food designed for specific occasions.

I agree with all of this except going with veggie and avoiding meat. Meat and cheese (obviously) go great together and you're already eating a calorie bomb casserole. Go whole hog if you want to.

 

[cotedupy]

I disagree with almost all of these. I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes. They're fine, but most people like them more than me. And I think truffles are pretty dumb. But avocado is great. Some kinds of sausage are superb. Fish sauce is gross on its own but is a key ingredient to a lot of Asian dishes which are very much not gross. A good white pizza is great. What's not to like? It's bread and cheese. Lamb is a little more finnicky than many kinds of meat, but I love a well-made roast lamb leg once in a while, and it's crucial in a lot of middle eastern dishes. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, I cook it weekly. Burrata, like mozzerella in general, needs to be good. If it's flavorless, it's not good. And Oysters cooked into a cheesy mess are good, mostly because that's no longer about the oysters. On their own or with a little mignonette, they're still good, if weird. But primarily as an appetizer or to go along with some drinks, not as a meal.

There you go!

And you’re certainly not alone, because that was indeed the whole point of my thread: Foodstuffs that are Wildly Overrated by the Majority of the Population.

 

[Dwergi]

I asked a similar (but slightly different) question here a few years back, regarding ‘overrated foods’. This was my OP:

View attachment 390195
View attachment 390196

That's a bizarre list. Almost everything is good in some respect.

 

[VincenteFox]

There you go!

And you’re certainly not alone, because that was indeed the whole point of my thread: Foodstuffs that are Wildly Overrated by the Majority of the Population.

 

[parbaked]

Tongue has become stupid expensive here, but I agree with you.

Gyutan still relatively cheap in Japan, for beef.
Interestingly, I've never seen it slow cooked or boiled.
It's either sliced thin and grilled in yakiniku or sliced thick, grilled on a flattop and cut into bite size pieces as street food.
Often seasoned with just salt...very beefy.
If you take a Shinkansen through Sendai, where it's most famous, almost everyone on the train will have a grilled gyutan ekiben.