Healthy tips for buying and preparing food for Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fa Cai! It's time to ring in another Chinese New Year! Now that 2009 has passed, it is time to look towards the future to find good fortune that will awaits us in 2010, the year of the Tiger. A new year also encourages us to reflect on the past and to set goals for the future such as eating healthy as well as exercise to maintain a healthy life style.

An important part of the Chinese New Year is spending time with the family, visiting relatives and friends. During this time, we like to entertain friends and family by throwing parties and making festive foods. These festive foods can be high in sugar, salt or fat but low in nutrition values. To jumpstart a healthy lifestyle for the new year, here are some healthy tips for purchasing and preparing food for your Chinese New Year celebration:
· Avoid buying processed and preserved foods instead use fresh and wholesome ingredients.

· When buying pre-packaged food, check for expiration dates and make sure the package are intact. If the product is non-packaged and sold by the pound, pay attention to the hygiene of the store, if the containers are covered and whether the staff use clean utensils to handle foods. If you have doubts about the source of the product, do not buy them.

· Avoid buying traditional snacks that is sugary or fried. Try healthier alternatives snacks such as dried fruits, bake goods, and unsalted nuts.

· Use healthier cooking methods like steaming, grilling and baking. If you must fry, use healthier oils like canola and corn oil.

· Prepare food using less sugar, salt and sauces. Flavor your dish with garlic, onion, shallots and ginger. Add the sauce on the side so you can have control over how much or little you want on your dish.

Food Spy for Metro Asian Food Magazine

I had the opportunity to be a food critic for a Asian food magazine called Metro Asian Food. It was such a fun and amazing experience I wish I could do this for a living!

Every issue they have a section where readers participate in "food missions"and a few are selected to be food spies aka food critics. It's a very simple process, you sign up online to be a member then they will send an email to everyone announcing the date, time and cruise. On a first come first basis if you are one of the few who reply the fastest then you will be chosen. I've been trying for a few months and I guess I got lucky! I got so lucky I got Andy to come with me too!! Our mission, Shanghai food!!!

Our special spy pins:

The first stop we went to was Shanghai Cafe.
We were excited!!!

Our other spy members, Vivian and Ling

We got interviewed by the writer after each bite of the food. The photographer was snapping pictures left and right and telling us to pose.

Our food writer Jeny

Here are some of my favorites from each of the restaurants. You can see the rest of the dishes in the article.
The must haves at a Shanghai restaurant, soup dumplings.

this has some sort of veggies and pork

Over all I thought Shanghai Cafe was so so....I've been here many times so I guess I was sick of the food. And the dish they gave us wasn't anything special.

Next stop:

interesting decoration with a mini looking bridge...

the buns were small but the skin was thinner which I like...

This restaurant went all out and served us their expensive dishes which was mostly seafood. I love seafood!!

crabs with salty eggs, one of my favorite of the day...

crispy shrimp with tea leafs, another favorite of the day...the shrimp was so crispy you can eat the whole thing like a chip...

thumbs up to the chef!!

Mission accomplished!!!

our photographer

Perks being a food spy: I got a souvenir bag filled with goodies, a pin, awesome free meal and being in a very popular food magazine!! yay!!
See article here...

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Shanghai Cafe
100 Mott Street
212-966-3988

New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe
65 Bayard Street
212-566-4884

Fluffy Chinese Sponge Cake

My coworker Eileen got some of us at the office addicted to sponge cake from a particular bakery in Chinatown. After having my first sponge cake a few days ago, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The sponge cake is so light and fluffy. It taste so good especially when it's hot! It almost melts in your mouth.

Today during lunch time I decide to go get some. Eileen told me it's between Baxter and Hester Steet. She says to look for a store with long plastic blinds on the door. She also warned me to look carefully because I might miss the store. I asked her why and she said because it doesn't look like a bakery. I wasn't sure what she meant because most Chinese bakeries in Chinatown are usually very nice with glass windows and pretty cakes displaying at the counters or windows. But she was right, it doesn't look like a bakery at all. If I didn't read the sign I would've thought it was a vegetable store or a ghetto deli. The plastic blinds on the door was the only sign that I was at the right place.

I walked in this coffee shop and saw there were only 1 little table occupied by two old Asian men. The surprising thing was the person behind the counter and everyone in the kitchen were all Spanish. It was impressive because the guy at the counter spoke some Chinese. I looked around the counter and saw some pastries but didn't see any sponge cake so I asked if they had anymore. He asked me how many I want and I told him 3. He called out to the people in the kitchen and they brought it out for us. The sponge cake was nice and warm. I couldn't wait to eat it! The only thing I have to complain is about the size, compare this to other sponge cake in Chinatown this is so tiny! But this is the best sponge cake I've ever had. Each one is 65 cents.

In the afternoon I told Stella I got some sponge cake and she wanted some too. Suddenly I wanted to get more. After raving about these sponge cake we got Lin wanting to try some too. So we asked Joe to go get some for us. He couldn't say no to 3 hungry ladies so he went with Lin. They came back with a box. We were all so happy!

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Kam Hing Coffee Shop

119 Baxter St New York, NY 10013