Foodie Penpal Box… Sort Of

The Gentleman always wrings his hands with agita when he has to get me a birthday present. I’m more the present-giver in the family – I take great joy in finding the right thing for someone. So when I woke up on my birthday and he eagerly said, “Ok do you want your present?” I was a little surprised.

It was incredible!

You may remember that I participate in the foodie penpal swap at The Lean Green Bean. Every month, a stranger sends me a box of food worth $15, and I send a different stranger the same thing. In unrelated news, I have been missing NYC, and talking about how I need to go there. (I need to go there!) Well, the gentleman decided to get me a foodie penpal box, but do it ultra high-end with products from NYC. Think ultra-precious made-in-Brooklyn-by-someone-with-a-beard. He even put it in a post office flat rate box like the real thing. Whaa!

Marvel:

Mast Brothers chili pepper dark chocolate bar

Brooklyn Hard Candies, aka “you want me to pay $8 for a bottle of hard candy?” And he got me two.

Sir Kensington Ketchup, spicy flavor

Empire Mayonnaise, paprika flavor

Creminelli Whiskey Salami

Oliviers and Company finishing oils, garlic and chili

I’m very much a “it’s the thought that counts” type of giftee, and I would love him even if he didn’t get me anything. But damn – the Gentleman did very well!

It’s My Birthday and I’ll Blog If I Want To

And obviously I haven’t wanted to!

Readers, I am so sorry for taking a two-week hiatus on the blog. There is so much I have been eating! First up: my Chinese banquet birthday!

Happy birthday to me… and 12 of my friends

After having a great Christmas dinner there, I decided to take my friend posse to E Mei in Philly’s Chinatown. It specializes in Sichuan food, and while most people in Philly equate good Sichuan with Han Dynasty – one of the great culinary gems of Philadelphia for sure – I just like the lower key and convivial vibe at E Mei. Its clientele is 95% Chinese – a good sign.

Want to see some food? Sure you do! I carefully combed all of E Mei’s Yelp reviews to find the best stuff. Here’s what I ordered:

Pork dumplings in hot oil – a Sichuan classic

Dandan noodles. Not as great as Han Dynasty’s, but porky and spicy all the same

Scallion pancake

Spicy shredded vegetable salad – omgeee. This might have been the best thing of the night. True ma la – my tongue went numb eating this.

Chonqing spicy chicken must be fried 8 times and dunked in salty, spicy stuff. As good as you might think.

Cumin laaaaamb!

Shredded beef and long hot peppers

Pea shoots in garlic sauce

We got free oranges at the end, but who wants these when you can have…

…the amaretto cake I brought! Almond paste coated, apricot-jam filled amazing. More on this cake later in the week.

Leftovers did not last long. Believe me!

But the best part of the party couldn’t really be captured in the food. It was the pleasure of sitting around a big round table with 11 lovely Philly friends. Most of them were people I didn’t know when I moved here two and a half years ago, but now I feel so very lucky to know them all. Thanks for a wonderful birthday!!