Eleanor Hoh

Enjoy a Perfect Day in Miami Design District

April 30, 2024 By Eleanor Hoh 6 Comments

Enjoy a Perfect Day in Miami Design District, starting with strolling around and admiring all the luxury brand stores and ever changing whimsical sculptures!

If you’re visiting Miami, pondering about moving here or even if you live here, this is a great way to discover neighborhoods and I’ll be covering more neighborhoods for you to enjoy. Here’s a great site to visit for 17 premier bucket list of activities.

Best is to use the very detailed map of all the stores, restaurants organized by Miami Design District. Developer and art collector, Craig Robins of Dacra envisioned the Miami Design District two decades ago, dreaming of a vibrant neighborhood spanning four city blocks. Sign up for the Miami Design District events calendar—many events are complimentary.

Start at Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome at Palm Court and walk along beautiful Paseo Ponti, a paved cobblestone lane. Stop for a coffee and croissant at Table by Antonio Bachour, the famous ‘pastry impresario” (always check opening hours).

Or go to end of the lane and try a Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) from the most adorable mini truck called Japo w or wander off the lane to the side and try a spirit-infused ice cream at Abu Ramsa.

Continue to Institute of Contemporary Art on 41st street. It’s free entrance and always has interesting exhibits. Definitely check out the store for a lovely gift to take home. And step outside to the garden for more art and enjoy.

After all the art, you’ll be ready for lunch…Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink is always a fabulous choice with outdoor dining and seasonally driven menu, my fav is Pork Belly with Kimchi.

Mia Market back at Palm Court is a lovely food hall with 10-12 vendors. Jaffa, a wonderful Israeli-infuenced cuisine has a delicious Crispy Beef Kibbeh which comes on a beautiful tiered presentation, enough for two.

Walk off your lunch and stroll up to Upper Buena Vista, surrounded by lush foliage and huge trees, there’s something new going on all the time. There’s a lovely collection of unique boutiques, restaurants and a huge tiki hut for music events. Take a nap under one of the huge trees.

Don’t forget to make a wish at the wishing tree and get a photo with Pinochhio.

For dinner, you’ll definitely need a reservation for Bioa de since it’s now a one star Michelin restaurant. Don’t be deceived by its outside appearance with a neon exclamation mark for its signage. It’s by far, one of the best dining experiences I’ve encountered!

Boia de is modern, whimsical Italian cuisine. It’s intimate and cozy with wait staff who are knowledgeable and want you to have as much fun as them.

Steak Tartar with the most delicious crackling!

Best Oils to Use for High Heat Wok Cooking

April 25, 2024 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

As a wok cooking teacher, I’m constantly asked what are the best oils to use for high heat wok cooking. The topic of best oils has changed over the years, we find more and more how vegetable and seed oils are highly processed and are NOT good for your health. Let’s discuss Smoke Points, Flavors and why and how they affect your health!

CHART FOR OILS, SMOKE POINT, FLAVOR

BEST OILS FOR HIGH HEAT WOK COOKING

HEALTH

Vegetable oils which everyone thinks is so nutritious is actually highly processed and full of Omega 6 fatty acids which is inflammatory and has terrible health consequences.

Here’s a functional doctor I highly respect who started off as a traditional family practitioner, Dr. Hyman. It’s best you get the history about the complete switcheroo from vegetable and seed oils to saturated fats. This short video explains it really well.

HOW TO KEEP OILS

I know Costco stocks huge bottles of Avocado and Olive Oil but it’s best to buy smaller quantities because they can go rancid. Keep these oils in a dry, cool, dark place. Never put oil bottles close to hot cooking areas which makes them spoil even faster. And close the lid quickly because oxygen contributes to rancidity, eww.

SMOKE POINT

Smoke Point basically means at what temperature the oil reaches before it breaks down and degrades its flavor, smell and nutrition.

I have also lowered the temperature of my stir frying. I start HIGH at 500 on my Nuwave and HIGHEST on my Iwatani gas stove. OK, sorry I’m introducing yet another angle to stir frying but ever since I started using the GLAZING TECHNIQUE which involves stock or water for vegetables, the smoke point doesn’t come into effect so much. I’ll work on a GLAZING blog post next.

Coconut oil is not that high and gets very smoky, so I’ve backed off using it for my stir fries.

Stir Fry Medley Vegetables – snow pea shoots, oyster mushrooms

FLAVOR

Only Avocado oil has a neutral flavor. For me personally, I love the flavor of ghee in my food, it makes everything look very glazed, taste delicious and has a creamy texture. My husband as you all know is the Omelet Master only uses ghee now.

Coconut oil also imparts a strong flavor. Extra Virgin Olive oil (EVOO) makes everything taste Italian? Just joking but it does have a strong flavor and is expensive, I use it for mostly dressing. All this boils down to is depending on your personal flavor preference.

How to: Fry Eggs in your Wok

As mentioned, I will share the Glazing technique. In the meantime, Try this Stir Fry for Cooking Flavorful Vegetables so you’ll love them and so will your partner and the kids! In this post, I used a similar technique but less ratio of oil and liquid.

Try this stir fry for cooking flavorful vegetables so you’ll LOVE them!

CONCLUSION

To conclude, please ELIMINATE using any highly processed vegetable or seed oils like tea seed oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, safflower oil. If you see mentions of those oils in my old blog posts, PLEASE remember to replace with avocado oil, ghee, coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil.

PS whenever I go out to dine, I get terrible bloating and takes a week to get back to normal. I’m trying to start a campaign to get chefs to NOT use those dreaded highly processed vegetable or seed oils. I was so thrilled to hear Los Felix and sister restaurant right next door Krus Kitchen in Coconut Grove do NOT use seed oils, yay.

Ask me any questions in comments and I’ll try to answer as best I can.

Good News for Asian Food Lovers: Baoshi Food Hall fulfills your cravings

April 8, 2024 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Good news for Asian food lovers! Baoshi Food Hall fulfills your cravings and opened in Pembroke Pines, a redesign of popular dim sum restaurant favorite, Gold Marquess. You’ll still get your favorite dim sum plus 4 distinct and delicious Asian street food concepts from Japan, Korea, and of course China. Check my Instagram Reel at the bottom.

HOW DID BAOSHI START?

Baoshi Food Hall is the brainchild of Fil Ip, the eldest son whose parents opened popular dim sum restaurant, Gold Marquess in Pembroke Pines eight years ago. Fil is a chemical engineer turned restauranteur.

Fil Ip’s parents are from Venezuela where his mom’s family owned a supermarket and his Dad started as a busser at a Chinese restaurant called King House! The restaurant still exists and is now run by his father’s brother! Wow, what an incredible story and interesting how the parents decided to open their own restaurant never having operated one themselves.

When his parents retired last year, Fil decided to convert Gold Marquess to an Asian street food hall (with parents approval, ha, ha). He figured a casual eatery requires less work to run compared to a restaurant. I think it’s a wise move not only operational wise but offering a selection of Asian street food all in one place and fulfills people’s Asian food cravings. It’s the first one in Broward and as Fil says, “Baoshi is about creating memories with loved ones.”

DECOR…

I like how Baoshi Food Hall has different areas to hang. The porch areas are wonderful for families with children or for fresh air lovers.

The main entrance opens to a market for Asian snacks like Pocky and teapots and feature rotating artists’ creations.

I absolutely love all the Indochine vintage murals dotted throughout, adding a lovely Asian touch.

Another element I liked was the cozy cocktail and bar lounge so you can leisurely enjoy those Lychee Mai Tais, ice cold beers and sakes which go so well with spicy Asian street food. The bar on the other side is open to the back porch so parents can watch their kids play while enjoying a cocktail.

And of course, the main dining area facing the food booths, watching all your food getting prepared.

MEANING OF BAOSHI?

The name Baoshi is adorable. Everyone knows and loves Bao (white pillowy bun), adding the “shi” just means you should binge on them, ha, ha.

5 FOOD CONCEPTS…

Fil tells me they’ll be accentuating the visuals next to the menu above because hey, it’s nice to see what you’re getting (eat with your eyes)! Most dishes are between $12-$25.

Temple Street Eatery: I love these two chefs, Alex and Diego (FIU graduates) who have their own restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. They are always introducing Latin-Asian fusion creations. Separate blog about them soon. Diego is also from Venezuela and his parents knew Fil Ip’s parents, amazing they both end up in South Florida.

Wonton Tacos, Godzilla Ramen(so delicious, mix of pork belly + Ropa Veja), and Kalua Pork Baos (flavor bomb combo!)

Gangnam Chikn: offering Korean Fried Chicken, Korean Street Food and BBQ and a super lunch box deal. We liked their Korean Galbi short ribs (tender and tasty).

Poke OG: serving poke and vegan bowls, sushi rolls and crispy rice, the Dante Roll was spot on, it had just the right amount of crispy texture with Panko fried shimp and avocado with torched salmon and spicy mayo. On a previous visit, we had Papa Chang’s Roll.

Gold Marquess: their famous dim sum sampler was a super delish starter, Mongolian Beef and Spicy Shrimp were cooked to perfection and brought back fond memories of Hong Kong! You’ll be able to get all their signature dumplings you love and even Peking duck served tableside.

Boba Street Cafe (too full to have any). A little sweet to end your Asian Street Food cravings…Fruit Teas, Milk Teas, Flavored Lemonades, Barbie Menu, Street Blends, Lava Lattes, Iced Coffees, Shamrock, Waffles, Cakes & Pies, Ice Cream.

BEST WAY TO ENJOY BAOSHI?

Baoshi Food Hall is the sort of place you want to take the whole family, go with work colleagues for TGIF and even pop in on your own after work! In Asia, it’s tradition to share dishes family style, this way you get to try more Asian street foods.

There’s entertainment every night with live music on Fridays & Saturdays. Check their instagram’s full schedule. Weekends are of course more busy so adjust your expectations for long lines and wait.

SHARE WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE?

Enjoy and share in comments what’s your favorite at Baoshi Food Hall?

Baoshi Food Hall
8525 Pines Boulevard,
Pembroke Pines,
FL 33024
786-898-8868
Instagram: @baoshifoodhall

PS I always try to do double duty on a trip, so drop into Kimchi Mart and pick up some yummy ready cooked food! Visit my Instagram Highlights under Lunch Ideas, you’ll see how I spice up my lunches by adding cucumber kimchi or tofu.

Note: full disclosure, this was a media dine but doesn’t sway my judgement.

Instagram Overview Reel…

@wokstar I post instagram stories everyday so don’t miss out.

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A post shared by Eleanor Hoh, Event Producer (@wokstar)