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   Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:35:15 JST Adrianna Tan

   Since I failed to procure a savory breakfast in time in Monterey, I am very hungry in San Francisco now. Thankfully there is a divey Chinese restaurant on my way home with a delicious bitter melon and black bean fish over rice.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:37:48 JST Adrianna Tan

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     Like so many restaurants from home, the ‘some main course over rice’ is the solo diner combination. They just make a smaller portion of an ‘entree’ for one person.

     I always find American Chinese portions so large.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:43:54 JST Adrianna Tan

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     Both my parents worked, and in hindsight it was pretty liberating to just go out for a ‘sweet and sour pork over rice’ or ‘ginger scallion fish over rice’ as a child, for dinner, by myself. There were plenty of places that would feed me that for two bucks. (At the time) safety situation was also different but I didn’t go far, literally just went ‘downstairs’

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:54:27 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • May Likes Toronto

     @mayintoronto yah similar. We called them zichar but they’re really the same

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     May Likes Toronto (mayintoronto@beige.party)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:54:29 JST May Likes Toronto

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     @skinnylatte One of my very few memories of my HK childhood was this outdoor dai pai dong (大牌檔) that had a giant blue tarp. Mom would take me there for lunch, and I'd get the lean pork & liver congee, or the instant noodles with a sunny side up egg and fried spam.

     I don't know why that was so memorable.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:56:22 JST Adrianna Tan

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     This reminds me of how when I first went to a Chinese restaurant in Monterey I said, I heard your Mongolian beef is the best dish? Should I try? And the auntie said no. It’s for Americans. Too sweet for you. I’ll make you ginger scallion beef. She was right. Love when I’m racially profiled but it’s tasty.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:56:58 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • Dan Lyke

     @danlyke it’s an acquired taste. Goes well in Cantonese soups too.

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     Dan Lyke (danlyke@researchbuzz.masto.host)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 06:56:59 JST Dan Lyke

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     @skinnylatte ooh, thank you, recently saw bitter melon in the grocery, thought "I should learn to do something with that", and didn't. So that recipe is now in an open tab in case it's still there when I go back.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 07:04:53 JST Adrianna Tan

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     When I first went to China people were racially profiling me all the time. ‘Chaozhou ren! You like this tea. You like that fish. You like light flavors. You like steamed food. Try these restaurants’ and I was always like what

     But also

     Yes I like that tea and that fish and I like steamed food

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 07:11:13 JST Adrianna Tan

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     If San Francisco restaurant permitting and real estate wasn’t entirely bonkers, I would have loved to do a Chaozhou tea house with incredible teas just from the region; and tea-based foods (tea smoked tofu, duck, chicken..)

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 07:14:25 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • justmichelle

     @justmichelle wow!

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     justmichelle (justmichelle@beige.party)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 07:14:26 JST justmichelle

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     @skinnylatte Many years ago a friend of a friend commented, in all seriousness, with no hint of irony, "why do Chinese restaurants always have such good (iced) tea?" 😝

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     マリオ (Mario Menti) (mario@neko.cat)'s status on Saturday, 17-May-2025 07:40:30 JST マリオ (Mario Menti)

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     @skinnylatte never had bitter melon in a Chinese dish, but love the Okinawan classic Goya Chanpuru. Tried some Indian recipes with it too, but didn't like those as much, as too bitter for my taste (they don't seem to remove the seeds and spongy bits in the middle)