Matcha green tea latte

A couple of weeks ago, the folks at Matcha Source sent me package container some recipes, a small packet of matcha green tea powder, and a hand electric frother.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to try out the matcha green tea powder.  I decided to try making a simple latte from their recipes.

Directions

• Sift 1 tsp Matcha powder into a cup
• Melt matcha by adding 2 oz hot water and stirring until matcha becomes a smooth paste
• Pour 6 oz steamed* milk into a cup
• Add matcha tea to the milk
• Scoop foamy milk on top

The matcha latte tasted good.  It had an interesting green color.  Matcha Source's powder appears to have a deeper green color than the powder I've been using for baking.  I think I may use the rest of the powder for my next matcha flavored baked goods because I'm hoping the darker green will come out better for baked goods.  Sometimes the lighter green tea powder I use ends up brown if I don't use enough green tea powder.

I'm lucky to have a lot of local markets that carry matcha green tea powder.  But I know that is not the case for everyone.  I've had a few of my readers inquire into where to buy matcha powder from.  Matcha Source appears to be a good source to buy matcha powder from. I forgot to take a picture of the cute box everything came in, but here's a quick shot of the packet and the frother.

Golden City revisit

Shortly after my first late night visit to Golden City, I read two great posts on Golden City from Carol of CAB cooks and Dennis from A Radiused Corner.  I also received some recommendations of other dishes to try for Kirk at mmm-yoso and Carol.  So of course I had to go back and try all the recommendations.

Here is a photo of the late night menu:

First, after seeing pictures of the crispy duck skin from the duck that Dennis and Carol had, I had to get the duck.  The duck carving is a nice presentation.  They wheel out the duck on a cart, and carve it in front of you.  Since I whipped out my camera, the waiter handed the duck over to my brother for a picture.

I do wish the duck was a bit bigger.  It was definitely on the small side. Here's some blurry action shots of the duck being carved:

Here's the finished product:

The crispy duck skin is served with steam buns,onions, and a sauce.  I do wish that it was plated better though.  The buns were displayed haphazardly on a steamer, some of them stuck to the bottom. 

Usually when my family orders this dish, everything is nicely plated on a huge platter.

The duck skin was nice and crispy.  I wasn't able to get a very clear shot though.

You get to choose the second way the duck is prepared.  There were three options.  I can no longer remember what they were.  I didn't know which way would be best.  In the pictures from Carol and Dennis, they chose the lettuce wraps, so I chose the same thing.

I wasn't really a fan of the lettuce wraps.  I couldn't taste the duck the way it was prepared.  The mixture inside the lettuce wraps was really salty.  Next time I'll choose a different preparation.

We also ordered a fish fillet with vegetables.

The fish was good, but I didn't particularly liked how the vegetables were cooked.  Next time maybe I'll order the sauteed fish fillet rather than sauteed fish fillet with vegetables.

Fish fillet with corn sauce

This was one of Kirk's recommendations.  I was surprised to see the fish fillets were deep fried.  Normally when I order this dish, the fillet is not fried.  However, I liked this dish all the same.  The fish was not overfried.  The corn sauce went well with the fish.

Pork intestines with pickled vegetables

Last time I had ordered the deep fried intestines.  Kirk recommended the pork intestines with pickled vegetables.  And of course he was right. Is he ever wrong? I loved this dish.  They basically cook the pork intestines with black bean sauce so the pickled vegetables are not overwhelmingly sour.  

Scallop with garlic sauce

This was my least favorite dish of the night.  i didn't like the sweet sauce. I actually made a mistake in ordering this dish.  Carol of CAB cooks had recommended that I try the squid with shrimp sauce, but when I was at Golden City, I couldn't remember what she had recommended.  I only remembered it was a seafood dish and ended up thinking it was the scallop with garlic sauce.  Doh! Next time I'll try the squid with shrimp sauce!

At the end of the meal we were given mung bean soup.

Matcha Green Tea Swirl Brownies

Shortly after I discovered that I could turn a lot of cakes and cookies
that are white in color to be matcha green tea flavored, I thought of
making matcha green tea swirl brownies, using a recipe I had once used
for zebra brownies.

Recipe (Adapted from Pillsbury Zebra Brownies Recipe)

Filling

6oz.packages cream cheese, softened

1/4cup sugar

1/2teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 tsp matcha green tea powder

Brownie mixture

1 (19.25 oz.)package Traditional Fudge Brownie

3 tablespoons water

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

2 large eggs

Directions

1.	HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl; beat until smooth. Set aside. Combine all brownie ingredients in large bowl; beat 50 strokes with spoon.
2.	SPREAD half of brownie batter in prepared pan. Pour filling mixture over brownie batter, spreading to cover. Top with spoonfuls of remaining brownie batter. To marble, pull knife through batter in wide curves; turn pan and repeat.
3.	BAKE 32 to 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.