An Indonesian in Mississippi. Not as catchy as "An Englishman in New York"
Up and up
Penelope is climbing now. Uhm… yay? We already had to move things higher to get them out of her reach, and now not even those things are safe. She also kind of knows how to get back down but not always. Personality-wise we were already pretty sure she would be the kid to get all the bruises, scrapes, and broken bones; this confirms it. Kid is fearless.
Bakmi Goreng
As significant an event as it was that I was actually cooking, I figured I’d document it. This is the noodle dish I cooked for Penelope’s 1st birthday. There’s no recipe to it so there’s not really a name for it, but if I had to identify it I’d call it bakmi goreng, which is an Indonesian dish that means “fried noodles”. The noodles are actually boiled and then seared in the wok with the rest of the ingredients. The dish has Chinese origins but has a distinct Indonesian twist to it. » Continue Reading…
Partied out
Penelope turned 1 year old last week, so we had a tiny celebration in traditional Pamudji family style–we cooked a special meal. It’s always about the food! I cooked a Chinese/Indonesian noodle dish as is the custom, and Denise baked some carrot cake cupcakes. » Continue Reading…
It's snow. Serious!
We got snow! Not nearly as much as last year’s big (for Jackson anyway) snow, but Sofia loved what little of it we got.
First snow
Penelope, on the other hand, was not convinced of the virtues of this cold, white stuff.
Mr. Chen's now has a sign
I had been to Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese Cooking twice already, but that’s not nearly enough to explore their vast menu, so I’ve been a couple more times since then with family and friends, and alone for lunch once. Ok, so it’s not “take 2″; more like “takes 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on”. And they now have a sign on their awning so you really can’t miss them. » Continue Reading…
Mr. Chen's
Jackson is, from what I’ve seen elsewhere in the Deep South, a typical Southern small town/city when it comes to Chinese food–lots of American Chinese buffets and not a lot of authentic Chinese cuisine. As far as I know, the new Ding How is the only show in town for real Chinese fare–they have a Chinese menu (all items are also listed in English) that they used to only trot out for Chinese customers but I think they now stick in the back of their regular menu, and they also serve dim sum. Or should I say was the only show in town for real Chinese fare? Enter Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese Cooking. » Continue Reading…
And go seek
The three amigos
County Line Road plus a short strip of Old Canton just north of County Line has become a hotbed for Latin American cuisine. The joints we know of in that area are La Morena, Omonia, and La Guadalupe. We had been to La Morena and Omonia, which left La Guadalupe as the only restaurant we needed to visit. We finally got around to it yesterday, and once we did we wish we had done so sooner.
Spice Avenue
Another “best”? Getting a bit bold about declaring best restaurants in town, are we? Sometimes it’s just so obvious you have to go ahead and acknowledge it. Spice Avenue is the best Indian restaurant in the Jackson metro area.
Denise and I went to Spice Avenue for the 1st time for our anniversary this year. My parents were in town, so they offered to babysit the girls while we went on a cellphone browsing date (how romantic!) and ate at Spice Avenue afterward.
Lumpkins BBQ
About a month before Penelope was born, Denise, Sofia, and I went to Lumpkin’s BBQ for lunch. I met the Lumpkin’s folks at Taste of Mississippi the previous month while photographing that event, and after sampling their barbecue brisket there I was eager to visit their restaurant. The title of this post gives away the verdict so let’s not beat around the bush: this is the best barbecue restaurant in Jackson. More on that later on.