Southern Barbarian 南蛮子

I've abandoned this blog for too long! You can check out some of my other works at my other blog.

Southern Barbarian: A restaurant with a quiet, low-key atmosphere plus some pretty good Chinese food, Yunnan-style.

Goatcheese:



Another dash of salt would have perfected the dish.

Stir-fried pomegranate flowers:



These flower have a very interesting texture, almost like a mushroom's. We also detected a hint of citrus in the flowers.

Beef on toothpicks:



Tender beef with a kick!

Cross-the-bridge rice noodle 过桥米线



This was pretty good for a rice noodle soup, but it was totally subpar compared to the real cross-the-bridge noodles in Yunnan. They had already put all the ingredients in the soup by the time it was served, which was totes wrong! That defeats the whole purpose of these Yunnan-style noodles. You are supposed to be served plates of raw ingredients and a hot bowl of soup and noodles topped with a thick layer of oil. You then toss in the ingredients yourself as you watch them cook from the heat of the bowl and soup.You can read more about this very special dish and the story behind it here.

It happened today. I ran over 5K for the first time in over six years. It almost seemed too easy, too effortless. I was barely panting when I finished. I felt like I do could it again.

Five weeks ago, I texted some friends to go jogging with me. Maybe I just wanted to socialize since I hadn't seen them in ages, but this casual decision evolved into a frequent ritual. We pushed each other to go farther than we would have if we had been running by ourselves.

No lie, I was def the weakest link. I always thought I was going to throw up after running a mile with them. After a few weeks, I started running by myself, and I read up on how to run more efficiently and build leg and core muscles. My evening run gradually became what I looked forward to in my day. Mastering pain and discomfort became a fun game because I kept on winning.

Invincibility here I come!

But I digress. I'm so pumped I am going to train for 10K's now.

Post-Run Recovery Food Today:

2% organic milk with cereal
Low fat yogurt
Snow fungus, sweetened with rock candy (See photo below)

I love the gelatinous texture. Supposedly high in protein and other nutrients. With anti-aging properties, it's great for the skin, too.

Post-Run Recovery Food

Things I eat after a run:

- Half of a sweet potato, boiled
- 2% organic milk
- Low-fat yogurt
- Handful of granola + a few almonds
- Fruit (had strawberries yesterday)

Buns

Chapel Hill, NC

I can't believe I hadn't been to Buns all this time. It may be the best burger place ever. Not sure what kind of spices they added to the burger meat, but it had a nice kick to it. Amazing. (A friend who never liked burgers said that it was the first time she enjoyed eating a burger! Mainly due to the spices.) Toppings were free. I got slaw, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese. I only had to pay ~$5.00

Their fries are pretty amazing, too.

Sweet Potato Fries (Note the curry mustard sauce on the side. Very interesting flavor. It's curry-like but creamier.)

Chili Cheese Fries

Thanks to my friend who had to drive through a thunderstorm so we could eat at Buns!

Weathervane

Chapel Hill, NC

I had the Shrimp and Grits (see photo 2). The barbecue sauce (?) may have been a little too strong for me, and the portion was pretty small, but I still liked sitting in that restaurant. High ceiling, wall of bottles of wine, cute outdoor seating areas (think private nooks with shrubs). Classy and homey.

Lulu's Restaurant

Richmond, VA.

We were going to go to Millie's Diner for brunch, but the curse of going to any top rated establishment is a painfully long wait. (There were hordes of people waiting outside.) The hostess was such a nice lady. She put us on her list but also recommended that we go to Lulu's.

Food from Lulu's:

I got the Lulu's Florentine.

The food was very good, but the lady serving us wasn't very welcoming. :/

Their decor is very modern, chic. All the servers and even the chefs looked like hipsters. Fun place (minus our waitress).

Super King Buffet

Richmond, VA.

Randomly chanced upon this place when searching for another restaurant. This place is ridiculously awesome for a buffet. They had oysters, clams, flounder, Peking duck, sushi, frog legs--to name a few.

I ate so much I couldn't walk out of the place.

Mai Sushi

Richmond, Virginia.

This trip basically consisted of me stuffing myself with so much food that I had trouble walking. Went to Mai Sushi for lunch. For $8.95, I got a salad, miso soup, a California roll, and tonkatsu (see pictures 1 & 2).

Loved the decor, too. Dark wood, slivers of gold and silver trims here and there, and warm-toned paintings on the walls.

And oh, A++ for cleanliness.

Lady

Lady, a photo by Caddie D. on Flickr.

Yep

Yep, a photo by Caddie D. on Flickr.