Lamblicious

New Zealand will always be one of my favorite place to travel to. My family has a small holiday home in Queenstown that is nestled away in the countryside. The five of us used to travel there either during our summer or winter holidays and would have the time of our lives. It was our home away from home with everlasting memories and moments that makes my stomach swirl whenever I reminisce about them. It is the place that bonded my family together whether we were learning how to ski, playing golf, wining and cheesing, bundling up altogether in a tiny space, jumping on a trampoline or even playing a game of tennis.
On average, New Zealand has about 40 million sheep. That means there are 13 times more sheep than people!

Consequently, I fell in love with sheep...literally SHEEPSESSED and would beg my parents to buy me sheep everything! My birthday is on December 31st so every winter break that we spent over there, my family would run around Queenstown buying me - sheepskin pillows, pajamas, posters, stuffed animals, etc.

 So obviously I never ate lamb. Refused and refused and refused... until a few years ago when I got a teeny bit curious...
Tried it, hated it. It had a bizzare stench and taste. Turned it down everytime it was offered to me again.

Then I moved to DC for college and began to eat a lot of Mediterranean food as kabobs, gyros, falafels, hummus, etc are all very popular here - except I made sure to stay away from the lamb. After my friends noticed my new-found love for kabobs, they told me about an amazing restaurant in Arlington, Virginia called Ravi Kabobs. We went and they made me order the lamb kabobs which are apparently to die for. I was nervous and pretty certain I would find them repulsive. To my surprise, they blew my mind and tasted DELICIOUS. There was neither a sewagy-moldy-rotten odor nor taste!

Ever since then I have been hooked on lamb. In the past when I imagined lamb, I'd picture cute baby sheep running around in the countryside in New Zealand.

Now I picture a skewer or chop of lamb sizzling on a plate marinated in a spicy blend of herbs!

Ever since my trip to Ravi Kabobs, I have always picked lamb over any other meat on the menu and scoffed it down like there was no tomorrow! I even started making my own lamb:

Yesterday I woke up craving the kabobs from Ravi Kabobs. So a friend and I drove down there and enjoyed our delicious meal. The lamb and chicken kabobs come with rice, a huge hot and soft pita and a side of lentils. The entire meal is unbelievably satisfying.

Lamb Kabob meal at Ravi Kabobs

Chicken Kabob meal at Ravi Kabobs (also amazing)

The restaurant is a casual, inexpensive and conservative place that has won the "Washingtonian Best Bargain Restaurant Award" since 2006.

The restaurant has been so successful so they had to open another restaurant across the street called Ravi Kabob II !

The address of Ravi Kabob I is: 305 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203.
The address of Ravi Kabob II is: 250 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203.

If you love lamb or even hate lamb, trust me and head down to Ravi Kabobs!

Chow Away

When you think of a home-cooked meal, what do you think of? For me, its a chow. My family's definition of a chow is a combination of whatever is left in our refrigerator tossed in a wok and stir-fried together with a little bit of oil, chopped garlic and sliced onions. 


Somedays it would be a beautiful melange of colors- orange from the carrots, green from the brocolli and snow peas, yellow from the baby corn, white from the bean sprouts and tan from the chicken. 

However, on other days when our fridge was less stocked there would be a severe reduction in the colorful zest...

Sad stir-fry

As a college student, I find a chow to be a very practical dish to make. This is because I can usually dig up random bits and pieces in my fridge that I obviously forgot about and are about to expire. Thus, if you combine these odds and ends into a chow you can minimize your wastage!


Even if you don't have a wok, you can just use a skillet. However, a wok is best as it retains the texture and flavors of the individual ingredients without getting them soggy.


Its funny how when my friends are starving they will open up their fridges and throw together a sandwich. To me, a sandwich for dinner is dull, no matter how good the ingredients are. In the same time span required to make a sandwich, you can put together a stir-fry because the actual cooking is so fast (3-5 minutes maximum). 

Pre-washed & chopped vegetables at Whole Foods
Source: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com (youngandhungry) 

Grocery stores such as Trader Joes and Whole Foods Market sell pre-washed and chopped vegetables making it unbelievably easy to create your own chow. All you need to do is heat up the wok/skillet, add some oil and whatever seasonings you enjoy, and finally throw the ingredients in and toss them around. 



For those people who never enter their kitchens, let alone step into a grocery store, there is a restaurant that makes phenomenal stir-fries! It's called Penn Grill and is located on  825 20th St NW (between N H St & N Pennsylvania Ave), Washington DC. They give you an empty plate where you add whichever vegetables and meats you want and then pass it over to the chef who will stir-fry it to your specifications (mild, medium, spicy). You are then charged by the weight of your concoction.

Penn Grill, DC
Source: http://img.clubvibes.com/listings/logos/42090.jpg

I really enjoy a quick chow for lunch or dinner because not only is it healthy, its fun to make. The more you make them, the more you learn which combinations you like and which taste putrid. 


Beware that certain mixtures of ingredients can be nauseating!


However, the main reason as to why I enjoy a chow is because it reminds me of home which is 9,664 miles away <3
So go on, chow away...