Elevated & Unique Recipes
Recipe Video Salted Caramel’s More Interesting Cousin Bánh flan is one of those Vietnamese desserts that exists because of colonialism. French crème caramel arrived in Vietnam during the colonial period and Vietnamese cooks did what Vietnamese cooks always do; they kept what worked, adjusted what didn’t, and made it their […]
Recipe Video The Most Refreshing Thing I Ate in Chengdu I was in Chengdu, wandering through a market on a sweltering summer afternoon, when I spotted a vendor cutting something translucent and wobbly into thick, slippery strips and tossing them in a sauce the color of deep crimson. I joined […]
Recipe Video The Best Thing You Can Do With a Bunch of Scallions There is always a bunch of scallions in my fridge. Sometimes two. They come in larger quantities than any single recipe calls for, they go limp faster than you expect, and most people use them as a […]
Recipe Video The Dish That Tells You Everything About a Restaurant If I see com tam on the menu, it’s almost always what I’m ordering. No deliberation, no scanning the rest of the menu. Com tam. Done. There is something about this dish that cuts straight to the heart of […]
Recipe Video The Thai Dish I Order Every Single Time Every time I’m in Thailand, this is a non-negotiable order. Every time. The combination of that ultra savory sauce, the warming, almost clove-like fragrance of holy basil wilted through at the last second, the heat of fresh Thai chilies, and […]
Recipe Video Pasta alle Vongole’s More Interesting Cousin If you’ve ever had spaghetti alle vongole, you already understand the appeal. Briny clams, white wine, garlic, parsley, and olive oil tossed with pasta in a sauce that tastes like the ocean distilled into a bowl. It’s one of those dishes that […]
I’m Patrick Kong (AKA Patty.Plates) and I was born in Vancouver, Canada to Chinese immigrant parents. My father was a Guangzhou city boy, and my mom a village girl from Toisan. Both my parents have been cooking their entire lives - my dad even owned a small food court restaurant at one point (it was NOT good… sorry dad). My dad mainly saw food as a means of sustenance (both literally and economically) while my mom saw food as the glue that held our family together and connected us with the motherland.
