Tupananchikkama (Peru: Part III)

Posted on June 24, 2017 by kc

Tupananchikkama (until we meet again)

That’s what we whispered as we peered over our shoulders to catch a glimpse of Huayna Picchu one last time.

…continued from Tupananchikkama (Peru: Part II)

After Machu Picchu, we headed to back to Lima and spent the last couple of days there. Our main objective was to EAT. And that we did. From a high brow tasting menu to a simple chicharron sandwich, we definitely had all of our food bases covered as we explored the city.

20170521_131854 — *El Chinito*
had to get the signature sandwich

2019-01-04_08-52-33 — *Anticucheria El Tio Mario*
this was surprisingly bland

2019-01-04_07-39-39 — *La Lucha Sangucheria*
winner: El Chinito

20170521_091736 — el beso in parque del amor

2019-04-26_08-35-51 — *La Mar Cebicheria Peruana*
when in lima, we eat ceviche

And about that high brow meal at Maido (#8 on the World’s Best 50 Restaurant list of 2017)… so creative and delicious! I really appreciated the modern gastronomic showcase of Nikkei cuisine, which is a combination of Peruvian ingredients with Japanese techniques.

PhotoGrid_1495403133410 — an amazing meal from start to finish

Besides the food, I also loved the incredible street art in Lima, especially in Barranco, where our B&B was located. Here are some of my favorites that I captured while taking a stroll down to Playa Barranco.

One of the things I wanted to do before we headed home was to watch the water show at Circuito Magico del Agua and explore the many water fountains in the park so that is what we did on our last night. The water show at the Fuente de la Fantasía (Fantasia Fountain) takes place 3 times a night, beginning at 7:15 pm, 8:15 pm and 9:30 pm.

Fuente de la Fantasía (Fantasia Fountain)

Fuente de la Ilusión (Fountain of Illusion)

Túnel de las Sorpresas (Tunnel of Surprises)

Laberinto del Ensueño (Maze of the Dream)

This trip was short but amazing. We explored two very different cities in Peru, hiked around one of the new world wonders, tried various local ingredients, and ate at one of the world’s 50 best restaurants. I could not have asked for any more.

Where to next?

—

Verdicts:
Anticucheria El Tio Mario 3.5/5
El Chinito, 4/5
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, 4/5
La Lucha Sangucheria, 3.5/5
Maido, 4.5/5

Tupananchikkama (Peru: Part II)

Posted on June 17, 2017 by kc

Tupananchikkama (until we meet again)

That’s what we whispered as we peered over our shoulders to catch a glimpse of Huayna Picchu one last time.

…continued from Tupananchikkama (Peru: Part I)

The next day, I had booked us what I thought would be an casual bike ride through the Sacred Valley of Peru. Boy, was I wrong! Why did I not learn from the last time I did any sort of physical activity at 11,000+ feet?! I usually love biking uphill because I’m all about working out that bootayy, but man, even biking the slightest incline was extremely difficult at this altitude. Our lungs were NOT prepared for this shit.

There were two stops on this tour. The first stop was Moray, an Incan ruin believed to have once been used as an agricultural laboratory of sorts. Each level of the circular terraced bowl exhibited a different micro climate, allowing the Incans to experiment with various vegetation.

While we did not bike to Moray (thank goodness), we did bike to our next stop: Maras. The path went from wide open and fairly flat to narrow, downhill, on the side of the mountain.

The town of Maras is known for the salt ponds that sit on the slopes of the Qaqawiñay mountain. Some 3,000 shallow pools are filled with the hypersaline water that flows through an intricate network of channels from the Qoripujio spring. Once full, the water in the ponds is left to evaporate and the remaining deposits are raked into a basket to be sorted, bagged and sold. An admission fee of 10 soles and a short hike from the small parking lot take you down to the salt mines. We bought a few bags of salt to take home for ourselves and as gifts for our foodie friends. Based on what we purchased, the grain size is a bit more coarse than I’m used to so I would definitely recommend for use as a finishing salt rather than a salt to cook with. The taste is more salty, for the lack of a better description.

And (drum roll) for the main event, we traveled to Machu Picchu bright and early the next morning aboard the Vistadome train. This train was an upgrade from the normal Expedition train, but the panoramic windows and food service offered both ways were well worth the extra cost.

all aboard!

Our journey began with 20 min car ride to the Poroy Train Station and from there, it took 3.5 hours to get to Machu Picchu by train (~ 4 hours one way). The Poroy Station is only open from May through December so for those considering traveling from January through April, the trip from Cusco to Machu Picchu consists of a long BUS ride to the Ollantaytambo Station and then taking a train from there (~4.5 hours one way).

2019-01-04_04-46-40 — Great views on the train – those gray things on the side of the mountain are the Skylodge pods

Given the limited vacation days we had for this trip, we decided against trekking to Machu Picchu. Although now looking back, I probably would have given up one day in Lima for a day trek to Machu Picchu.

2019-01-04_05-29-32 — You can see people hiking the trail

The last stop of the train was the Machu Picchu Train Station, located in Machu Picchu Town aka Aguas Calientes. From the train station, we walked 10 min into town to the bus station and after a 30 min bus ride, we were finally at the entrance. FINALLY. After almost 5 hours. FIVE. CINCO.

We met up with our tour guide and got to exploring this new wonder of the world.

Bucket list √

Tupananchikkama (Peru: Part I)

Posted on June 10, 2017 by kc

Tupananchikkama (until we meet again)

That’s what we whispered as we peered over our shoulders to catch a glimpse of Huayna Picchu one last time.

The plan:

Cusco, 4 days
Lima, 2 days

The activities:

Mountain biking to Moray and Salt Mines
Machu Picchu tour
Chocolate making class
Horseback riding
EAT

Like Canada, this was another short notice trip, by my standards anyway. We finalized travel plans in March for our trip in May. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time planning because there are so many things we didn’t get to do. But that’s why we have to go back, right?

This being my first international trip (to another continent), the travel time to Cusco was almost unbearable. We took a red eye to Lima, with a layover in Panama City, and then a domestic flight to Cusco. All in all, the total travel time including layovers was 17 hours. I am so so so thankful for airport lounges because we were able to relax, take a nap, stay hydrated or caffeinated, use wifi, and have access to clean restrooms.

When we finally arrived in Cusco, we were too tired to deal with having to negotiate a cheaper taxi fare so we just took an official taxi offered inside the airport. The ride to our hotel in the San Blas neighborhood cost us 50 soles (~$15). You can definitely get a cheaper fare (~15 soles) if you bargain with one of the many taxi drivers waiting outside in the airport parking lot.

Fair warning: taxi drivers here are CRAZY. I’m pretty sure I saw my life flash before my eyes a few times so I’m still amazed how we were not involved in any accidents nor did we witness one.

The best thing about our hotel, Pension Alemana, was this amazing view of Cusco…

Having this view did come at a price, physically. Since it is situated higher than the main part of town, walking to and from our hotel was a real workout. While we didn’t suffer from any symptoms of altitude sickness (we took medicine beforehand), our lungs felt even the slightest bit of incline.

2017-06-02_10-18-17 — our daily walk… so. many. steps.

The other pros of the hotel included continental breakfast and having water/tea/coffee/fruit available all day near the front desk. The continental breakfast is offered with made to order eggs in the restaurant upstairs (not just hard boiled eggs yay!). Tip: the wifi is actually MUCH better in the restaurant than in the room so make use of the free drink coupons provided or just grab a beer during whatever downtime and use the wifi there.

The cons included thin walls and poor wifi. Our room (#303) was close to the stairs and we were able to hear people walking up and down. And even though our itinerary didn’t allow for us to sleep in much, we were still woken up fairly early due to construction on the building across the street.

After checking in and freshening up a bit, we headed to dinner at Pachapapa, known for their cuy (guinea pig). YAAAAAS, WE TRIED GUINEA PIG! AND ALPACA!

We enjoyed our meal with some live entertainment…

2017-06-02_10-26-52 — when in peru… cuy horneado con huacatay y aji panca (roasted guinea pig) / pachapapa (alpaca) / ceviche de trucha (trout ceviche)

I was not a fan of the cuy. I’ve heard people say that it is too “gamey” but it wasn’t that for me. There was just so little meat! Despite the skin being nice and crispy, I honestly felt like I was just eating skin and fat, and if it was just that, why am I paying so much (72 soles!)? The alpaca, on the other hand, was delicious! The tenderness of the meat reminded me of veal and the flavor was very mild and not distinct. It was hard to pinpoint what it tasted like… chicken? beef? mixture of both? The ceviche, although good, was my least favorite ceviche we had during this trip.

The next day was spent exploring Cusco.

We started by heading down to Plaza de Armas, where there was a parade going on.

Next we created our own foodie tour of San Pedro Market

Our game plan was to not get full off one thing and try a little bit of everything. We also targeted booths that seemed to be filled with locals, not tourists.

2017-06-02_11-56-16 — first stop: jugos de frutas! i had naranja con mango y cherimoya

2017-06-03_12-34-33 — second stop: some damn good caldo de gallina

We tried our best, but by this time, we were pretty stuffed. We couldn’t pass up tamales though. We even bought a few extra in case we needed a snack later on.

We finished our tour of San Pedro Market by perusing through the merchandise area for souvenirs to bring home. Afterwards, we set out in search of a local coffee shop for a pick me up and wifi.

As we were walking around, we passed by ChocoMuseo. While I was in the midst of planning this trip, I had considered booking a truffle making class, but held off since I wasn’t sure if we would have enough time. Now that we were actually there, I caught a major case of FOMO and didn’t want to leave Peru without taking a class. Unfortunately, the truffle class wasn’t available, but we were able to snag spots for the chocolate class later that day! But committing to the chocolate class meant that we had only 2.5 hours to get to and explore Sacsayhuaman, about 1 mile away. It would be a 30 minute walk, which didn’t sound too bad, so we decided we would walk there and take a cab ride back. Within 5 minutes, I regretted our decision…

When we got to the first gate, I was so out of breath! To give you some perspective on the steepness of the walk up to Sacsayhuaman, this view is only half way up…

Our exhaustion made us susceptible to hustlers. When we were approached by men offering us horseback riding to Sacsayhuaman with stops at other sites in between, we were basically like, JUST TAKE OUR MONEY.

We stopped to check out Temple of the Moon while our “guide” (he really didn’t do much besides keep the horses in line) took a nap.

While at the top of Temple of the Moon, CT was told about another temple nearby, Temple of the Monkey. We followed the general directions provided and even tried using GPS, but after 15 minutes of searching, we gave up and headed to Sacsayhuaman.

When we first agreed to horseback riding, we thought that we would be riding horseback to Sacsayhuaman. This turned out to not be the case. We had to get off our horses and walk down the main road for about 15 mins to get to Sacsayhuaman. This was pretty annoying since we were short on time. We essentially paid 40 soles each for an hour of riding, which isn’t bad when you think about it in US $ (~$13), but it probably wasn’t the best deal. However, I definitely would recommend horseback as a means to see the various ruins around Cusco!

Sacsayhuaman, a fortress-temple complex made of stone, is one of the many sites included in the boleto turistico. There are a few options in purchasing the boleto turistico:

A complete ticket (130 soles) gives you access to all participating sites and is valid for 10 days
A partial ticket (70 soles) is broken up into circuits:
- Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, Tambomachay and Puca Pucara. Valid for 1 day.
- Museum of Regional History, Museum of Contemporary Art, Koricancha Museum (but not Koricancha itself), Museum of Popular Art, Native Music and Dance Centre, Pachacutec Monument, Pikillacta & Tipon. Valid for 2 days.
- Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero & Moray. Valid for 2 days.

Since we had planned to visit Sacsayhuaman and Moray, we purchased the full boleto turistico.

By the time we got to Sacsayhuaman, we really didn’t have much time explore. We walked around for about 15 mins, took some pictures, and headed back to town for the chocolate class.

Was I sad that we didn’t have more time to explore Sacsayhuaman? Sure. Did I regret booking the chocolate class? Not for a second! I’m really glad we were able to take the class. It was informative, hands-on, entertaining, and most importantly, tasty! We sampled chocolate from various regions of Peru/South America and went through most of the steps of the chocolate making process. I say most because the class skips the step of melting chocolate for the sake of time. We also learned to use ingredients for other purposes: shells of the roasted cacao beans for tea and and paste we grinded from the beans into hot chocolate.

At the end of class, we made our own chocolate molds and added whatever ingredients we wanted.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Barrio Ceviche, one of the many restaurants that line Plaza de Armas.

This was one of my favorite meals of the trip. We ordered the El Trio which is essentially a taster of the restaurant’s most popular dishes: classic ceviche (fish only), seafood fried rice, and fried seafood. It was very reasonably priced and the portions were a good size. We also ordered an additional ceviche that included other seafood (octopus, calamari, shrimp).

(left) ceviche clasico; (top) arroz con mariscos; (right) jalea

This meal was a delicious end to our jam-packed day. We headed back to our hotel after dinner since we had an early start for our mountain biking tour the next day.

to be continued…

—

Verdicts:
Pachapapa, 3.5/5
San Pedro Market, 4/5
Barrio Ceviche, 4.5/5

I eat: Osteria La Buca

Posted on April 8, 2017 by kc

Now-a-days, Instagram is my go-to to find where all the cool kids are eating. When I see a drool-worthy picture, I immediately go to Yelp and bookmark if highly rated. So what was it that attracted me to Osteria La Buca?

THIS.

Cacio e pepe. And it did not disappoint. Creamy, cheesy, peppery goodness.

We also ordered another pasta and pizza.

nero spaghetti – clams, squid, shrimp, tomato, chilis

calzone – mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino, spicy tomato sauce, broccolini

The nero spaghetti was good, but the cacio e pepe was clearly our favorite pasta. The texture of both pastas was perfect.

I love broccolini, but it typically adds a slight bitterness to a dish. Combine that with burnt pizza dough and you have a calzone that’s somewhat off putting.

All in all, this was good meal that we scarfed down in under 45 mins.

When you spend more time on the road to the restaurant than in the restaurant itself… #soLA

Verdict: 3.5/5
Osteria La Buca
5210 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

O Canada!

Posted on March 1, 2017 by kc

My first trip of 2017 was to the beautiful Canadian Rockies: Banff/Lake Louise. Banff has been on my radar for quite some time now. I actually intended to visit during summer so I could hike and canoe on Lake Moraine, but when I found out that there are a couple of popular ski resorts in the Banff area (included in the Mountain Collective Pass btw), I decided to stop waiting and persuaded CT to go.

The plan:

Fly into Calgary + 1 night
Drive to Banff/Lake Louise + 4 nights

The activities:

Peyto Lake lookout
Ice skating on Lake Louise
Ice Magic Festival
Banff Snow Days
Snowboarding
Snowmobiling

Prior to boarding our Air Canada flight, we relaxed in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at LAX. I’ve never actually been in a lounge before – it was always rush to the airport and wait by the gate. The lounge offered free beverages (middle-shelf alcohol and wine included), free food, clean bathrooms, comfy chairs. sweeeeeeet!

The flight to Calgary was about 3 hours + 1 hour for the time change. I had the window seat and was excited to see what Calgary looked like from the air and all I saw was…

brown.

We breezed through Customs, grabbed our luggage, picked up our rental and headed into the city where we booked an AirBnB for the night.

The location of the condo was fantastic. It was walking distance from bars, coffee shops, stores, restaurants. We even walked to dinner at Ox and Angela!

stuffed squid in its own ink / salt cod and potatoe croquetta / jamon croquetta / paella

The paella, which I was most excited for, turned out to be most disappointing. Such a shame! The rice was overly salty while the calamari had absolutely no flavor. It was as if the calamari was an afterthought, just sprinkled on top instead of being incorporated into the dish. Everything else was really good, especially the jamon croquettes (not pictured). CT was not a big fan of the stuffed squid. I enjoyed them; they reminded me of the Vietnamese stuffed squid that I LOVE.

After dinner, we went to get ice cream. Because… I’m always down for ice cream. Even in 30 degree weather!

The next day, we checked out and brunched at OEB.

super cute decor!

I picked this place because of their expansive menu, which, for someone as indecisive as myself, doesn’t quiet make sense. It turned out to be surprisingly easy for me to order. My eyes honed in on two words: truffle and cheesecake.

“gold digga” / “sweet dreams are made of these”

Underneath the beautifully poached egg of the “Gold Digga” were duck fat fried potatoes, pork belly, cheese curds and black truffle, all smothered in Hollandaise. To satisfy our sweet tooth, we ordered the “Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These”, which is essentially a slice of NY cheesecake sandwiched between two pieces of french toast.

After this delicious meal, we rolled ourselves out and headed to Lake Louise. I’m not sure how I managed to keep myself awake during the 2 hour trip there. I’m a notorious car napper. Maybe it was because of the beautiful scenery…

We stopped in Lake Louise to rent snowshoes. I had planned to hike to Peyto Lake lookout and from my research, I knew we would be walking in snow. I just wasn’t sure how deep it would be so I wanted to play it safe. Plus, now I could say that I’ve snowshoed!

Peyto Lake, the infamous wolf headed lake, is about a 40-50 min drive north of Lake Louise on Hwy 93 (Icefields Parkway). As you can see (below), in contrast to the Trans-Canada Highway (above), Icefields Parkway is not regularly plowed or maintained. The road was labeled as being in “poor condition” while we were there. If you’re planning to travel on the Icefields Parkway during winter, I would strongly suggest inquiring about snow tires. I’d also like to note that cell service is spotty at best in this area so plan accordingly.

{Bow Summit And Peyto Lake Lookout In Winter } – this website was a great resource for me while planning this hike. I was able to recognize the trail head and the trail to the lookout based on the pictures posted.

start of the trail: walk past the wooden washroom…

then walk past the trees and turn right…

continue up the road…

you’ll pass a speed limit sign on your left, which could be covered depending on the amount of snow (this pic was taken looking down to the start of the trail) …

continue until you see this sign…

follow the path to the right and you will find…

Gorgeous, right?!

If we didn’t have to return our snowshoes by 5pm, we would have hiked around the area. Instead we just lingered a bit to eat our packed lunch.

Back in Lake Louise, we essentially traded our snowshoes for ice skates

bucket list: ice skate on lake louise √

Again, gorgeous right?!?!

I loooooove ice skating, but ice skating on natural ice, surrounded by beautiful views, with snow falling was just unreal.

We happened to be in Lake Louise during the annual Ice Magic Festival so we decided to check out the sculptures after ice skating.

The festival is held outside Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, between the hotel and the actual lake. The first time we visited (after ice skating), the participants had just started working on the sculptures. We came back to see the finished products a couple of days later. Here are just a few of the amazing creations!

Afterwards, we drove to Banff, checked into our hotel, Fox Hotel & Suites, and ended the day with a nice dinner at Three Ravens Restaurant.

amuse bouche; smoked elk tartare with dehydrated bison; green eggs and ham duck breast; beef tenderloin; tonka bean creme brulee

Three Ravens is one of the more upscale restaurants in Banff. It is located in the corner of a large dining hall (cafeteria) on the 4th floor of the Banff Centre. With tall glass windows overlooking Banff, I’m sure the view is amazing. Unfortunately, we had dinner at 8PM, well after sunset.

The food and service were excellent. My duck and CT’s steak were cooked to perfection! I was less impressed with the creme brulee, but overall, it was a great meal. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a nice evening out in Banff.

We spent the next couple of days snowboarding at two popular ski resorts in the Banff area: Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. My personal favorite is Lake Louise, but here are my general observations of both…

Sunshine:

Pros (1) more runs (more variety), (2) better/more snow

Cons (1) more flat areas, (2) must take loooong gondola ride from base to mid mountain lifts

Lake Louise:

Pros (1) longer runs, (2) consistent weather, (3) easier access from base (lifts or gondola take you mid mountain)

Cons (1) Farther drive from Banff (additional 30-40 mins)

So, Peyto Lake was gorgeous. Ice skating on Lake Louise was amazing. Snowboarding was fun. But what was the highlight of this trip?

Snowmobile tour. Hands down.

We woke up early and took a 2 hour bus ride to Panorama, BC for a full day snowmobile tour with Toby Creek Adventures.

After checking in and gearing up, we met outside to pick our snowmobiles.

I ended up being the first one in the group, which gave me a lot of anxiety. Given that this was my first time on a snowmobile, I was afraid that I would slow every one down! Thankfully, this was not the case. We did about 4-5 laps around a practice course and I quickly got the hang of accelerating and turning.

And then we were off!

We rode up the mountain, stopped a few times to check out the beautiful views and got a brief lesson on avalanche control.

Our destination was Paradise Mine/Basin, an old mining town located at about 8000 ft. elevation. When we arrived, we warmed up in small cabin with some hot chocolate and cookies.

And then it was play time!!!!

Our guide showed us the perimeter of the designated play area (the basin) and then we had about 40 mins to ride around. It could have been more or less, I’m not exactly sure, I was having way too much fun to keep track of time. I can assure you that there was definitely enough time to ride your heart out.

The feeling of flying downhill was exhilarating. Also a bit scary, not gonna lie. But I never felt unsafe! However, we did hear about an accident in another group: a lady, who was riding as a passenger, fell off of the snowmobile. It didn’t seem too serious since she didn’t need medical attention. When I booked the tour, I contemplated whether to book two drivers or driver/passenger. Obviously, I ended up booking two drivers and I’m so glad I did because (1) riding as a passenger would have been boring and (2) either of us would have probably fallen off given how fast we were going off the hills.

Our tour included lunch which consisted of burgers or hot dogs. Nothing fancy, just enough fuel to get us back down the mountain. We took a different route descending and stopped for a short hike to a frozen waterfall.

smith falls

I actually wasn’t expecting to see this waterfall. The site that I booked the tour through didn’t mention it or maybe I just didn’t pay attention, but it was a nice surprise. And a good prelude to the following day.

Our last dinner in Banff was at Block Kitchen + Bar. To be honest, I was hesitant to dine here at first. As evidenced from the menu, I would classify this restaurant as Asian fusion and my experiences with these kinds of restaurants have not been good. But I gotta say, Block Kitchen was GOOD. I legit could not stop eating the curry!

asian lettuce wraps with duck / panang curry with prawns / red devil calamari

The dishes were so well executed and the flavors seemingly so authentic that we had to ask, who the heck is the Chef? We were told that Chef Stephane Prevost lived in Japan for a number of years and Asian influences helped refine his cooking style.

It would have been a great last night of our trip if I hadn’t developed some kind of stomach illness during the middle of the night. I highly doubt it was food poisoning since CT did not experience the same symptoms. But interesting enough, he did have some stomach pains a couple nights before. Maybe our stomach pains were related. Maybe not. Who knows? All I knew was that I wanted to die.

I had planned to hike to the waterfalls of Johnston Canyon the next morning and I was determined to not let my stomach pains get in the way. So I sucked it up and we made the short hike to the lower falls.

The path was icy at times. I had bought Yaktrax specifically for this trip but was too lazy to put them on. Instead, I just walked slowly and carefully with my winter boots.

The trail continues onto the upper falls, but I only had enough strength for the short hike to the lower falls. When we got back to the car, I immediately knocked out and napped all the way back to Calgary.

We were on our way to a quick meal before heading to the airport when we passed the Peace bridge. Of course we had to stop for a quick photo op with this amazing piece of architecture.

This trip was everything I had hoped it would be (minus the stomach illness). And it made me miss the whole trip planning process. CT had a great time as well so I can proudly say that in terms of trip planning, I still got it! I can’t wait to plan our next trip.

Verdicts:
Ox and Angela, 3.5/5
Village Ice Cream, 4/5
OEB, 5/5
Three Ravens Restaurant, 4/5
Block Kitchen + Bar, 4/5
Noodle World Restaurant, 3.5/5

Send Noods

Posted on February 14, 2017 by kc

20170214_204854

When he sends noods on Valentine’s Day ♥

That’s how we long distance!

Pho Is Life

Posted on December 24, 2016 by kc

For as much Vietnamese food I consume, I must have been Vietnamese in my past life.

When I was with H, we ate pho almost every weekend.

T, who is Vietnamese, expanded my Vietnamese food horizons. Thanks to his sister, I was lucky enough to have home cooked Vietnamese food basically everyday. And family events on the weekend? Food. Heaven.

Now, with CT, my Vietnamese food cravings are as strong as ever. And though he’s very supportive, it’s usually just me in SD, so it’s up to me to satisfy my own cravings.

So what’s a girl to do? Make her own pho of course. In her instant pot.

20161216_185349

20161216_192328

Tadaaaa

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Yaaaaaas. Happy tummy.

I eat: From OC to LA

Posted on November 1, 2015 by kc

October was a crazy month. My birthday, a wedding, a half marathon, and almost a house! Even though my birthday was at the beginning of the month, we continued the celebration a few weeks later with dinner in LA with B and P.

On the way up to LA, we stopped for lunch at Anaheim Packing District, which is basically a large food court. I love this concept as it allows me to try a variety of things without having to drive to and park at different locations. We circled the entire food court before stopping at our first destination: Kettlebar. In order to not get toooo full, we shared a pan roast and mussels. We continued with two of the most popular items of the whole place: poutine from The Kroft and popsicles from Pop Bar. Given their popularity and the rave reviews, I wasn’t impressed. The poutine was overly salty and I’m just not a big fan of dipped popsicles, or maybe dipped anything. My green tea popsicle had a really bitter taste, his hazelnut was OK.

Another stout that’s yummy!

The highlight of our day trip to LA was dinner at Maruhide Uni Club, which I’ve wanted to try for a while now. If you love uni like I do, this is the place for you! They have uni EVERYTHING! B & P recommended the uni club don and uni cream pasta. The uni club don even came with soup that had pieces of uni in it. We were really tempted to bring some uni home but decided against it. SD has some pretty good uni options anyway.

We ended the night by checking off another place on my must try list: HoneyMee. The ice cream is good on its own and the honeycomb adds just the right amount of sweetness. The green tea milkshake is delicious as well!

Verdicts:
Kettlebar 4/5
The Kroft 3/5
Pop-Bar 3/5
Maruhide Uni Club 4/5
HoneyMee 4/5

We Run SF, We Eat SF

Posted on October 25, 2015 by kc

Ready, Set, Go!

I’ve wanted to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in SF for a few years now. The first year, I seriously considered it. Like, seriously. The second year, I actually signed up for random draw, but was rejected! The third year… well, I guess it’s true, 3rd time’s the charm! I had 14 weeks to prepare for my goal of sub-2, but unfortunately, life got in the way as it always does. Given that I only trained for about 3 weeks, my time of 2:14 isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s actually a PR! The view was not as beautiful as RnR Seattle’s marathon, but overall, I still liked the course.

That last hill though…

All for this blue box!

My preparation in the days leading up to the race involved a lot of eating. I shamelessly took full advantage of the necessary carbo-loading by stretching it over a couple of days. All for the race, guys. All for the race.

First stop off the plane was Limon Rotisserie for some Peruvian food.

Ceviche Mixto… SO GOOD! One of the best ceviches I’ve ever had

The infamous Pollo a la Brasa (half)
This dish comes with 2 sides… if you’re planning on ordering the Lomito Saltado, I would suggest not picking Papas Fritas and Vegetales Salteados for your sides like we did

Lomito Saltado

Even though we were already stuffed from ordering too much food, we had to have dessert. Next stop: Bi-Rite Creamery.

The usual… salted caramel and some kind of coffee, this time being Blue Bottle

For early dinner, we headed to Fort Mason Center for Off The Grid, a gathering of local, mobile vendors.

From top left:
(1) Lobsta Roll from Lobsta Truck
(2) Tender Pork Belly Bao from The Chairman
(3) Lemongrass Chicken w/ Garlic Noodles combo from An The Go
(4) Boom Plate w/ Shrimp from Hula Truck
(5) Vanilla Creme Bizmark from Johnny Doughnuts
(6) Golden Ticket from The Creme Brulee Cart
Everything was really good except the Boom Plate. I found it unappetizing. Sorry, not sorry. What a waste of $9!

The following day we met up friends in San Mateo and had some bomb bruschetta at B Street and Vine.

From left:
(1) Fresh mozzarella with tomato and basil
(2) Salami with feta and pesto
(3) Prosciutto with figs and mascarpone
(4) Hummus, tomato & avocado

And for my official carbo-load dinner, we had roasted garlic crab and garlic grab noodles at PPQ Dungeness Island. I know, I know… this isn’t your traditional carbo-load dinner but whatever, I do what I want. The crab was delicious, but I preferred the garlic noodles from An The Go.

Best meal of the trip!

When I ran the marathon in Seattle, Atlas Genius’ When It Was Now carried me through the last few excruciating miles. This time, it was Chvrches’ new album Every Open Eye and the lady at mile 11.5 with the “bRUNch” sign. Not gonna lie, all I could think about was what I was going to eat afterwards…

First stop post race was Mr. Holmes Bakehouse for some pastries followed by Hong Kong Lounge for dim sum.

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse was already sold out of the their infamous cruffins by the time we got there. Lame! Of the six pastries we ended up choosing, my fave was the ham and cheese danish

The XLBs were so plump and juicy!!!

Stuffing my face with dim sum sent me into a food induced nap and when I woke up, it was time for my celebratory dinner at State Bird Provisions.

Getting a reservation at this place was almost as difficult as getting one at French Laundry, Alinea, etc. Seriously, WHY?! I went on Open Table, 60 days in advance, at 12:00AM ON THE DOT and I almost wasn’t able to secure a rez.

I’ve actually been enjoying dark beer. Stouts are delicious!

State Bird Provisions has a standard menu consisting of small bites (Toasts & Pancakes), main dishes (Commandables), and dessert. The provisions come on trays/carts and you select whatever you want and they mark it down at the bottom on your menu based on price, dim sum style. I remember the prices ranging from $3 to $15.

From top left:
(1) Kung pao beef tongue and sweetbreads (Commandable)
(2) Rabbit meatball (Provision)
(3) Pork belly pluot salad (P)
(4) Hog island oyster (P)
(5) CA state bird with provisions, half (C)
(6) Miso glazed cod collar (P)
(7) Guinea hen dumpling (P)
(8) Duck liver mousse with almond biscuit (P)
(9) Charred octopus (P)

Overall, I enjoyed the meal but left underwhelmed. My favorite was the kung pao beef tongue and sweetbreads – the beef tongue was so tender and I’m just a sucker for sweetbreads! Besides this, nothing really stood out. The state bird, although flavorful, had too much breading. Perhaps I expected too much based on the 4.5 star rating on Yelp.

We ended the night with ice cream at Swensen’s and a night time view of Coit Tower.

‘Till next time, SF ♥

I eat: La Vecchia Cucina

Posted on August 5, 2014 by kc

I’ve been feeling stressed out lately, now that I have both work and school, so I took two days off two weeks ago and had myself a staycation in LA. I made sure to fill my days off with gluttony. From ice cream to chicken wings to a DineLA dinner, I did a whole lot of eating!

Coffee Moo (salted butter saramel with coffee) from Mother Moo

Linguine for days at Maccheroni Republic

TEBASAKI!!! ♡

Kimchi spam musubi

And what better way to end an extended weekend than with a DineLA dinner!

I usually have a hard time choosing restaurants for DineLA. I’ve spent hours before browsing through menus and reading reviews on Yelp, Open Table, and Urbanspoon. Yes, I do my due diligence. But this time, it was a breeze. One look at an Instagram picture of uni pasta from La Vecchia Cucina and I was sold. What can I say? I’m a sucker for uni pasta. I did check the menu though, just to cover my bases 😉

We managed to snag the window seat. TOTES romantic! And fantastic lighting for pictures! Since I looked at the menu beforehand, I already knew what I wanted…

Capriccio Imperiale

Well executed. The lemon vinaigrette was light and refreshing, which provided a great starting point for the meal. Although the seafood was cooked properly, I wish the ratio of the different seafood was more balanced.

Spaghetti All Ricci di Mare

Not bad, but def not the best uni pasta I’ve had. There was only one piece of uni and not enough sauce. However, the spaghetti was cooked perfectly.

Affogato

No complaints, but honestly, I’m not sure how anyone can mess this up…

La Vecchia Cucina was my only opportunity to experience DineLA this time around and overall, I was pleased with my meal. I can’t say there were any aspects that I particularly LOVED, but I would definitely come back to try the other pastas on the menu.

Verdict: 3.5/5
La Vecchia Cucina
2654 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Another Try

Posted on July 14, 2014 by kc

I don’t consider myself a picky eater, but there are certain foods I will not eat.

Celery. Cilantro. Peas.
Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

And for the longest time, avocados were the list. Why? I’m really not sure. I just… didn’t like them!

Call it a maturing palate, reevaluation of life, whatever, but in this past year, I seem to have forgotten my dislike of avocados. I ordered a salad with avocado. Not bad. I ate poke with avocado. Pretty good. Now I’m adding avocados to breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Love!

Unlike celery and cilantro, avocados don’t have a strong flavor; they won’t overpower a dish, ever. The creamy texture provides a richness that is a perfect substitute for butter and mayo. I guess you can say the same for peas, but I’m not ready for that yet. Baby steps…

My usual Saturday mornings… avocado toast, Stumptown cold coffee brew, and reading

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Posted on February 25, 2013 by kc

I have rekindled my love affair with PB&J burgers. If they’re on the menu (and the likelihood of this is pretty high now-a-days), I’ll order one. If I can create my own burger, you bet I’ll turn it into some variation of PB&J. I mean, I really can’t help myself. The sweet, savory combination just makes so much sense to me!

I think it all started in 2008. Henry and I were at Teddy’s Bigger Burger in Oahu and the guy at the register suggested we give a new burger a try. It wasn’t on the regular menu or even the specialty burger menu. He just… made it up. “Just trust me”, he said. And we did. The burger had peanut butter, grilled pineapple, bacon, fried onion rings and cheddar cheese. It was amazing. Life changing. I knew bacon made everything better, but peanut butter and pineapple? Who knew?!

I loved that burger at Teddy’s so much, I recreated it at The Counter… this time with caramelized onions for extra sweetness!

Recently, I had the Peanut Butter & Jealousy burger at Slater’s 50/50. It was different than the peanut butter and pineapple burgers for sure, not only because of the fruit (pineapple vs strawberry), but also because of the texture (slice of pineapple vs jam). I liked the traditional combination of peanut butter and strawberry jam, but felt the burger needed some crunch.

What was lacking in the Peanut Butter & Jealous burger, I found in the Dee Snider burger at Grill ‘Em All…

Crunchy peanut butter?!? Genius!

If you know of a burger joint that serves a great PB&J burger, please let me know! It doesn’t have to be local. Will travel for food. 😉

First

Posted on February 9, 2013 by kc

This is officially my first real post of 2013. I’ve been trying to finish my Foodcation 2012 posts for like the last 3 months. FAIL.

Since my vacation in September, I’ve started a new workout schedule, come to the realization that I no longer want to live in NYC, gone to Mammoth twice and attended a funeral.

Part of my workout schedule consists of Pure Barre classes Tue, Thur, Fri-Sun. I started Pure Barre classes when I saw a friend post on FB about how great of a workout it was. At that time, I hadn’t worked out consistently in a very, very long time. I would run on sporadic occasions, but was never able to maintain a schedule. This really all changed with Pure Barre. One class and I was hooked. I’m about to finish my 5th month and be part of 100 club (100 classes completed)! I’ve made it this far and plan to continue because I absolutely love the workout and the class schedule just fits perfectly with my work schedule. And though I’ve taken classes for a while now, the exercises are still challenging. They haven’t gotten any easier. TRUST. If you take a class and don’t feel the burn, you’re probably not doing it right or you’re not working hard enough!

In addition to Pure Barre, I’ve been taking Turbo Kick classes on Mon and Wed at 24Hr Fitness. I used to take these classes like 3 years ago, but stopped because of my work schedule. Now, 3 years later, the class schedule has changed and I’m back! I loved it then and I still love it now. The best part is that Turbo Kick doesn’t feel like a workout, but I always leave the class DRENCHED in sweat!

♥

J, A and I visited V in NYC this past December. It was a great trip filled with delicious food and late night talks. It was also an eye opening experience for me. I was in love with the city after my first few visits. I was in tourist mode. Everything was new and exciting. I loved the fast paced nature of NYC. I wanted to move there! But my love has waned after subsequent visits. This last visit made me realize that at this point in my life, living in NYC is not for me. First, I don’t think I could afford to live comfortably AND enjoy the finer things in life. I don’t want to share an apartment with anyone and I don’t want to live in tiny studio apartment. I do want to go out and try all the fantastic restaurants and maybe catch a Broadway show, hockey game or the Opera sometime. Living in NYC and not being able to enjoy it is pointless. Second, I’ve always thought that NYC public transportation was really great. And to a certain extent, it is. But from my last visit, I realized that it’s not as fast as I previously thought. On my last day I went to Laduree in the UES and round trip from Stuyvesant Town with a stop at Halal Cart took over an hour and half. Third, Henry hates NYC. So yea, for now, I’m fine with just visiting NYC and delicious food like…

Uni at Soto

Pork and Crab Soup Dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai

SmokeShack and Frozen Custard at Shake Shack

Miso Black Cod at Gotham Bar & Grill

Halal Cart!! We had this twice during our trip and I even brought two orders home!

Right before my trip to NYC, Henry and I had our first Mammoth trip of the season. And seriously, what a difference a season makes…

It was early December, but coverage was great since it dumped the weeks before. I’m happy I rekindled my love for Mammoth’s backside!

Our 2nd trip to Mammoth was during MLK weekend.

We were fortunate to stay with our new snowboarding pals, B and P. They’re great to ride with because they’re fast and they have endurance! And they have the cutest, most well-behaved dog ever!

Henry doesn’t want any dog besides a Husky or Chow Chow so for now, I’ll just have to obsessively lurk on Instagram for Bulldog or Corgi pictures. 🙂

And onto the sad news. Last week, I attended Henry’s grandma’s funeral. She lived a full life, for sure, passing away at the age of 100. It’s really sad to think that she won’t be at our wedding, I mean, if we decide to have one that is. Henry’s cousin liked to joke that I was grandma’s favorite. And while that probably isn’t true, it was nice to feel the love from her when she would hold my hand while we watched TV. RIP ♥

I eat: UMAMIcatessen

Posted on June 8, 2012 by kc

I’ve been craving burgers lately. Like, a lot. Apparently, eating In-N-Out on the weekends while watching playoff hockey has not been enough. I NEED MOREEEE BURGERS!!! So on one of my off Fridays, Henry and I headed to DLTA to try UMAMIcatessen, a food-court-esque eatery, which houses UMAMI Burger (yes, I’m totally stating the obvious :P). Having never eaten at UMAMI, we both wanted to see if the burgers were worth all the hype.

As we looked over the menu, we knew we had to try their signature burger, the Umami Burger. Choosing our 2nd burger was tough. We were interested in both the Manly and Hatch Burgers. This was a battle of bacon vs. chiles, which we both LOVE, but ultimately, bacon won, as it ~~usually~~ always does. Always.

Umami Burger, $11
shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup

Manly Burger, $11
beer-cheddar cheese, smoked salt onion strings, bacon lardons

We ordered the burgers medium rare, as suggested by our waiter, but when we split the burgers, the patties looked more like medium, almost medium-well. I couldn’t really complain because the burgers were actually incredibly tender and juicy.

To my surprise, I liked the Manly burger a lot more than the Umami. Simply put, the Manly is a high end, refined version of a Western Bacon Cheeseburger. I really enjoyed the combination of smoky + sweet and the contrast in texture provided by the fried onion. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the Umami Burger. The flavors just didn’t mesh well and I did not care for the roasted tomato or the Umami ketchup. Am I only one??!! I’ve read many reviews raving about the ketchup.

Smushed Potatoes, $4.50
dutch yellow creamers, double fried

Crispy Pig Ears, $7
parsley, lemon, brainaise

In addition to the burgers, we also ordered two sides. If you love potatoes as much as I do, you must order the smushed potatoes. Starchy, salty goodness! And if you’ve never had pig ears and are feeling adventurous, I recommend the crispy pig ears; they’re a great alternative to fries.

FG&J, $8
foie gras mousse, forest berry jam, peanut (yeast)

I gotta say, even though UMAMI is a burger joint, I was most excited about dessert. I love foie gras and I love doughnuts so the FG&J sounded amazing on paper. After a lengthy wait (longer than we waited for our burgers), I took one bite and was immediately turned off. My taste buds were so confused – the delicate flavor of the foie gras mixed with the tartness of the jam just didn’t make sense in my mouth. It was such a shame because the doughnut itself was quite good!

Verdict: 3.5/5
UMAMIcatessen
852 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Utah, Day 7: Time Flies

Posted on April 16, 2012 by kc

The Bird had been good to us so that’s where we spent our last full day in Utah.

We knew we weren’t going to take the tram so we parked at Creekside (parking lot 1) instead of parking near Snowbird Center (parking lot 2).

The conditions had become spring-like as the week progressed so we stuck to the top half of the mountain where the snow wasn’t completely slush. In fact, there were still great stashes of powder in upper Gad Valley and Mineral Basin. For the first part of the day, we were in search of fresh lines in upper Gad Valley, which proved to be difficult because of the rocks that were in the way.

Little Cloud Lift

After a quick lunch at the Birdfeeder, we took Peruvian Express lift up and then took the Peruvian Tunnel to Mineral Basin. Yes, I said tunnel. SNOWBIRD HAS A TUNNEL.

Awesome, right?!?!?! 😀

It took about 4 minutes to go through the tunnel. We spent the rest of the day in Mineral Basin.

I tried to get a picture of Henry jumping over rocks, but I didn’t bring my DSLR and my phone camera is too slow. FAIL.

Even though it was another great day at the Bird, I started getting bummed out because I knew we would be going home the next day. Time flies when you’re having fun.

——————————————

Our last dinner in Utah was at The Copper Onion.

I was nervous because we didn’t have a reservation, but there happened to be two spots available at the counter when we arrived. I love watching chefs in action so I thought we lucked out. An interesting thing I noted was the number of gloves the chefs blew through during our time there. One of the chefs wore a glove over a glove and kept changing the top glove after prepping certain foods. Is this standard food safety protocol?

Looking over the menu, I saw bone marrow, pork belly and mussels offered as appetizers; three of my favorite things! How could I say no?

Pleasant Creek Ranch Wagyu Bone Marrow: Parsley, Caper, Fennel salad, Charred baguette, $13

Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly: Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Parsnip, Preserved Cherries, $11

Mussels: Creamy Black Pepper Sauce, Toast Points, $15

The bone marrow and pork belly were AMAZING, probably the best I’ve ever had. The mussels were perfectly cooked, but the pepper sauce was a little overwhelming.

We decided not to be complete fat asses this time around and only ordered one entree. 😀 It was tough because I was really interested in the poutine!

Lamb Riblets: Warm Cauliflower and Potato Salad, $18

The riblets were fall off the bone tender and less gamy than I’ve experienced elsewhere. I really enjoyed the side salad.

For the first time in a long while, we actually had room for dessert. Usually our buttons are popping off and still, we would order dessert.

Special of the Day: Strawberry, Grapefruit and Basil Sorbet, $3

The sorbet was definitely light and refreshing. I first tasted the strawberry and the slight bitterness of the grapefruit came through at the end.

After dinner we went on a night walk around the State Capitol Building, which is just a few blocks away from our condo.

If you look closely, you’ll see people sitting on the front steps and on the surrounding wall. I guess it was prom night or something because we saw lots of kids in fancy dresses and tuxes. Damn, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I graduated high school. 😥

After a week in Utah, Henry said he still prefers Colorado. Given how horrible this season has been, I don’t think a fair comparison can be made. I really do hope this season is an anomaly and I’ll get a chance to come back and fully experience why Utah has “the greatest snow on earth”. So for now, I’ll just say that I ♥ Utah as much as I ♥ Colorado.

——–
SLC Eats (+our verdict):
The Copper Onion, 4/5

Utah, Day 5 & 6: The Other Side

Posted on April 11, 2012 by kc

Day 5

After 3 days of good to great conditions (at the end of March, GASP!), it was due time for a reality check.

Bluebird skies, HOT (60°), SLUSH

Adult Half Day = $76
Adult Full Day = $96

$96?! Damn. The cost of half day at Canyons is as much as a full day at Snowbird! I learned, after the fact, that the local Costco sells discounted tickets to Canyons.

To get to the base of the mountain from the parking lot, take a ride on the Cabriolet lift, which is basically a small, standing only gondola. The view up from the parking lot got me totally pumped up…

This pic is from winter, I swear.

We started our day with the Orange Bubble Express. This lift is pretty famous because it’s the only one with heated seats and a sun/wind visor. Ballin! I guess it’s kind of cool, but seriously, do you really need these things? Don’t be a pansy.

This must be why my ticket cost $96!

OK, so maybe if it was like 10° and windy, I totally would’ve raved about it 😉

I heard great things about Canyons while I was planning this trip, but I knew I had to lower my expectations a bit given how horrible this season has been. Then we came to Utah and was totally blown away by Snowbird so I figured we would get more of the same at Canyons. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. AT ALL.

Mid-mountain was slushy where the sun hit and icy in the shade. Stop and go, stop and go, was no fun. We tried to make the best of it, but it seemed like all runs leading back to the mid-mountain lifts were catwalks and slushy catwalks are pretty much the worst things EVAR. We hoped the top of the mountain would be better, but before we headed up, we had to re-energize with a waffle break.

The waffle was OK. I was confused because some of the sugar was still crystallized inside the waffle – that’s not how it’s supposed to be right? Eating chunks of sugar was strange.

After our quick break, we took the Ninety-Nine 90 lift to the top of the mountain. I didn’t understand the name of the lift at first, but then I realized DUH, 9990 ft is the elevation. The top wasn’t much better than mid-mountain since it was all icy. We did one run and didn’t bother going back up. I’m not sure what I hate more, ice or slush.

Based on my one day experience, I’m pretty sure I won’t be coming back to Canyons in the future. For a ticket price that is almost as much as Vail/Breck (and more than Mammoth!), I just don’t see how Canyons is worth the money, even in good conditions. Anyone who disagrees, please let me know what I am missing!

Although Canyons was a bust, dinner at Himalayan Kitchen partly made up for it.

Himalayan Assorted Meat Platter, $12.95
Lamb Kabab, Chicken Tikka, Shish Kabab and Chicken Tandoori with Lamb Samosa

Fish Curry, $16.95
Traditional dish made with wild Mahi-Mahi, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and curry spices

Lamb Vindaloo, $15.95
Boneless lamb cooked with potatoes, onion, tomatoes, vinegar and spices in a tangy sauce

We ordered “medium” spicy for the curry and vindaloo and man, they were SPICY, but good spicy, not uncomfortable spicy… though… I did contemplate ordering a mango lassi after we started eating. 😉 Everything was delicious and the lamb and fish were especially tender. My only complaint, as with Mazza, is that the prices are steep. I understand the curry was made with Mahi-Mahi, but $17 for a small bowl of fish curry is a lot.

——————————————

Day 6

Park City’s famous Eagle Superpipe

When we checked the ticket prices for Park City, the website wasn’t updated so the prices were the same as Canyons. Not wanting waste another $96, we decided to ride a half day and then go back to Snowbird for our last full day in Utah.

Partly cloudy – snow (mid afternoon), spring conditions

When we arrived at the ticket booth, we were quoted different prices:

Adult Half Day = $65
Adult Full Day = $80

First of all, thank you, Park City, for being reasonable and adjusting ticket prices based on conditions and late season. Having to pay only $65 was a nice surprise and guess what??? If I had paid $96 for Park City, it still would have been WAY more worth it than Canyons.

For the most part, the coverage was decent.

There were some areas, especially near the bottom of the mountain, that had limited coverage.

Silverlode lift

Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we rode mainly in the King Con and Silverlode zones. Park City is divided into 7 zones: Crescent, Jupiter, King Con, Silverlode/Bonanza, Motherlode/Thaynes, Payday/Town and McConkey’s. The runs in the King Con and Silverload zones were wide blues and reminded me a lot of Breck’s Peak 9 area. Despite the conditions being what they were, I actually had a good time and wished we could have spent a full day here instead of Canyons. I would definitely come back to Utah and ride Park City again 🙂

So yesterday was bad day at Canyons, but good dinner. Today was good day at Park City, but bad dinner.

Bayou supposedly has a great beer selection, but we didn’t go there for the beer, we went for the food. Perhaps that was our mistake.

We started with two appetizers: popcorn shrimp ($5.99) and seafood balls ($6.99).

The popcorn shrimp were OK. It was interesting that they were so lightly breaded and I don’t quite understand why the shrimp were placed directly over the sauce. According to the menu, the seafood balls are a mixture of salmon, crawfish and shrimp. The mix must have been 80% salmon because that’s all I could taste.

Crawfish Etouffee, $12.99

Gumbolaya (+ shrimp), $16.68

Our entrees weren’t much better. The etouffee had no flavor and the few crawfish in the dish were overcooked. The gumbolaya, on the other hand, was sooooooooo salty! The shrimp that we added to the gumbolaya were flavorless so it was pretty obvious that they were just thrown in right before the dish was plated. I could also tell they were frozen shrimp since they had a rubbery texture. Yuck.

——–
SLC Eats (+our verdict):
Himalayan Kitchen, 3.5/5
The Bayou, 2/5

(to be continued…)

Utah, Day 1: Food Network

Posted on April 6, 2012 by kc

No matter how great a season is, I consider taking an out of state snowboarding trip at the end of March as somewhat of a gamble. Spring conditions are not unbearable, but when you spend that much money, you expect to get something better than slush. I didn’t really have a choice this time around since this was the only time Henry could take off – this trip was a belated birthday gift for his dirty 30! 😀

Day 1

The flight to SLC is pretty easy, about an hour and half flight time. We took a taxi from the airport to the Hertz downtown because non-airport locations usually cost less. We probably could have taken the bus, but with all our luggage, spending an extra $25 for a taxi was well worth it. While my reservation was being processed in the store, I was offered the option of dropping off the car at the airport with no extra charge. SWEET!!!! As for our car, we were given a newer SUV with lots of cool features, none of which I have in my own car so now I totally know what I’m missing.

Since we had a few hours to kill before check in, we stopped by Les Madeleines to try their famous pastry. The Kouing-aman was featured by the Neelys on The Best Thing I Ever Ate and also on their own show, Road Tested. The outside of the pastry is caramelized and the inside is fluffy and flaky; it’s like… caramelized croissant bread pudding! To me, it’s too sweet when eaten alone, but perfect between sips of coffee. My only complaint is the price – $6+ is a bit steep for these little babies.

Limit 6 (without 72 hour pre-order), about $6 each

So you can’t visit Salt Lake City and not check out Temple Square, right? I’m not a member of LDS, but I can appreciate the beautiful buildings and grounds.

Right across from Temple Square is the City Creek shopping center. Apparently it was grand opening weekend and we were entertained with a performance of 2 Legit 2 Quit (no joke) followed up with a mash-up of current popular songs.

I still don’t know who this group is…

Walking around for a couple of hours got us hungry so we headed to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I know, I know.. Mexican food in SLC?! But this place was highly rated on Yelp (currently 4.5 stars with 437 reviews), so we had to try it.

Red Iguana is known for their various moles. I had a hard time choosing which to order so our server let me sample all 7.

A: Amarillo
B: Coloradito
C: Poblano
D: Verde
E: Negro
F: Red Pipian
G: Lomo de Puerco en Mole de Almendras

The Mole Amarillo had the most kick, but I fell in love with the Mole Negro because of it’s smoky, nutty flavor. We always try to order a variety of dishes so instead of another mole, Henry ordered the Poblano Plate. Red Iguana serves legit Mexican food, but I think we both agree that the mole was the better dish.

Mole Negro – The king of moles…dried chile mulato, negro pasilla, Mexican chocolate, raisins, peanuts, walnuts & bananas – tossed in chicken or turkey, $15.70

Poblano Plate – One sour cream chicken enchilada, Taco a la Iguana, beef tostada and a side of guacamole, $12.45

I didn’t even realize it until we left, but we were on a mini Food Network food tour; Red Iguana was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!

After lunch, I was food coma status so good thing it was time to check in.

I loved everything about our condo. The Energy Solutions Arena (Utah Jazz) and Temple Square are just a block away, good restaurants (like Red Iguana) are close by, and you can drive to the new Harmons grocery store in a matter of minutes. There is a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, washer/dryer in the unit and secured parking. At $95/night, WHAT A STEAL! The only negative, as other reviewers have noted, is that the unit is right next to a gas station so noise could be a problem. But overall, it was a great base for our snowboarding trip since the mountains (Snowbird, Solutide, Brighton, Park City, Canyons) were an easy 40 minute drive away. If anyone is interested, I found the condo through VRBO.

I loved the big sink and big stainless steel fridge (not pictured)

Huge jacuzzi tub and TWO shower heads!

We finished our first day in SLC with Middle Eastern cuisine at Mazza. The food was delicious, but overpriced. Chicken, potatoes and rice for $18? Ouch.

3 sides Sampler Plate: Baba Ganooj, Lamb Sfiha, Fried Kibbeh (not pictured), $11

Lamb Skewer with Basmati Rice, $11.50

Mazza’s Chicken and Potatoes Mutabbak

——–
SLC Eats (+our verdict):
Les Madeleines, 3.5/5
Red Iguana, 4/5
Mazza, 3/5

(to be continued…)

I eat: Mélisse

Posted on February 13, 2012 by kc

Let’s go back. Way back… Ok, maybe not that far. Back to 2010 when Henry and I dined at Melisse for my 26th birthday. Even though I’m a little fuzzy on the details (I can barely remember what I did last week :P), I’ve considered Melisse one of my top ten restaurants ever since.

Bread and Amuse Bouche

Seard Foie Gras, Yellow and White Peach, Hibiscus-Rosemary

Egg Caviar, Poached Egg, Lemon-Chive Crème Frâiche, American Ostetra Caviar

Lobster Bolognese, Fresh Cappelini, Black Truffles, Basil

Santa Barbara Spot Prawn, Cuttlefish, Sea Urchin, Nasturtium

Sonoma Lamb and Sausage, “Ratatouille”, Red Pepper, Jus d’ Agneau

Liberty Duck Breast and Confit Leg, Figs, Forrono Beets, Jus d’ Epice

Millefeuille of Fruit Rouge, Vanilla Ice Cream

Sticky Toffee Pudding, Mocha Malt Ice Cream, Red Berry-Hibiscus Consommé

Petits Fours

I would describe our meal as refined simplicity. Each dish showcased individual ingredients that combined beautifully. Melisse is worthy of it’s two Michelin stars.

Verdict: 4.5/5
Mélisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401

I eat: Bar + Kitchen

Posted on February 4, 2012 by kc

One of the benefits of working in Aerospace is the 9/80 schedule, which many companies are on. For those of you who don’t know, 9/80 = working 9 hours M-Th and 8 hours on alternating Fridays.

Yesterday was my off Friday. Yesterday was also the last day of dineLA.

On our day off, Henry and I braced ourselves for traffic and terrible parking as we ventured into DTLA for a dineLA lunch at Bar + Kitchen. I decided on lunch as opposed to dinner because I was more intrigued by the items on the lunch menu.

Bar + Kitchen is located in the lobby of the O Hotel. I found it interesting that there is no distinct separation between the lobby and the restaurant. The first level of the O Hotel truly epitomizes the open floor plan concept. Tables with half booth seating run along the side of the wall with the exception of a communal table (or table for a large party) situated behind the hotel’s front window.

In addition to the dineLA menu, we also ordered mussels off of the regular Winter menu.

PEI mussels fennel, saffron, tarragon aioli, grilled bread $9

The mussels were tender and I loved the spicy kick of the broth. Grilled bread with mussels is a must!!

Appetizers

Crispy pork belly, pickled sunchokes, plum puree

Perfect execution! The pork belly was indeed crispy on the outside, but tender with the right amount of fattiness on the inside. I liked the play on sweet and sour from the plum puree and pickled sunchokes.

Butternut squash & ginger soup, créme fraiche, spiced pepitas

Very comforting. Incorporating ginger into butternut squash soup never crossed my mind, but it really works! The ginger breaks up the sweetness of the butternut squash and adds depth of flavor. The spiced pepitas were a nice touch, providing a contrast in texture.

Entrées

Shrimp & grits, spanish chorizo ragout

This was the dish I was most excited about, but it disappointed me. The ragout was so so so salty, even when mixed with the grits! If not for a heavy hand with the salt, this dish would have been great. At least they didn’t skimp on the shrimp (5).

Mustard glazed kurobuta pork loin, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts

The pork loin was tender and the mustard glaze gave it amazing flavor. Note to self: must try to recreate this at home!

Desserts

Warm chocolate & peanut butter cake, banana ice cream, peanut brittle

There wasn’t anything wrong with this dessert; it was just very ordinary.

Butterscotch pot de créme, whipped cream, shortbread cookies

I preferred this over the chocolate/peanut butter cake because it light. My only complaint would be that the consistency of the custard was a little thicker than what I’m used to.

Given the short time frame of dineLA, my goal was to try two new restaurants.
Waterloo & City ✓
Bar + Kitchen ✓
Done! I’m very happy with my choices this time around. Best dineLA run so far!

Verdict: 3.5/5
Bar + Kitchen
O Hotel
819 S Flower St
Los Angeles, CA 90017

I eat: Napa Rose [1], [2]

Posted on February 3, 2012 by kc

I opened a Disney credit card in 2007. I can’t tell you why because I honestly don’t remember myself; I was never a Disney fanatic. Over the years, I accumulated more than 400 Disney Dollars. It wasn’t until I researched the redemption policy that I find out I could use my Disney Dollars at Disney restaurants. I chose Napa Rose.

Inside Napa Rose, there is a lounge, main dining area, Dessert Counter and Chef’s Counter. The Dessert Counter seats about 4 to 5 people and is off to the right of the kitchen overlooking the preparation of desserts. The Chef’s Counter is split by the service counter (see picture below); each side seating 4. Diners sitting on the left facing the kitchen have a view of appetizers being made while diners on the right get to see the main course action unfold. Because of the extended experience, there are only two seatings per night at the Chef’s Counter/Dessert Counter, 5:30PM and 8:30PM.

Executive Chef Andrew Sutton

To snag seats at the Chef’s Counter, I made a reservation a month in advance for a 5:30PM seating. Henry and I were excited to celebrate our 5 year anniversary with a “free” dinner (thank you Disney Dollars)!!

The night of our reservation, we arrived early only to find out that whoever took our reservation FUCKED UP because they had no record of it.

I. WAS. LIVID.
THANKS FOR RUINING OUR ANNIVERSARY ASSHOLE!!!!

The Chef’s Counter was completely booked that night so the only thing the manager could do was offer us seats in the main dining area. I contemplated just walking out and going home, but I remembered that I had expiring Disney Dollars to use so I reluctantly accepted.

After being seated, we placed our order fairly quickly since we agreed beforehand that we would order the “Vintner’s Table” (Chef’s Four Course Tasting Menu). I didn’t have a chance to be my usual indecisive self!

Amuse Bouche

Halibut

Pork Belly & Loin

Steak

Goat Cheese Doughnuts

My anger began to subside as we finished our first course and it all but disappeared by the time dessert was served. Instead of sulking the whole night, I actually enjoyed my meal. Every dish was well executed and delicious. I especially loved the pairing of goat cheese doughnuts and “pear soup” (I told you I love hot + cold).

At the beginning of the night, given the reservation drama, I was sure we would never, ever, ever come back to Napa Rose… EVER. At the end of the night, I was willing to come back and pay for our meal!

…And come back we did. Less than a month later! Yes, mostly for the food, but also because Napa Rose comped our first meal in attempt to make things right – we only paid for Henry’s wine pairing, tax, and tip (based on full dinner amount, of course). That meant I still had expiring Disney Dollars to use.

For our second visit, I was only able to reserve seats at the Dessert Counter.

View from the Dessert Counter

See the empty seats on left? That’s the Chef’s Counter. Since all 4 of those seats were empty and it was well past 6PM, I asked Sous Chef Gloria what the deal was. After speaking with the manager, she explained that the party cancelled and offered us the seats. HELL YEA! Not only did our view get upgraded, Sous Chef Gloria also told us about another tasting menu, one in which you relinquish control of your meal over to the chefs; we had no idea what our next course would be. This option had more, smaller portion courses and costs the same as the “Vintner’s Table”. I highly recommend it if you are able to sit at the Chef’s Counter.

View from the Chef’s Counter

We LOVED every dish, but the highlight of our meal had to be the mushroom soup. AMAZING. The “Best Hot Chocolate” was a close second 🙂 I can’t wait to return for another meal.

Verdict [1] & [2]: 4.5/5
Napa Rose (@ Grand Californian)
1600 S Disneyland Dr
Anaheim, CA 92802

I eat: Redd

Posted on January 31, 2012 by kc

I’m always a little nervous when I return to a restaurant that I loved the first time. What if the quality has deteriorated? What if I was just really hungry? Did I just happen to order the best things on the menu? What if my second time is an off day? So many questions run through my mind.

Crispy Duck Confit with Lentils and Foie Gras Meatballs
Glazed Pork Belly, Apple Purée, Burdock, Soy Caramel
Steamed Pork buns, Hoisin, Vegetable Slaw
Braised Shortrib, Bacon, Cipollini onions, Fingerling potatoes, Red Wine Jus
Caramelized Diver Scallops, Cauliflower Purée, Almonds, Balsamic Reduction

Henry and I first dined at Redd for lunch in October, 2009. We loved it and couldn’t stop raving to our friends and family about our wonderful experience. Fast forward about two years and we returned for dinner with a couple of friends, fully expecting Redd to knock their socks off. But… that didn’t exactly happen. Perhaps my expectations were too high or my tastes have matured/palate refined or even a combination of both – overall, I was disappointed with our meal.

We started off with oysters and appetizers to share.

Glazed Pork Belly, Apple Purée, Burdock, Soy Caramel $14
Carnaroli Risotto, Maine Lobster, Meyer Lemon Confit, Truffle Oil $15

The pork belly was one of my favorite dishes the first time around and for that reason, I ordered it again. And thankfully, it was as good as I remembered! The risotto was delicious as well, making it difficult for me to have to share it with 3 other people.

Sauteed Skate, Onion Fondue, Summer Beans, Hazelnut Brown Butter $28
Petrale Sole, Coconut Jasmine Rice, Clams, Chorizo, Saffron Curry Nage $28
Prime New York Steak and Shortribs, Salt Potatoes, Bacon and Mushroom Ragout $32
Liberty Farms Duck Breast, Shelling Bean Cassoulet, Bread Crumbs, Thyme Jus $29

The best entree of the table was the skate with brown butter… WHO DOESN’T LOVE BUTTER? TELL ME! TELL ME!

Everything else, however, just fell flat. The saffron curry nage left a bitter after-taste and the short ribs were tough and stringy. I was most disappointed with the duck; it was overcooked, the skin was not crispy and the amount of bread crumbs over the cassoulet was just ridiculous.

Butterscotch Pudding, Vanilla Anglaise, Pinenut Rosemary Cookies $10
Chocolate, Peanut Butter Beignets, Bitter Caramel Ice Cream, Bananas $10

After being let down by the entrees, I wanted to pass up dessert. But since we were (unofficially) celebrating Henry’s birthday, we ordered two to share. I liked the butterscotch pudding more than the beignets because it was lighter and not as sweet.

Oh, btw, it didn’t help any that a lady sitting 10 feet away from us was throwing up UNDER THE TABLE. It was her bachelorette party.

Verdict: 3/5
Redd
6480 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

I eat: Waterloo & City

Posted on January 29, 2012 by kc

Besides Petrossian, my DineLA experiences have mostly ranged from disappointing (Cube Marketplace, Grace) to average (Gordon Ramsay), which would explain why none have compelled me to make a return visit. In spite of this, I always get excited when dineLA comes around.

The current dineLA ends Friday, Feb 3rd!

This past Friday, Henry and I made our way to the Westside for dineLA at Waterloo & City. When we arrived, the first thing that struck me was the size of the restaurant. I didn’t expect it to that big! There’s an outdoor patio area (where we were seated) and two indoor dining areas separated by a large bar.

In addition to the dineLA menu ($34/person), we couldn’t pass up the Indian Butter Chicken Pizza, Murgh Makahni Sauce, Mozzarella ($14) off of the regular menu. To pace ourselves, we followed our waiter’s suggestion of having the pizza come out first, eating a couple of slices and boxing up the rest to take home.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. These phone pictures do not do the food justice.

The pizza was delicious! Although it would have been nice to have more chicken, the chicken that was on the pizza was incredibly tender. I liked the heat from the makhani sauce and raita (in the middle).

Next came the dineLA dishes…

Appetizers

Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Parfait, Toasted Brioche, Sweet Potato Jam

No complaints whatsoever. The toasted brioche provided the perfect canvas for the mousse and the jam cut the saltiness.

Tuna Tartare, Fried Piquillo Pepper, Avocado

AMAZING. The freshness of the tuna and cucumbers, the creaminess of the avocado, the spiciness of the sauce… everything just worked so well together. The fried piquillo pepper was icing on the cake.

Entrees

Roast Pork Chop, Fuji Apples, Pork Belly, Squash Puree, Onion Rings

As you can see, this thing was HUGE! The pork chop was tender and flavorful and there’s just something about the combination of pork and apples that I absolutely love.

Australian Bass, Ricotta & Truffle Gnocchi, Cara Cara Oranges, Celery Root

This was the only dish that was a little bit off. The bass and gnocchi were great by themselves and even paired together. The orange slices alone were refreshing. But bass + gnocchi + orange… hmmm, not so much – this combination just didn’t work for me. Also, the skin of the bass could have been crispier if not for the moisture from the oranges.

Desserts

Waterloo Doughnuts, Bavarian Creme, Rum Glaze, Raspberry Sorbet

The doughnuts weren’t as good as the goat cheese doughnuts from Napa Rose, but still solid. I loved the hot and cold pairing of doughnuts and raspberry sorbet.

Sticky Toffee Pudding, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream

Whenever I see sticky toffee pudding on the menu, I order it. This one at Waterloo & City was, by far, the BEST I’ve ever had.

Thanks for breaking my DineLA rut, Waterloo & City. I will DEFINITELY come back and dine again.

Verdict: 4.5/5
Waterloo & City
12517 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90066

I eat: Traif

Posted on December 18, 2011 by kc

Our experience at Traif could not have started out any worse. We arrived 30 mins late because I thought our reservation was at 8:30PM – it was actually at 8:00PM. The hostess offered us the bar since our table had obviously been given away and we accepted. As we were settling in and figuring out what to order, the hostess came by and said she would be able to move us to a table (outside in the patio area) if we didn’t mind waiting about 10 minutes. Even though it actually turned out to be more like 20 minutes, we were so delighted and grateful! The hostess was more than awesome 🙂 .. too bad I can’t say the same for our waitress.

Amuse bouche – Moroccan lentil soup

Delicious and oh so comforting on a cold, rainy night.

Seared scallops, butternut squash, huckleberries, pistachios, sage

The scallops were perfectly cooked and I loved the sweet and nutty aspect of the sauce.

Crispy pork belly, cauliflower, peperoncini, romesco, parsley-garlic

Hmm, honestly, I don’t really remember this one. Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. The dish was just not memorable either way.

Butterfish carpaccio, grapefruit, avocado, mint, sesame, soy

The avocado enhanced the creaminess of the butterfish and the grapefruit brought a refreshing element to the dish. YUM!

Gemelli pasta, blue crab, fresh black truffles, braised leeks

I’ve read many complaints about this dish, specifically regarding the lack of crab. While I agree that there could have been more crab (who doesn’t want more crab?), this dish was one of my favorites. The crab was not the star of the dish, but I couldn’t have cared less because I’m a sucker for truffles.

Joe’s chopped chicken livers, balsamic-bacon toasts, rosemary & shallots

LOVED. LOVED. LOVED this! The balsamic drizzle added a bit of sweetness and paired well with the chicken liver pate.

Salt & pepper spicy white shrimp, golden pineapple, sweet potatoes

When I read salt & pepper spicy shrimp, I didn’t expect to see this; I was thinking more along the lines of Asian salt and pepper shrimp. Although I liked the shrimp itself, the combination of pineapple and sweet potatoes didn’t work for me.

Seared foie, fingerlings, ham chips, sunny egg, maple, hot sauce

This dish reminded me of the foie gras loco moco at Animal (one of my favorite dishes EVER). It wasn’t as good, but certainly isn’t far behind. How can a dish with foie, potatoes and egg not be good?

Sautéed veal sweetbreads, roast mushrooms, green garlic, spinach

By this time, we were so damn full, our buttons were about to pop off. I liked the earthiness of the mushrooms and green garlic, but the dish would have been much better had the sweetbreads been accompanied with something that would have provided a contrast in texture instead of spinach. Henry isn’t a big fan of sweetbreads because of the texture so even though I was already extremely stuffed, I basically finished the dish myself. oof.

We definitely learned the hard way that 8 dishes is wayyyy too ambitious! No regrets though, we had a great meal.

Verdict: 4/5
Traif
229 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211

It’s My Birthday And I’ll Do What I Want To

Posted on October 31, 2011 by kc

I knew exactly where I wanted to celebrate my 27th birthday.

NYC.

I purchased our plane tickets 4 months ago and had been counting down ever since. Now that it’s over, I feel empty inside and have nothing to look forward to until our snowboarding trip to Utah next March. Le sigh. #firstworldproblems

To save money, I took a chance and booked a room for Henry and I at the Verve Hotel. The hotel received great reviews on both Yelp and Trip Advisor so it made my decision a little easier to make. The Verve Hotel is located across the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City and is within a 5 minute walk of 3 subway stations: Queens Plaza (E, M, R), Queensboro Plaza (7, N, Q) and 39th Ave (N, Q). By staying in a hotel one subway stop from Manhattan, I saved us about $600. Awesome, right? I saved us even more money since we took the AirTrain/Subway instead of a taxi from JFK. The AirTrain cost $5 and took us to the E line (Sutphin Blvd/Archer Ave). From there, we used our unlimited 7-day Metro pass and took the E line to Queens Plaza. A taxi ride would have easily cost $50+.

As with all the trips I plan, this one revolved heavily around food. I shouldn’t even say that anymore since it’s basically a given.

Our first meal in NYC was chicken and rice at halal cart (53rd and 6th). It has NEVER, EVER disappointed me. I love it so much. We even picked up two plates on our last night to bring home!

mmMmmm… white sauce

We also had a delicious brunch at Shopsin’s, a little shop located in the Essex Street Market.

Tip: The menu is HUGE so look it over online and have a general idea of what you want before you arrive at Shopsin’s. Oh, and taking pictures is frowned upon (yes, the cook actually shook his head at me), but I did it anyway.

Oyster scramble (CS10) and Blisters on my Sister (Mexican)

Mac and Cheese Pancakes w/ Bacon .. UHHHMAZING

One of the things I’ve always wanted to do was ride a bike around Central Park. I guess the 4th time’s the charm since the weather finally cooperated with me!

We rented bikes from Bike and Roll (Columbus Circle location). A full day rental costs $44 and a “day pass” costs $49. With a day pass, you are allowed to return the bike at another Bike and Roll location. This was a great option for us since I wanted to bike down to Battery Park City.

A quick pit stop at Luke’s Lobster for lunch…

… before riding along the Hudson River and finding this …

I really thought the obstacle course was drawn by Bike and Roll! It was actually for a kid’s event the previous week. LOL! 😀

After a 14 mile bike ride, we treated ourselves to gelato from L’arte del Gelato. SOOO GOOD!

Mokaccino, Mascarpone, Pistacchio

…

Since we’ve already visited the Met and AMNH, we decided to check out the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Our day passes from Bike and Roll were also good for $5 off the All-Access Pass ($35) at the Intrepid, which included general admission, audio tour and 1 simulator ride (general admission itself is $24). Head sets were not provided with the audio tour. Instead, you held up the device to your ear and listened as you would with a cell phone. Some would probably find this tiring and annoying, but I didn’t really care too much. I only felt inconvenienced when I wanted to listen and take pictures at the same time.

Did I mention that I love planes?

TBM-3E Avenger and FJ-3 Fury

Flight Deck

F-9J Cougar and F-11F Tiger

F-14 Tomcat and A-12 (precursor to SR-71 Blackbird)

…

A birthday trip wouldn’t be complete without a birthday dinner, right? Well, make that two.

Marea and Eleven Madison Park

Thanks, Henry! ♥

——–
NYC Eats & Activities (+our verdict):
Verve Hotel, 4/5
Halal Cart, 53rd & 6th, 5/5
Shopsin’s, 4/5
NYC Bike & Roll, 4/5
Luke’s Lobster, 4/5
USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, 4/5
L’arte del Gelato, 4/5
Doughnut Plant, 4/5
Laduree, 4.5/5
Shake Shack, 4.5/5

C’est Si Bon

Posted on October 28, 2011 by kc

A long flight is more endurable when you have Laduree macarons to eat.

I eat: Burma SuperStar [1],[2]

Posted on October 22, 2011 by kc

The first time I dined at Burma SuperStar, I waited 2 hours for a table. The meal ended up being worth the wait, but I was determined to not let that happen again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t more prepared my second time and it was another 2 hours spent waiting around. Sorry guys! 😦

Tip: Burma SuperStar allows you to call in and place your name on the list – when a table is ready for you, they’ll give you a call to let you know. Make sure you’re around the area.

I decided to combine the pictures I took from my two trips to showcase a variety of dishes.

My FAVORITE items were:

Braised Pork Belly

Tea Leaf Salad

Garlic Chili Shrimp

Garlic Noodles with Duck

The pork belly was melt in your mouth UHMAZING and I loved the different textures in the salad. Being such a big garlic lover, the garlic shrimp and noodles were perfect choices.

The other dishes I’ve tried were delicious as well!

Moh Hinga (catfish chowder)

Nan Gyi Dok

Spicy Chicken with Mint

Burmese Style Curry with Beef

You must order rice with your meal! It’s totally necessary.

Half Tan Poi and Coconut Rice

And if you still have room (which I highly doubt), I recommend this for dessert:

Banana Spring Roll with Coconut Ice Cream

I have a love/hate relationship with Burma SuperStar. I really love the food, but the wait is ridiculous. I’ll make sure to follow my own tip next time.

Verdict (1 & 2): 4/5
Burma SuperStar
309 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118

I eat: ink.sack

Posted on September 5, 2011 by kc

Ever since watching Michael Voltaggio’s stint on Top Chef (season 6), I’ve been reppin’ Team Voltaggio all day, errday! Despite being a big fan, I never got the chance to try his food while he was at The Dining Room. The only thing that comforted me was knowing that Voltaggio would be opening his own restaurant soon. Originally rumored to open in July, ink. hit some speed bumps and is now slated to open in a couple of weeks (mid-September-ish). In the meantime, fans like myself were able to quell their impatience by heading a few doors down to ink.sack, Voltaggio’s new sandwich shop.

I followed a tip and arrived at ink.sack at around 12:30PM on Sunday. Parking was easy and I was the third person in line. I ordered 5 sandwiches, 1 cookie and 1 drink to share with Henry. As I stood at a table waiting for our food (no seats, standing room only), the line grew and flowed out the door.

Cold Fried Chicken and Jose Andres (aka Spanish Godfather)

In less than 10 minutes, our sandwiches were ready and I picked up the black paper bag at the counter. First up was the Cold Fried Chicken, which reminded me of a (cold) KFC snacker. The only difference on the CFC was the special sauce, Gindo’s Spice of Life, which had a nice kick, but was not anything close to amazing. I found the Jose Andres to be very salty – almost to the point of being inedible. Others like this sandwich, it just wasn’t for me.

Reuben and Maple Pepper Turkey Melt

The Reuben sounded interesting on paper. Sandwich with beef tongue? Cool, right? Yea, well, even though the meat was tender, I couldn’t tell I was eating tongue. The sauer kraut didn’t have any tang either and tasted like boiled cabbage. As for the Maple Pepper Turkey Melt, the highlight was the mostarda. Without it, the sandwich would have been as bland and boring as the Reuben.

Banh Mi and Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie

Of all the sandwiches, I liked the Banh Mi the most. However, it tasted like any other banh mi. I expected the Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie to have some kind of heat or spice, but it tasted like any other chocolate chip cookie. There was actually no heat whatsoever.

I wish I could say I was impressed by Voltaggio’s creations, but I wasn’t. Maybe I expected too much. As a fellow Yelper stated in his review, hype is a horrible thing.

Verdict: 3/5
ink.sack
8360 Melrose Ave, Ste 107
Los Angeles, CA 90069

I eat: Petrossian [2]

Posted on August 28, 2011 by kc

I first dined at Petrossian back in Jan 2010 and it was one of the best experiences of the year. Fast forward a year and a half and my feelings have slightly changed towards the house of caviar.

Petrossian may look the same from the outside, but it is very much different now. The ever-so-popular Chef Ben Bailly left mid-November to helm the kitchen of Fraîche in Culver City. He was replaced by Chef Giselle Wellman, most recently of Bouchon Beverly Hills. With any change in head chef comes a change in the menu and unfortunately, one of my favorite dishes from the first time around got the ax. RIP best mac and cheese EVAR. 😦

Good thing the Caviar Flatbread – Crème Fraîche, Chives, Red Onion, Capers, Chopped Egg was still on the menu! And it was just as delicious.

Since my beloved mac and cheese was gone, I ordered another pasta: Squid Ink Fettucini – Wild Californian Sea Urchin, Curry, Salmon Roe. While the flavors were great and I am a self-proclaimed uni slut, the pasta was undercooked.

The only entree on the menu that caught my eye was the Striped Bass – Yukon Gold Potato Noodles, Vodka Creme Fraiche, Chives, Caviar. Notice the common ingredients? Yes, the flavor profile was very similar to the Caviar Flatbread. It’s funny that I didn’t recognize that when I ordered. Anyway, the striped bass was perfectly cooked, but the potatoes were a bit disappointing. The thickness of the potato “noodles” were not consistent thus some pieces were softer than others.

Like last time, I went with a crème brulée for dessert. And also like last time, no complaints. Just YUM.

Verdict (2.0): 3/5
Petrossian Restaurant & Boutique
321 North Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048

I eat: Grub

Posted on August 20, 2011 by kc

Until now, I had never been so repulsed by my meal that I stopped eating. So um, congratulations, Grub. You’ve earned this distinct honor.

As we waited for food, we were given complimentary Fruit Loops and Coco Puffs to snack on. CUTE POINTS at least!

I ordered the OOH LA LA! Egg Sandwich and it was anything but ooh la la. Overall, the sandwich was extremely bland with the only flavor coming from the Sweet and Sassy Bacon aka “crack bacon” by the masses. I definitely did not get the hype of the bacon and actually found it a bit odd – one piece was only sweet, the other piece was sweet and spiced with cumin(?). SO CONFUSED. Was this a mistake?

Drenching the sandwich in maple syrup didn’t make it any better either. I KNOW. That’s how bad this sandwich was… even bacon and maple syrup couldn’t save it.

Henry’s dish, Mamacita’s Breakfast Burrito was just as bad. Sure, it looks big, but it was mostly filled with bland, scrambled eggs. If Grub wanted to stuff the burrito with cheap fillers, they should have done so with the roasted potatoes because they were actually tasty!

I’m not sure if I’d be willing to give Grub another try. I already wasted $40.

Verdict: 1/5
Grub
911 Seward St
Los Angeles, CA 90038

yea buddy

Posted on August 1, 2011 by kc

Bought the last one at Walmart.

I eat: Daisy Mint

Posted on June 19, 2011 by kc

Living in the SGV, I’m spoiled by the abundance of Asian restaurants that offer cheap, good eats. Since I’ve pretty much narrowed down my favorites, it’s hard to not be biased when I try new places. I usually end up thinking, I could have gotten the same thing for cheaper at ______, or this dish tastes just as good at ______ and I don’t have to drive as far.

Last weekend, Henry and I decided to give Daisy Mint a try because of all the good reviews we read on Yelp. It is located in Pasadena, which to me, usually indicates overpriced (Asian) food. I had to remind myself to keep an open mind. The inside of the restaurant is pretty small, seating only about 25 people, but there is also a really cute patio area that seats an additional 15 or so. We were fortunate to sit outside 🙂

After we sat down, it took less than a minute for me to decide what I wanted to order. I saw the Duck Roll appetizer and the Spaghetti & Black Mussel entree on the menu and it was a done deal.

I was a little disappointed with the portion of the Duck Roll. It was basically one small roll, cut into 4 pieces. Although it tasted good, I wish there was more duck.

You know those sizzling udon plates at Chinese cafes? Well, this spaghetti tasted just like it. I guess I expected that since the description read “spaghetti stir fried with bell pepper and basil in xo sauce”. I thought the dish was on the salty side and I also didn’t like finding bits of broken shell.

Henry ordered the Green Jungle Curry, which is probably the only thing I would order again if I went back to Daisy Mint.

Verdict: 3/5
Daisy Mint
1218 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106

I eat: Julienne

Posted on June 5, 2011 by kc

I actually wanted to try breakfast at Julienne, but it’s only served until 11:15AM on Saturdays. I couldn’t make it because I had a dentist appointment in the morning, but honestly, even though I love food, it’s a tough sell for me to wake up early on the weekends.

When we arrived, my first impression was… wow! Fancy, schmancy! Since it was a beautiful day, we chose a table outside.

Our meal began with bread service. I really liked the Rosemary Currant bread. Henry, on the other hand, isn’t a big fan of rosemary so I basically finished his bread for him.

Since I looked at the online menu before we left the house, I was set on ordering the Sauteed Shrimp and Broccoli Curry with Steamed Rice. I was a little bummed when I found out that the menu posted on the website was Julienne’s winter menu and the curry was no longer available. However, there were a couple of other items that caught my eye. I couldn’t decide between the Tuscan Meatloaf with Spicy Tomato Chutney, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach and the seasonal Fish Tacos so I asked our waiter for his recommendation. He said, without any hesitation, fish tacos.

And they were SOOOO GOOD! The swordfish had a nice char, the citrus was refreshing and I absolutely LOVED the jalapeno aioli. It was definitely the best fish taco I’ve ever had! NO CONTEST!

Henry ordered the Roasted Lamb with Caramelized Onions, Avocado, Tomato, Basil Aioli on Pain Rustique. We were both expecting a hot sandwich, but it was cold.

Although it was a good sandwich, I really couldn’t tell I was eating lamb. If you told me it was roast beef, I would have believed you. The best thing about the sandwich was the caramelized onions.

The dessert menu was presented to us with a tray of desserts. Cute points!! We were sold on the Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding. It was served warm, drizzled with raspberry sauce and topped with whipped cream. Delish!

The only downside to this great meal was the bill. Two entrees, one dessert and one cup of coffee set us back $50. Julienne may not be my casual weekend brunch spot, but I’ll return when I feel like splurging 🙂

Verdict: 4/5
Julienne
2649 Mission St
San Marino, CA 91108

I eat: Euro Pane Bakery

Posted on June 4, 2011 by kc

It’s such a struggle to decide where to eat on the weekends. We always end up at the usual suspects, ordering the same food. So when Henry reminded me that we still hadn’t tried Euro Pane Bakery, I welcomed the break from monotony and off we headed to Pasadena.

Parking turned out to be a breeze, which is more the exception than the norm. I was pleasantly surprised to see that despite the small size of the restaurant, there were tables available. I guess we came at the right time. After placing our order at the counter, we picked a table next to the storefront window to sit.

We started off with a cup of coffee and a lemon bar.

Dessert first! It’s a way of life 🙂

Not to toot my own horn, but I like my lemon bars better. I thought the lemon filling was way too dense; it was almost as hard as the shortbread cookie crust!

Anyway, we didn’t have to wait too long for our food ~ only about 10 minutes or so. And good thing since we were starving.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE……

I present to you the infamous open-faced sandwich that was featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Served Cold”:

Egg Salad Sandwich

I liked the sandwich! It was chunky, well seasoned and balanced, with just the right amount of mayo/mustard. The sun dried tomato pesto spread was a nice touch and added depth of flavor to an otherwise one dimensional egg salad.

If you read the reviews on Yelp, you’ll see mixed reviews regarding the Egg Salad Sandwich. I understand that people will have differing opinions, but some of the negative comments I’ve read about this sandwich are a bit ridiculous. Complaints include:

– not a real sandwich since there’s no piece of bread on top (UM, that’s why it’s described on the menu as being served open-faced)
– too much egg (UM, it’s an egg salad sandwich)
– difficult to hold in hand and eat (UM, it’s called a knife and fork)

The only reasonable thing to complain about is the price: $7.50 (w/o tax) is a steep. It’s interesting to note that the cost differential between the Egg Salad and the Salmon Sandwich below is only a $1.

Salmon Sandwich

The Salmon Sandwich ain’t no Russ & Daughters bagel and lox, but it was still pretty good. Next time I would definitely choose another bread. In hindsight, brioche was an odd choice to pair with smoked salmon. My bad.

Yea, that’s right. I couldn’t leave without some macaroons! I took home 2 sea salt caramel, 1 pistachio, 1 passion fruit and 1 mocha. My favorites were the passion fruit and mocha because they weren’t overly sweet. The macaroons were a little chewier than I’ve had before, but delicious nonetheless.

Verdict: 3.5/5
Euro Pane Bakery
950 E Colorado Blvd, Ste 107
Pasadena, CA 91106

I eat: Doughboys Cafe

Posted on May 23, 2011 by kc

I expect a lot when a bakery touts that their red velvet cakes were considered one of Oprah’s favorite things. I mean, it’s Oprah, and y’all know that woman EATS!

[Continue reading here]

I eat: Mastro’s Steakhouse [4]

Posted on May 10, 2011 by kc

Mom deserves the best. And like I’ve said before, Mastro’s is THE BEST! So a little more than a year after I first took my parents to Mastro’s, we went back to celebrate the best mom in the whole wide world, my mom ♥

Our meal started out with the usual bread service as we waited for our entrees. My mom and dad decided to share the Chef’s Cut Rib-eye and Chilean Sea Bass.

Henry and I also went with the Chilean Sea Bass since I loved it so much last time. As for our steak, we wanted to switch it up. We ordered the off-the-menu special, Australian Wagyu Rib-eye “Tomahawk” (22oz). I didn’t know how it could possibly top the Chef’s Cut Rib-Eye, but I was really hoping it would especially since the Tomahawk was priced at $96!!

Well, even though the steak was excellent, I really couldn’t tell the difference between the Tomahawk and the Chef’s Cut (it was no more juicy or tender) so I can’t justify spending the extra $45.

We usually order sides of Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach, but this time we ordered Alaskan King Crab Black Truffle Gnocchi and Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

SO. DAMN. GOOD.

Come on, Crab + Truffle + Gnocchi???? I’m drooling just thinking about it right now. And I’m totally a sucker for brussels sprouts… I love roasting them with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I think Henry and I have tried most of the desserts offered so we went with an old favorite: Mastro’s Signature Warm Butter Cake Ala Mode. You really can’t go wrong with this one!

Verdict (4.0): 5/5
Mastro’s
246 N Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

I eat: Bottega Ristorante [2]

Posted on March 14, 2011 by kc

My first time dining at Bottega was SO AMAZING, I couldn’t wait to go back! I had to try the Egg and Pork Belly Confit, which Tyler Florence showcased on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. We weren’t able to order this dish the first time around because it’s seasonal; it appears on the menu starting in July.

Good thing I didn’t have to wait too long.

We started off with one of Henry’s favorite wines (Buehler ’05 Cab) and a few appetizers: Polenta Under Glass, Monterey Calamari and of couse, Egg and Pork Belly Confit.

The polenta was just as delicious as last time, but the calamari, though tasty, was nothing extraordinary. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away with the Egg and Pork Belly Confit either. I LOVED the runny soft boiled egg, but unfortunately, the pork belly was overcooked. Oh well. I prefer braised pork belly over pork belly confit anyway.

Next up was pasta: Pappardelle Bolognese. The fresh pasta was cooked perfectly, but the meat sauce fell a bit flat. I expected it to be more flavorful.

We shared two entrees between 3 people because we didn’t want to over-stuff ourselves (which we ended up doing anyway). Since Henry and I had duck last time, we went for the Wood Grilled Lamb (with local figs and polenta). The polenta was delicious and the figs added a subtle layer of sweet that balanced out the gaminess of the lamb.

We also ordered the Smoked and Braised Short Ribs (with preserved Meyer-lemon spinach). The meat was very tender and the lemon lightened up the dish.

So even though our buttons were popping off at this point, we couldn’t leave without having dessert. I don’t remember the name of the 1st one, but who cares. Focus on the 2nd dessert: Zeppole al Lemoni – Italian donuts served with Meyer-lemon curd and Earl Grey infused jam. Hot damn, these were delicious!!!! I preferred the jam because the lemon curd was a little too tart.

I had put Bottega on a pedestal after my first time dining there. My second time brought Bottega back down to earth. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the restaurant and would recommend it to anyone. I just know that, other than the Confit of Half Duck and the Polenta Under Glass, most dishes aren’t the best I’ve ever had.

Verdict 2.0: 4/5
Bottega Ristorante Napa Valley
6525 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599-1300

I eat: Gordon Ramsay at the London, West Hollywood

Posted on February 3, 2011 by kc

Gordon Ramsay scares the hell out of me. I would not want to work for him, but eating at one of his restaurants is another story. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay anyone?

[Continue reading here]

Ay Bay Bay

Posted on January 21, 2011 by kc

My Nor Cal trip was way too short; we were only there for about one whole day. Our home base was Fremont, but we took a day trip to San Francisco.

During our 8 hours in SF, we browsed and ate lunch at the Ferry Building, walked around the Golden Gate Bridge area, shopped in the Marina District and ended with dinner at Okoze Sushi. It was a tiring day with lots of walking!

My favorite part was the Ferry Building. Despite visiting SF multiple times, the Ferry Building never made it onto the itinerary. I don’t think I ever even considered going there, which is really surprising given my love for public marketplaces.

[Continue reading here]

Nor Cal

Posted on January 14, 2011 by kc

Since I’ll be heading up to Nor Cal later today, I thought this would be a good time to finally write about my last trip to Napa/SF (in October 2010).

Henry’s brother, David, is now teaching abroad in Korea. I planned a trip to Napa/SF as a last hurrah before he left. As with my trips of the past couple of years, this was heavily based on food and being a fellow fatass, David did not mind at all.

We started out in Napa and had some great burgers + yummy pumpkin milkshake at Gott’s Roadside.

We also lunched at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen during our stay. I was really excited about the duck burger, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The best item was the rabbit tostada appetizer.

Going to Napa can’t be all about food. We visited a few wineries, of course.

Ceja

Duckhorn

Trinchero

and Henry’s favorite, Trefethen

After our wonderful time in Napa, we headed down to SF to eat some more. I swear I would have gained a gazillion pounds if it weren’t for us getting some exercise by biking across the GG.

No matter how many times I’ve seen/driven/biked over the Golden Gate Bridge or whether it’s cloudy or sunny, I am still amazed by its beauty. It is definitely my favorite bridge in the world!

As you can see from the picture below, we clearly were not dressed properly for the bike ride over the bridge. The day started out cloudy with temperatures in the high 50s/low 60s. Because we exerted a lot of energy biking over some big hills, we weren’t really cold until we got closer to the bridge. The strong winds made it feel like the temperature was in the 20s! Good thing the sun finally came out in the afternoon or else we probably would have frozen to death on the bike ride back.

I always have a great time in the Bay. This weekend will be no exception 🙂

——–
Napa/SF Eats & Wineries (+our verdict):
Gott’s Roadside, 4/5
Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, 3/5
Ceja, 3/5
Duckhorn, 3/5
Trinchero, 4/5
Trefethen, 5/5
Firefly Restaurant, 3/5
Fish, 4.5/5
Just For You Cafe, 3/5

I eat: Roy’s Restaurant

Posted on December 25, 2010 by kc

Henry first took me to Roy’s (DTLA) for Valentine’s Day 2007. We fell IN LOVE with the amazing melt-in-your-mouth butterfish and their signature chocolate souffle.

We went to Roy’s (La Jolla) again that summer for our 6 month anniversary and tried the opah, which was just as delicious as the butterfish. So based on these two experiences, I’ve considered Roy’s one of my favorite restaurants for the past 3 years, rating it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Last night, I took my parents out to Roy’s (DLTA) for Christmas and well, three years of eating at many highly-rated restaurants have left me a little jaded. Roy’s wasn’t as good as I remembered it to be. I found it difficult not to nitpick the details like the butterfish being slightly overcooked and the Kurobuta pork shank being under-seasoned. Still, the most important thing was that my parents really enjoyed their meal, so at the end of the day, I would consider this experience a success.

Verdict: 3/5
Roy’s Restaurant
800 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Weakness

Posted on December 17, 2010 by kc

Cheesecake Factory is evil. Pure evil! Not only does it serve oversized portions of mediocre food that is high in fat and sodium, it has some god damn freakin’ delicious cheesecake. Damnit!

Breakfast of champions? ………HELL YES!

I eat: The Purple Pig

Posted on November 26, 2010 by kc

I looked at the Purple Pig’s menu multiple times when planning Foodcation 2010, but I didn’t get the “OMG, I have to eat here” feeling so the restaurant never made it onto our itinerary.

Fast forward to our last night in Chicago.

We didn’t have time to eat before our fireworks cruise so by the time it ended (around 10:30PM), we were starving. Using our fabulous new phones (HTC Evo), we searched for the closest place to eat. Well, what do ya know. The first restaurant listed was the Purple Pig. The food gods must have wanted us to eat here.

The Purple Pig, whose tag line is “Cheese, Swine and Wine”, is located on Mag Mile, two blocks north of the Michigan Ave. bridge. The Mediterranean inspired dishes are served tapas style so we ordered 5 + dessert.

(1) Shrimp & Clams with Rosamarina
(2) Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs
(3) Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes
(4) Scallop Spiedini with Chickpea Aioli
(5) Jamon Serrano with Duck Egg, Asparagus, Grilled Bread

I can’t really say one dish was my favorite; they were all so delicious!!!! The shrimp and clams were so light and refreshing, the bone marrow was rich and decadent, the pork shoulder and scallops were perfectly tender and oh my gosh, you all know how much I LOVE runny eggs!

(6) Butterscotch Bodino

What a great ending to a fantastic meal! The butterscotch pudding was thick, smooth and had just the right amount of sweetness. YUM!!

Fate works in funny ways. I’m really glad it led us to the Purple Pig.

Verdict: 5/5
The Purple Pig
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

I eat: Alinea

Posted on November 21, 2010 by kc

When Alinea calls you and tells you that they have a 5:45PM seating available, you scream at the top of your lungs, jump up and down on the sidewalk before calming yourself to say, “Yes, I’ll take it”.

As I was planning Foodcation 2010, I didn’t think there would be much of a chance of us dining at Alinea given the huge wait list, but I prepared myself nonetheless; I didn’t make concrete dinner plans for our first two nights in Chicago, just in case.

Our flight from Philly arrived in Chicago at 3:30PM and we checked into our hotel by 4:30PM. This meant that we only had 45 minutes to settle in, change and get ready for dinner! I was really stressed, but like I said, whatever it takes! The hotel concierge recommended that we take a taxi to Alinea since we would be dressed up for dinner, but we decided to take public transportation instead. I see no shame in taking the subway/bus while dressed up, although, I would NEVER do that in LA.

Alinea is located in a gray, nondescript building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. If not for the valet parking sign outside, you would not know that this gray building with big windows houses one of the best restaurants in world.

Behind the big black doors is a fuchsia lit, narrow hallway. You begin walking down the hallway, entranced by the bright color, but all of a sudden, sliding doors open to your left and you are pulled back to reality. Welcome to Alinea.

Keep in mind, menus were given to us at the end of the meal, not the beginning. We were to interpret the dishes on our own, with all of our senses.

English Pea: Iberico, Sherry, Honeydew

We started our journey with a manipulation of English Peas. The peas were blanched and pureed with cream and then freeze-dried and shaped into free-form shards. Accompanying the peas were powdered Iberico ham, honeydew spheres and drops of sherry vinegar. With each bite, we got a different combination – peas with ham, peas with honeydew, or all of the above. The peas proved to be a great canvas for the distinct flavors of the other ingredients. This was one of my favorite dishes overall.

Shrimp: Fermented Black Bean, Cinnamon Aroma
Yuba: Shrimp, Miso, Togarashi
Chao Tom: Sugar Cane, Shrimp, Mint
Distillation: of Thai Flavors

Next, we took a trip to Asia. Even without knowing what exactly was in each dish, you could recognize such Asian ingredients as miso, fish sauce and black bean.

Tomatoes: Pillows of Fresh Cut Grass Aroma

Our sense of smell was put to work during the heirloom tomatoes course. The plates were placed on top of deflatable pillows filled with the aroma of fresh cut grass. With the help of gravity, the aroma escaped from the pillows as we ate the tomatoes and for a few minutes, we were transported out of the restaurant and into a garden after springtime showers.

Pork Belly: Curry, Cucumber, Lime

The pork belly spring roll course gave us an opportunity to be “hands on”. After making our own stand with metal prongs, the servers placed a sheet of spring roll paper on the stand and topped it with delicious pork belly. What we wanted in our pork belly spring rolls was totally in our control; we had 11 different ingredients to choose from. Henry being adventurous, used everything. I, on the other hand, do not like cilantro or mint so I opted out of those items. This course was very refreshing and fun. I liked the idea that fine dining wasn’t limited to using proper silverware.

King Crab: Plum, Lilac, Fennel

The next course offered three variations of King Crab combined with three ingredients: plum, lilac and fennel. With each variation, the temperature of the dish and the level of richness increased. This was a great stepping stone to the more rich and savory courses of the meal.

Hot Potato: Cold Potato, Black Truffle, Butter

“Eat this right away” was what our server instructed us to do for the hot potato course. I kind of freaked out a little bit because I notoriously take forever to get the perfect shot, but this time I just had to let it go. We pulled the pin out, letting the hot potato/truffle/butter fall into the cold potato soup and knocked all of it back. Delicious. I can see why people rave about this course.

Lamb: Reflection of Elysian Fields Farm

The first of our meat courses was to be a reflection of Elysian Field Farms, Alinea’s long standing supplier of lamb. The lamb loin was cooked sous vide and skewered with a spruce branch to represent the trees on the farm. Served alongside the lamb were ingredients that represented the lamb’s diet (corn and oats) and surroundings (grass).

Black Truffle: Explosion, Romaine, Parmesan

In between the two meat courses was an explosion in your mouth, literally. A black truffle explosion, to be exact. I love truffles so this course was absolute heaven.

Tournedo: A la Persane

The second of the meat courses, referred to as an antique concept, was an interpretation of August Escoffier’s “Tournedos a la Persane” recipe. Notice how the beautiful china adds to the antique feel; Alinea is all about the details. This course brought us back to the basics: simple plating, great combination of flavors and textures. Perfect.

Bacon: Butterscotch, Apple, Thyme

So, how do you transition from savory to sweet? With a dehydrated slice of bacon dipped in butterscotch of course!

Lemon Soda: One Bite
Transparency: of Raspberry, Yogurt
Bubble Gum: Long Pepper, Hibiscus, Creme Fraiche

Our dessert courses began with a trio of fun dishes that were reminiscent of candy such as lemonheads (Lemon Soda not pictured), fruit roll-ups and bubble gum.

Earl Grey: Lemon, Pine Nut, Caramelized White Chocolate

A play on tea and cookies, the earl grey course was my favorite dessert. Loose tea leaves were finely ground and combined with crumbled shortbread dough. The innovation didn’t stop there, of course; the other elements of this dish really helped elevate it to a whole other level. The lemon curd spheres brought out the citrus component of earl grey while the white chocolate strands masked some of the bitterness.

Chocolate: Coconut, Menthol, Hyssop

Now for the dessert finale. I’ll let the video speak for itself. Excuse my “Oooohhs” and “Aaaahhhs” 😛

♥

The perfect ending to this extraordinary meal would have been to meet Chef Grant Achatz. Unfortunately, the stars did not align as he was on vacation. The end of August seems to be a popular time for Chefs to take vacation. We did, however, get the opportunity to tour the kitchen. I guess we’ll just have to come back and dine again in order to meet the great Achatz 😉

The End.

Verdict: 5/5
Alinea
1723 North Halsted
Chicagom Illinois 60614

Foodcation 2010: Second City

Posted on November 19, 2010 by kc

It’s been three months since we returned from Foodcation 2010 and I’m finally getting around to posting about our last stop: Chicago. That’s some serious backlog! (Read about NYC and Philly)

We only had one reason to go to Chicago and that was Alinea. So imagine my disappointment about being put on a 20+ person wait list. We had booked all of our travel/lodging months beforehand and I thought calling one month before to make a reservation at Alinea would be enough, but it wasn’t; Alinea begins taking reservations two months prior to the month you plan to dine. For example, if you want to dine on August 24th, you better start calling on June 1st! More about Alinea in another post.

We booked a room at Allerton, which is located on Mag Mile. To me, the location was the best aspect of the hotel. I love how lively and vibrant Mag Mile is! It reminds me a lot of NYC and you all know how much I LOVE NYC! 🙂

As with NYC and Philly, the public transportation in Chicago is very efficient. We purchased a 3-day pass (available at CVS) for $14 each, which we used to go to Hot Doug’s, of course.

After about 50 minutes on public transit and another 50 minutes waiting in line, we were finally standing in front of Doug, himself, ordering:

– 2 “Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel”
– 1 “Red Wine and Demi-Glace Venison Sausage with Fig Goat’s Butter and Raclette Cheese”
– 1 “Saucisson Alsacienne: Bacon Sausage with Creme Fraiche, Caramelized Onions and Tomme de Savoie Cheese”
– order of DUCK FAT FRIES

One word: AMAZING.

To burn off the 3000+ calories we consumed at Hot Doug’s, we walked around the city.

First up on our walking tour was Millennium Park. We were in town for “Chopin in the Park”, a bi-centennial birthday celebration of Poland’s greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin. Perfect timing! Chicago is Warsaw’s sister city, which is why it was part of the celebration. We stopped to listen to a little boy play Waltz in D Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 (aka Minute Waltz) and Waltz in C Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2. I recognized both pieces instantly – anyone who started playing piano at 4 years old and practiced 3 hours a day would.

After Millennium Park, we made our way to Buckingham Fountain (cue: love and marriage, love and marriage :)) …

… and ended our walking tour at Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower), where my camera battery ran out after my first shot inside! BURN. Thank goodness for back-up point and shoot!

We also used our metro passes to visit the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.

While Chicago is certainly beautiful during the day, it is even more so at night. Chicago has the most breathtaking skyline I’ve seen so far. Even better than NYC. YES, I said it!

The above is my best attempt at a panorama. Taking pictures at night without a tripod is hard enough, but on a moving boat? Forget about it 😦 Anyway, we were on a boat for a fireworks cruise. During the summer (~Memorial Day through Labor Day), there is a fireworks show every Wednesday and Saturday night at Navy Pier. Sure, you can experience the fireworks show for free at Navy Pier, but with a cruise, you can sit back, relax and soak in some history, all while enjoying a breathtaking view of Chicago. At ~$30/pp, Lake/River boat tours may seem like a tourist traps, but I highly recommend them!

Trivia time!

In what direction does the Chicago River flow?
a) West to East, towards Lake Michigan
b) East to West, away from Lake Michigan
c) Both directions

Well, according to the research of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, the answer is c) both since it is believed the surface flows away from Lake Michigan while deep, deep below, the flow is in the opposite direction because of a density current. Anyway, the original flow of the river was West to East, towards Lake Michigan, but engineers reversed the river flow in the 1900s due to concerns regarding the pollution of the city’s water source.

Between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan lies the Chicago Harbor/River Lock. This device allows boats to easily transition from the lower water level of the river to the higher water level of the lake. That’s right! I got my learn on 😀

Ok so, you can’t go to Chicago and not have a deep dish pizza, right?! Right. Since I’ve never had deep dish pizza before, we went to Giordano’s for lunch, waited about an hour for a table, and guess what? After one bite, I decided: I HATE DEEP DISH PIZZA! It’s really an abomination to the pizza I grew up with and love. The crust in the middle of the pizza was mushy, there was too much sauce that wasn’t seasoned properly and worst of all, you can’t eat this kind of pizza with your hands. Yea, I know I’m being Captain Obvious with my last point, but seriously, how awful is that?! There’s a time and place to be prim and proper and eating a pizza is not one of those times.

Well, this trip was certainly different than our past trips since it was heavily based around food. And while I loved this food tour of ours, I did find myself missing the outdoor activities. For our next annual trip, I’m going to try to have more of a balance between food and the outdoors. Life is all about balance 🙂

——–
Chicago Eats (+our verdict):
Hot Doug’s, 5/5
Giordano’s, 2.5/5
Blue 13, 3/5

I eat: Amada

Posted on November 6, 2010 by kc

Biggest.Disappointment.Ever.

Right off the bat, I found the food unappetizing. We started off with the garlic shrimp and the dish was overly salty. Usually when we order shrimp, I’m all over it, but this time, I couldn’t get myself to eat more than two pieces.

I tried to rationalize that the garlic shrimp was the exception; the next dish had to be better right? Wrong. The chefs in the kitchen went to town with the salt that night. By the third dish, I starting feeling a little sick.

We held on to hope that the saving grace of this meal would be the $38 Paella Valenciana (House Specialty). Wrong again. This dish was just as salty as the tapas, if not more. I tried to eat as much of it as I could since it was pricey, but I really couldn’t stomach more than a couple of bites.

I’m not sure if this was just an off night for Amada; according to Yelp, Amada is one of the best restaurants in Philadelphia. But based on my experience, it’s not likely that I’ll return to Amada. Ever.

Verdict: 2/5
Amada
217-219 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Foodcation 2010: Flip Flip Flipadelphia!

Posted on October 21, 2010 by kc

Stop #1 was NYC.

Stop #2? Philadelphia.

Three reasons propelled me to visit the city of brotherly love:
1. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of my favorite shows, EVER
2. Iron Chef Jose Garces’ restaurant, Amada
3. Tony Luke’s cheesesteak

Philly is about a two hour drive from NYC. Instead of flying, which would have cost a couple hundred dollars PER PERSON, we took the Boltbus. The price of a one way ticket usually ranges between $8.00 to $20.00, however Boltbus offers $1.00 fares for whoever purchases the first ticket for each time slot. My ticket cost $1.50 ($1.00 + $0.50 service charge) and Henry’s cost $10.50.

We took a taxi from the Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel to the New Yorker Hotel (34th St and 8th Ave). For Boltbus trips to Philadelphia and Boston, the meet up location is right outside of Tick Tock Diner, which is located on the ground floor of the New Yorker Hotel.

The bus was right on time and to my surprise, we basically shared the entire bus with 10 other people! We had ample leg room and though we didn’t take advantage of it, WiFi was available for us to use. I ♥ Boltbus!

Two hours later, we arrived in Philly and checked into Penn’s View Hotel. Besides having jacuzzi tubs in most of their rooms, the location of Penn’s View was a huge selling point for me. There is a bus stop literally right outside and the subway station is just around the corner. The historical sites AND Amada are only a few blocks away and the hotel has a great view of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Though the decor might not appeal to some (I didn’t mind it at all), our Standard King room (w/ jacuzzi tub) was a delight to come back to after a long day of walking and eating. Continental breakfast was included with our stay and we certainly took advantage of that. And even though we did a great deal of walking each day, we also took advantage of the fitness room on the 4th floor to burn off some extra calories.

During out first day in Philly, we checked out Reading Market Terminal. I instantly fell in love with the place right as I walked inside. If you think the Farmer’s Market in LA is cool, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

The meats and seafood looked so fresh…

… and so did the produce.

There were also vendors that sold sweets and various home products…

… and the intoxicating aroma from the prepared food vendors lured us to one in particular: DiNic’s.

We sat down at the counter and ordered their famous Roast Pork w/ provolone and broccoli rabe. My excitement for this popular sandwich quickly faded when our server told us that they had run out of broccoli rabe AND spinach (at 1:00PM) so only sweet peppers were available. I found it ironic that they ran out of produce and yet, they are located in a public market where fresh produce is sold.

After taking one bite of the sandwich, I was confused as to why so many people swear by it. The roast pork was not only tough, but flavorless as well. I’m not sure if the broccoli rabe would have made any difference.

At least the coffee from Old City Coffee didn’t fail me 🙂

Since our hotel was located near the historical sites, we decided to tour that area before our dinner at Amada. So deeply rooted in history, Philly reminds me a lot of Boston. I love that there is still a small town feel to both cities, even though they are among the most populous cities in the United States.

Many of the popular sites in Philly are located within Center City. The boundaries of Center City are South Street to the South, the Delaware River to the East, the Schuylkill River to the West and Vine Street to the North. Like NYC, Philly (Center City) is very walkable. Also like NYC, Philly’s public transportation system (SEPTA) is very efficient as well. We bought a One Day Convenience Pass for $7.00/pp – valid for 8 rides on any bus, trolley or subway route in one day. For those who want more flexibility, there is also a One Day Independence Pass available as well ($11/pp for unlimited travel in one day). With our pass, we visited many locations where It’s Always Sunny was filmed…

Love Park fountain: Anti Smoking Rally in “Charlie Goes America Over Everybody’s Ass”

Philadelphia Java Company: where The Waitress works (and is stalked by Charlie)

Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle: “Walking in Charlie’s Shoes”

From Logan Circle, we walked passed the Rodin Museum as we made our way to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, where we ran up the steps like Rocky.

As for food, Tony Luke’s was my favorite of all the places we ate at in Philly (I’ll write about my bad experience at Amada in another post). When I was planning Foodcation 2010, I thought about going to Geno’s or Pat’s, but I was less than thrilled to see that reviewers gave them 2.5 and 3.5 stars, respectively, on Yelp. I was interested in Tony Luke’s, but didn’t jump on-board initially because I was short on time and Tony Luke’s is farther away than the other two. However, after reading Gastronomer’s take on the whole cheesesteak battle, I changed my mind. I’m so glad I did because she was right, Tony Luke’s is the real deal.

After 20 minutes on the 57 Bus and a 5 minute walk, we were standing in line at Tony Luke’s.

We ordered a cheesesteak with whiz, roast beef italian (broccoli rabe w/ sharp provolone) and curly fries. I would have ordered the roast pork, but I was still traumatized by DiNic’s. Both sandwiches were DELISH, but I actually liked the roast beef more than the cheesesteak (Henry thinks I’m crazy).

I wish we had more time in Philly; I felt a little rushed at times. So much to see, so little time! I didn’t get a chance to check out UPenn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Eastern State Penitentiary or the Mütter Museum . What this means is… I’m going back to Philly, Philly, Philly…♥

Oh yea…

HIIIIIYAHHHHH 🙂

Night time shot FTW!

——–
Philadelphia Eats (+our verdict):
DiNic’s, 2/5
Tony Luke’s, 4/5
Pho 75, 3.5/5

I eat: Le Bernardin

Posted on October 19, 2010 by kc

Le Bernardin wasn’t part of our original plan for Foodcation 2010, but when I called to make a reservation at Alinea and was put on a 20+ person waiting list, I immediately made a reservation at Le Bernardin as plan B. I knew I wanted to have one fine dining experience during Foodcation 2010 and if Alinea wasn’t meant to be, then Le Bernardin would have to work… I guess 😦

I know, I sound like a spoiled brat, but who likes settling for “second best”? I was never truly excited for Le Bernardin. Even while I was dining, I was just reminded of why I was there in the first place. Le sigh.

In all fairness, we had a fantastic meal at Le Bernardin and I would recommend it to anyone visiting NYC. My favorite dishes from our 4 course tasting ($112) were the Lobster (warm lobster carpaccio; hearts of palm, orange vinaigrette) and Langoustine (seared langoustine; mache and wild mushroom salad, shaved foie gras, white balsamic vinaigrette). Delicious! I’m glad we didn’t go with the more expensive 7 course tasting ($138) since only the Lobster was on that menu. And besides, I liked having a choice too.

It’s easy for me to compare Le Bernardin to Providence since both restaurants specialize in seafood and both Chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) and Chef Michael Cimarusti (Providence) are strong advocates for sustainable seafood. Foodwise, I think they’re pretty much neck and neck. As for service, based on my recent visits, I would have to say that I experienced better service at Le Bernardin.

It would have made my night to meet Chef Ripert. Unfortunately, he was not in the kitchen; he was on vacation for the week. Little did we know, this chefs on vacation thing turned out to be the theme of Foodcation 2010.

Verdict: 4.5/5
Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019

I eat: Henry’s Bday Food Fest

Posted on October 1, 2010 by kc

I absolutely love the last four months of the year. Why?

September: Henry’s birthday
October: My birthday
November: Our anniversary & Thanksgiving
December: Christmas

How do we celebrate our birthdays and anniversary? Eating, of course!

For Henry’s birthday, we revisited two restaurants: Animal and Providence. We had such a good experience the first time around, we were a little nervous that our second experience wouldn’t live up to the first. Fortunately, the food was just as good as we remembered. Animal and Providence have firmly secured their place on our favorite restaurants list.

At Animal, we had a party of 4, which allowed us to try a LOT of dishes – 12 to be exact!

Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) may have mentioned Animal’s Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, but if it were me, I would have raved about this: “Foie Gras Loco Moco”. Foie gras, hamburger, egg, spam, rice, sriracha… how can you not love all that on a plate?

————–

Three years ago, Henry took me to Providence for my birthday. Three years later, I returned the favor ♥

We decided to order the full tasting menu (+ wine pairing for Henry), just like we did last time. The meal started with an amuse bouche trio and the BEST BREADS EVER: bacon brioche & nori focaccia!!

I enjoyed every dish on the tasting menu, though in terms of creativity, the dishes didn’t compare to the extraordinary meal we had at Alinea (Chicago, Il); let’s face it, after eating at Alinea, nothing else compares. The first time we dined at Providence, we didn’t have a clue about cheeses so our server chose our cheeses based on what he perceived to be the best/best tasting. Well, surprise surprise, we didn’t like any of our cheeses. But what a difference three years make. We’ve now figured out what kind of cheeses we love/hate and we were able to guide our server in the right direction this time around. End result? We totally cleaned off our cheese platter.

While the food was excellent, the service at Providence was sub par (and not at all what we remembered it to be), considering it’s two star Michelin restaurant. The wait staff looked confused for most of the night, Henry was given the same wine twice and when the birthday dessert was brought out, it was placed in front of me instead of Henry. These are basic tasks that a server at any restaurant should be able to execute! My only consolation was that Chef Cimarusti came out of the kitchen to talk to us and sign my menu. 🙂

————–

Verdict: 4.5/5
Animal
435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Verdict: 4.5/5
Providence
5955 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

For The Love of Ludo

Posted on September 22, 2010 by kc

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

I finally got the golden ticket!

LudoBites 5.0 was amazing as expected. The food was delicious, albeit a little pricey (this meal was def not cheap), but totally worth it. My fave dish was the “Hot Foie Gras Dynamite, Raw Tuna, Lychee, Crackers”. I’m such a foie slut!

Oh, and thank you to the 2 girls sitting next to us for giving me the cojones to talk to Ludo. Without them, this wouldn’t have happened…

♥

I eat: Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca

Posted on September 19, 2010 by kc

The most anticipated restaurant of the NYC leg of Foodcation 2010 was Mario Batali’s Babbo. Since reservations are accepted one month prior to the calendar date requested, I made sure I called on July 21st at 7AM, ON THE DOT (the restaurant reservation line opens at 10AM)!

1-212-777-0303 … BUSY.

Instantly, my heart sank. For the next 20 minutes, I was in agony. If Saturday night didn’t work, I only had 2 more nights in NYC to eat at Babbo! SHIT SHIT SHIT!

I redialed and redialed, and redialed and redialed. I was so used to the dial and hang up routine that I almost didn’t notice when I finally got through. A lady with a British accent picked up and asked me to hold some more. I waited and waited, and waited and waited. Finally, the lady picked up again and I told her the date and time that I wanted. “No problem,” she said. Really? That’s it? I almost had a heart attack for nothing. Awesome.

Babbo is located in Greenwich Village, a couple of blocks away from another beloved restaurant of mine, Harold Dieterle’s Perilla. Lodged between two brownstones, Babbo would be easy to miss if it weren’t for the large contrasting letters that adorn the front of the building and the small crowd that usually forms outside, waiting for a table. Luckily for us, we were seated promptly upon arrival.

Having already studied the menu beforehand, I had a pretty good idea of what we were going to order. I decided to forgo the tasting menus and order a la carte. But since my list was pretty long (I was interested in 2 antipasti, 6 primi pastas and 3 secondi), I asked our waiter for his advice. “Is this too much food?” seems to be a question I ask at every restaurant :). He suggested that we order one or two antipasti, cut our primi pastas down to three and the secondi down to one or two. Even though it was difficult to eliminate dishes, it was good advice. The portions at Babbo were pretty generous so had we ordered what I originally intended, they would have had to roll us out of the restaurant.

The antipasti dishes were great. The “Grilled Octopus” was perfectly tender and the limoncello vinaigrette lightened up the intense charred flavor. Comparing Babbo’s grilled octopus to the grilled octopus at Bottega Ristorante (Napa, CA), I would have to say that Babbo has the upper hand, primarily because of the refreshing vinaigrette. As for the “Steamed Cockles”, the spicy tomato based broth that they were bathing in was sooooo delicious – definitely give me more bread so I can sop it all up, delicious.

Next up was the highlight of the night: Babbo’s infamous “Black Spaghetti”. I can’t even describe in words how amazing this dish was; I can only drool as I think about it. Best pasta I’ve ever had, HANDS DOWN.

The other two pasta dishes we ordered were delicious as well, my favorite being the “Gnocchi” (with braised oxtail). Though the “Lamb’s Brain ‘Francobolli'” had great flavor and the pasta was perfectly al dente, I couldn’t really tell that I was eating lamb’s brain; the filling was a lot more ricotta cheese than lamb’s brain. Francobolli means stamps in Italian and as you can see, the edges make the ravioli look like such. Cute right?

Lamb or duck? That is always the question. This time we chose duck. Remember when I said that Bottega‘s duck confit was the best I’ve ever had? Well, it still is in my book, but Babbo’s “Duck” (with endive marmellata, Babbo pancetta and cherry vinaigrette) is a very, very close second.

We ended our meal with a “light” dessert. We actually saw the table next to us order the “Assortment of Gelati and Sorbetti” and thought it looked pretty good. My favorite gelato turned out to be the one that I thought I would like the least: Olive Oil. (Side story: So about the table next to us… guess who? Julianna Margulies, her husband and two friends! Apparently it was one of the friends’ birthday and EVERY DESSERT on the menu was ordered as a birthday surprise!)

So, did Babbo live up to the hype? Assolutamente!

Verdict: 5/5
Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca
110 Waverly Pl
New York, NY 10011