Month: June 2017

They’re known for their honeycomb ice cream, but I can vouch for their honey boba as well. Honey Creme is a small walk-in ice cream parlor, decorated with honeycombs and located on 839 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122.

Using Korean recipes, Honey Creme makes soft serve in many different flavors, but I got the honey ice cream (I was advised that it was better than honeycomb- and it’s also cheaper!).

It’s creamy, soft, but a little too sweet. The “honey” addition to the base flavor, was, somewhat disappointingly, merely drizzles of honey on the side and top. On a summer day, however, it was refreshing to eat.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

For more information, you can also visit their website at http://www.honeycremeusa.com.

Cheers!

Anya

Awarded 2016 Seattle Best Cupcake and Best Instagram, Cupcake Royale, with their multiple locations, is known for having delicious homemade cupcakes and ice cream.

Cupcake Royale has several locations and its popularity is growing; we went to the one near the historic Majestic Theater.

I didn’t try their ice cream- I only had a taste- but from what I’ve heard, their ice cream, especially their cupcake ice cream, is delicious. In honor of Pride Month, Cupcake Royale did a “Gay Cupcake”, as documented on their website, here: http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/category/cupcake-info/

And as a part of their “Make America Gay Again” campaign, 10% of the proceeds of the “Gay” or “Baby Gay” cupcake go to NCLR, or the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Not only was my purchase of the cupcake justifiable with the proceeds going to a good cause, but the cupcake itself was amazing, and I for one am PROUD to say that I consumed it in less than a minute.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Anya

Delancey’s, a restaurant claiming the title “best pizza in Seattle”, always has long lines, fresh pizza, and busy tables. At roughly 5 pm, we decided to take advantage of the early hours and relatively empty restaurant by hobbling in the quickly filling space.

I’ll include a link to the website here, so you can view sample menus, hours, etc.

https://delanceyseattle.com/

We ordered two non-alcoholic drinks to try– two shrubs to start, but they were both way to vinegar-y. Do not get them.

As for pizza, we ordered the white pie with prosciutto and asparagus and the sausage with fennel and arugula. I preferred the white pie, because the prosciutto on top gave a stronger taste to the pizza as a whole.


Overall however, both pizzas were amazing, and while the crust of the pizza could have been better, it was delicious and definitely worth the price.

But since we weren’t done yet, and I for one have multiple dessert stomachs, we ordered an extra large cookie and a rhubarb butterscotch blondie bar.

The rhubarb cookie was great, but a little too soggy for my tastes. It is hard to find rhubarb flavored desserts out there though– so if you’re a fan it might still be worth it to order.

We ordered everything with extra ice cream, which they make themselves!

The cookie came with grey salt, and the saltiness of the cookie definitely brought out the sweetness as well. We ordered three 🙂

Delancey’s was a great dinner, and I would definitely go again. It’s a family friendly place, service is great, and the food matches up as well.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 1/2

See you next time!

Anya

From cherry almond to isfahan, the eclairs at choukette come in a variety of delicious flavors, and are made fresh at 1500 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, in Pike Place Market.

Choukette is a small little place, separated from the rest of the tourists at Pike Place, and the employees there are very enthusiastic.

The eclairs there are pretty expensive, starting at $5.90 each. Despite the pricing, however, the eclairs are well-made, delicious, and subtly flavored.

We tried a lot of their flavors, so I feel good enough to give a few recommendations as to that $5.90 price tag.

In order, the flavors above are cherry almond, isfahan, huckleberry, mango, hazelnut, and tiramisu.

Isfahan, out of all these flavors, was by far the best, but unfortunately, it’s a seasonal flavor. If you happen to drop by during the summer, be sure to grab that one! Huckleberry, also a seasonal flavor, was unique, subtle, and not too sweet. Cherry Almond and Mango, however, both tasted artificial and honestly slightly overpowering in terms of sweetness.

Hazelnut took me back to my time in Paris. It was lovely. Tiramisu, which was touted as the most popular of the eclairs, was alright, but my bias against tiramisu may play a part in my review. The coffee taste in the tiramisu was subtle, and for a non-tiramisu lover, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

A picture of their in store menu is included previously in this post (it’s more expansive than the one on their website). However, if you want the website link, it’s https://www.choukette.com/our-gallery.

Cheers!

Anya

A small food truck that serves Japanese food, Zendako specializes in takoyaki, a ball-shaped dish filled with octopus. Zendako is nearby other famous Portland food trucks like Number One Bento, which I hear gets great reviews.

We got regular takoyaki with benito flakes and mayonnaise on top. It was not great. Clearly precooked, the takoyaki took one minute to prepare and was cold and slightly soggy. The benito flakes on top tried to hide that fact, and failed.

Traditionally, takoyaki is served hot and fresh, but this takoyaki was the complete opposite. For a food truck that claims to be “America’s favorite takoyaki”, it is anything but. For this reason, I give Zendako two and a half smileu faces. 🙂 🙂 1/2

After a dissatisfactory meal, we decided to switch gears to Pine Street Market, which was a little like the Denver Central Market we went to a couple weeks prior. You can visit that post here: http://www.sophisti-kids.com/2017/06/05/denver-central-market-denver-co/

Marukin Ramen is supposedly the best thing at Pine Street, and their spicy ramen was almost as good the IPPUDO Ramen we had in New York. I had the tonkotsu red, which was made with spicy pork broth and topped with mushrooms, spinach, and a soft boiled egg. The tonkotsu red is supposed to be less greasy than the other ramens, so that’s why our server recommended it to us.

For a more full description of their other locations and daily menu changes, visit http://www.marukinramen.com/

In retrospect with takoyaki and ramen back to back, Marukin was definitely the superior restaurant. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 1/2

Cheers, and see you next time!

Anya

When we got there, it was full. And I mean completely crowded.

An ice cream chain in Portland but with bases in LA and San Francisco, Salt and Straw is rumored to be the best ice cream in the city. With flavors ranging from toasted baguette PB&J to honey lavender, it’s truly delicious. And did I mention really busy?

There were just so many flavors to choose from. I’m sure you’ve all been in this dilemma before. So we got… eight? Hey, do not make fun of me!

So anyways, here’s a picture of the outside of the shop– it was raining outside that day.

The inside of the shop, their flavor list, and busy employees scrambling to serve customers.

Oh, and if you want a full list of their flavors in all cities, here’s the link below on their website!

Flavors

And drumrollllll……

Our eight flavors. That’s right. Cookies and Cream with Raspberry Swirl, Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Honey Lavender. Chocolate Gooey Brownie, Pear and Blue Cheese, Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache, and Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons. That’s a heck of a lot of ice cream, right there.

And truth be told, they had reasonable prices, and each scoop was delicious. The cinnamon snickerdoodle was not as good as I originally thought it would be, so I would not recommend that, but everything else, especially the honey lavender, I would strongly suggest getting. The honey lavender was a surprise ice cream love for me, but I really loved the subtlety and uniqueness of both the honey and the lavender in the ice cream. Strawberry Balsamic and Cookies and Cream with Raspberry Swirls were also delicious, as was, surprisingly, the Pear and Blue Cheese. These are Oregon fruits we’re talking about.

Overall, I would give Salt and Straw 4 3/4 smiley faces, 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 3/4, with 1/4 deducted because of the cinnamon snickerdoodle, which I was really looking forward to, but alas. The other flavors definitely made up for it tho.

Cheers! And see you next time!

Oh, and an addition!

I’m starting an email list for those who would like to be notified every time a post gets up. To get on, comment below!

Small and cozy, Anna’s is one of those drive-by seaside places that locals adore. Anna’s is located on 29672 Stewart St, Gold Beach, OR 97444, and is known for having a temperamental, sarcastic, but amazing chef. So most locals and visitors come for the food- not Chef Peter’s remarks. I had high expectations for this restaurant, so I came in hungry and craving food.

Anna’s is well known for both their duck and their lamb. And let me tell you, it was a difficult choice picking between the two. But wait! Before I continue, PLEASE take a look at the menu. Maybe you’ll see what I mean about sarcastic, humorous, responses (He is pretty funny).

The menu changes every day, as per ingredient availability and chef experimentation, so that was just the menu for our day! However, if you would like a rundown of this day’s menu, the updated menu for each day is on their website. Here’s the link, below.
http://www.annasbythesea.com/menu

The chef, Peter, is known for informing his guests (on his menu as well) that the food will take a while to cook, so one should expect a long, leisurely meal. He is only one cook, after all. With only one helper who doubles as a waitress and a kitchen assistant, the chef doubtless has a lot on his hands. Here’s a bit of advice tho- if you’re hungry and don’t want to wait, please eat somewhere else (I was hungry but willing to wait– permitting there was good food).

Because of Chef Peter’s traditional long wait time, he often suggests a charcuterie plate for the table, which includs a variety of meats including beef pastrami, chicken summer sausage, lamb prosciutto, beef summer sausage, and duck prosciutto, as well as duck butter, duck cracklings, olives, and nuts. He cures his own meat, so he’s very proud of this platter. Of the above, the summer sausages were the most disappointing, and the prosciuttos were the best (I am partial to prosciutto). The duck butter! Oh, the duck butter. First of all, butter. SECOND OF ALL, DUCK. what could be better? Oh, on toast? I suppose it can be better.

Like I wrote earlier in this post, Anna’s is also well-known for their lamb. So we ordered the lamb– but shared it for three (they always have large portions).

I was really disappointed with the lamb. I expected it to be beautifully concocted medium rare delightness, but worst of all, it was undercooked. Clearly undercooked. While some parts were cooked well, other parts of the same piece were not, which concerned me. In addition, the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes that came on the side were way too greasy. It was as if the chef had made them with the intention of being greasy, but while preparing the pan, used too much grease in the process, resulting in oily mac and cheese and oily mashed potatoes with smoky aftertastes.

The meat on the charcuterie could’ve been better. The lamb could use some work. I was disappointed. Keep in mind that I did have higher expectations for this meal, and I didn’t sample every item on the menu, but that it wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be.

To Anna’s, 🙂 🙂 🙂 .

It was a solid, filling meal, and we didn’t order dessert because note! He hates making desserts. Karsen was disappointed. Maybe next time though, I’ll order the duck.

From mochas to milkshakes to bumblebee-shaped chocolates, Moonstruck serves a variety of chocolates to Portland locals. A small chocolate chain native to the city, Moonstruck, I’m told, has the best chocolate drip coffee around (link: http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com/). It’s so small, in fact, that one picture’s enough to capture the whole shop!

Moonstruck has a variety of chocolates, many of which are shaped like animals or fruit. However, after trying (several) chocolates, I discovered curiously that the chocolates that were less “pretty” actually tasted much better. In addition, these “less pretty” chocolates were also more than a dollar cheaper, a huge plus! I’ve included a picture of the chocolates from the store we went to below.

We ended up buying a box of chocolates and individual shakes as well. I got the creamsicle shake, which truly tasted exactly like creamsicle. Though filling and not particularly decadent looking, it tasted delicious, and all the creamsicle oldies out there should try it.

The box of chocolates was good, but not quite worth the price. I assume that a part of the reason for the inflated prices is the assumed “beauty” of the chocolates” (hence cutesy little animal shapes). But for those chocolate-goers favoring taste over aesthetics, I would strongly recommend choosing from the other selection of chocolates instead.

If you’re looking to buy one of those pretty animal-shaped chocolates, however, (which were still good) the bumblebee one was definitely the best. But that might just be because I think honey goes well with everything. The bumblebee chocolate might even beat out my favorites from the other selection of chocolates! Of the animal ones you shouldn’t get, I would discourage getting the elephant and cherry ones because they didn’t seem as fresh as the other ones, and their taste was more artificial and overwhelming. That said, they were still delicious! And I do think these beautifully colored chocolates would make excellent gifts, for anyone!

Overall, I would give Moonstruck 4 smiley faces, 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 , but I would like to note that the people there should definitely be given a raise. They’re the happiest, most bubbly, and persuasive employees out there! (Shoutout)

Otium is a modern restaurant located in downtown LA, 222 S Hope, Los Angeles, CA 90012, right near The Broad Museum. It serves modern American cuisine, and its chef, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, is known to have branched off from the famous French Laundry, headed by Thomas Keller. Therefore, his cuisine and his style of cooking is said to be similar to that of Keller’s and French Laundry’s, and the time he spent there had a clear influence on his food.

Otium is famous for its cocktails; specifically, they are known for the flavored ice cubes in their drinks. Although I am sadly too young to try their cocktails, the adult part of our group seemed to favor the saffron lemonade, with tequila, grapefruit, chamomile, and chili.

A picture and link to the menu is below, for your viewing reference.

Menu

As we often do, we decided to order family style and put both appetizers and entrées in the middle. One of our appetizers was the crispy potatoes, served with creme fraiche, pepper, and lemon salt. This was one of the favorites of the table, as they were perfectly cooked and the accompanying creme fraiche went along perfectly. So much so, in fact, that we ordered a second not soon after!

We also ordered the ceviche and the albacore; both seafood dishes seemed to complement each other. I found that the avocado in the ceviche was the major difference between the dishes. The albacore was more Asian in taste with the Thai vinaigrette, whereas the ceviche was traditionally Spanish and Mexican in nature.

Above, the albacore, below, the ceviche.

The hoe cake was specially recommended by our waiter, who also recommended dishes like the khachapouri and porkbelly french toast. A twist on the standard Southern chicken and waffles, the hoe cake added kale to what is traditionally supposed to be a meaty dish. But the chicken pieces on the side of the dish were few, not overwhelming at all, and certainly not in the quantities of standard chicken and waffles. Instead, the kale and pepper on top covered the top of the hoe cake, where usually that space would be filled with maple syrup and fried chicken.

Khachapuri, or Khachapouri, is a traditional Georgian/Albanian pizza. Usually, it features cheese on bread, topped with a sunny side up egg. Otium added prosciutto and truffle to the mix, a European influence.

An off-the-menu item that our waiter recommended was the porkbelly french toast, which was literally the best thing ever. Hot from the kitchen, we individually prepared our porkbelly on toast, dipped in a delicious jam sauce. Everything was perfectly cooked, and somehow, I think, the kitchen managed to blend these strange flavors together into one truly delicious dish! I’m envious of my past self. Honestly, she is so lucky.

We also ordered the chicken, served with potatoes and aji verde sauce. The shishito peppers were a nice addition, despite the fact that they were not spicy. The onion also went well, slightly sweet, and delicious dipped in the sauce served with the chicken.

Our last savory dish was the mole, served with eggs and blue corn tortillas. Of course, the mole was the best part. For those of you who don’t know, mole is a Mexican sauce, and the addition of mole to the sunny side up eggs was delicious, especially with the yoke running through the cheese and tortillas. The cotija cheese also went well, its salty taste adding to the runniness of the eggs and the dryness of the tortillas.

Now for desert! As you may guess, we ordered one of each dessert. The ice cream sundae was surprisingly good, ordered for a fellow kid at the table. The lemon ice cream complemented the blueberries nicely.

6 spoons. 1 bite. A food war, as you can well imagine.

The calamansi sabayon, under the name “Dutch Baby”, funnily, was the best dessert served to us during this meal. The mixed berries and the sweet flavor of the dessert was heaven in a bite.

In addition to the Dutch Baby, our last dessert was the mille feuille, served with hazelnut. It was a little difficult to eat, just like the sabayon, but in both, the taste certainly made that up. 😉

(vanilla balls in middle of mille feuille= oh no how do I eat this without looking like a barbarian)

(I guess I’ll just look like a barbarian)

This delicious, while pricy meal was a beautiful mix of flavors that left me feeling fat but satisfied.

I would highly recommend this restaurant to any downtown LA goers looking for a fancy meal.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Cheers! See you at the next meal!

Anya

For those of you who don’t already know, Din Tai Fung is a world renowned restaurant, famous for its xiaolongbao (小笼包). Xiaolongbao is a Chinese steamed bun dish, traditionally filled with pork. Modern Chinese restaurants have changed up the xiaolongbao to include vegetables, shrimp, seafood, and other fillings to appease new and modern audiences. Often, xiaolongbao has hot soup inside, my favorite. When I was younger, I’d often poke a small hole in the xiaolongbao with my mouth, letting the soup seep into my soup spoon. Now, I just eat it whole and let the hot soup spread in my mouth (cause I’m old now 😉 ).

In case you can’t tell, I’m a HUGE fan of xiaolongbao, and Din Tai Fung has always been one of my favorite restaurants. Here’s a link to the menu, below.

Appetizers

We went to the location at Del Amo on 21540 Hawthorne Blvd #519, Torrance, CA 90503. As a kid, before Din Tai Fung expanded into the U.S., I reserved a special (trademarked 😉 ) xiaolongbao face, featuring huge bug eyes, an open mouth, and jumping-up-and-down excitement for the certain occasions we visited Taiwan and ate delicious steamed buns and xiaolongbao.

We started out our meal with the soy noodle salad, the only vegetables on our table and a favorite (we ordered a second one after an initial taste).

One of my grandmother’s favorite dishes is braised beef noodle soup (牛肉面). It’s a spicy soup with thick noodles, perfect for a slurping five-year-old (definitely not me– of course not me).

We also ordered some spicy shrimp and pork wontons (红油抄手). This dish has always been one of my favorites as well as my mom’s; Din Tai Fung makes theirs a little differently. Their wontons have a sweet taste in them, as compared to an overwhelmingly spicy taste like usual Chinese restaurants.

And of course, we had to finish the meal with the famous xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings. We ordered pork dumplings as well as two orders of pork and crab dumplings. Our entire group dug into the xiaolongbao, so that’s why we had to order a second plate of pork and crab xiaolongbao towards the end of our meal to satisfy our appetites. Xiaolongbao comes in small bamboo baskets with easily stackable lids (these are often seen in dim sum restaurants). When the lid is opened, the fresh xiaolongbao lets out hot steam, reminiscent of the hot soup inside. A small bowl of ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil is prepared by each customer to fit their individual tastes. The contents of this container should fill the whole soup spoon (excluding the xiaolongbao). The combination and the stacks of bamboo and soup dumplings are below.

Below, you can see what the bamboo container for xiaolongbao looks like.

That’s the end of this post! But wait… boba.

Din Tai Fung’s Boba is always delicious; but this time we got a to go order. We needed to walk off that huge, but delicious meal. 🙂

Smiley Face Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

P.S. If you go for lunch- especially on a weekday, there’s virtually no line!!

Cheers, and keep eating!

Anya