I have been wanting to eat at this crepery for a couple years now, but never had the reason to go to Burlingame or any of their other locations until today.  We went around 12:45pm and parking was hard, but we ended up parking in a garage with meters for every spot.  Get this, a quarter buys you an HOUR of parking here…amazing compared to 8 minutes in LA.  It’s a lovely area, kind of like downtown Mountain View, Pleasanton, or even Old Town Pasadena, that kind of cutesy feel.  This area has a lot of shopping boutiques for all budgets, and has many restaurants too.

We waited in line for around 10 minutes since it was busy, we ordered and were seated.  Staff and waitress was very friendly, striking up a conversation with us right away.  The food came out quickly despite how busy they were, which was great.  I ordered the Tuscany with chicken breast, mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted almonds, provolone, feta and pesto and I opted for their herb crepe instead of a regular one.  The crepe itself is made with basil, it smelled and tasted SO amazing.  Also comes with a side of country fried potatoes and salad, which I didn’t care for too much.  Let me just say…best savory crepe ever.  I loved the provolone and feta cheese because it added a little saltiness to balance out the mushrooms and tomatoes, and the chicken was tender and juicy.  The almonds were the cherry on top for a crunch to add texture.  Just amazing.  The whole plate was $9.50 plus tax, which is a great deal.

My friends ordered the Florentine and Kyoto, which were equally amazing.  I liked that the florentine was light and the mozerella and glazed onions really went well together.  The kyoto with the peanut sauce on tofu was heavenly, and you definitely don’t really think of tofu going into a crepe, but this place pulls it off…no wonder they are top rated on Yelp!

I am definitely coming back here again.

^Kyoto crepe

^Tuscany crepe

~Nicole

I’ve been a bit under the weather lately. Sorry about the lack of posts on my end. I’m slowly getting better, I think.

Anyhow, I went to AU79 a while ago with my friend to study for a class. AU79 has free wi-fi and a lot of seating available, along with power outlets and such. It’s definitely a lot better than when we went to Tenju Tea House during the blackout. It was so cramped and hard to find a place to sit. Plus the internet was so shoddy at Tenju.

So at AU79 I ordered the Taiwanese spaghetti and a strawberry green tea. The Taiwanese spaghetti was definitely not what I expected at all. It reminded me a lot of dandan mien. It had a chicken/mushroom sauce over a bed of noodles. They weren’t even Spaghetti noodles. The name is really misleading. It was good though, but nothing remarkable. Again, it reminded me of dandan mien noodles.

The strawberry green tea was good. It had some chunks of strawberry in it, which I liked, and it was definitely not too sweet. I could still taste the subtle hints of tea under the strawberry flavor.

My friend and I stayed at AU79 for about 3-4 hours. The workers there are really nice, and they didn’t really rush us or anything. While we were there, they gave out samples of what they called their “rainbow jelly combination” which featured an array of different jellies you could add to your drink. It was good and it was nice of them to offer samples.

Overall it was an alright experience. Nothing too special. Just another free wifi cafe in the neighborhood.

<3 Josie

AU79 Tea House
815 W Naomi Ave # G
Arcadia, CA 91007-7560

This is a popular side dish that I have had in Korean restaurants and bars in both NorCal and SoCal, so I just tried to make it at home, it’s really easy!

Ingredients:
-1 cup of corn (I used the frozen white corn from Trader Joe’s)
-Mayonnaise (I used lite mayo)
-Sugar
-Shredded cheese (I had Mexican 4 blend in my fridge)
-Salt
-Pepper

The corn was still frozen but I just put it into a bowl, put enough mayo to coat the kernels lightly, added half a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some pepper.  I microwaved for 30 seconds, mixed and microwaved for another 30 seconds.  I added 1/4 cup of cheese and microwaved for another 30 seconds, mixed, and added another 1/4 cup of cheese, and microwaved again for 30 seconds.

It came out really yummy, just like the ones they serve in the bars…so easy to make too! You can adjust all the ingredients to your taste or to how sweet your corn is.  Next time I might try baking it and putting some bread crumbs on top for texture.

Yum!

~Nicole

Ingredients for marinade:
-1/2 cup hoisin sauce
-1/2 shao hsing wine (rice cooking wine)
-4 tbsp soy sauce
-2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
-1 tbsp sriracha

Ingredients for basting sauce:
-1/2 cup honey
-2 tbsp hoisin sauce

After cleaning the ribs, trimming the fat and cutting it into pieces that would fit a giant plastic ziploc for marinade, I rubbed the ribs with salt and washed it, this gets rid of any unpleasant smells in the meat.   I mixed all the marinade in a small bowl and tasted it before pouring it into the container with the meat and rubbing it in.  I then put all the meat in one ziploc bag, squeezed all the air out, and closed it.  I marinated it in the fridge over night, turning the bag over in the morning so the marinade soaks everything evenly.

I baked it exactly according to how the recipe states, except I pulled out some of the smaller pieces early so they wouldn’t overcook and turn into jerky.  I microwaved the basting sauce a little to make it easier to baste the meat as well.

One thing I would do differently if I cook this again is add more garlic sriracha in the marinade, and change the basting ratio to have more hoisin and less honey.   The end product was very delicious, the ribs were moist with that classic char siu flavor that wasn’t salty and just sweet enough, and it had a slight char on the edges that were SO yummy to chew on.  My family loved it, and they’re very hard to please.  It’s a little time consuming on the cooking end, since it took 3 hours and I had to flip it and baste it, but WELL worth it in the end.

~Nicole

It was really good! I loved how my mom presented the food, too. She simply blanched the vegetables, but it was a nice balanced meal, considering the rich flavors in the steak. Yum! I wish there was more…

Just a quick post– there are some more to come.

I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, so I haven’t been eating out as much or taking the time to cook. Forgive me foodcoma followers!

Enjoy

<3 Josie

Just a quick post today. I was in Old Town Pasadena, because my class got out early and also because my dad asked me to pick up a charger from the Apple Store today. I decided that it’s been a long time since I first had ‘Lette and I wanted to try it again.

I wrote about my first experience with ‘lette (here). This time around, I bought the salted caramel and the raspberry. The salted caramel was just as good as I last remembered it to be. The raspberry filling is to die for. It’s not too sweet or too tart. It’s a nice balance to the sweetness of the cookie itself. I really love the texture of macarons, and I’m sad that I didn’t try them before.

Unfortunately these things are still $1.70 a piece, so they are my occasional guilty pleasure when I have some change lying around.

If you have not yet tried a macaron, I suggest trying it!

Let us know what you think.

Cheers,

<3 Josie

14 S Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105

—————-

Here are some pics from the one in Beverly Hills to tempt your tastebuds…

9466 Charleville Boulevard at Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

http://www.lettemacarons.com/macarons.html

~Nicole

A lot of the traditions are centered around food, so I thought it’d be interesting to share what my family does. The biggest celebration is the New Year’s Eve meal (除夕團圓飯). Actually, in Burma, celebrations are at least 3 days and traditionally 15 days, but celebrations in the States are done on a much smaller scale. When my maternal grandma (婆婆) was alive, we celebrated CNY extravagantly each year. However, she passed away around the time of Chinese New Year, so her death anniversary now overshadows New Year celebrations.

My parents, unlike most of my aunts and uncles, aren’t traditional, which means they don’t observe many superstitions or offer food to the ancestors. The 3 major Chinese holidays that my extended family celebrates are Chinese New Year （春節）, Qing Ming (清明節), and the Moon Festival (八月節). Usually, my mom will only make offerings to the Buddha, as she already does the rest of the year. The standard offerings for CNY are:

• Oranges (柑仔)
• Pineapple (王莉)
• Bananas (弓蕉)
• Huat-ke (發粿) – ‘prosperity’ (發, huat) cake baked by my aunt
• Ti-ke (甜粿) – sweet glutinous rice cake
• Dried coconut sweets (糖椰條)

This year, my aunts and uncles ‘recommended’ that we offer food to the ancestors as well, at the very least. Although these traditions probably have Taoist origins, my family of staunch Theravada Buddhists describes these practices as transferring merit to the deceased by doing good deeds. I personally think “worship” in the Eastern and Western sense are two very different things–in Chinese tradition, worship means paying one’s respects.

After cooking the meal, my mom urgently told us to change into our dress clothes and get ready to worship before noon (I’m guessing this may be a Burmese-influenced, since Theravada Buddhist monks cannot consume food past noon). My dad and I set out a small table outside and placed some dishes, desserts and tea out. Then we started lighting incense and bowing 3 times.

After giving them some time to eat, we had to confirm that the ancestors had “eaten” the food, by tossing two coins (since we don’t have any divination blocks at home) and trying to get the sacred combination (聖杯), one head and one tail. Everyone in the family tried tossing the coins, but each attempt yielded 2 heads. An hour later, I tried once more and alas confirmed that they had completed the meal. Then I planted the incense sticks into the soil and to poured the tea onto soil. There’s a similar Burmese practice done at the conclusion of every Buddhist ceremony, to offer the water to the Earth Goddess, Wathondara.

Then it was time to feast. Typically, my mom uses a lot of bean curd to make dishes during CNY. The 3 requisite meats during for the meal are pork, chicken and fish (豬、雞、魚), the 3 animals used in the 3 Ritual Sacrifices (三牲). This year was no exception, and my mom prepared a 9 course meal (9 is a lucky number):

1. Watercress and fish ball soup (not pictured)
2. Bean sprouts and tofu
3. Stir-fried vegetarian noodles
4. Stewed pork with bamboo shoots
5. Mixed stir fried vegetables (chap cai, 雜菜)
6. Handmade potstickers
7. Chicken curry with peanut sauce
8. Braised hot and sour tilapia
9. Burmese-style shrimp salad

For dessert, I made glutinous rice balls in syrup (如意果, recipe here). Next year, I’ve resolved to make ang-ku ke  (紅龜粿, lit. “red tortoise cake”), a traditional Hokkien dessert of steamed glutinous rice cakes filled with sweet paste.

My aunts and uncles also do an evening prayer to Ti-kong (天公), the Jade Emperor and offer vegetarian dishes before eating dinner and told my parents to do the same this year. But my parents opted not to. For Hokkiens like my Dad, the 9th day of Chinese New Year, called Pai Ti Kong (拜天公), to worship the Jade Emperor, is a huge celebration rivaling the feast on New Year’s Eve. My family doesn’t mark this day this either, because it’s time-consuming and also because my mom, who is Hakka, would be burdened with much of the preparations.

My mom prepared vegetarian noodles in advance so we could eat a vegetarian meal on New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Day, a lot of Chinese people observe vegetarianism, to cleanse the body and to start off the new year without incurring bad karma (from consuming animal flesh).

We all wish you a wonderful Lunar New Year full of good luck, health, prosperity, wealth, happiness, and of course, good food.  Welcome in the Year of the Dragon with us!

I ordered the Crispy Chicken Plate, which came with white rice, steamed vegetables and a pan-fried egg (not pictured here. It’s actually buried under the mountain of Chicken). The Crispy Chicken Plate was $6.99 before tax, which I thought was a reasonable price for the portion. However, I was sad to discover that the meals do not come with drinks, and the drinks are pretty pricey there, so I didn’t buy anything besides the meal.

The chicken was nice and crispy, but not too salty, as I would find in most places. They drizzled this teriyaki sauce, along with what tasted like a ketchup-mayo sauce/thousand island dressing over it. It was really good! I wasn’t able to eat it all during lunch, so I saved it for dinner. It was still good, even then.

I’m definitely pleasantly surprised by this plate from Honey Boba, and wouldn’t mind getting it again. I just wished they offered meal+drink combos.

<3 josie

1 W Duarte Rd Ste A
Arcadia, CA 91007

Remember my “Lucky Noodle King” review from not too long ago? Well on that very same day, I had a chance to visit Fluff Ice for dessert.Fluff Ice is located in the Atlantic Square plaza in Monterey Park. I always walk past this place when I go to the 24 Hour Fitness next door. For a long while, I had been meaning to go to Fluff Ice and try their stuff out. I had written a review about “Salju Dessert” a while back, which Fluff Ice had taken note of through their tumblr page. The owner had mentioned that we should come and try Fluff Ice. I had messaged them and said that I would love to come out and try their Fluff Ice and asked what they recommended. Matthew, one of the owners, replied suggesting that I try the Thai Tea Fluff Ice.

I stopped by a few times to Fluff Ice during the day, only to find that I was much too early. Fluff Ice opens up at 1pm in the afternoon.  So I was pretty bummed during my first few attempts to try their fluff ice. However, I was happy when Calvin agreed to accompany me after we had lunch.

We came around 1:30-2:00 pm and was surprised to find the store busy with kids and adults alike.  The store was brightly colored and had a nice whimsical atmosphere about it. I really love brightly colored walls with white accents. I’m a sucker for places that are just aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Anyway, I tasted a sample of the Thai Tea Ice, just to see what it tasted like. It was sweet and had a nice Thai Tea Flavor, however I feared that it might be too sweet with the condense milk and in large quantities, so Calvin and I decided to settle on Taro Fluff Ice with mangoes and egg pudding.

So what is Fluff Ice exactly? Well, on the wall of their store, there is a poster that states:

What is Fluff Ice?

It’s not ice cream.
It’s not yogurt.
It’s not your typical shaved ice.
It’s a new type of shaved ice that has not been seen anywhere else.
It’s creamy and has a texture that is so unique that it can only be described as “Fluff Ice”

I must admit, they were true to their word when they said it wasn’t ice cream or yogurt. The consistency of Fluff Ice reminds me a little bit of Class 302′s shaved snow at first glance. However when you taste it, it does have a creamy consistency, reminding you of ice cream. The reason why I wouldn’t say it’s ice cream is being of how light and airy the consistency is when it first touches your tongue, and then it slowly eases into a creamy texture. It is definitely not like shaved ice, because you don’t find the icy, chopped ice particles you would find in shaved ice.

I must say that I was slightly disappointed by our selection of the taro ice, simply because the taro flavor was so subtle, it was hardly noticeable even when consumed in its natural state. Add in the mangoes and the egg pudding, then you just get a cold, cream textured ice that has been overpowered by its toppings. I was expecting a kick of flavor, similar to the flavor I got from the small sample of Thai Tea Fluff Ice. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with the taro. It’s a shame too, because I really love taro flavored ice creams and desserts.

But don’t knock it until you try it. Fluff Ice offers a good variety of flavors, so choose wisely. I would definitely come back again to try Fluff Ice a second time, but perhaps I won’t try the taro one again.

Try it out, and let me know what you guys think.

Cheers,

<3 Josie

500 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754