NETHERLANDS! UNIVERSAL YUMS BOX OCTOBER 2015

I just received this box yesterday, and once I saw the stroopwaffel packaging, I lost it. I LOVE stroopwaffels!

COLOMBIA! UNIVERSAL YUMS BOX SEPTEMBER 2015

My expectations for Universal Yums was restored after trying this box – so many different flavors and varieties of snacks from Colombia!

INDIA! UNIVERSAL YUMS BOX AUGUST 2015

Universal Yums graciously upgraded my box for free since I was with them since their very first box! I was really excited to try Indian snacks, since I’ve only had a few before.

How to eat your way thru LA in 8 hours

A few months ago, our good friend Janet flew back to Socal from Chicago. We picked her up at LAX around noon and immediately proceeded to do what we know best: eat (barring karaoke, of course).

JAPAN! UNIVERSAL YUMS BOX JULY 2015

Boy, was I excited for this box. I may be biased but I always enjoy the Asian snacks more because I am more familiar with them and I am always excited to see if there are new snacks for me to try out. This box did not disappoint!

MEXICO! UNIVERSAL YUMS BOX JUNE 2015

June’s box was from Mexico, which I adored. Many of the snacks I’m already familiar with, my favorite being the Vero Mango and Pulparindo (funny it came with a warning label that snackers may not enjoy, I LOVE tamarind). I didn’t care for the Takis Fuego or the Sabritas Adobadas (Marinated flavored Lays), but I appreciate the play on spicy, salty, and tangy that Mexican snacks always provide. I took Yum Box’s recommendation to put Bubu Lubu in the freezer before snacking on it, and it was awesome – like a fluffy frozen treat!

Throwback Thursday: Spending Winter Solstice in Hong Kong with the Chans

December 22 marks this year’s Winter Solstice. While it’s rarely more than a footnote on Western calendars, Winter Solstice (冬至), the shortest day of the year, is celebrated as a festival by many traditional Chinese families. It’s an occasion for family reunions and practically synonymous with a dessert dish called tangyuan, glutinous rice balls served in a sweetened syrup.

An almsgiving feast in Yangon

My family’s trip to Burma this past January coincided with my aunt’s and uncle’s. In honor of my grandmother, who passed away 17 years ago, they arranged an almsgiving ceremony at the Tipitaka Monastery in the centre of Yangon. As I’ve said before, the community is interwoven into the fabric of Burmese life. Almsgiving ceremonies, which are really communal feasts, including a donation of alms to the monastery, are just another manifestation of the this generous spirit. And the lunch served was absolutely delicious.

Rulebook: Eating out in Hong Kong

Some observations I made while dining out in Hong Kong. HK has an awesome food scene, but there were a few adjustments I definitely had to make. So without further ado, here are my top 5 rules for eating out in Hong Kong!

STREET FOOD 101: Taipei’s Mengjia Night Market

I went to Taipei with the goal of hitting up as many night markets as humanly possible. So our first night in the city, we headed off to the closest one to our hotel, Huaxi Night Market (華西街觀光夜市), which was rather sedated the night we went, with a lot of shuttered shops. So we instead spent a fair amount of time traversing Mengjia Night Market (艋舺夜市) instead. Both are anchored by Longshan Temple, a 16th century Buddhist-Taoist temple located in the middle of Taipei’s oldest district, Wanhua.

STREET FOOD 101: Taipei’s Shilin Night Market

Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) is a sprawling night market that extends along several streets in the middle of Taipei’s 2nd most populated district of the same name. While it’s widely cited by tourist guides and a great experience overall, if I were pressed for time, I’d pass this one, only because it lacks the signature grittiness of other Taipei night markets. (Food’s still awesome).

Pizzeria Locale by Chipotle – Denver, CO

Pizzeria Locale is an up and coming pizza chain that is backed by Chipotle. The selling point? Customized personal pizzas with a simplified menu without the long wait. Now in California, this isn’t something new, with the success of 800 degrees Pizzeria and of course one of my favorites–Pieology. At the moment, there’s only two store-fronts in Denver, with the hopes of expansion in Kansas City and Cincinnati.

Josie moves to Denver….temporarily!

Hello everyone,

I apologize for my absence. School had gotten the best of me towards the end of the semester and big changes have happened. I am officially on clinical rotations and I have recently moved to Denver, Colorado for my first 3-month rotation.

Late night hankering for mohinga? There’s a place in Yangon.

Mohinga is to the Burmese what menudo may be to the Mexicans. It’s the stuff of life, found all across Burma, in homes, street stalls and in restaurants. As a kid, I regularly ate it for breakfast on weekends (there was no way I was going to school with a potent fishy breath). Over the years, I’ve had countless iterations of mohinga. I’ll tell you this: once you’ve eaten enough bowls of mohinga, you realize that no two persons cook the same recipe–every chef makes the dish their own.

Mint & Basil – Milpitas, CA

Mint & Basil
1741 N. Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://mintnbasil.com/