Summer is Over

This entry is long overdue especially since school has already started and I’ll be writing about what happened this past summer. I guess I should start out with what I’ve baked! I mentioned in my last entry about making cream puffs—which were probably my favorite goodies to bake this summer—and in addition to the cream puffs I also got to make lemon bars (personally requested by my coworkers during my last week at my internship with MovieMaker Magazine). I’ve made lemon bars before but I wasn’t fully satisfied with the recipe I used. Although everything tasted and looked fine, the lemon bars had an eggy smell (weird, I know). So this time around I took out one egg (using three instead of four) and juiced an extra lemon. I also added lemon zest into my crust for extra lemony goodness. I was afraid I over-killed the bars with lemons, but all my friends and coworkers dug them and I couldn’t stop at just one helping of these bars.

I also was feeling super nostalgic this summer and wanted to fly back to London ASAP. Sadly, no flying for me for a while, so I had to bring London to LA. I made English scones! I bought Double Devon Cream (sadly you can’t get clotted cream in the States—which has 4% more fat than Double Devon and is much more creamy) from World Market (also known as Cost Plus) and generously spread the cream on my scone and added strawberry jam on top. And of course I had to have a pot of tea with it! The recipe I used required me to convert measurements from grams into cups (many countries actually use grams instead of cup measurement—the US just likes to be a rebel and use its own measurement… i.e. inches, feet and Fahrenheit), but it wasn’t that hard thanks to good ol’ Google.

This summer I also got the privilege to dig into some tasty restaurant food. When I was driving down to San Diego, I stopped by to visit my friend in Long Beach and we had Moroccan food at a restaurant called, “Asha.” Pretty tasty. It actually reminded me a lot of Lebanese  food and made me miss Comptoir Libanais in London. My friend and I shared the Baba Ghanouj for appetizer and I had Kafta with Roasted Tomatoes for my entrée. Baba Ghanouj is made of eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini. It reminds me of humus, but has much more delicate and subtle taste. The appetizer comes with pita bread that you dip into the Baba Ghanouj. As for my entrée, I kind of chose it based on the fact that it had a pouched egg. I don’t know what it is about pouched eggs that I find so enticing. Maybe it’s because I haven’t mastered it yet. It’s a lot harder to cook than it looks. I remember when I was younger I was afraid to eat pouched eggs and because it seemed raw and runny like snot. Now, I think it’s wonderfully creamy and delicate (cooked and seasoned well of course). The Kafta was delicious and had this sour taste to it that I love. I've realized, as I’ve grown older I have learned to appreciate sour-tasting food like olive and artichokes.

Moving on, I went to Olvera Street with some people from my church and we had taquitos at Cielito Lindo. I’m not a huge taquito fan, but what made their taquitos the bomb was their green avocado sauce. It’s very subtle, so you don’t really notice the sauce until it’s gone and you realize that the dish was so good because of that green sauce. We also went to Mr. Churro and had churros filled with various sweet goodies. Mine was filled with condensed milk while some of my friends had custard, caramel and apple jam. If it wasn’t for the $15 parking, I would consider going to Olvera Street much more often.

I got to go to a tea tasting at Chado with my friend Cristin (who’s been on this blog once or twice) in Pasadena a couple weeks back. She bought a Living Social deal and we got to learn about and try various teas. On top of that, we had scones and got to bring some tea home (all part of the package deal). I think the total came out to be around $24 and it was originally somewhere around $75. I’ve been to Chado before so I wasn’t really surprised that they serve great food and tea, but their prices can get a little steep. I enjoyed the tea tasting experience and I thought it was fun learning about tea history. I would have had a better time if there weren’t loud obnoxious people sitting next to me (“Ugh… I need sugar and milk with this”—it’s a tea tasting for goodness sake! Show some respect for the tea) but that’s not the restaurant’s fault.

And lastly, I want to talk to you about Street Food Cinema. I saved the best for last! I found out about Street Food Cinema from Simon Pegg’s tweet because they were having a double feature—Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz—in honor of World’s End. Luckily, they were having this event at Exposition Park, near USC. On top of having a fun outdoor movie showing, there was going to be a band playing and a whole bunch of food trucks! And did I mention this was only $10? I couldn’t miss it. I love events that bring the community together and I honestly don’t feel like LA has many of these kind of events. Something like this would definitely happen in London all the time though. I didn’t get there that early before the screening, and there were a LOT of people, but I managed to snag a pretty good spot near the front. I also bought some hot wings at CJ’s Wings, which were so-so (it came with a slice of bread, which I thought was a bit weird, but it may be a Southern thing). Nevertheless, it was fun and I’m glad I wasn’t there alone (Cristin to the rescue!). Next time though, I will bring a sweater and not wear shorts. It may be summer, but it does get colder at night. 

And so ends my summer of food adventures. I realize that this past summer will be my last summer of being a kind of a kid. There’s more gravity of responsibilities lying ahead and I’m a bit anxious, but also extremely excited. We’ll see where God takes me and how He’ll use me this year. I probably will go out and eat and bake this school year (who am I kidding? I will definitely bake! I’ve already made more scones and some cookies today for tomorrow’s afternoon tea I’m having with my study abroad friends), but I must admit my focus will be more concentrated on theatre and applying to conservatories this year so I probably won’t blog as much as I use to. Good bye for now!

*Oh, and y’all haven’t heard the song, “Summer is Over” by John McLaughlin ft. Sarah Bareilles, GET ON IT! 

Raising the Bar

I’m back in the baking game and I’m ready to play on whole different league now. Ha. That sounded intense, no? But in all seriousness, I am trying to elevate my baking skills and that’s why I made profiteroles this week (pun intended). I’ve grown up eating ice cream puffs from Costco (you know what I’m talking about—the ones in the big white plastic cube bin), but never thought about making them. Why? They kind of seemed daunting and to be honest I was never a huge fan of puffs, so I didn’t bother. But then… The Great British Bake Off  happened. It’s a fantastic show and each week the contestants get a range of challenges and I saw how puffs or profiteroles can be fun and easy to bake. In an ideal world, I would make rose-water cream-filled profiteroles with some kind of caramel nest encasing… sounds elegant doesn’t it? Well to my dismay, Ralphs doesn’t sell rose-water extract (does anyone know a LA shop that does?). Should have known better. I ended up making a traditional vanilla cream-filled profiteroles with a kind of dulche de leche and chocolate sauce with a touch of Kahlua. Delicious.

I actually used two recipes for the profiteroles (I’ve decided to not address them as cream puffs anymore because profiteroles sound much more posh and are probably the proper name for ‘em… I say this as I throw my nose into the air). The first recipe I used was for the actual pastry bit. I didn’t read the entire recipe thoroughly and later realized it was for ice cream profiteroles and I wanted to make traditional cream ones, so I sought another recipe for the cream bit and also got a chocolate sauce recipe with it. Best decision ever because the sauce is fantastic. I followed the recipes pretty faithfully except I added a bit of vanilla extract into the cream and used Kahlua in the sauce and didn't add cinnamon in the pastry dough. Oh the advantages of being 21—I can now experiment with alcohol! Also, I used Ziploc sandwich bags to the do the piping—yay poor college student alternatives! I really should invest in a piping bag because it got really messy. At least I have a mixer, rolling pin and whisk now! If you read my past entries, making meringues with tied forks is really tiring. When you pipe, be patient and squeeze cream into the profiterole until a little cream bounces back at you from the hole you have to poke at the bottom. I sometimes squeezed too hard and cream squirted out of a random hole at the top. Piping cream makes this shooooo-wert sound, which is pretty fun. I piped cream when my profiteroles were entirely cooled so that the cream didn’t melt and I advise you pop the profiteroles into the fridge into the fridge as soon as possible so you don’t end up with soggy pastry and a pool of vanilla whipping cream. I left the sauce at the side for people who wanted it and because it’s not tempered chocolate, it does not harden so if you pre-dip ‘em for your guests their hands will get sticky later.

I also played with caramel last week. I never made it before and though it’s easy to make, it’s very hard to shape. I should read and watch more videos because the stuff hardens pretty fast but then maintains an intense heat that made me wear gloves when I was handling it.

Well, I guess that’s all I have to share for now. DineLA’s Restaurant Week is happening soon and I should get on top of making a reservation. Oh, and I also want to create a new website for my food blog with a new name, so if you have any suggestions please send them my way. As much as I love Chugachuga, the name and layout doesn’t really scream, “I’m an adult.” And I am… I’m an adult. Don’t like the young Asian face fool you.

Last London Leftovers

My my my… my last entry on London food. As silly as it sounds, I’ve avoided writing this entry for about two weeks despite having all the photos ready because I thought that once this is written, it means that London is really over (yes, I know it’s over but I’m still going through withdrawals and hanging onto my experience… I listen to Matilda the Musical songs every day… “We are revolting children, living in revolting times...”).

Okay, okay enough of me being all depressed about leaving London, let’s talk about FOOD. I mentioned in the last entry about Propstore. Sadly, I didn’t get the opportunity to wine or dine there, but it nevertheless was awesome! This is a little pop-up restaurant National Theatre opens every summer and it’s made out of… PROPS! How fantastic is that?! They take some old parts of sets from the past year or two and build this joint outside of the theatre. Food and drinks are also decently priced and it’s just a fun place to be. I saw the white silhouettes of the city skyline from The Magistrate (designed by the fabulous Katrina Lindsay), lights from Frankenstein (Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance gave me goose bumps, but then again his performances always do!), the floor was from Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (I saw that twice!), and there were some props from War Horse as well. It was so cool. Londonners, get your butt to South Bank for me! When I thought I couldn’t love National Theatre even more (I legitly want to work for them), Prophouse made me head-over-heels in love.

Moving on: welcome to Comptoir Libanais! This Lebanese food heaven was in my eat.shop london book and the colors and pictures were so vibrant, that I had to take a peak. The first time I tried to eat there they were closed (apparently the hours they list online are wrong), but I did get to eat here once and it was sooo good! I got the Chicken and Green Olives Tagine. I had no idea what it was and hoped it tasted good, and it did! Shredded chicken and olives and a bit of lemon zest on top of a bed of some type of rice or couscous-like grain. Yeah, this description needs some work, but I loved it. Light and filling. I also had a Roomana, which is a pomegranate and orange blossom lemonade, which was just the right about sweetness and tart. Oh, and the restaurant’s environment is so fun! So many colors! There were Lebanese canned goods and accessories on shelves, this wonderful mural of a woman in the back, and fun colored chairs. There was a sense of culture and vibrancy that I really enjoyed about Comptoir Libanais. I wish I got to go more often, ‘cause it is someplace I’d frequent if I lived in London.

Ooh! Now I get to write about a restaurant that I wish I opened myself! Hello Muriel’s Kitchen! Located right outside of the South Kensington station, this wonderful oasis is the cutest thing ever. I love the decoration of this place… it’s how I would decorate my own home. I’m talking light blue accents with a rustic homey vibe. Some decorations were also baking tools, which made this place even more loveable; some lights were made out of cake tins and there were baking tins just hanging on the wall! The food was quite tasty as well. I had their lasagna and I was so happy it was meaty. One thing I learned about lasagna in Europe is that it’s creamy compared the meaty U.S. lasagna. Although not shown here, I also had their grilled salmon that came with a delicious pesto-like sauce. The only thing that would make Muriel’s Kitchen more awesome is if it was cheap. It ain’t cheap. I’m a firm believer in the phrase, “Treat yourself once in a while” and Muriel’s Kitchen is just the place for that.

Riding House Café was a total random finding when I was looking for Attendant (the café I mentioned in my previous post). I was walking towards Attendant when I saw Riding House and it looked all hipster and lovely inside. It was pretty packed, so it had to be good. After getting coffee with my lovely friend Thalia, we went to Riding House for a nibble. We got seated in this lovely long family table and the chairs were vintage theatre seats. How cool is that?! They’re a bit difficult to squeeze into (‘cause they’re bolted to the floor), but I still dug them. I just had their lamb soup and I was floored. I’m not a fan of lamb because of its gamey taste, but this wasn’t gamey at all! The meat was so tender and the soup was a simple clear broth yet bursting with flavor. The herb garnish was a necessary touch too because the bits of herbs added a fresh zing that played on your taste buds. Everything in Riding House is a bit on the pricier side, but I would (if I could… sob) just go back for a small bowl of lamb soup anyways.

As with a handful of restaurants I visited, I found out about J+A Café via eat.shop london. I had my last dinner in London here actually and ate a wonderful steak pie. Perfectly cooked. As yummy as it was, I can’t say I totally loved J+A. It’s in a weird location (a little hard to find) and has weird hours. The café was near closing when my friends and I got there and then we got moved to the J+A Bar—the café and bar are next to each other, but in separate buildings. The waitress was kind and tried to explain how they did things, but I still thought it was a bit weird that we had to move.

And lastly, but surely not least: Jamie Oliver’s Diner. I mean, I had to eat at a famous English chef’s restaurant while I was in London right (and there was no way I could afford a Gordon Ramsay meal)?! This fun diner is a pop-up restaurant meaning that it will only be in Piccadilly Circus for a limited time! The restaurant was super fun and there were dinosaurs EVERYWHERE. Pretty awesome. Now Jamie is all about health, but he lets his customers indulge here (he listed items there were especially fatty with devil horns and healthy dishes with halos… cute right?). I’m talking ribs and savory waffles. I shared the ribs with a friend and then the group of us ate a slice of chocolate cake at the end (great way to finish off). The diner also serves boozy milkshakes, but they weren’t offering it at the time we ate there (my question is: why put it on the menu if you’re not serving it yet?! Such a tease). I wish I got to try one of their milkshakes and would of gone back for it if it wasn’t for my flight. Really, this is a great restaurant with a great environment. The bathrooms were even cute (well I can say that for the lady’s at least). Jamie actually goes all out when it comes to his restaurants and so he even had nice wooden vintage-like toilet seats! Man knows how to open a restaurant and cook.

And so this chapter of London eats has come to an end. When people say the English aren’t known for their food, I’d like to say they are wrong indeed! I’ve had great food experiences in London. Yes, you might have to pay a pretty penny once and a while, but that’s the cost of quality, awesome food. The only thing the English haven’t nailed down yet is Mexican food, but we can’t all be perfect. Cheers and farewell to London, my love. I hope to be back soon.

Food Festivities

Well I’m back in the States and as lovely as it is to have sunshine all day err-day I miss the biting cold of London (weird I know). It almost seems too cheerful here… it’s eerie Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I really miss London and aim to be back there in the future. It’s summer time and seeing as I did not land any internships that I really wanted, I’ll be spending the summer working. I expect to have lots of free time, so I’ll be doing lots of reading and baking. After watching The Great British Bake Off, I want to attempt more challenging recipes and make things like profiteroles and play with caramel. Luckily I have a lot of friends who like to be my guinea pigs, so I won’t get too round this summer! Anywho, this entry and the next will be my last entries on London food (sob). I got to eat some great food in the last month and went to a few food festivals (one entirely on accident!). I have been so blessed to have gotten to study abroad in London and I hope you get to go to London sometime in the future because, frankly, it’s the best city in the world!

There are so many great things about London… I can go on and on and on… but one great aspect about the UK’s capital is its festivals! Festivals seem to pop up especially in the summer (woe is me! I wish I was there to experience more of them!) and one popular place for festivals is South Bank. South Bank is one of my favorite areas of London just ‘cause of National Theatre, Borough Market, and various small design shops. Now, three months ago South Bank hosted the Chocolate Festival and last month they hosted the Cheese and Wine Festival. All in all it was pretty fun and enjoyed a rich raclette that had bacon and onion bits with a white wine and cream sauce. I also had my first sip of hot alcoholic cider and I have to say I prefer my drinks cold.

I also stumbled upon another food festival entirely by accident! I had no idea about the Realfood Festival until my friend and I went to South Bank to check out the Propstore (which I will write about next time). Apparently Realfood is about “great tasting, sustainably and ethically produced food” and they also hold a weekly market at South Bank. I had a pulled pork sandwich from the Barbacoa booth, which is from Jamie Oliver’s restaurant near St. Paul’s Cathedral. Although the barbecue was a bit sweeter than I’m use to, it was a lovely sandwich and the pork was oozing with goodness. The cabbage added a bit of crunch and helped cut the heavy sauce. Oh, and I can’t forget the buns: they were fluffy wings of delight that hugged the juicy pork. Best pulled pork sandwich I had in London by far (I had one at Borough Market and it was too dry and tough). 

My friend Cassie actually told me about Street Feast London and it’s a cute summer foodie affair in East London (you have to take the Overground to get there). Each week there’s a different theme and we so happened to go when the theme was BBQ, though we didn’t have anything of the sort. I got a lovely light flatbread that was topped with beetroot, parmesan, greens, and nuts while my other friends had a vegetarian burrito filled with plantains and sweet potatoes and an egg poached in a tomato-based sauce. The Street Feast is definitely a place for the young and hip who love food and I really dug the neighborhood atmosphere. There was also a bar, but frankly the drinks were overpriced. If you’re in London right now or will be there in the summer, make sure to check this place out!

Next is Beigel Bake, which is also located in East London. I’ve heard of this place ever since I got to London, but I’ve never been until I almost had to leave. Not only does Beigel Bake make great simple food, but it’s also incredibly cheap. And… it’s open 24 hours. At first I just had a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel (which was a bit oily, but nevertheless delicious), but then I saw so many people eating the salted beef sandwich and I had to try it. I figured I probably wouldn’t be back, so I might as well go big. The salted beef was delicious! I also loved how they just slammed a pickle and mustard into the sandwich. The bagels are soft and chewy and just wonderful to eat. Now the one thing about this place that I can’t say I loved was the service. Lots of people know of this joint, so there are always customers flowing in and out and the workers don’t really have much patience. Let’s just say I wasn’t treated in the friendliest manner when they forgot I paid and I had to wait on the sidelines awkwardly. I’d still go back though!

One place that had lovely customer service was the Attendant. Now, that’s probably ‘cause it’s TINY and there aren’t that many customers, but I still liked it a lot. My bro-in-law told me about this place and how it was an old public toilet refurbished into a café. I loved how they kept as much of the old toilet fixtures as possible. There’s a little nook that probably can seat about nine people and a couple of bar areas where the urinals use to be that seats more people. It’s cozy! Luckily I got there before all the seats were taken (‘cause it would have sucked to have to leave just ‘cause you couldn’t find a seat). I kind of felt like I was part of a hidden club ‘cause of the hole-in-the-wall aspect of this café. Ironically, this café doesn’t have its own bathroom!

And I thought I would end this entry on a happy note: I had BUTTERBEER! I went to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour (which was fabulous!) and got my first and only taste of Butterbeer. They only sell it in this one outside area in the middle of the tour (I tried to get seconds at the café in the front, but they said they don’t serve it there). Gosh it was delicious. It tasted like fizzy creamy butterscotch. Apparently some people have posted the recipe online, so I plan to make it for myself in the near future. Maybe I’ll have a Harry Potter party this summer. Who knows?!

Eating Across Europe (Part 3 - Final One)

Our last two stops on this European food tour are Barcelona and Prague. Although I spent the same number of days in Barcelona as Madrid, I actually didn’t have much of a foodie experience. I don’t think Barcelona’s food scene is any less awesome than Madrid, but I think I got distracted by all the fantastical Gaudí architecture. I even asked a walking tour guide what dish Barcelona was known for and she only talked about bread with tomato spread. Hrm. Nevertheless I loved Barcelona. The first night at Casa Gracia, which is an awesome hostel despite all the reconstruction that’s happening in it right now, Samantha and I got a free dinner ‘cause we had to wait so long to check in (darn you reconstruction). We got tapas and sangria for free, so we didn’t complain. Typically a dinner at Casa Gracia is €8 so it’s a bit expensive, but I think it’s all you can eat. As for the other picture, it’s of an apple and goat cheese salad I had at Caputxes. I ended up eating there just ‘cause Sam and I were hanging out with some other travelers and they just chose the place. It ain’t cheap, but this is the most impressive goat cheese salad I’ve ever had. I mean, c’mon there’s a crème brulee like caramelization on the goat cheese. Impressive.

I’d also like to bring your attention to Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria. Although this market is pretty popular with tourists, I had no idea of its existence until I stumbled upon it (Sam and I might have been lost for a bit and wandered the streets). We only ended up getting juice (I had a coconut and dragon fruit juice that tasted like vomit to me, but I can assure you that Sam enjoyed her strawberry and banana juice), nevertheless I really enjoyed the market’s atmosphere. It was such a feast for the eyes! One of my favorite stalls was the candy stall (as you can see from the pictures) ‘cause there were so many different kinds in different shapes and colors.

One last place I’d like to mention in Barcelona is Santa Gula (sadly no pictures). This adorable café is kind of hidden and Sam and I only found it ‘cause we got lost trying to find our hostel (seems like getting lost leads to great discoveries). The food is tasty and I especially loved their freshly squeezed orange juice. Pamela, who seems to always be there, is a fantastic server and just a lovely motherly figure. She was so sweet to us and made us feel at home. The décor is very minimal with some fun black and white cartoons drawn on the windows and entrance. This is a great place to read or write ‘cause of its environment and soft jazz playlist. If I lived in Barcelona, Santa Gula would definitely be a café I’d frequent.

Now to our last stop: Prague! Samantha and I had only one full day to explore the city (poor planning skills), so we wanted to take advantage of everything—I ended up limping by the end of the day. Anywho, we got to try Trdelník. As we were walking down from the royal palace (located conveniently on a huge hill), we stumbled upon a little café that was baking these fun pastries and decided to have a taste. There’s apparently almonds, cinnamon, walnuts, coconut, and peanuts in its crunchy crust. I just loved how it was in the shape of a giant tube. As for the taste, it tasted like a soft pretzel with sweet, crunchy crust. It’s very simple and fun to pull apart and also very cheap!

We also got to have a full traditional Czech meal thanks the wonderful recommendation made by our walking tour guide, Chris, at Krčma. I had the kravi platek na smetane celtovy knedlec lesnie bobule. Translation: marinated beef roasted with root veggies in creamy sauce, dumplings and cranberries (Chris recommended that dish). What an interesting and tasty dish! When I got my plate, all I could see was sauce. There was meat and “dumplings”, but they were drowned in this lovely sweet and savory sauce. Oh, and apparently the Czech version of dumplings looks and tastes like soft white bread. Who knew? The food was decently priced, which was also a huge plus. I loved the tavern-like décor of the whole place and felt like I should have ordered a huge pint of beer just ‘cause of the environment. They also serve absinthe here, but as curious as I was I wasn’t in the mood (then again, I’m never quite in the mood to drink alcohol… My liver loves me for that).

So that pretty much sums up all my food experiences in Europe (not including London). It was really fun trying new things and I know I’ll be traveling in Europe in the future and have opportunities to try more. When I finally go to France one day, you can expect a crazy long entry for sure.

Eating Across Europe (Part 2)

Madrid, Madrid, Madrid. To be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Madrid—one of the factors being that it was so modern. Whenever I travel, I like to be in cities or towns where I can feel and see its history and culture. Madrid felt too similar to a generic western city. Sure, you can spot bits of history here and there, but the architecture doesn’t scream individuality to me (like Lisbon did). With all that being said, it is still a very lovely city and, to my surprise looking back, I ate a lot of wonderful food! I actually have to write an entry on Madrid alone because I have so many pictures just from this city!

One of the first restaurants I had the pleasure at eating at was Fatigas del Querer. One of the guys working at our hostel (“Way Hostel” for those who wanted to know) recommended it and I’m glad he did. The price was decent (€6-7 for an entrée) and everything was served in a generous size. I think the dishes were meant to be eaten family style, but Samantha and I didn’t know that at first. I had the huevos estrellados con jamon, which was basically two sunny side eggs over cured bacon and a heap of fries. I didn’t expect the fries. As tasty as it was, it was extremely rich and heavy. I didn’t do my arteries any favors that night. Samantha had a chicken dish with thick cut bacon on top and a salad on the side. Although the restaurant gave us a breadbasket and olives, we were wary about having any because of our past experience in Lisbon and being charged. Our last meal was also eaten at Fatigas and we shared a paella and tuna salad. The paella was okay. The chicken was overcooked and hard and the seafood wasn’t particularly fantastic, but the rice itself was cooked well. The restaurant’s environment was really nice though and I loved the tile work on the walls.

Enough talk about decently priced food and let’s move onto cheap food! My friend, Jessyka, took Sam and me to El Tigre for some tapas and sangria one night and everything was only €5 per person! WHAT?! I’m talking a giant mug of sangria and three large plates of tapas. I got my fill and the sangria, which was my first ever, was fantastic. It wasn’t that boozy, which I actually appreciated. The place was packed and rightfully so.

Another savory place I visited was Charcuteria Desde, which Sam and I passed by on our walking tour. There’s nothing really special about the place other than it’s 176 YEARS OLD! I just snagged a simple baguette sandwich with chorizo ‘cause I just wanted to say I got food from such an old shop. What’s really cool about Madrid is that there are plaques on the ground honoring restaurants and shops that are more than a hundred years old and Desde is a proud owner of one.

Our last savory stop is someplace I didn’t eat. It’s Mercado de San Miguel! This fantastic market is bursting with fresh food, especially seafood. I didn’t eat here ‘cause frankly everything was out of my price range, but maybe in the future I’ll be back. It’s also a fun place to be to see the hustle and bustle.

Now for something sweet! Good ol’ Jessyka took Sam and I to Café de la Luz after El Tigre. This lovely café is kind of hidden, but that’s what makes it THAT much more special. The atmosphere is cozy and cute with an array of seats and couches. I love the gigantic blackboard they had where people just doodle. There are also weird-but-awesome paintings scattered here and there. We all got wonderful chocolaty drinks, but I think the winning drink had to be Jessyka’s bon bon drink which consisted of espresso and condensed milk. I got a thick hot chocolate, while Sam drank a hot chocolate that she got to make herself (as in she got to decide how much cocoa to put in). We also shared a lovely warm carrot cake that didn’t make the picture cut ‘cause frankly it was a blurry picture (I try to only show the nice ones). The waiters at the café were also extremely sweet (pun not intended) and I’d actually like to give a shout out to Paula! Hola!

Another place I got some lovely thick hot chocolate was at Chocolatería San Ginés. This joint is known for their chocolate con churros and Sam and I decided to try the fat churros rather than the skinny ones we’ve been eating every morning at our hostel (no joke, that’s what Way Hostel calls “breakfast”). As messy as it was, it was great. The fat churros reminded me of Taiwanese yo-tiao’s (fried batter that is typically eaten with breakfast). I finished the hot chocolate as well. No one should leave that much chocolate to waste!

I saved my favorite for last: La Mallorquina! This shop is a pastry lover’s delight (so of course I loved it). Right when you walk in, you see shelves of pastries on display. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some are garnished in nuts, other in sugar. It really doesn’t matter because everything looks delicious. Samantha and I decided to try three of them in one sitting, so we had a Pepitos de Crema, Negritos, and Napolitanas de Chocolate. My favorite out of the three had to be the Pepitos de Crema because I love custard. It basically tasted like a sugar donut filled with rich custard. The Negritos wasn’t that good, but it looked impressive ‘cause of all of that homemade marshmallow inside. Sam personally loved the Napolitanas de Chocolate and it tastes like a chocolate croissant… with more chocolate. On our last day, I also got a Torrijas (while Sam had another Napolitanas de Chocolate). It looks like cinnamon French toast and kind of tastes like it, but I think there was less bread or pastry and more custard. Very good, but very filling and fattening.

If I got to stay in Madrid any longer, I would have caused future-Cindy a lot more health problems. I think the great food made my stay better and I’m so grateful for having other friends studying abroad (yeah, I’m talking about you, Jessyka). After this, I have one more entry about food outside of the UK. I only have three more weeks in lovely London, so I better make the best of it. 

Eating Across Europe (Part 1)

So when I said I was going to blog all about my foodie fun when traveling Europe, I didn’t realize that I had so many pictures. I thought I could fit everything in one entry… silly me. Not every meal was something worth remembering or photographing (one night I just had strawberries for dinner… yay to poor college student living!), but many were. I mean, c’mon you’re in a foreign country and there’s new goodies to be had. So I’m covering half here and then half later, so deal with it ‘cause I have to (you have no idea how much I want to just blog everything at once so I’m all caught up).

Edinburgh, Scotland:

I have a lovely friend, Hannah, who’s studying abroad in Edinburgh and so Samantha and I decided to visit her. Two big things I wanted to check off my list when I was there were: 1. Eat Haggis and 2. Drink Whisky. And yes… both got done! Before I go into that, I want to highlight two places Hannah took us to. First off is The Elephant House. This great café was “the birthplace of Harry Potter” (as they so coyly advertise on their windows, shirts, and business cards). Nevertheless, it was a great café. The food was tasty (got me a brie and bacon jacket potato) and the chai tea was awesome. I may have gone back two more times later. Despite being pretty crowded, it is pretty chill and a great place if you want to write (wink wink) or study—though they don’t have free Wifi. Bummer. The girl’s bathroom has Harry Potter references (one of my favorites was that a toilet had “This way to the Ministry” written on it) and thank you notes to J.K. Rowling scribbled all over it. Pretty awesome. I can’t say the same for the boy’s bathroom ‘cause I didn’t dare to peek inside, but I’m sure it’s just as awesome.

Later that night Hannah took us to Ciao Roma. It’s a cute Italian restaurant on South Bridge and it has pretty spectacular desserts. We all individually got a sundae (mine was new on the menu—popcorn sundae) and Sam and I didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. It was MASSIVE. The “gelato” tasted more icy and not as creamy, but I can’t complain. You get this massive decadent tower after all! That was our dinner for that day.

And finally for the haggis and whisky… so I had haggis and tatties (that’s what they call mashed potatoes with boiled potato bits on top) at a local pie shop in Grassmarket Square. The place was cheap and it had haggis, so why not! I have to say, haggis ain’t too bad. It’s like peppery ground meat. Maybe I got lucky. As for the whisky, I stopped by a café that served whisky right before my train back to London. After talking to the server (she kind of laughed when I told her it was my first time drinking whisky), I got 25 mL or Jura whisky. Oh my goodness. The alcohol hits you like a wall… a wall of fire. I can’t say I enjoyed it. It was so overwhelming. I’m glad I tried it though (I had to eat carrot cake in-between sips to make the whole process better… barely better). I can say I had whisky in Scotland! Aw yeah. But never again… (enjoy the sequence of pictures of my reaction).

Wales:

So I got to a wee bit of Welsh food (I took a bite out of my friend’s faggot—that is the name of a minced meat dish), but not much so I don’t have any fun pictures to show other than some from DeGrey’s Café, which was a little afternoon tea spot we stopped by during our drive to northern Wales. I had a strawberry-mango tea with Shropshire Apple Cake, which was just a simple apple and cinnamon flavored cake. The café was cute and all the waitresses were dressed in old-fashioned outfits. The décor was quaint and traditional too.

Lisbon, Portugal:

I love Lisbon. I wish I got to stay longer. It’s such a beautiful city full of color, art and history. Anyways, I’ll blog about it more on my personal blog… this one is for food! So I believe Portugal is known for their pastries. Sam and I shared Brisas. A woman at a bakery recommended it to us and it basically was like a donut, but with this interesting glaze on top. It was thicker than what is typically on an American donut and there was this yellowish coating between the glaze on the pastry bit. I wish I could have tried more, but I can’t live off pastries (or can I?).

Another delectable pastry is Pastéis de Belém! SO GOOD. It’s like custard in a pastry cup, but this simple description doesn’t do it any justice. There’s a similar Chinese dessert that has a more eggy taste, pronounced dan-ta. Pastéis de Belém is much creamier and its pastry crust has this lovely crunch. To add more pizzazz, shower the beautiful dessert with powdered sugar and cinnamon. I had two… I wanted more. It was so cheap too! Just over one euro. Only three people know its original recipe… I want to be number four!

As for food and liquor, at 10:30 am I had a shot of cherry liquor called Espinheira. No, I’m not a drunkard (I have two shots in my hands because I’m holding Samantha’s). On our walking tour, our guide Goncalo thought it would be a good idea to get everyone awake and friendly. It wasn’t too bad! It tasted like cough syrup and there was a surprise sour cherry at the bottom of the cup.

And lastly, let’s talk about Portuguese food as a whole. I got to have two simple but delicious dishes. The first was a calamari dish at Bacalhoeiro and the beef dish was at this little joint hidden in an alleyway (sounds sketch, but we were told those restaurants serve authentic homemade dishes). In general, it seems like Portuguese food is simple, flavorful and healthy. I loved it! Out of all the European countries I traveled in, I have to say that Portugal has the most healthy options.

Oh! One last tip… if you got to Portugal or Spain, do not assume that the bread or whatever appetizer the waiters put at your table is free. They actually charge you if you touch and eat it. I learned the hard way, but I can’t say it wasn’t tasty.

Anywho, Life is calling. I have to apply for internships (sob)… Until next time. 

Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya

Well it was just a happenstance that I went to two nifty breakfast joints before my travels through the rest of Europe, hence the title. I decided that I’d leave all my other food adventures for the next entry and keep this one short and sweet.

So let’s start with Bill’s! On the chilly morning of April Fool’s Day, my friends and I decided we wanted to go see Peter and Alice, a play starring Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw. Now we expected a crazy line and we knew there were only a few day tickets (for all you non-theatre going folk—which use to be me so I know this little tidbit is helpful—day tickets are tickets you can get in the morning on the day of the show for cheaper) so we got up really early. We left campus at 5:30 am. Oy. After getting our tickets (we were first and the line soon grew crazy long after us), we decided to reward ourselves with an American breakfast. Thalia, a USC friend I made here, suggested Bill’s and I’m sure glad she did! Bill’s is a hipster restaurant nestled near Oxford Street (I later learned that there are multiple Bill’s after spotting one in Cardiff). There were dried peppers dangling from the walls and the furniture all looked beautifully worn down. I had Bill’s Breakfast which included Cumberland sausage, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and toast! Talk about hardy. One of my friends got the vegetarian option and another Eggs Florentine. I also got Bill’s raspberry, peach and mango juice ‘cause I stayed there for another couple of hours journaling. I have to say the service was EXCELLENT. Super friendly servers who gave me a larger drink for free. There is a shop attached to the restaurant, but there’s nothing much there. Bill’s really focuses on good quality products (yup, I’m talkin’ about the big O—for organic!) and everything was quite tasty (admittedly anything is tasty when you’ve been waiting more than four hours in the cold for theatre rickets). As I mentioned earlier, I journaled here and that’s ‘cause I loved the environment.

As for The Breakfast Club, my friend Karisa brought this place to my attention. We’ve been planning on meeting up all semester (she was on a different program with the British American Drama Company) and finally got to it! There are multiple Breakfast Clubs in London, but we went to the one is Soho. We got half an hour after it opened so we didn’t have to wait to long to get seated (well… we waited like half an hour, but that’s relatively short seeing that a long line formed right after we arrived). We got served by two guys—one was sweet and the other more rushed. The service was okay, but the food spoke for itself. I had the All American, which included pancakes, eggs, sausages, fried potatoes, bacon, and maple syrup (which is oddly hard to find in London). Karisa got vegetarian version. To top it all off, we also had Affogato, which is espresso with vanilla ice cream. The food was delicious. If you don’t take my word for it, you can read thank you notes tucked away in the drawers of the tables and on the walls. Karisa and I left a little note and haiku with a drawing too. They didn’t quite get the American pancake fluffiness right, but I can’t blame them ‘cause UK pancakes tend to be flat and thin. I loved the Affogato and have been wanting to try one, so you can imagine I leapt out of my seat to order one when I saw it was available on the menu. The potatoes were crispy and lovely seasoned as well. I plan to go back before I leave, even if it’s just for another Affogato.

Oh, how I love breakfast. I was never a big breakfast person growing up—I think it has to do with being Taiwanese and the fact that Asians don’t really do big breakfasts—but once I hit college, I saw it’s beauty and possibilities! If you’re ever in LA or San Diego, I have multiple breakfast joints to suggest. Maybe I’ll do an entry in the future featuring SoCal breakfast joints. Only time will tell. 

Eating Out: Taste v. Environment

By golly, do I have a lot to write about. I apologize for the lag (as usual). I’ve been busy with papers and exams for the past couple of weeks and although I tend to procrastinate work by blogging, I was trying to be a good girl and focus. Luckily, my classes are over! I have a couple of papers to complete this week, but I’m not too worried. Let the food blogging begin (or rather continue)!

Needoo Grill is an Indian joint recommended by eat.shop london that’s nearby Queen Mary (where I currently am studying) so I thought I should pop in. I had the lamb korma and needo peshwari naan (which was recommended by the book). Both where pretty good. I’d say the lamb dish is a bit oily, but the meat was tender. As for the naan, I didn’t expect it to be sweet! It wasn’t a great accompaniment with the lamb, but a nice kind of dessert with its golden raisins, yellow sweet paste, and nuts on the top. Sometime I crave that naan. Ooh, and the mango lassi was awesome. A jug of the mango lassi was around £10, which was enough for five of us.

Rotunda is a restaurant that USC paid for after we visited The Guardian’s office. Nice environment next to a canal (great view), but I can’t say the food was fantastic. The set menu was clearly overpriced. I mean look at the mussel appetizer. Disappointing amount of mussels. As for my main braised beef on mash—it was dry. There wasn’t enough beef stock for the dish and the potatoes tasted a bit like the “mash” you buy at Sainsbury Express. All in all, a good place for a date if he/she cares about presentation but not taste.

After that sad review, here’s a happy one for Mother Mash! I hadn’t had bangers and mash in London yet so I had to have this staple and Yelp helped me find Mother Mash. It’s located off of Oxford Street in a little hidden area that has plenty of other restaurants, bars, and shops (like Fornata, which will be talked about later). The price is relatively cheap and the food is excellent. You can choose from two sausages (they have a long list of different kinds), a type of mashed potatoes (again, a long list to choose from), and gravy (another list!). I got lamb & mint and pork & leek sausages with Champ Mash (traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cheddar cheese and spring onions) and Farmer’s Gravy (red wine, onion, smoked bacon and mushrooms). The menu is fantastic. The mashed potatoes are silky smooth (you can also get a lumpy option) and the gravy was lovely with it. The lamb sausage wasn’t my favorite just because I’m not a huge fan of the gamy taste of lamb, but both sausages were yummy. The whole meal was filling, but Samantha wanted to get something sweet so we shared a ginger bread pudding with vanilla ice cream on the side. Although I couldn’t taste much ginger in the pudding, it didn’t matter because it was so good and gooey.

Fleet River Bakery is a great place to spend an afternoon working and sipping on homemade chai. It’ s just so cute! There’s also free wifi and plugs everywhere, so that’s a plus. Luckily my friend and I got there before a crowd rushed in, but it’s pretty packed. I got a slice of the hummingbird cake, which was lovely—banana and pineapple cake with a light lemon butter cream and she got a gingerbread cupcake.

 

Oh boy… the Borough Market… my favorite market in London. So much food! I’ve already gone there three times (these are pictures from my first visit when I did a food crawl) since I made this collage. The market is huge and it’s great to wander around and try samples of everything before settling on buying dishes. Although I’ve had plenty to eat there, I’d like to highlight the raclette and apple-pear-elderflower cider. In case you didn’t know, raclette is basically a dish with potatoes and melted cheese on top. However simple it sounds, it’s not simple to make. You need one of these special cheese melters that has a base for the cheese to sit on and a top iron bit with fire just flickering at the top. It melts the cheese and makes it bubble and crisp as well. Then the cheese (after melting a bit) is scraped off of the cheese wheel and onto boiled potatoes. So good and filling. As for the cider, it’s the best I’ve had in my whole life. Sadly I can’t find the cider stand the last couple of times I’ve been, but nevertheless I will talk about how delicious it was. So whenever I have cider, it turns out to be just heated up apple juice or too sour. What I loved about this cider was that it was perfectly sweetened and there was apple and pear’s pulp (I know oranges have pulp, but what do you call other fruits’ body?) that reminded you that you were drinking real fruit juice. The combination of pear and apple with elderflower was great because it elevated the usually simple drink. It made it more sophisticated and I wanted to savor it as long as I could. There’s plenty of other food at the market that I didn’t mention (I had fresh oyster the last time I went) and it’s a good thing I don’t live nearby the Borough Market because I would be much heavier than I am today.

Brick Lane Market is also a great place to get a variety of food. I’d say Borough Market is great for quality of food while Brick Lane is good for different ethnic foods. Brick Lane still has quality food… but it’s not quite up to par with Borough (I found out that people have to intensely audition for Borough to get a stall). I enjoyed Ethiopian food to Chinese to “Mexican” (let’s be real: there’s not going to be legit Mexican food in London).

Moving away from market food and to Notting Hill, there’s Ottolenghi. My friend Vera brought me here and I’m glad she did. It’s basically the Lemonade (a restaurant in LA) of London. That means it’s fresh quality food, but expensive. I had seared sesame crusted tuna with pineapple, sesame, ginger and chili sauce with roasted squash with date molasses and lemon sour cream with red onion, ginger, coriander, and sesame, and… braised fennel with buttered pine nuts, chili, ricotta, lemon, fennel sees and rocket. How do you like that for description? We also shared a fruitcake, which was nice. It’s a great place for health nuts that have fat wallets, so I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

I also got to go to the Chocolate Festival in London a week ago. It’s relatively small, but there’s still a lot to see and taste. What was also nice was that there were classes for only £20. Sadly I had papers and exams to prepare for, but I’m glad I just got to visit. The highlight of my visit had to be the sea salt caramel chocolate crepe with chocolate whip. Need I say more?

And if you’re looking for a fun place for a birthday party, I’d recommend Barrio East (apparently it’s a chain because I saw another “Barrio” near Oxford Street). I went for my friend’s 21^st birthday and the environment is fantastic. I love the quirky designs with bright pops of colors. The food was nothing special though. I think I actually got food poisoning from the ceviche (which is disappointing because it was the tastiest thing I had that night), so that was disappointing.

Yumchaa, which is also a chain, is a cute café with organic loose leaf teas. To be honest, I didn’t have anything here. My friend had chai (in that cool pitcher that filters out the leaves when you press its bottom against a cup), but I just had a boba so I wasn’t in the mood for another drink. I did have a whiff of their various teas though and I’m sure they are all fantastic. I just love the quaint environment (and I love how people were playing chess in the corner). It’s a bit stuffy and small, but if you can get a seat you should sit there awhile and have a nice cuppa.

And lastly, Fornata! I’ve been wanting to go to this Italian restaurant ever since I laid eyes on it. It’s ADORABLE. It has this rustic Italian vibe with a bit of a diner spin off and I love its choice in colors (punchy cherry reds upstairs and warm yellows and grays downstairs). The food was nice and light as well. I had the Pizza Quattro Stagioni: mozzarella, proscuitto, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives. It’s not a typical pizza I would order, but it had nice flavors and it was the only pizza that I wanted to dig into on the menu. I’m glad I went and got to just soak in the quaint warm atmosphere.

That’s the one thing about restaurants. Food quality and taste is vital, but so is the environment. I mean can you imagine yourself fully enjoying a pizza in a toilet? Not so much. I found that a lot of times restaurants focus on one or the other and it’s quite a shame. Also, those who have both good food and environments tend to charge a ridiculous amount, which also puts a damper on the experience, don’t you think? If one day I am so lucky to have my own café or restaurant, be assured it’ll be a full experience—good food, good environment, for a good price and most importantly... with good company.