Week 31: Lalaland, Toddlerhood, & The Good Dinosaur

Lalaland

I took the last flight of my pregnancy (and 2015) to visit family down in LA this past week. This is likely my last flight for a really long time! The trip was great but definitely too short. Luckily there was enough time to hit up all my favorites:

• Half and Half Tea House: I like their caramel iced milk with 25% sugar.
• Porto's Bakery: A few of my favorites are pictured in this post from earlier this year here (guava pastries, potato balls, and the caprese sandwich). The lines are long but they tend to move relatively quickly - the longer wait is really for the food.
• 101 Noodle Express - The best chicken noodle soup and juicy potstickers (see here)!
• Chang's Garden - All the food here is really solid; I especially like their minced shrimp in lettuce cups.
• Banh Mi My Tho - Love their meatball banh mi - this is my favorite banh mi place by far! There is always a wait but it's worth it.

Toddlerhood

My darling nephew is now 3 and a half and currently going through a very sweet and adorable phase. While I will definitely try to savor each phase leading up to, I really hope baby Lucas gets to such a great phase in toddlerhood too! Here are some new developments I've noticed:

• Independence: He's learning to do more things by himself so his mantra is "I can do it!" I was worried it would get annoying and bratty but it's actually just hilariously cute. Getting dressed does take a lot longer as he insists on doing it himself but then ends up getting stuck in his sweaters for awhile. Rather than getting frustrated or cranky, he just perseveres on until he gets it right.
• Affection: He will reciprocate I love you's and I miss you's. He also initiates hugs more. It broke my heart each time I had to turn down his request to hold him, with my ginormous belly and all.
• Emotional control: Even though there were times that he was clearly upset, he did a good job of not throwing tantrums in public. He didn't get fussy or loud when we didn't buy him any toys at the store or when it was time to leave the museum.
• Speech and conversation: Even though most conversations involve a lot of "why?" and "why not?" questions, it's still fun to talk to him and get an understanding of how his mind works. It's also funny (and dangerous!) when he imitates us, so we try to be a lot more careful of our speech around him.

The Good Dinosaur

It pains me to say this, since I love Pixar movies but this is not one of those Pixar movies that's good for adults. The plot is unoriginal and the story is slow - but that didn't stop me from crying at the end anyway. Oh pregnancy hormones! Still, it's a good movie for young kids that love dinosaurs. Some parts may be a bit scary though, depending on the age of the child.

Delfina

Our friends Jack and Anna were visiting from NY so we took them to Delfina to experience one of SF's most popular restaurants. Luckily, they were up for eating early so it wasn't hard to snag a 5:30 reservation online. There was a line of people waiting when we arrived though, so I'm not sure how long the wait would have been without the reservation. Hopefully, I never have to find out!

We had some decent, if not boring appetizers so I'll skip those and dive straight into the more photogenic foods.

Delicious tender steak with frites that resemble In N Out fries 

(not my personal preference but I know others that love the fresh potato cut taste)

Delfina's famous spaghetti - one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had outside of Italy, rivaled only by Scarpetta's rendition of this dish

I love Delfina's different renditions of panna cotta! Buttermilk is probably my favorite but the jasmine panna cotta is a pretty close second. Light and delicious with just the right hint of jasmine.

Even though we were already stuffed after dinner and it was getting rather chilly, we still made our way across the street to Bi-Rite Creamery for a second dessert. I couldn't let them come all the way to San Francisco, be within a block of Bi-Rite and not try a scoop of their famed ice cream! The ice cream wasn't particularly photogenic so I didn't snap any pictures - but I definitely recommend the creme brulee flavor.

Tiramisu recipe

We were lucky enough to celebrate Lunar New Year's twice this year. Our friend Jessica invited a group of us church friends over for hotpot.  I offered to bring tiramisu - somehow this has become my signature dish to bring for this group over the years. It's a pretty easy recipe so I'm always happy to oblige when it's requested. While it's not particularly photogenic, it's super delicious!

I've adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com - Jeff particularly likes that it doesn't involve any raw eggs, as he finds raw eggs gross and unhygenic. 

Ingredients

•  6 egg yolks
•  3/8 cup white sugar
•  2/3 cup milk
•  1 1/4 cups heavy cream
•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1/2 pound mascarpone cheese
•  1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
•  2 (3 ounce) packages ladyfinger cookies
•  1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Cover and chill in refrigerator. (The directions says to chill for an hour but I usually don't have the patience to wait more than 20-30 minutes.)
2. In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form. 
3. Split ladyfingers in half lengthwise and drizzle with coffee.
4. Whisk mascarpone into yolk mixture until smooth.
5. Arrange half of soaked ladyfingers in bottom of a 7x11 inch dish. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers, then half of whipped cream over that. Repeat layers and sprinkle with cocoa. 
6. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, until set.

Valentine's Weekend in LA part II

No trip to LA is complete without Korean BBQ. This time we tried Soowon Galbi with Jeff's cousins. This isn't a buffet but we still left very stuffed! They don't take reservations so we got there at 5pm - we still had to wait 30 minutes but it was well worth it. Of course, we had many portions of galbi:

Even though we were stuffed, we had to make room for their famous ice cream macarons. I opted for strawberry, which looked more like watermelon. The ice cream flavor was light and fruity, although the macaron was a bit crunchy. 

We love getting Taiwanese breakfast favorites and baked goods at JJ Bakery - here's a peek at their selection:

We also checked out Lemonade, which I found a bit overrated and pricey. The 5 item salad bar for over $11 is ridiculous - it was just 5 small scoops of food! I didn't expect to pay almost $50 for lunch for 3 - especially when it's cafeteria style food. I did like the truffle mac n cheese and blueberry mint lemonade but I won't be coming back here. The regular lemonade's not even that great. There's way better and more affordable food in LA to be had!

Valentine's Weekend in LA part I

We spent Valentine's / President's Day weekend in Los Angeles, which of course means we had delicious food. Porto's is a super popular bakery and cafe in LA. Whenever we come here, we always get a box of guava cheese pastries. Don't judge - we share! 

Here's a close up of their yummy potato balls, another Porto's favorite.

This was my first time trying their Caprese sandwich. Definitely won't be my last!

101 Noodle Express has all my favorite Chinese comfort foods, cooked just the way I like them. Their potstickers are perfectly crispy and juicy.

I'm also a big fan of their chicken noodle soup - the handmade noodles are chewy and thick and the chicken broth is amazing.

I actually like bubble tea more in NorCal because they have so many authentic chains from Taiwan but the fresh fruit teas at AU79 are pretty delicious too. Passion orange tea is my favorite.

This is only what we ate in the first half of the weekend! Part 2 to come...

Girl's Day Out Recap

Katie's girl's day out was a huge success! She didn't know what we had planned for the day so every time we got into the car, she looked for clues to figure out where we were headed. She admitted to being nervous so we took advantage of that by teasing her that strippers were an integral part of the day's activities (spoiler alert: we lied, they never showed up...hehe).

The bridesmaids plus Katie started the day with brunch at Cafe Borrone. I knew there would be much more gluttony later on in the day so I opted for a delicious, healthy-ish salad with avocado, blood oranges, and walnuts. Most of the time, I get the French dip sandwich or Belgian waffles with berries here.

From there, we picked up the rest of the girls and headed to Dry Bar. I asked for the Cosmo blowout and ended up looking like Shirley Temple...huge fail! The stylist insisted on tighter curls because they would relax throughout the day. That never happened, even though she didn't add any product...oh well. This was still a fun activity though! But you can't really chat with your friends during the styling since it's really loud and they can't guarantee that groups can sit together. 

Afterwards, we headed to La Jolie for pedicures. We were super early, since I added in lots of buffer time between appointments, just in case. You just never know with a large group! Luckily, La Jolie was gracious enough to let us lounge in the front with some champagne and soda until it was our turn. 

Once our feet were properly pedicured, we headed over to Village Pub for dinner. My scallops were fairly light so I had plenty of room for my favorite dessert - their chocolate souffle! Better than Alexander's and Cafe Jacqueline's, in my humble opinion. 

After dinner, we went back to Donna's house for some scrapbooking, gifts, and more dessert. It was super tame but we all had a lot of fun chatting late into the night. :) Katie said she had a great time, despite (or because of?) the lack of scandalous activities. Of course I'm biased, but I'd like to think this was a pretty well-planned day. Catching up with girlfriends while getting pampered is the best - we need to schedule these more often!

Super Bowl Sunday

Jeff decided last minute to throw a Super Bowl party - and I was probably one of the last to find out! Despite my need to over-plan everything in advance, we managed just fine with 36 hours notice. It helped that our generous friends brought wings, guac, cookies, and chips. I also had leftover Espresso Chip Angel Food Cake (from Angel Heart Cakes) courtesy of Katie's non-shower the day before, so our food prep was minimal. 

On top of all that, Jeff made chicken satay with peanut sauce and salsa, Sandy and I made caprese salad skewers (a la Piatti's), and Bryan made sangria. Here's the recipe for the chicken satay and peanut sauce:

Chicken

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (8 oz each) sliced into thin 1/2 inch strips
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
• red pepper flakes for garnishing

1. Marinate chicken strips in peanut oil and garlic for about 30 minutes and then grill.  
2. Sprinkle cilantro and red pepper flakes on top.

Peanut Sauce

• 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of chili sauce

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. (We do it by hand because we're lazy.)

I don't watch football so I wasn't particularly interested in the outcome of the Super Bowl. I am a marketer so I did find the commercials interesting. If I'm being really honest, it helps to see the reactions of others as they watch commercials so that I can better understand what kind of advertising does and does not work. Yes, I can be a huge nerd sometimes. :)

Plus, it's always fun to get together with friends at home. I guess I've always been a homebody because this has always been the easiest, funnest way for me to hang out with friends. Even during my single days, I was never really into  clubbing or barhopping. I've always preferred staying in with good food and great company - I guess the former is technically optional, if not highly preferable. Luckily I've got great friends that can indulge these preferences!

Planning a Girl's Day Out

I mentioned earlier this week that I'm in the midst of planning a celebration for Katie, who's getting married later this year. She didn't want a shower or bachelorette so we had to get around it by designating this as a "Girl's Day Out" that just happened to be before the wedding. :) All kidding aside, I think this is more aligned with what she wanted, as she wasn't interested in the typical bachelorette shenanigans or shower games.

We have approximately 7-8 girls in our group, which I think is just right. A large enough group to feel fun and festive, but not so large that we're unwieldy and impossible to manage. Here's what the tentative schedule looks like:

1:00pm: Blowouts at Dry Bar 
I've been to Dry Bar with a friend before and it was awesome! It's a nice way to feel pampered while bonding with your girlfriends.

(Photo credit: Dry Bar)

3:30pm: Pedicures at La Jolie
One of the other bridesmaids recommended La Jolie. The pictures look lovely - definitely better than the usual places I go to for a quick, cheap pedicure. While those cheaper places are great, they don't quite give off the pampered, relaxed vibe we're trying to spoil Katie with. :)

(Photo credit: La Jolie)

5:30pm: Dinner at Village Pub
Village Pub is one of my favorite restaurants in the area - and the Michelin guide clearly agrees with me. :) The menu frequently changes but luckily, their delicious chocolate souffle with earl grey creme anglais is a pretty consistent staple on their dessert menu. This is a great restaurant for celebrating special occasions.

8:00pm: Cake / tea / gifts / scrapbooking

After dinner, we'll be heading to one of the girl's houses for some scrapbooking so that Katie will have a memento of the day. Truth be told, I have never scrapbooked before so I'm not sure how this will go - thank goodness someone else will be heading up this activity! We're also planning to have some tea with burnt almond cake (her favorite!) as we "shower" her with gifts to end the day. Even though she didn't want a typical shower, I wasn't going to stop her generous friends from buying her gifts. I'm thinking about getting her the awesome cake pop and donut hole maker that I got from our White Elephant - she actually brought the gift but admitted that she considered keeping it for herself! So I won't win any points for effort or originality...but at least I remembered? :)

There were tons of other good ideas we all came  up with for the day:

• Hot tub rooms: I've heard good things about the Palo Alto Watercourse Way and the rates are super reasonable. Unfortunately, we have a pregnant mom in our group and some others that aren't crazy about hot tubs.
• Group cooking classes: We tried looking for a reputable cooking class that wasn't super expensive - unfortunately, these don't seem to exist! I'm just not interested in paying $100+ to cook one meal - at that price, I'd much rather have someone else do all the cooking and cleaning for me. We did get some reasonable quotes for group cooking lessons on thumbtack.com but we weren't sure if the instructors were any good. Plus, most of these instructors don't provide the venue and none of us have houses with kitchens that are big enough for 8 of us to cook in at the same time. 
• Pole dancing class: I've heard lots of good things about these types of classes. Katie has already done that before but if she hadn't, I would have looked into this some more.
• Group yoga class: Katie enjoys yoga so this could have been a fun option. It's too bad one of our favorite yoga instructors is out on maternity leave right now! I imagine we could have practiced outdoors in the park somewhere if we couldn't find an indoor space large enough.

I'm super excited that we were able to throw this together within 3 days! Crossing my fingers that everything turns out well.

Chen San Ding, KiKi, and Japanese Eats

Chen San Ding in Taiwan is known for their bubble milk, which consists of tapioca and brown sugar in milk. It's a twist on the usual bubble tea since it contains no tea - I'm not usually a milk lover but I love this drink! There is typically a line of people waiting but it tends to move quickly.

 

KiKi is one of my favorite restaurant chains in Taipei - I managed to eat here twice during this trip! They are known for their spicy dishes but they also have delicious non-spicy options. Two of my favorites pictured below: crispy deep fried tofu and pork slices with garlic sauce. Other amazing dishes I greedily gobbled up before I remembered to take pictures: braised chili fish, pan fried eggs, minced pork with chives and black beans, spicy fried chicken...I could go on and on.

My in-laws treated the whole family to a fancy dinner at a trendy Japanese restaurant in Zhu Bei (about a 30 minute ride from Taipei via High Speed Rail). They had delicious shrimp tempura, uni hand rolls, and seared salmon sashimi.

 

Looking at all these food pictures is making me feel so sluggish and fat...time to hit the gym!

Happy New Year!

I was lucky enough to spend the holidays in Taiwan, indulging in delicious eats with loved ones. I only brought a small carry-on suitcase so I couldn't bring too much back but I did manage to bring home my favorite fruit pastries from Chia Te bakery. It's much easier to get to these days now that the MRT green line has been extended along Nanjing East Road - the bakery is a block away from the Nanjing Sanmin stop.

Since this bakery is uber popular, there is always a long line of Asian tourists outside with a bouncer managing crowd control. I dragged my poor grandma along to keep me company as we waited about 30 minutes to get in. They have a lot of other baked goods here but I focus on their flagship pastries - Taiwanese pineapple cakes. Jeff is pretty adventurous so he likes some of the other fruit flavors as well but in my humble opinion, none compare to pineapple!

A Sweet Holiday Treat

A colorful assortment of macarons from Alexander's new patisserie for a dear friend - vanilla, lavender, peach saffron, gingerbread, and passion fruit dusted with chocolate powder. I'm obviously biased towards passion fruit - I even got 2 additional ones for Jeff and me to try. :)

Flan

I always use the holidays as an excuse to make flan. It's not a particularly winter-y type of dessert but given that this time of the year is filled with large social gatherings, it's always a good time for my favorite dessert. I've adapted the recipe from a cookbook I bought Jeff many years ago, and it's served us well ever since! This recipe makes 8 servings.

Caramel 

• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Combine everything in a light-colored pan and heat over the stove on medium-high heat. This process will take about 8 minutes – the mixture will start to turn colors and you will wonder if it’s done yet, even though the color is not quite golden. It’s not! You’ll know when the color is right.
2. Keep swirling the pan until you get that color change. Once it turns that honey-caramel color, remove the pan from heat and distribute caramel into ramekins. The book says to keep it heated for another 4-5 minutes after the color change but I did that and it started burning after a minute so I would recommend removing it almost immediately.

Custard

• 1 1/2 cups milk (The recipe stipulates whole, I’m a rebel so I use 1%.)
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar (The recipe stipulates 2/3 cup sugar…again, I’m a rebel so I cut it in half. I feel like 1/3 cup is plenty sweet, especially with the caramel, but you can adjust this to your preference.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat milk and cream over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until steam appears. You don’t have to heat it until it’s boiling. Once it’s finished, remove from heat.
3. Whisk the eggs, yolk, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until just combined.
4. Gently whisk the warm milk into the eggs.
5. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve – this part is particularly important to me and I actually strain it a few times, just to make sure the mixture is smooth and clump free.
6. Bring 2 quarters of water to a boil. Fold a dish towel to fit the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan and position it in the pan.
7. Divide custard mixture among the ramekins and place them on the towel in the pan.
8. Fill the pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins; cover the entire pan loosely with aluminum foil so steam can escape.
9. Bake until a paring knife inserted halfway comes out clean. The book says it’s about 35-40 minutes but I have found that it’s closer to 45 minutes. It might just be my oven though.

Once it's ready, loosen the edges with a ramekin, flip it over onto a plate, and serve!

White Elephant Exchange

Here's the loot that we scored from the gift exchange we went to on Friday!

Jeff loves the selfie stick he got - he started using it immediately to take pictures of the festivities. 

I got this awesome cake pop and donut hole maker. My first thought was that I could use this to make Hong Kong egg puffs. Elsa improvised by making a waffle batter from scratch. While it didn't taste exactly like the HK egg puffs, it was delicious. 

Not bad for our first batch! I promised I would learn how to make a chocolate version for our group. They are hoping I'll learn how to make all the creative cake pops - I told them not to hold their breath. :)

We ended up bringing the iPhone portable battery and bluetooth portable speaker. I'm happy to report that the gifts we brought were well-received - the portable battery even got stolen once!

Shabu House and Gong Cha

I caught up with some grad school friends over dinner at the new Shabu House in Milpitas this week. To be honest, I prefer eating hopot at home because it's so much more cost effective! But alas, I couldn't fit everyone at my dining table so Shabu House is a decent alternative for large groups. This location is pretty new and spacious so it's easy to get a table for a large party on weekdays. Not sure if that would still be the case on weekends though. 

We had 2 pots at our table of 6 people, with the option of splitting each pot into 2 types of broth. My dinner mates and I on the left side of the table opted to go for a full pot of spicy miso broth with a large order of kobe beef. I'm not convinced that the beef is better quality than what I could have gotten at the Japanese market, while the accompanying platter of spinach and yellowed cabbage was lackluster. When we make hotpot at home, we buy the good stuff in generous portions! Still, Shabu House has yummy broth and sauces.

I love how bubble tea has been winterized for the holidays! Gong Cha is one of my favorite tea shops, since it's an authentic chain from Taiwan. Jeff loves the Earl Grey Milk Tea with 3J (3J = bubbles, pudding, and grass jelly). I opt for a plain milk green tea - simple but satisfying. 

Food recap: Taipei eats

I was scrolling through my posts the other day and realized that I didn't have a single post dedicated to the delicious eats in Taiwan. How could I have neglected such an important category in my life? I predict this will be the first of many Taiwan food posts to come. :)

I first discovered Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake when I noticed long lines at Taipei Main Station. The lines are the worst during rush hour but if you go in the middle of the day, the lines are relatively manageable. I personally prefer the ones that are straight out of the oven because I am a pig that brings them upstairs to the Breeze Food Court to eat right away - but there are ways to avoid the line if you are okay with cheesecake that was made earlier in the day.

Cafe Melange is known for their waffles. Last time I was here, waffles were only served Friday - Sunday so make sure you check for availability if you have your heart set on them. This place is pretty popular so you may have to wait for a table. 

Tung Hakka cuisine has amazing Hakka dishes and even more amazing desserts. Their chocolate souffles are impeccably beautiful and taste even better than they look. Their yam cake is also delicious.

In case all these sweets are starting to make your tooth ache, I decided to add in a savory item here. The food court in the basement of the Ding Hao mall in Taipei has a tiny little shop that makes the best spicy wontons. I typically eat multiple bowls when I make the trip here.

New York Day 2: Old friends and the Met

Jeff and I woke up on Day 2 and headed straight to Come Buy Tea in the Flatiron district for our morning caffeine fix. I love how so many of these Taiwanese tea chains are aggressively expanding into the US - it means that we have more access to authentic tea! From 28th St, we made our way up to midtown for lunch. Jeff was wary about walking 15+ blocks but I reminded him that walking was our only form of exercise while we were on vacation. I'm so glad we didn't end up getting unlimited ride Metrocards. The weather was fantastic and it was fun to share bits and pieces of my New York past with Jeff as we walked. 

We met up with my dear friend Lulu from middle and high school (we go way back!) at Sakagura. I was eager to try their uni soba special - they only have 7 servings per day so I was worried that they would run out! I guess I didn't need to worry, as the dish was just okay. Their chocolate souffle and sesame creme brulee are fantastic though. It was so nice to catch up with Lulu - she just gave birth to an adorable baby girl so I appreciated her taking time out of her crazy schedule to meet us.

After lunch, Jeff and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have really fond memories of the Met, as it was a popular school trip destination when I was young. My favorite memory of the Met was when I came with a group of friends as part of a 7th grade art project. Ms. Rich sent us on a scavenger hunt to find various works of Japanese art throughout the Met. I was so bad at drawing that Ms. Rich couldn't identify my sketches of the art exhibits and gave me an A-. I had to do an extra credit assignment to earn my A for that class, as an A- just wasn't going to cut it for my tiger mom. 

Jeff and I spent quite a bit of time in the Japanese art exhibit as I reminisced about Ms. Rich's scavenger hunt through the Yamato-e period. It's only now that I appreciate what an awesome teacher she was and how I was able to learn art history at a world-class museum! We were also particularly interested in American art, as we see a lot of European and Asian art in our travels.

Once we finished up at the museum, we took the train to Flushing to Andrew and Laurie's to meet their new baby. After admiring their son, we walked over to Joe Shanghai to meet Jack for dinner. Jack, Andrew, and I were all violinists in an orchestra together in high school and have been friends since we were 14. It's crazy to think that we're now wives, husbands, and in some cases, parents!

In my biased opinion, Joe Shanghai has some of the best soup dumplings I've ever had in the US. I used to eat here all the time when I was younger, so I'm sure the familiarity and comfort contribute to my affinity for the food here. 

After dinner, we went to the Rose House for dessert. This place is clean, quiet, and fancy by Flushing standards so the prices are rather steep. The desserts were average but I did enjoy the tea, even if it was $12/pot. The company and conversation was silly, hilarious, and awesome and you can't put a price on that.

The older I am, the more I appreciate the people who knew me when I was younger. Does that just mean I'm getting older? :) 

New York Day 1: Xi'an Famous Foods, Momofuku Ma Peche, and Midtown Madness

After saying goodbye to Italy, we hopped onto a plane and arrived at JFK in the early afternoon. We weren't in a rush and our bags were relatively light, so we took the Airtrain and subway to Bryan's Upper East Side apartment. We fought the temptation to nap and headed out for lunch at Xi'an Famous Foods in midtown. We got two bowls of spicy, tingly beef hand torn noodles and a mild cucumber salad. I love super spicy Asian foods and chewy noodles so this was heaven for me! Just a warning though - if you're unaccustomed to very spicy Asian cuisine, your stomach might not enjoy the food here as much as I do.

Afterwards, we took a walk through midtown, snapping some pictures as we passed by Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's cathedral, and Grand Central Station. We had a lot of fun relaying silly messages to each other at the Whispering Ach in Grand Central. We also stopped by Tiffany's for a ring cleaning. Tiffany's now charges $50/item for polishing now...yikes! We got the complimentary cleaning for our rings and opted out of the polishing, convincing ourselves that it was better that our rings remain scuffed but retain more platinum. :)

(photo credit: Tiffany & Co.)

I grew up in New York City so every time I come back, I take it all in with a wistful nostalgia. I definitely took all these iconic New York attractions for granted when I was young! Unfortunately those happy nostalgic feelings quickly faded when we had an unfortunate incident in front of the Plaza hotel. Some crazy woman accosted me, started screaming at me for "getting into her space", and jabbed me hard in my collarbone with her elbow. To be fair, this is my first time getting violently attacked in New York so this isn't a common occurrence. As a New Yorker, you never want to aggravate the situation by fighting back, so we quickly sprinted "out of her space" and into safety at the next block.

We had dinner with Bryan at Momofuku Ma Peche. I was excited that Ma Peche takes reservations so that we could try some of the Momofuku favorites without waiting in line. Ma Peche is supposed to be dimsum style but the carts don't come around very often and the service is extremely slow (but friendly). I  didn't love their famous pork buns or jalapeno fried chicken but I was a big fan of the lobster fried rice and broccoli salad. We also tried some crack pie, a compost cookie, and a blueberry cookie from Milk Bar. Interesting but nothing super unique or out of this world. I love sweets but I don't think my palette for cookies and pies is that discerning, so I'm probably the wrong person to judge!

 After a day of aimless wandering and delicious eats, we treated ourselves to long, hot showers and some long-awaited sleep. Thank goodness the Upper East Side is pretty quiet. It's funny to think that you can have some relative peace and quiet in Manhattan. Crazy lady incident aside, I do love the culture, diversity, and uniqueness in every corner of New York. It's definitely a change of pace from the suburbs of Silicon Valley!

Food recap dessert edition: ShareTea, Village Pub, and more

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big dessert fan! I'm always trying to balance out my health goals with my sweet tooth. I don't always succeed but I am trying to get better about saving up my calories for the desserts that I find really worth it. Here are a few that fall into that category:

ShareTea
I'll start with the dessert that is basically my fifth food group and probably deserves a post all on its own - bubble tea! I don't call it boba because I find that disrespectful to women. Plus, I usually skip the pearls to limit my carb intake. I was ecstatic when ShareTea opened up in San Mateo last year - it's one of the few authentic Taiwanese chains in the Bay Area. My absolute favorite flavor there is the passion fruit grapefruit orange green tea. Other notable items - grapefruit green tea, black tea creama, and classic milk tea. Their drinks tend to be really sweet so I always ask for less sugar. I've had friends tease me for being like the person that thinks ordering diet coke will counteract the super sized Big Mac value meal I'm inhaling with it. *Sigh*...every little bit helps?

Village Pub
The Village Pub is a delicious Michelin-rated restaurant in Woodside. I've never had a bad meal here and I absolutely love their chocolate souffle with earl grey creme anglais. This is one of my favorite chocolate souffles of all time!

Paris Baguette
Paris Baguette has amazing chiffon cakes that are light, fluffy, and not too sweet (a big pet peeve of most Asian dessert palates!). My pick is always blueberry flavor. Here is the cake we got for Jeff's birthday this year. Don't worry it wasn't just the two of us - we shared with a group of great friends. :)

Lei Garden
Lei Garden in Cupertino is my favorite dimsum place in the South Bay these days. The usual dimsum staples are great here but it's their creative dishes that make them stand out. Below is a sesame mochi tart with a pineapple bun crust topping that's a must-have every time we come here.