The show consisted of over 40 chocolate exhibitors from all over the world; each offered a taste of his/her delight with free samples. I had the chance to experience the richness of traditional chocolates (e.g. chocolate truffles with cocoa powder, milk chocolates, dark chocolates) and the flirtation of  uniquely-flavored chocolates (e.g. chocolates with lemongrass, wasabi-and-chocolate-covered rice grains, and tea-infused chocolates).

Not only did the show offer a sampling of delights, but it also highlighted chocolate-making as an art in its display of numerous chocolate sculptures and fashion pieces. The show’s culinary theater offered hourly cooking demonstrations by famous dessert chefs, who served up both cooking tips and tasty treats.

The chocolate show was a whirlwind of fun and flavors. Here’s a photo recap of that day:

.

Food landscape by Carl Warner

Opened cacao pod, the fruit from which cacao comes from

Green tea/chocolate covered rice grains

Ginger covered cacao beans

Truffle balls!

Chocolates everywhere!

Eek! Creepy chocolate sculpture

Chocolate Couture

Fashionista

Cooking demonstrations led by famous dessert chefs

Danielle Kyrillos (judge from Top Chef Just Desserts) hosting the cooking demos

Chef Joelle Mahoney (from Chocolaterie Maya) signing my autograph =)

Cake decorating

After sampling all those chocolates in one day, I experienced my first chocolate overdose– my legs felt wobbly and jittery and my stomach was full, but oh boy, it was worth it!

Unfortunately, the chocolate show is now over in New York City, but here’s a link to the website if you’re interested in learning more about the show, which travels internationally.

New York Show website: http://newyork.salon-du-chocolat.com/accueil.aspx

International website: http://www.salon-du-chocolat.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

I love my desserts, but I’ve never been a cupcake fanatic so I never made it an occasion to visit Crumbs to try out its famously delicious cupcakes until recently, when an out-of-town friend wanted to try its cupcakes. Upon entering the store, I was bedazzled by the different varieties of cupcakes it offered– from the traditional, plain vanilla and chocolate flavors to the more exotic fruit-inspired choices to the rich, creamy special creations.

In the mood for something fruity, I chose the Apple Cobbler cupcake ($3.75). The fist-sized cupcake was made of a cinnamon cake base with apple preserve bits in the center. It was covered with a layer of vanilla cream cheese frosting sprinkled with crumbly, sugary streusels and topped with apple preserves with a dash of cinnamon. The cake was soft and moist with a subtle hint of spices that didn’t distract from the other flavors of the cupcake. To my surprise, even with the vanilla cream cheese frosting and the preserves jam, the cupcake was light on the stomach. Not only did the cupcake not feel too heavy, but it was the perfect level of sweetness; the mild cream cheese flavor balanced the sweetness of the frosting and the apple preserves, so that all the different flavors were brought out in the overall cupcake. By the time I was finished, not a crumb was left!

Crumbs/ Various locations in New York City/ http://www.crumbs.com/

It’s been a few months (yes…i know…someone’s been slacking :p ) but I still remember enjoying dinner over a nice, warm grill with my friends. Ah…memories 

It’s been awhile so I can’t really give a detailed account of my experience and the food as I usually do. Hopefully, the pictures will give you some ideas.

The restaurant is quite BIG, but it’s still a good idea to make reservations beforehand because it is a popular restaurant, especially with their 50% off Happy Hour specials and Sunday specials on select meats. Reservations can be made via OpenTable.  Most of the tables are booths, offering some privacy and intimacy for each party.

We were seated at a booth in the back section of the restaurant, which felt like an individual private section. I felt special. Hehe.

From my recollection, the menu offered a wide variety of meats, which were mostly beef and steak, including those you would normally see at a Korean restaurant. However, they also offered lamb, duck, pork, seafood and vegetables wrapped in foil. Besides the BBQ, Gyu-kaku seemed to have a mix of Korean and Japanese food like bibimpap, ramen, salad, edamame, kimchi, etc.

For our yummy meal, we ordered different meats for the BBQ. Each meat comes marinated in a special sauce of your choice (e.g. garlic with lemon juice, shio with lemon juice, tare with house dipping sauce). Besides the BBQ, we also ordered chicken garlic noodles and tofu jigae.

TOFU JIGAE!!! =)

veggies, noodles, rice, meat, meat and MEATTTTT

Cooking up the grill

 Oooooo…a cool part about our meal was that we received complimentary food in return for filling out a short survey about our dining experience. We had a choice of soda/beer, smores, or ice cream. What did we choose?

Of course, SWEETSSSSSS!!!

Each survey could be exchanged for one item, so we had ice cream AND smores. Hehe.

I had a pretty good experience at Gyu-kaku. It was a lot of fun cooking and chatting with friends. And the most memorable part I remember as we left the restaurant was: we didn’t smell!!! Haha. ( They must have an awesome ventilation system. No BBQ stench at all.)

Is it salty?

Is it sour?

Is it spicy?

It’s all of those combined! It’s PICKLED CHILI MANGO!!!

So Zombie Killer and I were grocery shopping one day and came upon these things. Upon seeing the words “Pickled Mango (chilli)”, I thought “Hmm… I wonder how that would taste?”, so I grabbed a bag and headed for the register. As weird as they might sound, they taste pretty good, but they’re kind of hard to digest for some reason. I think they’re a good snack for when you’re bored and want some flavoring in your mouth.

P.S. They’re very mild in terms of spiciness, so don’t fret if you don’t do well with spicy foods.

P.P.S. In case you’re wondering, they’re a product of Thailand.

Since it’s a new year, I decided we’d start it off with something sweet =)…so I introduce to you Spot dessert bar.

Fatty Mama and I decided to drop by for some post-dinner desserts after I read about this fairly new dessert spot. The posh but intimate little place was tucked away inconspicuously in the basement on the busy main street of St. Mark’s. It took us a while to spot it (pun not intended), but we were determined to get our desserts and we succeeded. Har har har…

The moment we stepped through the door, I felt like we entered a different world. We entered the “mini-hallway” lined with a fake grass rug that led us into the dessert bar. The decor felt very laid back but cutesy with wood-paneled walls and wooden tables.

While I was ogling at what everyone else ordered, the waitress gave us our menus.

The menu offered a range of different hot/cold drinks, dessert tapas, ice creams/sorbets, cupcakes, and puddings.

After some deliberation, I decided to get the white miso semifreddo dessert tapa. It sounded weird, but exotic, so I knew I had to get it. Hehe. Fatty Mama went with the vanilla caramel vietnamese coffee cupcake and a cup of hot thai milk coffee. I waited curiously for our desserts and what we got gave me giggles! Hehehe…

The desserts literally glittered and sparkled!!!

White Miso Semifreddo Dessert Tapa

Look closely at the sparkly sugar! =D

How did the white miso and olive oil taste in the dessert, you might ask? Surprisingly, it was quite good because the slighty salty and buttery taste really balanced the sweetness of the dish. The olive oil cream was only lightly lined between the cake layers, so that it wasn’t grossly creamy. The delicious raspberry sorbet was also a nice tangy treat to the tongue. The crunchy graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of the sorbet made it extra delightful.

Vanilla Caramel Vietnamese Coffee Cupcake

The cupcake sparkled too!

Thai Milk Coffee

How did I like my dessert there? I’ll let this picture answer for me.

Mmm…I can’t wait to go back and try a different dessert!

I’ve been slacking on my foodie posts, haven’t I? I’ve been eating mucho, but haven’t gotten to writing about my little food expeditions yet. I promise to write ’til you drool once I’m done with this busy period, but for now, here’s a quicky post.

I was so excited when I got this little present from my friend, Ramenfries, that I had to post it up. (Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu!!!) Lo and behold…Jojo gummy worms from PRAGUE! =D

I can’t wait to try it!!!! =)

Gummy worms?

::tummy growls::

I never thought I would ever crave fried chicken because I don’t tend to  purposefully go to a place for oily, greasy foods, but Boka’s Bon Chon chicken is anything but greasy and oily.

Bonchon chicken!!!

My friends and I were planning a dinner gathering one day and one of them, Zombie Killer, said she was craving Bon Chon Chicken so we all decided to go to Boka for some delicious Korean fried chicken. As you can see from the picture above, they are quite drool-worthy. The Bon Chon Chicken comes in soy garlic flavor and hot flavor.

What’s so amazing about Bon Chon Chicken you may ask?

CLOSE UP

Take a closer look! The chicken wings and drumsticks (which you can order separately or combined) have a light, crispy skin that is marinated to perfection. The chicken skin is so light and crispy that it feels like you’re biting into a flaky potato chip. As you bite through the skin, you can sink your teeth into the meatiness of the wing or drumstick, which is nice and tender. Not only is the texture just right, but the chicken is flavored so that it’s slightly salty, enhanced by a little garlic, without being so sodium-and-MSG-filled that it makes you want grab a gallon of water to quench your thirst.

In short: it’s yum yum!

We also ordered japchae (clear noodles stir-fried with sesame oil, different vegetables, and sometimes meat) at Boka. I don’t really remember much about it because this dinner was about 2 months ago. However, I remember thinking it was pretty good at the time. Here’s a picture to satisfy your curiosity.

japchae

Although the food was good at Boka, the service can use some improvement. I have a few qualms about my dinner there. A few days before the dinner, I made a reservation for ten people and everything seemed fine. However, on the night of the dinner, after we already ate a few dishes and wanted to order more, the waitress informed us that we needed to order a minimum of $80 because we made reservations for a party of at least 6 people. This was never mentioned during the phone call I made for the reservation nor was this mentioned before we ordered our food. Needless to say, my friends and I were not pleased by this surprise notice.

Another problem was when we wanted to upgrade the size of our chicken plate a couple of minutes after we ordered, the waitress told us she couldn’t upgrade the size for us. We were a bit confused as to why it could not be done because the food was even not cooked yet since we only ordered approximately ten minutes before. After questioning her a few times, the waitress finally changed the order size for us.

A third problem was…not really a problem, but I was a bit displeased that after all the headaches they gave us, they did not give us the complimentary pickled carrots.

In my opinion, the chicken wings are EXCELLENT, but the service makes me weary about eating there. Perhaps it was a busy night, so the service was off par. I only ate there once before this dinner outing so I can’t judge, but all the headaches associated with the poor service made the dinner less enjoyable than it should have been.

I’m sorry I’ve neglected you for so long, but alas, I am back.  This review is on Mary Mac’s Tea Room in Atlanta, GA. My visit to this lovely place for some good ol’ Southern food was a while back, so my memory is a little  rusty. However, as they always say “a picture is worth a thousand words” and I have plenty of them

When I was visiting my friend Skinny B*tch (sorry for the profanity, but she requested to be called that :p…I will shorten it to Skinny B from now on), I wanted a real taste of Southern food, so I decided that I must dine at the famous Mary Mac’s Tea Room. This “tea room” has  a long history in Georgia. It was founded in 1945 by Mary McKinsey, who created this establishment at a time when women first founded their own businesses by establishing restaurants because many were widowed as a result of World War II and were forced to find a means to make their own living. To detract from the taboo that women were running their own businesses through these restaurants, the eateries were called “tea rooms” rather than restaurants.

Intrigued by the little bit of knowledge I had about the restaurant beforehand, I headed to Mary Mac’s with Skinny B. Expecting there to be a long wait on a Saturday afternoon, I was surprised to find that we were seated immediately because the place was ENORMOUS. The inside decor of the restaurant reminded me of a homey and humble old house with a few giant rooms. When we sat down, the waiter gave us a menu and an order sheet. In continuation of Mary Mac’s traditions, restaurant patrons write down what they want on the order sheets rather than have the waiters take down the orders.

After Skinny B and I ordered our food, we enjoyed the complimentary pot likker and cornbread served to first-time Mary Mac customers. They were both soooo delicious. The cornbread was moist and warm with a delicious hint of cornmeal flavor. Never having had pot likker before since it is a traditional Southern food, I tasted a spoon and it instantly reminded me of a homemade Chinese vegetable soup that my mom makes. After being confused about what I was eating, I drilled the waiter about pot likker. It turns out that pot likker is a vegetable broth made from collard greens that people used to eat very often because it was simple and they did not have much money for much else. According to the waiter, Mary Mac makes giant vats of pot likker everyday by throwing giant chunks of ham into the broth. No wonder the broth was soooooo delicious. Drools…=)**

Pot likker with cornbread

We also received complimentary cinnamon rolls and cornbread. The cinnamon rolls were amazing!!! Despite their tiny size, they were so filling. The rolls were warm and soft with just the right balance of cinnamon and frosting so that it was neither too sweet nor too bitter.

Cornbread and cinnamon rolls =D

For appetizers, we ordered spicy deep-fried “Mudbugs”. Don’t worry. We didn’t eat any bugs. The dish is just a nickname for deep-fried Louisiana crawfish served with jalapeno tarter sauce. Although I am not a huge fan of fried food, that dish had me grabbing for the “Mudbugs” non-stop. The outside was fried to perfection; it was hot and crunchy but crumbled to the bite. The fish inside was still moist and tender.

Mudbugs!

For my main meal, I ordered baked chicken with the sides of fried okra, tomato pie, and broccoli souffle. The side dishes sounded kind of weird, so I was excited and scared about trying them at the same time.

Baked Chicken with fried okra, tomato pie, and broccoli souffle on the side

The baked chicken came with cornbread dressing and chicken gravy, which was heavenly. I didn’t eat much of the chicken because I was quite full from the appetizer and the side dishes that I ate, but I remember that it was still very moist. There was also some cranberry sauce on the side.

I think my favorite part of dish were the side dishes. I was skeptical about the tomato pie because I was expecting a real pie with tomato chunks inside. However, the tomato pie is my top recommendation. The “pie” turned out to be a thick mix of tomato chunks/sauce with some melted cheese and crunchy cheesy bits on top. It tasted like a pizza. The broccoli souffle was similar; it was a cohesive mix of broccoli held together by melted cheese with little cheesy crunches on top. It tasted yummy as well, but the broccoli was bit too soft for my taste. The fried okra was fried just right– it was lightly fried on the outside while maintaining the whole moisture and chew of the vegetable on the inside.

Tomato pie!!! =D

Skinny B ordered the fish with the sides of mashed potatoes with gravy and the cream corn . (I don’t remember which type of fish because they had a few choices, but it looked nicely cooked). For a picky eater, Skinny B seemed pretty satisfied with her meal.

To finish off my Southern meal, I ordered the peach cobbler. To my disappointment, the peach pie was not what I expected. It was a big mash of syrupy peaches with a little piece of pie layer on the top. Too sweet for my taste, I stopped eating it after a few bites.

Georgia Peach Cobbler

Overall, I really enjoyed my food except for the dessert. I felt like I had the “real Southern” experience, which makes my meal feel extra special.

My friends and I were starving, so we decided to dive right into the menu, which offered a selection of Austrian dishes.

Upon the recommendation of the waitress, I ordered the Austrian meatballs and Sweetpea ordered the späztle. Bella ordered the seared hickory smoked salmon. And to calm our starving tummies, we ordered the pretzel with spread as an appetizer, which made us very content when it arrived.

The pretzel was nice and hot, as if it just came right out of the oven. The bread of the pretzel was soft on the inside, but had a slightly chewy outer skin, which was a perfect combination of texture. There was a light sprinkle of salt on the pretzel, which gave the pretzel some flavoring , but not so much so that the saltiness would be overbearing. Accompanying the appetizer, there was a light garlic spread and butter on the side.

As delicious as the appetizer tasted, the main entreés were even more savory.

Austrian Meatballs

My mouth watered as the waitress laid down the giant plate of Austrian meatballs before me. The meatballs were juicy and scrumptious. They tasted as if they were made from pork. Along with the meatballs, there were also roasted carrots, which were soft to the bite. A generous helping of potato puree definitely helped fill me up to the brim. A nice sprinkle of fried onion flakes on all the food also enhanced the flavor of the whole dish.

Spatzle

Sweetpea’s spätzle (which is egg noodle dumpling) was also delectable. The spatzle was mixed in with snow peas, shitake mushrooms, pea sprouts, and peppercorn sauce. The dish reminded me a little of mac and cheese, but it was very light in terms of the cheesy taste and the vegetables made the dish very refreshing. I only had one bite, but it was enough to make me wish I ordered that instead.

Bella’s salmon also looked very delicious, but I was too full to sample a bite. It looked very fresh and colorful. It also came with mashed potatoes and spinach.

I really enjoyed my meal at Katja. It felt very relaxed and private while dining at Katja, even though we were eating out. The food was also delicious. I had a great time catching up and celebrating with some old friends there. I’d definitely return here if I wanted to have a nice meal somewhere classy, yet low-key.