Eat. Travel. Eat!

L'Etoile, located on the Capitol Square, is a fine-dining establishment in Madison, Wisconsin, focused on local and seasonal offerings. Arguably Madison's most renown restaurant, I couldn't have skipped a trip to Madison without trying this place for myself. L'Etoile provides an air of simple elegance. Housed in a building with floor to ceiling windows, with an interior that has understated neutral tones, the scene warmed up with the extensive wine cellar, candlelight, and flower arrangements. At our table, we received custom printed menus for the evening. It was here that the attention to detail came about. When making the reservation, we had noted the occassion that presided our visit, and our menus had a small message to reflect that note. Moreover, the employees also were aware of the occassion--a very nice touch.

After some time in Beijing, I moved onto a visit to Hong Kong, given that I hadn't visited in several years. Time has flown so fast that I haven't even been able to post about lots of the restaurants I visited in Hong Kong last time! Check-in for Cathay Pacific is done at Terminal 3. This flight in particular was also a Air China codeshare flight, but check-in was was preferably only done at Cathay Pacific.

Earlier in 2014, I went on a trip to Asia, namely Beijing (some of the posts already written are: McDonald's China: Sweet Taro Pie , Wuyutai Tea- Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China: Jasmine and Matcha Soft-Serve Ice Cream (and a comparison to McDonald's version) ). Asiana proved to be the most cost effective option at the time of booking, with only Eithad as the only other choice that was less than $2000 roundtrip! This was initially shocking to me and travel agents, who were surprised that Chinese carriers had an exorbitantly high cost for the dates I wanted. With Asiana and the costs that I wanted, I ended up with two flights in order to get to Beijing: LAX-ICN, and ICN-PEK, with a seven hour layover at ICN! (shock, but also a good opportunity to do some fun things) This blog post covers the LAX-ICN sector.

We happened to visit Las Vegas recently to update ourselves in all the changes that have been made over the recent years. After arriving at The Mirage and completing our check-in process, we headed for dinner, only to find limited choices, for many of the fine fining establishments were closed. So, we looked to the Cravings Buffet, a place we had visited five years ago . What's changed so far with Cravings? Many Las Vegas hotel dining establishments (including Cravings) now have electronic touchscreen monitors featuring information about the restaurant, as well as menus, at the entrance. With enticing items like osso buco, eel and tuna nigiri, and brown butter salmon, we went into the queue. (Unfortunately, as we would find out later in the meal, the digital menu isn't 100% accurate) Though we did happen to have VIP access to the line, the regular line happened to be shorter, being 8PM when we visited. Yet, even with the shorter lines, it still took ten minutes unti...

DineLA Restaurant Week came around and as usual, the two higher-end restaurants in Arcadia-- The Derby and Sesame Grill-- were participating again. Since we've visited Sesame Grill recently , we decided to switch it up and re-visit the Derby. After all, from our last visit, the owners have changed, there's now a giant sign on the exterior proclaiming 15+ USD early bird dinner specials, among other changes.    We were slightly surprised to see that we had to wait for an inside spot, and unwilling to wait the 30 minutes advised for indoor seating, we asked for outdoor seating. This contributed greatly to taking better pictures for this post, even if it meant viewing all the cars entering/leaving the valet parking lot! The menu didn't change much from its past, but there was definitely an emphasis on quality of ingredients, with one page dedicated to explaining their poultry and beef suppliers. After ordering, our waiter brought us a complimentary platter of garli...

On July 13, from 12-3 PM, Starbucks gave away Tall sizes of its recently launched beverage, Starbucks Refreshers. The new product comes in Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus flavors, and regularly costs 2.95 USD for a Tall Size. Starbucks describes the Cool Lime flavor as "a lively blend of lime, citrus and hints of mint and cucumber, shaken with real lime slices," and the Very Berry Hibiscus flavor as "a thirst quenching combination of tangy blackberry and hints of hibiscus." Notably, these drinks feature Starbucks' green coffee extract, which is taken from green (not roasted) arabica coffee beans and offers the "natural energy" of coffee but without the coffee flavor.  Unlike some free offers, each of these Refreshers were made by order. There was no special advertising at the store to signal a "free" Refresher; you just asked for it and the cost was deducted. Some customers shouted aloud to their co-workers about the deal as...

Four years ago, I used a camera phone and a point and shoot. One of the most memorable pictures was this picture of an engraved watermelon with an UCI anteater, taken when my friend was just entering the university. The food then at Pippin Commons was decent, but there were definitely some setbacks, even at move-in day, where Pippin was trying to demonstrate its quality offerings to parents. For example, the chicken tortilla soup was barely passable; some other items I shrugged about. (Pictures taken during Celebrate UCI, 2012) In between the four years, I got samples from Pippin, such as some chocolate chip cookies (delicious, crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle) or fruit, but I never really got to thoroughly visit Pippin, or UCI itself again. With that said, my companions and I really were in for a surprise when we visited Pippin for the first time again in four years. In comparison to some restaurant reviews that I've written here on the blog...