Eat. Travel. Eat!

Recent trips to Fashion Island have introduced us to a tasty application of chia seeds : coconut chia pudding, which we spotted at True Food Kitchen as well as Le Pain Quotidien. True Food Kitchen adorned theirs with banana and coconut chips, and Le Pain Quotidien used a seasonal fruit compote as topping, as well as seasoning the chia seeds with lemon, mango, and agave syrup. Given that our sample of True Food Kitchen's rendition was quite tasty, we thought, why not make this at home? So that's what we ended up doing. In the process of purchasing coconut milk, we ran into a cool ingredient--coconut nectar--and decided to use that as sweetener instead of sugars or syrups. The Big Tree Farms Organic Amber Coconut Nectar is a decadent ingredient-- it has a very condensed, dark, roasted, and rich coconut flavor which provides great depth of flavor to whatever you're adding it to. Making the chia pudding was very simple. First, start off with chia seeds.

Previously, authentic chinese food options were quite limited in the University Park neighborhood. Bamboo Express in the former University Village food court offered some authentic options if you knew how to read the chinese only menu, as well as how to pick options from the steam tray that were not geared for the typical Americanized Chinese palate. However, now Bamboo Express no longer exists, with the demolition of the University Village for the new USC Village. Thankfully, this fall, a new food truck offered some authentic Chinese options: the Chinese Food Truck. The Chinese Food Truck offers quite a lot of authentic Chinese options previously unavailable in the area, from potstickers, dumplings, and wontons to noodle dishes, like the spicy and sour rice noodles and sesame sauce cold chicken noodles. Some options are also only written in Chinese, so it would probably be best to translate them yourself or bring a friend who can read Chinese for some assistance. Most of the ...

One of the items that I always make sure to get when visiting McDonald's in Asia is the Sweet Taro Pie (in China, 2 for 9 RMB). There are several differentiators to McDonald's China pies: 1. As its outer appearance suggests, it is a fried, not baked product. Thus, the exterior is fragrant and crispy, while the interior of the dough is tender, slightly chewy and elastic. 2. The flavor! Taro, pineapple, and banana were the flavors I saw while I was on my trip, but all of these flavors are not available in the United States. Taste wise for the sweet taro pie, it all comes together: a lightly sweet, tender taro filling with an slightly savory exterior and chewy interior covering. It isn't particular heavy either, for the taro filling consists of pieces of taro in a sweet purple colored syrup; you are not eating mashed taro in each bite, but rather a more fluid filling with the fried pastry dough. No, it might not be the healthiest dessert around, bu...

DeLuscious Cookies + Milk is a "luxury bakery in Hollywood" that aims to provide "pure indulgence" to their customers through "incredible desserts, impeccable service, and personalized care." With that said, when Katie of DeLuscious Cookies & Milk asked whether I would like to sample their new line of VeLuscious cookies (vegan cookies!), I was definitely curious! Just a few days after I said yes, a sampler box of their products arrived in my mail. Opening the box was like opening a gift-- ribbon on the outside, a personalized letter, pink wrapping paper to present the cookies, individual packaging of the cookies with round, simple labels-- very fancy, and definitely an impression!

Some time ago (March 2012, actually), Eat Drink + Be Merry's (EDBM) post on Flavor Garden and its beef noodle soup and its potstickers awed me. Through the photos and vivid descriptions, I knew I just had to visit! I was personally a bit surprised the first time we came here, as the blinds (as seen in the first picture) were completely shut--was the restaurant closed? Most of the other restaurants, unusually, also closed their blinds. The reason behind this though, was due to the harsh direct sunlight; as the sun set and it became dinner service time, all of the restaurants progressively opened the blinds! Inside, we met a simple interior: completely white and adorned with beige furniture and some decorations. We proceeded with ordering quickly, hoping to sample a large number of different dishes. Our meal began with Spicy Pork Stomach (2.50 USD), which came directly from the cold plate fridge. Garlicky and slightly spicy, the chilled pork stomach was a competent s...

Sometimes I have a positive and negative visit to restaurants, and Lunasia certainly fulfilled in that case in that specific order. It is annoying, but since I already posted half of this post's pictures before that negative visit, I might as well document all of it. The first time we went for a dim sum brunch, the restaurant was full, and we had to wait for quite a while until we were able to sit down-- at a table right next to the main walkway! The atmosphere was eventful, reminding me (along with the interior) of Zen Chinese Cuisine in Hong Kong . The second time (during dinner hours), however, the restaurant was empty with an exception of some family diners and banquet customers, and the mood was quite different. Rarely do I see cast iron tea pots used in restaurants, so I took the opportunity to take a picture. Tea, by the way, has a 1.25 USD charge during lunch hours, but during dinner service the tea is complimentary. We began our lunch with some excellen...