[mis-tif-fee] - n - 1. tall weird asian girl with a huge appetite for food, travel, adventure and fashion. and she's hungry, always hungry. eating the world in 6in heels...
Daddy’s Birthday a few years ago ;] Before I could cook for him and drink with him….
Happy Birthday to my adorable Daddy…
This was the card that Didi got her Granddaddy
The wine that W got for Mama and Daddy
I made the dinner of course. Rib Eye. Bacon with Kale and Red Wine Mushrooms with Shallots.
Another another bottle popped out.
Happy Birthday to my wonderful Daddy. I love you.
Woke up super early Thursday [the 23rd] morning to head over to the airport. A quick reminder from my Godfather before I headed off…
Which is funny cuz when I got to Vegas my mom texted me to bring BACK a husband HA!!!!….
I got to Logan Airport WAY too early, just like last year, so I sat at Boston Beer Works for some breakfast. Apparently they don’t serve alcohol til 8am so the waitress MADE my Bloody Mary, with Grey Goose!!!, placed it a few feet away from me, and waited til 8 to give it to me. TEASE. Thankfully she gave in and gave it to me a few minutes before
It could’ve been bigger and spicier but it was tasty. I almost got another one but then the guys next to me, obviously headed to Vegas for a bachelor party, were downing absolut vodka which made me wanna gag so I decided to just drink on the plane instead.
Vegetarian Omelette with Wheat Toast, Potatoes and a side of Bacon
The omelette was filled with peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, the works.. and two kinds of cheese.. I think it was a mozzarella and cheddar. YUM – it was ridic cuz two guys next to me were eating SUPER healthy. NO cheese egg white omelettes.. no meats no thing. LAME. I wanted more bacon but the service was SO slow I could barely down this plate in 10 minutes before I rushed off to my gate. Got some snacks, candy and a few magazines, and I was off. WOOHOO.
OH. Guess who was on my flight with his kids?!
Casey Affleck!!!!!
Most RANDOM photo when I googled him ^^
HIS ASS BRUSHED UP AGAINST MY HAND! He was flirting with one of the attendants in the front the whole time. I tried to give him googlyy eyes hahaha.. SO MUCH HOTTER IN PERSON!!! I love his raspy voice :] Short though. But he actually got on the plane in a hat and sunglasses and yet I still recognized him. Oh those Affleck boys sure are dreamy… in that rough manly Boston sort of way.
I’m weird.
HAHAHAHA…
A few drinks and some snacks on the plane later. I tried to sleep.. but ended up watching random tv shows, caught up on Hell’s Kitchen and watched Lorax… I was in Vegas. WHAT WHAT!!! Kelly’s flight was delayed so I ended up going to Caesar’s Palace first. The cab totally took a super long way and overcharged me – BITCH – but I was there YAY. The guy at the front was nice enough to upgrade our room to a bigger one with a living area – with couch, and a hot tub for just 50$ more a night. WOOT! So not only did we get an awesome deal for a little over 100$ a night from Jetsetter, we got a great upgrade YAY…
58th floor
Fucking SEAN gave us the FARTHEST room POSSIBLE. I knew, just walking there, that we were gonna have some problems getting back at night.
Our view!!! See the orange umbrellas?! That’s Venus Pool Club… we got invited to a few, one was topless but it was MEH, plus you can hear the music from our FREAKING ROOM so no need to go in and see a few gross boobs.
HOT TUBBBB!!!
I ordered some food, a delicious Asian Chicken Salad.. and bubbly while waiting for Kelly.. but they FUCKED IT UP. Stupid service said there was NO house champagne so they gave me something else bubbly but they charged me 20$ more and gave me white wine. FLAT. So HUUUUGE WHOLE commotion and trouble later, managers involved, etc etc I finally got our bubbly. Right when Kelly got here.
The salad was tasty but with some faults. Water chestnuts, cabbage, carrots, sliced green beans.. sightly dry but still quite tasty grilled chicken and but gross out of the can mushrooms yick. The sesame dressing was really goo thought, yum.
Cheeseburger with Swiss.. sadly the Fried were soggy
FINALLY BUBBLES!!! – and they DID have House Champagne, bitch be cray.
These were so good, I snapped off a piece and got a heart :]
We got few more drinks and bubbly… after shopping all day, I bought some jewelry, Hello Kitty stuff and slutty dresses… and the we ordered a margarita.
And then started getting ready…
We are so cute.
And then headed to dinner. Freaking place was 20 minutes walking from our room. And it was IN Caesars, BLAH! So far.
Sushi Roku was like Hipster sushi which sucked.
Afterwards we went to TAO Nightclub in Venetian. It was a long night of blah and even blah-er guys. But at least I got a nice long sleep and lots of good drinkage. MMMM sake, bubbles and free drinks at the club. WOOT. Feet hurt like a bitch tho.
TIME FOR THE POOL! Brought a little bit of Detroit with me to Vegas. [this is for you W]
Kelly hates me. And I have no boobs. I ended up waiting at the cocktail line and the food line most of the day. WORST SERVICE EVER.
The pool was nice though, no hot guys or girls tho. SAD.
Snackus Maximus
Shrimp Papaya Salad & Nachos
Salad was disgusting. The shrimp was half raw and so fishy.. the papaya was ONE slice and it wasn’t even close to being half ripe. It was hard and bland. There was mango and pineapple in it too. Just BLAH. The NACHOS were really good tho – beef, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa, etc etc…- needed more cheese. HAHA, I ate all of Kelly’s Nachos.
Frozen Pink Lemonade. SOOO GOOD… tons of Vodka!!! I got Kelly a Strawberry Margarita, with muddled fresh strawberries, BOTH AMAZING!
Kelly being a creeper. I look like Miley Cyrus here.
Kelly went back first to nap. When I went back I went straight to the hot tub. AHHH, living the life.
And then I was hungry again so I ordered room service again. Another bottle of champagne… and
Chicken Noodle Soup
It was SO good, but mostly noodles, with chicken.. some carrots and celery and a splash of soup haha…
And also got some Veggies with Hummus and Ranch dip.
The veggies were fresh and delicious. They also gave us more bread YAY.. hummus was really bland and too chunky and not creamy enough for me.
And then we napped and got ready and then freaked out for a few hours about where to eat. I had W helping as well with the hotel concierge who DOUBLE booked the restaurant and we had to cancel like 3 different places.. but hey it’s…… see-thru dress time!!!
Photo check to see HOW see-thru it was. Not too bad. All the right parts were covered…
Can you tell I’m wearing leopard print undies?
We ended up heading over to Scarpetta at the Cosmopolitan to meet up with my old co-worker/Manager George. Where I had one of the best Polentas of my life. Read more about it here.
I fucking LOVE Scott Conant.
After we headed over to XS where I got to see B but also waited like over 2 hours in a million lines….. LAME.
WOKE UP STARVED. I wanted breakfast, so I made Kelly wake up and eat with me. She got a BLT and I got grapefruit segments…
And an Egg White Veggie Frittata with Potatoes and Bacon
1. They forgot my Tabasco and 2. They forgot Kelly’s fries.
LAME. They also tried to force me to get a Fruit Plate. NO!!!!!!!… grrr… But we did get Bloody Marys and Bellinis :D AND they gave me more Bacon than my frittata.. and the potatoes were shit. Soggy, flimsy and gross. BLAH. SO I ate Kelly’s fries.. which came with my tabasco sauce like 40 minutes later.. but they were hot and fresh and crispy. OK, I have faith again in their fries.
BTW, everytime we’ve gotten room service they give us a million straws and we never used them. THE ONE TIME I NEEDED A STRAW for my Bloody Mary, there was none, so I went to the straw that’s been on our floor for the past few days… hahahha
The fries, that were finally NOT soggy
I asked for FOUR bottles, they gave me five. Not to complain but they never get shit right!
AND THEN OFF TO THE POOL
Another Pink Lemonade while I attempted to stop being see-thru pale.
Kelly was a creep and paparazzi ’d me.
After a few hours I came back to hot tub some more…
This time we planned dinner better. Last night we didn’t eat til like 1030.. this time I got us 9 resos at Gordon Ramsay Steak thanks to W and him knowing the Chef there.
Taxi sono qui?
And so began our self-dubbed INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Tasting Menu
Afterwards we headed to PURE thanks to Cheri for getting us on the guestlist!
I feel asleep ALL DRESSED, ALL MAKEUP, ALL JEWELRY.
BEST CLUBBING NIGHT the whole time!!!
Dear Kim, the German with the most girly un-German name, if you ever read this. We want rights to those pics you took of us. HAHAHA.
Dear Canasians.. thanks for herding us like sheep, calling us old and being sad when you couldn’t get some, that’s what happens when you give us bad drinks.
Dear big black guys, thanks so much for saving us from the tiny Canasians.
And we woke up to this in the middle of our bathroom floor. WTF?!
The next day we woke up, and while I wasn’t hungover the whole time there, it was pretty bad anways… I wanted a BURGER.
Fruit Plate. AWESOME. Fig, Rambutan. Grapes, Berries. Kiwi. Papaya. Peach. Mango, Dragonfruit, Watermelon, Cherries, etc etc…. 
BUT REALLY?!.. only ONE rambutan adn HALF a fig?!.. LAME. But at least thumbs up to the exotic fruits.
[btw I MUST say the menu is pretty cool and offers a lot of food. Also a HUGE Asian menu! Including CONGEE!!!]
Kelly got the Southwestern Chicken Wrap – which sucked. Dry and nothing like the description. So I gave her some of my chili from my burger.
Hangover Burger for breakfast makes everything better!
And then I headed to the pool and came back the tannest I’ve been in a long long time. YES, this is super super SUPER tan for me.
Napped. And then got ready for our last big dinner in Vegas.
We met up for drinks at Aria and then dinner at Sirio from one of my college friends Min :] He’s a sommelier so obviously we had amazing wines.
After a million glasses and different drinks. I came back to the room wanting more food and champagne. I ordered Hunger Games and promptly passed out.
You can see passed out photos here. HAHA.
I woke up so comfy tho… and with an indent on my face. I was called Scarface for the rest of the day.
And then we got Donuts for Breakfast at Central.
We had already packed so we came back to nap and re-watch Hunger Games. Haha, good thing I got them to give us 1pm checkout.
SCARY!!!
We decided to take pictures of ourselves in the HUGE bathroom in Caesars hahahaha…
And then we putzed around on our phones at a lounge while drinking from our NUMB Dildo cups
After a ton of gambling, and losing monies… we decided enough was enough, it was time for the airport and FOOD.
Bye Bye Las Vegas
It was a lazy day of pool and grubbing.. and yes, more drinking… but we finally decided to get our deal together and realized that it’s hard to find a good place to eat on a Friday night.. trying to book a table when it’s already 7pm… in Vegas…OOPS. After a few failed attempts with the concierge at Caesars…
…[we got ready anyways] and ended up deciding on Scarpetta
[Oh Scott Conant you so dreamy <3 swoon]
…with an old coworker of mine, who also happened to be in town.. we headed over to Cosmopolitan – GORGEOUS hotel. Had a few drinks at the bar and then finally sat down before 10.
Bread and yummy stuff to dip it in… MMM BREAD!!!
George & I
Appetizers Round
Roasted Sea Scallops
truffled white asparagus, pink grapefruit & uni aoili
Super tender scallops… delicious white asparagus… MMMMMM….. To me, if someone can cook a scallop to perfection, they can cook. It’s hard to get it just right, especially since it’s so easily overcooked and turns rubbery like whoa. These melted at the touch of my tongue. Light, decadent. Amazing. But hello. Two scallops and two asparagus for three people? Awkward!
Special: Steak Tartare
This was okay. Probably shouldn’t have ordered it, wasn’t bad, wasn’t great. Wish there was a bigger portion….
And the best dish of the night — and possibly of the whole time in Vegas:
Creamy Polenta
fricassee of truffled mushrooms
Here is the guy pouring the sauce with truffled wild mushrooms all over the creamy polenta…
SO good we got it twice – YES twice!!! We started smothering ALL of our food with this stuff. Words can NOT describe how amazing it is… and as soon as we licked the bowl clean, we ordered another one. I’ve never had creamier, buttery polenta in my life. It was like melted ice cream of savory truffled goodness. Delicious tender mushrooms.. OMFG. Last dinner sort of food. I can die happy in a hot tub of this.
We all ordered our own dish but shared everything – not allowed to order the same thing hahaha….
Duck & Foie Ravioli
marsala reduction
This was obviously mine. It was the least tasty of the three, methinks, not that it wasn’t tasty.. the filling was good but a bit dry/mealy. The texture was a little weird for me, but the flavors were spot on – and the pasta was a good al dente.
George picked the Special: Bone-In Prime Rib with a side of Potatoes
It was delicious. If you fuck up beef, than you can’t cook at all. It was HUGE, Fred Flintstone style. I love a good piece of meat with a nice bone in it.
Kelly got the Special: Chicken & Sweet Corn Agnolotti
This was actually in my running to be one of my choices.. it was really good and the only thing we all finished!!!! YUM – the corn was amazing and added such a great texture and sweetness to it. YUM
We opted out of dessert but our awesome server gave us some deliciousness anyways…
Butterscotch pots <3 YUM
We headed to XS afterwards…. but ended up waiting a million hours in line. I ended up cutting a ton of people to get thru, get stamped, just to wait LONGER. Got to see B for a brief moment and say hi at least…. at least tummy was happy – cuz feet were NOT.
August 3. 2012. Birthday. Day off of work but I ened up doing some work anyways. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing video games…. Good thing I was part of the joint birthday party last weekend and I’m going to Vegas at the end of the month, cuz this year, nothing but a dinner is planned for the Birthday and the weekend. But back to my afternoon… video games til dinner time.
YEP. Lollipop Chainsaw ❤
SUCH a good stress relief. Die zombies die!
I think I need to start getting ready soon…
I got a special delivery :] Aside from my gifts W got me, I got a cute cupcake flower arrangement, a box of chocolates and…
BALLLOOOOONS – which ultimately pissed Didi off since she hates balloons.. but she only barks at them when she gets fussy now.
All ready and ready to go. SO HUNGRY. I barely ate all day.
Didi wouldn’t kiss me. Probably pissed she couldn’t go out and eat dinner with us. She gets like that haha
OK, stop fooling around. I slipped on my 6″ YSL pumps and headed out the door to Blue Ginger. Tradition for the family – every year parents take me to eat at Ming Tsai’s joint out here in the boonies.. Wellesley MA – srsly.. almost every year. Not sure why I can’t find of my old posts, but you can def find old pictures all over my fb. LOL.
The Delicious Blue Ginger Bread Basket
I love the crisp flatbread. Salty and crunchy, so good.. there were two types of bread, one more like sourdough adn the other more like a fluffy brioche with a eggwash crust. MMMM
A bottle of bubbly — Perrier Jouet, Blason Brut Rosé (Epernay, France)
Rosé champagne, pretty much the only time now I have rosés… is tradition just like eating at Blue Ginger, we always get this champagne for dinner. As we do usually for apps and my meal. I usually like trying new things but places I go to all the time, I become a creature of habit – especially if they don’t change menus often.
Appetizer Round
Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna Poke with Crispy Sushi Rice Cake & Peppercress-Tosaka Salad
Super fresh tuna.. I LOVE POKE great combo of flavors… also loved it with the crunch of the greens on top. The crispy sushi rice cake was pan fried to a black color, but not burnt, and was great. Tasted like the sticky burnt ricce on the bottom of the stone pot bibimbap [the BEST part] YUM!
Asian Gazpacho with Grilled Corn-Lemongrass Crab Beignet and Summer Vegetable Guacamole
Nice cool and refreshing.. I think it was a bit of basil oil or pesto dribble?! The guacamole and the beignet was the icing on the cake. My parents aren’t even that into crab cakes but they LOVED this. They also LOVED the soup, which is rare since it’s 1. thick 2. cold… and not asian at ALL haha…
Ming’s Tea-Smoked Salmon & Beef Carpaccio with Avocado-Jicama Salad & Fresh Wasabi Emulsion
Always a favorite of ours. My parents aren’t into raw beef but they’ll eat this. SOOOO delicious and SOOOOO tender and fresh and delicious. MELTED IN MY MOUTH. Taste SO good combined with smoked salmon – who would’ve thunk. These and guacamole?! Amaze balls. The portion was small, especially compared to this, but just enough.
Miso-Sake Marinated Alaskan Butterfish
Wasabi Oil, Soy-Lime Syrup and Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi
My GO-TO here, I always get this. Tried and true, I’ve had other things but this is definitely my most favorite! Buttery, silky, flakey, melt-in-my-mouth fish… with a light wasabi vaciar and sesames on top. The only complaint is that the pan-fried part was a but over-burnt/crisp – No biggie, I ate the whole thing.
The soba sushi atop seaweed salad with picked ginger was brilliant… 
I could eat these all the time, especially for a snack or lunch! YUM
Daddy, of course, got pork
Pan Roasted Pork Chop
with Morel- Spring Vegetable Ragout Wasabi-White Sweet Potato Puree
Dad inhaled it except for some of the wasabi sweet potato puree which was meh. Mundane, nothing special. The pork was cooked perfectly, a nice pink in the middle due to the brine.. lots of veggies!!.. to be honest I picked off a lot of the veggies hahaha…
And mommy was gonna get the salmon, which was my second choice, but I knew she wouldn’t eat it so I urged her to get her other choice:
Seared Sea Scallops
with 3-Grain Grilled Vegetable Salad Roasted Eggplant -Miso Purée, Tomato Confit Sauce and Saffron Yuzu Aioli
I think they called it a ragout on the real menu.. the grains and veggies tasted healthy but it was just mush. Grains overcooked and I couldn’t distinguish what was what. Usually I can eat a mixed dish and pick it apart. NO idea what veggies and grains were in here since they melded together. The scallops were cooked to perfection, chewy, tender and buttery YUM.
G R A P P A
Hugest glass of grappa I’ve ever had. I sipped half of it thru-out dessert, and dad shot it in one mouthful UGH
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake
Cardamom Ice Cream
Spiced Sugar Wafer and Chocolate Ganache
I was gonly gonna get one dessert since we have cake at home, but I couldn’t choose between the two so I got both. BITCH IT MY BDAY so I can eat what I want ;D
Chocolatey joy! I thought it was delicious and not too sweet, and the cardamom ice cream is to DIE FOR!!! Love the almond/marizpan cookie on top :D
Coco Nib Angel Food Cake
Plum Wine Drunken Cherries, Meringue and Vanilla-Cherry Ice Cream
The angel cake was good, light, fluffy but not amazeballs. Loved the meringue cookie on top and the boozie cherries though :] YUM Hands down, parents and I loved the chocolate cake better!!! BOTH were demolished though hahahah.. we love our sweets.
Asian taking a picture of an Asian taking a picture of food :D
After a long day of work and meetings I came home, changed and got ready for dinner with the parents. A pre-Birthday dinner at Asiana Bistro, in Bedford. My mom has been there for lunch with her friends and she totally loves the place. As for me, any “asian place” that has Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Chinese, etc… is a bit sketch. But I’ll play along. I just need a break from work… and some good food. PLUS, QT time with both my parents, which, lately, is far, few and rare.
Hells yeah. I know I know, I’m so freaking THUG.
So we’re looking at the menus and all of a sudden I go
“WTF?! The bottoms of the menus have bible verses…”
My dad cracked up and my mom started reading them and translating them into the chinese versions…. I guess she memorized them.
This is only funny to people who know what is going on with my mom and church lately… haha
BIGGEST. TEAPOT. EVA.
I got some Rose Champagne… they gave me a cute little bottle and a tiny little glass… I felt so Marie Antoinette. I need these glasses
Srsly. I want those glasses. Feel free to send some to me :] It’s still my birthday month ;]
Miss Tiffie
PO Box 803
Sudbury, MA 01776
Jellyfish Appetizer
Atop pickled carrots and daikon. So delicious, crunchy and refreshing! I added some chili oil to it so that it’d give it a kick. I love my cold jellyfish spicy!
Scallion & Ginger Lobster
It was their last lobster and it was big and fat. Delicious. SO fresh, I mean come on it IS New England so it better be. I love the chewy crust around the lobster from the stir-fry.YUM…. My favorite part is the…
Where it’s the body connected to the legs.. the most tedious and annoying part, which is great cuz no one eats it so it’s ALL FOR ME. I like to chew on the shell and the oil and crust come off with the meat, it’s SOOO decadent and gluttonous….. Which reminded me of when I was at Tony & Ashley’s wedding last year I got so sad they took my lobster away… I ended up pounding off the entire dish… hahaha
Found a fun video – Go Ming Tsai
Baby Bok Choy with Shiitake
The sauce was a bit too starchy – too much Corn Starch to make it thick but it was good.. I scrapped off the sauce and while I’m not a huge fan of Bok Choy, since every restaurant uses it to make it “Asian”, it was good. I LOVE mushrooms… so this made me uuber happy. UUUUUUUBER!!!
Salt & Pepper Spicy Soft Shell Crab
My mom LOVES soft shell crab. This was cut into tiny pieces.. and the crab itself was tiny – LAME. But it was tasty. Crispy. Spicy.. Too much fried noodles ont he bottom tho… I just like it over lettuce and bigger juicy chunks of the fried crab.
Whole Peking Duck
Wrappity wrap wrap
Nom nom nom
SOOOO GOOD.
The duck was SOOOOO juicy, fatty, and the skin was crisp to PER-FEC-TION. It was SO freaking delicious, I was eating SOOOOO MUCH!!! I added cucumbers and tons of raw scallions to my wrap. Just a TOUCH of the sauce. SOOOO FREAKING GOOD.
Fortune Cookie
I liked this fortune until Mommy had the same one. WOMP. HAHA.. no fun. We had some leftovers, but this was actually a really good meal :] I may have to try some of the other cuisines sometime.. I DID see Roti Canai on the menu <3 JOY
After some Korean, we headed back to food coma and relax from the hot weather in the apt. We watched some teevee, I changed into my sparky shorts and then we decided to head over to Brixton for Nikos’ birthday party.
It took awhile for me, but I finally settled on a Riot Sling
Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Lemon, Honey, Black Tea, Ginger Beer
Delicious. I’m hooked. I got two.
Samosas
curried cauliflower, potatoes and tamarind gastrique
These were pretty good, but the flakey skin fell apart too easily, I like mine crisp and firmer. Light curry taste and the taramind and frisee was a nice touch.
Charcuterie Board
So not a real charcuterie board, just pate and fish. WTF?!.. we didn’t finish this and they ended up giving the table two fo these and none of us touched it. haha. OOPS.
After this and ordering another drink everyone was here and we sat down at the bday table.
Red Vino & White Vino for the table…
The Birthday Boy!!!
Heirloom Tomato Cucumber Salad
with mint-yogurt dressing
This was delicious and refreshing.. amazingly beautiful sweet heirloom tomatoes… with crisp crunchity cucumbers… MMMM… the dressing was light and accented the fresh veggies… MMMM
Cheddar Ale Soup
with crispy bacon and crusty bread
Most of the table got this soup or the salad..MMMM so good.
And then a lot of the table also got the Fish & Chips
beer-battered haddock with mushy peas, thick cut fries and malt vinegar remoulade
B with his Fish & Chips with mashed peas.. I may have stole some ;D
And the rest of the table, along with me, got the
Roasted Half Chicken
with roasted vegetables, and brown gravy
It was just as J described.. melted off the bone with a crispy skin. It was a bit on the salty side but it was good.. and the roasted veggies were also delicious. YUM.
Spike and his girl got here late and ended up ordering everything else the rest of us didn’t. HAHA. When S’s lamb shank came me and J tried to get him to eat it from the bone, hands only, BOO, he ate it with knife and fork tho. LAME.
Shot shot shot shots…..
And sometime inbetween I made friends with one of the waiters and me and B and him got in a deep convo about Pot & Shrooms.. apparently if I ever do shrooms I have to do it with him hahaha…
and then it was back home early to finish packing and help W with his clothing donations.
:] Good times. Good people. YAY.
You are the Fried Chicken to my Waffle <3
While I couldn’t be in Detroit for it… I’ve set up a slew of surprises for him that he’ll get in the next few days leading up to us meeting in DC this weekend :]
Love you Baby! Miss you terribly and I can’t wait to celebrate together soon!!!
My beloved furbaby and this blog’s unofficial but totally official spokespuppy, Dior aka Didi, turned 4 on December 20! Yep I hurried back from Taiwan just to celebrate her birthday with her! Tons of gifts and new clothes in hand… another day to remember. Wonder if she knows that it was her birthday or she just got super lucky ;]
She spent the day snuggling with her mommy in her new bunny suit, me, since I took the day off of work to recover from Jet Lag :]
Had her dinner…
And then changed for the birthday cake!!!
Whole Foods Raspberry Mousse… SOOOO GOOOD
Time to blow out her candles…
I want the whole cake mommy….
Or a big slice…
Hehehe don’t worry we shared :] She only got a nibble…
But got to lick the plate clean ;D
Happy Birthday my LOVE <3
Woke up to have some yummy Taiwanese Egg Crepe [蛋餅] and fruits….
It’s like a scallion egg omelette on a thin thin tortilla-ish crepe :] YUM!
Source: IAmWen on Flickr
….and then after getting ready headed out to get lunch with mommy and daddy..
XOXO to a certain YOU from Taipei ;]
So mommy and daddy were already there since they came from elsewhere.. sitting and already eating [they eat SUPER fast] and they had rice noodles and pig’s blood soup with veggies on the side – I got there late and got a hotpot :] My fav.
Extra extra spicy tomato based broth with seafood and beef and clear noodles – YUM
A nice gooey runny egg… super delicious and creamy – my favorite and only type of yolk I eat… GOOOOP!!!
Daddy saw that they were selling Takoyaki [たこ焼き aka 蛸焼], my fav, and he got a “boat” of them for us to share – they were piping hot. The batter was spiced with delicious herbs and while the octopus was slightly lacking.. only one chunk in each giant ball… they were pretty tasty and goopy on the inside.
Bought some buns and waffles [you'll see I had mine for a midnite snack tonite] at one of my favorite bakeries…
PIckles Donut?!?!?!
Also bought some of my favorite asian fruit.. a HYBRID only found in Taiwan…
鳳梨釋迦 – a Cherimoya + Pineapple Hybrid aka Atemoya, a whopping 5lbs of amazing delicious juiciness 
See that big one on the top? That was the one I bought.. took me forever to eat it lol… ate so much I got nauseous lol SO FREAKING GOOD!!!
Afterwards I headed to the hospital to get my piercing infection checked out… once again I’m in Taiwan, half sick and on tons of meds… woop. At least I’m not on tons of pain medication this time [hehe, pain meds, always a fun time!!!]
I hit up some sports stores to find Daddy + Mommy some workout clothes and then needed a sugar and caffeine recharge…
Alas, after wandering about, I still figured Afternoon Tea was my best bet. Didn’t wanna try anything new. PLUS they had new desserts/cakes on display and on their menu that I HADDDDD to try!!!
Strawberry and Orange Zuccotto Roll Cake
While the banana/kiwi roll is light and fluffy, this cake was chocolatey and dense [but in a good way, definitely not overwhelmingly so] and tons of strawberry and orange pieces in it. YUM!
Black Tea Chiffon Cake
SOOO delicious. The frosting was light and creamy… like a super light whipped cream consistancy and BURSTING with a black tea flavor. The cake itself was super fluffy and also full of tea flavor and had some walnuts chopped into it. YUM – Nevertheless, I thought that it could’ve used a few layers of creamy tea goodness between layers of the cake.
Condensed Milk Cream and Strawberry Mousse Cake
I had been stuck between this and the chocolate roll above but ended up going for chocolate cuz.. I duno, maybe I’m being hormonal or stressed but whatevz I needed my chocolate but I still NEEDED this. So me being the greedy little fat kid after eating those two pieces I ordered another. It’s my tummy, I do what I want!
[rant about Taiwanese youth deleted. hahahahahha I was tipsy and angry last night when I wrote it... LOL - just annoyed at how superficial and immature ppl can be here.. act your age peeps. kthanks!]
SOOOO back to the food… A few cups of seriously strong espressos later.. [and all those cakes] I headed back to the hotel to refresh… not before stopping by Salad to buy a new short short jean skirt ;] WHICH I ended up changing into for dinner TEEHEE.
Around 630ish or so Mommy, Daddy and I headed to 雞窩 [G-WOO], just a few short blocks away from the hotel I’m staying at… it’s the sister restaurant of 驥園 which is a Sichuan restaurant famous for their clay pot chicken soups… This is the baby sister and is a little more chic, more casual and has a wider range of food…
Bamboo & Fatty Pork Strips w/ Peppers
This was really good.. altho I prefer my bamboo to be a lot thicker cut and these were some of the thinnest I’ve had – almost to the point where it didn’t seem very “bamboo-like” delicious nonetheless and the fatty pork wasn’t too fatty – which is good and bad. Bamboo is great when paired with a fattier type of meat or in a greasier sauce since it helps get rid of the grease/fat when in your belly :]
Spicy Beef & Tofu Strips w/ Cilantro
Spicy and delicious. Tender beef, not overcooked, and tons of tender tofu strips. NOM! Great with rice! I added extra fresh chili peppers to it since I’m a spicy food fiend ;]
My own bowl of Vegetarian Fried Rice [炒飯]
Delicious. And definitely tasted like it was made from fresh rice, not ghetto leftover rice like a lot of restaurants, but then you never know LOL…
五更肠旺 - Spicy Pig’s Blood & Large Intestines w/ Tofu
Chewy pieces of intestines with a little bit of crunch to it.. and creamy blocks of pig’s blood and soft tender tofu…
“五更肠旺 – Wu Geng Chang Wang” [is] a spicy stew with preserved mustard, tofu, pork intestine slices and congealed pork blood cubes.” [Source]
Vegetarian Stir-Fried Noodles [炒麵]
Spicy Clams Sauteed with Basil [炒海瓜子]
Daddy ordered this just for me :] Spicy, basil-y and tender and fresh. I FREAKING LOVE CLAMS! I ate at least more than half the dish. Sorry. But, lately, I need my clams fix on a daily basis. I’m some crazy preggno woman. BUT. Not preggo. In order to be preggo you need booty. I ain’t getting any. Haven’t. Hasn’t. And we won’t even talk about getting GOOD booty cuz then this blog will just get depressing.. okay, more food and food pix to drool over.. [btw NO feeling sorry for me. I chose not to get booty cuz I'd rather get no booty than bad booty or random gross booty. KAPEESH? Hi Mom! Hi Dad!] Btw here’s a great Clams recipe.
Salt & Pepper Fried Chicken
Not too salty, not too peppery, good flavor and lightly fried. Not usually my favorite thing to eat but I had a nice big juicy piece anyways :]
Sauteed Pea Shoots [豆苗/Dau Miu]
The plate was tiny but they were fresh and tasty. Not greasy at all and cooked to perfection!
Fried Crumbled Soy Beans over Steamed Cod
The balance of textures and flavors were great.. the fish was silky, soft, mild and tender while the crumbled soy beans were a bit crunchy and salty.. YUM!
TOTALLY recreating this and one.. three-uping it, when I go home. Strangely I totally thought this was more of a chilean or butterfish but they said the direct translation was Cod. Didn’t really taste like cod but delicious nonetheless. I tried to be anorexic and lady like at first but I was hungry dammit so I took two huge portions. :] Fat kid’s gotta eat or she’ll be cranky. SOOO.. yea. ;]
Clam and Ginger Soup
The soup tasted like chicken soup tho, not clam soup. Which makes sense since both sister restaurants are known for their chicken soups and dishes.. just slightly disappointing but also fine since, even tho the chicken soup was mild, I’ve been having clam/ginger soup almost every day since I’ve been in Taiwan LOL. The clams were so good and juicy and soft and plump. Not overcooked which is many many thumbs up!
Stir-Fried Tomato with Egg [蕃茄炒蛋]
One of my favorite dishes since childhood.. and I love my mommy’s the bestest. Great over rice or noodles… I could eat a giant bowl of it by myself. But I found there’s to be dry and not as “wet” as I’m used to. I also love it with tons of tomatoes as well as tons of eggs, and scallions.. lots of fresh scallions :]
Soft Tofu with Veggies in Brown Sauce
Fried Shrimp w/ Pineapple and Mayo – 奶油核桃蝦
[but without the Walnuts and Rainbow Sprinkles]
My favorite version of this dish, I’ve mentioned before, which is ALSO like the only time I ever eat mayo and preferably ONLY Kewpie mayo… is Fried Shrimp with Candied Walnuts, Mayo and Rainbow Sprinkles — UUUUUUBER Taiwanese :] Rainbow Sprinkles is KEY!!!!
[Source: Maya83 on Flickr]
酸辣羹 – Hot and Sour Soup
Pouring the Sea Cucumbers Dish over the Sizzling Rice
Sizzling Rice is basically fried uncooked rice which puffs up and is SOOO good…… when it touches something wet it starts popping and literally, “sizzling” YUM – I eat it by itself as a snack all the time – they sell it in snack packs :]
Sea Cucumbers Over Sizzling Rice
Twice Fried Green Beans [乾煸四季豆]
My daddy’s favorite dish, but I still think my mom makes it best! It’s supposed to be the blacker and “drier” and “flatter” aka the 乾 [dry] and 煸 [flat] the better BUT I still like the way my mom makes it, still twice fried but less fried and still green and pretty [altho the blacker the softer and greasier and deliciousnessssss... hahahaha]
This year for Thanksgiving my mom had made it with chilis which is more of a Sichuan [四川] style - speaking of which I need to make the Tday 2011 post asap ;] Hahaha.. but the Photo Album is here. and this green beans dish pic is here <3 YUM!
Happy 78th Bday Grandma…
SO why the “80″? Because in Lunar Years she’s turning 79… and we don’t celebrate #9′s in our culture so we always skip to the next number :] SO, 80!
Coffee Brulee Cake
Lots of different candied nuts with a nice tiramisu/brulee type of cake with a light creamy coffee-flavored whipped cream sort of frosting.
The Ding’s [丁家]
I ended the night, not too stressed out, but definitely in need of a drink or two [long long story]… so I headed to the 09 [09倉庫] Whickey & Wine Bar near my hotel…
Delicious Salty Bar Snacks…
A few glasses of a nice Red Cab
And of course a few plates of delicious juicy piping hot Taiwanese Sausage [香腸] with Raw Scallions/Garlic
Other than Black Taiwanese sausage from Lao Yo Ji this is my favorite Taiwanese Sausage to get in Taipei!!!! I have NO idea where they buy it from but it’s the BOMB DIGGITY YO!
And slightly tipsy and whooopdedooooing… came back home to sour straws and my love, my only my Chocolate covered sugary Waffle from earlier today :]
G’nite world, this chica needs to sleep now… she’s running on booze, sugarrrr and pure adrenaline right now ;D
This is going to be a crazy long Food Memory post – I already know it.. I tried to think of ways of narrowing it down but there really isn’t any way to go about it. I love bone marrow – I was eating Bone Marrow long before I even REALIZED it was bone marrow… sucking on bones that people usually tossed away – being asian, I ate a lot of amazing body parts before it was “popular” to do so. PLUS there are so many ways OF eating it.
Example A: Spicy Beef Noodle Soup [Niu Rou Mian, 牛肉麵]a la Mommy
She’s been making this for me as far as I can remember and I’m sure before that as well. It’s pure comfort food.. silky slowly cooked beef broth.. like a stronger beefier Pho broth, tons of scallions, my favorite flat chinese noodles.. some sort of veg – I love Bok Choy and Spinach the most with it – and of course, the star of the show, the BEEF. Not JUST chunks of beef, but tendon, fatty beef and oh yes… Bone Marrow.
SO, after my mom takes… — blank blank — long to make her special beef broth and cooked down oh so tender tendons and beef chunks… she scoops out the bones and the ones with bone marrow and actually SCOOPS OUT the bone marrow INTO the soup.. OMG brilliance! Now what I didn’t know was that she usually ate about half the bone marrows >_<;; hahahahah… This was before I knew and SHE knew how obsessed I was with this meat butter decadence so now she lets me suck them out ;]
Proof!!
Now that you’ve had a slight taste for what this post is gonna be about… I’m guessing if you love Bone Marrow even HALF as much as I do you’re drooling and have a boner.. yes if you’re a girl you probably have a female food boner… this post is gonna make you hungry. Real hungry.. for Bone Marrow.
From the pure.. roasted and scooped from the bone to in pastas, sauces, etc…. Freaking A I bet it’d be amazing in desserts, skip the lard and use bone marrow instead *HMMM* may try that soon.
How it all began….
The real obsession started here —
Chef’s Table at L’Espalier
Beef bone marrow with baguette crostini and whole grain mustard
Yep. One of the most amazing meals of my life… one of my favorite restaurants… def my favorite French resto…. this was when I realized. Yes. I need more whole bones to suck the marrow out of in my life. This dinner made me realize, this HAD to be apart of my last meal.
The Basics
The sexiest way, and messiest to eat bone marrow
No bone goes unlicked and sucked. After scooping it all out and putting it on my crostinis… EVERY bone gets a good suck and lick. TMI? PG13? Wait.. do I need to child-proof this blog post now?! OOPS. Tough cookies!
My lovey, Chef Rick Gresh of Chicago’s Prime House’s Roasted Bone Marrow
Toasted baquette, roasted garlic cloves & green city market cherry mostarda
How FREAKING sexy is that?!
Have you seen the blog post title I wrote for this next one? It’s the THING TO GET here… [other than their AMAYYYYYYYYY-ZINGZINGZING Frites]
Eastern Standard
Roasted Bone Marrow w/ Germolata and Sea Salt
Look at that sexiness. Beautiful herbs… Four beautiful hunky chunks of bone marrow and delicious toasted crostini… what can get better than that?!… Such a delicious perfect simple dinner.. obviously that wasn’t my whole dinner, I’m a fatass remember?!… but on simple nights I like just a few self-roasted bone marrows on toast with a great sea salt sprinkle and a big bottle of red. Ah the single life.
There had been a short break of getting bone marrow every other day… and one of the more recent adventures was on my latest Birthday dinner.. #1? #2? with my parents :] at AKA Bistro
Os à moelle, fleur de sel aromatique,pain de campagne grillé
Bone Marrow, aromatic sea salt and toasted country bread
While most of the dishes were… argueably.. okay NOT arguably, less than subpar… you can’t really eff up Bone Marrow! Unless undercooked? Frozen in the middle? – ew – but you can’t. This was good. Small. But good.
Craigie on Main
What I love about this is that it’s completely off the menu and you have to be in the know and order it on your own. It’s delicious, plentiful, and just *lip-smackingly* delicious. Simplicity at it’s best.
Home Cooked
Yep. I miss the days where I’d go to Whole Foods or my nearest neighborhood friendly butcher shop and buy some Bone Marrows… I’d sear both sides and then pop it into the oven til they got gooey in the middle.
PS. As I warned him beforehand, and Z was taught a lesson when he made them, I suggest NOT telling the butcher to cut them horizontally – see Toro pic below – for some reason when homecooked they just… melt awayyy.. and YES you can cook steaks and toast bread int he butter.. but I love the chunkkkkkkkkkkkk – PLUS I love scooping it out of the circle :] I save the cut ones for going out. Unless you’re a super skilled chef…/cook/master of Bone Marrow – I’m not, just keep it simple and scoop it with a spoon :]
So now… Things get more Complicated
Okay maybe not yet… this is bone marrow.. but it comes with OXTAIL. And.. all I can say is.. FUCK YEAH OXTAIL – Oxtail is up there [and on my todo list of food memory blog posts] of being a super heavenly decadent food. So pair the two together?! HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY - btw, ever try Oxtail Curry?! YES. DO IT. It’s AMAZING.
Toro Asado de Huesos
Roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade
It never gets old here… I keep coming, I keep ordering.. and this and the corn… and the uni sandwich are my must haves. MUST HAVES. Like, I get freaking CRAVINGS for Toro because of these three heavenly divine things. It’s so simple. Tender stewed meat on crostini – add roasted bone marrow – put a nice refreshing salad on side. GENIUS.
Kin Shop’s Roasted Bone Marrow
Crisp Taro Root, Radish Sprouts, Roti & Yellow Bean Sauce
Z and I came here BECAUSE of their bone marrow. He had found an article about them and they were soooooo good….. props to Top Chef OG Harold D. :] OG yo. OG. SOOOOOOO much going on – thought I’d hate it, was curious, but it was AMAZING. Creammmmmmmmy sauce with crispy fried taro root and then a refreshing crunch of the sprouts. We had Roti Canai on the side but I ate it as is. HAPPINESS in a bone :] XOXO
Custom House’s Prime New York Strip
Bone Marrow / Oyster Mushroom
Such a simple dish with simple ingredients, but one of them SUPER BOMB ASS amazing! While the steak was perfectly cooked and I ADORE Oyster Mushrooms, I do, the sauce, subtle but oh so delectable and decadent, made the dish… gave it that extra oomph and pushed it to a whole new level.
EEEEEEEEEE-TAL-EEEEANO
I love Chef Michael White. I need to make a food memory post just on HIS food. LOVE LOVE LOVE. And I LOVE his bone marrow dishes. This man can do NO wrong and is my absolute favorite go to guy for Italian food XOXO
First up, my FAVORITE Italian Resto, Ai Fiori…..
Ai Fiori’s Mare e Monte
Diver scallops, celery root, black truffles, bone marrow, thyme
How. Freaking. GENIUS. Silkyyyyyyyy scallops… subtle celery root.. thinnn but flavorful truffles.. and BONE MARROW – freaking BONE MARROW. Just LOOK at the dish. FREAKING-TABULOUSIOUS <3 Is this even LEGAL? OH.. but it gets crazier
His biggest baby is Marea… and oh is it his baby…. upscale Italianoooooo by Central Park… OHHH MAN.
Marea’s Uovo
Poached Egg, Spring Garlic, Bone Marrow, Baby Eel, Passatelli, Barley Brodo
Nothing in that description makes me not want it. Boner-licious. POACHED egg?! Perfectly poached!… – looking at it right now makes me want Momo Ramen. BONE MARROW?! Freaking BONE MARROW?!.. I know the egg is the star of this show but it’s the bone marrow that makes it that much more popping..
&
Marea’s famous Fusilli
Red Wine Braised Octopus, Bone Marrow
This is what this place is KNOWNNNNNNNNNNNN FOR! BOMB ASS Bone Marrow in the sauce.. cooked just perfect but not overly so. DELICIOUS strands of homemade fusilli and PERFECTLY cooked tender Octopus totally enhanced byyyyyyyyy yes yes yes BONE MARROW YO!
And two of the top notch food guys I ADORE approve. Yep
Tony Bourdain approves
As does Zimmern
SEE?!?!?! PROOF! I back up what I say. Not that you guys wouldn’t believe me. *sticks fists up*
And most recently, although most unpure form…
Roasted Garlic Bone Marrow Butter from Mooo…
Here’s another shot of Bone Marrow Butter from my first time at Mooo…
And I’ll leave you with my famously silly NFNS Audition Video when I make my delicious French Onion Short Rib Soup with 3 Cheese Puff Croutons – WHICH WAS SO MUCH more delicious than Breslin’s…. but inspired by Fruition - freaking Breslin trying to steaaaal my steeeeeeeze ;]
