Rosies Hot Buns – Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookie

Thanks to my friend Jonathan I was asked to try some cookies that are now available to buy online. They were so sweet that since the first batch took me 22 days to get they auto sent another package next day ASAP!  Yes, from none other than the amazing Rosies Hot Buns.  And yes, they now sell cookies online!

YAY surprise – they come in a cute tube…

Can’t wait to see what’s inside

I’m like a kid at Christmas

Thanks Jonathan for thinking of me :]

Aren’t they the cutest packages???? Ugh, so creative!!!

Even Didi is curious, sorry baby, chocolate in it so none for you.

OMGAHHHHHH!!!! I can smell them already

They were fluffy and HUGE.  Just enough of a “crust” to satisfy.. I’m back and forth on skinny crusty hard cookies and big satisfying ones. This is a meal in itself.

Time to bite in… GRRR my mom stole some from me as well.. hahaha…

So yes definitely fluffy… you could chock full of pistachios and chocolate chips.  You could taste both and while I hoped for a bit more crunch to the pistachios – I’m huge on texture the flavors were amazing.  And like I said, amazing fresh, you could tell these were baked with love.

A tad on the sweet side for me, but I’m weird like that, plus nothing like eating with a cup of tea, coffee or some milk wouldn’t fix.  I would recommend them for a sweet tooth.  They’re huge so don’t feel bad if you eat the whole thing immediately.. or need to share it with a friend.

Want more cookie porn, check it out on their website here. I was a bit too distracted to EAT them than to take prettier pictures.

So hurry up and buy them here.

8 cookies for 16$
16 cookies for 30$
24 cookies for 44$
32 cookies for 48$

Delicious, you recieve them super fast and super fresh! DO IT NOW! For your oved one, including your own tummy!

Thanks Rosies for the cookies, I’ll be sending them and recommending them to all my friends :]  Can’t wait to see you put out more flavor options as well!!!!!

春水堂 Chun Shui Tang

After our snack at Wu Fu Wontons we took the HSR to Taichung… took less than an hour….. we spent the day shopping and etc… and ended up at one of my favorite place… [I love tea houses]

春水堂 Chun Shui Tang

Chicken Feet 鳳爪 <3 My favorite

Dried Squid Shreds and Chinese Sausage

Sort of a fish paste 魚漿 with some veg in it and then pan-fried.

Blood Cakes… Chicken Wings… etc etc… we even got two bowls of noodles… us ladies can EAT.

Butter Toast

Delicious Free Desserts

And then dancing in the streets of Taichung to burn off all the calories…

New Song Museum, Agnes B. Cafe and Khaki Cafe

No words Necessary for this post… let your eyeballs enjoy

New Song Museum

Agnes B. Cafe

I won a mug :]  They were surprised cuz people usually only win once a week or so and I got it on the first try – what what?!?!?!… heyyyoooo

SO CUTE AND YUMMY

And then late late dinner was at Khaki Bar/Lounge

Beef Noodle Soup

Dumplings

Boom!

EVA Hello Kitty from LAX to Taipei!!!!!….

For once I had a plane ride at 6pm instead of 6am….  so off I go…. Boston to LA….

I’m excited for the warmer weather…. so tank top it is

Got a yummy Chicken Marinara with Green Beans over Rice meal… Salad, Roll, Butter, the works… had some nuts too…. MMM, nuts… (I may have already snacked and had a few glasses of free booze at the VIP Airlines Lounge earlier…)

LA!!!!… Beautiful view…

Sat in the VIP lounge and ate tons of food include this self made “Asian Salad” with Champagne….  I took some of the “Asian Salad with Wonton Strips” And added some Teriyaki Chicken to it… why not?!… a lot of the other stuff didn’t look too appealing except for Korean Ramen and Japanese Noodles… all which was consumed (duh)

WAIT “Why is this a Hello Kitty ticket?????”

HOLY CRAP!!! We’re on the EVA HELLO KITTY PLANE!!!!

Life is now… complete!!!!

Scallops

Sea Bass? It was freaking CHILEAN SEA BASS!!!! SOOOOO good… and of course more and more booze…

And los of veg…

Dessert was fruits and a yummy mousse cake, some tea… and more wine :]

Midnight snack while watching FROZEN was a Turkey Sandwich… which, I have to say was greasy and pretty gross….. sorry EVA… I didn’t like it, maybe I would’ve more if there was a Hello Kitty face on it…

Breakfast Time…

Coffee….

Congee…. with 1000 yr egg, fried tofu with fish ball…. shredded dried pork, Fermented Spicy Tofu, pickles… and then some…

And fruits <3

Oh hello…. Taiwan beer… I’m definitely back in Taiwan

WEEEEEEEEE 5am and ready to party

Yes we’re back in Taiwan

Craigie on Main – 8 Course Tasting Menu

The one and only Woo Bear, my favorite NYPD PoPo/Detective/Bodyguard/Bestie came to visit me in Boston and being so busy with work lately we FINALLY got a chance to meet up, rant, chat, laugh and just have a jolly awesome time.  I picked him up from his hotel and even though we got there early they had a table for us already set for us.

Woo Bear & Peep Peep unite!!!!!

AKA

He’s the Gru to my Agnes

I told him we had to go to Craigie on Main.. it’s farm to table and seasonal and just one of my favorite places MUST GO TO EAT AT places in Boston… well it’s in Cambridge but same difference. I adore their open kitchen. And everyone there is SO friendly and awesome. PLUS every time you get the tasting menu you get different and new things it’s NEVER the same.

After careful, not so careful thinking we decided to order the everything 8 course tasting menu.  We started off with a champagne for me and a “manly” scotch drink for him. I think the waitress said it was a scotch rimmed with absinthe?!… I thought it was delicious!!!!

We also ordered a bomb ass bottle of French Burgundy Pinot Noir – mad $$ but soooo worth it

I asked for them to write out the menu for us so I could have it when I went home… obviously so I could blog!!!

And then it began….. as we sipped our yummy drinks, the food started flowing….

Trio of Amuse Bouche

Citrus Cured Striped Bass, Avocado, Red Onion, Pickled Pine Nuts

This was Woo Bear’s favorite… mainly cuz of the avocado he said.  It was good and reminded me of tuna tartare, I think mainly cuz of the color, would’ve never thought it was striped bass – but I guess it was cuz of the citrus cure.  You couldn’t really taste the citrus but it was a good bite.

Razor Clams, Uni Vinaigrette

Texturally wise, this was my favorite of the three. It was obviously clams… and I LOOOOOVE razor clams.. I’ve never had it sliced before and it was amazing.  Need to start taking my razor clams not whole on a shell… hehe…

Smoked Bluefish Rillettes, Hackleback Roe

Taste-wise this was y favorite. It was a beautifully soaked fish… and with the caviar and everything it was pretty divine.

The waitress loved that I had a champagne glass tattooed on me haha..

Sea Trout Pastrami
Winter Chicories, Blood Orange, Pistachio Vinaigrette

I actually expected a smokier tasting salmon, from the looks of it, but the taste was impeccable.  The texture of the salmon was of smoked salmon but it definitely had that “pastrami” kick to it.  With the added crunch of the chicory and pistachio it was heaven in each bite.  It actually would’ve been an amazing salad with more chicory and pistachios but deeeeeelish!!!!!!!

Roasted Sturgeon à la Poêle
Camargue Red Rice, Red Onion Soubise, Beurre Rouge

When the last dish came out we finally finished our first drinks and got to get into the the wine, which paired PERFECTLY, as waitress said it would, with the food… It was salty was soooooo gooooood.  Not sure what the greens were but the rice was just barely el dente and chewy and amazing, I almost thought it was wheat berries…the surgeon [this was the first time Woo Bear ever had it, but I have] was soooo buttery and beautifully cooked.  Like I said, it was salty but it still tasted awesome….

Delicious wine with an amazing friend!!!

Spice-Crusted Striped Bass Kama

Wait. What? KAMA? UM, I LOVE YOU CRAIGIE.   I love Fish Collar Bone [aka Kama]

Even the waitress told me to make sure to take a pic – I think she saw me taking pictures before… and probably assumed since I was asian HAHA

It’s all about this:
the Tuscan Olive Oil, Citrus Vinaigrette

And cuz we were “her friends” she poured it on for us. AWWWWW I felt so loved….!!!! She even said “Of course Tiff, you’re my friend” hahahaha… maybe she remembers me from my past eatings there…. LOLOLOL… I always eat SO much here

This was my piece… Woo Bear and me both picked our pieces CLEAN!!!!!… We ASIAN YO.  We waste NOTHING!!!

House-Made Red Beet Conchiglie Pasta
Boudin Noir Ragoût, Fava Leaves

This was beautiful. Fucking beautiful. BEET PASTA? It’s like taking a veggie I love with a pasta I love and combining the two.  When I first looked at it, I was like UHHH.. meat? blah? WHAT? But it was delicious.   The sauce didn’t overwhelm the beet taste in the pasta and the lava leaves added a nice green freshness to it.   Will definitely try to make a beet pasta in the future… altho I’ll probably make pappardelle or gnocchi.

Slow-Roasted Veal Sweetbreads
Wild Mushrooms, Farm-Fresh Egg, Chorizo Sauce

This may have been my favorite dish of the night, minus the bone marrow later, but I can never not LOVEEEEEEEEEE and orgasm with bone marrow.  But the poached egg was SOOOO beautiful.  The sauce, the mushrooms and of course SWEETBREADS.  I really need to find a place that sells sweetbreads so I can start cooking them.  They’re one of my favorite delicacies.. even more than bone marrow and foie gras cuz I can never find them to cook them myself… and because of that, I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to order sweetbreads when it’s on the menu.. well I guess the same with the other two but still….

And then when we thought it was all over….

Axis Venison Two Ways: Spice-Crusted Leg, Crepinette
Mustard Spaetzle, Hakurei Turnips, Red Cabbage Purée

And obviously we got it with the BONE MARROW!!!!

Can you believe they asked us if we would rather have duck fat roasted carrots OR bone marrow? UMMM… we didn’t even look at each other and Woo Bear and I both screamed BONE MARROW!!!

It was all so freaking delicious….  the crepinette was SOOOOOOOO delicious. It was a yummy venison meatball!!!… and the venison leg, sliced and cooked rare was just SOOO tender and delicious.  I ended up eating the marrow on toast and then the rest of the marrow all over my veal dish and licking it up. The spaetzle was crunchy and divine and while it was from “mustard” it had almost a delicate “cheese” taste to it.  Definitely some of the yummiest spaetzle I’ve had.  The turnips were great.. I thought it was daikon – which I guess is basically a turnip/carrot – and just all of the items combined was ORGASMIC. We had SOOOOOO much bone marrow it could feed a family of 10.

Palate Cleanser
House-made Lime Frozen Yogurt
Basil Seeds

Delicious. Refreshing. YUM.

We got this amazing Bourbon:
Michter’s 20yr Cask Strength Single Barrel 114.2°

At 67$ a glass it better be fucking amazing and it was… smelled like caramel and was soooooo tasty. Yeah disgustingly expensive but also disgustingly delicious.

Dessssert time.. so it was definitely more than just 8 courses….

Moroccan ‘Upside Down’ Carrot Cake
Goat Cheese Sorbet, Dates, Caramelized Almonds

I told them no goat cheese but they gave me some anyways.  I ate it anyways.  But the cake was super dry, even though I loved the look/concept of the cake.  Next time I make carrot cake I’ll have a beautiful slice of carrot on top.  It didn’t go with the goat cheese even tho I tried it together to make it “wetter” and neither did the sauce.  It was kinda sad to see such a fantastic meal end so badly.

Chocolate-Fernet Branca Crémeux
Roasted Lemon Puree, Tarragon Ice Cream

I don’t really think that was what we got… it tasted like mint ice cream on chocolate mousse and crunchy sticks hahahaha…. it was good but didn’t feel like a FULL dessert, like a side to a dessert…

BUT AT LEAST THIS SAVED THE NIGHT

We had a special complimentary Hot Cocoa to warm us up… there was definitely some chilies and cardamum in it <3

Everything was talked about, we definitely spent a good few hours there… and in the end we realized:

Love you Woo Bear. Can’t wait to play again soon!!!!! Miss you dearly already!!!!

I love Costco Pizza and Homemade Tacos

W is finally out of Detroit WOOHOO. We planned it so that we both got in around the same time in DC and headed straight to Costco for some PIZZAAAAAAA – we’re both starved.. so we need a lot of food in us….

A whole large pepperoni pizza please…

I would like some pizza with my chili pepper flakes. K, thanks. And then right after? We took the longest nap, EVER.  We woke up just in time for dinner though :] Homemade tacos a la Mama W <3

I see you W :D

She made a yummy minced beef, mexican spiced meat.. and we filled crunchy tortilla shells with the meat, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheddar and salsa… [no sour cream for me please]

We had a lot…

We took back the leftover shells and meat and a few days later we made a yummy Nachos plate in the middle of the night hahahaha :]

Homemade Pita Pizzas at Midnight

I was feeling particularly hungry the other night and made myself some delicious pita pizzas.

I first baked the whole wheat pitas in the oven for a bit on each side til crisp… added a bit of mozzarella cheese to melt on top of each.  Put some Scarpetta arrabbiata sauce on top

Sugo all’arrabbiata (arrabbiato means angry inItalian—the name of the sauce is due to the heat of the chili peppers) is a pasta sauce made fromgarlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked inolive oil. Basil is sometimes used, although many chefs do not. The dish is usually served with pasta(especially penne and may have chopped freshparsley sprinkled on top.^[1]

…and topped them with toppings and extra extra cheese. Shredded AND fresh mozzarella.

Not sure if I really enjoyed the sauce, need to try it with pasta.  I love you Scott Conant but not sure if a pasta sauce with a shelf life of a year is really my thing.  I was lazy but I should just stick to making my own sauce like I usually do.

Oomphed up Margherita Pizza… extra basi and TONS of extra cheese…  with some freshly cracked black pepper.

Veggie Pizza – Red Onions, Mushrooms, Golden Cherry Tomatoes and Basil – with extra cheese!!!

All ingredients were bought at Whole Foods that afternoon :] And both were topped with a heavy hand of hot pepper chili flakes. I have a HUUUUGE tub of it that I bought at Costco :D

Gyro, Pho, Chinese Food, Monopoly and Wine… Good to be back in DC

Last minute planning led us back to DC. And first thing’s first…. we headed straight to Astor Mediterranean for a Gyro.  W got the regular lamb one, and I got the chicken, wish these things were bigger, I could probably eat three in a row just to get full. Delish!  It was HOT HOT HOT out.  The walk there was grueling.. but SO worth it.

Then we headed over to visit the new Bar/Restaurant Brixton pre-Grand Opening.  Hey, guess what?!  It’s a long fence! Hahaha…

After chilling for a bit we headed back to W’s apt and we were still hungry.  So me and W ordered some Pho and took a nap.  Yay for hiding out with AC indoors on a hot hot steamy day.

Iced Vietnamese Coffee and Young Coconut Water w/ Coconut meat in it YUM from Pho 14.

My everything pho with tendon, tripe, rawwww meatttt, NOM, basil, jalapenos, sprouts.. and tons of Sriracha.  Strangely I haven’t had that much heat in awhile and this made me go on FIIIYAHH.. I’m getting weaksauce, but I inhaled it anyways and sweated a storm.  Sexy, I know.

#5. Tai, Chin, Name, Gan, Sach — Slices of eye-of-round steak, well-done brisket, well-done flank, soft tendon, bible tripe.

I got these at the Detroit airport before we left…. they were okay, the banana ones were weird.. sour banana? Ick.

The night ended with a few bottles of white wine, Boys vs Girls Monopoly… and chinese takeout from North Sea – we got Hunan Chicken, General Tso’s… some fried dumplings, fried rice and wonton soups :] Haha….

Best times!

Oh Canada……. just for Poutine

I just read this article that my friend Michelle just sent me on FB.  Haha 10 things they don’t tell you about marrying a chef. Okay, so I’m only dating one but they are so true.  Busy busy people so I cherish every minute we can get together.  I love when he gets off early or surprises me during the day for a few minutes.  So W got out early on Friday and we decided to head into CANADA for dinner!

All dressed up and ready to go….

I LOVE this dress/top.  I’ve been obsessed with buying stuff from Dolls Kill recently.  Spicing up my wardrobe a bit :]

Need to keep warm… still ended up freezing whilst we waited for the bus back into the States.. womp womp fail.  WHY THE HELL IS DETROIT/WINDSOR SO COLD?

Honestly it took longer to get to the tunnel entrance to get on the bus TO Windsor than it took to get there.  It’s only 4$ to get on the bus to cross the bridge to Canada. AND if the machine doesn’t accept your cash 3x we get on for free. Haha so we actually got a free ride there AND back!

Literally took barely a minute to get to Canada.

Psyched!!!

SUPER PSYCHED!!!

Our first international trip ;] Hahahaha… and we survived!  It was easier getting into Canada than getting back into the States… LOL so much more security.

THIS IS A FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!!

YAY we’re in CANADIAAAAAAAAA!!!

We headed over to Caesars since it was pretty empty for a Friday night.  We could see people getting ready for Cinco de Mayo – which was the next day – but still EMPTY?!?!?!.. on a Friday night?!?!?.. so guess all the action is in the casino…

YAYYY we split 20$ to spend on playing random silly slot machines and I lost most it… W won most of it back and then at the end of the night I wont 14$ which gave us 9$ extra WOOHOO which ended up being poutine $$ lol

We were hungry so… obviously we wanted our Poutine!

As we walked back to the Poutinery… this is our view of Detroit from Oh Canadia HEE HEE

Frenchy’s Poutinery. W already did his research before we came. WOOHOO.

We split a regular with classic gravy, cheese curds and montreal smoked meat.  We should’ve gotten a large or two regulars. Next time :] It was a tad salty but was expected!, but SOOO amazing….. fresh fries… MMM and those cheese curds really got my mojo going.  Especially the ones on the bottom that started getting melty and gooey :]

And yes, this was under 9$ LOL… before we got waters LOL

W was a sweetheart and let me have a lot of gooey cheese curds.. hehehe… I let him have more of the smoked meat.  SOOOO GOOOOOD!!!… also made him miss his Canadian buddy Spike :] TEEHEE..

We should’ve timed the bus schedules better cuz afterwards we ended up waiting for the bus in the cold for like a half an hour. Haha. Turns out it was the same driver that drove us into Canadia… LOL.. Great times!  Next time 1. Learn Bus Schedule 2. Get more Poutine 3. Get pho!

Nothing Mini about Minibar at the Copley Square Hotel

I was hungry.  SOOO hungry especially since W ate the rest of my sammy.. good thing we ate a lot.  but we HAD to watch How I Met Your Mother. OK fine let’s just get a quickie bite of small eats… I’ve been wanting to go to Minibar for awhile and was just too damn lazy to cross the street everytime I was shopping Copley – I even had a groupon or a Gilt thing for this. Ooops.

Our waitress was SO cute :] We both had bright red lipstick on *instant connection* hahahaha…

I started off with this, our waitress’ recommendation…

Ox-Tail

Supposed to be with Gin but I got it with Vodka [recommendation from Waitress]…. St. Germain, Rosemary, Lemon & Grapefruit

It was super yummy so I got another one after I slurped this up.  The food came out kinda slow so I was pretty much done with my first glass when it came.

These actually came out last, which I’m not used to, but I wanted to put it first so everything would seem right in the world.

Garnished Local Oysters

I’m not a huge fan of pre-garnished oysters, I like to DIY with tabasco, lemon, horseradish, cocktail sauce… Wasn’t too into the red pepper but they were fresh :]

Za´atar Fried Chicken Wings

These were hot and delicious.  It was strange cuz usually I wouldn’t like a wing with a spice crust like this, it was thick and covered it but it was SOOOO GOOD :] So nice to eat a different kind of wing every now and then. Altho my heart will always belong to Hooters HAHAHAHA #classy…. and Firefly’s GIAAAANTTTT wings YUM

Parmesan & Herb Pomme Frites with Black Truffle Aioli

I. Love. Frites.

That is all. These were DEEEEEEEEEEVOURED.

Mini Burgers / Grilled New England Ground Beef / Vermont Sharp Cheddar / Spicy Aioli

Got them medium rare, but they came out more on the rare side which I l  I looooove!!!! These were so cute and the bun was nice and fluffy… nice thick juicy meat  WHICH I LOVE – just say no to thin flimsy patties – MMMMM… pickle!  I didn’t taste any spicy Aioli but the cheese was also a nice thick layer MMMMMM…. Need mustard.

#mustardwhore

:]

g’nite folks