Indulging at uzna omom; harajuku pancake

Recently I discovered a new place in Taipei…and the smells and the menu looked quite alluring….

The wait is quite long, it is indeed a new place, but I was ready to wait.  I was dying of hunger, but I needed to try this place.

The decor was adorable!!!

Aren’t the ceiling fans freaking adorable? I love this place, it was just so warm and cozy [minus the fact that the AC was turned up super high – haha – on the inside I was warm and cozy]

I ordered a sparkling white grape juice with no sugar – which is sad cuz they added so much lemon in it, I could barely taste grape, it was basically lemonade.

I ordered a cooked spinach salad with smoked duck.. it came with a delicious creamy corn soup and two pancakes [they are famous for their pancakes]  All was delicious!!! Although the spinach was barely cooked so it was basically raw.. but they did add a few mushrooms slices, which was nice… and the duck was delicious, just wish there were more.

For tea time places, I wish there was always choses when it came to soup – I’m not a creamy soup person – I’m lactose intolerant – but I did enjoy this soup.  And pancakes were delish!

Also ordered a side dish of broccoli with shrimp and some mushrooms… and some bacon.  It was overly salty, I think they accidentally salted it twice or thrice, cuz it was painfully salty.

The next concoction was this coffee with shaved ice and condensed milk. Gorgeous and delish!!!

For dessert i had the Honolulu Soufflé pancake and it was smothered in a delicious cream and caramel-y sauce, and crushed macadamia nuts. OMG it was SO GOOD, but extremely filling.  Half of this filled me up like no other. SO RECOMMEND THIS!!!!

I’d say come here for the desserts/pancakes and amazing matcha tea lattes and stuff but don’t expect a lot from the savory.  The desserts are delicious!!!!

BTW like my new cell phone case?  She wanted a selfie!

Food & Relationships….

You can tell a lot about a couple when they go out to eat.  How they interact, how they talk [IF they talk] and just the little things.  Today I was out to brunch and a couple sat next to us.  At first me and my brunch date was guessing if they were brother and sister.

“No, they don’t look anything alike, PLUS they act like an old married couple”

They barely talked.  Both scowling and both staring at their iphones.

My brunch partner argued they must be related and forced to go out and eat… by parents? I still said NO. They’re definitely boyfriend and girlfriend…. just “sick and tired of each other”

The waitress came.  The guy ordered for both of them.

Me and my friend nod at each other. Yep. Dating.

The couple each goes back to their phone and barely exchange a word or two.

First the guy’s cinnamon bun comes.  As he eats it, he feeds a bite, unwillingly, to his gf.  After almost inhaling all of it he offers another bite.  The girlfriend looks up from her phone, shakes her head, and then back down to playing on it.

The food comes.

“DOESNT THIS COME WITH BACON?”

That’s all he says to the waiter.

They go about eating.  They kind talk.  They randomly, awkwardly feed each other a bite of each other’s food.  He keeps SNARFFLING – not sniffing but like loudly inhaling his boogers in  and they kinda talk. KINDA.  They don’t really look at each other and look almost annoyed.  But go about with the typical “couple” things.

They left really soon after.

This reminds me of the demise of all my relationships.  Nothing to talk about. Don’t wanna look at each other.  Don’t wanna show affection, etc etc.

IN CONCLUSION.  I’ve been with my man for one of the longest relationships I’ve ever been in and we still always have things to talk about, feed each other, show affection, giggle, laugh and love to look at each other and touch.

Thank you couple about to break up for reminding me how blessed and in love I am.

BTW, my Lobster Benedict was BOMB!

PS. yay for my boy Austin on VMAs!!!!!!! Winning Artist to Watch AND a bomb ass performance.

Miami Day 4 & Joe’s Stone Crabs… and 72oz of Margaritas at Primetime

It’s our last day in Miami…. I don’t wanna leave…

Neither does J.

Time to say bye bye to our beloved free amazing gourmet breakfast buffet at Eden Roc

Note: See all of J’s beloved donuts. Yes he’s a donut fanatic. :]

My last free omelette and bacon

Bye Bye Bye :[

Sad Good Bye

Had the most AMAZING time with the most amazing person.

Bye bye Lobby Bar [Bartender Tommy haha J’s new friend]

SO OFF WE WENT… hiked the beach… first stop, nostalgia…. Wet Willie’s…. we got some blue shocker mixed margarita. SO sweet…. but hey I felt 18 again.

We continued our long walk on the beach… a nice long walk from Eden Roc [Miami Beach] to the end of South Beach at Joe’s Stone Crabs

Woot woot finally got to sit INSIDE. Last time I was REJECTED cuz of dress code. UH. Tube Top and skirt was a NO-NO.

AMAZING BREAD. Pretzel bread and the flatbread crips were the SHIT!!!

One again I was in charge of food and J was in charge of wines….

Delish!…. he got a Chard… I got… uhhhhhh…….. something spicier?!… I don’t remember..

Crab Nicoise
shaken with jumbo lump crab, locally grown tomatoes,
olives, green beans, eggs, potatoes, red onion & herb vinaigrette

Chock full of fresh sexy crab…. amazing crisps… and just UGH delish!.. Even the dressing was SOOOOOOOO divine!!!!….. I loved how they served this in a cup and shook it out in front of us. HOOKED.

We got the SELECT Stone Crab Claws… I’ve had the medium and I’ve had the jumbo [bigger isn’t only better] which were ok, so select was definitely the best choice.

Best last lunch in Miami.

And of course their famous Key Lime Pie.

Demolished. LOVE.

But our day wasn’t over yet. We were determined to get a GIANT margarita on Ocean Drive. So where do we end up? Primetime. Of course :] We could’ve gotten smaller ones but it was 2 for the price of one and I wanted the giant one… so we both got 32oz ones…..

J got the
Aperol Spritz
Aperol Liqueur, Astoria Prosecco and splash soda

And  I got the
Champagne Kiss:
Champagne, Chambord raspberry liqueur blended  to perfection

I was taking pics of us so the waitress offered to help…

Much better..

Bigger than my head.

Tipsy tipsy weeeeeeee… time to head to the airport to drink more….

Miami Day 3… Pool, Cigars, Bubble Bath and Blade Sushi at Fountainbleau

After a super crazy fun night… we just wanted to relax… and cover up from all our sunburns.. of course J took caution and I didn’t…

Ready to beach….

After our free breakfast!!!

That’s a pulled beef  benedict…. OMG….

We also got some cigars for later…

Adult Pool

Beach

Yep I got tanner and burn-ier….

And then it was cigar time.. the “cheaper” one so we can compare

GANGSTA YO

And then I left J to the balcony and a good book and I decided to bubble bath…. not enough bubbles….

CAW CAW CAW CAW

Ok too many bubbles…

Drowning…

UHHH…

I am now dubbed the bubble/foam Queen <3

This is After I let the water out and got out of the tub…

And awesome BF cleaning up my mess hahaha

SO MUCH BUBBLES

This is for you Steve. Stellar Revival shoutout YO. Wait what… yo… way to be so famous and have a FAN OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE….

OK cleaned up and time for my last night in Miami… Mokai here I come….

So first we had dinner at Blade Sushi Bar/Lounge at Fountainbleau… yes yes remember I came here last year? Well we were supposed to go to Hakkasan… but decided that partying after dimsum and Cantonese food/dimsum [omg I’m so craving dim sum tho] would suck [food coma] more than sushi at Blade.

BLINDING menus. Unnecessary

Magical hot towels that grow…

Edamame

I love piping hot edamame… freshly steamed and large sexy sea salt flakes… :]

We couldn’t choose which sake to to buy so our waiter suggested we try a flight first and then choose what we liked most.

Sake Flight

The Sake we ended up choosing… delish! Oh and J called it… we liked #1..  the others were way too sweet…

Octopus Carpaccio
Sweet pepper, Tomato, Red Onion, Cucumber and Spicy Vinegar Dressing

AMAZING. I remember I loved it when I got it the first time and was asked if I was in the food industry/food critic – cuz I guess, people don’t REALLY get the things I do?!

Yellowtail with Yuzu Miso Glaze
Asian pear, Avocado, Micro greens, Yuzu Miso vinaigrette

Amazing… delish yellowtail… yuzu tang… and the sweetness of the asian pear and creaminess of the avocado… this literally MELTED in my mouth. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD.

Salmon Sushi and Uni Sushi

You can never fuck up OG sushi. AMAZE.

Geisha Maki
Yellowtail, Ooba leaf, Orange, Asparagus wrapped in Soy paper,  Wasabi, Tobiko, Yuzu Miso Glaze

This was my roll choice. I loved it… jalapeno… light, refreshing.. definitely super fusian…. so Miami.. reminded me of Samba Sushi.

Bleau Maki
Tuna, Yellowtail, Salmon, Avocado, Scallion, Masago wrapped with Daikon, Soy Onion dressing

J’s choice. Also good. It was tasty but WAYYYYY over-doused in that dressing…. ugh.. drowning in it….

And dessert…

A gorgeous Key Lime Tart with pineapple and blackberries

The tart was creamy and also grainy from the sugar. Not sure how much of a fan I was… but it was quite delicious, super sweet…. hey we had a HUGE ASS bottle of sake to finish, we needed to keep on eating until it was gone… and while, yes, if you havent noticed we rarely do dessert, we did it and loved it.

Afterwards…. we decided we were old. We hit up the Lobby Bar… got some scotch, whiskey and champagne… brought it up to our balcony and had our other cigar and drank the night away in the beautiful weather and view. Life is perfect.

Today…… and last week’s breakfast

I had the most shitty day.

And then I had the best ending to the night…. my bf gave me frownies that looked so cartoonish and comical… I couldn’t stop giggling… I fell over in giggles……

It’s insane and ridic to explain the whole thing that happened tonight… today…. yesterday…. but ok I admit it’s been a shitty few days since my crash.  I’m still not done figuring out my insurance/police reports and my anxiety/panic attack medication……. my psychiatrist is on VACA. WTF. Part of the reason I had the crash WAS cuz of it, I’m sure.

BUT… I wanna say, I got a lot of stuff done the past two days… and I had full support from friends and mostly my wonderful bf J.

Thanks for your cute little frownie faces that make me giggle and laugh like crazy.  See you soon.

You are just another blessing in my life. Thank you. Love you.

And I’m glad you loved the food I made the last time you visited me……….

BLACK Truffle… this thing was worth like over 90$

Dinner… Rose Champagne and Wine [brought by J]

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Swiss Chard, Habaneros, Celery, Carrots and Onion…. 

a WHOLE Fresh Black Truffle Whipped Cauliflower with white truffle salt and oil…. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mixed Mushrooms…. 

My first plate….. of many…

And then we decided I should get this… we had a glass of wine and then……. DID IT…

Didi was jealous cuz J was in her spot

The next morning J made me food… I helped with peeling bacon and mixing eggs…

So much bacon and so much bacon fat….. we fried the WHOLE packet!!!!!!

And then we scrambled like 8 eggs in the bacon fat…. just added some pepper to it… thiS WAS AMAZING…

Obviously I made the mimosas and some black coffee… and we had fresh pineapple to gnaw on…..

BEST. BREAKFAST.

Brunch at Kitchenette, more Kaffe 1668 and homemade pizza

No need for words. Just pictures. And happiness….

Meh Bloody Mary

Food Coma? Or thinking about Coffee….

Kaffe 1668 that is…

Which I like to call Sheepy Coffee…

We ended up making pizza before I left…

And we used the leftovers again on the next trip…

Adventures of Serina and Tiffie Ninjas….

She got me this gorgeous Hello Kitty Swarovski Ring <3

I brought her to get her ears pierced a a Birthday present <3

Met Bar

Worst Sole EVER

Cubano

My Athens Burger

I think she got the LA Burger

Brunch at Bullfinchs

I made dinner for everyone

Fugakyu for Girls’ Nite

We wanted a boat

Szechuan Chili Beef a la Mama

I made Breakfast for me and Serina

Sisters <3

Legal Seafoods

Black Friday Shopping

Best Purchase

Love you S <3 Miss youuuuu!!!!

Diner Brunch – Worst Brunch Ever. Worst Movie Ever.

The only redeeming quality about this hangover brunch at The Diner was their bloody marys.

My mimosa was O-K

I like how the guy is sitting…

Deviled eggs.. actually really quite good.. nothing special but still good

Pickle Jar <3

Overly Sauced Wings

ALL FOR MEEEEEE

My omelette… veggie… tots.

COLD TOTS :[

And this horrible bacon

COLD TOTS :[ SO SAD

Was this peach or apple crisp? But.. mehhhh

Afterwards we watched Silent Hill: Revolution. SHITTIEST HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR… I cry.

Baltimore for the day…. Wit & Wisdom and the Aquarium

It was a late late night… but we ended up getting up SUPPPPER early in the morning to run to the train to head to Baltimore for the day…. I may have been hungover… can’t really remember at the moment. BUT it was early but the train ride was quick and fun,

a

The view from Wit & Wisdom at the Four Seasons in Baltimore. GORGEOUS

They had a brunch buffet… so I OBVIOUSLY needed a pic of all the ketchup

We ordered a few things and then were served EVERYTHING

Pastry Basket – sadly were out of house but still yummilicious

We got pancakes and fruits

MMMMMM cute little pancakes

Tiny Buttermilk Pancakes with Bourbon Maple Syrup

These were seriousy probably the BEST pancakes I have EVER eaten. W was talking with his buddies and I was trying to be a lady cutting them into thirds and nibbling. OMG I could’ve INHALED in one bite.

Side of Bacon YUM

and then Shrimp & Grits!!! OMFG.. WITH PORK BELLY. I DIE. DELISH
A tried to kill W with the shellfish [haha I kid] but I had it and DV had it… SOOO GOOD…. creamy creamy grits… succulent super well spiced shrimp and fatty pork belly/bacon…. I LOVE… since W cant eat shellfish, DV ate it and seemed to love it as much as I did, def ate it faster.

Fried Egg over Biscuits and Thick Chunky Gravy

The gravy and sausage was on the sweet side but it was SO tasty.  ESP with the biscuit to balance it off. And you guys know that a good fried egg is a sexy fried egg and it’ll always make me extremely happy. I ended up eating the fried egg, the sausage, most of the biscuit and half of the gravy. There’s always that bit of micro greens that makes me feel healthier. HAHA.

W got the  Crunchy Chicken Sandwich
bread & butter chips, crystal hot sauce mayo

And I got the
Jumbo Lump Maryland Crab Cake Benedict
old bay hollandaise, crab glace, benton’s country ham, green

By this point I was gonna burst, but OMG SO FUGGGGGGING GOOD.

Egg Porn Time

DELICIOUS.

FULLLLL and SUPER FULL we walked over to the National Aquarium to wander for a few hours. SO MUCH FUN.

And then we were off to eat at Pabu….. yes THE Pabu.K

Brunch at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

We had taco night with J the night before and decided to plan for movie and brunch the next day before J’s Madonna concert.  W and I slept in late so we decided to just go for brunch at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and after J and I went shopping, walking around DC – it was a beautiful sunny day.

First thing’s first. The food.

The place is hip and a purposely “run down” sort of look.  A bit dusty, as W pointed out, but cozy and muy swanky.  Very “yuppie” as J pointed out.

They had to check to make sure they could do a Bellini. weird.  Bellini with citrus twist for me and Bloody Mary for J.

A dozen oysters on the half shell with different saues and LOTS of horseradish for meeeeee :D HELLO it’s a freaking OYSTER PALACE!

Next we had the fresh made Ashley’s Doughnuts. Chocolate, Sugar and Dulce de Leche

W wanted to take one each but J and I were nicer and decided to split them all into threes, each getting a different belly button doughnut hole.  I thought the sugar was the best.

Next was, per J’s recomendation, Angels on Horseback
Grilled- Bacon Wrapped Oysters, Vin Blanc, Vinegar Reduction
I don’t usually like cooked warm oysters so it was a little weird, texture/warmth wise for me with the burst of salty oyster, BUT it’s rare I don’t think a bacon wrapped morsel is overrated. Job well done.  Not my cup of tea, but a good bacon wrapped food.

J’s Steak & Eggs with Texas Toast, BAAACCCCCCON and my eggs.. more on my dish later

W got the Fried Chicken Dinner- All Dark Meat
Salt Roasted Potatoes, Braised Organic Greens, Creamy Slaw 

They warned it was a lot and it was. Also, amazing potatoes.

SO MUCH BACON

Oh yeah my  Pontchartrain
Two Poached Farm Eggs, English Muffin, Blue Crab, Tasso, Crawfish, Cayenne Hollandaise

I always do need my eggs. CHUNKS of hearty rice seafood, large buttery gooey runny poached eggs and a delicious slightly spicy hollandaise atop fluffy muffins. YUM.

Tabasco and Black Pepper.. Egg Porn

JOYYYYYY… a few drinks later and shoving down most of the food and bacon… shoppppping sprreeee.. and then Top Chef Isabella’s book signing later that night… post coming up next :D