west coast snacks: SWEETS

RER 8.29.14

Of course we had to have snacks during our West Coast sojourn as we hit different destinations and took a little road trip. Check out the sweet thangs we devoured up and down the coast!

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Minamoto Kitchoan, San Francisco

I love Japanese sweets. Love. We walked passed Minamoto Kitchoan on Market Street on our way to the Ferry Building, so we stopped in on our way back. I got the yummy tsuya pancake—bready, sweet, and filled with red bean; a kusamochi rice cake—gummy and goey, filled with the textured ultra sweet red bean; a stunning crispy waffle cookie filled with tasty sweet custard; and finally a yummy mochi ball studded with red beans and filled with the famous red bean filling. I was in heaven with every bite I took. Obvi need to restock.

RER 8.25.14

Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co., Carmel

After a less than satisfying lunch, we needed something sweet for the beautiful ride down the Californian coast. Enter Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co. and their cinnamon pretzel pastries and giant macaroons. The pretzel was huge, flaky and delicious, though it made a mess of the rental car. The eggy macaroon was definitely a favorite, dense with coconut and almost custardy.

RER 8.29.14

RER 8.29.14

DK’s Donuts, Santa Monica

So, these doughnuts blew my mind. There is no other way to put it. I’m deffo still dreaming about these doughnuts. DK’s Donuts was our last stop in LA, right before getting on the plane back to Jersey. We got the beautifully purple ube bacon flavor, which was salty, sweet, crunchy and earthy; the Boston cream—soft and sensual, creamy, chewy with just the right amount of chocolate; the red velvet— cakey with a tiny hint of chocolate and tang from the sour cream cheese frosting; and the apple fritter, which had just the right amount of sticky deliciousness and tart apple bits. Like I want to go back ten minutes ago.

Stay tuned for the savory stuff! Those treats were just as delicious!

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8.29.14

RER 8.29.14

COLOR lives on: Teppan Bar & Grill

RER 7.6.14

Sometimes colors leave impressions that last the longest. Memories of flavor can fade and disintegrate and texture moments can wither and flatten, but color can reverberate and live on, brightness branded in time.

Somber grey packages dotted with warm brown paint strokes, conceal and hide, instilling sudden heat and precious humility. Creamy white rounds set the stage for long strands highlighted with seductive violet, evoking mysterious reveries and pleading imagination.

Rosy rows tickle taste buds, stroking heartstrings and recalling perfect evening sunsets and tender kisses in the grass. Fiery orange and red create heated flashes, blinding and beautiful, like that unforgettable first time.

A dark drizzle decorates deep decadence, underlined with mossy green complexity and dimension, unearthing warm desires. Sharp golds and buttery peaches lost in a fuzzy outline of forced freshness and crisp clarity, make wishes come true.

RER 7.6.14

Orbs of faded pastels dulled with time and heartache swim next to pristine white clouds of endless dreams and marauding nightmares, ending with simple sweetness.

This time the memory circumvented the way things felt, how each bite filled the mouth—all forgotten but a vivid hue.

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7.6.14

RER 7.6.14

oodles of NOODLES: Ippudo

RER 12.8.12

It was part two of a birthday surprise. It was supposed to be part one, but it became part two because there was a three-hour wait. At first part one was going to be Momofuku, another trending spot, but the venue changed to Ippudo because of familiarity.

I am not sure when noodles became so hot, but they really are. Both of these restaurants, Momofuku, created by the now famous chef David Chang, and Ippudo, boasting traditional Japanese ramen, had incredibly long wait and were filled with passionate eaters.

Ippudo was a maze, dancing with lights and hot bowls, sprawling counters with low seats, and funky music of so many different genres, from elevator to the infamous MJ. Like a hipster paradise. Both light and dark; at first austere, but then really welcoming, as Japanese greetings were called all across the room as new guests entered.

The menu is an amazing list of appetizers with succinct descriptions, just enough to maintain mystery. There were combinations that us foreigners could hardly dream of and traditional items that bring them foreigners closer to home. Trendy.

And then, at the top of the last page, is a list of 6 different Japanese ramen bases, along with 7 different  toppings. It does not sound like a lot but the possibilities are endless. Essentially, each ramen is just a base, a broth comprised of different ingredients (vegetarian or meatarian), along with other floating elements, to add flavors and different textures. Each ramen come with topping suggestions ranging from pork belly to soft-boiled eggs.

I forgot it was ramen, and what ramen entailed; broth, ingredients and a bunch of noodles. Basically soup. They were able to pack some flavor into the broth and even the noodles, that looked pale and non descript. There were different flavors dancing on the top of the bowl, just waiting to be stirred. A dollop of some mystery special sauce that comes with the Modern Ramen, a small heap of scallions, swirling black liquid, a few pieces of soft pork, and then that special topping from the side list.

I am not a soup person, so this was stepping out of my comfort zone. My mouth was looking for crunch, and refuge from the saltiness that it encountered. I was longing for more scallions to breathe freshness and contrast into the broth and the thin noodles. I enjoyed my extra topping of a soft-boiled egg, though it was not the most aesthetic of things. The chalky creaminess of the almost cooked yolk really added some smoothness and balanced some of the salt levels. To me it got really boring, slurping the same feeling over and over. There was little variety, not allowing me to forget that it was soup.

Our waiter pushed the authentic angle. So authentic, they do not offer take away or doggie bags, since it is not done in Japan. But that does not mean I have to be a fan. I repeat, I am not a soup person. I knew that walking into the place, but I went for my time with my friends, a birthday and the experience, not necessarily for broth and a pile of noodles. It was deffo a fun place and a fun night, an adventure of ambiance and conversation, and oodles of Japanese noodles.

 RER

12.9.12

RER 12.8.12