Nanking

Ashley: So this past week I was in New York tagging along on my mom's business trip. On our last night there we had planned to watch a Broadway show, and just decided to stop by Nanking for a quick dinner. The decor looked appealing and there were quite a few people eating at the restaurant, so we wanted to give it a try!

The dishes are rather overpriced, but I'm guessing any other decent restaurant in the Times Square area would be about the same. Anyways, on to the food!

I chose the corn soup as a starter. It was great! It wasn't overly starchy like the ones at some asian restaurants, and there was a lot of flavor! Once again, I thought it was a bit overpriced at $7, but all in all I thought the soup itself was decent.

I ordered the vegetable yellow curry for my main dish. Unlike what the menu had indicated, it wasn't spicy at all. But besides that, I really liked this dish! They give you a larger variety of vegetables than what I'm typically used to, which is definitely a good thing. Most Thai restaurants give you only carrots and potatoes, but Nanking included carrots, mushrooms, water chesnuts, broccoli, bok choy, and bamboo shoots! The curry was a nice consistency--not too watery, and with a good amount of coconut flavor as well. I would definitely recommend this curry, and I'm sure their other curries are just as good!

Here's the duck dish that my mom got. I believe it was also a curry. She thought it was delicious! I thought the duck was mediocre at best, but that might have just been me. I preferred my vegetable curry over this one. By the way, the duck takes extremely long to cook and we were waiting for at least 25-30 min. because of this dish. If you're in a rush (like we were), I would pass on this dish.

Overall, I liked everything about this restaurant besides the price. If you guys are in the area, this would be a good go-to restaurant if you're looking for some asian food! I absolutely loved their curry! I would definitely get it again :)

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs

Here is a link to Gordon Ramsay himself preparing the scrambled eggs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWsOLR4wOE

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Créme Fraiche (or substitute)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Seasoning

Mozzarella Cheese

My cousin, Ashley, and I  were originally intending to make a egg, ham, cheese, and corn quesadilla for breakfast, but as you could see we decided to do something a little different. A few weeks ago, I had stumbled across this new way to cook scrambled eggs after watching videos on YouTube. I had been watching Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course to teach myself to cook and had been using this recipe as my go-to scrambled eggs breakfast for a couple of weeks now. It really is that much better than traditional scrambled eggs! It looks good, tastes great, and is extremely easy, so we thought we'd post our results here.

Preparation:

So for this meal the biggest step is the setup. Have all of the ingredients within reach before you start cooking, it will really make things easier. If you don’t have crème fraiche, I find that sour cream is a decent substitute. To season, I opt to add pepper, salt, and dried parsley to my eggs. Cooking these eggs is easiest if you have a small pot with high walls, but with enough care a small skillet would work too.

Directions:

1.     Put in about 1 tbsp of olive oil to coat the pan. This will help prevent the eggs from sticking to the pan walls when you start adding the heat.

2.     Add the eggs and butter to the pan and then turn on the heat. The butter will add a very smooth, velvety texture to the eggs.

3.     Using a spatula, beat the eggs in the pan. After the initial beating, I find using a kind of folding motion helps cook the eggs more evenly throughout.

4.     Never stop beating the eggs! Take the pan off the heat any time you notice that the egg starts to stick to the pan or start to look dried out. (I find that 15 seconds on and 20 seconds off works pretty well, but this varies with the stove)

5.     After about 3 times on and off the heat, the eggs should look moist but not mushy.

6.     Take the pan off the heat and add the crème fraiche to stop the egg from becoming overcooked. Fold the crème fraiche into the eggs until it is throughout the scrambled eggs.

7.     Season the eggs to taste and sprinkle a pinch of parsley flakes and cheese.

And there you have it! Delicious scrambled eggs that take about 3 minutes to make from start to finish. Don’t worry if you did not get the timing down the first time you make these scrambled eggs, practice makes perfect. Eventually you will be making a great, wholesome breakfast in 5 minutes flat! I also prepared cooked tomatoes on the side by cooking the tomatoes with basil leaves to add some color to the dish.

*Tip: If you are confident with your multitasking skills, start toasting bread or heating bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. right before you start scrambling your eggs and everything will be ready to eat by the time your eggs are done, saving you time! Presentation will also make your breakfast seem that much more sophisticated.

-Happy Eating!

STASH

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Lazy Dog

240 S. State College Blvd
Brea, CA 92821

Ashley: Lazy Dog is a pretty typical American restaurant. The restaurant itself is HUGE, and gives off a very laid back kind of vibe. You see a lot of people sitting outside with their dogs under the table. I don't actually know if that has to do with their restaurant name. But anyway, we came here for Sunday brunch (technically, lunch). It was so crowded, and despite the size of the restaurant, there were no free tables. Fortunately, though, there was a bar style table available and our party of 6 decided to sit there instead.

We ordered calamari as an appetizer. It was not what I was expecting! When I think of calamari appetizers I usually think of fried calamari with some dip to go along with it. That was not the case with Lazy Dog's version. Look at this.

It was almost like a Panda Express version of the traditional appetizer. But I will say that it tasted delicious! The calamari was soft, with almost a fish-like texture, and the sauce it was cooked in reminded me of sweet and sour sauce! The calamari went well with the rice and green onions. Overall, this was a nice surprise! I would say that I probably prefer this version over the traditional fried calamari. 

For my main dish, I ordered a salad. For some reason I was not hungry at all that morning. I ordered the Cobb Salad--mainly because of the avocado. It was not as good as the appetizer. I ate the avocado right away and then slowly worked my way through the rest. I wouldn't say it was bad, but compared to the appetizer, it just wasn't working for me. Personal preference probably played an issue here, though. I don't like bleu cheese or bacon, and these two side accompaniments took up almost half of the salad. I probably should have thought about more than just the avocado. There was egg crushed up somewhere in there too, and overall, I didn't think the flavors worked well together. I would much rather have just had the appetizer as my main dish. Serving sizes are extremely generous, and I think an appetizer would be filling for most people.

I don't know if Stephen took a picture of his meal, which I remember being a burger of some sort (I'm not sure, though). I tried his french fries, and those were quite good! But hopefully he took a picture of his dish and can elaborate more on that.

Overall, I would definitely come back to try out more from Lazy Dog's menu. Great selection, great atmosphere, and excellent serving sizes.

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Bruxie

Ashley: Stephen and I have been to Bruxie several times already, but haven't gotten around to doing a review. So at last, here it is! I would say Bruxie was one of the biggest surprises I've had in a while. I had heard pretty good reviews about it, but I could never wrap my mind around the concept of using waffles as a burger bun. But I'm glad I gave it a try.

I've always ordered the Green Eggs and Ham Waffle Burger. Here's a picture of what it looks like, along with some waffle fries (which are just as delicious, btw)

I remember the first time I ordered from Bruxie, I had skipped breakfast and as soon as I saw the pesto and egg ingredients in this waffle burger, I looked no further. Before I took my first bite, I was expecting a rush of sugar from the waffle buns. But nope! In my opinion, I might even prefer them over hamburger buns now. They have a slight crisp to them that you can't achieve with hamburger buns, and the waffles were surprisingly more on the salty side, rather than sweet. Everything seemed to work. The pesto, egg, and ham combination was delicious (hence why I keep going back and ordering the exact same thing). If you do happen to order the regular waffles, though, which I hear are also very tasty, they give you their own original syrup in a cute little glass container, which I think adds a nice personal touch.  The waffle fries were good too. The closest thing I've had to the waffle fries were the fries from Chick-fil-A, but these are better by far. The waffle texture gives it that really unique crisp.

Customer service here is also fantastic. Everyone is so friendly and their service is quick and efficient. There's always been someone greeting people with the menu outside of their store, and everyone working there seems to enjoy it.

All in all, I would say that Bruxie is one of the most original restaurants I've tried lately, and for those of you in the southern CA area, I would highly recommend giving this place a shot! Waffle burgers are not as strange as they sound.

Happy eating!

-STASH

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LAST DINELA OUTING: Seoul House of Tofu

(310) 444-9988
2101 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064
www.seoultofuhouse.com

For our last dineLA, Ashley and I...didn't end up going to a dineLA restaurant, unfortunately. Sorry guys! :( We really wished we were able to go enjoy Little Next Door with all of its great French cuisine and solid reviews. However, when we arrived there, there was a line out the door and we were starving so we weren't able to stay and wait. We will be heading back there to write our review soon though, so please stay tuned for that!

Instead, Ashley and I went to Seoul Tofu on Sawtelle for dinner. Just a word of caution...parking on Sawtelle is hard to come by. But just walking by, we noticed that this place was completely PACKED. Unlike Little Next Door though, there was not much of a line which was perfect for us. We were quickly seated after about a 15 min wait. I was considering ordering a combination but after learning from the waiter that that was just half portions of the tofu pot and the traditional dishes for about $17, I decided I was going to have the seafood tofu pot and an appetizer of kimchi pork dumplings instead. Ashley ended up ordering the assorted tofu pot.

The kimchi pork dumplings came first. Beware, those who don't like kimchi should stay away from this dish. But if you do like kimchi, then congratulations! That's literally all you taste in this dumpling. Mixed with little pork bits, this dumpling is actually quite good but the kimchi could get a little overpowering. I definitely wished that this dumpling was more pork and less kimchi, and I do like kimchi.

Now to the tofu pot! I do like my tofu pots slightly spicy and the spicy level did the trick. The tofu pot had a nice kick to it, but not so much so that it left my tongue useless for the rest of the meal. The shrimp and seafood were delicious in the tofu pot and tasted nice and flavorful. The tofu was also really good as it had a great texture to it, being soft but not mushy. Ashley's tofu pot also tasted similar to mine so it's really up to you and what you like having in your tofu pot. Overall, we enjoyed our meal here so thanks Seoul House of Tofu! The service here is also young, effective, and cordial so our dinner experience was a welcoming one. If you are too lazy to cook but don't want to break your wallet, this place is a decent choice. 

Happy Eating!

- STASH

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Casanova

5th St & Mission St.
Carmel, CA 93921

Ashley: My family went to Carmel-by-the-sea a few weeks back for 4th of July. Since we got there around lunch time, we randomly chose a place to eat. I'm so happy we came across this little gem! We had brought our dog, Sandy, and were looking for a restaurant that was pet-friendly (which most of the restaurants are). The girl standing out in front of the restaurant asked us if we had reservations, which we didn't. Thankfully, though, there was one table for four right outside on the patio that was free, and we were seated there. Sandy was able to get a nice little treat and water bowl for herself while we proceeded to enjoy our lunch.

Their menu had a nice selection, which can be found here: Lunch Menu

After we had ordered, they brought out some crispy breadsticks for us to enjoy. It was a nice change from the usual bread and butter that you get at most Italian/French restaurants. The breadsticks came with a meat sauce for dipping, and we were able to get 2 refills without a problem.

We skipped out on ordering any appetizers, and I suppose that was a good thing because the main entree was quite a large serving size--or at least, larger than what I would have expected from a French/Italian restaurant. I ordered the Linguini con Scampi ($17), and with the presentation of the dish alone, I was already impressed.

This dish was delicious! They give you a nice amount of seafood, and the sauce was made just right! I was afraid that it might have been overly cheesy, but nope! The shrimp was probably my favorite part. They were huge! And juicy and flavorful. All in all, a very impressive dish, and I would definitely come back for more.

After we had finished the main course, we were offered a dessert menu. I thought the desserts were way overpriced, but we decided to try a couple, anyway. We chose the homemade Tiramisu, as well as the ice cream assortment.

The Tiramisu was presented so nicely! And it was made to perfection. It was creamy but not soggy, and the coffee flavor was just right. The vanilla ice cream scoop on the side added a nice touch. I loved this dessert!

This was their ice cream dessert. It came with three scoops, all of which were different flavors, as well as a nice serving of fruit. The vanilla and chocolate were my favorite, and the other one was alright. But because I'm not accustomed to tasting wine in my ice cream, I only took a small bite. Both of my parents thought it was good, though! I'm not sure if the ice cream was homemade, but it was delicious nonetheless. The effort that this restaurant puts into arranging and presenting their food really adds a nice touch. If any of you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend giving this restaurant a try. Yelp says that prices are rather expensive, but from what we had from the lunch menu, I'd say it was reasonable for the amount/quality of food that you're getting...with the exception of the dessert, which I thought was rather overpriced. The workers their were so friendly and attentive. The whole experience was lovely. I definitely want to go back again!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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A Year Ago in France: Ep. 1

Ashley: I went to France last summer with my family, and my only regret is not starting this blog earlier! I have so many beautiful gorgeous pictures of food, but I have no idea what the restaurants were called or what the dishes were anymore. But I thought it would still be interesting to do a throwback kind of post. This particular restaurant was at a farmhouse! I'm pretty sure it was family run, and most people who ate there were actually French. My dad had found the restaurant from reading Rick Steves' travel book. And I'm so happy he did, because the food here was not only *gorgeous*, but tasted amazing as well. Looking back on all of the food pictures I took during our vacation in France, this was one of the few restaurants that I actually distinctly remember. Just not the name, unfortunately :(

Anyway! This post will be more pictures than text, since my memory of the taste of the actual food is quite vague now. This restaurant had two dining rooms, a main one, and one off to the side in another building. My family and I were seated in the side dining room, which I thought was nice because it was a lot quieter. The interior decor looked like this:

 The table was set so nicely. And yes, France was I swear the only trip where I consistently resorted to using Instagram. I just thought it brought out the rustic setting of the whole place! Here is a close-up of the plate set up and a part of their drinks menu:

Ahhh the colors all went so well together! Since I don't remember much about the menu, I'll proceed to the food! I do remember this being a two course meal, where in addition to the main entree each of us could either select an appetizer or a dessert. I think my whole family picked appetizers.

Yes, this was an appetizer! This restaurant overall had better portion sizes than those typical of most French restaurants. I remember this dish very well. The French are known for their foie gras dish. And of course, being a tourist, it was one of those things on our list to try. It's made out of the liver of duck, and I'm pretty sure it's banned from the US. It's really buttery and creamy. Unfortunately, I really really did not like this dish. I know it's a delicacy and all, but something about the taste mixed with the slimy texture of the whole thing just clashed for me. I wasn't able to finish more than a couple bites. The chefs in French restaurants often personally come to your table during your meal to ask if you liked the dish. So to avoid offending them, my parents ate the rest of my foie gras too, even though they had already finished their own relatively big pieces.

I took pictures of everyone's food. I want to say this was my sister's appetizer? It was an assortment of cheeses wrapped with other stuff. It almost looks like sushi! No idea how it tasted since I don't think I tried it. But it sure looks pretty!

This dish I do remember! The red wine sauce made this dish amazing. The pork itself was ok, not too flavorful, and I remember it being a little bit tough to chew. But with that red wine sauce, I finished the whole thing without a problem! The quiche and garlic bread slice were also pretty good! It was the perfect serving size as well. My whole dinner experience left me feeling satisfied, not bloated.

The rest of the pictures are the dishes that the rest of my family ordered. I can't write much about them because I have no idea what the dish was. But I hope you guys enjoy the pictures nonetheless!

The end! Sort of a different post, but I figured that since I've traveled to so many places and I have all these beautiful pictures of food to share, I might as well! Even though I don't remember the details of the dishes. I have so many more meals from France to share. So if you're interested, definitely keep an eye out for this series!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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