Recipes

July 25, 2017 Japan

Afuri Ramen Tokyo - Yuzu Shio Ramen in Ebisu

Hello Ramen!

I was so excited when I learned about Afuri Ramen in Ebisu.

Afuri's signature ramen uses a yuzu shio broth, a lighter broth made from a chicken, seafood, and seaweed stock and accented with yuzu's citrusy and floral flavors. I LOVE yuzu, a fragrant Japanese citrus fruit that I discovered back in 2011 when it was less recognized and less prevalent in the US.

In the close to 15 years since the original location in Ebisu opened, Afuri Ramen has expanded significantly. There are numerous locations around Tokyo now (Harajuku, Nakameguro, Roppongi, Shinjuku, Azabujuban, etc.) and even one location in Portland, Oregon (!).

Despite the expansion, there are STILL lines out the door. This place is super popular, and for good reason.

We showed up early to the original Ebisu location (before 11:30AM) and thankfully had no trouble finding a seat....

July 25, 2017 Japan

Matsuya Kanda - 130+ year old soba shop in Tokyo

There are many excellent places to get soba in Japan.

However, very few places have the historical charm and heritage of Matsuya Kanda, a family-owned soba restaurant that has been running since 1884 (!). Matsuya Kanda is located within walking distance of Akihabara, the famous electronics area in Tokyo. It's the perfect place to catch a casual, inexpensive, yet very tasty lunch of freshly made soba noodles after wandering around Akihabara and nearby Kappabashi Dori (Kitchen Street) for a a couple hours.

...

July 20, 2017 Japan

Bird Land Tokyo - yakitori in the basement of Ginza

Bird Land Tokyo 31.jpg — *Bird Land Tokyo*

Bird Land is a one-Michelin starred yakitori (grilled chicken) place located in the basement of the Ginza subway station in Tokyo. It sits across the corridor from its more famous neighbor, Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Though located kiddie corner from each other, that is where the similarities end.

While dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro is a serious affair where the diners quietly watch Jiro perfect his craft, dinner at Bird Land is loud, smoky, and crowded.

The yakitori concept revolves around the hot charcoal grills in the center. You can either order a la carte or try a tasting menu. They grill mostly vegetables and various chicken parts on skewers.

The Chef's Omakase (tasting menu) is reasonably priced and is an easy (brainless) way to try a variety of things if it’s your first time....

July 13, 2017 Japan

Sushi Ya Tokyo (すし家)

I’ve encountered Chef Takao Ishyama several times now.

I first met him when he was working at two-Michelin starred Sushi Kanesaka. Although I was initially disappointed that we did not get Kanesaka-san himself during our visit, I was still very, very impressed with every single course from that meal.

Fast forward three years. One of our friends who lives in Japan had recommended to us this new sushi restaurant called “Sushi Ya” すし家 (ya means family). The prices at Sushi Ya are a bit more reasonable than other sushi places because the chef does not use certain exotic and more expensive ingredients.

However, his skills are top notch, and the sushi is excellent.

I visited during lunch and fell in love with the place.

I really, really enjoyed every single piece of sushi. Better yet, our entire meal for two was only $140 USD (including sake, tax, and gratuity), which felt like a steal. In fact, I enjoyed my lunch a lot more than our $400+ dinner the night before at Jiro’s apprentice’s place, 2-Michelin starred Sushi Sushi Harutaka (which I generally found too salty for my tastes).

I vowed to come back for dinner for the full experience. [update: link to full dinner experience] ...

July 1, 2017 Guide

Tour of Top Taiwanese Street Dishes Part II: Taiwan Night Markets

This is the second post highlighting my trip to Taiwan and Japan in February 2017. Other posts in this series include A Tour of Top Taiwanese Dishes - Part I: Noodles, Dumplings, and Breakfast.

Night markets are all over Taiwan.

Taiwan night markets are a sight (and smell!) to behold - a collection of food stalls selling everything from popcorn fried chicken, oyster omelets, and fruit to more exotic things like deep fried stinky tofu, fresh durians, and even chicken testicles (!). I think the only way to really experience the heart and soul of Taiwanese food is to visit one of these.

Although Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) is the most famous night market in Taipei, many say that Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) has the best food. Our local food-obsessed friend took us here to try several bites before jetting off to a couple more locations to try a couple other specialities....

June 27, 2017 Guide

A Tour of Top Taiwanese Dishes: Part I – Noodles, Dumplings, and Breakfast

Welcome to a new series! This is the first of many posts that will highlight my trip in February 2017 to Taiwan and Japan. Enjoy!

When I’m on a trip, I hate wasting time and stomach space on bad food. This is why I research restaurants religiously before embarking on a trip. If there are restaurants that are difficult to book, I try to book them early. Ideally, we would never be desperately scrambling for food and then settling for expensive mediocre food because we didn’t plan.

This typically works fine. Unless, of course, you are planning on eating casual street food.

It’s still possible to research street stalls. However, it’s much harder to find them in a sea of a night market, especially when it’s dark out and signs are not always written in English. It’s times like this that I really, really wished I had a personal guide.

We lucked out this past February when we flew to Taiwan to attend a wedding. The bride is originally from Taiwan and knows ALL the best eats. A couple days before the wedding, the bride and groom took us around on a tour of the bride’s favorite top Taiwanese dishes.

Here’s a summary of our extensive tour! (Part I)...

June 21, 2017 Europe

Kristiansand Norway

This is the eighth post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway, Bergen Norway, Alesund Norway, and Geirangerfjorden.

After spending a day at sea, we were finally heading to our last stop of the 8-day cruise. It has been exciting winding in and out of the fjords while exploring various towns. In some ways, we could already feel that the trip was winding down.

Our last day we stopped in Kristiansand, the fifth largest city in Norway and the largest one in Southern Norway. The city is known for its massive zoo, multiple music festivals, and outdoor leisure activities. It is a popular vacation spot, especially for families, and tourism is huge here.

The city is named after King Christian IV, who founded the city in 1641. The word "sand" refers to the sand beaches on which the city was built. Our ship dropped us off really, really early in the morning. It was so early, in fact, that we really felt like we were the only people in the city....

June 19, 2017 Norway

Geiranger Fjord - Cruise of the Norwegian Fjords

This is the seventh post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway, Bergen Norway, and Alesund Norway.

Hello Geirangerfjorden (Geiranger Fjord)!

Welcome to the fourth stop of our 8-day Royal Caribbean cruise exploring the fjords of Norway. This UNESCO heritage site was THE highlight of the entire cruise for me. I absolutely loved it.

The whole area is stunning. The water is pristine, the scenery is breathtaking, and the panorama views are spectacular. There is no real town here, just a small tourist village to support the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit each year. The village has a mere 250 residents who live there to support all of the tourists that come through every year....

June 11, 2017 Europe

Alesund Norway - Cruise of the Fjords

This is the sixth post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway, and Bergen Norway.

Welcome to Alesund Norway, Stop number four of our cruise of the Norwegian fjords.

Alesund is a port town right at the edge of one of the most famous fjords in Norway, Geirangerfjorden (I will have a separate post dedicated to our visit to that fjord!). A lot of visitors will stay in this quaint town as a starting point for exploring hikes in the surrounding mountains, fjords like Geirangerfjorden, and local festivals.

One of my favorite parts of a fjords cruise is to wake up every morning to approaching land and houses from our next destination. I highly recommend getting an ocean view room if possible for a cruise like this. It makes so much of a difference because the views out the window are really stunning (plus the rooms are less stuffy since you can open the windows and let in fresh air!)....

June 7, 2017 Europe

Bergen Norway - Cruise of the Fjords

This is the fifth post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, and Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway

Bergen is Norway's second largest city and was the second stop of our cruise.

Bergen's most famous landmark is Bryggen, a series of colorful Hanseatic commercial buildings lining the waterfront. Bryggen was dubbed a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979. Nowadays, those buildings house various little gift shops and restaurants where you can browse to your heart's content.

Bergen is also a great place to stay if you want to take day trips to see the fjords. Of course, since we came on a cruise ship and arrived VIA the fjord, we spent our time exploring the city....

May 30, 2017 Europe

Pulpit Rock Stavanger Norway - Fjords Cruise

This is the fourth post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen and Restaurant Relae.

Welcome to Stavanger!

Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway and grew mostly due to a vibrant offshore oil industry. Oil is still the major industry for the city, which has ~125,000 residents (a bit larger than Cambridge, MA where I live!). We were visiting Stavanger to explore Lysefjord, a 26-mile-long fjord located just 16 miles east of Stavanger.

One of the most famous sites in Stavanger is Preikestolenm or Pulpit Rock, a huge 2000 feet tall cliff that rises over the famous fjord. The only way to reach the top of the cliff is to hike the 2.4 mile trail up to the top. Because it takes close to an hour to reach the trail head from the cruise ship (we had to take a bus and a boat), this hike essentially took up all of our time in Stavanger.
Bryan and I chose to hike to the top while his parents opted to take a boat excursion down the fjord. Here's us at the trail head!

The hike is somewhat challenging in that there are definitely points where you have to hike uphill for a stretch. All in all, however, we found it to be OK. It's billed to be a relatively easy hike, and people of various ages, including kids, hike it frequently.

The views were beautiful, and we didn't even really mind the mist and slight rain that came every so often....

May 22, 2017 Denmark

Restaurant Relæ Copenhagen (Relae Copenhagen)

This is the third post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen.

I only had time for one really nice meal in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen was the starting point of our week long cruise with Royal Caribbean exploring the fjords of Norway. We had chosen to fly into the city a couple days early to explore the city. The first night we enjoyed a fantastic simple and traditional Danish meal at Restaurant Karla. The next night, I chose to visit Relæ, a Michelin-starred restaurant from El Bulli and Noma trained chef Christian Puglisi.

I was drawn to Relæ for several reasons. One, it clearly has excellent food. The restaurant boasts one Michelin star and is ranked number 39 on S. Pellegrino's Top 50 restaurants list. My food-loving coworker from Denmark highly recommended it. More importantly (for me, at least), the restaurant focuses on sustainability and offers "no-nonsense" creative food at reasonable prices.

I love their philosophy, "Relæ works on focused and tasty food, no muss, no fuss."

"Simplicity with quality comes first, great details are just beneath."

The restaurant did not disappoint. I LOVED my meal there. The food was fresh, creatively, and outstanding. Service was great, and we loved the warm and approachable feel of the place. Here's a look at our meal!...

May 13, 2017 Europe

Greetings from Switzerland!

Dear friends,

I am so sorry for the lack of posts lately. I have been so, so busy. Please follow my adventures on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter if you want to get a better sense of what I am doing "live."

These days, I am traveling faster than I can write. The blog is woefully about 3-6 months behind my travels (I am really trying to shorten that). For now, one approach I am taking is to write a quick, summary trip report after each trip and then follow up with detailed posts later. This way, at least you know where I went in case you are planning a trip to the location.

ANYWAY, I just came back from a week-long trip to Switzerland. Since it was a business trip, I did not spend my time optimizing my meals. Still, Geneva and Lausanne are lovely cities and I would highly recommend stopping by if you are in Europe. Here's the trip report!...

April 24, 2017 California

SingleThread Farm Restaurant and Inn - Sonoma

THIS, my friends, is the most anticipated restaurant opening of 2016.

SingleThread is a farm, restaurant, and inn. It's modeled after the concept of the Japanese ryokan, where guests stay overnight and enjoy an exquisite kaiseki meal at the inn. The farm supplies vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, honey, eggs, and olive oil

Husband and wife duo Kyle and Katina Connaughton are the masterminds behind this new place. Kyle Connaughton trained as a chef for years in Los Angeles before moving his family to Hokkaido, Japan for three years. There, he honed his craft in Japanese cuisine while Katina studied sustainable farming practices. The family then moved to England where Chef Connaughton headed up the experimental kitchen at Heston Blumenthal's world famous restaurant The Fat Duck.

In 2012, Kyle and Katina finally decided to move to California's wine country in order to work on opening up their dream restaurant and inn. Chef Connaughton opened up Pilot R&D, a culinary research and development center similar to the experimental kitchen he ran in England. He used it to design and develop dishes for his future restaurant.

In December 2016, the doors of SingleThread, the culmination of a lifetime of preparation, finally opened.

We were thrilled when we were able to grab a reservation in March, merely three months after the restaurant opened.

...

April 14, 2017 California

The Restaurant at Meadowood Napa

“The — *The Restaurant at Meadowood Napa*

“Turn right at MEE-dowood lane” the robotic GPS voice chimed as we turned onto a small road in quaint St. Helena, a beautiful, walkable little town in Napa that’s home to many excellent restaurants, wineries, and shops. We chuckled that the voice did not recognize such as well-known name. Didn’t it realize we were visiting one of the most famous, highly-regarded restaurants in Napa Valley, and even in the U.S.?

Soon, we drove up to a small gate-like structure where an attendant greeted us.

“Have you ever been on the property before?”

“No, it’s our first time. We’re visiting the restaurant.”

He pointed us the way to go, and off we went. We drove past an outdoor swimming pool, several tennis courts, a spa, and lots of green, wooded areas. It felt like we were at some sort of retreat center – a place where once could stay for days just enjoying the various leisure activities.

We drove past the Inn (where guests can stay) and up to the deceptively simply-named “Restaurant and Grill.”

As soon as we walked up the steps, a friendly man came out to greet us. He saw I was struggling to take a photo of the front of the restaurant (while trying not to drop my handbag and coat), and he kindly offered to not only to take a photo for us, but also have his colleague hold my coat for me.

After the photos, we entered the restaurant. Vanessa, our warm, cheerful, and knowledgeable server, greeted us.

At The Restaurant you buy tickets in advance for the tasting menu. As a result, the ordering part of the dining experience is almost eliminated, except for drinks. This means they can start bringing you food almost immediately, since they already know what you’ll be having. In fact, several small dishes started coming out as soon as we ordered our wine.

It was like a well-timed orchestra....

April 13, 2017 California

Weekend in Napa and Sonoma!

It's been years since I've been to Napa and Sonoma in the spring (probably since those days I used to cover the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition).

Greetings from Sonoma!! The weather is absolutely gorgeous here! #snowescape #california #sonoma #sonomavalley #vineyards #mustang #topdown

A post shared by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Mar 18, 2017 at 9:01pm PDT

I had forgotten how lush and green the scenery is. It's magnificent and totally breathtaking just to drive around and see the rolling hills of vineyards. The yellow mustard flowers are out now too, carpeting entire areas with their cheerful expression.

*A Mexican feast in Mountain View at Feista del Mar Too*

This past March, Bryan and I spent a quick weekend in northern California. First we visited some friends in Silicon Valley (hello Mountain View!) before renting a car and driving up to wine country for the weekend. Here's a sneak peek at this next (relatively short) series that we'll begin on the blog....

April 7, 2017 Chicago

Dinner at the Exclusive Kitchen Table at Alinea Chicago

This is the eighth and final post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo, Frontera Grill by Rick Bayless, Giordano's Pizza, Portillo's Hot Dog, Lou Malnati's, and Girl and the Goat.

"Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."

This is how Michelin defines a three star restaurant.

A special journey is exactly what we did when we secured hard-to-get reservations at the exclusive Kitchen Table at 3-Michelin starred Alinea in Chicago. We built a trip around the restaurant reservation.

I had never dined at Alinea before, and thus had never experienced the "old" Alinea (the one that's showcased in a number of documentaries). Why "old"? In early 2016, Alinea decided to execute a major reboot shortly after its 10th anniversary (its most successful year to date). Co-owners Chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas decided they needed a change, and closed the restaurant for close to half a year to implement the transformation.

Alinea reopened May 2o16 with a completely new look and a revamped menu. The dark, modern, and moody decor has been replaced with a lighter, softer, and cozier feel. Chef Achatz had created a brand new menu from scratch, keeping virtually none of the signature dishes that many have come to identify with Alinea.

For one, there is more optionality. Gone is the single $265 Tour Tasting ticket. Instead, you can choose between three different menus, all of which can be reserved as tickets via the Tock system on their website. There's a 12-course tasting for $165 - $225 (includes food, service, and tax) in the "Salon" located on the second floor. There's also a 16-18 course tasting in the "Gallery" on the first floor for $285 - $345, described as a combination of "fine dining" and "experimental moments".

Finally, you can book the most exclusive option - the Kitchen Table - a private glass-enclosed room located inside the kitchen. Each of these tickets costs $385 and it is only available for a party of six. We booked super early and managed to reserve the kitchen table the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend.

So we made a trip out of it.

And our tasting menu itself felt almost like another trip, this time a culinary sensory exploration of tastes from around the globe.

...

April 3, 2017 Boston

Il Pesce Eataly Boston - Barbara Lynch

It's been a long, long wait for Bostonians who have been waiting for EATALY by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. The construction alone took about a year as we all waited in anticipation for the transformation of an old, boring mall foodcourt into the Italian marketplace and restaurant emporium known as EATALY.

When EATALY finally opened in November 2016, the place was mobbed. People swarmed through the various aisles, checking out authentic Italian cured meats, cookies, dried pastas, and much, much more. They couldn't get enough of the cappuccino shop, gelato stand, or the freshly fried potato chips at the front.

Good luck trying to grab dinner there during peak hours. Lines for most restaurants were quite long.

During our first visit, we wandered around the open food area in the middle, where seating is available on a first come first serve "grab it if you see it" model. It looked pretty hopeless.

After giving up there, we approached one of the several sit-down restaurants, Il Pesce by Barbara Lynch. By this time, around 9:30PM, the crowds had thinned a bit, though the wait for a seat was still around 10 minutes (not so bad!). Finally, after waiting just 5 minutes or so, we were seated!...

April 3, 2017 Cuisine

Sous Vide Octopus - foolproof way to make octopus

I have fallen in love with making octopus using the sous vide technique.

It is so fool proof in its ability to make a super tender octopus, which you can just briefly sear afterwards to get those crispy edges. The results are fantastic. Better yet, the liquid broth that comes out is super flavorful and useful in a bunch of applications. You can use it as "stock" for making a flavorful farro "risotto" (like I did), cook it down with some wine or other herbs to make a flavorful jus, or make some kind of soup. The possibilities are endless and delicious....

March 27, 2017 Denmark

Restaurant Karla Copenhagen - Danish Cuisine

This is the second post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Greetings from Norway!

Hello Copenhagen!

We being a new series that covers the our 7-day cruise of Scandinavia on Royal Caribbean.

Our cruise began and ended in Copenhagen, stopping along several little towns lining the fjords of Norway. Many cruises start from Copenhagen and depart to all sorts of locations. Copenhagen is a popular starting point due to the city's strategic location near both the Baltic Sea (hello Eastern Europe!) and the North Sea (Norwegian fjords!).

Though it may be tempting just to get on the ship, I highly recommend spending a few days in Copenhagen (which is exactly what we did). Especially if you are there during the summer, the city is absolutely a delight to visit.

...

March 20, 2017 Chicago

Girl and the Goat Chicago - Stephanie Izard

This is the seventh post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo, Frontera Grill by Rick Bayless, Giordano's Pizza, Portillo's Hot Dog, and Lou Malnati's.

One of the most difficult reservations to get in Chicago is at Girl and the Goat, a trendy bustling restaurant in the West Loop area of Chicago. Chef Stephanie Izard, the first female ever to win Top Chef, opened Girl and the Goat in 2010 with business partners from BOKA restaurant group.

Chef Izard and the restaurant have since received numerous awards, including James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes (2013), James Beard Nomination for Best New Restaurant (2011), and Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chef (2010).

I am so thankful that my friends are excellent planners, because they had the foresight to reserve a table for a party of six at Girl and the Goat three weeks before our planned trip.

As soon as I stepped into the restaurant, I could totally see why. Even at 9PM on a Sunday evening, the place was packed.
...

March 15, 2017 Chicago

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria Chicago

This is the sixth post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo Chicago, Frontera Grill by Rick Bayless, Giordano's Pizza, and Portillo's Hot Dog Chicago.

Who has the best deep dish pizza in Chicago?

This is a very controversial topic, and opinions most certainly differ. Some of the most famous ones that people often visit include Gino's East, the original Uno's, Pizano's, and Lou Malnati's (we're excluding places like Giordano's who are famous for their stuffed pizza).

Most of these places don't take reservations, so you pretty much have to either show up at an off time, wait (possibly hours), or try to find a seat at the bar....

March 13, 2017 Chicago

A Legendary Classic - Portillo's Hot Dog Chicago

This is the fifth post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo Chicago, Frontera Grill Chicago by Rick Bayless, and Giordano's Pizza.

As “first time visitors” to Chicago (I would count a 2o-year hiatus as equivalent to having never visited), we felt the need to try some well-known and famous Chicago classics.

Chicago's known for many things, such as its deep dish pizza (or stuffed deep pizza!) and the Chicago Dog. One of the most famous places to get the Chicago-style hot dog is at Portillo's, a 50+ year old business that started out as a single hot dog stand shaped like a dog house (it was called "The Dog House") back in 1963.

The restaurant has now grown to almost 50 locations, mostly in Illinois but a couple around the rest of the U.S.

Lines can get long, so try to show up early if you don't feel like waiting too long in line. We showed up around 11AM and the line was pretty manageable at that time....

March 10, 2017 Chicago

Giordano's Pizza Chicago - Stuffed Deep Pizza

This is the fourth post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo Chicago and Frontera Grill Chicago by Rick Bayless.

Chicago's pizza is legendary.

Chicago is especially known for its deep dish pizza and stuffed deep pizzas.

Stuffed deep pizza? What is that?

Similar to deep dish pizza, stuffed deep pizza comes with a pie-like crust. What makes it different from a typical deep dish is that stuffed deep pizzas have another layer of crust on TOP of the toppings (you can sort of see it in the photo below). Essentially, the pizza is stuffed full of what are usually "toppings" (which should really be called "stuffings"). Finally, tomato sauce is generously slathered on top.

In Chicago, Giordano's is by far the most famous stuffed pizza joint. Started in 1974 by the Boglio brothers in Turin, Italy, it has since exploded to 53 locations in Illinois and ten more locations in other parts of the U.S. Even with 53 locations in Illinois, there always seems to be wait no matter where you go. We decided to go at an odd hour - 4PM to be exact - and we didn't have to wait.

You want to order your pizza soon after you sit down because it will take 45-50 minutes for them to bake the pizza....

March 9, 2017 Chicago

Frontera Grill Chicago Rick Bayless

This is the third post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series. Other post include Topolobampo Chicago.

It was going to be a Rick Bayless-filled day.

Earlier that day, we had found a last minute lunch reservation at Topolobampo, Rick Bayless's 1-Michelin starred higher-end Mexican restaurant. Little did we realize that Chef Bayless's most famous flagship restaurant, Frontera Grill Chicago, was right next door! In fact, the two restaurants actually shared an entrance.

Hee hee, we felt a bit silly eating at one place for lunch and then heading back through the same door for dinner.

During the afternoon, we explored Chicago. We learned about city’s fascinating architecture via an excellent river cruise (pictured above) from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It was fascinating to learn about the various architecture styles, hear stories about the history of the city, and admire so Chicago's incredible buildings and structures.

Very, very cool.

We visited Millennium Park and visited the famous "Bean."

You can have so much fun playing with reflections!

And then we headed back to Frontera Grill, this time joining four other friends to enjoy dinner at one of the most well-known Mexican restaurants in Chicago, if not the U.S.
...

March 7, 2017 Chicago

Topolobampo Chicago - 1 Michelin star Mexican

This is the second post in the Weekend Trip to Chicago series.

You can see evidence of Celebrity chef Rick Bayless all over Chicago.

The moment you land at O'Hare airport, you'll see his ever popular tortas shop right in the terminal. It almost always has a long line, which is why the best way to get your sandwich fast is to order it on the app (perhaps just as your plane lands) and pick it up when you actually get off the plane (yes, that's what Bryan does!)

Rick Bayless, an American chef who is a well-known expert on Mexican cuisine, competed on Iron Chef America in 2005 against Bobby Flay, won Top Chef Masters in 2009, and has served as a judge for Top Chef.

In Chicago, he has an empire of restaurants, everything from the fast-casual Xoco and the bustling and well-known Frontera Grill to the more upscale, 1-Michelin starred Topolobampo.

It was Labor Day weekend. Reservations were insanely hard to get. We couldn't get a dinner reservation at Topolobampo but found once available on Friday at lunch, which we immediately booked....

March 2, 2017 Canada

Sun Sui Wah Vancouver - world famous roasted squab

I've been finding some old, never-published posts in the archives. I still think they have some value, even if the content is a bit dated. I will publish them from time to time, but will let you know that it's older. This particular post is about a classic restaurant in Vancouver that I visited twice: once right after college, and once in 2012.

This is the second post in the Summer in the Pacific Northwest Series, which is sort of being run concurrently with the Oh Canada Series (partly due to some overlap). Other posts in this series include Din Tai Fung, Bellevue. Other posts about Canada can be found here.

I first visited Sun Sui Wah right after I had graduated from college. I was visiting one of my best friends, whose family lives in Bellingham, Washington, about an hour south of Vancouver. Her dad, the ever-gracious host, drove our entire family in his minivan up to Vancouver for a day.

While there, he had to introduce us to Sun Sui Wah.

"This is the most famous roast squab restaurant in the world!" he gushed. "It is so famous, people will fly here all the way from Hong Kong to eat it."

Seriously? People will fly to Canada from Honk Kong for the food?

I was definitely intrigued.

Over a decade later, I came back to Vancouver with Bryan's family. We knew Sun Sui Wah was one of the most famous places in the city, so we stopped by for a dim sum lunch (and the famous squab, of course).
...

February 26, 2017 Chicago

A Weekend in Chicago! Where We Ate

Chicago!

I'm a Midwestern gal. Born and raised right outside Toledo, Ohio, I have a soft spot for the region that locals in my "adopted" city refer to as "flyover country". To us, Chicago was always the BIG CITY. Everything was in Chicago. It had excellent culture, great food, and incredible universities. It was also within driving distance from us (about five hours away).

In fact, the owners of the local Chinese market in Toledo where we shopped drove to Chicago at least once a week to pick up items to bring back to the store. Sometimes if we had requests, the shopkeepers would try to find it in Chicago. This is long before the days of Internet, when it was much harder to find quality Asian ingredients and foodstuff.

I only visited Chicago once as a kid with my family. My sister went to Northwestern University for college, so I did travel to Chicago a couple times while she was in school. Back then, I wasn't really there for the food. Sure, we had some touristy things like the famous deep dish pizza, but not much else.

And then that was it.

Even though it's so easy to access (we stop at O'Hare all the time), I never visited Chicago again. It wasn't until this past September, when we secured a reservation at Alinea, that we finally decided to really spend a few days exploring Chicago.

I totally, totally fell in love with the city. Chicago is an incredible city, and I can't believe I waited this long to visit. ...

February 17, 2017 Boston

Benedetto Cambridge by Michael Pagliarini

I love the fact that I live just around the corner from Giulia, Michael Pagliarini's super popular Italian restaurant right on the edge of Harvard Square. We've gotten to know the staff there, and we enjoy the excellent pastas, seasonal "nostrale" (vegetables), and whatever specials Chef Pagliarini has at the moment (hello truffles!).

Problem is, it's really, really hard to get into Giulia.

There's often a line outside the door well before their opening time of 5:30PM. Show up around peak time and you might be told that you'll have to wait for hours before you can get a seat. The bar is almost always packed.

Clearly, there has been a huge demand for Chef Pagliarini's food.

This is why all of Boston rejoiced when Chef Pagliarini announced that he would be opening a second, much larger restaurant in the old Rialto space inside the Charles Hotel. Located less than a 15 minute walk away, this restaurant would also serve homemade pastas (complete with its own huge pasta table), as well as offer private dining spaces, a much larger wine list, a dedicated sommelier, and much, much more.

If you like Giulia, you'll also love Benedetto, Giulia's big sister. Benedetto's menu retains much of the rustic charm of Giulia while adding on several bells and whistles....

February 14, 2017 Madrid

Ramon Freixa Madrid

This is the sixth post in the series Hola Madrid! Exploring Spain's Incredible Food. Other posts include StreetXO Madrid, Lua Madrid, Viridiana, Madrid, Terraza del Casino - 2 Michelin Stars, and Ultramarinos Quintin Madrid.

Dining at Ramon Freixa is an intimate experience. The entire restaurant only has seven tables. Chef Ramon Freixa, the Catalan chef-owner, is pretty much always there, and will likely serve you at least some dishes.

Dining at Ramon Freixa is also an extravagant experience. The dishes are intricate, creative, and cutting edge. Each course is both a visual piece of art as well as a gustatory adventure. The restaurant boasts two Michelin stars (one of only four restaurants in the city to have two stars).

I decided to come here based on Bryan's strong recommendation. Bryan had come by himself during his first visit to Madrid. The hotel at which he was staying, Principal Madrid, had a relationship with the restaurant where hotel guests could get 20% off their bill. Bryan loved it, raved about it, and told me I should definitely go.

So, I came solo. They gave me a corner seat where I could sit quietly and observe the rest of the room. I ordered the tasting menu, and then the fascinating show began....

February 12, 2017 Madrid

Ultramarinos Quintin Madrid - great local spot

Quintin Madrid restaurant — *Ultramarinos Quintin Madrid*

This is the fifth post in the series Hola Madrid! Exploring Spain's Incredible Food. Other posts include StreetXO Madrid, Lua Madrid, Viridiana, Madrid, and Terraza del Casino - 2 Michelin Stars

Ultramarinos Quintin, often referred to as simply "Qintin", is the perfect blend of authentic, gourmet, yet laid back dining. After having eaten a mix of high end "molecular" cuisine and trendy Asian-Spanish fusion food, I was ready for some good, old fashioned Spanish small plates.

Quintin offers all that and more. Located in the trendy Salamanca neighborhood in Madrid, Quintin is part market, part restaurant and bar. The restaurant sells its own jamon iberico (which, by the way, is fantastic), as well as other cured meats, freshly baked breads, and much, much more. The market exists as a nod to the old corner grocery store that used to occupy the same location.

The owners behind this restaurant already have two other very successful restaurants in Madrid, El Paraguas and Ten Con Ten. As a result, people have been flocking to this new restaurant, which focuses on Spanish food made with fresh local ingredients.
The restaurant has a few outdoor tables and a huge indoor space. The atmosphere is loud, lively, yet cozy at the same time. The menu is reasonably priced and has a nice variety of all different types of Spanish dishes, including many small plates.

It's the perfect place to experience an authentic, popular Spanish hangout with lots of locals.
...

February 7, 2017 Boston

PAGU Cambridge - Japanese Spanish fusion

PAGU in Central Square is finally open!

I have been anticipating this restaurant opening forever. I've known Chef-owner Tracy Chang for several years now. She first reached out to me back in 2011 (right after I won Project Food Blog). It was a time when I was just getting serious about food blogging and she was heading off to the Basque region in Spain to train with 3-Michelin starred chef Martin Berasategui.

I got to know her through Guchi's Midnight Ramen and some of Chef Jason Doo's amazing pop-up meals. We've become friends, sharing a Taiwanese heritage, a love of Totoro, and a keen interest in food (of course!).

Tracy's creative food direction is largely inspired by her childhood memories and her travels, which have brought her to Spain, France, Japan, and China (among many other destinations).
Tracy grew up around restaurants. Her grandmother owned the restaurant Tokyo in Cambridge (1988-2000), and it shaped many of her early experiences with the restaurant industry. After graduating from Boston College with a degree in finance, Tracy spent two years working at O Ya before heading off to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to study patisserie.

She then traveled to San Sebastian, Spain to work at three Michelin starred Restaurante Martin Berasategui before returning to America. In Boston, Tracy focused her energy on a variety of local projects, such as the insanely successful pop-up Guchi's Midnight Ramen, the Harvard Science + Cooking series, and the Alícia Foundation.

PAGU (which is the Japanese word for pug), is located in the Takeda building at 310 Mass Ave right near Central Square, MIT, and many of the area's biotech and pharma companies. The restaurant focuses on Japanese-Spanish fusion food, a nod to Tracy's two favorite cuisines.

PAGU operates on a reservation model that is a hybrid of the pure ticket-based systems you see at places like Tasting Counter and Alinea, and the free (for us) reservation systems (like Opentable or Reserve).

You can book the four-course tasting menu and pay in advance ($60 per person), or reserve an a la carte ticket, which requires a $25 deposit per person. This amount is subtracted from your bill when you eat at the restaurant. The ticket is non-refundable, though you can transfer it to someone else if you can't make it last minute.

The menu consists mostly of smaller plates, priced mostly between $7 - $16 per plate. Most people are encouraged to order two to three plates per person, depending on what you order. I've gone several times and have had a chance to taste many things on the menu. Here's a look!...

January 31, 2017 Back Bay

Erbaluce - best carbonara in Boston

best carbonara in boston Erbaluce — *arguably one of the best carbonara in Boston*

This is a {Snapshot} of Erbaluce, a Boston restaurant that I first wrote about in 2011.

Oh Italy, how I do miss you.

It's been a little over a year since we visited the Piedmont region in Italy, and I'm already itching to go back. The scenery was breathtaking everywhere, the wine was fascinating, and the food was simply incredible. We even went truffle hunting in the night!

Recently, Bryan mentioned to me that Erbaluce, a lovely Italian restaurant in the Bay Village neighborhood in Boston, actually serves food with Piemontese flavors. Chef Charles Draghi comes from a Piemontese family, and is influenced by the region's flavors and use of fresh ingredients. He marries that with his French culinary training, resulting in the elegant food you find at Erbaluce.

Interestingly, one of my favorite dishes from Erbaluce is actually not a traditional Piemontese dish. It's Pasta Carbonara, which actually comes from Rome. Chef Draghi makes an interesting version with a duck egg, and it's phenomenal. I don't typically like carbonara because many restaurants either make it with cream or they use bacon instead of guanciale. The true, authentic Roman version simply uses high quality eggs, lots of Pecorino Romano, guanciale, and pepper. I fell in love with it when I visited Rome back in 2012.

Coming back, I found that it was hard to find a version like the one I had in Rome.

I even resorted to making my own.

And then I discovered the version at Erbaluce (pictured at top). Yes, it's different in that it uses a duck egg, but it's one of the best versions of this dish I've ever had in the States. The flavors are right. I can taste the interplay between the fresh ground pepper, cheese, and the egg. The dish totally transports me back to Rome.

Definitely get this dish if you're a fan of traditional Roman carbonara. I really think it's one of the best....

January 24, 2017 Boston

Waypoint Cambridge -Michael Scelfo's new restaurant

Sometimes I really regret moving out of my old hood.

For years, Bryan and I lived in the bustling neighborhood between Central and Harvard Square. Regular haunts for us back then included the old Cafe Sushi (hello dollar sushi!), Il Panino (now closed), Garden at the Cellar (now closed), The Plough and Stars, and the original Basta Pasta, which we visited almost weekly.

Since we left, the neighborhood has really, really changed.

There are so many incredible restaurants that have appeared in the area. Most notably, Dumpling House moved right into the first floor of our building. Imagine if we still lived there. I'm sure I'd stop cooking altogether with so much good Chinese food right downstairs. There are so many other really great restaurants that have popped up, like the new and much more awesome Cafe Sushi with Chef Seizi's creative input, Little Donkey and Pagu not too far away in Central, and right down the street, Michael Scelfo's new Waypoint.

We visited Waypoint with two MIT students we had met at a food event. Despite the fact that we were nearly a generation apart, we bonded over our common love of food and shared MIT experiences (hee hee, we even compared brass rats - MIT's class ring - from different years). Tara write the food blog Spilling the Beans, and Elizabeth just loves eating good food.

We both identified Waypoint as a place that we wanted to visit. Why not visit together and get to try double the variety of food?
...

January 20, 2017 Las Vegas

Libertine Social Las Vegas -Mandalay Bay

Gastropubs have become insanely popular throughout the U.S. Chefs are closing down their high-end white tablecloth establishments and replacing them with restaurants that offer sharable small plates, house made cured meats, and dishes made with local, seasonable farm fresh ingredients.

The last place you might expect to see restaurants focusing on "local, seasonable farm ingredients" would be a city in the desert.

Namely, Las Vegas.

Interestingly, farm-to-table restaurants are thriving in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the benefit of being quite close to California, where farms are abundant. As a result, Las Vegas restaurants are able to build relationships with farmers in California and offer the same type of local, seasonal fare that is abundant in places like Seattle, San Francisco, and New York.

We had a chance to visit Libertine Social at Mandalay Bay, one of the newest restaurants of this type to hit the Las Vegas Strip. James Beard award-winning chef Shawn McClain, who is also behind Sage and Five50 Pizza Bar at Aria, has partnered with mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim to create a restaurant that serves "comfortable but provocative" food - in other words, well-known dishes with a twist that surprise and delight the diner....

January 16, 2017 Las Vegas

Exquisite Chinese food at Blossom Aria in Las Vegas

This is the eighth and final post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, Exploring Downtown Las Vegas, Mr. Chow, Lotus of Siam, and Tao Asian Bistro.

There are very, very few places in the United States where one can truly experience authentic, ultra high end Chinese dining. A vast majority of American associate Chinese cuisine with styrofoam take-out containers, egg rolls, and fortune cookies. Those who get to enjoy authentic food typically see Cantonese dim sum, prevalent in Chinatowns across America.

More recently, we've seen an explosion of Chinese food. At least here in Boston, we've had opportunities to enjoy Sichuan, Taiwanese, Xi'an, and even Dong Bei, or Northeastern cuisine. The Chinese food here is definitely getting more diverse.

However, it's almost always still pretty inexpensive.

*Chinese New Year display at the Bellagio*

Las Vegas is unique in that it receives A LOT of visitors from China every year. The Strip has responded by catering to these visitors. The Chinese New Year celebration seems to get bigger every year. Tons of Asian restaurants, including several very high end Chinese restaurants have sprung up. These places offer exotic Chinese delicacies that you typically don't see, such as shark fin, bird's nest, and abalone.

We had a chance to visit Blossom, a very refined and elegant high-end Chinese restaurant located at Aria. Executive chef Chi Kwun Choi, who has been at the restaurant since 2009, is from Hong Kong and draws inspiration from food trends in both Hong Kong and Beijing.

I must say, I was very, very impressed. I don't think I had ever had Chinese food at this level before, at least not until my visit to a 2-Michelin starred restaurant during my trip to Hong Kong this past year. Here's a look at some of the dishes we enjoyed!
...

January 13, 2017 Asian

Tao Asian Bistro at the Venetian in Las Vegas

Tao Asian Bistro Las Vegas — Tao Asian Bistro at the Venetian in Las Vegas

This is the seventh post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, Exploring Downtown Las Vegas, Mr. Chow, and Lotus of Siam.

Tao is best known as a popular nightclub that's located inside the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip. This 10,000 square foot nightclub has seen the likes of Madonna, Usher, Kim Kardashian, and Bono, just to name a few. The nightclub is open Thursday through Saturday evenings.

Another part of Tao that is open all days of the week is Tao Asian Bistro. Tao Asian Bistro is the restaurant side that serves a variety of Asian dishes with influences from China, Japan, and Thailand. The dining space is huge and very impressive, with a multi-story tall Buddha, an infinity koi pool filled with Japanese goldfish, and even waterfalls. It's impressive, over-the-top, and oh-so-Vegas.

I really didn't know what to expect.

Usually when I hear about a restaurant that offer food from so many different Asian countries, I become a bit suspicious. It's hard to execute so many diverse dishes and make them all really good. However, the quality of food on the Strip is quite high, and of all places, I could imagine the Venetian having the resources to hire talented chefs to pull of food from many different geographical regions.

So I was curious to see what the food was like....

January 3, 2017 Barcelona

Montserrat Barcelona - mountainside monastery

This is the seventh post in the Hello Barcelona series. Other posts include Cafe Viena, ABaC Restaurant, Rias de Galicia, Dos Palillos, and Canete Barcelona.

Montserrat stands for “serrated mountain” because of the sharp, jagged, mountains in this area just about 20 km from Barcelona. Up high on this mountain lies a monastery that has been there since the 1500’s. It has clung onto that mountain top through the Spanish Civil War and both World Wars.

It is a popular tourist destination for many reasons. For Catholics, it is a pilgrimage visit various holy sites, such as the black Madonna inside the Basilica, San Joan or Santa Cova. For the nature hiker, it affords stunning views, many hiking trails, and even places to do rock climbing on the stunning cliffs. For the photographer, there are endless opportunities to take pictures of everything from the breathtaking mountain ranges to the intricate architecture of the buildings....

January 2, 2017 Barcelona

Canete Barcelona - off the beaten path (Cañete)

This is the sixth post in the Hello Barcelona series. Other posts include Cafe Viena, ABaC Restaurant, Rias de Galicia, and Dos Palillos.

La Ramblas is a lively, touristy, tree-lined wide pedestrian walkway filled with restaurants, gelato counters, and stalls selling all sorts of gifts and crafts. It’s a fun, lively area in which to spend an afternoon. However, finding good food is a bit more of a challenge.

Yes, the famous La Boqueria Market is there, and you can find some good tapas inside (my chef friend Tracy highly recommends getting the baby squid and eggs at El Quim). However, if you don’t want to fight the crowds, where is a good place to eat?

I’ve already shared with you about Cafe Viena, the tiny, unassuming sandwich shop that sells the most amazing jamon sandwiches. However, if you’re willing to walk just a block from La Ramblas, you’ll find Cañete Barcelona, a charming tapas bar that is reasonably priced, full of character, and serves up great food....

December 28, 2016 California

California Christmas

Merry Belated Christmas!

Ever since we've been married, Bryan and I have spent Christmas with Bryan's family in Southern California. I love getting away from the cold in New England for just a few days to soak up the California sun. Some years we visit Disneyland, other years we go to Knotts Berry Farm. And other years we just chill and spend time with family.

Of course, there is always plenty of good food, whether it be our favorite restaurants or Bryan's mom's great cooking. She always makes an effort to make Bryan's favorite dishes, and we always make a point of visiting our favorite haunts....