Recipes

August 26, 2016 Denmark

Greetings from Norway!

Hello Copenhagen! Such a beautiful and super bike-friendly city. I love it! #travel #tinyurbantravels #denmark

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Aug 19, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

Greetings from Norway!

So sorry for the lack of posts this past week! Bryan and I have been traveling through Copenhagen and the stunning fjords of Norway on a cruise with Bryan's parents. Northern Europe is an area of the world that I have never visited, and it has been a fascinating experience. Copenhagen is a lovely, lovely city, with gorgeous buildings, rich history and culture, super friendly people, and incredible food. Even though we only had a couple of days here, I fell in love with it immediately.

Climbed 418 steps to see THIS view of Alesund, Norway #fjords #tinyurbantravels #norway
A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Aug 25, 2016 at 3:38am PDT

The western border of Norway is lined with stunning fjords and small towns. Our ship has docked at five different locations so far, and we have been enjoying all sorts of different activities, such as hiking up to scenic viewpoints, sampling local seafood at fish markets, and strolling around quaint seaside villages.

Trying 4 different types of salmon at the fish market in Bergen, Norway #norway #bergen #fjords #tinyurbantravels

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Aug 23, 2016 at 8:21am PDT

The weather in Norway is quite cool. Even though it's mid-August, most days feel more like spring to me. I've been using my rain jacket A LOT here (Norwegians basically always carry around proper gear because it can rain at any time). The rain results in beautiful green landscapes and stunning waterfalls.

Gorgeous view from Pulpit Rock in Norway - had to hike 2 hours to get here! #hiking

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Aug 23, 2016 at 3:14am PDT

We return to Boston in a couple days. I have never taken a cruise in my entire life, and it has been an interesting experience. I can definitely seen the benefits of it, though there are also some negatives. Perhaps I'll write up my full thoughts about cruising in some later post.

For now, feel free to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to get live updates of my travels. Because the Internet has been a bit spotty while we've been out at sea, I haven't been able to post as much as I typically would like. In any event, we'll get back to all the regular posts (including continuation of all the currently ongoing series) very, very soon!

I leave you with a view from my favorite fjord, Geiranger Fjord, in Norway.

Geiranger Fjord, Norway

August 17, 2016 Madrid

StreetXO Madrid

This is the second post in the series Hola Madrid! Exploring Spain's Incredible Food.

Madrid has only one chef with three Michelin stars: David Munoz. His flagship restaurant DiverXO received the honor in 2014 (the first one in 18 years for Madrid!). Since then, it has been very difficult to score a reservation. DiverXO opens reservations six months in advance, and is typically fully booked. The wait list can grow to 25 tables for one night, which is crazy.

The last-minute nature of our trip prevented any hope of a DiverXO reservation. Instead, we opted to line up at StreetXO, Chef Munoz's more casual, Asian-fusion restaurant for fun, crazy bites like the famous “Club Sandwich” (a bao topped with pork belly and a fried quail egg) or the “Korean Lasagna” (more details on that below).

StreetXO is located on the 9th floor of El Corte Ingles, a department store, in the cute and trendy Centro neighborhood. There are several restaurants on that floor, along with a really nice gourmet food shop called The Gourmet Experience where you can pick up nice Spanish hams, cheeses, wines, and many other food gifts.
...

August 16, 2016 Boston

Little Donkey Cambridge

Little Donkey must be one of the most anticipated openings in Central Square this year. Chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette, both James Beard Award winning chefs with several successful restaurants under their belts, have joined together to open their first restaurant in Cambridge. It's the first restaurant they have jointly opened in the Boston area in over six years.

This time, they are not letting themselves be limited by any sort of cuisine. They want to have the freedom to be completely creative and to incorporate all sorts of global food ideas they've picked up from their travels. We stopped by a couple of weeks ago to try out this restaurant. I was able to get a last minute reservation by using the Reserve App (everything on Opentable was completely booked). Here's a first look at some of the exciting new dishes!...

August 14, 2016 Boston

Buono Ferragosto at Prezza

Buono Ferragosto!

What is Ferragosto? It is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15th (Monday!). Friends and families come together, attend festivals, enjoy good food, and watch fireworks. It is the Italians' way of celebrating summer. Although it's huge in Italy, virtually nobody in the U.S. has ever heard of this holiday.

I learned about this holiday at a media lunch this past week at Prezza, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the North End. Prezza is partnering with winemaker Barone Fini this week (August 11th - 18th) to celebrate Ferragosto by offering a summer-focused 4-course tasting menu for $55. Wine will be $10/glass, and all proceeds from wine sales will be donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank.
...

August 12, 2016 Europe

L'Arpege Paris

This is the twenty-third post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series and the last post in Paris! Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

I was immediately drawn to L'Arpege.

The accolades alone speak volumes. Three Michelin stars since 1996. Number 12 on San Pellegrino's 50 Best Restaurants list. Diner's Club Lifetime Achievement Award for Chef Alain Passard. But it wasn't just the awards. A lot of restaurants around the world receive all sorts of awards. I was drawn to L'Arpege specifically because of Chef Passard's obsession with vegetables.

The year was 2001. Chef Passard had built an extremely successful restaurant that had maintained its third Michelin star for five straight years. He was well respected for his techniques of slow-roasting meat over an open flame with incredibly tender and flavorful results.

And then one day, he decided he was bored with meat. It did not inspired him. He announced that L'Arpege would no longer be serving meat. Instead, he would focus on vegetables. He himself became a vegetarian. He purchased a farm and implemented permaculture farming, a form of farming more stringent than organic farming that focuses on creating a total sustainable ecosystem.

Chef Passard believes that in order to coax the most flavor out of vegetables, you have to start with top quality produce. Chef Passard controls the source by being the source. The restaurant owns three farms that grow the vegetables for his restaurant.

On our last day in Paris, we booked a lunch at L'Arpege. After spending a couple hours at the Rodin Museum (which is conveniently right next to this restaurant), we headed over to L'Arpege on a rainy day to spend our last couple hours in France indulging in this fascinating meal.
...

August 8, 2016 Europe

L'Ambroisie Paris

This is the twenty-second post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

He had just one request.

It was our second time in Paris, but our first time as true food enthusiasts. Yes, we had come to Paris together about a decade ago. At that time, I was still in law school, and we just just started getting into wine. We had less money, and generally didn't eat too extravagantly. This trip, Bryan told me that I could pick whatever food I wanted for the entire three-week trip. However, he had just one request.

"I want to eat at the best, high-end classic French restaurant."

It's no secret that the French are masters at high-end cuisine. French culinary techniques serve as the foundation of most high-end dishes around the world. It makes a lot of sense why Bryan wanted to experience the pinnacle of the masters at their home turf.

After some research, I settled upon L'Ambroisie, a three-Michelin starred French restaurant that uses classic techniques and was widely considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in Paris. L'Ambroisie has maintained its 3-Michelin star status consecutively since 1988, making it the longest running 3-Michelin star restaurant in history....

August 4, 2016 France

Pirouette Paris

This is the twenty-first post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Pirouette is the type of restaurant I would return to over and over again if I lived in the neighborhood. The menu changes constantly, the food is creative and delicious, and the prices are a bargain for the quality.

Pirouette opened in 2012 in the area just north of Les Halles, an up and coming neighborhood. Bryan and I enjoyed exploring the area, which consisted of several blocks of walkable streets filled with all sorts of shops.

The menu changes constantly, and always consists of many different options. The beauty of Pirouette is that you essentially design your own tasting menu. You can get a 2-course lunch for only €20, a three course dinner for €42, or a six-course dinner for €62....

August 2, 2016 France

Le Relais de l’Entrecôte

This is the twentieth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

You know that a restaurant has perfected a dish if it only serves one thing, and it's been serving the same exact thing for the past 50+ years.

Le Relais de L'Entrecote is a family-owned restaurant in Paris that is iconic for its steak frites. People go crazy over their secret, signature butter-herb sauce that comes with the steaks. In fact, they don't serve any other main dishes. It's steak, steak, steak. The only question is how you want your steak cooked.

Originally opened in 1959, Le Relais de L'Entrecote has grown into several locations throughout France and globally, all run by various family members. All of the restaurants have the same concept: the meals start with a walnut frisee salad before moving onto steak and fries, served in two portions. Dessert is the only course with optionality.

There is always a line out the door. Expect to wait before being seated unless if you show up right at opening....

August 1, 2016 Boston

Giveaway - Battle of the Burger 2016

Hi Friends!

If you've been reading this blog for some time, you'll know that I'm a pretty big fan of burgers. I've talked about burgers a lot on this blog, trying all sorts of places both local and far away (like, for example, one of Boston's most iconic burgers, the burger that became so hard-to-get they had to take it off of the menu and only serve it at the bar, or many, many, other excellent burger joints across this country).

I'm thrilled to announce that the 5th annual Battle of the Burger 2016 will be happening Wednesday, August 10th.

25 different Boston restaurants will compete for the top spot. Guests can sample burgers from all the competitors and vote for their favorites. A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit non-profit partner Family Reach.

Below are some pertinent details:

EVENT DATE: August 10, 2016
LOCATION: Cruiseport Boston, 1 Black Falcon Avenue, Boston, MA 02110
TIMELINE: 6PM VIP Admission, 7PM General Admission. Ends at 10pm.
Purchase Tickets

21+ admission

General admission tickets are $110 and include all-you-can-eat food and beverages plus live music at the venue.VIP tickets are $150 and include everything in the General Admission plus early access to the event, VIP lounge access with premium beverages, food, giveaways, a VIP gift bag, and an opportunity to enjoy the Home Grillers Competition at 6PM. More details on the ticket page.

GIVEAWAY - 2 General Admission Tickets ($220 value)
I am giving away TWO tickets to this event. Please enter the giveaway by commenting below telling me your favorite burger in Boston. I will choose a winner on August 3rd, 12AM EST. One entry per person. There will be one winner, who will win both tickets.

Good luck!

Update - congratulations to Jeremy who won the giveaway. Jeremy said, "Hard to choose just one, but I think I have to go with jm Curley!"

Congrats Jeremy, and enjoy your 25 burgers!

Jen

Disclaimer - the free tickets are provided by Battle of the Burger. They are also providing me with two additional passes so that I can cover the event. All opinions are my own.

July 28, 2016 Michelin

Le Bernardin Lunch

This is the fourth and final post in the series title Girls' Trip to New York! Other posts in this series include Dominique Ansel Bakery, Mission Chinese Food, and Uncle Boon's.

This post will be short.

I've written multiple posts in the past about Le Bernardin, and my opinion about Chef Eric Ripert and his flagship restaurant hasn't changed all that much. It's still one of my favorites in New York City. I love that the restaurant focuses on seafood, and I especially enjoy how Chef Ripert coaxes flavors out of various ingredients. He is truly a master at this.

I treated my friend to lunch here for her birthday, since this whole trip was really for her birthday. It was the culmination of a whole weekend of eating, exploring the city, and catching up. This would be our last meal together before we departed ways - one to Penn Station, the other to JFK International airport. It was definitely a very, very nice way to end the trip.

Lunch is $85 for three courses (though you get a lot more little amuses and bites). You choose two courses from the three sections on the menu: Almost Raw, Barely Touched, and Lightly Cooked. It is totally up to you how you pick your two courses (like, you could pick two "almost raw" ones if you want, though the portion sizes for those might be smaller). The third course is dessert, which comes on a separate menu.

They always start each meal with a complimentary salad of raw (or barely cooked?) salmon tossed with mayonnaise and herbs. It's delicious with the elegant toasted bread that they serve with the spread.

From the Almost Raw section of the menu, we started with Hamachi, a flash marinated hamachi topped with young radishes, amaranth crisp, and yuzu vinaigrette.

Seafood Truffle Pasta was perfect. Fresh tagliatelle ribbons tossed in with crabmeat, scallops, and lobster in a truffle emulsion sauce AND shaved white truffles on top. Simply incredible.

Although it seems like a simple dish, the Barely-Cooked Organic Salmon was phenomenal. The texture of the fish itself was really, really tender ("barely cooked" as advertised), and the flavors of the mint-tarragon emulsion, baby peas, and favas matched beautifully. We both ordered this dish, and neither of us regretted it.

We ordered two different desserts to share. Chocolate consisted of warm chocolate cake, pecans, and chocolate ice cream.

Mango consisted of mango parfait, hazelnut dacquoise, Thai basil-mango emulsion

And finally, a simple small bite of something sweet.

We finished our meal with plenty of time to spare. As we headed back to the hotel to grab our suitcases to go home, we stopped by the Halal Guys to pick up take-out for dinner later on the train (or plane, in her case). Our dinner would be a very different experience compared to our lunch.

It had been a very successful trip overall. The food we had was all really, really good. It was fun to explore so many Asian restaurants this time around. We also spent a good amount of time at both the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I highly recommend going to both. Definitely set aside a generous chunk of time for the museum (2-3 hours), because you'll want to have enough time to really absorb and reflect on everything.

And that ends the Girls' Trip to New York! series. It was a short series mostly because the trip was short. Current ongoing series are An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas, Hola Madrid! Exploring Spain's Incredible Food, and the ever ongoing Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Trip (which I really need to make a goal of finishing before my next birthday!)

Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019

July 26, 2016 New York

Uncle Boon's New York

This is the third post in the series title Girls' Trip to New York! Other posts in this series include Dominique Ansel Bakery and Mission Chinese Food.

Uncle Boon's has been on my mind for quite some time now.

I first heard of it about a year ago. I was at Bisq's friends and family soft opening and chatting with a chef friend whose cooking I highly respect. He was telling us about his trip to New York. More importantly, we were talking about the food in New York, and where he ate. It wasn't long before he started raving about a Thai restaurant called Uncle Boon's, declaring it possibly his favorite restaurant in all of New York City.

That's quite a statement, especially considering how many really, really good restaurants are in New York.

Nevertheless, I really trust this friend's taste, and I've been super curious to try this Thai restaurant ever since....

July 21, 2016 New York

Mission Chinese Food

This is the third post in the series title Girls' Trip to New York! Other posts in this series include Dominique Ansel Bakery.

When I asked my friend where she wanted to eat during our New York trip, she seemed to lean towards Asian choices, immediately agreeing with my Thai restaurant choice and also adding, "maybe we can try a Chinese place . . ."

After some research, I decided to go a bit unconventional and make a reservation at Mission Chinese Food. Mission Chinese Food is unconventional in a lot of ways. It started out as a pop-up inside Lung Shan, an Americanized-Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Chef Danny Bowein, born in South Korea and raised by adoptive parents in Oklahoma, had gotten tired of cooking high-end French food and decided to teach himself how to cook Sichuan food. At Mission Chinese Food, he used this knowledge and began experimenting with all sorts of interesting fusion dishes. The restaurant became a huge hit, and instantly won tons of recognition and fame.

In 2012, he opened a new location of Mission Chinese Food in New York City. It was crowded, super casual, and immensely popular. Unfortunately, it was soon shut down (twice!) for major health violations by the New York health department. After much work in trying to fix the problem, Chef Bowein realized that the space they were renting for the restaurant had too many problems. They closed the old location indefinitely.

In 2014, they opened a brand new space at 171 East Broadway. At this new location, the restaurant has the luxury of a much bigger kitchen, including a pizza oven. The added equipment and kitchen space allows Chef Bowein to create many more dishes, thus expanding the menu to become much bigger than it had ever been before.

This new revamped version was the one we visited this past trip.
...

July 20, 2016 Las Vegas

Exploring Downtown Las Vegas

Downtown Las Vegas -13-of-14.jpg — The Fremont Experience in Downtown Las Vegas

This is the fourth post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort and Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill.

I am embarrassed to say that even though I have been to Las Vegas every single year starting from 2008, it wasn't until this trip that I actually visited downtown Las Vegas. I guess I was like most out-of-town visitors who head straight from the airport to the Strip. Since we never had a car, we would typically spend all of our time on the Strip.

When "The Fremont Experience" in downtown Las Vegas showed up on my itinerary, I seriously had no idea what it was. It wasn't until I showed up that I realized this crazy, covered area anchored by a couple casinos and lined with shops and entertainment has been been here for over 20 years!...

July 17, 2016 Europe trip report

Hola Madrid! Exploring Spain's Incredible Food

Jen at Plaza Mayor, Madrid — *Plaza Mayor, Madrid*

Hola!

It’s been a crazy month of travel for me. It’s been a struggle keeping up with blog posts as I jet off every other weekend, first to New York in early May, then to Las Vegas in late May, and then to a weeklong trip to Madrid, Spain in June. It's nice to finally be back in Boston for a chunk of time.

Spain is a fascinating country, and this was my first ever visit to the country (not counting my brief stopover at the airport last year where I bought a package of jamon Iberico, only to be told I had to eat the whole thing on the airplane – more on jamon Iberico later . . . )

Day 73: Forgot I can't bring meat into the U.S. Guess I have to finish this whole thing of jamon iberico Bellota on the plane (!!) #skippingplanefood #Domo100Days #Domotravels
A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Jun 9, 2015 at 12:08pm PDT

In any event, this time I had a nice chunk of time to explore the city – 5 days in fact - due to the nature of Bryan’s business meetings and the weekend that we tacked onto the trip.

I was so busy with work, my other trips, and life in general, I barely had time to plan for this semi-last minute trip that popped up. Thankfully, Bryan (the ever-planner, MBTI “J” type), pushed me to send him a list of restaurants so that we could ask the hotel concierge to book them for us. Despite being crazy busy, I did some quick searches and sent over my preferred list.

Apparently I did a pretty good job.

When I finally met Bryan’s co-workers the day before we departed, one man came up to me and immediately shook my hand saying “congratulations!”

Confused, I smiled, shook his hands, and nodded politely. It wasn’t until later that I found out that he had tried recommending restaurants for Bryan to try while in Madrid, only to be told over and over that I had already booked us a reservation at said restaurant.

Anyway, this begins yet another concurrent travel series, along with the other three that are going on now, Girls Weekend Trip to New York; Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Trip; and An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Enjoy all these series! I promise I’ll continue interspersing Boston posts too – I have many in the queue.

*At a local tapas bar as part of Devour Madrid Food Tours*

Ever since I started going on walking food tours in Southeast Asia (where I really felt like I needed help distinguishing and hunting out the best street stalls), I have realized how much I enjoy them, especially at the beginning of a trip when I have little knowledge about a new city’s neighborhoods, cultural rules, and food. These tours give a great overview, and often it’s just fun to get to know local guides who are passionate about and proud of their country’s food and culture.

In Madrid, I decided to do the same thing, signing up for two different walking food tours, one with Bryan on day one, and one later in the week by myself while Bryan was at business meetings.

Tasting a bunch of traditional Spanish bites at the market today! @devourmadrid olives, #jamoniberico #jamonserrano, anise flavored pastry, chocolate covered fig w/ rum

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Jun 7, 2016 at 8:42am PDT

I won’t go into detail here where we went (stay tuned for future posts!), but I will say I had a blast walking around the happening parts of Madrid sampling everything from various types of Spanish jamon (ham) and sweets (hello churros and purros! ) to sampling tapas and drinking Spanish wines and vermouth.

We also tried a number of excellent restaurants that really spanned all different sorts of genres. Here’s a peek at all of the places where we dined!
...

July 12, 2016 New York

Dominique Ansel Bakery

This is the second post in the series title Girls' Trip to New York!

I know.

I'm like two years late to the craze. There was that time when people would line up for hours waiting in line in front of Dominique Ansel Bakery to taste that day's allotment of the highly sought-after CRONUT®, a "croissant-doughnut" hybrid that Chef Dominique Ansel created using a three-day process. A proprietary laminated dough is fried in grapeseed oil, covered in sugar, filled with cream, and covered in glaze.

I'm not here to tell you about the CRONUT®....

July 10, 2016 Las Vegas

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill Las Vegas

Blue Ribbon Sushi-4-of-15.jpg — Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill

This is the third post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort.

The Bromberg brothers are well known in New York City, where over the past twenty years they have grown their empire to cover all sorts of different restaurants concepts. These include everything from a French brasserie and a bakery to a fried chicken joint and even a bowling alley! All of these restaurants bear the Blue Ribbon brand, which was inspired by Le Cordon Bleu, the culinary school both brothers attended in France.

The Vegas location of Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill was the Bromberg brothers' first foray outside of New York. It opened in 2010 together with the opening of the Cosmopolitan. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill combines several of the concepts from the smaller New York restaurants into one large restaurant. The combined "Sushi Bar and Grill" serves everything from their famous "Blue Ribbon Style" fried chicken (with wasabi and honey) and various types of grilled steaks to a full sushi and sashimi bar, thanks to a partnership with Chef Toshi Ueki.

The menu consists of several sections. The full sushi bar menu includes all different types of maki, including many creative rolls. There are fun sushi platters, with most people recommending "Toshi's Choice" ($100/person) as the best way to enjoy a variety of the day's best fish.

The menu also has a lot of really creative appetizers ($10 - $22.50), many of which have Japanese influences. There are also cooked entree dishes that are Asian-inspired ($19.50 - $38), as well as a "Tempura & Fryer" section (hello "bucket o'wings") and a substantial "Steak, Chops, and Lobster" section (which is more reminiscent of a steak house).

It was tough to choose between so many things, but we managed to sample several items across the menu, including Toshi's Choice (we split one), several Wagyu-inspired dishes, and some other fun appetizers.
...

July 8, 2016 Las Vegas

Red Rock Casino and Resort

This is the second post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas

We flew into Vegas around 3PM on a surprisingly windy and relatively cool Friday afternoon. “This is unusual weather” we kept hearing from everyone. Apparently the weather had been the typical hot and sunny desert climate just a few days ago.

We were picked up in style by Presidential Limousine Company. Our driver, wearing black suit, took our luggage and drove us to Red Rock Casino and Resort, a really elegant casino located about a 20-25 drive from the Strip (and conveniently, about 5 minutes from the entrance of Red Rock Canyon).

We were floored when we saw our room, a suite that even came with a butler! Ha ha, just to be clear, the room pictured below is not our room. It was one of the higher level suites. I forgot to take a photo of our room.

Apparently, our suite was the lowest level suite, and we soon got a tour of all the other suites (there are 27 in total). The larger suites are stunningly beautiful, over-the-top luxurious, and are often booked by dignitaries (e.g., Condoleeza Rice), celebrities (hello George Clooney!), and rich families.

Our butler told us that it’s his job to make sure the people staying at the suites are happy. He and his colleague (there are two full-time butlers on the property) are available 24/7 and will help you with whatever you ask, whether it be to recommend activities, book restaurants, pick up medication, or deliver coffees to your room in the morning.

I must say, it was *very nice* having a butler during our entire stay. It’s definitely something I’ve never experienced before and I found it extremely helpful. We had him help us with all sorts of stuff, like recommending a hike at Red Rock Canyon, arranging transportation to the canyon for us when all the cars in the city were booked (he ended up letting us use Red Rock’s private black car), personally delivering cappuccinos to us every morning, and much, much more....

July 6, 2016 Guide

An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas

Las Vegas has an interesting relationship with food. For the longest time, it was known for its crazy cheap all-you-can-eat buffets, meals that were heavily subsidized by the gambling at the associated casinos.

But then the seedy, rougher Vegas started to change. Cirque du Soleil appeared, A-list performers set up permanent shop at casinos, and more and more family-friendly shows came onto the scene. Before long, people were coming to Vegas not to gamble, but to enjoy all these other forms of entertainment. And these other people really enjoyed good food.

The Strip began exploding with a new genre of high-class, celebrity chef restaurants. Wolfgang Puck started it all, taking a risk with the Strip by opening a second location of his flagship restaurant Spago at Caesar’s Palace in 1992. His success caused others to come. Now, Las Vegas has become one of the best places to sample food from celebrity chefs and top restaurants around the US.

Although buffets are still a signature item, they have gone up in price and offer much more luxurious items like king crab legs, wagyu beef, sushi, and elegant French pastries.

More recently, the casinos have started modifying things to suite the multitudes of Asians who visit every year. In the past five years, I’ve seen more and more places make a huge splash during Lunar New Year - elaborate casino decorations, special meals, you name it. A lot of luxury stores now have staff who speak Mandarin Chinese as well.

It is against this background that I visited Las Vegas about a month ago to explore the Asian food in Vegas. Although it’s probably true that Vegas was not historically known for its Asian food, things have changed a lot in the past decade. Many Asians has chosen to settle or retire in Las Vegas instead of staying in California, mostly due the lower housing costs. Las Vegas has a vibrant Chinatown, and there are even popular California chains like Ranch 99 Supermarket, Tea Station (Ten Ren Tea Shop) and Sam Woo’s, just to name a few.

Furthermore, the Strip has exploded with numerous Asian restaurants. Although I have visited a few in my previous trips to Vegas (most notably Lotus of Siam, Lee's Sandwiches, and Beijing Noodle No. 9), I had never fully explored the wide range of Asian food that Las Vegas has to offer.

Four days is nearly not enough time (even with two lunches and a dinner every day!), but Bryan and I managed to experience a really interesting cross section of the Asian food scene in Vegas during our last trip (thanks to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for setting it up for us!).

Here's a sneak peek at the places we visited. I will most certainly follow up with more detailed post about many of the restaurants listed below....

June 28, 2016 Boston

Forage Cambridge

Welcome to the neighborhood!

It took about four months, but the space previously occupied by Ten Tables Cambridge (and before that, Craigie Street Bistrot), is now finally open for business, this time as Forage Cambridge.

The previous general manager of Ten Tables JP, Stan Hilbert, is now owner and general manager of Forage. He brings along chef Eric Cooper and bar manager Joe Choiniere from Ten Tables JP.

We were huge fans of Ten Tables (a 5-minute walk from our house) when we first moved into the neighborhood, so we were anxiously waiting to see what would open up in that space after it closed.

Forage calls itself a "neighborhood farm-to-table restaurant", and seeks to create a menu that is based on local and seasonal ingredients. At the same time, it aims to be approachable, down-to-earth, and comfortable all while maintaining high quality standards.

We came here for dinner with some friends about three weeks after the restaurant opened in April 2016....

June 26, 2016 France

A Different Paris

This is the nineteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

We arrived in Europe (Alba to be exact) on the morning of November 14th, 2015. The awful terrorist attacks in Paris had occurred less than twelve hours earlier. Imagine the shock, the confusion, and utter sadness we felt when we landed in Europe to wake up to this horrifying news. France had been next on our agenda. Our plan was to head to Bordeaux on November 17th, and then to Paris on November 21st.

I have to be honest. We debated whether to still go to Paris.

One of my friends suggested driving to the Basque region of Spain instead, since it wasn't too far away from Bordeaux. We wondered what Paris would be like - would there be a ton of security? Was it still safe? Wasn't one of the terrorists still at large?

Eventually, we decided to stick with our plan. Yes, I definitely was a bit nervous, but at this point, sadly, I had started getting used to living under this "new normal" - a "normal" that included a constant, underlying discomfort mixed with a bit of fear, heightened awareness, and a persistent, "we-must-go-on" resilience. We felt it after 9/11. More recently, we felt it after the Boston bombings.

So on November 21, 2015, exactly 8 days after the attacks, we stepped onto a train from Bordeaux to Paris....

June 23, 2016 Back Bay

Bar Boulud Boston

Bar Boulud Boston

I have fond memories of my first dining experience at a restaurant by world-acclaimed, award-decorated chef Daniel Boulud.

It was late 2009, merely a couple months after Tiny Urban Kitchen was christened. I was a young food blogger, excited to be visiting New York City for all of its incredible sights, sounds, and (of course), phenomenal food.

Chef Boulud's flagship 3-Michelin starred* restaurant in New York, Daniel, turned out to be one of the most memorable birthday meals I had ever had up to that point. Everything was perfect - our elevated table overlooking the gorgeous dining space, the friendly servers, the exquisite food, and the overall timing of the entire evening. I remember leaving the restaurant feeling completely satisfied and happy on every single front.

I have since become a fan of Daniel Boulud's restaurants, visiting his more casual (now closed) DB Brasserie in the Wynn at Las Vegas and Boulud Sud in New York City.

It took awhile, but finally in 2014, Daniel Boulud decided to open his first restaurant in Boston, Bar Boulud, inside the Mandarin Oriental right in the heart of Back Bay. About a year later, Bryan and I finally managed to stop by for dinner one night when we were in the neighborhood....

June 21, 2016 Recipe

Mango Coconut Lassi Smoothie

I am pleased to partner with O.N.E. Coconut Water, the sponsor of this post
Mango Coconut Lassi

Welcome Summer!!

I always view the summer solstice with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that summer is finally here. Up north here in Boston, June can be hit or miss when it comes to weather. In the past couple of years, June has been surprisingly cool, with weather barely hitting seventy degrees. It really doesn't feel like summer in early June!

Typically by the third week, however, the sun grows stronger, and we can finally leave the house without a jacket! By that point, we are usually so starved for sunshine we take full advantage of every possible moment to spend outside.

On the other hand, the summer solstice signals the looming inevitability of shorter days. It's always bittersweet that the true beginning of summer weather is also the harbinger of darker nights ahead (if you can't tell, I love love love daylight)....

June 15, 2016 Bordeaux

Chateau Cordeillan-Bages

This is the eighteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series and the last post about Bordeaux! Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

This is the story of a "two-course" dinner that exploded to feel more like a full-blown multi-course tasting menu by the end.

We had spent a whole day visiting wineries just an hour outside of Bordeaux. My friends had done all the research for this portion of the trip, booking an elegant dinner for just the four of us (the grandparents were watching their 3-year old daughter!).

Chateau Cordeillan-Bages is a Relais & Chateaux (4 stars) hotel that houses a two-Michelin starred restaurant (the only one in Pauillac). It's is also located right next to Chateau Lynch-Bages (only about 400 meters away, or about a 5-minute walk), so it was the perfect place for us to enjoy a nice, elegant dinner after our full day of winery hopping.

The restaurant is only open from Wednesdays to Saturdays, March to the end of November. Since we were there right at the third week of November, we were really catching them near the end of their season. Seeing how the entire restaurant only had 2-3 tables filled the entire night, we can see how much restaurants in this area depends on summer tourism for business.

The menu offers several tasting menus as well as a la carte options.

Interestingly, only the men get menus with prices on them. Bryan had to tell me that getting a la carte didn't make much sense, since the a la carte items were anywhere between €35 to €80 each, while the tasting menu, which had ten courses, cost €175 per person. You can also get the two course + dessert option (€90) or three courses + dessert (€140).

At lunch Wednesday - Saturday, Chateau Cordeillan-Bages also offers the "Impromptu", a three-course meal including two glasses of wine plus coffee/tea for only €60 (or €45 without drinks). The selection varies daily, and is based on whatever is in season (or maybe whatever ingredients they need to use up?).

We all decided to go for the two-course + dessert (which, you'll see, ended up being much more than just three courses!)....

June 13, 2016 Appetizer

Nasi Lemak - Malaysia's national dish

Nasi Lemak and Prawn Sambal

What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! I have been traveling a lot, first to New York City with an old college friend, then to Las Vegas to explore the city’s Asian food scene, and most recently, to Madrid as a tag-along to one of Bryan’s business trips (more on that very soon, I promise. For now, feel free to check out my Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook feeds).

Spent all day making components for this complex ramen but now FINALLY ready to assemble: citrus-marinated & glazed pork belly, citrus salt, sous vide egg, smoked thick-cut bacon, habanero yuzu kosho, chili garlic ginger oil, ginger tempura, sake mirin shiitake mushrooms, scallions, & seafood shio tare

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on May 30, 2016 at 12:09pm PDT

On top of traveling, I have also been cooking a lot too. I finally executed the most difficult ramen recipe I’ve ever attempted, complete with over twenty different components!

And then just last week Ana, my teacher from a cooking class I took in Malaysia back in 2014, reached out to me and said she was visiting Boston for just a day and a half! She offered to come over and do a fun little cooking class for me and my friends.

I was thrilled, and invited some of my Southeast Asian friends to join me. We made two dishes completely from scratch: Prawns with homemade Sambal and Nasi Lemak. It took four women nearly three hours to make these labor-intensively dishes!

Today, I will share with you our “made from scratch” version of Nasi Lemak, as well as my “hacked”, lower fat version.

Nasi Lemak is a very common street dish in Malaysia. It's a rice dish served with a variety of components. The fragrant rice is made with coconut milk, ginger, pandan leaves, and lemongrass. The toppings include cucumbers, crispy anchovies, and sambal.

According to my Malaysian and Singaporean friends, you hardly ever make this dish at home because it takes a bit of manual labor to gather all the ingredients. Plus, it’s just so cheap to get it on the street, why bother making it at home?

Of course, things are different here in the States, and it’s hard to find Nasi Lemak anywhere, much less on the street! So Ana gave me a shopping list, and I was able to find everything at my local Asian market (HMart).

Nasi Lemak is usually served with sambal, a homemade chili paste that's made from hand pounding together fragrant aromatics like chilies, shallots, garlic, tamarind, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and fish sauce. You can buy sambal or pound your own from scratch (which is what we did!). I will share the sambal recipe in a separate post. For today, here's the Nasi Lemak recipe - enjoy!

Nasi Lemak

Recipe Type: Rice

Cuisine: Malaysian

Author: Jennifer Che from Tiny Urban Kitchen

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 4 servings

This is Malaysia's national dish.

Ingredients

1 cucumber
3-4 tablespoons dried anchovies
6 eggs, hard boiled
½ cup roasted peanuts
3 cups jasmine or basmati rice (4 "rice cooker" cups)
½ knob ginger, peeled and sliced into large chunks
5-6 pandan or screwpine leaves, tied into a knot
2 stalks of lemongrass, white part only, crushed/bruised with a stone
3 cups (~700 mL) warm water
1 can (400mL/1.7 cups) coconut milk
2 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons sugar

Instructions

Thinly slice cucumber and set aside.
Deep fry anchovies in a pan with about 1 inch high of oil for 5-6 minutes. Set aside on a paper towel and let cool. Alternatively, toss anchovies with just enough canola oil to cover. Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, or until fragrant and crispy. Set aside.
Hard boil eggs and slice into ⅕ inch slices (or use an egg slicer!)
Mix together salt, sugar, and water until dissolved. Combine water/salt/sugar mixture together with rice, ginger, pandan/screwpine leaves, lemongrass, and coconut milk into a rice cooker and cook according to the rice cooker’s instructions. Instead of using coconut milk and water, you can also use coconut water as the liquid for the entire dish.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, then cook everything except for the coconut milk on a stovetop over low heat until the water is absorbed. Add coconut milk and cook, covered, for an additional 8-10 minutes at low heat, undisturbed. Turn off heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes.
Lay out all the accompaniments and serve with rice.

A Few Notes on Modifications

I decided to try modifying two aspects of this recipe to see how they affected the dish.

First, I replaced all of the liquid (water and coconut milk) with just coconut water*. After making the rice in a rice cooker with all of the same fragrant components (lemongrass, pandan, ginger), I thought that the lower fat version of the rice was still delicious. Honestly, I did not miss the coconut milk at all, and I thought the coconut water version was very flavorful.

Second, instead of deep frying the anchovies, I tried baking them in the toaster oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes. The dried anchovies crisped up nicely, and were virtually indistinguishable from the deep fried version. It's also a lot less messy. I think if I make this again, I will stick with my two modifications!

*The jury is still out on whether the fat from coconut oil is good or bad for you. In fact, there is some support showing that cooking rice with some fat, like coconut oil, and then cooling it actually reduces the amount of calories that are absorbed. This works because the cooking/cooling method reduces the amount of digestible starch and increases the amount of resistant starch.

June 8, 2016 Bordeaux

Touring Bordeaux - Pauillac, Chateau Lynch-Bages

This is the seventeenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

My first memory of Chateau Lynch-Bages is quite special. It was back in 2012. I knew virtually nothing about French wines at the time.

2012 was the year Bryan and I took our first trip to Australia and New Zealand. Bryan had given his parents airline miles to fly anywhere in the world first class as a retirement gift. They chose the region Down Under, but requested that we travel there as a whole family.

I'll never forget that dreamy first class international flight on Cathay Pacific. Not only did I see Northern Lights dancing for 45 minutes from an airplane window while flying over the arctic circle (that alone was already breathtakingly phenomenal), the staff wined and dined us the entire flight.

I drank plenty of Krug champagne, and I fell in love with Chateau Lynch-Bages Bordeaux wine....

June 7, 2016 Bordeaux

Cos d'Estournel Tour - Bordeaux Day 2

This is the sixteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series, about the Cos d'Estournel tour we took with a couple friends. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Welcome to Cos d'Estournel, the most educational, well-planned, interesting, and expensive tour we took in Bordeaux. It also turned out to be one of my favorites.

It's hard to get tours at many of the highest-rated, well-known (first or second growth) wineries. Many wineries flat out turned us away, telling us they only allow winery visits from real wine professionals (i.e., not tourists). Interestingly, Cos d'Estournel, a Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growth) winery took a more interesting approach.

They acknowledged our interest, were happy to welcome us, and then asked:

"What is your knowledge in our wines, appellation and region?"

"Have you ever tasted our wines, which vintages?"

"Do you have a wine cellar to age them?"

Frankly, I personally knew very little about the winery, but thankfully we were traveling to Bordeaux with another couple who are really into wine. The husband has tasted several of their vintages, owns several of their bottles, and was interested in buying more. Additionally, he actually has a wine cellar and was able to portray to them that he was a serious wine aficionado (which he is!).

It wasn't until after we responded that they provide us with our wine tour options:

“In the steps of the Maharaja”: A tasting including a Les Pagodes de Cos, three vintages of Cos d’Estournel and a Cos d’Estournel Blanc. Cost: 550€ for 4 persons.

“Discovering the greatest vintages of Cos d’Estournel”: A tasting including 4 legendary vintages of Cos d’Estournel and a Cos d’Estournel Blanc. Cost: 1,500€ for 4 persons.

Wow.

After some internal debate, we decided to go with the lower priced Cos d'Estournel Tour: 550€ for 4 persons....

May 31, 2016 Bordeaux

La Tupina Bordeaux

This is the fifteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Located on one of the oldest streets in Bordeaux, La Tupina is a rustic, traditional, cozy French restaurant that has cemented its reputation as being one of the "must-visits" in Bordeaux. It's been here since 1968, founded by Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, who also owns several other businesses along the same street (a more casual restaurant, a market, among other things).

The environment at La Tupina is most certainly inviting - there are multiple rooms decorated with antique furniture, wine bottles, and kitchen themed articles.
Most memorable is the huge roaring fire right at the entrance, cooking all sorts of delectable items, such as a whole roasted chicken on a spit, lamb, and local vegetables.

The display of ingredients in front further emphasizes the restaurant's focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

We came here after a long day of touring vineyards in the Bordeaux area. We were definitely ready to eat. After a harrowing drive to the restaurant (the streets are crazy narrow and sometimes cars are parked in very inconvenient locations that make maneuvering around a true challenge), we sat down in one of the rooms and were quickly greeted with a small plate of complimentary bites, including fresh radish, cauliflower, ham cubes, and butter.
...

May 27, 2016 New York

Girls' Trip to New York!

Hi Friends!

So sorry I have been so MIA in the last couple weeks. If you have been following me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you would have seen that I have been traveling quite a bit, first to New York City with a good friend from college, and then more recently to Las Vegas with Bryan for a whirlwind tasting of Asian food (more on that in a later post!).

My friend and I spent a simple, relaxing weekend in New York. Without any huge agendas (we've both been there numerous times), we ended up just walking a lot, eating a lot, and spending some good quality time catching up.

I will write about some of these restaurants in much greater detail, but for now, here's a brief summary of places we visited!...

May 16, 2016 Bordeaux

Touring Bordeaux Wineries: Day 1

This is the fourteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

The city of Bordeaux is a great place to stay if you want to explore the wine regions of the area.

You don't have to go far. Right near the city (just a couple miles outside the center) is highly regarded, (very expensive!), first-growth producer Chateau Haut-Brion (where we spent our first afternoon). Drive out a bit, however, and you'll experience the French countryside, miles and miles of vineyards, and views of many magnificent "chateaux" or castles from well-known wineries that have been around for hundreds of years.

The Gironde River divides the wine region of Bordeaux roughly into two main regions, the "Left Bank" and the "Right Bank." On our first full day in Bordeaux, we rented a car (with some friends), and drove to visit several wineries in the Right Bank, (St. Emilion) and then drove to the Left Bank region of Sauternes. The second day, we explored the Haut-Medoc region (St. Estephe, Pauilliac, and Bages).

Here's a look at our whirlwind adventure that first full day!
...

May 7, 2016 Boston

Loyal Nine Cambridge

Historically, New England has never been really known for its cuisine.

Sure, our lobster rolls are pretty amazing, clam chowder hits the spot every time, and our seafood is top notch. However, we've never been lauded for our creativity or cutting-edge dishes. In fact, for decades people associated Boston with old world steak houses and sleepy New England fare.

But things are changing.

Not only do we see more and more innovative chefs opening places in Boston, we even have chefs like Chef Mark Sheehan (Bondir, Menton), who is putting his own spin on New England cuisine. Loyal Nine, a self-proclaimed "East Coast Revival" resaturant, opened in 2015 to much deserved fanfare. It went on to become the only restaurant in Massachusetts to be nominated for Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants List in 2015 (50 nominees total).

Chef Sheehan studied colonial cookbooks like Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cook Book and Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, and then added his own modern touch to the period cuisine. What results is a genuinely interesting yet totally approachable restaurant where you can try a number of fun dishes....

May 4, 2016 Boston

Winsor Dim Sum Cafe

Best dim sum in Boston?

Usually, I hear two places mentioned. One is Hei La Moon, a huge, bustling two-story restaurant in Chinatown that serves dim sum the tradition way, where servers roll carts full of dim sum to all the tables, tempting diners with visual displays of all the enticing dishes. It's a place that's popular for weddings as well as large group functions.

The other place, which I only heard about more recently, is Winsor Dim Sum Cafe. Winsor is completely the opposite of Hei La Moon. It is a tiny, unassuming restaurant in the middle of Chinatown. There are no carts. Instead, you order dim sum items individually, and the kitchen makes each item to-order. Furthermore, dim sum is available anytime of the day, every day of the week (not just weekend brunch!). Imagine, you can stop by on any random weeknight to get your dim sum fix.

After hearing more and more people declare that Winsor had the best dim sum in Boston, I knew that I had to go try it. This past year, I finally had a chance to visit while my mom was in town, and subsequently went back several times....

May 3, 2016 Boston

Temple Bar Cambridge

It's been almost four years since I last wrote about Temple Bar in Cambridge (time surely does fly!). Back then, we were newcomers to the neighborhood between Harvard Square and Porter Square, excitedly exploring and visiting all the local restaurants that were in our neck of the woods.

Lots has changed in my neighborhood since I moved here five years ago. In fact, when I look at my "Welcome to my New Hood" series from 2011, I can't believe how many of those restaurants are now gone, like Chez Henri, Rafiki Bistro, West Side Lounge, and Ten Tables Cambridge.

In some ways, I really can't complain. The restaurants that have replaced these restaurants are phenomenal. I love Shepard, and Giulia is one of the best Italian restaurants in Cambridge. The new restaurant Forage, which took over the old Ten Tables/ Craigie Street Bistrot space, also looks really promising.

And then there are the ones that are still around. We still visit Cambridge Common on a pretty consistent basis for their amazing beer selection, addictive sweet potato fries, and excellent breakfast BLT. In the past five years, Temple Bar has undergone some dramatic changes, from a huge redesign of its interior to the introduction of a new chef, Richmond Edes (a Barbara Lynch and Ken Oringer alum) who is adding his own exciting touches to the menu.

In all honesty, it had been years since we had visited Temple Bar. Even though the food has always been nice and enjoyable, we always found ourselves choosing other nearby restaurants. A couple weeks ago, the folks at Temple Bar invited me to come back. They told me about Chef Edes and how he is adding a lot of interesting, globally inspired flavors to the menu.

They even casually mentioned to me that Temple Bar was one of the few restaurants in Boston serving the Hawaiian raw tuna dish, poke.

Poke??

Visions of the poke from our unforgettable trip in Hawaii floated through my head.

I was sold....

April 29, 2016 Las Vegas

Rivea Alain Ducasse Delano Las Vegas

This is the fifth and final post in the Winter in Vegas series. Other posts in this series include B&B Burger and Beer, Harvest by Roy Ellamar, Lago by Julian Serrano, and Chada Thai and Wine.

Alain Ducasse.

That name alone, associated with any restaurant, instantly brings respect and credibility. Chef Alain Ducasse is the second most decorated Michelin starred chef in the world with his 21 Michelin stars (only Joel Robuchon has more - 25 stars). I can personally attest to the quality of his art. We had an exquisite dinner at Alain Ducasse in London back in June 2015. It was beautiful, memorable, and all around flawless.

Alain Ducasse only has two restaurants in the U.S.: Benoit in New York City and the newly opened (in 2015) Rivea and Skyfall Lounge at the top floor of the Delano (formerly THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay) in Las Vegas.

We decided to treat a friend for dinner here, after she graciously offered to let us stay at her house for the weekend in Vegas (thanks Emily!)....

April 22, 2016 Las Vegas

Chada Thai and Wine Las Vegas

This is the fourth post in the Winter in Vegas series. Other posts in this series include B&B Burger and Beer, Harvest by Roy Ellamar, and Lago by Julian Serrano.

Only in Vegas would the terms "Thai" and "Wine" automatically make you think of this new genre of restaurants: relatively inexpensive Thai restaurants with impressive wine collections offering wine at ridiculously reasonable prices with hardly a mark-up.

For years Lotus of Siam was the flagship restaurant. It was known for its excellent Thai food, considered by some - like Jonathan Gold of Gourmet Magazine - to be the best in America. It had an amazing selection of wine, especially rieslings, and it hardly marked up the wine prices. It was one of the few off-strip places that we would regularly visit.

Pad Hed $8 - Shitake and shimeji mushroom stir fried with Brussels sprouts and lotus root

In 2012, the general manager and sommelier of Lotus of Siam, Bank Atcharawan, decided to leave to open his own restaurant, Chada Thai and Wine. Chada Thai and Wine adopts a similar concept: great Thai food + excellent wines.

So far, it's been a hit. Bon Appetit included Chada Thai and Wine in its Top 50 New Restaurants list in 2013. Sommelier (and chef!) Bank Atcharawan was crowned one of ten "Top Sommeliers" by Food & Wine Magazine.

We decided to visit after a restorative and beautiful day of hiking in Valley of Fire State Park.
...

April 18, 2016 Bordeaux

Restaurant Le St. James

This is the thirteenth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Cheers! Happy Birthday!

This was the entire reason we were on this trip. After much theoretical talk with our good friends from Boston about "someday we should go to Bordeaux together . . . " it had finally happened. Bryan had booked a whirlwind "Around the World" birthday trip for me, and my Boston friends decided to join us for the Bordeaux portion of the trip.

We would be in Bordeaux together on my actual birthday.

My friends organized the entire Bordeaux part of the trip, including treating me to a fantastic birthday dinner at a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Bouliac, a small village high up on a hill with stunning views toward the port city of Bordeaux....

April 12, 2016 Bordeaux

Chateau Haut-Brion Tour in Bordeaux France

This is the twelfth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

It was the year 1855.

Paris was hosting Exposition Universelle, a huge exhibition held on the Champs Elysees showcasing art from artists all around the world. At the expo, Emperor Napolean III wanted to display the wines of Bordeaux, one of the most well-known wine-producing regions in France. He requested that a classification system be created, asking wine brokers to rank the wines. The top wines would be called Premier Cru, or first growths. It would go down from there to the fifth growths.

Only four wines received the coveted honor of Premier Cru: Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, and Château Haut-Brion.

The classification system stuck around, and is still used today, though it has been slightly modified. (Most notably, Château Mouton Rothchild also obtained Premier Cru status in 1973 after decades of lobbying.)

Our goal in Bordeaux was to visit as many of these top wineries (first or second growth) as possible.

We soon learned that many of the top wineries do not give public tours. You have to be a person who works in the wine industry. The places that did offer tours to the public were quite selective. One winery asked us to describe our knowledge and appreciation of their wines before agreeing to host us. Another winery charged quite a bit of money for the tour and tasting.

This is why our first visit to Château Haut-Brion was so special. It was the only first growth winery that was willing to let us visit. We had to make an appointment for a private tour in English, but the tour was free. Best yet, it included a tasting of two (!) of their (insanely expensive) wines....

April 9, 2016 Bordeaux

First day in Bordeaux France - Une Cuisine En Ville

This is the eleventh post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Welcome to Bordeaux!

Bordeaux was the second stop of my 3-week long birthday trip around Europe and Asia.

To be perfectly honest, I had mixed feelings about going to France. We arrived on November 17th, the day before my actual birthday. The terrorist attacks in Paris had just happened on Friday, November 13th, a mere four days earlier. Several terrorists were still at large, and the nation was still reeling from the deaths less than a week away.
...

April 6, 2016 Asian

Chili Garlic Braised Pork Belly

It was one of those later night at work. Most of the people in the office had already left, but my coworker and I were still there, typing away at our computers.

*click click click*

All of a sudden I heard the beep of the microwave in the kitchen. For good or for bad, my office directly faced the kitchen. All of a sudden, the most incredible smell wafted towards me.

"Mike, what are you cooking there? It smells amazing."

"It's pork belly. It's a really easy recipe. There's tons of garlic, and a whole jar of chili sauce."

"an entire jar??!"

It's actually not that spicy. My boys love it. Whenever I make it for them, it never lasts."

He then let me try a bite of the pork belly from his dinner, and I was totally hooked.

"Oh man, you gotta send me this recipe . . ."

That evening, we went our separate ways. I forgot about the dish and he forgot to send me the recipe. More time passed. Within a year, we had both moved onto new jobs. No longer office mates, we lost touch for awhile. And then, just a few months ago, I suddenly remembered that pork belly dish and decided it would be perfect for the Christmas party I was hosting.

I emailed Mike. We reconnected, and I begged for that magical pork belly recipe. I was thrilled when he wrote back the next day with a document attached, full of details for how to make this fantastic and super easy dish.
...

April 1, 2016 Asian

Chinese Braised Peanuts

At my church there is a program called Meals for Moms. Whenever a new mom has a baby, church members sign up to provide a week's worth of food for the family. This allows the new family to have one less thing to worry about during those trying first few months of parenthood!

I've been signing up to cook for moms for over a decade. Through the years, I have settled on several dishes that are healthy, easy to make in bulk, and store well for a week - dishes like Taiwanese meat sauce over rice, tea eggs, three cup chicken, bok choy, and Korean spinach salad. Occasionally, I'll throw in something fun, like Totoro eggs for my Totoro-obsessed friend or fancy chocolate for someone with a sweet tooth.

One of my close friends in Boston has become my most trusted partner in executing all of this. Every time a new mom has a baby, she emails me and asks, "want to sign up? which week works for you?"

All packed up! A week's worth of food for my friend + a special treat for dessert! @burdickchocolat

A photo posted by Jennifer (@tinyurbankitchen) on Mar 15, 2015 at 12:56pm PDT

Throughout the past decade, we've worked out a great partnership. She's a great sous chef and is awesome at prepping the ingredients (and often helps me shop for them, since she has a car!). I do some prep but focus on executing latter steps, like stir frying, simmering, and, in general, overseeing the burners on the stove. We usually get together and spend 2-3 hours chatting, chopping, and cooking. It works out great, and we've been able to make food for so many moms.

Recently, my good friend had her first baby.

Of all the people at our church, she most definitely deserves having someone cook food for her, considering the countless meals she has prepared for others. I was the first to sign up, and I made many of the same dishes we had always made together. This time, however, I snuck in something new....

March 27, 2016 Las Vegas

Lago by Julian Serrano - Las Vegas

This is the third post in the Winter in Vegas series. Other posts in this series include B&B Burger and Beer and Harvest by Roy Ellamar.

My absolute favorite thing to do in Las Vegas is . . . surprise! not food-related. I love, love, love the fountain shows at the Bellagio. During the rare opportunities I've had to stay in a fountain-facing room there, I've sat all night next to the window, watching show after show after show.

The next best thing to getting a fountain-facing room is to sit at one of the fountain-facing balconies at the restaurants inside the Bellagio. Several of them have outdoor patios facing the fountains, including Picasso, Olives, and one of their newest restaurants, Lago by Julian Serrano.

Lago has a gorgeous outdoor patio with phenomenal views of the fountains. During the winter, they have heat lamps, so you can even sit outside when it's a bit chilly (it never gets that cold in Vegas, at least not by Bostonian standards!).

Chef Julian Serrano is well known in Vegas. He's the executive chef at the two-Michelin starred French restaurant Picasso (also at the Bellagio with equally stunning views of the fountain!). He also has Julian Serrano inside Aria, which focuses on his native Spanish cuisine. Lago, his first Italian (more specifically, Milanese) restaurant, is his newest project, and just opened April 2015.
...