Food Chronicling around Japan

Japan is a country where the great eating and drinking never stops.  Something tasty is around every corner.  Some bites are better than others.  And some bites have been the best I've tasted in the course of my food travels.

Here's a look at some of the tastiest bites from my week in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo:

Afternoon break on the hotel balcony
Palace Hotel Tokyo

Can't get enough of Hong Kong

I have come to love Hong Kong because of my mom who summered with her family in the Central district as a child.  Central is really where it's at.  You still feel British Hong Kong, and I love that.  It has culture, discipline, high fashion, great foods, and a true modern metropolitan city feel.

Visiting the city for these many years, we have a certain set of traditions or routines each time we come back: staying at the same hotel, having a Chinese feast, enjoying tapas, and trying out new establishments from international chefs.

Staying at the Mandarin Oriental is a true privilege.  The cleanliness, the service, the attention to detail - it all lives up to its reputation here in Hong Kong.  A benefit in staying at this hotel is the restaurants just upstairs.  The Man Wah has become one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the city.  They have it all - attentive service, artful presentation, quality, and taste.

On the hotel's mezzanine floor of restaurants, Cafe Causette has a generous list of breakfast items perfect for a weekend brunch.  I'm a fan of corned beef hash, and theirs blew me away.  The plating, the quality of the beef itself and how it all tasted together was just the best I've encountered so far.  There is so much quality and finesse in it.

Across the harbour (via Star Ferry which is a fantastic way to go to Kowloon), Gateway Arcade in Harbour City has a great variety of restaurants.  Our family favorite is Sergi Arola's Vi Cool.  I can't get enough of the tapas and pitchers of sangrias.

Another international chef that has been a long stay in Hong Kong, Joel Robuchon, has recently expanded several outlets of his cafes across the city.  Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon in Gateway is a good place for dessert or for afternoon tea.

Hong Kong is really about the eating.  And I can't wait to go back for more.

View of the harbour
Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Seoul Food

As a food lover and food traveler, Korea has been on the top of my list to discover.  For years, I've been drooling over food magazines and television shows highlighting the best of Korean grills and the spreads of kimchi and banchan.

In my traveling experience, very few cuisines are as good abroad compared to their homelands.  There's a certain vibrancy to the food in their own respective countries.  It just tastes more right, as it should be.  So now that I was in Seoul, I was so excited to eat from the source.

Because of the comparisons to Japan, I was expecting the prices to be similar.  Despite it reputation, eating in Japan is actually incredibly affordable for the quality.  Surprisingly then, Seoul was really expensive.  Everything was surprisingly expensive, especially compared to the rest of Asia.

We varied our eating with restaurants, take out from the food markets, and also with room service meals at our hotel.  Before you knock it, room service at luxury hotels can be a phenomenal experience.  You have the comfort of your room, the fun of eating in your hotel robe, and the luxury of a fine dining setting all cooked by high quality hotel chefs.  After long, hot days out under the Korean sun and on our feet all day, taking a shower and eating in the atmosphere of our spacious room was just the best.

Aside from meals, I was impressed with the numerous coffee and bread shops and their food packaging.  There is a coffee and bread store almost in every corner of the city.  As for their food packaging in the groceries, it's admirable with the care they take for their products.  They also give so much importance to their fruits and vegetables.  They obviously learned from Japan and have made the produce thrive beautifully in their own country.

The fruits and vegetable were too nice just to look at, and because we flew back to Manila where you can bring back produce and meats, we were able to enjoy at home the apples, grapes, gigantic cabbages and radishes, and some of the sweetest sweet potatoes.   (Travel tip: Always pack a foldable duffel that you can put into your luggage.  That way you have an extra bag for goods on the flight back home.)

After a week of eating in Seoul, I'm really happy to find that some of the Korean food served in the states (the Bay Area and Los Angeles particularly) is actually pretty darn authentic.  The Koreans and Americanized Koreans have done a great job of upholding their cuisine.  I came back home from the trip more educated with how well the Koreans have lived over the recent years, post-Korean War.  They have educated themselves and can take pride in the good their country continues to produce.

Grilled beef and ban chan

The tables

Japan for the Holidays

Back in Tokyo!  This time, it was for the holidays.  The last time our family celebrated a winter-cold holiday was in New York City right in the middle of Snowpocalypse.  While snow didn't hit the cities we visited this time around, it was definitely a chilly trip.  But, Tokyo is the perfect place for any weather because of it's amazing underground world.

We stayed at the Palace Hotel Tokyo again.  It's the perfect location if you want to be based in Marunouchi and near the Tokyo Station.  Like with all our favorite cities, we revisited restaurants we enjoyed in previous visits.  Some were consistent, and others like Birdland were unfortunately inconsistent with it's quality of food.

We also discovered new eats in our vicinity.  For breakfast I was hooked on 7-11's hardboiled eggs.  It's perfectly cooked and beautifully orange.  Japanese convenience stores serve some incredible food, no joke.  And sometimes there's nothing more comforting and clean than a good plate of soba.  It's so refreshing and satisfying all at the same time.  And because it was winter, we found comfort in hot meals like Japanese curries and tsukemen.  Filling and warms you right up.

The best part about eating in Tokyo is that you walk so much everyday.  My fitness band logged in an average of 20,000 steps each day.  It makes eating all those carbs a reward.

Back in Tokyo!
View of Marunouchi from our balcony in the Palace Hotel Tokyo

Walking through Toledo's history

Spain's cities are filled with walks through history.  Toledo is no exception.  The heart of Toledo is in its Old Town.  After a series of escalator connections (or if you want, you can always trek up the steep uphill climb), you enter into the town's historic quarter.

All of the major sights are within walking distance.  You can easily spend one afternoon in Toledo.  The Catedral is an attraction worth your time.  This cathedral is said to be the heart of Catholic Spain.  Paintings and masterpieces are from famous Spanish artists.  A lavish tesoro, or monstrance, full of gold and silver is in display until its once a year parade.  The high altar is one of the most decorated and gaudy pieces of art I've ever seen.  Everything is extravagant and perfectly tells the history of Spain, its previous wealth, and its participation in Catholicism.

Aside from history, Toledo also has a food specialty.  Mazapan!  Prior to this trip, I was only familiar with marzipan; and I was not a fan.  Marzipan is too sweet and put together.  It's like overly sugared soft candy.  Mazapan completely changed my perception.  It has just the right amount of sweetness and bite to appreciate the quality of the almonds.

Toledo is a perfect destination if you're looking for a day trip out of Madrid.  You take a break from the city streets and can have a full day of walking through history.

The view from the escalator ride up to the Old Town

The narrow streets of Toledo.  Cars beware!

Madrid: Pride of city with endless amazing eats.

Madrid!  One of my absolute favorite cities in the world.  I was worried that I would be letdown after finally coming back to this city ten years later.  Wow, the city is far cooler and far better than I remember.  Madrid is still and most definitely one of the my favorite cities in the world.

It's a true city and capital full of history and culture, and it's clean.  Madrid is so alive, so trendy and fashionable while not being arrogant or stiff.  There are newer barrios and neighborhoods that are walkable and full of life and food, too.

El Corte Ingles is a standard stop for some department store shopping, grocery shopping, and eating.  It is the biggest department store group in Europe, and it's the only remaining department store in Spain.  The Gran Via location has a great Gourmet Experience on the top floor with fantastic views of the city.  You can take it all in while enjoying a selection of tapas and cuisines from around the world.

Madrid is also a city to sample the Spanish classic: churros con chocolate.  Books and Internet research lead me to Chocolateria Valor and Chocolateria San Gines.  Valor is a big name chocolate brand in Spain.  Despite the name and reviews, I actually preferred San Gines.  It has a hype for attracting decades of celebrities and big names.  The churros were fresh and crispy and the chocolate had that right amount of sweetness and darkness.  The experience of eating churros con chocolate can be done at any time of the day.  Locals, though, are known to indulge in this sweet, fried goodness in the wee hours of the morning after a long night out.  In fact, Chocolateria San Gines' hours are 9:30am to 7:00am.  Madrileños know how to party and to live, and to eat.

Walking around Madrid 

Taking in Andalucian culture in Jerez. And falling in love with their tocino del cielo.

Jerez de la Frontera is arguably one of the destinations to discover the heart of Andalucia.  It has the horse culture and the flair for flamenco.  The larger cities like Seville and Granada get more of the attention with their numerous buildings and monuments.  But, Jerez is a wonderful place to explore and to taste some of Spain's most known specialties: sherry and tocino del cielo - our two reasons to drive to Jerez for the day.

We arrived into Jerez from Seville an hour before our tour time at Tio Pepe/Gonzalez Byass Bodega (the infamous sherry producers.  More on our Tio Pepe tour in my next post).  To kill time we explored the surrounding area which holds a couple of Jerez's most known structures.  The Alcázar is a former Moorish fortress which now houses a beautiful park.  The first of the fortresses dates back to the 11th century.  Nearby is the Catedral de San Salvador.  It was built in the 17th century and became a cathedral in 1980 by Pope John Paul II.

Apart from the sherry, we were in Jerez's for one of their
most famous creations: tocino del cielo.  It translates to bacon from heaven.  It's an iconic Spanish dessert named because of its caramelized appearance, heavenly texture, and religious origin.  Tocino del cielo was created in the Convent of the Holy Spirit of Jerez de la Frontera by nuns who were given egg yolks from their neighboring sherry producers (because sherry is clarified with egg whites).

After some internet research and advice from some locals, we knew there was only one place to try it, La Rosa de Oro - neighborhood pastelería with Spanish cakes, pastries, ice creams, and sweet drinks.  It's a place for locals to savor an afternoon snack and for kids to get a treat after school.

Hands down, their tocino del cielo was the best dessert I had on the entire trip.  I'm willing to drive back to Jerez for more of this.  I can still taste the caramelized sweet silky texture.  Seriously from heaven.

Near the pastelería was a local grocery.  It was so fun to see all the local goods found only in Spain.  You can host your own tapas party at home and not have to cook a thing!

An entrance to Alcázar

The courtyard

History and Modernity in Valencia

Valencia, Spain's third largest city, is known for the beautiful City of Arts and Sciences structures and the birthplace of paella (more on Valencia's paella in my next post about Valencia's markets).  It is a beautiful coastal city that combines history and modernity, and it's worth taking the time explore.

The City of Arts and Sciences, or Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas, is an entertainment based cultural and architectural complex.  It is the most important and known tourist destination in the city.  The structures began in 1996, with the latest addition inaugurated in 2005.

There are currently 7 structures, including an IMAX cinema and planetarium, an interactive science museum, a landscaped walk, the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe, an opera house and performing arts center, a suspension bridge, and a covered plaza for concerts and sporting events.  It sounds like a lot and in person it's even more incredible to see the architecture and modernity.

Balancing the modernity is the appreciation of history.  The Valencia Cathedral, also known as the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia, was built between the 13th to 15th centuries.  Christians, historians, and Indiana Jones fans will find it fascinating to learn that one of the chapels in this cathedral holds one of the Holy Chalices - as in, the true Holy Grail.  Christian historians say this is evidence that this chalice is a likely candidate for being the authentic cup used at the Last Supper.  It was also used by many popes, including Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

Aside from appreciating Valencia's architecture and history, there is also plenty to eat - it's Spain, after all.  Valencia is known for their chufa nuts, or tiger nuts.  The key ingredient in horchata.  There are a few famous horchaterias in the city.  We saw two of them which are right across from each other.  Horchateria El Siglo and Horchateria Sta. Catalina.  After trying one horchata in Sta. Catalina, we reached our sugar capacity with just a couple of sips.  Wow, it's incredibly sweet, and not in a way I like at all.  If you love super sweet things, you may enjoy this.  I actually preferred the horchata in Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo in Palma, which used almonds instead of tiger nuts.  It was way less sweet and had a nuttier taste as opposed to the tiger nuts' earthier taste.

Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas

The City of Arts and Sciences

The Roman Ruins of Tarragona

Back on the Iberian peninsula after a couple of nights on the beautiful island of Mallorca.  And back in our rental van ready for the next destination.  Barcelona to Valencia for a 350 km (217.5 miles) drive, but first a stop 100 km away in Tarragona.

Along the coastal drive, Tarragona holds one of the most significant Roman sites in the country.  The description in guidebooks say this it the stop to make to take in history.  The seaside facing amphitheatre is a bit underwhelming as it's located next to a primary school as though it's not a big deal.  But on a sunny say with blue skies, you can picture history with the Romans coming in by boat.  It is amazing to think about how this was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries, B.C.

Before getting back in the car for the last of the drive, about 2.5 hours to go, we took a break for merienda, or an afternoon snack.  We're in Spain, that means to have to have a mid-day break and eat.  We stopped at Spain's most known department store, El Corte Inglés.  Every El Corte throughout the country has a grocery in the basement and at least one restaurant on its top floors, which is perfect for a meal or snack.  The Tarragona El Corte restaurant served one of the best churros con chocolate of the trip - who would have thought it was going to be here in the department store of this town.

Roman ruins in Tarragona

Sugar rush of ensaimadas in Palma de Mallorca

2 days and 2 nights in Mallorca - that's just enough time to get a little sample of the island's specialties.  Mallorca is known for their almonds, oranges, and ensaimadas.

Ensaimadas were eventually brought to the Philippines (known as ensaymadas) by Mallorcan soldiers centuries ago longing for their region's specialty.  Mallorcan ensaimadas come in varying sizes and even topped or filled with sweets and savories.

During our two short days, we were able to squeeze in three of the more known ensaimadas stores.  Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo is a famous milk bar serving ice creams, horchatas, hot chocolates, and sweets varying from the varieties of ensaimadas to almond cakes.  Forn d'es Reco is a cute little bakery that we happen to stumble upon.  It's unassuming with plenty of sweets and savories made with love over the generations.  Their ensaimada has a unique taste of almonds in the fluffy bites.  Forn Fondo is one of the more known bake shops even promoted by Jose Andres.  I actually found this to be the least tasty compared to the other two.  There are a few more ensaimadas stores I'd love to try out, but we just couldn't handle that much sweetness in the short amount of time - a great excuse for another trip to the island.

To balance the sweetness, there are a number of restaurants and cafes scattered throughout the city, many of which are of varying European cuisines catering to the groups of tourists visiting the island.

In a tiny alley off of Central Palma, La Bodeguilla is a great stop for tapas and wine.  They serve dinner choices, but I would stick with the tapas in the wine bar area which has a fun atmosphere.  Plus, with tapas you don't get overly stuffed in one restaurant and that allows you to really get a taste of a number of places during the course of one meal.

A town like Palma is all about walking around the city, getting lost, and discovering gems like Forn d'es Reco and La Bodeguilla.

Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo

Mallorca's milk bar, dating back to 1700

Sampling the specialties: Almond milk, hot chocolate, and ensaimadas

Eating my way through Tokyo

When I travel I tend to let go of my health conscious eating.  I eat more salads than usual and workout double time prior to these trips.  As a result, I fly into the city a couple pounds lighter just so I can freely gain a few pounds over the next days of travel.  All to I eat carbs, fats, and sugars with no abandon.

Tokyo was certainly no exception.  I felt like I ate 5 meals a day, including soba for breakfast from 7-11 (it's so fresh and a clean way to start the day).   Every one of these "nibblings" are still ingrained in my head as some fantastically memorable bites.

The handmade ramen noodles from Ramen Street in the Tokyo Station, the tonkatsu and katsudons, curry over rice, fresh sushi and seafood from the department store grocery, a huge piece of karaage from the department store food hall, Korean food with loads of vegetables, Japanese Italian pizza done to perfection, beer beer and more beer, convenience store soba, the tastiest salted caramel crepe, the fluffiest cheesecake, and sinful croissants that are worth all the butter intake.

Whew, I cannot wait to go back to Japan and eat all this and more finds.  In the meantime I'll look fondly at these photos and workout for the next big weight-gaining trip.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Tokyo Nibblings

Nibbling around the San Francisco Bay Area

This last trip back to San Francisco was pretty indulgent, a true eat-fest.

Here are pictures from the many other bites that I had during my two week trip.  It was filled with nostalgic eats (like the chicken wings by my alma mater), fun finds while catching up with old friends (which is the root to my love for bar food), and new bites which I can't wait to have again on my next trip (Smore's Pie at Bi-Rite!)

If you cant see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: SF Nibblings

Department Store Snacking in Osaka

Just like in Tokyo, one of our main attractions in Osaka was the department store food halls.  It's easy to think that the same branding of department stores will pretty much have the same kind of food halls.  Not at all!

In Osaka, the Daimaru and Mitsukoshi Isetan department stores seemed even bigger and better than some of the ones we just saw in Tokyo.  They have sweets and savories from Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto - a lot of goodies that we didn't see and taste in Tokyo.

In reading about Osaka, the city likes to be the "anti-Tokyo."  For example, in Tokyo you stand on the left side of the escalator, and over take on the right.  In Osaka, it's the complete opposite.  So it's easy to spot a visitor from Tokyo if you're in Osaka.  (And if you stand in the middle and block the way, it's obvious you're a tourist.)

With that spirit of rivalry and competition, Osaka's department store food halls really make an effort to compete on the same level as the best in Tokyo.

A little side story: After taking one of the pictures (of the Belgian beer) I was told that I was not allowed to take pictures because I tried to frame the picture of the beer with a little background.  In the department stores, the Japanese are seriously strict about the no picture policy.  I guess you have to go for yourselves to see all the amazingness I'm talking about..

Here are some pictures of the snacks I had at the food halls and some that I took home to enjoy.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Osaka Department Store Eats

Non-stop eating at Mitsukoshi Ginza

Our main destination in Japan was exploring the food halls of the department stores, namely Mitsukoshi, Daimaru, and Takashimaya.  Mitsukoshi and Daimaru are a couple of the better quality ones, and it really shows in the brands and products they house.

For most of our early mornings and afternoons, we nibbled on sweets and savories around the food halls (which don't have tables or counters to eat.  You have to discreetly step aside like a tourist to eat it right then and there, go up to the designated tables and benches (at Mitsukoshi Ginza it's on the 9th floor), or take it back to your hotel to enjoy later).  All that nibbling really just made us hungry for a real meal.  The top floors of these department stores all have sit down restaurants with a large variety of cuisines.  Japanese, European, Chinese, Thai, Korean, etc.

Mitsukoshi Ginza was one of our highlights for food halls and their upper floor restaurants.  On the 2nd floor, we were repeat customers at Laduree for macarons.  I could eat boxes and boxes of their pistachio and caramel macarons.  So chewy and packed with intense flavor.

On the 9th floor, you can bring up food from the food halls and enjoy them on their tables inside and out on the garden patio.  Or, you can also take a break at the Minori Cafe.  Towards the end of the trip, my feet and legs needed a rest, so a Kirin and coffee break was perfectly refreshing out on the garden patio.

For sit-down restaurants, the upper floors have a fun variety.  There are so many options that you want to go back to try almost all of them out.  For one lunch, I squeezed in 2 meals.  The first was at Hakone Akatsuki for fresh handmade soba.  On display behind a glass window, an old soba master constantly rolls and cuts the noodles with such passion and precision.  Immediately following this first course, I went for some Japanese style pizza at Maestro Ks.  Japanese style uses their own flour for more chewiness and with their unique toppings.  This is the best pizza I've encountered around the world, but unfortunately (a huge unfortunately), the service was so rude the second time around (telling the empty restaurant was fully committed at 5pm when all we wanted was a couple pizza pies).  Why give money to a place that doesn't want to serve you?

For our final dinner, we feasted on more tonkatsu at Tonkatsu Japanese Apricot, a mid-to-higher end katsu chain.  These breaded cutlets were some of the fluffiest, flakiest, and crispiest we've tasted.  The "toro" tonkatsu is a bit too excessive with fat, but the special cut and regular cut were far above average.

If I had more time, or even just more room in my stomach, I wanted to try out a couple more places on the 11th floor - okonomiyaki and hamburg steak.  Next time!

Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Mitsukoshi Ginza Eats

Baking my favorite restaurant dessert - Bostini Cream Pie

San Francisco has always and continues to give me some of my favorite food memories.  It's the area where I grew up, and it's the area where I had some of my favorite childhood meals and dishes.

If you ask me what's my all-time favorite dessert, I'd list a few of my mom's signature baked specialties.  As I travel around the world, every city is building up my list of favorite dishes, and desserts included.  So ask me what's my favorite all-time restaurant dessert in San Francisco.

Scala Bistro's Bostini Cream Pie (also found on the menu of Bistro Giovanni in Napa).  Hands down, my favorite San Francisco treat.  Now, I haven't tried this in a few years, so I can't tell you if it's still consistent.  But from what I remember, it's a generous cup of vanilla bean custard that drowns a little orange chiffon cake, and wonderfully topped with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze.  That combination of vanilla, orange, and chocolate.. they are made for each other.

I remember when I was in grade school, I cleaned the cup and the chocolate glaze all over the plate so well that the waiter couldn't help but comment that I must have enjoyed it.  Yes, I totally did.

This Bostini Cream Pie dessert is always on my mind.  I've been wanting to make it to relive my happy memories.  So over the Easter weekend, during the height of my baking spirit, I gathered the recipe together.  It's a long process to completely cool the cupcakes, and then chill the custard.  But, it's all so worth it once you have that first spoonful of that custard, orange, and chocolate goodness.

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: Bostini Cream Pie

Baking at Home: Hazelnut Cookies

As this past Easter weekend approached, my mood to bake was in full swing. Now was a great time to make use of a tub of hazelnuts. That's right, mmm hazelnuts.

My mom recommended I check out her baking book collection, particularly Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen.  From its opening, Batali hand-picked her to be the pastry chef.  So, yes, that Babbo.

The hazelnut recipes had a great selection of biscottis, chocolate hazelnut cookies, and a plain hazelnut cookie.  I wanted the hazelnuts to shine, so I chose the Hazelnut Cookie recipe (this is a blog that writes up DePalma's recipe).

I made two batches.  One is as the recipe dictates, with just a gentle coating of confectioners' sugar.  I also left the hazelnut skins on.  I love the homemade, speckled look; and the skins really don't give off any bitterness to distract from the nut's flavor.  These cookies turned out really great - chewy, crispy, and intense sweet hazelnut.

The second batch was coated with more confectioners' sugar, flattened, and twice baked - Hazelnut Biscotti Cookies.  They are perfect dipped in my daily cup of Americano.

I'm inspired to tweak this recipe into my own now.  Maybe lessen the sugar and bake it a little less for more chewiness.  I'm also curious to try it flour-less and/or egg yolk-less.  I'll keep you posted when I try out these new batches..

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: Hazelnut Cookies

Hong Kong Favorites

Back in Hong Kong and back to my favorite eats!

There are so many fantastic restaurants in Hong Kong, and yet I love repeating some of these favorites every time I go back. We spread out our Hong Kong trips so that we start to crave for these memorables bites. Paper-thin Peking duck, dim sum, local dessert, noodles, Japanese cuisine...All this talking about it has me craving for it now. I have to go back to Hong Kong soon!

Ye Shanghai
Xiao Long Bao - Not as thin as Din Tai Fung in Taipei and Shanghai, but a true contender. Great pork filling, flavorful soup, and a thin-enough wrapper.
Peking Duck - Literally paper thin. It's like biting into a thin waker cracker that's actually duck skin. Amazing.
Dong Po - Personal-size, perhaps bite-size. Pork belly braised in sweet soy sauce and wine and topped with a fluffy little steamed bun.

Hip Katsu
Pork Katsu - Flaky, crusty, crispy pork katsu. The pork itself is tender and succulent. A great option for katsu in Hong Kong.
Oyster Katsu - I love oysters. I love katsu when it's done well. Oyster Katsu here is a must order. Flaky, crusty, crispiness around a plump, juicy oyster. That's memorable eating.

Honeymoon Desserts
Perfect anytime of the year. Hot dessert soups warm you up and comfort your stomach. Cold dessert soups cool you down and refresh your palate after a hearty meal. There are so many choices for any mood.

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: HK Repeats

Sweet & Savory Treats from Dial K for Kitchen

There are some childhood treats that you can't stop loving when you're already an adult. I'm talking about good ol' fashioned campfire (or fireplace or stovetop) s'mores. Graham crackers crunching over melting chocolate and flamed burnt chewy marshmallows. That's goodness.

Enter Dial K for Kitchen's Icebox S'mores. Frozen cubes of graham crackers, fudgy chocolate , and chewy marshmallow. A childhood treat twist!

And, for peanut butter fans (like myself) the Peanut Butter S'mores hit that peanut butter-chocolate spot on your palate. S'more just got even more fun!

The chicken liver is another absolute must-try. So smooth, so creamy, and so clean tasting.

This is so good slathered on bread or crackers. Or, even better, as the liver spread for banh mi sandwiches! These have been contributing to some of the highest quality Vietnamese sandwiches I've been indulging in all week. I'm happy to have a source for excellent pate now.

From the first bites, you can taste the talent behind the concept and the execution of their products. Equally, you taste the quality of the ingredients. I become an almost instant fan of anything with high quality ingredients.

The bites are indulgent, but as everything should be eaten in moderation, these delicious bites are so worth savoring. I can't wait to try more of their products.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Dial K for Kitchen

Mixing it up

Time for something different. Completely different.

Strawberry coffee cake fits the requirement.

Light, fluffy, intense coffee cake filled and topped with light strawberry frosting.

The freshness of the whipped strawberry flavor plays with the intensity of the roasted coffee. Not an obvious match, but it tastes to delicious together.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Strawberry Coffee Cake

Chocolate Coffee Cake Throwback!

An old favorite enhanced. One of my earliest memories of my mom's desserts is her chocolate coffee cake. Each eating required 2 slices at a time (during my chubby and skinny stages of childhood and adolescence).

Light, fluffy, moist chocolate cake filled with coffee icing and topped with chocolate icing. A chocolate lover's heaven.

This time around she used Dutch process chocolate to really bring out that chocolate intensity which the coffee icing complements so perfectly.

Even today, one slice is never enough.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Chocolate Cake