Piping into circles - batter is smooth and shiny; good size and flat courtesy of B. The key to piping is squeeze from the top with right hand, and point straight down.






After piping - shells are flat with feet, but the feet slightly surround the shell instead of being under it.



First attempt: Green Tea Macarons with Green Tea Buttercream

392 Queen West

I finally tried Banh Mi Boys last week! I don't even like banh mi, but Banh Mi Boys definitely takes the meaning of the cold Vietnamese sandwich to a whole other level, throwing in other Asian influences as well.

By recommendation, we got the Kalbi Banh Mi - the kalbi was so good, I love the flavor, texture and cut of the beef. It went well with the baguette, cold toppings and medium hot sauce.

Pork Belly Bao (left) - I love this soft bun with a touch of sweetness! While the pork belly was not as soft or fatty/melt-in-you-mouth as I imagined, the flavor of the pork was good (a bit burnt on the edges) and paired with the cucumber, carrots, radish(?) and cilantro.

Beef Cheek Bao (right) - the beef cheek is sort of like Taiwanese beef brisket. It was good but definitely I like pork belly more in terms of overall flavor and how it tied together with other ingredients as a whole.



Kimchi Fries - I'm a huge fries addict..and I dug right into this! The fries are so good and hot (temperature wise) on the inside!!  A slight crisp with some skin left on. Paired well with the mayo and green onions.. There's also pulled pork and cold spicy kimchi.

Our filling & flavorful meal :D Total bill: ~$20 My favorite was the kalbi, the bao, and the kimchi fries. I will be back!

 

Belgian truffle prep

Final products - After decorating Belgian & North American truffles - messy but fun

Last Tuesday, I attended the Truffle Making 101 Workshop courtesy of Chocolate Tales. We made three types of truffles - Belgian, French and North American. It was fun! We started with Belgian truffle - first filled the chocolate molds with white chocolate then put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Then we capped it with dark chocolate, refrigerate again, and then roll two layers of chocolate and decorate white white and pink drizzle. These were surprisingly good and not too sweet - liquid smooth chocolate inside with hard dark chocolate coating.

Scenic route from SF > Monterey > Carmel by the Sea > Santa Barbara > LA
First stop: Monterey. A small quiet town, we walked around the fisherman's wharf, sampling clam chowder at five consecutive restaurants. Second stop: Carmel by the Sea. A more upscale small town with nice beach. We had lunch at Le St. Tropez - a small French restaurant and one of the better meals I had on the trip. The tuna nicoise salad was great, and we got to have souffle again ^^

Leisure last day in SF. Walked around the Japanese tea garden and saw these two neat displays outside de Young Museum before hopping back on the bus to Palace of Fine Arts and across the bridge again. Recommended by the tour guide, we went to Tommy's Joynt for dinner - as featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.







My first time at a diner. Big portions for $10 - cheapest meal in the trip. I decided to try corned beef with side of mashed potatoes and beans. The corned beef was kind of lukewarm and overly salty - others who ordered beef and pork shoulder were much better flavor and texture!! :( Mashed potatoes were good though. Bread was rock hard.


For dessert, we finished with Cheesecake Factory since it was closer than going to souffles again. Funny conversations with good company.

Keep it simple!