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I recently did some work with my good friend Michelle over at à la Micho, creating the afauxgato (I oughta copyright that). This time around, we were joined by two of our other friends, Tong and Kai, and recreated the Crack Pie from Momofuku Milk Bar. Here are some photos from our adventures in baking!
Here's a nice behind the scenes shot. Check out the video over at à la Micho!
Merry Christmas to you all! Here at our home, we don't mess around with food. This year, we had filet mignon, twice baked potatoes with bacon, creamed spinach, homemade onion rings, and a slice of my mother's sponge cake with a berry sauce and homemade whipped cream. Again, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
First of all, happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers out there! My sister and I decided to do a tag team dinner for our mother.
The main course consisted of a seared Ahi Tuna steak with a soy ginger glaze, wild rice, and an arugula salad with a light citrus dressing.
For dessert, we made individual pies/tarts. I'm not sure exactly what to call them, but they started with a pie crust filled with custard, then were topped with fresh blueberries, bananas, and a slice of candied lemon.
Everything was homemade and delicious.
We had a bunch of avocados sitting at home and couldn't finish them all before they over-ripened. So, my sister and I decided to make some avocado ice cream.
We used Alton Brown's recipe, which can be found here. It's very simple and we found that it is similar to many of the other recipes for avocado ice cream that we found.
The ice cream was spectacular. It tasted like avocado (a big duh) with an ever so slight hint of sweetness to it, which was great. The texture was smooth and silky, probably thanks to all that fat in the avocado and heavy cream. To further bring out the sweetness, we finished the ice cream with some salt. It really brings the ice cream to life and makes the flavors pop. In my opinion, the salt is absolutely essential.
Here's the lighting set-up I used for the shots. I had a LumoPro LP120 camera right shooting into a reflective umbrella at 1/4 power as my key light. For my fill, I had a LumoPro LP160 camera left in a softbox at 1/64 power. I shot with a Canon 7D and a 100mm f2.8 Macro at 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 200.
First of all, I want to say sorry for the lack of posts for past couple weeks, I've been extremely busy. Anywho, onto the post. As you all know, last Friday was November 11, 2011, or 11.11.11. Not only was it the last binary day of the century, but the most epic Pepero Day for a while. For those of you that don't know, Pepero Day is a Korean "holiday" of sorts where people get Pepero for their friends, family, significant others, etc. You can learn more about it from the folks at Eat Your Kimchi. It's basically a day for snack companies (Lotte) to make tons of money...
What do you do on a cold, rainy Pepero Day when you don't want to buy Pepero? Make some, of course! Some of my friends and I got some pretzel sticks, chocolate, and various things to coat the sticks in. It's probably the simplest thing ever, and it's fun when you make them with people you love! After you're done, you can either give them away or eat them all yourself. If you eat them all yourself, you're probably pretty lonely anyway (joking, but true...). Note: these photos were taken with a friend's camera because of the spontaneity of the happening.
After making bunch of them, I ended up receiving some! I felt so loved until I read the note attached to them.
Threatening, right? I decided to not take any risks and follow their instructions.
I must say, they were a lot more colourful than the ones we made. They did melt a bit, so excuse that in the photos, I'm sure they were beautiful before. Off the record, I think ours tasted better, but they still made for a great pre-San Francisco trip snack! More on that SF trip in later posts to come. But really, they were great! Chocolatey, crunchy goodness, with a hint of salty from the pretzel sticks, not to mention full of love! Food is always better when it's made with love, and I think anyone can testify to that. So, next November 11, make (or buy) some Pepero for the people you love!
The Hungry Bear is one of those hidden gems that you probably never heard of unless you're a local. I recently found out about the Hungry Bear through a friend who used to eat here as a kid. After we (my sister, my cousin, and I) wandered through an old plaza, we found the Hungry Bear tucked away in a corner.
The moment we walked in, we felt a bit out of place. We were the only Asians the restaurant, which is odd in Fullerton as it has a large Asian population. The decor is very homey and welcoming with earthy greens and teddy bears strewn all about the place. After a short wait, we were seated by our very happy waitress. She made sure to point out the specials.
On Mondays, four of the specials and their Specialty Steak are half off. Their prices are already low to begin with, but we'll talk about price later. I decided to go with one of my all time favorites, country fried steak, my cousin opted to try their Specialty Steak, and my sister got the bacon wrapped filets.
I got started off with a salad. It was nothing special, just a typical salad with dressing. My cousin got the same.
My sister had the cheese and potato soup, which was pretty much cheese and potato. How can that be bad, right? Well, it wasn't. It was delicious. The best way to describe it is as a super thick cheese sauce with chunks of potato.
My cousin's Specialty Steak (sirloin) wasn't quite medium rare, which he ordered. He decided it would be fine to just eat it (it was still great, I tried some), but the waitress insisted that it be the way he asked for it and took it back. They brought another one out within a few minutes. Talk about great service! The second time it was cooked perfectly and tasted even better than it did the first time. The meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful, just like a good steak should be.
My sister's bacon wrapped filets were to die for. The two tender filets were wrapped in bacon and cooked medium. Even without getting a piece of bacon in your bite, you can taste the smokey bacon flavor. With a piece of bacon, its simply amazing.
My country fried steak was a bit different than I'm used to. A typical country fried steak is made with tenderized cube steak, which almost has the texture of ground beef. However, the Hungry Bear makes their country fried steak with a piece of sirloin that's been pounded out. This way, it still has the texture of a steak, but is tender like a more typical country fried steak. The breading is very light and crispy, just the way I like it. Finally, the gravy is light and peppery. It's not like glue, which I've experienced too many times. The gravy complements the steak and doesn't just fill you up. This is a top notch country fried steak.
Each entree comes with a big piece of garlic bread and your choice of potato. We also got a side order of macaroni and cheese. None of the sides were out of this world, but the garlic bread and my mashed potatoes (with the same great gravy on my steak) were still delicious. The macaroni and cheese on the other hand was rather disappointing. It was just boxed mac and cheese.
After all that food, we decided that we needed to get some dessert. We got peach cobbler and apple pie. Each comes topped with a heaping scoop of French vanilla ice cream and a generous amount of whipped cream. The peach cobbler has a bread-like crust on top, which isn't crispy like I'm used to. I liked the apple pie better, but then again, I have a soft spot for pies. The ice cream leant a good amount of sweetness and provides a nice contrast to the hot dessert. The desserts themselves weren't too sweet, which I like.
The best part of the meal was when we got the check. We got all that food (and drinks) for less than $50 and we could barely move. Now that's a steal. Still, I wouldn't mind eating here any other day, even without the half off prices. Everything about the Hungry Bear makes it stand out; the quality of the food, price, and service are excellent. So please, check out the Hungry Bear for yourself!
The Hungry Bear Restaurant 2219 N Harbor Blvd Fullerton, CA 92835 (714) 526-2711 www.thehungrybear.com
Recently, Rainbow Donuts' Cerritos and Norwalk locations started serving blueberry donuts. I heard that they were selling a dozen for only $5 on Friday, so I jumped on that chance to try them out. If Rainbow Donuts' blueberry donuts were comparable to M&M's variety, they would present themselves as a good option because I hate waiting in lines at M&M Donuts. It also doesn't hurt that they are much closer to me. I reviewed M&M's blueberry donuts back in April here.
I got to Rainbow Donuts about 10 minutes before the $5 deal officially started. Surprisingly, there was no line at all. It seemed like I was first one there for the deal. I asked the lady behind the counter if I could get two dozen donuts for the discounted price, and she gladly obliged. The next question she asked caught me off guard. "Frosted or glazed?" she asked. Frosted? What? Oh boy. Then I looked behind the display glass and there were blueberry donuts that looked similar to M&M's, but with a light purple frosting on top. I opted to get half frosted and half glazed.
I walked out of the store with 2 dozen donuts in my hands. I felt like a fatty mcfatfat. It's okay though, I gave a dozen to the kids at church right after. They disappeared within a blink of an eye, so I didn't get a chance to try one. At least I knew that they were good. I would have to wait until I got home to sample from the second dozen.
I decided to try the regular glazed donut first for comparison's sake. My first observation was that they are much more dense than the donuts at M&M. I suppose that's to be expected, after all, they are called "blueberry cake donuts." The outside was also not as crisp. I preferred the texture of M&M's donuts. My biggest gripe here was that they donuts were cold. They had been sitting out, even when I picked them up. I love that they donuts at M&M are freshly made (because they sell so quickly). That's probably the key difference for me.
Let's not look solely at the negatives though. Rainbow Donuts still makes a solid blueberry donut. I thought the frosted donut was far superior to the glazed donut. This is because the frosted donut is (surprisingly) not as sweet as the glazed variety. I thought the glazed donut was too sweet, but the frosted donut was just about perfect. The frosting is definitely a nice touch and adds a bit of unique flair to Rainbow Donuts over M&M.
All in all, I don't think that it's fair to compare the two donuts in a head-on comparison. They are similar, but different. They are both great donuts and I would eat either one any day. If you love M&M's blueberry donuts, then I recommend that you check out Rainbow Donuts. You won't have to wait in that ridiculous line, which is one of the biggest plusses in my opinion.
Rainbow Donuts 11825 South St Cerritos, CA 90703 (562) 468-0678 www.RainbowDonuts.com
Remember that pizza from last week?
Well, that's no pizza...
Bam! Feast your eyes on these blueberry donuts from M&M Donuts in Anaheim, CA. They open at 9 pm and you gotta get there early to beat the lines. These little guys are POPULAR. Sometimes the lines will cause two hour waits. I've seen the drive-thru line wrap around and continue through the parking lot of the plaza. At about $8 for a dozen, the price to flavor experience ratio is off the charts.
Ugh. Just looking at that cross-section excites me. The donut tastes like a fried blueberry muffin. The outside is crispy and glazed while the inside is soft and pillowy. Everyone knows that's the perfect combination of textures (think crisp fries with mashed potatoey [that's not a word...] insides). They're good cold the next morning, but are exceptionally extraordinary when they are hot and fresh. It's impossible to eat just one, you have to control yourself you have to eat a whole dozen.
You know that these donuts are the best just because they come in a freaking pizza box and are made by a cute old Chinese couple. Now, back to last week's post. These donuts with that blueberry crumble Haagen-Dazs ice cream? Just kill me now.
M&M Donuts 1614 W Katella Ave Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 490-0718
NOTE: I plan to update at least once a week now on Mondays. Hoorah! No need to wait for weeks for new posts! Of course I reserve the rights to not follow through with this, but I really want to stay committed to this.
So what do you do when you want ice cream right before you go to bed? You just go and get it! As I was looking into the freezer, debating between Mango and Coffee, this Blueberry Crumble caught my eye. That limited edition royal purple lid whispered carelessly into my ear, "I'm what you want."
Sadly, it was gone before I thought to take photos (you looked at photos of an empty ice cream container). Meh. Let's just say it was delicious. You got the bright, fruity blueberry flavor right off the bat and finished with a slight bit of tartness and crunchy shortbread pieces. It was a flavor-texture-sensory foodgasm. It would have gone PERFECTLY with what I'm going to post about next time. Look forward to that on Monday. For now, here's a teaser photo.
Ice cream and pizza!? Edwin, what's wrong with you? Let your imaginations run wild.
I'm a bit backed up on blog posts right now and have been rather busy lately, but today I bring to you my review on Nation's Giant Hamburgers.
After last week's Nehemiah Band concert (see previous post), a bunch of us headed over to Nation's for a post game meal. The restaurant has a very nice old school diner feel to it. I love restaurants like that.
I got a cheeseburger because that's just the standard item to judge any burger joint by. If they can't make a proper cheeseburger, they probably won't be able to pull other things off. The burger took a bit of time and wasn't very cheap (close to $5). However, when I got my order and unwrapped the little gift, a little grin snuck its way onto my face. The first thing I noticed was they oily sheen on the bun. YES! That's one of the indicators of a good burger. It's gotta have that greasy shine all over it. The burger comes with standard fixins: lettuce, tomato, raw white onion (you can get grilled if you want), and albiet, a lot of mayo.
The burger itself was pretty awesome as foreshadowed by the grease. None of the toppings interfered with the flavor of the burger itself, which is very important to me. You have to be able to taste the beef. The cheese and other condiments only bolstered the flavor of the burger. I gotta say, I was extremely hungry, so that might have skewed my thoughts, but oh well, it was delicious. The buns were very soft, which I oddly enjoyed. I normally like a bit of crunch in my buns (I always get x-tra toast on my buns at In-n-Out). Overall, the burger just worked for me. It was simple and delicious. No need for any exotic mushroom or foie gras nonsense here.
We all got a chocolate creme pie to share. Awesome. Nation's is known for their pies. The one inch thick layer of whipped cream on top with a custardy, chocolatey cream filling, and a flakey pie crust. Sweet (it was). Must I say more?
Oh yeah, I love pie.
Nation's Giant Hamburgers 1800 University Ave Berkeley, CA 94703 (510) 843-7326 www.nationsrestaurants.com