three twins ice cream

santa monica, ca

website

yet another picture of my sister's hand holding food. and my peeling nail polish. anyway - cindy was visiting, so i took her to main street in santa monica to check out some boutiques and the new muji store. couldn't resist stopping at a little scoop shop. can't go wrong with gourmet ice cream. my strawberry ice cream was creamy and delicious. cindy's lemon cookie ice cream was "really really good." a perfect treat to eat while shopping along main street or walking along the ocean. gotta love southern california.

cafe sfa @ saks fifth avenue

new york, ny

link to yelp

it's interesting (sad? amazing?) that so many of my restaurant choices are so close to my shopping choices. back when i worked in midtown east, the girls and i used to frequent saks to shop the sales, to look for wedding dresses, or to just take a break from the daily grind. if the grind was particularly rough that day, we would stop at cafe sfa for some cocktails to unwind - with the beautiful bags and shoes serving as our backdrop. on this trip to nyc, i stopped here to reminisce and ordered the mille feuille. thin layers of crepes with a light cream in between. delicate and delicious - went quite nicely with a glass of chilled prosecco. i highly recommend.

kc donuts

austin, tx

link to yelp

you might think that getting a freshly fried doughnut topped with bacon and maple syrup icing would satisfy our doughnut cravings for at least 24 hours. you would be wrong. the next morning, jinny and i headed to the very popular kc donuts for doughnuts and kolaches. completely unassuming, tucked away in a strip mall, no fancy chalkboard menu, and no hipster decorations (ironic owls, anyone?). it's just a mom-and-pop (sometimes mom-and-son) shop. i ordered two doughnuts to go with my coffee - one sugar and one with chocolate icing - both delicious. nothing fancy about these doughnuts - they are simple, but perfect. fresh, soft, and with just the right amount of sweetness. yum.

gourdough's

austin, tx

website

believe it or not, we went to get doughnuts after eating at the hula hut. and not just any doughnuts. we went to gourdough's - a famous austin gourmet doughnut truck. it's located in one of the food truck parking lots which dot the austin landscape. (can we start doing that here in palo alto, please?) i ordered the flying pig - a freshly fried doughnut topped with several strips of bacon and maple syrup icing. the doughnut itself is the highlight for me, it's fried perfectly - crispy shell on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. the toppings were a bit too intense for me, but still delicious.

bi-rite creamery

san francisco, ca

website

jinny and i drove by the beach at half moon bay but it looked too chilly to get out of the car. instead, we drove up to san francisco for ice cream. probably not the smartest decision, but it made sense at the time. san francisco was freezing and jinny and i were shivering as we waited in the long line outside the bi-rite creamery near delores park. thankfully when we made it to the front of the line, a table had opened up inside and we could eat our ice cream in relative warmth.

bi-rite is famous for its ice cream sundaes and is frequently featured on those various what-to-eat-in-sf shows on the food network and travel channel. jinny and i shared a sam's sundae (chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream) and a sundae with honey and strawberries (if i remember correctly). both were pretty good, but probably not worth waiting in line for when it's cold and windy in san francisco. i think i'll stick with rick's down here in the south bay, where it's warm.

half moon bay bakery

half moon bay, ca

link to yelp

hello again. so work has been busy. it's still busy, but i'm going to take my lunch hour today to try to catch up on some posts. the fabulous jinny was visiting the bay area about a month or two or three ago. when jinny and i hang out, we generally go wherever the wind blows us. on a whim, we decided to head up to half moon bay, famous day-trip destination for bay area residents.

we had no itinerary but followed the signs from 101-north toward half moon bay, then decided followed the signs to "downtown" and "main street." ended up parking on main street and finding a cute bakery, aptly named "half moon bay bakery." i can't remember what my baked good was called, but it was basically a holeless donut, filled with custard and topped with chocolate. amazing. jinny and i sat on the bench outside while we devoured our treats - pretty sure about 3 people walking by saw us eating and decided to check out the bakery.

alison bakery

palo alto, ca

website

the volvo needed a check-up, so i left the car at the volvo dealership and walked across the street to find a place to study for my exam. the giant starbucks looked like an obvious spot, but i noticed alison bakery right next to it. the glass display full of giant croissants, cakes, and cupcakes drew me in (we all know how mediocre starbucks' baked goods are). the bakery also had ample seating with a sunny interior, so it looked like an excellent place to study.

the proprietor was quite happy to see me walk in. this bakery recently opened and it must be difficult to get people out of their 'bucks habit. no espresso drinks but they have an excellent and cheap drip coffee. the proprietor mentioned that the banana muffins had just come out of the oven, so of course i ordered one of those. the muffin would have been good, but ordinary if it was cold. however, fresh out of the oven it was extraordinary -- crunchy on the outside, warm and moist on the inside. yum.

randy's donuts

inglewood, ca

website

cindy c and i make a lot of spur-of-the-moment dining decisions whenever we're together. (see in n out post). while driving to lunch, cindy c pointed out the famous 30-foot tall donut atop the randy's donuts structure. i might have remarked, "donuts sound good," and before you know it, we're in the parking lot. cindy c pointed out that we weren't exactly in the safest neighborhood, but nothing was going to stop us from getting donuts. the verdict? excellent cheap donuts - moist and delicious.

citizen cake

san francisco, ca

CLOSED

after fresca, a+ma took us across the street to citizen cake, a cute little shop devoted to desserts. love the name, love the decor, love the desserts. apparently the menu also includes pizzas and sandwiches, but for me, the focus is on the display case full of cakes, brownies, and other desserts. i ordered the s'mores brownie, topped with a gooey toasted marshmallow. rich, decadent, and delicious.

financier

midtown, nyc

website

the original location of this cleverly named patisserie is in the financial district (a financier is both a type of french pastry and someone who handles a lot of money -- get it?), which is located at the southernmost tip of manhattan. this means that lazybones like myself only tasted pastries from this bakery when one of my friends (usually jenny or dorothy) brought some to the office or to a party. on those rare occasions, tarts and pies from financier were a special treat.

something happened, however, when financier opened a branch just a few blocks away from my office. perhaps distance does make the heart grow fonder because i found that the midtown location's pastries are good, but not amazing. the dining area of the bakery is cluttered and dirty. the sandwiches are small and take forever for them to make. we still go every now and then to get some coffee and perhaps satisfy a craving for sweets, but sadly, the allure is gone.

quality meats

58(5/6)

website

i suggested to derek that we try quality meats, a midtown steakhouse, because i heard great things about it on the internet. i might have neglected to mention that the great things i heard were that it's female-friendly and that it serves amazing single-serving ice cream cakes. what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right ? i arrived before derek and was led to the back of the restaurant, up some stairs, around a few turns, into a small room with a low ceiling that overlooked the front entrance. the waiter seating me could tell that i wasn't thrilled about the location, but he explained "it's our room for special occasions."

now it's hard to pinpoint exactly why i was placed into the upstairs dungeon for dinner. was it because i made my reservation only 2 hours in advance? because of how i was dressed? or because i'm (gasp) asian? i don't know, maybe the 30 empty tables i passed along the way were truly reserved. regardless, the service we received in that little dungeon was beyond reproach. efficient, friendly, attentive, even poured me a little extra wine to finish a bottle. and the menu is indeed female-friendly. i ordered the hanger steak with cherry sauce, a great combination. the hint of sweetness from the cherries matched perfectly with the steak. and we indeed ordered one of the ice cream cakes, topped with a cute candy cow. will we be back? probably not. my hanger steak was a tad overcooked. plus derek needs more serious steak and for that, we'll head to primehouse.

spot dessert bar

st. mark's (2/3)

website

to continue the jean-georges theme, pichet ong was a former pastry chef for jean-georges' indian-inspired restaurant, spice market. he recently opened spot, a dessert bar on st. mark's. after a dinner of giant sushi rolls at yama, cindy c and i decided to get some exercise by walking elsewhere for dessert. spot only serves dessert, which means it doesn't get busy until after everyone has finished their dinners. head there early (around dinnertime) if you want to avoid the crowds.

the menu is "dessert tapas" which apparently means that the fanchy desserts are served in smaller portions to be shared. cindy c and i chose the 3-dessert tapas for $20. our favorite (pictured) was the "white miso semifreddo" which is a misnomer because it's really all about the sweet and rich olive oil cake sandwiching the light saltiness of the hard ice cream semifreddo. it was a unique salty-sweet combination - delicious. next time, i'll just order the semifreddo. the goat milk soft cheesecake and chocolate cake marquis were both forgettable, but the semifreddo is definitely worth a return trip.

heartschallenger

mulberry & spring

website

jenny and i were shopping in nolita when we came cross this little pink truck parked near desalvio playground. we were intrigued by the cute truck and its unique menu, which includes mochi ice cream and neapolitan ice cream sandwiches.

jenny tried the orange popsicle, which had frozen chunks of orange inside - she said it was very refreshing. my green tea popsicle (which was $2) was a tiny little popsicle, but delicious. it was essentially rich green tea ice cream on a stick. yum. it's a perfect little treat on a hot summer day.

big gay ice cream truck

check twitter

website

i have been trying to find this truck for several weeks now. the problem is that it looks like a normal mister softee truck. so whenever derek and i walked by a mister softee, i would check to see if it had a picture of a large rainbow-colored ice cream cone on the side. there are a LOT of mister softee trucks in the city, so its been a laborious process. but turns out the truck is on twitter, which is very helpful. i finally managed to catch the truck on 17th and broadway on friday afternoon.

the menu had several excellent options, including an ice cream sandwich made with nutella. but, of course, i had to order the "salty pimp" - a cone with traditional soft-serve vanilla ice cream, covered with dulce de leche, sea salt, and then dipped with chocolate. as you can see from the photo, i attempted to start eating it while walking back to my apartment. it was extremely unwieldy - the chocolate coating and ice cream were too soft and melting quickly in the 90+ degree weather. i walked very quickly back to my apartment and stuck the cone in my freezer. a couple of hours later, derek and i enjoyed an excellent frosty treat. the ice cream had turned to a frozened mousse-like texture and the chocolate turned into a crunchy shell. the sea salt provided a lovely contrast to the caramel and chocolate. if you're a salty caramel fan, this is the cone for you.

top pot doughnuts

seattle, wa

website

i make my sister cindy take me here each time i visit seattle (the nephews don't mind going at all). these are some of the best doughnuts in seattle. in fact, starbucks now ships them all across the country -- usually the apple fritter and cake doughnuts. of course, you should go to the source to get them fresh.

my favorite, though, is the maple bar (pictured). perfect with a glass of cold milk. they have so many different types of doughnuts - i would love to try them all - but since i only come once or twice a year i always stick to my favorite.

rocky mountain chocolate factory

tulalip, wa

website

not entirely sure this is worth a write-up, as it is a chain store that is located throughout the united states, usually in outlet malls and other shopping centers. but this is one of my favorite treats and the seattle premium outlets in tulalip, washington had a table outside of the shop offering freshly dipped bananas and ice cream bars.

the banana is pre-dipped and pre-frozened. when you order one at the rocky mountain chocolate factory, they take the pre-dipped bananas, dip them again in melted chocolate, and coat them in chopped nuts. delicious. derek prefers the ice cream sandwich, as you can see.

oasis tea zone

seattle, wa

website

my favorite spot for bubble tea in seattle - oasis - has two locations (international district and u-district). derek and i used to stop by here all the time when we went to uw. this time around, we brought both sets of parents to have a nice break. it's kind of a hangout for younger folks (with board games you can borrow and pool tables in the back), so my parents thought it was a little too loud for their tastes.

although they have great bubble tea (including an excellent thai iced tea version), i wanted to snack so my dad and i shared a taiwanese style shaved ice (also called bao bing). it's pretty simple - shaved ice, doused with condensed milk and topped with your favorite toppings. i chose red beans, green beans, lychees and lychee jellies. cool, sweet, refreshing - perfect for a sweltering 80 degree day in seattle.

veniero's

11th st (1/2)

website

i am so thankful that kurt and jinny came back to visit because even though they are no longer new yorkers, they still know the best places in the city. they took me to veniero's ("you've never been veniero's??") and introduced me to an old-school italian pasticceria that's been around since 1894 (who knows why i never found it before).

i snuck a bite of jinny's key lime pie - amazing graham cracker crust. i ordered the chocolate banana strawberry sponge cake. it reminds me a lot of the whipped cream sponge cakes they serve at asian bakeries. the whipped cream filing is light and creamy, moist sponge cake, sweet fruit - a great dessert. i'll definitely be back.

cupcake stop

new york, ny

website

christine and val's tour of manhattan continued after the west village through chelsea and the limelight marketplace. the building was originally a church dating back to the 19th century. it became a nightclub in the 1980s and has now been turned into a collection of boutiques where shoppers can worship at the altar of lesportsac. past all of the shops is a gourmet food marketplace with various types of baked goods, meats, cheeses, and coffee.

i led christine and val straight to the cupcake stop and we each picked out a cupcake + 1 for derek, which were placed in a cute little cupcake container (in order to maintain the integrity of the frosting). the cupcakes are fantastic - i ordered a chocolate peanut butter swirl. perfectly rich and moist chocolate cake (not too sweet, just the way i like it). the "frosting" itself is less frosting than it is mousse - frothy, creamy, and rich. this is not a normal cupcake. this is a fancy cupcake. rich, decadent, and delicious.

NOTE: the limelight marketplace location is CLOSED

people's pops

new york, ny

website

i was taking christine and val on a walking tour of manhattan and we passed by chelsea market on our way to the high line. of course we had to stop in and check it out. after walking by several different cupcake shops, i remembered reading on a food blog somewhere something about a fancy popsicle shop in the market. in new york city, everything is fancified - even the popsicles.

we made our way over to people's pops, which is a small booth in the "arcade" of the market (right behind the jacques-torres booth). the chalkboard lists the day's flavors - all made with fresh and local ingredients, of course. christine and i each had a blueberries and cream pop (pictured) and val had the lemon ice. my blueberry pop was less a popsicle than it was frozen blueberries on a stick and i didn't taste any cream at all. it was $3.50 a pop (i know) but i feel like i got a full serving of fruit out of it. a nice treat for a hot summer day.