Ippudo New York.

Sorry for the lack of posting! I'm currently in the Big Apple looking for a job and been really focused on prepping for interviews and applying everyday, but I wanted to share some great meals I've had in one of the best eating cities on this planet. New York is the home of many famous restaurants and I love how there is so much variety in this city. Makes eating so much fun and never boring. Plus, I get to eat at the best restaurants in the world. I was excited when my cousin took me to Ippudo, which I had read about countless times from various food blogs about being the best Japanese ramen place in the city. We went for an early dinner before a huge crowd came in half an hour after we got there.

We started with the Hirata Buns with pork belly which were seriously heaven. I could have eaten 10 of them. Pork belly is heavenly, period. The meat was tender and the fat melted in your mouth and it was covered with Ippudo spicy bun sauce. I'm usually not a fan of mayonnaise, but it paired well with the meat and sauce. It gave a nice sweet and creamy contrast.

For the ramen, I ordered the Akamaru Modern. It is 'the original tonkotsu' soup noodle with Ippudo's special sauce, pork belly chashu, cabage, kikurage, scallions, miso paste & fragrant garlic oil and I added an egg in there (more pork belly :)). After my first bite, I understood why Ippudo has been named the best ramen in NY numerous times. The soup was so tasty and you could actually taste all the flavors. None of it tasted artificial at all. Also, the noodles were fresh and soft, which I really enjoyed.

The atmosphere is great. The cooks and the waiters/waitresses greet you with huge smiles and welcome you in Japanese, as well shouting out your order.




Pork belly buns-I want to eat one everyday until I die. (Sorry the lighting was dark).


My Akamaru Modern ramen.


My noodles and my cousin's.


Everything together and the noodles-soft and delicate.


Noodle cooking section of the kitchen.


The appetizer section of the kitchen. And my future boyfriend making the pork buns HA.

I'm hoping I'll be here to stay and eat my way through New York. *crossing fingers*

Seatown Snack Bar.

I love reading my usual blogs and seeing restaurants from my hometown being mentioned opened by famous chefs. That means I have a chance to try their creations! Serious Eats had a slideshow of "19 Breakfast Sandwiches We Love". I was automatically intrigued since one of my favorite meals is breakfast. They featured two of Tom Douglas' Seattle spots: Dahlia Bakery and Seatown Snack Bar. I decided to venture down to Seatown Snack Bar during my visit to Pike Place Market since it is right on the corner.

Seatown is a beautiful little restaurant. There are booths and tables, plus seating at the bar where you can watch them make your delicious food. They offer breakfast (8-3), lunch, dinner and a small happy hour menu, most of the menu showcasing seafood probably caught in the water across the street! We were obviously there for breakfast. Serious Eats recommended the sablefish, cream cheese and fresh watercress sandwich on their homemade english muffin. The menu had a true cod, cream cheese and arugula version, so I got that. I'm proud to say I'm following my "fish consistency diet." My boyfriend ordered the bavarian meats bacon and beecher's jack cheese breakfast sandwich (you seriously can't get a guy away from bacon).

Serious Eats says that Seatown whips their own cream cheese and I could definitely tell. I'm not usually a big fan of cream cheese, but I could eat a spoonful of theirs. It was whipped to perfection and gave the sandwich a light flavor against the cod. The fish was very nice as well, it wasn't too fishy and had a nice consistency. And I can never complain about an egg or arugula. I'm also in love with their homemade english muffins. It added a nice toasted crunch and brought the whole sandwich together.


The inside of Seatown. Cozy little spot especially on a dreary day.


My true cod, cream cheese and arugula breakfast sandwich.


My boyfriend's bacon and cheese breakfast sandwich. It was simple, but the bacon and the cheese were perfection. The bacon had the right crisp and the cheese was nice melted and gooey.


My sandwich. I had to smash it down to help my jaw problems. I dream about that cream cheese now.


A great location, right by Pike Place Market and the water. Probably a great place to sit outside and enjoy the food...when it's not raining and freezing.

This sandwich just adds to my list of the many reasons why breakfast is the best meal of the day.

Pike Place Market in the Winter.

A visit to Pike Place Market this time of year is quite different from a visit in the summer. Firstly, we experienced it in Seattle's natural environment: in the rain. It is not as crowded and filled with tourists when it's pouring rain, but it is still always a great trip. I love looking at the vegetables, fruits and flowers that are showcased for the season.


The fish are always flying, rain or shine.


Huge dungeness crabs from the famous Pike Place Fish Market.


Huge rock lobster tails.


Always love the colorful fruits.


Blood oranges+plump berries.


Pretty artichokes. I have been craving one so much.


Beautiful and colorful tulips. Even the flower selection differs with seasons.


I have never seen this before, but a great idea. They are little cocktail servings of fresh crab, shrimp and even other seafood finished in poke- style. Such a great idea for people who may not want to buy a whole fish, crab, etc., but would like to sample the renowned Pacific Northwest seafood. The variety is nice and it is easy to walk and eat with these small cups. I can see this being a big hit.

Rain or shine, Pike Place Market is always a beautiful place to be. The colors, smell and energy of the market is something locals and tourists will enjoy no matter how many times they've been there.

Happy 40 Years Starbucks!

Recently, Starbucks celebrated their 40th birthday since their first store opened in Pike Place Market (my hometown what, what!) in 1971. To celebrate, Starbucks offered a free Starbucks Petite to each customer purchasing any beverage on Customer Tribute Days. This was March 10-12 from 2-5pm. I saw their commercials and internet advertisements for this gift and was immediately intrigued. Firstly, who doesn't love free stuff and my healthy eating kick has given me sugar cravings even though I hardly eat sweets! I browsed through the list of Starbucks Petites before venturing out for coffee. Here's what Starbucks has to say:

ABOUT STARBUCKS PETITES:
These eight delicious and craveable petite sweets are perfectly sized for a well-deserved afternoon treat. Starbucks Petites are made with only premium ingredients to offer the perfect amount of decadence. Each petite is under 200 calories, so you can feel good about treating yourself or sharing with a friend.

The selection includes: birthday cake pop (pretty much a cake on a stick, a new trend these days), rocky road cake pop, tiramisu cake pop, carrot cake mini cupcake, peanut butter mini cupcake, lemon sweet square, salted caramel sweet square and red velvet whoopie pie. I couldn't decide, they just all looked so yummy and I wanted to try them all. When I got to Starbucks I decided on the red velvet whoopie pie and made my boyfriend order hot chocolate so I could order a tiramisu cake pop.


In the display.


Our selection: red velvet whoopie pie and tiramisu cake pop + my grande sugar-free, non-fat vanilla latte (with their new logo)


Close-up.


Tiramisu cake pop + insides.

Overall, the sweets were good, but I'm not sure I would ever purchase them. The whoopie pie was nicely baked and had a creamy cream cheese icing that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I didn't taste any red velvet flavor that I was looking forward to. The same goes for the tiramisu cake pop. I couldn't taste any of the coffee in the cake, so it wasn't really a tiramisu. The treats were good, but it wasn't what they were explained as. But congratulations to Starbucks on hitting 40 strong years of giving people their coffee and tea fix all around the world.

Fish Consistency Diet.

Here's a long story short to explain my title post. I have a crooked jaw, where my upper jaw does not align with my bottom jaw. I was referred to a special orthodontist who told me that my jaw muscles are severely damaged and that I must start eating "fish consistency" food and eat only for survival, not for enjoyment. This means no more potato chips, nuts, popcorn (major killer for me), steak (killing me even more), no chewing gum, candy, etc. Pretty much anything that is hard or tough to chew because my jaw muscles will give out if I keep eating like that. This is a horrible thing to hear especially for someone like me that eats anything and I don't restricting myself. Oh and another problem: I will be a braceface sometime in the future. I'm trying to put it off as farrrr as possible. I should change the name of this blog Indulging Myself One Crooked Bite at a Time.

I mean it isn't the end of the world, but I just have to watch what I eat and how I eat it. For example, I won't be able to stuff a hamburger on my mouth, I will have to cut it into smaller pieces. I have now turned to noodles, pastas, thin breads (bagel thins and pita) and chopping everything up into little pieces (especially salads and uncooked veggies). This restriction on potato chips will ultimately help my diet, but who doesn't enjoy a bag of potato chips while being a couch potato from time to time.

Here are some recent meals I had to cater to my jaw problems:


Ramen with homemade pork belly.


The ultimate "garbage" fried rice-all leftovers from my fridge. Leftover brown rice with pork belly, Chinese greens, red pepper, carrots, eggs, scallions.

Then my dad and I made his homemade spaghetti sauce together. I think I got the hang of it and hope to make it in the near future. Homemade sauce is 10x better than the store bought jar sauce. (Sorry, these pictures do not look so appealing, whenever I take pictures in my kitchen it gives it an unappetizing yellow tint).


Cooked carrots, onions and garlic in olive oil-probably one of my favorite smells on earth.


Add crushed canned tomatoes. Then we cooked the meat and added that to the sauce+bay leaves+oregano.


Ta-Da!!


The finished product. I could eat the sauce just by itself. Plus, I had just come back from the gym, so it was a perfect meal.


Homemade sweet & sour soup made by my dad. Tree ear fungus, egg, tofu, bean curd, bamboo shoots, carrots, etc. all easy on my jaw.


Whole wheat bun.

I'm trying to make the best out of this situation. It's hard for a girl like me who eats...well...pretty much anything!

Valentine Treat.

Happy March! I know it's now March, but I keep forgetting to post the little something I made for my mom for Valentines Day when she came home from work. We had bread and this great gouda cheese in the fridge and a miniature heat-shaped cookie cutter. I decided to cut the bread out with the little heart and toasted it with the gouda cheese on top.


Cute little hearts. I topped some of them with Trader Joe's Olive Tapenade.


Perfectly toasted hearts <3.

A short and sweet post. But wait...

P.S. I was just reading one of my favorite food blogs Serious Eats and saw this:

Ben & Jerry's New Flavor: Jimmy Fallon's 'Late Night Snack' with Potato Chips


I'm intrigued and excited to taste this flavor. I am a big fan of the salty/sweet combination, let alone in an ice cream! It's simple, but I'm sure the potato chips gives it a surprise crunch.