Asian Drinks. No Long Lines.

Guess this review is a long time coming. Found this gem with a great friend of mine randomly since I love gambling on new places. Whenever my fiance is around, I'd have to say we drop by this place on a weekly basis. I'm sure those of you who frequent Asian eateries enjoy boba ... more specifically honey boba. When we speak on honey boba usually the first thing that comes to mind is Half & Half. What goes hand in hand with Half & Half? A wait long enough for your shit to take a shit on itself. I value my time as a living human being. I cannot stand waiting for a boba drink for 30-60 minutes. Hell, I cannot comprehend why any person would. Back to the Cat-Inspired Cafe I was talking about.

This place has pretty good drinks but I like things less sweet and usually ask for less sugar. Anyway, Half & Half has their iced milk with boba and pudding. Yes, Half & Half does have pretty good boba but not always and depends on the location. But their pudding is crap. Tastes like it came out of one of those cheap packages you can get at a market. Meow Meow Cafe does their pudding some damn justice. LOVE the pudding. It's almost like flan.

They have this brown sauce that they add to it too. It's nice. With Half & Half it just starts tasting like milk when you eat up all the goodies in the drink. With this drink it's still flavored milk. Like I said I like half sugar but my buddy loves the normal amount. But he is not afraid of sugar. My fiance and I just went there yesterday to be honest. They have another drink, I believe it's #3 on the menu, Frosty Wintermelon with boba and pudding. Same idea as this except some blended milk with wintermelon tea. Wintermelon is very sweet by itself and the milk tone down the sweetness and make it smoother. Great drink also. If you don't want to waste time at Half & Half, definitely come here.

Meow Meow Cafe
3646 Nogales Street, Suite A
West Covina, CA 91792
626-965-9789

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Crap. With Green in the Name.

*sigh* I have had a lot of pictures build up in my little "Blog Pictures" folder but this one has been sitting in here for quite some time. Went here quite some time ago with my fiance and some friends. It got decent reviews ... perhaps we went on a bad night?

Pretty intimate setting. Very dark.

Decor is pretty nice. Small place. They have this little front bar area with some small tables and a separate side with other tables. When we went in they said they had reservations booked up and there was no space in the main dining hall. Note to you readers, when we ordered a group of six got their table in the main dining room. About five tables remaining.

Whatever this was, some kind of thinly sliced cured meat with a salad ... it is not on the menu any more and thank goodness. It was not very good. There was a strong overpowering bitterness with the salad. The meat was cured to the extent of defining sodium in its true form. My tongue was confused and upset. It was either leaning on bitter or salty. No in between. It wasn't like ... hmm this salad is a bit bitter (from say something awesome like arugula) so I think I will pair it with this savory meat. No, it was, oh my dog crap, this is like chewing on orange zest, maybe I can save my tongue ... but wait I just put a salt bar into my mouth. Fail and fail.

The green beans were undercooked. Too hard and chewy. Sorry I don't remember this dish but nothing stood out.

Braised beef ... whatever. I'm an idiot. Gambling on what a waitress thinks is good. Speaking of her ... my fiance, friends and I agreed something smelled of ass. It might have been her or someone else working 'cause someone needed a freaking shower. Or roll in mud. That's how pigs do. Braised crap is fail for me always. I need to keep reminding myself so I will never ever consider it again.

I enjoyed the tomatoes. Meh, next.

Steak was actually not too bad. Went well with the huge tomato and crispy onions. Maybe one of the better dishes of the night.

Bacon wrapped filet. Bacon was a bit burnt. So a bit bitter from the char. Besides that it was alright. Not as good. I would say this one screamed traditional American dinner to me (especially with the peas).

I am a sucker who bends over for donuts. Sadly, underwhelming also.

Fruit crisp with blueberries on top. My fiance hates warm fruit. Our friend enjoyed this dessert. So by the time we finished our meal, there was still four tables open. Subpar food, stuck up waitresses, and smelly ass people or establishment. Meh. I doubt I will go back unless a friend insists, threatened, blind-folded, clubbed over the head, brought by gun point, or the menu looks so enticing I will roll around in a grass field while daydreaming and looking forward to such a menu. Oh yeah, the price point is also sucks.

Green Street Tavern
69 W. Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-229-9961
http://www.greenstreettavern.net

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Snooty. Cupcakes.

Sweets. I like em. Maybe that's why my fiance's nickname is Sweety. She's quite sweet to me. Actually, I'm not quite sure how I gave her the nickname. So the infamous desserts. I used to only enjoy candy. Yet, something has changed and I cannot seem to emphasize how picky my tastes buds have become. On a normal day, only having a dessert or sweet item really completes my meal. Without it, my tongue is usually telling my brain: "Yes, the meal was good but something is missing." With it I get this: "Oh baby you treat me so good. I love it when you do me right." Haha, I just really like removing savory tastes out of my mouth using some sweet dessert. Not overly sweet though. So about the cupcakes ... Kara's Cupcakes. Oh that bitch. Not her personally but her establishment. I was at the Walnut Creek, CA location but I have also been to the location in the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, CA.

Cute logo I must admit. Pretty nice location in Walnut Creek. Very close to a lot of other eateries and shopping.

Their cute box. Of course it is a slightly modified doughnut box but whatever.

Their selection.

Like many other places they have a changing menu. Certain days have certain things. Blah blah. We got the plain vanilla, carrot cake, and a chocolate. All were eh. The frosting was a bit sweet for my taste so, as usual, I tossed over three-quarters of the frosty away. Now, my issue with Kara's. Okay, I understand you went on Food Network. I understand you have a lot of locations in Northern California. I understand you company is getting a bit big. What I do no understand is why your managers are hiring employees who are pieces of garbage. Typically, I like to test out red velvet. Is it cliche? Maybe so, but who cares. When I went in to ask for it, your employee scoffs at me and says "Um, we don't carry RED VELVET as you can clearly see." Well I apologize, I thought since it seems to be quite popular in many cupcake bakeries that Kara's would have it. Thus, I went and ordered ... whatever the hell I ordered. Hell, what I said I ordered might have been wrong. We were both so unimpressed I cannot remember anything about it besides being very very expensive and mediocre. Next couple people order a chocolate velvet cupcake. Uh, sounds like red velvet without the red. So I ask this bitch about it. "Yes, it's basically like a red velvet cake except I just told you we don't carry red velvet." Well defecate on my face and call me Donkey Puncher. If I said it needs to be the color purple and have a pair of hairy testicles on it would it make a difference? Chocolate velvet and red velvet ... is it so hard to just inform me you have something very similar and without the food coloring? Wow. Yes, I tend not to judge on service so long as the food is good or great, but these cupcakes were not good and the service matched it. Suck my balls.

Kara's Cupcakes
1388 North Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-933-2222
http://www.karascupcakes.com

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Worthwhile. Comfort.

One of the places my girlfriend and I wanted to try.

Yep. Yum. Straight up. It was awhile back but definitely still good. I was glad we got a chance to try it because my girlfriend is a busy frickin' bee. Work work and work. Funny 'cause she stresses a lot and it's difficult for her to put that stress aside. However ... when it comes time to eat she's open eyes, open nose, open mouth, indulge.

Bread. Freshly, baked in house. I recall being pretty hungry so we ate a good amount. Plus, Napa is not very close to many things. Butter was salty, creamy goodness. Actually, maybe too salty ... haha.

Tearing up that basket.

Salad with capers and a sweet-ish vinaigrette. Very refreshing, balanced. Except the chickpeas were a bit salty. Good contrast in texture but I could not eat too many of those things due to the salt.

I did not mention but, if you are unaware Ad Hoc is pretty much a set price per person and the food just comes out. Very much family style. So imagine you come home with your friends for dinner. Your mother is surprised to see you brought guests. (Hopefully, your mother did not shun your friends and kick them out). She'll end up deciding to cook more so everyone can enjoy dinner together. Anyway, I like this aspect of Ad Hoc, very warm, very inviting. Very easy to get your elbows dirty on the table and just shove food into your mouth and not care if you smeared all that sauce onto your cheek.

Back to the Flat Iron Steak with bleu cheese. It was good. It was salty. What do you expect from American/French? Salt brings out those flavors that make you salivate in ecstasy. Oh just talking about it while staring at this picture make my tongue crave more. But don't ever forget to down a couple gallons of water during and after the meal. Cooked perfectly. Potatoes and steak are best buds and just so happens the potatoes pick up a good amount of sauce so when you bite into that steak and pair it with the potato. Yum, chew, slight crunch from the potato, cream from the cheese, savory from the reduction sauce (whatever it was). Dang. Your face will be exhausted just from smiling.

Toasted bread, cheese, and honey. You know, I love Northern Californian food. I love Seattle food. The greatest thing about it is wanting to buy food locally. The quality really shines and your tongue can appreciate it. Your wallet might not but who gives a crap, indulge sometimes otherwise you need to .... alright I won't continue with my sentence. This was simplicity. Thick, creamy, savory (cheese) in one hand (or on one utensil) with toasted bread drizzled with a super, slick, non-excessively, sweet honey. I forget the type of cheese but it was a bit dry, breaks off in chunks, easy to bite into. easy to chew, very creamy with a bit of a musky tart outer layer. There is something about tart + sweet + creamy + crunch. It definitely places with all your oral senses ha ha.

The dessert. Fresh Fig Panna Cotta & Citrus Cookies. At least I think it was citrus cookies. Who cares it was good anyway. The fig panna cotta was damn good. I was just nibbling and enjoying how refreshing it was then my girlfriend devours hers and snatches mine and hurls the mini jar at me in disgust as if I wronged the establishment somehow for not releasing my inner beast on the dessert. Just kidding, my girlfriend loved it though, she loved it so much I gave her a bunch of mine. I was a bit full because she did not want too much of the steak.

Thomas Keller. Oh I want to get dirty with French Laundry. That will have to wait until my food savings account is higher though. It's great. My Better Half and I enjoy this place more than Bouchon. Go, you must eat there since it's easier to get in than French Laundry. I really really wish we got a chance to try their famous Fried Chicken but that's usually on ... Mondays I believe? One day, we will go back for whatever they're serving that day and maybe, hopefully, even that Fried Chicken.

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599
707-944-2487
http://www.adhocrestaurant.com

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Dessert. Quick.

I'm craving dessert right now and stumbled on this. Just a quick upload. Some times when I want a dessert, it doesn't have to be super sweet. Even that subtle sweetness is fine. Or fruits. Fruits for dessert are great. Maybe it's because I have Asian blood. It's alright if you want to make that type of stereotype, Asians always offering stupid slices of oranges after your meal. Well, fruits are good and they got some vitamins. What's not to like? On a serious note ...

Silky tofu with tapioca and mango. Yum. Do you like silky tofu when you go to Dim Sum? It does not have the candied ginger sauce but it is sweetened a bit and has mangoes to do with it. Phoenix Food Boutique is an Asian cafe with some desserts. There's a gang load of them in Rowland Heights and in the San Gabriel Valley. Been opening up like crazy. They have some alright food but I usually just go for dessert. This, the mixed fruit tea or tapioca, and this Black Sticky rice with mango and tapioca. It's a bit similar to above except sweeter, with warm black sticky rice. Try it!

Phoenix Food Boutique
1709 Nogales St.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626-810-8988
http://www.phoenixfoodboutique.com

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Back In. Something Sweet.

I have been lazy to the farthest extent possible. Well, actually I've been keeping busy but lazy in terms of not updating this freaking blog. All the blame goes to the photographer, I mean camera. Haha, I think my issue is having a plethora of pictures and just lacking the desire to actually log in to post. Is it the typing? Nah. Is it the pictures? Most definitely not. Whatever it is shame on me. Please remember a lot of my reviews will be quite belated considering the fact I've been to so many restaurants over the past year or so. I got into cupcakes awhile back. Not sure how or why but they're fun to eat so I'm quite critical and particular about my cupcakes.

My Delight CupCakery. Oh my yes it is a delight in my mouth and tummy. However, for MY taste, the frosting is still a bit sweet. I have friends who love Sprinkles. I think those cupcakes are utter crap. I can taste the diabetes from Sprinkles' frosting.

Got three small cupcakes to try. If there's small ones I'll usually get a couple of these as samplers then choose the ones I like after.

Clockwise: Maple Bacon. Carrot Cake. Vanilla.

They're actually quite famous for their Maple Bacon. I'd have to agree, it's pretty dang good. I was a bit confused when I heard about it but figured I'm up to try new things so I got one and loved it. The carrot cake was good but I dislike walnuts so I trashed all those nuts on the side. Yeah, sorry but I trashed those nuts good. The third cupcake didn't stand out. Was fine but I would not pass up the other offerings this bakery brings out of the oven.

Two Red Velvets to go. One for my Sweet Half. Other for my lame ass.  Was good. I tossed the Dove chocolate or whatever that thing is on top. I do not need the extra sugar. I want cake and a little bit of frosting. With all of the cupcakes from this place I still threw away about 2/3rds of the frosting from each cake. As mentioned, my actions do not indicate in any form that these cupcakes are no good, I'm just a weirdo and like x portion of cake to x portion of frosting.

I like this place a lot. I have been back a few times. They've actually grown a lot too, they have a Food Truck or two. I'm sure you could check out their website and chance down those trucks like a dog if you choose so. Try them out if you're craving some baked sweets.

My Delight CupCakery
1520 Mountain Ave., Suite B-108
Ontario, CA 91762
909-988-4151

http://mydelightcupcakery.com

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Snow. Shaved. Where the Throne Stands.

Pa Pa Walk oh man this review is long overdue. This is a Taiwanese Cafe with the best shaved snow (that I'd tried). My friends, better half and I cannot get enough of this place. Their food is decent, has a very home-like feel. Nothing super salty. Their popcorn chicken is delicious. Anyway, this entry is about the dang snowy (because that's what Pa Pa Walk calls it). Soft snowy goodness it is. I have tried all the flavors on the menu and the only one I don't really care too much for is Milk Tea ... only because you can drink it. Yes, the snowy tastes almost exactly like the black milk tea beverage.

Look at the texture, not sheets of snow like Class 302 or La Kaffa. Much finer, softer, delicious. This is a large Mango Snowy (milk flavored snow) with condensed milk mangoes, almond jello/tofu, and rice balls. Most of the time when we come here we order two types but when we're full we'll just order one.

Small Mango Snowy. Cute little cup. Delicious, as always. The mangoes are so fresh every time we order. I bet they captured a Mango Picking Fairy or something because these mangoes are good and plentiful. None of that canned sour mango tiny bits bull crap. Real deal is here.

Green Tea Snowy with condensed milk, boba, rice balls, green tea ice cream and sugar cone. I'm not sure why there is a sugar cone but there is. I don't recall if they serve it with this anymore because the first picture with the square plate is what I think they use now. Before they had this mostly looking leaf plate with the sugar cone. I don't know but it's so good. Enough talking (and reading for you), just go to Pa Pa Walk and devour this soft cold goodness.

Pa Pa Walk
227 W. Valley Blvd., Suite 148-B
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-281-3889

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Snow. Shaved. Journey Still Continues.

The infamous Class 302. This place is way over-hyped. Is it good? The food sucks. The shaved snow is pretty good. They don't skimp out on the toppings of the snow itself. If you don't live in the San Gabriel area I would say come to Class, otherwise Pa Pa Walk will hold the throne for snow.

I personally think Class only has good milk snow. Their mango snow is disgustingly sweet. The green tea is okay but has a strong green tea powdery taste. Not sure if you know what I'm talking about but if you can just imagine crappy green tea ice cream, the type that leaves your tongue with the strange bitter grainy tea taste. This milk snow is huge. If I'm not in the mood for mangoes I just get an all strawberry one. It's good.

The bad thing about this place is the wait and environment. Long ridiculous waits, especially in the summer. Environment: I suppose you can call it cute since they're following the whole classroom theme. The downfall of following this to the dot is how uncomfortable it is. Did you hate your stiff plastic crap chair in school? Well they're bringing back the old school wooden desks and chairs. If you have no ass and find it difficult filling the rear of your pants I'm pretty sure you won't mind but if you got some meat in your trunk you will find this place irritatingly painful. The other issue: the small (for some). Do you hate stinky tofu? Then if you sit indoors you will throw up and throw up again. Those stenches are incubating in that establishment. Besides that go there and try the snow!

Class 302
1015 S. Nogales St.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626-965-5809

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Snow. Shaved. Journey Continues.

La Kaffa in Rowland Heights. This place is pretty close to Class 302 and a huge plus about this Cafe is that it is not as busy as Class so on busy day you might only have to wait ten minutes for seats. The good? Their milk snow is comparable. Their green tea snow is a little better than Class 302. The bad: the toppings. Bleh. Canned! Canned! Horrible.

You only get to choose two toppings and condensed milk is one of them ... so essentially you get one canned topping. The mangoes were sour and painful to take down. The snow is good though. If Class 302 is friggen busy then you come here.

Is this place worth it? Yeah I guess but only if you don't want to wait for Class 302. Personally, waiting 45 - 60 minutes vs. not much of a wait to get (generally) what you're craving then that's fine. 

La Kaffa
17883-D Colima Rd.
City of Industry, CA 91714
626-810-1351

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Snow. Shaved. First Part of the Journey.

Oh Pa Pa Walk, how we enjoy your shaved snow so much. There's so many shaved snow establishments now. Fluff Ice, which is utter crap. La Kaffa, eh. Boiling Point, alright. Class 302, not too bad but only certain flavors are good. I'll break down why I like Pa Pa Walk last by going through these to explain each.

Fluff Ice. Looks like a Yogurtland brother except it's shaved snow instead. They have a bunch of flavors and you get to choose a couple toppings. My friend and I decided to try this in Monterey Park when it was fairly new. I do not care how new or old an eatery can be but dang, how in the world did they manage to convince themselves this trash in the form of ice would sell?

It's like shaved ice and shave snow had a reject child. Horrible texture. Horribly, heavy artificial taste. Oh my goodness slap me for wasting $5. Cute little cup right? Plentiful toppings ... canned crap moosh. Disappointing and to make matters worse they strategically place all the rubbish over the snow so you will not figure out how unappealing it is. Thumbs down. Please make sure to take off your pants and defecate in front of their store for producing such waste.


Even if your life depends on shaved snow do not come here. Wow this place is the sucks.

Fluff Ice
500 N. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91745
626-872-2123

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Treats. In the Morning.

What's better than waking up to a nice sea breeze, listening to the oceans crash just 50 yards away, clear skies and having sun rays kiss your skin ever so gently? Nothing to be honest but the addition of having something light and sweet in the morning is always a bonus. My girlfriend and I probably stayed about 6 minutes away from Front St. and ended up here everyday for shaved ice or to try something since there's a lot of places to eat here. Many of the times we misses our chance to try out this small joint because we always ended up here after they closed. So this one morning we were there, at almost 9:00AM.

Red Velvet Cupcake. I am the type who loves cakes and chocolate so what better than a small red velvet cupcake. Yes, the frosting is a lot of sugar in the AM but that's fine because my better half and I always dispose of 90% of the frosting. Call us wasteful but we enjoy our teeth and our taste buds dislike the overwhelming bombardment of sugar attempting to break down our bodies which would only to leave us diabetes and limbless. No offense to anyone but seriously, a lot of people and bakeries focus all this energy in the super sweet frosting. Flavor should be in the cake! About this little fluffy cake: definitely moist but strange at the same time. The cocoa taste was a bit hidden and the texture of the cupcake reminded me of an Asian sponge cake. It definitely is not your traditional cupcake and to be honest I would not buy another one. Just not my preference I guess?

Turkey sandwich with some au jus. The homemade bread is pretty awesome. Almost like your mom made it for you. Fresh chunks of turkey, we both enjoyed this. Very refreshing with local great ingredients. Thumbs up for this one, most definitely.

Currant Scone. So why the scone? Well, my girlfriend and I love tea time/high tea/afternoon tea and we enjoy fresh scones. This one was fresh, but I guess it was sitting out for awhile so it was a bit tough by the time we got to it. Some parts were a little warm still. Either way, this scone was light in taste and sweetness but pretty dense in tense of baking soda. Made me so thirsty!

This place is cozy, the fresh baked bread is wonderful, sandwiches are tasty, and the service is spectacular. I wouldn't hesistant to come back. Just choose your favorite type of pastry though because if you also get a sandwich you might just want to go back to your hotel and sleep until the afternoon. Give this place a try. Is it the best? Most definitely not. Will the service and food provide you with a nice welcoming, home-like feeling? Yes.

Banyan Tree Deli & Bakery
626 Front St.
Lahaina, HI 96761
909-662-3354

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Soft. Shaved. Yum.

Yeah, I know what your filthy funny mind thought of when you read that title. Haha, well too bad because I'm going to be talking about shaved ice from Ululani's. Great stuff I must say. It's not the typical shaved ice at the carnival or from the ice cream man/woman that's all tough and filled with loads of artifical syrup. Well, there's plenty of those around so those are not appetizing at all. Actually the night we tried Ululani's my better half and I tried one of those crummy places just down the street. I coerced my Sweet'um to trash it and not waste stomach space of such mediocre treats. I'll be honest, I do not recall the name of the store that we grabbed it from. All I remember was that shaved ice was something I wanted to try on Maui.

Sunset Beach. Yes, please, let's stay there all night far from a camp fire so we can have some more alone time. It was delicious. My better half and I fell in love with this flavor and Ululani's. The best parts: the ice was shaved super super fine, almost snow like (but not quite there) and the flavors they drizzle over the ice isn't just normal concentrate, it's fruit puree. This is such a wonderful treat. Get the large if you're sharing. The shaved ice was great, the employees who helped us were great. Love this treat. Must find a Ululani's if you happen to be close to one. Many happy thumbs up!

I have one quick note to add. The first night we had it was the best, the reason for this is my better half and I don't like the excessive puree poured onto the shaved ice. The guy who helped us our first night almost knew exactly the puree to ice ratio so there weren't spoonfuls that were lacking flavor nor too sweet. But still a great place to go, so if you don't like anything too sweet, just ask them to go easy on the flavoring. If you don't eat it quick enough it'll look like the first picture. Second picture is what it looks like fresh out of their hands. Yum.


Ululani's Shaved Ice
815 Front St.
Lahaina, HI 96761
360-609-5678

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Sweet. Cupcake Love.

Obviously it has been awhile since I have updated anything. What can I say? I've succumb to the infamous I'll-pretend-I'm-on-a-hiatus-but-really-I've-been-lazy-and-putting-things-off-then-getting-more-lazy-and-still-putting-off-updates-even-though-pictures-have-been-taken mode.

As of recent (within the past year) I have fallen for red velvet cupcakes and whatever creative siblings a bakery might be able to conjure up. Also, exploring new places while visiting my better half is always nice. So here it is: Love at First Bite.

Yum carrot cupcake. This is not the first time I've been here but I do not recall if I have pictures from last time. Grabbed some mini cupcakes to go and I like trying the things this cute bakery has to offer. These little cupcakes are a nice intro to flavors you might want to try so I always go for those just in case I might not enjoy the baked goods. The cupcake has a fair amount of air incorporated into the body of the cake without being intrusive. Its texture is not too dense, it does not suck up all the saliva in your mouth when you're chewing and it doesn't make you scream for a cup of water or milk. I like these cupcakes. The cupcake frosting is usually very good, compliments the cake. Some have more sugar than others, maybe a little more tart for some, etc. The bakers at the store have thought out how to make the frosting bring out other flavors in the cake and not just be an overbearingly sweet addition.

I would like to point out my significant other and I both are not sugar heads and probably only consume about 15% of the frosting you see. The rest gets scooped off. Is it nasty? No. Was there a hair in it? No. Did I just say we're not sugar heads? Yes.

We. Just. Don't. Like. Consuming. All. That. Frosting. Period.

Green Tea Cupcake front and center. To the left is the Red Velvet. I'd have to say it has a nice tea flavor without having the bitterness of tea leaves. Consumed it but if you don't enjoy green tea that much I'd have to say pass. The Red Velvet oh yum. There is no ridiculous amount of red food coloring, nicely colored, good cocoa taste, moist, and the frosting just dances with the cake in your mouth. If you're in Berkeley, try this place out. Yelp reviews are a hit or miss apparently. I can say the two times I have been, the cupcakes were moist. Then again can't really count on Yelp for anything accurate (will babble about this later on). Perhaps little hard to find, but right past Shattuck on Walnut.

Love at First Bite
1510 Walnut Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-848-5727

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