Foodie Friday

Kitchen Mouse in Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA

My sister and I have been trying to eat better and have a more active lifestyle so even during weekend brunch, we try to make sure our options are on the healthier side. Sometimes we’re successful, sometimes we’re not but on this particular weekend, we did pretty good! We chose to have brunch at Kitchen Mouse which is a vegetarian and vegan friendly spot with the cutest decor! I got the black bean cakes with slaw on the side and my sister got the chilaquiles. I actually really liked my black bean cakes. The slaw was good but a little too tart for me. I’d have to say it is on the pricier side but I really like how fresh the food was and how good I felt after! 🙂

IMG_6762

Magpies in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA

I have been seeing this place all over my social media feed so I knew I had to try it soon! It’s a new soft serve ice cream spot that offers seasonal flavors and delicious toppings. I dragged my friends here so that I could dig into some creamy soft serve ice cream and satisfy my ice cream craving that I seem to have EVERYDAY. I got the sweet cream with the hazelnut wafers and almond brittle. I have two words, “LOVE IT”.

IMG_6766 IMG_6768

626 Night Market at the Santa Anita Race Tracks

I went to the 626 Night Market just recently and it’s a huge food festival that features vendors that offer Asian fusion foods or eateries that are located in Alhambra/Monterey Park. It is super big so of course I didn’t get to try everything but I did get one of my favorite things in the world, TAKOYAKIS. Takoyakis are Japanese snacks that are little balls of batter with squid in the middle and toppings such as bonito shavings, green onions, seaweed, mayo, etc. I have to have it whenever I see it so I knew that the 626 Night Market would definitely have it. I’m going again soon to accompany a friend that wants to go, so I guess I’ll be having more and trying other things!
IMG_6770

Foodie Friday

AMARA KITCHEN IN HIGHLAND PARK, LOS ANGELES

My sister and I decided to grab a healthy brunch because we knew with July 4th, we’d be eating tons of junk food! We love coming here for amazingly delicious and healthy dishes. I love getting their bowls and pancakes. I’m a sucker for pancakes and I know that if I don’t stop myself, I’d eat the entire stack; butter, syrup, and all! I love their version which is paleo friendly and won’t make me feel as guilty after! Plus, the decor here is adorable!

IMG_6531 IMG_6529

IMG_6528

IMG_6527

IMG_6524

WEXLER’S DELI in DOWNTOWN, LOS ANGELES and SANTA MONICA

I love love love everything bagels and any chance I get, I try to avoid them because I can’t lose control. I would eat a few in a sitting with cream cheese too! Anyways, we went to Grand Central Market on the weekend to grab some brunch and I allowed myself to splurge by getting the Big Poppa’s bagel sandwich from Wexler’s Deli. It has pastrami, cheese, and egg on a bagel of your choice. And my choice was an everything bagel, of course! If you love smoked salmon/lox, bagels, pastrami, or corned beef, this is the spot for you!

IMG_6514

IMG_6513
IMG_6512

RECESS in HIGHLAND PARK, LOS ANGELES

Went to try this new spot out for dinner one night with the boyfriend. We loved the decor and thought the food was pretty good.  I did really really like their dessert! It was a panna cotta with a coffee crunch ice cream on the side. I heard their brunch is delicious so I’ll probably go back to give that a try!

IMG_6424

IMG_6422

IMG_6420

IMG_6419

IMG_6417

Foodie Friday

Berry Bowl in Highland Park

I make it a goal to grab an acai bowl from Berry Bowl at least every other weekend. Maybe it’s an LA thing, but it’s one of my favorite snacks. Thank goodness it’s healthy! It’s like a smoothie that you eat! With toppings! It’s so refreshing and I can also have chocolate in it too! What’s better than that?!
IMG_6160

Winsome in Echo Park

My sister and I went here for a sister brunch during Memorial Day weekend! It was a little hard to find but we made it there and it was such a cute little spot to have brunch! Definitely a trendy eatery that offers healthier options, which is sometimes what I need. I got the potato rosti, which is almost like a latke and it was topped with poached eggs and smoked salmon. Yummm, right? My sister got a baked eggs plate with a side of bacon. We enjoyed our meal so much and might want to come back and try some of their other dishes!

IMG_6186

IMG_6188

IMG_6189

 

Foodie Friday

Afters Ice Cream in Pasadena, CA

I recently discovered this place (don’t know why) but it’s absolutely scrumptious, delicious, amazing! I don’t think I know enough words to describe it. The ice cream flavors are super yummy and they offer these things called Milky Buns which are pretty much like glazed donuts filled with your choice of ice cream and topping. So far, I’ve tried the jasmine milk tea (purple one) and the milk and cereal flavor. Both of which are amazing! They haven’t done me wrong yet so I’m going to be a frequent visitor!

IMG_5853

IMG_5884

 

Urth Caffe in Pasadena, CA

Came here for a healthy brunch with a friend and my sis one weekend. See how much green I had? I was awfully proud of myself but I’m sure I ended up having a burger for dinner or something anyways. At least I tried, right? Anyways, I love coming here for their green tea latte, which is great hot or cold! They have tons of desserts and pastries which I’ve heard are also delicious! After our yummy brunch, we went out to explore the local Container Store.

IMG_5883

Homemade Goodness by Moi!

I had some avocados that were getting pretty ripe and some radishes that needed to be eaten asap so what better way to use them than to make avocado toast?! I know everyone is eating avocado toasts right now and they’re trending but they really are delicious! There’s a reason why everyone eats them! Another plus is that they’re healthy. I need a more substantial toast, so I like adding some egg to them as well. See below! 🙂 IMG_5908

Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium

Went to a baseball game just last night after I haven’t been in over 10 years! I knew that I had to have the infamous Dodger Dog, nachos, and garlic fries, which I happily succeeded! The boyfriend got me the Cuban dog, since the Dodgers were playing Miami last night and it was pretty good! Especially since I was starving by then! However, I was ready to knock out when it was barely the 3rd inning…

IMG_5931

Foodie Friday: Ozu East Kitchen

For this Foodie Friday post, I wanted to recap my experience at the most recent Yelp Elite event I attended! I signed up for the tasting event at Ozu East Kitchen in Atwater and was very excited to try out this new ramen spot! The restaurant had a very cool, modern look to it but onto the food!

We were given a cute little menu with the food we were about to enjoy! For appetizers, we had the chicken karaage which was super tender and moist. The owner was nice enough to come around and describe the cooking process to us! The next appetizer is the charred edamame which had so much flavor and depth to them. It was one of the best edamame dishes I’ve ever had. Another great dish was the shishito peppers; it was slightly spicy but not too overpowering. I loved it!

We all got our choice of ramen and I chose the miso vegan ramen, since I always tend to get the traditional tonkotsu. I loved that they used spinach noodles instead, which was very different but it was a nice change in flavor. My ramen wasn’t too rich but also had tons of flavor. I felt like I chose a healthier alternative! I mean, it was still a week night so I couldn’t go crazy! …but I finished the night with the yummiest match green tea gelato.

I highly recommend this spot and need to come in and try some more dishes out before they get too popular! 🙂

IMG_5675

IMG_5676

IMG_5678

IMG_5679

IMG_5681

IMG_5683

IMG_5686

Foodie Friday

BUTTON MASH

Met up with some of my friends at this little spot in Echo Park and thought it was super cool! They have retro arcade games around the restaurant so you could play while you’re waiting for a table or just simply go and play! We got several plates to share between 5 of us. Each was very flavorful and exciting! They serve a menu of Asian fusion style dishes from burgers to wings to noodles. It’s a very refreshing and solid take on Asian food.

IMG_5582

IMG_5583

IMG_5584

 

FOUND COFFEE

Decided to meet up with a friend for coffee on Sunday morning and decided to try out Found Coffee in Eagle Rock. Now, I always say ‘go have coffee’ with someone but I never seem to get coffee. I usually gravitate towards chai teas so of course, that’s what I chose. It was very light and pretty good, not my favorite but doable. I did like their pastries though and the decor! It’s a great place to sit and catch up with someone.
IMG_5589

CURRY KING

This place can be hard to find and is located in a strange area of Atwater but I always pass by so thought I’d finally try it out! The boyfriend and I had dinner there one night and got a shrimp dish, garlic naan, samosas, and the mushroom curry dish. Everything was SO yummy! I was very surprised at how good it was considering that we were the only two in the restaurant at dinner time! I’ve read that people like their lunch buffet so maybe that’s when they’re the busiest. I’d love to come back!
IMG_5603

KING HUA

DIMSUM is very close to my heart and I find every excuse possible to eat it any chance I get. I often come to this spot in Alhambra because they have plenty of options and serve this dish called ‘snow milk buns’ which is a very fluffy dessert pastry filled with light custard. It is absolutely delicious!

IMG_5633

Foodie Friday: Arizona Roadtrip

Last weekend, I met up with my friends in Arizona for a small weekend road trip adventure where we traveled from Phoenix to Sedona to Page. We all live in different states, so we agreed on Arizona for our little getaway and meeting point. It’s nice to be able to get together every so often and have a group trip, especially when we all live so far away from each other!

Since today is Friday, I wanted my Foodie Friday post to be of all the food we ate while we were on our trip. Let me tell you, it was definitely better than I expected. I often resort to fast food and junk when we go on road trips but there were some spots that were surprisingly delicious and somewhat healthy.

Check them out!

OUTLAW GRILL (Sedona, AZ)

We came to this little spot after our morning hike and we had worked up a good appetite. They had bbq, sandwiches, burgers, and various items. The boyfriend and I decided to share an order of pork shanks (shown below) and a grilled cajun chicken caesar salad. The pork shanks were the highlight of our lunch! They were both crispy and tender at the same time, and dipping it in their house bbq sauce was amazing!!! Meaty goodness!

IMG_5448

BLACK COW CAFE  (Sedona, AZ)

After lunch, we searched for ice cream spots because several of us were craving it! We found this popular ice cream spot, almost like an old fashion soda fountain, called Black Cow Cafe. When you walk in, you can smell the freshly made waffle cones, and that’s when you know it’s good! I got the malted vanilla ice cream in the waffle bowl. It really hit the spot! Super creamy and delicious!

IMG_5452

STATE 48 TAVERN (Page, AZ)

After a long day of driving, we decided to stop by this spot in Page and not expecting too much. I ordered the battered avocado tacos and roasted beet salad. We all also shared the kimchi fries. EVERYTHING was so good! Such a great fusion restaurant that satisfied our hunger!

IMG_5473

IMG_5474

IMG_5475

IMG_5476

 

TORTAS DE FUEGO (Sedona, AZ)

For our last night, we wanted to grab a quick dinner and found this little place. Instead of getting tortas, which is what their known for, we all got different things. I got the trio plate, which gave me a crunchy taco, enchilada, and flauta. What can I say, I love variety! It was pretty good but nothing beats tacos in LA!

IMG_5561

Foodie Friday

BESTIA

This is my second time at Bestia and the first time for my sister and her boyfriend! I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to come here again especially when it takes months and months to get a reservation. I think we booked this 3 months ago and our dinner time was still at 8:45pm- still pretty late for dinner in my mind! But who cares?!! Gotta come here as much as I can!

It’s one of the must-try spots in LA and definitely has a huge waitlist. I already knew what dishes I wanted to have again and what I wanted to try this time. We got plenty of small plates during our last visit, so I knew I wanted to try one of their pizzas and meat dishes.

Our server recommended the crostini with egg and black truffles, which was such an amazing choice to start off with! The eggs were creamy and the flavor of the truffle shavings made the dish unbelievably delicious! I highly recommend this! The pizza we chose was the Burrata which was nice and light with amazingly yummy cheese!

Another highlight of our dinner was the Tomahawk pork, which was a 37 oz piece of pork. They ran out of the porterhouse, so the alternative was the Tomahawk which won my boyfriend over the minute our server told us about it! There was a scrumptious and crispy crust on the pork and the meat itself was so tender and moist with just the right amount of bite. It was pretty pricey but worth it.

I’d say our visit to Bestia was successful because my sister and her boyfriend left the restaurant wanting to book another reservation! I don’t mind though!

IMG_5245

IMG_5246

IMG_5247

IMG_5249

IMG_5250

IMG_5251

IMG_5252

IMG_5253

 

Foodie Friday: Brunch Edition

Like all other bloggers, I love brunch. I can’t help it! Waffles, toast, eggs, bacon, teas, coffees! The list just goes on!! I guess when you live in LA, THE thing to do on the weekend is go have brunch. Can’t complain though, it’s just something I always want to do on my weekends.

Below are pictures of my meals, from homemade to my favorite local spots! 🙂

IMG_5038
Homemade avocado toast (on Pom Pom at Home crown dishware)
IMG_5077
Breakfast salad, pot pie, lemonade, and chocolate scone at Lincoln Pasadena

 

IMG_4814
Chai tea latte at Zinc Cafe
IMG_4816
Our feast at Zinc Cafe
IMG_5019
Dumplings and noodle soup at Hui Tou Xiang

As you can see, brunch comes in all different forms. There’s something for everyone!

Foodie Friday !

Providence

It’s been quite a birthday week for me full of food, sweets, and surprises!! My boyfriend made dinner plans for us on Monday night and didn’t tell me where we were going, even though I had my guesses! AND I sort of guessed correctly! 🙂

When we drove up to Providence on Melrose, I was jumping on the inside through all of the excitement because it’s one of the places I’ve been dying to try but it’s definitely a budget breaker! I guess we save a lot, so it was due for us to come here. I was tremendously happy he chose this for my birthday dinner!

Providence is definitely an experience rather than just a simple ol’ meal. They offer three tasting menus, all of which can come with a wine pairing option, which I did not partake in. The last menu was called the Chef’s menu which consisted of nearly 20 dishes and our server advised us that it would take about 3-4 hours to complete. Considering it was already around 8 pm when we started dinner, I wasn’t too fond of the idea of eating until nearly midnight! On a Monday, no less! With that in mind, we decided on the signature and seasonal tasting menu, which was their most popular anyways.

All of the dishes are shown below!

FullSizeRender IMG_4080 IMG_4081 IMG_4082 IMG_4083 IMG_4084 IMG_4085 IMG_4087 IMG_4088 IMG_4090 IMG_4092 IMG_4094 IMG_4095 IMG_4096 IMG_4098

Even though these dishes look minuscule and tiny, having 10-15 of them definitely filled me up! Every single item was so unique and amazing that I hardly have words to describe them. The presentation, the flavors, and the creativity are just completely phenomenal! I would love to come back and try their chef’s menu but definitely would need to commit to the lengthy time requirement!

My favorite dish was called the Ugly Bunch, which is the bowl of uni (sea urchin), surf clams, some herbs, gold flakes, and a light panna cotta underneath. It was so rich yet light and so decadent all at once! My boyfriend really loved the wagyu beef dish, so that might have been his favorite next to the Ugly Bunch.

If you ever consider coming here, I would highly recommend it as an experience you’ll never forget. It is indescribable and probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had. They undoubtedly put such thought into every dish, every ingredient, and take the time to describe it to you when they bring it out. THUMBS UP FROM ME!