Portland Lunch Eats 2017

After our time in Lincoln City, we travelled back to Portland before making our way up North. After driving hours from the coast back inland, we were famished for lunch! We stopped by the store location of Nong's Khao Man Gai to get our fix of chicken and rice!

Nong's Khao Man Gai

609 SE Ankeny Street, Suite C

Chicken and Rice (Big size, mixed dark and white meat $14.75)- Poached, organic kosher raise chickens with jasmine rice simmered in chicken stock and Thai herbs, served with sauce of fermented soybeans, ginger, garlic, thai chilies, vinegar, house made syrup and soy sauce. Garnished with cucumbers and cilantro, and accompanied by a light soup

W and I shared the large size chicken and rice and it came with an ample amount of rice and de-boned meat. At no extra cost, I asked for a side of the chicken livers too XD I am A-ok with eating offal so it was a cool accompaniment to the rice. It was yummy dipped in their special house-made sauce!

Just like their food cart, the store was a no-frills, no gimmicks kind of place. Their dishes and utensils evoked an era from the past which lends itself to a kind of authenticity. For a more comfortable place to sit down and eat khao man gai, the store location is the place to be.

 Spam Musubi ($3) - Seared marinated spam over rice, wrapped in nori (seaweed)

The next day, we stopped by the downtown food trucks for lunch. While W and I browsed all the selections, we bought a spam musubi from 808 Grinds. They pan fry the spam and hand-wrap the musubi after ordering so you know it's freshly made every time!

After walking many rounds and lots of hemming and hawing, we ended up with an order of mac and cheese from the aptly-named Mac & Cheese Bar.

 Mac & Trees ($8) - Classic mac 'n cheese with broccoli, parmesan and breadcrumbs

Lemon Shake-up ($2.50)- Fresh pressed lemonade

I chose the Mac & Trees which had their classic mac and cheese added with some broccoli florets. It made the decadent pasta a little less guilty haha... I also got their freshly-squeezed lemonade to wash down the gooey and heavy pasta.

W chose to try the buttermilk fried chicken from Just Chicken.

2 piece buttermilk fried chicken with 2 sides ($9) - wing and drum stick, kale salad, and a bag of potato chips

This combo came with a drumstick and a wing, as well as 2 sides of our choice. W left the choosing to me again so I went with the kale salad, for a bit of healthy punch, and a bag of chips (which totally negates the benefits of the salad LOL...). The chicken was pretty good. The skin was nice and crunchy while the meat was still soft and juicy. Not bad for a simple lunch.

The Portland food scene is always something that attracts us to go back time and time again. Can't wait to head back there again!

Mo's Annex Newport - Mo's Seafood & Chowder

657 SW Bay Blvd.
Newport, OR

My family's annual road trip destination for 2017 was the Oregon Coast. We rented a beautiful ocean-front home in Lincoln City for a couple days and spent one of those days driving and sight-seeing along the coast.

We stopped by Newport for lunch and decided to try out Mo's Annex. There was actually another Mo's diagonally across the street, the Original Mo's at Newport! But seeing that the menu at Original Mo's consisted of mostly deep fried seafood, we leaned towards the seafood served at Mo's Annex more.

Mo’s Clam Chowder (Family size $16.95) - New England Style with Bacon

We started off with the family-sized clam chowder. It was a pretty large portion, being able to fill up around 6 bowls of soup. The chowder was thick and creamy with lots of meaty clam pieces. This was delicious and perfect for a cool, windy day by the sea!

Hot Crab & Shrimp Artichoke Dip ($14.95) - Served with sour dough bread

In order to try the most amount of food as possible, we ordered a few items for sharing between all of us. After the chowder, the crab, shrimp and artichoke dip came next. There were pieces of sour dough bread to slather the creamy dip on.

 Steamer Clams ($10.95) - Pound of steamer clams sautéed in garlic butter and

white wine served with melted butter

Toasted sour dough bread also accompanied the bowl of steamer clams. It was a joy to soak up the briny and savoury clam broth with the bread! The clams were yummy too but some of them still had a bit of sand in the meat.

Best Of The Bay ($15.95) - Shrimp skewers, oyster shooter, shrimp cocktail and steamed clams. Serves 2-4

This appetizer platter originally came with a couple raw oyster shooters but the server told us that they ran out of fresh oysters that day >___<  An extra skewer of shrimp replaced the oysters but we were still disappointed. The steamed clams were the same as the Steamer Clams and the shrimp cocktail was a dish of tiny bay shrimps topped with cocktail sauce. Overall, this platter was just ok.

Seafood Cioppino ($17.95) - Yaquina Bay Oysters, Pink Shrimp, Wild Alaskan Salmon, Alaskan Cod and Steamer Clams and Crab Legs simmered in a rich italian sauce topped with parmesan cheese and served with garlic cheese bread

Our last shared dish was the Seafood Cioppino. With 6 different kinds of seafood bathing in a tangy and cheesy tomato sauce, we thought this was the best deal of the meal! 

With this seafood lunch costing just over $100 for the 9 of us, Mo's Annex was one of the highlights of this trip! No wonder it's popular amongst the locals and tourists!

Bruxie, Las Vegas

3782 South Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV

The land between New York New York hotel and Monte Carlo hotel has been revamped due to the addition of the T-Mobile Arena. This pedestrian-friendly outdoor space (named The Park) is lined with new restaurants. One of them is Bruxie, a California-based eatery from which they claim the chicken and waffle sandwich originated ("The Original Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich").

W and I came here for a lunch visit. We chose one savoury and one sweet sandwich to share.

Backyard BBQ Chicken Waffle Sandwich - Double-dipped fried chicken, Carolina BBQ sauce, cheddar, crispy onion straws, cider slaw

The Backyard BBQ Chicken Waffle Sandwich was their featured special that day. When it came to the table, we could barely see the waffle underneath! This was jam-packed with pieces of fried chicken that had been tossed in a tangy BBQ sauce, then stopped with cheese, slaw, and the super yummy crispy onions...mmm yum!

The waffle wasn't what we expected though. The waffles at Bruxie were thinner and more crispy than the usual buttermilk or Liege waffles. However, it held up to the filling and didn't become soggy from all that sauce. Still, the chicken and waffle sandwich was pretty messy to eat!

Creme Brulee Waffle Sandwich - with seasonal fruit

My absolute favourite was the Creme Brulee Waffle! My mouth just salivates thinking about it! The waffle has been slathered with a vanilla custard, sprinkled with sugar and torched until brown and crunchy. Then, fresh strawberries were placed in the middle before closing up the sandwich. Oh my goodness, the soft but crispy waffle + the bruleed custard + fresh strawberries = best combination EVERRR!! 

Green Eggs and Ham - grilled ham, melted cheddar, two large eggs, mayo, arugula pesto

Before our flight back home, we stopped by Bruxie for breakfast. The whimsical name caught my attention so I chose the Green Eggs and Ham waffle sandwich as our savoury item and, of course, I couldn't resist ordering the Creme Brulee waffle sandwich again. 

The flavours of the breakfast waffle was pretty typical. I was surprised that the arugula pesto was not as pungent as I thought it'd be. Overall, the sandwich was tasty but we were not "wow-ed" by it.

Obviously, the creme brulee waffle was, once again, a superstar in my books!! It was made with strawberries again so I'm not sure what other seasonal fruit would be used during other times. They should just stick with the strawberries forever LOL...

Aside from In 'n Out, Bruxie is now one of our must go-to places when visiting Vegas!

Market Street Cafe, Las Vegas

12 East Ogden Avenue

Las Vegas, Nevada

Aside from all the trendy, upscale restaurants, there are many down-home, bargain eateries in Las Vegas. A quick Internet search led me to Market Street Cafe. Their website boasts their famous ox-tail soup, a $9.99 prime rib dinner special and many other awesome deals!  

The cafe is actually a 24-hour diner located within the California Hotel and Casino. Their extensive menu offers various American dishes and Hawaiian specialties.

Ox-tail Soup ($10.99)

For some reason, their ox-tail soup is only served from 11:00 PM till 9:00 AM the next morning. Well, it worked out perfectly for us because after attending the Backstreet Boys concert, W and I were hungry and the serving time has just started!

I don't know if my brain was fried from all the excitement of the BSB show or what but I did not have any pre-conceived notions of how the ox-tail soup would be like. W and I both ordered a soup for ourselves but when it came, it was a ginormous bowl of beef broth filled with stewed tender ox-tail pieces. There were also lots of simmered carrots, celery, tomato and onion chunks AND it came with a bowl of white rice! 

As a fan of meat and bone broth, this was simple and hearty. There was so much meat on the ox-tail that I didn't even touch the rice. For the ample portion of meat, veggies, soup and even a side of rice, the price was good. However, if you want to talk about price and portion, probably the best bang-for-your-buck at Market Street Cafe would be their prime rib dinner special.

From 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM every night, their Prime Rib Dinner Special is only $9.99!!

It includes soup or salad, an 8 oz. prime rib, veggies, a choice of starch, and Cherries Jubilee for dessert.

Both W and I went for the DIY salad at their old-school salad bar. Sure brings back memories of my childhood! The selections were typical buffet salad bar items (think canned corn, iceberg lettuce, imitation bacon bits, and goopy salad dressing) but for this price, we were A-ok with it.

Medium rare prime rib - served with horseradish and au jus for the steak, green beans and baked potato with butter and sour cream on the side

Our main event has arrived! I ordered my steak medium rare and it turned out pretty pink! I was quite pleased at the doneness! The meat was tender and juicy but the outer crust could have used more seasoning. The prime rib came with a side of green beans (which W did not touch), and I chose the baked potato as my starch. The green beans were salted well but overcooked. The potato was not bad. It came with butter and sour cream on the side. I used my artificial bacon bits from the salad bar to sprinkle on the potato too lol...

Cherries Jubilee

Finally, dessert time! The Cherries Jubilee was like a parfait of sweet cherry compote, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top. A piece of wafer cookie was placed on the side. I'm not a big fan of cherries but it paired nicely with the vanilla ice cream. A nice bit of cold creamy sweetness to end the meal!

For all this, we dropped $20 (plus taxes and tips) and hugged our stuffed tummies back out the door! It wasn't like amazing, gourmet food but definitely something to experience while in Vegas.

Seven Magic Mountains + BSB Concert, Las Vegas

Usually, when W and I visit Las Vegas, there's no real reason except to sight-see and eat to our heart's content. However, this time, there was a specific purpose. That was because I had bought tickets to go see the Backstreet Boys concert (their LV residency "trial shows") at Planet Hollywood!!! Wahahaha!! I roped W into seeing my fave boyband from my pre-teen years...oh be still my giddy heart XD

Since the concert was at night, we still had the whole day free for other things. I did some research before our trip and found out that there was a unique public artwork just 30 minutes away from the Las Vegas strip in the middle of a barren landscape. It was called Seven Magic Mountains.

The artwork consisted of ginormous colourful limestone boulders stacked like totem poles. There were 7 of these structures in total with all of them standing 30 to 35 feet high! Set against the desert landscape and the bright blue sky, it was really a cool sight! This public artwork will only be there until May 2018 so it's really it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it!

After having a quick dinner of poke at the Miracle Mile Shops within Planet Hollywood, W and I lined up to get inside the theatre! It was my first time attending a concert of this kind. My previous concert-going experiences were all of the Canto-pop variety which, I later found out, were very different to this show!

It was calm and everyone was sitting down before the concert began. The show began with a video montage of the BSB from their early days to their present-day works. People were still seated and jiving along to the music/video but when the boys stepped out and began singing "Larger Than Life", chaos erupted!!!

EVERYONE stood up and began dancing and singing along!! And me, being literally 5 ft tall, had to stand on my tippy toes the WHOLE NIGHT so that I could see the stage and the boys!! I also jammed out and sang along the whole night though XD. And W? Well, he also enjoyed the concert but let's just say he wasn't as enthusiastic as me and the other thousands of females in the theatre LOL.

I was exhausted by the end of the show but it was worth every ounce of energy and effort to get to see the BSB live in person!! It was definitely another once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget!!

Hot Chocolate Festival 2017

Back in mid January, the 7th annual hot chocolate festival commenced! This year I was pretty excited about it. Dine Out Vancouver lacked appeal this time around for me while the hot chocolate festival menu seemed fresh and interesting. There were 29 participants offering their unique take on the chocolatey winter drink but I only tried 4 places this year (I still gotta watch my figure ya know!).

Thierry
1059 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC

Taste of Vietnam - Hot chocolate made with Li Chu 64% chocolate (a single origin chocolate from Vietnam); served with a coffee madeleine and a chocolate dipped, bay leaf-infused ganache

I originally wasn't going to try Thierry's hot chocolate but at the insistence of K-chan, I gave it a shot. Thierry was offering their "Taste of Vietnam" hot chocolate for the first half the festival. Their other hot chocolate flavour would be available during the second half of the fest.

Although the drink was nice and smooth with a good chocolate taste, it seemed kind of plain. The dark chocolate ganache piece was a nice touch, giving my taste buds another hit of smooth rich chocolate.

Thomas Haas
2539 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Studying all the participants' menu, I knew I really wanted to go to Thomas Haas. Having never been to the West Broadway location (I've only been to the North Shore one), I was pretty excited to visit this shop!

Home Run (Black Forest in a Cup) - Dark (67%) hot chocolate flavoured with Black Forest kirsch Chantilly and brandied cherries; served with a baked chocolate truffle

Thomas Haas had two flavours available all throughout the festival. I knew W was not a fan of cherry so I went for the Home Run. I was definitely wowed by this hot chocolate! I, myself, am actually not a big cherry fan either but I really loved this drink!! It was more of an adult hot-chocolate though because of the boozy kirsch and brandied cherries hehe...

Hasselnuss - Milk (49%) hot chocolate infused with caramelized hazelnuts and lemon zest; served with orange madeleines

This chocolatey drink was more up W's alley. The hot chocolate was strongly infused with blitzed caramelized hazelnuts and the taste was lighter since it used milk chocolate.

Swiss Bakery
143 East 3rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC

On another snowy, wintery day, I had W take me out to Swiss Bakery so I could try their hot chocolate offering.

Winter's Harvest - a decadent Belgian white chocolate with Genmaicha (Japanese matcha with roasted rice) paired with a leafy black sesame choux puff

Their white hot chocolate was melded with a green tea made of roasted rice and green tea powder. Although I liked the combination of tea and chocolate, the white chocolate was too sweet for my liking. Their description also noted that it came with a black sesame choux puff but it was more of a flaky shortbread cookie...

Earnest Ice Cream
1829 Quebec Street
Vancouver, BC

Just a short walk away was Earnest Ice Cream so of course I had to pay a visit! Even though I was a little full from the white hot chocolate at Swiss Bakery, it just seemed like a waste not to go! 

Spiked Hot Chocolate - a drinking chocolate inspired by their "Milk Chocolate" ice cream, topped with Amaretto-flavoured whipped cream and served with a scoop of Amaretto ice cream; both topped with house made almond brittle

Like the Home Run hot chocolate from Thomas Haas, this was also a slightly boozy drink. The light milk chocolate drink wasn't anything extraordinary but the Amaretto whipped cream elevated this to an-adult only fancy-looking hot chocolate. I actually liked the Amaretto ice cream on the side more than the hot chocolate. But hey, this is Earnest Ice Cream after all! I guess that's kind of expected? Haha!

Out of the 5 different chocolatey drinks, my favourite was the Home Run since I'm a dark chocolate fan. Now I'm looking forward to the 8th annual hot chocolate festival!