Cascabel Taqueria

I walked by this cute mexican restaurant when I was walking back from main campus to my apartment and was curious about whether is was good or not. There was a good amount of customers inside which is usually a good sign. T was here to visit me and we decided to come here for lunch before heading to Electric Zoo since it was near my place. The reviews on yelp were not too good but I thought it was pretty decent. I don't know if I would make a point to come here but if I was craving for a Mexican meal near home I would keep this place in mind! Flavors were really robust in all the dishes and the servings were HUGE.

Bloody Marys
I think they were having some buy one get one free special. These were ok but I think it was a bit too salty for me (this was months ago though so my memory is fuzzy oops). I did like how it came in cute mason jars though. 

Guacamole Tradicional Con Tostadas
The guacamole was pretty decent. It was creamy and fresh. Nothing amazing just regular guacamole thought. 

Pescado - Crispy yellowfin tuna belly / Hearts of palm / Olives / Onions / Thai chili
I love love love fish tacos but this was not too great for me. I expected the fish to be much more fatty and soft since it was tuna belly (toroooo oh yes) but it was a little bit dense. The ridiculous load of olives was also a bit overwhelming for me. The flavors were pretty interesting, and I enjoyed it for the first few bites, but I don't think I would order this again. 

Carne Asada - Sliced yucatan achiote hanger steak / Oyster mushroom / House made creme / Crispy shallots / Cilantro
I think this was my favorite taco of the day. Once again you can see that the serving was MASSIVE. We actually packed a lot of this to go and had a great time eating leftovers one night :) The meat was bursting with flavor and the crispy shallots were also very strong in flavor. I think it would be even better if there was some fresh salsa or something acidic to balance out the strong flavors. 

Chorizo - House made mexican spiced sausage / Smoked paprika / Onion / Cilantro
T loves chorizo and I think he quite enjoyed this. I had a bite and it was also very flavorful but I personally did not like the texture of the meat and preferred my big chunks of carne asada :D 

Please keep in mind that the servings are ginormous. We thought they would be these small tacos and we could share 3 orders but we were so so wrong. I think this is a good addition to the neighborhood but I am excited to explore other mexican places in NYC.

Cascabel Taqueria
2799 Broadway (W 108 St and Broadway)
New York
NY 10025
USA

Don Pepe

Don Pepe has been a restaurant that has been mentioned so many times and I've always wanted to go but knew that it took some planning because it was pretty far (near the airport). People have always talked about how delicious and hearty Don Pepe was and I finally got to try it last week! The decor is nothing fancy and it was a very home style italian atmosphere. The food was absolutely excellent and I would love to return again. Service was also friendly and efficient. Come with a big group of friends and order a ton of their house wine which is actually quite decent. You will leave extremely satisfied and I am already planning for my next visit!

Fresh Mozzarella with Tomatoes and Peppers 
All the ingredients were fresh and I liked the addition of the sweet peppers which was a nice touch from the traditional caprese. This dish was good, but not something I would order specifically as it was not extremely special (save tummy for clams hehe)

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Presentation aside, these mushrooms were absolutely delicious. The grilling of them resulted in a glorious charred smoky flavor and the portobello was seasoned perfectly and the texture was also so satisfying and had a great bite to it. 

Don Pepe's Famous Baked Clams 
*holy music plays*... these clams are DIVINEEEE. These are one of the most famous dishes at Don Pepe and I can absolutely see why. The juicy meaty clams are smothered in a strong garlic mixture/sauce and then covered with crunchy delicious breadcrumbs. We could not stop eating these. The flavors are just ridiculous and the textural contrast of the clams and the breadcrumbs was unreal. MUST ORDER. 

We ordered two more orders later 

Linguine with Clams 
I wonder how many garlic gloves they use per day.... not complaining though because I love all this stinky stuff like garlic, scallion, onions, shallots.... my boyfriend is a lucky man. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the clams and garlic sauce was perfect. The dish was simple and the flavors worked together perfectly. The dish concentrated on the perfect extraction of the flavors of the ingredients and I completely gobbled this up. The only thing about this dish is that it is quite oily. There also seems to be some parsley in there (blech) but I could not even taste it (hooray!). 

Linguine with Marinara Sauce
Once again perfect al dente pasta, I am usually a white sauce type of girl but this meat sauce was also bursting with flavor and highlighted the sweetness of the tomatoes. 

Veal Don Pepe
YOU MUST ALSO ORDER THIS. This was another favorite from the night and I wish I was not so full to the brink of explosion or else I would have eaten it all. I had a couple bites of this and it was just heavenly. The veal was so tender and the breading was perfectly crispy and just the right thinness. It was fried to the ideal golden brown and the bruschetta mixture on the top was a burst of freshness that complemented the veal so well. 

Don Pepe is sort of a trek but it is definitely worth it. Definitely adding this to my list of restaurants that I want to bring my boyfriend to when he visits in February! 

Don Pepe 

13558 Lefferts Blvd

Ozon Park

NY 11420

USA

Sobaya

I still have one more post for LA and a TON for Hong Kong from the summer but I feel that I must start posting about my New York restaurants so I'll start that now and will add in LA and HK ones periodically! Sobaya is known for its soba (duh) and I've heard really great things from my friends here. I've been eating like a crazy pig these few weeks and was craving some delicious but light food so I decided to go to Sobaya for dinner while C was in town. Sobaya imports its buckwheat flour from Japan and you can tell that they really take pride in their food. Apart from soba, they also offer udon, various types of appetizers, and also sushi rice bowls. I love how you are able to pick different sizes for the soba and the rice bowls so I could mix and match my dinner. The atmosphere was clean and cosy, very traditional japanese style. Service was polite and efficient. They don't take reservations so aim to get there either early or later for weekends. We went on a Thursday night around 7:40 and the wait was only 15 minutes so it might be smart to go on a weekday!

Agedashi Tofu
The tofu was a bit too firm for my tastes but the crust was nice and crunchy. I usually prefer a silkier tofu but the seasoning was decent.

Sake Oyako Don - Salmon and Salmon Roe Rice Bowl
The salmon sashimi was decent, the slices could be a little larger. Texture was quite nice. The ikura however was excellent, slightly firm with a delicious burst of savory goodness. The rice was also cooked and seasoned well. I ordered the mini don and the portion was actually quite sufficient.

Uni Cold Soba - Fresh Uni with Grated Mountain Yam
YUM! This was deliciousss. The uni was incredibly fresh and sweet. The amount was also quite generous. The soba had an amazing texture, very firm and perfectly chewy. The mountain yam was quite interesting, it was very slimy and gooey but went very well with the soba. I felt that the soba dipping sauce could be slightly more salty but I know that you are suppose to enjoy the delicate flavor of soba. I think next time I will add some ikura and take it to the next level. 

Uni closeups are always fan favorites 

Sobaya was delicious and I will definitely be returning. I was stuffed after the meal but did not feel gross and heavy. The flavors were so clean and fresh and you leave feeling satisfied and healthy. I will definitely be returning!

Sobaya

229 E 9th Street

New York

NY 10003

USA

San Marino Seafood

After recovering from our pork belly extravaganza, J and I decided to go to Hungtington Library and grab lunch at San Marino Seafood beforehand. The restaurant is known for its fresh seafood and I was not disappointed! We got a bunch of things to share and everything was delicious! The restaurant is very homey and cosy, nothing fancy but fits in well with the simple and fresh seafood. You feel very welcomed and the service is also extremely friendly.

Corn Chowder
This was incredibly rich, creamy, and bursting with flavor. The amount of clams were also very generous and each clam was meaty and plump. A must order! Also, a cup is quite sufficient for a girl I believe, it is very rich! Gotta save your tummy for upcoming goodies.

Freshly Shucked Oysters
Super fresh and sweet. Just perfect!

Bucket of Mussels and Clams
Mussels and clams were both full of flavor and very meaty. The broth went perfectly with the natural sweetness of the seafood and the bread was grilled perfectly and was ideal for dipping up all the juices.

Shrimp Sandwich
The little shrimps were oh so good. They were super sweet and had such a great bite to them. They were lightly dressed in mayonnaise and the tomatoes and lettuce were also crisp and fresh. The only thing that would make this better was if we toasted the bread. 

Overall the food was so good and you can tell that they really take pride in the quality of their food and customer service. Such a lovely start to our day! Below are some pictures of the gardens at Hungtington Library (yes I am partial to roses hehe)

If you're in LA and want to have a short getaway you really should visit Hungtington Library! It's so beautiful and you can also indulge in some delicious seafood beforehand!

San Marino Seafood 

2150 Huntington Dr
San Marino
CA 91108
USA

The Hungtington Library 

1151 Oxford Rd
San Marino
CA 91108
USA

Porto Bakery

The infamous potato balls have been mentioned numerous times during this trip and what better time to devour these than when I was hungover? We had a raging night and I woke up to a box of these Porto Bakery goodies! I am such a lucky girl :) The potato balls were indulgent and worth every calorie. The meat filling was rich and the ratio was perfect because if there was too much potato it would ruin it! I believe it would be even better fresh because it would be piping hot and even crispier but no complaints! The sweet pastry was also delicious and delectable. Make sure you give this family style Cuban bakery a visit!!

Porto Bakery

Various Locations

Tagine

Tagine was not initially on my list but I am so glad that M brought this restaurant to my attention! One very special fact about this restaurant is that its owned by RYAN GOSLING!!! Throughout the meal we would peek up excitedly whenever the door opened... yet it was not Ryan. The people who came in probably were wondering why we looked so disappointed haha! Anyhow, the food was fabulous but I am not going to make individual reviews on each dish. Ugh these photos are bit overexposed because the restaurant was very dark. The food was absolutely delish though and contained such unique and exotic flavors. I am no expert on Moroccan food at all and therefore unable to tell if the dishes were unique yet I could definitely say that the flavors were lovely and very different. Some were a little surprisingly and not combinations that I was used to but I was glad that the dishes were so bold and interesting.

Tagine

123 N. Robertson Blvd 

 Beverly Hills CA 90211 

USA

Disneyland Resort

Wahoo!! I don't care that I have a ton of old Hong Kong reviews that I have yet to complete, I am going to write my LA reviews first :D My LA/Vegas trip was seriously a trip that had it all and I had such an amazing time with such wonderful friends. I really hope that I will be able to embark on such a trip again soon. Each day was filled with super fun activities and although it was a bit tiring at times I'm so glad that I was able to maximize each day.

I was super proud of myself for kicking jetlag in the butt, the way I did this was to hustle over to Disneyland right after landing. I surprisingly was not tired at all during the entire day of fast passes and Minnie Mouse ears and woke at a healthy 9 am the next morning. This post isn't exactly a review of the food in Disney... I'm sure you don't have sky high expectations of the food offerings at amusement parks but the pictures are pretty drool worthy nonetheless. Enjoy!

Was quite a shock when I first saw the size of this plate... slowly readjusting to American servings! 

This is actually AMAZING. This delectable concoction is made up of sinfully sweet pineapple juice with pineapple ice cream. Heavenly! 

World of Color, easily one of the most beautiful shows I have seen. Brought back so many childhood memories and apart from the lovely nostalgia the show itself was just so well done and moved me to tears at certain points. A MUST WATCH if you are at Disneyland.

I can't stress enough how magical Disneyland will always be to me, and I'm sure to many many others. Such a happy first day :)

Disneyland Resort

1313 Disneyland Railroad

Anaheim

CA 92802

USA