RTN Uwaji's June Foodtruck Round up

This past weekend, I attended the Renton Uwajimaya June Foodtruck Round Up. The rise of the Mobile foodtrucks have been growing popular in the greater Seattle area over the past couple of years and I was able to try two new trucks that I haven't had before.



Athena's food truck


Athena's was the first place I went and their truck was really cool! They had I believe Triton, messenger of the Sea and a Greek warrior (sorry I don't know who it is! Achilles maybe?) painted on the side of their truck. It really caught my eye. I had their Lamb Gyro.

It was fairly big and cost $8.00. The lamb part wasn't what I was used to (usually the sliced salted and soft lamb I usually have in other gyros). This was more like straight up lamb with not much seasoning and ha a little chew to it. I didn't mind it since the feta and olives gave it complimentary flavor. Overall, I was pleased.

You can check out Athena's info HERE.

One of my friends had a shrimp po'boy from Jemil's Big Easy, Cajun/Creole food, and I had some of hers. It was absolutely amazing! The dressing/sauce that they put in it really blended well with shrimp which was nice and crunch on the outside, and moist inside. I loved that they used the french bread with it. The texture and mild flavor of the bread paired nicely with the shrimp. Check out Jemil's HERE.

Lastly, since I was craving something sweet, I went over to Street Treats, which features a 'build-your-own ice cream sandwhich! I picked the snickerdoodle cookie to match with the Toasted coconut ice cream! This was absolutely delicious and was a pretty generous portion for a gourmet dessert. It cost me $5.00. The only downside is that the ice cream did melt before I could finish the cookie so it became a little messy.

Check out their stuff HERE.

 

Every Burger, Chocolate Cookie Snack: Review

My goodies review today will be on this ever so popular 'Every Burger" which is basically a cookie snack with chocolate that is shaped into burgers.

Each individual box comes with 2 separate sleeves of the chocolate cookie snack.

As you can see from inside, there are a few little burgers in each tray.

I have to say that the concept of this snack is quite cute and perfect for kids. They're small, cute, bite-sized cookies that resembles mini burgers so its no wonder kid gravitate towards them or even people getting them as a little gift.

The cookie and chocolate are actually not bad either. It isn't anything I haven't tried before since I feel it is fairly similar to any type of choco/cookie combo out there.

The only down side to some people may be the price. I bought this at my local Japanese store for around $2.69, but this item is from Japan and somewhat of a novelty item. I'd recommend this as a gift for anyone who is into Japanese snacks or small cutesy items in general.

Only place I found it online was HERE

Peyrassol: A place for relaxation--Restaurant Review

Yesterday, I had a wonderful Mother/Daughter dinner date with my mom that was followed with shopping.

We went to one of our local favorites, Peyrassol-Cafe at Southport located by Gene Coulon Park in Renton, Washington.

The service is always wonderful and the food is always delicious. I finally now have the chance to write a full review of the place (and probably more to come as I try their other dishes)

Check out their menu and other info HERE (note that the website is not updated for their current menu)

Bread service is always a must. They serve a Grand Central Bakery bread that is delivered fresh and paired off nicely with an aromatic olive oil.

We had the charcuterie that came with nice ham, coppa (i think?) and salami with pickled fennel.

The fennel matche perfectly with the drier cured meats and overall very appetizing.

We also had a small cup of their soup of the day which was a lentil soup. For some reason, the chef made this extremely flavorful and I would love having this all the time compared to the plain lentil soup my mom makes >.< It had tomatoes and was topped with olive oil and filled with all sorts of spices.

Then we had one of their special salads that had bresaola (I believe) topped with arugula, mushrooms, parmigiano reggianom, olive oil, salt and pepper. This dish was so simple but very well put together, along with the presentation. My mom had a little trouble with the cured meat since it was a little too chewy for her, but other than that, it was very enjoyable.

Now for our main dishes. My mother ordered this Beouf Bourguignon- a slow roasted beef chuck with a polenta cake. Flavor wise, I feel like it could have been better and the beef could have been more tender. I do believe my mother could have made this dish better, at least flavor-wise, maybe adding a hint of star anise or some spice. It felt like a layer or 2 of flavor was missing. However, the polenta cake was excellent. Nice and crunchy on the outside, but nice and moist on the inside with a nice mild flavor.

Then my dish came and I was definitely happy! I ordered their Papparadelle in a bolognese sauce and it was exactly the type of flavor I had imagined and craved! The wide cut noodle texture was nice an aldente. The sauce was amazing with the right amount of meats running through it along with just enough pepper spice and it wasn't too heavy with tomato. By far one of my favorite dishes I have had at this restaurant and I highly recommend it.

better up close shot

If you're looking for a nice relaxing atmosphere or even one with romantic ambiance, then defnitely check this place out. It is in a nice little quite corner right by the lake with both indoor and outdoor seating which is perfect for the nice sunny days. It isn't too crowded in here and the service is excellent. It does take a little while for food to come out since it is basically all home made and made to order. The price is decent too for the quality you receive with some items right under $20. I think this place would be perfect to take for a special birthday or even a date. I have only been here for their dinner menu and will need to go back to check out their Brunch and Lunch offerings.

Terra Plata: Restaurant Dinner Review

This past Sunday, we celebrated my brother's birthday with a dinner at Terra Plata, located in Seattle's Capital Hill.

I started off with their fennel and grapefruit soda. It was citrus than anything and I found the fennel taste to be almost non-existing. However, it did remind me of a drink I've had in Malaysia which tastes very good so I wasn't totally disappointed.

We also selected this wine to pair with our dishes which was majority seafood.

Our first appetizer dish were these large beef bone marrows. Prepared very simply with just a little salt and a date compote mixture, the juicy (almost fat like) bone marrow melted onto the crusty bread and paired very nicely with the date mixture. It is very rich and not recommended for those that do not like the texture of fatty foods.

We also had this baby turnip dish, cooked with orange and some other garnishes. This was absolutely wonderful. The flavors complemented so well together and the texture of the turnips themselves were nice and tender--a wonderful start.

Then came one of the earth dishes that would probably the mos 'not worth it' dish. This small wild mushrooms gratin was a bit pricey, and didn't come with enough of the toasted bread.  However, the mushroomws, especially the morel mushrooms, were very delicious. The creme fraiche melted nicely with the sauce that gave it a ricotta cheese feel and the sauce was butter heaven. I just wish there were more components to this dish, maybe even pair the sauce with rice, to make it more worth the price.

Next was the risotto. I loved the little baby asparagus in this, which added a nice texture throughout, however this was a very rich dish. I couldn't have too much since it was quite heavy, but the flavors were there.

The Manila clams with their homemade chorizo sausage was probably my favorite dish. It was a total flavor impacted dish with just the right amound of textures and flavors mixe around. The smokiness of the sausage balanced out nicely with the chickpeas and pickled onions which all complimented the flavors of the clams. Not to mention the giant crouton pieces of bread throughout the dish to soak up all the juices!

The next dish to come to us was their so called 'sea bass' dish. Now, this isn't the typical Chilean seabass, that a single steak would weigh more than this small fish, but a part of the bass family. I think they should've made that distinction, but honestly, I don't think they really knew.

This was one of the first times I have seen a whole fish, head and all, steamed in it's entirety at an American restaurant. I see it all the time at Chinese ones but this is a first seeing it at an American one.

The preparation of this fish was simple and did not leave a fish/seafoody smell, which is always difficult to accomplish. I'd only wish the fish was bigger for the price, but overall it was decent and very fresh.

The last dish to come out was this pork belly and lentil dish. Very reminiscent of the way Chinese restaurants prepare it with a hint of five spice, this was a very comforting and delicious dish. Half a piece even satisfied me. The pork belly was very tender and melted right in your mouth. Then it also had a crunchy element of the skin. The lentils paired nicely with it along with the fruit compote along the top to glaze it.

Then for essert we had the creme crulee and the cookies and milk.

A light and creamy dish that wasn't too sweet and had a nice crunch on top with the fired sugar top.

I mostly picked this cookies and milk out because of the horchata (mexican rice drink with cinnamon and sugar). The cookies were so-so (probably not worth 8 dollar at all) but their horchata was very good.

This restaurant was definitely a good experience, but the prices can add up. Our total bill was slightly over $200. We did however have wonderful service. Our server was very gentle and checked up on us frequently and thoroughly explained our dishes. He also changed our dishes to make sure we had clean ones and kept refilling us with their bread.

If you're looking for a cute place to go with the family or a date, this is a good place to try out in Capital Hill.

Miyabi 45: Japanese with a fusion twist

Miyabi 45, a Japanese fusion restaurant located in Wallingford, Washington (just west of the University of Washington) has always been on my to try list ever since I heard about its opening.
I was finally able to try it out last weekend for an early Mother's day dinner with my family.
To me, this place is nothing like the original Miyabi restaurant (located in Tukwila) but it does have a nice atmosphere to it. Since it was a hot day, the side paneled window/doors were open right at the front of the store allowing a nice breeze. The seating was a bit tight since I think they get packed pretty early so they were not able to give us an extra half a table (even though no one was really there yet right when it opened).
Now I'll jump right into the food :

They started it for us by giving us these complimentary tofu bites? I'm honestly not too sure what these were, but I believe it was some type of soybean product. It was soft and creamy and seasoned with ponzu and wasabi.

I wanted oysters for the hot day so we tried out the Shigoku and the Olympias. I've never had the Shigoku before and I have to say that I did enjoy it more so than the Olympia which I had before. They're mild and sweet and a larger size.

Everytime I go to the Miyabi in Tukwila, I almost always order an Uni (sea urchin) shot. They are $2 more here, but I still love them.

Here we had a chop salad with golden beets, asparagus, pea vines, and more. I really liked the dressing that they paired with this salad. The noodles were a little too hard for my liking, but I really enjoyed the tender beets.

A deep fried sweetbread that was on their special, this dish was on the more mediocre side and the sweetbread was a little chewy and not as flavorful as I would've liked. Also, the pea vines underneath were stringy since they didn't remove the top vein (as with most people that prepare pea vines UNLESS you're at an authentic Chinese restuarant). So overall, this dish wasn't as impressive.

Cheese plate with 5 different cheese and homemade crackers. The Meyer lemon marmalade pictured on the far left was amazing and paired with the cheeses really well. My favorite was the koji yeast fermented tofu (cheese on the bottom left ) since it reminded me of the Chinese fermented bean curd used in their cooking.

Foie gras with jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke) and brussel sprouts. This foie gras had a nice aromatic flavor which infused into the veggies. The piece I had (since we split it amongst 5 of us) was a little bit undercooked, but didn't bother me too much. It was still a nice succelent piece.

The main courses were our Soba dishes! (I had the Zaru Soba--cold dippng styple soba) while the hot ones other people had.

My mom ordered the duck and leek (kamo nanban). I only had a piece of the duck which I liked the texture of, but wished it carried a little more flavor.

I ordered the dipping soba. This handmade soba is very good. The texture is different than of the dry packaged ones you buy at the store or even have at other restaurants. It is nice a light and chewy but not overly aldente. Definitely a good soba and a good place if you want something handmade.

For dessert, we had this Japanese fusion style and their interpretation of a french beignet. I liked the idea of it, adding the bacon and having maple syrup that flavor-wise, should pair nicely with kinako (soybean flour). However, the buckwheat tofu reminded me more of the sesame paste with a too gooey of a center that reminded me of mochi (rice cake). It was okay, but I wouldn't miss not seeing it since it was on their special menu.

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience. The location was nice and on a sunny day, its even better because you can walk around and check the area out--(where we also got Molly Moon's ice cream about 3 blocks down!).

I would definitely go back and maybe try some other items like something off the Seattle's Best Bukkake (bad name..for certain reasons!) style of soba.

And below are pictures of the menus and pricing.

Mike's Noodle House-A Chinatown Favorite



image taken from http://msg150.com/2008/01/lunch-22-mikes-noodle-house.html

Mike's Noodle House, located in Chinatown in Seattle's Internatonal District right across from Hing Hay Park, is a Cantonese/Hong Kong style restaurant that serves an assortment of noodles, congee, side dishes, etc. For some reason, it has become a local favorite and is a popular lunch time location for not just strictly Chinese people but an array of people. The place gets crowded and packed quick so it is best to go there earlier in the day to guarantee a spot and not have to wait. The service isn't exactly the best since I found a lot of the waitresses to be rude (but its pretty typical of many Chinese places) since they have to work in such a fast pace environment.

My parents and I usually come here during the week day (when I was in school, we'd go before I had class) or now on  a day off if we go shop in Chinatown, my dad will usually want to come here. Here's a look at our usual order:

 

We usually always have congee, this one is the 'century egg (preserved egg) with pork.

Then for myself, I usually almost always order the wonton noodle soup w/ soft beef brisket-the flavor of this is really flavor packed and delicious!



Then for the more adventurous, or those who like the 'innards' this is a plate of cleaned and blanched pork kidney and beef tripe served with veggies. The tripe is sort of flavorless but is cooked just right so it isn't chewy or tough at all. The kidney does have a stronger/gamier taste, but dipped in the spicy soy sauce, it is a nice snack!

Read about it

HERE