Bizarro Italian Cafe: Restaurant Review

A couple weekends ago, my family and I celebrated my dad's birthday. He was craving Italian food, so we went to this unique/quirky little place up in Wallingford, Seattle called Bizarro Italian Cafe!

Outside shot.

Quick glimpse of some of the food!

** Warning, picture heavy!! ** =P

When you first walk in, you notice how small the place is and how jam packed everything is with interesting eye-catching pieces!

 

The ceilings and walls are filled with random items. Along different walls, some of the menu is written on a chalk board. I  loved this little saying of "Nobody is 'fine' with water" that can be seen as you walk towards the main dining area (see below).

 

 

The bathroom was just as quirky (maybe a little on the creepy side too!) but I loved it nonetheless.

In the bathroom hall, there was this picture of baby Chinese kids acting like Communist officials/leaders. I found this picture quite intriguing! (We can also go in depth and analyze the meaning behind it, but I won't do that here! haha)

 

To distinguish the women's bathroom, there was a headshot of Alice in Wonderland on the door.

 

This old radio was playing inside the bathroom and it was naming off a list of numbers and then people/places. It reminded me a lot of the dystopian underwater world of Rapture in the game Bioshock!

Menu

 

 

Everyone is offered  bread (foccacia I believe) and a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a starter.

 

We ordered the meat flatbread as a starting appetizer which had marinara sauce, mozzarella, proscuitto and arugla. It was just like pizza but lighter, and was enjoyed with parmasean and hot pepper flakes on it.

My mom ordered a cauliflower soup that was actually really tasty and I usually don't like cauliflower! There were some greens, and this caper, berry-looking vegetable that was on the salty side.There was cream also added to the soup to give it that smooth texture.

My dad had the cesear salad and as you can see, it was definitely a more rustic and old-school looking dish. The dish consists of a half head of lettuce, not chopped up, and there were actual fillets of anchovies on it! Olive oil, cracked pepper, and lemon wedges were used as a dressing to garnish the top. I loved the aesthetics of this and this tasted really refreshing and light.

 

I had their plain house salad that was dressed with a vinaigrette dressing.

 

 

NOW FOR THE MAIN COURSES!

My mom had the clam linguine. There was a lot more clams than I had expected, but the dish itself was overall a little too salty so I didn't try too much of it. If you're a lover of clams, this may be up your ally. It may not be as salty at the time you order it.

My brother's girlfriend had the puttanesca (kind of a bad name since I think this dish was reserved for the 'whores/prostitues') but it was delicious. I loved the red sauce over it and the texture of the noodles. I believe they were handmade. There was quite a lot of olives in it as well and the grated cheese and parsley leaves over the dish added a nice layer of flavor to this pasta dish.

 

My brother had the gnocchi (potato dumpling). I forgot what kind of meat was in it, but whatever it was and whatever sauce it had in it was absolutely delicious! It was nice and savory and a had bold, slightly smoky flavor. The texture of the gnocchi was just right too--not too mushy and not to chewy.

Now for my main dish (and my dad's too), Elk Bolognese!! The noodles are what made the dish.They were cooked just right, not overly al dente, and not too soft.

The elk meat was also an interesting part of the dish as well. You could tell how lean the elk meat was compared to regular beef since it was chewier in texture.

 

The sauce wasn't what I expected and I was hoping for more flavor from the spices added. Hearing an 'elk' dish, I was expecting something more...exotic or something along those lines. 

It was still good and I think the noodles help save the dish for me since it made the whole meal much better. The flavoring wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting and not quite intense enough. It seemed the red sauce paired with the meat was lacking in a layer of flavor.

 

 

Now on to dessert!

Dessert Menu

 

 

We kept it light and simple and ordered the artisan cheese plate with apples, spiced pecans, honey, and a thick balsamic reduction. The simplicity of this was very pleasing and the flavor combinations and pairings were great. It was perfect for an after dinner plate since it wasn't too heavy or too sweet.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this food post! I just love sharing my experiences at new places and my love for food in general.

I will probably come check out this place again and would recommend it if you want to experience a cozy and quirky Italian place! I do recommend going earlier in the evening or later, since the place is pretty small and they do not take reservations. This would be a cute place to take a date too! Then you can check out the rest of the neighborhood and grab some Molly Moon's ice cream to share =P

 

Readers, do you like Italian food? What is your favorite Italian dish? Let me know in the comments!

Kawaguchi Bara no Shizuku--Rose Candy: Review

As a fan of all (most) things rose scented, I also have a knack for rose flavored food items (gum, drinks, etc).

Today's goodie post is on this rose flavored hard candy that has a soft jelly like substance in the center.

As always,  Japanese packaging is #1. The pink rose in the background of the bag is just so pretty and makes it seem more welcoming!

Back of bag

The candy comes individually wrapped inside also in the same pretty pink rose wrappers.

The candy itself is like most other hard candies, round in shape. The

The candy is light pink in color (reminds me so much of Spring!)

And as you can see below, the inside does indeed have a softer/gooey filling inside.

I was surprisngly pleased by the flavor of this candy and was expecting something stronger, in terms of rose flavor. The outside rose hard candy is a soft and somewhat subtle rose flavor that leaned on a tangier side. The inside filling was sweeter and was rose flavored without the tangy note.

Overall, this rose candy was very lovely and wasn't perfume-like at all. It was nice popping this in and just enjoying the weather outside (does that sound a bit cheesy? haha oh well).

I bought this item for around $3.29 more or less (Japanese candy is pricier in general, but I don't blame them since they go all out for the packaging and it is also an imported item). If you ever get a chance to try Japanese rose flavored candies and you like roses, then I highly recommend checking out your local Japanese or Asian grocery store!

Would you try a rose flavored candy? What's your favorite flavor for hard candies??

Mamnoon Restaurant, Middle Eastern Cuisine: Restaurant Review

A couple weeks ago, my family and I went out to dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. We went to this restaurant called Mamnoon, which serves Middle Eastern food. It is located in Capitol Hill right by the Melrose market.

There was a $5 special going on where you get an assortment of breads for $5 and the proceeds benefited... The one in the front (that kind of looks like pizza bread) was frikken amazing. It was like a spicy pepper sauce and was so nice and airy. The one to the left of it was flatbread sort and reminded me of pizza. The one in the back with sesame wasn't particularly my favorite--there was some type of salted filling in it, but it went well with the dipping items.

Muhammara ($10) - walnut, pepperpaste, pomegranate, cumin eaten with bread. This was very simple and was eaten as an appetizer. It had a nice smoky flavor throughout without being over powering, but probably not something I would order again, especially not for the price.

Arnabeil makli ($8)-frid cauliflower, tarrator, and parsley. I personally do not like cauliflower but this was actually surprisingly good! I think I liked the burnt (in a good way) taste to it and the sauce on top balanced well with the smoked flavor. The texture was better in this dish I know because it was fried, as opposed to steamed or sauteed cauliflower.

(~$20-25)

I'm not sure what this dish is called since I can no longer find it on the menu, but this was probably one of the better dishes.

A tender slice of cow tongue, served with a side of pickled vegetables and a sweet sauce to pair with it.

I loved the presentation of this dish, especially with the cork serving board. The condiments on the side in their own separate dishes were also a nice touch. The meat was so tender and so nice to bite into and it paired really well with the sauce.

kefta ( i believe!) ($22)- minced lamb, onion, pistachio, baharat. This wasn't exactly what I expected and was slightly disappointed, especially for the price of the item. I also didn't expect it to come in sausage-like logs. It was also a little salty, so the pairing with the cream (baharat I assume?) calmed down the saltiness. I found that the pistachio didn't do much to enhance the flavor of the lamb but more so compliment in texture.

fesenjun ($32)-lamb meatball, walnut, crispy onion, pomegranate molasses, saffron basmati.

This was another winner in the dishes we tried out. The lamb meatballs were moist and tender and the crispy onions added a nice layer of texture and flavor to the sweetness of the molasses and savory flavor of the meatballs. I absolutely love basmati rice and thought the aroma of the rice blended well with the meatballs, as well as add another means to soak up the sauce!

The fresh greens and walnut also added to the overall aesthetics to the dish.

Turkish coffee ice cream-fresh breeze organic cream, valrhona chocolate ($6). I'm not sure what distinguishes Turkish coffee, but I am a fan of all and any coffee based ice creams so this one was a hit. The coffee flavor wasn't dark but on the lighter side and a bit milder than what I expected. The cream was almost like a palette cleanser and was almost unnecessary since I feel like it didn't really add or take away from the dish. The chocolate bits were nice though and weren't too sweet. They also had a more grittier texture to them.

mouhallabia ($7)-milk pudding, pistachio. This one was a big winner with my mother. The milk pudding wasn't too sweet in any way and had a flavor I can't quite describe, but there was definitely more than a 'milk' flavor to it. The pistachio actually went really well with the pudding--giving off texture and a nutty flavor. The half tangerine, though, I felt was almost too overpowering for the dish. It also didn't help, in my opinion, that it was a bit frozen too. I could have done without it and had more pudding.

My overall thoughts on this place was that I did enjoy it and would love to check out their lunch meu or pop in for a snack some time. This is a place where the dishes are a little more pricey so probably not for those on a budget. However, if you want to try some Middle Eastern foods and are willing to take the time and money, I would definitely try some of the items out.

Have you tried Middle Eastern foods? What is your favorite dishes? Any recommendations?

Late Post: Big Boy's Filipino Food Truck: review

Seattle Seahwaks Super Bowl XLVIII Champions! + 12th man at the Parade!

The past week was filled with family, friends, food, and of course Football!

For those of you not familiar with American Football or the Super Bowl, it is probably the most watched event on American television for the year and is definitely the biggest event in sports. My hometown team, The Seattle Seahawks, made it to the finals anddd.....

Congratulations to the 2013-2014 Seattle Seahawks for winning it's first ever Football Championship!

We are the World Champions and all of Seattle is beyond proud!

My outfit for parade.

I have a few pictures below of one of the biggest celebrations ever! Enjoy!

Now I don't ever usually wear eyeshadow, let alone super bright and bold ones, but I had to go out and buy some blue and green to show my Seahawk pride! And I think it turned out pretty well for a newby like myself!

  

Products used:  E.L.F. eyelid primer, Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeliner in 653E Cool Green, Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeshadow palette in 391A Arts in the Streets, Essence eye pencil in 09 Cool Down, and an Elf brightening eyeshadow palette, and Maybelline Great Lash colored mascara in I See Blue

And of course, I had to color my hair too! I attemped chalking (and let me tell you, it was the hardest thing to do, and left my hair incredibly tangled..ughh! but totally worth it!) I used Rembrandt soft pastel chalk and water. 

 

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And of course pictures of the parade and crowd itself below! I swear, I have never been surrounded by so many people at one time. It was beyond crazy especially since it was freezing outside! Totally worth it though, and definitely something I am glad to be a part of!

I stood in Pioneer Square near Main street and it was beyond crowded. It was hard to see over people and get good shots/videos, but I was able to grab a few good ones. I'm just lowkey upset I couldn't get a good one with Marshawn Lynch aka Beast Mode! Below are a couple of the pictures I was able to take from both the offense and defense.

Tight End

Offensive Line

Wide Receivers

Running Backs

Quarterback! (Russell Wilson!!)

Defensive Line

Linebackers

And of course, the Legion of Boom #LOB !!!

I had so much fun at this championship parade. Despite the cold and being surrounded by thousands of people, I met a random yet really cool group of guys that shared their food with me, hehe. Even though no body had reception or internet access, it made people become more aware of the moment, instead of constantly updating their Twitter and Instgram accounts. I am so proud of the Seattle Seahawks, I am proud of our city coming together like this, and I could not have wanted more for our football season. This really was an experience of a lifetime!

 

Chinese New Years 2014

Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but this past week has been filled with so many events! Chinese New Year was on January 31st, and of course my family and I had a nice celebration and along with that, it was Super Bowl weekend with the Seattle Seahawks taking it all for the city!

For today's post, I just wanted to share pictures of my family's Chinese New Year with you guys and in another post I will be featuring all things Seattle and Seahawks!

One of my favorite decoration set ups in my living room!

My mom fried up a lot of homemade shrimp crackers...so good!

We had a lot of people over so we needed two whole chickens for my mom's Hainanese Chicken and Chicken Rice (so bomb btw)

 And then the circle of food (there wasn't enough room to fit everything so things are intermingled) at the "adult" table. We had vegetable wraps, Mu Shu pork wraps, pea vines, pork belly and taro, steeped mushrooms, bbq stea, and roasted pork..etc just so much food!

Overall, it was a wonderful day and a loud and festive night! I had family from California and even Australia over to come celebrate with us. Everything was decorated in red and of course, red envelopes of lucky money >.< hehe.

I hope you guys all had a wonderful weekend and if you do (or don't) celebrate Chinese/Lunar New Year.. Gong Hei Fat Choi!! (gong xi fa cai in madarin)