Boston Restaurant Week @ Bistro du Midi Back Bay

we went to bistro du midi for restaurant week tonight. i wasnt impressed by the food, but the service was great. the waiter was super attentive and polite. my water/wine was never less than half full. we lost track of time at the end of meal cuz we were too drawn into our convo and it was already mid-night; nobody ever rushed us or made us feel uncomfortable of staying.

the ambience is supposed to be romantic and classy, but i felt really comfortable and cozy.

we started off with a bottle of riesling. and… here comes the food:

steamed mussels, fennel, tomato, garlic cream. this was iight. mussels were kinda sandy but relatively fresh. they werent well cleaned i think.

pan-seared hake, fricassee of mushrooms, asparagus, tomato confit, thyme and lemon-infused borth

when i go to a restaurant for the first time, i wanna discover something new. i usually try to avoid ordering hake because hake is super easy to make. it tastes similar in every restaurant and you cannot mess it up. just steam hake with soy sauce it tastes super good. i ordered it tonight because i didnt like other choices that they offered.
the hake was cooked just right and i bet you know what it tastes like.

my friend Stella (hi !! Stella) had this pan-roasted stater chicken, polenta, castelvetrano olives. she said it was iight

my dessert, the best thing ive had all night and probably one of the best desserts iv had in a restaurant recently. -> ginaduja palette, hazelnut ice cream
oh la la it was so good. super creamy and rich hazelnut flavor!!! loved it!

this place gets 3/5 bunny belly.

272 Boylston St
(between Hadassah Way & Arlington St)
Boston, MA 02116

LA Burdick Chocolate @ Back Bay Boston, MA

we were wandering on newbury st yesterday and i was craving for chocolate, so we decided to check out LA burdick chocolate’s new location in back bay. this new location only sells chocolate for now, but the cambridge location also serves drinks or pastries.

i have tried their famous hot chocolate. man, it literally tastes like melted chocolate. super rich, thick, but just too much for a drink. i also had their macarons, meh, they were just ok.

this time i got some chocolates. i just couldnt resist when i saw this penguin shaped chocolate. it was raspberry flavor.

this one was def my favorite one!! super smooth, rich, just lovvvely!!!!

a little pricey. $12 bux for these:

Brunch @ The Butcher Shop South End Boston, MA

today, i had brunch with my friends and pork belly @ the butch shop in south end. this is actually a butcher shop, but kinda trendy atmosphere.

this is one of the Barbara Lynch restaurants. the food was very fresh and delicious!! service was friendly, but really slow.

i had a horrible morning, so i had to have a glass of wine. i ordered a glass of riesling, i have to say, it was one of the best rieslings i have had in a restaurant.

cauliflower soup. very rich tasting.

shepherd’s pie consists of meat, parsnips, cauliflower, and curry. this was delicious. it was delicious!!

TBS sandwich. i didnt have this, but according to my friend, it was super super good!

expresso

chocolate mousse

creme caramel – the fancy smaller version of flan?!?!

the meat:

the butcher:

hands down, food was def delicious, but i think it is a little pricey.

this place gets 4/5 pork belly.

Grotto @ Beacon Hill Boston, MA

pork belly and i had been planning to go to menton for our 2nd anniversary forever, but we have been spending too much money recently. pork belly just bought me a mac pro and a flash for my leica. if we go to menton, i def wanna go HAM which means dropping 4+ benjamins with tasting menu and wine paring. so we dediced to put off menton and go somewhere else instead. we picked grotto.

this restaurant is pretty small and cramped, but somewhat comfortable. very dark that i had to use my cellphone light to read the menu. pretty good and speedy service that i dont usually experience at small restaurants like this.

for appetizers we had mussels:

i love mussels, but this was just ok.

ricotta with sausage:

this was actually better than i expected. very creamy and tasty. really liked the cheese!!!!!!

potato gnocchi, short ribs, mushrooms, gorgonzola

this is grotto’s most popular dish. it was actually much better than i expected. the short ribs were super tender.

lobster fra diavolo

i was pretty disappointed with this dish. the lobster wasnt tender. the spicy sauce wasn’t bold and flavorful. it was ok. didnt meet my expectations.

melting chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. this was pretty good and normal tasting.

trio of ice creams: vanilla, chocolate, and caramel. for real? three whole scoops of ice creams?! this looked like a whole meal that can feed an entire family. normal tasting nothing too special.

this place gets 3.8/5 bunny belly

happy 2nd anniversary chea

Soup Dumplings @ Shanghai Gate Allston/Brighton Boston, MA

pork belly and i went to shanghai gate for din din last night. we come here pretty often and we love it!!! it is pretty authentic shanghai food even my friend from shanghai agrees!

we got the regulars:
i have no idea what is this called. i do not think it is on the menu. when i order it i just say the orange beef that comes with the buns.

it is so my favorite dish from shanghai gate! extremely good to eat with the bun!!! there it is with the bun:

the fishy with extra spicy sauce:

very very good to eat with rice!!!!

of course the famous soup dumplings from shanghai! nice and small which how they are supposed to be. not super greasy! taste just right. they are still nothing close to the soup dumplings i had in shanghai, but better than joe’s shanghai for sure!!!

people rave about joe’s shanghai from new york city, but when i went there, it’s soooooo badddd!! the soup dumplings were HUGE!! like buns!! and super greasy. man i thought i was drinking oil straight up. that place is so hyped! well, i went to the one in chinatown, maybe the one in flushing is better? i dont think im even curious to give it try after i had it in chinatown. worst soup dumplings ever had!

shanghai gate is pretty small, so you always have to wait for tables if you come on weekends and some nights. it is family style. the food comes out quickly.
this place gets 4.5/5 bunny belly.

204 Harvard Ave
(between Commonwealth Ave & Brainerd Rd)
Allston, MA 02134

Chilean Sandwich @ Chacarero Downtown Boston, MA

if you work near downtown boston, you have to check out this chilean joint! i come here at least once a week. def love it. it’s a sandwich with beef/chicken, avocado spread, green beans, tomatos, red pepers, and homemade bread. i suggest you get a BBQ chicken or BBQ beef or the bbq combo, but sometimes i found the beef isnt tender. get there before or around 11:30 otherwise the line gets super long! this place takes cash only. the sandwich costs abt $9.

small bbq chicken. yea, it’s huge!

this place gets 5/5 bunny belly!

101 Arch St
Boston, MA 02108

Chicken and Rice @ 53rd and 6th Halal Cart New York

pork belly never had chicken and rice before, so when we were in NYC two weeks ago i had to take him to get some famous chicken and rice @ 53rd and 6th Halal Cart! the thing about chicken and rice is that, it doesn’t taste super amazing the first time u have it, but it ll hit u hardcore couple days later and u ll be craving for it ever since. my friends crazy raved about chicken and rice and the first time when i had i was like ‘umm this is pretty good, but i don’t see why it is that good.’ but couple days later, i was like man, i really want some chicken and rice!!!

the exactly same reaction from pork belly. when he was eating it two weeks ago, he was like ‘yea it’s good, but i don’t see why ppl are cray abt it.’ two days later during lunch time, pork belly txted and said yea i want some chicken and rice.

i dont kno why this happens! the only reason i can come up with is ‘maybe, they put crack in it’? jk. it is comfort food. if you never had it, please try, and you ll probably be hooked too.

tips:
1. the white sauce and the hot sauce are the KEYS TO HEAVEN. put as much as you can on it!!! they have tubes of the sauces on the side!
2. get the lamb and chicken combo, the lamb is only better than the chicken!
3. eat it while it is still hot!!
4. if you wanna take it to go, ask them to put the lid on top, otherwise you have to seal it yourself!
5. they only come out at night and the line is always always long. bundle up!
6. it is super cheap. probably $6 bux? the best $6 you ll ever spend! they only take cash$$ (duh)

pork belly got the lamb one:

i got the lamb and chicken combo: (yea, i didn’t put a lot sauces on it cuz they already sealed it and put in a bag for me, i didn’t want to take it out and it might get cold.)

it def deserves a close-up pic:

Tacos and Flan @ Guapo’s Restaurant Herndon, VA

waaaaaaa my new resturant!!!!!! love it!!!!!!!!!!
from tacos to flan everything is perfecto!!!!!!!!!!!!!

flan is so good and addictinggggg!!!!! best flan I’ve ever had! i loved it so much that i had to go back the second day! love it love it love it!!!!!!!!!!

the only turn off is its sorta a fast food resturants but its kinda slow!! i missed the entire 4th quarter of lakers game by waitin for my food to come out

this place gets 5/5 bunny belly!

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Monthly Archives: March 2012