Monthly Archives: April 2012

Pho Hoa @ Malden, MA

a friend of mine and i went to pho hoa to get our pho fix the other night.

this is one of those nicer looking vietnamese pho places.

summer rolls were normal. the dipping sause was weird tho.

the pho was bad. noodle was super soggy and the soup was incredibly bland. they didnt put MSG or what?!

sadly this is the worst pho ive ever had. i really wanted to like this place since it is so close to home, but things did not work out between us. i dont think i would go back again

8 Pleasant St
Malden, MA 02148
(781) 321-9950

Pho Hoa Malden on Urbanspoon

Tapas @ Guu Izakaya Downtown Toronto, Canada

i really enjoyed this place. the service was great. our waiter was very friendly and always served with a big smile on his face. guu izakaya is very popular, so it’s usually 1 hour + wait. they do not take reservations. the place isn’t too big. the seating is packed. you have to seat on wood benches shared with other people. the atmosphere is very japanese and extremely loud. food is delish and reasonably priced. *you dont have to tip as much as you tip here in the states.*


398 Church Street
Toronto, ON M5B

(416) 977-0999

49 Social @ Downtown Boston, MA

we went to 49 social for a friend’s birtfuday. we seated in the basement where the live band was playing. they have a live jazz band. i thought the atmosphere was great for hosting a private party. the food was delish, but the service was extremely slow. took forever to serve, but i dont know if it’s because the size of our group was too large.

49 Temple Pl
(between Winter Pl & Washington St)
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 338-9600

http://www.49social.com

49 Social on Urbanspoon

Desserts @ Caffé Vittoria North End Boston, MA

after din din @ Trattoria Il Panino, we went to Caffé Vittoria for some desserts.

i didnt like the atmosphere. the old decor make this place look unclean. food is mediocre but very cheap so the quality justifies its price. can’t complain.

i do not think i will return because both of the place itself and the food do not look appealing and clean.
i didnt feel comfortable at all.

this place gets 2/5 bunny belly.

296 Hanover St
(between Wesley Pl & Lathrop Pl)
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 227-7606

http://www.vittoriacaffe.com

Caffe Vittoria on Urbanspoon

Trattoria Il Panino @ North End Boston, MA

two friends and i were planning to go to neptune for dinner after work today, but the wait was 2 hours. surprise surprise.

one of my friends recommended Trattoria Il Panino, so we headed there after an hour waiting for neptune.
guess what, no reservation, no waiting in line. we got a table as soon as we walked in. there were plenty of tables available.

cold bread w/ olive oil. the olive oil wasnt fresh. you could hardly taste the olive. oh well im being harsh.

Risotto w/ fish and calamari.

PACCHERI AI FRUTTI DI MARE
Neapolitan pasta with assorted shellfish
i think this is a popular dish at this restaurant. best of all three.

FETTUCINE AL PESTO
Fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts & parmigiano
ok. this failed miserably. worst! ever! had! pork belly even makes better pesto than this.
so bland. how can pesto be so bland!? where’s the garlic, pine nuts?! i didnt taste them at all.
and im not a big fan of fettucine so that didnt help either.

the portions are very generous, but the food is lacking strong features and distinctive flavors. it is not expensive, but with the same price tag you can get wayyyy better food at restaurants like basta pasta trattoria.

this place

11 Parmenter St
(between Hanover St & Richmond St)
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 720-1336

Trattoria Il Panino on Urbanspoon

Trattoria Il Panino on Urbanspoon

The Most Traditional/Authentic Peking Roast Duck @ Quanjude Beijing, China

i was born in beijing, china, so i have been eating all kinds of beijing roast duck all throughout my life. peking duck has been around since the imperial era and now its considered one of china’a national food. you can find roast duck everywhere in china; prices ranging from as lil as $9 to $50 per duck.
quanjude is a most famous restaurant for the peking roast duck. it was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty. i believe there are only about real 8 quanjudes in beijing, but just like other knocked off things in china, you probably can find hundreds of fake quanjudes in town.

the first quanjude is located in qianmen which i have been to couple times when i was little. this quanjude that we went to is located in wangjing.
we ordered a set of meal for 10 people which includes their signature dishes. most of the dishes are made from parts of a duck (liver, stomach, heart, meat, head, etc.).

we had a private room which was well decorated.

i forgot what this is. perhaps duck meat with duck egg yolk.

sweet ribs.

duck liver.

sweet and spicy duck shredded meat?

mushrooms

duck heart?

tofu w/shrimp and mushroom

here comes the duck. the duck is meant to be eaten with sweet bean sauce and spring onions (as pictures) wrapped in pancake.

sea cucumber

chicken (pork belly loves this stuff)

beef

the duck is carved in front of us and served in 3 stages. 1. the skin is served dipped in sugar. it just melts in your mouth. 2. the meat is served with steamed pancakes, spring onions and sweet bean sause. 3. the bone and other leftover on the duck can be made into soup or stir fried. you are also welcomed to take it food to feed your pets if you wish. there is usually a lot of meat left on the duck.

traditional desserts of beijing.

quanjude is very clean and serves traditional peking duck. although their duck is amazing and one of the best, i wouldnt say there is no other place can beat them. i go to da dong a lot for peking duck. da dong’s ducks are jus as fantastic if not better. they also serve a lot of other food which are more interesting than quanju de. if you are looking for a traditional peking duck experience i would recommend you this place, otherwise da dong is also worth to check out!

Online Ordered French Macarons from Macaron Cafe New York

pork belly ordered me some macarons from macaron cafe because there arent a lot of places that sell macarons in boston. we have searched a lot of place online and the macaron cafe from new york looks the best and have relatively low shipping rate. the bad thing about ordering food online is the shipping cost since they have to be shipped thru overnight or same day shipping. the shipping cost can be as much as the cost of the food itself or even more.

macaron cafe has a decent selection of flavors. since it’s been a while, i cannot remember what exactly they taste like. i just remember they didnt wow me but they didnt taste bad either.

if you can’t get macarons anywhere else, i’d give this place a try.

fyi, macarons taste the best at room temperature. they need to be refrigerated if you are not eating them. once you get them out of the fridge, wait 15-20 mins so they are at room temperature.

you can order online @

http://macaroncafe.com/

or come visit their New York stores including
625 Madison Ave. Entrance on 59th Street
and 161 West 36th Street between Broadway and 7th