Proletariat Pizza

When my friends told me they wanted to eat at Proletariat Pizza, I was excited. This place had gotten good reviews. But when I saw where it was on the map, I began to worry a bit; it's not at the best neighborhood of town. One friend ended up leaving his dog in his car and had to keep checking on the dog throughout the evening. Anyways the food was great and I got to try different varieties because we had a large group.

I liked the ham and egg (Prosciutto, soft egg, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce). Left was favorite(Italian sausage, fresh chopped garlic, Mama Lil’s peppers, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce).

My ham and cheese slice. Yummy.

Margherita (Sliced tomatoes, fresh and shredded mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce) and Cinco (Fontina, provolone, asiago, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese with tomato sauce).

Portland

I went on a business trip to Portland and decided to do some exploring around the city. My friend who I was with had lived at Portland for several years so she knew where to go! Wasn't I lucky?

We visited Stumptown Coffee Roasters. I'm not a big coffee drinker at all, so this was more educational than anything to me. What a science to get the perfect roast!

For dinner, we visited Saburo's for some quality sushi. I was told that the line can get long since they are only open for dinner. We got there at 6pm and waited for about an hour before being seated.

Three hungry girls have a huge appetite!

Big 'O' Roll, Spicy Maguro

Salmon, River Eel, Yellowtail

Deluxe Assortment

Sashimi

I was stuffed, but being my first real visit to Portland my friends urged me to go to Papa Haydn for dessert. It's to die for, I was told. Did it live up to its expectations? Sure did!

We got there late at night - many were already eaten! :(

But still many to choose from!

Chocolate Truffle Cake.
Super fudgy chocolate cake layered with dark chocolate and white chocolate genache, covered with a white chocolate frosting.

I decided on Boccone Dolce.
Swiss meringues drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate, layered with fresh fruit and chantilly cream.

Lemon Chiffon Cake
An airy lemon cake layered with lemon curd and creme fraiche. Finished with lemon-Italian buttercream.

baking with grandma

Last year when I was visiting my grandma, I decided to ask her to teach me how to make her "bing." Little did I know that she doesn't use any standard measuring cups. She uses mugs and tea cups of all different sizes! And when the consistency of the flour wasn't right, she just sprinkled some more. Nevertheless, it was impossible for me to come up with a recipe to duplicate it at home. This was the end result after they were finished baking. The fillings we used were sesame paste and red bean paste.

First Red Robin - March 2010

I came across an article in the newspaper announcing that the first Red Robin restaurant location was going to close. Ironically, it was located at Seattle! The menu was pretty much the same as regular Red Robin restaurants.

Red Robin Lamps!

Porto's Bakery and Cafe

I discovered Portos through the recommendation of my friend. Since I often fly into Burbank, CA when I visit family, I decided that I would stop by the Burbank location one day for lunch.

After waiting in line to place my order, I had to find a seat and save four others for my friends who were to meet me there. I had no idea the bakery was so big yet also so busy! What a popular place for brunch on a Saturday morning! This is only one corner of the restaurant. Imagine x3!

My lunch - I just had to take a bit of each of their specialties! Potato Ball™ - stuffed potato (Papa rellena) was my favorite.

Nancy's lunch...sugar...

Wendy's lunch

Wendy's desserts...i really liked the mango mousse!

Eats from Mainland China

Two years ago I went on a tour overseas to China. We experienced Peking duck of course in Bejing (北京) itself!

I wasn't brave enough to try the delicacies at Wang Fu Jing Xiao Chi Jie (王府井小吃街) in Beijing. But here is what I saw:

When we were at Guilin (桂林) we were fed dumplings, and I really loved how they shaped the skins into pigs, birds or vegetables so we knew what we were eating!

Another cooking class

I can't seem to find any photos from my Asian noodle class I took. But here are some photos from the summer appetizers class

Longbeans

Salmon Skewers

Spring rolls

Teriyaki Chicken

cooking class 101

Several years ago I decided to enlist in a proper cooking class at the local community college. I had never had any formal training; most of it was watching my parents and friends or cooking shows on TV. Boy, did I have a lot to learn! I also was told that the knives and other kitchen tools/gadgets I had purchased from IKEA or taken from my parents' throwaway pile were not permitted in the instructor's kitchen. I ended up buying a J.A. Henckels International Classic 8-Inch Stainless-Steel Chef's Knife as a starter. The J.A. Henckels International 3-Piece Paring Knife Set, Black was also added to my collection.

The first class we made:

mashed potatoes - first time I made mashed potatoes by actually mashing potatoes and not adding water to a package!

salad

chicken

brownies - also not from a package!

 These are some of the things we cooked in the second class:

Meatloaf

Chunky tomato sauce

Vegetable Melange

Meatloaf with the sauce, vegetables and pasta with homemade pesto sauce

For dessert, tangy lemon bars

And for the final class:

basmati rice pilaf

sauteed green beans with toasted walnuts

vegetable and wine braised halibut fillets

dinner's ready!

dessert - fresh pear crisp

the chefs