All posts filed under: Taste.

food of DC.

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I can’t recap a trip without a food posts! Here’s a food overview for my DC trip plus links to my in depth Yelp reviews. Jinya Ramen My coworker friend and I stayed in the Logan neighborhood, and after a day of traveling, we decided on Jinya Ramen, just a few blocks from our lodging. I had the Slurp up Cilantro Ramen and we shared the cripsy chicken with garlic and pepper. Compass Coffee Before the conference started, we adventured to the U.S. Botanic Garden, then stopped for a quick bite at Compass Coffee, conveniently located near the Convention Center. The iced jasmine green tea was perfectly steeped and perfectly perfect for the hottest day of our trip. Poke Papa Fish for dinner! This place has sakura-shaped radish and unlimited fried garlic toppings. Milk Bar There’s a Milk Bar in DC! I went for my fill. National Portrait Gallery Cafe We went to the gallery to see the Obama painting plus lunch. You might choose to go for wine by the glass! A Baked Joint …

lake loop.

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Another 24 Lake Tahoe vacay! My parents drove up for their annual Tahoe trip; Hubby and I met them over the weekend. Here’s a peek at our whirlwind adventure! En route we stopped at Rosemary’s Farm to Fork Cafe for avocado toast, chicken and waffles, lemonade, and tea. We also stopped for treats at Mahoroba Japanese Bakery. And when we got to Tahoe, a homecooked dinner was waiting for us! And we found snacks in the pantry. QT ensued! We woke up early to enjoy sunrise at our Tahoe home, but whoopsies, we didn’t realize the sun would rise more to the north so we couldn’t really see it break through from our vantage point. It was still pretty. We suited up and headed to breakfast before the crowds at The Old Post Office Cafe. I’ m a sucker for biscuits and gravy. And then for the first time, we looped the lake in one day. We weren’t planning to, but we just kept going. 🙂 We stopped every so often for nature views… Fancy …

monterey munchies.

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Hubby’s tennis team made it to Sectional Championships this year. They represented the East Bay Area in Monterey. All of the matches were held at Chamisal Tennis and Fitness club (like last year!). We didn’t get to explore much in between matches, but when we did, it involved food. Here’s a short guide to Monterey munchies. Day 1. On Day 1, Hubby’s team had back to back matches. I’m not sure how they all survive off of protein bars and sports drinks, but here’s what we ate afterwards. Culturas Hidaldo y Oaxaca Restaurant: pinwheels, seven tacos, shrimp diablo, and cucumber lime aguas frescas. The star of the meal was the aguas frescas! Day 2. On Day 2 they had one morning match which meant we had a whole afternoon to explore. We grabbed burgers at Bagel Kitchen (they ran out of bagels by the time we showed up) and headed to Lover’s Point Park for a picnic. Bagel Kitchen had already turned off the fryers, too, so we picked up fries at the beach snack …

folsom is hot.

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Hubby’s Tennis Team went to District Championships this year (again, yay!). Their schedule was a lot better than last year’s schedule which meant there was time for a farmers market trip in Historic Folsom. The market is held every Saturday 8-1PM, and there’s a parking structure for easy and ample parking. The market is a good size, maybe 30-40 vendors and they had a nice mix of fresh produce, ready to eat foods, handmade items, and services like knife sharpening and chair massage. I wanted to get all the produce, but since we were traveling I just admired all the yummies. I mean, look at these luscious tomatoes! Hubby opted for a post-tennis match chair massage and, since it was 100 plus outside, I opted for a java chip popsicle from Tahoe Pops. Yezz. For food, there was a vegan food truck, Filipino food stand, lemonade, tamales, and coffee. I picked up a chicken tamal and a chile relleno tamal, plus a 24oz iced chai. Yezz, again. Gotta keep cool in the heat. For handmade …

sweet treat.

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Taste test time! We gathered many treats from Japan and we brought them home for sharing and taste testing. We finally tried them all. First up: Tokyo Banana. These things were everywhere. I had to try one for myself. Opening this box was a delight. It was beautifully packaged. Branding: on point! There are eight Tokyo bananas individually wrapped. They look like Twinkies. They have a Twinkie texture, too, but there’s a legit fresh banana inside! I was surprised – how do they keep that fresh for so long? Sorcery! The banana was covered with a thin layer of sugar glaze, and then somehow placed in a fluffy yellow cake which was subtly shaped like banana. Green tea brownie. The Nagano treat box gift sets are insanely beautiful. Look at this box! The green tea brownies came in a pack of four, and each came with it’s own mini fancy box and mini spoon. The brownie was decadent and I actually enjoyed the green tea flavor on this one. Not too bitter, not too sweet. …

tokyo farmers market.

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The Tokyo Coffee Festival we visited happened to be next to a farmers’ market, and you know how much I love farmers’ markets! This one was held at the United Nations University campus in Aoyama. There were a handful of vendors – lots of veggies and fruit, local honey, flowers and plants, and food trucks. Everything was perfectly packaged, neatly organized, and super adorable. Look at the carrots! Why are they so chubby and cartoon-like? Also spotted: wasabi! Yay, produce! Where are some of your favorite farmer’s markets? Share below!

coffee, tea, treats.

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For someone who doesn’t drink coffee I had my share in Japan. The coffee scene is on fiah and the attention to detail makes the experience so much more special. A few coffee (and tea!) explorations to follow. My favorites were the spots with coordinating tiny treats. & Coffee by Maison Kayser was one of our first stops. Hubby had an espresso; I had a lavender milk tea. We also ordered a pain du chocolate and our beverages came with little chocolate treats. It was quiet when we arrived (before 8AM on a Saturday). This was our in-between spot after sushi breakfast and before Itoya shopping. We heard about the Toyko Coffee Festival from a local magazine ~ I like to pick those up from airports; sometimes you get lucky with ideas. En route, we ran into a cousin-in-law who at the time lived in San Diego – so random! So we all tasted cups of brew together. There were over a dozen coffee vendors, mostly from the Tokyo/Kyoto area, but also a few international …