Coconut Macaroons

I absolutely love coconut macaroons, and everything coconut for that matter!

Check out the before and after pics of my coconut macaroons! 

Banana Bread Cupcakes ?

So I had a couple of ripe bananas on the counter the other day and decided to revisit the banana bread!  As you may know, if you've read my last post on banana bread, I do not own a loaf pan.  My last banana bread came out looking like biscotti.  This time, I decided to finally use the ramekins that my sister gifted me as part of a baking set one year for Christmas, and it worked pretty well I must say!  The bf and I both spooned it out of the little cups bite by bite, and it was delish.  I love banana bread and how my entire apartment smells like bananas.  Going bananas for banana bread!  I swear I purposely buy bananas just so they can go ripe and made into banana bread lol.

Antioxidants ... My Excuse to Eat Ice Cream!!

It's been so warm out recently that I finished my first tub of ice cream!!  Not a good sign, especially since bikini season is approaching!

However, I have nothing but rave for this brand and flavor of ice cream.  It is green tea ice cream by Maeda-en, by far one of my most favorite!  I love the fact that, unlike most other ice cream, Maeda-en's green tea ice cream isn't overly sweet.  At the same time, you can actually taste a good amount of green tea flavor.  It is also creamy enough to get the perfect scoop, so broken wrists are not required!  If you have to use antioxidants as an excuse to eat this ice cream everyday, go for it!!  That's what I do! =D

I'm working on my 2nd tub =X

BAD DREAM & CAKE!

Woke up at 8:50am on a Sunday morning.  That's very unlike me to wake up before 11am on a weekend.  But I had to do it, for survival, for my life!  I had a horrible dream this morning that nearly made me choke in my sleep.  I felt my heart pounding.  I felt my nerves.  I was trying to take the last part of my CPA exam in a "classroom-like" environment with a man sitting in front of me who was out to get me!  He was holding a grudge against me for something I've done in my dream (mind you, this man has recurringly appeared in several of my dreams, holding the same grudge ... very scary) so he was bugging me the entire time, distracting me from my test.  I got so fed up I told on him to the proctor (childish of me eh?) and started cursing him out.  The proctor arranged for me to sit somewhere else, but my mind was so boggled up due to seeing the man in the corner of my eye, that there was no way for me to focus and pass.  Fearing this, I forced myself up from my dream. LOL.  I feel like a kid again.

On a brighter note, my boyfriend got me these mini cakes from Financier Patisserie =).  It's a tiramisu on the right and a cheesecake on the left, two of my faves.  They were so yummy.  Not too sweet for cakes, which I like, and there was an apparent use of high quality ingredients.  Lady fingers in the tiramisu were soft and the amount of coffee you taste with every bite was just perfect.  The cheesecake was actually a moussey one, with a satisfying amount of cheese, topped with fresh raspberries.  LOVE!

Nice Day for Sorbet ... That Rhymes!!

It was so gorgeous out today!!  Went to Secaucus Outlets with my sisters and had a great time!  Always nice to spend some quality time with the fam.

To beat the heat and to end the night with something sweet (that rhymes too!), I stopped by Uncle Louie G for some sorbet.  Upon being told that a pint of ice cream cost $7 (hell to the n-o I am NOT paying that much for ice cream), I opted for the sorbet which was only $5 ... more reasonable no?  Had a little taste of the pina colada and the coconut before my purchase because it's always a good way to get in a free bite =D.  Then placed my order for a pint of pina colada and coconut, lol.  Brought it home to share with the hubz.  Yum Yum!

Wish my 2 sisters a happy happy birthday <3<3.  Love you guys!

Birthday with a Foodie Girlfriend!

It was my boyfriend's birthday a few days ago, a good excuse to eat!! The fatty foodie girlfriend that I am ensured that his birthday was loaded with food! Because his bday fell on a weekday and we were both exhausted from work, we decided to celebrate on the weekend. Ofcourse, with the fat mindset that I have, I'm not going to let the night of his actual bday pass without some cake and take-out! Living Social coincidentally had a deal @ Haagen Dazs a couple of days before his bday: $15 for $30 ice cream cake! I had no clue that I can custom order a cake =( so I grabbed one that was readily made. Fortunately it was still good, with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors, topped with frozen strawberries and Oreos. They also gave me a $5 gift card so I'm gonna order myself a coffee & chocolate cake next time! Woohoo

Came in a nice big box!

Looks like it's missing an Oreo ... or was it stolen? >=)

As for the take-out, I grabbed some grilled chicken over rice at Paris Sandwich, one of my favorite food spots in Chinatown!  They make the best chicken over the best short grain rice!  Oh, can't forget their green tea waffles ... delish!  They raised the price from a buck to $1.25, but still worth it!

They sure give a lot of chicken!

And as for the weekend celebration, we celebrated at Bayridge Sushi in Brooklyn.  Yes, yes, I know ... it was another coupon from Living Social.  I'm frugal, what can I say?  Anywho, we use to go to their old location once in a while for their all-you-can eat sushi.  We never made time for it ever since they moved to their new spot, so it was kind of nice eating at this roomier, romantic and hipper restaurant.  The fresh sashimi I ordered left me speechless because it was so buttery and melts-in-your-mouth!  My boyfriend ordered an udon noodle soup, which came in a bowl that I am on the lookout for!  I need to own that bowl!

Where can I get this bowl?

Eel avocado roll with oyster tempura roll

My entree: Sashimi with brown rice

Yeah so that was an extended birthday celebration with lots of food.  That's for being with a fatty foodie girlfriend!

YAO's Dragon Beard Candy & Tonight's Dinner

I took a trip to Chinatown yesterday afternoon for a doctor's visit.  As I was walking down Bowery St. while complaining to my boyfriend on the phone about a rude lady I encountered at the doctor's office, I found myself standing in front of the Dragon Beard Candy cart that earned itself a "Vendy Finalist" title!  I told him I had to go instantly and promised I'd leave him at least one piece lol.  *click*  Then I ordered a box for $3 and started telling the couple behind the cart how popular their dragon beard candy is in the foodie world.  The lady steps out and points at the huge sign on the top of her cart that read "YAO'S DRAGON BEARD CANDY" and asked me whether the popular cart I was referring to was "Yao's" cart.  Hence, this shout out is for them!  Anybody who hasn't had a taste of dragon beard candy, try it out at Yao's cart!

Don't stuff it in your purse like I did if you plan to use it in your blog!

They look like baby mice don't they?  Must be eaten immediately before they harden!

I've been so busy studying lately that I haven't had the time to eat out =( so I've been eating in.  And for tonight's dinner: beef and broccoli stir-fry over brown rice.  It was yummy!

Does it look like take-out?

I say it's better!  Wakakaka

Got Beef?

I have yet to post an entry on fashion, as a majority of my entries are on food.  Not once did it cross my mind to write an entry on fashion and its direct relationship with food.  Well, this is possible when there is LADY GAGA!

How insane was the meat dress that she wore at the VMA's?  We've all seen the ridiculously eccentric outfits she's worn, from the Christmas wreath around her head to the 10-inch platform shoes that she tripped on ... but raw meat, and a half pound flank steak "hat" smacked on the top of her head?  The only good thing that came out of this is probably the publicity - all for wearing an outfit that cost her a whopping $100!

I think the beef would've been better in my hands and tummy than on Lady Gaga.  Well, despite the craziness, I still love her music!

On another note, I made a good treat this weekend that is very worthy of being posted.  This post isn't on fashion after all, eh?

Before Mike Kim was eliminated from MasterChef for presenting a dessert that contained raw eggs, he explained that his lack of knowledge in dessert-making is due to Asians not eating dessert (and when we do, we eat fruit).  Although his confession is true, there is one Asian dessert that is to die for!  Let's do a little show-hopping.  An ingredient of this dessert was recently used on the latest episode of Top Chef.  You guessed it, it's tapioca!

I personally prefer my tapioca chilled with honeydew or cantaloupes, but when eaten hot, I like it with taro.  The danger with taro is that it's inedible when raw, so make sure you cook it through before eating it! 

Taro tapioca calls for a few simple ingredients: taro, tapioca, coconut milk, water and sugar.  As you can see, I was left with some starchy residue on my cutting board from cutting the taro ... so be ready for some washing!  It is also a good idea to soak the tapioca pearls prior to cooking them until they expand so that they soften up and cook faster.

This is the perfect dessert for frugal foodies with a sweet tooth and either not a whole lot of time to make dessert or are too lazy to make dessert.  The taro cost me less than a dollar per pound, tapioca was 69 cents a bag and coconut milk was less than 2 bucks a can.  It only took about half an hour to make too ... so what are you waiting for?

Asians may not be known for their desserts ... because fruits are our sweet treat ... but we may be able to redeem ourselves with this one!

More Fun! More Flags! Six Flags!

I can't believe how long it has been since the last time I've visited Six Flags.  My recollection was telling me that it's been 6-7 years since I've last gone.  Something was also telling me that Superman is the newest released ride, and before that, Dark Knight, followed by Nitro.  Little did I know, I got them completely mixed up and it has been an actual 8-9 years since my last visit.  This out-of-dateness and bad memory are clear signs of aging.  Too bad freezing my brain and/or refrigerating myself aren't feasible ideas.  All I can do now is to minimize smiling and frowning and control my laughter to prevent even more wrinkles from forming.

So yesterday was a pretty fun-filled, yet very exhausting day.  Most of us were running on only 3-4 hours of sleep at Six Flags but managed to keep our dry eyes open throughout the entire day.  Nevertheless, it was very, very well worth it.  We arrived at the Safari at 9:10am (it opens at 9am) and spent an hour of our morning as a wild animal.  We shrieked upon the sight of rhinoceroses, antelopes and their thick, pointy, lethal horns.  We were amazed by the beautiful patterns on zebras and giraffes ... so beautiful that humans of today emulate their looks by wearing patterned clothing.  We also had the time of our lives trying to get a closeup shot of the giraffe AND its neck in ONE picture ... but it was apparently impossible!  We adored the cute elephants, bears and monkeys, but disappointed that Six Flags has decided to fence the monkeys in due to the potential damage they can cause to our cars ... and lives.  However, we ended the Safari adventure with a smile, as we were all amused by the baboons' colorful and ugly ass.

I was excited for Six Flags because I'm a big adrenaline junkie when it comes to roller coasters and being dropped about 100 mph from the sky.  Who would've known, I was also uber-excited because there are Dippin' Dots stands dispersed around the theme park.  It took me a while to decide whether to go for the banana split or the cookies n cream.  I eventually went for the latter after my beau told me that choosing banana split would be like eating a banana sushi.  You're probably thinking, this guy does NOT know what he's talking about for comparing sushi with ice cream.  Please allow me to prove his innocence.

The story is: we went to an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet one day.  This sushi buffet serves a variety of sushi, BUT charges you for any sushi that is left uneaten on your plate.  For some odd reason, I decided to try out their banana sushi, without even pondering whether banana goes with rice.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a horrible combination and my beau had to help me gobble it down so that we don't get charged for it.

Hence I ordered the cookies n cream rather than banana.  $5.50 was a bit much for a small cup, but it was irresistible!  In addition, the tiny cup compensated for the lack of good food and overly priced food at Six Flags.

All in all, Six Flags was a super fun time with the famz. Can't wait to go back!

Long Week: As Long as My Foot-long

This week was painstakingly dreadful despite the upcoming, highly anticipated labor day weekend and being released a little earlier today.  I was really hoping to be let out before lunch and was so looking forward to (and expecting) it that I totally forgot about lunch ... until I realized that everybody in the office had gone out.  So I faced the truth and went to get myself a Subway's foot-long while moping.

I opted for the oven-roasted chicken on whole wheat bread with everything on it plus honey mustard.  It was literally as long as my keyboard.  All that for $5 excluding tax ...amazing!

When I finally got home, my beau shows me a mini-mooncake that his co-worker had given him.  It was delivered to her straight from Hong Kong and she demanded that he eat it quickly while it's fresh!  Hence we scarfed it down!

It really was just a mini "cake."  It was nothing like the traditional moon cake other than the "moon," or the yolk, in the center.  But then again, over the past few years, the moon cake has evolved into variations including chilled moon cakes and flavored moon cakes (such as green tea, red bean, etc).  Nonetheless, this mini moon cake was very delish and I'd prefer having this over the original moon cake anytime.