Blog Archives

Road Tripping to Oregon

7/31/2017

Since it's summer, we decided to go on a road trip up north with our final destination at Crater Lake in Oregon. After a couple hours of driving, our first stop was at the McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. I definitely recommend going to the waterfalls, not just for the pictures :P The water down there is super cold and refreshing, great for beating the hot summer weather. After splashing around Burney Falls, we walked around the state park. As the sun set, we settled into our cabin in the park to rest up for another adventurous day.

The next day, after breakfast, we hopped in our car and got ready for the four hour drive to Crater Lake. After about two hours of driving, we made a stop at the Lava Beds National Monument. We explored inside the caves, and it was awesome. There was natural AC inside from the cave being underground. We went in Mushpot and Skull Cave, two of the beginner caves with trails already carved out in them. After that, we braved out the last two hours to Crater Lake and finally arrived. The sight of Crater Lake of breathtaking. The lake is so pristine and deep blue like a gem. It was beautiful. The hours spent driving to arrive at Crater Lake was definitely worth it. Crater Lake is a destination you have to see in person.

Stay tuned for food posts from this awesome trip ;)
Signed, Cute Diner

Til next time Oregon!

0 Comments

Yojimbo @ Alameda, CA

7/28/2017

0 Comments

How the HUGE bento box compares to a tea cup

You have to come to Yojimbo with a huge appetite and stretchy pants because they are not kidding around. I've heard so many things about their humongous chicken teriyaki bento boxes that I just had to go try it out. When the monstrosity arrived, I figured out that all the reviews are not exaggerating it's size. This bento box is truly the biggest I've ever seen. The chicken flavor was pretty good, but not the best. I still enjoyed it though. The other dish we ordered was a ramen combo that came with two rolls. The rolls were delicious. The combo of eel and teriyaki sauce always make a winning roll. As for the pork ramen, the shoyu broth was super tasty and noodles were great. After eating our weight in food, my family of four still had leftovers! The tremendous portions are still amazing me even as I write this post. If you want to be as awestruck as me, head on down to Yojimbo to climb a mouth watering mountain of chicken teriyaki.

Pork ramen w/ shoyu broth

Yojimbo & Dragon roll

Stacks on stacks

So much leftovers!

0 Comments

Six Flags @ Vallejo, CA

7/23/2017

0 Comments

Cheesin' with a churro

Visiting an amusement park is a must during summer. The weather is great, rides exhilarating, and if you go on a weekday, the lines are manageable. My sister and I visited our nearby Six Flags and had a super fun day. My favorite ride was the newest one, Wonder Woman. I definitely recommend it for people who like spinny rides. Some other rides I enjoyed were the Joker, Superman, V2, Medusa, and of course the water rides!

After a ride filled day, we were hungry and browsed the park for food. We decided on California Crepes. We ordered the turkey, avocado, and cheese savory crepe. Their crepes were kind of expensive ($12-15), but considering it's size, it was a good deal in an amusement park. The crepe was pretty big, with a yummy hot cheesy filling. My sister and I split that crepe and then got a churro. Six Flag's churros are basically just like any other place's churros. I still enjoyed it because who doesn't like churros? After eating a yummy lunch, we were ready to go on even more rides!

0 Comments

Fenton's Creamery @ Oakland, CA

7/18/2017

0 Comments

Mushroom swiss burger

Fenton's Ruben

chicken Cesar salad

Fenton's is pretty well known for serving up wonderful ice cream, but what about their food? We decided to try lunch at Fenton's( and eat their ice cream after of course). Off of their lunch menu, we ordered the Fenton's Ruben and the mushroom swiss burger. The Ruben has great melty cheese and flavorful corned beef. As for the burger, it's a fantastic combination. I love mushrooms and cheese, so when they combined that all together in between a bun, the result is amazing. If you want something lighter, the chicken caesar salad is always a good option. Gotta save room for dessert :) Speaking of which, we ordered the cookie connection. This sundae had everything I ever dreamed about and more. There was luscious ice cream, hot silky chocolate fudge, and as promised in the name, a heaping ton of cookies. It was a sundae to remember. Come to Fenton's for lunch, but make sure you stay for dessert.

0 Comments

Burmatown @ Courte Madera, CA

7/14/2017

0 Comments

Burmese chicken curry

I wasn't really familiar with Burmese food until now, but I'm so glad to have discovered it. Burmatown is a delicious restaurant that helped me develop an appreciation for Burmese food. If you're a newcomer to Burmese cuisine like I was, you should start off with the platha. This yummy bread is made of flaky, yet chewy layers. The platha is a must have! In fact, the angel wings are also super yummy and crispy. They taste similar to kung pao chicken. We always order these two appetizers whenever we come.

A dish I enjoyed was the chicken curry. It contains so many different amazing elements, from flavorful chicken to slurpicious noodles. The garlic noodles are also something you should try if you like noodles. I honestly love Burmese noodle dishes, so you can't go wrong with any noodle dish. However, if noodles aren't your thing, don't sweat it. A healthy Burmese dish you can order is the mango papaya salad. It's really refreshing to eat in the hot summer weather. The shrimp it comes with is a tad spicy though. And if you want seafood, their black cod is great with it's scrumptious miso glaze. The cod was very tender as well. If all Burmese dishes are like the ones at Burmatown, I can't wait for more food adventures in this cuisine!

0 Comments

Barton's Bagels @ San Anselmo, CA

7/9/2017

0 Comments

I've had many bagels throughout my life, but no bagel compares to the ones at Barton's Bagels. I absolutely love the breakfast bagel. It's delicious and under $5! For the bagel itself, I asked for an Asiago cheese bagel because those are awesome. The other elements it came with were turkey, fluffy eggs, and salsa. My first bite of this creation was out of this world, and bite after bite, I enjoyed it even more and more. The breakfast bagel is very satisfying and filling, so I recommend it for sure. If you visit Barton's Bagel, you'll have a great (and not to mention delicious) start to your morning.

0 Comments

Belotti @ Oakland, CA

7/5/2017

1 Comment

Happy Fourth of July! These holidays are all about spending time with family and what better way to do that then through food? Our relatives went to Belotti, where apparently my great cousin's husband is the head chef there. I thought that was pretty cool. he helped make the amazing, deluxe feast for my family. They started off by serving two sets of each appetizer. The Belotti antipasto was awesome with a huge selection of cured meats, cheese, and crackers. The battuta was a ribeye dry aged beef tartare. This dish was really unique, I had never had anything like it before. My favorite appetizer though was the vitello tonnato, slow roasted veal with a tuna sauce. The veal was super tender and paired with that tuna puree, mmm so good. The last two appetizers they served were the anguria (watermelon with feta cheese) and lattuga (lettuce salad). These dishes were plated with edible flowers and lots of elegance.

Vitello tonnato

Scarpinocc de parr (Veggie stuffed)

Now I was pretty content and full after the appetizers, but wait, there was more! Belotti then brought SIX plates of pasta to our table. Six different styles of pasta, all mouthwatering good!!
1.) Agnolotti di Lidia (beef, pork, escarole, spinach stuffed pasta): OMG this is super scrumptious. If anything, order this dish. It also has the amazing beef reduction all over the pasta.
2.) Pappardelle: This dish had a winning combo of mushrooms and the best thick noodles slathered in beef reduction.
3.) Bigoli al sugo d'anatra: I aboslutely loved the Bigoli noodles and the very flavorful duck. These noodles kind of remind me of Asian style noodles lol.
4.) Consoncelli (beef, prosciutto, pork stuffed pasta): This opened my eyes to a new view on stuffed pasta. Who knew it could be this marvelous?
5.) Scarpinocc de parr (veggie stuffed pasta): I really enjoyed the sage and brown butter sauce that came with it.
6.) Gnocchi alla bolognese: The doughy, chewy texture was amazing and that meat sauce is the bomb.

And then because no feast is complete without dessert, they brought out these amazing sweet treats. The coconut gelato was super luscious and had great flavor. I really enjoyed the panna cotta. I've actually never eaten a panna cotta I've liked until Belotti. Theirs was creamy and I could not get enough of it. Lastly, the tiramisu was layers of delectable goodness. These desserts were definitely a magnificent way to end the meal. After a meal full of the bestest dishes ever, my visit to Belotti expanded my love for Italian food (and my waistline :P).

1 Comment

Brookies: Best of both worlds

7/2/2017

0 Comments

On a calm summer day with nothing to do, I decided that I wanted to bake something. The big question was brownies or cookies? I loved both equally. Brownies are chocolately and decadent, whereas cookies are moist and fun to hold and eat. I couldn't decide between these two treats, so naturally, I compromised and made a dessert combining brownies and cookies, brookies! These brookies are so rich and heavenly you won't be able to stop eating them. With a crispy outside and moist inside, they're the best of both worlds.

The ingredients you'll need are:

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (to be melted)
1/2 (1 stick) butter
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips

First preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Melt the 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips with the butter in a saucepan. In another bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. After that's mixed, add in the melted buttery chocolate. Then mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Lastly, add in the chopped pecans and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Once that's all combined, scoop them onto a baking pan and bake them for 8-10 minutes.

0 Comments

Road Tripping to Oregon

Yojimbo @ Alameda, CA

Six Flags @ Vallejo, CA

Fenton's Creamery @ Oakland, CA

Burmatown @ Courte Madera, CA

Barton's Bagels @ San Anselmo, CA

Belotti @ Oakland, CA

Brookies: Best of both worlds

Hi! I'm Jocelyn...

Archives

Categories