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Burma Superstar @ Oakland, CA

12/29/2017

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Mango chicken w/ coconut

Garlic noodles w/ duck

Eggplant & shrimp in garlic sauce

So now I'm absolutely obsessed with Burmese food. Where has this been all my life? Burma Superstar's garlic noodles are the bomb.com. They have the perfect garlic flavor without it being over powering, and the noodles have a wonderful texture. I wish I could slurp them all day. Another dish we ordered was the mango chicken with coconut. This tropical flavor profile is amazingly genius. I enjoyed combining the chicken with the garlic noodles. A dish with a different, but still delicious flavor profile is the eggplant and shrimp in garlic sauce. Eggplants and shrimps are already delicious by themselves, but with the garlic sauce? 10000x even more mouth watering. Honestly, you can't go wrong with any dish at Burma Superstar, just go there!

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Wild Flour Bread @ Freestone, CA

12/20/2017

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Ahh-mazing. What else can I say? There is nothing better than fresh baked bread, still warm in your hand as you eat it. We practically ordered everything on their menu that wasn't already sold out. First is the fougasse. This combo of ooey gooey swiss, smoky gouda, red bell peppers, and green onions was stellar. It had just come out of the oven too, so it's deliciousness went up by 100. My favorite part of the fougasse is the bits of burnt cheese that oozed out of the bread while it was in the oven mmm.

Cheesy fougasse

Plum marzipan scone

Sticky buns

Other treats we bought were the sticky buns. We heard that Wild Flour's were the best, so we had to try it. Honestly, there's a reason the sticky buns are so famous. First of all, they are ginormous with a delectable sugar and cinnamon glaze. And finding the raisins and walnuts in the bread is like finding gold. I'm drooling just thinking about it. A sweet and savory rendition of the sticky buns is the Egyptian. The Egyptian is a sticky bun, but loaded with ginger, figs, and pears. The little bursts of ginger that cut through the sweetness of the bread is genius. Now onto the scones we got (I told you we ordered a boatload :P ). Both the plum marzipan and gravenstein scones were absolutely scrumptious. They were crumbly pockets of butter with yummy fruit incorporated. Ok, I'm super hungry now. If you need me, I'll be one of the many people waiting in line to get first dibs on the newly baked items at Wild Flour.

Gravenstein scone with apples and blueberries

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Shortbread Cookies for Everyone

12/16/2017

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Happy Holidays! 'Tis the season to bake lots of yummy treats, and these buttery shortbread cookies are so easy and foolproof. They're great for gifting others! All you'll need for these shortbread cookies are:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups flour

First preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Take out your electric mixer and beat the butter. Once the butter is fluffy, add in the powdered sugar. After that, slowly add in the flour. Roll out the batter and cut to desirable shapes. (I used cute little heart and flower cookie cutters for mine). Place them on parchment paper. They don't expand, so you don't need to space out the cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden. See, super easy steps for super crumbly, mouthwatering cookies :)

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Piaci @ Fort Bragg, CA

12/12/2017

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After a morning of exploring the beaches in Fort Bragg, we were in need of food. We decided to go to Piaci's because pizza is good for any situation. To start, we ordered a caprese salad. This was a yummy combo of tomato, mozzarella, and a touch of basil and balsamic vinegar. Then for the main course, we ordered a pizza with two flavors. Half of it was the sorrento, a wonderful blend of pesto, chicken, and mozzarella. I'm starting to appreciate pesto on pizza more. The other half of the pizza was the four seasons. This combo had Canadian ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, and mushrooms. All in all, Piaci's had just what we needed to refuel after hiking all morning.

Sorrento (chicken, mozzarella, pesto)

Caprese salad

Four seasons (mushrooms, tomatoes, Canadian ham, mozzarella)

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Dragon Gate @ Oakland, CA

12/7/2017

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Dragon Gate is one of my family's favorite Taiwanese restaurants and we go there as often as we can. One thing we always have to order is the fried chicken cutlet lunch box. Taiwanese lunches are very similar to Japanese bento boxes, they both have a little of everything. The chicken lunch came with rice, broccoli, cabbage, and the star of the show, the actual chicken itself. The chicken is so succulent and has a crispy coating. Another way to get your chicken fixing is the fried chicken noodle soup. I recommend asking for the chicken on the side as opposed to in the soup so the chicken doesn't get soggy. The last chicken dish I enjoy is the 3 cup chicken. This dish is a traditional dish made with one cup each of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar. It is deeelicous. The one thing is that the chicken is scrap bits of chicken, so you need to watch out for bones.

Sweet brown tofu

Branching away from chicken, I recently discovered their fried smelt and it is outstanding. The smelt is replete with tiny fish eggs inside and I enjoy it a lot. As for tofu dishes, their brown sweet tofu is the bomb. The tofu is really silky and the sauce is drool-worthy. This dish always comes up bubbling and alive. I have to restrain myself from diving in, so I don't burn my tongue. The aroma of it is just intoxicating. Allow me to give you a warning: Dragon Gate is a gateway restaurant into becoming a Taiwanese food addict.

Huge chicken cutlet lunch box

Clams in a wonderful sauce

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Black Bear Diner @ San Rafael, CA

12/3/2017

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A Black Bear Diner recently opened in my neighborhood, and it's all everyone could ever talk about. As a result, I had to go try it for myself. After dining there, I had a mix of emotions. Some aspects of it were good, but others not.
I applaud their:

super duper friendly staff
delicious chicken fried steak! The steak was so tender I could cut it with my fork. And the slathering of their delicious gravy made it even better.
scramBOWl. First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate the word play. It was a scrumptious heaping bowl of eggs, potatoes, sausage, veggies, and gravy.
big portions. Like huuuge. MY family of four ordered three dishes and still had leftovers.
moist cornbread. Sooo good, I could not get enough of it

Negatives:

The wild Alaskan salmon's texture was weird and it wasn't cooked evenly. There were some parts that were undercooked.
Their mini apple pie looked cute but was lacking in flavor. It was all mush-there were barely any apples to be found. Also, they heated it up for us but the center was still cold :(

I'm very conflicted on my feelings towards Black Bear Diner, but I'll say this: you gotta order right. Go with the chicken fried steak over the salmon or apple pie. There are some dishes that are awesome, but others that aren't. I honestly am torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars. How about 3.5?

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Burma Superstar @ Oakland, CA

Wild Flour Bread @ Freestone, CA

Shortbread Cookies for Everyone

Piaci @ Fort Bragg, CA

Dragon Gate @ Oakland, CA

Black Bear Diner @ San Rafael, CA

Hi! I'm Jocelyn...

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