Foodie Diary: Portland

I had the pleasure to travel to Portland twice within the last year and the one thing that stood out to me was definitely the food! I honestly think I'd visit again just to eat..spoken like a true foodie! :) Decided to do post for you guys in case anyone's thinking of traveling there this year! 

Ways & Means Oyster House

This place is a bit far out from the city, but we really enjoyed it! We went quite early, so there weren't a lot of people. Music was great and I got to take my time with taking pictures! They also have happy hour ALL DAY!!

Chowder Fries :: Delicious!!

They have a large selection of grilled oysters!

Blue Star Donuts

Portland is known to have famous donut shops and this place definitely beats Voodoo in my books. We got the creme brulee and original, got to give them the presentation!

Screen Door

The reviews don't lie, this place is amazing!! We came twice during one trip just to try more dishes! Definitely worth the wait!

Mac n' Cheese

Baked on top and cheesy soft on the inside!

Pork Shoulder :: definitely worth trying!! The most tender pork meat I've ever tasted.

Pine State Biscuits

We came here for breakfast one day and it did not disappoint! The portions are quite large, so I'd recommend sharing two dishes. We ended up sharing an order of Hash Ups and Biscuit and gravy.

Kachka

I don't normally look up Russian restaurants for dinner, but my friend insisted on trying this place and it definitely lived up to the hype! We had roughly 1-2 hours to kill before we could get seated, so we wandered around the neighboring bars while we waited. After we got seated, we pretty much ordered the whole menu...almost. We got to try their horseradish vodka, which was quite delightful! Anyway, enjoy our many course meal! :)

They have a variety of caviar! 

Ataula

We were starving and randomly stumbled across this place...and it was AMAZING!!! No words can describe how mind-blown I was by this place. Simply put...my favorite meal from this trip and most definitely one of the best meals of my life! Must try!!

My absolute favorite dish! Honey drizzled on top of Salmon sashimi.

Tasty n Sons

A great place for fusion brunch! This place gets pretty packed as well, so make sure you plan accordingly!

This tasted like something my mom made growing up - pretty simple asian dish. Wasn't too impressed with this one.

This was a dessert! Very unique - I love sweet & savory dishes!! 

And that's a wrap for now! Still have many restaurants to add from my first trip here, but going to leave it at this for now! Hope this post will inspire more people to check out Portland's amazing food scene!!

Foodie Diary: Seattle

Since I didn't do any traveling last April due to Coachella, I've decided to write this month's foodie post on Seattle! Seems like it's been a popular travel spot and lucky for me, my dearest brother goes to college near there! So lots of opportunities to visit over the next few years...so to be updated I guess? Haha..here's a few recommendations from my visit back when he first started college! Enjoy! :)

Pike Place Chowder

This place typically has a pretty long line, so I'd go at off hours or theres a secondary location here (although it might not be as good). 

Lobster rolls and chowder sampler! 

Rachel's Ginger Beer

This place is just around the corner from Pike place! I'm a huge fan of ginger beer, so this was perfect to sip on while we strolled around. Oh, and it's non-alcoholic...

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

I'm a HUGE fan of sweets, so this place was a must for me. I love handmade ice cream and this place does it oh-so-well!!

Shiro's

If you love sushi, this is the place to be. It's supposed to be a sister store of Jiro's in Japan. I was skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised! The fish is very fresh and everything is prepared well. Must get sashimi!!

Their portions are quite small, but decent for sharing. We ordered a few small plates and fried ice cream for dessert! :)

So fresh and delicious!

BIscuit Bitch

This place is a bit hard to find, but trust the map and walk to the location. It's located inside a cafe, but once you're near it, you can't miss it! We came here for brunch and it was definitely the super hip. Hilarious decorations/menu, I loved it! Made the restaurant more unique and definitely brought character. The food is your standard breakfast menu, but with a little twist!

VERY unique menu..:P

This gave me a good laugh! :D

Food aside, I'd recommend checking out the #basic things like Space Needle, the Public Market with the disgusting gum wall, and I really enjoyed just walking around downtown...while it spontaneously rains without warning...umbrellaless...because apparently people frown on you for having an umbrella there..

Foodie Diary: Miami

One year ago, my friends and I traveled to Miami for UMF. We were lucky enough to get an Airbnb right across the street from the venue and conveniently downtown. We got to walk around a lot and tryout the local restaurants! Some were found through Yelp and some were just kind've stumbled upon. These will probably ideal recommendations for the people going this year as these are all somewhat close to the venue. Peruvian food is definitely the way to go in Miami, especially if you're a meat lover! Check out our foodie adventure! :)

Mar Y Tierra

One of the most authentic Ceviche I've ever had! Definitely a hidden gem!

Pollos Y Jarras

We came here on our first night for our first group dinner. There's a bar on the first floor to wait and chill before you get seated. The food definitely hit the spot, the ambiance is very hipster and a great place for all the meat lovers!!

A meat sampler platter! Super good!

Bali Cafe

If you're craving for some asian food, this place got you covered. It came off very asian fusion to me, but had pretty good presentation!

Tap 79

If you're looking for a nice bar/lounge to hangout for awhile, this is the spot! It's a bit out of downtown, but has quite a large selection of beers and wine. Check out some of their food items!

Siam Rice Thai & Sushi Restaurant

This was a random place we selected for dinner. We thought it was quite interesting how they had thai and sushi in one...so we just stuck to Thai food. It was decent, but nothing spectacular. 

And that concludes our foodie adventures in Miami!! Stay safe and have fun to everyone going this weekend!! :)

Foodie Diary: New York City

Continuing my reflection of last year's trips...here's another foodie journey on my NYC trip last February! It was definitely one of my favorite trips and had some of the best food. Shout out to our wonderful friend, Tanner for hosting us and making Yvonne and I feel super comfortable at home...even when it's just playing Mexican Train on a rainy day! :) Enjoy!

Cheeky Sandwiches

This was a quick stop for us while we were walking around. I actually really enjoyed this hole-in-the-wall! I got the short rib sandwich and Yvonne got the chicken. We both really enjoyed it!

Eggloo

What a simple, yet sweet idea! (excuse that squished blueberry ;P)

Death & Co

We also got to explore a ton of bars, started with Death & Co! :)

I loved this Matcha! 

Very chill and intimate spot!

Gelso & Grand

This was one of my favorite places! The dishes were all so unique and flavorful, would definitely recommend coming here if you're near Little Italy!

Del Frisco's

Hands down one of my favorite steak places!! It's comparable to Alexander's, but still better in my opinion (Excuse the poor quality in photos...super dark inside).

Pegu Club

Bar 54

Rooftop bar with an amazing view of H&M ;)

Best Earl Gray Cocktail I've ever had!

Cocoron

Delicious soba noodles in hot dipping broth! Super good, but quite heavy on the stomach. Probably what New Yorkers need to stay warm!

Momofuku Milk Bar

I'm a huge fan of salty/sweet things, so this was amazing to me! I got the pretzel because they ran out of cereal, but still good!

Friedman's Lunch

We were shopping near Chelsea and needed a snack before our late dinner reservation. This was the perfect filler meal! We shared a chicken and waffles.

Peter Luger

We were lucky to get a reservation very last minute, so definitely make one if you know you're coming here! I've heard so many people rave about this, so I had to try it for myself. We got a dinner for two between three people and it was perfect! They barely season it, but I must admit, the meat is divine!! Definitely check this place out if you're in NY!!

Russ & Daughters Cafe

This was probably the most fancy Lox bagel I've ever had. It was definitely good, but I wouldn't say it's worth the price (maybe worth the presentation). 

Levain Bakery

This is Tiffany's favorite cookie spot! And being a cookie fanatic, we had to trust her and go! Literally just two words, MUST TRY!

Gato

Our last dinner in NY with some new, now old friend(s)! A cute tapas-styled place with portions big enough to share!

Tai Pan Bakery

So glad we got to make a stop here before heading home! Definitely my favorite egg tart place now!! They have various flavors like egg white, matcha, papaya, etc..

Not pictured: Clinton Street Baking Company

A cute brunch spot, but nothing really spectacular. I did enjoy the blueberry pancakes though!

And that's a wrap! I know what you're thinking...did we just eat this whole trip? Well...probably majority of the trip haha, but we definitely did some exploring as well! Definitely recommend checking out the 911 Memorial, Central Park, and highly recommend checking out a musical or play! We watched Wicked and it was wicked good!! :)

Foodie Diary: New Orleans

2016 was definitely a travel-filled year for me. I had the privilege of traveling almost on a monthly basis. I've put a pause on traveling for the time being as I've decided to focus on reflection this year, but made it a personal project to blog about the trip I took in the same month back in 2016. One year ago today, I took a trip to New Orleans...or NOLA. It was nothing short of amazing! Everyone was so friendly there, definitely felt the southern hospitality. The highlight of the trip was definitely all the amazing food we had! Since a lot of my friends seem to have Nola on their itinerary this year, I've decided to put together a food post! Caution: don't read this hungry!! :)

ACME

This was the first place we tried since it had lots of reviews and high ratings! We went around 9pm and it looked like there was a line, but we waited merely 5 minutes before we got seated. We tried a variety of dishes and the one thing that stood out to me was their Chargrilled oysters, must get!!! 

Chargrilled oysters! After getting this at pretty much every restaurant we go to, I still think ACME does this best!

Peche Seafood Grill

Peche would definitely be my favorite pick! Every dish was delicious and we even wanted to come back for a second time before we left. Their oysters were so fresh compared to all the other restaurants and the quality of every dish was evidently there. I love tapas-styled restaurants and this place has generous sharing portions!

Fresh oysters with amazing sauces! :)

Cochon

If you're feeling adventurous or like trying exotic food, this would be an ideal spot for you. The menu items range from Alligator bites to Rabbit dumplings. Nola is known for their alligator meat and this place definitely nailed it! 

Fried Alligator with chili garlic mayonnaise!

Dat Dog

This was a fun little place near the French Quarters. They make various hot dogs out of alligator meat!

Cafe Du Monde

An inevitable stop as it is one of the most famous "touristy" cafes in Nola. Beignets on beignets!!

MOPHO

We really missed asian food, so we ventured over to this asian fusion restaurant a little outside the city. The pho and rice plates were surprisingly decent, but our favorite was the unique clam entree topped with doughnut sticks!

The ambience here is amazing, especially during Sunset! :)

Brussel sprouts were so delicious!!

Pigs ear! :)

La Petite Grocery

We came here for brunch during one of the Mardi Gras parades and was skeptical at first due to the emptiness, but left pleasantly fulfilled! This place is a bit pricier, which may explain the lack of people. However, everyone was satisfied with their dish and the service was spectacular! Perfect brunch spot!

Royal House

We didn't plan to come here, but was just in the area and got hungry. This place has a lot of southern food like gumbo and jambalaya. Everything was alright to me, but the bread pudding was to die for!!

Free appetizer if you check in on yelp! :)

Bread pudding!! <3

Commander's Palace

This was another highly rated place on Yelp that we wanted to try. I recommend making a reservation before going. We decided to wing it on our last day there and waited around 1-2 hours. The place is quite fancy (they have a dress code) and obviously pricey (although they do have 25 cent martinis! Limit 2/person). I definitely liked the experience and the ambience, but thought the food was quite salty and average. The inside is huge and absolutely gorgeous, the staff is also very tentative. I'd only recommend coming here for the experience.

Besides the food, I really enjoyed the Ghost Adventures tour at night! We also got to go on a swamp tour, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want to see swamps and baby alligators. It's an hour around the swamps and gets really chilly, so definitely bring an extra jacket if you do go! Enjoy this last picture from the swamp tour! I hope this post will provide some sort of guidance for you foodies out there! P.S. I only had my handy old iPhone with me on this trip, hence the poor quality photos, but hope my purpose carries through anyway! :)

Only In Texas

Part II

Day 3:

Before coming to Austin, we had already planned to spend one of our mornings waiting in line for Franklin BBQ. So after a night of partying on 6th Street, we forced ourselves up at 7am and zombied over to wait in line. The wait was actually not too bad for most of us since we just took a nice, long 4h nap there lol. We got lucky because we were probably the last large group to get lawn chairs that were provided by the owners. Everyone there was very prepared to wait. People were poppin' champagne, brought chairs of their own, and infused with their own entertainment. I'd say we got pretty lucky with our timing and place in line. Around 9-10am, the owner came out to take orders and commented that he really appreciated the "relaxation over here". Can you imagine a group of girls in lawn chairs, all passed out in sunglasses? Yes, that was us! Anyway, finally lined up around 11am and got our food around 12:30pm or so! Was it worth it? Yes, but never again...

This was enough to feed 7 people!!

Super cool graffiti walls everywhere! I especially liked this saying. #truth

After our long nap in line, we felt refreshed and ready to explore! We decided to be basic and get some spray paint for the graffiti park (HOPE Outdoor Gallery). It was super cool, except it started pouring right when we got there. You can't tell in pictures, but it was HUGE struggles! Regardless, we had a lot of fun!!

After running around in mud, we decided to grab a snack and then head to Rainey Street for the remainder of our Sunday! Off to Churro Co!

So delicious! The warm churro was perfect with the cold ice cream! :)

Welcome to Rainey Street!! This sign was especially cool for us to see since all of us are from UC Davis!! Woo!

First stop on Rainey Street: Banger's! They had amazing beer selections! We decided to just eat dinner here and shared a few appetizers. I thought the Bulgogi Sausage was very unique! If you like asian fusion, you'll definitely enjoy this dish! Mac n cheese was bomb (and super cute presentation too - super important)!! 

2nd stop: Bungalow! I don't think we did anything here other than camera whore with the "i hate you so much" wall lol.

Went next door where we found these yummy wings! Tommy Want Wingy is a popular food truck located inside a bar and I honestly don't know how they get that shape, but it was so good! Loved the spicy one!!

We thought it was cool how Austin had In n out and Shake Shack, but we couldn't leave without trying Whataburger! Our Fasten driver (yes, there's no Uber or Lyft in Austin) was so kind! And even paused the ride while he took us through the drive-thru! I thought it tasted like Burger King, but apparently the fries is where it's at! Even though it was average, it's a nice place to grab food after a night out (it is 24h)!

Day 4:

Our last day in Austin! We checked out of our hotel and sped off to finish everything on our check-list! And of course, starting our day with brunch! We chose to come to South Congress Cafe on a Monday to avoid lines!

First of all, I just want to say...YUM!! They had one of the best "free breads" I've ever had! It was warm, but crispy..and that spread!! mmm!

 Crab Cake and quiche eggs Benedict! I wasn't really used to their quiche styled egg, but still delicious! 

With only a few hours left, we decided to head to Rudy's BBQ since one of my friends highly recommended it. And after trying it, I'd have to say...I really don't understand why Franklin is so much better. If anything, most of us agreed that Rudy's may be better if anything (and no wait!). I guess it's just personal preference!

We were so full from brunch that we got this for the 6 of us to share and it was perfect! Their creamed corn was the best I've ever had!!

After arriving at the airport, we found out our flight got delayed for a few hours (bummer)...but we got to explore some more local joints at the airport! We got to try Amy's Ice Creams and Salt Lick (yes, i know...aren't we sick of BBQ yet? Yes, very!! But we had to try it before we leave). 

Salt Lick is definitely one of the sauciest BBQ places!

I got Strawberry, but their Mexican Vanilla was super unique!

Overall, we had an amazing time! Besides the constant rain, we still had a blast! We made the most out of each situation and I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls to go travel with. So much love for you guys! Peace out, Austin!! I'll definitely be back again!!!! If you want to experience our trip in 3D, check out the video in Part 1! :)

Cali To Austin

A few months ago, a few of my girlfriends decided to check out Austin together! We've been looking forward to this weekend for so long and now it has already come and gone. Recapping our awesome trip and hopefully provide some sort of guidance for future Austin visitors! :)

PART 1

Day 1:

We landed pretty late on Friday, so decided to just relax in our room and walk around downtown. We stayed at the Radisson, very convenient location - walking distance to Rainey St., 6th St., and you can also watch the bats from the balcony!

Our very first stop was Gourdough's Public House - famous for their delicious doughnuts! First time trying a savory doughnut sandwich!

Dirty Bird - Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Pesto

We tried a few desserts - all delicious!

Drinks in Austin are SUPER CHEAP! Shots are $3 and Cocktails were less than $8! HH HEAVEN!

Once the rain started dripping, we scrambled back to the hotel. Isn't our bed frame so adorable? :)

Day 2:

Our first full day in Austin! We wanted to check off as many things on our itinerary as possible. And of course, we'd have to start our day with an amazing brunch! We decided to head to Snooze first and happened to see an adorable coffee shop next door called Picnik!!

Super cute, right?  Picnik was the perfect waiting area for Snooze! Before we know it, we got a text saying we're ready to be seated!!

We ordered various benedict and dessert samplers and honestly...everything was DELICious!!! Definitely one of my favorite brunch places now! We stuffed our faces and decided to head to Krause Springs. Food baby before bikini? We weren't thinking..

It was beautiful to say the least. So nice to get out of the city for once and just relax in all the "greenness". :)

Literally drove to this wall for pictures and left lol...it also started raining in this picture, but nothing ain't stopping us from basic pics!!! 

We couldn't decide where to eat, so stumbled upon this taco truck called Torchy's Tacos which had surprisingly great reviews! Austin has super cute food trucks everywhere and we've been itching to try! It was super good!!

Super cute sitting area to keep us out of the rain. :)

One of the best queso I've ever had! They melted avacado into the hot cheese! :O

Next stop, DESSERT TIME! Girls can't live without dessert!! Off to Lick's Honest Ice Creams! :)

I love how they put their flavors on little index cards! Details matter!

Their flavors change every day, but my top pick was the Back Porch iced Tea! :)

View from our hotel! Doesn't it just take your breath away? Austin is known for sighting bats at this bridge around sunset. We were lucky enough to be able to see it from our hotel, but they basically fly out from under the bridge. It looked like thousands of them!

After a full day of festivities, we ventured off to 6th Street for our first night life experience in Austin! It was super crazy and tons of promoters trying to get you inside, but free drinks at every bar was not so shabby! Definitely reminded me of college. You can watch our full experience in the video below! Part Two coming soon! :)