Thuy & Lilly's Excellent (Foodie) Adventures!!

Me and Lilly love food When we're not eating, we're thinking about it. And when we're full, we like to talk about what we're gonna eat next. Many hours of our life are dedicated to perusing the pages of Tastespotting, Foodgawker, Smitten Kitchen and Serious Eats looking for new things to make or new places to try. Why do we do this? Maybe because we're so deprived of good food most of the time.My diet consists mainly of eggs, tofu and kimchi. And for her, it's cereal, yogurt and salad. Only occasionally do we splurge and actually go out to eat. And when I bake anything, most of it goes to other people and we usually split one cupcake or a cookie.

I guess we just really like depriving ourselves so that when we do eat good food, its doubly delicious! Did I ever tell you about that time we didn't go grocery shopping for almost a month just to see how long we could last with only the food in the fridge/cupboard? That was a very very sad time. I think we were reduced to eating peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner for a few nights and searching for free food at dorm events. But hey! It builds character and made us quite resourceful;) Plus, we saved a bunch of money!

Anyway, to get to the point of this post, me and Lilly wanted to indulge since it was my last weekend in New York and I wanted to make the most of it. Also because we felt like we weren't spending enough time together despite being roommates. So we, in our usual fashion, went on a food crawl and ate a bunch of great stuff! Here's the round up:

First we got brunch at Cafe Orlin. We got there at 11:30 and there was already a line forming. So beware - if you wanna get a good table, go early! Lilly got the Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Yogurt. Not your traditional pancake texture, these were creamier and slightly sour from the yogurt. Really good, but not what you would want if you're looking for that traditional fluffy stack.
I got a Portabello Mushroom, Shallot and Herb Omelet. The omelet was pretty standard, nothing that blew my mind, but the side of potatoes were really good and I liked the dressing that accompanied the salad. We ended up spreading butter on the toast and dunking it in maple syrup - yummm.

Next time, I would definitely get the Eggs Benedict. The people sitting below us got that and we couldn't stop staring. I tried to take a picture but there were people giving us the eye.She was mesmerized by the hollandaise

Our next stop was supposed to be The Dosa Man, but we only got a block away from Cafe Orlin when we spotted a sign for Pichet Ong's Spot, advertising a student special - Bubble tea and a cupcake for $5? Hell yea! So we went in without a second thought - and it was well worth it. I think I just found my new favorite dessert place:)

We got the Green Milk Tea with Bubbles and a Vietnamese Coffee Cupcake. And since they take campus cash and Lilly had a lot on her card, we splurged and got their Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie. Oh god, I still have dreams about that cookie. It was sooo good. I think this might beat my old favorite - Momofuku's Compost Cookies - but they just might be the best in their own categories. The cookie was crispy on the outside with a toasted coconutty flavor and pleasantly chewy in the middle. Plus, it was as big as Lilly's head! And girl got a BIG ASS HEAD!! (Hi Lilly, I love you).

The cupcake was great too although I think the frosting could have had a stronger coffee taste. The vanilla cake was yummy and what made it over the top was the browned butter filling inside. Genius!! I think I'm gonna have to do that to all my cupcakes from now on.
There are so may things there that I want to try - chocolate avocado cupcake anyone?? Yummm. I will definitely be a repeat customer.

So after this, we were feeling quite full, but we had to persevere! We had a mission to accomplish. We still had to hit up The Dosa Man, L'Arte del Gelato and The City Bakery!! So we walked from St. Marks to Washington Square in search of some delicious Dosa. Sadly, because it was so cold, he wasn't there! Or maybe because it was a Sunday?? Iono, but unfortunately Dosa will have to wait.
From Wash Sq., we walked to Bleecker for gelato! This is my favorite gelato place, and we hadn't gone since the beginning of Fall Semester! Lilly got Olive Oil and Mint Chocolate and I got Coconut and Chocolate Orange. The two winners were Mint Chocolate and Chocolate Orange. Olive oil was tasty and different, but not spectacular and the Coconut was just regular. Don't go to Grom down the street! Go here! You won't be disappointed:)
Ok by this time, we were really full, so we walked from Bleecker to 18th St to work up an appetite (and save $2.25 on the subway!). On the way, we saw signs for the new Limelight Marketplace on 20th and 6th ave, and decided to stop by. Limelight used to be a dance club but it got shut down a few years back. The last time I went there, it was a sample sale store that had a lot of great items. That's where I got my favorite dress!! It's completely changed and looks awesome! All the shops are way above my price range though so we only looked around. Here's a peek at the inside:


We wandered around for a bit then decided it was time to eat again, so we headed off to The City Bakery to try their Pretzel Croissant, which we've been lusting after for months. It was realllly really good. Salty and crunchy like a pretzel on the outside and soft and buttery like a croissant on the inside. I highly recommend it! I also bought some Bourbon Soaked French Toast. The flavor was good but the texture was kinda chewy in a bad way - I think it would have been a lot better if it was warm.Ok at this point we were both falling into a very deep food coma, and we had to sit there for a while because we literally could not move. It was worth it though - we checked off so many things on our to-eat list. Plus, we made up for months of deprivation! I can't wait for the next tour:)

Places we visited:

Cafe Orlin
41 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
Spot
13 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
L'Arte del Gelato
33 Barrow Street
New York, NY 10014
Limelight Marketplace
656 Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
The City Bakery
3 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011-4610

Bake Sale Round Up and a Name Change

I have a problem sticking to things - blog names included - so I have to keep changing it until I'm happy. The new name of my blog is Happyness is a Cookie, and it was inspired by the happyness that I get from giving cookies to people and the happyness they (hopefully) feel when they taste them. Baked goods make everything better:)
The bake sale definitely brought happyness into my life. I really really enjoy trying out new recipes and this was the perfect opportunity to do that. I know it's a bit late since the sale was last month but I haven't been able to find my camera cord so I couldn't upload any pics until now. I'll post recipes of the most popular stuff later. And I didn't get to take pictures of everything I made because I was really rushed and forgot.

Caramelized Matzo with Chocolate and Sea Salt
I made these and put them in cute little bags tied with a ribbon. Really great bake sale item!

Brownies from the Baked Cookbook
Also another great item. The brownie was dense and chocolatey with a hint of espresso. And the tops were crackly just like I like them. I drizzled them with homemade salted caramel, dark chocolate and white chocolate.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
I think these might have been the best cupcakes I've made in a while. I adapted the recipe from the Sky High cookbook and they turned out awesome. The cake was dense and moist and the frosting tasted like strawberry ice cream.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
This was a combination of Jacques Torres' famous cookie and the Cook's Illustrated version. I made a similar recipe before that didn't require browning the butter and it tasted almost the same. I think next time I will skip that step because It was a lot more work for very little return.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Swirl from the Baked Cookbook
Another winner from the guys at the Baked Bakery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. In addition to the swirl, there was also a crumb topping that was delicious. I chose to drizzle it with maple icing because I am a drizzle whore and could not resist.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
&
Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle
Not the best picture, I know, but they tasted really good. I sold all the good looking ones before I could get a picture in so I had to take a picture of one of the reject cupcakes. This recipe came from Sky High again and it did not disappoint. I ate the leftover frosting for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day, seriously. The cake was super moist, the frosting was HELLLA GOOD, and the drizzle made it fabulous (Did I mention I was a drizzle whore??)

Oreo Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting
These looked really great right? People wanted to buy them off of me while I was walking down the street! But I think I need to find a better vanilla cake base. It wasn't as moist as I would like. I thought putting an Oreo on the bottom was genius though, because you can see the logo after it bakes! The Oreo cream cheese frosting tasted great (how could it not be right??).

I also made Salted Browned Butter Rice krispies and Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting, but I forgot to take pictures. They sold really well though! Actually I think everything sold pretty well and the only thing I would redo is the vanilla cake for the Oreo Cupcakes.

Oh and if you didn't pick up on it, I have a few things that I really really love.
1) Brown Butter
2) Salted anything
3)Cream Cheese Frosting
4) Drizzling EVERYTHING

Recipes will come soon enough:)

Home

Coming home to San Jose this summer brings a sense of ambivalence. While I was packing, I kept thinking about how I didn't want to leave because lots of things were going on that called for me to stay. My friends were staying for the summer, I met a nice guy, I still had a lot of things on my To-Bake list...

But on the plane ride home, as I flew over the California landscape, ready to land, I couldn't help but feel happy. Home is where comfort is. It's where my family is; where my bestest friends are. It's where I can open the fridge and find more than just condiments or eggs. And its where the sun always shines and the temperature fluctuates between 68 and 75 degrees.

I wish I could take pictures of everything I ate since landing, but I was too eager and finished everything too quickly to get a picture in. I spent a couple of days with Kelsey and we indulged ourselves in all the things we shouldn't have eaten.

I came home to my dad this morning and immediately was showered with hugs and food. Lots of it. Here is a list of what I ate from 11:00am to 6:00pm
- French Bread with Cheese & Coffee
- Com Tam (Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork & Shrimp)
- 1.5 Bowls of Bun Rieu (Crab and pork Noodle Soup)
- Che Chuoi (Banana Tapioca Pudding)
- Mangoes with Chili Salt
- Che Dau (Red Bean Pudding)
- Fresh Coconut Juice
- Vietnamese Curry Chicken with Rice & Bread
- Cassava Coconut Cake

I literally did not stop eating. And I loved every minute of it. I really wish I had pictures because everything was so good. I seriously cannot wait to go to bed so that I can wake up in the morning and eat leftover curry. Yummmm.