Paris Baguette: Asian Pastries Are Freaking Awesome

Paris Baguette. They aren't French, and they definitely do not sell the best baguettes, but they are conveniently located 1 block from my office and filled with tasty pastry treats.

 Cheese Croissant

Flaky chewy croissant with a slice of American cheese in the center. Basically, a fat kids grilled cheese. I suggest if you do get this one, throw it in the toaster to melt the cheese more. The cheese was a bit rubbery, but still tasty.

Price: $1.70

 Red Bean Squares

Basically mini croissants sandwiching red bean paste. Tasty, and sounds like exactly what is in it. Nothing special, I probably wouldn't get this again.

Price: $ 1.70

Cream Cheese Stuffed Bread

Holy Shit. 

Get this.

 Warm fluffy bagel shaped bread topped with toasted almond slices. Inside? Sweet creamy cream cheese. Freaking awesome.

Price: $2.00

Matcha Green Tea Bread with Sweet Potato Filling

The sweet potato was a little too sweet, but still pretty good. Nothing I would hunt down again.

Price: $1.80

Strawberry Spongecake

No, this isn't all for me! I got the awesome job of picking out a co-workers birthday cake.

It came with a super cute cake slicer and matches!

Pineapple slices stuffed inside. Light and spongy, almost guilt free cake! The perfect portion for 8 people (or 2?)

Price: $22.00

Verdict:  Trial and error hear, but go for your gut feeling (aka, what pastries make you salivate at first glance) and you won't be disappointed!

Paris Baguette

various locations

Saint Alp Teahouse: How Much for That Painting?

Melissa and I met up last week for an early dinner and we decided to stop by Saint Alps Tea House for dinner. This is usually a "bubble tea" joint, but their food menu had pictures of all their food and crazy cheap prices, we couldn't resist trying it out.

Before 7pm.... by 7:30pm, every single seat was taken with people waiting at the door!

Not going to lie, totally scoping out a girls drink... they come in 2 sizes... I'm guessing this is the large?

Crispy Squid with Spices

This was nicely coated with panko crumbs and perfectly crunchy and spicy. I wasn't a fan of the the cheap tasting duck sauce, but for 4 dollars who could complain for such a good portion?

Price: $4.00

Curried Chicken with Green Tea Noodles

Bits of fried chicken, soft potatoes and green tea noodles drowning in curry sauce. Absolutely DROWNING. By the middle of my meal , the noodles got rather soggy and mushy and at the same tim edry ( is that even possible?) The curry flavor was pretty forgettable and the bits of chicken were dry. Egh, again for the price, I guess you can't really complain for the amount you get. Would I get this again? Nope.

Price: $6.00

Supreme Matcha Green Tea Toast

This is possibly the only thing I would come back for (and to try their drinks). The toast was the size of  a nice texas style. The matcha butter was sweet, sticky and addicting to eat ( I totally want to try and replicate the recipe sometime soon!) Soft, fluffy airy center; it would have been perfect with bubble tea.

Price: $2.00

Painting Over My Head

Um.. so this is the most Asian thing ever. What the hell is going on with the girls fingers on the left?? Is she skipping, about to attack the guy with the red dot nose or pretending to be a monster? I have no idea. And why does that dude have a red dot as a nose? Wat happened to his friends nose? How much is this painting, because I want it! 

Verdict: Well.. by the time I left there was actually a wait for tables at this place (??) Maybe there wouldn't be if their service was a little more organized and speedy, I had to literally flail my arms around   like a person on a stranded island trying to find a rescue  boat just to get my check. I guess I should try their drinks next time because people certainly can't be waiting out the door for their dinner.

Saint Alp Teahouse

30 3rd Ave

New York, NY 10003

http://www.saintsalp.com.hk/

Dinner: Tokyo Fusion

During memorial break back in PA, Buddy and I decided to grab some dinner in Devon. This place is also conveniently located in the same strip mall as Trader Joe's (woo-hoo!). To top it off, I got the 25 dollar for 2 dollar coupon from restaurant.com (double woo-hoo!) . It is also a BYOB (triple woo-hoo!). 

The inside seating was spacious, they have hibachi tables and a small sushi bar in the back. The lighting was pretty dim and the AC was BLASTING. I wish I had brought a jacket!

Yokaichi Mugi Shochu

We grabbed this from Wine and Spirits and has a higher alcohol content than sake ( 12-13%). This shochu has 25%, but some can contain up to 35%. The one we got was distilled from barley( some shochu can be distilled from everything between sweet potato to rice). The first time I had this kind of drink was at a Japanese gastro-pub in Brooklyn. Strong and reminiscent of vodka, just a couple of cucumber slices made this a refreshing drink.

Price: $16.00

Sweet Potato Tempura

These were pretty measly pieces of sweet potato with more tempura batter ( which was quiet crispy and crunchy) than anything else. If they had cut these into bigger chunks, this appetizer would be amazing. Now that I think about it, these were more like flattened out sweet potato fries. I would get something else next time.

Price: $4.50

Green Curry with Chicken 

Buddy ordered this, it was a pretty big portion and came with a side of white rice. I tried the curry, it was spicy and creamy, but at times, a bit oily. The chicken was a tad over cooked, but the the veggies were nice and crunchy.

Price: $12.95

Crazy Rock and Roll 

This was an 8 piece set made with eel, crabsticks, tuna wrapped with salmon, eel, avocado, and topped with spicy mayo. This was tasty, the rice was perfectly sticky and I was actually full after the 8 rolls. The avocado was ripe and the fish was fresh. Nothing you cant find at any other Japanese restaurant, but tasty nonetheless. 

Price: $12.95

Banana Tempura a la Mode with Green Tea Ice Cream

My favorite part...dessert. I love love love fried bananas and these were at a nice ripeness, creamy and gushy in the center. The tempura had a nice crunch. The green tea ice cream had the usual matcha tea powder flavor, and the texture ended up a little gritty. One thing I wished they changed was the cheap tasting chocolate syrup. A drizzle of honey would have been so much more satisfying.

Price: $4.95

Verdict: This is a pretty standard strip mall asian "fusion" cuisine. It has a hibachi section along with featuring thai. I wouldn't travel to this place for dinner by any means, but if you get a restaurant coupon ( www. restaurant.com) deal or are in the area, you will definitely get a solid meal here.

Tokyo Fusion

273 East Swedesford Road
Wayne, PA 19087-1462

http://www.tokyofusionpa.com/Japanese.htm

Dinner: Gobo

The other night my friend Janet had suggested we go to this vegan/ vegetarian restaurant for dinner. I am always looking for good healthy places to eat, so I was pretty interested in this place. I had a pretty optimistic outlook on this place since my experiences with vegan restaurants were usually very pleasant and surprisingly delicious. The menu was extensive, and we decided to get 4 appetizer plates to share.

The outside, located at one of the busier parts of the West Village

The inside was very roomy and had a modern earthy feel to it. It also had an open kitchen and a juice bar in the front.

Complimentary 7 Grain Toast

The waiter gave us this with a side of sweet potato and raisin spread. The bread tasted like the standard packaged bread you would get at a supermarket, nothing special. The spread was kind of bland as well, though it had a nice creamy texture to it. It would have been nice if they blended the raisins in with the sweet potato, or if they added a tad more honey. 

Price: Free

Five Spice Tofu Rolls

This was actually one of my favorite dishes of night. The tofu was very well seasoned, and the flavors marinated deep into the tofu. It was very soft and tender, and was served with a mango puree. The tang danced around my mouth playfully and had the consistency of milk. The roll was crispy and fun to crunch on, but for 6 dollars I wished there was more than 1 roll!

Price: $6.00

Steamed Green Tea Vegetable Dumplings

These were hand wrapped dumplings and came in a set of 5. The skin was the perfect thickness, though I couldn't get any green tea flavor out if it. The mixed veggies inside the dumpling managed to somehow taste like meat, but was soft, light and chewy. I love that they served pickled veggies with it, which added a nice tartness to the dish.

Price: $8.00

Eggplant Stuffed with Herbed Tofu Cheese

Yum! Is it wrong to say that this tasted like a very well made de-constructed pizza? Two nice generous slices of grilled eggplant sandwiches together the tofu cheese which had the texture and taste of herbed goat cheese. The stewed tomatoes had a very bold flavor which almost overpowered the delicate earthiness of the eggplant. The sauce was a bit too oily for my taste, but over tasty.

Price: $12.00

Seitan with Malaysian Curry

This was a slow cooked seitan stew with chunks of potatoes and carrots. This reminded me of a nice winter beef stew except there was a lingering flavor of curry after each bite. This would be wonderful to eat on a cold winter night, but felt too heavy when it was so warm out. It was hardy and the seitan, carrots and potatoes were all equally tender and well cooked. They had given a cereal sized bowl full, but neither Janet nor I could finish it

Price: $12.00

Verdict: I really enjoyed the atmosphere here and the service was excellent. It was very cozy and I didn't feel overly stuffed, but full and satisfied. Each dish had it's own very bold distinct flavors textures ( if not a bit salty). I would like to come back again for more healthy tapa's style eats.

Gobo Restaurant

401 Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave)

New York, NY 10014

www.goborestaurant.com 

Sweet Tooth: Spot Dessert Bar

In Astor Place there is a new dessert bar that just opened up a while back called Spot. They specialize in tapa's style sweets with an Asian twist. A lot of other food blogs have been reviewing their signature desserts, so I chose to review their cupcakes and cookies (plus I was a little cash poor at the time and these were more afforable). Upon going down the stairs I was greeted by fake grass carpet and wooden tables and walls.

Down the stairs we go...

The Entry

Green Tea Cupcake

This was a chocolate cake with matcha green tea frosting, apricot center, topped with chocolate pearls and edible sparkles. I heard that chef Pichet Ong added edible sparkles because "Asians like sparkly things". I guess he was right because I couldn't stop "oooing" and "ahhing" !

Taste: Kind of disappointing, over all there was just too much happening. The apricot flavor was so strong that it over powered the subtle green tea flavor and earthiness of the chocolate. I ended up taking the filling out, I'm also not a huge fan of preserved apricots. The chocolate cake was rich and tasted intensely dark. The chocolate pearls were unnecessary and didn't add much to this except for decoration

Texture: The cake was excellent, dense and moist. The apricot was gummy and the frosting was light.

Price: $3.00

Mocha Cupcake

This was my friend Melissa's cupcake, I didn't get to try it, but she very much enjoyed it. I just had to take a picture because it was so cute!

Price: $3.00

Coconut Chocolate Chip

This thing was HUGE, it took me 3 days to finish this cookie ( believe me it took a lot of self control not to eat it in one sitting)...as you can see I had to have a little nibble of the corner before taking a picture!

Taste: The taste of coconut was very faint, but present throughout the cookie dough. I loved the large chunks of chocolate. It wasn't the best cookie I've ever had, but it satisfied my sweet tooth

Texture: Bordering on being  almost hard yet, it was very chewy

Price: $2.75
Verdict: I got these treats to go, but one gripe I have about this place is you can't eat inside unless you get waiting service. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel it is not necessarily for someone to serve me a cupcake on a plate, when all I am going to do it gobble it up like a monster in 2 seconds. I can understand when ordering the actual dessert plates which require utensils; waiting service is needed, but not for cookies and cupcakes! Anyway, I would come back when I am less poor and can afford the fancy 7-8 dollar desserts + tip, so until then..get your treats from them to-go!

Spot

13 Saint Marks Place

New York, NY 10003

www.spotdessertbar.com