Mora Ice Cream

Haha, I really like this Quote:

Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table.

- William Powell

Well, at least as a sweet tooth person there's always space in my stomach for the lovely dessert. So, since we don't have any dessert at Cafe Nola, we go to ice cream place, Mora. This is my 2nd time and still not liking it that much. For my taste bud, they have way too strong flavor and way too sweet. I just like Molly Moon better :D Well, the different is Molly Moon only sells ice cream but Mora has more options, something healthier like Frozen Yogurt or Sorbet, and other drinks and desserts. They have more flavor as well at Mora.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake with Vanilla and Sabayon flavor Ice Cream

One word : RICH! Oh my, all the foods here are just RICH to the max. Really thick, way over power for my taste bud. Since I haven't tried Molten Lava Cake at Joey's my friend told me that Joey's is better. Unfortunately Mola's, the chocolate doesn't flow out as it shown on the picture (commercial's victim) but it's still way too thick. Good thing it's warm :P Talking about the ice cream, STILL over power, the Vanilla is REALLY vanilla and sweat, I like the Sabayon better, a slight white wine taste with the over power chocolate and vanilla :p

Apple Pie with Gianduja

The apple pie is too mushy, dislike. The ice cream? It's more like Chocolate Gelato, the thing that I REALLY REALLY LOVE from the Gianduja is because they put whole Hazelnut! Nyum!!! Sweet and crunchy. Likey!

We don't finish one of this because we just too full and too sinful. Might come back for other things, not the ice cream. Hopefully the sorbet taste better or at least the frozen yogurt? Haha. The place is a typical small ice cream shop which is cute. Well for ice cream lover, why not you guys try this? :P

Cafe Nola

First of all, I would like to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING for everyone :) It's been such a bless for me to have the opportunity to try foods around Seattle; thanks for all the people that has asked me to go and comment about this blog as well. This Thanksgiving weekend beside a bless also has been a bloody sinful weekend. However once again Thank You :P Hope you guys have a great thanks giving activity too :)

It's been a while since my last hunting, so today I finally have a chance to try a new restaurant, Cafe Nola. Well, it's a short weekend getaway in Bainbridge Island. Haha, it might be sound so wrong that I have to cross the "island" only for brunch but I guess it's all worth it :) Food isn't expensive eventho you have extra cost from the ferry tickets. It cost us roughly 35$ for 4 adults and vehicle. Well I guess you don't have to bother driving your car to Bainbridge Island because everything there is in walking distance and they have small city center. It's only 0.3 miles (if i'm not mistaken from the pier to the cafe). Going to Bainbridge Island is also not bad at all because it only takes about 30 minutes to go there and you get a totally different feel compare to Seattle. (Real sweet getaway :D)

The cafe will be on your left corner and it's not hard to find the cafe (luckily). They have no big space but comfy and good ambiance. The people are friendly, and I overall liking this place. As you know I like place with good level of bright, so today the weather just perfect. Since they have plenty window so we also have a chance to enjoy the sunshine, well they do not have the perfect view but good friends adds everything up :)

Btw, they have different menu based on the time, since we go there around 11.30 we still get the Brunch Menu and these all what we order.

Potato Slatke

I just try to find this food description through their website but I guess I just have to remember what is this. As you can see, you have toast (that I don't have a chance to eat because they take my plate while I'm in the toilet. Don't blame them, I don't tell anybody that I haven't finished :P) Fresh fruits, they don't peel the skin, I don't know why. The Potato Slatke, starting from the bottom, the potato dish which is good, a little bit to thin; Canadian bacon, my potato slatke might be the most salty comparing to others but surprisingly it's still tolerable :D; cheese I don't know what's the name but it's chewy which is adding more texture on the dish; sunny side up? Geez, I feel like my cholesterol level rising up right after I eat the yolk. FYI, you get this dish for $14 :)

Caramel Pecan French Toast

Caramel? Toast? and Bacon? Haha, my friend actually comment about this through facebook, 8/10 for this! I'm not a big fans of caramel, but this actually good. When first they serve the food, I can smell the toasted pecan and caramel :D The caramel is not too strong and too sweet, just perfect blend with the bacon. Well, it's not a regular bacon, a little thicker but still crunchy and as you can see from the picture that you actually eat bacon not a chunk of fat that we always find in supermarket. Btw the french toast also fluffy not too moist not too dry and FYI, this Caramel Pecan French Toast actually shown in Food Network. :D (Price: $14? I'm sorry I forgot)

Traditional Egg Benedict

There are three types of Egg Benedict that they serves: traditional, florentine, and dungeness crab. What's the different? The source of the protein. Traditional is the one that you can see from the picture :p Canadian Bacon. Florentine is more for vegetarian, I guess because they don't have meat but tomato and something (haiyoh, I should remember things better :s). Dungeness Crab? Yes! protein from crab. 6.5/10 for this, I still like Portage Bay at U-district better. ($14 or $16. hehe)

Panzanella Scramble

I know, I know, the picture kinda dark. I'm sorry! This is just the disadvantage of too much sunshine :( and might just my photography skill. Hxhx. Oh well, talking about the food, not sure what's inside because once again I can't find it through their website (BOOOO!) Hehehe, what I remember they have potato, tomato, supposed to have urugula but we ask them to take out from the food. You can say that scramble egg is just a scramble egg but surprisingly the way they cook the egg is different. It's a little bit thinner, not too chunky so it's much lighter flavor and you can feel a lil bit "fried" taste.

I might go back to this place for the sake of "gateway" from Seattle, price is roughly $10-$14 which I think really reasonable, big portion, nice place, friendly people :) I recommend to try the Potato Slatke for potato lover and the Caramel Pecan French Toast. Well overall it's a grade B place that you always can go. and Now it's your turn to try ^^

I ♥ Sushi

We actually went to I ♥ Sushi for 4th of July this year. Location wise, it's pretty strategic because they located in Lake Union so we could see the firework pretty clear. It was really crowded at that time. I didn't expect much as long as we got the food. It was pretty slow but I guess it's just because of the situation, all of the restaurant in Lake Union was full due to 4th of July. So we were lucky!

Btw, sorry for having blurry pictures :( I've supposed to done better. Hx. To tell you the truth I have to wear my glasses now to write this post because I'm not sure whether there's something wrong with my eyes or the picture but I guess it's just the picture (my bad).

Chawan Mushi with Snow Crab

It was cold at that time so the chawan mushi actually warmed me up. I like the snow crab on top as well :D

Garlic Calamari

It's good, not too greasy (or greasy?). Well, at least they have all the salad on the bottom which blend perfectly with the calamari :)

Agedashi Tofu

Yummy! I like this one better than Maneki tho :D

Spicy Tofu

Top to Bottom - Spider, Copy Red Caterpillar, Marlin (?)

Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream

To tell you the truth, I don't really remember how does it all taste. I don't feel like it's 2 $ restaurant but it actually worth the penny. They don't have the nicest place ever, or don't even think about comparing I love sushi with Joey's. (When you're looking for something romantic). It might be romantic but when I came it was sooo crowded so I can't complain too much about that. My friend ordered a couple drinks and it actually nice too :D I'm sure coming back again for the food because they just have the quality, freshness :D Parking spot? They are there for you.

Little story after we had dinner. It was so crowded (4th of July) and we couldn't find a parking spot, and when we finally found parking spot which need 5-10 minutes walking or more. We had to wait for about 1 hour + to go out because there was "nice person" parked just at the back of us. Thankfully that I had my UNO Card in the car so we spent the rest waiting time with playing. Not too bad :P

Ohana

It was raining and we were looking for food somewhere in Belltown area. In fact we actually were thinking of going to Umisake where we just figured that we had to wait for an hour. The dragon in our stomach might just hungry to death because we just decide to find another place. So we finally went to Ohana. It's really close with Umisake, i think it's just next to it. The food was pretty good, it's a Japanese-Hawaiian type of restaurant. The only thing that I don't really like actually the place and the service. Well, actually they have pretty unique design, they have a "bungalow" typo inside so it feels like hawaii? The service was pretty slow or we were just too hungry.

Loco Moco

On the bigger bowl it actually a grilled hamburger patty & fried egg over rice with the brown gravy. It actually taste good and I like the mashed potato as well :D

Fish and Chips

Surprisingly good, the fish was fresh and wasn't too oily. I think the crucial ingredients in any deep fried food is the oil. Beside concerning the health, cooking with your oil more than two times actually decreased the quality. Taste will be different and sometimes it will be yucky!

Talking about oil, I just want to remind about using olive oil. There are three types of virgin oil, extra virgin, fine virgin and ordinary virgin olive oil and I think their main difference is the treatment. Never use extra virgin olive oil to deep fried, or heat it because it will change their chemical structure and it will become toxic. Use extra virgin olive oil best for salad dressing, for other typo, just remember not to heat up because until certain temperature it will change just like the extra virgin olive oil. Well, correct me if I'm wrong :)

Sumo Bento - choice of Tempura and Beef Teriyaki

The beef teriyaki was different from the common teriyaki, it's just thicker and bigger. Liking the sauce and the tenderness :) The tempura, it's like only 2 ebi (shrimp) tempura and all other are vegetables tempura :p

We didn't order the sushi because it was pretty overprice comparing to other restaurant and we didn't know about the freshness. So we just bothered having the sushi, however my friend told me that the sushi head chief is actually Indonesian. GO INDO :P Don't know you yet about going back here, because I have list of other places that I have to try. Huah, I wish I can eat whatever I want and never gain weight :S

Ohana

2207 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121

(206) 956-9329

Grinders

These pictures actually has been in my facebook photo album for quite a while. Since I haven't been to any new restaurants so I decided to make a review of it one by one :D

So we went to Grinders, it's sandwich place as you can see through the pictures (duh?). I have no comparison overall because I haven't been to Paseo sandwich (Aaaa, shame on me :'S). They were closed when I went there :( Many of my friend told me that Paseo is really good and Paseo actually listed as a place that you have to try in Seattle

Dipper

Just like the name, you dip the bread and the meat into the sauce. So messy!

Meatball

I have to tell that they have huge serving size. I ended up with leftover because this was just way too big. The meatball was homemade and tasty, the French bread really crunchy.

Chicken Pesto (?)

I'm actually not sure what is this, I keep trying to figure this out and Chicken Pesto becomes my best guess. :P GOOD! HUGE!

Bread Pudding with Whiskey and Cream Sauce

Lovely and to die for! It's warm and you can taste the whiskey, has great fluffy texture. This might be a great dessert during snow :P

Talking about the place, it easy access, spacious and good bright level (I don't like dark place :P) The table and chair might not be the most comfort one but it's okay. I would go back for the Bread Pudding because it's just sooooo good :D

Grinders

19811 Aurora Ave

Shoreline, WA 98133

(206) 542-0627

Maneki

I love taking pictures of foods! :D Well, at least I have a good experience just now with Maneki. :p I met up with my friends there because she looks at the picture that I posted in the facebook and decided to go there. Yay!

This was my first time going to Maneki after staying here for about 3 years? (shame on me :P) Well, I've always being told that Maneki has a really good sukiyaki. So last night was just perfect timing, because it was freezing last night (a whole day I supposed to say). It was pretty crowded, so I was glad that my friend made a reservation ahead or I (we) would be starving to dead :P The restaurant looked small from the outside but it actually pretty spacious (stretch out the back).

Agedashi Tofu

I am a big fans of agedashi tofu so everytime I go to Japanese restaurant this tofu dish is a must for me :). Well, I've never tried the one that I'm dying for but this one is just okay.

Steamed Salmon in Foil Pouch

Fish? Steam? I think it should be healthy but the "healthy" word seems vanish because of the mayonnaise on top. Oh well, it's good anyway and surprisingly it wasn't salty :D Eat your salmon with the onion on the bottom and enjoy your great appetizer :)

Sukiyaki

TADDAAA! This was the spotlight of the night :P Pretty big huh? We actually ordered the Dinner sukiyaki instead of having the a la carte. It's $11 for the dinner but it came with rice, miso soup and tempura. What a good deal! If it was too much, you could have the a la carte Sukiyaki only for $8. I couldn't say that this was the best but it was good :)

Tempura

Nothing special for me and now, out of sudden I'm craving for Ika at Saburo. -__-"

Croquette

Nothing special, I like the salad and the dressing tho :) Well, I always love Japanese dressing because it seems much more lighter but actually flavoring.

Karage

They served you big chunk chicken karage!

Ika Garlic Bata-Yaki

It was pretty blend for me and I couldn't taste the garlic

Maneki Ice Supreme-Tempura Green Tea Ice Cream Wrapped with Poppyseed Cake

Haha, what a long name! But it actually really good :) I really like the idea of having poppyseed in the batter which kinda add more texture into it. The ice cream taste pretty bold which I like and the color as well.

I might come back again to Maneki to try their sushi this time. Checking if they have fresh sashimi and of course I will write the review about it :)

Almost forgotten, things that I don't really like: the menu, they have a lot of choices but the placement kinda confusing; friendly service but our servant actually forgot to refill our green tea at last. -___-"

Maneki

304 6th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 622-2631

Northwest Tofu

Any tofu lovers here? :D I actually find this place because of my school project. I'm searching for tofu supplier and there's a couple tofu place include Northwest Tofu. Located in Jackson Street, at first I thought this is a vegetarian restaurant. Well, looking from the name Tofu, at least that is what on my mind. In fact they actually also served meat. Eventho I'm not a tofu freak, but , I have to admit that their tofu is really fresh and I like it a lot. Things that I like from this place is they make their own tofu on daily-based. So we actually served with fresh home made tofu everyday :) I'm willing to sacrifice meat here only to get the tofu (well, both are source of protein right?)

I come to this place 2 days in a row, the first day I'm served by not old lady, but maybe she is in her 40's? Thank God, He creates body language because I don't speak Cantonese and I think she doesn't speak English. Thanks also for whoever make the menu because there is the Chinese version and the English version or I will just point to whatever on the menu (Point to the picture and the name, yes! that's what I do.)

DAY 1

Pork Spicy Sauce

I don't remember exactly the name, but there's spicy sauce on the menu (I believe). I'm not expecting to have this cause I'm so hungry and need something more soupy. Not the best one but still edible

Plain Soy Milk

Haha, there's actually funny story behind ordering this. I can't find soymilk on the menu, so I just point "a glass of soy milk" picture and tell the lady that I don't want sugar. I'm pretty surprised when she gives me the soymilk, because it's not in a glass but in a bowl. Yes, I can't finish it, it's way too much. Lucky she understands my body language when I asked for a to go bowl :p They soymilk is totally different with SILK brand soymilk, it's much much liquid that you can tell the only ingredients are soy and water.

The Chili

I know it's pretty silly for me to take picture of the chili, but this actually one of my favorite chili :D Beside mixing the chili with fermented salted soy bean (tauco) they actually use coriander (ketumbar) which makes this smell like fried cassava back in my home country. :)

DAY 2

Back again with more people, so I have a chance to try more their foods :)

Salt and Pepper Tofu

Liking it a lot, comparing to all the things that we order. The salt and pepper tofu is exceptional, the freshness of the tofu and the way they fry the tofu. I don't know how to explain this clearly, but the skin is not attach to the tofu, imagine chicken katsu? Not too salty, not too peppery . Crunchy skin. THE BEST :)

Salty Soy Milk

We actually order all types of soy milk this time. Hehe, no sugar, sweet and salty soy milk (new thing that I just find from my second visit). No sugar soy milk is my fave and sweet soy milk is my friend but salty soy milk? Hmm.. Too unique for me. Haha, I think they forget to put salt in it, it's more like plain soy milk + Chinese donut + green onion. Is this a soup? Dessert? I'm lost here, let you guys try...

Brown Sauce Tofu with Pork

(or this one with chicken)

Just a regular Chinese typo stir fried tofu which is so oily.

Tofu Hot Pot

Almost taste the same with the brown sauce but they have dried chili. Barely taste the spiciness.

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Rrr, what do I have to write? It taste good. Haha. Overall, It's a good restaurant but way too oily which cause thirsty-ness afterward or they put too much MSG? I don't know. Ohhh... the place is just a Chinese restaurant typical, beside dine-in, they actually sell tofu in packaging (plain tofu and dessert tofu) so you can cook your own tofu dish or serve tofu dessert at home :)

Northwest Tofu

1911 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98144

(206) 328-8320

SRW #6 (Last) - Chez Sea

Finally my last restaurant review during the SRW. For the last opportunity, we went to Chez Sea. Located in Pike Place Market area, which actually just next to Matt's in the Market. Just wonder if you guys have ever tried Crumpet? I will definitely write review about the crumpet shop, well my point for asking the Crumpet Shop is actually because Chez Sea is located in the same building :p

Talking about the food, they actually have served pretty good foods, liking the appetizer and entree so far but for dessert it's just another dessert. I can say that they are being pretty royal because they have oyster as part of their appetizer. Their oyster is actually also way better than Seastar.

Pork Belly

Taste good, gather some fats for winter preparation :p

Yellow Rockfish

Not sure with the name, I try to find on their website but they actually have different menu in the restaurant. B for the fish :) Considering about the healthiness :p

The Duck Confit Duck Leg

Deep fried duck leg? Hohohoho, reminds me of dirty duck (bebek bengil) in Bali or my friend loving this so much because they say that this duck reminds them with Bebek HT in Surabaya.

Bacon Wrapped Veal

Chocolate Mousse

Taste pretty good :) My other friend has Pineaple Basil Sorbet which taste pretty unique :)

Vanilla Bean Creme Brule

The last dessert, it looks pretty small on the picture. Actually it's pretty big and I actually a really dessert typo person, so I actually finish my chocolate mouse and my friend's Creme Brule -__-". Talking about the food, if we compare with restaurants in the same area. I will love to have Chez Sea way better than Matt's in the Market. I just remember that the servant is really helpful. She spontaneously tell us what's on their hand when we kinda "staring" on the food :p

This gonna be my last review for the restaurant that participate on Seattle Restaurant Week. Will definitely go back to couple restaurants like Rover's, Portage, and Seafood Waterfront Grill for their bisque :P. Don't miss the next Seattle Restaurant Week on Spring btw guys :)

SRW #5 - Seastar

Now I will be reviewing Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, I won't be writing too much because I'm pretty disappointed with the foods. I have to admit that they have wide variety of options, from sushi to tomato soup. Interesting isn't it? or not? :p

Oysters

There actually 3 types of oysters, looking from their shape :) It's kinda fishy :( It might just our bad luck because my friend tell me that she loves the oyster here.

Washington Roll

I think they name it that way because they use WA apple as one of the filling. So-so.

Shitake Tomato Soup

Have no comment.

Dunges Crab Bisque

It's like comparing Heaven and Hell if we compare Seastar bisque and the Seafood Waterfront Grill spicy crab bisque.

Seared Scallop with Hazelnut

Among all, this is the thing that I like the most. Haha, maybe because it's pasta. You just never go wrong with simply pasta. It's more like pasta with white sauce + seared scallop and roasted hazelnut. Scallop lil bit salty (for my taste bud) and I just like the hazelnut.

Pana Cota

Once again, not the best one but the sour tangy sauce actually refreshing.

I actually feel bad for writing bad review, but what can I say? :S I might just too excited because Seastar is also under one management with John Howie Steak which claim themselves as the best steak house in Bellevue. My suggestion, next time if you want to recommend a place, never say something too good about the place or food. Based on my experience, it will always slightly fail because we just have too high expectation and thing doesn't go as we want :) Well, as usual. I let you decide and I might try their regular menu (just to be fair). Hopefully it won't be disappointing next time :)

Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar

205 108th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004

(425) 456-0010

SRW #4 - Waterfront Seafood Grill

I guess we really take advantage of SRW, we try to satisfy ourself by tasting all the "fancy" place :P Well, we might or might not try without the SRW. But I guess with SRW, they give us the list of the restaurant so it's actually easier to decide where to go (aha.. I never heard about this restaurant, let's try !)

Well, this time we go to Waterfront Seafood Grill. I guess the name explain everything, their specialty is seafood and yes they are located in Waterfront area :D Pretty romantic if you sit next to the window looking at the water on your left or right and your partner infront of you (I know it sounds cheesy, oh well). B for place and food, thing that I really enjoy is the jazzy piano live music :)

It's something crisp salad

Sorry for having such a weird title for my appetizer picture. Hehe, I totally forgot the name, the only thing I remember is crisp but I can't find the exact name. I try to find through their website and my friend's picture but still no exact name :( Little bit explanation about the salad, it's crisp (yes), bacon on top as you can see and cheese. I forget their dressing but I believe it's oil something because it's kinda oily (duh?) Comparing to other appetizer, the spicy crab bisque is the winner :) Luckily is on their regular menu, so please do try it :D

Grilled icelandic charapples, horseradish, rosemary

I have fish for my entrée, it looks like salmon but it's not. I might not realize if I don't know what I'm ordering in the first place because it's almost like salmon. They have similar but not the same texture, It's softer than salmon. Under the fish, there is lentil (me and my friend believe) and on the purple-ish thingy it's onion. Overall, it's just okay

Blackberry Pina Cotta

Never go wrong with Pina Cotta, haha at least that's what my friend tell me. :p Comparing to other desserts, special smores and the washington apple something. I can say simplicity win, go Pina Cotta :)

My overall review, nothing extraordinary about the food but it might be worth to spend more for your special one and enjoy the ambiance :) Almost forgot, they only have valet which cost you $7 (rrr. I forgot, but not more than $10). As usual, I let you decide :) I'm just an ordinary girl with a picky taste bud :p

Waterfront Seafood Grill

2801 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98121

(206) 956-9171