Category — Dinner

(Which should be subtitled, 13 dishes in a row that no human should be able to finish or perhaps how to eat yourself to death, Japanese style.)

Anyone who has ever told you that the reason that Japanese people are so thin is that they eat less than westerners do is a complete and utter liar. Attention liars, and you know who you are, understand that I have sat behind you while you are on dates, in airplanes, at pompous American sushi restaurants and I really have heard it all. It needs to stop.
[Read more →]

Nagasaki city is famous for many things, non the least is the Chukagai ( or Chinatown ) that is located near the center of the downtown area. You may find it strange that what is called the Chinatown, really only consists of about 4 or 5 square blocks of small gift shops, herbalists, message parlors and restaurants.

[Read more →]

This is a recipe from one of my dearest friends Mrs. A. First time I had this dish at her house, my mind was blown away! The salty taco seasoning, shredded chicken, and creamy and cheesy sauce… Mrs. A was nice enough to share her recipe. I twisted her recipe just a little but not much. This is definitely easy to make but feeds lots of hungry people!! Hope you enjoy reading, cooking, and eating!!
[Read more →]

First, I’d like to apologize those who actually read our blog… it has been two weeks since our last food blog update… Well, we were in NYC two weeks ago for 5 days, which was awesome (except my company trip), we had so much fun walking around the city, wondering around villages, and Brooklyn…

I have so much to tell you how awesome NYC was… Food wise, NYC MUST have high quality and inexpensive food because of the very serious food industry competition. I mean, you can go to the most expensive restaurant in the city and satisfy your taste buzz, but Zach and I like to go inexpensive and high quality food… So here we go, I’d like to introduce you the three exciting NYC eatery, first the magnificent cup cake!

Magnolia Bakery NYC


I was recommended this place by one of my best friends. The first night we were there in NYC, we were wondering around the times square and found this magnificent Cup Cake Bakery! I was planning to visit but it was destiny we just came across to this store. So we did not resist but went into the store immediately and purchased 4 delicious Cup cakes!

We got a Chocolate Cup Cake, Vanilla Cup Cake, Red Velvet Cup Cake, and Banana Caramel Cup Cake. I dived right into the Banana Caramel Cup Cake so I forgot to take picture of this Cup Cake as a whole… sorry… the Cake was so moist, the balance of Caramel frosting and the Banana Cake were just right. Not too sweet but definitely you can taste both main components of this Cup Cake.

A Chocolate and Vanilla Cup Cake were okay, not so exciting… but the Cream Cheese frosting was extraordinary. I noticed that their frosting was not so sweet but just right to compliment the actual Cake.

OMG, Red Velvet Cup Cake… super moist, looks super red devilish, but just right amount of Coco hitting with the creamy frosting… I don’t think I have ever had such moist Cup Cake ever in my life!!

The second amazing eatery in NYC is located at Little Italy… Da Gennaro Restaurant

One of our dearest friends took us there said “The best Gnocchi Ever!” I was really excited because literally I have never had good Gnocchi in my life. The Gnocchi that I had tasted before was always mushy or gummy and too starchy… I made it myself once and that experience was disappointed. Another fact that I was excited about this experience because we were going to eat an Italian food in Little Italy in NYC. I mean it may be the closest you can get to eat the real authentic Italian Food, don’t you think?? Well, with all these exciting facts, we arrived at Da Gennaro Restaurant in Little Italy NYC!

The Italian Feast!

This is something I ordered, which has Gnocchi with Pesto, Fetachini Alfredo, and Totellini Boroneze, just like Italian Flag the meal was nicely presented in the white plate. Guess what I ate first in this plate? Yes, you guessed it right, Gnocchi with Pesto, as our friend describes as the BEST Gnocchi. He was right, it was an amazing Gnocchi, it is soft, creamy, and melt in your mouth. The pest was just right with Basil, Garlic, and Olive Oil… I am sure there is some nuts and cheese in this sauce but it did not overcome the actual Gnocchi taste. It was divined!! Fetachini Alfredo was amazing as well, the cream sauce was soft and light, the pasta was cooked as al dente, and I think it was home made pasta at the restaurant. Tottelini Boroneze, the right amount of Tomato hits the meat sauce with the creamy Tottelini Pasta, it was awesome… Look at this amazing dish one more time. Please go visit Da Gennaro when you are in NYC, you won’t regret it.

Last and at least, I was recommended this Pizza place from two of our good friends. This New York Famous Pizza place is located under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Grimaldi’s Pizza
The fact was that Zach and I skipped Breakfast and Lunch on this day because we were so excited to go eat this famous New York Pizza in Brooklyn. After the long walk of the Brooklyn Bridge, we were so excited to find this Pizzeria with the ridiculously long line at 2pm.
Long line at 2pm

Long line behind us at 2;30pm

Well well well, by looking at this long line at 2pm on Sunday, we realized it was a confirmation of the Best Pizza in NYC. So we decided to stay in the line wait for our breakfast/lunch/early dinner patiently.
Hungry Couple

We waited for 1.5 hours and we arrived in front of the entrance. We felt that 1.5 hours past right by but the last 5 minutes right in front of the entrance felt another hour of waiting. We got seated and we ordered a large Margarita Pizza and the waiters recommendation of the Pepperoni Sausage and Mushroom Pizza. Also we ordered a Brooklyn Beer and Brooklyn Orange Soda.

You need to ask Zach for the Brooklyn Beer cuz I did not drink it. The Brooklyn Orange Soda was very refreshing not like Fanta Orange… yuck. But you know after skipping breakfast, lunch and walking cross the Brooklyn Bridge, at that point, a glass of Fanta Orange could taste pretty good…

Here are the Pizza Margarita & Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Pizza.

No wonder why people want their pizza. The Pizza Margarita was amazing with the intense Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, and Basil. The Tomato Sauce tested like fresh Tomato, Mozzarella Cheese was creamy and slightly tangy, and Basil was very aromatic. The crust was very thin that crunchy, it was an amazing pizza I have ever had.
Can you tell by this pic how thin the crust is?
The Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Pizza recommended by the waiter was amazing as well. The Pepperoni tasted amazing itself. The Pepperoni and Sausage were not greasy like you imagine. It seems that the oil from the meats incorporated with the mushroom and the thin crust, which balanced really nicely. I usually do not like two meats on one pizza but this was an exceptionally tasty meat Pizza!

Oh I miss you NYC. Zach and I are actually thinking about moving to NYC. This city has such a wonderful history and great food! People are actually pretty nice. Right after we got back to Denver, I stared looking for an apartment in NYC and jobs.

Well, we hope to go visit NYC soon again or move to NYC soon… until then, we’ll keep dreaming about the NYC life.

Happy Eating!!
Mrs H

Friday 10/16, right after work, we wanted to go out right away after the work to start out weekend fabulous! We thought about going to get a gourmet burger… that’s not so fabulous… thought about going to the Cherry Creek North, they usually have great restaurant selections… but then we did not want to drive all the way to the Cherry Creek North….

Then, I had this vision of “Moules et Frites”…. Ahhhhh “Le Central” Zach agreed immediately, which we started driving that direction.

When we get there around 5:30pm, the restaurant was nearly empty (Lucky~!) So we were seated right away and our fabulous weekend has begun.

We ordered L’ Ail, Le Brie, et Les Croutons as an appetizer, which is a baked whole garlic head, Brie cheese, and small toasts.

The baked garlic was like butter, spread the garlic and brie cheese onto the toast, sprinkle with diced Tomato and basil… Yummy~!!! It is so simple but yet the flavor of the roasted garlic, brie, tomato and basil was bold. What a great starter! Zach had some red wine, which was sweet for me but enough dryness with it for Zach

I ordered Moules Portuguaise, the steamed Mussels in this fantastic broth with Portuguaise Sausage, diced tomato and bottomless potato fries!
Sorry, these pictures suck because the lighting of the restaurant…

This is addictive. Even though I was quite full from the appetizer but I could not stop eating… As you can see how much mussels they serve, I have to say this is a one of the lightest dishes.

Zach ordered Cassoulet du Central, which was lamb, onions, and duck confit simmered with Provence herbs and white beans, topped with grilled pork sausage and gratineed with bread crumbs, like casserole.

All the meats looked so tender and perfect for the cold fall night. I’ll ask Zach to write about this dish later on!

After the meal, we thought about stopping the dinner right there but the waiter asked us “Would you like to look at the dessert menu?” and I said “I’ll just wanna look at the menu…” Well, you all know there is no “Just look at the menu”… we ended up ordering La Creme Brulee.

The custard was creamy and had a good taste of vanilla. The surface of the custard was very crispy caramelized sugar crust. This sounds very sweet but it’s not… just right amount of sugar in this dessert. I could eat the bucket of this…

All these dishes and 3 glasses of wine, it was less than $60.00. I have to say “What a deal!!”

The atmosphere of this restaurant is cozy but yet romantic For the special occasion or just for fun, try Le Central for the Best French Food in Denver~!

Happy Eating!
Mrs. H