I went to go see my first ever hockey game
Saturday night! It was the last game for the
Dallas Stars and they were playing against the
Detroit Red Wings at the American Airlines Center.
I'm not a big hockey fan (obviously.. haha) but I
really just wanted to see a fight! And this
would've been a good game for that. So we lost...
3 to 0, but I got to see one fight AND got to try
a new restaurant after for dinner! All in all a
successful outing! hehehe. :P
We decided to check out Medina Oven & Bar, which
features Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine. It's
just a short walk from the AAC and across Victory
Park. It's a little hidden... You need to walk
past Neo Pizza and it's in the next corner.
Medina Oven & Bar
2304 Victory Park Ln.
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 979-0003
http://www.medinadallas.com
Price: $$$
It's a cute little place. The inside seating is
about as big as the patio seating out front. The
decor is Moroccan and intimate with low lighting
and cool lamps. You can see into the front of the
kitchen and the oven. I thought that was pretty
cool.
We were seated immediately, it wasn't very full at
all. It took a while for us to get waters and
menus but after that the service was great. The
menu looked interesting and delicious, there were
a ton of options I chose from. At the bottom of
the menu we all saw "Sexy Drinks"...haha. They all
sounded pretty good. We decided to get some and
drink our hockey loss away. :P
Sexy Drinks:
Caramel-Fig Martini (Grey Goose, fresh lemon,
roasted fig, caramel swirl) $9~ This was a pretty
drink. They actually swirled caramel on the inside
of the glass. There's also a roasted piece of fig
at the bottom. My bf enjoyed it a lot.
Moroccan Mojito (Bacardi Rum, brown cane sugar,
fresh lime, fresh mint) $9~ I got this and asked
them to make it a little sweeter for me. I like
really sweet cocktails... being a lightweight and
all. haha. I enjoyed it. The added sweetness made
it much better for me. :)
The Arabesque (apricot brandy, peach schnapps,
fresh OJ, white cranberry) $9~ Our friend ordered
this. (No pic...sorry) This turned out to be my
favorite. It was the sweetest out of the 3
cocktails and it tasted like peach juice! I'd go
back and order that again. hehe.
On to the food! Can't go to a Mediterranean place
without ordering some sort of dip or spread!
We started with the Smoked Egg Plant Spread
(garlic-saffron tomato confit, cilantro, white
vinegar; served with oven baked pita bread) $5.50~
I don't like eggplant...but the
Greek/Mediterranean preparation of it is the only
way I'll really eat it. And I love it! The spread
was chunky and light. The pita bread was nice and
warm, just out of the oven. The cold spread with
the warm pita bread paired very well together.
Poached Calamari (in Ras El Hanout and drenched in
shermoula tomato puree, seafood spices, garlic,
cilantro, fresh lemon juice, served on mixed
greens with balsamic vinaigrette) $10.50~
I got
this appetizer as my main course. It was more than
enough too. Pretty big size and tons of calamari!
I asked the waiter to explain Ras El Hanout and he
says it's a mixture of 23 or so different spices.
I can taste many different spices but overall it
was very mild, in a good way. The spices did not
overpower anything else. The calamari was cooked
perfectly, great texture. And I got to have my
salad/veggies underneath. I enjoyed it a lot. I
actually took half of it to go and had it the next
day as a cold dish. Being cold, it was even better
in my opinion!
My bf got the Chicken Apricot Tagine (braised
marinated chicken breast in saffron cinnamon,
honey, poached apricots and toasted poppyseeds;
served with warm pita bread) $19~
Tagine is
basically the dish with the lid that it came in. I
liked the presentation. This was a really sweet
dish... since it had honey, cinnamon, and apricots
but I like sweet and savory so I enjoyed it. It's
definitely not for those who don't like sweet in
their food. There were some potatoes at the bottom
of the dish. I don't know how they cooked them but
I thought it was the best part! It was soft and
creamy and gooey almost and amazing! haha.
Our friend got the Imperial Fez Seafood Couscous
(scallops and shrimp, spice mix and herbs on warm
couscous with cinnamon apricots, asparagus,
toasted pine nuts, golden raisins) $23~
I got to
try a bite of the scallops which was cooked
perfectly. It was also a slightly sweet dish, with
the apricots and raisins. The seafood was cooked
really well. But he said there was a bit too much
couscous, which he left some on the dish after he
ate all the seafood. haha. But it was definitely
yummy.
It was a great dinner. I haven't had many Moroccan
cuisines and really enjoyed it. The ambiance was
nice, our waiter was super nice and helpful. The
owner or manager came by and checked on us a few
times. He was super friendly as well. Plus they
have cocktails I like! I will definitely go back
in the future. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This past Saturday has been some pretty good
eatin'!
We started off with a lunch reception held
by 2 of my good friends. They recently got married
in Taiwan (Congrats!!) and wanted to do a small
reception for family and some friends that didn't
make it overseas for the wedding...
They chose Nicola's in Shops at Legacy. I've been
there a couple times and have always enjoyed it.
Nicola's Ristorante Italiano
5800 Legacy Dr
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 608-4455
http://www.nicolaslegacy.com
Our group had the upstairs area which overlooks
the main dining room below. It was nice and
bright, a very nice setting for a small gathering.
They had preselected the menu. We started with
appetizers then our choice of soup or salad and
entree, and concluding with dessert. Nice BIG
lunch! haha.
We had 2 dishes for appetizers...
Focaccia Siciliana (savory baked flat bread with
sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, dice tomatoes and
basil).
The flat bread had good texture. It wasn't
too thin or crunchy, still had a slight doughiness
which I liked. It wasn't very heavy either since
it wasn't covered in cheese. We were all pretty
hungry and it went really fast! :P
Calamari Fritti (lightly floured calamari with
garlic aioli and tomato sauce).
I've had their
calamari before and I had forgotten how good it
was. The batter was great and the squid was cooked
perfectly. The texture was just right.
Next course...
Zuppa del Giorno (Chef's soup of the day -
butternut squash soup).
Now, I normally opt for
salad over soup, but as soon as I heard butternut
squash... OMG. Gotta have it! And I'm so glad I
got the soup because it was awesome! It was rich
and creamy and had chunks of the squash in there
instead of a fine puree (which obviously I liked!
hehe). I scraped that bowl clean! It was my
favorite course of the day.
Insalata Mista (mixed greens with tomatoes,
balsamic vinaigrette). Pretty good size for the
salad. Looked fresh...
All the entrees sounded good...
Cappellacci di Zucca (handmade pumpkin ravioli
finished in a marscarpone cream).
As soon as I saw
"pumpkin" I knew I had to get this. I love
pumpkin!! It was a very filling dish. I liked how
the raviolis were huge and filled full with
pumpkin! It's quite sweet since you have the
pumpkin and I think some nutmeg and cinnamon in
there. Love me some sweet and savory so it's
totally up my alley. The pasta was cooked al dente
too which is preferred. YUM!!
Salmone al Pistacchio (dijon and pistachio crusted
salmon with roasted brussels sprouts, carrots,
artichokes, pancetta and red bell pepper sauce).
Seeing "brussels sprouts" almost made me change my
mind from the ravioli to this. haha. So my bf got
it and I got to try it. Heck yea! It seemed like a
really healthy dish! The salmon was cooked well.
He totally loved it! So we both made the right
choices. The brussels sprouts wasn't roasted
enough... I like that char on the outside and it
didn't have it. All the flavors and elements
worked well together though. The pancetta was the
icing on the cake! I enjoyed the dish overall. But
I still liked my ravioli better. hehehe.
Orecchiette con Salsiccia ("little ears" pasta
with roasted Italian sausage, broccolini, garlic,
anchovies and pecorino cheese).
Initially they
brought out the wrong dish. It was orecchiette
pasta but in a tomato sauce and nothing else in
it... We all looked at it, confused and had the
waiter take it back. haha. The sausage and
broccolini was the main reason my friend ordered
it! When they finally brought out the correct
dish, it looked sooo much better. The pasta was
cooked well and flavors were yummy. Another
winner!
What was initially served...
On to the desserts...
Tiramisu (traditional lady finger cookies soaked
in espresso, layered with mascarpone, coffee
liqueur and cocoa).
This was my choice. It was
pretty good. Standard. The mascarpone was creamy
and rich. I wish the lady fingers could've been
more soaked though. My piece seems slightly dry.
But still good. I liked the fresh berries on the
side.
Cannolo Siciliano (classic Sicilian cannoli filled
with sweet ricotta cheese, honey, chocolate chips
and pistachios).
I'm not a fan of cannolis (if you
read my Boston review on them...) Too much cream
and usually too sweet for my taste. This was ok.
But I don't think I'd eat the whole thing. My bf
loved it BECAUSE it was sugary cream. hahaha.
Guess it all works out!
It was a great lunch. I got to see some good
friends I don't see often and eat some fabulous
food. Also, our waiter was really good. He noticed
little things and anticipated what we wanted. :)
Kudos to my friends for picking a great place. And
CONGRATS again to them on their wedding!!!
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: n/a
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This is my final post for Taiwan. Get ready for a butt load of pictures!!! (I really shouldn't be writing this right before lunch.. me so hungry!):
Yi Yuan Dim Sum - at The Sherwood Hotel
My dad's friends treated us to this fancy dim sum lunch. We ordered the dishes from a menu and they served it to us course by course. Not the typical dim sum carts that comes around. Apparently The Sherwood Hotel is a really nice and famous hotel in Taipei... The food wasn't spectacular but were very delicate and pretty. The service really is fantastic.
- Lettuce with Meat Sauce
- Seafood Pancake
- Congee Station
- Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings with Abalone
- Steamed Pork Dumplings with Truffle
- Steamed Fish Rice Rolls
- Steamed Shrimp Dumplings
- Steamed Pea Shoots Dumplings
- Steamed Chinese Chive with Shrimp Dumplings
- Pan Fried Cantonese Turnip Cakes
- Golden Fried Butter Cream Buns
- Honey Ham with Bread
- Steamed Taro Cakes
- Steamed Bean Curd with Scallops
- Deep Fried Bean Curd Rolls with Shrimp
- Stir-Fried Cantonese Turnip Cakes with X.O.Sauce
- Clams with Black Bean Sauce
- Baked Cabbage with Cream
- Soup with Dried Scallops Dumpling
- Assorted Desserts (Blueberry Panna Cotta, Egg Tart, Pineapple Cake)
Su Hung Restaurant (and Afternoon Tea)
We had lunch here then moved to their downstairs room for afternoon tea immediately after! haha. My dad likes to eat just as much as I do! :P
- Snow Pea Leaves NT$180~
- Lettuce Wraps NT$330~ Soooo good!
- Veggie & Shrimp Dumplings NT$140~
- Xiao Long Bao NT$90~
- Dong Puo (Stewed Fatty Pork) NT$360~
- with Steamed Buns NT$20~ per piece (x5) Melty fatty pork... Mmmmmmm... droool....
- Veggie Dumplings NT$90~
- Red Bean and Sesame Mochi Cakes NT$90~
Afternoon Tea (all items half price)
- Green Onion Pancake NT$45~
- Mustard Greens and Pork Noodle Soup NT$160~
- Honey Pancake NT$30~
- MaLa Cake NT$40~
- Red Bean Snowflake Cake NT$40~ The "snowflake" turned out to be coconut flakes. Bleh.
Shin Yeh - Afternoon Tea
NT$500~ per person
My parents took me here for my early birthday celebration. It was one of the most epic meals ever!!! Amazing buffet. Lots of food choices including a sashimi bar, where they freshly slice sashimi to order!!! O.O LOVE!
Crystal Spoon - Thai Food (inside Sogo - 10th Floor).
Hanging out with my cousins. I didn't really eat because I just came from Shin Yeh afternoon tea. haha. But what little I had was ok. Not the greatest Thai food.
Until next year... maybe...
Sigh~~
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
