CHOMP! gets Married! :)

I think I've been on hiatus long enough... The past 6 months have been some serious wedding planning and it pretty much took up all my free time. Doesn't mean I haven't been eating well tho! haha.

My new husband and I got married almost 2 months ago on June 4, 2016. Lots of hard work and planning but it all paid off. Definitely one of the best days of our lives. :) Here are some pictures to showcase the food we had! All the guests loved the food, which was a huge relief for me. I had a lot of pressure going in to the wedding... To have "the best food" is what everyone was expecting. haha. CN Catering really delivered. And our cake table ("my baby") was pretty epic imo. :D

And just so you know how important food is to me. I even had food in the bridal and bridesmaids' bouquets! Kale, bay leaves, and rosemary. It smelled so good! Thanks to The Backyard Bouquet for such beautiful work.

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

(the professional photos are by Meggie Taylor Photography - she's the best! The rest are taken by me or friends.)

We had a whole roast pig during cocktail hour. As requested by the groom. It was a hit! There was nothing left but the face and feet. Which we snacked on at 2 in the morning after the reception. :P A big thanks to my friend, Hung, for taking care of everything from ordering, to picking up, to delivery.

Meggie Taylor Photography

Passed Apps during cocktail hour (by CN Catering):
Mac N Cheese Balls. Everything was a big hit.

Meggie Taylor Photography

Chicken and Waffle Bites. They're so adorable. And delicious.

Signature cocktail: "Blushing Brandy" created by my friend Leslie: Brandy, Cassis, Sprite.

Meggie Taylor Photography

Dinner Stations (by CN Catering):
Pasta a la Nostra (Grilled Chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, penne pasta, in a basil cream sauce) The pasta was perfectly al dente!

Meggie Taylor Photography

Garlic Dinner Rolls
Salad

Our main protein was a Grilled Tenderloin of Beef carved to order. With a side of Shiitake Mushroom & Sesame-Hoisin Au Jus. 

 

 

Sides:
Russet Mashed Potatoes (with sour cream, smoked cheddar, bacon, chives)

Meggie Taylor Photography

Roasted Cauliflower

Meggie Taylor Photography

And of course our amazing cake table. 4 flavors in all: Tres Leches from Del Norte Bakery, Toasted Almond (with and without raspberry) from Lala's Cakes/Three Twelve Company, and All American Chocolate from Costco (our money saver option... and the cake is delicious!) I made all the cake stands, name signs, pom poms, and decor bottles btw. Blood, sweat, and tears fo sho! Flower decor provided by The Backyard Bouquet. 

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

 

I'm not sure if the cakes were just REALLY good or I was really good at estimating the portions but we had almost no cakes leftover. (I think it was both!) Only like 5 slices of the chocolate. And we had another half sheet of the tres leches in the back too! All gone! Nothing but compliments from all the guests on the cakes AND the food.

Oh yea, I also made mini Sriracha bottles for each table. Cuz you just gotta have some hot sauce, ya? ;-p

Meggie Taylor Photography

Meggie Taylor Photography

I'd say as a foodie and super high expectations for my wedding food, everything turned out fantastic! People constantly came up to me throughout the night to compliment all the food. Even my mom liked it all, which rarely happens. And I continued to get compliments days after the wedding was over. Success!! :D Thanks to all that made it happen.



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

NYC: Desserts Galore

So... going to NYC, I already had a huge list of places to eat. But everyone we talk to had their own recommendations. So my friends insisted we check out this ice cream place. We went Thursday afternoon.

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
65 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-4170
www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com
Price: $

Obviously from the name... it's located in Chinatown. It's a little ice cream shop with a logo that looks reeeeally similar to Bowser from Super Mario Bros. haha. I hadn't even heard of it. Seriously... one of the best ice creams of our lives.

My friends HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended the Almond Cookie ice cream. They had a bunch of other really unique flavors too. Like pandan! Most people don't even know what that is! Myself included up until about 2 years ago. And durian... ew. haha. I like that they had an "Exotics" section with flavors like chocolate and vanilla and mint chip listed under there. haha.

My fiance got the Almond Cookie & Pandan (2 scoops) $6.99~ Where else can you get these flavors?! And the combo of these 2 was magical. Sooooo freaking amazing. The Almond Cookie was definitely out of this world. And it had large chunks of crushed up cookies in there. 

I got Black Sesame (1 scoop) $4.35~ Cuz let's face it.. I've got a bit of an obsession with black sesame. It is LEGIT! So much sesame flavor. Delish!! Just don't eat it on a date cuz you get black sesame all up in your teeth. hahaha.

We went back again Saturday night because he wanted to take his sister there. Loved it! Of course.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

---------------

This was one of the first places on my list. I came across some of their dessert pics on Instagram and was like "OMG. I MUST HAVE THIS!"

Spot Dessert Bar
13 St Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-5670
www.spotdessertbar.com
Price: $$

There are like 2 locations I think. We went to the one in Korea-town. It was in a food court inside an office building or something. A little random... but made me feel like I was back in Asia.

 

We went up to the counter and they had all these amazing pics up on the menu. They recommended that we get the pick 3 tapas for $23~. Essentially you Buy 2, get 3rd at half price. And on the menu it said that 3 desserts feeds about 2-3 people. Now... where I'm from, "tapas" means small plates, and the portions are usually smaller and meant for sharing. So we didn't think anything of it. Each dessert was freaking FULL SIZE! Unless you have 2-3 hungry teenagers or something, I think 3 of these will easily feed 4-5 people. Whoa.... Challenge ACCEPTED! (Keep in mind, this is only about an hour after we finished up lunch at Madison Square Eats! O.O )

Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake (warm dark chocolate cake filled with green tea ganache served with green tea ice cream) $9.15~ 

 

Had to try this cuz we love lava cakes AND matcha. It was pretty and the inside was ooey gooey. But I expected more matcha flavors in the inside ganache. We didn't taste any at all. It was delicious. But the Chocolate Souffle Cake at Roy's is still the best!

Kabocha Cake (warm Japanese pumpkin served with condensed milk ice cream) $9.15~ 

We all loved this one. Like a warm pumpkin brownie, rich, moist, and full of flavor. I think it was everyone's favorite.

The Harvest (layers of berries, soft cheesecake, meringue kisses, served with raspberry sorbet and black rose milk tea) $9.15~ 

 

 

We got this one cuz it's such a fun dessert! You take the milk tea and pour it all over the "dirt". And it's in layers, so we kept discovering new flavors as we ate this. The best part was the cheesecake crust on the bottom. So try to scoop up all the layers in one bite. The raspberry sorbet was a bit too tart for me so I left that alone.

We ordered wayyyyy too much. There's no way this is for 2-3 people. We still ate it all... what can I say. We don't waste food! :P OMG. I won't lie, I was hating myself a little after cuz I was hurting. And the overabundance of sugar made my face break out! :( Worth is? I'd still say yes. :P

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

---------------

I had given up hope that we'd make it out to Levain on this trip cuz it was just so out of the way. But luckily, our plans changed Friday and we went to Upper West Side. So then we HAD to take a detour for Levain.

Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St.
New York, NY, 10023
(212) 874-6080
www.levainbakery.com
Price: $

They make my favorite cookies IN THE WORLD! Yes, in the world. I'm not lying, you have to go try it for yourself. Each one weighs like a pound and have the most perfect texture. :) They usually have a line, but it's TOTALLY worth it!

We got a bunch to take back to Dallas with us.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie
$4~ each

You pop one of these babies in the microwave for a few seconds after a few days and they are still amazing.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~