Brunch @ City Hall Bistro

In October, I had a lot less media events to attend so I used my free time to connect with friends I haven't seen/talked to in a while. Plus I got to go to some of the places that I've been wanting to go for the first time, or return to cuz the first time was so good. City Hall Bistro blew me away when I went for a media dinner. I dreamed about it all the time so when I planned a brunch with a friend, I suggested it. She also loves this place so it was quickly decided. We just can't stay away!

City Hall Bistro
1321 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 651-3686
www.cityhallbistro.com
Price: $$-$$$

Checking out their brunch this time. They have a pretty small brunch menu, the rest of the options are available on their dinner menu as well. But everything sounded yummy. My friend is gluten free so we couldn't share a whole lot. I love my carbs. :P So naturally we over-ordered. She got 2 dishes and I got 2... and sampled each others.

We started with her choice, Chia Seed (apple, date, dried fruit, goji berries, cinnamon, labneh) $12~ 

The chia seeds are soaked in coconut milk (which is good cuz she's dairy free as well). The only dairy was the labneh that they usually dollop on top. So they just put it on the side. What a beautiful dish! Just lightly sweet the texture of the chia seeds were perfect. The fruits on top were strategically placed, I just loved the plating. It was a nice, light start to the meal.

Next was my pick: Hazelnut Waffles (nutella, banana) $11~ Too bad they don't have a gluten free options. These are yummy. I especially loved the hazelnut crumbles on top. It didn't really even need the maple syrup. The waffle texture was good, it didn't feel heavy. Which means I can eat more! :P

Her choice: Black Rice (harissa chicken, kale, sofrito, poached egg) $17~ I wanted this too, so I was glad she chose it. hehe. Also a beautiful dish. Loved everything about it. The flavors were great. I love black rice. The poached egg was so soft it just mixed with everything. And I like the greens in there since we didn't really have any other vegetables in the meal.

Lastly, this is not part of the brunch section but I wanted to try it since the first time I dined here. House-Made Cavatelli (braised short rib, fresh peas, parmesan) $14~ 

I love all pasta. And when it's mixed with short rib? Sold! Freaking loved it. This was my favorite. The pasta shape is fun... although you can also say they look like bugs. But delicious bugs! :P And the texture is on point! The short rib was SUPER tender. The peas and pea greens added a nice freshness since this is a heavier dish. I'd eat this dish again any day.

It was such a great meal. I loved catching up with my friend and enjoyed the lovely ambiance of City Hall Bistro. Got to try 4 new dishes there too so it's definitely a success. Hopefully I'll get to go back soon. There are more things to try!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

North Italia - Officially Opens 6/27!

I'm sooooo very excited that North Italia at Legacy West Plano is officially opening tomorrow!!! Tuesday 6/27. Have you made your reservation yet?!

I went to the Austin location about 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. From the decor to the food. It was very exciting to have North come to Dallas. :) I got a sneak peek last Thursday with a friend of mine. We were both basically squealing with excitement. hehe.

North Italia - Legacy West
7501 Windrose Ave. Suite D190
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 291-6996
www.northitaliarestaurant.com/nso/plano-tx
Price: $$$$

We arrived at 6:15PM for dinner. The place was already packed with people. We were seated immediately. I love the open space... high ceilings and wood decor. I especially love their large glass lamps. We sat in one of the booths. We were given menus and were warmly welcomed for like the third time and ready to enjoy our evening. Our waitress, Kariel, greeted us and asked for our drink orders. We asked her for some suggestions and she was very helpful. This is the first of their friends and family nights so the staff is still in training. 

Neither of us really drank so my friend got the Strawberry Spice Mule (dripping springs vodka, clove spiced gran gala, lime, smashed strawberry) $11~ 

It was recommended as one of the sweeter options. I just took a sip cuz that's enough for me. haha. The drink is very pretty. I loved the actual muddled strawberry throughout the drink. It's very refreshing too. My friend really enjoyed it.

For our appetizer, we chose the Burrata (heirloom tomato, basil, mint, cucumber, crouton, saba) $12~ 

We had several items that we wanted to try... so I guess we'll be going back. haha. The burrata was gorgeous! I loved the presentation... rustic and colorful. The burrata was to die for. So incredibly creamy yet light. The tomatoes were fresh and paired beautifully. I also loved the freshness of the mint and basil. The saba (I think it's kind of a balsamic reduction/vinaigrette) was delicious. They didn't overdress it. My friend wanted more saba, but I thought it was just right.

During the course of our meal, we were greeted by several people. Bianka from Giant Noise PR came over to say Hi. So did Meredith, the general manager, and England, the manager. They were all SUPER nice and we got to chat with each of them for a while. They really took the time to make sure we were enjoying ourselves throughout the night and made us feel welcomed. :)

For the entrees, they mixed up my order and served me the Red Wine Glazed Short Rib (heirloom carrot, swiss chard, creamy mascarpone polenta) $26~ 

I had ordered the short rib pasta. So they quickly fixed the issue and gave us the Short Rib entree as well! Well, yes please! I never say no to extra food! :P The short rib doesn't really photograph well but I assure you it smelled divine! That mascarpone polenta was so luscious. I can eat that by itself. The short rib was tender and had great flavor. I also like that there were actual green veggies (swiss chard) in the dish. I always prefer to have some sort of green vegetables at every meal.

Short Rib Radiatori (parmesan cream, fresh horseradish, wilted arugula, herbed breadcrumb) $20~ 

My actual order. Amazing. It was my favorite entree of the night. I love interesting pasta shapes. The Radiatori was perfect in collecting all the cream sauce in all its nooks and crannies. And the texture on the pasta was perfect. The short rib in the pasta was even more tender than the entree I think. The addition of the horseradish was a nice touch. It brightened up the cream sauce so it wasn't too heavy. Totally recommend this!

My friend chose the Filet of Beef (crispy potato, roasted mushroom, cipollini onion, marsala) $38~ 

She got it medium well... booo. I think all steaks should be med rare. hehe. But you know what... even at med well, the steak was really tender and the flavor of the meat really shined. The marsala sauce paired beautifully with the beef, mushrooms, and onions. And those crispy smashed potatoes? They almost out shined the steak. Another great choice.

Diver Scallops (sweet corn risotto, asparagus, crispy shallot, pancetta gremolata) $25~ 

We also really wanted to try the scallops so we talked them into giving us another entree. :P (Although I have to say, we ordered this 3rd dish before we got the short rib... too much food you think? Nahhh. ha.) Beautiful vibrant colors on this dish. And you get FOUR plump scallops instead of the typical 3. We both liked it. The scallops were cooked wonderfully. But I have 2 complaints on this dish. 1) It needed a bit more acid... a squeeze of lemon maybe? or some lemon juice inside the sweet corn sauce. And 2) more sear on the scallops so the tops are crispier. Other than that, it was still a yummy dish.

We each got a box for our leftovers, because we need to save room for dessert! Duh!

Dirty Almond Chai (two shots espresso, almond milk, chai tea; shaken and served cold) $5~ This drink sounded really interesting. I don't really drink coffee but I wanted to give it a try. My friend can't handle the caffeine that late in the day so she just got a "clean" Almond Chai (without the 2 shots of espresso). Hers was delicious. Mine... wasn't sweet enough for me since I'm not a coffee drinker. But I do love that it's served cold. It almost tastes like a cold brew (according to my friend anyways).

We couldn't decide so we got 2 desserts. Cuz why not? :D

Hazelnut Torta (nutella cream, hazelnut toffee, salted caramel gelato) $8~ 

I can't say I've seen tortas served in this shape... it made me think of a molten chocolate cake. But it wasn't molten inside of course. Torta basically means a dense and chocolatey rich cake made with a few simple ingredients. The torta wasn't super dense which I would've been fine with either way. The salted caramel gelato was great on top. The toffee added a nice crunch. This'll definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart (lemon crema, basil, almond crust) $7~ 

This could not be more different than the torta. This was light and fresh. The tart itself reminded me of a shortbread and wasn't overly sweet. The mascarpone added the richness but wasn't heavy. And the basil was the most genius touch. We both agreed that without the pop of basil, this dessert would be kind of generic. The brightness of the basil definitely elevated the dish. Yum!

If you can't tell... we loved it. We both had pretty high expectations going in and they definitely didn't disappoint. The food was fantastic, but I really enjoyed meeting all the people in the restaurant. We lingered a little after dinner and chatted with England and Kariel. They're both so great! I hope they'll remember us the next time we go back. :)

They officially open to the public TOMORROW!! Tuesday 6/27!!

Thanks so much to North Italia for having us. Even though I live 50 minutes away, I hope to be back really soon. :)

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Taiwan March 2015: Desserts!

This is going to be my favorite post for Taiwan. We had some awesome food, but the desserts in Taiwan are insane! One is more epic than the other.. haha.

Ice Monster

This was highly highly recommended by a friend. And we just happen to walk by one day! We had to go in. The specialize in snow ice, which is this super fine shaved ice, in different flavors with different toppings. I believe the original snow ice place was in the Shilin nightmarket. But Ice Monster took it to another level. The snow ice was even more fluffy and delicate than I remembered. We went there twice during our 2 week trip.
Pearl Milk Tea Snow Ice NT$180~ 

 

Freaking humongous. And freaking amazing. It's like a deconstructed pearl milk tea. The ice was the tea, the white pudding looking thing was the milk, and pearls came on the side in a bowl of syrup. Eat everything together and it tastes like a frozen pearl milk tea. The ice is so ridiculously fluffy. We had this both times we went. Definitely a winner.

Strawberry Snow Ice NT$280~ 

2nd time we went, we also got the strawberry one. Strawberry overload!! Strawberry ice, sorbet, diced strawberries, and milk pudding on the side. It was good, but easily trumped by the Pearl Milk Tea ice.

Jamling Cafe

My parents had discovered this place and wanted to take us there. My mom says their pancakes are so airy and light. For someone who doesn't eat dessert/sweets, that was a big deal coming from her. So we decided to take them there to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The specialize in pancakes, but in Mandarin, it translates to "waffle". I thought that was a little weird. It's a small place, super cute decor. 

We decided to try a variety of things. They had sweet and savory pancakes. The savory ones sound interesting.. I didn't know what to expect with those.

Chocolate Strawberries (chocolate cream, strawberry sauce, vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries) NT$260~ This was a featured special. 2 fluffy pancakes loaded with chocolate cream and strawberries, topped with ice cream. Pretty epic eh? The chocolate was awesome, semi-sweet so it wasn't overwhelming.

Jamling (crunchy honey butter) NT$180~ This is the "original" and probably the best sweet one because it was the most fluffy of all and not excessive. The other sweet ones were much denser because it was loaded with a bunch of stuff. It was almost like a souffle pancake. My fiance didn't like it as much though because he thought it tasted more egg-y. I'd agree, but I love eggs in any way so it make me like it even more!

Apple Cinnamon (apple, cinnamon, vanilla ice cream, slicedalmonds) NT$220~ My fiance's favorite. Also very good. 

Okonomiyaki (bacon, cabbage, egg, bonito flakes) NT$240~ I was hesitant on the savory ones but this one turned out to be my favorite. The flavors and textures with the pancake worked beautifully. And they had a nice thick slice of bacon on there. Makes everything better!

We also got some drinks. Can't be afternoon tea without some tea! (and coffee.) hehe. Plus if you get a drink and pancake, it becomes a set and you get a discount for the combo.
Cafe Americano (hot) NT$110~

Japanese Green Tea Latte (hot) NT$150~

Earl Grey Tea (hot) NT$120~

18 Cafe. This was another recommendation from a friend. She said their cakes were so light. Afternoon tea set: 1 cake plus a drink for NT$250~
I got the Hazelnut Chiffon Cake. 

 

With the Taiwanese Green Tea.This is the one my friend recommended. Initially I didn't see it in the display so I almost missed it! It was awesome. Super light and so fragrant. 

He got the Black Tea Cheesecake. 

With the Taiwanese Black Tea. The black tea cheesecake couldn't compete with the hazelnut chiffon, but it was still good. You can actually taste the black tea flavor which made it interesting.

Now for the grand finale!
This was one of the highlights of the trip. I took my fiance to the Dazzling Cafe. I had gone 2 years ago and it was epic!! So we skipped dinner to go here. I thought we were going to order one dessert and share but he wanted 2! Ambitious! And we flew all this way to Taipei... why not!

Caramel Honey Toast (topped with whipped cream, ice cream, white chocolate, peanut brittle, caramel sauce, and honey to drizzle on top) NT$240~ 

 

 

Just look at it!! Did your jaw drop?? haha. It's basically half a loaf of bread. :P The presentation is amazing here. And the waitress comes to your table and carves this for you. (I will post the video on my CHOMP! facebook page if you want to watch some food porn. hehe) So she carves the sides and rearranges everything. And it's not a simple block of bread, every piece inside is individually toasted squares. Wow. Quite labor intensive it seems. We got additional honey to drizzle on it. So good!

Hazelnut Chocolate Honey Toast (with hazelnut spread, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries) NT$290~ 

 

I've had this before and it's awesome. Not only are the pieces individually toasted, they also inject chocolate sauce into it. This one isn't carved tableside though since it comes in stacked slices. My fiance loved it. And we made it through 1 and a half, which I thought was very impressive! :P

I got a pot of Darjeeling Tea NT$160~

My fiance got the White Chocolate Matcha Latte NT$150~ We were surprised when we tasted coffee, since most matcha lattes are just matcha and milk. But this was so good. I don't even drink coffee and I loved it!

I love this place, I will go back in the future cuz I saw some waffle dish that also looked really good! ha!

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~