Berrynaked - New Richardson Location!

Y'all. You have no idea how freaking EXCITED I am that Berrynaked has opened their 2nd location in Richardson! Not only are they just a short drive from my work, it's also so much close from Rockwall! This could be dangerous!! Berrynaked makes high quality products. I've tasted their popsicles over the past 2 years and continue to see them evolve and improve. I think they have pretty much perfected their craft at this point. Everything is spot on... the right textures, consistency, and flavor. And I never feel guilty after eating one of their pops. :D

I got to have a preview on Wednesday before they have their Grand Opening this Saturday. The space is awesome! It's much larger than their Lovers Ln. location... there's chairs and tables and sofas. Definitely a cool place to hang out. And they have new menu items! Specifically their new Puree Bowls. You can choose between "Soulful" or "Sinful", or be like me and have both. haha. The Soulful selections are healthier... lots of fresh fruit base, topped with more fruit toppings. The Sinful is more fun imo... and definitely more decadent. But yet... it's still healthier than eating ice cream because they use all fresh ingredients and still some with a fruit base. I can eat their bowls instead of ice cream and be completely satisfied!

Their Grand Opening is THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 17th. You better make sure you mark it on your calendars! This is the full info on the event. It's gonna be super fun, yummy, and benefits the American Heart Association too! My favorite way to contribute to charity... eat! :P

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Berrynaked | Richardson Grand Opening Block Party

Saturday, June 17, 12pm – 2pm

326 W. Campbell Road | Canyon Creek Shopping Center

#Berrynakednation

Dallas-based Berrynaked is bringing it's organic popsicles and purees northward with the opening of a flagship location in Richardson! Stop by for family fun at the grand opening block party, benefiting the American Heart Association. Enjoy music, face painting, balloon art, and a variety of activities and giveaways from neighbor businesses like Pure Barre Richardson, Sun Lee Taekwondo, Smoothie King and more! Berrynaked will donate 20 percent of Richardson grand opening day sales to the American Heart Association, which will also be on site, along with 20 percent of Vitality Pops Series sales at both stores (Inwood Village and Richardson) for the entire month of June.

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Here's a peek at some of the menu items!

Soulful:
- The Runner: Pitaya (dragon fruit) base, pineapple, banana, coconut water, organic coconut butter, organic blue agave. This seemed to have been the crowd favorite of the night. I think it was the vibrant color of the dragon fruit!

- The Yogi: Acai base, strawberries, banana, coconut water, organic coconut butter, organic blue agave. My personal favorite. I've had several acai bowls in Dallas now and I thought this was by far the best. From the flavor to texture of the puree... it's on point!

- The Swimmer: Mango base, strawberries, coconut water, organic blue agave. I'm allergic to mango so I didn't try this. But it was my friend's favorite.

Sinful:
- Da Beach Bum: Strawberry base, cream, sour cream, condensed milk. It's served in a waffle bowl, topped with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, crushed chocolate cookies, and 2 chocolate pirouette rolled wafers. This was freaking amazing. It's like fresh strawberry ice cream, with actual chunks of strawberries in the cream, and all that chocolately goodness.

We also had some Poptails!! Cuz it's not a party without some champagne! And how cute are the mini pops in each glass. All sorts of different fruity flavors... Great idea for your next party?? :)

Definitely go check them out, and bring your friends. I'm certainly going back soon!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Lalo's Fine Mexican Cuisine

I've never been a fan of Tex-Mex... I always find it a bit repetitive. But... I LOVE Mexican food. There's a big difference!

Two of my friends were in town for the weekend from NYC so of course Mexican food is on their list. I found this place and they had mole!! OMG! I love mole and ever since I had it again in Cancun, I was dreaming about it. So I suggested this place.

Lalo's Fine Mexican Cuisine
18484 Preston Rd. Ste 118
Dallas, TX 75252
(469) 298-3017
www.lalosmexicancuisine.com/
Price: $$

I didn't even know about this place! It had really high Yelp reviews too. Looks promising! We arrived on a Saturday around 6:30PM. The place wasn't completely full but business was pretty good. I thought the decor was nice. Casual yet somewhat elegant.

We got some complimentary chips with salsa and black bean dip. The salsa had a kick to it! :) And the black bean dip was almost as good as the ones at Gloria's... almost... hehe.

Mango Strawberry Frozen Margarita. My friend got one of these. It was really pretty. And she said it was good. I couldn't try it though since I'm allergic to mango. I'll take her word for it though.

Chile Con Queso. Her husband had thought this was "chili" so he was a little surprised. teehee. But this was really good. He totally enjoyed it. It was great with the chips and the salsa.

Pollo Oaxaca (chicken breast simmered in Oaxaqueno Mole served with beans refritos and arroze blanco) $14.99?~ 

I already knew I was going to get this. Normally I see mole on enchiladas, which I always end up subbing the corn tortilla with flour. But this is perfect because there's no tortilla at all (less heavy)! It was delicious. The mole wasn't as good as the one from Mexico, but it was still really tasty. Lots of complex flavors with that tiny hint of sweet from the addition of chocolate. Just a disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on mole. I just know what tastes good to me. hehe. The chicken was super tender. I didn't even use a knife. I loved the pairing with the sauce and the rice. I asked to sub the beans for veggies. It was the perfect side to the chicken and rice. I also liked the slaw on the side. The whole thing was great. I would totally go back and get this again. And it was a big portion too. I took almost half of it home. And it was still good the next day when I had it for lunch. :)

Carne Asada (grilled steak or grilled chicken breast served with Mexican rice, Sopa de Frijol, guacamole and pico de gallo). My friends shared this since they weren't too hungry. Also a good sized portion. The guac was very good. And the Mexican rice had good flavor. They both liked it.

Tres Leches Cake. I love tres leches so I ordered it before I even finished my dinner. Even though I wasn't that hungry either. haha. It was good, not the best I've had but I would get it again. I wish they had served it on its side with more milk to soak up but it was still surprisingly moist and fluffy.

Sorry I didn't include the prices. I forgot to take a picture of the menu... But both dishes were arond $14-15 which was decent for the portion size. And my friends paid for me... again... Sigh. Everytime they come visit, they always end up grabbing the check. I feel bad. I'll get them one day! haha. And I have such awesome friends. :D

It was a great dinner. Our waiter was also really nice and attentive. The ambiance was nice. I will be back for sure!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Artin's Grill - Early Birthday & Father's Day Dinner

This past weekend, my bf's parents came to visit so we decided to celebrate an early Father's Day as well as my bf's birthday (which was this Tuesday). My bf wanted to go to Artin's Grill. I had told him I wanted to take him there for his bday last year, but we ended up doing dim sum. So this year he really wanted to go check it out.

Artin's Grill
5840 Legacy Cir.
Plano, TX 75024
(469) 366-3660
www.artinsgrill.com
Price: $$$$

I reserved a table on Opentable.com with no issues. This place has been on my list for a while considering I live about 5 minutes from the Shops at Legacy, but just never got the time to go.

We arrived about 10 minutes late but didn't have any trouble and was seated immediately. The restaurant was nicer than I expected. Dark wood decor, mood lighting, but still modern. Our waiter was really friendly and immediately asked about the birthday and Father's Day celebration. I had included the info in the notes section when I made the online reservation. I was happy that the restaurant actually paid close attention to it. And our waiter continued throughout the night to make both of them feel special on their special day. :) Bonus points for our waiter!

My bf got the Mango Mojito (Bacardi Mango Fushion Rum, shaken with muddled mint, Mango and simple syrup, floated with soda, mint sprig, berry garnish) $10~ It looked really good and he said it was. I'm allergic to mango so I'll take his word for it. He ordered a second one when the entrees came.

Our waiter told us about their specials and then took our orders.

We got the Spinach Artichoke Dip (with spiced crostini) $10~ to start. 

 

It was bubbling when it was served. Mmmmm! The dip was great! Cheesy, lots of spinach, and I loved the toasted breadcrumbs on top. The spiced crostinis were a bit salty, but still was good overall with the dip.

Time for the entrees.

My bf got the Sashimi Grade Ahi Tuna (pan seared, sesame crusted Sashimi grade Ahi tuna, Asian slaw) $31~ 

This is the main reason we are at this particular restaurant. Ahi tuna is pretty much his favorite thing. (And also the reason why I wanted to bring him here last year!) It was a beautiful plate. The deep color of the tuna with the slaw and the duo of sauces on the side. He was impressed with the portion size of the tuna. It was really fresh and paired really well with the wasabi cream sauce. He asked for more sauce too. The slaw was refreshing and a good compliment to the tuna. He loved it. It was exactly what he was looking forward to. Success! I'm always happy when I make a good recommendation. hehe. :)

Scottish Salmon (simply grilled, pecan currant cous cous, lemon beurre blanc) $26~ 

His mom ordered this. The salmon was cooked well, but I thought the star was the cous cous. It was so light yet flavorful. I loved the combo of the pecan and currant. It was pretty tasty.

Redfish Pontchartrain (blackened redfish, crab, shrimp, roasted garlic mashers, cajun cream sauce) $32~ 

His dad chose this dish. It was pretty impressive looking. Layers of different kinds of seafood. The sauce was rich and smoky. Really bold flavors.

I got the Braised Beef Short Ribs (mushroom mac & cheese, cabernet jus, haricot verts) $27~ 

 

The waiter said this was his favorite dish on the menu. And it was delicious. I love braised meat and they did it well. It was tender, juicy and full of flavor. I also loved the mac and cheese and onion strings with it. I love it when restaurants use Cavatappi pasta in mac and cheese. The shape is fun and has good texture. I'm really glad I got this dish, I definitely recommend it.

Wild Mushroom Medley $8~ We got this side dish. It was good but I felt it was a bit excessive since the entrees were all pretty big. The potatoes were a bit underdone in my opinion but everything else was great.

Our waiter was great through the entire meal. He was fun to talk to, very attentive and made an effort to make my bf and his dad feel special. :) They all commented that the service was top notch.

As the meal came to an end, our waiter came out with a Warm Chocolate Brownie Sundae (vanilla ice cream, toasted almonds, caramel sauce, berries) $7.50~ 

He also put a candle on it for my bf's birthday. I was almost as surprised as my bf was! I never even asked them to do this so it was extremely thoughtful of the restaurant to bring him a complimentary birthday treat. The brownie was gooey on the inside and had a nice crust on the outside. It was a very good ending to a fantastic meal.

I don't know why it took me this long to make it to Artin's Grill, but I'm so glad I got to go for 2 special occasions. I couldn't have asked for a better evening. Spot on service, delicious food, and great company. :) I will definitely be back. And I recommend this place for any occasion!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Taiwan Trip #2 - 2013: Bakeries & Street Food

Can't go to Asia without getting some bakery goods and street food! And Taiwan is known to have some of the best of both around!

Hogan Bakery
Discovered this bakery by my grandma's house earlier in the year when I went in March. I love this place because they gave samples for almost every kind of bread/pastry they had. I can go there just for a meal. :P

 

 

Another bakery...

 

 

Matcha Red Bean Bread

Cheesecake

Shilin Nightmarket
Downstairs Food Court

Stirfried Water Spinach

Fried Chicken

Noodles

Mango Snow. I'm allergic to mango so I watched my sister and cousins devour this. It looked really good. And they said it's awesome.

Green Onion Pancakes. With Egg! Yum! And you can add different things to it. I added some pickled mustard greens. 

 

 

Gaykes - Shilin Nightmarket Vendor. 
Randomly walked by this food stand. OMG!! Never seen this before. I can't NOT post this!! Asians and their weird food creations. haha. Initially I just took pictures. But for the sake of my blog, I have to taste test too. haha. 

 

 

Sweet Gayke (red bean filled with green tea glaze) NT$60 

 

Quite good actually. It's the same as the normal red bean filled cakes in nightmarkets but just in penis form. hahaha. We were saying they should have different sizes since they have different colors. LOL! Plus the current size is a bit too big to eat for one person. #thatswhatshesaid The green tea glaze was yummy. I should say I didn't enjoy it and it was just material for my blog but I'd be lying. haha. It was tasty and we had a long laugh about it. Yes, there are pictures of me eating this. And no, you will not see them on my blog. hahaha.

I needed a snack before a late lunch one day so I just walked down the street from my grandma's place. Came by this Gua Bao place I've seen many times and this was my chance to try it!
Combination Pork Bun (fatty and lean pork with pickled veggies) NT$50 Super big pork bun. The meat sure was fatty and yummy. It filled me up more than I'd liked. haha.

 

 

Pearl Milk Tea. Cheap and good here. Have to at least get one on every trip.

Matcha Latte. Still on my matcha high from Japan earlier this year. It was really good... but not quite Japan caliber. haha.

Best breakfast... We have to come here at least once every trip. This time we had it twice!
Rice Noodle Soup

Pork Intestines and Tofu

 

Tong Hua Nightmarket
Skewered Octopus

 

Skewered Squid. We searched all over the nightmarket for this, finally found it right before we were headed home. My sister wanted to get one before we left for the US. Spicy and tender. Mmmmm!

 

 

Pork Blood Cake. My cousin's favorite. It's everything he's dreamed of since he had it 15 years ago. haha

 

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~