Florida Trip 2015: Hyde Beach Kitchen + Cocktails

Continuation of my Florida trip...

We found this place across the street from our hotel. It's freaking awesome and the food is amazing. It's right on the beach, they have a section in the sand with lounge chairs, hammocks, and games... like a day club. Too expensive for us to partake, but we managed to have dinner, lunch, AND breakfast there over the course of the weekend. And yes, in that order.

Hyde Beach Kitchen + Cocktails
111 South Surf Rd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
(954) 699-0901
http://sbe.com/restaurants/locations/hyde-beach-kitchen-cocktails/
Price (for dinner): $$$

We had actually had dinner already and was just going for drinks... But there were a few items on the menu I just had to try, since there was a big chance we won't be back again for dinner.

Some of my friends did get drinks. hehe. They tried several but I only took a picture of the Hibiscus Punch (bacardi 8 year rum, freshly pressed lime juice, wild hibiscus syrup, licor 43, orange flower water, splash soda water, muddled fresh strawberries, muddled lime wedge) $14~ It was pretty cool looking.

Pumpkin Butter Rolls (maple butter, rosemary, salt) $7~ 

 

This just sounds amazing. I had to get it. We were all pretty full but I got another friend to agree to help me eat. It was better than I expected.. the texture was like a Hawaiian roll, but better! Slight crispy top and soooooooo warm and fluffy in the middle. It was dark, but looking at the picture I realized how orange it was. I loved the sprinkling of salt on the top, paired with the sweetness of the maple butter. FANTASTIC!!! I can eat this all day!

Oxtail Bucatini (red wine braised oxtail ragout, garlic bread crumbs) $16~ 

I wanted to try this as well. I love oxtail, you don't see it often, and I love Bucatini... also not a common pasta. It's basically like a thick spaghetti, but hollow. The texture of the pasta was on point! And I expected them to just have a ragout where the meat was pretty much blended in the sauce, but no! There were large chunks of super tender oxtail in the dish. And the cherry on top was the garlic bread crumbs. Such bold flavor and added an awesome crunchy texture to everything. Every element was perfection. I was so full but couldn't stop eating. Another friend tried a bite. She's usually not a fan of pasta and was already super full, but she couldn't stop eating either. hahaha. I have to say this is one of the best dishes I've had in a long time.

Sooooo freaking delicious. I really wish we had time to go back for an actual dinner, but we didn't have time. :(

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Saturday Lunch:
Price (for lunch): $$
The sun finally came out on Saturday!!! It had been raining since we landed. So we went to the beach!! Yeah!!!! Gettin' my tan on!

We decided to walk over for lunch. For breakfast and lunch, they only allow seating outside, and on the first floor. The second floor is opened up just for dinner. It was a beautiful day so sitting outside was perfect. I shall continue my much needed tan.

Ceviche (corvina, leche de tigre, tortilla chips) $9~ Pretty small portion but pretty. My friend didn't like it though... it was way too sour. And I agree.

Fish & Chips (cod, tartar sauce, malt vinegar; fries) $11~ Deeeeelicious. The fish was super moist and tender and fried well. The fries were awesome. And I loved their tartar sauce. I really wanted to finish all the fries but it was a little heavy while sitting outside in the sun.

 

8oz. Prime Burger (aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mustard, onions, dill pickles; fries) $11~ Pretty good burger, needed more seasoning. Although the natural flavor of the beef patty was nice. 

Rock Shrimp Taco (guacamole, pico de gallo, chicarrones) $7~ Really pretty tacos and fully loaded. Yum.

Mini Lobster Roll (butter brioche bun, home made chips) $9~ Truly a "mini" lobster roll. It was so cute! haha. Not the best I've ever had, but was good.

Two of my friends got cocktails. Ginger Mojito $14~ and Strawberry Mojito $13~ They came in these plastic cups and were pretty small. Same price as dinner cocktails but smaller, not a very good deal.

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Sunday Breakfast:
Price (for breakfast): $$

Our last day there, a few of us really wanted breakfast/brunchy food. So we got up early and hit up Hyde Beach for breakfast. Check out our spread!!!

Pumpkin Maple Sticky Bun $7~ 

 

I'm obsessed with pumpkin and since their pumpkin rolls were so good, I had to try these. Also delicious, but the rolls were better. I wish the top with the syrup was more caramelized with a crunch. Other than that it was yummy.

Mushroom Toast (sauteed mushrooms, sunny side up, greens) $7~ I also got a savory dish. Love, love, loved this. All different types of mushrooms, sauteed in this sauce. It was so flavorful!

Very Berry French Toast (brioche, mixed berries, mascarpone whipped cream, side of maple syrup) $11~ Plus side of Egg +$4~ The $4 egg was pretty ridiculous. haha. But the french toast was good. Nice sized portion, lots of fresh berries.

Green Eggs & Ham Benedict (french ham, basil hollandaise, English muffin, spinach) $12~ The basil hollandaise was delicious. The eggs were poached well, but I guess they didn't drain it well enough cuz there was excess water. But other than that, my friend loved it. It was just what she was craving for.

I absolutely loved this place. The food is fantastic. The setting is awesome being beach-side and all. The service was also great. I wish I could go there everyday!!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

The Latin Pig

Wow.. it's almost been a month since I last posted! It's been busy busy as always. And I've actually been cooking more! Gasp! :P haha.

About 2 weeks ago I went to go see Chef, the new movie by (and starring) Jon Favreau. I was soooo excited about this movie. The trailer looked fantastic. And it's about food! I made time on a weeknight to go watch it with some friends. It was so good. I already had high expectations and it totally exceeded it. It had passion, humor, struggles, and of course food. The food prep/cooking/plating scenes were orgasmic. I was drooling through the whole movie. GO. SEE. IT.!!! Just do it. But don't go on an empty stomach! :P

Anyways, they featured a lot of Cuban flavors in the movie, since the food truck was a Cuban food truck. haha. And they made tons of Cubanos (cuban sandwiches), just one after another. With that crispy toasted bread, the slow roasted pork. OMG! I'm drooling again!

Since I saw the movie, I had been craving a Cubano like no other. I finally made it to a Latin restaurant a few days later.

The Latin Pig
3131 Custer Road, Ste #165
Plano, TX 75075
(972) 985-9760
www.thelatinpig.com
Price: $-$$

This place was on my radar for a while but then I kinda forgot about it. In my search for a Cubano, it came up again. The reviews seemed very positive. And they've got all the things I wanted to try!

It's a tiny little place in a strip mall in Plano. Only about 4 booth for seating, a lot of people came in for to-go orders. You order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. There's a bit of a wait since they seem short staffed. But the guy was super friendly so it's all good. He even took the time to come check on us once all the food came out. :)

I got an order of Maduros (fried sweet plantains) $2.50~ Love me some plantains. For $2.50, this was a pretty good portion. The plantains were soft and sweet. Yummy!!

Cubano (roasted pulled pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles and Mojo de Ajo; served on toasted Italian bread) $7.99~ 

Of course I got this, duh! The whole reason I found this place. haha. It had a great crispy crust and the size was good. It was pretty good, but didn't live up to my expectations and the hype I got from the movie. Mainly because it seemed a bit dry. The pork wasn't that juicy. The flavors were good but it was missing something. I took half of it to go. At home, I spread some whole grain mustard on it and voila! it was sooo much better! I realized they didn't put mustard on their Cubano. Isn't that a required ingredient?

We also got the Rabo Encendido (slow stewed oxtail) $14.99~ I chose to pair it with Arroz con Gandules (yellow rice and Latin peas), per the staff's recommendation. 

I love oxtail. It's pretty hard to find around here. The only other place I've had oxtails (other than at home) was Buttons, a southern restaurant in Addison. Needless to say I was pretty excited. Plus my bf had never had it before and wanted to try. A bit pricey for this plate since oxtails don't have that much meat. FYI, they only have this dish on Fridays-Sundays. It was served on a bed of rice. I wish there was some side of veggies or something too. But the flavor of the oxtail was really good. The meat itself was not tender enough, but sometimes it's fun to gnaw on the bones to see how much meat you can get off of it. haha. The rice turned out to be the icing on the cake. It was a really good pairing with the oxtails. We both liked it a lot. And we scraped the plate clean. My mom's oxtail is still better, but she doesn't prepare it in Latin flavors of course. I'm still glad we tried it. And my bf really enjoyed it! He'll try pretty much anything. I'm so proud. :P

Guava Pastry $1.75~ 

 

I got this to go for dessert later. Hard to find guava around here too. Although I prefer the guava we have in Taiwan where it's white in the inside green on the outside. I think latin guava is pink. It was guava past inside flaky puff pastry. It was good. Needed more guava paste though.

All in all, it was a good little find. They have some other dishes I'd like to try as well. And if I get the Cubano again, I'll ask them to slather some mustard on there!

And... GO SEE CHEF!!!! Trust me, you'll love it! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Food Tour 2010 - Part I (LA)

This past weekend my bf and I took a trip..."food tour" if you will...haha. We hit up Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN. Random, eh?? hahaha. We had a purpose to our madness... One, to get him more miles to make executive platinum status on AA (which he's going to get! Woot!). Two, to eat at new places! And three, to see my awesome friends in LA!

I have a lot to post so I'm going to do it in 3 parts. Parts I & II will be the 2 days in LA and part III will be Nashville.

I flew in earlier on Friday and my friend took me to eat lunch at this awesome Japanese supermarket food court. Japanese food in CA is pretty bad ass!

Mitsuwa Marketplace
21515 Western Ave
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-0335
http://www.mitsuwa.com/

My friend got #9. Toroniku (special pork) Salt Ramen Large $10.99~ at the Santouka Ramen counter.

This was the ramen he kept telling me about. And he's been looking forward to going there with me cuz he hasn't had it in a while. I've never had Salt Ramen before, the broth looked almost creamy... and the special pork on the side was a finer cut of meat than usual pork slices in ramen. OMG!! Sooo freaking delicious!!! If I had the choice I will never order the regular kinds of ramen again. The broth was rich and full of flavor. The noodles were cooked PERFECTLY! And the pork was definitely better...soo worth the additional cost! If you love ramen...you need to go there!

I wanted to sample some other counters too so I went to Mifune (I think?) and ordered the Chashu Ramen & Unagi Donburi Combo $7.25~ What a killer deal! Sooo much food for cheap! The bowl of ramen was pretty huge. Chashu ramen is pretty generic...the flavor was normal as most ramen I've had. But again, the noodles were cooked perfectly! :) The unagi was overcooked, but for that price, I'll take it! haha.

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We finished most of our food... Sooo FULL!! But couldn't resist the cake counter at Italian Tomato. We ended up getting a few cakes and dessert:
- Strawberry Cake $4-5~ - Strawberry Gateau $4-5~ - Green Tea Tiramisu $4-5~ - Black Sesame Pudding $3~ The Green Tea Tiramisu was my favorite. The green tea powder had a hint of bitterness that almost reminded me of cocoa powder. My friend didn't care for it so it was ALL mine!! Muahaha! My next favorite was the Gateau. It was a little hard to cut into but I liked all the different layers. One layer was like a puff pastry and added a buttery-ness to it all. The strawberry cake was my friend's favorite. It was super fluffy and light. I prefer denser cakes so it was too light for me. The black sesame pudding was interesting. It almost had a savory quality to it...maybe too much egg? But I feel like it needed wayyy more black sesame.

Inside the Supermarket, I also got:
- Milk Baumkuchen $5.99~ This was sooo cool. It was like thin sponge cake spun into a roll. So basically it was like a denser sponge cake. Slightly sweet...would pair great with tea or coffee!

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As if the lunch and cakes weren't enough... We went to another Asian bakery for more stuff!

J.J. Bakery
2370 Crenshaw Blvd
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 328-6668
http://www.jjbakeryusa.com/

This is a bakery chain I believe. Walking in, it just reminded me of Asia, and going into the bakeries there. That's what heaven must smell like! YUMMERS! We got an assortment of stuff... (from top left, clockwise)
- Hokkaido Butter Toast $2.75~
- Corn & Jerky Bread $1.15~
- Tarot Bread with Dry Buttermilk $1.30~
- Hot Dog Bread $1.20~
- Pineapple Bun with Dry Buttermilk $1.20~ - Strawberry Mochi Cake $2.85~ each...
The Strawberry Mochi Cake was a must try recommended by my friend. And he was right! OMG...never had it before. I wish we had it here in Dallas. It's like a soft creamy pillowy cloud wrapped in a thin layer of mochi. Pure deliciousness. The texture was so light. The mochi was the right thickness so it wasn't too chewy and the whipped cream and fluffy cake inside was so delicate. :D I also had the pineapple bun...not as good as the ones I have in Asia, but its pretty close. The Hokkaido Butter Toast was pretty amazing too. Hokkaido (in Japan) is known for their dairy, so their butter toast must be hella good!! Super fluffy and buttery. You don't need to put anything on the toast and the flavor is good already.

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For dinner I selected a restaurant in Hollywood.
Animal
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-9225
http://www.animalrestaurant.com/
Price: $$-$$$

I saw this restaurant on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate." They featured the Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar on the show. The menu seemed interesting. It had more exotic things such as veal brains, oxtail, pigs ears, etc. Being Asian...those things are not as exotic to me, but it was cool to see a Western restaurant feature them. They also use local/organic ingredients/produce, so I thought that was cool. The restaurant is really small...about 45 seats total so a reservation is a must!! It's also hard to find, because there's no sign in the front?? Weird!

For a party of 2, we were only able to get a reservation for 9PM. DANG! But my bf's flight didn't get in until after 7PM, so it all worked out. The place was packed when we arrived! And people continued to come in throughout the night. Service was pretty slow. The waiter was nice enough but wasn't too attentive.

We ordered the following...

Baby Kale (pecorino, lemon chili vinaigrette, crouton) $9~
I needed some greens after my day of carbs...haha. It was pretty expensive for a plate of greens but I really liked this dish. A little too much vinaigrette but the lemon really added a pop of flavor to the kale. Kale is a tougher green and I liked the texture of it, you had to chew it a bit more. Very fresh...just what I needed.

Barbeque Pork Belly Sandwiches (brioche and slaw) $12~ Love me some pork belly! This dish was extremely popular on yelp, plus its got one of my favorite meats so of course we had to order it. The pork belly was cooked nicely...fatty and tender. The brioche was nicely toasted and buttery. The slaw added a nice crunch to the sliders. The only complaint is there was too much bbq sauce, but overall I liked the flavors. I felt like the more I ate, the more I liked it. Expensive for 2 sliders, but I enjoyed it.

Poutine (oxtail gravy, cheddar) $15~ We decided on this last dish mainly because everything else we wanted was either tiny portions or wayy too expensive. Plus the waiter made it sound pretty good when he described it. It was basically fries topped with cheese and oxtail. A gourmet chili cheese fries if you will. hahaha. It was good though. The oxtail was super tender and even though the fries were smothered in the gravy, cheese, and oxtail, it stayed somewhat crispy and firm. That was pretty impressive. However, the gravy and cheese combo was pretty salty, so the more we ate the saltier it became. :( Not good... By the end of the meal I had a headache from all the sodium.

One thing I didn't like about this place was that they served everything separately...almost like they are different courses. So by the end with the Poutine, we had nothing to eat with it...to cut the salt. :( Plus the high prices and not so great service, I'm not too impressed with the place. We also opted not to get dessert because I saw another table with them and they were tiny...and expensive. Plus the reviews on yelp say the bacon chocolate crunch wasn't that great.

The ambiance was pretty cool, but I would say don't go out of your way to go there... LA has wayyy too many other options.

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Day 1 is over...sooo much food! But it continues the next day!! hahaha

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~