New Asian Grocery!

First week of work complete! A little overwhelming, but the team is so nice and supportive.

R&J took me to Summer Palace to celebrate. I didn't have AYCE sushi, but the orange chicken lunch I ordered was really good, one of the best!

After, we went to a new Asian grocery, Mei's Supermarket. They opened in an old Publix a year ago, I think. It's very big and has a huge selection of products, produce, meat/seafood, frozen foods, a bakery, and a little café. I bought some baby bok choy, wonton skins, and other stuff, and Mom said the prices are not bad, too.

I also bought my favorite Asian snacks that I couldn't find at the MI/Melbourne oriental stores. Pineapple & lychee shortcakes and coconut butter cookies were good. Green tea Panda snacks were very good (even better than the chocolate flavor we found at Aldi). The boba tea in a can was a little disappointing; the taro milk tea was good, but the boba were more like mushy gelatin than squishy-chewy tapioca pearls.

The Chinese bakery was great! Buns and egg tarts were buy 5, get 1 free. I got 3 HK egg tarts & 3 Portuguese egg tarts; custard, coconut, & taro buns; roast pork bao, roast pork bun, & steamed pork/veg bao. All were very yummy, but the Portuguese egg tarts were particularly good, so rich & creamy!

R spent over $50 at the store, and they gave her a free boba tea or dim sum dish ($4 value). She chose steamed custard buns and gave one to me.

 

They also sold sticky rice dumplings! I didn't get the sweet red bean ones, just the pork & salted egg ones, which were delicious! I'll definitely get more next time. Dad (& Mom) missed it and enjoyed it.

 

 

On the way home, we stopped at Cosmic Creamery, and I ordered their ube ice cream. It's a bit pricey, but it's hard to find. Mom & Dad enjoyed it, too, though we agreed that it could have less sugar and more ube flavor.

R also gave us a sweet potato pie baked by her friend. It was very flavorful but also too sweet, a bit like eating pumpkin cookie dough.

 

Edit to add: Went to Mei's again two weeks later. This time, I spent over $50 and got free dim sum (very soft, fluffy, & tasty roast pork bao). R spent over $100 and got a free meal box!

New Pizza Place

Tried the new PieZano pizza. Average taste, a bit pricey. Margherita pizza (no fresh mozzarella slices) & mushroom ricotta calzone (sauce was tomato puree and weirdly minty)

New Indian Buffet!

Thrilled to have a local Indian restaurant with delicious buffet!! 😋 Highly recommend Indian Sizzler!

R&J and I tried it when it opened last Fall, but it was a dinner w/ Sara & Alex, so it was menu only, no all-you-can-eat. The korma and naan were really good though. Later, we went for the AYCE platter lunch, and all the dishes were good (and unlimited)! The restaurant changed to buffet (like Tamarind, which we miss), and everything is delicious (some dishes change daily). I've been there 5 times now (I think) and always leave happy!

AYCE Platter vs Buffet

 

Bat-Pizza!

To promote the new Batman movie, Little Caesars came up with a Bat pepperoni pizza with calzone ends filled with ham and a rather intense alfredo sauce. Pretty good actually lol.

 

Sadly, the cheese pizza was 1/4 hollow dough bubble. :P (Complained & got a free one.)

 

Bday 2021

Tried takeout from the new Caribbean Delights. Disappointing tbh. Guava pork ribs, pulled pork mofongo (mashed plantain) bowl, and flan were pretty good. Sancocho stew and empanada were not bad. But pastelles (plantain/potato/pumpkin stuffed w/ meat) was way too salty, and the plantains were super dry and bland. 

 

New Thai Restaurant

Glad to see more diverse restaurants in town. Duke's Thai & American is really good! Ordered twice in 1 month.

Red curry w/ coconut milk & bamboo shoots, chicken skewers w/ peanut sauce; coconut & lemongrass chicken, bang bang chicken (fav); pad thai, noodle soup.

 

 

Lockdown Takeout

M's bday: R ordered Domino's delivery for us, incl my fav BBQ pizza, heart pizzas, & desserts.

 

 

 

May 30: finally used the Junkanoo Island Kitchen and Rising Tide gift certificates that came w/ the gift basket I won at last year's Sea Turtle Festival. Both are similarly tasty and tasteful in that fancy casual dining way. Burger w/ tater tots, fritters w/ coconut lime rice, jerk chicken (half), grilled chicken sandwich w/ slaw, stuffed pepper, & artisan pizza.

 

  

 

June 30: Beef gruyere savory crepe, taro boba tea, & steak rice pilaf from Le Crave.

 

Nov Food Blog + Dad's Bday

Nov 9: Before Mom, Sara, and I visited the Morse Museum, we went to Lotte Market and ate at the cafeteria. Yummy Korean BBQ, stew, stir fry, and kimbap. 

 

Nov 13: First time at Tea World Cafe w/ Dad. Chicken salad croissant sandwich w/ tomato basil soup, stuffed turkey breast w/ mashed potatoes & veggies; blueberry scone w/ cream & jam, pumpkin cheesecake (all pretty good).

 

Nov 19: First time at Playalinda Brewing Co.'s Brix Project location to try their Ramen Tuesday w/ Dad for his bday. Ramen w/ pork, tea egg, & veggies (rather ordinary soup & small bowl); grilled pork belly w/ creamy brussel sprouts (too greasy but very flavorful).

 

Fun w/ R&J

R&J & I went to watch X-Men: Dark Phoenix last Saturday. It was pretty good. Not nearly as bad as the reviews claimed. Although it had clunky writing and could have used more time with the characters, it was one of the better X-Men movies. The action sequences are unique & exciting, highlighting each mutant power, combo, & clash.

This evening we went to the 90s-themed downtown street party. I had planned to do the scheduled walk and stop by the local businesses to get popular 90s snacks (Fruit Roll-Ups, Hawaiian Punch, Ring Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Whoopie Pies, Rice Crispy Treats, Bagel Bites, Cosmic Brownies, pigs-in-a-blanket, Hi-C, Pizza Rolls, cheese balls, Kool-Aid, Bugles, root beer float, Cow Tales, & Cracker Jacks). Unfortunately, R&J weren't feeling up to it, and we couldn't even find parking, so we decided to forgo the scheduled program. 

Instead, we just went straight to Main St. Philly for dinner (sans ring pop). I had a coupon and got 2 philly cheesesteaks w/ onions & provolone, 2 sides, & 2 fountain drinks for $20. The cheesesteaks were pretty big & tasty, though the flavor was basic-good, not special-good. The fries & onion rings were special-good, fried to a perfect "crisp on the outside, tender on the inside" texture w/ good seasoning. I'd order them again.

 

After that, R wanted dessert, so we headed to MacSweets. First, we found parking at the Welcome Center, where I got the sample of Hawaiian Punch & Fruit Roll-Ups. What a throwback, like the 90s hits we listened to all night. We walked to MacSweets. I got the tiny sample of Whoopie Pie lol. R ordered a slice of cheesecake and almond cupcake for $7. Both were delicious, so moist, rich, & flavorful. Too sweet after a few bites, so it's good to share, but they're so good!

 

 

Despite some drama at the start, it turned out to be a fun night. :)