Lady M

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on Lady M's Mille Crêpes. This is this the signature cake from this fancy bakery in NYC. It's a cake with delicious cream sandwiched between endless thin layers of soft crepe.






Their flavors range from coffee to green tea, and they're all fine choices. If you can't make it to Lady M, this cake is also served at Megu in Tribeca. Let me warn you that it's a luxurious treat that will hit your wallet. ;-)

My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Wedding Wednesdays: Boxes that Fit the Theme

The focus these days is on eco friendly products, but they're also more costly. So when it comes to gift bags and such for the wedding, these paper boxes were so very tempting...

Above from Jam Paper

They're in the right color and right theme. It's not very often that you find the right combination. Maybe I can ask guests to reuse them and recycle them afterwards...then could it be labeled eco friendly?

Cracking My Mom's Stuffed Peppers Recipe

My mom used to make the most delicious green peppers stuffed with shrimp. Sadly, she doesn't cook as much anymore, so I took it into my own hands...I tried to make them without asking for her recipe. The results? How do you think these look?

I've actually made these twice in my lifetime so far. I only made these recently because I needed to use up my fiance's large frozen bag of shrimp. You can use any kind of shrimp. Mine was u51-60 (51-60 per lb.) This recipe is fairly easy, and really tasty too. Make them bite sized so they're easier to eat and there's less chance of the shrimp falling out of the pepper. Serve them with rice.

Shrimp-Stuffed Green Peppers
Serves 2

1 lb shrimp, minced (preferably chopped by hand for better texture)
1 large green pepper, cut into 2in. segments
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 tsp warm water
salt & pepper
vegetable oil

In a working bowl, combine the shrimp, 1 tsp of the cornstarch, garlic, ginger and salt & pepper. Stir the mixture until it reaches the consistency of a paste. With an icing spatula or a dinner knife, fill the green peppers with the shrimp mixture. Make sure to pack tightly.

In a hot pan, add oil and make sure the pan is well coated. Add the prepared green peppers and cook about 3 minutes each side. In the meantime, add 1/2 tsp cornstarch to warm water. After the peppers are done, add the oyster sauce and cornstarch liquid. Finish with sesame seed oil. Serve hot.

Wedding Wednesdays: In Love with Amy Atlas

I've always loved the yummy looking dessert bars created by Amy Atlas, ever since her work has been spreading like wild fire on blogs. When I saw these images in purple I just had to show you (if you don't know by now, my favorite color is purple.)

Above from AmyAtlas.com

And look! Macaron!!!

Above from AmyAtlas.com

Oh I wish the dessert at our wedding can look like that.

The Insider on Japanese Noodle Joints

My brother, a foodie in training, has been on the hunt for the best Japanese ramen houses in NYC ever since he found this blog that ranked the top ones to try. He checked out Ippudo, which was ranked 2nd on the blog's list and has been raving about its ramen and pork buns ever since. Intrigued by the idea of having the best ramen in th city, my fiance and I decided to jump to the top of the list and check out Ramen Setagaya.

Ramen Setagaya is a ramen chain from Japan. There are two locations in NYC - one specializes in salt-based broth (supposedly a special salt from Vietnam), and the other, soy sauce based broth. We went to the former location, which I believe is operated by a Korean staff. I could've been wrong, but I swore I heard them speaking Korean to each other. I wonder if it's any less authentic because of that.

Although we were impressed by Ramen Setagaya, it wasn't a perfect experience. We ordered the Tsukemen, which came with noodles and a broth with grilled pork belly. It was tasty, and the pork was soooo good!!! However, the broth was a tad too salty and greasy, and it was only lukewarm.

Let me tell you how good the pork was. For the first time since my return from the Hong Kong trip last year, I was very very happy to have converted back to eating pork. The pork belly was thinly sliced into small pieces, grilled and tossed into the broth. There was a good amount of fat in the meat, but I didn't mind it at all because it was so tasty. As for the noodles, they were very similar to fettucini. This was the first time I had ramen this thick.

Other than the Tsukemen, we also ordered Oyako-Don, which is rice topped with minced chicken and raw egg, and Seafood Gyoza (since we didn't want to get all porked out with Pork Gyoza). The taste and texture of the chicken in the Oyako-Don reminded me of corned beef. There were pieces of pickles in there that added an interest to the dish. Overall, it was pleasant.



As for the Gyoza - don't even bother. They totally skimmed on the filling, which was a tad below average. It was the skinniest Gyoza I had ever seen.

Given that my brother was very fast to proclaim Ippudo as the epitome of Japanese Ramen joints in the city without even trying Ramen Setagaya, I went ahead and asked for an opinion from a native Japanese (my hairdresser). Her pick? Ippudo! She agreed with me that Setagaya's broth is too salty.

I am now dying to try Ippudo! I'm so excited at the prospect of having something even better to try. I would still return to Ramen Setagaya any time though. The pork, the pork!

Wedding Wednesdays: A Present Every Day

The little RSVPs cards have been rolling in every day. I've been opening them like they're presents because once in a while, I get sweet messages and comments from our guests on the cards. This one made me especially happy and warm:

And this one made me burst out in laughter (it still does!):

Thank you all for lighting up my day! It really makes a big difference when I'm under house arrest with a bunch of study material.

Daisy May's

I'm not a meat lover, but according to my fiance, the carnivore, Daisy May's is on the top of his list (next to Dinosaur BBQ) for restaurants that serve great barbeque ribs in NYC. I had take-out from there before, but never stepped into the place. As soon as you step in, you see a lot of sides, cafeteria style...that really brought back some (awful) memories from the good ol'school cafeteria.

So, here's how it works: you go in, order what you want, pick up your food and proceed into the communal/cafeteria-style dining room, complete with a TV. I guess they figured that it's not a pretty sight eating ribs anyways, so why not make a very casual dining room - that way, no one would be embarrassed to lick their fingers.

We ordered some Kansas City Sweet & Sticky Pork Ribs, Memphis Dry Rub Pork Ribs, Tennessee Whiskey Beer Can Style Chicken, and a bunch of sides. I had a few bites of the ribs (that's right, I'm a convert now after my Hong Kong trip), and thought both types were good. I preferred the Sweet & Sticky ones better though - I liked biting the sweet exterior and into the meat. I wished I had more to say, but I'm not a meat expert.

As for the chicken, I've had it twice now, and I wasn't impressed both times. It had flavor, but was dry - I got half a chicken, and all parts of it was dry. End of story.

The sides were good, and the sweet tea was nice (a tad too sweet for my taste). I think I may prefer to have their ribs at home instead - I'm not a fan of cafeteria-style dining. The horror, the horror!

Wedding Wednesdays: If Timing Weren't an Issue

I had wanted branches like Cherry Blossom or Dogwood as centerpieces at our wedding, but they're only in season in April and at the latest May. This photo was from 3 years ago when I revisited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in late April. Aren't they so dreamy?


They're fluffy and so romantic when their tiny petals are carried through the wind. They make such wonderful wedding arrangements as centerpieces or the focus of the escort card table.

Above, from Projectwedding.com

Above from MarthaStewart.com

Above, from Brides.com

The weather in April & May would be have been the ideal wedding situation than the summer heat too. Oh well...

Butter Can Make or Break an Omelet

Literally.

Granted, my fiance doesn't have the right sized pan (it's a tad too big) for making omelets, but they shouldn't look like this:




And this is what it looks like after a pad of butter in the pan: