Intelligentsia Coffee, Millenium Park Chicago

It was day 2 in Chicago, our first morning i.e breakfast. We went to the nearest Intelligentsia Coffee for breakfast. They did not really have breakfast selections that we wanted so we simply tried their pastry and their cappuccino.

Lunch At Canton Paradise

One fine day sometime ago, a bunch of us had dim sum lunch at Canton Paradise in Marina Bay Shoppe. The food were all good and we were very pleased with what we ordered.

Dim Sum Lunch - Crystal Jade Palace

It happened that there's a bunch of us and we were hungry. We went for dim sum and we were able to order various types of dim sum. It's definitely the beauty of having lunch with many people. We also had a plate of Fried Noodles that I had no picture of. Everything was cleaned up and everyone was satisfied with the food. Happy belly to us all!

Cheese Twists

I had a couple of frozen pastry in the freezer that needed to be cleared up. These cheese twists are easy to make and favorites at home. 

Pineapple Tarts

This Christmas, we are having people over. People that live away from her and constantly miss Chinese New Year in this country, where pineapple tarts are commonly served. I could make pineapple tarts anytime, as long I have the ingredients and the time.  I decided, this year, to bake pineapple tarts this Christmas for them. Christmas time is the time when family and friends get together, supposedly to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. I know there lots of cookies and cakes will be served and available, but let's include pineapple tarts too. Because, why not?

Breakfast At The Club

We had our breakfast at the Club (of the hotel) when we were in London every day. We thought it would be easier that way, because a lot of breakfast places do not open early enough. It was also rather cold to go out, especially in the morning. We wanted little effort and in-house breakfast was our best option. 

There were some items that were constantly on supply, but some changed a bit here and there. There were always vegetables and fruits with hummus and cheese as well which I was quite happy of. They had cereals, bread and pastries too.  I normally tried to start with piling up fruits and veggies on my plate with a cup of coffee on the side and a glass of orange juice before nibbling other items available, because it's always tempting to try them. 

Lunch At Hakkasan, Mayfair

We had a reservation for four in this modern Cantonese restaurant. Hakkasan is a well known Michelin restaurant and we were basically dying to try. No. Not really. But we were curious and we we hungry too. The restaurant is in the vicinity of New Bond street, but we were not familiar with the area and we missed the restaurant and had to turn around. 

The food was great. We had Baked Venison puff below, they were fantastic.

We also Scallop Shumai with tobiko caviar and they were delicious too.  We had a couple more dim sum, Har Gau and Crispy Beancurd Cheung Fun.

From the ala carte menu, we had steamed seabass, stir fry vegetable and Singapore noodles. It's all quite a bit for all of us, but we were happy to sample quite a few varieties.

Freshly Baked Croissants

We woke up to the third week of November. Times certainly flies, I can't say it enough again and again. It seems like yesterday when I tried to adjust to writing 2015 and now we are about to end it. The streets and shops have been decorated for Christmas.  I see tons of advertisements for Christmas  products and gifts on the paper.  Thanksgiving is around the corner and before you know it, it will be Christmas and New Year all over again. No slowing down. Just enjoy this fast ride and make the best of it every day if that's possible. 

The amount of active work involved to make these babies actually is not too much, it is the waiting time that is long. Some people would take 2 to 3 days to make them. But, it's well worth the effort. Imagine sitting down in a cool morning with a cup of coffee and warm homemade croissants...... So heavenly!

I started making the dough for these croissants yesterday afternoon. It took me overnight. I wanted them badly for breakfast today and I made sure it happened. It was a good way to start the week. These croissants are so flaky, buttery, crusty on the outside and soft inside. So. Yummy. 

Recipe.

Coffee At Muji Yurokucho Cafe, Tokyo

We headed to Mitsukoshi Ginza to have an early sushi lunch then walked along Ginza and our eyes caught Loft and Muji stores. We were ready for our afternoon coffee and we knew there is a big Muji cafe there.  The cafe is huge and it was still packed with people and there was a line forming at the entrance. We waited a bit and had our seat. They were still serving lunch when we came, but we had a couple of pastries of coffee. It's quite pleasant. 

Up And Above, Okra Bangkok

I completely was in love with the vast and delicious selection at this restaurant. We were here at the end of last year. Waking up to have this wonderful breakfast was something that I was looking forward to. I love their juices, I love their coconut even more. I could choose my how my eggs cooked and there's more than enough than my tummy was happy with. What a nice break from having to prepare my own food at home and clean up after. It's not all perfect but definitely fantastic.