like i’ve mentioned in my previous entry, i went to osoyoos during the weekends with 8 of my friends. as it is much sunnier than vancouver, we had lots of opportunities for water sports and such. it was a 5 to 6 hours drive from vancouver to osoyoos and trust me, it’s really tiring sleeping in the car, much more driving there. poor raymond and hong had to take turns to drive. anyways, we turned in pretty late as we were settling in the hotel, holiday inn.

all of us were starving when we woke up so we dressed up and went for breakfast at the restaurant next to holiday inn.

shores lakeview family restaurant
Holiday Inn & Suites Osoyoos
Place page 7906 Main Street
Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0
(250) 495-7223

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since we were in osoyoos and we wanted to bask under the sun, we decided to have our meals outside the restaurant. who wouldn’t wanna miss such an awesome weather ? the waitress did not give us much attention after taking down our order. we had to go inside to pay the bill as well

french toast – CAN$9.16 (inclusive of tax and tips)

my french toast was well done. it was cook the way i like it. you know how some french toast are not cooked enough and there is an eggy taste in it ? i dislike that. this french toast is crunchy though. however, i found it plain and not too filling to last me until 7pm. i like the french toast i had in dockers way more. the orange compliments the french toast meal though.

granola yogurt – CAN$5+

the yogurt sylvia got consist of granolas, bananas, oranges, apples and other tropical fruits. i did not try it so i cannot give a review about it but it definitely looks appealing.

omelette- CAN$9.99

yuleen ordered one of the omelette dish. i couldn’t remember which one she ordered though but the portion is definitely bigger than my french toast. this is inevitable due to the difference in prices.

METHOD OF PAYMENT: DEBIT/CREDIT CARD/CASH
CLOSE TO: HOLIDAY INN

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 8/10 (even though it was warm, we were nicely sheltered by the restaurant’s ” umbrella “. it was nice dining under the sun.)
service: 6/10 (more attentive waitresses needed)
food (taste & appearance): 7/10 (standard breakfast meals with a decent presentation)
value: 6.5/10 (would have to say it’s a little more expensive than restaurants like dockers & such but what do you expect dining at osoyoos ?)

total: 6.88/10★

in conclusion, lakeview restaurant is recommended for people living in holiday inn !

+ + + +

so after an hour of horseback riding, another hour of boating and the last hour of jet-skiing and kayaking, all 9 of us were lethargic and starving ! ocean recommended smitty’s family restaurant to us. it was just a 2 minutes drive from the holiday inn.

smitty’s family restaurant
8906 Main Street
Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V4
(250) 495-6333

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the restaurant is located at the heart of osoyoos. it is easily noticeable and looked pretty neat and cozy. we wanted to eat on the outside area of the restaurant as during the day, it is warmer in osoyoos than vancouver. unfortunately, the outside area was full. we managed to get a long table with 9 chairs within seconds. also, there are a few thinking card games and kids’ toys for people to play while dining.

buffalo chicken tenders + nachos + sea salt + pepper ribs – CAN$21

smitty’s three-cheese spinach dip – CAN$8.99

the buffalo chicken tenders are soft and juicy. it is coated with spicy buffalo sauce but it definitely isn’t spicy. the chicken tenders dipped in sweet thai chili sauce were palatable.

the nachos were crispy but not warm when served. the taste of the nachos is enhanced when covered with the spinach three-cheese dip.

i did not try the sea salt & pepper ribs at all so no ratings for it.

shrimp linguini – CAN$12.99

i really like how my dish was presented. as you can see from the picture, the linguini is served with two grilled shrimp skewers and red and green peppers. it is also topped with alfredo sauce. there is sufficient linguini and alfredo sauce but the linguini itself tasted weird that i had to force myself to consume the pasta. the grilled shrimp skewers had the most distinctive taste out of the entire dish. i always eat the skewers so as to neutralize the bland taste of the linguini.

METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH/DEBIT /CREDITCARD
AT THE HEART OF OSOYOOS
KIDS’ FRIENDLY

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 8.5/10 (really nice outdoor dining area and a cool interior design)
service: 7/10 (the waitresses were very systematic when so many of us were ordering)
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10 (the linguini was below average but the skewers made up for it)
value: 6/10 (the prices are toward the steep side for a family restaurant)

total: 7/10★

in conclusion, if left with no other choice, smitty’s is the restaurant to go.

more food reviews soon to come ^^

swisscheese*

Tags: buffalo chicken tenders, french toast, nachos, shores lakeview family restaurant, shrimp linguini, smitty's family restaurant

in two weeks’ time, school will resume and everyone will be busy with the hustle and bustle of life. oh, how i wish i can have more road trips to come before school commences. my 3d2n trip to osoyoos was so relaxing. the views there was really breathtaking and the weather was very permitting for water sports. cheers to a good trip i had last week ! with that said, we should have more food adventures before school starts and thus, i’ll be giving reviews on the noodle houses in vancouver.

#9
Unit 812-5300
Lansdowne Shopping Centre.
5300 No.3 Road
Richmond B.C V6X 2X9

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i’ve been to #9 a couple of times back in 2006 but since the food consist of too much MSG, i deter myself from heading there as much as possible. however, i went there twice this year since arya & co. & my church mates wanted to go there too. the place is always crowded despite it being too late as it is open 24/7. the waitresses are always very fast-paced and not as polite as they should be. the usual excuse is that they are really busy.

since there were 7 of us, we got the 7 items for CAN$71.75 exclusive of tax. in chronological order of the pictures, the food consisted of lemon chicken, honey garlic ribs, forgotten the dish name, tai chin chicken, green beans with minced pork in chili sauce, shredded chicken fried rice and shanghai chow mein. the lemon chicken tasted really good due to the lemon sauce. however, the flesh of the chicken is really dry. the honey garlic ribs was succulent and i would have more if not for the bones. the tai chin chicken was a little bland so i did not have much of it. the green beans with minced pork was not spicy enough and it would be nice if they chopped the beans shorter. both the fried rice and chow mien are my personal favorites even though it’s so oily and contains so much MSG and solely carbohydrate. oh well, what can i say for a carbohydrate lover like myself ?

OPEN 24/7
METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH ONLY

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 5.5/10 (huge restaurant but the tables are scattered all over the place. squeezy table arrangements. exactly like HONS)
service: 5/10 (not much of an impression)
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10 (got to admit that it is addictive due to the MSG)
value: 9/10 (inexpensive like other noodle house)

total: 6.5/10★

in conclusion, this restaurant is for quick, decent and inexpensive  meals.

+ + + +

CONGEE NOODLE KING
3313 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC V5R5K6
(604) 435-6670

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came to congee noodle king a couple of times. it is way better than #9 and very close to many of my friends’ cribs. the place is more spacious than #9 as there is more room for walking from table to table. since there were 5 of us, we got the 5 items with complimentary BBQ duck and shredded chili jelly fish. the 5 items were the following:

fish in mayonnaise sauce: too much mayonnaise sauce but the fish itself was tasty.
deep fried squid: very crunchy, thumbs up !
deep fried eggplant: the most unique dish i’ve eaten in congee noodle king. i usually have eggplants in chill sauce (like those in taiwanese restaurants) but this is truly gratifying !
long beans with miced pork: much better than #9’s beans as it is more moist and minced pork is easily distributed.
beef with green pepper and onions: do not have an impression of this dish

METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH ONLY
CLOSE TO: JOYCE STATION

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 7/10 (better seating arrangements than #9)
service: 6.5/10 (quick paced waitress but was kind enough to snap a group shot of us)
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10 (mass food production. thus, standard taste)
value: 9/10 (inexpensive, just like #9)

total: 7.25/10★

in conclusion, this restaurant is definitely for huge groups and quick dining !

+ + + +

HON’S WUN TUN HOUSE
1339 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6E1C6
(604) 685-087

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uncle uting introduced HONS to both samantha and i back in 2006. he told us that the owner had a small cafe initially and since many customers came due to the word of mouth, he decided to open a franchise of it. there, you have it – HONS branches in each city (vancouver, richmond, burnaby, etc) !! i have a problem with the waiters/waitresses of HONS though. they cannot wait to chase you out after you are done with your meals. also, the place is clean on the surface but i feel disgusted at times, especially when it concerns the washrooms.

homemade noodles

HONS specializes in noodles and thus, you can create your very own noodle soup combo from the following types of noodles: egg noodles, wide egg noodles, rice noodles, rice pasta (lai fen), wide shanghai noodle (udon) and shanghai noodle (somen).  you can also choose any kinds of meat ranging from beef brisket/tripe,  assorted beef/tendon and stewed pig feet, soy/steamed chicken / bbq duck/pork. even the types of dim sum can be chosen too: either wun-tun, shrimp & meat dumplings or beef/fish balls.

as for me, i got the udon with soy chicken and wun-tun. the noodles and wun-tun in soup alone were really highly pleasing to my tastebud. it was difficult consuming the soy chicken because of it’s huge amounts of bones though. i was eating so slowly that all the waitresses/waiters were staring at me because they were closing already.

desserts/compliments

i ordered the sesame soup for dessert while ping got the almond dessert. i really found my sesame soup appetizing. what can i say for the fortune cookies that are given when payment has to be made ? i’m always up for grabs when i see those fortune cookies ^^

METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH ONLY

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 5.5/10 (crampy restaurant, just like #9)
service: 3.5/10 (rude waitresses/waiters that cannot wait for customers to leave right after their meals are done)
food (taste & appearance): 8/10 (noodles truly live up to name)
value: 7/10 (inexpensive but does not have combo package like #9 and congee noodle king)

total: 6/10★

in conclusion, this is a little more expensive than both #9 and congee noodle king.

+ + + +

LAO SHAN DONG HOMEMADE NOODLE HOUSE (老山東)
4887 Kingsway,
Burnaby, BC
(604) 439-9588

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arya and i were so hungry that we decided to just randomly pick a restaurant to eat and there we were at lao shan dong. lao shan dong is really packed during dinner hours but there are far lesser people during lunch time. the waiters show a stern face but they are really nice when taking your order. as they say, never judge a book by its cover. the food was served immediately after ordering so this is another form of quick dining.

spicy beef balls & pork balls with noodle in soup
small: CAN$6.25
large: CAN$7.75

i got the large bowl as i’m not easily full. firstly, i would like to comment that the chili is NOT spicy AT ALL ! it makes the soup more sweet than spicy. the beef balls are very flavorful but i cannot say the same for the pork balls. i was dreading to consume the pork balls. there were plenty of noodles in the large noodle bowl. the pickled vegetables and spring onions adds on flavor to the meal.

METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH ONLY
CLOSE TO: METROTOWN STATION

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 5.5/10 (smaller restaurant but settings are exactly like #9)
service: 7/10 (waiters fared way better than the waiters/waitresses in other restaurants i’ve mentioned here)
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10 (i would have to say i’m disappointed)
value: 8.5/10 (huge portions, cheap thrills)

total: 6.88/10★

in conclusion, come here for fuss-free, immediate serving of food to satisfy your hunger.

+ + + +

SHA LIN NOODLE HOUSE
548 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E9
(604) 873-1816

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nad nad first brought me to shao lin last winter. the place was empty then. i could not remember how the service was because it was a long time ago but when i came back early this year with arya, the people service us had an attitude to spare. there are plenty of people lining up during lunch time and we had to wait for awhile being being seated.

sha lin is pretty interesting as they have different types of noodles as well. the names of the noodles are as follows: cutting noodles, dragging noodles, pulling noodles and pushing noodles. the chefs make the noodles right in front of the customers. it’s pretty intriguing watching that.  the place can be really warm at times as they are boiling it near the customers area.

sha lin noodle house is by far, the best noodle house in vancouver. both their dry and noodles in soup never fail to make me crave for more. when i first went there with nad nad, i had the dragging noodles in soup with shrimps and vegetables. the shrimps and vegetables were really soft and fresh. the soup gave the noodles a delicious flavor and the noodles were very chewy and good. i went there the second time with arya and both of us got the dry noodles. i couldn’t remember what he got but i ordered the spicy cutting noodles. the serving size of the dry noodles outweighs the noodles in soup. it was spicy enough and it tasted so much better with their different spices, sauces and oil. arya loves it so much that he usually craves for it sometimes when we are far away from broadway.

& i almost forgot to mention, sha lin serves my favourite deep fried man tou of all times ^^

METHOD OF PAYMENT: CASH/DEBIT CARD
CLOSE TO: BROADWAY & CAMBIE CANADA LINE

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6/10 (neat, simple)
service: 4/10 (rude, unwelcoming waitresses)
food (taste & appearance): 10/10 (BEST NOODLE HOUSE IN VANCOUVER)
value: 9/10 (huge portions that is worth your every penny, less than CAN$10/meal)

total: 7.25/10★

in conclusion, put this restaurant in your to-eat-list if you haven’t already

more on the restaurants of osoyoos in the next entry, till then !!

swisscheese*

Tags: #9, congee noodle house, HONS wun-tun house, lemon chicken, shaolin noodle house, yi xing mian dian, 老山東

i’ve never had vietnamese food back in singapore so when i got to vancouver back in 2006, i was shocked to see the vast amount of restaurants serving PHO. it’s pretty mcdonaldized if you ask me. initially, pho was like something exotic for me. now, i only eat it when i have no other choices. funny how time can change our eating habits !

pho 99
Lougheed Highway,
Coquitlam, BC V3B 6J6‎
(604) 472-1299‎

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maula and i were starving when we paid nungki a visit at coquitlam centre’s blenz. we couldn’t find a decent place to dine at so nungki recommended pho 99. 4 of us then headed there to have our dinner. the restaurant was really spacious, unlike the gold train express at kingsway. we were served immediately although it was crowded at 9pm. the waitress was just fine. i had the large pho tai nam gau gan sach, which consist of eye round steak, well-done brisket, soft tendon and beef tripe with noodle soup. there was more than enough vermicelli. the meats were well cooked and soft. the bill came to a total of CAN$8+.

i didn’t get to taste hanno, nungki & maula’s meals though.

OPEN UNTIL 11PM
ACCEPTS CREDIT CARD/CASH/DEBIT CARD

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 7.5/10 (free and easy service and convenient for those working at coquitlam centre)
service: 6/10 (average service)
food (taste & appearance): 7/10 (pho that is above average)
value: 8/10 (huge portion at a cheap rate of CAN$7+ exclusive of tips)

total: 7.13/10★

in conclusion, keep pho 99 in mind if you need immediate serving of food.

+ + + +

gold train express vietnamese cuisine
3320 Kingsway,
Vancouver, BC V5R5L1‎
(604) 433-7577‎

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gigi brought me to gold train express and i had no expectations or whatsoever. the place has limited seats and the path from the entrance to the inner seating area is too narrow. gigi and i sat near the entrance and it was not hard to notice the number of people passing by us. the waiter paid little attention to us when we needed to get our glasses of tea refilled. instead of ordering the usual pho soup, i made an order of the dry pho that gigi recommended. it had spring rolls, peanuts, sausages and such. it was different from the boring soup dish. the vermicelli were pretty dry though. maybe i did not mix properly but there were not much sauce in the first place. the portion was huge though so i had to pack some to go.

OPEN 24/7
ACCEPTS CREDIT CARD/CASH/DEBIT CARD

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 3.5/10 (bad infrastructure)
service: 4.5/10 (waiters are rude and slow in satisfying customer service)
food (taste & appearance): 7.5/10 (nicely decorated and taste is a little above average)
value: 8.5/10 (too much food for the standard price of a bowl of pho)

total: 6/10★

in conclusion, this is one of the few phos that served gazillion pho dishes so stay tuned for more !

new vietnamese restaurant
1525 3rd Avenue,
Seattle, WA, United States‎
(206) 398-1888‎

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after not having a proper meal for the entire day, janet and i decided to dine at the new vietnamese restaurant since we were running out of time and it’s by far, the closest decent restaurant to nordstrom rack. there were very few customers at about 4+pm so we could practically sit anywhere. i ordered the bun cha gio (US$7.20), which is egg rolls on vermicelli. there was more than enough sauce on the vermicelli because the waiter gave me a bow of it. the egg rolls are crispy, which is something i truly appreciate. it was a pleasing experience dining there even though the vermicelli is more authentic in vancouver.

CASH ONLY

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6/10 (average pho settings)
service: 9.5/10 (friendly waiter that was very patient with our sudden decision to switch from taking out to dining in)
food (taste & appearance): 6/10 (tasty but you can find more authentic phos in vancouver)
value: 6.5/10 (about the same pricing as canada but smaller in size)

total: 7/10★

in conclusion, visit this restaurant after a long shopping trip at nordstrom rack if you are extremely famished.

+ + + +

vina vietnamese gourmet
2929 Barnet Hwy,
Coquitlam, BC‎
(604) 945-8298‎

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it was my second visit to coquitlam centre and there aren’t many restaurants to dine in so nungki and i settled for vietnamese food at the food court. she ordered the beefball pho soup while i got the roll dip with lemon grass vermicelli. it cost CAN$8+ for me but i walked away with a very filling and satisfying tummy. i prefer the roll dips in food courts over restaurants. the lemon grass chicken was also pretty succulent.

FOOD COURT BASED.
ACCEPTS CREDIT CARD/CASH/DEBIT CARD

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: nil (food court based)
service: 4/10 (really impatient server that demanded payment immediately)
food (taste & appearance): 8.5/10 (absolutely cannot miss out on the roll dips)
value: 6/10 (a little less worth it than restaurant’s because of the difference in serving size)

total: 6.17/10★

in conclusion, visit vina vietnamese gourmet at ease !

i just came back from osoyoos and i cannot wait to share what i’ve eaten there with you guys, ciaoz ^^

swisscheese*

Tags: bun cha gio, gold train express vietnamese cuisine, new vietnamese restaurant, pho 99, pho tai nam gau gan sach, vina vietnamese gourmet

i was really excited when i was invited to go on a roadtrip to seattle for the third time. the first time i went with inez & her family. the second was with my sister and janet and this time, it was with fae, jason and mike. we had so much laughter, joy and most importantly, gastronomic goodies !

we went there just last monday and it took a long time for us to cross the border and immigration customs. we were famished so we went to the denny’s nearby for brunch.

denny’s
2202 State Route 530 NE
Arlington, WA 98223
(360) 652-9444

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i had the santa fe skillet (top picture) for a good US$4.99 with two supplementary slices of pancakes for an additional US$2.00. the portion is really big for such a cheap deal ! it is more value for money in the states than in canada ! i chose my two eggs to be sunny side up as you can see. the santa fe skillet meal consist of crumbled chorizo sausage, fire-roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms and seasoned red-skinned potatoes. when the skillet was served, it was sizzling hot ! the mushroom was really fried and i found it tasted a little weird. i like how crispy the red potatoes are though. the meal, as a whole, was satisfactory, filling and totally worth our every cent ! i didn’t even get to finish my pancakes because of it’s huge size and buttery taste.

did not taste fae and jason’s meals at all ! i did try jason’s french toast though and it was way too sweet ! mike had the grand slam and i really like his whole wheat pancakes a whole lot more than my ordinary pancakes.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 8.5/10 (small, cozy family restaurant)
service: 5.5/10 (slow and obligated waitresses)
food (taste & appearance): 7/10 (good old denny’s !)
value: 10/10 (this is what i call inexpensive !)

total: 7.75/10★

in conclusion, denny’s is only a car ride away !

+ + + +

so after our brunch at denny’s, we headed to seattle premium outlet and got ourselves a few cheap treats ! we then drove to downtown seattle and was greeted by the highly raved red mango !

red mango
600 Pine Street
Seattle, WA 98101, United States
(206) 340-2620

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red mango had a variety of yogurt toppings including both fresh fruits and man made products such as marshmallows and gummy bears. the number of toppings are about the same as qoola and yogen fruz. i like how the theme of the place and uniforms of the servers match the logo of red mango. the guy serving me was a little impatient when i was hesitant on the flavor i would be ordering.

i got the original yogurt flavor with kiwi toppings in a small cup, which amounts to US$2.95 exclusive of tax. i find that usually the original yogurt flavor taste the most sour. one such example is qoola ! for red mango however, it’s a mixture of sweet and sour taste, which makes it not too saccharine  and awful for your taste buds. got to admit the kiwi helped a little but red mango beats qoola tenfold ! yogen fruz is still the best at maintaining yogurt in their freezing state.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 9.5/10 (like the fact that the colors of the uniforms are parallel with the logo)
service: 6/10 (slightly impolite server)
food (taste & appearance): 8.5/10 (same appearance as yogurts in other stores but taste way better than qoola !)
value: 8/10 (really cheap compared to qoola and yogen fruz, go red mango !)

total: 8/10★

in conclusion, red mango is here to stay !

+ + + +

as they always say, ” there’s no such thing as dieting on a roadtrip “. i ended up revisiting chocolate box the second time !

chocolate box
108 Pine Street
Seattle, WA 98101-1512, United States
(206) 443-3900

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fae, mike and jason were fascinated by what chocolate box had to offer ! they sold desserts ranging from gelato to chocolates (their specialties) to petite cakes to huge slices of cake (red velvet and such). contrary what the customers usually go there for (gelatos and chocolates), i headed there twice for their petite cakes and i’m stunned that the store features different petite cakes. the server that served me on my first visit was very composed and explained to me the different flavors they had and the price of a dozen or half a dozen.  as for the other server that served me on my second visit, she was really rude and kept rolling her eyes while serving me. she was very unwilling to answer the basics. thankfully, i managed to have a dozen of petite cakes put in two separate boxes.
half dozen: US$9.95
one dozen: US$19.95

bollywood

this is a chai mini cupcake which i don’t quite fancy. it has a tinge taste of ginger from its buttercream frosting, which results in a weird after taste. the star is made from gold dusted sugar and that compliments the chai mini cupcake as it provides a sweet sensation.

ratings: 2.8/5★

chocobomb

the frosting tasted exactly like chocolate ganache topped with tiny chocolate sprinkles. the chocolate cupcake has a dark chocolate taste so it’s a good combination of sweet icings with bitter cupcake. janet, mike and i made a conclusion that it is delectable.

ratings: 3.5/5★

feather boa

a coconut minicake, which also consist of mojito cheesecake. this explains the acid like taste of the cake. it is also topped with vanilla buttercream and sprinkled with dried coconut. i would have to say that the feather boa would taste better if i ate it right after i purchased it but i brought it home and ate it two days later so the coconut doesn’t seem fresh anymore.

ratings: 2.8/5★

summer in your hand

the adorable cupcake is frosted with strawberry buttercream. it is a lemon cake with strawberry cheesecake filling. what a good mixture we have here. fae also like it. it’s such a pity that good things never last long.

ratings: 4/5★

pineapple inside-out

the petite cupcake has a vanilla butter flavor. it has pineapple flavor on the center of the cake and has caramel buttercream and a marasschino cherry piece to top things up. it was good while it lasted !

ratings: 3/5★

the cupcakes below were purchased on my two visit last month and i’ve forgotten to take down notes on the taste and such so just to fill you in the second cupcake picture is carrot cake while the third one is vanilla with banana toppings. i cannot remember the flavor of the first picture but here’s something for sure,  prefer bite sized cupcakes over ordinary sizes of cupcakes anytime because you get to taste the flavors of each cupcakes and managed to finish everyone of them.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 10/10 (spacious cafe with lots of high quality desserts to choose from)
service: 6.5/10 (different servers with different attitudes to spare)
food (taste & appearance): 6.44/10 (different cupcakes brings about different likings)
value: 6.5/10 (pretty hefty prices for petite cakes)

total: 7.36/10★

in conclusion, i’ll be back for their chocolates and gelatos in time to come !

+ + + +

since it was getting late, we decided to dine at cheesecake factory after shopping at sephora and nordstrom.

review regarding my virgin visit to cheesecake factory can be found at HERE !

hope you guys enjoyed my food adventures at seattle ^^

swisscheese*

Tags: bollywood, cheesecake factory, chocobomb, denny's, pineapple inside out, red mango, santa fe skillet, simply seattle chocolate box

i was really excited when inez invited me to go on a road trip with her and her family to seattle back in february. it was my virgin trip there and i was filled with lots of enthusiasm. we were starving from all the traveling so we decided to head to tulalip casino resort to have a lunch buffet (eagle’s buffet). it was US$10.99 inclusive of tax.

tulalip bay; eagles buffet
10200 Quil Ceda Blvd Tulalip,
WA 98271

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we walked past the casinos smelling nothing but the smell of people smoking. i was pretty stunned that people are allowed to smoke in the casinos of america. right next to the casino however, was the eagles buffet dining area. thank god it doesn’t stink when we were there ! the interior is beautifully decorated with many eagles and small lighting, which suits the theme of the buffet. since it is a buffet, we had friendly chefs cutting meats and cooking mongolian bbq and pasta for us.

the savory food was not that bad. not sure if it was because i was famished though. there are a variety of food ranging from dim sum, western breakfast, meats, pastas, fishes and mongolian bbq. i really have no idea what’s the huge rave about this place because the food is just average. i cannot even afford to describe how each food taste like because it is just decent but what do you expect for a buffet costing less than CAN$10.99 ?

the desserts, on the other hand, is too sweet to be true. even me, a dessert fanatic cannot tolerate the high glucose content in every single dessert i took. i’m a person who likes to try all kinds of dessert but i did not manage to finish up any dessert i took. even the ice-cream was too saccharine. i’m greatly disappointed.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 7/10 (nice interior design but the smoke from the casino nearby can cause damaging effects to our health)
service: 6.5/10 (friendly chefs and fine waitresses who clear our plates)
food (taste & appearance): 4.5/10 (average savory food, awful desserts)
value: 6/10 (cheap; food high in quantity, not quality)

total: 6/10★

in conclusion, this buffet is for you if 1) you are starving 2) you can hold your hunger until you reach downtown seattle 3) you find the food at the nearby foodcourt dreading and not value for money

more seattle entries in time to come ^^

swisscheese*

Tags: buffet in seattle, tulalip bay seattle