Bakery – Page 21

Suzhou: The Lingering Garden and a fairly familiar stop……

February 26, 2011 mmm-yoso Bakery, China, Markets & Grocers, Suzhou, Travel

Our first day in Suzhou was a busy one, and after walking back to our hotel room after dinner….. I was totally spent and crashed pretty quickly. I also knew that if the Missus had Her way, we'd have another full day coming up. And I was right, The Missus decided that we should walk from our hotel to the Lingering Garden (留園).

It ended up being a pretty long walk, but also gave us a pretty good look at some of the neighborhoods along the way.

In one of the shops along the way, we noticed that these "candidates" for dinner had made it out of the tanks, and were trying to avoid becoming the main course…..

We also came across a large "market area", and decided to take a detour….. I love these places…..

Scenes we've seen played out on a daily basis all over the world….

Meandering through the narrow alleyways…….

And over the canals….the ancient highway system for Suzhou.

Ending back up on the main street……

Out past the Changmen Gate….

You'll come across a simple long wall and gate……. the simple entrance belies the beauty of the Lingering Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and along with The Humble Administrators Garden, The Summer Palace in Beijing, and the Imperial Mountain Summer Resort in Chengde, is considered one of the Four Famous Garden of China.

We'd arrived right at opening, but there were already a couple of tour groups in line. While waiting, a young lady walked up, and started chatting with the Missus. Apparently, University Students majoring in History and Tourism give free guided tours. We ended up having a free private tour, albeit in Mandarin (with the Missus translating). The young woman was very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we really enjoyed the experience.

The Lingering Garden was built in 1593, and had gone through several owners, each of whom added his own touch to the garden but still keeping within its grand design. The garden covers about two hectares and is divided into four parts, the central, North, East, and West. Which are connected by a corridor.

There's so much to write….and even more I forgot as the young woman was full of immense detail and stories of the garden. I'll stick to those that have really stayed with me. The first thing that I think of when it comes to the Lingering Garden was the wonderfully angelic song coming from this boat in the middle of the pond.

I've never been a big fan of this type of Chinese music, but here, in this environment, it was beautiful……. just plain beautiful.

The young woman told us we were lucky that it wasn't very crowded. When the garden is too busy, and the chattering gets too loud, the woman stops singing, since no one can really hear her.

The natural stones also grabbed my attention. Many of the large stones replicate mountains, landscapes, and in this case a scene. This one is called Eagle Fighting Wolf…. and looking closer it did indeed look like a eagle swooping down on a wolf.

This stone is probably the most well known…. we were told that it was headed to the Forbidden City… but the transfer was halted when the Communist regime took over.

For me, the most imp[ressive hall in the Lingering Garden is the "Yuan Yang Ting", the Mandarin Duck Hall.

The hall is divided into two saloons which are decorated differently. Even the beams and the roofs are different on each side of the hall.

There's so much more….but so little time. Here are a few other photos.

This is one place I'd like to return to.

There's a saying I heard several times while in China – "Shang you tian tang, xia you su hang" (上有天堂下有苏杭), "In Heaven There is Paradise, On Earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou".

My foot had started bothering me a little, so we decided to catch the bus back. Unfortunately, traffic was so bad we decided to get off the bus after a couple of stops and walk back to our hotel. Along the way, I noticed this shop…..

Look Familiar?

I'd been trying to get the Missus to 85C Bakery in Irvine, but She just didn't seem interested. But it was getting kind of hot, and we decided to take a short break….. and it ended up being just the perfect stop for us.

It turned out to be the perfect thing.

After this, every time the Missus was tired and needed a little pick-up, we'd look for a 85C Cafe…..

We were really enjoying Suzhou!

La Mesa Bistro & Bakery. Breakfast.

October 24, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

You are here. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are working. Cathy apparently isn't, so she will blog about another meal she has enjoyed. You can enjoy vicariously.

If you follow the blog, you may have noticed a pattern. I like breakfast. I also live in East County. So, when I go out for breakfast, it's usually close to home. At Interstate 8 at the Grossmont Center Drive exit, you can go North to Grossmont Mall/Hospital, or South on La Mesa Boulevard, toward the downtown/"Village of La Mesa". Pass two signal lights when going south, and you'll see a small mall anchored by the USE Credit Union.
It's been here for years, does a brisk, local business and is located in the far back corner of the mall, you'll see cars parked from 6:00 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Walk inside (after perusing the 'Specials' menu board outside) and you can grab a menu (which is titled with 'Old Fashioned Baking, Healthy and Nutritious Foods, Gourmet Coffees and Catering') and sit down. Then walk up to the cash register, order and pay. You'll get a number card to place on your table. You serve yourself beverages (there is a lemon-water dispenser near the door)and… See all those pump pots of coffee on the right? 'Gourmet coffees' are listed on the menu.You pick up a cup (paper or ceramic) and pick the one you'd like (only two of those coffees are flavored, the rest are beans from around the world; I picked the Sumatra for about 3/4 of the cup and added some French Roast for the rest and The Mister chose Costa Rica). There are also espresso drinks which can be made for you. Those are fresh made pastries in the display case straight ahead.
The Mister's granola waffle ($7.95) with two poached eggs and two slices of bacon, topped with fresh fruit (they make fresh fruit smoothies here and offer fruit bowls and sides, so garnish is easy). The granola waffle was a special this day. The waffle was not as 'fluffy' as the plain waffle, meaning not as tall…but the flavors and nutty-ness and cranberries was wonderful. The granola was evenly dispersed and not 'chunky' in the waffle. The eggs were poached perfectly and the bacon provided just the right bit of saltiness.

I kind of wanted lunch…or maybe salty, so ordered the Deli Omelette ($7.95), made with corned beef, pastrami, tomatoes, onions and Swiss cheese. It's made with three large eggs and *filled* with all those ingredients, and the melty Swiss just makes it luxuriously smooth. This was served with country potatoes (I could have chosen fruit-they give you a lot of fresh fruit) and choice of toasted potato bread, whole wheat, sourdough or English muffin. I *love* potato bread, buy it whenever I can find it (which is rarely) and this is made here. Oh and the sesame seed topping makes this just right when toasted. (The other breads baked here are also really good, especially for the lunch sandwiches).

La Mesa Bistro and Baker doesn't need any publicity and doesn't even have a website. If you can drop by for breakfast or lunch, you won't be disappointed.

La Mesa Bistro and Bakery 8697 La Mesa Boulevard La Mesa 91941 (619)589-0806 Open seven days 6:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Website

Opera Patisseries Fines- Part Two-Lunches

September 30, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy finding things to write about and Cathy has things to write about. Here you go.

Hi Again. When Kirk and His Missus were on vacation in China, I wrote about breakfast at Opera Patisserie and told you I'd write about lunch. Quick like a bunny, in my painstakingly methodical way, here are photos of some of those non-breakfast meals. Opera is only open six days a week, for breakfast and lunch and serves its breakfasty menu items after 1:30 in the afternoon. We have never had a bad meal here and this was one of our 'joint' choices of meals to share the week between our birthdays.
One item I did not mention, which is usually sold out by lunch time is the house made almond croissant ($2.49 and so worth it).

Flaky, crispy and billowy layers and layers of buttery goodness, filled with a delightful not too sweet marzipan. An excellent treat or meal…
My other post had shown an egg white omelette filled with mushroom, asparagus and tomato and here is a photo of a 'regular' (eggs with yolk) omelette with the same fillers (same price of $8.95). I actually like the egg white omelette better…but am not complaining about this one, which was a lunch for me one day, served with a salad and fried Yukon Gold potatoes topped with a parmesan cheese.
The Quiche Lorraine can be a breakfast or lunch dish here. It is perfect. The buttery, flaky crust. A thin layer of just enough nutty flavored Swiss cheese. The pancetta. The nutmeg flavor in the custard. Bits of onion…wonderful!
The crepes- Chicken curry ($8.50)…that is a curry white wine sauce. The crepes are thin yet don't fall apart.
They were filled with pieces of roasted chicken breast, red bell peppers, cooked tomatoes, Gruyére cheese and some fresh herbs. Nicely flavored, not spicy. Not too rich. The spring salad is topped with a mustard vinaigrette.
Here is a better photo of my half order of Ahi Niçoise Salad ($ 6.50). It is served in a rather large bowl. The spring mix of lettuces is also mixed with Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, red bell peppers, olives and topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Opera Patisserie 9254 Scranton Road San Diego 92121 (858) 458-9050 Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

Bread on Market- a quick, delicious breakfast

September 5, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Sadly, this wonderful bakery has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog. The people who write the blog are friends who like to eat and talk about their adventures. Today, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) ae having their own adventures and Cathy is writing about one of hers.

Hi. I used to be in downtown San Diego a lot, but either at 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m. and this place was always closed when I would drive or walk past.
Bread on Market opens at 7:30 a.m., it is closed by 4 p.m. Sun-Thurs and 5 p.m. Fri and Sat, unless the Padres are playing an evening game and then they stay open until 7 p.m. They bake really good breads and pastries, make wonderful sandwiches, soups and salads. Then there is breakfast, my most favorite meal of the day.

The menu is on the side wall, and there is a chalkboard out front with specials listed.

You walk up, order and pay, get your own coffee or beverage and have a seat. It is small inside, only about ten tables and sometimes the line goes out the door.

Here is a kind of cross section of an almond croissant ($2.75). Filled with a delicate in house made marzipan, which is light and fluffy and not overly sweet , light layers of dough, baked to a crispy exterior and topped with coarsely chopped almonds, which give it a wonderful texture. It was fresh, but not out of the oven warm.
This blueberry scone ($2.75), however, was hot from the oven at about 8 a.m. one Sunday a few weekends ago.

Flaky, creamy dough and filled with fresh blueberries. It was wonderful. One of the best scones I have ever had.

The Country Breakfast ($4.25) Two scrambled eggs, sliced Francese (a square roll of white bread with a chewy but soft crust), butter, cream cheese and strawberry jam with fresh fruit. Just enough and so fresh.
One Sunday, we decided to try the Cheese plate for breakfast ($7) Fresh baguette and a choice of two cheeses (this was Brie and Gorgonzola; we could also have chosen Goat, Cheddar or Jack) served with Kalamata olives, dried cranberries, apples and sliced strawberries. This was very nice and just enough for us.

We usually buy a loaf of rye bread when we are here; I don't have a photo, but it is filled with caraway seeds and very, very good. The sandwiches are excellent and cost between $7.50 and $7.95. An excellent place I wish I had stopped by sooner. Now it is a destination.

Bread on Market 730 Market Street San Diego 92101 (619) 795-2730 Website

Panaderia La Moreliana

October 22, 2009 mmm-yoso Bakery

I'm a bit under the weather, so just a short post tonight. Thanks for bearing with me…..

If you are a regular reader, you already know that I don't have much of a "sweet tooth". That's why various desserts and sweets don't have much coverage. For that coverage, please visit Kirbie's and CanineCologne's blogs. And though I know that Captain Jack has a real weakness for Mexican Desserts…… in fact, we had to make a stop at Panchita's after our recent South Bay Taco Crawl. And as usual the pastries were just not to my taste. Too much sugar, too much Manteca??? Who knows….. That's why I find the fact that I'm doing a post on a Panaderia kinda odd, because I'm the last person in the world to stop at one.

In this case it was the sign that got my attention…..

Seen from 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista, off the main street on Quintard Street. For some reason, on one of my visits to Internacional 2000, I decided to drive by and check the place out.

After seeing the front of the bakery, I decided to walk in a grab some stuff.

The "tradicional Michoacan" signage got me to walk in. This shop specializes in bread and pastries from the Michoacan region of Mexico. I was curious, mainly because I had read this post on Mexico Cooks. To quote a line in that post, the "people of Michoacán consume a million pieces of artisanal bread per day…." That's a heck of a lot of bread. Unfortunately, there were no "birotes" (what they call Bollilos in that region), I'm guessing they had sold out. There was also about four people in line picking up cakes.

Since these Panaderias usually put out some pretty inexpensive stuff, I decided to grab a few items for the Missus. And though the selection wasn't that large, there were most of the usual suspects.

And on subsequent visits there always seem to be something different.

Subsequent visits???? Well, I found something that I knew the Missus was going to enjoy… the Coricos:

Light and crumbly, very mildly sweet, with a nice savory "masa" (corn) flavor, the Missus likes this version…… I've got to grab some pumpkin turnovers on a future trip.

I guess you never know what you'll find when your driving around….. you might find some coricos!

Panaderia La Moreliana
275 Quintard St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Big Joy Family (Bakery & Cafe) (dot com)

October 13, 2008 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog, mostly written by Kirk, along with some friends. He is almost at His vacation destination with The Missus and has no internet access. You get to read about what Cathy eats in the interim. The title of this post has to do with their signage…

Hi. Not long ago it was the "seven days of feasting" when The Mister and I celebrate the week between our birthdays with at least one meal out a day…he gets to choose the first three days and I get to choose the last three. The middle day we have to both agree upon. So anyhow it was his turn. Again. He likes sweets. Why play games?

If you have ever been to Phuong Trang, you've seen this place. It is right next door. We would pass by, after having our fill of (middle of the road) food and look through the window. For years. We took a chance one day…and return here as often as we go to French Cake. The influences here are Japanese and Korean, an interesting mix.

If you haven't been paying attention, I do not crave chocolate. Don't expect to see any in this post. I chose this cream filled stick ($2.25) It is about 12 inches long and since we were eating in, it was served to us cut into six pieces. A non-sweet whipped fresh cream inside a light slightly bread-dy textured, faintly sweet tasting shell.

I, of course, got a hand drip coffee (large $2.95). Served with real cream and whatever that stuff in the colored packets is…

The Mister wanted a mango banana smoothie (large-$3.95) served in this very cool looking tall glass. It is made with Monin mango syrup and a real banana. He also wanted a small plain frozen yogurt ($3).

I decided I wanted to try a red bean topped flaked ice (small-$3.50) which is also topped with tapioca like cubes, small rice cakes (mochi) a red bean powder and a scoop of very nice, rich vanilla ice cream. This is more than enough for two. The large is served in the same size bowl but has two more scoops of ice cream. You can also get fresh fruit and green tea powder as optional combinations. I_dont_eat_sweetsha_005

The real reason we came…on Friday and Saturday only, the bakery makes an organic raisin walnut bread. $2.75. We ate one loaf, sliced for us and served with an *excellent* salted creamy butter. We got another loaf to go. It has a crispy crust, with a soft textured, light, non bulky wheat interior, filled with plump raisins and crispy nuts.

All of this food was less than $22 total, served to us, fresh and wonderful. We did not go out to dinner that night.

You can see other items made here on the website. The cakes are beautifully decorated. Just walk in and try something. There are comfy tables and chairs and free wifi M-F.

Big Joy Family Bakery and Cafe 4176 Convoy San Diego 92111 M-Sat 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed 1st and 3rd Mondays each month. (858)627-0888

Paris Bakery, and everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, right?

March 16, 2008 mmm-yoso Bakery, Banh Mi, Sandwiches

Our frig is a bit over-loaded with left-overs, so what to do??? Well, I’d been told that, "anything is good in Banh Mi…" So I decided to Banh Mi-size my left-overs….. Being in the neighborhood quite early in the morning, I stopped by Paris Bakery on El Cajon Boulevard.

I dodged several women carrying paper sacks full of bread out to their cars left running on El Cajon Boulevard……I don’t know why they were in such a rush; but perhaps they felt a sense of urgency that only hot, steaming, Vietnamese Baguettes can exercise…..

I went in grabbed a bag of 4 Banh Mi($1), which I opened and let breath once I got home. The bread at Paris is pretty good, with a good bit of crackle without being crumbly, and there is some bread in the Banh Mi, it is not "all crust", the bread is a bit chewy, which I enjoy in a Banh Mi.

Paris Bakery also makes sandwiches, which I’ll post on a bit later on. I’m not quite sure what time they open, but getting their the earlier, the better.

Paris Bakery
4481 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

So what did I do with the Banh Mi?

Glad you asked….well, unless you’re really interested in the left-overs in our frig, perhaps you should leave now. So let’s see if you can figure this out….

Its……Fuqi Feipian from Ba Ren, along with some shredded cucumber, and cilantro leaves. (If you’ve read my posts on Banh Mi, you know that one of my pet peeves are the stringy stems of cilantro, so I guess I can’t be a hypocrite, can I?) This tasted pretty good, the flavor of the Fuqi Feipian stood up well to the bread.

Next one:

This is an easy one…..it’s the left over Cumin Lamb from Dede’s, along with thinly sliced red onion, and cilantro leaves. This sandwich tasted fairly good, but was missing something…… The solution was quite simple, just as some people believe everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, most people know that everything will taste better with Maggi Seasoning Sauce. The savory "umami" that the Maggi brought to the sandwich was discernible.

So, does everything really taste better in a Banh Mi?

Its story time; at one of my first jobs back in High School, one of the Security Guards used to bring his own "special" sandwich to lunch several times a week. This guy loved this sandwich…the aroma rising from the sandwich was quite unusual, I thought that I could make out the individual ingredients, but didn’t believe anyone would eat that combination…. So one day I asked, and yes indeed, it was…. A peanut butter and Kimchi sandwich! With mayo! Elvis had nothing on this guy. Apparently, he acquired a taste for this while stationed in Korea. Over the years, I’ve mentioned this unique sandwich to many….and beyond the "ewwwws", wrinkled noses, and gagging noises, I couldn’t find anyone who’d ever heard of such a combination. Earlier his year, for reasons still unknown to me, I did a search on "Peanut Butter Kimchi Sandwich" and did find an actual article that mentioned it, though only in passing.

So to finally see if everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, I decided to make a:

Peanut Butter and Kimchi Sandwich, sans the mayo! But with Maggi of course…in hopes that it would make anything taste better….. As per instructions I received several decades back, I used "Chunky" peanut butter……

So what’s the verdict? Not as bad as I thought, the kimchi overwhelmed the peanut butter….sort of kimchi upfront, with a peanut finish. The Maggi actually brought out the savory fishiness(in a good way). The Missus could not sit in the same room, with me while I ate this, and while I don’t think I’ll have it again soon, it wasn’t too bad at all.

So maybe everything does taste better on a Banh Mi? What do you think?

You can find Guilty Carnivore’s Kimchi Banh Mi(albeit a bit more conventional) here, along with a BBQ Pork Banh Mi here.

Fellow San Diego Food Blogger mscinda, has a home made Banh Mi post here.

And of course Wandering Chopsticks has home made Banh Mi posts here and here.

And if you really want a silly sandwich, this was seen walking along Clairemont Drive this afternoon:

I guess I was destined to do a sandwich post today!

Sage French Cake and Coffee-quality food and a New Year Resolution I have kept!

February 18, 2008 Cathy Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog, written by a bunch of friends about food we eat, sometimes with some side notes about other things we do while eating. Today, Cathy is blogging.

Hello. Cathy here. Part of my New Year Resolution for 2008 was to take time to relax every day. Even if only for a few minutes…an hour a least I think I told myself.

So, the other day The Mister and I were shopping at Nijiya Market and finally got ourselves over to French Cake, located in the same parking lot. Many people have told me to try it here, and I have said I would…and now, finally, in 2008, I have.

Should have done it sooner.

We tried the banana split mousse ($3.75)- a very gelatinous, firm mousse, with very strong, rich flavor of banana and blackberry syrup with a dense flavored thin slice of chocolate cake on the bottom and an unsweetened whipped cream on top. Perfect flavors for me- I don’t crave sweets and do appreciate the true flavors that were in each bite. Even the cocoa in the cake.

We got regular coffee from the pump pot. It was strong flavored and fresh.

One of my recommendations from Yummie Yummy was to try the tiramisu ($4), and I am so glad we did. An excellent rendition that was very fresh and very non sugared down, with fresh marscapone with cocoa and cake which was perfectly textured.

I will be stopping here regularly, as part of my wanting to stick to my New Year Resolution to relax for at least one hour daily- and not eat or drink in the car while driving…

Yeah…I made a New Years Resolution and somehow turned it into a reason to stop at a bakery at least once a week…I don’t want to hear it…

Sage French Cake and Coffee 3860 Convoy Street, Suite 112 San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 571-3484 Tues-Sat 10-8, Sun 10-6, Closed Mon

Midweek Meanderings

February 13, 2008 mmm-yoso Bakery

Just some stuff to help get "over the hump(day)"…….

Thang Thang, A Family Restaurant?

A few days ago, I noticed that in the place of the former Happy Chef, which Cathy posted on, and new restaurant was opening, called Thang Thang:

When I asked Sam about it, he told me that this was going to be a Korean drinking/pub grub joint, a la Min Sok Chon. What had me puzzled was the wording on the sign that said "Family Restaurant"….when I asked Sam about it, he just shrugged his shoulders, so I guress we’ll just have to wait and see.

7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Some closures:

As noted by "Joe" in the comments, it looks like EZ Take-Out Burger has closed:

Strangely enough, the Marie Callender’s 2 blocks over has closed as well.

The Missus is getting into the act:

I purchased a new memory card for my digital camera, and the Missus decided to help me test it out, and break it in. She decided that her manju from Hogetsu Bakery would be the perfect subject:

Yes, "Her manju"…..at least this time She took a whole 3 days to finish it up.

2 weekends ago, I don’t think it it made it to sundown…..

I sense another obsession in the works!

Hogetsu Bakery
1210 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Open Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

The Revised Rotation

July 25, 2007 mmm-yoso Bakery, Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Plate Lunch, Salvadoran Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

I’ve been blessed by blogging. Through our humble little food blog, I’ve gotten to know so many wonderful, kind, and generous people. It’s also great to know that I’m not the only (slightly…) food obsessed person out there. I’m very happy to call Howie, who does the Foodieview, a friend.

Case in point, over the last year (yes, year…) I’ve received a few emails and comment, asking me when I’m going to update "My Rotation". Those would be the restaurants the Missus and I think about when we make plans to eat, whether it’s the two of us, or dinner with friends, or something similar in nature. I had thought that a post was in order, but didn’t quite know how to approach the whole thing. Suddenly it came to me(though it could have been gas….but we’ll never know), I remembered Howie’s post on embedding restaurant maps in posts. I thought it was pretty neat, and Howie was nice enough to demo what mmm-yoso’s map would look like…..it did look like 300 map links stacked on one another….it seemed like I’ve been eating in the same place like a couple of hundred times! Now, I know Howie’s a really busy guy, but I mentioned updating my rotation to Him, and sent him a list of places on our revised rotation, and to my surprise a short itme later I received a response. And there was a map! You can see a more detailed map with info here. So without further ado, here’s Howie’s work:

Pretty cool, huh?