I don't care what people say; I will always be a Din Tai Fung fan. I know some people think it is too expensive but I just love their food and atmosphere. The service is always professional and attentive. I never feel rushed. I can sit and enjoy my meal peacefully. I also like to be treated nicely and pampered, nothing wrong with that! The restaurant is clean and upscale. The food looks and tastes like art. I am a fan!
I mean, look at these soup dumplings (XiaoLongBao)! Xiao long bao (literally "small basket buns," named for the bamboo baskets they’re steamed in) have delicate skins that encase a pork-based filling and its broth. Din Tai Fung has an army hand-making the dumplings. Quality is everything!
Shrimp & Pork Wontons with Spicy Sauce
Pork Chop Fried Rice
Sesame and Red Bean Buns
For more information, visit http://dintaifungusa.com.
Snooze Eatery
The wait for this place was insane, always 2+ hours. But thankfully I used NoWait app to get myself in the queue while I took my time getting over there. Pancake Flight was the best way to try a variety
of pancakes and french toasts.
Here I had the lemon poppyseed pancake (seasonal), blueberry danish pancake and OMG! French Toast. What made the French Toast "OMG!"—Bread & Cie brioche stuffed with mascarpone then griddled and topped withvanilla crème, salted caramel, fresh strawberries and toasted coconut. Everything was yummy. I am actually not a big lemon fan but I was being adventurous and ordered the lemon poppyseed. So glad I did that. It was the most memorable out of the three.
French Toast Neat—For the purist, French toasted Bread & Cie brioche completed with mascarpone whipped cream, seasonal fruit and Slopeside pure Vermont maple syrup.
For more information, visit http://snoozeeatery.com.
Porto's Bakery & Cafe
This was years in the making; I finally made it to Porto's. The bakery was mentioned in Six Feet Under, over ten years ago. They had expended since then but they kept their friendly services and fresh pastries. Surprisingly, they were still giving out samples. I got an entire cheese roll to try! They had a constant line going out of the door. They really didn't have to give out free samples to attract customers. That spoke volumes of their customer services.
Things to try here: Meat pie (pastel de carne); Potato Ball™ (stuffed potato); Cheese roll™ (cheese filled pastry); Guava strudel (pastel de guayaba); cakes; cupcakes; cookies; anything and everything!
For more information, visit http://www.portosbakery.com.
