CHI - Jollibee

This adventure was pretty unknown to me and honestly I just went along for the ride but boy am I glad I did! Tongxin has been begging Christel to go and get Jollibee for some time now apparently but seeing as it's a little far from campus it hasn't been an easy trip to make. The two of them finally decided to go and invited me along as well and now I'm obsessed. 

LOCATION: 5033 N ELSTON AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60630

Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain that's known for their fried chicken (i.e. Filipino KFC) with the cutest Jolly Bee as their mascot and really good food. Christel is from the Philippines so she knew exactly what to get and just ordered the three of us a sample of everything so we could take in the Jollibee experience. Christel ordered us a Bucket Treat B which comes with a 6 pieces Chickenjoy Bucket (with gravy because this chicken MUST be eaten with gravy to be authentic), one family sized jolly spaghetti, and three mango peach pies. We ordered a soda to share and also an order of Palabok fiesta which is a Filipino noodle dish to round out the meal.

I had zero expectation of what this would be like but Tongxin was pretty excited she finally got to try some Jollibee and neither of us was disappointed. This chicken definitely gives KFC a run for their money; its soft, moist, and had a great crisp skin with great flavor. I'm too American and can't get used to eating it with gravy but that's not to say the gravy was bad at all. Jolly Spaghetti is pretty good but it's one of those sweeter spaghetti's with little hot dog pieces in it. Very American if you ask me but Christel and Tongxin are all about it. I'm a bigger fan of the palabok but that's not a surprise seeing as I like rice noodles with citrus drizzled on it. The palabook has a lighter sauce and comes with egg, shrimp, and crunchy pork skins on top for texture and flavor. I'm hooked and will dream about this noodle for a long time and I'm already sad it's gone. I'm already planning my next visit with my mom because she loves KFC and this is something she'll actually enjoy without a doubt. 

Of course it doesn't stop there, we made sure to stop in time to save room for dessert and Christel ordered us one halo halo to share which is more than enough after our chicken feast. Halo halo is a filipino dessert (similar to Chè for all my Viet homies out there) thats made up of shaved ice and evaporated milk. Jollibee halo halo includes this beautiful jam smeared on the inside of the cup and all the magical beans and jello hiding on the bottom including white beans, red beans, chickpeas, young coconut and has two scoops of ice cream (ube and cheese flavored) and flan on top. Christel said there was supposed to be pieces of jackfruit mixed in but we totally got ripped off and didn't have any and this thing was still magical. Halo halo and Chè are just those fun desserts that I love that no one else understands in America because it just doesn't exist but when you have it, it's just super special. 

CHI - Goddess and the Baker

Here I am again, back in Chicago against my will (kinda), but at least I always have somewhere new to eat. 

LOCATION: 33 S WABASH AVE, Chicago, IL 60603

Goddess and the Baker is marketed as this veggie friendly, healthy cafe and bakery which just happens to be by a few other veggie friendly, healthy eateries. Tons of competition but that doesn't keep it from being super packed with a line to the door. Still it moves pretty quickly so that's a plus and if there are this many people it must be good right? Well that's the logic I like to go with anyways. 

I came with a friend who wanted to check this place out and by the time we got to the front of the line decided that take out was the way to go since there were very few seats left open. I ordered the Garden Goddess Wrap which comes with hummus, avocado, beets, cucumber, carrot, tomato, arugula, and the 'goddess dressing' and also a side of fruit (or chips). It took a little bit of time until my order was ready and that time consisted of me trying to move around so that I was close enough to the take away counter yet not in someone's way. Spoilers if you've never been, there's no where that puts you out of the way. Still after 5-10 minutes my name was called (even though they never asked for it?) and we were on our way to look for a place to eat. A few tables had opened up but apparently we were up for an adventure so we walked around. 

A couple blocks later we ended up on a bench in the Maggie Daley Park (right next to Millennium) digging in. I was a little nervous because my wrap looked a little messy to eat on a bench but that's never stopped me before.

As beautifully colored as this wrap is, I can say I was a little disappointed. I love beets and just because of the way they're shaved you can barely taste them. Everything sort of melded into the bland blob of veggies. I took one bite and immediately thought 'it needs more flavor' a little bit of salt or citrus juice honestly would've done wonders for this wrap and I was so excited that I bought a lemonade to try and wash some of the blandness around to resemble flavor. The hummus itself stood out seeing as it was the only thing that had a unique flavor to it at the ends of the wrap and as much as I love veggies, I couldn't even finish this little $10 wrap because it was so boring. 

The food here looks pretty good but in comparing quantity to price I was for sure hesitant to pay $10+ for smaller sandwiches with fewer ingredients and I'm completely deterred now that I know the flavor is completely lacking. I'm sure I could find an equally sized $10 sandwich with at least a little more kick to it. I was also disappointed in my little 5oz size of fruit but I guess that's to be expected. 'Fresh fruit' cups are always a hit or miss (mostly a miss in my opinion.)

In the end, would not go back. As incredible as the esthetic is and as nice and the food sounds, it was a total flavor disappointment. 

It's about time....

I'm not sure if this is surprising or not but I've honestly never eaten at Chili's. As much as I love eating out I have fun at the smaller places that Rochester has to offer with the quirks and charm that you can't get anywhere else. Nevertheless, it's still convenient to go to chains because they're all over the place and with my picky cousin Vi, this was a safe choice. So off we were to Chili's! 

LOCATION: 655 JEFFERSON RD., ROCHESTER, NY 14623

Now when I say I've never been to Chili's I mean I've never eaten there because I've definitely been here for Margarita's with the Italy adventure buddies. Still, I've never looked at a menu for food so this was a new experience. 

Vi used to go to Chili's relatively often in Arizona so I just trusted her and went with what she likes. I'm not as picky and would try anything especially since I was so hungry. We started right off the bat with skillet queso & chips which is Vi's usual starter. This queso has seasoned beef in it giving it a darker color than what I was expecting and made the salt levels higher. Put that on top of salty corn chips and cut to me drinking a whole glass of strawberry lemonade before we get our main dishes. Now if you know me, it's generally lucky if I finish one of these glasses of lemonade by the end of a meal so I'm serious when I say that salty is the word of the day for Chili's food at this location.

As a main dish I was considering a fresh mex bowl because I love rice bowls but Vi was saying how her brother likes getting the fajita's and the idea of a grilled steak over prime rib sounded like a better plan to me. I got Mix & Match Fajita's and I of course picked grilled steak and shrimp. It also came with caramelized onions and peppers, three cheese, guac, salsa, rice, black beans, and a few flour tortilla's. Vi ordered a steak (well done) with two sides of corn, not exactly my choice of a great meal but to each his own.

Already I wasn't asked how i wanted my steak cooked which concerned me but I've never been here before so I'm not sure if this is the normal structure or if I just got ripped off in this because my grilled steak came out very well done and I'm a medium rare kinda girl so I was slightly disappointed. The shrimp however was cooked nicely and everything came together to make some nice tacos. Of course, if you remember, the word of the meal is salty which is exactly what everything was. all of the protein was overly salty and i was pretty glad for the tortillas and my lemonade because I would've dried up from the sodium intake in this one meal. I had half left over which will be great for lunch tomorrow but chewy overcooked steak can only go down from here and I'd rather order a rice bowl at chipotle for $10 than come back for the over saltedness that is my Chili's experience.   

ROC - Barcade Adventures

I'm back in Rochester and my cousin Sheen is back living in New York which means cousin bonding day!! With training for his new job and my 'I work every afternoon' schedule it's been tough for us to catch up but I had the afternoon off and Sheen didn't have to drive into work so we figured it was the perfect time. He let me pick the place so I checked my trusty Rochester food list and found a place that would work for lunch so off we went! 

LOCATION: 820 S CLINTON AVE, ROCHESTER, NY 14620

The Playhouse Swillburger was the first barcade I've heard of in Rochester and even though it's been open for a few years I'd never found the time to go or anyone to go with so this was the perfect opportunity. Clearly, part of going to a barcade is for the bar but noon on a Sunday didn't seem like a time we wanted to drink but burgers and video games are an any day any time kinda deal so there was still enough to enjoy. 

Sheen and I were of course super nerdy and awkward which makes us really endearing to cashiers so we asked a bunch of very stupid questions and I ended up ordering a single burger with lettuce, cheese, and tomato and Sheen got the chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato as well. I also got a side of their swill sauce which is of course a special sauce they created and the cashier explained it to me when I asked but I couldn't tell you now what's really in it.  

Sheen and I decided to split our meals so we could see which ones we thought were better and of course because of family and bonding reasons. I think we both decided that my burger was the winner in this situation even though I'm pretty much a chicken sandwich kinda girl. This chicken was crispy on the outside but not super flavorful and ended up being a little dry. The burger was much more satisfying in flavor and texture. The swill sauce actually did help with the moisture component but it's not a super strong sauce and wasn't crazy overpowering which I appreciate. I actually enjoyed it more with the french fries. 

I of course had to pull another awkward dumb moment when I realized I wanted to order fries and never did so when I picked up the burger and sandwich I placed an order with the super nice cashier and he was happy to make me feel less dumb about my process. 

He also tried to explain to me their sauce on their special fries but I wasn't feeling THAT adventurous not knowing what their fries tasted like alone so I just ordered them plain and called it a day. 

While it was awesome that they gave me this huge fry spill, I'm not super satisfied with these fries. Theyre so thin and fried to a crisp that they don't really taste like much. I'm all about starchy potato-y fries that i was kinda let down. Wouldn't order them again. 

After we finished eating we decided to play some games and Sheen had about $3 so it was fast. We both stupidly stood in front of pinball machines after depositing our tokens and were worried that we just lost our money before we both realized after about 5 minutes of standing there that pinball machines have start buttons. Like I said we're both really smart. Must run in the family. We may not have won anything (not that there's really much to win) but we had a fun little cousin outing and walked around after. A great day for both of us thanks to Swillburger. 

CHI - Bouldering, Nando's, and Cookie Dough

Today was the final day of the school year which meant a Year End Show to send off the seniors and see what other programs were working on in the building. This also meant that we didn't have to be at school until 2pm so I twisted some arms and Alyx and Christel from the industrial design program happily agreed to go bouldering with me at Brooklyn Boulders because I was dying to climb. We had such a fun time and even though it's more expensive than what I'm used to, it's also a million times nicer and bigger than the Red Barn at RIT. Nevertheless the barn will always be my bouldering home and for less than $5 it's a steal. Not something I'm going to find in Chicago I'm sure.  

After a little over an hour we decided to pack things up with our noodle arms and head to lunch since it was still early. Brooklyn boulders is in between school and the west loop where the strip of restaurants is that is always a go-to success. After debating whether or not we should be eating tacos and drinking margarita's because its Cinco De Mayo we landed on going to Nando's PERi-PERi which is something I've wanted to do since the decor looks so fun from the outside and we don't have this chain in Rochester. 

LOCATION: 953 W RANDOLPH ST., CHICAGO, IL 60607

Walking in this place is just as cute inside as it seems from the outside. It's super colorful while not being gaudy and it smells really great. We checked out our menu's and I got some recommendations from Alyx and made a sharing game plan with Christel and we walked up to order. Alyx was telling me that this chain derived from Africa and the PERi-PERi is a popular pepper of that region which gets shipped to the states for this kitchen to use. Pretty cool. 

 Alyx got a wrap of some sort, Christel got chicken, and I decided on the Chicken Thigh Skewers which comes with onions, red pepper, and I chose the mango lime sauce on the chicken with a side of Peri Chips (french fries) and the special Perinaise (the PERi-PERi mayo). Christel got a side of garlic bread and we shared so we got to try a little more. 

Everything tasted so good and between the three of use we pretty much cleared our plates and were pretty full. My chicken was juicy and the mango lime sauce on top was a unique twist. I liked the idea and it was really yummy. The fries were also great and not too skinny and crispy which I like. Fries that taste like potatoes are my love and with the dipping mayo it was so flavorful. With mayo aioli type sauces I'm good to go. 

Happy, full, and not yet sore from bouldering, we continued our adventure!  

 We still had some time to wander around after we finished eating so Alyx suggested this cookie shop that her boyfriend found for her. She was raving about how these were the best cookies and she was super excited to go and grab some since we were close to the store so Christel and I agreed and we started to walk off our Nando's on our quest for cookies! 

LOCATION: 1148 W MONROE ST., CHICAGO, IL 60607

Warm Belly Bakery is this tiny little shop with a full case of these dense cookie balls. They're pretty heavy weight wise and density wise so, not having a huge sweet tooth, they're not something I would crave but like I mentioned, Alyx loves them and they are really tasty. 

Since there were a bunch of flavors the three of use decided just to go in on the 6 cookie deal for $16 and get two each. I got the fruity pebbles and the cheesecake and they both ended up being pretty good. The problem I found with the fruity pebbles was that the cereal itself got a little soggy in the processes and were therefore a little chewy in a way that wasn't super enjoyable. The cookies are also a little crumbly and super heavy so it took some time and dedication for me to get through this rock while also sharing with some people. The cheesecake was a little flatter and therefore more enjoyable. It was creamy and cheescake-y but again, chewy. Not my favorite part of the day but I honestly love trying this kinda stuff and if I'd seen pictures of this place I would've made it a trip so even though it's not my thing I'm super glad Alyx took us.   

Overall, a very nice bonding day full of climbing and food. What more could I ask for. 

CHI - Freshii Adventure

Being from Rochester, we don't have Freshii's and I kept seeing them around Chicago and clearly I love rice bowls and veggies so I wanted to give it a shot and see what was going on. 

LOCATION: 200 W RANDOLPH ST., CHICAGO, IL 60606

After a long day of school I was starving and figured I'd stop by a Freshii's I've passed several times before but apparently I have no idea what I'm doing so my gps took me to an entirely different one than I was expecting. No problem, they were still open but since it was around 7 it was empty and they looked like they were about to close up even though I had an hour or so left of time. Still, they were nice to me and one of the workers confirmed I was okay to order when I was ready. I'm gonna say that this set up was terrible at this location. I didn't know where to order, couldn't find the menu board until after I left, and felt completely stupid the whole time not knowing where to go. 

They have customizable rice bowls but I didn't know what combination would work and what would could be include so I walked up to the register and just ordered their new Thai bowl that they had listed on mini flyers on hand. Thankfully I'm not picky and actually love the idea of what's in this Thai bowl so it worked out but now I know how to works and how this location is really set up so next time won't be so awkward. 

Like I said, I ordered this Thai bowl which came with brown rice, broccoli, carrots, red cabbage, coconut, mushrooms, and a squeeze of lime on it which makes it feel super fresh. I also added steak because I'm a lover of steak with rice bowls and was craving the extra protein even for a few extra dollars.   

I took it home and let the coconut milk of the dressing soak into the rice a little adding more flavor to it and I really enjoyed the dish. It was fresh and light but had everything I needed to mix textures and feel full. 

I think for me, each of the pre-set bowls have some aspects that I don't fully enjoy so I'd have to modify some of them a little or learn how to make my own. Still, this is a really nice healthy option and of course is a really trendy way to serve food now a ways. It feels like going to chipotle only lighter and fresher just based off of the ingredients and combinations available. I like quickness of it and for $10 it hits the average price range for me well enough to splurge when I'm in the mood for it. 

CHI Final's done annnnnnndddddd.... DRINK!

Final critiques have finished and the year is over! The best remedy for long critique days and lots of emotional distress - alcohol all together on taco Tuesday no less! 

LOCATION: 1251 W TAYLOR STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60607

Alyx, an industrial design grad, proposed we all celebrate the end of the year and making it through finals with Taco Tuesday at Bar 10 Door right by school. 

As much as I enjoy taco's I don't think I've ever been anywhere for an official taco tuesday so I was pretty excited about the prospects of a $2 taco! Unfortunately, I had a bad time with critiques and an existential crisis not to mention my eyes completely dried out forcing me to peel my contacts off my eyes and walk blind to the bar.. could've been a better taco Tuesday... Still, I tried to relax and vent about the year with everyone in the program and after one very fruity malibu sunrise kinda drink I was ready for a $2 fish taco!   

(Also pictured is a chicken taco that one of my friend's ordered with mine so even though it's here I have no idea how it tasted because it wasn't mine.)

I can't say for sure why the tortilla's were this green, possibly a special touch they've done to make them a little more special but they tasted like ordinary tortilla's so that's all fine with me. The fish taco itself was incredible. I'm always excited to try a fish taco because I feel like restaurants and bars always do a great job with them and they hit this one out of the park. I seriously considered ordering a second one but after a long day I just wanted to go home. This fish taco really did the trick in lifting my mood though.

This fish was a super flaky crisp basa with I don't even know what but it was 100% amazing. Alex in graphic design said he tried all three tacos available that day and the fish was the best so I'm pretty happy with my decision and I confirmed that this was the right way to go on taco Tuesday!  

CHI - Halal Guys!!!!!

That's right! I've just gone to Halal Guys here in Chicago and I'm beyond excited!

LOCATION: 172 NORTH WABASH AVE., CHICAGO, IL 60601

Quick post today but I've been dying to get halal guys again and since I'm finally in another big city this was my shot. After a busy morning of running errands (and getting coffee) with Nina I decided to treat myself and boy was that great. 

Of course I got a chicken platter to go and I asked for extra white sauce on top (I guess they have this sauce in packets for a little extra too but I'm pretty happy with how much they gave me since I'm not a HUGE sauce person in general). 

For those of you who haven't had Halal guys this chicken platter is the thing to get for real! It comes with Rice, Chicken, Veggies (lettuce, tomato, and onion), pita, and the most incredible white sauce you could imagine. I'm not sure exactly what's in it but I'm not here to wonder, I'm here to eat.

It's not the same here as it is eating from the original cart in NYC but it's been so long since I've had this that it was still incredible to me. I ate the whole thing and with a year left to go in Chicago, I'm for sure going back. 

CHI - Chopsticks

Quick little blog post today of a little to-go Ramen store I hit on my way home. 

LOCATION: 28 E ROOSEVELT RD, CHICAGO, IL 60605

Chopsticks is this little fast food chinese place that's right off the Roosevelt line that I hit on my way home and where I go grocery shopping. It's a small little place that looks kinda clean but sparse. it's nothing impressive but since I pass it so much I was inclined to stop in especially with the posters of Ramen they have on their window front. 

Everything you order comes in travel friendly packaging so it doesn't really feel like they want you to stick around. No problem for me because I was on my way home anyways and just wanted a ramen fix. This ramen was a little pricey starting at $11 to go at the size that it was. I ordered the Tonkotsu (pork) broth which I tend to favor over Miso, with Cha Siu (pork) because nothing is better in ramen than pork.. except a runny egg, which I also ordered on top. It already comes with bean sprouts, wood ear, green onion, naruto, bamboo shoots, and corn so that was everything I could've needed to make a complete ramen dish. 

They packed it up great so that it was safe and wouldn't spill on my way home which I always appreciate. I could tell they knew what they were doing when the broth came separate for me to add to my bowl later when I was ready to eat. The way noodle broth bowls should be done honestly. Everything was perfectly cook and there was a nice balance of flavor in the dish. At the very worst it was a little salty but I would go back again if I was craving ramen on the go. However, for this price, I'd like to look around and spend the money on a real bowl of nice ramen at a restaurant.   

CHI - World's Largest Ice Cream!

LOCATION: 1690 N WESTERN AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60647

If it wasn't clear by now I've been obsessed with ice cream (or maybe just craving it) and several people who know that I'm now in Chicago have sent me this new viral video of the 'World's Largest Ice Cream" at Margie's Candies. Of course these people who have sent this same video to me have exclaimed that they'd like to go with me but as a fail safe I started to beg everyone at school to help me eat this ice cream. 

A few failed attempts at organizing this outing later, my trusty Beiruo sternly intimidated enough people to agree to commit to today and it was the best thing ever. Bei is bae always.

Cut to 5 skinny asian girls meeting up in front of Margie's at 11am on a Sunday because apparently none of our American friends could commit to this with us. They clearly don't understand our commitment to eating food together. Margie's is super cute; small on the inside with lots of tight corners and booths to eat in. Luckily when we arrived it was still a little early so we had our pick and got the largest table to fit the 5 of us and our bags.  

So this "world's largest ice cream" shouldn't be confused with the world's largest sundae listed on the menu for $15 or the world's largest terrapin for $40 . No, the actual 'world's largest ice cream" is called "The Royal George" and is $60 and is 25 scoops of ice cream, cones, whipped cream, cherries, nuts, hot fudge, and wafers. We were excited. I believe we ended up getting strawberry, mint chocolate chip, vanilla, coconut, butterscotch, coffee, and cookies and cream ice cream.  

Of course we spent awhile taking pictures of and with this giant ice cream punch bowl before we started eating but i can say this was an awesome idea. I don't know why we thought it was smart for a bunch of asians to eat this much dairy but we powered through and luckily we all hit that stage of sugar overload at different times so we could stagger breaks. In the end I'm pretty proud of us and I thought we did pretty well. If we had maybe one more person we couldn't possibly finished it completely and it would've been magical but we still got darn close. Sugar coma, crash, high, wiped us all out and we were kinda crazy delirious so of course we all decided it would be smart to go across the street and eat some McDonalds after. 

Best. Decision. Ever. The french fries and chicken nuggets we ended up sharing were great for soaking up all that dairy and balancing out the sugar with some salty carbs. I think it was a great decision and it was for sure an amazing morning. 

I would totally go back again and even if it was with fewer people they still have a variety of oversized creations to share that would be just as fun and noteworthy. 

Unicorn Frappuccino!

I did the thing! Super trendy white girl Emily strikes again and does it for the insta

Clearly Starbucks know's what they're doing with branding and trends because they're making big bank on this one. I especially like the tagline that they put on the sign "Only available if you believe." That made me laugh for sure and the barista who made my drink seemed nice enough to make it for me with a smile so she was on board this limited time trend. 

As pretty and photogenic as this drink is though, the appeal stops there for me. It happened to be a warm day when I ordered this and it was about a 10 minute walk from Starbuck to school where I planned to consume this so texturally this drink did not hold up. The bottom starts to get all melty and watery which adds to the changing color and flavor but doesn't make me want to drink it. I also shared this drink with about 7 other people and I can honestly say 1 out of 8 people said this was ok at best and the reviews just went down from there.

The drink seems to be okay when it's sweet but the second the blue starts to melt into the drink you get pockets of sour that are not pleasant. I like sour too and didn't enjoy it at all. It's super sweet and has a weird unidentifiable flavor to it. One of the guys said it tasted like drinking OJ after brushing your teeth. Not good. Starbucks says this is a mango flavored drink but it didn't resemble mango at all to anyone. I feel like if you melted down a bunch of random candy and threw some whipped cream on top with sour sweet cotton candy sugar you'd get a similar effect. I'm pretty happy this was only a limited time deal but I supposed if you're in love you can always ask for it 'secret menu' style. 

CHI - Nina's Birthday!!!

It's Nina's birthday and she wanted to celebrate with dinner out and was kind enough to invite me! Nina is as indecisive as I am and it took some back and forth between logistics with restaurants before she decided where she wanted to go for dinner. 

LOCATION: 857 W FULTON MARKET, CHICAGO, IL., 60607

Duck Duck Goat is owned by Stephanie Izard who is the owner of the Little Goat Diner that I wrote about before so I was pretty pumped when Nina picked this place. Her other choice was the restaurant we went to a little while back, Ba Ba Reeba which I would've been pretty cool with but I'm always partial to going somewhere new so it was cool.

Each room in this place is decorated in a different Chinese street food style and it's honestly much bigger on the inside with lots of different rooms. I wanted to walk around just to photograph everything because it looked so great from room to room. 

I didn't take pictures of food because as you can see, it was quite dark and it was her birthday so I didn't want to be super awkward with her friend's that I just met and take pictures of the food which we shared family style. Let's see if I can remember everything we got because with 7 of us sharing we tried quite a bit of everything.

We started off with some goat and duck spring rolls and the sichuan pork boiled dumplings. I never know how I feel about spring rolls because sometimes they're fried and sometimes they're more like 'summer rolls' which are what I think of when someone says spring rolls. They were indeed fried and skinny little things but tasted pretty good. The dumplings were great and were moist and flavorful. Nothing too out of the ordinary so far, but still good.

Nina and I are always about octopus so of course we had to order the cold octopus, cucumber, and peanut salad which i've never heard of or had before but loved. I always love octopus so I was pretty hyped for this and it didn't disappoint. It wasn't a huge serving so between 7 of us I got about a bite and wish I had more for sure. 

For noodles we got the shrimp and goat sausage slap noodles (a special here) as well as the goat belly lo mein both of which were good but, again, nothing out of the ordinary. the lo mein was a little salty which tends to happen and not my favorite kind of noodles because they feel somewhat americanized to me. We were pretty excited about ordering a lot of goat dishes because of the name of the restaurant and feels like a treat to me because I don't get it often. 

Finally, we ordered duck fried rice which has a duck egg over jasmine rice as well as seafood fried rice which had shrimp, clams, and sea bass. Both were good with a nice balance of flavor and not too much salt. I'd say the seafood fried rice was a bigger hit but that's not to say we didn't finish every grain of duck fried rice we were given. We also got an order of green beans in black bean sauce which tasted great. It had that wok taste to it so I could tell they did it right and just reminded me of when dad makes me green beans at home.

It's pretty impressive that the dishes tasted really authentic and makes me wonder who the actual chefs were because they did their research and did a great job. This is also to say that while the dishes were all tasty, they weren't too out of the ordinary over all, and I felt like I could get the same food from an authentic chinese restaurant in chinatown for at least a third of the price. I wouldn't go back just for that fact alone but it was a good experience and the interiors made me pretty excited so at least there's that. They also have a really cute take out window on the outside of the building which apparently has a slightly different menu from the sit down menu which is a fun twist but I'm not sure that it's as popular because a big part of eating at duck duck goat was for the atmosphere.   

CHI - Medici on 57th

Today's field trip was a little south near the University of Chicago. We headed to see a short architectural tour of the Robie House designed by famous, incredible, architect Frank Lloyd Wright! I was pretty pumped because this was my first Frank Lloyd Wright House and from what I've seen in photos, all of them are incredible beyond belief. The design of the Robie house was really beautiful and had a large amount of glass windows that you could see out of but not into and an amazing overhanging roof for extra privacy. (Turns out the Robie's were kinda paranoid.)

I could talk about this house for awhile, but I'm no architectural student and no expert on Frank Lloyd Wright houses so take my word for it and go check it out of you're in Chicago and like quick architectural tours. It's worth it.

On to the real topic here, food. After our tours of the day the professors in charge of schedules for the Basel Students offered to take us all out to dinner. Free food? I'm always hungry. Let's go.

LOCATION: 1327 E 57TH ST, CHICAGO, IL., 60637

They professor's talked of a cool college hot spot nearby so we walked together to Medici On 57th and even though there were way too many of us in the group they seated us in less than a half hour with no reservation. We walked around and checked out a bookstore to kill some time before heading into this really cool restaurant. This place does feel pretty college-y with wood everywhere, weird art, and writing in all of the tables from people who made a stop in for a bite. The menu was pretty vast and had a variety of food from pizza and hotdogs, to salads and sandwiches. There were some entree's listed but I got caught up on the sandwiches and was feeling like a kid so I ordered a grilled cheese. 

This, however, was no ordinary grilled cheese sandwich; It came with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and pesto on a hand cut grilled semolina sesame bread and I added bacon for an extra 80 cents. I also got a side of fries because I'm always down for fries.

This grilled cheese was boss. I've never thought to put pesto on a grilled cheese but I want this to happen all the time now because it was an incredible combination with the cheese, tomato, and bacon. A little fancy for a grilled cheese which I can appreciate for sure. Love. The fries were a little thin and if you're into fries like that they were seasoned well for sure, I tend to like potato-ier fries but that's just a personal preference. Super pumped with my order but this place for sure looks like it has a lot of great options and if I was in the UC area I would come here often. Rumor from our profs was that this was one of Obama's spots when he want to school there and I'm just gonna say he knew what was up cuz I like this place and the atmosphere, super chill.

We also ordered pecan pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert split between 4 or 5 girls just because we were so full. It was a great balance between salty and sweet as well hot and cold. I"m not a huge pecan pie kinda person but this kinda turned me on to them so there may be more in my future.   

CHI - Latinicity

A bunch of graduate students from our sister school in Basel, Switzerland are visiting for a week meaning we get a week off class and a week full of hanging out with cool talented designers and going on field trips around the city. Best. Week. Ever.

Today, one of our stops was to the Chicago Design Museum which happens to be inside of a mall (Block 37) right around lunch time. Thankfully they're pretty cool and are in between exhibitions so the place was in the middle of being painted and set up and they were alright with us bringing lunch to eat during their presentation. Cue Latinicity.

LOCATION: 108 N STATE ST., CHICAGO, IL, 60602

So Latinicity is basically a really cool food court with a twist. When you enter they hand you a little swipe card and you head into see all the different food options. This ranges from a taco shop to a chinese wok section to seafood. You order, hand them your card, and pay when you leave the court. Of course, as hungry as I was, I couldn't make the decision of what I wanted. I walked back and forth between tacos and seafood and ended up at the Saladero Latin Grill. What got me was, no surprise, Beef and Caramelized Onion Empanadas with guac, which I ended up being super excited about. It was a pretty quick deal and they popped it into the deep fryer and put it into a to-go box for me along with my order of yucca fries 'con mojo' aka an incredible lime dipping sauce. 

Honestly, I need to go back and try out some of the other dishes at this stand and at others because for a food court it was great. The empanada was a little over salted but the outer crust was flakey and a great balance especially with the mild yucca fries on the side. This whole meal was a wonderful balance with the guac and the mojo adding a tart kick. I love empanadas and they make me miss the farmers market at home with an incredible empanada stand on the edge. I know it took be a long time at Latinicity to make the decision of what to get but boy am i satisfied with my choice in the end. Totally awesome. 

CHI - DOX

We got a little lunch break today in between our studio visits with the Basel students and we happened to be around Wicker park and of course, Nina had a place nearby on her list of places to eat! She's the real MVP.

LOCATION: 1566 N DAMEN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60622

This place is Dox which has great Mediterranean food made quickly. You order at the counter, they give you an number, and bring your food to your table. This was pretty convenient since we were a group of 7 and splitting checks is always an ordeal so fast places with good food that let you pay on your own are always a win.

Everyone ordered various things off the menu and everything looked great but Nina and I decided to share a meal today and honestly, it was a great idea.

We split their grilled octopus, of course, which comes with Santorini fava on the bottom and caramelized onion. This is listed under their 'Snacks' section which meant it wasn't huge but it's octopus so for $8.50 it's not a terrible decision and for us octopus is always a must. The octopus had a great char to it and it was perfectly tender. The fava and onion puree underneath was a great balance to it and had a nice creamy texture to give a nice contrast to the octopus.

Since we figured it wasn't going to be a large dish for the two of us we also ordered avocado hummus which comes with pita and that was a great idea because it was a nice addition to the meal. I wasn't stuffed after we finished everything but I was for sure full enough that I was content. The hummus was good but it wasn't super avocado-y so if that's what you're expecting it's probably not what you're ideally hoping for but it was still a very good hummus and I'm fairly certain Nina and I scraped the bowls clean so this seems like a mission accomplished to me. I would totally go back if I was in the area and was looking for some light fresh medditeranian food for lunch.     

Em and Dad Cooking Time

My favorite part of hanging out with my dad is Emily and Dad cooking bonding time at home. Growing up I used to watch my dad cook at home once a week on his days off and it was always mesmerizing. Having his whole family centered around cooking really made me comfortable with food and has made the idea of getting messy and using my hands a big part of how I live and work. 

From time to time we get into phases of what dad likes to cook for/with me and lately we're in the "Crab Rangoon" phase of our cooking show. Dad like's to point out how economical it is to make and sell these because people love them and they're really cheap to make in large quantities. It's fun to sit and make with him, I learn a lot of things and we have a common activity to make things relaxed and we can just talk about whatever we want without getting frustrated with the language barriers.

In half an hour we made 75 rangoons with just the two of us and it was pretty great.  

Dad shows me all the restaurant quick tricks and cooking together like this is super fun. it's always my favorite part of being home. The downside is now dad thinks I'm in love with crab rangoon and that means they're going to be part of my meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until I had back to school I guess there are worse problems to have! 

Del Lago Casino

At the beginning of this year dad got a new job at Del Lago Casino almost an hour away from home. Of course, since he's the chef in charge of the chinese section of a buffet, we had to visit him when I got home for spring break! 

LOCATION: 1133 NY-414, WATERLOO, NY 13165

Del Lago calls it their "farmer's market buffet" which seems nice and didn't feel out of the ordinary for a buffet. I went with my mom, brother, and cousin and it was a pretty standard meal. Mom loves buffets because you can pick whatever you want so they tend to be a big hit and when dad is in charge of a whole section he knows the hookups in other departments. 

Dad also pulled a dad and made me a whole plate of Pad Thai without me knowing. Not on their regular spread but dad's been cooking for 30+ years so he knows all the tricks of the trade. I wasn't super hungry enough for a big plate of pad thai but dad knows how to take care of me and it's hard to say no to generosity in the form of food. 
 

I think we'd agree that the best part of the buffet was the dessert section though. We made sure to leave room for it because the section looked great and we were pretty hyped. 

This is just the dessert between me and my cousin (mom isn't a huge dessert fan and my brother was pretty content with a slice of dense chocolate cake). Mom was pretty hyped about a bailey's infused chocolate mousse though so there was definitely something for everyone. 

Overall, this casino was cute. It's super new and has some interesting decor that mixes in this italian villa theme they're going for. It's also always fun to see dad at work so that's just a personal plus for me. 

CHI - Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings

Beiruo is turning out to by my foodie buddy goldmine this semester. I don't know what I'm going to do next year when she's gone and graduated! 

Today was the St. Patrick's Day Celebration here in Chicago and while none of us are really that excited about parades and copious amounts of day drinking, Chicago does do this cool thing where they dye the whole River Green in celebration of the holiday. 

For us first year non-native Chicagoians this event was a must see so we all met up around 10am (aka almost 11am by the time the 5 of us all finally arrived at the meeting point) and walked in the chilly city. With 25lbs of veggie dye the river was beyond saturated after it was dyed at 9am. Honestly this photo doesn't do it justice because it was indescribable how green this river became!

Like I mentioned, none us were that excited to wait for the parade so we prioritized lunch and went on our way. A couple of the girls had to go home to get some errands and work done but I'm not one to miss an opportunity to go out to eat somewhere new so Beiruo, Michaela, and I went on our way and decide to head to Chinatown to get out of the way of the St.Patrick's Day crowds. Of course, my trusty Beiruo knew just where to take us!

LOCATION: 2002 S WENTWORTH AVE, STE 103 CHICAGO, IL 60616

Back when Beiruo and Peiyang and I were in Chinatown for Lunar New Year Beiruo mentioned that there was an amazing dumpling place nearby that we had to go to. Peiyang is currently in NYC for the weekend so she couldn't come with us but we just won't mention that we went and we'll go with her again because this place was amazing. Beiruo says it's her favorite place in the world to get dumplings. I think that's a pretty heavy statement and think back to soup dumplings in Hong Kong but I will give it to her that these dumplings were incredible. 

This place was super clean and bright. It's a very open space with wooden tables and benches with soft cushions and pillows to make things comfy. They even have a window into their kitchen so you can go up and watch the cooks making dumplings by hand. Their menu is presented on an iPad and you can swipe through all their different categories of dumplings. Michaela doesn't eat meat so we paid attention to veggie or seafood choices for her and ordered a potato salad to start, something I've never had before in a chinese restaurant, and then 12 piece orders of pork and cabbage dumplings for me and Beiruo to share, leek, egg, and shrimp dumplings, and Michaela's pick of zucchini and mushroom dumplings which we made into rainbow dumplings (I'll explain soon.)

The potato salad came out first and it was a light crisp 'salad' or cold dish with a slighty spicy kick to it that was really great. I'd order it again. I mean I'd order everything again but that's besides the point. We had the pork dumplings boiled and the other two steamed instead of fried because we all agreed it was the way to go. The pork came out first and it was this wonderful balance of salty and fresh. The skins they use for the dumplings are thin yet still have a great chew to them without being too thick. I'm pretty sure Beiruo burned her mouth on several occasions trying to pop a whole steaming hot dumpling into her mouth all at once only to have the scalding hot liquid inside wipe out her tastebuds. All in the name of 'efficiency'. This is why I love eating out with her, her adorableness never stops. She also gave us a little geography lesson and informed Michaela and I that in Southern China, where she's from, they eat dumplings with a dark vinegar while in the North they prefer soy sauce. Of course Michaela and I are super American and have only ever had dumplings with soy sauce but we were both willing to give it a shot and I ended up liking the salty sour taste of the vinegar while Michaela decide that while the vinegar was better than she expected, she would always be a soy sauce user.  

The leek, egg, and shrimp dumplings came out next in their  bamboo steamer and we all dug in. None of us have ever had egg in dumplings before but this was hands down our favorite of the three. I can't describe this dumpling, it was just a great balance. There was good texture and chew to the outside, a smooth melding of flavors on the inside and each one was just perfect. This is the dumpling I want to eat again and again because it doesn't get too salty or overpowering. Perfection.

Once we had polished off all of that food the final round of dumplings came out. This was the batch we were most excited for because we had ordered them as Rainbow mushroom zucchini dumplings! Basically, they make the skins 'rainbow' colored and we got to pick whatever filling we wanted. We aren't sure how they color the dumplings but we did figure out that the flavor didn't really change from color to color so it's purely aesthetic. We did feel like the skins were a little chewier in this batch likely due to the color but it wasn't terrible and overall it was exciting to see at least this once. This one was a little flat in terms of filling flavor and definitely benefited from dipping in the vinegar.

This is somewhere that I would want to go back to again and again. They have so many filling combinations and none of them seem bad to me. Beiruo says this is probably her fifth visit in the last 6months. I believe it because it's just THAT good. I can't wait until my dad comes back to visit Chicago because he needs to see this place. It's almost too good to be true.   

Photo Cred to the random guys on the street that asked us to take their picture first 

CHI - CupBop + Ramen

Midterms were rough, per usual, and as a treat my Beiruo asked me out to  lunch for today! I'm always down to eat and she follows a chinese foodie blog based in Chicago so she searched the blog and instagram and we landed on CupBop + Ramen. We had a book release/lecture for one of the teachers and Beiruo figured out that this place was close to the release so we met up around 1 to fill up. 

LOCATION: 2439 N CLARK ST. CHICAGO, IL 60614

This place is right above Old Town and next to Lincoln Park which I love so it was a nice place to walk around and explore while I waited for Beiruo to arrive. CupBop + Ramen is of course a combination of Cup Bibimbop and Ramen which I'm all for. I've been dreaming of my New York City ramen adventures and I'm honestly always ready to eat ramen so I was all in. We checked out this place online and the first sign that they have arranged is one that sets up a game. If you can beat the cashier at Rock Paper Scissors, you get a free drink. Already, I'm pumped. This place is also special because they do a cup/ramen combo bowl which we both wanted to try; it's called the BanBan and I ordered my cup bibimbop with beef and the pork only ramen (Tonkotsu) while Beiruo ordered her cup bibimbop with pork and the Pork Miso ramen (level 2 spice). Her blog also mentioned trying the the Sweet and Hot Chicken so she ordered a half portion for us to share. 

This isn't the most impressive, fancy looking restaurant when you walk in but it's freaking awesome. I will say that I did lose at Rock, Paper, Scissors so I didn't get a free drink, but Beiruo won and offered to share her drink with me so it was alright. The concept of a BanBan is already perfect so we spent a hot second gushing over bowls partitioned like this before we dug in. The sweet and hot chicken was surprisingly good to me. The half portion was more than enough for us but it was a little spicy with a great sweet factor to diffuse it before it got too hot. 

I am in love with the BanBan. Its perfect for days you want rice/glass noodles and ramen all together. Beiruo leaned more towards the CupBop half while I, like I mentioned before, I just love ramen. My Egg was cooked perfectly, the broth in the Ramen was great, and it had a great texture and balance to it. The CupBop half was also a really great melding of rice and glass noodles and eas seasoned super well. It wasn't overly salty, the meat was tender and not too chewy, and all the sauces and veggies mixed in was perfect. 

For sure, I would go back. We spent the rest of the day gushing about this place and telling everyone about it because it was completely worth checking out. The price range isn't too high and you get bang for your buck. It's definitely out of my way to get there, but if I'm in the area I would consider stopping in for a bite to eat. I need to redeem myself with Rock Paper Scissors!! 

CHI - SAINT'S ALPS TEAHOUSE & GOURMET

There's no celebration like Lunar New Year! I'm super sad not to be in Rochester to celebrate New Years and see my dad do all his ritual prayers and see mom sweep the bad luck out of the house but I'll be damned if I don't celebrate it somehow here on my own! This includes two parades and way too much eating in between stumbling upon lion dances in the street.

This is my first time on my own living in  a big city that actually has Chinatown and all of these wonderful things in time for New Years so I was ready to take part in the celebration, starting with lunch! I'm lucky to have new friends in the program that are Chinese and know all the good spots to eat in here in Chicago because there's only so much venturing that I want to do on my own. Of all of their choices we ended up at Saint's Alp Teahouse. 

LOCATION: 2157 CHINATOWN PLACE CHICAGO, IL 60616 (b/t Wells St and Princeton Ave)

I'm Cantonese so I'm not super familiar with Taiwanese food and I asked my friends Peiyang and Beiruo what was good and they pointed to several dishes on the menu that they liked or that were a little more traditionally Taiwanese. We ordered flake almond shrimp with mayo (which is super American) but always a fan favorite to all. We each ordered our own rice sets which come with a hot or cold tea with tapioca pearls (I drink mine cold but was the odd one out), a side of broccoli, tofu, and rice with a traditional taiwanese ground meat mix on top, and I ended up ordering the beef skewer meal. Beiruo got the same as me and Peiyang ordered the curry fish meal.

I personally am not a huge fan of tofu but it was only a small side and ended up being a nice palette cleanser between bites of the rice. The Tai meat mix on top of the rice was super good but also quite salty so I enjoyed the tofu and broccoli as breaks. The beef skewer (and bites of Peiyang's curry fish) were both so good and the whole set offered a really good balance overall. This also ended up being a really filling meal for around $10 and I ended up with the leftovers so I can honestly say it was a successful meal!

We finished just in time to see the parade pass by and walked around enough to digest this filling meal for us to stop off and get New Years pastries nearby because we are eating machines for sure. This was a great first New Years on my own; good vibes and full stomachs with new friends