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dreamerstreamer · 3 years

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Toxic Taste

Pairing: Dream / Clay x gn!reader

Summary: [Dream SMP!AU] It's a perfect day for a picnic with your friends. Well, it seems like one until you suddenly fall very ill.

Warnings: very minor cursing

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: this was requested by @amintyworld! everyone just loves protective dream, don’t they? i had fun exploring this concept, and i hope you enjoy!

You hummed, fixing your hair in the mirror before giving yourself one last once over, nodding to yourself. Looks good. Just then, you heard the door swing open behind you, creaking with a quiet groan. You didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“Hey, are you ready to go?”

Whirling around, your hand quickly grabbed the woven basket on the table beside you as you flashed Clay a bright grin, bounding over to his side with a skip in your step. “I am, now.”

Without having to say another word, he lifted his arm toward you, and you looped yours through his, your fingers tightening around the basket handle. The two of you stepped outside together, locking the door behind you before making your way down the oak path. Above you, only a few clouds dotted the cerulean blue sky, drifting along the gentle spring breeze.

It really was a perfect day for a picnic.

Turning, you cast a curious glance over at Clay. “Are you excited to see what everyone brought?”

He bobbed his head, his lips quirking up into a wicked grin. “Yeah—I can’t wait to make fun of whatever George made.”

You frowned, shooting him an unimpressed look. “George is a good chef in his own right,” you chided.

His smile widened, reaching over to gently tap your nose. “Yeah, but you’re the best.” He patted your basket cover, his viridian gaze swirling with mirth. “They’re gonna love your cookies.”

You rolled your eyes at him, snorting, but he didn’t miss the way your lips twitched. “You just say that because you’re my boyfriend.”

He hummed. “Just because I’m biased doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

You raised your brows at him. “Oh? So you admit that you’re biased?”

Leaning over, he brushed his lips against yours in a peck, pulling back with a dazzling grin. “Of course,” he murmured in that soft tone that made your cheeks grow hot, “without a doubt.”

You swallowed, trying to calm your frantically beating heart. “You’re so cheesy,” you said, adopting a passive tone, “no more dilly-dallying, now. We have a picnic to get to.”

He sent you a crooked smile. “Okay, okay.” His eyes flashed. “I’ll race you.”

“Huh, wh—?”

Before you could even process what was happening, he had suddenly bolted, his arm leaving yours. Almost immediately, your body yearned for the warmth of his pressed against yours, and you found yourself stumbling after him.

“Wait, Clay!” you called after him, your basket bouncing beside you as you watched him crest over the grassy hill. “That’s not fair! Get back here!”

He only turned to shoot you a goofy grin, laughter bubbling on his lips as he disappeared from view, his hoodie fading to nothing more than a tiny speck of green among the swaying blades of grass. You couldn’t stop the laughter from spilling from your lips, bursting from your chest like fireworks.

“You are so dead when I catch up to you!”

He called back over the horizon. “If you ever!”

Your grin only grew wider.

Oh, he was so dead.

“Your bread sucks.”

You gasped, lightly smacking Clay’s chest. “Clay!” Whipping around, you sent George an earnest grin. “George, I think your bread is wonderful.”

Beside you, Tommy made a face, setting his slice down on his plate with a disgusted glance. “Nah, I agree with Big D. This bread is pretty shit.”

Now, it was Wilbur’s turn to gasp. “Tommy!”

Tommy’s brows knit together as he scowled. “What? I’m just telling the truth.”

George let out a long groan, his glasses threatening to slide off the crown of his head as he hung his face in his hands. “I am never baking, again.”

In an instant, Niki was on her feet, flailing her arms. “No, no, no! Don’t say that—baking can be a lot of fun!” She paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “I can teach you a new sourdough recipe, if you’d like!”

George lifted his head, blinking at her with wide, hopeful eyes. “You would?”

She nodded, a bright smile tugging at her lips. “Of course!”

Sapnap snorted, taking another bite of steak. “I can’t believe you have to learn from someone else how to make good bread.”

George groaned again, glowering at his supposed best friend. “Why is everyone ganging up on me, today?”

Clay was quick to butt in. “Haven’t you heard? It’s National Be Mean to George Day.”

Tubbo blinked, confusion clouding his features. “That’s not a real holi—” He paused, then gasped. “Oh, wait.” He grinned. “Never mind.”

George’s glare only intensified, and he sighed. “Niki, forget it.”

While Niki practically shriveled into a puddle, Wilbur spoke up, offering him a reassuring smile. “Well, I think your bread is delicious, George. Genuinely.”

George flashed him a thankful grin, adjusting the glasses on his head. “Thank you, Wilbur.”

Letting out another laugh, you leaned back against Clay’s side, his arm firmly wrapped around your waist as you snuggled against him. Your friends were always up to weird antics, and while you didn’t necessarily agree with their actions, you were willing to indulge in them, if only to see what would happen next. In front of you, you gingerly picked up the half-eaten fish skewer from your plate, lifting it to your lips as you took another bite. It was sweet, and vaguely tasted like saltwater, but you liked it. It was unique, in its own weird way.

You watched as Clay reached across the patterned blanket for the plate of cookies you had brought, gingerly picking one up. Glancing up at him, you opened your mouth. “Do you actually think George’s bread is bad?” you asked softly. “Or are you just trying to rile him up?”

He paused, the cookie halfway to his mouth, then shrugged, biting in. “It’s a bit of both. It isn’t half-bad, I guess.” He shot you a cheeky wink. “Yours is still better, though.”

You groaned, feeling your face grow warm. “Stop that.”

He tilted his head at you, a cocky grin spreading across his face as he chewed. “Stop what?” he said, leaning in close to you. “Being honest?”

You did your best to send him a glare, but you knew it was half-hearted at best. “Yes.”

His grin widened, his eyes glimmering with affectionate arrogance. “Never.”

As his eyes locked onto yours, you felt your glare melt away. With a small hum, he dipped his head to yours, pressing his mouth to yours with a smile. His tongue lapped at your lips, and you grinned back. He tasted like chocolate chips and sunshine. You pulled back with a quiet gasp, your cheeks burned with heat as his emerald eyes bore into yours, crinkling at the corners.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered for you and you alone.

Your heart swelled. “I love you, too.”

He stared at you for a moment longer, then pressed his forehead against yours, mischief dancing in his eyes. “Also,” he added, “you taste like fish.”

You sent him a horrified look before smacking his arm again, your heart flipping as he wheezed at your reaction. “S-Shut up!”

He only wheezed harder in response, and despite your embarrassment, you felt a smile tugging on your lips. That was the thing about Clay that got you every time—as much as he would tease you and make your heart go wild in your chest, you knew he meant every single thing he told you. He was just so sincere like that, and it made you want to sink straight into him.

God, you were so, so in love.

Just then, a howl pulled you away from your attack on Clay. You turned to see Quackity, his mouth agape as he pointed at Niki, a bewildered look plastered to her face. “Niki!” he screamed. “You brought cake?”

She blinked, stunned for only a moment before she smiled, nodding. “Yeah! It’s homemade and has vanilla frosting.”

Quackity immediately sank down to one knee, one hand outstretched toward her as he said dramatically, “Marry me.”

Niki’s smile didn’t falter for even a second. “No thanks.”

Quackity’s arm dropped, and he let out a whine. “Damn, you didn’t have to say it so quickly.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he sat down with a pout. “You could have at least pretended to think about it.”

You all burst into laughter, giggling as Niki simply set her cake down on the blanket next to George’s bread. Wilbur had brought three watermelons—how he carted them over by himself, you had no idea—while Tommy brought pork chops. Tubbo had also caught fish for the occasion while Sapnap packed steak. Meanwhile, Quackity had carried a sack of apples over to the picnic, but you had a feeling he may or may not have stolen them, since he didn’t exactly own an apple orchard of his own.

You opened your mouth to ask for a slice of Niki’s cake when you suddenly froze, a bolt of what felt like lightning tingling up your spine. Your head spun, and you could have sworn your vision darkened at the edges. An uneasy pit grew in your stomach, and you frowned. Why do I feel so... strange?

Pushing yourself forward slightly, you tried to sit up straight, only to feel your arms wobble before you crashed back into Clay’s side once more. In a flash, his arms were around you, holding you steady as his green eyes peered down at yours.

“Hey,” he said, his tone growing serious, “are you okay?” He wrinkled his brow. “You look a little off.”

You blinked, feeling your stomach churn with uneasiness. “I’m, um—I feel kind of sick.”

Without an ounce of hesitation, Clay was on his feet, stretching his arm out to you. “Here, let me help you up.”

You slipped your hand into his, doing your best to hang on tight as he tugged you upward. You expected to simply stand on your own two feet just as you would in any other situation, but the moment you were up, you suddenly felt your knees buckle beneath you, your legs going numb. You gasped as your feet went flying out under you, your fingers digging onto Clay’s palm.

“Clay—!”

With a whirl, his arms held you to his chest, your sides shaking. A rush of anxiety rolled through you, and you looked down, desperately trying to move your foot, only to find that you couldn’t. It remained as still as a rock, and you wanted to cry.

“[Y/N],” Clay breathed, his hand on your face as he supported your weight with his other arm, “what’s wrong?” His eyes desperately searched yours for any clue as to what was happening, but all you could manage was a broken, choked whisper.

“Clay, I—” You swallowed, your hands trembling around his arm while something stung at the back of your eyes. “I can’t move my legs.”

He froze, his voice dropping to a deadly low whisper. “You what?”

You shook your head, hanging onto him for dear life. The spinning had gotten worse now, and you felt sicker and sicker by the second. “I-I don’t know, I don’t feel good and something’s wrong and—Clay,” you breathed, tears welling up in your eyes, “I’m scared.” Your heart pounded in your chest, but for all the wrong reasons. “Am I going to die?”

His gaze hardened, filling with determination as his hold around you tightened. “No,” he said without even an inkling of doubt, “you’re not.”

Before you could react, he suddenly swung one arm beneath your numb legs, easily hoisting you up so that you were carefully pressed against his chest. You gasped as your friends’ eyes landed on you, their faces full of worry as your head lolled against Clay’s shoulder.

“Everyone,” he said, his voice booming across the field, “there’s something wrong with the food.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t eat it.”

He turned his head, dipping his head toward George as he said, “George, I need you to get me as many regeneration potions and golden apples as you can, ASAP.”

George was on his feet as fast as he could, already turning on his heel. “I’m on it,” he shouted as he took off, already booking it down the hill.

Finally, Tubbo spoke up, asking the one question that had been on everyone’s mind. “Dream, what’s going on?”

Clay’s eyes darkened, and you could just barely feel his hands tighten around you while your vision swam.

“[Y/N]’s been poisoned.”

Wilbur gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Oh my god.”

Sapnap whipped his head around, gazing at the once serene picnic blanket with sheer terror. “What the fu—”

Suddenly, your hand shot up to grip Clay’s collar, his eyes immediately darting to yours. You gasped, your head absolutely throbbing as your heart rammed against your rib cage all too quickly. You opened your mouth, your spit tasting like salt and ash.

“Clay, I—”

The words died in your mouth as the world went dark, enveloping you in cold darkness.

You awoke with a start, bolting upright as you gasped, the cool air flooding your aching lungs. Immediately, you felt your stomach churn in retaliation, and your skull practically screamed at you to lie back down again. Slamming a hand over your eye, you felt the spinning of your head slowly fade away. Disoriented and dizzy, the blurriness of your vision began to lift as you blinked, taking in the sight of the room around you.

You didn’t recognize the windowsill at your side or the mattress you were lying on. The closed door stared back at you as your gaze swept over it, almost as if it knew you were confused. Not even the sheets looked familiar.

Where... am I?

You swallowed, something sharp and uneasy prickling up your spine.

What happened?

Your eyelids fluttered shut, and you tried to recall the events that had led you up to this moment.

You remembered... cookies. And a picnic. Clay’s hand in yours. There was food, and laughter. Then suddenly, you were queasy. Sick. Something wasn’t right. Then... nothing.

You blanched. Did I pass out?

Just then, you heard the door click, the hinges swinging open with a creak. Your eyes flew open and your breath hitched in your throat, and you turned, your fingers curling tighter into the sheets. Your eyes went wide as Clay walked in, one hand on the handle and the other holding an apple. The moment his eyes met yours, he froze.

“Clay?” you whispered, your voice sounding hoarse.

The apple dropped to the ground.

In an instant, he was in front of you with his hands on your face, his thumbs brushing over your cheeks. His emerald eyes bore straight into yours with an intensity that sent your heart reeling. The words flew from his mouth in a flurry, his gaze never leaving yours.

“How are you feeling? Can you hear me? Is everything feeling alrig—”

“Woah, woah,” you said, waving your hand to cue him to stop, “what happened?”

His fingers trembled against your cheeks, and you could have sworn his eyes flashed with something wet. “[Y/N], oh, I’m—” He swallowed, his neck bobbing as he sent you a grateful smile. “I’m just so glad that you’re here.”

His hands pulled away from your face as he stood upright once more, heading for the open door. “Here, I’ll be back in a second.”

You raised your hand toward him, opening your mouth to say something, but he was already gone, having disappeared down the hall in a flash. Blinking, you sat stunned and even more confused than before, left only to wait and hope for an explanation once he returned.

Hardly even two minutes passed before you heard the rumbling of footsteps racing toward the open door. You squeaked when a series of faces filled the room, their cheeks red and chests heaving as they caught their breath. Clay immediately shuffled back to your side, slipping into the space on the bed next to you before grabbing your hand, squeezing.

“[Y/N]!” Niki cried, her eyes filled with panic. “Are you okay?”

Beside her, Tubbo’s hands shook at his side. “We only just heard from Dream that you were awake.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it, your mind still hazy with everything that had just happened. Struggling to come up with an answer, you found yourself blurting the first words that came to mind. “How long has it been?”

You saw George shoot Sapnap a look, shrugging his shoulders before glancing back at you. “Uh, like, half a day.”

You shot forward, gaping. “Half a day?!”

Tommy flashed you a bright grin, leaning against Tubbo’s shoulder with a teasing look. “Yeah, you should have seen Dream run around! He spoon fed you regeneration potions and probably even read three whole fuckin’ libraries’ worth of books on poison antidotes while you wer—”

A hand suddenly smacked into Tommy’s skull, and he yelped. Behind him, Wilbur scowled. “Tommy!” he scolded. There was a soft giggle, then Wilbur whirled, his eyes narrowing. “And Quackity.” The giggles stopped. “Don’t think I didn’t see you laughing. This is serious.”

There was a slight pause. “Okay, but it is funn—”

“[Y/N],” Clay suddenly said, cutting Tommy off as his hand squeezed yours.

You blinked, trying to ignore how low his voice sounded right about now. “Y-Yeah?”

He cocked his head at you, gesturing to the sheets covering your lower half. “Can you move your legs?”

“Um...” Lifting an arm, you flung the sheets off of you, carefully shifting your leg back and forth. “Y-Yeah. I’m still feeling kind of funny, though.” You wrinkled your nose. “I’m not sure if I can stand, yet.”

He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he ran a hand through his hair. “Damn. I had a feeling this would happen, but I still wished it wouldn’t.”

Quackity took a step forward, his hand outstretched toward you. “Here, [Y/N], try—”

A snarl ripped itself out of Clay’s throat, and his shout echoed off the walls. “Don’t touch them!”

A tense silence immediately fell over the room, and Quackity back-pedalled, pulling his hand back as if he had burned it on hot coal. You watched as a pang of guilt shot across Clay’s face before he sighed. “Sorry, I mean—” He shook his head, lowering his head. “Fuck.”

Sapnap sent him a small smile, sincere and reassuring. “Hey, man,” he said softly, “it’s alright. We get it. You’re stressed. I’d react the same way if I was in your position.”

Clay raised his chin a little, his lips quirking. “Thanks, Sap.”

Wilbur suddenly spoke up, his eyes trained on you. “Dream, I think we still have some questions we should ask.”

Clay blinked, then nodded. “Right, thanks, Wilbur.” Clearing his throat, he turned to face you head on.” Do you still remember the picnic?” When you nodded, he continued. “Did anything out of the ordinary happen?”

You paused, then shook your head. “Not that I can remember. I woke up, packed up a basket, walked over to the field with you, ate with everyone, then...” You gestured vaguely. “Well, y’know.”

His gaze hardened. “What did you eat?”

You thought for a moment. “Um, I ate an apple, and I had two slices of George’s bread.” You paused again, furrowing your brows. Then, your eyes lit up. “Oh, and I also ate some of the fish.”

Clay stared at you. “Fish?” he parroted.

You bobbed your head, humming. “Yeah. That’s about as much as I remember.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and you could practically see the gears turning in Clay’s head. “Did anyone else here eat the fish?” he finally said after a while.

Your friends cast curious looks at one another before George raised his hand, shaking his head. “No.” He jutted his head toward you. “[Y/N] was the first and only person to, I believe.”

Clay pursed his lips. “Tubbo.”

Tubbo jumped, looking panicked and shaky as he stammered out, “Y-Yes, Dream?”

Clay narrowed his eyes. “Who exactly brought the fish?”

Tubbo gulped. “Uh, it, um, ah—” He inhaled sharply at the look on Clay’s face, then sighed. “I did, Dream.”

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, Clay sighed, his thumb brushing over the back of your hand. “Oh, it all makes sense now.”

Now, it was Tommy’s turn to speak, his expression clouded with confusion. “How the fuck does that make this make any more sense than it did before?”

Clay suddenly slipped his hand out of yours, your palm meeting nothing as he rose to his full height. You felt the air grow cold.

“Tubbo,” he said slowly, casually—almost too casually. A crooked, charming smile spread across his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “What kind of fish was it?”

Tubbo lowered his gaze to the ground. “Pufferfish,” he said in a tiny whisper.

Tommy stared. “Oh.” Understanding flickered across his face before being replaced by horror. “Oh.”

Clay took a step forward, the grin never leaving his face. “Tubbo—”

Your hand shot forward, grabbing onto his wrist before he could take another step. His arm was tense underneath your touch, but he stopped the moment your skin met his. “Clay,” you said quickly, your words rushed and hurried, “stop, please.”

He turned, looking back at you over his shoulder. You shook your head at him. “I’m sure it was an accident. Tubbo would never poison anyone deliberately, let alone me.”

You heard a soft hiccup, then Tubbo spoke. “I-I wouldn’t, I swear it! I just... I thought cooking pufferfish would make them less toxic for other people.”

Niki raised her hand, her face pleading as her eyes darted back and forth between Dream and Tubbo. “I can vouch for him, and not just because we’re friends. He might have built up his own tolerance for pufferfish poison, but I don’t think he realized just how bad it could turn out to be.”

Tubbo nodded frantically, looking smaller than ever as he finally lifted his head. “Seriously, Dream, I would never do it intentionally, I promise.” He turned to look at you, his sides shaking as your gaze met his.

“I’m sorry, [Y/N],” he whispered, honesty and desperation soaking into every syllable he spoke, “I really am.”

Your face softened immediately, and you could only hope he knew how sincere you were being. “I forgive you, Tubbo.” Your eyes flit to the man in front of you. “Do you, Clay?”

You couldn’t see his expression from where you were sitting, but the look of terror on Tubbo’s face said it all. “Yes,” he said, “but only because you do.”

Your grip around his wrist tightened. “Clay, I’m positive. Please, just let it be.” You tugged a little, and he turned, watching as you kicked your legs at him with a small smile. “I’m all better now, see?”

The coldness in his gaze finally seemed to melt, and he shook his head at you, his lips twitching. “Fine.” Walking back over to you, you tucked your legs back against you as he sat on the bed, levelling a glare at the crowd gathered in front of you. “Now everyone, get out.”

There was a whistle. “Jeez, aggressive mu—”

“Tommy,” Wilbur said again, already tugging at the blond’s collar as he tread toward the hall, “an angry Dream is not someone you want to mess with.”

Tommy glowered as everyone filed out of the room, his voice fading away as they disappeared outside. “Ugh, you are such a killjo—”

Sapnap sent you a friendly smile as his hand wrapped around the door handle. “I hope you feel better soon, [Y/N].”

You returned his grin with a grateful look. “Thanks, Sapnap.”

With one last wave, he pulled the door shut, leaving you alone with Clay. Shifting forward slightly, you swung your legs off the bed, nudging him with your side. “Clay?” you murmured, your eyes searching his face. It was at times like this he was easier to read.

With a sigh, he hung his head in his hands, the vein in his neck bulging out. “God, I know he means well, but I still kind of want to wring Tubbo’s neck, right now.”

You leaned against him, pressing your cheek to his bicep. “Clay, don’t say that.”

He lifted his head, growling. “I know, I know! It’s just—”

He bit his lip, then sighed again, his arm reaching up to pull you onto his lap. Shifting you around so that you were facing him, his leaned his forehead against yours, his hot breath tickling your skin.

“You don’t know how scared I was,” he whispered, sincere and true. “I never want to lose you. Ever.”

Heat crawled up your neck, and your head spun, but not for the same reasons as before. “C-Clay.”

His hand stroked along your back. “It’s the truth, y’know? I’d never lie to you, and I mean every word.” Leaning upward, he pressed his lips to your forehead as he spoke, the words shaking against your skin. “You mean more to me than you may ever know.”

You hummed, your heart blossoming in your chest. “Even if that’s the case,” you said, “you don’t need to be so upset, anymore.” You felt his lips leave your forehead, and you peered up at him through your lashes. “I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

You leaned back in his arms, reaching up to brush your fingertips over his freckles. A soft smile tugged at your lips as you watched him melt a little at the gesture. “Now,” you said, quiet yet firm, “promise me you won’t be mad at Tubbo the next time you see him.”

He blinked. “W-What?”

You pursed your lips. “Clay.”

He chuckled. “Alright, alright. I promise.” A sly grin slipped onto his face. “But only if...”

You raised a brow at him. “Only if...?”

You half-wanted to smack the stupid grin off his stupidly perfect face. “Only if you give me a kiss.”

You giggled, slipping your arms over his shoulder and around his neck. He always knew how to make you laugh, even at serious times like this. Leaning forward, you pressed your lips to his in a sweet kiss. He still tasted like freshly squeezed lemonade, gleaming in the light of the sweet summer sun. You felt him smile against you, and you pulled away mirroring his expression.

“There,” you whispered, running your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Does that seal the deal?”

He hummed, tilting his head at you while mischief danced in his eyes. “Maybe you should do it again just to make sure.”

You rolled your eyes at him, but couldn’t stop the giddy smile from spreading across your face.

Your picnic may have been a disaster, but you wouldn’t mind ending your days wrapped in Clay’s arms more often.

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cutiecrates · 5 years

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Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat July 19

Hello all, welcome to July’s Tokyo Treat review!

Besides the fact I’m in a different place taking these pics, I don’t have anything else to say so we’ll just get straight into it.

Also, because I accidentally cut it off, July’s theme is Life’s A Beach.

“With warmer weather on the horizon we were feeling super inspired to bring you a summery box filled with snacks ready for a beach day! This month you’ll be receiving a lot of fun treats and a taste of summer in Japan. We hope this yummy selection of sweet and savory snacks inspires you to go outside and enjoy your treats in the summer weather!“

So in my rush to get these pictures ready, I ended up not getting the Prize or Lucky Treat pictures. So to summarize, Lucky Treat heavily focuses on Kindom Hearts with a dash of Pokemon. While I was lucky enough to win the September one, I can’t deny that this would probably have been the other one I really wanted. Meanwhile, July’s prize features figurines of Sanji and Trafalgar Law (my favorite characters, along with Luffy, Ace, and Perona) in One Piece, and some smaller Pokemon figures for the runner-ups.

As usual I won’t be reviewing the DIY candy kit (see top pic) because we’ve had it several times before and I think I already covered it on the blog anyway.

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Melon Cream Soda

(Sorry the stand is a mess, this pic was last-second and I was in a hurry, and no the drink in the background is not the same one as on top, it’s cola).

Perfect for summer, we have a refreshing melon cream soda. It’s a really pretty pastel green color, and it’s very foamy on the top which helps emulate the cream soda vibe. It smells like fizzy melon candy (and tastes like one too), and it’s very light and refreshing with a small hint of vanilla in the background.

If you don’t like melon then you probably wouldn’t like this- but if you do then I think you would love it.

Crushed Poteco 4-Pack

If you read the blog before then you will recognize these; we get them fairly often and I won’t be reviewing these because I’ve done it a handful of times.

They’re cute, tasty little potato rings with a slight saltiness, but as good as they are I’m pretty sick of them <_< I actually gave all of mine away because I really didn’t want them.

Soda Soft Candy & Sherbet Perot Cider

I love soda candy and I can’t think of anything more lovely for warm summer weather than cooling, refreshing blue sweets~

First we’ll start with the Sherbet Perot Cider, the equivalent of the cola-flavored lollipop with fizzy candy that we got either back in May. It consists of a neutral-lightly sweetened lollipop with powdered candy you can tip it in, giving it a vaguely fizzy and sweeter, almost sour taste. This specific one is 44.5 calories.

Much like the cola one, I think it’s really yummy. I love the taste of the powder with it especially because in my opinion the lollipop on its own isn’t sweet enough- but like the cola one, I find myself completely forgetting about the powder and just sucking on the candy.

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The other soda candy we got are these cute spherical soft candies. But what makes them special is that they have a hint of lemon for an additional pinch of sweetness~

The entire bag is 63 calories, which seems about right since you get a handful of them. The pamphlet describes these as sweet and sour, but unless you let them sit in your mouth for a few minutes, you taste no sourness- and honestly, they didn’t taste as good as they do if you just chew them up from the beginning.

Mini Chocolate Bat

Next up is an item I’ve had before, but it’s been a really long time so that’s not too bad.These have been around for a long time now if I recall, but I’m not sure if they’re popular. For the entire box (or one stick, not sure) its 51 calories, and each crunchy stick is coated in a thin layer of chocolate, they remind me a lot of those yellow cake donuts... if they were stale and hard.

These aren’t bad or anything but they aren’t sweet either. I love dark chocolate and I can appreciate not having a sugar buzz as much as the next person, but sometimes you just want sugar too, you know? I feel like this would be good with coffee though, and it was nice of them to give us a box, making them a nice little item to bring to a get-together with a friend or two.

Chocolate Mint Candy & Peach Mint Kit Kats

To go with all of our refreshing green and blue sweet snacks, we got two more, but these are of the mint variety!

Our first item is inspired by delicious Hokkaido mint chocolate ice cream (my favorite~!) and takes the form of a spherical hard candy. I know the picture makes it extremely hard, but the candy actually has brown dots covering them to emulate the ice cream. The inside is filled with a cooling white powdery substance, but you don’t have to wait until you get to the center, because there is a tiny hole in the candy allowing the flavor to seep out.

Per-candy or bag (I certainly hope bag), the calories are 290.

These are very yummy but I’m not sure they would be enjoyed by those who aren’t big on choco-mint. They mostly taste like chocolate with a hint of mint, and I really like the cooling effect. The hardness of the coating seems to vary between candies though, because I noticed the first one I could bite through the middle no problem, but the second one was a lot more difficult.

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Next up is another kit kat like usual. As much as I like these I tend to get tired of them too, but I believe last month we didn’t have one so it isn’t that bad. Anyway, this is a PREMIUM kit kat blend, which means its slightly more special or pricey or something. Each pack is 63 calories, and i love the pretty mix of pink and mint on the packaging~

Before getting these, it never occurred to me to think of a combination like mint x peach. I thought it sounded strange. The outside chocolate oddly resembles cookies and cream while the inside is pure mint, and they are deliciously amazing!

As I said, it sounds unusual, but it’s really good. As soon as you bite into them you get hit by the refreshing peach, followed by a combination of mint until you’re left with a cooling sensation. I recommend these if you can find them!

Anpanman Grape Gummies & Sour Peah Gum

Our refreshing fruity theme continues with these two fun, colorful candies. I’ve had these both before so I don’t think I have too much to say, I’ll start with the Anpanman. These are fun grape-flavored gummies that come in 24 various poses and characters, and each pack is 62 calories.

I was really confused with these, because of summer and them being gummies I assumed they would be inedible because they were stuck to the plastic/wax paper. But it turns out the paper can dissolved! It’s very weird, but my mom pointed it out while I explained my issues with it, and while having them in my mouth it would just slide right off. I wasted half of the pack until finding this out <3< but I am very glad I did because I wasn’t very impressed when I opened them.

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Next is a really fun gum roulette candy that came out a couple of years ago :3 Basically, you have 3 gums (I’ve tried a few flavors so far, but Peach is the only one I’ve had twice now) and each one is different: one is sour, one is sweet, and one is normal. There’s no physical way to tell them apart, nor do they have a scent (except for what the flavor is, in this case peach). The only way to find out which is which is to chew them.

I like sour candy, and I also love sweetness, so this is really fun and the gum quality is pretty good, but the flavors only last a few minutes. This was how I felt about each piece:

Sour - It gets worse the more you chew. I love sourness but Japanese sour candy seems to involve salt; my mouth was starting to feel an extremely faint numbing burn. I never really considered myself a wimp when it came to sour candy but this stuff is on another level; but because it died down fairly quickly, it wasn’t unbearable.

Normal - Sweet and a little cooling. It actually didn’t taste too much like peach but the sour might have ruined my taste buds at the moment :P

Sweet - A lot like the Normal piece, but slightly more peach-ish.

Umai Sugar Rusk & Sour Cream and Onion Doritos

Recognize the guy on the Sugar Rusk package? He’s our adorable Umaibo friend (by the way, am I the only person who thinks he resembles Doraemon a little?), but now he’s featuring a sweet rusk snack. Each pack is 209 calories.

I don’t usually like rusk snacks, but these are tasty. They’re light, crispy, and sweet with a hint of butteryness. The calories for this are high but they’re delicious, would recommend.

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Now, where I live Doritos are not uncommon. We have tons of flavors (my favorite being the original, and the sweet and spicy), at one point we even have mix-flavor bags. I really miss those, but I never met a Dorito I didn’t like so I was excited to get to try something new. Each bag is 277 calories.

These are based on sour cream and onion, which is not something new to me. I used to really like it and the dip with the same flavor, but besides these foreign things I get lately I don’t actually eat too many chips- except for when I’m in the mood for some Doritos since it’s actually my favorite American brand.

These taste really good. Pretty different from the sour cream and onion I’m used to though; they have a garlic-onion-ish taste and while I hate onions (mainly the texture of them), that didn’t really bother me. They actually kind of remind me of the cool ranch Doritos.

Tonkatsu Sauce Umaibo & Texas Corn Okonomiyaki

(This pic is different because my original was corrupted, which I discovered when I went to save it to my computer.)

Our final 2 items of this months box is a delicious Umaibo I’ve had a few times. It’s Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) sauce flavored and it’s AMAZING. It’s my second favorite Umaibo flavor behind corn potage, I really recommend this one if you ever get a chance to try it out.

The flavor itself I can’t really describe, but it has a hint of spice. I want to say it’s a bit like a smoky barbecue-soy sauce? It’s not salty though.

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Lastly is a bag of Texas Corn snack in Okonomiyaki flavor. Okonomiyaki is an Asian Dish best known as a savory pancake. It’s a combination of dough and vegetables, sometimes with meat (bacon is pretty popular), noodles, or seafood, then its fried and covered in things like sauce or pickled vegetables.

These smell kind of similar to the Umaibo, but with a tangy addition and it’s very strong- but the flavor itself is extremely light, it gives me a plain dough (and this next part will sound crazy) and apple cinnamon...

Yeah. I don’t know what I’m on these days o_o

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 3.5 out of 5. I nearly-loved everything, but I am scoring it down because there was a handful of repetition and two items I refuse to forgive for seeing again for the millionth time. Call me petty but when I look at the content featured in Japan Crate’s box, I feel like its kind of a rip-off because they always have a bunch of unique new types of items in the boxes.

Quality - 4.5 out of 5. Everything was fine, items were good and tasty and nothing was damaged (including my umaibo, which lately has been suffering), while everything but one item held up being open a bit late, a couple of them went stale fairly quick after opening. BUT they still tasted decent so I didn’t entirely mind. I’m only mentioning this because I’m not a person who inhales everything at one or shares them with others. My snacks tend to last a while.

Theme - 2 out of 5. I thought they kind of failed this time around. The theme was perfect for summer, but when I think of the beach I think of flavors like pineapple, mango, coconut (I hate coconut so I am thankful none of that was included), other fruits, and maybe grilled flavors. The mint, soda, and melon flavors were great for the theme to provide a refreshing and light taste, but I wish they had played that up some more.

Total Rank: 6 or 7 out of 10. Lately the boxes are improving I think, I keep liking them more and more and I really loved this one (with the exception of the poteco rings and the DIY, they’re good but I’m just tired of seeing them!). The flavors are all very yummy, but the items correspondence with the theme needs some work. Let’s see if they do better next month with our last of the 3 summer boxes this year :3

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Tonkatsu Umaibo - It’s a unique flavor but it’s so good! I can only imagine what the real sauce tastes like~

2. Soda Soft Candy - Soft candy is much better than hard in my opinion, I love candy like this. They tasted so good x3

3. Sour Cream and Onion Doritos - I love Doritos and these were no exception- I do wish the flavor didn’t linger in the mouth so long, but it’s not horrible.

4. Sugar Rusk - These are like the sugar rusk Umaibo, and they’re very tasty.

5. Peach Mint Kit Kat - I love the pink and mint pastel color scheme and for such a unique sweet combination, I thought they were perfect together.

6. Sour Peach Gum - Delicious, but the flavor dies down very quickly. I like the texture of the gum.

7. Sherbet Perot Cider - Very yummy, but I wish the lollipop was a little sweeter.

8. Chocolate Mint Candy - I’m not big on hard candies like I used to be, but these are unique and I love the cooling effect.

9. Anpanman Grape Gummies - I love grape and I thought they were too cute not to eat~

10. Melon Cream Soda - It was really good but when I have melon things I feel like I have a point where I lose interest. I’m glad I split this with someone else because I’m not sure I would have drank the entire thing on my own.

11. Texas Corn Okonomiyaki - I like the texture but the weird apple cinnamon cereal vibes I was getting weirded me out.

12. Chocolate Bat - I hated these initially but the ore I ate the more bearable I found them.

13. Poteco - I’m extremely over these... thankfully I know people who like them or aren’t as picky.

#cutie reviews #tokyotreat #kingdom hearts merchandise #one piece merchandise #umaibo #kit kats #anpanman #chocolate mint

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shelfnovel12-blog · 5 years

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Why Do We Drink Eggnog at Christmas? — Food History

Why do we drink eggnog? The question vexed me for years. Eggnog? The weird yellow Yuletide drink featuring eggs and sometimes booze? The mysterious stuff that retired people in movies swill by the fireside on frozen nights? The creamy concoction that comes in cartons where corn syrup is known to bat second or third in the ingredient lineup? A drink where 50 percent of the letters are g?

No thanks. Why would I, in this sacred season of roast pork and rainbow cookies, drink something that tastes like nothing and fills me up in four sips?

Clearly not everyone is as perplexed as I am. There seem to be eggnog families and non-eggnog families. Those who have grown up drinking eggnog are neutral and may even have a recipe or two. Those who haven’t see the drink as a curiosity (most likely, a store-bought curiosity) that distantly and vaguely belongs to holiday history and tradition.

  With this attitude, with my non-eggnog roots, I had a conversation years back with a classmate from the other side. It was right before winter break. He was excited about ‘nog.   “I can’t wait to make a batch of eggnog!” he gushed.   I looked at him. “Really? Of all the things in the wide universe you could be doing?”

  ”Yeah. You’re not a fan?” he asked.

“Maybe you’ve been drinking the wrong eggnog.”  He directed me to a few recipes, blueprints for scratch-made ‘nogs replete with fancy flourishes like fresh-grated nutmeg and well-aged bourbon. The recipe I chose called for spiced rum.

So there I stood a few days later at my kitchen counter, ingredients outspread, pitcher ready, my girlfriend reminding me that we had to get wine on the way to another friend’s holiday party because nobody was going to drink this stuff — this apothecary-sounding potion that called for 12 eggs and enough rum to end your night; this drink where 50 percent of the letters are g.  I assured her that a wine stop was in the night’s cards, and then I cracked the first egg.

The word “eggnog” provides a keyhole glimpse into the drink’s history. My good friend the OED tells us that, across the pond in centuries past, ‘nog was “a strong variety of beer” to English drinkers around Norfolk. (The possibly related Shetlandic word “nugg” referred to “ale warmed with a hot poker.”) The word “noggin” refers to your head, but also, in places like Ireland even today, to “a small drinking vessel.”

Eggnog itself is a drink of eggs, dairy, sugar, and (historically) alcohol. The English have been mixing eggnog for several hundred years, and the drink crossed the Atlantic with the early American colonists.

That the first Americans drank eggnog isn’t surprising. The colonies were awash with rum from the English-dominated Caribbean and then, once we had soured on the English, American whiskey became the “in” drink. American farmers west of coastal centers had to sell their amber fields of grain. They often turned them into whiskey, which was easier to transport. There was so much alcohol that it was commonly consumed before noon. As young America was an agricultural country, there were lots of farms, which meant lots of dairy animals and chickens, which meant lots of milk and eggs. Eggs + milk + booze = eggnog.

Journals and diaries from back then reveal that eggnog was a Christmas tradition. What is less clear is how drink and holiday met, hit it off, and stayed together. One can guess. The ingredients for eggnog are available year-round, but could you imagine drinking a cream-based brew with the viscosity of syrup and then heading out to plow a farm in summer? It makes much more sense that colonial Americans would’ve waited until winter, for an occasion worthy of breaking out the spirits (if scarce) — for Christmas, a time when the harvest was done and there wasn’t much to do but celebrate.

Eggnog can hit at 20 percent+ ABV. The alcohol acts as a preservative. You can age eggnog for months. I picture a starving colonist shutting the door on a prairie wind in December and, his fresh food stores having dwindled, going down to the cellar for some reserved ‘nog.  I picture my girlfriend and I at my kitchen counter, my first batch frothy, pie-spiced, spiked with the sharp bite of rum, and ready for slow drinking. And it’s pretty good — more like a light milkshake than the gloppy stuff from the carton. Not life-changing. Not earth-shaking. Not even enough to transform me into more than a once-a-year ‘nog drinker, but nice and sweet, thick and boozy, and enough to make me see a crack of the light.

Why do we drink eggnog? Maybe history. Maybe tradition. Maybe to fire the memory or to point the mind down a pleasant vector and press launch. Maybe to get full. Maybe to get drunk. Maybe for the same reason we do anything in December. And maybe, yes — maybe even for taste.

Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/why-we-drink-eggnog-at-christmas-226791

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mynamemeanscute · 2 years

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wonton soup, a ``recipe``.

in honour of lunar new year, a dear friend came over to our home last week to show us how to make wonton soup. having learned from their family, the instructions involved a lot of “measure with your heart” and “mix until it feels right”. that said, i made notes as they prepped, mixed, and cooked, and the following is what I got.

please note: this post is written as a bit of a gag (we are friends who joke and thrive on ridiculousness). that said, following the “instructions”, as vague as they are, will very probably still produce a delicious soup. if you are someone who requires legitimate, specific measurements, the internet is full of excellent recipes. this isn’t actually a food blog.

ingredients:

dried fish flakes —the package they brought over looked like this:

dried flounder (another type of fish —for this soup, they didn`t actually have any and so used dried anchovies instead. can also sub bonito.)

a bunch of scallions

one carton of pork ramen broth

one shrimp bouillon cube

one chicken bouillon cube

fresh ginger

white pepper, to taste

salt, to taste

a bag of peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 tsp baking soda

dry shrimp (can also use half a shrimp bouillon cube, smashed/chopped up)

sesame oil

soy sauce

corn starch

package of ground pork

one egg

wonton wrappers, square or round (we used two packaged, but had leftover filling)

instructions:

blend fish flakes with dried bonito (or anchovies) intoa coarse meal/ powder

chop up a whack load of scallions, put aside

to a large pot, add water and pork ramen broth (1:3 ratio), 1/2 shrimp bouillon cube, one chicken bouillon cube

heat on low-medium on stove-top

add a handful of scallion stocks and several inches of fresh, peeled ginger, in chunks

add a bunch of white pepper and salt to taste

in a large bowl, soak the peeled and deveined shrimp in 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda (if desired, you can add the tails and heads to the simmering broth to deepen the flavour). set aside. allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes.

in a small bowl, mix the dry shrimp (or smashed/chopped up remaining half of shrimp bouillon cube) with the chopped scallions, some sesame oil, soy sauce, coarsley minced ginger (a few inches), and 1-2 tsp of the dried fish flake mix from the first step, a few shakes of white pepper, salt, and corn starch

rinse the shrimp and dry lightly with some paper towel

chop the shrimp into small/medium chunks, trying to keep all the pieces roughly the same size. return to the same bowl.

add ground pork to the shrimp (about 1:1 ratio).

add small amount of the sauce from the small bowl and an egg to the meat bowl. mix together with your hands. add more cornstarch, as needed. the texture should be about as springy as a ``stale homemade marshmallow``.

(this photo is where i am reminded that i could have been taking photos of each step to make all of this make a little more sense, but here we are, and the photos start here)

13. add remainder of sauce to the large bowl and mix until well 14. combinedchill bowl in fridge for a while. 15. line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

16. put a small spoonful of the meat mix into the centre of a wonton wrapper 17. fold over, corner to corner, using a small amount of water (on your finger) to seal the edges, and form little wonton shapes

18. once you have folded the desired number of wontons, take folded packages and plop in broth. (we transfered some of the broth from the large pot to a smaller pot for our lunch, allowing the larger pot to continue simmering for a longer time. the wontons were added to the small pot.) simmer. the wontons will be done when they float to the surface.

19. serve, garnishing with additional scallions as desired. eat, enjoy. go back for seconds. 20. to store, allow remaining broth to cool in the pot and strain before putting into an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. remaining wonton packages can be also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. (we froze them in ziploc packets of ten to make portioning out for future meals easier. allowing to freeze completely spaced out on a cookie sheet before packaging will help keep the wontons from sticking together.)

#wontonsoup #recipe #lunarnewyear #familyrecipe #soup #notafoodblog

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seoulfulcity · 6 years

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May 29, 2018: Take Me to Macau and Guangzhou, China

你好,

"Don't be scared when a Cantonese talks to you. They are not yelling or are mad at you, that's just how they talk" - an ancient proverb.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018: Our Hong Kong trip ends with a ferry ride to the neighboring Macau. Tracy took initiative to book the hotel for us to stay in Macau - Sofitel, a hotel chain I'm very familiar with. We arrived in a sweltering 109-degree weather. Now, I'm from Los Angeles and we experience heat waves going as high up as 110 degrees, but Macau was insane. The heat was turning my skin red fast and sweat constantly dripped from my head. We were about to do a walking tour around the city under this weather.

Luckily, our hotel was situated close to the Senado Square - an area in which Portuguese influence is very palpable. I entered Macau with no idea of what the country has to offer. Is Macau a beach city? Is it a vacation place? Is it a shopping country just as Hong Kong? I had no expectations.

Voila! I came into Macau and everything was in.... Portuguese. Bus signs, warning signs, street signs, instructions, and almost, if not everything, is in Portuguese. Once again, I found myself in a huge state of culture shock. I vaguely remember learning about the Portuguese taking over East Asia way back in history, but I did not realize its culture is still as alive as ever in Macau.

I actually thanked a person in Portuguese instead of Cantonese, and they were able to understand me. Obrigado is all I needed to survive Little Lisbon.

What makes Macau very different than Hong Kong was the ubiquitous Catholic references in every corner. The streets were named after Catholic saints. Images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were plastered against the wall of every Chinese restaurant we pass by. No signs of Buddhism at all.

It would have been a very intriguing history and culture to learn about prior to visiting the country given the fact that is is nothing like any of its neighboring Buddhism-heavy countries.

Nonetheless, one day and one night in Macau is enough to explore and fall in love with the country. Tracy had me and Simi try the place where they're known for their beef intestines, liver, heart, and tongue. Let's leave this story with the note that I had an interesting tasting experience

The free sample culture in Macau competes against America's culture. The country is known for its jerky - different flavored beef and pork jerkies are open for everybody to taste. There is this bakery chain that stacks open boxes of cookies and breads for everybody to grab. Frankly, Simi and I scoured through the whole bakery, sampling each cookie more than twice - we ended up saving our lunch money!

Even though my blog about Macau is not as long compared to my other blogs, the country does not fall short on beauty and surprises. Macau is the place where you fall in love with its people and its Portuguese-heavy history. This is the country where European-Asian fusion food is the most delicious. This is the country where the beautiful European culture and language fuse with the ancient and timeless Asian tradition. Macau has a lot to offer if people are willing to accept them with arms wide open.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018: Our hotel in Macau offers a ride to the Chinese border for free, in which we happily utilized. The biggest worry I've had in the past few months was China. Being an American, everybody already has a generalized idea and fear with what happens in China. To name a few fears that people have mentioned prior to my departure from Los Angeles

China is filled with scammers and you have to constantly be wary of your surroundings.

Language barrier is the most terrifying thing - nobody will be able to help you since English is not widely taught; and apparently people are too impatient to even bother with a translator.

The Great Firewall. Enough said.

China has a history of tracking its citizens, and visitors need to buy things that could prevent identity theft.

Pollution. The internet needed me to buy a thick face mask to protect my respiratory system.

The hot and humid weather is unbearable. You won't be able to do a lot with how much energy you're wasting by just sweating.

Wild dogs carrying rabies everywhere, children pooping in street corners, squat toilets, and basically the complete opposite of the magnificent America. Apparently the whole country is uncivilized and unsanitary.

The food and water are very dirty. They apparently boil sewage water for consumption and the oil they use for street foods are months old. I was suggested to bring different medications for diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, and all kinds of drugs for future stomach problems.

The people are mean and unforgiving. They will yell, hit, and shove as an instinct.

Overall, China is going to be a scary place for a first-time solo traveler.

So yes, I had fears crossing the Chinese border. Oh, a lot of fears. We expected our Chinese trip to be one big Murphy's Law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

That law came into light when we went through customs.

I usually don't cross a country via a physical border - I accomplish it by flying and flight attendants would provide us the proper forms to fill out for customs. The bus from our hotel didn't provide it, so it never occurred to us that we needed to fill out forms - yes, we are actually first-time solo travelers.

Fear #2 seems to always make its way into our daily routine while we're here in China. The man responsible in customs for foreign passport holders was not very content with the fact that we made a mistake with forgetting to fill out the arrival form; his anger escalated when he couldn't communicate with us properly in Cantonese. He handed us the arrival form - I'm being nice here since he basically threw it to us from the window - and we filled it out. We passed customs and took the bus from the border to Tracy's second hometown of Guangzhou, or Canton as how I grew up knowing it as.

A little Philippine food discussion - I grew up with one childhood food only, Pancit Canton. Pancit is the Filipino term for noodles and Canton is the origin of the plate. It is my go-to food when I was young, and even until now. Pancit Canton is my favorite noodles.

So, imagine being in my feet, in Canton, and the first meal I had was noodles. The noodles native to Canton. This is the original Pancit Canton. My poor heart could not handle the joy.

Guangzhou is very reminiscent of the Philippines. The streets, the weather, the food, the culture, and the people. This entire trip is one big trip down memory lane; and since my ten-year anniversary of immigrating to America from the Philippines was approaching and not once have I visited my country, Guangzhou compensated for the homesickness.

Our first day in Guangzhou was nothing less than memorable. Tracy's uncle is a competitive cyclist, so he was excited for us to bike with him around Guangzhou for a few hours. Unlike Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou transportation culture revolves on bicycles. Everybody owned one. Going to work, going to school, going to the park. Everything is accessible via a bicycle, and the Guangzhou streets were set up to prioritize cyclists.

We cycled between cars, joined the traffic, had access to the pedestrian side walks, and beat the heat by speeding through the Pearl River (Zhujiang) with its cool misty breeze.

I've noticed that the Cantonese in Guangzhou have a very active lifestyle. Transportation via an automobile was very rare. Jogging and running were encouraged since people of all ages jogged as a group, free public aerobic exercises and tai chi at the parks and the sidewalks for those who aren't able to withstand a long run, and of course - what would Guangzhou be without its bicycles? From what I've seen that night, the Cantonese people are very communal. Everything had to be done as a community. They gave off a really welcoming and inclusive vibe.

"Why does it matter if you're a foreigner and can't speak Cantonese? Come celebrate life with us! Life is too short to be individualistic and doing things on your own! Let's do it together, as one big Cantonese family!" That was the biggest impression I had with the Cantonese people.

食在广州 (Chi zai Guangzhou) which means "Eat in Guangzhou. The city prides itself on its food. I was constantly reminded that I will never taste anything as good as Guangzhou cuisine - and boy, they were perfectly on point.

Tracy's family were so welcoming and hosted a huge seafood dinner for us in the heart of the seafood market. Her grandmother went out to purchase the fresh food, handed it to the cooks in the restaurant and they set up a grand display of seafood of every specie.

Throughout the next two days, Tracy's family fed us local foods from the spiciest restaurant in all of Guangzhou to food native only to the area. We had three large meals on our last day with her family, and Simi and I would joke about how this would provide us enough calories and energy to last us our entire Chinese trip. Tracy's family would remind us every chance they could that there will be no food up there in Beijing - or at least not as good as in Guangzhou.

Nonetheless, Simi and I were right. It's been three days since we left Guangzhou and we've only eaten two meals and we're still not starving. Our meals in Guangzhou actually lasted us a few days!

I could not fail to mention the idol culture in China, which is strikingly similar to my experience in Seoul. Faces of Chinese idols were plastered and shown (in really bright lights) in every corner - Zhang Yixing, Wu Yifan, Lu Han, Wang Jiaer, and Oppo just released a set of posters featuring the biggest Chinese stars, such as Karry Wang from TFBoys and Li Yifeng (and boy, Oppo posters were everywhere). Guangzhou's obsession is not on par as in Seoul, but I'm expecting the idolization culture to be so much worse in Beijing. It felt familiar - in a very isolating country where the language and the people remind you everyday that you're foreign with no direct association to anything and anybody - it felt familiar. Zhang Yixing, whose face I see everyday on my home screen, and Li Yifeng, who taught me some basic Chinese from his dramas - the celebrities' faces gave me the sense that everything is not so foreign after all. And that's all I've been craving since I started my trip - familiarity. It's been a while since I've understood the language around me and it makes me feel very isolated. Everyday is a culture shock and adjustment that it gets mentally draining sometimes. I'm going to continue being out of my bubble all of summer, so I suppose a sense of comfort, even just for a day, would suffice.

Tracy and her family left for Cambodia the morning we were leaving Guangzhou. Our train to Hunan was not until 8 PM, but we decided to get to the train station eight hours early to give ourselves a lot of time to get lost and make some big mistakes. In the train station, we found out Guangzhou's main form of scamming to cut in front of the lines.

The first incident was when we were in line to pick up our train tickets and this seemingly-innocent woman, in her early to mid twenties, was panicking to me saying her train leaves in 25 minutes. I tapped Simi on the shoulder to let her in. Simi half expected for some good karma to come back to us.

Not even ten minutes later, a guy did the exact same thing - his train was leaving and he's running late and needed to cut through the line. The people in front of us obliged.

Then, another older woman followed the exact same scheme. Then an older man. By that time, the people in line were unforgiving and did not let them through. The scammers argued with the people on the ticket window, showing them proof that they were indeed late. The argument every time ends when the person in line let them retrieve their ticket in a half-annoyed face and a deep sigh.

Guangzhou Station was large, with so many rooms for foreigners like us to make mistakes in. None of the signs were in English besides "entrance" and "exit". We had to learn how Guangzhou Station and Zhangjiajie Station were written in Chinese characters. All the instructions for ticket purchases, waiting, and boarding were all written in characters very foreign to us. This is when we found ourselves lost in a sea of people rushing into a station they're very familiar with - unable to communicate with us with their lack of knowledge and willingness to speak English.

People constantly dismissed us when we start our sentences with "excuse me". People back off in fear that we were somehow foreign scammers, trying to trick them in a language they're unfamiliar with - it's a scary feeling for them and for us.

Though, once in a while, people would whip out their translations to help us navigate through what we needed to be done. We have our offline translations ready for anyone willing to take the time to read what the dictionary and the app concocted.

Our lives were saved when a Chinese woman who spoke amazing English walked us into the station, get into security, and helped us to the waiting room and made sure we were in the right spot. This was within an hour before boarding. Can you imagine? We were lost and helpless for seven hours - it was a tiring (and scary) day. Simi actually said that if we missed our train to Zhangjiajie, we should just go straight to the destination right after, Fenghuang.

Nevertheless, we made it to our train where we were assigned hard sleeper beds. The bunk beds are set up as three (the lower, middle, and upper bunk beds, two sets per area where we face each other). It was about an overnight 12-hour train ride to Zhangjiajie. At least we were comfortable, right?

Our adventures with the language barrier did not end here. Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang are not metropolitan cities, where English is spoken everyday. It gets more interesting! I need to learn more basic Mandarin, at least enough that could help us navigate through an area with minimal use of translation apps. Though right now, I'll stick to my poorly-translated Chinese sentences. Until then!

谢谢, Chris 「克里斯」

P.S. I am currently writing this blog on a slow train from Huaihua, Hunan to Chengdu, Sichuan. I share one corner of the train with six other people and we're all facing each other, so I'm not only uncomfortable, but my arms are tiring from holding up my phone to write this blog. There is no table within my reach that I could rest my elbows with and the seats don't recline, but nonetheless, I plan to discuss the ten fears I've mentioned about China right after I leave the country. Were they rational? Did I need to be fearful that much going into the country? What could I have done to possibly ease down the fear in the future, or to the prospective Chinese travelers reading this blog right now?

#summer #abroad #guangzhou #macau #china

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paharvey99 · 4 years

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No Waitrose October 7 - Days 3 and 4

Day 3

The four year-old we live with got up first this morning, which is unusual, as it’s usually me. I made her some breakfast - warm milk and ‘honey sandwich’, which is an English muffin, toasted, spread with butter and honey and slapped back together. Her own invention, I’m very proud.

The four year-old we live with was demanding Fireman Sam, and she means the awful Channel 5 reboot of Fireman Sam that’s nigh-on unwatchable, so I quietly ignored her and put something else, anything else, on the telly. This turned out to be James Martin’s Saturday morning cooking programme. I can’t really bear James Martin, truth be told, but he’s preferable to the awful Channel 5 reboot of Fireman Sam, so on he went.

It turned out to be a great decision. James, a professional Yorkshireman who lives in Hampshire, was cooking langoustines and banging on about how langoustines are the greatest foodstuff the UK produces, and how much he loves langoustines from a particular place in Northern Ireland called Strangford Lough. Then he cut live to a langoustine fisherman on a boat on Strangford Lough, which was one of those unnecessarily complicated live link-ups that TV programmes seem obsessed with doing these days.

He chatted to the langoustine fisherman, a dour Northern Irishman, about why Strangford Lough langoustines are so great, and then it emerged that the langoustine fisherman didn’t actually like langoustines. Not only that, he’d been a langoustine fisherman for more than 30 years and had never even eaten a langoustine. He just didn’t fancy them, apparently. I absolutely loved this, I couldn’t stop thinking about him for the rest of the day. These programmes are usually hell bent on selling us the image of artisan producers who are obsessed with their work, it was so nice to see someone completely uninterested in doing this. Plus a lot of people end up doing jobs they’re not that invested in, it was a rare moment of honesty from ITV1.

After that excitement we played for a bit and then the four year-old we live with announced she wanted to go out on her bike. Going out on her bike usually involves her going on her bike for 30 seconds and then me carrying her bike and helmet around for two hours, so I was pleased when she decided that she wanted to play tennis instead. I got the tennis rackets (she got one for her birthday, she loves tennis), packed a bag and set off, and after 30 seconds she announced that we were going to the butchers to get sausage rolls. Obviously I’m not going to argue with a decision like that, so we went to the butchers and got sausage rolls.

The butchers is really good, they’ve set up a pandemic system where they serve you at the door so you don’t have to go in, it’s one of the few places I’ve felt happy buying stuff from over lockdown. I got sausage rolls and some beef short ribs as they were in the window and looked good. We walked from the butchers to the bench where we eat our sausage rolls (Saturday sausage rolls is verging on becoming a tradition) and on the way we passed a bakery/café that was heaving with people. I’ll confess, I find it baffling how happy people are to go to cafes and restaurants at the moment. Most people were sitting outside, to be fair, but still. We haven’t been out for a meal since February. Wasn’t remotely tempted by Rishi’s August offer. There were a few dozen people sitting outside the café in the October drizzle trying to have a fancy brunch, pancakes and Bloody Marys and North Face jackets all round, it all seemed a bit sad.

We finished our sausage rolls and eventually made it to the park and played tennis, and the person we live with joined us, before heading home for a lazy afternoon not doing very much. Oh, we made a chocolate and courgette cake, that’s what we did. If that doesn’t sound very nice, maybe call it a chocolate zucchini loaf, there, that sounds fancier.

In the evening I made mapo tofu for tea, despite not having the right ingredients really (see Day 2 for details). It was great, despite probably tasting wrong. Though seeing as no one in the house knew what it was meant to taste like, no one cared.

Day 4

A rainy October Sunday. We had vague plans to go to the Sussex Prairie Garden today, but the weather put paid to them, so we just pottered around doing boring things and worrying about our house move. It’s always best to start worrying about such things on a Sunday when you can do literally nothing about them.

The four year-old I live with demanded cheese on toast with ketchup for lunch, which was strange, as she has never wanted ketchup before. Shamefully, there was none in the house, so she had to have it plain. I made minced pork stir fry for the other person I live with and I, I’ve got a lot of Chinese ingredients in the house at the moment, so we’re having a lot of Chinese food. I also stuck the short ribs I bought yesterday in the slow cooker, with a view to having shepherds pie for tea.

After lunch the four year-old I live with decided she wanted to go out on her bike, so we went out and she did her usual thing of getting as far as the synagogue at the end of the street and then making me carry her bike. I had a bag of clothes for recycling, so we went down to the recycling bin in the wind and drizzle. The recycling bin is next to the flower stall, which I became a regular customer of over the summer when we were selling our flat. The four year-old I live with therefore assumes that every time we see the flower stall, we’re going to buy flowers. Plus the woman at the flower stall usually gives her a treat, like a carnation or an apple or something.

I gave into the demands for flowers, mainly because I am weak, but also because I like flowers, and we ended up with a bunch of camomile daisies and a couple of roses, and then the woman at the flower stall gave the four year-old I live with a sunflower as a treat, which she was excited about. As we were walking home, the four year-old I live with started complaining about something, it turned out that she thought that the woman at the flower stall had offered her a cookie and I had turned it down on her behalf. I don’t *think* this happened, but when you’re a bit deaf like I am you can never be quite sure. I’m fairly sure there was no cookie offer though.

Back at home we had some of the cake from yesterday, which is turning out to be a great cake, you literally would never guess there are courgettes in it.

We had a boring afternoon, so boring in fact that the four year-old I live with fell asleep watching the Bake Off at about 6pm. We put her in bed and had an extremely rare evening to ourselves, which we wasted a bit by watching the Ben Affleck vehicle The Sum of All Fears on Netflix. I also made shepherds pie with the short rib, and then we had an early night, in anticipation of a very early start on Monday morning.

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bjoyful · 7 years

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Day 9

Travel Day

It was time to go to the Big Island! After a pretty slow and relaxing wake-up and playing KHux and then packing all our stuff back up, Tim and I drove back to Honolulu (which took about an hour) to meet Christine for lunch and drop off our rental car. Michael was going to meet us, too, but something came up so he had to pass. We chose a place in Chinatown called Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop, which wasn’t really Chinese at all. It was pretty American with particularly amazing brunch options, like pancakes and breakfast sandwiches.

Tim ordered the milk ’n’ cereal pancakes; I got this “brunchwich” thing that had an amazing sausage burger patty, egg, cheese, a brioche bun, and some salad and taters; and Christine got a different sort of “brunchwich” that was also filling with the same sides as mine. We had good conversation over lunch, then walked over to the same ice cream place that we tried to go to after dim sum last week - Wing Ice Cream.

Wing was open this time, boasting several interesting flavors including “Pizza” (literally pizza-tasting), “Dirty Diaper” (chocolate swirl, chocolate cookies, and vanilla ice cream), and “Chococado” (chocolate and avocado). The guy who runs Wing Ice Cream, Miller, is a skinny eccentric dude with rainbow dyed hair and hipster glasses. He’s not a people person - very curt and doesn’t know how to greet people with a smile - but he sure knows how to get his ice cream flavors right. Choy got watermelon mint, which legitimately tasted like watermelon and mint together. Tim got coconut kona coffee, so I shared with him and it was great! We finished it very quickly, then headed off to drop off our rental car at Hertz.

After dropping the car off, Christine took us back to her house, where we relaxed and mobilized and rubbed our sore muscles until it was time to go to HNL.

It was a weird sort of feeling, knowing that a chapter of our vacation was done but our vacation was not yet finished! I were sad hugging Christine goodbye. She is a a wonderful island hostess.

Waiting for our flight was luxurious as we had our books and phones to occupy us, as well as a bunch of snacks.

Time passed quickly, then it was time to board! Our plane was a bit more ghetto than the previous one, but it didn't matter because the plane flight was a short one.

The Big Island

Landing at Kona Airport was like something out of a dream and a distant memory. Stepping off the plane onto the outdoor ramp and walking down the stairs to an outdoor airport, I was engulfed with nostalgia. There they were - the three statue hula girls that I'd seen so often as a little child. I followed Tim in a trance to the Hertz rental car shuttle, and stayed in a trance watching the sun set over the ocean horizon from the Hertz office.

As beautiful as it was, the sunset was also swift. We decided to have dinner in Kona, 20 minutes south of the airport. The restaurant we went to, Mi’s Italian Bistro, was nestled in a quaint, bustling tourist shopping area right on the water that I also remembered vaguely. Mi’s is on the second story, and we sat on a patio overlooking the ocean. It was pretty even though it was also completely dark and you couldn’t really see anything. Tim and I both ordered some pretty fancy plates (I got pork scallopini with garlic mushroom gnocchi and Tim got ahi steak with risotto), which both were quite delicious.

It would’ve been nice to walk around, but we were both tired and wanted to get to the Hilton Waikoloa, so we left pretty quickly, intending to come back here later.

We drove the rest of the way to Waikoloa in darkness, but you could make out the black silhouettes of lava rock alongside both sides of the road.

When we arrived at the Hilton Waikoloa at 10:30pm, the lobby was TEEMING. I kid you not, we are amidst peak family vacation season, smack dab in the middle of scores of families! We waited a good 15 minutes for the Hilton Honors lady to check us in. With a smiling face - she reminded me of Dani Decena - she told us that because we’re Hilton Honors, we’d get either 1000 HHonors points or we could choose to have free continental breakfast throughout our stay here. “Free breakfast would be great!” said Tim quickly. HHonors Dani beamed at us and continued, “Okay! AND, because we’re currently remodeling our dining hall, we’ll upgrade you to the full buffet until July 4th!” Tim and I looked at each other, delighted. Free breakfast buffet for 3 days straight!

We hopped on the next crowded train to our room at the Palace Towers. The front desk concierge who checked us in told us that all the Palace Tower rooms had been newly renovated, and that even though we weren’t able to get the ocean view upgrade for our room that we had asked for, we’d have a beautiful stay.

She was right. The room was awesome. The bathroom was in a separate partially walled off area entirely, along with a walled off closet section, with a large area for a sink and tons of counter space, and the toilet and shower in another separate room. All this is important because it means that the hallway noise is completely blocked off by this area, and the rest of the room is peacefully calm. IT WAS GREAT! The bed and pillows were also the most comfortable bed and pillows I’ve slept on this entire vacation.

Exhausted, we knocked out after ooh-ing and ahh-ing over our nice room.

#chansinhi2017

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siemprelluvia · 7 years

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This week we’re talking about food! (Doesn’t it all look awesome?)

So here’s the thing about food: There’s a lot that I haven’t gotten to try yet, and a lot that I haven’t gotten pictures of yet. But that’s okay, I’m going with what I’ve got!

Food, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to represent culture. The ingredients in a dish and the methods used to prepare it can say a lot about where you’re from and what you’re accustomed to. How you serve that dish, what time of the year and what setting you eat it in, and who you serve it to can tell stories about social structure, day to day life, holidays, family... anything, really. Everything comes from context.

The context I have observed in my homestay is this: breakfast is served at 7:30, but you don’t have to eat right away. Lunch comes between 11:30 and 2pm, and that serve time depends on what you’re doing in the day. Dinner is at 7:30. You can eat early or you can eat late, but the food is ready and waiting at 7:30. Meals can be eaten individually or as a group- the only one that is consistently eaten as a group is dinner. Also, the television is on at most meals. It’s usually playing the news in the morning and a gameshow called EEG at night. At 8 pm, the telenovelas start. And Gaby loves to watch them with you as you finish your dinner.

Some recurring trends I’ve noticed are the ingredients. Avocado, mainly. Probably around half of the meals I’ve eaten have contained avocado in some way, shape, or form. Frankly, I’m thrilled. I love avocado. (Fun fact! Avocado is called plata in Peru) I’ve also noticed tons of tomatoes. Also a favorite of mine. Tomatoes get sliced up fresh and placed in salad- both cooked and fresh- or layered on sandwiches, or served up as a garnish. Tomatoes are everywhere. I see a splash of red in my food and it’s most definitely a tomato. And on the topic of tomatoes, I’ll mention ketchup- it’s sweet! Ketchup in the US is kind of a vinegary flavor that highlights the acidity of tomatoes. Here, the second ingredient is sugar. Far from being a bad flavor, sweet ketchup actually pairs great with mayonnaise- which usually has some lime juice in it!

And now for an A-to-Z of some of the highlights of Peruvian cuisine!

Ají de gallina: shredded chicken in a creamy yellow sauce made from yellow chilis (ají amarillo), cheese, and milk. Often served with bread or boiled potatoes, occasionally garnished with walnuts. I had this for the first time over boiled potatoes in Chincha, and it was absolutely delicious! Not at all spicy, but full of wonderful chicken, cheese, and ají flavors.

Alfajores: crumbly sandwich cookies made of flour or cornstarch cookies filled with manjar blanco (caramel-like, similar to dulce de leche, a reduction of milk and sugar) and covered in powdered sugar. I haven’t had any Peruvian alfajores yet, but I have made them before! If you like shortbread cookies and caramel, these are the treat for you.

Anticuchos: popular street food (and favorite of Carlos). Cuts of stew meat or beef heart marinated in vinegar and spices such as cumin, ají, and garlic that are skewered and grilled. Often served with boiled potatoes or bread. I haven’t tried any yet, but I fully intend to before I leave!

Arroz con leche: rice pudding! My favorite iteration of this so far is arroz zambito- rice pudding kissed by the sun. It’s traditional rice pudding that is sweetened by chancaca and flavored with coconut, raisin, and aniseed. We were served arroz zambito when we went to Mundo Libre in Pachacamac. It’s a warm dessert, but the perfect end to a meal.

Causa: a potato dish usually made as a potato cake or stuffed roll. Yellow potatoes blended with oil, lime juice, and ají amarillo are used to make a paste, which is the causa itself. The type of causa I had in Chincha was a roll stuffed with shredded chicken, served cold. An odd experience, but very good.

Ceviche: an extremely popular seafood dish, characteristic of coastal regions such as Lima. I haven’t eaten any ceviche yet, as it is seafood, but I’ve heard it’s quite good if you enjoy fish. There are many different types of ceviche, but they are typically made from fresh raw fish that has been cured in citrus juice and spiced with ají or chili peppers.

Chicha morada: classic Peruvian beverage made from purple corn. Made with sugar, cinnamon, and clove, and served with pretty much any meal you choose. Takes a little getting used to, but absolutely delicious! Personally, I think it pairs best with savory meals.

Chicarrones: fried pork belly or intestines. In Peru, it is boiled with seasoning until no water remains, then fried in its own fat. I haven’t had them yet, but they’re another popular street food and favorite of Carlos.

Chifa: a Peruvian take on Chinese cuisine! Think of all the Chinese food you have in the United States… and make it sweeter. I’ve had Chifa one time since I’ve been here and honestly… I mostly ate the wontons. Everything was really good, but the wontons were excellent. Also, chifa tends to be served with Inca Kola!

Churros: best found at a street cart in Parque Kennedy. There are tons of different types of curros, but my favorite are hot and filled with melted manjar blanco. S/. 2.50 in Parque Kennedy and worth every centimento.

Cuy: guinea pig. Straight up guinea pig. Again, not something I’ve eaten yet. It’s a big food source in the Andes, but less so here on the coast. Give me a few days- I’m headed to Cusco and I’m going to try it.

Empanadas: stuffed bread/pastry that can be baked or fried. Empanadas can have a ton of different types of fillings. I’ve had chicken and I’ve had cheese, and they’re all delicious. One curious thing about the chicken empanadas is that they nearly always have quail eggs inside with the chicken filling. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s good.

Inca Kola: practically the national drink of Peru. Seriously. Inca Kola was made in Peru in 1935 and has since exploded throughout Latin America. The true flavor of Inca Kola is lemon verbena, but everyone tastes it slightly different. The flavor is commonly referred to as cotton candy or bubblegum. It’s definitely a drink that needs some adjusting to. After three weeks, I’ve found that Inca Kola is probably my favorite soft drink. It smells like bubblegum and tastes like… well, tastes like Inca Kola.

Lomo saltado: beef stir fry typically served with rice. Can also be made with chicken (which I prefer). The meat is thinly sliced and fried with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, and ají amarillo. Each time I’ve gotten any type of saltado, it also has French fries. And each time I’ve gotten saltado, it’s been delicious.

Mazamorra morada: a popular dessert made from purple corn and fruit. I haven’t eaten any yet, but it supposedly tastes like blackberry pie filling. It tends to be thickened with flour or corn starch and spices with cinnamon and cloves (like chicha morada) and served cold.

Papa a la huancaína: a cold dish that consists of boiled potato slices covered in Huancaína sauce. The sauce is yellow and creamy, as its base is the ají amarillo pepper. It is often served with hard-boiled egg quarters, a black olive, lettuce leaves, and tomato slices. Typically an appetizer and not a main dish. I’ve had these potatoes several times, and each time it surprises me that they’re cold. Even so, they are by far one of the most tasty and iconic foods I’ve had here in Peru.

Papa rellena: a type of croquette. In Peru it is a baked potato dough filled with chopped beef, onions, eggs, and whole black olives, with cumin and other spices. Once stuffed, the potato ball is deep-fried and is served with an accompanying ‘salsa criolla’ or ají sauce. We had papas rellenas for dinner a few days back, and while they were a little odd, they were pretty good. I could definitely get more behind this dish if it had slightly less black olives.

Picarones: vaguely circular pieces of deep-fried dough. Kind of like a donut, actually, but crispy and covered in honey. Picarones are served hot from the fryer, but the honey is always cold. I’ve had street picarones and I’ve had restaurant picarones and both are delicious. I fully intend to find a recipe and attempt to make some back home.

Pisco sour: the actual national drink of Peru. Though I am of legal drinking age here in Peru and I have had a couple of drinks in safe company, I have not tried pisco sour. I’m not sure if I will while I’m here, but I’d like to find a way to brink some pisco back to the states so I can mix up the drink for my parents. Pisco sour is a cocktail. The base liquor is pisco, which is mixed with fresh-squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, and egg whites. These ingredients are shook in a cocktail shaker with ice, then poured into a glass (sans ice) and garnished with Angostura bitters. Served straight up.

Tejas: a dumpling-shaped sweet created in the Ica region. The filling is typically a whole walnut and manjar blanco, and the exterior is a sugar-based shell similar to fondant. There are versions of tejas that are accurately named chocotejas, as the exterior is made up of a chocolate shell instead of a sugar one. I got to try some chocotejas this past weekend when I was in Ica, and they were excellent! If I thought they could survive three more weeks and a plane ride to the US, I would have gotten some to bring home.

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stevescoles · 6 years

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Review: Hops and Chops. 6 Kent Road, St Crispins, Northampton, NN5 4DR

There are two high landmarks that always make Penda glad to be home: Northampton’s Express Lift Tower and the clock-tower at the derelict St Crispin’s hospital site, perched on top of a hill and surrounded by a huge amount of new houses.

And it’s down a side street in this sprawling new estate that you’ll find Hops and Chops – the new sibling to the now established Smokepit (see NQ issue 5).

Our first visit to H&C was as a party of six on a Wednesday evening – booking is through an online app although you can just phone, and despite being midweek it was already pretty full.

It’s definitely a restaurant rather than bar, and tastefully decorated. We were quickly seated, walking past a glass display fridge hung with large joints of meat, similar to the big famous steakhouses in the USA (possibly not so palatable for any vegetarians.)

We waited far too long to order, despite trying to catch every server’s eye. More of this later.

The menu consists of, as you might expect, predominantly meat options. There was one veggie option on the mains – a lentil casserole with herb dumplings (£11.75) and a few more pasta choices ranging from 10 to 15 quid. As our party was wholly carnivorous we had more choice and asked our waitress for advice – ‘Well, I like steak’ was the less than informed response.

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We decided to get a couple of sharing starters (Rustic Bread Board for just shy of a tenner, with olives, almonds, goats cheese stuffed Peppers, balsamic and olive dip, and a Charcuterie Plate for £14.50, with wafer-thin slivers of ham, beef and pork loin, a triangle of (very lovely) Northamptonshire blue cheese, tiny figs and bread). We did ask if it was enough for six, and got a rather vague response from our server. To be fair, there was enough for all of us to have a small taste of each item and we weren’t over-full before our massive mains arrived, but the toasted bread was a touch burnt rather than charred.

The long wait for mains made us also notice the acoustics – it’s very easy to hear every word of tables quite a way away, making it oddly noisy (and nosy).

Mains were good – a smaller human on our table had standard chicken dippers and chips from a kids’ menu that includes a steak option. Penda’s friends had Honey Heat Tomapork, meltingly good bourbon-glazed belly pork with a second chop (£17.50); a 10oz maple glazed gammon ham with pineapple chutney and warm brie (£12.50); a dry-aged Hereford 10oz Sirloin (£20) and a Hops & Chops beef burger with smoked bacon, Monterey Cheddar and pickles with beef dip and tobacco onions (£13.75). Penda had the very good 10oz USDA Hanger steak which should be cooked rare (£20). All come with a choice of sides including standard spud or sweet potato fries, new potatoes, salad, coleslaw or greens.

The mains were very good. Large portions, well-cooked, and there was some mild envy when we saw the utterly delicious gammon, so all credit to the kitchen. Tobacco onions, by the way, are the deliciously crispy topper you see in the steak photo.

We really didn’t need desserts (at £7 each) but tried the apple and blueberry crumble, skillet-baked cookie with ice-cream and a white chocolate creme brulee with shortbread. The cookie was in a hot pan and very, very sweet (but fairly rapidly demolished) while strangely, the brulee was freezing cold, with no sign of the customary top-heat that usually makes the crispy sugar top before serving at room temperature.

All in all the food was very good – if a little expensive. Our total bill was £173 for six including a beer and a G&T in the obligatory goldfish bowl but with peppercorns and petals – pretty, but tricky to drink without inhaling the peppercorns.

The main issue that would possibly impede a speedy return to Hops and Chops was the service. They struggled to take orders or clear tables quickly enough, maybe because orders were taken on tablet devices of which there didn’t seem to be enough. There were plenty of staff but they didn’t appear to be assigned stations, (a collection of close-together tables). This allows staff to concentrate on a few tables at once, rather than wafting around the entire restaurant, which is what was happening. We felt ignored, especially after ordering a jug of water for the table rather than more drinks which seemed to be the main aim of any staff who did pass our way. Don’t get me wrong, the staff were chirpy and pleasant, they just didn’t seem very . . . managed.

There are paper drinks menus on the tables that are tatty and stained, they need replacing too. (Although the gin menu is impressive).

The Smokepit has found its niche, and has become a favourite of Penda’s for a special occasion. If Hops and Chops can find its way to better service, I hope it gets its own returners and regulars too.

NQ Penda

A treat with meat but service needs stations

Review: Hops and Chops. 6 Kent Road, St Crispins, Northampton, NN5 4DR There are two high landmarks that always make Penda glad to be home: Northampton’s Express Lift Tower and the clock-tower at the derelict St Crispin’s hospital site, perched on top of a hill and surrounded by a huge amount of new houses.

A treat with meat but service needs stations Review: Hops and Chops. 6 Kent Road, St Crispins, Northampton, NN5 4DR There are two high landmarks that always make Penda glad to be home: Northampton’s Express Lift Tower and the clock-tower at the derelict St Crispin’s hospital site, perched on top of a hill and surrounded by a huge amount of new houses.

#Hops and Chops #Penda

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nqbuddy · 6 years

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Review: Hops and Chops. 6 Kent Road, St Crispins, Northampton, NN5 4DR

And it’s down a side street in this sprawling new estate that you’ll find Hops and Chops – the new sibling to the now established Smokepit (see NQ issue 5).

Our first visit to H&C was as a party of six on a Wednesday evening – booking is through an online app although you can just phone, and despite being midweek it was already pretty full.

We waited far too long to order, despite trying to catch every server’s eye. More of this later.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The long wait for mains made us also notice the acoustics – it’s very easy to hear every word of tables quite a way away, making it oddly noisy (and nosy).

There are paper drinks menus on the tables that are tatty and stained, they need replacing too. (Although the gin menu is impressive).

NQ Penda

#Hops and Chops #Penda

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vivianrhopper85 · 6 years

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Most Unusual Restaurants in Toronto: 360 Restaurant

If there is one edifice that screams "That's Toronto!", it is the CN Tower located centrally, adjacent to many other truly Toronto attractions. It's the first thing that stands out against our skyline and it's the often one of the first things tourists to the city want to check out. What many people don't think of when considering this tourist hotspot is fine dining with a definite focus on Canadian ingredients and dishes. Designated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the tower houses the 360 Restaurant, named for the fact that the restaurant rotates a full 360 degrees every 72 minutes giving spectacular views of the entire city from over 1,000 feet above.

Coupled with free entry to the observation deck and glass floor, a lunch or dinner at the 360 is actually well-worth the price and this 2-for-1 deal is why it's particularly popular as a date spot, a business meeting venue, and especially a place to take out-of-towners. I can certainly attest to the latter, having treated many family and business visitors from all over the world to an evening above the Toronto. It is always a thrill for tourists.

But that shouldn't mean that locals can't enjoy it just as much. With Executive Chef John Morris at the helm, there's a strong focus on Canadian cuisine, drawing from all across the country for inspiration in his dishes. And who doesn't want to pick out their home or other much-loved local spot from high above city from once in a while?

Atmosphere and Decor

First things first: Nobody is coming here for the interior decor. As such, it's very simple and perfunctory, with a slight air of class. After all it does boast the world's highest wine cellar. Guests are here for the view.

After going through security checkpoints and taking the elevator up in an ear-popping 58 seconds, you're greeted with a vista you won't scoff at. It's important to note that the 360 shares the same common areas with the rest of the CN Tower and depending on the time of day and year, you may experience long lines to get into the building. At 4:30 PM in January however, there was no wait at all and it was in perfect time to catch the winter sunset. During my time, I managed to see the city in both the afternoon and dark of a winter night, all from the comfort of my seat.

Every other time I've come to this place, it's been quite busy but with that in mind, every other time has been in much warmer temperatures and better weather. It was strikingly empty which I found actually added to the atmosphere as I could enjoy the view from my seat at the window in peace. The only sound was the oldies coming from the music system. Even with every table taken during other visits, it never seemed too loud.

Menu Range

This is a menu made for Canadians at fairly affordable prices considering what it comes with. There is nothing that will shock you or anything that seems particularly unfamiliar. It is not the sort of hipster joint that is chock full of bone marrow creations or kombucha-pickled ghost peppers. It's basic and traditional but tasty, with a wide range of options for typical Western tastes.

It is a prix fixe menu where you can choose from a 2-course or 3-course options for $65 or $79 respectively. There is an a la carte menu as well for grilled meats and seafood, which is actually quite impressive considering the venue is not known for ocean-based cuisine. I'm resisting the urge to make a joke about Ripley's Aquarium which is right next door!

Starting with the a la carte menu, there is the choice between artisanal beef from Pine Meadows Farms (which I cannot find online) as well as Ontario lamb and bison. The steaks range from $85 for 16oz rib eye to $75 for the other two. An 8oz bison tenderloin will set you back $80 and a rack of lamb is $79/pound. Seafood offerings were most impressive. The menu lists 3 choices for $95 each with the option of Atlantic lobster, east coast crab legs, or a surf and turf option. And then there is the seafood bar which consist of huge platters full of a large variety of seafood as well as appetizers from the ocean. The platters range from $65 to $395, and from one to three tiers! If you're in the mood for lobster, crab, mussels, oysters, shrimp, and smoked fish, this is by far the dish to order. Appetizers consist of shrimp cocktail or smoked salmon for $24, Malpeque oysters for $38, or seafood cocktail for $48.

The prix fixe menu starts off with appetizers, with only 2 requiring an extra $6. There are 2 salads, a hearty mushroom soup, duck parfait, beet and squash tart tatin, with smoked salmon and shrimp & grits as the more expensive of the offerings.

The mains consist of a well-rounded variety of choices for different palates and nothing too adventurous to scare anybody off, with the bonus of showcasing various parts of the country. There is a Newfoundland-inspired cod dish, a BC seafood dish with rockfish, clams, squid & mussels, a vegetarian risotto with ancient grains and BC mushrooms, Quebec-inspired brioche chicken, an Ontario super pork dish consisting of 4 different types, a vegetarian ravioli, Nova Scotian salmon fillet, and 45-day aged Alberta prime rib. The former is the only option that requires an extra $10 supplement. The sides that accompany the dishes are all very Canadian as well with root vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, and even sumac-dusted potatoes.

All extra side dishes are $11 a piece and it is recommended to order two. I found that two extra dishes are unnecessary as the plates are large enough to be filling.

There are 7 desserts to pick from, or add onto your a la carte order for $14. They are more creative, more Canuck takes on typical fine dining desserts with ingredients that we have come to understand as purely Canadian. It starts with the ubiquitous chocolate based dessert, here in the form of a "tower". Following up is the verrine with cherries, which is known as a slightly classier name for parfait, almost like a deconstructed black forest cake, minus the cake. There's the East Coast-inspired (and Scottish) cranachan which is a trifle-like dessert, a blueberry and maple syrup crème brulee, an upside-down cake, and for the less adventurous there are the typical cookies and ice-cream or sorbet.

If savoury is more your style after a meal, the 360 boasts a sizeable cheeseboard selection with Ontario and Quebec dairies highlighted.

Appetizers

It was a little early for a thick and hot soup and I wanted something more than a salad, so I opted for the beet tarte tatin having only a vague idea what that meant. The dish arrived quickly, well presented, and colourful. It was a little confusing as I saw no squash at all and it seemed more like a hunk of gratin-like pre-prepared beets thrown on a piece of plain pastry. The pastry itself was well-made and flaky but was certainly lacking any taste of squash. The beets were dry and bland, which was particularly unfortunate as I have had some of the best beets in my life at this restaurant in years past. The sheep's milk cheese, or as they claim yoghurt, was smooth, creamy and mild with fresh pea shoots to top it off. The best part of the dish was actually the complementary roasted hazelnuts. They not only added a burst to nutty flavour but also a nice hard crunch to contrast against the beets and pastry. The grape reduction was unnoticeable and far too meagre. It was a nice size for an appetizer.

Entrees

Had I been paying better attention, I certainly would have chosen the bison tenderloin a la carte but with the prix fixe that was not available to me. I was torn between the Newfoundland cod and the Quebec chicken, choosing eventually to go with the chicken simply because the accoutrements were more to my taste. I'm sure the cod would have been quite a treat as well. I would have liked some information on the menu about the sustainability of the fisheries they draw from for this menu as that is a big concern, especially in the troubled East Coast cod industry. The fact that there is no Ocean Wise or MSC designation on the menu made me think twice about the fish.

The chicken dish was the only poultry offering in the entrées and is bound to appeal to even the pickiest eaters as it is a safe, tasty plate made with skill. The brioche crust was thin but adequate and as a huge fan of brioche, it was a great texture mixed with the juicy, spinach-stuffed chicken. The sprinkling of sea salt atop it actually added quite a nice zest of flavour. Usually the protein is the star of the dish but in this case, I feel like the vegetables played a co-starring role of equal importance, and even more flavour. The crushed potatoes were drenched in delicious chicken jus, the heirloom carrot puree was smooth, and the edamame beans were perfectly cooked, not too soft like many places overcook them to. There was the addition of about 3 whole cloves of mashed garlic to add bite and the maple butter sauce rounded everything out with a pleasant sweetness. It may not have been a particularly bold choice of entrée, but it was a satisfying one in the same way as a home-cooked meal.

I also picked up a side of brussel sprouts with chestnuts because I thought all the carbs and protein could use some healthy greens to balance the meal and found them to be perfectly cooked, crispy with a nice char to them, but there was something very sweet about the glaze that was a bit distracting to the overall flavour of the sprouts.

Dessert

Three courses was definitely the way to go. Dessert was possibly the best part of the meal and it was huge! As I have a certain sweet tooth, it's always a bit of a challenge to pick just one sweet treat. The Dark Chocolate Tower called to me with its coffee and orange tinges but as this was meant to be a Canadian experience, I had choose the East Coast Cranachan, mostly because I had no idea what it was and the idea of partridge berries in January seemed too good to be true. Sadly, it was. The dish was covered with raspberries instead. Not a partridgeberry in sight. Considering the raspberries were a mixture of fresh and freeze-dried, I was surprised that there weren't dried partridgeberries instead.

That said, the greenhouse raspberries were good enough and I particularly enjoyed the dried berries as they were really crunchy and packed full of sweet and sour flavour. It helps that I love raspberries. The oat shortbread was overwhelming as there was so much of it. But it had to be in order to scoop up all the custard and whipping cream which was piled really high. After an app and main, I could only finish half of it even though it was the perfect blend of sweet and creamy.

Drink Options

To call the drink options substantial would be an understatement. If you are a wine drinker, this is likely a heavenly list to choose from. The wine list should more aptly be called a wine book featuring wines from Canada, and all over the world. It is 9 pages of whites, reds, desserts, champagnes, and ports. There is bound to be something to please everyone who wants wine. The servers are all versed in the options as well. The food menu also comes with a pairing list to help narrow down your choices if you aren't up to scratch on fancy wine knowledge. The bottles range from $45 for California white to $3600 for a 2000 Château Lafite Rothschild merlot. So, if you're a wine connoisseur or just an everyday Joe, you'll find something tasty. Certain wines are also available by the 6 or 9oz glass.

If you're not in a wine mood, there is also a cocktail list with Canadiana names like Gord's Last Word (which is likely an homage to Gord Downie, or possibly Gordie Howe or Gordon Lightfoot), Toronto Islands, or CN Spritz, all for fairly recognisable cocktails. There's nothing "craft" here. These are just crowd-pleasers with fun names. They will run you from $16 to $20. I sampled the Beamsville Bing which comes with a collectible glass. It tasted a bit too heavily of grenadine for me but I'm sure it would appeal to many others.

There is also a fair selection of Ontario craft beers, from $9 to $14 a pint. They specialize as well in Canadian spirits featuring distillers such as Dillon's, Tag No. 5, Ungava, Screech, Crown Royal, and Gibson's. Specialty coffee is also available.

For people who'd prefer not to drink, there are non-alcoholic cocktails for $12 and juices for $7.50 with more fun names like Centreville Refresher or Walk On The Edge. There is also a selection of coffees and teas for $5. I opted to go with a classic cappucino which is made with decent Lavazza coffee and had a wonderfully thick foam that made it a pleasure to drink. I do think the 360 could go with some local roasters for their coffee to bring more flavour and Canadiana to their offerings.

Service

As a fine dining establishment, it's not surprising that the level of service is high. I found the CN Tower employees, host, bussers, manager, and servers all very attentive and friendly. My server was chatty and engaged but never in a pushy way, and made me feel quite welcome even though I was dining alone. He often stopped by to make sure everything was going well or just chat and I found like they really valued my presence and comfort. It is important to note again that I never felt suffocated or uncomfortable with the attentiveness and it was never overwhelming. It was the perfect balance. It was also appreciated that the manager checked in as well. I think one of the highlights was when the sun was setting in a very beautiful and unique way, a few servers were taking photos of it as well and it just felt very nice to see that the staff appreciates the view even if they see it every day. I feel like that enthusiasm in your staff reflects well on the workplace and service itself.

Feeling Afterwards

After taking my leftovers and collectible glassware, I wandered down to the LookOut (observation deck) and the Glass Floor, as both are included with a 360 Restaurant reservation. I can't say I've ever been to this restaurant and not have my guests want to check out the CN Tower itself afterwards. At the time I was there, very few others were around and due to the weather, the SkyPod and Edge Walk were closed, as well as the outdoor area of the Look Out. It was a nice end to the meal to slowly wander around the CN Tower in near quiet, just watching the winter city at night. The meal itself was filling and although it is not the best food or drinks I've ever had, and it's certainly not going to win a Michelin star, it was a satisfying meal and when taking into consideration the free access to parts of the CN Tower that cost $36 normally, it seems like a pretty good deal for a gourmet and unique experience.

The 360 Restaurant is a good place to put on your list if you want to entertain some out-of-towners or business colleagues. The atmosphere and service are pleasant, the food is tasty, and the view is unparalleled in this city unless you're renting your own plane. You can be assured that any tourist will be happy to dine here, and it's not a bad spot to take a date either. While there are many, many other high-quality fine dining establishments in the city, none come linked with a 360 degree view of the entire city at sunset.

VL00KV

from News And Tip About Real Estate https://jamiesarner.com/toronto-restaurant-reviews/360-restaurant/

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