Taking on SoCal: January 7th - 8th, 2015

With our month-long winter break coming to an end, a little spontaneity was in order. Let's rewind to last week, a handful of friends and I took on Southern California (at least what we could in two days..). I mean, where else would a bunch of college kids go? After weeks of nonstop work over Christmas and New Years, I was so glad to finally catch a break.

5:00am Wednesday morning, some of us didn't get much sleep, but we were on our way...only to be pulled over an hour and a half later, but our experiences with California police during this trip is a whole other story.

We definitely chose the best time of the year to go to Six Flags. All California students were already back in school so #nolinenoproblem. Nothing beats being able to ride all of the good rides back to back (:. After a good 5 and a half hours of walking up and down the park with little to no sleep, you can bet that we were all pretty tired, but let me tell you, my nap in the car going to dinner was the best 30 minutes of my life. We headed to Korea Town in LA for dinner, and yup, I have never eaten so much Korean BBQ in my life.

From here on out, the rest of our trip was pretty much food, food, and more food...but that's okay, right? Before heading to wherever we were staying (we barely knew at this point), we headed to Milk. I can at least speak for myself when I say that I was so excited to finally try it, and I was so glad that they hadn't run out of Thai Tea ice cream sandwiches yet or else I probably would've cried.

We stayed at a small inn in central LA. It wasn't bad, it wasn't amazing, but it worked. Ya know, college kids on a budget. Just to let you know, 6 people in a one-bed room is completely possible... difficult, but possible. After a bit of sleep, we were onto the next adventure in Little Tokyo.

Our first stop of the day - Curry House. All of us love Curry Zen, here in Vegas, so we had to see how this place stacked up. I ordered tofu curry with minced ground chicken and spinach and garlic rice. It was really good, but my heart still belongs to Curry Zen <3. 

A good friend of mine (hi, Kevin) told me about a macaroon shop in Little Tokyo so naturally, I had to stop by Lette Macaroons to pick some up for my mom. After all that curry, of course we had to get some dessert, and really you can't beat $1 mochi ice cream keke. 

More wandering around Little Tokyo shops and Daiso lead to some unnecessary, yet completely necessary souvenir shopping, because why not splurge a little, right?

Our next adventure took us to Hollywood, a first for me. Did a little sightseeing, a little shopping, and for some reason while the girls were browsing around, the guys decided to buy a mixtape...it made for an interesting car ride to our next stop.

It was already past 6, but Hilary and I definitely couldn't leave LA without finally seeing the ever so popular lights outside of LACMA. So glad to finally be able to cross this off of my non-existent bucket list. 

We definitely didn't want to head back home on an empty stomach, so the search for food began. Our first stop, The Original Ramen Burger to tie us over until we actually decided where to eat. In my opinion, it probably wasn't worth the price, but seeing as we don't have anything like that here in Vegas, I'm glad we tried it. 

We finally decided on Guppy House, and my tummy was pretty satisfied. Actually, I wasn't the only one satisfied, the guys definitely had a good time staring at the good looking waitress lol.

If you thought that was it...nope! One more stop to go and it was Half & Half Tea House, another first for me. Probably wasn't the best idea to get drinks right before the 4-hour drive. By the time we got to Barstow, we all really had to go to the bathroom, but Half & Half was so worth it haha. 

11pm, and we were on our way back home. I'm so glad that we were able to experience so much on this trip in only 2 days, but now with a hole in my wallet, it's time for some R&R at home...just kidding, I had work the next day. It's good to dream though, right?

Until next time, Cali. It's been real.

-LT

Cafe Darak

Last weekend, I made my way to Cafe Darak, a Korean-owned, vintage inspired cafe that just recently opened not too long ago. I've heard many good things about this little place and have been dying to try it out! While the boyfriend was still in town, what better time to try somewhere new?

This place once again fed my obsession for interior design. It was obvious that the vintage trend was prevalent here and I thought it was quite adorable. I just really enjoyed the ambiance overall. It seemed like everywhere you turned, there was something to look at. For a small place, it had such a comfortable atmosphere where people could just sit back, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and munch on delicious desserts.

I actually really liked the fact that none of the furniture or decor really matched.

I loved their collection of vintage cameras and radios.

I cannot stress how badly I wanted to go into the tent and fall asleep. Sadly, there were people in it the entire time.... I could tell that this place had a thing for Volkswagen from some of their signs and small knick knacks lying around, and of course this giant tent!

I thought the little trinkets on their serving trays were a cute touch.

Now finally, on to their food! They had a variety of drinks (mostly tea and coffee as well as common bottled/canned options) and desserts. Going to Cafe Darak I already knew what I HAD to try, and that was their macarons and their Honey Bread. Sadly they only had raspberry macarons left, but it was nonetheless delicious. The center was a little on the sweet side, but also had a slight tartness. Such a flavor had to have been made with fresh raspberries (probably that morning). The macarons were a dollar each which, compared to many other bakeries, is very reasonable. 

"Do you know what my shirt's made out of? BOYFRIEND MATERIAL."

To accompany the macarons, I thought I'd try out their coffee and ordered an iced Cafe Mocha (usually my drink of choice at cafes). I don't like my coffee too sweet, so this definitely satisfied me. It was a good balance of sweet and bitter in my opinion. The coffee that they offer in general costs a little less than a venti frappacino at Starbucks (a little under $5).

I can't tell you how excited I was to try their Honey Bread. After sampling what Bay Area cafes had to offer (those of which were much larger and fancier than this and costing ~$12), I've been on a mission to find anything that compares here in Vegas. The syrup was definitely SUPER sweet, as expected, but surprisingly the vanilla ice cream on top was not, so I thought the two balanced quite well. The bread itself was warm and soft yet still crispy and flaky. Although not nearly as glamorous as what I've had before, I actually really enjoyed it for what it was and I'd say that it was worth the $5.

All in all, the boyfriend and I (and friends) enjoyed our first experience at Cafe Darak and I'll definitely be coming back soon with an empty belly! 

I only wish that this place wasn't so far from my house!

Valentine's Day Munchies: The Classic Macaron

Well here I am again posting another previous recipe of mine, but this time a classic macaron shell in case green tea isn't your cup of...tea. (Haha get it? No? Okay.)

Classic Macaron

with Chocolate, Nutella Ganache

The Classic Macaron Shell:

• 1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour/meal
• 3 room temp egg whites
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and almond flour into a large bowl and mix the sifted dry ingredients until combined.

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before whipping them. Whip your egg whites at high speed and add the sugar approx. a fourth(1/4) at a time when the egg whites become white and foamy. Continue adding that amount of sugar as the eggs continue to thicken to ensure that all of the sugar is dissolved into the eggs. Whip the eggs until stiff peaks form. They shouldn’t really budge when your mixer is lifted and should maintain it’s shape and volume.

To combine the dry ingredients with the meringue, first pour half of the dry mixture into the meringue and begin gently folding with a rubber spatula. When combined, add the other half and continue. This portion of the process is the most crucial to getting a nice looking macaron. You do not want to over mix, nor do you want to under mix. You have the proper consistency when the batter ribbons off your spatula (almost like flowing lava).

Scoop your batter into a piping bag with about a 1/2 in tip or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut to that diameter. Pipe about 1-1 1/2 in circles onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. (To achieve nicer looking circles, I traced circles on the back of my parchment paper as stencils.)

When you are finished piping onto your baking sheet, bang it on your counter top…HARD. You want to do this a few times while rotating your pan. This is what gets the air bubbles out of the batter. 

Another very important step is to now let your piped macarons sit out for at least 15 minutes - 2 hours so they can begin to form their outer shell. (I let these sit out for 15-20 minutes.) At this time, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. When you put your macarons into the oven, only bake one pan at a time to ensure that the heat is evenly distributed. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When they are ready, allow them to completely cool before removing them from the pan.

While your macarons are sitting out, take this time to make this to-die-for ganache! You will need:

• 2 oz dark or milk chocolate
• 3 tbsp Nutella
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Coarsely chop the chocolate into chunks and place them in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of a little water and set it to low/med and allow it to simmer. The bowl should not need to touch the water, that’s how little needs to be in the pot. This is called a double boiler. Stir the chocolate occasionally and allow it to melt. Add the Nutella and mix until warmed and combined with the chocolate.

While melting the Chocolate and Nutella together, in another saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream until hot. It doesn’t need to boil. 

Pour the hot whipping cream into the bowl of melted chocolate and Nutella and stir until well combined. Take it off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Then put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow it to thicken some more. When you take it out, you can pipe it on your cooled macaron shells as is, or continue to whip it using an electric mixer on high. This will make it fluffier and lighten the color.

Seriously, who doesn't like Nutella?!

Valentine's Day Munchies: Green Tea Macaron

And here is the first of many reposts from my old Tumblr that I felt was worthy of sharing. 

With Valentine's Day coming up right around the corner (less than a week away - yikes!), I figured that I'd repost some of my old recipes. Besides, what better way to tell someone "I love you", "I'm in like with you", "You're kinda cool, I guess", or "I haven't found a reason to hate you yet" than desserts!

First of all, let me tell you, that you are so lucky to find quality cooking grade matcha powder for under $10 (I found some for $8 in Japan Town, SF a while back). The current can I'm using contains about 4 tbsp of this potent stuff, and cost almost $16! But I guess when you remember how much store-bought macarons are, it isn't that bad. And I've got to tell you, these tasted absolutely amazing, especially the ganache filling (which was probably my favorite part). 

Green Tea Macaron

with Green Tea, White Chocolate Ganache

• 1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 tbsp matcha powder
• 3 room temp eggs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Sift the confectioner’s sugar, almond flour, and matcha powder into a large bowl and mix the sifted dry ingredients until combined.

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before whipping them. Whip your egg whites at high speed and add the sugar approx. a fourth(1/4) at a time when the egg whites become white and foamy. Continue adding that amount of sugar as the eggs continue to thicken to ensure that all of the sugar is dissolved into the eggs. Whip the eggs until stiff peaks form. They shouldn’t really budge when your mixer is lifted and should maintain it’s shape and volume.

To combine the dry ingredients with the meringue  first pour half of the dry mixture into the meringue and begin gently folding with a rubber spatula. When combined, add the other half and continue. This portion of the process is the most crucial to getting a nice looking macaron. You do not want to over mix, nor do you want to under mix. You have the proper consistency when the batter ribbons off your spatula (almost like flowing lava).

Scoop your batter into a piping bag with about a 1/2 in tip or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut to that diameter. Pipe about 1-1 1/2 in circles onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. (To achieve nicer looking circles, I traced circles on the back of my parchment paper as stencils.)

When you are finished piping onto your baking sheet, bang it on your counter top…HARD. You want to do this a few times while rotating your pan. This is what gets the air bubbles out of the batter. 

Another very important step is to now let your piped macarons sit out for at least 15 minutes - 2 hours so they can begin to form their outer shell. (I let these sit out for 15-20 minutes.) At this time, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. When you put your macarons into the oven, only bake one pan at a time to ensure that the heat is evenly distributed. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When they are ready, allow them to completely cool before removing them from the pan.

While your piped macarons are sitting out, take this time to make the Green Tea, White Chocolate Ganache! The ingredients are:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4-6 oz white chocolate
• 1 tbsp matcha powder

Coarsely chop the white chocolate and place it in a heat resistant bowl over a little bit of simmering water in a small pot. Stir occasionally until completely melted. 

While you are melting the chocolate, in another saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream and stir in the matcha powder. It’s a good idea to sift the matcha powder as you add it into the pan, for matcha powder can be somewhat difficult to dissolve completely. The heavy cream/matcha mixture does not need to boil, but it does need to be fairly hot. 

Pour the heavy cream/matcha mixture into the bowl of melted white chocolate and stir until completely combined. Let sit to room temperature, then put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow it to continue to thicken. When done so, you can pipe as is if you’d like, or opt to mix with an electric mixer until somewhat fluffy. This will lighten the color. 

Pipe onto your cooled green tea macaron shells and you’re good to go! (:

You could really tell how potent that matcha powder really is just from the color! I, for one, really love the taste of green tea, but of course you can't have too much. Feel free to adjust the amount of matcha powder depending on your taste.