The City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival kicked off officially this month, but technically it started the last weekend of January. That’s when I went. I couldn’t wait. I keep saying I’m not a big fan of dessert, but since last month, all I want to eat are sweets. I’m not sure why. I think it may have to do with the fact that I joined a gym. My appetite has been insatiable ever since. Perhaps I need to quit. Or maybe I have to stop watching Food Network while I’m on the bike. MORE »

Sorry for jumping back and forth, but sometimes deliciousness throws me off track. Linear blogging is so “aughts” anyway.

At any rate, “The Overpriced & The Bad” focuses on two of my not so great experiences in Vegas; one a semi-miss and one a complete and utter mother of all misses. Not every meal can be hit, and here’s proof. MORE »

Two weeks ago, as is the case when my coworker, Taiwai, and I both happen to be “bag lunchless,” a half hour before noon, we were busy plotting lunch. Usually we get Chinese, he being Chinese and I having been Chinese in a past life (in another I was Indian, another Jewish, and another Italian). Hing Won was considered — it usually is — but then I remembered I hadn’t tried Lan Sheng yet; the newish Szechuan place across the street from Szechuan Gourmet. He mentioned his wife tried it the week before, and said it wasn’t as good as Szechuan Gourmet, so I quickly moved on to researching new Indian lunch options, when Taiwai imed me, “a place that has rabbit at least deserves some respect.” Yes, true, especially in Midtown. Lan Sheng deserved a shot, so off we went. MORE »

In-N-Out wasn’t the only thing my mom and I ate in Vegas. Although my ring of slot cards may say otherwise, I’m not completely ghetto. On our last night in Sin City, I took my mom to Alex for a sinfully decadent dinner. MORE »

A few days ago it was my birthday. Usually for me, a birthday means cocktails, dancing, and a wretched hangover the next day. This year, as appealing as a hangover sounded, all I wanted was cake, specifically the Coconut Cake from L.A. Burdick that I read about on SE:NY. I’m not usually a cake person (give me a jalebi over a slice of cake any day), but when I saw the post, I made a mental note: Coconut Cake = Birthday Cake Pour Moi. MORE »

For those wondering if the end was nigh, well, it’s here. Until my next trip to Asia, this will be my last East Asian post, and it’s about airport food. Hell what?! Hell yeah, airport food! In East Asia, specifically in Beijing, Incheon, and Hong Kong, unlike here in the States, airport food is actually good. I ate roast goose, hwedupbab (회덥밥, similar to bibimbab, but with raw fish), and hot noodle soup; all within fifteen minutes of my departure gate. Not a single overpriced shrink-wrapped sandwich, stale bagel, or a generic hamburger was eaten. MORE »

From the beginning, the stars weren’t aligning for me and China. My first application for a visa to China was denied. The reason, I work for a news/media company, and although I wrote on my application that I was going for pleasure, not business, I was rejected. Beijing may have hosted the Olympics, but that still doesn’t change the fact that China is a communist country. Foreign press is not welcome unless it is authorized. I argued and argued, but no one wanted to listen, and they just sent me to another line when they got tired of talking to me. Finally, after being shuffled back and forth between several windows, someone told me to come back with a letter from my work stating specifically that I was not going to Beijing on company business. An hour later, to the dismay of the people at the embassy, I was back with my letter, signed by my manager and on company letterhead. Another hour later, I had my visa. It took an entire day of waiting on line, running across town twice in the pouring rain, plus two application fees and one hefty expediting fee, but I got my visa. Unfortunately, I also got food poisoning from a bad gyro at the diner next door. I should I have seen it has a sign, but of course I didn’t. That would have been too easy. MORE »