Trip Report: Tahiti 2
Here is my much prolonged update to my first Tahiti post. Hope this is helpful!

Activities: There are so many things to do in Tahiti, but at times, we just wanted to hang out in our bungalow because 1, you spent so much dang money on them and 2, it is just so pretty. The Tahiti brochures really don't do them justice.

As you can see, there is an abundance of fish near your bungalows... to the point where it actually gets kind of scary! But in an endearing way, of course. Snorkeling is definitely an amazing experience, right off of your little hut.

There is also the usual kayaking around your resort, as well as jeep safari adventures around the island. We took one that took us on a small loop around Moorea, and lead us up to Mount Belvedere. There is also the opportunity to ATV all the way up there, but I would think that this would be a very tiring (yet exciting) journey.

We rented one of their open air vehicles and drove around the island. As you can see from the right, it's a very cute little buggie... but it was a very bumpy ride.

There was a shark and stingray excursion, that ended with a homestyle meal on a secluded island. We booked most of our activities through our activities desk at the resort, and found that their prices were very comparable (so don't worry if you are too lazy to do extra research).

Food: I realized towards the end that our resort had arrangements with many of the nearby restaurants. These restaurants would provide free transportation if the resort "recommends" them to the visitors. So each night we'd goto our activities desk and look through their book and see what restaurants had reservations and what we'd like to eat.

On Moorea
Aito's - Known as a Mediterranean restaurant, the staff is ever so friendly and there is a relaxed air once you walk in. You can sit by the water, and if you come at the right time, can even feed the stingrays that swim up to the edge. There is an abundance of seafood and it is good. The owner even came around to ask us how we liked it, and we felt like he really cared about his patrons.

Snack Maharepa - This was a little snack bar that we happened upon while driving the buggie around the island. They have homestyle food that was very similar to Chinese cooking. K had a plate of chicken over rice, that was very similar to something that we've eaten back at home. I had a really good mahi mahi sandwich. We saw many locals come here for lunch, which is always a good sign to us!

Alfredo's - This would have to be the most disappointing restaurant that we have ever eaten at. This is billed as an Italian restaurant and they had the haughty Little Italy attitude to go with it, which was extremely unwarranted. I mean, this was obviously a place that tourists frequent, so why be so nasty? Plus, it was not of Tahitian nature to be this way. The food was pretty bland, and not fresh. The only edible thing was probably the baguette that came at the beginning of the meal.

Te Honu Iti - Honu Iti was labeled a French restaurant. This was the first restaurant we went to after we landed, and I was feeling really nauseous and sick so unfortunately could not enjoy my meal. I did order some kind of fish and the WHOLE fish was put on my table (unlike in America where people think fish comes in filets *rolls eyes*).

On Bora Bora
La Bounty - This place was definitely a disappointment since it was highly recommended by many TripAdvisor patrons. They were basically all about the effects, but not about the food. PLUS, they didn't list any prices?! I had a black ink pasta that came in a pretty package, while K had lamb skewers that they lit on fire at our table. It was a cool effect, but without that, they would just have regular food.

Bloody Mary's - This has got to be the most fun restaurant ever. You walk in, and there is a kitschy feel to it due to all the decorations and the sand on the floor, but you are greeted by a table full of fresh seafood. It's today's catch, and you get to pick what you will be eating and how it will be cooked. The food is fresh and good, although portions are a little bit small. There are a LOT of mosquitoes here too... I did not get bit ONCE on any of the islands but on our last night in Bora Bora, I got some real poisonous bites from these Bloody Mary mosquitoes that have left scars.

Matira Terrace - This was the restaurant within our resort, Hotel Bora Bora, and I have to say that they are exceptional. We ate breakfast there and also had an amazing customized dinner that we discussed with the chef. There was a seafood appetizer that included everything from poisson cru to lobster to sashimi (yes that is the spread to the left!) There really is nothing more for me to say about this place except GO THERE NOW. Villa Mahana has NOTHING on the restaurant at Hotel Bora Bora.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | Category: , , , | 2 comments

Brooklyn Brownout Cake (Sweet Melissa Sundays)
This week's Sweet Melissa Sunday recipe is the Brooklyn Brownout Cake, chosen by Elyse of Confectionary Creations. I saw this recipe and was like, dang there's so much to make and with school and work, there really is no time. So... I was going to do the unthinkable -- cheat and BUY brownies instead of making them myself. Well, Karen also thought this was unthinkable and graciously shared some of her homemade brownies with me. Thanks Karen!

Now, this cake should really just be called Triple Chocolate Cake -- there is a 2-tiered chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache frosting and brownie bits added in for good texture. I had one bite and instantly my mouth screamed, "I NEED MILK!"

On the top left is a picture of my cake, naked. It actually looks a lot like one of those Oreo cakesters, huh? In the middle is the gooey chocolate ganache with brownie bits. I didn't trim the sides, which might've been the reason why it was so hard for the ganache to cover the split between the two layers... I will try trimming them next time. There was a tip to level the cakes so that the "domed" parts were flattened, but I found that because this had a more chunky frosting, it was not necessary. Just fill the parts that are lower with more frosting and voila, you have a "flat" cake!

I've never worked with ganache before, so this was something a little tricky for me. It is a very liquid frosting, so once you pour it onto the top of the cake, it starts spreading itself and will drip down the sides of the cake. This also means that it is harder to hide the split between the layers. I waited a bit for the ganache to harden slightly and then resumed frosting the cake.

I found that this cake was very brownie-like. It was moist, but wasn't fluffy and had the dense thickness of a brownie. It was definitely very CHOCOLATELY, that's for sure.
Sunday, April 12, 2009 | Category: , , | 9 comments

Honey Biscotti and Sweet Melissa Sundays
So I recently joined a baking group called Sweet Melissa Sundays. We base our recipes on a book called The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, which is a bakery based out of our very own Brooklyn. Each Sunday, someone will bake a recipe out of that book until we make it through all of the recipes. My bake date is August 16th, which is still months away, but no worries; I can still bake along with each of the weekly hosts.

This week's recipe was the Honey Biscotti (Melissa calls it the Beescotti) and will be made by Lorelei, which is where the recipe can be found as well. Now, I've made biscottis previously, but this one was new for me. First, I've never baked with honey before, and it was a somewhat frustrating experience that really tests your patience. Waiting for the honey to drip from your measuring spoon is seriously like waiting for a chick to hatch -- NOT FUN, as I am not a patient person by all means. And then there's the whole, I'm not a big fan of almonds thing. I debated left and right but decided to put in chopped almonds anyways (since I was leaving out the candied orange peels and caraway seeds).

The house smelled so wonderful that I think I will have to make these again and again... this is not to say that the biscottis weren't good. They were very good -- not too sweet, honey and almond taste were present but not overwhelming and super satisfying crunch. I did have some issues with the temperatures in the original recipe, so next time I think I will lessen the baking time for the first round of baking and lower the temperature for the second round of baking. With the original baking temp and time, the bottoms of some of the biscottis came out slightly burnt.
Sunday, April 05, 2009 | Category: , , | 4 comments

Recipe: Matcha Shortbread Cookies
I love green tea flavored anything and when I purchased green tea cookies from Panya bakery, I knew that I would have to find a recipe to make my own.

After much searching, I found the following recipe from Recipezaar and it really closely resembles what I had bought. The tea flavor is very strong, the cookie is not too sweet and there is a slight crunch factor, but after biting into it, it literally melts in your mouth. Simply delightful! I will definitely make this recipe again and again.


Ingredients:
2 cups bleached all purpose flour
1-2 tablespoons of green tea powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar (more if you like your cookie sweeter)

  • Sift the flour, tea powder and salt into a bowl.
  • In a mixer bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
  • Add flour mixture to mixer bowl and mix slowly until dough just comes together
  • Pull dough together carefully in a log, approximately 2 inches in diameter.
  • Wrap dough log and place in freezer for 30 minutes or until dough has firmed to the touch.
  • Slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds and place on a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet, approximately 1 inch apart
  • Bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven for 16-18 minutes (or until the edges start turning golden)
  • Remove cookies immediately and cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!!
Thursday, April 02, 2009 | Category: , , , | 1 comments

Restaurant: Aquagrill
I picked Aquagrill for our group dinner to celebrate Babe's birthday. It was the big 2-8, afterall!

Keeping in mind the last minuteness and the fact that not everyone ate everything, I picked Aquagrill due to 1. everyone ate (and enjoyed) seafood and most importantly, 2. it had really great reviews on Yelp (also we were able to get reservations was a big plus too).

The restaurant is located on the quieter side of Spring Street; it wasn't the SoHo area that everyone associates the street with. There seemed to be ample parking in the area, but like most New Yorkers, we parked at the first spot we saw on West Broadway and had a 7-minute walk which was perfectly fine with me.

Aquagrill is located right on the corner of Spring and 6th Avenue; one of the guys had said there is a subway station right across the street but I didn't notice it. The ambiance is very lively, but not too trendy-noisy. We were seated immediately and greeted by a waiter. Throughout the night we were greeted by different people, so I'm not sure they have assigned waiters/waitresses or anything.

We started off with a delicious bread basket full of corn bread, biscuits and warm rolls, accompanied by a fragrant olive oil.


The restaurant is known for it's selection of oysters, which is what we started with. We asked our server to recommend some rare oysters and she brought over the top 5:

  1. Chincoteague
  2. Carlsbad Blonde
  3. La St. Simon
  4. Pemaquid XL
  5. Canoe Lagoon

And if you ask me now, I wouldn't be able to tell you which was which, or which was the best, but according to Babe, he loved 1 and 5 *shrug*.



Oysters

We also had a delicious plate of Clam Steamers, which was steamed and then dipped into Pilsner beer and garlic butter. SO DELICIOUS! The clams were very fresh and plentiful, so much so that it was recommended that we share, which we did. I cannot stress how much I loved this starter dish and that it will be something that I will order everytime I goto a seafood restaurant. Yes, it was that good.


My entree was the Chilean Sea Bass, with a crust of some sort. Unfortunately this was off the specials menu so I cannot look it up on their website for more details. Whatever it was, it was great. The fish was so tender and light, on a bed of peanuts and spinach with a light white wine sauce. The portion might be small for some, but it was definitely more than enough for me.

Babe's entree was the Striped Bass, which was also off the specials menu. It wasn't as good as my Sea Bass, but still pretty good. The little round of green off to the left? That's creamed spinach and THE BEST creamed spinach I've eaten. EVER. I finished it since he doesn't like veggies (he really doesn't, I swear!)

Some other dishes ordered by our friends were the Sea Scallops (medium rare, done just right) and the Bouillabaisse, which is basically a stew of lots of seafood in a garlic saffron tomato broth.

We ended the meal with the Chocolate Tasting Plate, which had a warm dark chocolate cake, white chocolate mousse and milk chocolate ice cream. Delicious and beautifully presented, this is one of my all-time favorite desserts.

A wonderful meal with an attentive staff and a friendly atmosphere. This is a place that I would definitely come back to.

Aquagrill
210 Spring Street (corner of 6th Avenue)
New York, NY
http://www.aquagrill.com/

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | Category: , , , | 0 comments

Restaurant: Fishtail by David Burke
As per the previous post, this meal was for Babe's birthday, but this time, it was just the two of us. I wanted to try a "well-known" restaurant and someone had recommended a David Burke joint. Now, I knew that David Burke was famous for his steakhouse in Chicago, but could he pull off fish? We decided to take a chance on Fishtail.

Let me preface this by saying that Fishtail is located near Bloomingdale's, which means that there is absolutely NO PARKING available. We drove around for so long and finally lucked out on a spot on Park Avenue and 65th Street. It seriously is a headache of a place if you were to drive, I tell ya...

But I digress.

Fishtail is located in a townhouse on 62nd Street. The lady next to me said that this used to be some other restaurant not that long ago (I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear... she was just talking way too loud). The interior is painted red, with white accents. You'd think that it would be crass and ugly, but it's actually very modern and minimalistic. There are fish paintings all over the walls and huge mirrors, giving it a spacious feeling. As with all townhouses, there are floor to ceiling windows that look out across the street to other townhouses.

The first floor of Fishtail is the raw bar and the kitchen. There are also booths, although I did not see anyone sitting in them. We were escorted upstairs to the dining area, which was relatively small and compact. Our table was a mere 2 inches away from the other two tables on either side of us. I could probably eat off of my neighbor's table and it wouldn't even have been noticeable!

We were presented with this amazing bread basket. The croissants were flakey and crusty but soft in the middle. Those "pocky" sticks were his favorite... I did not taste it (I think I forgot to?!) Yes, those are carrots. Why they are in a bread basket is beyond me, but they were by far the sweetest mini carrots we've ever had.

We started off with raw oysters (for him) and fish tacos (for me).


The oysters were noted as 3 West Coast and 3 East Coast. I had one of the smaller ones (can't remember what Coast it was) and it was sweet and fresh.

I was, by far, the most disappointed with my tacos. First, I thought they would be cooked fish. They were all raw (but I guess I just didn't notice the "Tartare" in the description) and tasteless. The 3 were -- Tuna Tartare, Crab Salad and Hamachi. The Crab Salad was too salady -- too much mayo and was just too creamy and left a filmy taste in my mouth. The Tuna and Hamachi were bland, even with the sauces provided. Sorely disappointed!

For our entrees, I had the Swordfish Steak Frites and Maitre d'Hotel Butter and he had the Giant Head-on Grilled Prawns cooked in basil and lemon.

Swordfish is one of those fishes that is hard to catch, expensive but not good. The meat is hard, there is no flavor and it's no wonder they usually serve it as a "steak". The butter did not add anything to the fish and I left 2/3 of my fish untouched. The frites, on the other hand, were amazing. There was a sprinkling of what Babe thinks is wakame (seaweed) and each fry was crunchy but not oily. It came in the little fryer basket that I wanted to steal so badly. But no, I overcame my impulses. Sigh.

If you look closely, there were no actual heads on the "Giant Head-on Prawns" that Babe ordered. Granted, we don't eat that anyways, but isn't that sort of like false advertising?! These prawns were good. Fresh and huge. Grilled to perfection. However, there were only 3. How disappointing! And this dish cost $35... that's practically $12/prawn!!! Highway robbery...

We completed our meal with a Passion Fruit Creme Brulee, and Napoleon of Chocolate Leaves. When I made the reservation on OpenTable, I noted that it was a birthday, and they thoughtfully placed Babe's creme brulee on a plate that said Happy Birthday. I thought this was indeed a nice touch. Kudos, Fishtail!

My Napoleon of Chocolate Leaves was good, but a bit too chocolately. Should've came with a glass of milk instead of a shot of milkshake!

Fishtail by David Burke
135 East 62nd Street
New York, NY
http://www.fishtaildb.com

Monday, March 23, 2009 | Category: , , , | 0 comments