Sizzling Stone: Build your own bibimbap

Welcome to Chipotle, Korean-style

But instead of building your own burrito today, you'll be building your own Bibimbap!

For those who are fresh and new to Korean food, Bibimbap is a bowl of rice topped with a variety of vegetables, meat, and an egg mixed with sesame oil.  It is usually served in a hot stone bowl with red chili paste you can mix in yourself.  You can add as much as you want depending on how spicy and flavorful you want it. 

Here you get to customize what goes into your bowl!

There's three types of rice to choose from: wild black rice, brown rice, and jasmin rice.  You can also add in japchae noodles for no extra charge

Then you choose your vegetables and meat.  They also have cheese, which I thought would be a strange combination.  Hmm...rice, kimchee, and cheese?

...and they cook it for you!  Sigh, it's quite a beautiful sight seeing so many bowls cooked at the same time.  You can also add a pan fried egg for an extra 99 cents.  I was feeling Asian that day and cheap so I opted out haha

And they do self-serve style for the sauces.  

From front to back: Thai Curry, Original Spicy, Teriyaki, Spicy Sweet Curry.

The sauces...actually tasted kind of strange.  Other than the Original Spicy which is pretty much the usual red chili paste but much sweeter, I'm not too fond of the others.  They're all, fruity?  Especially the teriyaki sauce which has a slight apple taste and that's the only sauce that isn't spicy.  I think they need to improve/expand on their sauce choices since so much of this dish relies on it!

Tofu Bibimbap

Although the Bibimbap is cooked in a stone bowl and comes out piping hot, the rice doesn't burn on the bottom  Usually, there's a thin crispy layer of rice at the bottom and it's so yummy! 

They also have some self-served kimchee for a side dish.  It tastes very pickled and not very spicy so I'm not sure what to make of it.  Kimchee?  Pickled cabbage?  Although it was really refreshing when I was heaving in and out from eating my spicy bibimbap.

Chicken Bibimbap

I asked for more kimchee and OMG bad choice.  IT WAS SO SPICY ,yummy but spicy, and my spicy tolerance is, well, practically zero.  With the Original Spicy sauce, I breathing in and out like I just ran the mile.

Looks so pretty all mixed!  It's quite a big bowl and I saved half of it for the next day's lunch.  About $6-7 for a bowl so it's not too bad.  And if you're feeling poor, you can even split one with you friend.

yummy!

Sizzling Stone

510 Barber Lane 

Milpitas, CA 95035

http://www.mysizzlingstone.com/

Salut for Afternoon Tea

One of the perks of being a woman is being able to enjoy pretty things — tutus, polka dots, pink bows, and... afternoon tea!  I've actually never had afternoon tea before, so I was super excited to try it.  Girls day out with my mother and aunt! 

I wish I could bring my imaginary boyfriend here too, but can you imagine a hot 20 year-old man eating that cookie daintily, pinky up? HAHA sadly it's true though...there was not a single guy in sight!

First off, you each get your choice of tea!  The menu had pages and pages of different types of tea.  I'm quite the tea fanatic, but I didn't know 98% of these teas.  And it didn't help that all the descriptions were written in Chinese (and I am pretty much Chinese illiterate).  So I asked my aunt for a recommendation since she had been here before, and decided on the Assam Black tea.

Assam, Butterscotch, and 1854 Tea

We also ordered a Butterscotch tea and a 1854 tea.  And they come with pretty tags so you know which tea pot is which!

All the teas tasted super clean and refined, and had really strong flavors.  The butterscotch tea was the most special to me.  It had strong caramel notes, making it quite sweet...almost like a milk tea!

Everyone gets their own tea set too, and OMG they were all so pretty.  Really inspired me to go buy some tea sets for home.  Sadly, I'm so lazy, so that never happened 

Peekaboo!  Teapot, I see you!

Anyway, Salut provides each teapot with a cover so that your tea stays warm.  So nice and fancy, and it actually worked!  My tea was hot until the very last sip

Side note: I visited Salut in June, hence the June teacup.

I didn't add sugar to my tea, but hehe, these packets were just so cute with the roses and tulips and polka dot tablecloth.

Afternoon tea for two

OHOHO 3 tiers of yummy, pretty goodness!  Top tier - cakes.  Middle tier - sweets.  Bottom tier - sandwiches.

Start from the bottom and eat your way up 

Finger Sandwiches tomato bruschetta, egg salad sandwich, seafood quiche

The tomato bruschetta (left) was a slice of toasted bruschetta bread, topped with pesto spread and fresh garden tomatoes.  The bread was a little hard for my taste, but as a tomato and pesto lover, it was still might delicious.

The egg salad sandwich (middle) was so yummy, and that's from someone who usually doesn't eat egg salad!  The bread was nicely toasted using a waffle maker, creating a nice geometric design.  I was a bit hesitant to eat this sandwich since I don't like mayo, but luckily it was not too creamy.  There were also lettuce, tomato, and zucchini, which provided a nice texture contrast to the egg salad.

The seafood quiche (right) was my favorite.  It was so light that when I picked it up, I did a double take.  It was super crispy, and the layers were so fun to bite through!

Pastries and sweets madeleine cake, chocolate chip cookie, fruit tart

After eating all those lovely sandwiches in the previous tier, I had super high expectations of these sweets.  Sadly, I was kind of disappointed.  They were all good, but nothing spectacular.  The madeleine cake (left) was a bit dense and dry.

The chocolate chip cookie (middle) was my favorite in this tier — so rich and buttery!  I wished it was bigger though...literally 3 bites!

The fruit tart (right) was also pretty good, but I mean, I've never had a bad fruit tart before.  

Green Tea and Red Bean Cake 

What's more Asian than green tea and red bean?  A green tea and red bean cake!

I decided to stay in touch with my inner Asian self and chose this green tea and red bean cake.  It was a vanilla sponge cake layered with green tea mousse, with chunks of red bean throughout.  The cake itself was a bit on the dry side, but the green tea mousse was so divine!  It had a refreshing matcha green tea flavor.  Add some red beans, and ah...a match made in Asian heaven 

Orange Chocolate Cake

Salut sure knows how to put flavors together.  Next up, orange chocolate cake!  

Personally, I LOVE orange and chocolate together.  One time, my brother and I went on an orange and chocolate craze.  Everytime we ate a Clementine, we would eat a piece of chocolate with it.  (SO GOOD, y'all should try it.)  We did this so many times, the next time I ate a Clementine, I started salivating... for some... chocolate HAHA.  Well played, chocolate fiend.  

Afternoon tea for one

Finger Sandwiches tomato bruschetta, egg salad sandwich, seafood quiche

Damn, look at that egg salad sandwich!  Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to take a bite!

Pastries and sweets madeleine cake, chocolate chip cookie, fruit tart

Walnut Brownie

The brownie was moist and rich, and was packed with cocoa flavor.  One bite made you want more, and more, and more!  Hopefully they never ban chocolate for its addictive properties.

Jars of tea leaves

As you make your way to the end of the rainbow, you'll find pots of...tea leaves! 

Salut

台北市仁愛路四段266巷8弄2號

(02) 2325-6878

http://www.salut.com.tw

Disneyland's Café Orleans

I LOVE DISNEYLAND and I don't think anyone can grow out of it.  Cathy is the one that lives in Southern California and is only an hour away from the Happiest Place on Earth but I actually go more often than she does.  Cathy, how is that possible?  You should be whipping out your Premium annual pass and flashing it in my face making me all jealous! 

Anyways, in Disneyland, every ten feet there's a food stand.  The churros, the Mickey pretzels, corn dogs, all so delicious!  Most people just fill up from migrating from stand to stand but most of their restaurants are also just as wonderful so you gotta save your tummy

Ta-da!  That right there on the table is all good delicious yumminess.  For the last few years, my family and I have made it an habit to going Café Orleans for lunch.  It's in New Orleans part of Disneyland, right next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Since it's all sit-down, it's the perfect way to get away from the hectic crowds for a bit and give your poor feet a rest.  Café Orleans is pretty busy during lunch hours so make a reservations beforehand!

Pommes Frites

These Pommes Frites are THE BOMB!  We always have to order two of these because it's like a cat fight when these are put on the table.  My two sisters and I are pulling hair and grabbing each other's necks for these sticks of joy.  They're deliciously deep-fried to perfection and tossed in garlic and herbs.  They also provide a Cajun spice remoulade dipping sauce which is plain amazing.  I would be willing to drink these right out of the little cup.  Mmm...BOTTOMS UP, CAJUN REMOULADE SHOTS!

New Orleans Gumbo

Their gumbo is gold.  Liquid gold.  Savory, with the right amount of pepper for spice and all the vegetables and meat taste fresh.  You can actually get Disneyland gumbo at the food stand right across from Café Orleans and it's actually just as great.  And it comes in a bread bowl

(I wish I would have wiped that dot of gumbo off the plate before snapping pictures, it kind of erking me and making me a bit OCD haha)

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Their most popular dish is the Monte Cristo Sandwich.  It's a sandwich filled with ham and cheese then thrown into the deep-fryer until a crispy golden brown then topped with powdered sugar.  And you should definetely dip you sandwich in the jam that's provided.  The sweet and salty combo what makes the Monte Cristo!

N'awlins Vegetable Ragout

My mom's a vegetarian so we ordered so we ordered a vegetarian dish for her.  The N'awlins Vegetable Ragout is a tomato based so to contrast its tanginess, its paired with cornbread.  I guess it was alright, but I felt the flavor wasn't deep enough. Gorgeous presentation though!

Café Orleans

1313 Harbor Blvd Disneyland Park

Anaheim, CA 92802

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/cafe-orleans/