November 30th 2016: Dinner at La Casa del Mofongo, Worcester

We had dinner on a rainy night at La Casa del Mofongo, a Latin American Restaurant in a crappy part of Worcester that actually looked somewhat decent on the inside.

We got the Marinated Yucca,

The Stewed Ribs

And the Fried Plantains with Seafood in Creole Sauce.

Everything was really tasty, especially the yellow rice which came with the Ribs.

Not bad really. Not sure I like the neighborhood though.

November 27th 2016: Chinese Food in Quincy and Natick

Out on a shopping spree today, we started off with lunch at Winsor Dim Sum House and Bar, a new Chinese place affiliated with the one in Boston that recently opened up in Quincy. We were lucky to get a seat upon entry, as the place was already pretty full. Here, we have to order off a menu instead of pushcarts. We got the Soy Bean Milk (Sweet),

the Silky Sweet Tofu,

the Chicken Claws, Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Siu Mai), Honeycomb Ox Tripe in Mala Sauce, Ox Tripe with Ginger and Scallions,

Egg Tarts

and the Braised Beef Brisket Rice Roll.

The milk and tofu were a little on the lukewarm side, although they were decent, with ginger flavor in the tofu, and the siu mai were a little bland. The chicken claws were alright, as were the egg tarts, although they were not as flaky and tasty as the ones we had at Ming's Seafood in Malden. The rest of the dishes were pretty good, although I was hoping the brisket would be inside the rice rolls, not outside.

Overall, with several dimsum places in the area, I would give this place a pass.

Next, while shopping at the Wrentham Outlets, we managed to get a free Creme Brulee Truffle (white chocolate and caramel ganache in white chocolate) from Godiva.

A good treat to have while shopping here. Next, after checking out the Natick Mall, we decided to try the new Chinese place Trend Pure Asian Cuisine, which has replaced Ten-ichi at 1400 Worcester Street in town.

The decor has hardly changed at all, although there is no longer all-you-can-eat hot pot.

The menu seems much more interesting though from what I remember, from which we ordered the Pickle Vegetable Noodle Soup with Pork,

the Lamb Dry Pot Style

and the Mango Maki (mango, pineapple, cucumber, avocado, topped with mango and mango sauce).

The noodles were simple but pretty flavorful, while the sushi was truly fruity but delicious as well. The best dish of the night was definitely the lamb though, and it was a delightful surprise to find potato in the pot as well. A definitely good addition to the dish. Overall, a much better replacement for Ten-ichi.

November 26th 2016: Shopping in Peabody and Saugus

We were heading north today,  so we started out with breakfast at La Qchara, a nice cafe in Melrose which serves Mexican food.

We got the Valencia Raw Juice (pineapple, carrot, pear, mint, apple),

The Mexico Chia Pudding (ginger chia Pudding topped with sliced bananas, Shredded coconut)

And the Huevos Rancheros (2 Crispy corn tortillas with a black bean spread,  two eggs,  salsa, Queso fresco, served with Sweet plantains and black beans).

Pretty decent and healthy meal,  with lots of interesting stuff on the menu.  Definitely would like to come back again some day.

Our next stop was the  Northshore Mall in Peabody for some shopping, which was decked up in Christmas decorations.

We also stopped by Danvers for a bit, getting a New England Clam Chowder from Lena's Original Subs, a small deli located within a Christmas tree shop.

Not bad, but nothing special.

Our last stop for the day was the Square One Mall in Saugus,

Where we checked out the froyo place YoPassion,  getting the Kumquat Lemon Honey with Aloe Drink, which was pretty refreshing to say the least.

 With that,  a day of Christmas shopping was at an end. Pretty sure there's more to come tomorrow.

November 25th 2016: Dinner and Dessert in Allston

We decided to use my last coupon at Mooyah in Northborough today for lunch, getting the Texas Chili Cheese Fries this time as well.

Still a little on the salty side, although the burger was much better this time around. We have agreed not to come back again though.

Dinner was at Streetfood Revolution, a new hip Chinese restaurant in the Allston area of Boston, with pictures of Bruce Lee all over the walls.

With my coupon, we got the Grilled Eggplant,

The Duck Soup,

The Clam Noodles

And the XS Spicy Fillet.

We initially thought the duck gizzards in the soup were the Clams with a weird texture,  and we're convinced so until the actual Clam dish came along. There was also concern that everything would taste the same, but each dish was unique in its own way, in a good way. The only complaint was that the portions were a little small.

From here, we went for dessert at Hi B3ar Ice Cream Roll, a new place that serves Thai ice cream rolls much like Frollz which I tried once in Saugus.

The flavors here are more creative in my opinion, with us getting the Matcha Lady (Matcha and red beans).

Definitely much better than Frollz.

November 23rd 2016: Chinese for Lunch

Lunch today was Chinese takeout from Golden Dragon Island Restaurant in Worcester, getting the General Tso's Chicken with Pork Fried Rice and Crab Rangoons.

Decent at best. At least both the crab rangoons and chicken were crispy, and the rice did not have onions.

November 21st 2016: A Quick Snack at Dos Tacos Cafe, Worcester

I was still hungry after lunch today, so I went for a quick bite at Dos Tacos Cafe, a Latin American hole in the wall place in Worcester. I got a Chicharron Pupusa

and a Grilled Steak Taco.

The steak was a little dry, and the pupusa was just alright. At least the mission of filling my tummy was accomplished.

November 19th 2016: Meals in Westborough, Worcester and Grafton

I had to send my car for servicing today, and the folks at Westboro Toyota gave me a free $5 chip to get anything I wanted from the Westboro Toyota Cafe, from which I got the Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwich.

Not bad for a free sandwich.

For lunch, we went to check out The Usual, a bar restaurant that has taken the place of The Fix Burger Bar at 166 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, which has in turn moved to Grove Street.

The decor is still pretty much the same,

but now it serves only gourmet style sandwiches, of which we got the Banh Mi (sliced turkey, crispy pork belly, pho aioli, pickled carrots, cilantro, cucumber and jalapeno served on hoagie roll).

Way too much turkey with not much flavor, but alright overall. The Usual Fries were alright as well, being coated with honey sriracha.

For dessert, we got the Wild Strawberry Cake, which was thankfully pretty tasty and saved the meal.

Overall, a little disappointing, but I might still come back to try their other interesting stuff on the menu.

For dinner, we went to the Grafton area to Wong's Chinese Restaurant, a run of the mill Americanized Chinese place.

We got the House Special Chow Foon (chicken, shrimp, ham and roast pork),

which was cheap and filling. Nothing special though.

November 18th 2016: 2nd Time at Bahn Thai, Worcester and Mooyah, Northborough

We had lunch today at Bahn Thai in Worcester today, the second time we have been here.

This time, we got the Siam Salad (fresh vegetables with chicken, shrimp, egg and tofu, served with house peanut sauce dressing)

and the Pad Mee (egg noodle stir fried with egg, shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, cabbage in house sauce).

The salad was not bad mainly because of the peanut sauce, while the noodles were pretty tasty as well.

Before our dinner, I decided to go check out Techni Mediterranean Grill, a new Chipotle like place in Worcester, where you can make your own wrap or rice bowl.

The Mediterranean Meatball Lavish Wrap I got was not too bad actually,

although in hindsight I should not have put in the garlic sauce, as it was a little on the strong side.

Later, we had a late dinner at Mooyah in Northborough, where we had 2 tickets for free burgers from the last time we were here. Unfortunately, we could only use them for Mooyah Burgers, so we decided to just use one today, and also got the Avocado Ranch Black Bean Burger,

along with an Oreo Milkshake.

The Mooyah burger was disappointingly on the salty and greasy side this time around, although the veggie burger was not bad, as was the milkshake.

Still got to come back one more time I guess. Not sure if I want to.

November 15th 2016: Breakfast with Grandma at Blue Moon Grill, Wakefield

We brought our grandmother to breakfast at Blue Moon Grill, a popular diner in the town of Wakefield, where we had to wait a while even after calling ahead in order to get a seat.

We got the Hot Chocolate, which was good as always,

the Morning Glory (carrot and orange) and Healthy Glow (cucumber and carrot) juices made from fresh fruit and vegetables,

the Crabmeat Eggs Benedict (Eggs Benedict with claw crabmeat, asparagus topped with hollandaise sauce, served with sweet potato hash),

the Pineapple Coconut Bliss Pancakes (chunks of pineapple, coconut, dollops of cream cheese and brown sugar baked in)

and the Irish Stuffed Potato Skins (a scooped out potato cut in half stuffed with corned beef hash, poached eggs topped with hollandaise sauce and served with home fries).

In my opinion, the potato skins were a disappointment with not much flavor to them, as was the corned beef hash. The pancakes were interesting and tasty with the pineapple, as was the sweet potato hash, but I could not find anything special in the eggs benedict. Overall, definitely not worth the price or the wait, although the portions were really big.

November 12th 2016: Meals in Marlborough and Medford

We started off today with breakfast at Villatoro Cafe and Restaurant, a diner with Guatemalan food on the menu in Marlborough.

Along with a Hot Chocolate,

we got the El Benedicto (2 poached eggs on top of homemade biscuit topped with tomato slices, pork carnitas and finished with a ranchero hollandaise sauce, served with home fries)

and the Adobo Pork Chops (pork chops marinated in brine and seasoned with traditional Guatemalan adobo, served with black beans, rice),

along with the Apple Crisp for dessert.

The eggs were interestingly good, as was the dessert, although the beans were a little salty, and the pork a little dry. Overall, a pretty interesting diner with interesting stuff on the menu.

Lunch was in Medford at Simple Fare Delicatessen, a small but nice looking deli with Italian food on the menu.

We got the Frutti di Mare (A combination of Mussels, Clams, Shrimp and Mahi Mahi sauteed with garlic and oil in a tomato sauce over a mound of linguine)

and the Eggplant Parmigiana (Hand Breaded Cutlet Topped with Provolone Cheese and Our Famous Marinara Sauce. Served with Linguine).

Neither were any good though in my opinion. Not coming back again.