July 31st 2017: Sushi at Paku Paku Asian Bistro, Worcester

Today, I decided to get a quick bite at Paku Paku Asian Bistro, a new Japanese restaurant that has opened in Worcester at 215 Chandler Street. The decor is somewhat decent, considering it is in a crappy part of town.

I got the Starlight (lemon chicken, shrimp, avocado topped with spicy crab and tempura flakes, served with house special sauce) Roll,

Not bad, but nothing special, and really nothing interesting on their menu at all.

July 30th 2017: Going to the Beaches in Manchester by the Sea

We ventured into the town of Manchester-by-the-sea today in a search for a beach to relax at,

Emmanuel Church Episcopal

Seaside No. 1 Firehouse,
Bridge Street and Church Street

starting out with West Manchester Beach, which really wasn't much of a beach, being very rocky, though the views here were pretty decent.

The next beach on the list was Lobster Cove Beach, a semi-private beach at 56 Masconomo Street with no real parking, although I did manage to align my car alongside the fence. Here we stayed for a bit,

where one can see Baker's Island Light from afar.

July 29th 2017: Lunch at Taj Indian Bistro, Stoneham

After attending a seminar in Woburn today, we decided to get lunch at Taj Indian Bistro, a pretty nice Indian restaurant in Stoneham.

With my coupon, we ordered from the menu, getting the Mango Lassi (mango yogurt shake),

the Taj Non-Vegetarian Platter (Combination of Meat Samosa (Light spicy turnovers stuffed with minced lamb and spices), Chicken Tikka (Tender pieces of white meat chicken marinated in spices and yogurt cooked on skewers in tandoor (a clay oven)), Seekh Kabab (Finely minced lamb, seasoned with chopped onions, herbs and spices then baked on skewers in our Tandoor) and Chicken Pakoras (Boneless tender pieces of chicken, deep fried in chick pea batter))

the Keema Naan (white flour bread stuffed with spices and minced lamb)

and the Shahi Shrimp Korma (juicy jumbo shrimp in a creamy sauce with nuts and raisins),

although they made a mistake and gave us the Shahi Chicken Korma (Boneless chicken, exotic spices, herbs and nuts in a mild cream sauce) instead.

when the mistake was discovered, instead of taking back the chicken, they decided to give it to us for free, cooking up the correct dish for us as well. What good service, and the curry and naan were delicious as well, although the fried stuff in the platter were nothing special, being somewhat hard at times too. The Mango Ice Cream (homemade ice cream made with mango and fresh cream sweetened to perfection) we got for dessert was pretty good though.

Overall though, I think this place is worth coming back to.

July 28th 2017: Breakfast in Holden, Lunch in Worcester

This morning, I went to have some breakfast at Goodhile's, a grocery like place in the town of Holden which also serves sandwiches and ice cream.

I got the Egg, Bacon and Cheese Sandwich, which was not bad,  being freshly made,  though nothing special.

For lunch, one of my colleagues was leaving the department,  so several of us went to Via Italian Table, which I have been to many times before in the past.

This time around, we got the Squash Blossoms (trio of Tempura fried squash flowers, zucchini noodles, Meyer lemon aioli, cold pressed olive oil),

And The Fried Calamari with Marinara for our Appetisers,

While I got the Chicken Marsala (sauteed chicken breast, prosciutto, and sauteed mushrooms on spaghetti) for my main course.

The squash flowers were pretty good, although the calamari were nothing special, though crispy. The pasta was tasty too, but I felt a little underwhelmed in this fancy restaurant.

Dessert consisted of the Cookie Butter Creme Brulee (crisp caramelized sugar topped with dusting of cinnamon)

and the VIA’s Crêpe Cake (15 crêpes layered with a cream cheese and mascarpone filling.  Drizzled with a chocolate garnish and imported Amerena cherries),

which I already had once in the past. The creme brulee was pretty good, although the cake was not as good as some I have had in the past. At least I did not need to pay for the meal.

July 26th 2017: Company Day at Two Newport Mansions

I had a company outing today at the Newport Mansions in Rhode Island, but before that, I started out in the town of Warren RI,

Imagine Gift Store

St. Jean Baptiste Church

Baptist Church in Warren

Warren Fire Rescue

Firemen's Museum, 38 Baker Street

First United Methodist Church

Warren Common, 26 State Street 

Tavares Building, 486 Main Street

Town Hall, 514 Main Street

George Hail Library

Armory Hall

St. Mary of the Bay Church

Radiant Christian Assembly of God

going to Bristol RI,

Rockwell School

Mr. Potato Head, 1020 Hope Street

VFW Post 237

Guiteras School

Bank of America

Andrews School

Colt School

Stone Harbour Condominiums

St. Michael's Episcopal Church

Bristol War Veterans Honor Roll Garden

Bristol Visitors Center, 400 Hope Street

Union Street Beach,
Union Street and Hope Street

Walley Park,
Walley Street and Hope Street

Roger Williams University

Mount Hope Bridge

Bristol Ferry Light

Mount Hope Bay, End of Old Ferry Road

visiting Thomas Park

and Independence Park, which I was at a long time ago after cycling the East Bay Bike Path, along the way.

Next, it was the town of Portsmouth RI,

Hog Island Shoal Light

King's Grant Fellowship

St. Barnabas Church

Mr. Potato Head, 2575 East Main Road

Mr. Potato Head, 2575 East Main Road

then Middletown RI,

Middletown Baptist Church

Church of the Holy Cross

St. Lucy's Church

Town Hall, 350 East Main Road

finally hitting up Newport RI itself,

Easton Pond, 155 Old Beach Road

Jesus Saviour Church

Exploration Center and Aquarium

Chateau Sur Mer

St. Peter's Lutheran Church

including Salve Regina University,

before meeting up with everyone else at The Breakers, our first mansion for the day.

Pretty large place, wonder how much it costs today.

From here, we headed to lunch at 22 Bowens Wine Bar and Grille, a pretty upscale restaurant in the downtown area.

We got a lot of stuff for food and drink, like the Lambic, a fruity beer that doesn't taste at all like one,

the Field Greens (Cucumber, Carrot, Radish, Grape Tomato, Red Onion, House Vinaigrette),

the 22B Clam Chowder (Potato, Bacon, Light Cream, Dill),

the 22B Filet Mignon (Lyonnaise Potatoes, Asparagus, Sauce Bordelaise, Great Hill Blue Cheese),

the Roasted Tomato Flatbread (Mascarpone Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions, Arugula, Aged Balsamic)

and the Atlantic Salmon Filet (Spinach & Fennel Cous Cous, Cauliflower Puree, Marjoram Pistou, Pickled Green Tomato & Roasted Corn Relish).

The soup was pretty good, although the ingredients for the fish tasted a little weird, despite the fish being cooked just right.

For dessert, we got the Chocolate Brownie (chocolate raspberry sauce, Brown Butter Crumb, Fresh Raspberries, Vanilla Whipped Cream),

while I got to try the Lemon Cake (Lemon Sugar Glaze, blackberry coulis, toasted coconut, Vanilla Whipped Cream).

Pretty good dessert. Overall, a pretty good meal with my colleagues.

The next mansion we visited was the Marble House,

This place is much smaller than the Breakers, but the Chinese Tea House in the backyard more than made up for it.

With that, we were done for the day, so I headed back to Middletown to get some BBQ from Becky's BBQ. This place is pretty small with not much place for sitting.

With my coupon, I got the 1/4 slab Ribs, Becky's Three Bean Bake, Cornbread,

Chicken Thigh and Leg, Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork

and Ritz Pecan Pie.

The meats and dessert were just alright, although the baked beans were pretty unique being cooked with onions as well, and the cornbread was tasty too. Not sure why this place is one of the top in Rhode Island though. Guess I am not much of a BBQ connoisseur.