January 11th 2020: Popover King, Boston

This morning, we decided to make a stop at Popover King, a cafe in the West End area of Boston specializing in popover dishes.

We got THE TAJ MAHAL (an aromatic Ditty topped with Basil and curry chicken & mild cheddar), which was served in a popover dish,

and the QUEEN BEE (honey-glazed with lavender crème filling topped with organic honey crystals and berries).

The curry was absolutely delicious, while the dessert dish was tasty and not too sweet either. Definitely a place worth coming back to to try their other stuff.

January 10th 2020: Root and Press, Worcester and Panera Bread, Shrewsbury

Today for lunch, I decided to check out the new book cafe in Worcester, Root and Press. Small but interesting looking place.

I got the Pulled Pork Panini (house pulled pork, BBQ sauce and cheddar jack cheese), with cmae with a side of Mac and Cheese.

Well presented, and really delicious, I must say, especially the macaroni with smooth cheese sauce and crumbs on top.

Later, while in Shrewsbury,

Spag's Memorial,
Baker Avenue and Mozart Avenue

I decided to get a Blueberry Muffin with Fresh Blueberries (Freshly baked muffin with fresh blueberries, topped with turbinado sugar) from the Panera Bread in Shrewsbury.

Good as always from this place.

January 5th 2020: Doragon Ramen, Ashland

Today, we decided to go to Doragon Ramen in Ashland for lunch, which actually is the new name for Noodle City, which we have visited a few times in the past. The layout has changed a little, definitely for the better.

This time around, we got the Pork Chashu (braised crrekstone pork belly, garnished with crispy pork belly) ramen with BLACK GARLIC MISO BROTH (Flavorful broth made from miso paste and 90day aged black garlic, served with fresh temomi noodles, a rustic hand kneaded ramen noodle topped with scallions, roasted corn and mayu, enoki mushrooms, pickled shiitake mushrooms).

and the Chicken Peanut Mazemen (Cold wavey ramen noodles tossed with our House Thai Peanut Sauce , scallions, cilantro and peanuts. Topped with chicken chashu, baby bok choy, roasted corn, ground peanuts and scallions).

Really excellent as always from this place, especially the meats. Oh the fat!!

January 4th 2020: Brunch at IHOP, Northborough

For brunch today, we decided to have it at the IHOP in Northborough, which had a lot of people today.

We decided to get the Sirloin Tips and Eggs Combo (Sirloin tips* with grilled onions & mushrooms. Served with 2 eggs* your way, hash browns & 2 buttermilk pancakes),

which came with all you can eat pancakes, of which we ate six.

We also got the Jr. Chicken and Waffles (Two buttermilk crispy chicken breast strips & 2 Belgian waffle quarters)

The steak unfortunately was not fresh, but the pancakes, waffles and chicken were all pretty good.

January 3rd 2020: Gantetsu-Ya and Shiki, Brookline

For dinner today, we decided to go check out Gantetsu-Ya, a small Japanese restaurant serving okonomiyaki in Brookline. This place is located within the Coolidge Corner Arcade,

right across from Ganko Ittetsu Ramen, which we visited some time back, and apparently it is affiliated with the store as well.

We got the Traditional Takoyaki (tako, scallions, pickled ginger, topped with soya sauce based sweet tako yaki sauce, mayonnaise, ao-nori powder, shaved bonito flakes)

and the Seafood Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki (sliced pork, cabbage, bean sprouts, pan seared noodle, egg, topped with teppan grilled yari-ika, shrimp, Otafuku sauce, scallions, ao-nori, sesame seeds).

Really nothing special though, after having tried the same in Japan. Don't think I want to come back again.

Because the meal was unsatisfactory, we decided to look elsewhere for more, settling on Shiki, another Japanese restaurant nearby. Nice decor in the basement.

Pretty authentic and unique Japanese food on the menu as well, of which we got the Crazy Maki (Egg, cucumber, flying fish row, shrimp tempura and kaiware radish),

the Chawanmushi (egg custard dish with chicken, scallop, shrimp and vegetable)

and the Shiki Shinko Maki (cucumber, mackerel, plum, sesame, shiso basil and shrimp wrapped with pickled daikon radish).

 The sushi was way too spicy, and the radish made the other roll taste weird. The egg was really smooth though, and I would say that was the real measure of the restaurant. Hence, I would give this place another chance because of the interesting stuff on the menu. A so-so day of having Japanese food in Brookline though.

January 2nd 2020: Caffe Bene and Haju Kitchen, Boston

Today, while in the Back Bay area, we decided to check out Caffe Bene, a fancy South Korean cafe.with many locations worldwide.

We decided to get the Strawberry and Cheese Honey Bread

and the Green Tea Souffle.

The flavor of the bread was not bad, especially with the honey, and while the souffle pancake was tasty as well, it was way too eggy to be a proper pancake, and definitely not as good as from Bootleg Special. Overall though, this place is probably worth a second chance. We probably just got the wrong stuff.

For lunch, we decided to head nearby to Haju Kitchen, a college area Korean restaurant with so-so decor.

We got the Pork Sundubu (tofu, pork, onion, zucchini, mushroom, scallion),

which wasn't anything special in my opinion.

Oh well, at least we checked out 2 new places in the Boston area today.

January 1st 2020: Gourmet China House, Boston and Dryft, Revere

We headed into the Chinatown area of Boston today, having lunch at Gourmet China House. Pretty nice restaurant serving authentic Chinese food in downtown Chinatown.

We got the Roast Beef with Scallion Pancake

and the Taiwan Dan Dan Noodle.

The pancake was crispy, the beef flavorful, while the noodles were not spicy like others, being more herbal in flavor as compared to the conventional dish. Very good overall though.

As always, while in Chinatown, we had to get something from Corner Cafe Bakery, this time getting the Molten Egg Yolk Bun.

Very good, especially after heating up.

For dinner, we decided to head to Dryft, a new upscale restaurant in Revere, located by the Revere Beach. Really nice decor,

with a special room for larger groups.

For food, we got several dishes, namely the PORK CHOP MILANESE (shaved asparagus salad, blue cheese, exotic mushrooms beef reduction),

the FRUTTI DI MARE (squid -ink spaghetti, shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, tomato),

the CHOPPED SALAD (apple, radicchio, dates, jicama, cucumber, feta, ranch dressing with Grilled Salmon),

the PAN SEARED SCALLOPS (butternut squash, broccolini, mint pistachio pesto),

the GNOCCHI (wild mushrooms, black truffle cream, parmesan)

the SWORDFISH (seasonal vegetables, green goddess sauce)

and the CHICKEN FUSILLI (tomato, prosciutto, spinach, walnut pesto, pecorino).

The pork chop was crispy, yet tender, and the fish were perfectly cooked, going well with the salad and sauces. The scallops were excellent as well, and while the pasta was a little intense in cheesy flavor, they were still delicious, especially the gnocchi. Overall, an excellent meal at this new place in town, and a really good day of eating in Boston and Revere.