March 27th 2015: More Meals in the Allston Area of Boston

After work today, I was hosting a meetup dinner at Totto Ramen at 169 Brighton Avenue in the Allston area of Boston. As they do not take reservations, I decided to go early to reserve a spot, but as I was way too early, I decided to check out the new Korean place in the area at 166 Harvard Avenue, Bibim.

This place has a pretty casual cafe feel to it, with a pretty interesting menu.

As I had a lot to eat in a short while, I decided to just get Appetizers, getting the Fried Rice Cakes (4 Skewers Of Crunchy Chili Rice Cakes)

And the Soondae (Korean Pork Sausages filled with Sweet potato noodles),

Along with the Patbingsoo (Korean shaved ice dessert Topped with sweet red bean paste, multigrain powder, mochi, milk) for dessert.

I have to say the appetizers were both a little disappointing, both being a little on the bland side. Thankfully, the dessert was still pretty good. I probably should have ordered other stuff instead, but considering that there are better Korean places nearby, this place will not be at the top of my list.

At the Ramen place, which was pretty small and already full of people, they would not seat my party until everyone had arrived, so when the time came, I decided to just seat half of us first whole waiting for the rest to come. It actually worked out pretty nicely.

My group got several bowls of Paitan Ramen (straight Noodles cooked al dente style in a savory, chicken Bone infused stock topped with broiled Pork Belly, Scallion, white onions and a sheet of nori), with a side of Original Rayu, Spicy Sesame Oil to spice things up as necessary,

and a Mega Ramen (Topped with variety of char siu pork, garlic, onion, bean sprouts and scallions),

while I got the Vegetable Ramen (konbu seaweed and shitake mushroom based soup, topped with seasoned avocado, seasonal vegetables,peppery yuzu paste, sesame oil, salted kelp and lime).

My ramen wasn't too bad, but it wasn't impressive either. The menu was a little limited, and the seating policy here isn't very appealing to me either. Overall, I've had better.

After dinner, we originally intended to go to Sweet Kingdom, but because it was full of people, we decided to go to PC Cafe across the road at 154 Harvard Avenue instead. I have to say, this place has changed a lot, though for the worse, since the last time I was here. The chairs were all tattered and torn, while there were significantly few games left here to play. The service was terrible as well, and we had to wait quite a while for our desserts to come, as there was only one person making it.

My Kiwi Iced Boba Tea

wasn't too bad, but my friends only had half a cup of drink for their Green Tea Lattes.

This is definitely the first time I have downgraded a place from recommend. Definitely not coming back again.

March 26th 2015: Dinner at Slater's, Bolton

Today after work, I headed to the town of Bolton for dinner at Slater's, even though it was really foggy to drive in.

At the small restaurant situated inside a house, with Open Mike tonight, I decided to get the Beef Brisket Entree (13 hour smoked Brisket on a bulkie roll  topped with our homemade BBQ sauce. Served with coleslaw, beans and a corn muffin),

the special Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza,

and the Spicy Wings (basket of wings dusted in special dry rub and baked to perfection in wood fired oven).

The wings were a little too spicy, although the brisket and pizza weren't too bad. Overall, nothing too fantastic though.

March 25th 2015: Dinner with a Friend at Soc Trang Express, Worcester

My friend decided to come stay for the night, so I decided to take her to Soc Trang Express at 118 Cambridge Street in Worcester, which I have been to in the past.

Somehow, the owner remembered my name, and even what I had ordered. This time round, we still got the Banh Trang Tron (Rice Paper Salad, beef jerky, rice paper, mango, and various chili and spices),

and my friend got the Durian Milkshake

and the Bun Mam (Soc Trang Fish Soup, rich fish soup served with tilapia, shrimp, roast pork and vermicelli),

while I got the Hu Tieu Soc Trang (Pork Cambodian Noodles Soup, rich pork and chicken broth served with shrimp, quail egg, pork ball, fish ball, fish cake, thin tapioca noodles, pork heart, pork liver).

Once again, really delicious food. Didn't disappoint my friend at all, who is Vietnamese.

March 24th 2015: Dinner with a Friend at Sebastian's on Broadway, Revere

Today after work, I had dinner with my friend at Sebastian's on Broadway, a small but decent Italian restaurant in Revere.

We got a salad and 2 entrees with our deal, getting the Roasted Beet Salad (fresh roasted beets, orange slices and spices over greens),

the Salmon (Agave glaze over vegetable risotto)

and the Lobster Ravioli (ravioli topped with a spicy fresh plum tomato sauce).

The salad was pretty good, being full of sweet beets and oranges, while the salmon wasn't too dry, delicious with the glaze and the risotto. I was a little disappointed with the ravioli though, the pasta skin being a little too thick, with only 4 raviolis on the plate.

After dinner, we went to watch "Run All Night" at the Showcase Cinemas De Lux Revere, an action movie starring Liam Neeson. Reviews said that this movie was much better than his previous movies, but though there was more of a plot in this movie, I still thought it was a pretty typical storyline. Oh well. At least I had a good time with my friend tonight.

Recommended Places to Visit: Sharon

Recreation

Events
Maple Sugaring Festival
293 Moose Hill Street

Berry Picking
Ward's Berry Farm
614 South Main Street


Cemeteries
Sharon Memorial Park
120 Canton Street


Museums
Modvic Steampunk House
36 Pleasant Street


Sharon Historical Society
16 High Street

Police and Fire Museum
1 School Street

Water Bodies
Gavin's Pond
Furnace Street and Gavins Pond Road

Mann's Pond
Billings Street near Deborah Sampson Street

Hammer Shop Pond
Ames Street near Cottage Street

Trowel Shop Pond
272 North Main Street


Beaches

Lake Massapoag
Massapoag Avenue and East Street

Sharon Community Center Beach
50 Dubinsky Drive

Hiking
Recommended:
Moose Hill Farm
396 Moose Hill Street

Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
293 Moose Hill Street

Tried:
Pierce Hill
Walpole Street

King Phillip's Rock
End of King Phillip's Road

Rattlesnake Hill
372 Mountain Street

Architecture

Monuments

Deborah Sampson Statue in front of Public Library
11 North Main Street

War Memorials
90 South Main Street

Places of Worship

Our Lady of Sorrows
59 Cottage Street

Temple Israel
125 Pond Street

Unitarian Church of Sharon
4 North Main Street

First Baptist Church
2 South Main Street

First Congregational Church
29 North Main Street

Islamic Center of New England
74 Chase Drive

Schools
Heights Elementary School
454 South Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Indian

Coriander Bistro
5 Post Office Square

Recommended Dishes:
Haas Ra Saag
Lamb Momos
Kulfi Badam Pista

Tried:
Italian

Pizza Market
376 South Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Steak and Egg Sub
Buffalo Mac and Cheese Pizza

Pizzigando Cafe
1 Pond Street

Recommended Dishes:
Chicken Buffalo Pizza
Chef's Salad

March 22nd 2015: The Maple Sugaring Festival in Sharon

After picking my friend up this morning, we headed to the Breakfast Club in the Allston area of Boston for breakfast.

I initially thought that it would be impossible to spend $40 here as required by my deal, but somehow we did, getting a large cup of Orange Juice, a Green Tea Tropical (Green tea leaves blended with sweet tropical fruits of pineapple & guava), a Banana Nutella Milkshake,

a Fresh Fruit Bowl,

the Atlantic Eggs Benedict (smoked salmon),

and the Fire Bomb Eggs Benedict (shaved sirloin, spicy hollandaise).

My milkshake was decently good, and the benedicts were actually pretty good, especially the spicy beef one.

After breakfast, we headed to the town of Sharon, where the Maple Sugaring Festival was going on at the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Unfortunately, as I had not bought tickets in advance, we would have to wait almost 2 hours for the next available tour, so we decided to head to Raynham to check out the interior of Wat Nawamintararachutis. The main door was shut, but thankfully we chanced upon someone leaving by a side door, and we were able to get in that way. Pictures I took of the interior, which was beautiful, follow.

after leaving the temple, we headed back to Sharon, in time for our tour, which meant walking on slippery snow covered trails or muddy ones to various stations in the woods.

The first one was about how sugar was discovered by the native Americans through the accidental boiling of sap mistaken for water.

The next station showed how tapping of maple trees is done, using a drill

and a specialized pail

to keep out deer and squirrels.

It was interesting to learn that sugar is stored in the roots initially during winter, then sent up the tree when temperatures warm up. In that time period before the buds start coming out, it is optimal to extract the sap then, because it becomes bitter after the leaves start sprouting with the introduction of other minerals into the sap. Also, the tree has to be of a minimum size to be able to survive the brunt of the sap extraction.

Next, we went to see how the filled buckets are carried,

and given samples of maple sugar to try.

Small but intense.

Next, the evaporating room where the sugar content is increased from ~3% in sap to 66% in maple syrup through the evaporation of the water content, which takes quite a while naturally.

It was interesting to note that the liquid has to be at 219F to be defined as adequately concentrated maple syrup, suitable for extraction.

It's just sad to know after all that work, 1 barrel of sap only yield 1 gallon of maple syrup.

With that, the tour was done. At this point, we realized that "Big Hero 6", which my friend had yet to watch, was still screening at the Sharon Cinemas 8 in town, so we seized the opportunity. My second time watching it, and still as good and funny a movie.

After the movie, it was time for dinner in Quincy, where we decided to check out the new place in town, Hakata Ramen, located at 673 Hancock Street.

I was disappointed at the ramen menu for only having 4 choices, despite the name of the place. 3899Nevertheless, we got the Hakata Gekikara Ramen (pork bone chili sauce soup ramen)

and the other only interesting item on the menu, the Eel Burger (with oshingo, avocado, lettuce).

The burger looked pretty simplistic, but it was really tasty, along with the purple sweet potato fries that came along with it.

With respect to the ramen, my friend felt it was the best ramen she has had, and it was pretty good in my opinion as well.

Overall though, the menu is overly simplistic, and the place is too small for me to give it a recommend. Feel free to check it out though.

After dinner, we headed to Yocha nearby for dessert, getting the Ying Yang and the Strawberry Madness (STRAWBERRY PUREE, DICED STRAWBERRIES, SLICED BANANAS W/ TAPIOCA & TOFU PUDDING).

My friend didn't like the sourness of the strawberry, but I actually thought it was pretty good. Still, she felt it was much better than at Sweet Kingdom in Allston, and way cheaper too.


With that, we finally called it a day to end a really fun day which actually only had the sugaring festival being planned.