June 26th 2015: Cambridge Dance Party 2015

My friend and I were to attend the annual Cambridge Dance Party tonight in Cambridge, but before that, we headed to dinner at Catalyst, a pretty upscale place nearby.

We got the Chicken Liver Mousse (grain mustard, country bread, herb salad, truffle vinaigrette, brioche croutons) for an appetiser,

The Truffled Mushroom Soup (tarragon creme fraiche, brioche croutons) for soup,

The Tournedos of Beef (foie gras butter, creamed Kale, bacon, roasted shallot, black truffle sauce) for the main course,

and the White Chocolate Panna Cotta (Rhubarb consomme, whipped ginger Cremeux, orange and elderflower Sorbet, candied marcona almonds) for dessert.

The Mousse was excellent, going well with the Salad, as was the soup with its truffle flavour and fresh mushrooms. The beef was amazingly tender, the constituents of the dish going really well together especially with the Kale in it. I took a while to get used to the taste of the dessert, but over time I grew to like it,  especially the Crunchy almonds.

Overall, dinner one of the better meals I had to date in Cambridge.

After dinner, we walked to the Cambridge City Hall, where the Cambridge Dance Party was already buzzing with life.

We did not stay long though for fear of a terror attack. It was a nice night out in Cambridge though.

June 25th 2015: Dinner with Friends at Pho 2000, Boston

I had a meetup dinner at Pho 2000 at 198 Adams Street in Boston to go to tonight, but before that, I brought my friend to Thomas Park nearby for a bit.

UMass Boston was under construction unfortunately, so we headed to the restaurant, although we were a little early. As we were hungry, we decided to get the Nem Cuon Nha Trang (Fresh Spring Rolls with special homemade ham cake) for appetizers, 

and the Sam Bo Luong (Combination Drink Chinese Style) and Sinh To Trai Cay (avocado and durian shake blended with ice and sweetened condensed milk) for drinks.

As it would take some time to come, we also ordered the Special Grilled Catfish (with fresh vegetables, rice paper, rice vermicelli with homemade sauce served with peanuts and scallions).

Everything was really good, especially the avocado and durian drink. 

At this point, my friends arrived, and we ordered the Bo 7 Mon (seven courses of beef), consisting of Bò Nhúng Dấm (beef sliced thin and dipped in a hot pot filled with a clear broth mixed with vinegar),

the Bo Nhung Bo (thin sliced beef, fried with butter over a hot plate),

the Bo Tai Chanh (beef marinated in fresh lemon juice and dipped in a special sauce), the Bo Lui (beef skewers marinated in garlic, black peppers, lemongrass sesame and soy sauce), the Bo Nuong La Lot (Beef marinated with sesame oil, pepper, salt, wrapped in La Lot Leaf), the Cha Dum (steamed ground beef, mixed with salt, pepper, peanuts, lemongrass and onion) and the Chao Bo (Beef Rice Soup).

The food was all good, but we were really surprised that the fish, which was pretty small, was almost $50! There are equally good places close by with cheaper prices. Not coming back again.

June 24th 2015: Cherry Picking in Northborough

I left work early today to go cherry picking with my friend at Touga's Farm in Northborough, as this was the first day of the season for the farm.

There was a tractor ride available,

so we took it to the cherry fields.

At the counter there, they instructed what kind of cherries to look for that were ripe. Basically, the darker the better.

They also showed us how not to pick the cherries, pulling out entire branches, as the buds for next year's crop are there as well.

Apparently they were all picked out of the yellow cherries, but we were still able to taste some good ones.

It was hard to differentiate the ripest cherries at times though due to the light.

Eventually, we ended up with about 3 pounds of cherries.

After leaving the cherries, we decided to head to the farm store to get some cider donuts.

Pretty good for the first time.

After my friend left, I decided to check out the Central House Tavern and Restaurant in Westborough. This place is pretty much a dive bar, with nothing much on the menu. I got the Pastrami and Swiss Sandwich,

which wasn't too bad, but not filling or anything special either.

While walking back to my car, I decided to get more food from Sabatini's Ristorante and Pizzeria nearby. I got the Spaghetti alla Carbonara (with bacon, ham, alfredo sauce and romano), which sadly was pretty bland.

Not a good day for trying out new restaurants. Oh well. At least I had fun picking cherries.

June 23rd 2015: Lunch in Shrewsbury, Dinner in Millbury

During work today, my friend wanted to have lunch with me, so I decided to take her to Pho Sure in Shrewsbury, which I have been to recently.

This time, my friend got the Special Spicy Bowl (Bun Bo Hue, Thick Rice Noodles with slices of flank, brisket and pork ham in a spicy broth) and a Hot Tea

while I got the Ramen Noodles (Mi Goi, with pork and shrimp).

Both dishes were pretty good, although my ramen was definitely of the instant sort.

After work, we decided to head to Millbury for dinner at Feng Asian Bistro, which I have been to many times in the past with my friends.

This time, we got the Aged Miso Soup (exotic mushrooms and scallions),

the Duck Spring Rolls (house-made hoisin sauce, shoestring sweet potato fries),

the Crispy Schezuan Shredded Beef (with a sauce of chilli pepper, hoisin sauce, ginger, scallion, celery and rice vinegar) and the Summer Roll (shrimp tempura, lobster salad, fresh mango, lettuce with sesame soy paper, topped with shichmi yellow tail, served with miso mustard and eel BBQ sauces).

The soup was actually really good, being not too salty unlike at most places. The spring rolls were really good with the sauce as well, although there wasn't any duck to speak of. The sushi I did not like because of the weird sour yuzu taste, but the beef was delicious as well, if only we could finish it.

Overall, still a good dining experience, although not the best I have had here.

After dinner, we entered the Blackstone Valley 14 Cinema De Lux from the top, which I have not done before. Pretty nice views from the second floor, though with not much function, with the ticket offices and cinemas being on the ground floor.

"Inside Out" was a really funny and touching movie, definitely worth checking out.

June 21st 2015: Spending the Day in Somerville

My friend and I spent most of today at the Starbucks at Assembly Row in Somerville, heading to Fuji at Assembly nearby for lunch. This place is much bigger and nicer than the one at Kendall Square which I have been to in the past.

My friend could not stop commenting how cute the little teapot of soy sauce provided was.

For food, we got the Korean Spicy Seafood & Beef Tofu Soup (Korean spicy soup with shrimp, scallop, red crab meat, beef, zucchini, onions and tofu)

and the Bruins Roll (salmon, tuna and asparagus inside, topped with tobiko, uni, scallions),

along with the Green Tea Tiramisu (served with a scoop of ice cream and mixed fruits) for dessert.

This time, our dining experience was much better than at Kendall, especially with the presentation, although I had to tell my friend not to take the teapot home.

When dinner time came, we went with my friend's family to Bergamot in town for a seven course dinner. We have done this before almost a year ago, and after a really good dining experience, we wanted to do it again. This time, for the first course, we got a sort of Ceviche, which was a little on the sour side.

The Roasted Beets (Roasted Garlic, Goat Cheese, Hibiscus Honey, Pistachio, Ras El Hanout), were a delight to eat,

especially with the little bits of sweet crispiness.

The Pork Rillettes (Chicharrón, Roasted Peach, Avocado, Hazelnuts, Chimichurri) were a little on the fatty and salty side, but was actually quite good with all the other ingredients put together.

The Slow Roasted Grits (Baby Carrot, Turnips, Braised Greens, Ham Hock Jus) were well presented,

but a little on the salty side as well.

The Ma Po Tofu was just so-so, but that's coming from an Asian so go figure.

The Grilled Mahi Mahi (Cabbage Slaw, Smoked Black Beans, Crème Fraîche) was really good, being cooked just right and not dry.

Finally, the Hanger Steak (Fingerling Potato, Egg, Pickled Radicchio, Picholine Olives, Romesco) was pretty good, although my friend compared it to sirloin, saying it was too hard. Of course sirloin is better than hanger steak.

For dessert, we got the Pineapple Sorbet, which came with cereal flakes. Simply awesome.

Another interesting thing on the side that my friend's father got was a pot of Jasmine Tea which did not look like much at first,

but the bulb at the bottom actually opened up eventually and released the flowers.

The last dessert was a delicious mix of peanuts, caramel, ice cream and mango in sweet chili sauce, which tasted like an Asian dish.

Once again, it was an anticlimactic finish though, with a serving of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Overall, a pretty good meal as always, although we both agreed that the first time was much better.