Looking for desert in Zurich #Zurichsweets

If you have a sweet tooth, Bachmann’s will help you satisfy it!

I found this bakery while I walked around Zurich. The location I visited was huge and people were everywhere trying to get their order placed for the delectable sweet treats.

When you go, find a spot at the large counter and place your order!

Here’s some pictures so you can know what they have to offer.

So many macaroons! Yum yum 😋 But no pistachio flavor 😭

So many cake flavors 😊

Lonely croissant

Cupcakes for days!

The Hazelnut chocolate filled croissant was so delicious. I wanted to save it and devour it at the same time.

I needed a napkin to wipe the sugar off my face.

Foodie Friday – Brandy Ho’s @brandyhos #BrandyHos #Chinese #HunanFood #SanFrancisco #Foodie

Sep21

Brandy Ho’s Hunan Food www.brandyhos.com

When we were in San Francisco, we stayed in Chinatown.

We ventured out to check out a local place for dinner. Of course, we wanted Chinese food.

We found Brandy Ho’s Hunan Food. This is a family owned and run restaurant located in San Francisco’s old red-light district. They are known for their authentic, deliciously spicy Hunanese cuisine. From their website, they explain, “Hunan cuisine is infamous for its use of the chili pepper. They are also known for using smoking techniques in their cooking as well as mixing in lots of shallots and garlic.”

When we entered the restaurant, it did not seem too crowded. After looking at the menu, we decided to try it.

I ordered the Shredded Pork With Celery $11.95 and added Jasmine Rice + $1.95 . This dish consisted of pork sauteed with celery, carrots, bamboo shoots in a spicy ginger sauce.

I also ordered Egg Rolls $6.00 (Stuffed with vegetables & tree ear mushrooms).

Hubby ordered what he orders at every Chinese restaurant: beef and broccoli.

TOW: The food was tasty but spicier than anticipated. I like spicy food, but was not prepared for the heat. Even hubby mentioned that his food had more chili pepper in it than he was used to having.

I thought the business was slow (since it was not crowded), but as we sat there, I saw a lot of pickup orders. I guess most people chose not dine in but carry out.

If you are in the area, check them out!

217 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94113

Phone 415.788.7527

Foodie Friday #FreshCatchKAIMUKI #Hawaii #foodie

Jun4

It’s Foodie Friday!

Fresh Catch KAIMUKI
3109 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 735-7653
MON to SAT 10:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
SUN 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

I heard about Fresh Catch from Guy Fieri on the show Diner’s Drive Ins and Dives. As you know I have said before, Guy’s recommendations can be hit or miss. I have gone places that were as awesome as he said they would be. However, I have also gone places and wondered if they cooked a special meal for him and had actors posing as dedicated restaurant patrons ( I heard that happens).

So here we were.

I ordered the poke shrimp and fries covered with pork gravy and cheese.

Hubby ordered the deep-fried sushi roll.

The poke shrimp were okay. The sauce that coated them was too sweet for my tastes. I am used to shrimp cocktail with extra horseradish. Salty and a little spicy. This was not. Poke is okay but I do not envision myself eating it by the pound.

When I tasted the fries covered in pork gravy and cheese my reaction was very different.

WHAT IS THIS DELICIOUSNESS ?

The pork gravy was more of a pork stew. There were big chunks of pork in brown gravy sauce with melted cheese on top. The dish did not look very appetizing and I honestly did not expect it to be a flavorful as it was. I only ordered it because I knew the poke shrimp would not fill me up and I wanted something hot.

Everything about this dish was good. The fries were cooked just long enough that they were not crispy but held up well enough so as not to become mush under the gravy. The seasonings were on point. No additional salt needed. It was such a wonderfully made dish that I still dream about it. If this restaurant was not a 12-hour flight away, I could see myself trying to arrange another trip just to eat this dish.

The hubby also enjoyed his deep-fried sushi roll.

I agree that Fresh Catch is a great place to eat. Guy Fieri hit a home run featuring this restaurant. Personally, I needed to redeem myself because the last few of Fieri’s picks that I suggested to hubby were not up to snuff. I was beginning to lose my “restaurant selection” rights.

If you are ever in Honolulu, you need to try this place. If you did not rent a car, you need to rent one to go here. I am telling you, it is worth the trip.

Foodie Friday #graze #snackfood

Apr3

I debated doing Foodie Friday this month since I am already doing an April challenge that is consuming my free time. Check out my A to Z blog posts throughout the month. Anyways, as you can see, I decided I did not want to skip a month. I will make this short and sweet.

Foodie Friday is all about delish food and I have found this wonderful snack subscription service at Graze.com. My friend told me about it because she knows I am a foodie.

Graze provides wholesome, portion controlled sized snack options delivered to your each week. I admit the concept intrigued me. However, I was worried that I would get snacks that I did not like because you do not choose specifically which snacks are in your subscription box each week. I rated their snacks in one of four categories: never send, try, like, or love.

In the beginning, I had several snacks that I said that I would like to try.

Now many of those “will try” have been changed to love.

My absolute fave so far has been Chili & Lime Pistachios. I love pistachios and the added seasoning kicked up the snack to a whole different level. I wish they had included an additional packet of the seasoning so that I could just eat that. It was a little spicy, salty with a hint of lime sour.

Second fave is Caramel apples. And this snack was on 80 calories!!!! While I wish the apples had been crunchy, the caramel sauce was perfection. Knowing the snack was 80 calories meant that I could eat all my caramel sauce. I am very picky when it comes to caramel sauce because many times it is too sweet.

The other two snacks in the picture are Thai Sweet Chili bites and Cinnamon Fig roll.

These are gourmet snacks and the company is committed to making snack food healthy. The quality can be tasted in their products. I hope they keep making these for a very long time.

If you want to try for yourself, first box is free when you use my reward code AMARYL6XP

Or you can click here https://www.graze.com/us/p/AMARYL6XU

And Graze management, if you are reading this, I am willing to be a food tester for future snack flavor combinations.

Foodie Friday: Go to Oregon for #Sushi

Mar6

I am starting a new feature the first Friday of each month that I am calling “Foodie Friday” . While my blog reviews have mainly been about books, I am dedicating the first Friday of ever month to be about food, restaurants, and all things food related.

foodiefriday

When I was in Bend, OR a few months ago, I asked the hotel front desk for suggestions for dinner. They said, “If you like sushi, then you will love 5 Fusion”. That sounded like my type of place.

Located in downtown Bend, I went during Happy Hour. The executive chef has received many accolades so I am anticipating excellence. Of course, the restaurant was packed. Since I was by myself, I decided to sit at the sushi bar and watch them work. While he looked different from his head shot in all the touristy magazines, the executive chef was there churning out roll after sushi roll. He was a machine. There was no time for chit chat with me because he was all business. That did not bother me because he was in his zone.

A waiter came to take my order. He was friendlier, asking all the small talk questions.

I ordered a variety because Happy Hour prices included $5 sushi rolls and appetizers. Yea that is no misprint.

Tempura – battered squash, shrimp, asparagus, and onion – BEST tempura I have ever tasted. I usually do not order tempura because when not done properly, (1) the crispy batter becomes soft too quickly from wet veggies, (2) the batter has no flavor, or (3) the batter does not allow for the soy sauce to coat without becoming soggy. I am very particular about my tempura. 5 Fusion has ruined me for all others. It was so good. Perfect. Since tempura’s main nemesis is moisture, I was impressed that the batter stayed so crispy.
Shrimp tempura roll – tempura shrimp (which we already established was delicious), avocado, cucumber
Spicy salmon roll – raw salmon sashimi, avocado, cucumber, sriracha chili sauce
Edamame – I can never get enough of lightly salted boiled soybeans.
Angry Mango cocktail – habanero infused vodka with mango puree – sweet and spicy and cold at the same time. Is cold heat even possible? Sounds like an oxymoron but it worked so well.

I ate all the sushi rolls, but took the tempura and edamame leftovers to snack on later. I know that sushi is filling at the time, but an hour later, I feel like I could eat again.

The Opinionated Woman’s verdict: Currently my favorite sushi place in the US. I recommend it if you are anywhere near Bend OR.