Old Town Cafe

4288 Dublin Blvd, Unit 109, Dublin, CA
(925) 833-8300
http://www.otcafe.com/

I love Asian cuisine, and so whenever I go visit my boyfriend in the East Bay, we usually end up going to Old Town Cafe in Dublin for Singaporean food. After going there and ordering the same stuff so many times, I must say, the quality is very consistent.

Roti Canal with Red Curry Sauce -- Grilled Indian-style multi-layered flat bread served with curry dipping sauce

I had roti canal at two other restaurant before, and none of them were similar to each other. Old Town's Roti Canal is thicker and rounder but also flaky. The last time I went though, it was a bit more burnt compared to the other times I was there; nevertheless, it's delicious whether I eat it with or without the curry sauce.

Laksa Noodle -- Delicious rice noodles bathed in spicy coconut-curry broth topped with prawns, fish cakes, bean sprouts and egg.

My boyfriend likes the Laksa Noodle...so do I actually, but since he orders it, I usually then order something else. The curry broth was very rich. It looks oily but it doesn't really feel oily when eating it. The noodle is rice noodle that is round, a bit chewy and slippery. It doesn't absorb the broth too well, but eating them on the spoon with the broth gives off a very flavorful bite! My favorite thing in this whole bowl besides the noodle is the fried tofu that comes with it. It soaks up the curry, so when you bite into it, all the curry broth leaks out into your mouth. Yum!

Hokkien Mien -- Singapore style yellow noodles and rice vermicelli wet stir fried with seafood, pork, chives, sprouts and eggs in rich stock.

This is what I always order when I am at Old Town. I had had Hokkien Mien at two other places also, and none can compare to Old Town's. The Hokkien Mien at other places were either drench in excessive oil or excessive soy sauce, thus very oily and salty!! This one is good--still a bit salty but good! I like the noodle combination, the yellow noodle is chewy and the vermicelli is slippery and much mushy.

Overall, Old Town Cafe is a pretty good place to eat at. The service is just okay--the waiters and waitresses come when you wave at them, but that never keeps me from going back.

Orange Raspberry Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes awhile ago and decided to make some mini ones for potluck at work. These are inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis' Todd's Orange and Raspberry Cake recipe. I tried this recipe both in cupcakes, mini cupcakes and regular cake form. They all worked very well.



I also modified the recipe bit just a tiny bit. Instead of using creme fraiche, since it's hard to find sometimes, I use Greek yogurt. The texture of the frosting still turned out very smooth, velvety and tasty.

Here is the recipe from Giada if you like to try it out! Its super easy and delicious!

Honey Lemon Cupcakes

I was inspired to make this cupcake when I saw a photo of cupcakes with some candy bees in Women's Day magazines. I was really excited to make the bees more than the cupcakes actually, haha.

I used yellow peanut M&M's for the bees. In the magazines, they use toosie roll for the stripes, but I am not a big toosie rolls fan, so I used chocolate.  I melted some chocolate and with a fork, I put eyes and stripes on the bees. For the wings, the magazine used clear spice drop candy, which I had no idea what it is, so I used sliced almond instead.

The frosting for my first batch was  super duper sour. So I tasted the frosting as I mix the second one. Working with lemon is tricky since they are so sour.

Buzzzzzz....

Tomato & Mozzarella

One of my favorite thing about Italian food...or maybe two...are tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese! They are a match made in heaven! Put them in anything and viola--deliciousness! So not long ago, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella was on sale in the supermarket, and I just could not turn out such an opportunity to fulfill my taste bud in a money saving way.

So with the two ingredients I made a pasta dish and a salad dish. Both recipes are very simple and easy.

Tomato and Mozzarella Penne:

serving size: 2

Ingredients:

4 oz of Penne Pasta

6 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Zuchinni
1 Cup Broccoli, chopped

1.5 oz Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
3 Leaves of Fresh Basil, shredded

1 Clove of Garlic
Chili Flakes

1/2 tsp Olive Oil

Instruction:

1. In a pot of boiling water, boil the broccoli and zuchinni briefly until soft. Drain.

2. In the same pot, cook the pasta until aldene. Drain.

2. In a frying pan, add in olive oil and garlic. Cook until brown.

3. Stir in the pre-cooked zuchinni and broccoli.

4. Add in the pasta and stir. After combined everything, add in tomato and stir.

5. Lastly, add about 3 tablespoon of pasta water into the frying pan.

6. Place everything on a plate, add mozzarella, basil and chilli flake, and serve when hot.

Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

Serving Size: 1
Ingredients:

1/2 Big Tomato, sliced
1 1/2 oz of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced
1 Cups of Baby Spinach
1 Slices of Bread (optional)
2 Leaves of Basil, shredded,
2 Tsp of Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar

Instruction:

1. Toast a piece of bread and place onto a plate. Spread Dijon mustard on top of it.

2. Place spinach on top of toast.

3. Assemble tomatoes and mozzarella in alternate fashion. Slice by slice.

4. Top of shredded basil.

5. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on top before serving.

Roadside BBQ

3751 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA
(415)221-7421
http://www.roadside-bbq.com/

Going down the 7x7.com 2010 SF Big Eat List, Roadside BBQ was probably the only non-Mexican and non-fancy grilled place. I was a little eager to try it since I pass by it all the time and it's easy on my wallet.

Memphis Pulled Pork Sandwich--Slow-cooked and served lean and tender. Served “Memphis Style” —topped w/ homemade cole slaw

The Memphis Pull Pork Sandwich was the item to try on the list. The bread is very soft, and the pulled pork was tender but not too flavorful. I had to add some BBQ sauce to enhanced the flavor. There is a bit of cole slaw in the sandwich but I felt like it would taste better if there are more. If only they add more cole slaw for the extra crunch, because otherwise, I felt like I am eating a sloppy joe but of course, with better meat.

Smoked BBQ Chicken--Marinated, seasoned and slowly cooked for 4 hours until tender and juicy

The chicken was just okay...it was a bit dry. Other than the skin, the meat was not very flavorful. The vegetables on the other hand was very moist with grilled flavor. The corn bread broke apart very easily and was too soft to my likely.

I was a little disappointed with the BBQ meat there, but at least they have a couple of BBQ sauces to choose from--spicy one, honey mustard, etc.

I think I would only go back convienent-wise, otherwise I'll go elsewhere.