Azuki Bean Mochiko Cupcakes

I had some leftover sweetened canned azuki bean paste in the fridge that I would hate to see go to waste, so I made some cupcakes- Asian style. Instead of regular flour, this was made with rice flour, specifically Mochiko flour. I can usually find this at our local Asian grocery stores. These cupcakes are like a blend of mochi and cupcakes made with regular flour in the mouth. They are a bit on the chewy side. The dallop of sweetened azuki bean paste in the center is bliss. I couldn't resist them when they were still warm... a few minutes out of the oven.

1/2 box of Mochiko rice flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup powder sugar
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
azuki bean paste

Mix the eggs, rice flour, oil, powder sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and baking powder together. Grease muffin pan. (I used aluminum cupcake liners and greased them. Avoid paper liners if you want to use any liners. Cupcakes will stick to the paper liners.) Fill each cup with 2/3 of batter, spoon in a dallop of azuki bean paste, then top with 1/3 of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check to see if they're done with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, then they're done.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

My Love for Chocolate

Thanks to my bestfriend who knows my love for chocolate, I now have a new addition to my library: Scharffen Berger's The Essence of Chocolate.



It actually talked about how Scharffen Berger started. Reading it made me appreciate their products even more. I had some free time last week and experimented with one of their recipes: chocolate sorbet. The finished product was so smooth in the mouth that it tasted almost like a piece of frozen chocolate bar. The great thing was that it was fat-free. Yes, fat free. This will be my newest chocolate treat.

Bacchanalia

Recently I had a privilege to dine at Bacchanalia, a contemporary American restaurant in Atlanta. It was truly an experience I will not forget (next to Rome's Quinzi e Gabrieli).

The entire dining experience, from beginning to the end, was truly enjoyable. It's a four-course prix-fixe menu. The chef threw in a lot of complimentary items in between the courses, like soup, pastries, cookies. We even had a complimentary peach and buttermilk smoothie. Yes, buttermilk.

Everything they served was like a taste explosion in the mouth. I would have never thought of some of the pairings. The gingersnap cookie paired well with the peach buttermilk smoothie. Poached pears went well with my flan.

The timing of each course was perfect. We didn't have to wait too long nor did it feel like we were rushed. Portions were just right. We ate enough to savor each course without feeling stuffed. Service was excellent. Even though it was a dressy restaurant, it did not feel "stuffy" inside. The ambiance was on the casual, laid-back side.

I'd definitely try to hit this place again... maybe when I get a bonus. :)

1198 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, Georgia
404.365.0410

New York Eats

There are no other cities like New York City in the US. I love its liveliness. Being out at three o'clock in the morning can seem like eight o'clock at night. It's a city with a lot of diversity as well. I had a great time eating my way through it a few weeks ago.

There seems to be a lot of Japanese presence in the restaurant scenes. Cafe Zaiya (18 E 41st St) near Grand Central is a great place for lunch or afternoon snack. They have all kinds of bento boxes, baked goods, rice balls, and even a Beard Papa stall inside. I was hooked on their rice balls, specifically the spicy tuna ones I went back right before flying out to get a big bag of goodies for the plane ride home. In order to keep the seaweed fresh and crisp, they package them so that the seaweed is in between these plastic sheets. If you go at the right time, these rice balls will still be warm. Delicious.

Men Kui Tei (60 W 56th St, between 5th & 6th Ave) is a tiny tiny ramen shop. Tonkotsu ramen has become my favorite since my recent visit to Seattle's Samurai Ramen. Theirs was not as tasty, but I am not complaining because there are no ramen shops I know of in Atlanta.

Pizzas from John's Pizzeria (278 Bleecker Street) were absolutely something to remember. New York style... thin crust with the right amount of sauce. They were nice to make mine without cheese without looking at me funny. Cheese makes me throw up. I guess it's a taste aversion thing... since as long as I can remember.

I made my round to Forty Carrots (Metro level at Bloomingdale's 1000 3rd Avenue) for their well-known frozen yogurt. It's on the sweet-side for me. I had coffee and chocolate flavors. Their small size was huge. Compared to the Korean yogurt chains, this is more on the sweet side but much better than TCBY, while Korean yogurt chains make frozen yogurt that are more tart. Nevertheless, Forty Carrots still is superior.

Seattle Eats

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago for a mini-vacation. It's always fun to discover restaurant scenes in a new city. Seattle's got a reputation for coffee... and I actually skipped out on that since Starbucks is literally everywhere in the world. It seems like in Seattle Starbucks is on every street corner.



Pike Place Market is a big tourist attraction (trap?). I wonder if the locals actually shop and dine there. The place was packed when I was there, filled with a bunch of tourists with their cameras hanging from their necks. We checked out Jack's Fish Spot inside the market. There was a metallic counter behind where they sold fresh seafood. You can order some fresh cooked seafood there. Cioppino was a tasty treat in the afternoon. Fish and chips were on the greasy side... I guess what do you expect? Fish and chips are fried. Fried cod was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Too bad the individual pieces of fish were on the skimpy side. Nevertheless, it was the experience of eating inside the noisy (and dirty) market that I will remember.




Cafe Campagne was a little gem nearby the market. It was a nice place to escape from the chaos of the street and the market scene. The duck confit served with thyme skillet potatoes was wonderfully made. I had poisson du jour, which on that day was fresh trout, served with risotto cooked with pork stock. The trout was very moist and tasty. There was no hint of fishiness. It tasted like a freshly-caught fish.

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley
Seattle, WA 98101


Samurai Noodle, located next to Umajimaya Market, was also a little hidden gem. Tonkatsu ramen (pork broth) was excellent. Ramen was cooked to order and the broth was as tasty as one could ever imagined. The only downside to this place was that seating was extremely limited. We had to wait for a little bit and watch others slurp down their ramen before we could satisfy our hunger.

Samurai Noodle
606 5th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98138




When in Washington during July, cherries are found everywhere. Rainier cherries, the "cream of the crop" cherries are harvested usually each June or July and are best grown in the Pacific Northwest. A third of the crops get eaten by birds each season. I guess this is why they are so expensive. We found a little cherry stand on the side of the road on our way to Mount Rainier and got us four pounds for $7. This was the best snack.