I thought the Tim Tam Slams were a nice original snack and decided to try some variations. Some other things I've tried instead of hot chocolate were a Taiwanese multigrain drink and black coffee. I thought the original was too much of a chocolate rush, so replacing the hot cocoa with something else was natural. Both the multigrain drink and coffee are normally snack items that one would drink with a chocolate pastry, so they still went well together. Both drinks were also thin enough to get sucked through the Tim Tam. As with the cocoa, the drink must be very hot because the temperature will drop as soon as the first Tim Tam is dipped in. It must stay hot in order for the liquid to melt through the spongy middle.
Something else I tried was replacing the Tim Tam instead of the hot chocolate. I figured it should somewhat work with a Kit Kat. It doesn't have a fast melting spongy layer, but the wafers in the middle should act like a straw. Sure enough, it worked on my first try, but doesn't with every piece. There's also no collapsing effect. So we can't really call it a Kit Kat Slam.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Snow Day
Today is the start of my vacation week, but all my colleagues got the day off today as Wiley (and probably every other NY area company) closed due to the storm. So that means I won't get any emails for at least one vacation day!
The snow came mostly yesterday and overnight. It's probably the most accumulation I've seen since living in the city. This goes all the way back to 1999. I'd say we got about 24 inches. The bulk of it has stopped, but the strong winds are still blowing snow around.
The snow came mostly yesterday and overnight. It's probably the most accumulation I've seen since living in the city. This goes all the way back to 1999. I'd say we got about 24 inches. The bulk of it has stopped, but the strong winds are still blowing snow around.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tim Tam Slam!
Edith sent me a pack of Tim Tams from Australia a few months ago, but I was saving it for a family occasion. Christmas Eve was the perfect night to try it because it was just the 4 of us and it was a cold night for hot chocolate and Tim Tam Slams! After dinner at Ai Passion, Emily and I went to Rite Aid hoping to get some Swiss Miss hot chocolate. They were sold out, but luckily, there was a Dunkin Donuts on the way to my parents' house. So we had everything we needed for the Tim Tam Slams.
Here are the basic steps:
1) Prepare (or buy) some hot chocolate. Make sure it stays hot, otherwise you'll lose the melting/collapsing effect.
2) Bite off the ends of the Tim Tam so that the spongy layer in the middle is exposed. You want to bite carefully without collapsing the biscuit. It helps if the Tim Tams are stored in a relatively cool dry place.
3) Dip one end of the biscuit into the hot chocolate and use it as a straw by sucking on the other end. You have to do this for a few seconds before the hot chocolate makes its way up through the spongy layer, melting it and collapsing the biscuit into the ultimate chocolate implosion.
Enjoy!
Related: Arnott's, How To Video, Wikipedia
Here are the basic steps:
1) Prepare (or buy) some hot chocolate. Make sure it stays hot, otherwise you'll lose the melting/collapsing effect.
2) Bite off the ends of the Tim Tam so that the spongy layer in the middle is exposed. You want to bite carefully without collapsing the biscuit. It helps if the Tim Tams are stored in a relatively cool dry place.
3) Dip one end of the biscuit into the hot chocolate and use it as a straw by sucking on the other end. You have to do this for a few seconds before the hot chocolate makes its way up through the spongy layer, melting it and collapsing the biscuit into the ultimate chocolate implosion.
Enjoy!
Related: Arnott's, How To Video, Wikipedia
Ai Passion
Location: 20-02 Utopia Parkway, Whitestone, NY 11357Cuisine: Asian
Hours: SUN (1:30pm-10pm); MON-THU (11:30am-10:30pm); FRI (11:30am-11:30pm); SAT (12:30pm-11:30pm)
Phone: (718) 352-8100
Email: eat@aipassion.com
Website: www.aipassion.com
Prices: $15/person (Lunch)
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 7
Environment: 10
Frequency: Unique
Most of my cousins were away this Christmas, so we had Christmas Eve in a restaurant... don't think we've done that before, but it was a nice quiet night. We tried a new place and found a winner! Of all the new restaurants I tried with my family recently, I think Ai Passion is the first I would definitely go back to. Please check out the album below for details on the dishes we had.
The service was very good. I think our waiter was new because he made some minor mistakes, but everyone was nice. Food came out one dish at a time, which is a slower pace than we're used to in downtown Flushing, but always nice to know they're not batch-cooking (or microwaving) the food. Everything was fresh (except the carrots).
Ai Passion is a gem on Utopia Parkway!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Mini Ninjas Controls for PC
Naturally, there's a different hack for every PC game, even if it's by the same company. So Mini Ninjas (also by Eidos) has an XBox 360 emulation mode for the Logitech Rumble Pad 2 USB too, but it's not as straightforward as Batman Arkham Asylum.
1) As with Batman Arkham Asylum, you won't install the Logitech software. Just plug in the gamepad.
2) In Regedit, do a search for "Logitech RumblePad 2 USB"
3) Right-click and modify the name of the item to "XBOX 360 Controller for Windows"
4) Click here to download the XBox input emulation files.
5) Unzip these and place them into C:\Program Files\Eidos\Mini Ninjas
6) Also download this file and copy to the same location in step 5, overwriting the existing one. It's a version of the file I edited to emulate the PS3 controller.
1) As with Batman Arkham Asylum, you won't install the Logitech software. Just plug in the gamepad.
2) In Regedit, do a search for "Logitech RumblePad 2 USB"
3) Right-click and modify the name of the item to "XBOX 360 Controller for Windows"
4) Click here to download the XBox input emulation files.
5) Unzip these and place them into C:\Program Files\Eidos\Mini Ninjas
6) Also download this file and copy to the same location in step 5, overwriting the existing one. It's a version of the file I edited to emulate the PS3 controller.
Batman Arkham Asylum Controls for PC
Since my desktop is now an all-powerful gaming system, I thought I would try out some of the games I had on PS3 for comparison. If it was even possible, the graphics for Batman Arkham Asylum were actually better. There are a lot of little extra details not in the console version of the game, like spider webs that get knocked down in the ventilation shafts, extra particles when Batman rips vents off and background objects breaking during fights. Also, the movements are much smoother and of course... it can be played at 1080p.But the all of the improvements of PC versions in general, the one thing I always hated is play controls. No game is ready to go once you open the package as with console games. You have to configure your gamepad, which often involves a lot of hacking. I looked all over the internet to see how people were doing it for this game. I didn't find a single complete instruction set, so I decided to make one. You'll need a Logitech Rumble Pad 2 USB.
1) Plug your gamepad into a USB port and go with all of the generic drivers used by Windows... don't install any Logitech software. Batman Arkham Asylum will detect the controller and apply some kind of XBox 360 emulation for it. This pretty much gives you all the functions in the game, but they're all scrambled if you're a PS3 gamer. And the controls are inverted.
2) What you have to do it go into C:\Program Files\Eidos\Batman Arkham Asylum\BmGame\Config\ and edit a few lines in DefaultInput.ini. I already did this for you. Just click here to download. Then overwrite the one in the /Config directory.
I basically found the lines for controlling movement and also swapped buttons 1 & 4 and 2 & 3. You should be ready to play now!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Weekend So Far
Gift Wrapping
I finally got to gift wrapping... a little bit before I met Lewis yesterday and then the rest today. As I did last year, all gifts were wrapped in green (as in environmentally friendly) paper... either brown paper bags or holiday circulars. I didn't buy any wrapping paper this year. Then I grouped each family's gifts together in recycled bags. It was good to get that out of the way a week early.
Home Theater
The home theater project from last week was wrapped up as I got the 2 optical cables I was missing to complete the system. So now the digital cable box and PS3 are connected with fiber optics for crystal clear 5.1 audio. Movies sound great as expected. I tested it with Casino Royale Blu-ray. The intro. scene was a good test because of the breaking ceramics and great title soundtrack. Basketball games actually sound good too. I didn't expect that at all, but it has a stadium like feel because you can hear ambient noise from the fans coming from all directions. Video games are also great... played Batman Arkham Asylum, Gran Turismo 5 and Force Unleashed II (DEMO).
Core i7
I noticed that sometimes my new desktop system would reach 92 degrees in temperature, so I quickly ordered 2 extra fans... one exhaust fan for the slot area and a 5.25" bay for the front. That dropped the temperature down to a more comfortable 83 degrees. So the system also looks more modded now. There are only 2 5.25" bays left... one is reserved for a future BLu-ray burner. The slot fan I added also has blue LED lights, making my system look super geeky.
I finally got to gift wrapping... a little bit before I met Lewis yesterday and then the rest today. As I did last year, all gifts were wrapped in green (as in environmentally friendly) paper... either brown paper bags or holiday circulars. I didn't buy any wrapping paper this year. Then I grouped each family's gifts together in recycled bags. It was good to get that out of the way a week early.
Home Theater
The home theater project from last week was wrapped up as I got the 2 optical cables I was missing to complete the system. So now the digital cable box and PS3 are connected with fiber optics for crystal clear 5.1 audio. Movies sound great as expected. I tested it with Casino Royale Blu-ray. The intro. scene was a good test because of the breaking ceramics and great title soundtrack. Basketball games actually sound good too. I didn't expect that at all, but it has a stadium like feel because you can hear ambient noise from the fans coming from all directions. Video games are also great... played Batman Arkham Asylum, Gran Turismo 5 and Force Unleashed II (DEMO).
Core i7
I noticed that sometimes my new desktop system would reach 92 degrees in temperature, so I quickly ordered 2 extra fans... one exhaust fan for the slot area and a 5.25" bay for the front. That dropped the temperature down to a more comfortable 83 degrees. So the system also looks more modded now. There are only 2 5.25" bays left... one is reserved for a future BLu-ray burner. The slot fan I added also has blue LED lights, making my system look super geeky.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Paris Baguette
Location: 136-20 38th Avenue, Flushing, NY
Cuisine: Chinese, Vegetarian
Phone: (718) 713-0404
Website: www.parisbaguetteusa.com
Prices: $5/person (Snack)
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 6
Environment: 5
Frequency: Unique
We probably hung out at Happy Buddha for over 2 hours just catching up since the last time I saw Lewis was when we had our little SCAD reunion in June. So we headed out to the food court in Queens Crossing even though the Happy Buddha staff wasn't rushing us. At Queens Crossing, I was looking for the organic coffee place that I normally buy from, but they closed down. Taiwanese chain, Kung Fu Tea will take its place soon.
So instead, we ended up in Korean chain, Paris Baguette... yup "Korean!" For some reason, Koreans like naming things "Paris." There were so many choices and a lot of pastries looked good. I was eyeing all the things that had cheese in them and then finally decided on a green tea w/ cream cheese bun. Both the bread and cheese filling were rich with flavor. They also had organic iced coffee like the place that closed down, although the price per portion was nearly double. Lewis had an iced tea that looked and tasted more like water.
The dining space is very tight and not well maintained. There were crumbs and grease all over the seats. I had to wipe it down before sitting down. The decor is nice, but impractical. They had lamps hanging down low enough that the average person needs to duck while walking around.
Cuisine: Chinese, Vegetarian
Phone: (718) 713-0404
Website: www.parisbaguetteusa.com
Prices: $5/person (Snack)
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 6
Environment: 5
Frequency: Unique
We probably hung out at Happy Buddha for over 2 hours just catching up since the last time I saw Lewis was when we had our little SCAD reunion in June. So we headed out to the food court in Queens Crossing even though the Happy Buddha staff wasn't rushing us. At Queens Crossing, I was looking for the organic coffee place that I normally buy from, but they closed down. Taiwanese chain, Kung Fu Tea will take its place soon.
So instead, we ended up in Korean chain, Paris Baguette... yup "Korean!" For some reason, Koreans like naming things "Paris." There were so many choices and a lot of pastries looked good. I was eyeing all the things that had cheese in them and then finally decided on a green tea w/ cream cheese bun. Both the bread and cheese filling were rich with flavor. They also had organic iced coffee like the place that closed down, although the price per portion was nearly double. Lewis had an iced tea that looked and tasted more like water.
The dining space is very tight and not well maintained. There were crumbs and grease all over the seats. I had to wipe it down before sitting down. The decor is nice, but impractical. They had lamps hanging down low enough that the average person needs to duck while walking around.
Happy Buddha
Location: 135-37 37th Avenue, Flushing, NY
Cuisine: Chinese, Vegetarian
Hours: DAILY (11am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 358-0079
Website: www.happybuddha.com
Prices: $10/person (Lunch)
Credit Cards: Cash only
Food: 7
Service: 8
Value: 7
Environment: 9
Frequency: All the Time
I had the day off today, so I spent most of the time catching up with Lewis who had been in Taiwan for 2 months. We ended up at Happy Buddha because it's the only Downtown Flushing restaurant Lewis can eat at, being a strict vegetarian. All ratings are still the same as my review from last year. I just changed the price for lunchtime. I don't think I ever ate there for lunch on a weekday because I thought the "Lunch Specials" section was new on the menu. Lewis had already tried all of them.
Many of the lunch specials looked good, but I wanted one of the fake meat items, so I picked the string beans w/ "pork ribs." It tasted pretty close to real meat as they simulated that red roast pork flavor. All lunch specials come with soup and rice. They have a brown rice option at no extra charge.
The overall service was good, but fluctuates depending on who serves you. We were served by a friendly waiter and the owner came to check on us a few times as well. Both were very polite. The woman at the front desk didn't seem as friendly. It took a bit too long to get us seated in an almost empty restaurant. She also didn't want to help a woman who walked in as we left also.
Cuisine: Chinese, Vegetarian
Hours: DAILY (11am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 358-0079
Website: www.happybuddha.com
Prices: $10/person (Lunch)
Credit Cards: Cash only
Food: 7
Service: 8
Value: 7
Environment: 9
Frequency: All the Time
I had the day off today, so I spent most of the time catching up with Lewis who had been in Taiwan for 2 months. We ended up at Happy Buddha because it's the only Downtown Flushing restaurant Lewis can eat at, being a strict vegetarian. All ratings are still the same as my review from last year. I just changed the price for lunchtime. I don't think I ever ate there for lunch on a weekday because I thought the "Lunch Specials" section was new on the menu. Lewis had already tried all of them.
Many of the lunch specials looked good, but I wanted one of the fake meat items, so I picked the string beans w/ "pork ribs." It tasted pretty close to real meat as they simulated that red roast pork flavor. All lunch specials come with soup and rice. They have a brown rice option at no extra charge.
The overall service was good, but fluctuates depending on who serves you. We were served by a friendly waiter and the owner came to check on us a few times as well. Both were very polite. The woman at the front desk didn't seem as friendly. It took a bit too long to get us seated in an almost empty restaurant. She also didn't want to help a woman who walked in as we left also.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Weekend Projects
The past weekend was a very productive one for me. I ordered my computer during Black Friday from CyberPower and it arrived last Thursday. The timing was perfect because I had already backed up the old system and planned for a long weekend. Whenever I get a new system, I end up working on more than one computer because I always swap parts and reassign systems to different rooms. Check out the Picasa album for details.
I also worked on an audio system with my dad for the living room. We had purchased the main parts last year, but didn't get a chance to install it because we were undecided about other fixtures. But we finally did it Saturday night! The hard part, which is laying out the speakers and cutting the cables is done. We're just missing the fiber optic cables to connect PS3 & the digital cable to the receiver. Those should be in later this week and we'll finally have a modern sound system that matches the visuals!
Sunday was relaxing because we celebrated Emily's Birthday. She just got back from Thailand Thursday, so the party was a day later than usual. We stayed in and just ordered a ton of food.
I also worked on an audio system with my dad for the living room. We had purchased the main parts last year, but didn't get a chance to install it because we were undecided about other fixtures. But we finally did it Saturday night! The hard part, which is laying out the speakers and cutting the cables is done. We're just missing the fiber optic cables to connect PS3 & the digital cable to the receiver. Those should be in later this week and we'll finally have a modern sound system that matches the visuals!
Sunday was relaxing because we celebrated Emily's Birthday. She just got back from Thailand Thursday, so the party was a day later than usual. We stayed in and just ordered a ton of food.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Gala Manor Update
After Black Friday shopping, I was planning to have dim sum with my parents at Gala Manor. Of all the ones in Flushing, they're my favorite because they have nice, big sui mai! When we got there, the front doors were barricaded up and there was a violation notice taped on it. Apparently, it was illegal to have the huge space on the 2nd floor with the exit that was there. The dining area had a 500 person capacity and the stairs were steep and narrow, which could be a danger during a potential evacuation. We ended up at Tung Yi Fung, but hopefully Gala Manor makes a comeback one day.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Philippu
Location: 31-01 21St., Astoria, NY 11106Cuisine: Filipino
Hours: MON (Closed); TUE-THU (11am-10pm); FRI-SAT (11am-11pm); SUN (11am-9pm)
Phone: (347) 924-9719
Website: www.myphilippu.com
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 7
Environment: 8
Frequency: Unique
Emily is leaving tomorrow, so we went out for my Mom's Birthday tonight. Philippu was next on my Mom's list of restaurants to try out after Pinang. It was a strange find because I never thought about going to a Filipino restaurant in Astoria... a bit outside of the Woodside/Elmhurst community.
My first thought walking in was, "this is the fanciest Filipino restaurant I've ever seen." I'm used to them being very plain and home kitchen like. Philippu looked like an upscale restaurant and the interior was very well done. Everything about the atmosphere was nice... lighting, space, acoustics and decor. The restroom was clean, but nothing special. The dining area had a huge LCD TV in the center tuned into a Filipino station.
The service was great with the polite staff one would expect at any Filipino restaurant. Despite the fanciness of the surroundings, the prices were not much more than other restaurants of the same cuisine. Check out the Picasa album for details on the food.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Life Underground
I always wanted to take pictures of Life Underground by Tom Otterness. It's an installation sculpture series created in 2002 for the 14th Street and 8th Avenue station. I finally had a camera with me and just missed the train, so I had a few minutes to capture some of Otterness' playful characters.
Related: Tom Otterness Studio, Wikipedia, Life Underground
Related: Tom Otterness Studio, Wikipedia, Life Underground
Fatty Crab
Location: 643 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014Cuisine: Southeast Asian, Fusion
Hours: MON-WED (12pm-12am); THU-FRI (12pm-2am); SAT (11am-2am); SUN (11am-12am)
Phone: (212) 352-3598
Website: www.fattycrab.com
Prices: about $35/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 8
Service: 1
Value: 1
Environment: 6
Frequency: Unique
The Thanksgiving celebration from last night continued for some of us as I joined Emily and Cindy for lunch in the city. Emily and I were off, but Cindy was working, so we met near her office around 14th St. & 8th. We talked about it last night and I thought the menu was interesting. They had Singaporean chili crab, which is rare here. They also had sliders... odd for any Asian restaurant.
When we got there, they seated the 3 of us at a table for 2 even though the place was practically empty. The place looked purposely aged for authenticity and they used cheap plastic plates for table setting. If it was Summertime, I bet it would come complete with flies too. From looking at the menu, it was apparent that this restaurant was a fake Asian restaurant trying to rip people off who aren't familiar with the items. The chili crab was $45 because it was off season, so we passed on it. We really wanted to try the sliders, but they ran out. Of all ingredients, how do you run out of sliders? They offer pork buns as an appetizer... 2 pieces for $13! For details on the dishes we ordered, click here.
It's pretty rare for a restaurant to have a good food rating and a very low service rating, but I felt the staff was dishonest and insincerely friendly. They brought out 2 orders of the Watermelon Pickle and Crispy Pork when we only ordered one. That's OK... common mistake. The waiter took it back and mentioned to the person at the register that we only ordered one. Later, when they billed us, they charged for 2. They actually had the nerve to say that we had 2 also. They probably ate the additional order in the back and tried to get a free lunch from us.
Though the food was good overall, the value is among the worst I've had. Just about every item is grossly overpriced and portions are about 1/3-1/2 of what you'd get at a normal Southeast Asian restaurant.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Pre-Thanksgiving
Emily will be going to Thailand on Thanksgiving Day, so we won't really have everyone available for dinner that night. So instead, we had a Pre-Thanksgiving dinner tonight.
Bahamas
Just a few weeks after my Mom got back from the Dominican Republic, she went on another trip to the Bahamas!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Charlotte's Birthday
This weekend involved a lot of eating. It opened up with a Thai lunch with my parents and ended with Charlotte's Birthday party today. It was a nice little getaway to head out to Charlotte and Jeff's new house in Long Island... a first time for me and many others. From my place in Flushing, there was no expressway to get there and Google Maps calculated a 25 min trip... hard to believe for a place in Long Island. It actually took 40 min probably because of all the stops and local roads. Next time I'll try the LIRR method and see if that cuts the time.
It was a nice cozy get-together because we hadn't done as many of the group dinners this year. Everyone moved or changed schedules, so I haven't seen a lot of them since Reinhard & Marites' wedding. Charlotte & Jeff's house in Port Washington is in a very nice area. It's residential, yet in walking distance of a downtown area similar to where I grew up in Congers. 40 min drive or 25 min LIRR is still very good city access also. It's a great place for working in the city and coming home to peace and quiet.
Back to reality tomorrow and back to my weekday diet!
It was a nice cozy get-together because we hadn't done as many of the group dinners this year. Everyone moved or changed schedules, so I haven't seen a lot of them since Reinhard & Marites' wedding. Charlotte & Jeff's house in Port Washington is in a very nice area. It's residential, yet in walking distance of a downtown area similar to where I grew up in Congers. 40 min drive or 25 min LIRR is still very good city access also. It's a great place for working in the city and coming home to peace and quiet.
Back to reality tomorrow and back to my weekday diet!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Excellent Thai
Location: 36-50 Main St., Flushing, NY 11354
Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Hours: DAILY (10:30am-11pm)
Phone: (718) 886-8973
Prices: about $7/person (lunch)
Credit Cards: Cash only
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 9
Environment: 8
Frequency: Unique
My Mom and I made note of this Thai Restaurant on Main St. when we passed by it on the way to the bank last week. There aren't many Thai places in a Chinese/Korean saturated downtown Flushing, so it's a nice break from our usual pattern. We decided to try it out for lunch today because I had the day off. Because we didn't get to see the interior the other day, the plan was to peek in and if it looked trashy, switch to a dim sum place instead. I looked in and the interior was very impressive.
We went in and the menu got me by surprised. It had tons of choices, but very difficult to find Thai items. There was a mix of Malaysian, Burmese and Hokkien, which is expected, but generic Chinese dishes dominated the menu. So it felt like we were in another fake Thai place that's really a Chinese restaurant. We asked the waiter where the Thai items were and even he couldn't point them out right away. We ended up going for the lunch specials, which had generic names. So we weren't sure if they were Chinese or Thai style. My Dad's beef looked Chinese, but he said there was a light curry flavoring in it. My Mom's pork was Malaysian and my curry chicken was Thai. For details on the food, please read the comments in the Picasa album.
The service was very good. The wait staff was friendly, checked on us a few times and very efficient. The place is clean and classy despite the extremely low prices. Despite the Thai menu items getting lost, the food was good. And their Thai food is really Thai style... once you find them in the menu!
Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Hours: DAILY (10:30am-11pm)
Phone: (718) 886-8973
Prices: about $7/person (lunch)
Credit Cards: Cash only
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 9
Environment: 8
Frequency: Unique
My Mom and I made note of this Thai Restaurant on Main St. when we passed by it on the way to the bank last week. There aren't many Thai places in a Chinese/Korean saturated downtown Flushing, so it's a nice break from our usual pattern. We decided to try it out for lunch today because I had the day off. Because we didn't get to see the interior the other day, the plan was to peek in and if it looked trashy, switch to a dim sum place instead. I looked in and the interior was very impressive.
We went in and the menu got me by surprised. It had tons of choices, but very difficult to find Thai items. There was a mix of Malaysian, Burmese and Hokkien, which is expected, but generic Chinese dishes dominated the menu. So it felt like we were in another fake Thai place that's really a Chinese restaurant. We asked the waiter where the Thai items were and even he couldn't point them out right away. We ended up going for the lunch specials, which had generic names. So we weren't sure if they were Chinese or Thai style. My Dad's beef looked Chinese, but he said there was a light curry flavoring in it. My Mom's pork was Malaysian and my curry chicken was Thai. For details on the food, please read the comments in the Picasa album.
The service was very good. The wait staff was friendly, checked on us a few times and very efficient. The place is clean and classy despite the extremely low prices. Despite the Thai menu items getting lost, the food was good. And their Thai food is really Thai style... once you find them in the menu!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Fall Back Sunday
This weekend is one hour longer because it was time to "Fall back" one hour. Though the official time of turning back the clocks is 2am on Sunday, sometimes I like to spend the extra hour on a different part of the day. This year, I just spent it on much needed sleep. I went to sleep normal time and woke up at the same time, sleeping away my extra hour. Because I didn't spend it on leisure activities, my extra hour felt like it evaporated. But at least I had a fun day to look forward to with our family dinner at night.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Pinang Malaysian Thai
Location: 111-10 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills, NY 11375
Cuisine: Malaysian, Thai, Asian Fusion
Hours: DAILY (11:30am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 268-9135
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 6
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Unique
It was the 2nd week in a row that our family dinner was in a restaurant. We're going restaurant hopping now that my parents are into these Restaurant.com offers where you pay a low price for a more valuable gift certificate. Pinang Malaysian Thai seemed like a reasonably priced one where a $25 gift certificate (for $10) could go pretty far.
I'm probably bias towards Malaysian and Thai food because I never really had a bad meal before in those cuisines. So it was all good. I'm mostly going to compare them to Sentosa since that's the best one in town. The food was a tie overall. Some items were better here... others in Sentosa. Please check out the Picasa album for details on each dish.
The service was just OK. The staff was polite and friendly, but inefficient. After we asked for the check, we probably waited longer than it took us to eat the meal! Naturally, they also made a mistake on the check and didn't take off the gift certificate. Be careful when using gift certificates at restaurants. They'll always try to pull a fast one on you... ALWAYS!
Prices were generally what you would expect at a Malaysian or Thai restaurant. The portions were just about right. For a family of 4, we ordered 4 dishes + 2 roti canais and had no leftovers.
Cuisine: Malaysian, Thai, Asian Fusion
Hours: DAILY (11:30am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 268-9135
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 6
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Unique
It was the 2nd week in a row that our family dinner was in a restaurant. We're going restaurant hopping now that my parents are into these Restaurant.com offers where you pay a low price for a more valuable gift certificate. Pinang Malaysian Thai seemed like a reasonably priced one where a $25 gift certificate (for $10) could go pretty far.
I'm probably bias towards Malaysian and Thai food because I never really had a bad meal before in those cuisines. So it was all good. I'm mostly going to compare them to Sentosa since that's the best one in town. The food was a tie overall. Some items were better here... others in Sentosa. Please check out the Picasa album for details on each dish.
The service was just OK. The staff was polite and friendly, but inefficient. After we asked for the check, we probably waited longer than it took us to eat the meal! Naturally, they also made a mistake on the check and didn't take off the gift certificate. Be careful when using gift certificates at restaurants. They'll always try to pull a fast one on you... ALWAYS!
Prices were generally what you would expect at a Malaysian or Thai restaurant. The portions were just about right. For a family of 4, we ordered 4 dishes + 2 roti canais and had no leftovers.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Mekong
Location: 156-32 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354Cuisine: Thai, Vietnamese
Hours: DAILY (11am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 886-2070
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 3
Value: 7
Environment: 6
Frequency: Unique
We did something a little different for our weekly dinner this weekend. There was no baseball and we didn't really have any food in the house, so we went out for once. Emily found Mekong while playing with the Yelp! Android app. a couple of weeks ago. We went over there since it was nearby the house and we never noticed it before. It's just a couple of blocks from Mad for Chicken in a small shopping area.
As we entered, we started out with a bad impression because 4 of the staff members passed by and neither greeted us or seated us (it was not full at all). We just seated ourselves. After they served the food, they never checked on us until we were done. They also didn't thank us on the way out.
The food was very good in contrast to the bad service though. Dad even said some of the dishes were good, which is rare for him to say that of non-Chinese food! The portions for each dish were just about right for a 4-person family meal. We ordered 3 entrees & 2 appetizers. Please click here for more details in the Picasa album.
The prices were OK for what we ordered. $15/person is normal and the food was very good. The place was a little small and wouldn't be good for groups larger than 6. Acoustics are also bad. Because there are no cloth items or carpet, it's hard to hear people talk. The patrons are mostly high school-college kids too... not really a family place as Yelp! claims. Overall, it's still a good place to go to if you're willing to get great food and expect nothing else.
Weekend Projects
Since nothing much was going on this weekend, I had a couple of computer projects to catch up on. First, I went back to last week's Dual P-III. So all the hardware was installed, but the system wouldn't startup. I tried an extra power supply and got the same results. So it's possible that the motherboard got damaged the first time I turned on the system will all the devices installed... maybe it couldn't take the stress. For now, this one is on hold until I get another idea.
The next project was optimizing my netbook, an Asus EEE PC 1000HE. I read about overclocking, but the final result didn't seem like a good enough reward to try at this point. I just upgraded the BIOS to the latest, which allowed the integrated graphics card to take more RAM. I haven't noticed a big difference with this change, but I guess being up to date is good enough for me.
And finally, I wanted to get Android working on a desktop since Chrome OS isn't out yet. There's a very easy implementation called Live Android. You basically download 2 files, combine them to make one ISO image. Then burn that to a bootable CD. Then you boot from that to get a read-only version of Android. I decided to give it a shot with my old Pentium-II laptop and it was perfectly smooth. Check out the Picasa album above for details and screenshots.
The next project was optimizing my netbook, an Asus EEE PC 1000HE. I read about overclocking, but the final result didn't seem like a good enough reward to try at this point. I just upgraded the BIOS to the latest, which allowed the integrated graphics card to take more RAM. I haven't noticed a big difference with this change, but I guess being up to date is good enough for me.
And finally, I wanted to get Android working on a desktop since Chrome OS isn't out yet. There's a very easy implementation called Live Android. You basically download 2 files, combine them to make one ISO image. Then burn that to a bootable CD. Then you boot from that to get a read-only version of Android. I decided to give it a shot with my old Pentium-II laptop and it was perfectly smooth. Check out the Picasa album above for details and screenshots.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Dual P-III (Part 1)
Uncle Bock dropped off his old computer last week since he just upgraded to a much more powerful one. I always take in computers about to be tossed. If anything, the screws are useful to me at the very least. I still had a bunch of spare parts because one of my old systems that died had good parts. Uncle Bock's computer had a good motherboard with dual Pentium-III, but all the accessories are basic. Click on the Picasa album below for more details.
So the system is still a work in progress. It's physically complete. The next step is just to figure out why it doesn't turn on. If it's not a problem with the motherboard, then the system is still OK. After that, I'll install some basic software on it and see how it runs compared to the single processor 1 Ghz P-III it's supposed to replace.
So the system is still a work in progress. It's physically complete. The next step is just to figure out why it doesn't turn on. If it's not a problem with the motherboard, then the system is still OK. After that, I'll install some basic software on it and see how it runs compared to the single processor 1 Ghz P-III it's supposed to replace.
Castle Adventure
Original Date: Mid-80's
POV: 3rd
Graphics: 1
Controls: 2
Difficulty: 5
Last night, I had a dream that I was playing an ancient PC game called Castle Adventure. The last thing in my head when I woke up was the command, LOADING CASTLE.RAN, the command that started up the program. The game came out sometime in the mid-80's because I remember it being way before the Nintendo Entertainment System and before real computer graphics. The whole game was made up of ASCII characters... the environment, characters and items. You would use the arrow keys to move around and hold down the arrow key in the direction of the enemy to attack. Battle results were determined by random numbers on the backend. It was a pretty cool game in it's time because it mixed action with problem solving.
I thought about adding this to my blog and was going to write how it was basically The Legend of Zelda in ASCII. Then I did a search for "Loading castle.ran" in Google and the first result was from someone who actually created a complete site dedicated to this game. And he already mentioned the Zelda comparison. Please click the graphic below to visit...
Everything truly is out there on Google!
POV: 3rd
Graphics: 1
Controls: 2
Difficulty: 5
Last night, I had a dream that I was playing an ancient PC game called Castle Adventure. The last thing in my head when I woke up was the command, LOADING CASTLE.RAN, the command that started up the program. The game came out sometime in the mid-80's because I remember it being way before the Nintendo Entertainment System and before real computer graphics. The whole game was made up of ASCII characters... the environment, characters and items. You would use the arrow keys to move around and hold down the arrow key in the direction of the enemy to attack. Battle results were determined by random numbers on the backend. It was a pretty cool game in it's time because it mixed action with problem solving.
I thought about adding this to my blog and was going to write how it was basically The Legend of Zelda in ASCII. Then I did a search for "Loading castle.ran" in Google and the first result was from someone who actually created a complete site dedicated to this game. And he already mentioned the Zelda comparison. Please click the graphic below to visit...
Everything truly is out there on Google!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Dominican Republic
Here are some photos from my parents' most recent vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic:
The resort was part of the same chain we visited when we went to Cancun earlier in the Summer for Reinhard & Marites' wedding. It's the largest and most impressive location out of all of Palace Resorts' all-inclusives. When we were in Cancun, my parents already said it was the best resort they've ever been to. Now the Punta Cana one easily trumps that one!
The resort was part of the same chain we visited when we went to Cancun earlier in the Summer for Reinhard & Marites' wedding. It's the largest and most impressive location out of all of Palace Resorts' all-inclusives. When we were in Cancun, my parents already said it was the best resort they've ever been to. Now the Punta Cana one easily trumps that one!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday Dinner
It was a good weekend for a small get together because my parents were on vacation last week, during the Autumn Moon Festival. Uncle Bock and Auntie Kim are also going to leave for vacation in Singapore next week, so we won't see them for a while.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tito Rad's
Location: 49-12 Queens Blvd., Woodside, NY 11377
Cuisine: Filipino
Hours: MON-FRI (11am-10pm); SAT-SUN (10am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 205-7299
Website: www.titorads.com
Prices: about $25/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 7
Environment: 6
Frequency: Uncommon
It was just about a year ago the last time we went to Tito Rad's, and my parents haven't tried it yet, so we did our family dinner there tonight. I made sure they had the tuna jaw before we went, otherwise there would be no point... all other dishes are better @ Ihawan. So they did have plenty in stock. The person I spoke to said that there are periods in the Summer where they don't have it available, so it's worth checking before making the trip each time.
We were planning to have an early dinner since my parents are leaving early in the morning tomorrow to the Dominican Republic, but the place was more crowded than we expected at 5pm. I never thought to make a reservation because I expected the place to be empty on a Sunday afternoon. It was completely full, but there was a large party that was about halfway done. So we waited about 30 minutes, but were able to preorder so that the food would be ready once we got seated.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Flushing Apartment
Since it's a work in progress, I just shot the completed parts of the place. I'm slowing filling in the furniture based on sales and color match, so it's going to take a while. Remember, it took me 3 years to get a sofa for the Manhattan place!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Pine Court Chinese Bistro
Location: 249-32 Horace Harding Expressway, Little Neck, NYCuisine: Chinese
Hours: SUN-SAT (11am-10pm)
Phone: (718) 279-1999
Prices: $17/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 4
Environment: 6
Frequency: Unique
It's been a while since I had dim sum, but Auntie Kim and Uncle Bock invited us out today. It was a little different than usual because it wasn't in Flushing. We went all the way out to Little Neck. It sounds illogical to do that, but the idea was to bypass the downtown traffic and crowds for Sunday lunch... one of the peak times of the weekend. We took local roads out to the area to avoid Long Island/beach traffic on the L.I.E.
Please read comments in the Picasa album for details about the restaurant.
While the food overall was good, it wasn't comparable to the Flushing downtown area even when you factor in the traffic. It took us about 20 minutes to get out there and there was a 30 minute wait for a table. From where I live in Flushing, I could walk to the downtown area in 20 minutes and have a table right away. Parking was nearly just as difficult as the Pine Court lot was packed. There aren't a lot of dim sum places out there, so it looked like all the Chinese in the area went to this place!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wesley's 3rd Birthday
Wesley's 3rd Birthday was originally going to be at Chucky Cheese, but was switched to a home BBQ instead. Things worked out well because it was a perfect day. It would've also been hard to coordinate 20+ people for dinner at Chucky Cheese with several kids running around. At the house, the kids had all the toys in the world to keep them busy!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Dragonboat 2010
This year's Dragonboat Festival was a lot like Last Year's. The weather was perfect... sunny with blue skies and no chance of rain. The temperature was somewhere around 83 degrees, which is low for this time of year. I arrived a little before 11am and got lucky with the shuttle bus. It was empty when I got on, then another 7 train arrived and it got packed immediately. I was a little disorientated when we were dropped off though. Because they were in the middle of reconstructing the boathouse and surrounding area, the bus stop was on the opposite side of the usual location. So we started a few blocks from the far end of the events are rather than the boathouse and racing area.
I started by getting photos of some of the races and boathouse area. Then I headed off to get the events and info. stands. I took my usual lunch break at Chef One and then met up with Charlotte and Jeff. We all headed back to the races to get more photos.
I started by getting photos of some of the races and boathouse area. Then I headed off to get the events and info. stands. I took my usual lunch break at Chef One and then met up with Charlotte and Jeff. We all headed back to the races to get more photos.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tung Yi Fung
We haven't gone out for a family dinner in a while, so there was nothing more fitting than heading over to Tung Yi Fung for the best microwaved Chinese food in Flushing! I don't have any changes to any of the stats... the food was still as good as last time. Customers are learning to eat there earlier though. We got there just before 6pm and it was almost full. Previously, it would be empty until about 7pm.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
DVDeals 7/25 - 7/31
Clash of the Titans
I haven't purchased on a DVD Tuesday since Terminator Salvation, which was a while ago, but we finally have a good one coming up this week. Clash of the Titans is scheduled to come out. The Blu-ray version is cheapest at Best Buy and Amazon (if you qualify for free shipping) at $24.99. The DVD format is pretty much the same price everywhere... $16.99. This is one of the rare movies that I would buy without having seen it in the theater.
Batman: Under the Red Hood
This looked like an interesting title especially for comic book fans, but I'm going to pass on it because they didn't get Kevin Conroy to voice Batman, which would feel very strange after he voiced the character for every animated release since Batman the Animated Series. Instead, they got Neil Patrick Harris. I love Doogie Howser, but I just don't think he did a good Batman voice (I watched the trailer). If you're interested, Target and Amazon (if you qualify for free shipping) have the Blu-ray for $19.99. The regular DVD is $12.99 at Best Buy and Target. Target has a 2-disc special edition DVD for $15.99. Best Buy throws in a Red Hood statue if you buy the Blu-ray or 2-disc DVD (which they didn't list a price for).
Best Buy Deals
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Blu-ray) for $19.99
- Stargate Universe Season 1.5 for $24.99
- Terminator Salvation (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Terminator Salvation for $7.99
- Watchmen Director's Cut (Blu-ray) for $14.99
I haven't purchased on a DVD Tuesday since Terminator Salvation, which was a while ago, but we finally have a good one coming up this week. Clash of the Titans is scheduled to come out. The Blu-ray version is cheapest at Best Buy and Amazon (if you qualify for free shipping) at $24.99. The DVD format is pretty much the same price everywhere... $16.99. This is one of the rare movies that I would buy without having seen it in the theater.
Batman: Under the Red Hood
This looked like an interesting title especially for comic book fans, but I'm going to pass on it because they didn't get Kevin Conroy to voice Batman, which would feel very strange after he voiced the character for every animated release since Batman the Animated Series. Instead, they got Neil Patrick Harris. I love Doogie Howser, but I just don't think he did a good Batman voice (I watched the trailer). If you're interested, Target and Amazon (if you qualify for free shipping) have the Blu-ray for $19.99. The regular DVD is $12.99 at Best Buy and Target. Target has a 2-disc special edition DVD for $15.99. Best Buy throws in a Red Hood statue if you buy the Blu-ray or 2-disc DVD (which they didn't list a price for).
Best Buy Deals
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Blu-ray) for $19.99
- Stargate Universe Season 1.5 for $24.99
- Terminator Salvation (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Terminator Salvation for $7.99
- Watchmen Director's Cut (Blu-ray) for $14.99
Monday, July 19, 2010
Centrino SSD (Part 3)
I've been using the Centrino laptop with the SSD drive for almost a month now and the boot times are still consistent. This system, which was one of my slowest booting machines is by far the fastest now. Here are some other factors SSD manufacturers advertise.
Weight
I really didn't think this would make a difference because all laptop hard drives are light. When you hold both in your hands, there's not much of a difference. But once it's installed, you'll feel it. The hard drive in my laptop is located at the front left corner. The SSD weighs almost nothing, so I notice it most when the system is folded up and I carry it on my side like a book.
Battery
SSDs are suppose to make a small, but noticeable difference in battery life because there are no moving parts. In my case, there was no difference. The laptop ran for 4 hours under normal use with both the HDD and SSD. Maybe this makes more a difference with newer systems.
So once again... nothing here really makes the laptop blow away the old configuration with the HDD. It was just a nice experiment because I had to see if for myself. I also have a laptop with a virtually unbreakable drive now, so I'm going to make it my repository for any important files I have.
Weight
I really didn't think this would make a difference because all laptop hard drives are light. When you hold both in your hands, there's not much of a difference. But once it's installed, you'll feel it. The hard drive in my laptop is located at the front left corner. The SSD weighs almost nothing, so I notice it most when the system is folded up and I carry it on my side like a book.
Battery
SSDs are suppose to make a small, but noticeable difference in battery life because there are no moving parts. In my case, there was no difference. The laptop ran for 4 hours under normal use with both the HDD and SSD. Maybe this makes more a difference with newer systems.
So once again... nothing here really makes the laptop blow away the old configuration with the HDD. It was just a nice experiment because I had to see if for myself. I also have a laptop with a virtually unbreakable drive now, so I'm going to make it my repository for any important files I have.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Cancun TOC
This post is a table of contents of all entries related to Reinhard & Marites' wedding in Cancun. I wrote many of these within the past week, but posted them based on the original dates of occurrence:
- Invitation
- Sanborns Cafe
- Reinhard & Marites
- La Panza es Primero
- Kukulcan Shopping
- Interactive Aquarium
- Bubba Gump (Cancun)
- La Isla
- Tequila (in Beach Palace)
- Wok (in Beach Palace)
- Beach Palace Wyndham Grand Resort
- Chichen Itza
- Invitation
- Sanborns Cafe
- Reinhard & Marites
- La Panza es Primero
- Kukulcan Shopping
- Interactive Aquarium
- Bubba Gump (Cancun)
- La Isla
- Tequila (in Beach Palace)
- Wok (in Beach Palace)
- Beach Palace Wyndham Grand Resort
- Chichen Itza
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Chichen Itza
I'll have to make another trip to Cancun sometime since I wasn't able to go on any of the tours I wanted. But at least my parents got to go. They went to Chichen Itza on July 7 with the Palace Resorts tour. The cost was $100/person, but it was worth it because it included a buffet at the Palace Resorts out there.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Beach Palace Wyndham Grand Resort
Location: Kukulcan Km 11.5, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, MexicoPhone: 011 52 998 891 4110
Website: www.wyndham.com
Price: n/a (part of timeshare)
Credit Cards: All major
Rooms: 9
Service: 7
Value: 4
Amenities: 7
Length of Stay: 4 nights
The best hotel room I've ever stayed in has to go to Beach Palace. I expected a typical hotel room, but it was surprisingly spacious, even with 2 full size beds stuffed into it. There was a lot of breathing room between beds and other furniture. The balcony w/ outdoor futon was essentially another bedroom. All furniture and room items were made of high quality material right down to the garbage cans. Only the shower door had a design flaw... there was a large crack that allowed water to get out when the door was closed.
Most of the services were good. The cleaning staff and restaurant workers were hardworking and polite. The front desk was helpful and efficient for the most part, depending on which guy you talked to. Some were a little spacey. Other services were a little annoying, like the pool entertainment. The guy in charge of that was desperately trying to get guests to participate in his lame activities. While I thought the service was good, I don't think it was better than Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern in its 2007 unfinished state.
With the value, I'm a little biased against all-inclusives. It does work out well when you put prices on all of the individual items separately, but when you compare it to services outside of the resort, the all-inclusive will look like a ripoff. I can never give an all-inclusive a rating higher than 4 (5 being average).
The amenities were OK. The in-room jacuzzi, balcony area and huge pool area brought this rating up. The pool area is so large it never really gets crowded even with all the guests at peak hours. The weak points were the small fitness center, TV and phone. The fitness center is no larger than someone's home setup in the basement. It's just tiny in proportion to everything else in the resort. The TV, although HD does not get an HD signal and is an older 720p model. Channels are limited to basics. The phone is unusable as the hotel charged for all calls despite falsely advertising free calls to the US.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wok (in Beach Palace)
Location: Kukulcan Km 11.5, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, MexicoCuisine: Asian
Hours: SUN-SAT (6am-12am)
Phone: 011 52 998 891 4110
Website: www.wyndham.com
Prices: $40/person
Food: 7
Service: 8
Value: 2
Environment: 10
Frequency: Unique
For dinner, we decided to give the Asian restaurant, Wok a try since we already ate at Tequila twice. I figured that since many kitchen staff members in NYC Chinese restaurants are Mexican, they should know what they're doing with Chinese food!
The food was interesting. Some dishes were off, but other on target. Some were also mixtures of Mexican and Asian, like banana tempura. They gave us 2 appetizer tasting dishes before we even ordered. One had a variety of sushi and the other had items like spring rolls and the banana tempura. The raw sushi was OK, but the rolls weren't as good. The main courses wer great though. Both my Dad and I ordered the mahi mahi dish. Additionally, my dad ordered a shrimp tempura. The plan was to get a full meal and leave a lot of leftovers so we could bring a full meal up to my Mom and Emily. It worked out and they let us take out everything. So there's a loophole with all-inclusive restaurants and their 2-person limit!
For comments on the ratings, please see me review of Tequila.
Tequila (in Beach Palace)
Location: Kukulcan Km 11.5, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, MexicoCuisine: Mexican, International, Buffet
Hours: SUN-SAT (6am-12am)
Phone: 011 52 998 891 4110
Website: www.wyndham.com
Prices: $40/person
Food: 7
Service: 8
Value: 2
Environment: 10
Frequency: Unique
Tequila was our choice for lunch and breakfast during our all-inclusive day. It was the only one that had Mexican food and a good enough variety. The food was just OK overall. You can't go wrong with breakfast, but the bread items weren't that good here. For some reason, all the bread we had in Mexico was always crumbly. For lunch, there was a good variety of international items, but I would've liked to see more Mexican... after all, we're in Mexico!
Service at this place, like most parts of the resort were good. Our waiter was polite, cleared the table when we finished a round, but didn't ask for drink refills. The environment was as clean as it could get. Everything was always shiny. Acoustics were good despite it being a large space. The view of the pool & beach is hard to beat. I couldn't give them a high rating for value though. If you do the math, each meal is worth $30-40. In my book, the breakfast should be priced at $15 and the lunch $25 max.
La Isla
One of the things the Palace Resorts people threw in as part of the timeshare sale was a one-day all inclusive pass to the hotel restaurants. Only two of us could use it, so it ended up being me and my Dad because we could eat the most out of the group. Though I wanted my parents to spend time with each other, my Mom didn't want to throw money away. So my Dad and I ate a late breakfast buffet. Then we went out with Emily & Mom to the mall area we discovered yesterday. They settled on Taco Grill for lunch. It was a nice taco stand that had reasonable combo prices... 2-3 tacos and a drink for about 80 pesos.
We did caught in the rain after lunch and took shelter under an archway near Lacoste. We figured we could wait it out because all the rainfall we experienced in the past couple of days only lasted a few minutes. This storm was here to stay though. We finally made a run for a cab. Sure enough, it rained for the rest of the day.
We did caught in the rain after lunch and took shelter under an archway near Lacoste. We figured we could wait it out because all the rainfall we experienced in the past couple of days only lasted a few minutes. This storm was here to stay though. We finally made a run for a cab. Sure enough, it rained for the rest of the day.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Bubba Gump (Cancun)
Location: Kukulcan L. 16-A Y 16-B, Plaza Flamingo, Km. 11, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, MexicoCuisine: Mexican
Hours: SUN-SAT (10am-10pm)
Phone: 011 52 998 885 3115
Website: www.bubbagump.com
Prices: $22/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 10
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Unique
We capped off an eventful day with dinner at Bubba Gump. Though it's an American chain, none of us have ever been to one before and we figured the seafood in Cancun is an instant winner.
The food was great... we were happy with all 4 of our dishes. Mom had the Captain’s Fish & Chips. Dad had Shrimper’s Net Catch. Emily ordered Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp and I had Shrimp New Orleans. We had a good variety of their specialties at our table. This is one of those restaurants where you could randomly pick something off the menu and be happy with it.
The service was top-notch. It was unbelievable how fast the staff came when we needed them. While there was one main waitress/waiter for each table, any one of them could respond if another table needed them for something... a very efficient system. The environment was modeled after scenery from the movie, Forrest Gump, so it was nice and fancy and brought a New Orleans/Alabama look to Mexico.
Interactive Aquarium
The Interactive Aquarium was located in an outdoor mall called La Isla. It's one bus stop or a short walk from Beach Palace. I was hoping they would have some axolotls in captivity, but they just had the usual species you would see at any aquarium around the world.
It costs about $10 (230 pesos for 2 people... the more tickets, the lower the price) to get in, which isn't bad for the size of the aquarium. The sharks and dolphins were the most interesting as usual. The ray petting pool was the only interactive item for the regular aquarium admission. Like many other places in Cancun, they also offered swimming with dolphins at an additional cost. That would've been nice to do, but I didn't have my swimming trunks with me.
It costs about $10 (230 pesos for 2 people... the more tickets, the lower the price) to get in, which isn't bad for the size of the aquarium. The sharks and dolphins were the most interesting as usual. The ray petting pool was the only interactive item for the regular aquarium admission. Like many other places in Cancun, they also offered swimming with dolphins at an additional cost. That would've been nice to do, but I didn't have my swimming trunks with me.
Kukulcan Shopping
After lunch, Emily and I headed out to the flea market and mall we passed by on the way to the wedding. My parents headed in the other direction to a timeshare meeting at Cancun Palace.
During the long walk over, we witnessed a truck drive into the middle island, destroying the weakly cemented curbside. That was the second accident of the day on the same street (earlier in the day, there was a rear-end crash in front of our hotel)... not good statistics at all!
We finally made it to the flea market after making a pit stop at Senor Frog's (a Mexican themes bar/grill chain). We probably spent a total of 5 minutes at the annoying flea market before heading across the street to the mall. The flea market was just full of pushy me chants trying to sell their junk. At the mall, we were able to browse without someone talking to us every second. The mall was similar to a typical American one... even with some of the usual stores... same prices as the US as well. So there was nothing really exciting. We stopped at Coldstone Creamery for ice cream and then took the bus to the Interactive Aquarium.
During the long walk over, we witnessed a truck drive into the middle island, destroying the weakly cemented curbside. That was the second accident of the day on the same street (earlier in the day, there was a rear-end crash in front of our hotel)... not good statistics at all!
We finally made it to the flea market after making a pit stop at Senor Frog's (a Mexican themes bar/grill chain). We probably spent a total of 5 minutes at the annoying flea market before heading across the street to the mall. The flea market was just full of pushy me chants trying to sell their junk. At the mall, we were able to browse without someone talking to us every second. The mall was similar to a typical American one... even with some of the usual stores... same prices as the US as well. So there was nothing really exciting. We stopped at Coldstone Creamery for ice cream and then took the bus to the Interactive Aquarium.
La Panza es Primero
Location: Kukulcan L. 16-A Y 16-B, Plaza Flamingo, Km. 11, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, MexicoCuisine: Mexican
Hours: SUN-SAT (10am-10pm)
Prices: $17/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 10
Service: 9
Value: 8
Environment: 7
Frequency: Unique
For lunch, we went back to Flamingo Plaza to try out that first restaurant we passed up. The menu had similar dishes to Sanborns Cafe, but slightly more expensive. It turned out that this was the best meal we've had so far... including the great food at the wedding. All portions were huge (some big enough for 2 people), which justified the prices. I really wanted to try the fish enchiladas, but they didn't have that item at the time, so I settled for the safe bet... beef enchiladas.
The decor in the restaurant resembled Cascabel Taqueria with its luchador theme. The interior was dark like a sports bar and the furniture was much like what one would find at a taqueria. It was clean and had a nice atmosphere. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Our host, Miguel was energetic and happy to explain all of the dishes.
I gave the food a rare 10 because this is clearly the best Mexican food I've ever had. I tried a little bit of my Mom's (something resembling chicken curry) and my Dad's (a beef stew) and everything was just great. The meat was tender in all dishes and the sauces were full of flavor. The corn and wheat tortillas were freshly baked. I'll have to try to come back to this one if possible so I can give the fish enchiladas another try.
Note: "la panza es primero" means "the stomach is first."
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Sanborns Cafe
Location: Kukulcan L. 16-A Y 16-B, Plaza Flamingo, Km. 11, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, Mexico
Cuisine: Mexican
Hours: SUN-SAT (10am-10pm)
Prices: $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 6
Service: 7
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Uncommon
By the time we got to the hotel in Cancun, it was about 6pm already. We settled into our room and checked at the front desk to see what the prices were like in the hotel's 3 restaurants. They were all $40 a meal per person! It's pretty much a ripoff unless you bought the all-inclusive package. So we headed out to the street to see if there was anything around. Fortunately, Beach Palace is across the street from a shopping center called Flamingo Plaza. We walked through the entire length to get an overview of the place. The larger restaurants were all chains we have in the US... Bubba Gump, Outback Steakhouse and Margaritaville. There were 2 Mexican places... Sanborns and La Panza es Primero. We decided to go for Sanborns because it was a brighter, larger space and had lower prices.
Overall, it was a good first dinner in Mexico. The food was OK, but I wasn't blown away by it. I've had better in NY (see Cascabel Taqueria). Service was laid back, but good. I was a little nervous that the restaurant was empty when we went, but it filled up little by little.
Cuisine: Mexican
Hours: SUN-SAT (10am-10pm)
Prices: $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 6
Service: 7
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Uncommon
By the time we got to the hotel in Cancun, it was about 6pm already. We settled into our room and checked at the front desk to see what the prices were like in the hotel's 3 restaurants. They were all $40 a meal per person! It's pretty much a ripoff unless you bought the all-inclusive package. So we headed out to the street to see if there was anything around. Fortunately, Beach Palace is across the street from a shopping center called Flamingo Plaza. We walked through the entire length to get an overview of the place. The larger restaurants were all chains we have in the US... Bubba Gump, Outback Steakhouse and Margaritaville. There were 2 Mexican places... Sanborns and La Panza es Primero. We decided to go for Sanborns because it was a brighter, larger space and had lower prices.
Overall, it was a good first dinner in Mexico. The food was OK, but I wasn't blown away by it. I've had better in NY (see Cascabel Taqueria). Service was laid back, but good. I was a little nervous that the restaurant was empty when we went, but it filled up little by little.
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