Tag Archives: Food & Drinks

Heading West: A Long Stop in Virginia for Nostalgia

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by in Cross Country, Food & Drinks, North America, United States, Virginia

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Before heading west on our cross-country tour of the States, Mr. Selfish and I stayed in Virginia for a couple of weeks primarily to see my family and friends in the area. Since we are both originally from Virginia, we didn’t do much there other than hang out. So, here are some of the food highlights from our long stop in Virginia.

The Green Leafe: The Best Happy Hour Special Ever!

Mr. Selfish and I met during undergrad at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. Since the campus is only about half an hour away from my parents’ place, we visited a few times during our stay in Virginia. We stopped by the Green Leafe (765 Scotland St., Williamsburg, VA), which is a pub very close to campus.

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We discovered that the Green Leafe still has an outstanding selection of draught beer. We were also happy to learn that the Green Leafe currently has an amazing happy hour from 5-9pm, during which all draught beer are 50% off! You can’t beat a pint of good beer for $2.

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Aroma’s: Roasting Marshmallows and Making S’Mores

Since we were already in Williamsburg, we decided to stop by Aroma Café (431 Prince George St., Williamsburg, VA) to make and eat some s’mores. They’re not the best in the world but it’s one of the few places in the area that you can roast marshmallows and make a s’more sandwich.

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Stop Drooling: The Selfish’s Top 20 Eats

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Africa, Asia, Best Of, Europe, Food & Drinks, North America, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I had a lot of amazing food during this selfish year. It was incredibly hard to narrow it down but here’s our top 20 eats in no particular order:

Banh Mi in Hoi An

It cost under $1 USD for a deluxe Vietnamese sub (banh mi) at Tiem Banh Mi Phoung in Hoi An. Mr. Selfish was so obsessed with it that we ate over 10 banh mi during our five-day stay in Hoi An. We were able to identify about 10 ingredients in the banh mi, but we lost track after we hit the double digits. Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious.

Hoi An

Indian Food at Tayyabs in London

Tayyabs is located near White Chapel, which is close to Brick Lane in London. Although there is always a crazy line out the door, Tayyabs is completely worth it. It is by far the best Indian food we’ve ever had.

Tayyabs

Sisig from Gerry’s Grill Near Manila

During our stay in the Philippines, Mr. Selfish and I became fixated on sisig, which is made from parts of pig’s head and liver, usually seasoned with calamansi (a type of lime) and chili peppers. It isn’t the best for you, but man, is it tasty! The best sisig was from Gerry’s Grill, which is near the Taal Volcano close to Manila.

Sisig

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New York City: So Many Places to Eat, So Little Time

26 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New York City, North America, United States

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Mr. Selfish and I love New York City. We have considered living there but I don’t think I would like the winters too much. We therefore included NYC as our final stop before heading to my parents’ in Virginia. Not only do we have some great friends that live in the city, but we love the cheap, plentiful, and delicious food. Here are some of our favorite eats during this last stop.

Russ & Daughters: Infamous Lox Bagels

Although Mr. Selfish never really cared much for lox bagels, I have enjoyed them in the past. When our friends recommended Russ & Daughters (179 E Houston St NY , NY 10002) for lox bagels, we figured we would give it a try.

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We were astonished at the amount of choices you had for a single lox bagel, but we ordered an everything bagel with regular cream cheese, the Irish salmon, and red onions. As the man at the counter was handing us the bagel, he told us, “You’ll love it.” And indeed, we did. It was mind-blowingly delicious!

72nd Street Bagel: Cinnamon Raisin Rampage

Although the lox bagel from Russ & Daughters was mighty delicious, Mr. Selfish still wanted a regular bagel while we were in the city. We tried a cinnamon raisin with regular cream cheese at 72nd Street Bagel (130 W 72nd St, NY, NY 10023).

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It didn’t disappoint. Mr. Selfish gobbled up that thing so fast that it was gone in a matter of seconds.
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The Final Park: Disneyland

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Disney, Food & Drinks, Los Angeles, North America, United States

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Mr. Selfish and I finished our Disney tour with the first ever Disney park – Disneyland in California. It opened in 1955 and is the only park designed and built under the direction of Walt Disney. It is the second most visited park in the world with 16 million visitors in 2011 (Orlando’s Magic Kingdom has the highest attendance).

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I was quite surprised as to how small Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is. It is tiny compared to all of the other Disney castles around the world, but I guess it was the first one. It is nevertheless quite photogenic, just like all of the other castles.

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Mr. Selfish had previously visited Disneyland but I had never been. I therefore had a list of rides that I wanted to try that aren’t at the other parks, including the Matterhorn, Mr. Toad’s, and Indiana Jones.

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Fit for a Queen: The Food in Queenstown

19 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania, Queenstown

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The food in Queenstown was amazingly fresh and delicious. Mr. Selfish and I didn’t have a single average meal. It was all outstanding.

Fergburger: The Legendary Burgers

Prior to arriving in Queenstown, we had heard tales about the hamburgers at Fergburger (42 Shotover Street, Queenstown Town Centre 9300). We were skeptical that the long line would be worth the wait but we figured that we would give it a try.

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I ordered the traditional Fergburger with blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli, and tomato relish. After an hour of waiting, my Fergburger arrived. The patty on my Fergburger was perfectly cooked. The bun was delightfully toasted, and the aioli and tomato relish were a perfect balance against the blue cheese. It was quite tasty.

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Mr. Selfish went the less traditional route and ordered the Chief Wiggum, which is a pork belly burger with lettuce, tomato, red onion, hash brown, aioli, and an apricot seeded mustard. The pork belly was quite yummy, and the hash brown provided a very good crunchy texture. The apricot seeded mustard also added a nice sweet flavor. Although the traditional Fergburger was quite good, I think the Chief Wiggum was better due to the novelty factor.

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If you’re in Queenstown, you should definitely try a burger or two at Fergburger. It met and exceeded all of the hype.

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Dilly Dallying in Dunedin: Penguins, Haggis, and a Farmer’s Market

16 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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One of my top priorities on our selfish trip was to see penguins in the wild. I did lots of research to determine whether we should see the penguins in Australia or wait until New Zealand. Since we were in Australia during the winter, we weren’t likely to see hoards of penguins ascending from the beach at dusk, which is more typical during the summer. I therefore opted to see the rarer yellow-eyed penguins in Dunedin.

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These yellow-eyed penguin only exist in New Zealand, and there are only an estimated 3,000 left. These penguins are different from every other penguin in the world, because they are quite anti-social. They do not live in large colonies. In fact, each penguin has one long-term mate, and they can only mate when they do not see any other penguins. Other than mating and raising their offspring with one other penguin, they do everything individually. Hence, they go hunting alone and come up from the beach one by one.

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The Devastation that is Christchurch

15 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I had heard about the 2011 earthquake that hit Christchurch but we hadn’t realized the extent of the devastation. Following an earthquake in 2010 that had a magnitude of 7.1, the 2011 earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3. Due to the succession of these earthquakes, Christchurch suffered immensely.

We had thought that by the time we visited Christchurch that the city would be mostly in repairs. We were wrong. The city center of Christchurch is still devastated. Apparently, other subsequent quakes have occurred, which kept setting the city back.

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The Selfish Wine Tour in the Marlborough Region

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I spent two days in the Marlborough wine region. We rented an Airbnb apartment in Renwick, which is a perfect home base for wine tasting. We booked a tour through Highlight Wine Tour and the rest is a Sauvignon Blanc blur. We visited nine wineries and below is the summary of our impression of each winery.

1. Saint Clair: Best Sauvignon Blanc

While in the States, we loved drinking Fault Line, which is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region. We learned that Fault Line is actually produced at Saint Clair winery, so we knew we had to do a tasting there. We learned that the Fault Line is one of Saint Clair’s multiple labels that is sent to the States.

Saint Clair

The Fault Line was not available for tasting, but we tried the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Wairu Reserve and ended up buying two bottles. It is the one of the best Sauv Blancs I’ve ever tasted.

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The Delicious Wines in Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale Near Adelaide

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania

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South Australia is home to hundreds of vineyards. Although we couldn’t visit them all, Mr. Selfish and I did manage to visit eight of them during our short stay in Adelaide. We visited four wineries in Barossa Valley, which is about 60 km northeast of Adelaide and is known for its red wines. We then visited four wineries in McLaren Vale, which is about 35 km south of Adelaide and is known for its production of shiraz wines.

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No, just kidding. Mr. Selfish wasn’t even driving that day.

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Meet and Eat in Adelaide

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I spent three lovely evenings in Adelaide, which is a coastal city in South Australia. One of Mr. Selfish’s friends from grad school, Greg, and his wife, Tanya, graciously showed us around and introduced us to the concept of the “meet and eat.” It requires two steps: (1) you meet animals and then (2) you eat the animals from step 1.

Step 1: Meeting the Animals

For step 1, we visited the Cleland Wildlife Park. We purchased the feed for $3 a bag and started meeting and feeding the animals we would later devour.

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We met quite a few emus, which are large flightless birds. They are similar to ostrich in size and taste. Mmmmmm…delicious!

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Savoring the Wine, Cheese, Berries, and Oysters in Tasmania

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Tasmania

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Mr. Selfish and I were surprised at the quality of food in Tasmania. Everything that we ate was simply delicious. Since Tassie is an island, the vast majority of the food is local, which means that everything that you eat is fresh and in season.

The first stops we made were at two wineries in Tamar Valley. On our way from Hobart to Rosevears, we stopped at the Josef Chromy winery (370 Relbia Road, Relbia 7258) for lunch and a wine tasting.

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We enjoyed a yummy saffron soup, greens, and a salmon and fenugreek risotto. We also had a wine tasting. Tamar Valley is known for its white wines, which me and Mr. Selfish adore. We restrained ourselves and only purchased one bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.

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Random Yummy Bites in Sydney

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney

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Looking back on our time in Sydney, I will remember all of the good food fondly. This post is dedicated to some of our more yummy bites in Sydney.

Mamak for Mouthwatering Malay Food

Mr. Selfish and I started queuing up for Mamak (15 Goulburn Street, Haymarke) around 4:55pm. The restaurant opens at 5pm, and the line was already around the block. It was worth the wait though because the food is authentic and delicious.

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Mamak is known for its fresh roti and satay. We tried the plain roti canai ($5.50), the murtabak, which is roti filled with spicy chicken or lamb, cabbage, egg, and onions ($11.50), and the beef satay, which is served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce (1/2 dozen for $9.00). Everything was delicious but the standout dish was the plain roti canai. It was freshly made, crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.

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Brew Pub Battle: 4 Pines v. Lord Nelson

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney

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Mr. Selfish and I are so glad to once again be in a country with a brew pub culture. At first, we were a bit skeptical as to the microbreweries in Sydney but were quickly won over by two brew pubs – 4 Pines and the Lord Nelson Pub.

The 4 Pines in Manly

During our first nine days in Sydney, we stayed at my cousin’s apartment in Manly. In order to get to Manly from Sydney city center, you have to take the Manly ferry, which takes around 30 minutes and costs $5.80 per single trip. Although taking an hour trip and paying $11.60 to go to a brew pub seems a bit much, 4 Pines (29/43-45 E Esplanade, Manly) is worth the trip, especially on a day with a beautiful sunset.

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Chomping Down in Surry Hills

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney

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Mr. Selfish and I suffered serious sticker shock upon our arrival in Sydney. We found the food prices to be quite high. I saw a plain glazed donut in the mall that cost $3. Yeah, one donut. On the bright side, the quality of the food is consistently better than average. Even when we ate at a random establishment (sans any research), we were typically content with the food quality.

Bills for Yummy Breakfast

Although we didn’t spend much time in the Surry Hills area, Mr. Selfish and I did manage to eat at some nice restaurants. First, we found the breakfast at Bills (359 Crown Street) to be rather tasty.

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The highlight of the meal was the ricotta hotcakes that came with banana and honeycomb butter ($19.50). The hotcakes melt in your mouth and the honeycomb butter adds a delightful texture. We also enjoyed the scrambled organic eggs ($14.50), which were the creamiest scrambled eggs I’ve ever tasted.

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Searching for the Best Ramen in Tokyo

29 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Searching for the Best . . ., Tokyo

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Mr. Selfish and I knew that as soon as arrived in Tokyo, we would start our search for the best ramen there. We went to three new ramen shops, as well as an Ichiran, which we loved in Fukuoka.

Kyushu Jangara

First, we went to Kyushu Jangara, which is located in Harajuku (located at Shanzeru Harajuku II 1-2F, 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo). They serve tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen with a boiled egg, pork chashu, and thick slices of pork belly.

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Verdict: The ramen was quite tasty, especially with the two different types of pork. The broth was porky and flavorful but the noodles were just standard.

Score: 8.0.

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