Catch-Up: Food and a Fairy at the Fleadh

[tuftears]

Almost done with catching up! ^_^



A new bakery-cafe opened next to my favorite used bookstore: Cafe Panotiq. I stopped by out of a vague feeling that I should support the neighborhood, and tried their apple turnover, pictured above.

How was it? The pastry part was great... Unfortunately, the filling was not. I prefer my apple turnovers to have actual pieces of apple in them. This one was filled with an 'apple compote', so basically apple jam, and the lack of toothsome texture was annoying.

I did give them another chance though, the following day when dracosphynx came over to watch Big Hero 6. But I'm getting ahead of myself in the story here.

We went out to check out the 'Silicon Valley Irish Fleadh' fair, which turned out to be really tiny... Like five or six vendors (admittedly some really nice crafts) and this fairy blowing up balloon animals for the kids:



We browsed around looking for somewhere to eat, and wound up at 'Ramen Yu Gen':



This is 'chicken paitan ramen'. 'Paitan' evidently means 'white sauce', or a milk-based broth. I think I like the sauce a bit better than the usual 'tonkotsu'. It was pretty filling! So we watched Big Hero 6 at my place in order to digest our meals before dessert, the Mexican chili ice cream that dracosphynx had brought over in order to menace me.



I ate mine with a slice of opera cake from the previously mentioned Cafe Panotiq. The ice cream has quite a spicy aftertaste that you won't notice until the dairy fades from your tongue to reveal the chili, but this blends perfectly with the chocolate/coffee flavors of the opera cake. Perfect combo!

And that's all for the catch-up posts... Wait, what do you mean I just cooked today and I need to post those pictures?

-_-

Comments

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

There really isn't a "regular" ramen broth. Tonkotsu is just what's popular in the States right now, it seems. There are actually tons of others because there's sort of a thing in Japan where each area (sometimes down to town level) has their own version of ramen. People literally go on ramen tours! :D

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

I see! Do you have a favorite kind of ramen then?

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

I've only had the tonkatsu kind and a dashi-based kind (aside from instant which doesn't really count).

However, there's a food show I watch on NHK and they covered some of the more common regional varieties and the Hokkaido style looks AMAZING. It's miso-based and loaded with veggies and chopped pork (instead of big slices of pork). The intent is that it's a hearty ramen to get one through the long winters. Sounds fantastic to me (and I love miso).

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Sounds good. :)

This guide to ramen styles (http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html) seems to say it all. I just ate and it's still appetizing. -_-

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's an incredibly detailed (and complicated) guide. Now I'm confused. :D

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

It seems to be just 'pick from column A, column B, and column C'. :)

[rowyn]

That opera cake looks scrumptious!

... I am totally gonna end up getting a snack at this rate. c_c

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

It was even prettier on the way home, sunlight glinting off the golden almond slivers settling into the slowly melting chocolate topping. They looked like gilding.