Bistro Chi / Kama Lounge

i've found my new niche! it's a Chinese restaurant call'd Bistro Chi, connect'n to a bar call'd Kama Lounge. of my 3 visits to Bistro Chi & 1 to Kama Lounge, i was never disappoint'd w/ the entire experience from the food, to the drinks, to the service :) it's a great place for dining & chill'n w/ friends. and yes, i've taken my friends there! :)

i love how the setting is modern, yet the Chinese food is still authentic Chinese food (though there is not a speck of Chinese characters in sight on the menus or inside/outside the place)! peek'n thru the window into the space, u would never guess it was a Chinese restaurant. HaHa. i like that! alongside the usual Chinese food, Bistro Chi offers bar food & yummy cocktails. i super like!

my first visit was with my cousin, his gf & their elementary school classmates who are now my neighbors in a different state! SMALL WORLD! we order'd 3 dishes, plus sweet potato fries. one of them was very unique to me: the sweet deep-fry'd t-bone steak (no picture...dunno why). it was yummy! i've never really had/seen/heard of deep-fry'd beef except IHOP's country-fry'd steak & a really yummy beef dish in Toronto that tasted almost like it should've come in the form of junk food.

the other 2 dishes we order'd were tender stir-fry'd flounder & lemon chicken.

the presentation of the lemon chicken was novel & instead of the usual cubes, these were breast fillets. a little dry, but still good.

then we got dessert on the house cos my neighbor knows the Bistro Chi people! EXTRA SWEET! we had a slice of espresso mousse cake & a slice of peanut butter cake - both were DELICIOUS! unlikely made in-house, but who cares!? they were GOOD!!!

Second time i went, i brought my friends for lunch. i had the best egg drop soup ever! then i had black pepper steak w/ rice - a little too generous w/ the sauce (tad too salty), but i finish'd the entire plate! YUMMY! no pictures.

third time i went, i went w/ friends to the connect'n Kama Lounge for drinks after dinner. i order'd the Kama cocktail - a fruity concoction of passionfruit rum, pineapple, pomegranate & such. DELICIOUS! we also order'd sweet potato fries (again), mango sorbet & Chinese-style salt-&-pepper fry'd calamari. i never ever ate calamari before, but i couldn't resist this time - it's fry'd! haha. i'm an oddball when it comes to try'n new things: if i didn't eat it grow'n up, i'm stubborn to try it, but in the past 3 yrs, i've try'd & favorited lots of food - asparagus, mango, strawberries, eggplant, salads, sushi. it was yummy!

my Kama drink, the sweet potato fries served w/ ranch & chop'd red onion & the mango sorbet w/ fresh sliced mango.

this was YUMMY!!!

my 1st time eat'n calamari :)

my fourth visit was 2 days ago w/ friends. we shared a few tapas & a few Chinese dishes.

my Kama drink

  

pull'd pork quesadillas - GOOD!

the usual sweet potato fries - GOOD!

curry lemongrass shrimp skewers - didn't get to try one, but they must've been GOOD! will try next time!

crab cakes w/ dijonaise sauce - the sauce was overpower'n & salty.

duck confit w/ raspberry preserves - i don't eat duck anymore (just because...), but the toast was good. hehe.

shrimp & scallop over a bed of garlic-y vermicelli - YUMMY! the vermicelli was nice & greasy & very garlic-y. :)

our regular Chinese veggies dish - garlic stir-fry'd peapods - YUMMY!

stir-fry'd beef & veggies - YUMMY!

although my tummy expands forward & sideways, i couldn't fit dessert this time around. :P 

BUT we went for more drinks @ their other restaurant one block away - Fuji 1546. they (people i don't know) also own shabu, beni & fuji @ kendall. i like these people! their food is good and their locations work for me! :) have yet to try shabu & fuji @ kendall, but i'm sure i'll be there soon enough!

Happy Eat'n! :)

[recipe] black sesame cupcakes

black sesame cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes
adapt'd from Ghirardelli's Grand Fudge Cake recipe on the cocoa powder container



- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup black sesame powder (original recipe uses 3/4 cup cocoa instead of black sesame. i bot the black sesame powder from the Chinese market, it's just ground black sesame seeds, costs around $2.50 for a brand from Taiwan w/ a cute cow on it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), soften'd (take out of fridge for 30 minutes or longer, or microwave both sticks together for 15 seconds right after you take out of the fridge)
- 1 cup sugar (original recipe takes 1 & 3/4 cups)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 & 1/3 cups milk (water is OK too; i use water whenever i don't have milk)

*Red Velvet cupcakes - i use this same recipe for red velvet cupcakes, but use only 1/4 cups cocoa & add 1T red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, black sesame powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium high speed (using handmixer or standmixer) until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while mixing on low speed. Only mix until everything's combined & smooth. DO NOT OVERMIX or the cake will be dense! Spoon mixture into cupcake pan lined with cupcake baking cups. Bake 25-30 minutes (for me, it always seem to take longer than the recipe says)

this cake is delicious on its own, but would go well w/ any vanilla, white chocolate, green tea, or black sesame frostings. i usually do swiss meringue buttercream (egg whites, butter & sugar) or cream cheese buttercream (cream cheese, butter & sugar).

ENJOY!!!

Colin's 100th Day Celebration Cake

after a crazy day of 2 under-baked cakes, my 5th fail'd souffle cheesecake, an always delicious wing'd-by-me tiramisu, 3 more black sesame cakes, a double batch of green tea swiss meringue buttercream, and lots of rush'n to walk the dog, pack for an overnight trip, and figuring how to safely transport my yummy goods (and lots of butter, eggs & sugar used), Colin's cake was complete, just in time for Pearl to pick me up & drive to NY! hahaha. good thing i finish'd the cardboard monkey a week before.

Baby Colin's 1st Cake: 2 tiers of black sesame cake w/ green tea swiss meringue buttercream top'd w/ the monkey that i design'd for the parents in 2008. (wish i had bot a cake-decorating turn table)

the Happy Parents with Baby Colin & my cakes :)

luckily the cake only mess'd up a little bit from the 250+ miles commute - it tilt'd a lil.

the tiramisu could've used a good dust'n of cocoa to be re-pretty'd up (saran wrap ate the cake!)

my slice of yummy & moist black sesame cake w/ green tea swiss meringue buttercream :)

baking project #2 of 2012

my 2nd baking project for 2012 is coming sooner than i had expect'd & i am super duper psych'd about it cos i hav this crazy fun idea combining a character that i currently LIKE A LOT (no, i am not obsess'd...maybe...or am i?) who? it's どーも aka DOMO! last yr i made a DOMO bday cake for my lil bro w/ a DOMO cakepop on top, (see my profile pic), then a month later, i made more DOMO cakepops for my lil cousins. another DOMO cake was definitely on my 2012 to-bake list. :)

my 2nd DOMO cake creation is for my new friend of two months (we met on Thanksgiving) - Kai. he's really fun & nice just as all of the people i met @ Turkey Day dinner. a month after that, we gather'd for Christmas Eve dinner, Secret Santa & Yankee Swap. one of the Yankee Swappers offer'd a much-want'd DOMO lava lamp & a DOMO stuff'd animal backpack (I REALLY WANT'D THEM!). everyone "fought" for them including Kai. since Kai likes DOMO & turtles, i'm making him a DOMO & turtle cake!!! WooHoo! sounds fun, eh? it's gonna be a funfetti vanilla cake dome frost'd as a turtle w/ a big DOMO cake figurine/cakepop sit'n on top, been picturing it for days & smiling nonstop @ the thought of it. can't wait!!!
*2 DAYS LATER*

out with my notebook & time to doodle :)

plan'n for Colin's 1st party

my nephew Colin's turn'n 100 days old this week. he's get'n cuter & cuter! so lovable & full of positive happy energy to cheer up everyone around him!!! now, if only Colin will start sleep'n thru the night, allow'n his parents to rest up for work, then he's Perfect! hehe. parenthood is tough! GOOD LUCK LISA & PAUL! :)

to celebrate, my family will be hold'n a traditional Chinese banquet, which usually consists of a 9-course meal along with the essential red-dyed eggs, "chicken liquor soup" & "ginger vinegar soup". i've no clue how to cook the soups since i don't eat them, but they're the ultimate postpartum soup for new Mommies & usually "truckloads" of the 2 soups are cook'd & shared w/ friends & family, primarily women it seems. grow'n up i never noted any men consuming it...

anyways, so! i'll be baking a cake for the occasion. it'll be Baby Colin's 1st cake (the Baby Shower one was for Mommy Lisa). i wanna make a mini 2-tier one. it'll be mini since the restaurant's already providing a cake & guests usually skip dessert after the 9-course meal. doesn't stop me! hehe. in addition to Colin's cake, i'll be baking a cheesecake for my Aunt's belated bday & also making tiramisu cos 1. i'm craving it nonstop, 2. my Mommy recommend'd it, 3. Haily & Lisa's MIL love tiramisu.

for Colin's cake, it's gonna be 1 tier of green tea cake & 1 tier of black sesame cake. i needa decide on a trusty cake recipe & a frosting recipe. the cake will be baked & assembled up to 30hrs in advance since i'm baking it Friday morning, but it won't be consumed til Saturday night. my brother'll be deliver'n my sweets to Queens, NY on Saturday, while i'll be driving over on Friday night w/ friends to eat & shop. Yippy! No idea how i wanna decorate it yet, but definitely using my monkey design again. gotta bust out my notebook & brainstorm :)

Gift from Japan =D

OMG!!! Boston's get'n sakura trees from Japan in March!!! i can't wait to pig out & get drunk with friends under the Cherry Blossom trees, or let me rephrase, I can't wait for hold an Ohanami blossoms-view'n party :)

SAKURA  FESTIVAL  in  BOSTON

Spring, 2012

2012 marks the 100th Anniversary of the original gift of cherry trees from Japan to the United States in 1912.  Planted at the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River in the nation's capital and supplemented with more cherry trees over the years, the blossoming cherry trees of Washington DC have become a national treasure and attract hundreds of thousands of viewers to the "Cherry Blossom Festival" along the Potomac each spring.  Japan will mark this Centennial with new gifts of cherry trees to Washington and to a number of other American cities, Boston among them.  The Consulate General of Japan in Boston will arrange ceremonial cherry tree plantings in many Boston parks and public places.  To accompany the new cherry trees, planning is now underway for a rich festival of Japanese cultural events in Boston, beginning in March 2012 and spanning more than three springtime months.   Highlights of this festival include the events listed below.  Many, many more festival events will be added during the coming weeks and months.  For detailed information, schedules, details, and ticketing, please keep checking this website:

www.japansocietyboston.org