SEATTLE: Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cheese and Cheese!

Had the luxury of visiting some of my favorite restaurants in Vancouver, Whistler, Seattle and Vegas, a few to list were *ta da*, In and Out Burgers, Beecher's Deli, Tojo's... and all that good stuff!

Let's start with Beecher's.  It's a little deli in Seattle at the Pike Place Market that claims to serve the "World's Best Mac & Cheese".  I, of course have not tried nearly enough Mac & Cheese to agree but what they're serving must be pretty darn close to the best. It's not exactly "Mac", more like penne, still got the same lovin' for it though. Crusted with baked cheese and chili powder on top and Beecher's special sauce mixed with their cheese is absolutely heavenly. It's already-made, so they just scoop it out of the trays and serve it in a bowl. It would probably be more fresh, if only I visited a little earlier in the day, it was good enough for me, the aroma of the cheese was strong; biting through the stringy yet saucy dish must be one of the best feelings in the world. I have yet to try even better Mac & Cheese, please let me know if you know of any!

 

You can even take it home and make it yourself! Of course, being the lazy person that I am, I rather just be served :p

Besides their Mac & Cheese, another favorite of mine, is their grilled cheese sandwiches. It's a simple dish and I do realize the only reason why it's so good here is because a. they make it as you order it, in a panini grill; and b. they're using their own cheese for this sandwich and their cheese are hella good.

If you're in Seattle with a few friends, I recommend you drop by for an afternoon snack and share these two phenomenal dishes.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese, 1600  Pike Place, Seattle, Washington, 98101. 206-956-1964
http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com

Opened 9am - 6pm daily
Average cost for lunch: $4.75-$8.25USD

KOBE: Revisiting my long time lover: Kannonya

As the title attest, Kannonya is my long time lover in Kobe, Japan. It's simply my favorite place for cheesecakes. I wrote about this last year but this time going to Japan, I found Kannonya a new fan.  The last time I was here has been quite a while ago, thus I got a little lost. :p

 

After 40 minutes of searching, we finally arrived. I paid more attention to the ambiance, the setting and basically the whole experience this time while I was there. After 3 days of non-stop shopping, I just wanted to relax in this small cafe. We were seated right by the window. Playing light tunes, the colour and lighting provided just what I needed in a midday break from the hustling Sannomiya city.

Instead of ordering a few different desserts like the previous times I was here, I announced that I was getting my OWN cheesecake. Hehe.. "selfish" I was called. Little did the name-caller know, when he finally takes a bite out of his cake, he too, would want his own.  So about halfway through my cake, savouring every single bite with closed eyes and a dreamy smile, our name-caller devoured every single crumb, TA-DA... now he knows why I wanted my own cake! There I was, still chewing each bite with extreme pleasure. Who says chocolate was the only way to bliss? So is this, and this gets me there even quicker!

I just absolutely HAD to brag about my moments at Kannonya.. and how I miss that single hour I was there. Ahhh... bliss is a wonderful thing.

The comment I received from my partner: "The walk was SO WORTH IT!"

Kannonya 兵庫県神戸市中央区東川崎町6-1 Phone: 078-360-1537

http://www.kannonya.co.jp/menu/menu.htm

VANCOUVER: Kintaro

Should be the most popular Ramen restaurant in the Lower Mainland. Whether it's in the cold miserable winter or sunny Vancouver, the restaurant always seems to be able to gather a little crowd outside their doors on Denman. Their hot steamy bowls of ramen on a cold winter day is always welcoming, their cold ramen on a sunny Vancouver afternoon will never be rejected.

The freshly made ramen comes with a rich vegetable and pork broth. You can have your choice of lean or fatty pork. The flavours vary between the traditional Miso, Shoyu, Curry or even CHEESE! Yes, CHEESE.. I love it! I must say, it will not disappoint cheese lovers. As the menu says "The ladies loooo-ve it!" Boy, do they ever know what ladies LOVE! Heavenly!!

The noodles here are nice and springy, but not overly chewy nor soggy. The soup is to die for, though you really can't have it more than once a month or you'd really probably die of cholesterol. The portions are big enough for a grown man, too much for a lady, especially the cheese ramen, really fills you up.

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

As you may have already noticed, I dine out far more than I cook, and honestly, it's not because I don't enjoy it, I just don't like the preparation work of cooking. First time *actually cooking in my new apartment and it turned out better than expected!

This pasta doesn't have a name, since we just raided the supermarkets selecting products that we wanted to eat!

Ingredients:
- Tomatoes
- Chopped onions
- Olive Oil
- White wine
- Rubia Chorizo Sausauges
- thyme
- Holland Giant mushrooms
- Chili flakes
- ground black pepper, salt to season
- mozzarella
- spinach
- whole wheat organic spaghetti

1. Boil spaghetti in a large pot, turn heat off when it comes to a boil and cover pot for 15 minutes.

2. Drain and set aside.
3. Chop onions and cut each tomatoes into four slices

4. Simmer onions and tomatoes with olive oil/butter until soft

5. Add white wine, chili flakes and thyme, stir until almost dry, add more white wine
6. Wait until it comes to a boil, add Chorizo, mushrooms and spinach

7. Mix in spaghetti

8. Add salt and pepper and mozzarella
9. Voila!

SEATTLE; Melting Pot

Another warm and fuzzy entry. The Melting Pot, located throughout North America, how I wish there was one closer to my proximity. It's been around since 1975 and we're still loving it. Fondue all the way through. Their set meals are always delicious but can NEVER finish the whole thing regardless of how hungry we are. Set meal for 2 is around $60-$78, we ordered a set dinner for 2 to share amongst 3 people and we STILL couldn't finish it.... in fact, we weren't even close! The dishes are so heavy as you can imagine, but oh-so-so yummy. First course, you start off with a cheese fondue.. yes, this is my favorite... and for a surprise, NOT the dessert. They give you a selection of different cheeses to choose from, and then provide you with a platter of bread, fruits and other goodies. The "Surf and Turf" offers a choice of fresh meats and seafood with Caribbean rubs and flavors like vanilla rum chicken, peppered shrimp, lobster and jerk sirloin in cooking styles from Mojo bouillon to Coq au Vin herbs and burgundy wine. Offers a wide selection of sauces and dips. To be honest, I didn't really like this type of fondue. The soup tastes a little too salty and had too much wine added to it. (I prefer chinese soupy hotpot as opposed to this one) The dessert was overly filling but presentation was very nice and come on, it's chocolate, can't really go wrong. A little on the sweet side. This one featured here is the Yin and Yang, half dark chocolate and half white chocolate. Tried the Flaming turtle before, and didn't like that one. It is milk chocolate mixed with caramel and nuts, flambeed tableside. Way too sweet for my liking, however, I do like the selection of fruits and cakes. A platter of strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, spongecake and marshmallows comes with the chocolate fondue. Overall, if you are looking for something different from what you normally have, this is a nice fun alternative that gets everyone involved. Great for big social gatherings. Would love to go again sometime.

VANCOUVER: Goat Cheese Pave

Sorry for the disgustingly poor photo quality but this is the only one I have atm. I don't know about you but I am definitely a goat-cheese-lover. This can't be missed if you are passing through Vancouver. Abigail's Party. It's a very small local restaurant on Yew Street. I can't say everything else is superb but this, all goat-cheese-lovers have got to try. I have been craving it for over a year already.
Pan-seared thin potato wrapped bundle of oozing goat cheese, roasted garlic, pearl onions, red wine & hibiscus reduction, focaccia