Bringing Sueshine Across the Pond

All was silent on my blog when I went MIA for a while last October. You see, by day, my husband is a hardworking (and overworked) locksmith. Seems like a normal job right? But by night though, I'm married to a "ninja." My husband started a somewhat traditional Filipino martial arts class in 2004 which evolved into a monster a few years ago when he started posting videos of his class on YouTube simply to explain the his style of martial arts called Libre Fighting. Long story short, he's managed to expand his business throughout the United States.

So Sueshine, what the heck does this have to do with a food/baking blog? Don't worry, I'll get to that.

In early 2011, Scott had told me that Libre Fighting was going international. Can you guess where judging by the picture to the left? LONDON, ENGLAND!! I instantly told him I was tagging along and that he didn't have much choice in the matter. Ever since I was a little girl, I had always wanted to go to London. I was obsessed with English literature (I wanted to be a British Literature teacher at one point) and royalty (not really the current monarchy but more along the lines of Tudors). Although we had been married for 3 and a half years, we never got around to going on our honeymoon (even though we had been gifted a vacation) because we're both workaholics. So in October 2011, a little "sunshine" was brought across the pond. 

Although the first part of the trip was work related for the husband, we still had time to go out to dinner every night and had the most amazing coffee every morning (note: Starbucks isn't on every corner in London like it is here in the States. There are so many options on where you get your strong coffee!). I was so excited to be in London that I actually forgot my camera several times when we went out to eat. I think you all will forgive me a bit for forgetting I'm a blogger and just let me savor my food just for a little bit, right? We had Mexican: good but come on now, I'm from Southern California, mecca of taco shops. We had pizza: A true New Yorker would FLIP OUT if they saw the version of "New York" pizza that I had - ham, grilled sweet onions, roasted potatoes, and sour cream! We also had a Sunday Roast with my friend from high school, her hubby, and her friends: Scott had a steak and I had bangers (sausage) and mash....so delicious but filling! Here are a few pictures when I didn't forget!

 

TAYYAB'S (Indian/Pakistani)
Mixed Grill with kebabs, chicken, and lamb chops....and that was just the starter!! Special thanks to the Libre London Chapter for bringing us here. We had great company during a great meal!
Be prepared to wait for a table and sit very close to your neighbor but so worth it.
Whitechapel area: 83-89, Fieldgate St. London E1 1JU



STRADA (Italian)
Rigatoni Speck: light cream and cheese sauce with Italian smoked ham and rocket
From what I gather, Strada is a chain restaurant but it's still very tasty. We went to the one in Royal Festival Hall right along the River Thames. Touristy but still a beautiful location for lunch.
Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XX




THE MINORIES (Traditional Pub)
You can't go to London and not go to a pub! Fish and chips (and peas?) are available everywhere but I didn't have any until one of our last days while playing tourist.
64-73 Minories, London, EC3N 1JL

 

One of the highlights of the trip (the hubby would beg to differ) for me was going to Harrod's (www.harrods.com). If you are not familiar with Harrod's, it's a 7-level department store in the Knightsbridge area of London that carries designers such as Chanel, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, and so much more. But that wasn't what I came to Harrod's for. I went to Harrod's to visit the food halls. My parents visited London quite a few years ago and my mom had told me to visit the food halls because she thought I would enjoy it. After you walk through the ground floor past all the designer items, right in the center of the store are the food halls. The first hall I walked into was the boulangerie and patisserie (breads and pasteries) and I was instantly blown away.

The Boulangerie
Fresh baked breads, tarts, and pies....both savory and sweet.

The Patisserie

Pasteries and cakes.....that went on.....

...and on...

...and on....

 ..and on for days!

The next food hall was the charcuterie (prepared meats such as bacon, sausage, etc), fromagerie (cheeses), and traiteur (from what I gather its prepared food/dishes that you can "take away" or take to go).

Various Terrines. I explained it to my husband: "Think of it as a fancy meatloaf."
I'm probably going to get grief from you foodies but oh well. I was surprised by how many they had.

The last hall I wandered into was the chocolates and confectioneries which included various candies, truffles, and cookies (biscuts in the UK). I, of course, had to look at the macarons because I will be making them for my cousin's wedding this June and I always like examining/tasting so I can learn how to improve my version.

"Giant" (by macaron standards) Macarons made by Harrod's

Macarons from La Maison Du Chocolat. I bought a box and hand carried it on the plane for my cousin because I wanted her to have real French macarons. Sweet cousin that she is said mine were better! haha

There was also a food hall for produce, fresh meats, and seafood. Also scattered throughout the food halls are places that you could sit down and eat including a fresh oyster/caviar bar, sushi bar, cafe for coffee, dim sum, rotisserie, steakhouse, and grill. On other levels of Harrod’s, full restaurants can be found ranging from fine dining, to a diner, to a tea room, to an ice cream parlor, or to pure indulgence at Cafe Godiva. If you visit the Harrod's website, you can take a 360 degree tour of parts of the department store, including a few of the food halls. You too will be blown away. I wish we had more time to explore Harrod's but I could tell my husband had his fill of my foodie obsession. Next time I'll have to drag my one of my friends that live in London and spend the whole day there.

Scott will probably be making an annual trip to London to teach. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to tag along this year but I am making it a goal to go back soon. For now, I'll sit here and listen to my tummy rumble as I recall the wonderful memories I made in London.

By the way, the usually gray skies of London were surprisingly blue with the exception of one evening. We really did bring the sunshine with us!!

Taste N' Tinis 2011 - Eat, Drink, & Shop!

I was long overdue for another food tour of my fine city. I was also long overdue to get some Christmas shopping done. When I heard about Taste N' Tini's, I was all for it. I mean, how could you really go wrong with food, martinis, and some shopping in Hillcrest? I messaged my friend Ashley (the creator of my lovely Lil Ms Sueshine logo!) and asked her if she wanted to join me. Very few people understand my obesession about breaking out my camera right in the middle of a meal. Ashley does because she's usually right there doing the same thing. I had a great time and I'm glad I was able to try out a few new places. I'll definitely be going back try more menus. My favorite of the night: Snooze, an AM Eatery. I LOVE breakfast and that's pretty much their whole menu. I'll take one of everything please! 

I highly encourage people to explore their cities and these tasting events are a great way to do it. Enjoy the little video I put together!

Mother's Day Brunch: La Gran Terraza

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my family's horrible brunch experience during Easter. Oddly, I was at that same restaurant a year ago on Mother's Day and it was only slightly better than Easter this year. So for this Mother's Day, I needed a place that would please my mom. I started planning about a week and a half ago, scouring the internet for a good place for brunch that would meet my mom's criteria:

1) Wouldn't cost us a small fortune for 4 people
2) Had a view

3) Good food

http://www.opentable.com/ had a listing of some places that had availability for brunch but unfortunately, not for the best times. It was either really early or later in the day. I was not going to make the mistake of going too late in the day, that things would run out like on Easter. Listed on the site was a restaurant that I had never heard of before called the La Gran Terraza on the University of San Diego campus. Hm, kinda sketchy because it use to be the faculty dining hall back in the day. Is the food going to be like cafeteria food? I did a little more research on Yelp.com and it received decent comments so I made a reservation. I'm so glad I did! I couldn't have been more pleased with this restaurant. So lets go over my mom's criteria:

1) Cost: Mother's Day Brunch at La Gran Terraza was $35.00 per person ($19.95 on a regular Sunday. See the restaurant website for the menu because I believe it is different when it isn't a holiday). Terrific price compared to the large hotels that were charging $50+ per person.

2) View: I actually went to high school across the street from the USD campus so I know all about that view. From the terrace seating, you could see Mission Bay and from other parts of the restaurant, with the huge floor to ceiling windows, you could see Tecolote Canyon. Inside, there are light neutral colors, plenty of natural light, dark hardwood floors, and touches of the old mission style architecture with a nice double sided fire place. Everything is very open...the tables are far enough apart that you don't feel like you are eavesdropping on the next table's conversation. The theme for Mother's Day was buttery yellow with lots of flowers for the mom's to enjoy.

3) Food: As you might remember, the one thing my mom wanted from the previous brunch was snow crab legs but after about 2 small pieces, they ran out. La Gran Terraza did not disappoint. They had two large ice displays with mounds of fresh pre-peeled shrimp, king crab legs (already split), smoked salmon, and oysters on a half shell. Other than the great seafood, their other main focus was on breakfast foods. The had an omlette station and waffle/french toast station that was quick and had plenty of choices for toppings/fillings. They even had a "Kid's Corner" that catered to the picky tastes of little kids: mac and cheese, chicken fingers, whole wheat pizza, and mini pancakes. One of the best items that I had at this brunch was the prime rib. Most buffets have a prime rib that's been sitting under a heat lamp for so long, it it gets tasteless and dry (remember the one that made my aunt's silverware fly?) The restaurant was contstantly bring out a new piece so it was always fresh and tender. I'm not that big of a fan of prime rib but this was excellent. I wish I had room for more of the yummy food!

Of course, just as I did with the other place comes my favorite part. Although I couldn't eat much of it, I'm always impressed with the desserts and the presentations. The dessert table was the centerpiece of the brunch and I'm sure you'll see why with my pictures. The website listed Tony Martin as the pastry chef and all I have to say is, well done Mr. Martin! I hope you take a moment to appreciate the presentation of the desserts like I did.



Chocolate Centerpiece
Cool! It's like what they make on the competitions on the Food Network.



Chocolate Fountain with almost anything you would want to dip in chocolate



Assorted Tarts and Cakes
I couldn't tell you what most of these were because I obviously couldn't try everything or I would have been in a serious sugar coma.



Triple Chocolate Martini Pot de Creme
One of the prettiest presentations and very popular because a lot of people were carrying this one around. Unfortunately no one at our table had room to taste it!

 

Lemon Merguine Tarts.
I'd like to recreate this one sometime but I'm not sure I could make the meringue so pretty!



Panna Cotta & Apricot Gelee
 I apologize for the missing bites in the picture. I saw it on the dessert display and it was so interesting looking, I had to know what it was in it!



Myers Rum Profieroles
 My mom says not many people make their cream puffs like this anymore with the hard sugar glaze and disc. She was impressed.

The last plus side to the brunch at La Gran Terraza was the service. When I made the reservations online, one of the managers called the following day to confirm. The hostesses were pleasent and very orgranized...I did not have to wait for them to get my table ready. Although it was brunch, the wait staff was extremely friendly and came by several times to see that we had everything we needed. One friendly waiter (I wish I had asked his name) even took the time to describe the desserts to me so I could pass on what everything was ;)

La Gran Terraza met all three of my mom's requests. It made me happy to see my mom happy with what was presented at this brunch. Sometimes it's good to try something new and it's always a bonus when the experience is this good. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

La Gran Terraza - University of San Diego

5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110

Phone: (619) 849-8205

Website: http://www.sandiego.edu/dining/lagranterraza/

Suehine Note: This is a review of the holiday brunch at La Gran Terraza. I have not tried their happy hour, lunch, or dinner menu but I hope to do so sometime soon.

Blessed in all senses....except the brunch experience.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Easter Sunday with their friends and families.

Last weekend, while my large Filipino family were spending time together and  remembering my grandmother who passed away 16 years ago, we started to plan our Easter. My mom, the designated family cook, announced that she was going on vacation, leaving on Wednesday and coming back on Saturday night so she was not going to do the cooking this year. The family had decided to let other people worry about the food for us and we were going to brunch. Sounded like a good plan. My uncle made reservations for 18 at the SouthBay Fish and Grill at the Chula Vista Marina.

Okay let me preface this story with this in mind: I never complain about the service at restaurants publicly. No matter how bad the service or how gross the food was, I do not go on Yelp or any review sites and leave comments. I leave that to other people. I sometimes give a place one more chance then if the experience is the same that time around, I just never go back. (The first time I went to this place was back when it was called Jake's and my parents had their wedding reception there). The first time I went to SouthBay Fish and Grill was for Mother's Day Brunch, 2010. I had made reservations way in advance and requested a table by a window because my mom wanted a view. That day, we got there on time and they were going to seat us in the overflow tent area. I had explained to the hostess that I specifically asked for a table with a view. We didn't get that table until about 45 minutes after my reservation time. Other than that, the food was decent and the service was pretty good for brunch on a holiday. Easter Brunch 2011 was a whole lot worse. I would have left it alone this time around but today was something special. I tolerate a lot of stuff but this one takes the cake. I know this is mainly a baking blog but I wanted to do a service to the people of Chula Vista, CA.

At around 12:45, we were seated in a much too small table for our party of 11 and it was practically a foot and a half away from the next table of 10+ people (thank God there were less of us...who know how they would have squished 18 people at a table!). We went to get food and there wasn't much of a selection and dishes were not labelled....it was a game of guess what mystery dish you will be eating! The omelets/waffle/carving station was understaffed so the line was long for omelets (scrambles more like it), the incredibly undercooked prime rib (I swear to you it could have still been mooing!),  incredibly overcooked roast beef (my aunt's silverware went flying while she was trying to cut into it), and the ham...well...it was just a bone. When the name of your restaurant is SouthBay FISH and grill, you would think you would be stocked up on the seafood. It was barely 1:00 and there were only a few crab legs available (what my uncle and mom were definitely looking forward to because that's what they advertised). They asked the manager if there would be any more available only to be told about 30 minutes later that they had run out. The rest of the dishes were okay....nothing fantastic since it was mainly breakfast food which is pretty hard to mess up.

The saving grace, as far as food went, were the desserts (this is where I get the relevance of my rant to my blog!) There was certainly no shortage in desserts today: Endless mound of chocolate covered strawberries, brownies, cookies, creme brulee, cannolis, black forest cake, apple crisp, pecan tarts, bread pudding bites, strawberries w/ whipped cream. Too bad I couldn't eat most of it *sad face* or I might have just been at this table the duration of brunch. I did take bites of the creme brulee which was very creamy and had a nice crunch topping. The bread pudding bite was moist and the chocolate strawberry was tasty (too sweet though...I ended up taking off the chocolate). Props to the person who prepared the desserts...lots of selection, presented well, and yummy (from the few bites I could take).

We then got a little rushed when it came the the check. At this point, the crowd was dying down and there were plenty of vacant tables. The waitress kept asking if we wanted our check so we finally took it and gave a mix of cash and 2 credit cards. She came back a few minutes and said that half the power in the restaurant was down, including the credit card machine. They were working on getting it fixed but...."could we pay for cash?" Nope, not with a bill for a party of 11 at EASTER brunch (prices are of course increased because of the holiday). She disappeared again and came back...."could we pay with a check?" Who really carries their checkbook now a days with debit cards handy? The power came on long enough for her to run our cards. We then took our time, enjoying each others company and sipping champagne since we weren't too happy with the food. Could we have some coffee maybe with our dessert? Sorry....they had run out of coffee, said another waitress. Hmm what restaurant runs out of coffee?

We finally got up to leave and were heading out. The manager was standing there on our way out and my uncle commented to him about the coffee. The manager said there WAS coffee....hmm, odd.  Then it happened (At this point my mom and I were in the parking lot, waiting on my aunt and uncle so they recounted what follows, outside). One of the waitresses (not our regular one..the one that said there wasn't any coffee) stopped my aunt, "You didn't pay." Right in front of the manager, the waitress said again, "They didn't PAY." When they retold this to us, I couldn't believe it. My mom had a completely confused look on her face. They were actually accusing my family of dining and dashing! First of all, how do you dine and dash with a party of 11?!! Second, we were one of the last families there....why would we wait over 2 hours to dash and when the restaurant was practically empty. Third, my uncle had a receipt for his credit card which he promptly showed the manager. "What did the manager say?" I asked my uncle. "Nothing." Seriously? The manager couldn't even do basic customer service back when things first started to go south. He couldn't even go around the restaurant and apologize....we weren't even asking to be comped anything....just an apology would have been nice. Then to be accused by one of his staff members who was obviously wrong and he again did not offer an apology? Yup, you're time is up buddy....you just lost some customers and gained a bad review on my blog (probably a Yelp review from my uncle too...hehe). I DEFINITELY will NOT be back. If you live in the South Bay, please do not waste your time at this place.

On a more positive note, if this was the worst thing that happened today, I'm okay with that. I KNOW there are millions of people who are much worse off and I pray for them. I'm grateful every day for my family. I'm grateful we are able to spend time and meals together when so many others cannot at this time. In the end, Easter is a time to spend with family...even when it's like an experience like this.