Tasty Chomps: A Local's Culinary Guide | A local's perspective to food and drink – food guides and more

Lowe’s Good Eaton Soul Food – Eatonville, FL

Ricky Ly

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Apr 26, 2011

Lowe’s Good Eaton Soul Food – Eatonville, FL

I recently traveled with my friend Sean over to Eatonville, home of Zora Neale Hurston and writer of Their Eyes were Watching God. Eatonville is the first African American community to be incorporated as a municipality in the United States (founded circa 1887). Today the city of Eatonville is very tiny, surrounded by Maitland and Edgewater and other suburbs on all sides. The main thoroughfare is Kennedy Boulevard, a street with churches, barber shops, a museum dedicated to Zora Neale Hurston, and most notably, Lowe’s Good Eaton Soul Food restaurant.

Lowe’s Good Eaton was founded by Shea Lowe, 26 years old, just three years ago. A native of Ocoee, Shea has several relatives from the Eatonville area and decided to open up Lowe’s Good Eaton because of his love for food and also for the love of business and money making with his passion for food.

When you enter Lowe’s Good Eaton, you immediately notice that the place could use some TLC, maybe some new paint or new tables and decor. I think it would do well to add something to brighten up the place and freshen it up a bit. In this case though, the old adage holds true that it is quite often the holes in the wall that serve up the best foods. Along their walls they have several awards and recognition, including a check from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority an a certificate for Best Pie 2010 from Orlando Weekly for their Sweet Potato Pie.

On this Friday, I ordered their BBQ ribs with two sides ($11), grilled on site at Good Eaton’s and served only on Fridays and Saturdays. We were lucky to have arrived at just the right time because they ran out of ribs right after we made our order. You order up at the counter where all the side dishes and some of the oxtail, baked chicken, and fried chicken are ready to be scooped up into your plates, kind of like by the lunch lady at the school cafeteria. The side dishes I ordered were the Mac N Cheese and Collared greens as well as a slice of their sweet potato pie ($2.50).

The BBQ ribs were slightly charred from the grill, flaky pieces of meat falling off the bone with every bite. The mac and cheese was a homestyle rendition of the American classic and also an instant favorite. The collared greens were fresh and tasty with bits of pork included. The sweet potato pie was creamy and had all the lovely flavors of smashed sweet potatoes in pie form.

Overall I enjoyed Lowe’s Good Eaton and would recommend it to those soul food lovers out there who don’t mind going to a hole in the wall 😉

Visit Lowe’s Good Eaton Soulfood Website at:
goodeatonsoulfood.com

The counter for orders at Lowe’s Good Eaton Soul Food

The famous Sweet Potato Pie

BBQ Ribs, Corn bread, collard greens, and mac n cheese…

Baja Fresh – Mexican Grill – Orlando

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 25, 2011

2

Baja Fresh sits inside a new plaza built across from UCF just south of Gemini Boulevard off of Alafaya Trail behind the BP gas station.

I had initially written off Baja Fresh as one of the many iterations of fast casual “Mexican Grills” that had come to Orlando in the past few years in the form of Chipotle, Moe’s, Qdoba, etc., and thought nothing of the place until recently when one of my friends invited me to join him for lunch there.

Although the place is a franchise based out of California, Baja Fresh is owned by a local family here in Orlando who still work the cash registers and handle the cooking in the open kitchen area. I could tell this place would be good upon entering, observing that most of the seats were already filled by local UCF students and business people on lunch break.

I ordered the Burrito ultimo with charbroiled steak, grilled peppers, chilies, onions, melted jack and cheddar cheese, roasted Salsa Baja, rice and sour cream. I also ordered a side of the mahi mahi fish tacos.

The good people at Baja Fresh don’t kid around when they say that their food is “fresh”: you can taste it immediately in the quality of the beef and ingredients, cooked to order, down to the salsa that is made fresh daily.

I personally feel that Baja Fresh beats out Chipotle, Moes, Qdoba etc in terms of taste and freshness and would not hesitate for the chance to go back the next time I have a hankering for a good burrito!

Baja Fresh’ CEO David Kim was recently on Undercover Boss as well, check it out here:
BAJA FRESH UNDERCOVER BOSS CBS VIDEO

Burrito Ultimo at Baja Fresh

Burrito Ultimo with chargrilled steak

Mahi mahi fish tacos

TheDailyCity.com Orlando Food Truck Bazaar #2

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 25, 2011

0

Check it outt from the daily city

CONTACT

Mark Baratelli, 407-310-5905, Mark@TheDailyCity.com

THEDAILYCITY.COM ORLANDO FOOD TRUCK BAZAAR #2New date: Sunday May 1st, 2011
New time: 7pm – 12am
New location: Dillards parking lot at Fashion Square Mall, Colonial Drive
Admission: Admission is free, the food is not.

Link: http://www.thedailycity.com/2011/04/thedailycitycom-orlando-food-truck.html

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheDailyCity

ENTERTAINMENT

Daniel Dennis and Tom Vann, hosts of A Mediocre Time, (Twitter, Facebook) will be roaming the bazaar doing interviews with folks in line, interviews with the truck owners and anyone else who wanders up and says hello.

ORLANDO FOOD BLOGGER TABLE

Meet the folks behind some of the best known food blogs in Orlando including TastyChomps, Eat Local Orlando,Droolius and DaFoodie. They’ll be at one table answering your questions about food trucks and the local food scene.

CHARITY

A portion of the funds from this bazaar will go to the Childrens Home Society of Florida.

SOME HARD FACTS:
This event can be tons of fun if you know what to expect before you arrive. So make sure you’re prepped and ready for a night of fun by reading this brief list of “hard facts.”

1. Expect to wait in long lines. While the food is delicious, it does not come fast. Why? Its not fast food. These are restaurants on wheels. Plan to wait.

2. We (The Daily City) have no control over the speed at which the lines move. The food trucks themselves control that.

3. Some trucks will run out of food. This can happen while you’re waiting in line.

4. Expect to experience 1 – 2 trucks. If you get to experience more, yay!

5. This event ends at midnight. If you’re in line and its midnight, your line will be cut off, whether you’ve ordered food or not. This is not our choosing.

6. If you want to sit down while in line or while eating, bring a chair.

7. Bring cash: ones and fives (not tens and twenties) are VERY welcome by the vendors. Some, not all, trucks accept credit.

HISTORY
TheDailyCity.com has been a supporter of food trucks dating back to 2009 when we started hosting food truck meetups called Taco Truck Taste Tests. We’d ask readers to meet us at trucks all over the city, one truck at a time, and try the food, explore new parts of the city, support small businesses The goal was to raise awareness of our city’s food trucks.

Also in 2009, we took the idea of food trucks and thought, “If you can sell food from a vehicle, what else can you sell?” and launched TheDailyCity.com Mobile Art Show, a monthly show in downtown Orlando that takes place in a moving van.

In 2010, we read about the Hells Kitchen Food Truck Bazaar, loved the idea, but thought it was a bit too ambitious for us to tackle. So, we blogged about it and left it at that. In January 2011, the owner of Red Eye BBQ food truck suggested we were the ideal people to put on a food truck event like the gatherings happening in Miami and across the country. With his vote of confidence, we made an official announcement February 2, 2011 and watched it come to life March 29, 2011.

Hawker Asian Street Fare – Mills 50 District – Orlando

Ricky Ly

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Apr 24, 2011

2

Hawker Asian Street Fare – Mills 50 District – Orlando

Hawkers Asian Street Fare – Mills 50 District – Orlando

Hawkers Asian Street Fare is a brand spanking new restaurant that opened recently on Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 district in the same building as the old Chinatown restaurant. Although I enjoyed the food from the former occupants, I think I enjoy Hawkers much more. I think what they are doing at Hawkers is one of the best things to happen to the Asian food scene in Orlando in a long time.

A hawker is a person who travels around selling goods, typically advertising them by shouting. Although you won’t see any yelling about here at Hawkers, the cuisine is heavily influence by the food peddled by street hawkers in Asia, particularly from Malaysia. The owners of Hawkers actually have family in Malaysia who are street hawkers. They brought these street hawker recipes over and adapted them for the Hawkers menu. The curry dishes, skewered beef, noodles, and more all show this influence.

If you look carefully at the Chinese-like symbol adorning the Hawker building, you can tell its made from the shape of a person carrying two baskets on a wooden pole stretched across his/her back. This is how street food is done in Asia with old ladies and men carrying their wares to market and plopping on the street to start selling their creations.

The decor at Hawkers is similar to the urban warehouse feel of Chipotle, with walls accented by corrugated metal sheets and high bar top stools. Photos of street food scenes from Vietnam to Malaysia decorate the walls. Chinese newspapers are laminated into the table tops, reminiscent of street stalls in Asia.

To start off, street food is often best eaten late at night with a round of beers and drinks. Hawkers has a impressive beer selection including some beers that come from local Orlando Brewing Company downtown. I’d recommend getting some beers to go along with the street food theme.

The roti canai is one of the signature dishes from southeast asia, a crispy crepe like roti that you dip in the curry sauce. It was pretty delicious and would taste even better if it came with 2 rotis instead of just one.

Another popular appetizer were the Hawker wings, made with Asian spices and served with a sweet chili Sriracha sauce.

Hawkers is best for their noodle dishes, noodle soups, and roast duck items. I thought their five spiced pork choppetes could use some work, maybe include a bowl of rice to balance the flavors.

One of my favorite items was the char kwa teo, a Malaysian dish from the teochiu people who immigrated from China, sort of like a Chinese influenced pad thai.

The curry chicken dish that I had was okay, I thought it needed some more hot pepper to bring the spices up a notch.

The roast duck in the roast duck banh mi sliders that we ordered was awesome, crispy and tasty to the bite. The roast duck udon noodle soup was another popular item; the broth was very light and mild tasting and went well with the flavors of the dish.

The fried fish with black bean sauce was a dish that was good, and would be better if served with a side bowl of freshly steamed rice.

My friend ordered the five spice fish tacos and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

On another occasion, I ordered the very spicy prawn mee noodle soup, a satisfying bowl made with a shrimp and pork based spicy soup, topped with slices of hard boiled egg, chinese vegetables, and shrimp. The curry laksa, a similar type of noodle soup, but with more curry flavors of course.

I thought the prices were reasonable, with most of the dishes under $6.00. Its important to note that the portions are much smaller than at traditional Chinese restaurants, but I think of it more like dim sum or tapas portions and prices that are meant to be shared. My friends and I ordered about 10 dishes and it came out to be about $15 per person for the meal.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out Hawkers, especially with a group of friends to share in good food and good times.

Click here for their menu!
HAWKERS MENU

Roti Canai at Hawkers

Hawkers Wings

Hawkers Hot Iron Mussels

Hawkers Five Spice Pork Choppettes

Five spice fish tacos

Curry Chicken

Beef Chow fun

Char Kwa Teo noodles

Crispy Cantonese noodles

Roast Duck banh mi sliders

Roast Duck udon noodle soup

Prawn mee noodle soup

Fish filet with black bean sauce

Chilled spicy tofu

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Dunkin Donuts – new Hearty Snacks PM menu!

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 19, 2011

1

As a food blogger, we get invited to all sorts of fun food events, previews, and what not where the restaurants or establishments showcase their new goods for free. This is usually a part of their PR campaign push to let customers know what they are up to and what is new.

Dunkin Donuts recently held one of these events at their store on University Boulevard.

Known mostly for their breakfast items, coffee, and doughnuts, they are starting a new menu to meet their customer’s PM snack cravings with stuffed breadsticks (pepperoni and cheese or cheeseburger varieties), warm apple pie, bagel twists (cinnamon-raisin or cheddar cheese flavors), and the big and toasty sandwich. The snacks are priced from $1.29 to $1.59 and are available at participating Dunkin’s locations. The new foods will be available on the menu all day.

To be honest, I think the stuffed breadsticks reminded me of hot pockets hah. I think they can work on the taste of the fillings and use fresh and local ingredients rather than processed meats and cheeses. I’d pay more for better tasting and better for you food. I think the big and toasty was a favorite at the tasting, made with bacon eggs and a texas toast bun. In general, I think its a good idea for Dunkin Donuts to move into the PM market to widen their base. maybe they can make a donut sandwich, just saying? I think the new hearty snacks menu is good for those busy at work and want to grab a quick snack.

Something that I learned about this Dunkin Donut is that there is actually a Baskin Robins attached to it where you can order your birthday ice cream cakes and have them specially custom made for whatever occasion you have. They also have a special event coming up (see photos below)

One thing about this dunkin donut is its staffed with some genuinely nice people. Kudos to the management team !

they also have a food truck coming… http://www.dunkindonuts.com/DDBlog/2011/04/road_trip_alert_the.html

Big n Toasty

Pepperoni breadstick

CAKES!!!!

The management team at Dunkin Donuts!!

Guest blog post – Morton’s Steakhouse – Bar Bites – Power Hour menu

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 19, 2011

0

This is a guest post from Kha Duong! check it out! this review was from a recent media event put on by Morton’s to check out their bar bites menu, a happy hour menu at their bar.

If you would like to guest post, feel free to email me at tastychomps @ gmail (dot) com

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Morton’s Steakhouse – Bar Bites – by Kha Duong

Morton’s Steakhouse is a prime example of tradition. You are greeted at the front door by a host with a warm smile in a nice tuxeudo. While tonight I was not here for the prime aged steaks but rather to experience there “Bar Bites” Menu. But Morton’s is doing what younger restaurants have been doing for quite some time. Social Media, both Twitter and Facebook, are now being used by the restaurant not only for promotion but also to share about the history and the people working there. Trying to reach a younger more connected generation of clientle.

But we are here to talk about the food. We started with salmon pizza and steak sandwiches. The salmon pizza was by far my favorite itemof the night. The classic combination of salmon and capers was fantastic, the capers’ salty flavor accented the salmon very well, with the pizza twist. The steak sandwiches were only average, the bread was uninspiring and the steak was slightly over charred. The next food item was the Cobb Salad bites with very clever presentation. However. the blue cheese crumbles and dressing overwhelmed the tasteless circular iceburg lettuce cutouts. The BLT Crabcake sandwich were delicious, but I recommend only getting the crab cake bites instead of the whole sandwich. The last item tasted was the Blue Cheese French Fires, which. while good. I believe these are just an after thought. The blue cheese overpowered the fries and this dish could have benefited from a different cheese blend.

A very good part of the meal was the 4 specialty beverages. A Cosmo, Pineapple Vodka Mortini, Moijito and Pomegranate Martini. All these beverages were well made and had distinct bright flavors. The pineapple-infused vodka martini was the best out of the four by far and their mojito made me a convert for that beverage.

The ending carrot Cake was a very good dessert and would recommend it as a good way to end the meal.

I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars for their Power House.

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Eastside Asian Market – East Orlando’s 1st Asian Market! with a Taiwanese cafe

Asian
Market

Ricky Ly

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Apr 15, 2011

2

Eastside Asian Market – East Orlando’s 1st Asian Market! with a Taiwanese cafe

All the great Asian markets in Orlando are located either near downtown in the Mills Avenue / SR 50 area or on the west side at Pine Hills at the 1st Oriental Market. Although small Asian Markets have existed through out the east side of Orlando for a while now, the newly opened Eastside Asian Market is the largest one to open to date and is a welcomed addition for those living on the east side who need to buy their Asian goods without traveling far.

Eastside Asian Market sits just east of the 408 exit on Colonial Drive in a newly built plaza next to the BP gas station. They also operate under the name “Farm Fresh Produce” in the same building and are aptly named so as they have quite the selection of fresh vegetables and fruits both local and out of state. The market is sparkling clean and new, stocked with the essentials of Asian cooking from soy sauces, noodles, rice, dried mushrooms, and more. The even have a large selection of ramen for those of you who are on a tight budget or going to UCF. Though they are not as large as the ones downtown or on the west, their selection should be sufficient for most shopper’s everyday needs.

Eastside Asian Market is owned by a local family here in Orlando who are devout Buddhists and vegetarians. You will notice that they have a large variety of vegetarian items at this Asian market including the veggies and fruits, they have tofu products and “faux” meat items that spice up the typical vegetarian diet.

They also quartered off a section of the market into a cafe with a developing menu specializing in Taiwanese dishes and, all of course, vegetarian. At their cafe, they currently serve boba milk tea, taro slush, flavored black tea (passionfruit, mango, strawberry, lychee), shaved ice, fruit slush, fruit smoothies, special buns, egg rolls, dumplings, egg pancakes, and are still adding items as time goes on.

On a recent Friday afternoon, I had the chance to try the famous vegetarian “special buns” (2 for $4.99). The recipe is a secret and has been made by the owner Ronald’s father for over 20 years at home as a treat. The special buns were delicious, spicy flavored slices of tofu and mushroom in sweet “mantou” wheat buns. I also had the deep fried dumplings (6 for $3.95) and they were also vegetarian and pretty delicious, not unlike the korean mandoo dumplings that I have had served in New York. I washed everything down with a nice cool cup of flavored passionfruit black tea.

Overall, I think Eastside Asian Market is an awesome addition to the life on the east side of Orlando and hope they continue to bring fresh produce and food to Orlando.

Eastside Asian Market
12950 E Colonial Dr, Ste 106
Orlando, FL 32828
(407) 615-8881
www.eastsideasianmarket.com/

Florida Oranges!

Bittermelon!

Instant Ramen aisle!

The Eastside Asian Market’s Cafe

Menu 1

Menu 2

“Special Buns”

Special Buns, they are delicious…

Fried dumplings (vegetarian)!

Passionfruit tea

“Special Buns” …#winning

What the? McDonald’s in Hong Kong !!!

Ricky Ly

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Apr 15, 2011

0

At McDonald’s in Hong Kong – Don N. expressing his “delight”

When I was in Hong Kong recently (okay it was a few months ago, maybe last summer?), I noticed a plethora of American fast food establishments around. Sadly these fast food joints were as prevalent as the regular old Hong Kong street food carts (check out the last post about Hong Kong’s Street Food extravaganza here). KFC, Pizza Hut (which has established itself as a fancy sit down restaurant in Hong Kong), and of course the mighty Golden Arches, McDonald’s, pretty much can be found everywhere you look.

McDonald’s is very popular in Hong Kong and is one of the few places that are open really late in the city near our hotel in Tsim Tsa Tsui, so on occasion we would frequent this place, like we do here in the States, out of convenience and familiarity.

Like in the US, the staples of McDonald’s are present here on the menus in Hong Kong, the Big Mac, Double Cheeseburger, Quarterpounder etc. But unlike any McDonald’s in the States, the ones here in Hong Kong serve food items such as “taro pie” in addition to “apple pie”, “seaweed flavored” french fries, and chicken wings, cause why the hell not?

The seasoned french fries were a big thing going on that summer, ads appeared on all the TV channels and in the city corners for these Hong Kong “Shake Shake Fries” from McDonald’s. Basically you take these little seasoning packets like “seaweed” or “spicy” and you add it to the fries inside the paper bag and shake shake shake it all around to get the seasoning on the fries and then, enjoy. I remember the flavors being heavy on the msg but other than that they were pretty good! Maybe they’ll bring this to the US one day. I hear it is also only a seasonal offering at the McDonalds in Hong Kong.

The taro pie was pretty good, the same crusty pastry shell used for apple pies but filled with the sweet purple starchy gooey taro cubes instead of apples. The chicken wings were my favorite though, fried to a crisp and a wonderful bite sized snack.

before you start eating shake shake fries, here is a instructional video with a “cool” dance teaching you how to properly shake it.

Seaweed flavoring for the Shake Shake fries

Keep it cool

June W. shakin things up!

Voila! shake shake fries!

Taro Pie

looks like an apple pie…

…with taro fillings!

and finally, the yummy Chicken Wings…

26th Annual Taste of Winter Park !

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 14, 2011

0

26th Annual Taste of Winter Park presented by CenturyLink
by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce

WHEN: Wednesday, April 20 – 5:00-8:00 PM
WHERE: Winter Park Farmers’ Market (200 W. New England Avenue, Winter Park)
COST: $35 for Chamber members in advance / $40 for non-members / $40 at door / $300 corporate 10-pack.

Tickets may be purchased through PayPal or ticket order form at www.winterpark.org.
Purchase tickets in person at Winter Park Welcome Center
(Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.)

MORE INFO: For more information, call the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce at (407) 644-8281 or visit www.winterpark.org.

DESCRIPTION: The 26th annual Taste of Winter Park presented by CenturyLink is an epicurean indulgence featuring mouthwatering selections from popular Winter Park dining destinations, as well as new eateries destined to become your favorite. Enjoy an evening sampling food and drink from 40 local participants and live entertainment by Johnny Mag Sax.

2011 Taste of Winter Park Restaurants/Participants confirmed:

4 Rivers Smokehouse

Bailey’s Coffee Service, Inc.

Barnie’s Coffee & Tea

Boathouse

Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine

Brio Tuscan Grille

Change Your Water Now

Costco Wholesale

Eden Bar

Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Gurtzberry

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice

John & Shirley’s Catering

Kilwins

Luma on Park

Mellow Mushroom

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt

Mi Tomatina, Paella Bar

Mitchell’s Fish Market

Nelore Steakhouse

Olde Hearth Bread Co.

Olive Garden

Orchid Thai Cuisine

Orlando Ale House Winter Park

Orlando Brewing

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

Panera Bread

Peterbrooke Chocolatier

Publix Supermarkets

Schakolad Chocolate Factory

Schenck Company

Shipyard Emporium

Shula’s Steakhouse

Sprinkles Cakes

The Ravenous Pig

Tolla’s Italian Deli & Café

Tropical Smoothie Café

Wayne Densch, Inc.

Winter Park Fish Company

SPONSORS:
Presented by CenturyLink.
Sponsored by:
Barefoot Wine &Bubbly;, Central Florida Lifestyle Magazine, Ferrell Wealth Management, Florida Blue, Full Sail University, Massey Communications, Orlando Home & Leisure Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies/Orlando Health, WFTV Channel 9, Winter Park/Maitland Observer and 103.1 WLOQ

Spring Cupcake Day at The Sugar Suite!

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 14, 2011

0

Hey Tasty Chompers! Check out this awesome event thats coming up at The Sugar Suite in Maitland/Winter Park!

My first time trying their cupcakes were at the Chocolate Festival at the Orlando Science Center. They were the best things at the whole event. Check them out below.

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Spring Cupcake Day at The Sugar Suite!

By popular demand, The Sugar Suite will be hosting its first retail cupcake

day for one day only on Saturday April 23rd at our shop in Maitland from

10:00AM – 3:00PM.

The Sugar Suite will have four flavors available for sale:

Coconut – with almond cream cheese and shreded coconut

Lemon Poppy – with vanilla bean buttercream and raspberry filling

Strawberry Blonde – vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream

Carrot Cake – with cream cheese icing and caramelized carrots

All in festive Spring decor!

The cupcakes are $3.00 Each and can be purchased individually.

For orders of 12 or more, please order in advance.

This is our first CUPCAKE DAY, and our first time selling retail of our

location….. and the cupcakes will be on a first come first serve basis so

plese RSVP if you would like ensure you get your favorites!

To RSVP or to place an advance order email us at

hello@thesugarsuite.com

We will also be featuring our little bunny cupcakes which can be ordered 5

for $30.00

Bunny Cupcakes are a _specialty order only

Order your cupcakes before Wednesday, April 20th by clicking here:

Email Jennyfer@thesugarsuite.com

The Sugar Suite

1630 S Orlando Ave
Maitland, FL 32751

(321) 972-8650

http://www.thesugarsuite.com/

Specialties

Stylish, Modern and Personal, with a focus on beautiful designs and quality flavors. The Sugar Suite is a wedding cake bakery in Orlando FL that is built on passion for design. Our brides are looking for something well executed, personal and simply stylish. We specialize in sugar flowers that make a statement, and approachable flavors that will delight wedding guests. Located in Maitland Fl north of Winter Park we also specialize in groom’s cakes, sculpted cakes or any cake for a special event.

Juancho’s Grill – Food Truck – East Orlando

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 10, 2011

2

Juancho’s Grill is a new food truck located on East Colonial Drive just west of Alafaya Trail, right next to the Bojangles chicken place in a small dirt lot. You’ll know it immediately from the hot red paint job on its truck trailer. The place is owned by Juancho, a young man who decided to strike it out on his own to provide for his family and newly born baby daughter.

The specialty here is the Colombian burger ($4.99) and Colombian hotdogs ($3.99), a unique food unlike their American counterparts. The ingredients of the Colombian burger and Colombian hot dog include potato chips, strips of bacon, lettuce, ketchup, mayo, fried queso cheese, and a special sweet pineapple sauce that lingers on after your first bite. My friend Daniel and I shared them together and loved the symphony of tastes that occurred in each item. We washed it down with some Colombiana soda and manzana apple flavored soda.

Juancho’s Grill also serves hawaiian quesadillas, arepas, salchipapas (frankfurters with potatos), pinchos (grilled meat on skewers), and more.

They are closed on Mondays but open every other day of the week. Tuesday- Thursday 12 noon till 11 pm and Friday and Saturday 4 pm till 4 am and Sunday 4 pm till 10 pm.

Check them out soon!

Great American Pie Festival photos!

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 9, 2011

1

It was a long trip out to the Great American Pie Festival out in Celebration, FL but it was well worth it. My favorite pies were the coconut creme pie from Wick’s as well as the Key Lime pie dipped in chocolate from the Key West Key Lime pie company. A pleasant surprise about the event was the exotic car show that was going on at the same time, full of Ferraris, Lambourginis, Maseratis, Deloreans, and more all strutting their stuff in the beaming Central Florida sun.

This year, there were pies featured from Bakers Square Restaurants and Pies, Bonert’s Slice of Pie, California Raisin Marketing Board, J. Horner’s Desserts, Kroger’s Private Selection, Publix Super Markets, Inc., Rocky Mountain Pies, Smucker’s Toppings, The Folger Coffee Company, Village Inn and Wick’s Pies.

If you missed out today, you can still go tomorrow to the Pie Festival!

Sunday, April 10, 2011, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm

For more info about the event visit http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/GreatAmericanPieFestival/

Big Wheel Provisions Food Truck – where Local is Lovely…

food trucks

Ricky Ly

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Apr 8, 2011

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Big Wheel Provisions Food Truck – where Local is Lovely…

A line started to form on a street corner as the sun began to beam down on the downtown Orlando pavement. Friday lunch time and it was about high noon for some afternoon delight. My carpool buddy Sean and I made our way over to the orange truck (on the corner of Washington Ave and Orange Ave) where everyone was gathering. This here was no ordinary truck but rather one of the first “gourmet” food trucks to hit Orlando, Big Wheel Provisions Food Truck headed by Chef Tony Adams.

Chef Tony is taking names.

Big Wheel Provisions isn’t new to the foodie scene in Central Florida, having a long established presence at the Audobon Park Farmer’s market and others, emphasizing fresh, local ingredients that change seasonally and taste great. Its a movement to take back our food from the processed, mass produced, and generally unnatural food product industry that is so prevalent in American diets today.

The Big Wheel Food truck is beautiful to look at; trimmed in oranges and eggshell whites, its large windows give you a peak into the kitchen area where you can see the chefs preparing your meal to order.

At the Big Wheel Provisions Food truck, their menu changes pretty much daily so you have to check out their twitter at twitter.com/bigwheeltruck for the most up to date information about whats going on for the day. On this day, I ordered the special hot lunch with succulent, locally raised beef meatloaf, with big wheel bacon (they make it, ham, charcuterie etc themselves!), and served with a side of delicious mashed Florida reds.

They also serve desserts and bakery items from local Bee’s Knees Sweet Treats (you can find them at the College Park and Audobon Park Farmer’s Market weekly). I got the Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie with sea salt, one of the best cookies I have had in a while with just the right amount of sweetness and the perfect consistency, not too soft and not too hard, just right.

My friend Sean ordered the local pork pesto sausage (homemade by Big Wheel Provisions) on homemade pretzel bread (locally baked by the Olde Hearth Bread Company) with sweet onions and peppers as well as the Big Wheel fries with their home made ketchup sauce, both of which were “delicious”.

The Special Hot lunch Meatloaf with Mashed red potatoes

The Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie with sea salt from the Bee’s Knees

Pork pesto sausage with sweet onions and peppers

The big wheel fries!

dine here at the ironing boards !

They are also opened late til 2/3 on certain days and have a separate night menu for dinner and after party tastes.

Overall, I loved this place. I hope Big Wheels keeps on turnin’, out some great local and fresh food for many years to come. Local is lovely indeed.

Tip: They are usually located off of Washington Ave and Orange Ave in downtown Orlando, but you never know when they may be at a new location. To be safe visit their twitter at twitter.com/bigwheeltruck

Fleming’s Happy Hour – Orlando

Ricky Ly

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Apr 6, 2011

1

Fleming’s Steakhouse has one of my favorite happy hours in Orlando. With one location in Dr Phillips/Restaurant Row and the other in Winter Park, Fleming’s happy hour serves 5 items for $6.00 till 7pm in their bar area. I recently dropped by one Friday afternoon to scoop up some delicious items from their happy hour menu. One of my favorites include the Prime Sirloin Burger with bacon and cheddar served with a side of onion rings. This burger is positively divine, a succulent, juicy cut of medium cooked to perfection prime sirloin burger on a soft, tasty bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and of course bacon and cheddar. All of this makes for a great meal for a great deal at $6.00.

Fleming’s Prime Sirloin Burger – $6.00 at happy hour

If you’re still hungry, try some of their sweet chili calamari, a battered fried rendition of the classic seafood dish with a decidedly Asian sweet and tangy chili sauce twist. Its a huge plate that will sure to fill you and your partner up while you enjoy a nice glass of white wine or beer.

Sweet Chili Calamari – $6.00 at happy hour

Other items on their happy hour menu include: Roasted Mushroom Ravioli appetizer, Tenderloin Carpaccio, Seared Tuna and Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail.

Roasted Mushroom Ravioli – $6.00 at happy hour

for more information, visit http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/menu

What’s your favorite happy hour in Orlando? What do you usually get? post below!

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Treehouse Truck – a quick look at the menu and truck

Ricky Ly

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Apr 5, 2011

0

I had the chance to drop by quickly at the Treehouse Truck and try their sweet potato fries ($2.00) I hope to come back again next time and try more of their items mainly the Chimoo sandwich!! here are some photos:

The Treehouse truck!

Menu

Sweet potato fries, crispy and delicious

make sure to follow them on twitter to find out where they are
http://twitter.com/TREEHOUSETRUCK

Yum Yum Cupcake Truck in Orlando, FL

Ricky Ly

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Apr 4, 2011

1

It was late Saturday afternoon downtown and the Pillowlando, the International Pillow Fight Day festivities organized by my friend Brian Feldman, just ended. In the midst of the rubble at the Dr Phillips art center on Orange Avenue stood a bright yellow and silver polished truck. It was the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck!

Founded by local couple Joey (UCF alumni and the head of the marketing, business side) and Alex (the baker man), this new bakery on wheels is sure to delight the sweet tooth in us all. Refurbished from a 1973 Chevy stepvan (a old state prison truck in its past life), it now is the mobile home to hundreds of cupcakes, running on sweetness fuel.

Joey and Alex have lived in San Francisco and Philadelphia where the food truck scene is already thriving. It only seemed natural to start one here on their own, something where they can put their passion into. With the help of the City of Orlando, they had their paperwork and licenses done in no time (compared to some of the lengthier processes in other cities) and were ready to roam the city beautiful, particular Audobon Park Farmer Market, Sanford Farmer Market, and this coming Wednesday at the Food Truck Pod event at Firestone on Orange Ave in downtown Orlando at 6pm!

On this day, they were just about to head out when I had the good fortune to catch their ear on twitter, and so they stayed just a little longer for me and my partner to arrive on the scene to pick up some fresh cupcakes: red velvet and chocolate ($2.50 each).
The chocolate cupcake was moist and sweet, soft and tasty, definitely a favorite. The red velvet cupcake though less moist was still a great piece of cupcake, probably giving other establishments in the area a call to pause and take heed of these young men and their beautiful Yum Yum truck.

This week they unveiled their newest flavor: peanut butter cupcakes (the winning flavor of the month in a vote off against carrot cake).

Follow them on twitter at twitter.com/yumyumtruck_fl and on facebook at www.facebook.com/theyumyumtruck

Can’t wait to open!

The Red Velvet Cupcake and the Chocolate cupcake from Yum Yum cupcake truck!

TIP: check them out on twitter.com/yumyumtruck_fl to find out where they are at the moment …and then go to them and get some yum yum cup cakes!

ps

X Factor is coming to audition in Miami this April 7! theyre looking for singers !

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Hong Kong Street Food Extravaganza!!

Ricky Ly

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Apr 3, 2011

3

This blog is from a trip I took a few months ago to Hong Kong…sorry for the delay! It will be featured in the upcoming edition of Asia Trend Magazine, so check it out next month if you are in Central Florida!

With all the recent buzz on street food, I thought it would be a good time to post this up!

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In Hong Kong, street food can be found on almost every corner. Some notable foods include skewered beef, curry fish balls, (even 7-11 sells fish balls by their cashier registers in Hong Kong!), stuffed peppers and mushrooms, and dim sum on a stick. Street side food vendors are called gaai bin dong (traditional Chinese: ???; literally “street side stalls”).

Egg Puffs (also called as Gei Dan Jai, Egg Waffles, Eggettes or in Chinese ???) is a famous Hong Kong style waffle usually made and sold by street hawkers and eaten warm on the street. They are best served fresh from the iron. These eggettes are crispy on the outside and taste like little, airy waffle bites. Egg, sugar and evaporated milk are used to make egg puff giving them a sweet flavor. They are made from a sweet batter that is cooked on a hot griddle, a special frying pan with small round “wells”. The egg batter is poured over the special frying pan and heated; the small ovals of eggettes are thus formed. If you’re in Hong Kong, you can pick some up at Lee Ken Egg Waffles located at (next to McDonald’s) at 78 Nathan Road, Jordan (heading towards Tsim Tsa Tsui).

Lee Ken Egg Waffles on Nathan Road.

Eggette waffles in Hong Kong, Jordan

Bak kwa, Sweet pork jerky meat is another popular street food in Hong Kong. The most popular is Bee Cheng Hiang ???, based out of Singapore but with dozens of shops located throughout Hong Kong. Bak kwa is smoked and roasted strips of pork with a consistency similar to jerky. It is often given as gifts during holidays and is a popular snack to eat on the streets. My favorite was the Gourmet Fusion style which was sweet and had the consistency of a Asian bacon. You can buy some online by visiting http://www.bch.com.sg/

its beecheng! good.

see how they glisten!

sweet pork jerky always #winning.

In Hong Kong, stinky tofu or chòu dòufu, is a popular street food item. Stinky tofu is made through a fermentation process that lasts months long, resulting in a smell not unlike rotting flesh or the body odor of a man who hasn’t showered in a few years. You wonder what would compel someone hundreds of years ago to come up with this stuff, maybe it was out of a perverse foodie curiousity or desperation.

My first experience with this pungent fried tofu was on the northern end of Sai Yeung Choi Street ????, the popular electronics store street, in Mongkok at the corner with Dundas street across from Starbucks. I could tell something was wrong about two blocks away from the stinky tofu stall when people started to crinkle their noses and frown, pinching themselves on the nose to hold out the stench. I began to smell something rotting near by. To be honest the tofu, dashed with a little bit of hoisin sauce, tasted not unlike some fried tofu cubes that I enjoy at home. I actually would enjoy it if not for the smell of body odor exuding from the small cubes.

Look for this sign

you’ll know from the smell, its stinky tofu!

Stinky tofu! with some sweet and spicy hoisin sauce

Tastes great! smells, not so great.

For dessert, some popular items are the tong but lut (sweet glutinous rice balls topped with ground peanuts and white sesame) and for summer time, mango pomelo sago soup. This dessert is made with fresh mango fruit, sweet sago cream, sour pomelo fruit and mango juice Honey Moon Dessert was one of the more prevalent places that could be found throughout Hong Kong where you can get some of these desserts. Visit http://www.honeymoon-dessert.com/en_us/

Tong but lut – sweet glutinous rice balls with sesame seeds and peanuts

Mango Pomelo Sago soup

Watch this video on Hong Kong Street Food Stalls

Have you been to Hong Kong before? What was your favorite street food items?
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Bonefish Grill serves up delicious, healthy Gluten Free menu options

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Apr 3, 2011

0

Bonefish Grill on Sand Lake Road in the Dr Phillips area recently hosted a media event to spotlight their gluten free menu. A gluten-free diet is a diet free of gluten. According to Wikipedia, Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, malts and triticale. A gluten-free diet is the only medically accepted treatment for celiac disease. With over 3 million people in America who are diagnosed with celiac disease, a gluten-free menu is definitely a welcome addition to our restaurants. Also, with carbs from wheat and rye cut out, its also a healthier, lighter option for those who are looking for sensible items.

When customers arrive at Bonefish Grill and want to have the gluten free menu, they notify their “anglers” (or waiters) who proceed to go through the step by step process of ensuring the food preparation and menu is to gluten-free specifications with the store manager involved the entire process. This ensures that there is no contamination involved with any wheat products.

Surprisingly many of the items at Bonefish Grill are actually gluten free already such as their popular and famous gluten-free flourless chocolate macadamia nut brownie. For beer drinkers out there, they even have a sorghum based gluten-free beer called Redbridge which was pretty good. Fish, fruits, veggies, rice, seafood, pretty much everything with out wheat and rye are gluten-free items. Bonefish Grill even has gluten free bread and focaccia made from brown rice with hints of thyme.

to view the gluten free menu at Bonefish Grill, visit
http://media.bonefishgrill.com/menus/gluten_free.pdf

Redbridge, sorghum gluten free beer

Mussels Josephine

Bonefish House Salad

Edamame

Saucy shrimp

Lily’s Chicken, named after the founder’s daughter

Sirloin steak

Flourless chocolate macademia nut brownie

Espresso Martini

Orlando Food Truck Bazaar presented by TheDailyCity.com

Ricky Ly

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Mar 29, 2011

8

Had a great time tonight at the Orlando Food Truck Bazaar presented by TheDailyCity.com

Despite the huuuuge crowds, the weather was nice and the food trucks were fun. Next time hopefully the event will have more food trucks and more food so they don’t run out 😉 i know it was frustrating for some people to stand in lines for an hour and then find out the food is gone. everyone was great though c’est la vie

For more info on the trucks at the event tonight, visit
http://www.thedailycity.com/2011/02/thedailycitycom-orlando-food-truck.html

For a lovely map made by Chris R of all the food trucks in Orlando visit,

http://eatlocalorlando.blogspot.com/2011/03/orlando-food-truck-map.html

Mark Baratelli, proprietor of TheDailyCity.com and the proud father of the Orlando Food Truck Bazaar

Korean BBQ Taco Box ! they were selling their boxes for $5.00 only this night

The Yum Yum Cupcake Truck! – one of the first to sell out of their stuffs this night 🙁

The owners of the Yum Yum truck were still gracious enough to stay around and give out interviews to people though!

Shipyard Emporium and their Linda Bean Maine Lobster Rolls went out fast!

Pupusas, a Salvadorean stuffed Tortilla!

The Taco Lady truck

Winter Park Fish Company truck

passersby

The Crooked Spoon’s special bazaar menu : Mini Crooked Spoon Sliders and Asian Chicken sliders for $2.50

Tony Adams and Big Wheel Provisions Food truck

Tater tots with glazed kumquats

Whoopie pies from Bees Knees Sweets (theyre like giganto cakesters)

Whoopie Pie

Red Eye BBQ Truck

The Big Daddy burger smothered in mac n cheese

the mac n cheese….

the sampler!

Look out for the next event coming up soon! maybe fashion square mall in may?

Were you at the event? what do you think they should do to improve? post below in the comments section!
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2011 Great American Pie Festival Contest sponsored by American Pie Council

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Mar 27, 2011

9

Hello friends and family,

Want to win 2 tickets to the 2011 Great American Pie Festival on April 9 and 10 in Celebration Florida?

For more info about the event visit http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/GreatAmericanPieFestival/

Details

For the tenth year in a row, the town of Celebration, Florida will become the Pie Capital of the World April 9th and 10th when thousands of pie lovers, tasters and bakers gather together the Great American Pie Festival sponsored by Crisco®. The highlight, as always, will be the Never-Ending Pie Buffet, featuring award-winning pie, ice cream, toppings and beverages from some of our fine sponsors!

This year, pie lovers from across the country will be treated to sweet offerings by Bakers Square Restaurants and Pies, Bonert’s Slice of Pie, California Raisin Marketing Board, J. Horner’s Desserts, Kroger’s Private Selection, Publix Super Markets, Inc., Rocky Mountain Pies, Smucker’s Toppings, The Folger Coffee Company, Village Inn and Wick’s Pies.

Thousands of children will make their own pies at the Crisco Kids Creation Station. There will be pie decorating, pie scaping, pie tin art and many more pie activities to enjoy. The Pietopia Demonstration Stage sponsored by Village Inn and Bakers Square Restaurants featured entertainment and baking demonstration by chefs from across the country. Of course, no pie festival would be complete without a Pie Eating Contest, sponsored by Private Selection.

RULES:

The first to answer both the two questions below correctly will win the tickets. Please include your email address to be entered into the contest as well.

QUESTION:

1. In “American Pie”, the folk song by Don Mclean, in what year was the “day that music died”, and who are the three people involved in this event?

2. The apple pie is traditionally considered the quintessential American pie. Who was the legendary figure who planted apple seeds through out the US and what was his real name?

Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen – Winter Park – Orlando

Ricky Ly

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Mar 27, 2011

5

Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen – Winter Park – Orlando

Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen is the new restaurant on Aloma Avenue receiving rave reviews for their New Orleans style cajun cuisine. Its founders are the same guys that created Tijuana Flats, fellow UCF alumni who started their first restaurant just down the street on University Blvd and Dean Road. They have been quite successful with their Tijuana Flats concept and I am sure they will be successful with their new project Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen (likely to become a franchise soon too?)

A Look inside Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen

Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen in Winter Park, Florida

Located in Winter Park off of Aloma Avenue just east of Lakemont, its tucked inside the Publix plaza next to Aloma Cinema Grill and Mellow Mushroom. On the night that I arrived, they just celebrated their first month since their grand opening and the line was already out the door at 7pm. There was about an hour wait. (I’d recommend trying to make reservations if you are to go). The decor inside is a raucous, vibrant affair with deep purple and light green walls and a eclectic mix of New Orleans paraphernalia decking the walls, creating a festive and fun atmosphere. Our service was attentive and accommodating this evening at Tibby’s with no issues or complaints.

As someone who’s been to New Orleans on a few occasions and having the good fortune to try some real cajun food, I’d have to say that Tibby’s deserves props for trying their best to match the deep flavors of New Orleans. But maybe it was the items that I ordered on this visit that didn’t necessarily match the hype and at times I felt it was missing that cajun spice/flavor in some of their dishes.

For starters, we began with the oysters remoulade ($8), a tangy heap of fried oysters on top of a bed of lettuce and fit inside one of their goblets/chalice cups. It was battered and sweet, a enjoyable enough dish. We also ordered the andouille sausage jambalaya ($4.5 for cup) and seafood gumbo ($5), both of which we thought were a bit small for the price and untypically bland and sparse with meat. The jambalaya and gumbo both could have used some more spices to kick it up a notch. The crawfish pie ($9) was a favorite, served with some of the jambalaya rice, and featuring two meaty crawfish filled empanada pies. The shrimp creole ($11), however, was lacking in flavor; the sauce was reminiscent of a italian/mexican tomato salsa based sauce and the shrimp was hardly the jumbo sized mentioned in menu.

For dessert, we tried the single order of the beignets ($2.25) and some bread pudding ($5). The beignets were fresh and flaky and definitely a must try if you are at Tibby’s.

Overall, I think Tibby’s is a good introduction to New Orleans cuisine, but alas has a ways to go. They also serve a wide variety of po boy sandwiches which I hope to try on another visit.

A Pimp cup of Oyster Remoulade

Cup of Jambalaya rice

Cup of Seafood Gumbo

Crawfish pies!

Shrimp Creole

Beignets

Bread Pudding

Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Banh Mi Nha Trang – Banh mi sandwiches – Orlando

Ricky Ly

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Mar 21, 2011

4

Banh Mi Nha Trang – Banh mi sandwiches – Orlando

A few months ago, as part of the epic Orlando Weekly Banh Mi Battle, I got the chance to visit Banh Mi Nha Trang to pick up some new banh mi from their shop for the first time to enter them into the competition. Although they did not win 1st place (the honors went, to the deserving Boston Bakery across the street), Banh Mi Nha Trang which just opened a few days prior placed 2nd for best banh mi in Orlando.

It is a bit hard to find Banh Mi Nha Trang as it is tucked away in a courtyard on Colonial Drive just to the east of the intersection with Mills Avenue. I like to tell people its in the strip between Lollicup (now renamed Chewy Boba Company) and Saigon Market with the big yellow flag on the flag pole. You have to park in the rear and walk through to the courtyard to reach Banh Mi Nha Trang. Its an unassuming hole in the wall of a place to say the least, but its these holes in the wall that most often have the most heart in their food. The place is a mom and pop type joint, run by a lovable, friendly and always smiling Vietnamese lady. Her English is not good at all yet but you can pretty much order the same banh mi you can as the other banh mi joints. They also sell home made nem chua pickled meat and cha lua pork roll meats.

They specialize in banh mi Nha trang, a banh mi from the south central coastal region of Vietnam and topped with a special garlic fish sauce and peppery goodness. The sandwich is full of various cuts of Vietnamese deli meats like cha lua pork roll, cha siu roast pork, and pickled carrots and daikon veggies. The bread is also different from the other banh mi places as it is a bit softer and more chewy.

The banh mi dac biet Nha Trang is $2.50 (the cheapest price you’ll find for banh mi in Orlando) and if you buy 5 you get 1 free. Tips: its cash only for the moment so remember to bring some when you go.

The Banh Mi Nha Trang Dac Biet – a great sandwich for $2.50~

Scenes from the Orlando Weekly’s Banh Mi battle

Orlando EVENT! COOK 2011: A Quick Fire Challenge

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Mar 19, 2011

0

COOK 2011: A Quick Fire Challenge

Orlando Chefs to Battle for Top Honors

ORLANDO, FL – Many of Orlando’s top Chefs will be taking “Sunday Funday” to a whole new level by stepping outside of their kitchens and onto South Eola Drive for COOK 2011. The afternoon event will showcase food and libation samplings from a wide variety of Orlando neighborhood restaurants and includes a fun-filled day of live entertainment combined with a healthy dose of friendly competition. Those in attendance will indulge in local restaurants specialties and cast votes for “People’s Choice” awards in restaurant and cocktail/wine categories.

At the center of the action is the COOK Quick Fire Challenge which consists of 4 restaurant Chef’s whose names will be drawn, at random, the day of the event. The competition consists of 3 Quick Fire Challenges with the remaining Chef winning the coveted COOK 2011 Challenge Champion Award and well deserved bragging rights.

Yigit Pura, the winner and fan favorite on the premier season of BRAVO’s Top Chef Just Desserts will be one of the competition’s celebrity judges along with local Foodie Extraordinaire Scott Joseph, the Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese and Orlando’s very own Mayor Buddy Dyer.

The event will be held Sunday March 27, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. In addition to Sundays event, HRC will host a VIP dinner on Saturday, March 26 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at The Mezz, 100 S. Eola Drive.

Tickets for the Food & Wine Tasting and Quick Fire Challenge are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. VIP seating is $75 per person. Tickets for Saturday’s VIP dinner only are $150. Tickets for both the Quick Fire Challenge and the VIP dinner are $200 per person. All proceeds will benefit the Human Rights Campaign’s programs to advance equality for LGBT people around the country. Sponsorship opportunities and limited restaurant participation are still available.

COOK ORLANDO DETAILS:

WHAT: Food and Wine Tasting Event where Orlando Chef’s compete in a Quick Fire Cooking Challenge

WHEN: Quick fire challenge Sunday, March 27, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.; VIP dinner Saturday, March 26, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

WHERE: The quick fire challenge will be held on South Eola Drive between Pine and Church Streets in Downtown Orlando. The VIP dinner will be held at The Mezz at 100 S. Eola Drive.

WHO: COOK Orlando will feature Celebrity Chef Yigit Pura, winner and fan favorite on the premier season of BRAVO’s Top Chef Just Desserts

JOIN US: www.COOKORLANDO.com

All proceeds benefit The Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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Black Bean Deli – A Cuban Cafe – Orlando

Ricky Ly

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Mar 15, 2011

3

Black Bean Deli – A Cuban Cafe – Orlando

The quirky, teeny tiny Black Bean Deli is a staple of the Winter Park area, sitting in a small strip mall in an even smaller shack just north of Fairbanks Avenue on Orlando Ave (US 17/92). They have won numerous accolades throughout the years from Best Cuban in the Orlando Weekly to Best Takeout in the Orlando Sentinel Foodies just this past year.

The place, as said earlier, is tiny. You would probably be best advised to try to get their goods for take out as they have very few seatings by the window / along the walls. Their menu is similarly tiny, though I think it suits them as this allows for greater focus to do a few things exceptionally well rather than go crazy on a whole crazy list of dishes.

Black Bean Deli is renown for their cuban sandwiches, and rightly so. I ordered a small cuban ($5) and it was delicioso: plentiful, juicy slices of sweet ham, roast pork, swiss cheese and pickles all pressed in between a wonderful cuban bread. The bread is what makes these sandwiches stand out I believe as they are fresh, soft, and you can tell they were made with careful attention. Excellente. I could only eat half of it cause it was such a large sandwich. No problems because I saved the rest for lunch the next day.

The small Cuban Sandwich at Black Bean Deli

My partner ordered the pan con lechon ($5), a sandwich chockful of pulled roast pork with garlic mojo. It was good but maybe needed a little seasoning and a little lighter touch of the garlic mojo.

Pan con lechon – literally bread with roast pork

The beef empanadas ($1.75) were tasty meat pies filled with bits of seasoned ground beef, kind of like a latino hot pocket with ground beef instead of cheese and pepperoni. We also had the tres leches, ($2.25) a small wonderful pound cake topped with three types of milk ( condensed milk, whipped cream, and milk).

Beef empanada

Next time I will try their medianoche sandwich too…

ps…I have also heard rumors also that Black Bean Deli may try their hand at the food truck phenomenon as well, so we shall see if these rumors prove to be true in the coming days!

Festival of Chocolate recap! at the Orlando Science Center

Events

Ricky Ly

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Mar 11, 2011

2

The Festival of Chocolate took place just this past weekend at the Orlando Science Center. It was a huge event with dozens of chocolatiers and thousands of chocolate lovers in attendance. In addition to all the different chocolate cup cakes, chocolate cake, chocolate cotton candy, chocolate this and that and more, there was also an interesting exhibit about the history of chocolate (via the cacao bean and the spanish conquistadors in Latin America) and the production of chocolate from the cacao bean. I had a great time and thought it was a good fun time for the family, although I wish there was more free chocolate! 🙁

My favorite item from the Festival of Chocolate had to be the red velvet cupcake from The Sugar Suite, a local bakery here in Orlando that does special events like weddings and parties too. I found the red velvet cake to be very rich, moist, and overall scrumptious!

Here are some pictures from the fun:

Chocolate art – masterpieces!

Chocolate – Cacao beans

The Sugar Suite!

Cupcakes from The Sugar Suite of Maitland FL

The Red Velvet Cupcake from The Sugar Suite

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Chocolate covered dinosaur fossils!!! just kidding

Baking using a solar oven!! it was a cloudy day and yet it still got to 200 degrees inside! Whoa!!

Make your own chocolate dessert!

The subway that was in the TV show “Undercover Boss “

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Pi Day is March 14!

Uncategorized

Ricky Ly

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Mar 10, 2011

1

What are you doing to celebrate Pi Day? Eating Pie? I hope??

Morton’s The Steakhouse Celebrates National Pi Day on March 14

Slices of Key Lime Pie are $3.14 for One Day Only

ORLAND, Fla. – Want a smart way to justify pie eating? Don’t miss out on Morton’s The Steakhouse’s super sweet National Pi Day (3.14…. is the math definition of Pi) celebration where guests can order their scrumptious Key Lime Pie for only $3.14 per slice in the main dining room or in the bar area. Offer is only valid Monday, March 14.

Guests can take advantage of this National Pi Day celebration at Morton’s The Steakhouse Orlando, which is located at 7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd. For reservations, please call 407-248-3485.

For more information, please visit www.mortons.com.

TASTYCHOMPSORLANDO FOOD BLOG

Tasty ChompsA Local's Culinary Guide

Hey Tasty Chompers! Check out this awesome event thats coming up at The Sugar Suite in Maitland/Winter Park!

My first time trying their cupcakes were at the Chocolate Festival at the Orlando Science Center. They were the best things at the whole event. Check them out below.

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Specialties

Sunday, April 10, 2011, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm

Details

DowntownMagazine PRO

TastyChomps.com

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