Category Archives: Sweets/Bakeries/Desserts

Little Kaylee

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Day 223

Today is our last day in Southern California. Simon was itching to go, “let me out!”

We went to find ourselves some Taiwanese breakfast so ended up at Ye-May Restaurant which was recommended by a local. Ron loves his Taiwanese breakfast foods so was excited to try it. We ordered the egg crepe served with an actual sauce that was sort of like sweet soy with garlic. Very unlike our last trip when we went to Yung Ho and they gave us soy paste.

Ba-wan, my favorite. The minced stuff inside was yummy and much easier to eat than some places that use large chunks of bamboo and meats.

I always forget what this is called since I don’t like to eat it… it’s one of Ron’s favorites though.

He also liked it because it was “stuffed”, usually the ingredients are on top or a bit is distributed but this actually had a large amount of filling.

This was an interesting “sandwich” with preserved vegetables, peanuts, and meat. It seemed like they microwaved it though so wasn’t as fresh as the other stuff.

We ordered some rice rolls to go, one savory and one sweet. They are made fresh so are hot when you get them. Ron couldn’t resist and had to take a bite right away just to see if the fried dough stick inside was crunchy. The sweet one is a fried dough stick covered in sugar then wrapped with the rice.

This restaurant is much better than Yung Ho so visit Ye-May if you’re ever in San Gabriel and craving some Taiwanese breakfast.

After our breakfast, we drove over to Manhattan Beach to meet up with our friend Lynne and her daughter Kaylee. Simon look a little nap in the car with his Winnie the Pooh seatbelted in, safe and sound.

Little Kaylee is 2.5 months old. I’ve already forgotten how small and seemingly fragile babies are at this age. She was really well behaved during our lunch and super cute in her sleep. She would make the mouthing motions of sucking to show mommy she is hungry. “Baby smell” at this age is softer and sweeter than at Simon’s age. It was fun to meet her and chat with mommy Lynne. Don’t you just want to pinch those chubby cheeks?

We had lunch at a place called Islands at the mall which is sort of like Hawaiian Mexican (?). Tacos with Hawaiian seasoned insides.

We had a quick dessert of seasonal pumpkin cupcakes filled with cream cheese frosting.

Then had to rush to return our rental car and catch our flight home. We were almost going to be late but it ended up our flight was delayed so we made it on time. We sat next to the wing and engine again and Simon slept through most of the flight. He woke up during landing when we hit a bump but that was all. I hope flying is always this easy with him.

Simon is not eating much solid food these last few days. He only likes to eat puffs he can pick up with his own hands and avocado that I feed him. So tonight we finally decided to try some peas and corn. He didn’t enjoy pureed peas but we thought he might like picking up and eating an actual pea. He seemed okay with it but still wasn’t quite sure how to eat it. This is only a video of the peas (and sorry it is sideways, I forgot to flip the camera) and we added corn kernels later.

After our weekend away from home, Simon fell right to sleep in his own bed, hugging is pal Pooh.

First airplane trip and first dental exam

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Day 221

We are in Southern California for a wedding this weekend. Simon took his first airplane ride and this is his first boarding pass (looks like he wants to eat it). We had to stop at the check-in counter to show them Simon’s passport to get his boarding pass and also to check-in a piece of luggage since now we also have to bring all of Simon’s stuff along with our own.

Simon was still wearing his pajamas on the airplane since we figured he would be more comfortable and honestly we just did not have time to change him since he was still napping this morning when we headed to the airport. He is checking out the view out the window. We are sitting near the wing and engine.

Shortly after, Simon fell asleep with his pal Pooh looking over him. Our flight was scheduled around his normal morning naptime so this worked out well.

When we landed at LAX, we picked up our rental car and headed to Simi Valley to see our friends Tiffany and Alex. They prepared an excellent BBQ lunch along with all the fixings.

After our lunch, we headed to check out the dental office that Tiffany works at. While we were there, she showed Simon how to brush his teeth. We were surprised when Simon started laughing out loud during the demonstration. Something about the “chomping” teeth tickled his funny bone.

They had multiple versions of these plush with teeth and Simon liked all of them. Here he is with a chomping fish.

Still laughing at the chomping fish…

Then down to business with the dental exam and first teeth brushing. Yes he only has two little bottom teeth but it’s better to start earlier than later.

After his exam, he still had energy for more laughter. A chomping horse.

Thank you Auntie Tiffany for giving Simon his first dental exam. I hope you guys can move closer to the bay area so that Simon can continue to get his checkups with you.

After the dentist, we drove to San Gabriel to check-in to our hotel and to meet up with friends for dinner. We ended up at a vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Can you believe this platter is completely meat-less?

We also had dessert at a nearby tea cafe. This is taro soup with taro rice balls and red beans.

Ron had the mocha ice blend. Served in this cute mini pitcher with a bit too much whipped cream.

Simon had a long day and was exhausted. He fell asleep pretty easily and even in this foreign bed provided by the hotel.

Tomorrow is the big wedding day!

Eating

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Day 216

I had a delicious tiramisu cupcake made by Cupkates. Thank you Virginia!
Only complaint, a bit too much frosting but very delicious crust and filled cupcake.

Simon is easily bored and we need to rotate through his toys. He’s been fascinated by this Fisher Price Poppin’ Pals toy but isn’t really sure how to use it. There are various knobs, switches, or buttons to press to make the animals pop up so he hasn’t figured out how to do it yet, he knows how to close them though.

So Simon has become a picky eater. He no longer wants to eat pureed foods, he has been refusing the food we’ve been trying to feed him with a spoon. Instead, he prefers to pick up finger foods by himself and TRY to put them into his mouth.

He ends up making a big mess!

We’re afraid he might not be getting enough food but it seems he is trying to make it up by drinking more milk. But he is probably okay since he is still very active. He loves playing with his piano that we borrowed from Auntie Zoe.

Ron blew bubbles for Simon today and Simon just looks very confused…

Simon has picked up “running”… with assistance of course! He gets super excited before he takes off running.

Future Caffeine Addict

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Day 197

Simon was snoring quite loudly early this morning.

Simon may be a future Starbucks addict. Maybe he didn’t feel rested since he was snoring last night…

Actually he is teething and discovered the rim of the cup is a good thing to chew on. Looks like he’s a bit of a caffeine fiend though, doesn’t it?

Today at work, we had a special treat of Kara’s Cupcakes. My favorite is the passion fruit filled cupcake. A nice afternoon snack thanks to Rich!

Simon’s head is getting so big that it’s getting harder to pull things over his head. This is a towel-like bib and as Ron was trying to take it off, it got a bit stuck.

At Simon’s last pediatrician visit, she gave us a book. She said we should read to him everyday and let him play with the book, even if it’s just that he wants to chew on it… well, so far he does mostly want to chew on it but also enjoys trying to flip the pages. This book is called Baby Faces.

For dinner, we met up with relatives from Ron’s side of the family and had dinner at Cafe Tiramisu. Simon ended up sleeping through the whole dinner.

We had a lovely wine.

Food was average. Dessert was better. We shared the bruschetta appetizer. It usually only comes with 4 pieces but since there were 5 of us, they gave us an extra piece.

I had the orchiette which was a bit oily for my taste but there was plenty of sausage and definitely filled me up.

Ron had the ravioli which was crab meat I think. Seemed like a small portion but I guess it lets you save room for dessert.

For dessert, we tried three. Of course their tiramisu.

Creme brulee which I thought was supposed to be espresso but didn’t taste any coffee flavor at all.

Lemon panna cotta with passion fruit sauce. Didn’t taste like lemon at all but the passion fruit sauce was nice and super tangy. The panna cotta itself was more gelatinous versus creamy.

Since Simon slept through dinner, he stayed up late.

He’s saying: Mommy, Daddy, I’m not ready to go to sleep yet! Let’s play!

Bouchon, Domaine Chandon, Solage Calistoga

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Day 158

We headed to wine country for Ron’s cousin’s wedding. Since the wedding was in the late afternoon, we decided to go to Napa for lunch. There was more traffic than we anticipated so we were almost 30 minutes late for our 12:15pm reservation at Bouchon. I had made the reservation on OpenTable yesterday and when we were running late, I gave them a call to tell them we were going to be there around 12:30pm instead. When we got there around 12:40pm, I was pleasantly surprised to see they still had our table reserved, equipped with a high chair to put Simon’s car seat. I had specified in our reservation that it was 2 adults and 1 baby so I’m glad they did this for us.

The service was excellent as usual. Their bread was so delicious and the rest of the meal was also fantastic. We tried their special appetizer/soup of the day, a lobster bisque with a crab and lobster beignet also with sweet corn and small tomatoes in the broth. Yum!

Simon was a little fussy so he spent time out of the car seat while we were waiting for our main courses. Check out his cute overalls. Thank you to Auntie Elaine and Uncle Edgar.

Pan seared roast duck with duck gizzard sausage and braised field greens and sweet corn. The duck had a nice crispy skin and it was a beautiful presentation.

Ron ordered the special entree of the day, a lamb shank. Very tender, fall off the bone tender, but still a bit of gamey taste. Although the vegetables countered that and surprisingly tasted very good soaked in the juices.

After the great lunch, we headed across the way to the bakery to buy some goodies for home. Then we had time for one winery before heading to Calistoga for the wedding. We ended up at Domaine Chandon as I was in the mood for some sparkling wine. They have a nice tasting room that is open to the lawn area but the service left sometime to be desired. You have to crowd around this bar to get your tastings and the servers seemed to be attentive only to certain crowds.

This was probably the fourth or fifth time we’ve visited Domaine Chandon and the service is usually better and the sparkling wine they serve are now different. We ordered the $25 Prestige tasting which were pretty tasty but not ones we would likely buy. We miss our Mumm Napa Valley sparkling wine club and their tasting service is must more personal. It’s table service and they come to explain the wines to you and serve complimentary delicious cheese crackers. I’m not sure if they still do this but this was the standard 2-3 years ago.

Anyways, Simon fell asleep during our tasting but thought we’d take a photo.

He woke up briefly to take this photo in front of the mushroom garden, our favorite spot at Domaine Chandon. One of the staff helped us to take this photo and even got Simon to smile a bit. Thank you anonymous lady!

After this, we drove over to Solage Calistoga where the wedding was to be held. The staff there was very friendly and helpful. First we asked for a place to change and they guided us to their pool changing room. Then Ron realized he forgot his cuff links and someone there let him borrow his! We were always greeted with a “hello” or “how are you?”. I’d want to go back just to check out their spa. Seems like they would have great service.

The ceremony started a bit late and they had some technical problems (microphone kept on cutting out) but it was short and sweet and led to a nice cocktail and appetizer hour. Simon had been awake for quite a while and had been pretty calm for most of the time. I was waiting for him to start getting cranky and tell us that he wanted to nap. Instead, as Ron was holding him, I noticed he started nodding off while facing forward. Had a bit too much to drink baby?

When we were invited into the dining room, the first thing I noticed was the candy bar. So pretty and so yummy. I found out later that the marshmallows were home made! Creative.

Everyone got a take out box of candy to take home.

Simon and I waiting for dinner to start.

The meal was simple but delicious. These are shrimp lettuce wraps, shrimp were really fresh and the cups also had some rice noodles and a tangy sauce.

A green salad with sweet corn, tomatoes, and a bit of grated cheese.

Roasted chicken with green beans and fingerling potatoes. A big portion and very moist. Ron and I were surprised the chicken was so moist and wonder how they did it.

A vanilla panna cotta with melon soup. I could just drink the melon soup… so refreshing. I liked the panna cotta but some people did not. It had a bit of tanginess and was very smooth. I enjoyed the panna cotta more than their white wedding cake with fresh berries.

Simon took little naps throughout the dinner. I brought along Winnie the Pooh to help him sleep. I think it did help him remember that he was supposed to fall asleep. He got woken up a few times though because of the noise and being too warm.

We ended up getting home late and Simon was konked out. We transferred him from the car seat straight to the bed. We didn’t want to wake him by changing his clothes so let him sleep in his outfit.

Here are our Bouchon Bakery goodies. French macarons (blueberry, caramel, hazelnut, raspberry, and pistachio) $3 each and huge!

To show how great Bouchon restaurant was, we asked to take our small piece of bread home since it was so delicious and they went to get us a box and filled it to the brim of bread! The bread has a great crust and is chewy on the inside. Those are the vine looking things inside this box. We transferred it into this box with the rest of our pastries. Also in here are a almond & chocolate croissant and brioche.

Delicious looking citrus tarts… can’t wait to dig in to these.

Can’t wait to dig in to all of them….

It was a good day overall, beautiful weather and a beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Eugenia and Michael!

We took a photo with the bride and groom but not with our camera (it ran out of memory!) so hopefully will post it here later on.