Din Tai Fung

Another visit to Din Tai Fung.  It was one of my first outings with Jayden in April.  When I thought of which restaurant to go to, it wasn't about the food.  It was about which location was the most baby friendly.  Baby friendly qualifications include cleanliness, accessibility with a stroller.  I have found restaurants at the mall to be the most baby friendly - you also get a meal and an outing in one trip. 

Black Bottle

Pink Lemon Drop and White Sangria

I'm not sure what possessed me to get a cocktail at a restaurant called Black Bottle.  Clearly, this new mommy was in need of a cocktail.  It is my first official one since I got pregnant and it was nice and strong (at least I thought it was).  It was great to catch up with friends and get back into the swing of happy hour.

A friend had already been here before so she expertly ordered her favorite dishes, which were all a hit.  Particularly the roasted broccoli - it was such a simple concept, but it was so well seasoned, that I don't know if I could have done that at home.

Gorgonzola and pear flat bread

Pork belly kimchi

Roasted Broccoli

chocolate torte

Barking Frog

I love driving into Woodinville.  I forget how close it is - it's just about 10 minutes from Totem Lake/Kirkland, but when you drive through Woodinville, with its wineries, pumpkin patches, and large patches of farmland, you get transported to a quaint little town.  Barking Frog is a great stop - it's the sister restaurant of the Herb Farm, the much fancier restaurant with their set 9 course dinner and wine pairing.

The food was so delicious - I had the steak with grilled polenta and it's the better steaks that I've had in a while.  Their chocolate creme brulee was to die for.  It made for a very pleasant lunch and a very affordable one as we were able to catch it during Seattle Restaurant week.

Salish Lodge - the Attic

Salmon Chowder and Caesar Salad

Roasted Golden Beets and Arugula

Steak and Mashed Potatoes

Free Range Chicken with roasted peppers

The Salish Lodge has a special place in our hearts - Joe had proposed in front of the Snoqualmie Falls and we've had a couple of romantic getaways and dinners at the lodge.  The Attic is the more casual part of the dining experience at the Salish.  We prefer the Attic because the portions are a bit bigger and the food is a little more rustic and less fancy.  The Attic is very cozy and every friday night, they have an acoustic guitar player that plays soft and romantic ballads. We always have a good time and we go there more for the ambiance, as the food is more on the average for the price that they charge.

Mariposa

Hot flaky roll and chicken broth

salmon salad

steak salad

grilled shrimp and couscous

Mariposa is the restaurant inside of Neiman Marcus at the Bellevue Bravern- it really is the perfect place for a gals lunch.  They have a nice selection of light lunches that are made just right.  It's a perfect atmosphere to catch up with girlfriends - elegant, but not stuffy.

Thai Ginger

Calamari Rings

Chicken Satay

Tiger Tearless

Vegetable Curry

I love the pad thai from Thai Ginger - the noodles are nice and light, given that the sauce doesn't overwhelm the noodles and the flavor is just right to me.  I'm not sure how I didn't get a picture of that.  But the other dishes are great as well, especially the Tearless Tiger, which is grilled marinated aged black angus new york steak with light soy sauce and black pepper. It's served with a spicy lime juice sauce and thai sticky rice.  I'm not sure how authentic this dish is, but we always love ordering it.

Twedes Cafe

We are usually pretty quiet on our way up the hike, but on the way down, the topic of conversation is always, without fail, about food.  More importantly, it's about food, and when we are going to eat it.  It's about planning for the next meal, the next outing of eating, and figuring out schedules.  It's my favorite part of the hike!

Twedes Cafe is one of the dying breed of small town diners in North Bend that I love going to whenever we are doing a hike east of the city.   Breakfast is served all day and the plates are usually bigger than your head.  There are like 50 burger selections, along with plenty of lunch options, but for us, it's always about the breakfast.  The biggest hit amongst my friends is the country fried steak - they all seem to love it! 

Here's my healthy, but tasty! order of 1 egg breakfast with ham and hotcake

My friend did us proud - 3 eggs, made 3 different ways!

The crowd favorite - country fried steak

Old Country Buffet

I heard good things about the fried chicken and it really was delicious!  I was a little nervous about going to a buffet, because I tend to go a little crazy, but I've learned that taking a picture of each plate helps you remember how much food you are eating!  Thursday night turned out to be Rib Night and we were quite happy about that.  The Old Country Buffet may have bragging rights to their ribs and fried chicken, but unfortunately, the salad bar was not as fresh as I would have liked and the other dishes reminded me of school cafeteria food.

I love my sprinkles!

Joe loved his ribs!

Little Hot Pot

You walk into the restaurant and the smell of a wonderful herbal broth fills your nose.  Your expectations rise and the selections on the menu don't disappoint - a wide assortment of veggies, meat, seafood, tofu, and even dumplings and such.

The only downer to the meal was the lack of choices in dipping sauces - it's like being all dressed up for the prom with no shoes!  Overall, I was happy with the quality of food that was provided, so maybe I'll just have to bring my own dipping sauce if I go again.

King Crab

I'm not the biggest fan of the casino, but the Snoqualmie Casino buffet is hard to beat - on sundays, they serve King Crab and prime rib.  It's usually $30/person, but people, it's all you can eat King Crab.  If you can pack it in, it's worth it.  The line is super long, so you should get there around 5.  I can only hope that this becomes a family tradition because I know that my cousins and I are definitely getting addicted to it.

Din Tai Fung

The soup dumpling, positioned for the slide into my mouth.  It was good, but not mind blowing, as I expect most foods to be, given the amount of hype the restaurant got. 

We got dessert dumplings as well, but the skin was definitely tough, so stick to the dessert buns.  By the time that I went, they had worked out some of their major kinks (most people complained about lukewarm dishes that arrived, etc), but they definitely need more practice to making soup dumplings.

The owner (young!) of the restaurant came to see how our meal was.  He shared his vision of the restaurant - wanting to serve a great meal, in a restaurant that was beautifully designed and had great ambiance.  That vision was achieved with us - we definitely had a great time.

Ginza

This restaurant is always busy - weekdays or weekends.  The quality of the sushi is always good and there is a great selection of other dishes that are great.  Below is the soft shell crab tempura that a friend had suggested and it has become a must order item for me.

Eel fried rice - smoky, sweet and texture rich, this is a yummy dish.

The pumpkin fried rice has great presentation but lost points for having less flavor compared to the eel fried rice.

The Ginza experience made even more enjoyable with a group of girlfriends that love to eat as well!

Ztejas

I'm usually not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but I love their happy hour.

Palace BBQ

Korean BBQ - all you can eat meat for about $15 for lunch, before the slight price increase.  We went there after a lovely hike and went a little out of control.  Put all you can eat meat in front of asian people and I think it can be rather dangerous.  We have all acquired the skill to eat way beyond the amount our stomach can hold, after being trained by our parents to eat our money's worth and more at buffets.