The Best Things We Ate in 2017

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your 2018 is off to a better start then mine is.

I've been sick over the weekend and started to feel slightly better today. It hasn't been a great month as I've been sick on and off.

2017 was a great year! I got to try different cuisines, foods and etc. I would like to share with you our yearly roundup of the best things we've ate and tried this year and where you can find it.

Assiette de Sorbets du Jour

17. I had this dessert during our Disney trip last Spring at: Les Chef De Frances. It's an assortment of fresh sorbets: passion fruit, raspberry and coconut. The raspberry one was a little tart, but the other two sorbets were delicious! I really enjoyed the colors, vibrancy and marriage of different flavors in this dessert.

Calamari with Sweet Roasted Pepper Sauce

16. I had my birthday dinner last year at Aunt Jake's and one of the appetizers we tried were the calamari with sweet roasted pepper sauce. I've tried a lot of calamari before, but there was something different about this one. It was seasoned just right, crispy and delicious.

Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

15. I typically don't eat at chain restaurants with the exception of Olive Garden when I happen to be in an area with not so great restaurants. One of the menu items I really enjoy and love from Olive Garden is their chicken and gnocchi soup with roasted chicken,traditional Italian dumplings and spinach. The soup is very warm, delicious and hearty. I can drink three bowls of these and not get tired of it.

Crab legs with garlic sauce

14. My Dad ordered this dish for one of our family dinners at home: crab legs with garlic sauce. It's possibly one of the best seafood dishes I've had. It's quite an expensive dish, something my family and I generally don't have, but it was truly a delight!

Mushroom Toast

13. As you may already know, I'm a big mushroom fan. When I tried the mushroom toast from Two Hands Restaurant & Bar, I was in heaven! The mushroom toast is on a sourdough with white bean puree and arugula pepita pesto with a poached egg (+$3.00). Besides the fact that the sourdough bread was a little tough to cut through, the toast was damn good! It was everything I had hoped for it to be. It was buttery, delicious, flavorful and amazing.

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

12. I just recently tried this from Zutto Japanese American Pub with friends. The Caramelized Brussels sprouts was absolutely delicious! It was even more tastier because there was bacon it. Bacon makes everything taste a lot better!

Orata

11. I tried this delightful fish in Philadelphia with Will and family at Yakitori Boy. It was presented very beautifully. I really enjoyed the sashimi. It had a rich and cream-like taste to it.

Mushroom Plate

10. I've recently visited Nanoosh for lunch, but it does get pricey. I typically get the mushroom plate with hummus, avocado, Basmati rice, green tahini sauce and onions. The bowl is quite filling and delicious. I've tried the Baked Falafel plate and it definitely wasn't as good as the mushroom plate.

Spumoni

9. Since living and growing up in Brooklyn all of these years, I haven't tried L & B's - Brooklyn's iconic: Spumoni. If you don't know, Spumoni is a gelato with layers of different colors and flavors - usually cherry, pistachio, chocolate and vanilla. It's a medley of delicious flavors, not overly sweet and just a delightful treat to have especially on a hot day.

Him Bolan

8. I tried the Him Bolan from Look by Plant Love House - a Thai restaurant in Prospect Heights. The dessert is a coconut ice-cream with traditional assorted Thai toppings (red bean, sweet palm seeds, corn, jack fruit and peanuts). I really enjoyed this dessert because there's different textures and flavors to try. The coconut ice cream was amazing! I would love to have this dessert again.

Steamed Lobster with Scallions & Melted Butter

7. This was probably by far one of my favorite lobster dishes I've had so far! Last summer, Will and I went to Toronto with his family. Will and I had dinner with my cousin on our last night in Toronto and we went to Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant. The steamed lobster is garnished with scallions and melted butter to dip. I've seen dishes like this in American cuisine and at seafood restaurants, but hardly in an Asian restaurant, so it was very interesting. I really enjoyed this dish, nothing like pulling a tender piece of lobster and dipping it into a bowl of melted butter goodness. I couldn't stop thinking about this dish at all.

Mac and Cheese

6. Will took me to a restaurant/bar (The Custom House) that he frequents near his office last month and I tried their Mac and Cheese which is listed an appetizer, but the size is like for an entree.The mac and cheese is made with cavatappi pasta baked in three cheese Bechamel sauce topped off with golden bread crumbs. The mac and cheese was extremely delicious. The bread crumbs gave the mac and cheese a nice golden crust to it.

Banana Cream

5. My relative opened up Milk & Cream Cereal Bar last year so of course I had to make a visit. He said one of their most popular items is the banana cream so I went the suggestion. It was by far one of the best dessert I've had so far! The banana cream is a blend of granola crisp, bananas and Teddy Grahams, topped off with bananas, Teddy Grahams and honey drizzle. This ice cream definitely felt like a banana cream pie! It was smooth, melt-in-your-moth, but with a bit of sweet crunchiness to it. I highly recommend to try this ice cream concoction because it's unlike anything I've had before.

Baked Portuguese Chicken with Spaghetti

4. I've had baked Portuguese chicken with spaghetti at many Chinese restaurants before, but I have to admit the one I tried at Cha Chan Tang in Chinatown was hands down one of the best. The chicken was very tender, delicious and savory. I liked that their version has a slight curry taste to it which was interesting.

House Special Mango Black Grass Jelly Mixed

3.  Will and I tried Sugar Marmalade in Toronto with my cousin for dessert last summer. I tried their house special mango black grass jelly mixed (black grass jelly sago, popping yogurt boba, tapioca, coconut milk and ice cream). The picture of this dessert caught my eye so I decided to order it. It was amazing, fresh and not too sweet. The mango gave a little tangy flavor to the dessert which I liked. 

Green Tea Combo

2. I tried the green tea combo from one of the newest dessert spots near my house last summer. The dessert spot is: Sweet House Dessert & Drinks. I ordered this dessert without really knowing what was in it since there was no description.The green tea combo was smaller than I hoped it would be, but it turned out that I enjoyed and loved this dessert. It's a small bowl of fruits (melon balls, strawberries, kiwi), some aloe and green tea shaved ice on the bottom. The green tea shaved ice is unlike any other green tea shaved ice dessert I've had before. This had real green tea flavor, tasted a lot like Matcha and not overly sweet.

Terakawa Ramen

1. I visited Terakawa Ramen with Will and family last September and I tried their Terakawa ramen and it was probably one of the better ramen I've had all of last year. The signature ramen is compiled of natural heritage Berkshire Pork bone soup topped with roast pork, bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms, red ginger, chopped scallions and a seasoned boiled egg. The salt in the ramen was actually reduced in my bowl of ramen. The bowl was filled with lots and lots of delicious pork bone soup. The ramen noodles in this bowl were straight (similar to what I have had at Ippudo). The ramen was prepared extremely well and rich.

2017 was an interesting year of different cuisines, types of food and textures. Last year, I developed a true love for sashimi, avocado, different types of desserts, nitro cold brew and a lot more. Looking forward to what I'll be eating in 2018.