Cake and the Beanstalk

Cake and the Beanstalk is a cute establishment located on 1112 Locust Street. My friend and I decided to visit this cafe to do some work. There was a separate room for seating. The room had large glass window for the sun to shine in and also the window overlooked a garden next to it. The chairs are all painted cutely with drawings and words on them. I should have taken a picture of one of the chairs. Next time I will take a picture of the chair(s) and add it to this post. 

Chai Latte

Grilled Cheese on Multigrain Bread

During my time there, I got a chai latte. The chai latte was actually milky and sweeter than other places I got chai latte from. I realized I actually prefer it this way. It was tasty. For food, I got a grilled cheese sandwich on a multigrain bread (from Le Bus Bakery). I believe the cheese was American cheese. It taste good but there was nothing really special about the grilled cheese sandwich. The cheese was gooey and the bread was somewhat toasted. 

I will definitely come back here to do work and try their baked goods. 

Indeblue

Indeblue (205 S. 13th Street)  is an Indian restaurant located in around gayhorbood area in Philadelphia. Apparently, it was rated in the top 50 restaurants in Philadelphia on FooBooz. The restaurant was quite packed when we went for a late dinner. It was quite dark and quite noisy inside that I had a hard time hearing my friend.

Malai Kofta Bukhara

The food was good. I got the malai kofta bukhara (house-made paneer, apricots, cashews, and creamy cardamom sauce). The portion side was reasonable. It wasn't too small nor was it too large. The sauce was flavorful, creamy, and tomatoey. It came with four kofta. The kofta had a good texture. It was somewhat firm. It also had little crushes from the cashew pieces inside. The kofta and sauce tasted really good with the rice. Sorry for the poor quality picture. It was kind of dark inside the restaurant.

Kilimandjaro Restaurant

For dinner one day, we decided to try something new...African cuisine. This restaurant had great reviews on yelp and was the top suggestion. Kilimandjaro Restaurant is located in West Philly (4317 Chestnut Street). I would admit the menu is very limited for vegetarians. Based on the reviews on yelp, I wanted to get some kind of yassa. Yassa, I believe is some saucy marinated protein. I wanted to get the fish yassa; however that was on the lunch menu and when I inquired to see if I can get it for dinner, the servant told me there was no more yassa:( I was a little disappointed and wished they had a website that posted their menu online so I can view it ahead of time).

Fried Tilapia with Couscous

Since I couldn't get the yassa, I opted to get tilapia  from the dinner menu. You can either get it grilled or fried and I chose the unhealthier version (aka fried). Everything on the dinner menu came with a side, there were a number of sides you can choose from such as rice, couscous, plantain, etc. I got the couscous.  The fish was well fried and tasty. It was crispy on the outside and its white fresh was tender. No sure what spices that they used but it was flavorful and somewhat spicy. The couscous was cooked well...not too soggy. I feel like the several times I attempted to cook couscous I put too much water. The couscous was hot and flavorful. As I ate more of the couscous, I saw tiny diced jalapenos so I pretty sure the heat in the couscous came from the pepper. The was some marinated fried onions on top of the couscous. The onions were tender and tasty.  Overall, I like the dish.

Mango Ginger Juice

I also got the Mango Ginger Juice per the yelp review suggestions. The ginger taste was potent and there was a hint of mango taste. I thought the ginger was a little to strong for my taste. It did taste better when it was water down by the melted ice. I am glad that I tried the drink but I don't think I would get it again.

A.Kitchen

A.kitchen is located right at Rittenhouse Square (135 S. 18th Street). It is an American restaurant. The restaurant's windows opened to the outside and there were seating outside. We choose to sit inside. The ambiance of the restaurant was somewhat fancy and romantic. The lights were dimmed inside and there was an open kitchen. I would say that would be a great place for a date in the evening or for people watching at Rittenhouse Square during lunchtime.

Spiced Cauliflower

For an appetizer, I got the Spiced Cauliflower (black garlic, avocado). Per my friend, everything on the menu is grilled. The cauliflower was very tender and had a somewhat charcoal taste. The flavor was exceptional. I can taste the garlic along with other herbs. On the top.there were what appeared to be sauteed onions. On the bottom was tangy creamy avocado sauce and some grilled peppers/chill which I think they were probably jalapenos. The cauliflower tasted good with its spices and also tasted good with avocado sauce. This was really a superb dish that had me savoring every bite.

Grilled Octopus

For my entree, I selected the Grilled Octopus (summer squash, roasted pepper, fried chickpeas). The octopus was cooked to perfection. It was tendered and had the right amount of chewiness. I think octopus can be easily overcooked which can result into a rubbery texture. This dish was far from that. The octopus was accompanied by some light yogurt sauce, roasted squash, roasted pepper, and something I would call round rice puffs. The octopus was somewhat salty which for some reason really tasted well with the components of the plate. The roasted squash and roasted pepper had a sweetness to them. The round rice puffs tasted like somewhat toasted Kix cereal. I would say that the rice puffs were unique addition to the dish and the dish would have been fine without them. I sincerely enjoyed my menu. My head was shaking in approval with each bite and I tried to savor each bite. I definitely wanted to come back to this restaurant.