Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop

On one lucky day, sales rep bought lunch for the office and included in the lunch were cupcakes from Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop, a bakery located in Bel Air, MD that won Food's Network's Cupcake Wars in 2011. I wasn't planning to review these cupcakes, but they were too good not to. Below were the cupcakes that we were so fortunately gifted with. When I checked out the website, apparently some of the cupcakes were gluten free and vegan which was big news to me. Usually, cupcakes that are gluten free or vegan taste a little off for me, but I could tell at all with these goodies. They were Amazing. 

Cupcakes

Upper left hand corner Snickerdoodle, Upper right hand corner Red Velvet,
Bottom left hand corner Black Bottom, Bottom right hand corner Cookie 'n' Cream

On the upper left hand corner is the Snickerdoodle (Gluten Free) which is cinnamon cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar. On the upper right hand corner is the Red Velvet (Gluten free). It is red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. On the bottom left hand corner is the Black Bottom (Gluten), chocolate cake with cream cheese filling frosting and chocolate chip. Lastly, on the bottom right hand corner is the Cookies 'n' Cream (Vegan). It is chocolate cake with vanilla-oreo frosting and crushed oreo. The texture of the all of the cupcakes and frosting were very similar. The cupcakes were light, soft, and moist. The frosting was well whipped, light, and airy. I don't usually like frosting, but I really like these ones. It wasn't too much and it wasn't too rich. In addition, the sweetness of the cupcakes and frosting were well balanced. The textures and tastes of these delights were perfect. I understand why this bakery won cupcake war. The award was well deserved. 

Even though all flavor cupcakes we got were quite basic, they were delicious. I like all of the cupcakes, but if I had to choose a favorite, I would go with the Cookie 'n' Cream. 

Shah Best Halal Gyro- My Favorite Falafel Truck

After trying several falafel food trucks in Center City Philadelphia, I think I found the one. It's located on 16th street near Chestnut Street, on the side curb of H&M. The lunch box comes with 6 falafel balls, rice, side salad, white sauce(tahini sauce), and hot sauce. The falafel balls were moist and semi firm, yet it crumbles in your mouth. Not only did I enjoy the texture of the fried chickpea balls, I appreciated the mouth watery sensations the flavors created. The falafels as well as the rice were delicious. The side salad is always fresh, too. I thought when I combined the rice and falafel with some of the salad, white sauce, and hot sauce, it was magnificent. A bonus is that you get a free drink with your lunch box. This might not be unique since many food trucks offer a free drink with their lunch specials, but it's special to me:)  I am not sure of the other foods at this cart but its falafels are banging.

Falafel Over Rice

Khmer Kitchen- Yummy Cambodian Food

I don't know how you guys feel, but I don't think there are enough Cambodian Restaurants in Philadelphia. It's a shame because the flavors of the foods are phenomenal. Once the food is in your mouth, it's like you get high.

My friend introduced me to the supposedly best Cambodian restaurant in Philadelphia, Khmer Kitchen (1700 6th Street). It is a small and cozy family-owned restaurant. There are less than 10 tables. Luckily, there was one table left for our party when we stumbled in on a Wednesday evening. 

Sah-Law Kahteeth with Fish

I got the Sah-Law Kahteeh with Fish (light broth consisted of young bamboo shoots, eggplants, kat-nah, yard beans, coconut milk seasoned and simmered with a blend of Khmer Kitchen ingredients). The portion side was huge. Everything on the menu was made to be shared family style. The flavor did not disappoint. It was sweet, savory, and hot. It was more on the sweet side which I contribute to the coconut milk. The vegetable in the soup was very fresh and fish was well cook. It was a delicious warm dish for a cold and rainy day. 

Top left to right Sah-Law Machu Kr'ung, Cha Lok-Lak Beef
Bottom left to right  Cha Mussels Coconut Curry, Prah-Hok Kateeh

Above are bonus pictures of my what of my friends ordered. I did get to taste some of the sauces from their dishes. The top left corner is Sah-Law Machu Kr'ung with Beef (sour based soup made with Khmer eggplant, celery, lemon grass, fresh basil, galonga, garlic, and kafier lime leaf). It was very flavorful with mostly a sour and hot taste. For this dish, the server asked for our desired hot level for the dish and, of course, friends chose to have 3 peppers. The vegetables were very fresh. I enjoyed it alot ...maybe they can make it with tofu or fish as the protein so I can fully indulge myself with the soup. The top right was Cha Lok- Lak beef version (saute beef cubes served with over a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, onion paired with a pepper lime sauce. On the bottom right hand corner was the Prah-Hok Kateeh (caramelized ground pork simmered in coconut cream, a special blend of spice, and fish paste serving as the main ingredient with raw vegetables). Lastly on the bottom left was Cha Mussels Coconut Curry (prepared cooked in family blend red curry recipe tossed with fresh basil and spices). I didn't eat the mussels because I don't like mussels, but I did taste the sauce. It was so delicious. Its flavor was very rich. It was sweet yet savory. We were joking that the restaurant should sell the sauce in jugs and we would definitely buy it.  

I would totally recommend this place. The flavors in the dishes were all so addictive and I don't think you can find the taste anywhere else. The quality of the ingredients as well as how the dish was prepared was exceptional. Khmer Kitchen is definitely a place to check out. I would also like to add that the customer service was great and they actually serve you spring water from gallon containers instead of tap water- free of charge:)

LeBus Bakery- Vegetarian Chilli

LeBus Bakery, located at Rittenhouse Square (129 South 18th Street), is a place to check out. For lunch one day, I decided to get Vegetarian Chilli from there. It came with a roll and I choose a multigrain one. By scanning the bakery everything seems to be reasonably priced especially for a bakery located at Rittenhouse Square. The total for a middle size vegetarian chilli (16 oz) with a roll was about $5. I dig that.

Vegetarian Chilli with Multigrain Roll

The chilli's aroma was alluring. As my coworker passed by the break room, they commented on the pungent yet delicious smell. Luckily for me, the chilli tasted as good as it's scent alluded. In the chilli were abundant of black beans, onions, carrots, celery, red pepper, and of course, tomato. It was definitely a mouthful of goodness with each bite. The flavors in the chilli were well balance. The chilli was spicy at it all. It just had a hint of spicy to it.  It was very a hearty meal that I would consider buying for the cold winter days ahead.

Regarding the multigrain bread, it tasted better than it looked. The outer crust was mildly hard while inside was soft and fluffy. It had a somewhat of a chewy texture. I don't think I ever had a multigrain bread this good. I find they are usually on the harder side or they are really soft (aka store bought sliced bread which probably has some kind of softening agent in it). The bread also had a sweetness to it that made it kind of addictive. I highly enjoyed the carb. The multigrain roll is tempting me to try their other breads. I love bread.

Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House

One of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown is Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle
(1022 Race Street) for its freshness, deliciousness, great portion side, and reasonable prices. Usually I get stir fried vegetable hand drawn noodles or vegetable hand drawn noodles soup. Both of them are good and highly recommended by me. This time I ordered Tomato Egg Noodle. I am not sure if it is new item on the menu or if I just have missed it in the past. As always, this place didn't disappoint me.

Tomato Egg Noodles

I thought the Tomato Egg Noodles would just be stir fried tomatoes and eggs with noodle. And maybe there would be some watery sauce from the tomatoes. I actually got an upgrade of what I envisioned. The Tomato Egg Noodles was a noodle soup with eggs, tomatoes, and cloud ear fungus. It was topped with scallions. I thought the dish was delicious and very hearty. It is a great bowl of noodles for a cold day. I will be definitely be ordering this again:)

Isot Mediterranean Cuisine

On one fair night, some of my friends and I gathered at Isot (622 S. 6th Street) for an Ugly Sweater Party. The restaurant was cozy with a classy vibe to it. See pictures of some of the decor on the first floor. This establishment actually had a second floor that fitted two middle size tables, making it great for big parties. Hence, that was where we were seated. After most of the people arrived and mingled, we ordered food.

Some of the first floor decor

Mixed Meze

I shared the Mixed Meze (combination of Abugannush, Acilli Ezme, Haydari, Saksuka, Hummus, and Russian Salad) with a friend. Starting from roughly at 9PM and going clockwise, there was the Abugannush, Saksuka, Acili Ezme, Haydari, and Hummus. In the middle was the Russian Salad. Abugannush is char broiled eggplant and tomatoes with thinly sliced green peppers garlic, parsley in a special pomegranate sauce. It was okay. I had this at other Mediterranean restaurants. In comparison to what I had in the past, I thought this was a little bland. I would have prefer if the eggplant's char broiled taste was a little stronger. The Saksuka is fried vegetables topped with tomato garlic sauce. I actually never tried this appetizer before. The waitress told us it was her favorite and was basically eggplants and fried eggs with tomato sauce which is a little different from the description on the menu; nonetheless I found it quite delightful and flavorful. The Acili Ezme is fine chopped tomatoes, green pepper, onions, garlic, and parsley in a special spicy sauce. Although the waitress warned us about the spiciness of this appetizer, I found it less than mildly spicy (but than again my tolerance for spicy is pretty high). Overall, I was not really fond of the Acili Ezme. It mostly tasted like sauteed onions with a tiny little kick to it. Haydari is fresh dill with strained yogurt and garlic sauce. The Haydari was good. It was creamy and tasted tarry like greek yogurt with lemon; however, it was not something I would binge on. The Hummus is mashed up chickpeas with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and garlic. I thought the hummus there was average. It was very creamy, but I did not think there was anything special about it.  The Russian Salad is boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, pickled jerkins, salt, black pepper with mayonnaise. Per the waitress, it was the Turkish take on the Russian salad. It was good and tasted like potato salad. I love potatoes so I have nothing bad to say about the potato starter.

Warm pita bread

To accompany the Mixed Meze dish, there was pita bread. The bread was delicious and tasted fresh. It was soft and fluffy. There were lightly warmed from the grill.

Vegetarian Delight

For my main course, I got the Vegetarian Delight (sauteed seasonal vegetable served over an omelette,  topped with feta cheese). The dish was quite good, but nothing spectacular. The omelette was placed on the bottom of the plate and covered with different kinds of vegetables. Initially, not remembering the description of the dish, I thought on the bottom was pita bread, but the more I ate of it, it resembled texture of fresh mozzarella cheese. I still thought it was mozzarella until I saw the description again. It did not taste like eggs to me. Maybe they added something to eggs to give it a different texture. The vegetables which include cauliflower, red pepper, green pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions were tendered and well seasoned. I would rate this dish average based on the fact that I thought it could be replicated at home especially the sauteed vegetables. Maybe I should have chosen something else on the menu.

Overall, the food was okay. It would not be my first pick for Mediterranean food, though.