Dim Sum Garden

On day my coworkers and I decided to get dumplings from Dim Sum Garden (1020 Race Street) for lunch. Dim Sum Garden is a popular restaurant in Chinatown, known for their dim sum as the name suggests; however, I have never had a chance to try it. The delivery time was reasonable, but sadly the food came cold. Nonetheless, it was still good. Below is what we ordered and what I can eat.

The Vegetable Dumplings were delicious and beautifully wrapped. They had a mix of things inside- noodles, mushrooms, etc. The wrapping was soft and not too thick or thin. I enjoyed the dumplings.

Vegetable Dumplings

The pumpkin cakes were interesting. The cakes were basically dough. They were soft and very chewy. Their consistency were similar to mochi, but they were a little more softer and stickier. The outside tannish color might be from frying. These cakes tasted really sweet. I didn't really detect any pumpkin flavor. They tasted more like rice flour and possibly condense milk. Overall, I thought they were too sweet for me. My coworker on the other hand loved the dessert.

Pumpkin Cakes

Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles with Vegetables was good. I would say that 85% were noodles and 15% were vegetables. The vegetables were mostly broccoli, bok choy, and mushrooms. They were tendered.  I especially liked the noodles. The noodles appeared to be homemade. They were thick and chewy. The seasoning was okay. It mostly tasted like soy sauce.

Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles with Vegetables

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

During the summer, my friend told me she saw a sign that Happily Ever After was offering liquid nitrogen ice. I wanted to try it. We went together on a hot day. I watch too much youtube videos so I was expecting something along the line of that I saw on the dragon breath liquid nitrogen ice cream videos. I was expecting to see my breathe as I exhale after eating the ice cream; however, that was not what I got:( 

The ice cream here was made with liquid nitrogen to produce a denser and creamier ice cream. I would say its' consistency was in between ice cream and gelato. We ordered the green tea flavor ice cream. Although there was no dragon breath action, the ice cream was still good. As for the dragon breath to happen, the ice cream would have to be coated with liquid nitrogen. Maybe one day, I will get a chance to try it.

Green Tea Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

Dinner at Pietro's Coal Oven Pizzeria

Pietro's had two locations in Philadelphia. One on 121 South Street and other one was 1714 Walnut Street. We went to the one on Walnut Street. I was with a large party so we ordered pizzas and a salad. I think this place is great for big groups because space is plentiful and they have family style size orders.

For the salad, we got the Mozzarella Fresca. It was mixed greens, fresh mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, red onions, cucumbers, and house salad dressing. The ingredients were fresh and the dressing was very light. I enjoyed the salad a lot. It was nice and simple starter.

Mozzarella Fresco

We ordered three artisan pizzas. We got the Brussel pizza vegetarian style, the Napoli, and the Short Rib. I ate the Brussel and Napoli pizzas. The Brussel was a white pizza with gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese, Alfredo sauce, Brussel sprouts, and balsamic reduction. The Brussel sprouts were flaked and very tender. The pizza was savory from the cheese and Alfredo sauce yet sweet from the balsamic reduction. There was an unique balance of flavors. The Napoli had baby spinach, pine nuts, tomato pesto, and mozzarella. I thought this pizza tasted more bland in comparison to the Brussel. It mostly tasted like spinach and cheese on pizza dough. The pizza crusts were good. It was not too thick, crispy, and semi chewy. I did not eat The Short Rib, but it was topped with short rib, caramelized onions, parmesan, and Alfredo truffle sauce. According to my friends, the Short Rib pizza was great. I think everyone's favorite was either the Brussel or the Short Rib. I liked the Brussel the best.  Overall, we all had an awesome time. The service was fast and the food was mostly good.

Brussel pizza

Napoli Pizza

Short Rib Pizza