Obviously, this is going to be my first food post! The area I live in is HIGHLY diverse and I absolutely love it. So everywhere you turn, there's a different culture's food and it's pretty amazing. The food options definitely do not get boring and you can get almost anything you're craving within a 20 minute drive. I thought that I had to share some of the foods that are served around my home and later on when I move onto my college campus (I'm about to go to one of the East Coast's most diverse and largest universities!).
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Today, I went out to dinner with my siblings and my aunt since we haven't hung out with her in the longest time (she used to nanny us over the summers until my youngest sibling turned 9). She took us to one of her favorite Korean restaurants called LightHouse Tofu.
I apologize since I didn't take many pictures of the actual restaurant, but I will describe it!
It's located behind a Burger King in a smaller street (I know, sketch). But once you get in the facility, it is so cozy and VERY Korean. All of the furniture is wood and the tables have benches on one side and chairs on the other. We were able to pick whichever table we wanted since there weren't many parties in the restaurant at the time we went.
Service was so speedy and VERY polite (unlike many Korean restaurants around the area -- no offense to any Koreans!). They have a menu of all day specials for groups of multiples, so we got that. Our order included complimentary side dishes of kimchi and various pickled vegetables (the spicy cucumbers were everyone's favorites).
Our meal included two big bowls of soup (my sister and I shared a mild Mushroom & Tofu Soup; my brother and aunt shared a Spicy [Level 1] Beef, Seafood and Tofu Soup). The soups came with one egg each in which you cracked into the soup and the VERY high heat of the soup would cook the egg before your eyes. I loved our soup, but I wish that we got spicy instead of mild -- but my sister is not a big fan of spicy food.
The second part of the meal (not pictured) was a choice of meat, and we got Bulgogi (tender beef strips sauteed with various spices and garden springs). This bulgogi was delicious and way better than that served at Honey Pig BBQ.
Left: Seafood pancake and complimentary side dishes
Right: My sister and I's Mushroom & Tofu soup and a dumpling in the back
The third and fourth part of our meal were appetizers almost. One was the seafood pancake filled with scallops, octopus ad shrimp. You dipped this into a sauce (my mom thinks it's fish sauce) and eat it as is or with kimchi. It was good, but not my favorite part of the meal. The fourth were dumplings -- and these were just your standard fried dumplings filled with pork.
Overall, I really liked this place because it gave a very homey feel with amazing food at prices that won't make your wallet cry. For four people, the total was $67, so that was not too shabby at all.
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The second place we went to was Bambū, a new Vietnamese dessert cafe that has gotten many amazing reviews.
I'm half Vietnamese and I have to say, the desserts and drinks are amazing and since they're made with all natural ingredients that are usually fruit based, there is no guilt.
At first it was really hard to find the actual cafe, so I had to call my friend that worked there. We finally found it tucked away in a tiny corner in the shopping mall plaza. They posted their menu outside, which was super helpful since my family and I are super indecisive when we go out to eat that it gets embarrassing. After staring and drooling over the menu, a man walked out with his son, their arms full of Bambū cups. Our man saw us gawking at the menu and said, "Trust me, this place is amazing. We've been going here every single day since it first opened!" With that, we had a lot of reassurance and decided to give it a go. When you walked in, it immediately gave a very modern yet cozy feel. The cleanliness was astonishing (most Vietnamese places around the area aren't the most clean...) and it was such a nice and youthful vibe. The counter was huge and took up a pretty large part of the the storefront.
They posted their menus across one wall behind the counter in huge print (kudos to them for that!). I totally forgot to take a picture of the menu (please don't blame me, it's my first time doing a food post!), but there were over 50 drinks/desserts broken up into 6 or 7 categories.
What I loved most was that they do a fusion of a bunch of traditional Vietnamese desserts and made them into these amazing specials that are bursting with color and phenomenal Vietnamese flavors that are known and loved. There were traditional che's (the Vietnamese term for Vietnamese desserts) served alongside these fusions too.
Along with desserts, they had a lot of coffee based drinks (hot, cold and frozen) and fruit smoothies that range from strawberry to the Vietnamese favorites such as durian, taro and lychee. My friend who worked there, though, recommended the milk teas to me. What they did was brew tea into milk (I'm pretty sure it was soy since I haven't had any allergy attacks) and then mixed it with a flavoring of your choice.
All of the drinks also came with the choice of chewy extras such as boba pearls, fruit jellies, coffee jellies and tapioca balls. I definitely recommend adding these into your drinks, it makes such a difference.
In conclusion, I LOVE this place and I think it's a newfound gem for the area. Everything is super fresh (they make their own coconut milk every morning!) and service is spectacular! Our cashiers were very lively, helpful and gave us tons of suggestions after we told them it was our first time here. They were not impatient, unlike many Vietnamese food places, and super professional. I am definitely going to be visiting very often before I head off to college and every time I come home for break.
One con, though? They need more seating!
Left to Right:
1. (in the back) My brother's strawberry smoothie with boba pearls
2. My coffee milk tea with boba pearls
3. My sister's drink -- I forgot what it was called but it has various fruit jellies, lychee, basil seeds and coconut slices with ice on top.
4. My Aunt's Bambū special (Taro, colorful tapioca strips, coconut milk with ice on top)
Please comment! Whether it's reactions or if you've been to these places yourself (if you have, we live in the same area -- lucky you!)
I am going to try my BEST to post more restaurant reviews since I love eating and trying out new foods.
xoxo
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