The Wizarding World of Centennial Food Adventures

It's been a minute. The past couple of weeks have been eventful in both good ways and not-so-good ways. The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that I have a family who loves me and friends who support and encourage me, which remind me of God's ever faithful presence in my life. So what's been going? Well, besides more food adventures (which I'll get to in a bit), a couple weekends ago my family and I headed down to Pasadena to celebrate my great-aunt Bernice's 100th birthday! She is such an amazing woman and has lived such a full life; after my grandma's death back in 2000 she even stepped in to act as grandmother figure for our family. It was great getting to celebrate her! We had some tasty food as well, and in true Asian style, there was plenty of it.

More food came out after the pic xD


CHA SIU BAO!!!


Mmmm...strawberries and cream.

The day before the party though, we made our way to Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time in almost two decades! The last time I was there was when the Jurassic Park ride first opened. I was mainly stoked to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which didn't disappoint. That morning though, I ran down to a diner called Le Roy's, and it definitely fit the Triple D category. I had their bacon breakfast burrito and their coffee cake since it's what they are known for. The burrito was super simple yet somehow delicious. The bacon and tater tots were crispy and the eggs were buttery. Ok...that's why it was delicious. The coffee cake was on point as well! Buttery, cinnamony, delectable. A perfect breakfast to start off the day.


Mirror of Erised

On our way to Dumbledore's office!

Dumbledore's Pensieve

The Fat Lady (and yes, she was talking).

Hagrid's Hut


They offered a nice benefits package...highly tempted. 




While there, I was able to try to Pink's Hot Dogs and Voodoo Doughnuts for the first time! At Pink's I had the Mulholland Drive Dog, which had nacho cheese, bacon, and grilled onions on it. Those three elements alone are tasty, but what made the meal was the hot dog link itself. On Food Network I've always heard about how the hot dogs the personalities eat have snaps to them, but I never understood what it meant because I've never had a hot dog do that! Well, that was until I had this hot dog. When you first bite it, it literally snaps off from the rest of the dog. This was indeed the beefiest and juiciest hot dog I've eaten. 

Once we were finished at Universal Studios, we first stopped at Mini Monster to get a drink. I got the Sunset Strawberry Lemonade in those cool light bulb glasses, which consisted of blue tea and strawberry lemonade. Super refreshing! At Voodoo Doughnuts (which we waited in line for about 45 minutes just to order), I got their iconic Voodoo Doll, ODB, and Memphis Mafia. Words can't even describe how delicious they were. If you're ever in the Portland area or just so happen to find yourselves at Universal City Walk, definitely stop here!

Memphis Mafia - 
Banana fritter with chocolate drizzle, peanut butter drizzle, chocolate chips, and nuts.

ODB
Chocolate-glazed donut with Oreos and peanut butter drizzle.

Voodoo Doll
Chocolate-glazed donut with raspberry filling. Best raspberry filling EVER. 

Later that evening, I ate at Smashburger for the first time. I've been wanting to try this place since seeing it on some food show. It did not disappoint. I pretty much got a Western bacon cheeseburger. One of the juiciest burgers I've ever eaten from a "fast-food" place; the meat melted in my mouth! I can't wait to go back.

Since returning from LA/Pasadena, school and work have kept me busy! Nevertheless, I've had plenty of times to go on other food adventures. I've been watching Cake Boss alot lately, and naturally, I've been craving things I see on the episodes. Since I obviously can't get any of those things, I stopped by Eddie's Bakery a couple times this week to satisfy my cravings. I first tried their cannolis, which was great. Yesterday I got mini tiramisu (which I've had before) and tried their strawberry pizza pie for the first time. Everything was on point, especially the strawberry pizza pie, which the strawberries were perfectly sweet and the cookie crust holds up nicely to the cream. 



On top of this, I also ate at KoJa Kitchen to try their special (and I guess secret menu item): KamiKrazy Fries. It had their marinated beef and chicken on top of french fries, smothered in their special sauces and topped off with a fried egg and nori strips. Mmmm, I can still taste it.

My last food adventure took me to the newly opened Roll Me Some. They are an ice creamery started by two women and their husbands who wanted to bring the rolled ice cream phenomena to the Central Valley. I've never had rolled ice cream before, but I think they're doing it well. I tried the Monkey Business, which consisted of bananas, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate sauce. First of all, I'm impressed with the process of making it as a whole. Bananas and chocolate chips cookies are of course a great combination. What impresses me the most though is how long the ice cream holds up once you start eating it. Since the ice cream is rolled out at such a cold temperature, it seems like it has barely melted by the time you finish eating it (indicated by the fact it's still in semi-solid chunks). My only critique is the size of their store. They currently only have two places to make the ice cream. Fortunately, I went when it wasn't busy--but I can only imagine how long it would take if it was. Nevertheless, I think it would be worth the wait, especially since they are one of the only places in the Valley offering rolled ice cream right now. I hope their business becomes successful so that they are able to expand their current store but also open other locations!

Man, I'm beat from writing this. Now time to chillax for the rest of my Sabbath. Thanks for sticking with me. Until next time, I hope you enjoy your own food adventures!

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