Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

a new york girl searching for london in soho





When I went to London last winter, I had searched up tea parlors to have my experience being British. It failed all together when Google only provided the very best ones, ones that cost more than 60 pounds per person. I mean, that was a lot and definitely more than I was willing to spend. But then I spent months thereafter whining about wanting a proper afternoon tea, and being sullen over the fact that I didn't get to try it out in London. 

But today, my friend and I whisked ourselves to the city where we found a small tea heaven called Bosie Tea Parlor. I was promised that I would get that "afternoon tea" here. 

Although I had always imagined a tearoom to be one of those in a luxury hotel, I was more than thrilled to have a quaint one if I must! It is located deep in Soho (downtown NYC) where all the quaint shops reside. When I walked in, it was definitely a cozy, quaint, and very Soho-esque shop. It had small round tables, about six in the front by the entrance, and about three more near the back. You immediately see an array of tea buckets displayed all along the way. You also see their cute pastry display full of macarons, cakes, and scones. 

My friend and I went for their tea service. They have three selections, but cheapest one seemed to be sufficient for us. The most basic tea service for 2-persons came with a selection of 2 teapots of our choice, 3 choices of tea sandwiches for each person, 2 scones per person, 2 macarons per person, and 4 assortment of cake/bread. I thought that was quite a nice deal!  



I highly recommend their "Brandied Apricot" tea, as it was light with flavorful notes of apricot. It was neither too light nor too heavy, with the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor. The other tea we ordered was Fujian white tea, which wasn't all that great. We first chose Island White, but they no longer had the tea, hence. 

As for their pastries: I highly recommend their salmon cream cheese sandwich and their cucumber cream cheese sandwich. I particular loved those two! And macarons? They had a few seasonal macarons out, but I definitely enjoyed a classic Pistachio and Earl Grey. 

But, what I really enjoyed the most? Their scones. Crusty outside, moist inside. They came with cream and jam, and oh they were seriously so good. I had to get two more to bring home for some of my family to try!






And just look how well we finished our plates! We spent a good hour and a half there, having a swell time. The staff there were so friendly and kind, and that really matters to me. Service is 80% when it comes to rating any eating place, and they definitely was full score for me! They were so helpful picking out which teas and pastries. 

If you are ever around Soho, I highly recommend this tea parlor! Of course, if you're from the UK, you may not find the need to go to a place like this. But if you're an American girl looking to nurture the British girl within, you may want to give yourself a pick-me-up at a relaxing quaint Soho tea parlor as this place! xx


DIY: How to Make the Best Virgin Mojito



For all you non-drinkers, this DIY drink is for you. After trying an awesome virgin mojito when in London, I thought I'd make it my job to make it myself at home. It's the perfect spring/summer drink, and a great way to serve your friends and family who are over! It's my favorite kind of mock-tail and I hope you enjoy it too! 

I am no chef, let alone even being good in the kitchen so bear with me if my directions are ambiguous. Here's what you'll need:
  • Ginger ale
  • Pellegrino or any kind of Sparkling Water(optional/ you can use all ginger ale, but I like to dilute the ale with the sparking water)
  • Lime Juice (I used the Italian Volcano Organic Lime Juice)
  • Limes
  • Mint leaves
  • Cilantro (optional)
  • ICE.
  • Sugar (optional)
  • Apple Juice (optional)




Let me tell you how I like my drink. FULL OF MINTS, and tasting more than just sweet or sour. I like a bit of depth so I did use pretty much all the ingredients I stated above.

Here's what I did:

  • Chop up the mint leaves. I used about one whole batch of them. 
  • Cut the limes into decent sizes. Make sure you wash them first since they'll be soaking in your drink the whole time!

  • Make the juice:
    • In one serving cup size, I put in 1/4 cup of lime juice.
    • Then, I added 1/2 cup of ginger ale.
    • Added just a sip of apple juice (apple soda). Literally, a sip. Nothing too much!
    • Topped it with pelligrino to the top. 
    • Add ice accordingly. (I didn't have ice, so I made sure to make all my drinks really cold before using them).
  • Add the mint leaves. More the better.
  • Squeeze in some fresh lime, then just drop them into the drink.
  • MIX! Let the mint really get soaked with the rest of the drink.
  • Pour more ice (if you want)
  • THEN, VOILA YOU ARE DONE :)
  • You've got yourself a fresh, icey, minty, refreshing sweet tarty VIRGIN MOJITO :) 


Yum yum! It is so refreshing, I love it. What I did was, make just the juice and constantly added it to my drink as I finished it. I think it's easy to get creative with it, no set rules!

Tell me if you've ever made a mock-tail before, and what drinks you recommend. If you do try this virgin mojito, send me a link so I can take a look! I love to see it :)




Life Update #4 . Life in Instagram Pictures




Sorry I've been away for so long! It was FINALS week, and it's been a stressful and tough month but it's all over now and in celebration, I thought I'd give you a little update on what's been going on. Also, wanted to give you a little heads-up on what to expect on my blog from now 'till the end of the year. Can you even believe it's almost the end of the year?! Yikes.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some bits of my life. First, it's been 95% of this no doubt:



Of course, I made sure to put on a lovely candle by Diptyque so that I can ease into studying. I took the "study 'till I die" method the last year and came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to study that way. That's why I gave myself more pamper time and relaxing time than before. By pampering, I also mean eating delicious things like:


A delicious well-brewed vanilla cappuccino is an instant wake-me-up! It's my favorite drink, and I get my little heart-drawn coffees from either Starbucks or SweetLeaf :)


And, of course the sweeties that bring a source of jolliness into life. These brownies and blondies are SO GOOD. They are from a company called "Fat Witch", and I highly recommend y'all try it out! I am a brownie mania, and so when I see a company get it right, it makes me happy! I recommend the original Fat Witch Brownie. It always seems to be sold out when I try to get them... That's the only downfall.


 And yes. Eggs Benedict. Delish, delisssh, delicious! Just look at it, won't you? I recommend the one at Cafe Henri for one of the bests I've tried :)


And before I knew it, it was Christmas season. I still haven't got a proper tree up in the living room, but I did put one up in my study room. It's small, and I can't find any fairy lights! Grr. So, it's just there with its bobbles and not much glamor to it, but it'll have to do for now. You can read my blog post from last Christmas season and the tree I decorated here. I also had to take a picture of these alleys/streets that sell freshly cut fraser firs! Goodness, how christmasy they made me feel :)



Oh, and never forget candles for the holiday! Candles are just 100x better in the winter, and 10000x better during the holidays. I've been liking the sweet and cozy kinds, like Bath & Body Works' "Marshmallow Fireside" and their "Winter" scents.

And because I'm a beauty girl, and I love makeup so much, I did make some recent purchases that I'm excited to blog about. Also, if you didn't know, I'm a huge Catbird fan and recently they had a crazy 4-hour flash sale of one of their new ring: Black Onyx Teardrop Ring. 50% off. That's just crazy, and of course I bought and by far, it's actually my favorite ring from all the gzillion rings I've acquired over the past few years. I love it THAT much.


And, yes. I did jump in the crazy for the Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay. They just go home run on these palettes, don't they?



So, that's pretty much my life update. You can follow me on Instagram username: EtherealEllie. I love the feedback I get on Instagram :) Here's me dwindling in peace after the finals were over! #PEACE


And for further exciting news I want to share! *drum roll**********

I am leaving for Europe tomorrow! I am planning to go to London and Paris for two weeks, and I just can't wait. I've been counting down the days, minutes, and seconds for this very day and I can't express just how happy I am to be going to the UK and France. I've been to both countries before, and did stay mainly around the cities, but I just never get tired of them. Nope! I'm also visiting Strasbourg for a day or two. *THRILLED*

I would love it if anyone had recommendations of places to go, things to eat, and whatever! I'm all open to recommendations :) I've been stalking my favorite UK bloggers for places to go eat and visit. If any of my followers are from UK or France, let me know! And I will definitely be picking up GOODIES (as in BEAUTY PRODUCTS) while my stay there. I'm going to try to blog every moment I have in Europe. Look out for nice pictures (and VIDEOS on Youtube) *hopefully*!



The Fruity Greek-Yogurt French Toast!


I haven't been so excited to blog in awhile! Today is something notably different from any other posts I've done so far. This blog is a beauty & lifestyle post, but I haven't really been posting a lot of lifestyle posts. But today, I thought I'd do something different and show you how to make, what I think, is one of the most delicious French Toasts you'll ever eat! No, really. Homemade, organic, fresh, and oh-so-tastey crisp-yet-soft mouth salivating French Toast. It's the perfect breakfast, with all sorts of healthy food mixed in with substantial savory tastes to make your morning brighter! :)


What you'll need: (To make about 1-2 servings)
  1. 2-3 Sliced bread. I used Italian bread that is fairly large. This food is perfect when you have leftover bread that's gotten a little, just a tad dry. You can use that bread and it'll work just as well!
  2. One egg (organic, preferable)
  3. 1/5 cup of milk (organic, preferable). The amount is seriously your preference though. The amount I show you in the pictures is actually for about 2 servings. If you want to just eat for yourself, you can do just fine with less than that. The milk is great to make the egg mix softer!
  4. Greek Plain Yogurt. Picked mine up from Trader Joe. You can put as much as you want or as little. But this is the secret to having THIS TOAST so this is oh-so-necessary! 
  5. Maple Syrup
  6. Unsalted butter. The amount is intuitive...
  7. Oranges! I have already cut just the amount I need. You need about half an orange to bring out the taste. But, on that note: feel free to use more than just oranges. I've tried them with blueberries as well. Just dump in a slew of fruits that you like. I've just found that oranges taste the best in combination with the Greek Yogurt! 
Directions:
  • First heat your pan. After it's warmed up a bit, put in a reasonable amount of butter. Spread it around evenly. Make sure you leave the heat on the lowest. This gives you time to prepare the toast!
  • Take a bowl and crack in the egg. Then add in milk. Then mix it all together. Make sure the yolk isn't still in shape! 
  • Then add small amount of Maple Syrup into the bowl along with the milk and egg. Stir them all together. 
  • Take one loaf? wait, slice? of bread and dunk it into the mix! Let the deliciousness seep through into every air hole! Flip it side to side, and make sure each side is full covered and SOAKED.

  • Then take that slice and bring it to the evenly buttered pan. Place the bread. You'll hear it all sizzle in butter!
  • Make sure you still leave the pan on the lowest amount of heat. Then go work on your second slice. Dunk it in, soak it up, and let it rest until you have space to place the second.
  • Make sure you keep on eye out on the bread that's toasting! Flip it twice and make sure it doesn't burn. You'll know when it's ready when the surface turns golden brown! Also, the reason to keep the heat low is so that the egg that's seeped into the bread is nicely and softly done!

  • While those two slices are toasting up, go work on your fruits! I sliced up my oranges into small pieces so I can spread it all over the plate. 
  • When I felt that the loafs were all done with their crispy golden brown surfaces (but still oh-so-fluffy-and-soft insides), I place them nicely on the dish.
  • I take the oranges and spread it nicely over the toasts.
  • Then I take a NICE BIG spoonful of Greek Yogurt on top of the toasts. 
  • After that's done, I pour maple syrup all~~~~ over! YUM.

  • Then voila!!!!
  • COMPLETION OF THE MOST DELICIOUS FRUITY GREEK-YOGURT FRENCH TOAST :)
Yum. Yum. Tell me if you do try it! I'm quite crazy over this really all too simple dish :) The greek yogurt, like most plain yogurts are not the sweet kind that we know of. Yet somehow the mixture of the greek yogurt mixed in with the citrus taste and the maple syrup, along with the crunchiness of the French toast soaked with egg filling is just... SO GOOD!!!

Merry Christmas! NYC's Trees & Cupcakes

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful and lovely holiday. I wanted to post a Christmas post before the day was actually over, but I came home late from a long Christmas day and it's only now that I get to organize my pictures and get up a post!

I don't share too much of my life online (anymore) but for a brief, for the past fifteen years I've spent Christmas eve caroling all night with dear church folks. Then Christmas day, after going to church in the morning, I get completely burnt out that I go home and sleep for the most of the day. All in all, there were only a few Christmas days that were spent "memorably". Although I've had really amazing Christmas days in the past, today was the first time I braved the crowd and took a look at the giant Rockfeller Christmas tree! I've always made time to see ZE TREE, but never on Christmas day.

Look at how large that tree is! It is so so beautiful. But also look at how many people were there. 

The building across Rockfeller Center that had projectors lighting a visual against this side of the building! A NYC Christmas tradition :)
I was standing near the front of the building that had the projected lights shining on it. When I was done watching the light show, I turned around to see so many faces so focused on the building! I found this rather amusing and so I took a snapshot of the view. Let me tell you though that what you see is a small fraction of the amount of people that were standing before me.
Where the Rockfeller Center ice rink is.
Large-size toy soldiers stood all along the side, making the whole scene seems so magical!

It was absolutely marvelous! My, my... I always wonder how trees can ever grow to that massive size! It's truly breathtaking and I can't help but be thankful that I live close to the city, enough to go whenever I want! I love the vibe of the city, the bustling streets, and just the joyous festivity of Christmas day.

I wanted to do a LOTD (look-of-the-day) post for you guys, featuring my two recently purchased lipsticks (Rebel and Honolulu Honey), a deep red and nude lipstick. However, caroling all night made my skin tired and face swollen from tiredness. Maybe I'll feature a holiday-look for some other occasion. Anyway, I bundled up for the weather. Thankfully, it wasn't that cold. I wore my recently purchased Forever21 hat that I absolutely love. Hats are winter essentials indeed!

We stopped by "Baked by Melissa" cupcake store. It's a quaint cupcake store that sells their famous bite-sized cupcakes. I bought the 12-piece for $10 and it is so delicious! The looks of the cupcakes are equally delicious :)





As much as I like trying new tastes, I wanted a solid amount of Red velvets so I got 5 of them. Then a few of their classic vanilla cupcakes (the 3 in the 2nd row), and then one of each of: smores, peanut butter, and cinnamon.

They are really tiny! 
Times Square all the way up to the Rockfeller Center was packed. I literally had to mentally "let go" of trying to "make it" through the crowd. The streets were swarming with people and there was just no chance of swerving through those many people and getting anywhere fast enough. But besides the crazy amount of people, every corner was packed with something to see. There were lit up trees and Christmas decorations everywhere. The Empire State Building was lit up red and green and it was very festive to see!



Wherever you are, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I will leave this post with a magical word: BELIEVE. It is something that means so much to me right now in my life... to believe. I hope the dreams and wishes, the prayers deep inside our hearts will all come true in 2013 :)



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