Viet Cuisine Restaurant

Viet Cuisine Restaurant [@ Fashion Island Mall]

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

I haven't had Vietnamese food in Thailand in years! I think the last time I had Vietnamese food in Thailand was almost 10 years ago. haha...But, I grew up in NYC pretty much most of my life and ate Vietnamese food very often that I know the flavors for this type of cuisine. So, yesterday my parents and I tried some Vietnamese food for lunch at Viet Cuisine Restaurant. It's a small restaurant with nine tables and the place was kinda empty when we got there at around 12:30pm. The decor was modern. The staff was very friendly too.

My parents and I each ordered bento box style meals for 99 Baht each [about $3 US]. I ordered the honey chicken bento box and it came with rice, summer rolls, cantaloupe, and soup on the side. Everything was tasty and filling. The only complaint that I had was that the sauce on top of the summer rolls was spicy. I ate only two pieces of the summer rolls and gave the rest to my dad to finish. :(

I would come back to this place again to try a bowl of Pho noodle soup and other entrées. I'm curious if their Pho is good or not. And I'll write an updated review.

[NOTE: Pictures taken with my NOKIA E63]

Yentafo

A bowl of Yentafo noodle soup [from a food stall at TOPS' supermarket food court in Fashion Island Mall]

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

I bet that many of you may have never heard of Yentafo before. What is Yentafo? Well, it's a very well known Thai noodle dish with the pink sauce. The sauce is usually made from fermented bean paste, salt, and vinegar. You can also buy the Yentafo sauce from any Asian supermarket. So, the other day I ordered a bowl of Yentafo noodle soup from a food stall at TOPS' supermarket food court for 35 Baht (about $1 US). There were a variety of fishballs, fried tofu, and morning glory vegetable in the noodle soup. However, I requested not to put in pig's blood or octopus. Overall, this noodle soup was good and filling.

You can make Yentafo at home. Just buy the basic ingredients such as rice noodles, fishball, fried tofu, the Yentafo sauce, and any soup base (seafood or vegetable). You can also put in morning glory vegetable or spinach, white fungus mushrooms, pig's blood, and octopus. You can buy the instant noodle soup Yentafo flavor as well. Sometimes I buy the MAMA Instant Noodle Yentafo flavor when I don't feel like buying a jar of the Yentafo sauce. Then, you can add in the basic ingredients into the instant noodle soup.

If you are too lazy to make Yentafo, you can try to order it some Thai restaurants. Definitely give Yentafo a try!

[NOTE: Picture taken from my NOKIA E63].

Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix

Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix [Yellow]

Rating: 4.5 / 5

I have been using the Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix for quite sometime. I have tried both the yellow and chocolate cake mixes before this review. I haven't been disappointed yet. Last week, I used the yellow cake mix and made Funfetti cupcakes. I followed the baking directions on the Betty Crocker box and I also added in some rainbow sprinkles into my cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out to be moist and delicious. I was  able to make 24 cupcakes with just one box of the cake mix. I shared my cupcakes with my parents, aunts, and cousins to try. They all enjoyed it! :)

Khao Soi

A bowl of Pork Balls Khao Soi [from a food stall on the 3rd floor food court at Fashion Island Mall]

Rating: 5 / 5!!!

This would my second taste of Khao Soi from the same food stall at Fashion Mall. I had a huge craving of Khao Soi and I really wanted to eat it. Today, I ordered the pork balls Khao Soi for 40 Baht [about $1.25 US]. Oh boy, it was delicious and tasted just as great as the chicken Khao Soi that I tried a few days ago too! At first I was a bit worried that this dish would be very spicy because I ordered take out Khao Soi from a food stall at Jatujak Minburi before and it was so spicy that I had drink water every few minutes. So, I asked the server if the Khao Soi here was spicy and she said no. I decided to give it a try.

This Khao Soi contains egg noodles, crispy egg noodles, shallots, pickled cabbage, curry, and [obviously] pork balls. The dish was filling but not filling enough to make me full. I was able to eat some coconut ice cream afterwards. :)

More information about Khao Soi, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_soi

[NOTE: Picture taken from my NOKIA E63]

Spicy Minced Pork & Sticky Rice Burger

Spicy Minced Pork & Sticky Rice Burger [from 7-Eleven Thailand]

Rating: 3.5 / 5

I brought two Spicy Minced Pork & Sticky Rice Burger from 7-Eleven for lunch a few days ago. The burger wasn't too spicy. I can taste a tad bit of spicy flavor. Overall, this snack tasted OK and it was nothing special. I just wanted to try this little snack since I haven't tried a sticky rice burger before.

Coconut Ice Cream

Coconut Ice Cream [from a food stand @ Fashion Island Mall]

Rating: 5 / 5 stars!!!

I justed wanted to show this very creative presentation of the coconut ice cream that I brought from a food stand at Fashion Island Mall today. The coconut ice cream was served in a young coconut carved out into a bowl and this ice cream was absolutely delicious!!! I can taste pure coconut flavor in this ice cream. Some coconut slices came with the ice cream as well. This only costs 30 baht [about $1 US].

The sad part is that this food stand doesn't open everyday. I think it's open on certain days or during big events at the mall. :(

[NOTE: Picture taken from my NOKIA E63]

Nittaya Kai Yang

Nittaya Kai Yang
http://www.nittayakaiyang.com [Google chrome warned me that this site may have malware]

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

My uncle & aunt treated my parents and I for lunch here last week. There are a few franchise locations of Nittaya Kai Yang in Thailand. However, I don't remember the location we went to though. Well, everything that we ordered were fresh and delicious. We were given a bowl of fresh vegetables [ie: Basil, Cabbage, String beans] to eat with our meal. The roasted chicken [Kai Yang] was flavorful and the chicken's skin was a little bit crispy too. I loved the fried catfish [Pla Duke Foo] dish. It comes with a sweet and sour salsa in which you pour over the fried catfish. A lot of the dishes here are small. But, if you eat a lot of sticky rice with the roasted chicken and green papaya salad; you will be full. For dessert, I ordered the taro ice cream. I didn't want to get coconut ice cream or other typical Thai desserts, because I eat them very often. Plus, I wanted to taste if this taro ice cream is just as good as the one from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in NYC. I have to say that the taro ice cream at Nittaya Kai Yang was OK because it wasn't smooth and creamy and I liked the one from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory better.

The service here was quick. We waited 5-8 minutes for our orders. The staff was very nice and friendly. I really thought about giving this place 4.5 to 5 stars since the food was really good. But, the portions were small and I didn't think it was a very memorable experience. This place is still a must try!

[NOTE: Pictures were taken from my NOKIA E63]