Pastiche Fine Desserts

As I explored the greater Providence area during a trip with my close friends, we found this small intimate cafe in the so-called Federal Hill district as we browsed for places to eat for dinner. At my first visit however, the place was jam-packed and we decided to try some of their desserts to go and it was superb! Luckily, Chris wanted to drove about an hour from Boston to retry this gem! so thank you Chris!




Pastiche defined themselves in their website as "an intimate European-style cafe" featuring "classic recipes made with the best natural ingredients". Well.. I do have to agree that I loved their intimate setting as it allowed me and my friends to have a wonderful time together but.. are their desserts good? DEFINITELY! I will definitely be coming back for more.

Sweet enough? Check.
Appetizing enough? Check.
A cup of tea? Check.


Okay. I'll let the pictures do the talking instead. Get ready to drooool....!

First off, I had the banana cream tart. Superbly light and fresh. Sweetness level just right and I thought they got the cream and banana consistency just right for my liking. So light when spooned, yet the cake is just so delicate!


Look at how beautiful the plating was!

Side View

However, Anthony always ordered the Fruit Tart and so does everyone else. So don't question later on why there was only two kinds of cake. In my opinion, their fruit tart is simply one the best ones I had in life. One slice of it was filled with a generous amount of fruits and berries that simply balances the sweetness of their pastry cream. Ugh! So darn good!

Back View!

Front View! 

Have you looked at how gorgeous those plates of fruit tarts are? They're good! Good in the eyes, and superbly awesome on the tongue. Hence, I enjoyed having a cup of tea and some cakes here.. despite the one hour drive it took me and the long wait time outside the establishment. 


Pastiche Fine Desserts
91 Spruce St.
Providence, RI
pastichefinedesserts.com

ps: All of the pictures taken above are taken with the new Sony Xperia Z5 smartphone on Superior Auto and was not edited by any chance. Let me know about what you think about the shots taken by this phone through the comment section below or simply shoot me an email!


Boston Chops

"Give me a thick yet nicely cooked slab of meat and I'll stop talking since I will be enjoying it because I want to enjoy the deliciousness and juiciness of it." - At least that's what I would say if there is a delicious serving of steak right before my very eyes. In the greater Boston area, I would recommend trying Boston Chops if you haven't been there or if you are happening to be in town. Their place is hip and cozy, yet they also serve portions of deliciously cooked steaks, sides and appetizers. Whilst I wait for the arrival of my gang members, I enjoyed a glass of water that tasted the way I liked it. I know its random.. but yeah the water here tasted very clean.

House-filtered still water - that's their description of it in their menu. 

That day required my friends to arrive slightly later than expected (aka in Indonesian: ngaret) due to whatever reason yet traffic is quite unfriendly that day. Hearing me fuss about my friends resulted in my waitress for the visit offered me their pop-over while I wait. Their pop-over was nice: it was not too fluffy, yet it is still able to maintain structure.. I liked it the way it is. Then, I gave a small cut over the top and slap some butter into it. At this point it looked incredibly appetizing! Yum!

Pop-overs (butter placed and melted!)

As my friends arrived, we ordered a lot of foods to share. We did not opt to order individual portions of steak due to the huge portions they have. For appetizer, we share a serving of their Equatorial Iceberg salad with blue cheese on the side coz Jess hates blue cheese! I liked their bacon bits...! 

Equatorial Iceberg Salad

Next on the line-up is their Bone Marrow. I couldn't say much about this dish but I fell in love with it so much that I ordered it every visit. I dug the contents of the bone.. then I enjoyed the warm-soaked grilled bread with the onion broth provided. Oh!

Bone Marrow (Contents spooned out!)


Next on our list are their steaks and we ordered two  of em. The first one is the Bone in Ribeye cooked to medium rare and the second one being the prime ribeye cooked to medium well. 

sal
Bone In Ribeye cooked medium rare

Prime Ribeye to medium well

These two are delicious! However, there are room for improvement as the gang and I felt that the cooking temperature should've been the other way around between another (It is not the waitress' fault since we ordered it that way). We felt that the prime should've been cooked medium rare and the bone-in be cooked medium well. That way, I felt that it would be more delicious because the bone in rib eye was too chewy to chew at this temperature while on the other hand, the prime rib eye was slightly too hard to chew. Despite that,  it was still very juicy and enjoyable. We also had a Mac n Cheese on the side.

Mac and Cheese with pork belly on the middle! Delicious!

Their portion might looked small in picture.. But it was actually huge and was quick enough to fill our tummies. Last but not least, I ordered their Pineapple GeleƩ Cheesecake FOR MYSELF AND NOT TO SHARE BECAUSE THIS IS MY FAVORITE.

Pineapple GeleƩ Cheesecake

Like I always liked to say.. the cheesecake was sweetened just right and not too sweet!  (A rare occurrence in the US - for me.) and the sherbet was sour enough that it balances the sweetness of the cake itself. An awesome dish to wrap up my meal.

Overall, I had a splendid dining experience at Boston Chops. I can't wait to come back for more of their cheesecake and their steaks!

Boston Chops
1375 Washington Street
Boston, MA

Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5

Boston Chops on Urbanspoon

Comments are always welcomed below.
PS: Instead of going to thefoodgazette.blogspot.com, the link to this blog is now foodgazette.co !


Sunday Dim Sum at Myers + Chang

On a windy yet snowy day, me and my mates decided to have a Sunday Dim Sum Brunch at Myers + Chang. To fulfill my dear pal's request - Sherley (check her blog out at hellosherley.com!) to try this establishment that looked hip and young... the gang decided to meet up directly after I made the reservation.

As we arrived at the venue, we were seated at a high top table and we ordered some steamed dim sum, some carbs, and some desserts to wrap up our meal. The first dish that came up was the Mama Chang's pork potsticker dumpling. It was fine.

Mama Chang's Potsticker Dumpling

Next on my list was the Kimchi fried Quinoa Bokkeumbap with Bulgogi which was actually quite good. Since I ate Quinoa on a daily basis, I have to admit that putting quinoa in place of rice was very creative and the result was tasty. 

Kimchi fried Quinoa Bokkeumbap with Bulgogi

Next up, we have two dumplings. One was filled with a braised pork belly, and one was with Asian marinated beef. I have to admit that the marinade was too salty on both dishes but the marinated beef bao tasted better than the pork one. (The focus was a mess on this one - sorry I'm way too appetized!)

Pork Belly Bao (below) and Braised Beef Bao (Above)

And lastly, Sherley and I had the Tea Smoked Ribs. Nothing special but okay.

Tea Smoked Ribs

On the other hand, DJ ordered their nasi goreng - it had pineapples in it so he did not really like it.

I saved the best for last. Their Genmaicha Panna Cotta was inevitably.. the star of my meal. It was soft, delicious, and appetizing. And like what I always liked - it was not too sweet! 


Overall I had a nice dim sum experience at this hip place without the grumpy waitresses at traditional Chinese restaurants. Service was fast and staff were very responsive towards our questions and requests. Despite the higher prices, I would, definitely come back for more of the panna cotta!

Myers + Chang
1145 Washington Street
Boston MA

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5

Myers + Chang on Urbanspoon

This post was made in collaboration with Sherley Soraya at hellosherley.com






Boston Quick Grabs!

Howdy folks! It is sure that I have not been updating and feeding this blog of mine with new contents as well as sharing a bit of the foods that I have been eating. Haha. Anyway, in celebrating the arrival of 2015, I will present a new post dedicated on my favorite fast foods!

As a college student, I want things fast so I could spend my time doing other agendas. But on the other hand, I want to eat healthy and have a tasty meal at the same time. So below are the foods that are on my top list.

NOTE: I will not focus on big retail fast food chains that mostly serve unhealthy meals, but instead, I will share you guys gourmet fast food of course worth your time, money and effort in arriving at an establishment or later during your workout sessions. :)

Paris Creperie

Their name clearly explained what they serve - crepes! Cut to the chase. This dish is currently on my #1 on my cheat meal list and it is their Nutella Crepes.


It looks appetizing but once tasted.. Everyone could tell that they are not stingy with scooping nutellas into the crepe - making it very chocolatey good! (see the chocolate mess I created as I ate while walking below!)  I like to add bananas and american cheese into it too. But if you are a chocolate lover, grab it simply with just nutella and american cheese. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Strolling through Downtown Boston with a crepes! 

Chicken and Rice Guys

PS: I did not eat two bowls alone. I had someone else as a companion. HAHA

At first when I tried their food for the very first time, I thought that they had Singaporean Chicken Rice! (OMG!) But then it was something else. But hey! Their combo platter is excellent!

So the dish consisted of chicken, lamb and a serving of greens with a serving of yellow rice beneath all of those proteins. They also included a warm pita which tasted very good. All those on a bowl with a touch of white or spicy sauce. (I did not pour the sauce into it since I'm not good in terms of putting sauces - I spill them or I overflowed them.) A good choice when I get hungry while taking a stroll at the park or when I have a break from classes.

Shake Shack

This.. Everyone might have known it. Their burgers are excellent! So I guess the pictures will do the talking. Below is my favorite.. the Shack Stack. (A tongue twister -___- I'm eating shack stack in shake shack!)


Cheesy good! Yes. But as an Indonesian-born guy, I'd always carry a sachet of Belibis Chilli Sauce whenever I visit Shake Shack. Servings of the Belibis really adds a spicy, yet rich kick to this already cheesy good burger! Eat them with a serving of their cheesy fries as well.

Dua Belibis Chilli to the rescue!

Have a splendid day!

Addresses:
Paris Creperie Food Truck: Schedule Varies (visited them in Boston City Hall) - pariscreperie.com
Paris Creperie on Urbanspoon

Chicken and Rice Guys: Schedule Varies (visited them in Chinatown Park, Surface Rd) - cnrguys.com
The Chicken and Rice Guys on Urbanspoon

Shake Shack - 92 Winthrop St, Cambridge, MA