{Jersey City} Sawadee

I tried this Thai & Chinese fusion restaurant on Chinese New Eve, the decoration here has a power to calm me down, and the vegetable dumplings (in appetizer menu) is awesome! 

{Asia} Sparkling Sweets

Hi Friends!

As it is getting colder and colder and colder, I have decided to put all my warm memories in Asia in my blog for the next few days (or maybe next few weeks...). Today I am going to show you all the tasty desserts and cakes that I have tried while I was travelling. I have to say I am not a super fan for sweet things because they make me feel like eating more and more, so I am a very picky sweet eater. I admire those cakes or beverages that have beautiful presentations which will immediately light up my eyes, or those have innovative ideas that gave me an "A-ha" moment. I guess I am a little bit too reasonable, but you always want to make sure that you spend money in something worthwhile, especially things that will need you to exercise at gym for a while right?

I hope you enjoy the sweets as well, drink a lot of hot tea, eat some soup, and create many great memories to sweeten your life!

{Shanghai} Starbucks Desserts

Hi Friends!

Somehow the it is snowy again in Buffalo, whenever the weather is chilly it makes me just want to stay at home I have a temptation to write a post......OK, today I would like to show you some interesting desserts in Starbucks in Shanghai. You may think: who hasn't been to Starbucks?? Well, Just like KFC and McCafe, Starbucks also have totally different items catering to local people's preferences, and some of them are even seasonal. Believe it or not, the food I am showing you right now are all winter 2013 menu items, and Starbucks China is launching new things for the spring. 

Healthy Irish Yogurt Bread

Hi Friends,

Can't believe a week has gone again! I have been extremely busy during the week participating project meetings for the new year, and it was a lot of fun! Now it is time to relax and bake. I have been searching for many recipes which are healthier and lighter, and I believe girls are all the same - we always want something to treat ourselves but don't make ourselves guilty and regretful. I found this super easy yet very light recipe and I cannot wait to try it even though I am already super tired after back-to-back meetings today. I promise you it tastes like a traditional cake which consists of butter + sugar + whole bunch of flours, BUT if you see the recipe you won't be concerned to have more bites!

By the way, I got this super cute and stunning Starbucks candy mug from my co-worker as a Christmas gift, absolutely love it! 2013 has been an amazing year and I got a lot of love, help and encouragement from a lot of beloved ones. I am sure 2014 will be even amazing too!

{Shanghai} Teddy Bear Restaurant

Hi Friends,

Happy Weekend! 

Since it is such a sunny day (can't believe today is 50 degree while only 2 days ago it is 0 degree??), let' s go back to the sunny Shanghai and experience this CUTIEST ever Teddy Bear Restaurant.

This lovely restaurant is located in Shanghai Tianzi Fang (I will write another post about it), a place where cute cafes, souvenir shops, small galleries and old traditional Shanghai houses are all together. On the first floor, it is almost like a teddy bear doll museum and you will see many bear dolls with different sizes and different styles (I love the biggest one and thinking about buying one once I have a big big house). The second floor is the dining area where you can choose to sit inside or enjoy some sunshine in the balcony. Needless to say, even in the dining place there are teddy bears every where (hug hug hug). 

{Vietnam} Cuc Gach Quan

Today let's go back to Vietnam to enjoy some Southeastern Asia food in the sun shining Ho Chi Minh city. 

For me, Vietnamese  food (or South-eastern Asian food) is ranking the 3^rd of my food loving list (Chinese – sometimes Indian & sometimes Intalian – Vietnamese). Three years ago I visited Vietnam for the first time, and I was amazed by how people can use fresh (really fresh and raw leaves that I don't even know how to eat) ingredients to create beautiful and flavorful cuisine. So before this trip, I bought a book to learn more about the origin and characteristics of SE Asian food (I felt that I should have known about it before I came to USA, as someone coming from Asia).

{Shanghai} Muses Cafe

Hi Friends,

I know it is freezing in eastern US now (now it is -2 degree in Buffalo with blowing snow...), so I decided to recall a nice experience at Muses Cafe while I was in Shanghai which gave me a warm memory. 

Most of my restaurant trials in Shanghai were Chinese cuisine while for a chit chat with an old friend from business school, I chose this Muses Cafe randomly, it turned out to be a great choice. The quite and cozy atmosphere was just perfect for heartfelt conversation, plus their garden smoothie, delicate Tiramisu and creamy spaghetti all fulfilled my stomach. The surprise? A cup of simple of earl grey tea with very strong tea flavor since I have been so disappointed by the sweet milk tea powder, and I will never be tired of the scent of milk tea filling a cafe, if it is that good. So if you ever have a chance to go to Shanghai, search for it, and have a quite reading time there will be great.

{Shanghai} Stunning Night

Shanghai is my second favorite city in China - the first one is no doubt my hometown Fuzhou, where I spent 18 years, for me, the beauty of Shanghai is not only the amazing skylines, but how traditional scenes and modern flavor meets. The river, the pretty girls, the skyscrapers, and the quite old streets, everything here has a special flavor coming along with its history and story. 

Talking about fashion, many people will say Paris, Milan, Hong Kong and New York, and I will say please don't forget Shanghai, a new fashion city, and more importantly these years a lot of Chinese designers are showing their own attitude by incorporating Chinese traditional elements into the details, which we call FUSION. Many luxury groups has been targeting Shanghai as their new flagship place in China - Prada, LV, Gucci, Miu Miu...you name it, or in Asia. Now it was 10:00PM, and for many young people, they just leave their office, and the night life just started...

Simple Joy - Chocolate Chip Cookie

Hi Friends!

I hope you all had a very joyful Christmas and New Year vacation! what's your festive surprise and sheer exciting moment? I know it has been a long time (again) that I haven't updated my blog, which was because I had a great time in December travelling back to Asia. My trip schedule was pretty tight: Vietnam - Korea - Shanghai, China and my hometown Fuzhou, China. This past holiday season for me is not about gifts or good foods (I mean they are still important), but the time I was able to spend with my parents. Since my college time, every year I can only spend 2-3 weeks at home either because of internships or school projects, and the time became even less after I came to America. So I really value my time to talk and eat with my parents & grandparents. 

I truly wanted to share what I have found interesting during my trips, and I visited many, many, many...fine cuisine places which delights my entire December, however, for some unknown reason I couldn't visit my blog in China (just like I couldn't even use Facebook in China), so I have to change my photo sharing place to Instagram. 

So, keep in touch via Instagram as well, you can follow me by finding "linglingchenjourney".