2 Down, 50+ to Go

Last night's surprise dinner was to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Today makes a whole whopping 2 years! :) While we haven't been married for very long, I did remind Husband J that we have been married longer than quite a few celebrities (and perhaps some regular folks, too?). Every year together should be celebrated, right?

While there are definitely some challenges right now for us (the both of us and are families healthy and safe, which is the most important thing), it's been great having Husband J as my biggest cheerleader and supporter. If I can say one thing after looking back on the past year, it's that I'm thankful for having him as my husband.

Also, can I just say that I think it will be nice to say that we've been married for 2 years? There's something cool about nice, round numbers. :)

Self-portrait at Ephesus

We ended up going to River Cafe in Brooklyn. This restaurant has a lot of sentimental value and importance in the history of our relationship. I'll tell you more about our dinner later this week.

Happy Anniversary, Husband J!

Surprises....

Husband J and I are going on a surprise dinner in an hour or two. I like surprises, don't you? Although this time, I'm pretty curious about where we're going.

I'll let you know WHY we're going tomorrow.

I hope you've enjoyed the weekend.

Food Porn Friday/In My 'Hood - Robicelli's Cupcakes

I think we've already covered the fact that I love cupcakes. It's not because it's a trend. It's really because I love cake and frosting. As I mentioned before, I'd fallen in love with Robicelli's cupcakes back in March. They have over 160 flavors that are rotated weekly, so let's just say it's going to take me quite some time to eat my way through their inventory. :)

Why I like Robicelli's:

1. They pay attention to the cake just as much as the frosting. The cake portion of every cupcake I've tasted so far has been moist and flavorful. I think some cupcake bakers think you'll just enjoy the frosting, so they don't need to provide quality cake. Robicelli's recognizes that a good cupcake has got to get both elements right.

2. They take the time to develop interesting flavors and textures instead of selling the same old same old.

Here are some of the flavors that I picked up at their DeKalb Market shop.

Chicken & Waffle

I actually already wrote about this one. That's an actual piece of chicken. Cool! Yes, it does taste fabulous, although I did eat the chicken separately from the cupcake.

Butterbeer

Butterscotch soaked cake, butterscotch butter cream, edible gold dust

Yes, that is a Harry Potter reference. This was my favorite of the bunch.

Ebinger

Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate glaze, cake crumbs

This cupcake is for the chocolate lovers!! When I bought these cupcakes, it was one of the hottest days of the year thus far, so I think the frosting was starting to slip. Oops! I'm not a big chocolate cake fan, but this was actually my second favorite. The custard buttercream tastes like you're biting into chocolate custard melded with soft cake.

Bea Arthur

Black coffee infused chocolate cake, cheesecake buttercream, espresso ganache

Can you tell it was hot in our apartment?

I had to take a pic of this one before Husband J ate it! They actually have cupcakes named after all of the "Golden Girls" actresses. AWESOME! I've tried the Estelle Getty, which is a more subtle almond flavor. I haven't seen the Betty White one though. Hmm...

Robicelli's (available all over the city. Check their website for locales near you)

@ DeKalb Market

322 Flatbush Avenue Extension

Brooklyn, New York

Happy Weekend!

Touring Turkey - Ephesus, Part 2

I hope you enjoyed the first post about our visit to Ephesus. Our time at Ephesus was not over, and we still had a few major sites to see amongst the ruins.

Behold, the Grand Theater......

This theater can hold up to 25,000 people. It's huge!! This isn't just any old theater, either. For those of you who are a little familiar with the Bible, this theater was the scene of an early incident mentioned in the Bible between early Christians and the residents of Ephesus. I'll tell you a little more about it in this video.

By the way, I'm squinting a lot because I had to look straight into the sun to film this. I just bought real sunglasses last month. I kid you not. I also say "Um" too much. :(

EphesusTheater from TAOTerri on Vimeo.

If you want to look up this story in the Bible, check out Acts 19. It starts to get good at Verse 23.

Here's the lady I mentioned in the video. The Grand Theater has some pretty great acoustics.

If you wanna check out the acoustics, watch this.

EphesusAcoustics from TAOTerri on Vimeo.

You can hear me and Husband J cheering at the end. I was saying "Merci!" because our songstress was part of a group of French tourists.

After passing by some more evidence of Ephesus' former glory, we knew we had to see one last thing.

Arcadian Street. Imagine a really nice open-air mall. Perhaps Ephesus' Rodeo Drive?

On the very edge of the Ephesus site is the Church of Mary. It was built as a church to commemorate the Council of Ephesus, a religious conference to discuss Christian doctrine. The organizers built a basilica in Mary's honor. Many believe that Mary, Jesus' mother, spent many of her last years here in the Ephesus area under the care of John the Apostle. (Remember him?) You can actually visit a house right outside of Ephesus that many think was her actual home.

Church of Mary

If you are thinking about going to Turkey, you must include Ephesus on your trip.

So THAT'S ALL, FOLKS! That was our trip to Turkey. I'll write a hotel review or two more, but this will be the last Turkey post for awhile. I hope you enjoyed learning about this fascinating and beautiful country.

Ask Me (Almost) Anything

Have you ever been a part of a conversation that is super one-sided? The person drones on and on, and you can't get a word in edgewise. Well, that's how I've been feeling about the blog lately. A whole lotta me talking and not much else. I know that this is a blog, but I do want to make this space more of a conversation with you all.

Sooo I've decided to just leave the comments section open for your questions for me. The questions can be about food, travel, or even about me. I'll answer personal questions within reason. :) Depending on the question, I may turn it into a post and will give you the credit as the source/inspiration. I know that there are forums/processes for this like Formspring. I think I have an account on there that I don't even check anymore (and never really did).

Okay, fire away.

If I don't get any questions, I'll just assume that you all are out there nodding and smiling happily. :) (Oh come on, you know you do it sometimes!)

T

Ramadan Mubarak

According to the Islamic lunar calendar, today is the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of all-day fasting and reflection. During Ramadan many Muslims read the through the Qur'an, refocus on charitable gifts and volunteering and increase their time of prayer. My neighborhood will be busy as I live very close to a mosque, and my neighborhood has traditionally had a large Muslim population. As a matter of fact, it's been called Little Mecca.

Although Ramadan happens for one month per year, an integral part of the daily life in a Muslim country is the call to prayer. One of my favorite travel memories actually involves the call to prayer. I was in downtown Durban, South Africa's predominantly Muslim area. It was sunset and the light streaming through old colonial looking buildings. The next thing I know, a beautiful voice part singing, part chanting with so much soul and feeling emanated through the streets. It was the sundown call to prayer, and I was taken in completely. I remember feeling very at peace at that moment. Even though I'm not Muslim, I was deeply affected.

In honor of the beginning of Ramadan, I thought I would share with you with the call to evening prayer near our hotel in Cappadocia. I liked this one better than the one at 4:30am (that's not even a typo). :)

Cappadocia Prayer Call from TAOTerri on Vimeo.

For any of you celebrating Ramadan, I wish you a healthy month of fasting, reflection and greater peace.

Food Porn Friday - Baohaus

I've seen Tawainese gua bao sandwiches before. What pushed me to finally try them was being intrigued by Eddie Huang, the owner of Baohaus. For some reason, this guy seems like a kindred spirit: a former lawyer running away from anything having to do with being a lawyer and a lover of classic hip hop (check out some of his statements from a recent New York Magazine article on Asian American male identity and his often very funny and thought-provoking blog. He's an interesting guy). One article called him "the Jay-Z of the NYC restaurant scene." Not bad, Mr. Huang.

After closing down his last restaurant, Xiao Ye ('cause of pesky Four Loko issues), he's been focusing on the teeny subterranean sandwich shop, Baohaus. Just so you know:

There's not much seating.

I hope you like hip hop 'cause that will be your background music.

You could get gua bao cheaper elsewhere.

They were running a special with three baos and a drink included.

From left to right: Haus bao (hanger steak bao with crushed peanut, Haus relish and Taiwanese red sugar), Chairman bao (braised Berkshire pork belly with crushed peanut, Haus relish and Taiwanese red sugar), and the Uncle Jesse (pan fried organic tofu coated in sweet potato starch with Haus sauce, crushed peanut and Taiwanese red sugar)

What Baohaus does get right is the way they cook their meat fillings. Tender, well seasoned meat should be the basis of any sandwich. I actually wish the sandwiches were bigger on the whole. As for the toppings, I think the added sugar might have been a bit too much sweet. I enjoy sweet-savory combinations, but they need to be balanced.

My drink was a sarsaparilla soda. I've definitely never had one of these before. The chef and I were talking about the fact that it kinda tasted like Dr. Pepper.

I'm going to try more of Eddie Huang's take on traditional Taiwanese dishes. The staff that works at Baohaus is pretty friendly, and I had a great conversation with them about Brooklyn and secret sauces. Nice guys. Eddie Huang's actually opening a new Baohaus location in the East Village.

Baohaus

137 Rivington Street

New York, NY

Happy Weekend, everyone!