when it's cold outside...

...eat ice cream! I was thinking of one of those sayings like "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade". I know, sounds a little insane, but that was exactly what we were doing. I have problems resisting desserts no matter how cold it is outside or how bulging my belly is. After our brunch at Le Rêve , Jess and her friends had heard about an ice cream place down at Capitol Hill which we totally had to go to.


  So off we went to Molly Moon's Ice Cream! Funny name eh. But one that's hard to forget, maybe that's why.  There were SO MANY crazy flavors and in the end we ended up getting Salted Caramel and Balsamic Strawberry. It's interesting how all those opposing flavors tend to really work well together. Like how in order to bring out the sweetness of a dish you need to add some salt? An example would be adding salt to chocolate milk a la Modern Family :P but I have never actually tried that before.  

(Me, Si Xuan and Jessalynn with Krayon at her feet.) 

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

917 E Pine St (between Broadway & Nagle Pl) 

Seattle, WA 98122 

Neighbourhood: Capitol Hill

Ballard

Another neighborhood I fell in love with in Seattle this time round was Ballard. My uncle took me and my mum for lunch there one afternoon and it was such a great area - serene, with a hint of activity behind the glassed windows of stores, restaurants, cafes... and I could just imagine the lights and bustle as night descends.

For lunch we went to this great restaurant called Volterra. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you're ever in the neighborhood! :) It's got a great selection of mainly casual Italian cuisine (pastas/sandwiches and the like) but at really decent prices. The portions were of a good size and all the dishes we ordered tasted great. Here's what we had: 1. Can't quite recall the exact name of this dish sadly and it doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore on their website! But it was basically mushroom and a huge slab of cheese. Since I'm not a fan of cheese, I can only say the Focaccia bread was yummy. Always a fan of that.  2. I think this was pasta with pork jowls and wild mushrooms. UMMZ. 3. Left: My mum and uncle. 
 Right: Dungeness Crab Ravioli! With actual crab meat! That should totally be a disclaimer for menus that offer anything crab. You know how sometimes they sneak in random crab sticks or just outright use that instead? Nothing of that sort in this dish! :) DELISH. It was probably my favorite out of the three. And seriously, there were soooo many more dishes that I wanted to try. How about some Pan Fried Duck Confit and Focaccia? Or Lamb Meat Balls with Roasted Spaghetti Squash? Sigh. Sometimes I just wish we could all eat as much as we wanted and not get full/fat. Ok not sometimes. All the time.  

Volterra 

5411 Ballard Ave Northwest 

Seattle Washington 98107 

Tel : 206 789 5100 

Quick sibling shot outside the restaurant.  Right: After a very filling lunch, we still stopped by for Gelato! Only a few doors down, it's called D'Ambrosio Gelato. Even though it was pretty chilly out, we still couldn't resist getting a double scoop of hazelnut and pistachio gelato and nursed it while we walked down the street window shopping. Not for long though. My mum and I ran into a shoe store within no time so my uncle ended up finishing the bulk of the gelato. So at least he had something to do while waiting for us. :) 

Happened to pass by a restaurant that was closed but I LOVE the way it's set up outside. Mind you, this was taken through a glass screen that covered the outer al fresco portion of the restaurant but already I can imagine how gorgeous it must be at night. And on a wilder more romantic thought, it's the sort of place I wouldn't mind having my future wedding reception at! :) Ahh, well I've been too taken in by Alice Gao's gorgeous wedding photography. I quite like the way someone decorated the grill outside their house. I'm pretty sure something so impeccably looking has to be maintained with great care by someone. Sigh, I have sort of realized that in the winter/early early Spring when it's still too cold for anything, the only piece of clothing that matters is your sweater and the outermost coat you put on. Everything else underneath can't be seem anyway. 
Anyway, can't wait to go back there one day. :) Another reason why I love that neighborhood is because of this great shoe store (the same one my mum and I ran into leaving my Uncle out there in the cold with the gelato) - re-souL. I bought a really nice pair of ankle boots! And I'm pretty sure had we walked around a little more we would have discovered tons more great spots to spend the rest of the afternoon at. MMM. BTW. LOOK CAREFULLY.

Le Rêve Bakery and Cafe

Oh yeah. So this has been another night of full out chillaxing. It started off by ending the afternoon session pretty early at around 4, talking a leisurely stroll back and enjoying the sun (the weather has been SO GOOD this week! :D), reading a little in bed, taking a cosy late afternoon nap (really love those), skyping with Donald and then going out for Chinese food with my roommate. :D I really didn't expect to eat much Asian food here in Montreal BUT for some reason I was really craving something strong and flavorful. And it was pretty decent food. Comparable to what you'd get at the SG hawker centers but of course at like 3 times the price. In my relaxed state I've managed to go through even more photos of Seattle. :) 
Here are some from when I met up with Jessalynn, her bf and another friend Si Xuan, for brunch at this really awesome cafe at the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle. Honestly, why haven't I explored these neighborhoods those numerous times that I've been to Seattle? I suppose I usually just end up spending a lot of time with my cousins either at home or at their Girl Scout activities ;p so this was quite a nice change - to actually explore Seattle a little more than before.


This place is just incredible. Tons and tons of pastries and the delicious homely scent of flaky crust everywhere! It took us agessss to decide on what to order because everything looked SO GOOD. The place was bustling but we managed to get a table at the back of the restaurant within no time. The staff here are incredible friendly. While I was busy taking photos, a lady comes up to me and says, "Thank you for taking photos of our store!" and I look up in surprise, half-embarrassed and half-nervous because well, normally the only time store owners speak to you when you've got your camera out is to tell you to put it away, no? This lady turned out to be the owner to the place! And she actually thanked me for taking photos and encouraged me to post it on facebook and share it with friends. That's an enlightened businesswoman I'll tell ya that. :)  
After much deliberation, we finally decided to get a bunch of pastries to share!   
1. The Kouign Amann was recommended by the guy behind the counter. I think it could have been one of my favorite! It's basically a plain sweet pastry but it had just the right amount of sweetness to it. Combined with the soft doughy texture on the inside and the sweet crispiness on the surface...ohhh I could've eaten a whole lot more of that for sure.   2.Ham and cheese croissant! Actually SUPER tasty. ;D 3.Almond croissant which was another recommended pastry. Basically if you're not sure I think you can just ask them and they'll recommend a whole bunch which you can't go wrong with. :)  4. The double chocolate croissant. SIGH. <3 I don't think I need to say much more. Left: You should definitely check this place out if you happen to be in the neighborhood! And there's a space outside for al fresco dining so I can just imagine how gorgeous it'll be in the Spring when the weather's warm enough for lazy brunches and teas outside the cafe.

Le Rêve Bakery and Cafe 

1805 Queen Anne Ave N

Ste 100 

Seattle, WA 98109

Right: A store near where the car was parked. I think it sold Children's Toys but I was really intrigued by the way they decorated the side of the house! :) Definitely an eye-catcher. 


Btw, in my previous post I'd mentioned that I had come across an even cuter dog than Krayon right? :D Well, here he is!!!

 

Meet Newton! :D This dawggy is seriously one of the CUUUUUUUUTEST dogs I've ever seen/come across in my entire life!! I fell in love with him the moment I saw his big old black eyes widen in shock when he spotted Krayon walking along in the opposite direction towards him. It was hilarious and oh-so-adorable.
Basically what happened was that we were walking along the same sidewalk and the two dogs spotted each other from a distance away. It was so obvious that when Newton spotted Krayon, he got a real shock. Because his eyes completely widened and he came to a stop. Look at him the picture. XD TOO CUTE. Next came the inspection. We asked the owner who said that Newton's about 7 years old! So he's an old grandpaw while Krayon's still really young, only about 1 year old! So it really was akin to an old grandpa meeting a young spritely boy on the street. Think UP. Finally, lots of nosing!!! SNIFF. X) These two were just plain sweet. 


Does anyone have any idea what kind of dog Newton is?? (He's the one on the RIGHT incase you've had trouble following. After all, they are both cute and white. ;p) I really wanna get a similar dog in the future!! And I hope he's pudgy and squat just like Newton is. I can imagine the two of us taking our time with walks in the afternoons...stopping by cafes for coffee...and then doughnuts on the way home. :)


Thinking about this cutie makes me happy. That was a great brunch all in all.   

To Pike's Place We Go!

So I'm finally getting around to showing some of the photos I took in Seattle! :) I LOVE Seattle, seriously. It's such a nice place - the people are so friendly (well, I know a lot of an impression of a place is based on luck, because you just need to meet the right sort of people to fall in love with a place; I've been lucky so far!) and there's a great laid back, peace-loving culture...Or so it seems. :) Tell me if you think otherwise. I do happen to really like downtown Seattle because it's near Elliot Bay and there are all these great places to spend the afternoon traipsing around in... And of course, one place I always enjoy going to is Pike's Place Market. For those of you who don't already know, it's a famous public market that's been around since 1907 (thank you, Wiki) and there are lots of well known stalls and restaurants that have been referenced in movies, books and the like. For example, there's this place called Lowell's Restaurant and Bar that was featured in the rom-com Sleepless in Seattle :D and my aunt brought me there once for some great seafood. I'd been to Pike's probably 2 or 3 times before this but you know what, each time it's a different experience (and with a different camera) so I really never get sick of it.


Check out these cute piggy banks! :D The funny dark spots on them are actually surfaces that you can write on with chalk. Man I do think I need to get a piggy bank for myself to remind myself to save everyday. But I can totally imagine myself sleep-opening the piggy bank in the middle of the night while dreaming about a dress or something I'm thinking of getting. ;p I know. Self-control, where have you gone?? Ocarinas! :D You know what, I remember my mum getting my a small blue ocarina once many many years ago and I think it was actually from this market! I seriously remember thinking I could be the next big star in music armed with my cool-ass ocarina since I couldn't play the piano for nuts. But really it's about as hard to play as a recorder and there's a reason why there aren't really any famous Recorder ermmm players. Then comes the food section! :) We tried some of this honey and MAN it was good. Suddenly I'm reminded of the Berenstain Bears who used to have snacks of bread and honey. I'm still really upset that Jan Berenstain (the author) passed away recently. :( Definitely getting those books again for my kids in the future. Left: I had no idea what those were. Fruit logs?? Dried fruit rolled out into those shapes? 
Right: Elephant Garlic! MMM speaking of food, we happened to get some really huge and juicy apples called Pacific Rose Apples. Try to get some if you're there since it's really mainly from the Pacific Northwest.  Oh the colors. :) There's a famous seafood stall called Pike Place Fish that's known for having fishmongers who know how to give good service and have a good time at work - complete with fish-throwing antics. They file orders by throwing fishes to one another and that can be with regards to a HUGE salmon or sth. It's called Pike Place Fish and if you've read the book Fish!, it's actually based on the work culture at this particular stall. They normally have this huge fish head that sits notably on the ice with a sign that says something like Touch Me! or Come Closer! and so when customers go really near the fish, one of the fishmongers on the other end will pull a string that brings the mouth of the fish to a sudden close! And of course the customer freaks and the audience laughs and it's all in good fun. :) Unfortunately this time they didn't have the fish out. AND, another place we went to that was nearby was the ORIGINAL Starbucks cafe! It opened in 1971 and still has the original starbucks logo from the time. Before I forget, meet Krayon! :P This cutie belongs to my friend Jessalynn and her boyfriend who study in California but happened to be able to come to Seattle that very weekend that I was there! So we managed to meet up and they brought him along. Honestly, he attracted SO much attention. Everyone LOVED him. Which brings me to my conclusion that dogs are the same as babies in terms of how they elicit the whole gushing/cooing/"soooooo cuuuuuute" comments from passersby. They are great conversation starters and best of all, the ''parents'' don't mind people taking photos of them. For Krayon, it was really all about his fashionable orange rain booties that made him such a star. And I must admit, he was a really good doggy who hardly barked! BUT the cutest dog was another dog that we happened to meet the day after. >:D PHOTOS SOON! 
 xx