Happy 11th Birthday To Me!

Last week was my 11th birthday...finally! Seriously, everyone else was 11 but me. I guess being younger can be a good thing for some people who are much older but I am definitely not one of those people. When it's my birthday it is my tradition to open my family presents first thing in the morning before school (which is really good because I can wear all of my totally awesome new clothes to school) and eat my cake/cupcakes for breakfast. This year my cupcakes were from New York Cupcakes, aka the best cupcakes on the Eastside. Check out my birthday breakfast...

It is also my tradition to get to choose what to eat for dinner. I can even go to any restaurant I want! Every year I choose the same thing and that is for my Mom to make a homemade Italian dinner. It is my absolute favorite. This year she made fettuccine alfredo, veal cutlets and peas and mushrooms. Check it out...

These recipes are family recipes that have been passed down through generations. I can't even tell you the recipes because they are passed down orally and not written anywhere. Plus, I don't even know them by heart. They are surely delicious and I couldn't ask for anything more than to have my birthday with my fantastic family and my favorite food. This blog is no longer "a 10 year old's take on where to eat," it is now "an 11 year old's take on where to eat!" Look out world because here comes Emily...the 11 year old!

eXXXcellent!

Today I reviewed XXX Root Beer in Issaquah and I fell in love. I didn't think it would happen until junior high, but it did.

On decor of restaurant, I give it a 5! It was very retro and old school. There are huge gumball machines when you first walk in, but if you don't want to necessarily walk in, there is a walk up ice cream and milkshake bar open to the patio. Everyone seemed to be getting rootbeer floats. XXX makes their own rootbeer and they have had the same recipe since 1930. The walls and ceilings are covered with pictures, Coke stuff, license plates with puns and old items that I can't even name. There is a creepy doll called Howdy Doody. Don't even look at it. There is an old working juke box and it was very cool. They had oversized sunglasses that you can wear and my two friends and I all had fun wearing them. Pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis surrounded me everywhere, and that is not really a bad thing if you really think about it. There was 50's and 60's music playing and it gave me an idea of what it was like back then. 

Here is the huge gumball machine...it stole 50 cents from me! Why me?

Walkup ice cream bar...

On friendliness of staff towards kids, I give it a 5! There were a lot of servers and they were really nice. They made sure we knew about the silly sunglasses and made sure we felt welcome. I could really tell that they like kids and were happy we liked it there. Whenever I asked for something, they were not annoyed in the least. Doesn't everyone need a knife, ranch dressing, more ketchup, more water....?

On service speed, I give it a 5! The food came out much quicker than I thought it would and everything was hot and crispy.

Root beer float...

Cheese balls...

Bacon cheeseburger with garlic fries...

Don't worry. I didn't eat this all myself! On taste of food, I give it a 5! The cheese balls were pure bliss. Basically they are just cheese rolled in batter and fried, but what is better than cheese or batter or anything fried? I'll tell you what is better, their bacon cheeseburgers. Like I said, I wasn't prepared to fall in love.  My life totally changed today. I never thought that I could have a burger this amazing. The soft sesame bun absorbed the delicious sauce. The bite with the burger, cheese, crisp pickles, lettuce, bacon and tomatoes was like a bite of pure heaven. The bacon was crispy and smoked and the burger was cooked to perfection. It was so delicious it is making my mouth water and I am at a loss for words. Just try it. The root beer float was a whole other story. It was even more special since the root beer is house made. It is very sweet and tingles your taste buds. They put a swirl of soft serve ice cream on the side of it and let me tell you, that made the whole drink. Hungry yet?

On appearance of food, I give it a 3. The floats are served with rainbow sprinkles and little toy animals on the ice cream which was kind of cool. Really though, what am I going to do with a tiny camel? Let it loose in my tiny Sahara Desert? The sprinkles looked like a party but didn't make any difference on the taste. The burgers looked sloppy, but not everything has to be super pretty to be super good. Like my hamster, he looks crazy but he is really sweet.

On price, I give it a 3.  The  burger and fries cost $13.00 and the floats cost $2.99. This is not too expensive but don't just come here with your Sunday allowance. Not that I get any. Thanks mom.

For an over all score of 26/30 (-: If you want to have this eXXXcellent root beer at home you can buy it in gallons to go. It's a CASH ONLY joint but don't worry, there is an ATM just in case. XXX Root Beer is a great place for kids. They have car shows on the weekends so it is a great place for dads too. Let's just say it is perfect for families. Take your family there and have an eXXXcellent eXXXperience, like I did.

It's Dinner Thai'm!

It's dinner Thai'm (ha ha) and today I went to Thai Kitchen in a strip mall in Bellevue. Let me tell you one thing that makes this place stand out from all the others, it is the first Thai restaurant to open in Washington and maybe that is why it is so delicious!

On decor of restaurant, I give it a 4. There was dim lighting and very calming music that made me feel very calm and collected. I felt like I was supposed to be in a spa and I love spas! There was a very nice and bright fish tank in the center of the place and it was loaded with tropical, colorful fish and neon coral. This made the tank look very clean and eye catching. There were booths without cushions, but it was not uncomfortable so I will let that one fly. In the center of the tables there were little flower pots with fresh pink flowers.

On friendliness of staff towards kids, I give it a 5! The servers were super nice to me. The waitress checked on us a lot but not too much. After we ordered, they made sure to check that our meal would not be too spicy.When I asked what ingredients were in the phad thai, the server actually talked to me about it. The woman's English wasn't great, but she spoke the universal language of friendship:)

On service speed, I give it a 4. The servers were very quick and all of our food was served hot.

 

 

 On taste of food, I give it a 5! I ordered chicken satay, chicken phad thai, and mango sticky rice for dessert. The chicken satay was warm and tender with the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I could tell the chicken was marinated for a long time and then grilled, and that made it taste amazing. It came with a sweet peanut sauce to dip it in. It was so good I could eat it with a spoon! It also came with pickled cucumbers, technically just called pickles, but these were not good. Most kids wouldn't like this sour flavor. The chicken phad thai had the softest noodles with a mouth watering sauce. The chicken was perfectly cut into bite sized pieces. It was all topped off with chopped peanuts. If you have a peanut allergy, don't eat here! The mango sticky rice dessert was so delicious I want to fall asleep and dream about it! I know it sounds weird, but believe me, it will be the best thing you have ever tasted. It had freshly sliced, juicy ripe mangos, and sticky rice covered in coconut sweetened condensed cream. The warm rice and the cold fruit made it melt in my mouth. All kids should try this, and I promise you that you will be dreaming about it too!

On appearance of food, I give it a 3. The food was served on pretty white dishes. Everything was served "family style" which means that it is meant for sharing. It looked nice enough but was average. They didn't do things to make the food look extra special. Even though it tasted extra special.

On price, I give it a 2. Each dish cost $8.95 and everything ended up being around $30. It seemed a tad bit expensive but maybe it was worth it.

For a grand total of 23/30. Thai Kitchen is a great place to have Thai food. If you have never had it before, it is "Thai'm", and don't be afraid to try something new! This is a family owned business that has been making the same authentic recipes for many generations. I have heard that there is "fish sauce" in all Thai foods. I don't want to talk about that or think about that. Nothing I had tasted like fish. Moving on...Thai Kitchen is extra good for kids because there is a playground in back of the restaurant, and Plato's Closet is in the same strip mall. Plato's Closet is a great place to find used vintage clothes. Don't forget the buttermints on the way out! Thai'm for me to head to bed, and dream about more mango sticky rice.

West Side Story

Today was beautiful and sunny and I hope everyone was able to get outside! I decided to spend the day with my family at Pike Place Market on the "west side" in Seattle. Here is my West Side Story and I don't mean the old fashioned movie! Everyone knows Pike Place Market is a good place to see the people throwing fish, the delicious fruits and vegetables, and the live music and street performers. Today we saw a man with a trained bird. He was sort of a hobo but his bird was awesome! It meowed like a cat and did backward somersaults! I love Pike Place Market, and here are some of my all time favorite "must see places" that you might not know about...

I love the hum bow at Mee Sum Pastry. I always get their steamed pork hum bow and you should too. Hum bow are steamed chinese dumplings that you mostly see at dim sum places but are made fresh here. The light, fluffy, sweet and airy dough is the perfect bite with the sweet but savory hot pork stuffing in the middle. I think these are the best ever.

The best donuts EVER are in the market at Daily Dozen. The donuts are made with a robotic machine and it is fun to watch. This place has been open since I was little and there is always a long line. Their donuts are AMAZING!!! You  can smell the sensation from around the corner. They are very light and doughy and served fresh and hot. I don't know what they are fried in but they are way better than normal and are flavorful and genius. You can get cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, frosted with sprinkles and plain. I personally like the cinnamon sugar ones the best but they are all delicious. They are served in a paper bag and you should make sure to eat them right away. 

Note to kids: Pike Place can be a little scary sometimes and if you don't look around something like this could be in back of you...

 

Speaking of creepy, the Magic Shop...

 I don't know about you but magic scares me! It confuses me big time but my grandpa loves it and I respect his decision. My favorite things here are the gag tricks like candy that makes your tongue turn blue or fake puke. My sister bought invisible ink and my mom squirted it all over her shirt! When it is first applied, it looks bright blue and permanent so my sister freaked out. My parents played along that they accidentally bought the wrong one so my sister thought that her shirt was ruined. We went on a fake hunt for a new shirt but on the walk the ink started to disappear and my sister felt gullible but yet astounded. It was hilarious!

The scariest part of the magic store are the fortune tellers! I know some people love them, but ever since I saw the movie Big with Tom Hanks I personally stay away.

A not-to-miss stop is Vital Tea Leaf.

 Vital Tea Leaf is a tea store where you can sit at a counter and taste amazing teas. The people who work there are really nice and will let you taste as many teas as you want. When I taste the tea, I feel very calm and zen so I try not to drink too much caffeine. They have over 82 different types of tea and you can buy them buy the pound to drink at home. Warning: some of the teas are really expensive. Like $300 per pound. Not even joking. It is interesting to watch all of the different preparations for the different types of tea.

The hibiscus tea is definitely the best. It tastes just like sweet tarts, both sweet and sour! Of course, it is my sister's favorite.

I just love to see all of the unusual things going on around the market. Could this car have any more swag? I hope it's still around when I turn 16!

There is one more place I never miss when I am in the market. The gum wall! Today I added my special touch...

Pike Place Market has so much to see, and lots of food to try. If you have already to been to Beecher's Cheese and don't want to stand in line at the original Starbucks, go on a little adventure and find something new. There is always something lurking around the corner at the market! 



Yogurtland, You Rule!

Today I reviewed Yogurtland in downtown Bellevue, and there are also locations in Seattle. There have been a lot of self-serve yogurt places opening on the eastside in the last year, but Yogurtland...you rule!

On decor of restaurant, I give it a 4. When I walked in the store, the first thing I noticed is that everything is green! It has been proven that green is a soothing color and it makes you feel healthy. I definitely felt healthy just being there. The place was very modern and everything that wasn't green was either white or dark wood. It looked very nice together. There were plenty of tables and chairs and the only pictures on the walls were of  fresh fruit. There were skylights on the ceiling which made the place look very bright and white. Be warned...the chairs look like they are tilted forward and my mom kept asking me not to tip my chair. I wasn't!

See?

On friendliness of staff towards kids, I give it a 4. The staff didn't say much, but they certainly didn't care about how many samples of yogurt I took. Believe me, I took a lot. How else would I know if chocolate milkshake tasted good with mint? Turns out it is great! They even offered me samples of the toppings. There were kids everywhere and I felt very welcome. After I finished my yogurt, I took some more "samples" of the toppings and noone cared!

On service speed, I give it a 5! You serve yourself.  I'm pretty fast so I give myself a 5.

On taste of food, I give it a 5! They had great flavors for kids like chocolate milkshake and root beer float! The flavors tasted just like the real thing. I could really tell that they had good intentions when they placed the flavors since you could swirl two flavors together - like chocolate milkshake and mint, and strawberry and cheesecake. They also had some really good tart flavors that I don't usually like, but this yogurt is creamy, rich and sweet. This time I chose plain tart yogurt with fresh fruit as a topping. The clean and cold yogurt was the perfect match for the fresh fruit. The tart was not too sour or bitter and it was not too sweet like vanilla. It was just perfect. They also had a really great topping selection like fresh fruit, candy and cookies. They even had asian toppings like mochi, popping boba and asian red beans!? All serve yourself.

On appearance of food, I give mine a 5! The appearance is actually up to you! You can make the swirls and toppings as pretty or as nasty as you want. Like my sister's - gloppy with strawberry yogurt, sour gummy worms, frosted animal cookies...etc. Mine was pretty, I give mine a 5 and hers like a 1. 

On price, I give it a 4. It is $0.35 per ounce and most people average 5-7 oz or $1.75-$2.45. The price is up to you! 

Yogurtland gets a total score of 27/30!!! You rule! The tasting cups are left out on the table so you can take as many as you want with no sweat. All of the yogurt is low calorie, non-fat, gluten free and has added vitamin C! Not only does it taste great, but it is healthy. Yogurtland is delicious, great for kids and I will definitely be back soon.  

Their motto is "you rule", as in when you are there, you decide what to get. They are definitely right, and I say, Yogurtland YOU RULE!!!!

  

You Can't Judge A Taco By It's Shell

If you can't judge a book by it's cover, you can't judge a taco by it's shell! Last night was the grand release of the epic Doritos Locos Tacos. I was so excited to try one that my Dad agreed to take me at midnight. On a school night! We were the first ones in line, and I was the first person to be served a Dorito Taco in Bellevue! Proof...

We went through the drive thru so I waited until we were home to try my taco. The first thing I noticed was that my taco didn't come in a sleeve like I have seen in the pictures. That made it not as special.

The taco looked like a normal Taco Bell taco but with a bright orange shell. I was so excited for the grand reveal that my first bite was a sad disappointment. I expected the shell to actually taste like a Dorito, but it didn't. The cheesy taste was milder than Doritos and it was dominated by the flavor of the "meat." The consistency was nothing like a real Dorito chip. It wasn't crisp and light, but instead was dense and tortilla-ish. Almost like a normal taco shell but not as crispy. Parts of the shell were even soggy and seemed stale. Maybe it is possible that they expected a lot of people and made my tacos in advance?

I really wanted these tacos to be amazing because the idea is so awesome! How could Taco Bell, home of "food" and "meat" get this wrong? The lessons I learned were that I love to have adventures with my dad, and that you can't judge a taco by it's shell. Even if the shell claims to be a Dorito.

I am going on record. Jack In The Box tacos are the best.

The Countdown Has Begun!

The countdown has begun. In 1 day, 14 hours, 6 minutes and 36 seconds, the greatest invention in history will be born.

The Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos!

 Get yours starting Thursday at midnight. My dad is waking me up and taking me so I can witness history and taste this brilliant invention. Stay tuned for the review...