Foodie View: Hina's Top Three Cupcakeries!

One of the things I love best about cupcakes is that they eliminate the guilt of not sharing. It's a very personal dessert, and regardless of the size, nobody hears the word "cupcake" and expects you to split it. How can you? It's a cupcake! Two bites, and you could be done. And if you did offer to share, what would have to give? "Sure, I'll share! Here, extract the maximum amount of flavor from this tiny mound of cupcake crumbs, and try to feel satisfied with that." You might as well save your cupcake for yourself, and point the other person in the direction of the platter.

That's the other wonderful thing about cupcakes. They rarely travel alone. A cupcake starts it's life in a tray with 5 or more siblings. They bake together, cool together, they even get iced and frosted together! Then it's usually onto a tray or platter, or into a box. Cupcakes like to hang out together, and that makes it so much easier to satisfy your craving.

And nobody satisfies a cupcake craving like these places! Here are my Top Three Cupcakeries in Southern California

Dots Cupcakes
400 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 568-DOTS

This place is terrific! It's right off of S. Arroyo, very close to the end of the 110 Freeway, and there's free parking located underground. Stop in at the cute little boutique-shop for a cup of good coffee, and grab your favorite flavor. If you go on a Friday or Saturday, you can try my favorites, all made with Valrhona chocolate: Chocolate Chocolate, German Chocolate, and Chocolate Cheesecake. My friend swears by the Strawberry Shortcake, but I thought it was just ok. I also recommend the Apple Pie. It's such a cute one, and very tasty!

Sprinkles
9635 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 274-8765
and
in Corona Del Mar Plaza
944 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 760-0003

I must say that Sprinkles takes cupcakes to a whole new level. The cupcakes come in over 20 fabulous flavors, and they always look so perfect and trendy with their decorative dots or sugar toppings. My favorite flavor here, surprisingly with no chocolate, is the Pumpkin cupcake. It's really good spiced pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The flavors go so well together, and the frosting isn't too heavy. I also tried the Mocha cupcake, which is a Belgian dark chocolate cake (mmmmm...) with mocha frosting. The cake was terrific, but I think I was looking for a more coffee-rich flavor. Of course, if I had had it with a cup of coffee, it would have been perfect. I have also heard that the Red Velvet cupcake is one of the absolute best, a light chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. I will definitely be trying that one soon!

Yummy Cupcakes
2918 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 558-1080
and
313 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 393-8283

No list is complete without Yummy Cupcakes. I have never been to the Burbank location, but the Santa Monica store has free parking in the 4th Street parking lot. Yummy Cupcakes has over 100 different cupcake flavors. This is the current King of the Cupcakeries! Since they have so many fabulous flavors, they have a rotating Daily Menu with 18 flavor combinations available, and the menus are available on their website. Of course, you can always place an order for any specific flavor. A few of my favorites are: Carrot Cream Cheese (the carrot cake has raisins and pineapple), Mudslide (a coffee infused chocolate cupcake, baked with a "shot" of Irish Cream), and the Chocolate Truffle (a chocolate cupcake with a chocolate ganache center AND topping). I love the fact that they have an entire "Cocktail" flavor line of cupcakes, such as the Lemon Pinot Grigio, Blue Hawaiian, or Pina Colada cupcakes. It's something I've never seen anywhere else. And check out their upcoming menu of St. Patrick's Day cupcakes. I am heading straight for the Guiness Extra Stout cupcake with cocoa whipped cream and green edible glitter! Also worthy of note, although I haven't tried them yet, are the Cupcake Biscotti and the Cupcake-in-a-Jar. Real cupcakes, sliced and baked to a crunch, and your favorite cupcakes layered in a jar with the toppings (whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, etc...), ready to eat with a spoon. It's decadence gone wild!

I have to note that I have not found a decent cupcakery in San Diego. Not that San Diego doesn't have terrific desserts, just no cupcakeries worthy of mention. There may be a store with cupcakes just waiting to be devoured. If so, clue me in! I am always on the hunt for Great Food!

My Baby Loves ... Baby Loves Disco!

Attention all parents with kids 7 years and under!

This past weekend we went to Baby Loves Disco in San Diego. If you haven't heard about it,

"Baby loves disco is an afternoon dance party featuring real music spun and mixed by real djs blending classic disco tunes From the 70s, & 80s guaranteed to get those little booties moving and grooving."

Don't misunderstand. This isn't an afternoon of kiddie songs or playing Ring Around the Rosie and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. In a nutshell: a real nightclub cleans up and baby proofs it's rooms once a month, and parents with kids can come to mingle, dance to good music, and play for an afternoon.

The San Diego nightclub Aubergine on 4th, located in the Gaslamp Quarter, had a full bar available for the adults, juice boxes for the little ones, healthy snacks available for everyone, and a great DJ spinning tunes the entire time. There is a Chill Out Room for kids and parents to relax, there are games, books, toys and tents. There was even a room for adults to indulge in free 10 minute massages!

Our boy had a blast dancing under the bubble machine, playing with hoops, scarves, and egg shakers. There were kids and parents everywhere having a great time. What I especially liked was the kid friendliness of the place. Diaper changing stations, complete with wipes and sanitizing liquid were plentiful, there were areas to relax, away from the music, and areas to play. However, I was very impressed with security. When you enter the club, each child is given a numbered band to wear on their wrist or ankle, and parents keep a stub with matching numbers. You must present your matching stubs before leaving with a child. Not that I think people would mistakenly take the wrong kid, but I feel comforted with the added level of security.

Baby Loves Disco is for kids 6 months to 7 years of age, but older siblings are also welcome. Just keep in mind that the events are planned for the 7 and under age group. Check out the Baby Loves Disco website for a location near you. There are even spots popping up in the UK! Nothing in Canada yet, though. Hopefully, our neighbors to the north will hear about this and things will get going there as well! For my Southern California friends, click a link below:

Baby Loves Disco in San Diego
Aubergine on 4th
500 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 232-8100

Baby Loves Disco in Los Angeles
Social Hollywood
6525 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Baby Loves Disco in Orange County
Shark Club
841 Baker Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Foodie View: Hina's Thai-licious Weekend (Part II)

My friends, I have most excellent news. I have found something truly special. I have discovered one of those rare, elusive restaurants which has..............GREAT FOOD! Yes, it's true, and I am so excited! (And I'm so full. Ohhh, my stomach hurts from the intense splurging, but how could I not? I have found GREAT FOOD!)

Super Thai-licious in Los Angeles
Thailand Plaza (AKA Jinda Thai)
2nd Floor, 5321 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 993-9000

The restaurant is located on the second floor of Thailand Plaza, above the Silom Thai supermarket. There is parking available at the plaza, although it can be easy to miss. Swing into the driveway, take a ticket at the parking booth, and park upstairs on the second level (follow the arrows). Make sure you get your parking ticket validated! If you park elsewhere, there is a street level entry with a staircase and elevator up to the second level.

It's a large restaurant overlooking Hollywood Boulevard, with a raised section in back by the entrance, then a large open floor full of tables, and ending with a wide stage at the front of the room. This is an excellent place for a large party, and they are very willing to accommodate your gathering. There were two big groups the night we went, and though there were still open tables, the restaurant was quite full. If you head there on a weekend evening, make sure you make a reservation if your party has more than four people. The decor is a mixture of traditional Thai statues and ornaments, and glitz and glitter surrounding the stage. The tables are large (all the better to hold lots of food) and the seats are great big, surprisingly comfortable, cushioned wicker chairs. Let me say, if these chairs reclined, we would have passed out after our feast. The stage is large, and there is live entertainment nightly. Don't be surprised if your waiter takes your order, then hits the stage to perform a number. The vocalists on stage during our visit were quite good and they sang in English, although I understand that others sing in Thai as well as Chinese.

We were greeted at the door by a friendly and welcoming host, who I can only describe as the Thai equivalent of Joe Pesci from Good Fellas. He seated us, and handed each of us a binder - this was the menu, an extensive list of delicious food. From the appetizers, soups, and salads, to the curries, seafood, noodles, rice dishes and extras, we found items on every page that we wanted to try. Alas, we are only human, and our stomachs could only hold so much!

We started our night with cocktails and martinis from the full bar, and an appetizer of Angel's Wings - a dish of deep fried boneless chicken wings stuffed with meat, noodles, and veggies. I don't know what sort of gigantic winged chicken they found, or maybe they used turkey wings, but these were huge! Two crispy breaded wings were served on a platter, sliced into four pieces each. This is easily an appetizer you could share with two to four people, or even a meal for one person. But, really, why would we limit ourselves so early in the evening?

Then our feast really began. Along with a large bowl of rice to share at the table, we ordered the Stuffed Squid Panang Curry, tender little squid stuffed with sausage in a red curry sauce. Absolutely delicious!! Our server recommended the Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork, which was excellent. The veggies were crisp tender, not over or under cooked, and the pork was crunchy-crispy outside and tender inside. I highly recommend the Papaya Salad with Salted Crab. The salad itself is good, raw papaya shreds in citrus juice served with a wedge of cabbage, but the addition of the fresh blue crab really makes this dish stand out. It can be a bit awkward to eat, but the fresh, buttery-smooth meat inside the shell is worth the work. Definitely try the Tom Yum Kung (the lemon grass shrimp soup). It's served piping hot, is a perfect blend of sour and savoury, and the presentation is just so cool! It comes to the table in a donut shaped pot with a burner in the middle, and an open flame inside. The whole setup looks like a miniature fireplace with soup mounted around it.

Next we ordered the Yellow Noodle Rad Na, yellow noodles with sweet and sour gravy sauce, cooked with shrimp, chicken and squid. This was very good, and extremely filling. However, my favorite two dishes of the evening were the Whole Steamed Pompano, and the Garlic Prawns. The pompano was so moist and light, and it was served with a thin sweet and sour sauce which didn't overwhelm or smother the taste of the fish. The Garlic Prawns looked like three fat mini-lobsters on a serving platter. Each one was grilled and split down the back for easy peeling. It was served with a spicy, peppery sauce, and it was absolutely fabulous!

I cannot rave enough about this place, as nothing I can write can do justice to the menu. The atmosphere is very comfortable, the chairs are great for lounging when you're ready to burst after your meal, and the live performances are fun and entertaining. The food is clearly an enormous plus here. The menu is available to go, it is extensive with something for everyone, and the portions are excessively huge and plentiful. You can request spicier fare, and there are hot peppers and chili sauce available for those who prefer more of a kick. The service was great, very friendly, and willing to make good recommendations. While we didn't make it to dessert, I have heard that they are very good. I will have to make it back soon to sample more of the menu. As it is, we only tried one appetizer and seven entrees, and along with four drinks from the bar and a pot of tea, our tab only came out to $127. We were expecting a check much larger, and this was a very welcome surprise!

If you are interested in a fun and affordable evening at a great restaurant with fabulous, authentic Thai food, you can't do better than Thailand Plaza. In a city where good food is plentiful, this place stands out as truly GREAT Thai Food!