Category Archives: Food

December 30, 2013 · 3:09 pm

Benihana Birthday Dinner

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I received a $30 gift certificate for Benihana for my birthday through joining The Chef’s Table (which is free) and had a lovely dinner at the Benihana in Monterey, California. We were seated with another group, which is usually the case at Benihana if it is busy, so it was a little cramped but still enjoyable.  I selected the Samurai Treat entree meal. We started off with a clear mushroom soup, which had a nice light flavor to it, as well as some salad.

Then, since we knew one of the waitresses, she brought over two different plates of sushi: Shrimp tempura with avocado and California roll. The shrimp tempura roll were little bites of yummyness- Slightly crunchy, drizzled with that wonderful brown sauce and great flavor. The California roll was also good, but the shrimp tempura was better.

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After that, our chef, Joshua came out. He was both skilled and personable. He gave quite a show, juggling the utensils and below he is creating the chicken fried rice right in front of our eyes! He shaped the fried rice into a heart and started making it look like it was moving, while flicking the lights on and off. That was pretty awesome. The fried rice was very tasty, with slightly browned chicken, along with onion and other vegetables. There was great flavor and everything combined together wonderfully.

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Then, the chef started on the meal, cooking the zucchini, onion, mushroom and shrimp. He cooked everything with butter and used a couple of different sauces. He served the shrimp first – There were two different types. One was colossal shrimp grilled with lemon and butter and the other was a smaller size shrimp that tasted just as good. The shrimp was juicy, succulent and very flavorful. As for the vegetables, he stacked up the onions to look like a volcano and poured water over it so that it looked like it was erupting. The vegetables tasted fresh with a soft texture.

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The filet mignon, grilled to perfection, completed the meal. It was melt in your mouth tender, rich with flavor and full of deliciousness! I also really liked the teriyaki beef julienne. The teriyaki sauce was divine- The right combination of sweet and salty, and the beef was also incredibly tender. And I loved the sauce so much that I would’ve loved it to coat the filet mignon!

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Our meals came with ice cream, so I chose rainbow sherbet which was a beautiful bright pink and came with a cute little candle. The sherbet was okay, but a little too sweet. I also got to try the green tea ice cream, which was lovely and light. The staff at Benihana did their traditional birthday routine: Singing Happy Birthday in Japanese while drumming. then leading the Happy Birthday song in English.

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This was a wonderful meal…. Quite the visionary and culinary experience!

 

Benihana
136 Olivier St + NYC Midtown location
Monterey, CA
Benihana

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December 26, 2013 · 2:41 pm

Holiday Dinner Party

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We recently had a lovely holiday dinner party with great company and loads of delicious food!

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Appetizers

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  • Arabic mini-spinach and za’atar bites (Left hand side in photo above)

*Za’atar is a Middle Eastern green and bright yellow spice mixture that is a blend of herbs, sesame and salt. I thought the Za’atar wrapped bites were tastier than the spinach ones.

  • Cheese & Crackers
  • Assorted Vegetables & Dip
  • Shrimp Cocktail with Spicy Red Sauce

Entrees

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  • Honey ham with Pumpkin

*The ham was wonderful– Full of flavor, tender, slightly caramelized. The pumpkin didn’t actually cook fully in the time it took to cook the ham, so I would suggest substituting the pumpkin with pieces of potatoes and/or onion.

  • Parisian Salad with Walnuts, Cranberries, Feta Cheese & Balsamic Dressing
  • Fresh Crab with Ginger Soy Sauce

*Very delicious and since the crab legs were already cracked, easy to get to the meat.

  • Nian Gao (Sticky Noodles) with Chicken, Carrots, and Mushroom

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  • Kung Pao Chicken with Red Peppers
  • Eggplant and Garlic
  • Fish with Ginger Teriyaki Sauce

Desserts

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  • Chocolate-Raspberry Noel Log

*This was my favorite dessert– Decorated beautifully and tasted heavenly. The chocolate was incredibly rich, smooth, and pure. The bit of raspberry swirl complemented the cake well.

  • Japanese Mochi with Red Bean Filling
  • Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Traditional Christmas Cookies with Raisin, Nuts & Sugar Filling

*It’s one of our family traditions to make this delightful treat during the holiday time. They are crispy-chewy flaky morsels of sweetness and topped with red & green sprinkles for the season.

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I hope that your holiday was filled with much food, family, friends and festivities! Here’s to a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

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December 20, 2013 · 3:12 pm

Dinner & Cannery Row

My family and I went to a friend’s place for a delightful and delicious dinner the other night. We started off with some appetizers of pork spring rolls with lettuce and a sweet/sour sauce that accompanied the spring rolls perfectly. We also had shrimp chips and a wonderful fruit drink that was made fresh that day, thanks to their juicer

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The main course was noodles with beef with cabbage and spinach in a slightly spiced soup. The beef was incredibly tender and full of robust flavor. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy.

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For dessert we had mashed sweet peas with a dollop of whipped cream. It was a unique dish but I really enjoyed it. The consistency was soft and the whipped cream gave the sweet peas an added layer of yumminess.

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After our dinner, we all took a walk along Cannery Row, which was beautifully lit up and quite a few stores still open. We stopped into Ghiradelli and other chocolate/caramel apple shops.

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We also passed the Cannery Row Christmas Tree,  which was tall with blue, green, yellow lights and a brightly lit blue star on top.

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December 17, 2013 · 12:11 am

Evening in Greenwich Village

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My last evening in New York City before heading home to California for the holidays was mostly spent in Greenwich Village. Though, first I stopped by Tory Burch in SoHo to use my $50 birthday gift card. I picked out a classic Tory Burch shiny hot pink bracelet (the kind that wraps around twice) with gold circle detail that has the Tory Burch logo etched on. It definitely cost more than I would normally spend on jewelry, but the gift card definitely helped.

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After the Tory Burch shopping excursion, I headed into the Village to meet my friend for a free birthday dinner at Slide. On the way, I found a cute little gift shop called Kado so I walked in and found myself in the middle of a fun, festive holiday party to promote Nicole Magazine. There was wine, snacks, wraps and goody bags! I left to check in at Slide and found that it was closed – Seized by the landlord! So, I had my friend meet me at the shop so we could enjoy the holiday atmosphere. I even got a bit of gift shopping in—Kado sells a plethora of cool merchandise, from deliciously scented candles, to bath & body products, to interesting books, to unique and whimsical plush stuffed animals…

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After Kado, my friend suggested dinner at Café Espanol which was conveniently just down the street. It’s a cozy little restaurant and decorated with plenty of holiday cheer. We decided to order from the prix fixe menu ($21.99) which was quite good, however did not cover dessert much to our dissatisfaction.

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I started off with Caldo Gallego Soup, which is white bean soup with cabbage, greens, potato and pork. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I didn’t expect the beans because the waiter’s description was quite vague.  Overall, it was pretty tasty and very hearty.

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I then had the Croquetas (chicken and Serrano croquettes) for an appetizer. There were six croquetas total which was a lot more than I was expecting. And they were delicious! Little fried balls with chicken and ham inside, with béchamel white sauce. It was crispy on the outside and soft, meaty, flavorful on the inside. There was so much of it that it almost ruined my appetite for the main course. I said almost.

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For the entrée, I picked tilapia filet with saffron rice. The tilapia was a nice large portion and seasoned well with pepper, herbs and a light sauce. It was decent, but would have liked it more if it was cooked more to a crisp. I did enjoy the saffron rice with peas and mixing it with the sauce that came with the fish.

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After our meal, a waiter came over with a tray full of delectable looking desserts (flan, crème brulee, tres leches, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake) which looked very tempting, but for once we were too full to partake in any dessert.

It turned out to be a truly lovely evening, despite the fact that Slide was closed. The Kado holiday party and dining at Café Espanol more than made up for it.

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Café Esponal
172 Bleecker St
New York, NY
Cafe Espanol

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November 25, 2013 · 7:39 pm

Brooklyn Night Bazaar

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It’s not often that I venture into Brooklyn, but when I heard about the Brooklyn Night Bazaar “A night market and concert space that brings together independent vendors, musicians, chefs and artists,” I knew I had to experience it for myself. The Bazaar is located in a warehouse in Greenpoint, open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm to midnight. Admission is free, but it’s a good idea to get there a little early because there will be a line and they stagger entry. There was still quite a decent sized line when I left around 9pm.

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Upon entering the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, you’re hit with an array of lights, color, hip and cool clothes, jewelry and other merchandise. We headed in toward the back where we were met with a barrage of food vendors, such as The Morris Truck (grilled cheese), The Lobster Joint, Oaxaca Taqueria, and Arancini Bros (rice balls). The first thing I had to try was the only $5 lobster slider from The Lobster Joint and it was delicious. I’m usually not a huge fan of lobster rolls because I dislike cold lobster, but this slider was not super chilled. The lobster was fresh and tasted full of flavor, with the perfect amount of mayo and accompanying coleslaw.

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I also had to get myself a bubble tea drink from Tea n’ Milk. I chose the iced Chai House Special with tapioca pearls. The tea was brewed fresh and tasted wonderful. I enjoyed it with the thick, sweet condensed milk and the sprinkling of cinnamon.

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Then I got to try some mac and cheese with truffle that was pan fried and then breaded & fried on top of that! This was a heaping dish of pure yummyness, along with the sauce they added to it. It was perfectly crispy, juicy, cheesy and completely fattening and indulgent.

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I couldn’t resist trying the lamb bun after seeing the lamb roasting slowly in front of my eyes. It came with sweet dark brown sauce, pomegranate seeds, parsley. It unfortunately did not taste as wonderfully as I had expected and ended up liking the pork bun quite a bit more.

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I was able to taste a few other items: Thin crust sausage pizza (tasty), risotto rice ball (decent), truffle grilled cheese sandwich (divine), and much later, some ice cream. I chose two flavors: Vanilla caramel and tres leches. Both turned out to be delightful, smooth, sweet, rich and complimented one another. The tres leches even had pieces of tres leches cake swirled in, which took it to the next level of deliciousness.

I spent some time checking out the vendors, which were all wonderful and unique in their own way. Some of my favorites were BlissfulCASE (pale pink glitter for your cell phone, anyone?), Milly & Earl (nautical-themed and other gorgeously designed jewelry), Strumpet (sassy retro-style apparel) and more.

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There was one vendor that had cool books that were transformed into clocks.

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Besides all the food and shopping, there was an area for live performances. Several different bands performed throughout the evening, adding an awesome element to the whole experience. Also, there’s a section for mini golf, complete with neon lights, disco balls, a huge cut out of Glinda the Good Witch, a zebra, and more!  There’s even table tennis!

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The Brooklyn Night Bazaar is something new, creative, full of life with trendy vendors, art, food, music and more! It’s great to go with a group of friends or just your bestie and can be an adventure that doesn’t break the bank, as it is easy to share the small bites, mini golf is only $5 and you’re able to choose how much you spend.  Well worth the trip!

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Brooklyn Night Bazaar
165 Banker St
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Night Bazaar

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November 17, 2013 · 4:59 pm

Saturday in Central Park

Last Saturday, I finally had the pleasure of dining at Sarabeth’s Central Park South, one of those iconic classic New York restaurants famous for its brunches. I ordered the Four Flowers Juice which was a mixture of orange, pineapple, banana and pomegranate. It was very good: Fresh, full, fruit flavor as well as wonderfully sweet.

As for my meal, I had a hard time deciding but finally picked the Farmer’s Omelette, filled with leeks, ham (substituted with chicken sausage), chunks of potato and gruyere cheese. The omelette was delicious- Cooked to perfection and all the flavors came together so that I could especially taste the gruyere cheese with potato and sausage. It also came with my choice of muffin, scone or toast and I decided to get the pumpkin muffin. I didn’t even get a chance to taste my muffin until later because I was so full from the omelette. The muffin was speckled with sunflower seeds on top and I enjoyed the strong, sweet taste of pumpkin.

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The person that I was dining with ordered Fat & Fluffy French Toast with strawberries, which he graciously shared. The French toast was simply divine: Huge, thick slices of sweet caramelized breading with powdered sugar, syrup and sugared strawberries. The French toast truly was fat and fluffy, as well as slightly crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy inside.

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We also ordered a side of chicken sausage with apple compote. I really enjoyed the apple flavor, so much that I had some of the apple compote by itself. It was a delightful meal at Sarabeth’s with great service. I would definitely come back.

After eating, we started walking around the park and came across the Central Park ice skating rink so we decided to spend the afternoon skating. It took a minute to get used to being on ice, but after that I felt comfortable skating at a medium pace around the rink.

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When we had enough of ice skating, we continued to stroll around the park, coming across the man who makes huge bubbles and black men dancing.

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We then stopped by FAO Schwarz toy store and had fun playing with the large variety of stuffed animals everywhere.

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All in all, a wonderfully spent Saturday!

Sarabeth’s
40 Central Park South + Park Avenue South, Tribeca, UWS, UES
New York, NY
Sarabeth’s

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November 12, 2013 · 10:38 pm

Brick Lane Curry House

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Brick Lane Curry House is a quaint little spot in the East Village with a London theme, complete with a huge MIND THE GAP sign, map of London underground and other memorabilia. The lighting was dim, but the seating was comfortable and cozy. We immediately received the free appetizer of thin crispy bread with three sauces. I liked the tomato as well as the sweet dark brown sauce.

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First thing I ordered (as I do in every Indian restaurant) was the Mango Lassi, which came with a cherry. The drink was absolutely delicious: Sweet, full of mango flavor, thick consistency, perfectly chilled and completely refreshing.

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My friend and I decided on sharing our meal. We were a little limited on what we could order because we both don’t like spicy foods so the waiter suggested the Tandoori jumbo prawns. We also ordered the Chicken Korma Curry and garlic naan. The naan was just okay for me. I normally can eat quite a bit of it, but here only had one quarter of a piece. It came warm, but the bread wasn’t crispy or baked well enough for me and the flavor of garlic was very light to nonexistent. Or perhaps I’ve been spoiled because I’ve had “real” naan when I was in India…

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The tandoori jumbo prawn comes in a sizzling black platter and is cooked with vegetables, such as peppers, onion, carrot, lettuce – A salad of sorts. The shrimp was quite good, but there were only 5 of them which was too little for the price we paid. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the light lemon, ginger, garlic, pepper flavor of the shrimp and liked that it was slightly burnt.

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The Chicken Korma Curry was wonderful and not spicy at all. Korma is a creamy, almond based gravy with a touch of saffron. All the flavors mingled together beautifully and the chicken was nicely cooked, tender and tasty. I especially liked the sauce with the rice, which came with peas, carrots and cashews.

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While we enjoyed the meal, the service was not the best. We decided we were too full for dessert and it felt like the waiter was pushing us to order more throughout the meal. Also, after we ordered the main course, he didn’t come around as much and it took awhile for us to get our check.  So, overall the service was lacking and the dishes were a bit overpriced. I would probably not come back to this location, but if I came across one of the more convenient locations, I would get myself a Mango Lassi.

 

Brick Lane Curry House
306-308 E 6 St + Midtown & Upper East Side locations
New York, NY
Brick Lane Curry House

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October 24, 2013 · 11:46 pm

Roast Pig Feast at Back Forty

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I had the chance to enjoy a roast suckling pig feast for a private dinner last night at Back Forty. We were served salad first, which consisted of pork, beans, crispy skin and/or bacon and a sauce that I couldn’t quite figure out. It was delicious- Very flavorful and I enjoyed the crunchy saltiness of the salad.

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Next we had goat soup, which tasted like it had a tomato base with various vegetables. It was just okay. Then there was corn bread which came in a super cute iron skillet, with herb infused butter. The corn bread was wonderful- Warm, moist, with a crumbly consistency and slightly sweet. And the butter brought out the flavors more fully.

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After that the waiters came in to show us the whole suckling pig on a platter, which was a bit disconcerting actually- It kind of ruined my appetite to some degree. The suckling pig was served Porchetta style — Boned out, stuffed, and roasted with slaw on top. It was incredibly tender, succulent, flavorful and the skin was crisp and salty. The slaw was a nice accompaniment and slightly spicy.

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There was also crunchy thick country style bread with spinach, which was delicious and didn’t even need butter!

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And then there was dessert. It was what looked like chocolate cake with whipped cream and poached pear. Upon tasting the concoction, we realized it was ginger cake and that the whipped cream was bourbon infused. The cake had a nice zesty flavor and the bourbon whipped cream, along with the maple-soaked pear  added to the deliciousness.

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Overall, a pretty good meal with excellent service, though a little on the pricey side.

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Back Forty
190 Avenue B #1
New York, NY
http://backfortynyc.com/

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October 20, 2013 · 11:28 pm

Homemade Italian Dinner

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Tonight, I had a chance to help make a delicious, simple Italian dinner with a friend from Italy! We started with preparing and cutting the vegetable: Butternut squash, pumpkin, onions, tomatoes.

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I took upon the task of cutting the prosciutto into tiny cubes – Something I took great pride in doing well. The prosciutto was then cooked in simmering oil.

DSCN6257Next, I started taking the butternut squash slices, coating them in egg batter then loose bread crumbs…

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The squash was then dropped into a small pot of boiling oil so that they could be fried until they turned golden brown. It tasted wonderful — The fried squash was tender, fresh, slightly sweet with a satisfying crunchy exterior.

DSCN6262My friend also prepared bruschetta: Cut up bread that was warmed up in the oven paired with diced tomato, onion and fresh basil leaves. While I loved the taste of basil, I would’ve liked a little more flavor to the sauce- Perhaps some more garlic, olive oil and vinegar.

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The main course was pasta cooked perfectly al dente, filled with pumpkin and prosciutto and tasted absolutely delightful. Each bite was a burst of wonderful flavor, even without it being doused with sauce… I loved that the pasta was flavorful enough on its own, cooked in the juices of prosciutto and olive oil.

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We ended the meal with some mashed pumpkin with onion. It had an enjoyable and unique taste to it. I had a great time learning how to prepare some classic Italian dishes and of course, eating our creations!

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October 6, 2013 · 10:11 pm

Trip to Florida!

I had a great time on my recent trip (end of September) to Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida to visit a close friend of mine. I was able to stay for 5 days, which sounds like a long time but definitely flew by way too fast!

Friday

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Getting to see goats, rhinos, elephants, birds, lions, tigers, giraffes, gorillas, lemurs, panthers, leopards, kangaroos, penguins, otters… Oh my!

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There were also Asian gardens and koi pond, bamboo forests, Wildlife Carousel  featuring different animals, Savanah Blooms Garden, and view of the ocean.

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In addition, lovely statues of elephants, jaguar, gorilla, pandas, dolphin water park!

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SeaWorld day!

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Though we had a bit of a late start, we managed to pack a lot in! Beautiful water; flamingos; dolphins that came up close; underwater view of the dolphins; colorful fish; sea turtles; awesome 3D show of sea turtles hatching and their journey; sharks and cool view of them above and below us; jellyfish; awesome whale & dolphin show, with spectacular display of humans in bird costumes doing acrobatics in the air and diving into the pool; Antarctica; super cute show show on a pirate ship about treasures with pirates, seal and otters; watching pearl diving; seeing Shamu! and checking out the lovely gift shops.

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In the evening we hung out at Downtown Disney, where we visited some fun shops and had a delicious dinner.

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Saturday

Just hanging out in Orlando, meeting some new people, chilling out a pub, stopping by the Florida Mall, shopping around the area, and enjoying the pool!

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Back to Jacksonville for a friend’s BBQ – Lots of delicious ribs (three different types: Dry rub, baby back and short with special sauce), mac and cheese and peach crumble.

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We also spent some quality time at the beach. I loved it! The water was sooo nice and warm and fun to be in!

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That night we went out bar hopping, starting with Murray’s Tavern for some good hanging out, a meal (lumpia and sweet potato fries- yum!) and pool then made our way to a bunch of other places such as Metro.

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After going out, we spent the evening watching horror movie, The Depraved.

Monday

Spent the day at St. John’s Towncenter which is basically an outdoor stretch of a mall, with very palm trees lining the streets, a fountain area, an outdoor garden area with koi pond and a cool train shuttle and of course many shops such as Forever 21, aerie bebe, Ross, bareMinerals, Artsy Abode, Brighton Collectibles, and high end shops such as Louis Vuitton and much more!

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We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, where I had herb crusted salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus, which was delicious and very filling even though it was the Lunch Special and supposedly smaller portions. The salmon was nicely seared and wonderfully flavored, while the mashed potato and asparagus were in a rich, savory, tasty white sauce.

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Despite being quite full, my friend and I couldn’t resist ordering dessert as well. I picked the S’Mores Cheesecake, which was made out of delectable chocolate cheesecake with dark chocolate topping, graham cracker crust and roasted marshmallow.

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After our lunch, we did some more shopping and hanging out then soon enough I had to be dropped off at the airport. I had a wonderful time with my friend in Florida and hope to visit again soon!

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