Another month gone, another set of yelp reviews. Enjoy!
Touba Bakery *****
This is a solid 4.5 star but I’m marking it up because Im coming back for sure
This place was in my radar recently due to some advertisement and promotions and I’m glad it did. We were in the area meeting up a friend so we came here around 11am. They had a couple of things sold out but it wasn’t too bad.
The girl that was helping us was pretty nice and Knowledgeable of the pastries that they had. I was surprised at the variety since I expected to be a small shop with just a few things. Definitely french bakery vibe when you enter. The smell definitely lures you in and the display case makes you want to buy everything.
We literally was looking at the display case for 5 minutes before deciding since we wanted everything and we didn’t even look at the cakes/tarts section.
We ended up getting the following:
Almond croissant – this was apparently the most popular item and I can see why. It’s was soooooo good. It’s not the typical almond croissant that you get with the powder sugar on top and some pieces of almonds. This croissant doesn’t have powder sugar. It was still crispy on the outside from the croissant but also from the caramelized chunks of almonds. More nutty than sweet which I like. The inside was still warm and soft and filled with almond paste.
Lemon curd brioche – good, but not the best. Especially having the almond croissant as the first thing, this wasn’t even in the same level. It was soft and definitely filled with lemon, just nothing really memorable.
Choussan – it’s like an apple turnovers but better. I love that I was able to peel each layer and eat them and it’s filled with apple paste inside. I did want some chunks but it’s still pretty good.
Price is pretty reasonable in my opinion given the inflation and these are good size too. Overall, definitely will be back to try other things
White Lotus ****
I was introducing my friend to some Vietnamese food and this place seem like a good fit.
We came around lunch time and it was empty at first but then it got busy. Service was good as they refilled our water and provided us with everything we needed.
I like that they have other options besides just pho, sandwiches and vermicelli bowls. Price was also super reasonable considering the portion we got.
Banh beo — this is a staple food I eat growing up so I always get excited when I see this at a restaurant. It’s not the best here but it still works. They are a little chewier and plain here
Banh hoi – surprisingly there was more veggies and herbs here than noodle. I do wish the portion of each thing was more balance but it was good. The variety of toppings was good though and the protein was solid.
Com tam – solid. Satisfied my craving. The fish sauce here seem sweeter than most places.
Shrimp salad – good amount of shrimp. Another solid plate.
Overall, I was very pleased as it was a good place to introduce someone to Vietnamese food
The Original Deli ****
This place have been on my list for a while now but given the limited hours and I’m not in Seattle, it’s hard to try this place haha
This place is soooooo off the main area of downtown. You literally have to walk in an alley way to get here. There is a small sign to direct you but it’s not big or anything.
I ordered takeout and the food was ready by the time I got there. The lady that was there was sooo nice and friendly. She acknowledged me, thanked me and made sure I had everything I needed. Also, she even wrote a ‘thank you Huong’s on my bag! 🙂
Food wise:
I got the teriyaki combo which come with a choice of meat (bulgogi for me) a small order of roll (crunchy roll for me) and a small salad. For $12, you definitely get your money worth. It was packed and heavy. The food was pretty good, fresh balanced. The bulgogi was a little on the sweet side for me but it went well with the rice.
My friend got the salmon poke bowl ($12) and she must have like it cause she ate the whole thing without any complaints lol
Overall, it’s a mom and pop shop that if you’re lucky enough to try, you wont be disappointed. I definitely will come back when I can to try some of their breakfast items as well.
Bloom ****
I haven’t heard of this place before until I saw it on one of the food apps and so I decided to give it a try. It’s pretty close to where I work which is a bonus. I like that it’s a bento box style where items are kept separately in the container so it doesn’t get mixed.
The items are fresh and clean and pretty good. I got the salmon with some grains and bok choy as well as an apple salad. Everything was pretty good. Prices are standard I think. The salmon did cost a little more than other protein but that makes sense.
I did get a chance to talk to the lady for a bit to learn more about them and currently, their hours are limited to lunch time Monday through Friday but they are hoping to extend it in the future.
Ballard Pizza – Woodinville ***
I have been hearing about this place back in Seattle so I was pretty excited that it open a place on the Eastside! However, I left kind of disappointed.
Some pros: the people there are nice and friendly. I like that they have happy hour deals so you can try some stuff without paying full price. I do wish they had some pizza though on their happy hour menu. There’s underground parking as well as a park nearby. The place is pretty spacious and there’s some activities like foosball you can play.
Cons: the pizza.
we got the large 18 inch, half while hog and half margherita. The pizza was big and definitely can feed 4-5 people. The best thing on the pizza was the crust. It was soft, fluffy, good in texture and flavor. You can actually dip it in some sauce and it be good. The rest of the pizza was disappointing. It was flimsy and flimsy. One of my friends had to use a fork and knife to eat while the rest of us either managed or use other means. All the toppings on the pizza was high quality and good, but it needs to be execute better on a pizza. The prosciutto was one big slice on a pizza, one bite and the whole prosciutto is gone and you are left with a pizza with other things besides the prosciutto. Same issue with the cheese on the margherita. It was also kinda messy.
Neutral: the happy hour wings was ok. I’m glad that we got the spicy sauce on the side because I don’t think that I would like it being drowned in it. $10 for 10 wings + celery during happy hour.
Overall, I’m glad to try but most likely not going to be back as there are definitely better pizza in the area.
Waji’s by Uwajimaya Poke Bar ****
This place is such a hidden treasure in uwajimaya! We were in the area and wanted something to eat so my husband decided to try this place. The price wasn’t bad at all as it was 11.99 for a poke bowl of up to 3 proteins.
Their poke bowl reminds me of the ones you get in Hawaii, where there is minimum filling and toppings, it’s just rice and fish. So if you like the filling and toppings, you probably won’t like this place. At first, I thought it was going to be small portion because of the box they use, but man they stuffed that box to the fullest!! You get 2 scoop of rice and 3 proteins of generous amount. We got scallops, octopus, and salmon. The protein was good and marinated. I think it’s a little salty but it wasn’t bad. You definitely want more rice though to balance it out.
For the price, it’s a really really good deal and if this place is near work or home, I can see myself coming back over and over.
Saigon Streets ***
We came to try a banh mi and it was ok. They are located in the food court of uwajimaya. The ordering was smooth and it was a fast pick up.
The banh mi was a little too crispy that it can hurt the roof of your mouth.
Im not sure if they have other vegetarian options but I was surprised to find my tofu sandwich filled with tofu mixed with pork skins shreds that you get in a Vietnamese rice dish. however, the owner clarified that it was the vegetarian type. Another thing was that it was very salty. I was relieved when I found that cucumber to help balance it out. The filling was a life saver but I needed more.
Overall, it was ok.
Aurora Donuts ****
This place is a 4 star for now with a potential for 5 star as we need to try more things here. We were in the area so we decided to stop by as I’m still on a mission to try as many donut shop in the greater Seattle as I can and this was on my list 🙂
We came around 9:30 in the morning on a Saturday and it was kinda empty at first but after, the regulars came and there was a small line. There’s a small parking lot in front and it looks like they serve ice cream as well.
After a lot of debate, we decided on the maple bacon donut, the French crueller, and the toasted coconut.
Maple bacon (4.5/5), a little pricey at $3.69 but according to my husband ‘one of the best maple bacon donut he has eaten’. The sweet and salty flavor was really balance and I love the extra pepper on the donut. Also light and fluffy.
Crueller (5/5). I love cruellers and so I can be picky about which cruellersnare good. And these are good. They are crispy on the outside and sturdy but the inside is soooo soft and air. Most places is too soft and flabby.
Toasted coconut (3/5) – this was kinda disappointed compare to the other 2. The inside was filled with Bavarian cream and the shredded coconut are on top but you can’t really taste the coconut at all. Its still soft and fluffy though and there was a substantial amount of cream inside.
Definitely want to come back to try their other donuts and it looks like they do end of the day sale where you buy 6 donuts for $7.
T55 Patisserie *****
This is a 4 star place because it’s still new and process improvement is definitely a must but I’m pre-emptively giving this place a 5 star because their pastries have always been amazing and I can see myself coming back over and over 🙂
Got there at 945am and was 3rd person in line. Within 5 minutes, there was 10 more people and by 10, the line was already wrap around the corner. You can see inside that they are trying to open on time but ended up not opening until 1010. The place itself is larger than the ID location and have more stuff but my goal was just the pastries. They have a person who will take your drinks order separately as well.
I seriously wanted to get everything on display because it looks Soo good and the flavor was very interesting but I ended up getting 5 instead 🙂
The flower (aka Chocolate croissant) — each petal has a piece of chocolate so you don’t have to complain why the chocolate is soo small 😀 I wish all chocolate croissant is like this. Perfectly flaky as well
Kimchi blue cheese scone — couldn’t taste the Kimchi or the blue cheese but the texture was on point and the savoriness was nice
Salted honey goat cheese focaccia —borderline mushy but it was squishy and soft and flavor was good
Matcha rice tart —love the rice on top (reminds you of the Asian rice roll) and very matcha in flavor. The tart is has a nice crunch as well
Banoffee Choux – my favorite thing in the box. Love the different textures of this and flavor was heavenly
Toast Mi Green Lake ****
I been hearing great things about this banh mi place so had to stop by to give it a try. Since it’s green lake, parking is a pain but manageable.
The place itself is nice, there’s seatings and it’s has a nice big window so you can enjoy the outside.
We got the tofu banh mi (aka the sapa) and it was a good banh mi. My big complaint is that it should have been toasted longer. It has good potential for perfect crispiness. The bread was soft and chewy and fluffy. They definitely stuff the Bread with everything so portion is good. The tofu was good flavor. They did over do the sauce as every bite I took, sauce was dripping out and at some point, it squirted out. Definitely used 5-6 napkins for it. Luckily the sauce was not too strong so it didn’t overpowered everything. The filling was good as well.
Overall, it was a good banh mi place.
Kiki Bakery & Café ****
Another 5 star potential but would need to go back a few more times to try other products 🙂
We came when they open to look to see what is being offered and I counted 6-7 things I wanted hahaha. We decided to go do some grocery shopping next door first and then come back. When we got back, it was busy!
We narrowed down our choices and grab the following things:
Savory trio (4/5) — super soft and fluffy, I like the difference flavors on top. My favorite is probably the corn one as it was more sweet and savory.
Sausage and cheese bread (4/5) —suoer soft and fluffy, I definitely wish the sausage was cut slightly smaller and distributed more around the bread but that’s just personal preference
Salted butter bread (5/5) —this was such a pleasant surprise. I love that buttery taste and the salt gave it a nice oomph. It’s a little more dense than the other two but it was really good. It definitely grew on me.
Egg tart (5/5) — I really enjoyed this egg tart because it has a nice flakiness but still soft and the custard inside was abundant.
The price of these items is very reasonable considering they are much bigger than most Bakeries.
I will be back!
Dumpling the Noodle ****
My friends wanted to try this place and it was SRW so I decided to try again, this time dine in. Definitely Better dine in than take out. We utilize the $50 srw deal and added the signature buns as a side.
The SRW deal include:
Chicken corn dumplings – my favorite, it has a nice crunch at the bottom, the skin is thick, the flavor was really good.
Beef bulgogi dumplings – pretty good but on the sweeter side for my taste
Jajang beef pancake roll – flaky, crunchy, a little salty
Beef lamen — it was ok, I wanted more noodle but there’s definitely more beef which is probably or is more preferred by most. The beef is tender though.
Kale salad – standard
Sweet chili fried chicken – pretty good, juicy and good flavor.
As a side, we got the signature pan fried onion buns- pretty good, juicy, soft, fluffy
Service was good. Food came out in a reasonable time even though they were busy.
For the deal, it was pretty good as the 3 of us was pretty stuffed. We had leftovers at the end as well.
Honey Bear Vietnamese Sandwich – Banh Mi ***
We were on a mission for a good tofu sandwich and this popped up on Yelp search. We were in the area so we decided to check it out.
It’s definitely busy, but the banh mi was not really anything special. Service was good even if it was takeout.
Tofu sandwich was around $8.5. the sandwich was toasted well but the bread was very chewy. The sauce was also very overwhelmingly sweet.
Overall, it was ok, not the best imo
Teacup ****
Ooooohjh 4.5 star!!!
I can see why this place has such high ratings. There is no frills or anything, pretty straight forward place. You can either get bubble tea, or banh mi. Price is very reasonable.
I got the tofu banh mi ($6.5) and oh man, it was soooo nostalgic. It reminded me of a sandwich I eat all the time as a kid. The flavor was on point the bread has a good amount of crunch and chew. Every component was distinguish and I like the different textures from the cucumber and jalapenos.
Overall, one of the best sandwiches around
Our first stop right after landing in Salt Lake City was this place because I wanted to try there Croliner
It’s a German bakery with a bunch of pastries, breads, , sandwiches and coffee. After looking at their display case, we ended up with 3 3 things to try:
Raspberry Croliner (3.5/5) — a fusion between the German donut and a croissant. I expected it to have the flakiness from the croissant but it was just soft. However, there was soooo much cream and jelly in there! It was still pretty good
Plundershnecke (4/5) – it kinda looks like a cinnamon roll but it’s not. But it was really good. Inside each little ring is filled with tasty custard and the outside is glazed with a nice sugary thing. The flavor was good. The texture was like a butterfly cookie but softer.
Pretzel corner (5/5) — pretzel/croissant fusion. This worked really well. You definitely get the texture of a croissant but the taste of a good pretzel. Definitely the favorite
Overall, it was a good place to try, definitely would recommend coming to check there stuff out if you’re in the area.
DoughBird *****
I was lucky enough to stumble upon this place when trying to find what was good in MOAB. This place happens to be right next to where we were staying!!!!
We came on Sunday and they were ready for . One downside of my experience was that I was following their Instagram to see the current menu and had an idea of what to order already, but because it was Halloween, they changed it up a little and Soo it didn’t have all the ones I wanted. Also, not all the donut was ready, and we came 1 hour after they opened. I had to wait an extra 10 minutes for the fritter and not sure when the matcha kit Kat came out but couldn’t get that one either.
Anyways, the donut:
Hyped up crodough – worth it! One of the rare times when a cronut actually has the flakiness of a croissant and the flavor was spot on. You literally can hear the sound each time you bite
Apple cinnamon fritter – one of the best fritter ever. It was crunchy, you see the fresh apple chunks in there and it was delicious
Vegan chocolate donut – classic, but soooooo good. Surprisingly this was one of my favorite. It was soft, it wasn’t too sweet it doesn’t feel heavy.
Pecan praline torte and spiced apple old fashioned – they got the texture down pretty well. I love the subtle crunch, the Frosting was a lot for Halloween but it wasn’t too sweet so I ate a lot of it haha pecan praline could use more pecan praline though, no crunch or anything from that part
Ube – standard, nothing special compared to the other donuts but still good.
Overall, this is a pretty nice place to check out when in MOAB. I highly recommend coming here for your donuts. I wish I could stay longer to try their chicken sandwich but we had to to head out early…
We stop by for an early dinner before heading to the airport and my husband wanted a sandwich. Seeing the high reviews here, we wanted to try it out. Unfortunately, it was not good. 3 star is being generous in my opinion.
We got the do-gouda sandwich with a side of salad and an additional side of tater tots.
The sandwich itself was toasted nicely but was really sweet. It almost tasted like a dessert than a savory sandwich. But not too bad. The side salad was a good size of good portion.
The tater tots was not good though. My husband always say “you can’t go wrong with tater tots, it’s always good’ well….they did it wrong…the tater tots was tough, rubbery and lack in flavor. Bad enough that we had to go to another place to try out the tater tots to make sure it’s not a UTAH thing…it’s not ..
Overall, eh.
