miss Korea BBQ - Manhattan, New York

        Back when I was visiting my friend in New York, I visited Korea Town (The Street strip is
   officially called the Korean Way.) On the way there we got hungry, and she recommended a
   good place to eat, miss Korea BBQ. We sat on the first floor, and as she had more experience
   in the shop than I, I let her order most of the appetizers and such. To be fair, it was my first
   time in a Korean restaurant, but they actually explain what the dishes are and the ingredients
   used on the menu, which I appreciated, (otherwise I would have been really lost!) I ended up
   buying a stew; the Short Rib Stew, where they give a platter of un-sauced ribs and shred it
   in the stew for you. The main dish came with a bunch of appetizers, (most of which I didn't
   know, but they were tasty! My favorite was the white jelly sticks, called Nokdumuk.)  My
   friend took a picture of me and the chef, who came over to show off his knife skills and
   sliced strips of the ribs into the stew. The first floor was dimmed low, giving it a pleasant
   setting, but it wasn't overly formal or fussy. There was a lot of studio lights on the ceiling, and
   the rooms had sparse decorations, giving it a comfortable feel. Now my verdict on
   the stew? It reminded me of the way my mother cooks ribs; which in my book is
   a pretty high compliment. Granted it had no sauce, but was still very flavorful despite
   that. If you'd like to experience Korean food, I'd say miss Korea BBQ is a pretty good place
   to try it out!

                                                                            

Hunting for Macarons in Little Rock (With Success)

           Little Rock finally has macarons! (That you don't have to special order, which another bakery
   was doing. :p) I was planning on ordering from shops in Louisiana or Texas, (since I don't know
   how well macarons from New York would fare in travel), but I didn't have to after all! It's all
   thanks to the ladies of  Maryclare Macarons, and I found out they were selling to two bakery
   shops thanks to their Facebook page. I finally purchased them a few weeks back, and they
   tasted just like the ones sold in bakeries in Manhattan! They were great stuff, very soft and
   in different flavors, with some hint of glitter to give it a special look. If you want some, you can
   order them at their website, or you can buy some at H.A.M, Boulevard Bread,  (both in Little
   Rock), or at The Savory Pantry in Hot Springs. I bought these from Boulevard Bread.

                                                                              

Amazon Review on Super Saver Shipping

       Hey all! For all those who have used Amazon, and never tried their Super Saver Shipping deal,
   I want to explain how it went with me trying it. Super Saver is a deal where you basically spend
   a certain price on a certain amount of items, (usually $30, and you have to check if there eligible,
  which it will say on the listing if the item is or not), and then you get free shipping. Usually they
  are shipped two to three days after purchase, and you usually get it the same week. I ordered a
  batch of books on November 23, and they were shipped November 25, with me getting them on
  November 28. Packages come with a big box from Amazon and all the items are usually placed
  on top of each other. At least if you're in the United States, it's a very efficient deal, and you
  will usually get you items just a few days later.

                                                                          

Mocha Mocha Coffee - Brooklyn, New York (A.K.A Finding Macarons in Brooklyn)

          This past summer, while in New York, I had a big craving for crepes, which I partially blame
   on marthoning Creamy Mami episodes. ;p Having a huge craving, I dug around any bakery or
   shop that said they sold them, and went to Mocha Mocha Coffee. Now Mocha Mocha seems
   rather new; it's only been around a few years, and it was my first time trying their food. Their
   crepes were definitely yummy; I had one with strawberries and chocolate. While I was ordering,
  something else caught my eye; they had macarons! As far as I know, this is one of the few bakeries
   in Brooklyn to carry them, and of course I bought some too. Now to get back to the crepes really
   quick; it vaguely reminded me of the crepes sold at IHOP, in that it used preserved fruits with
   syrup. The macarons tasted good, but they were crunchier than I expected them to be; most
   macarons are a soft confection with a very light crunch that melts in your mouth. These were
   pretty crunchy, almost like a regular cookie, but the flavoring was good. But even though they
   didn't taste exactly like how I expected, I was so happy to find a shop nearby, as I always had to
   get them from Manhattan. (Their site isn't working, that's why the link is Yelp.)

                                                                            

Review On Rosy's Garden at Storenvy

     
            (If someone were to look back at these posts and wonder why I'm making so many at once,
     it's because I want to finish all my saved and stored photos! I want to start on a new leaf for the
     New Year. And also, as you can see in some of the food posts, if I don't try to post about food
     quickly, half of the time I forgot what I even ordered. :p)

                  Now! First of all, how many of you have heard of Alpacasso? These are cute alpaca
     plushies from a Japanese company called AMUSE, and in Japan you can usually find them
     in toy crane machines in Japan, or in some shops. Now when I first saw these popping up
     online a few months back, it was love at first sight. I absolutely adored them and had to get
     my hands on one! After looking into it some more, I read some reviews on Tumblr, and
     on personal blogs, and decided to finally get one from Rosy's Garden, a Hong Kong seller
     known to sell authentic plush alpacas. By the way, sometimes you might see Alpacassos
     named Arkapasso; this was the original name for the plushed alpacas but when AMUSE saw
     they spelled "Alpaca" wrong, later editions of the toy had the name changed to Alpacasso.
     Rosy also has an eBay account where she sells Alpacas, (rosy61987), but it's slightly cheaper
     to buy one from her Storenvy shop.
    
                I placed my order on November 19, and due to it being Holiday season I was told it
     might take longer than the usual two weeks. It came on time, around December 7. Now I
     got worried about the package during shipping because a strange thing happened; the
     tracking number, both on USPS and Hong Kong Post tracked the package up until it left
    Hong Kong, and then it didn't track the package in the United States. In fact when I received
    the package, I checked the tracking number online, and the last place located was at Hong
    Kong, with it saying delivered right after that. After some digging around I realized what
    happened, USPS does not track registered mail in the U.S, which is what the package was
    shipped as. So I just want to point out for U.S buyers that it is normal for the tracking to stop,
    and you will receive your package.

                The package came in a brown package with wrapping inside. I got my Alpacasso in a
     cute pink bag, and a small free gift; a hair bow with cherries, in a green bag. This seller has
     had many good reviews and she is quick to respond if you have questions. She was very
     reliable and I appreciate the free gift! If you're interested in purchasing a real Alpacasso, I
     recommend her.

                                                                              

Mrs. Freshley's Sno Balls

     A few weeks ago at the campus bookstore, I stumbled on a very familiar snack I had as a little
  kid, but other than the sweet, I didn't recognize the brand at all. The snack, two pink, marshmallow
  sno-balls, (these are snacks made with marshmallow, coconut, and brown cake with creme inside),
  was being sold by a brand called Mrs. Freshley's. When I felt like digging around on why I don't
  remember seeing that name, despite having eaten the confection, I realized Hostess had their own
  as well. (And I don't want to link to their site since they're liquidating.) Anyways, while Hostess is
  selling its products to potential buyers, you can have some similar sweets from Mrs. Freshley's.
  (And the sno balls didn't taste too bad! Reminded me of the Hostess ones but a tad dryer.)

                                                                              

                                                                                  

Jim's Razorback Pizza - Little Rock, Arkansas

     A few months ago, me and my brother were hungry and eyed a pizza place we passed by hundreds
  of times before, but never tried it. Feeling pretty starved by that point, we decided to take a chance
  and went to Razorback Pizza. We went to the location in West Little Rock, near Chenal. The
  interior was designed as something of a sports bar, since you had a bar table and huge flat screens
  playing sports. A tiny center on the far end had a mini-arcade, that looked closed when we entered.
   And of course, in conjunction with the football team it was named after, the place was painted red.
   Me and my brother sat on rather tall booths, and we ordered one of their pizzas with bacon. (I
   have a high suspicion it was the chicken, bacon and ranch, but it was many months ago and I
   forgot if it really was or not; it was pie with bacon though, I know that much!) The pie came
   in a thin crust and we waited about 8-10 minutes for it, but it was worth it. They loaded the pizza
   contents, and it tasted very good overall; I rank it high on the Little Rock Pizzerias. The pie
   had a thin crust, which I was glad for, because if it was a thick crust, I doubt I could finish it!