On Food: Esan Thai

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Esan Thai, one of the few Thai restaurants in town. I started visiting Esan Thai mainly because I had a few friends who work there. The food is rather authentic to the taste of a South East Asian. Especially the fried rice and the Pad Thai, of course traditional drink such as Thai Ice Tea is also well made. With all of the above, however, the price is somewhat on the high end (with Lunch Menu a little cheaper).

Update: Some of my top choices at the restaurant:
- Khao Pad (fried rice)
- Pad See Eew (wide rice noodle)
- Aey’s Esan Noodles (Special Esan Sauce on rice noodle)
- Larb
- Tom Yum (famous Thai style soup)

(for explanation on the dishes, please refer to the menus on the website.)

On other topic, I watched Cloverfield (in Bloomington), and here’s my review.

Verdict for ‘Fortune Cookie’

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‘Fortune Cookie’ is a new Chinese restaurant that had opened in town by one of our own IU student (Obo).
It just started up late last December, and until yesterday, I didn’t have a opportunity to give it a try.

A gang of us Asians (mixing Taiwanese, Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean) went in and ordered four dishes that we had thought simple, and traditional – deep fried kan-lan, wu-xi ribs, salt and pepper chicken, pig’s kidney.

The final overall verdict was a 5.3 on the restaurant (4, 5, 5.5, 6 and 6).
One of the main reason we concluded is that its new and its shorthanded in many ways.
With bubble-tea that is suppose to be coming out soon, we hope for the best for ‘Fortune Cookie’.

Pita Pit – new favorite?

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A bite from Pita Pit’s breakfast “Chicken Classic” was totally fulfilling. The pit (if I may so call it) is a mouthful meat with freshly grilled flavor.

Very similar to burritos, its wrapped in a roll of wheat/white pita sandwich. It may look cheap at first, but it make sure the goodies are kept-in securely in the parcel. And at a price of below $6, its a good quick lunch anytime of the year. If you have 10 minutes before your next class and is craving for some food, Pita Pit might provide a good selection.

Breakfast, the new gourmet

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Last week, we went to ‘Michael’s Uptown Cafe’ for breakfast before sending our friend off – she’s heading back to Finland for good. A very pleasant meal, where I ordered the very delicious Smoked Salmon Benedict and tried one of the best French toast, and shared with my girlfriend her Popeye Omelet, a very comprehensive set of combination for brunch. It may be a little on the pricey end, as the check came up to $25 for two dishes (including tips and a cup of Earl Grey).

If you ever does visit Bloomington, IN, and need to seek out a place for brunch on the weekends, this is the place to go. And yes, lines should be expected, but not too extensively (we waited for just about 15 minutes or so, with 7 people in the group).

More sources:
- Official website
- Menus
- Reviews (Yelp seems to be a well-placed review site for all things alike. I have been using Yelp.com since this summer back in Seattle)

P/S: Welcoming Shawn Folie to the BPDs as an author/contributor! He is a co-worker and a friend of mine, and have a passion for both photography and blogging. Thanks to him, I decided to buy my D40.

Feel the Holiday’s Coming

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As the holiday comes along, we start hearing Christmasy music, lights and decorations.
Today we had dinner at T.G.I Fridays, their cups and plates were ready for Christmas too.

4th in the nation

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If rice is the stable food for Asians, then dough is the stable food for Americans, and one of the best product that can be made out of dough is the pizza. I’m proud to represent Mother Bear’s Pizza here in Bloomington, IN. It receives top favorite restaurant in town on a consistent annual basis. And as you can see here, it has also been ranked #4th in the nation.

I’ve cut down on my consumption of pizza over the course of the semester. But it still is a delicacy at times of gathering and reunions (I like it with tons of meat, cheese and maybe some vegies).

I just want a decent Burrito Bol

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Everytime we were going to Oak Tree Cinema for a movie in Seattle, my friends and I would go to Qdoba for a bite of Burrito. I’d never thought really well of the place since the serving portion was always much lesser than that of Chipotle. And I’d that impression going into Chipotle for dinner tonight, but was disappointment with mere spoonful of rice and barcacoa (shredded beef). And I’d thought competition is good for the consumers! I guess I’d to go to the other burrito place that has the tagline “Burrito bigger than your head” to fulfill a hungry appetite.