How to….

….eat in a sushi restaurant.

I found this comical video on another food blog a couple of days ago.  Please don’t take it seriously and do the things suggested as most of it is completely out of tradition. Its just an interesting watch. Enjoy!

tcgb

Pick Pocky

Pocky went on sale in a nearby asian supermarket when I went home last weekend and my mother bought my a few of the bigger boxes (original chocolate and strawberry). I’ve snackd on them ever since, while avoiding real food due to the fact that I haven’t gone grocery shopping. I’m actually not a huge fan of  pocky, although I wouldn’t object if they were offered. I tend to prefer their alternative Pretz for their savoury flavours. While munching on some more  boxes of strawberry pocky, I decided to look up some other more exotic/unique pocky flavours. I’ve yet to closely look at the pocky aisle in an asian supermarket so I don’t know if some of these are readily available or rare but either way, the packaging is pretty to look at. Enjoy the gallery of pocky!

For those who don’t know what Pocky is, it’s a bread stick with a sweet coating, the traditional being chocolate. It was first sold in 1966 and can be found in most asian stores/aisles. There are many flavour varities for those willing to adventure.

 Let’s start of with the European version of Pocky, renamed “Mikado” after the game of pick up sticks. I found the two flavours of bittersweet and milk chocolate.

 

 

 

I thought that this was cute. It’s a fortune telling version of Pocky that depicts things about your love life, your friendships, and your studies on the stick. A sweeter update to the fortune cookie. I found the following flavours of honey & milk, grape and strawberry.

 

 

Pocky also came out with combination flavoured pocky.  The first box(peachy/pink) contained pocky with the flavours of Peach, Apricot, Jujube (Chinese Date), Plum, Chestnut. The second box (dark blue/black) contained pocky with the flavours of black pine, black soy bean, black karin, black sesame seed, unpolished black rice. The second certainly sounds interesting but I don’t know if I’d be a fan. It was a limited time release in 2006.

 
Next up is Reversed pocky which is the same pocky stick but this time with the cream on the inside. I found fairly standard flavours: chocolate, white chocolate and strawberry. I think i’d like this more than the original.

 

 Some other flavours include:

Melon

Green Tea

Powdered Tea Adzuki Bean

 

 

 

 

Brazillian Pudding

Sweet Potato

Soy Bean Powder

Lemon Cheesecake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite Pocky discovery is the Pocky inspired cake. The cake was an italian cake containing raisins, orange peel, and chocolate cream. Sounds yummy! It was released for the Christmas period (sort of like an asian take on traditional fruit cake) Either way, it looks worthy of a try =)

 

 

 

Happy Eating! – tcgb

Starbucks unique drink orders

Starbucks is an international coffee chain with coffee houses all over the world. Although specializing in coffee, they also sell espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as mugs and coffee beans. I don’t often drink there so I’m always fascinated when people order as the combinations are endless. However, for the beginner such as myself, it can be terribly overwhelming when you get up to the counter and need to express your order in concise, starbucks lingo. So I’ve attempted to find a guide for those out of the loop and/or those looking for a creative adventure beyond your regular order while still maintaining a ‘know-it-all’ allure when ordering. (The how-to guide found here)

1. Decide what you want to order before your turn in line.
2. Choose: Will I have this for here or to go? If you want to stay there, you may choose to use a ceramic mug.
   • “I’ll have a ‘For Here, Grande, Non-Fat, No Water,  Tazo Chai Tea Latte’.
3. Decide if you want a hot or cold beverage, and which size.
   • Four sizes for hot beverages:
     • Short (8oz)
     • Tall (12oz)
     • Grande (16oz)
     • Venti (20oz) (trade-marked size)
   • Three sizes for cold beverages:
     • Tall (12oz)
     • Grande (16oz)
     • Venti (24oz)
4. Decide what type of beverage you want.
   • Brewed coffee; Pike’s Place Roast, Decaf Pike’s Place Roast or Bold. The bold choice is generally available before noon. Remember, if you are inside, ask for room for cream if you need it. It’s a lot less embarrassing than cleaning up all the coffee you spill or have to pour out into the trash bin.
   • There are three types of tea. Short and Tall teas come with one tea bag. Grande and Venti come with two. Cold teas come shaken with either a dilute of water or lemonade, and are served sweetened unless requested otherwise. The standard sweetener is Classic Syrup, which is a flavorless sugar syrup. )
     • Green
     • Black
     • Herbal infusions, such as Passion
   • Non-espresso based drinks. These are generally referred to as creamers or steamers. They are basically a latte with no espresso and can be made with any available syrup.
     • Hot chocolates
     • Caramel Apple Spice
   • Cold drinks include iced coffee, iced espresso beverages, Vivanno smoothies and Frappuccino blended beverages. Same sizes and ounces, but no short size, and an iced venti is 24 oz. Iced tall and iced grande espresso beverages are the same as their hot counterpart, except served over ice cubes (non-blended) while iced venti adds an extra shot. There are two basic types of Frappuccinos:
     • Coffee base, a mix espresso powder, water and a milk-based liquid.
     • Creme Base (CBB), which is a mix of a sweet powder and nonfat milk.
   • Coffee Light is made with Sucralose (splenda style sweetener) and are served sans whip.

• • Decaf Coffee bases have been discontinued.

1. Determine how much caffeine you want in your beverage. Remember that just because its bigger doesn’t necessarily mean it will have more caffeine.
   • Espresso Shots
     • Single is just one shot of espresso.
     • Double is two shots.
     • Triple is three shots.
     • Quad is four shots.
     • Ristretto is a shot of espresso that takes about fifteen seconds to pull, while a normal espresso shot takes twenty seconds.
   • Espresso Drinks. All Lattes, Cappuccinos, and macchiatos have the following shots:
     • 1 in short and tall
     • 2 in grande and hot venti
     • 3 in iced venti
   • Americanos:
     • 2 in a tall
     • 3 in grande
     • 4 in venti

1. Choose the syrups you want. All syrups cost an additional 30 cents, even if they are pre-configured on the menu board.
   • Regular: Vanilla, Hazelnut, Mocha, White Chocolate Mocha, Cinnamon Dolce, Toffee Nut, Melon, Raspberry, Juicy Raspberry, Classic, Peppermint, Caramel, Chai
   • Sugar Free: Vanilla, Hazelnut, Cinnamon Dolce, Caramel
   • Traditional Seasonal: Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice
2. “Skinny” lattes are made with your choice of sugar free syrup and non-fat (skim) milk.
3. Choose the type of milk you want. Switching from the normal 2% to whole or nonfat is free of charge. Using Breve, heavy whipping cream or soy milk costs an extra 40 cents. It is possible to create “skim” milk, which is a mix of 2% and non fat, though its actual mixture will very depending upon the barista preparing it.
   • Whole
   • 2 percent (the standard unless specified – as of 2007)
   • Nonfat
   • Breve(half and half)
   • Heavy Whipping Cream (un-whipped)
   • Soy
   • Organic (not at all locations)
4. You can add whipped cream to any drink for no extra charge. Whipped cream is made with heavy whipping cream and vanilla syrup.
5. Speak directly at the cashier after you have their attention, and when placing an order. If you must turn away to point to something, remember that speaking in a different direction will make it difficult for the cashier to hear you in a noisy environment.
6. Ask your cashier for any pastries or items from the ‘ready to eat’ case first, if desired. Don’t alternate the ordering of pastries and coffees as it will slow down your wait time, as well as everyone else’s wait time behind you.
7. Order your beverage.

While in San Francisco, my cousin order this complex drink order that completely went over my head and definitely not on the standard list. I asked her to repeat it to me but it was far too long to remember. I asked her how she knew of it and told me that a friend of hers worked at Starbucks and had taught her all the unusual drinks. I wanted to explore this idea and have searched over the internet for as many special/unusual drink orders I can find and will attempt to try as many of them as my wallet and taste buds will allow and report back. An ongoing Starbucks adventure if you will. So if you have any drinks that you know of that are worth trying (and not listed on here) feel free to comment and let me know. It seems rather fitting now that the cold air is coming in here in Kingston =) Also, forgive me if the following aren’t original; to me they all sound unique just because I only tried one thing at Starbucks.

FYI: Personally my one and only order from Starbucks has always been a Venti, non fat chai latte, extra hot because it reminds me of candy.

NOTE: I got these mixes from various internet sources and the suggestion of friends. I am nowhere near creative enough to come up with any of this stuff.

Unique drink orders:

1) During the Warm Summer Heat there is nothing cooler then a Iced Tea or an Ices Tea Lemonade. At Starbucks they have 3 Types of tea steeped ready for any drink to enjoy. They are our Zen Green Tea, Our Awake Black Tea and out Fruity  Passion Tea. To add an interesting mix one should try adding one pump peppermint to create a unique taste.

2) White Chocolate Chip Frap Blended Cream - For this drink  start with a common Double Chocolate Chip Frappachino Blended Cream. Then, substitute White chocolate in place of  Mocha syrup. This creates  a phenomenal  drink that tastes like “cookies n’ cream” and will be a enjoyed no mater who you are.

3) Caramel Macchiato With Vanilla Bean – Venti, 2 scoop Vanilla bean steamed into the milk, caramel macchiato

4) Fruity Delight Blended Lemonade - First Line: Lemonade, Second Line: Orange Mango Juice, Syrups: (1) Melon, (1) Classic, Splash of Strawberry, Iced: Yes

5) Iced Passion Tea Lemonade Apple Juice – First Line: Passion Tea, Second Line: Half Lemonade, Half Apple Juice, Syrups: (3) Classic, (3) Melon, (3) Raspberry, Iced: Yes

6) Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Frappuccino – First Line: Cream Base, Syrups: (3) White Mocha, (3) Peppermint, Scoops: (3) Chocolate Chips, Iced: Yes

7) Apple Pie Frappuccino – First Line: Cream Base, Second Line: Apple Juice, Syrups: Cinnamin, Caramel, Custom: 1/3rd Oatmeal, Whipping Cream, Caramel Drizzle, Iced: Yes

8) Frappleberryccino – First Line: Apple Juice, Second Line: Strawberry, Syrups: (2) Cinnamon Dolce, Iced: Yes

9) Fruity Infusion Blended Apple Juice – First Line: Apple Juice, Second Line: Strawberry, Syrups: (1) White Mocha, Iced: Yes

10) Bounty Hot Chocolate – Base: Signature Hot Chocolate Syrups: Irish Cream*

*If you don’t have Irish Cream handy, the ‘closest’ you can get to replicating it while on duty, given the ingredients would be; 1/3rd caramel, 1/3rd vanilla, 1/3rd hazelnut

11) Captain Crunch Frappuccino – First Line: Cream Base, Second Line: Strawberry, Syrups: Hazelnut or Toffeenut, Iced: Yes

12) Orea Frappuccino – First Line: Cream Base, Syrups: Mocha (Optional), Scoops: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chips, Iced: Yes

13) Cherry Garcia Frap – Grande, 1 pump almond, 1 pump raspberry, 1 scoop vanilla bean powder, 1 scoop java chip, vanilla bean frappuccino.