JP Licks, Harvard Sq, Boston, MA

Your Honour, I plea guilty; guilty to blog neglect. I'm definitely not giving up on this blog but it's just that I'm in this phase of my life right now which just seems to sap away all my time and energy. This is just a quick snap at JP Licks during one of my short breaks. JP licks is a Boston chain cafe which sells ice-cream, frozen yogurts, coffee and cakes. Sometimes, sipping a hot chocolate and dismembering a gingerbread man bit by bit with my teeth are some of the best things in the world.

D

p.s: you can tell he is a bit of a masochist too because he's still smiling despite losing a leg.

Mike's Pastry, Boston, MA

So I do apologise for the lack of updates and the unprecedented hiatus but things have been crazily busy as of late and I stand guilty of blog neglect.


Almost right across the road from The Daily Catch is Mike's Pastry which does some pretty tasty cannoli. It's been getting more and more touristy over the years but I still try to pick up some sweets from them when I'm in the area.

One will be quite spoilt for selection here; the humble cannoli comes in a variety of flavors and fillings;

here's a selection of cookies and various macaroons which go pretty good with bitter espresso and

they have a variety of other sweets as well such as nougat, brownies and marzipan, so most people (who have at least a little of a sweet tooth) would be able to find something here.

So I unwrapped my little stash in my hotel and started with the massive cannoli; I went for a simple creamed ricotta filling dipped and drizzled with chocolate. Sweet, rich and creamy, the crisp shell was flavorsome without being too greasy, just how Mike makes them.

The brownie however, was only decent at best, I guess that was folly on my part to buy American desserts from an Italian pastry shop.

At least the ending was good with this giant profiterole, the mixture of choux pastry filled with fresh cream (not too sweet) and pretty much drowned in rich chocolate sure was tasty.

D

The Daily Catch, Boston, MA

The Daily Catch is definitely one place I would recommend to anyone who is visting Boston. Down in Little Italy, nestled amongst a huge bevy of Italian restaurants is this little eatery on 323 Hanover St (617 523-8567).

The menu is simply just written on the chalk board and everything is freshly bought. So the menu is not extensive, but the quality is pretty damn good.

Fresh tender calamari, encased in a light crisp batter. A sprinkle of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. An excellent appetizer.

This is a big favourite of mine. Squid ink puttanesca, the pasta was done perfectly al dente. I don't really mind the story behind the name of the pasta, if that indeed is the oldest profession in the world then politics would be a close second and the two are not always mutually exclusive. The anchovies and olives in the sauce were so tasty and fragrant; I felt almost like I should have ordered a main serve instead of the entree because this was just so delicious.

For our finale, we had a huge platter of fresh seafood marinara spaghetti. Two whole lobsters, tons of sweet fresh clams and mussels cooked in a tasty white wine marinara broth. This dish alone epitomizes what The Daily Catch is all about.

A refreshing light white to accompany this excellent meal.

D

Vinh Sun, Boston, MA

So I always thought that Boston had the oldest Chinatown in USA but apparently that's not the case? I now hear the one in San Fran is probably the oldest one. Anyway, a little pet hobby of mine when I go traveling is to check out the Chinatown, I've had pretty good food in Boston's Chinatown about four years ago, so we went to check out the place and ended up at Vinh Sun.

We started off with deep fried whiting, whiting encased in a crisp and light batter, this was a pretty good appetizer.

On to more substantial protein; the beef short-ribs with green peppers were pretty tasty as well. The meat was fall off the bone tender but still retained a nice a chew. A tad bit oily, but that's the norm for this cut.

And of course, the lobster feast continued, 2 lobsters straight from the tank cooked Chinese style with ginger and spring onions.

D

Atlantic Fish Co, Boston, MA

I do apologize for the lack of updates, I've been so busy moving out of my previous apartment. I was also in Boston a few weeks back and boy was I lucky to have arrived when lobster season was just starting. Is it possible to get sick of lobster? After this series of posts from Boston (I had lobster every single day), you tell me.

A quick query from the concierge pointed us towards the nearby Atlantic Fish Co. as the place where the locals go for good seafood nowadays, so off we went. Not making reservations meant we were seated in a little table right in the middle of the dining room, not the most comfortable location but we were hungry so we weren't going to complain. We started off with a simple Caesar salad; crisp leaves, grated parmesan and toasted croutons. Fresh but otherwise unremarkable.

The clam chowder provided a much more substantial start. Rich and creamy, the generous chunks of clam flesh still had a decent bite.

Our first course was a plate of mussels steamed in butter and white wine. The simplicity of its preparation allowed the freshness and flavor of the mussels to prevail.

Very tasty and possibly the plumpest mussels I've ever eaten.

Here's a cute little bib that was given to me just before the main course. A bit of a novelty, I saved my as a souvenir.

Here we have it, the seafood platter of little neck clams and a 2.5lb lobster.

Did I mention I'm glad we came just when lobster season started? The massive claw almost spanned across the entire plate. Claw meat is not too bad but I still prefer the body meat which I think is the sweetest and most succulent.

After the devouring the massive crustacean we were introduced to the dessert trolley and we picked out the signature chocolate cake, which was really only ok. Somehow it was really heavy and thick but perhaps wasn't the thing after all that lobster and dipping melted butter.

The Boston cream pie was way more welcoming. I think the light sponge cake and cold cream made it the more refreshing dessert. It helps that I like cream pies as well.

Atlantic Fish Co. definitely raised the bar for good lobster. I'll have to see if the other restaurants match up over the next five days.

D