Falling in Bliss with these Foods

My friends and food continue to endlessly inspire and amaze me every year. The last 2-3 years, through dining experiences in school and with my loved ones, I’ve realized that there are a lot of food and beverages out there that I find complete happiness, comfort and most of all love in.

Last year was mussels, cold brew, lobster, and so much more. This year is a little different and I’d like to show you the foods I’ve been falling into bliss with:

plates of salmon sushi1. Salmon (Sashimi + Smoked Salmon)

I used to think that sashimi or even the idea of smoked salmon was disgusting. However, my boyfriend is the biggest salmon lover that I know and he has told me good salmon should never taste fishy. Last year, I started eating salmon rolls, spicy crunch salmon roll, and I loved it! Now onto smoked salmon, a friend brought smoked salmon with cream cheese rolled inside and I thought it was insanely good. Now every once in a while I do cook with smoked salmon or make smoked salmon crackers.dishes and drinks with mango2. Mango

I used to be allergic to mango, but somehow it disappeared and once in a while I still get an itchy throat if I eat too much. I started eating a lot of mango last year and now I love mango sago, mango smoothie, in sushi, in salads, and so much more.

food dishes containing avocado

3. Avocado

Based on a study that was read to my restaurant management class over the summer, avocado toast is one of the hottest food trends. I never really liked avocado before until I discovered guacamole. I enjoy eating avocado very much especially avocado toast and nothing make it taste better than a fried egg.

French onion soup

4. French Onion soup

French onion soup brings back memories of my dining room and culinary class that I took here at City Tech. I remember from the way it’s served, the type of bowl, and down to the type of broth and much more. This year I learned that my boyfriend loves French Onion soup and 90% of the time he will order it if we’re eating at an American or French restaurant, even at diners. I wanted to know exactly why he was so fascinated with this soup and  so we shared a bowl recently and it was great. First off, it smells insanely good and melted cheese make a lot of things taste better. When this soup is done right, it can really make you happy and full!

a bottle of Vita Coco coconut water

5. Vita Coco

My sister and mom have been drinking Vita Coco for more than a year now and they said it’s very refreshing and keeps you hydrated. This summer, I gave it a shot and I love it. It’s better than a lot of drinks I’ve had so far. I’ve tried pineapple and passion fruit and it’s excellent.

prosciutto on toast

6. Prosciutto

Last, but not least there’s another special food that I love and have ate, but never took it upon myself to cook or make food with it at home. Last summer and this year, I was exposed a lot to prosciutto and I loved it. I recently had one from Piccoli Trattoria. They had an amazing prosciutto with fig jam and on toasted bread. It was a good balance of salty and sweet.

So these are the six food items that I have fell in love with this year  and I am excited to see what I may try with the rest of this year and every year to come. I am excited to see what is next that will fascinate me.

What foods have you tried this year that you love or enjoy?

Pros and Cons of Blogging

A blog is information or conversation that is published online. Having been blogging since about 2010/2011, doing my beauty/hair blogs, as well as reading the blogs of others, I noticed some great things and some wow factors. Therefore, I have comprised my first list about the pros and cons of Blogging.

PROS

  1. There is a market for everyone: What ever you think about, hope to be, or have an interest in, can be the topic of your blog. There will be several other people who will be interested in that information as well. If you google cleaning with lemons, thousands (made up figure) of blogs and individuals asking the questions will pop up.
  2. Easy to start: All you have to do is go on Wix, Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, or have your own site and start writting. There are several free and paid avenues to start from. I started with Blogger and WordPress before publishing my own site and adding a blog to it. All were free.
  3. It is a great marketing tool: If you have a product or service you wish to spread to the masses, just blog about it. You can post video, reviews, comments and more. Share it on social media, advertise on craigslist, and/or post links and ads to your blog or the blogs of others.
  4. You can make an additional income: Speaking of advertising for other blogs, you can use the your blog to get paid and advertise for other blogs, services and products. You can get paid or get free products to review products and share it on your blog. For example, I was sent a hair product to review for my beauty blog.

CONS

  1. People have freedom: With freedom comes responsibility, or one would hope. Some people post Lies, degrading things and disgusting things. Either way, because there are no limitations, they have that freedom.
  2. It can be hard knowing who or what is credible: With the freedom to post, people try their best to decieve others. They may have fake facts, fake logos to make you think its a known site, and other ways of deception. Make sure before you take ideas you do your research.
  3. Without a following you can be your only subscriber: For sometime it may seem like you are the only one reading your post. You maybe, just share it and market your blog. You can become an affiliate of another company also and get paid, which I spoke about in previous post. You will eventually get some people to comment or follow you.
  4. Self-ran: You have to put in the work on your own, unless, of course, its a team of bloggers like THE BUZZ.

For help with your blog, advertising, or more email me at amonib.biz@gmail.com


QUESTION TO THE AUDIENCE: What do you think are pros and cons of blogging. ?

Getting Paid From Your Following

a young woman of color with shoulder-length, wavy hair

Last week I spoke about How To Go Viral on social media. This weeks blog is about using your audience/following to generate income.

When I first started my YouTube and blogger site years ago I had no idea of its potential. I carelessly vlogged about my life, which of course consisted mostly of beauty and cosmetics. I began to receive numerous messages to join campaigns, promote advertisers, and review products. For many I was hesitant but I did get free products and joined blogging social sites. years later after the buzz i had dwindled I realized I could have monetized many of my videos, or obtained money from my former post. I wish I knew what I know now, I wish I was more consistent and I wish I took it more serious regardless of my situations.

Although I wont go to in-depth, here are a few ways to make money from your online presence:

1. Advertising (ie: Google Adsense): usually getting paid per click when you post about the company. You can use links or have actual ads on your site or social media page.

2. Affiliate Marketing: Companies will pay per person that visits their site or purchase products. Some sites pay based on the amount of people that follow you.

3. Selling Your Own/Service: Most people you know will either support or share, its free publicity on your own page.

Now, I know at first it may start off as chump change but when you are persistent and consistent the possibilities can make you a millionaire, as many on YouTube.


 

QUESTIONS TO THE AUDIENCE: Are you making money online? doing what? | Will you now consider using your following to generate income?


I blog weekly EVERY MONDAY. Follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and FaceBook / FaceBook2

My Favorite Places For…

So I’ve been discussing a lot about my favorite food blogs, my favorite places to eat, my favorite foods to eat and hopefully you’ve enjoyed that. However, I haven’t told you where’s my favorite place for dessert, my favorite place for brunch, my favorite place for pizza, my favorite place for a burger, and the list can go on and on and on.

Today I want to share with you my favorite places for:

Burger

sweet potato fries

I’ve been going to STOUT since I was about 21 years old and it’s never failed to disappoint. STOUT is an Irish pub and it’s original location is on West 33rd Street and Avenue of the Americas. They have an array of menu items I enjoy, but I always enjoy their burgers and you can different toppings to it. The burgers are massive, juicy, and delicious and their sweet potato fries are  amazingly delicious so I guess that’s a +1 for me.

Sushi

four sushi dishes

I really like the ambiance, service, but most of the all the sushi from Samurai Fusion Sushi. They are beautifully plated and neat. They also come in a variety of sushi rolls. Their rolls are always made to order and absolutely fresh. I can’t seem to find any other sushi that is as good as the ones from Samurai Fusion Sushi.

Ramen

a tray of soups and other dishes

So it’s pretty apparent that I love ramen especially in this chilly weather now. I’ve been to a lot of Japanese and ramen restaurants in the past four years, but the one place I will always love to go for ramen no matter how crazy it can be is: Santouka at Mitsuwa. It’s the first place I’ve ever been to have real and authentic ramen. They don’t have that many broth/varieties to choose from, but the ramen and broth here are full of flavor, deliciousness, and hearty!

Ice Cream

ice cream cones

One of my favorite places for ice cream is Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. It’s been around for a long, long, long time and their service and ice cream never disappoints. I always enjoy coming here during the warm weather and it is always packed here! My favorite flavors here are: almond cookie, lychee, pumpkin pie, and green tea! So good, rich, and tasty!

Brunch

two glasses of iced tea, and two food dishes

I absolutely adore doing brunch with my boyfriend, friends, and family. One of my favorite places for brunch so far is: Cafe Luluc which isn’t so far from City Tech actually. I found out about this little French restaurant on Yelp last year and have been here a few times so far. The food here are rustic, classic, simple yet so delicious and irresistible. They sure know how to make some good Eggs Benedict!

So these are just some of my favorite places to go for certain foods and I do have a lot more I can list, but you can always ask me yourself what do I like and where would I go for it.

Where do you like to go for a good burger, pizza, sushi, brunch, coffee and etc?

My Top 10 Favorite Foods

Every foodie has their favorite places to eat and foods to eat. I’ve already covered where I like to eat in this blog post. Now, I would like to share with you my 10 favorite foods that I love to eat the most. Enjoy!

eggs Benedict with fries and salad1. I’ve never thought I would be a fan of Eggs Benedict until a few years ago. Some people don’t like runny yolks, but I actually like it and don’t mind. Eggs Benedict is my choice of brunch when I am out for brunch with my friends or boyfriend. I think Eggs Benedict are the best when the Hollandaise sauce has a lemony taste to it and they are runny.

a dish of dumplings

2. Dumplings are probably one of my favorite foods growing up and not because it’s a popular Asian food, but sometimes it’s just more pleasant to eat than your regular rice and noodles. I especially love the pan-fried dumplings my boyfriend and I make, fold, and cook together. I like my dumplings both pan-fried and boiled and I also like they come in different flavors.

a dish of food

3. One of my favorite dishes that my mom makes best is braised pig feet with bean curd stick with mung bean sauce. This particular dish is made mostly on Chinese holidays and I always look forward to eating it because it is really delicious and has a bit of sweetness to it from the mung bean sauce.

fried calamari with dipping sauces

4. I’ve always had a thing for fried calamari ever since I was high school. However, good fried calamari is hard to come by at times. I’ve tried a lot of fried calamari and they always seem to be bland, tasteless, and overcooked. Good fried calamari should be hot, crunchy, and cooked just right.

a dish of noodles

5. Pad Thai is not only one of the more popular Thai dishes, but it is one of my favorite Thai dishes that I enjoy very much. I like that you can add any protein you want in it and/or have a vegetable one if you like. I like it not too sweet and with a little tanginess to it.

a scoop of ice cream

6. Ice cream is one my weaknesses, but also my favorite dessert. I sure have had a lot of ice cream this summer and so far my favorite flavors are: pumpkin, French vanilla, earl grey, almond, and cookies n’ creme.

cooked food

7. I think it’s pretty apparent that I love ramen. I mostly eat it hot because it’s just a nice comforting food to have especially on chilly days like tonight or in the Winter. I really enjoy the different types of broth and style of noodles that are available. I haven’t had ramen in a few months, so I definitely need to have a bowl soon!

fruit

8. Another one of my favorite desserts is anything that incorporates with fruits and grass jelly. Grass jelly is a jelly-like dessert found in China. The jelly can be cut into cubes or other forms and then mixed with syrup to produce a drink and dessert and it is thought to have cooling properties especially during hot weather.

a food dish

9. Rice cakes with preserved mustard and shredded pork is a popular Shanghainese dish and also one of my favorite dishes to order at a Shanghainese restaurant. The rice cakes are a little chewy and gummy texture and the preserved mustard is usually served fresh and has a crunchy texture to it. It’s quite a savory dish!

a food dish

10. Last, but not least one of my favorite Chinese dishes is clams with black bean sauce. I love eating Italian style clams too, but I enjoy eating clams with black bean sauce a lot more and it’s quite tasty too.

What are you favorite foods to eat?

 

My Top 5 Favorite Places to Eat

Every foodie has at least one or two places they love to eat at frequently besides their own home. I think that growing up in New York City there’s a lot of different restaurants and foods that I’ve grown to love and deeply enjoy.

As a foodie and a person that loves trying new things and adventure, I’d like to share with you my top 5 favorite places to eat.

five food dishes

 

1. Cocoron has been one of my favorite Japanese restaurants so far. They have two locations in the Lower East Side/Chinatown section of Manhattan. Cocoron is unique and different from other Japanese restaurants because they are best known for soba noodles (Japanese name for buckwheat noodles).

I love the dip soba sets they have because it’s cute, exciting, and a do-it-yourself meal. The dip soba set includes a mini burner with a bowl of boiling broth filled with meats and scallions and a plate of soba noodles. Basically, you will dip your noodles in the boiling broth for a minute or two and then eat it.

Recommendations: Chicken meatball dip soba, Grilled duck with blueberry jam, Warm Japanese style curry soba, Coconut milk with frozen berries

pizza, french fries, calamari, burgers

 

2. STOUT is my go-to-sports bar and also a place to sit back and enjoy delicious foods. They also have two locations in Manhattan, but I’ve only been to the one in Midtown. I find it more enjoyable and relaxing to come during lunch time rather than dinner time. Lunch time is a laid back and not rowdy. Dinner time can get crowded, rowdy, and less enjoyable. The food here is absolutely delicious and I sometimes come here just for the Wisconsin style thin crust pizza because it’s that good!

Recommendations: Fried calamari, Wisconsin style thin crust pizza, Sweet potato fries, Stout burger

three food dishes and two drinks

 

 

3. Cafe Luluc has become one of my favorite brunch places! I am so glad I found this gem because their brunch is amazing. I’ve been here twice so far and the service has never disappointed and the quality of the food is top notch and inexpensive. I really enjoy their Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine and how it’s accompanied with fries and a refreshing field greens salad. Cafe Luluc isn’t too far from City Tech, so if you ever find yourself wanting brunch or any type of meal, just pop in to Cafe Luluc.

Recommendations Eggs Benedict, Mixed berry Pancakes, Mimosa, Brioche French toast

five food dishes

 

4. Ramen Misoya happens to be one of my favorite ramen restaurants. It’s located in the East Village on 2nd Avenue and just off of St. Marks Place. I like that their ramen is different from other ramen restaurants I’ve been to because their style and presentation is a lot more vibrant and warm. The service here is pretty on par, but it’s the food that’s the most up to par.

Recommendations: Miso chicken curry ramen, Kome miso ramen with cha-shu, Gyoza

five food dishes

 

5. Another favorite restaurant of mine is Maharlika. I never thought I would enjoy Filipino cuisine, but I do. It’s completely different from other Asian cuisines that I’ve tried so far. At Maharlika, I love their spam fries and kare kare (oxtails braised in peanut butter sauce w/ grilled bokchoy, roasted eggplant, & long beans). Everything here is just pure comfort food and full of deliciousness.

Recommendations: Spam fries, Lumpiang Barquillos, Kare kare, Sisig

What are some of your favorite places to eat?