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Curiously Carmen

Travel: Din Tai Fung Seattle

May 18, 2018

While on a weekend getaway to Seattle, I really wanted to check Din Tai Fung off my list and try these Michelin-star rated Xiao Long Baos. In the Seattle area, there are four different Din Tai Fung locations. We visited the one in downtown which is about a 15 minute walk from Pike Place Market and inside a mall (I know that the Zomato spoonback is for the University District, but they didn’t have a page for the Downtown location).

We were prepared to wait, and in total we waited probably about 30-35 minutes? You can provide your phone number and they’ll text you when it’s almost your turn. We killed some time and splurged at See’s Candy which is across the street! There’s also a Sephora and Nordstrom across the street so the wait time goes by quite fast.

The vibe of the restaurant was pretty fancy compared to all the other Taiwanese restaurants that we have been to. It was tastefully decorated and pretty modern.

Xiao long bao: You can’t come to Din Tai Fung without getting the famous Xiao Long Baos! We made sure to order them.

It was love at first bite. What sets them apart is that the skin is very thin and slightly chewy, yet it does not break on impact. The thin skin is still able to hold all of the delicious juices inside.

The XLBs are definitely worth the hype and wait. Do yourself a favor and order it!

Moving to the other menu items that aren’t as popular but delicious as well!

Taiwanese spicy beef noodle soup: Nigiri’s beef noodle soup had incredibly tender beef chunks, which were marinated very well too. It wasn’t too spicy although the broth was very flavourful.

Taiwanese beef noodle soup: Maki and I both ordered the same simple beef broth soup. It was very clear yet still flavourful. The taste was very homemade and comforting, and reminded me of the boyfriend’s dad’s broth.

Dan Dan noodles: The boyfriend had mixed feelings about his noodles. There was a large portion of noodles but no meat. Although there was a large portion of noodles, it didn’t feel like any substance so it would have been better with a protein of some sort. It didn’t seem worth the price since it was just noodles, despite the sauce being delicious.

I’m not sure if it’s because I am Canadian so I have to keep in mind the extra 30% (approximate) approximate exchange rate, but our meal was pretty pricey. I am glad I finally tried it though and would love for Din Tai Fung to open in Vancouver so that it wouldn’t be as expensive.

I would still recommend trying the famous XLBs because they are definitely worth it! Perhaps don’t come as hungry as we did because the portion of noodles aren’t that big compared to what we usually get back home. Which is surprising because America is land of the big portions!

Yay!

Din Tai Fung Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: food & drink, Seattle, travel, USA

Travel: Hyatt House Bellevue Review

April 20, 2018

In February, I went on a double date weekend trip to Seattle! One of the main reasons why I agreed to go on this double date was because my house was lately facing a ton of issues. We stayed one night at the Hyatt House Bellevue, which was about a 20 minute drive to downtown Seattle.

We chose Bellevue over Seattle because the hotels were significantly cheaper (like half of the price cheaper!). Hyatt House also came with free parking, free wifi, and free breakfast buffet! All three things won us over.

Even though it was only one night, I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel.

One thing I really liked about the Hyatt House was how quiet it was. Even in the hallways, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Even though the hotel was facing a highway, you could not tell because of how greatly soundproofed it was.

Here is a shot of our room when you first walk in! We had the standard room with king size bed.

Right beside the entrance, was the small kitchen. I don’t want to call it a kitchenette because it came with a full sized fridge, a stove top, dishwasher, and all cooking utensils (pots, spatulas). If we stayed longer than one night, I definitely would have utilized it! There was no stink from kitchen sink, so plumbing must be perfect there.

The bed was extremely comfortable. I loved the super soft pillows and power outlets were conveniently placed on the lamp holders. I slept really well and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to explore Seattle!

View of the room from the bed. It’s not very big, but it was comfortable enough and super quiet. With the windows closed, all the highway noise was completely blocked out.

The washroom was separated with the sink outside, and the toliet/bathtub inside. I was telling my boyfriend how I prefer this efficient set up and it is the style in Japan too. This way, two people are able to get ready at the same time rather than one person having to wait.

The toiletries were pretty average, nothing special about it.

In the morning, we woke up and went straight to the breakfast buffet downstairs! The breakfast buffet was really delicious and a lot higher quality than I expected it would be. There was a plethora of delicious breakfast foods, including waffles, scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, toast, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, and fresh fruit.

It was really clean and the staff did a good job in ensuring that nothing ever went empty. Definitely a great way to start the morning and fuel ourselves for the day.

As for cons, there honestly wasn’t much to complain about. Maki noticed afterwards that she was charged an ‘authorization for incidentals’ despite not making any phone calls, eating the minibar snacks, etc. But that was easily fixed after calling the hotel and they refunded her.

The cost of our hotel visit at Hyatt House Bellevue was $147.00 CAD, which was very reasonable considering the quality, comfort, and free amenities.

If you’re planning on heading down to the Seattle area, the Hyatt House is a great choice.

Hotel stay purchased by myself. Opinions are own.


Filed Under: Seattle, travel, USA

Hello!

Hi and welcome to Curiously Carmen! I am Carmen, the girl behind the blog. You can read more about me here!

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