What I Eat in a Week: Quarantine Edition

It’s been more than 3 months in quarantine and my eating habits have definitely changed since all of this began. Before, I used to eat out for lunch every day while at work and enjoyed dining out at restaurants. Now that most places are closed, I’ve been eating in and relying on groceries a lot more. I’ve decided to document what I consume in a week to keep track of how much I’ve actually been eating in and how I’ve been creative in eating the same meal multiple times a week.

Making TikTok Coffee (Dalgona Coffee)

It’s no secret that I love coffee. When I saw this trend of making dalgona coffee making the rounds on social media, I knew I wanted to make it now that everyone is in self-quarantine and this is the prime time to experiment with recipes and DIY projects.

Food Essentials to Weather COVID-19

With the current COVID-19 aka novel coronavirus outbreak, people around the world are stocking up on hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, face masks, gloves, and toilet paper. As of now it is unclear how long this outbreak will last and the most important things to do at this point is stock up on food, self-quarantine, and WASH YOUR HANDS.

When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, I revealed what foods I stocked up on while the storm passed. Now that I no longer live in a dorm and have my own kitchen, I definitely have access to cooking more, but most importantly have a stove. So here is what I’ve stocked up on while waiting for everything to subside:

My Top 6 Favorite Teas

If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I love coffee. I need to have my morning cup of coffee every day or else all hell breaks loose, which is why I can’t believe I’m now creating a post all about my favorite teas.

12 Seattle-Based Chains You Need to Try

I lived in Seattle for a few months and really got a taste of all that this port city has to offer, from seafood to pho. There are a few standout chains that are worth visiting to really understand Seattle’s culture, and there’s no better way to capture that than through food. Here are my recommendations:

6 Reasons Why Pho Is the Best Food

Pho is the best food out there, don’t @ me

If there’s a dish I have to eat once a week, it’s for sure pho. I’ve often described it as a hug in your stomach because of how comforting and warm it is, and I am truly convinced that it is the best thing you could ever eat—here’s why:

Recipe: Açai Bowls

My homemade açai bowl

I ate a lot of açai bowls growing up in Hawaii and missed them dearly when I moved out to the East Coast. It was always something I had to eat every time I went home. Somehow this phenomenon made it out to other smoothie shops/healthy restaurants around the continental U.S., so of course it wound up in New York.

There was one day where I was really craving an açai bowl and found a restaurant that made them in my neighborhood. I was so excited to try it and paid $8 for a bowl, but when I took a bite, it was extremely disappointing. It lacked flavor AND there will still large ice chunks. So I sat there and had a revelation that I could probably make a better açai bowl at home. So I did.

Behold: my açai bowl recipe.

A First Timer’s Guide to Visiting DŌ NYC

If you love cookie dough as much as I do, you might know about a special dessert shop that opened a few months ago called DŌ NYC, where you can purchase safe-to-eat cookie dough. This is not a drill.

A Guide to Visiting Smorgasburg

Smorgasburg is the largest weekly open-air food market in the country with locations in Williamsburg and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It opened in 2011 and there are more than 100 local vendors each weekend. It’s definitely worth visiting if you have never been, however it can be overwhelming if you do not navigate it properly. I have been many times over the past couple of years and have learned a few lessons. Personally, I prefer the Williamsburg location because it’s more convenient from where I live, and other reasons that I will get into. Here are my tips:

Foodtastic Finds: Rainbow Iced Latte

The Superfood Rainbow Iced Latte from The Good Sort

Last weekend, I went to Chinatown and was on the hunt for something a little birdie on the Internet told me about: iced rainbow lattes.

The unicorn trend is all the rage right now, and quite frankly, I’m over it. So I was intrigued to try this colorful latte at an Australian-Chinese café on Doyers Street called The Good Sort.

As you can tell by my photo, this latte is the perfect, colorful pick-me-up on especially gloomy spring days (it happened to be raining when I went). And another added bonus? It’s actually healthy for you.

Each layer of the latte is a different ingredient, but all together it packs beetroot, blue algae, turmeric, coconut sugar, vanilla bean, black pepper, cayenne pepper, agave, and three different types of milks: almond, coconut, and oat. It’s no wonder that it costs $8.

Also, each layer tasted different. I could definitely taste the spices once I got to the yellow turmeric layer, and that kept the whole drink interesting.

In comparison to Starbucks’ short-time stint of the Unicorn Frappuccino (which I shamelessly tried), this is 100% tastier (and better for you). I liked the Unicorn Frappuccino, but it did just taste like I was drinking all of the sugar—and blue sour powder. What even is that?

Beyond the rainbow latte, The Good Sort offers homemade sweet and savory congee, gluten-free and vegan bakery items, and other superfood lattes, such as sesame and activated charcoal, and blue algae. The interior is also adorable with millennial pink walls, a collection of records, and flower decor.

Overall, my verdict is that an $8 latte is worth it only if you want it to be. In my opinion, it’s all to do it for the ‘Gram. The photos you’ll end up taking of the rainbow iced latte or anything you order will be 👌