We started the day off with some Taiwanese style Shabu Shabu aka hot pot. Everyone get their own mini pot where you can choose whatever soup base you want. I chose the Japanese Spicy Miso. You also get to choose what type of meat you want. I chose beef. Your order also comes with some sides like veggies, noodles, etc. Try it yourself at Jazz Cat.
At this point, I knew it was time for dessert. We drove all the way to Rowland Heights for some shaved snow from the famous Class 302. Their sign is only in Chinese. They have a minimum of $3 per each person if you want to sit so we got it to go and ate in the car. This was our mango and strawberry with condenses milk snow. It was like the ice I have in Hong Kong, which is hard to find in the U.S.. I’m not wowed like all the yelp reviewers though. I’ve had better. If you do not live near the San Gabriel area, I’d recommend trying Hawaiian shaved ice from Get Shaved. They have a food truck that drives all through the Los Angeles area.
Next we went to the Atlantic Times Square for some Ten Ren. Their boba is really good, but pricy. It’s about $4 for a small. There’s also some fun shops in the area. They enjoyed the Japanese makeup shopping available there. Make sure not to get their slushies though. Only get the teas here. You have been warned.
By this time we were stuffed like no other. But that only means we had to move on to the next stop. Bakery time! I love bakeries. I’m extremely picky when it comes to pastries and bread. This is the pineapple bread from Kee Wah bakery. There’s actually no pineapple in it. It tastes like a Hawaiian sweet bread, but better. It’s just that the crust looks like a pineapple. Anyways I Kee Wah is only good for their pineapple bread at 80 cents a piece. I would not recommend any thing else from them, no matter what their yelp pages says. You want better bakeries? Just ask! I have a list of my top 10.
Then for the true Asian experience, I took my friends to the 99 Ranch Market to check out some Asian fruits. Of course, I had to show off the horrendous smelling Durian. My sister says durian smells like rotting trash that has been stashed somewhere for a week. It’s definitely an acquired taste. Great photo opp though.