Treats from Lalaland

We took a very last minute trip to LA last weekend, and of course came home with some treats.


This Taiwanese street food directly translates as "bowl cake." You can tell why. The flavor and texture is sort of like daikon cake, which is usually served in pan fried squares at dim sum restaurants here. However, a bowl cake has a slightly more sticky texture. On the whole I prefer daikon cake, but anything drenched in garlicky soy sauce is usually a winner in my book.

This is a shot of a slice of pudding bread from JJ Bakery. A lot of Chinese bakeries are similar, but I like JJ not only for the quality of their goods but their regular addition of new items to their shelves. It takes dedication to not just coast on your laurels, and I appreciate the effort. Pudding cake is a cylinder of fluffy bread with a flan-like center. Imagine a giant egg custard tart with bread instead of pastry dough. The whole thing was bigger than my palm, making it plenty for breakfast or sharing.