Sourdough Batard from Firebrand Artisan Bread--Oakland, CA

My family's munching on this bread and we enjoy it especially with cheese. We had it delivered through Good Eggs (more on that in a later post).  Yes, the bread is fluffy soft. But, for me what stands out is the flavor--it's truly sour and I love it.

Tres Leches by La Gruta del Sol

Our family enjoyed this hard cheese which, although stinky (like a teenage boy's feet in the summer), had a rich creamy flavor. The "tres leches" refers to the different types of milk involved: sheep, goat and cow. If you told me it takes no fewer than three animals to make a cheese so delicious, I'd have no choice but to believe you.

Photo below: About one-third pound of Tres Leches cheese at $23.99/lb.

Safe and Fair Birthday Cake Granola

Yes, the boys and I truly enjoy this product. After all, who doesn't like the flavor of a birthday cake, which this cereal does an adequate job of mimicking? This should be thought of as more of a treat, though, rather than a truly healthy breakfast. Maybe it's an attempt at trickery, but the nutritional information is for a serving size of 1/3 cup. So, the total 27 grams of sugar per cup is about double that found in a cup of Frosted Flakes from Kellog's.

Mochi donuts at J&J Street Kitchen in Cupertino, CA

If you're into the super-sweetness offered by, say, a glazed donut but with the fight and chewiness of mochi, then mochi donuts could be for you. It's an unusual mix and, at $2.25 per ring, not necessarily a cheap one either. I recommend trying it for the experience but you wont' find it addictive.

Pictured: strawberry in the foreground, matcha in the background. The four of us found both flavors to be equally inviting. At J&J this is also available in lychee flavor.

Vampire Penguin--Cupertino, CA

The Vampire Penguin in Cupertino sits in a mall in the midst of renovation. As such, it was largely empty when we went there last weekend and there wasn't a line. We got a couple of shaved snow desserts including the Green Snow Thaiger shown here and the S'Mored, which features marshmallows and chocolate-flavored snow. The large version here is $10; the small is $8 at about half the size.  I enjoyed the tea flavoring of the Thaiger, my son thought the best part was the crushed Oreos with condensed milk.

Perhaps due to the size of the dessert and the presentation--thick, honest-to-goodness ceramic plates--we liked the snow here more than at Teaspoon.

Joy Dumpling--Cupertino, CA

At the site of the former Shanghai Dumpling and then Rasa Sarang, Joy Dumpling is in the midst of a soft opening right now. The xiao long bao are good, but not great. The flavor is there, but not the soup and the skin is a bit thick. Still, the loofah xiao long bao (pictured) was a hit with everyone.

I liked the Mongolian Cumin Lamb, but it came with too many red peppers for our table to be comfortable. 

The beef roll was popular and it's the one dish we ordered again.

Tan Cha---Cupertino, CA

We waited 20 minutes for the Japanese Fluffy Pancake last night. We're still debating whether it was worth the wait. (By the way, you can add upwards of 10 minutes waiting in line just to order.) This dessert is certainly fluffy and eggy, and it's this texture that really stands out. We tried the strawberry version of this, too, and don't recommend one versus the other.

What is worth the wait (about five minutes) is their Royal Ceylon Milk Tea with Tiramisu Puff Foam. My goodness, that smooth, rich, coffee-flavored foam might be reason alone to come back.