Our trip begins at Bellingham, WA. We were there for my cousin's wedding as I previously stated.

While in Bellingham, aside from my dad's cooking, we also got to enjoy couple places here in town. But first, here are some pictures of my parent's home cooking:

My dad's 8-course lunch meal for the family.

Mom's famous Egg Tarts.

Dad preparing the fried shrimp appetizers.

First up is Mallard Ice Cream located in Bellingham downtown. It's a local's favorite spot.

Mallard Ice Cream

1323 Railroad Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225

(360) 734-3884

www.mallardicecream.com/

They have tons of flavors as you can see here and a few none-dairy options. Their flavors changes constantly and you can go to their website to see what their current flavors are. I got a scoop of the Coconut Chocolate Chunk with Almonds & Banana Honey Cheesecake. Hubby got the Thai Tea shake. Any of the ice cream you can have them made into shakes / malts as well.

There were other very interesting flavors like Cayenne Chocolate, Rose, Ginger, Rhubarb...etc. It's a must-visit if you are ever in Bellingham!

Inside decoration

They also have to-go pints fro your convenience.

Inside decoration

Next up, is Fairhaven Fish and Chips. Located at the Historic Fairhaven Village in Bellingham. I got the combo platter that had one piece each of Salmon, Cod, and Halibut. They were all delicious. Hubby got the Salmon with the Calamari, that was fresh and delicious as well. The outside was nice and crisp and the inside hot and moist. The cole-slaw was that come with the fish N chips were ok though. We also had a bowl of their clam chowder, which was just ok. There's a better place for chowder further down this post...

Fairhaven Fish and Chips

1020 Harris Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225

(360) 733-5021

The Exterior

Dig in!

Seattle Trip

You cannot go to any port city and not try the clam chowder. We tried on one San Francisco it was good but not delicious. We are determined to find a good chowder joint. Upon walking around the Piker Place Market we came across this alley way called Post Alley, seemed crowded and interesting, so we walk into see that's inside there. And here is what we found:

Pike Place Chowder

600 Pine St, 4th Fl
Seattle, WA 98101
Neighborhood: Downtown

(206) 838-5680

www.pikeplacechowder.com

Pike Place Chowder on the left there

Inside

Inside, not too many seats there.

Hubby sampling the chowders.

Traditional Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.

The Sampler of all three winners: Traditional, Seafood Bisque and Seared Scallop, for $8

This is the best clam chowder that we have ever had. EVER! No wonder they are voted People's Choice Award of Best Chowder on the West Coast. If you have Yelp on your smart phone, you can do a 'check-in' here and receive a couple instantly for the sampler for $8. I wanted to try everything on their menu.... they had other options like 'catch of the day', chicken corn chowder, vegan chowder w/ coconut milk... and their Prawn Po' Boy and Crab Sandwich looked delicious as well, but we had a dinner reservation coming up so we didn't get any Sandwich. Maybe next time. But their chowder was sooooo delicious, my favorite is the Seafood Bisque, and hubby's favorite is the traditional. We wanted to come back the next day and get some more, but time did not allow us to do so.. We will be sure to visit this place again next time we're in Seattle for sure!

Waterfront Seafood Grill

2801 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98121

(206) 956-9171

www.waterfrontpier70.com

We did a quick Yelp search and see what kind of seafood restaurant there are around the Pike Market Place. This place caught out eye, it had many great reviews on Yelp (over 200+ 4 star reviews) and we came to Seattle to get great seafood. The restaurant is right on the pier and not far from the Pike Market. So we made a reservation for 6 pm. The restaurant was dead, but I think they just opened at 6. We arrived 15 minutes early so we grabbed a drink at the bar. The restaurant is very nice decorated and definitely feels like a upper-scale restaurant. I felt a little undressed in my jeans & sandals. But hey, they probably do have a lot of walk-in tourists because their location is right by the Seattle Aquarium and right on the Pier.

The service was quick and excellent. We started out with Spicy Crab Bisque. It was very rich with a lot of flavors.

SPICY CRAB BISQUE ($12)
johnnie walker red label, sherry,
dungeness crab

I ordered the:

SEAFOOD INDULGENCE -
small 50. / large 100.
maine lobster, chilled prawns,
snow crab claws, wakame salad
dungeness fry legs, oysters,
ahi sashimi, wasabi and red tobikoss.

Hubby had the GRILLED WEATHERVANE SCALLOPS ($38) -
shaved pepper, fennel, cucumber salad,
toasted cumin vinaigrette, salsa verde.

For the side, we ordered the ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES WITH LOBSTER ($16) -
sweet butter, chives smothered with lobster.

It was one expensive meal, that's for sure. We each had 1 beer and no dessert and the bill after tax & tip was $150 for the 2 of us. The food was ok, fresh but lack in flavor, definitely way over-priced. You are paying for the nice waterfront view and the 5-star service. But would I go there again? Probably not.

Their menu, click on the image to enlarge.

SPICY CRAB BISQUE

SEAFOOD INDULGENCE

Hubby in shock of my plate of Seafood Indulgence.

GRILLED WEATHERVANE SCALLOPS

ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES WITH LOBSTER

吃過我老爸的菜的人一定都知道他是個很好的廚師拿手的菜數都數不清
今天我要嘗試做他的拿手菜之一紅燒獅子頭
像不像我爸做的我是不知道啦但還滿好吃的嘿嘿

My dad is a great chef. Those that knows him have tasted him many fabulous dishes. One of my favorites is the Chinese "Lion-Head" Meatballs. Which is marinated ground pork with braised Napa Cabbage. Here I tried to recreate it from scratch, and as it turns out, it's pretty delicious!

Chopped Napa Cabbage, Green Onions, and Ground Pork.

Mix it all up with seasonings.

Shape into balls and fry them up.

Put all the seasoning and Napa Cabbage along w/ some Shitaki Mushrooms into a pot.

Add the meatballs

Braise in low heat for an hour or two.

And voila! Tasty dish of Lion's Head Meatballs.

Here I took the leftover ground pork mix and made some pot stickers for Kaelan. He loves pot stickers. 把剩的餡拿來包餃子

Making the dough.

Finished product.

Chinese hot pot is a staple for every household in the winter time. (This is wikipedia's definition of hot pot: less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter.)