A few months ago, I was invited with some other bloggers to go on a three day trip to Sonoma County by Wine Road. The Wine Road is an association of wineries in the Northern Sonoma county, near the Russian River, centered roughly around Healdsburg. Although I always love going up to wine country, I’ve really found myself leaning towards the Sonoma area in recent years: the atmosphere is more relaxed and rustic, and there’s so many little eccentric wineries tucked away in unexpected corners. I gladly accepted this invitation!
{Sonoma} A Trip Down the Wine Road
October 13th, 2012 · 4 Comments · San Francisco, Sweet Spots, Travel
Tags:healdsburg·sonoma·wine·wine road
Pandan and Coconut: Snapshots from Vietnam
March 19th, 2012 · 12 Comments · Candy, Ice Cream, Personal, Recipes, Travel
Apologies for not posting last week, as I was getting ready to teach a cookie class at Tante Marie’s and prepping for the 2012 SF Blogger Bake Sale announcement. As amends, I hope you enjoy the extra-abundance of photos in this post, where I share a few snapshots from my trip to Vietnam. While I was in Hong Kong over the holidays, we made a quick side trip to South Vietnam. It wasn’t nearly enough time to do this beautiful country justice, but I hope the following shots give you a little taste of my experience!
Hong Kong and Happy Chinese New Year
January 20th, 2012 · 19 Comments · Pastry, Recipes, Tarts, Travel
It’s almost New Year again – Chinese New Year! The Year of the Dragon starts on Monday, Jan 23. Just in time for me to share some (mostly food-related) snapshots of my trip to Hong Kong.
Venice: Farewell Honeymoon, Hello New Year
January 11th, 2012 · 11 Comments · Custards, Personal, Recipes, Travel
Happy New Year! I hope your 2012 is off to a wonderful start. I’m back from Hong Kong and Vietnam, and eager to write a post about that trip, but first I need to finish another vacation post…about the last stop on my honeymoon. Thanks for your patience and I hope you’ve been enjoying the recaps…it took longer than I thought but I hope I did the trip justice!
The last stop on our honeymoon was Venice, that classic city for romantics. One of the best things about being on a cruise ship was that we got to enter the city from the sea, and essentially sail along the entire length of the city. We were advised by the captain to be on deck, as this was one of the most spectacular port entrances in the world.
Tags:dolci·francine segan·honeymoon·ladyfingers·tiramisu·Venice
Holiday Greetings from Hong Kong
December 19th, 2011 · 5 Comments · Travel
Hello from Hong Kong! If it seems like I was just here…it’s kind of true. I usually make a trip here every other year, but family events mean that I’ll have made two trips here in 2011. I’m certainly not going to complain about twice the opportunities to eat egg custard tarts, xiao long bao, dim sum, and, well, just about everything else. The eating never really stops here.
I’m also making a short jaunt to Vietnam for the next few days, so the posting schedule will unfortunately be delayed. If you want to keep abreast of what I’m doing, I’ll be updating my Twitter and Instagram feeds when I can. And I’ll check in when I return to HK on Christmas, so hopefully they’ll still be a Christmas post on Dessert First this year!
Hope all of your holidays are going well and your kitchens are full of the scents of baking and the sounds of laughter!
Tags:hong kong
The Dalmatian Coast and Dog Treats
November 8th, 2011 · 12 Comments · Cookies, Personal, Recipes, Travel
Almost finished with my travelogue from summer – thanks for still tuning in! Our next to last stop on our Mediterranean tour was the town of Split, Croatia. I’ll be honest, in the midst of researching Italy and Greece, Croatia slipped off our plate and we arrived with no idea of what to expect. We discovered an absolutely gorgeous seaside town with fascinating ruins and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. I learned that Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, which frames the eastern edge of the Adriatic sea, has been a desirable vacation spot for centuries, due its sunny weather and picturesque landscapes. We arrived on a particularly stunning day, a perfect postcard of cloud-strewn sky and turquoise waters.
Tags:croatia·dog treats·honeymoon·peanut butter·pumpkin·snickers·travel
