Another Chinatown find! (Sweet sucks)

In Boston. I'm sure you can find the equivalent in a Chinese bakery near you.

A review of Sweet
So I've been very disappointed by my latest foray into American bakeries -- overpriced, overly sweet and undelicate cakes. I tried Sweet out, because they opened a store in Harvard Square. The reviews on yelp looked good; some complained about the sweetness of the cupcakes. I'm a sugar fiend, so I was undeterred. One of their top sellers is the red velvet cupcake, so I had that.

The regular cupcakes are $3.25 each, and regular-sized looked really tiny to me. They also add a generous amount of frosting that seemed to go well with the cake. The first bite should reveal a delicious melt-in-your-mouth feel. I thought it was great, and didn't understand how they could serve such small cupcakes (there are even smaller ones that go in one bite). Halfway through my cupcake (bite #3), I understood. The melt-in-your-mouth delight suddenly becomes a gagging mess of sugary nothing. It took me a while to react, but my friend was gagging from the very first bite.

Back to the Chinatown find:
I chanced upon a crowded bakery in Chinatown this past weekend that also serves western style goodies. They had these adorable mini-tarts at 3 for $1.65 (fruit) or $1.95 (cheese tart) -- how can you pay the same amount for one cupcake? They also had a wide selection of cakes with mousse, which I am going back for. The price range looked like it was $2-4, which is a steal. I tried the double fudge chocolate cake, but it seemed a little dry: perhaps it was the overnight stay in my fridge. Unlike in American bakeries, the frosting in the cake was just sufficient to give the cake a chocolatey flavor without overwhelming it. I think I'll be back to try out the other items so look out for updates. Oh, the place is called Baobao Bakery, and according to some yelp users, the service can be bad. For such a crowded (and disorganized) place, I don't doubt that tempers can get short.

gamja tang in Boston

I noticed Hanmaru in Allston after it was damaged by a fire last year: people were upset about their favorite restaurant closing. Thus I was looking forward to Hanmaru's re-opening, which happened about a month ago.

Before going, I did my research on yelp, and found out that the restaurant is famous for gamja tang, which means potato soup in Korean, but it is really more of a spicy pork soup with some potato. Anyone who complained on yelp ordered something else, and was deservedly disappointed. I mean, if everyone around you ordered one dish, why would a newcomer try a different dish?

The gamja tang was not spicy by my standards (which are low). The meat, if you're looking closely, is pork spine. It tastes way better than it sounds. The meat is very tender after hours of boiling and falls right off the bone, and the soup is flavorful. They serve the meat with a wasabi-soy dipping sauce, which goes surprisingly well with the meat. I'd say that it takes it to a different level.

You should try to pack the leftovers to go: the soup is thick by the time it boils down (it's served on a portable stove by the way) while you eat, and makes an excellent simple fried rice. Just add rice and stir.

The portions should serve 2-3 people comfortably. If you happen to be more than 3, I have no recommendations about other dishes to order. Oddly, the restaurant serves Thai food as well.