étoile Restaurant, the Michelin-starred restaurant at Domaine Chandon Napa Valley

étoile, the Michelin-starred restaurant at Domaine Chandon, is one of Napa Valley’s most celebrated destinations and the only fine dining restaurant in Napa Valley located in a winery. An extraordinary setting, innovative regional California cuisine with a French influence, and seamless service combine to create the ultimate food and wine experience. At étoile, Chef Perry Hoffman marries classic, French-influenced technique with contemporary culinary innovation and fresh, seasonal ingredients. Hoffman works closely with Chandon winemakers to explore the interplay between wine and food, enhancing the experience of both. Guests may dine a la carte, or explore the ultimate food and wine pairing experience through Chef Hoffman's tasting menus at lunch and dinner. The restaurant features a Wine Spectator "Best of" Award Wine list and received a Michelin star in the 2010 and 2011 Michelin Guide after being recommended in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
... adapted from OpenTable

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Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co. - High tea at Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel-by-the-sea is often called Carmel, and very easy to mistakenly be called Caramel. I love its name, so sweet and relaxing. Don't you think so?

Just use your senses to feel it, when I say, "Hey, I just come back from a vacation in Carmel." It sounds totally different from "Hey, I just come back from a vacation in New York.", isn't it?

Look at this.... I couldn't believe I was still in California!




Yes, the American flag had answered me. =P




Wünderbar! The colors~~~ Such a nice contrast.




The flowers!! This is Piccadilly Park. Very artistic buildings, looks like Hansel and Gratel's candy house huh?

Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea", and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988.

Galleries everywhere. Would you understand how excited was I to be there!

The town is known for being dog-friendly, with numerous hotels, restaurants and retail establishments admitting guests with dogs.

Be-friend with the dogs in Carmel. They're so cute! They just got to know each other.

Carmel–by-the-Sea is an exceptionally dog-friendly city. Most hotels allow dogs to stay with guests. Almost all restaurants that offer outside dining allow dogs in those areas, with most of them also offering water. A few have special "doggie menus." Many retailers allow dogs to accompany their owners in their stores and many have treats available. Water bowls and dog biscuits can also be found in front of many stores.

Cookies made especially for the furry fellas. Dogs get to enjoy pastries too. Very colorful and attractive. I discovered this in the Carmel Bakery and Coffee Company, the cafe where we had high tea.




Who would not be attracted when passing by the shop?? From Scottish scones, English scones, Italian Biscotti, giant soft Bavarian pretzels to flaky pastries, muffins and turnovers with powdered sugar abound...




Too fancy a cafe... the displays are more like the exhibits in a gallery to me.




Tadaa~ Festive and well decorated. What's your choice?




Cookies for take-away or as souvenirs (lovely packed).




Guess which one did I pick? Quick, make the guess.



*
*
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The GINGERBREAD MAN.



**mUnChInG...mUnChInG....**




For discerning coffee lovers, you get to enjoy coffee still, they serve Starbucks® Coffee too - varieties of freshly brewed coffee, Capuccinos, Lattes, Macchiattos, Espresso, Tazo Teas, etc...




Whoops.... I committed a crime there....




"I KILLED THE GINGERBREAD MAN!!! I KILLED THE GINGERBREAD MAN!!!" ~T__T~
But he's just too delicious... that's why...




Customers coming in non-stop... Mostly grab their goods and go. But we had a long chat and cozy afternoon sitting in the bakery. They had coffee while I enjoyed sipping some lemonade. =)




Soup and sandwiches are available for lunch. You can consider having a light meal here too before visiting the galleries.

Address:
Ocean Avenue & Lincoln Ln,
Carmel, CA 93923, United States

Tel:　+1 831-626-8885 ‎

Business hours:
Daily 7am-8pm

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Some memories that I brought back from Carmel. A sketches collection map by Lisa's Studio, distributed for free! It's called Carmel-by-the-Sea Treasure Map. You can get a clearer look here.




Princess at Thomas Kinkade's Garden Gallery.

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First Awakenings - best place for breakfast and brunch at Monterey County

This was where I had my first meal in Pacific Grove (Monterey County) during my weekend to Monterey. Serge and Linda strongly recommended this place for breakfast and brunch. They picked me up from the hotel and off we went, in their Prius! (I was really excited to be able to ride in Prius throughout my weekend trips~)

Good morning from the USA!! -- Princess Cheryl

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Teasers... My alcoholic weekend at Napa Valley

Love the photo?
Indeed I fell in love with Napa Valley!!
That was my lunch at Domaine Chandon's étoile Restaurant, the only fine dining restaurant within a winery in Napa Valley.
By the way, étoile means stars in French.
I wish I could have spent more than a day there...
Too much to taste... but so little time...
Till then...
... stay tuned ...

(p.s. Too busy lately to update my blog. Be patient.)

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Kazoo Japanese Restaurant, San José

**mERRy MerrY ChRiStMaS eVeRyOnE!!!**



*************************************************************************

Ah GU brought me along with his family to the Japan Town in San Jose during my visit to San Jose. You see, usually in the developed countries around the world, they have Chinese or Japanese community. In San Jose, the sizeable Japanese communities name their Japan Town NIHONMACHI (日本町).






And along the streets, you can find some scrolls of Tokyo 2016. Tokyo, proud to be the candidate city for The Olympic Games 2016. However they had lost the bid on 2 October 2009. I was there in March 2009, that's why the scroll was still up.




Now back to the restaurant. We came to this award winning Japanese restaurant called Kazoo Boat Sushi. The Best in Silicon Valley.






Not just once, but a few times winner. *My LUMIX is not able to capture that wide angle.*




Full house! So we waited for a while.




Baby Sharon is a great food taster. She was always the first to snatch food from the table, and also the menu. Super adorable girl!!! I miss her so much.




My heart melts when she smiles. Don't you?




Black and white effect. That's very artistic huh..






This is a pair of specially designed baby chopsticks. For the children. Japanese are undeniably expert in design! You only have to press on both sides of the chopsticks, and that's it. The green strings are elastic and act like a spring. Cool!




Here comes my order. Tempura Udon set meal. The portion is big enough for 2 people.




Then the Teriyaki bento set meal. Enough to feed 3 children. No kidding. Yummy-lycious~




I was busy playing with baby Sharon and forgot about the photos of dessert...


My rank: 4/5

250 E. Jackson Street
San Jose, Ca 95112
Telepone: (408) 288-9611
Fax: (408) 971-3355

Open for Business in Japantown 7 days!
LUNCH
Monday through Fiday - 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Sat & Sun -Lunch, 12 Noon .to 2:00 p.m.
DINNER
Monday through Thursday - 5:00pm-9:30pm
Friday - 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday - 5:00pm-9:30pm
Sunday - 4:00pm-9:00pm

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In-N-Out Burger

Definitely one of the most delicious cheese burger I've ever tasted! I believe that's the secret recipe that keep the business growing for 60 years, from 1 outlet to 240 outlets today. Read this.

Their concept: Ordering as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Only 3 types of burger to choose: (1) Double-double; (2) Cheeseburger; (3) Hamburger.
Then get a packet of French Fries, lastly the drinks.






Cheeseburger!




Better than McD. Really. If you ask those who had tried In-N-Out before, they will give you the same answer.




Yummy-lycious. Before it disappeared into my stomach.



Thanks Jayant, for this simple yet wonderful meal.

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Shopping and seafood... my diary of Fisherman's Wharf (II)

Back to Fisherman's Wharf story...



Jayant became my photographer of the day. But too bad it was too windy at the wharf! I hardly captured a nice photo which my hair was not flying.. >.<"

Arrgghh...the seagull flew away when I tried to go nearer...



Make Your Own Pressed Penny Souvenir~ I like this!! Sometimes when you travel, you tend to end up having lots of small change especially after doing some shopping. It's always good to have such DIY souvenir machine around because you can turn the pennies into souvenir.



I made more than one. If not mistaken, at least 5, at a few different machines.



To spend an adventurous day at the Bay's area, you can rent a bike and cycle all the way to The Golden Gate Bridge. If I wasn't on a business trip I'd definitely do so.




I've seen quite some street artists but this one is really cool. He's painted himself with the gold paint!



And he made robotic moves too...



Some people prefer to earn money in their unique way.



Happy children gathered at the "Share Love" corner.



Share some love yea~



So here comes the shopping spreeeeeee..... T-shirts as souvenirs..



One of my favorite collection. Been buying paintings and scenery prints everywhere I travel. =)



I love the cooling breezy atmosphere, the flowery scent of spring. Strolling along the street with a cup of hot chocolate in my hand had never been so relaxing.



Although, the chocolate bear looked a bit gloomy.



Even the McD looks more lively... I'm loving it!



My stomach started to growl...when I reached the food street corner. **yummy yummy**
Then suddenly a group of people riding on the 2-wheel-skaterbike (erm...I don't know what is it called..) passed by. Interesting.



If Jayant did not become our guide, I think I had to spend ~USD50 to take the hop-on-hop-off city tour.



Now I seeeeee LUNCH!!!!! Delicious seafood lunch awaiting!!



Seafood seafood seafood!!! The Crab Station. They pack for travel.



I mean WOW!!



Don't come to Fisherman's Wharf if you hate seafood. I can't have enough of the seafood cocktails!!



And OMG crabs!!



Seafood salad for take-away.



Now here's my portion. A half lobster with shrimp salad.



Guess how much it costs.




Besides that I ordered a calamari cocktail too.



Oh ya, we sat by the roadside for lunch...because NO OUTSIDE FOOD allowed in the restaurant. I wanted to try the lobster but the waiter wouldn't let me in. So what more could I do? But luckily we still able to grab a seat opposite the stalls. You see, when you have a big sister around, there will always be someone to take care of you. ^0^



Sock Chin was busy shedding lobster flesh for me.





While I camwhore with my fav calamari cocktail.



Now I got a lobster claw.



Obviously not only the people were enjoying seafood. These seagulls were enjoying clam chowder!



Lucky creatures. Fed by the visitors everyday.



The sky turned cloudy again after we finished lunch.



And then it started to rain...again...



So there were I ready for twist and turn -- to Lombard Street.

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