Day: May 24, 2020

Shilla Bakery – Ellicott City, MD – 05/24/20

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

When I was out and about earlier today, I decided to stop by Shilla Bakery. It’s another place that I’ve passed more times than I can count, but never stopped in.

The display case had some really cute cakes. The bread based treats reminded me of a couple of other places that I’ve been to in the past. Although it took me some time to finally decide what to get, I was able to limit myself to two dessert-type treats.

They also had South Korean Iced Coffee on the menu, so I thought I would give it a try. I’m a frappe person, but I didn’t mind giving it a try. They told me it was very sweet, and they were right. I’m not sure if there was honey in there or simple syrup, but there was a nice sweetness to it. It also had a pretty bold coffee flavor. One of my sisters enjoys iced coffees, and I could see her liking this.

The first treat that I ate was a chocolate croissant twist. This was a nice snack. The bread was a little flaky, but really soft. There was a custardy mixture in there along with the chocolate chips. Eating this put a smile on my face.

The other treat that I bought was Shilla’s Whoopie Pie. The cake was more similar to a cakey brownie. A little dry, but nice chocolate flavor. The cream on the inside was nice and light, with the right amount of sweetness. The best part of this was the dipped chocolate. It was all around the the exterior of the whoopie pie. I think I would have loved it if it was completely surrounded in chocolate, but not everyone would enjoy that. This was still a nice treat.

I didn’t have any expectations going in, but I’m glad that I was able to try both of the treats as well as the iced coffee. I will be stopping in this place again in the not so distant future. It was another great experience!

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Bonchon – Ellicott City, MD – 05/24/20

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Today was a really nice day. The weather was good, it was slightly overcast, and was perfect for me to go driving around for a couple of hours with my radio playing and my windows slightly down to let me breathe in the fresh air. While I was at one of my stops, I was trying to decide what I would be eating for lunch. I saw that there was a Bonchon (Chicken) close by, and decided to go there. I have passed by a couple of these in Maryland in the past, but never stopped in.

Bonchon Chicken is a South Korean fried chicken restaurant franchise. I plan on having a hamburger tomorrow, so I wanted something other than a sandwich for lunch. This sounded like a perfect opportunity. Since there is social distancing and no sitting in the restaurants, I just browsed the menu briefly and picked the first thing that sounded really good to me. I decided to go with half and half chicken strips, and I chose to have soy garlic and sweet sticky. I chose to have Cole slaw as my side.

I started with the Cole slaw. This was really good. It had a nice kick to it. I enjoyed the fresh taste of the ingredients – they were still crispy and not soggy. This was a really good Cole slaw, so I was also looking forward to the chicken.

The chicken strips were bigger than I expected. You can’t tell by the picture, but eating half the order still filled me up. The sweet sticky were very sweet. There was a nice crispy exterior, and the chicken was cooked to perfection on the inside. The soy garlic had the same texture, but the flavor was much better. I could smell it in my car on the drive home, and the flavor did not disappoint. I think these would have been better if I had eaten them in restaurant instead of 25 minutes later, but they were still good. I was wishing that I had more of the soy garlic sauce, since it was really good.

I like the packaging for this as well. Although the ventilation meant that the heat would escape, it also meant that it would not be steaming in a sealed container. There were a few people who just sat next to their car eating, and I understand why they did it. I decided to look up their menu on-line, and they have a lot of good options. This is a place that I will be trying again, and I’m sure I will have another great food experience!

New Win Long – Eldersburg, MD – May 2020

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Prior to the shutdown, I had been craving Chinese food. A lot of the stores temporarily closed down, so I had to wait as those cravings continued. I have been trying to keep an eye on a couple of local places that I’ve enjoyed visiting, so I was happy when I discovered that one of them had recently re-opened.

New Win Long is just a few miles from home. They aren’t delivering right now, so I waited until I was able to make my way over there, which happened to be this past Friday night after work.

I decided to order two items. I went with the Vegetable Spring Rolls and the Sesame Chicken. I ate both spring rolls and they were fantastic. There was a nice, crunchy exterior and a juicy shredded veggie interior. I added a little duck sauce and hot mustard, and my appetizer was gone before I knew it.

Next was the sesame chicken. The image above was only half the order. New Win Long offers very generous portions at a great price. The rice was sticky and moist, not dry at all. The chicken pieces were huge chunks, and very meaty. They had a slightly crisp exterior, but were nice and juicy on the inside. The flavor of the sauce was incredible. The broccoli absorbed the flavor of the sauce, which made it taste much better. The entire meal was great, and I’m glad they are back open and the quality of their food is still great. The leftovers were still delicious. It’s easy to start the weekend on a positive note when you have great food like this!