Le Napoleon Cafe - Irvine, CA : Macarons (Macaroons)

Upon this posting, I am not sure if this shop is still there. Someone said that they called the Irvine Spectrum and it was closed. Another one said it was closed for renovation...so maybe it'll open again later. This was visited months ago and am now just posting. They were no longer at their larger location, but relocated to a smaller shop by the movie theater. Anyhow, here are some of their macarons.

5 Flavors

Starting from the green going clockwise...the green is pistachio, chocolate chip (I think...or something chocolaty), almond, coffee, and raspberry. These are my first macarons and they're pretty good. The outer "cookie" is light and soft but not soft like cake or cookie...it's lighter than cookies...crunchy soft if that makes any sense. I like that it's different from the traditional cake or cookie.

Pistachio and Almond in front

The paste inside, however, was kind of sweet to me. It really depends on the flavor you get. Pistachio wasn't too sweet to me, but the rest kind of were. I'm not hooked on these but I hear that these (in France) are not really too sweet and that people that aren't fond of sweets actually really like these. So I will try them from other shops and see if I can find ones I really like. =)

Le Napoleon Cafe
http://www.lenapoleoncafe.com/index.html
The Irvine Spectrum
83 Fortune Drive, Suite 219
Irvine, CA
(949) 788-0904

Yogurtland - Tasting Another 4 Flavors

It is getting warm again....so more ice-cream...well frozen yogurt actually. This time I got 1 flavor that I liked before and tried 3 more that I haven't tried before.

Four Flavors here

The topmost is Peanut Butter Cookie (I got this one last time and liked it), then it's kind of indistinguishable. The one clockwise below Peanut Butter Cookie is New York Cheesecake (it's slightly yellower and just a little of it), the bottom-most (whiter and more of it) one is Pecans & Pralines, and the pink one is Dragon Passion Tart. You can taste the peanut butter in Peanut Butter Cookie...but I haven't tried just plain Peanut Butter so don't know the difference. The New York Cheesecake was not bad...similar to the cheesecake taste...I think the tart in yogurt helps bring out the tart in cheesecake flavor. The Pecans & Pralines might be one of my newer favorites...I can taste the nuttiness in this one...and not too sweet for me. I seem to like nuttier flavors. The Dragon Passion Tart consists of dragon fruit, passion fruit, and strawberry. I liked this one too! It's very fruity, kind of tropical type of feel to it....so if you want something fruity, this is quite good to me. All in all, I liked all these flavors I tried, nothing that stood out as too sweet or salty or whatnot. Yummy choices mmm...nom nom nom.

Yogurtland
http://www.yogurt-land.com/

Fukada 2 Go - Irvine, CA : Vegetarian Plate

Nestled among the newer condos off of Jamboree and Scholarship (between Dupont and Campus) is Fukada 2 Go. This place is a smaller "faster" version of Fukada Restaurant. Haven't been to Fukada Restaurant yet, but I've heard good things and when I do go, I will definitely write about that too.

Tofu Burger Bento

When I go to Japanese places, I usually have the vegetable roll or salad...those type of things. I can never have a bento box because there isn't one for vegetarians...unless maybe if you only want fried tempura in it (which I don't). So here, I got the Tofu Burger Bento box. My very first one! They also have the option of organic brown rice...which I love and greatly appreciate. Thank you for making healthier options for some of us! The brown rice was excellent...soft and not too dry or too soggy. The tofu burger has bits of carrots and I think egg in it to keep it together. It's pretty soft but still tasty with the teriyaki sauce I chose. You can also choose ponzu sauce. The green beans with sesame sauce and hijiki (sea vegetable) were both cold but good. It's the first time I've had it so I'm not sure if it's normally a cold side dish or not...but it's good either way. The sauce used in both dishes was a sweet sauce...kind of like a sweet teriyaki...and made it taste good. I like the simplicity of the food, but it was all still good. (Have I used the word good enough yet?) We'll be back for more! There is tofu salad and vegetable rolls too of course. =)

And just in case you're wondering and you're not a vegetarian:

Udon Noodles

The Meat-eater had a combo of udon noodles (I don't remember what kind these were).

Spicy Tuna Don

And a Spicy Tuna Donburi bowl. Apparently for the price, these were also very yummy. 

Fukada 2 Go
http://fukada2go.com/home_eng.html
6200 Scholarship
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 756-0810