Chicago Trip 2016 and My New Favourite Edible Pen Brand

I spent 10 days in Chicago over the summer and unlike the other times I’ve visited, I had a chance to document it this time with my DLSR. I’ve always been the type of traveller to leave the big camera at home until now (that I’ve started blogging). It always seemed so cumbersome to take care of a big camera while trying to have fun in a new city. And let’s not talk about how most protective camera gear doesn’t do anything to make your attire any cuter. I finally decided to keep all my camera equipment and girly stuff in a huge light pink tote bag and that’s what I use nowadays if I want to have fun with my gear. If you have any recommendations on fashionable and efficient ways to carry a big camera out, I’d like to know 🙂

Besides visiting some local attractions and dining establishments, I also had the chance to pick up some different baking supplies that were difficult to find in Vancouver. Visiting bake ware shops is on my to-do list when I travel nowadays. It’s always fun to find new products that you can’t find at home. We drove all the way to the town of Cedersburg where Downtown Dough was located. It’s a small but dedicated shop for bake ware. After having a ball in the shop, we walked around and I had time to capture just how “American” that particular Mid-West town was.

I hope you enjoy the photos and if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see the project I made with some of my new supplies including my new favourite edible pen.

Until next time.

XOXO,

Mimi

: Waterview from the Magnificent Mile

: Night scene in Downtown Chicago

: Chicago Cityscape

: Marina around the Museum Grounds.

: Amazing Field Museum – I made it in time for the Terracotta Warrior Exhibit. I’ve always wanted to see it.

: Field Museum Stanley Field Hall. There were so much to see so I only focused on the Terra Cotta Exhibit, Ancient Egypt (mummies) and the Tang Hall (Asian history – requires extra ticket).

: Terra Cotta Soldiers Exhibit Chicago

: Terra Cotta Soldier Exhibit at the Field Museum

: Terra Cotta Soldiers Exhibit

: Downtown Chicago

: Child’s Tiger Shoes 20th Century AD. I really admire this pair of shoes. One day, I’d like to make a macaron inspired by this cute face.

: Enjoying a More’s cupcake in a downtown Chicago park.

: A dreamy wall of goodies at More’s Cupcakes

: Beautiful sunset over the Golden Mile

: Dinner at Grace Chicago, one of two Michelin three star restaurants in Chicago.

: 1st of 9 courses – Rabbit, morel, smoked paprika. A theatrical course with smoke emerging from the bottle once the lid is opened. We were instructed to breath in the smoke which reminded me of a campfire.

: Maldives Big Eyed Tuna with Caviar – Grace Chicago

: The famous Alaskan King Crab in cucumber essence nestled underneath sugar glass topped with roe and mint – Grace Chicago

: Prosciutto Porcini Dumpling with Black Truffle at Grace Chicago

: Carolina Squab with Beets Grace Chicago

: 1 of 3 Dessert Courses in Grace Chicago Tasting Menu – Marionberry & Jackfruit Sorbet

: Rhubarb Sorbet Deconstructed graham – Grace Chicago

: Egyptian Lemon Tea encapsulated in cocoa butter. It was an A-mazing experience to feel the cocoa butter collapse in the mouth and a gush of refreshing and acidic lemon tea came rushing out.

: Enjoyed a little tour of the kitchen of Curtis Duffy and his team at Grace Chicago.

: Unique flavor pairing of cherry, coconut, lemon and curry.

: Driving towards Wisconson Downtown.

: Downtown Wisconson

: A small American town in Illinois

: Milwaukee Art Museum

: Milwaukee Art Museum

: Quaint town of Cedarburg where we went specifically to buy baking supplies from Downtown Doughnut. There were rows and rows of cookie cutters… maybe over 2000! (And that’s the big pink tote bag where I keep my camera gear.)

: A boutique bakery in Cedersburg

: Mornings in downtown Chicago way up high

: The renowned Le Colonial Modern Vietnamese Restaurant

: Vietnamese crepe from Le Colonial

: Lunch at Le Colonial

: Pho at Le Colonial

: Downtown Chicago

: Tried some Pierrot Gourmet & Hendricks Macarons. Surprisingly, the macarons from both shops were mostly hollow and filled with very sweet fillings.

: Little Goat is the little sister restaurant of TV’s top chef, Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat

: Little Goat Milkshake – can’t be in a diner without a milkshake

: Little Goat Diner’s Pork Belly Pancakes

: Little Goat’s Fat Elvis Waffles with all the fixings – banana, peanut butter-butter & bacon maple syrup.

: Kissing my diet goodbye with Dark Chocolate Chip Crunch Pancakes at Little Goat.

: West Loop in Downtown Chicago

: Duck Duck Goat

: Duck Duck Goat is the spinoff Chinese American restaurant of TV’s top chef, Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat

: Duck Duck Goat Place Setting

: XLB at Duck Duck Goat… Definitely missed the ones in Vancouver while having this. The server even does an introduction to to every table that they serve “reasonably authentic Chinese food” in air quotes.

: First time having goat “Ham Shui Kok”. It’s very gamey.

: Egg tarts at Duck Duck Goat

: Wrigley Building in Downtown Chicago

: Trump Hotel and Tower by the Chicago River

: Refreshingly sweet Lemonade at Le Colonial

: Woke up to a bright orange glow at 5 am and saw this outside.

: Chicago O’hare Airport

Here are the some of the new baking supplies I purchased on the trip and the project I made with it:

: Silver Lustre and Disco Dust Glitter in Gold, Silver and White. Check the project link below to see how you can use these products on macarons.

: Food Doodlers VS. an edible fine pen from Rainbow Dust. It turns out, I didn’t even need to open the fine pen from Rainbow Dust just yet. Food Doodlers can write both finely and coarsely. It leaves thin lines if used on it’s fine centre point and leaves thicker lines if used on an angle.

: Food Doodlers are my new favourite edible pen! They work wonderfully on macaron surfaces and leave thin lines if used on it’s fine centre point and leaves thicker lines if used on an angle.

I love the fact that you can make both bold and fine lines with this marker. Even the fine details like the tiny eyes on these bridal bears come out really well.

You can purchase it here:
(Disclosure: this is an affiliate link.)
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