Jerusalem, Israel - This is at a very small restaurant in downtown Jerusalem, that's very well hidden called, Tmol Shilshom Cafe. It is basically a restaurant and book store. But don't mistake it for a book store with a cafe. Very different than that. I think the food was good, but the ambiance was the best part. Dinner was buffet style, probably because we were in a very large group, with Salmon (prepared well, but with not a lot of flavor), potatoes (seasoned well), pasta with cream or tomato sauce (I choose the tomato sauce, which was very savory, but my friends said the cream sauce was better), and probably the best part of our selection, a portabella vinaigrette salad (excellent dressing complimenting the mushrooms).

Desert was chocolate cake, cream cake, and a latte. The cakes were okay, nothing really special, and the latte was very good. I would get the latte again for desert, sit back, and now read a book. Enjoy!

Jerusalem, Israel - Joy Restaurant


Just like any Israeli dinner, it always starts with small side dishes. We started with pickled carrots, an onion and tomato salad, ground lamb, liver pate, and sweet potato chips. I usually don't like liver pate, but I thought I would try it again to see if my pallet has changed. It hasn't. I enjoyed it as much as I remember. Having cooked liver, I can do, but liver pate, it's one I may have to stay away from. All the sides are absolutely delicious, one in particular that is not in the picture is their chicken wings. I rarely eat wings, but I could have had them for dinner her, it was so delicious. Therefore, when you're there, get a big plate of them. Lastly, the other side dish that was out of this world, was the sweet potato chips. The chips were very good, prepared very well, but what added extra flavor was maple syrup on top of it. It really helped to enhance the sweet potato flavor.


For my main entree, I had the lamb kabob. The meat was prepared well, however, I don't think they seasoned it enough. It was somewhat bland and the sauce on the plate was a very think strong peanut sauce. I ended up avoiding the sauce because I thought it was to over powering and actually masked the flavor of the meat completely. I would definitely try something else if I went back. I would just go for the chicken wings!

Chicken wings or desert, I could have continued eating those wings, but I had to save room for dessert. This is molten chocolate cake. Just from the looks of it, it looks good. It's as good as it looks. Of course, it's served warm and the middle just melts out when you cut it open. Definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

Jerusalem, Israel - We had to go back to Little Italy, the food was far too good to pass up the opportunity. All new dishes on this round.

We started with our Bruschetta appetizer that came with these toppings (in the picture from left to right), chopped black olives, marinated eggplant and sprouts, and artichoke and tomato. They could have brought the olives and the artichoke all throughout the night, it was so delicious. We scrapped those two clean, but the eggplant, well, that wasn't our favorite. I think it was more texture than anything though. It was very mushy and really didn't hold enough flavor.

The Brushetta that we smothered those toppings on is the Garlic and Rosemary Bruschetta in the next picture. It was prepared very well and what I liked about it was that it had enough flavor to sustain itself without the toppings, if you wished. The toppings only enhanced the experience.

Lastly, I had the Pasta Arrabiatta (in Italian it means angry pasta). Just from the title, I knew I was in for a treat. I was very full after the meal, still had some pasta, and of course I forced myself to finish the plate. It was that good. My roommate actually came back the next night and got this dish. The pasta was prepared in a nicely spicy tomato sauce, which also contained pesto, onions, peppers, and olives. It had enough spiciness to compliment the saltiness of the olives and the creaminess of the tomatoes and the pesto. Enjoy!

Jerusalem, Israel - This is one of the most unique dishes I had in Israel. We went to a restaurant called Imas, which means Mom's in Hebrew. They had the standard Israeli salads that come before the meal, which you can see above with the cucumber salad and chips (fries). The first is the pepper. I have no idea what kind of pepper it is, but it was hot, real hot. The Israeli I was with told me to just eat it, but neglected to tell me to eat it in small pieces with other food. I learned my lesson after two big bites by itself. I thought my mouth was going to melt. I literally ate or drank anything within reach. It wasn't a habanero, but it felt like it.

More importantly, the food to the right of the pepper is called the Jerusalem Mix. We started eating it, but no one told us what it was. It turned out to be chicken in a curry sauce, with some extra bonus. It had sauteed onions, chicken kidneys, and hearts. I was shocked, but it didn't keep me from eating it. Some people in the group couldn't eat it anymore, but I was happy to have more to myself. It was my first time eating kidneys and hearts. I thought it was very good. Much of the flavor was diluted by the curry sauce, but it still had a very good flavor , little grainy, and a small irony flavor. I would definitely get it again! Enjoy!

Jerusalem, Israel - Why not try some Italian in Israel. A small restaurant called Little Italy was not far from the hotel. It turned out to be a great place to eat and so, I went multiple times!

Some of the items on the menu have less than unique names and some are not exactly spelled correctly in Italian, however, the food makes up for it. The main dish is called Dave's Ravioli Mix. Little Italy makes their own pasta and you can taste the difference. It doesn't have the processed texture to it. The yellow'ish ravioli are filled with smoked goat cheese and the pink'ish ones have sweet potato. I wonder how long they played with the combination of fillings to find the right ones to compliment each other. I loved going from one flavor to the other and how well they matched each other. The ravioli is in an olive oil base with rosemary and topped with brown sugar. The caramelized sugar on top made me save the ones with the most for last, it was so delicious.

For desert, we thoroughly enjoyed molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. When we opened the cake, it was still steaming inside and the chocolate just poured out. Enjoy!

Golan Heights, Israel - As we were driving through the Golan Heights, you begin to travel through a Druze town. These are people who were formally Syrian citizens, but after the war, are now in Israeli territory. This was my first time ever having drewish food and it was worth the drive and stop.

We start with pita chips. Pita wonderfully deep fried with a basil-like spice on top. I had to help myself to a few of these and probably would have eaten many many more if my sandwich wasn't ready. The sandwich is called a Labaen and is a very thin pita, more like a tortilla, that has goat cheese mixed with yogurt spread thinly on the inside. After the goat cheese is spread on, then they spread another layer of olive oil mixed with basil and garlic to give it an extra wonderful flavor. It is wrapped up and then grilled slightly, just to basically heat it up. Then there is a self-serve bar to add what ever toppings you wish. I added cabbage, cucumber, peppers, and a relish (marinated baby celery, nothing like the relish you put on hot dogs here). It is a little greasy and messy, but I devoured it. I really enjoyed the excitement of a new dish like this and how good it was. Enjoy!

Central Galilee - Israel - I recently returned from a work trip to Israel and for the next month or so, all the pictures will be dedicated to that fantastic voyage. We had the luxury to have dinner with a host family, which they prepared in the picture. Not only did they open their home to us, but they prepared an amazing meal. She prepared two main courses, one for omnivores and one vegetarians. The dish on the bottom left is sirloin steak. She admitted that she doesn't usually prepare meat, so so warned us, but it was very good, and prepared well. It was a little dry, but she also had an excellent homemade gravy to top it off. The other main dish was the lentils. I actually loved this more than the meat dish, hands down. She prepared it from scratch. It reminded me of Mujdara, but it actually had more flavor than that and really any other dish on the table. The potatoes cooked to perfection and basically melted in your mouth. I had a variety of spices and just enough salt to make you want more. No surprise, I had seconds of almost everything on the table. Every Israeli meal comes with a fresh fruit or veggie salad. This time it was a grape tomato salad. Most salads are prepared with just a little bit of oil and vinegar and scallions. I usually despise walnuts, but she also prepared a walnut cabbage salad. I admit, I did pick around the walnuts, however, the rest of the salad was seconds worthy. Lastly, the fruit salad made of primarily pummelo, black beans, scallions, and toasted pine nuts. It is a very light flavor dish, which I didn't expect. I was expecting a grapefruit like sharp flavor, but it was much more mild and pleasant to eat. Thanks to my co-worker who is posing in the picture! Enjoy!

Not shown in the picture is after dinner tea. The best part of it, the rosemary was picked while we were sitting there from the garden and placed into the hot water. Amazing!

Clawson, MI - I've been asking around for an authentic Filipino restaurant and it was recommended that I try out Royal Kubo. I am told it is the only Filipino restaurant in the area, so without a doubt, I was on my way. The recommendation was to try two of the most famous dishes, Lumpia and Pancit. So, I first tried Lumpia. It is the Filipino egg roll, if you will. However, you can see, it not only looks different from an egg roll, but it also tastes differently and better. You can get it deep fried or pan fried, I choose to try it pan fried this time. It is similar to a pancake in texture. Inside, it is loaded with all kinds of fresh vegetables. One of the best parts is the sauce on top. The sauce is made of soy sauce and brown sugar. I scrapped the plate clean.


Onto the main dish, Pancit. It is typically cooked with small thin noodles and sauteed in a soy sauce. I expected it to be saucy, but to my surprise, it was not. It was dryer than I expected. It is loaded with all kinds of vegetables and different meats. In this case, it came with beef, chicken, pork, and shrimp. However, I saw on the menu that you can get most of the dishes vegetarian style.

Now that I've tried these two, it has enticed my pallet and I would love to try more Filipino dishes. The one that I've heard about is Balut, but I haven't found a place that has it yet. Stay tuned for that one! Enjoy!

Battle Creek, MI - I have only had fried pickles twice, but both times, I LOVED them. I'll rarely turn down pickles and when you fry them, they are getting devoured. I happen to be in Battle Creek for a wedding and this is from the hotel restaurant, which I apologize, I don't remember the name. It is a creole style restaurant. I didn't leave one fried pickle on that plate. I eat every single one. If you have a chance to order fried pickles, get them, you'll love it.

I also ordered the spicy crawfish wrap. I thought it was prepared well, the crawfish was good, but it wasn't the best crawfish out there. I didn't have extremely high expectations because of the looks of the restaurant, but it still was very good. It was better than getting a hamburger at an Applebees. I would still get it again if I had to choose between the two. Enjoy!

Mvuu, Malawi - Even though the resort did not serve traditional Malawian food, they still did an excellent job of presentation and flavor. We first started with a vegetarian spring roll. It was deep fried and packed with all kinds of veggies. It was an excellent start, but it was a little heavy to begin. I was slightly worried if I was going to be able to eat the meal as well. As you can tell, it was definitely not a tiny, wimpy, spring roll.

The entree was sauteed eggplant in a spice I don't believe I've had before. I didn't recognize the flavor, but it was very good. I could not allow myself to waste any of it. It was served with potatoes au gratin, which were good, but I primarily focused on the eggplant. The meal also had a two little condiment side dishes, one being fried pairs, and the other is sauteed cabbage. Over all it was an excellent dish.

We then finished the meal with a lemon meringue pie. I was very eager to start it, I actually took a bit and then realized I didn't take a picture yet. It was wonderfully sweet and delicious, but after all that food, of course I couldn't finish it. Enjoy!

Mvuu, Malawi - The Mvuu resort feeds you very well, very well indeed. Malawi's staple food is Chambo (fish) and chips (fries). They prepared a very delicious version of Chambo, deep fried, and standard chips. The Chambo is typically served whole, but the clientele at the resort may not like it very much, so they serve fillets. Either way, it's still quite tasty. It was also served with a side of vegetables and macaroni and cheese. The macaroni and cheese was surprisingly very good and cheesy! I didn't expect it to be very good, just some basic mac and cheese, but it surprised me. The chef added some spices for flavoring that really enhanced the flavor of the dish.

The desert was a fruit plate, that to me, looked a lot like a little bird. Don't you think? Anyhow, it was very fresh and a nice little dollop of cream on top for some extra sweet flavoring. Enjoy!

Mvuu, Malawi - While staying at the Mvuu resort, they fed us very well, very well. They get all their fruits and veggies from very close by local villages, which are basically right across the river. We started with Bruschetta, a very nice lightly toasted piece of bread with wonderful mozzarella and tomatoes and green peppers on the side. It's a nice little starter dish.

We then had our main course, Potato Curry. At first glance, it probably doesn't look all that well. On the contrary, I wanted to lick the plate clean. This is roasted potatoes in a very delicious curry sauce, by the way not spicy at all. It came with sauteed carrots and green beans. I am not a green bean eater, however, I would have gladly eaten another portion of it. It was prepared in a way I have never had before. I'm not sure if it was the spices they used, but it was fantastic.

We finished the meal with one of the best deserts at the resort the whole time we were there. This is a banana fritter. I miss this dish and would fly all the way back to Africa for it. A thirty-two our plane ride, worth it. This is a banana lightly deep fried, covered in powder sugar, and a light drizzle of caramel. The apple helped provide enough citrus to help compliment it. Well done to that team! Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Food stands are the best. If you see one, chances are, the food is going to be very good. This is a Chicago style hotdog from Hotdog Carl's stand on the corner of Adam's and Lincoln. If you're driving by and see the cart, hit the brakes. This was quite tasty. It is a hotdog in a sesame bun, topped with mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish (usually neon green), a dill pickle, tomato slices, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. I also added jalapenos to give it a little extra kick. This goes without saying, the hotdog has lots of flavor and surprising enough, it compliments each one very well. Enjoy!

West Bloomfield, MI - Dim Sum Time! I've gone several times to a place called Shangi-La for lunch for Dim Sum. Dim Sum are similar to tapas, where these are small Cantonese appetizers where you order several of them and share with your group. Sometimes your eyes will want more than your tummy though, I speak from experience. Below are pictures from different lunches, but still so delicious. Enjoy!

This is shrimp in a noodle wrap in soy sauce. This is probably one of my least favorite. I thought it was going to be very good, but the noodle part turned out to be disappointing. It overpowered the shrimp and soy sauce.

These are one of my favorite. They are shrimp and chive dumplings, slightly sauteed. They are packed with flavor and the shrimp and chives really compliment each other. I get this one every time I'm there.

These little guys are shrimp puffs. They are quite tasty, but they are not as healthy as the others since they are deep fried, where as most are steamed. Put a little hot sauce on them and you have a nice little dish.

These are simple shrimp dumplings, however, their taste is far from simple. They are delicious. They have shrimp and cilantro inside, which works well together. They are wrapped in a rice noodle casing that doesn't take away from any of the flavor. This one is a staple as well.

Pork noodle dim sum are pretty good, very nice flavor, but not at the top of my list. I usually get these if I'm running out of choices, but I don't shy away from them. If you've never had one, definitely try it.

The notable dishes here is the eggplant in the center. Oh, it's a must. I didn't want to share them at all. The mussels on the right, prepared very well in a nice soy sauce base, shrimp in a green pepper at the top which was very good, and the shrimp pork dumplings on the far left. Shrimp and pork are a great combination. The dish at the bottom is hot chili peppers that you put onto all the dishes to give it a great zing!

Well, I thought this was desert. It looked like some small little lemon pastry. Well, it turns out to be an egg-drop pastry. I personally didn't like it and will not get it again. Maybe it was my expectation of it being lemon. Who knows.

The new dishes here is the beef puff at the top, which I thought was ok, but not fantastic. I think it is prepared well, but I prefer the steamed options over the fried. It also gets a little doey too. On the right is pork noodle. That was very good and helped redeem itself from the beef puff.

Mvuu, Malawi - African tourist food. I would say this is traditional African food, since this really only served at the Mvuu resort. By the way, Mvuu means hippo, in Chichewa. You really wouldn't find this food in the city or in any village, so this is really catered to tourists. However, it does not negate the presentation nor how delicious it is. This is Vegetable and Egg Quiche served with a very creamy coleslaw topped with fresh tomatoes, and lightly marinated shredded carrots and sliced cucumber. I would normally not order quiche; I tend to not like it. However, if I had the opportunity to order this again, I would. I thought it was a very well prepared quiche, light and fluffy, and the vegetables did not over power the flavor of the quiche. The coleslaw was eatable, but very creamy. I could double up on the cucumbers and carrots and forgo the coleslaw. The cucumbers and carrots were excellent. They were fresh and the light dressing on it really helped compliment it well.

For desert, we had a sweet roll and bananas. This was a wonderful and light desert after the quiche. It had a wonderful cinnomon flavor and the bananas was an excellent choice to serve with it. Enjoy!

Troy, MI - Indian food doesn't always have to have curry. This is Baigan Bharta from Royal Indian Cuisine. I received a recommendation to try out Royal Indian Cuisine as one two very authentic Indian places to eat. They had a very large vegetarian entree selection, which gave me an opportunity to try something I've never seen on the menu before. Baigan Bharta is mashed eggplant, then cooked in a tomato sauce with onions and a variety of spices. I found the dish to be excellent. I also had it prepared a little spicy, which was nice to have a kick to it, but it may have covered up the flavor a bit though. I literally scraped the bowl clean it was so good. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Who can say no to chocolate or desert? These are two beautiful deserts from the Cupcake Station, one being carrot cake and the other is a mudslide. I already expected the mudslide to be delicious, which it met all expectations, but I wasn't sure about the carrot cake. Once again, the Cupcake Station was able to deliver an authentic carrot cake with all of its impact of flavor, in a little cupcake. Both are a must to try! Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Is a heart attack worth good food? I might have to say yes on this one. I know, it looks like it's a heart attack waiting to happen. It hasn't happened yet, thank goodness, but may have been worth it. This is called the Philadelphia from Redcoat Tavern. It's their version of a Philly cheese steak. It's sliced beef, sauteed onions and green peppers, topped with their swiss cheese, and then topped with Zip sauce (which is similar to a french onion soup flavor). The Zip sauce normally by itself or with a burger, in my opinion, is not very good. However, on the Philadelphia, definitely a major component. I was also surprised that the pickle almost tasted like a New Dill. Not bad at all. Enjoy!

Livonia, MI - Chocolate lovers beware, be prepared to fall in love with this. This is Chocolate Lava Cake from Goucho, a Brazilian restaurant. After a fantastic stuffing meal, I had to to satisfy my craving for chocolate. This is a delicious chocolate cake, still hot and soft in the middle, that basically melts when you open it up. It also comes with vanilla ice cream on top to help compliment the flavor and lastly the raspberry sauce to add a little extra sweetness. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again. It's a must, get it. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Since I loved Larb so much, I thought I would try Tum Neau. It's shredded steak sauteed in the same manner as Larb, served on top of lettuce and celery. It was very good, but a little dry. I wish it could have been prepared in a way to keep its moisture. I would still recommend trying it. Enjoy!

Blantyre, Malawi - Chocolate time! Hot Chocolate time! This is the Chocolate Sizzling Brownie from an Indian restaurant. It comes with the brownie placed onto a very hot plate with ice cream on top. On the side is the chocolate sauce and you pour it over the ice cream and when it hits the hot plate, it immediately starts to boil and sizzle. This is one desert, you don't want to miss. It is delicious and great for any chocolate lover. Enjoy!

Blantyre, Malawi - While in Africa, I found an Ethiopian restaurant, so of course I had to try it. I found out that really only travelers end up eating there and Malawians really stick to their own food. So, I had to try this out and it was very similar to Ethiopian food in the US as well. The fresh Mango Juice, however, was fantastic. No extra water, ice, flavoring, just pureed mangos. It was fantastic! The lentil dish was equally fantastic, but the bread was different from what I'm use to. It had the same flavor, but it was thinner and grainy. While it was still good, I would have preferred the smoother style bread. Enjoy!

Blantyre, Malawi - I know, it looks pretty disgusting. Since fish (Chambo) is very common, we went to a Chinese restaurant and they had Sweet and Sour Fish. Chambo is also usually served whole, yup, it definitely is. It turned out to be very good. Anything deep fried is always tasty! Enjoy!

West Bloomfield, MI - I was told to try out a Caldian restaurant called New Saharas. Years ago when I was younger, several friends were Caldian and they would be very gracious to invite me over for dinner. Well, I really fell in love with the food. The recommendation was to get a few different things off the menu and one that is not even on the menu. That's usually my favorite. The first picture is of pickled cabbage. It's a nice vinegar flavor, but you use pita bread and dip it into a homemade ranch dressing. People come to the restaurant just for the dressing, it's so good. Some customers just purchase the dressing to go. Well, the whole meal is delicious with the dressing. Anyhow, the next picture is something not on the menu and you have to ask for it. It is called Cahre. It is a tomato stew usually with potatoes in it. You take that and pour it over the rice. This makes for an outstanding dish to eat. Lastly, is the Beef Cream Chop. It is a deep fried steak, similar to a country fried steak. Anything deep fried is delicious, but of course, once you also dip this into the ranch dressing, it's to die for. Enjoy!

Blantyre, Malawi - Chambo at it's best. When I was walking around downtown, there is an open market that people sell various items. As I was meandering through the market, I came across their "food court" if you will. Now, it's mainly little shacks were people fry up fish (Chambo) or chips (fries). So, I found this one gentleman who fried up the fish you see. The size is about as big as my palm of my hand, so it's pretty small. It tastes very similar to fried smelt. It has very little meat, very crunchy, but tasty! He also gave me some salt to sprinkle onto the fish for more flavor, which also complimented the batter. I thought this was going to be pretty spicy, but it actually wasn't spicy at all. I was mostly worried about how long it was sitting out, but after I ate it, it was ok. Enjoy!