tiffin unboxed

Strangely Delicious Foods - 85°C's Squid Ink Bread

It's hard to imagine eating a coal-black piece of food, and enjoying it. Recently I tried to convince a friend to try 85°C Bakery Cafe's pitch black squid ink rolls.


She stared at it for a long time, then took a leaf of faith and tried it, then liked it. They came warm and fresh right out of the oven when we arrived, so chances were they'd be great.

 These rolls taste very lightly of squid, mostly of garlic, due to the wonderful garlic mixture spread on top.


The inside contains a surprise treat of a light amount of white cheddar cheese.

Despite the heavy black look, they are light as air. In fact I jokingly compared them to molecular gastronomy Chef Jose Andres' famous "air bread" creation, which is crispy on the outside and hollow on the inside. and filled with aged cheddar sauce.


Once I got home with my box of these goodies among many others, I balanced out the treats by enjoying some fresh and colorful grilled vegetables.

 These treats show one of the many reasons I enjoy 85°C so much. You can read about my other favorites at this bakery on my previous 85°C post, by clicking on this link.

85°C Bakery Cafe's Sea Salt Coffee

For this post, we are staying with theme of foam atop coffee. Based on the photo below, what time of day do you think it is? Does that change if I add that this is in Irvine in Orange County, California?

85°C Bakery Cafe at 11:45 p.m.

Having lived in Irvine for several years in the past, I was hard pressed to find even a fast food location open past 9:00 p.m. Things have changed. On my way home from visiting friends I stopped by 85°C Bakery Cafe. The hour drive back home was long and one of their uniquely delicious Sea Salt Coffee would surely hit the spot.

Yet at a quarter to midnight there was hardly any parking and the store was packed. The employee who took my order after a long line said they have to practically kick people out upon closing each night!

85°C Bakery Cafe - Sea Salt Coffee Poster

The reason this spot is a must-visit spot for me anytime I'm in Irvine (as far as I'm aware, this is the only branch of this cafe outside Taiwan) is this beverage of slightly sweetened iced coffee topped with a creamy foam whipped with sea salt.

85°C Bakery Cafe - Sea Salt Coffee to go

85°C Bakery Cafe - Sea Salt Coffee foam

Semi-sweet chocolate powder comes sprinkled over the top of foam, adding even more complexity to the balance of sweet, salty, creamy, coffee tastes.

85°C Bakery Cafe - almost empty bakery section

Unfortunately, the bakery was almost sold out at this late hour. But thanks to my friend Robert, who turned me on to this coffee in the first place, I tried some of their buttery baked goods such as lightly garlicky squid ink buns and Okinawan brown sugar cakes.

Six Taste x 2 = Happy Tummy

Rockenwagner's tri-berry scone and croissant pretzel

The coffee tasted even better accompanied with the buttery yet light croissant pretzel and tri-berry scone. Both were moist and did not need any additions. The berry compote sandwiched within the scone kept it moist unlike most scones I've tried.

Therese - our tour guide extraordinaire

Therese began the tour with an introduction about herself and Six Taste. I did not expect a PhD as a tour guide, but she explained that this fun job helps pay off her grad school debt. She was instantly likable, informative, smart, adorable. She also explained the theme of her tour which was how the establishments we visited were staying 'green'. Along the way she also pointed out architectural treasures and interesting stores in the area. She was chock full of information, answering all questions with grace.

After her intro we shared our names, where we live and our 'last meal on earth' (aka 'death row') meals. That immediately warmed me up because it's something foodies often discuss and think about. Judging from the crowds' responses, everyone had sophisticated palates. Many of us swapped dining suggestions along the way.

Border Grill's Amarilla Ceviche Tostadita

Border Grill was one of our next stops. They prepared for us a taste of 4 bocadillos (small bites) from their menu. My favorite was the Amarillo Ceviche Tostadita topped with a ceviche made from mahi mahi fish, aji amarillo chile, ginger and lime. In addition some of us ordered margaritas. The also gave us a Mexican sugar cookie packed to go with a 'free margarita' card for a return visit. The trip was a mini multi-course sit down meal.

Santa Monica Pier - Bay Cites Deli picnic

Moving on with our tour, we sampled two types of pasties, British crescent shaped meat pies, at the Tudor House - creamy chicken and mushroom, spinach and sharp cheddar cheese. Since the sun was setting Therese guided us to Ocean Street for a lovely ocean sunset view along the pier. And to make the view even better, she brought along Bay Cities Italian Deli's famous Godmother sandwiches. These sandwiches, full of Boar's Head meats and cheese, are all about the fresh, soft and chewy bread. Therese made sure we enjoyed them fully by letting the bread marinate in the sandwich juices for 2 hours before serving them to us. This is the recommended way to eat them and I can see why.

Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar - Pinot Wars

One of our stops was at Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, which had wines grouped into themes. They gave us a loaded up card which we could use to get a couple of 1 ounce tastings of our own choice. They also offered snacks for the group. The wines and themes keep changing. In addition to the great Pinot Wars, which I never left for my tastings, they had a terroir them among other interesting ones.

We ended the tour at Angelato, serving 100 different flavors of gelato. We all had 3 tastes and chose 3 flavors to enjoy. Their flavors range from black sesame to cola float to durian to green apple to Italian plum cake to spumoni. Therese recommended the Blood Orange gelato (also comes as a sorbetto), which was sublime.

All in all there was a fair amount of walking which helped balance the frequent noshing. Therese collected feedback from the group at the end of the tour and we parted ways.

The next weekend, with a Pleasure Palate group, I tried:

Tour #2 - Delicious Dumpling Tour


This tour covered a much smaller physical space, centered around a popular Taiwanese strip mall in Arcadia. On the day of the tour it was raining heavily and a parade took place right on Baldwin Avenue, blocking access to the parking lots. Many members of the group arrived late and drenched. Our guide Michael was extremely flexible and patient, offering us coffee while we waited.

J & J Bakery - green tea red bean rolls, mochi cakes

We began at J & J Bakery which was not as crowded as usual, so we had full reign of the store and were able to take many photos with ease. Michael explained the Taiwanese delicacies including a ham sandwich with French toast bread and "Taiwanese sushi", a seaweed roll with ham as the protein. We each chose an item to sample later and most of us bought a bag or two of items to go as well.

Din Tai Fung - Left: Michael explaining the proper way to eat the soup dumplings. Right: The elusive soup dumplings special.

The group went across the street to the first U.S. location of Din Tai Fung a famous Taiwanese dumpling house. Din Tai Fung is known for its juicy pork soup dumpling, filled with meat and broth. Michael had us do introductions including our 'last meal' and gave us a lesson in how to properly enjoy the dumpling with its accompaniments of fresh, shredded ginger and Chinese black balsamic vinegar. He also ordered several other dishes to try.

I've been to Din Tai Fung over a dozen times but Michael taught me even more about the business, the culture and the tradition of the place. Also, I finally got to try the elusive soup dumpling which usually sells out within the first hour that they open. The soup consists of the miniature soup dumplings submerged in a soup broth. Having tasted it, I prefer the original size dumpling since it contains more soup within the dumpling.

SinBala - Chinese sausage with raw garlic

Our next stop was SinBala, a cafe that serves Taiwanese night market street food. I had been to this strip mall so many times, but was not hip to the culinary scene at this fantastic spot. Michael's insider knowledge of the food, history and culture really shone here. Our table was full end to end with countless dishes including oyster pancakes and other specialties. The menu has a sub-section of Taiwanese sausage with various toppings, ranging from crushed garlic to passion fruit sauce. We tried the it with sliced raw garlic.

SinBala - chicken rolls and chicken nuggets

Other highlights at SinBala were the chicken rolls, stuffed with meat and water chestnuts then deep fried, and the tender 5-Spice chicken nuggets which is by far the most exciting and flavorful chicken nugget I've ever had. Both are served with a sweet garlic chili dipping sauce.

SinBala - dry wontons

What really stole the show for me at SinBala were these dry wontons. They arrive in a steaming hot bowl with layers of chili oil, roasted chilies, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions and perhaps other magical ingredients. The diner then stirs up the bowl releasing intoxicating aromatics scents. And the dumplings taste as good as they smell. It's a dish you almost do not want to share.

Hanny's - Michael explaining the snack shop

We walked across the way to Hanny's, in a shared space with a Lollicup's drink shop, to try some of the snack foods in large bins, sold by weight.

Hanny's - sampling jerkies and Taiwanese dried mangoes

Michael doled out several unusual flavors of jerky as well as dried Taiwanese mangoes. We were then given plastic bags, scoops and tongs to roam about and try and buy what we'd like, with Michael pointing out some good options along the way.

Hanny's - pumpkin chips, mushroom chips

Among my favorites (and I have been back twice to refill on these items) are the pumpkin, what looks like Kabocha squash, chips seasoned with olive oil and salt. They are crisp with a clean and refreshing taste. The mushrooms look like fresh mushrooms, but are dehydrated into chips that have a pleasant earthy and slightly sweet taste. It's a surprise when one bites into them to hear a big crunch.
After our tasting and shopping, Michael pulled out our J & J Bakery picks for us to all taste and share.

Six Tastes Tour Guide Michael - showing Taiwanese flash cards

By this time most of us were in a food coma, but we had one last stop at Bin Bin Konjac, a shaved ice shop. Michael ordered us a large Eight Treasures shaved ice family-style bowl with authentic toppings like konjac root, grass jelly, taro, beans. It was a bit savory vs. sweet for the Western palate but once again something brand new to try. While we ate Michael shared even more aspects of his Taiwanese heritage which he was so knowledgeable and proud of that his enthusiasm was contagious.