Hey guys! I write this while I still fight my jet lag! My routine is still not on track. Anyways, we stayed in Pasadena, and were located in the heart of Pasadena about 5 minutes walk away from their famous Colorado Blvd. I opt for walking my way around places when on a vacation because we can’t do that back in my country. LA is known for its weather, it was pleasant during the days and got super chilly right after sunset (Similar to what it was in December 2017).

Salt & Straw

I cannot put into words on how much I loved their chocolate gooey brownie ice cream. The ice cream had brownie chunks in it and was super yummy. I have always been a Haagen-dazs kinda person but this ice cream was just AMAZING. Definitely worth every calorie. I wasn’t really calorie conscious on this trip. Also this is only Available in the States and was previously introduced in Portland, Oregon first.

In-n-Out burgers

This chain of burgers, fries and milkshakes is only available in the State of California. NO OTHER STATE or country. I’ve never really liked beef burgers but their burgers are an exception. The texture and they’re very basic yet taste amazing. At the end it all comes down to quality maintenance, something they’ve managed to do so well. Due to covid and monkeypox we just got it via Drive Thru instead of going in the outlet. The line at the drive thru used to be crazy, easily took us 20 minutes or more each time. You definitely should try their Burgers. Fries aren’t that good but the burger just melts into your mouth. So it’s definitely worth it.

Starbucks

Okay so starbucks is everywhere! But I have some favourite drinks which I would definitely recommend. Previously I had only tried their basic unflavoured latte but this time due to the summer and heatwave going on I opted for cooler drinks instead. I would definitely recommend strawberry creme frappe & cookie frappe. These two were my favourite. Plus I don’t know about you but I hate flavoured coffee. Makes me sick. Coffee itself had such an amazing and strong taste, why would anyone want to change to into caramel or any other pathetic taste? Just blows my mind. So if you want a hot drink just stick to their basic latte. Also before you order any new drink from them just ask the person taking your order if they would recommend that particular drink to you, and just tell them what you actually want/ or like, if they’re kind enough they will definitely recommend or suggest something. Atleast they were super sweet in Pasadena (Colorado blvd) Los Angeles. They even told me they’d change my drink if I didn’t like it. So shout out to them for being extra sweet.

85c cafe

They had an amazing collection of pastries, cakes and a huge variety of bread. The coffee was just average, but the hype regarding their bakery items was on point. This was a 3-4 minute walk from my hotel and a go to place due to the convenience. The funny part is that I actually went to this french crepe cafe near this bakery first (for breakfast) but their menu didn’t really fascinate me so I left that cafe and stumbled upon this cute bakery.

The Boiling Crab

Let me tell you one thing. I never liked seafood just because I grew up watching Little Mermaid. And I always believed that if I eat fish i’m causing harm to the mermaids. Yes! That was me growing up. And guess what? I never bothered eating sea food until we traveled and the first time I ever had sea food and king crab was in Amsterdam. My entire idea has completely changed. Number one there are no mermaids (as of now) and number two you definitely need to try seafood when travelling because Pakistan has the most pathetic quality seafood ever. I loved Fried COD and King crab, but this time I actually ate shrimps for the very first time and I LOVED IT. We got fried shrimps, boiled shrimps & king crab, fried calamari, corn on the cob and cajun fries (absolutely loved these). You don’t need anything except a crab shell cracker and your hands! This was definitely very unsophisticated but the taste was still worth the experience. Just make sure you wash your hands before and after the meal thoroughly. We went here twice. For the first time we ordered the spiciest sauce for our crabs and shrimps, I literally had tears in my eyes while I ate my meal. I couldn’t even wipe them off because my hands were a mess!! They literally give you a bib so you dont ruin your shirt and they lay out a disposable sheet on the paper on which you actually eat your meal! If you are ever travelling to LA you definitely need to try this!

On our short trip we also visited 4 Indian restaurants 1 in LA, 1 in Minden (Nevada), 1 in South Lake Tahoe and 1 in Oakhurst. Ended up ordering the same thing; Yellow tarka dal, chicken tikka masala (extra spicy), Palak Paneer(spinach and cheese), garlic naan/ green chilli naan and Vegetable samosa. My top favourite one would be the one in Tahoe, the best food. I am big fan of Dal. I mean who isn’t. Specially when you’re away from home and you want some good desi comfort food. We had also ordered barbecue but it was nothing like what you get in Pakistan, there was no taste just a red color added to the meat, so didn’t really give that barbecue vibe. Just remember ordering the food extra spicy when you’re travelling in the west, otherwise your desi food will be more towards a dessert. Thank me later.

Urth Cafe

Okay apparently this was the first time I had cucumbers in my veggie cheese omelette and it was so weird. Literally wasted the entire thing! I only thing I loved was their coffee. The lady serving us complimented me and told me how pretty I looked, so it made me forget about the cucumbers in my omelette. The croissant however wasn’t that fascinating either, Idk maybe my expectations were super high. The only thing I loved was the ambiance and how sweet their staff was. The breakfast was just okayish.

Porto’s Bakery And Cafe

This place had an amazing variety of breads & desserts. Personally I loved the Tres leches cake and their egg bread. The egg bread literally metled in your mouth, it was super soft and airy. While the Tres leches cake was just perfect. I absolutely love milk cakes and this was a good find.

Raffi’s Persian Food

I don’t eat beef. I prefer having lamb kebab’s over beef. When I was here in 2017, they had Lamb Koobe’deh which I loved but this time they only had beef koobe’deh and it was so disappointing. I ended up ordering their chicken option instead. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind having beef then this is definitely a place to go. This is a Persian restaurant and quite famous in Glendale.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts 🍩

Have you even lived your life if you haven’t had Krispy Kreme doughnuts? I’d been craving for these doughnuts since the past 4 years now (since my last trip to US). These aren’t available anywhere in Europe, which was shocking. Personally I don’t like doughnuts with fillings, I prefer the ones which are plain from the inside and loaded with flavour on top. My personal favourite will always be classic glazed, strawberry glazed with sprinkles and chocolate glazed with sprinkles. The strawberry glazed has a legit strawberry flavouring and would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves doughnuts. They’re always freshly made, super soft and flavourful.

Absolutely hated the Chinese food in Los Angeles. Though we went to one restaurant, Panda Inn (Glendale). It was overly priced and had no taste at all. The only thing I liked was Edamame wok fried. That is it. We had ordered vegetable chowmein, egg fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, orange beef and crispy garlic chicken. We ordered way too much food and it got wasted. I had high expectations for some reason. This is an old restaurant and was recommended by my father since it there since his college days. If you’re someone who wants to spend a lot on food which has almost no taste, you should definitely go there. Portions in America are huge so order accordingly.

Will be posting more from my trip! So stay tuned for more!✨🤍