How is it already the end of April?! And how is it that I got so busy in the first four months of the year?!!!!! (So much for trying to slow down, huh?) Even though life is busy and food is necessity, I got the opportunity to zhuzh it up a little at home and around town. Well, it was more like surrounding areas.
Below are highlights that made my foodie heart sing in the first quarter of 2026:
January Eats
Las Vegas
I don’t have a photo of the food I ate at the Sphere, BUT I think it’s proof that I did attempt to slow down at the end of the year. I tried to be present for the Backstreet Boys and dive deep to get those neurons firing. I was desperately in search of chicken tenders and I got them. The Sphere sold Hot Honey Chicken Tenders with french fries. It was sweet and salty with a tiny tap of spicy. The chicken tenders were not that crispy because it was soaked in that sauce, which was also leaning more towards the sweet side. The fries were crispy on the outside and pillowy & potatoey on the inside. The ranch was also a nice touch to bring back that kid nostalgia with a modern twist.
February Eats
Central Valley
Home
I wouldn’t say that this was one of the best meals, but it was definitely memorable. After heating this wrap in a toaster oven, a little dog’s face was toasted on! My dear friend said that this photo would be Tumblr famous back in the day. haha
I made scallion pancakes for the first time. I need to practice cuz the thickness was a little too much at first. BUT, I was able to get it better to that not too thin and not too thick kinda consistency that I like. The scallion-sesame oil that I made also went so hard. I LOVED that I used that oil for days for other meals and dishes too.
School
I really am so grateful that I’m able to eat in my class! There are students in the cooking class that cooked French food for mine. And, let me tell you, it was pretty good. I mean, I don’t know a lot about French food, but I got to learn about French culture too. Plus, who doesn’t like a good duck?
Cheese? Yes, please! I got to eat real Wisconsin cheese. The cheese from Wisconsin were so flavorful. I was so happy to eat one that had mushroomy and grassy notes. My favorite cheeses of this night were Esquirrou and Manchego. The accompaniments were also good. I didn’t realize that I liked fried almonds.
Dublin
Korean style katsu is always good! I also love a tonkatsu paired with a punchy and slightly sweet wasabi. It was also a wasabi that cleared my sinuses, which is always so appreciated. I had a blast hear because I got to see Day6 on the screen while I was eating. It’s always fun when you catch your faves on TV.
Milpitas
Afternoon tea in a Filipino cafe? Sign me up. I thought that the food was good. My favorite parts of afternoon tea are the tea and the savory options. The tea was good! I think I had a cherry blossom one and a green tea one. Both came out at a good temperature. You can never go wrong with a good salmon, capers, cream cheese, and crackers. I thought that the shrimp toast would be chewy because it was on a baguette, but to my surprise, it was good.
If you end up going, just a warning that they do still operate their cafe and register. So, there’s a chance that there are people walking in and out while you’re enjoying your tea and snacks. However, I did enjoy catching up with a friend here so it’s good if you’re looking for a casual, lowkey afternoon tea.
March Eats
Castro Valley
I think this place is going to get me hooked on kaisendons. This is the very first kaisendon that I’ve eaten and it was good! You can taste the ocean in every bite and I love love love that I got to balance it with fresh, real wasabi. I usually don’t like tuna, but it was so buttery and soft! I can see why people look for tuna. I also enjoyed the scallops and ikura. The natural saltiness complimented the whispers of sweetness in the wasabi. I 1000% recommend stopping by!
Central Valley
School
On this day, we got a chance to eat seafood in class. On the left is a bunch of black cod miso packets and on the right is all the seafood options. Being a second gen pinay, seafood is always my preference. You really can’t go wrong with calamari, salmon, and scallops. The wine options were also pretty good. This class in particular made me realize that I like German wines.
San Diego
Wahh!!! This was a good bakery, and I’m looking forward to going back! I love anything that has a mentaiko and this mentaiko baguette was so good. I also enjoyed the mochi bagel too. It was equal parts chewy and buttery.
It was wild to eat this much sweets first thing in the morning after walking. But I really enjoyed how rich and cozy the hot chocolate was. It was mostly likely a mix of dark and milk chocolate, leaning more towards dark choco. My favorite thing to dip on the chocolate was the Ritz crackers. I think we all can tell that I love balancing and contrasting flavors.
I got the mushroom frittata from The Mission. I got a veggie dish because I needed to cancel out the hard core sweetness after the Hot Chocolate Run. I love a good combo of button mushrooms and eggs. The best part of this breakfast was the potatoes. Like, I get it. I get why people like rosemary on their potatoes.
San Francisco
I got one carne asada, one al pastor, and one crunchy fish taco. It was a balance of zingy lime, crunchy onions, and complimentary cilantro in all three tacos. Though I’m biased because crunchy fish tacos are my favorite, so I enjoyed the fish one the most. I also liked their salsa, which were citrusy, umami, and had a slight kick. Oh man, it was so good with the chips.
Looking back on my foodie adventures in the beginning of the year, the kaisendon from Hokkaido Sashimi Marketplace was my top tier favorite! I can’t wait to share my future foodie finds next!
Kristine Cecile 
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