REVIEW – Duncan Hines Red Velvet Mix with Betty Crocker Whipped Buttercream Frosting

Category:
June 27, 2015 | Post a Comment
Box of Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet Cake Mix
Cupcakes baked using Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet Cake Mix
Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting
Spoon of Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting

While I was visiting my mom, she said she would make me some chocolate cupcakes so she bought some Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix. She said she got red velvet because she heard that red velvet is the best. She added that since they were relatively expensive, they must be good. While red velvet cupcakes are still chocolate cupcakes, I'm not always a fan of them; sometimes they give me headache or taste weird.

After saying she would make me cupcakes, my mom decided that I should just make them myself. While I don't know much about baking anything, that was perfectly fine with me. I just followed the instructions on the red velvet cake mix box.

When it was time to put the cake batter into the tray, I realized that there was only one tray for 12 cupcakes and a tray for 24 mini cupcakes. So I filled the tray of 12 and put those in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 F. While those were baking I filled the tray of 24 mini cupcakes (I'm very slow...). I don't remember how long I put those in the oven for, maybe 15 minutes. When I was done, the red coloring everywhere made it look like I had killed someone 😮

I let the cupcakes sit out overnight and decorated them the next day with Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting and Chocomaker Marbled Chocolate Curls.

The Betty Crocker frosting instructions state to stir the frosting 20 times before using, which I did. When I've used frosting in the past I've used it directly out the container... I think this was the first time I've noticed the stirring instructions. 😛 After the stirring, I just frosted the top of the cupcakes with a spoon and added the chocolate curls on top.

Decorated cupcakes made from Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
Mini cupcakes made from Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix

The cupcakes turned out to be pretty good! The cupcake were pretty moist, and while they were nice & sweet, the sweetness wasn't overbearing. It didn't taste particularly weird, and I didn't get a headache! I can't really tell the difference between the various kinds of frosting and icing, but the Betty Crocker whipped butter cream frosting also tasted pretty good with the red velvet cupcakes to me.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet Deliciously Moist Cake Mix & Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting
Source: Wal-Mart, Mason, OH
Rating (Red Velvet Cake Mix): Good
Rating (Butter Cream Frosting): Good
Post a Comment

REVIEW – Dao Modern Asian Cuisine (Mason, OH): California Roll, Dragon Roll, Tempura Udon Noodle Soup

Category:
June 26, 2015 | Post a Comment
California roll & dragon roll from Dao Restaurant, Mason, OH
Tempura Udon from Dao Restaurant, Mason, OH

My mom and went out to eat at Dao Modern Asian Cuisine in Mason, OH. It was a Friday night, and while there were a few sets of customers, it didn't seem very busy. My mom and I shared a California roll and dragon roll as appetizers, and I had tempura udon soup as my meal.

The California roll was just fine, but it was a little bit warm, perhaps because it was next to the dragon roll. The dragon roll had tempura shrimp on the inside, and the shrimp was pretty good, and nice & crunchy. The shrimp went well with the sweet eel sauce. However, I did find there were bits of shrimp shell still on the shrimp :(

Shrimp shell in the dragon roll

I also noticed that some of the dishes they used for our food were broken. The corner of the shrimp and vegetable tempura plate was broken as well as bowl for the tempura sauce.

Broken bowl of tempura sauce

The udon noodle soup had a nice, tasty broth. It had a very slight hint of sweetness, and it wasn't overly salted. I liked the slightly sweet taste, and as the amount of soup decreased, the sweeter the soup became. The udon noodles in the soup were also good and had a good noodle texture.

The tempura that came with the soup included shrimp tempura and different vegetable tempura like zucchini, sweet potato, and broccoli. The zucchini tempura didn't have much taste. I didn't really care much for the broccoli tempura or the shrimp tempura, either. The shrimp in the shrimp tempura was kind of dry. I liked the taste of the slightly sweet tempura sauce, however, it was a little watery and when I used it with the tempura, the taste didn't last long so it didn't help much. However, I really enjoyed the sweet potato tempura; the taste of the sweet potato went really well with the fried batter.

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: California Roll, Dragon Roll, Tempura Udon Soup
Source: Dao Modern Asian Cuisine Restaurant, Mason, OH
Rating (California Roll): OK
Rating (Dragon Roll): OK (would be good without the shrimp shell bits)
Rating (Udon Noodle Soup): Good
Rating (Shrimp, Zucchini, Broccoli Tempura, Tempura Sauce): OK
Rating (Sweet Potato Tempura): Delicious
Post a Comment

REVIEW – Chateau Beirut Restaurant (West Chester, OH): Chicken Shawarma

Category:
June 26, 2015 | Post a Comment
Chicken shawarma in foil from Chateau Beirut, West Chester, OH
Chicken shawarma from Chateau Beirut, West Chester, OH

My brother had visited my mom earlier in the year and HAD to have shawarmas during his visit. So when I visited, my mom grabbed some chicken shawarmas for me, as well. The chicken shawarmas were from a Lebanese restaurant called Chateau Beirut: Gyro Subs in West Chester, OH.

I ate the chicken shawarma wraps a few hours after my mom brought them home since she brought around lunch time, but we had them for dinner, so they were kind of like semi-leftovers.

The shawarmas came nicely wrapped in foil to help with holding everything in place. I usually don't like tomatoes in sandwiches and wraps, but the tomatoes went pretty well with the shawarma. While the chicken shawarma had a lot of garlic sauce, it didn't seem overwhelmingly sauced, which was good. My favorite taste in the shawarma was the taste of dill pickles. The chicken was a little bit dry, but it was still good, and the pita bread was perfect; it wasn't hard and stale or too mushy, even after it had been sitting around for a few hours. The sauce, vegetables, and chicken made a nice, well-balanced savory, garlic taste.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Chicken shawarma (To-Go)
Price: $13.99
Source: Chateau Beirut Gyro Subs Restaurant, West Chester, OH
Rating: Good
Post a Comment