things I'm liking (and disliking)

It has been awhile since I've done a liking/disliking post...

Let me start with the disliking...Mahou Negra, a dark beer from Mexico, tasted like darkened fizzy water...meh.

By the way, "mahou" means magic in Japanese...boy this beer needs some...

I am not sure if I like the cream cheese anpan at Starbucks or not.

Maybe they could nix the peanuts on top and put a little more sweet bean paste inside?

Moving on to liking...Heichinrou's charsiu-man (cha-sue mahn).

Heichinrou's main restaurant is in Yokohama and they have other restaurants around Japan.

These aren't as sweet as the ones I've had at Ou-Lou, they are also a little bigger and there are nice chunks of meat in there. I found these at Hankyu's food floor...913 yen (about US$9.13) for 3.

Grob Ofen, a little German sweet shop nearby, has many delicious treats. For example, the Thuringia Brot. Brot means bread in German, but this is more like a shortbread cookie.

Apparently this is a traditional sweet in Thuringia, an area in Germany. This is not too sweet and filled with hazelnuts and raisins...179 yen (about US$1.79)

Another is their Nussknacker (Nutcracker), a shortbread cookie covered with dark chocolate, hazelnuts and orange peel.

The nuts and orange peel are "stuck" onto the cookie with a hardened caramel (loved the taste just don't break your teeth on these!) 189 yen (about US$1.89)

Spring onions are in season here, I've put it next to an onion you normally find throughout the year. Spring onions are tender, white, sweet and great for roasting.

Tulips on my lanai have started to bloom. Love how when the sunlight hits them they look like light bulbs all lit up.

Ferdinand's florentine & choco-rentine. Usually a florentine is toasted nuts, candied fruit baked together with honey and sugar then topped with chocolate but this is made with bread.

Ferdinand's florentine is made with their danish type bread, caramelized sugar to keep it together and topped with sliced almonds.

The choco-rentine is made with their chocolate chiffon bread, the caramelized sugar and sliced almonds. This tastes like a brownie.

So that is my list, what are you liking/disliking?