quite honestly, does it really matter? to me, either one spells deliciously fried sweetened dough formed in a shape of a ring (well, that's the shape we think of when we say doughnuts/donut). 

since we are on the subject, i read that basically doughnut is the british spelling while the americans have adopted the shorter word (doughnuts) -- similar to how they omitted all the 'u's in color and neighborhood. 

but i digress. 

the only donut/doughnut place i've known in chicago (and i mean them selling just donuts) is krispy kreme and there isn't even a fresh kripsy kreme bakery in downtown. 

well, that is true until the existence of doughnut vault! probably one of the first donut shops in chicago. i do love myself awesome donuts (okay, i've decided to adopt the american spelling despite how this place spells it) and was delighted that there were plenty of raves about this place -- so much so i've read that you have to be there really early because once they run out, they are done for the day which means sad panda for me. also,  queue times take about 30 minutes for donuts to-go. 

located downtown chicago near streeterville, it is a petite shop with vintage fixings. kinda reminds me of a restored abandoned old school saloon but in a cool way. the shop could literally only fit a few people at a time. the main hues were blue, gold and white and they have a patio outside with a few tables for those who can't wait any longer to consume their donuts.  before you head out to be a part of the donut waiting game, make sure you know that doughnut vault is opened from tuesdays to fridays from 8am and saturdays from 9:30am. 

their menu is simple - they have the usuals and a special that varies each day throughout the week. best way to know what are available is to check via their website or twitter (@doughnutvault). usual suspects are gingerbread stack, buttermilk old fashioned, seasonal jelly donuts, and the trio of glazed donuts (chestnut, vanilla and chocolate). june 23rd (which was the day i was there) featured dreamsicle old fashioned donuts.

i dragged {cn} to this donut experience who had to wait with me for a long time for donuts but thank goodness her boyfriend is a huge fan of buttermilk donuts. oh, bear in mind that it's cash only. 

we had a donut filled day - in fact, too much donuts that i was quite sick of delicious rings for a few weeks. interestingly, most of the donuts at doughnut vault are cake donuts which are not a favorite of mine but i gave it a benefit of the doubt since a couple of other foodies i follow on twitter loves this place.

speaking of cake donuts - why the dislike? well frankly, i think cake donuts are really just cake batter shaped into rings before frying; hence i won't classify them as donuts. instead, i will called them cake  camouflaging as donuts.

and yes, i admit that i'm a through and through yeast donut advocate. on the other end of the spectrum, fans of cake donuts think yeast donuts have a off putting flavor from the yeast. so there, we're even! although i have to say, more recent donut events might have me be more receptive of cake donuts...

buttermilk old fashioned donuts ($2).

it seems like the buttermilk old fashioned donuts are their best seller and a big hit among the chicago-ans. and  with good reason. despite it being a cake donut, it is moist and a little crisp on the edges and somewhat ends up being in between a yeast and cake donut. not overly sweet and quite delightfully addicting.

gingerbread stack ($3)

so when they say stack - they meant three in one order. they are slightly smaller than regular donuts and are also under the cake donut category. i thought it wasn't all that moist with a hint of gingerbread with the usual accompaniment of cinnamon sugar coating. good balance of spices with decent texture but not to die for.

glazed donuts - chestnut ($3)

this probably doesn't do enough justice as to how huge this donut was. okay, lemme try to describe it in the best way i can: the donut was almost as big as a child's face - not kidding. perhaps 1.5 or twice the size of their regular donut. this was a yeast donut which i thought texturally was alright and the glaze had a very subtle chestnut flavor. not exactly memorable but was pretty good. i was already full halfway through the donut.

glazed donuts - chocolate ($3)

size-wise, it's just as huge as its glazed counterpart -- like really big! taste-wise, perhaps because i had it the next day, i thought it was a dry yeast donut which was quite a disappointment and the chocolate glaze was just okay - not chocolate-ly enough.  i suppose i just gotta learn how to not buy too many that it compromise the tasting experience.

jelly-filled donut - strawberry jelly ($3)

seasonal jelly it is, and strawberry was in season. texturally the donut wasn't great but the generous filling of jelly was pretty yummy albeit slightly too sweet, which surprisingly worked out rather well to compensate for the dry donut itself. so far, the yeast donuts from doughnut vault that i've tried hasn't exactly been their strong point.

dollar coffee ($1)

i never really thought much of dollar coffees - mainly because of my preconception that it might be watered down coffee but my, oh my.. how i've been proven wrong. i loved this iced coffee on a warm summer day which was much needed on an early saturday morning. the coffee was deliciously strong enough and there's syrup on the counter so you can add as much as you like. if you think you like starbucks coffee (not many people do, i know but it's my energy drink of choice since it was close to my office), i think you might like this a whole lot better. i'd say go for it if you are craving for coffee and on the fence.. plus, it's only a dollar! what do you have to lose?

i asked {cn} her thoughts on doughnut vault. i think we both came to the agreement that while the donuts were not bad, we cannot figure out the craze for doughnut vault that comes with the waiting in line for a long time. while my favorite is the buttermilk old fashioned donut which is rather shocking since cake donuts are not my thing, unfortunately doughnut vault won't be the first to come to mind if i have a hankering for donuts. 

doughnut vault | location

4o2 1/2 n. franklin st,
chicago, il , 60654  

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.

i mentioned in my last tokyo entry that i would be posting my four-day japanese itinerary and try to provide as many tips that i think might be helpful to you :)

i knew four days was a short time to try to cover most places but i narrowed it down to a couple of attractions in tokyo and keeping my fingers crossed it will all work out as planned.


this was a summary of my schedule ::

{sunday} harajuku
{monday} tsukiji fish market . asakusa . tokyo sky tree . akihabara
{tuesday} akihabara . kamakura . shinjuku . shibuya .
{wednesday} yukata dress up (possibly) . tokyo tower (?) . shinjuku . shibuya . ginza .

so i didn't to do a few of the stuff i had planned. but considering we covered a lot of the main attraction spots, i was pretty happy.

initially, i had wanted to do a half day trip to hakone but considering we'd lose 3 hours in travel time, it wasn't worth it which i replaced with kamakura but that didn't happen either since we were quickly losing momentum from being jet lagged. i think i was most disappointed about not having a yukata dress up experience but perhaps there would be a future opportunity :)


harajuku


o1 . it's best to visit harajuku on sunday mornings where there are more cosplay happening then. when i visited in the evening, i only managed to one cosplay sighting.
o2 . focal point of harajuku's teenage culture is at takeshita dori (takeshita st).
o3. access :: JR harajuku station on yamanote line. located conveniently next to the entrance to meiji jingu (one of tokyo's major shrine and also an attraction in the area) and the beginning of omote-sando.


tsukiji fish market



i've covered this quite extensively on my second blog entry about tokyo.

o1 . check online of the tuna auction is open to public.
o2 . you will have to either walk or take a cab because in order to do be one of the 120/day visitors, you'd have to get there rather early -- preferably by 4am. and trains don't run at that time - it's such an ungodly hour lol.
o3 . visit tsukiji's outer market! and fresh sushi breakfast is a must while you are in the area. patience is a virtue in this case.
o4 . access :: marunouchi subway line; to ginza then transfer to hibiya subway line to tsukiji market. it is located just above tsukiji shijo station on the oeda subway line.

asakusa

o1 . the home of sensoji temple, a popular buddhist temple. one of the two large entrances called kaminarimon (kaminari gate) can be found here. 

o2 . nakamise shopping street is a great place to do some souvenir shopping since you can find a ton of little petite shops selling from snacks to cute little prosperity cats or chopsticks and anything in between. 

o3 . access :: asakusa subway line.


tokyo skytree tower



another destination i covered rather extensively in my past entry.

o1 . open 0800-2200. 1st observation deck (tembo deck) is at 2000¥ and 2nd observation deck (tembo galleria) for an additional 1000¥. the ticket for tembo galleria can be purchased on the tempo deck.
o2 . on a good weathered day (clear and not foggy/hazy), you could even catch a glimpse of mount fuji at a distance.
o3 . access :: oshiage station (skytree). from tokyo station, take the JR sobu rapid line and transfer at kinshicho for the tokyo metro hanzomon line. the station is just at the base of the tokyo sky tree tower.


akihabara



o1 . perfect for manga/anime and electronic fanatics :) it's also nice to just have visited a part of tokyo which is quite interestingly significant especially for the diehard fan culture.
o2 . maid cafes and cat cafes can be found in this area.
o3 . access : 2 stations north of tokyo station by JR yamanote/keihin-tohoku line.

shinjuku



o1 . you could experience both the relaxing atmosphere of shinjuku gyeon (national garden) and tokyo's skyscraper district in the same area.
o2 . other attractions include koreatown at shin-okubo and omoide yokocho (a.k.a piss alley "memory lane) where narrow lanes are filled with dozens of tiny eateries serving ramen, soba, sushi, yakitori and kushiyaki.
o3 . access : shinjuku station.

shibuya



o1 . the home of one of the most prominent landmark -- large intersection in front of the station's hachiko exit (five-way "scramble crossing").
o2 . tokyu food show is also located below shibuya metro station if you are looking to get some quick fresh take out food -- this departmental store food court offers a ton of selection.
o3 . my tip is to get there in the late evening before it turns dark so you can enjoy both the view of the intersection in both daylight and night time when the neon lights illuminates the district.
o4 .  access :: shibuya station.

tokyo tower

また会いましょう means...'see you again' and i hope very soon, tokyo :)

the final day of my summer tokyo vacation was clouded by sadness of leaving this beautiful city later that evening. although my spirits were dampened, i still wanted to enjoy the rest of the day as much as i could.

i didn't really plan out the itinerary except to cover the rest of the places that we may have missed the first three days. for breakfast, i actually thought of getting one of those onigiri but we had delicious lunch plans that i wasn't sure if that was a good idea.  but as a small snack to hold me over till then, we shared the french macarons from ladurée and the fresh uni from tsukiji fish market! :)

snacking in the room was the best option since we were busy packing up our bring our luggages so we  could check out and leave them at the front desk while we explored more of tokyo. but while {rmc} was doing some final packing, i took the opportunity to take photos of the area surrounding our hotel which i haven't managed to do the first 3 days. 

btw have i mention that i cannot be more amazed by how uber clean tokyo is -- wherever you go!? it's freaking awesome and i love it! 

lunch plans led us to ginza for another sushi dining. i've read so many great things about this restaurant that i figured even though there are so many japanese cuisine i'd like to try, i'd say that it's worth having sushi twice! i mean, c'mon! it's japan where the fish is super fresh and japanese mastery & expertise at fish in itself are reason enough for the many sushi meals!

i had trouble finding the restaurant even though i had the address and a little map. i still can't figure out how to find certain buildings - with numbers and dashes that got me all confused. i finally caved in and asked for directions and realized we just walked past it so many times without realizing and it was under our nose this whole time!


kyubei is the name of the restaurant and i can't wait to tell you all about it in an upcoming entry -- after a couple more other entries i should have written a long time ago.

after lunch, we decided to visit tokyo tower although we've seen the the aerial view of tokyo from the top of tokyo skytree tower. i felt tokyo tower was a must visit destination despite it no longer being the tallest broadcast tower in japan anymore. in fact, when you think of japan, tokyo tower is one of the first things that comes to mind (besides sushi, mount fuji, and the land of the rising sun, to name a few).



modelled after the eiffel tower, the signature red and white landmark served as tv and radio broadcast antenna. not only do they have an observatory deck, there are several souvenir shops, perfect for any last minute gift shopping we might've missed. we did not head up the observatory tower but just wanted to have a look at the tower itself.




info! the closest station accesible is the onarimon station

but first, i know i've had marion crepes on the first day but i've always read people eating the crepes with a chunk of cheesecake in it and wondered how it tasted -- would it be an overkill of sweetness or be the best thing ever? right at the base of the tower, i tried the cheesecake with strawberry ice cream + syrup and whipped cream. it was a calorie hub but quite a delicious one at that.


it wasn't too sweet and i thought the slight tartness and creaminess of the cheesecake was echoed by the tartness of the strawberry syrup, the lightness of the whipped cream and the coolness of the ice cream made it all awesome on a warm summer afternoon. oh, the ice cream was slightly melted by the freshly made warm crepe.

today was more of a relaxed day so we hung out a couple of hours at tokyo tower before heading back to tokyo station for some final souvenir shopping and to find the other french macaron counterpart, pierre hermé. armed with those french macaron, off we went to starbucks for some refreshing drinks as an after-heat treatand possibly free wifi.


much to my disappointment, to log onto starbucks wifi, i was required to make an account and most of the instructions were in japanese. so no internet! sad panda! :(

regardless, this was where i met the barista who was one of the few japanese who could speak good english and said he thought i was a japanese :p (i'd like to think myself as an asian chameleon, which i am rather proud of..tyvm)

dinner plan was initially yakitori but we weren't too keen on traveling far. so we ended up exploring the different restaurants in the area. i loved the decor of some of the restaurants that i had to take some quick snaps.



despite all that, we still had trouble deciding on what to eat and finally chose japanese curry although we were contemplating to do another round of tonkotsu ramen, perhaps at a different place. thought we should try something new and quick since we were pressed for time to get to the airport. funnily, this restaurant was just across from the ramen place we had dinner at the past two nights.



they have quite a few selections of japanese 'kare' that it took me a while to figure out what i wanted to eat. (i'm beginning to think that i just didn't have appetite cos i was leaving in a few hours! T.T) i noticed a lot of condiments in jars at the table that you are more than welcome to add to your curry based on your preference as well as a side dish of pickled vegetable.


i loved the seats we picked out which was right in front of the window to the kitchen so i could happily watch the chefs at work while enjoying my creamy curry. i wasn't too sure on what to expect from the kare but i sure was excited to try :)

curry & rice with shrimps (¥680)


this may look like a whole lot of curry but it was just nice amount with the perfectly cooked rice. the curry was not too spicy (both in heat and spices) and was a savory, creamy addiction. the rice itself was a star in itself - you could taste each grain in itself. i've decided that japanese just know how to cook their rice very well, almost at every restaurant i've been amazed by it. it was a huge serving of rice which i try to reduce the consumption of carbohydrate but i just could not help myself and kept eating doused in the yummy 'kare'.

the only teeny-tiny thing if i had to find fault with the dish was that they cooked the shrimp separately (boiled it, i believe) then poured the gravy over the top. i'd prefer cooked with the sauce but at the same time it ensures the shrimp is cooked perfectly, and yes, the shrimp were really fresh!

omelet containing fried rice with hashed beef sauce (¥720)


{rmc} seemed to have enjoyed this dish, however i thought there wasn't much meat which he was fine with. i had a small bite and i remember being it very tasty. the curry was subtly different from the shrimp curry i had.

heavy-hearted, we returned to our hotel reluctantly to get all our luggages before heading towards the airport. i can't believe i am leaving tokyo :( i literally had to sit down at the hotel lobby, to take in all the surroundings for a bit while taking in deep breaths. (not hyperventilating, no worries)


i suppose our journey to the airport involved me thinking of when would the next time i would return to this beautiful country ... reaching the airport, i never noticed how tired i was (probably running on my reserve energy) that i had to take a quick nap at the airport since we were there too early (since i have to get my luggage that i kept at the airport at 10pm)


we boarded the plane for a red eye flight, filled with snacks, memories and the desire to return to japan to experience its embrace once more. oh, and of course to stuff myself silly with the delicious fresh food selections japan has to offer. to appease my sad heart, i bought a souvenir for myself to remember this special vacation by :) oh i had to make this myself and very proud of it!


i will be writing a very brief summary of my itinerary including my food plans in an upcoming post for easy reference. possibly throw in some quick tips whenever i can and what went through my head as i planned out this trip over a several weeks.  :)

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.