Ming Thompson

WHO: MING THOMPSON
WHAT:
GENIUS FOOD BLOGGER
WHERE:
US
VISIT:
mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com

FFF LOVES… her passion for baking and all things cake-licious.

EAT: La Zucca, Venice, Italy
This hidden gem, on a campo far from the tourist route, serves up delicate vegetarian dishes.
I recommend: pumpkin flan, carrots in yogurt sauce.

EAT: Ariya Niwas, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
This is a bustling restaurant near the train station. At lunchtime, gigantic fixed meals of rice and vegetable curries are served on banana leaves.
I recommend: peas uttapam, paper dosa (always a visual treat, stretching three feet from one side to the other), and the mango lassi.

EAT: Neptune Oyster Bar, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
This tiny restaurant in Boston’s North End serves up simple and unpretentious New England classics.
I recommend: the hot lobster roll in butter on a grilled brioche bun (the best lobster roll in the world), fried whole belly clams with a chunky tartar sauce.

EAT: Hui Lau Shan (Healthy Dessert Restaurant), Hong Kong, China
This ubiquitous chain specializes in mango desserts.
I recommend: mango sorbet with mango chunks and mango sauce (yes, that’s a real dish).

EAT: Beard Papa’s, all around the world
This Japanese chain serves cream-filled pastries made on the spot. When done well, the texture is perfect.
I recommend: plain cream puffs with vanilla cream.

EAT: In-n-Out Burger, California, USA
This chain is American fast food at its best.
I recommend: cheeseburger animal style (with grilled onions and thousand island dressing), vanilla milkshake.

EAT: Chick-fil-A, USA
Their chicken, juicy, sweet, and bursting with flavor, is astounding.
I recommend: chicken nuggets with honey mustard dipping sauce.

EAT: Sally’s Apizza, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
New Haven claims to be the birthplace of American pizza, and of the many wonderful pizzerias in town (Pepe’s, Modern, Bar), I think this is the best.
I recommend: a red pie (sauce only), pepperoni and hot cherry peppers.

EAT: Hunan Wildfire, Changsha, Hunan, China
This restaurant near the Xiang River serves its best dishes in bowls bearing a Hunanese quotation: He who eats spicy food can become a revolutionary.
I recommend: wild mountain pepper chicken, fish head noodles, sizzing Mongolian beef.

EAT: Cuz’s Uptown Barbeque, Pounding Mill, Virginia, USA
This is my parents’ restaurant, but I honestly think it’s the best restaurant in the world. The building is a folk-art masterpiece, and the food is out of this world.
I recommend: cheese egg rolls, deep fried lobster on rare roast beef, warm wild mushroom salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and broccoli and cheese beignets.

About Ming:
Ming Thompson was born and raised in Southwest Virginia. She graduated from Yale and recently received her Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She currently works as an exhibition curator and designer, and runs a small stationery business.