Forrest in Santa Monica

I didn't have to work on Tuesday (staff-only day), so I decided to take the day to explore some more of LA. With the help of some of my friends, I was able to visit....that's right. The world famous Santa Monica Pier. It was reminescent of Santa Cruz's boardwalk. There was a roller coaster, a ferris wheel, and arcade room, carnival games, and a great view of the Pacific Ocean, right along a long plank of wood. And it smelled amazing! Of ice cream, waffle cones, churros, some other fried delights. The pier was tantalizing to the eyes and noes. But alas, it fell short of the mouth.

By the time we all successfully met up (the bus took me right up to the pier), we were HUNGRY! and spotted this cute little restaurant, inspired by Forrest Gump. Bubba Gump was richly decorated with movie memorabilia including posters and quotes scribbled on the walls and tables. Our waitress even did a little trivia quiz with us, which Austen aced!! Our prize? the water. Kind of lame, but fun at the same time.

And the food? Forrest Gump probably cooked it himself. I got the grilled Fishwich which was extremely greasy and overwhelmed the texture and flavor of the sandwich. The bread was soft and the fish was flaky to the touch but to the mouth, it wasn't very flavorful. Austen's pasta didn't appeal to her either. None of us rightly finished our meals except for the Mels. Mm got fried shrimp and Melanie got a burger (but she didn't really enjoy it). Nonetheless, the decor and fine company made up for the meal. Then we walked around the pier, took pictures and ventured off to Third Street Promenade! I had loads of fun and only wished that we could have stayed longer and shopped more! The stored were absolutely large in a Mary Poppins kind of context. haha

...read on!...

Seeing Red

Yesterday, I had an adventure around Mei's apartment. While the day started out a dark brown, it ended red--in the best sense!
After having tried The Coffee Bean, I decided to check out the local Peet's. I ordered a cafe au lait, and rushed to grab any available seat. I was pleasantly suprised by the atmosphere of the little cafe. It was literally bustling. I didn't expect much at first because it was located next to a car wash and a tire shop across the street. While there was no patio seating, there was still ample opportunity to people watch. It also brought me straight back to the Peet's right by the Den up at school. The decor was very similar and the people that were there had similar purposes; to wind down even though it was the start of the day. Except for the kids that wanted to leave ASAP to catch Saturday morning cartoons, the people there shared my philosophy about breakfast. It's meant to be slow as a deep breath before the hectic happenings of a day takes place. ahhhh. Besides the eclectic gathering of people, I loved the HUGE display of pastries. Mmmm I wanted to eat them all.

Then, after lunch, I headed out to Westside Pavilion to do some window shopping which sadly became actual shopping. The good news? I got 2 (that's right TWO!) samples from See's. The bad news? $$ gone AND See's chocolate isn't all too yummy (waaay too sweet). After shopping for a while, I got hungry and so, I headed out along Pico BLVD to see what I could eat for dinner. And then, I spotted this :
A Thai restaurant; Chilli Thai. I've only had Thai food once in my life and thought, "heck why not again?" So I went inside and sat myself down. It was like Peet's in that the interior atmosphere and decor completely contrasted the outward appearance. It reminded me of a cottage and it was cutely decorated. All the tables had some sort of pink tablecloth underneath with a white lace placemat. Each table had a china set of dipping sauces and the wooden wall was lined with cottage-appropriate mirrors. After perusing the menu, I decided on the vegetarian red curry. Why red? Well, after looking it up on Wikipedia, red curry uses the red chili pepper so it should have a sweeter, spicier taste than the yellow curry. While all the curries (red, green, yellow) have similar ingredients, it's how it's prepared that also affects the overall taste and consistency of the curries.
Anyways back to the meal, when my curry came with a bowl of jasmine rice, I was glad because it was steaming and I was hungry. The melange of veggies were baby bok choy, baby corn, peas, carrots, basil, water chestnuts, and broccoli. The curry was sweet, creamy from the coconut milk, and slightly spicy with the heat being more of an aftertaste. It was good to say the least. The table next to me also got veggie spring rolls which looked pretty good. And next time I eat Thai food, I will go with a bunch of people so that I can order and taste more dishes!

And for dessert! I took a little walk to Red Mango and got a frozen yogurt with blueberries. Red Mango has a sweeter taste and thicker consistency than Pinkberry does and the blueberries were not fresh at all; they were frozen and not completely thawed. While the tagline is "treat yourself well" I did not feel like this was a huge treat. It was more of an "eh" and I would have preferred a different type of frozen delight. Nonetheless, it sufficed for my frozen yogurt craving, but I would not be venturing there again.

All in all, I had a good adventuresome day!

...read on!...

People Watching

Nothing goes better than a cup of caffeinated delight than an outside sitting area/ patio to watch people drink their drinks, chat, and do their own business. Having received a Coffee Bean gift card yesterday from Ryan, I went and got a cappucino there this morning with a book to read and a notebook to write.
The cappucino was just par. Perhaps, not even par; it tasted mostly of steamed milk with a subtle hints of expresso. But going out and watching the people was definitely worth it. I saw some old Jewish men chatting over a muffin (although they ddin't really eat it...kosher?), a bunch of Persian ladies eating eggs with their own salt and pepper, and an old man who ate his bagels with cream cheese and honey sans the actual bread on the inside.

People watching is like bird watching. I like being able to look at others, wonder what they are doing and make a story about them in my mind that fits my odd contextual universe. ...read on!...

it's good pho you

I have always mostly considered Vietnamese food a treat and for a while, whenever we went out with our mom, she would take us to eat Pho. And Pho actually tastes different depending on who prepares it for you. Back in Fullerton, a lot of the Pho restaurants were owned by Koreans so the broth had garlic, loads of onions and great hot sauces on the side. And my dad has been to some Pho houses in DC and he said that they were prepared by Chinese and so there was also a distinct flavor there. I'm not really sure how true Vietnamese food tastes like, but Le Saigon was pretty good.
The restaurant was small, but cozy...an intimate type of atmosphere. I'm not too sure where the French flair fell into play besides the menu (it wasn't the typical greasy, one-page Asian menus...you know what I'm talking about) and the BYOB concept. Oh and it was a bit pricey of a bowl of noodles...about $8, but it's LA. Nonetheless, what I absolutely loved about our dining experience with the cousins was not only their company, but also looking at what other people were eating.

BUT FIRST!! what we ate:
Tina and I both got soup noodle. I went for my Vietnamese usual: Pho with well-done brisket while Tina got a chicken-base Pho. She said that the taste is distinct from the typical beef broth and Mei concurred with that. There were onions, scallions, and cilantro with of course the side plates of bean sprouts, lime and basil. It was really good! The beef was creamy and literally melted in your mouth and the noodles were thinner than what I am usually used to and it held the broth pretty well. It was flavorful, but didn't leave a nasty aftertaste in the mouth like some other places that I have been to. It was also really filling--I wasn't able to finish it.

Jill also had noodles, but it was a dry dish that also came with imperial rolls, grilled pork, and that vinegary sauce to pour over the noodles. It had peanuts, or else I would have tried it! It looked really good though and of course, we finished the evening with yummy Pinkberry. I like my yogurt with just blueberries. Why blueberries you may ask? Well, because that's the most individual pieces of fruit per order. haha but pinkberry is always really generous with the toppings. mmm.

Anyways, like I was saying, I saw some other people were making their own rolls with rice-paperlike wraps and choices of their fillings which included bean sprouts, carrots, basil, meat or tofu and it looked really good. Perhaps this is a lesson to step out of my comfort level and try new things out of my "usual" or "ordinary". Perhaps this was the French aspect of the restaurant in their way of saying "c'est la vie" ...read on!...

Brownies for Mei

Mei is the personification of a workaholic. She's always busy doing things...her own things, other people's things; play things, boring things; all sorts of things.

So I thought it was fine time to do something for her too. I went to Ralph's where I used my free Betty Crocker's Cake Mix coupon to get a box of good old brownies and transform it into a healthier batch of chocolate goodness.

+= :D

Following the directions on the box(mostly), I cut out an egg, replaced it with a scoop of yogurt, put in almonds and some yummy strawberries. The end result was a really moist, perhaps too moist, fudgy creation. It also had a nice fudgy taste to it. I thought it was good, but I wished it was more solid. HAHA but these brownies would go extremely nicely with a glass of milk and a Gilmore Girls Marathon. oh dean ...

...read on!...

4 things i <3 about the 4th of jULY

4th of July...Independence Day...long weekend(an oxymoron during summer when all days might as well be considered the weekend)

This year, it was more than that! It was Cheryl's briday shower and it also encapsulated all things that I like about the 4th of July :D

1.the beach

we began our adventures at the beach. Originally, we planned on spending the day in Malibu, but after hours of playing Mario Cart on Wii, the morning became noon, which became afternoon. Yes, the day got off to a lazy, hot start, but all was well--going out too early would mean longer exposure to UV rays. As we drove out with our dinner destination in mind (DUKE'S), we passed Malibu beach (which was already packed!) and continued driving until we hit Topanga beach. We brought out our cooler filled with water and grapes and lounged about for a while and soaked in some good, natural vitamin D. :D

2. FIREWORKS!
The fireworks show began in our mouths as we headed out to Duke's for some drinks and scouted out an ideal table to sit and watch the real fireworks. The decor of Duke's was more than appropriate. The beach smoothly transitioned into the interior of the restaurant, which was lined with windows facing the ocean. The servers were clad in casual beach wear with leis but the atmosphere was more of an upclass casual. While Duke's offered classic beach shack dishes(fish&chips, nachos, burgers...), the quality was far from it!

We ate and drank as we watched the waves crash and planned last minute details for Cheryl's wedding.

What did we eat? well:

the wine we had was a rocky rabbit sauvignon blanc. it was fruity, light and delicious with the fish

Appetizers:

Calamari sticks which were reminescent of cheesesticks, breaded and fried to a light crisp texture. I never really noticed how rich the actual squid could be!

Poke rolls were something new to me as I have never really had Hawaiian cuisine before. They were raw ahi sauteed with onions and wrapped in rice paper. i wonder what the sauce was...

Salad:

Hearts of Palm and Papaya. Light and delicious. I also learned that hearts of palm are white asparagus!

Entrees:

Mahi Mahi cooked firecracker style in tribute to the festive occasion. It was a filet of mahi mahi roasted with a chili, garlic, tomato rub with an avacado, black bean and onion salsa. I liked that the spiciness was actually an aftertaste.

Huli Huli chicken...a pseudonym for one of the best, fruitiest terryaki chickens that I have ever had! and it came with a rice and pinapple salsa. It was good! and there were definitely accents of some sweet fruit in the marinade. What I also loved was that this dish looked into Hawaiian culture and its Japanese influences.

Mango BBQ Ribs. Need I say more? Sweet, spicy (but not hot), and the ribs literally fell off the bone. I love pork. yes i do. pork chops, tenderloin, ribs.

Dessert:

HULA PIE! well, what is it?! it's a huge slice of ice cream cake: a thin oreo cookie crust, a huge mound of macadamia nut ice cream (with actual nuts in it!) covered with fudge, whipped cream and almond slivers. an extreme version of an ice cream sundae.

oh and the actual fireworks show was a huge bang! we did leave out table spot to go back out to the beach and held each other as we oooohed and ahhhed :D

3. BBQ'S!

the next day as the rest of the crew went to the spa, I helped yee ma prep for the BBQ which was a fusion of Korean and American styles. We went to the Korean supermarket to pick up the key ingredients (aka the meat) and was assisted by the butcher to create more authentic flavors to the meat as well as some advice on side dishes.

We had potato salad, spicy-tart cucumbers, radishes, as well as bought seaweed, anchovies and squid, Korean short ribs, chicken, roasted veggies, corn, and dry-rubbed spare ribs. It was good.

4. Family

<3

...read on!...