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