Friday, October 16, 2009

tides they turn and hearts disfigure, but that's no concern when we're wounded together

check out this guy's awesome paintings!!
boba fett is my favorite
it's a trap and 3po w/ r2 are tied for 2nd
love!!!

saturday morning coffee @ amandine

someone always has to get the croque madame
sauce béchamel, ham, egg and gruyere
they are a little overzealous when piling on the ham
so it's a bit salty
but please notice the perfection that is this over-easy egg
beautiful

onion & gruyere omelette on baguette
w/ onion, greens, dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar
so tasty

quiche of the day :)
potato, turkey and red pepper
comforting and surprisingly light

from luke chueh's inferno
as in DANTE's inferno
this bear turning into a prawn
among others
is super super disturbing

bread accompaniments @ porterhouse bistro in beverly hills
house tapenade, bruschetta, butter, whole roasted garlic bulb
this place's prix fixe menu is a pretty amazing deal
4 courses + 2 cocktails for $45?? believe it

chopped romaine & endive salad
w/ blue cheese and white truffle oil vinaigrette
loved this
i could have eaten just this and left happy

smoked salmon quesadillas ..not bad but kinda meh

rib eye was not the most amazing but VERY decent
cooked just rare enough and well-seasoned

the desserts included in the prix fixe were WHACK
but we got a lit-up cotton candy on the house
so neat! :)

dipping cotton candy in water is shockingly fun/magical

wednesdays @ the counter in el segundo 4pm - close
beer pairings w/ delicious sliders for $12!
hoegaarden, sierra nevada, fat tire, arrogant bastard
paired w/ . . .

#1: pineapple, ham and swiss w/ ginger soy
#2: guac, bacon, pepperjack, tomato, red onion
and lettuce w/ chipotle ranch

#3: fried onion rings and provologne w/ chimichurri
#4: grilled onions, blue cheese, pepperocinis
and black olives w/ garlic aioli
if you eat meat and enjoy beer
YOU WILL LIKE THESE!!

celeste frozen pizzas
yes they have a website!!!
this was me and my brother's favorite thing to eat
when we got home from high school lol
so SOMEONE told me she is self-conscious
about buying these at the store bc the package reads
"PIZZAS FOR ONE"
hahahahahha sad!

this is relevant!!
a rubick's cube is a GAME FOR ONE is it not??
that's right - the rubix cubewich
cute but i don't want to eat it at all
not even in pieces

sugar and joey pretending to be friends

star wars in concert!! @ anaheim pond
narrated by anthony daniels in person
wowee wow wow
that giant screen was more powerful than i could ever imagine
anyone?

yoda on my new sweatshirt :)

crazy rice cakes @ crazy hook in k-town
this place is freaking strange
it's a pirate-themed bar in koreatown
that serves beer in 5000cc tubes
needless to say, every time i come here
everyone has the best time ever
i am not hard to please when it comes to rice cakes
and even though these were outrageously hot/spicy
they had the best chewy texture EVER

soju + lemon for the BABIES
just kidding babies!!!

who in the world ordered chicken wings & onion rings?
basically were useful for un-numbing my tongue
from the hot-ass rice cakes and that's about it

beer tube!!

ketchup on omelette mess w/ green onions
can't say i hated it
but i did eat it after countless cc's lol

xo sauce @ seashore in torrance
basically shredded dried scallop and dried shrimp
mashed up w/ chili oil and garlic
DELICIOUS
more of a snack than a sauce, i say

braised string beans
always so fresh and well-seasoned here
i could have eaten this entire plate by myself

spicy salt fried squid w/ chili, green onion
and tons of fried chopped garlic bits
no one can NOT like this
they also have the yummiest egg tofu dish here

dodger dog + diet coke
the 4 of us ate a total of 9 or 10 i lost count
plus at least 6 sodas, 1 bag of peanuts
and 1 bag of popcorn
all-you-can-eat for this type of food
is a great yet TERRIBLE idea


roasted egglant sandwich @ beech street cafe in el segundo
this place replaced my beloved red sesame :(
i thought i would never get over wanting
their spicy thai basil tofu w/ brown rice
or their crazy rich vietnamese iced coffees
and now look ..i am ADDICTED to this SANDWICH
eggplant, zuchinni, goat cheese and caramelized onions
on warm, crunchy, chewy delicious bread
i swear every time i go
it just gets fatter and juicier and more tasty

joey riding in the car
i try to keep it under 35mph for the sake of his little ears

this is hilarious to me bc the building managers at my work
are RIDICULOUSLY anal about parking
or specifically NOT parking on the lot
and look at what this guy does
in your face

cheese pizza w/ fresh basil @ the appetizer
this place is one of the only restaurants in pv
that has been there since i was a kid
i loooove their torpedos and vegeterian lasagnas
and the cheese on their pizzas is amazing

marinated mushrooms

dumdums
are NOT meant to be crunched up in your teeth
do not do this!!

day-old kogi tacos
um DELICIOUS
i heard it was way overrated
but ..really? what did you expect?
it met my expectations perfectly
and i would love to eat it again!

excuse me wth is that supposed to mean?

roasted eggplant sandwich @ beech street again
does it look 10x better this time or what??
like i said, tastier every time
their goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts
and garlic vinaigrette side salad alone
is totally worth going for

their italian grinder
not AS good but still delicious
esp if you're in the mood for hot, salty, fatty meat & cheese

wurst, potato salad & coleslaw
@ oktoberfest in alpine village for rach's birthday
always a good time

jason mraz @ the hollwood bowl
my heart pretty much exploded when he sang beautiful mess

small/laura & tall/chris
riding on a bus riding on a bus sitting next to bums

rach's birthday mac & cheese :) :) :)

joey being good on his afternoon walk

teriyaki chicken plate @ teri hawaii in gardena

kalua pork plate
SIGHHHHH
it's no ono but it'll have to do :(

their loco moco is definitely not bad
goes well w/ rhythmic dance competitions

oh hello beer2-D2
beer + star wars = :)

laura made cornbread muffins
saw the corn kernels the next day
if you know what i mean
-_- ew

i about DIED when i saw this
how INCREDIBLY AWESOME is this??
giant raccoon mario rug in PIXELS
total of 386 pixels and each pixel is represented
by 1 traditional crochet granny square
super simple but majorly time-consuming
i would love to attempt something like this some day

lunch swap w/ kc: day #1
ground turkey w/ sprouts, grilled onions,
meunster and the works
moist and perfect all the way to the center
a poultry miracle!!

leftover pasta w/ goat cheese,
olive oil packed sundried tomatoes,
fresh grape tomotoes, pepper, olive oil and lemon
world's BEST grape tomatoes are cherubs
i refuse to ever buy any other

and i thought giant raccoon pixels mario rug was impressive
this thing is almost 7 ft long!!
super mario obsession blanket consists of individual panels
each an original design
then they were all stitched together
insane! how amazingly creative is this?
i am in awe

it's friday night and i was feeling kinda bleh
didn't feel like going out
didn't feel like sleeping quite yet
so my roommate goes and makes me the greatest thing
instead of a mcdonald's filet-o-fish
she made fish sticks w/ ketchup & mayo
covered in melted american in a freaking hot dog bun
GENIUS!! was totally giddy as she was assembling
immediately put me in a better mood

lastly, some great movies:
the boys are back - LOVE CLIVE OWEN more than ever
paranormal activity - saw it twice, still have trouble sleeping
mrs. doubtfire - it was a run-by fruiting

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

SEPTEMBER!!

chillin @ lake mead in laughlin

our ez-up campsite

the bunch of us
beers + jet skis? yes.

grilled cheese panini
@ neighborhood grinds in redondo beach

visiting a friend :)
@ deer park monastery in escondido

beautiful mindfulness bell

carlsbad beach

the 3 of us

backyard summer bbq

salt and pepper shakers

paprika! lol

spicy tuna hand roll
@ noshi sushi in ktown

hamachi cut rolls

refugiado from porto's bakery in burbank
an amazing guava and cheese pastry

biking on the strand to dockweiler beach!

nice day :)

ice cream truck!

labor day dusk

time for the bonfire

man meat!!

bacon sloppy joes in hot dog buns yummmm

leftover bacon added to s'mores
delicious

the most fantastic 4th birthday cake!

i would like a birthday cupcake tower myself

joe being mild-mannered

joe being ferocious rar

the most fantastic 23rd birthday cake ever?
dobash from king's hawaiian bakery in torrance

homemade hand-dipped chocolate-covered bacon
as amazing as it looks

chicken meatballs, beef tongue and
bacon-wrapped asparagus yakitori
@ nanbankan in LA

fresh, hot, MEATY softshell crab

grilled onigiri w/ tarako
sooo good

chicken skin yakitori

wonderful oyster mushrooms

giant prawns
i love that they're grilled w/ shell on

shiso leaf wrapped chicken breast

garlic cloves and pork belly

something about a mcdonald's egg mcmuffin
is so perfect to me

killing time @ airport bar en route to oahu

lau lau @ ono hawaiin foods in honolulu

amazing kalua pork
could eat this every day forever

even better w/ poi

lomi salmon

salt beef watercress soup
fatty meat falling off the bone in hot wonderful broth
hands down my favorite thing we ate in hawaii
HANDS DOWN

best mai tai i have ever had
@ our hotel in waikiki

deliciously chewy and flaky butter roll w/ tuna
@ liliha bakery in honolulu

garlic butter roll w/ green onion, ham and bacon

malasada
best doughnut EVERRRR

filled w/ a light passionfruit jelly

dole whip topped w/ pineapple chunks
@ dole plantation in wahiawa

aren't they cute?
miles of this stuff

our first stop driving north shore

mai tai @ turtle bay resort in kahuku
where forgetting sarah marshall was filmed!

the infamous giovanni's shrimp truck in kahuku

amazing scampi DRENCHED in garlic

hot & spicy is no joke!

view of mokoli'i island aka "chinaman's hat"
from kualoa park

garlic chicken plate lunch from mitsu-ken in honolulu
so good!!

loco moco for breakfast

bailey's antiques and aloha shirts in honolulu
loved this place! such a find

waiola shave ice in honolulu
look at how fine that ice is!

ahi poke @ our hotel bar

view of waikiki from our hotel balcony

zippy's fast food
for fried chicken and chili plate

spam and eggs

chili cheese fries for breakfast
why not?

view half-way up the diamond head hike in honolulu

view of waikiki from the top

view of the crater from the top

snorkeling @ hanauma bay in honolulu
gorgeous and we saw TONS of fish

really good smoothies
@ lanikai juice in kailua

supermarket-bought ahi poke
the best!

chili cheese fries @ pepper's place in kailua

cheese jalapeno poppers ..meh

dinner @ alan wong's honolulu
seared foie gras w/ plum chutney
loved it

roast duck salad w/ chinese lap cheong sausage
and hoisin balsamic vinaigrette

baby maui romaine caesar w/ creamy anchovy
dressing and filets, kalua pork and lomi tomato
in a crispy cheese basket
i about died - my new favorite salad

beef tenderloin special topped w/ a quail egg
over shrimp risotto

whole fried moi stuffed w/ lobster, potatoes, mushrooms
in a coconute curry sauce
our entrees were whatever
..the 1st two courses were amazing tho

lap cheong manapua from ..7-11

spam musubi ..also from 7-11
score

waimea bay
stayed here all afternoon :)

matsumoto shave ice in haleiwa
sorry, waiola is better

my favorite breakfast was our last meal in hawaii
loco moco @ rainbow drive-in

spam and eggs over easy

amazingly rich, fluffy pancakes

i want it now!

leaving oahu :(

back home to LA :)

i imagine heaven to look as pleasing as this

swoon

i saw a boba fett one also but was too late to grab it

home to mom's cooking! :) :) :)
pickled veggies w/ pork

shrimp w/ (get this) maggi sauce + a dab of ketchup
trust me it's bomb

egg fried w/ bean sprouts and green onion
so simple yet so delicious

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

issues


i have some issues with the following:

1.
effective january 1, 2009, the wireless communications device law made it an infraction to write, send and READ texts while driving. california vehicle code sections 23123 and 23124 restrict cell phone usage to hands-free devices only and prohibit all drivers under 18 from using a cell phone at all while driving.
newsflash: 90% of the time, hands-free devices make you look like an anti-social dumbass ..unless, of course, you are david beckham, in which case you can wear whatever the f you want.


2.
smart ones brand frozen breakfast sandwiches, regardless of their admittedly spongey "egg" layer, are my breakfast-on-the-run choice of late. i am fascinated by frozen breakfast food in general and i'm not sure why these have grown on me so much. strangely, these sandwiches are 210 calories whether you choose with or without canadian bacon - this makes no logical sense, unless the canadian bacon is 0 calories (unlikely!). anyway, my main issue with these sandwiches is that they come out of the microwave RAGING hot. the whole point of a 2 min microwave breakfast is SPEED, is it not? but as soon as it's done heating, it's so hot that i always end up scarfing it in about 1.5 min and then wishing i had just waited.


issue #1 + issue #2
=
on my way to work this morning, i got pulled over by a cop for talking on my cell phone. i was not talking on my cell phone, but, in fact, was scarfing down the above-mentioned insanely hot breakfast sandwich. he saw me putting a cell phone to my ear when i was actually putting a sandwich to my mouth -_-
by the time i explained myself, he was probably grossed out by the smell of ham radiating out my car window and ended up not giving me a ticket. i am now more paranoid than ever about using my phone in the car yet i will continue to scarf my breakfast sandwiches at all costs.

3.
red sesame, my current favorite work-lunch place is closed :( :( :( nooooooo!!!!
where am i supposed to get my thai basil brown rice and vietnamese iced coffees now???