The House Poet

Curbside Cafe Revisit!

2011-09-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Curbside Cafe has been a family favorite for a long time. The comforting French food, tiny space, and pretty location off of Filmore St have made it a wonderful place to have lunch or dinner with people who are closest to you~ :) My sister and I were lucky enough to be able to go have lunch there this summer, and it was great to spend time with her before she went off to college for her freshman year! (Go Fiona! :D)

We had made reservations, since it is a popular spot for lunch, and were seated at a table in an alcove next to the window. It was quite cozy, and we appreciated being able to sit down, even though we were early for our reservation. The owner was accomadating, even if he was busy, and we felt taken care of. Our first course was, of course, French onion soup! We shared it, since it's very rich, and it was perfect for the both of us. The cheese was melted and satisfyingly stringy, and the onions were sweet.

Fiona ordered the philly cheese steak sandwich, which was served with fresh and crispy fries. The sandwich arrived on grilled dutch crunch bread, the same that had been served to us with the soup. The bread was wonderful and we both inhaled it! XD Dutch crunch is great bread and I was happy to see the cafe utilising it, since one doesn't see it at many restaurants. I had a bite of her sandwich and it was so good! There was mushrooms, good quality meat, melted cheese, and I think she asked to leave out the onions and peppers, which is what I would have done. ;)

I ordered one of my favorite dishes there, the Chicken Piccata with angel hair pasta. The chicken was soft and looked like it was poached, witch went well with the rich lemon butter sauce. Salty capers dotted the plate and tasted wonderful with the sauce and chicken. The cheese was thickly grated, but I can't remember if it was parmesan or not...it tasted sharp, but it was soft. Ah well, what matters is that this was a comfortable amount of food and wasn't overly rich or heavy.

The desserts are yummy, but we both wanted to try the bakeries down the street, so we passed. The meal wasn't too expensive, and we were both satiated with our meals; our plates had been licked clean! :)

After paying, we walked down the street to check out a new bakery, the Fillmore Bakeshop. They had many different varieties of macarons, and we were anxious to try some! The macaron were HUGE! So we each bought two.

I only got a picture of the pistachio macaron, which was divine. I loooove pistachio-flavored desserts and this one did not disappoint! There was sweet pistachio buttercream as the filling, and the shells were airy and chewy. We both enjoyed the flavors we got, and even though they were a touch expensive, it was worth trying! Also, this was a great light dessert to have after the savory lunch.

Curbside Cafe

2417 California Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Fillmore Bakeshop

1890 Fillmore St

(between Sutter St & Bush St)

San Francisco, CA 94115

Momofraise says: Giant macarons and a quaint French cafe? What are you waiting for? Go!!

Sapporo-ya Revisit!

2011-09-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

I think this might have been the first San Francisco visit of the summer.....I went a few times, hitching a ride from my dad who had appointments and such. On this particular day, my dad had a lunch appointment, so I went off and had lunch on my own! I was particularly curious to see if my old ramen-ya favorite, Sapporo-ya, had changed, so I went to find out....
I ordered some gyoza on the side. The dressing on the salad tasted like mayo and ketchup mixed together....definitely un-appetizing. I would have enjoyed the salad if they had only used Japanese style dressing. The gyoza themselves were thin and tasted homemade, full of chopped meat and veggies. They come apart easily, and taste a bit salty. I still enjoyed them though~

Here is where I think I made an ordering mistake. I was into making miso ramen at home with my dad at the time, and I wanted to taste how Sapporo-ya made theirs. I used to love their shoyu ramen, and I think I should have gotten that instead. The noodles were chewy, but not very plentiful, and the chashu was super fatty. I know some people would prefer that, but I do not. The broth had a funny aftertaste and the miso flavor was very muted. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. However, eating there was very comfortable and nostalgic~ :)

Sapporo-ya

1581 Webster St

Ste 202(between Geary Blvd & Post St)

San Francisco, CA 94115

Momofraise says: Stick with Shoyu ramen and watch out for fatty chashu!

The Dead Fish-- Crockett, CA

2011-09-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hello again everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've been one busy lady! I'm currently in the Bay Area, working for my dad as a clerical assistant and working on some secret plans, hehehehhee ;) Andrew is doing well, he has come to the Bay Area to visit a lot and we have a ton of fun with him here!

This was a lunch my dad and I had on Memorial Day earlier this year~ This restuarant is called The Dead Fish, and while it may not sound super appetizing, it turned out to be delicious, complete with wonderful views of the Bay!

We started off with garlic cheese bread~ The bread was rather crunchy, but the cheese was flavorful and their was a light hint of olive oil and garlic. What really made this delicious was the chopped fresh basil; such a wonderful addition that intensified the salty flavor of the cheese!

My dad ordered two Kumamoto oysters and he enjoyed how fresh they were. They were simple and quite large; my dad said he would definitely order them again!

I wanted a salad to start off, and I enjoy Cesaer salad, so I opted to try their rendition. First of all, there was SO MUCH parmesan. I couldn't believe it! It may not look like it in the picture, but there was a lot and I couldn't finish all of it. The salad dressing was simple and rather sparse, but I prefer it that way. The croutons were fresh and very crunchy; they went well with the plentiful cheese.

My dad ordered the halibut as his main course, which came blistering hot in the pan pictured, along with tons of fresh vegetables and some pearl couscous. He really liked it, especially the vegetables, and was pleased with this dish. :)

Since I am not a fish lover, I went with one of the Italian offerings: lasagna! This lasagna was dense and rich, but not too heavy. I actually finished the whole plate and I loved dipping the garlic cheese bread in the rich tomato meat sauce. There were little capers in it, and they added a pleasant tangy flavor to the lasagna. The cheese was sharp and blended well with everything else. I really liked this lasagna, and looking back it was a different kind than one usually eats in Italian restaurants.

We were much too full for dessert, so we ate leisurely and enjoyed the view of the boats on the Bay. This place was very comfortable and decorated with a marine theme, but it's still classy enough for a date. We would like to go back someday and perhaps try one of their brunch specials or sandwiches, which looked hearty! I had a lovely Memorial Day with my dad~ :)

The Dead Fish

20050 San Pablo Avenue

Crockett, CA 94525-1028

Momofraise Says: Go for the food, hearty portions, and nice selection! The garlic cheese bread is addictive!

Strawberry Cake!

2011-06-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived! Hey everyone! Sorry for being MIA lately, there has just been a lot going on! I have been in the Bay Area for almost two months now, and I have had some cooking adventures~ (mostly, I've just been enjoying my dad's cooking, hehe) Today is a gloomy, rainy day, but my grandma is finally home from the hospital! Yay! So that's awesome. :) Andrew has been able to come over a couple times and spend the weekend with us, which has been amazing and fun!!!!! ;D

A couple times this summer, we have found ourselves with extra strawberries around the house. So, I decided to make Martha Stewart's strawberry cake!

Here it is right before going into the oven~

And here is a picture of the cake after! Voila! :)

Another after picture~ I have been depriving this blog of pictures lately, so here's more than enough, haha!

The recipe stated that homemade whipped crea should act as the accompaniement to the cake. So, I whipped (hehe) some up and we really enjoyed it. The cake itself is so easy to make, and smells delicious when cooking. Personally, I find it a little too sweet and buttery for my taste. Maybe I just am not a fan of fruit cakes. My family and friends really like it, so that makes me happy. :) And it looks so lovely too!

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/336020/strawberry-cake

This is a fun recipe for summertime, and it would be fun to make with kids too! Check it out! :)

Momofraise Says: This cake is a sweet treat for summer, and a great dessert to bring to a picnic or bbq~!

Summer Jams~

2011-04-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope you are all well and enjoying the April weather! :)

Tomorrow is my last day of classes before finals.....my last day of class of Junior year...crazy! >.< I hope finals will go smoothly~

I wanted to write a quick blog entry, partly because it's fun and I need a break from writing my final paper/play. :)

A lot has been going on over here! Andrew and I have been busy with school and performing with a local band, Loki Rhythm. That has been super fun and a great way to keep music in our busy lives. I do rhythm percussion, backup vocals, and some dancing~ Andrew does guitar and sings wonderfully! :D My Japan club had our Spring Festival event a few weeks ago, which was a hit and quite fun! I wish more people had come, but that's okay~

It's funny, I find myself really missing Japan lately...This time last year I was prepping to go. Also, all the talk about what happened in Japan has made me wish I could help more. Japan is such a special place and the fact that they are going through such tough times hurts my heart. I have tried to help and do what I can~ I made some ribbons to commemorate the victims. I miss the way I started to feel comfortable in Japan; I miss the friends I made there too. Watching Miyazaki movies helps, as does listening to the soundtracks. To be honest, I am really hoping to go back to Japan someday with Andrew! :) We want to go to the Studio Ghibli museum, and hang around Osaka and Kyoto~

Anyway, I should probably get back to writing my play about women in the Mexican Revolution and listening to the Spirited Away soundtrack~ XD Look forward to a post about some good eats at the Asparagus Festival~! ;)

Hope and Support~

2011-03-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It has definitely been a while since I have updated this here blog! I got a new laptop a few weeks ago luckily; Andrew had been letting me use his and I kind of miss it....except not the way it had issues turning on! (just kidding poor boo!) Otherwise, I have been so busy with school, work, and life in general~

I'm writing here today about what happened in Japan. I didn't sleep well last night and when I woke up I saw on Facebook that a huge earthquake and tsunami had hit Japan. I couldn't believe it. I was so worried about all my friends there, but luckily they all seem to be okay.

Anyway, please keep Japan in your thoughts. I'm Historian of the Matsuri Japan Club on campus so we are going to try and plan a candlelit vigil and a donation drive next week.

This was such a sad thing to happen. :( After loving Japan for so long and living there for part of last summer, I feel a connection with it. I hope the future will bring help and a swift recovery to Japan, and I pray for those whose lives were lost.

~Opy

:(

2010-12-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Well, I'm on winter break for four weeks and I'm in the Bay with my family. I'm hoping to update this blog more since I will be having cooking adventures.

I'm feeling a little upset at the start of this break though because my laptop was stolen yesterday on the Amtrak train. I also had my phone charger, iPod charger, and webcam stolen. It's dumb because whoever stole my stuff forgot to take the laptop charger. I talked to an Amtrak police officer last night and will be working on getting money from them to replace my stuff. I'm hoping they will give me some money, but I'm not holding my breath on it.

To be honest, this makes me feel so bad. I worked so hard all semester, and this is what happens? I'm trying to be strong and do things with my family, but it's hard. I miss Andrew terribly.

This is Christmas time, and I have valuables stolen from me. I trusted Amtrak to have a secure place for my suitcase. Obviously, that didn't do anything. Now, since there has been so much crime in the Bay and Valley, I don't even want to go anywhere by myself. I just hope Andrew will be safe, and my family too. I'm grateful that we have the means to replace some of my things, but it's super tight this year. I asctually don't even care about money or presents any more. I want to give things to the people I care about, that's all.

Anyway, look forward to pictures coming soon. I made sausages with my Dad today, so that will be a fun and picture-heavy post.

Campus Food Truck and New Hair!

2010-11-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Heyyo everyone! This week is Thanksgiving, so I hope all of you who celebrate have fun and eat well! :) I'm going back to my Father's place~ I'll miss Andrew and my friends, but I know they will be eating well!

It's a cold day here, and it's been raining on and off. Kinda sad, if you ask me~ Too much grey! Anyway, I am in the library because the internet at my house died for some weird reason. I finished a bunch of homework and wanted to do a blogpost since I had time~ I've been really busy this semester, and there is a lot I have to do in the next couple weeks. I'm just trying to stay sane and healthy; my boo has been helping with that! ;) I've even started writing poetry again! That is something I am really proud of right now~ :)

There was a change on campus here at UOP and I thought it would be perfect to blog here about! We have a food truck~! I think UOP heard about the fancy food truck craze and wanted to get in on it. We have a ton of Mexican food trucks around here that are yummy~ The food truck on campus serves UOP food and is trying to make it fancy like some of the trucks in LA or New York haha XD

Last Wednesday was a hard day, and I wanted to try the food truck since I had time and not much food in my fridge. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, which came with pulled pork, ham, and cheese (swiss? provolone? not sure..) and a ceasar salad. It was good and filling, but didn't really correlate with the menu.....The sandwich was supposed to have pickles, cheddar cheese, and a mustard spread. Yet, none of those things were present. However, the sandwich was still yummy~ My guess is that they ran out of those things, since there was a huge line when I went. The sandwich was $5~ Also, the salad was good, but there were only three tiny croutons. The dressing tasted homemade, or, at least, of good quality. The salad was only $2, and they gave me a lot! :) I think the food truck is a pretty good deal, if you are willing to spend the money. The bread on the sandwich was warm, fluffy, and tasty!!!!! That was one of the best things about it! XD

Environmentally, however, I am not sure if this truck is doing a good job....maybe they can use recycled paper things? Also, they ran out of forks and napkins super quickly....not cool. I had to eat my salad with my fingers, which was kind of odd.

In other news.....I cut off my hair! XD I love it short!!!!!!

This picture was taken by my love today! :D He took me to Le Kims, our favorite place, for lunch! I don't have much food or money right now, so this was so sweet of him! You can tell how excited I am! :D Thank you so much hun! It really meant a lot to me to go on this little date together~! I am really going to miss him over break~

Anyway, we're all working hard~ Hopefully next semester will be a little easier, haha~ I also need more simply and healthy recipes! Any suggestions? :D

Momofraise says: The University of the Pacific food truck is pretty yummy, let's hope it stays that way! XD

A Fabulous Summer Lunch at Bushi-Tei in SF!

2010-11-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Yes, it has been a while! This semester is super busy, but I'm hanging in there! Today is a rainy day~ Andrew left to go home and study (I miss youuuuu!) , and I'm making dinner, and then I have a meeting to go to at 8. I don't really want to work on my essay any more, so I thought why not update my blog? :D Yay! It feels awesome! Anyway, here are some pics from a lunch in the summer time! My dad took my sister and I to Japantown for a special lunch and some townhouse shopping for me! This was after I got back from Japan, so it was funny to be in Japantown, SF! XD Pictured above is a Japanese-style cheescake slice from Andersen Bakery! Yum! It was a typical Japanese cheesecake, soft and fluffy, with a light lemon flavor~ A decadent way to start the day!

After shopping, my sis and I met my dad in front of Bushi-Tei, a rather upscale restaurant in Japantown. It's a up the street from Peace Plaza; perhaps people don't know too much about it. This lunch was one of the best food experiences I have ever had! The restaurant interior is smaller than one would expect, but that makes for a cozier, more attentive experience. It's a beautiful place, good for meeting with people for business, like my dad does.
We were served a complimentary cup of soup-I think it was carrot and potato soup? It was so soothing and the scallion bits on top with the drizzle of olive oil added such an earthy touch! I love the idea of getting a free cup of soup with your meal~ It made me feel like special~ :D
My father ordered his favorite, the rock shrimp salad, full size. He, of course, loved it and was so happy he ordered it again.
My sister ordered the Panzanella salad, which is an Italian salad consisting of bread, tomatoes, and other vegetables in a light dressing. She really enjoyed it and it looks lovely! A bread salad is very Italian, and not a dish I have seen in many restaurants, so we were impressed by this!
Now......this salad changed my life. I am so serious. I LOVE this salad! It's the chicken confit salad, with trevisio, brie cheese, in a dijon dressing. OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I HAVE EVER EATEN! The chicken legs are tender and they melt in your mouth, so succulent with their rich chicken juices~ Confit means that the chicken was marinating in it's own (fatty) juices, so it's extremely moist and savory. The sharpness of the salad contrasted well with the rich chicken and brie cheese. I put some brie on the lovely toasts and it was so grand with the chicken and the tasty salad! All in all, an amazing dish; it was rich without going over the top and my taste buds were dancing in happiness~ :)
For his entree, my dad ordered the halibut special of the day! It came with a bistro salad, crunchy shoestring fries, and romesco sauce to dip the fish in. The romesco sauce was chilled, which is normal, and is made of red peppers. I tried a bite of the fish with the sauce and enjoyed it, much to my surprise. It was a tasty summer dish and my dad liked it!
We ordered an extra side of fries because we weren't sure if our entrees came with some! XD So yeah, we had tons of fries and it was delicious! These were fried perfectly, and were dusted with paprika, which was a delicious touch! :D
I ordered the same thing as my sister, the Croque washugyu! This dish is a play on the traditional French bistro dish of a Croque Monsieur sandwich, but open-faced with wagyu beef and onions! It was so goooood and the cheese and onions brought it to a whole new level! Of course, the fries added a lot too~ ;) Fiona and I really enjoyed this and we were getting so full! I was taking pictures of everything we ate with my phone to send to Andrew; I really wished he was there, as he sure did! :D But, that wish did come true sometime later.... ;)
Stuffed, but unable to refuse dessert and the comfort of the restaurant, we ordered some tea. It was one of those overcast and cold San Francisco summer days, and this hit the spot. I ordered the special mint tea, I think, and Fiona ordered some sort of lemongrass tea? It was interesting!
I will be honest and admit that we were underwhelmed by the dessert. This was a little chocolate souffle cake, topped with house-made milk ice cream and roasted strawberries. The souffle was small and a bit dry, and the ice cream was too icey.....but those roasted strawberries.....oh my gosh the sweetness of the strawberries exploded in my mouth! They were the best part of the dessert! Roasting strawberries, what a marvelous idea! People should do it more! :D

So, that was our splendid meal. My family had a great time, but I was really missing Andrew. As I hinted earlier, I actually did get to go to Bushi-Tei with Andrew a couple months later! :D I will do a seperate post on that, since I have to find the pictures first. It was still an amazing meal, not as hefty, but still awesome! Of course, the company was the best! ;) Thanks love!

Bushi-Tei

1638 Post Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

(415) 440-4959

http://www.bushi-tei.com/

Momofraise says: GO NOW! This is my favorite restaurant! The service is attentive and hospitable, and the food is so satisfying! The prices are reasonable! You won't be dissappointed!

PS: I checked the website, and they seem to have a new winter menu! It sounds good, but different!

Healthy by Omission... XD

2010-10-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! I am alive and well, just extremely busy with school, work, and cooking! :D I live in a townhouse with my roommate Kaitlynn, and since I have a kitchen I have a lot of fun cooking!

It was Andrew's 20th birthday on Tuesday (yay!) and I made him birthday dinner! I was sooo excited! I made a huge chocolate bat cake, which was delicious! However, I forgot powdered sugar for the chocolate frosting, so I had to put cute chocolate chips and icing on it, haha~ XD I was so excited for him to see it that I forgot to take pictures! He took one on his phone, so I will have to show you guys~

Over the weekend I made Irish Soda bread, and it was really exciting to make bread for the first time. It's definitely something I want to learn more about. The bread itself is super dense, but actually rather tasty. It smells great, so I am really proud~ :)

Also, I ate so much today!!! XD Andrew took me to his favorite Chinese restaurant from his childhood, and it was soooo tasty and so cheap! The atmosphere and the food was so comforting, but we ate so much and still had a lot of leftovers! I was thinking about how I haven't been eating super healthy lately, but then I realized that I am healthier than some of the people at my college by omission, right?? I was watching Drop Dead Diva, my FAVORITE show, and there was a term called lying by omission. So, since there are a lot of unhealthy foods I avoid, that might make me healthier by omission!!!! XD Yes, that's what I tell myself lol. XD

Anyway, lots of fun posts coming up! Things are way different this year since I have my own townhouse with a kitchen, but that's okay! Change is good, change is good.... XD

First day back from Japan and BIG NEWS! :D

2010-08-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's been ages since I have written in here, but there are reasons for that! When I came back from Japan, I became busy and was settling back into my life here in America. I had family obligations, I wanted to see Andrew and my friends, and I wanted to get ready for my junior year of college!

First off, here is the big news! The day after I arrived back from Japan, my dad and I picked up Andrew from the train station and we got to spend the day together! It was magical! Andrew surprised me with the most lovely gifts, we went to Indian food for lunch, and then......Andrew proposed to me! After lunch we went to go buy a ring from our favorite funky jewelry shop, and then we walked to a lovely bridge overlooking the creek and he popped the question! It was funny and romantic, which totally fits us haha XD I am so happy and blessed to be engaged to the most wonderful man on Earth! Thank you baby! :D

That was a very amazing Saturday, and the rest of my time in Walnut Creek was fun, but I missed him so much. I was able to see him a lot, and I was able to spend time with friends! Then, my family was getting a French exchange student who was going to be occupying the room I was in. So I asked my college for permission to come early and had to sleep on my grandma's couch (my Nana is the best!) for a week before I came back to school. However, the day before I was going back, my dad and I started discussing my major and stuff. Long story short...I have to change my major to something that will make sure I graduate in 2012 or else. Yeah...it's been stressful. I got back last Wednesday and had tons of fun with Andrew! Then, this weekend things became a little funky with his family. But it's okay, we live and learn and deal with things. :) They care about us, and I have to remember that. Andrew is also there for me if I start getting stressed out, as I am for him!

I start classes next Monday and I suppose I am a little nervous...not too excited, but hopefully things will work out with my major. I also have to finish writing the Japan book this semester, as well as trying to get some tutoring jobs. On the bright side, I have a pretty cute townhouse with my friend Kaitlynn (who is moving in tomorrow) and it has a tiny kitchen! The naking sheet my grandma bought wont even fit in the oven....haha XD I'm trying to decorate it and make it feel as homey as I can! It will take a while though, but that's okay. It's only the beginning of the year~

So, back to the pictures above. We had the buffet, of course, and it was delicious! I only had one plate since I was still jet-lagging, but I enjoyed it! Being with Andrew was, of course, amazing and more important! :) Then, the other pictures are of the place where he proposed and my gorgeous ring! It's so pretty and unique~~ Thank you so much boo!!!! :D

It feels good to be blogging on here again at college. This blog houses many great memories for me; I am excited to post pictures of my cooking adventures since I have a kitchen now! Lately though, I have been eating simply. Just sandwiches, salads, chips and salsa, cereal~ I do have lumpia from Andrew's mom in my freezer, waiting to be fried and consumed bwahahaha!

2010-07-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Interesting! I like the fact that I seem to have an intense European air to my writing! XD
Hello everyone! I have been back in America for a little over a week and I am getting into the swing of things! Please look forward to yummy summer eats and big news! :D

Hiatus~!!

2010-05-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Please forgive me for not posting much this week, I have just been so busy with preparing for Japan! I am leaving this morning for the airport and I am so excited!!! :D (I miss Andrew a lot though! Be safe and have fun in Stockton my love!)

I will be updating a new blog for this trip here: http://japanhello.blogspot.com/

Please check it out and follow it if you are curious about my Japan adventures! I will be back in the US on July 2!

Thank you all!!!! :)

More ceramics!

2010-05-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

I just mentioned in the new post that my new ceramics pieces looked great, so I wanted to share some pics!

Here they are after coming out of the hot kiln. There are a lot, and 4 pieces aren't even pictured! So, I will have a lot of ceramic pieces to take back home haha. :D I am giving some to my friends and Andrew though; I hope they like them! :) Then, my family back home can take some too, except there are a few I want to keep. ;) You see that crazy crackly black mug up? That's Andrew's special mug! The glaze came out way different than I expected, but he loves it so I am so glad! In ceramics, sometimes you never know what you are going to get!

I am especially proud of this cup. The glaze came out interesting and beautiful; inside, there is a lovely swirl pattern~ :D

FAMILY PARTY TIME!

2010-05-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 100TH POST! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! :D I am so excited that this is my 100th post here! Wow! To celebrate, I made a Facebook page lol! XD Enjoy this post, which features one of my favorite things in the world: Andrew's family's parties!!

Hey everyone! It's been a CRAZY week, let me tell ya. There was a bomb threat at my college last Sunday, which really threw everyone off. Nothing happened, but it was annoying, inconvenient, and scary. I have been working on projects and essays, and trying to study for my art history final which is taking place tomorrow because my professor couldn't change it. I have been pretty stressed out and anxious lately because I have a lot to do and I have conflicted feelings about summer; I want the semester to end, but I don't want to leave Andrew, Stockton, or my friends. It's tough and upsetting. :( I am working hard and trying to be the best person I can be! There is some good news: I got a story published in the campus literary magazine and my ceramics pieces look amazing! I am also very proud of Andrew, who has been performing gigs with his new band Loki Rhythm! Woo-hoo! :D Go love! It's been busy in my world, but we are getting through it and staying positive. :)

Anyway, let's go back a couple weeks to a super fun family party at Andrew's house! Yay! I met a lot of family members from the Phillipines and we all had fun!

That's me in his room; we ate up there since the downstairs was so crowded. (Isn't the koala bear lamp sooo adorable? They've had it for years! XD)

These pictures were taken with my new Nikon D3000. As much I love Andrew's room, the lighting is never very good for pictures, especially on greyish days like that one.

My (first) plate of food! :D Spaghetti, quiche, fried chicken, stir-fried veggies, Pork sisig, rice, and some lumpia! Hehe, I hope I am not forgetting anything lol! It was all very good and enjoyable!

Andrew's plate, which was healthier than mine! ;) Pretty much the same, except no rice or fried chicken. I am so glad he has been enjoying quiche now!

Together~

Not all the food was homemade, but it was all good nonetheless! Later, there was some ham and Longganisa, which is Filipino sausage. I am so glad I was able to try some, it was delicious! Lighter than most sausages, but still fatty and tasty!

Andrew and his family are always so kind to have me over and feed me such interesting and hearty food! :D I can't wait for my kitchen next year so I can make food for the family parties too~!

By the way, our 15 month anniversary is this Tuesday, which is very exciting! I am so proud of him and us! :D

Oh, and if you look to your left, I made a Facebook page for my blogs! I wanted to make sure people can keep up with me when I am in Japan, so I thought that might be a fun way to do it. Please go check it out and become a fan! :)

Fun Foodie Friday~!

2010-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Aaaahhh, Friday and Saturday April 9 and 10 were two glorious days~ Andrew and I had so much fun! Things have been getting busier for me as the semester winds down and my trip to Japan looms closer. Last week, though, was rather calm and I welcomed it. I spent some quality time with Andrew, applied for a Passport (I hope my application goes through!), and my classes weren't too bad. :)

Friday was wonderful-- Andrew and I were able to spend the whole day together and it was such a blast! :D That morning was interesting because we went to a different (and sketchier) part of town so I could submit my passport application and take pictures at a post office. There is only one post office around here that does walk-in applications and pictures so we braved it and went there. It wasn't a bad experience at all! I had an issue concerning IDs, so hopefully I will still be able to get my passport.

After the whole application process was done, Andrew and I went to try Genova Bakery, a bakery/deli that has been in business since around 1918! It's been on our list of "Places to try" for a while now, so it was nice to finally check it off lol! :)

The sandwiches are plain and cheap. They all come with bread, cheese, mayo, and mustard for $3.75, and for different meats it's $4.25. I got provolone cheese, salami, and prosciutto on french bread. It was very filling and fresh! I would have loved the addition of some lettuce and/or onion though, just because I like my veggies. The bread was fantastic, fresh and airy! I though I made a great choice in bread for my sandwich. :)

Here is Andrew's sandwich! Yay! He got Dutch Crunch bread with salami and provolone, along with the condiments. He enjoyed it, yet agreed that veggies, especially a tomato, would be a great addition to it to add moisture. Since his sandwich wasn't a combo, it was only $3.75!

I saw these waffle-like cookies at Genova, and wanted to try them. Andrew, being the love that he is, bought them for me and I was so excited! Thank you boo! :D I got the vanilla flavor and oh my they were so good! The vanilla scent wafts out of the box and they taste like crunchy vanilla waffles. So amazing! I think I ate about 8 on Friday lol. xD

Then, my sweet love got me some chocolates too! Yay! The label said they were "romantic" and "passionate"! Of course, I was super excited! ;) They were good too!

I had found this gelato in the freezer at the campus grocery store and I bought it because I was curious. Since it was a hot day and we were feeling like splurging, we opened it up. Sadly, I don't think this is very good gelato--it tastes very fakey and kind of old. I really didn't like the airy texture and the vanilla flavor was muted and dry. I don't reccomend this brand!

This is how I ate the gelato lol! Crazy and gluttonous! Those waffle cookies are so delicious and addicting! XD

Genova Bakery

749 N Sierra Nevada St

Stockton, CA 95205

(209) 466-6145

Momofraise says: You've got to try this wonderful old-fashioned Italian deli, grocery, and bakery! You won't be disappointed by the array of treats!

**Update on my passport: I checked online yesterday and it is currently being processed, so I am hoping everything is going well! :)

My Bowls!

2010-04-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yep everyone, those are my four finished bowls! :D The one with the hearts is for Andrew, and I was so happy to give it to him last night! Yay! :D He loves it and I can't wait to hear if he used it for breakfast this morning lol~

The one with the kanji in the bottom (which means "hope") is a ramen bowl for my Dad, because he really wanted one. I plan to give it to him when I go home at the end of the semester (which is way too sad to think about....sigh), so I hope he likes it! The one underneath Dads is for me, a little rice bowl hehe. And the one under Andrews was for Professor Albala, http://kenalbala.blogspot.com/, my favorite professor who helped me get my grant for Japan! He was excited to get the bowl and I hope he enjoys using it! :)

Now, I have tons of random cups and mugs I am glazing. I am really excited about them and I can't wait to give them to more people! :D

A Wonderful Revisit-- Le Kims!

2010-04-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

The weather here in Stockton has certainly been interesting. A few weeks ago, the days were hot and vibrant with green grass and blooming flowers. Then, last week the weather took a turn for the worse and rain was falling almost every day, and the days were cold and slate-grey. Not exactly the most cheerful Spring week, let me tell you.

However, this post and the pictures hearken back to the week where every day was a bouquet of sunshine and smiles.

This particular Friday dawned bright and cheerful; Andrew took me out to our first favorite place, Le Kims! This restaurant is really special to us; we used to go all the time when we first dating and have loved it ever since. :) It was our haunt when the nights were cold and rainy~ We noticed we hadn't gone in a while, so we decided to go and get some good, homey Veitnamese eats! :)

I got new glasses! The frames are purple and very cute~ I love this picture; it's so sweet! Of course we had to take pictures together at lunch, it was such a lovely day! :D (My boo is so handsome!)

Now, as you all probably know by now, I am such a sucker for those crispy and savory Imperial rolls, which are infintely more delicious than Chinese egg rolls (that's just my opinion!). I also like to try imperial rolls at whatever Vietnamese restaurant I end up going to. Since Andrew and I felt like splurging (we are both trying to save money), we ordered Le Kims Imperial rolls appetizer. And let me tell you, it was AMAZING! These are REAL Imprial rolls, made with rice paper and lots of goodies on the side for wrapping up. Andrew loved them and decided that these are definitely worth $5! Yay! He said he had tried them in the Philippines and he was excited to eat them here! :D

Another view, because they deserve it!

Aaaaahhh, now it's time for one of my favorite meals in the world-- the vermicelli bun bowl! This one has barbecue pork and some pieces of an imperial roll, much to my delight. I love this dish--- it's so refreshing and healthy. The flavors are flamboyantly sweet and savory at the same time, with the pork and the fish sauce. Such a wonderful deal!

Our new favorite soup at Le Kims is the vegetarian curry soup! We saw it reviewed on Yelp.com, so we decided to try it last winter and we were both happy with that choice! This soup is subtley curry-like with what tastes like coconut milk. There are lots of large veggie chunks, like carrots and two kinds of potatoes. My favorite parts are the plentiful rice noodles and chunks of soybean/tofu curd. Yum!

Posts like these make me remember why I love blogging. On days where school is annoying or the weather is grey, I can look back on fun times with my love, my friends, and my family. :) It keeps me going and my chin up high! :D

My 20th Birthday~!

2010-04-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Gahhhhhh, I can't believe I hadn't posted this yet!!! This past week has been INSANE. I had some hard stuff to deal with, such as the death of a family friend and frustating class scheduling. College is never easy, and in the words of my wonderful father-- "Living on your own is tough!"
I couldn't have said it better myself, Dad. :)
However, a lot of fun was had by me and Andrew this holiday weekend. :) I am glad that we are settling back into our usual routine this week-- I actually am a "routine" kind of person, and I really don't like change. I can't believe it's April already...I am going to Japan next month!

Now, without further ado, here is what I did for my 20th birthday in January! Stay tuned for more catch-up posts to follow! :)

~ ~ ~

Oreo cookie cake with 20 candles, courtesy of my love and his family! :D

Hello everyone! Saturday January 3o was my 20th Birthday!!! I am really excited about being 20; it feels right to me and I love being able to say "I'm in my 20's" lol! I celebrated Friday and Saturday and had sooooo much fun!!! Andrew and his family did so much for me and were so generous; it's thanks to them that my birthday was so wonderful! :) Anyway, here's what we ate to celebrate! :D

Friday night was the now usual family party at Andrew's house, and there was a ton of food! I was so ecstatic because Andrew's mom asked me to bake cookies and brownies for the party! Yay, I can finally cook! :D Above are some lumpia she fried up and they were soooo good!

I made oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies that turned out wonderfully soft and tasty! Andrew crushed the walnuts up rather fine and it made the cookies taste rather subtle. I added more chocolate chips than his mom's recipe called for and it made an awesome difference! :D These cookies were a hit and it was so fun to cook in his kitchen!

On Saturday, my grandma, dad, and sister came to visit and take me and Andrew out to lunch! I had made a reservation at the Wine and Roses Restaurant in Lodi earlier in the week and was looking forward to trying their brunch menu. I should have taken a picture of the restaurant itself because it was so quaint and lush with flowers and trees! Wine and Roses is actually a spa and hotel, and a very lovely one at that.

A Flamenkuche appetizer, with lardons, onions, cheese, and greens on top of a buttery bread spread with creme fraiche and herbs. This was salty and savory, so in other words, very appealing lol. It was larger than we thought it would be, so all five of us had a decent-sized piece. We were already busy munching on the buttery and flakey cheddar biscuits we were given. They were delicious! Already, this meal was off to a great start!

My grandma and I both ordered the quiche, which had ham, cheese, bacon, and onions. It was very rich and I enjoyed it very much! I split it up with Andrew who then gave me half of his omlette and some his potatoes. The salad that came with this was pretty good, lightly doused with a sweet vinaigrette.

Andrew ordered the omlette with cheese, mixed mushrooms, swiss chard, and bacon with some potatoes on the side. It was all right; we both agreed that my quiche was richer and tastier. Andrew was happy to spread some ketchup on his omlette and potatoes though! There should have been more cheese and goodies inside; all in all, it was rather plain.

My awesome carnivore sister had the steak and eggs, which I think she enjoyed. We thought the steak was kind of small, but she was okay with it.

The dessert menu wasn't too exciting, so when our kind server said that they were serving vanilla creme brulee instead of lemon, both my sister and I jumped at it! However, they must have had some sort of miscommunication, because we were both served lemon creme brulee, which neither of us liked. It was too tart and not what we were expecting or craving. So, our server said she would take it off the bill. As soon as Andrew realized our desserts were free, he ended up finishing my creme brulee lol! XD My love jumps at the chance for free food!

Wine and Roses Hotel, Restaurant, Spa

2505 West Turner Road

Lodi, CA 95242

(209) 334-6988

Momofraise Says: Wine and Roses is a beautiful and dreamy place tucked into Lodi, and well worth a visit for the ambiance! The food can be good, but portions are a bit small.

I had the best birthday ever! Thank you to Andrew, Andrew's family, my friends, and my family! Love you all! :D

:D Just for fun~

2010-04-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is college.

(taken with my new Nikon D3000 camera! more posts will be up as soon as I have time)

A Wonderful Sunday!!!

2010-03-22T22:25:00.001-07:00

Oh, am I having a case of the Mondays today! I had the most wonderful Friday and Sunday this past weekend, and now I am back in the motion of classes and studying and annoying people. Ugh. I miss Andrew a lot and the only thing keeping me going right now is the fact that he has a gig here on campus tomorrow night and I am soooo proud of him and excited! I am just going to stay strong and look forward to it! :)

It's funny, I have just come to the realization that I really hate studying. The past few weeks have been gloriously study free and I have been relaxed and feeling good. Now, I have some papers and a mid-term and everything seems miserable here. I really don't want this semester to end..... :( There are so many things up in the air concerning next semester and this summer. I hope it will all turn out alright. I applied for a Pacific Fund Grant to get money for my trip to Japan this summer, but I haven't heard a thing and I was supposed to last week! So, we will see what happens. Andrew is so positive and supportive; he truly is an amazing person. :) Sorry to sound like such a downer, but that's what is going on right now.

Anyway, on to happy foodie-ness loving~! :3
It was early Sunday afternoon and we were aching for a quick bite to eat before heading over to Andrew's band practice. Thus, we went to our current favorite place, Tepa Taqueria! :D Actually, we went on Friday for a delectable lunch of carnitas nachoes and horchata, so yesterday we only got one order of nachoes and a HUGE cup of horchata! SO GOOD!

I asked my cute love to hold the horchata next to his head to compare-- yep, it was huge and so refreshing! I love the sweetness of the sugar and cinnamon, and the rice milk is so light and perfect~ I think I found my new favorite summer drink! :D

I was dying to wear a cute patterned dress that day and I was happy that it stayed hot! I was quite comfortably cool, drinking my refreshing hor~cha~ta~ :)

Every day I think about how fortunate and grateful I am for not only Andrew, but for all the amazing people in my life! Andrew is such a kind, sweet, and considerate person and I strive to be like him because I admire and respect him so. Also, I am deeply in love with him and can't wait until we get married!!!! :D My friends are so kind to me when I am feeling a little low-- they took me out to dinner on Thursday night! (pics coming soon!) My family is strong and working hard and I want to work hard for them too! So yeah, just wanted to give a little shout-out to all the sweet people I love~ :D

I also love meeting new people, so anyone reading my blog, please say hello! :)

Pho Saigon Part 2--Last Day of Spring Break!

2010-03-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I am back in Stockton, having taken the train on Friday. Andrew picked me up and we have been having fun! :) I am starting to feel better, which inspires me!
It was raining all day on Friday, which made the day seem rather cozy. I spent the morning getting my stuff together and trying to make my boxes seem less heavy for my dad's move this weekend. Yep, my family moved, but luckily they are still on the trail I love so much!
Around 10:30ish, one of my best friends, Andi, came to pick me up with all my stuff and we went out to lunch. She offered to drive me to the Amtrak station, which saved me a lot of stress. Thanks Andi-girl! :)

So, where did we go? Pho Saigon of course! ;D

It is a tradition between us to always go out to Vietnamese food when I am in town. This new place is so good that we knew we had to go! She ordered the spring rolls with shrimp as a starter and scarfed them down! :)They looked very fresh!

I, of course, ordered the egg rolls, which are my favorite, and they did not disappoint! They were steaming hot when I bit into one, so they were undoubtedly fresh. I preferred these over the vegetarian ones (sorry Dad!) and the fish sauce on the side was tangy and delectable~ Like I said before, too bad they don't give you more lettuce and pickled veggies.

I wanted to try something other than pho, but since it was such a cold and rainy day, I still felt like soup. One soup that immediately jumped out at me was the Wonton soup with rice noodles. I harbor a love for all things dumpling and wonton, so I was naturally intrigued. I asked the nice waitress what exactly is in this soup and she said that along with the wontons are two slices of pork. Yum, sounds good to me! Since I had the egg rolls, I ordered the soup size small. I was so surprised and pleased by how filling the small indeed was! Ahhhh, just writing about it right now makes me crave it~ The wontons were plentiful and tasty, if perhaps a tad too peppery for my taste. They were made of pork and delicious in the clear and fresh tasting broth that I kept drinking. The two slices of pork were okay; they tasted a bit old or something. There was a lot of noodles, my favorite! Yes, I really enjoyed this soup! :D

Andi ordered the sauteed catfish and polished her plate! I tried a piece and, to my surprise, it was delicious and not fishy at all! This is a great fish dish that isn't too heavy or greasy, but full of savory and sweet goodness.

Both of us enjoyed our lunch immensely and had a wonderful time! Afterwards, we went to Gelateria Naia where I got nutella and banana walnut gelato; the banana walnut was delicious and I really loved how it wasn't overly sweet. The two flavors went well together! Andi got a smoothie at Jamba Juice and then we went into a rather empty H&M where I got the cutest summer scarf! :D

Then, we went to the train station and continued having great conversation while I waited for my train, which was 20 minutes late! The train ride itself was fine, until the end where I almost couldn't get off because they wouldn't open the doors of the car I was in! Luckily, I made it out and into Andrew's warm arms where I didn't want to move for the next week, lol.

Did you know that it's been a year and 1 month and a half for us? It goes by so quickly, and every day we learn more about each other and our love deepens. He is the best partner in life and foodie-ness! :D

Pho Saigon

1560 Newell Ave

Walnut Creek, CA 94596
www.phosaigonwc.com

Momofraise Says: GO. NOW!

Also, I have a new blog, more like an inspiration blog where I post pictures and quotes, etc. Check it out please and let me know what you think! :) http://momofraise.tumblr.com/

Adventures in Lent-land: Day 3--Pho Saigon!

2010-03-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned previously, I am sick with a cold at home and since I was feeling sort of down about it, my dad sweetly took me out to lunch on Monday! We went to the new Vietnamese restaurant in Walnut Creek, Pho Saigon!

For an appetizer, I asked if we could get vegetarian egg rolls because I LOVE them and I figured it would be interesting to try them veggie-style. These were pretty good, longer than I expected. However, I wish more lettuce and pickled veggies had been given. Also, the fish sauce was rather bland and not as tangy as I like. Fish sauce is supposed to be tasty, sweet, slightly spicy, and just plain awesome! Nevertheless, my dad and I scarfed these down and looked forward to our other dishes. :)

This was the fried shrimp cake appetizer, ordered by my dad because in Lent, he said, one should always experiment with different vegetarian foods or fish dishes. Well, we both tried this when it arrived and neither of us cared much for it. It wasn't overly fishy or anything; quite the contrary, it was rather bland! It's comprised of shrimp meat encased in something and fried. Not too special. My dad and I both wished that Andrew was with us to eat the shrimp cake lol! :D
Above is my dad's salmon plate--look at that huge slab of salmon! He and I were both surprised at the amount of food they gave him! Also, I admire how clean and healthy his food looks, and he says it tasted that way too! :D I forgot how much this cost, but I don't think it was too much!

Now, what do you think I ordered?......

Beef pho, of course! :D I've been craving it for a while and was dying to try it there! I ordered the large bowl full of rare beef steak, beef brisket, beef flank, and tripe. They gave me a rather paltry and small dish of bean sprouts and herbs....I wish they had given me more, but it's okay.

The broth was very clean-tasting and I loved the flavors! Some might consider it a bit bland, but I love tasting the freshness of the broth and the ingredients. :) There was so much meat in the bowl I couldn't even finish it! There weren't as many noodles as I would have liked, but that just means I will order extra next time lol! ;D I really enjoyed this bowl of pho and I am really glad that Walnut Creek has a nice and cheap Vietnamese place. I swear, Pho Saigon totally reminded me of places in Stockton! I ended up telling my dad all about the places Andrew and I frequent--I can't wait to share that Extra-Large bowl of pho at Mama Pho with him again sometime! :D

The interior of the restaurant in very clean and well-lit, with red walls and tasteful decorations. There are two large flat screen TVs mounted on the walls, which my dad found funny. Since it is across the street from Kaiser, there are many doctors and nurses inside on their lunch breaks lol.

Pho Saigon

1560 Newell Ave

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Momofraise Says: Yay for more Vietnamese restaurants in Walnut Creek! :D Order a rice plate or the pho!

Adventures in Lent-land: Day 1

2010-03-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, my friends, it's that time of year again: Spring Break! I, for one, wish my college would have spring break later, when it's actually more spring-like, but it's okay. I went home yesterday and was confronted with a house empty of meat because of Lent! Now, I was not worried; my dad is a great cook and I don't need meat to be happy. So, for this week, I decided to document all the food I eat in an effort to show the world how one family eats during Lent. :) (Also, this gives me something to work on as I miss Andrew SO MUCH) I hope you all enjoy the posts this week! :D

Lunch yesterday was simple and comforting. I was supposed to be in LA with friend for the beginning of break; however, I have been sick since last Monday and wasn't better by the time they left. Thus, I just went home to rest and recuperate. Since my throat was hurting a lot yesterday, I requested miso soup for lunch and my dad did not disappoint! :) It was rich and thick with tangy miso, flavorful chicken broth, crunchy green onions, and firm tofu! I loved it!! I had two full bowls of it! I am so proud of my dad for mastering miso soup!
Along with the miso soup, my dad whipped up my old favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches! He used my favorite cheese, extra sharp Tillamook cheddar! YUM! :D I was a happy Opy~

Of course, we need our veggies, so he made a quick salad. It was a fantastic and light lunch! I didn't miss meat at all! The tofu was very firm and almost meaty in it's richness~ My boo would have loved it!

Yesterday afternoon was super busy, and I tagged along even though I was sick. My sister had to go to a solo competition with her bass clarinet in a nearby city, so as we drove her there we got lost. Luckily, we arrived 5 minutes before she was to play and she ended up getting a Superior! Yay! :) In the meantime, my dad and I were at the nearby Borders and he bought me a Japan guide book and a SAT boom for my sister. Then, we went to pick her up and go home. Of course, she wanted to celebrate, so after we dropped my dad home we went to get ice cream at Loard's Ice Cream, our childhood favorite! :D Above is my junior sundae, with rocky road ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, and nuts. It was $4.75 and the perfect amount. They had lots of other flavors I want to try, such as toasted almond and caramel cashew! :)

We finally got home and relaxed until dinner. My dad made some salmon he had bought already marinated from Trader Joes. However, we didn't taste any marinade at all, just fishy salmon....so not my thing, but I ate it anyway. The fried rice, on the other hand, was phenomenal, and we ate the whole batch up! My dad has been impressing me with his ability to make very good Asian food! ;)

So ends my first day of spring break and first day of Lent! I will probably end up eating meat when I go out to eat this week, but at home I have pledged not to eat any at all. It's kind of fun, actually! :) I was looking at some vegan food pics on flickr earlier and I have realized that there is quite a bit one can eat when vegan, especially when it comes to Asian food. Andrew would probably do really well as a vegan or vegetarian! :D I still love my eggs and rare beef steak in pho though! ;)

Anyone else have any vegan or Lent adventures lately? :) Keep reading this week, because I will have more interesting things to post! :)

Loard's Ice Cream of Alamo

220 Alamo Plaza

Suite B

Alamo, CA 94507

(925) 743-1867

Momofraise Says: Old-fashioned ice cream shops are the best!

Valentine's Day 2010!

2010-02-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

(Yay, those are the cute stuffed loves that he gave me, along with a sweet and awesomely ilustrated card! Thanks love!)

Last Sunday was my second Valentine's Day with Andrew, and it was fun to celebrate a holiday a second time together~ :D Our day was rather unconventional, which works for us! ;)

It started off with us working at a children's birthday party! Andrew is the guitar teacher for a sweet 9 year-old and I get to tag along at the lessons because the family likes me lol. The party was celebrating both the son and daughter's birthdays. Andrew was in charge of the boys and I handled the girls. The girls were ages 3-7 and let me tell you it was tough work. I was exhausted by the end of the day. Some of the girls' parents were there and not all were nice to me. I just shrugged off their rudeness and tried to be the best babysitter I could be. I think I did a great job, as no girls had any problems. :) Some of them even really liked me, which was cute and fun for me~

We both had to think of craft ideas for the kids, so Andrew wanted to make masks with the boys. The maks above was his example and I think it's so funny! :D (Sadly, none of the boys wanted to make masks, poor love!)

By the end of the day we were worn out and ready to just be together. We left around 6:30 and made our way to one of the best restaurants in Stockton for our Valentine's Day Dinner!

Tepa Taqueria is a clean, fresh, and delicious Mexican place not too far from my campus. Andrew has been going there since he was a child with his family we recently went to try it. I absolutely fell in love with the food and the cheap prices! :D It's wonderful! Definitely one of our favorite places here! They give these wonderfully thin and crisp chips and they have a salsa bar where you can choose your salsa. The mild is not too strong, but I love how it's not spicy.

I ordered one of my new favorite things, the carnitas super nachos!!! Super nachos are a revelation to me; I can't get enough! I also LOVE carnitas pork; my dad makes it very well. On this enormous plate are the crisp chips, savory guacamole, salsa, sour cream, plentiful carnitas chunks, and melted cheese. SO GOOD! :D I polished of this entire plate of deliciousness and it was very satisfying! Best part is, this is only $6.50!

Since on other food blogs I keep reading about tacos al pastor (bbq pork) I wanted to try one. Sadly, I didn't like the spiciness of the sauce on top and I think the pork is not real pastor. However, it was cheap and Andrew was a love and ate it for me haha. :) He said it was kind of sweet and spicy at the same time.

Andrew wanted to get the super nachos too, and he ordered carne asada meat with it. He really enjoyed it because the meat was the same that they put in the burritos! He polished his plate off as well, since we were both famished from chasing kids around all day lol. We really enjoyed this meal together and it was the perfect Valentine's dinner! :D Thank you my love!

There's us lovebirds at the restaurant! :D It's a very clean and happy place, with yellow walls and lots of comfortable seating. Andrew actually shaved off all his hair, so it's quite a change, but a handsome one! ;) I've been noticing that my hair has been growing, so that's cool! :)

I love you Andrew! Thank you for a wonderful Valentine's Day and everything else! You are the best! :D

Tepa Taqueria

1205 W March Ln

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 476-8802

Momofraise says: Absolutely amazing, satisfying, and fresh Mexican food in a clean setting! A really fun and delicious place! Check it out! :)

HAPPY ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

2010-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

YAY! On Thursday Febuary 4, 2010, it had been one year since Andrew and I started dating! We have grown so much together and can't imgaine being without each other! I feel like my life has changed for the better and through him I have been introduced to so many wonderful foods, bands, and fun things! Andrew is my true love, my other half, my best friend, and my partner in life. :)

Sadly, Thursday was a busy day for both of us. I had classes all day, and he worked all morning and had class all afternoon. He came to my room around 4:30ish and we hung out the rest of the night at his house just relaxing. We gave each other gifts and had a blast opening them! He gave me a lovely eternity ring with gold and cubic zirconias! We pledged our committment to each other. :D

On Friday, I woke up feeling more rested and better than I had during the week, and he only had a short morning class, so we were together all day! Yay! We had lunch on campus (which was pretty good!) and then went to Sakura Grocery and M & W Bakery for dessert and shopping!
Here's my love excited to try some Japanese youkan jelly we got on sale for $.5o. We were sitting in the bakery, ready to devour some good cake! Youkan jelly is made of white beans and green tea flavoring. We thought it was pretty good, but rather sweet. I am not a fan of white bean desserts myself.

(First off, I love how this pic turned out!) We ordered two little cakes and only ate one on Friday. We ate the chocolate and vanilla checkered cake which was fabulous and moist! There were thin strips of raspberry jelly that elevated this cake and added a wonderfully subtle sweetness that just sang in our mouths. Raspberry and chocolate is awesome!

We also got the amaretto cake because I wanted to get two cakes lol. Also, I love almond things, so why not try an actual almond cake? And this cake sure did not disappoint! We actually ate it today because we didn't have time to eat it earlier. It was still delicious a few days later! It was amazing! There was lots of almond-flavored cream sandwiched between layers of fluffy vanilla cake; very small cut-up almonds were in it as well, but they blended into the rest of the cake so well. We both really enjoyed this cake and are so impressed with that bakery! I hope going out on Fridays for dessert becomes a new tradition lol~! ;)

Otherwise, it's the start of a new week and I am going to work hard! I just need to keep my head up and stay positive! I have a four-day weekend coming up, and Valentine's Day is Sunday! Yay! I hope you all are doing well! :)

Sakura Groceries

4343 Pacific Ave

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 477-3939
www.sakuragroceries.com

M & W Dutch American Bakery

4343 Pacific Ave Ste A6

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 473-3828

Momofraise says: Make sure to spread some love this week and go buy some Japanese sweets and wonderful cakes for a special someone in your life~! ;)

Legit Mexican Food!!

2010-02-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yep, there's me and my cute baby getting ready to perform at Studio 24 in San Francisco last night! We had quite the adventure! Andrew performed AMAZINGLY and I really enjoyed hearing him improv with the techno beats and other musicians! It was sexy! ;)

Since we were in the Mission District in San Francisco, I did some research on a good Mexican place to eat. I found a place called Papalote's Mexican Grill and the menus sounded awesome! We walked a few blocks and found the place booming with people at 5:30 pm! It's rather small, and you place your order at a counter before being seated. We ordered the nachos with chicken and carne asada tacos. I asked to "super" everything, which means they put sour cream and guacamole on your order for $.99, which made everything taste even more fabulous!

The carne asade tacos gave me a foodgasm. Seriously. The meat was so flavorful and tender, and all the fixings tasted AMAZING! The sour cream and guacamole brought it all to another level! Everything tasted very fresh and wasn't greasy at all, which is great!

Here's the super nachos with chicken, which I was DYING to try lol. There's melted cheese and refried beans, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, and pieces of a flavorful but rather dry chicken. We both couldn't get enough of these nachos and had so much fun eating them! I was really happy to be eating good Mexican food with my love! :D Luckily, we didn't have to wait long for our food. We were also given chips with their legendary salsa. Andrew ate it and got all sweaty pour thing! He said it was very hot!

Afterwards, we walked down the street to find the venue and set up. I stopped at a bakery/cafe called La Victoria and got some delicious pastries! I got a moist chocolate cupcake/muffin, a chocolate and vanilla swirl slice of poundcake, and a super moist and rich almond muffin. All of the pastries were heavenly and well-made! I was so happy~!

Then, we got to the venue and set up for awhile. People started trickling in as they heard African drums by Jean-Claude, the first performer. Then, it was time for Andrew to go up! :D

Andrew performed wonderfully and people really liked his music! :D I was soooo proud and excited to hear him! He played four songs, all originals, two of which were for me! ;) I thought this Studio 24 was a good venue for us. If you ever want to listen to his music, check out his myspace here: myspace.com/octjado ! I read some poetry, but I thought I did okay. I really need to write some new poems!

However, I learned some things about the art scene in the Mission District in SF last night that I don't like very much....Seriously, do some of those people even understand what art is??? We ended up going to a couple more venues after our show; one of which was in a house! Most of the musicians were very talented and pleasant to listen to, but those poets were a disgrace! Babbling on about "nuclear weapons" and "words that remind us of other words"!!! It upsets me to hear people like that lauded as amazing writers and such because really, they aren't. Now, I am just saying my opinion; however, I am a learned person who has read countless books and has studied poetry. I think I can judge good from bad. But those hipsters high on drugs and drunk on beer obviously CAN'T. It was a very weird atmosphere to me and I felt like I did not fit in. George (the boss of Euphorah Productions) said he can get spots for me and Andrew to perform at that house, but I am not sure if I want to be a part of it. I of course will be there to support my love if he wants to perform there though! George then wanted Andrew and me to scope out this other venue that was located in a sketchy warehouse that stank of drugs and was full of hipster people just socializing with each other and not caring about who was performing. There was so much talking going on that we couldn't even hear the band! I was so uncomfortable and just wanted to relax with Andrew, but since it was so late I knew we wouldn't be able to do even that.

Last night was a rather weird but great experience for the both of us. I was so happy that I saw Andrew perform and that we were able to have a great dinner together!
Papalote Mexican Grill

Neighborhood: Mission

3409 24th Street

(between Poplar St & Valencia St)

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 970-8815
www.papalote-sf.com

La Victoria Mexican Bakery and Cafe

Neighborhood: Mission

2937 24th St

(between Florida St & Alabama St)

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 642-7120
www.lavictoriabakery.com

Momofraise says: Order the super nachos and order anything with carne asada! Also, anything at the bakery looked great! :D Go all out!

Time Flies When You're in Love~

2010-01-24T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a grey day and I've just been holed up in my room since it's so cold outside. I actually did go out to take some pictures of my friend for my photography assignment, and it went well. But when I got back to my room, my fingers were stiff and freezing! Luckily, I don't have much homework so I can just relax, which is what I have been doing. I do wish I could bake something though.....

Last week went well, except there was a TERRIBLE storm for a few days! The wind and rain were so strong I had trouble sleeping! Not to mention that walking to class and the University Center was a chore. There might be more rain this week, so I am not looking forward to that. Andrew started classes again and his schedule is rather intense! I have been there for him and we have fun being together, even if we are sometimes tired lol. I went to a couple family parties this weekend which were so fun!! I was a little overwhelmed by all the people I hadn't yet met, but everyone was so friendly and open! :D My family is very small, made smaller by my parents divorce 12 years ago, so I never got to experience a large and loud family. It made me kind of sad, because I wished that my family were at the party too, enjoying the food and the warmth. I realized that I am such a family person, and that living on campus is actually pretty lonely. I have my friends, but we all have our own things going on so it's hard. I am lucky to be able to experience the warmth of Andrew's family! :D Thank you my love!

Anyway, I want to catch up on some posts from Winter Break, and this is definitely an important one! ;) Andrew came over to spend the weekend after New Years with me and my family and it was amazing! We had so much fun just talking and being together~ I'll never forget it! :) We were also celebrating our 11 month anniversary which was January 4! To celebrate, we walked over to Saroor, the Indian restaurant my family and I have always liked. I really wanted Andrew to try delicious Indian food that I grew up eating!

His first plate; notice how we both went rather light on the first plates lol! It's a buffet after all! ;) There's salad, chicken sausage kebab, veggie pakora, potato fritter, egg curry, and rice with mushroom curry. He loved everything, especially the mushroom curry! :D The chicken kebab piece was interesting; it tasted like sausage, and he really enjoyed it!

Awww yeahhh, second plate! He got some more beloved mushroom curry, chicken kebab pieces, rice, and naan. :D I tried the mushroom curry too, and it was very creamy and rich!

Hehehehe, my first plate! :D Potato fritter, chicken and veggie pakora, salad, egg curry, and chicken tikka masala over rice! DELICIOUS! I loved everything! The potato fritter tasted like the inside of a samosa, which made me so happy! They were flavorful and luckily nothing was too spicy! The egg curry is almost sweet and is so satisfying to me, probably because I love eggs! xD The chicken tikka masala was delicous and popping with creamy spicy flavor as usual! Everything tasted very good together too, which was nice. The naan we were given was warm and softly chewy.

My second plate! More egg curry, veggie pakora, mushroom curry, potato fritters, and chicken tikka masala with rice. SOOOO GOOOD!
I was so happy to finally have Andrew taste this Indian dessert, which consists of pastry balls soaked in a sugary honey sauce~ I really like them, even though they are uber sweet. He enjoyed them too, which made me happy! You can only eat one at a time since they are so sweet!

After such a filling and delightful lunch, we began walking back to my dad's house. However, we noticed that the sun came out and the weather was perfect for a lovely walk! It was magical; we talked and shared so many memories and observations! Conversation with the person you love is truly a wonderful thing; I adore talking with Andrew. I love hearing what he has to say; I feel like his words and opinions enrich my world. :)

We walked to Heather Farms and all around the gardens there. It was beautiful, albeit a bit cold, but we were so happy to have the freedom to explore and talk. I'll never forget that day; I felt so in love and happy about life. Happy 11 Months babe! :D

Saroor Indian Cuisine

2580 N Main St

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

(925) 937-2031
www.saroorindiancuisine.com

Momofraise says: The lunch buffet is $8.99 and the food is amazing and fresh! The flavors really stand out and there is a wonderful balance of creamy and spicy! Great Indian food in the Bay Area! :) Also, be sure to check out the beautiful gardens and lake of Heather Farms!

I'm back, baby~!

2010-01-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well, hello 2010! A lot of fun things have happened so far, so I have a good feeling about this year! :)

I have been back at school for a little over a week now and it's been intense but manageable. I am now an art major, which means that I'm learning how to deal with classes that are different than any kind I've taken before. I never even took art classes in high school! I am in class almost all day from Monday through Thursday and then Friday is my day to work on art projects in the art studios here. This morning I spent two hours at the ceramics studio trying to learn how to use the pottery wheel. And let me just say that it is NOT easy! It's like a workout! I am exhausted!

I am not going to lie: this week has been hard for me. I guess I have to get used to my new schedule and become more familiar with my classes. I sometimes have a hard time dealing with change, so I have to keep that in mind. I have been enjoying my time with my friends and with Andrew though!! He has been soooo supportive and wonderful! I am so grateful that he is a part of my life! He is the best thing about it! I got him the MOST AWESOME one year anniversary gift ever and I can't wait to give it to him! ;) Speaking of which, it's coming up soon in early Febuary, which is really exciting! My 2oth birthday is in two weeks too!

So, here's a bit about what has been going on since I got back.....

Last night Andrew played a wonderful set at the Java Roma Cafe open mic! I even sang a song with him, which was soooo fun! People even really liked it! I was so nervous and shakey! It's such a rush performing like that lol. I was not used to the attention haha!

Some goodies Andrew's mom gave me last weekend! From the top: a yummy coconut pastry, a sweet maple french toast muffin, and a perfectly savory pork bun! Such wonderful and tasty goodies!!!

Last weekend, my friends and I went to Pacific Pizza for our annual start-of-semester pizza night. :) We had a wonderful time and ate so much!!! Above is the pizza I ordered, the Tiger special with sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, canadian bacon, and onions. I loved the comination of all the toppings, so I will definitely order this again! :D

My friend Mary graciously ordered us a medium order of cheesey sticks!!!!!!!! YUMMM! These taste delicious when dipped in ranch dressing, which I now like! :D I also liked dipping my pizza in the ranch dressing, soooooo goooood~!

This has been my lunch a couple times this past week. Andrew's mom's black bean garlic sauce beef with mushrooms and broccoli over rice! This is seriously one of my favorite dishes EVER! It's so tasty and satisfying! The saltiness of the black bean garlic sauce is amazing and oh so mesmerizing~ His mom was really sweet to give me so much to take back to my room!!! I love Andrew and his family; they are so special to me! Someday I want to do something amazing for them, but I am not sure what....hmmm.... :)

I will put up some more posts later, so stay tuned! :) Thank you all for reading!

Happy New Years!

2009-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the last day of 2009 has been outrageous. Too many things happened at once today, which seems fitting. I don't want to go into all the craziness, but let's just say it was stressful and too busy for my liking. I can't wait for this weekend though! ;)

2009 has been the year of many changes and intense things happening in my life. I really feel like I have grown and matured as a woman.

I received my camera for my 19th birthday in January, and then in April I started this blog. I met Andrew in January and we fell in love in Febuary. :) Best thing that ever happened to me! (Apart from going to college in the first place lol ) I am excited to see what this year holds in store for us! Hopefully a trip to Japan! :D

There have been many hard times and obstacles this year. Yet, the wonderful things outnumber all the difficult ones. I've proved to myself that I am strong and can get through a lot! :)

I am grateful for all that I have in my life and all that I have been given this year. It has truly been a year of new experiences and change! I've met amazing people, became closer to others, fallen in love, and ate great food!

Cheers to another year full of love, happiness, laughter, and good food! :)

Le Cheval Revisited!

2009-12-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school, I had a special group of friends. We stayed friends all through middle school, all through high school, and now we are separated and navigating the choppy seas of adulthood and college. Two of those friends are still very important to me, and on Tuesday I was able to see both, albeit for a short while. Over the summer, we were all dealing with separate things and I was worried about them. Luckily, seeing them on Tuesday and hearing about their experiences this past semester has assuaged my worries. We are all growing and learning. :)

I was having serious Vietnamese food cravings because my sister refuses to go out and eat it with me. Thus, my friend Andi and I went for Vietnamese food at Le Cheval. This restaurant is the third of three, owned and run by friends of my grandmother! The food is a bit pricey, but it's good Vietnamese food. I went over the summer with my grandmother, so I was excited to follow up on it. We got there a little before noon, but as our lunch went on, more and more people came in! It seems to be a very popular spot for lunch for business people and other workers.

We were each given a cup of complimentary potato soup. It was creamy and smooth, but wasn't exploding with flavor. Nonetheless, it was comforting on a cold, grey day. :) There were bits of vegetables floating around, and they were cooked perfectly soft.

Andi ordered the orange chicken lunch special, which comes with a side of rice. She chose steamed rice. There were tons of peppers in the dish, which were intensely spicey! I tried a piece of the chicken, and it was dry yet tasty.

I wasn't feeling like pho (I know, shocking right? xD) and I didn't feel like spending $7 dollars for only THREE imperial rolls!!! So, I ordered the imperial roll vermicelli bowl. Yum! Very tasty and huge! I don't think it was worth $9.50, but it was a lot of food. I couldn't even finish the bowl. The imperial rolls were good, but didn't taste very fresh.

This was the fish sauce I was given to accompany the bowl. It was.......alright, I suppose. Not as tart or sprightly as the fish sauce at Pho Saigon Bay or Le Kims. I poured most of it over the rolls, salad, and vermicelli noodles and it did the trick.

Afterwards, we met up with two of my other close friends! It was so fun! :) I was so happy to see everyone! Sadly, I had to leave early to visit my mom, but we still had time to get some gelato! I got nutella gelato and chocolate marzipan gelato on a waffle cone, yummmm~~~~ XD Scrumptious!

Le Cheval

1375 N Broadway

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(925) 938-2288
http://www.lecheval.com/

Momofraise says: Not a bad lunch spot, but a bit pricey for Vietnamese food. Good-sized portions for lunch though! And free creamy potato soup is always a plus! ;)

PORK BELLY

2009-12-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

I know Christmas is done, but here is how I spent my Christmas eve! My father had to go to San Jose to say hello to a dear client of his, and so my sister and I tagged along. I was dying to check out the Kinokuniya Bookstore and Mitsuwa Marketplace there, so I was looking forward to it! :)
After shopping at Kinokuniya for a bit, my sister and I went over to a cute little bakery called Clover Cake Shop. It was very Japanese in style and food, so it was fun to check out! All the pastries and breads were cheap, and I was so tempted to buy a lot, but I didn't.

This was an almond danish. I ate it on Christmas morning, and it was pretty good. It seemed more bready than I would have thought a danish to be, but the almond flavor was strong and tasty. :)

This doughnut was a hit! It was lightly coated in sugar and inside it there was smooth azuki red bean paste....yummm! This was still warm and really hit the spot! :) The flavors of the bean paste and the sugary doughnut outside complemented each other; it was a rich and sweet treat! :D

For lunch, I was DYING to try Santouka Ramen, the ramen place inside Mitsuwa. Their ramen is supposedly extremely authentic and delicious. I told my dad about it and he was all for trying it! Above is what I ordered, the #83: miso ramen, pork chashu bowl, and an egg. SO GOOOD! :D

Close-ups please......

This was heaven in a bowl. I devoured the whole bowl, and tried to eat slowly so I could savor it as long as I could. Bits of pork belly doused in some sort of soy sauce?? Only it didn't totally taste like soy sauce? I am not really sure about what was in here.....I would love to know though! The pork belly was rich and succulent; I can eat the fatty pieces much better when it is cut up into smaller pieces. Now, I am a devout follower of pork belly awesomeness! Andrew started it of course! ;)
Here is a close-up shot of my ramen, which was rich and thick. Amazing, in other words! The noodles were chewy and tasted so good with the almost milky miso broth. The broth wasn't very overpowering, which is a great sign. Instead, it was satisfying and had that lovely taste of miso that isn't fishy haha. Thumbs up from me and my dad! (He ordered the miso too; he was the one who got me into miso ramen)

Last of all was an egg that had been hard-boiled and soaked in a soy sauce-like sauce....again, I don't know what they soaked this in. I wish I did, since it was very tasty. Ramen and eggs go so well together!

This ramen set was $10.45 each, which I think is a good deal, considering how much food we got and the quality of it. Eating there was fun too; it felt very Japanese since we were sitting in a grocery store that was full of Asians! It is not exactly a restaurant....more like a storefront where you order and then pick up your tray(s). The kitchen in behind it and sure looked busy.

Here's me, looking forward to my delicious meal! I really enjoyed hanging in the San Jose Japan center; there are lots of good places to eat and shop. Also, it isn't a very touristy place, so it feels more real. I most certainly think Andrew would love to try this place, especially the pork belly! YUM! :D

Santouka

Mitsuwa Marketplace

675 Saratoga Ave

San Jose, CA 95129

(408) 255-6699

Clovery Bakery

4342 Moorpark Ave # A

San Jose, CA 95129

(408) 257-3412

Momofraise says: Delicious ramen and pastries are to be found in San Jose! Be sure to get the pork chashu bowl as well for fabulous pork belly! :D

Joyeux Noel!

2009-12-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Here is what I ate in between the celebrating!

Christmas Eve dinner was just about comfort food--breakfast for dinner! :) I had a cheese omelette with sausage, challah bread and butter, and peas! It was yummy and rich!

Christmas came and we had a nice morning opening gifts. Then, we had to get ready to go to French mass in San Francisco, which was very cool! I loved hearing it in French and I understood it, which was special. The church was lovely as well. It was called Notre Dame de Victoires, which means Our Lady of Victory. There was a funny tiny old French man talking to everyone in his gravelly French voice. :D It was quite the experience! The last time I had gone to church was with Andrew over the summer, and being in a church again made me miss him so miuch. I was nostalgic for the summer days he spent at my place with me~

Our tradition is going to Gourmet Carousel, a cheap Chinese place in SF, for Christmas lunch. The food is good, quick, and cheap. :) We had the beef won ton soup. It was pretty good, but salty! I was rather surprised! And there were only a few pieces of bok choy, which was too bad. The beef was tender and tasty though, even if the soup was salty.
Potstickers, which were a disappointment, to me at least. The filling wasn't as tasty as I remembered it......it was bland and almost bitter with too much cabbage.

Ahhhh~ The best dish! Beef chow fun with black beans! The black beans are salty and add a lot of flavor to the dish! The chow fun was chewy and delicious with the tender beef. I loved this dish! The first time I ordered it had been when Andrew came~ (Yeah, if you can't already tell, I miss him a lot!)

My dad is crazy about Chinese green bean dishes.....I am not a fan. My sister and dad loved this, so I am sure it was good. :)

Fiona wanted some chicken fried rice, which was harmless. Yet, rather bland.
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal. However, I am just worried that the quality of food might be slipping a bit...but maybe it was an off day. We still love the place!

After lunch, we came home and plopped down, relaxing a bit before going to my grandmother's house for more presents and dinner.

We had mashed potatoes (made by me!), broccoli, spiced pork lion, and rolls. It was comforting and a nice way to spend Christmas dinner. We all gave lovely gifts to each other too! :)

Dessert was a ginger snap and a chocolate chip cookie that was very sweet. I had eaten a lot of chocolate earlier because I had gotten some in my stocking, hehehe. :)

Christmas is a special time of year, and while I enjoyed spending it with my family, I really miss Andrew and his family. Hopefully next year we can figure out a way to balance everything out. He's been having lots of fun eating good food and running around with cute kids at family parties! ^.^ I just wish for everyone's happiness at this time of year. I am also eager to get back to Stockton and UOP; I miss it so much. I keep thinking about driving down Pacific Avenue at night, with bright lights beckoning people and the colorful Christmas decorations everyone had put up. Stockton, even though people say bad things about it, is a wonderful place to me. It is where I am blossoming and am becoming someone I am proud of. I miss driving around with Andrew, looking out the window at all the random places I had never heard of, such as Jollibees. I have grown to love the long streets that lay flat on the ground, and the people who are down-to-earth and friendly. One day I vow to write a novel about Stockton that will hopefully show people all over that it is a city full of good things. For a city can't be a true center of life without good and bad.

And with thoughts of my new home and my love in my mind, I bid you all good night and Merry Christmas. I hope you are all with your loved ones tonight. :)

And to my love: I miss you honey, and I am glad you are spending time with your family! Relax, eat good food, and be happy. You deserve all that and more!

Merry Christmas!! :)

2009-12-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

I adore Christmas lights.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas or other holiday you celebrate! :)

Lots of love,

Momofraise

A Wonderful Night~

2009-12-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's December now! :) It's been quite a while since I last posted, but I was busy with finals, essays, and just life in general. I am at home for winter break but I miss Andrew and Stockton tremendously. Andrew will hopefully be coming over next weekend to see me and I am so excited! I will bake lots of goodies for him~! The above picture was taken a few days after he returned from the trip to the Philippines. I was ecstatic to see him again! It's been so wonderful having him back!

The night after he arrived from the Philippines three weeks ago, he took me out to dinner. We couldn't stop talking and there was so much to say! We went to Dave Wong's Restaurant, a lovely Chinese place in Stockton. It is a gorgeous restaurant, oozing comfy yet upscale ambiance. The lighting is dim and golden, which makes for a romantic setting. They also have curtained booths for privacy; Andrew had put our names down for us to get one. After a while, one of the nice men working there put us into a private room! :) We were very lucky!

It was a cold night and I was feeling like soup, so we ordered their Wah Won Ton Soup. Many goodies were in it, such as chikcen, bok choy, won tons, and shrimp. The won tons were pretty tasty as was the bok choy. It wasn't anything special, but it was a nice start to our meal.

A close-up of my firt bowl. I gave the shrimp to Andrew after. ;)

Now this dish, my friends, is AMAZING. This is Egg Foo Yung with pork and I loooooove it! It's like a big fried omelette with bean sprouts, pork, and other things swimming in a tasty gravy. We always order it and it's very tasty. The texture is crispy and crunchy, and very satisfying. One might be put off by the bean sprouts, but they soak up the flavors of the pork, gravy, and egg. I am still dreaming of it!

This was the steak and mushroom fried rice, which was delicious, especially when mixed with the egg foo yung! The steak was tender and rich, and the mushrooms complemented everything so well. It was an interesting idea for fried rice, and since we love steak and mushrooms, it worked for us! :)

It was an inexpensive meal for two, considering all that we ate! We finished everything; it was all so good! However, the servings might be small for larger parties, so be prepared to order more dishes. Having the private room felt so cozy and nice~ It was a very special evening for us and I won't ever forget it! I can't wait to go back to Stockton and have those kinds of adventures with him again!

Dave Wong's Restaurant

2828 W March Ln

Stockton, CA 95219

(209) 951-4152

Momofraise says: Great Chinese food in a lovely setting! Everything was tasty, service was accomadating and kind, and I was with the best dining companion ever! ;) A wonderful restaurant in Stockton!

Hello SF~!

2009-11-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, I luckily was able to go to San Francisco with my sister; it was the first time I'd been in a long time! :) Fiona and I took the BART train and caught a MUNI bus. It was a lovely sunny day, which was such a treat as you can see in the pictures!

We got off at Octavia Street because I wanted to look at a Victorian hotel that is so beautiful inside and out. :) This is the Queen Anne Hotel, which supposedly has a haunted room! :D One of my dreams is to stay there someday~ I really want to show this to Andrew too! On my 18th birthday, my friends and I walked inside and sat down in the lovely common room. I then proceeded to open all my gifts there; it was so fun!

Japantown! Yay! :)

This is Benkyo-do, the oldest business in Japantown. They make mochi, some of which is really good, and sell Japanese snacks. They also have a food counter where burgers and hot dogs are super cheap; it's very old-fashioned and charming! All the older folks like to congregate there and drink coffee. :)

A lovely wall mural in the Miyako Mall~ I really want a pretty umbrella like that! :D

We went to one of the best and most authentic Japanese restaurants in Japantown, Takara! One of the owners always speaks Japanese to me! :) Above is Fiona's zaru udon, cold udon noodles with sauce.

I ordered zaru soba with tempura. It was very good and refreshing, but rather light. The tempura is so light and tasty! I ate all of it, even the shrimp! ;)

Lugging all our shopping bags, we then walked over to upper Fillmore Street for more shopping and gelato! We got gelato last and it was amazing! We went to Tango Gelato, which is now very popular and their food and gelato is great! I got hazelnut and almond delight gelato--so amazing!!!! :D
Fiona's chocolate espresso gelato; it was kind of runny, but she really enjoyed it! It looked dark and rich.

Before going to get gelato, we stopped at La Boulange bakery so I could get a box of macarons! Yay! This box cost $15! I also got an almond croissant which was pretty pricey at $2.75. Thus.......I spent $17.75 on pastries!!!! Eeeeep! Kinda crazy, but oh so awesome because of generous family members I was able to, haha!

Here's me at Tango Gelato showing off my box of macarons~! :D I look so tired, haha. We shopped so much I was carrying a huge and heavy bag of gifts for people and stuff. It was intense! But a wonderful day nonetheless! :)

Takara

22 Peace Plz

Ste 202

San Francisco, CA 94115

(415) 921-2000

La Boulange Bakery

2043 Fillmore St

San Francisco, CA 94115-2708

(415) 928-1300

Tango Gelato

2015 Fillmore St.

San Francisco, CA 94115-2708

(415) 346-3692

Momofraise says: Check out Japantown and upper Fillmore Street! :)

Saroor~~

2009-11-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

My sister and I braved the outside and went shopping today, and for being Black Friday it wasn't so bad. We didn't go to many places, but still had fun. The weather is pretty miserable; it started raining really hard not too long ago and it's very cold. I am sure my love in the hot and humid Philippines would like this weather! ;)

We went to Target, which was crowded but not terribly so. I bought a black cloche hat that actually fits, red long fingerless gloves, a light blue soft sweater on sale, and some essentials. Then, we walked up to Ming Quong, since the weather was sunny and nice, and I bought a new ring and a gift for Andrew, since our 10 month anniversary is next Friday, which is the day he comes back home! Yay! :D We then found ourselves at Saroor, a very good Indian restaurant I hadn't been too for a long time.

Since I can't drink Chai Tea unless the milk is soy or lactose-free, I ordered a mango lassi drink ($2.50) instead, which was DELICIOUS! The flavors of the yogurt and mango juice were well-balanced and I wished there were free refills so I could enjoy more of it! It was sweet and creamy without being overly tart. I am in a mango mood!

This was my first plate: fresh thin and buttered naan bread, chicken tikka masala, basmati rice, vegetable pakora, and chicken pakora. Everything was fresh and hot, I was impressed! The vegetavke pakora were very flavorful and not greasy; the chicken pakora fritters were alright, but the veggies had more depth of flavors. The chicken tikka masala had a little bite to it, and the flavors all meshed well. It was a very good meal! :) I really want to take Andrew here sometime soon!

Of course, I got a second plate! I got some salad, more veggie pakora, and some rice to soak up the leftover tikka masala sauce. Fiona and I really enjoyed our meals here!

Of course, I had to get some of this dessert! These are little pastry balls soaked in a sweet, sugary honey sauce. They are sooo sweet, but delightfully so! ;)

The inside is yellow and fluffy! These were great! They are called Gulab Jaman.

For $8.99, which might seem a bit high, the buffet is a great way to go. There are many options, even some vegetarian ones, and the food is fresh and tasty. I love how it's not very oily or greasy at all! :) It's very close to where my family lives, which is nice. Make sure to give this place a try! Also, check out the Japanese grocery store next door, I love that place! ;)

Saroor Indian Cuisine

2580 N Main St

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

(925) 937-2031
http://www.yelp.com/biz_redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saroorindiancuisine.com&src_bizid=IEJ6V5CJTwR-MGNQ2bgVIw&cachebuster=1259366725

Momofraise says: Great fresh Indian food at pretty affordable prices! The lunch buffet is the way to go! ;)

Thanksgiving Dinner 2009~

2009-11-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Ever since my parents divorced when I was eight, Thanksgiving changed for me. I still wish I could be with my whole family for Thanksgiving, but maybe that will happen someday in the future. Until then, I usually spend it with my dad, sister, grandma, aunt, and my four cousins. I really missed Andrew yesterday and wished he could have been a part of it, but he is having fun in the Philippines. :)

For lunch, my dad made homemade tacos, which were tasty and not spicy, which was good for me! It was a nice treat since it has been forever since he made them for me last. :) Tacos are kind of a funny thing to eat on Thanksgiving, but thats okay. :D

Preparing for Thanksgiving dinner on the other hand.....was certainly interesting. The oven caught on fire right before I was going to make biscuits, so I decided against it. Luckily, the fire wasn't a serious one, and it died out rather quickly. I did end up making mashed potatoes and box stuffing, so I am glad I was able to contribute some dishes. :)

Here are the store-bought rolls we had; they were all right, if a bit rubbery and generic-tasting.

My aunt bought boxed stuffing, and since my dad forgot to bring his, we used my aunt's stuffing. I mixed a lot of butter and water together until the mixture boiled, and poured in the stuffing. It tasted alright, but was missing a certain element......I mixed this with mashed potatoes and gravy, and that helped the flavor.

My dad bought brussel sprouts on the vine, which looks so cool! :D My aunt roasted them in the oven, but they came out a bit burnt. They were still good though, since I love brussel sprouts. ^_^

We had a Caesar salad with homemade garlic-herb croutons, which were fantastic if a bit salty. My dad made the croutons and I really loved them!

Yay, turkey! My dad roasted the turkey in our oven, and the drippings fell onto the oven bottom, causing the fire. Luckily, the turkey was already out of the oven when the fire happened! The turkey was very tasty and a bit dry. However, we all loved it and ate a lot! :)

Ta-dah, my mashed potatoes! They are Opy-friendly because I used lactose-free milk when making them, hehehehehe! ;) I also mixed in some butter, salt, and a touch of pepper. I mixed them in the KitchenAid mixer, and they came out so fluffy and smooth! My family kept saying it was the hit of the night, which makes me feel proud. :)

Here's what our table looked like, all leaden down with dishes of food and such. My grandma was unable to come since she was still sick. Luckily, she is so much better today! :D

Yup, my first plate, before I was healthy and ate some veggies of course. ;) I like mixing the gravy (homemade by my dad), stuffing, turley, and mashed potatoes together. It tastes good like that, even though it may not look pretty! :D

I wish my love could have been there! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! :)

Dinner at Tulios~

2009-11-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Yep, I am on a blogging roll today! I want to write up the posts as soon as I can this week so I don't get bogged down and behind like I do when at school, haha. Also, it's fun, and I want to make sure Andrew can see what I am up to! :)

My sister and I went to Tulio's, which is an Italian restaurant I used to go to as a kid when I was done with ballet class, which was across the street. So, it's been around for a long time!
We were seated promptly and given a basket of baguette and foccacia bread, both of which were good and just how I remembered them. Also, a bowl of herbs, olive oil, and balsami vinegar accompanied the bread. Dipping the bread in the mixture was very tasty, especially with parmesan sprinkled in it!

This was the house salad that came with my pasta entree. I wasn't a fan of everything in this salad; I think the beats are an odd addition.....but that's just me. I asked for vinaigrette as my dressing and they served that in a quaint silver bowl. The dressing was okay.

My sister ordered the house minestrone soup which she would always order there. She said it was salty, but she finished the whole bowl, so it must have been good!

This was my HUGE bowl of pasta! I couldn' believe it! I was shocked when the waiter set it down in front of me! For $17.25, including a salad, I received so much food! This was rigatoni pasta in a Napoletana tomato sauce with mushrooms and provolone cheese. It was very good, but also filling and heavy. I took over half of it home!

Fiona ordered a personal pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms for $10.50, which included the soup. She enjoyed it, and took two slices home. I ate one of the slices and thought it was tasty. They use an interesting kind of pepperoni, which is different than what I am used to, but still very good. :)

Everything was served to us so quickly, I was quite surprised! It was a good meal, and my sister and I had fun catching up! :D We were both sad that our grandma couldn't come because she was sick, but it was still good.

Tulio's Italian Restaurant

2065 N Broadway

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

(925) 938-3367

Momofraise says: LARGE portions and tasty Italian food! Not very innovative, but comforting nonetheless. :)

Home for Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am indeed back home for break! The train ride was very nice; the train was really crowded since it's a holiday week, so I took a seat across from a nice older lady. She and I talked the whole hour-long way, and it seemed so quick! :) My sister picked me up from the train station when I arrived around 10 am and we went to visit my mom, stepdad, and halfbrother. My stepdad ended up giving me his classical guitar, which he never uses, but it sounds great! I can't wait to play it for Andrew!

Afterwards, Fiona and I stopped at Lunardis to grab some groceries and got some yummy, though not too healthy food! I love how there is such a thing as lactose-free ice cream. ;)

I also picked up a bottle of Naked's Mighty Mango juice!! On campus last week, some people set up a Naked juice table in the student center/dining hall and had a Wheel of Fortune sort of game set up. I spun it and won a Naked t-shirt, which I wore and found to be super comfy! I also tried a sample of the mango juice and just loved it! So, I am so glad I found some this morning! And yes, it is delicious! ;)
I was planning to cook "Opy burgers" for lunch, since my sister said all we really had was ground beef, but......well, she forgot to take the meat out of the freezer to defrost. Thus, I made croque monsieur sandwiches and peas instead! I put sharp cheddar cheese and turkey slices in the sandwiches with wheat bread, grilling them with butter for a while until everything melted.

I guess mine was more of a croque madame since I put an egg on top. :) It felt good to be cooking in the kitchen again! My sister, mixing up the peas with butter, salt, and pepper. She put too much pepper.... >.< But they were still good!
Look at this! My tortoise Scooter has been snoozing under the computer desk in the living room since I got home. I'm thinking she is staying there because it's warm, poor thing. Tortoises don't like the cold. She has grown though, which is so exciting!

Tonight, my sister and I are going out to dinner! Sadly, my grandmother caught a cold, so she will not be joining us for dinner. :( I hope she feels better soon!

Chilling at a Chinese Bakery!

2009-11-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is it, my dear readers, the last post before I go home for Thanksgiving Break! I leave tomorrow morning and I am sooooo ready for this break; I only had one class today and I could barely focus on it. I think I need some time to relax and indulge in fun things like going to SF and cooking, which are things I can't do here.

I plan to cook and eat a lot this week, so stay tuned for a ton of posts! :)

A couple weeks ago, Andrew decided that we should try one of the places on my "lets try" list, which was Qiang's Bakery, a local Chinese bakery that has very high ratings on Yelp.com. We were both so excited to finally try this place! I don't know much about Chinese pastries and such, and was excited to learn and taste some!
First up, a sesame ball, only $0.50 each! And these aren't small either, they are about the size of a golf ball. Isn't it cute and perfectly round? I love the golden color!

We each took a bite of our own.........THEY WERE SO GOOD! I could have eaten a ton of these! Inside there was red bean paste that wasn't overly sweet encased in a light, mochi-like filling. JUST AMAZING! Andrew really loved these too! :) All the flavors went so well together; it wasn't heavy or cloying sweet at all!

Next up were the pot stickers, because I love pot stickers, haha. :D These are pretty big and full of filling! SO TASTY! Wow, these were full of flavor and luckily the bread part wasn't too heavy at all. Again, a very nice balance of flavors. The filling consists of pork, cabbage, and spices. They tasted very homemade, which is really comforting. I really loved these! Andrew liked them too, but he ended up giving his to me since I loved it so much. He is a sweetie! :)

Andrew was really curious about the meat-filled pastries, so we got one for each of us to try. The round one on the right was his chicken pastry, and the long one was my bbq pork pastry. Sadly, these were a let-down. Both pastries were WAY too flakey and tasted as though they had been sitting out for too long. They were heavy and full of butter too. The meat was scant, especially in the chicken one. It was minced and almost flavorless. The bbq pork fared better, but not by much. Andrew and I were disappointed by these, but at least we know what not to order!

Many years ago, my father took my sister and I to a Korean-owned Japanese restaurant in the downtown of my hometown. I remember the meal as being okay, but for some reason the little egg custard tarts they served us as dessert have always stuck in my mind. They were so rich and sweet, but not overpoweringly so. When Andrew and I saw these egg custard tarts at the bakery, I knew we had to get one!

This one was good, and kind of light too. The egg custard part of it was very eggy, but it wasn't off-putting since I like eggs. I really enjoyed this tart and would like to get it again! :)

Qiang's Bakery was definitely a hit with us; we ended up buying more pot stickers and sesame balls to much on! :D It was a delightful and very cheap lunch! Thank you hun! Can't wait to go back! :D

Qiang's Bakery

707 E March Ln

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 478-7088

Momofraise says: Forgo the heavy, buttery pastries and stick with pot stickers, sesame balls, and egg custard tarts! Your tummy will thank you. ;) Also, this place is very cheap, so your wallet will thank you too!

By the way, I was able to chat with Andrew today, as he is in the Philippines with his family, and he was telling me all about the amazing food he has been eating!!! It's awesome! So many different kinds of fruit and seafood! I love hearing all about the food and seeing the pictures! His mom bought durians, he told me, and I really wish I could try one! :)

A Fun Thursday~!

2009-11-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Everyone here on campus is counting down the days until they can go home for Thanksgiving Break! I luckily leave on Tuesday morning, yay! I think I really need a break from this place, and my love is gone so there isn't much reason for me to stay. I need to have fun too, lol! :)

Speaking of fun, two Thursdays ago Andrew took me out to lunch! It such a wonderful treat! I am a spoiled boo~!

We went to a local Italian deli that has been around for a long time that serves cheap sandwiches. The above sandwich is what I ordered, prosciutto with cheese, mayo, and lettuce. Very rich and salty! I think this sandwich was only $4.25! :D
Andrew's sandwich was delicious and cheaper than mine at $3.25!! His had salami, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and mustard. I really loved his sandwich! This is probably what I will order next time we go there, which I hope we do! The salami was thick and tasty, with the mustard adding a lot of depth to the already salty flavor of the salami. It all worked. :)

For dessert, we went to our favorite place on the Miracle Mile, Taste of Brittany! It's our special place; the entrees are a bit expensive for us so we go rarely now. However, we still love it! :) We ordered the lemon and sugar crepe, which is our favorite crepe there. It's light and tasty! However, Andrew didn't want to waste the le,on so he squeezed the whole thing on the crepe....needless to say it was quite pungently sour in some parts! I didn't mind it too much though; it still tasted great! :D The crepe itself was chewy, in a good way! Crepes shouldn't be dry and crackly.

I loved the outfit I wore that day. It was so girly with a skrt, boots, and a pink Harajuku Lovers shirt. I was happy. :)

Bwahahhahaha! My love, eyeing his prey! Such a fun and wonderful day together~! :D

Gian's Delicatessen

2112 Pacific Ave

Stockton, CA 95204

(209) 469-0108

Taste of Brittany

2041 Pacific Ave

Stockton, CA 95204-5327

(209) 946-9494

Mama Pho Part 2~!

2009-11-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Jen has been having intense pho cravings this past week, so my friend Mary took Jen and me to try Mama Pho yesterday, since I was raving about it all week to them. Yay! Also, I am glad I was with with them because Andrew left for the Philippines yesterday and I miss him so much. It's good that I am spending time with my friends so I have fun and so I won't get too lonely. :)

The place was still spotless and warm on this rainy and freezing cold Friday. Andrew and his family were at Mama Pho earlier, and I can't wait to hear about what they ordered!

I ordered a small beef steak pho and a grilled pork sandwich. Oh my goodness, the sandwich was melting in my mouth, it was so utterly rich in distinct flavors....and the bread was warm and tasty! Just perfection!

My little pho, which was tasty, filling, and warm! :)

Mary ordered the Korean beef short rib plate, and she let me try a piece. It was very simple yet tasty and filling! A bit greasy, but delicious nonetheless. Obviously the other dishes at Mama Phos are good! Makes me want to try other things there! ;)

My friend Jen ordered a large beef steak pho and some cha gio rolls as well. She didn't care to much for the rolls either, but they aren't bad. She inhaled her soup and half of Mary's sandwich.

Obviously, Mama Pho was a success with my friends! :D I can't wait to go back with Andrew!

Mama Pho Part 1~!

2009-11-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday morning, Andrew and I went to try a Vietnamese place that we couldn't ever find before. However, last Friday night we passed it in the car and realized it wasn't very far from his house or UOP! So, we decided to go on Sunday, since it was open.

The place is small, but meticulously clean. It's run by an old couple who don't speak too much English but are nice anyway.

The fact that our chopsticks and spoons were given to us in a popcorn bag is just too funny and awesome! :D

Ahhhhhhh, finally, a delicious banh mi! This one has tasty grilled pork in it and the bread is warm and fluffy! I truly adore this sandwich!!! None of the ingredients are overpowering, and I always take out the too-spicy jalapeno slice. The Vietnamese mayo adds such a creamy and savory aspect to the sandwich~! So good for $2.50!

Since I love cha gio (imperial/egg rolls, 4 for $3.95) we ordered those as well so I could try them. They were okay, very fresh and steaming hot! I was disappointed that they didn't give us fish sauce to go with them...hmmmm....we probably won't order these again. Getting two sandwiches is a better idea.

Yes, that is our XL-sized bowl of pho with beef steak slices and tripe. My honey loves his tripe, haha! :D It was the largest bowl we had ever seen and it was epic! The pho was good, with a light and pretty tasty broth. The noodles were plentiful and chewy, the meat was good I guess. The tripe came in huge clumps, which made Andrew happy! The accompanying bean sprouts and herbs were super clean and not old at all! Mama Pho clearly pays attention to detail!

That bowl was so big we couldn't even finish it all! :D

We spent the rest of that Sunday relaxing at Andrew's house, enjoying the lazy day. Then, before he took me back to campus so I could go to my tutoring job, his mom made dinner! And it was SO DELICIOUS! Supple and tender steak with garlic and pepper topped with onions, with oniony baked potatoes and rice.......to die for, seriously. I consumed so much that night, and I wish I ate more! It was a delightful way to end a wonderful day! :)

Mama Pho & Sandwich

8014 Lower Sacramento Rd

Stockton, CA 95210

(209) 473-7154

Momofraise says: DELISH! Try the sandwiches because they will change your life and the way you look at sandwiches forever! ;)

Happy 9 months~! :)

2009-11-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hello my dear readers! I am so sorry that I have been lax in updating lately. Schoolwork has bogged me down more than I thought it would. In fact, this semester is INSANE. So much to do when all I really want to do is relax with my love. Hopefully next semester will be much better!
Anyway, this upcoming Tuesday I go home for Thanksiving Break! Which means lots of food and cooking! Oh yes, I plan to take over the kitchen. I even told my father that I would be happy too cook our Thanksgiving meal all by myself! ;) Look forward to many blog posts about cooking and food from restaurants around where my family lives. :) My love is currently vacationing with his family in the Philippines and I miss him desperately.

So, let's go back a ways, shall we? :)

The day before our 9 month anniversary, Andrew and I went to In-n-Out for lunch since I had a coupon for a free burger. Soooo goooood! I find myself craving their burgers quite often now! Splitting an orders of fries is the way to go, we realized. Everything was delicious, and I loved it!

The next day, November fourth, was our 9 month anniversary and we just relaxed together and enjoyed each other's company. :) We had a cute fruit tart for dessert from the M&W bakery, which was good if a little heavy and rich! The strawberries were the best part of the tart; they were sweet and the custard/cream under the fruit complemented the strawberries so deliciously well! The colors are so cute too~!

For dinner that night, my love took me to our favorite neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant, Le Kims! We ordered our two favorites there, the Beef Pho and the grilled pork and imperial roll bun bowl. Very delicious and comforting on a chilly night!

The bun (vermicelli noodle) bowls at Le Kims are my favorites; all the ingredients are fresh and tasty. The fish sauce there is sooooo good and strong, but not spicy which is perfect for me. Everything tastes homemade, just like a mother's cooking. :) The owners are so nice and know Andrew and me now, which is really fun!
It was a wonderful day and full of good food and company~! :) Thank you my love!

Parents Weekend 2009~!

2009-10-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Many things have been happening so I'm happy that I finally have the time to write a post about it! One big thing is that I have decided to change my major to studio art with a concentration in Photography and something else!!!! This is really exciting for me and I can't wait to start my art classes next semester! :) I've also been having fun with Andrew and enjoying the fall weather. It has been extremely cold this week though, so hopefully it warms up a bit before Halloween!

The weekend of October 17 my family came over to visit me here on campus! :) They took Andrew and me out to lunch in a neighboring small town called Clements. On the drive over, we passed a lovely apple orchard that was on both sides of the road. The trees were tall and green, their leaves bushy and letting in slivers of sunlight. It was a lovely orchard and we all wished we could walk around in it.

The restuarant was known as Clements Feed and Fuel and it was closing the day after we went, which was so sad! Me, Andrew, my dad, my sister, and my grandma were pretty much the only diners for a while, and our waitress was very friendly and talkative. I could tell that she was truly saddened by the closing of the restaurant; however, there was a glimmer of hope because there is a customer interested in buying it and making it into a restuarant again! :)

My dad decided to order Escargot (snails) as an appetizer for us! I was rather surprised, but we were all game and tried one! The snails were drenched in warm garlic butter and eaten with crispy garlic bread. It was ....interesting and chewy. There was a different, almost earthy taste to it, even though it was dripping with a rich garlicy butter sauce. My dad loved them, haha. :D

Andrew wanted to try the Calamari steak sandwich, which he loved~! :) It was a lightly breaded calamari steak spread with tartar sauce, which he said was good. The french fries were thick and crispy. He saved one of the halves for later that night, and he said it was still good! Glad you enjoyed it honey!

Here is a shot of my burger, with avocadoes and veggies on the side, and cheddar cheese on top of it. SO GOOD and juicy! It wasn't ridiculously huge or thick either, so I finished it in one sitting, hehehe! ;) I enjoyed it, it could've used more salt though.

My dad is awesome and took a picture of his sparerib sandwich for me! :D He enjoyed it, and gave me his other half, which I ate for dinner the next night! I think he enjoyed it, he said it was good meat.

My sister ordered the same burger as I did, and my grandmother ordered a blue cheese and chicken wrap, which she said was heavy with cheese and filling. My sister barely ate her burger for some reason and gave it to me, which I ate later that night!

My dad wanted my sister and me to each order a dessert, so we carefully perused the menu, bwahahaha. My sister ordered the Molten Lava chocolate cake (at least I think that's what it's called), which was warm and rich with chocolate! DELICIOUS! It made me giggle with every bite! It was still delicious and gooey after being warmed up in the microwave a couple days later. :)

I chose to try the Lemon Drop Cheesecake since the restuarant recomended it, and it was great! It kindled a love for cheesecake within me! It was rich and sweet, with just the right balance between tart lemon and sugary cheesecakeyness (is that a real word? hahaha)! I really enjoyed it, as did Andrew! :)

After my family left, Andrew and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking down to the Miracle Mile and then around the homes near between Pacific and Miracle Mile. It was so fun and romantic to be walking together, exploring little nooks and crannies of the Miracle Mile that we hadn't seen before. The weather was cool and comfortable, both of us dressed up and full of smiles. We went to the Empresso Cafe (aka Java Roma) and I had a refreshing smoothie. It was so nice to sit and relax in the cafe together. After that, we started walking around the beautiful and cozy homes around Miracle Mile and near UOP. Andrew and I loved seeing all the lovely homes nestled into gardens and would point out the ones we liked the best! :)

It was an amazing day that will remain etched in my mind forever. :) Thank you my love and my family!

Clements Fuel and Feed

18938 E Hwy 88

Clements, CA 95227

(209) 759-3100
www.feedandfuelrestaurant.com

A Wonderful Week~! :)

2009-10-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

I had such an fun and awesome week, perhaps one of the best weeks I have ever had. It was filled with fun, love, and so much more. I am so sad that it is over! Thank you for everything honey! :)

On Friday, Andrew took me and his youngest brother out for lunch at the famous Chuck's Diner, where huge portions reign supreme! Above is the full order of the Garden Omelette that Andrew and I shared, with the kitchen fries and pancake as our sides. The omelette was bursting with fragrant sauteed mushrooms, and the warm avocado slices added such a wonderful creamy richeness to the omelette! I want to make an avocado omelette someday! :)

The pancake was super thick! It's very tasty, almost like a large pastry! Someday I might ordered a pancake breakfast there since they are so good!

I have been aching for some onion rings lately, so Andrew was game so we ordered the full order of the house-made rings! They were good, and were battered with cornmeal, so it was thick and crunchy. They needed salt and/or a dipping sauce of some sort though. But, I still liked them! They were huge, haha! ;)
After lunch, we went to Podesto's, which is a fancy grocery store with an awesome deli and bakery. They just added a little room that house the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! Andrew was a sweetheart and bought me some chocolate delights! :D Above is the caramel and dark chocolate covered marshmallows, which he really liked. I thought this was good, but a bit too sweet. He also got me a chocolate-covered smore thing on a stick, which was DELICIOUS! I ate it so quickly that I wasn't able to get a picture of it lol! Podesto's is a very nice grocery store here in Stockton, and their chocolate-sipped Florentine cookies are divine. :) I bought two to bring back to my room and I can't wait to eat them! I will be sure to take pictures!

After relaxing for a while, Andrew and I went on a long bike ride, which as glorious since I haven't gone biking for a long time! It felt good to go biking again, especially with Andrew, since it had been quite some time since we had last gone. We went to the golf course behind his house and went to the train tracks there, where we saw some dogs come our way and then leave when they noticed us, lol! We also found TONS of blackberry bushes! The berries had dried out, but now we know where to go next year to harvest some! Then, we went to down the street to a little park where we took a break and went on the swings, since I had been dying to go on some swings for a while. ;)
After that, we crossed the street and went on a lovely trail. We saw a handsome grey and white heron standing in the midst of a stream of water bubbling around some rocks. It was such a lovely scene, especially pitted against the setting sun; I wish I had my camera with me!
I really enjoyed being with Andrew and sharing memories of my childhood with him last night on our bike ride; seeing that trail made me nostalgic for my old trail.

When we arrived back at his house, it was already dark and we were both hungry and tired. There was Shumai (pork dumpling sort of things) and sticky rice in banana leaves out to eat on the table. They were from a place in Chinatown, San Francisco. I tried a shumai earlier and really enjoyed it, even though it was a bit greasy! It was tasty and meaty!

The sticky rice was certainly interesting! It was fun unwrapping the banana leaves that were encasing it, haha. It consisted of very sticky rice with peanuts, bits of sausage, some oddly oily white meat (probably fish but I have no idea), and a chunk of yummy marinated chicken in the middle. I ate some of it, but I became full very fast! I am not sure if I entirely liked it.....it was very heavy and kind of oily. I think if the insides were different, I would really enjoy it. Andrew told me they make this with other things in the rice, so hopefully I can try one of those someday! :D I enjoyed my Chinese food adventures last night!

Chuck's Hamburgers
6034 Pacific Ave
Stockton, CA 95207
(209) 473-9977

Momofraise says: I had a wonderful week and am so grateful to my love for everything! Chuck's is a good old greasy spoon full of history, so please give it a try! Also, Chinese snacks are quite interesting and always well worth a try! ;)

Happy Birthday and 8 Months!!!! <3

2009-10-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, this is one of those days where nothing at the University Center tastes good and I wish they was a super close Vietnamese place I could go to! Oh well, I have food in my room I can always make, but I still wish I had a kitchen....grrr....

Anyway, this past weekend was my love's Birthday and our 8 month anniversary!!!!!! :D We had a lot of fun celebrating and eating, lol! ;)

On Friday I treated him to dinner at a lovely place called Dave Wong's Restaurant; it is a Chinese place renowned here in Stockton for it's ambiance. We enjoyed the dim lighting and pretty interior. The food wasn't very expensive, but the portions were a bit on the smaller side. It was enough to get both of us full, but it would be too little for a larger group. I forgot my camera in my room since it was such an impulsive idea, but I promise to take pictures next time we go! We ordered pot stickers (which weren't very good), egg foo yung (YUM!), and Shiitake Mushroom beef. With rice of course. :)

On Saturday I worked on homework and random errands I had to run. I especially had to make sure Andrew's gifts and card were all ready for Sunday! ;)

My friend Jen walked to Target with me so I could get something. Then, we stopped at Sakura Japanese Grocery and the M&W Dutch American Bakery. I ordered a sandwich at the bakery since there sandwiches are only $4 for a whole one! Such a great deal! This sandwich had ham, turkey, lettuce, onions, and a bit of mayo. It was gooood!

I had fun and bought some candies at Sakura! The long thing with the picture of Mt. Fuji on it is the new white peach flavored Hai-chew candies! They are little gummy sweet chews! I really am enjoying this flavor! Then, I got this funky pack that came with a kids book in Japanese and caramels that I have yet to try, haha. It was so cute I couldn't resist. ;)

Sunday was me and Andrew's 8 month anniversary and I was sooooo excited about being with him! His birthday was actually yesterday, but we were both busy with class so we didn't have much time to celebrate. Thus, we did it on Sunday! Well, this whole week we will be having fun, so that counts too. :)

We hung out at his house just relaxing, enjoying a lazy Sunday, then we went back to UOP and walked to a nice Thai place called Siamese Street. Both of us were curious and wanted to try something new. Also, all our favorite places were closed since it was Sunday.

Above is my love looking cute with the veggie rolls we ordered. Also, he is holding a plate because the plates have "Siamese Street" printed on them! Our dishware was very nice. :) The whole ambiance of the place is very nice; it's a clean restuarant with a friendly and young staff. My water glass was refilled a lot, which is good since I drink a lot of water! :D

I must admit, though, that the veggie rolls were rather odd. Both Andrew and I found them to be a bit too greasy, and the insides weren't cooked all the way. The thin, see-through noodles in them were crunchy........I MUCH prefer Vietnamese Imperial Rolls! These weren't too bad though. :) Also, it was a good portion size for an appetizer, if a little pricey at $6.95 I believe.

Sorry if the pictures seem out of focus, the lighting was a bit odd. Above is the Pad See Ew with chicken that I ordered. It seemed like any other chow fun dish and I liked it, since it wasn't crazy or spicy. The chicken wasn't really overcooked and the veggies were fine. I liked the noodles, hehehehe. ;) I wished they had given a larger portion size of this though.....

Andrew ordered the Pad Thai with tofu since his friend reccomended it to us. I tried it and didn't care for it too much......the spices were odd to me. It tastes kind of sweet but also had a bite of red pepper or chili in it. Andrew liked it, so I was happy. :) The tofu was great though, and neither of us missed meat, haha! It was kind of odd because they gave us a huge portion of this! We had leftovers, which my honey ate yesterday. :)

Overall, we had a wonderful Birthday/Anniversary weekend! Thank you honey!!!! :D

Siamese Street Thai Restaurant

3236 Pacific Ave

Stockton, CA 95204

(209) 466-0127

Dave Wong's Restaurant

2828 W March Ln

Stockton, CA 95219

(209) 951-4152

Momofraise Says: There are lots of interesting places in Stockton, and it is fun to explore new restaurants and cuisines!

San Francisco Trip with Friends! :)

2009-10-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't put up this post yet! In the beginning of this semester, my college offered a trip to San Francisco by bus for only $5! Such an awesome deal! So, my friends and I were lucky enough to hear about it so we paid and were excited to go! Above is us putting our shoes together. My shoe is the awesome orange one!!! :D

The bus dropped us off in Union Square, and since we were hungry we walked over to Katana-ya after shopping a bit in Macy's. Katana-ya is a super tiny and very popular Japanese restaurant in Union Square. The place itself is very narrow and the walls are adorned with colorful and funky pieces of art! There was a nice mix of jazz and Japanese pop music playing while we ate. :)

I ordered a combination lunch of Miso Ramen and katsu don. Above is the katsu don, which is pork katsu with sauce on top of rice with a salad. The dressing on the salad was a delicious creamy sesame one. I wish Japanese restaurants sold the dressing they use, it's so good that I would use! (I am notorious for not using salad dressing lol) I really enjoyed this filling dish; the katsu was fried nicely and the sauce on it was good with the rice.

OH YEAH! Time for Miso ramen awesomeness! I really love miso ramen; ever since my dad told me to order it when I go out I have loved it's rich, savoury flavor. Katana-ya makes a good miso ramen; it's rich and filling. The noodles were good, the pork slice was just okay, and I love all the green onion, haha.

There's me, with my finished bowl! It's so rich I couldn't finish everything, lol!! :D

After eating lunch, we hailed a cab and had a crazy drive to Fisherman's wharf. There, we perused the funky jewelry stalls and bought some more things. After a while of this, we were all hankering for some gelato, which you can't really get in Stockton. So, off to North Beach (Little Italy) we went! I led everyone on a crazy journey and we finally found this whole in the wall gelato place I like.

It's pretty expensive, which was a bit disappointing. I ordered half hazelnut gelto and half smores gelato. It was good! The hazelnut was delicious, and the smores was interesting, but next time I will get something more chocolatey. :) I finished my friend's pistachio gelato and for some reason I kinda like it....it's very rich though, haha.

Afterwards, we went back to Union Square through a free bus ride through Chinatown and got back on the bus. When we arrived back in Stockton, we immediately went to get pizza at Pacific Pizza!

Overall, it was a fun day in SF! :)

Katana-ya

430 Geary St

San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 771-1280

Momofraise says: Miso Ramen is GOOD!! Gelato is GOOD!!

A Birthday, Pho, and Pizzokie!

2009-10-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I was indeed a pho hoe.

It was my friend Jen's 20th birthday, so we went all out and had a great girls' night out! :) We first went to Pho Saigon Bay, and it was good! Some of my friends had never had Vietnamese food before so I helped them out and suggested some good dishes. I, of course, went for the beef pho and cha gio (Imperial rolls). I got a medium bowl and requested extra noodles for a dollar. It was funny because they didn't put the noodles in the bowl with the pho, but in a separate bowl with a tasty broth......hmmm. It was still good though! Just oddly presented I guess.

This entire order was for me....I love these so much! I wrapped the rolls up in the lettuce and pickled veggies, which brought them up to a whole new level! :) Very fresh and tasty!

Yep.....there is my pho and extra noodles. I loved it! The broth is so rich and beefy, but not overpoweringly so. The beef wasn't too tender, but that's okay. Great soup!

After dinner, since we weren't hungry for dessert yet, we went next door to Crossroads Trading Company, an awesome used-clothing store. I got a super cute orange tote bag covered in little fruits for $2.00!!!!!! :D

Then, we went to Rasputin's and looked through used CDs and DVDs. I got a Radiohead album used and was happy. :)

I was pretty tired by this point, but Jen wanted to go to BJ's Brewery for a Pizzookie dessert, which is a giant cookie topped with tons of ice cream. We had to wait a while for a table since BJs is super popular here in Stockton! It's crazy!

So, we got seated at 8:45 pm and ready for more food! A bunch of my friends ordered root beer, since BJs makes it themselves. I tried it and it was interesting; I don't like root beer, but I can understand why it is popular there.

We got a starter of fries! :D These were super thin and very good! Of course, we gobbled them up in two seconds, haha.

Then....the massive, epic Pizzookie arrived! Crazy, huh? It was delicious though. The cookie was super gooey and warm.....the vanilla ice cream melted on it......yummmmmmm............

Yay! Here is a pic of me happy with my pizzookie slice! :) I also ordered a strawberry lemonade, and that was good too. :)

Pho Saigon Bay
5756 Pacific Ave # 14
Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 477-5972 (Phone)

BJs Restaurant and Brewery

5733 Pacific Ave

\Stockton, CA 95207-5148

(209) 373-4660

Momofraise Says: Saigon Bay has great food at affordable prices, and BJs is fun for a party! :)

Haggin Museum and more!

2009-10-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! Once again, another week has passed! I had a good week and I am so excited about the changing weather! For some reason, I am just relishing the Fall weather and October itself. October is especially special because Andrew's birthday is October 5! :D I am so excited to give him his gift! Our 8 month anniversary is the day before, so this is a special weekend!

Two weeks ago on a lovely Saturday, Andrew took me to the Haggin Museum! I've been wanting to go there for quite sometime, so it was so sweet of him! I was sad because they got rid of the mummy right before I came back to Stockton....too bad...haha.

Above is a rather glamorous picture of me, if I may say so myself. ;) The museum is in the middle of a rather large and lovely park, with lots of grand trees, a little fenced off lake, and picnic tables dotting the grass everywhere. There is even a lovely rose garden too! The museum itself is made of brick and is quite stately looking.

Andrew and I really enjoyed it and spent almost three hours just looking at all the exhibits! There was a Matisse exhibit, as well as an awesome Japanese woodblock print exhibit. There are about three stories in the musuem, and it is so fun! We learned a lot about Stockton's history! The little gift shop downstairs was very cute and I got a few things, including a leather bookmark for my grandmother. :) Since Andrew and I are students, it only cost $2.50 each to get in! It's a real deal! Thank you honey!

Afterwards, we both realized how hungry we were! Thus, he sweetly offered to take me to Pho Saigon Bay! It was delicious! Andrew is definitely my favorite dining companion! :)

We ordered the large bowl of pho with just rare steak and Imperial rolls. Sooooo gooood! I had a wonderful day!

Here are a few random pictures of food I ate that week too, haha.

There were chocolate-dipped madeleines at the cafe in the University Center....the chocolate was mediocre, but it was still a nice treat. :)

One night I made onigiri (rice balls) for me and Andrew in my room! So fun and easy!

For Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish holiday, my dad sent me a care package which included snacks as well as apples and honey! Which is one of my favorite fall treats. :) I was really excited about Andrew trying it, so we had some. It was sweet and fun! I think he liked them! :D

So yeah, I have been having a lot of fun here!

My First Banh Mi! :D

2009-09-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Yes, I know it has been quite some time since I last posted something and I feel bad about it. I just got really busy for a while, you know how tough the life of a college student can be! ;)

I have TONS of pictures to post up for various entries, so those will be coming up in the future! Also, for a while I was scared my camera was broken but then my friend helped me figure out what was wrong this morning, thus I was able to get the pictures from it! Yay! :D

So, last Wednesday, I was invited to go to a Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) place near campus by a new friend, who is Vietnamese. I was so excited and happy that she invited me! She is really nice and we get along very well. I love making new friends! :D

I ordered the #6 with the egg roll combo. The #6 sandwich had grilled pork in it, along with pickled carrots and a white veggie thing, cilantro, a thick slice or two of crunchy cucumber, and I think of mayonnaise. I enjoyed it, but wished there was more pork in it. However, the bread was not good at all, and banh mi are supposed to be made with good bread. This bread was stale and flakey. Oh well, I still enjoyed this sandwich! It was simple but interesting. I can't wait to try more! I want to take Andrew to this place since it was so cheap, haha. :D My boo loves cheap places.

I got two thick egg rolls which weren't freshly made, but they were good! They were bursting with pork and veggies, and weren't greasy or oily which was a huge plus!

Yay, the insides! :) See, doesn't it need more?

My friend bought two slices of Vietnamese honeycomb cake for a dollar each! I love the cheapness, lol! She shared one of them with me, and it was good! The texture was really different, kind of like mochi or jello.....and it was sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Maybe a touch of coconut milk too. I enjoyed this!

The sandwiches are $2.50 each, which is awesome. The combos are a good deal, ranging from $4.75-$5.45 each. Also, I got a drink with mine, some sort of canned soy milk that I am still afraid to try, haha. I will though! This place also has a HUGE pearl drink menu! The man who helped us seemed like the owner and was very nice and friendly. The outside of the restaurant may look sketchy but inside it is quite cute and clean. Most people get takeout though. They also offer many soups, such as wonton and bun bo hue, as well as fried rice and such.

Saigon Sandwiches & Restaurant

1412 Rosemarie Lane Suite D

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 951-3656

Momofraise says: The bread was bad, but for the price and novelty, try this place out! :) I am glad I went!

Goodies and Nature! :)

2009-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

We were hit with thunder and rain yesterday morning, and now the sky today has still been grey and murky! It's amazing how it was so hot during the week and all of a sudden this weekend the weather took a rather dramatic turn! :)

Otherwise, things are going well here. :) Just getting back into the swing of things; I find myself pretty busy during the week and then on the weekend I get pretty tired. I love it being here though, so it's all fine by me! Things are getting better! :D

Today has been all right, just another slow Sunday. I find myself getting a bit nostalgic and lonely on Sunday nights, but I am trying to keep busy. While I was struggling with my Micro Economics online homework earlier, I decided to take a little break and check out Andrew's blog. I was so excited and happy to see that he posted a food entry! :D Of course, I got all teary because I was so touched and happy. That really made my day! Here is the link: http://octjado.blogspot.com/2009/09/fewd.html Poor love is studying for an intense MicroBio exam on Wedesday so let's wish him luck!!! :)

What do you all think of my new turtle friend? Isn't he cute? :D I saw him swimming in the river under the bridge connecting the campus, and became so excited! It made me remember seeing all my turtle friends poking their little heads out in the lake by the trail at home. I felt as though everything will be okay; it was very comforting. Perhaps I am the turtle whisperer! ;)

Ooooh, this was a pork bun I had at Andrew's house last Monday and it was good! It comes from a Chinese restaurant called China Palace that Andrew has been going to with his family all his life! I really want to go try it! The bun itself was tasty and a little sweet, and I could tell that it was a very good quality pork bun. This was a little snack I had on Labor Day with him; we spent a fun and relaxing day together!

Of course, since only a few days before that we had gone to Tandoori Nites for the first time, we were both going curry crazy! Thus, we decided to go again this last Friday, and we did! Luckily, we didn't eat as much this time and satisfied our craving! It was such a fun Friday!! :D

Samosas are one of my favorite Indian dishes; they are little packets of flakey, crispy dough with potatoes, peas, and spices in them. We ordered the ones at Tandoori Nites because I was dying to try them, but I was a bit disappointed. The spices used were too bitter and strong......perhaps they make them differently than the Indian restaurants in the Bay Area. I was still happy we tried them though! Andrew really enjoyed the flakey outside. :)
Here is a shot of the inside with the bitter spices.
Here is Andrew's first plate, isn't it lovely? :D I praised him for making such an appetizing plate! Picture perfect!!

Here is my first plate-notice the salad, hahaha! It was delicious yet again! So rich and heavy though! We can't eat this all the time! It was interesting because I noticed that they put pieces of Tandoori chicken in the chicken tikka masala, which was so tasty and a great mix! We had a fun and delicious lunch! Then that night we had a dance party in my room since the dances on campus were all lame! :D SO FUN! We need to do that again soon! ;)

On our way back to UOP that night, The sky looked so lovely and amazing! It was on fire, and my blurry camera shots do it no justice. It was perfect, like rippling flames cascading across the sky. Stockton nights are indeed beautiful and special, especially when you share them with someone you love! :)

Happy 7 Months love!!!!!

2009-09-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was me and Andrew's 7 Months Anniversary!!!! Yay!!!! :D Our first one since I've been back to school!! It was a lovely Friday and I dressed up all cute for him, since I was so excited!!

He had been dying to try Indian food for a while, and we found a place in Stockton that had great reviews, so he wanted to go there for our anniversary! It was on my list of places to try! :)

We went to Tandoori Nites and ate at their lunch buffet for $7.95 a person, which isn't too bad. Andrew was very excited about eating at a buffet! ;)

The above was my first plate. From the top clockwise: aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), chicken tikka masala, tandoor chicken, and vegetable pakora. Of course, that is saffron rice in the middle. Andrew served me the rice. :)

The aloo gobi was tasty, but way too spicy so I ended up giving my share to poor Andrew, who was becoming overwhelmed! The chicken tikka masala was tasty and very mild; I really enjoyed it! It tasted so rich mixed with the rice too! the tandoori chicken was pretty bland and dry, Andrew thought the same thing. The dishes with the sauces are better. The vegetable pakora were tasty, but unlike other veggie pakora I've had. I think they were like sweet potato fries in the pakora batter, and Andrew really loved them! :D
I also ordered a mango lassi, which is a sweet yogurt drink with mango juice. So tasty and refreshing without being heavy! I loved it~! We also received free refills of thick, tasty pieces of naan (bread)! Yum!

Here was Andrew's second plate, where he tasted some of the other dishes offered. Clockwise from top: A fresh green salad, veggie pakora, naan, a lentil dish, a cheese and pea dish, and more rice. We both loved the rich, creamy, tasty cheese and peas dish!! :D That was a winner for sure!

I got a second plate of salad, chicken tikka masala, rice, and veggie pakora. I didn't want to eat too much!

Andrew ended up getting some more, and I got some more salad too. It was such a fun lunch! I enjoyed eating there with Andrew! It's so much fun eating out with him and trying new places! Right when we sat down we gave each other our little presents for each other, which was so cute and sweet! It was a very special and fun day~! :D Thank you honey! I love you!!

On a side note, the night before that we went back to the Java Roma open mic night, and Andrew took a picture of me in action, reading poetry! :D Looks cool, doesn't it? I love that place; their smoothies and chocolate croissants are to die for!

I can't wait to try more places with Andrew!! I love being with him, and can't wait to experience more with him!!!

Pacific Pizza Unveiled!

2009-09-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have consumed so much pizza these past few weeks! First I had some pizza with Andrew's family one Saturday night, then I went to Pacific Pizza twice last week! Pacific Pizza is such an awesome place because it about 3 minutes away by walking and they give UOP students a 15% off discount! :D My friends and I love it! Their pizza is pretty good too, and they offer quite a few different toppings. My favorite is mushroom and canadian bacon! Yum!
Last night the cafeteria was closed, and since my friends and I had just come back from San Francisco we didn't want to eat school food anyway. So, we went over to Pacific Pizza! I ordered the above pizza with mushrooms and Canadian bacon, and took two slices back to my room! I ate them today and they were good!

I also went last Thursday night for fun and ordered a mushroom and red onion pizza. It was still good, but I like it with Canadian bacpn better. :)
Here is the upskirt shot! So clean....I wish they had let it cook longer.

This was my friend Jazmin's pepperoni pizza, the kind she always gets. Its pretty greasy, but she still loves it.

And here is Jen's bacon and mushroom pizza, her new favorite! She's been raving about bacon and mushroom pizza ever since!! :D

I am pretty sure that there will be more Pacific Pizza posts in the future since my friends never seem to tire of this place! I actually don't think Andrew has really eaten here yet, so I want to come here with him sometime for pizza!! :D Yay for pizza!!!

An Epic Walk in Search of Pho!

2009-09-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night, I was so hungry. Perhaps it was the fact that the day was pretty hot and stuffy, or perhaps I just wasn't feeling like school food. My friend Jen had been telling me we had to get pho together soon, and since I wanted to go out, we decided to go that night! Problem was, neither of us had a car and no one was free to drive us. So.....we ended up walking up the street to go to Pho Saigon Bay, which is the pho place Jen likes. It didn't take too long, maybe 20-25 minutes, and luckily it was cooling down. The road, which is a main road in Stockton, was so busy and full of cars! It made me realize how many people live here and have to commute. It would be so cool if Stockton revamped it's public transportation system, but we'll see....

When she and I got to the restaurant, it was cool and full of shade! We sat down and looked over the menus handed to us, salivating over the pictures of the various dishes. By that time she and I were so hungry!!!!!!
First off, we both ordered water and an appetizer of Cha Gio, which are also called Imperial Rolls or Vietnamese egg rolls. I have developed such a love for these!!!! They can have a strong flavor that seems kind of peppery, but I love them! Their flavor is hard to explain; it's rich, and I think these rolls had pork inside, along with the thinly sliced carrots and other veggies. They were super hot and fresh, but Jen and I were so hungry that we ate them right away, dipping them into the nuoc mam dipping sauce, which is made of vinegar and fish sauce apparently. I still like it!
Now, I was hungry and feeling bold, so I ordered the large bowl of pho with sliced raw beef and well done beef flank. I didn't like the beef flank at all, so I know not to order that next time. But, the beef slices were good and plentiful! The broth was pretty good as well, not super strong. I enjoyed the soup a lot, and the noodles were good too. :)

Yay! There's me about to dig in to my huge soup bwahahahaha!! :D

The meal itself was pretty cheap! It was only about $10 each, since we ordered the rolls. I definitely want to go back again! However, Le Kims is still my favorite place and I can't wait to go back there too!

After dinner, we made a stop at Tapioca Express so Jen could get milk tea (even though we were both terribly full haha). Then, we went across the street to Nubi Yogurt! It is a pretty popular frozen yogurt place here and I've been dying to try it. I got my usual of chocolate and vanilla swirl, cookies and creme, gummi bears, almonds, mochi, and bits of waffle cone.

I have to admit though, the yogurt wasn't too tasty. I feel like I've had richer frozen yogurt that was more abundant in flavor. It wasn't bad, and it was pretty cheap, so I guess I would go back if my friends were going.
I actually tried another fro-yo place a few weeks ago here called Yogurt My Way, and I really enjoyed their fro-yo!

All in all, that night was an epic adventure! It was also funny because we walked by Andrew's college and I kept wanting to go in and try to find his class! :D

I'm back, baby!! :D

2009-09-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello again!! I am so sorry that I have been on lax about posting lately; I have been really busy since I came back to school! Ever since last week, I have been feeling like I am settling back in here and it feels good. I have been feeling better in general, and I have been spending lots of times with my friends, and Andrew of course! ;) We all have new schedules, which makes things interesting, so we are trying to deal with that. I think I need to be aware that change will always happen and I have to be strong enough to deal with it!

Two Fridays ago, Andrew surprised me and took me to lunch at our favorite Vietnamese place, Le Kims! It was so sweet of him, and a very delicious lunch! I didn't feel like slurping down pho, so I ordered a vermicelli rice bowl because I was curious about all the other items on their huge menu. I ordered the barbecue chicken and imperial roll bowl! SO GOOD! I found it to be such a refreshing meal! There was a salad underneath the rice noodles, and the chicken was tasty with a sauce that wasn't too overwhelming. The imperial roll seemed very homemade, and was good and fresh. I love the home-style food of this place and I want to go back to try more of their menu items! It really has become me and Andrew's special place. :)

The night before we went to Le Kims, Andrew and I performed at Java Roma cafe down on the Miracle Mile at their open mic night! Turns out that we were both very nervous! I still think Andrew did a great job that night though, no matter what he says! I just read some poetry, but I was nervous and shy about it haha. We performed last Thursday too, and we both felt much better about it! Andrew has quickly become a staff favorite there, and I am sooooo proud of him and lucky!!!!! :D

The day after I arrived in Stockton, Andrew and I went to brunch at Chuck's Diner, one of our favorite places where the portions are ridiculously large! We usually ordered breakfast last year, so this time we wanted to order a hamburger to see how good it was.

This was my half of the half-pound burger and it was tasty and fresh! Not greasy, but juciy and meaty! I was loving this burger for sure! Andrew was loving his half as well! :D I am a little disappointed in the lettuce they use, since leaves of lettuce are better for burgers, but it didn't deter from the delicousness of the burger.

We also ordered the full garden omelette to split with kitchen fries and a piece of french toast for me. Oh my goodness, this was so rich and delicious! The omelette is stuffed with cheese, green sprouts, mushrooms, and avocadoes. The avocadoes melted in my mouth, they were sooooo good! I loved this omelette and felt somewhat healthy eating it, haha! It's Andrew's favorite meal there since it has avocadoes, and now I love it too! My love has good taste! ;)
There was my little slice of french toast. I didn't want the pancake because the one they give you is HUGE, larger than a large plate. It's crazy.

Chuck's Diner is well-loved in Stockton and is always busy. Service is good and down to earth, and the food comes pretty quick. They have a pretty big menu with lots of good things on it, so I can't wait to go back!

My Last Day With The Girls!! :)

2009-08-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today turned out a little different than I expected, but in an awesome way! I didn't go to work this morning, but stayed home and packed some more. I am practically all packed up, except for a few necessities and my stuffed animals! :D Before dinner, My sister and I put most of my boxes and random things into the trunk of the car!

Anyway, one of my closest friends and her little sister who is my sister's closest friend came over today for lunch and ended up spending the entire afternoon with us!!! :) We had so much fun and said our good-byes. We are all leaving except for my sister.

For lunch, we went to a pretty new Walnut Creek joint called The Counter. It's a burger place where you can build your burger and they have tons of options! I was dying to try it, as I've been in a burger mood lately!! :D

To start with, they brought us our order of fries. I think it's a little odd to bring the fries way before the burgers.... I enjoy eating my fries with my burger. These were fresh and piping hot, sprinkled with some seasoning. Not too greasy either! We ate them all up quickly!

Finally, our burgers arrived! The above was mine, with a fried egg, red onion, cheddar cheese, scallions, lettuce, spinach, and garlic aioli on the side. I also got it with a honey wheat bun, which went well with it.The burger was tasty and juicy!
Malina got hers with a pineapple slice on top, which she loved!
The above was my sister's burger; it looks like she got grilled onions and avocado on hers with mayonnaise! She enjoyed it too, but said it was too big and hard to eat, haha.

Mumbi (Malina's sister and Fiona's friend) got a plain cheeseburger, haha! She liked it, but became super full!

Since I am an insatiable foodie, I wanted to traipse over to Gelateria Naia for some gelato because there aren't really any places to get gelato in Stockton! They thought I was crazy since we had a big lunch, but went with me anyway and ordered some!

I splurged and ordered a waffle cone with hazelnut and nutella gelato! So delicious and fresh-tasting! It was also very hot today and this hit the spot!!

Well, I had a wonderful last day at home with my family and friends! I am ready to go back to school and Stockton! I can't wait to spend time with Andrew and my friends!! I guess this is my last post made from home, so there won't be any pictures of my dad's cooking for a while now, haha. :D I want to post pictures of food by Andrew's family and Stockton restaurants so that will be interesting! :)

Stockton, get ready because here I come!!!!!!!

A Pizza-filled Send-Off! :)

2009-08-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my dad threw me a good-bye dinner last night! Itwas fun and full of excellent food and conversation. :)

My dad made three pizzas with the same toppings of ham, mushrooms, cheese, and a mixture of ground beef and onions. We tried to get pepperoni, but every time we went to Safeway to get some, they were out! But the ground beef and onion mixture was delicious and a great way to use up leftover meat! There were four of us: myself, my dad, little sister, and our family friend Joe. We all ate tons of pizza!! :D
Yummmmmm!!! Here are two slices I ate drenched in fresh parmesan shavings, the best!! I can't eat that awful Kraft parmesan in the green containers. It's so fake and tasteless! Buying fresh parmesan may be more expensive, but it's so worth it! I loved all the salty pieces of ham too....soo goood..... :D

Today is my last day at home! I woke up this morning all excited and anxious for tomorrow to come! But, I have a lot to do today, so it's okay. :) I might be going out to lunch with one of my best friends so I hope that happens! I also have to finish packing, finish some poems for a performance on Saturday night, go shopping with my dad and grandma for the last time in a while, and my dad wanted to start packing my stuff into the car!! :D Yay!!! When I was talking to Andrew last night I started getting really excited! I can hardly believe it's going to happen! I just want to be in Stockton with him again~~ :D

Caffe La Scala~~

2009-08-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

My room is becoming more and more bare as I pack things up for school on Wednesday. Now that I am just about to go back, I can hardly believe it! I don't know what to expect, but I want to have fun and become closer to the special people surrounding me there! I am also super excited about being on my own again! Being in the same city as Andrew also makes me so happy and excited!!! :)

This afternoon I went and hung out with my two closest old friends for the last time. I probably won't be able to see them until Winter Break, but it's okay. We plan to keep in touch, so the goodbyes weren't dramatic or sad. They never are between us. :) So, we decided, since it was a hot day, to go chill and talk at a really cool cafe called Caffe La Scala. It's an old cafe that's been in Walnut Creek forever and it's walls are decorated with vintage French and Italian posters.

I ordered a small hazelnut gelato and water. The gelato was good, but almost tasted powdery. Perhaps that might be because the hazelnuts might have been grounded into it......but truthfully I am not sure. I still enjoyed it though. Very refreshing and cold for a hot day!
One of my friends ordered a berry Italian soda.....forgot what kind of berry though!

My other friend ordered a lemonade with chai tea in it. It's her own invention and tastes.....interesting. :)

Otherwise I cleaned, did laundry, and packed today. My dad threw me a good-bye dinner tonight and we had a special family friend come! Another family friend wasn't able to make it which was too bad, but we still had a great time! We all ate too much pizza, and because of the food and heat, became sleepy. :D We talked of literature, art, and I read some of my poems. I shall post the pictures of the pizza tomorrow!! :)

Miraku Miracle!

2009-08-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Bwahahahaha I am going on a blogging rampage! I want to get at least somewhat caught up before I go back to school! :)

Today so far has been quiet, but rather productive. I packed some more things for school this morning and went through old boxes. I've also been enjoying putting up these blog posts! I also started working on some poems for a performance next Saturday night with Euphorah so hopefully that goes well.

I did find something amusing in an old box in my closet! When I was 12, my dad organized a taco-eating contest between me and my sister! She was only 9 at the time, and did very well, but I was the winner! I don't remember how many I ate, perhaps 7 or 8! :D My dad made a little trophy to celebrate it; I am so glad I found it! The trophy says "Taco Champion 2002"! :)

For lunch, my grandma and my aunt wanted to take my dad out to lunch! So, after my dad went to church we went to Miraku, a Japanese place near where we live. The other Japanese place in Concord we love is closed on Sundays, but Miraku is still pretty good. They recently changed their menu and it's more affordable now, with better lunch combinations.

Being the Birthday boy, my dad ordered a cold sake for himself and the waitress poured it into a square thing!
I've never seen that or heard about it, so we were all intrigued!
Here is a pic of my dad attempting to drink it. My aunt is watching next to him.

For starters, my dad ordered some sushi. The brown is unagi (eel), the white is saba (mackerel) and the rectangular yellow is the tamago (egg) sushi that my sister and I ate. It was all good! My cousins (4 of them) tried the fish sushi and didn't like them at all! :D

Everyone ordered a lunch combo, and this one below was mine. I ordered tonkatsu and tempura. We also all received a very good miso soup beforehand.
The rice came in little packed rolls, which was certainly different, but still very good rice. The salad was garlicy and tasty! The tonkatsu was smaller than I thought it would be, but good quality pork and it wasn't greasy or heavy. The tempura was a little disappointing; it was two shrimps with a small carrot and onion piece. They were fried well, but I wanted more! :D I was proud of myself because even though I profess to disliking seafood, I still ate the tempura shrimp and one of my sister's shrimp too! ;)

My sister ordered tempura with gyoza, and I thought the gyoza was pretty good! They tasted fresh and were bursting with the filling. Very juciy and not too oily either.

We were all pleasantly surprised by how yummy Miraku turned out to be (even if I wasn't totally satisfied) and my dad enjoyed his lunch. :) Even my cousins behaved themselves!

After lunch, we dropped my dad off at home while my sister and I went to Target with my grandma. Today was the big day; I got stuff I needed for school, such as shampoo, face wash, soap, etc!!! I even got some summer pajamas with OWLS on them!!!!! YAY!!! :D

It was funny because Target was PACKED. I was really surprised, since it was Sunday, and you usually expect Sundays to be relaxing and not a total shopping day. But, everyone was at Target, and most people were buying stuff for college kids. It was really amusing to see the freshmen freaking out and discussing what they needed with their parents. I just zipped through my shopping, since I already knew what I needed. I am really glad we went today though. It makes things easier this week, and I am so grateful and thankful to my grandma for doing that for me!!

Pizza, love, soukous, Church, and Chinese food! :)

2009-08-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ahhh~~~ I had such a wonderful time with Andrew and my family the past few days. It was sort of like a "farewell to summer" party since Andrew starts school tomorrow and I go back on Wednesday. I am so happy that we were able to spend that time together! :)
Thursday was an impromptu day; I luckily was offered a ride to Stockton so on Wednesday I asked Andrew if he was free and he was! So, I spent the day with him, relaxing and having fun at his house. For lunch, I tried something so delicious I couldn't believe I hadn't ever tried it before: black bean and garlic sauce. His mother put the sauce with strips of steak and mushrooms (forgot what kind, but they were good) and I ate that with rice. I enjoyed it so much I had three helpings!!!!!! :D I hope I can have some again sometime!!
We also went to Tiger's Yogurt for some Oreo cookie flavored fro-yo before we went to the train station. It was such a hot day in Stockton and the fro-yo was creamy and refreshing! :) I hadn't been there all summer, so I was so happy to go there again! I have a feeling though that I will be going there all the time again this year!!

Then, on Friday morning before I went to go pick him up from the train station, I quickly whipped up some homemade blueberry muffins! I found the recipe on a blog here: http://sandgroper14.wordpress.com/2006/07/09/the-best-blueberry-muffin-recipe/
They turned out very good, and weren't too sweet which was a nice change from the overly sweet packaged mix. They were bursting with blueberries, Andrew's favorite, so he really enjoyed them! We ate them all up this weekend, yum!

For lunch, my dad and I made pork shoulder ribs with peas and rice. I didn't take pictures, but we all enjoyed the rich, tasty pork! :) After lunch, Andrew, my sister, and I all went to see the new Hayao Miyazaki film, Ponyo! It was very cute and sweet and we loved it! Later, Andrew and I went on a wonderful walk on my trail! :D

Then, for dinner, my dad made pizza and Andrew finally was able to try it!! Yay! I was so excited!

The above was Fiona's pizza.
That was my dad's pizza.

This was Andrew's large pizza, complete with an egg like mine!!!! :) He really enjoyed the pizza and we had a really fun dinner together!

This was my pizza, with ham, pepperoni, an egg, chese, basil, and mushrooms. We all pretty much had the same toppings.

We spent the rest of the night listening to African soukous music and dancing! Then, Andrew played some songs on our keyboard! We all went to bed tired, full, and happy! :)

The next morning we gave my dad his presents, which he loved! Andrew gave him a lovely, intricate, metal teapot, while my sister and I gave him oven mitts and dishwashing towels. He loves kitchen stuff!
After a yummy breakfast of blueberry muffins, we went to Oakland to my dad's church and attended a special service together. It was certainly different than anything I or Andrew were familiar with, but it was interesting. It meant a lot to me and my dad to have Andrew there! :)

We were all starving after church, so we drove over to San Francisco and had lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Gourmet Carousel! We always go there for Christmas lunch, so I was really happy that Andrew could come and try it!

First off, we ordered beef won ton soup and potstickers. Everything came hot and fresh. The potstickers were tasty and juicy, while the soup tasted so good! The won tons were delicious and not too big, and the bok choy wasn't tough.

Andrew ordered the seafood lo mein, since he loves seafood and my dad already ordered chicken lo mein! He really enjoyed it! No one else in my family is into seafood, so he pretty much was able to have this dish all to himself. There were many things in it, such as shrimp, scallops, squid, fish filet, bok choy, and noodles. He took home the leftovers and had them for dinner when he got home! :)

Since my tastebuds were still reeling from the awesomeness of Andrew's mother's black bean garlic sauce beef, I ordered the black bean sauce beef chow fun! Yay! It was tasty and a bit salty, but I enjoyed eating it with the fried rice. There wasn't a thick sauce, but the black beans were there and I could taste them. My dad and I almost finished this dish, but we managed to save a little bit.
My sister ordered beef fried rice, and it was good as usual. :) Andrew thought it was a little salty, and he's probably right, haha. I love how big their portions are!!

My dad ordered chicken lo mein, but I didn't get a picture of it. It was good, and tasted heavily of chicken gravy.

When we got home, we all rested since we were so full! Andrew and I played some guitar, and then went for a walk together before we had to take him to the train station. I was sad to see him go......but I know I will see him again this week. But still, it always makes me sad to come home knowing not too long before he was in it with me. However, I will be in Stockton soon so we can see each other more easily! :) YAY!!! Thanks for a great weekend, love!

Los Angeles Trip: Daikokuya and 21 Flavors!

2009-08-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Uwah~~~ I have been so busy and I'm loving it!!! :) I went to Los Angeles with my family last week on Sunday until Tuesday, and I have lots to post about! When we came back, I went to work on Wednesday, then to Stockton for a special visit to my love, and then Friday and Saturday Andrew stayed over at my place! It was a really fun and special week, and it was also my last full week of summer! I go back to school on Wednesday! Yay! Andrew starts school tomorrow, so let's wish him good luck! :)

We arrived on Sunday around lunchtime and it was pretty hot, with the sun shining brightly onto everything and you were lucky to find shade. I had made plans with my friend Jen to have lunch at the famous Ramen place Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. Our hotel is right across the street from Daikokuya, so it was very convenient! Since it was Sunday, it was set to open at noon, and when we got in line at 11:50ish, there was already a super long line of people waiting in the hot sun!!! Thus, my dad and sister became impatient and went to eat Korean food while Jen and I persevered and waited to get inside. I was so happy to see her again!!! It was so fun!!! :D

We finally made it in and sat at the end of the counter near the kitchen and bathroom....not the nicest place to sit, but we were both starving so as long as we got our food it didn't really matter where we sat.

I must say that the service is very efficient, quick, and Japanese. They gave us a little salad smothered in a heavenly garlicy, creamy dressing. I couldn't believe how good and rich it was. I would love to know what was in it!

Jen and I had decided to be food hoes that day so we ordered an appetizer of gyoza. I like how they came to us covered with tons of green onions! We were also given a little pitcher of gyoza sauce to go along with it. I liked the gyoza, but they were so tiny! They didn't have much filling in them, so that was a little disappointing. Nonethless, we ate them all happily!
Now, Daikokuya is famous for their Ramen noodle soup. I am not sure why; it probably has to do with the fact that they make the broth themselves from a secret recipe and that they have a special method of making pork. Again, I loved all the green onion! :)
The Ramen was very good and rich; the broth wasn't super tasty, but it was smooth. The pork was thin and a bit fatty, but went well with everything else. There were lots of chewy noodles and an egg! :) I did enjoy this Ramen and would love to go back and have it again!

Jen and I ordered combinations, so she got fried rice with her Ramen while I got oyako don. Funny thing is that we were both so stuffed that we could barely finish our side bowls. :) She ended up saving her fried rice and taking it home!

After lunch, we did a little shopping in Little Tokyo; I bought a pair of very cute orange Vans for school! Yay!

Then, we took the Metrorail to Old Pasadena, which was very exciting! I love discovering public transportation in other cities!!! :D It was very hot down there and she wanted to bring me to a well-known frozen yogurt place called 21 Flavors where all the yogurt is homemade. They had tons of toppings, which was awesome! I ended up getting Oreo, Chocolate, and Vanilla flavored fro-yo with almonds and gummy bears, my favorite! It was delicious, bu very rich and sweet so I couldn't finish it!

After shopping in Pasadena we went back to her house and relaxed. :) I had a really fun day with her and ate tons of good food! :D I am also so happy that I finally got to try Daikokuya!

Medusa is Back~! :D

2009-08-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is what my dad called me when I got out of bed yesterday morning. Thursday night I went to go get my hair cut (a wonderfully spur of the moment idea) and my curls were unleashed! My hair is super thick and heavy, so when it's layered and thinned out, curls come out of hiding! It feels so good and light! It's a breezy, cheerful hairstyle to go back to school with and I can't wait to show it to Andrew when we see each other next!! :D
Yay! That's me Thursday night right after the hair cut. It took a lot longer than I expected, and my sister also got a trim. It was worth it and cheered me up! Actually, I am just feeling better in general, so that's good. :)

My dad made Aloo Gobi again on Thursday for lunch, which is an Indian dish of curry, potatoes, and cauliflower. It was good, and we also had Trader Joe's frozen garlic naan bread which tastes pretty authentic and compliments the aloo gobi nicely.

Then......last night, we had pizza! Yay! This time, my dad made less dough and flattened them out. It was delicious and not as filling or bready as his other pizzas. I really like how he makes them this way now. We all enjoyed it, and it's also healthier. :D

The above pizza was my dads and it had red onion, small tomatoes, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and basil on it.
Here is mine, with the ever-present egg! :D Except, this time, my dad fried the egg beforehand to make sure it cooked, so when he put it on the pizza the yolk broke and spilled everywhere. Makes for an interesting pizza, wouldn't you say? :D It was very yummy and fresh; it had everything my dad had except for the tomatoes, with the addition of mushrooms (YUM) and the egg! I loved the thin crust too!
Sorry for the blurry picture, but this was my sister's pizza. It had the same toppings as my dads, with maybe the addition of mushrooms, but I'm not sure. She enjoyed it too. We all scarfed our pizzas down!

Well, tomorrow morning at 5 am we are going on our first family vacation in a long time to Los Angeles! It doesn't seem real actually, but I am very grateful! I even get to see one of my best friends from college, Jen!!!!!! When we come back, I am going to have SO MUCH to write about on this blog!! I plan to take tons of pictures and videos since I have my own camera! We will be back Wednesday afternoon, so we aren't going for too long, but just enough time I think. I leave for school in a week and a half!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! Also, more awesome news is that Andrew is planning to spend next Friday and Saturday here with me for my dad's birthday!! I am so excited!!! It will be a sort of farewell to summer, and I think it's good for him to have a mini-vacation at my place before his semester starts! :) I am going to make sure he has a wonderful time! ;D

So, have a great week and weekend everyone! I will be back on Wednesday!

Avocadoes and Alphabet Pasta!!

2009-08-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today I went to work and had a rather productive day! I was feeling a little blue because I am dying to go back to college, but I talked to my dad about it and he made me feel so much better! I have so many awesome things in life to be grateful for and I will be back at school soon! I can't wait to see Andrew and all my friends!!

For lunch, we had monster sandwiches!! Above is my sister's sandwich, which she enjoyed.
Above is my dad's sandwich, which he also liked. He really enjoyed the rolls we used in the sandwiches; they were pretty good and kept everything from falling apart.

Yay! Above is my monster meaty sandwich!
And, in honor of Andrew, I put some avocado slices on it to try! I'd never really eaten avocadoes before, so I was curious since Andrew likes them so much. I actually liked them! It was different, but tasty and earthy. So, next time we go to Chuck's Diner in Stockton for breakfast, I plan to order the omelette with avocadoes in it! ;)

I was excited about dinner because when we went to Trader Joe's today, I made a plea for Alphabet-shaped pasta for dinner! My dad agreed, and there you have it! :D The meatballs were frozen, but still delicious. The Alphabet pasta made me smile, and I was happy when I found an "A". ;) The sauce, of course, is homemade and YUMMY! Homemade pasta sauce is the best; I don't like the sauce in the jars.

I also made a Myspace Music account for my poetry, as suggested by my lovey! Here it is: www.myspace.com/paperlanternslove

I will be posting audio tracks of me reading my poetry, so that's exciting! I was so excited when Andrew came up with the idea last night, so thank you honey!!! :D

Also, I started writing a song!!!! I can't believe I actually started working on it! It's a super simple song, but it's a start! :) I can't wait to play it for Andrew!!

Happy 6 Months honey!!!

2009-08-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today is me and Andrew's 6 month anniversary! Sadly, he has class today so that's why he came over on the weekend to celebrate early. I hope he had a wonderful day though! He sent me an mp3 of a cover of a song that he and I have just discovered these last couple days; it is SO beautiful and I am so touched that he did that for me!!! Thank you sweetheart!! :D

My dad came back home this morning from Reno, so it was nice to have him back! He had a wonderful and relaxing time up there full of good conversation and interesting moments. My sister and I were also excited to have him back home because it meant he would cook for us! Yay!

For a little appetizer/treat, he picked up some Safeway inarizushi for me before lunch. They didn't contain too much rice in them, which was a bit disappointing. Also, the rice was plain rice, not sushi rice. These weren't terrible, but you can get better. My dad's homemade inarizushi are the best though, and Andrew would agree! :D My dad said he would make some inarizushi for me to take back to school, so I (and Andrew lol) are looking forward to that!
For lunch, he made us hamburgers (or what we call "Daddy-burgers") and they were tasty and filling! That is mydad's burger in the picture above--it's a tower of yumminess! He had trouble eating it, but declared that it was delicious. :)

This was my burger, with a thick patty of meat, cheese, red onion, and lettuce. Everything tasted good and complimented each other. Sometimes an awesome, homemade burger just hits the spot. :)

For dinner, my dad made us fish and chips! He used cod fish (I felt like someone from Peter Pan :D) and beer batter. The chips were, of course, french fries. Then, for a veggie, he made green beans. As I'm sure I have mentioned before, I do not care for much for fish, but this wasn't too bad. It was kind of heavy because it was fried in beer batter, but it didn't taste too fishy.

Today I didn't do too much, but I was able to go through my clothes and sort the ones I want to take back to school with me. I listened to the cover CD Andrew made for me while doing it, so that was lots of fun! xD Now, I have a whole bunch of black garbage bags of clothes ready to go on my bedroom floor. I can't wait to go back!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 6 months honey! I can't wait to grow as people and as a couple with you!!!!!!!!!! :)

Shopping Day~~

2009-08-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

My dad is returning home from his mini-vacation in Reno tomorrow, so today my sister and I went shopping with my grandma and had lunch downtown! :) Since I have about 2 weeks (OMG YAY!) until I go back to college, today was probably the last time we could do that this summer. It was very fun and I always enjoy spending time with my grandma. It was funny though, because we could all tell that my mind is not here any more, but in Stockton! :D I had Pacific on my mind~~ ;)

We went to H&M and I bought 4 shirts and two cute hair accessories, all for $35! Ahhh, I love finding good sales. ;D

Afterwards, we went to an Italian place that has been downtown for years!!! I've walked by it all my life and had never eaten there before, so I was curious and wanted to try it before I left. It's called Tomatina, and apparently is a chain.

To start off the meal, I ordered a vanilla mint lemonade and my sister ordered the strawberry lemonade. I enjoyed the vanilla mint; it wasn't too sweet and the mint tastes so good with lemonade! Yum! I tried the strawberry lemonade and it was heavily sweetened and almost acidic tasting. Fiona enjoyed it though, so good for her.
I wanted to be healthy, so I ordered a small Mixed Greens salad. A red wine vinagrette was drizzled on top and I thought it was pretty good. I didn't eat the tomatoes, but I polished off the greens. Yay for being healthy! :D

My sister ordered the lunch special of a half-order of pasta and a side. She got a side of caesar salad, which was way too small in all of our opinions. The pasta was pretty good; she said it was very garlicky and tasty. I like how they put big basil leaves in there. Basil is awesome!

Yes.....there you have it.......I was a hoe and ordered a personal pizza margherita all for myself. Fiona did have a slice, but otherwise it was all mine, bwahahahahaha. I thought it was pretty good, though light on the toppings. The basil, though, was so plentiful! It had a little bite to it and was so fresh, yummmmm I have discovered the joys of basil this summer! I want to buy some little pots of cilantro, mint, and basil for my dorm room. Hopefully I can find some small and cheap before I go back! :)

The crust was not overly bready and heavy, which is such a nice change from other pizza places that just give you sooo much bread, which fills you up too much and isn't healthy. I wish the cheese was more plentiful and gooey though........all in all, a good lunch! My grandma ordered a pizza slice and salad combo and she enjoyed it a lot too, so that made me happy. She had a really fun day with us, and even though she had to walk around a bit, she said it was healthy for her. I am going to miss her when I go back to school.

My sister and I were actually too full to order dessert, if you can believe it! They offered gelato, but I didn't feel like it. I mean, it was a pretty heavy lunch and the lemonade was sweet enough. So, afterwards we went to go buy my dad some birthday presents and I went to go pick something else up at Victoria's Secret.

Then, I came home, found out on Facebook that two of my friends got married this summer and are expecting a child! Yay! Congratulations Aaron and Amanda! I am so excited for them!!! :D
Then, I cleaned the kitchen, wrote a letter to one of my friends who lives in Arizona, tuned my guitar, and listened to Andrew's cover cd again. I love it!!!!!! I am just dying to go to the old house again for one of his family's parties!!! I just need to be patient, haha. ;) Also, this weekend we are going to LA for a family vacation, the first in a long while! I am going to meet up with my friend Jen!!!!!! So, look forward to LOTS of posts about LA; I've been researching restaurants!
;)

6 months!!!!!!! <3

2009-08-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

No one is home right now except for me and Scooter, who is scuttling around being curious as usual. I am sitting on my bed, typing away and thinking about how awesome my weekend was and that I love Andrew so much! I am so happy because he came over on Friday to stay over to celebrate our 6 month anniversary a little early since he has class on Tuesday. It was so fun and relaxing!! But, it went by too quickly. After we got home from dropping him off last night I walked into my room and was so sad by the fact that he wasn't there. I miss him so much! I just have to keep in mind that I will be back at college in 2 and a half weeks! I need to stay strong! Andrew has become such a part of my life now; it's hard when he is leaves to go back home because I feel like a part of me leaves too. But, I have memories of a fun, sweet weekend so I'll be fine. :)

Of course, I made him a cake! Yay! However......I completely forgot to give it to him before he left! We had just come back from a walk and I was a little tired, hot, and sad because i knew he had to go soon. It's really good too; it's a white cake with homemade chocolate icing, M&Ms, sprinkles, and love. :) I will try to make him another one soon though! Poor love~~ I'm sorry!
Here he is, looking all buff and cute, trying to run away with the cake! Yeah, we had lots of fun! :D

For Friday's dinner, my dad made homemade Falafel, which he hadn't made in a long time! I was so happy to eat them again, and I was so happy that Andrew got to try them too! He ended up loving them, which made me so glad! Falafel are fried balls of ground up chickpeas and spcies. Yum!
Hehehehehehhe, I am so unhealthy. I don't like Israeli salad, so I just put falafel balls, yogurt dill sauce, and french fries in the pita bread. So good! The yogurt dill sauce added a refreshing kick and provided a nice contrast with the warm fried savouriness of the fries and falafel balls.
Here is my dad's monster falafel! :D

Well, my sister should be back home around 5 pm......and then my dad won't be home until Tuesday.....*sigh*.....I miss Andrew!!!! He gave me another adorable stuffed monkey to add to my collection (pictures coming soon), a lovely illustrated page of lyrics to his newest song dedicated to me, and an absolutely stunning cover cd he recorded for me! I had asked him to record some of my favorite songs that he sings for me when he had the time, and he did it! I was listening to the cd earlier and I am so in love with it. The quality of the sound is superb, and his voice sounds great!!! I will always treasure this cd; it's simply one of the best I have. He is so talented; both me and my dad believe he will go far with his music if he keeps working hard, which I know he will. ;)

Otherwise, I am trying not to be too lonely so I want to keep occupied. I'm working on getting all the info for shipping stuff I sold on Ebay together, and I want to practice guitar some more later. It was fun because last night, my dad taught me how to play another song on the guitar, so I thought that was sweet of him. He made me feel better because I was missing Andrew. :)

Oh! One of the highlights of this weekend for me was playing guitar with Andrew Friday night and yesterday morning! We just jammed and sang; he even taught me a couple new songs! :D I was so happy because we even played New Order's "Ceremony" together, with me doing the bass line with my guitar and him doing the lead guitar parts! It was amazing! I had always wanted to play guitar with someone like that, and to be able to do it with him was a dream come true! Also, I love that song and it reminds me of him, so it was a very special moment to me. :)

I can't wait to be with my love again!!! Thank you for everything honey~~~!

Slushies and Soup!

2009-07-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

What started off as a blah morning turned into a really fun day of laughter and trading stories with friends! I was feeling a little blue this morning so my sister suggested that I call up one of my high school friends to meet up. I did, and ended up hanging out with 3 of my old friends all afternoon!

I first met up with Katie at, my favorite, the Green Tea Cafe downtown! I had the Strawberry Mango slush and she ordered a Thai Iced Tea. My slush was sweet and refreshing! I love it because it isn't overpoweringly sweet and fake tasting. Thumbs up! My friend Anu met up later and ordered an Almond Milk at my recomendation! ;)

We had so much fun talking about our college lives and what it was like living in a dorm! We have all changed a bit, but it's rather refreshing. I feel like all our worlds have opened up and we are growing up. :) Of course, they were curious about Andrew, so I told them about him and showed off my lovely ring!!! :D After Green Tea Cafe started to get a little busy, we went over to Barnes and Noble to hang out and meet up with another friend, Cindy. So, then more catching up took place and I told them funny stories about last year. I plan to hang out with them next week again, so I am looking forward to that! :D I am really glad I took initiative to meet up with them; I feel a lot better now that I did that. I think I feel down sometimes because I am so ready to go back to school and I get kinda of bored and lonely here. I also love keeping busy, and I can't really do that at home. But, I have things to look forward to, such as Andrew sleeping over on Friday!!!!!!! :D I really can't wait to spend relaxing quality time with him!!!!!!

For dinner, my dad made French Onion soup with his home-made bread! Yum! It was sooo tasty and fresh! He used the rest of the fresh mozzarella cheese and some grated parmesan cheese. He said the secret to good French Onion soup is to cook the onions in butter for at least a half an hour, and then boil them in the beef broth for about 45 minutes. It makes the onions soft and really flavors up the broth.

My bowl, straight from the oven! :)

Here is a picture of the broth from under the cheese and bread. Very light and healthy broth, not oily at all! (I love that spoon!)

Gooey cheese!!!! :D

Fiona and I went on a walk after we got home from hanging with friends, and I saw one of my turtle friends in the lake! It made me so happy!

But then......

We saw a super freaky red thing that looked like a lobster! It's claws were up and it looked as though it was going to pounce on us!!!! My dad said it was a crawdad..........ewwwww.... >.<

So, that was interesting and adventurous! Yay for nature!! ;)

Pizza Hoes! :D

2009-07-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

Last night after a pretty hot walk with my family, we came home and got ready to eat pizza! Yay! My dad also made some wheat bread for us and an ailing client. Doesn't it look cute?

As I mentioned in my other blog post, my dad decided to take a break from making calzones, so he went back to making normal pizzas last night! Yum!

Above is my dad's pizza with ground beef, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and olives.

Here is my huge pizza, complete with an egg! :) Otherwise, it has the same toppings on it as my dads, minus olives. I never cared much for olives. My pizza was very tasty; the ground beef was a nice change from ham or pepperoni, so that was good. Even the fresh mozarella tasted really good and was all gooey! I love the addition of the fresh basil leaves from our plant too. :)

And lastly, here is my sister's pizza! :) Hers has the same as my dads, mnius the olives. She doesn't like the idea of putting an egg on pizza. :)
She wanted me to take a picture of her being all excited! :D

This morning I went to work for a bit and did some printing of important papers for my dad and some other people in his office. I also got a raise! Yay! I went from $8.50 an hour to $10! :D Otherwise, it has been a pretty relaxing and quiet day. Not much going on at all. I feel very fatigued though, so I have been resting every since I got home. I probably feel this way from the heat and all the walking yesterday. I have been drinking lots of water, so hopefully that will help.
I am hoping that Andrew can stay over this weekend, so I need to plan that out with him! Yay!!!! I am so excited!!! I need to decide what to cook for him.....hmmmmmm..... ;)

Gewd Eats! :)

2009-07-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had one of my favorite dishes for dinner, Doro Wat! It's an Ethiopian chicken stew that tastes sooooooo good! :) It even has hard-boiled eggs in it, which adds a heartiness to the stew. The stew itself has a strong tomato sauce base, with onions and spices. So tasty~ It's also very good served with rice because the rice can soak up the yummy sauce!

Today has been a chill Sunday. I mopped the floor this morning (my favorite) and the apartment looks rather clean if I may say so myself. ;) I watched a short French film with my sister that was in black and white by director Eric Rohmer. It was pretty good, but just a short, early version of some of his films. It was still interesting though. Paris always looks lovely in black and white.

For lunch my dad made vegetable stir fry, with carrots, grean beans, snap peas, celery, and garlic in soy sauce. My dad decided that he wants to eat less meat and make more vegetarian meals......this shall be interesting. I'm up for it, so we'll see what happens. :)

This afternoon, I went to go sell some books to Half-Price books. I brought in a huge box and I got $14 out of it....not that great, but at least those books are gone! That's one less box I have to worry about! I went with my friend Andi, and afterwards we walked down the street to a frozen yogurt place called The Yogurt Shack. Yum! We both enjoyed the yogurt and toppings, and the prices weren't too bad. The picture above is my yogurt; I got chocolate and vanilla swirl with gummy bears, almonds, and waffle cone bits. :D Very good! I LOVE gummy bears in frozen yogurt!!! I love how chewy and cold they get! I've loved it since I was a kid; I have a distinct memory of getting some vanilla yogurt with gummy bears and just loving how they tasted with the yogurt. Maybe it's the difference of textures. Anyway, I reccomend putting gummy bears in frozen yogurt!! ;D
This was Andi's cup, and she got wild Acacia Berry with fresh strawberries and cookie dough. She really liked it, and was so excited about the cookie dough, haha. I tried it and it was tasty! Not too sweet, but with a pleasant berry taste. Good quality sorbet!

Well, it's hot and my family wants to go on a hike maybe later if it cools down......we went on a long walk yesterday, and it felt good. But it's hotter today so I am not sure if I want to go. I probably will anyway; it's healthy!! :D We might be having pizza for dinner, so look forward to a pizza post soon!

I wonder how the Adobo Festival is going..... :D

Chowder and Soup in July?!

2009-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, the weather has been acting oddly this past week. Chilly winds and cold evenings have been plaguing where I live. This afternoon it's been hot, about 90 degrees, which actually feels kind of nice. :) Scooter is enjoying walking around our little porch in the nice sunshine!

Last night, my dad wanted to make corn chowder since we had some fresh corn on the cob from the farm stand near us. It was tasty and warm! He also put in some potatoes I had bought from the farmer's market in Martinez, so it was a pretty healthy (apart from the bacon hahaha) and organic meal! The bacon added a nice saltiness so it was appreciated. :)

Here are some of the grapes that I bought at the Martinez farmer's market. They were pretty sweet with a somewhat tough exterior, but my sister and I enjoyed them before lunch. We put some in cute little red mugs to nibble on. :D

For lunch, my dad made the leftover taco meat for himself and my sister. But also, he kindly made me some beef ramen! We had some noodles in the fridge we needed to eat up, so he made me soup. It was comforting and tasty! There was only noodles, fresh green onion, beef broth, soy sauce, and an egg in it. Very simple but satisfying. :)

I am rather bummed because this weekend is the Adobo Festival in Stockton, right down the street from where Andrew lives!!!! I am DYING to go!! (It would have been a good excuse to see my love too, but I am hoping to see him this week! ;D) Alas, this year is not the year for me to go.......hopefully next summer it will come back to Stockton! What it seems to consist of (I was being a stalker and found the website) is a bunch of chefs making their own styles of adobo, a Filipino stew made with chicken, pork, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves, and other things served with rice. It's delicious! My dad makes it sometimes, as does Andrew's mom. I am dying to try hers though! :D

After lunch my sister and I went to the mall, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I found two nice shirts and a cute little dress at Forever 21, all for $25!! I love finding good sales! :D Otherwise, we have been relaxing at home. I might read and practice guitar later. I have been working on a couple new poems, and I am really excited about them!

My dad wants to make the Ethiopian chicken stew Doro Wat tonight for dinner. In fact, he is in the kitchen starting it right now! Yum! Look forward to that post! ;)

Attack of the Calzones!! :D

2009-07-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

My dad has been on a calzone kick lately. Last night for dinner, he made 4 calzones, and we ate two since my sister was at a friend's house. She ate one of the leftover ones last night, and then I had the other for lunch today. :) Yum! My dad wants to go back to making traditional pizzas now though; he says he misses how the cheese would cook together with everything else on the pizza.

Here is a shot of mine from last night. Ham, eggs, basil, cheese, and pepperoni were crammed into this one and it was very good! I love the egg in it, and the basil adds such a nice earthy kick to it. :)

Below are pics of the calzone I ate today. This one had the same as the others, but with the addition of red onion. The onion added a nice flavor and goes well with the other ingredients.

My sister was craving beef tacos, so my dad made some for them. I tried a bit and it was good! I was fine with eating my calzone since the tacos might have been too spicy for me. They loved it, so that's good!

A couple nights ago, I cleaned out Scooter's aquarium and put in fresh timothy hay for her to sleep in. I think I put in too much because when I wake up in the morning and go to see her, she is buried in it! Sometimes I can't even see her!

This is actually a good view of her! :)

Awww, a little close-up of her sleepy face. :D

Today has been another relaxing day. I went to Big 5 Sporting Goods store this morning to get some good quality flip-flops that were on sale, then went to deposit money in my bank account, and then did some grocery shopping. After lunch I started some poems (I was suddenly inspired! :D) and got ready to go help my grandma babysit two of my cousins. They were the older ones, and easy to handle. We took them to the pool and talked with them. It was pretty fun. :) Made some money too, yay!

Right now my dad is working on cooking corn chowder....so we'll see how that turns out. I am not sure if we are having it for dinner, but soup sounds good! It's pretty chilly here right now, with a cold wind blowing! Crazy!
Also, Andrew is amazing because he actually found a happy and cute Radiohead song for me!! ;D I love my boo!!!!

Order Number 1! ;)

2009-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Talk about going from one extreme to another! Yesterday my dad, my sister, and I went to San Francisco and it was super cold! The sky was grey and little droplets of water hung in the air! I, of course, wasn't thinking and expected it to warm up so I didn't bring a jacket. Needless to say, I paid the price for it!

However, perhaps because of the cold weather we all desired warm, comforting food. So, we decided to go to our favorite San Francisco joint, Americana Grill in the Richmond District. We've been going there for over 10 years and the people who run it still recognize it! The man who runs it never fails to ask if my dad needs another wine glass for me, hahaha. :D But first, Fiona and I went shopping while my dad met with a client. We walked around Japantown for a bit, and I picked up some cute folders for school. Then, we walked up to the Fillmore to do some clothes and pastry shopping! I got a nice shirt at Crossroads and then we went to the Boulange Bakery! I picked up some macarons and Fiona got a chocolate croissant. Yum!

I took some pictures of the lovely white and lavender flowers on the way. :) So dainty!

Yay!!! Macarons! I love these little guys! I got two chocolate ones, a vanilla one, and a caramel one. The chocolate was divine, so rich and not too sweet. The caramel one was good and the bits of caramel on top were a nice crunchy touch. The vanilla is very sweet, but still good.

Here is my dad and Fiona putting change into the parking meter in front of Americana Grill! Look at how cloudy and cold it is!!!!

Apparently, my dad was in the mood for an appetizer so we got fried zuchinni, which were delicious! Not greasy or heavy, they were so hot and fresh! I, who generally stays away from fried things, really enjoyed these. :)

Okay, my dad and I had made a plan prior to going. We were going to split one of their giant hamburgers and split a bowl of their pho. Two of my favorite things!!! :D

Here is our hamburger-doesn't it look amazing??? It's so tasty and succulent and filling! The meat is cooked so well and bursts with flavor. The fries are good too. (And yes, that is considered ONE burger! For about $7 that is a great deal!)

And here is the huge bowl of pho! I ordered the #1 combination with tripe, tendon, meatballs, and other things. The wife of the man who runs it told me to order that one since it is a bigger bowl! :D She said it was their most popular soup! So, always order #1!

Here are the fixings that came with it: the usual bean sprouts, herbs, lemon, jalapeno, and sauces. I have really grown to love the bean sprouts. They taste so good in the broth!

The pho was amazing. It really was. I couldn't believe how light and tasty the broth was! My dad and I couldn't stop drinking it! I ordered extra noodles for a dollar, so I was a noodle hoe! :P For $7 that bowl of pho is such a wonderful deal. I thought this pho was so much better than the pho at Le Cheval. I sometimes wish my dad still lived in SF so we could go eat there all the time like we used when he did live there. We lived up a few streets so we would always walk down to Americana Grill. Ahhh~ Those were good times! I think one of the reasons I love finding hole-in-the-wall restaurants with Andrew in Stockton is because they are so homey and remind me of some places in SF. You can almost always find awesome family-run places in cities or large towns. I can't wait to go back to Stockton and explore some more!!! ;D

Today has been alright; I went to work and ended up helping my dad out a lot. He was proud of me, which made me happy. I also went to the Farmer's Market in Martinez down the street from my dad's office and picked up some things! I got some tomatoes, potatoes, grapes, bok choy, green onions, and yellow onions. It really made me excited for Stockton's farmer's markets!!
I also took a little rest before writing this blogpost, and that relaxed me a lot. I also found a book that a family friend had given me full of poems and stories that have to do with the Central Valley, places like Stockton, Lodi, and Sacramento. I find myself becoming more and more interested with that part of California since I live there most of the time. I really want to write about it.....but I think I need more experience living in Stockton. Maybe by next summer or so I can start on something good. :)

Sandwich Day~!

2009-07-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

YAY! Happy 40th post!!!! :D

The weather has been cooling off this week, which has been interesting. The mornings are practically chilly....weird.....But, it's still sunny and lovely. I went on a walk this afternoon and it was so bright and clear; one of my turtle friends in the lake poked its head out of the water to say hello!

For lunch today, my dad made us all sandwiches. He had made some this morning to take to an elderly client, so he was in a sandwich mood all day!
I had a Croque Grandame, as we called it. :D It had turkey, chicken, ham, and cheese with an egg on top. Very filling and so tasty! I made a salad to go along with it.
My sister had a deviled egg sandwich made with my dad's homemade bread! She really enjoyed it!

My dad had this monstrous BLT, also with his homemade bread! He also made a two bean salad for himself and my sister. According to them, it was tasty but very garlicy.

My dad surprised my sister and I with eclairs! The last time I had one I was with Andrew on a super hot day at college. We had gone to check out Podestos, an upscale grocery store that made good sandwiches, and picked one up to try. He loved it! :) I really want to make some homemade for him soon! :D

This eclair was pretty good; the filling was a vanilla custard that wasn't too rich. It came from the Whole Foods bakery.

I spent yesterday afternoon and this morning putting things up for sale on Ebay. I was able to sell two things this summer already, but didn't make too much money off of them. Shipping is cruel.....but I am trying again! I hope everything sells! I need to go back to school with a good amount of money saved. Otherwise, things have been pretty slow, just running errands and keeping the house clean. Scooter, my tortoise, has been relaxing and doing fine. :) My plant keeps growing, which makes me happy! I think it's probably too big to take back to school with me, so I hope my family takes good care of it when I am gone!

Tomorrow we are planning to go to San Francisco since my dad has to meet with a client. I want to go to Boulange, a French bakery/pastry shop on the Fillmore and get some more macarons! Yum!

SF MOMA, Katana-ya Ramen, and Fro-yo Sunday!

2009-07-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a busy day! After writing up a blog post about my awesome day with my love in Stockton, I got ready to go to San Francisco to meet up with my roommate Devon for next year and her family! I took a BART train into Union Square and we met up. Everyone was hungry, and the only good and inexpensive restaurant I know around the Union Square area is a Japanese ramen place called Katana-ya, which is kind of famous in SF. Her family was up for it, so off we went!

I ordered the regular miso ramen, and it was delcious! I had never ordered miso ramen in a restaurant before, and I was glad I did yesterday! :) It was not too thick, but almost creamy in a way. It actually didn't taste like miso soup at all, which is nice because I don't always like miso soup. But this was yummy! Sooo gooood~

I ordered a combination meal, and I got the tamago don (egg over rice). However, the waitress either mixed up my order or heard me wrong because she gave me oyako don (chicken and egg over rice).I liked it anyway, but I wondered about the mix-up.

Devon's dad ordered the soy sauce ramen and pork over rice combo. He seemed to enjoy it!
Devon also ordered a combo, with soy sauce ramen and fried rice. I sadly didn't get a picture of the fried rice, but it came in a nice bowl and looked pretty good.

Hder mom ordered the curry rice meal, which came with miso soup. I didn't get a picture of the curry rice, but it was huge!! She really liked it too!

Then, we walked down Union Square and through Yerba Buena Gardens (pictured below) to get to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It was a lovely day, and even a bit windy. At home my dad said it was in the 100s! Eek!

I thought these flowers were so lovely that I had to get a picture! :) I love how bright the colors are!

After checking out the museum, we were all a bit hot from walking around and Devon's mom wanted to get something cool and refreshing. We found an adorable little frozen yogurt place near the Metreon and got some fro-yo! Mine is the one in the middle in the first row. It was so delicious and fresh! I got mango, chocolate/vanilla swirl, cookies and cream, and mochi and almonds on top. Loved it! The frozen yogurt at this place was top-notch; creamy, yogurty, and tasty! No fake flavoring. It's called Icebee, www.icebeeyogurt.com !!

The museum itself was interesting.....but I don't care for modern art very much. Some of the pieces were disturbing, some were interesting, and some could not be considered art (colorful squares? a urinal???). I am so grateful to Devon and her family for inviting me though! It was a fun way to spend a Sunday. :)

At the Old House! :D

2009-07-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

I spent the day in Stockton yesterday with my love and his family! It was so fun and relaxing, but extremely hot! His already large house is full of people right now, so it was non-stop talking and fun! His visiting sisters taught us how to dance the salsa and merengue! (I intend to practice these dances with Andrew, much to his dismay :D) I felt so comfortable and happy there!
Andrew's mother kindly made us all lunch. Clockwise from the top: pork ribs in a dark sauce with green onions, a very mild curry, rice, garlic bok choy, and fried tofu. All very interesting and good! I found myself really enjoying the bok choy, which made me think of my tortoise since I feed her bok choy sometimes! :)

In the early afternoon, we went to their old house, which is the house Andrew and his family grew up in. They moved into their current house a few years ago, and their cousins now live in the old house. I love it; the backyard is so large and beautiful. There is a basketball court, a swimming pool, fruit trees, flowers, and even a bomb shelter!

I thought the sunlight shining on this tree was so lovely that I had to take a picture. :)
Here is a close-up of the flowers on that tree. I love their mixed color of yellow and pale pink! So summery!

Yay! Blackberry bushes! I first noticed these when I was last at the old house in May, and I was so happy to see some berries on them yesterday! Andrew and I picked a few of the only ready ones, and they were very sweet!
Can't wait for those berries to be ready! :)

I don't know if I have mentioned this on my blog before, but Andrew is a great basketball player! He loves the game and he taught me how to play as well! So, even though it was so hot, he started dunking and shooting at the old house. Kathleen, one of his sisters, and her 2 year-old son Jake joined us on the court. Jake wanted to try dunking after he saw how well his Uncle Andrew did it, so Andrew helped him out! :D So cute! Look at those strong arms!
Here we are, both hot and sweaty, but happy! We were just sitting in the grass, relaxing in the shade. Earlier we had all gone on the roof, and the views were amazing! It was a wonderful day that was all about summertime. :) I was so happy to be with my love again! Of course I miss him a lot when I am home, but luckily I have exactly one month before I go back to school! Yay!

Artsy Days~~

2009-07-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

For quite some time now I have been dying to learn how to use watercolor paints. My friend Andi is a wonderful artist who graciously offered to teach me! So, yesterday my sister and I went over to get a lesson from her.

I really wanted to paint a sunflower, of course! :) This is what it looks like so far. I wasn't able to finish because we all had to leave early to catch a 5 o'clock showing of Harry Potter 6, which was rather dissappointing. I am excited to finish this little sunflower! Watercolor is hard, but I think if I practice I might be able to get the hang of it.

My younger sister Fiona Had her heart set on painting a sunset on the beach, and here it is! I think it turned out lovely!!! :)

We ended up coming home from Harry Potter around 8 o'clock, and my dad hadn't made dinner yet since he had been napping! Even so, he made homemade meatballs and spaghetti for a late dinner! It was well worth waiting for! :) Lots of basil, yum!

This morning I went to work, which was nice. Afterwards, my dad and I went to do run some errands. We stopped at a farm stand and he bought some veggies while I took pictures of......sunflowers!!! :)

Ahhhh, all this farming stuff makes me want to go back to Stockton!! I can't wait!! :D

Today has been rather relaxing at home. I have lots of little things, like poems and nail-painting I can do. I might go help my grandma run errands, and then maybe go swimming if it isn't too late or crowded. At work this morning the weather was so fresh and cool! It's hot where I live, but not as hot as it has been lately thankfully! I got the sweetest card from Andrew in the mail today and it was such a wonderful surprise!! Thank you honey! <3>

Tomorrow I am going to work again and then going swimming with my mother and godmother in the afternoon. This might be the first time my half-brother (he is almost 2) goes swimming so it should be fun! Lots of swimming and talking in French, just like old times. :)

Then, on Saturday I plan to go to Stockton to visit my love!!! Yay!!

Great China in Berkeley!

2009-07-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

It is sooooo hot right now! Ugh! It's about 100 degrees.........and Berkeley was also really hot. Not fun.
But, we went out for Chinese food in Berkeley before stopping at stopping at our respective libraries, which was nice. We would've stayed longer in Berkeley if it hadn't been so hot today! All of us just wanted to go home and soak in the air conditioning.

Great China is a rather small, clean, and charming restaraunt. However, the tables for 4 are way too small. I had to sit at the front of the table since my dad's elbow kept bumping into me. The waitresses didn't mind and still had room enough to walk through. Otherwise, it was really nice!

Everyone received the soup of the day with their meal, and today it was Egg Flower soup, with egg, carrots, and some other veggie bits. It was pretty good, and I haven't tried this sort of soup before so it was interesting.
We also ordered the pot stickers, which are made fresh and take about 10-20 minutes. Ours came rather quickly, and were so hot and good! We all devoured these! :)

I ordered the $6.75 lunch special of Tofu Beef with fried rice and look at that huge plate! I wasn't expecting that so it was overwhelming! Everything was hot and tasted fresh too. The salad was doused with an odd sort of sweet vinegar; my dad liked it but I didn't. The Tofu Beef was really good and filing! The sauce tasted kind of garlicy and it suited the dish really well. With the rice mixed in, it was delcious. The tofu was soft and yummy too. :)

My dad ordered the Beef Chow Mein, which tasted like standard chow mein, but it was good. Not overly flavorful or salty.
My sister ordered the lunch special of Garlic Chicken with fried rice. The chicken tasted garlicy, but not overwhelmingly so. There were also mushrooms and water chestnuts in with the chicken.

We enjoyed this place! the service is rather gruff, but the food comes quick and hot. They certainly don't skimp on portions here! Also, you can ask for no MSG or salt in the food, which is good. We asked for no MSG, so I think they heeded our wish. :) Also, we had a ton of food to take home, which is also good! Recommended!

www.greatchinaberkeley.com

PHO!! <3

2009-07-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

I did it. I finally tried to make Vietnamese beef pho soup last night! :D It isn't the true version, but a more simplified version that would appeal to my family. True pho broth is spiced up with cardamom, anise seed, and other spices my sister hates. Thus, I went with the plain recipe. It was still good, but certainly not as good as Le Kims' pho! (I thought it was so funny because yesterday Andrew went to Le Kims and ordered the beef pho! What a coincidence! :D I can't wait to go back to Stockton and go there again!)

Ah yes, yours truly chopping up some green onions while listening to Octjado on my iPod. Very relaxing and fun! :) The green apron I am wearing I have had since I was about 10 or 11 years old! My dad brought it back for me from France. It's still in great condition!

Now....time for the unveling........

Ta-dah!!! Beef pho, a la Ophy! It looks lovely, doesn't it? There's cilantro, basil, and mint leaves, as well as bean sprouts, rice noodles, snap peas, and thinly sliced roast beef. The broth is just beef broth with green onions and smashed ginger. My family loved it, but I wish it tasted more like true pho. I am not dissappointed with it though! I am proud of myself for trying to make it!

The recipe didn't make very much broth for some reason....hmmmm...... I want to make this again sometime, but I might use a different recipe or just modify the recipe I used.

Anyway,that was my cooking adventure of last night! For lunch today we are hopefully going to a Chinese place in Berkeley that got good reviews on Yelp.com. I also want to check out the reading room at the Doe Library, so that should be fun! Look forward to a restaurant review later today! ;)