My Food Obsession

Out of Sorts

2007-05-26T00:45:00.000-07:00

It sometimes surprises me how quickly I can become unaccustomed to things. I've been living up in San Francisco for over eight months now. Prior to my move, I lived in LA for 26 years, also known as my entire life. It's amazing how a few quick months can undo two and a half decades of learned behavior.

I'm currently in LA, visiting with friends and family, before starting my new job. And in my time here so far, these are some things that I've already found myself unaccustomed to:
1. Traffic.
2. Driving 30 minutes to get anywhere (and that's not considered far).
3. Temperatures above 75 degrees.
4. My mom.

For the sake of brevity, I'm going to skip numbers 1 through 3 since I feel that those are rather obvious and don't need any explanation. Let us focus on item 4.

Living at home with mom and dad as an adult can be a considerable challenge. When I moved home after college, unemployed and poor, a lot of work was required to live peacefully under the same room. Even after starting work, I stayed at home but was able to develop the ability to tune out my mother and the questions, the nagging, the guilt trips, etc. in order to deal with her in a mature and healthy fashion.

I don't know how to do that any more. How did I lose that ability so quickly? Because I need it back. Now. Because I have five more days here. Help.

It warms the soul. And my feet too.

2007-01-14T02:46:00.000-08:00

It's something I've come to take for granted. Growing up in an Asian household, rice is what you have with almost every meal. We never had dinner rolls, bread was reserved for toast at breakfast. Pasta was for "American food night" where we specifically deviated from the norm. The norm that is rice.

Now that I'm not living with my parents, I'm not having rice on a daily basis. But I still can't imagine not having it on a regular basis. Somethings like fried rice or a egg over easy on top of rice with a dab of butter and a splash of soy sauce serve as comfort food to me. A big pot of juk, or rice porridge, is perfect for a cold night.

And fucking cold it's been. Over the past few years, my parents have become obsessed with a new use for rice. When I got my wisdom teeth removed, my doctor recommended using heat to promote healing and recommended microwaving a rice filled sock to do the trick. Ever since then, my parents have kept a dozen or so socks filled with rice around the house. Tense shoulders? Here's a sock. Cold feet? Microwave a sock! Menstrual cramps? A sock will help!

Over the holidays, my brother-in-law Chris came to appreciate all that is the warm sock. He spent the week with a sock draped over his shoulders and another one to warm his hands and/or feet. Enthused, my parents went sock happy and made a dozen more for Chris, Felisa, myself and even Ju Yon. So I now brave my cold apartment equipped with my sock, filled with rice.

How to make your own heating sock:
1. Get a clean unused sock.
2. With rice fill up the sock.
3. Make a knot in the sock.

And that's how you do it.

A New Beginning

2006-10-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

So it's happened. I've moved. I'm now officially in the 415, but I'm keeping it real to my roots and sticking with my old cell phone number. 562, can ya hear me? Holla! w00t w00t!

I've now been in my new place for five nights now. It's weird making the transition out of my parents' home. So many things that I took for granted, like having a soy sauce pourer or a ladle. It's not that it can't be easily remedied, but it's just those things that are so simple and overlooked that you don't really appreciate their worth until you don't have them.

In addition to adjusting to life in a new apartment, I'm getting used to the whole unemployment situation. I told myself going into this that I wasn't going to put too much pressure on myself and enjoy this time. How often in your life do you get a large amount time off before retirement? (I don't want to hear it Julie!) I know once I start working that I'm going to wish that I wasn't. I think it's just the uncertainty of it all. But I'm trying to enjoy this, I really am.

I'll post pictures of the apartment soon so you can get an idea of what it looks like. Come and visit!

D) All of the Above

2006-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

I know! I know! Why won't I update dammit???

I fully intend to blog about my European experiences, full of stories about toilets, gelato, throw up and much more, fully illustrated!! Well, maybe not the barf, but definitely the toilet.

But in the meantime, I need to pack. Throw my life into boxes, tape them up and shove the whole lot of them into the minivan. That's right, I'm moving out and up! Literally! I'm moving out of my parents' house (finally!) and up to the Bay Area. It's nerve racking, it's exciting, it's a pain in the ass! Whatever it is, it's happening. This Friday to be exact.

Wish me luck.

I Heart Farmers Markets

2006-05-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

I like Tuesdays. It's the day I ditch my boring packed lunch and head out to get some food, fresh air and sun at the Torrance Farmers Market.

I seek out Farmers Markets. On vacation, locally, just about anywhere, I'll stop to peruse the stands and check out the local produce. It seems each market has its own personality. Some are small and intimate with just a handful of vendors selling fruits and vegetables. Others, like the Torrance market, have stands selling various cookedfoods, from tamales and pupusas to omelettes and my favorite, Kettle Corn (!!!), making it a popular spot for a lunch hour bite. Then there's the destination markets like the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Markets and Santa Monica's on Third Street Promenade that draw chefs, home cooks and tourists all together to enjoy the farmers' labors.

I sometimes go to a Farmers Market just to walk it. I just like to stroll from stand to stand to see what's being offered. Right now, cherries are in season, though only for a few weeks because of a bad season. Strawberries are starting to taper off a bit, but that means summer stone fruits are coming (cue drool). Peaches have started, but they're still rather small.

This is probably my favorite time of the year for Farmers Markets. There's so much possibilities. The multitude of berries to make a berry shortcake or the summer squash to mark on the grill. Also excellent on the grill are peaches and plums, to die for with a brush of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Asparagus and peas are in season, perfect for a simple stir-fry.

And that's exactly what I love most about Farmers Markets - the potential that it holds. The fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, herbs, breads, EVERYTHING! hold potential to be turned into something great. It's a cook's palette of colors. It's a place that I like to let my imagination go...

LA Times did an article last week about the beginnings of the Farmers Market concept. Find a market near you (if you live in Socal)!!!

Flashback to the 80's

2006-05-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Remember the 80's? Or for those who are my age, the second half of the 80's? Big bangs were in, as were jelly shoes and puffy paint shirts. People listened to "Rock Me Amadeus" and girls swooned over Patrick Swayze swiveling his hips in Dirty Dancing. Bob and his Big Boy fed us. Some things were best left in the 80's.

Granted, I have to admit there were great things that the 80's produced. "Say Anything" is still one of the greatest romantic movies and Depeche Mode's songs from that decade still rock. But a good chunk of that memorable decade are best left as that - memories.

I had two flashbacks to my childhood on Saturday.

This past Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, I participated in the annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancers. I've been walking it for the past six years and raising money to help fund the cause. It's always a great event, lots of people gathered for the same reason. As it's sponsored by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), they always have celebrities to cheer people along. And every year, they have a short concert at the finish line in the Colesium. Usually it's not anyone that I really cared about so this year I didn't bother looking into was performing.

To my surprise, as we finished the race and entered the Colesium, who was rocking out on stage?

THE BANGLES!! THE FREAKING AWESOME BANGLES.

Their Greatest Hits album was the second CD I ever owned, after Wilson Phillips. Actually, I got them at the same time as a birthday gift from my sister when I turned 12 (I think), but I listened to the Wilson Phillips CD sooo much more, so the Bangles get second billing on order of CDs owned.

As I crossed the finish line, I was singing along to "In My Room." The only point in which I stopped singing was when I was grining stupidly as I received my medal from the cute firefighters who were medaling racers as they crossed the finish line (great new addition to the race!!!). The two highlights of my day in one awesome moment. Ahhhh....

The rest of the set included "Walk Like an Egyptian" with "Mrs. Robinson" mixed in and "Eternal Flame." It was so great. I want to see them in concert now.

That was the good. Now, onto the bad.

So after the great Bangles performance and oogling at the firefighters, my family (aunts, uncles and grandmother) decided to go eat lunch. Walking back to the car was almost just as long as the 5K we had just done. Then we got stuck in traffic. Bah.

But what tops it off is where we ate. Our original destination was to be Grinders, but because of traffic and all, it somehow was decided that we'd go to Sizzler. SIZZLER people. Yes, it was right there. Yes, we were hungry and yes, we were tired. But, but, is there really ever a good enough reason to go to Sizzler?? Name one!!

I don't even want to go into the details of the meal. The place grossed me out in general. The off colors of everything made me suspicious that everything around me was infested with bacteria and covered in a film of greasy dirt. I reluctantly ate some fruit, fearful that it hadn't been washed and had E. Coli colonies growing on it.

I'll rather deal with the pain of jelly shoes and wear pink lipstick than eat at Sizzler again. Unless, maybe, if the Bangles were performing in the restaurant itself...

Silence is Deliciously Golden

2006-04-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

I love the food television. Since I was young, instead of waking up to watch Saturday morning cartoons, I'd tune into PBS for cooking shows featuring some well-known chefs such as the two Jacques, Pepin and Torres, as well as obscure shows like the one with the flamingly gay host that would whisk his way around the world annoying everyone he met. Bad or good, I watched them.

Nowadays, it's no different, but now I watch Food Network instead of PBS. I love the noon to 1:30 pm block that starts with "Everyday Italian" with Giada De Laurentiis, followed by the "Barefoot Contessa" after which comes "Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello." It's a solid hour and a half of television that I salivate continuously through.

As much as I love food television, the Food Network has a slew of shows that I can't stand. Emeril is at the top of that list, followed microscopically closely by the entirely disgusting "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee." I used to hate Rachel Ray, but have grown indifferent to her, though sometimes, I want to shoot her when she says "E-V-O-O" and giggles. And as much as I hate some these shows, I will still tolerate sitting through them simply because it's TV and it's about food.

But there is one thing that will make me turn off and walk away from food television. My mother. Never can I sit through a cooking show without her constant commenting. It ranges from her amazement that "Americans" can actually properly cook to the ingredients used.

Her generalization of American (read: white people) cooking comes from dining at places like Sizzler, Macaroni Grill and Hometown Buffet, which consists of overcooked food all around. Obviously food is going to taste like the mold that grows on shit at those places. But her assumption that ALL American food taste like my toe jam prompts exclamations like "Look! They know not to overcook the fish!"

The other comments that she makes, that even bothers me more, is the tsking over the quantity of ingredients used with comments like "Ay, look how much oil she's using!" (a whole two tablespoons) and "Too much sugar. Too sweet." I understand making those comments during Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" where a sauce starts with two cups of mayo, followed by one cup of sour cream, mixed in with two sticks of melted butter and rounded off with a gallon of half-and-half. But if we're not watching Ina getting fatter, please.....SHUT UP!!

But instead of actually yelling, I get up and walk away.

My mother, what power she wields.

mmmMMMmmMMmmmMMmm

2006-04-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

This article is making me droooooooool.............

Any one for dessert?

The Poop Diaries

2006-03-30T00:10:00.000-08:00

For most people that know me at least decently well, it is commonly known that one of my favorite topics of conversation is about poo. I've been hesitant to discuss it in this venue because I'm not exactly sure who's reading this. But after thinking about it, to deny myself to discuss poo is to deny all you readers of the true me.

So here is my first blog entry discussing poo. It's not totally unrelated, though do things really need to relate when talking about poo?

In my last entry, I mentioned the wonderfulness my instant oatmeal. My initial thoughts when beginning my breakfast regimen was two-fold; first I actually eat breakfast and second I get the fiber benefits. Being a person who suffers from chronic constipation, I'm willing to try almost anything to be regular. It was an added bonus that the stuff was actually tasty!

For most of the two weeks, I noticed no change in my poo pattern. I had been fortunate enough to be enjoying a fairly regular schedule and thus was not upset that I experienced no benefit from the oatmeal.

Today was my first day in almost two weeks that I haven't had oatmeal. Why you ask? Because the goodness of the oats softened my poo...to the extreme. Yes, I'm talking about THAT extreme. Three times in three days. The only thing I ate consistently over those days was the oatmeal. So today, I skipped breakfast like I had normally done.

And today, I didn't poo.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

2006-03-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

I've started eating breakfast again.

Don't get me wrong. I love breakfast. It's one of my favorite meals of the day, along with dinner, lunch and snack. I love a good breakfast which ideally consists of two eggs over easy, a couple of pancakes and a few strips of crisp bacon. Depending on my mood, I may opt for an omelet or a waffle, french toast on occassion, can't forget buttered toast and biscuits, eggs benedict, and hell, even cereal.

It's just that, if you've read this post, you know that I'm really freaking lazy. I completely suck at mornings, barely getting into work 15 minutes late. So in order to save time, the first thing to I forego is breakfast, followed closely by the brushing of my hair. Makeup application is unheard of, a complete waste of my precious time that would be better spent sleeping.

But lately, after I noticing that my energy level in the morning was little more than nothing, probably because of the aching pain that was my empty stomach, I've resigned myself to eating breakfast. Not that it impedes my flustered dash to work. Now, thanks to Trader Joe's, I know enjoy McKenna's Irish Style Instant Oatmeal in Apple and Cinnamon at my desk in the mornings. A blog post hailing it's deliciousness will follow soon.

Food and Double-Quotes: A Bad Combination

2006-03-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

So this weekend I flew to Houston to attend Stephen's wedding. Unfortunately, JetBlue doesn't fly to Houston, so I flew direct on Continental from LAX. During the flight, they served us a "snack." This "snack" consisted of a "burger" made with 100% "beef" with American "cheese." This "cheeseburger" came in a crinkly plastic bag, as if the plastic has dried in whatever heating mechanism they used. The melted "cheese" was smeared on the inside of the bag and condensation had formed on the inside of the bag, making the "bun" a little wet.

Upon biting into it, the first thing I noticed was the texture. It wasn't quite firm enough to be beef. The "meat" had a soft spongy mouth feel and the "cheese" left a slimy film on the roof of my mouth. It generally tasted like a cheeseburger, though the patty did not have a beef flavor to it, but instead had a generic unidentifiable meat flavor to it. And despite this unpleasant first bite, I was somehow compelled to take another bite, which was dumb of me.

The salad helped a bit to rid the taste from my mouth. Yes, the salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce, dressing and a lone sliver of red cabbage for color. After the burger, it actually tasted decent.

The best part of the whole in-flight "snack" was the Twix bar. Too bad it was a fun size mini.

I think JetBlue has spoiled me these past few years. Not only do they have fly out of Long Beach and have TV's for every seat, but they have great snacks like Doritos Munchies Mix, Terra Blue Chips and Animal Crackers. JetBlue knows how to win me through my tummy. Oh, JetBlue, how I love thee.

Devil Children

2006-03-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

All Girl Scouts are products of the devil. The go around in their cute little green uniforms, toting bags of cookies, smiling their cute little smiles and tempt you with cookies. It's pure genius, and pure evil.

My favorite GS cookie is the ever-popular Thin Mint. I love putting a box in the freezer to make them minty cool. To make them even mintier and cooler, I'm going to make Thin Mint Ice Cream!! Lordy, I'm turning into one of them!!!

All Stuffed Up

2006-02-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

What's the point of eating if you can't taste? That's the question I posed this past weekend as I moped around, stuffed up and snotty with a cold.

For most of the weekend, I was so congested that I couldn't smell or taste a thing. Everything I put in my mouth tasted the same. Porridge is normally pretty boring. But it's even more boring when you can't even taste how boring it is. Chicken soup tastes like water which tastes like chocolate milk. At one point in the weekend, I was weak from starvation, and yet, I still didn't feel like eating. It was like a chore instead of a pleasure. I had to eat simply to allay the pain I was feeling in my stomach. It's a sad existence not being able to taste.

Now that my congestion has lessened, I'm gonna hunt me down a Girl Scout. It's cookie time!!

Creamy Goodness with a Diarrhetic Bonus

2006-02-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

I only eat prunes for one reason. I do not generally enjoy the taste, nor the texture. Prunes serve a single purpose. When do YOU eat prunes?

I had myself a little chuckle when I saw this recipe online. Maybe it's an easier alternative than drinking that stuff or sticking the something up there?

Deal of the Week

2006-02-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

My mom came home from the Korean Supermarket where she went just to buy garlic.

She came back with three hefty bags full of oranges.

"I thought you were just buying garlic."

"I was, but I saw these oranges. Guess how much they were?"

"Ummm... "

"99 cents."

"Is that cheap?"

"For twenty pounds"

"HOLY CRAP!!!"

My dad and I just about fell over.

Tag! You're It!

2006-02-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

I got tagged by Julie! So here's my 4:

[Jobs I've had]
Consultant, Web Programmer, Personal Slave to My Sister

[Movies I Can Watch On Endless Repeat]
Moulin Rouge, Bring It On, Sound of Music, Oceans 11 (The Pretty People!!)

[Places I've lived]
Cerritos, CA; Greensboro, NC; Los Angeles, CA; Cerritos, CA

[TV Shows I Love]
Gilmore Girls, Lost, The Daily Show, Good Eats

[Favorites Dishes]
(4 isn't enough, but here's what's off the top of my head)
Mac & Cheese, Breakfast Sandwich (Pancake, Eggs and Bacon), (Slightly under) Medium-rare Steak with a side of mashed potatoes, Shrimp with Wasabi Cocktail Sauce

[Places I've Vacationed]
Hawaii, China/Hong Kong, New York City, Boston

[Websites I visit daily]
See links to the right -------------------------------------------->

[Places I'd rather be]
Home, In my Room, In Bed, With My Cat

[Tagging]
I don't have enough friends that blog that haven't been tagged yet. =(

The Devil Wears Red

2006-02-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

What food could you eat on a daily basis and never get sick of it?

It's a common question that gets asked, along with "What three things would you bring to a desert island?" or "Would you rather be deaf or blind?" I guess these inquiries are designed to reveal our personalities, but personally, I hate these questions. I won't end up on a desert island. And in the off-chance that I do, I won't have the option of packing three items of my choice. I don't want to be deaf or blind because I happen to like being able to see and hear.

But this question about what food I could eat everyday? Now that's one that I'll stop and think about.

My answer? Ice cream. I love ice cream. Gelato is good too. And so is sorbet. But for me, ice cream trumps them all. I'm aware that it's not a food that's good for the waistline, but I have difficulty passing it up when offered.

Vanilla is my favorite flavor. A friend of a friend once said, "Vanilla is boring!!" She's now on my black list. To truly test the quality of a brand or an ice cream shop, you have to try the vanilla. It doesn't have the add-ins like chocolate chips, cookies or fruit to mask any off-flavors. Just pure, delicious vanilla.

It's not to say I don't enjoy other flavors. I love coffee, mint chip, strawberry, Cherry Garcia, green tea, and pretty much all other flavors besides anything with banana or caramel. Not a fan of either.

That's why I now pose a danger to myself. Doris got me this ice cream maker for Christmas and now I pick a flavor, mix it up and twenty minutes later, I can be eating it. Good lord crap I'm in trouble.

The "P" stands for Phony, the "F" for Fake

2006-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

I had never dined at P.F. Chang's prior to last Wednesday when we gathered to celebrate Kathleen's birthday. My avoidance of the restaurant was deliberate, despite that I was told that the restaurant was good. My reasons were the following:

1. A non-Chinese place serving Chinese food? Can't be good.
2. Pay $10 for Americanized dishes like Sweet and Sour Pork that I can normally get for $5? I'm too cheap for that.
3. A Chinese restaurant that has ambiance and a polite wait staff is automatically suspect.

In honor of Kat, I put aside my reservations and joined the dinner party. Unfortunately, all my assumptions proved correct. How weird is it to order Broccoli Beef from a white woman? I should be giving my order to a Chinese man with slicked back hair, who, while writing, is yelling at the bus boy to get more tea for the table.

The food itself was okay at best. I could probably get the same quality of food at a Chinese fast food place, $3.99 for 3 dishes plus rice and noodles. My favorite quote of the night was from Tina, who after trying a dish exclaimed, "WHAT AM I EATING??" It turned out to be Chicken with Mangos. Maybe it's a Thai dish? It's certainly not Chinese.

The clincher was the rice. It was white rice. And by white, I mean Uncle Ben's rice. The rice of white America. Not sticky in any way. Not soft and chewy. I'm not saying that Uncle Ben's is bad rice (though I never eat it). I'm saying how hard is it to get the rice correct if you claim to serve Asian food.

But maybe I'm looking at this ALL wrong. I'm comparing authentic Chinese food, eaten at Chinese restaurants and served by Chinese to a restaurant that has the non-Chinese customer in mind. Maybe it's for those who aren't yet prepared to try chicken's feet or sea cucumbers. Maybe it's a good stepping stone to more adventurous food, after graduating from orange chicken and ma-po-tofu.

My Guilty Conscience

2006-01-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

I think hybrid cars are great. I recycle bottles and cans. I'm against drilling in Alaska. I try to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide I exhale. But by no means do I consider myself a tree-hugger. I enjoy long, hot showers. My job requires me to kill trees by printing massive loads of crap. I wash my car and watch the oily suds collect in the gutter knowing they'll end up in a storm drain.

One of the things that makes me feel guiltier than most is Shark Fin Soup. It's considered a luxury dish in Chinese cuisine and possibly other Asian cultures. It's an expensive delicacy, a sign of affluence and usually saved for special occasions. The Sharks Fin appears in the soup as thin, gelatinous shreds that don't really have a taste, but have an interesting texture to them, almost crunchy.

The environmental problem with the soup is that sharks are now being overly hunted for their fins. Fishermen can demand a high price for the delicacy. It's also common that the sharks are hunted for the sole purpose of their fins, their bleeding bodies dumped back into the water left to die. With fewer sharks in the water, the ecological balance of the oceans is disrupted, which may lead to unforeseen consequences in the future.

Okay, enough lecturing. So, last night, my extended family celebrated Chinese New Year a week early, dining at a popular Cantonese style restaurant in Rowland Heights. As is typical, the parents order and the kids just eat whatever comes to the table. Because it was a special occasion, the soup that was ordered was Shark Fin.

As bowls of the steaming liquid were passed around, I had a brief second of internal conflict, should or shouldn't I? Will my one bowl of soup make a difference? Would my protest stop my other family members from ordering it in the future?

I then raised my soup to my lips and drank.

After we had finished eating, I peeked a glance at the bill. $50. The cost of the soup. Is the life of a shark and the well-being of the oceans worth that amount?

My conscience is guilty.

Breakfast of Champions

2006-01-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

It's rather difficult to explain to someone what exactly Chinese breakfast is.

"Instead of milk, you drink soy milk and you can have it salty or sweet."
"Salty or sweet?"
"Then there's these things called Oil Sticks that you dip into your soy milk."
"Oil Sticks?"
"Yeah, they're like doughnuts. And sometimes you put the Oil Sticks inside a flat bread thing covered in sesame and eat it together."
"So you put a doughnut between bread? Bread in bread?"
"Well....yeah."

It's something you have to experience to truly understand how good Chinese breakfast is. Technically, it's Taiwanese, but it's all Chinese right? :-)

I haven't had much exposure to true authentic Chinese breakfast. I've never been to Taiwan where vendors make the foods fresh on the streets and now my parents only go as far as Ranch 99 in Artesia to get breakfast. I considered the Ranch 99's quality to be decent, but apparently, I was wrong.

In order to show me Chinese breakfast of acceptable quality, Doris took me to a place in San Gabriel, about 25 miles from Cerritos, called Yong He. It was almost noon by the time we got there and we still had to wait around for 25 minutes before we got seated. In typical fashion, I was famished and thus cranky, which was made worse by the poor service that is standard of a Chinese restaurant. But once the food came, all offenses were forgotten.

Since we normally don't get Chinese breakfast all that often, we decided to order a lot of food to share, figuring we could take the leftovers home. We order a sweet Do Jiang, a Shao Bing Yo Tiao, a Dan Bing, a Fan Tuan and a Luo Bo Si Bing (descriptions to follow). We finished it ALL between the two of us. No leftovers to take home because it was all in our bellies. I had so much that seven hours later at dinner, I still wasn't hungry yet. What made it even better was all that food only came out to $8.47!! Dirt cheap!

[Do Jiang] Literal translation: bean juice. Also known as soy milk. It can be served hot or cold, salty or sweet. The sweet just has sugar added while the salty has vinegar, which curdles the milk, then soy sauce, dried shredded pork, green onions and pieces of Yo Tiao are added. I personally like the sweet; I'm not a big fan of the salty.

[Shao Bing] Literally: Roasted Flat Bread. It's a flat bread that's served toasted and crunchy on the sesame-covered oustide with a soft, flaky interior. It's normally split open and filled with meat, egg, Yo Tiao and other yummies. This place is known for their Shao Bing and rightly so. I think it was the best I've ever had.

[Yo Tiao] Literally: Oil Stick. It's a long piece of fried dough that's crunchy yet still slightly soft on the inside. It's great when dipped into the Do Jiang. We had ours inside our Shao Bing.

[Dan Bing] Literally: Egg Pancake. That's basically what it is: eggs cooked with scallions on top of a thin chewy flour pancake. It's folded up and cut into a few pieces.

[Fan Tuan] Literally: Rice Roll Up. Made with sweet, sticky rice, it's a rice roll, with the inside stuffed with a Yo Tiao, dried shredded pork and pickled vegetables. It's a great on-the-go food.

[Luo Bo Si Bing] Literally: Shredded Turnip Bun. It's a flaky pastry filled with salty shredded daikon. Yum.

There's a bunch of other Chinese breakfast foods that I haven't mentioned, but I'll save those for another day (after another trip to San Gabriel!!). While I want to know how good it is in Taiwan, I almost don't, because then nothing in the States will ever compare. Doris offered to pimp me out to her uncle who knows how to make all these things so I could learn. Maybe that's not such a bad idea. :-)

Countdown: Commenced

2006-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

It's already 2006. When the hell did that happen??

It's going to be an exciting year; I can feel it. It almost seems like the last three years have been preparing me for this one upcoming. I finally feel ready, as if I'm on the launching pad, about to be hurled into a new world.

Things to come: a new address to furnish; new places to see; new relationships to explore; a new job to challenge me; new restaurants to taste.

That is not to say that I'm leaving everything I have behind. It is because of my experiences and the lessons learned over the last three years that I am now prepared to venture forth. My job that challenged me when I did not believe I was ready. My home that has sheltered me through difficult times. But most of all, it is because of my friends and family. These are the relationships that I hope will to continue to grow and flourish, no matter what the distance.

The countdown has now begun.

Holiday Warm Fuzzies

2005-12-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

What I really love about the holidays is spending time with friends and family. Unfortunately, this year my sister didn't make it home for Christmas. I think this was the first ever, but with marriage comes the holiday split between families. In addition to that, there was no extended family get-together for Christmas due to some drama that need not be discussed.

Maybe because the family time spent this year was at an extreme minimum, the scale tipped way over in favor of my friends. I don't think...actually I know...that I haven't seen my friends this frequently since high school when we'd spend a minimum of six hours together each day.

<--begin sappy sentimentality>
Most of my closest friends are from my high school days. Somehow over all these years, we've be able to keep in touch, despite that some of us live in far cities and farther states. Some of us are married, others are engaged, a bunch are coupled and then there are us perennially single folk. But even with all the changes in our lives and new significant others added to the group, we've managed to maintain the retarded and random sense of humor that makes me laugh so hard that I sometimes fear dying of asphyxiation in wet underpants.

We ended 2005 with a bang, complete with bike rides, trivia game show contest of the elementary schools (go Leal!) and two consecutive nights/mornings that ended at 5 a.m. Here's looking to a great 2006!!
<--end sappy sentimentality>

Wide Set and Heavy

2005-12-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

Last night, I hosted the monthly SCRSFWHSAA gathering. The theme of the night was BLT (optional A). Dinner consisted of Bacon/Lettuce/Tomato/Optional Avocado sandwiches, Bettle Chips, Tomato Soup, Bosher Lill Tickles, Beer with Brownies and Breyers for dessert. Get the jist?

I don't have much experience with bacon. I rarely actually make it for myself. All I know is that it's FREAKIN' DELICIOUS. Who knew that a strip of bacon that initially started out at 12 inches would shrink to only a quarter of its original size??? I thought 2 packs of bacon would be enough for 8-10 people but we could have easily done finished off 4! Everyone got a few slices of bacon, but not enough to make a really good BLT. It was more of a LT with a little B.

But despite the bacon shortage, the night went well. We had some newcomers to the gathering, which mixed things up a bit in a good way. With new people joining the party, I've realized how strange we must all seem to them.

For example, the two notable quotes of the night. Thanks to bchoi!
"I can't help it if I've got heavy flow and a wide set vagina!" --Brian
"Mabaho ang bpeck bpeck mo!" --Joel (via Brian)

Good times.

Pay It Forward

2005-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

I never really liked the movie Pay It Forward. First off, the ending was retarded. Second, age isn't being kind to Haley Joel Osment. He isn't quite living up to his potential cuteness that we saw in The Sixth Sense and Forrest Gump. In general, I thought the movie was a bit too idealist and warm and fuzzy. Did I mention the ending was RETARDED?

But just because I didn't like the movie, I'm not beyond the idea of paying it forward. I think that if I do good unto another, it'll come back to me eventually. I also believe that Karma is a bitch. What goes around, comes around, good or bad.

Apparently I've done something nice, though absolutely nothing comes to mind. But whether it was the Christmas spirit or someone else paying it forward, I was the recipient of a kind gesture yesterday.

Last night, Doris and I decided to have dinner at CPK. Initially it was a good idea, until we remembered that we'd have to battle with the mall parking lot. I normally avoid malls during the holidays like the plague, for somehow we thought that since we were eating instead of shopping, it wouldn't be as big of a deal.

We circled the lot for a while without any luck. As we were about to give up on yet another row, a woman and her daughter motioned to us that they were parked in the next aisle. As we snickered about how closely the woman resembled a man with her mullet and sports jersey, we pulled around, only to find other cars already there. Goddammit! Another parking spot lost!*

But to our surprise, the mother/daughter pair waited around, loitering aimlessly. We weren't sure what they were doing, whether they were just crazy or what. They hung out for a couple minutes while the other cars waited to see where they would go. Eventually, after the other vehicles left, they headed towards their car. THEY HAD WAITED FOR US!!!!! To make sure that we got the spot!! In fact, just as we signaled, another car pulled up from the other side and signaled for the same spot. The daughter then motioned to them that the spot was indeed ours.

I then felt REALLY bad for making fun of the mannish woman. Doris and I were both so touched by the gesture. So many times we forget that there are people that aren't cynical and self-serving and rude. Today, it's my day to pay it forward.

*I have a history of people VERY RUDELY stealing my parking spot. One incident involved a whole family. What kind of lessons are you teaching your children??? The other incident involved AZNs. I bitched the driver out, ending with "FUCK YOU BITCH!" Oh yeah, and both my parents were in the car. After I drove off steaming mad, my mom, in the back, very quietly says, "I don't like it when you use that kind of language."

Meow means Yes!

2005-12-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

[Name] Ginger
[Nicknames] Ginger-poo, Gin, Kitty!!!, Sweetheart, Sweets, Honey, Hon, Bunny, Big Foot, Baby, Babe, Floppy McFlopperson,
[Age] 5 years
[Likes] Napping, Costco Rotisserie Chicken, under the chin scratching, tissue paper (the wrapping variety), sun bathing, char siu, sliding on the wood floor, playing behind doors
[Dislikes] Baths, having her tail grabbed, being molested by Scott Takano, her cousin Carlo, being picked up upside-down by all her legs, the garage door, Petromalt, car trips
[Unique characteristics] Bowl legged, makes slurping noises while grooming, has a broken meow
[Annoying habits] Pawing my head at 4:30 a.m., chewing on plastic at 4:32 a.m., trying to manuever under the blankets at 4:33 a.m., licking my face at 4:35 a.m., purring in my ear at 4:40 a.m., repeat every 10 minutes
[Adopted] August 16, 2003 from the spcaLA

Candy Maker

2005-12-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Take that one off the list of potential careers.

I am seriously hurting right now. I went to sleep yesterday at fucking 4 a.m. Doing what, you ask? DIPPING FUCKING CHOCOLATES. I started around 9 p.m. Between trying to keep the chocolate tempered, getting the optimal procedure for dipping the truffles down, dipping each one, ONE BY ONE, and packaging them, I spent a good six hours slaving over this project. Not to mention that in the process, I got melted chocolate on EVERY SINGLE SURFACE IMAGINABLE.

Sigh. I love chocolate*, I really do. But today (or maybe just a few hours), as I hurt from only 3 hours of sleep, I'm putting chocolate on my black list. Oh the pain.

*Dark Chocolate. Not milk and not that white shit. WHITE CHOCOLATE ISN'T CHOCOLATE!!!

A Sticky Situation

2005-12-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

Damn the crystallizing characteristics of sugar!!!

In addition to making truffles, my plan was to make toffee and peanut brittle. My thought was that the toffee and brittle would be easy compared to the multiple steps required for the truffles. Ha!

I should have known after I broke the thermometer. I bought one especially for my candy making project. As I peeled the plastic away from the paper backing, the thermometer slipped from the packaging and in slow motion, I watched it plummet towards the ground and shatter into bits and pieces. That was my sign. Stop! Turn back!

I didn't heed the warning.

I went through all the steps of making the toffee: melting the sugar, cooking until it reached soft ball stage, pouring in the greased pans, tempering chocolate, chopping pecans. Yesterday, I went to break it into pieces. Ha! Break!! Instead of crispy and crunchy toffee, I had a mess, topped with chocolate and nuts. The sugar failed to solidify because it crystallized, leaving me with clumpy sugar floating in butter. Tell me that doesn't sound delicious!

Melts in your mouth AND in your hand

2005-12-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I was being smart. This year, instead of baking cookies, I planned on making candy for my Christmas treats, particularly truffles. I've worked with chocolate before, but somehow I always forget how tedious it is to work with it. These are the things I've (re)realized tonight:

1. It's a pain to chop chocolate.
2. After chopping, it gets everywhere.
3. Tempering is annoying.
4. Chocolate is extremely messy to work with as it melts by just touching it.

We'll see how the rest of the process goes!

A Change Will Do You Good

2005-12-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

Food is all about change. A simple change such as cooking temperature can make the difference between your fried chicken being soggy and greasy rather than crispy and juicy. Changing the method in which you combine flour, butter, salt and sugar can result in shortbread cookies or pie crust. The power to change and manipulate ingredients to affect the outcome is one of the things I love about food. It's a world of possibilities where the options are yours to choose.

Why, then, if I love the aspect of change in food, do I have so much difficulty with it in life? I'm not oblivious to the fact that life rarely stands still. But I've never been very good with quickly adapting to change, especially when it is not as a result of a decision of my own. Is it normal to be sad, to mourn the loss of what you had before? I have to think that it is.

I feel like I'm standing on a mountain peak and I can see so many changes ahead of me looming in the future. My job, my home, my relationships, my expectations, so much. Will I rise to the challenge?

Sheryl Crowe wouldn't lie...right?

Foot in Mouth

2005-12-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

This past Friday night, a few friends and I braved the rain and cold to attend a birthday party Tina threw for her fiance, Bill, at Dominick's. The dinner party was originally set to be about twenty people; it ended up to be more like 40!! The party turned out great. Tina even put together party favor bags with Dollar Bling Rings, Mint Kit Kats (they're like Thin Mints!!), and other goodies!

The food at Dominick's was great, as usual. For dessert, the restaurant has these really good fried ricotta fritters served alongside a chocolate dipping sauce. YUM. But because it was Bill's birthday, we had this awesome shoe... err... cake for dessert.

Dialogue between Tina and me
T: I was nervous the cake wasn't good.
S: How come?
T: I wanted lemon cake with rasberry filling, but the bakery said the filling needed to be stiffer. Instead they did lemon cake with lemon filling.
S: I thought it tasted great.
T: I was worried, thinking, "Is lemon on lemon a cake faux pas??... like denim on denim is to fashion????"
S: HEeeeeeEE!!

And later on in the night, sans alcohol mind you, I willingly posed for this flattering shot. Go me.

Tina says "Waxy Snot is Sexy!"

Happy Thanksgiving Biatches!

2005-11-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

--Text message from bchoi!, 11/24/2005, 3:42pm

As usual, I'm late. But I'm going to cheat and backblog about my Thanksgiving vacation high- and low- lights.

Wednesday the 23rd
[HIGH] Watching Kaitlyn, Hanie's 12-month-old niece, doing her imitation of Godzilla pillaging Tokyo by stomping around and making monster growling noises. Too funny. Too cute.
[low] Accidentally clogging the kitchen sink by forcing too much down the garbage disposal. Thank goodness for my Dad who dismantled the pipes under the sink to clear the congestion. Go me.

Thursday the 24th
[HIGH] Kicking kitchen ass with my sister to make our best Thanksgiving yet. Wild mushrooms rock and Excel spreadsheet tasks list rule.

Only a portion of our Thanksgiving Spread

[low] The moment I realized that we had none of the leftover Macaroni and Cheese. I frantically searched both refrigerators, top to bottom and found none of the cheesy goodness. Turns out my aunt accidentally took it home...AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO EAT IT.

Friday the 25th
[HIGH] Hanging out with the old skool gang of family friends while enjoying chocolate fondue and playing ZapIt!, Murder and XBox Karaoke Revolution. I left the party at 3:30am, half an hour before the police broke up the party.

The Japanese are great at thinking up sadistic games like ZapIt!

[low] No Mac and Cheese leftovers for lunch.

Saturday the 26th
[HIGH] Dinner and Dancing with my girls!!!
[low] The middle aged woman at the bar who, after dry humping the couch, allowed a guy to stick his face in her crotch. Classy.

Sunday the 27th
[HIGH] Chicken and Waffles with a side of Mac and Cheese (!!!!) at Roscoe's.
[low] Feeling nauseated and not being able to eat at Dim Sum. Dim Sum!!!!

Overall
[HIGH] Family, friends and good food.
[low] The extra five pounds I'm carrying around.

Giving Thanks

2005-11-24T23:43:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! This has to my favorite of all holidays and not just because I get a four day weekend, though that definitely doesn't hurt. The holiday combine two of my favorite things, food and family, as many holidays do, and then adds thankfulness to the mix. It doesn't get much better than that.

A few things that I'm thankful for:
1. My sanity.
2. My friends, who help keep me sane.
3. My family, who copes with my insanity.
4. My cat, who cuddles with me either way.
5. Everybody and everything that makes me stop, smile and appreciate life.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My Darling!

2005-11-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

I really like clementines. I like how they're so easy to peel and that I can stuff the entire thing in my mouth at once. I bought some at Trader Joe's today. They were pretty expensive at $5.99 for a five-pound box, but since I don't see them all that often, I picked up a box.

I really enjoyed Kate Winslet and her portrayal of Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She's one of my favorite actors. I think she's beautiful and has done some really great movies. I say some because there was that awful movie about a sinking ship that doesn't even deserve to be named.

I also really like the cafe Clementine in Century City. It's a cute little place on the corner that has really great sandwiches and awesome cookies. The gingersnap cookies are delish. So are the roast beef sandwiches that are done almost rare.

And just to round this entry out, here's the lyrics to the song Clementine.

Literati II

2005-11-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

There's nothing glamorous about the place from the outside; cars race by on Wilshire Boulevard and just around the corner, shoppers push their carts full of groceries from Posh Ralph’s. But once you step through the wooden door into the patio area of Literati II, you enter a welcoming little hideaway from the city noise.

When I was in college, I would often pass by its sister cafe next door, Literati Cafe and always think "That place looks cute. I wonder what it's like." Back then, the space that Literati II occupies now was a Koo Koo Roo. After my thought about the cafe, I would then crow "KOOKOOROOOOO!" as is required when passing said establishment.

I learned about Literati II from a review in the L.A. Times Calendar section which described it as a "neighborhood breakout" serving quality food at a reasonable price. It sounded like my kind of restaurant.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is how comfortable the place feels. The space is inviting and warm, cozy but not at all confining. The decor is literature themed, with books displayed, a huge #2 pencil hanging on the wall and the wine list printed on lined paper. The service is always helpful, attentive and friendly, with one of the waiters even taking time to converse with us about the television show Alias.

But the main reason why I love this place is the food. The ingredients used are seasonal and fresh. There are regular entrees on the menu such as the salmon and steak, but they were dressed differently with each visit. I've seen the pork chop with roasted cherries in balsamic vinegar one time, sliced apples another. Most recently, the duck breast special used tangerines and pomegranates to cut the richness while almonds added crunch for a contrast in texture.

Seafood is always handled well here as well. The black mussels appetizer is excellent, never overcooked, only perfectly steamed and tender. Combined with sliced Yukon potatoes and served alongside a piece of grilled bread to sop up the broth, it can make a meal. The sand dabs on my first visit were pan-fried in butter, resulting in delicate flaky flesh with a satisfying exterior crispness. My friend's salmon was cooked just right, with the interior still pink and moist.

And the dessert!!! I wish I could describe the array of desserts I've tried, but really, I've only had one. It's so good that I can't help but order it every time. People laugh when I tell them that the churros here are to die for. Yes, churros. They are nothing like the ones you've had at Disneyland or the ball park. These churros are fat, crunchy and sweet on the outside, fluffy soft and delicate on the inside. The cinnamon and sugar exterior give the right amount sweetness and the accompanying chocolate dipping sauce compliments the dish perfectly. You cannot eat at Literati II and not try the churros. It would be blasphemous!

Literati II always reminds me of what I love about food. With care and respect, creatively and knowledge, you can create a great meal with simple ingredients. This is the kind of place that I'd be proud to call my own.

__Literati II__12081 Wilshire Blvd__Los Angeles__310.479.3400__

Chicken or Beef?

2005-11-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

When it comes to selecting my entree for a wedding reception, I have a strategy. It is necessary to choose carefully because names can be deceiving. New York Strip Steak rolled in Cracked Pepper? Sounds delicious! Halibut in a Lemon Butter Sauce? Yum! But one cannot decide based on description alone. Other factors need to be considered before checking one box over another.

It is important to remember that your entree is one of one hundred or more. This means that, unlike at In-N-Out, your food will be sitting under a heat lamp. If you like your steak medium-rare like I do, be prepared for medium-well or rubber. Chicken will most likely be dry and produce that sound from your your teeth stick together for a brief moment. Fish won't be flaky, but instead, chewy, only palatable when washed down with your drink of choice.

But all of the above gets thrown out when dealing with certain cuts of beef or types of fish. Filot Mignon medium-well is still decently tender and more stomachable than dry chicken. Sea Bass over cooked is less strenuous on the jaw than well-done beef. It's like choosing the lesser of two evils.

This weekend I attended a wedding where the choices were Chicken in Cheese Sauce or Vegetarian Pasta. In my imagination, that meant chicken with Velveeta or boiled pasta with steamed frozen vegetables. I opted for the chicken and surprisingly, it was pretty decent and along with a side of buttery green beans, made for a satisying meal.

In the end, it really just depends on what your choices are and which option would be palatable when cooked beyond recognition. My general rule of thumb is to choose fish over beef and beef over chicken. But just in case, pack some "snacks" in the car.

Call the papers!! Breaking news! It’s raining in L.A.!!

2005-11-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, every single time water falls from the sky, it’s the headlines news here in Los Angeles where people complain when the mercury drops below 70. Myself included. I’m not a big fan of the rain myself, but there are a couple of things that I relish about it. The first is windshield wipers. I love watching them streak by, gathering the rain that then shoots off into the wind. My pet peeve is drivers who have their wipers on full speed when it’s barely misting. It’s important to have the right amount of rain accumulated on the windshield before wiping. Well, at least to me!

The second thing I enjoy about the rain is the idea of snow falling in the mountains. Winter is just around the corner and that means snowboarding! It’s always a lot of fun to go up to Big Bear or Mammoth to spend a day falling of my ass. And don’t forget the occasional face plant. But another reason I get excited about snow is that I love cooking breakfast the day after boarding. Nothing fancy. Just bacon, toast, maybe some sausage, and High-Altitude Scrambled Eggs.

Yes. High-Altitude Scrambled Eggs. That’s what I call them. Every time I make scrambled eggs in the mountains, they turn out amazing. Just a little bit of milk with a pinch of salt and pepper and they’re light and fluffy, soft and silky. My scrambled eggs at home never turned out that good and I could never figure out why until recently. After reading this article, my best guess is that altitude keeps the pan cooler, thus producing smaller and silkier curds.

So even though I started today sitting through an hour of traffic followed by getting soaked by horizontal rain, the prospect of snow keeps me cozy and smiling as I think of scrambled eggs.

Table for One

2005-11-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

It's hard cooking for one person. In fact, I'd just rather not. My parents have been out of town for the last couple weeks so I'm left to fend for myself. Let's see, what did I eat for dinner tonight? I had 7 mini balls of fresh mozzarella with basil and olive oil. Then I followed it up with chinese dumplings and some pork shortribs. Last week, for most of the week, I ate reheated Green Onion Pancakes.

I don't put forth much effort when it's just me I have to feed. I've been known to have cereal for a meal, Honey Nut Cheerios preferably. Another quick one is an egg fried over-easy on top of white rice with a drizzle of soy sauce and a dollop of butter. Yum.

I'm willing to spend upwards of thirty minutes, even hours, on a dinner party or for a family supper, but I'm not willing to invest more than ten minutes into preparing a meal for myself. One reason of it is the amount of labor involved: prepping, cooking, clearing then washing. Another is that I don't want to eat the same thing over and over again for the next five days, which is what happens when you make a recipe that serves 4 - 6 and you only have one mouth.

But in the end, the reason I don't cook for myself is that utimately I'M ONE LAZY BASTARD.

Hello [Food] World!

2005-11-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm obsessed with food - eating, baking, watching, buying, reading, cooking it. I thought I'd add "writing" to that list. One day I hope to add "living," as in making my living from food. But in the meantime, this blog will be my space to obsess about food and share my thoughts and experiences about it.

Now here's where the disclaimer comes in. I'm not a writer; my sister inherited my share of those genes. I also do not claim to be funny, at least not intentially. Despite my disclaimer, I hope you enjoy this anyway. Cheers!