a father's day

this is a late entry (i have been very delayed on the actual occurrences of these entries)


so i have been trying this summer to start cooking again and to learn new recipes. this will hopefully better equip me for apartment style life next year when i will have to cook on my own (and for my apartment mates :)). i am having a lot of fun strolling through book store aisles and looking for new cookbooks browsing and finding meals that interest me. i especially have the biggest love for giada who happens to specialize in italian food (very popular on the food network). all her recipes are simple, fresh, and easy; everything seems simple enough that it would not require hours and hours of intensive labor to make.

normally for father's day, knowing that my dad also has a passion for cooking and eating, i always end up going to williams sonoma and buying cookbooks/utensils that he usually ends up never using. the funny thing is, i always just take the books to my room and use them; ironically enough for this father's day meal, i used the books i had bought for him on those previous father's day. i knew italian was the way to go; an instant pleaser for all family members.

i enlisted the help of my little sister. call her sous-chef laura! after gracing through the cookbooks and selecting an appetizer and main course to work from, my sister and i took a trip to the local grocery store. i originally planned for laura to make the entire desert all by herself, but realize this would be a little too much food (especially since our mom bought a million pasties the day before) so we planned to make eggplant pasta and a nice citrus vinagrette salad.

the overall creation of these two dishes were not that hard. for the salad, i thought making the parmesan crisp was the most fun; and it also turned out delicious! i cannot believe how simple it is too make and how tasty it turned out! you just shave a lot of fresh parmesan and put them in clumps in the oven! (oh and don't forget the cracked black pepper) laura took care of the vinagrette while i handled the pasta. in the end, it was all pretty delicious. i am a firm believer that all home cooked meals are always delicious (well, for the most part).. its always such a work out cutting and slaving over dishes; all in all, putting your heart and soul into it...

and that is exactly what i wanted to give to my dad on father's day.

i should probably do this more often.

oodles of noodles; noodle world

noodle world is undeniably a local favorite of mine. before moving out to arcadia, i recall always asking my mom to take me to the noodle world down huntington. i'm one of those people who always orders the same dish at the same restaurants; and for me, i always loved their pad thai with tofu as the substitute. there is always nothing more satisfying at the end of a long school day than tasty plate of rice noodles.

a while back during winter break, my close friends lisa and mary decided we would get dinner at noodle world, for old time sakes. and we spent hours and hours there just talking about our college lives; i had the rice + veggies (being more adventurous and trying other things on the menu).. it was just as scrumptious as the pad thai...

so fast forward to the first summer coming out of of college, we all unanimously agreed that another trip to noodle world was necessary; for some weird reason, mary tried convincing me that our beloved noodle world in san marino had closed, so we would have to go to the other noodle world down on valley in alhambra. (eeek such a long drive for me from arcadia..) but i would say it was well worth just being able to eat good asian food with good people. getting there, i ordered veggie yakisoba, while lisa ordered pad thai, and mary with the seafood pho.

i must say i should have just stayed with the veggie pad thai... the yakisoba had more noodles than i would have expected! i'm always very particular about having equal ratio of noodles to veggies or even noodles to sauce.. next time, i'll know what to order :)...


oh yeah, and
that noodle world in san marino is definitely NOT CLOSED!!
http://www.noodleworld.com/

beansprouts; the quintessential taiwanese vegetarian haven

i'll let you in on a little secret...

i think i have always been a diehard fanatic of vegetarian chinese cuisine. first of all, scrumptious chinese fare naturally lends itself to tasty steamy meat buns/dumplings, peking duck, and other dishes that feature a plethora of meats and fishes but of course being vegetarian at an early age, i remember having to sacrifice my love for all these things in exchange for just plain veggies. it did not occur to me that a major aspect of my whole "beingchineseexperience" is almost hindered by this little sacrifice that i made in exchange for a healthier and more animal loving life. but with all that said, its great to know that places like beansprout allow me to still enjoy familiar childhood chinese dishes that were often seen as things i would not have been able to ever eat again...

one of these dishes that i used to so readily enjoy was rice with meat. it sounds just plain and simple, but the way it is prepared (i'll just say in a taiwanese style.. haha) it just makes the whole plate oh so scrumptious! its one of those things that you must have rice on the side or else the "meat" that is seasoned/prepared/sauteed(??) would be too salty by itself. the plain steamed vegetables that also accompany the meat add a nice balance. also, since this was the lunch special, they also added in their rainbow rolls... i would HIGHLY suggest you order these pseudo healthy sushi alternatives if it is your first time here- it is definitely something beansprout is known for!

for an appetizer, before i get too ahead of myself with my entree, my little sister and i ordered fried radish cakes. fdakfjdls;fadjlkf as a child, my grandmother would ALWAYS make these with little shrimp, pieces of meat, mushrooms, and fried onions. she was even kind enough to make vegetarian versions for me by just omitting the meat/shrimp.. to me this still tasted just as delicious. i fondly remember dipping these little radish babies in chili sauce. soooooooo good. i have to make a mental note to learn how to make these turnip cakes before i go back to risd...

as for my sister's order, she went with a similar style dish but the "meat" is prepared a little differently and placed over a bed of asian noodles instead of rice. you cannot really go wrong with either rice or noodles; both are just equally good! my sister and i both eagerly enjoyed our lunch.. i have lost count of all the times i have been to beansprout; they are truly the closest you can get to authentic tasting taiwanese/chinese cuisine without having to miss out on all the good traditional chinese dishes! a MUST go. (this is a place i ALWAYS try to bring new friends to...)

and there you go. my favorite chinese vegetarian restaurant of all time in san gabriel valley.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bean-sprouts-arcadia

the sun gods of la jolla eat good mexican food

there is absolutely nothing more stunning or beautiful than a california sunset. especially one down by la jolla. this little seaside town is anything short of a relaxing and well needed escape; i personally believe that newport does not even compare. actually let me rephrase that, its just a completely different feel. I am starting to really believe that the west coast truly is the best coast (sorry to all those east coasters out there). maybe its something in the air? the breeze? the smell? maybe it is just everything about this place that continually surprises me with new adventures everyday.

after coming back from the risd, finishing up an intense freshman foundation year, I have come to realize how much I appreciate home. especially my friends whom I have known for almost my entire life; you probably cannot even imagine how excited I was when I traveled down to san diego with jeff and jonathan; my two close buddies from high school whom I love to death. we stayed two nights in jonathan’s dorm room (which was definitely an interesting experience seeing that it was an entirely all boys suite… but the boys were more than hospitable and chill)

the first day, we drove down to la jolla, dropped by ucsd and got the grand tour from jonathan; it was interesting seeing the sphere of his college life; sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had chose to attend a regular university instead of an art school. i always ponder how the environment would have shaped me or the different kinds of people I would meet..

so we left for la jolla, approximately 10 minutes away, and soaked in the sun and the beach, and even had the chance to go down to the tide pools. as jeff attempted to catch the little crabs that scurried across the rocks, jonathan and i lightly felt the sticky tentacles of the sea anemones; we even saw a mass of sea lions that basked in the sun. the salty air permeated our skins, and the light breeze only excited us... being by the pacific was such so soothing...

all that sea side exploration made us ravenous, and i knew just the place that would satiate all hunger needs: ALFONSO! i recall going there twice before, and it has never disappointed me; their huge portions were more than enough to fill us up. as an appetizer, we all unanimously agreed to share the nachos (your typical mexican dish with nachos, cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, beans.. you get the idea)... jonathan and jeff, both ordered fish burritos (that does not surprise me), while i chose to get the vegetarian burrito. i must be honest, it was a little more greasy than i had previously remembered, but overall, i enjoyed the meal. beware if you are trying to avoid the calorie monster, i would avoid this place, but otherwise, eat to your heart's content.

after the meal, we enjoyed a nice stroll throughout the rest of la jolla, stopped by a local gelaterie, and headed back to ucsd to start the debaucheries. :)

oh and did i mention that jeff and i went to sea world the next day?


SHAMU!!


www.alfonsosoflajolla.com

dim sum, no questions asked

so there are a couple of restaurants that i have always had some form of personal vendetta against that are not so particularly vegetarian friendly. it's always difficult when especially when your family just loves to go to the same exact vegetarian unfriendly place for huge family gatherings.. i have always never quite got along with seafood harbor- just the name itself is pretty much self explanatory.. i do not really have a place in that "sea" of dead crustaceans, fish, and your random what nots that asians just love to eat (like sea cucumbers... so so sad)

ever since the restaurant opened a few years ago, it has been gaining steam and becoming more and more popular among locals, more so for their dim sum. i recall waiting for 2 hours with every visit just to get a seat at the table; my mom was always steadfast about going early just to try and get an early seat (they do not take reservations..) but we would always end up waiting. and of course, being the usual chinese restaurant, i was always left ordering the same plain plate of fried veggie noodles.

well i guess i learned from the first couple of visits to seafood harbor early on (when i was in middle school) that it was probably best to just avoid this place altogether. my mom sort of got the hit that i absolutely abhorred going there and just assumed i would not go whenever asked to go. she was smart. i never gave this restaurant a chance because of the fact they did not offer much of a selection for me.. and being the stubborn little vegetarian that i was, i realized that i probably was not going to ever return..

fast forward a couple more years; with a lessened stubborn food palate (but still veggie) and an open mind, i decided to give seafood harbor another chance; plus, i have been dying to find a place that would offer vegetarian options for dim sum, and so i figured that maybe this place may have added more to their menu or even changed part of it to suit a more health conscious crowd these days.

the fact that it was also a family event for my grandparents really gave me a real reason to go; i was not going to let a stupid little vendetta keep me from enjoying my entire family's company. after going, i would say i had no regrets. despite the fact that most of the dim sum i could eat were desserts, they were still delicious. i was thoroughly pleased with the vegetarian dumplings at the end that i even ordered another batch of three.

my mother has this terrible habit of ALWAYS, no matter how large or small the group of guests, over ordering. i think i also suffer from the same habit. at the end of almost every large family dinner, i end up lugging 4-5 boxes of left overs back home. but hey, like i said before, my family sure knows how to eat... and i guess i do not really mind it at all!

anyhoo, i do not think i'm going to describe the few things i could eat.. but i'll let you, the reader, judge all those other non-vegetarian items for yourself. i cannot lie when i say that there is a reason why my family comes back to this place year after year... after all, there really is no explanation for something like dim sum....




















best vegetarian dim sum dumplings everrrrrrr!!! so deliciously good.
oh and note to all those out there who are curious.. fried durian is gross.


http://www.yelp.com/biz/sea-harbour-seafood-restaurant-rosemead

family reunion; sprinkles cupcakes

with the event of having my whole lee family over for the weekend in addition to my arrival back in los angeles, i do not think i could have asked for anything better to kick start my summer. if i could describe my first weekend home with just one word it would be this: FOOD. so much food. so so much. i am literally bursting at the waist. (which means time to hit the gym haha) oh and did i mention that my very first meal back was a good ol fashion grilled cheese in-in-out burger with animal style fries? thaaaaaas right. it was the most satisfying meal i have ever had back home; i think it was also cause i did not eat for 12 hours preceding that because of the constant traveling through airports and planes.

there is a certain formulated equation that is always consistent variables whenever my relatives are over; a huge family gathering equates to: multiple chinese restaurants (you know, the ones where i would always just order a plate of vegetarian noodles cause i cannot order anything else), some red envelopes with money (only if these relatives come back from taiwan), an overly anxiety-ridden mother, overly happy grandparents, overstuffed stomachs, one very bored cousin eric, endless laughter from both me and laura, etc.. but of course aside from all that, i think just having the presence of the entire extended family is a very powerful and comforting feeling;

the day after i returned, (unfortunately i missed the huge family dinner at the chinese restaurant) but we had a massive barbeque at one of my aunts home.. my meal consisted of only veggie kabobs, veggie eggrolls, 2 ice cream sandwiches, oh yes and lots and lots of watermelon.. but i could not help but gaze longingly at the burgers my cousin henry was concocting on the grill outside. the smoke wafted into the house and once he brought in the cooked patties, he instructed everyone to add kimchi in between the buns; i have never seen this concept before of infusing american with korean, but hey if the kogi truck can do the same with mexican food, then hell, it should be allowed with burgers.

i must say. (on a random note) that i have the most adorable nephew named gabriel in the entire world. its so weird to think i am officially an aunt now on my father's side. gabriel has the biggest eyes, and that is absolutely key to having a cute baby. this little half korean half taiwanese kid is as cute as can be.

after the meal, the sisters and cousins all meandered around.. we found ourselves under the beating californian sun, all leisurely sitting by the pool side with our feel submerged in the coolness. as i observed my other cousins splashing about in the pool, i could not help but smell that suburban life that i had been apart for so long; familiar but distant. the smell of summer is so distinct here, i do not think i can ever describe it. its just a memory that i always want to replay in my mind... especially at risd during those winter days. i tried finding warmth in my own mind when everything else around me was devoid of it..

emily, laura, and i decided after the bbq that we were going to take a trip down to melrose as a way to really spend good quality time. with that, i took the car and drove up towards west hollywood, along melrose (and past the gallery i will be interning at!) and towards my favorite alternative shopping mecca. we were even lucky to stumble across the fairfax flea market which so happen occurs every saturday. although i would say i am a veteran of flea markets/swap meets, i have never even touched the fairfax one before; the size is a bit smaller than that of pcc.. but the selection of items there were just as amazing; all three of us left the market with golden necklaces with the cutest little charms..

we walked around some more, stopping at various stores, and i had an epiphany; after explaining to emily about this one clothing store called johnny cupcakes whose interior resembled that of a baking store, i thought of our final destination before heading back to arcadia for the family dinner at tasty garden. sprinkles! cupcakes! it could not have seemed more perfect; we were near enough to beverly hills that i thought it would be a great idea to just drop by a pick up a few cupcakes to share for the entire family...

little did i know that sprinkles cupcakes (famously known for celebrities such as britney spears for reserving the entire store for their own private cupcake parties), this little sweet shop is not only the first store to specialize in just cupcakes, but it has been open for five years now... i then realized that all the other cupcake places that just recently opened probably marveled at the success of sprinkles and wanted to also jump on the cupcake bandwagon.

...this would also explain the long line that projected outward from the store, spewing into the sidewalk. we all patiently waited our turn to get into the store.. i loved the cleanliness of the store and its apparent cute and familiar aesthetic.. even the lady who served me was so "sweet", and had time to ask me how my day was despite the long line of people behind me all eagerly waiting. both laura and i selected 6 different flavors; red velvet, carrot, black and white, peanut butter, dark chocolate, and cinnamon. they all were neatly packaged into a brown paper box... ksdjfl;saf;kldfj i just couldn't wait to get a piece of that red velvet... it looked so scumptious!

anyhoo, we left the hollywood area, came back to arcadia where we indulged in more chinese food.. i was given the usual tofu pieces and mixed stir fried veggies.. but hey, i could not complain.. i knew the cupcakes would be a filling ending..


oh man, do not even get me started on the dim sum i had the following day. now you know that my family can REALLY eat. (hence where my love for food comes from.... )


http://www.sprinkles.com/
http://www.tastygarden.us/