Torrance Farmer’s Market – Bowers Gourmet Sausages
May 25, 2013
I usually go to the Torrance farmer’s market on Saturday mornings. There are plenty of produce vendors there…but even better are the prepared food booths. Bowers Gourmet Sausages is one of them. They usually have 2 or 3 kinds of sausages on the griddle for you to sample. And they make monster breakfast burritos and quesadillas with them.
I got the chorizo quesadilla. The best part is that they sprinkle cheese on the outside of the tortilla as it’s on the griddle so that it gets crispy! Genius! Then, it’s filled with 2 links of sausage, eggs, potatoes, onions and spinach. Talk about a giant meal! They cut it into fours for your convenience. I’m not proud to admit it, but I did end up eating 2 out of 4. *sigh* Oh willpower. 🙁
Chorizo Quesadilla
You Never Need Nobody by The Lone Bellow
May 25, 2013
You Never Need Nobody by The Lone Bellow
You never need nobody
You’ve never been alone
And I try to get your affection
And all I ever do is wrong
Continue Reading
Macklemore – Tiny Desk Concert for NPR…Must see!
May 23, 2013
I kind of love Macklemore ever since “Same Love” came out with Mary Lambert.
And now, I’ve just discovered “Tiny Desk Concerts” from NPR where musicians play a set in the office. The best thing about this Tiny Desk Concert is that there is no way to contain the energy of Macklemore et al.’s performance. I really want to see him in concert!…preferably, in London or somewhere overseas! Who’s with me?!
King Shabu Shabu – Torrance
May 23, 2013
Last night, we hit up one of our favorite shabu shabu places – King Shabu Shabu. This place opened fairly recently (a year ago) and speaks to everything I look for in a shabu shabu eatery. It’s clean, bright, has individual pots and the ingredients are all super fresh. They have their own slicing machine out in the open and it’s gleaming. The people are really nice too! I believe a couple of the owners are Malaysian and also speak Chinese – total bonus points.
While service is usually prompt and on point, they did happen to forget me this time. But I don’t hold it against them. 🙂 They’re easy to flag down and clearly apologetic when something goes awry. Continue Reading
Pho So 1 – Gardena
May 22, 2013
Asian people can and do eat noodles for every meal of the day…especially, breakfast! Yeah, I know, breakfast. My parents have been in town for the past week and before they left to go back to the Asian-barren midwest, they requested…yet another meal of noodles. So, we hit up my dad’s go-to noodle place, Pho So 1 in Gardena. Their hours are proof of how much Asian people love their noodles in the morning; they open at 9am.
This place is your usual non-descript, linoleum floor, fluorescent lighting, furniture from the 80’s, yellowed walls, old Asian workers, strip mall Vietnamese establishment. Since I have given up carbs for the mean time, I couldn’t indulge in their mediocre pho. But I did try some of my dad’s self-seasoned (hoison and sriracha) combination pho broth and my mom’s non-seasoned regular beef pho broth. Really good pho has a depth of flavor from the stewing onions in the broth, so much so, that if you didn’t add any of the usual accoutraments (raw jalapeno, cilantro, Thai basil, lemongrass, hoison or sriracha), it would still have a lovely underlying flavor of savory richness. This broth tastes like water, salt and barely a hint of onion or other flavors. It’s basically water broth. Meh. Continue Reading
Musha – Torrance
May 22, 2013
For dinner last night, the parents wanted an ol’standby, Musha in Torrance. This Japanese small plates restaurant (izakaya) has 2 locations – one in Santa Monica (where all the stars like Owen Wilson (yes, he counts and yes, I saw him there once!) go and there’s usually a wait) and one in Torrance (where even when you have to wait, they give you a pitcher of beer to enjoy). They have a good variety and the prices are more than reasonable.
Let me segway at this point to how I am a terrible food blogger. I am usually so hungry that I forget to take pictures before eating the dish! Ugh. I was able to capture the aftermath of a couple dishes and had the forethought to snap a couple pre-eating. But the majority of the night’s dishes were gobbled up before I even remembered I had a camera. *sigh* Next time? Continue Reading
Days of decadence = Days of detox…BALANCE!
May 21, 2013
After a weekend of gluttony, I now have to go on a health binge…total oxymoron, I know. To kick things off, I’m going to no carb/low carb it for a while (29 days). And it will culminate with the David Chang / Roy Choi dinner at the Bel Air Hotel.
I am not going to lie – I am a total bitch when I can’t have carbs (yeah, I know some of you would say, “you could’ve ended with ‘I am a total bitch [period]'” har har har). But, my body never looks better than when I’m working out and avoiding all matters of bread, pasta and rice. Asian people become totally distraught when you tell them you’re not eating rice. One Asian man told me it wasn’t natural and that we Asian people HAVE to eat rice in order to be healthy.
I’m hoping the copious amounts of protein and the endorphins from working out will offset any sugar/carb withdrawal. Besides, I have a wedding to go to in July and I want to be able to wear whatever I want! Continue Reading
Lessons we learn.
May 21, 2013
Ok, things not to watch when in public on a full flight to LA.
You will want to be in private so you can bawl your eyes out like a baby. I had to hide my tears and snot quietly while watching all 22 minutes of a beautiful life.
When my uncle died, it taught me how short life was…too short to live it unhappy. I strive to do extraordinary things and enjoy every minute. I hope you do too.
Cheeky’s – LES, NYC
May 20, 2013
A quickie before my flight back to LAX! With a 9:45pm flight, I wanted to make it to the airport with enough time to relax and have a glass of wine in the Admiral’s lounge. So, cousin Christina went a block down to Cheeky’s and got us some sammiches!
The fried chicken on a biscuit was just a bit too heavy for me…which I know is total blasphemy. But the rich, buttery biscuit and the fried chicken AND gravy?? It was a total gut bomb. I didn’t really like the sour cabbage slaw concoction. I get that it’s supposed to cut the richness but I’d rather have good ol’fashioned pickles. Each component by itself was delicious though! Continue Reading
Sunny days and dispositions.
May 20, 2013
“i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite new a thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,…
― E.E. Cummings