Just wanted a funny post to start your weekend and show that I am mentally nine years old.
(you probably gotta be local for this one to make sense)
Funny Signs – Japan
(you probably gotta be local for this one to make sense)
Archives
(you probably gotta be local for this one to make sense)
Mixed Plate
The finished product looks a bit blah huh? So here’s what I did. I wanted to make one pan of brownies with half regular fudge brownies and half fudge brownies with oreos. So I cut a piece of cardboard and wrapped it with foil while I poured the batter with oreo in, held the cardboard in place as I poured the regular batter in. Then, I just lifted the board out and baked it! The batter is thick enough that it won’t mix into one another…and even if it did…it’s all brownie batter!
I made it for a student training and they ate it all so I’m guessing it was good! Glad it worked!
You’ve heard about the craze. Plant based burgers all over the place. A bit late in posting this but I tried this a few weeks ago. It was good! It tastes just like a whopper, I can’t taste the difference. But honestly, if you think about it, a whopper tastes more like the veggies (onion, tomato, pickles, lettuce) than anything else.
A video blogger did a video about the impossible burger and she asked her location if they fry it on the same grill as the meat burgers and they said they do. WELL, OF COURSE THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGERS WILL TASTE GOOD THEN. Don’t you agree? Would I order it again? Sure! I like these meat alternatives!
Mixed Plate
MEAT LOAF. I know this is considered whatever kine food for people but I really enjoy it and find it comforting. I also like the making of the meat loaf. I love putting all the ingredients together in the bowl in a pretty way and then mixing it. Looks good ah? Well not delicious good, just good good.
Meat Loaf, Rice and…can you guess what the yellow and red thing is? It’s a bit shameful actually…
I found a recipe online for a quick elote corn. Um, don’t do that. First off, I didn’t have lime, only lemon so that was a big mistake on my part. And crushed up flaming hot cheetos on top? What was I thinking? Don’t follow any kine recipe okay? Next time I will leave out the cheetos, find some limes…and make it GOOD.
Okay let’s move to something I am proud of. Look at this refreshing and absolutely delicious watermelon dessert I made! I drew inspiration from this video, he made it look so good. I had to improvise. I found mini seedless watermelons from Costco. Bought some strawberry popping boba from Don Q and the scene was set! Balled up some melon, crushed up the leftover flesh to create watermelon juice. Poured the juice back into the melon shell, added the balled melon on top…topped it with condensed milk and then the popping boba. Sugar bomb? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely yes!
Mixed Plate
Just a random post with various eats that won’t make a whole post on it’s own. First off, Whole Foods Market, when Jalna shared about the 2/$5 deal! Thanks so much! Now I check my amazon app all the to check the deals. The pizza was pretty good, the garlic and spinach one was mine. Plenty garlic so I liked it a lot!
Chi Chop is located in the Ala Moana Food Court, not great. The fried chicken is seasoned with quite a bit of five spice powder if that’s your thing. I also think it was quite pricey for $13!
Korean Hibiscus BBQ! Oh boy, what a deal. A cute and sweet couple run this shop and the portions are generous! The taste was great and do you see? Two pieces of fried mandoo too! I do have to say, MSG galore, I was thirsty all night!
Saying Goodbye…
Okay, misleading title…no I am not the one saying goodbye! This post is focused on bidding goodbye to an employee of mine. While I am sad to see her go, I am excited for her new adventures and her move to the mainland! Now, she is a graphic designer so I knew I wanted to personalize her gift with something handmade…and well…if you know me, you also know I am obsessed with miniatures so guess what I did…
I put a lot of work into this piece and while I had my moments of insanity (mainly because I am so focused and detailed), it was all worth it because she loved it! Ugh…I love miniatures so much…
Of course I had to cook for the going away party! I made homemade pancit because it’s one of her favorite foods. Very nervous making this because it’s just such a good dish and the taste is key! I gotta admit, I did a test run myself before this day and did not like the first test. I revamped the recipe I worked with and I think it came out great! My coworkers seemed to like it so I am super happy!
If you follow Kat, you would have noticed she talked about Butterfly Pea Flower tea the other week! It was such a coincidence because I had just ordered the dried flowers online and was prepping to make this drink! So you steep the flowers and the water turns into a very bright blue color. When mixed with acid, it changes color! I made a fresh lemonade (first time, was good!) and poured the drinks at the party. It was so fun to see it turn purple and pink! The tea itself doesn’t have a strong taste or any taste, it’s hard to explain. I would pour maybe 3/4 of lemonade to 1/4 of the tea. Tastes great!
Tea Party Cook-off
Our division at work had a Tea Party the other week! This tea party was a cook-off competition with the proceeds going towards a charity. I always try to participate in the cook-off to support a good cause and of course the competition itself! With the help of a few colleagues, we did a great job! Actually, we won the best savory category! I had an idea for this dish and yes it’s been done before but I never executed myself before.
We made salad in won ton cups, finger food perfect for the tea party! I was a bit particular about this dish. I wanted the won ton cups to be perfectly light and crisp…and the won ton pi they sell in stores are generally too thick. So, I made a trek out to Chinatown because Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory has an “extra thin and extra small for soup” won ton pi. LOL…I went into this not knowing what to expect. Well it was cheap and the customer service was stellar (just kidding about the second part). Well the pi worked out great! It fits perfectly in the mini muffin tins and it is thinner than most pi so it worked perfectly for my recipe. Check out the pics below! I’ll post the various dishes from the cook-off too!
Any suggestions for a new name? Haha…salad in a cup didn’t sound too great. But this name is a bit too ambiguous.
Look at how beautiful this dessert is! Tasted great too! Definitely a worthy winner.
I have to give this contestant SO MUCH CREDIT. Sorry to the sweets winner, but I voted for this dessert as the winner. This person made these wagashi sweets all by hand and I’m sorry I don’t have all the pictures but she made different fruit shapes for each (the effort, food coloring, etc.!). The time and effort put in…is amazing. I grabbed this one. And yes, she individually packaged each one too!
Disneyland – Los Angeles, CA
What trip to LA is complete without a visit to Disneyland? I’ll let you in on a little secret, this was my first trip to Disneyland. Yes, seriously. I didn’t have much travels as a kid and when we did travel, it was to the homeland, not the mainland. I’ve been to other Disney parks but was excited to check California out! We decided to check out both Disneyland and California Adventure Park…and boy am I glad we did. I didn’t know this beforehand but did you know…Disney celebrates Lunar New Year??
Cheddar-Jalapeño Sausage topped with Chipotle Crema, Queso Fresco and Pico de Gallo with Filmstrip Fries
Cheddar Sausage Link with creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Salsa Verde, crumbled spicy Cheese Puffs, and Cheese Curds on a Toasted Bun with Filmstrip Fries
I can only comment on the cheesy celebration because this was my dog. Did I tell you I am lactose intolerant? Was this a good choice? Probably not. I was lured by the cheesiness of it. Was it good? Ehhh…for all the flavors named, it was quite a plain dog. They just threw everything on top and it was all just…empty calories and not worth them either!
Ikea – Burbank, CA
Ikea. This store has been a dream of mine to visit for years. We drove out to Burbank to visit this location and I am glad we did. It is a huge store and the street is named after them! I wish I lived in California, I would have bought so much stuff. Not to say I didn’t anyway, I made room for it in my suitcase. I still am holding up hope for it to come to Hawaii one day. Not sure why the this place has such low ratings on Yelp. It’s a nice big store although I’m not a fan of the layout, I guess it’s their way of making you walk through the ENTIRE store. It was a bit of a nightmare for me since I was so unfamiliar with this store, I kept getting lost.
Anyway, my main reason for the visit was also to try the meatballs! Food related, who would have thunk it.
I love meatballs, so it doesn’t take much to impress me. I enjoyed it a lot! The gravy was great and the lingonberry jam too! Didn’t need the vegetables or mashed potatoes…give me a big plate of the meatballs and jam and gravy and that would be great. Well, as an Asian give me some rice too, thanks. Something else caught my eye as I lined up…you can see a corner of it in the picture above…
I mean, look at that piece of cake. It’s everything you hope and dream of. It’s like that chocolate cake from Matilda. Mmm yum. I don’t think I need to say much more, just look at it. It looks as it tastes, gooey, moist and delicious. Ikea. Boom.
Update: Current Hobby
Hey folks! This past week has been a doozy, in a good way! My office has been a complete and utter mess, the past few years, I’ve had the “excuse” of being in grad school to avoid cleaning. Well, it’s been a year since I graduated and I finally found the motivation to clean. It really did feel cathartic. There are some things that I’ve held onto for sentimental reasons, I decided to let go of some for my sanity! I cleared out at least 3 garbage bags and my office now looks great. I had at least two people mention they didn’t know I had two chairs in my office, that is pretty bad. I’ll have to try to keep it up, wish me luck!
Also within the last week, I started to build miniatures. I’ve always liked doing crafts and projects by hand so this was a natural progression. For those who know me well, know that I absolutely love miniatures. I’ve been watching tutorials on YouTube and decided to take the leap…buying all the supplies I need to start-up. If you’re looking for a starting point, please allow me to recommend The Square to Spare, she is awesome and gives great tutorials along with what materials to buy. I don’t know where I would be without her channel. The room divider I made below is based on this video. So anyway, no food today…just some pieces I made thus far…
First attempt! The cutting board with knife. The cutting board was from this tutorial. The knife, I carved out myself using wooden coffee stirrers.
Progress on the room divider. I messed it up but I messed up consistently so it turned out okay. I learned a lot of lessons doing this piece…
I’ve never done well with measuring and exact dimensions, I’m going to have to learn to be! I drew this cherry blossom tree free hand! Not the prettiest but I am still proud…
There are uneven pieces here, I learned the hard way that wooden coffee stirrers are not all the same size and shape…haha.
Dollhouse hinges! Yes! This divider can be opened and closed! Yay!
Can you tell what this one is? This was done on my own, no tutorials.
It’s inspired by those big floor lantern lights! Custom art by Jenny. Well, I printed out templates to trace onto parchment paper…still wasn’t super easy but so worth it. Koi fish, turtles and lotus flowers. I made this as a gift for my friend, I really hope he likes it.
Mixed Plate – Osaka Edition
Happy Aloha Friday! Just wanted to do a post with some random pictures I wouldn’t be able to create full posts out of…from Osaka! Enjoy!
Okay, I have to admit…Coca Cola Peach was the drink I really really wanted to try in Japan. I read that it was a limited edition and prayed it would still be there when I took my trip. I actually ran into the 711 as we walked to the apartment and found it. Hallelujah. After a very long travel, I just wanted for throw down and take a big drink of this drink. Ummm…well, I didn’t like it. To me, it tastes nothing like peach….or if it tasted like peach, it tasted very artificial, almost flowery. I did not like it and would not get this again.
Check this out! I had to get a quick pic of this as we walked around…they have Aloha Maid! 80 cents a can, special discount. Haha! Is how our cans read too? Passion & Orange? I always thought it was just passion orange.
OKAY, HERE IS MY FAVORITE DRINK. Sorry for the yelling, but I really enjoyed this drink. It was delicious and refreshing. Okay, you see the word vitamin on the bottle but let’s be real, this drink ain’t healthy in any way and I no care. I even snuck a few bottles home…and regret not sneaking more. Okay, maybe I just need to buy some coke here and add my own lemon. So good…
For two days, I bought food from 711 the night before to have for breakfast. I had a hard time adjusting to Japan time so I usually woke up before 5am and got hungry. Here is one of the musubi packs, salmon and mayo tuna. Oh my, so good. The quality of the ingredients is just so great. You know how the musubis are here? We put it in the fridge and then it’s rock hard. Well these musubis stay ono and soft. 711 in Japan is awesome.
Last dish to share…I love soba so this was one of my meals. I love that they give you a little packet of water to add to the noodles so they don’t stay stuck together. Man…wish our 711 would step up their game. And they sold these two dashi eggs on the side, yup I ate both and yup both were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Orange runny yolk for the win. Have a great weekend guys.