on a whim...

Restaurant Week Comes Out Swinging

2012-02-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

as you can probably tell from my blog roll at the side, i'm big into food and eating. i actually have a physical list of places i want to eat at that i take out whenever my friends ask where we should go eat/drink. it probably makes me look really weird, but i like to think of it as "adorkable."

because of the above, i'm a big fan of Restaurant Week. and i don't just go to any place. i spend careful time researching options, looking at menus on-line, and narrowing down the search to usually some 20-odd candidates. then i send out the links to all my friends and let them choose the final choices.

this year, RW celebrated its 20 year anniversary. as such, the event was longer than it's usual 2 week period and instead spanned from January 16, 2012-February 10, 2012 (so 4 weeks). this made for a lot more eating options.

1. ilili

kicking off the food adventure was ilili, a lebanese restaurant in the flatiron district. and i have to say, there couldn't have been a better start to RW 2012. ilili offered one of the more generous RW menus i've seen: the choice of 2 mezes, an entree, and a dessert. there was also a multitude of options, which is always a good sign. i hate when a restaurant offers 2 appetizers, 3 entrees (always a chicken/beef, a fish, and a vegetarian option), and 2 desserts. it's just not as fun.

as tradition has it, i always do at least 1 RW dinner with Bubby and Kiks, and sharing the one at ilili was the best option. with the 3 of us, we could really explore the entire menu and since we always share, we could each get a little taste of everything.

the night was already starting off well when we were served a pre-meal courtesy cocktail by our waitress. something with alcohol, pomegranate, and soda. it was definitely refreshing and helped whet our appetites.

don't let the name "mezes" fool you. these appetizers are a generous portion. when our appetizers arrived, our entire table was full of food! we were mightily impressed the generous portions. for mezes we ordered the following:

Tuna Belly (avocado puree/barberry chutney/radish/beet): meh. the description of this dish is more interesting than the actual execution. it was definitely moist and good, but nothing spectacular. very standard typical fare.

Grilled Sardines (fennel salt/olive oil/lemon): if you like sardines then this is an option to try. it was very crispy on the outside with a nice crunch and a slightly salty bite. great as a mezes. although it did have bones, so it can be a little cumbersome.

Chicken Livers (pomegranate/lemon/butter): holy chicken liver! very liver-y taste but since i like it (i also like liverwurst-'nuff said), i really liked this dish. the more offal-y taste was counteracted by the sweetness of the pomegranate lemon butter. it's very heavy though, and would have been too much for me if i didn't have Bubby and Kiks to share it with.

Kebab Kerez (lamb and beef meatballs/cherry sauce/kataifi): this was one of the superstars of the night. the meatballs were perfectly moist and flavorful and the cherry sauce was surprisingly not as sweet as i would have thought, keeping the dish balanced in the "savory" category.

Arnabeet Mekle (cauliflower/red finger chili/mint/labne tahini): the other superstar of the night. this was just absolutely amazing. and perfect for dipping the pita pillows they give you.

Hummus (chickpea puree/lebanese tahini/lemon/olive oil): i was pretty overwhelmed with the food we already had on the table so i didn't really partake of it too much. after all, i had to save room for the rest of the meal, and hummus was at the bottom of my list in terms of standing room in my stomach.

after our smorgasbord of mezes, i was already starting to feel a bit full. i ordered the Roasted Lamb Leg (citrus/beets/mint/walnut/labne) while Kiks and Bubby went for the extra supplement options Abalone Mushroom (moscatel onion/pomegranate/lychee/herbs) [$5 supplement] and Poussain (crispy fried half chicken/garlic whip/lettuce cups/pickles/markook) [$7 supplement]. the lamb was as lamb should be: tender, fork-ready (no knife needed), and was well complemented by the accompanying sauce. however, the better options were Kik's and Bubby's. the abalone mushroom was extremely light and refreshing, with a tart yet soothing juice. if i remember correctly, the entree comes out cold, which is probably better for summer, but didn't detract from the lightness of the dish, which was a welcome relief from the large amount of food we'd already eaten. the chicken was a fun activity-entree in that it is best eaten with your hands, ripping apart pieces of chicken and then wrapping it with the lettuce cups and other accoutrements. the chicken was also perfectly cooked: tender and juicy meat with a crispy skin.

both Bubby and i got the remainder of our meal wrapped up in a doggy bag because we were so full. but of course, RW is a prix fixe and comes with dessert: we got everything except for the ice cream. the Labne Cheesecake (cherry/hibiscus/rose berry) is the type of cheesecake for people who don't like theirs cloyingly sweet but with only a faint, cheesecake-y aftertaste. since it was light, but still creamy and dessert-like, this was my favorite. Kik's favorite (and no surprise here) was the ilili Candy Bar (chocolate ganache/fig caramel/pistachio)which pretty much lives up to its name. it should be the go-to dessert for chocolate lovers and has a creamy texture with a bit of crunch. the most interesting dessert choice, and Bubby's favorite, was the Ashta (traditional lebanese clotted cream w/orange blossom simple syrup/strawberry). this one's a little hard to describe. it's creamy and pudding-like in texture and is definitely light and not overly sweet. while i puzzled over what word to describe its flavor, Kiks came up with the appropriate description: it tastes like hand lotion. in a good way. and it's completely true! i'm sure it's because of the smell, which is a very flowery scent (think $50/oz hand lotion vs. Bath & Body Works), and the color and texture are definitely akin to lotion. even with this odd correlation, the dessert was still really good.

as the kick-off to RW Winter 2012, ilili definitely definitely set the bar high.

Fine, I'm a Sucker

2012-02-02T22:07:00.001-05:00

Yes, fine, i admit it: i totally want to see The Vow. let's just stamp a big fat "sucker" on my forehead, but it's true. i have become completely swayed by the commercials.

and, no, it's not because i'm a giant Channing Tatum fan. i think he's attractive, but he's no Jamie Bell or Joseph Gordon Levitt (yes, those are the men in my 5-and the traditional Ryan Gosling).

now this might make you question my taste but i'm going to admit it anyway: this movie just looks adorkable. in a you're-totally-going-to-make-me-cry-but-then-give-me-a-happy-ending-and-resent-that-my-life-isn't-exactly-like-this kind of way. and i'm fine with that.

or maybe it's because The Vow is reminiscent of The Notebook. and i loved that movie.

Kyaaaa!

2012-01-25T14:04:00.000-05:00

in case you didn't know, "kya" is the japanese onomatopoeia for a scream sound.

it all started with the New York Korea Festival on October 9th. i mean, a free concert with Beast, TVXQ, 2PM, 4minute, Sistar, G.na, Shinee, and Kim Tae Woo? when was there gonna be a chance to see all these kpop acts in one venue short of flying to Seoul or LA? of course i was going. BarkBark was even more excited to go since she's a teeny bopper x1000 (she's also 15 yrs old, so she's entitled to be, whereas i have no excuse). she stood in line at the HMart in Ridgefield from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm (2PM!!) in order to get the limited quantity tickets. now that is devoted (i, on the other hand, was in Boston).

on the day of the concert, which didn't start until 6:00 p.m., B2 was clamoring for us to leave at 8:00 a.m. so we could secure good seats. yeah...that wasn't happening. i may be a teeny bopper fan, but i'm not that crazy. in order to appease B2, we headed out at 11:00 a.m. so we could get there at noon. i knew we were in trouble when i couldn't find parking in any of the available lots.

arriving at the park just confirmed how redonkey kong the whole situation was. all the available seats in the front had been filled and people had apparently been there since 6:00 a.m., with some people alleging that they slept there overnight (which i doubt, but you never know with crazy kpop fans). so we resigned ourselves to sitting in the back, saved ourselves some seats with our stuff, and began meandering the many booths and snack vendors.

poor planning on the part of the organizers, along with extremely hot temperatures that day, resulted in a public announcement around 2:00 pm (2PM again! ok, i'll stop now...) that everyone was to vacate their seats due to a public health hazard of having people sit in the sun without water or moving for an extended period of time. which resulted in a bunch of seats near the front row opening up. and with poor organization and a lack of security, we found ourselves with seats 4 rows from the front (the front of the free non-VIP section, which means we were still half a mile away from the actual stage). yes, it was probably slightly despicable, but all's fair in the battle of kpop concerts.

we baked in the sun for a few more hours before the kpop acts began their dress rehearsals. it was sheer pandemonium. people began climbing on chairs to see better, arms with cameras shot up into the air, and fangirls screamed in pitches only dogs should be able to hear. it initially started with girl groups 4minute and Sistar, but then complete chaos broke out when Beast came out on stage. all of a sudden a huge throng of fangirls rushed the makeshift fence, knocked it over, and dashed towards the VIP and stage section.

of course, i went along with it, but only for B2's sake.

so by a fortuitous turn of events, B2 and i found ourselves in the coveted VIP section, albeit as stowaways. let me tell you, being covert and sneaky is all in good fun, but it's definitely nerve-wracking! we spent a nervous yet joyful 40 minutes in the VIP section, watching Shinee, TVXQ, and Beast while simultaneously dodging the cranky volunteer ushers on a mission to eject all non-VIP members. if you watch the videos i posted, i had serious shaky cam hand. i don't know if it was cause i was so teenybopper excited or nervous about being busted and ejected by the overstressed volunteer bouncers.

we did eventually get ejected and went back to our non-VIP seats and enjoyed the rest of the concert. when you think about it, it was pretty surreal to watch all these kpop acts in the States and really says a lot about how far the hallyu trend is traveling.

it's actually chilly today

2012-01-20T14:11:00.003-05:00

the weather this winter has been (for lack of a better word) "wonky." while there have been a few chilly days here and there, it hasn't really felt like winter... until today. with the wind and the chill factor, today has really felt like winter/february-march weather.

of course, i could be feeling like this because i waited on line (yes, i'm from NJ; i say "on line" not "in line") for 2-that's right, 2- food trucks today. the whole process took about 30 mins, and that was 30 mins of being buffeted by strong cold winds. when i got back to the office i promptly went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. this, in turn, required that i actually wash my coffee cup (in my attempt to be environmentally friendly). as i washed my cup in the sink, i noticed how bright red my hands were and then felt that familiar tingle in my fingers; you know, the one you get when you come in from having shoveled snow aka the pre-frostbite tingle. and welcome to winter. FINALLY.

so what would possess me to wait outside for 2 food trucks in this nippy weather? Korilla BBQ and The Real Good Truck, which both happened to be in the FiDi area today.

i grabbed 2 Korilla rice bowls to bring home to the family in Jersey (1 pork, 1 bulgolgi). this is my 2nd time eating from the Korilla truck, and i always get rice bowls. now this could be a little blasphemous, but my Korilla experiences are always "meh." maybe it's because i'm not a big bimbimbap fan. of all the items korean food has to offer, bimbimbap ranks low on my list compared to all the jigaes and bokkums and other exotic items. but don't get me wrong, Korilla is still good food. and for $8, the amount of food you get is reedonkulous. and that K'illa sauce is is a something i'd like to bottle up and take home for myself. and while the food may be interesting because of the novelty of being from a truck, i will say the service is undoubtedly fun. they blare music while you wait in line, and it's pretty clear the people in the truck (there's always about 4-5 people in there. it's a veritable clown car because it just doesn't seem possible to fit that many people in food truck, yet they don't ever look "squished") are having a good time. and that just makes the process fun.

not to mention there's always at least one guy who satisfies my desire for asian eye candy.

as for the Real Good Truck, which is relatively new, i was more intrigued by the novelty of their food offerings. waffles as a savory lunch? color my interest piqued. while there wasn't much of a line, there were still about 5-6 people just hovering outside the truck. when i approached, i found out that these people had already ordered and were simply waiting for their food. compared to the assembly line efficiency of Korilla (and the blustering winds), it was a little bit of a turn-off. but i forged ahead and gave my order: Waffle Dog with Jalapeno Cheddarwurst. interestingly, my order was complete within 5 minutes which was pretty satisfying. i had the choice of 4 toppings for my waffle dog: ketchup, honey mustard, relish...and i can't remember the fourth. i opted for ketchup and relish.

this was actually really good. the waffle isn't sweet like dessert but is a nice counterplay to the savory and flavorful jalapeno cheddarwurst. the relish and ketchup added an overall savory sweet taste to the whole shebang. and for $6 it wasn't horribly overpriced, although if i was starving i might have balked at the cost vs. size. but then again, we live in NYC so what isn't overpriced? while i'm not sure i will endure the blistering cold any time soon for it, it was definitely worth a try and worth the cost of satisfying my curiosity.

we're such mad, genius evil scientists

2011-12-23T11:33:00.003-05:00

moving into my new apartment in Brooklyn Heights has not been an easy task. i forgot how much stuff i'd accumulated (essentially all crap) and moving my new IKEA furniture was no easy feat either (especially with no elevator and a 2 floor walk-up). thankfully i had Kiddo and D-Life to help me out with all my junk.

on Friday night, Kiddo met with me at my new apartment to help me move in half of my stuff (D-Life would meet me next day to move in the rest). i had been running late so Kiddo had been waiting for me at the local bar around the corner from my apartment. i was much later than i expected so i couldn't blame Kiddo when he arrived and advised me he had drank a (small) pitcher of whiskey while waiting for me.

it turned out the alcohol was a good thing because Kiddo used brute, drunken strength to single-handedly carry up all my IKEA furniture (and that shit ain't light). hooray for alcohol strength!

as a thank you, i took Kiddo out for dinner. since i haven't been in the BK Heights in a while, i deferred to Kiddo when he suggested two8two. i'm as big a fan of a burger as the next guy, but i haven't really jumped onto this whole "gourmet burger" trend. or so i thought at the time...

two8two wasn't very packed on that particular friday night. just enough people to make it seem like it was doing some decent business, but not overcrowded or loud.* Kiddo and i ordered the Breakfast Burger ($9) which consists of a burger topped with a fried egg, cheddar cheese, bacon, and two8two sauce. so good. the burger was cooked exactly how i asked for (medium rare) and they were really quick from the time i ordered to when i received my food. my younger cousin, Woof2, ordered the Billy Burger ($7.50), a burger with grilled onions, cheddar cheese, and two8two sauce. she wolfed the burger down and still talks about it to this day. she recently confessed that she had wanted to order another burger that night, but since it was her first time meeting Kiddo, she hadn't wanted to scare him.

In addition to the burgers, we ordered a side of French Fries ($3) and Greek Fries ($4) (fries topped with feta cheese and oregano). honestly, i preferred the regular fries over the Greek Fries. The feta was never really melty since it's applied after the fries are cooked. it still tastes fine, but since it wasn't what i was expecting, i just wasn't as big a fan.

the menu at two8two isn't that expansive, but they do make some decent cocktails. i ordered their Chipotle Habanero Bloody Mary ($9). make sure to ask for bacon salt on the rim. although not a big order, it's pretty tasty. i like bloody marys that aren't too strong in vodka, but have some spicy kick.

a few days later, i found myself at another new burger joint in BK Heights: Moo Burger. a little pricier than two8two but with a lot more choices and interesting menu items. the menu itself is actually a little tricky and confusing. for instance, The Smokehouse ($14) is described as pulled pork, onion ring, chipotle barbecue sauce and coleslaw. which left us scratching our heads: did this "burger" actually come with a burger patty or was it just straight pork? a quick inquiry with our waitress revealed that it was pulled pork, etc. on top of a hamburger patty. whoa, mind-blown. but then, when we inquired about The Buffalo Chicken ($13) (spicy buffalo sauce, carrots, celery, bleu cheese), we were advised that it didn't actually come with chicken, just the accoutrements of a buffalo chicken sandwich substituting a burger patty for the chicken. congrats Moo Burger, you've got me a little puzzled.

after thoroughly annoying our waitress with my incessant and ridiculous question, i still hadn't decided on what i wanted to eat. i had only just moved into my new apartment and had been pretty much eating out everyday. i was feeling a little unhealthy and a lot gross. initially when Egg and She, now my neighbors (!) had asked to go out to dinner, i'd indicated i wanted to go a veggie-healthy way. so they suggested Moo Burger since they knew that it had some salad options as well. of course, that all flew out the window once i saw their intriguing menu. in a moment of evil-genius-frankenstein-madness, i decided to ask whether i could order The Moo-Less ($12) with a burger patty.

the whole inquiry process was a little amusing. when our waitress came back (for the 3rd or 4th time) to take our order, i had to ask a seemingly straightforward question: did the Moo-Less come with a burger? i'll give her props for being good-natured throughout this whole process, but she did sort of roll her eyes and added a slight sarcastic tone when she stated, "No. Moo-Less? Get it?" but you can't blame me for being a little confused (see above paragraphs). so i asked whether i could order the Moo-Less but with a burger and how much that would cost. she came back and advised it would be $14 to order the Moo-Less with a burger patty**. done and done. Kiddo followed suit and ordered the same thing.

when the burger arrived, it was a monster. a burger patty topped with portabello, zucchini, squash, eggplant, roasted red pepper, pesto and tapenade. oh my! the burger was perfectly cooked and all the veggies and sauce made it savory and sweet at the same time. it's definitely a little messy to eat, so be prepared. the pesto and tapenade, along with burger juices, makes the bottom of the sandwich get a little soggy over time. so if you're eating with your hands, be prepared for some sticky fingers. Kiddo also ordered a side of fries (which were delish-skinny shoe string fries that were nice and crispy) while i ordered a side of coleslaw (again trying to be healthy-but unless you like watery coleslaw, i'd skip this option).

*i recently went back and the place was packed. and due to the wooden decor of the restaurant, it is not amenable to noise control. this particular night there were 2 large parties of 6+ and it was impossible to hear anyone at my table talk.

**on a subsequent trip, Kiddo and i ordered the exact same meal and it was $17 ($5 for a patty).

Subway Surfing

2011-12-12T10:22:00.003-05:00

when i used to drive everyday for my commute to work in NJ, i'd always be super annoyed at the traffic, horrible drivers, and the brights that all cars seem to have installed by default. now that i'm officially a New York-er, i find myself getting annoyed at bad subway riders and sidewalk walkers. you know what they say: the grass is always greener...

i am constantly amazed at the amount of people who don't have basic commuting etiquette tho. i mean, it's pretty common sense, no? everyone knows that in (at least in the United States) you drive on the right side of the road. and that the left lane is for passing. yet, somehow, these same principles never apply to walking. why not?

recently, i had the pleasure of getting onto a packed subway during morning rush hour. no i'm not gonna complain about how crowded it was. i'm not that much a whiny priss. i understand, it's rush hour. and, in a fortuitous miracle, the car i was in wasn't that packed. it wasn't spacious to the point i could lounge on the multitude of empty seats, but, for once, we weren't packed in like sardines in a can.

which made the man standing in front me as a fortressed barricade to my access to the subway pole very frustrating. if i was a giant, this wouldn't be a problem because i could easily grab one of the overhead bars. unfortunately for me, i am a typical 5' 2" asian girl which means i always have to grab one of the vertical side bars or else risk having my arm pulled out of its socket in my attempt to use the overhead bar. and there was, literally, no way to maneuver around this man. his square-ish, rectangular body shape made him the perfect impediment. seriously, if this man isn't a door bouncer somewhere, he missed his calling in life.

so i spent the rest of my time subway surfing, which i did surprisingly well at, with only 1 minor wipe-out.

My Pizza Was Wearing Flannel

2011-12-09T09:07:00.003-05:00

Stinky was in town for a visit, so the old Smithie crew got itself together to hang out. catering to a vegetarian can be a little tricky at times, since i don't know that many and don't particularly adhere to the eating philosophy. since i'd have to shell out money for dinner regardless of what we ate, i would prefer somewhere that i wasn't limited to wheatgrass, tofu, and bean sprouts (although i love all those foods except for the wheatgrass).

luckily, L'asso came to the rescue. around the corner from Lombardi's (1 of NYC's pizza institutions), L'asso is as un-Lombardi's as you can get. if that term could be used as an adjective. which i've now created.

it's very thin crust pizza, with multiple variations of the Margherita (i've never seen so many different ways you can re-state the "tomatoes, basil, sauce, cheese" combination). my eyes sort of glazed over that aspect of the menu, especially since i couldn't order any of the variations on the theme e.g. crisp prosciutto. as to sauce-less pies, that's where L'asso's options shine. pizzas with apples, pistachios, walnuts, gorgonzola, various mushrooms, ricotta, etc.

the 4 of us decided to split a salad. fittingly, we ordered the Insalata L'asso ($13) which was a lightly dressed mixed greens salad hearts of palm, goat cheese, pistachio, asparagus, and fennel. while the fennel was not particularly present, the rest of the salad was perfect. the soft, fluffy goat cheese gave it the right amount of sharp flavor to balance the light oil and vinegar dressing. and i never say no to hearts of palm, which i liken to a softer version of bamboo shoots or slightly firmer than artichoke hearts.

we ordered a large pizza, which L'asso only serves in long skinny versions akin to a flattened loaf of italian bread (made out of thin crust pizza of course). the only circular pie you'll get at L'asso is the personal pie. the thin pizza loaf is actually perfect for sharing, allowing you to eat more than 1 "slice" without feeling like a heffer. the restaurant also allows you to order half and half on a pizza so you can sample some more flavors.

we had decided to order a half Margherita (tomato sauce, cooked buffalo mozzarella, oregano, basil and EVOO) and half Mela (mozzarella, gorgonzola, asparagus, apple and truffle oil). what we ended up with was half Margherita and half Tartufo (portabello pesto, mushrooms, mozzarella, rosemary and truffle oil). how, you ask, did that happen? simple: that's what happens when you let the out-of-town visitor make the order.

just a heads up about L'asso: it has a distinct hipster-vibe. i'm not anti-hipster (well not overly anti), and the fact that L'asso was hipster was part of the reason i picked it. i figured if Stinky's going to come to NYC, then we should take her somewhere "trendy" and delicious at the same time. i mean, i've never been to Seattle but i would wager the NYC's got Seattle beat in the hipster uprising. about every employee at L'asso was wearing a fitted flannel shirt and skinny jeans. i rest my case. so how did the hipster-ness of L'asso result in us getting a pizza we hadn't intended? the waiter, in his flannel and skinny jeans, skinny-tall body type, and intimate colloquialisms, had recommended the Tartufo when Bubby had asked for his "favorite" pizza*. when Stinky was ordering, she must've been brainwashed by the familiar mannerisms of the waiter, as well as his unique (and kind of attractive-i'm not gonna lie) hipster-ness. the rest of us were too busy wrapped up in conversation to notice, so it was a real surprise when our pizza showed up.

the pizza itself was pretty good. the Margherita was a little salty due to the sauce, but when eaten in conjunction with the sauce-less Tartufo, which is VERY mushroom-y, it was perfect. and between the 4 of us, the large was the appropriate amount of food to feel full, but not sleepy, and allowed us to continue the night at Spring Lounge for an after-dinner drink.

*i actually dislike this question. i don't care what the waiter likes to eat. i don't know him well enough to know what his tastes are like. is he vegetarian? does he prefer gluten-free? would he eat dim sum? these are all questions that invariably affect his taste in food. without knowing the answers to these questions, his opinion "moo" (like a cow's opinion, it doesn't matter-get that reference?). the only variation of the question i accept is "what's the most popular/most frequently ordered dish"? and even then, i actually only slightly care about this answer. i mean, who said i have to eat what the masses eat?

Grandma's

2011-10-11T16:47:00.001-04:00

kind of funny, no? or like the pick-up line:

"i'm not a hipster, but i can make your hips stir" which is so apropos for NYC.

not that any of the above has anything to do with this particular post.

at 10 a.m. on a sunday morning i suddenly found myself with 5 seconds to brush my teeth, throw on clothes, and race to the N train in order to meet Kiks in Astoria. i was moderately hungover and hadn't slept until 4 a.m. (and even then i didn't get much sleep). clearly, there was no time for a shower and my face still had the remnants of my make-up from last night.

so not the appropriate attire to go apple picking. but there i was, at 10:15 a.m., riding the N train from Chinatown to meet Kiks at her apartment and drive up to Tarrytown to go apple picking. so was it worth it to drag my clearly hurting cracked-out ass so far up north just for some apples? TOTALLY.

Probably my favorite picture of the whole day.

Kiks and i went to this orchard last year (when i wasn't so hungover) and had a great time. plus, the whole idea of being outdoors and doing something other than drinking is so...refreshing. the apple cider and apple cider donuts are always amazing, since they fresh press and fresh bake everything on the premises. and this time, there were chocolate covered apple cider donuts. it was complete decadence, but so worth it.

on our drive over to the orchard, Kiks made a wrong turn off the highway and we ended up passing a bunch of eateries. the first one we passed was a restaurant called Grandma's. a quick google search revealed that the full name of this restaurant is Grandma's Pies & Restaurant, although you'd never guess that from seeing the restaurant itself. and i may be using the term "restaurant" a little loosely, as Kiks was quick to designate the establishment as a "diner" as opposed to a "restaurant".

all i can say is that this establishment is quintessentially grandma-ish. there are creepy grandma dolls and pictures placed all over the place, lots of old people and families with children, a kitschy decor of old-school maroons and browns, and just an all-over...grandma-feel to it. and the food is your usual not too healthy for your hamburgers, mac-and-cheese fare. although, it seemed like Grandma's was making a killing in the pie department. when you first step into the establishment, you're greeted with a display case of a variety of pies (fruit, cream, you name it), and i noticed many people stopping in to purchase pies, and diners paying their check and picking up a pie to-go.

the food at Grandma's is "meh," i wouldn't really call it grandma-worthy, but the jokes and comments about the name make it totally worth a trip. i kept getting the recurring image from the movie, The Sweetest Thing:

dates are a minefield of bizarre behavior

2011-09-26T10:07:00.002-04:00

yes, i've said it before and i'll say it again: dates are a weird cultural phenomena. and yes, i fully admit the possibility that it's just me. maybe i am ill-equipped for dates. but even if that IS the reality, i'm still going to try to plead my case as to why it's NOT just me.

Case study #1
Setting: Afternoon, happy hour drinks.

Time: 4:30 p.m.-changed to 5:00 p.m. because i was running very late.

Location: Cantina in Park Slope. which just proves my dedication because i actually traveled past my usual brooklyn zone-of-comfort.

CS1 was kind of cute, and not an awful conversationalist (i've met worse), BUT things took a turn south when it became blatantly apparent that CS1 was only looking for 1 thing. i don't think i have to elaborate on what that 1 thing is.

i guess i should be thankful that he was upfront about it, as opposed to attempting to get it in more devious ways. and i'm sure some girls appreciate the honesty and will find his slightly-cocky-flirtatious demeanor attractive. for me personally, i'll pass. these types of guys are sometimes fun if i meet them at a club and crowded bar around midnight or later. they're fun to flirt with, they pay for drinks, and, to their credit, they try very hard to get you on board with their "agenda." but, guys like these just seem skeevy and shmarmy at 4:30 in the afternoon on an actual date.

um, yea buddy, you can stop touching me and rubbing my thigh/lower back now. thanks.

Case Study #2
Setting: Evening, pre-dinner drinks.

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Location: Angel's Share in the East Village. we completely lucked out and got a table right away. or he did, since i was running late (again). great spot in the back right next to a giant window view, comfy velvet seats, intimate dim lighting from the candle on the table and the street lamps outside. bonus points for the location. o wait, i picked it out. so, just bonus points to myself?

CS2 was also attractive, in the skinny, dorky way that i DO find adorable. -1 for being korean, but +1 for not being a rigid korean since he grew up like me in a white suburb. possible -1 for being a frat boy (depending on how much beer pong references and "dudes" are dropped in the conversation).

CS2 is a nice guy, a little quiet, which is actually pretty endearing. plus, he's cute. and that can go a long way on a first date, particularly with a chatty cathy like me.

but it's not all peaches and cream. the date was exceptionally long (6-7 hours). i let it go on because i saw some potential AND i was crashing at a friend's house that night but he wasn't home from his wedding upstate yet. i could've gone to meet up with some other friends, but every time it seemed like the date was going to end, he seemed to want to continue hanging out, so i just went with the flow. long dates are good when you're so connected to someone that 7 hours feels like 2 hours. but when i start to feel a little sleepy on our date, that's not such a great sign.

and then there's CS2's extracurricular activity. i'm not going to go into particulars, but unless CS2's got a case of cancer or glaucoma, i don't think it's a legal activity. while i'm not judgmental about these things (you know what they say about people in glass houses), it's not a subject i broach with many people. particularly on a first date.

CS2 isn't completely out of the running right now, but there are some serious red flags.

AGAIN with the dream?

2011-08-27T12:37:00.001-04:00

as i've mentioned before, i get really disturbed when i have dreams about real people. don't ask me why, i really couldn't tell you. and it disturbs me more when it's people that i know in real life, but haven't seen in years. it's even more disturbing when it's someone i know in real life, haven't seen in years, and wasn't that close with to begin with.

because then i feel like a creeper.

a week ago, i had a really weird dream about a boy i went to high school with, let's call him MitsubishiG, and a girl i went to high school with, let's call her Tulip. MitsubishiG and Tulip were both a year older than me and had dated on-again-and-off-again in high school. they were the quintessential suburban-high-school-prom-king-prom-queen-footballer-cheerleader couple. i was briefly friends with MitsubishiG when i was freshman and he dated my friend for a few weeks but that ended when they broke up. after that, we never really travelled in the same circles again.

so here's what happened in my dream (from what i can remember): MitsubishiG and Tulip were married and had become C-list celebrities on a trashy reality show. they were a completely white-trash couple doing awful things for viewership and ratings. and the last thing i remember was they were getting renewed for a 2nd season and were releasing a sex tape.

weird, right? and not very nice either.

i can guess why i dreamed up the reality show part of it, because i'm pretty sure the last thing i'd watched on tv that night was the Jersey Shore. but it doesn't explain why i dreamed about these particular people. in fact, until that dream, i hadn't heard their names mentioned since college, if even then!

what also bothered me was why i dreamed that they were married. so of course, i spent a good 15 minutes facebooking and googling their names. as it turns out, MitsubishiG doesn't have a facebook page (there are still people like this out there? crazy). but Tulip has one.

and guess what? her name's no longer Tulip. it's Mrs. MitsubishiG.

not even for a minute

2011-08-23T09:22:00.002-04:00

speaking of nights i can't remember, i really have to remember to eat dinner when i'm drinking, otherwise i end up playing a game of "whodunnit" the next morning.

things were off to such a good start initially.

i made plans with Kiks to meet up after (finally) getting a haircut in Chinatown. our initial plan was to check out Smorgasburg so that we could eat while still being outside and enjoying the sunny weather. there was a street fair going on so we walked from Chinatown to Soho in order to check out a surf shop/coffee shop i had recently read about. yes that's right: a surf shop in NYC. that by itself is worth checking out. but add a backyard garden area for lounging? BONUS. Saturdays Surf NYC fits in perfectly in Soho as hipster and crunchy all at same time. yes, surfboards are cool. and coffee is cool. but the only reason i would have to go to Saturdays Surf NYC is the backyard patio area. super tranquil, spacious, yet cozy, you buy a coffee at the front of the store and meander your way to the back to sit on wooden benches with a friend and pretend to be hipper than you really are.

after coffee we made our way over to Filene's Basement in Union Square in order for Kiks to pick up some much needed intimates since she's lost so much weight that her old ones don't fit anymore (apparently Weight Watchers does work). at that point, Kiks was so hungry she couldn't even consider waiting and taking the L train to Williamsburg to eat at Smorgasburg, so we stopped for food at Crooked Tree instead for what i've heard are amazing crepes.

Crooked Tree is a tiny little place in the East Village. that supposedly serves up wunderbar crepes. although, now that i think about it, i've only heard rave reviews from ppl who went there after a night of drinking around 2 or 3 am. so maybe that would explain why the Spinach, garlic & hot pepper flakes ($6) and the Brie, plum tomato & arugala ($8) crepes Kiks and i ordered, while very sober, were just "meh." However, that being said, the sangria at Crooked Tree is definitely worth an afternoon trip. i'm not often a fan of white sangria, just like i'm not really a fan of white wine, but the selection offered at Crooked Tree, mixed with peach, passionfruit, and various other light, summer-y fruits, have made me change my mind (or at least that's what i'll order if i'm around there again).

with plenty of time to kill before our other friends finished their Saturday errands and met up with us, Kiks and i racked our brains to try and figure what we could do in the East Village on a sunny afternoon. i don't know what it reveals about us, but the only things we could think of involved establishments that didn't open until after 6 p.m. as luck would have it, Sixteen, happened to be only 2 blocks from where we were, watching a play that was being performed on 10th Street. i love when that happens. and if i lived in NY, it would probably happen more often.

within the half hour, we'd decided to head to Professor Thom's to watch the Yankees vs. Red Sox game. i've heard of the bar before, mainly because of DRC and BGA, both UMich alumni. so i was more than surprised when the waitress who came to take our drink order was decked out in head-to-toe Red Sox gear. Red Sox fan in NY? i commented on it, and was promptly informed i was currently situated in Red Sox Nation. i looked around and noticed all the Red Sox sports paraphernalia and realized it was true. who knew? only in NYC right?

the afternoon quickly downward spiraled into night as more and more peeps came out to join us. lots and lots of Dewars on the rocks. you can imagine what happened to me by the end of the night. by the time Newlyweds arrived, my rolling brownouts had started again. thank god they always have my back because apparently AM was making moves to try and get me and him to continue the night together. alone. which would not have been a good idea considering how NOT clear-headed i was.

Newlyweds decided to walk me over to Sixteen's apartment, with the two-fold intention of making sure i got there safely and also to shake off AM. but in true AM form, he refused to take the hint and tagged along, which prolonged the walk. a good side effect of the whole experience was i finally got to try Baohaus. if i'd been more sober, i would've ordered up a whole variety of baos to try. instead, even though i hadn't eaten dinner all night, i insisted i wasn't hungry and didn't order anything. which just goes to prove how drunk i was. luckily, Newlyweds had the foresight to order me a Chairman Bao, which was pretty tasty (from what i remember). the bao is nice and soft, as it should be, but the flavor derives directly from whichever filling you choose. The Chairman Bao consists of Berkshire pork belly topped with crushed peanuts, cilantro, haus relish, and Taiwanese red sugar. i wish i could tell you that i remember all those flavors, but i don't. all i can vouch for is that it was tasty.

after the baos, Newlyweds called an audible in order to rescue me from AM. they hailed a cab and pulled me in with them, then gave Sixteen's address to the cab driver. after we were 2 blocks away from where we'd just ditched AM, Newlyweds hopped out of the cab to take the subway back to their Brooklyn Heights apartment, leaving me in the cab to safely get to my destination. talk about sneaky and clever, all at the same time.

when i think about this night, i can't really say where/when it derailed into such a debaucherous event. nor can i calculate exactly when/what/which drink was the cause of the rolling brownouts. but it just goes to show you, you can't let your guard down, not even for a minute.

we all need a little bit sometimes

2011-08-17T11:53:00.002-04:00

"Me, I'm used to being tired and bloody
But you believed that I could be somebody.
You put your world on hold for me
Gave away to follow failure through the fire."

Hedley, For the Nights I Can't Remember

i don't know how this song came to be on my iPod, but every time i hear it, these particular lyrics always jump out at me. call me a hopelessly romantic sap (yes, pls, go ahead. i admit it), but that's what i want. in an ideal world, i would feel that passionately about somebody and they would feel that way about me. in an ideal world. which we (or at least I) don't live in.

i think it's this aspect of my personality that has allowed Door and i to remain in contact for all these years. Door was my 1st boyfriend ever. we're talking about 7th grade love here, if love when you were in 7th grade can really be called love at all. but for whatever reason, Door and i have managed to keep tabs on each other for the 10+ years since we first met. we don't talk every day, but instead randomly contact each other probably once a year, which lasts for about 1-3 wks, and then we fade back into the ether.

usually our communications coincide with some relationship crisis one of us is dealing with at the moment. and that is a dangerous game to play.

exes can play a crucial role in bolstering your own self-worth and appeal, pending of course that the relationship didn't end in a horrific ball of fire. because there was attraction in the first place (that's why you dated), to some degree it will always be there. in a nutshell: exes make me feel pretty. and everyone needs a little bit of that sometimes. even if you're the most confident mofo on the planet, it's still nice to get affirmation from others. and exes are a great go-to source.

but be forewarned, it's double-edged sword. never tread into ex-waters if you don't know how it will go or at least be prepared for the consequences. walk into an ex-situation blindly and you could end up battered and bruised, at least your ego anyways.

Male Minded

2011-08-09T11:57:00.000-04:00

ok, no joke, i seriously love this blog. yes, he's only 18 years old. but clearly smarter than half of the boys i've encountered in my life. or maybe he's just more naive. but either way, me likes it.

i definitely really relate to some of his posts. so, for the following, all credit to Jeremiah and all his hard work, with a little bit of me sprinkled into it.

i get called out all the time about this. yes, i refer to all of the male species as boys. and apparently, i'm not wrong. i'm glad to finally be vindicated!

this is a serious issue i have with some boys. ok, i get it. boys don't bitch as often. you guys are "he-men, womenhaters" (Lil' Rascals reference for those of you that got it) blah blah blah. i guess i'm just not as "strong" as you. and i like to talk about what's bothering me instead of just punching someone in the face or never speaking to them again. so why don't you just listen? or pretend to listen? and i mean you Gohm and OHenry.

this one's the reason i found Jeremiah's blog because Kiddo shared it on FB. and i laughed out loud when i read it because i know so many people who do this. and i might even do it myself though not often because i'm too lazy to type all those "y"s. but even when i'm too lazy to type the extra "y"s, in my head it still sounds like "heyyyy."

these i just like because they're cute. i'm a horrible texter unless it's an emergency or imperative to respond right away (like when you're coordinating meeting someone) so i don't think they really apply to me.

anyways, go check out his blog. since it's tumblr-form it's an easy read and if you don't enjoy it, then you can't be my friend. because i probably wouldn't like you anyways.

Single as a Dollar Bill

2011-08-05T09:21:00.001-04:00

i got totally CBed by my co-worker. true story.

ever since my firm announced it was thinking about "downsizing" an interesting situation began to develop in my office. the day after the partners informed us of this predicament, the other 2 associates and i all happened to be staying late and for once, all the partners had left the office already. while we've always had a professional relationship within the workplace, we had never attempted to carry that relationship outside of the office. since it looked like 1 of us would be terminated soon, we figured there was nothing to lose and decided we should all go out for happy hours together more often (or for the first time).

so the first Associates' Night Out was born.

one Friday night we found ourselves at the Famished Frog in Morristown. it'd been my suggestion to go since Morristown is located halfway between my house and work. plus, no matter how many years have passed, i know it's a popular happy hour spot. how do i know that? back when i worked at Pressler & Pressler when it was still located in Cedar Knolls, we often ended up there after work.

it's been a good 5 years since i've been back there but the Frog looked exactly the same. and the people were all exactly the same. but the truly unnerving part was when i saw some of my old co-workers from my P&P days. who were still working at P&P. and still coming to the Frog.

there had been an issue with our dinner check; when the tables were being moved away to make room for the band, we got moved along wit them but then we never saw our waitress again to get a dinner check or pay for our meal. i stepped outside while my co-workers, the good samaritans they are, attempted to deal with it.

a conversation ensued with myself and a group of people standing next to me. who all worked at P&P. for all the gripes i have about having worked there, i've got to admit, their employees know how to have a good time. probably because they're all fresh out of college. 1 guy i was talking to was an attorney at P&P, having graduated from Seton Hall the same year i finished at BLS. i commiserated with him about working for P&P and he attempted to convince me stick around to have a few more drinks with him.

i was contemplating the offer. after all, he was cute. that's when my co-workers arrived next to me. i made introductions and things quickly went south. my guy co-worker started to give the CuteAttorney a hard time about working at P&P and how that's not "really attorney work. come on." and he didn't stop.

no surprise that the conversation was kiboshed quickly. i can't believe my co-worker CBed me.

nobody nobody but you

2011-08-03T12:29:00.004-04:00

my new favorite outdoor destination for chatting and relaxing is the High Line. i know, i'm a johnny-come-lately to the High Line party, but better late than never, right?

Kiddo and i had dinner plans at Park Avenue Summer and since the weather was hot and sunny, i decided to spend some time with ArrangedMarriage and kill 2 birds with 1 stone by arranging to go to the High Line together. coincidentally, AM's apartment is very close to the High Line so it all worked out well.

the High Line is a great park to walk along with a friend/date and enjoy the tall views and interesting architecture and design of the park itself. there's also various spots to lay down and sunbathe, rest, or grab a seat to talk/eat. the key point is that while the park itself is interesting conversation fodder for about 10-15 mins, you'd best go there with someone you can hold a conversation with.

otherwise it's just........awkward.......silence.......

where you're acutely aware that there's an uncomfortable lull in conversation and now you're just walking with someone beside you looking at stuff and not talking. if i'd wanted to do that i could've just gone to the High Line myself. at least then i could've stopped and sat to observe the views and contemplate lofty thoughts instead of frantically trying to think of something to talk about with AM. he seriously doesn't like to make my life easy.

luckily, at the end of High Line is a new space called the Lot. we purchased some drink tickets and beer at the Lot on Tap and grabbed a seat on the long bench tables placed throughout the outdoor space. and we sat directly in front of the Korilla BBQ truck. it was one of the hardest temptations i've had to endure. i knew i was going to eat a 3-course dinner with Kiddo so i didn't want to spoil my appetite but the truck kept taunting me with yummy deliciousness. one day, Korilla, one day you WILL be mine.

a return trip on the High Line led us to Chelsea Market, which i haven't been to in years since i rarely find myself on the west side anymore. since i love all things food, it's no surprise i liked Chelsea Market. the trip also yielded gelate from L'Arte del Gelato, which, while pricey, gelato is always a treat.

i booked it uptown to meet Kiddo for our dinner reservation at Park Avenue Summer, which i was totally looking forward to. the last time i ate at Park Avenue was during the winter, and every winter Restaurant Week following that 1 time has had the same menu. come on now, really?! for a restaurant that's supposed to change with the seasons to serve the best food for that season, you'd think they'd also have a more innovative menu with each season. so you can imagine how amped i was to finally get to partake in a completely different tasting menu for the summer season.

i'm glad Kiddo is a seasoned RW eater like me so we know not to order the same foods if at all possible. that way we can get a wider range of options to sample. the meal was off to refreshing start when we were served with an amuse bouche of watermelon topped with goat cheese/creme fraiche foam. while the amuse itself was good, i wasn't overly impressed by the culinary prowess (aside from the foam part-i mean, i can cut watermelon too, but i admittedly cannot make flavored foam). but the presentation was adorable as little watermelon lollipops sprouting from a box of grass.

we ordered the Salmon Tartar and Potato Gnocchi with Summer Corn and Truffles as appetizers. the tartar was a nice and light option to counteract the creamy potato gnocchi which was laden with butter and cream. i could seriously taste the insane amount of butter that must've gone into that dish. but in that salty, buttery good way. i'm sure it's completely degenerate and unhealthy of me to say that, but i did it anyway.

as entrees Kiddo chose the Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs and i opted for the Scottish Salmon. the ribs were cooked to tender so you didn't really need a knife to eat it. and while it was good, i thought it was a bit sweet, but then again, that's why they're Dr. Pepper right? i was actually a bigger fan of the accompanying peach coleslaw it was served with which seemed a perfect summer side. and i love all things peach right now. the salmon was perfectly cooked so it was crispy on the outside but still moist and tender on the inside. i liked the accompanying cold cucumber side that came with it to help balance out the slight saltiness of the fish.

for dessert Kiddo smartly opted for the selection of sorbets, and there is quite a selection and you get to pick 2! i ordered the Peach Panna Cotta with Basil Foam which was pretty dense for a panna cotta but maybe what i think panna cotta is is not what it actually is. it was good, but Kiddo's dessert was clearly the winner, particularly on such a hot summer night.

afterwards, Kiddo had some time to kill before meeting up with (what would be) a very good date (wink wink, nudge nudge), so we went for drinks at K-town in K-town. this place has a seedy underbelly feel to it because it's downstairs with no natural light. but then you notice the giant projector screens are blasting kpop. i'm actually a big fan of this place because they do amazing soju happy hours everday. twice a day. Kiddo and i killed a bottle of soju and then parted ways.

speaking of kpop, as i was rushing towards my Park Avenue Summer reservation, i passed a slightly surly-looking but cute korean girl and did a double take. who to my surprise did i just walk past? Sohee of Wonder Girls! since she did not look happy and i was running late for my reservation, i didn't stop to gawk (too long), but i was super stoked and immediately had to Facebook the sighting for Stitch and GMW.

HEEEEY yooooou guuuuuys~

2011-07-25T10:44:00.007-04:00

mini-law school reunion in Richmond, VA! woot woot! SHOT SHOT SHOT, SHOTSHOT!

ok, so not quite that Jersey Shore-ish. but still fun nonetheless. haven't gone down to Richmond to visit BigBoobsMcGee and KappaGamma in a while so Kiddo, BGA, and i packed our bags and drove the 6 hrs down to Virginia for the weekend.

the drive down is always focused on 1 thing: when are we stopping at Chik-fil-A? there really is no other option since we're so Chik-fil-A deprived up in the north. we always get pretty amped when the "food" signs on the side of the highway start listing Chik-fil-A with the frequency of McDonald's. and since BGA had never had Chik-fil-A before, it sealed the deal as to where we would stop for dinner (we had been debating between Chik-fil-A or Sonic). and as BGA dug into his peach milkshake (with real peach fruit bits!) and his spicy crispy chicken sandwich, he had to admit, "hate tastes GOOD." for all of Chik-fil-A's religious, conversative, left-wing ideology and belief, it's some damn good food. which made Kiddo postulate the question, "i wonder what Nazi food tastes like?" if hate has a direct ratio to taste, i can only guess it was delicious.

NOM NOM NOM! hate tastes delicious!

we arrived in Richmond after 11 p.m. and drove straight to Cous Cous to meet up with the law school crew, which included KG, BBM, and Cubed, who had flown down from Boston. we drank and danced to 80s and 90s hip hop until the wee hours of...1:30 a.m. o yea, i forgot, we're not in NYC anymore. bars actually do have closing times and last calls.

Cous Cous was a pretty great bar, although i haven't been in such a packed, sweaty environment in a while. it was like a sauna in there, but the cheap drinks made up for it (a Jameson on the rocks and a Jack & diet=$11.00). not to mention the daebak fashion. guys wearing jean cutoffs/ jorts and multi-colored tank tops with flip flops? daaaaebak. although at 1 point i realized how young the crowd was: Whitney Houston's, "How Will I Know" came on and BGA, KG and i belted our hearts out in excitement, which prompted this exchange:

"Wow, looks like you guys really grew up with this song" says RichmondHipster next to me wearing a cutoff sleeves t-shirt, bandana/headband, and jorts.

"Uh...yeah! you DIDN'T?"

"No... but i remember my older sister blasting this song all the time!"

uh...how old are you? that's when i looked around the room and realized how young these Virginia hipsters were. my night out had also become an impromptu babysitting excursion. the girl behind me clearly did not like HipsterBaby talking to me and promptly wedged herself between us (it was really weird, she was practically leaning on me in order to push us apart). i wanted to tell her, "don't worry. i'm not after your HipsterBaby because while i was bopping around to Whitney and Debbie, he was still in diapers and pacifiers."

after the bar closed, we headed back to BBM's where Cubed promptly passed out. or was he? we all attempted to wake Cubed up. when KG tried, Cubed reacted violently by yelling "don't touch me! you're too hot!" and slid from the air mattress down to the floor in his endeavor to escape from her. and although Cubed acted as if he was dead to the world, yet when i threatened to molest him if he didn't wake up, all of a sudden a mischievous smile appeared on his face...suspicious. very suspicious.

KG, BGA and i were the only ones still awake and since i'd had the foresight to request Firefly be purchased from the liquor store before our arrival, we continued the night. i'm still surprised we killed a whole new bottle of Firefly in the time between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. it was a total slumber party with talks about boys and sex and other inappropriate sleepover topics.

the next morning was a much needed liquid brunch from Village Cafe. the food was ok, but the real winner was the drinks! anything non-alcoholic is served in a mini-pitcher! considering how dehydrated i was, this was the perfect remedy. and the bloody mary was pretty good too, particularly if you like them spicy.

the perfect liquid brunch. in order of hydration quality: water, diet coke, and bloody mary. i'd also wanted a milkshake (they looked epic) but was convinced by BGA to wait until after the meal...and then we forgot.

after brunch was a romp in the St. James River. meh. i've never been much of an outdoorsy/nature girl so after 30 mins the novelty of the river wore off. the boys on the other hand, loved it, as did BBM. KG on the other hand, is even more nature-phobic than me. it probably took a good 25 mins before she was even willing to enter the water. and she claims she's not high maintenance some times.

after the river, BBM, BGA, and i headed out to pick up dinner from Cook Out. daeeebak. amazing milkshakes in over 20+ flavors and super cheap and delicious barbecue, burgers, chicken. although i totally ordered wrong by opting for a burger cheddar style (1/4 lb. patty topped with bacon, cheddar, onions and mayo) instead of the barbecue sandwich (pulled pork north carolina style meaning coleslaw and hot sauce), it was still amazing and a whole meal was only $4.39 + $1 for a specialty shake instead of a soda. you must go there now.

trouble started when we stopped at 7-11 for provisions. all of a sudden, BBM's car wouldn't start. now, although BBM, BGA, and i are all functioning and well adjusted adults, none of us knew jack about cars. and then the most amazing thing happened: a random stranger came over and asked BBM to pop her hood and began helping us!! i shit you not. when the hell does that ever happen?

turns out BBM needed to jump her battery but no one had jumper cables. fortuitously, we had broken down across the street from a car dealership so BGA and i trekked over to humbly request to borrow their jumper box. as the salesman handed us the jumper box, he said he needed us to leave some collateral like a wallet, purse, etc. which makes perfect sense to BGA and myself and we started to reach for something to leave with him. except he was kidding! whaaa?!?! you mean you'll let us just walk off with this piece of equipment and trust that we'll bring it back?

BGA and i just looked at each other in disbelief. where the hell were we? ohhhhh, right. we're in the South.

crisis averted, we brought the food home and all sat down to dinner, during which we realized BGA has not seen any of the classic 80s movie e.g. Pretty in Pink, Better Off Dead, Breakfast Club, Princess Bride, Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Goonies, etc. since we had made a liquor and beer run, we decided to bunk down for the night and watch Goonies and Princess Bride.

p.s. Goonies drinking game. daeeebak.

p.p.s. BGA didn't like (and might even hate) Princess Bride! i know! INCONCEIVABLE!

Which Seth Meyers Was It?

2011-07-17T12:03:00.005-04:00

ugh. every time my 18 year old sister gets action, she posts it on her tumblr. whenever i see it i have three simultaneous reactions:
1. nausea and revulsion (i'm considering them 1 single reaction)
2. trauma
3. the urge to severely harm/castrate the guy who's doing it

::involuntary convulsion & shudder:: in order to prevent myself from suffering PTS and facing assault and battery charges, let's talk about something else...

Kiddo and my NOM NOM faces!

ARGH!! of course they stamp my passport on top of other stamps i've received instead of using a new page. i'm always trying to fill up my passport pages. FAIL.

it's been ages since i actually travelled anywhere, mainly because it's so hard to get people's schedules coordinated and nobody really has the funds (although sometimes i think that's a crock. we can spend $600 in a month on god-knows-what but can't spend that same money on a vacation? BOOOO). so when Kiddo mentioned he wanted to get away, i jumped on the opportunity. after much discussion and internet price comparing, we agreed on an all-inclusive long weekend in Playa del Carmen.

apparently everyone was in the same mindset as us because Oppa went to Playa del Carmen the week before us, and Spoon was actually in Playa del Carmen the same weekend as us. what are the odds?

i had all these lofty ideas for the vacation that were promptly thrown out the window when i contracted acute pharyingitis the week of the trip. go figure. but i (wo)man-ed up, got myself some antibiotics, and continued on my way. of course, not being able to breath without coughing up a lung immediately nixed any ideas of snorkeling, cenotes, and hiking. but it didn't preclude laying on the beach and tanning. so all wasn't lost.

Mexico greets you with Hugs and Kisses on every corner!

Kiddo's first Eggs Benny!

arriving at the airport is always an exciting part of a trip for me because it signals the official start. the airport is your gateway to a new destination. and from check-in until your plane lands, the entire time is spent building up your anticipation and excitement for the trip itself. not to mention all the fun distractions they have e.g. the Nintendo 3DS kiosk. Kiddo also ate his first Eggs Benedict! i can't believe he's lived these past 26 years without ever having eaten it-and even weirder that his first time was at the airport.

I have no idea what "Watkins" tastes like, but the bottle's cool, no? And then Kiddo and i tried to photograph something else and was scolded by airport security...

the JetBlue flight on the way to Mexico was comfy since Kiddo and i had a whole row to ourselves. being 5 ft 2, i don't worry too much about sitting space since i don't need too much of it. however, it was while looking at Kiddo that i realized exactly how spacious the JetBlue seats really are. Kiddo's at least 6 ft (i think-then again, anyone over 5'8 is a giant to me) and he still had plenty of space.

Amazing art and artist using spray paint and fire.

Playa del Carmen itself was, as expected, beautiful and the vacation was a well needed moment of rest and relaxation. if i hadn't contracted the Bubonic Plague, i would have loved to have gone snorkeling and hiking Tulum and all those activities. however, simply laying about on the beach and taking dips in the ocean sufficed for this trip; and gives me a reason to go back...

Cigar rolling on 5th Ave. Ahh, the smell of grandpas around the world (in a good way)

See the monkeys in the tree?

i have no regrets about this trip except for 1: when we arrived at the airport and made our way out to the taxi and shuttle stands, i noticed a car service holding up a sign that said: SETH MEYERS/CANCUN. i immediately thought of this person:

Isn't he an SNL cutie?

whereas Kiddo immediately thought of him:

The name is Seth MacFarlane, Kiddo!

except, in doing my research for this picture, i realized the creator of Family Guy is called Seth MacFarlane, not Seth Meyers. so although i'd wondered, "which Seth Meyers was in Cancun the weekend of May 25th?" it turns out it was all for naught.

and now the title to this post makes very little sense...

Summer Lovin'

2011-07-13T14:04:00.002-04:00

it's always interesting how time can give you rose-colored glasses, regardless of what it is (a relationship, a friendship, college, high school, childhood).

this clearly applies to summer in the city. plenty of people i know are complaining about the unbearable heat, lack of A/C, the crowded tourists, etc., but for me, i'm completely in love with summer in the city. granted, it's not as great as fall (in my opinion), it's still up there.

and even if i'm drenched from head to toe in sweat from the 90+ degree weather outside and the 100+ degree weather in the subway station, i wouldn't trade it for anything. because the outdoor restaurant and bar seating, the open rooftops, the multitude of food and ice cream trucks, the endless free events, the multiplication of people outside walking, the ability to be outside in the summer sun, are all worth my slight uncomfortablness due to the heat.

i'm sure i never appreciated summer in the city the way i do now. ::sigh:: absence does make the heart grow fonder...

Kpop Extravaganzaaaa!

2011-07-05T11:23:00.000-04:00

Happy July 4th! er...after the fact.

i haven't had any one-on-one face time with Kpopper in a long time. yes, i saw her for my birthday party (which, as you know, i can only hazily remember) and at Oppa's birthday party, but it's just not the same. so i was super excited to spend some QT with Kpopper on July 3rd.

here's how it went down:

[TEXT MESSAGE FROM KPOPPER] you wanna go to nrb?

[TEXT MESSAGE FROM KPOPPER] we an buy mgl & beer.

[TEXT MESSAGE FROM KPOPPER] and bring it.

if you're wondering what "nrb" and "mgl" mean, you're not alone. i was the recipient of these texts and didn't figure it out right away. in Kpopper text-language, "nrb" means norebang (the korean word for karaoke) and "mgl" means makgeolli (korean rice wine). i figured out the "mgl" right away but it took me a good 15 mins to decipher "nrb." and googling the term didn't help.

we made a whole day out of it, "day" meaning i got to Kpopper's house around 2:30 in the afternoon (i was supremely late. my bad). first off was a round of shopping at Woodbury Commons, which i haven't been to in a year, maybe more. the weather was amazing so it was just nice to be doing something outdoors where i can pretend i'm getting a tan and being active. i'm still regretting not buying these shoes. it's been tormenting me...

Not EXACTLY this pair, but very similar.

after the shopping spree we headed out for my first meal ever in Palisades Park aka Pal Park for koreans and people born in NJ. since we'd eaten a late lunch, we weren't particularly hungry so we opted against korean bbq and instead went for naeng myun, figuring it had been a hot day and cold noodles would be refreshing and light. silly me.

You Chun in Pal Park is pretty famous for its naeng myun. so i wasn't surprised Kpopper brought me here without me even suggesting it. we both decided on the mool naeng myun which is the standard noodles in cold broth. when you sit down at the table, the server brings you a big thermos and 2 cups. however, don't be fooled into thinking there's water or hot tea in there. it's actually filled with a savory hot soup. while it feels weird to drink it when there's no food on the table, it makes perfect sense once the naeng myun appears. alternating between hot and cold is somehow comforting and delicious.

in addition to the noodles, Kpopper suggested bindae duk which are korean mung bean pancakes. i'd never ordered them before, instead sticking to the tried and true haemul pajeon or kimchi pajeon. however, i'd recently watched an episode of Running Man where the mission was to round up the top late night snack foods, and bindae duk ranked within the top 10, so i was definitely intrigued and glad to try it. the bindae duk at You Chun came out piping hot and was crispy on the outside but still very chewy and soft on the inside. so so good.

although the prices at You Chun aren't exactly cheap, $10.95 for the standard sized mool naeng myun, the portions are ginormous. i barely made a dent in my bowl, causing Kpopper to mock me and suggest i order the petite size next time. i brought the leftovers home (which made Kpopper's car super smelly) and ate them the next day. surprisingly, the noodles and broth held up well, remaining chewy and maintaining their texture, which isn't usually the case when noodles have sat soaking in soup.

next on the Pal Park tour was a stop at Coffee Prince. in korean this place is clearly called Coffee Prince, modeled after the korean drama series. but if you look carefully on the wall, you'll see that in english they translate it into Tiramisu Cafe. weird. regardless, the cafe's actually really nice and if i was an unemployed writer/student that lived nearby, i would definitely make it my base camp. plus, the server was a tall, good-looking asian guy (honestly, he was probably korean given where we were, but i don't want to assume. you know what they say when you do that).

we got a prime seat near the giant, floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking Broad Street, which turned out to be a more entertaining spot than i'd anticipated. across the street, directly at my eye-level was an apartment with it's blinds open and lights on. at first i'd just glanced into the apartment and wondered what those people were up to tonight. they were all sitting around the dining room table, just hanging out. one guy had his foot hanging out the window while he reclined in a chair. nothing too interesting. right when our server dropped off our coffees, i saw the guy and the girl in the apartment start making out. hardcore. pressing her against the wall and everything. WHOA! this just got a little more exciting... and then more and more people just started popping up. i was completely mesmerized by the happenings in this apartment and my brain was frantically trying to figure out what the hell was going on. it was like a car accident i couldn't peel my eyes away from. or a good fight outside of a club in NYC at 3 a.m.

properly energized by our latte and espresso, Kpopper and i headed off to norebang. with just the 2 of us. i've never gone karaoke-ing with 2 people. it seems to go against the very spirit of the activity. but i think it works great for Kpopper because she really just wants to practice all the korean kpop songs she's learned. it was a hilarious and impressive sight to watch Kpopper accurately sing 2PM and SS501, especially considering she's chinese. i mumbled and stumbled along the way with her realizing that although i listen to a buttload of kpop songs and can sing along with them in the car, it's totally different when i don't have someone to sing along to who can mask all my poor pronunciation and made-up words.

however embarassing that was, i still don't think i have the same dedication to kpop that Kpopper does to bother to learn the phonetic pronunciation for a whole song. i'll just continue to belt out made-up similar sounding words in the car.

Recession Eating Frenzy

2011-07-01T09:58:00.002-04:00

i love my friends. i love my food. i love my drinks. i love when all my loves come together.

unfortunately, that's not always possible. while i wish we were more creative in our ideas for outings, my friends and i tend to be limited in our activity choices: drinks and food. but not all my friends have the funds to support constant $10 drinks and $12 snacks (for itty bitty portions). being conscious of this, i've become more attuned to food and drink deals as a way to combine all my loves together.

this Saturday i met with Bubby for Jin's happy hour deal, which runs every day from 4-7 p.m. The deal consists of a set menu where everything is only $3: this includes a nice variety of maki rolls and appetizers, as well a multitude of drinks including house sakes, beers (Kirin, Sapporo, Hoegarden etc.), and wines. the $3 drinks were the real reason i picked Jin (yes, i harbor an inner lush if you haven't already figured it out).

after ordering 3 maki rolls (eel avocado, spicy tuna crunch, alaska), a hiyayakko tofu appetizer, 4 cold sakes and 4 Kirin Ichiban drafts, the total amount per person was $24 including tip. not bad at all considering i was tipsy and Bubby was "a little bit drunk, i'm not gonna lie" (said with that universal lopsided smile that all drunk people exhibit).

clearly we weren't the only people who knew about Jin's happy hour special. when i showed up a little after 6 p.m., the place was packed. i was sat at the only table available at the time, which was a tiny 2-person table wedged extremely close to a very tall bamboo plant and only 6-8 feet away from the bathroom. while people usually complain about sitting close to the bathroom, i don't actually mind it so much as long as the bathroom's not smelly (which it wasn't). plus, it's not like i could actually see into the bathroom at any point. it wasn't that close. seeing a toilet while eating would be a no-no for me. on this particular occassion, being close enough to the bathroom was a blessing in disguise because drinking all that sake and beer made it so i had to make more than 1 trip to the lavatory so it was nice not to have to go far.

afterwards, Bubby and i headed uptown to Valhalla, a beer bar located in Hell's Kitchen. holy beer selection on draft.

although i'm not the biggest beer fan, even i have to admit that there's bound to be something at Valhalla that will tickle your fancy. and the bartender is very helpful in accomodating your tastes. so when Bubby and i decided to share a flight with the simple instructions, "we don't really like dark beers or ales. more summery and light?" she came up with a more than suitable flight ($23).

it being Gay Day, it was perfect that we were at Valhalla for Bubby's classmate's birthday party who is very of the same-sex persuasion. and totes hitting on Bubby. which she loves. although she may not be same-sex oriented (at least not soberly), she still loves the flirting. then again, who doesn't?

2 beer flights later, Bubby was drinked-out. we decided to head down to St. Marks for some cheap snacks and ended up on Bleecker St. after some bad navigation on my part, we ended up going to Great Jones Cafe instead. i can't believe i've never eaten here before.

great hole-in-the-wall Southern restaurant. i only say it's a hole-in-the-wall because it's completely camouflaged from the street. if you didn't know about it before going there, you definitely wouldn't think the indescript restaurant was housing such great southern food.

Bubby was clearly on a food mission and quickly made the command decision to order the Wings. spicy, messy heaven. the came out piping hot and really hit the spot. and since i clearly wasn't going home with anyone sitting at our table (it was just Bubby, me, and BDayGirl), getting wing sauce all over my face and fingers was perfectly acceptable. we also split an order of the Lamb Po' Boy, which was extremely tender and flavorful lamb served with salty shoe string french fries.

it's been a while since i've done the drunken late night munchie but Great Jones Cafe was a great way to do it up and end the night.

Arranged Marriage

2011-06-29T14:36:00.003-04:00

all my life, i have been very careful what i reveal to my family about my romantic life.

coming from an Asian family, on top of which i'm a daughter in an Asian family, means i face certain traditional notions associated with dating and boys. here are a few rules i live by.

Rule One: never inform any family member about who you may be dating: this is a rule every Asian daughter should abide by if you are from a traditional Asian family. there are multiple reasons for this:
1. everyone has a different definition of the word "dating." it's broad enough to mean a serious relationship, casual (closed), and casual (open). with traditional parents, when you introduce a significant other to them, they see it as "serious relationship" and "marriage." if you're not sure that you're going to marry this person, do not bring him/her home to parents.

2. if you made the mistake of bringing 1 person to the parents and that relationship ended, you better hope that person was actually so awful that they set the bar low. if they were great, you're screwed. because any person you introduce after that will always be measured against that 1 "perfect" person. and if your next significant other doesn't match up (in terms of job, looks, personality, or manners), you'll never hear the end of how you let "the good one" get away.

3. if you introduce more than 2 people to your family, you run the risk of looking "easy." they start questioning whether you're a little too "loose" in the morals department because you've been hopping from relationship to relationship. or, they start wondering whether you've got low standards because all the people you've been dating have been so "meh." or, they start thinking there's something wrong with you because you keep getting dumped by significant others.

it's just a traditional Chinese nightmare. which i choose to avoid. i've had only 3 instances when i broke this cardinal rule:

FIRST, when i got spotted by my grandma meeting MissionImpossible for a date while in Taipei. although i wasn't actually dating MI, i think that just made it worse. and the fact that MI had a girlfriend at the time didn't reflect well on me either. can we just chock it up to the impetuous of youth?

SECOND, after i came home from my junior year abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland. Papoose came to visit me in September and my grandma's bday happened to be during his visit so i was required to bring him with me to her bday dinner and we stayed over at my parent's house in NJ for that night. (why is my grandma involved in both of these? weird.)

THIRD, when i was dating Gohm. actually, Gohm's never met my parents. even while we were dating i was very particular about them not meeting and i'd explained to him why. in addition, i probably always knew, deep down, that Gohm and i would never get married since i'm not korean (i know, what a stupid reason. trust me, it wasn't the only one. but it was the one that would never go away or be resolved) so i knew i could never introduce him to them. however, Gohm, perhaps because he's the only son in a korean family, was the exact opposite of me. he always wanted to make his presence known to my parents by buying them Christmas gifts and wanting to take them out to dinner. so in turn, i became uncharacteristically comfortable talking to my parents about him. so even though they never actually met him, it feels like they did in spirit.

as another compelling reason to avoid involving family in your romantic life, is my current situation, which i refer to as "My Arranged Marriage."

to be clear: it's not actually an arranged marriage.

a few months ago, GreatAunt (one of the matriaches of our family in NJ), wanted me to meet the son of one of her friends. although warning lights immediately started flashing, there was no way i could say no due to her position in our family. so i politely acquiesced and made the requisite efforts to coordinate a date with ShyGuy, which we went on. no immediate sparks, but a nice guy nonetheless.

after the date, i received the expected phone call from GreatAunt inquiring how the date went. i responded politely that he seemed like a nice guy and we would see what happens. since that time i'm constantly bombarded with comments from my mom who keeps getting phone calls from GreatAunt, asking when i'm going to go out with ShyGuy again, how he's such a good guy (good job, good height, good family) and thus great marriage material, and that ShyGuy seems to have taken an interest in me and i should be more proactive.

it's a lot of pressure.

everyone keeps trying to "nudge" us together. and they're starting to push some very sensitive buttons for me (my age, my current relationship status, my weight). and sometimes they're really good at it...

Last Night I Let the Party Get the Best of Me...

2011-06-27T13:07:00.003-04:00

"No drivin', no sleepin'
Live it up like it's the weekend
When the DJ play the right song
Gon' drink, gon' party all night long"

-Wiz Khalifa, "No Sleep"

i could've used this blogpost title for 2 weekends that happened in close proximity to each other. i had to think hard about for which one it was more apropos. (is that the correct way to use that term? i know i've read/heard it used before but can't remember the grammatical context. i'm just impressed i remembered a new vocab word.)

remember a while ago i said i was planning a bday party? well, i've finally gotten over my embarassment about that day and can now share it with you with a devil-may-care-i'll-just-chalk-it-up-to-my-pre30s-hijinxes attitude. i mean, it wasn't that bad...

the day started with me scrambling to get to ChubbyBunny's bday party, because, as expected, i was running late. i parked the car in Jersey City and hopped the PATH and one very long 1 train subway ride later, i was finally at Boat Basin Cafe. BTWs, the place is great but a little scary to get to. you have to cross a highway and walk under a stone bridge and just feel all-around-sketch before getting to a great outdoor space on the water. the weather was damp and gray that afternoon so it was no surprise that the place wasn't packed. i had arrived too late to eat any snacks that been laid out but it's never too late to get a drink. there was a little make-shift bar set up to cater to ChubbyBunny's party which was great, except it was cash bar only. luckily i had $8 on me so i got a drink ($4+tip i think) and chatted with DoE who had flown from Cali to attend ChubbyBunny's bday.

the party was only supposed to last until 3 p.m. and i had arrived a little after 2 p.m. whenever i come into the city i always make it a point to pack in as many events & people as possible since i rarely come in during the week. on this particular day i'd made plans to meet a family friend for drinks after ChubbyBunny's bday during the 2 hour window before dinner with friends.

of course, once alcohol comes into the picture, the idea of a set schedule is always the first casualty.

after a second drink (the bartender took pity on me and allowed me to purchase my scotch on the rocks with my paltry remaining $3=LOVE), i raced downtown to Rye House with DoE, DoE's college roommate, and DoE's college roommate's boyfriend (got all that?) in tow to meet with FamilyFriend. i was over an hour late. and starting to get a little tipsy...

i'd suggested Rye House because i was pretty curious about the place. i'd heard good things about their food, and, looking at the drink menu, it seemed like the kind of spot that guys and girls would like (meaning a variety of "manly" whiskeys and "girly" mixed cocktails). i was also pretty in love with how chill it was when we arrived. the place wasn't crowded at all, so we got one of the long tables/booths on the side. the wooden and marble decor makes the place feel local and classy. hovering on hipster/trendy but never crossing the line. then again, i wasn't there on a weekend night at 11 p.m., so who knows.

Love the proper ice cube. they serve "rocks" the way they're supposed to be: large ice cubes so the drink doesn't get too watery right away.

i ordered a Ballantine on the rocks ($8), which was the cheapest scotch they had on the menu. if i didn't have dinner plans in 30 mins, i might have ordered something else i could savor, but in light of the circumstances, i just went for something easy. they do have a lot of nice options and i'll have to go back some other time when i can leisurely enjoy it.

in addition, and realizing the liquid night i had ahead of me, i ordered Fried Pickles ($6) to nosh on with our drinks. they came out piping hot and crispy. with the 6 of us, the small order was gone within 3 seconds of it landing on our table.

after 2 Ballantines and a slew of text messages, i raced to my dinner reservations at Paprika. i don't know why i thought West 17th was so close to 1st Ave that i could easily arrive in 10 mins. it's not. so of course i arrived about 30 mins late to my own dinner reservation. so here's a list of my bad behavior up to this point in the night:

1. arriving late to ChubbyBunny's bday party.
2. arriving an hour late to meet FamilyFriend at Rye House.
3. sitting for 30 mins with FamilyFriend after he waited for over an hour before abandoning him with people he didn't know.
4. in my haste to get to Paprika, i forgot to leave money for my drinks and food at Rye House.
5. arriving 30 mins late for my own dinner reservation with 6 friends waiting for me.
6. arriving very tipsy to dinner.

by the time i arrived at Paprika, i was definitely not sober. of course, you never realize this yourself. but it was apparently obvious to my friends, which they informed me when i spoke to them later that week. so i wish i could provide a detailed description of my dinner, but... it was all a little hazy. it's like watching a movie with the sound off. i remember what i ordered (Beef Carpaccio and Lobster Maccheroni) and i remember eating them. i also remember drinking red wine. and that's it.

::sigh:: i am too old to be having nights like this. yes, it was my birthday dinner, but birthdays are not free license to act like an asshole. although my friends all lovingly advise me that that is exactly what birthdays are for, that's just because they're my friends. they also kindly advised me i was not an asshole, but again, they're my friends. it's not that rolling brown outs make people act shitty, but i didn't like that i couldn't recall what happened when the check came. i know my friends took care of it, but how did i behave? did i politely offer to contribute or did i sit back with an air of entitlement to the whole ordeal? i have a sneaking suspicion it was latter vs. the former. and that is not acceptable.

luckily, the electricity came back on in my brain after we left Paprika and i remember us walking to Central Bar for the party portion of the night. on the way, we stopped at Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert and snacks. i remember nibbling at other Kpopper's and She's snack and thinking "yummy" but again, what is was i tasted is a mystery.

we had a table reserved upstairs at Central and i pretty much stayed rooted to my seat the whole night, with magical scotches on the rocks appearing in front of me in 30 minute intervals (hooray for my friends!). it was a great birthday night, rolling brown outs excluded, and i loved that all my friends were there. i remember all of you being there even if i can't remember every conversation we had.

some drama happened much much later in the night (or morning) which resulted in me making a hasty decision to stay at a friend's place and waking up the next morning extremely hungover in the middle of Chinatown. but that's a story too scandalous/embarassing to share on a blog...

the Strong Silent Type

2011-06-11T10:26:00.002-04:00

ok Won Bin, you got me. i have officially hopped on the Won Bin train.

i took my sweet time getting around to watching Ahjussi 아저씨 aka The Man from Nowhere. i'd heard it was a good movie, top grossing in Korea and blahbitty blah etc. however, when i heard that my guy cousins were falling all over themselves in love with it, i got slightly turned off about seeing the movie. in the same way that guys are in love with Old Boy 올드보이, their extreme passion about it makes my latent rebellious side refuse to watch it out of some perverse refusal to follow the trend. plus, it's slightly weird how devoted the male species is to that movie. also, since i wasn't a rabid Won Bin fan, i wasn't particularly enthusiastic about watching Ahjussi.

but now that i've watched the film, i've got to admit: it's good. REALLY good. the action scenes were great to watch in that they're the kind that i like. not crazy machine guns and car explosions but more close, hand-to-hand combat in small spaces. one of my favorite fight scenes that i always watch when it's on tv is from The Bourne Identity: when Matt Damon, while suffering from amnesia, all of a sudden discovers he's skilled with hand-to-hand combat by taking out 2 German police officers that stop him in the park. so cool. and that's similar to what the action sequences are like in Ahjussi. Won Bin's character is calm and collected and extremely focused in his single-minded mission throughout the movie. and after he cut his hair in the second half of the movie and flashed some shirtless scenes, i had purchased my ticket aboard the Won Bin express. CHOO-CHOO!

speaking of all things korean, i recently found out from MrsOppa and Kiddo that Pandora's added k-pop to their playlists. say what?! when did k-pop become so mainstream? although, since i'm chinese and avidly listen to k-pop, i guess i really shouldn't say anything...

Kiddo discovered Big Bang's Hands Up through Pandora. of all of Big Bang's songs, Hands Up isn't my favorite but that might just be because the group has SO MANY hit songs to choose from. so, in honor of Kiddo's discovery, i'll share some of my Big Bang recs.

since i don't want to seem like too much of a teenybopper fan, i'll limit it to these 2: a new album song, Cafe, and a classic, Lies. Enjoy!

Not Exactly Breakfast at Tiffany's

2011-06-06T17:16:00.000-04:00

ugh. i am suffering from the worst crick in my neck ever. that's what i get for falling asleep while propped on 2 pillows, watching tv. so much pain right now.

i apologize for my lack of updates but for some reason, i haven't been too keen to write about what i've been up to. not because of a lack of events, but more like it could be embarassing to share them. when i stop grimacing every time i think back on them, THEN i'll write about them. until then though, i hope you'll continue to stick around.

last weekend i finally met up with Spoon for some snacks and drinks. this has been a long time coming since we've been making "intentions" to meet up but just never follow through. clearly we should be in touch more often as i found out during drinks that Spoon was in Playa del Carmen the same weekend i was! i can't believe the coincidence. if only i had been more diligent about keeping up with communications...

Spoon graduated 1 year before me from Pace Law School and has been feeling the employment effects in this current struggling economy. while she's had a few employers since she graduated, it seems like most of them were very small firms or solo practitioners that weren't able to keep her for an extended period of time (and they were definitely getting her at an already bargain rate). Spoon's in another transition period and has decided to solo practice while waiting to land at her next firm.

solo praction-ing takes some serious courage. especially since we're so young (relatively) and don't have anything close to a decent book of business (if we have any at all). Spoon's in the midst of getting a website running and has received a few cases based on referrals from friends and former co-workers. it's a minimal-commitment operation since Spoon doesn't intend to spend the capital to invest in a full-blown solo practice but i have to give her props for not just sitting around waiting for someone to respond to her resume.

this conversation all took place at Tiffany's, a local bar in my hometown that opened up some time when i was in high school. somehow, i've been able to resist its allure (insert sarcasm here). so why did i find myself here on friday night?

Spoon happened to read in the NJ Law Journal that Tiffany's is being sued in a civil suit. the facts are pretty interesting: the defendant was convicted of a DUI and is being sued in civil court for damages by someone hurt in the accident that occurred while the defendant drove under the influence. the defendant has successfully third-partied Tiffany's, the bar that served him before he got into the accident, under the Dram Shop statute (which, in relevant part, states bars can't serve visibly intoxicated people). i hadn't read the case but had glanced at a blurb that the partner in my firm sent me. in commemoration of the article, Spoon suggested Tiffany's as our drinking spot.

yes, Tiffany's screams local, and it's parking lot was deceivingly packed in comparison to the customers inside the place. the snack foods were "meh" (stop double frying fries!) and the drinks were surprisingly pricey (at least my Dewar's on the rocks was. $8? who do you think you are Tiffany's?) but, the draw of local bars isn't the food or drinks. it's the drama. there's something so shamefully fun about witnessing the drama that always unfolds at local bars. someone always gets a little too drunk, there's always a fight or at least shouting and bouncers in action.

and tonight was no exception. right before Spoon and i decided to head home, we saw the biggest meathead, equipped with "guns" blazing in his too-tight t-shirt with sleeves cut off, start screaming at the bartender about his $250 tab. $250? at a local bar? what the hell was this guy drinking? and, more likely, how many drunken rounds did you buy?

the screaming started with him claiming he only ordered 6 drinks. it later became 2 rounds. and then it was actually 2 rounds of shots. at some point he demanded to see "John" (the manager he knows by first-name of course), and the matter was shushed into the side office. Spoon and i were DYING to get a peek at that bar tab to see exactly what this guy had ordered, but alas... it will have to remain one of the great unsolved mysteries.

but props to Tiffany's for not disappointing me.

Life Plans

2011-05-25T11:28:00.002-04:00

i sometimes forget my age.

not because i'm senile or wish i was younger (ok, maybe the latter part). i know i'm getting older, but i tend to forget the actual number that quantifies my age because, honestly, not much has changed for me since i was 26ish. hmm, i don't know if that's good or bad. since i'm in a good mood, i'll go with the former vs. the latter.

aside from the fact that it takes me a full day to recover from hangovers and my growing aversion to clubs and the Meatpacking District, nothing's really changed for me. or at least, it doesn't feel like anything's changed.

but no matter how much i want to ignore or deny it, when one of my best friends from childhood gets married, i have to face the music that i'm getting old.

and i'm still single. *cue 60 minutes stopwatch ticking sound getting louder in the background*

*brushing aside fears and moving on* i've known IJB since we were in nursery school, although i don't remember her from then. i remember actually becoming friends when i began attending public school in fourth grade. or was it third grade? yikes. maybe i am becoming senile.

regardless, if you map the trajectory of IJB's life, it's been pretty storybook. it's the kind of life parents tell their kids to pursue. she attended Wellesley College and then med school at GW, graduating this past May. Now she's at Brown University for her residency. phew, actually writing all that made me even prouder of her for all her accomplishments.

but academics and career achievements aside, IJB's also been blessed in love. before graduating in May, she got married to her also-a-doctor-extremely-tall-handsome husband. IJB's the first of my close, same-aged friends to get married which made it even more touching and surreal at the same time.

IJB had the wedding and reception at the Madison Hotel in Morristown which is a gorgeous and classic looking hotel and apparently a popular choice for NJ weddings (someone else i know had their wedding there about 8 mths prior).

IJB and Papa IJB father-daughter dance

the ceremony and reception was elegant and had a lot of IJB's personal touches. their theme was the movie Up, and instead of the traditional guest sign-in book, IJB had hand-drawn the house from the movie with various colored ink-pads for people to stamp their thumbprint and initial to represent the balloons that lift the house up. how creative is that?!

Yep, the bride DREW this.

another adorable touch was the centerpieces on each table: IJB had gathered quotes and wedding pictures from various couples and each table displayed a different couple and their quote as centerpieces.

aside from celebrating and sharing in the joyous occassion that is the bride and groom's nuptials, the best part of weddings is the food and drinks. open bars have become a standard for weddings, and IJB's was no exception. as for hors d'oeuvres, there was a nice selection, although Mrs.VW was cracking me up the way she was chasing down all the waiters. i don't think a single hors d'oeuvre escaped her that night. the food at the Madison Hotel is good in its own right, and i loved that IJB's menu had a little Italian mixed into it with all the pastas and antipasto, although i'm not sure it was intentional but i like to believe it was.

Yum cake!

Holy Bananas Foster. I could've eaten 5 of these, if propriety allowed.

when it's the right crowd, it can be quite the party. IJB's wedding was the perfect balance of initimate and endearing while at the same time fun and rambunctious. i could wax on nostalgic about all the great things about IJB's wedding but pictures speak for themselves so i'll just share those instead.

I thought they were going to drop them!

Bridesmaids on the loose!

Bringing Mom Home

2011-05-09T12:36:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day (and similarly, Father's Day)are always difficult holidays for me. Honestly, any event involving honoring or displaying "thankfulness" are hard for me. What exactly do you give someone to really show them that you love and appreciate them? Can any thing actually do that?

parents are particularly hard. they are the people you owe the most to and who do the most for you. i don't care what you say, it's true. yes, sometimes (or often times)they annoy you, frustrate you, and irritate you, but, it's always out of love. and while you may forget that sometimes, their birthday and nationally recognized holidays are the few days that you absolutely can't forget. in fact, you're forced to recognize it.

i pondered real hard for what to get my mother this Mothers' Day. she's had a pretty rough 2010-2011 having dealt with her illness and treatment, recent diagnosis of diabetes, a tax return crisis involving Prudential, and taking care of all the kids (my cousins + my overly rebellious sister + even me, sometimes). somehow, jsut giving her stuff didn't seem appropriate, particularly since Mom never really needs anything (except for perhaps a live-in maid or weekly maid service-ooo, perhaps birthday present?). after much thought, i decided to make my mom breakfast/brunch.

i'm not talking about your run-of-the-mill omelettes and toast here. my mom's from Taipei and most of her family still lives there, including her sister, brother, and her parents. her dislike of flying (the 15-17 hour flight time doesn't help) and her work, has made it so that she rarely goes back to visit her family or the Taipei she grew up in. since i can't exactly bring my maternal family over from Taipei for the weekend (perhaps one day, when i'm a Rockefeller), i decided to make her a Taiwanese breakfast complete with traditional Taiwanese foods.

a lot of Taiwanese breakfast foods center around flour and dough. i have no idea why. it's completely delicious, but pretty time-consuming, particularly when working with yeast. and to make Hakka-style Bacon requires pretty much a whole day of marinating before you cook it. it pretty hard to do all that in secret in order to properly surprise Mom so, aside from the marinating, i had to do most of it the morning of. while waking up on a weekend morning at 7 a.m. is never easy, Mom's satisfaction and stamp of approval on all the foods (which i prepared from scratch) made it all worth it.

Hakka-Style Bacon aka

Shen Jian Bao; although the dough was a little thick, this was well-received, particularly by my carnivorous cousin WongWong.

Breakfast Rice Rolls aka ; these are supposed to be made prettier, but whatevs, they still tasted the way they were supposed to. every Taiwanese child has received these at some point when going on a school field trip.

i also made a Pan-Fried Oyster Omelette aka but it came out the complete anti-thesis of how it should look. luckily, the taste was passable, but i refused to photograph it based on principle. you can see it, the Sesame Chicken Soup, and Fried Cruellers in the picture below.

i'm with stupid.

2011-04-26T09:57:00.000-04:00

so i just came off like a total idiot for about 15 minutes to a judge's law clerk.

i'd only been in the office for about 10 mins, sitting down to my half-bagel, cream cheese and lox with coffee, when i get a phone call from a judge's law clerk asking me about a summary judgment motion we filed 2 weeks ago.

huh? who? whatsit? where? my brain literally drew a blank as to what she was talking about. granted we're a third-party defendant so we're not the primary name on the caption when people usually quote the case. but i literally couldn't remember what we'd done or what our argument was. in the foggy recesses of my brain i vaguely recalled something... i had to put the poor law clerk on hold while i went through our office calendar to see what was on for the upcoming motion day. and as luck would have it, we have 5 cases up for hearing on April 29th. i scrambled to grab the file for the one i presumed it was (same plaintiff's name) only to have it be wrong. all the while leaving the law clerk on hold on the phone. SOOOO not a good idea.

finally got things sorted but it was more of an interactive process between me and her as i re-read what i had submitted and our attached exhibits and did a stream-of-consciousness-think-out-loud process of deduction to answer her question.

i guess i should count my blessings it was only Special Civil Part so the papers weren't too voluminous.

Heartwarming

2011-04-23T09:57:00.001-04:00

HungryHungryHippo and i differ in a lot of respects. from our outer shape, size, and looks [i am a marshmallowish mid-height "pleasantly plump" asian; she is under 5 ft, super skinny, and looks like a 12 year old] to our personal tastes in music, clothes, and style. there are 2 things we do share though: an appetite for food and a desire to get out of the thumb of our domineering and overbearing Chinese mother.

i've learned a better coping mechanism than TripleH, but that's something that's learned with time (aka patience and understanding). TripleH is only 18 years old, so she's still got a big learning curve to hurdle.

what's interesting is that although TripleH wants to get away as fast as she can from our home in NJ, she's never been too keen on getting into NYC. when i was in high school and college, i thought the entire world revolved around Manhattan. i would try to go into the City every chance i got-which wasn't very often, protective Chinese mother and all. she always thought i would be kidnapped and sold on the black market. i wondered if TripleH's lack of interest in the City was a result of lack of exposure.

so for TripleH's 18th birthday i decided to take her into the City. granted, we're too far apart in age for me to be "ok" with sneaking her into her first bar or taking her to buy cigs or a baggie which i guess would've made me significantly "cooler," but i'm fine with not being "cool." it's such a relative term anyway. instead i took TripleH to Cocoron for some "heartwarming" Japanese food. Cocoron means "heartwarming" in japanese, and the small, intimate restaurant setting and the simple but delicious food all convey that sentiment.

we chose the Kyona Salad ($5) and the Pork and Okara Croquette ($3.50) as appetizers. since we sat at bar seating, we got to watch the chef make all our food. while not the prettiest kitchen set-up, the ends truly justifies the means in their kitchen. the salad was super light and topped with raw quail egg and what tasted like ponzu. the croquettes were piping hot when served, freshly fried and delightful, crispy little balls of whipped potatoes with ground pork. the okra was not too prevalent in the taste but i'll take their word that they were in there.

Stamina Soba, with pork, scallion, and chicken meatballs

for entrees, TripleH opted for the Pork Kimchee Soba ($9 when we went; now the website says $9.80) and i went for the classic Stamina Soba ($8 when we went; now $8.80). both of got them tsukemen style which means the soba is served cold on a woven plate next to a small nabe pot on a burner filled soup to dip the soba noodles in. you swirl the noodles in the hot soup for 4-6 seconds and then munch away. i was a bigger fan of TripleH's Pork Kimchee Soba than of the Stamina Soba, but that might just be because i'm a big fan of kimchee. btws, look how ginormous the spoon they give you is!

when you're done with the soba, the server comes around with a teapot of hot water to dilute the soup. if you attempt to drink the soup before you dilute it, get ready for a giant salt-fest. patience, grasshopper.

as a dessert, TripleH ordered the mochi ice cream ($5.50). i can't remember exactly what flavor it was: green tea? peanut? but she liked it.

in addition to her mochi dessert, i also took her over to Doughnut Plant for some non-traditional donuts. the Creme Brulee donut was to die for. it had the perfect crusty, hard glaze exactly like real creme brulee.

False Advertising

2011-04-20T10:36:00.001-04:00

this is going to make me sound like a racist.

i just had to get that caveat out of the way. if you continue to read this, don't get mad at me because you've already been forewarned.

that being said, i'm going to briefly discuss Lisa See. the acclaimed writer of various books, all centering around the Asian-American/Chinese experience and primarily female. although i'd heard about her before, i wasn't interested in reading her novels (that was a period where i wasn't doing any recreational reading aside from my law school books). fast forward to a month ago, when asian entertainment news is going nuts over the movie version of her novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. so i decide to check her out via Google and the one review that stands out/pushed me over the edge to actually try and read one of her books stated that she was "the Amy Tan of this generation." o really? because i really liked Amy Tan's books (for a while-then they got a little repetitive). and Joy Luck Club was just recently aired on tv again and i bawled like a baby. convinced of the merits of Ms. See, i went to the local library and checked out 3 of her books: Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and Shanghai Girls.

i haven't been able to make it past page 30 of Peony in Love. to the author's credit, it's well-written and interesting, i've just been particularly busy and it's hard to break bad habits of watching tv or going on-line. there's also another aspect to it tho: Lisa See looks alarmingly non-Asian.

um, what?! how can she be the "next Amy Tan" when she's clearly not Chinese? granted, her novels tend to have a historical context to it and that's what historical fiction is: a lot of research and interviews to try and write fictional works based on historical facts and experiences. and, actually, she is Chinese-or at least part of her is, although my Google searching has failed to turn up exactly how much of her is Chinese and the answers provided on her website and Wiki are all sort of vague.

after i saw her picture on the back cover of Peony in Love, i couldn't get myself motivated to read it for the next 2 weeks. it felt...weird. after psychoanalyzing myself about it, i think my problem is this: the comparison of Lisa See to Amy Tan made me have a certain expectation of her as a Chinese-American dealing with the trials and tribulations and culture of growing up in a Chinese family while balancing against American culture. however, seeing her picture promptly dispelled any of these thoughts and made me immediately judge that she couldn't have had the same experiences as me because she didn't "look" Chinese.

while i'm sure she dealt with other types of issues (i've seen True Life), she's clearly not me. it took me a while but i've dispelled those expectations of her and will attempt to finish reading her book.

although i did just pick up Waiter Rant from the library...

Lady Gaga was right

2011-04-18T09:18:00.001-04:00

meaning you should "just dance" as she tells you to.

HungryHungryHippo got me an amazing birthday present: Just Dance 2!

such a fun game! at first, felt a little self-conscious dancing on my own while TripleH and the cousins watched, but that feeling quickly passed. the moves are easy to follow but super fun and the Dance Battle mode was great to play against TripleH (i dominated the Dance Battle).

i highly recommend this game. i played it on and off with TripleH for the better part of an hour+ and by the end i had worked up a sweat and panting while laying on the floor in exhaustion. word of advice: don't dance to "Jump Jump" by KrissKross unless you want to be in the same condition.

such a hilarious game to play with friends.and probably a great workout too. just to point out how out-of-shape/old i am, my arms and legs were sore the day after playing this game.

Get Me Some Gingko Biloba STAT!

2011-04-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

i'm not usually a birthday party kind of person. i get really stressed out trying to plan bday parties, regardless if it's for a friend or for myself. the biggest stress to me is picking out a venue that fits everyone's tastes. the venue is the first step. and if you start out badly on the first step, you know it's only downhill from there.

i wasn't planning on having a bday party, but then Gecko asked me what i was doing because she would come to NYC for that weekend. concurrently when i learned of that information, i also got an invite to ChubbyBunny's birthday party. ChubbyBunny's bday is 2 weeks after mine but she decided to have it on the 23rd jointly with a friend. CB's bday invite, for the afternoon at Boat Basin Cafe, in conjunction with Gecko coming into town, spurred me to spontaneously decide to have a bday party.

before i could back out, i created a Facebook event and started researching venues. when making my FB event, i remembered another stressor of throwing a party: who to invite. FB makes inviting people super easy and convenient since almost everyone and their mothers are on FB now. however, 1st you have to deliberate whether you want to make the event public or private. public allows your guests to invite other people, which is great in case you forgot to invite someone, so i made it public. but since it's public, anyone you don't invite will be able to see it, should it come up in their news feed or if they happen to glance it while on an invited guest's profile, which can be super awkward (even if they never confront you about it). this was my 2nd deliberation. as i haphazardly checked off friends to invite, the biggest dilemma was those individuals who i'd met before, hung out with, but never really talk to if it wasn't for "Y" (the person who introduced us and whom I'm actually friends with). as i checked the box to invite "Y" i'd have to decide whether to invite that acquaintance whom I knew on FB but didn't really know. would they care if they weren't invited? would they want to come because "Y" was coming but didn't know if it would be ok because I hadn't invited them? i felt like my brain was going to explode.

once that was done, i returned to the difficult task of choosing a venue. when i thought back on my past bar/club experiences, i realized how limited my memory actually is. it was like as soon as i tried to actually access my Manhattan venue database, i completely drew a blank. instead, all i could remember were places that i clearly couldn't have a party e.g. Kenka. then there were places that would be great venues if i and my friends were willing to throw down $300-$450 per bottle to reserve a table and deal with line hassles e.g. Cabana, Hiro, 230 Fifth, Gansevoort, etc. (plus i find Meatpacking slightly annoying to get to via subway). every venue i could think of had its drawbacks: the Park (can't reserve a table upstairs in the atrium), Circle (too Asian), PS450 (west side + midtown), Pianos (cover after 11 and super crowded), etc.

i also can't believe how many places i can't remember the name or location of. i would vaguely remember the "feel" of a place, or the people i was with, but most of the time i couldn't remember "why" I was there or "where" it was. there was 1 particular night when Gecko and i went out and attended W's bday party. Gecko remembered the venue for W's bday party and i couldn't except for some vague, hazy recollections. initially, neither of us could remember where we'd been earlier that night, although i'd remembered having a really good time. so i decided to dive into the archives of this blog and see if i'd written about it somewhere. of course, i didn't. go figure. but it was really funny to read about all the hijinxes we used to get into back in the day. there was 1 month where i kept arriving home at 8 a.m. from nights out! and i found an entry where Oppa got into a fight!

while i remembered most of the events coinciding with the entries, i have to admit that certain details/aspects of the story i'd completely forgotten had ever happened. clearly, it did happen since i wrote about it, but why can't i remember? i'm seriously concerned about this failing memory. i'm not sure if it's a sign of old age, brain damage, or impending stupidity...

Bad date! Bad!

2011-03-24T10:58:00.005-04:00

the idea of "dates" are a completely foreign concept to me.

"hanging out"? that i can do. "grabbing some dinner"? i'm there. "drinks"? i'm a pro at that. but a "date"? that just leaves me baffled.

that having been said, just because i'm "bad" at dates doesn't mean i don't recognize when i'm on a bad date. and i don't think i set my bar too high when it comes to dates. if we're having a good time with minimal awkwardness, then i pretty much consider it a "good" date. is that too high of a standard?

i recently went to Takashi for a dinner blind date. while i may not be a fan of dates, i love that they give me an excuse to eat at new restaurants or restaurants my friends are too poor to go to with me. not that Takashi's expensive per se, it's just not the usual food fare. Takashi hadn't been open that long when i went there, but i'd already read a lot about it's food. it's categorized as a "yakiniku" restaurant, which means barbecuing over a grill. however, it's the type of meat that they serve that really makes it unique. Takashi offers extremely fresh meat because it serves some unusual parts of the cow including offal and tongue. it might sound weird to some of you, but if you come from an asian family, you're probably no stranger to eating those cow parts. when arranging the date, i had offered him the choice of dining at Takashi or Goat Town, which has more traditional fare, and was impressed when he chose Takashi.

unfortunately, that would turn out to be the only thing i would be impressed with. that sounds more foreboding than it's actually meant to be. the date wasn't horrible, it just wasn't really good either. he's clearly a "nice" guy, just a little "boring." he didn't really contribute much in terms of conversation, and in response to my questions/prompts, he tended to give dead-end answers. to give him credit, i'd been pre-warned that he was "a little shy." however, i don't think "shy" should be used as an umbrella for everything. i wouldn't have characterized him as "shy," just "lackluster" maybe? he self-proclaimed that he didn't have many friends, didn't go out (socially) often, and didn't go out to eat (socially) often. hmmm, it's not like i'm an extremely interesting person, but i definitely make sure not to advertise that on a first date. i would at least like my date to think i'm cool, even if they're mistaken.

the view from the counter

the saving grace of the date was the food. Takashi is a perfect date spot. the restaurant itself is pretty small, which gives it a cozy feel. the furniture is clean and modern, so you feel like you're in a izakaya but upscale. i sat at the counter with my date, which is definitely what i recommend if you can get it. it's still intimate because you and your date are thisclose to each other, and if there's any lulls in conversation (or you're just bored) you can watch the chefs behind the counter.

i always find ordering on a date a little tricky. i never want to assume that my date's going to pay, although, if they don't, i will judge them. as a courtesy to them, i try to defer to what they want to order since they'll (possibly) be footing the bill. when Gohm and i went to Matsumoto's for our 1st date, i let him order to his heart's content (and he did pay for dinner that night). this date was a little different because when i asked him if there was anything that interested him, he had absolutely no opinion. instead, he deferred to me (which is also a nice date tactic). so we "hemmed and hawed" for a bit and then i just bit the bullet and ordered for us.

there were 2 menu items that i knew i wanted to order: the Niku-Uni appetizer and the Tongue Experience. luckily for me, my date was also a big fan of sea urchin so there was no disagreement on the appetizer. the Niku-Uni is sea urchin on top of raw chuck flap and a shiso leaf with some fresh wasabi on the side. OMG. if you're a sea urchin fan then you have to order this. the melt-y sea urchin with the texture of the raw meat and shiso is amazing. the order comes with 4 pieces which is perfect for just 2 ppl.

the Tongue Experience aka Tan-saki, Tan-suji & Tan-moto consists of 3 different parts (front, middle, back) of the cow tongue. i think they provide 3-4 pieces of each part. each part is definitely a different texture and tenderness, if not flavor. i wish i could tell you which was which but i was too mesmerized by the presentation and too busy eating to recall. i think we also ordered a Harami or Kalbi order, which was good too, but nothing special.

kimchi is the "it" food right now. it's served with everything!

in addition to the food we ordered, Takashi also serves some banchan which includes kimchi, soybean sprouts, and a cabbage salad with miso dressing. in order to balance out our meal we also ordered a portion of scallion vinaigrette which is essentially julienned scallions sitting in a tangy vinegar-soy sauce and was perfect to eat on its own or with our bbq-ed meat.

the food at Takashi was the saving grace of my blind date. my only complaint about the restaurant is the drinks menu. it's kind of disjointed: a small selection of sakes, beers, and wine. i thought the wine option was weird. and the beers weren't the usual sapporo or kirin. of the few sakes they had, we got a nice dry hot sake although it was really price-y for the size (their large would be the equivalent of small anywhere else).

although the portions may seem small at first sight, the pace of the serving and the style of eating ends up making you feel really full once you finish your meal. it's the kind of place where, with the right company, you could sit for 3-4 hrs and be perfectly content. mind you, it has to be with the right company.

Dream Fulfilled

2011-03-18T10:19:00.006-04:00

as everyone knows, i am an avid fan of Restaurant Week. so when RW rolled around for Winter, i got cracking on the menus being presented and the restaurants that were participating. at one point, i had 8 reservations.

but as the fates (and my finances) would have it, i ended up eating at only one restaurant for Winter RW 2011. but i'm satisfied with where i ended up because i've been trying to go to this restaurant for the past 3 years but, for one reason or another, haven't been able to work things out.

you'll have to excuse the pictures tho because my camera was being very tempermental that day with its flash. for some reason, it only liked Bubby's dishes so it only provided flash for her dishes. and then later, it just stopped flashing at all. stupid camera.

as soon as i walked into Aquavit, i already liked it. Bubby and Kiks were waiting for me (as always, i was late) in a modern/retro (is that possible?) lounge area. the hostess and host seated us as soon as i arrived, which i liked because who likes waiting to eat?

the restaurant wasn't packed at all, albeit we were sitting on the "casual" side vs. the formal dining room. however, i'd sneakily peeked over to the dining room side when i'd first walked in and it also wasn't full. the restaurant advocates extremely dim lighting which is probably ideal for romantic dinners, although the night we were dining i saw no couples. every table was filled with 2+ people and usually of the same sex variety.
for the first course, Kiks and i ordered the Swedish Steak Tartar which is served with tiny extremely crunchy bread a la melba-toast-style, firm egg yolk, spicy mustard, grated horseradish, pickled beets and capers. for me, the accompaniments were what really made the dish. the beets were surprisingly sweet and i finished those before i'd even finished my tartar! while it may not seem like it from the picture, there is actually a significant amount of tartar on the plate which was also refreshing since i hate when restaurants skimp on food.
Bubby ordered the Glassblower Herring which is herring with a variety of accompaniments. since it wasn't my dish, i only tasted a bite of it and i'm not really sure what everything was. i had debated on ordering this appetizer since we were eating in a Swedish restaurant, but my love of all things tartar won out in the end. while the herring was good, i think i made the better/right choice by choosing the tartar. if you've had herring before and were "meh" about it, then i'd recommend skipping it at Aquavit.
as for entrees, Kiks and Bubby ordered the Berkshire Pork Belly, which i seriously contemplated ordering because who can resist pork? but, because i wasn't particularly hungry that day and i had already had such a meat-centric appetizer, i opted for the Pepper Seared Mackerel instead. the Berkshire Pork Belly was divine. the meat was super tender, smoky, and flavorful. and the whipped potatoes, pearl onions, and veg were good accompaniments to compliment the pork as opposed to complicating the flavors.

the Pepper Seared Mackerel was also good, albeit a little salty (don't get sauce happy with that brown outer ring). the sear was perfect, giving it a crispy outer skin while still a tender and moist inside. it was definitely a distinct pepper-y taste so there's no false advertising there. the best part of the dish was actually the porcini creamed cabbage which was great for toning down the saltiness of the fish. i could've eaten a whole bowl of that.

as for desserts, there were only 2 options (as opposed to appetizers and entrees in which there was always a 3rd vegetarian option). i went for the tried and true, Hazelnut Praline Terrine. holy density. if you're looking for a sweet dessert, then i recommend this. although the menu says it's served with a hazelnut sherbert, i'm pretty sure mine wasn't served with that. unless hazelnut sherbert has a tangy, lime-y taste. which it could, since i'm no culinary genius.

Bubby and Kiks got the Arctic Circle which is goat cheese cake served with lingonberry "vargtass" sorbet. i have no idea what "vargtass" means but this was delicious. the goat cheese cake was dense but not heavy, and while the use of goat cheese would make you think "pungent", the flavor was delicate and light. weird huh? i never thought i would use the words "dense", "delicate", and "light" to describe the same thing. the cake paired with the tart and sweet sorbet was a match made in heaven, although too much of the sorbet can get a little too sweet so remember to balance.

for the prices at Aquavit, i think i could swing a dinner there once or twice, even without the Restaurant Week deal. or maybe i could get a date to take me there and not feel guilty when they pay...

do all good things have to come at the expense of another?

2011-03-08T09:52:00.002-05:00

does being in a serious relationship mean giving up your platonic relationships?

i know this is probably like asking "which came first, the chicken or the egg" and it will remain a mystery until the collapse of the universe, but it doesn't mean i don't wonder about it.

i'm extremely disappointed with Oppa right now, who just cancelled our dinner plans tonight. if it was once or twice, it wouldn't have bothered me, but it's pretty much all the time now. apparently, all his weekends are booked from here until eternity. and booked with stuff like weekend trips and activities which aren't subject to a sudden "plus one." so i'm really only left with weekday dinners, which are already not my favorite activity mainly because of my work hours and location in central jersey. but for those special ppl, i'm willing to go the extra mile because i know that keeping friends takes effort, particularly as our situations and circumstances change.

so i'm genuinely annoyed when i get a text from Oppa the morning of our dinner that says, "sorry, i forgot i have a work happy hour today."

i haven't seen you in over a month, probably more. think you can forego the-work-happy-hour-with-your-co-workers-that-you-see-everyday just this once? or, what about just making an appearance and then meeting me for dinner? apparently, neither of these thoughts occurred to you.

i know this post seems to be a rant about Oppa. however, it's more like this situation is indicative of a general trend amongst my more seriously-involved friends. and, while i am the "friend" in the situation, i've been the "relationship" too so i truly do understand both sides of the coin and have been just as guilty of the conduct i'm complaining of right now (my friends through the Gohm-period know what i mean).

which begs the question: why can't you keep your friends and have a serious significant other? what is it about these relationships that make them mutually exclusive as opposed to mutually inclusive?

it'd be easy to be really mad if Oppa was ditching his friends for a horrible significant other. but he's not. honestly, Oppa's (and everyone else that i'm including in this situation-i can think of 2 others off the top of my head-but using Oppa as a representative figure) significant other is great. they're pretty much on their way to the altar and mini-Oppas and i couldn't be happier for them. i'm so happy that he found someone as good as his S.O.

i just wish you wouldn't leave me behind in your wake.

What Happened to Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice?!

2011-02-09T23:52:00.004-05:00

Dear BitchyAdversary:

Was that bitchy obnoxious phone call really necessary? Did you get what you want from me? I don't think so considering I haven't withdrawn my Motion to Compel Discovery. and really, we're both women in the legal industry. and as my recent tweet has demonstrated, we're a gender that severely under-represented in the courtroom and as partners in law firms. i just looked you up on-line and congratulations! you're actually a named partner! maybe it's your supreme bitchy-ness that got you there? if so, i'll have to rethink my legal/career strategies. let's review the phone call:

you had your associate call me to request we withdraw our motion. i politely advised him why we think we're entitled to the defendant's employee file-they are a named defendant and this is an employment case. i also, respectfully, advised your associate, let's call him Noob, that we didn't think the information was subject to a Protective Order since it's obviously relevant, material, and discoverable under the rules. honestly, why would we create legal limitations on our use of information when we're entitled to the information free and clear under the court rules? silly Noob. so, unfortunately for Noob, at the end of the telephone conversation he had gotten nothing from us except my consent to review any Protective Order he drafted and to discuss it at a later time with no consent to withdraw our motion. this apparently did not make you happy.

within 10 minutes, you called my phone and promptly started to scream and yell at me. there really was no basis but i remember the following phrases:

1. who do you think you are?

2. I'VE been practicing in employment discrimination for over 15 years and i've NEVER encountered a situation like this or a person like you.

3. i spoke with your lead attorney and he had NO idea that you even filed this motion. i find that despicable.

4. i've never been jerked around and mislead by an attorney and your behavior's appalling.

5. now i only have 1 day to file an opposition, since you jerked us around.

6. will you withdraw your motion?

7. if you don't withdraw your motion, you must adjourn it to give us time to file an opposition.

8. i demand a response by 12 noon (while the time of the call is some time between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m.).

ok BitchyAdversary, you've had your say. now it's my turn. as i told you:

1. we're entitled to the information. this is an employment law case and your client is a named defendant. the substance of the matter took place while your client was employed as a supervisor of my client. um yeah, the employment file for your client, we want it. free and clear. like the discovery rules allow.

2. you want a Protective Order? ok, draft one up and send it to us to review. what attorney in their right mind agrees to a Protective Order they haven't looked at? when i asked you this, you said it was MY responsibility to draft it. what planet have you been practicing law on? WE'RE the ones requesting the information, why would we draft an Order that would limit our use of/access to it? silly BitchyAdversary. clearly, you just don't want to do the work. if that's the case, it's an easy problem to solve: JUST GIVE US THE DOCUMENTS.

3. we still don't have the documents. yeah, maybe i'd withdraw my motion if you had produced the documents we requested. or even SOME of the documents we requested. but, to date, we've got nothing.

4. did you really think your superior attitude was gonna get you what you wanted? by claiming you spoke with my lead attorney about this? yeah, i can imagine him saying something like "i'm not sure" or "did we?" but i can assure you, as the rules require, nothing goes out without his prior approval or review. so don't try to use my own lead attorney against me. at this point in time, i'm the one working on this case. and, yes, he makes the command decisions, but until settlement and trial time, he listens to me. i'm his go-to.

5. listen BitchyAdversary, you don't know me so i'll forgive you this time. if you did know me, you would know i'm generally pretty flexible. the attorney community is small, and i'm not one to want to make enemies. even when you're being an ass, i'll smile and bear it because i know we'll have to deal with each other in the future. plus, for all the bluster and bullshit, it's what happens in court that counts. you can scream and whine all you want, but that won't win your case, or even this motion. if you care that much, file your opposition. o wait, you don't want to spend the time to do it? and have to charge the client? and you waited 3 wks and now only have 1 day to write and file your opposition? not my problem. you explain it to your client.

and what did you end up with after this phone call? nothing. did you get a call back? nope. did i withdraw the motion? nope. am i inclined to withdraw the motion? nope. and will i be inclined to be cooperative towards any future requests? nope. ok, that last one's a lie. i can't be too bullheaded or else i'll find myself in front of a judge at some point getting reprimanded for being "discourteous".

o BitchyAdversary, what happened to little girls being made of sugar and spice and all things nice? if you had been, maybe this would've worked out better for you.

Very Truly Yours,

On a Whim

sniffle sniffle

2011-01-24T20:53:00.005-05:00

i'm sick...

for real. and it's SO not fun.

i guess it's that time of year again. everyone in my house has gotten sick so i guess it's my turn now.

i remember back in the day when i NEVER got sick. back when i was in the prime of my youth.

now i'm in this sad state.

as fleeting as a firework

2011-01-21T00:56:00.008-05:00

i just finished watching Blue Valentine. and it was epic.

i admit i'm not much of an intellectual movie watcher. i tend to like the more formulaic main-stream type of movies. i'm a big rom-com fan. i have never been able to get myself to finish watching The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke is just so sad-looking in the movie i can't bear to watch it.

but every once in a while, i get tricked into watching a smart indie film and actual love it. that happened when i saw Children of Men. i thought the story was so intelligent and so well presented. it was definitely the type of film that made my brain continue churning and thinking about the subject matter, as well as the film itself. and after watching Blue Valentine, i have the same feeling.

admittedly, i initially was intrigued by the notorious scene that got the movie initially labeled with an NC-17 rating. and Ryan Gosling, of course. i mean, i love him as much as i love JGL. or Topher Grace. yep, he falls in my 5 i would say. correction, he is most definitely in my 5.

if you haven't seen it yet, i highly recommend watching the film. and while Ryan's looking good in 50% of the film, he's a lot less good-looking in the other 50% of the film, so if you're looking for eye candy, i'd wait for The Ides of March when it comes out. that will have Ryan and George Clooney. the physical transformation of Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine is sort of impressive in itself. it's only a little weight and a receding, thinning hairline, but, coupled with his white-trash-like character, it's an effective turn-off. congratulations Director Derek Cianfrance, you managed to make Ryan Gosling unattractive. a feat i once thought impossible.

the movie's an extremely effective juxtaposition of the best and worst in a relationship. the scenes depicting the fall and ruin of the relationship is interspersed with scenes of the beginning and development as well. and it's truly heartbreaking. the scenes where love is clearly growing between the two made me smile as a reminder of a similar memory in my past experiences (not the accidental pregnancy if that's what you were thinking) and envious of the younger Ryan that was immediately smitten with the younger Michelle Williams. and of course i was jealous that Michelle Williams got such a hot Ryan Gosling. even if it is only in the movie (although rumors are flying that life is imitating art, which wouldn't be the first time for Ryan-yes, we're close enough that we're on first-name bases).

but the relationship between the adult Ryan and the adult Michelle was cringe-worthy and uncomfortable, as it was meant to be. it's clearly headed for disaster, and you know that if the couple doesn't break up, they'll only be together because they're stuck with each other, not because they want to be. the conversations and other relationships, represented by Michelle's parents, demonstrate how relationships end up being about "settling" or become some sort of miserable existence.

it's a sad sad reality that Blue Valentine depicts. and what's worse is, it doesn't feel false. in fact, it rings unsettlingly true.

but even if that's the case, and even though you now know that the movie depicts this tragic truth (if you didn't already), the way the story's told and the way the actors portray it, won't stop you from rooting for their younger selves. and it won't stop you from still hoping that you'll be the exception to the rule. even as the story ends, the credits are presented in front of a backdrop of exploding fireworks. and each time the fireworks light the screen, you see a fleeting image of the happier, younger version of the couple. obvious symbolism, yes, but it doesn't mean i don't like fireworks, even if they are fleeting. and loud. and destructive.

i guess that's the rom-com lover in me.

food and drink porn. sort of.

2011-01-06T10:04:00.008-05:00

i have no delusions that i'm one of those chic food bloggers with fantastic pictures of the food and drinks i consume at trendy NYC restaurants. nor do i profess this to be a food blog at all (it's clearly not). honestly, i'm usually too embarassed to take the actual photos when the food arrives. it feels so dorky. but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate all those food bloggers who take the time to "dork" it up so that i can preview the food/experience at a restaurant i'm considering going to. THANKS!

although i shy away from doing it, as you've probably realized from other posts, that doesn't mean i don't do it. although, if you were paying attention (which you probably weren't-i wouldn't blame you), you'll notice the pictures usually involve the same ppl. so, are those my only friends? honestly...

ok, i'm not that much of a loser. the reason the pictures tend to have the same ppl is because those are the friends i'm so comfortable with that i don't feel weird/shy about taking pictures of food/drinks in front of them. and they're such good friends that they'll usually let me snap shots of their food/drinks too. thanks for indulging my inner (and outer) nerd!

Crumbs

As if there needs to be any more pictures on the web of these delicious cups of cake. but here they are anyway.
this was a while ago, so i don't remember all of the flavors. i picked this out for HungryHungryHippo's birthday, which fell on a weekday. it felt too sad to let her actual birthday go by without commemorating it somehow. there were plans to go out for a big birthday dinner that weekend but, even so, you should memorialize the actual day as well.my sister is a huge fan of Fluff so i figured getting her the S'more was a good idea. alas, there was no fluff to be found in the cupcake. however, it was still delicious and even looked great with all the marshmallow and graham on top. and the graham was still crispy. now if only there was some way to eat this piping hot as well... i think this cupcake was called Chocolate-Covered Strawberry. what a letdown. maybe i was expecting too much but i really wanted some actual strawberry pieces incorporated into it. or maybe even a strawberry in the center, like ichigo daifuku. alas, it was just strawberry frosting with a strawberry jam center. boooo. this was the first one we ate: Nestle Crunch. this was deeeelish. the little crunch on top gave good texture and the nutella in the center was perfect. maybe a little sweet, but in a good way.

The Oak Room at the Plaza
this is perfect timing since Restaurant Week starts January 24th.

Egg, She and I went to the Oak Room at the Plaza for Summer Restaurant Week 2010. if i'm not mistaken, they're on the list again for Winter Restaurant Week, and the offering isn't that different. if you're thinking about eating there, i offer this piece of advice: DON'T DO IT. with all the options you can choose from for RW, don't waste your time with this one. it's all hype, with no substance.

She and i were interested in dining here because of what it is: the Plaza. i mean, it's an NYC landmark. and when you think of the people that have been through there and the events and moments that have happened there, you can't help but be impressed and awed.

and they definitely don't let you forget that when you go the Oak Room. when you enter there's a short, narrow hallway you pass through. when you pass the stairs on the left (which lead to the new food court) you see very large black and white photos of the famous people that have been to the restaurant. subtlety, thy name is not the Plaza.

we had to wait about 30 minutes for our table although we had a reservation. we went to the bar and were given an extensive drink menu to choose from. we all chose to drink water. TAP. the price of drinks at the Oak Room bar are ridiculous. i know that drinks in manhattan are inflated and ridiculous, but the Oak Room took it to a whole new level. $25 for a glass of Johnny Black? you've got to be kidding. Egg and i did the math and calculated the mark-up for their drinks is about 70 -90%. that's pretty outrageous. it made me look around the bar and wonder at the idiots around us that had ordered drinks.
when we finally sat down and started eating, the food was such a letdown. the choices i made were just super salty: the Bigeye Tuna Sashimi was more soy sauce than soy-pique vinaigrette and the Griller Meyer Ranch Hanger Steak was also salty. the dessert was actually pretty good, but i can't remember exactly what is was. maybe strawberry cheesecake? whatever it was, it's not being offered for their winter menu.
i'll admit, it wasn't all horrible though. She ordered the Lobster and Sweet Corn Bisque which was pretty good, although not as dense as i usually like bisques to be and, as expected, the lobster piece was miniscule. the winner amongst the appetizers was the Tomato and Fennel Soup, which Egg ordered. it's essentially tomato soup, which is good by itself, "grilled cheese" sandwich they serve with it is buttery crispy goodness. they both ordered the Crisp Organic "Brick" Chicken which was really good, although She's piece had a sizable amount of fat/sinews so she didn't end up finishing it.
and of course, the Oak Bar was delicious. but then again, how can chocolate ever go wrong?

Brooklyn Flea Market
in the same weekend i went to the Plaza, i also went to Brooklyn Flea. the two establishments should be considered complete anti-theses of each other in terms of clientele, costs, and conditions. and the food at Brooklyn Flea was infinite times better.i ordered the Ito from AsiaDog. i love the trend that made hotdogs cool to eat again, because i can eat about 10 of them in one sitting. and now that they're "cool" again like they were when i was 10 yrs old, i don't have to feel bad about that. the curry from the Ito gave the hotdog a little kick while the apples cooled it down a bit because of its sweetness. afterwards, i was really tempted to order the Ginny or the Mash but felt it would be bad form with all the other vendor options available.Kiks opted for a set from Red Hook Food Vendors. since she'd been to actual location before and said the food was amazing. and she did not lie. however, since this was a while ago i really don't remember what we ordered. but it was good enough that i forgot to take a picture until we were thoroughly stuffed. so all i can show you is the aftermath.

my bad.

this must be what hell is like

2010-12-30T12:11:00.004-05:00

OMG. my head is on fire.

ok, slight over-statement, but my office IS sweltering. and no, i'm not working in the tropics or the caribbean, or even florida for that matter. i'm where i've always been in Bridgewater, NJ.

outside my office window i can see 2 and a half feet of snow.

from inside my office window, i am breaking into a feminine mist.

i could do the sensible thing and shut my blinds or open my office door. however, i hate working in a room that is only lit by artificial light. it makes me feel like i'm actually stuck in a dungeon. or like the interrogation scene in The Matrix. also, if my office door is open i can't do activities such as the one i'm engaged in at this moment. so, i guess i'll just endure the heat, although if i start to get sleepy because of it then i'll have to succumb to one of the above options (most likely the door).

this heat is making my current task of transfering a retail consumption liquor license INFINITESIMALLY difficult (i almost spelled that word correctly on the first try. almost.)

hook, line, and sinker

2010-12-16T14:02:00.002-05:00

i can listen to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" on repeat. i never get tired of it.

it's lyrics are simple and easy to remember and sing along with. the tune is very catchy. but that's not the reason why.

there's 1 prhase in the song that i always want to hear, over and over again.

You know, you know, you know
I'd never ask you to change.
If perfect's what you're searching for
Then just stay the same.

and an involuntary smile appears on my face.

i don't know why but this lyric makes me happy.

maybe because it perfectly expresses how i feel about the person i like. or maybe because it's what i hope i'll have one day.

i demand a sweater!

2010-12-07T10:45:00.011-05:00

hooray for me! i finished all my christmas shopping! the mall during the month of december is a destination i try to avoid at all costs. so i'm extremely happy that i managed to finish off all my christmas shopping last weekend. the only christmas presents left for me to buy are for my co-workers and bosses, which will not require me to go to the mall. hooray!

on my recent trip to the mall, i did notice one thing: there weren't a lot of sweaters for sale. there were loads of tees (long and short-sleeved), fancy dress shirts (for guys and girls), sweatshirts galore (hooded, non-hooded, zip-up, non zip-up), and cardigans aplenty. however, there weren't that many plain old sweaters. each store i went into had only 1-2 sweater options for girls, and maybe 2-3 sweater options for guys. and cardigans do not count as sweaters. apparently the fashion idea this winter is to wear cardigans vs. sweaters, which is a trend i am not on board with. don't get me wrong, i own plenty of cardigans, probably equal to the amount of sweaters i own. but to me, cardigans are a spring and fall option, which occassionally can be worn in winter as well. whereas winter=sweater weather. and, for a fatty like me, i fully embrace the opportunity to wear a sweater over a form-fitting tee or overly revealing tank top. sweaters leave so much more room to hide. me likey. plus, sweaters are infinitely more practical and simple at keeping me warm in the east coast winter.

speaking of consumer spending, as mentioned in my previous post, i recently made a trip to Mitsuwa with my gaggle of female cousins. my cousins were born in Taiwan and only immigrated to the States within the last 6 yrs (2 of them only in the last year), and while i know they like some aspects of the U.S., they seriously pine for their native country. thus, it's no surprise they were completely enamored by Mitsuwa, which is asian trinket and food central. how about a tiny chopstick holder?

for "You're Beautiful" fans: your own pig-rabbit?

if i lived closer to Edgewater, i would probably be spending about 50% of my meals at Mitsuwa. the options in their food court are endless and all of them are tempting, particularly when presented in the japanese-fake-food-art style. seriously, those fake food displays that japanese restaurants show you are better than any advertisement or lunch deal they use to entice you to their premises. even if i wasn't hungry before, one look at the food display instantly makes my tummy rumble. and, i have to admit, usually the real food doesn't look too far off from the fake food. i was going to take copious pictures of all the fake food displays but the there were giant crowds and long lines of ppl at each vendor and nobody else was taking photos, so i didn't take any pictures to avoid looking like a weirdo.

i've been trying to watch what i eat (for the most part) and that's one thing you really can't do at Mitsuwa. every vendor in the food court sells obento-style meals which usually comes as a set including rice and soup. so, instead of looking for the least amount of food, i looked for the cheapest option that wasn't too heavy on rice, gravies, and extras. which resulted in me ordering a zaru soba from Kayaba ($4.50). it's probably the plainest option you can order in the whole food court since it's just cold soba, dipping sauce, and a side of pickles and some wasabi. however, the portion is still HUGE. it's served on a large flat wicker plate and constitutes it's own little hilltop (it's not quite a mountain and more than a plateau). with the wasabi, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

and of course, no trip to Mitsuwa is complete without obanyaki. and these were all custard, my favorite. i really wish more places made them. it's so simple and cheap to do. hmm, maybe i should make a change in profession...

after filling our bellies we perused the adjacent supermarket and the small stores surrounding the Mitsuwa marketplace. The supermarket at Mitsuwa is very extensive and i would venture to guess that any japanese, korean, and chinese ingredient you're looking for can be found there but for a price. unless i'm looking for something so rare and exotic, i won't be buying my groceries at Mitsuwa. but it's still fun to peruse the selection. and the pre-made bentos and sushis are actually decently priced (and tasty).

outside of the supermarket are independent vendors e.g. a bookstore selling extremely overpriced pens and pencils and Japanese magazines and books (all in Japanese). i did make 1 purchase from the bookstore: lo and behold, my new planner for 2011. that's fine for an attorney right?

the store next to the bookshop sold various toys and trinkets which literally caused the cousins' brains to explode from excitement. the best finds? 2NE1 and 2PM socks. after i posted these pictures on Facebook i got a call from Stitch the following weekend. she was at Mitsuwa specifically looking for these socks. but then again, who can argue with the appeal of k-pop?

these are a few of my frivolous things (la la la)

2010-12-02T10:41:00.007-05:00

maybe it's the asian in me, but, i admit it: i have an addiction to frivolous things. wait, let me clarify, i have an addiction to frivolous, cute things.

case in point: i am seriously contemplating buying the new Lardee Milk Toof merchandise.

look how cute this notebook is!

and it comes with these prints!

it would only cost me $24.50 including shipping... but no, it's the holiday season and i must exercise self-restraint. i can't really justify buying stuff for myself when i haven't even finished christmas shopping for the fam and friends. but oooo, i want it. if it's still available after christmas, i am on it. debt be damned.

asians are the lords & masters of cutesy, frivolous items that stir an illogical desire within me to pay more-than-it's-worth amounts in order to posses them. so you can imagine the chaos that ensued when my cousins and i went to Mitsuwa.

if you don't agree with me, you must at least agree that asians are the lords & masters of making the cutest stuff. if you don't believe me, just check out the following video from Google Japan.

ok, the last video wasn't by Google Japan. but it's still pretty cute. and fine, that cat is probably not asian. but you never know, it could be part Siamese.

happy 55th anniversary to Rosa Parks (thanks Google)

2010-12-01T10:29:00.006-05:00

the things i learn by opening Google. and i love the little animations.

speaking of vehicles, i have had an uncanny experience with driving lately. a week ago, while driving home from work, i was mesmerized and annoyed by the car in front of me. i kept staring at it and got that frustrating feeling when something is on the tip of your brain but JUST out of grasp. and then it dawned on me: this car had reverse brake lights. meaning, when the car was moving, the red light at the bottom center of the rear windshield (you know, that small rectangular red light) and the rear brake lights would be on and when the car was at a stop, all the lights would be off.

unique? i guess. annoying? hell yes. particularly if you're the vehicle behind it.

1st, it's unsettling. my brain's been programmed to associate brake lights with braking. how simplistic of it. hence, seeing the lights would trigger my mental reflex to be slow and cautious (that IS what red's associated with). no lights=ok to proceed. 2nd, have red lights constantly glowing in front of you as you drive is very headache inducing. it made me understand why our vehicle lights system is the way it is. constant red lights shining in front of you has the equivalent eye pain of the asshole who keeps his brights on while driving behind you. which brings me to another point: are all headlights just standard brights now?

it being winter and all, by the time i drive home from work it's already pretty dark, so headlights while driving are a necessity. i've recently realized though that a lot of cars have EXTREMELY bright headlights. which is not fun when you peer into your rearview mirror while driving. it's completely blinding (exactly akin to those scenes in scary movies like Joy Ride and The Hitcher). it's hard for me to believe so many ppl are just driving around with their brights/high beams on, which makes me wonder: are brights just the standard headlights now?

finally, in the past week, every day except for one, i've been surrounded by a police car whenever i'm driving. if it's not driving in front of me, it's behind me. if it's not behind me, it's driving right next to me. it's really weird. and annoying.

wow. i've clearly been in the car, driving, for a good length of time. i guess the good part about being in the car so long is i've managed to listen to most of the songs on my iPod including new albums that i'd downloaded but hadn't fully listened to yet. in particular, i've been enjoying the recent albums of Nicky Lee, Kenji Wu, and Danson Tang.

yes, i DO listen to songs other than k-pop. i am an equal opportunity teeny bopper.

however, i have to admit, i'm also REALLY enjoying this song:

i just wanted to see...oops!

2010-11-24T11:04:00.003-05:00

i guess it could be called "maturing" or "developing," but i really like it when i end up doing activities with friends that don't involve copious amounts of alcohol. don't get me wrong, i enjoy my drinks (if you're wondering about that last post, yes, it was the result of a night of inebriation, hence the 5 a.m. posting time). however, when you look back on the experience, it usually melds with the other nights of drinking with friends, unless the event was of epic, The Hangover proportions.

plus drinking nights out tend to make for monotonous pictures because everyone does the same "smile" pose.

Egg, She and i met up to go to a free art exhibit at the National Arts Club near Gramercy Park. the theme of the show had been Romance, as expressed through the photography of Chris Craymer. the exhibit was small, but nice. some of the photography was interesting, but had a very Vogue editorial style to it, which is appealing in the modern, general public sense.

one of the photographs presented at the exhibit.

on the other hand, the National Arts Club was not what I expected. since it's located across from Gramercy Park (which is an actual park, which i knew, but had never really seen. in my mind i think i always just thought of it as a neighborhood-btw, after reading the Wiki entry, i kind of want to go back and re-examine the area now that i have historical context), from the outside it looks like any other brownstone house/apartment located on the street, which makes sense since it used to be Samuel J. Tilden's residence . it's also located right next to the Players' Club. we all stood outside of it skeptically when we first arrived, trying to figure out if we were at the right place. we were. then, when we entered, there was a distinct Rocky Horror Picture Show feel to the place, with a woman with a parakeet on her shoulder, dim lighting, Persian rugs, and a Lurch-like man to greet us at the door. once downstairs, it starts feeling more like a gallery. there were also 2 other exhibits that day, both were paintings and i wish it had been more clear as to who the painters were because the other exhibits were more intriguing than the photography.

after our art excursion, we headed to Cha-An for hot tea and set lunch/dinner. since it was around 6ish, parking around the area was manageable and free after 7 p.m. before i talk about Cha-An, i have to mention Sakaya, a sake store located on E. 9th St. i've been in the East Village often but never knew about this place until we happened to walk by it on the way to Cha-An. from outside it has such a bright and fun feel that we just had to go in. it also helped that they were doing a free sake sampling with chocolate (this happened around Valentine's Day). i highly recommend this place because the sake selection is extensive but not expensive (if you look around) and the owners are extremely helpful.i've attempted to go to Cha-An three times in my life, and every time i've been thwarted because it was closed (it doesn't open until 2:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday and will also close if reserved for a private party). but not this time! i finally got to eat at Cha-An. hooray! and, i have to say, i really liked it. the place is small, but in a cozy way.

Egg and She shared an Afternoon Tea Set which consists of 2 kinds of sandwiches, scones, assorted sweets and choice of tea (they picked Earl Grey). the sandwiches are the size of tiny tea sandwiches, which is adorable and probably filling if for 1 person. She and Egg thought the Earl Grey tea was good, but different from what they usually drink.
i ordered the Cha-An Set B, which is the bigger and more expensive ($19) of the 2 choices but i was so excited to finally be there that i figured indulging was called for (plus i hadn't eaten yet that day). Set B consists of soup and vegetable, soy milk quiche with mushrooms and scallions, tea smoked salmon, 15 grain rice, dessert, and choice of tea. everything was really good, particularly the salmon and the vegetable salad, and very light. i finished the meal feeling full, but not heavy.when we finished our meal, i decided to order some macarons to bring home to the family. i've heard great things about their macarons, and they weren't lying. i opted for the green tea variety and the only negative thing i can say about them is that i wish i'd gotten more than 1 per person. however, at about $2 a pop they aren't cheap.
you'll notice that 1 of the macarons looks abused. it was. after the server had given me my to-go order of macarons, i placed it on the table to take my wallet out. while it lay on the table, i noticed Egg's friend, who had joined us at the end of the meal, point his finger and slowly approach the macaron.

it got closer. and closer. and closer.

and then it poked the macaron so hard that it cracked its shell!
his hand immediately recoiled and we, including him, had our mouths agape at what he'd just done. when we asked him why he'd done it, his response was, "i just wanted to see." he had never seen or heard of a macaron and had assumed it was made of a soft, cake-like texture, which it is not.

the incident was uproariously funny to me for many reasons: 1st, i can completely relate to that feeling of just wanting to poke/touch something and see what it feels like. i can relate because i remember having that feeling as a child. 2nd, even if the macaron was made of cake-like texture, i'm still not sure how i feel about him wanting to poke/smush it. is that really an appropriate thing to do someone's food? 3rd, how much pressure was he using to poke that, even after making contact with the macaron and realizing it was a hard shell, he continued to push it until it cracked?

all those factors combined makes it so that every time i see this picture it just makes me smile at the memory.

did you know that...

2010-11-21T04:59:00.003-05:00

...when you walk home after 4 a.m. you get to smell Au Bon Pain baking bread. It smells heavenly.

And if you look homeless enough you may get free bread!

all-American

2010-11-11T16:31:00.009-05:00

because i live near NYC and have a constant obsession with food, i keep a perpetual list of restaurants and foods i want to try (the list is around here somewhere). however, the list has gotten bigger and bigger as my bank book grew smaller and smaller. it's pretty shameful some of the places i've been talking about eating at and the number of years i've been talking about it. but every once in a while, the stars, planets (and my wallet) align...

S'MAC has been around for so long and i've been hankering to go for so long. it's really a no-brainer: who doesn't want to eat mac and cheese? i was, after all, born in America and it is wholly American to love mac and cheese (most non-ABCs tend to dislike cheesy foods since dairy doesn't play a huge part in asian cuisine). S'MAC is located on E. 12th Street near St. Marks and the size of the restaurant is small like most of the eateries in that area. you walk in and spend your time staring at the people sitting in an effort to mind-control them out of their seats. on the night that i went i noticed a guy and 2 girls at a table where everyone was finished eating but continued to sit at the table to chat and leisurely enjoy the complimentary water. i kept sending ESP daggers towards them in hopes they would get up and get out. go enjoy drinks at the multitude of bars in the area, don't take up space in a tiny cramped restaurant! we eventually got a table, but not that one. they were still there when we finished eating!

the service at S'MAC is almost non-existent since you order at the counter but they do give you a placard which you place on your table and they walk the 1 foot from the open kitchen to your table to deliver your mac and cheese. DRC got the American, Guest got Buffalo Chicken, and i got the Parisienne which has brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitakes and rosemary. my favorite cheese is swiss so the Parisienne seemed unique and interesting. we all got Nosh portions which is more than adequate-sized for a normal dinner portion although if you're starving i recommend an upgrade to Major Munch.

the American ended up being bland but when seasoned with a liberal amount of salt and pepper it can be saved. the cheese in the American was nice and creamy which was really its saving grace. the Parisienne was good, although a little unbalanced. some bites were sweet because of the fig, others were extremely rosemary. the cheese was less creamy which surprised me since i always associate brie as an extremely creamy cheese. maybe it doesn't melt as well? i ate about 2/3s and couldn't finish the remainder. the Buffalo Chicken was clearly the winner of the night because it was very flavorful and not too salty or spicy, as some buffalo chicken-flavored dishes tend to be (i just had a flashback of Chili's Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. yikes.). apparently, i'm not the only person who thinks it was good since NY Serious Eats also named it amongst its Best Macaroni and Cheese in New York City.

embarassing.

2010-11-05T15:41:00.002-04:00

why BLS Class of 2010? why?!?!

how embarassing.

Journey to the South Part Deux

2010-10-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

i spoke with a friend yesterday who commented on my prior post and asked for a picture to see the new cut. i'll put one up eventually but i'm not one of those asian girls who stands around selca-ing all the time. it just feels too narcissistic and weird. however, it did make me look through my blog and realize i haven't posted any pics of myself in a long time. nor do i really have any desire too. for those of you who know me, you already know what i look like. those of you who don't, it wouldn't really matter anyway. plus, i've become a seriously Hungry Hungry Hippo and am extremely displeased at the way i look. and for your benefit, i will not subject you to my currently unpleasant aesthetics. for those ppl who see me in person on a regular basis, you're SOL.

also, i was checking out my visitors statistics since i'm always curious as to who's reading and why/how they stumbled onto my blog. and how freaky was it when i saw a visitor from the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.? um, yea, that didn't completely scare me for 5 seconds... although i don't think i have too much to worry about since they seemed to have stumbled on it for the post about JGL.

a preview of what Cubed did later that same night.

ok. now to conclude my Journey to the South. Cubed, Kiddo and i drove from VB to Richmond to meet up with Coleslaw and AMW. Cubed made the mistake of drinking a few beers before we got into the car and proceeded to hit traffic. so not pretty. and neither were the bumpy construction roads at the time. however, we did get a Chick-Fil-A stop out of it and i got to show off my fancy driving skills of one-handed signaling and changing lanes because my other hand was eating a soft serve ice cream. i got MAD skillz.

so, i have to admit, i'm not a great diarist. a ton of debauchery went down while we were in Richmond. Beer Pong, drunken traipsings, Trolley Market, random makeouts, and "kitchen time" but i didn't photograph any of it. my bad...

this is not the aforementioned "kitchen time" although we were in the kitchen

but really, do we need more documentary evidence of debauchery? probably not.

look at this thing!!! ::smacking and licking lips::

i did however, take some pics of our epic brunch at River City Diner. the menu is ginormous, with some definite note-worthy options and the bloody marys are huge and delicious. mmmm, i'm salivating just at the thought of it... AMW was her usual self and ordered 3 beverages and a side of fries. the order that came out was essentially 5 fries on plate. i kid you not. the serving size was seriously pathetic. however, AMW's order aside, everyone else's was more than enough to fill up our stomachs.

apparently someone disagreed enough with Tabasco's suggested uses to cross them out on the bottle at CP Shucker's

after brunch we made a command decision and went back to Virginia Beach to check out BBM's hometown and meet her parents who were throwing a barbecue in our honor (or Cubed's honor-but i decided to include myself in that). i finally fulfilled my desire to eat seafood near the sea. every time i go to a seaside town, i become wracked with a desire to eat oysters and chowders. it's really weird. particularly since NY and NJ are also sea-bordering states. however, since i'm the only person that feels this way, it doesn't usually come to fruition. except this time.

BBM took us to CP Shucker's on the oceanfront to satisfy my seafood craving. i ordered so much food my jeans (which i'd borrowed from BBM because i'd ripped mine playing beer pong in Richmond) felt like they were going to burst. but it was totally worth it. BBM ordered the Shucker Bites which are bite-sized grilled tuna, which i remember being good, but now, so many months later, i have no recollection of them at all. for my meal i got the She-Crab soup, Bay Chips and Cheese, and a dozen raw oysters. anyone who knows me would think that's nothing. and so did i, but i clearly forgot to account for the density of the She-Crab soup. i'd never had the soup before but was immediately intrigued once BBM told me about it. it's like a chowder made from the eggs of a female crab with the usual chowder accoutrements. being asian, eating the ovaries of crabs is nothing foreign and i actually really like it so of course i ordered it. and it was extremely tasty, but i recommend ordering cup-size because the density of the "soup" and the flavor becomes overwhelming in bowl-form.

my epic meal at CP Shuckers.

after dinner we went to BBM's local but i'd developed an alcohol headache by then so i was out of the game until right before the bar closed. go figure. i furiously drank 2 beers before we got kicked out of the bar. although what i did was nothing compared to Cubed. right before we were leaving, a random guy offered Cubed $20 to chug a pitcher of beer. who would say "no" to that? clearly not Cubed (and it didn't help that BGA and i were egging him on).

Cubed right after his "triumphant" chug. it looked worth it at the time...

Cubed puked as soon as we got back to BBM's apartment and suffered the consequences for the rest of the night. he kept bemoaning "that so wasn't worth $20". to Cubed's credit, he had drank pretty heavily prior to chugging the beer as well.

BGA and i stayed up to giggle like little girls at a slumber party and share our new-found love of all-things-Kesha (that should help you date exactly how long ago this event took place). we also watched the weirdest tug-of-war going on between BBM and the guy she was seeing. he kept going into her room to go to sleep and then exiting 5 mins later then going back in 5 mins after that. it must've happened about 20 times.

everyone was a little rough the next morning

the barbecue at BBM's parent's house was amazing. there's something about a home-cooked meal that is always so satisfying. i didn't get pics of the food because i didn't want to look like a weirdo....

...so instead i'll show you the pics of us shooting paintballs in BBM's backyard.

when worlds collide

2010-10-06T15:30:00.006-04:00

it always feels a little weird when someone or something you know in completely different capacities end up coming together, isn't it? like when you introduce your college roommate to your high school friend and find out that they know each other already. there's nothing wrong with it, it just unsettles your understanding of the world for that 1 nano-second.

i experienced that last night when i was watching Playful Kiss. Around 10 mins into episode 8, 2 supporting characters are sitting in a cafe eating food. it's not that exciting a scene so i wasn't really paying attention and was finishing up some work and just listening to it in the background.

i wish you luck
and i wish it true
that's the best
i can do for you

cause you'll probably find love
in someone new
i have to let go
yeah it's hard to do

wait. what? why am i singing David Choi?

so if i ever see you on the street
i'll pretend that i didn't see
and turn my face
no use in small talk anyways

because if i look into your eyes
then i'll have to say goodbye
and that'll break my heart
so i won't even start

is that "Won't Even Start" by David Choi playing in the background of this cafe scene in Playful Kiss? yes folks, it is!

hmmm, i wonder if he's really that popular in Korea. would i get to see him on Music Bank or Inkigayo any time soon?

Vanity

2010-09-26T12:07:00.003-04:00

Maybe it's just me but i believe there's something in human nature that makes it so that when you sit across from a mirror you can't help but keep looking at your reflection a/k/a VANITY.

I'm sitting in the salon right now waiting for MaMa and Hippo and I JUST CAN'T STOP checking myself out in the mirror. Particularly fiddling with my newfound bangs. And with my iPod earphones in, it's like i'm in my own world (like those scenes in movies where the protaganist is standing in the same place while the world around them is moving SUPER QUICK).

I always have really weird experiences in salons. Maybe it's because i always get my haircut at some Chinatown salon. For instance, i once had a stylist continually ask me if i wanted to dye my hair, not so subtly implying my hair was in bad condition. CONTINUOUSLY. and you can only listen to "you sure? cause it bad" so many times before it starts getting annoying/funny. On another occassion someone cut my hair with the worst random cowlick on the back of my head, which i didn't discover until after i washed it and dried it for the first time. every time i dried my hair it stood up to Alfalfa-like porportions.

Most recently, i walked into a salon to get full-on straight bangs. I've been really wanting them and WoofWoof's are always a constant reminder. My hair's not ideal for straight bangs because i don't have that STRAIGHT STRAIGHT hair that other asian girls have; mine gets wavy and cowlicky instead. I once got straight bangs in middle school with disastrous results (imagine helmet/giant poof). But i decided to take the leap. I'm older, wiser, and armed with a hair straightener now. I think i can make it work.

So i gave the stylist specific instructions to use the portion allotted to my former sidebangs and use it to cut straight bangs. She seemed to understand. She trimmed my hair and started to work on the bangs, which had grown to chin length since my last haircut. She then asked me, "how short do you want it?"

To which i responded "not too short but so i can see out of them." After which i pointed to the section above my eyes for reference.

She nodded and responded, "so here?" and pointed to the area AT MY MOUTH.

I corrected her again pointing to the area above my eyes.

To which she responded by pointing the area AROUND MY NOSE.

This negotiation continued for 10 mins before i just gave up and let her cut it (we'd reached a compromise to the area of my eyes but not above them). I figured i'd just correct her after. As the cut progressed it became very apparent that she was cutting SIDEBANGS not straight bangs.

So I advised her that i wanted straight bangs NOT sidebangs. This was her response:

"Uhhh... I not know your faaace. I not know if this works for your faaace. I know [the current cut] works for your faaace. You look good. I no know if [straight bangs] work with your faaace. So how bout nex' time when you come back we try that." (And this is exactly how she talked. I'm not being racist).

At this point i just gave up and let her do whatever she wanted. It was too tiring to negotiate.

2 days later i trimmed it myself and am now sporting the desired straight bangs.

Chain Eating

2010-09-21T16:24:00.000-04:00

as an example of my innate New Jersey-ness, for my cousin's bday dinner, we went to Bahama Breeze. it is a fact that if you live in NJ, you spend most of your time dining out at chain restaurants e.g. Chili's, Olive Garden, TGIF's, Applebee's, etc.

i've been to Bahama Breeze only 1 other time, and i only heard about this restaurant over the summer. the 1 near me has a nice outdoor seating area, which is usually packed, but we went there on Labor Day so there wasn't a wait. we were a total of 8 ppl so they seated us at a large round table. and when i say large, i mean LARGE. i practically had to shout to say anything to Woof.

kudos to our waitress because we were that annoying party, where 5 ppl sit down first and then don't order anything for 30 mins because they're waiting for the rest of their party. i felt so bad that i broke down and ordered 2 apps before the other 3 ppl arrived. BirthdayCousin picked the Island Onion Rings and Woof chose the Coconut Shrimp. the menu clearly tells you the apps are big enough to share, but that claim is always put to the test when it comes to my fam (the party ranges from 7-13 depending on which cousins are present). however, the Island Onion Rings lived up to its claim as they were a ginormous tower of rings! and delicious at that. they arrived piping hot and crispy, with a hint of coconut in the breading. and i'm a big fan of the chili-horseradish dipping sauce. the Coconut Shrimp weren't as "share-sized" (more appropriate for a party of 4) but they were equally delish.

Hippo was torn between ordering the Wood-Grilled Top Sirloin Steak and the Jerk Chicken Pasta, so i did her a solid and ordered the pasta for my entree. despite the actual size of the menu, the options aren't very extensive and, since i hate ordering the same thing as someone else at the table, once everyone else was done choosing, there weren't many choices left.

Hippo's about to tear into that steak

the menu's bigger than Woof's face!

but it's all drinks on 1 side, food on the other.

the pasta was ok, nothing spectacular. there was definitely a spicy jerk flavor which is presented in a creamy sauce, but the pasta and chicken itself was slightly overcooked/mushy. the same goes for the Pan-Seared Salmon Pasta. you don't often find seafood and cream sauce pairings but Bahama Breeze clearly believes in it. the steak was good, although i've never been a fan of yuca fries (i find them too dry). i've had the fish specials before and they all tend to be pretty good, so that's what i'd recommend getting, aside from the apps.

perhaps a dinner of just appetizers? if only Felicity was real and Sean had opened his concept restaurant Before and After as he'd originally planned...

The things I need to do...

2010-09-21T12:15:00.002-04:00

...to join things.

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an explanation will be forthcoming, pending that this works.