Miami Day 3… Pool, Cigars, Bubble Bath and Blade Sushi at Fountainbleau

After a super crazy fun night… we just wanted to relax… and cover up from all our sunburns.. of course J took caution and I didn’t…

Ready to beach….

After our free breakfast!!!

That’s a pulled beef  benedict…. OMG….

We also got some cigars for later…

Adult Pool

Beach

Yep I got tanner and burn-ier….

And then it was cigar time.. the “cheaper” one so we can compare

GANGSTA YO

And then I left J to the balcony and a good book and I decided to bubble bath…. not enough bubbles….

CAW CAW CAW CAW

Ok too many bubbles…

Drowning…

UHHH…

I am now dubbed the bubble/foam Queen <3

This is After I let the water out and got out of the tub…

And awesome BF cleaning up my mess hahaha

SO MUCH BUBBLES

This is for you Steve. Stellar Revival shoutout YO. Wait what… yo… way to be so famous and have a FAN OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE….

OK cleaned up and time for my last night in Miami… Mokai here I come….

So first we had dinner at Blade Sushi Bar/Lounge at Fountainbleau… yes yes remember I came here last year? Well we were supposed to go to Hakkasan… but decided that partying after dimsum and Cantonese food/dimsum [omg I'm so craving dim sum tho] would suck [food coma] more than sushi at Blade.

BLINDING menus. Unnecessary

Magical hot towels that grow…

Edamame

I love piping hot edamame… freshly steamed and large sexy sea salt flakes… :]

We couldn’t choose which sake to to buy so our waiter suggested we try a flight first and then choose what we liked most.

Sake Flight

The Sake we ended up choosing… delish! Oh and J called it… we liked #1..  the others were way too sweet…

Octopus Carpaccio
Sweet pepper, Tomato, Red Onion, Cucumber and Spicy Vinegar Dressing

AMAZING. I remember I loved it when I got it the first time and was asked if I was in the food industry/food critic – cuz I guess, people don’t REALLY get the things I do?!

Yellowtail with Yuzu Miso Glaze
Asian pear, Avocado, Micro greens, Yuzu Miso vinaigrette

Amazing… delish yellowtail… yuzu tang… and the sweetness of the asian pear and creaminess of the avocado… this literally MELTED in my mouth. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD.

Salmon Sushi and Uni Sushi

You can never fuck up OG sushi. AMAZE.

Geisha Maki
Yellowtail, Ooba leaf, Orange, Asparagus wrapped in Soy paper,  Wasabi, Tobiko, Yuzu Miso Glaze

This was my roll choice. I loved it… jalapeno… light, refreshing.. definitely super fusian…. so Miami.. reminded me of Samba Sushi.

Bleau Maki
Tuna, Yellowtail, Salmon, Avocado, Scallion, Masago wrapped with Daikon, Soy Onion dressing

J’s choice. Also good. It was tasty but WAYYYYY over-doused in that dressing…. ugh.. drowning in it….

And dessert…

A gorgeous Key Lime Tart with pineapple and blackberries

The tart was creamy and also grainy from the sugar. Not sure how much of a fan I was… but it was quite delicious, super sweet…. hey we had a HUGE ASS bottle of sake to finish, we needed to keep on eating until it was gone… and while, yes, if you havent noticed we rarely do dessert, we did it and loved it.

Afterwards…. we decided we were old. We hit up the Lobby Bar… got some scotch, whiskey and champagne… brought it up to our balcony and had our other cigar and drank the night away in the beautiful weather and view. Life is perfect.

Flying to Taiwan.. more like Eating a ton of delicious food in Business Class…

Early December, SUPER early one morning.. I woke up to head to the airport…

I slept the entire flight from Boston > DC Dulles so I was starved when we got there…

I ended up at a Diner getting an omelette some home fries and a side of fruit.. and of course a TON TON TON of black coffee…

Want some “Shitty Wok” ?

As soon as we sit down we were offered green tea and champagne. I LOVE IT.

Japan!!!

While we watched at the Japan Airport we got some ramen…

And fries and edamame…

And then headed to the VIP lounge for tons of more free food and a free sake/booze bar…

All the sake, wine and whiskey you can drink.. I had my fair share :D

And then it was off to Taiwan… I can get used to this good food on the plane :D

Finally Arrived!!!!

WTF is this? Hipster Sushi? — Sushi Roku at Caesars Palace in Vegas

We got in that afternoon and after room service, a few drinks and then  shopping around Vegas in the Forum Shops in Caesars – and me buying a few new things – probably one too many things, including this dress, we popped some champagne and got ready for dinner.

Kisses from us Taiwanese Girls

We walked ALL the way over to Sushi Roku on the opposite end of where we were in Caesars… SO FREAKING FAR.

We ordered a bottle of sake, it was HUGE [see] and some Edamame to start…

Flashback a few years back at Sakae- we ALWAYS get sushi together!!!  First or Last day together <3

NOM – Sake and Edamame.. almost always a good choice, almost [haha]

We didn’t know what to get so we got all recommendations from the waitress.

Yellowtail Sashimi with Diced Chilies

Kelly didn’t care for it, but I didn’t mind it.  Nom nom nom. I like heat.  It wasn’t really heat, just some mild jalapenos, it was fresh but nothing special and over-doused with some oil

“Hanabi” Spicy Tuna with Diced Chilis on Crispy Rice

This was kind of weird. Cool concept, but I wasn’t into the crispy rice.  A bit too chewy and stuck to my teeth.  I ended up just eating off the tops – which wasn’t even spicy.  Just chopped mushy tuna with a little sprinkling on top.. was there even chilis? I think it was just scallions.

Salmon Sashimi Carpaccio with Black Truffles shaved tableside

In concept, it seemed amazing but it was meh.  WTF was that sauce?

Sea Bream and Shiso with Ume

Katana Roll with Spicy Tuna & Shrimp Tempura with Tuna and Yellowtail

These rolls?! I don’t remember anything great about them.  So disappointing….

Conclusion of food? MEH.

We even stopped our last orders of Salmon Nigiri, we wanted OUT.  Since when do I ever OPT OUT of eating?

I don’t even think we wanted the rest of the sake.  It was overpriced and under-tasty.   I know I was expecting too much since we were just lazy and wanted to get dinner somewhere close.. [plus we have a tradition of eating sushi together] but this is just embarrassing. Contemplated NOT blogging about this, but just wanted the world to know that I do eat NOT good food. I usually don’t go for sushi trying to be cool and trendy, but I’ve never had it this bad. MEH.  I’m glad I was tipsy to not really remember the bad experience to detail.  If you can’t do it right traditionally, don’t try to be HIPSTA about it.

We left and headed off to TAO at the Venetian…

The best fun we had all night:

We actually don’t remember these happening..

TEE HEE*

Bye Bye Detroit, See you never – Sora, best Japanese food in Detroit… at the airport

I left for the Detroit Metro Airport a bit too early so I had a lot of time to spare once I checked in.  I actually left my ID IN my pocket. In my shorts. The pair I wore the night before. And packed it up. In my suitcase. The one that was getting shipped. OOPS.  Good thing I had my Passport from going to Canada.

I finally got to try the Japanese place I’ve seen at the Delta side of the airport.  Sora Japanese Cuisine. I got a seat for one in the front of the restaurant by the sushi bar and opened the menu. GLEE.

I expected the worst but was pleasantly surprised.

LOOK! They have Takoyaki AND Ramen!

Unfortunately my stomach was killing me from the night/day before so I tried to eat light.

A Plum Wine/Sake Martini concoction. Maraschino cherry. A bit on the girly side for me… and too sweet, but it was pretty fun.

Edamame

Tako Su

Super fresh… seaweed, slightly pickled cucumbers and delicious super tender fresh octopus!!!

Sashimi

Salmon and Tuna.. the safest bet.  Beautiful vibrant colors!  Soft, a bit on the small side but tasty.

I had another martini.. contemplated getting more food but decided to buy some candy and snacks instead and play on my ipad until my flight.  RIGHT before boarding I grew starved and wanted a burger. BOO. I checked my giant Chanel travel bag for my banana and it was squished ALL. OVER. the bottom of the bag. SO SAD.

Word Search on the plane waiting to be able to use electronics.

Ignite Sushi Bar & Lounge

The closest thing to sushi around here? Ignite Sushi Bar & Lounge on the third floor of the MGM here in Detroit.  I’ve been having a craving and never got to try the place out last time I was in Detroit soooo….. why not?!  I finished up work, crazy busy work day, I got dressed up and decided to have a solo dinner date with me, myself and I.

So security in the front of the casino told me to get the Michigan roll, but ya’ll know that I’m not a fan of cream cheese in my sushi – in fact W likes to get it sometimes just to spite me haha – so I ended up with the safest, but a unique, option.

Hawaiian Roll
Inside: tuna, cucumber
Outside: Ebi (cooked shrimp), avocado
Toppings: kiwi, pineapple sauce, spicy sweet sauce

Spicy sauce was basically sriracha and some other stuffs.  I dug the kiwi and pineapple flavors, it was flavor overload, and I actually enjoyed it, minus the drowning in different sauces.  Remember guys, less [sauce] is more!  But then again, I’m not a huge sauce girl.

Edamame

Always a fav snack of mine, they were overcooked – to the point where a lot of the pods had broken open – but still tasty.  I love flaked salt.

Ignite Salad
organic michigan lettuce, radish, carrot, scallion. w/ ginger dressing and salmon sashimi

Crunchy fresh veggies, a light yummy dressing and fresh sashimi atop.  The dressing was a bit overload, and the bottom half of my salad was SWIMMING in dressing.  Womp.

So the food wasn’t bad.  Aside from the fact that all the rolls had a ton of mayos and sauces all over them…. and the edamame was a bit overcooked.  But the service was horrible.  The people were super nice BUT, I never got napkins, no one ever came over to take my drink order, they don’t even have a drink menu!!!… and I had to ask them about 4 or 5 times before I finally got my first drink order, super late.  AND they said they had 4 different sakes but just brought me over a random cold one. UM…. okay… but after the 3rd tiny bottle, I didn’t care much anymore.. and just shrugged it off. NOM NOM NOM.

But if you’re not into sushi they have some small pites like yakitori, noodle dishes and some cute sliders.

I’ve read some reviews on how there were fruit flies, sauce overload, etc… it wasn’t dirty, and the place was pretty swanky.  I got there towards the end of ballroom dancing and it seemed like a lot of fun.  But the sun doesn’t go down til super late so after dinner I wasn’t really in the dancing mood yet with the sun blasting in the big windows on the dance floor.  I stuck out like a sore thumb, as in I was palest one there and I think the only Asian.. hahaha… I definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore but the music was banging and smiles were everywhere.  I had a great time.  I’d go for fun and if you’re desperately needing sushi and don’t wanna risk some random place in Detroit.  Don’t expect a mind-blowing meal but just have a few drinks, put on your dancing shoes and have a good time.

Blade Sushi Bar/Lounge at Fountainbleau

On our last day in Miami, W had an early start to a busy day so I just slept in cuz it as rainy/thundering on and off all day in Miami… woke up around 1130 and got ready to spend a day shopping and eating…

After some shopping around and fell in love with the most gorgeous Philipp Plein seude biege crystalized skull bag/tote… UGH I WANT IT… it was almost 5grand SIGH… AND these jean shoes… I finally headed over to Blade for some sushi.

I was surprised to find out that Bladen and La Vida are actually one.  La Vida is american and Blade is, well duh, sushi/Japanese but you can get both in the same place.

Sushi Bar

My view

Ready to eat

…with my Sparkling Sake Mojito

Sparkling Sake, Bacardi Superior, Fresh Mint, Hand Pressed Lime, Soda, Cane Nectar

Water a la Z with Lime & Lemon

Edamame
Steamed Soy Beans with Sea Salt

It was a huge piping hot STEAMING bowl. YUM!

Octopus Carpaccio
Sweet Pepper, Tomato, Red Onion, Cucumber, Spicy Vinegar Dressing

This was the dish that got people thinking I was in the food industry/restaurant biz hahahaha….

Green Salad
Rice Vinegar, Dressing, Carrot, Radish Sprout

This was so much more decadent than I expected.  Squash, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, amazing. SOOO GOOD.

Naruto Maki
Thin Sliced King Salmon, Crabmeat, Masago, Avocado, Scallion, Vinegar Dressing, Wrapped in Cucumber

Not that great but fresh

Salmon & Scallop Sashimi

The scallop wasn’t on the menu but I asked for some.  And I asked for them to give me thin slices of lemon with it.  Can you believe they charged me freaking 23$ for that one thinly sliced up scallop?!  It was delicious, but I’d hav appreciated more lemon in the slice lol.

Apprently this was too much food for lil ol me?! So said food neighbors… waiter also thought I was in the restaurant biz/food industry cuz I got the octopus hahaha and probably cuz I was picky about scallop.

Half way thru I finished my mojito so I got a Lychee Martini.  Grey Goose, Lychee Liqeur, Orange Bitters, Lychee Juice.  I was trying to eat super slow and enjoy myself and scenary.  Fuck the girl next to me who told her mom “OMG I wouldn’t even go into a STORE by MYSELF” go back to your salads bitches.

Delicious.  I also ended up buying W a Blade Roll / Panko crusted Toro, Pickled Ginger, Asian Pears, XO Sauce and Bleau Roll / Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, avocado, scallion, masago wrapped with daikon, soy onion dressing.  But we didn’t get a chance to try them cuz we were in a hurry to make it to the airport, boo :[ Next time, maybe… lol…

Dinner at Taichung’s 春水堂 Chun Shui Tang

Every single time I come to Taichung I’ll always head over to 春水堂 Chun Shui Tang for a visit [they have a few locations all over Taiwan but this is the BEST one, hands down and well known!]. My aunt is a tea guru here and also a flower arrnagement guru so I go to visit her as well!

I always get a few small dishes, a drink or two and it’s great. After a day of too much food and desserts… we headed over here for a quick bite and to rest our feet.. OOPS, ended up with a table full of food – again. And in our bellies ;] AGAIN!

Ice Cold 烏龍茶 [Oolong Tea] Drink

My cousin got a huuuuge Lemon Tea [翡翠檸檬] Drink

毛豆 / Spicy Edamame

Cold and a little greasy but SOOO GOOD and tons of black pepper and chilis!!!

Fatty Taiwanese Pork Sausage / 黑豬肉香腸

These weren’t like my favorites from Lao Yo Ji and 09 but they were pretty good – not fatty enough ;] You don’t need to wash these down with a cold mug of beer hehe…

Braised Wild Mushrooms / 鮮三菇

Greasy, a bit spicy and full of mushrom goodness. :] Braised in a delicious soup of, methinking pork lard, and soy sauce and chilis MMMMM….

Chicken Wings / 烤雞翅

Soy Sauce braised & baked chicken wings. They were good but nothing too special…

Fried Turnip Cake / 港式蘿蔔糕

They make the best around. Crispy and light on the outside, fried to perfection and a delicious, almost creamy, innard. Couldn’t stop eating these.. popping them in my mouth like popcorn or m&ms. a bucket of these on the next movie night please :]

Spicy Braised Chicken Feet / 茶香蠔油鳳爪

My favorite thing – and they make it SO good here. Spicy, full of scallions and basil, etc… and tender fall off the bone chicken feet!

Intestine Herbal Soup with Pearl Barley 苡仁

SOOO GOOD and good for the tummy.  Especially since I had been breaking out in hives this is really soothing for the body.

Tofu Skin / 金菇豆皮

Sesame Rice Noodle with Soy Sauce Egg and Bok Choy

烏龍豆干米血/Pig’s Blood Rice Cakes in Spicy Sauce with Scallions & Ginger

My cousin asked for spicy sauce instead of peanut sauce with this.  I think it was more of a peanuty spicy sauce and just no peanut powder. YUM!  The more ginger and scallions and heat the happier!

方舟 / Black Sugar Cakes
These are my absolute favorite here, besides the chicken feet – best when piping hot and fluffy from the oven.  Black sugar makes desserts even better!  These were good even cold – they came out in the beginning of the meal [bad planning on service part since they didn't realize how big of a real meal we were eating] but delicious nonetheless.

LOVE this place. You must go!

Delicious ShangHai Dinner at Dian Shui Lou [點水樓]

I barely ate today… well this morning… tired, cranky, I’m half sick, I can’t tell if it’s the humid ever-changing weird weather of Taiwan, allergies, or I’m actually getting a bit sick…

I stopped by my new favorite, Cafe Kitchen for some coffee, whiskey and this new one..

Rum Coffee

Espresso, brown sugar and a shot of rum :]

I bought a few CDs and cute Hello Kitty stuff and headed out to dinner at Dian Shui Lou [點水樓]

Cold Dish: Jelly Fish Salad [涼拌海蜇]

Cold Dish: Mini Anchovies [小鱼ゅ] and Fried Tofu

Cold Dish: Braised Bamboo

Delicious and not greasy or oily or heavy at all :] SO GOOD!!!

Cold Dish: Betel [檳榔] Palm Blossoms

Cold Dish: Sweetened White Bitter Melon [白苦瓜]

The usual, if they have it, I get it. Y’know :]

Since I always get it and never really talked about it:

“This unique variety is developed recently and has become very popular in Taiwan. Creamy white skin fruits are very beautiful in the gardens and attractive in the markets. This variety has appeared recently in the supermarkets on the West Coast and has been commanding a higher price than other varieties. In Taiwan, fruits are often protected and covered using paper sleeves, by closing the top end but keeping the bottom end open, to block the sunlight exposure and to minimize fruit skin scratch during the fruit growth, to obtain beautiful fruits. Seeds are black in color.” [Source]

Cold Dish: Drunken Pig Feet [猪脚]

It was weird having this flavor, I’m used to it being with chicken, but it was with piggie trotters :] aka piggie knuckles and piggie feet hahahah… It’s also weird eating pig’s feet COLD.. hmmm still think I love it most soy sauce broth braised :]

Xiao Long Bao / Soup Dumpling / 小籠包

Delicious but I still love Din Tai Fung’s the best!!!  Soupy but just a little bit small and there was so many in the steamer that they got cold and hard quickly :[

We started talking to our fellow dining neighbors and they actually offered some of thei dishes to us.. like this Scrambled egg with salty duck egg and fish...

Creamy, salty delicious. I actually didn't taste any of the fish but definitely had a lot of the salted duck yolk, SOOO GOOD!!!  They actually give you a whole clay pot of it.. how you eat the whole thing without a table of ppl is beyond me.. okay, lies, I could probably eat the whole thing :]

Sauteed Loofah 勝瓜

I love eating this with lots of ginger and clams the best but we got this plainly sauteed this time. So fresh, tender, with a bit of crunch OMG delicious!

Dong Puo Rou 東坡肉 – Braised Pork Belly

Falling apart and melting on my tongue.. the fat the meat, sooooo creamy and delicious.. it came with a steamer of buns to put the fatty pork in – the sauce tasted a bit of soy sauce and peanut base.. and came with delicious steamed bok choy.

I had a lot of these.. SOOO GOOOD.. piping hot and melted and slid down my throat like happiness…

I needed more greens… so I ordered another plate of veggies for me…

Sauteed Garlicky Pea Shoots – Dau Miu 豆苗

Very fresh and perfectly cooked. A bit on the salty side for me.. but still delicious and I feel like I ended up eating most of it :] YUM! I always need plenty of my dark greens in my belly. HAPPY!  Veggies here are so much more tender and delicate and fresh tasting here in Asia than back in the states.. can I just not go back?!

Steamed Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐

While I usually like it fried with pickled kimchi the best… I also love it super spicy, mala, steamed.  But even tho I asked for this to be super spicy it wasn’t. SAD.  It was sprinkled with edamame and pieces of pork and only some of them are stinkier than others… :T So some pieces were good some were meh. WTF?! Sad.. My least favorite dish I’ve had here.. :P Poo

And then.. even tho we probably weren’t gonna get any, or maybe just get some 心太軟 [which is a favorite of me and my daddy's.. which is mochi stuffed sweet sweet red dates] we ended up taking out neighbor’s suggestion… so for dessert we got

奶黄包 – Nai Wong Bao – Egg Custard Buns

They came out fresh and piping hot… the innards were gooey, milky and buttery and just oozed out.  Even tho it was BURNING hot I couldn’t help but gobble up two ASAP. So delicious and I even licked off the custard that dripped on my plate from the first bites. YUM! Here’s a quickie recipe from SplitMartini.com

Look at that deliciousness…

Dian Shui Lou [點水樓] is one of my favorite places to go to for dinner in Taipei… especially for great Shanghai food.. :] And when I’m bored of always eating Din Tai Fung for xiao long baos…. DEFINITELY hit one of them up :] They’ve got a few locations in Taipei!

I love my Best Friend!!!… & Japanese Food, Pizza, Stoups – but hate *NStar

I’ve had NO power in my house since Saturday night… yes… Irene SERIOUSLY fucked me over. Excuse my language ;D  On Monday, I had a late start but ended up in the gym 1/2 hr away from my house to shower… first time in the gym in almost a year *fat* I worked out like a champ, sweated up a storm, almost passed out for being overenthusiastic and realized that all the hot water there was out too.. COLD SHOWER… womp womp. Good thing I was overheating, so I didn’t mind… I had a delicious dinner, was craving Korean so DABIN it was… and then continued on to more days of NO power…..

Teaser pic here…

Read real entry here :D

Yesterday I went to the gym to work out, shower – in cold water – and heated to the local Starbucks [by the gym, not my house, my whole town is shut down] to work… only to be frozen into a popsicle… really Starbucks?!.. does it have to be minus 10 degrees in there?!… not even my Venti extra hot Americanos were helping….PLUS  I woke up with the worst stomachache and it got worse and worse as the day went on.. the freezing cold didn’t help… so hot sake and soup was a must! No Wine Tuesday for today!!…

Some nice Nabemono – aka Japanese Hot Pot –  from Fugakyu Cafe helped, but it was SO overcrowded and the service was kinda slow… still super nice waiters tho and delicious food :] PER usual..

Large HOT Sake

Salmon Sashimi

So fresh, tender and melted in my mouth :D Always a must for me when getting sushi..

Ika Tobikko Ae

Raw squid coated in Tobikko & Topped with a Quail Egg

One of my favs!!! I love raw egg and raw squid MMMMM, so much fishieeeee eggies.. I’m a caviar monster :]

Edamame

SO addicting.. I feel so white when I eat these for some weird reason… but at least it’s not that beef wrapped asparagus or whatever.. hahaha

Fugakyu Nabe…

Lobster, thinly sliced top prime rib, assorted fresh seafood & vegetables simmered in chicken broth.Served with sesame sauce & ponzu

It warmed me up and semi-helped with my tummyache I had had ALLLLL day :[ Ouch... MMMMMM I can never get enough lobster! Some of it didn't look too fresh, me thinks it's cuz of the blackout... they obviously were using their own backup generator since everything else in the town - except for CVS and Shaw's is out.. and those places were on their own backup power too... so I didn't have the baby corn or the scallops - which were STILL transparent after cooking for AGES!!!.. ew.. I asked for EXTRA enoki :D They looked a little limp but still YUM!

My absolute favorite thing to get here and I get it ALL the time unless I do takeout. Their Unaju eel rice dish and Katsu are SUPER good too... and curry :] But then I make pretty darn good curry… hehehe

- GLOAT -

- END GLOAT -

So I gave in… and went to Katy’s today :] I didn’t give in like it was a bad thing, I just feel bad asking for help… she’s been telling me all week to just crash at her place, or at least shower there.. but we were planning a date today anyways.. so it worked out perfectly!!!!

What I saw as I left my street.. *jaw drops* are you EFFING KIDDING ME?!?!?

BUT I got to Katy’s.. freaked out cuz a worker was sitting on her stairs and I thought she wasn’t home – teehee – BUTTTT I got all of my work done PLUS she had the most delicious chicken stoup in her crockpot stewing away all day – SMELLED SO FREAKING GOOD!!!

The liner for the crockpot freaks me out… need to google NOW – it just doesn’t look safe.. I’m scared it’ll melt and I’ll eat plastic or have a weird fire.. I know it’s MADE for this but it’s still awkward. I refuse to advertise them on my website so no pics or names, but I’ll link to them if you’re interested… HMMM I need my own crockpot.

The chicken was cooked for so long that it just shredded apart, SOOOO GOOD… just chunks of celery, carrots – [LOTS] and delicious potatoes.. ya’ll know I’m not a HUUUGE tater person – except for fries and dirty mashed potatoes – even still I eat all the skin parts only – BUT I had nice three big chunks YUM! More on this later…

I brought over a nice white pinot grigio that I had bought up in Bar Harbor ME when I went there for Acadia – which I have posts that need to be written, maybe I’ll do some tonight – we had wine, chocolate covered oreos…

Watched TEEVEE… talked to driveway paver people – teehee to Irish accents ;] I have a soft spot for them… blasted some music and had a trip to Toys R Us….

I GOT A TWITTER DUCKIE NAMED DWEET.. and my ring bubble came out with TWO rings!!! YAY

and picked up some pizza and mozzarella sticks [Katy had a craving]

Not ours, but I didn’t take pics and had these in my food porn folder on my Mac… so YUM!!!….

Two bowls of Chicken Stoup with Saltines, a slice of Green Pepper, Mushroom, Onion pizza and two mozz sticks later – whilst watching H2O.. I love my KateMonkiie :D She feeds me OH SO WELL <3

MMM Josh Hartnett - I used to have the BIGGEST crush on him from The Faculty and this movie :D

…we ended the night with Hell’s Kitchen :] YAY. WHY THE HELL IS ELISE STILL THERE?!?!?!.. I wanted Elizabeth AND Elise GONE.. I miss Carrie, what a cutie pie :] TEEHEEEEEEEE…..

Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayzing day!!!… now onwards to catching up on posts!!!

Now I’ll end this post with a cute pic… Babies sleeping together while we watched TEEVEE…

I’ll be posting up Acadia posts [FINALLY] AND my YES, long awaited Vegas post, asap!!!!!

XO

ps. FUDGE! I have a misquito bite on my head. I rain out in the storm Saturday night – don’t ask – and got EATEN ALIVE by misquitos.. apparently I got more today when we were all outside talking to pavers :P BOOOOO… okay end rant.

Craving Korean after a Good Workout

I hadn’t been to the gym in almost a year.. I’m lazy, what can I say, unless the gym is in the same building as me, I probably won’t go. I’m also a germaphobe and hate showering in public places.. but due to no power or hot water, I gave in – I’m glad I did, hope to get back into the routine of going to the gym daily.. although I already broke it today. Anyways.  After my first day back I was craving hot warm soup.. quality comfort food.. I was gonna go for a salad but REALLY wanted a nice REAL meal in my tummy… so. Korean. Which was, thankfully, just down the street from my gym.. a short drive later… I arrived at Dabin. A Japanese & Korean restaurant that’s been in my old hometown for.. as long as I can remember – apparently they opened in 1996 :]  Smack dab in the middle of Lexington Center… great location but just far away enough from the tourists :D Phew..

As much as I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE sashimi, I opted out and decided to go all Korean, minus the edamame ;D Besides, extra banchan is always a plus!!!

Btw, I opted for Hot Tea and Water, since I figured I just worked out and I need to be “healthy” for an ill minute and not get Soju ;D

Ban Chan

Fishcakes, Cucumber Kimchi, Cabbage Kimchi and Marinated Sprouts

All were delicious. I’m not a huge fishcake person but I LOOOOOVE kimchi… the cucumbers were the tastiest IMO :D

Edamame

Huge, cooked to perfection :] NOM! Perfectly salted – just a tiny bit but on every single bit!

Ban Chan round 2 :]

Kimchi Pajeon: Kimchi, Seafood & Scallions

The sauce is basically soy sauce and lots of scallions.. a bit too salty since the pancake was already salty.. but the pancake was OH so crispy :D Maybe a tinnnyyy bit greasy but SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD… so worth the fattiness.. MMMM… FULL of delicious kimchi and SOOO much yummy seafood in it.. calamari, scallop, etc… SO GOOD!!

Mommy’s Galbi Ooguji Guk
Stew of Short Ribs & Oriental Veggies

The broth was rich and thick.. more so than a regular Galbi Tang… HUUUUGE chunks of short ribs that just melted off the bone and not too fatty :] Tons of delicious veggies which my mommy gobbled up.. but she was too greedy with the Pajeon earlier so she had no more tummy to eat all the meat :[ Poo...  Next time we're gonna ask for it to be spicy!!!

My Soft Tofu Jjigae
with extra Kimchi and extra Spicy... Uncured Tofu  & Seafood

It was soooo good and thick full of veggies and a delcious thick stew... I am OBSESSED with Jjigae, especially when I need comfort food.. this could've been spicier but had a nice sodium level, a lot of the time I get salt overload from their kimchi jjigaes... [which I usually get, but I didn't want pork tonight] There were clams, fishcakes, calamari, scallops, fish and oysters… tons of kimchi and scallions MMM MMMM… the scallops were way overcooked so I didn’t eat them but other than that… I licked the bowl clean.. mmmm I love uncured softtt tofu :]

Ended up bringing back the rest of the Pajeon – it’s HUUUUUGE and the rest of the edamame.. MM MMMM.. great midnight snack!!! The Pajeon wasn’t really crispy anymore but SOOO GOOD.. wish the sauce had more scallions and lessss salty.. but yum yum.

Read more about my no power adventures…