Saturday my aunt came over to Pasadena and although I thought her purpose was for me to teach her how to crochet so we could finally get started on that Hawaiian Motif Purse from Nexstitch, apparently she wanted to get some errands out of the way too. We went to the bank, we had lunch, she took a shower at my apartment, and then we had less than an hour for me to teach her the basics of crochet.
I didn't even get to start her on the purse before we had to leave to get her son a haircut. I was going to teach her more while we waited, but then I had to mention how much I've been wanting that sweet Vietnamese dessert concoction known as che. So we drove to this great Vietnamese bakery that had che. By the time we got back to the hair salon, the haircutting was done and it was time to drive to Covina so she could go to her mah jong game and I could take her son to the movies. After the movie I went to my parents' house. My aunt and uncle were there too, and after we went out for dinner, I spent the night helping my uncle proofread his resume.
Sunday we had to go to the Rose Hills Memorial Park. This weekend was apparently an Asian grave-cleaning holiday. We brought food to my grandparents' grave, then had our own little picnic lunch there (as did SO many other Asian people there that day). Then the Buddhist Hsi-Lai temple held a service at Sky Rose Chapel. It lasted from 1-6pm, but luckily we left after the first third of the session. There's only so much incense and chanting of "na mo ah mi to fo" I can take.
Afterwards, Lawrence picked me up and we went to the Arcadia mall with his cousin Phillip. We walked around a bit and then we watched the movie, 21. It was an interesting movie, not bad. The next day was my RDO, and Lawrence was supposed to have the day off but he had to go in to work because one of his clients was coming in. Luckily he got to leave early. We then went to Arcadia again with Phillip. We had lunch at Genki Living, this interesting little Japanese dessert shop that looks like the sidewalk of a busy street in Japan. Yeah, you gotta see it. They serve Japanese crepes and okonomiyaki! The okonomiyaki was the one reason I HAD to go.
We then went to the Au 79 cafe with cousins Carmel and Caroline for some Big 2 action. They played till 10:30pm, and then it was time for us to go home. Next weekend is going to be busy too. Saturday afternoon is my cousin Audrey's marriage celebration in Malibu. Sunday is Hauson's birthday.
OMGZ I need to get my taxes done.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Little Tokyo Farmer's Market
It's not really in Little Tokyo. It's in the grassy area in front of the City Hall, which is almost at the border between the Civic Center and Little Tokyo. Close enough for those who name these things, I guess. I've been wanting to go here for lunch. We always pass through when on Thursdays we go to Little Tokyo for lunch. The aroma of the food as we walked through was always so tantalizingly good!
Last Friday I looked up LA area Farmer's Markets and saw that there was one at 7th & Figueroa on Fridays. My coworker and I go there, and we find that it's only 1-2 stalls selling kettle corn and nuts. I was very disappointed. :x Today, I made sure to not bring my lunch and we went to the Little Tokyo Farmer's Market. Now this was a Farmer's Market! They put out tables and chairs for people to eat at. There was live jazz music, lots of fresh fruit & vegetable stalls, and lots of ready to eat food.
Today we tried the Salvadorean stall, with their fresh-made papusas. I had a cheese & pork papusa, and a cheese, beef, and potato papusa. The combo came with grilled plantain slices and horchata. Yumm! I didn't pay attention to their preparation when giving me the papusa, but I have a feeling it wasn't freshly off the grill. :( The line gets really long so I'm guessing they have them pre-made and just heat them up before they serve them to you, at least at the beginning. Next time, it may be worth going to when the line is really long to get a really fresh papusa!
There's also Hawaiian grilled meat, Meditteranean style grilled kabobs, gourmet sausage/hot dogs, grilled corn and potatoes, kettle corn, cobblers, honey, honeyed nuts, cookies, baked goods.
Last Friday I looked up LA area Farmer's Markets and saw that there was one at 7th & Figueroa on Fridays. My coworker and I go there, and we find that it's only 1-2 stalls selling kettle corn and nuts. I was very disappointed. :x Today, I made sure to not bring my lunch and we went to the Little Tokyo Farmer's Market. Now this was a Farmer's Market! They put out tables and chairs for people to eat at. There was live jazz music, lots of fresh fruit & vegetable stalls, and lots of ready to eat food.
Today we tried the Salvadorean stall, with their fresh-made papusas. I had a cheese & pork papusa, and a cheese, beef, and potato papusa. The combo came with grilled plantain slices and horchata. Yumm! I didn't pay attention to their preparation when giving me the papusa, but I have a feeling it wasn't freshly off the grill. :( The line gets really long so I'm guessing they have them pre-made and just heat them up before they serve them to you, at least at the beginning. Next time, it may be worth going to when the line is really long to get a really fresh papusa!
There's also Hawaiian grilled meat, Meditteranean style grilled kabobs, gourmet sausage/hot dogs, grilled corn and potatoes, kettle corn, cobblers, honey, honeyed nuts, cookies, baked goods.
Maison Akira
I've been wanting to go to Maison Akira for several weeks now. I read about them on Yelp and various other places, and it sounded like a very unique place. The chef is Japanese and specializes in French food. I think they serve mostly French-style food with a Japanese touch. They've also got a Sunday brunch buffet that's supposed to be very good quality food.
Well, after going to Gyu-Kaku last Saturday night (where upon talking about Maison Akira, our server piped up with his enthusiastic recommendation of the food there), we went to Maison Akira Sunday morning for the brunch buffet.
The restaurant is located off the main street of Colorado. It's not in the middle of the street action, being that it's on Green St., maybe halfway between my apartment and Lake Ave. The area is very nice...brick buildings and shady trees line the street. Entering the restaurant, I was struck by the unique layout. The dining area(s) were split up into little room-like sections. Curtains hung up on the walls, and some walls were mirrors, giving the place the feel a French parlor.
The buffet itself was placed in a long narrow section at the 'front' of the restaurant. The corridor would have been rather uncomfortably small if more than a handful of people went up to the buffet at a time. At one end of the buffet were desserts. At the other end was a carving station where at times the chef himself would carve you meat. They served prime rib and lamb, each with their own sauces. There were creamy potatoes au gratin, a corn potage kind of soup, deviled eggs, a selection of cheeses and crackers...also pieces of nigiri sushi, some rolls, cold soba, salmon, steamed egg with crab meat, and various small bite-sized finger foods that were delish!
When you first see the buffet, you may be rather underwhelmed by the quantities. "I'm paying $36 for this?!" Then you try the food, and you realize it's about quality rather than quantity. "Do I really need to stuff myself to the point of falling over?" You realize that this is Good Food. Fresh ingredients, prepared well, and beautifully presented (okay, maybe not the food in the buffet trays). You try a little of each dish - and luckily they come in small sizes! Perhaps you go back for seconds of the dishes that really stood out to you. You try a slice of both the prime rib and the lamb. Take your time and savor the flavors while conversing with your companions. Before you know it...you feel satisfied and ready for dessert. There. Was that so bad?
Do you really need 500 different food options to feel like a buffet was worth it?
I definitely want to go back during their regular dining.
Well, after going to Gyu-Kaku last Saturday night (where upon talking about Maison Akira, our server piped up with his enthusiastic recommendation of the food there), we went to Maison Akira Sunday morning for the brunch buffet.
The restaurant is located off the main street of Colorado. It's not in the middle of the street action, being that it's on Green St., maybe halfway between my apartment and Lake Ave. The area is very nice...brick buildings and shady trees line the street. Entering the restaurant, I was struck by the unique layout. The dining area(s) were split up into little room-like sections. Curtains hung up on the walls, and some walls were mirrors, giving the place the feel a French parlor.
The buffet itself was placed in a long narrow section at the 'front' of the restaurant. The corridor would have been rather uncomfortably small if more than a handful of people went up to the buffet at a time. At one end of the buffet were desserts. At the other end was a carving station where at times the chef himself would carve you meat. They served prime rib and lamb, each with their own sauces. There were creamy potatoes au gratin, a corn potage kind of soup, deviled eggs, a selection of cheeses and crackers...also pieces of nigiri sushi, some rolls, cold soba, salmon, steamed egg with crab meat, and various small bite-sized finger foods that were delish!
When you first see the buffet, you may be rather underwhelmed by the quantities. "I'm paying $36 for this?!" Then you try the food, and you realize it's about quality rather than quantity. "Do I really need to stuff myself to the point of falling over?" You realize that this is Good Food. Fresh ingredients, prepared well, and beautifully presented (okay, maybe not the food in the buffet trays). You try a little of each dish - and luckily they come in small sizes! Perhaps you go back for seconds of the dishes that really stood out to you. You try a slice of both the prime rib and the lamb. Take your time and savor the flavors while conversing with your companions. Before you know it...you feel satisfied and ready for dessert. There. Was that so bad?
Do you really need 500 different food options to feel like a buffet was worth it?
I definitely want to go back during their regular dining.
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