Viva Las Vegas (off strip)

Hello world!

Another – long time no – write entry.

I know, I know… why does it take me so long? Because I feel like creativity works best when I feel like writing vs when I force myself to write. And I also just came back from Las Vegas; meaning I have some food adventures to share with you! 🙂

Since I’ve been dating my boyfriend, we’ve been going to Vegas too often. But luckily, I met a man that enjoys food more than gambling which allows us to venture off the strip then staying within the hotel walls.

This time around, we went to Las Vegas to watch our favorite comedian, Russell Peters. He is currently on tour after being MIA for a year and with good reasons. I’m always so impressed with his material and I could listen to his stuff for hours. By following our favorite comedian, it allowed us to stay off the strip at the Palms Place Hotel – and I must say… I really like it there! The suite style room with the kitchen definitely makes a great place to stay if you have kids or plan to stay for a while. Wish we took advantage of the kitchen, but NEXT TIME!

For food, we discovered a few new places this time while revisiting some of the favorites. Here is a list of places that we went to this time:

  1. Cafe Sanuki
    Legit cafeteria style restaurant. You grab a tray, order your meal, then pay at the cash register. It was a fun experience if you want to experience the Asian cafe style. Really enjoyed their tempera and the Shoyu Pork Udon and the Niku Beef Udon.
  2. Sweets Raku  FAVORITE.
    Had their Chef Dessert Set (which includes their special of the day + chef’s special) and their Sweets Raku Dessert Set (includes special of the day + one main dessert choice).
    That days special was a mango sorbet or a raspberry sorbet, which were both tarty and refreshing. The chefs special was an apple pie with honey ice cream and a blown sugar apple filled with whipped cream. And for the main dessert choice, we had chosen the “Mars” which included a cool fire show.
  3. Shang Artisan Noodle
    Shang is known for their hand-pulled noodles. We’ve been here before but had a major craving for it again. I recommend the pork & cabbage dumplings + their potstickers. We’ve tried their Shang Beef Noodles (which has a spicy broth), but if you prefer a non-spicy broth, the beef shank noodles were great.
  4. Good Pie
    For dinner, we saw great Yelp reviews for this place and decided to order-in as my boyfriend had to do some work (delivery by DoorDash). We ordered the Johnny be good, Detroit style, which means the pizza has a thick crispy crust (more bready if you like bread). The pizza was great delivered, but I bet it would have been better if we ate it at the restaurant.
  5. Sapporo Revolving Sushi
    Conveyor belt sushi – NOT all you can eat. Each plate is about $2.50 while you can order other things at a different price. Uni was great, so were the salmon and tuna.
  6. Goong Korean BBQ  FAVORITE
    Whenever the local Uber drivers ask why we’re going off the strip to eat and what is the best place to eat Korean BBQ in Vegas, we always suggest Goong. Goong’s meat quality is pretty high compared to what we get in the Bay, and the price is pretty reasonable as the quality of the meat is high. We like to order the Wagyu Beef platter that includes banchan (Korean side dishes), Korean pancake, soup, and steam eggs. Definitely, recommend trying!

Hope you enjoy my list of restaurants as much as I enjoy eating at these restaurants haha. And as always, thank you for stopping by and reading my blogs! If you have any feedback or recommendations, feel free to leave me a comment! I would love to explore new places and new items of foods. Well, till next time!

Cheers, Jane.

Beef Shank Noodles @ Shang
Cafe Sanuki
Chef Special @ Sweet Raku

Not so… cloudy/rainy city?

Hello, world!

Long time no write! It really has been a while (maybe a month, right?) Well, it’s been hard to be creative while I was in a “Motown funk” mode, but I’m trying to get past it and get back on it!

Last weekend was my beloved’s birthday. And for his birthday, we went to Seattle (as he has never been). When we usually travel, we like to include some outdoor activities and of course food. But this time, we decided to go with the touristy route and purchase a CityPASS and explore the popular spots.

With CityPASS – Seattle, we were able to explore Space Needle, Argosy Cruise Harbor Tour, Museum of Pop Culture, and the Chihuly Garden and Glass. Unfortunately, the Seattle Aquarium had a special event that week, so we weren’t allowed to enter that, but that is also included in the CityPASS.

Not only did we get to explore those four spots, but we also went to the famous Pike Place Market. I’ve been to Seattle before with my high school orchestra, but for some reason – I couldn’t remember that market for the life of me. However, it has been 10 years since then and I’m sure a lot has changed, like my mindset when I travel.

Enough of the touristy spots, now about food!
Like I said – my boyfriend and I are always seeking out food spots that we can’t get at in the Bay Area, or food spots that are known in those certain cities. The spots we hit up are the following:

  1. Un Bien – Cuban Sandwiches
    Caribbean Roast + Press sandwich was the most popular
  2. Rosellini’s Bakery
    Ordered two espressos with a coffee cake + earl grey macaroon
  3. The Tasting Room
    Wine tasting near the Pike Place Market. They also had board games which made it nice to chill while tasting some wine.
  4. Ramen Danbo
    OUR FAVORITE. We came here twice because we loved it sooo much. Franchise from Japan and the only store in the USA (until it opens its New York location), we enjoyed the classic rekka ramen and the miso rekka ramen. You can also choose the cut of the noodles (thin or thick) and the firmness (I recommend soft). It was great and definitely nice to have if you want something warm.
  5. Piroshky Piroshky
    Crazy line, but totally worth the wait. We kept hearing the locals talking about the smoked salmon pate, so we got an order of that, the beef & cheese, and the coffee cinnamon roll. Three different type of pastries, and totally worth trying!
  6. Pike Place Chowder
    Another “go to” place around the market. I would suggest ordering through their online platform and sit at their public seating. It was a lot faster than waiting in the line.
  7. Sushi Kashiba
    This is where the world-famous Chef Shiro works at. Unfortunately, the day we went he was not working so we did not get to see him. But the other chefs are great! Quality of fish was delicious and fresh. Be warned, your wallet will hurt after the meal but… you only live once, right? Also, people started waiting in line at 3:30PM (1.5 hours before the restaurant open), so if you would like to be seated at the bar and be served by Shiro – good luck.
  8. Biscuit Bitch
    Breakfast & Brunch, southern style. Grits were nice and garlicky. Biscuit was also soft and flaky. Come with an empty stomach and hoping to walk all day to burn them calories.
  9. The Pink Door
    Great cocktails and delicious pappardelle and clam linguine.

Oh man – went to a lot of restaurants… HAH. On that note, enjoy this short video! Not too much video footage as my GoPro was not corporating that weekend. But as always, thank you for stopping by and reading my blogs! I hope you enjoyed this post! Till next time.

Cheers, Jane

Espresso with coffee cake and earl gray macaroon
Caribbean Roast + Press Sandwich
Ramen Danbo – Classic Ramen
Sushi Kashiba
The Pink Door

Awkwardly talking to myself

Hi world!

Wow, can’t believe its almost the last week of August! Crazy how time has flown by.

It has been a busy couple of weeks but finally had the chance to take the day to myself and explore around the Bay Area. Though I was born and raised here, there are many places I still have not yet visited – one of them being the Devil’s Slide Bunker.

60B4B962-AE0D-4968-8E81-22A93EC855B2-1025-0000008E8D22D46ELocated in Pacifica, CA (right on Highway 1), it was a beautiful drive over. It has been a bit foggy in the Bay, it wasn’t too cold nor windy, which made it perfect to take a stroll to see the bunker.

The bunker was used during the WWII as a watch station but was abandoned in 1949. What attracted me to visit this place was the graffiti. The bright color of the paint contracts against the fog has it pop out more, which was great. And the creativity these artists have is quite interesting too to look at.

NOTE: I read the bunker is on “private” land and/or it’s against to go up on the bunker. So… I recommend not to do that. oops…

Anyways, I wanted to try a different approach and thought I create a vlog of my adventure! It is VERY choppy as it’s my first one and I felt VERY awkward talking to myself (or to a camera and you can obviously see that on my facial expression), but I had fun creating this. Give it a watch and feedbacks are always welcome (as there is room for improvements).

As always, thank you for always stopping by and being part of my non-sense adventures and word vomits. And I hope to see you guys soon!

Cheers, Jane

The Story of Ramen

Hi world!

I mentioned Singapore in my last post and included a picture of one of the dishes I had there made me hungry, which lead me to share a cool class I got to participate in San Francisco!

The Story of Ramen is a fun, interactive class lead by Chef Manville and his team, who actually studied the art of ramen making in Japan. The class I took with my cousins was a 2-hour class where we got to make our own noodles for our ramen.

IMG_8865.JPGTo start, Manville would explain how the type of flour used to make the noodle and how measurements of water, lye water, and salt plays an important role in the texture of our noodle. With that, we began our noodle making journey.

The class taught us how to knead the dough to ensure our noodles become that elastic texture we all love. Then we ran it through the spaghetti cutter you can attach to a Kitchenaid.

Once our noodles are cut and ready to take a bath in boiling water, we head to the kitchen where we dunk the noodles in boiling water for 90 seconds while tossing it around with chopsticks.

IMG_1867Once the noodles are ready, Manville has our bowls ready for setting. He has the chasui meat ready for us, soft boiled egg, green onion, bamboo shoots, the broth – then the final touch: NOODLES

You’re able to choose your spicy level as well. I started with a 2 (medium), but the broth was so rich and delicious, I had to ask for more spiciness.
Overall, this class was a great bonding moment with my cousins because we all enjoy cooking and LOVE eating. But you also learn a few things about noodles, especially Japanese noodles (like bread flour is best to use due to the gluten – whaaat?!). I would suggest if you (readers) are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, love ramen, and have time to stop by the class – do it! They also have the vegetarian option too, so it is open to everyone who wants to learn.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any other suggestion to what I should write, please let me know!

 

Cheers,
Jane

Crazy Rich Asians

Hi world!

So my goal for this blog was to post a blog at least twice a week… failed! But, being positive and giving myself a pat on the back for at least posting this blog today.

So, on my social media and if you watch any entertainment news, the latest topic to talk about has been the movie “Crazy Rich Asians” (which will be out in theatres on August 15, 2018). I was fortunate enough to score some tickets to watch the sneak preview of the movie last Wednesday, and boy – did it hit home!

If you don’t know what Crazy Rich Asians is about, its about an international man, Nick Young, being in a relationship with an Asian American, Rachel Chu, and invites her to meet his family over in Singapore (very quick summary of what it is). And if you’ve seen the trailers for the movie, you probably heard it a bunch of time.

But – why did it hit home?

There is a scene where Eleanor, Nick’s mother, tells Rachel that she will “never be enough”. Those words – never be enough – have always pierced my soul and my heart whenever I try to be who I want to be.

“Never be enough” would be the words that my parents would tell me at times when I express my interest to do something different in terms of career, but even that would “never be enough”.

That scene itself and the words Eleanor says to Rachel is a brief window to how Asians are raised. We are raised to be more than what is expected of us and yet it would never be enough in career or even as an in-law.

Another reason why it hit home was to see the type of characters on the big screen.

Seriously – I remember seeing a few Asians here are there in some of my favorite movies, but a whole cast of Asians in one movie was motivating! As an inspired model, to see my fellow Asians on the big screens just gives me the courage and motivation to continue to work harder and practice harder to make it there with them.

Lastly on why it hit home – Singapore.

 

IMG_DE6B81EC58B7-1
prawn & pork rib noodles @ Blanco Court Prawn Mee

I had the chance to travel to Singapore in November and I absolutely adore the culture and people there. In terms of advertising and wanting people to travel to Singapore – I think the movie did a fantastic job. It really made me miss the food, the people, and the attractions there. Note, that Singapore has a wide range of people – Malaysians, Chinese, Indians – so the food in Singapore is delicious.

 

Well, I know that wasn’t the best job of selling the movie, but I really do hope everyone gets the chance to watch the movie. If its not for the cast, definitely watch it for the writing, the visual, and the outfits. Had some LOL moments as well, which… I was the only one laughing in the theatre,

Anyways~ Thanks again for always reading my blog! And I hope for you to come back again!

 

Cheers,
Jane