Hello Again!

Hello MoldyGreenCouch, I've missed you. I think I will revive you with a new post! Yes, that is what I shall do.

Before I left NYC for SF I went to a Secret Santa party hosted by acrossthemoat, with kittyindacity, etherealprey, and beautymoogle. Let me tell you something, acrossthemoat throws the shit party, with a table setting and a gorgeous christmas tree decorated with Hello Kitty ornaments. I received gifts from my lovely secret santa, KittyindaCity. <3

Sweet Shisem lashes, cute cute Hello Kitty sponge and chopsticks, packets of samples, and Shiseido Mascara Base. I LOOOOVE the mascara base, it looks like I am wearing falsies when I use it, so thank you thank you thank you, I LOVE IT!


Vickie not only hosted the party but also made presents for us gals! End of the year birthday gals each were presented a mini tote. Very adorable, and I love the design! It's reversible, mine has japanese dragonflies on one side, and hippos on the other! You can purchase more things made by Vickie here.




I've been having a stressful week at work, so after dinner me and my friend Andy stopped by Walgreens to get me some eye drops (I think I have pink eye, my brother promises he didn't fart on my pillow. LOL!!) Well, an eyedrops run turned into a binge. I picked up face wash since all that my brothers had in the bathroom were Nivea for Men. I didn't feel like smelling a guy all week, nor did it do that good of a job cleaning the makeup off my face. I decided to give Yes to Cucumbers a try, I saw this brand while traveling in Hong Kong 2 yrs ago, and I was interested to see if it's any good. They had their own store at the mall in Admiralty / Time Square.



We stopped by the "As Seen on TV" wall, and loitered for a good 20 mins. Hahah. I have really flat hair so I grabbed the Bumpits. Oh Andy was laughing his face off, he thought I was kidding, but I so wasn't. It comes with 3 sizes, Large, Medium, and baby (for the bangs...awww!), there's also a rattail comb for all frizzy teasing needs. SWEET!

Andy was looking for this pen set, it comes with a fountain pen, a roller pen, a two colors pen, a micro pen, and a mechanic pencil and tons of refills. Supposedly, you can stab these pens through a can and it'll still work. The image of me stabbing my client in the eye to shut them up and turning around to continue my work made my laugh, so I bought one for myself as well. I will be good and not bring it to work, I can't wait for this project to be over so I can see my family and enjoy the holidays. I want FREEDOM!!!

Tableau at the Wynn

Game Night and Cupcake Tasting

Nothing beats good food and good company. My friends Tean and Chanda hosted Game Night at their house, which a cupcake tasting was also thrown into. Tean and Heng made dinner! (Oh how I love being friends with REAL FOODIES!!!) It was dubbed "The Sausage Fest!"...because everything contained sausage. Turkey Sausage Chili, Sausage Orzo, and Sausage and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms. It was delicious. 

We had cupcakes from Sweet Sunshine Bakery from the LES, and when KT and Paolo finally came by they brought an assortment of cakes and other baked goods. We ate so much dessert I almost threw up on the shaky train rides home. 

If I live in Seattle...

*I would weight 260 lb because of the awesome food variety at pike market
*I would have great ass for climbing those nasty hills downtown
*I would have a wardrob dedicated to coats, hats, beanies, rainboots... Layers...
*I would be an official coffee snob-- not only a wannabe caffeine whore
*I would only sleep 2 hours a night
*I would work for Microsoft... Boeing... Or some other big-brother company with a montrous campus
*I would contribute to carbon emission
*... but it's not that bad, cuz I'll have a prius :)
*I would own a spiffy condo with a room dedicated to storing outdoor toys...
*on top of my 260 lb frame, I would gain 10 lb for every trip I take to Vancouver :)

As u can see, I must and musnt move to Seattle... a girl can dream and ponder :)

But visiting is always an option... Especially if my unofficial best friend gets stationed here ::crosses fingers::

l.p.t.

reality checked in the chin

i love assholes.... especially my favorite asshole in the world :)

my mom once told me that i could have had an older sibling, but yada yada yada.... I'm here & the oldest. I've always hated being the oldest; always had to go out there forge the path for my sister, but the all knowing one (i don't know what xyz means! go look it up!) and protect her from all the bad things in the world. I just wanted the responsible-less role of the youngest or the un-assuming presence of the middle child-- lemme alone with my books and quiet things-- to just *be*

The stress of all the grown-up problem on a poor little 8 year old :[ Of course, there were benefits of being older: less hand-me-downs, official-prodigal-daughter stamp at birth, standard setter. But there were many times that i needed the support and help of someone that's older.... someone... with a car!

Jim's the bomb-diggity... altho he keeps dropping off the face of the earth in the last few years. But i've always respected him and his opinions... he's the brother that every girl needs-- he's been around the block a couple times and even graffiti'ed a couple of spots (... not literally... altho there was the incident with the bb gun....), he knows the dirty male mind inside and out, read people and know humans interactions soo well, but cares about me enough to keep me protected with the blunt truth, hold the sugar. *perfect* brother.... actually, he predicted many thing that would happen to my life before it even passed my mind. it's kinda creepy-- there are times that i don't even want to tell him about things because he can be such a pessimist!

i'm the yin to his yang..... keep his soul a little clean and squeeze him through to purgatory while he puts some smudges in my innocent mind.... but after 20 some odd years, he's one of the oldest truest friends i have and am truly bessed with his presence... *sigh*

thanks for the reality check bro, i owe you one :)

Ippudo -- Japanese Cuisine

Ippudo is known for their authentic ramen. It's located on 4th ave and
E10th st in manhattan.

The food is good, the service is topnotch and their décor is something
else to brag about. Beautiful frosted glass panels separate the
booths, creating a nice intimate and almost private feel. I love the
front bar area where the wall is mirrored, and they lined it with
wooden bricks...gives it a modern but ethnic feel. I really like it!

I was still full from a heavy lunch so I only ordered the spicy wings,
(they were ok...a little hard at the edges), but my friend let me try
some of her ramen and I'm pretty sure I'll be back for some of the
shoyu ramen. The soup was amazing! Oh, and the waitress recommended a
bottle of unfiltered sake, which was delicious...sweet and almost
creamy.

The place looks really cute, and the staff greets you in Japanese when
you're being seated. I think it would be a great place to bring
friends, or a date. Although I would come early, it's a pretty popular
place, and we waited 45mins to be seated. But trust me, it's worth it!

Magnolia Bakery

Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. The cake was a little hard at the top, but the frosting was delicious! I heard Billy's and Cupcake Cafe is good too. We shall find out!

Yay for cupcakes!!

Dim Sum Adventures

CIM was a bust, but no worries! Other running adventures are on the horizon :)

running is great. great solo activity... fitness regiment... but when you find some great running friends, it brings things to a next level. I suppose I can get pretty crazy about running, but I do have to blame the company I keep. People to push you to go further, longer, steeper... make you run for your meal.

'12 miles for the best fish taco in sf'
'let's run to the milbrea for dim sum'
'we can end our run at the ferry building for gelato!'

Well, if you see some runners along the BART line saturday morning. just wave and try not to run us over, m'kay?

... Mmmm.. im getting excited and it's only weds! ... i *heard* there's a great lobster roll place somewhere on the pennisula.....

Mango on 7th Ave in Brooklyn

After feeling my blood sugar drop to the soles of my shoes, me and my adventure traveler, Chappeloneous, raced out of Prospect Park. We chased squirrels, gang feuding blue and red birds, dodged the pigeon casualty under the bridge, and clawed our way back to civilization. Artificial LIGHTS!!! A beacon of hope, and a sign that there were restaurants near by. 

After walking pass countless of eatery establishments, we came upon Mango. I thought it was a froyo place, but I am happy to know I was wrong. Mango is a Thai fusion restaurant--I like thai food, and mangos are delicious, what other reason did I need to stop? We gleefully flailed our malnourished bodies into a seat by the wall.  

As blood slowly moved its way back to our brains, and our conscious was regained, I noticed the quaint decor, and the smell of awesome coming out of the kitchen. The waitress kindly and promptly got us water, which I chugged like I just ran a marathon.

We ordered the Orange Chicken Wings and Curry Puffs for appetizers. Chappel took one bite and claimed he was hooked. Both appetizers were amazing!!! The chicken was soft and saucy, code orange saucy. That's almost as saucy as code red, like flavorrists are really about to attack your taste buds and your shirt. Thank goodness it was safe, and tasty. 

For the main dish,  I dished on Spicy Eggplant, flavored to perfection with Thai basil. I wanted to pour all my rice into that sweet and savory sauce. In fact, I would of licked the plate if 2 different families, with children mind you, haven't walked in. Chappeloneous got the Rack of Lamb, which his eyes rolled back as he bit into it. 

"How do you eat art?!" he asked. Why like so, MUNCH MUNCH, OM NOM NOM NOM. (what's with the om nom nom nom phenom? Must be coz it's so fun to say! "omnomnomnomnomnom") Needless to say, it was a good experience, and yes...I did fancy it. The way a british bloke would fancy a good cup'o ale and a newspaper cone of fish and chips. 

Mango....we WILL be back, and we'll bring reinforcements. Starved bears from le manor.

PS. something is wrong with blogger's picture uploader...YOU SUCK! And yes, that was a proclamation. Why do you gotta make it hard on everyone? I got uneven pictures, that I'm too lazy to fix. Staring at code gives me a headache. FIX THIS!!  (please.)

Brown Sugar Kitchen Cafe

Down home cookin finds a place in west Oakland, on Mandela Parkway.
Sufficient to say, it was sinfully satisfying. Great seasonal fruit
assortment; papaya, persimmons, even pomegranate!

Megu and dessert@Planet Thai

FEAST YOUR EYES on Foie Grois, Kobe Beef, "pinkies out" and a whole lot of deliciousness. I had dinner at Megu NYC with my new NY buddy, Mz. Jay. Megu has two locations in New York, and multiple other locations around the world including: London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo...

The food and experience was mind boggling, but it also burned a big fat hole in my wallet.

While other people bar hop around, we decided to restaurant hop--and onward we hopped to Planet Thai, across the street from a gay club, Mr. Black. We ordered this delicious dessert to go with our luscious meal at Megu.

I Hope They Serve Beer in HELL

Um...wow. WOW! 

Did he really turn these short stories into a book?! AND IT'S A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER?!?!?! 

I'm laughing my ass off, reading this "fratire" book--and yea, like the FRAT in the FRATire genre suggested, this book is geared towards guys. Beer guzzling, butt scratching, skirt chasing, asshole dickbags, for lack of better terms, or worse(?).

All I have to say is, LADIES: 

This book is not for you. If you want to end up married some point in your later years, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT read this book. A plethora of romance novels can not repair the damage it'll cause on how you view men. I'm sorry I had to pike the interest and tease your curiosity, but don't even peek into this pandora box of evil. Even if you have a good sense of humor/open mindedness, do NOT read this book. =)

¡Dios mios! Paella!!!!!!!

Today I tried to make Paella for the first time. I had a seafood mix in the freezer and thought, why not? So I chopped up some red peppers, diced some carrots, onions, garlic, tomato, and pulled out frozen corn, peas, and edamame, and went for it!

I didn't really know what I was doing, so I turned to good ol' trusty YouTube which is, besides a fountain of entertainment, a fountain of knowledge. Since I didn't have a paella pan, I did what I saw my uncle and my mama do--cook everything stovetop and then transfer into a baking dish and sticking it into the oven. It turned out pretty good! =)  I also cut a few limes we had lying around for garnish. I wish my lovely MGC'ers could taste it. I miss you guys so much!

All the way at Bear Manor,

FuriousFeng

PS. My delicious paella was missing the key ingredient to that lovely yellow color--saffron. But it was like 36 f'ing dollars at Whole Foods, for a tiny envelope of what could only possibly hold like 5 strands of saffron. So I said, F*** this, I'm OUT! But it's nice and orangey, thanks to the tomato sauce. 

Miss Favela

The first restaurant I ate at after my arrival to Brooklyn (and a 4 hour nap at that!), was at a great Brazilian restaurant--Miss Favela. Miss Favela brought a sense of stereotyped authenticity--Delicious food, music, singing, and dancing. Everyone's having a great time, eating Brazilian, being Brazilian, and speaking Brazilian Portuguese. I on the other hand was looking around hoping for some help. The only decent thing I know how to say in Portuguese is thank you, and "a kiss!" for when you say good bye. 

Like a fish out of water, I felt uncomfortable at first, being the one lonely yellow dot in this vast painting of every other color. Hahah. But the people were nice, our neighbor said "bon apetit!" but you know, in Portuguese. The waitress hooked it up with an extra entree for FREE99. It was pretty nice! Would I go there again? Definitely on a Saturday when they have a band.

**Caution*** You might want to wait half hours before dancing if you're gonna eat. Coz you'll be super sleepy food comatose-y. But my head kept bouncing and my body kept swaying while I was eating. It was a fun experience!

Mos Burger

Mountain, Ocean, Sky

The sweet taste of nature, captured and wrapped into a tasty burger, by the wonderful Japanese creators of Mos Burger. With locations all over Asia and one lonely location in US. (It's in Hawaii...where there are a lot of Japanese Americans in dire need of their MOS satisfaction quota.)

Try their many assorted burgers, from plain to cheese burger to more outlandish and daring culinary eats like the seafood burger. They also serve hotdogs, with interesting toppings like the curry hotdog and ceasar salad hotdog. (It is exactly what it sounds like, curry topped on a hotdog, and ceasar salad topped on a hotdog. It's not gross, just different!)

Fresh Burger

Seafood Burger

Chicken Sandwich

Karaage Burger

Toyose It Up On A Weekday

You see that house right there, it's multi-functional. It looks like a home..it looks like a garage, but it's also an awesome Korean eatery. Toyose and is situated in Outer Sunset on Noriega and between 45th and 46th avenue. You would definitely miss it if you were driving to the beach because it blends so well with all the homes. It kind of reminds me of MinSok in San Diego, but more legendary.

Once you step inside, it is like every other place you would go throw a few back...and by few, I mean A LOT. I went here (last week) with some of my college friends when they were visiting and they introduced me to this little treasure. They have all the things you would expect in a Korean restaurant. The Hite, OB, soju, red plum wine...oh yeah...and of course food. We didn't really go to eat and the only thing we got was the vegetarian pancakes (yes, I didn't eat meat for once). We mostly played Titanic and got pretty buzz for a Tuesday night. I forgot how much soju is a creeper, but it crept up when I got home. So my recommendation: Suit Up and Go!

rum-soaked bums, police, verbal slander & laundry detergent

There's nothing like laundry day/night, the impeding danger of not having any undergarments, the exhilarating scent of fabric softener, rebellious socks, possibility of meeting a nice doctor or maybe a nice religious guy. Either way, it's always an adventure.... usually a boring one with loud dryers and my runner's world or food & wine :)

Alas, i get my scary laundry adventure :\

I rushed out of the flat like a refugee with clothes in a rolley luggage, food & books in tote, basically the works! My workout went a little long and I was on the brink of no more clean clothes-- it's amazing how my clothes cycle is cut short whenever i workout like a fiend :/

Anyways, when i got to the laundry mat, i was met by two-- erm, people of the... erm, streets?! .... ok, fine... no PC-ness needed here-- Two drunken bums that are soooo loud, reeked of alcohol and smoke.

But who am i to judge, they were actual paying patron of the facility. So I let them be (even tho they were *LOUD*-- talking about gibberish) and just stayed to myself with my magazine and pasta ::yum::

As you can tell, things get worse. Cigarettes and booze comes out and someone called the authorities on them. Citations were issued, but they weren't escorted out because they *were* actually doing laundry.

So when the police left (they had no reason to stay there to 'protect' anyone), the beligerent bums started to lash out and throw around their weight: hitting counter, verbal slander, racist comments.

Com'on, who are you trying to kid me. I'm not going to f'ing leave my *beloved* clothes because you hit some counter. If i left, they could have touched my stuff, that would totally defeat the purpose to laundry night ($3 bucks down the drain!) I'm not going to say anything because then they'll just have some more ammo to throw back at me. Passive resistance.... altho i sooooo wanted to say something, but that's why i BLOG!

Things I'm glad I didnt say because there was no reason to argue with them because i was only going to waste my breath:

--You *wish* you were born 'Asian' then maybe you wouldn't be a bum on the street or so ignorant.
--I was born here you du-mass, it's as MY country as it's yours. Correction-- I pay taxes and dont leech off society, so in that case, I'm the f*ckin' land-owner, get out of MY country.
--You better watch out and stop trying to intimidate me by hitting the counters or i'll bruce-lee your ass because i'm 'ASIAN' like that-- we all know kung fu, you know.

i hate stupid (racist, stinky, poor, stinky) people. I guess you wont find me in a soup kitchen any time soon...

*Disclaimer: no socks were harmed in the telling of this story nor that night =D

New Found Love!

I hate to admit, but I have an acne problem. Although my acne has been toning down lately, thanks to Ms. Sandy @ Facial Plus on Irving St., I still have a lot of scars that makes me feel really really self conscious. I've been using Everyday Minerals but, it's so much WORK! Plus, it doesn't conceal that well. I use a creme concealer from MAC Cosmetics but it's only good for heavy acne scars. 

Since I no longer need such heavy coverage, I opted for a new liquid concealer. What I like about it is, it's really gentle on the eye bags. I don't like looking like a panda bear with purses hanging out of my eyeballs in the morning. I got this little hot piece at Walgreens for 8 bucks! Maybe she was born with it, maybe it's Maybelline. (It's Maybelline, believe me!) But with this little guy, I can cover up all the oopsies on my face and not really even need to wear anything (makeup wise, AHEM!). Maybe I'm getting lazy, or maybe I just like the nude look of just plain old skin on my face, I stopped adding all those crazy colors to my face. (Don't get me wrong, it's still fun to look like a psychedelic clown, but one can only look like a psychedelic clown for so many days.) 

Also, there's this billboard for KMEL on my way home, that has a picture of the beautiful Miss Alicia Keys. She just has flawless (probably photoshop airbrushed) skin paired with dark eyebrows. For some reason that look resonated with me. So it's just my concealer and highlighter, with eye liner and dark brows. Sexy times!

Dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant

I love my boys. They sure know how to make a girl feel special, and I mean SPECIAL! It's not everyday that one gets wined and dined, especially if you're a single girl like me! So to be taken out by 3 dapper young men was something else. (They even dressed up! And to return the favor, I dressed up too. I don't wear dresses often, so they got some "leg service" as my cousin would say. Ha!) After some miscommunication about departure dates, Jacky decided that he was going to take me out to dinner, and since I've never been to Roy's, that's where we were going to go. 

(For those of you not familiar with Roy's, it's a 5 star Hawaiian fusion restaurant that specializes in seafood. It started in Hawaii, naturally, but now they're located in multiple locations all around the country.)

When we were seated, the boys made me decide the appetizers and told me I can order whatever I want. That's kinda dangerous, but at the same time I'm not used to it. The angel on my shoulder won this round, because I decided not to abuse the power. These guys are my friends after all. We happily shared the Calamari and the Hamachi Tartare. The calamari came with an exquisite dipping sauce, not the usual marinara or tartar sauce. The menu said it was hoisin dipping sauce, but our Asian taste buds proved otherwise and the 4 of us kept dipping into it trying to figure out what it was. I WIN! I said, "I think it's plum sauce!" and everyone agreed with "oh yeaaa. I think you're right!" (But when am I wrong when it comes to food? Hahah, jk.) 

For the main course, Jacky recommended the Butterfish, so that's what I ordered. He got the short ribs, Andy got the sea bass, and Steve got the salmon. When our food arrived, they portioned a small piece for me to try their dishes too. (I love how they baby me sometimes.) All the food was delicious except Andy felt his sea bass was a little on the dry side. For dessert we split a chocolate souffle and an orange creme brulée, both were good, but a little too sweet for me. I think I'll forever love frozen sweets the most. 

Service, the SERVICE!!! That was an experience on its own. The manager, Earl came by to introduce himself and to wish me good luck on my move and my future. I thought that was nice, I don't think you'd get that at TGI Fridays, hahaha no offense. The waiters were very observant about water levels in our cups so I never had to worry about refills. The best part was when Jacky told us that if your silverware is askew, the waiter would fix it for you. So while we waited for our food, like the bunch of boys we are, we started messing with the silverware and the waiters. 

I guess it's a 5 star restaurant for a reason! It was a wonderful dinner and even tho the portions seemed really small, I was nice and full in the end. And when they dropped me off to my apartment, we finally figured out our miscommunication. "So you mean we could of done this later?" Yes, we could of, but then we wouldn't be able to take advantage of the gift certificate that expires next week! Hey, we're still asian, and we still love a good deal. So the miscommunication did us a favor!

This one is for the Asian American Boys!!

Who said that Asian men are not hot? There's been a trend of girls saying they wouldn't want to date Asian guys, even APIA(Asian Pacific Islander American) girls. Most APIA girls say they prefer white guys because, "they're more charming, taller, handsomer...etc". Why aren't our boys being shown the love?

Let's talk about stereotypes for a bit.

Thanks to Hollywood, most Americans have this odd picture painted of the average Asian American. There's the nerdy, geek loser--then there's the martial arts master. In movies, these guys never get the ladies, they can save the day but they usually lose the girl to someone else or they just don't get the girl at all. In Romeo Must Die, all Jet Li got was a peck on the cheek by Aaliyah. He just saved your ass by killing people with a hose, I repeat, a HOSE!!! It's like punching the guy in the arm and just saying, "Thanks, guy!" In the uneducated public's eyes, these guys are seen as cold sexless machines, but let me tell you and show you otherwise.

ethan ruan

Leehom Wang

If you watch Asian shows, you get a better range of characters. There are Heroes, comedians, villains, losers, etc. I've been watching a lot of Taiwanese dramas lately. And DAMN these boys are FIIIIIIINE! They're all 6ft plus (so take that you girls that want the height!), handsome, talented and exude sexiness. Take Taiwanese Ethan Ruan for example, and my cousin will "I concur doctor!" with me, he is one hot piece of Asian man. New York born Alexander Leehom Wang is the epitome of looks and talent. He plays over 10 different instruments, including piano, drums, guitar, and even the er-wu. He speaks over 5 different languages. And he has perfect pitch. Yes that means he is not tone-deaf, and can sing perfectly without music accompaniment.

South Korean singer that's all the buzz right now, Tae Yang of BigBang

More APIA hotties include Chad Hugo from N.E.R.D. (Hella diggin' his shirt by the way.)

Brothers/Singers, George and Justin Nozuka

Heroes' Mohinder Suresh, actor Sendhil Ramamurthy

Need I say more? Let's hear it for the AIPA boys....(cat purr).

Oh yea, in the AIPA's defense, our boys are not cold hearted machines that show no emotion or have no romantic incline. My friends are amazing boyfriends, and they watch out for all of us girls. Very gentlemanly! They hold out doors, make sure us girls get home safe, and make sure no assholes take advantage of us(kung fu saves the day. Kapow Biatches!). So it's not just to the gfs, but they're gentlemen to EVERYONE. If I weren't asexual 95% of the time, I'd throw myself at them. So who wouldn't want well rounded, educated, young professionals like that?

And in the AIPA ladies' defense, we're not all sexpot dragon ladies or timid geisha lotus blossoms. Yes we're HOT, but we're also fucking smart, sassy, cute, funny, and creative. So all you boys out there with fetishes based on what you see on TV can suck it.