Thursday, July 30, 2015

Eating Out Wesminister


Westminster is  probably my favorite city in Orange County.  Home the Little Vietnam and Bradley Nowell's grave.  Here the pho flows like water and the bahn mi are the best of its kind. The bus stops look like pagodas and English is not the first language as witness by the signage on the buildings. 

 I guess when you start your Friday off right, your whole weekend follows suit. It started with Uber Ice Cream delivering some Dippinn Dots.  We were able to get one to deliver to our office.  It was pretty magical.  I mean, Dippin Dots are the way of the future right?  It was pretty rad that they delivered ice cream because the ice cream man doesn't visit around the business parts of Orange County.  But honestly if I had a choice between Dippin Dots and say any other ice cream, I would have chose any other ice cream. Dippin Dots are weird. But we had an ice cream truck, that played no music in our parking lot come by and visit and I will take that any day of the week.


Omar is pretty excited about Dippin Dots.


Fire is always a good sign.  We went to a night market in Westminster.  Whenever I go, I feel like I am in another world.  English is not the first language.  The sights, the smells and the people make this experience so special.  On this trip we took our friends Mike and Taylor.  They are heading out to Thailand this Fall and we thought this would be training wheels for the trip.

The air is filled with the smell of cooked meats and anise. It's the best.  Whole families are out and having a good time. Children throwing poppers at each other or waving around their new light up swords. Parents doing parent things like eating, buying the light up swords and giving their kids money to feed the dragon.  It is a lot to take in really, especially if you are new to these things.  So many different options.  You smell on thing and want that, or see someone else walk by with a pork ball and want that. There can be a lot of indecision but the good thing is that it is every weekend till September.  I didn't get my soft tofu this time but next time, you will be mine.


Pho wraps.

Quail and a fish sauce wing. The quail was crispy but as always, I want rice with everything.  Not only are they great complements, they are pretty good edible napkins.

Word of the wise, bring wet naps or a pack of baby wipes.


Sea Snails. Highly Recommend!  Make sure you don't eat their door.

No balut this time, but next go around look out little duckies!  Yes, I have eaten it before and on multiple occasions. Yes, I am that Filipino.  Take it another step, I used to have pet ducks and I ate their balut. #fearlesseater.

I love the night market in summer time and I feel, although, I have never been to the 626 or the OC Night Market, but I really liket his one.  It's small and it serves the community weekly throughout summer. It is authentic.  Even if there is a ramen burger or two.  I feel almost at home here.  I leave stuffed to the muff and happy and four boxes richer in poppers. 

Then on Saturday I went to get the brakes fixed on my car.  The car shop is in Westminster.  I had the courtesy shuttle drop us off at Pho Nguyen Hue.  It was hot as balls outside too, so this was a nice change of pace.  

Good amount of meat and fat globs, my fave!  Also a fair amount of tripe that would make the UK Tripe Marketing Board happy.


What can I say, they both look happy! 


Then it was off to our neighborhood EJ Malloy's for the usual medium wings and this tie a burger. Then it was off to get a foot massage in, you guessed it, Westminster.After a massage that was full body at $15 for like 45 minutes it was off to the Snow Monster.



Pistachio macaron with thai ice tea ice cream.  It was really good and a great end cap to out weekend and it was only 6pm!

I love you Wetminster, I really do! 

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

This Week in SnackChat Part 1

I feel like I am always catching up on all your SnackChats!  Thank you for sending them in and keep them coming! 

It's 100% real.  Unlike those other potatoes that are 100% delicious. 










Isn't canasta a game? 


IT BELONGS TO MONDAY!

That bacon tho.

What exactly makes this Mexican?

DUH! 


I can totally tell. NOT! 


I'm so proud of you!


Black and white fries unite.


DROOL.





Yup, it's been that long since the last This Week in SnackChat!


What exactly makes this Mexican? 


What Exactly makes this Mexican? 


That's a pretty good medium rare! 100 indeed! 


Because I do what I want! 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Are you my Crawdad?




My husband has these stories of dropping chicken bones into lakes and catching these crawdads.  It has to be KFC drumsticks, HAS TO BE!! And you can't eat it like me, where the bone is completely cleaned, you have to leave meat at the ends. Then you tie said bones to fishing, go near some rocks in a lake or river and drop it in and wait for these little creatures to grab on.



For years I called hearsay! But on the most recent trip to Lake Tahoe, I saw it with my own eyes. I dropped my chicken bone in the rocky shore of Lake Tahoe and saw these alien creatures emerge, sometimes two at a time, and grab on to the KFC drumstick.  It was so gratifying.  At that moment, I felt the most Asian I have ever felt in my whole life.  I wanted more crawdads as the endless ideas of how to cook these guys danced in my head. But at the time we did not know Nevada law on the take of these aliens. So we caught some then released some. Didn't want to get caught by the rangers




Cut to 20 minutes later, I come to find out that in the state of Nevada the following is true:

Crayfish: A fishing license is not required to capture crayfish for fishing or personal consumption. There is no limit on crayfish. A license is required to take crayfish by hook and line. A permit is required to take crayfish for commercial purposes at Lake Tahoe (crayfish may not be taken for commercial purposes at any other Nevada water.) - Nevada Fishing Guide 2013

Well shit. 

So we went back and caught six of them.I cooked them in some white wine and butter with garlic and lemon. Next year, it's going to be a massacre.  Consider this doing my part in "Keeping Tahoe Blue."


On the most basic level this is hunting. For some members of the family and for a lot of people, it is difficult to grasp to fact that these animals are alive and crawling in a Starbuck's Venti cup and thirty minutes later would find themselves in a hot white wine and garlic spa and eventually into 6 mouths. As a child I have seen many a faces of the food I have eaten, especially seafood. So this was NBD. If anything eating these crawdads is better than eating a frozen preformed hamburger.  To eat a chicken or cow knowing that they are fed hormones to make them grow to abnormal sizes, given antibiotics and raised in terrible living conditions weights heavier on my conscience than catching a crawdad that is an invasive species to a beautiful lake.  I know who caught it, where it was caught, and when it was caught.  All because I did it.  It's a great feeling to know that.  All the "hard work" (I mean the practically catch themselves) pays off.  It's also fun!


Monday, July 6, 2015

This Week in SnackChat



That awkward moment you realize that you forgot to hit publish on This Week in SnackChat...
...

Melissa and I decided that it would be best idea to have a Jurassic Picnic.

Complete with Triciratots

and Dino nugz




Looks like a sloppy tasty snack

Too hot for hot chocolate.

Who else is gonna eat it? 

Almost 5 o clock.



It's so Merican

Been there, done that. 

BFFs

Ready for sharing.

It's really the only thing to get you through the heat. 

Taco Strong.


Cart snacks.


They always smell good. 

That quinoa salad looks like quinoa minus the salad.  In other news, my computer does not recognize quinoa.