adventures in cooking! ^ ^

i was craving chinese but didnt wanna go out so i whipped up my own chinese feast...


first... garlic ginger glazed pork... the glaze came out really well and coated the pork perfectly....

and a side of spicy stir fried japanese eggplant with small button mushrooms... soooo good~ ^ ^

found a huge bag of rice noodles and decided to make a cold noodle dish for jenny and josh's labor day bbq... i mixed tamarind liquid with mirin, soy sauce and worcestershire...  tossed with stir fried carrots and onions and mixed with green onion... and surrouned the bowl with sliced cucumber and tomatoes...

and topped it off with stir fried chicken i marinated with ginger, soy sauce, five spice, garlic, and mirin...

Tijuana style kalbi tacos and carnitas tacos :)

a small corn tortilla with cubes of marinated korean kalbi.. topped with queso fresco.. onion relish and hot pepper paste bbq sauce...

too lazy to go to the thai restaurant to order pad thai so i made it my self at home :)

its not the right color but i followed a recipe online and it tastes pretty good.. ^ ^

restaraunt update...

WaffleS Cafe/ Las Vegas: 

while visiting my mom in vegas my bros and jenny and i found a cool little waffle shop called Waffles Cafe.. i guess the name couldve used a bit more imagination but the place was great... lots of selection in terms of toppings and combinations... and the waffles were yummy... fluffly and big and fresh! :) the waffles also come in different types like wheat and pumpkin and flax..etc...

i decided to "make my own" instead of choosing one of the combinations... my waffle had strawberries, bananas, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and nuts. ~_~ needless to say i had to make up for it big time with lots of yoga.. lol

Jenny ordered a "Jeff's favorite" which was a pumpkin waffle with apple pie filling vanilla ice cream and caramel... it was yummy!~

Josh wasn't in a sweet mood so he ordered himself a turkey waffle sandwich.. lol sounds weird but the waffle actually makes really good sandwich bread... ^ ^

Jon also decided to be a rebel and ordered a supreme waffle pizza..... it was a perfect personal size pizza and the waffle held all the toppings very well... it was good... but i think i prefer real pizza dough...







Mint Indian Bistro/ Las Vegas
cute little indian restaurant in vegas just off the strip on twain.... this restaurant was especially cool because they also offered a nice selection of nepalese food as well... i have never tried nepal food before so i was very excited :)

wasnt sure what to order because i wanted to try everything so my mom and I ordered the indian and nepalese samplers... it was perfect.. a little taste of all the popular dishes from each country..  i cant remember specifically what everything was but i liked them all.. more info on mintbistro.com




Izakaya Den/ Denver

I love sushi den and I love deli den... so naturally i had to make my way to izakaya den as well.... the menu was extensive with lots of yummy otsumami (tapas) and an extensive sake list as well.. the only thing that bothered me was that it was a bit pricey for being an "izakaya".. usually izakaya food isnt that expensive... but i guess you pay for the atmosphere as well.. nevertheless the food was amazing :) everything was good and i have no complaints.. ^ ^

deep fried fish.. cant remember what kind... ~_~ but it was like an asian take on fish and chips.. the sauces were good and the fish was fried perfectly...

one of my most favorite vegetables.. the eggplant.. stir fried in a miso glaze and topped with kinpira gobo ^ ^ yummy!~

nikumaki... kinpiragobo and asparagus wrapped in thin sliced steak.. soooo good..the meat was perfect...

various rolls that the den specialized in as well as a half eaten piece of yellowtail collar at the top.. lol it was attacked b4 i could take a pic.. ~_~

unagi-don... yummy.. i love unagi!~

jalapeno sashimi... yellowtail topped with jalapeno.. cilantro.. and yuzu... yummy!~ ^ ^








Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Cafe/ San Diego

I had a sudden craving for soul food for some reason so we headed down to bonnie jean's.... on yelp it got lots of good reviews and so i was very excited to try it... when i was just a youngin living in new york city they would serve us kids soul food at the day care i went to.. lol... i missed collared greens and oxtail soup.. so that is exactly what i ordered...

yummy oxtail soup with collard greens, fried okra, and cornbread... it was very very good.. ^ ^

fried sampler of fried catfish, green beans and gizzards... also very good.. and unhealthy ^ ^

some of the best deep fried mac and cheese ive ever had.. yummy~!

good old fashioned fried chicken and waffles.. the waffles are not pictured but it was really good.. ^ ^ came with a pecan glaze to pour over the chicken and the waffle..







Ajisen Ramen/ Irvine

Found a ramen place in Irvine and it looked promising... ive been so disappointed with ramen shops lately because none of them are as good as japan... ~_~ but this one was pretty good :)

the broth was good and they were very generous with the meat as well..

yummy~








Chez Nous/ San Diego

Small little sandwich shop in a shopping center off carroll canyon rd.... their sandwiches and salads are spectacular!~

mixed summer salad with fresh fruits(grapes, strawberries, blackberries, peaches, pears) feta cheese... and a raspberry vinaigrette... perfect to pack up and take to the beach!!....

portabello and chicken sandwich on ciabatta bread to accompany the awesome salad... the bread was fresh made and everything tasted soo good...


Gomaichi Ramen/ Honolulu

On my quest to find good ramen I came across and awesome ramen place in hawaii!~ It was a flavor I had never tried before called "tan-tan" which is like a spicy sesame flavor but it wasnt spicy at all.. it was delicious.. best ramen ive had all year.. ^ ^

tan tan with chashu pork... and a cold beer.. ahh~

san diego county fair ^ ^

the fair... a place of crazy food... bright lights... and farm animals?... :)

deep fried butter and chocolate covered bacon.. tried the bacon... it was good.. i was too afraid to try the butter.. didnt wanna die of a heart attack.. x_X

 its really amazing the things people will deep fry... ~_~

well.. i did get the deep fried klondike bar.. lol..

deep fried klondike bar.. one bite was gooood... anything after that was waaaay too much.. good thing i shared :)

deep fried avocado.. really really good...  i love avocado.. and it came with a pestoey kind of dipping sauce.. awesome... ^ ^

zucchini dog.... hot dog wrapped in zucchini.. then dipped in batter and fried.. i guess its a healthy twist on the traditional corn dog... but not by much... lol.. it was good.. ^ ^

spiral cut potato on a stick... it was really cool watching them make this.. they put the potato on a spinning machine and it cuts the potato into a spiral and the deep fry it.. we got garlic parmesan flavor.. soo good.. cant go wrong with potatoes...

sweet potato corn dog... another alternative to your average corn dog.. this batter had chunks of sweet potato in them.. very very good.. but the sweet potato mixed with batter made it really crispy and cut up the roof of my mouth.. still.. it was worth it.. ;)

chocolate dipped pickles. i was tempted.. but i said no.. lol

Pokez Mexican Restaurant

Pokez Mexican Restaurant on the corner of 10th and E in downtown San diego...
They have all types of mexican food but they specialize in being very Vegan friendly :)
Usually mostly everything in mexican food is made with lard in it such as the tortillas and the beans but here they do not... they also use organic vegetables and everything is made fresh :)

i myself am not a vegan but the s+p shakers were cute.. and sad.. simultaneously... :)

the food was very affordable... under 10 dollars a meal... i ordered a tofu potato mushroom burrito for dinner... it was only 5 dollars and it was HUGE!~ i was only able to eat half :)

it was delicious!~ inside the burrito there was also fresh pico de gallo... the tofu was cubed and browned with seasoning... melted cheese and salsa ranchero on top.. and yummy picked vegetables on the side.. awesome meal for 5 bucks :)

rewind~~~~ some past dishes i wanted to archive (part 3)

hiyashi chuka- cold ramen noodles... perfect for a hot summer day... sliced egg.. tomato.. cucumber.. ham... green onion and seaweed on top... i made a ginger sesame dressing to pour over it....

strawberry daifuku.. alot easier to make than i expected... very hot though.. and you have to work fast to cover the anko and strawberry with the mochi before it gets hard... had burned fingertips for days... ~ _ ~ really good but only last for a couple days.. must be eaten quickly.. 

okonomiyaki... i dont make it very often but when i do i grate the nagaimo by hand and i dont use the premix.... this recipe was taught to me by a good friend and i feel like if i use the premix it ruins it.. its very yummy... well anything with japanese mayo is yummy really... ;)

takenoko takikomi and miso soup....  i think next time i need to add more dashi to the rice when i cook it... came out a bit drier than i would have liked.. other than that it was very good.... the rice was flavorful and the bamboo was really good... :)

another hot day.. another cold dish.. cold korean buckwheat noodles... mul naeng myun...