Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Recap of the last few days

Random bits from the last few days...

Saturday (8/25/07):

While we were in the LA area, I wanted to try some frozen yogurt. The last time I had frozen yogurt was probably back in the 80's, around the time when TCBY was popular. Now, there are all these new frozen yogurt shops sprouting up everywhere - i.e. Pinkberry, Kiwiberry, Yogurtland, Cantaloop, Red Mango, etc. On our way to Rowland Heights for lunch, we stopped by Pinkberry (@ Victoria Gardens). We had a small green tea frozen yogurt w/ strawberries. It was a nice and refreshing "pre-lunch" snack.

Here's a pic:
Pinkberry - green tea yogurt w/ strawberry


Patty and I went to lunch w/ Patty's cousin, Yoru (who was visiting from Australia). We went to Sim Ba La (Rowland Heights), a place specializing in Taiwanese food. We had:

- Luo Buo Gao (turnip cake)
Sim Ba La - Luo Buo Gao

- Xiang Chang (Taiwanese sausage)
Sim Ba La - Xiang Chang

- Beef Noodle Soup
Sim Ba La - Beef Noodle Soup

- Stewed Pork w/ bamboo shoots
Sim Ba La - Stewed pork w/ bamboo shoots

- "8 Treasure" Shaved Ice (shaved ice w/ pudding, red beans, green beans, taro balls, grass jelly, boba, coconut jelly, love jelly, and condensed milk)
Sim Ba La - 8 Treasure Shaved Ice
(this picture is deceptive - it was a HUGE plate!)

My favorites were the Luo Buo Gao, Xiang Chang, and shaved ice, although everything was very, very tasty (and inexpensive - $29 for 3 people)!!!

After lunch, we went to Phoenix for drinks. My hot milk tea was pretty good. Patty's Tangerine Honey tea was really bad, as was Yoru's coffee. We've been there a few times before for desserts, but never for drinks. Next time, we'll stick w/ their desserts.

Speaking of dessert, it was time for more frozen yogurt! We went to Kiwiberri (Rowland Heights) and had original frozen yogurt w/ mango, strawberries, and blueberries. I thought it was pretty similar to Pinkberry - light and fresh tasting.
Kiwiberri - original yogurt w/ mango, stawberries, blueberries

Although both Pinkberry and Kiwiberri were good, I'm still not quite sure what why these frozen yogurt shops are so popular...

Anyways, by late afternoon we had already had three desserts...yum!

For dinner, we met up with my Uncle Liming, Aunt Joan, and Cousin Supin at Eki Eki Japanese Restaurant (Torrance). I forgot to take pictures but we had a bunch of things - 5 rolls, assorted sashimi, "monkey brains", tempura, etc. I can't remember all of it. I just remember that it was really good and I was very stuffed afterwards. So stuffed that I even declined gelato afterwards. (is that possible???)

Sunday (8/26/07):

For lunch on Sunday, my aunt and uncle took us to Szechwan Chinese Restaurant (Lomita).
To start things off, we had a few dim sum items. Everything was really good - very fresh and flavorful. Better than anything I've had in Phoenix. My favorite was the green tea "mochi" w/ peanuts. I've never seen it before. We had also ordered a fresh, live 4 lb. lobster fried w/ garlic. I think it was the best lobster I've ever had.
Szechwan - fried lobster w/ garlic

After lunch we headed to Long Beach airport for our flight back to Phoenix.

Back in (extremely hot) Phoenix, we went to Wildflower for dinner. We got our "usual" - the Harvest Apple Pork Sandwich and Emerald Spinach Salad. We also had a Georgia Peach frozen drink. The food items were both good (as usual) and the drink was one of the best smoothies I've ever had. Wildflower is a great place for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The food is consistently good and the prices are reasonable.
Wildflower - Harvest Apple Pork sandwichWildflower - Emerald Spinach Salad


Monday (8/27/07):

Patty's Birthday!

Patty loves seafood...especially shellfish. Even though we just had lobster the day before, we had previously decided that I would cook Dungeness Crab for dinner.

On my way to Super L market to buy the crab, I stopped by Honey Bear's for lunch. I had a pulled pork sandwich and small side of the cowbro' beans. Both were good. (no pics)

On to dinner, here's the crab I steamed:
Steamed dungeness crab

After helping Patty eat the crab, I made a frozen pizza for myself. It was a brand that I've never tried before, but have heard very good things about: American Flatbread - Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Corn and Cheese.
American Flatbread box

Sorry, no picture of the pizza itself (I was too busy eating it). WOW - it was the best frozen pizza I've ever had. Extremely good flavor and texture - rivaling what you get in restaurants.

For a birthday cake, I got an "Ultimate Chocolate Cake" from Wildflower.
Patty's birthday cake

It was really good - nice and moist, and not too sweet.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading...

No comments: