Post-Cruise Sorrows: Missing the Food

Last week, I shared about my cruise to Ensenada, Mexico over Spring break. It was a super awesome experience and exactly what I needed between the busyness of school. Although this is long overdue, today's post is pretty much a photo dump of all the heartwarming, delicious food that I ate on this cruise. Look on:

Let me just say, the food on this cruise was really good! The pictures on this post came exclusively from the Spirit Dining Room, which was the ship's more sit-down, order and serve restaurant. Although the setting was more formal, we could nevertheless order whatever we wanted and however much we wanted.

Truth be told, by the time we arrived at the Spirit Dining Room, my friends and I have already gone to the buffets twice. Nevertheless, we still ordered two entrées per person as well as desserts and an extra to share. 

The food was so good, and we ate so much that praise the Lord we didn't get diabetes afterwards. Anyhow, happy Easter and I hope I've successfully convinced you to go on your own cruise!

Where do people do during spring break? Apparently, Mexico!

Wahoo! So last week, I was able to go on a cruise with Carnival Imagination to Ensenada, Mexico. This was my first cruise ever, so I can't even begin to put into words how excited I was for this adventure! So much happened so good thing I took notes! Jkjk!

However, one thing to note ;) This post is going to focus mostly on my experiences and not what I ate during the cruise. I tried to combine everything together, but it was just impossible to fit all of the pictures in a reasonable amount of space! So, I'll do a cruise food post on another day!

Day 1

We arrived at the cruise terminal at around 3pm, but checking in took a while, so we didn't actually enter the ship until about 5. The first thing my friends and I were thinking about was FOOD! We were like lions with our eyes on the prey, haha. So we literally went to our room, dropped off our goods and headed out in search of food. The rest of our evening was spent browsing (and sampling) all of our food options!

Day 2

Catalina was our stop for today! Surprisingly, although it is nearing four year since I've lived in LA, I still hadn't gone to Catalina Island before. However, I'm happy to say I finally went! Catalina is incredibly beautiful, and my friends and I enjoyed a long leisurely walk around this peaceful, seaside town.

When we arrived back on ship, we on chilled on the top deck and watched the sunset! Of course, for dinner, we headed straight back to our chain of food options. Don't be surprised, but we visited all three of the major dining areas everyday, every dinner ;)

Day 3

Ensenada! My first time in Mexico! Ensenada was again a really beautiful and peaceful city. I enjoyed a trip to the local flea market and visited La Bufadora, one of the largest blowholes in North America!

 Sadly, the entire time I waited there were no major blow blasts of water :(

Anyhow, I had my first authentic Mexican taco and piña colada today as well! They were both delicious. Sadly, I don't know why, but I only got one taco. I know, let's hear the boos :(

Towards the end of our day in Mexico, we gazed into the endless waters on horseback! This was definitely my favorite part of the day. Not only were the horses adorable, the view was incredible as well! My conclusion for the day: Mexico has been such a sweetheart, and I want a horse!

Day 4

Today was an entire day on the ship with nowhere to go and nowhere to be! We woke up around noon, and just spent the afternoon chilling by pool on the upper deck. It was an incredible feeling seeing all the birds and seagulls fly above us. It seemed almost like they were swaying to the music that was playing on deck. 

We also watched one of the employees carve an ice sculpture (he took first place after his father in a national contest in Indonesia!), a hairy chest contest (interesting, right?), a music/dance performance (picture above), and of course, ate lots and lots of food~

Day 5

This was the last official day on the ship. The ship was actually already docked when we woke up. In fact, we woke up JUST in time to catch the last bit of breakfast. My last meal consisted of a bowl of oatmeal and fruits, some slices of smoked salmon, and coffee! Delicious way to end indeed.

DELICIOUS. Alcove Café & Bakery Review

Hey guys! I know this was a long while ago, but on Martin Luther King day, a couple friends and I went to Alcove Café & Bakery for brunch. Before I say anything else, let me just get this out there: It. Is. Heavenly. 

Not only did I really enjoyed the food, I loved the location, the outdoor seating, the ambiance, all of the energy, and oh my gosh, this is the perfect place to spend a cool, sunny morning. Everyone was just talking and cheerful, the sun was out, and even though we were sitting outside, the way Alcove was decorated just gives this full-of-life vibe!

When I was at Alcove, I felt like I had no worries in the world.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures to show what Alcove looks like! Nevertheless, I found a few from Yelp so that you guys get a sense of what the environment was like. Of course, credits go to the people who took these pictures.

Although there was a lot of people, the wait passed by pretty quickly. The way it works is a cashier will take your order at the front entrance, and then they'll seat you while you wait for your food. Most of the seating is outside, except for a small bar that they have inside.

Of course, I don't mind all of the outdoor seating when the weather is beautiful--haha, praise God, Los Angeles has beautiful weather :)

As for what I ordered, I got the Blackened Salmon Sandwich, which was delicious! One note though, the sandwich typically comes with a sesame brioche bun. However, I asked to replace the bun with sour dough bread, which in my opinion was a great choice!

My friends ordered the Shrimp + Crab Omelette...

And the (Kinda) Classic Benedict....

I haven't tried either of these, but my friends loved it, and both dishes looked delicious!

Since President's Day weekend is coming up, do you guys have any scrumptious plans?

Starting off the day right: Matcha Latte Recipe

Hey guys! I just had my first day of classes yesterday, and let's just say I'm pretty pumped for this semester~ I'm taking mostly classes for my entrepreneurship minor this semester, so I'm really excited to be able to work on some venture ideas these next few months! If anything happens from this semester, I'll definitely keep you all updated!

Anyhow, I think I've been doing pretty well on my New Years resolutions! I went to the gym before class both yesterday and today, so I'm feeling pretty good. Sleeping earlier, however, is something I could work on a bit more, especially since I haven't really gotten a lot of assignments yet. I don't know why, but even though I'm tired, I sometimes just don't want to go to sleep yet... I guess I prefer watching TV more... eeks! Do you guys have this problem as well?

Since I don't like eating a lot or not eating anything before I work out, I've been making myself a matcha green tea latte before going to the gym! The recipe uses the same Kiss Me Organics Culinary Grade Organic Matcha I mentioned in my last post (check out the post for another matcha recipe!).

The recipe is super simple and fast to make, which makes it a great option for the morning! That way,  I can drink something really quick, change, and then go the gym. Furthermore, the matcha latte gives me quick energy (in the form of caffeine from the matcha and calories from the soy milk) as well as lots of nutrients (check out my last post to learn some of the awesome benefits of matcha)!

Alright, here's the recipe! 

Matcha Latte Recipe

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 tsp matcha powder
• 2 tsp hot water 1 cup soy milk (or almond milk)
• 1 TBSP honey

Directions

1. Add hot water to matcha powder and mix until all of the clumps are dissolved
2. Add honey to matcha mixture and stir until completely dissolved
3. Microwave milk for 90 seconds (or until hot, depends on the microwave)
4. Pour hot milk into mixture, and enjoy!

What are some of your favorite pre-workout meals/snacks? I love love to try them!

Happy New Years and Green Tea Frozen Treat!!

Hello everyone!! Happy New Years! 

I can't believe it's already been a week into 2015. So much is happening for me this year. I'm finishing my undergraduate degree, going to grad school, moving to Texas, and biggest change of all, separating from my twin sister who I've lived with for the entirety of my 22 years (including undergrad). Thus, there's going to be a lot of changes, but I guess that keeps life exciting, right?

On another note, for this new year, my resolutions are to be healthier and for me, that means to...

1. Sleep more,
2. Eat better, and...
3. Exercise more

Remember my Bikram yoga post? Well... I haven't gone for maybe two weeks? Eeks! But I do have a reason for that (family vacation, and then I had no car afterwards). HOWEVER... I did go yesterday and today, hehe.

So... in my efforts to start the year off healthy (and to use my mom's new Vitamix before I go back to school), I decided to make a nice frozen treat for myself, using my organic matcha from Kiss Me Organics.

The ingredients list was super short and simple. All I used for 2 servings worth was...

1 cup ice
1.5 cup fresh pineapple
1 TBSP honey
2 tsp matcha

Bam! That was it; simple as that. Delicious and healthy, although a little cold for the winter--lol, I had to warm myself up with some hot chocolate afterwards, haha.

So the main item I want to focus on in this post is the incredible Kiss Me Organics: Culinary Grade Organic Matcha. I love it! It tastes so good and gives me a boost of energy and metabolism!!

Now what's so great about matcha? Well, below are just a few of the many benefits of matcha! Read on~

• 1 tsp of matcha powder has the equivalent in nutritional and antioxidant benefits to 10 cups of green tea
• Increases metabolism and assists in weight loss
• Contains 20x more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries
• Contains the amino acid L-theanine, which promotes relaxation as well as alertness and energy without jitteriness that coffee can cause in some people
• Contains the catechin EGCg, which has potent cancer-fighting properties

I don't know about you, but all of these benefits definitely make me want to make green tea somethings every day for the rest of life, haha. Anyhow, if I find any other matcha recipes I really like, I'll let you all know! Love you all and wish you all the best 2015!

By the way, you can find order this matcha powder form the following sites:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M
http://www.amazon.com/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M
http://www.amazon.ca/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M

What are your favorite matcha treats? I would love to try them!

sponsored post. personal review.

30-day Bikram Yoga pass!

I'm usually not that interested in yoga and prefer running or doing using the elliptical when I exercise (which isn't often o__o). However, I found out that a Bikram Yoga studio near my house has a new-student promotion that offers unlimited classes for 30 days for $35, and me being the typical Asian I am, calculated that if I went five to six times a week then that would be less than two dollars per class! I couldn't let this opportunity go by, so I signed up last Wednesday and went to class the next morning.

Bikram Yoga, for those of you who don't know is a sequence of 26 yoga postures performed in a heated room of about 105°F. I don't know about you, but I would feel pretty nervous about doing anything in 105°F temperature! Of course, I went in there not knowing either of these, haha.

Here's a little infographic I found online regarding the different poses:

Infographic by Cherie_bon 

My Opinion:
To tell the truth, the Bikram Yoga session actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There was a lot of balancing and flexibility required, but having done ballet from elementary school to the end of high school, these two came pretty naturally to me.

As for the heat, I actually didn't even realize it was 105°F! It was definitely warm, but not suffocating. I sweated A TON, but the heat actually felt pretty nice in my opinion~ I just need to invest in nicer yoga activewear <3

Bikram Yoga Benefits:
There are a lot of benefits to Bikram Yoga. In addition to the overall benefits of Bikram Yoga and yoga, the 12 standing poses and the 14 floor poses have their individual benefits.

Overall benefits of Bikram Yoga:

• Improves posture
• Increases flexibility and balance
• Builds muscle strength
• Improves circulation and immune function
• Removes toxins from the body
• Reduces stress
• Aids in weight loss

Benefits of standing poses:

• Opens pelvic area
• Relieves sciatica and arthritis
• Improves circulation

Benefits of floor poses:

• Improves function of the central nervous system, digestive system, and reproductive system
• Relieves lower back pain
• Eases constipation
• Lessens symptoms of scoliosis

Anyhow, that's all I have for now!

Have you guys tried Bikram Yoga before? What do you think about it?

Home Sweet Home: Mom's (& Dad's) Cooking!

Hey guys! Wow, it's been forever since my last post.

School has been super crazy. I don't know why, but I thought I could take on 20 units (as opposed to the typical 16 units most students take) and still handle grad school interviews. Well, I definitely got under three to four hours of sleep at least four days a week. However, things are getting better now; grad school interviews are over! So thankful and so relieved!

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Anyways, last weekend I went home to Portland to celebrate my birthday with family! (...I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22.... eh sorry, lol) It was such a blessing after all those weeks of stressing over interviews and school. Although I still had a lot of homework to do, there's just something about being at home that makes everything better.

As expected, we went out to eat a lot. On the night we got back, we went to a steakhouse called Ringside Steakhouse. I'm no expert when it comes to steak, but I thought it was pretty good! I got the dry aged New York with a baked potato as a side. Dessert was their cheesecake. It was overall a very delicious and flavorful meal. Sadly, I don't have any good pictures because my iPhone's picture quality is absolute horrendous when it comes to dark lighting.

However, my favorite thing about going home is still definitely home-cooked meals. What can beat the taste of mom's (and dad's) cooking, right?

Don't they look adorable together? <3 <3 <3 I love my parents, haha.

Tofu Shrimp with Wood Ear Mushrooms

Radish with Oyster Mushrooms

Some dishes even came with love from my grandma (奶奶 - "nainai"), who lives in China! My dad had just come back from a trip to China, and he brought back a glutinous rice product that my nainai made and dried herself! Yay~ This is the end product:

This pancake (饼 - "bing") is made of the glutinous rice product--sorry! not sure what it's called--and the inside is a filling of tofu, egg, and salted vegetables. It's pan-fried, which makes the outside kind of crunchy but leaves the inside chewy. Super delicious!

The weekend definitely passed way too fast! I love LA and all, but I feel like every time I go home to the Pacific Northwest, it gets harder and harder to go back to LA. :( Does anyone else feel the same way?

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Burnt Toast and Beard Papa's?

I burned six slices of bread the last couple days! I'm too lazy to turn on the oven, so I usually just toast my toast on the stove. But more often than not, I forget about it.... and why hello Mr. Burnt Toast!

Lol, don't ask...

Anyways!! My post today is on Beard Papa's. I didn't realize until this summer that this was an international chain. I saw it when I was in Shanghai, and my roommate said she's been to the Beard Papa's in South Korea too! When I checked out their website, I saw they even have locations in Russia, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. Cool eh?

Earlier this week, my sister bought a Groupon, which gave us a $10 for $16 discount. Since Beard Papa's is best known for their cream puffs, we decided to get $16 worth of cream puffs! We bought three very berry ones and five vanilla ones.

The Making Process:
Seeing them make the cream puffs was really cool. Although the dough part was already made, they add the filling when you order! They stick a tube into the puff and "inject" it with the cream filling.

The Review:
To tell the truth, I was slightly disappointed with this Beard Papa's. I didn't like how the bakery only had two flavors available when I went: the very berry one and the vanilla one. I thought there would have be more options, but I guess they only have strawberry (which they didn't have at the time) and vanilla daily with one specialty flavor each week. Today, it was the very berry cream puff.

Vanilla Cream Puff

Furthermore, the cream puffs themselves weren't as good as I thought. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them, but my expectations were definitely built really high after hearing so many people rave about them. I tried both the vanilla and the very berry one, but I liked the berry one better.

(Sorry, I ate the very berry cream puff before I took a picture!!)

But the reason why I liked the berry one better is probably because the vanilla filling had a slightly more milky flavor, which I'm not a huge fan of. Nevertheless, I loved--LOVED--the creamy, smooth texture of the cream and how the cream puffs aren't overly sweet.

Overall... I'd probably go again, not by myself, but definitely if friends wanted to go. I probably won't get the vanilla one a second time, but I really want to try some of their other flavors. Maybe the green tea one?!

Have you been to Beard Papa's? If so, what's your favorite flavor?

Travel: 12 Days in China!

Wow, I can't believe its already been more than two weeks since I've came back from China and more than two weeks since my senior year of undergrad has started! Time passes so fast! Likewise, my visit to China felt just as fast, especially since I was only there for 12 days. However, it was nonetheless the best two weeks of my summer!

Me and my twin sister: can you tell which one is me in this picture?

My family and I arrived in Shanghai at about 5am in the morning, and basically the first thing we did (after a 2-hour-nap) was pick up my maternal grandpa (外公 “waigong”) and have lunch with almost everyone on my mom's side of the family. That meant about 20 people!

The restaurant we went to was inside Crowne Plaza in Lake Marlaren, Shanghai. It was actually a buffet style restaurant. The buffet style meal was a really cool experience since I've actually never encountered one before in China.

After lunch, we drove about two hours to Jinhua, which is in Zhejiang province to meet with our paternal grandparents (爷爷 "yeye" - grandpa and 奶奶 "nainai" - grandma). The rest of the week, we spent visiting family and my dad's business partners! My life those two weeks basically consisted of food, sleep, and car rides!

I won't talk about all of the details of the trip at the moment since that would take hours for you to read, but here are....

Five Crazy Things I Learned About China:

1. Most nice Chinese restaurants allow you to book individual rooms (包厢 "baoxiang" or "box"). They'll usually have one large dining table, which will comfortably sit eight people, a TV, and maybe a restroom. Each baoxiang is serviced by one or two waiters/waitresses. Sometimes, high-end restaurants will even a separate room with a couch or even pool table!



My sister in front of a poker table!

2. To be respectful to your host, don't ask and just eat at a high-end restaurant. During my dining experience in China, I've had delicacies such as sea cucumbers and fish lips soup! Sometimes they take a little getting used to, but other times, the flavor is actually pretty good! You never know until you try~






Fish lips soup!

3. The fruits I ate were incredibly fresh and delicious! With so many markets along the streets, it's really easy to get fresh fruits and vegetables. It also helped that my yeye and nainai were farmers, so we got a lot of fresh watermelon, kiwis, and corn from them! Delicious :)
   

   

   Red-centered kiwis!

   

   Freshly picked corn!

4. Driving in China is crazy! Not only is there a lot of honking, but also people drive in the middle of two lanes or even driving on the wrong side of the road just to escape traffic.
5. Owning a car is really expensive in China! There are A LOT of toll booths along the highways. In fact, I read that Chinese toll roads consist of more than 70% of the world’s total toll roads! Incredible right?

Have you been to China? What are some of your favorite things about China?