Belacan Grill

Wow, I haven't done a food entry in a while, how uncharacteristic of me! Anyways, we went to Belacan Grill with Thu (hi Thu!) and Andreas last month. They were great company and a cute couple :) Can't wait to explore more restaurants with them!

It was really dark inside.

Curry puffs. They were okay. Not melt in your mouth good. I think I will try to make it next time- I make a mean curry pot pie thanks to WC. This picture sucks b/c I was in a hurry- we were starving and it took a long time to get seated and served.

Prawns. They were huge, crunchy, and tasty.

Beef. This was really tasty and flavorful, but nothing special since I've had some version of this many times before.

Hainan chicken, rice, and the sauces. I didn't really like my chicken, too tough and so fatty. I liked having the option of 3 sauces though- and the sauces were good. And everyone seemed to like the rice except for me. I think b/c the hainan chicken/rice at The Green Zone I had a couple weeks before totally blew me away...so I was kinda disappointed. It did satisfy my craving though...I do want to try making this, I want hainan chicken in my recipe arsenal!

The dessert. It had lots of weird stuff. But I guess it was a refreshing way to clean my palate after all that greasy food.

Belacan Grill
2701 190th St Ste 100
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
(310) 370-1831

www.belacangrill.com

Will I be back? Prolly not for a while. The food was good, but I think I want to keep exploring more restaurants in the SB, esp Torrance. Ok, any SB restaurant recommendations? Dawn, I need to find your Gardena map!

Here's the short list I have so far:
Onami Seafood Buffet
Gaja Japanese Restaurant (Christina, remember when we made okonomiyaki? Haha fun times! We should try this place someday and see how diff it is)
Flossie's Restaurant

We usually frequent:
Rice Things (I <3 this place!!! We go there at least twice a month, sometimes more)
Thai Food Express
The food courts at Marukai Pacific Square, Mitsuwa on Western
Il Chianti
Original Pancake House
Kings Hawaiian (the restaurant and the Local Place)
Uncle Bills

Mmm, hungry now! I think we will try Flossie's tonight.

February Fun Reads, 2009

I haven't done one of these in a while, though I have been reading for pleasure pretty consistently. After a while, there is only so much internet I can inject my brain with, so I appreciate a good read to balance everything out. We make such frequent trips to our local library that whenever we come in to pick up a requested item, the librarians recognize us and they don't even need our card to find our materials, haha. I love the library system...it's like our personal Netflix for movies and books! Anyways, here's some stuff on my virtual bookshelf:

Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey
I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to learn more about him. Now I know why he cusses all the time and is so critical! Read it youself to find out hehe.

Brining Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello
This caught my eye at our local B&N, so I requested it from the library. Jerry saw me read it and said, "What's the big deal about this Birkin thing? I'm going look it up on ebay." Next thing I hear from him is "NINETY FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A BAG?! CRAZZZZZZYYYYY!!!" I loved reading about his adventures, and so did Jerry. We are now inspired to ebay our stuff...except its not worth anything compared to a Birkin, haha.

The Solomon Sisters Wise Up by Melissa Senate
I'm not one to express the sentiment that I'm too good for this so called genre of "chick-lit." I absolutely love indulging myself in some thing a bit unreal- it provides a temporary escape for me. I can be a part of someone else's world for a bit before I go back to slaving away at ArcGis, searching for jobs, and doing laundry. In fact, the same goes for TV. Try as I might, I just can't pretend that I'm fascinated with watching CNN when Gossip Girl is on. :) For someone who reads as much chick lit as I do, I never quite warmed up to watching Sex and the City. Hmm, I wonder why?
Anywaaaays, back to the book. Melissa Senate is a good writer and she did a good job writing this book from 3 points of view (the 3 sisters). The content is not as silly as the Shopaholic books or the Plum Sykes books. I wouldn't mind a movie version of this book! Of course, knowing cheap 'ol me, I'd wait for it to be on DVD. :)

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
This book was gross and raunchy. Jerry had fun reading it, so I read it too. Ewww, guys like that exist? But I have to admit that I had fun reading it as well.

My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher
This woman finds out her husband is cheating on her, leaves him, and then finds out he's dying so she goes back to his deathbed. Instead of dealing with his illness alone, she calls up all his mistresses/past flings and some of them actually show up! Interesting cast of characters, I very much enjoyed this book. I teared up a little too!

The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace
Okay, I'm a bit tired of writing, haha. Let's just say I learned alot about wine and Thomas Jefferson. And how auction houses are crazy. The book reads a bit like a mystery, both Jer and I liked it and had to wikipedia more about it after since we were curious.

What's on your virtual bookshelf?

Credit Scores

Over the wknd, I got some bad news. Jerry decided to run a credit report check on me since I had been getting these weird notices from collection agencies and we found that my credit score was highly compromised by another Jeannie Nguyen- or maybe more than one Jeannie Nguyen! I was so upset and worried. Every since my first credit card at 18, I have been very diligent about not spending more than what I have. I've never missed a payment and have always paid in full and on time- I have absolutely no credit card debt. So imagine my surprise when the printer spits out over a dozen pages of bogus charges and payments (in bad standing) that I supposedly owe. They were for places like Sears (I never stepped into the store until after I started dating Jer b/c he likes to buy tools there), HSBC (I've been a BofA customer since I was in HS!), Walmart, Abercrombie and Fitch, etc etc. In the section of accts in good standing, I recognized all those accts as mine. In 2005 or 2006, I ran a credit report check on myself and I was completely clean then. I can't believe in a period of a few years could someone else fuck up my credit as badly as it is now. :( Jer says that maybe my acct got merged with someone elses and that it should be fixable. On the credit report, we noted that some of the addresses didn't match mine- there were addresses in Texas, Louisiana, SD, etc. I hope we can remedy this soon! I have to clear my name and my credit. We both agree this will be devastating when it comes time to apply for loans for houses- so I need to fix it soon. We already started the paperwork...wish me luck!

What steps do you take to protect your credit?

In other good news:
1. It's week 8- just 3 weeks to go!
2. Planning a trip to DC/NYC in the spring- any food recommendations? DC I haven't really been able to explore food wise. As for NYC, I've been to Lombardi's, Nyonya, Joe's Shanghai, Rice to Riches, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Egg Custard King Cafe, a yummy dessert place in Little Italy, Carnegie Deli, Dos Caminos, and this Korean to-go place called Worijip. And some other places that I don't remember.
3. Picked out a setting I loooooove...now trying to decide if its best to buy direct or to have it made.
4. Applying to jobs...hoping I get interviews! Hiring freezes suck. =X
5. Made kabocha/pork bone soup from scratch, yummy!
6. Going to see Taylor Swift in concert!

My to-do list:
1. Clear my credit!
2. Find a job
3. Apply for Amazing Race- yes we're boring but I want to try out anyway! Who has a camera we can borrow??
4. Catch up on blogs- mine and others. I star them in my googlereader to read later...but then I never get back to it. I also have a ton of other things I want to write about.
5. Melt my muffin top from its current Costco sized proportions
6. Sort out years of packratted stuff since I will be going back to having a roommate :)

I love lists, I want this: http://www.amazon.com/Listography-Journal-Your-Life-Lists/dp/0811859088

A Che

My grandma (we called her A Che) passed away over a month ago at the age of 90. I miss her sometimes, but I'm happy that she's not in pain anymore. Up until last summer, she was relatively healthy and mobile- she could bathe herself, cook whatever she wanted, go up and down the stairs, as well as carry a conversation. However, she never quite recovered from an infection and her dialysis weakened her even more. Over the next few months, she got progressively worse, and then one day she couldn't really talk anymore and every movement she made sucked up her energy. Most of my family was able to see her before she passed away- my uncle came back from Mexico, my aunt and cousin flew in from Germany, and we even snuck in my oldest of the young kids (she's 12, and the visitor's age is 14). My grandma lived a really fulfilling life- she survived the journey from Vietnam to America, and had 10 kids, 29 grand kids, and 35+ great grand kids (too many for me to count right now but I think it's around there), and was able to travel to Canada, parts of Europe, and back to Vietnam. Here are some pictures from last year's Tet at my parents' house:


The oldest and the youngest

Here's a picture from Mother's Day last year

I have lots of memories of her- a funny one that comes to mind is that we had some family/friends over for a get-together and she was sitting on the couch, and all of a sudden she was rushing up the stairs and we were like, where are you going?! And she was like, I have to fart but I don't want to do it front of everyone! But as she went up the stairs she couldn't hold it in and you could hear a trail of farts up the stairwell haha. She also made the best pickled mustard and loved to eat duck, esp the skin (my mom was always trying to get her to stop b/c it's high in fat but my grandma said, I'm old, I don't care, let me eat it!!) Another memory I have of her is that she always had an excellent sense of direction. Even at old age, she could direct you to go to so and so's house and she always remembered where we parked. We were always impressed by her mental acuity and longevity. She'll be missed, and remembered always, for generations to come.

What important person in your life has passed away? What's your favorite memory of him/her?

Christmas Song and Wishes

My cousin linked me to this really catchy song by Taylor Swift (she's 11 and yes I know, I'm 25.) Enjoy! I really like the lyrics. Even though I'm not religious.


What if ribbons and bows didn't mean a thing
Would the song still survive without five golden rings
Would you still wanna kiss without misletoe
What would happen if God never let it snow
What would happen if Christmas carols told a lie
Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
So here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

What if angels did not pay attention to
All the things that we wished they would always do
What if happiness came in a cardboard box
Then I think there is something we all forgot
What would happen if presents all went away
Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
So here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

We get so caught up in all of it
Business and relationships
Hundred mile an hour lives
And it's this time of year
And everybody's here
It seems the last thing on your mind

Is that the day holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to Jesus Christ who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
But here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something more

There's gotta be more
There's gotta be more

Have a very merry Christmas and the happiest of new years!

Crafty Tools/Toys

I've been on a crafty kick lately since I've had some free time (I recently bought a Cuttlebug, pics to come!) and I decided that my next crafty purchase will be this when it goes on sale more (meaning at least 50% off):

image from Amazon.com
X-ACTO Heavy Duty 12" Laser Trimmer

I've wanted a paper trimmer for a while but since I don't do massive amounts of paper projects, I figured that I don't really need it right now, and so far, Jer's x-acto knife has done the trick. (I don't use scissors b/c the cuts are crooked.) But I figure that when the time comes, we'll probably want to create our own paper wedding goodies and this trimmer will come in handy. I've read different reviews and this seems to be one of the better ones.

Me: So I want this trimmer!! (c&p link)
Jer: Can't you use scissors? What do you need a laser trimmer for?!
Me: Would you rather use a handsaw or your miter saw?
Jer: OOH.
Me: Duh.
Jer: Ok, we can get one.

Crafty or not, any must-have tools/supplies that you can't live without? (cooking, photography, garage, etc)

Death Valley

Last month, we took a much needed trip out of town and chose Death Valley as our mini-destination. Now I finally have some time to write about it! It was probably one of the best camping experiences we've ever had. Death Valley truly is a hidden gem, and it is definitely worth a trip back someday.

The drive was really long- most of it was all freeway and highway, but as we got closer, there were a couple stretches of narrow winding roads. On our way in, it was super windy also. Can you see how contorted Jer's shirt is?

We stopped by Father Crowley's Point and met a couple who told us we should hike Marble Canyon. We're so glad we did- though a bit slippery, it was fun to walk through it. We saw interesting rock formations.

Some of the passageways were quite narrow...

And some looked like that!
On our way back, I told him, hey go lie in that hole.

He did. It was funny b/c right when he climbed up there, this random hiker said, be careful of rattlesnakes! He couldn't get out of there fast enough!

No paved roads, so it got pretty dusty. I'm not a big fan of off-roading but I can imagine why some guys would think that it'd be fun. I enjoyed the first few bumpy minutes but after that I didn't really like it as much anymore.

Next we went to play in the sand dunes! It was so much fun. The sand is soft but sturdy. It wasn't too hard to get to the higher peaks.

We felt virtually alone...as if we had all the dunes to ourselves.

Sliding down seems fun in theory, but it wasn't slippery enough! Next time we need to bring a plastic sheet or a sled or something haha.

We ate pretty well- I made kebabs per Jer's request. They make for easy camp food, you just have to be willing to put in an hour or so to prep them the night before.

Emmanuell and Susan joined us also! They brought hamburgers as well as Nutella...yummy!

The first night we slept horrible. It was so windy we thought we were gonna get blown away- I'm not exaggerating. In fact, if Jerry hadn't secured the stakes as well as he did, the tent would have been dislodged from the ground and we would have been shit out of luck! None of us slept a wink that night! However, the second night we slept like babies. Instead of using individual sleeping bags, Jer found out that if he bought a certain kind Coleman sleeping bag, he could zip it up with my old Coleman sleeping bag, so we did that and had this really roomy and comfy sleeping bag. I like how sleeping bags are cozy, but I don't like how there's not that much elbow room. By doing this, it almost felt like we were sleeping in a real bed (I know, defeats the purpose of camping). Oh yeah we had inflatable sleeping pads too. We slept like kings (except when it's windy. Then we're like two mice who are scared shitless.)


We ate really unhealthy food. And managed to polish off almost a whole jar of nutella between the 3 of us (Jer doesn't like that stuff)

I spied a coyote! We also saw a kangaroo rat but it ran away before I could take a picture.

Zabrieskie Point. Boring, whatever.

Badwater Basin was pretty cool though!

What I love about Death Valley is the variety of the terrain and how you can go to hundreds of ft below sea level and then thousands of ft above sea level in an afternoon!

Trusty truck to get us everywhere. It badly needed a wash when we got home.

This is Devil's Golf Course- Jer is standing on top of really jagged salt formations.

Artist's Palette. It was pretty. You can only see it while driving- it's a one way road to get there.

The highlight of our trip had to be our trip back to the sand dunes at night. Under a gorgeous full moon and an inky sky full of stars, we hiked back to the dunes with E and S this time and had the time of our lives on the dunes! That pic is pretty crappy- but it's of Jer rolling down the dunes. E and S did it too, but I was too scared, haha.

After everyone had their share of rolling around the dunes, we laid on the very top and watched for shooting stars. Incredible feeling. We were also the only people out on the dunes. Quite a magical feeling!! On our way back, we saw some other people make their way to the dunes also. I hope they had as good of a time as we did!

Afterwards, we had planned on going swimming/showering at one of the lodging places. However, the pool wasn't heated so we opted for showering instead. Best shower ever. It was also free! It usually costs $4 a person, but since it was already after 10pm, the guy told us to just go ahead. How nice! Even so, we'd still pay $4 for a shower. You can just imagine how sandy we were after being on the sand dunes for two days in a row! We headed back, and like I mentioned above, had the best sleep ever!

Here are some more pictures at picasa. You can also go to photoist for more pics as well.

One Year!

Today's our one year! I won't bore you with the romantical details, but I gotta say, best year of my life! Some random tidbits about the past year:
1. We've gone through 3 cameras in the past year. But after the D300 no more new cameras for another couple years...unless we can get the D700 for a steal. One can dream?
2. We have completely diff tastes in movies but we'll still watch the other person's favorites together: He's seen Fast and the Furious "somewhere between 5 and 10" times, I have seen Love Actually at least 6 times- twice in the movie theater, and once each year that it has come out on DVD.
3. We discovered early on that we work really well together in the kitchen and every since then, many delicious meals and some not so tasty "experiments" have made their way into our tummies. And subsequently on our hips/thighs.
4. We both like to read and swap books. Some of our recent favorites were The Billionaire's Vinegar and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. We can be found at least once a month at our local library- it works as our personal Netflix too!
5. I usually win in Scrabble, he always wins in Monopoly. We both equally suck at Rockband.
6. We enjoy teaching each other how to use the other person's tools: he taught me how to use a miter saw, I taught him how to use an eyelet setter.
7. We didn't start off our relationship by expecting the other person to be the one. We were in like, in lust, in love and we became best friends throughout the process. :)

We're under a makeshift tunnel at the Griffith Park DWP Festival of Lights (it was boring, don't go). Nice bokeh though huh! Taken with the 50mm by a random passerby. No flash, just the right settings.

Hmm, I wonder what the next year will bring us?!

First full day of freedom! I'll hopefully be finding plenty of things to cross off on my list...stay tuned! It's going to be an awesome winter break. :)

Just a Toothbrush

Argh, every single time I sleep somewhere, I always leave something behind. Last time it was a router, this time a toothbrush, all the other times, some other thing. I'm sick and tired of being so absentminded and forgetful- I used to never be this way! While I know I should be grateful that I have 3 homes and some people have none...I'm also annoyed at having to lug my crap around all the time. It's just a toothbrush, but I don't like being careless- what's next, my ring? My bad habit of forgetting things needs to stop NOW. Sigh, how many more months to go until I can consolidate? Sucks that all the bills and the lease are under my name, it would be douchebaggery of me to leave sooner than later...