Free Spirit

I know plenty of people who hate their job, but I only know of one person who is genuinely excited every morning at the thought of going to the office.  I'd like to think that if I worked there, I'd feel the same as well.  For now, I shall have to live vicariously through you, hopefully cooler by association.  One of these days, I'll have to visit again when there are more nerds walking around doing important things.  Free Spirit!

Pizza Pizza

Pizzeria Mozza!  After hearing people talk about it for ages, I finally had a chance to check it out.  Even better was that since I was driving down from SF, I was able to take advantage of the Happy Hour deal - appetizer and pizza for $20.   First up, fried squash blossoms with ricotta and an order of the meatballs.  The squash blossoms were very tasty, but if you can only get one appetizer, get the meatballs.  By far the clear winner, the meatballs have a great flavor and a moist and tender texture.  For the pizzas, we shared the egg, bacon and Yukon Gold, but again, while very good, the clear winner was the mushroom pizza.  So simple, yet a great example of what good, fresh ingredients can do for a dish.  The mushrooms were thick, juicy, flavorful, and a good compliment to the taleggio and fontina cheeses.  Thick and juicy; that's what she said.

What Will You Celebrate?

If you haven't already heard, Disneyland's offering free admission on your birthday in 2009. Register here if you haven't already done so, and prepare for the entire park to wish you a happy birthday. It's that awesome. Here's me and my Disneyland buddy on our favorite ride. I honestly don't know why we're facing different directions, but I blame the goat.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Spending a perfect Saturday night with friends - priceless.

葱麵包

This is 葱麵包. More specifically, it's the Taiwanese way of making it. What you usually find in Chinese bakeries in California is the Cantonese version, which in my opinion, is very much inferior. I'm not sure why it's so hard to find a Chinese bakery that makes it the Taiwanese way,especially since half of them are Taiwanese, but I only know of one place that does it - TanBii Bakery, and judging by how quickly they sell out, I'm not the only person who craves a proper 葱麵包. More often than not, my trips to TanBii Bakery end in utter disappointment, when the lady tells me that they've sold out for the day. This time, my mom and I decided to go at noon to increase our chances, and found nine left. We bought seven, and left the last two to be nice.

I have no picture for comparison, so you'll have to trust me when I say that the Cantonese version resembles this in shape, but looks like someone placed a small pinch of green onions on the top, almost functioning as a garnish instead of a main ingredient. The bread itself is light but dry, and ultimately tasteless. There's not much green onion flavor unless you've taken a bite of them. The Taiwanese version, however, has copious amounts of green onions lightly sauteed in some sauce that I can't quite identify, spread across the top. The bread itself is moist, light, and has a slight sweetness to it, which complements the green onion flavor of each bite. The only downside is that you potentially have green onion breath after eating, but let's face it. It's so delicious that there is no downside.

Korean Roach Coach

I had dinner tonight at AK Restaurant with some of my favorite people in the world. Between the five of us, we ordered the swedish meatballs, herring three ways, kurobuta pork schnitzel, and braised beef short ribs bourguignonne. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a very good shot of my food, so hopefully Hanie will be posting pictures soon. All-in-all, a delicious meal with fantastic company.

After dinner, we were treated to a surprise:
the Kogi BBQ Taco Truck. That's right, it's the LA traveling Korean BBQ truck phenomenon! Despite being stuffed from dinner, Jason got a taco and seemed to enjoy it. Twitterers can follow Kogi to find out when and where they will be next, or even message them to profess your undying devotion for their kimchii quesedilla.

Holiday Potluck

I've lost count of the number of years we've been doing this, but considering that it started in high school, I think it's safe to call our annual girls' potluck a long running tradition. This year, the Hebners were gracious enough to host, making it the first time we've had it at one of our actual residences. In Tina's case, it's her actual house, which makes the occasion even more special.

Nom Nom Nom

Steamed buns filled with red bean paste are delicious, as is most anything with red bean paste. My Grandma gave us a few when we went to visit, except there was a bonus surprise...they were shaped like animals! Not only are they delicious to eat, they're hilarious too. Merry Christmas!

The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

From an LA Times article I read:

Missing since November, the beloved dynamite-chewing goat on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster is expected to wander back to his exposed butte in the next few weeks, according to Disneyland officials.

The extended and unexplained disappearance fueled speculation on Internet chat rooms about the bleating goat’s demise and led to more than a few instances of baa-baa-bad humor.

Officially, the nameless, genderless goat is “on vacation.” Unofficially, the audio-animatronic animal is getting a new fur coat in the Anaheim theme park’s maintenance department after years of exposure to the wind, sun and rain.

Disney fans fondly recall the legendary “goat trick” — where riders at the crest of the second lift hill train their eyes on the goat throughout the subsequent sharp turn to greatly increase the sideways G-forces.

Big Thunder Mountain is probably one of my favorite rides at Disneyland, the goat trick being one of the reasons why. Personally, I like sitting in the last car, on the left side. The ride is just a little more jerky, and if your friend is crazy, she might just try and knock your sunglasses off when slamming into you through the turns. Just ask the man and his son sitting behind us once, who couldn't stop laughing at what he was seeing.

Oh, and I'm not sure why I had such difficulties finding a picture of the actual goat. I bow to you, my Google friend.

Me Quiero

While I've been thinking about things that I don't have, here is a short list of things I want to do:

1. Go to Disneyland. I recently helped a friend plan his first Disneyland trip and couldn't help but think of the great times I've had there. A certain someone is also invited if only to prove that it's possible for me to go through the park without being a Nazi (but you're only allowed one churro per hour!).

2. Go to Library Alehouse and have their seared ahi burger.

3. Hang out at Lou's or The Shire: Flashback Years.

4. Leave work early and hang out at Father's Office. And have a burger. And ribs. And some fries.

5. Have good sushi. I've been craving Sasabune for the longest time. Or that place that in Little Tokyo that I went to with Tina and Bill. Unfortunately for me, I don't live in LA and also can't afford it at the moment.

6. Eat some Roscoe's.

7. Shoot free throws.

I'm not sure why so many of these are centered around food...

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Having dinner with Tina and Bill is always a treat - I can think of few things better than being in the company of dear friends. Since I no longer get to see them as often, these get togethers are even more special.

Dinner last night at Craft was simply amazing. Service was superb and the food even better. The pork belly appetizer was crispy, the Blue Bass was very flavorful, and the maple bacon ice cream needs no explanation. The sound of Ricky Gervais laughing at the table next to us only occasionally overpowered our own laughter and conversation. To top off the night, Tina actually passed on the opportunity to trick me into running into a glass wall, which I was convinced wasn't there. I'm just a bit disappointed, but truly - what a friend.

I Love Your Guts

This isn't going to be one of those sappy end-of-year recaps/holiday love fests. I usually reserve those for Christmas cards, and though I didn't write any this year, I'm not about to spill over the internet. You should all know how I feel about you, and if you don't, give me a call and I'll be happy to read you something from Hallmark.

What I will say is that my recent trip down to LA was fantastic. Some trips are rather rushed and you don't end up seeing anyone. While some people were out of town, I got a pretty good balance of visits and even squeezed a trip down to San Diego for some Phil's Phil's Phil's. As Tina pointed out, "it's huge and it's packed" (that's what she....), and the ribs definitely stood up to the hype and was well worth the drive down. Also funny was watching Stella attempt a jump kick. We really are too easily amused.

Getting the quality time to spend with friends and family really makes me miss home and the people that I love, but it also pushes me to try and meet new people here. Certainly not as a replacement, but to find that familiar warmth and comfort you get when you're with friends. For now, to those at home, I miss you, and wish the holidays lasted forever . You know who you are.