Week 5

Week 5 went by so quickly. Two exams done, just like that. The best part is at work, I was able to figure out how to incorporate captions on our new server with the help of my bosses. Friday night, our new server was live officially. I felt so happy. I was beaming from ear to ear. I went online to our TitanTV YouTube channel just to see the livestream and see it play. That hard work, I was a part of. It was exciting, the little things.

After work, I went to the gym, as my routine. Fourth week on this routine. Pretty happy with my progress. Then took a shower and after met up with my two good old friends who I met from freshman year, Andrea and Theresa. We went to Kopan Ramen in Downtown Fullerton and Somi Somi and Honey and Butter at the Irvine Spectrum Center. It was a great catch up session with them. Been too long.

Saturday came by surprise with my sister taking me out for lunch after knowing I haven't eaten lunch yet. She drove us to Cute Tea. I ordered the Vegan Pho and she ordered the mango hibiscus tea. We also ordered yam wedges from Healthy Junk. Very full belly at the end of the day. Thank you big sis for treating me!

It may look really oily, but it wasn't. The noodles had a great texture and the pork chashu was tender and juicy. 

I got the ube and berries flavor with custard filling, topped with Fruity pebbles. Both flavors were very good, but I think I tasted more berries. It can be very messy (dropped some ice cream on myself), so be careful! 

Interior decor of Honey and Butter 

I got the Enchanted Berries and Churro flavors to take back and give my family to try because I knew my sister was coming out to visit her friend and will stop by at my apartment to restock me with some necessities. 

Vegan Pho- It was very light and simple. The portion was big I would say and very filling. There are a lot of veggies which I loved. They had its own flavor, making them even more tasty. The vegan meats were good. I liked the smaller pieces, which had more flavor than the two big round meats on top.

Yam Wedges: They were really good. So so filling. Soft yet crispy. 

Quadruple W

     It's Week 4. Can't believe I am a quarter into the semester. One step closer to graduating. Yikes. What I can believe though is how happy I am this semester. Don't get me wrong, I still get stressed and worried but more maintained. It feels like quadruple victory in my goals this year: my personal life, exercise, academics, and work. Hence the title name of this post.
     For my personal life, I feel I gained control of it. Last semester, I felt as if the semester was controlling me. Yes, I am still busy this semester and I still stress and worry, but I don't feel as if I'm engulfed by schoolwork. I am trying my best to juggle my school life and my personal life, not only on my health and mental health but family bonding time. Over the years, I always put school first. Yes, I know what you're thinking. What a terrible daughter I am to my family. I agree. I've never been a smart person, a hardworking person is who I am. I know I need plenty of time to study and plenty of time to review what I learned to really understand the material. As a result, I would either not come home to spend time with family (in my college years currently) or bring my schoolwork to family gatherings or not go to family gatherings at all. Family understands and I am grateful for that, but it was always a lingering thought in the back of my mind. I am determined to make more time for my own personal life. That is the goal.
     For exercise, I have been going to the gym twice so far! Every Friday's after work. So far so good. I'm going to keep it up. Working on my physical health in this goal.
     For academics, I must admit, still a little worried about exams, especially for one of my courses that my professor does have the exam dates given to us but we find out when the exams are a week before it happens. At least that is what happened this past Wednesday. I do feel more control with my classes and more enjoyment in them.
     For work, well, this is a new category for me. First job ever, so juggling school and work is a little difficult, but it keeps me busy. I know time is very valuable, so I treasure each minute. As of now, I like my job and the work I do. I know my purpose and how I can better the department in my work. Currently learning how to use a new server system that will be broadcasting the shows we produce on our channel. Pretty cool stuff I must say. Here's to learning more and becoming a programmer in 2019!
     This past week and weekend, I attended a mini art gallery held in the TSU at my school that showcases students' artworks. Love this small exhibit. Makes me feel like an art critic and get to enjoy some artistic work by talented students. I also watched an hour of Crazy Rich Asians that was being showcased at my school in the TSU theatre after work on a Thursday. Went to the gym on Friday as a routine and headed home for the weekend. Enjoyed some good eating. Follow along as I write little captions underneath the pictures!

Amazing work, abstract yet simple.

This was called the Tree of Worlds. I really liked how creative this artist was to come up with a tree concept in glass canvas with the world in mind. Very outside the box.

This was just plain cute! Adorable bird!

After work sunsets.

Workouts on a treadmill. My favorite workout and my only type of workout thus far this semester. 

Pie Hole: Chocolate Covered Strawberry- Verdict.. it was really good. Very light, you taste more of the strawberry mousse than the chocolate ganache. It makes it perfect because many desserts end up having the chocolate overpower anything else included. 

Pie Hole: Banana Cream Pie-It has been way too long since I had this flavor of pie. Delicious! Light, not heavy, not too sweet. Just perfect.  

A beautiful view of the crisp air and sky after a rainy day. Plus some hope for all. 

Headed to the Alhambra Lunar New Year Festival with my parents. Nothing special. Just okay. Got three free mini bottled waters and one grocery bag.

Cute little piggy balloons. 

Summer Rolls: Second time but first time at a different location (in the Camellia Square). Had dinner with the parentals and the dry pho was really good. I even saw an old classmate/friend from high school working that night. I got the Charbroiled Pork Nem. The sauce is spicy, but it was okay. The order came with the two shrimp egg rolls (dried shrimp). I really liked it. I actually finished all of it as opposed to my parents not being able to finish their meats. What can I say, I was hungry and I am a big young lady. The meat was very tender and tasty. The carrots in the picture are actually pickles. Really nice. 

Beautiful Lunar New Year decor in the Camellia Square.

Bistro Na: Ate lunch with the whole family here before going back to Fullerton. This dish was chili tofu skin salad. We had it no spicy. It is by far my favorite dish. Simple yet so tasteful. Just tofu skin and I think cilantro. I don't really know the difference between cilantro and parsley still. Always get the two mixed up. But nevertheless, a very delicious dish. It is  a cold dish.  

Na's secret tofu. Very soft and fluffy. Beautiful taste with a little sauce equals perfection. 

Sweet and sour shrimp. Man, these were very hot and even after a long while eating, my dad ate the last one and it was still warm. Very juicy. Great sweet and sour flavor and a little spicy to give it an extra kick.

Na's braised pork belly. A little saucy but with rice is perfect. The meat is very tender and juicy. Not dry at all.

Fried mixed mushrooms with rice cracker bites. The mushrooms had a great texture and I loved the rice cracker bites (the small white dots on top) as an added touch. You can't taste it so much but when you eat it together, there's that explosion of flavor. A simple rice cracker adds an extra touch. 

Beijing pork bone stew. So so good! The tofu is solid, doesn't break as easily. The meat on the bone was tender and juicy. The soup had so much of the pork bone flavor. The waitress even mentioned we can make more soup with the bones! 

Can't leave without dessert. Crispy rice treats. Very light. Cranberries were a nice touch, considering most Asians do not like raisins. Crispy and not too dense. 

Yin yang sesame roll. I only had one but I didn't like how the sesame on top overpowered the paste inside, at least for the piece I had. Other than that, it was good. Chewy and soft. 

The Year of the Pig

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! 新年快樂，萬事如意，心想事成，身體健康，平平安安，諸事順利，諸事吉祥. Good luck, good health, peace, all good things. I hope everyone has a wonderful Year of the Pig and may all good things happen for you.

As I am in Fullerton, I went out with my friend Hannah to Slice Shabu. First timer, and I really liked how my miso broth was very clear and the meats, veggies, and ramen were delicious. The meat was juicy and tender. The veggies were flavorful. We choose Combo A and got an extra plate of meat, the 1855 Black Angus Prime Ribeye. A little splurging but was a still a little hungry. I can be a big eater at times. The service very good too. Super nice and friendly. I would definitely come back to this shabu place.

Again, Happy Lunar New Year! May this year bring prosperity and good health to you all!

2019 is My Year

Hello my fellow readers! It is so so nice to have some time to blog again! I truly miss blogging and sharing my adventures, life lessons, food adventures, and stories with y'all!

Again, happy 2019! I hope everyone is having a good start so far. I came back from my study abroad in Europe: London, Paris, and Rome and started my Spring 2019 semester of my third year in college. Lots of jet lag of course and this choking cough that I can't get rid of but all good things. I learned a whole lot during my study abroad trip (a post on that will come) and now this. I accepted by first job on campus. I'm really excited. 2018 was a rough year, but I feel 2019 will be my year and I will make the most of it. I hope you guys will too! I hope 2019 is YOUR year to do amazing things.

Stay tuned for my Europe posts. Those will take a while but they will come for sure. As for now, enjoy some lovely food pictures from my lovely food adventures when I was home last weekend.

Happy Bakery- Chinese Congee with Pork and Century Egg. One of the best comfort food there is coming back from Study Abroad. 

The Pan. First timer. 

The Pan Interior 

The Pan Interior

The Pan Interior

The Classic Breakfast Burrito 

Personally, I thought it was really good. Very filling, not too cheesy, has bacon but still felt healthy with the veggies inside. 

Joy- Slack Season Noodles. I loved the noodles, the texture was different from other noodles I tried. Lots of meat. If there was more noodles that would be great. 

Chiayi Chicken Rice-I liked how this was not too flavorful, just right. Simple, juicy, and tender chicken.

Minced Pork on Rice- I felt this one was okay as long as you mix the rice with the mince pork. The sauce wasn't too overpowering or overload, but mixing the two together created a flavorful meal. 

Sesame Scallion Bread- Very nice texture, soft, warm, and fresh.

Hakka mochi (black sesame and peanut)- The mochi was chewy, just the right amount of chewiness. However, I didn't like how there was a lot of salt on it. This was one of my favorite snacks back in my childhood days and I don't recall as much salt on it or any frankly. Besides that, I liked it. 

First game in the new semester. Attended before heading home. 

As the picture shows, Dan Modern Chinese (another version of Ding Tai Fung).

Dungeness Crab Frid Rice-It was really good. Not greasy, clear. However, after eating more of it, my mom and I did find some crab shells in the rice and after eating more of it, the flavor was too much. It a little less sauce would have been better.  

Pork and Blue Crab Xiao Long Bao- Very juicy and the meats were amazing.

Pork Pan Fried Bun- The buns were a little cold... but the meat inside and the softness of the bun were excellent.  

Luscious Dumplings - Mushroom Meat Sauce Noodles: I really liked the texture of the noodles and the meat was an excellent complement to the noodles.  

Sliced Pork Ears and Bean Curd- It was a little spicy, but it was a good kick to the pork ears and bean curd. It was a little oily, but overall still good. I liked how they sliced the pork ears so nicely too. 

Pan Fried Fish Dumplings- By far, my favorite dish of the place. It wasn't too oily, pretty clear. The fish inside was great. I loved how it was so simple yet so delicious.

Pan Fried Chive Pockets- I liked how it reminded me of this one Dim Sum dish that also had veggies on the inside, the veggie dumplings. It was a little greasy in my opinion. 

Steamed Snow Crab and Pork Dumplings- You can definitely taste the crab and pork and see it too. Very juicy and delicious.

Steamed Fish Dumplings- A little too much pepper in my opinion. Not to my liking. 

Inside of the Pan Fried Fish Dumplings  

Inside of the Pan Fried Chive Pockets

Vege Paradise - Vege sweet and sour chicken (mushroom): Very good. Cute little juicy mushrooms. 

Vege Kung Pao Shrimp without the spiciness- It was one of my favorite dishes. Shrimp has always been my favorite and even in vegetarian/vegan form, I loved it. 

Vege squid, shrimp, bean curd with broccoli- a simple dish yet very good. 

Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms- This was really good, but definitely need rice to go with it. 

Crispy Puff Pastry with Pumpkin Bisque-Very cute I have to say. The pumpkin wasn't too heavy, just right. Pretty light. The pastry was flaky and very crisp. 

Inside of the Crispy Puff Pastry with Pumpkin Bisque

P.S. I decided to create another page for just food places, where you can find all the food spots I have checked out and if you're interested, you can check out as well! It will be under Food Places. It is in renovation at the moment, but feel free to check it out every so often!