Food Favorites

There are few things in life that make me as happy as the following three items:

Boba/Pearl Milk Tea from:

Tea Station

39115 Cedar Blvd.

Newark, CA 94560

Yes, this is an international chain and I've been to many of the ones in LA as well, but nothing tops the milk tea from this unassuming Newark location!  These are better than all the ones I've ever had in SF, and even Asia! I'm convinced they're the best in the world.  The pearls are flavorful and chewy (not bland, soggy, or hard), and the flavor is distinctly Taiwanese.  Love! 

(P.S. You get 10% off for ordering to-go)

Double-Double Burger from In-N-Out.

I rarely eat fast food, but when I have to, this is what I get.  Double-Double is as much as I can fit in my mouth at one time, or else I'd pile on even more scrumptious layers!

#8 House Special Spicy Noodle Soup (with hand-pulled wide flat noodles)

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite foods of my entire life! (And thats a special spot because my top 100 things in life is probably all food.  And football.)

QQ Noodle

3625 Thornton Avenue

Fremont, CA 94536

In Chinese, "QQ" is a kind of slang that refers to something that is perfectly chewy - not hard, and not soggy/mushy.  These noodles are all hand-pulled for the perfect degree of QQ-ness!  I've never ordered anything besides the house special, #8 extra spicy, and I've never needed to.  I've tasted just about everything else on the menu when others have ordered - and nothing beats this in my humble opinion!  I can take QQ any day, any time of day.  

I guess you could say these are a few of my go-to comfort foods, I will never say no to any one!

Thanksgiving Break Part I: Harbowl + A Taste of Taiwan

My Thanksgiving Break began on Wednesday when I went shopping with family for some winter clothes for my ever growing little bro.  He is turning 15 in a few weeks and since last May, has been growing about 1-2 inches/month.  I have a newly acquired  understanding of the expression, "growing like a weed"!

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, my mom and I did some grocery shopping at Marina Foods in Fremont, then had the most amazing lunch I've had in a while!  My mom grew up in Taiwan so since I was little, I've been exposed to some amazing Taiwanese food.  Not going to lie, this is what I miss the most in SF cuisine - where Asian food is predominantly Cantonese.

We went to the newly opened:

Fusion House

46228 Warm Springs Blvd.

Fremont, CA 94539

And I thought I'd died and gone to Taiwan when I opened the menu.  Here finally, was a place where I could indulge in my favorite Taiwanese foods, authentically made, and actually afford to pig-out too!  Needless to say my mom and I stuffed ourselves and left VERY happy.  These are some of my favorite Taiwanese dishes:

I believe this is called the "Glutinous Cupped Rice," it's one of my mom's favorites.  She's a total rice person, whereas I am the Noodle Queen.  (Yes, that is actually a title which was bestowed upon me when I was only five years old but had already manifested a clear preference in carbohydrate selections.)

This is my favorite - apparently, in English, it's called "pottage," news to me as I only ever knew what it was called in Taiwanese!  So "pottage" is basically skinny brown noodles (not to be confused with vermicelli - completely different) in a clear jelly-like thick soup, with different flavors.  My favorite is intestine, this one has both intestine and oyster.  I know it must sound disgustingly terrible to non-Chinese, but please don't freak out until you try it, it's DELICIOUS.

This is probably tied for favorite in my book.  It's called something slightly different at different places, but basically it's a big meat ball inside of a glutinous shell.  So difficult to describe but it will blow your mind and explode your taste buds with wonder!

Lastly my mom and I split another staple - the oyster and egg pancake. It's oyster and egg (duh) inside of a fried jelly-like skin, and it's so amazing!  They put some kind of ketchup-y concoction over it and the sauce is beyond delicious.

Then I came home in the afternoon, cleaned the house a little, and planted myself right in-front of the tv for the much awaited Thanksgiving Niner Game vs. the Baltimore Ravens, which us fans had lovingly dubbed Harbowl.  (For non Niner/football fans, this is because the Ravens are coached by John Harbaugh, elder brother by 15 months to Niner head coach Jim Harbaugh.)

(C)Dave Reginek/Getty Images; Nick Wass/Associated Press

Unfortunately...it was probably by far the most depressing game I had watched all season.  It wasn't even  torture anymore, pain is probably a better way to describe it.  First of all, the Niner's offensive line was all but non-existent, leading to Alex Smith getting sacked 9 times.  Nine times!!!  I cowered shamefully beneath my blanket on the couch.  The poor guy didn't even get a chance to play.  Snyder's presence was definitely missed.

Secondly, the refs made some terrible calls throughout the game that really set the niners back, the worst of which being the chop block penalty called on Rachal which wiped out what would have been Ted Ginn Jr.'s 75-yard touchdown catch.  It was a magical moment, quickly whipped away.  If you watch the replay, I can understand why "technically" the refs had the right to make the call, but that only makes it a "correct call," it was by no means a "good call," as Jim Harbaugh so classily refered to it as, in the post-game press conference.  I seriously give him props for taking the high road with all this, because the good Lord knows I was bashing my head on the wall in disgust when this happened.  Refs let penalties like this go, ALL THE TIME, taking things into context, and I was convinced (and still am) that the refs just wanted to give the fans in Baltimore a Thanksgiving present.  That call totally changed the dynamics of the game, in my opinion, and it was just abysmal from there on out.  Add to it the lack of O, and well...that was that.  

Needless to say, I have full faith that we will be geared up and back ready to go for Sunday's game against the Rams!  In any case, I suppose now is the time to explore weaknesses and areas for improvement, so we can go FTW in the post-season!!

SOS!!!!!

Got some regular posts coming up soon but for now - a plea for help!

I have found myself the victim of Black Friday shopping madness....
I've been lusting the the Reebok San Francisco 49ers Player Sideline 2nd Season Visor Knit Hat and found it online last night, and put it in my shopping cart at nflshop.com.  This morning I woke up early, worked all day, cooked a Turkey dinner, then hosted dinner, and returned to my computer only to discover that this hat was not only sold out on nflshop.com, but also ALL AROUND THE WEB?!?!?!?!?

It looks like this:

and retails for $19.99, but at this point I'm about ready to work out some sort of arrangement for it if I could only find one!  I even went to eBay and was prepared to kick butt in some massive bidding war if someone had put one up there.  I must have this hat :(   I was really hoping to have it by the end of the year for a trip to the East Coast I'll be taking around the 1st of Jan...I hope they restock, or some kind soul decides to sell theirs to me!

If anyone knows where I can get a hold of this hat, please do share!! I would be eternally grateful!

More Pics:

Our own Alex Smith wearing this hat backwards...

(C)Rob Carr/Getty Images

And Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens wearing the Ravens version right side forward.  (Unfortunately I couldn't find one of a 49er wearing it correctly...)

(C)Rob Carr/Getty Images

Sushi in the Golden State

This week has been strangely reversed.  When my weeks normally start headed downhill, hit the bottom at Wednesday, then slowly climb back up towards the end, this week started off fantastically well, then slowly fizzled to a lack-luster Friday afternoon.  I'm attending a concert tonight that should be promising, so hopefully some Schoenberg & Chamber Music will turn things around for me.

On Wednesday, I ended up dining solo, and decided nothing would be more comforting than my favorite cuisine: Japanese.  Since I am a quarter Japanese and grew up on the food, I am extremely hard to please.  There wasn't much time so I went to O-Toro Sushi, which is literally about 4 minutes walking distance from my school, and I was surprised to be blown away by the deliciousness! 

O-Toro Sushi

205 Oak Street

(between Gough & Octavia)

San Francisco, 94102

The only way to eat alone is to really pig out, so I ordered a hot Nabeyaki Udon to counter the cold wintery weather we've been having, and also ordered a Golden State Roll to satisfy the sashimi-lover in me.  Of course while I waited I was sipping on my hot Green Tea.  

Story:  My mother has been feeding me tea since I was a wee lass.  When I was a baby, mother's American friends would ask if I was drinking apple juice, looking at the color of the liquid in my bottle, which was clearly not milk.  And my mother would reply, "Nope, she's drinking tea!"  As a result, to this day I still guzzle tea like a camel.  In fact, in one day I could probably easily consume double the amount of tea than I could water.

Anyway, back to the food.  What initially caught my eye about the Golden State Roll was - I'm not going to lie - the name.  I guess you could say this whole lockout business has got me missing our Warriors, so I'll take any Golden State I could get at this point, even if it comes on my food.  Of course, I also love salmon sashimi so this was a double delight.  

I was completely impressed with how fresh the fish was, and the fact that the *real* snow crab inside the roll tasted great.

  

Then came the Nabeyaki Udon, which was also great.  I appreciated the fact that my egg actually came raw, which was nice because a) that means the soup is actually as hot as it's supposed to be, and b) I could take care of the egg the way I wanted to.  I hate it when the soup comes out in this impressive looking clay pot but is only moderately hot.  What's the point?!  The tempura was also delicious, and there was more chicken on the bottom than I could finish.

All in all, a great experience, and I will definitely be back!  Don't let the small front and simple menu fool you, this place is great.

Eight One

Just HAD to do a post on today's game!  My beloved hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers are now 8-1!! The NY Giants were in town today, and I think the only word I could use to describe the game was...magical.  So often these days, great games are marred by unsportsmanlike conduct - on the field, off the field, between players, between fans, between coaches, in press conferences, etc etc etc.  And it always makes me sad because it really casts a shadow over something that is supposed to be fun and enjoyable and bring people together.

Before any action even went down, I really appreciated the fact that during the past week, respectful comments were being made about the other team from members of both the Niners and the Giants - coaches and players.  And today's game was exciting!! Two very well matched teams, and it was intelligent, high level playing.  But really most of all, respectful.  And boy did Candlestick bring it today...

My favorite players of the day:  Alex Smith (for just being great and getting our only rushing yards in the first half?!), David Akers (for his sneaky stealthy but oh so successful onside kick that led to a field goal, and for being just about perfect), and Justin Smith (Uhhhh...did you SEE that block at the end?!)

And I have to end with this beautiful moment:

Vernon Davis leaping gracefully like a gazelle over Giants safety for a 31-yard touchdown catch!

Image (C) Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Pour Some Sugar On Me

Wow, it's been a long time!  As the semester approaches its end (already?! seriously?!), I find myself bogged down with work, overly exhausted, and constantly behind.  In times like these, local spots that are within 5 minutes walking distance to school come in handy - no, they are necessary medicine to get me through long days!

A favorite spot of mine, and my colleagues, is Sugar...

Sugar Lounge

377 Hayes St.

(between Franklin & Gough)

San Francisco 94102

The best thing about Sugar is that if you go during happy hour, they give you some amazing snacks and hors d'oeuvres, FOR FREE!!  I know anything free will taste good to begin with, but it really is pretty good.  Plus, one of the bartenders is an SFCM alum...haha! 

E and I popped in between rehearsals/lessons and had a great time de-stressing! 

(Funny fact: my professor tells me "stress" is a California word, and it only exists in the minds of Californians!)

Our beautiful and tasty drinks...I wish I could remember the names.  Mine, on the left, had pomegranate in it I'm sure (I love pomegranate...and lychee.  Anything with pomegranate or lychee on the menu I will for sure pick up), and E's on the right had pineapple.

...and one more because the first was so good.  I know this was the "special margarita" hahah

Sometimes they've got a live DJ (other times there's an iPad sitting on top of the station or whatever it's called).  Doesn't hurt that there are super cute chairs/couches/pillows too!

Routine

I like to think of myself as very "loyal."  I'm one of those people where, when I eat repeatedly at the same place, once I've found my favorite dish, I always order that one.  You know those types.  Some people might call it "unadventurous"...but I really prefer loyal!

I'm a total creature of habit, and the same goes with my makeup routine.  I actually really do NOT like to wear make up, and on most days where I'm just running errands or hanging out with family (considering no photos are being taken), I try stay bare-faced all day.  Unfortunately, when I don't wear any makeup, I look like a 12-year old.  (If I wear makeup but wear the wrong clothes, that brings me up to high-school age looking.  Refer to this funny post on Asians and age appropriateness.)  Therefore, when I am working, or even just when I am going out and about, most days I have to wear at least some eye makeup to make myself look older and more professional.  There have been a few days when I've slummed out in my sweats, headband, and no makeup, and gotten into conversations with potential clients, and sorely regretted my completely unprofessional look, so I've learned it's better to always be safe than sorry.

I thought I'd share my go-to products:

EYES

L to R, top to bottom:

NYX eye shadow in black

Maybelline waterproof ultra-liner in black

Maybelline Master Drama creme pencil in Midnight Master

Maybelline Line Stylist eyeliner in Onyx

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara in Very Black

Many days I don't wear anything on my face, but I will put on a little eye-makeup.  In case you can't tell, I am a HUGE fan of Maybelline eye-makeup, and even when I try out new things, I always go back to my favorites.  

I love waterproof liquid liner because of it's durability, but don't like how difficult it is to remove, and feel terrible when it causes stress to my sensitive lids.  I love creme liner but don't like how it smudges on my eyes, even with primer.  So I've recently discovered that marrying the two gives me exactly the results I want.  So on my top lid, I run a swipe of Maybelline's new Master Drama creme liner (basically the creme liner in pencil form), which is smooth, solid, gentle, and comes off easily.  Then at the corners, I take the ultra-liner and create the last 1/3 of my line as well as usually a little cat-eye tip.  On the bottom I use the line stylist because it's super skinny to line my waterline, then apply the NYX matte black shadow over to lock it in place.  Finally, curl my lashes once with my Shu Uemura curler, and apply one coat of Maybelline's Lash Stilletto mascara - my favorite! I love almost all Maybelline's mascara (except for Great Lash...never figured out what was so great about that one) but Lash Stilletto is by far my favorite.  It's light enough to wear for an everyday look, and also stacks well for occassions that call for more drama.  All of these products can be purchased at your local drugstore, what's better than great products at a great price?! My favorite combination!

FACE

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in 6 Ivory

Make Up For Ever Super Loose Matte Powder in 12 Translucent Natural

Natural FX (Cover FX) Water Based Foundation in M10 Bone

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

On my face is where I am willing to shell out a little more of my hard earned cash.  I have extremely sensitive skin that breaks out easily.  (Literally, if the wind blows too hard and my face comes in contact with too much dust, I'll break out.) So what products I put on my face for the days I wear face makeup are extremely important.  The MUFE Concealer is pricey, but a tube will last a long time, and it's completely worth it.  Best concealer I've ever used.  I love the powder also - notice its disheveled appearance - it's almost time for a new tub! And on days that I will be taking pictures, I go to Anastasia Brow Wiz for an extra touchup.  The ONLY foundation that my skin is able to handle that I've tried thus far, is this Natural FX (a line of Cover FX) water based foundation with SPF 15.  I can use it because it is paraben-free, oil free, and doesn't contain any of the chemicals that my skin is sensitive to.  On top of that, it gives excellent coverage, feels light, looks good in pictures, and lasts all day.  I apply with a foundation brush, mixing 1 part foundation with 2 parts moisturizer.  (I use the one my dermatologist recommends to me - Elta MD moisturizer with SPF 45)

CLEAN

Target Up&Up makeup remover cleansing towelettes and liquid eye makeup remover

Target is one of my absolute most favorite places of all time, and I love their brand Up&up.  Always about a dollar or more cheaper than the name brand, I often times even end up liking it more.  I use both of these products on my face before a final wash with my dermatologist prescribed face wash.  (Avéne Eau de Thermâle extra gentle cleanser)

So that's that!