happy birthday tanner

happy birthday tanner, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Happy 5th Bday Tanner!

Solstice 2009

, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

We skipped last year and well this year wasn't so much different except for a little less foot traffic and not as many floats.

I was able to sit on a ledge this time and taking pictures was pretty fun as I did not have to try to shoot over people's head or get bumped into every few seconds.

Happy solstice. They predicted wet and rain and we had sun sun sun!

Marination

Danny said to check out the lunch truck. When we arrived there was a line already 10 deep. They were having issues with their iPhones and receipt printer. Can't go wrong w/ pencil and paper.
Was it worth the wait. Not really. From the website, I was expecting a taste of local flare but I really didn't get it. Prices were fine. But if you gonna do kim chi rice w/ fried egg and kalbi, i think you gotta go back to HNL and try what "real" kim chi fried rice taste like.

I was disappointed that the kalbi didn't have the char flavor I was expecting and the spicy pork was just average.

Next Generation

DSC05037, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

We had a great weekend thanks to Ivy's boss letting us stay at his vacation home near Chelan. We ate, ate, ate, and ate more.

We also went to visit a few wineries and had fun sipping wines and knowing absolutely NOTHING about them.

On our way home, we stopped by Leavenworth and had some really bland "German food". But we did enjoy a really yummy french crepe w/ hazelnut nougat and vanilla ice cream.

Next time, we need to rent a boat and water ski!

:)

halibut w/ spinach

Grilled halibut steak w/ sauteed spinach.

Wild Bill Burger

Wild Bill Burger, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

We've trying to visit new places on our day off. We ventured into SoDo neighborhood and tried Calamity Jane's cafe.

It's Ok. Wild Bill burger. I'm not a fan of big breads when it comes to burgers. So I took the top slice off. Jalepeno should be fresh not from a pickle jar :(

blow 'em out!

blow 'em out!, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Happy Birthday Ivy! Maggie is soooo cute and growing so fast!

special of the day

special of the day, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Barrio in Seattle on 12th Ave. I love it that Capitol Hill is turning into a Foodie Mecca. There's loads of new places all along 12th and they all look scrumptious.

coned

coned, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

not again... :(

Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon

This is the nastiest American Chinese food joint I've been to in years! Thick won tons boiled and a heapful of peanut thai sauce covering it up and served as appetizer. Neil said the fried wings were overly salted.

This was their quart of beef brisket noodle soup. You know what's missing. Flavor of 5-spice. The noodles looked like a bowl of pig intestines. There was sooooo much noodles, you couldn't even drink the soup before they absorbed every ounce of liquid.

On a positive note, the beef was cooked till it was literally melting in your mouth. Or I could assume that because no one orders it, it just sat there until an idiot like me ordered it.

The place was in Roosevelt, in the middle of no where and everyone who worked there to the customers were ummm...WHITE. That says it all. There's a ton of stickers on their front door noting how they're top favorites for every foodie category nominated. REALLY?

Bottle Shock

watch it

Since I've been sitting at the desk making jewelry, I've also been watching movies on the side, well more like "listening." If you enjoyed Sideways, you'll enjoy this movie.

perch

click here to see my work

My offshoot jewelry project.

Big Nothing

watch it

Good twist and turns. Loving Simon Pegg!

tick tick tick tick

Cute movie. I guess working from home has it's advantages. I can launch a movie and have it playing in the background. So instead of listening to the radio, I'm "watching"/listening to a movie.

sweet

sweet, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I love sweet potato fries!

Jai Ho

I'm glad this little gem won for BEST PICTURE. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?!

lunchbox

lunchbox, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I was tempted to rip the STAR WARS ones off the wall for Nathan but I don't think it would have gone well with the owners. Interesting place, great concept, overpriced.

honey

honey, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

it's always fun to visit pike place market and get some locally made goodies.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Triple Chocolate

Triple Chocolate, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Went to Pearl tonight. Just wasn't in the mood to cook and wanted a real meal.

The salad was a bit heavy handed in the balsamic dressing but good. I think I had enough of Salumi items. They're really not that good, IMHO.

Scallops were cooked perfectly but the risotto cake was missing.

The free-range chicken was good but also a bit over salted. You know how you eat potato chips and your lips pucker up because of all the salt?

We mentioned that it was a bit salty to the waiter when we were ready for the bill and he asked us how everything was and Neil mentioned the salt issue and the waiter graciously offered to comp a dessert.

Overall, great service, great atmosphere, and good dishes.

GOOMBA GRINDER

GOOMBA GRINDER, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

A year or so ago, we tried Salumi and the guy we sat next to told us about heading north on Aurora to eat at Grinders. He said it was his second favorite grinder style sandwich after Salumi.

Since we were up north anyway, we decided to give it a try. A salad and sub was a little more than $20. OUCH.

OK, the salad and sub was split between 2 and no drinks except water. Sure it was delicious and fresh but I'm realizing that I'm become a very frugal person.

Skirt Steak w/chimichurri

Skirt Steak w/chimichurri, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Look up a chimichurri recipe and make it. It's sooooo good on steak and anything else you want to put it on!

Blue

Nice to see Blue every now and then...

Can't sleep...watch some movies.

I think Simon Pegg is under rated. I loved Shaun of the Dead, Run Fat Boy Run, and this was fun.

Fast movie. Kinda like Red Eye, there's no superfluous scene. Edited to go go go.

Cute

sugar

sugar, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I was waiting for Neil and found this place near Swedish. It looked cool but the cupcake was in a fridge cooler. Yuck. Ever had cold cupcake? Nasty.

shoyu chicken

shoyu chicken, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I've made this years ago w/ pineapple juice but since I didn't have any, I substituted fresh squeezed blood orange juice. Turned out rather nicely.

red papaya soup

red papaya soup, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

mmm mmm soup!

peppers

peppers, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

the onions and rice were so sweet. I didn't add any sugar. the caramelization of the onions made it very sweet.

chili prawn

chili prawn, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

made this tonight. Turned out rather nice. Instead of using a lot of pasta, I roasted some blue potatoes and mixed it for color and starch option.

chicken w/ roasted veggies

chicken w/ roasted veggies, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

oven roasted meal.

cuke watercress salad

cuke watercress salad, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

still trying to eat healthy

Ip Man

Watched this online. It's a pretty good semi-biographical story. Check it out.

baked pork w/ swiss chard

baked pork w/ swiss chard, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Yeah...finally something I made was delicious.

Ha!

Seriously, How did I go around wearing a pink shirt with that picture on it?! I blame my mom for how I turned out. We need to have an updated version of this pic the next time the family gets together :)

palm pre

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/13/palm-pre-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know/

I disabled everything on my blackjack ii except the phone. However, i'm looking at this and I'm tempted...seriously tempted. Check it out!

lights out

lights out, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Want some really cool Sh*t for your house. It ain't cheap but it's urban and cool. Nathan would probably like it.

www.velocityartanddesign.com

purple dot

purple dot, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

yum yum. Met up w/ Tanner and Teri at Purple Dot for Dim Sum. The place was very empty (sign of the times). Food was good and of course, Tanner had his little itty fits. Went to REI later and didn't find anything. But we walked across the street and love the store, Velocity.

Springhill

Springhill, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I was reading an article in Seattle PI, soon to go bye bye :(, about up and coming chefs in Seattle.

Spring Hill was noted and their website had beautiful pictures of their menu and was offering a brunch menu today. Called up Teri and we met her w/ the kids for brunch.

The decor was minimal and very chic. The service was a bit slow.
Neil and I thought the portions and prices were great. The flavors were there but some things needed more punch and salt and the texture on a few things were not so impressive.

I wish the saimin noodles were more al dente but instead they were quite mushy. The sausage should have been more springy but it was also mushy.

Overall, I think a B grage.

common ground

common ground, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Been working out again and it feels great! Had yummy naan and curry and they have some new additions to their menu. The chicken drumsticks with yogurt, allspice, and other spices cooked in tandori was sooooooooo gooooood!

Decided to have cupcakes for dessert and ended up getting 3 of them for myself. What was I thinking....

Teri, Tyler, & Neil

Teri, Tyler, & Neil, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Random rewind photo. I remember that cake!

taxes

I'm wondering who in the tax department of WA (Seattle) comes up with new ways of taxing people, companies, and businesses?

I just opened our tax forms and there's a new tax for employee hours. So now we get to pay taxes just for having employees working based on the # of hours worked. WTF?

And here's a new one. Taxes per square footage of your business. It's broken down to floor space that is actually used for retail and dead space (bathroom, storage, etc).

SERIOUSLY. WTF IS SEATTLE DOING?

Pretty soon, they'll be taxing you for each inhalation and exhalation. It's call the GREEN AIR tax.

God damn fucking shit!

$120

$120, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Chili garlic pork over celery root mash

Chili garlic pork over celery root mash, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Instead of mash potato, substitute some mash with celery root and puree it. I didn't have cream or milk or butter. I used chicken broth instead and I liked it. Not as thick but way healthier.

fried yearlings

fried yearlings, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Thought it would be nice to visit Pike Place and get some fresh organic veggies for dinner. We ate the same place where they filmed "Sleepless in Seattle". The yearlings were good and sweet potato fries were the best. But overall, I'd say a B-.

Wynn

Wynn, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Nice hotel. Posh. When you enter your room, the TV and phone has your name on the screen. Turn down service was nice. The bed sucked ass. Too SOFT and mushy. Big spacious bathroom. But worth the $, Neil said Mandalay Bay is a way better hotel.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Lucky for us, we had a $100 dining credit to use or else we would have never ate her. Chinese food for lunch for $100. And get this, when we checked out, they said I underpaid the tip so they charged us the balance of the tip. Seriously.

Watercress/Cucumber Salad

Watercress/Cucumber Salad, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Took a short trip down to Vegas and had a nice time. Ate at Tom Colichio's Craftsteak. The salads were amazing and the steak's delicious. This place doesn't skimp on portions. Had we known, we could have shared 1 meal.