Rants and Craves

Nice Package: Sake Steamed Mushrooms En Papillote

2010-03-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

If you're ever in the mood for a bunch of 'shrooms (the legal kind), give them a nice sake steam bath en papillote for a dish that's full of earthy and slightly sweet flavors plus health benefits to boot. Research has shown that mushrooms have anti-cancer properties, help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and boost your immune system. Plus some of you who have had enoki mushrooms might

Cheaters are Losers: A Spicy, Oily Indulgence at Shufeng Garden, Rowland Heights

2010-03-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

I've been good.I've pretty much kept my daily caloric intake to about 1400 a day.I've been working out 5 days a week, some days at a pretty high intensity.And I've lost 15 pounds since I've started this Biggest Loser challenge about 6 weeks ago. Not too shabby, eh?But that 15 pounds lost hasn't all been a result of me being good. It is also, in my opinion, a result of me being very, very bad.No

They Shot, They Savored: Phototasting, Checkers Downtown, 02.06.2010

2010-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

There were people there who actually have food blogs.There were people there who blog mainly about non-food subjects with the occasional post about food.There were people there who owned food businesses.And there were people there who simply wanted to know how to use their cameras better.But no matter what their backgrounds and interests are, all the participants and the first Phototasting

Sunomono: Another Foodie-On-A-Diet-Friendly Food

2010-02-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

So what do you know, I've lost almost nine pounds since starting this Biggest Loser challenge! Not bad for a food blogger on a diet, eh?I guess trying to lose weight while being a food enthusiast has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. It's pretty clear what the disadvantages are. It's even worse when you're so tied in to what other food perverts are up to; it takes a lot of self

Phototasting: A Gastrophotoblogging Experience, Checkers Downtown 2/6/2010

2010-01-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, do you remember when my food photos looked like this???Well, it took four long years of experimenting with my photography for sushi to represented in a much better fashion on my blog. (OK fine, I got a new camera, but you know what they say. It's not the camera...) Now, I can make photos of sushi look more like this!Where was

Tofu Salad With Wakame Seaweed and Shaved Bonito: A Meal That Won't Break My 1400 Calorie-A-Day Budget

2010-01-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ohmyfackinggawd watching calorie intake is hard work!According to a bunch of those health websites out there, I'm supposed to keep my calorie intake to about 1400 a day if I want to lose weight, and that's with three to five days of exercise a week.1400 calories a day???One medium apple is 95 calories, and one medium banana is 105 calories. Could I eat only 13-14 apples or bananas a day and be

A Failproof Recipe For Muffin Tops

2010-01-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:YourselfInstructions:Have a baby sometime in your mid-30's, and then after you stop nursing, think that you can eat like a pig and not gain weight.Because my weight has recently crossed over into a territory that's technically considered overweight for my height, I decided to participate in a Biggest Loser contest at my office. In two months, the person who loses the highest

Getting Along At The Gorbals, Downtown LA

2010-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

In an age where meeting new people is as easy as walking your dog, feeding your baby at the Nordstrom Women's Lounge, or starting a food blog, the number of friends, acquaintances, and internet chat buddies you have in your life suddenly becomes a little overwhelming. And to be perfectly honest, as much as I usually like the people I've met in my lifetime, I tend to like some more than others.I

Eat My Blog Charity Bake Sale: The Ultimate Cure For The Bah Humbugs

2009-12-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

Eat My Blog founder Cathy Danh with a bacon-wrapped breadstick from My Last BiteCall me crazy, call me a party pooper, Bitter Betty, or Debbie Downer, but anyone who knows me well knows that I don't really care for the holidays. As Charlie Brown once said: "I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel."

DG's Recycle & Reuse Program: Steamed Roast Pork With Shrimp Paste

2009-11-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

In Cantonese, we use the word hahk-hei to describe when someone is being polite. But it's not the common-courtesy-kind-of-polite; rather, it's the I-need-to-be-polite-to-save-face-kind-of-polite.Ever been out to eat with a bunch of Chinese people and experience a literal fight over the check?"Mm-ho hahk hei, lar!" we'll say to each other as we're literally lunging over the table trying to grab

Welcome Back, Mofongos: The Grand Reopening of LA's Only Puerto Rican Restaurant

2009-11-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

Imagine the delight of finally eating at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Los Angeles County.But imagine the disappointment of finding out that the first time may have been the last, at least for a long while.When Mofongos closed about three months ago, I thought for sure that Los Angeles just wasn't meant to have a Puerto Rican restaurant. Ever. Fortunately, Chef/Owner AC knew that his customers

I OD'ed On Cute--Three Apples: An Exhibition Celebrating 35 Years Of Hello Kitty at Royal/T Cafe, Culver City

2009-11-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

Leave it to my childhood homegirl Hello Kitty to throw a birthday party of epic proportions.She's 35 this year folks, and instead of spending a low-profile, quiet evening at home like I did on my 35th birthday, she's going all out with a three-week-long birthday party at Royal/T Café called "Three Apples: An Exhibition Celebrating 35 Years Of Hello Kitty" in which she celebrates 35 years of being

Know It. Fight It. End It. November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month!

2009-11-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

Between the flu and a busy work and parenting schedule, I haven't found much time or motivation to write lately. But there is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart that I am making the time to post about. There won't be the usual food porn or cussing or irreverant food to life stories that you're used to seeing around here, so I hope you'll hear me out.In July of 2006, I lost my Dad to

My Favorite Childhood Dish, Loud and Proud: Steamed Pork With Salted Duck Egg

2009-10-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Coming from where I come from--a podunk little suburb about 25 miles outside of San Francisco--growing up Chinese-American back in the 70’s and 80’s was tough work. As one of a small handful of ethnic minority kids in my grade school classes, I was always guaranteed that anything I did that was remotely culturally diverse was a free pass for taunts, teases and hurt feelings. Had I known then what

AM Francophilia: Brunch at Anisette, Santa Monica

2009-09-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

What is this thing I've been having for all things French as of late? Perhaps I've been influenced by the latest episode of Top Chef Las Vegas where the competitors had to cook French-inspired dishes for what seemed like the French version of the Jedi Council. Maybe it was the inventive cuisine, charming accent and dashing good looks of Chef Ludo Lefevbre observed at LudoBites a couple of

Jook: The Next Best Thing To A Hug From A Chinese Mama

2009-08-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Growing up, no other food that my parents made spelled out love better than jook, or Chinese rice porridge (also called congee). All it took was a little rice and broth or water to make comfort food at its finest. It warmed our tummies alongside noodles on weekend lunches at home. Since it's so hearty yet easy to digest, it made us feel better whenever we were sick with the flu, stomach

From Noodles To Sex: The Prescription-Free Way To Migraine Relief

2009-08-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Non-migrane sufferers need not read this.'Cause you're those people who look at us migraine sufferers like we're crazy when we say our heads hurt so much that it feels like it's being squeezed by a vice-grip and that the very sound of your voice makes us want to hurl all over your lap. Yes, they are debilitating. No we are not being whiny crybaby sissies when we say that we need to go home

Some Long-Awaited Puerto Rican Sabor In LA: Mofongos Restaurant at La Espiga Cafe, North Hollywood

2009-08-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

It has literally been 22 months since I've eaten Puerto Rican food. Why?Well first of all, that's when I last visited La Isla Del Encanto.Secondly, my Puerto Rican husband can't cook. (Shh, don't tell him I said that.)And thirdly, although Southern California is probably one of the most ethnically diverse regions cuisine-wise, there is an undeniable lack of Puerto Rican restaurants here in the

MEOW: Chirashizushi, Inaka Seafood Gourmet, Arcadia

2009-08-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Imagine the horror when after 9 months of not eating raw fish in order to properly incubate a baby, I found out that one of my favorite sushi joints, the girl-powered Azami Sushi Cafe on Melrose, had closed.But also imagine the joy when I read that Azami's co-owner and female sushi chef extraordinaire Niki Nakayama had opened Inaka Seafood Gourmet in Arcadia, just a stone's throw away from me!

Jon and Vinny Had A Farm, E-I-E-I-O. Animal, Fairfax District

2009-07-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

And on that farm they had some pig. E-I-E-I-O.Is it wrong that every time I try and teach farm animals to my kid, visions of meat and offals dance in my head?With an oink-oink here.And an oink-oink there.Here an oink.There an oink.Everywhere an oink-oink.On a recent girls' night out, my friends J and C and I had dinner at Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's restaurant Animal, which in my mind pays

To All The Bites I've Loved Before: Ludo Bites at Breadbar, Los Angeles

2009-07-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

If you ask me, Ludo Bites, the latest restaurant concept from Chef Ludo Lefebvre, is kinda like that hot guy who sublet a room in your neighbor's house for the summer. He's pretty much the perfect man because he's super sexy, super smart, has classic features but with a rockstar edge, has tons of personality and best of all knows how to show you a good time. Problem is, he's only here for a few

Back To Basics: Breed Street Food Fair, Boyle Heights

2009-06-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

In this crazy competitive, detail-driven world we live in where all our "I"s have to be dotted and "T"s crossed in order to make a good impression on others or to fulfill some obsessive-compulsive need of my own, I sometimes get a little tired. Umm, wasting perfectly good cardstock from throwing out wedding favor tags that weren't perfect? Guilty. Putting six pairs of destructed boyfriend

MEOW: Kid Friendly, Palate Friendly - Tavern, Brentwood

2009-06-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

In a part of town where there are as many Bugaboos roaming the streets as there are Bimmers and Benzes, the finer things in life are must-haves for adults and ankle-biters alike. Dining is certainly no exception. And though I am by no means a Bimmer-driving, Bugaboo-pushing kind of mommy, I am still a mommy. Once in a while, this mommy likes to treat herself and her little munchkin to

Back Where I Belong: Wonton Forest, City of Industry

2009-05-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

It sucks to be lost.Like the time we got lost in the Northwestern tip of Maui and were driving on a one lane road on the side of a mountain next to the ocean.Like the time I made one wrong turn and got lost in Downtown LA's skid row for the first time. (*Disclaimer: Notice I said first time. Don't think I'm I big ol' priss; I drive through it all the time with no problem now.)Like the time I

MEOW: House Chicken and Green Onion Pancakes, Earthen, Hacienda Heights

2009-05-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm really proud of my homegirls at work for branching out into non-Americanized Chinese joints. Recently, I took them to Earthen in Hacienda Heights where I ate my latest MEOW (that's MEal Of the Week for those of you joining us late) and although they each ordered chow mein for themselves, they did try some of the delicious house chicken and green onion pancakes that I ordered."Try some," I