Stella Dacuma Schour

Chicken and Rice Porridge: How to Make Arroz Caldo in Pictures

2012-02-05T10:38:00.088-05:00

Arroz caldo is actually a Chinese congee that was adapted to the tastes of the Spanish colonial settlers who patronised Chinese restaurants in the Philippines.

-Wikipedia

Funny enough, I had to check out Wikipedia how this dish comes about. In its plain basic form, Lugaw - it is just a rice porridge with no meat. There are other versions: tripe topping (Goto), Tofu and Pork Ears on the side (Tokwa't Baboy) topping or with a Hard Boiled Egg. This is all about the version with chicken in it - Arroz Caldo.

Ingredients:

2 pieces of shallots, Ginger (about 2 segments) and One Whole Garlic

5-6 pieces of Chicken Thighs

2 cups of Uncooked Long Grain White Rice
Salt and pepper to taste (not in photo.)

Procedure:

Chop ginger into strips - so you can easily take it out while eating.
Mince Garlic and Shallots

In a pan on medium high heat,
fry all your minced garlic until it is golden brown.

Drain and Set Aside

In the same pan, render out the chicken fat.
When you get a good amount of rendered fat and the chicken starts bleeding,
turn off stove and take chicken out of the pan.

Drain out all the chicken fat and throw it away. Trust me, there will be more.

Peel off the chicken skin with tongs.

Put the skinless thighs back in the pan to render out more fat.

As the thighs cook, lay out the skins on a tray with a pan at the bottom.

Toast the chicken skin to a crisp!

You know it's done when it turns into this lovely golden brown color.

Take your chicken out again, check how much rendered fat
is at the bottom of the pan. If there is too much, take some out.
There should be enough because you already took out a lot of it earlier.

Add shallots and ginger at the same time.

Keep Stirring until the shallots turn transparent.

Add your chicken and rice. Don't worry if it still a little bloody and raw. It will all cook off.

Add water and a bit of salt. Keep Stirring. Dont Let it Dry up.

Add Water, LOTS OF WATER. Rice absorbs water as it cooks.
Your goal is to make it absorb more water than it can take so it splits up.

This is what you are aiming for.

After the rice splits up, add all the fried garlic in the pot.
Season with a bit of Salt and Pepper to taste.

Put in a bowl and serve with the chicken skin, some soy sauce and lemon.

This is one of my favorite winter blues cures. The dish is relatively simple and familiar. Ingredients are relatively available in American supermarkets.

If you made this dish, send me a photo!

SOCSunday: My Funny Valentine

2012-01-29T00:49:00.006-05:00

Pin It
I was running errands at Target and I ran into the seasonal section - VALENTINES! All pink, red and a lot of heart shaped things, I couldn't resist. $5 for 5 heart shaped boxes of chocolates with messages? Why not? Maybe I could get away with a box of chocolate hearts for my Bunny Valentine (husband.)

Here are my finds - and possibly some suggestions for that special someone in your life!

I think this is a "nice way" of saying "im breaking up with you"
on valentine's day...

High Maintenance Valentine.

Affirmation or Denial? You pick.

For the "HIGH PERFORMANCE" Cassanova -
This reminds me of cheaters!!!

This one's for my hubby - because this looks like the spastic body
movements that i pass off as dancing to annoy him while he watches TV.

Is the world really this jaded? HAH! I salute the creative director who gave a go signal on this dramatic line of products. Clearly I was alternating between laughter and shaking my head in disbelief, and back to laughing again at Target.

Happy Valentine's Day! (in advance)
********

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

SOC Sunday: Kids at the FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifying Tournament

2012-01-22T12:40:00.005-05:00

I had the pleasure of taking event photos for the FIRST Lego League Tournament Brooklyn Qualifier 2012 last Saturday. This is an inter-school competition for the schools in the Borough of Brooklyn. The top 20 teams in this competition move on to the bigger competition where they compete with the top schools from the other boroughs of New York City.

The competition even baffles me because I cannot program a Lego Mindstorm NXT but these 4th graders can! To be surrounded by bright young minds is a humbling experience indeed.

Here are some of the photos from the event:

They program the robots to go though missions on this mat.
See this girl use two laptops to fine tune her robot.

Teamwork
They were asked to line up in alphabetical order of first names, blindfolded.
Observation judges watch each team in action and also interview them
to discuss how they functioned as a team. They identify teams that best
demonstrate enthusiasm, spirit, partnership, respect to their teammates
and others, and gracious professionalism.

Project Presentation
The teams complete a research project related to the topic of the year.
This is followed up by a presentation, and a timed question and answer
period. Teams can use props in their presentation like this muscle suit.

One team even made a website!

Technical Interview
Each team has a timed interview with a team of judges to discuss the
design and operation of their robot. Judges look for teams whose
work stands oud because of innovation and navigational consistency.

This is what they build and program. Lego Mindstorm NXT.

Robotics? Not just for boys.

Their banners say it all.

Pep talk to soothe frustrations. Kid in the middle was awesome.

Too short to reach over the table? Resourcefulness at its best.

It's not child's play. Really.

Stress levels run high for these kids.

YAY!

Woohoo!

YEAAAH!

I know it is disheartening to know that some of the teams did not make it to the citywide competition, however all of them walk out of the competition as winners.

Thumb's up!

More competition photos here:
FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier 2012
FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier 2012 - Participant Portraits
FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier 2012 - Volunteer Portraits

********

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Cheap Makeup Organizers

2012-01-06T10:38:00.003-05:00

After moving to this present apartment, I was happy to have three huge medicine cabinets with "moviestar" lighting. I know it is a dream come true to most women but the storage is less than 4" deep. I scoured through stores and I couldnt find anything that would fit, or was cheap. So for a while, I my stuff was always in danger of falling into the toilet bowl by sheer force of gravity.

Using my bathroom mirrors make me feel like a moviestar!

This is what some of my makeup looks like inside the medicine cabinets:

The solution came to me when I was cleaning up. My husband loves Crystal Light, and as I was arranging the recyclables, the thought hit me!

So here are the steps:

Buy Crystal Light.

Peel off the entire label

Tada! You have your translucent container!

Here it is back in my medicine cabinet.

The reason why I have two different heights of containers still baffle me, because the three other containers on the left are also from Crystal Light. I guess they changed their packaging to a taller one. I love the fact that my organizers come "free with purchase" and that even if i put something short in it, like a lipstick, I find it right away.

These containers are practically weightless and they are very thin - they dont take much space and they go straight up and no wasted space at the bottom.

Lunch at Eleven Madison Park

2012-01-04T21:37:00.002-05:00

Lunching at Eleven Madison Park is a true joy. Here's is the progression of our meal, which we had on August 23, 2011.

While waiting, we munched on these "cheese profiteroles"

(in quotes, because I forgot what they are called)

This is what the menu looks like.

All they ask is you pick one ingredient per column.

Dave and I strategically picked the two best things per column-

to get a taste of everything we wanted!

Parmesan Lavosh

Tomato Tea w/ Thyme and Lemon Verbena

Goat Cheese Lollipop with Beet Powder,

Goat Cheese Croquettes and Goat Cheese Dipping Sauce

Cross Section of the Goat Cheese Lollipop

Smoked Sturgeon Sabayon with Chives and Smoked Sturgeon (its all inside.)

After this Course, we were whisked into the kitchen, for this special treat. This right here is one of the perks of dining with my husband. He made friends with one of the FOH staff of Eleven Madison Park. She had the day off that day, but she arranged this for us.

We stood right in front of him as he made us a wonderful concoction.

This is what the inside of the kitchen looks like.

I love that they have that sign at the back wall. MAKE IT NICE!

Oooh, just like a science experiment

Here's the finished greatness of a cocktail.

With Liquid Nitrogen, we can freeze alcohol.

(No, it is not a giant macaron-it looks like half of one.)

or at least the parts that get in direct contact with it. OH SO AMAZING!

Bottom's up!

We went back to our seats and the meal continued on with...

This is the amazing bread that just crumbled to heavenliness.

I still regret not finishing it.

Cow's Milk Butter, Fleur de Sel and Goat's Milk Butter to go with the Fresh Bread

Rabbit Rillete with Pistachio Toast and Candied Pistachio

Octopus braised with Chorizo, Purple Potato

Loup de Mer (Branzino)

Lobster Lasagna

The Beef Course

The Pork Course

As a palate cleanser to end our lunch and get on with the dessert, we had these nice paper coasters on a saucer as a signal for us to await for something special.

True enough a mixologist pushed a bar on wheels and started making us a vanilla malted egg cream, tableside.

Tada! Vanilla Malted Egg Cream

With our palates primed for dessert, we eagerly awaited for the wonderful decadence to end our meal.

The Apricot Dessert

The Chocolate Course, Mmmm.

To finally end our meal, we had Sesame Brittle, Macarons and Pate de Fruits

Spending $80 per person (+tax and tip, Aug 20Eleven price) for a lunch sounds like a bit much, but for a meal that looks like this, I honestly think that it is a steal. I would really love to go back.

Thank you, Eleven Madison Park. It was one of the best meals I have had in my life!

Eleven Madison Park

Eleven Madison Ave

New York NY

212 889 0905

*****

Disclaimer:

The extra cocktail we had in the kitchen we had is an extended courtesy of Eleven Madison Park. This is extended to us because Dave is friends with one of the staff. THAT COURSE IS NOT PART OF THE REGULAR LUNCH TASTING MENU.

Zutto Japanese American Pub

2012-01-04T02:57:00.001-05:00

I have been an active Yelp reviewer for quite a while, and one of the gems of doing so is to be invited to a dinner courtesy of the establishment. This was written somewhere in Yelp.

"If you LOVE Japanese food, bring some of your friends to my place. I will buy you dinner and you pay for the booze and tip. Deal? My restaurant is in Tribeca and I just took over the space a few weeks ago. I have ramen, hirata buns and sushi. Would love to hear what you think and get a Yelpers perspective :). "

Truthfully, I don't troll the Talk pages, but I love that my friends do. So thank you, Sally W. and Rich W. for letting me join in on the fun.

For Appetizers, we had the following.

Hirata Buns with Short Ribs

Shishito Peppers

Manila Clams

Ebi Mayo

Then I moved on to my amazing ramen!

Seafood Ramen with Kakuni (pork belly)

And of course, dessert.

Brioche Bread Pudding

Coffee and Donuts

The appetizers and small plates are amazing - and i have not seen a hirata bun filling other than pork belly or Kakuni. Zutto mixes it up with oter fillings such as Kobe Beef, Short Ribs, Tuna, and Portabella. The broth of the Manila Clams and the Seafood Ramen is complex. Slurp after happy slurp, you can tell that this broth was boiled for hours before it goes on to a bowl with noodles.

They have a sushi selection and I tried their soft shell crab sushi, it was amazing. I did not have a chance to sample the fish, but everything else that I had was spot on.

Their desserts are a good end to the meal, and the donuts in the Coffee and Donuts have amazing texture. The "Coffee" is somewhere a little confused. Taste is good, but there is something lacking about it. Nothing major, im just nitpicking.

Our Table and the Chef

On the overall Zutto Japanese American Pub is a good addition to the neighborhood with its impeccable service and amazing food.

Amazing Ramen without the hassles of waiting? Yes please.

Zutto Japanese American Pub
77 Hudson Street
New York NY10013
212-233-3287

***********

Disclosure:

This post was sponsored by Zutto Japanese American Pub. All opinions, images and writing are solely made by yours truly. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

The year 2011 in review

2011-12-30T14:08:00.004-05:00

Hey 2012, I cant wait for you!

Last year, I interviewed myself and said that 2011 is going to be good. Well, I didn’t get everything I wanted – but I got other things in return (silver lining!). I didn’t get into the Communication Design program (but I got waitlisted in but ran out of slots) and got into Advertising and Marketing Communications program instead.

Going back to school is quite a success, and I am now going for my last semester of getting my Associate’s Degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. (Yes, it is my second academic degree.)

Life in the homefront is sweet. We moved out of crazy landlady apartment into a sweet elevator building with a view. Dave and I call it the grown-up apartment. Let’s just say my housekeeping skills are not very grown up.

We went to Hogwarts!

2011 is the year celebrated our first year of marriage. YAY!!!

Speaking of marriages, The Dave and Stella Matchmaking Company just married its first successful customers! Congrats Grishan and Mike!

Satisfied customers of the Dave & Stella Matchmaking Co.

Going back to my first post for this year, I am glad to say that 2011 was indeed a good year. My projects and then some came to fruition, my current friendships are strengthened and I look forward to meeting more wonderful and awesome company.

2012, I am certain that you will be as good as 2011.

What I have been thankful for the past 365 days.

Thanksgiving 2011

· The amazing people. I cannot stress this enough. I am thankful to be blessed with amazing family and friends.

· The food. The wonderful food. (just go through my blog. i have been eating!)

· The wonderful trips out of town. Florida, Los Angeles, Philadelphia.

These are what I hope to achieve in 2012.

· Visit a European Country.

· Go on a cruise.

· Graduate with honors. (Oh yeah!)

· Take Dave to watch “The Price is Right”

· Learn how to drive.

· Keep looking at the silver lining, or waiting for it if i cant see it.

I wish you all the greatest and bestest and most fantastic things for 2012. What do you wish to do?

To everyone who has made my 2011 a wonderful one, THANK YOU!

Wishing everyone a wonderful, healthy and fantastic 2012!

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Part 2of 2 - Nosh Party)

2011-12-26T14:03:00.004-05:00

The Woks and Lox Nosh Party followed immediately after the Dinner was over. There was a lot of holiday cheer and of course - Noshing!

This event is 3 posts long. Please click these links for the other photos:

Woks and Lox Christmas Eve Dinner (Food Photos)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Dinner - Part 1 of 2)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Nosh Party - Part 2 of 2)

Moustache!

Our youngest nosher!

Gifts for everyone!

Latke with Applesauce

Thumbs up for the Wonton Pierogies

Congratulations to the Winners of the Woks and Lox Chinese Auction!!!

The winning ticket!

Pizza Tours + Lactaid Pills. WINNING!

How to win a Tour with Jack Eichenbaum

Tour winner with Jack Eichenbaum

A Bar Mitzvah Chalice prize

Hail the Right Brain Cardholders winner with its creator,
Veronica Chan

Tea and Chopsticks schwag for everyone!

Woks and Lox

Producers

Veronica Chan of Worldtotable.com

Jeff Orlick of Iwantmorefood.com

Chichi Wang of SeriousEats.com (click link for recipes)

Venue

The Queens Kickshaw

40-17 Broadway, Astoria NY

Read up on my Queens Kickshaw Winning Sandwich

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Part 1 of 2 - Dinner)

2011-12-26T13:14:00.005-05:00

The recently concluded Woks and Lox Dinner and Nosh Event at the Queens Kickshaw was a fun gathering of strangers that became friends as they shared communal tables and a fusion of Chinese and Jewish dishes and downed it all with drink specials created just for the event.

This event is 3 posts long. Please click these links for the other photos:

Woks and Lox Christmas Eve Dinner (Food Photos)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Dinner - Part 1 of 2)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Nosh Party - Part 2 of 2)

Inspiration.

Table for soon to be friends

Mahjongg ladies

Chinese Auction

The incredible 3-armed Ben Sandler!

Jennifer Lim and Ben Sandler of Queens Kickshaw

Chef Chichi Wang

Jeff Orlick and Veronica Chan

Woks and Lox

Producers

Veronica Chan of Worldtotable.com

Jeff Orlick of Iwantmorefood.com

Chichi Wang of SeriousEats.com (click link for recipes)

Venue

The Queens Kickshaw

40-17 Broadway, Astoria NY

Read up on my Queens Kickshaw Winning Sandwich

Woks and Lox Christmas Eve Dinner

2011-12-25T18:29:00.015-05:00

Ever since the first lonely Jew ordered Chinese take-out on Christmas, there has been an undeniable bond between Jews and Asians. This Christmas Eve, we want to wipe away those lonely tears and celebrate our combined heritage at Woks and Lox, the very first Jewish and Asian Christmas.

- Woksandlox.com

This event is 3 posts long. Please click these links for the other photos:

Woks and Lox Christmas Eve Dinner (Food Photos)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Dinner - Part 1 of 2)

Woks and Lox Event Photos (Nosh Party - Part 2 of 2)

Event Venue

Dinner Menu

Table Setting

Have a Seat!

Dried Sichuan Peppercorn and Chilies

Asian Dill Pickles

Ginger Sriracha Bagel Crisps

Wonton Pierogies

Wonton Pierogies in action

Matzoh Encrusted Pan-Fried Tofu with
General Tso's Sauce

Sichuan Peppercorn Latkes

Kasha Varniskes tossed in Scallion and Chili Oil

Spring Roll Blintzes

Spring Roll Blintzes with the Chestnut Honey Schmear

Sweet Red Bean Rugelach

Golden Monkey Egg Cream Bubble Tea and
He'Brew Messiah Nut Brown Ale Bottle

He'Brew Messiah Nut Brown Ale

Woks and Lox
Producers
Veronica Chan of Worldtotable.com
Jeff Orlick of Iwantmorefood.com
Menu
Chichi Wang of SeriousEats.com (click link for recipes)
Venue
The Queens Kickshaw
40-17 Broadway, Astoria NY
Read up on my Queens Kickshaw Winning Sandwich

Stella for PREZIdent

2011-12-12T20:17:00.001-05:00

Below is a presentation that I have done via PREZI. Prezi is an online presentation format that is essentially Powerpoint on steroids.

This presentation is made for my Advertising and Marketing Class. Enjoy.

EVERYTHING IN THIS PRESENTATION IS A MOCKUP. The product does not exist, the event will not happen and I did not make any money in making this. However, I need an internship and a new job.

Hire me!

Thanksgiving Without a Turkey

2011-11-25T16:05:00.008-05:00

"Who wants beer? Raise your Hand!"

Ordering for a table of 13 people is not an easy feat. Funny enough, me and my friends have this ordering system down pat wherea few people review the menu and other people have this set dish in their head that they will suggest to be ordered. Still others will suggest dishes that sound good on the menu, and I will write the stuff down, so we order everything correctly. Raising your hand for a beer also gets the drink orders moving quite fast.

This is the scene at our Thanksgiving Table. I send out an invite to our friends who don't travel to see their families on this holiday and ask to join our Peking Duck dinner, because what is Thanksgiving without a whole roasted bird?

There's only 12 here. Richard took this photo.

This year, our dinner table sat 13 people, and our food landscape changed every 10 minutes because dishes came and got finished and was going around the lazy susan as if it was the Wheel of (food) Fortune.

Sauteed Baby Shrimps with Cashew

Sauteed Clams with Black Bean Sauce

Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables

(These are the best INTESTINE dish I tried in a Chinese Restaurant.
Trust me we ordered something else, and this came out. It was AMAZING.)

Roast Pig

Roast Pig and Roast Pork are two different things.
Roast pig is a WHOLE ROASTED BABY PIG.
Roast Pork is just Roast Pork the one that has a bright red color.

Pan Fried Noodle with Mixed Seafood

Cantonese Style Lobster (mmm)

I wasnt the only one documenting. That's Jocy. She was the one who asked

"Who wants beer? Raise your hand!"

Wheel of Food Fortune, Scene 1

Salted Fish and Diced Chicken Fried Rice

Breaking Bread (or Peking Duck) at the "United Nations"

Wheel of Food Fortune, Scene 2

Notice the plate of Braised Noodle with Chinese Mushroom at 7 o'clock,
The Pork Chops at 11 o'clock and MaPo Tofu at 12 o'clock

Braised Noodles With Chinese Mushroom

Peking Style Pork Chops

NOT ONE, BUT TWO ROAST DUCKS!!!!

Wheel of Food Fortune, Scene 3

See the Roast ducks?! The empty spot is the plate of buns

How to eat a Roast Duck... Kinda.

It really was a grand time at our table, and I couldn't and wouldn't ask for a different celebration of Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for the wonderful harvest of friends, experiences, knowledge, love, happiness and health.

I am also very thankful, to Jeff O of Jeffrey Tastes, for all the Jackson Heights Food Groups meetings that he organized. If it weren't for his events, I wouldn't have met half of the people at this table. Thank you, Jeff!

Food and Restaurant Info:

Great House Restaurant

41-13 Kissena Blvd

Flushing NY 11355

718 461 1313

(PS, this Restaurant has changed its before. JUST GO TO THE ADDRESS, it will be the same food.)

We spent $27 per head. that included all drinks and a generous tip. and WE DID NOT CLEAN UP OR DO THE DISHES! WOOHOOO!!!!

The Tasting Menu at Hearth

2011-11-07T20:45:00.004-05:00

I must have passed by Hearth a bazillion times walking around the East Village but not paying much attention. I have not heard anything about them (but my husband and his friend Ryan has) and I was mighty pleased to be taken here. After all, my class ended at 9pm that day and I was dead tired and somewhat ravenous.

Hearth's Coaster. So cute and so true.

The restaurant is cozy yet unpretentious and the space is quite palatial considering its location. Upon seating, we were handed our menu. I skimmed the menu without understanding anything (forgive me, my day started at 730am that same day) and found my favorite item listed: Tasting Menu $76.

Amuse Bouche
Bean Soup with Citrus Oil

Arugula and Fennel Salad
White Anchovies, Breadcrumbs, Pickled Cipollini Onion

Smoked Spanish Mackerel
Pine Nuts, Radicchio, Golden Raisin

Canestri
Cauliflower, Black Cabbage, Pecorino, Soffrito, Bread Crumbs

Cacciucco
Manila Clams, Cockles, Mussels, Stone Bass, Head-On Prawns

Roasted Hampshire Pork Chop
Swiss Chard Gnudi, Bacon, Baby Bulb Onion

Concord Grape Sorbet, Lemon Tuile and Yogurt Sorbet

Apple Cider Doughnuts
Apple Compote, Maple Cream

It is quite a rarity to have this much fish and seafood in a tasting menu and I love it! Serving anchovies and head-on shrimp is quite brave, considering that the general American population is averse to peeling their own shrimp and anchovies have a bad reputation. (Truth be told, I ate all the shrimp heads on the table and I enjoyed every bit of it. Mmmm!)

Thank you, Marco Canora, for a very wonderful meal.

*These photos were taken on November 3 2011, the day that i ate and paid for this meal.

Hearth
403 East 12th St
New York NY 10009
646-602-1300

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: A Break from Midterms Hoohah

2011-10-23T20:00:00.004-04:00

I have been fairly busy with school and work, and sometimes I wonder how I actually pull it off. I have managed to shun out most of my social engagements because I didn't go back to school to slack. In fact, this second bachelor's degree had unleashed my inner nerd. Hah!

Of course there is food involved, and it was great that Fadra came to town. Yes, Fadra! (because you know, i wont be SOCing if it wasn't for her blog. We had porkbuns, pork stuffed chicken wings and ramen at Ippudo.

Hirata Buns with Pork Belly

Ippudo Teba Gyoza - Chicken wings stuffed with ground pork and
vegetables. Deep fried and served with vinegar shoyu sauce.

Inside the Teba Gyoza

Karaka Miso Ramen - the soup tastes of ginger and kimchi. Soo good.

Akamaru Modern - My fave bowl. I cant get enough of this.

Fadra, Me, Rachel and Jessica

When the weekend rolled around, I made it a point to get to Grub Street at the Hester Street Fair Festival. I spent last summer trolling around Smorgasburg, Meatopia and Pig Island. I've been missing a few due to school and since I was convinced by Rachel that I had to have the Shaved Ice Shop because she has been obsessing about it, I just had to go.

Stuff I ate...

Fried Anchovies from Bon Chovie

Adobo Pork Ribs from Purple Yam (Filipino Food YAY!)

Shaved Ice from the Shaved Ice Shop

happy portraits of my friends. Never underestimate the power of a bowl of shave ice.

There are other photos that didnt make it into this entry, but you get my drift. Great food and friends make me happy and keep me sane from my crazy schedule.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York NY

Purple Yam
1314 Cortelyou Rd
Brooklyn NY

The Shave Ice Shop

Bon Chovie
(i really like the play on words.. bon jovi. lol)

*I think Bon Chovie and The Shave Ice Shop only sell at food fairs. you better follow them on twitter.

Follow all of us on twitter:
@allthingsfadra - Fadra Nally
@Roxwriting - Rachel Antonio
@kikarose - Jessica Rosenberg

See Carol's work at (she's the lady with the big camera. we have yet to convince her to tweet.)
http://colbytanenbaum.com

******

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Live Blogging Fail

2011-09-18T13:48:00.005-04:00

I have been happy with my new phone so far until i put it to the ultimate test: Live Blogging.

Ingredients:
Tmobile's Mytouch 4G Slide
Default Camera App
Blogger App

I attended last night's Le Grand Fooding Campfire and I "had the bright idea" of blogging about it at the event.

This is how you miss a wonderful event.
Thank you, Roxwriting for capturing the moment.

Results:
1. I missed out on some of the goings-on because i was focused on my blogging.
2. I couldnt type properly and fast enough to write an engaging post.
3. I posted pics that were blurry and my photos have a checkerboard pattern going on top of it. NOT COOL when your blog is a photography blog.
4. I couldn't watermark my pics, or do any SEO while blogging live.

Conclusion:

Personally, I think it is cool to have the ability of live blogging - however, just because it is available we SHOULD DO IT. What's the point of being there when you really are NOT THERE?

Photo by: Roxwriting

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Go to Allthingsfadra.com and read what others have posted. And share your link there!

Le Grand Fooding and Musings About Live Blogging

2011-09-18T03:34:00.007-04:00

My prior posting of Le Grand Fooding Campfire was a total fail as the photos have that crosshatched pattern overlaid on top of it, and i think some of the photos I have posted are utter failures. While I would like to do it over again, for the integrity of what I did, and also as a product review of apps and phone i wont.

Before I get into the details of my phone and product review, let us relive the grandeur that is Le Grand Fooding.

After handing them a ticket,
I got carded (blue bracelet)
and I got this strip of tickets
so I can claim my food
and wonderful drinks.

The view from outside. Such a classy garden party.

Upon entering you see the chefs hard at work.
Meet Wylie Dufresne, with his team
making Root Beer Ribs with Cherry-kombu Relish.

oh so pretty.

It is soo good!

So good, it substitutes as a smile.

Jameson Westsides from Milk and Honey.
Jameson Irish Whiskey, Lime Juice, Sugar Syrup and Mint.

Irish Buck from Dutch Kills in the making.
Jameson Irish Whiskey, Lime Juice, Ginger Syrup, Soda Water.

The team of James Murphy (DFA Records) and
Inaki Aizpitarte (Le Chateaubriand, Paris)

Beef and Chive Salad from James Murphy and Inaki Aizpitarte

Sock-it-to-Fried Chicken by Muhsinah (The Golden Girl, DC)
and Dante Gonzales (Dante Fried Chicken, Los Angeles)

Michel Cluizel Chocolate, Roasted Banana,
Salted Caramel (with Maker's Mark)
and Black Currant Ice Cream from Van Leeuwen

Sondre Lerche also performed.

Me and a plate of ribs (again). Big Smiles.

Cheers! I had a Wonderful time.

Le Grand Fooding is a charity event that has ACTION AGAINST HUNGER / ACF-INTERNATIONAL as their beneficiary.

All photos were taken with the Tmobile MyTouch 4G Slide by HTC. All Photos for this post were downloaded to my computer then uploaded on blogger.

My previous post was a live blogging post via the Blogger App on Android. I like the idea of blogging live, but really - i think i missed some of the goings on while I was blogging at the event. I also dont recommend typing lots of coherent sentences on a small phone keyboard - because it is slow. For me, nothing beats writing on a full keyboard. I am not sure if I will blog live again. It takes me away from the live event - and the point of going to an event is to BE THERE, NOT TO BLOG THERE.

I wish this camera took SHARPER photos and the light sensitivity is better. I wonder if this is an app issue - I was using the camera app that originally came with my phone.

Kudos the entire event planning team of this event. It was well organized, the food and drinks were amazing did not run out before the event ended and the music really set the mood right!!! See you next year!

It is sad to note that there was a big banner by the DJ Booth that said, RIP DJ Mehdi. DJ Mehdi -- a world famous DJ and music producer who's worked with Daft Punk and Chromeo -- has died after reportedly falling off of a roof, a few days before this event happened.

DJ Mehdi, wherever you are, I'm sure it is a party over there.

Le Grand Fooding Campfire

2011-09-17T19:47:00.001-04:00

I'm presently at the Le Grand Fooding Campfire event - and I'm blogging live. I'm testing out my new Tmobile Mytouch 4G

Here are the photos

Jewelry Print Ad - Great Restaurants of Long Island

2011-08-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

This is a scanned full page ad appears in page 43 of the Great Restaurants of Long Island 2012 (vol 16 no.1)

Jewelry Photography, Summer 2011

2011-08-10T16:57:00.004-04:00

These photos appear on the web at JCK Online.

Medical Packaging with Braille (and Bike Safety)

2011-07-22T23:08:00.004-04:00

I had a bike crash last weekend and i have this big, ugly gash on my knee. When I showed my boss, he had promised to give me an antibiotic skin cream from Turkey.


I wonder when this will be implemented in the US?

If you havent noticed, this packaging has Braille on it! I can't read it, but I surely am glad that this caters to the handicapped in Turkey. (I wonder if it is in Turkish?)

ps. I've also noticed Braille on wine bottle labels from France.
****

Public Service Announcement

WEAR A BIKE HELMET!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wiped out in Prospect Park and lucky enough i got the free helmet that same day THANK YOU NYC DOT FOR MY FREE HELMET! I cannot thank this helmet enough for saving me.

Greatest thanks to Rich, Rachel, Derrick, Wing and Wen for being there and taking care of me after the wipeout.

Bike Safe!

Dishcrawl Relaunches in New York City!

2011-07-20T18:17:00.014-04:00

Dishcrawl is a Silicon Valley Startup that gathers your soon-to-be closest friends in a wonderful setting of eating, drinking and socializing at 4 different restaurants in a neighborhood in one night. The crawls start at $26.00/head and increases depending on the area or the restaurants that are featured for that night.

This pin was given to all Dishcrawlers to be identified by vendors.

July 19 2011 marks the re-launch of Dishcrawl in New York City. We crawled through the neighborhood of Chelsea and had a taste of the offerings of People’s Pops, Tuck Shop, Crooked Knife and Honey.

The starting point of Dishcrawl Chelsea.
People's Pops and Tuck Shop has outlets inside the Chelsea Market.

People’s Pops
People’s Pops was born out of a one-day experiment out of a hunch that the world deserves a better ice pop. They transform local, sustainably-grown fruits and herbs into creative, delicious home-made ice pops and shave ice. We had shaved ice, and we had the option to choose between three flavors - Rhubarb, Red Plum and Organic Lemon. Their shave ice is so earth-friendly that they use a manual hand shaver over a huge block of ice.

In this sweltering 90-degree weather, it definitely was a refreshing kickstart to the crawl.

All smiles for a Shave Ice!

Red Plum Shave Ice and popsicle made of wax!
Ice shaving action in the background

Dishcrawlers foster some sisterly love by
share-tasting two different flavors!

Tuck Shop

Mmmeat pie! We sampled a small Traditional Meat Pie made with ground beef filling that is housed in flaky, buttery, something-to-write-home-about goodness crust! This Australian import has a pie filling selection that caters to the different palates of New Yorkers: Thai Green Chook* Curry, Lamb Shank and Vegetable, Guinness Steak and Mushroom, BBQ Pork , Mac n Cheese, and Vegetable made with seasonal vegetables. Other things on the menu are rolls and sides and they have a daily special.
(*Chook - Chicken)

Their 2 other outposts in the East Village are open late – and these babies really hit the late night snack spot.

The Pretty Sheila from Aussie

Mini MMmmeat Pie!

Meat Pie Cross Section. Check out the flaky goodness!

CK14 – Crooked Knife at 14^th Street

For our third stop, we headed on to CK 14 – Crooked Knife at 14^th Street. Cold Gazpacho soup in shot glasses was first passed around then the Hummus with Olive Tapenade and Pita Bread and finally Moule Frites. Tucked away half a floor below the sidewalk, this charming gastropub is a hidden gem well-worth finding. They have seatings that suit every type of party, whether it be a huge group spread out over the couches, regular and pub dining tables and in the warmer months, they have a patio open out in the back for al fresco dining.

This Lamppost will show you where CK 14 is.

Chilled Gazpacho Shot

Hummus and Olive Tapenade with Pita Bread

Tracy Lee, Founder and CEO of Dishcrawl

Moule Frites

Dishcrawlers doing what they do best!

Honey

Our last stop for this crawl, Honey welcomed us with a DJ spinning dance music. An ideal place to throw a dance party, Honey does not disappoint. We had Quesadillas and Buffalo Chicken wings with our drinks (not included in the Dishcrawl deal). Not to worry, Honey has happy hour everyday from 5-pm where all drinks are $5 each. We were all having fun hanging out when the music changed and a belly dancer came out to entertain the group. Everyone was enchanted and this performer was really good in making the Dishcrawlers participate in the revelry. At this point, we all know that the relaunch of Dishcrawl in New York is a dancing, hip-shaking success!

Quesadillas and Buffalo Chicken Wings

Welcome to Honey, Dishcrawl!

Dishcrawler jamming it up with the Belly Dancer

She's so good, she even got Tracy to do the moves!

When the dancing was done our energies were once again pumped with plates of chocolate fondue!

Dishcrawling is a very good social and culinary experience. This activity is good for groups, couples and singles alike. The atmosphere is very relaxed and calm. Everyone who came gave Dishcrawl their full trust that their tastebuds won’t be disappointed.

Will I do it again? You bet. Im going to the truck crawl that’s happening in Union Square tonight.

--------
Dishcrawl
ny@dishcrawl.com

People’s Pops
Chelsea Market- Arcade
425 West 15th Street, New York NY

Tuck Shop
Chelsea Market- Arcade
425 West 15th Street, New York NY

CK14 – Crooked Knife at 14^th Street
232 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011

Honey
243 West 14th Street, New York NY 10011

***********

Disclosure:

This post was sponsored by Dishcrawl.com . All opinions, images and writing are solely made by yours truly. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Decorative Toilet Paper Storage

2011-06-28T20:30:00.003-04:00

NYC living means small spaces. We do not have huge pantries, garages (most of us don't even have cars) and we always need to have extra toilet paper in the bathroom.

This really started out because my husband and I would have spats because I always forget to put an extra roll of toilet paper under the sink. I got tired of it so i thought of a solution that DOES NOT COST MONEY. Tada!

You too, can have the same storage! You will never have to worry about running out of toilet paper while doing your business in the bathroom and guests don't need to ask you for a new roll. The best part is, the cost is ZERO DOLLARS. These things are available around your home.

You will need:

Ribbon or String that is available on hand, or something that matches your decor
Skewer, half a chopstick or a pencil - any rigid object that can go through a toilet paper roll and can carry the weight.

Dinner Napkins or Tissue Paper (optional) - The ones that come out of gift wrapping is great! Upcycling is good! The dinner napkins and tissue paper here are excess from our wedding.

First, Secure your skewer/chopstick/pencil at the end of the ribbon with a knot. You may glue it if you wish, but you dont really need to.

The finished product should look like this, without the extra knots if you have one long continuous ribbon. In this case, I used 4 short ribbons so i can have the desired length to hold 6 rolls in one go. Your TP storage, no matter how long or short you want it is now done.

Usage:

Thread the ribbon through the cardboard roll.

Make sure your skewer/chopstick/pencil is in a horizontal position and will keep your TP on the holder.

Find an empty hook and hang! Voila!

Optional: Wrapping your TP with decorative paper

Lay your toilet paper on the middle of the dinner napkin

Gather both edges to the center and tuck excess into the cardboard tube. Don't worry if it is not covering it all around. Just turn it towards the back. It also allows guests to see what is behind the colorful paper in the bathroom.

Make sure you dont cover the hole completely. You need the holder to go through in it.

If you have a whole piece of Tissue Paper, divide it lengthwise into three.

Hold it in a way that the two edges meet.

Fold it over and tuck into the cardboard tube.

When it is all done, thread your holder through. YAY!

And of course, hang!

You have two ways of taking the toilet paper out.

1. Push all of them upward and thread your skewer/chopstick/pencil to take one out.

2. Take the whole thing off the hook and take the topmost roll.

The best part about this is that you can change the decorative paper to match the party you are having, the current season or just your mood.

Procter & Gamble Brands Retro Packaging Labels!

2011-06-13T23:31:00.001-04:00

I spotted this at Target (Flushing, NY) today.

Holy retro packaging! So Cool!!! It would have been great if the prices went retro too.

Cincinnati.com reports that this is only available in Target Stores.

Old Navy Flushing, NY: Hooray For New Dressing Rooms!

2011-06-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

I came across the new dressing rooms at Old Navy at the Sky View Center in Flushing, NY.

Lo and behold, they look like this! I am loving it. The labelled functional hooks are just so cool. I also like that they don't have a "Possibly" hook that Marshall's has inside the same mall. Such confidence!

The use of fabricated 3D arrows is quite the eye catcher. Hooray for good design!

Old Navy - Sky View Center
40-24 College Point Blvd
Flushing NY 11354

SOCSunday: Ikea Breakfast and The Highline

2011-06-12T22:54:00.066-04:00

I am in the process of moving to a new apartment. My friend Rich needs to go to Lowe's (bec according to him, the faucets are fancier there than Home depot's) and @Roxwriting is thinking of a new A/c for her living room.

I dont like waking up early during the weekends so i suggested that we get a 99cent breakfast at Ikea for motivation. While we were getting our food, the almond cake proudly said that a purchase of a slice supports teh american cancer society. We are staunch supporters.

The view we had while eating breakfast at Ikea Brooklyn.
Yes, That is the Statue of Liberty!

Breakfast at Ikea. 39 cents for the roll. 99 cents for everything else.

Almond Cake. Every slice supports the American Cancer Society.
We are staunch supporters!

after ikea, we went to lowes. Dropped our stuff home and rich went to a party. @roxwriting and i went to lunch, then to a gallery opening at chelsea.

then we ended up at the new section of The Highline.

The Highline used to be an elevated NYC subway track that they repurposed and turned into a park. Walking this park is akin to watching New York City pass you by.

These are the weeds that grow in The Highline.

A building used to be in this lot.
Demolished and now rebuilding again.
This view looks out to The Hudson River. Possibly to NJ.


Meet Carol. We came from her Photography opening. She matches the Emergency Call Box.

Berries! I was tempted to taste them.

It looks like a hopeless jail cell.

The Water Fountain (of Love)

Press here for love.

Close up of the graphic

At the end of the new addition, we saw the balloon installation by FriendsWithYou called Rainbow City. I instantly felt like I was inside Super Mario Brothers. (The one that they came out with the NES.)

FriendsWithYou Makes your dreams come true.

We came down to see the balloon installation and we saw this beautiful ice cream truck that combined architecture and food. Coolhaus!

@Roxwriting showing a lot of love and happiness!

In here, you pick your cookie and your ice cream.

Coolhaus Menu

Carol and Rachel picked Snickerdoodles with Blueberry Ginger Sorbet. (yes it is ginger-y and refreshing. it was good, but not my thing.)

Snickedoodles with Blueberry GInger Sorbet
Ice cream Sandwich from Coolhaus

I got double chocolate chip cookie and salted caramel ice cream.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookie with Salted Caramel
Ice Cream Sandwich from Coolhaus

We went back up The Highline because we needed to "walk off the ice cream sandwich"

That's Shanna, walking with Carol.

This one's for the birds! An architectural birdfeeder!

See that tarp? That's a marriage proposal!

The Highline has these observation decks.

The Statue of Liberty, View from The Highline.

I didnt even know that I would see the statue of liberty from afar, twice in the same day, from two different boroughs.

Every time I do my SOCSunday this way, I can't help but say -

I love New York.
************************************

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Go to Allthingsfadra.com and read what others have posted. And share your link there!