Little Tokyo Gastronomy Tour

One of the highlights of my friend's visit to LA was a gastronomy tour that we took of Little Tokyo. Having lived in LA for about 5 years, it is a little embarrassing that I have never stepped foot into Little Tokyo. So this Six Taste Little Tokyo tour was the perfect chance to rectify the situation and get some yummy Japanese cuisine in my belly.

Before our tour began, our tour guide Bryan ran us through what we could expect and some small rules and guidelines. I heard two things- 1. there will be a lot of food today! This is a gastronomy tour so pace yourself and 2. do not be shy, if you want seconds, don't hesitate. In typical Nic style, I chose to ignore the first and follow the second.

Green Tea Mochi Mochi (Left) and Melon Pan (Right)

Other baked goods from Yamazaki Bakery

While we were standing around getting to know each other, Bryan passed around some treats from Yamazaki Bakery - merompan or melon pan and green tea mochi mochi (and yes, you have to say mochi twice). The melon pan is a sweet Japanese bread that is reminiscent of Mexican sweet bread with a sort of crispy cookie dough layer on top. Despite its name, melon pan does not taste like melon but its name was derived from its melon-like shape. According to Bryan, the melon pan is an example of Eastern influences on Japanese baking. The mochi mochi on the other hand is a classic Japanese treat. Made from pounded rice, the mochi mochi had an addictive chewy texture to it and I appreciated that the flavors were not shove-in-your-face obvious but more subtle and sweet.

Our first stop on our gastronomy tour was Oiwake. There we were served beef tataki (seared filet mignon slices on top of ponzu slivered onions), gyoza (fried pork and vegetable dumplings served with a chili soy sauce) and some California rolls. The tataki was nicely seared, the ponzu sauce was perfectly sweet and the onions helped cut the rawness of the beef. On the other hand, I was not impressed by the gyoza (which were limp and soggy) or the California rolls (truth be told, I don't think a California roll can ever be impressive in my book).

While at Oiwake, Bryan ran through some basic Japanese eating etiquette, all of which I already knew. However, I welcomed the reminder to not de-splinter my wooden chopsticks at the table (an insult to the chef) and to dip only the raw fish portion of my sushi in the soy sauce and not the rice or the ginger (which is meant to be a palate cleanser between fishes).

We next visited Fugetsu-Do, a small traditional Japanese sweet shop that has been around since 1903. There we sample little cubes of fruit flavored mochi and I found myself gravitating toward the lemon flavored one which deliciously chewy was not overpoweringly lemony.

One of the thing I love most about Japanese culture is their emphasis on presentation. I remember on one of my first trips to Japan, I found that all stores would gift wrap your purchases for free and all you had to say was "presento" and nod/bow a couple of times throwing in a few "hi's" here and there. It must be said that no one does gift wrapping quite like the Japanese. (NB: now this "presento" trick could have been entirely false. For all I know, the workers in the stores could have just been having a good laugh at the silly little foreign kid in their store, but the point is, that's how I remember it :D)

This emphasis on presentation also applies to their food as evident in how it is packaged and presented in neat little boxes all gussied up ready for purchase. How can you say no to something like looks so pretty. If you've ever been to Japan or just the Narita airport and visited a couple of food stores, you'll know what I mean.

Sakuramochi- Tokyo style (Left) and Kansai style (Right)

Anyway I digressed a little there, but my point was that everything looked so pretty, my friend and I could not help but purchase some additional sakuramochi to go- mochi, sweet azuki bean paste (red bean paste) wrapped in sakura or cherry blossom leaves. We bought a Tokyo style sakuramochi (which is made rice flour) and a Kansai style sakuramochi (which is made using glutinous rice flour). I loved the saltiness of the pickled sakura leaves and how they brought out the sweetness of the red bean paste. Personally, I preferred the Tokyo style sakuramochi as I felt that the glutinous rice flour was a little too much competition for the overwhelmed azuki.

Munching on our sakuramochi, we were next led to Wakasaya where we sat down for a negitoro don (raw tuna bowl) served with some dashimaki (rolled omelet) and nori (seaweed) and a small portion of hot udon noodles. The negitoro was very fresh and had the right mix of o toro and chew toro to make it just fatty enough. I had my negitoro don with a little sprinkling of don buri sauce (think light soy sauce but sweeter and lighter) and some very very intense but authentic wasabi. I haven't had wasabi like this since... the last time I was in Japan? It's the kind of wasabi that a wiff of will set your eyes watering, and a taste of will clear any sinus infection. I like!

Negitoro bowls remind me of a training camp I once attended in Yokohama, Japan (at least I think it was Yokohama? It could very well have been Fukuoka but all my Japan trips seem to blend into one.) That was the first time I truly discovered the little gem of a don buri that is negitoro don! Fresh raw tuna, minced up and served a top a lot fluffy Japanese rice... who could ask for more!

Next up were Imagawayaki (Anzuki bean paste filled um pancakes?) from Mitsuru Cafe. I am not going to lie, I love love love Imagawayaki especially ones that are hot and fresh off the "waffle" pan used to make them. This Imagawayaki did not disappoint. Pipping hot of the stove and perfectly crisp on the outside, the red bean paste was beautifully sweet and salty at the same time. Just heaven!

In keeping with the dessert theme, we ventured to Mikawaya for some mochilato- mochi with gelato. Mikawaya is known for pioneering mochi ice cream and if you've ever bought a box of mochi ice cream from Trader Joe's or WholeFoods, it was most probably a box of Mikawaya ice cream mochi. For my mochilato, I ordered the hazelnut chocolate and to be honest, it could have been mochi ice cream and I would not have known the difference. Either way, I love mochi and I love ice cream so I was happy.

Our very last stop of the day was Chop Suey/The Far Bar. Chop Suey was initially opened in 1935 to introduce Chinese American food to the Japanese in LA. Apparently there is a lot of history associated with the restaurant but by this time in the tour, I was so stuffed/going into a semi food coma state that I missed a lot of what Bryan said. Either way, Chop Suey was still being restored and we dinned at The Far Bar instead. Located through a very narrow passage way between two buildings, The Far Bar basically occupies the outdoor patio portion of Chop Suey. There we dined on some spicy tuna rolls and french fries with a wasabi dressing. The wasabi french fries were definitely very interesting but I think I am going to stick with my fries and ketchup combo, you don't mess with a classic that is that good.

After a 3 1/3 hour gastronomy tour, I had tasted the food of Japan in LA, walked the streets of little Tokyo and learned a little about the cultural history of Japanese Americans. Tired but satiated, I was ready to go home.

Details:
Yamazaki Bakery
123 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-2773

Oiwake
122 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-628-2676

Fugetsu-Do
315 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-625-8595

Wakasaya
335 East 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-2121

Mitsuru Cafe
117 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-613-1028

Mikawaya
118 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-1681

Chop Suey/The Far Bar
347 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-617-9990

Teishokuya of Tokyo

Stop 3 of Spring Break Asian Extravaganza: T.O.T or Teishokuya of Tokyo. My Singaporean guest and I headed to Little Tokyo to meet up with 2 of her secondary school friends from Singapore who are working in LA now.

Our little group had originally planned to dine at a ramen place but for some reason, we changed our minds and ended up at T.O.T. Thrown off my game, I was a little frazzled as to what to order, but since I was in the mood for something crispy and deep fried, I got the tonkatsu don or fried pork with egg bowl.

I usually do a good job of ordering- you know, when you go to a restaurant and order what you think you want but end up looking at your neighbors dish wishing you had gotten what they ordered... yeah I am usually that neighbor people gaze wistfully at. But this time, I found myself looking longingly at my friends plate and sadly at my own. My tonkatsu was soggy and lacked the deep fried goodness that i was craving. Meanwhile, my friend had ordered some udon noodle goodness with mushrooms and tempura and all that kind of good stuff. She let me have a sip of her broth and the earthy umami goodness of the mushrooms just stole my heart and my poor little tonkatsu (crispy or not) never stood a chance. Oh well...

Details:

Teishokuya of Tokyo
345 E. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
212-680-0344

Ramayani

Stop 2 on my friend's LA spring break Asian cuisine extravaganza was the Indonesian restaurant Ramayani. Located on the busy corner of Westwood Blvd and Santa Monica, this tiny place is often overshadowed by several popular Middle Eastern restaurants. From the outside, the restaurant appears to be dingy and lifeless but I say, don't judge a book by it's cover. Inside the restaurant is well lit; and bustling with life and free delicious smells!

After perusing the menu, my friend and I decide to take the plunge and order Ramayani's Rijsttafel. For those of you who don't know, Rijsttafel is a Dutch word that literally translates to "rice table"and is an elaborate meal that the Dutch adapted from the Indonesian Nasi Padang. In other words, a lot a lot a lot of food, served in small portions with rice. We knew going in that we were going to be served a feast, but the ex-swimmers (yes, she used to swim too) in us were up for the challenge.

The first dish up was a gado gado salad which comprises of tofu, boiled egg, a medley of steam vegetables like bean sprouts, with a creamy peanut sauce. The vegetables were a little limp and could have used a little freshening up in ice cold water. My next complaint was that there was not enough peanut sauce to cover the whole salad. While I hate when restaurants drown their salads in dressing, I also hate the reverse, when there is not enough dressing.

Along with the gado gado salad, we were served a platter of Pangsit Goreng (deep fried chicken won tons), Krupuk Udang or koropok (shrimp crackers is the best way I know how to describe these to my "ang moh" friends) and Rempeyek (Spiced crispy peanut fritters with a touch of garlic and coriander). All the above was served with a delicious side of sweet sauce. The Krupuk was perfectly fried and crispy yet not overly oily.

Up next was a small bowl of soto ayam soup which consist of chicken, bean sprouts, and rice noodles in an aromatic coconut-milk based broth spiced with lemongrass and tangerine leaves. I haven't had soto ayam in a long time and you would think any soto ayam would taste good to my soto ayam deprived taste buds. But no, this soto ayam did not really hit the spot. Served at a luke warm temperature, I felt like I was eating sloppy seconds.

By this time, my stomach was starting to feel a little full... but I pushed on. Ayam satay or chicken satay and a plate full of Bakmi Goreng or Indonesian style egg noodles with chicken and shrimp (I think I may have also spied pork) was next up. The satay was tender but lacked the grilled chared-ness that I have come to expect from satay. Additionally, the peanut sauce was a little too sweet and not nutty enough for my liking. As for the noodles, they came out piping hot and was just delicious and peppery. I tried not to full up too much on the noodles even though I could have eaten plate full after plate full of this, but I knew the we had a little ways to go.

At this time, my stomach was begging me to stop but the athlete in me knew the finish line was right around the corner. And it was. Served with a big pot of steaming white rice (ahh! Comfort to any Asian who grew up on rice), out came 4 more dishes: beef Rendang (Savory mini beef steaks slow cooked in a red-chili, garlic, and coconut curry), Ayam Bumbu Rujak (mixed spicy chicken), Sambal Goreng Tahu Buncis (string beans and tofu in a seasoned coconut curry), and Ayam Kare (chicken curry). We were also served with a side of Acar and spiced peanuts. While everything was decently yummy and spot on in terms of authenticity and flavors, I will say that I was rather annoyed that everything was served luke warm! I have a passionate dislike for luke warm food because nothing taste quite right served at the ungodly temperature of luke warm!!

For our dessert, we had papa t's all time favorite, ice chendol which consist of Mung-bean jelly in brown sugar and coconut milk. I wished the ice in this dessert had been shaved down a little more as the random chunks of ice really put a damper in this otherwise classic favorite.

Details:
Ramayani
1777 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-477-3315

Sunset

Sunset at the Santa Monica Pier... one of the reasons I love LA!

Cakes of Birthdays Past

Growing up, my family had a go-to cake for every birthday celebration...Sweet Secret's fruit charlotte cake. It wasn't that it was the most fabulous cake but it was just tradition, we always got it (Had I had my way, we would have gotten a chocolate cake of some sort, but poor papa T is allergic to caffeine so we had to compromise). Till today, I can still recall the light sponge cake and sweet sweet fruits that topped the cake. The fruit charlotte cake was the cake of my childhood.

When I moved to America in my teens, my mother and I were dismayed at the horrible artificially sweetened cakes one found at the grocery store. Every year, we tried to find a decent cake to replace the fruit charlotte cake but alas, it was a fruitless pursuit (pun intended). So for a few years in high school, I never got a decent cake for my birthday.

Ice Cream Cake courtesy of awesome college friends

The birthday cake situation started to improve in my college years. Some highlights included an ice cream cake for my 21st and in recent years, my lovely and very talented sister-in-law Sarah has always made me a homemade birthday cake for my birthday. We've had Black Forest cake one year, a cheese cake for another and German chocolate cake another.

Black Forest Cake being cut by the beautiful Sarah

This year, Sarah outdid herself again with the most decadent and rich chocolate tort cake. Made without flour, this tort was dense, moist, bitter (in a good way) and very chocolaty. Even my brother, who is not a chocolate guy, gave it two thumbs up. Served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries, we all had second helpings that day. Mmmmmm...

Drool.

To read more about my belated birthday weekend with my family, and to see my new hair cut (which mama T dislikes! *sob*) click on over to Sarah's blog.

Tofu Ya

A few weeks ago, I had a Singaporean friend visit me over her college spring break. Owing to the fact that my friend goes to school in Arkansas, she has had very limited access to Asian cuisine and therefore her trip to LA was highlighted by eating at any and every Asian food eatery within sight. On her first night with me, we decided to try the Korean BBQ place on Sawtell blvd, Tofu Ya.

One of my favorite things about Korean BBQ are the side dishes or banchan that accompany the meal. We had dishes of kimchi, kongnamul (cold boiled bean sprouts with sesame oil), pickled cucumber, fishcakes, and japchae. MMmmm. I could make a meal out of just banchan.

For the main meal, my friend and I family-styled it up and shared an order of dolsot bibimbap and bulgogi with an order each of the soon tofu soup.

The broth of the soon tofu tasted like it had been stewing for hours and the intense seafood/shrimpy-ness of the soup reminded me of home. The one thing that would have made this soup over the moon delicious would have been a little more seasoning in the salt department.

My opinion of the Bibimbap was that it was just alright. Nothing too wrong with it but nothing extremely right either. The gochujang or red pepper paste lacked a little seasoning and fell short in the spicy and sweet categories. I also wished there had been more namul (sauteed or seasoned vegetables) in the dish.

While the bibimbap was a little bit disappointing, the Bulgogi was nicely marinated and sweet. Additionally, the cut of meat used in Tofu Ya's bulgogi was nice and lean. If I am not wrong, bulgogi is suppose to be made with sirloin or other prime cuts of beef. However, I have been to many restaurants and ordered bulgogi, only to be served a plate of less than lean meat! Argh!

Bulgolgi always reminds me of the 2nd international age group meet that I ever represented Singapore at. Held in Busan Korean, that was the first time I was really introduced to Korean cuisine. While in Busan, I dined on a steady feast of ginseng chicken, kyoho grapes, the sweetest peaches ever (bought from the street cart across from the hotel. Also when I learned that mama t can split a peach in two simply by twisting it) and bulgolgi!

Details:

Tofu Ya

2021 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

310-473-2627

Saison

While I was in San Francisco a couple of weekends ago for work, I had the extreme pleasure of dining at Saison. Saison is the joint venture of executive chef Joshua Skenes and wine director Mark Bright, whom The Tasting Panel Magazine recognized at our 2009 New Leader Awards that were held at the SLS hotel. After meeting Mark in Los Angeles, he insisted that whenever we were next in San Francisco, we had to come dine at his restaurant.

Before dining at any new restaurant, I try to preview the menu online just so the indecisive chick in me has a small idea of what I want to order. However, it had been a busy week at work and I never had a chance to even think about dinner at Saison. So it was a rainy Friday evening and I found myself in a cab on my way to Saison not knowing that a decadent 8 course tasting menu was waiting for me at the other end.

Finding the restaurant itself proved to be a bit of a challenge as Saison is tucked away at the back of a courtyard. There is a sign that says "Saison" but it is not lit up and one can walk/drive by it a 1000 times and not notice it at all. To enter the restaurant, you walk in via the kitchen, and yes, you feel like you are going the wrong way. Personally, I like that the main entrance is through the kitchen as you get to see a bit of the behind the scenes action. In addition, walking through the kitchen lends itself to the restaurant's casual we're-all-friends-here vibe.

The main dining room at Saison has 6 maybe 7 tables with one communal table in the middle, complete with wooden benches. The decorations and mood of Saison read rustic, simple and down to earth (minus the wall art with 1000 nails sticking out of it). According to Mark, the space used to be an art gallery. It felt intimate without being over the top romantic, casual without feeling like you wasted your time getting dressed up and hip without feeling overdone... I liked it.

The first dish on this decadent tasting menu was little leeks, wild caviar and meyer lemon paired with bubbly from Château de Lavernette Crémant de Bourgogne, non-vintage.The caviar was perfect and simply melted in my mouth. Additionally, the hint of salt from the caviar only worked to highlight the natural sweetness of the leeks and I appreciated the play on sweet and salty. The only thing that bothered me about this dish was that it was hard to look cool as you chased the last little balls of caviar around the dish trying to get them onto the spoon and into your mouth.

Up next was the farm egg with smoked butter and golden trout roe, served with a side of asparagus topped with what I assumed to be smoked butter. This dish was definitely a creative one. Digging into the egg, there were textural surprises with the crispy salty roe and the gooey fresh egg. I will say that while very tasty, my egg was a little underdone and I did not like the transparent-ness of some portions of my egg. This was a real pity because the egg truly was very fresh. A little more cooking time would have knocked this dish out of the ball park.

Our third course was roots (carrots, daikon, radish) stewed with bonite, caramelized shoots, leaves and flowers. I don't know if I even noticed the flowers that were suppose to be on this dish. I was so excited at the thought of a root soup (I have been craving one for ages and ages) that I didn't take the time to visually enjoy my dish before devouring it. With clean and simple flavors, the roots were perfectly cooked with the right amount of mush and bite. It amazed me that this dish could be so delicate and comforting at the same time. If I were a less classier person, I think I would have brought the bowl up to my face to slurp up the last remnants of bonito broth. But I didn't... This course was paired with the Domaine Séguinot Bordet Chablis, Burgundy, France 2007.

For our next course, we were served pertrale sole roasted bone in with vadouvan spices and artichoke citronne. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite dish of the evening for many reasons. First, my fish was a little undercooked on the inside and second, the dish smelled better than it tasted- never a good thing. I did appreciate the lemony artichoke and spinach leaves but they did little to salvage the under-seasoned sole. In my opinion, all this dish needed (besides a little more time in the oven) was just a touch of salt to wake it up. The fish was paired with the Kientzler Riesling Reserve Particular Alsace, France 2003.

Up next, a crimson beet aigre-doux, hibiscus and bone marrow paired with 2007 Becker Estate Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany. I was nervous when I saw this on the menu as I was afraid the natural nuance of the beet would get overpowered by the fatty richness of the bone marrow but I was proven wrong. The sweetness of the beet played harmoniously with the soft, salty, butteriness of the bone marrow and the flavors just melded beautifully. Ahhh.

For our meat course, we were served a sonoma lamb, whole roasted with warm spices natural jus as well as a 2005 Château Lyonnat Lussac St Emilion Bordeaux, France. This lamb... ohhh... ahhh...mmmm...no words. Literally there are no words. This is one of the best lamb dishes I've had in a long while. With just the right amount of seasoning, the Dura Masala (cinnamon, cumin and all that kind of good stuff) did not overwhelm the natural lamb flavors but only worked to enhance them. Sweet figs, yogurt sauce, watercress and arugula completed this perfect piece of meat and left me speechless.

The week before dining at Saison, I had a spice crusted rack of lamb with butternut squash, cippollini onions and michigan dried cherries at Waterbar in SF during a Portugal wine dinner. At that time I thoroughly enjoyed my rack of lamb, but after tasting the lamb dish at Saison, it was like I was once blind but now I see. I think what I love best here was the subtly of the dish. The chef could have gone heavy handed and drowned the lamb in a complicated sauce, but instead he let the meat speak for itself by serving the lamb in its own natural jus.The only way this dish could have improved is if it came with a side of second helping.

Our cheese course was a point reyes inverness with sun-toasted walnuts served with a slice of walnut bread from Acme. Not quite as spectacular as the walnut bread from Campanile/La Brea Bakery, it was a little too soft for my liking and lacked the nutty oomph that I was craving. The mild sweetness of the sun-toasted walnuts was lovely and helped cut the tartness of this very rich and indulgent cheese.

Our pre-dessert course was a satsuma ice cream mandarin granite to which I say "ehhh". I know this dish was meant to be a palate cleanser but I wish there had been more flavor to this mandarin granita.

And for dessert, a chocolat-walnut crumble, salted caramel ice cream from Ciao Bella. After a dinner of restrained flavors, I was hoping for a more intense dessert but was sadly let down by this dish. While the dessert did a wonderful job of balancing the salty and sweet, the creamy and crunchy; I was not blown away. But then again, I am the girl who has not met a chocolate cake she deems too rich so I guess that's just me. I don't like subtlety when it comes to my sweets.

As if the 8 courses were not enough, we were served a little end-of-the-meal treat of lavender and sea salt shortbread cookies. I am not usually a huge fan of shortbread cookies but neither am I usually a fan of turning down food that is placed in front of me. What can I say, I have a fat kid inside of me! Eating them upside down (salt side directly on my tongue) allowed the sea salt to be the first thing to hit my palate and brought out the savory lavender in the cookies.

Subtle and uncomplicated, the menu at Saison clearly pays homage to the seasonal farm fresh ingredients. The flavors in each dish were concise and refined and I definitely appreciated the impeccable presentation. To me, Saison is kind of a huge contradiction on so many levels: it's a sophisticated restaurant tucked into what looks like a back alley of a abandoned warehouse, it has a members only feel to it yet the rustic interiors are comfortable and unstuffy, the food there is seemingly simple, but in actuality requires an astonishing amount of technique to execute. Its basically fine dining in farm form.

Details:
Saison
2124 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-828-7990

Apologies from the author:
1. I apologize for the lack of/dismal descriptions of the wine pairings. Food I KNOW but wine I am just starting to learn. I know what wine I like but ask me to tell you why and what I taste.. that's a whole other ball game. (Which, I guess is ironic considering where I work.)

2. I also apologize for the lack of focus/too much white light/lousy framing on some of the pictures. I blame
a. the lighting in the restaurant
b. my little dinky camera
c. my greedy stomach that somehow managed to overpower my perfectionist self and made me give up on taking the perfect picture just so I could devour everything that was set in front of me, stat.

R. Nichols Stationary

Last night, I returned from my birthday/work trip to New York City. Today, I thought it only fitting to share these note cards from R. Nichols.

The taxicab note cards do a lovely job of capturing the spirit of the beautiful and bustling city I just returned from. Even though I had a rather stressful time dealing with work emergencies all weekend (no thanks to Icelandic volcanic ash for grounding my boss, our French winemakers and all our wine!), I still managed to have a marvelous time in New York (with many many thanks to Luisa and Chris for being fantastic hosts and friends!! xoxo). It really is a city that I could see myself living in. But since I am not an American citizen and my visa is tied to my job, I am stuck in LA for the time being. No complaints there though, LA is great city in its own way and there are a lot of people that I love in LA!

Detail:
R. Nichols
Taxicab Note Cards
$20 for a box of 10 with envelopes

Birthday Confessions

Dear Readers-

I'm so sorry I have been MIA for a while and been neglecting to post, work has had me swamped and I haven't had a chance to even think my own thoughts!

Anyway, today I turn 24. *yay and sigh* I love birthdays because it selfishly means presents (and yes, I do buy myself a present or two and I also try to observe April 19th as a holiday)! However, I also hate birthdays because it means getting older. I know in the grand scheme of things, 24 is not that old at all, its not even a quarter of a century old. But still... I just hate getting older.

This year, I am unable to declare April 19th a holiday because I've to spend the day touring New York city with a bunch of French winemakers. But later tonight I am meeting up with an old college friend and her husband and we're going to have dinner at The Little Owl. So it looks like it will be a pretty decent 24th birthday.

Anyway, to mark the big 24 (sigh sigh sigh), I thought I would do a "birthday suit" type post, I thought I would strip myself down to a "naked" more vulnerable place and make some birthday confessions. Here goes nothing...

1. I am insanely jealous of the long luscious lashes (alteration woot woot!) that my niece and nephew have. The have big gorgeous eyes and long lashes while I have small half-open eyes (I completely blame papa t) with stubby lashes that point straight down! Jealous!

2a. I hate the smell of milk. It makes me want to hurl.
2b. On the other hand, I drank my nightly "cup" of warm milk from a feeding bottle (that makes me sound like a baby animal but I couldn't remember the correct term for it) till I was ummm too old... Maybe 5 or 6?? I mean I was old enough to know that it was embarrassing and that I should hide it from any and all overnight guests. I mean when my cousin stayed overnight, my poor maid had to bring it up covertly and I drank it in secrecy!

3. My idea of extreme sport is driving around on a quarter tank of gas.

4. Despite the fact that I graduated from UCLA, I always feel stupid and behind whenever I go home to Singapore. Always.

5. My feet sometimes smell...bad.

6. Even when I was in the best shape of my life (aka Olympic athlete shape), I never had abs. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a belly but I never had, and never will have abs. Poops.

7. Sometimes I find myself wishing that I had a cool accent and lived in a foreign country. Then I remember that I ALREADY do!

8. I eat my emotions (but really, who doesn't?)

9. Even though I've done a lot with my life thus far, I feel like I've not achieved anything significant or noteworthy. This is why I dread getting older, each birthday feels like a reminder of all the things in life I have not done.

10. The most embarrassing moment in my life was my performance(s) at the 2008 Olympics.

On This Day...

On this day in 1805, writer Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark. In his lifetime, Andersen authored many of the best known fairy tales like "The Ugly Duckling", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Little Mermaid" (which is what the Disney classic was loosely based on).

In my early college years, I took a writing course where we studied Scandinavian literature and Andersen was one of the authors we covered. I am embarrassed to admit that it was only then that I realized where many of my classic fairy tales came from. It is amazing how mainstream American/Western culture often adopts and appropriates things from other cultures and the origin (and some times worse, significance) of that said artifact gets lost in the process of cultural appropriation.

To honor this Danish author's birthday, Google's normal multi-colored logo (well unless it is April Fools day, then it becomes "Topeka") on its home page is being replaced by a series of Google doodles that reflect scenes from Andersen's well known fairy tale "Thumbelina". Go check it out!

Image from Chronicle Books

Happy April Fools Day

Happy April Fools day my friends! While I've never pulled an April Fools prank on anyone or ever been victim to one, Mama T did fall for a pretty good April Fools prank years and years ago.

She'll most probably kill me for telling this story, but I can't help it... it's too good not to share.

There used to be this popular morning DJ duo in Singapore that my family and I tuned in to on our morning commute. The Djs were witty, entertaining and managed to toe the fine line between being locally relevant yet cool and cosmopolitan at the same time. My family loved them!

On that fateful April 1st morning, said Djs announced on air that Singtel (main service provider for land lines in Singapore) was intending to clean out their cables that day by shooting out blasts of air through the phone lines. (What?! Anyone with a sound head on their shoulders would have already begun to question this logic... shooting out air through phone lines?! These are cables not pipes people!) The DJs went on to recommend that their listeners go home and tie plastic bags around their phone receives so as to contain the dust that was surely to explode from the phone receivers on their end. Sounds insane right? But sadly, that is exactly what Mama T did!! (tehehehe)

I mean picture it, my mother driving home after dropping me off at school and insisting to our maid that we had to tie plastic bags around all our phone receivers so that when that jet of air came through, all the dust that had been collecting in the phone cables won't get all over our house. (mwahahahhaha)

I don't remember how or when mama t found out she had been suckered but I do recall that on their show the next morning, the two Djs were forced to apologize on air because so many listeners had called in to complain! HAHA

Anyway, if you, like me, don't do April Fools jokes, here is a fun little find to celebrate the day!

Aren't these Marc Jacobs flats just so amusing! :) Complete with with floppy ears, crystal eyes, plastic whiskers, and a stitched-on tail, how much more appropriate can these get for April Fools day!

Details:
Marc Jacobs
Patent Leather Mouse Flats
$230