Kings Highway, Palm Springs

We went to Palm Springs for a quick trip this past weekend. I heard a lot about Ace Hotels, especially the one in Palm Springs. We didn't get to stay there, but we got to eat at Kings Highway, a restaurant at Ace Hotel. Everything we ate was good, didn't exactly meet up to my expectations, but the fries and the coconut bread pudding stood out. I loved seeing all the desert plants in Palm Springs and the last picture kind of shows that.

Miracle Mile

1. Christine Ferber Jam, 2. Breakfast, 3. Burgers at Umami, 4. Umami Burger, 5. Church on La Brea, 6. Goodwill, 7. Miracle Mile, 8. Wig shop on Wilshire, 9. Necklace made by Easter Ahn-Lee

My friend and I went to Umami Burger on La Brea and instead of driving we decided to walk there. We both had a camera that day so we took it out and started capturing whatever piqued our interest. So what can you find on Miracle Mile? Well, there are several wig shops that sell really nice expensive wigs that cost hundreds of dollars. You can find the salon Eclectic revamped on Tabitha's Salon Takeover (Bravo reality show), a tattoo/barber shop called Legends Barber Shop, which the movie Barbershop was based on and if you want to check out some live music, there's the historic El Rey theatre (music venue). There's also the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy living in this area. It's full of art deco architecture and FOOD TRUCKS, btw I'll be posting on this topic soon.

The first picture makes me sad...I'm running out of my Christine Ferber jam that we got from Paris. I haven't found any website or store that carries her jam. I may have to go back to Paris just to get some more jam...yes, it's that good. 

LudoBites

 photo taken by: Anne Fishbein

I need to try LudoBites once in my life...they're all booked right now, but I'm hoping for a miracle. LudoBites isn't a set restaurant, the interesting thing about LudoBites is that it borrows a space (Gram & Papas starting in April) every 3 months and chef Ludo Lefebvre creates a whole new menu each time. Here's what Jonathan Gold has to say about it.

A Day With Grandma

I've been going back and forth between the small font and normal font size. I think I prefer the small font size. I wish there was a size in between the two, that would be perfect. The normal font is too big and the small is too small, haha, oh well. This past Wednesday I chauffeured my grandparent's around. Our first stop was the prosthetic clinic to adjust my grandpa's prosthesis, then it was the Korean market on Western & 1st. There's a lot to see in these Asian markets. Just like the different brands of mayo, you've got different brands of kimchi,dried anchovy, seaweed, chili flakes etc., which makes it hard to buy the best tasting one especially if you're unfamiliar with it all. It helps to take someone knowledgeable about those things with you when you go.


Picture Descriptions:

1. Flats adorned with jewels- they make me smile
2. Grandma picking out the best radish for her spicy chongak kimchi.
3. My favorite, it's called boonguhbang (it's like a fish-shaped pancake filled with red bean paste).
4. Tubs of peeled garlic- the main ingredient in Korean cooking, love it!
5. Dried anchovies- another important ingredient
6. Close up of dried anchovies
7. Kimchi- supposedly the cure for SARS,(check out the LA times article, hee hee)
8. Fish- If fresh,it should smell like the ocean. It shouldn't smell too fishy.
9. Korean side dishes called banchan (they're not appetizers, they're dishes that go along with your meal)
10. Pastry shop across the market, Paris Baguette
11. Meatless Wednesday: vegetarian dinner consisting of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, radish, sauteed zucchini and onions.

Sunday Dinner

1. TJ's Stilton cheese w/dried apricots on crackers, 2. Ingredients for pasta salad, 3. caramelized onions w/ turkey sausage, 4. Penne pasta salad, 5. Kimchi jigae

Usually on Sunday nights Tim and I cook dinner and prepare meals for the week. This past Sunday we cooked up a big batch of pasta salad that we could take to school and work. It's easy to make, healthy to eat and tastes delicious. Earlier in the day I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and I overheard another customer ranting and raving about a certain cheese they have. It turned out to be the Stilton with bits of dried apricots. Curious as to why she thought it was so great, we picked one up and tried it as appetizers. She's right, it's gooood. I love sweet and salty combination's in food and this cheese has that combo all in one bite. The pasta salad we made consists of penne pasta, basil, cucumbers, tomato, green onions, green bell pepper, caramelized onions, turkey sausage, garlic, Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil- lots of ingredients. I'll be eating this almost every day for lunch this week. For dinner we made kimchi jigae with really ripe kimchi. The more fermented the kimchi the better kimchi jigae you get. It's better to add slices of pork belly, but since we didn't have any on hand we added the next best thing...SPAM. I think another key ingredient besides really good fermented kimchi is to use broth instead of water. You can use chicken broth or beef broth, just know that if you use beef broth use only half and substitute the other half with water (it gets too salty if you use a whole can of beef broth).    

Mile Seven & Dim Sum

(Last 3 photos taken by Tim Cho)

This past Saturday, Tim and I ran 7 miles! Again, another first for me. We ran from our apartment in miracle mile all the way to Santa Monica Blvd, then back home. Running to the 3.5 mile mark was fine, but it's the turning around to go back home that made me angry. I get angry when I run longer than 40 minutes and yesterday was no exception. I think it's the realization of how far away I am from home because by car it would have taken me 30 minutes to get to where I was, but to then have to turn around and go back home...ugh, not a happy camper at that point. My grumpiness eventually subsided and I became ecstatic when I went to CBS Seafood in Chinatown for dim sum. My hunger and patience were being tested big time when we had to wait for other people to show up before we could eat, but the great thing about dim sum is that everything is already made. When you're ready to eat, just point your finger to what you want, nod your head yes to reconfirm that you want it and EAT IT. 

My Friday, March 19th

I made nangmyun (arrowroot noodles in cold broth) for lunch. I enjoy eating this dish when it's hot because the cold broth is refreshing. I realize this can be a weird concept, noodles in ice cold broth, but it's damn good. Don't knock it till you try it. 


I've been working hard all morning on a lot of school stuff, so this afternoon I decided to treat myself by venturing out of the house to Silverlake/Echo Park area. There's some cool art work scattered throughout the walls of LA. The mural in the second picture happens to be near Echo Park. 


For dinner Tim and I went to the Grove and decided to eat at Ulysses (Mediterranean food). We walked around and I tried on some Lippmann nail polish at Nordstroms. Now that I look at the picture, I notice that I've got some dry cuticles to take care of, yikes. Moving on... I like the silver polish called Marquee Moon because when you paint it on, flecks of glitter remain on the nail. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it's pretty in person (tip: in order to have the glitter remain on the nail, slowly apply the polish- slower than usual). The third nail polish color is called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. I like this one too because it's not true black, rather it's described as gunmetal shimmer.
 

my go to breakfast

One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast is greek yogurt drizzled with honey topped with sliced bananas, YUM. The sweet honey goes so well with the tangy yogurt. I tried the honey/yogurt combo with regular plain yogurt and it didn't taste as good. I like the thick consistency of Fage. I've tried several greek yogurt brands and I think Fage is my favorite so far. It's pretty pricey for yogurt so I only get it once in awhile as a treat to myself. Usually I just go with the trader joe's brand, which is significantly cheaper. I also think beverages taste better in bottles. I know it's mental but coca cola, sparkling apple cider, carbonated water, etc. all taste exponentially better when it's in a bottle.

The Seventies

The second and third picture look like it came straight out of a book from the 70's, doesn't it? I should have used photoshop to fix it, but the photos aren't great anyway- not worth the effort. I'm not a photographer, far far far from being one, and I admire those that can take awesome photographs. In the future, when time permits, I would love to take some intro to photography class. 

This morning I went to my parents place to do my laundry. When I go around 8:30am I can expect breakfast because that's when my mom serves it. Today it was a classic breakfast meal of scrambled eggs, turkey, potatoes and toast. For beverage we had a blended juice of tomatoes, blueberry and some other fruits. 

I don't have grand plans for today except to study for my History of Occupation test (it's tomorrow, agh!). In the evening I'll try to go for a run with my husband and cap the night off with a another dose of reading.