Food Porn

my friends know how to make me fat… I kid you not… especially during my birthday. Came here originally to catch up but since my birthday happened to land around the same time.. it ended up being a birthday dinner for me (win for me! muhahaha :p) *dances* jk jk 

It was great catching up since we hadn’t talked in awhile due to our busy schedules except an occasional reminder of “must get skinny to get fat again” :) hahaha I mean you gotta right in order to be the foodies that we are! We got the restaurant, you made reservations, we were able to sit and browse the menu… tried to figure out what to try… and of course as always we our eyes are much bigger than our appetite, BUT we always manage to destroy the meal. This place in my opinion was okay.. it’s good in the sense that the dishes are unique, but in all honesty we both agreed the best dishes were actually the bruschetta charcuterie & cheese AND the delicious amazing dessert!… now I want one!

http://www.tarandroses.com/

Since we were shooting in Little Tokyo there is no reason to not eat there since we were already out there! After manning it up in the cold for a few shots I was wanting something warm… good thing they were thinking the same thing! Great minds think alike :)

We decided to go to Chin-ma-ya and order some lunch sets. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to try a variety of dishes and so when there are additions and/or options I’m a happy camper. 

We were able to talk about spicy foods, work, and taking more photos for my website. We talked about the revolution of Geek magazine and where it’s headed. Good food with good company is always a win-win especially when it’s productive too!! 

http://www.chinmayaoftokyo.com

Road trips are fun especially when they are random. Decided on outlet shopping so after shopping we were a bit hungry, but since we weren’t from the area we weren’t sure what to eat exactly… so we decided to stop by starbucks first to get a drink (shopping wears you out yunno… jk :p). While we were at starbucks we noticed Gino’s Pizza and thought… man it smells good outside… that’s totally how they lure people in! :) So we decided to take a chance and walk in… we ordered and sat down and when the pizza was placed on the table… we gobbled it so fast and only muttered.. “this is pretty good” … hahaha :p

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ginos-pizza-pismo-beach

A friend of mine wanted to take me out for a belated birthday, but since I had an audition that same day he was able to meet me close to where I was. I didn’t really know what food places were around so all i did was enter in the area code and surrounding areas and voila - Shaky Alibi popped up. I’ve always seen the place, but never went in, but glad I did… it’s a small cafe that I totally can picture myself sitting at trying to wait out traffic. Anyhow, my friend was running a bit late and it was raining so I decided to go ahead and order myself a chai latte. While waiting I made a list of things I had to get done.

When my friend arrived we ordered our meal… we both decided on the original Shaky Alibi Original Savory Sandwhich. It was delish! We were able to catch up on film projects, what was in the works and I was finally able to pick out the headshots that he had taken for me awhile back… yay for checking one thing off my list :)

http://www.shakyalibi.com/

Sometimes the food may not be the tastiest, but you can’t help but like it still. Mainly  because it reminds you of home cooking. While roaming around in berkeley we stumbled upon this place and decided to try it. It felt homely there… the wife went into the kitchen to cook the meals as you ordered them and the husband took the orders and cleaned. There was just something warm about that feeling that made the food that much better. This was our comfort food of the day. :) Now onto finding dessert somewhere! :) 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/koryo-restaurant-berkeley

Yes there are lots of good food places in the bay area I’ll admit that.. and I’ll admit I’ve tried most of the places here because every time I’m in the area I cram all the restaurants into one days…. maybe not a good idea because I’ve probably had those days we’re I’ve had 5 meals. I’m sure my stomach has a love/hate relationship with me :) 

Anyhow this is one of my favorite brunch places in SF primarily because they offer the Lemon-Ricotta Pancake, which I think is delicious (and funny thing is I’m not even a fan of pancakes!!). My friend introduced me to these pancakes and I’ve been hooked since, but they don’t offer it all the time :( so you gotta be lucky! 

I took my friend here since I was unable to make it to her wedding. We were able to catch up the whole day on our lives, her proposal, her wedding, relationships, school, and so much more. It was such good girlfriend spending time! <3 

http://www.zaziesf.com

I love Abbot Kinney even though I can’t afford half the things there… I still love the vibe, the restaurants, and the fact that I can shop (or rather window shop) all in one place. Came here with a friend to talk about my website and how I wanted to evolve it moving forward. We were able to mix business with good food. We talked about our personal lives as well as the projects we had in store. He shared with me his awesome business idea and I gave him my thoughts and recommendations. I can’t wait for the world to see when it launches! We were able to get inspired as we devoured our delicious pizza. The restaurant gets crowded, but if your not too hungry you can shop a bit before returning and if your in a hurry they have a to-go place you can order from next door :) 

http://www.gjelina.com

I’ll admit I’ve been putting my foodblog on hold, but now it’s time to get back into that habit… especially with 2013 coming up! :)

A good meal after a long photoshoot is always one of my favorite things to do. This time since I was in the 626 area (known for their amazing asian food!)… I had to definitely had to eat here. I felt like xiao long bao’s one of the few things I crave occasionally… so the first thing that came to mind was Ding Tai Fung! I like the dumplings here because 1) they are good and 2) the juice is still in the dumplings!! I hate when you order them and they are all popped :( Anyhow, came here with a few friends after working on a shoot for the 626 movement. We were able to unwind and catch up as we devoured these dumplings. yay for a productive day with good food!

http://www.dintaifungusa.com/

Milestones were meant to be celebrated. I’ll admit I am a big kid… I like celebrating accomplishments and almost everything. I think that we get so caught up in life that we don’t stop and celebrate our accomplishments enough. So for my 5 year work anniversary I was able to celebrate a little bit and I am so grateful and appreciative of the people who actually wanted to do something nice. My guy friend/coworker took me out to eat for lunch. He suggested this place and my god this place is pretty darn good. I mean so many different types of tacos and burgers to choose from! I would have gotten a beer, but with my Asian glow I wouldn’t be able to hide it :) This place is nice because you get the fresh breeze of the outdoors and you can walk down the strip to other places to eat and shop. It was good catching up on where we have been since college…. or rather where you thought you would be vs. where you are or even just the thought of this is just the beginning. Cheers to me being dedicated worker at a company for 5 years! :) 

http://www.hotskitchen.com/

Finally, we were able to catch up, but this time it was before you accepted your new position at Google! This totally means I’m getting a Google tour ;) It was a good dinner as we enjoyed our meal at Musha and talked about my latest lawsuit fiasco… which is retarded because I sold my old car and then the new owner crashes it and somehow I get looped into it :(, but you were able to take time out to resolve this issue (thank you!). Knowing a lawyer is pretty awesome! haha… anyhow, we were able to catch up on your basketball fun and how a series of events since the last time we spoke led you down to taking that Google offer! I was able to tell you about the things I’ve been up to with work and all the other fun stuff. So here is a toast to ending the year in the next 3 months with a bang & my up and coming tour at Google ;) 

http://musha.us/

I have been dying to go here since I’ve heard so many great things here. So this time as a super early 5 year work anniversary (I mean I needed something to celebrate right?! after college, there isn’t much to celebrate… and I’m a big baby :p). Made reservations and when we arrived the whole place was packed. It took awhile to be seated, but luckily I had a piece of madeline in my purse so I munched on that - always better to be prepared haha :) Anyhow, we sat down as the waiter explained how everything worked…. we got our huge salad portion, which at this point I was already getting full (doomed!) followed by our entree. I was gung-ho on finishing my slice so that I could get a second free thin slice of prime rib…. so I stuffed myself finishing the entire thing ONLY problem was I was way too full to get the 2nd slice :( You know that feeling you have after an AYCE experience? Yup…. that was me. Do I regret it? No way, but my stomach might disagree (poor tummy!). 

This is definitely one of the places you have to try if you are ever in the bay area. Thank god for me I can officially check it off my list :) 

http://www.houseofprimerib.net

Came here on a Friday afternoon with my sister to get some work done. My sister had recommended this place, and I’m so glad I tagged along this time. The tea here is amazing. There is like tea leaves and herbs and a bunch of other things within the drink that they use to make this drink. I was able to enjoy my chai tea latte, while being productive. I was able to get a lot of things done and my sister was able to study. Cheers to good tea, being productive, and sister bonding time :)

http://www.hojaspremiumtea.com