Nom nom for the last day

Haven't had a post that's full of food recently~  So here's today's serving! :D

Last week, my dad and I ate together at Nu Cafe in Chinatown.  We peeked into the store 10 minutes before opening time at 11:20am, but the waitress said they were open.  The picture of the beef noodles was really enticing, so I ordered that, while my dad ordered the "3 varieties" rice.  That's three types of meat: pork, chicken, and Chinese sausage. 

We were the only ones sitting in the restaurant, since usually people don't show up in Chinatown until noon and later, with peak times around 1pm.  So the dishes were out quickly, and both of them looked delicious! ^_^

3 Varieties rice.  It comes with veggies and an egg!

Beef noodle soup

The noodle soup was delicious!  A big serving of noodles with lots of tender pieces of stewed beef.  The flavor of the soup was just right too, kind of spicy.  Nom nom nom!~

Nu Cafe is also known for their erm.. milky ice/snowflake ice?  Two men came while we were eating, and they ordered a portion to share.  I heard them saying it was really good and flavorful, and that the "small" order was quite big.  I kept wanting to look at the ice dessert, but every time I looked, the man facing our table was always looking straight at me x_x'' Durr. I must have looked like a creeper, haha!

Nu Cafe

9889 Bellaire Blvd
Ste 112A
Houston, TX 77036

~*~

What's this?

It's a shot of a mountain peaking out of clouds while I was on the airplane to Las Vegas!  :D  Isn't it cool?  The clouds just covered everything!!

...  Did you really believe that?  I said this post would be full of food, and I'm not twenty-one yet, so how gullible are you? ;)  It's actually a piece of pork sticking out of some rice porridge.  I took this during dinner at home, and my mom thought I was nuts.  :D  Doesn't it look like a mountain though? ^^

If you see me a lot at school, then you probably know how much I talk about my parents' cooking.  Or maybe not?  I feel like I think about it every day, although I'm not sure how much of that leaves my mouth!~ Anyways, if you ever wondered what type of meals I dream of while I'm at school, here's a sample of one of our more simple meals:

A family dinner :D

Rice porridge is pretty common at home.  I used to dislike the stuff, but it's growing on me ^^  Then there's... going from the top clockwise: mantou buns 馒头, daikon radish cake 萝卜糕 (the type you get at dim sum), Mapo tofu 麻婆豆腐, cauliflower, and Chinese broccoli 芥兰. 

Mmm, I love vegetables and tofu!  The radish cake was pretty good too, although I can only eat a few pieces at a time (so creamy!).  When we set the table, I told my parents there would be no way we would finish all of this.  But when we finished, there was only the daikon radish cakes left!  :P  We are very good eaters, haha~

Too bad I can't eat my parents' dishes at school :(  Now I'll have to resort back to my staple meal:  rice, eggs, and broccoli, haha!  *every day*

~*~

My last day in Houston was spent with Connie!  My parents and I drove to her place to deliver a bike.  I had made a blueberry dessert and cheesecake, so I took some to her

Blueberry dessert?

Next we headed off to Lucky Pot in Chinatown!  (Notice how often I go there? haha~)  We haven't been to that one, so it was a first for all of us.  Each of us picked a dish, and they all ended up being dishes we would never prepare at home ourselves.  Good teamwork!

Bamboo (front) and steamed eggplant (back)

Steamed eggplant

Fried belt fish

Spicy .. pork.  Haha

Green beans with bits of pork

Lamb with cilantro

Lucky Pot

9888 Bellaire Blvd

Ste 158

Houston, TX 77036

~*~

And of course, going back to WashU wouldn't be complete without a bread run!  My sister helped carry the bread trays I wasn't holding onto :P    

The selection wasn't very much, and they didn't have the flavors that I planned to get for each person today.  (I wrote up a list in November of which breads I wanted to buy, haha~)  But whatever, bread will always be yummy, and these babies are fresh!

These cute things are destined to St. Louis!

Stormy nights

It was 1:30am, and my parents had gone to sleep several hours before.  I sat in the computer room and heard the dog fence fall in the kitchen.  :O  Oh no's, Balto is trying to escape!  So I jumped the fence blocking me from the kitchen and see Balto cowering away from the fence and Bacardi looking up at me with her tail between her legs.

"What's wrong, girl?"  I pat her head while she looks at the floor, and then I pick up the fence and lean it back to its original position, before hopping back over to the computer room.  Some scuffling noises make me look back towards the kitchen.  Bacardi's attempting to nose her way towards me by knocking over the other fence, when I hear half muted thunder boom in the distance and rain drops beginning to fall.

Ohh..  Bacardi's deathly afraid of rain.  I pick up the fence to let her in, while Balto observes us from the kitchen.  Trying to not make him jealous, I try to talk sternly to Bacardi in front of him, but she just lays down on my feet.  I look at Balto from the corner of my eyes.  Still watching~ haha >_>''

I sit back down at the computer, and Bacardi finds the smallest, coziest, and "safest" area in the room to hide from the thunder:  the leg room under the desk.  When Balto finally walks away, I reach down and smooth down the fur on her neck and give her an Eskimo kiss.  "It's going to be all right, kay?"  She looks back up at me with big, brown eyes, as if she was trying to see if I was lying.

Another round of thunder echoes, and she hides back towards my feet.  I can just imagine titans battling it out up there.  @_@  So epic.

Balto's so manly, hanging out by himself in the kitchen and giving out occasional sighs.  I wonder why Bacardi's so scared of rainy days?  Maybe I should drag her from her usual hiding spot (under my parents' bed) to sleep next to me tonight?  The weather forecast says it'll be thunder-storming all day tomorrow.   Poor girl~  But I'm actually scared of dark and gloomy stormy days too :P  There was a really bad one when I was in high school, on a day when both of my parents were out for the whole day, and it was just so dark outside with the rain pelting down.  Depressing almost, so I pretty much turned on all of our lights inside!  The thunder was so violent, that the house would shake >_<''  So I spent the day sitting in the kitchen with Balto (before Bacardi joined the family), hugging him and laughing nervously every time the lights would flicker.  :D  Ahh, good memories.. but maybe that's why I prolonged rainy/gloomy weather in St. Louis make me sad?

On the bright side, my dad's going to be singing about how great the plants must feel after a year of drought tomorrow ^_^

Biking to Bay Area Park

I went on an adventure to Bay Area Park!  I would usually ride the bike on the sidewalks flanking the roads, but I decided to risk it and delve into Brookwood neighborhood (have no idea how to navigate around in there).  It was a cloudy day, but still a nice one, and I passed by the church too~

It was really quiet, with only a few birds chattering in the background.  I set the bike on the road behind the church and tried pushing away the thought that it felt like I was in an eerily quiet scene of a horror movie.  >_<

Empty silent road

The noise my bike makes is kind of scary here, haha!

Blue skies engulfed by gray clouds

I popped out of Brookwood onto the main streets and pedaled cautiously across to the other side.  Then I passed the bridge and saw a police man walk and stand in the middle of the road to stop a red SUV.  He then motioned for the car to follow him with his hand.  I'm suspecting another officer down the road had told him the car was speeding!  Whew, good thing I was on a bike.  There was no way I could get a ticket!  .. unless I was going to slowly??

Anyways, I rode in a circle around the park and saw the dog park for the first time.  I should take Balto and Bacardi here!  It's too far to walk them here, but maybe a car trip would do.  Then they'd be able to run around with some other doggies^^  Bacardi would probably bark her head off though >_>

I stepped off the bike and walked along a bridge near the back that I've never been on before :o  Quite pretty ^^  I just gazed around the scene and watched a crane ever so slowly walk a few feet, while fish sporadically jumped out of the water.  A bird with a huge beak (like a pelican) kept swooping across the lake and belly-flopping.

The only sound was the rippling of water, fish jumping, and belly-flopping ^^

Does anyone else see frog legs here? :P (hint: it's made of wood)

On my next long break, I plan to rent a kayak and go exploring!  It's safe, since it doesn't lead to the ocean. How do I know?  Google Maps!  :P

I walked off the bridge and went to visit the geese and ducks on the other side of the park.  There were only a few of them, unlike the flocks and flocks that used to chase me when I visited with my dad many years ago.  Ahhhh, scary geese >_<

But now since I was wearing jeans, their bills didn't scare me >:D Mwahaha!

Silly geese!

So fat, tee hee :3

Nearby, I saw some ducks pecking at bird feed someone left on the floor.  Maybe the ducks had watched the dogs walk around in the park, because one of them kept wagging its tail while it was eating!  :D

My food...  *quack quack*

The clouds were blocking more and more of the sky, so I decided to head back home.  Yet another independent adventure!  Just needed epic music playing in the background ;) 

~*~

Ending on a bittersweet note--  I got my stitches off and was told that there's nothing to worry about (except for scarring, durr) :D  Whoo!  .. but then was told that I can't swim again until it's fully healed which takes "several months."   I knew last year that afterwards I wouldn't be able to do more "physical" stuff like supporting heavy weights, rock climbing, or anything needing the left hand like that for a while, but swimming??  It's supposed to be low-impact!  Haha, it's really a super small sacrifice for what I got in return, but still, I always really looked forward to swimming last semester >_< (it's the only sport I can play, haha~)  *slightly very sad*

A little stranger on the way to school

I had a lot of fun this past Tuesday! :D

*press play*

Whyyy, you ask?  Well, Irene already headed back to school, so the day before she left, I called her when I woke up.  And that started our afternoon hang out ^^

"Sorry, I just woke up..."  I managed to say coherently.

"Me too," her voice replied.  I glanced up at the clock-- 11:40am.  Haha ^^'  "Sorry if you can't hear me I have my retainer on."

I squealed, "Me tooooo!"  Haha, so funny  :3  We were both sleepy heads, and I made her decide on which restaurant we were eating at, telling her to surprise me when she picked me up. :P

When she pulled up, we both still didn't know where to go, so we decided to drive down the road and see what inspiration would come.  After talking about how both our parents are picky about eating only Asian cuisine and don't like to experiment with other culture's foods, we decided to go to Mogul Indian Restaurant!  I hadn't been since I ate with Claire and Irene our senior year in high school, and I remembered how I burned off all my taste buds because the food was so spicy @__@''  (but hey, my spicy tolerance went up! :P)

We parked into the plaza near our high school and realized that..  Mogul's disappeared??  Luckily, Irene just upgraded to a smartphone, so she searched it up quickly.  The restaurant was actually on the same road, but farther down.  When we walked in, I was pretty impressed-- it used to be such a dark and small restaurant in the corner of a plaza best known for the Petco, Jack-in-the-Box, and Popeye's there.  But now at its new location, it was fit for even a wedding banquet!  Still a bit dark (mood lighting?), but pretty! :D

The waiter pointed us to the buffet line in the back.  Irene says that most Indian restaurants always have a lunch buffet instead of a sit-down lunch.  Is that true?  I've only heard of Indian buffet here in Clear Lake... at this restaurant :P

Yummehhh!

Hehe, Irene's excited too!  Oh I just realized we both were wearing orange that day~

My favorite Indian dish is the spinach and cheese thing.  So good!  Irene said that it was good for helping keep the spiciness off her tongue, since it is made of dairy.  Mmm, everything was delicious, and I didn't think anything was too spicy to handle O_O  definitely enjoyed brunch!  Irene and I inhaled triangles of naan too.  Unlike the ones they serve at WashU (which are crispy, my goodness), they were super soft <3

For dessert, we experimented with a cheese with cream dish and another one of carrots and spices.  There was some spice that was overpowering for me in both dishes.  It was good, but the after taste wasn't for me @_@  I pushed the carrot dish towards Irene, and when she nibbled at it, her face scrunched up, and she said "Well, that's one ethnic-tasting carrot all right."

I burst out laughing, haha sooo funny! XD

Mogul Indian Restaurant

1055 Bay Area Blvd

Houston, TX 77058

So after stuffing ourselves, we went to GameStop, where she traded in Zelda's Skysword (already finished it!!) for Metal Gear 3 (or something like that).  I told her that I hadn't been in this store since we went together in high school :)  

Next we stopped by a fabric store.  Irene actually made a few of her clothes before O_O  We were there because she needed fabric to make a sash/belt for one of her skirts.  *amazed*  It was funny, because I told her that I hadn't been in that store since high school either!  She laughed, saying that she must do the same things all the time!  ;)

Looking like a model~

So many fabrics!

Then we went to a store I have never seen before.  It was a.. um.. parts store?  They sell all sorts of parts for computers, circuits, etc.  and Irene picked out a single 10ohm resistor.  When we walked to the counter, the cashier looked amused that we only bought one, and he said it was seven cents.

I asked Irene what it was for, and she said it was for something she was making her boyfriend back at school.  She was planning to make a mouse that glowed the more you clicked it and the light would slowly fade after no one was touching the computer mouse.  SO COOL!  It's amazing that she can actually build stuff, right?  And she's going off to work after college as an engineer!  As of yet, I feel like I have no useful skills in my trade to use in the field.  Unless it's menial labor ^^'

Irene drove me back home, and we hugged good-bye.  It'll be at least until summer until I see her again!  We both agreed that both of us pretty much "go off the map" when we're at school.  No one knows what we're up to until we're all reunited back at home.  :P

~*~

I hopped onto the "big" bike Wednesday.  It used to be the one I could never ride, because my legs couldn't touch the floor.  But now, it's so much easier to ride than the mini-mountain bike!  :D

My mission was to deliver the Box Tops I had collected the past semester to my elementary school.  So thirteen box tops sat in my side bag while I rode to the school.  It's been a while~

I learned how to ride the bike without hands over the summer ^^  so with super smooth roads in the neighborhood, I tried it out.  And I rode halfway to the elementary school without hands!  *super proud*  :D  I must have looked super weird though, since my hands were stuck out on the sides for balancing. :P

On the way there, I saw a huge white squirrel.  Well, I thought it was a squirrel, and then I realized it was a doggie!  "Cute..." but then I realized it didn't have a collar, so I hopped off the bike and walked back.

"Harro there, mister."

Sooo cute! ^^

The dog ran up to me, and I thought it was going to bark, but then it got distracted and started sniffing at the mulch of one of the trees.  Super cute!  I made sure it didn't have a collar and didn't know what to.  A lady in a truck passed by and rolled down the window, asking me what type of dog I had.  Not mine, I replied, but it doesn't have a collar.  She didn't know what to do either and drove off.

While I was still pondering, a familiar voice called out my name.  I looked up and saw...  Raina and Danielle!  :O  Haha, haven't seen them in forever, and Raina goes to WashU with me too!~  They pulled the car to the side of the road, and I walked towards them with the white doggie following me.

Danielle and Raina appear!  :D

Both of them are so pretty ^^

So soft ^^

Durr?

Dog nappers-- cute :3

They asked me about the dog, and Raina asked a nearby neighbor if they knew who this dog belonged to.  Nada.  Hmm, we played with it a bit more, and found out the doggie was a girl ^^  Danielle named her "Snowy!"  Haha~  After a bit of talking and catching up (I'm so darn jealous of both girls; Raina went to Italy and Danielle went to Australia to study abroad! D':), we became expert dog-nappers and put Snowy into Raina's car.  I pedaled my way to the school and watched them zoom ahead of me.  Bye Snowy!~

It was 4pm, and no one was at the elementary school.  The front gates were locked.  Hmm..  I pedaled my way towards the back where the gym was and found that the door to the cafeteria was opened just a crack.  Perfect.  Mwahaha!  I locked my bike with a chain and entered.

Okay.. will do!

While muttering Mission Impossible's theme song under my breath, I peeked through the doors and saw a janitor leaving the cafeteria.  As the rolling diminished, I stepped into the cafeteria and peered around.  Wooow, I used to eat here!  With $1.50 cent lunches that included entree, 2 sides, and milk!  *amazed*  And then the stage where we sang for required music performances was still there too :)

I was a bit scared of exploring the school, since I technically wasn't supposed to be there, so I walked to the main hall (where the Main Office is!) where I remembered the Box Tops stand was located.  They added doors that cut off sections of the hallway @_@''

Oh.. I just realized, but are there two women on the left reflection? :O

I opened one door and tested if it was still able to open from the other side.  Nope!  Good thing I tried, because the other doors would have locked me in the entrance if I closed myself in O_O  *really felt like a secret agent!*  And it was sort of dark since everyone was gone.

Looking around, I was relieved to see the Box Tops stand relocated right next to the door.  I held the door with my foot and stretched myself over to place my Box Tops in.  :D  I felt very accomplished!

I walked back out and stooped over to unlock the lock.  ... but it wouldn't budge!  Durr.. I called my dad and asked him what the combo was, but he said the same exact number.  "Hmm, that's weird.  Let me drive over."  I hung up and laughed . Haha!  So funny, I rode my bike here, and now my dad had to drive.

After 10 minutes, I called home again, this time my mom answered.  "Still not there?  Let me check which car he took.. Gosh darn it, he took the small car!  Okay, here, I'll be there soon with the big car."

"Wait, Mom, why do we need the big car?"

"So I can put the bike in the back."

"No, I don't need help with taking the bike back, I just need to get the lock taken off."

"Yes, I know, so that's why I'm taking the big car."

.... Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........................  ._____________.'' And that's where I get my lack of simple logic from.

I saw my dad's car pull up.  "Wait, I see Daddy.  Thanks Mom!"

My dad got out of the car and tried the same combo, but the lock wouldn't budge.  Finally we figured out that we were supposed to hit the lock super hard before it would unlock with the right combo.  Both of us gave an "Ohhhhh" of realization and laughed :D  I'm so spoiled to have my parents come and help me out with stuff like this!

15 years ago, I stepped into this school for the first time ^^

We left the elementary school together, and I took a different route home.  When I arrived at the driveway, he was putting the recycling bins onto the curb.  :)  Don't know why, but the scene of him standing in front of our house made me very happy ^_^

~*~

And if anyone is curious about what happened to Snowy, Raina and I both printed out flyers and put them out in the neighborhood, and Snowy was taken up by her owner the next day! :)  Raina's flyers were definitely cuter though ^^

Happy ending for Snowy!

Girls' Day 2011 to welcome a new year!

Let's be brief.  Dentist appointment.  Chinatown for lunch afterwards.  A restaurant called Little Taipei.

Tomato and Beef for Dad

Egg and Beef for me

Mediocre dishes.  Good for lunch, but not very flavorful!   Moving on!

But first.  While eating, I looked down at my spoon and saw a birdie! :)

Little Taipei

9126 Bellaire BlvdHouston, TX 77036

~*~

Next day, my parents drag me out of the house (I can't stop sleeping!) and took me to a little fish market in Seabrook!  When I woke up from my nap in the car, I found myself on a little dry street lined with fish markets.

And here we are!

My parents said that they went to Rose's Seafood since they started a long, long time ago.  Before, they occupied just a tiny space in the basement area, but now they moved upstairs and work in a larger room.

Mom and Dad selected one whole salmon, and it cost $48.  @_@  Wow, expensive!  But we can eat it for a long time!

Lotsa, lotsa fishies!

One of these salmons is going home with me >:3

Ocean!

They sell "sushi grade" fresh fish too ^^  See the tuna?

Cleaning up the fish and chopping it into steaks

Rose's Seafood

501 Waterfront Drive

Seabrook, TX 77586

We divided the steaks into two piles and gave half to a family friend ^^  Then my mom started prepping for dinner, and I went out into the backyard to play!  ... and sleep.  haha :P

We always tease Bacardi for stinky breath, but who knew she would take up flossing?  She walked up to us with a little blue thing in her mouth, and it turned out to be a box of floss!  

Tee hee~

Balto looking mischievous as usual :)

After walking around in the back with them for a while and making barking noises with them, I plopped myself on the ground and looked up into the sky.  Soooo sunnyyyyyy!  I closed my eyes and felt at home.. but then the sun disappeared.  When I opened my eyes, I saw a giant Balto!  Ahhhhh~  What a cutie ^^  Then it started to rain.. and it turned out he was drooling on me D:

So big!

*pant pant*

My mom ran out after she was done with setting up the salmon and took up my camera.  She took so many photos of us @_@  Haha, look at these pictures in sequence!

To the left,

To the front, (don't we look alike? :P)

To the -- Blehhh! *slobbery!*

Yuuush, that's a good boyyy

Kiss kiss

*chomp!*  Anyone ever watch Snow Dogs? ;)

If not, biting a husky's ear is supposed to make you dominant.  I've done it too many times to count, and Balto still thinks I'm a silly girl.  When I was laying on my stomach, he even jumped and stood on me with his paws on my butt!  I'm definitely not his alpha-male...

Zzzz..  *both of us drooling*

~*~

Tracy was leaving the day after New Years, so the girls planned a day of hanging out!  We've never played with just us and not the guys, so this would be a first.

Why does this feel like a prom picture ? :P  (I look really tall, because I'm on higher ground!)

I was driving all six of us in the CRV, so when I pulled out of the garage and saw them lined up, I grabbed my camera, rolled down the windows, and snapped away!  All my friends have modeling potential!~~

^_^

Dimsum for lunch!  We got there before 12 noon, and Dim Sum King was totally filled, so we drove to Ocean Palace, which was also packed, but with a few tables left!

Irene and Cathy are only two diners out of 2328392 here!

There are carts full of cages of dim sum, but for some foods, you have to go up to an area to pick up yourself.  Like the rare vegetable in dimsum- gai lan / jie lan / Chinese broccoli!

Diakon and Taro cakes

Pick up!

My childhood favorite (河粉 he fen, rice noodles with beef inside) :D

Irene loves her BBQ buns! ^^  "So goooood..."

Dim sum cart!

Afterwards, we went to Juicebox for dessert.  Four of them shared shaved ice with fruit and ice cream, and Tracy got Jujube Tea. :)

Ting, Irene, Lindsey, and Cathy :3

Cathy and Tracy :)

Tracy being a model, har har :P

We decided to go Downtown to check out Discovery Green.  It was my first time in the area, so I was really excited!  Finding parking was challenging, and I had to parallel park.  The funny thing was that it was the last spot before the intersection, so it was actually an easy spot to park into.  But the other five girls had to coach me how to back up into the spot, hahaha!  >w<  So fun!~

We got out and walked to the park, and found the smallest ice skating rink ever :P  It looks bigger in the picture ;)  But still extremely awesome how they can have an outdoor skating rink in 71F weather!

Horse ride anyone?  This horsie looks very sad :(

There was a little pond in the middle of the park, and the six of us hogged the dock for a good half hour or so! :D

:D

Model #1 - Tracy!

Model #2 - Lindsey! 

Accidental Model #3 - Cathy (she didn't know, but still so natural!)

Tracy and Ting

Irene and Ting proposing... at the same time?  Ha ha~

Tracy being a man!

Buildings all around

"Awkward poses, go!"

Jumping photo!  Haha, I think Irene wins on this one!  XD

We walked to the field nearby and started entertaining ourselves.  Tracy, Irene, and I tried doing cartwheels at the same time, but we failed :P  I think Irene and I are pretty close, right?

Tracy, me, and Irene

Irene is wearing pants underneath her dress, just f.y.i. ;)

Looks like Tracy's break dancing or doing the splits!

Trying to do hand stands :)

We hopped back into the car and drove to the Galleria.  Thank goodness for GPSs and iPhones.  Tracy and Ting guided me around the highways!  There was a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the ice skating rink.  I wonder how they got it there..  After visiting two stores and walking around, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, because the stores were closing early for New Years.  It was Lindsey's and Cathy's first time! ^^

:o

Why won't you look at me, Cathy?!

Bread, nom nom

Goldfish?

The Cheesecake Factory has too many menu choices-- I got ordering anxiety >_<''''  but then I picked Shepherd's Pie, and it was pretty good, especially the meager vegetables beneath the mashed potatoes <3  I was so proud of myself that I didn't finish the whole thing :D  I took the leftovers to go for home!  New healthy eating for 2012?

First time to use flash for a picture in a while!

We got back home at around 9pm, and we all went back to our own homes to take a break for a bit before heading over to James' house for the New Year's party.  The past 10 hours with the girls made me so happy :')  I really hope we do this in the future some more, and maybe the other girls who couldn't make it this time will be able to!  I also made the girls promise me that if I don't get married in the future, they would have to go travelling / hang out with me ;)

The New Year's party was really joyful too!  There were lots of kiddos, and we chit chatted :)  Ting and Cathy made sangria, and it was pretty!  At midnight, we gathered around the table and rang glasses (and styrofoam cups).  When I downed my sparkling apple cider, the bubbly feeling going down my throat was just a reminder of my effervescent happiness ^^  Another year since I met all these great people, some from elementary, several from middle school, and a few from high school, and I really enjoy my time with them!~

Happy New Years, 2012, everyone!  I hope this year will be the greatest one yet!~  ^__^