Finally Home

It's certainly good to be home. Although I got up at 5:30 am to catch the flight, it was worth getting home in the afternoon! After my parents picked me up from the airport, we headed straight to the Fung's Kitchen for some delicious Chinese food.

Oh how I missed this...



Steamed oysters with black bean sauce



Chinese Braised Marbled Pork


Clay Pot with Tofu, scallops, mushrooms, shrimp, and snow peas


Ma Po Tofu


Combination of Beef Tendon, Peking Duck, and Marinated Pork


Beef Tapioca Soup

Sweet Return

My sophomore year has officially come to an end. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful year and as sad as I am that it has concluded, I am even more excited to move on to the next chapter of my college experience.

To celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer, Evelyn and I headed to downtown LA to shop and eat.

Our first stop was Bottega Louie in the financial district.









This gourmet patisserie shop was sweet tooth heaven. The wide selection of wonderful French pastries and baguettes was exceptionally superb.... There was also a restaurant portion.



However, Evelyn and I decided to stick with the baked goods for now...





I got the coconut rocher (round balls in the center)...



And the key lime tart...



Both were unbelievably exceptional! The sweet patisserie tried to explain to me how the tart was made in detail but it was so complicated I wasn't able to follow. Honestly, all I wanted to do was dig in!

Next we encountered a wonderful Mexican/Cuban/Hawaiian resturtarnt in the center of the Fashion District called La Torta Loca.



I asked the owner his favorite dish and it was an off the menu item: ceviche, a cold Mexican shrimp salad.



It was good, but it definitely won't be one of my favorite items on the menu... There was also chips and homemade salsa.



For dinner, Steph, Daena, and Cindy slaved away in the kitchen to cook two very tasty Korean dishes... which sadly, I cannot remember the names...

Under Construction

Hello readers! Hang in there, I'm still in the process of redesigning, finals, packing, etc. I will be back ASAP with more delicious food and a completely new design!

Redesign

I decided to redesign my blog during 15 min break I took from studying for finals. I'm not completely finished but it's good enough until my summer begins!

Today's breakfast consisted of toast, fresh fruit and a spinach egg scramble...



For lunch I reheated some of last night's leftovers paired with some Oreos and strawberry cream cheese.

I FINALLY finished my Oeos! Now I don't have anything sugary (my biggest vice) in my pantry to spoil my diet.



A couple hours later I made a salad with some strawberries...



After studying and a hard workout, I showered and made a very bountiful dinner. Oatmeal (with a side bowl of oatmeal for "dessert") and a bowl of gochujang chicken, spinach, and egg soup. 




It was SO good! Guess what I'll be having for the rest of the week...?

Booking It

Today started off like any other day...



Studied in the library, had a snack...



Hungry again but hit the wrong button on the vending machine :(



There was also a LA County Festival of Books on campus. By the time I came out of the library, the it was almost over but there were still a lot of people.









I have to say, I'm excited to actually walk around and check it out tomorrow. (They were giving away free Ben and Jerry's!)

For dinner, I met up with CR and TL at La Barca. It's literally the best Mexican food around USC that doesn't drain your wallets. Delicious chips and salsa, wonderful margaritas, and huge portions.



I decided to try something new and go with the flauntas. I guess wikipedia puts it under taquitos but to me, it was like a Mexican spring roll. So good!

Bittersweet Ending

Today marks the last day of classes for my sophomore year. Such a bittersweet ending-- bitter because my wonderful college years are zooming by SO FAST, and sweet because I have high hopes for the future!

For lunch I met up with ER at Soy Grill and Roll. We were actually on our way to try Fat Burger but the appealing sushi and udon posters drew us in to this semi-newly opened restaurant. Their menu was pretty diverse so it definitely took a bit of time to decide on what to order. Finally I went with the Volcano Roll.




OMMMGGG.... It was hands down the BEST sushi I've ever had in my life! This picture definitely doesn't do it justice. Everything was so fresh. The sushi was crunchy and hot in all the right places. Even the salad and ginger was phenomenal. I really can't wait to go back again.

Afterwards, we satisfied our dessert craving with some Yogurtland.



For dinner, I decided to give my digestion a rest so I gathered some fresh fruits for a light meal.



Still hungry, I made a bowl of oatmeal with skim milk (although I think I'll stick to water from now on) with cinnamon, strawberries, walnuts, and Craisins.

Hello Again

This week was HECTIC. I hardly had time to blog with a OChem lab test, Chinese final, Cinema paper, and Aoki all crammed into this last week of school.

But I am back!

To rebound from this blogging hiatus, I cut up some fresh fruit and poached an egg with toast.



This week is going to be filled with studying, studying, and more studying! After two weeks, my summer will finally begin...along with the much anticipated Jersey Shore Party hosted by none-other than CC and myself that's gonna blow OU out of the water.

Speaking of parties... Tuscany decided to have a pool party of their own last night to "show off" all the new renovations that's suppose to reflect the change in management. Check it out:



The party was actually BUMPING! I live right above the pool area so I got to check out all the action right from my balcony. It was crazy-- both hot tubs were running, a legit DJ was playing, and the rest of the works.

Now I love parties as much as the next person but even the thought of going downstairs was draining me after an all nighter the day before. Thus,  I ended up having a lovely night with my roommates and caught up all Glee!

It All Works Out

I have reached a point where I have so little food that I am forced to eat out. I tried to stay healthy so I stopped at Chipotle and order a chicken salad with black beans, corn salsa, mild salsa, and fresh tomatoes (my delicious usual)



I ate a little over half of my salad (saving the rest for tomorrow!) and ended with a dessert plate: dried dates, walnuts, dad's fenlisui, and some peanut butter on multigrain cracker.



After sitting for hours and studying, my muscles were aching for some exercise. Thus, I hit the gym and burned over 500 calories!! Whew... this was the most I've done in a very long time and I feel great.

When I can back, I made a post-workout snack consisting of an oatmeal, veggie juice and yogurt smoothie with a ham roll with Romain lettuce.

Mile Long

Wow... that sushi did not sit very well. It was so deceiving because it looked so fresh! So yesterday I took a break from any interesting, or even normal, meals and just drank smoothies and light soups.

Today I'm back to eating regularly although the thought of the salmon roll from two days ago still lingers in my mind...

I was running late this morning so I only had 5 minutes to down my breakfast: poached egg with a piece of English Muffin, and a yogurt parfait with walnuts, granola, and cranberries.



Since I had breakfast so late, I was only craving something light for lunch. Thus, I picked up a Clif's Bar on my way to class.



The nutrition label appears alright (although the amount of sugar could be less). The part that scared me was the mile-long list of ingredients.

I usually like my meal/snack bars to be natural and simple (Kind Bar, Larabar, etc). However, this Clif Bar does contain about 5 g of protein and minerals for sustained energy. Hopefully this will keep me satisfied until my next meal and energized for my later workout.

Something New

Alright, so I've had USC sushi before...

But today's selection was extra fresh. The ginger was fully hydrated and the salmon tasted actually tasted like real salmon.

I complimented my lunch with King Henry's Gourmet dried fruit pack which contained mangos, papaya, pineapples, and figs...

I've never had dried (or fresh) figs before and it was definitely interesting...

For dinner I heated what's left of my fijita leftovers...

And satisfied my sweet tooth with a yogurt parfait with granola, raisin, and walnuts.