First time in Beverly Hill

Sprinkles Cupcakes:

This is one bakery that everyone talks about in Beverly Hills. People who have had the cupcakes before will melt and drown by just thinking about how good the cupcakes are. Since it is a must-have in town, me as a visitor did not hesitate to pay $3.25 for a cupcake. I got 3 cupcakes, (Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips, Red Velvet and Dark Chocolate). My mom and dad will faint when they know about this, grand total for these? $9.75! They are so moist, melt in the mouth with just the right amount of sweetness. Now I'm Sprinkles-cupcake inspired, I think I can make some good cupcakes like they do, without spending a fortune for a little piece of heaven :p

Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills












Little Tokyo

My "New" Car

My New Place, Oxnard CA

Spicy Date Night

After being reminded about our nostalgic pop stars by the ongoing publicity about the Beckham family moving to the US, the Spice Girls being the guest performers in the Victoria Secret's fashion show, Victoria Beckham on Larry King's show and etc, I decided to pay to watch their reunion concert in hp Pavilion, downtown San Jose. I was fairly excited, at least I thought I was, until I saw throngs of teenage girls dressed like the Spice, middle age women in sexy dresses and high heel boots, all getting trendy to meet the fashion icons... I felt a bit out of place when I looked down at my Columbia jacket and my long black *sigh* pants.

Waited nearly 45 minutes for the show, crazy screaming had already started way back then. Just when I thought I lived way out of the excitement, the five pop stars appeared from the bottom of the stage, it was a nice opening with slide show of five young girls' pictures which turned into hot women, then there appeared the Spice Girls! The crazy screaming and the loud music made it very hard to hear their singing, I paid special attention to our beloved Mrs. Beckham's singing, yet to no avail. The screaming got even more impossible whenever during her turn to sing.

Despite having my concert moments ruined by the carried away girls/women, there were a few slow songs that actually made me live in the moment, as if the world stopped for a second, just swaying along beside him and enjoying the incredible special effects of the plasma screens. Overall, the concert was not all about singing, it was about fashion and it was mui caliente :p I thought I might share some clips with you all, hopefully you can figure out who is who in the small video clips. Enjoy...

Enchanted by Enchanted

We went to watch Enchanted the day after its opening night, and I know there will be a lot of you who will disagree with me, or even puzzled, why am I so mesmerized by the show? It's childish, some might think, or it is rated as not worth spending money for in the theater. At least I know I paid for a two hours of living in the fantasy of happy ever after, which is a princess language that does not exist in reality. The cartoon world princess finds it hard to understand the real life, why do people get divorced and what is the feeling of angry. She gives out money to strangers, seeing everyone she meets as her new friend.

While we think that she is just being stupid and unreal, isn't that what we're after day in and day out, happiness,free of jealousy or rivalry? We want to indulge in great food, want more money, want bigger house, always thinking that the future job will be better than the present one... Of course we stumble a lot upon our pursuit of happiness, why not just stop for two hours thinking of ways to change for a better life, and enter her world of carefree happiness, just like the time you spent hundreds of dollars in Disney's theme parks, it is nice to at least seeing the princess is safe from the witch's poisonous apple, and live happily ever after, and gets her dreams come true.

To all the guys out there still laughing at me, isn't it the same concept when you play your fantasy football, warcraft, or fantasy NBA with sky high virtual achievement? So, being enchanted by fairy tales and princess stories is not girlish or childish, it's just another way to get away from our journey to pursue happiness :)

Still disagree? At least bring your girlfriend along, share a seat and hold her hands while she's enjoying her fairy tale fantasy. Because if you're not sharing a dance with her, let her live in the dance of the prince and the princess :)

Chicken Wing: Buffalo Style

I always crave for Buffalo Wild Wing's chicken wings, it is sort of our tradition to go to BWW on Tuesday to take advantage of the Tuesday's special price. Asian Zing is my favorite sauce, but I would like to try something new, something more asian. I schemed through the fridge, I have Tom Yam paste for the hot asian taste, and mayonnaise for the saucy consistency, perfect! I thought I could use some innovative way to re-create this popular dish and save us some cash :p It turned out to be quite a hit. Enjoy...


Ingredients:

18 Chicken wings
Dashes of Garlic salt
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise
1 tsp of Tom Yam Paste
2 tsp of sugar
1/4 of water

Directions:

1. Wipe dry the store bought chicken wings and cut into half.
2. Marinate the chicken wings with dashes of garlic salt for at least two hour, or overnight.
3. Fry the marinated chicken wings until golden brown and "crunchy-looking".
4. Prepare the sauce: Combine Mayonnaise, Tom Yam paste, sugar, and water.
5. Testing: If the sauce consistency is too watery, add more mayonnaise, add more Tom Yam paste if you like it stronger.
6. Toss the fried chicken wings together with the sauce in a mixing bowl.