New Look

I randomly stumbled across a website that allows you to download free templates to enhance the look of your blog site. So I said why not? So after a few pages of templates, I decided on this one. It has an Asian-feel to it, with the calligraphy pens on the right and the koi fishes on left. So I performed all the steps required and Voi-la! my weblog was updated within minutes.

Though I love this template, I don't like the fact that it does NOT have a header DATE on any of my posts. My old template had both the date ad allowed me to assign a title to each post. This one...nope. Just the title. The bottom of each post only has the time. I want the date. I want to be able to read back my post and know when the post was written. Right now, I am unable to do this.

So I thought I was smart enough to figure this out - perhaps type in some HTML code so I'll be able to keep the new template AND have the header date. But after a couple of hours of trying, I gave up!! I don't know HTML enough to make it happen... so if you know the HTML codes, please let me know ASAP!! Otherwise, I will just have to change to another template that will give me the header date. It is WAY more important to me that a beautiful template. Hopefully, I can have the best of both worlds.

Lands End

I am very grateful to be living in the Bay Area. Although we are very much in need of rain, we enjoyed unseasonably warm weather this weekend. It was just pleasantly beautiful! We are very lucky.

SQ and I took the opportunity to visit Lands End today. This area, right by the Cliff House, is the most western edge of the City (I think it's the most western edge of the entire North America continent) . This area is where the famous Sutro Baths once were. After a huge fire in the 1960's, the baths were ruined and the whole area was somewhat neglected. But most recently the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy revitalized the area - building a new parking lot and creating new hiking trails for the residents to enjoy.

We walked along the area and though we did not end up walking the entire trail due to time constraints, it was absolutely spectacular and scenic...not to mention an excellent vantage point of the Golden Gate Bridge! Here's a panomic picture I took with my cell phone along the path. We will definitely come back again!

Home-Made XO Sauce

SQ and I made some home-made XO sauce this past weekend. The XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce primarily used in Cantonese cooking. Contrary to what people might think, this sauce does NOT contain the XO liquor. XO stands for "Extra Old," which is derived from the XO liquor, as it is well known for its prestige and exclusivity. The sauce is considered to be a chic, prestigous and luxurious product, similar to the XO liquor, due to the expensive ingredients used to make the sauce.

Some Asian companies make pre-made XO sauce that are sold in Asian supermarkets. They range in prices, but the Lee Kum Kee probably has the most expensive ones. $9 for a very small jar and close to $20 for a medium sized jar. We wanted to make our own instead - and it turned out really well!! Below are the basic steps and the main ingredients. I didn't include any portions on the ingredients because it's really up to YOU how you like it. There is no strict rules whatsoever. That's the beauty of home-made sauces!

Ingredients:

• Dried scallops, soaked in water for 45 minutes and then steam until soft
• Dried shrimp, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
• Shallots, chopped/sliced
• Garlic, chopped
• Jin Hua Cured Ham, steamed into soft and then chopped
• Dried Chili, chopped
• Oil

Directions:

Steam the cured ham and scallop until soft. Soak dried shrimp in water until soft. Chop up shallots, garlic and dried chili.

Once the dried scallops, dried shrimps, and cured ham are soft, roughly chop them up.

On a pan, add oil, sautee the garlic, shallot and dried chili first. After they absorb most of the oil, add in the cured ham, dried shrimp and dried scallops. Add in more oil (don't be stingy)...

Pan-fry all the ingredients in high heat until they turn brown. Wait until the mixture is cool, then transfer into a jar for future use. Store in refrigerator. Again, don't be stingy on the oil, add excessively. The oil also acts as a preservative for the ingredients.

Here are some snow peas cooked with the home-made XO sauce! Yum Yum! Believe me, it's convenient to have the XO sauce in the fridge. It really comes in handy!

CNY dinners - 2 families

The Quach Family

Front Row (L to R): Albert, Quach mom, Alyssa, Derrick, Alex, Kenneth, Mrs. Lam

Back Row: me, SQ, Han, Lily, Jenny, Vinh

Missing from pic: Tuong

The Tong Family

Front Row (L to R): Hayden, Cadence, Catherine

2nd Row: Kenny, Amy, Dad, Kyle, Mom, Evan, Bonnie, Sean, me

Back Row: Benny, Herman, Ethan, Crystal, Shelly, Mary, Derek, Caitlin, Carolyn, Darryl

missing from pic: Cindy, Darren

Happy Year of the Ox!

Happy Inauguration Day!

What a movational speech by the 44th President! My company had the swearing in and speech on TV in one of the conference room and I was able to watch it LIVE. A few of the people in the room cried, and I have to admit that I even teared a little bit!


My co-worker gave me this cupcake she made...perfect for the occasion! sorry the pic is a bit fuzzy but it's a chocolate cupcake with blue frosting and red, white, and blue star sprinkles! So cute and not to mention delicioussssss!!

Bun Rieu

My first attempt at making Bun Rieu, a Vietnamese shrimp/crab paste tomato noodle soup. Quite satisfied with the results - but of course it still needs work and more refinement before I can make it for anyone else! So right now, only my hubby SQ is the guinea pig!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• A pot of chicken stock
• 8 medium tomatoes
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 3 TBSP corn starch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp pepper
• 1/2 jar of crab paste (picture below) - you can find it in Chinese supermarkets
• 1 pack of dried noodles

Optional ingredients:

• Cilantro
• Green onions
• Onions
• Cha Lua (Vietnamese Fancy Pork)
• Bean sprouts

Crab paste

Preparation:

1. Boil a pot of chicken stock using chicken bones under medium low heat for as long as you can (at least 1.5 hrs) to get flavor.

2. Finely dice 5 tomatoes. Chop in bigger pieces the remaining 3 tomatoes (set aside). Tenderize ground pork by pounding the meat with a cleaver.

3. Add corn starch, crab paste, eggs to pork. Season with salt and ground pepper. Mix well.

4. On a small pot, cook the finely diced tomatoes until they become limp and appear sauce-like. Remove any chicken bones from the chicken stock. Then pour the tomato sauce into the chicken stock. Wait until mixture boils again.

5. Using the same small pot, pour 3 ladles of the chicken stock into it. Scoop a spoonful of meat and let it cook in the small pot. Try not to break the meat mixture. If the mixture falls apart, add a little bit more corn starch and mix it up again.

6. When the meat is cooked, transfer it into the big pot of chicken stock. This extra step is to make sure that you don't ruin the big pot with raw meat. Just safer...

7. After all the raw meat has been cook, disgard the small pot of chicken pot.

8. Add the chopped bigger tomatoes into the chicken stock. Boil for a couple of minutes and then turn off the heat.

9. Boil water on a separate pot to cook the dried noodles. After noodle is cooked, add in the soup.

10. Garnish with cilantro, green onions, etc.

Here is the final result of the dish. It tastes quite good.

This is a good start - at least the meat/crab paste is tasty, tender and soft. I think next time I will use cans of tomato paste as well so the soup will be more reddish color (now it's kinda pinkish). It will blend with the tomatoes more. And I will add in more ingredients such as fried tofu (dou-fu bok). There is more experimenting to be done!

Polker's Gourmet Burgers

We went to Polker's Gourmet Burgers today at Polk St today for lunch. We waited about 20-30 minutes or so for a table - a bit long... in my head, I am still questioning if there is really a recession out there...?

We utilized the wait time to browse Cole Hardware, which is a few stores away on the corner. In high school, I worked as a weekend Cashier at Cole Hardware, not at this particular store on Polk - but at the original store on Cole St. in Cole Valley. Anyways, back to Polkers - we got our table and I ordered a Crab and Shrimp Benedict (a) and SQ ordered a mushroom burger with Curly fries (b). The Benedict was rich but good... a heart-attack special - complete with crab, shrimp, egg, avocado, scallop potatoes and whatever creamy sauce that blended everything together. I was most excited to try their burgers since this place is called Polker's Gourmet Burgers afterall. Somewhat disappointed because the mushroom burger was a bit on the dry side probably because SQ ordered it medium well. But I do love the swiss cheese and mushrooms that came with it. Curly fries are overfried and I didn't like them at all. Glad to at least tried out this place - sometimes I feel like there are so many restaurants out there in SF and SQ and I just eat the same ones over and over again. We're just creatures of habit!

(a) Crab and Shrimp Benedict (b) Mushroom Burger with Curly Fries

After Polker's, we stopped by La Boulange and got myself a yummy Iced Mocha. This one on Polk has a very nice decor - cute little pastries and sandwiches ... very Parisian! Love it!

Saturday adventure

What a glorious day in San Francisco today! A pleasant 66 degrees along the Bay...and most importantly, on a weekend! SQ and I took the opportunity to be outdoors enjoying a bit of sun. After lunch, we went to Crissy Fields, set up a blanket along the beach, and dog- and people-watch for an hour. We had a great time just relaxing and absorbing the beautiful scenery around us. The GG Bridge is of course in its utmost beauty - no fog whatever! The bay was relatively empty, free of sailboats, because I think there was some kind of yacht race in the Alameda/Oakland area because all the sailboats were hovering around that side of the Bay.
Crissy Fields


We later took a hike around Fort Mason, and got up to Black Point Battery. This is where SQ and I exchanged our vows back in September 2003!!! Wow! We haven't been there since our wedding day! It's kinda weird to see it again but it still has very nice views of the surrounding areas. The grass is still damp and wet (I remember that also on the wedding day)... but still beautiful!

Black Point Battery, Fort Mason

It was definitely a nice day to take a casual stroll along the area today. The weather is so pleasant. It's hard to believe that we will have such pleasant, Spring-like weather in the middle of January!!

A delicious bowl of Udon

There was some kind of bomb threat on the Chinese Embassy on our way home on Geary this past Friday night, so we had to take a detour and drive near Japantown. We ended up finding a nice parking spot there so we decided to eat dinner there. Our normal place to go is Tampopo, the Ramen restaurant in the central J-town open plaza, but we wanted to try something new. I was most interested in going to a Shabu Shabu place, but don't know of any off hand. So we walked into one of those random Japanese mall and stumbled into Kui Shin Bo. The name of the restaurant sounded a bit Korean to me, but we walked in anyways. The restaurant was quiet, only 2 other tables were occupied.

SQ and I both ordered the udon, and this is one of the best udon I've ever had!! I was very happy with the broth and mainly the udon itself. Between udon and ramen, I always prefer ramen because I always think that udon is tasteless and the noodle itself is well, thick and chewy. But not here!! The noodles were tasty, even without the soup, and most importantly, there were springy. Each bite was so good! They serve the udon in this iron pot/bowl which kept the soup and noodles hot, the way any soup noodle should be!

As we were enjoying the delicious meal, it dawn on me that everyone in the restaurant spoke fluent Japanese. They were conversing with the waitress and the Sushi Chef, all in Japanese. Then I realize ...THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE THE NATIVES GO TO! No wonder it's so yummy and authentic! I would definitely go back there whenever I want a bowl of udon!

The Best Mascara

Since I work in the Cosmetics department, I have a lot of exposure to make-up products. Of all the ones I've tried, this is by far my favorite and best mascara ever. It is probably the one mascara I would pay money for. It's called Lash Queen Feline by Helena Rubinstein.

Helena Rubinstein is owned by L'Oreal. Demi Moore is their spokesperson. Unfortunately, they don't sell products in the United States, but is widely popular around the world. Not sure why they don't sell in the U.S. - what a shame. It's such a great product. They are really well-known for their mascara. So what makes them good? The mascara is really black, separate your lashes, and extends them. It doesn't clump up at all. I know, it sounds too good to be true - but it's true!!

Here is a before and after picture. Check it out for yourself!

Before, lashes curled, no mascara


After, H.R. mascara applied

Baby Shower

My sister had her Baby shower yesterday, and here are some photos:

3 little onesies hung on the wall as decorations. Each had a question - When? Weight? Length? Guests are to use a fabric marker to write their guesses to the appropriate questions. These are super easy to make. Just buy plain white onesies and print the image / words onto a special transfer paper and have them ironed on.

Of course there is the diaper cake....Blue for Boy. My other sister made this. It's almost a "staple" now in any baby shower parties. The cow as the cake topper because next year is the Year of the Cow.

Picture of my nephew, Kyle. He turning 1 on February 28. Isn't he adorable? He's currently the youngest grandchild in the family - but will soon be replaced by another baby boy. Grandchild #11!

Banh Cuon

I'm a bit late on posting this... but I made some Banh Cuon for my family on New Years Day. Banh Cuon is basically Vietnamese rice roll with ground pork inside on it. It is really really delicious. It's not hard to make it but it is tedious work...so actually, not many Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area have this dish on their menu.


Here are some step-by-step pictures of how it's done : (the below portions serves 16):


Here are a couple of main ingredients - the Banh Cuon rice flour (4 bags) and wood ear (black fungus) - 1 bag. You would also need ground pork, onions, shrimp, water, oil, salt, pepper and fish sauce.




Chop up wood ear, 1 lb shrimp, 2.5 large onions with food processor. Tenderize 2.5 lbs of ground pork






Mix up all the above ingredients except for the onions. Add salt, a little bit of fish sauce and ground pepper. The seasoning is up to your taste. I like it with a lot of pepper. Remember that you serve this w/ fish sauce so you don't have to make it that salty.

Sautee the onions first until limp and then add in the pork mixture. Cook fully.

For the Banh Cuon skin, use 1 bag of the rice flour and add 4 cups of water, drizzle of oil, and a pinch of salt. The instructions on the bag ask you to add in 3 cups of water, but I find that it tastes much better with 4 cups. The wrap then beccomes much thinner. Mix well until all the lumps are gone.

After you're done mixing the Banh Cuon mixture, scoop 3/4 of a ladle of liquid into a small non-stick frying pan. Depending on the size of your ladle, you may need more or less than 3/4. The goal is to get the liquid to be evenly distribute around the pan thinly. Cover the pan with a lid to cook.



After a 1 minute of cooking or when the skin is loose from the pan, transfer the skin into a non-stick surface (I use a cookie sheet) by flipping the pan in a 180 degree motion. Technique is somewhat tricky but after a while you'll get it. The goal is to have the skin lying flat. Place a scoop of cooked meat in the middle


Fold the skin on the sides then on the top and bottom to form the Banh Cuon into this shape. Be careful, the skin is really hot!! Use a chopstick if necessary.






Repeat the steps and do one Banh Cuon at a time until you finish all your mixture. Place them onto a tray and serve with condiments of your choice.




The typical dish includes the following sides:

1. Sliced Cha Lua (Vietnamese Fancy Pork)
2. Sliced Cucumber
3. Bean Sprouts
4. Fish Sauce
5. Green Onions & oil
6. Fried or dried shallots

You're DONE! Enjoy your dish!!

AT&T DSL issues

We have been getting really spotty DSL lately.... it's really annoying. We are going to cancel the service but want to connect to Comcast before we cancel. We are getting no where near the speed for the service plan we're paying for. We've called in to complain and they just keep on telling us to work with Tech support. Over multiple phone calls, we got no where. So I filed a BBB (Better Business Bureau) complaint against them.

A lady from AT&T called me and we have been playing phone tag for the past couple of days. I want them to refund me. They are committing fraud. They are not providing the service they promise and charge. I will let you know of the outcome.

Happy New Year!!