Saturday, May 30, 2009

Elegant for Wedding

Posted by Jen Ko at 8:36 PM 0 comments
These were for a wedding! I really like these though esp the flowers. It's very elegant. 




Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Plaza Inn - Disneyland

Posted by Jen Ko at 7:07 PM 1 comments
Another day at Disneyland, I do go to Disneyland a little more often then I want. I have nothing to do our my day off. Taking Disneyland restaurants one step at a time. I'm going to eat everything there including california Adventure and Downtown Disney!! :) 

:) I can't help but say.. aw, I was so cute in this picture. haha
thanks to the lighting and the angle. I only get one of these for ever 30 shots. 

Plaza Inn Specialty Chicken $13.49 
I think this plate was pretty expensive. 
The chicken though, was good and juicy. I love juicy everything!! The crust was crunchy and flavorful but the meat lacked flavor. . 

Plus I hate breast meat so I asked for two thighs instead. 

I really do think they did an awesome job on the crust, I could just keep eating that skin. The sides to this meal were pretty bad. 

Monday, May 25, 2009

Simple with bows

Posted by Jen Ko at 12:55 AM 1 comments
I love doing her nails because she likes simple stuff as well. 


:) 

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Black & bling, a bit much?

Posted by Jen Ko at 8:36 PM 0 comments
I love cute nails, so it's hard for me to accept black. I just never really liked black/bold/mature stuff. But, customers request so I have to obey. lol, everyone likes diff. things. 



It looked better in real life. :) Still happy she liked it. :)

Anjin - Costa Mesa

Posted by Jen Ko at 7:44 PM 0 comments
I really love BBQ especially Yakiniku or Korean BBQ. Since J's never been to Anjin I decided to introduce him here. 

Although Anjin has top grade meat, I don't think it's worth it. I think Seikoen is better but Anjin has better ambiance. I even think Anjin and Gyu Kaku are comparable. For some reason the first time I went to Anjin, I thought it was the best yakiniku place but after a few times I realize it's not. Maybe the quality changed, maybe I was unlucky those few times I went or maybe I had better. 

Oh yeah, we waited over 1 hour to eat here so it all adds up. 





#1 & #4 confused me a bit. We got #4 but what I wonder if there's really a big difference? Can you really tell or are you just paying the extra buck for nothing? & since J isn't a big fan of pork, I couldn't get #11 the pork cheek or I'd be eating the whole plate by myself.

I love how they have a lot of rare dishes here. 



This was the grill and it was so cute and small. :) 


Red Leaf Lettuce,Cucumber w/ dressing $5.00

The dressing for this was very good.

Special - Kobe Style Beef (rib eye) $19.50

What was funny was that we got the wrong order. Apparently, the server placed the "special" kobe style rib beef (rib eye) on our table. We ordered rib eye so we didn't think and just started grilling. After a few minutes one of the servers yelped and they said something in Japanese. Another girl came over and told us we were lucky and got the special instead. :) I felt bad but we didn't know. 
Was this worth the $20? Nah.. it tastes like the prim steaks I get at How's Market. 
Asparagus with Bacon $6.50
The asparagus was a bit old and dry that day. Do you see those toothpick looking things? They actually weren't toothpicks. I didn't know what it was but it was edible... I think. :)
Beef Tataki $7.95 
It was alright, but nothing special. I think the best beef Tataki I've had must have been at Fu Rai Bo. 
Prime Boneless Short Rib ( 2 orders ) $7.25 x 2 =$14.50
They cut he short rib very thin here compared to the ribeye. It probably would have been my favorite if i was a bit thicker. 
Marbled Prime Ribeye - $11.95 
We weren't full yet so we ordered two extra orders. This was my favorite and I think it's comparable with the kobe style. 

Pineapple Sorbet $5.00 - not worth it..  It looks big, but quiet small. :) Fun sharing though. 




Anjin
3033 Bristol St Ste N
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-979-6700

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Bouquet nails

Posted by Jen Ko at 3:10 AM 0 comments
I really do think this is my fav. design by far. :) I like everything cute! 

These were done for my co-worker so I hope she likes them. 




Monday, May 11, 2009

Quality Seafood - Redondo Beach Pier

Posted by Jen Ko at 11:12 PM 1 comments
I'm sorry if I have typos because I have acrylics on and it prevents me from typing correctly. :( & my "T" key is also broken because the other day I thought, "hey, why not take off the keys one by one so I can clean it inside." That was obviously the worst idea possible because I broke it. Good thing, I still have warranty so I have to take it in to repair. Vaio laptops really aren't all that great, they charge a handful for what they offer. 

I found out about Quality Seafood from a friend of mine and did some research. I asked J to take me and we drove all the way to Redondo Beach. J isn't a big seafood lover except for salmon sushi. We couldn't find it at first but after walking around in two circles, we realized that there was a Directory! We finally arrived at Quality Seafood. 

I was so happy, and intimidated at the same time because they had so much to offer. They had a food counter where they had hot foods like clam chowder or fish and chips. Another counter where hey sold fresh fish and if you ask, they'll even fry it for you. They even have a counter for alcohol as well! My favorite counters were the ones that had fresh oysters, crabs, lobsters, and clam where they steam and shuck for free too. The seating was outdoor but I really loved it, you put newspaper on the tables and start digging in while the ocean breeze hits your face. I love it!!

On our way to find Quality Seafood, we met a big bird whom reminded us of MoMo
The clam chowder was alright, pass unless necessary. 

This was the oyster bar. Yum Yum.
I think there were about 20 different kinds of oysters. 
I asked the guy to pick for me and he picked three kinds with 2 of each. It was about $2 per oyster so my total was $13 including tax. 
As he was shucking my oysters, I grew really agitated because he killed all of my oysters. When he shuck them, he basically cut my oysters into small pieces. :( I guess it's not his fault he has big hands.. but still.. my poor oysters. 


I believe these were Pacific oysters. These were actually my favorite that day. It was very creamy and rich but it didn't have the, "stinky" smell the other two kinds did. It was a lot bigger then the other ones which was easier to distinct the flavor of the oyster because like I said, he chopped up my oysters!!

These, I believe were Hama Hama oysters. They were my least favorite ones due to the stinkiness and brinyness. Since I've never has Hama Hama oysters, I'm not sure if it was just that day or if the oysters have a naturally very stinky smell to them. I kind of thought it wasn't very fresh.
These were Kumamotos and I've had these before. They have a fresh taste to them and I think they're the easiest to eat out of the three. 


We had crab that day as well, but I was too hungry and forgot to take pictures. Quality Seafood also has fresh sea urchin but they ran out on the day I went. The prices aren't cheap either because the dungeness crab was expensive compared to 99ranch market. In my opinion, I think it's pretty worth it. 



Quality Seafood 
130 International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-372-6408


Sunday, May 10, 2009

My nails :)

Posted by Jen Ko at 2:39 AM 0 comments
:) These were from more then a monh ago, but I still love them.


I hand drew white lace to make it show more. :)


These were done on my real nails, that's why my nails aren't very perfect. I forgot to file them more round.


Happy Mother's day!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Din Tai Fung - Arcadia

Posted by Jen Ko at 1:11 PM 28 comments
I think everyone that lives in Los Angeles knows of a dumpling house called Din Tai Fung. Basically the story was that there was a man who was born in Shanxi, China and he moved to Taiwan due to the Chinese Civil War. At first when he opened Din Tai Fung, it was a cooking oil retailer but business was bad so he and his wife ended up selling Xiaolongbao. His Xialongbaos took off and he then stopped selling oil and look at what an empire they built.

The question for me.. is it as good as the hype?

Yes, it's all over hyped, over rated..at least it is in Los Angeles.

I've been here many times because J likes it very much.



J's fav. vegetables - baby bok choy.
This was pretty bad when we went that day. The vegetables were bitter and drenched in oil, but on all other days it's really good and lite.

dan dan noodles - This is basically dried noodles in a spicy sesame sauce. It's on of my favorite noodles and I thought they did it really well. Portion wise was pretty small but I was surprised J actually liked it.

Meat bun - Obviously these can NEVER beat the ones I've had in Lugang in Taiwan where when you open the bun juices splurt out. I always get these because I love dipping it in the viniger and hot sauce. :)

Here's their famous Xiaolongbao. I read somewhere that DinTaifung actually has this thing about the folds in their xlb. I think it's suppose to have 15-18 folds. I have to go back and re-read the article.

So when you bite into it, juices come out.

Heebeejeebies, you see how much soup is in one dumpling. This is where I think DTF is really crazy.. I've never had xlb with this much soup in it.




Is this place that great? It depends on what you like but I've noticed many many people that come here aren't Chinese/Taiwanese. Many are korean!! Isn't that cool? I happen to always sit next to Koreans. That's not the point, the point I'm trying to make is that DTF is really universal. I'm sure everyone who hasn't had xlb will like it. It's clean, it's simple, it's easy to eat.




Din Tai Fung
1088 S Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-8588








Sunday, May 3, 2009

Black & Pink

Posted by Jen Ko at 10:13 AM 2 comments
Are these cute? 
I really like these.