High-end Food Review: Volcano Burrito

Because I'm a sucker for marketing, and because I love spicy foods, I had to find out how spicy Taco Bell's Volcano burrito is:



As evidenced by the sad little hot sauce packet, it is not spicy [enough]... as one person put it, "I've had hotter ice cream." Sad. But it's still delicious in that disgusting way that only Taco Bell can be ... Plus it has yummy little crispy tortilla strips. Classy.


-- Mobile post

Coffee Bean's Honeydew Oolong Tea

Best thing to happen to me all of last week: finding out that Coffee Bean is bringing back its Honeydew Oolong Tea. I actually screamed a little when I read it. While alone in a parking structure.

This tea has a honeydew flavor and scent that somehow matches perfectly with the taste of oolong tea, which is somewhere between black and green tea. Its taste is not as deep/strong as black tea, but it does not have that somewhat grassy taste of green tea. Amber colored and almost sweet.

They stopped making this tea about two years ago, and I have been unsuccessfully trying to find an adequate substitute since. Republic of Tea makes a Honeydew White Tea, but it doesn't come close. It got to the point where I actually emailed Coffee Bean to ask if they would ever bring it back (and I never email companies over things, even when their products cause me great suffering/joy) (and there are few things that go away that I am not able to just forget about in a short time). I like to think that my single email made this whole comeback happen. Haha.

So yay! It's back today! And I noticed there is also a new Orange Blossom Oolong tea too... mmm sounds good. Good enough news to somewhat offset the other big news of the week: my future firm conducted mass layoffs and we 3Ls are faced with quite the difficult choice over start dates (and worries about job security in general). -__- Sad.

Back to studying for my Property Tax final.

Random eats in Hong Kong

Was going through my pictures (some people play Spider Solitaire or that bubblehead-shooting game during downtime in class; I browse my Picasa or review Chinesepod PDFs hahah) and wanted to share some good eats I had in Hong Kong.

Fun idea :) These didn't actually taste like beer, but they were still good. Maybe they're just supposed to go with beer, because even on the box it says "black and white pepper." If only I could read the rest of the Japanese.

These next few dishes are from W and I's favorite Sichuan restaurant in HK: San Xi Lou in the Midlevels. It has awesome spicy dishes. Here is their Shui Zhu Yu (水煮鱼)... I think it means "water cooked fish" but really it's fish cooked in hot oil and chilis. So there are pieces of fish fillet underneath all that firey red chili pepper goodness! See below...

So they serve it and then take out a good portion of the chilis before you dig in. I LOVE ma la spiciness... it's a sort of numbing spiciness, rather than a mouth-on-fire spiciness. I think it's the kind that I can handle the most. I've found it in the SGV but it's not the same.

These were so awesomely delicious. They are huge prawns cooked in this egg yolk batter. Heart attack central, but worth it.

Shui zhu yu is W's favorite, but this is mine. It's a spicy pork short ribs dish that is cooked in a pumpkin. The flavor gets into the pumpkin meat inside, so both the short ribs and the pumpkin itself is sooo good. Kind of like the clam chowder in a sourdough bowl concept :)

Of course we have to enjoy some Beijing Olympic Tsing Tao while watching the Beijing Olympics! Lame yet so super fun ^_^

Last but not least, Mangosteen! OK I actually discovered these in Singapore first, and they are really more of a Southeast Asian fruit, but why have a separate post for that? Now that I know what they are, I've seen them randomly here and there in LA, but they still remind me of my time in Singapore/HK.

The best way that I can describe these garlic-looking little pieces of fruit are that they are like a delicious cross between lychees and soft white peaches/donut peaches. Mmmm they are appropriately referred to as the "Queen of the fruits" (Durian being the "King of the fruits"-- more questionable... haha). Tasty AND whimsical-looking? Definitely one of my favorite fruits.

That's it for now! I'm hungry... rarr

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While looking for info on Shui Zhu Yu, I came across this Chinese pop song that basically goes, "I love you like I love eating Shui Zhu Yu"... there's some Chinese romance for you.

Superfat Tuesday

PR is an interesting game.

What an exciting Tuesday! So exciting that I forgot it was Mardi Gras. I hope most people went out to vote, no matter who they voted for (although I am confused about the significant number of people that voted for John Edwards, considering he is out of the race?). I would be happy with either Democratic candidate, but I personally prefer Obama. So the close race is really interesting to me... looks like it will be a while before we know who will be on the ticket. And after that, it's going to be a pretty crazy presidential race. I'm not going to say that I'm necessarily a democrat or a republican, because most people aren't only one or the other on every issue, but some of the Republican candidates..... mmmm.... and no firm opinion about McCain yet. So... go Clinton/Obama. And that is enough insignificant political talk from me.

Also went with W to Border Grill today for dineLA week/to take my roommate out for her birthday-- that place is good. And not uptight. Super. My tamale and chicken chilaquiles were great but my roommate's tres leches cake was the best... I love milk flavored things. I'm trying to find a gelato place in LA that has good milk gelato (different from vanilla!)-- unsuccessful so far.

(side note: it's interesting how my tastes change as I get older. I used to not be a big fan of milk. Now I love milk and milk or vanilla flavored things. I also like vegetables a lot more. At this rate I'll be craving prunes by next winter... oh, and if you haven't tried it already, try organic milk. Not to be hippie, but because it tastes SO MUCH BETTER! very worth it.)

So it's been a good superfat Tuesday. The gluttony continues tomorrow for Chinese New Year's eve dinner, awesome. I hope this will be a lucky year... although, not to be overly superstitious, but the terrible weather in China leading up to the new year is not a great sign. Very sad situation. And I can't help but be worried about the Olympics, for both environmental and political reasons (I know, I should probably scale-down the things I "worry" about). I hope it turns out well.

Happy New Year

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Picture of the Post

"Peace-equins" in Beijing, China (10/04)
Victory!!

Lawry's in a Mall Food Court

So in Westfield's Century City mall, there is a pretty nice food court. I used to love getting chili from this one vendor called "Red Rock Chili," so I was pretty sad to hear that it is no longer there. But then my informant casually mentioned that it was replaced by a Lawry's steak sandwich joint-- Lawry's Carvery.

Yup, that Lawry's that everyone in my high school seemed to think was the fanciest place to go to in LA. In a mall food court ahah. YAY! Isn't Century City just so fancy schmancy? Well, I guess you can get Lawry's products in Ralph's. Anyway, so that became next on my to-do list for quick eats.

Actually to be honest when I went to the Lawry's in Beverly Hills, I didn't have the best experience. But I will admit that it was probably because I was foolish and got my prime rib medium rare (maybe even medium... ::blushes::). Which is kind of weird because I don't really mind red red meat as long as it's not still moo-ing. But anyway, it was pretty damn chewy, like secretly-spit-chewy-portions-into-my-napkin chewy.

So I was ready to get a steak sandwich when I realized you could just get a regular plate of prime rib with sides. Well I love mashed potatoes like no other so W and I went for it. and..... It was awesome. It was actually even better than what I had at the restaurant, isn't that sad?

So if you ever want Lawry's prime rib and don't care about the atmosphere, head to the CC food court! It's not exactly food court prices, but I thought it was worth it-- $14.99 for 6 oz., $19.99 for 9 oz., and $24.99 for 12 oz., all including two sides.


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Picture of the Post:

while we're on the topic of food:
traditional Bavarian fare in Munich's Hofbrauhaus

Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee Flavor

I just tried this for the first time yesterday and it is deeeelicious. While searching for an image of it, I came across a negative review of it >:( So, as a disclaimer, I must first say that I really enjoy very sweet things, and that I like creme brulee.

The best part of this ice cream is the swirl of caramelized sugar. It really tastes like the crunchy top of creme brulee!!! and I love custard ice cream in general mmmmm.... and since it's pretty damn sweet, I can only eat a bit at a time which is good for me :)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I also tried the black berry frozen yogurt flavor for the first time this weekend, which was also deeeelicious.