It started 8 years ago in 2003. A few of my friends from high school would make quarterly trips up to LA and we’d criss cross our way around the city. It was further stoked in 2006, when I took a summer internship up in west LA, living in Calabasas for 3 months. Over the years, Los Angeles has become a playground of sorts. Always entertaining and never disappointing.
Took the opportunity of a free weekend to scratch an old itch. Food & friends are all that’s needed for a good time. see, eat, play, eat, hang, eat, sleep, church, eat, hang out, eat, leave. that’s the schedule this weekend. I emailed a few old college friends to drop by whenever they had the chance.
Big thanks to M.Chung and B.Chen for offering to house us and bring us around!
Got into town late Friday nigh, called up J.Yao of S2 and went to Tea Station to grab a drink and hang out for a bit. I recognized a few of the characters in chinese and on the menu it was translated “Special Lavender Beauty Tea“. I was pretty sure it was just a misinterpretation, being as we’re in San Gabriel (aka new china town), I’d expect there to be some chinglish on the menus. It was a special that night and I was feeling like doing something out of the norm. Ordered it.
Waitress came over a few minutes later and could not contain her giggles. not quite what i was expecting.
What a way to start the weekend. welp, gonna go grab some beauty sleep. tomorrow…let’s do this!
It takes a special person to raise a child, and L and I have had front row seats to a very special mom for a very long time. We can only hope that our actions display how much we appreciate what you do.
To borrow a line from a great lyricist, “For a lifetime of service in the name of love, we wanna say THANK YOU”.
Love, L & L.Hui
This weekend highlighted for me the full range of who mom is. The funny and quirky things she does including bringing down a huge sack of rice for my sister and oranges from our back yard. That stuff isn’t light. Demanding my car be washed despite 100% chance of rain in the afternoon (which I did…and yes it did rain). To scrubbing down my whole house because…frankly, she’s a clean freak. yup that’s my mom! I find that in the slightest ways that’s rubbed off on me. I’m cleaner, healthier, and live a far better life because of her.
She’s got that old school edge to her that’s unmistakable when she means business. Yet a split second later she can joke with the best of them. She comes from a strong line of women and I see that being carried on in my sister. Young gunners beware. She’s got great command of the English language but still blushes when prompted to speak. She’s got such a wealth of knowledge but submits to the authority of the Word. Yup, that’s my mom =D
This was a great weekend!
(left) rib eye (center) seafood paella (right) braised short rib
love how my mom tolerates these pics (last year’s)
A beautiful recommendation from my sister, we decided Mother’s day would start off with a bang. Tucked away in a corner of La Jolla downtown is a nice little restaurant that sells great breakfast. My sister had previously been here with some friends and gave it raving reviews.
They do not take reservations so we made sure to arrive a bit early in anticipation of the mother’s day line. Surprisingly, there really was not too many people waiting and we were seated after ~20 minutes. On a side note, we noticed quite a few mothers being celebrated…brought a smile to my face.
The menu is pretty simple, there aren’t too many dishes to chose from. We settled on a Tuscan omelette and a Baja Chicken Hash. The portions were large enough for two dishes to be split and the Cottage staff was pretty nice about splitting up the plates for us. If the portions seem smaller in the following pics, they’re half sized.
All in all a very nice, quiet, professional place. We never felt rushed or super cramped. There’s good ambient noise but never felt like I had to raise my voice or anything to speak. Coffee was organic and had a more muted taste (said mom and sis) and we really appreciated not feeling like we just ate a tub of lard. Felt healthy.
With a relaxing weekend ahead, my sister thought, “let’s do a picnic”! Seafood + serene surroundings of a relatively little known area should make for a peaceful afternoon.
Point Loma is a beautiful part of San Diego that is home to a lighthouse with a stunning view, a Nazarene University, tide pools, Rock Church, 5 guys, a naval training center and so much more. It really is a gem of SD. At the NTC park there are such wide expansive fields with such few people on saturdays, future events here for sure. Continue reading →
This year my sister and I decided to switch it up from previous years. due to scheduling conflicts, we decided to fly mom down and make it a mother’s day weekend mini-cation in San Diego. A special weekend for a special mum!
It was going to be good…we’d get to spend some quality time with mom in sunny San Diego. too bad the sun decided not to poke it’s head out this weekend. no matter. here’s a recap of the weekend.
many thanks to J.Chen for lending the waffle maker. J.Lee and J.Wu for helping out and making it awesome!
breakfast menu:
eggs
waffles
fresh strawberries
bacon
strawberry jam
banana/strawberry/orange/mango smoothie
J.Wu made the strawberry jam on the far left. hit of the morning!
image courtesy of L.Hui
mom brought oranges picked from our tree back home
Distance: 3.9 miles each way (7.8 mi total) Elevation: ~2000 ft
V.Nguyen
M.Lau: resident parkour expert. when it came to potato chip itself, was pleading with his girlfriend, “please don’t jump. PLEASE.”
Don’t let the following photos fool you. Despite my best attempts to persuade them otherwise, these following photos were taken. How much weight that rock can sustain is anyone’s guess…and it is razor thin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK0P6-5zd-4
video taken by K.Nguyen
The lower part of the boulder must have cracked years ago and left this thin precipice. Over the edge is a pretty steep drop of more then 30 feet onto solid boulders.
yoga + nerves of steel = amazing
a scout is always prepared…and this one is deathly scared of heights.
Bacon Cheeseburger and Five Guys Fries: 2 patties, tomatoes, lettuce, grilled onions and mushrooms
Word got around that new burger joints were springing up around the west coast. There was one right outside the Rock so we figured we’d give it a shot.
These guys really seem like they want to make a strong impression. Adorned on the walls are mini-banners and news/magazine articles all screaming high praise from various publications across the nation. At a certain point it felt like they wanted to convince me by showing their credentials instead convincing with their food. But I’ve yet to try something, let alone order. Oooh, free peanuts…a nice touch.
The menu is relatively basic but with much more options than In-n-Out. They even have a “little” version of their burgers which are a little cheaper. Toppings galore! Wow. lettuce, pickles, grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapeno and green peppers, various sauces. You can have it all too, though I’d doubt anyone would want all those sauces on the same burger.
Fries come in 2 types: five guys, which is a slightly salted version, and cajun fries. a little more on that later.
As I walked up to get my food i noticed the guy behind the counter putting my cup of fries in the bag (all food is served in brown paper bags). I remember thinking, “Man, I should have ordered the large fries” but just as I was thinking that the guy takes another big scoop of fries from the trough and fills the bag. oh dang…that’s a lot of fries!
old school fries. love them. never been much a fan of in-n-out fries. J.Chen got the cajun fries. SPICY. okay not really, but for a spice neophyte it is a bit over powering.
there’s a lot to like about this place, but most of us from Cali are pretty spoiled by the in-n-out culture. freshness isn’t a new option to us, it’s a necessity. This place is a nice break if you’ve been running up the times you’ve had In-n-Out lately. the choice of options will appeal to many and it does taste like a freshly home made burger. Which some will really like, and some will find it hard to stomach paying this much for.
check it out if you’re in the La Jolla UTC or Point Loma NTC area!
Today marks the most crucial date in the history of mankind. Hate him or love him, there is no middle ground. He’s either incited millions to mindless hatred or shown how love can transform lives to better the world. Everyone must make this decision for themselves. A lunatic or a savior. Who do you say that Jesus is?
A former pro football player lost in drugs, a former stripper, and countless others have experienced life transformation because of one man’s sacrificial actions on a cross.
In light of today’s economic news, worldwide natural disasters, human trafficking, and corporate greed…there is so much bad news going on. Countless broken families because of infidelity, ravaged by selfishness and hate. As the life pace quickens with each passing day, we find our longing for peace drowned out by the harsh realities of the world.
But maybe it isn’t meant to be this way.
Maybe there’s more to life than what I want and me going out to get mine. Perhaps life isn’t meant to be lived in solitude, me against the world. Maybe my self worth isn’t in what I have or what I’ve done. I sure hope it isn’t…cause I haven’t done much good but I’ve sure done my share of harm.
A friend of mine came in from out of town this weekend and we had the opportunity to hang out. It was significant because in high school I made life extremely hard for her. Looking back it wasn’t an isolated case, i wasn’t a very nice person to be around. High school and college were tough enough to just get through, let alone having a douche like me making life more difficult.
for a long time I felt the burden of guilt. i tried to claw myself back to good standing. i wanted to pay for my actions, it’s the only way that felt fair. if i helped enough people, it should offset the damage of my previous actions right? every step i made moving forward i found myself slipping and sliding two feet back. i tried so hard to be a good person. i tried to serve the homeless, i tried to help the needy, and it felt good…but inside it didn’t alleviate the guilt. I had built a prison out of guilt and each time i messed up I fortified the walls with another 6 inch metal sheet. there was no getting out.
life began feeling like sitting at a blackjack table and playing with everything i had but not knowing how to play. at first i was even with the bank but at some point i started losing and even though i got lucky on a few hands, hit black jack on other hands, I was steadily losing and seeping into the red. Another big loss and I’d be wiped clean. Once you’re in the red, is there even a point in playing? I just end up losing more to the house…
in my time of most need was when i realized a need for a savior. Some say religion is for the weak. That’s probably true. except in this case i think the full truth is “Jesus is for all who are weak”.
For all who are sick and weary. For those without hope of a better day, for those enslaved by physical or psychological barriers…there is hope. There is hope because a man who claimed to be God said that he came into this world not to condemn but to save it. He came for me and you. He came to save us from this life of imprisonment.
And if there is doubt to his claim we need to look at an impossible event that occurred nearly 2000 years ago when he rose from the dead, as he said he would. Because if that claim is true, then his other claims may be true too. If there is a creator of the universe out there who created me and intimately knows me. If He knows how high i can jump, how fast i can run, and how many hairs are on my head…it’s completely possible that He knows how life should be lived.
And if that’s true, then his claim that we are freed to love is true too. Freed of fear and of condemnation, I have every opportunity to live life as He intended. Because left up to my own methods, I think i’m screwed. I can keep trying to live a better life, but in the end I don’t think that’ll be enough. Maybe for someone else? Maybe if I had $28 mil to donate to a charity…but if that’s the standard of morality, i think we’re all screwed. at least we’ll be screwed together.
all i know is i sat and played and i’ve had missteps in life that I know I can’t repay. I cried out and I believe that Jesus came, settled my debt, and freed me from my payment. For that I’m forever grateful and I dedicate my life to Him.
but all of this hinges on one essential point. was Jesus who he said he was? and that, my friends, is why easter is the most crucial day in history.
last week i posted a snapshot about a taiwanese place here in san diego and W.Ying pointed out an undeniable truth. San Diego = mexican food. so in light of that i thought i’d follow it up with SD’s bread and butter. i wasn’t going to post this until after easter but got my housemate’s blessing so here it is.
quick context. my housemate’s been fasting meat for lent and along the way he’s invited friends to see what he’s been cooking (take a look at jmw590.wordpress.com). he’s only got 4 more days! Go J.WU!
now being able to see and taste his vegetarian food first hand is amazing and he’s done an outstanding job holding true to his fast. that boy can cook. initially i wanted to support him so i started eating less meat myself.
but then i snapped back to reality and decided to make up for lost meat. so i waited until he was out of the house on saturday before throwing meat on the grill. great globs of glorious mexican marinated meat on the grill. yeah.
pollo asada and adobada. chef at work taught me how to make spanish rice!
Tucked in between a jack in the box and a KFC is a tiny unassuming liquor store on Linda Vista ave. a few blocks away from church. I owe a huge one to H.Lang for bringing me here the first time. only a linda vista local would have this kind of knowledge. i must have driven by this place hundreds of times over the years without realizing it.
Against the far wall inside is a meat market that sells the best pollo asada (marinated chicken) in San Diego. i can confidently make that claim and stand by it. at $2.70/lb it just doesn’t get any better than that. they have a vast assortment of asada, adobada, al pastor and the price is extremely fair. packet of a dozen corn tortillas…0.99c! have tried their carne asada and adobada so far and they’re absolutely great too.
i’m no expert griller and when it comes to bbq, I typically leave it on a little too long. in spite of that, it still comes out the juiciest most flavorful meat ever. the only reason left to go to taco shops are for salsas which i can’t make. krist sells salsas too, but i’ve yet to try. oooo…another reason to go back!
