Break of Dawn

Seriously, this place never fails to disappoint. Never! I feel like sometimes I come here just to see if this time, THIS TIME, I'll be sorely disappointed by the quality of the food. Nope. Not this time. I'm starting to think that this day will never come. But that's fine by me. Break of Dawn, you've stolen my heart.

The Foodie (now, how can you turn something that's called "the foodie" down?)

It's a beef tongue stew topped with a perfectly poached egg

Mac and Cheese

Not your ordinary mac and cheese. It's bold in flavor and has a great combination of textures. And, it's not breakfast until you top it all off with an egg.

The biggest, most delicious cinnamon bun around.

Short ribs with Merlot poached eggs

I was amazed at how much flavor the sauce had. It was extremely bold, and you could definitely tell it was reduced a lot!

I was also impressed by how much the eggs tasted of merlot! A technique I'm going to have to try at home to impress everyone!

BBQ pork with tempura eggs

TEMPURA EGGS! SAY WHAT?!

Amazing!

It was incredibly filling and the batter around the perfectly cooked tempura eggs was delicious.

The inside of my tempura egg, YUM! I'll take ten, please.

And, thanks to Chef Dee Nguyen!

You can't go wrong with creme brulee!

Honestly, breakfast has never tasted so good! I think I stole this tag line from somewhere...but they lied. Because Break of Dawn is where breakfast earned the description, "finesse". Where else can you get an array of breakfast dishes done with a twist that's not only incredibly filling (I rarely finish my food, not because it's not AMAZING, but because the portions are so generous), but absolutely delicious and complex in flavors. Break of Dawn is for the adventurous--if you're not ready for your definition of breakfast to be flipped upside down then you're not ready for the concoctions of Chef Dee Nguyen.

I could rant and rave about this place all day, but you're really going to have to try this place for yourself. Great food, great service, even better story about why the restaurant exists. Go, Go, GO!

Mochilato

I kind of regret not indulging in this place more. But at $1.25 a pop, who can blame me for not coming here everyday and eating 4 mochi's each time?

This weekend I was reminded of why I had fallen deeply in love with Mochilato in the first place--it's yummy gelato filled mochi.

Some of my favorites: strawberry, pistachio, coconut, and mango

California Fish Grill

Who knew that fast food could be so good? Granted, California Fish Grill probably isn't the healthiest eatery around, but heck, it's delicious, and it's fast--so who can complain? To top it off, it's become wildly popular since its opening. You really cannot go wrong with grilled fish.

Cajun trout with brown rice

Best Investment Ever

After eating that deliciously torched Wagyu at Oshima the night before, we decided that the only thing that would top that, would be to buy our own yakiniku grill and have TONS of kobe and berkshire pork for dinner! And did it top the Oshima Wagyu? Not really. But it was one hell of an idea. It was the best $10 investment ever! So, not to toot our own horn or anything...but...TOOT TOOT!

We had salmon wing, berkshire pork (which was amazing), American kobe, prime beef, and cow tongue. We also grilled zucchini and red bell peppers too, just so that we wouldn't feel entirely guilty about eating perfectly marbled meat.

The grill created a lot of smoke after the first round of meat, so we had to relocate to the back yard. But none-the-less, it was a delicious and brilliant dinner.

FYI: We just put the grill atop our portable gas stove--the very same one we use for hot pot. I highly encourage everyone to get one of these!

Omakase at Oshima

There's nothing like treating yourself to a great omakase dinner. The sushi chef cut all of nigiri in half for me so I wouldn't have to unattractively stuff it all in my mouth in one bite--such a nice guy!

Cooked seaweed

Amberjack

Sockeye salmon

Japanese Scallop

Blue fin tuna

Makerel

Makerel

Seared black cod

Seared Wagyu

Uni marinated in sea water

Memories

Well, well, well...look what I've found. A TON of pictures from when my friends and I went on vacation to Hong Kong during winter of 2008! It was the first time that I had ever been out of the country with friends, and the first time I had ever spent Christmas away from home. I must say, that was one of my most memorable college experiences--going to another country with a big group of friends and having the time of our lives. There aren't enough good things that I can say about Hong Kong that could express how much I love visiting. So I'll just have to show you! Here are some pictures that I found while browsing through my external hard drive that I never got around to uploading...and boy do these photos bring back some great memories. I think I'm having another one of those Hong Kong withdrawal moments. Enjoy!

Street side porridge stand. This is where it all began--one small bowl of porridge in a teeny tiny shop. Our first breakfast in Hong Kong. It was the beginning of an AMAZING trip.
I had the pork blood porridge. What better place to have pork blood than Asia?









Even the food at the Hong Kong Disneyland was good. I couldn't believe it!
I think this is when I started to think that I had died and gone to heaven. I mean you honestly would not, could not, believe it until you've tried it. Good food. At Disneyland. Blew my mind.




More food!
The wonton noodle soups are amazing in Hong Kong. They're extremely flavorful and moist and have a generous portion of shrimp (which is a sign of a good wonton by my standards...I think this is something I picked up from my parents!)
To my surprise, canteen food in Hong Kong is pretty good too, I had the beef stew, and it was better than any that I've had here in the states. That just tells you how far behind we are in great flavor profiles in the US. But it is rather difficult cooking Chinese food I must admit.
We also had hot pot. And we already know how much I love that!






Hong Kong's night market is perhaps one of the things that I miss most about Hong Kong. There's cheap shopping (especially if you know how to bargain your way around an expensive souvenir, lots of life, and a ton of great food. Street food is the best thing that you can indulge in while you're in any Asian country, and indulge I did. We had stinky tofu, takoyaki (squid balls), and curry fish balls--you could smell the food stand from a mile away (and that's just about how long the line for food is too!) There's nothing like standing in the middle of the street late at night with a bunch of good friends having a late night snack. Unfortunately, and I remember this very clearly, I got yelled at by one of the vendor ladies for trying to take pictures, so all I have are pictures of delicious food, but that's good enough for me!

I just have to say this, there is no better stinky tofu that I've had anywhere else compared to the one at the night market. None.







Macau
Besides all the Portuguese and Chinese fusion foods in Macau, I adore the architecture--it's absolutely beautiful. Because it is extremely crowded, and known as the sin city of the Far East, it can be rather difficult to find a nice quiet place to sit and enjoy food. BUT, the whole point of being in Macau is to do as the locals do, and eat as the locals eat. And that's exactly what I did, and I loved every moment of it!

He's making fresh almond cookies! Macau is famous for this.

Durian dessert! I love durian, and there aren't very many places in the states where you can get a variety of durian desserts.

He's making pan fried bread with beef inside from scratch! This is another food item that is well known in Macau.

Restaurante Litoral is one of the best Portuguese restaurants in Macau. When I came here for the first time in the 5th grade, I think it was the very first time I had tried Portuguese food. I didn't eat very much though because had motion sickness from the ferry ride.

Calamari Salad

Croquettes