MUNCHIE TIME!!!!

FROM L.A. to O.C: LET'S EAT!!!!! ^_^

FOUR LEAF (Little Tokyo in LA)

This is a cute little dessert place that serves all types of crepes (Sweet and Savory)! The drink (tea) menu is pretty extensive! A good place to just enjoy something sweet that the day brings! :)

Japanese Explosion Crepe: Green tea ice-cream, red bean, mochi, and whipped cream
TRY IT!!! 

Matcha Milk Tea: This was really good at first but a little too heavy and creamy after awhile (Lactose-intolerant-BEWARE!)
Pomegranate Tea: Sweet and refreshing! :)

Gindi Thai (Burbank, CA)
This is a Japanese and Thai fusion restaurant. My friend and I were here earlier last year--clearly this place was decent enough for us to return. The food is good (not superb) but a safe-bet when traffic in LA is too bad to get out of Burbank for food! I must say though, the service is great--very friendly servers! :)

Spider Roll

Appetizers: The Four Diplomats 

Dipping sauces: Peanut sauce, Soy sauce, and Sweet/Sour Sauce

Rainbow Roll

Corea Kalbi (Newport Beach, CA)

Welcome to Corea! I was here for lunch and it was ....ok. Nothing I haven't had or anything that WOWed me although I heard it's known for its KBBQ! The service was great and the price was fair! I will return for dinner!

Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches (Orange, CA)
Did someone say WAFFLE sandwiches??!! This is BY FAR my favorite sandwich eatery!!!! I do not need to say anymore! Just see the pictures below!!!! YUMMIE!!!!!!!

Strawberry Milk Shake

BBQ Pork Waffle Sandwhich!!! eeekkkKKkKk... DELICIOUS!!! 

SAGE CAFE (Costa Mesa, CA)
Heard great reviews about this place, which is known for their chicken dishes! Unfortunately we came later in the day and everything was pretty much SOLD OUT (good sign....yes?)! Well, lucky for me I fought my 2 (guy) friends for the last chicken portion that later became my SESAME CHICKEN SALAD ....puhahahhhaah!!!! =P

Salami Sandwich (I'm not a fan of salami...so I passed) The salami actually was chunky and meaty (not the whimpy thin slices)

Sesame Chicken Salad: This was so good! The dressing definitely was different (sweet and tangy)! I loved the colorfulness of this salad! Makes me happy just by looking at it! hehehe

Meatloaf sandwich (A Wednesday Special): I heard this was pretty good! 1/2 the sandwich was pretty filling I heard, so go w/ half sandwich and half salad/soup!

TEBO TEBO Tea Lounge (Westminster, CA)
A fun place for "youngsters." It's loud! The food is cheap, quick, and decent. The drinks are delisshhh....but service lacks.....

Taco Asylum (Costa Mesa, CA)
This place is pretty darn good! This was my first time here with a couple of friends so we tried the "Flight of First 8" which included: Grilled octopus, Pork Belly, Short Ribs, Curried paneer, Wild Mushroom, Lamb, Duck, and Steak (from left to right). The verdict?? Pork belly and duck were our favorites! =D

PS. Watch out for these chili sauces! 

Ghost Chili Pork and Falafel Tacos: I must say Falafel was my favorite! You may not like these if you don't like spices, but they definitely had a great KICK! (POWW!!!)  =P Yum!!!!

Ghost Chili Pork Taco: SPICY!

Falafel Taco: Pretty curry-ee(?)....the "taco" is actually naan! A plus!

A 6-Course Meal with the Grinch at Hidden Dinner

The Grinch was not HAPPY at our Hidden Dinner! He wanted to spoil our dinner before it even started, but fortunately he had a change of heart!!! <3  =)
@Essex Skyline (Santa Ana, CA)

Sweet Mud: Warm chef's hot cocoa 
This was AWESOME!!! The hot coco was smooth and creamy. The marshmallow was light and fluffy and sweeeetttt!! 

Who Pudding: Wine & mixed berry gelee w/ sweet cream 

I'm not going to lie....I felt a little warm/flushed after eating this. 
Yes, I know....cheap date! I hear it all the time! =_=

Bad Banana & Garlic: Chestnut & pear cream soup w/ banana & garlic banana pudding  

The soup was sweet, creamy, and savory! The bread pudding isn't your typical dessert bread pudding-- it was thicker, with tons of textures (from fresh garlic). I couldn't finish it because I didn't want to spoil the rest of my dinner, but I definitely would have been satisfied with this alone! :)

Spiked 'Nog: Fresh eggnog w/ spirits made for adults! ^_~ 
I couldn't stomach pure eggnog but the chef was kind enough to whip up a vegan/dairy-free eggnog for me, which meant my friend got an extra "spiked" eggnog and extra red/sleepy! hehehe... 
Super delicious!

Roast Beast w/ Who Hash: Roasted quail, wild rice stuffing, potato lentil hash, cherry pomegranate reduction
The chef wanted to create a "mini turkey" on the plate with stuffings and what I thought was cranberry sauce until now(but it was actually cherry pomegranate)! I was fooled! =P 
Eating the quail requires only your hands-- so no forks or knives needed.... otherwise you'd end up not eating at all! You'd just miss out! ;)

Sticky Pudding: Sticky toffee pudding w/ candied bacon and cranberry sorbet
The chef's "healthy" version of the dessert served with sorbet instead of creamy vanilla ice-cream.  I guess the candied bacon balances out the healthy factor of this dessert! Just saying.....=P  The toffee pudding was definitely delicious but slightly too sweet for my taste. The sorbet was tangy and very refreshing! 
I like! =D

Here is another look of deliciousness! :) 

Guess what's inside???
Chocolate Truffle!!! Yummm!!! =)

Hidden Dinner was definitely a new experience for me! It's a small dinner get-together with a theme (this month: How The Grinch Stole Hidden Dinner). There were about 20 people there. Some were like my friend and I, newcomers and of course the veterans. It's a great event to meet new people like ourselves (i.e. foodies) but then there were also curious minds, I guess.... also like us...loL!

The food was delicious, the decor was theme oriented, the environment was fun and casual! Overall, it was a great experience and I would highly recommend it! Let me know if you've been to one or planning on attending future dinners (there's one every month)! :)

XOXO,

Kathy