Last Thursday after our soccer game, Kyle, Sean & I went to Hakata ramen.  I FINALLY got to try it!  Everyone, especially Taryn has always raved about it but it is not close so I never got a chance to try it... turns out from Manhattan Beach it's actually not that far at all, so it was perfect for us to go after our game.  I got my ramen medium, medium, medium.... medium on hardness of noodles, medium on the oil and medium on the broth... I added corn and egg and Sean & I split the other half of Kyle's spicy miso.  It was yummy!  We also had some gyoza and rice which was perfect and you can choose a side if you get the set so we chose this thing that sounded like it might be like hapen cheese... fishcake and cheese, but it wasn't really the same.  It was fine, but nothing like the nanpan cheese.  Ramen was really good too though, I can't wait to go back.  Kyle wants us to try his favorite one in downtown though, called Daikokuya.

It's been a while since Sean & I have been to Chaya Venice.  His parents told us about it a while ago and we really love it there.  Every Sunday and Monday they have happy hour all night at the sushi bar and there is a small menu you can choose from with everything discounted.  So we went Sunday night (had dim sum for brunch so it was an amazing day of food) and it was packed!  I guess we haven't been in a while and they changed it to every night happy hour.  We waited only like 15-20 minutes though and to our surprise we saw that they had expanded their happy hour menu, yay!  As always, everything was excellent!!! Such a great meal.  


One of the new items was oysters so Sean and I got 2 each.  He thought they were a little fishy but absolutely loved one of the ponzu sauces- he was pouring it on everything!  We also got the sweet potato fries which we always have to get... seems odd to have at a japanese restaurant but they are literally the best ones I have ever had... they come with this mayo sriracha type sauce that is absolutely incredible!!!

We also got the chef's special roll, which varies but yay it was my favorite one- a shrimp tempura roll that's just really really tasty.  There is also a spicy tuna with these won ton chips that are reallly good and they are pretty generous with the tuna too!  Also got the albacore salad which is really good, I like the dressing a lot.

The last new thing we tried was the miso cod.  It was fine, but nothing special.  It was also the priciest thing we ordered so we probably wont' be ordering it again.  Would much rather get another order of something else since we absolutely love everything else!

I am going to double post here because it is wedding related but it's also too cool to pass up on the food side... we had a sewing party and Aunty Ruby was in charge of food... she not only made food "hawaiian themed" but she had all the decor to go along with it too!  And Aunty Bet made these cupcakes that were sooooooo cute- little mini PINK and GREEN slippers and seashells... sooo adorable!

Got this really yummy orange citrus cupcake with cream cheese frosting... The orange wedge is even candied!  Yum!

Tofu-Ya all you can eat Korean BBQ on the westside!  It's like $17.99 I think, and was good!  Great alternative to driving all the way to Korea Town... this one is only 5 minutes away...but that could be dangerous!

Biggest artichoke I've ever seen/ eaten!

New dish: sweet and sour pork with veggies.  Came out pretty good!

Todd was in town visiting, and we met up with him at Father's Office.  Since I don't eat burgers I ate before, but definitely enjoyed some sweet potato fries and a Heff!

Dim Sum in Chinatown... it's turning out to complete a perfect Sunday...

Jason & Shyla's 4th of July BBQ- these stuffed mushrooms were EXCELLENT!

Really great lunch at work- pasta, grilled shredded pork and cheese sandwich, tater tots, custard pie...

On our quest to start working out and maybe eating a little better, Sean had been asking for a blender.  So for our mini anniversary I went to Costco and bought him a blender to make smoothies.  I've actually been making use of it too.  For two weeks I had a smoothie just about every morning made with fresh fruits, frozen fruits, juice and yogurt.  They are actually pretty good without even adding sweetners.  I just drizzle a little honey and that's about it!

I love Ramenya.  I still have to try Daikokuya and Hakata, but they are so far!  One day.... til then Ramenya will do- and this one is my favorite!  Tan Tan Ramen- kinda like an egg drop soup but with ground pork and ramen!

7/11: Free mini slurpees and 50 cent hot dog day!

curry with croquette... one of my all time faves

sean accidentally got the drummettes at the market so we had to find something to do with them- half buffalo wings and half spicy chicken.  THey turned out pretty good!

Love Rock Sugar and the sesame chip things with mango salsa.... way better than just bread! :)

lunch date with Samantha at Rock Sugar is the best!

We went to C&O's for Tara's engagement dinner yum yum..  I created my own pasta with angel hair, spicy marinara, mixed veggies and italian sausage.  It was good!!!!  I had like a million garlic balls though, those things are so addictive!  The reason it's in my to go box (and yes I hardly had any this time, I was hungry!) is because I completely forgot to take a picture and then Samantha reminded me at the end of dinner! :-0

Breakfast in Santa Rosa: Sean and I split the Corned Beef mmmm and eggs benedict

Kristen made these amaaaaazing cupcakes (red velvet and vanilla) for Tiff & Scotty's engagement party.  I think she said she made like 120!  The vanilla ones were my fave, it tasted like funfetti but the frosting was fresh or something because it was so good and just the right amount for me.  I got my count up to 7 for the weekend... I think I need to hit the gym....

Breakfast at the Lawson's...famous Lawson bloody mary included.  MY FAVE!

Went to this great little Japanese restaurant in Buena Park with Mike and Bet.  Everything was delicious!!! Started off with a plum wine :)

spicy tuna crunch roll...always a favorite of mine!  They do it well here.

shrimp & veggies tempura

stuffed mushrooms with crab- really good

hot wings at a japanese restaurant?  I know, kinda weird, but they were bomb!

shrimp (tempura) tacos... I actually didn't try this one b/c I knew I wouldn't like the sauce and I had a spicy pork udon coming (which darn it, I forgot to take a picture of)...

I can't remember what this was... asparagus wrapped with short ribs?   I can't remember anything except that it was one of the best things hahaha

spicy tuna on fried eggplant

kalbi (short rib) tacos-- meat was super good.  I only had a bite because my whole meal was on it's way...but it was good!!!

The Farm Of Beverly Hills... 


The only time I've eaten here was for Marion's shower... I wasn't all that persuaded except for when the dessert came around... I decided to give it another go, so Tara, Sam & I went to the one at the Grove before seeing the premiere of Eclipse.  I started off with the Corn Chowder which was good, but not nearly as good as other ones I've tried, or even the one I make!

I also had the coconut shrimp... which sadly wasn't very good.  It was really dry and not too much flavor.  I had a big lunch around 4 pm and wasn't very hungry... and I hate wasting food but I didn't even want to finish it because it wasn't tasty at all!  That's pretty bad!

Well, just so happens we got to celebrate with Tara who just got engaged to Rob!  Yay!  I think that definitely called for the fantastic brownie ice cream caramel delight!  I was disappointed by the meal and probably won't go back, but the dessert was as fabulous as the last.  I could poke my head in for a bite of that any day!

Katsuya!!!


One of my favorite places to eat.... luckily we had some of a gift card left so we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner using that!  My favorite thing everrrr are the baked crap rolls... they are to DIE for!  I could eat like 10 of them, but at $8 a pop, I stopped at 1.  Til next time!

Mmmm rock shrimp is also very good, and similar to the one at Sushi Roku.  We had this with a spicy tuna roll which is also very yummy!

This was the mushrooms & asparagus tobbanyaki.  In the past I have LOVED this dish.  THe ponzu flavoring is just perfect...but this time it was kinda dry, and not too much flavoring/ marinade.  So it was a bit of a disappointment here.