[West Covina] [Supermarket] Fresh & Easy

Fresh & Easy
1000 W West Covina Pkwy
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 962-7500
http://www.freshandeasy.com

Fresh & Easy is my favorite supermarket.  Most of the time I go to the West Covina store since it's on my way back from school.  Sometimes I go to the one in Walnut between classes to get lunch.  Sometimes I go to the Arcadia store.  And some other times I go to the Hollywood store with Dr. Park.  Yes, I go there a lot.  I just love everything there.  Everything is always, just like their name, fresh & easy.  Here are some of the food I bought from the supermarket over the past month. 


Spicy California Roll ($3.99)

Pretty good supermarket sushi.  I didn't like the rice because it was too sticky.  But I guess all supermarket sushi tastes like that.

Juicy Couture Shoes Melissa

The economy is despressing. So is my salary. I am trying not to spend money. Well, except on food of course. Bur when I see a great bargain, sometimes it's just too hard to resist. Since I couldn't resist, I'm going to share with you guys.


Juicy Couture Shoes Melissa (grey) ($225.00 $56.00)

$225 Juicy Couture Melissa flats on sale for $56!  Can you believe that price?  On top of that, free shipping and no tax!!  The shoes are really comfy, too. 

So where can you get a pair?  ShopRapunzels is the website.  Only limited sizes are avaliable now.  The green version is really cute too.  Happy shopping!

[Los Angeles] [Dessert] Scoops

Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

I know I know.... I'm obsessed with Scoops.  Everytime I go around that area, I want to go to Scoops.  Their ice cream is just too good.  This visit was actually from a few weeks ago that I forgot to write about.  But just keep on reading.  There's a "special" in this post.  haha....



The guy behind the counter is the mastermind of all the wonderful flavors at Scoops.  I don't remember his name, but I remember reading an article about him somewhere.  That why I recognized him.  I think the article mentioned he's Thai.  There's a board on the wall that people can write down their suggestions on new flavors.  I wrote "guava mojito".  I wonder if that flavor will make the list?

[San Gabriel] [Hot Pot] Lu Gi Restaurant

Lu Gi Restaurant
盧記麻辣鍋
539 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 965-9881

We didn't have a satisfying lunch at Chung King so we were still craving for spicy food.  Lu Gi is my favorite Taiwanese style spicy hot pot restaurant.  So off we went.


Spicy Hot Pot ($3.50/person)

Spicy hot pot was devided into two sides.  One side spicy and one side non-spicy.  There were already vegetables and tofu in the soup base.  You can always ask the waitress to add more soup and tofu for free.

[San Gabriel] [Chinese] 重慶川菜 Chung King Restaurant

Chung King Restaurant
重慶川菜
1000 S. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 286-0298

We haven't been to Chung King Restaurant for awhile and Dr. Park was craving for some spicy Chinese food one Saturday.  So we came here for lunch.  But.... it was a disappointment.


3 Cold Items Combo ($5.95)

As usual, we went to the counter to order a plate of 3 cold items combo.  Our favorite item was the cucumber.  It used to be so crispy and fresh.  But that day, the cucumber was soggy.  It tasted.... gross.  We used to like the smoked chicken as well.  But it was also pretty bad on that day.  It was too dry and had an overwhelming smoked flavor.  We didn't like it a bit.  Then the spicy beef looked good behind the counter.  But once we tasted it, it smelt and tasted like DOG!  Not that I ever had dog before, but we all know how a dog smells like.  Not to mention the beef was so dry and chewy, almost like beef jerkey.  I don't know.  Maybe that's how the dish supposed to be.  But we really didn't like it.

[Los Angeles] [Thai] Thai Patio

Thai Patio
5273 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 466-3894

We went to Thai Sabai to get come Thai massage.  It was our first Thai massage experience.  I absolutely love it!  It was a mixture of Swedish and Thai technique.  I love how they stretch you.  It was slightly painful during the massage, but I feel so relaxed and loose afterward.  Well, Dr. Park didn't like it at all.  It was just too painful for him.  He didn't like the stretching part at all.  I still recommend trying it once to see if it is right for you.  I will definately go back again.  Their price is great too.  $65 for 90 minutes.

Anyway, now about the food.  Thai Patio is in the same plaza as Thai Sabai.  I've been to the Grove location before.  But sadly that location doesn't exist anymore.  The food I had at that other location was pretty good and cheap.  We parked right in front the restaurant.  When we went to our car, I saw the sign outside "$3.99 Lunch Special".  Perfect!  I'll get something to bring to work.


Thai BBQ Chicken ($3.99)

We both got the Thai BBQ Chicken.  I had the same dish before.  You get 3 pieces of chicken, rice, salad, and 2 crispy wonton.  Good deal!  The chicken was tasty with the sweet Thai sauce.  $3.99 and I was full all night.

They have about 10 items on the $3.99 lunch special menu.  Next time I come back to Thai Sabai for massage, I think I'll drop by Thai Patio again.

[Los Angeles] [Dessert] Scoops

Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

Back to Scoops again.  It's like an adventure going to Scoops because you never know what flavors they'll have on that day.  After having lunch at Sushi Gen, we felt like having something light and fruity. 



Blueberry & Ricotta....

[Los Angeles] [Japanese] Sushi Gen

Sushi Gen
422 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-0552

We went back to Sushi Gen again.  Just couldn't get enough of their sashimi.  Last time I forgot to bring my camera.  This time I made sure I had it in my purse so I can take good pictures of the sashimi then look at it at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com and drool later.



We got to the restaurant at 10:45am.  The restaurant opens at 11:15am.  Why did we go there so early?

[Los Angeles] [American] Griddle Cafe

Griddle Cafe
7916 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 874-0377
http://www.thegriddlecafe.com

I bought a Los Angeles guide book a long long time ago.  One of the highly recommended restaurants in the guide book is Griddle Cafe.  The restaurant is right next to Directors Guild of America.  The couple times I went to DGA for film screenings, I always saw Griddle Cafe full of people waiting outside.  After many years of wanting to try this breakfast joint, I finally came on a Sunday morning with Dr. Park and his brother Henry.



The place was packed as we expected.  But the host (the guy with the hat and clipboard in the picture) told us it's only a 20 minutes wait.  We waited patiently on the sidewalk with 30 other people.

[Glendale] [American] Bashan Restaurant

Bashan Restaurant
3459 N Verdugo Rd
Glendale, CA 91208
(818) 541-1532     
http://www.bashanrestaurant.com

I've read a lot of good reviews about Bashan Restaurant in Glendale.  When I saw Bashan on the list of participating restaurants for Wine & DineLA event, I made a reservation right away.  They offered a six course tasting menu with wine paring for $105 or without wine paring for $80.



Our reservation was at 8pm.  We were running late for our reservation.  We called and the hostess was really nice about it.  When we arrived at 8:30pm, the tiny restaurant was packed.  But they had a nice little table by the window reserved for us.

[Los Angeles] [Korean] Castle Korean BBQ Restaurant

Castle Korean BBQ Restaurant
473 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 467-3813

I was in a really bad mood that day.... after losing my fight for the traffic ticket at court.  Dr. Park tried to make me feel better by taking me to Korean BBQ for lunch.



I picked Castle Korean BBQ Restaurant as our lunch destination.  I used to come here with friends back in the Ktown clubbing days.  I remember the BBQ was great and dinner time was always packed.  I haven't been here for years.  Seemed like they joined the trend and also became one of those all you can eat Korean BBQ restaurants now.

[Los Angeles] [Chinese] Mao's Kitchen

Mao's Kitchen
7315 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 932-9681
http://www.maoskitchen.com

We had a delicious and satisfying lunch at Sushi Gen.  I was in the mood for more Asian food for dinner.  Flipping through my Entertainment Book, I spotted a coupon from Mao's Kitchen, which isn't far from Dr. Park's house.  We decided to order couples dishes for takeout so I can bring some for work and leave the rest for Dr. Park's family for dinner.

Mao's Kitchen is located on the busy shopping district of Melrose.  It was nice that they have their own parking lot as parking is pretty hard to find on the busy street.  The restaurant is a lot bigger than it looks from outside with both indoor and outdoor seating.  For takeout, we had to go to the back counter to order.  I couldn't help but notice there was not one Asian worker in this Chinese restaurant.  I was skeptical about the authenticity of the food, but it turned out to be a lot better than I expected.


Hot and Sour Soup ($6.00)

Tofu, tomato, wood-ear mushroom and delicate egg in the famously tasty spicy vegan broth.  I like wood-ear mushroom and I like how they gave you tons of it in the soup.

[Los Angeles] [Japanese] Sushi Gen

Sushi Gen
422 E 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-0552

We finally went back to Sushi Gen for their lunch special for the second time.  We showed up at the door at 10:45am to wait in line in order to get in the door at 11:15am when the restaurant opened.  I was too excited when leaving the house and forgot to bring my camera.  So the photos were taken by my cell phone.


Miso Soup, Sunomono and Tofu

Three of us ordered three different set of lunch special.  We all got a bowl of steamy hot miso soup.  Two of the lunch special came with sunomono and tofu in a warm soy broth.  I like this tofu dish a lot.  Last year they also had a seaweed salad dish.  But no more seaweed this year.  Well, at least they didn't raise the price.

Labor Day BBQ

Every time there is a holiday, we BBQ.  This past Labor Day was no exception.


Guacamole

The first thing I made was guacamole.  I didn't really have plan to make guacamole.  I was looking through Dr. Park's fridge and found avocado, garlic, onion, green onion and lemon.  Actually I would prefer cilantro and lime.  But I could still use the ingredients to make guacamole.  Dr. Park helped me mashed the avocado and he also did the seasoning.  It was delicious!

[Los Angeles] [Thai] Thai Town Noodle

Thai Town Noodle
5136 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 667-0934

Dr. Park and I like to go to Thai Town for a quick lunch.  Who doesn't like a bowl of delicious and cheap noodle soup?



Our recent favorite Thai noodle shop is Ord Noodle.  But we've been going there so many times and wanted to try something new.  There are a lot of Thai restaurants along Hollywood Blvd.  And we picked this small noodle shop to try.

[Los Angeles] [Dessert] Scoops

Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

又是一家想來很久的店，這家Scoop冰淇淋店有名的是推出很多怪怪口味卻又很好吃的冰淇淋，這天我們吃了草莓百香果和椰子檸檬草兩種口味的，都好好吃喔！所以公園先生又買了一桶回家，還順便試吃了幾種不同的口味，有一個巧克力威士忌的公園先生很愛，我覺得酒味太濃啦！另外店員推薦他們招牌的麵包口味，真的很好吃，最後我們一桶就是一半麵包口味一半草莓百香果，讚讚讚！

I read about Scoops a long time ago in a newspaper or magazine and have been wanting to come to this ice cream shop forever.  Dr. Park finally took me here after our dinner at Restaurant 15.



Scoops is a little ice cream shop near the 101 freeway off Melrose.  Street parking was pretty easy to find right in front of the shop.

Lying Highway Patrol Officer

I went to traffic court to fight for my ticket today and I lost! I am furious because the highway patrol officer did not tell the truth in court. I truly believe I did not do anything wrong and this trial was unfair. The next process is to appeal my case. I have no experience in doing this, so I posted on Expert Law forum to ask for advice. I am posting the same thing here. You guys can read about what happened, and maybe give me some suggestions on how to appeal the case? Thanks in advance!

Oh! One more P.S. I am behind on replying comments, I will try to get to all the comments as soon as I can. Thank you guys for your patience. ^^

------------------------------------------------

How Should I Appeal for My Case?

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California

Case:
I was driving behind a bus in carpool lane. The carpool opened up to two lanes. I merged over to the second lane, which became an exiting lane in about 1 mile. I changed back to the original lane in front of the bus before the dotted white lines become double solid line. A highway patrol officer came into the carpool lane between me and the bus from outside the carpool lane and pulled me over. He issued me a 21755vc violation ticket, which is "unsafe passing". I stated that I didn't think it was wrong because I pass at the dotted white lines area and the bus was far behind. He answered that there is no passing in carpool lane whatsoever.

[Los Angeles] [American] Restuarnt 15 (CLOSED)

Restaurant 15
1320 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 481-0454
http://www.restaurant15.com
(CLOSED)

早在一年前就想來吃這家15餐廳，每天5:00~6:30pm，餐廳推出三道菜特價的優惠，之前是$15，最近漲到$19，不過還是挺划算的，餐廳位在不是很好的區域，但是一進了餐廳整個是另一種感覺，他們東西很好吃，不過份量有點少，我吃完是八分飽而已，公園先生是完全不飽，我們隔壁的情侶居然還兩人分食一份而已，這家好吃歸好吃，不過食量大的人可能會不飽喔！

I've been wanting to try Restaurant 15 since it was first opened.  They have a special 3 course tasting menu from 5:00~6:30pm daily.  The special used to be $15 @ 15, but recently the price was raised to $19.  I don't know.... $19 @ 15 just doesn't sound as good as $15 @ 15, right?  But it was still a pretty good deal though.



We drove down to Echo Park and immediately noticed the neighborhood isn't that nice.  The restaurant was located next to a taco stand and a liquor store.  I wouldn't expect there is a nice restaurant on this street.

[Covina] [Mexican] La Parrilla Restaurant

La Parrilla Restaurant
960 N Citrus Ave
Covina, CA 91722
http://www.laparrillarestaurant.com

這天下課後肚子好餓，翻了翻手邊的折價卷，有張買一送一折價卷，這家餐廳剛好回家順路，買了兩個墨西哥起司捲餅，味道都很不錯，蔬菜湯也蠻好喝的，只是他們的海鮮捲餅裡面的海鮮有夠少，不過買一送一也才$13，就不計較啦！幫我點菜的墨西哥大嬸超親切的，總是笑容滿面，而且出菜的速度也很快，另外年紀頗大的大嬸還穿了超級迷你裙，算是額外的服務吧！哈哈！

I was so hungry after school one day.  I was in the mood for some Mexican food.  Looking at the Entertainment Book in my car, I found a buy 1 entree get 1 free coupon for La Parrilla Restaurant and it should be on my way http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com. 



The restaurant looks pretty big from outside.  They have those you can't look in but only look out kind of window.  So I couldn't really see if there were people inside or not.

Mt SAC Farm

已經開學兩個星期囉！這學期我卯起來拿了六堂課，加上全職40小時的工作，真的無時無刻有種時間不夠用的感覺，雖然每天都處在睡眠不足的狀況下，但是一到了課堂上聽老師講課，就整個人精神都來了，原來讀自己有興趣的課是這麼令人興奮啊！開學第一個星期，老師帶我們去參觀了學校的農場，牛、豬、羊、馬、駱馬等等動物應有盡有，而且這學期我們就會輪流和每一種動物一起上課，學習每種動物的習性，真是令人期待啊！

School started two weeks ago. Going to school full time and working full time isn't easy to manage. Especially when I am taking 18 units 6 classes. Everyday I feel like there is not enough time. I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night. Usually I go to school tired. But the strange thing is once the professors start lecturing, I am completely awake. I love all the classes I am taking and I love learning about animals. I actually look forward to going to school everyday. Thinking back to my college years when I was younger, I never liked going to school. What a big difference when you are actually learning something you are interested in!



So for the Animal Handling & Restraint class, we have to work with different animals to learn how to handle them correctly.  The first meeting of the class, the professor took us to walk around the farm.  Mt SAC has their own farm with tons of animals.  There are cattle, swine (pig), sheep, horse, llama, watusi and a greyhound rescue center.  We will have a chance to work with each animal this semester and I am so looking forward to it.

Avocado-Feta Salsa

買了一本食譜Anyone Can Cook，裡頭的食譜都很簡易而且超多照片的，步驟也都解釋得非常清楚，每道成品看起來都真是好吃，所以我決定要把這本食譜從頭到尾煮一遍，第一道煮的就是希臘起司莎莎醬，其實這不該說是用煮的啦！因為完全沒有開火煮，很抱歉我沒有辦法把詳細的食譜寫出來，因為最近發現把書中的食譜原版刊登其實有侵犯著作權喔！所以我只會把材料寫出來，做法大致講一下，大家如果喜歡，也自己去買一本，要不然就是看看材料，自己如法炮製一下囉！

I bought a cookbook called Anyone Can Cook from Amazon.  Just love this cookbook.  It has very simple instruction, tons of pictures, and lots of good information about different type of food.  The book is especially suitable for biggner cook.  After flipping through the book and looking through all these easy and delicious recipes, I decide to cook the whole book.  Yes, the whole book.  I don't know how long it would take, but I'm going to try to make every recipe in this book.



I am not going to type the recipe out here.  Recently I read an article about recipes in books actually have copyright.  So if you would like to have the recipe, you'll have to purchase the book.  But the ingredients are not copyrighted.  So I will list all ingredients here.  If you've been cooking for a while, it's not too hard to figure out how to use the ingredients to make the same dish, right?  *wink*

[Los Angeles] [Bakery] Yum Yum Donuts

Yum Yum Donuts
1608 S Hoover St
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 745-4460
http://www.yumyumdonuts.com

同事Claire考上了護士執照，也很快的找到了護士的工作，上星期是Claire的最後一個星期，我們有天晚上買了甜甜圈請他吃，這家甜甜圈吃一個很好吃，吃到第二個就覺得甜到牙齒痛啦！不過這各式各樣的甜甜圈光是用看的真的是挺誘人的。

Coworker Claire got her nursing license.  It was her last week at our company because she got a nursing job.  One night we got her some donuts.  Well, also donuts for everyone in the office of course.


Donuts

Just look at all those donuts!  They just looked so good.  I thought I wanted 2.

[Los Angeles] [Korean] So Kong Dong Soon Tofu Restaurant

So Kong Dong Soon Tofu Restaurant
2716 W Olympic Blvd #104
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-3737

從毛象山回來那天晚上，我們兩個人都一整個想吃亞洲口味的食物，每天都吃西餐還是受不了啊！公園先生提議吃韓國豆腐堡，我舉雙手贊成，再次來到好吃的So Dong Kong，夏天的晚上生意似乎沒有冬天來的好，豆腐堡一樣好吃，不過我更愛他們的烤牛肉，有好多蔬菜，超下飯的。

The night we came back from Mammoth, Dr. Park and I were both craving for some Asian food.  After eating American food all weekend, we needed some rice!  Dr. Park suggested So Kong Dong Soon Tofu.  Perfect!


Panchan

Right after we ordered, the waiter brought us the panchan in 30 seconds.  Service was so fast because.... the restaurant was empty.  Last time we came here, the line was out the door.  But that was winter time.  I guess not too many people like soon tofu on a hot summer night.  Business did picked up a little after 9pm though.  The panchans were wonderful.  I liked their specialty raw crab.

[Bishop] [American] Jack's Restaurant & Bakery

Jack's Restaurant & Bakery
437 N Main St
Bishop, CA 93514
(760) 872-7971

沿路玩到Bishop小鎮上也差不多下午一點多了，隨便走進這家Jack's，原來是一家已經營業60幾年的美式diner，這幾天都吃的太飽，所以只想來份輕食，我點了湯和沙拉的組合，公園先生點了一樣的組合加上半個三明治，湯蠻好喝的，沙拉也新鮮，說不上有什麼特別的餐廳，食物也沒有特別好吃，不過卻給人一種蠻舒適的感覺。

We passed Bishop around 2:30pm.  It was time to eat again.  We didn't have plan on where to eat, so just stopped by at a random restaurant on Main Street.



We picked Jack's Restaurant & Bakery because it looked like a nice diner from outside.  They had the restaurant history and story on the menu.  We found out this place has been opened for 60 years!

Minaret Vista, Hot Creek Hatchery & Crowley Lake

在毛象山的最後一天睡到自然醒後，在飯店一樓的商店裡買了簡單的三明治當早餐之後，就啟程開回洛杉磯，沿路還停了幾個景點，到了山上看風景，參觀了鱒魚養殖場，還到了某湖邊一遊，接著開在395號公路上享受回程的好景色，結束了這次三天兩夜的毛象山之旅。

Last day of our Mammoth trip, we woke up around 10am.  On the drive to Los Angeles, we stopped by a few more places before heading http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.


Roast Beef Sandwich ($6.95)

Dr. Park wanted to have breakfast at the hotel restaurant, but the breakfast buffet was $18/person.  Too expensive!  So he just went down to the store in the hotel to bet a roast beef sandwich.  It was also pretty pricy for a little sandwich in the fridge, but it was from Patina.

[Mammoth Lakes] [American] Restaurant at Convict Lake

Restaurant at Convict Lake
2000 Convict Lake Rd
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
(760) 934-3803
http://www.convictlake.com/restaurant.html

每次出去玩，我們總會在第二天的晚上去吃頓大餐，這次旅行的大餐地點是公園先生找到的位在囚犯湖旁的餐廳，無論是前菜還是主菜，都令人滿意極了，這天用餐時我們隔壁坐了一位獨自用餐的老人，結果一整個和他聊起來，也很有意思呢！

We always do a little fine dining on the second night of our trip.  Dr. Park found the Restaurant at Convict Lake and made reservation at 7pm for dinner.  We came 30 minutes early to walk around the lake.



Convict Lake is about 10 minutes drive from Mammoth Mountain.  It was named Convict Lake because a group of convicts escaped prisons back in 1871 and was captured here.  Now the area is famous for trout fishing and camping.  The lake is truly beautiful.  We hung out at the lake for a big, then headed over to the restaurant.

Mammoth Mountain Hike

吃完早餐後，我們搭乘空中纜車上了毛象山的頂點，在附近隨便走走看看一陣之後，我們開始往山下爬，一爬就爬了三個多小時，整個累翻了，不過回頭看看高山，征服一整座山還真是很有成就感呢！

Day 2 was our "working out" day.  Our plan was to hike Mammoth Mountain.  After breakfast, we came back to park at our hotel and walk across the parking lot to the activity center to take the gondola ride.



The scenic gondola ride is $18/person for whole day pass, and our hotel had a buy 1 get 1 free promotion.  Dr. Park brought his hiking sticks.  At first I was laughing at him and saying who needs hiking sticks.  But later I was so glad he brought them.