[Laguna Hills] [Asian Fusion] Elephant Bar Restaurant

Elephant Bar Restaurant
24155 Laguna Hills Mall
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(949) 454-9530
http://www.elephantbar.com

It was Chinese New Year's Eve yesterday.  I was in a festival mood and I wanted a drink at 3pm.  Happy hour time!  I remember seeing Elephant Bar's happy hour menu when we were there last time.  The food looked good, and price was also good.



We got there around 4pm, and the place quickly filled up.  Seemed like Elephant Bar's happy hour is a big hit with senior citizens.  There were many many silvered hair ladies drinking and partying.  Definitely the "in" spot for the senior community!  :-)

[Bread Machine] Yogurt Bread

Dr. P and I finished a whole loaf of garlic french bread in two days!  Yeah, that was a really really good loaf of bread.  I had yogurt in the fridge, and wanted to used it up.  Perfect for yogurt bread.  This loaf looked like regular white bread.  The texture was soft and moist in the center.  The taste had a bit sourness, almost like a mild sourdough bread.


Yogurt Bread

For 2-Pound Loaf

* 1 cup water
* 1 1/3 cups plain whole milk yogurt
* 4 3/4 cups bread flour
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
* 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 2 1/2 teaspoons SAF yeast

[Cooking] Country Captain

I tried this Country Captain recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine.  I didn't even know what Country Captain is before.  From reading online, I found out that "Country Captain is an Americanized "curry" recipe dating back at least 154 years.  Considered Southern fare for most of its long life, classic country captain combines seared chicken with bell peppers, tomatoes and bottled curry powder. Golden raisins or currants provide sweetness, and slivered almonds offer crunch. An array of condiments such as bacon, coconut, scallions, and peanuts make the dish festive."  Dr. P thought the curry chicken and rice dish tasted like a cross between Indian and Moroccan food.  I like the curry and cumin flavor with the tomato sauce.  Lots of veggies, and very tender chicken thigh meat.  Great recipe, although I could use a little bit more salt....


Country Captain
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/country-captain-recipe-ghk0111
Serves: 6

[Aliso Viejo] [Mexican] Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill

Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill
26811 Aliso Creek Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 643-0900
http://www.sharkys.com

I've seen Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill in The District when I lived in Irvine last year.  Then when I moved down to Aliso Viejo, I see Sharky's again at Aliso Viejo Town Center.  I never had much desire to visit because I thought it was just another Mexican fast food chain like Baja Fresh.  Then I got one of those flyer coupons in the mail from them.  I had no idea this is an organic and all natural restaurant.  From reading their ad, I found out that they only serve all natural meat, wild caught fish, and organic vegetable.  Why didn't they put "all natural & organic" somewhere on their sign so people can know about it?



The restaurant was very spacious and bright.  The counter girl was really friendly and helpful.

[Bread Machine] Pain D'ail (Garlic French Bread)

We finished the roasted garlic and dry jack bread.  Time to make another loaf.  I was too lazy to go to the market.  So I flipped through the recipe book to see if I can find a recipe with ingredients I already had at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.  Great!  I could with  make Pain D'ail (Garlic French Bread)with a few simple ingredients that I already had at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.  This was the BEST loaf I've ever made so far.  (Maybe the bread tastes even better when it was cut better with my new electric knife?)  The bread was made with French Bread cycle.  The crust was just like French bread.  The middle was very soft.  I love the pieces of garlic in the bread.  This was one delicious bread!


Pain D'ail

In Provence, garlic is said to be the poor man's, or every-man's, spice.  Simply a garlic French bread, this is a good dinner bread.  Store fresh garlic bulbs in a cool, dry place; they do not need to be refrigerated.  Use a garlic press to pulverize the cloves for this recipe, or crush the cloves with the flat side of a knife blade to release their wonderful flavor.  If you get the odor of garlic on your fingers, you can remove it by rubbing them on a stainless steel spoon under running water.  The metal neutralizes the garlic like magic.  You can also use roasted garlic in this bread, if you wish; the flavor will be more subdued.  This bread is good served with roasted meats and rice casseroles.

[Shopping] Black and Decker Home Slice Right Electric Knife

I have a bread knife, and it doesn't work very well.  Or I just don't know how to cut bread right?  Most of the time, I'll get one or two perfect slices, then the rest just messy.  I wouldn't even call them bread "slices".  It was more like bread "bits and pieces".  While shopping online for a new bread knife, I thought "hey, why don't I just upgrade to an electric knife?"


Black and Decker Home Slice Right Electric Knife EK700 ($17.00)

I've never had an electric knife before.  But from reading the description, I found out that electric knife can cut meat as well as bread.  I picked Black and Decker Home Slice Right Electric Knife EK700 because it was (1) cheap, and (2) it has pretty good reviews.  I normally won't invest in an expensive gadget right away.  I would like to try it out first.  If I like the gadget, then I can always upgrade to a better one later.

[Huntington Beach] [Japanese] Gyu-Kaku

Gyu-Kaku
7862 Warner Ave # 109
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 842-8333
http://www.gyu-kaku.com

We went bike riding at Huntington Beach Saturday morning.  The weather was so nice that day.  It was a really fun ride along the beach.  After the 3 hour ride, we were starving.  All you can eat sounded really good.  The 5 of us headed to Gyu-Kaku for the $12.95 all you can eat lunch special.


Miso Soup

Their miso soup was good.  I love how there were lots of seaweeds in it.