Soka University

Soka University
1 University Drive
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(888) 600-7652
http://www.soka.edu

Soka University is the most beautiful college I've ever seen! I can't really remember who told me about it. It was some random people we met somewhere. We told them we live in Aliso Viejo, and they told us we have to pay the beautiful Soka University a visit. Glad we listened to their advice!



This was the view we saw when we enter the school. This is a college? Seriously? This seems more like a luxury resort! So there's this "lake" and lots of water fountains. Then there's a really nice lotus pond in front of their library. Lots and lots of green grass with lots and lots of seating area. The students there must feel like they are on vacation everyday.

[Lake Forest] [Bakery] Corner Bakery Cafe

Corner Bakery Cafe
23702 El Toro Road #C
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 472-1383
http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com

I like Corner Bakery Cafe. Glad there's a Corner Bakery Cafe right by work so I can grab a quick meal there when I don't bring my own lunch.


Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad
Baby spinach tossed with freshly sliced strawberries, oranges, red grapes, dried cranberries, green onions, creamy goat cheese and raisin pecan sweet crisps, drizzled with our homemade pomegranate vinaigrette.

I tried their new Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad, and it was delicious! Lots of fresh fruit in the salad. There were strawberry, orange, grape, and cranberry. Goat cheese is one of my favorite cheese, and the flavor of the cheese match the sweet fruits very well. This salad was perfect on a hot summer day. Love it!

[Laguna Beach] [Dessert] Gelato Paradiso

Gelato Paradiso
448 S Coast Hwy #A
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 464-9255
http://www.gelatoparadiso.net

We found Gelato Paradiso by pure chance and luck! So we were just walking down Coast Highway, then I spotted this little alley way. I just felt like walking in there to see what stores are in this narrow alley. There were a restaurant, a chocolate shop, and some clothing stores.



All the way at the end of the alley, we saw a long line of people. What were they in line for?

Laguna Beach Stroll

After dinner at Mosun, we had a nice walk around Laguna Beach.



We walked into this little plaza. There was a band playing live music on the outdoor seating area. We saw this tiny little chihuahua sleeping on the table. Super cute!

[Laguna Beach] [Japanese] Mosun Sushi & Sake (CLOSED)

Mosun Sushi & Sake
680 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 497-5646
(CLOSED)

What? Mosun Sushi is closed? We went there about a month ago, and really enjoyed the food and drink there. Now I'm just about to write about this place, went on Yelp to get their address and phone number, and found out they closed their door about a week ago! What happened?



We were thinking about going to Laguna Beach to have dinner and walk around a bit. Our favorite restaurant in Laguna Beach, K'ya Bistro, was fully booked. Then I found Mosun Sushi, and found out they had $6 sushi roll special on Sunday night. All sushi rolls were $6. Sounded like a good deal so off we went.

[Teddy & Twinkle] Sibling Love

We only had plan to adopt one puppy when we went to Petco's adoption event that day. We ended up taking two home, and we are so glad we did that. Teddy and Twinkle have really strong bond. They are inseparable.



I caught them sleeping like this the other day. Isn't that just the cutest thing?

[Arcadia] [Coffee/Tea] Honeyboba

Honeyboba
1 W Duarte Rd #A
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-9788
http://www.honeyboba.com

Brother has been raving about this new boba place near his house. Last time I went visit, sister-in-law and brother got a drink from Honeyboba for me to try.


Boba Milk Tea + Pudding

Boba Milk Tea with Pudding was OMG so good! Their milk tea was very milky, and I love it! Delicious delicious honey boba!!

I want to go there every time I'm in the area from now on!

[Arcadia] [Taiwanese] Boiling Point

Boiling Point
沸點
206 S First Ave
Arcadia, CA 91006
(626) 461-6688
http://www.bpgroupusa.com

Lunch with family up in San Gabriel Valley. My brother suggested Boiling Point, and I started drooling. Haven't had the stinky tofu hot pot for so long. They opened a new location in Arcadia. My brother has been there a few times, and said it was really good. We got there around 1pm on a Friday, and had to wait for about 20 minutes for seats. It was a hot day, but people didn't care and still wanted hot pot. That shows how good it is.


招牌臭臭鍋 House Special Hot Soup

We had to wait a VERY long time for the waiter to bring the individual hot pot, but it was worth the wait. This is one delicious hot pot! I ordered mine with medium spicy, and it was perfect. Love the intestine, stinky tofu, meat, soup, mushroom, and pretty much everything in the pot.

[Cook] Salmon Taco

This was my semi-homemade Salmon Taco. The salmon was Trident Seafoods Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers from Costco. I love the salmon burger, and always enjoyed it as a fish burger or sandwich. I had tomatoes, avocado, garlic and cilantro at home, so I thought about making fish taco that night. I went to the market, but none of the fish were on sale and everything seemed expensive. Then I thought of the salmon burger I had in my freezer. Why not try make fish taco with that? Dr. P loved it, and said it was better than fish taco in restaurants. haha... It was really yummy, and only took 15 minutes to make.


Salmon Taco

Trident Seafoods Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers (from Costco)
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Corn tortillas

[Lake Forest] [Vietnamese] Thanh Binh 2 Restaurant

Thanh Binh 2 Restaurant
23600 Rockfield Blvd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 457-1460

We wanted pho, but didn't feel like driving up to Westminster area for it. There must be some good Vietnamese restaurant down in South OC, too. Dr. P did some research online, and found Thanh Binh 2 in Lake Forest.


Steak and Brisket Pho (L) ($8.25)

Dr. P ordered the #2 pho on the menu, Steak and Brisket pho. We upgraded it to a large since it was only $1 or $2 more. They gave you a lot of meat here. The soup was pretty tasty. We had some leftover to take home for lunch the next day. One way to find out if they use real beef bone to make the broth is to see if the leftover soup becomes "jello-like" the next day. If they use beef bone and simmer for hours, the soup will become jello. Thanh Binh 2's soup became semi-jello. It was jello-y, but still a bit watery. I guess they did use beef bone, but didn't simmer as long?