Food is good.

Good morning everyone! Last night I had a good ole fashion sleepover at my friend's house. We feel asleep to the Star Trek movie which is pretty much the best way to fall asleep. I think y'all know by now I'm a nerdy little boy on the inside. ;D


Anyway, thought I'd review a few food places today. I've been getting a lot of comments lately about how my food posts make everyone hungry. Think about how I feel! I have to re-live the moment the food party happened in my mouth!







I recently went to a veggie place called Curly's Lunch. I knew about this place for a while and was dying to go, so I finally did when I was with a few of my friends.
The place is pretty small but cozy. They have drawings on the walls and also some crayons on the tables to provide you with some entertainment while you wait for food. I went here on a really hot day which was not the best since the place is just kind open in the front and has no A.C. But they do have a fan overhead.
The food, portion wise, is HUGE. I think you get your moneys worth. However, the food itself is not the best. I'm still the biggest fan of Vegan Loving Hut when it comes to fresh veggie food. This food, although good, was just a little . . . off. I had the Portobello Burger, and I feel the burger was a bit blackened (apart from it being made of black beans) and it just didn't feel good in my tummy towards the end. The curly fries are great though.
My friend also had the Open Faced Turkey Sandwich, and besides it being sloppily put on the plate, the turkey was way over salted. The stuffing though was tasty. I think I want to come back and maybe try something else, and maybe not get an entree next time since they're so big.
The service is average. It was Independence day so I understand why the waitress and the waiters' friends/mom came in. They did keep chatting with them, but it was done in a non-obnoxious way and they still did their job in between.
Overall, just an average place, but I will visit again.




The second place I visisted recently is Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery. Now doesn't the name just rot your teeth? ;)
This was my second visit, and also my second pudding. I've only ever had their puddings because well, I'm a pudding girl and they charge pretty well for theirs.
The above picture is the chocolate chip cookie butterscotch pudding. Now, 12 oz. (the smalle size: $4) is a lot of pudding for one sitting, so I suggest splitting with a friend or just saving some for later. Before this one I've had the banana one. They're both sweet but delicious, and it's a good indulgence if you're sick of cakes and cupcakes.
The place also has a bunch of seats/love seats so it's a cozy place to sit and chat. However, there's no AC so I might suggest getting an iced drink to down the sweets. The people working here are also pretty sweet nice people so I plan to keep coming back when I'm in the mood for a little indulgence.

Rice to Riches is pretty popular. I mean, like get on Food Network's "Best Things I Ever Ate" popular. Although, granted, most NYers seemed to know about the place way before that.
I actually remember coming here maybe 2 or 3 years ago with my friend Zoe. That was the first time. And the second time? Just yesterday, with the same friend Zoe. :)
The place is pretty popping, with the funniest phrases that encourage rice pudding lovin' all across the walls.
I had a Tiramisu flavor with Cloud 9 (whipped cream). Okay, so I can't justify spending almost $10 on a dessert all the time, but it's okay once in a while. And despite knowing that I can get some good rice pudding in other places, there really is something special about being able to choose from maybe 20 flavors and special toppings. Not to mention you get to keep the cute plastic pudding bowl and spoon too, so souvenir much? Also, if you don't have a big appetite and just want a good portion, maybe split the solo size (I was stuffed after eating mine). It's really worth it.

So that's about it for my food reviews. But of course, I never seem to stop at just that, so here's some more food in general.

What I had when I went karaoke-ing on Monday: Spicy tuna, avocado salad, and mushroom soup.

My friend Lesley made me vegan chocolate walnut brownies! They are AWESOME. I am slowly eating it at home. I think I shall have to take some to work tomorrow.

Recent lunch brought to work: celery sticks and a asian mushroom medley under that plus a slice of raw cheesecake. The cake was a success! I shall post pictures and the process in the next post!

Have a lovely day everyone!

My locker is a storage space for mac&cheese and granola . . .

Proof!

I'm surprised that all my muslin hasn't started smelling like the inside of a Whole Foods (where I get all of this).

P.S. I ate that Annie's White Cheddar Mac & Cheese an hour or so ago, and mixed hummus in. I wish my hummus were fresher . . . but alas, it was pretty good!


Now, I have a habit of posting twice after a long pause of no posting . . . I believe it is guilt. But lets take a tour of what I have been doing this past week~

1. Karaoke at Japas 27
What? I had time? Kinda, sorta . . .

What I got at karaoke: Roll Combo! Everything is quite orange I know . . . but I enjoyed every morsel! I also must be getting used to spicy things, because I swear I almost used all the wasabi they gave me, which was a lot me thinks.


Singing Dreams Come True (an awesome Japanese unit who makes crazy good music). I also sang a mix of American and Japanese artists. T'was fun! (P.S. I was unaware this picture was being taken until flash went off)

2. ROCKING MY TALLY HALL SHIRT

The shirt I bought at the concert. I'm impatient so I didn't want to wait to alter it (it's kinda huge . . . ), so I just tucked it into my jeans and went to school.
Needless to say, I think I mentioned it a couple of times to various people. I also got recommended a band that day called deerhoof! Very acquired taste, but I liked some of the songs I listened to. For some reason, I thought they were Canadian (why? because I'm retarded and think of mooses when I hear the words deer and hoof), but they're Californian! Check them out when ya can!
P.S. (many P.S.' today) I am wearing one of my wigs in that picture. Ya know, jazzing up the regular t-shirt shorts combo.

3. Looking Angry in Draping Class and Vegan Loving Hut

My face says: Grrrr, why are there muslin scraps around my clean floor???

But actually, the floor is never clean anyway. [nervous laughter]

Outfit rundown:
-Pink Sweater from Japan (it has no tag! Which has every bit of relevance since I learned about them in textiles recently . . . )
-Overalls that I've had since elementary school!
-6% Dokidoki Strawberry Necklace
-H&M floral tights
-Payless boots

That day, I also revisited Vegan Loving Hut near my school!

I ordered the Loving Hut sandwich. You can choose your side (I got salad), sauce inside the sandwich (Tarragon mayo), and the dressing on the salad (Loving Hut dressing, which is similar to the orange ginger dressings you may find in Asian restaurants). I think I really loved the burger I got last time, but this sandwich was quite satisfying as well.
The store itself is small, but the food is good and the servers are REALLY nice. Not to mention the great prices. I love to eat healthy without breaking the bank.
Oh, and here's a helpful tip! If you go this month (March) to Loving Hut from 3-6 p.m., you get 15% off your order! I think it's a opening promotion. But it definitely makes a difference (hey, those 50 cents can be used on a zipper for my next project)!
Also, going back to the nice servers, they're really accommodating. A chick that was ordering next to me wanted to replace tomatoes with avocados and they were totally fine with it (but they apologized for only having guac). And they grant your request for utensils right away and politely (without asking me why I would need a knife for a sandwich).


So there was my week in a flash! Food, class, karaoke, food, food, food . . . mmmmmm . . .

I shall talk to y'all again soon! Tata!

Inside this brain is another brain of which you are inside this brain is another brain of which you are inside this brain

Today's Focus:


Louise Gray Fall 2010 Ready to Wear Collection.

Why we're focusing: Well, first of all, it's not monotone. Black is pretty much the dominant color this fall (recession = back to basics and fail proof colors) and so are colors like white, cream, camel, and maybe purples and reds (in plaid pieces).
This is like a war between rainbows and my imagination.

Another reason is the textures. I think a lot of people are playing with textures this fall, but the way it's combined with colors and patterns in this collection makes it stand out more. There's also similar treatment on the shoes.

I also love layering. And although I can see this collection being a hit or miss with people because so much of the pieces are layered with things that seemingly don't go together, I think it makes it quirky and fun.

I personally wouldn't wear everything in this collection, but I'm loving the vintage looking trend right now, and this is just fun.


Images via style.com and editing by me.

Snap, I ran out of interesting things to say. Tally Hall, help me!



Uhhhhhh, well, that didn't really help . . .

What? This is unrelated? Wait, what? I can't hear you. All I can hear is . . .



I hope you my dear readers know that yes, I am trying to brainwash you. Good day.

Valentine's Day makes me want chocolate!

Okay who are we kidding? I want chocolate regardless of what day it is.

Hey chickeedoodles and doods!
I've been wanting to hibernate it's so cold, but haven't had the time to! Too much stuff to do!

Yesterday I found myself hanging with my friends Anna and Ana (I know, this confused me all evening)

Anna had to go get a hair cut, so I went on an adventure with Ana. The result: I ended up going to 3 places I've been meaning to go to, and they were all in the area. And it was completely unplanned! I'd like to think of this as fate.

Before I go into deets, my outfit rundown:
-Fake glasses (you know this by now)
-Geoffrey Beene muffler
-H&M cardigan (it zips up, but I bought it big so I just tied it around the waist)
-The GazettE [band] tee
-Gap Jeans
-Payless heeled booties

Funny how my toes, which normally pinch a little in these shoes, didn't hurt at all because they were just too frozen. [tears]

First stop was Babycakes! It's this vegan bakery located in the lower east side. This is my second time going here. Ana and I split a lemon and a vanilla cupcake.
Great tip about this place: They have a 2 for 1 deal for one day old cupcakes. Of course, there are more flavors in the fresh cupcakes department, but at $3.25 a pop, that could defos add up. And I was just in the mood for some gluten free sugary goodness.
Verdict: I had high hopes (maybe too high), so it didn't really match up. They were pretty good, but nothing too special. Good for if you're in the area, but I wouldn't shlep over here too often for some. Of course, they have other things like scones and cookies and those may be better.
The place is also a tad small so seating is if you're lucky. I'd aim for the corner near the heater too, for reasons that must be known to all in NY at this time. [cough]

Eating continues as we were heading to Organic Grill, but ended up finding Tien Garden, a vegan (see a trend?) Asian-fusion eatery! This was also found downtown. It's a small place (in size), but on the day we went, not many people were there, so it didn't affect us.
The prices and portions are both good. You can get, on the menu picture above, a general idea of how much dishes are. With $15 including tax and tip, you can become full and happy.
We ordered the wonton soup and satay udon. The satay udon was flavored well in my opinion. The veggie ham was average, but the sauce made everything taste better. I didn't eat any of the wonton (since it was technically for Ana), but the soup itself was light and nice.
There's about one guy working up front, and then some cooks in the back. This guy was really nice and answered all our questions. The place is a tad cold though, because the heating kept going on and off. But it may also be because yesterday was just abnormally freezing.

I just passed by this store and got a kick outta their lego Beatles figures. Oh Ringo, you and your nose . . .

Finally, we found Economy Candy! Sorry for the blur-tastic photos, I was excited and also hyped on sugar.
Well, a little story: a couple of my friends have mentioned this place and told me just how great it was. I've been wanting to go on numerous occasions but always forget to write down the address. Funny conclusion is that this happened to be 2 blocks away from a friend's house, and I've probably passed by it a couple of times.
The walls are all covered in candy. Every corner is candy. I'm sure if the people working there could be candy (like you know, the sour patch kids), they would be.
Everything is really well priced (I got a nice little bag of goodies for around $2), and there is a big selection. There's also some dried fruits and nuts, if anyone is interested in going there for anything other than candy. In the back are pictures of celebs who have stopped by (I wonder what Jude Law bought . . . ), and right now, there's some Valentine's chocolates in the front.
I don't eat candy too often, but I had to get some, and so, I did.

Now as a wrap up, a little animation for you all, made possible by my camera and mini bag of m&ms:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Restaurant Week trucks and colored macarons

I need more interesting titles. But then again, I learned my lesson when on my old blog I kept putting weird short titles that told me nothing about what I wrote, and it took me forever to look through everything and find what I needed.

Today was a weird day for me. Full of ups and downs. The up being that all my teachers seem pretty good so far (and nothing to worry about sociology now that what I imagined my professor to be like is the complete opposite of what he actually is like; in the positive way). Downs would be . . . losing solitaire and having nothing to do for a while. Oh, and not being productive.

But my lunch was awesome because I came across a certain truck that sold certain food . . .


I didn't even know (because I've been out of the loop). But my friends and I were looking for J.Crew and came across the red Restaurant Week Truck! And I couldn't pass it up (me being a foodie and all), so I got some Louisiana Seafood Gumbo from Ruth's Chris Steak House.
This is that, plus my water (in sunny), half a banana walnut muffin, and a banana in a banana case (cool, right?).


It came with bread!
The taste: I liked it a lot! It was a tad salty but I for one don't mind, because it worked with the seafood and it was also mixed with other spices that warmed up my stomach from the inside. There was a lot of shrimp in it too, plus pieces of fish (I believe) that had this great kick of flavor! Overall, for $6, this was a good choice.

The truck is going to be around Greenwich I believe for Thursday and Friday so don't miss it!


Lastly, I went to Macaron Cafe recently. I haven't been there in SO LONG but I had to get some macarons, so I bought two.


Earl Grey and Rose Lychee flavors. I love the rose so I had to get it. And I believe this was my first time with the Earl Grey. I love it! They both taste like what they're supposed to taste like. They're a little pricey at $1.95 since they're very small, but once in a while, it's okay.


Okay, so that was pretty much all food. I have more great things to share, but they will have to come another time (and it's fashion related)!
Have a great day guys!

So I wasn't on the computer for a little while . . .

I had totally forgotten to update! Okay, I didn't forget. It was in the back of my mind. But what do you do when you're out most of the weekend?

Well, I promised a small review of that restaurant my friend and I ended up going to last time, so here it is!

Yes, I did have my friend just stand in front of the restaurant for that first pic.

Anyway, we went to Olive Tree Cafe! It's this restaurant/bar (?) joint near West 4th. I believe there is a downstairs (which is the bar?) but upstairs happened to be where we sat to eat.
Okay, so the reason we came here was because my friend had suggested it a really cool place. And I mean, how can it not be if you can DRAW ON THE TABLES WITH CHALK?? Image 3 are the awesome doodles we both did.
We split an order of falafels (the falafel plate, not sandwich), and we each got separate drinks. I got "Rainforest Mate" tea.

Verdict: The falafels were good. They were a good size and fried well so it was crispy enough on the outside but mushy enough on the inside. The other thing I liked was that you could build your own sandwich with the platter.
The tea was nothing special. Actually, it tasted like mint gum (my friend said double mint). I drank it anyway because it was chilly that day, but I'm not a huge fan of the tea.

The service was okay. Not exceptional or anything, but the guy was nice and answered our questions.

The pricing is all moderate. Based on a price to portion ratio, I think the prices are set pretty well. Since this was my first time and I never ordered anything else, I'm not a hundred percent sure if it applies to everything on the menu. But I thought it was okay.


Sadly, this is all I could do today. My computer is lagging like crazy right now, so any further updates will have to come another time. Bye everyone!

Oh, and speaking of losses

I forgot but losses reminded me, I saw The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus yesterday, featuring the late Heath Ledger.

I thought it needed to be separate from the last post I made 5 minutes ago because, well, adding it to a post about losses would depress me deeply.

Although this movie surely did not depress me.

If I was to write a summary on this movie, I really wouldn't be able to do such a fair job of it. I missed the first 5 minutes or so, but don't get me wrong, if you miss the first 5 minutes, it's not too dire. But this movie is overall pretty confusing and VERY TRIPPY.
Okay, so confusing in the sense that there were some parts I didn't get (like, maybe the ending and how it resulted into it), but it's more trippy than anything. The Imaginarium is basically about a "traveling theatre troupe" (as Wiki called it), and one day they find Ledger's character, Tony, hanging off a bridge. They save him and soon Tony becomes part of the team. What you don't find out until later is who Tony really is and what his intentions are. The rest of the plot revolves around a wager Dr. Parnassus made with Mr. Nick concerning his daughter Valentina.
This story also takes place between the real world and the imaginary world behind the mirror, which IS the imaginarium.

Okay, so I thought it was fantastic that they actually made and released the film and decided to include the new actors as Heath in the other world. It made sense because nothing made actual sense in this movie's world.

Also, it's pretty hilarious. I love the midget jokes. And Anton was ADORABLE.


Finally, to actually tie this review to what my blog is supposed to be about, I am going to say aesthetically, everything is SO LOVELY. Lily Cole, who also plays Valentina, is also an English model, which explains so well how good everything looked on her. I will say I am really picky when it comes to acting, so alongside veterans she seemed slightly more amateur, but she was good.

In the real world, they all dressed in layers with a plethora of colors and patterns (they were performers afterall).
In the imaginarium, anything went really. Cole was mostly dressed in flowy gowns that showed some skin on top but usually came all the way down to her feet. Ledger's character mostly wore the white suit above (except for when they first found him). Percy (the dwarf) may have had equal or more costume changes than Cole, some of which included ridiculous monkey costumes and a small black boy costume.

Some of Cole's outfits:

Overall I recommend watching it, especially while it's in theaters to get the full effect. And stay until after the credits if you want to hear a certain ringing . . .

New Years, Tea, Roses, Flushing, and Good Company. . .

Hey everybody! So right now I'm feeling a bit nauseous from the chocolate I just ate. M&Ms . . . I like them but don't eat them often (or many other generic chocolate bars), so I don't think my stomach is quite used to it. Ahh well, I'll get over it.

I forgot to post some food from New Years.

Mochi and Osechi things. Osechi is kinda what Japanese families eat on New Years. It's usually much more extravagant and has more things, but we had the mochi as ozouni (mochi in a soup with vegetables) so we didn't want any more for lunch.
What really made me laugh is that my mom dressed the osechi plate first and it was a bit messy, but then my dad the sushi chef secretly fixed it while she wasn't looking. The picture is after it got fixed.

Dinner consisted of octopus, squid, sea urchin, and fish soup (oh my god, this seafood trend . . . ) I don't have pictures though [tears]

Then on Saturday, my friends and I hung out in Flushing!

This is me in Flushing Mall. Why yes mama, I am wearing my wig again! I'm also wearing:
-Knit hat from my friend in Sweden
-Fake glasses
-Gucchi flask necklace
-White H&M Knit Sweater dress (which I tucked into my shorts)
-Random pair of shorts
-Anna Sui tights
-Payless boots
-Sonia Rykiel x H&M collab tote bag

After much fun around the mall and then walking around other stores, we all headed to Queens Crossing to get something to eat!


We went to Ajisen Ramen on the first floor. My two friends and I got the chicken curry rice. For the price (like $6.50), it's a nice portion. The taste is okay. It was more curry flavored chicken over rice than curry with chicken in it over rice (if that makes sense). I also like my things spicy so it was okay on my tongue, but my friends found it really spicy after a while.
Really glad I didn't try the ramen though because I just skimmed reviews and apparently it's not good.

We then proceeded to go take purikura.

A little sampler for ya. D'awwwwww, good times.

After decorating and splitting the sheet of glittery photo goodness, we went back to Queens Crossing to try some tea at Rose House!







The first picture is what it look likes from the outside (I being a creeper actually stood in front of the door and took a whiff earlier that day to see if it actually smelled of roses . . . it did).
So the decor is nice and easy on the eyes. There are roses and paintings everywhere.
We were seated in the back area near the VIP room. We were originally there to just have a little cup of tea and go, but they have a rule that every person needs to order at least one thing, so we decided on 2 plates of Rose Cookies and Rose Milk Tea.
The cookies were buttery vanilla cookies. Not much rose flavor, but I'm not complaining. The tea took a good while to come (I'm guessing they steeped roses or something but it took quite a while for one pot of tea), but when it came, boy was I happy! It was pretty much this:
If Anna Sui's nail polish suddenly had a milky color and became edible, that would be it. I swear on my life drinking it was like drinking the smell coming from Anna's cosmetics. It was sweet, but so warming and I love milk tea. We shared a pot and each had about 2 cups and a quarter or so (imagine drinking it by yourself!) I was thoroughly pleased.
We learned that they only take card for $20+ (good to know!) but luckily I had cash for maybe the first time in a long time. I think next time (yes, there shall be a next time), I'll try another different tea.

Excuse my freakishly long post. I'll see y'all again later!