the clock ticks on.

august has gone by quickly.. this weekend marks the beginning of september. i can't believe how quickly the "summer" has gone. italy doesn't seem that long ago. but quickly it went. i can't wait til our next vacation.. i'm longing for those days of being somewhere completely new. the feeling of experiencing the unknown is refreshing.

this past weekend we held a welcome back bbq for jeannie. unfortunately i didn't take any photos.. but with dru photog on board, i'm sure there will be excellent photos soon enough. it was the first unofficial mdp event. i'd say it went accordingly and successfully. afterwards me and dru headed out to the mfah mixed media event, to see miho hatori from cibo matto, she was pretty good, but the band before her (glasnost) was much more infectious. although after listening to their demo disc and myspace page.. it was concluded that they are 10x better live. they need to fire their studio mixer guy. we also went through their red hot asian exhibition where i expected dru to do cheesy museum pick up lines like "that painting isn't the only thing that's well hung here... eh, EH!" there was also karaoke. we didn't try it. after that we went to bellaire for some late night foods at cafe fu fu. insert [ slow service ] here.

also if you're in the mood for some choice tunes, check out trick's music blog. i'm diggin the film school.

and that's that.

'nuff said.

dwight from the chron tech blog said it best.

say girl, say.

The Flattery Standards.

so dru and me had a discussion a long while back.. and apparently both have decided to blog about it.. his take will surely be up later today. it all started after a night at Sammy's and linlin mentioning that when an 'ugly' person hits on you it's like non-flattery, or even lowers ones self esteem. of course dru was like no way is being hit on ever non-flattery. i on the other hand believe that there are different levels of flattery which can be achieved (yes i am comparing it to um.. a game.. and leveling up. sW337!). yet, i am certain that these levels vary from person to person. for me being hit on by severely underage kiddos, leaves me with a disgusted feeling in my stomach and almost embarrassed, definitely 0 points acquired. (Ofcourse dru will counter this). Another example of non-flattery, is being HOLLA'd at by construction workers or lawn people, again 0 points. but seriously both of those genre of guys hit on anything female with two legs... hmm.. kinda like someone else i know. Moving on, it is flattering to be hit on by age appropriate normal guys, and the level of points earned depending on how 'normal' that person is. for maximum flattery points, the person would have to encompass your ideal qualities for the opposite sex, and they should also be hot (being hot never hurts). oh and the person cannot be your significant other. husbands hitting on wives, and vice versa is like 0 points. :P but dru will say, people who get hit on a lot lose there sensitivity to flattery. i'm not sure about that, i mean i definitely don't get hit on very often (i am nowhere near lvl 70), though i do think that girls are way more susceptible to being hit on than guys. so i guess from the guys perspective, being hit on at all is flattery no matter where it's coming from.. so do you come here often?

two weddings and furosato.

so we're back from edmonton after a week long trip for T and a long weekend trip for me. it was a hectic 5 days with both the weddings going on plus helping to set up for one of them. both were lovely albeit on opposite ends of the spectrum. one was on lovely irish wedding at a ski lodge with open bar all night, i'm sure you can picture this already... needless to say, somebody got a little tipsy and it wasn't me. the sunday wedding had a beautiful Christian service and elegant dinner at the petroleum club. i can speak for the both of us when I say that we returned home extremely exhausted. oh and I can't forget the wonderful dinner we had after I arrived thursday night, at furosato, they have by far the best beef sashimi I have ever had. and yes, dressing up two days in a row isn't bad either. but seriously, all you really want are pictures.. (i think i have more.. maybe i'll add more later).

[ scott & robyn ]



[ nathan & doris ]

indika.

In keeping with the on-again, off-again tradition of eating in fine dining establishments from issa's list of places to go on special occasions, we ventured to Indika to celebrate T's birthday.

and now i present to you issa's first restaurant review... Indika. 516 Westheimer.

we arrived to a pretty packed valet parking lot, entered the dimly lit restaurant which seemed slightly different from what i had pictured in my mind. the ceilings were high in a very lofty warehouse-esque atmosphere though it was quite loud inside because of this. a good place for a group outing, proven by the abundance of group tables around us. the saffron colored walls and dark tables were lovely. and despite reading some bad reviews about the staff, i thought they were very attentive.

for drinks, T got the anarkali cocktail, which was a pomegranate + ginger type concoction, neither of us really enjoyed the mix of flavors in this drink it left somewhat of a bitter after taste, so he downed it and ordered a glass of red. i on the other hand ordered the madras mojito, a indian rum mojito topped with guava puree, served in a glass brimmed with salt and red pepper. this drink was exceptional.

for appetizers, T ordered the goat brain masala served on naan, with a side of melon chutney. when the order arrived i was slightly disappointed that it didn't actually look like a brain, but i quickly got over that when i tasted some. being asian, we have eaten parts of animals that you would never find on any mainstream restuarant menu here in the US, and probably not one with valet parking. needless to say, i was not at all deterred to eating goat brain, which was nothing at all like fish brain (yes fish have brains. tiny ones.), though it was more similar to consistency to fish eyes, but less gummy.. if that makes any sense to you. it was creamy, but not overly, and the masala was so spicy that it left a good burning in my mouth, which was perfectly matched with the melon chutney to cool off the flames. i ordered the seared foie gras with fig chutney served with semolina bread. i cannot hold back when i see foie gras on a menu, and especially at this indian fusion restaurant, what foie gras lover could resist their favorite with a new twist. the foie gras with a touch of indian spices just melted in my mouth with the sweetness of the fig glaze. it was remarkable. i was sure we both didn't want the appetizers to end.

for entrees, T ordered the grilled lamb chops with lamb vindaloo, he cannot resist vindaloo sauce. the lamb chops were grilled to perfection, though T did not think they meshed very well with the lamb vindaloo on his plate. separately they worked wonders though. and the vindaloo was even more fiery than the goat brain. i on the other hand ordered the naan encrusted goat curry. it came out looking like a huge pot pie. i cut it open removing the 'naan crust' as it really didn't look too appetizing. the goat was quite tender and the sauce was good, but not great. but i do prefer a little tartness to my curry, which is why we both prefer vindaloo. T was able to finish his entree and clean up the rest of mine for me. We were both thoroughly stuffed, and satisfied. T commended my selection of the restaurant and requested that we return, though not any time soon. there are so many other restaurants for us to try. although i know for certain i would definitely order my drink and appetizer again, i'd have to take a second glance at the entree menu, or perhaps do a whole meal on just appetizers.

happy birthday to my someone.

happy birthday to my dear hubby...
old man. (teehee.. just kidding.)

happy 31st birthday to the person
who makes each day even more special than the last.

<3>

foodlogged.

so i noticed that i had a few food photos backlogged in iphoto, so finally... for your viewing pleasure: more food. (and also because i don't really have much else to blog about at the moment.)

on the left, bi bim bap, a korean dish that i was thankfully made aware of while in college. this is an easy meal to cook up as it doesn't require too many ingredients since you can pretty much throw in whatever you have on hand. my essentials are bulgogi, kimchi, marinated cucumbers, a fried egg, and the chili pepper paste.


moving on, adventures in chicken.
below: chicken with a homemade "bbq" chili garlic reduction; baked chicken with oven roasted potatoes and angel hair pasta tossed in chili infused olive oil, parmesan, and lemon zest; soupy chicken curry over rice; grilled lemon pepper chicken w/ tomatoes an avocado drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil




and last but not least. zaru soba, cold soba noodles with homemade dipping sauce and wasabi, along with grilled chicken (not pictured).