the last holiday.

prague - charles bridge with view of the castle at night.

so we're back from our latest holiday in London and Prague, and perhaps our last overseas getaway for awhile.  it's been absolutely fantastic doing an annual trip like we have been for the past few years.. but we may hold off for awhile.. with the new house.. and who knows maybe time to settle down and start a family next year.  but we'll let life lead us down that path.

the trip was great.. a bit more laxed than our usual trips. where i tend to have loose itineraries packed full of 'suggested' things to do.  with the move and all other life, starting a business stuff in the way, i didn't look too much into our destinations until the week of.  of course we had planned on spending quite a bit of time with the family.  the hubbys sister and husband have lived there for over 10 years now, and these trips are really the only time we see them.  plus now there is a niece and nephew... with adorable british accents.. which also makes them hard to understand along with them being only 2 and 4.  we did some shopping, and some site-seeing around town, while spending evenings in with the family.  we did dine at St John's and had the best madelines EVER.  also i went to see Matthew Fox (swoon) in a play at vaudeville theatre near the westend, while i tried to be a groupie and went to the backstage door after... only to be told that he wouldn't be coming out that day.  we wandered the streets, checked out Windsor, and then..

a few days prior to our prague getaway, T had caught some sort of gastroenteritis.. and is still currently recovering.  it did manage to put quite a damper on the trip, but he pushed forward... going with me to all of the main sites in prague.. and watching me eat smoked pork knuckles and drinking pints of czech beer.. while he had to resort to still water and soup.  he was a champ. thanks hubby!  i even forced him to go out at night to charles bridge so i could get this shot. 

we returned to london.. which was an arduous task.  here's a note for you all - never take easy jet.  it was our first time.. and unlike southwest which is also technically a free for all for seats.. this is literally one big mob of people trying to queue up for a seat.. except at the prague airport they don't have enough people working.. so it is not a line. also they don't tell you what gate you're at until it's boarding time.. where at that location is where you go through security checks as well. (so how is the plane supposed to leave on time) so naturally the plane was running late.. it was time to board and there were still people getting off. once we were finally all boarded, there was one extra person aboard who was not on their list. SCARY. anyways they kicked him off (how'd he get on the plane??) and then rechecked all the seats in the surrounding area and overhead compartments.. for 'surprises' luckily there was none. but that held us up even longer for an evening flight.. where we needed to make it back to gatwick before the trains stopped. it was a stressful rush, but we somehow made it back at 1am to the sister's flat.  and spent the remainder of the trip in London.. with a bit more shopping.. and resting.  it was a good trip, not without it's disappointments, but a good trip still.  it's not our 'last' overseas holiday.. but maybe just for awhile.  i mean there is still much to be seen on this side of the world anyways. 

being reset.

you're probably wondering where i've been.. so here's the obligatory dramatic short.  we were under contract to sell our house, went under contract to buy a house, went on vacation in September and had a good time in Greece and even better time in Turkey.  2 weeks after we returned.. we sold our house, the day after... i got laid off, we cancelled the contract on purchasing said new home.  in one day went from future plans known to jobless and technically homeless all at the same time.
sounds scary right? ok so i probably thought so myself at first too.  but really it has just changed things completely.  finally giving me that slim chance on doing something different.  something creative.  something i've ultimately wanted to do.  i mean srsly who really wants to test software and programs every day.  i mean it's work.  and work is good.  and my old job had the best coworkers evar.  so for those days after when i was sentimental and sad.. it was because of them.  also luckily for us we were able to lease back our house from the new owners.   and i went on pursuing photography/graphic design/ styling/cinematography over the last few months.  it may be going slowly, but steady enough for an upstart.


now it's march, i video'd my first wedding, then second, turned 30, got some new equipment, and moving into a new house.. things are looking better and brighter each day.   resets can be good man.

hitRECord

hitRECord.org is a site where they collaborate to produce art through film/music/animation.  it's quite cool to see things they've done. and headed up by none other than the point man himself, joseph gordon-levitt.
the short above.  i like.

there's just no need.

my coworkers periodically sends me random links.. much like dru.  except these aren't always funny and sometimes political.  and usually the politcal ones. are just plain ridiculous.  to the point that gets me so annoyed, mainly because the comments are just too ridiculous and no purpose.. and pretty much just insults.  and if you know me i don't get worked up over things. nor do i like too.  
see following example: http://www.breitbart.tv/rage-at-the-drive-thru-over-mcnuggets/
 a video of some crazy lady going rage time on some mcdonald's employees because they can't serve her nuggets before 10am?  so the video itself is pretty crazy.  WHY are the comments all about democrats

'Wow, when I first saw this, I thought it was another Dem politician being asked something important by a reporter with a brain. '

given i guess it's the site it's on.

then there was this: http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/2578614,CST-NWS-sweet09.article

an unbiased news site depicting Michelle Obama's recent trip to spain.  i was wondering why my (republican) coworker sent this to me, because it didn't sound like it was bashing her trip more on the lines of describing it and even a defending it a bit.  then yesterday when i read it i got down to the comments, where they were pure ridiculous bashing, angry and racist comments.  i was like WHY.  so much hatery on the internetz.

the oceanaire.

for houston restuarant week, we booked reservations at the oceanaire.. it had a vast menu of choices to pick from so we figured.. good as time as any to try it out.

it ended up being another disappointment..

it wasn't that food was bad, but more that it wasn't anything particularly good either. like i would've enjoyed pappadeux just as well or even more so... which should not be the case at this price point and stature, this restuarant should be critiqued on a higher level. it's also probably because seafood is very particular. the freshest is the best.. and then cooked simply.. to taste the flavors. it seems oceanaire was all about the sauce that often overpowered. on the other hand service was very good.. and the place was pretty busy due to HRW.

i started with calamari.. which was good, albeit nothing special.. followed by a stuffed flounder with crab and brie with a lemon butter sauce... strangely enough packed full of crab.. and an enourmous amount of dill.. so i couldn't taste brie.. nor the butter lemon sauce.. it was more like dill cream sauce. two others in the group ordered the fishermens stew which was in a sauce that was painfully salty..

dessert was key lime pie.. straight from the freezer. but it was still good.. despite being half frozen.

so the dinner didn't go as well as planned the gathering of new and old friends was good enough to make the evening a success. although we all agreed. 2.5 stars for the oceanaire.. a place where we most likely won't do business again.

the oceanaire

5061 Westheimer Rd (Houston Galleria)

Housto, TX 77056

vinoteca poscol

molto bene!

like dolce vita.. and da marco before that. poscol delivers perfectly in marco wiles fashion.

i've already eaten here three times in the last 2 months.. and each time has been enjoyable.

in a slightly crammed in shopping center, you'll find small tables and a packed house of patrons noshing on housecured meats an italian wine. be sure to check the board for the daily specials.. especially for their terrine of the day.. so far i've had the antelope terrine and the phaesant with truffles.. both absolutely amazing. the house cured meats are also a must try.

with plates prepared with the intent of sharing.. the brocolini is quite delicious as well as the roasted beets with goat cheese.. the braised calamari, and the valpolicella risotto were amazing. and a daily special panini of fried sardines. perfection. they also have a great selection of italian wines.. each meal has been extraordinary. not to mention affordable! great atmosphere and great food. my expectations of marco wiles newest venture were definitely met. per usual.

Poscol

1609 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77006

rainbow lodge

incredibly disappointing...

Those are the two words that I definitely did not expect to speak after dining at Rainbow Lodge. Of course I went in with such high hopes after reading review after review of how great Randy Rucker was with his experimental take on foods.

Perhaps we caught him on an off night...

We ordered the tasting menu which started off well enough with a canape service where out of the three i can only recall the venison tartar being ok, while cooked oyster was quite tasty. from there the quality of food seemed to go down.. we started with a yellowtail served room temperature sashimi style cut in an awkward pieces that included the skin and was extremely chewy, i opted not to eat the last piece.

the next course was 'fried chicken with three mustards'.. interesting to have chicken as a course. it was pretty a small piece of chicken breast that was coated in batter and fried, then cut in half and put with a purple mustard, mustard seed, and a mustard foam. not innovative and not very flavorful, unless you doused it in the mustard. the worst part was that the fried part was not at all combining with the chicken at all and fell off.. it got soggy because of the preparation and the mustard around it.

after about a 20 minute wait for the next course, yes you read that correctly. an exhorbant amount of time between courses was the least of our problems. if only the food had been executed well...

third course was a lamb sweatbreads with califlower puree.. good texture but extremely overly salty. it was licking a salt lick. the califlower puree could not tone down the saltiness of this dish. Also this dish was replacing a pork belly dish that was listed on the menu (but we were never informed of this change), we were a bit upset since this was really the main dish we had wanted to try from the tasting menu. The GM did come out to apologize and somehow found two pieces in the kitchen for them to whip up for us to try. This ended up being the best dish of the entire meal.

Our fourth course was a quail with roasted beats. simple, no fuss dish with nothing i haven't tried before. And lastly, the dessert, which came as a complete afterthought a bowl of corn flakes and bacon raisins over some whipped creme over syrup. it was a bizzare end to a very bizzare meal.

Rainbow Lodge seems to be a Houston staple, full of regulars, perhaps we should have stuck to the regular menu of game-y meat dishes. I've also heard great things about the brunch. So maybe we did order the wrong thing.. but when there's a notable chef, you'd think the tasting menu would be the best thing on the menu.

Rainbow Lodge

2011 Ella Blvd

Houston, TX 77008

bedford

[ with HRW coming up.. i decided to do a few restaurant reviews. ]

This wasn't the first time we dined by Chef Robert Gadsby's hands. And it certainly won't be the last.

We first had a taste of his french, japanese fusion at NOE in the omni hotel several years ago. I remember encountering a delicious tasting menu topped off with the best softshell crab dish I have ever had. Soon after he left, and NOE closed (only to reopen again recently). After a few stints as executive chef at other peoples restaurants, he decided to open up his own. And thank goodness he did.

Set up in the heights, with it's open and modern interior, I was ready to experience some good foods. After opening the menu, which had just been revamped for the summer (and possibly the recession), i noticed that it was the most affordable fancy foods menu I had seen in awhile. With a 4 and 7 course prixfixe style tasting menu for $45 and $65 repectively, and topped off with a $89 chefs choice menu. Of course there was the a la carte option, but with the price of the tasting menus and it being prixfixe for the entire menu, that was the best option. There was an enourmous amount of choices for hot and cold tapa sized appetizers.. that it was quite hard to choose between them. And with three of us for dinner we got to try even more dishes.

i started with the steak tartar which was more thin strips of beef had an asian twist and was quite good though i might prefer the strictly french version, the scallops were tasty, the hamachi carpaccio was better, and the seared foie gras was tops (but you really can't mess up something as delicious as foie gras). there was duck ravioli which was a bit interesting, but good. and ended with a mushroom consumme which was so simple and clean, it was just delicious.

for entrees there was lobster in a coconut curry, since i've never been a fan of coconut curries, i'd say this dish was decent, but i'm not a good judge for this. there was lamb shank which was delicious and tender.. and then there was my entree texas quail with potatoes with summer truffles. i saw truffles so i had too. and it was good.. the aroma itself made my mouth water.

and for dessert i ordered the cheese plate. but by this time i could only nibble a bit here and a bit there on the massive plate.

overall i'd say the appetizers like most restaurants the best part of the meal, entrees seem a bit more filler with flavors less intense. the service was top notch, and i can't wait to try chef gadsby's way on our next visit..

Bedford Restaurant

1001 Studewood St

Houston, TX 77008

713.880.1001

music hotness

so i tend to complain about the lack of music festivals down here.. sure there's ACL festival.. in September (which is like always ridiculously hot)... but the ones in town.. seem to be nonexistent.

now out of the blue there's 2 music festivals coming up.. one in July and another in August.

first... texas heat music festival. which is happening over July 4th weekend in Downtown.. and is shockingly full of electronica goodness..

second.. free press summer fest. which is being held the send weekend in August at Elenor Tinsley Park.. and bringing in notable indie groups like of Montreal and Broken Social Scene. exciting.

the best part is both these music fests are quite affordable.. the bad thing? houston is already scorching right now... why are these music festivals happening during the late summer.. when it's killer? i mean.. texas heat festival, with it's dance music.. that's a HEAT STROKE waiting to happen. don't get me wrong.. i'm HAPPY that they're trying to host these fests in town.. but SRSLY when everyone else is hosting spring/summer fests.. in 70 degree weather.. we should maybe.. think of doing ours off season.. when our weather is actually pretty good.

Scott Tycer's Textile.

I was lucky enough have an entire weekend full of birthday celebrations.. to ring in my 28th.
It started friday with dinner at Scott Tycer's Textile. Previously, of Aries.. which was probably my favorite restaurant in Houston, and not only because of the remarkable food and outstanding service, but for sentimental reasons as well. It was one of the first fine dining establishments T took me while we were dating.. and where I had my first taste of foie gras! Eventually, Aries closed, and despite Tycer opening a few more casual dining restuarants.. it wasn't the same. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that Tycer had opened a new establishment based on tasting menus. T decided it would be the perfect place for birthday dinner. He made reservations well in advance (the restuarant only seats 28 and serves from 6:30-9:30, so reservations 2 weeks in advance is the norm) he was decked in an all reiss outfit and i in my vintage-esque silk max&cleo dress with my louboutins. once we arrived, it was indeed a small space with a bar near the door that could seat two, it had a simple clean decor, very intimate, with one maitre di to take orders and explain each dish, a brillant bartender who mixed me a ginger/whisky cocktail that i really enjoyed, and a sommelier. we decided to go all the way by ordering the 7 course menu prestige of the night.. as opposed to the 5 course or a la cart.

the amuse bouche was a delightful mushroom bite, followed by the first course - squid, spanish mackerel over hydro greens with house bonito. the saltiness of the bonito was really what topped off this dish. the next course was serrano ham with carrots and peas in a carrot consumme. it's amazing how the simplest of ingrediants can seem so exquisite. 3rd course was english turbot topped with monkfish liver over romaine. the monkfish liver had a surprisingly similiar texture as foie gras.. unfortunately not likewise in taste. it's not that it was bad.. more that it was subtle. the other flavors in the dish were definitely needed to expand the dish. especially the parmesan crust that laid on top. the pallet cleanser was a chocolate bonbon filled with a very tart sorbet. i would have almost asked for seconds. and then after a dramatic pause, the main dish arrived.. waygu rib-eye seared to perfection on green peppercorn bread. T gobbled this up.. but did have a little chat with the maitre di about how it was good.. but it was no kobe... he concurred. With the main dishes out of the way, the first of the ending courses began with a cheddar cheese from Borough Market, along with kumquat jam and other mini tastings.. this cheddar was much saltier and smokier than your normal cheese.. and aged well much more like an asagio and completely delish. next was a 'white chocolate hot chocolate' simply pure liquid white chocolate.. so a bit too sweet for my taste, but i'm certain more than a few would enjoy it. lastly, a potato bavarian, apple sorbet along with apple chips.. this was quite an innovative concoction and not for traditional dessert lovers. it was an interesting mix topped with a crisp potato skin on top. before clearing the table the maitre di brought out a plate of a variety of inhouse bon bons.. including the most amazing smoked brownie. i mean seriously.. how do you smoke a brownie? either way i must experiement.

after the meal, the maitre di asked us if we'd like to take a look at kraftsmen bakery before leaving. we of course obliged, and he proceeded to give us a private tour around the bakery and kitchen. allowing us to taste some freshly baked brioche along the way. the bartender also noted that we could stop by anytime without reservations to have a cocktail or two. overall, it definitely made for a special dining experience.

i should note that eating at textile is tad bit pricey.. possibly the most expensive tasting menu in town. although the menu is constantly changing and when we go back i'm sure we'll try the 5 course or a la cart. T would much rather have more mains than sweets anyways.

Textile
611 West 22nd Street,
Houston, TX 77008

where is this politicalness coming from?

i'm usually quite the unaware citizen when it comes to politics.. and generally i just don't discuss it. why? because i don't like debates, heated discussions, etc. everyone has their own beliefs, ideas, points of view and so on.. and they are entitled to that as am i so i just see no point in arguing over things like politics, religion. yes i am that person. you know.. bunnies and rainbows.

but i must say....

this years presidential race has just been so incredibly interesting.. enough for me to want to actually check out cnn (and not just to look at anderson cooper) instead of just the daily show and colbert report for news. i even tried to watch most of the presidential debate.. but mccain's creepy smile started to scare me.. so we had to change the channel after an hour.. though i'm tons more excited about the vp debate this thursday... because i am certain it will be tons more entertaining. :)

oh it should be noted that..

sarah palin is ridiculous. and no you should not feel sorry for her. i mean srsly she lives so close to foreign countries and read newspapers and magazines.. ALL of them in fact.. so cleary she should be able to actually answer a question.. with an answer.

and if you haven't already.. you betta register to vote. the clock is ticking.

le fin.

so that is it. on day 16 we headed back to the states and to the extreme heat.

all the trip photos in a nice 2008 travels collection.

here's some leftover snippets.

alcohol before noon. as we waited in the heathrow terminal around 8am, i was enjoying my morning tea, when two older british gentlemen asked if they could share the table with me. i thought it'd be rude if i said no, so i said sure.. but not before looking around and seeing numerous empty tables. but the weirdest part was each guy had a beer in hand. how odd i thought, it's so early.. on a sunday morning.. and these blokes are drinking beer.. but they weren't the only ones.. at least they were drinking 'light' looking beers.. i saw numerous others with guinness. T returned with an astonished look on his face... but shrugged it off. the guys soon left thereafter, and we wandered the terminal until it was time to board.

perpetually delayed. another thing about our trip, was that every plane we took this trip departed/boarded late. like we'd board when we were to depart, than we'd sit on the runway for another hour. the most bizarre is the captain would always say, no worries, we'll make up the time in the air. but really, if they could get us that much faster before, why not do that in the first place. ultimately with the smaller flights between the european countries we'd arrive pretty much on time, despite the late departures. not quite true for the europe/us flight.

seating arrangement. me and T always pick the window/aisle combo and hope that nobody picks the middle seat. this almost never works, especially since most of the flights we take are full. so we always end up giving the aisle away. for the trip back by the time we checked in, there were no combos like that for us to pick, so we went ahead and picked the window/middle. of course the seats in front of us had empty middles as did the seats to the side of us. go figure.
so with having the window/middle seats, there lies the dilemma of having to go to the bathroom. i always feel like a bother having to ask the aisle person to let me out. and even moreso if the person is sleeping. so the guy next to me was a youngish late 20s kind of guy.. sleeping with the whole eyemask/earplug combo. T had already waken him up an hour or so prior to go, and now it was my turn. what do you do? it looked like his legs weren't as spread apart as before. i was like i could totally make it. i played with the idea over and over, while T thought it would be hilarious if i fell on him (he was of no help). so i finally stood up, facing him and attempted to get one leg over.. then i got scared and pulled it back. i did this about 3 times, while the people who were awake and sitting behind us began staring. i finally went for it for real, and got one leg over.. full straddling position. the whole time i was thinking of the game operation, and trying not to touch the sides. now the harder part was getting the next leg over.. which i quickly did, but not before accidently brushing against his leg.. but by that time i hurried down the aisle. T would later tell me that the guy jolted a bit, but fell back asleep... i would have to attempt this maneuver again when i returned.. this time i completed it faster.. but with the less of a brush. i was victorious.

home again, home again, jiggity jig. we made it home safely, and returned to iah to a ridiculous customs line. it seemed i had caught a cold on that last day as well.. which would continue to haunt both me and T the rest of our first week back. we hung out with family through dinner and picked up renji who had a holiday of his own, then headed back to our home to unpack and attempt to relax. work has been crazy since then.. but at least i'm over the cold. cheers!

movie season.

"It's as if someone snuck a hefty slug of bourbon into your cherry cola; all of the sugar and flavor and fizz you expect from a well-made comic-book movie are there, but there's something a little more grown-up going on behind them." - james rocchi

i hardly ever go to the movies... but lately it's been practically weekly! i've seen 21, forgetting sarah marshall, harold & kumar 2, forbidden kingdom, and last night i watched iron man. an interesting mix of films.. but why the influx of movie theatre going? am i addicted to movie theatre popcorn with their fake coconut oil butter? do i crave for the sense of community by watching a movie with a theatre full of strangers in seats that have probably never been cleaned? do i like going to sneak previews because it's a free movie? sure! one of my coworkers gets sneak preview passes to movies pretty often, and i also get emails for free passes at the local studio movie grill (like alamo draft house). so it's been free movie season lately... and last night was the best of them all. iron man. it's smart, funny, and just exciting and enjoyable to watch. it runs at about 2 hours, but it just doesn't seem to go long enough. and i am almost certain that there will be a sequel, and i can't wait! robert downey jr, does a fantastic job as tony stark, the playboy, whiz, who's charismatic, cocky and completely like-able. jon favreau did a great job directing, he's just so money he doesn't even know it. my immediate comparison is that it's transformers without the cheese factor and i highly recommend it.

earth day.

it's earth day, and we all know how important it is to take care of the environment. it's a hot topic these days with everyone going green. many of us see the importance and want to help out, but we're just too lazy. we have all the good intentions to do something about it, but very little drive to actually do so, me included. so today i carpooled to work, working with my main office lights off, turned the a/c up at the office, and inquired about getting recycling service at work since we currently have none, and located recycling drop off locations since our neighborhood stopped the curbside service. today is a day to motivate you, even if it's only for day. i know, just one day isn't going to do anything, but who knows maybe you'll get into a habit, as recycling doesn't take much effort nor does replacing light bulbs to the energy efficient ones. every little helps right?

menu of menus

last night we (me, T, dru.. and dham was there too!) went out to the Houston Press Menu of Menu's at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. with over 40 local restaurants passing out samples, and with what seemed like even more wine booths with an additional scattering of beer, rum and vodka booths... it was an interesting night. i did notice plenty of booths had ceviche.. yum. and for $30/ticket, it wasn't bad, and the crowd which seemed to be a pretty good mix leaned more towards the 35 and under singles crowd. and the clothes went from casual to work to dressy to ineedamanpart2. the only downside was that it did get pretty packed, with a sold out crowd of 2000, and the lines for some of the food booths were a little long (most places ran out of food). amongst those 2000 i ran into several people i knew.. which seems to be the trend lately. overall it was a nice night of something different and i think it's something we'd plan on going to again.

brennans

finally... another review since indika.

brennans - 3300 smith street, 713.522.9711



sunday evening, we joined the family to celebrate my aunts 70th birthday (and my cousins' "29th" birthday). weeks prior my cousin had asked me for list of restuarants to do, to pick from. i had handed off a split list of trendy and traditional, being that it was to celebrate my aunts birthday, the traditional side was favoured. once the list was widdled down to a chosen few, we had found out that most 'fancy' restaurants were closed for dinner on sunday. this actually left us with brennans, but not entirely to my disappointment though a bit to my cousins, since the menu in particular wasn't her first choice.

me and T arrived first, in a quiet part of what i think is still considered as midtown, valeted the car, and entered to a podium full of hosts. the decor was appropriate to the whole classy 'ol new orleans scene. it was a bit antique but not in the tacky grandmother sort of way. we were promptly seated and the rest of our party arrived within minutes.

me and T split a bowl of turtle soup for our appetizer. i had heard good things about it so it was the must have for my first visit. it was a bit tangy, with that creole gumbo-ish feel, and topped with a bit of sherry made it even better. and yes turtle does kind of taste like chicken. but the pieces are so small you can't really tell anyways. for my entree i was having a bit of troulbe deciding between the duck breast with foie gras or the rockfish & crab with black truffle. after asking how the foie gras was prepared (seared is the only way to go) i was 100% duck. T picked the venison. now with foie gras one can almost never ever go wrong, and this was no exception, it was delish as always, but it could have been slightly better. the searing was a bit harsh, almost burnt, but it didn't ruin the rest of the experience. it was still a melt in your mouth dream. the duck breast and the squash alongside was good, but not great, they were more like fillers after the foie gras. T's venison was quite good, but the sauce as he said was a bit too salty for him. my father on the other hand ordered the veal chateaubriand, and oh my was this a delicious piece of meat, tender to the extreme, only kobe steak could be better. we all cleaned our plates and had room for dessert. half the party ordered the banana fosters while the rest selected the creme brulee. their creme brulee is actually served on a plate, it was first time for me, i figured it was so that there was more caramelized topping and topped with fruit. The banana fosters was prepared tableside, and i think it was unanimous that the creme brulee was the better of the two, the bananas weren't quite tender enough, though i've had better creme brulee.

oh but i should mention that the service was exceptional, very attentive but not overly, one of the best since the days of scott's cellar or my first visit to aries..

the evening turned out great, but for the price, there are many more restaurants with more exotic and/or pleasing menus in houston that don't charge $30+ per entree. even though dinner was good, it was not overly exceptional meaning it doesn't quite garner a return trip any time soon. i must say i was extremely glad that it wasn't the disappointment that artista was.

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.

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?

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.

bloggers block.

so it seems that i have been in a blogging rut as of late... or so far this month anyways. so i figured instead of trying to think of something to blog about, i might as well do more ramblings and/or random photo update. yay for sporadic non cohesive entry... but i'll at least try to go in chronological order.

here are some pictures from my dad's birthday party.. unfortunately i was too busy eating to take a picture of all of the food..


last week officedad got into a motorcycle accident. (stupid deer) luckily he is recovering nicely and soon to be back to take over his duties that have been dispersed amongst us. ok, mainly dispersed to the devman, but i got my share of menial tasks.. and i even got to brush up on my sql skills. get well soon officedad!
<-- officedad (from our defensive driving course. teehee)

last weekend we ended up going out to venue for Andy's "super sweet (not really) 16) birthday" the cover charge was insane but we went anyways..
and apparently they had love for Trance that night. and i [heart] trance.


the other day as i was letting renji out in the backyard, i noticed something going on the side of the house. something going on indeed. i was like ZOMG WTH!! then i was all ROFLCAKES and quickly went inside to grab my camera, because i was sure dru would want to see this.