Dumpling Making Part II

For Tommy's birthday in June, we had a dumpling making party.  I like making our friends work for their food.

What a production. More DUMPLINGS MORE MORE MORE.  NO RESTING!!!!!

The soju + Calipico helped with our hunger.

Aren't they perfect?  (Just kidding, these are actually the pre-made ones.  They're prettier than ours.)

Lots of sauce options.  Sam said this was probably the last Dumpling making night we are having since he was uber stressed the whole time!  But we had a lot more people than our first dumpling making party last year.

Happy Birthday Tommy! (I should have made you a Tazo Tea box!)

Somaekcol

Urban Dictionary says Somaekcol is:

A portmanteau of the words Soju, Maekju, Cola. You will need 2 shot glasses, a regular beer glass, and the ingredients below.

Soju - Korea's famous liquor
Maekju - beer (a glass of it, any brand will do)
Cola - Coca Cola

Pour the Coke into half a shot glass. Stack the 2nd shot glass on top, and fill this one to the brim with soju. Now fill the glass about 3/4 full of beer. Pick up the glass with your dominant hand, and the stack of shot glasses (still stacked) with your other hand. In one swift motion, drop the shots into the glass of beer (hopefully they stay stacked and upright), and immediate start chugging. If you do it right, the 2 shot glasses will separate past a certain tilt angle, releasing the Coke. You'll basically consume a pile of spiked beer, with a sweet cola finish at the very end.

This got me messed up pretty quick with my coworkers the other day, but she called it yongju.  We called it a Korean Car Bomb and we also prepared it differently (less messy.)

It made things a little more fun during AYCE KBBQ with Szeto last night.  You put the first shot glass carefully in the beer glass - put half coke.  Put the second shot glass inside - fill second shot glass with soju.  Pour a bunch of beer into it to your liking.  GANBEI!!  And chug. Use your index finger to tip the top shot glass to release the coke if it doesn't happen naturally. Smooth and delicious.  I wanna buy a ton of these Korean beer glasses so I can do this at home.  The American pint glasses are ridiculously to big for any sort of consumption.  In moderation, you will not know how much you had.

Feeling Crafty - Tazo Tea Gift Box

I've been collecting these Tazo Tea boxes looking for an opportunity to turn them into awesome birthday gift boxes.  Szeto was coming down to LA for his bday so I went hunting for his favorite things that would fit in the small box.

Turtle magnet, Kidrobot Best Friends Forever and pine-nuts.  Perfect. Drove around all of Silverlake looking for things.

With a gluestick, a ruler and an exacto knife, I was able to cover the Tazo tea box with some green textured paper.  Jimmy was a big help channeling my crafty side and providing all the supplies.

I had the perfect amount of left over paper to make a card that also fit inside. I thought the smudged ink added to the craft of the gift.  Voila!

Happy Birthday Eric!
He told me that it was the first magnet he will put on his fridge, he has been trying to collect the Best Friend Forever toys but they're sold out in the bay and he was surprised I remembered he liked pine-nuts.  SUCCESS!

Mo-Chica

It was Erik's turn to share his city finds.

Tucked away in South East LA (according to Yelp) is Mo-chica, a "Modern Peruvian Restaurant."  It was a classy place in a food court like space called the Mercado La Paloma.  But the shops and food stalls here would be considered a part of an alternate "fine dining" experience.  Fine dining is something I do only for work or with a coupon. And how do I define fine dining?  When the plates are square.

It was a strange feeling to enjoy award winning meals in a venue that would usually house a Chinese Food Express and Subway catered to students and business folks in the area.  I found a handful of blogs that better describe the experience such as Food librarian and kevinEats


Below are the mouth watering pictures that Jimmy took:

Ceviche del Dia

Aji de Gallina - Shredded chicken, walnuts, aji amarillo bread sauce

Lomo Saltado - Beef filet, salsa criolla, fried potatoes

So amazing.

Clubbing Pictures

I remember a while back, Ern and I chatted about folks who post pictures of themselves clubbing.  Criticizing about how it's not that interesting and it's just a shot of people getting trashed per usual.

But thinking about it again, those photos do the same thing any group photos do which is capture the moment and energy at the time.  The picture above taken at Mr.Black  on a June Tuesday reminds me of the fun I had that night - people watching, dancing, laughing.  Also, coming early for the free drinks and leaving early before the drama starts.  That's our policy.

A new chapter is beginning soon.  Ern is moving in with Erik, I'm moving in with Jimmy into Ern's loft space and we are looking for new appartment-mates to fill 321 by October 1st.

I'm excited to think of a theme for Ern's Goodbye party/2 Year House-iversary, but uber depressed that the guy who introduced me to LA in its best light is no longer going to be sharing the same space as me.  

A Tea for Every Need

Sa-Rang Tang (Lover's Tea) - Recommended for couples, potential couples or those looking

Hwa Sun Ji Tea & Coffee had a tea for every need.  Too much pubic hair? There's a tea.  Need a raise?  There's a tea.  Allergic to tea?  There's a tea for that too.

The tea came with these little treats.  We opted to sit in the traditional section which was a bit of a challenge for my western legs because sitting "indian" wasn't very comfortable.  I kept moving around as if I had a nightmare during midsleep.  There's Sam enjoying his tea like the old Chinese lady that he is.

How does that dessert look?  Want a closer look?

Yelp says this place is one $, but really it's $$.  Come on.  It's hot water with leaves.  But this voodoo tea must have been imported because suddenly I had a better sense of direction after having a cup of 6 dollar tea.

Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens

Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens is a "day retreat" where people can relax in nature without leaving LA.

When Jimmy told me there was a labyrinth, I pictured tall hedges and an opportunity to get lost in a maze.  The labyrinth is actually a hand-carved stone pathway that you can walk to clear your thoughts.  The idea is that you enter with a dilemma, walk the labyrinth to the center then walk out with a solution.

I got "lost" in my thoughts so to speak, but I don't remember exactly what I was thinking about.  There are warning signs reminding you to exit the labyrinth if you overheat.  I have a feeling people were reluctant to leave the path until they have resolved their issues and have fainted during hot summer days.

There is also a meditation garden which I found to be very lovely and lush.

Here we are acting "tranquil"

Boyband pic