Eating Out April

Thai Lai - Lawndale - Banh Khot
Buff Wings - Glendale - Winggggs
Coco Ichibanya - Koreatown - Pasta Curry Katsu
Tatsu Ramen - Melrose - Naked Ramen + Egg
Nickel Diner - DTLA - One of the best biscuits and gravy ever!
Cugurt - Los Feliz - Spicy Feta Bowl with Gyro
N.A.O Ramen - Monterey Park - Ramen
Monzo - Little Tokyo - Build your own Toro roll

MMMMM

My hair was doing funky things in April.  :P

Sail the Twin Seas - 29th Birthday 2014

I never blogged by about 29th birthday last year which is a waste since so much went into it.  I decided to do a joint celebration with James and it took us a month to figure out what we were going to do.  The theme was golden:

It's quite brilliant.  Twin Seas... like twinsies.  Gemini.  Wow.  Above is the facebook event banner that James made.  Bless the graphic designer.  James also found the venue:  The Custom Hotel near LAX.  It had a neglected swimming pool and great rates especially since we were splitting it.



Nautical themed party supplies are actually quite difficult to find, but bless the Toy District in DTLA.  I was able to get fish nets, cute canvas giveaway bags (I should have taken a picture!), sea shells, napkins, balloons and signs.  Also, guests were more than willing to dress like they're going sailing.



We match!  James took care of our outfits.



Joe and Mony even showed up.  I was really happy there were there.



We had five cabanas to ourselves and I was able to set up a photobooth.  The lighting was hard, but Jimmy was able to figure it out with the reflector.  I was actually pretty shocked that people made use of the pool!



Some folks asked me if they could buy me a drink from the pool bar, but I told them that we were giving away about 72 drink tickets which include beer, wine and cocktails since it was ALSO HAPPY HOUR!  So they could just get me a shrimp plate instead!  LOL.  We really got a great deal.  James and I split the following package:

Happy Hour Stationed Appetizers
 (2) Fried calamari steaks with mae ploy sweet chili sauce
 (2) Rock and roll shrimp with shredded cocunut and chili sauce
 (4) Parmesan fries

Hosted Wine, Beer and Sangria Bar (72 Prepaid Drink Tickets)

Stationed Appetizers
 (20) Artichoke, olives, sun dried tomato salad on crostinis
 (20) Roasted fingerling potatoes stuffed with apple and bacon
 (20) Vegatable spring rolls, yuzu soy dipping sauce
 (30) Marinated beef kebabs with yogurt garlic sauce

Yes!  We took care of our friends.




The space by the pool across from the cabanas also provided a cool place to hang out.












Photobooth collage.







At night the place transformed



We all gathered around the fire.  Cindy took this one.  This #hiddenLA venue was all ours!




James' cake is on the left was a Baby Cakes Vegan Chocolate.  My cake is on the right: Ube Red Ribbon Cake with a huge Sail Boat smashed into it.  It reflects our personality.




Being the type A that I am, I grabbed 4 people to present the birthday cakes to me and James and we had to act surprised.  I remember giving a really bad birthday speech.

This year, for my 30th, I'm trying to plan something equally fun.  But the pressure is on; not because I'm turning 30, but because I want to throw an equally awesome event!  Thinking of sticking with the boat theme... but actually being on the water. Hmm!

Manbun // Top Knot

I'm at the point in my hair length where I would probably only need one month to get a good topknot.  But why? It looks ridiculous!

I stumbled on some pictures of my hair back in October when it was pretty long too.

I'm going to cut it off... but at least I tried to stay current.  Also, there's already an Asian in the office with baby pony tail.  There can only be one.

A photo posted by Christopho (@letopho) on Apr 2, 2015 at 11:18pm PDT

Oh dear - they sell Man buns at H&M.  Well actually they are for women, but men can appreciate them too now.

BTW I'm ESTJ.

89% extravert... oh dear.  Jimmy is INTP.... lol

Eating Out March

Kaya Street Kitchen - Mid-City West - Bowl - sort of went overboard with this one
Maximiliano - Highland Park - Ricotta Pancake
Thai Lai - Lawndale - Hu Tieu
Ondal 2 - Koreatown - Spicy Crab Soup
Little Jewel of New Orleans - Chinatown - Po Boy + Crawfish Mac and Cheese
Yangi Gamjatang - Koreatown - Gamjatang
Yu Chun Chic - Koreatown - Saekimi bibim nangmyun

Milk and Honey - San Gabriel - Banana Crepe
Ha Tien Quan - San Gabriel - Cha gio re
Silverlake Ramen - Silverlake - Tsukemen Pork
Sonny's Hideaway - Highland Park - Fried Chicken
The City Fish - Downtown San Jose
Milk - Silverlake - Macaron Ice cream sandwich
Thai Lai - Lawndale - Banh Khot
Maximiliano - Highland Park - Eggs Benedict

Lots of food adventures in March, but of course the company makes it much more worthwhile...

But at the end of the day... everything is better with a warm cup of cheddar!

Except parking in DTLA.  Thank goodness for validation

Out and About in Los Angeles

I live by the 101 South entrance right before DTLA.  At this point, traffic on 101S thins out and I'm given access to the 10E - SGV, 10W - Westside, 110N - NorthEast LA, 110S - Work... the possibilities are endless with this entrance!


Did a handful of random things in March which were a little different than usual.

Downtown Bookfest at Grand Park

The first booth we stopped by had us doodle on a long strip of paper.  As we drew, musicians with the flute, drums, accordion etc. would plan sounds that represent the design.  Like drawing music.  It was a great idea!

There was a live story telling, a wall where you can write what you love about LA, and a small book store.

They asked us to write a 5 word poem on the ribbon to hang.

There was also a booth where they asked us to write down our favorite book and then they took a picture and printed using an instant Polaroid printer!  This is where Jimmy got the idea for my birthday present.

Play the LA River - A Tour from 6th Street Bridge Led by Urban Rangers
LA River is pretty neglected.  There is this amazing bike path that I've walked a couple of times and it'll soon be gentrified with a huge project to revitalize it in.  I'd love to buy a house here, but it's already getting expensive has places are being flipped and sold.  In the meantime, Jimmy and I participated in a Tour of the 6th street bridge which many people already go to illegally.  This time, it's open for the public with the guide of a ranger.

Yelp Elite Event - Mascarade Ball
One of the benefits of writing reviews on Yelp! is being invited to these random events.

This event in Glendale had snacks, drinks, photobooth, and a really odd food demonstration where this chef would essentially plate food to dance music moving around erratically and making a mess on the table.  It was really really really strange.

Luckily I was wearing a mask to hide my confusion.

York Park in Highland Park



Highland Park got a nice new kid/family friendly park complete with musical instruments and other interactive structures to encourage learning.

Would have loved to stay longer, but it was a little odd that 4 grown guys were hanging around a kids park.

San Francisco Doesn't Make Sense

Alysia grabbed me from San Jose and we were off to the Mission District in San Francisco where we hung out with Stephen who joked about the golden handcuffs of rent control of the city.  He had been living there for at least 3 years and was enjoy the spectacular space and reasonable rent.  I remember running into Stephen in a speedo during Bay to Breakers... he was slippery... from sunblock.

Mission Dolores Park.... as if San Francisco only had one park... not sure why people enjoy being in this herd with barely any shade.  We stopped by after an awkward SoMa StrEATfood Park visit.  Cover and overpriced okay food?  SF... give me a break.

There was this guy staring at Mony and say, "look at that gaysian..." and then he approaches Mony to give an awkward hello.  I liked his sweater though, learned that Mony hooked up with him and he forgot his name.  Yes.

The highlight was just enjoying beer on Mony's balcony on the 28th floor.

Continued to keep it simple by having dinner at Super Duper.. I actually really like this burger joint.  Met John's new boyfriend and celebrated his birthday really quickly before he headed to BootieSF

Stopped by The Mix where I was absolutely disgusted at sweaty ass bouncing above people's drinks.  I think I was dry heaving at the thought.

Caught these guys walking from the Castro to the Ferry building fro some reason.  Yallz crazy.

Check this out $11.69 for Miso Ramen Broth, Thai Curry & Lime Broth and Vietnamese Pho Broth.

Are people in San Francisco idiots?  I find this absurd and offensive... and mind numbingly stupid.  What is happening to this city?  This market is competing with Whole Foods.

Luckily Alysia grabbed me to go back home to Los Angeles, but first a quick stop at Bravo Farms which has a faux western town for children.  There are hidden slides and climbing areas in these small buildings designed as banks and churches.

Goofing Around.

Just playing around with the selfie stick.  Ended up taking a lot of silly couply pictures.

Made some GIFs too.  Heeehee.

I had all this hair length back in March... I just didn't know how to style it and it was cut kinda funky and jimmy hates long hair.

But it was fun to play with.  Maybe I'll grow it out again.

Oh.  Did you know that Taco Bell serves Cinnabon Delights so hot that it melts candles?  Happy Birthday Andrew, your dessert is inedible.

So Goofy.