best burmese.

if in the bay area, go to mingalabla. I already shared how much I love this place, and was happy to go back with ferris and julie. noodles and tea leaf salad are a given. switched it up with basil chicken and beef curry. the only part that sucked was waiting 40 minutes for a table. we tried to make a reservation for 3 but they said that it was too small a party, and the minimum was 4. so ridiculous, given the fact that it uses the same size of table for a party of 4!

even more weird, I was told that I wasn't allowed to take pictures. by both the server and the owner herself. apparently it has something to do with the fact that it won't come out good when posted online. spoke to the one white waiter about this after his shift was over, and he didn't get it either. still, I was able to sneak a few in.

another funny event that evening, running into two nuns from our elementary school, st. catherine's. sr. alessandra (kindergarten) and sr. corina (2nd grade). sr. corina not only remembered my name, but also remembers the fact that I have a sister! how crazy! I calculated and I was in second grade 15 years ago!!! another thing. THEY DO NOT AGE. I don't get it. they look exactly the same when I was a second grader. They're celebrating two nuns who have been "in habit" for a long time come october: one for 50 years (sr. antonella, the principle when I was in 1st grade), the other 52 (sr. alessandra). talk about commitment. congrats to them!

thanks to blush on the avenue, who now serves mitchell's ice cream, no need to trek to SF to get the fix. good noshin.

taste of paris.

french macaroons from laduree. chocolate, apple, melon, espresso, pistachio, caramel butter, coconut, and vanilla. I can't wait to go there myslef and gorge in such deliciousness. no room to think about calories. just enjoy...

 

thanks charlene for the suggested flavors! and thanks to the parents for hand carrying these all the way from europe. delicious surprise!

getting back on track.

All I do is complain about weight and weight loss. But because I admittedly got lazy, I have been losing weight at a much slower rate. (At least no gains!) So just a heads up on what we're shooting for: 20 pounds in 85 days. I can't believe that I'm finally over the halfway mark to my ideal weight goal. just keep truckin'.

On another note, I have an obsession with these chips: Pringles Prawn Cocktail flavour. For one thing, they're vegetarian. My parents bought them in the UK, telling me that these were always the first to sell out. I was nervous to try them thinking they'd be nasty and fishy tasting. But no! They had a subtle sweet and sour thing going on. Tasted sweet from tomato and a little tangy from lime. Freaking delicious. I finished this whole tube in two sittings. And now I am going to buy a 6-pack of them off of amazon to feed my craving. too bad they don't carry them here in the US. New best chips. Ever. an obsession continues.

nom nom.

[again, 2 weeks late. bad blogger]
pot luck greatness -- fattening food fo sho. but delicious. ferris, yanik, and carrie.

carrie: cake
me: bruschetta and salad
yanik: sliders (and live piano)
ferris: chicken pasta and fajitas

it was supposed to be an "appetizer" kind of get together. the sliders (with the brioche bun no less) came out to be full size burgers, the chocolate cake itself weighed about 10 pounds, the pasta was rich, and the fajitas were pretty generous. we were all pretty stuffed. loved it.

ended in an adele immersion session. ahhh so good.

saddle up.

*note: now updated with working videos!*

celebrated catherine's birthday a couple weekends ago at a western venue -- saddlerack. live music, bar, mechanical bull, square dancing. it was as if we were in a texas bar or even something out of a movie. people really got dressed up too. and as you can imagine, this place attracted quite a myriad of people. apparently the go-to for not so classy bachelorette parties. but a fun venue for birthdays!

I really enjoyed the live singer. she performed country standards ("save a horse, ride a cowboy...") as well as covers of top 40 hits with that country twang. "forget you" was fun, but bieber's "baby" was a little strange. oddly enough, everyone knew the song well enough to sing along too.

 

 

ferris even swapped his watch with a woman's bracelet as part of a bachelorette scavenger hunt. at first we were hesitant, thinking it would be permanent, not just for this photo...

but the best part of the whole thing? it was air conditioned inside! not sweating, hot, sticky, and gross. hence, I think we'll be going back! also really affordable.
quite a few attempted the bull. there was a 200 pound weight limit, but some (mostly girls) were definitely over 200. the sign did say: "the more you tip, the less you weigh!"
some were great, but people like us, not so much.

ended with the lead singer performing her rendition of God Bless the USA -- kind of odd, but it was the anniversary of 9/11. and to be fair, she wasn't bad. burgers to follow. great night.