It's been awhile...

I have SOOOooo many great things to post about.  Although I have documented so many fun events with my camera over the last few months, life has been SUPER hectic!  I also owe some of you photos.  I will start up with the postings as soon as I get a chance.  I just don't know where to start.  Stay tuned...

Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

When you think of Santa Barbara - you think of the beach, wine and SEAFOOD.  A local favorite seafood restaurant of mine is the  Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, situated at the very end of the Stearn's Wharf.  The husband and I first discovered this causal seafood joint on our first trip to Santa Barbara.  We enjoyed each a glass of wine and shared a crab sandwich.  They have tanks and tanks of live crabs and daily catches behind the bar.  So you are always guaranteed fresh seafood every time you come in.

It's also a place where I like taking my guests when they come to visit.  If you love oyster, you MUST have  whatever is on special for the oysters served on a 1/2 shell.  I can't remember the name of these oysters but they were so yummy!

I often times do not like to order crab when dining out because I feel like it's too much work for the amount of meat that you get.  Not to mention the mess that I always make.  However, the Rock Crab at this place is filled with meat and is worth all the work.  Guaranteed.

Now if you don't want all the commitment of an entire crab and are looking for more variety, the Cioppino includes crab legs, shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels served with their homemade cioppino sauce in a large bread bowl.  Heaven in a bread bowl! 

I've taken my friends, cousin and parents all on separate trips. I find myself ordering the same things!  What can I say?  The seafood is so yummy!  Oh and you can't beat this view...

Beach Time

Butterfly Beach, in Montecito, is a favorite among the locals.  This beach is smaller than the ones that you would find in Downtown Santa Barbara but you can't beat the location. Being situated right in front of the The Biltmore - Four Seasons Hotel, it's the perfect place to catch some rays and grab a drink afterwards if your schedule permits.

Since my out of town guests came to Santa Barbara for a little R/R, I decided that there was no better place to chill out than at this tucked away beach.  Before heading out, we filled up our beach bags with sunscreen, books/magazines and of course wine.  The three of us happily sat on the sand to soak in the sun and sipped on some vino in our coffee mugs of course (*wink wink*).

BEWARE!  There is one thing you must know about before you step on any beach in this area.  Due to the oil drilling off the coast, you may come across some tar while strolling on these beautiful sandy beaches of Santa Barbara and won't even know it!

Drink Up!

This past Labor Day weekend, my dearest friend, Yen, and cousin, Uyen, made a visit to stay with us for a few days.  We had a weekend filled with lots of wine, food and more food!  Every activity was planned around a meal or an alcoholic beverage of course.  Sadly we weren't hungry even once.

Since moving down to Santa Barbara, I have been dying to go wine tasting but really wanted to wait to do it with some out of town guests.  So this was the perfect weekend to take my over-aged guests (I do mean that in the most endearing way!) to the San Ynez Valley, central coast wine country.  Our first stop was Bridlewood Winery, one of the larger estates in the area.  The Spanish influence landscape gave the winery a rustic charm.

After sipping slowly on the classic tasting flight, we decided that we yet again needed a snack.  Luckily, we were given precise instructions to head to a nearby market, Los Olivos Grocery.  Although the market was small, it had all the essentials to pair with wine - cured meats, pate, crackers and even free picnic plasticware!

After picking up our goodies, we made our way Firestone Winery only to find that the tasting room was closing down for the day.  However, Uyen was successful in purchasing a bottle of white but unsuccessful in her attempt to run into Andrew Firestone. We ended up shortly back at Los Olivos Grocery.  The cute grocery store had a little picnic area out front.  We opened up a bottle of wine that we had just purchased and made ourselves at home.

I was soaking in the wonderful afternoon and swinging in the hammock chair listening to Yen and Uyen complain about how much we ate and drank.  However, it was too much fun to stop and did not want any food or wine to go to waste!

Great company and great conversation made it a wonderful afternoon in wine country.

Japanese Pub food in the Sin City

Following our Korean BBQ breakfast (What can I say?  You have to take advantage of what you can't get back home anytime you can get it) and hours of shopping, we decided we needed to re-energize with a snack.  I had been researching some local Japanese restaurants and came across Ichiza.  Ichiza specializes in Japanese pub-like dishes with a bit of a fusion flare.

One of our favorite dishes was the saute beef tongues on a sizzling hot plate.  This dish was so tender and tasty!  Just how beef tongue should be cooked.  It is best served with a nice cold glass of beer.

To be honest with you, we both were not even very hungry to begin with.  But we couldn't leave without trying their most popular Honey Toast Dessert.  It is nearly a half loaf of white bread served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the middle.  What really seals this dessert together so nicely is the scrumptious drizzle of honey on top!

Worth it?  I would say so.

For the Meat Lovers

Not often when I travel to Las Vegas do I get a chance to explore restaurants off the strip.  I am usually in Las Vegas for a trade show, an account visit or a crazy weekend filled with TOO many gin & tonics.  Having a laid back weekend to just shop, casually bet a few hands on the roulette table and truly enjoy the wonderful dining the city has to offer, gives me a different perspective on what Sin City has to offer.

After our romantic dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, we decided to search the city for more casual fares.  We stumbled upon this 24 Hours Korean BBQ spot.  I'm not exactly sure what the name of the restaurant was.  It was either 24 HR BBQ or Sushi  All You Can Eat or Korean BBQ Kimchi.  Hmmm...but there was a huge sign that we couldn't miss!

Typically, I'm not a huge fan of buffets and was feeling a little skeptical about an all you can eat Korean BBQ spot.  The thought of all that meat!  But since it was 11 AM and we were both craving Korean (there is NO Korean food in Santa Barbara), the glaring sign lured us in.  To my surprise this was not the typically buffet set up with chafing dishes lined up in a row and filled with massive amounts of food.  You sit down and a nice Korean waitress takes your order.  Once/if you finish your first huge platter of meat then she will bring out more.  She will bring out three different types of meats the first go around.  The meat was tender and fresh.  There were also a great variety of side dishes that really makes a good Korean BBQ joint.

As much as we enjoyed the food at this buffet joint, I doubt that we will go back to any Korean BBQ buffet anytime soon.  To be honest, it's just too much meat for my taste.  But I do recommend it to all you meat and Korean BBQ lovers out there to try it at least once.

Viva Las Vegas!

The month of June was a hectic one with house guests, work travel and a bachelorette trip to Puerto Vallarta!  With so many events scheduled on the calendar, the husband decided to plan a weekend trip to celebrate...yes...my belated 30th birthday over the 4th of July weekend.  We packed up a small weekend bag and took off in our little Prius.  But first we made a pit stop to Orange County to meet up with my Aunt and Uncle at Tan Cang Newport Seafood Restaurant for some the West Coast's finest lobster.

I remember coming to this restaurant many years ago with my parents on a road trip from Portland. Still until this day my family rants and RAVES about the way this restaurant cooks their lobster.  To my surprise after all these years, every bite remains the taste of pure perfection with intense flavors of garlic, scallions and possibly some crack (I'm just kidding)!   

                              

The next day we headed towards the desert to test out our luck with a little gambling and some culinary delights!  The husband surprised me with reservations to Mon Ami Gabi, a classic French Bistro, located in the Paris Hotel/Casino.  We had prime seating on the patio which was situated right on the stripe.  Typically, if I had walked past this restaurant on any other occasion, I would have thought that sitting so close to the stripe was a bit cheesy for my taste.  However, on that warm evening and in the company of my husband, I found enjoying the view of the Bellagio water show over wine to be romantic.

We started off with a fresh 1/2 dozen of oysters on the half shell.  The husband ordered the restaurant's speciality of steak - Filet Mignon with merlot butter and a red wine reduction.  It was cooked just the way we both like it - medium rare.

My dish was the Mussels Mariniere cooked in white wine and fresh herbs, served with a side of frites.  The mussels were huge and juicy!  The wine sauce was so sweet.  I just had to dip each and every one of those frites into it before every bite.  Yummm...  

I have to say though, my FAVORITE part of the meal besides the wine, oysters and mussels was the Banana Foster Crepe filled with vanilla ice cream, bananas and smothered in banana foster sauce!  It was so delicious that I forgot to take the photo until we were half way done with it.

I have to give it to the husband for planning the perfect belated 30th birthday dinner!  Je t'aime mon cheri!

My Dad's 60th Birthday

My siblings and I had been planning my dad's 60th birthday bash for months.  We decided on an "Asian Wedding" theme since all three siblings decided that most likely any dreams of a traditional Asian Wedding from us three kids were shot.  This was going to be perfect since we were essentially throwing a party that my dad would have dreamt for any of his kids but the focus would be on him!

In the madness of planning this party we kind of forgot to let my dad in on all the details.  Surprisingly enough, my mom did too.  Apparently, all 70 guests didn't mention a peep to my dad either.  We had no intention of having a surprise party but that was exactly what it turned out to be.  The look on my dad's face when he arrived was priceless and of course no family party would be complete without my dad getting somewhat emotional.

We held the banquet style dinner at Mandarin Cove Restaurant  in Downtown Portland.  George did an amazing job in helping to create a perfect 10-course Chinese dinner.  The Pham's LOVE taking photos (we are a vain bunch), so we hired a local photographer to document the night and had a little backdrop where everyone could take photos.

We couldn't have picked a better DJ for the occasion.  DJ Monkey spun some modern day American beats along with some traditional and not so traditional Vietnamese jams.  He got everyone on the dance floor!  I'm not going to lie, at times I felt like I was at a middle-aged Vietnamese dance party but it was SOOOOoo much fun!

Great food, fun music and in the company of our loved ones!  I would have to say that this party was a success.  Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

Mom & Mama's Home Cooking

Since moving to Santa Barbara, one of the things that I miss most is home cooking.  And when I say home cooking, I mean my mom's Vietnamese dishes and mama's (mother-in-law) Thai/Lao meals.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

In April, we made a quick weekend trip back to Portland and both moms spoiled us with some delicious favorites.  The first question either one would ask is, "What would you like to eat?"  Well, don't mind if I do...

BO BIA
I love Vietnamese salad rolls of all types.  However, I don't often get the luxury of eating "Bo Bia". So it was definitely a treat when my mom made them for us on our last visit home.  Bo Bia is a salad roll that is filled with Chinese sausage, jicama, eggs and dried shrimp.  You dip the Bo Bia rolls in a peanut and hoisin sauce. It is a common street food snack that you would find in Vietnam.

PAPAYA SALAD, LAO SAUSAGE & STICKY RICE
One of my favorite treats when going to Mama's house is having her papaya salad.  No one does papaya salad like Mama!  She loves experimenting with her papaya salad recipes by coming up with slightly different sauce concoctions.  I can't seem to figure out her secret recipe (yet) but as long as she keeps making it, I'm content eating.

 Papaya salad is not complete unless if you have it with a side of Lao sausage and sticky rice.  Mama doesn't actually make the sausages herself.  Mama tells me that anytime she craves these sausages she puts in a special order to some Lao Grandma who makes them out of her home.  This Lao Grandma must have some magical powers because these links are bursting with flavors of lemongrass, chili peppers and garlic in each bite!

Easter Dinner for Two

This was the first Easter we (my husband and I) have spent away from Portland.  I have been trying to get back into the habit of trying out new recipes and what better way than to create a gourmet Easter Dinner for two!

Feeling overly ambitious, the two items on the menu were:  "Open Ravioli of Spot Prawns and Avocado with Chilled Tomato and Basil Consomme" (recipe by West Restaurant  in Vancouver B.C.) and  "Roast Rack of Pork with Romesco" (Neil Perry).

After 3+ hours of slaving in the kitchen, we dove into our meal and it was well worth it!  Not trying to pat myself on the back or anything but it was SCRUMPTIOUS.

OPEN RAVIOLI OF SPOT PRAWNS & AVOCADO W/CHILLED TOMATO & BASIL CONSOMME

Like the name of this appetizer, it takes just as long to make (but again worth it!).  First I had to blanch and marinate the prawns with juice from a lemon and an orange, cilantro, chile, EVOO, salt and pepper.

That was the easy part.  Next was step to create the consomme.  The tomato consomme consisted of carrots, onion, celery, a fennel bulb, leeks, garlic, tomatoes to name just a few.  The clarification included chicken breast, beet root, carrots, onions, celery and egg whites.

Served with the consomme was an open ravioli filled with an avocado mixture and the marinated prawns.

Looks simple but the process was extremely tedious.  But once we took a bite, our mouths were bursting with fresh and heavenly flavors!  There were some ouiiiiis and ahhhhs with each bite.

ROASTED RACK OF PORK W/ROMESCO

I rubbed the pork rack with sea salt and some red wine vinegar.  Then I slowly roasted it in the oven.  Next I created the Romesco which is a Spanish sauce that is usually served with barbecued or roasted foods.  I hand crushed some garlic, sea salt, chillies, almonds in a mortar.  Then folded in some homemade breadcrumbs along with paprika.  A dash of red wine vinegar and EVVO to create a saucy consistency.

The MAIN dish!  Doesn't look super fancy but tasted SUPER fancy.

Finally - to celebrate our first Easter in Santa Barbara, we toasted to some local Pinot from Costa De Oro.  Not as "oaky" as our NW Pinots.  However, filled with lots of fruit notes but not sweet.  Loved it!