Everyday is Happy Day~ HelloAnnie Food Blog

This is the HelloAnnie Food Journal. I am going to share with you the good, better, and best restaurant I went. I love cooking, eating, and shopping. Follow me and join my eating adventure. Feel free to drop me a note: Web: www.helloannieho.com Mail: annieho126(at)gmail.com

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She Takes Apple Slices And Soaks Them In Water To Make A Delicious And Gorgeous Dessert!

Apple Rose Tutorial!

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Lobster with Cheese Yee Mein~

Fresh Lobster~ I love seafood! Another comfort food receipt, I really want seafood tonight, but the fresh fish didn't look very good so I decided to go for Boston Lobster. The meat is very tender and sweet. The only hard part is chopping the lobster, but I have a wonderful husband take care of that~ Enjoy! Ingredients Boston Lobster - 1 pcs

Onion - 1/2 pcs

Garlic - 1 tbsp (table spoon)

Butter - 1/2 pcs

Sugar - 2 tsp (tea spoon)

Corn starch - 2 tsp

Chicken soup - 1 can

Yee Mein - 1 Disc

Kraft Velveeta Cheese - 1/3 block of the 16oz size (This cheese has the flavor but it's not the best ingredient I could find, I will recommend replace other cheese with that.)

#1 - Wash the lobster and use chopstick poke the bottom bally and release the pee pee (It takes out the acidic taste from the lobster.)

#2 - Chop the lobster into pcs. (Take the head off first then chop it in half, chop the body in to 6-8 pcs depends on the size of the lobster.)

#3 - Sprinkle 2 tsp corn starch on the lobster, then raise it in the "HOT" oil for 2 min, separate the oil and set the lobster aside.

#4 - Pre-heat the wok in HIGH heat for 2 min, melts the butter and add the garlic and onion.

#5 - Then, add the cheese, sugar and chicken soup to to wok. Wait until the cheese melt then put the lobster in for 6 min.

#6 - Boiled a pot of hot water, and dump the Yee Mein noodle to cook for 2 min. Once the noodle ready, take the noodle out from the boiled hot water. Next, mix it with the cheese and lobster sauce, cook for 1 more min.

#7 - Ready to serve

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Food journal #11 - Kalesa Restaurant (Filipino food)

After the gourmet food truck experience, I am curious about Filipino food. This restaurant was used to be a Thai town restaurant, and they changed ownership and switch into Kalesa. I was trying to go to my favorite dumpling restaurant that day, but it was closed, so we drove around and convince my husband to try something "NEW". We look at the to-go menu, and decided to dine in. After flipping the menu couple times and both of us don't have any clue to order. I decided to have the appetizer crispy tofu fries and fresh Buko juice (Coconut), also with Pork ribs Adobo. My husband order the Pancit Malabon and garlic rice. The crispy tofu is great, the shape is like a french fried, very crispy with nice texture and light on salt. Great dish and easy to chew. Then, we have the pork rib adobo and pancit malabon. The pork rib has a lot of soy sauce flavor and comes with fried potato. It was huge in portion, but too salty. The pancit malabon was really amazing, it looks beautiful, with lots of different seafood, special noodles and the hard boiled egg, very tasty. It has a nice touch with deep fried pork and dried shrimp. The garlic rice didn't have too much flavor. And, the Buko juice was a nice dessert and refreshing drink, you can use the spoon to scoop out the tender coconut meat. I think this is a nice experience for different ethic food, definitely will try other menu items next time. (4.0 Stars) 

Address: 1783 N. Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035

Phone: [phone]

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Food journal #10 - Chef Salad from awesome VMware cafeteria 

I am not the typical Asian, I don't bring food to work, so I only rely on the food from the surrounded area and the local restaurants. This chef salad is one of the best lunch treat for me, it's healthy, cheap and with lots of ingredients. It comes with Romaine lettuce, chicken breast, roasted turkey, ham, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, tomato, hard boiled egg and ranch dressing. It's from VMware cafeteria, the price tag is only $6.00. Where can you find a deal like this? The color is beautiful, the ranch dressing is perfect, and the best thing is the hard boiled egg. OMG, I think this is my favorite lunch item! (4.95 Stars)  

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Food journal #9 - Union City Food Truck Mafia (Gourmet food trucks)

10 Gourmet Food trucks roaming to Union City every Thursday night from 5pm-9pm at Walmart parking lots until the end of October 2011. If you never have the food trucks experience, this will be a good start. It is because the crowd is not as crazy as "Off the Grid San Francisco". There were plenty of parking spots and chairs available, also DJ playing Hip Hop music while you enjoying your gourmet food. The atmosphere were great, I totally enjoy the outdoor eating experience. The price is reasonable and the food is above average. I highly recommend to try out some of the special items at the events. Me and my husband try 6 out of the 10 food trucks.

BBQ Kalbi - We try the BBQ Spicy Pork Taco $2.50ea, good house made sauces. Must try their special sauces on the side table. (4.7 stars)  

Five Ten Burger - N/A  

Grill Stars - Beef and cheddar sandwiches $9.00ea, it comes with a side of thick fried potato chips. The sandwiches was nice and juicy except there were fat at the beef brisket (I personally don't eat beef, this comment is from my husband.) (4 stars)

House of Siam on Wheels - N/A

MoBowl - MoBowl Wings $4.00. The wings are lightly fired and topped with sweet and spicy sauce, the wing is bland, the sauce is not sticking out. (4 stars)

MoGoBBQ - Pork Taco $2.00ea. I will choose BBQ Kalbi over this because the meat flavor is lightly sweet Korean marinade, personally I think that is too light for my taste. It comes with a slice of lemon to enhance the flavor. (3.7 stars)

That's Sweet! Dessert Truck - The longest line for all the trucks, and most of the items sold out, this is definitely a popular vendor. Chocolate Vanilla cupcakes $4.00, Kiwi Swiss cupcakes $4.00 and Southern peach pie $6.00 to go, I will post the rating tomorrow, still in the refrigerator. 

Twisted Chill - $4.00 yogurt per cup, unlimited toppings. Really good deal. (4.5 stars) 

Whole Bowl - N/A

Yumsilog - $6.00ea great food and reasonable price, I tried the Sisig Silog a traditional Filipino breakfast, the garlic rice and the fried egg, great combination. (4.7 stars)

The whole experience was pretty good, the food is above average but not Best of the best. Do not put too much expectation!

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Bruno Mars - Lighters 

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Food journal #8 - Kalbi Korean BBQ TACO (Gourmet food truck)

It's Friday, Friday... I went to lunch with my buddy at work, when we decided what to eat that day, we passed by Kalbi Korean BBQ food truck, this bright color food truck and long waiting line catch my eyes, so I decided to make a turn and try out this gourmet food truck and see what the dealio? haha~ It was parked at AOL parking lot at 397 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA. I am reading the menu, Korean/Mexican fusion food. It's the new thing I never heard of. The idea is pretty cool! Korean BBQ wrap with Taco or Burrito, very interesting idea. I ordered the BBQ pork with rice. You can see from my photos, the BBQ pork looks yummy and it comes with asian salad mix with sesame on it, taste great too! The side table is fill with different sauce, there were Spicy Mayo, Sweet Spicy Mango, Sweet Leechi(Lychee), Sweet Wasabi, Hot Pepper Paste and SRIRACHA. Fresh cucumber and Kimchi at the side. I tried Sweet Leechi and Sweet Spicy Mango with my order. I like the Sweet Leechi sauce better than the Spicy Mango sauce, the mango sauce has a gentle mild kick. The portion is right, I didn't waste any drop of my food and didn't have a food coma after lunch. The only complain is the price, most of the item is around USD $7.50 to USD $8.50, if they can offer some online coupon discount, I think it would attract more customer to try their gourmet BBQ. Also, they only work from Thursday to Saturday, it's not very accessible during the week.  (4.7 Stars)

Address: http://bbqkalbi.com/ , http://twitter.com/#!/bbqkalbi

(Find out their serving locations and menu from their website or Twitter account)

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  Food journal #7 - Phil's BBQ

I went to Comic Con 2011 at San Diego this week. Before we go, I saw Phil's BBQ on Food channel and I really want to try it. We went to the restaurant on a Wednesday night. it's located next to the Sport Arena and inside is nicely decorate and very easy to find a seat.

I order BBQ baby back ribs for myself and my husband have the Beefy Rib & Chicken Dinner ( 2 Beef Rib and 1/4 Chicken BBQ'd), and we also order a side of corn on the cob and fried. The baby back ribs are very tender and juicy, and the sauce is very sweet and the meat is full with the BBQ sauce favor. 

I think it done well on the BBQ meat, but both of the side is very disappointed. The fries is not hot and crispy. The corn on the cob is using the grainy corn, and it's very chewy, and the potato salad on my husband's combo is not season, very bland. I would go back for the baby back ribs but I am not recommend to order the extra side. It's not worth the money. (3 Stars)

Address: 3750 Sport Arena Blvd., San Diego, CA 92078

Phone: [phone]

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Dinner tonight... DIY Japanese style cooking =)

1) Tempura broccoli and mushroom

2) Lobster and Salmon sashimi

Yummy!~

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Food journal #6 - TLT BBQ (Meat Lover Paradise)

This store is for the meat lover, the chinese style meat kebab/meat skewer. The price is very reasonable, they also served beer. I recommend go there with more people. I was surprise with the eggplant kebab, a lot of people don't like eggplant soft and mushy texture, but this store is totally different. You can see from the picture, it's firm with a lot of favor. Highly recommend!

BBQ takes time to make so be sure you don't have plan after dinner. It will take at least 15min before your first order arrive. The store is locate at the quiet corner of the strip mall, so be careful at night. Get their early, around 6:30pm then you don't need to wait too long.

We did order the mix chow mein, which is chow fun noodle with chicken and sausage. A good item to fill up your stomach. Lamb kebab, chicken wing kebab, and beef kebab are the must try item. 

But don't order the "A" vegetable kabeb, the texture like a wet paper towel dry up with burn edge.  (4.7 stars)

Address: 39257 Cedar Blvd., Newark, CA 94560

Phone: [phone]

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Food journal #5 - The Melting Pot

I like fondue, and I want to try this restaurant for almost a year, finally I got a chance this week to check in this restaurant. We went there on Saturday evening around 7pm with no reservation, and we can get a seat right away. The seat is at the back of the building, you can see Cal Train pass by every half an hour. This is a very nice seat if there wasn't a loud and obnoxious family with 8 kids running around and screaming every 5 minutes. I can say it wasn't a kid friendly restaurant because of the hot pot and flat top stove, and 8 kids was running around and their parents was chatting with themselves and totally ignore the kids, OMG. This is not a good situation at all. And, the host feel really bad for us and try to make up for our experience and give us 2 free drinks. I am really glad the waiter try their best to control the situation, but it was scary to see the kids running around and accident would happen anytime if they touch the "HOT" pot or the stove top. I wouldn't blame for the restaurant for the experience, I would blame the family.

This is the first time we try the Fondue experience, so we pick the set menu called Fondue fusion.  First course: Cheese Fondue - we choose the spinach artichoke fondue with breads (Nice Fondue and the bread is soft and cheesy, we finish all the cheese dip before the bread and chips.)

Second course: Salad

Third course: Mojo cooking style - Lobster, shrimp, chicken, pork, filet mignon, sirloin, potato, and corn ravioli 

The cheese dipping sauce for seafood is pretty good

Forth course: Dessert - Milk chocolate with gram cracker and s'more

That's all, the bill arrived. It costs $128.03 for us with 2 drinks. The service is great, the food is fresh, but I think this is a little expensive for 2 person dinner. My husband still feel hungry after the dinner, I think I won't be back again unless I am really craving for chees fondue. (2.8 Stars)

Address: 2 North B Street, San Mateo, CA 94401

Phone: [phone]

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Owl City - Strawberry Avalanche

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Mouth Watering Strawberry Yogurt Recipe

DIY Strawberry Yogurt - Healthy and Yummmmy~! It's the weekend, I am wondering at the house and open up my fridge and looking for comfort food. I find strawberries and yogurt, this comfort food is easy to made and definitely is a healthy choice. You don't have to feel guilty after eating the delicious organic yogurt. Cheers~! =) Ingredients Strawberries - 1 lb  Plain Non Fat Yogurt - 2 lb Sugar - 4 tbsp (table spoon)

#1 - Wash the strawberries and use paper towel to dry up

#2 - Dice the strawberries into small cubes

#3 - Mix the strawberries cubes into the non fat yogurt

#4 - Stir the mixture and add sugar

#5 - Ready to serve

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Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA

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Food journal #4 - Homemade Seafood Dinner

Congratulation to myself, finally got my citizenship today after 15 years in United State. I am proud to be an American. Therefore, we celebrate today by cooking a Seafood dinner at Home =) 

It's a long day for me, it is because: #1 - Wake up at 6am #2 - 9am arrive Oakland (A lot of traffic) #3 - Getting a parking spot at the Oakland Paramount Theatre #4 - Cooking a perfect seafood dinner with the best ingredients I could get my hands on

The Paramount Theatre serves all the arts in Oakland, it's a beautiful historic location with stunning decoration inside.

Back to the Food Part. I order my ingredients online and it arrived today around 3pm, the shipping only cost me USD$10. And, it was shipped by FedEx. 

The item are neatly packed. I ordered the following: #1 - Fresh Grade Carlsbad Oyster (1 Dozen) #2 - Live Sashimi Grade Spot Prawns (1 lb) #3 - Frozen Sashimu Grade Large Soft Shell Crabs (6 pcs)

The soft shell carb is pretty big compare to the Quarter. (USD $0.25)

The crab is already clean when it comes with the package, I only need to wash off the ice from the surface.

And, surprisingly the shrimp is as big as the soft shell crab.

How to prepare the shrimp: #1 - Chop the head off, peel off the shell from the body #2 - Use scissors to cut off the legs and the antennae  #3 - Use knife slight cut the back of the shrimp (Abdomen part) #4 - Take out the intestine  #5 - Prepare the wasabi and soy sauce #6 - Ready to eat

Wash the shrimp head and dip into the tempura batter mixture, fried until changes color.

The soft shell crab has the same process as the shrimp.   Be careful with hot oil and water. I recommend you prepare the extra long frying chopsticks, and use the wok cover as your shield.

We also prepare broccoli and zucchini for the tempura.

And, lastly we open the oyster. Add lemon juice, ketchup, and tabasco.   Dinner is ready to serve~!  

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Food journal #3 - CULTURE Organic Frozen Yogurt

Yogurt is good for you and CULTURE is good for you... the key ingredient is coming from Straus Family Creamery - Kosher Yogurt. The taste is smooth and silky, but not too sweet. It's different than those chain yogurt stores, it's definitely a healthy choice. They have many organic toppings for you to choose. I like their mango and strawberry, both of the items are carefully prepared, finely chopped squares. You know the store workers did put their heart on preparing the ingredients. The store is locate at the heart of Palo Alto - South California Avenue, plenty of parking space across the street, easy access location. They also serve organic chocolate chips cookie, very tasty. It's not a self serve yogurt place, they have small, medium, and large for you to choose. Because the healthy ingredients and easy access locations, the yogurt is a little bit pricier. (4 stars) P.S. Don't forget to ask for a frequent visitor card. 12 stamps = 1 FREE medium swirl + 1 Topping Address: 340 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306 Phone: [phone]