As a general rule, D and I do not go out on Sunday nights. There is something comforting about staying in, and preparing mentally and physically for the upcoming week. However, we made an exception last night, in order to attend the 25th annual JEMS Christmas Concert in Little Tokyo.

It started at 6 p.m., so I wanted to go early to have dinner beforehand. First, we made a stop at Fugetsu-Do. Fortunately I was able to snag the last package of chocolate mochi, which I had never tried before. Highly recommended. Even D liked it, and he is not a particularly big fan of mochi. Very impressive that the store has been around for over 100 years!

We walked a few doors down First Street to Suehiro Cafe. According to Yelpers, it is like a Japanese Denny’s, but we didn’t think so. D had oyako don and CA roll and I had the house special, stir-fried eggplant with miso sauce and tofu. (You can also choose chicken or beef). The sauce was very tasty, but the vegetables were a bit too charred for my taste. The house special also came with a scoop of ice cream, so I chose the plum wine flavor–very fruity. We were there early, around 4:15, and had no problem getting a seat. Less than an hour later, the line was practically out the door! So, get there early if you don’t want to wait.

We enjoyed the concert, and it was a nice way to kickoff the Christmas season. There were plenty of reminders that “Jesus is the reason for the Season”. There were some very talented musicians/singers. It has been a while since we have seen a live performance (yes, we left k at the grandparents’ house). The baby seemed to enjoy one of the louder performances in the beginning. He was kicking away! We ended up leaving early, though, around 8:20, at D’s request. I thought that was reasonable since he was the one who had to wake up early the next day and spend all day at work.

Sat. morning D ran five miles at the Cypress College track. We went down to Irvine for a playdate. The boy had the same kitchenette as k, making her feel right at home. We also figured out that k really likes the chicken mango sausage from Trader Joe’s. Afterward, we took Deb out to Pho Bac for a belated birthday lunch. We also picked up a dessert next door at the Layer Cake bakery. D picked out the napoleon and Deb got a cupcake (not sure what kind). We were too full to eat it there, so we took it home. I liked the napoleon–very high custard to pastry ratio.

On Thursday, k and I went to visit D at work. After making the rounds at his office, we went to Fukada for lunch. It is a popular place, so we knew that we should get there early. It opens at 11:30; we arrived at 11:21. Of course, there was a line of at least a dozen people already, spilling into the parking lot. My expectations were duly raised. At 11:30, the doors opened, and there was a rush to get a table. No actual pushing and shoving, mind you, but enough to make me feel a little tense.

Fukada is known for their noodle/rice lunch combinations for $8.95. I had the cold soba with mountain vegetables and oyako don (with brown rice). D had hot udon with tempura flakes and crunchy roll. I also talked him into getting the cold iced green tea after reading Yelp reviews. It was the greenest green tea I’ve ever seen or tasted. I should’ve taken a picture of it. Just picture swamp juice. Actually, there is a picture on Yelp.

Everything was good, although I guess I’m not one to get too excited about noodles. I don’t think my palate is refined enough to distinguish the very best. The decor was fresh and modern and I liked how they brought special tableware for k to eat off of. If I was a Yelper I would give it four stars. Since there were many more people waiting after the first round of seating, I felt very rushed. The service was almost too efficient…the waiter brought the check about five minutes after we received our food!

I always forget to put a bib on k and her clothes pay the price.

Today we participated in Newport Beach Restaurant Week. From today until Thursday, various restaurants in Newport Beach are offering special prix fixe meals. We chose French 75 since they had a $15 lunch deal. We had attempted to go on a previous occasion at a different location, but it was closed on weekends during lunch. It did not disappoint and we were full…probably from all that butter/cream.

They served us rolls with marmalade and strawberry jam. We managed to polish off six of them. Well, k did help us, too! We ordered different things for each course so we could try more items.

First Course

D: Shrimp Dijon–This was a nice size portion for a one-person appetizer. The regular menu listed this for $12-13 alone, so we were wondering if you usually get more or if we were just getting a really good deal.
L: French Onion Soup–The sweet onions and the salty cheese/broth went well together. The soggy crouton was good too…whoever thought of that?

Second Course

D: Chicken/Forest Mushroom Crepes–The chicken was nice and moist and the mushrooms were juicy (D’s words).
L: Short Rib with Horseradish Sauce and Mashed Potatoes–Probably more suitable for dinner as we are not used to consuming large hunks of meat for lunch. The meat was quite tender. I also enjoyed the brussel sprouts that were on the side. We ended up taking a lot of this home since we knew we should save room for dessert.

Third Course

D: “Petite” Chocolate Souffle–Nice and warm. D was disappointed that the waiter dolloped whipped cream on top instead of ice cream. He still enjoyed it though!
L: Orange Cherry Creme Brulee–D was surprised at how much he enjoyed this. We gave k a few bites too, but mostly she enjoyed eating the raspberries on top. I liked the vanilla bean specks.

k seemed to enjoy both of our main courses. Hopefully we turn her into a foodie!

This weekend’s eating adventure occurred at The Corner Place in Cerritos. Since it is a Korean BBQ place, I figured it would not be a good place to take a baby, and that we should go now while we can.

We went on Saturday during lunch because I had heard that was supposed to rain at night. It turns out that they have weekend lunch specials (as well as weekday lunch specials) so I was happy. We ordered the #1 (bulgogi and kalbi), $12.95 and #4 (spicy chicken–I don’t recall the Korean name), $9.95. Each came with a 1/2 bowl of their renowned cold noodles (more on that later).

After we picked our way through some panchan, the waitress heated up our tabletop grill and started cooking our red meat. She also brought plates with shredded green onion and lettuce to eat with the meat. The kalbi was boneless, and really good. I also enjoyed the bulgogi and chicken. Thankfully, she left a pair of tongs so we could turn the meat. I don’t like it when such places expect you to use your chopsticks to cook the meat and then eat with them–ew.

We didn’t order rice, but the dong chi mi noodles did a good job of cooling down our mouths. This dish consists of somen noodles served in an ice cold broth. I did some internet research and came across stories about how the recipe is top secret. Sure enough, the menu said that the noodles were not available for take out (they don’t want anyone to decipher the recipe!) Another funny tidbit is that many suspect that the secret ingredient is 7-up! One person even ordered 7-up to drink, to which the waitress responded, “cold noodles”?

We finished all of our food and my hair soaked up that Korean BBQ smell. Lovely.

The Corner Place
19100 Gridley Road
Cerritos, CA

(605 N, Right on South Street, Right on Gridley, on your left, across from Toys R Us)

Last Saturday D and I went to Houston’s to celebrate my birthday. Actually, it was a joint celebration since we used the gift certificate my parents gave to D for his birthday. Neither of us had been before, although we have been to Bandera and Rutherford Grill, which are part of the same restaurant “family”. All of the restaurants have a dark, swanky ambience. We went to the Houston’s in Irvine.

The Houston’s hamburger was on the list of “Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die”, so that’s what D ordered:

D: The waitress said I could get it as rare as I wanted since it is prime beef. I selected med-well and it had a little pink to it. It was really good. It was not over-seasoned so you could taste the high-quality meat flavor. The chese was sharp and the lettuce & tomato fresh. The bun was seasame and was just the right size and density.

After doing some internet research, I decided to order the prime rib French dip sandwich:

It looks kind of gross in this picture, but it was actually very good! Plus, I need to get more iron in my diet, so I didn’t feel too bad 🙂 The horseradish sauce on the side is a must!

We were too full for dessert.

I always thought it would be cool to have a neighborhood restaurant to call our own. You know, like the Central Perk on “Friends” or Luke’s Diner on “Gilmore Girls”. However, I always like trying new restaurants, so we never really become “regulars” at any specific place. The one restaurant that comes closest for us is Pho Today, on the corner of Katella and Knott (behind Del Taco). We like this place because it is close by, pretty cheap, friendly and non-intimidating, and the food is good! Nothing beats a bowl of steaming hot pho when you think you’re coming down with a cold, or you just want to warm up. We like to super-size #8 ($5) for $1 extra. Also, ask about the daily special–$5, (usually some sort of stir-fry with rice), including drink. I also recommend # 44–vermicelli, charbroiled beef and egg roll, $6.50.