How bad is soda for your health?

I stumbled across this in one of the food blogs I subscribe to:

I have to admit, I do enjoy a soda once in awhile, but I was never a big soda drinker. I guess I have my mom to thank for that because she rarely allowed the stuff in the house as we were growing up. I know lots of people drink soda on a daily basis, sometimes 2-3 times a day! It also shocks me that fast food places sell soda in 42oz for less than $1!!! That's a lot of soda for pennies! 

I don't believe in cutting things completely out of life because I believe we should enjoy the things we like; however, I do believe in moderation. So for you habitual soda drinkers out there.....please take a look at the chart above and think carefully before you go for your 3rd soda of the day or when you are ordering the 42oz size soft drink at a drive-through. 

Dinner with an Old Friend

My friend Evan called me up the other day and asked if we could get together and catch up. I haven't seen Evan in about a month so I was glad that he called. I've know Evan since freshmen year in undergrad so we've got lots of history together. He wanted to go get some Korean tofu bowls, which is one of my favorite foods! We met up at Convoy Tofu House, which Evan said is better than the Tofu House down the street (also on Convoy). I trust him because he's Korean so he knows his Korean food.

He ordered a seafood pancake for us as an appetizer, which I have never tried before. He said his mom used to make a vegetable version of the same thing, and he's been craving it. It was delicious!!

One of the things I love about Korean tofu houses is that they bring you these little dishes to go with your meal. These dishes mainly consists of various pickled vegetables (including kimchi, my favorite!). 

We both ordered the seafood tofu bowls with regular spiciness. It comes with oysters, shrimp, fish, and tofu in a delicious broth. They also give you a raw egg that you can crack over the top! The tofu bowls are boiling hot when you first get it so the egg cooks right away!

You can select different types of tofu bowls. There are ones with kimchi, dumplings, mushrooms, or extra tofu! They give you a bowl of rice with your tofu bowl. 

Tofu bowls is definitely one of my favorite comfort foods. Have you ever tried Korean tofu bowls? What's your favorite type?

Chinese Food in SD

Do you like Chinese food? I love it but I can't cook it >_< Sad, I know since I'm Chinese, but for some reason I just can't get the knack of it. I guess not matter how much I try, I can never make it as good as my parents, so I've kind of given up.

San Diego is not really known for its wide selection and great quality of Chinese food, but there are a few places that I prefer when I'm in the mood for some "home-cooking." One of these places is Sam Woo inside Ranch 99 Supermarket. I love this place because they are open late, the food is made to order, and it's extremely affordable! They do have a takeout section, where the food is already made, but I love eating at the restaurant itself. One secret, if you come towards closing time for the takeout section, they will pile on more food because they are trying to get rid of it !

Boyfriend and I went a few nights ago and ordered way too much food. I justified it to myself as plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day!

Rock cod with vegetables over rice!

3 Flavors Crispy Noodles (chicken, beef, and duck)

Garlic Shrimp

Mongolian Beef

My tummy was definitely satisfied after all the food. However, I never leave Sam Woo without getting their Thai ice tea with boba! So delicious and so cheap!

You really can't get a better deal and quality for Chinese food in San Diego than Sam Woo. Come try this place the next time you're craving some "real" Chinese food =)

A Hidden Jewel

One of my favorite types of food is Japanese. I have a few favorite places for sushi around San Diego, but this past weekend we decided to try a new place. I yelped Japanese restaurants in my area and got Fish Attack Sushi House right down the street from our apartment. It got 4 stars and about 100 reviews so we decided to give it a try. Upon arriving there, I realized it was the sushi place I drive by all the time and never bothered to give it a second glance!

We walked in and was seated right away at the sushi bar per our request. The restaurant isn't very big, maybe 6-7 table plus the sushi bar. Our server was a very efficient and sweet girl, who came to take our drink orders right away. When she came back with boyfriend's beer, she also brought some complementary garlic edamame! They were full of garlicky goodness and the complementary part made them taste even better!

We looked over the menu, which was extensive but not overwhelming. Boyfriend and I have a few favorites that we always order. For me, I like trying the spicy tuna handroll at every Japanese restaurant because it's my favorite, and the quality and taste of the handroll is a good indication on whether the restaurant is worth coming back for. I also love Ikura nigiri, which is salmon roe over rice and wrapped with seaweed. I don't know why I love Ikura so much, but I've loved it ever since I first tried sushi as a little girl. Unfortunately I ate the handroll and Ikura nigiri before I remember to take pictures of them....I was really hungry.

Boyfriend loves salmon so he always order some salmon sashimi.

We looked over the selection of sushi rolls they have and decided on two rolls: Thousand Island Roll and Fish Attack Special Roll.

Thousand Island Roll - no rice so a great no/low carb option! The cucumber makes the roll very light and refreshing.

Fish Attack Special Roll - awesome presentation and great taste!

The food and atmosphere at this places was really great! I'm so glad that I discovered this hidden little jewel. Now I can just go down the street for some great quality sushi ^_^ Do you have a restaurant that you consider a hidden jewel? 

The Cottage on a Saturday

Boyfriend told me he wants a relaxing weekend because he's been working like mad for the past week. So this past Saturday, we slept in, got up leisurely, and decided to grab some brunch. Boyfriend told me he has never been to The Cottage in La Jolla, despite having lived in San Diego all of his life. I was appalled! I love The Cottage and couldn't believe he has never been there!! We decided that we need to go there right away!

We got there around 1PM and it was a full house. We were told the wait was 15 minutes, which was fine because they provided complementary coffee and coffee cake (YUM!). We got a corner table by the windows inside, which was a first for me since I've always sat outside. I love their decor inside because it was bright with vaulted ceiling and I love the fans!

Boyfriend and I both ordered a cappuccino (mine was of course soy due to my annoying intolerance to lactose >_<). I've been on a cappuccino kick lately, I love the foam and the sprinkle of cinnamon on top!

Their menu is amazing, I wanted to order everything! Unfortunately, boyfriend told me that was too much food, so I settled on the Fried Egg Sandwich. The sandwich includes lemon aioli, applewood bacon, gruyere, tomato, arugula, red onion, and 2 over-medium eggs smacked in between two pieces of perfectly toasted sourdough bread. 

Boyfriend shocked me by getting two different dishes! He said he was really hungry, but I think it was because he couldn't decide! He got the Eggs Benedict (his favorite) and the Classic French Toast. Both were very delicious!

I have never made eggs benedict before.....maybe I should try since it's boyfriend's favorite breakfast/brunch dish. I think we will definitely come back here very soon! What's your favorite place to go for brunch???

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Boyfriend has been working crazy hours this week. He has a project deadline coming up so he's been pulling all-nighters at the office :( Me, being the awesome girlfriend that I am, wanted to cook something for him that was healthy, satisfying, and delicious! I went to my usual website, Tastespotting, for some inspiration. If you haven't been to this website, you should check it out! It's a compilation of different food blogs with amazing photos of food and creative twists to old and new recipes. Plus, it just brightens up my day to look at food!

I have always been a fan of bell peppers. I love the taste, raw or cooked, the shape of the vegetable, and I especially love all the amazing bright colors!

I decided to make some yummy stuffed bell peppers. Most recipes include ground beef or ground turkey in the stuffing, but I just wasn't in the mood to cook meat, so I opted for a vegetarian version. My stuffing consisted of quinoa, black beans, mushrooms, onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes, asparagus, and tomato paste.

By the way, have you ever tried quinoa?? It's one of my favorite rice substitutes. Uncooked, it looks like this:

You can get it at Trader Joe's or Henry's. It has a nutty flavor and goes great with everything! Besides being tasty, it's also very healthy. It's one of the only plant foods that has all the essential amino acids and  is a great source of dietary fiber, iron, and magnesium. It is also gluten-free. I like to think of quinoa as "super food!" 

You can cook quinoa on the stove, but I discovered you can also cook it in a rice cooker! I LOVE my rice cooker. I used equal parts of quinoa and chicken broth (for more flavor, but you can use water or vegetable broth), press the on button, and let the rice cooker do all the work!

I washed and hollowed out the peppers, fill the inside with quinoa stuffing, and baked them with the pepper lids on at 375 for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, take out the peppers and open the lids (carefully, they will be hot and soft!). I sprinkled generous amounts of Trader Joe's Shredded 3 Cheese Blend (mozzarella, monterey jack, and cheddar cheese) over each pepper. Put the lids back on, and back into the oven for another 5 minutes! 

Take the peppers out of the oven and let them cool slightly before handling them.

Grab a fork and knife then enjoy!!!

Moving = Cleaning??

Boyfriend and I went to Redlands this weekend to help my parents move to their new house. All I can say is, WOW my parents have a lot of stuff!! I guess that's ok since they've lived in the same house for 15 years.

My mom tried to give me her old dining room tables. Yes, you read right....she has 2 dining room tables! One for the kitchen and one for the formal dining room. I know she has an emotional attachment to them because one was shipped from our old house in Taiwan, and the other was the first piece of furniture she purchased in the US. However, at what point do you say enough is enough? Everything has some sort of memory attached to it, but you can't keep everything or can you?? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the tables will go to someone who really needs them.

My parent's dog, Molly, wanted to make sure we didn't forget her  so she hopped in the truck and waited while we loaded up some furnitures!

My brother, Alan, and our faithful dog, Misty.

Speaking of moving, before I moved in with the boyfriend, I used to move every year. I have lived in a total of 8 different places (if you count on-campus dorm and on-campus apartment)!! My rationale behind these moves was that I better move around while I'm young and only have to worry about me before I get older and settle down. When I say moving, I don't mean all over the country or world (which would be awesome!). I mainly moved around San Diego. From UTC to Mira Mesa to Pacific Beach, and now Mission Bay. I've experienced sharing a room, sharing an apartment, having my own room, sharing a house, and living on my own in a studio. I have learned how wonderful and disastrous it is to live with friends and strangers.

I loved moving every year because it gave me an excuse to clean out all my belongings and really lead a minimalistic lifestyle. Also I think I just liked the change and experiencing different neighborhoods and people. Everytime I move, I can't get over how much stuff I accumulate over the course of just one year!! I know almost everyone holds on to things, and some people do it to the extreme, but why do we all feel the need to have so much "stuff" in our lives?? Do you like moving? What's your favorite or least favorite part about moving?

My parents' move ended with a gorgeous sunset, as seen from their amazing new backyard!