Thoughts

This is the first blog I have ever created, so I'm kind of learning the ins and outs of the blogosphere and what I want to talk about in my own blog. As much as I would love to come up with a new recipe or cook a new dish every day, that just isn't going to happen. I am not creative enough and kind of expensive because it would require me to constantly restock my pantry. Soooooo, I was thinking that perhaps I could talk about fun/interesting food-related articles and books that I have read. I was also thinking about reviewing restaurants, pastry shops, and chocolate shops I visit or would like to visit in the future. And finally, I was thinking about throwing in random Disney facts and news about the park since I have completely given into the propaganda that it's the happiest place on earth. What do you all think?

Well, in the mean time, I would love to post some pictures from my fun Cinco De Mayo weekend that I spent in Downtown LA.

First up, my sister and I stayed at the beautiful Omni Hotel for the weekend so that we could both have a really good time without having to worry about who's driving.

 One of the places I really wanted to visit is Syrup Desserts. They have a HUGE dessert selection and I wanted to try them all, like the red velvet ding dong.

   BUT, I couldn't pass up this rare opportunity to try their famous brown bread ice cream waffle sandwich. Can you tell I was excited? It was really really good and surpassed all my expectations. the brown bread tasted like caramelized brown sugar bits added as a nice sticky crunch to the delicious ice cream. I also loved how the waffle was a little saltier than usual to offset the sweetness.

 

I also had to make a stop at one of my favoritest cupcake stores of all times. Their cupcakes never fail to disappoint me and I love how it still tastes fresh and moist the day after.

 Choosing one cupcake was really hard. It ultimately came down to the heath bar crunch cupcake and the reese's pieces chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting. I ultimately picked the reese's pieces. IT.WAS.UHHHH-MAZING.

 Since it was Cinco De Mayo, my sister and I headed to Olvera Street to participate in a large festival that was being thrown in honor of the holiday. I really wanted to eat some authentic Mexican food but the line was like a mile long. Booo. The food smelled and looked delicious.

 And lastly, we trekked to Bottega Louie for some of their magical macarons. I surprisingly didn't see any chocolate ones. It's okay though. I comforted myself with matcha green tea and salted caramel while my sister ordered a raspberry (?) and lavender flavored one. MMMMM

Hot Cocoa Kettle Corn

This morning, I finally reacquainted myself with the kitchen. I didn't make anything special; that is, unless you like hot cocoa as much as I do. The thing about hot cocoa is that it's usually reserved for fall and winter. So, what's a girl to do when it is not season appropriate to drink hot cocoa? You whip up a batch of hot cocoa kettle corn. This recipe is super easy. It's a bit messy because it requires you to melt white chocolate chips in the microwave but at least you get to lick the remnants in the bowl and off the spoon. Ok, so here's how it works.

1 bag of microwavable kettle corn
2 cups of white chocolate chips
2 cups of mini marshmallows
1/4 cup of hot cocoa powder

Prepare a sheet pan and cover it with wax paper. Microwave the kettle corn according to the directions on the box. When it's ready, remove the kettle corn from its bag and onto the sheet pan. Make sure to separate all the unpopped kernals. Your friends and your teeth will thank you for this (unless you are giving this to people you don't like. Then feel free to leave the unpopped kernals with the rest of the kettle corn). Place the white chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals. Stir after each interval. When it's all nice and gooey, pour half of it over the kettler corn and give it a nice stir. Then, quickly top with the mini marshmallows and stir again to thoroughly incorporate it with the chocolate-y kettle corn. And finally, shower this lovely concoction with hot cocoa powder. Drizzle the remaining melted white chocolate completely over the kettle corn. Let the chocolate harden. Then dig in. 

And now, here are the rest of my pictures from the wonder world of Disneyland =)

A pic of CA Adventure after hours

Sunrise

Coolest water fountain ever!

Look Back on My Disney Trip Part 1

Yesterday was crazy busy with work and school, which meant that I didn't get home until 10 pm. I was really tired and almost made a beeline towards my bed. But luckily, I remembered to charge my camera battery so I could share some pictures from my Disneylandia extravaganza trip. Since my camera decided to die on me on Tuesday morning, the rest of my pics are on my sister's camera. So, more pics to follow later. But here's photo summary part 1:

Dinner at Catal at Downtown Disney on Monday night

 “THE DUKE” OLD FASHIONED
“Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway.” Named after OC’s most famous movie gunslinger. Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey, two blends of bitters, crushed oranges and cherries

 Complimentary bread basket with a side of olive oil for dipping

Arroz con pato, homemade duck sausage, charred scallions, roasted mushroom bomba rice, truffle aïoli

 Paella bogavante, 1lb. lobster, chorizo de Bilbao, saffron bomba rice, piquillo peppers, smoked paprika aïoli

S'mores with banana creme anglaise

This sauce was so freakin good i was seriously drinking it. MMMMM

Lego Store Time!

 

"To Infinity! And Beyond!"

"A Whole New World!"

"Tale As Old As Time"

The fearless Prince taking down the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty

Pooh Bear and I sharing this awesome chocolate peanut butter sandwich

A view of CA Adventure from my hotel room at night.

Morning View

Future Wedding Location

At the Grand Californian Hotel

Entering the park along with the other hotel guests who get to enter an hour early before everyone else.

 

And this is when my camera decided to die. To be continued =)

Goodbye Happiest Place on Earth!

All good things must come to an end and this morning my wonderful experience at the happiest place on earth came to an end. I was originally going to leave last night but my sister was kind enough to let me stay with her at the hotel for one more night. So, I was able to go on a few more rides, watch the Aladdin musical (which isn't as awesome as it used to be because Aladdin and Jasmine no longer fly in the air when they sing a Whole New World. Lame!) and World of Color from my hotel room. This morning, I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to get ready and headed straight to work. I have no pictures to post today because sadly my camera battery died. So, pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. But my time at the Disney hotel was amazing and both parks were magical as usual. I will probably never stay at Paradise Pier hotel ever again because it's so outrageously expensive so I am extremely thankful to my sister for letting me tag along. And on that note, I must return to reality, Toodles!