Ahhh the first few days at home have been pretty SPECTACULAR. (Not to brag or anything…) I was greeted with lots of good food (pictures below), already hung out with the fambam to celebrate my cousin’s upcoming wedding, and already did some shopping! Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to hang out with friends yet (been busy preparing for my upcoming clinical rotation) but I have over 5 more weeks to get all that done so no sweat!
Here’s some snippets of my latest food adventures (and then some)!
Mochiko Chicken plate with tons of rice, mac salad, their famous fried noodles, and salad. It’s become tradition for me to head straight over to this place for food before heading home from the airport. It’s been around for ages and my mom originally brought me there to try the box lunch, which she used to always bring on school field trips as a child. The fried noodles are so bomb I couldn’t stop going after that. Damn, just thinking about it now makes me want more!
2. Sugarlina Bakery
My dad purchased some sweets for me ahead of time (how thoughtful!). I always love it when bakeries invest in cute stickers for their packaging!
Hehe, the blueberry macaron matched my nail polish! The macarons were delicious — some of the best I’ve ever had at home but still doesn’t compete with the macarons I’ve gotten in LA! My favorite place still has to be Frances Bakery & Coffee in Little Tokyo.
I was impressed with Sugarlina’s mocha cupcake! As you can tell by the tupperware cover under the cupcake, it had been waiting for me in the fridge for ~2 days. I was expecting it to be a little dried out since it wasn’t fresh, but it was REALLY moist! Amazeballs! Definite thumbs up for that! The frosting was refreshing since it was really flavorful, smooth, and creamy without being overly rich. Matched the texture of the cake itself very well.
3. Fancy Cake from Costco…WHAAA???
Don’t get me wrong…fricken LOVEE the baked goodies from Costco. Everything they make is amazing but the presentation is always so-so. I mean, you’re paying for the shear volume of fattiness and not for the pretty factor. But damn, look at this rich, fatty piece of goodness! Just as pretty as it is yummy. Thank you Costco for making me that much fatter during my trip home.
4. Sushi for breakfast!
Oh yeah. One of the things I love about home: the cheap sushi from our nearby supermarket, Don Quijote (straight outta Japan, yo!). Hehehe. Granted, the quality is so-so, but for $8??? I’ll definitely put that sucker in my cart AND eat it for breakfast…which I totally did. Now I just have to hit up 7-eleven for some bomb-ass spam musubi. CAN’T WAIT. #fattystatus
5. Family Gatherings = 2000+ Calorie Meals
Our family knows how to have a good time. Good food, good wine, and good stories always make our get-togethers unforgettable. Next month my cousin is getting married (w00t w00t!) so we had a Bridal Shower for the bride this past weekend to start the celebratory festivities. ^o^
The appetizers (pupus, as we call them in Hawaiian/local talk) consisted of garlic edamame, teriyaki meatballs (so juicy OMGGG), and some locally made sausage filled with all sorts of goodies.
My plate for lunch. And get this…I didn’t even have room to grab a little bit of everything! ANNNND this is how we do a low-key lunch. Usually there’s at least 3x the amount of food to choose from. It’s a wonder I can still fit through the door. My plate consisted of mac salad, veggies, fruits, fried saimin, homemade baked beans, turkey burger (omitted half the bun in an attempt to finish everything on my plate), and strawberry/walnut/spinach salad with homemade strawberry dressing. Oh gosh, getting hungry AGAIN.
Dessert. All homemade too. Nian gao, lilikoi (passion fruit) mochi, shortbread cookie with lilikoi curd, strawberry cheesecake, and haupia (basically like coconut jello). Oh my. Good thing I shared this plate with my mom…
We also play a lot of games at our family gatherings. One of the games was to draw a picture of the groom (pictured above) on a paper plate while holding the plate on our head. LOL I won!!! w00t w00t. I think it’s my captions that sealed the deal!
Close up of my drawing. LOL
There were a lot of other games and we won small prizes for pretty much all of them. Definitely made out like a bandit! Lots of Bath and Body Works goodies and practical stuff all Hawaii people need…like nori and ziploc bags. HAHA
Anyways, that’s all for now folks. Hope you enjoyed the photos! I start my 6-week clinical rotation at an outpatient physical therapy clinic tomorrow (sooo nervous) so hopefully they won’t tear me apart…I have plans to meet up with people for more ono food adventures so STAY TUNED!
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La Poubelle 