Friday, October 29, 2010

There's so many times when I come on here and start

blogging away because I have so much to say...then stop because I have something to do.

Then I never finish up because I lost my train of thought.

And then realized that maybe I shouldn't blog all that. TMI

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I'm on a winning streak...woah!

A few months ago, I won 4 movie tickets to watch Alpha and Omega 3D.

I just found out that I won 4 movie tickets to watch MegaMind 3D.....

My kids are going to be so excited! Wow.




If only I could have more good luck like this in other aspects of my life too!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Samosas & Aloo Varda

My daughter and I went to the park, we both were craving Indian food. I didn't want to stop by the restaurant and eat at the buffet.

But it was the weekend and I remember that there are finger foods available for sale at the Indian stores. Therefore I stopped by to get some.



OMFG......the samosas were sooooooo good!!!!!

But to top it is the Aloo Vada, which is *NOT* available at the buffets. I may have to buy a bunch next time I go.

New Dehli Imports
4025 Satellite Blvd
Ste J
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 495-1858

PS - this is a Desi grocery store that has Bollywood (Hindi) movies for rent/sale too

Lee's Bakery

Lee's Bakery is a Vietnamese cafe bakery.

A lot of Vietnamese food has some French-influenced pastries.

I've been really curious to try Lee's Bakery for a while because I'm not a fan of Asian pastries :( Sad, but true. Mainly because I don't like the Asian fillings, such as red bean or green bean or taro flavoring in my pastries. But my hubby does and I buy them for him when I am at the Korean or Chinese bakery.



What I love is that the pastries are fresh!! And yummy!!!!

Even the flaky, buttery crust is good enough to eat plain! I ordered the cream cheese, chocolate, and strawberry croissants! I plan to go back and get more.



There are more desserts!



And even some snacks.



But if you want more than pastries, no worries, there is Vietnamese food too, such as pho and banh mi.



For those who know me, I don't like pho. I know, I may be the only Asian person in the world who don't pho.



So instead, I ordered the roast pork banh mi, my favorite!

Here is the closeup of the croissants.



Left - strawberry, right - cream cheese

Lee's Bakery
4005 Buford Highway
Suite C
Atlanta, GA 30345
(404) 728-1008
Open 7 days
Monday - Sunday
8am till 9 pm

My apple breakfast/lunch

That green apple is not a Granny Smith apple!!

It is called a Mutsu apple and is very yummy.

On the right is my favorite, the fuji apple.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Apple Festival

Apple Festival in Elijay, GA

I wrote about the experience here.


Some of the jewelry vendors


 I looooove this art! Finding anything that


Apples!!!!



Check out this vendor - Fried Oreos!!


This vendor was selling Thai food! Yes, Thai Tea, but no Thai people!


Since my daughter love animals, we had to go to the vendor with the animals and pay a small fee.

The baby kangaroo was outside to lure people in to see the other animals.


 Owl


Sleepy mountain lion/panther/cougar/puma


cute little gerbil-like animal


sleepy black bear
as you could tell, most of the animals were sleeping


 albino ferret


random shot of part of the crowd


My tasteless wrap


this vendor had a lot of sweet goodies!

 

Monday, October 18, 2010

Busy weekends until end of the year

This past weekend, I was extra busy.

On Saturday, I cleaned the house and went to my parents' house for their cookout. She invited the Hmoob Hawj clan over. Even her bff from NC came down. It was great to see her. I don't remember the last time I've seen her. Growing up, my parents used to go to NC to see their family but as I got older, moved on with my life, I haven't seen much of the same people who I grew up with. It could be said that it does go both ways cause they should be able to keep in touch with me too.

One of the Hmoob Hawj ladies is the sweetest lady ever. I love her. She has the biggest heart ever. She told me she still remembers my kindness to her when I sent her flowers. I almost forgot, cannot believe she will always remember me for that. She gave me a hug after she said that, almost put me in tears. I want to cook and give gifts for this sweet lady. She has had a rough life and is always smiling, helping others.

I loved how my parents set up the cookout. They have tents outside since it was a gorgeous day. Everyone just chilled and had fun. It was great to see my brother's girlfriend, Derry, in town. I was very surprise that she came from NC for this. She is the sweetest ever. I hope she becomes my Nyab soon.

My mom made my daughter a simple, modern Hmong outfit to wear for the Hmong New Years in a couple of weeks! She made me two! Most likely, I will wear the outfit too. When I was younger, I used to dred going to the Hmong New Years and hated to wear the outfits. As I gotten older, the styles have changed and I've become more interested in my culture and want to share with others who I am.

On Sunday, yes, yesterday, my daughter and I woke up extra early to go to the Apple Festival, an annual festival that happens only two weekends in October.

I woke up at 6 am to pick up one of my friends. She went last weekend and loved it. She told me she bought 4 bagfuls of apples and they are all gone! Since she lives on the way to the Apple Festival, I picked her up. She is really good with being on time (one of my pet peeves is someone who's constantly late and/or holds you down when you have plans!).

The Apple Festival starts at 9 am and we wanted to be there when it opened. When my friend went there, she said she was stuck in traffic at 11 am and when she got there, she had to park almost a mile away and carry those heavy apples with her. I simply wanted to avoid that.

I love the taste of apples, especially figi apples. I knew that fresh picked fruits would be really good. I was so in love with the taste of the apples. OMG! I bought 2 bagfuls!!

There were a lot of vendors. I was most disappointed with the food vendors though because I wanted more authentic southern grilled food...and more food that incorporated apples in the dish. My friend had the bbq sandwich. The vendor went in their cooler and gave her an aluminum foiled wrapped sandwich. It was not fresh and it was cold. On top of that, the bread was just two slices of regular white bread. How disappointing! My daughter had the foot long corn dog and fries. They were both fresh but the fries were tasteless, no salt. I decided to get chicken wraps. I saw the vendor cook it fresh. However, it was disappointing too. I paid $8 for that??? The tortilla wrap were from the store, the same kind I use for my wrap, the chicken and veggies were flavorless and there were no sauce to go with the wraps, the only thing on top of it was cheese or ranch dressing! I took cheese cause I don't like ranch. Urgh!

A lot of the vendors that came were selling crafts and jewelry. Pictures later in the day.

I am going to be booked and busy for the rest of the year!!! This year is flying by quickly!!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Food: Jason's Deli -- I am soooooo stuff right now!

My boss ordered Jason's Deli for lunch today. Luckily, yesterday he asked us what we wanted so we pre-ordered.



I ordered the Ranchero wrap. I was the only one too!



The sandwich that seemed to be the most popular in the department was the New York Yankee. I don't like beef!

The following were in the bag --




I was completely wrong! I thought the salsa dip was for the sandwich but it was for the dark purple tortilla chips!!




Since a few people were out, there were a few extra soups that were ordered. So look what I got! I chose the chicken pot pie! I even got a pickle!




Last but not least, I had a choice between a cookie or brownie. I took the brownie :)



I am sooooo stuff right now!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Food: Papaya Salad

From My Kitchen

Papaya Salad is one of my favorite dishes!!
I like mine extra spicy, with usually 10 or more Thai Chili peppers :D
And a bit more sour



I don't like eating raw tomatoes but don't mind them cooked. I take out all the tomatoes and then eat my papaya salad with either rice, sliced cucumbers, and/or lettuce.

Everyone has their own style of making papaya salad. I typically use the following ingrediants -- shredded papaya, tomatoes (I prefer grape but I use roma too), lime, sugar, fish sauce, crab paste, shrimp paste, tamarind juice.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Tea Walk 2010



My sis asked me to join her in the 6th annual Tea Walk.

Why not? It's free. Yes.
Free registration. Free food. Free t-shirt. Free entertainment.
It's all about getting all Asian Americans together.

TEA stands for
T - together
E - empowering
A - Asian Americans

So my daughter and I, along with my sis and her daughters did the walk, with some of her co-workers.
Her job is very actively involve or at least knows about a lot of the Asian events in the area.
They even sponsor some of the events.

Some of the volunteers 

my daughter getting coffee, seethe back of the t-shirt?

breakfast! apples or bananas? :D

Entertainment!

Filipino dancers!

This dance is entertaining, it's called Tinikling

Hawaiin dancers shaking their hips!

Lao dancers


It was a great experience. It was more of a parade, rather than a walk/run, which I am used to. Hopefully, more pictures will re-surface around the net and I will post here.

Update - 10/13/2010

Found this pic!
Taken from B-vong

Can you find me?? :D

Gift from a friend

One of the best feelings is a gift from a friend. I love this woman.  It was totally unexpected!
Once she sent me a box of homemade chocolate cookies for my birthday!!!!
I don't like announcing my birthday, that's just the way I am.
I believe a true friend will remember your birthday no matter what.

She just came over and gave it to me. She knew how much I love Pickled Mustard Greens.

She hand delivered it to me. Two jars with a cute ribbon.

It was so yummy! She is teaching me how to make it cause I always wanted to learn.


My mom tried to teach me but she was impatient with me, lol. It's okay.

It will take a couple of trials and errors to perfect it. I will keep on trying. Once I learn, this will be my diet, hehehe. I absolutely love it! It's easier to make and fix up than papaya salad, another favorite of mine!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Food: Royal Thai

I was looking through my old photos and found these photos at my favorite Thai restaurant, Royal Thai.

This is old, a few years ago, when one of my co-workers came to visit from out of town.

It was her first time trying Thai and it was a huge success :)

Cashew Chicken


Broccoli Chicken


Basil Chicken


Drunken Noodles


Satay Chicken


Royal Shrimp


Location -
ROYAL THAI
Ste A, 6365 Spalding Dr
Norcross, GA 30092-4227
(770) 449-7796