Getty Center Again;(!! - 1/31

We had lunch at toast on 3rd street. It is one of my favorite restaurants:) I always order tuna salad sandwich, but this time, I thought I should try something new. I tried Nicoise salad. Sooooo tasty!! It was better than my expectation:) Pretty much everything they have has been great. Can't wait to go back again:)

After lunch, had a cup of coffee at starbucks, I was thinking about going to magic mountain, but the time we finished lunch and coffee was around 3, so we (I) decided to take our second choice. Getty center. I just went there 2weeks ago;( It's ok. He'd never been there yet.
Again, I was impressed by the beautiful view. But still not really interested in religious paintings.

For dinner, we went to Din Tai Fung, which is No.1 Chinese restaurant for me. I don't know how many times I've been there even though I live far from there. It's just so good. Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait! My first time getting the table without waiting. We usually have to wait 20-30minites. Ordered 20 pieces of juicy pork dumplings, 10 pieces of crab and juicy pork dumplings, a bowl of shrimp and pork wanton soup. It was all good as always:)

Well, it was too early to go home. There was a place that I'd wanted to check out. Geisha house. Are we driving to the area again? From Arcadia? We drove so many miles today. Probably around 100miles. (Not my car, not my driving;P)
I liked Geisha house! Atmosphere, design, music, and people,, my style:) I don't know about the food there. Just had a glass of wine. I was little embarrassed with the abacrombie sweater. Everybody dressed up nicely. Ok, I'll go back looking more elegant next time.

Okonomiyaki - 1/25

We did second get-together at Dave's. This time, okonomiyaki. Again, it was sooo good;P

We started with pork, then pork and shrimp, raw cod + sticky rice cake + cheese, and lastly Hiroshima style. All of them were good but my favorite was pork and shrimp:)

Luckily, we could bring a good chef, so we could've done all successfully.

It was so fun cooking on the table all together. But if you ask me how to make okonomiyaki, sorry, you are asking to the wrong person... I still don't know how to make it;(!!!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 1/22

Second movie this year. I think it was a good movie but mmm.... not great. Storywise, it was little too unrealistic. I personally prefer more realistic movies. But I don't change this opinion --> Brat Pitt is the sexiest movie star!!
Unfortunately, we went to the wrong movie theatre -- Manhattan village. First of all, the room was small. Secondly, we could hear the sound from the next room (that was the worst part), and lastly, they cut the last casting list... Awful.

After the movie, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant in Venice called C & O Trattoria. The garlic bread they serve was so good! I had hard time stop eating it. And the original part of the restaurant was that the waiters entertain you by singing and stopping by all the table and toast the glass. I had a good time.

Obama's Presidential Inauguration - 1/20

Today we have a new young president, Barack Obama. I can't believe myself watching political thing on TV (I am not interested in, or have knowledge at all!), but I did because I wanted to witness this historical event. First of all, I was surprised to see how many people were there. 1.8 million people!! And I was also surprised for knowing how much American people love their country and have interest in politics because Japanese people are not like that.
Japanese people, especially young generation, don't have much interest in politics that they don't really care who the prime minister is since they don't know which individual takes the best roll as a prime minister. However, unlike Japan, even young people in this country concern and talk about politics and support the president with reasons. I think it is one of the good things about this country.
I am happy for American people for having Barack Obama as a president of the United States with a lot of respect and support from many people around him. I hope he is gonna be able to make changes and get this country out of this sagging economy.
It is time for change. New era has begun.
I am glad that I could share this historical day here in the United States.

Getty Center - 1/17

We found a fine Italian restaurant:))!! Trastevere, which is located in Hollywood Highland. The bread was one of the best I've ever had. (bread is very important for me.) It was such a beautiful day. Feeling wind under the sun and having tasty food is a great combination.
Then we drove to Getty Center. It was a huge place with beautiful view. The museum's permanent collection includes pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative art. I enjoyed it even though I'm not really interested in arts. Maybe I'll go back with my sister in summer. http://www.getty.edu/

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat - 1/11

I don't really watch basketball games even on TV, but physically going to see the game is so much fun. Plus the game we watched was awesome!! They got us excited till the very last moment (Lakers beated Heat by 2 points!! (102 - 104)). Kobe rocks!!

Yes Man - 1/10

Had Lunch at McCormick & Schmick's and watched a movie "Yes Man" with Tracy. Jim Carrey movie is Jim Carrey movie. Nothing is unpredictable.
Lunch and movie is one of my favorite things to do. But too bad that movies we want to watch won't be played on the time we want it to be. This is the only reason why we watched this movie.

After the movie, I went to BBQ at Howard's. As always, everybody was drunk by the time I got there. There were probably around 20 people. I like going to the BBQ there, getting to know the people there more. But,,,, I still don't like the food;(,,,

Tattoo Expo in Pomona - 1/4

I had always wanted to go to tattoo expo one day even though I don't have any tattoo. I wanted to see different groups of people.
Was I able to? Yes, I was.
Soon after we got into the place, I was overwhelmed by seeing bunch of people getting tattoo right in front of my eyes.
I was thinking about getting one (I still might be), but being there made me rethink about it. Some people go extreme.
It was kinda unusual to see people leaving outside with gauze over their part of their body, but it was still a good experience.

Hot Spa - 1/3

After shopping at Desert Hills Premium Outlet, we went to Desert Hot Sprig Spa Hotel just to take jacuzzi.
They offer very reasonable price ($7 per person to get in!!).
It wasn't as nice as we expected (of course advertisement should look better than it really is), but I kinda liked it. http://www.dhsspa.com/
Will I go back? I don't think so. I rather try going to other hotel. But I had a fun time there with a good campany:)

Sukiyaki - 1/1

Today, first day of 2009, we did the first get-together at Dave's. As you can see, we did sukiyaki. One of my favorite meals:-P
I didn't know how to make it but surprisingly, we didn't need sukiyaki souse. (It's kinda embarrassing to reveal that I don't know about cooking at all...) All we needed to have the sukiyaki flavor were soy souse, sugar, and beer. Cool!!
At last, we put udon noodle in the pod, it was also very tasty:)

Happy New Year!!

How was my 2008?
I'd been through and experienced great things.
I can say it was the greatest year ever in my life.
My New Year's resolution --> make it even better!
Somehow I'm confident about it.

On New Year's eve, I went to the restaurant in Venice called Beachwood with my good friends.
Food is ok, but nice atmosphere. Overall, 3.5 stars. (I'm a strict evaluator!!)
Had New Year's Eve's course meals, and we were ready to party!!
I just had two glasses of alcohol, and got hammered;( I'm such a cheap date,,,

Anyway, we all had so much fun there!!