Category Archives: Asian

May 12, 2012 · 12:49 pm

Quarantined

After two days of being forced to work from home due to the electrical fire in our building, I’ve decided that I don’t know if I could have a job where I work from home everyday. I used to think it sounded like an ideal situation, but now I’m not so sure. For the record, Kevin thinks I’m nuts.

Sure, there are some worthwhile benefits to working from home:

  • It doesn’t matter how you look. You don’t need to fuss over your hair, make up or outfit choices. Pants are optional.
  • You have full access to your kitchen to make warm snacks and lunches.
  • There is zero commuting time.
  • I get to spend all day with the puppy.

Parko

However, by the time Kevin got home from work yesterday, I was pretty stir crazy. I just missed having that daily social interaction. I was still plugged in to everyone via email and conference calls, but I really missed the face-to-face conversations and just being surrounded by people. By 5 p.m. yesterday, I felt the same way I do when I’m sick and forced to stay in. I was in need of some human interaction.

Now I see why a lot of people who work from home will take their work to Starbucks or Panera. Sometimes it’s just nice to be near others even if you’re not directly interacting with them.

It’s nice to be able to work from home every once in awhile, but I’ll enjoy returning to the office on Monday.

Since I was obviously aching for fresh air by the time Kevin got home, we decided to go out to eat for dinner. We grabbed a quick dinner at Pei Wei. Even though it’s right near our house, I hadn’t been to Pei Wei in quite some time, and I was pleasantly surprised by their new soda machine.

Pei Wei - soda fountain

I’ve heard of these popping up in various places, but I had yet to play with one myself. I don’t usually order soda when I go out, but I couldn’t resist (I’m pretty sure that’s one of the marketing benefits of this machine). It’s a touch screen with a variety of Coke products to choose from. Once you choose your drink, you can choose a number of different flavors of that drink. I’m sure there’s hundreds of combinations. I rolled with a vanilla root beer. The only thing that weirded me out about the machine is the touch screen aspect. I don’t think I’d want to use this machine in a restaurant where I ate with my hands. I know it’s irrational, but for some reason, thinking about that grossed me out.

To eat, I ordered Mongolian tofu and vegetables with brown rice. They have a Diner’s Select menu where you get a main dish and a side, so I chose a veggie spring roll as my side. I love the Mongolian sauce. It’s very sweet.

Pei Wei - Mongolian Tofu and Vegetables

It doesn’t even feel like it should be the weekend since I’ve been home for the past two days, but it’s nice to not be working. Have a great Saturday!

Do you get antsy when you are stuck at home for awhile?

6 Comments

Filed under Asian, Chain Restaurant, Quick Service

April 26, 2012 · 7:24 pm

Pad Thai times two

My workout playlists are so embarrassing (but awesome). Actually, my taste in music in general is pretty much the same (Kevin would disagree on the “awesome” part).

Confession: all week I’ve been working out to the Backstreet Boys station on Pandora.

Confession: I miss 90s pop music.

Pandora

This week has been full of lunches out with friends, and I have been satiating a serious Pad Thai craving. On Monday, the craving hit, so I went to Thai Café with my friend Katie. We started out with some chicken on skewers. The chicken was coated in curry and had a peanut glaze on them.

Thai Cafe - Chicken Skewers

The chicken was really tender, and the extra side of peanut sauce was a nice addition. Peanut sauce is pretty much a nice addition to anything. My Pad Thai came with a salad with ginger dressing. I ordered my Pad Thai at medium spiciness and with tofu. The noodles definitely had a kick.

Thai Cafe - Ginger Salad

Thai Cafe - Pad Thai

Then on Tuesday I chipped away at the craving again with a trip to Bento with my neighbor Joe. We’re also work neighbors, which makes for perfect lunch buddies.

Bento - Pad Thai

I actually ordered the Pad Thai as a brown rice bowl, and I really liked the heartiness the rice gave the dish. There were still noodles, but the combination was nice. Bento’s Pad Thai is a sweeter dish than Thai Café. The flavor I prefer usually just depends on my mood. I did really enjoy the green onions in Bento’s Pad Thai.

Today Kevin and his brothers are preparing for the NFL draft, which made it the perfect day for me to get a manicure. I went to The Beauty Spot in College Park, and they did a great job. We have our engagement photo shoot tomorrow, so I felt like I should do something with my nails.

nails

I don’t often get my nails done because I’m a nail biter, but it was a nice treat.

I’m off to join the boys for draft festivities. Have a great evening!

Are you watching the NFL draft tonight?

How often do you get manicures?

8 Comments

Filed under Asian, College Park, Downtown Orlando, Thai

April 18, 2012 · 10:01 pm

One year

I can’t believe how quickly time flies. Tomorrow marks exactly one year since my very first blog post (back when just my parents and Kevin were reading). This blog started as a way to chronicle my love of food and has sort of evolved into sharing my attempt at balancing the food with fitness with some random musings about my life, grad school decisions, and my upcoming wedding. I am so thankful for every visit and comment. Thank you for reading and making the past year of blogging become more than just a hobby. I truly love feeling a part of this community. Here’s to another year!

Last night  I grabbed dinner with my friends Sarah and Megan at Little Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant, in Mills50. I’ve only had Vietnamese food once before, so I was excited to try it again. I started out with an order of shrimp summer rolls because if a restaurant offers summer rolls, I simply can’t help but to order them.

Little Saigon - summer rolls

The summer rolls arrived at our table almost immediately after our order was taken, which leads me to believe that they were rolled earlier. The rolls were good, and I would definitely order them again, but they weren’t as flavorful as the summer rolls at Thai Singha. The peanut sauce was very good. It was sweeter than most peanut sauces I’ve had.

Vietnamese cuisine is known for pho, noodles with some sort of meat or seafood in broth. I ordered my pho with thin slices of rare beef.

Little Saigon - pho

The pho comes with a separate plate of fresh basil leaves, bean sprouts and lime so you can dress your pho however you’d like. I squeezed some of the lime over the broth and tore up some basil leaves to add to the broth, which added a lot of flavor. The pho was was very good. There’s something so comforting about a big bowl of soup and noodles.

Also ordered at the table were fried rice and chicken and vegetables over rice.

Little Saigon - fried rice

Little Saigon - chicken and veggies

I bet pho would be great in the middle of winter. I really enjoyed our dinner at Little Saigon and my second time trying Vietnamese food.

If you’re a blogger, how long have you been blogging?

Have you ever tried Vietnamese cuisine?

16 Comments

Filed under Asian, Mills50, Vietnamese

March 22, 2012 · 6:15 pm

Turkey lettuce wraps

My 5 a.m. wakeup was again successful, but I am definitely sleepy today.

One of the best things about not having to study anymore is getting back into the kitchen. I missed having the time to devote to trying new recipes. Kevin and I love PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps, so I tried to wing my own version for us, but I used turkey instead of chicken.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 4 oz. (1/2 can) water chestnuts, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp. mirin
  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 6 tbsp. hoisin sauce
  • 1 handful green onions, chopped
  • 1 head lettuce

Directions:

Heat olive oil in skillet, and add chopped garlic. Sauté for two minutes, and add turkey. Cook through, breaking into crumbles. Add water chestnuts, mirin and soy suace, and mix until combined. Stir in hoisin sauce. Remove from heat and stir in green onions. Serve in lettuce cups.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps 2

Kevin really enjoyed these, and I look forward to making them again soon.

The hoisin sauce is really the secret ingredient. Hoisin sauce is a sweet, almost BBQ-like Chinese sauce that is often served as a dipping sauce. It’s really tasty and could be added to just about anything.

Hoisin

If you could recreate any restaurant dish at home, what would it be? There used to be a chain called Hops that had the best croissants served with this honey drizzle over them. I used to eat them by the platefuls and really miss them now that Hops is gone.

7 Comments

Filed under Asian, Eating In

March 15, 2012 · 7:57 pm

Breathing fire

Every single time my sister visits Orlando from college, she wants one thing: Thai Singha in Waterford Lakes. I don’t blame her—it’s pretty delicious. I always order the same thing: curry or pad thai. You really can’t go wrong with either.

We started out with our usual favorite: chicken summer rolls. I haven’t found a place with better peanut sauce. I do wish they offered a shrimp version, though.

Thai Singha summer rolls

Kathryn ordered her favorite: tofu pad thai.

Thai Singha Pad Thai

I decided to veer off my usual path and tried something new: chicken and shrimp garlic.

Thai Singha Chicken and Shrimp Garlic

I ordered the dish at medium spiciness, but I swear it came out way hotter. Within seconds of my first bite, my face got flushed, I started sweating and I could feel my tongue trying to escape. I felt like I scorched the entire inside of my mouth.

My stomach and taste buds were having an internal struggle. The food was delicious, but it kind of hurt to keep eating. The chicken was cooked really well and was extremely tender. The pieces of shrimp were a decent size, and I really liked the light sauce. You can really taste the garlic in the dish, which I loved. The flavors were definitely there. However, my burning mouth got to a point where each bite of my dish was followed by a pad thai chaser. I’m not sure how much my sister appreciated that.

My stomach ended up winning the battle, and I cleaned my plate…and drank all my water. I have a tendency to eat this way when I encounter spicy foods. Sometimes they hurt so good (sorry for the Mellencamp reference).

What’s the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten?

10 Comments

Filed under Asian, East Orlando, Thai, Waterford Lakes