Happy New Year 2013

Serene, Brandon and Adrian would like to wish everyone Happy New Year 2013

Image courtesy of tutoriallounge.com

Angelina Sofia's Baptism by Adrian

I attended a very meaningful baptism ceremony on December 29, 2012 at Sacred Heart Church, Monroe, NY. It was followed by a reception at the Mansion Ridge Golf Course. Here is a little background on why it is meaningful. Shirley called me about a month ago and asked me to be her second daughter's god father. Without any hesitation I said yes. Shirley and I have been very close friends even since we met at our former work place in NJ. Angelina Sofia was born on 26 weeks (about 11 weeks early) weighting only 1 1/2 pounds. I first thought to myself who would have been a more challenging baby than Brandon. I was wrong....! Since Angelina was born premature, she has to be hospitalized before she can go home. She spent a total of 109 days in hospital (NICU) before being released to go home.

She is truly a MIRACLE BABY.....! I am very honored to be your god father. Thank you for letting me into part of your family.

Serene, Brandon and I wish you the best of health, bright future and exciting life.

Greetings From Our Home to Yours

Holiday Party @ Spice Market New York by Adrian

It is that time of the year again. This time our team decided to have an outing in the city to celebrate our accomplishment for the year. The restaurant is called Spice Market located within the Meat Packing District one block from Chelsea Market. On the side note, I used to work at Chelsea Market and the area is very vibrant filled with lots of restaurants, fashion boutiques, hotels and historical buildings.

Center of the restaurant with collection of pieces from Southeast Asia (Quite impressive)

Another section of the restaurant that reminded me of 1920's 

Private room downstairs

To start the lunch, we ordered a few appetizers along with cocktails. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of all the cocktails as the overall consensus is not be much to shout about.

Pork Satay Pickled Vegetables (I still prefer the original version with peanut sauce)

Fried Rice topped with Shrimp (The topping is excellent and blends well with the rice)

Crispy Brussels  Sprouts  Honey and Mint

Stir fry Egg Plants

Crispy Pork Belly Tamarind Herb Salad (My favorite and lots of other as well)

Halibut Cha Ca La Vong  Herb Salad (Overall favorite)

Red Curried Duck (My dish and they did a good job. I find it very authentic)

Steamed Red Snapper  Soy Dashi Bok Choy (The fish is good but there is something that is too sour for my taste)

Everything always comes to an end and we conclude our late lunch with desserts as usual. I find that the Western-Asian fusion ones taste better than the Asia one.

Vietnamese Coffee Tiramisu, Shaved Condensed Milk Granite (Excellent)

Caramelized Banana and Spiced Milk Chocolate Sauce (Did not manage to sample already stuffed!)

Thai Jewels and Fruits with Crushed Coconut Ice (The fruits are fine except the coconut milk concoction. More work needs to be done to make it taste right. Some off note...! Did not taste right.)

That's all folks. Overall, it is a nice place and with very interesting fusion. You should check it out..!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012 by Adrian

We got our power back on the eighth day of the black out starting October 29, 2012. Shitty Verizon only manage to restore my phone/internet line on Nov 12, 2012 $*#@!##. This year we have a lot of things to thank for. Despite of the inconveniences stress, worries caused by Sandy few shingles flew away for two weeks, we are back to normal now. We considered ourselves very lucky as people from the Jersey Shore, Staten Island and Long Island, NY suffered far worst than us. It is even more fitting for us to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Nothing fancy except for a simple roast turkey and gravy meal.

Pillsbury croissant

Butterball Boneless Turkey Roast (Very convenient especially if you have a small family like us)

Cut up turkey roast meat

Steamed mixed vegetables

Thanksgiving dinner platter

Thank you Serene/Mommy for cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. Happy Thanksgiving everyone...!

Sandy update Day One..!

UPDATE: All public transportation system are shut down, schools, bridges, tunnels and most offices including ours are closed.  We found out last night Brandon's daycare will be closed for two days. I suppose two more days of hanging out with hurricane Brandon. Right now, we are experiencing gusty wind and occasional rain. Below is the latest update from weather.com.

Courtesy of Weather.com

Editorial piece from USA TODAY October 29'12

More update to come. Stay posted...!

Frankenstorm is coming our way!!

We are under a severe weather advisory watch..! Hurricane Sandy also known as Frankenstorm is coming our way. I hope it won't be as bad or worse than Hurricane Irene. Fortunately, we only have to endured half a day of powerless and some water sipping through in our basement last August.

As expected, all the packaged ready to drink milk (Parmalat) were all gone by the time we reached the grocery stores. Nevertheless, we have enough emergency supplies like water and other food stored. Below was the tracker from yesterday courtesy of weather.com.

It is expected to reach NJ on Monday. Please pray for us and wish us luck. Stay tuned for the next update.!

Steak 'N Shake coming to NJ

Someone from church was telling me that a new restaurant has just opened at the Paramus Park Mall and it is called Steak 'N Shake. I was like really..! Steak 'N Shake used to be everywhere in the Midwest and South but not in the Northeast. When I moved to New Jersey from Illinois in 2000, I was searching for it and found none here. Somehow, there is no Denny's here as well.  

As I was searching for Steak 'N Shake location yesterday, I found out they already opened a store near the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York back in January of this year. Wow...! How could I miss that?

Serene and I miss Steak N' Shake a lot. It particularly reminds me of the good memories as I used to intern at Steak 'N Shake at Carbondale, Illinois. Don't be deceived by the name as it is not a steak joint. It uses steak meat to make the burger patties hence it is called Steak 'N Shake. The shakes are to die for.

Anyway, we checked out the new place in Paramus Park Mall and it was not what I expected as it is not the classic Steak 'N Shake concept with its own premise and drive through. Its menu is also the tone down version without the Genuine Chili (spaghetti noodle with chili meat) and Classic Melt (sandwiches) except Frisco Melt. 

After viewing the menu we decided to pass as it was not worth staying in line for the disappointing offering.

Classic Concept

New Signature store concept @ Paramus Park Mall

Chili Mac @ Classic Store

Strawberry Shake @ Classic Store

Turkey Melt @ Classic Store

Check them out if you are in the Midwestern or Southern United States.

Opa Gangnam Style!!!

I came across this Korean rapper via a few of my Malaysian friends. I find him very unique and creative..! See for youself...!

OPA GANGNAM STYLE!!!!

Seaside Heights by Adrian

We decided to take Friday off and pay a visit to the Jersey Shore. It has been a while since the last time we were there. This time we were driving from Long Branch to Seaside Heights. Yes...! Seaside Heights home of MTV famous reality show "Jersey Shore". Unfortunately, we did not see "Snooki".

Seaside Heights Information Board

Jersey Shore wannabe

Boardwalk rides

Typical food store at the shore

Boardwalk cable car ride

One of the "Jersey Shore" filming locations

Boardwalk amusements

Relax on the beach if you don't like rides or amusements

Sand Castle

As always, we would like to share with you the food we consumed during our trip if we had the chance to take pictures of it. These were taken at Spicy Cantina. We noticed there are quite a number of Mexican restaurants at Seaside Heights. Don't ask me why they set them up there. The portion is huge and we were stuffed after our lunch. Good thing we had to walk the boardwalk.

Serene's fried soft shell crab sandwich (It was crispy and very tasty)

My pulled pork carnitas ( It was so so and the pork is a bit dry)

Overall, it was a good trip to be away from work. Moreover, it is just an hour 40 minutes away from our place. Till then next time...! Do come back and check our blog for update.

San Francisco Part 3 Conclusion by Adrian

This is the combination of the last few days of our stay. There are too many things to talk about San Francisco. I will highlight the main places and let you guys see the rest of it in person if you have the chance.

Streetcars- All the them were purchased from other cities and restored to be used in selected part of San Francisco. It is powered by electric and uses the wood braking system (wooden brakes pressed against the tracks). 

Streetcar servicing Pier 39 and Market Street

Ripley's Believe it or Not!- Thanks to Eric, we got to visit the San Francisco's Ripley's Believe it or Not!. They have a collection of weird stuffs not for the faint of heart. Viewing discretion advised.

J.T. Saylors (The world's champion girner), Brandon and I

San Francisco's Earthquake 1989

The Crocodile Man- Bobby Blackburn of South Africa wears crocodile-tooth dentures!

Chinese Lily product of binding feet during the Manchu's Dynasty

Lighthouse Man lived his life with a candle growing out of the top of his head

Egyptian mummified hand and head

Kamala the wolf girl

Robert Wadlow - Tallest person in recorded history confirmed by Guinness World Records

Golden Gate Bridge and surroundings

Golden Gate Bridge -It gets foggy so timing is very crucial for picture taking

Brandon and I walking the bridge

View of Alcatraz from Pier 39

Ferry unloading visitors to the Alcatraz Island (Unfortunately, we did not make it as the tickets were sold out). Tip: Buy your tickets months ahead if you would like to visit.

Alamo Square- The backdrop of Full House (American sitcom set in San Francisco back in the late 80's to 90's).

Painted Ladies

Painted Ladies closed up

Lombard Street- The famous street with tight hairpin turns.

Lombard Street (from down looking up). It is very steep and needs climbing effort to reach the foot of this location.

Lombard Street view at the other side of the hill (downhill direction)

Fisherman's Wharf- This is the waterfront section on the other side of Pier 39. It is a nice place to stroll and check out the restaurants.

Fisherman's Wharf

Boudin Bakery Store- Original San Francisco Sourdough

Breads in various shapes

Dungeness Crabs (a must eat food at the wharf)

Other seafood varieties if you don't like crabs

Ghirardelli Square (Original Ghirardelli Chocolate Company headquarters which is now landmarks of shops and restaurants)

This concludes our trip to San Francisco. There are other interesting places like the Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Pacific Coast Drive, and etc we did not have the time to go to. We will definitely be back to check out the rest of the places. I leave you with an interesting story about "Sugar Daddy" and has something to do with the statue at Union Square. Hint: Alma de Bretteville Spreckels and Adolph B. Spreckels.

Note: Special thanks to Linda and Eric for making the trip possible.