Sunday, March 28, 2010

sharks fever

there are still so many first times in life. having lived in the bay area for over 16 years, i have never been to a live ice hockey game. the truth is, i have never even watched a full game on television.

clinging on to the winter olympics ice hockey finals fever - the battle between the americans and the canadians - my friends invited me to a sharks game. the teams were the san jose sharks vs. the columbus blue jackets.





what a scene it was arriving at the hp pavillion! almost everyone was wearing the sharks jerseys or sharks colors except us. as soon as we found out seats, the players skated in and the national anthem played. a few of the players from the sharks team actually played for the canandian team at the winter olympics finals, and they were cheered on like heroes by the fans. (hey, but they defeated us though!)





the game was pretty exciting given that i didn't have much knowledge about the rules. our friend stephen tried to explain as much as he can to us, but just watching the action on the ice was entertaining enough~ of course we got to see the inevitable fights on ice too... the referees just let them punch it out for a whole minute!





the three periods ended as quick as a flash light, and luckily the sharks turned the lead over and won 2 to 1. thanks anne, stephen and frank (he just disappeared during intermission so sharkie got into the pic in his place... ^^) for taking me to my first ever ice hockey game! not only was it fun, i also learned one new thing... that the ice resurfacing machine is called a zamboni!





Sunday, March 7, 2010

"en" izakaya

recently, more and more izakaya (drinking places that serves japanese tapas) are opening up in the bay area. the latest one is located in "korea town" in santa clara.

the restaurant has a simple two letter name: en ~縁~





there were probably over 60 items listed on the menu and everything sounded appealing. picking out a selective few was a dilemma. first came the spinach salad with grilled pork belly (豚バラほうれん草サラダ), fried chicken cartilage (鳥軟骨の唐揚げ) ←must try!, and the scallop cream croquette (ホタテのクリームコロッケ).





then came a more homestyle cooking dish - stewed pork (豚の角煮). it wasn't my favorite and could have a bit more flavor...





the kinki fish cooked in soy sauce (キンキ煮付け) was a pleasant surprise~





and here comes the night's favorites and best choices...
fresh boston amaebi (ボストン甘エビの刺身) and uni fried rice (うにの焼き飯)!

the boston amaebi was listed as a tonight's special and it definitely hit the mark ★





i highly recommend the uni fried rice ♥
the rice wasn't quite fried (like chinese style) but just plain rice on a stone pot (similar to bibimbap). drizzle soy sauce over and eat along with the ikura and barely-cooked egg was heaven!





"en" will definitely be added to my favorite restaurants list. too bad it doesn't have the japanese style hamburger steak that "gochi" carries, but i guess there are still many other items to try out!



En ~縁~
3450 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 246-0011



Monday, February 15, 2010

next olympic event?

as the winter olympics opened its curtains in vancouver and medals are awarded to the top athletes, would the IOC consider adding a new event - tubing??





Saturday, February 13, 2010

虎年大吉



祝大家虎年虎虎生威!

龍精虎掹 橫財就手
心想事成 開開心心
青春常駐 順順利利

『虎』盡『金』來!!





Saturday, January 30, 2010

big sister

seeing my little friend addison is always fun.
she's just the sweetest and cutest!!


this april, she's going to be a big sister!







Saturday, January 16, 2010

support haiti relief

it is unfortunate that the first post of 2010 is on the Haitian earthquake disaster, but your donation in support of the aid effort will make a difference...

ways to help Haiti:


the following organizations are accepting SMS donations in the US only:
  • SMS text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
  • SMS text “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake relief efforts
  • SMS text "GIVE10" to 20222 to donate $10 to direct relief

to read more about the latest on the Haiti earthquake, go to
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/haiti.quake/



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