Pic of the Week: 07.03.11

Shot of the week for the week of 07.03.11

Taken 07.03.11 with Canon SD800is

Old sign letter for sale at the Alameda Point Antique Faire

Fourth of July weekend you'd expect a fireworks shot as a Pic of the Week, right? Unfortunately, we didn't go out to see fireworks this year. This year, we watched the NYC fireworks on TV. Sounds kind of sad when I write it out like that, but seriously, that was a pretty nice show.

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Alameda Antiques Faire

Lately the hubs and I have been on a yard sale/estate sale/garage sale kick. It's fun searching through people's old "stuff" in search of little gems (he looks for old toys, I'm into art and cameras). I've picked up pretty much my whole antique camera and Brownie camera collection from yard sales.

Anyway, all that background to say that we finally got around to checking out the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. If you like searching for old treasures with lots of character, check it out!

Here's a look at some of the goodies we saw while wandering around. All shots taken with my point and shoot Canon SD800is.

Pic of the Week: 06.26.11

Shot of the week for the week of 06.26.11

Taken 07.01.11 with Canon SD800is

While on a Philz Coffee run I took a stroll through the San Jose State campus and found this quiet spot to sit and sip my coffee.

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Vegas Lightning Trip + Restaurant Reviews

Okay, so it wasn't really a lightning trip since we were there for a long weekend, but it felt quick! For me, Las Vegas is all about the pretty hotels (pictures!) and FOOD. I wanted to make this a quick post, but I realized that some of the restaurants we visited deserved reviews. So instead of a quick post, you're going to get a super long post, complete with mini restaurant reviews!

The reason for our trip--Cousin N graduated! :-D

People watching at Planet Hollywood before dinner.

Clockwise from left to right: Seaweed Medley salad; Dragon Roll; Salmon Carpaccio with black truffles and citrus sauce; Miso Bronzed Black Cod; Seared Ahi Tuna with fingerling potatoes, Asian pesto and toy box tomatoes; Steamed Chilean Seabass with ginger, ichimi and shiitake mushrooms
Koi was an interesting experience. It was kind of reminiscent of Morimoto Napa in ingredient list and dish offerings, but the flavor combinations and plating were a little more cluttered/decorative. The food was really good, and the flavors were wonderful. I just felt like they were a little less distinctive than Morimoto's. With Koi, you taste the combined, overall flavor of a dish as if it were one melody. With Morimoto, I felt like you could taste each individual ingredient, but it all played together in harmony. The Miso Bronzed Black Cod was my dish, ordered because specifically I wanted to compare it to Morimoto's Sake Braised Black Cod. They were very similar and both delicious, but Morimoto's gets the slight edge in texture. I will say that I'm not normally a fan of salmon or seaweed salad, and I loved both of those dishes from Koi. I couldn't stop eating them. Atmosphere wise, Koi seems to be kind of trendy--sort of loud with a young professionals type crowd. A couple tables over, there was a very drunk bachelor party eating dinner, though for the most part, they weren't disruptive.
Check out Koi's website HERE and their yelp reviews HERE

For brunch the next day we headed over to the Venetian. Every time I visit the Venetian, I want to try Zeffirino, but no one else ever wants to have pasta. It's that restaurant on a corner with the board showing all the pasta specials with people sitting "outside". Well, it turns out that the people sitting outside are actually patrons of the cafe next door, and Zeffirino is upstairs overlooking the Canal.

In a zigzag, starting from the top left: Zeffirino's bread basket, the silverware and pretty china, Caprese salad, our view overlooking the Canal, eggplant parmesan, lobster risotto, dessert trio, coffee in pretty cups, and us at our awesome table.
For the most part, the food was pretty good. We came in for brunch and were able to avail of a prix fixe menu that was a decent deal. The downside to the prix fixe is that you're limited in what you can choose from. Case in point, that Caprese salad is actually mine. Yes, I ordered a salad with raw tomatoes as a main ingredient because none of the other first courses interested me. Surprisingly enough, I actually liked it! I couldn't taste the tomatoes (though I did only eat one) at all since the flavors of the olives, olive oil and roasted peppers overwhelmed them. I know that that would be a bad thing in many people's eyes, but for me, it worked. :-P
The eggplant parmesan had wonderful texture. There was no breading, so the eggplant became soft and creamy. Some bites I couldn't tell where the eggplant ended and the cheese began. I didn't eat the hub's risotto (idontlikelobster), but he said it was really good. Dessert was a definite disappointment, though. There were three small bite-sized dessert thingies...and I didn't finish any of them. They weren't very flavorful, and I don't remember the texture being that great either. :-/
The atmosphere at Zeffirino was pretty quiet, and I could see it being a nice romantic restaurant, especially if you can get a table overlooking the Canal. As we walked in, the maitre d' told us that he had a table that we would love, and he wasn't lying. Not only could we hear the gondolier's serenading their patrons (and us), but we could also look down and see them floating by. The service was wonderful, too.
Check out Zeffirino's website HERE and their yelp reviews HERE

After lunch we headed over to City Center to check out Aria hotel and the Crystals shopping. We've been to Crystals before, but not everything was open yet. This time, we were able to really browse around.

When they say Crystals, they mean crystals. The casino was draped with them all over!

Love, love, love this front window of old sewing machines at All Saints.

How gorgeous and genius is this wall of Louis signatures? I think the hubs got tired of me commenting on how clever it is.

View of Vdara outside Aria.

After walking around and browsing the shops, we wandered around trying to find something to eat. There are a few different restaurants in Crystals and Aria, but after much debate, we ended up at Todd English PUB.

In a zigzag from the top left: Welsh Rarebit; quotes on the placemats; complimentary popcorn; us in front of the Todd English brick wall that you can't see because we're awesome at self portraits; the Todd English sign in paper form; Holsteins (not Todd English, but I stuck it in there); Crispy Duck Legs with rye bread, picked carrots, and truffle mayo; the beer board; Bison Burger with TE hot sauce, maytag bleu cheese, shaved carrots, celery and sweet potato fries.

If you can't tell, this isn't a fancy place, but it's not a typical pub (if I even know what that is). For me, when I envision a PUB, I don't picture something so clean and modern. The food offerings were also a bit different than what I'd expect in a pub. When they say Carvery, Grill, Raw Bar, they mean it. The majority of the food there falls neatly into one of those categories. The Carvery offers the usual carvery fare such as brisket, prime rib and corned beef. It also has a few interesting gems like salmon, duck legs and lamb. The Grill menu consisted mostly of different burgers but also included chicken parm sliders and lobster rolls. The Raw Bar offered the typical oysters, clams, crab and shrimp cocktail. Unfortunately, we didn't sample anything from the raw bar (something about raw oysters in the desert doesn't sound right to me). The food we did have, though, was pretty good. The popcorn was a fun touch, but it didn't taste freshly made. The Welsh Rarebit I really enjoyed. Yes, it's like fondue that you dip with your hands instead of a stick, but it was yummy. The beer list looks pretty extensive, if you're into that, but I can't comment on any of their offerings. I didn't try the hub's Bison Burger, but he liked it. It came with a ridiculous amount of fries. We couldn't finish them! I had the Crispy Duck, and while it was definitely good, what made it memorable was the truffle mayo. Oh my, the truffle mayo...so rich, and the perfect compliment to the gamey duck and tangy carrots.
The atmosphere was somewhere between a restaurant and a sports bar. There were multiple flat screens around the plays showing various sports games, and while the crowd wasn't rowdy, there was the usual cheers and "OOOHHH!!"s going on.
Overall, we enjoyed TE PUB, but other than that mayo, nothing really warranted a return visit.
Check out Todd English PUB's website HERE and their yelp reviews HERE

As for that little Holsteins coaster I stuck in there, Holsteins was another place we wanted to try because they had the craziest shakes on their menu (most of them have alcohol listed, but you can just ask for it without the booze). We ended up just stopping by after TE and ordering a shake to go. Our pick? A Compost Shake--cookies, pretzels, kettle chips and butterscotch blended with vanilla ice cream. I know it sounds crazy, but it was GOOD. I love desserts with a hint of salt, and this hit all the right notes. I would totally go back...and order another Compost Shake. They do offer more "normal" shakes like vanilla and strawberry as well as more fun combos such as s'mores and lemon meringue. They also have a full menu of burgers and such if you want to go for a full meal.
Check out Holsteins website HERE and their yelp reviews HERE


Take a quick breather because we're not done with the food yet. The next day Cousin N brought us over to Cugino's Italian Deli for brunch. Oh hello, yumminess! This place is family owned and run, and if I had one close by, I'd be there every week!

Clockwise from top left: Fried Ravioli, Cugino's Special Sandwich (prociutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar), Garlic Knots, and Eggplant Parmigiana.
Yes, I do realize that I had Eggplant Parm two days in a row, but I couldn't help it. Whenever I see it on a menu it sounds so good that I have a hard time convincing myself to order something else. The great thing, though, is that the two dishes were pretty different from each other. Cugino's eggplant was sliced super thin and lightly breaded. Each bite was like breaded silk. Everything at Cugino's was simple, but delicious. This place isn't fancy, but it's definitely worth a trip if you like Italian food.
Check out Cugino's website HERE and their yelp reviews HERE

After brunch, we made a quick trip over to Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. You know, that pawn shop. The hubs loves the show, and even if you don't come at a time when you can see the pawn stars in person (like we did last time), it's still fun to browse around and see all the merchandise that they deal for on the show.

I was so excited to see this security guard working today! I've always thought his tattoos were cool.

From there we made a quick stop for some frozen custard. If you've never had frozen custard before but you like ice cream, you should definitely give it a try! It's thicker and creamier than ice cream. Good stuff! See more of Luv-It HERE and HERE.
Lastly, we had time for a few quick shots inside Bellagio's atrium before heading to the airport. They had this super cute flowery carnival/fantasy bug world thing going on.

Whew! That was a lot for one post. I was tempted to skip this trip altogether, but my favorite thing about blogging is being able to scroll back through my life and relive fun times and awesome food.

PS. I used a few collages in this post in order to save space. I like how I can organize the shots together like that, but parts of the shot do get cut off. Like? No like?

Also, I only had my point and shoot for this trip, so all photos were taken with my Canon SD800IS.

Pic of the Week Goes Caribbean: 05.01.11

As promised, I'm doing a whole Pic of the Week post dedicated solely to the beaches we visited in the Caribbean. There were only four ports on our seven day cruise, but every port involved a beach. :-)

Taken 05.02.11 - Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Shot with Nikkor 18-105mm
This beach had the nicest sand. It was so fine and powdery, it blew over everything without you noticing! It also made exposures pretty difficult.





Taken 05.03.11 - Fantasy Island Beach, Roatan, Honduras
Shot with Canon SD800IS (P&S)
Private beach with very few people, warm, crystal clear waters, awesome service. Perfect for relaxing and unwinding.






Taken 05.04.11 - Playa Mia, Cozumel, Mexico
Shot with Nikkor 18-105mm
Playa Mia actually charges an entrance fee to use their beach and facilities (we came here as part of a separate tour, so we didn't pay that fee; but I think they had packages starting at $19 per person). They have an all-you-can-eat buffet line as well as organized games/activities, so those might be the big pull for this place. I didn't think the beach itself was that special, but apparently others do because it was crowded. We spent at least ten to fifteen minutes hunting down beach chairs to sit on, and we had to pay a fee to use an umbrella. The sand was nice, but the water was cold and definitely not as clear as the previous two beaches.







Taken 05.06.11 - Princess Cays, Bahamas
Shot with Nikkor 18-105mm
As I mentioned before, this was the private island owned by Princess. The weather was nice, and the water was beautiful and clear; but the beach was rocky. Seriously, ouch! We heard from others afterward that the opposite side of the island was less rocky. Oh, well.
PS. I snuck that last one in because it makes me laugh. It'd be such a cute picture if the subjects were all (with the exception of the cutie in Burberry, of course) at least fifteen to twenty years younger.

Note: I didn't notice until I put the different beach shots together, but you can totally tell which pictures were taken with my point and shoot. The P&S shots are super saturated to the point of almost looking fake. I can tell you honestly that the sky in Roatan was blue, but it wasn't that blue. I guess that's why people love Canon P&S cams, right? They make skies look like something out of your fantasies.

See the cruising shots HERE and more Pics of the Week HERE.
We still have food shots to come!

Pic of the Week: 03.27.11

I have two this week because I couldn't decide.


Castelo di Amorosa, originally uploaded by oojoyjoy.

Taken 03.27.11 with Canon SD800IS. The point and shoot has gotten a lot of love lately.

Castelo di Amorosa was a gorgeous, delicious, serendipitous find! We saw the sign on the side of the road and decided to head in for a tasting just for the fun of it. None of us knew that we would pull up to a gorgeous castle flanked by green vineyards all around.

beginnings of spring, originally uploaded by oojoyjoy.

Taken 04.02.11 using 18-105mm kit zoom (on my beloved D90).

Bare branches shot just as the sun went down after a busy day of local truck food and local goods shopping.

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Pic of the Week: 03.20.11

Wedgwood, originally uploaded by oojoyjoy.

Shot of the week for the week of 03.20.11
Taken 03.26.11 with my Canon SD800IS. Uh huh, another from a point and shoot!

If you saw my Morimoto Napa post, you saw that I forgot my dSLR on that trip. :-( Fortunately, my SD800 was available to save the day!

I loved that the silverware at Morimoto was Wedgwood. I thought it spoke to his attention to detail and quality while still maintaining a clean, simple aesthetic.

And, no, I didn't turn over the china to see who made those, too...I kind of wish I did, though. :-P

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Restaurant Review: Morimoto Napa

It's been while since I wrote a Restaurant Review post. I've been to multiple places that I fully intended to review, but I still haven't gotten around to it. This place, however, was special. It's not every day that you dine in the restaurant of a celebrity chef (for me, at least). Even rarer for that celebrity chef to be an Iron Chef from the original Japan series (yes, he was the second Iron Chef Japanese, but he was still part of the original show)!

I forgot my D90 on this trip, so all these photos were taken with my Canon SD800IS. Lucky for me, that point and shoot often resides in my purse, or I would have been left without any documentation!

So...Morimoto. We were a large group of 12 ladies, so our awesome party planners made sure to have a reservation set months in advance to avoid a long wait. Well...we still had to wait. The restaurant was crowded, and another large party had decided to linger over drinks instead of relinquishing their table for upcoming guests. :-( Unfortunately, Morimoto Napa doesn't have a designated waiting area. They have a bar in the back which they tried to send us to, but it was too packed for our group to fit anywhere. Instead we ended up hanging around in the hallway that connected the quieter front room with the noisy back room and kitchen. Did I mention we were posted up in front of the bathrooms? Uh huh...for 45 minutes, too.

The kitchen took pity on us, and half an hour into our wait, they sent out a little taste of what was to come:
That, my friends, is a slice of Morimoto's Tuna Pizza--anchovy aioli, olive, jalapeno, red onion and tomato. Surprisingly mild, smooth, and deliciously fresh. I didn't even mind the tomato. The tomato yuckiness was completely masked by the combined awesomeness of the other ingredients. This isn't a "party in your mouth" like the ingredients imply. Really, the whole thing was very mild, and the fresh tuna was the star.


We were seated soon after that, and it didn't take too long for them to start bringing out our appetizers. Since we were booked as a large group/party, we received a preset selection of appetizers, separated into two rounds.

Appetizer Round 1:

Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with yuzu soy, ginger and sweet garlic.
I didn't try this, but I was told that it was delicious. It also disappeared pretty quickly since so many wanted seconds. :-)

Two kinds of Rock Shrimp Tempura--wasabi aioli and spicy kochujan. This was served with a mild, yogurt-like sauce, not pictured. Both sauces were delicious, but if I had to order just one, I'd go for the wasabi. The sauce was beautifully done with all the flavor of wasabi but just a mild kick.

More Tuna Pizza. Did I mention I'm a fan of this? I think I ate two more slices when this came out. In my defense, I knew I wouldn't be eating the beef appetizers, and I asked before I took that second slice.

Appetizer Round 2:

Morimoto Bone Marrow with teriyaki sauce and five spices. Again, I did not partake of the beef, but I heard this was really good. The bride-to-be kept going back for more. This looked like it was on the fattier side of bone marrows that I've seen, so if the jiggle is your favorite part (it was mine back in the day), you might enjoy this.

Spicy King Crab with tobanjan aioli and micro-cilantro. Okay, this is one of the very few minus points I'm going to give this place. While yummy, I felt the crab was slightly dry and over cooked. I'm sorry, Morimoto! I mean no disrespect! Maybe it was just the piece I had? I'm a crab fan, but I think this was my least favorite app.

And last but not least--The Chef's Selection Sushi Combo. Nigiri from front to back (if I remember correctly)-- medium fatty tuna (dont remember name), hotate (scallop), ebi (shrimp), some fish there's not english name for, sake (salmon), maguro (tuna), saba (mackerel), unagi (eel), hamachi (yellowtail). Around the edges are spicy tuna maki.

There isn't much you can say about nigiri since it's just the fish and rice, but for the ones I tried, the fish tasted very fresh. The rice was very light, flavorful, and not mushy at all. It was slightly sweet with a hint of vinegar tang, and it had just enough texture to complement the smooth, slippery feeling of the fish. The wasabi holding the fish on was a little stronger than what I'm used to (I'm thinking they probably used real wasabi instead of powder), but it didn't detract too much from the fish and rice. Now the spicy tuna rolls...LOVED them. Somehow they were smooth and creamy tasting, and you could tell the tuna was very fresh. I have a feeling that every spicy tuna roll from here on out will pale in comparison to Morimoto's.

For dinner, we had a selection of six entrees, and between the twelve of us, we ordered all of them except the chicken. The chicken got no love.


Whole Roasted Lobster Epice with garam masala and lemon creme fraiche. If I remember correctly, there were edamame sprinkled throughout this dish as well. I'm not a huge fan of lobster, but I had a taste of this and liked it. The seasoning was nice, but I liked the texture of the lobster better than any I have previously tried. It wasn't too mushy or too firm.

Crispy Whole Fish with spicy tofu sauce and papaya salad.

Okay, I'm Asian, and I grew up seeing whole fish on the table. I'm used to fish heads being left on, but seriously? This was kind of scary looking! Still, I was amazed at how they got this thing to stand on its own using just a bit of the tofu sauce and the width gained from stuffing the papaya salad inside. The awesomest thing about this dish (besides the flavor, of course)? They de-boned the whole thing! My biggest pet peeve with whole fish is having to take out the bones. Of course, Morimoto thinks to take care of that for you so that all that's left is for you to enjoy the flavor of the fish. And yes, it was goooooood.

Morimoto 'Pork Chop and Applesauce' with kimchee, bacon and ginger apple puree.

Sorry so blurry! I didn't taste this, but the general consensus seemed to be very positive for flavor and absolute shock for size. Can you tell how big this thing is? I think the plates were somewhere around 10" across, if that helps. Those things were long and super thick.

Sake Braised Black Cod with ginger soy reduction.

This was mine. OMG, this was good! The fish was tender yet not over-cooked. It was the perfect texture, and the flavor was sweet yet savory. This was probably the smallest entree of them all, but oh so worth it to taste the masterpiece of flavor, texture and technique.

Not pictured: Rack of Lamb with sushi rice risotto.

I tried a bite of the lamb, and it was delicious and tender. I didn't try the risotto, but since very few look home leftovers of this dish, I'm going to assume it was good.

Before I move on to the final course of the night, I should mention that at this point, we were all moaning about being too full. When the waiter mentioned bringing out the dessert, we all groaned that we had no room! Or at least we thought we had no room until we saw this...

The Chef's Dessert Trio. They didn't look too rich, so we all resolved to just taste a bit of each.

On the left we have a chocolate sesame cookie with yuzu ice cream. I think there was supposed to be chocolate in the ice cream as well (hence the brown tint), but yuzu was definitely the dominant flavor. On the right is a green tea peanut cookie with chocolate ice cream. Both were incredibly delicate and not rich in the least. Each flavor stood out on it's own while at the same time melding together at just the right level. Does that make sense? In other words, it was delicious.

Citrus mousse (I want to say it was yuzu again) topped with crumble, raspberries and another fruit that I don't remember. Pineapple maybe? This was light, refreshing and slightly tart. This was great as a dessert after such a large meal because it didn't feel heavy or rich.

Famous Morimoto "doughnut" with green tea sugar. The waitress said that people come from all over just to have these donuts. My question is, "why??" I mean, it was definitely good. I liked that it wasn't greasy at all, and that the green tea flavor was light and not too sweat; but I wouldn't drive to Napa just for one of these donuts...and I only live about 1.5 hours away. The texture was denser than a yeast donut but lighter than a cake donut, which was nice, but not mind blowing. Either way, I ate the whole thing. :-P

So, remember how I said we all decided to "just taste" everything? Umm...ya....

We all practically licked our plates. No leftovers. At all. The perfect finish to an awesome meal!

Overall, I loved the Morimoto experience. Not only was the food delicious, but the service was wonderful. The staff was so friendly, honest and specific with recommendations, and accommodating. Morimoto's food style is very delicate and subtle. The dishes shine through texture, technique, freshness, and the ability to distinguish distinct flavors rather than through sauces and complex flavors. I can't wait to go back!

Check out Morimoto Napa's website HERE, and they're yelp reviews HERE.