What better way to turn 30 than a week-long celebration of favorite eats, discovering new places and epic performances? Since my birthday fell on a Tuesday this week, I took advantage and indulged myself through two weekends to celebrate. No holds barred. No want gone unwanted.
Yoga.
I guess you could say it all started at Purple Yoga on the Saturday before my birthday. This is the first time I took my mom and I quickly learned that at 52, my mom kicks my butt in both cardio and endurance departments. Kind of an embarrassing realization at 30.
Shau May.
Nothing beats a late night run for Shanghai pan fried dumplings in San Gabriel. Did the usual, and ended it with sipping on a mango delight on the car ride back home.
Alcove Cafe & Bakery.
On Sunday, Max and I took the dogs for brunch in Los Feliz. It was Max's first time and the food was delish, as always. We shared some crab cakes to start and I had the country breakfast. Cora was a little barky (as usual) but we were able to keep the two somewhat under control. This was Lulu's first real outing since her radiation therapy.
Hollywood Bowl.
Later that night Max and I went to the Hollywood Bowl for a performance of RENT directed by Neil Patrick Harris. The show was amazing, a gazillion times better than the time I watched it at the OCPAC. The cast was captivating and talented (especially Aaron Tveit as Roger and Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen) with the exception of Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi who made certain scenes just flat out awkward. We shared some great prosciutto, cheese and breadsticks and had probably the best time I've ever had at the Hollywood Bowl.
Good Stuff.
Even though my week was full of meetings and (gasp) work, Max and I happened to sneak away to Good Stuff on Tuesday for an actual birthday lunch. I only had 50 minutes and because of the long wait for a table, we ended up rushing through the lunch and spent almost the entire time on our respective phones, answering e-mails and IMs. Oh well.
Surprise party.
At 3pm I was thoroughly surprised at work with a Susie's Cakes celebration cake, gorgeous flowers from Effusive flowers and, well, Max. He and Jo-Anne set up a fake meeting for me and some of my favorite co-workers joined for a quick cake break. Max won major points with the co-workers.
Ayaka.
After work we took the long trek to Diamond Bar to take Emi and Ayaka out to dinner. We said hi to my Athai and family and then headed to Guppy's in Rowland Heights for a quick dinner.
Ridiculously good looking people.
My sisters surprised me at home with an epic ViJo production. Yona blindfolded me as soon as I arrived and walked me into a completely redecorated living room. They set up an entire stage complete with curtains and stage lights. The show was funny, heart-warming, sentimental and ridiculous all at the same time. I was so touched that they spent so much time putting this together, and put so much effort in performing it!
Bottega Louie.
On Wednesday we headed up to Bottega Louie after work for a quick dinner before a show at the Staples Center. This was our first time there (I got the idea from seeing Flo's pictures from lunch earlier in the day) and we were so impressed with the place! The entire restaurant/market/bakery had raised architectural ceilings, almost like an old bank. The place was white and airy and the food was so good. We shared the portobello fries which I still dream about and two pastas that were great, but not spectacular. I wish we had a place like that near work. And I also wish I had enough of an appetite after dinner to order some desserts and pastries.
Lady Gaga.
After dinner we went to Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour at Staples Center. It was a-ma-zing. We had great premium seats (from Max's work) that were really close to the stage, but unfortunately we were perfectly situated to the side of the stage. We saw her profile the entire time and sat right underneath the LCD display so our visibility was a little compromised. We were a little distracted by the 'little monsters' around us -- some young, some old, some high and some barely clothed -- but all in all it was an amazing show and quite the experience.
Mermaid Restaurant.
Milton and I shared a happy birthday happy hour at a dive bar called Mermaid Restaurant in Hermosa Beach (his choice). I rode over there with Jo-Anne and Megan and Max met us a little later when he was done with work. We started with some light drinks and ended up ordering sandwiches and such for dinner -- it wasn't half bad! I have to say though we were the youngest people there. And the most Asian.
Beach Par-Tay.
And the partying continues, though this one was work sanctioned. Our annual summer party was at the Beach House Inn in Hermosa Beach. After a morning of hectic work, client reviews and internal meetings, we all headed to the beach for a half day party. There were sandwiches from Jersey Mike's, lots of drinks and various activities like massage stations, live music, volleyball games and an Over the Line tournament. I left a little early but had a decent time just lounging inside the suite. (The weather was much too cold for an actual beach party, sadly.)
Shopping + Food.
On Saturday Max and I headed to Rodeo Drive for some lunch and shopping. We had lunch at Il Pastaio (Max's first time, my second) and it was very good. (Sense a theme here?) We had what was probably the best prosciutto I've had in my life, some burrata, a zuppetta (clams & muscles in garlic tomato broth) and a lasagna. Needless to say we were stuffed and got up promptly to walk it off. We headed to Christian Dior to size my finger for my birthday gift, an 'Oui' ring, but not before wandering into Ilori and buying me a pair of sunglasses, one of my many self birthday gifts this year. There are two situations where I completely indulge in shopping for myself: when I'm on vacation and the weeks leading up to and after my birthday.
Bergamot Station.
We headed to Bergamot Cafe afterwards for some coffee (easiest way to get some Intelligentsia coffee that I know of) and stopped by Hiromi Paper to say hi to the sisters and to a few of the gallery showings to gawk at art.
"Drinking night."
Drinking night was a complete failure. We all had a large pho dinner at Pho Tasty and were too stuffed (and bloated) to drink anything at the Korean drinking place we found in Cypress (called Royal Square). So after a poor attempt to down some beer and soju, we gave up and went to music studio for karaoke instead. Yona was a remote nazi, skipping every song she didn't like, Aai sang too loud, Henri took himself way too seriously, Vina sang her usual eclectic choice of songs and Max was too shy to sing into the mic. I wasn't.
Athai's again.
We visited Athai again but this time took my mom + sisters. Kee Kiu was also over. We hung out for a few hours just talking and catching up. It's the most amazing thing in the world to be able to spend my birthday with my 92-year old great grandmother!
Irvine.
On Sunday I had my "main" birthday party. My sisters, friends and various family met up in Irvine to watch Eat Pray Love and then we headed over to Tokyo Table to indulge ourselves in lobster dynamite, mochi gratin and honey toast. And about 20 other dishes. We stuffed ourselves silly, had great conversations and ended it with sake bombs. Oh, and we took sticker pictures.
Sick day.
On Monday, Max and I took a sick day to join Mason and Marcela for brunch at Old Vine Cafe. We had a nice quiet meal and then walked around to shop a little. Then we headed to South Coast Plaza so that Max and Marcela could spend their gift certificates on sunglasses. After that we headed separate ways and Max and I shopped for some patio furniture. After complete failure, we headed home to rest, and then back up to LA to pick up my 'Oui' ring. Even though we arrived in Beverly Hills half an hour before the store closed, Olympic Blvd. was completely shut down for President Obama's visit and we were unable to crossover to Dior before they closed. Instead we joined Yona and Aai for dinner at Il Buco. I am IN LOVE. The pizza was delicious, the calamari was perfect, the prosciutto was heavenly (same restaurant group as Il Pastaio) and the pastas were tasty. Oh, did I mention how perfect the apple tart was?
Ok, I am spoiled.
Yoga.
I guess you could say it all started at Purple Yoga on the Saturday before my birthday. This is the first time I took my mom and I quickly learned that at 52, my mom kicks my butt in both cardio and endurance departments. Kind of an embarrassing realization at 30.
Shau May.
Nothing beats a late night run for Shanghai pan fried dumplings in San Gabriel. Did the usual, and ended it with sipping on a mango delight on the car ride back home.
Alcove Cafe & Bakery.
On Sunday, Max and I took the dogs for brunch in Los Feliz. It was Max's first time and the food was delish, as always. We shared some crab cakes to start and I had the country breakfast. Cora was a little barky (as usual) but we were able to keep the two somewhat under control. This was Lulu's first real outing since her radiation therapy.
Hollywood Bowl.
Later that night Max and I went to the Hollywood Bowl for a performance of RENT directed by Neil Patrick Harris. The show was amazing, a gazillion times better than the time I watched it at the OCPAC. The cast was captivating and talented (especially Aaron Tveit as Roger and Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen) with the exception of Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi who made certain scenes just flat out awkward. We shared some great prosciutto, cheese and breadsticks and had probably the best time I've ever had at the Hollywood Bowl.
Good Stuff.
Even though my week was full of meetings and (gasp) work, Max and I happened to sneak away to Good Stuff on Tuesday for an actual birthday lunch. I only had 50 minutes and because of the long wait for a table, we ended up rushing through the lunch and spent almost the entire time on our respective phones, answering e-mails and IMs. Oh well.
Surprise party.
At 3pm I was thoroughly surprised at work with a Susie's Cakes celebration cake, gorgeous flowers from Effusive flowers and, well, Max. He and Jo-Anne set up a fake meeting for me and some of my favorite co-workers joined for a quick cake break. Max won major points with the co-workers.
Ayaka.
After work we took the long trek to Diamond Bar to take Emi and Ayaka out to dinner. We said hi to my Athai and family and then headed to Guppy's in Rowland Heights for a quick dinner.
Ridiculously good looking people.
My sisters surprised me at home with an epic ViJo production. Yona blindfolded me as soon as I arrived and walked me into a completely redecorated living room. They set up an entire stage complete with curtains and stage lights. The show was funny, heart-warming, sentimental and ridiculous all at the same time. I was so touched that they spent so much time putting this together, and put so much effort in performing it!
Bottega Louie.
On Wednesday we headed up to Bottega Louie after work for a quick dinner before a show at the Staples Center. This was our first time there (I got the idea from seeing Flo's pictures from lunch earlier in the day) and we were so impressed with the place! The entire restaurant/market/bakery had raised architectural ceilings, almost like an old bank. The place was white and airy and the food was so good. We shared the portobello fries which I still dream about and two pastas that were great, but not spectacular. I wish we had a place like that near work. And I also wish I had enough of an appetite after dinner to order some desserts and pastries.
Lady Gaga.
After dinner we went to Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour at Staples Center. It was a-ma-zing. We had great premium seats (from Max's work) that were really close to the stage, but unfortunately we were perfectly situated to the side of the stage. We saw her profile the entire time and sat right underneath the LCD display so our visibility was a little compromised. We were a little distracted by the 'little monsters' around us -- some young, some old, some high and some barely clothed -- but all in all it was an amazing show and quite the experience.
Mermaid Restaurant.
Milton and I shared a happy birthday happy hour at a dive bar called Mermaid Restaurant in Hermosa Beach (his choice). I rode over there with Jo-Anne and Megan and Max met us a little later when he was done with work. We started with some light drinks and ended up ordering sandwiches and such for dinner -- it wasn't half bad! I have to say though we were the youngest people there. And the most Asian.
Beach Par-Tay.
And the partying continues, though this one was work sanctioned. Our annual summer party was at the Beach House Inn in Hermosa Beach. After a morning of hectic work, client reviews and internal meetings, we all headed to the beach for a half day party. There were sandwiches from Jersey Mike's, lots of drinks and various activities like massage stations, live music, volleyball games and an Over the Line tournament. I left a little early but had a decent time just lounging inside the suite. (The weather was much too cold for an actual beach party, sadly.)
Shopping + Food.
On Saturday Max and I headed to Rodeo Drive for some lunch and shopping. We had lunch at Il Pastaio (Max's first time, my second) and it was very good. (Sense a theme here?) We had what was probably the best prosciutto I've had in my life, some burrata, a zuppetta (clams & muscles in garlic tomato broth) and a lasagna. Needless to say we were stuffed and got up promptly to walk it off. We headed to Christian Dior to size my finger for my birthday gift, an 'Oui' ring, but not before wandering into Ilori and buying me a pair of sunglasses, one of my many self birthday gifts this year. There are two situations where I completely indulge in shopping for myself: when I'm on vacation and the weeks leading up to and after my birthday.
Bergamot Station.
We headed to Bergamot Cafe afterwards for some coffee (easiest way to get some Intelligentsia coffee that I know of) and stopped by Hiromi Paper to say hi to the sisters and to a few of the gallery showings to gawk at art.
"Drinking night."
Drinking night was a complete failure. We all had a large pho dinner at Pho Tasty and were too stuffed (and bloated) to drink anything at the Korean drinking place we found in Cypress (called Royal Square). So after a poor attempt to down some beer and soju, we gave up and went to music studio for karaoke instead. Yona was a remote nazi, skipping every song she didn't like, Aai sang too loud, Henri took himself way too seriously, Vina sang her usual eclectic choice of songs and Max was too shy to sing into the mic. I wasn't.
Athai's again.
We visited Athai again but this time took my mom + sisters. Kee Kiu was also over. We hung out for a few hours just talking and catching up. It's the most amazing thing in the world to be able to spend my birthday with my 92-year old great grandmother!
Irvine.
On Sunday I had my "main" birthday party. My sisters, friends and various family met up in Irvine to watch Eat Pray Love and then we headed over to Tokyo Table to indulge ourselves in lobster dynamite, mochi gratin and honey toast. And about 20 other dishes. We stuffed ourselves silly, had great conversations and ended it with sake bombs. Oh, and we took sticker pictures.
Sick day.
On Monday, Max and I took a sick day to join Mason and Marcela for brunch at Old Vine Cafe. We had a nice quiet meal and then walked around to shop a little. Then we headed to South Coast Plaza so that Max and Marcela could spend their gift certificates on sunglasses. After that we headed separate ways and Max and I shopped for some patio furniture. After complete failure, we headed home to rest, and then back up to LA to pick up my 'Oui' ring. Even though we arrived in Beverly Hills half an hour before the store closed, Olympic Blvd. was completely shut down for President Obama's visit and we were unable to crossover to Dior before they closed. Instead we joined Yona and Aai for dinner at Il Buco. I am IN LOVE. The pizza was delicious, the calamari was perfect, the prosciutto was heavenly (same restaurant group as Il Pastaio) and the pastas were tasty. Oh, did I mention how perfect the apple tart was?
Ok, I am spoiled.
