Music: Van Mai Huong - Neu Nhu Anh Den

Holiday music search - led to a hunt for new and old viet music - resulted in finding this song:




Loving the song! The guitarist, the voice, the fresh new vibe from the song and video... I had to share. It's been a while since I came across a good new viet song ^_^ Makes me want to dance!

LOL Random 8

Random bits...



Night out with my hot dates.


Two very strange people. Two very hardworking and caring people. I heart them.


2011 Summer Concert and Comedy Show at Caesars Windsor Casino in Windsor, Canada.


Trina Bao Tran


MC Giang Ngoc


Manh Quynh and the beautiful Phi Nhung


Vietnam based singer Dan Truong


Hilarious comedians, Viet Huong and Hoai Tam


Huong Lan!


Super funny, talented, and great live performer, Bang Kieu!


Vietnam based Quang Linh too! Also highly talented and silly.

Also performances by Mai Thanh Son, Thu Phuong, Diem Suong, and Ngoc Anh


Mai Thanh Son, such a fresh voice.

Music Update!

Wedding bells are in the air! Less than two month's before the sister's big day. The playlist has been updated with happier songs (so hard to find!). Also updated with songs I've just recently come across like Reno Binh's Se Mai Yeu Em - love it!. And I brought back modern and traditional favorites.

Enjoy!

Celebrating My 24th

I turned 24 a few days ago. That's equivalent to the number of candles in a standard box of birthday candles! It also means that next year, I will need two boxes! I've been a little bummed because of this whole age thing, feeling like I'm not where I want be at this point in life. I'm at a standstill as time quickly passes me by and I've done nothing about it. Anyway, I'm hoping this year will be a good one. I'm going to start looking into some master programs. Sitting around doing the same'ol same'ol is not going to get me places. Hopefully, I'll be hitting the books in the fall. Be prepared to read my rants!

On Friday night, Lisa and the girls planned a dinner and a movie. We went to Kyoto Steakhouse in Royal Oak.



Artistic plate of sushi


A beating heart of fried rice for the birthday girl, is this a sign?? ^_^


Hibachi.


A cake from Shatila's much thanks to Lisa and Hangs. Can you guess what I wished for? Eternal youth =) haha Not, why would I waste a wish on something that won't come true and why would I tell you what I wished for? hehe If I did, it wouldn't come true
It was our first time at this restaurant and I don't think anyone enjoyed their food much =/ The soup was bland. Instead of the usually ginger salad dressing, our salad came with a white sauce that we couldn't make out what it was exactly. When we asked the waiter, he said he didn't know either. Hmm? hehe The hibachi was okay. I ate too much. I was so stuffed,the sight of the cake coming out made me exhale. Can I even squeeze in another bite? After dinner, we ended the night with Dear John.

Our Lunar New Year party was held on Sunday. Woke up at 8 in the morning to help mom and the sister cook.


The spread: Nem chua, banh u, banh cuon, banh bot loc, roasted quails, crab & quail egg soup, goi ngo sen, ga bop, rau cau, rau song, mussels baked in sambal & scallion butter, tuna sashimi, shrimp crackers, and thit heo & mam dua.

Not pictured - Pitas, sliders, chip & dip, and fresh cut fruit to eat while watching the game.



Nieces and Nephew


Tired... but must eat chips...Aaron's such a cutie!!


Vy's so pretty!


Happy Birthday to me! A small celebration with family. DQ's Strawberry Cheesequake. Also, Happy 8th Birthday Steven!!


"Chuc Mung Nam Moi" fruit cake from QQ Bakery for the older folks.


A homemade birthday card from Brandi =) If only all nieces were this great. One munchkin threatened to ruin my birthday after I told her to stop rolling in a chair. She's lucky I'm nice and I don't like making lil girls cry or else - game over!
Big Thanks to Phuongie for everything and thank you all for the birthday wishes.
Movie: Dear John was okay. Channing Tatum can't act and it was a little slow paced. I teared up for a good 30 seconds though.

Music: There's a few songs I'm listening to right now. Just recently discovered Khalil Fong from a niece and listening to some vietnamese based musicians.

- Nguyen Duc Cuong: Em Trong Mat Toi
- Pham Thanh Thao: Giac Mo Ve Mot Ngoi Nha
- Truong The Vinh: Hanh Phuc
- Lil Knight Ft. JayTee: Khong Tin Som Mai Binh Yen Remix (I usually do not listen to any kind of rap, most especially viet rap, but I like the vocals and beat)
- Khalil Fong: Is This Enough
- Khalil Fong: Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You (what a voice! Love Love Love!)

Books: Yet to touch The Eclipse since who knows when...

I'm gonna make the best of being 24!

LOL Random 2

We went to Laura's place Saturday night to celebrate Anthony's birthday.

First Course: Beef, shrimp, and squid hotpot (Bo Tom Muc Chien Bo) =P
Second Course: Phuong's Chicken Pot Pie and Gai's Crawfish.
Third Course: Lisa's Vanilla custard cake from Shatila.

While the guys played poker, us gals blew up the mic with some karaoke - I topped the scoreboard with two 100's! Woohoo! The scoring system must've been set to easy because I butchered those songs. haha

On Sunday evening, I went to Motorcity Casino Detroit to attend a Vietnamese New Year Concert, Mung Xuan Canh Dan 2010. The show was hosted by the beautiful Ky Duyen and performers included Quynh Vi, Nhu Loan, Van Quynh, Luong Tung Quang, Manh Quynh, and the talented Liberty Band.


The Liberty Band starts off the show...
The singers performed their songs and a few duets. The overall concert was a little disappointing. I was hoping for more nhac xuan, but only a few were sung. I'm not much of a fan of any of these artists and the songs choices, imo - were a little boring,


If I were to pick a favorite performance , I'd have to go with Luong Tung Quang's Mai Mai Ben Nhau (Vietnamese version of Fate from the Kdrama, Full House)
He originally performed it with Tu Quyen in Paris By Night 92.

CD signing. LTQ reminds of Daniel Wu in the picture =)

My ultimate concert would be a combination of artists from Thuy Nga, Van Son, and Asia:

Hosted by the hilarious Van Son, Bao Liem, and Viet Thao

Perfomances by Quang Le & Nhu Quynh, Minh Tuyet & Bang Kieu, Dan Nguyen and Bang Tam, and save the best for last...Nguyen Thang & Cat Tien.

That would be one amazing show!

LOL Random 1

I feel so tired these days. Gotta work Saturdays this month at the job and some Sundays at the shop. I catch myself resting my eyes at my desk a few times now, yawning like crazy throughout the day, and taking in more coffee. Feels strange cause I'm not usually like this. And where do the days go? There's barely anytime after work to do anything before it's time to go to bed, wake up, and start the routine all over again.

We don't have kids over often so it's nice when the 'lil cousins come over. Ethan says the silliest things and gives us all a good laugh. They came over Friday to hang out and stayed for Taco night. Easy to prepare, fun for the kids to make, and the folks love 'em too!



Phuong bought some fresh sweet strawberries that day too. Her and Brandi decided to make Chocolate covered Strawberries.



Mmm =)

On Saturday, Phuong threw together a Lasagna. Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe. Is it me or does this girl really like Paula Deen's recipes? hehe


Layers of sauce

Layers of Oven Ready Pasta and Cottage/Parmesan Cheese Mixture

Layers of Mozzarella

Ready for the oven

Yum.

Anh's Boston Cream Cupcakes.

Yum-O! I want another. hehHappy Birthday Kimi!

Books: I read about 3 more pages of The Eclipse (Yay?) hehe Reading at this rate will get me no where. I'm thinking I should stop and just wait for the movie.

Movies: Book of Eli. I give it a 3/5.

Music: I cannot find new stuff that's a good listen so I'm listening to old songs. Some oldies but goodies:

- Thuy Hang: Tinh Xot Xa (Feel So Sorry)

- Shin Hyesung: Take Me To Your Heart

- Van Quang Long: Boi Tin Loi The
- Vonda Shepard: Baby Don't Break My Heart Slow
- Jimmy JC Nguyen: Tinh Xua Nghia Cu 2

Good Night.

A Happy Holiday

Guess who owns a 'blanket that has sleeves?' One of my bosses got tired of hearing complaints about the office temperature so he went out and bought Snuggies for everyone. My workspace is near a large window so it gets pretty cold.

I love my workspace! Yes, I'm a sticky notes girl! hehe This is about 20x better than the cubicle I had in the old office, the sticky notes were 20x worst. The window can be a little bit of a distraction though. Sometimes I look out to Downtown Birmingham and just people watch. It's so pretty when it snows too, I can sit and watch the snow fall for hours, but then I realize that there's work to be done.


How I keep warm at the office: X-Hot Double Peppermint Mocha. My year-round Starbucks drink. The one below the building makes it the best.
Christmas was really nice this year. Woke up and opened gifts. Met up with nieces and nephews TP, Kim, Cong, Brandi, and Ethan for some dim sum at the best Chinese restaurant, Golden Harvest. Pictures of the deliciousness not available since I forgot my camera at home. Camera phone wasn't working either because I accidentally washed it the night before. Yea, nice move! I heard somewhere that if you put a wet phone in uncooked rice, it helps revive the phone. I did just so and my phone works again!

After dim sum, we went to Anh The and Chi Thuy's house. Made gingerbread cookies, banh nam, pigged out on some McD's and hung around until it was time to head out for the Chuong Trinh Song Ca Concert at the Caesars Windsor Casino in Canada.


Brandi & Anh Cuong


Phuong's house with Lisa, TP, and Ethan's decor.


I like the xmas tree back door =)


With nephew TP before the concert. The peppermint mocha at the casino Starbucks was not good...
Attended my first Vietnamese concert and it was great!


Hosted by Nguyen Ngoc Ngan, performances by Nhu Quynh & Truong Vu, Luu Bich & Nguyen Hung, Minh Tuyet & Bang Kieu, and the Liberty Band.
The concert started off with a number by the Liberty Band followed by NQ & TV with Nho Nguoi Yeu. I was hoping so much that these two would do a duet. If only they sang Em Hau Phuong, Anh Tien Tuyen - would have made the show 100x better. hah

They did one more duet I believe and each did a couple solo songs. Nhu Quynh's (one of my favorite singers) vocals are amazing. Luu Bich did her solos and was joined by Nguyen Hung for a few duets. Nguyen Hung sung a couple songs and busted out a few of his ballroom dance moves. Minh Tuyet came out next. She sang a few songs and was accompanied by Bang Kieu for their duets. They must have saved the best for last because Bank Kieu was pretty awesome! I've never been much of a fan of his, but I am now. The guy was hilarious, got the audience involve, and pretty much out-sang everyone - yes, even the talented Nhu Quynh.

Some of the songs performed that I could remember:

NQ & TV: Nho Nguoi Yeu
NQ: Nua Vang Trang - with Techno remix (I prefer the original)
NH: Huong
MT: Em Phai Lam Sao
MT & BK: Goi Thi Anh Da Biet (One of my favorite songs of theirs)
MT & BK: Boi Vi Anh Yeu Em (This is a good one too, also sung by Phan Dinh Tung)
BK: Thi Tham Mua Xuan - with techno remix
BK: Le Da

Celebrated Phuong's Birthday on Saturday


The Dynasty from Sweet Dreams Pastries - White and Chocolate mousse between Vanilla and Chocolate chiffon
On Sunday, I went to a cousin's baby shower (Delicious party food!) and then a get- together at TP's for his birthday. A night of poker, karaoke, shots, laughs, and fun. Came home and got a good night's rest...month-end, year-end, and a shortened work week meant work overload.

Out and About

I should really make it a habit of posting more frequently. Wait too long and there's too much content. I'll try my best to organize the last couple week's events and dishes in a couple posts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDER SISTER PHUONG!

Last Saturday, Phuong made LOTS of Steamed Buns(Banh Bao)

So many!

A sweet bun filled with savory pork meat mixture, chinese sausage (lap xuong), and half a boiled egg.

On Sunday I had dinner with Phuong, Lisa, and Kimmie at our favorite Thai restaurant, Sala Thai. The food is always delicious, the service is great, and I just love the oriental atmosphere. There are 3 locations here in Michigan, but I've only been to the one in Sterling Heights since its closer to home. The other two are located in Detroit, one at Eastern Market and the other on Lafayette. Check out the website for the menu, awards, and info on all 3.

For appetizers, we had Chicken Wings and Spring Rolls.

Lisa had Chicken Pad Thai (one of my favorites)

I ordered the Seafood Curry

Phuong had the Pad Cashew

Kimmie had Pad See-ew if I remember correctly. We also order Chicken Fried Rice to go for the brothers. The fried rice is sooo good!

On Monday, Hanh and I went to see the Jersey Boys show at the Fisher Theater. When I saw the commercial back in June or July I had to make sure I bought tickets. Not only was I fascinated by the rags to riches story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, but I fell in love with the familiar songs.

A Medley of Sherry, Walk Like a Man, and Big Girls Don't Cry by Jersey Boys' London cast.

Other great favorites:
Begging
Oh, What A Night
My Eyes Adore You (Beautiful song!)
Fallen Angel
Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
Rag Doll

We headed out a little early to get dinner before the show. After getting lost for about 30 or so minutes (due to my awesome sense of direction), we finally settled with The Majestic Cafe. We just ordered a few dishes and shared.

The restaurant was darker than most and light came from the candles at the tables.

Potato Chips and Fried Cheese Raviolis for appetizers

Chicken Carbonara with Basil Fettucini. This was good, especially because of the prosciutto.

Grill Greek-Style Pizza. My first time having Humous and I didn't like it too much. The pizza itself wasn't bad though.