5! 4! 3! 2 ! 1! Happy New Year!

Rang in 2010 with some wonderful people on new years eve. The night was fun but traffic was a pain.

I have a tinkling of feeling, it will be a good year.


The Gals Cr. Kimmy


Cheers! Cr. Kimmy
On new years day, we met up with the nieces and nephews at Tokyo Sushi and Seoul BBQ. This is my favorite sushi spot. I'm not a big fan of sushi, but this place has THEE BEST salad ever!! Everyone had the miso soup and ginger salad, we ordered a few rolls (including the very popular YumYum), gyouzas, ton katsu, and 3 orders of the Tokyo Salad.


Classic iceberg salad, raw tuna, Japanese egg, and masago smothered in an AMAZING dressing.

My attempt to recreate the sauce was a complete failure. When Cuong asked the waitress what was in it - she said it was her mom's secret recipe! Bummer.

After eating, we went to their place for another night of Karaoke fun!

Ended the weekend by attending the Shen Yun Performing Arts show at the Detroit Opera House.



The performances took the audience on a journey into China's history (Ancient time and Modern day) through classical dance and song. The orchestra was great, must admit though - I almost dozed off to the soft music. I stayed awake just so I didn't miss any of the performances. I really liked the female dances - especially the Handkerchief dance. The way the dancers twirled the handkerchiefs in their hand reminded me of a chef tossing a pizza dough. Amazed I was. heh

Books: My coworker lent me the 3rd installment to the Twilight Saga (The Eclipse). I don't know how people read it. I'm trying to get to the point where it's really interesting... where it's so good that the pages will turn on it's own, but I can't seem to get there. I've had the book for about three weeks now and I don't even think I'm a fifth ways through.

Movies: If you haven't yet, watch Avatar - one of my favorite movies of 2009!

Music: Getting into the spirit a little early. Listening to Nhac Xuan. New Playlist.

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.

Fish Noodle Soup | Bun Cha Ca

When I was younger and living in Louisiana, I remember watching my mom make fried fish patties (Cha Ca) quite often. I'd eat them right as she finished frying them. Fresh, hot, and good! Our family moved to Kansas after Hurricane Andrew hit and during the 3 or 4 years that we lived there, I can't recall mom ever making this. We moved to Michigan and it is back on the menu - YES!

Mom usually makes the fish paste by combining the meat of King fish, pork belly, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, and baking powder in a food processor. The fish paste is formed into patties and fried in hot oil to make the fried fish patties or formed into balls and not fried to make fish balls (Ca Vien). Both types can be used for Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Cha Ca) or Fish Noodle Soup (Bun Cha Ca).

You can buy the fish paste labeled 'Cha Ca' in plastic tubs in the frozen food section of your local asian market. I've also used the already fried and frozen patties a couple times - they taste pretty good. Eventually, I will get around to making my own batch of fish paste. For now, I will use Mom's since she makes a lot, packs them into zip lock bags, and freezes them for whenever we want to use them. The latest batch was made from the King fish I brought back from my trip to Florida in late September.

Making Fish Noodle Soup:

Sour bamboo shoot, cut sour mustard, sliced shallots, minced garlic, and sliced fresh pineapple.


The fried fish patties flavored with fish sauce, pepper flakes, and salt.


Start off by infusing the oil, shallots, and garlic.


Add water, bamboo, sour mustard, and pineapple. Bring to boil.


Add the fish patties and bring back to a boil. Cook for 5 more minutes and its ready!


Serve in a large bowl with rice vermicelli, a handful of raw lettuce mix, and sliced scallions. Condiments: Sriracha and Light Soy Sauce

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.

Crowded Kitchen

I am so fortunate my siblings can cook and I love that everyone has their own style.

Phuong - She's willing to step out of the box when it comes to anything, cooking as well. She makes all sorts of banhs and dishes that I have yet to attempt- like Chao Banh Canh or Swedish Meatballs. She has even stepped into the baker's world. A few nights ago, she cooked semi-homemade Super-ghetti with Turkey Meatballs. I've always wonder why our parents and other Vietnamese call spaghetti SUPERghetti. What-ever the reason - I like it ^_^


All these bottles combined to create the sauce - along with ground turkey, diced onions, and minced garlic.


Baked turkey meatballs.


Parmesan and Parsley breadsticks ready for the oven


Gorgeous!


Dig In!

Jimmy - he cooks when he feels like it. Pretty good stuff this kid dishes up. Jimmy made these Spicy Sweet Chicken Wings last Saturday. Pictures taken by the chef himself.


Par-boiled wings


Baked with a spicy and sweet glaze in a little chicken broth.


I ate about 5 of these when I came home from work.

Cuong - He never really cooked until a few years ago. He takes on big dishes that requires a little bit of time. I notice he makes a lot of American dishes such as meatloaf and lasagna, which is good because we need something different once in a while. Not too long ago, he made the ribs below (pictures by the brother).


The marinade. Not sure what's in it exactly - only that it's asian flavoring.


Marinating.


After 4 hours in the oven, the meat was almost to the point of falling off the bone. Very delicious!

Lien - She was the oldest girl in the house and the first in the kitchen. She cooks our traditional dishes like soups and stir-fry. Busy with Pharmacy school,work, and being away from home, she stopped cooking as much. Now that she's living on her own, I'm not sure what the sister is cooking up these days. She did make a delicious pot of Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Hue-Style Beef Noodle Soup) when she visited for Thanksgiving.


Chili Mix for flavor and color


Broth flavored with a seeping bundle of lemongrass and onion


Boiled and rinsed pigs feet


Sliced hanging tender slightly boiled to remove residue and foam from the meat before it goes into the soup.


Oil infused with more chili mix and minced lemongrass.


The beef, pigs feet, and oil goes into the broth. Cook and served over rice vermicelli noodles. Add purple cabbage, bean sprouts, raw lettuce mix, thinly sliced onions, parsley, lime, sriracha, and soy sauce/fish sauce to taste.

Khanh - He's all about simple and ready to eat foods like sandwiches and instant noodle stir-fry.


I finally caught the finale of this season's Top Chef on YouTube last night. The final 3, in my opinion were the best and most passionate. I've been rooting for Kevin from the start, it was kind of sad to see him not win. Came down to the two Voltaggio brothers, Michael won and he deserved it. Great Season!



Amazing Race ended last Sunday. Even though my team was eliminated far too early in the race, I was happy with the results. Just as long as those mean brothers did not win. If only my team did not misplace their passports, I know they could have made it through to the end. Not so great season.

I'm currently reading "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. It's started off slow, but it's getting more interesting. Gives me something to do since there nothing for me on T.V. anymore.

Lemongrass Caramelized Chicken | Ga Kho Xa

Another movie date with the sister today. We watched "The Blind Side" and I really really liked it. A sweet yet sad movie that made me laugh, smile, and cry. Sandra Bullock was great and beautiful as always. If you have yet to see it, add it to your To do list.


Tried mixing Raisinettes with popcorn. It was okay, but I prefer to eat the two separately. For a savory-sweet flavor, I'd go with chips & cake or pancakes & sausage.

Making Ga Kho Xa:

Par-boil chicken wings and rinse off residue.


Minced garlic, minced lemongrass, and sliced yellow onion.


Put chicken wings into pot and season with salt, hot pepper flakes, oyster sauce, sugar, chili paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, onions, and lemongrass.


Mix well,cover, and braise over low heat. The chicken will give off liquid, but add water if needed.


Serve with rice.