...somewhere in NYC

When it's cold outside, my brain freezes. I have no idea where I was when I ate this sandwich. I didn't even go for the sandwich; I went for the coffee. I couldn't feel my fingers through the fur-lined gloves I was wearing. My friend and I decided to stop for some food along the way.

Appropriately, this sandwich is called "The New Yorker". It has bacon AND chicken! And Russian sauce to give it some zing. The White Chocolate Mocha saved my fingers. All is well.

-- Michelle

Loving the beanie AND the panini.

Arequipe from Colombia

One of my wonderful suitemates brought back a lil' treat from Colombia. I didn't know what "Arequipe" was, but she said it was a sweet dessert.

Isn't it cute???

Turns out, Arequipe is caramel. I "googled" arequipe and found out that the term for "caramel" in Colombia is "arequipe," but it's also known as "dulce de leche" in other Spanish-speaking countries.

-- Michelle

Buca di Beppo

Hey guys, Michelle here!

Here's the last meal in S.F. before heading back to New York City! Ever been to Buca? If not, you should. They have a delicious lemon chicken dish as well as a green bean platter.

Denica's Pastry Cafe and Taco Lounge

Despite having a food blog, I don't actively search for food joints. I seek out people who seek food. This method works because my friend found a restaurant that serves both pastries and tacos. Notice how neither of us ordered pastries or tacos?

Marvel at the fluffiest pancakes I've ever eaten!

Happy New Year!

I don't believe in following New Year's resolutions. I believe in $5.oo cakes.

-- Michelle

The Fab M4 celebrate Crystal's birthday dinner in Ktown

Remember the Youtube video Steph posted months ago of LiAnn and Brenda at Manna in L.A.'s Ktown? Everything from the grill went straight into our mouths via chopsticks.

Crystal's birthday dinner at Kang Suh in New York City's two-block Ktown was unique in that...I ate as daintily as possible.

Manna it most certainly was not. At Manna, good friends paid waiters to douse the birthday boy or girl with beer. Guests leave the restaurant sopping wet from head-to-toe.

At Kang Suh, the waiters cook the meat for you -- even though the food is perfectly within reach. After all, the stove is right there...built into the table.

I also learned a different way of eating. When I swiped a piece of cooked beef straight from the stove and popped it into my mouth, my Korean-American friend (Hi, Jane!) tried to stifle her laugh but couldn't.

I asked myself, "Where are my manners?!"

First of all, Manna is not Kang Suh. L.A. is not New York. Let the culture war continue. Just because I can pick up a slice of beef and gulp it down in L.A. does not necessarily mean I can act similarly when put in a different situation.

Second of all, I can learn a lot from going out to dinner at a Korean restaurant with a Korean-American who lives and breathes the culture. Take advantage of it! Jane shared some traditions of Korean culture with us. She mentioned people usually eat their dishes by scrunching its contents into a compact lettuce wrap. The trick is to sprinkle enough filling in the lettuce wrap to eat the whole thing in a single bite.

This method of eating keeps people from creating messes, and it's also considered more polite. It's considered extremely rude to eat with food dropping from the wrap to the plate -- especially in front of older individuals.

I only recently heard of the phrase, "portion control." After five messy and undignified attempts to chew without dropping any food onto my plate, I downsized and adjusted to this new style of eating.

The real accolades go to Ana and Crystal, for mastering both the mini-lettuce wraps AND chopsticks in one sitting.

Crystal: You're cheating! You're supposed to make sure you eat the whole thing.

Me: I'm trying! I'm trying!

Look at those plates of food! Mmmm.... Kim Chi, bean sprouts, lettuce, beef.....

As the blog title states, we celebrated Crystal's birthday with her! The meal was only half the story. The other half involved serious karaoke -- no liquid courage necessary -- featuring Crystal's vocals and Mike's dance skills. A great way to finish the night and shake off the anxiety of 2010's final exams!

-- Michelle

Back to December

Taylor Swift might have regretted December, but I thought it was a pretty great month while it lasted. Here are some highlights:

This isn't any old buffet complete with fresh dinner rolls, Kahlua pork, and Spam Musubi...it's my mom's birthday party. She turned...a very significant age...and my dad and cousins decided to throw her a HUGE bash. They invited all of her close friends and our family. Most of the food is home-cooked, meaning that my dad actually cooked for my mom. This is a nice switch on our usual tradition. :)

The Famous Cookie Weekend. My friend, Caitlin, from elementary school has been hosting "Cookie Weekend" at her house for at least five years now. I didn't make any of these. I ate a lot and decorated even fewer. I'm no artist--so I just ate them to save myself the annoyance of taking pictures of half-decorated cookies.

This well-decorated gingerbread man and fish are Adriana's handiwork. I might have eaten them, too. I definitely didn't take any home with me. I ate enough for my whole family.

I met up with my friend, Lauren, for dinner in our neighborhood. Afterward, we went to this locally owned coffee shop that I didn't know existed around the corner from my house. Clearly, I'm no local! It has a really eclectic vibe with plush armchairs that don't look the same and a single employee making the drinks and collecting the cash. Solitary bookworms, noses pressed in worn paperbacks, gave the joint a pretty cool aura of San Francisco...yuppieness.

Do people still use the word "yuppie," or is the term, "hipster"? Whatever. All I know is that when we started talking loudly and obnoxiously in a way that only old friends who haven't seen each other in a while can, I felt hostile glares emanating from the other patrons who were miffed at being jolted from their literary reveries.

'Tis the season!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Fudge Brownies. From the box. Made by me! I can bake! Yay...I can mix and pour in addition to eating a whole lot.

Okay...so I wasn't going to blog about Dim Sum. I have it so often with family that I overlook it. It's like going to school; expected and sometimes hum-drum...but I can't do without it. Shu Mai and chicken feet typically find their way to our table, thanks to my family's booming voices. Egg custard, Singapore noodles, and a variety of other dishes whose English names escape my memory at the moment are also customary.

My family sits down for dim sum very often. It's a ritual that my grandfather appreciates even though I may not be so excited about it. It's a cultural thing I can't turn down. Plus, what keeps the grandparents happy keeps the parents happy, so I can't complain!

Weekend dinners at the house are also rituals that my family has come to expect. When my mom isn't hosting dinner, it's really weird. We don't know what to do with ourselves. It usually means everyone has dispersed for the evening to have dinner in smaller groups, and that's really unheard of. Luckily, this picture doesn't depict that! I'm not trying to boast about my cooking skills (mainly because they're limited). I'm trying to prove that I have some cooking skills.

One of my uncles always asks me, "What did you cook for us tonight?" My usual response is, "Nothing, but I set the table and will serve dessert." After being asked the same thing a million times, I'm hell-bent on documenting everything I cook so that he knows for sure that I'm not some lump hanging out in the kitchen while my mom, grandma, and older cousins do all the work.

SF's Largest Holiday Sugar Castle on display in a hotel in the Union Square area. I wonder if mini replicas of Harry, Ron, and Hermione can be found here?

-- Michelle