Tag Archives: foodie

On Birthdays, We Wear Pink!

Before the month ends, I wanted to put up pictures of when my sister and I went out for my birthday earlier this month. We both have Monday’s off, and my birthday was on May 8th, which fell on a Monday this year. Since my husband was working and our son was in school, my sister and I went on a mini-adventure in the Irvine area. I’ll split our trip up into two parts, which was what I wore, and what we ate!

Birthday Adventure 2017: THE OUTFIT

I bought two things from the Victoria Beckham for Target line: The Blush Floral Jacquard Bomber Jacket and the Black Collared Dress, which I’ll be wearing in another outfit post (pictured above). It was fitting that we visited the Hello Kitty Cafe on our way home, because pink was the order of the day, and who wears it better than Hello Kitty! I wore the jacket very casually with black jeans and a white t-shirt, but jazzed it up a bit with a pom-pom necklace, metallic sneakers, and of course…pink pins!

Outfit: Blush Jacquard Bomber Jacket by Victoria Beckham for Target (no longer available online); The Cotton Box-Cut Pocket Tee by Everlane; Michael Kors purse (older, no longer available); Jeans and Leather Eyes Bag Tag by Madewell

Pom-Pom necklace purchased at Vocabulary Boutique; Chic” pin by Pin Drop; “Just Another Tweenage Dirtbag” pin by Pretty Nobody Co.; “George Michael” pin by Bang-Up Betty

Breakpoint Metallic Canvas sneakers by Converse

Birthday Adventure 2017: THE FOOD

Our food adventure began at Burntzilla (menu here) and ended at Stax Cookie Bar (we didn’t actually eat at Hello Kitty Cafe).

Burntzilla is a brick & mortar cafe, combining two of Orange County’s popular food trucks: Burnt Truck and Dogzilla. We originally had other plans to visit a place that served specialty tater tots, but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays. Since I was in the mood for tater tots in any form, I searched “tater tots Anaheim”, and Burntzilla came up (although the location is in the Irvine area). I love a good slider, so the menu was appealing because it had different variations on sliders and mini-hot dogs.

The folks at Burntzilla generously gave me a complimentary Golden Combo for my birthday! The Golden Combo is a great deal because you can get two Sliders or Zillas (or one of each), with a soda and naked side. Along with the tots, I had the Yaki Zilla (hot dog) and the Sloppy Joe Slider. Both were amazing and the tots made my meal perfect!

My sister also had the Golden Combo, but had the Dogzilla, Cheeseburger Slider and fries, since I had the tots.

For dessert, we wanted something out of the ordinary. On the fly, my sister hit the dessert jackpot in her search while we were literally on the road, and found Stax Cookie Bar, right across the street from UC Irvine. Based on the pictures below, you’ll see why!

This is the Smookie. Stax has a variety of filled cookies to choose from, and you can top it any way you desire. Since it was my birthday, I had the Snickerdoodle cookie (filled with Nutella) topped with birthday cake ice cream and caramel sauce. I can’t even begin to describe how decadent it was!

On the left is the Bacon Chocolate Chip Creamrito, which my sister attempted to get through. The Creamrito is rolled ice cream wrapped around more ice cream and other yummy fillings. This truly is a two-person dessert, and we do plan on coming back up and doing it justice because it was quite delicious. On the right, is the famous “Waffle Shot” by Zia Valentina. I had my first one at The Grove, but the one I had at Stax was espresso with ice cream at the bottom of the shot. Yes, it was as good as it sounds!

I had a great time on this mini-food adventure with my sister, who gifted me with several new pins, because well, she’s my sister and knows what I love! Thank you Rholnna for spending my birthday with me, and here’s to more foodie adventures to come. Cheers!

Premier Sports & Pub Grub at Phileas Fogg’s in Sabre Springs Plaza!

Having been to London three times (and counting), I have a great love of pubs. I love the sports fueled atmosphere, the camaraderie, and especially the food, affectionately known as pub grub. Recently, my sister and I had lunch at a great little pub located at Sabre Springs Plaza called Phileas Fogg’s Bar & Restaurant. They were voted “San Diego’s Best” three years in a row, and by the experience we had, we could see why. Right when I walked in, I felt like I entered a pub in London, soccer prominent at every turn, even on the ceiling!

The food was just as wonderful as the atmosphere, reminding me of England on one hand, as well as making me feel right at home. Their menu ranges from traditional British fare, to Asian and Mexican. I had the Bangers & Mash with brown gravy and onions, and my sister had the fish tacos, along with her favorite appetizer, poutine fries. We finished off our afternoon with bread pudding and banana fritters with ice cream for dessert. It’s good to know that I can have delicious pub grub right in my own backyard!

If you would like to indulge in some pub grub while catching your favorite football club on the telly, Phileas Fogg’s Bar & Restaurant is located at 11385 Poway Road, #100 San Diego, CA 92128 and they can be reached at (858) 486-4442. Cheers!

Football (NFL) & more football (soccer)? Why yes! Plus, take a look at that ceiling and the amount of jerseys and flags; I spotted Manchester United straight away!

Above: Bangers & Mash; Poutine Fries

Below: Fish tacos

Above: Banana fritters with ice cream

Below: Bread pudding with white chocolate chips and caramel

Pub grub just the way I love it!

FTC Disclosure: I received compensation to patronize a business at Sabre Springs Plaza. Although I did receive compensation, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

(Most photos taken by Rholnna Jiao)

“Mangia Mangia” at Bongiorno’s Pizza in Poway Valley Center!

Hometown eateries are always a great find because they’re like hidden gems. My sister and I have been discovering fun places to eat up near where she lives in Rancho Bernardo, and Bongiorno’s Pizza in the Poway Valley Center is a tasty and affordable choice for Italian cuisine. Our entire lunch meal, which included our main dishes with garlic knots, drinks and dessert only came to $29! There were so many great choices, which solidifies a return trip with our families!

If you would like a great and affordable Italian dining experience, Bongiorno’s Pizza is located at 13332 Poway Road, Poway CA 92064 and they can be reached at (858) 679-3278. They also do deliveries within 5 miles. Cheers!

Bongiorno’s has a cozy feel, with lots of pictures of New York. Isn’t that pizza clock awesome?

I had the spaghetti with meat sauce, and my sister had the baked ziti. Both were really good, and we loved the garlic knots!

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli…”

This is absolutely one of the best deals at Bongiorno’s: the Dough Bites. They are deep fried dough rolled in powdered sugar, and come in a small pizza box. The entire box was only $4.99 and so great hot and right out of the box!

FTC Disclosure: I received compensation to patronize a business at Poway Valley Center. Although I did receive compensation, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

(Most photos by Rholnna Jiao)

Lunch With the Girls at Oggi’s in Rancho Carmel Plaza

It’s not everyday that I get the chance to go out and spend an afternoon with my sister, Rholnna, and my niece, Mei-Lin, so it’s wonderful when that opportunity happens. Since my sister’s family lives in Rancho Bernardo, I headed north a couple of weeks ago and we decided to eat at Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Co., located in Rancho Carmel Plaza in the Carmel Mountain Ranch area. Oggi’s is a family spot that my husband, son and I like to frequent because of their delicious menu and sports bar surroundings. I’ve watched quite a few San Diego Chargers games at Oggi’s!

I’ve always had their pizza, sticking with favorites like The Works or The Heavy Weight. For this outing, I decided on the Prosciutto Mac & Cheese because I have this secret goal to try a “mac & cheese” dish at every restaurant that offers it! I’m glad I strayed from my norm because this version was absolutely delicious. The three-cheese blend elbow pasta, baked with crispy prosciutto, broccoli and crushed red peppers looked great in the menu description, and was even better on my plate. I guess I’ve met my new favorite! My sister and niece both felt like pizza for lunch, but had different tastes in which ones they wanted, so it’s great that Oggi’s offers several sizes, including a personal size. We had a fantastic time, but it’s easy when there’s great food in a fun atmosphere!

Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Co. is located at Rancho Carmel Plaza, 10155-10195 Rancho Carmel Drive, San Diego, CA 92128.

Prosciutto Mac & Cheese

Personal Size “Create Your Own” Pizza

Kids’ Mini Cheese Pizza

FTC Disclosure: I received compensation to patronize a business at Rancho Carmel Plaza. Although I did receive compensation, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

(Photos by Rholnna Jiao and myself)

Blogsgiving 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our family Thanksgiving happens annually in Las Vegas and it was filled with fun and food, and of course a little shopping. But prior to our family gathering, I celebrated “Blogsgiving” with a few blogger friends at Hotel La Jolla where we previewed the new fall menu at CUSP Restaurant by Chef Ingrid Funes.

Our table was dressed with gorgeous flowers by Melissa from Madmade Designs and Louie from 656 Photography documented the entire evening!

I was in superb company with these beautiful bloggers!

Above: Tiffany of Glitz & Glam By Tiff, Moi & Paulina of Lil Bits of Chic

Below: Maria of Savvynista, Kali of In-Spades, and Jenna of Lucky Little Mustard Seed

Bloggers doing what we do best!

This is the Fall menu for Cusp Restaurant, and we pretty much sampled a bit of everything! But I’ll feature what I ate that evening, which was simply amazing!

My appetizer was the Crab Cake with sweet and sour bell pepper relish & green goddess sauce (above, in front of the Crispy Pork Belly). My main dish was the Lobster Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Kale as my side dish. Both dishes were savory and absolutely delicious!

I closed the evening with a Sweet Potato Tartlet with cinnamon ice cream. I think heavenly would be the appropriate way to describe this delectable dessert!

Chef Ingrid Funes came to meet with us during our dinner.

We had a blast all through the evening, sharing stories and laughing (a lot)!

After dinner, Louie from 656 Photography captured more pictures, including this one we’re all calling our “Real Housewives of San Diego” pose. Maybe someone can come up with a bloggers version for reality TV?

Our lovely co-hosts for the evening, Jenna and Paulina!

Many thanks to Hotel La Jolla, CUSP Restaurant, their staff and Chef Ingrid Funes for the delicious dinner. Thank you again to Melissa from Madmade Designs for the lovely floral table setting and to Louie from 656 Photography for the amazing photography.

Special thanks to Jenna, Paulina, Maria, Tiffany and Kali, who I’ve come to know and love as my friends. It was a great evening filled with laughter and I was glad to have spent it with all of you!

Eternal Summer Snacking with Chobani Mezé Dips!

It’s been crazy busy at the Chen household lately mostly because it’s summer, which means Dominic is out of school and we can travel or attend more family events. Sometimes during the summer, we have impromptu visitors or we end up becoming the meeting place for pre-concert or pre-movie gatherings. To help with entertaining around this time, the folks at Chobani sent me this fun infographic to help either plan a special summer event or help with what to do if you have simple soirees like we occasionally have.

Chobani is my go-to brand for Greek yogurt, so I’m excited to try their new Mezé Dips! They have four great flavors to choose from, but I think Roasted Red Pepper will become a favorite. So cheers to eternal summer snacking and let me know in the comments on how you throw a fabulous summer get together!

Fashionably Late: Catching Up on 2016 Events!

I know I’ve been very laxed when it comes to my blogging lately, and I apologize! My son has been away at his grandparents in Las Vegas for the last two weeks, so I have to confess that I’ve been catching up on some much-needed sleep. But now to get caught up on my blogging, I’m posting about events that I missed over the last few months. I’ll also be putting up my concert catch up posts and I think I’ll be all caught and ready to put up my newest posts about recent events and product reviews!

DANCE DANCE RESOLUTION – 1/31/16

My husband and I were invited by Delicious Buzz to attend the “Dance Dance Resolution” event presented by the international travel company Gogobot San Diego and a local non-profit organization, The Seany Foundation. It was held at The Rancho Santa Fe Motor Club & Storage and although it was quite the storm outside, it was a fun night of food, drinks, dance battles and pug kisses by Chole (with her mommy Heather of The Stylish Bisou).

THE BEAT CLOTHING SPRING FASHION SHOW – 2/21/16

Back in February, The Beat Clothing stylist Astrid Montalvo invited me to check out her fashion show in Carlsbad. Unfortunately due to some scheduling issues, my niece, Mei-Lin and I missed the actual fashion show, but I got to photograph some of the lovely models afterwards, and Mei snapped a picture of me with Astrid!

LATINO FILM FEST FASHION SHOW AT FASHION VALLEY – 3/18/16

Bloggers were invited to attend Fashion Valley’s 2nd annual “Celebration of Fashion” runway show for the 23rd annual San Diego Latino Film Festival. The event was emceed by Paola Hernández-Jiao and Abelardo Rodriguez and featured men’s and women’s fashion. My favorite was the fringed skirt by Scotch & Soda, featured in the video above. Look at that swing!

BERRY BEST CHOCOLATE FEST – 3/19/16

My mother-in-law had a booth for Bathologie, one of her direct sales companies at The Berry Best Chocolate Fest at Liberty Station, so I took that opportunity to hang out with my son and enjoy the festivities. Rather than all of the wonderful chocolate, Dominic decided he actually loved the Belgian waffles from the Marcel Waffle Truck. I wholeheartedly agree!

RECORD STORE DAY 2016 – 4/16/16

I spent Record Store Day this year at Record City in Hillcrest with my friend Rob and blogger friend Laura of Laura Neuzeth. This was probably the most organized RSD I had ever been to, and I think I found a new spot for every RSD from now on! The trick is to get there incredibly early (I got there by 5:30 am and there were still people there before me) to ensure you get your choice of what you want. They didn’t have everything that I wanted from “The List” (post about it here), but I did come away with an awesome haul!

SPRING FLING EVENT AT GO GIRL SPA – 4/23/16

Also back in April, I attended the “Spring Fling Event” at Girl on the Go, a night spa in the Golden Hill area. I enjoyed the free cocktails, hanging out for a bit with Tatum from Love Tatum, and then I purchased a little something from Style on the Go. Of course, since the Marcel Waffle Truck made an appearance, I had to bring something home for Dominic!

Foodie Fest Encinitas is Tomorrow!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I’ve been quite busy trying to fit everything in and I’m finally getting around to doing some product reviews and concert posts (in fact, I’m going to see The Cure tonight). Before I do, I wanted to share pictures from a wonderful event I attended with my good friend Angi last week, which was the Discover SD Foodie Fest Media Party. It was a preview of Foodie Fest Encinitas, happening tomorrow. At the preview, we got to sample a nice little selection of the vendors that will be there, and the event included tunes by The Fab Lushes and a fun little photo booth. Thank you to Tiffany of Delicious Buzz for the invite, and you can find information about the event below. Did I mention Angi won us tickets to KAABOO?!

Cheers and have a great weekend!

Foodie Fest Encinitas

When: Saturday May 21, 2016

Time: 11am to 4pm

Where: The Lumberyard Encinitas

Buy tickets here!

Delicious Kombucha by Living Tea Brewing Co. Loved the blood orange tea. Refreshing!

Favorite main dishes & appetizers of the night: Poke by Mission Avenue Bar and Grill; Vella Cheese Company Dry Monterey Jack Cheese from Gourmet Culinary; Deviled eggs by Local Tap House; Bacon wrapped pork belly drizzled in honey by Barrel Republic; Pork bahn mi by Frazier Farms Market. Yum!

Ah-mazing dessert dishes by Bistro West & delicious caramel by Cheryl’s Caramels!

The Fab Lushes!

Fun at the photo booth!

Angi had the winning raffle ticket for 2 passes to KAABOO! We’re going on Saturday September 17!

The Cheeses of Europe Pop-Up at Fashion Valley

I love attending events that are different from what I’m used to, especially at a place like a major shopping mall. Recently, I attended the media event for “The Cheeses of Europe” pop-up shop held at Center Court at Fashion Valley. It featured several varieties of cheeses from Europe (mainly France), offered at a lower price point. The Cheeses of Europe is presented by The Cheeses of France Marketing Council, and their hope is to build awareness and demand for The Cheeses of Europe in the US and the world through national and regional programs. My favorite cheeses of the sampling were the creamier ones and the salted butters. Although I didn’t purchase any that night, I’m happy to know that these cheeses are available at any local Whole Foods, because I will most definitely be trying some of the fabulous dishes on their recipes page. Without a doubt, The Cheeses of Europe know how to Make it Magnifique!

Wine and champagne was available to try with all of the wonderful cheeses for the evening!

The dishes in this mini-sampling were so delicious!

It was great to check out all of the tasty cheeses with Lilia of Curls and Fashion and Vanessa of Fashion Mixtape. One of my favorite cheeses was that Paysan Breton whipped cheese, and another favorite was the Baked Brie with Chipotle Mango Honey Cilantro Shots from the flight of dishes pictured above (pictured bottom right).

Of course I downloaded the app!

Cave Tools Kabobs Skewer Set Review: Perfect Party Food!

New Year’s Eve is upon us, which means parties galore! My husband, Deon, is quite the BBQ connoisseur and is known to create some fabulous meals on his Traeger Grill for several parties here right at home, especially during football season. Recently, Deon made amazing kabobs with the Cave Tools Stainless Steel Kabob Skewers Set. He really liked the overall design, especially how the skewers set on the rack (they can be set in eight different positions). He also thought the “built-in-food-slider” was the most convenient part of the skewers, in addition to how easy they were to clean. Above all, the kabobs were evenly cooked and didn’t stick to the grill because the rack sits right atop it. Overall: These are Deon approved! So if you’re looking for a dish that will be a hit for your next party and have a great grill like we do (we have the Traeger Junior Elite Grill), grab this great skewer set from Cave Tools (check out below how fantastic his kabobs turned out). Cheers and see you in the New Year!