Dim Sum

Today I had Dimsum for the third time. I had dimsum (carts) when I was in NY last December for the first time and it was pretty good. In fact, I started craving it once I came back to Cali. So I had it again in chinatown with no carts, it was a disappointment. I'm not sure if it was the taste or the fact that they didn't have the carts going around, quite possibly both. So today I drove out to Monterey Park with my friend Liz and tried dimsum at a place called NBC Seafood.

The restaurant was spacious and clean inside. All the chairs were covered in cream colored fabrics and the servers were very attentive. We barely got seated when three carts came to us and started offering different dishes to us. I think in a span of like 2 minutes we had our table filled with five to six different dishes. And they would clear the table once each dish was empty and come by every two minutes to fill our teapot. I've never been to a restuarant that had such blazing fast service! I was actually overwhelmed.

Anyways, on to the real point, the food was quite delicious! And here are some pictures. The lighting was quite horrible inside so most of the pictures were blurry. I managed to salvage a few photos. I apologize if I have totally butchered their names.


Shrimp Sticks


Shrimp enclosed in noodles with sauce


Pork Dumpings - Ham Shui Gok


Sweet BBQ Pork Buns

We also had steamed bbq pork buns, shrimp shu mai, shrimp and scallion pan-fried dumplings, and steamed shrimp dumplings. Yea, we ate a lot, but we couldn't really tell cause they kept clearing the table. After that, we got severe food coma and we were so thirsty.. probably from all the MSG consumption. My mouth is still dry no matter how much I drink. (tsk..tsk.. msg)

Here's where I'm at on Helen Bell's Multiplication Table.

Doll House

I started on Brightneedle's Doll House cross stitch a couple days ago. I made some color changes and I started on the framing of the house.

I really love this charming pattern and I hope to get it finished and framed soon.

More pictures to come soon~

I tried my luck on ebay and I was able to win some patterns. They should arrive by the end of next week. :)

Christmas Everyday

When I was younger my mom loved to buy seasonal decor and ornate frames. And the decoration would be placed all throughout the home. Some twelve years later the once seasonal decor has found a permanant place in the house during those years. Although they have been there all along, it just hit me that our house is full of christmas decor. Chuckle. Our house is christmas everyday!

As I was going through my stash of unfinished projects I pulled out this christmas cross stitch. I hope to complete it before this Christmas!

Noah's Ark WIP

I've been working on the Noah's Ark Sampler bit by bit everyday. I've progressed quite a bit from this picture, but it's what I have for now.

I've been furniture shopping with my mom this weekend. I'm looking for some bookshelves to store my growing supplies, and my parents are looking for new seating for the living room. While shopping around for sofas my mom and I found the perfect leather sofa and chaise. It's similar in color to the one we currently own, but the design, shape, and price is just what we've been looking for.

I can't wait till I move out and get to decorate my own house~ but I have a feeling that will be years later.

Day Six

I made the mistake of watching my favorite drama while cross-stitching last night. I ended up taking out an hour's worth of stitches. It was so painful, but I had no other choice.




I also love putting together puzzles. I had bought this one a couple years ago and decided to put it together this month. Unfortunately it has been the last thing on my mind these couple days. It's a stunning 1000 piece puzzle with Kathy Jakobsen's lovely landscape of autumn trees.

Ham Shui Gok

When I went to New York, my best friend and I had dimsum in chinatown. It was my first time trying the authentic dimsum as opposed to the store bought shu mai. Well there was this one kind that was crunchy on the outside with chewy mochi and savory delicious-ness inside- I later found out that delicious-ness was called ham shui gok.

And during the weekend, I just had to make it myself! My version has more of a korean taste, the only similar thing was the crust, but it's still delicious.

In the original version I heard you use ground pork, which I replaced with ground beef. My mama always taught me to grind your own beef, that way you know what's really in your beef. To the ground beef I added: finely diced mushrooms, onions, garlic, and scallions, a touch of sesame oil, a good amount of soy sauce, a bit of salt and pepper and mixed filling together with an egg. In a separate bowl I combined sweet rice powder (Mochiko powder) with water and seasoned that with a tiny amount of salt and sugar. The texture should be soft to the touch but not gloppy. Then I rolled ball-shaped mochiko dough with my palms, stuffed it with the filling and closed it up. Then you fry them in oil and voila, my version of ham shui gok! Enjoy~

I also started a new cross stitch pattern. This is the progress I made in four days.

Title: Noah's Ark Sampler (Cross Stitch & Country Crafts Dec 92)
Date Started: March 14, 2009