Yesterday, I decided to take the bike out for the day to run errands and finally meet up with a group of friends for dinner. All was well until I was getting ready to leave. A security guard comes by and tells me never to park at the parking center again. I was asking, “Where can I park then?” He pointed to the back of the parking lot at other signs and tells me that his boss doesn’t like it when bikes are locked up to sign posts. I told them he should install some bike parking locations so that all the bikes can use it. He continues to tell me that his boss won’t do it. The only thing I could do was to tell him I’ll be sure to write to the city and tell them of this situation.
Well, I just sent my email to them. I was so mad. Here I am, riding my bicycle around town for the day. I made a personal commitment to not start my car and drive. I was not going to be contributing to the demise of our environment and the congestion on the road. I felt in a way betrayed by all of this. Even though you think you might be doing a good thing, it won’t go unpunished. What if I had a $5000 bike (which I don’t)? A person with with any beat-up or nice car or motorize vehicle will have designated spots. All I’m saying is why can’t they be fair about this? Their city states that a ratio of 5% of all parking should be provided to bicycles. I definitely did not see that since almost all spaces were for automobiles.
And with that I am declaring boycott to the following list of businesses or locations:
- Baccali, 245 W Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801
- Din Tai Fung Dumpling House and it’s neighboring businesses, 1108 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
It’s really not the fact that they don’t have parking but to tell a paying customer to never to park at the only places that we can park will get you shit listed. Enough said!
This past Saturday I spent my entire day at the Long Beach Convention Center gawking at motorcycles from various manufacturers. I also bought some custom molded earphones for my listening pleasure. We probably walked the whole show 3 times waiting for the earphones to be completed. Some highlights of the show included getting autographs from MotoGP’s Colin Edwards and AMA Superbike riders Bostrom Brothers and Josh Herrin. I also got to see both MotoGP bikes of Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner. Not to mention 2007 AMA Superstock Champ, Ben Spies’ Suzuki.
To close out the rest of the evening, I spent some time with friends eating at Seafood Village in Monterey Park. The meal was delicious and the company was good. On Sunday, San and I went to volunteer as facilitators of a silent auction. We basically collected the auction sheets once the bidding ends. Nothing to exciting but got to learn a bit on how auction and silent auctions are executed. All-in-all, a very productive weekend.
Here are some photos of my 31st birthday celebration. We were grubbin at The Crab Pot with friends. Pictures was provided by Peuv, the official photographer of the Johnny Lam fan club. 
We’re back at Tammy’s place right now. We decided to grab some dim-sum this morning in Richmond, British Columbia. It’s like a Alhambra or Monterey Park of Canada. The dim-sum experience was pretty different. First of all, there isn’t any carts perusing the aisles of tables. Instead, you order from a sheet of paper similar to a sushi menu. Of course, none of us knew how to read or write Chinese so we had to dictate to the waitress what we wanted. Before we went to British Columbia, I was told by many people that the best dim-sum in world was in BC. It was even better than San Francisco or even Hong Kong. Bold statement until we had ours. It was in fact the best dim-sum ever! The har gow and shui mai was large and plump. Every order was excellent!
Victoria, British Columbia was also a good experience. We rode in and out of Victoria to our ferry on the local bus. We only had 3 hours to walk around town. I know we didn’t see all of Victoria but we had to get going. It was mass chaos getting back on the ferry. At first, they did not allow anyone to board but eventually they sent us all in without even charging us a fare. Apparently there was a security issue so they had to load the last ferry. We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel after a late dinner.
We’ll be going home tomorrow. Before that we’re planning to check out the Chinatown in Seattle since we haven’t been there yet. It was a good vacation and I’ll definitely visit these places again. Next time, on planes instead of our 2,000 mile drive.
Forgot to give recognition to Sophorn last week for her birthday. We had a blast singing karaoke in K-town.
Pictures also included dinner with San’s buddies at Red Moon Cafe. We highly recommended the Garlic Butter Crab. Thanks Miss Jamie for the information about this place.
Extraordinary Desserts
1430 Union Street
San Diego, CA 92101
After receiving recommendations to go to this restaurant, we decided that this would be a good weekend to go down to San Diego and see what the excitement was all about. Getting there wasn’t an issue given that Google Maps gave to the point directions. Upon arrival I thought the parking situation was going to be horrible. Fortunately we found parking just a block away on the street adjacent to a scarcely full $8 parking lot. We surveyed the waiting area and the large array of dessert cakes and drinks. We decided to pull up a couple of seats at the dessert bar and proceeded to order their Tortamisu. It’s basically a tiramisu cake and a couple of soy latte. The cake was moist and lightly sweeten. Just the way I like it! It also came with a small bowl of ice cream. That was absolutely delicious. It cost about a little over $20. Yes, it was kinda steep for considering it was only dessert. The premium you pay for was the atmosphere and novelty. Most people there was eating the dessert even though they have a full course menu. I would have to say that this would be a good first date place if you were to bring someone who’s never been there before. Very impressive and relaxed atmosphere. I highly recommend stopping by next time you’re near downtown San Diego.
Murder mystery at Aphrodisiac restaurant (formerly Lunaria) in Century City went fairly well. They used props, served a dinner, and had over the top acting. It was definitely quite an experience and I would recommend going there once. I have to say I solved the case but they gave the prize to a 12 year-old kid. A new career in detective work.
We also had a delicious lunch on Sunday at Newport Seafood restaurant in San Gabriel. A 11 course meal with lobsters and crabs. It was awesome! Unfortunately I forgot to bring the camera and wasn’t able to get pictures for the event. We went to Shon’s house and had a quick poker game. I dropped $40 in a matter of 30 minutes. I was playing too loose. Too much confidence in my game. I have to reevaluate my strategy. That’s the thing about Texas Hold’em, there’s always room to learn and the checks and balances to keep you humble. I need to take a break from the game for a little bit before I test the waters again.
Poker, Special Event
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Adalyn, birthday, Century City, food, Lunaria, murder mys, murder mystery, Newport Seafood, Poker, restaurant, texas hold'em
My weekend began with some time with the guys celebrating Wilson’s birthday. It was good being with only the guys and just bullshitting about old times. Nothing really says friendship like 7 guys making fun of one another about their weakest moments in high school and college. We had a great dinner at Lucille’s again. I love that place! We ended up in Corona playing a very competitive poker game at Shon’s place. At 5am I finished the game being up $126.
The next day I had another birthday to go to. But this time, it started at Tokyo Delves and ended at Saddle Ranch (again). Nothing says “Happy Birthday!” like getting wasted with your friends! Again, a birthday wish to my good friend Ann. You can probably guess which one she is.
Super Bowl Sunday was ok. Had some good food and spent some more time with my gf. The game was boring. Nothing special but a laid back Sunday. Back to work again. *Sigh* 
Let the birthday season begin! We start off with Kylee’s at Saddle Ranch, Universal City. Yes, nothing like having the waitor stand up on the table and singing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and having half of your Mai Thai get spilled on you to ring in your special day. Food was good as usual, but the mass of drunk people dancing to music that would might as well be played at a High School dance was a sure indication that the night was going to be an interesting one. And it was. It further confirms that bars and clubs are no longer the pass-time of my choice anymore. I enjoyed my Saturday night spent watching Underworld Evolution, eating In-N-Out burgers, and reading at Barnes & Noble more. Not that I’m saying Saddle Ranch wasn’t fun, its just I prefer to be in a nice, quiet, and relaxed environment. Its just the natural progression of growing up I suppose.
On a daily basis I am constantly reminded by my co-worker/friend, Jamie, how great all things Chicago is. About two weeks ago she sent me an e-mail message that her favorite hot dog stand in Chicago is coming to California. So this weekend, I decided to head out to visit the one and only Portillo’s in Buena Park. After a quick 30 minute drive down to Buena Park (would’ve taken me 20 minutes if it wasn’t for the Knotts Scary Farm crowd), I arrive at a bustling parking lot and equally bustling restaurant. The drive-thru lane was filled with idle vehicles waiting to put in their orders. There were lines everywhere. Lines to order, lines to pick up your food, and lines to the desserts. The restaurant resembles an indoor hot dog stand or a fancy cafeteria. You don’t have a host to take you to an open seat. Instead you just go line up, order your food, pick up your food, find an open table and eat. Want dessert? Go line up for a dedicated line for dessert. There’s also seating outside in a patio area for those looking for fresh air. The restaurant is littered with numerous items relating to Chicago, I presume.
As for the food… Well, they’re hot dogs. Only thing special about them are the numerous items they top these things with. I ordered a regular hot dog and the Char-Grilled Maxwell Street Style Polish, 2 regular drinks, and a regular french fries for $13. The regular hot dog came with a slice of pickle, tomatoes, relish, onions, and chili peppers. The polish dog came with grilled onions and mustard. The bread was a bit moist because of the wrapper. The hot dog was too sour for my taste, but the polish dog was delicious. Even had to order another one to satisfy my hunger. Because of the atmosphere of people looking and waiting for seats, we felt rushed eating our meal. So for a total of $20, my girlfriend and I walked out of the chaotic scene with filled bellies.
The food is delicious but I wouldn’t say it was worth the price I paid for it. Perhaps the bustling crowd was just an anomaly considering that it just opened last Tuesday. For what its worth, I would definitely come back here instead of driving to the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs in Hollywood and wait in a much longer line to pay for overpriced hot dogs. Why drive so far to spend so much on hot dogs?
Click on the image above to view more pictures of Portillo’s.
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