Deliriously Happy and Full

August 18, 2009

in eating disorders,eating out,family,My story

Eee hee hee hee heeee~ Excuse me for sounding like a lecherous old toothless lady right now…I meant to come off as someone who is deliriously happy, madly stuffed, and freaking exhausted.

As you can tell by now, it’s been a good day. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to have kicked off my first day as a (sort of) resident of LA. If only my brother were here! We could have been one big happy family, heavy with contentment and delicious food.

We’ve been up since 5 in the morning (eastern time), so if I start to spatter utter nonsense, blame it on my fatigue and sleepiness, but I just had to pop by to brag about my good day.

Anyway, apparently compared to my other friends, I’m a pretty light packer. All I had were three luggages: one part clothes, one part school supplies and toiletries, and one part— uh, “stuff” for the kitchen. Hey, I’m not gonna leave my precious spices and cooking appliances to rot at home!

Oh, and I also restricted myself to just two of my stuffed toys:

That’s my sleepy mom whom I forced to pose with my Pooh bear and my pink Piggy.

When we arrived at the LAX, it was only 9:30 am Pacific time, but 12:30 eastern time. We rushed to Advantage Rentals to pick up our new car which will serve us well for 4 days here:
It’s a Malibu. When I texted my brother and told me which car it was, he said, “Eew.” Hm, is it that bad? But then, my brother is a total car-snob. As for me, I don’t care what car it is as long as it gets me to my destination.

Anyway, it was way past our lunchtime by the time we picked up our car, and we were famished. We dragged ourselves to our hotel, checked in, and debated where to dine. And here’s when I decided to be “generous” and allowed my dad to choose the venue. And of course, he had to choose Chinese…my least favorite cuisine in the world.

But I remembered that one of the resolutions I made to myself was to be at peace and to have victories especially in regards to my control over food, so I decided to start the first meal with a total victory by relegating the control over to majority’s wishes.

Since we were in Koreatown, it wasn’t hard to find the first Chinese restaurant:
Translated: New Beijing. Hmm. Sketchy name. As luck will have it, this place turned out to be a Korean-style Chinese restaurant. Thank goodness! They even served us ban chan (small plates in Korean) like kimchi!
My dad ordered his favorite, the Seafood JJam bong:
Noodles in spicy seafood broth with three kinds of seafood

My mom and I shared the Seafood Jja Jang Myeon:
That’s the noodles…
And then the sauce…Mix it altogether…
Noodles in sautéed black soybean sauce with three kinds of seafood. I know these noodles look gross, but it’s actually pretty good! The noodle was hand-cut and cooked perfectly. All three of us had fun slurping up a storm together!

We also shared a plate of boiled meat dumplings, though I ended up eating most of it:
After that, I took my parents on a tour around the USC campus:
I thought I would get lost, but turns out I can be a pretty good guide! We walked round the whole campus, and in the middle of it of course I guided them to my favorite spot of the campus:
Red Mango! It’s the first time they had frozen yogurt, and they loved it just as much as me!

But the best part was just…showing my parents the place in which I would spend 4 years of my life growing, learning, and enjoying. It made my heart throb with pride to see them beam with pride, as they strolled around like they owned t
he place because their daughter will be attending this school!
And hee, I had to add this picture…I thought it was so cute that they walk around holding hands!

When we were done with the tour, we were starving again. It must be the lack of sleep, but our appetites were really raging. I did a bit of research this time, and took them to this small restaurant called The Panini Grill by the Miracle Mile:
Guess what I liked most about this place? The bright lights! Total stroke of luck!

The waiter served us hot grilled bread sprinkled with Parmesan cheese as soon as we sat down:
Ooh! I can’t believe they actually served free bread with real, fresh grated Parm! It would have been better if they used a bit more butter or olive oil, though.
My dad ordered the Linguini with Clam:
Linguini with clams in spicy marinara sauce
I asked for extra spicy, and boy did they add the red pepper by handfuls. But it was just perfect for us! The noodles were peeeerrrrrrrfect! It was cooked just al dente, with that delicious little bite to it. Love noodles with substance!

I ordered for my mom the Chicken Explosiva:
Chicken breast marinated in chipotle sauce with sautéed mushrooms, onions, roma tomato, avocado and provolone cheese in ciabatta. Side of fresh fruits.
This was awesome! Loved the spicy sauce, and the addition of sautéed mushrooms really jazzed it up! It was aptly named, too, because this sandwich was exploding in size and flavor!

For myself, I ordered the Prosciutto Melone:
Thinly sliced prosciutto with fresh melon, arugula and brie in wheat bread. Side of salad.
Ack. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed…I was imagining a HUGE hunk of melted brie cheese, but there was just a tiny sliver hidden underneath the arugula…
But the melon saved the day! I had never had melon warm before, but now I don’t think there’s any way better to enjoy a melon than warm and grilled!