Ornaments

I wanted to post this earlier, but I guess better late than never. We had our first tree this Christmas in our home and added a few new ornaments to our collection. Here's a peak into some of the ones we added:

L to R (clockwise):
Blessed photo frame ornament from the hubs that came in my stocking this year
Snowman Lenox porcelain ornament. This was a steal of a deal that we found at HomeGoods (have I told you I love that store?). I believe he retails full price around $50-60 and we got him for $10 or so.
Mickey Mouse Disney Vinylmation ornament. He smells like the gingerbread man that he's eating. The hubs got into Disney Vinylmations towards the end of the year, so this was a fitting ornament, plus we had a coupon :)
Aruban Fisherman from Aruba (duh!). This isn't a new ornament, but still a fave of mine. We picked this up on our honeymoon. Which now has started a tradition of bringing home an ornament from trips we take (next year, you'll see the one I got from New Orleans)
Fabric Lion from Target. Target had a line of really cute ornaments this winter, and they went fast (at least the good ones did). If you didn't grab it when you saw it, chances are it'd be gone by your next visit.

There you have it! a glimpse into our Christmas decorations. Next year, we should have more exciting things to share on the Christmas decor front, keep your eye out for them!

Hakkasan

1 Kearny St * San Francisco, CA

It's been a while since I've done a restaurant review post. Since +Steve Nguyen brought up the fact that my blog has been lacking reviews, I thought this would be appropriate, as he treated us to a holiday luncheon at Hakkasan.

Hakkasan recently opened this San Francisco outpost on the 2nd floor of what looked like an all but abandoned building on the corner of Kearny and Market. I've seen a lot of posts and reviews lately about it even before it opened, so I was glad to get an opportunity to check it out.

You walk into a very chic and sophisticated dining room separated by interesting wood frames. The centerpiece of the restaurant is gorgeous bar.

We started off with a few dimsum items:

Clockwise, starting from top-left: King crab noodle roll; har gau; crab and taro croquette; daikon cake

The dimsum was all cooked nicely. My favorite was the crab/taro croquette. It was perfectly crispy on the outside and the taro was smooth and creamy inside. This is usually one of my favorite dimsum items to get, but the crab version made it more luxurious. My least favorite was the daikon cake, not sure if the ratio of rice flour and daikon was off, but it turned out alittle too mushy for my liking.

For our main course, we ordered the spicy prawns, black pepper rib-eye with merlot, and chicken fried rice with salted fish.

The dishes were all executed well. The prawns were cooked perfectly, not overcooked at all.

For dessert, we had a steamer full of macarons. I don't remember all the different flavors, but there was a blood orange, burnt caramel, jasmine tea, and yuzu. I thought the macarons were good and a good deal (7 for $12...many places around here charge close to $2 for a macaron)

Overall, I thought this was a great meal, with the prices, definitely not an everyday place. But they had great service and a wonderful ambiance.

Paws: 4

My First Roast Chicken

For Thanksgiving this year, I made my first roast chicken ever. I was a bit apprehensive, since I've never done it before and cooking a whole bird seemed like a daunting task. But everyone always says how easy it is and how good it is, so I thought, why not give it a try. I used the Pioneer Woman (of course) roast chicken recipe as a base and changed a few things using what i had available to me.

Instead of rosemary in the butter, I used thyme and added some chopped garlic. My veggie box that week came with a bundle of poultry seasoning (rosemary, thyme, sage), which I stuck into the cavity (up the butt - hehe) of the chicken along with the lemon.

Overall, I thought the chicken came out very well, super moist and juicy. The lemon and herb flavors came through nicely.

Lessons learned:
- Leave the butter out longer to allow it to soften (soft butter really helps) 
- Pat the chicken dry and pat it dry again. Butter sticks better to super dry chicken 
- Turn the broiler on for a few minutes at the end to crisp up the skin more

A few pictures of the process, nothing amazing:


naked chicken


ready for the oven


all done!

長尾巴...

attack of the cute

There's a saying in Chinese "長尾巴" or growing your tail - which is a nice way to say "you're another year older"... My tail grew this week, and I was reminded again of how loved and blessed I am.

Here's a quick collage to summarize it all. Surrounded by family, friends, and food.

Thank you to all of you who are in my life and constantly remind me of how great our God is and how His love is all around us.

Thankfulness

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, 

for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 107:1)

As I reflect on what I have to be thankful for I find that it's all centered around God's love and blessings in my life...

He has filled my life with amazing family and friends. Those who are there to stand by me, make me laugh, and feed me. 

He has constantly provided for my every need. Opening doors in His perfect timing, helping me move through each of them. 

Having more than my needs, but my wants, fulfilled as well. I thank Him for the constant blessings He bestows. And know that they can all be gone in an instant.

There is much to be thankful for not just at Thanksgiving, but every single day of the year.