I've Moved!

I'm moving my food posts away from this blog cuz I feel that they should have their own blog. Granted I tried this before and it didn't work, but try, try again. Right? Here's the new site:

http://ewongblog.wordpress.com/

Melon Smoothie with Sago

I've been meaning to make more things so that my blog is not just all about my yelp reviews and my random visits to places. So I made an Asian Melon w/ Sago Dessert that I found here:

http://www.fussfreecooking.com/sugary-treats/coconut-milk-melon-with-sago-dessert-%E6%A4%B0%E6%B1%81%E8%9C%9C%E7%93%9C%E8%A5%BF%E7%B1%B3/

This blogger is Emily who lives in Australia. (I don't know why I like Australian food bloggers). Her blog is all about Fuss Free Cooking. I have to say this was pretty fuss free. It was fun and simple to do.

These are the ingredients used in this dessert. From Left to Right: Water, Sago(Smal Tapioca Pearls), Coconut Milk, Sugar (I used splenda instead), Salt (I ended up not using it), and 1 Cantaloupe.

In order to make this dessert, you will need: a stove, 2 pots, a blender, a mixing bowl, a large knife, and a  chopping board. I didn't have a big enough blender so I used my sister's single serve smoothie blender. It worked just fine.

Now, considering that I forgot to chill the melon mixture before I stuck it all together, it still tasted delicious. I wish I had used a little more sugar, but it was plenty sweet. The other thing I wish I had done was cook the sago just a little bit longer since my sago was a little crunchy. But overall, it was still good for a first try!

You Can't Win

Listening to: You Can't Win By Kelly Clarkson



So, as I'm listening to this song, it occurs to me how true this song  is. Here's the thing, everyone has an opinion on everyone and everything. I was just complaining the other day that it is so tiring to have an opinion on anything or to make any kind of decision because everyone in my life wants to know why I made the decision that I did. Whether it's my family who's concerned that I'm making the right choices, a co-worker who asked me  my political and religious views so that they can argue with me or some complete stranger who has decided I'm some kind of idiot because of my age, gender or ethnicity, there is no way I can win. At all or ever.

So, now I'm going to throw in some religious stuff that applies. Don't go away just yet. My pastor was preaching on the UnPresidential Servant. He was talking about Jesus. His ultimate implications for this sermon was that you have to expect people to disagree with your views. No matter what they are. He also said that we should do more and talk less, choose wisely and be discerning. His final point was that Jesus is the Christian Commander-in-Chief. But yeah, my point in bringing this sermon up is that people are going to disagree with my beliefs and my actions but as long as my views are sound and my actions are fair(definition: giving everyone the opportunity to have a chance) then I need to forge ahead and stand by them no matter what happens. But of course, I will apologize if along the way I am wrong too. You'd be surprised how many people wouldn't.

I wanted to post the sermon up here too, but it's not posted on my church's  website yet, will do so when it is.

Joe and Books at the Rio

There's nothing like going to the bookstore to read a good book and drink a cup of joe. It's also a good place to use some free wifi on your laptop or tablet or to study with a friend. The review I did today is for the Barnes and Noble in the Washingtonian Center at 21 Grand Corner Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Here is my review from Yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/barnes-and-noble-gaithersburg

I come here quite often. The people here are usually nice and very helpful. It's usually a great place to go grab a cup of coffee from the starbucks inside, grab a book, and read for a few hours. The only thing I really don't like is that they got rid of all their comfy chairs and even the wooden chairs that they used to have spread around the store are gone. Now, if you want to sit and read, you have to fight for a table in the starbucks area. I don't know how much good it's done their business, but I do know for sure that I have stopped coming as much as i used to. Why go to B&N to read a book if there's no where to sit comfortably? Still, if you need to buy a book or get free wifi while drinking a good cup of joe. This is the place to go.

It's also conveinent because it's right next to Target, and many places to eat. Rio is a great area for this book store to be in.

Pumpkins!!!!

I decided late last night that I wanted to go pumpkin picking. It's not surprising that very few people were available to go with me. But surprise! One of my old college roommates decided to come with me! I ended up getting 4 pumpkins and apple cider. We went to Butler's Orchard. Butler's Orchard is pretty nice. The people are friendly and the pumpkins were plentiful. The only thing I didn't like is that all the pumpkins were cut off the vines but the vines were left around for people to trip on as they walked around. There were numerous rotted pumpkins everywhere. As it was, it was $0.65/lb for a pumpkin and it cost me about $22 for 4 pumpkins. I got 2 medium and 2 small pumpkins.

It was kind of sad to say that this is one of the better looking pumpkins and it's looks so nice because It turned it around. The other side is all marred up. But it was a nice size I suppose. I'm guessing it was because it's the end of the season, but there weren't that many good pumpkins around.

The Farmer's Market was a lot better than the pumpkin patch. It was clean, with plenty of people and products. I thought it was really funny that they spelled Bok Choy as Pak Choy. A lot of things were pretty expensive, but then, that's to be expected at Farmer's Markets. There was also apparently a Fall Festival but today was apparently the last day. We were going to go but it was $11 a person. I thought that was kind of ridiculous. 

Dumplings! Nope, Just Pho.

It is just a short walk from University of Maryland College Park. I may have been a little harsh in my review, but read and decide for yourself. They got an overall 3 stars at least.

Here's the Yelp! Review:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-thom-college-park

I wasn't very impressed with this place. First of all, I was looking forward to District Dumpling, but apparently the place is closed. So we went to Pho Thom instead. Wasn't very happy but, didn't want to walk anywhere else either. Yes, I was forced to walk to find food.

Food: 2.5/5 stars. I got a large P-3 which included Well Done flank, Eye of Round and tendons. The broth was alright, but had a bland after taste which was quickly covered up by sriracha sauce. Yum! The meat was well cooked. We also got the Chicken Satay. Some of the pieces weren't cooked all the way through. Yep, slightly raw chicken, not a good sign. The peanut sauce was greasy and unappetizing looking, but the cucumber sauce was yummy. Probably won't be getting the Chicken anytime soon.

Service: 3/5 stars. They were really packed but it's also a small restaurant. Maybe 15 tables max? the waiter took a REALLY long time to come get our order which is surprising since most Vietnamese restaurants want you in and out ASAP. The food came relatively fast and they didn't ignore us completely. The waitress there was also very nice even though she wasn't our waitress. But at least she greeted us nicely and said good-bye to us nicely. .5 stars more just for her.

Decor: 3/5 stars. It was nicely colored and I kind of liked the open space and the front desk even though it was plain. I think because the outside was so dingy looking that since the inside was somewhat nice, I was happy. Or it could have been the fact that I had to walk 20 minutes to get to my food and I was happy to sit down to a non gray colored table.

Overall, I'm giving it a 3 stars because I wasn't really offended by the raw food and the Pho really wasn't bad. I may not come here much, but it doesn't seem like a bad place. I even felt bad that I had to give them a coin tip because I ran out of cash. Just avoid anything on a skewer and you'll be fine.

Noodles Caboodles!

Filmed my promotional video and then we got hungry. Here's the review for Bob's Noodle 66. It's located on 305 N Washington St, Rockville, MD 20850. I gave it 5 stars on yelp because you can't give it half stars. Anyway, here's the review from Yelp!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bobs-noodle-66-rockville

I came here once years ago and never went back. It wasn't because I didn't like the place, I just wasn't impressed. I decided to eat her tonight because it was 8:30pm at night and the church people I was with decided on Bob's.

Food: 5/5 stars. Last time I came here, I got the Beef Stew Soup. Was NOT impressed even though ALL my friends got it and were raving about it. THIS time, I got the Pork and Egg Thick Noodle Soup for $6.95. Now what's weird is my soup could have fed about 3 of me and yet it was only $1 more than my sister's wonton noodle soup for $5.95 which was just the perfect size for 1 person. I did not have high expectations for my soup, but I LOVED it! 5 stars! Perfect! The soup was delicious, the veggies and meat were awesome, the noodles were just regular noodles and nothing much to raved about. But did I mention the soup???? My sister's soup looked good too. She drained it to the bottom, so I'm assuming it was good.

Service: 4/5 stars. It was late-ish, they were wrapping up, and out of a lot of stuff. This seems to be typical of Bob's since a couple of the people I was with mentioned that it had happened before. At least they're honest about it though and up front too. The waitress was nice and the whole staff seems friendly. Because of the food I'm inclined to be nicer and give an extra star that I normally wouldn't.

Decor: Nothing special, won't rate it.

Overall, 4.5 stars out of 5. I got a soup for $7 that I shared partially with my sister, have enough for lunch tomorrow and filled me up. That's a wonderful price for such a BIG soup! I may start going here more often. Yes, yes indeed.