Lisa's Tea Treasures with the girls

Today I went to Lisa's Tea Treasures with my mom, sister Sue, and mom's friend, Betty.

On the way with my bitch, Ginger.




(From the website) Lisa's Tea Treasures is a unique Tea Room and Gift Parlour featuring an authentic Victorian Tea Room serving "traditional afternoon tea", which is substantial enough to satisfy luncheon appetites.

It was quite an interesting environment and experience. Really fun, actually.

The parlour




Little Zacky stopped by for a bit


Betty with Zacky


Ladies


I got the "Frenchified" tea and lunch meal. It came with a Blackberry Jasmine tea




My sister shared some sammiches with me which were quite tasty. The scones are really great here.


My dessert plate - crumpets (I finally know what they are!), puff pastry with brie, and a chocolate mousse cake.


Betty and Maman


The Pan girls


Nice girls brunch today. It's been awhile since I had some good quality time with my mom and sis. =)

Lisa's Tea Treasures
377 Santana Row #1145
San Jose, CA 95128
Tel: 408.247.3613

Afterwards, we walked around Santana Row and Valley Fair, and then got some balls at Fantasia.


And of course another adorable photo of Zacky. <3 him ! (Can you tell that mommy and daddy went to Cal?)

Family time

Spent today with the fam. I baked a ton of financiers (sans the financier molds) and dark chocolate brownies. I dropped some off for the folks at Manresa along with some delicious nectarines from my dad's tree. Met up with Sue, Rick, and Zacky downtown, then went back to Chez parents.

Zacky liked the financiers better.




Isn't he the cutest?


Do I see le foot in the future?


He randomly learned how to clic


Raf and Gingy playing


Love




Mommy and Zacky


Of course we finished the day off by eating a big, delicious, home-cooked Chinese dinner.

Evvia - like the good old times.

It all started in corporate... having a corporate credit card for business lunches and dinners... probably the only thing I miss from the old life. Free food. =)

I think the first time I ate at Evvia was when I was 20 for a business lunch. I've been eating here for almost 7 years. Crazy! (I wish they had those "Eat 9 meals here and you get the 10th one free.") I also suggested this place for me and Raf's first date. <3

We were originally gonna go to Dio Deka but considering it was opened by the former manager/cooks from Evvia, had virtually the same menu (just different presentation), and was more expensive, we decided to stick to Evvia.

Dolmathes


Shrimp


Rib-eye - I love red meat. It's been awhile since I had some good beef.


Raf got the lamb shank


And our favorite dessert - Galaktobureko. It's so simple but so delicious.


Evvia
420 Emerson Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Tel: 650.326.0983

I keep forgetting to take photos of us together... I guess I only take photos of food now!

And animals... look how big Whiteman is.

Bún bò Huế

Was in South San Jose to see Lily for a haircut that was long overdue. Was planning on going to eat Bún bò Huế at a place called... Bún bò Huế off Story Road. Lily (who is Vietnamese) recommended another place which was close by. Luigi and I went to check it out for lunch.

Bean, tapioca, and coconut milk drink


Bún bò Huế - it was better here than most places but definitely not as spicy. All the meat was cooked well. I still prefer the other place for the broth.


Luigi got the fried rice noodles


Afterwards, I went home to take care of some things. Look at Ginger all passed out.

Brief stage at Manresa

Remember the Gastronomy by the Seine event where I met Chef David Kinch? I had the pleasure of staging at his restaurant the past couple days. Oh ~ and I forgot to mention how Chef Mauro gave me some rare Champignons oranges to pass on to Chef David. I was pulled outta line to go through customs individually when I landed in Minneapolis. All they checked were my chocolate and spices. HAH! Success!

Anyway, on with the photos !

I got to try a couple amuse bouches




Fun! Wrapping a million caramels. One time someone drove by, walked in, grabbed a handfull of caramels and dashed out. hah!


Manresa makes tons of flower pots too


Lychee tomatoes


Cochon du lait - hi Steve!


The don't look as happy as French cochon du lait.


La cuisine


Chef made this for a photoshoot








Dessert








The past couple days I worked a lot with the vegetables, and helped make the fond de volaille. Also, Steve let me butcher a bunch of pigeon which was cool.

Manresa is a really cool place to work. There is no yelling here, and everyone is super nice and polite. Everyone helps each other out when needed. Very tranquil and efficient. Been a cool past two days. Andrew, Raf, and I are eating here in a couple weeks. Can't wait!

Ryowa ramen

Jetlagged. But survived staying awake the whole day. Thanks to meeting up with Yuichi at Barefoot. Then getting a pedicure. Ah, life is good.

Sunday night when I returned from France, Carlo, Raf, and I tried to hit up Ryowa but it was closed. So today, we finally made it for dinner!

Butabara ramen


I love Japanese food.

Ryowa
859 Villa St
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 965-8829

Back in Cali

I spent the entire morning unpacking my 4 suitcases and 3 carry-ons. HAH. Met up with Yuichi today for lunch when I finished. Went to Gombei - a Japanese restaurant that serves home-cooked style Japanese food. Nothing fancy but delicious. I do think the original one in downtown San Jose is better, but I was still very satisfied with my Tonkatsu + Japanese curry.

Ummmmmm I love Japanese curry


Yuichi got the grilled Mackarel


Gombei
3533 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, 95051
Tel: 408-260-0880

Then later on in the evening I went to my parents house to have a delicious, home-cooked Chinese dinner with the family.

Look at my adorable nephew !


I love this photo.


Isn't he the cutest???

Déménagement de merde à Paris

I don't know what I was thinking... I flew into Paris from Nice (Merci, Lucas pour me conduire à l'aéroport!) in the LATE afternoon to pack up my studio, then leave for California tomorrow morning.

And I didn't realize how much crap I had. I ended up having to pack up my winter clothes in trashbags that I would leave in Paris when I return in the Fall (THANKS AMANDA for the great suggestion). That way I could use my suitcases to pack the rest of my stuff to bring home.

And not to mention all the cleaning that had to be done. I ended up giving quite a bit of dried goods to Amanda. I was up pretty late.

Really, what was I thinking?


But at least I got to see Eldar and Amanda today. Love my pals in Paris.

Mes Amours à Menton --> Nice --> Paris --> Cali

Last night before I head back to Paris to pack up my studio... then return home for the holidays.

Canapés by Arai


One of the amuse bouche - salade de tomate


ENZO !


Petit Nic(on) et Grand Nico


Chiho


haha Love this photo. Arai and Massa (anime ?!)


Xavier - one of the serveurs/asst directeur de salle. He is married to an American. He's cool because he knows the words "friggin" and "old skool." And he also sings Guns N Roses... I keep telling him that he is American and not French.


Me, Mati, Massa


Les filles - Mia, Thea, me


A bientôt , mes amours!