BLAST FROM THE PAST

Something this morning reminded me of a Dengue Fever show taping that I went to last year January. It was for a reality show/web series/I'm-not-sure-what... So after some considerable digging, I found these two videos. I am in blink-and-you'll-miss-me pans through the audience. Looking obviously about two years younger than I do now, yet still somehow easily recognizable, I think. You may recognize others in the audience as Empirical cohorts.

Enjoy.

Renewed commitment

Please consider adding yourself to the bone marrow registry...



Read my post on this issue from 2009

Ros Sereysothea

Been listening to old Cambodian music lately.
Posting because I like this song in particular.
Also, the dude with the yellow shirt.

Japanese Kit Kat: Raspberry & Passion Fruit

It's hard to explain how I feel about these.

First off, the packaging is gorgey. Look at how that box opens up with a perforation. I like. It's overpackaged in that Japanese way that I DO NOT like, but it is ultimately beautiful. What can I do about that? Not eat it? Yeah, right. My mom brought these [and other goodies, you'll see] back to the States from her short trip to Japan. I've been trying to convince her to write a short "guest blogger" piece for the Empirical; a sort of "snack report" since she had a hell of a lot to say on this topic. Tuna Doritos? Really, Mom?

Well, if you're reading this blog, you probably do want to hear about those snacks. A chip with a fish flavor? I'm actually a bit relieved I don't have to try that one.

Anyhow, these Kit Kats... Packaging is a yes. The hearts hint that it was specially made for Valentine's Day (there was to-and-from labeling on the back) maybe it is a limited edition flavor? Maybe they all are in Japan. They never seem to have a shortage on new flavor ideas. For awhile I remember they were making distinct flavors for each airport in Japan. I recall trying "Kansai" and "Narita" flavors at some point just a few years ago. Why do we only get chocolate in the States? Why do Japanese markets import Japanese chocolate flavor? We HAVE that already.

Buh, I keep losing my focus. You know what I really think of this flavor? It's like jam. It smells very strongly and very much like some sort of berry jam or preserves. It tastes like a berry-ish wine. Yeah, wine. You know when you're having some rich red wine and someone describes it as 'jammy?' That's what this Kit Kat is like. It has a richness to it. I found it a little overwhelming actually. Would I get it again? I wouldn't turn it down, but if I had $3 to spend on a package of Japanese Kit Kat, why not go for another flavor--there's a bunch to choose from... Speaking of which, earlier this evening I was tasting "Milk Coffee" flavor. Let me get a couple photos together and you'll be seeing it here on the Empirical shortly.

Related links...
Last J-snack Mom Empirical brought back: Choco Ball Ichigo (Strawberry)
Last J-snack we tasted: Kasugai Litchi Gummy
Photos of other Japanese snacks and candy we've tried (including other Kit Kat): Pocky/J-snacks photoset

Immaturity 7.

eric: i need to get ready for the daniel dae kim signing*

eric: aw 

empirical: aww. give him a long hug for me.

* If you ain't on the list by now, you're probably not getting in. Try the link above for more info. Should be a good event.

Sriracha.

This is news to me...
Sriracha comes in handy little packets like ketchup.

Look for it next time you need some spice on the go.
Quality is the business.

Little Saigon.

On the way home we decided to pick up a couple baguettes in Little Saigon and a refreshing beverage to enjoy.



Left to my own devices, I would have never known this little shop sells fresh pressed sugar cane juice. I wouldn't have even thought to buy it. I would have bought a Diet Coke, I'm sure.


This looks so great! Wish I had one right now. Pressed to order and a small can be had for less than $3.


Check this weirdo change the lady gave back to me for a tenner! A Kennedy half dollar and a two dollar bill. When am I ever going to use those? Useless! We had a good laugh over this one.

Related Links:
Part I: Little Cambodia Fieldtrip
Part II: Little Cambodia - Retail
Part III: Little Cambodia - Signage

Little Cambodia Fieldtrip.

Wow! What's going on here?





Links:
Part I: Little Cambodia Fieldtrip
Also, check my retail photoset on Flickr.

Cambodian Cuisine.

Remember when I tried Ethiopian food back in January? Well, continuing toward my goals of being more adventurous in food, I chose another cuisine I'd never sampled before and went for it.

Cambodian.
Where else? Long Beach! Little Phnom Penh. Empirical buddy, ai pohaku, was my guide. She was really patient with me. I don't really know a whole lot about Cambodian culture and history but I had a million questions. Not that I know nothing about the history and culture, but this is really unfamiliar territory when it comes to firsthand experience. Have I ever known a Cambodian person? Maybe not. When we went to a few shops after lunch, I admit many foods and products had me baffled. Banana flower? No, I don't know how that is eaten. Have I ever seen so many fish sauce brands? Yes, but not in such enormous bottles. And parts of Little Cambodia look like... not-America. It's pretty amazing.

The food was entirely foreign to my palate. As with the Ethiopian food, it wasn't love at first taste, but in the case of Cambodian, I'm willing to give it another try. Maybe several. Here are some photos from lunch. I'll probably do other photos from my field trip in a separate post.


This is me playing it safe. Eggrolls are like easing into a cold pool.



Soup.


Soup closeup. Sauce for something is in the smaller cup on the left.


Noodles.


Cute eggplants. I see these at farmers markets and am clueless about how to cook. I might get those purple ones of similar size instead.
Honestly, I'm new to eggplant. I never liked them but I'd been encouraged by a boyfriend to try them again and again. It's like with children who are reluctant to try new foods--particularly vegetables--you need to serve the item in question TEN TIMES. If after 10 times the kid swears up and down she hates it, you know you've tried. You can try again at a later time. But tastes change and I think that was the case for me. Keep trying.


I thought this vegetable [on the right] looked interesting. It was bitter.
What was it called? Our server called it something that sounded like a Japanese last name.


Looks like a banana that's been forgotten in someone's car. It's a fish!
I thought this was frightening and really cool at the same time.


Look at these crazy leftovers!
And it was just the 2 of us! She's a champ. I need to be more like ai pohaku and dive into the pool instead of easing in with eggrolls. I'm learning!

What food is next?

Eating the JA Way.

citizen robo joins me for lunch in J-Town. this is her usual.
mine [not pictured] is the kitsune udon with a sushi roll (because that's how we roll).


doesn't have to be girl's day (march 3) to enjoy a sakura mochi or 2.
these are from mikawaya. that brings me back! in the 80s when i was a much smaller and younger version of who i am today, my parents would buy me a suama at mikawaya whenever they did an Enbun Market run. maybe even a box of botan rice candy from the market.


JA kids grow up eating furikake. it continues into adulthood. here, a coworker has snoopy furik and rice.


found these in a cambodian market with ai pohaku. any JA can recognize these are the real deal glico-brand Pocky and not knockoffs. I like that they make a full size strawberry flavor for the cambo consumer.

Notes on GR Biennale 2.

There was a lot of stuff to look at. I made a photoset so please be sure to check that out if you weren't able to come down to the show. It's not even complete! There are things I missed in the galleries. Not a single photo of the LeDavHara collaboration. Two floors jammed with art. Crazy.

Here, I've chosen a handful to highlight.

These two were really enthusiastic about the show so I was glad to give them a spare ticket I had.
But then I made them pose for a photo in the Ben Clark photography room.
A little jerky of me? Perhaps. Thanks for humoring me, guys.

My mom was looking at my Flickr and liked the Kochalka (kitty cat, bottom right).
I made a fairly serious inquiry on it thinking I could buy it for her, but he wants THREE HUNDO for it.
My mom then said, "Oh, that's ok. I can draw one instead." Atta girl!
(If you got that 'hundo' reference, then I love you. Really.)

This one's nice! A little crowd formed around it the afternoon I was in to see the show.
I wish I knew more about it.


This is just a detail of a Rob Sato painting that I want.
There's no way I can afford this beauty.
I even like the Japanese style "stamp" he signs with. Genius.


This is an Albert Reyes.

I kid you not, at first glance I thought this was a thin Rosie O'Donnell. It grossed me out a little. Then on further inspection, I thought it was a Kate Moss. wtf is going on in my head?! A lot of bad stuff! Either way I didn't want to be looking at this crotch for as long as I did...but I couldn't look away.

More Albert Reyes stuff. I like art in suitcases. Seriously. Like Royal Art Lodge--when they came to town I spent A VERY LONG TIME in the gallery--where was that? The MOCA, I think? Maybe Pacific Design Center? Anyhow, I want the Lincoln in this case.

Still more Reyes. The Elvira effen rules. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. That's why it's sold out. No Elviras left.

I was in this section and everyone was quietly looking around until someone in a group of youngish guys said loudly, "OMG IS THAT AN ASSHOLE?"
Thank god someone broke the silence.
I thought it was photos of of Dave Choe's parts. Which made me feel...weird. Since I met him briefly once. Remember?
What does this mean? I'm baffled.
I also don't know much of James Jean except that when I was at the Hint Mint booth at Unique L.A., that's all everyone was talking about. He's Chinese American, I think. I'm sure I'll be hearing a lot more soon.

I know, right?

Here's the right half of a Souther Salazar piece. I totally want this.
I can't look at a Salazar and not smile.

CLOSING: Giant Robot Biennale 2 at JANM

Here's a photo I took of curator (and GR Publisher) Eric Nakamura under his banner at JANM. It was Thursday night before his closing party got going.

I went to check out the show yesterday with ai pohaku. Photos coming soon... (Yeah yeah. You know me. Come on, I barely put up PW photos last night.) It's last call!

Exhibit closes today (SUNDAY, Jan 24!)at 5 p.m.


JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
(213) 625-0414

PS Apologies to Mr. N for not mentioning on blog sooner.

Chain Restaurants: Is this the Empire in me?

I recently went to two chain restaurants despite extreme prejudice. I was ready to hate, but ended up kinda liking them.


Number one...Lucille's BBQ.
I went to the one in Victoria Gardens/Rancho Cucamonga a couple weekends ago. It smelled good when I walked in--that's a great sign. My server explained the sauces and the smoker--still sounds good to me. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich (what else?) and was really pleased with it. I was just coming off Joey's and was definitely on a roll here. Kinda wish the goods were cooked in the house sauce instead of adding it in myself but after sampling the three sauces, I'm kind of glad they don't. Their best offering is not the house sauce! You'll just have to try it and see. My lunch came with a side--I chose slaw. I also picked off a few fries from my dining companion's plate. Not bad. My only complaint was that the air con is pumping full blast so the food got cold. You really need to scarf it down like a fat American. Speaking of which, there were tons of obese people here. No guilt, just patriotism.


Number two...PF CHANGS!
Yes, I've ridiculed PF Changs on my Twitter in the past though I had never been until now. Why go to PF Changs when San Gabriel Valley is so close. Real food, people! "Chinese food for white people," I am fond of saying in reference to the chain. Went to the one at the new Anaheim Garden Walk which in itself is less "garden" than even Victoria Gardens. Went as a compromise since I was dead set on not going to California Pizza Kitchen. Surprisingly, I go in and see numerous Asians dining! What? I think maybe this is as white as some Asians want to go and as yellow as some non-yellow people want to go. Could it be better than I expected? Kinda! We ordered wine--perhaps this is pushing my review toward the favorable side--but it's a week later and I'm still thinking about the shrimp in lobster sauce that I had. Will I return? Perhaps to the one here in Chino Hills? I feel guilty about it. It's less embarrassing admitting how much I like some network television shows.



I feel weird. Who knows what's next? Maybe Wood Ranch. I'm off Chili's for good, but am now hooked on Peet's coffee. Damn, chains! They're everywhere!

Busy Saving Lives.

I have been feeling miserable lately for a variety of reasons that I won't get into here, but I hope it helps explain my lack of posts. One thing I've pushed myself to do while in my funk, is register my bone marrow for possible donation. I've been meaning to do this for awhile now but was hoping that pushing myself to think beyond myself would buoy my spirits.

I've never donated blood. Not once. I've always been sick during drives and not liking needles much, never went out of my way to find alternatives. I decided in my mind that by committing to a bone marrow registry I could make up for all the times I've failed with the far simpler donation of blood. Bone marrow registry is non-invasive; no more finger-pricks, these days it is not much more than swabbing the insides of your mouth four times. In the event you are a match for someone in need, that's a different story. In that case, you will undergo some prep time that involves taking marrow-building supplements and the procedure itself is surgical. Sometimes it results in some lower back pain for the donor. In my mind, a small price to pay to help someone out. The donation is made anonymously.

The name that really raised my awareness on this issue is Krissy Kobata, a young, hapa Japanese American lady. What got me to actually book an appointment this time around was reading about Nick Glasgow--another hapa Japanese American, who is in a pretty dire situation now having no leads on a match. I can't help them as I don't have any caucasian blood in my mix--ethnicity plays a large role in matching people up. Halves don't always match up with other halves and mixed-race people in need are that much harder to help. Anyone can help in the big picture though--Asians or non-Asians, mixed or not.

I don't want to guilt anyone into this, but I hope that Empirical readers will at least consider getting with a registry. It's a fairly simple thing as I said. In my case, I called A3M, located in the JACCC building in Little Tokyo (Downtown Los Angeles). They host a lot of drives in the L.A. area, but also have regular office hours on weekdays. I came in the following day, filled out some forms regarding health and contact information, swabbed the corners of my mouth with their swabs and was done quickly. I hate to say it, but they seemed surprised that I showed up when I said I would--as if maybe, they get flaked on a lot. This is too serious to be flaky. If you're not committed to giving your marrow if you are called on, don't bother.

Here are some links if you'd like to know more about it

• Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M) for Los Angeles area
www.asianmarrow.org

• Asian American Donor Program based in Alameda, CA
www.aadp.org

• National Marrow Donor Program
www.marrow.org

UPDATE (June 18, 2009,830 a.m.):
From a letter from Nick Glasgow's mother via Facebook...
We learned yesterday afternoon that Stanford Cancer Center has found two donor matches for Nick out of the thirteen potential matches that had been developed by the national registry...the national registry will continue to search for other possible donors that mightmake an even better match. In any event it looks like Nick is going to get his chance at a transplant procedure which is heartening indeed for all of us.


UPDATE (July 27, 2011)
I apologize. I thought I'd posted the following update ages ago. A letter I received in 2009 via Facebook.


After six months of fighting every day, every minute, every second…Nick lost his battle to Leukemia.  Yesterday, on October 6, 2009 at approximately 3:30pm, Nick Glasgow passed away at his home.  He was surrounded by many members of his loving and supportive family.  Shortly after his passing, Nick’s family and friends gathered at his home to reminisce and celebrate Nick’s life.  Nick will definitely be missed, as all of us have a special place in our heart for him.

One thing the Leukemia did not rob was Nick’s determination, joyful spirit, and strength.  Though he was uncomfortable and in plenty of pain, Nick was still joking around with friends and family and still determined to walk to the bathroom and sit at the dinner table every evening.  He also chose to lessen his pain medications, because he preferred to have a clear head than to be pain free.  Nick truly was a fighter!

Nick’s story opened eyes all around the world.  With YouTube clips, Facebook, Twitter, and the media--Nick and his family wanted to make sure that his story was heard.  Six months ago, a doctor told Nick that he had a 0% chance of finding a bone marrow donor given his mixed ethnic make-up.  After his friends, family, http://www.facebook.com/l/bae5c;aadp.org, EMC, and various other organizations led a strong campaign to raise awareness and register minority individuals into the National Bone Marrow Registry, Nick beat the odds--four months later Nick found a generous donor (thank you!) and received a transplant.  Together, not only did we help Nick with his fight, but we helped many others that are fighting the same battle that Nick was fighting.  And we must continue this fight…

Nick was so grateful for all your love, support and prayers.  And he was so thankful for all the doctors’ efforts.  Last week, when the doctor told him that there is nothing else that they can do to help him, Nickgraciously shook the doctor’s hand and said, “thank you for giving me a chance.”

Thank you all!  Words cannot express how much we appreciate your love and support.  Please keep Nick’s spirit alive!

We love you Nick!

-Sapna


Update: Did some digging. Actually did post an excerpt from Sapna's letter here.

L.A. Curry Festival.

This is a note for the previous post, Empirical's Red Line Tour.

If you decide to head to Thai Town this Sunday, April 5, you are in luck. The annual Los Angeles Curry Festival (street fair) will be taking place 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Curry dishes are enjoyed by people around the globe and each nation--each REGION--puts their own spin on things. Explore something new. Kenyan? Jamaican? World chefs from top rated restaurants will be on hand to compete for the Curry King title.

Have a spicy time.