Culinary Adventure in Los Angeles

My Bowl of 'Soup'

As soon as my friend, Patricia and her mom, Alice (my mom for the week) picked me up from the airport we headed straight to a Pho restaurant near Downtown LA. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup that has beef, chicken, rice noodles (thickness similar with linguini), and a very intriguing broth. The bowl of soup is served with a side of bean sprouts, Vietnamese basil, and lime. It was a delight in my mouth.

Pho Legend Noodle & Grill

209 S. Vermont Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90004

213.381.3300

Thanks to my friend's Yelp (search engine and user review) expertise. I had Beef and Tripe Pho for $5.95. For the price you get a big bowl of soup with a generous amount of noodles and meat. Unlike the other Pho places I've been to.The food, service, price, parking, cleanliness and quality passed with flying colors. So, here's my personal review:

4 Bowls of Rice out of 5. 

Summer Activities

Do you have easy and fun Summer activities you enjoy doing with your children? Here are a couple I enjoyed doing with my little one. Have a great day!

Patio-chalk with Olivia

On the right of the butterfly I tried to draw an ant.

She told me that it's a nice snowman. lol!

I love coming up with easy and fun games. 

I got this 'Fizzy tub tablets' at Target but

she doesn't like colorful baths...So...

This is what I came up with.

Teaching her with sounds by making colorful water in each jars.

And when struck by a chopstick each jar gives you different a sound.

She thinks it's magic when...

Blue + Yellow = Green

Red + Yellow = Orange

Blue + Red = Purple

These activity can be more fun if you use juice then freeze them ..later on...you have Ice Pops! You and your toddler did it all!

Check-out these Edible Summer Craft. I love the Rice crispy sushi.

Today's Playlist

A song about 'Outdoors' by Jason Mraz

Traditional Outdoor Games

How was your weekend? My weekend was very enjoyable. Summertime! This is when seventy percent of your day is spent outdoors, depending what the temperature may  be. Since it's summertime being outdoors made me think of the childhood games I enjoyed playing with cousins and playmates.

Two decades ago or so, kids aren't attached to video games, Wii games or any games non-related to outdoor games. Or so I know. I feel blessed to have been raised in a compound where family and relatives are present. So, just imagine how much kids are there playing outdoors. And I would like to share some of these traditional Filipino games I enjoyed playing when I was a kid. I'm sure if you're from another country, you may think of a game you played as a child that is similar. I'm hoping to pass down some of these to my own children.

1. Patintero, Inch, (try to cross my line without letting me touch or catch you).
2. Sipa, tossing a straw washer using the hands, arms or foot.
3. Langit-Lupa, heaven and earth
4. Piko, hopscotch
5. Tumbang Preso, An empty tin can is targeted to be knocked over by using flip-flops (tsinelas)
6. Luksung- tinik
7. Chinese garter
8. Teks, game cards
9. Siyato
10. Taguan, Salikutan, hide and seek
11. London Bridge
12. Holen, marble
13. Spider fight, it's like cock fight except spiders are involved. Two spiders are place on a stick to have a match.
14. Lutuan (kurang-kurangan)
15. Jack 'en poy (rock,paper, scissors)
16. Bahay-bahayan, bahay means house, it involves role playing.
17. Limbo-rock
18. Tirador, sling-shot
19. Homemade Bubbles, I remember gathering gumamela (hibiscus flower) pounding the petals with a rock then mix it up with a little water. It's petals produce this sticky substance similar to that of soap which allows one to blow bubbles with it. For the bubble wand, a walis-tingting (a flexible dried coconut midrib) is used.
20. Pitik-bulag, One player does the flicking and the other covers his/her eyes. The person covering his eyes needs to guess what number

Lutuan, kurang-kurangan, toy cookware made with clay

I remember using this as a child pretending to be a chef. 

No wonder I love to cook.

 I bought Olivia her 'lutuan' when we were in the Philippines 2011

Kids played outside all the time.

Playing blocks using empty boxes. I enjoy using practical toys it brings out someone's creativity plus it's inexpensive.

Today's Playlist

Favorite robot of all time.... Voltes V

Twirlie singing the hip-hop version of Bahay-Kubo (Nipa Hut)

Going back to basic. 

What are your favorite childhood games?

A different kind of food

Who doesn't like to eat? I don't know anyone who don't like to eat. Because whether you like it or not when you get hungry you will eat. So, just admit that you like, or shall I say, you love to eat. I openly admit that I love to eat. My family,friends and people who knows me always ask me where I store it all. It's a superpower I inherit from my dad. We both can eat whatever we want and not gain a pound. We have a fast metabolism. So, I'm taking advantage of it. Who knows the superpower we'll be taken away someday. Ok, enough of boasting...I know. But, I also go running so I can eat more. Life is too short to be food deprived so why not balance it with exercise. On today's post though, I want to emphasize about a different kind of food. I'm not very religious but I believe that there's Someone up there Who has this special superpower who feeds us a different kind of food, Soul food. And, you know Who I'm talking about.  Here's how He made me weak in the knees this week.

 Love like a child

Laugh like a child

Smile

The outdoors cure it all

This film reminds me of my own Ingkung (grandpa) who I was so close with. I'm thankful of my childhood. It's nice to look back specially when homesickness strikes all the time.

Today's Playlist

‎'Thank you Lord ha, pan de sal lang naman ang hinihingi ko sa inyo, hamburger binigay nyo...may fries pa'! Corny ng video at pelikulang 'to but it's funny!

Highway to the dangerzone

OPM (Original Pilipino Music)

A Filipino, vintage gag show tribute. If you like knock-knock jokes and use in a sentence jokes this one is for you

So, What did you learn this week?

Another First

I thought Olivia is pretty  much done with "firsts" for a while. When  a baby is born one obsess about so many firsts like the first bath, first yawn, first cry, first coo, first birthday, first steps and more firsts. You can name so many I guarantee. Isn't unbelievably annoying? I think. Since, it's annoying. I might as well get more annoying. It will be the family's First 4th of July in Kansas. Grant has a three day weekend. Oliv is excited because daddy does not have to go to the office. Activities will definitely involve the outdoors. Below are pictures from last year's 4th of July celebration in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Grant took us to Bluewater Resort while he worked. What a perk! 

All I could think of is a glass of this refreshing Lemonade. And, it's frozen!


I also like the Limeade at Vista Drive-In off Tuttle Creek Blvd. 
It's thirst quenching especially after a fun and exhausting day at the City Pool. 

When I think of quiet time, reading is the first thing that comes to mind. I'm curious about "My Korean Deli". It's supposed to be funny plus it involves food.

Lastly, I'm thinking of making "Crema de Fruta", it's a Filipino dessert that's made with sponge cake, cream and fruit. It tastes like tres leches. 

Here's my weekend Playlist

Pais Tropical (Tropical Country)

Too Hot by the...

Summer Breeze

Brighter than the Sun

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Mother and Daughter quote: On our way to the pool, I asked Olivia about what she thinks of the monkey on her water bottle. "Does it make you think of curious George?", I asked. "No, it makes me think of the monkeys with Bruno Mars (The Lazy Song Mvideo)", she said.