Carnival Time!

Last weekend I checked out the Lebanese restaurant Carnival on Woodman in Sherman Oaks, right off the 101 fwy. Just AMAZING is all I have to say. You will be missing out if you drive passed this restaurant instead of stopping by. The decor just wonderful, the people so friendly, and the food so spectacular. I think I told Chef five times that I loved this place, even before we had got our food. Definitely gives you the feeling like you are at home. The restaurant was packed and I loved it. By no means did I ever feel like it was way too crowded. More like one big happy family.

First we were given olives, peppers, pickled turnips, and pita bread.




We then decided on our appetizer. I was between the hummus, falafel, and grape leaves (dawali). So I let Chef decide since I was happy with all three. He wanted to try something new so he picked the dawali.



Perfect. Tastes exactly like homemade to me. The lemon flavor with the tomato paired extremely well with just the right amount of each.

Entrees are now up. I went with the Kibbeh Rolls (4). Kibbeh is Bulgar (Cracked) Wheat stuffed with meat and pine nuts. I decided on this only because I haven't had it in a very long time and I was craving!



It was so good. Stuffed perfectly with the right amount of seasonings and meat. Only one complaint I have was that they were short on the pine nuts. I only got a couple in each roll. I would have loved to have more crunch in my kibbeh!

Chef got the Carnival combination of three perfectly seasoned skewers: Chicken, Lamb, and Kafta Kabob, chared to perfection. Served alongside rice and a Middle Eastern style salad.




He loved everything. Of course I made him let me try the Kafta Kabob, in which we both agreed that was our favorite kabob.

We took our dinner to-go since surprisingly we filled up fast, in which he took his food home and made quesadillas with his leftovers, and I just reheated my Kibbeh and ate them!

Lastly, I wasn't going to partake in dessert but when I looked at the dessert menu, I changed my mind. I know most people have tried Baklava and love it. Me, personally, it's pretty good, but I like something else just a whole lot more! It's called Knafeh. And wow it had been a long time since I had last had it. You REALLY need to try this dessert out.



I know I will probably hear this from someone in my family but seriously this was almost as good as it is homemade if not better! It's shredded filo dough with an oh so good sweet cheese in the middle topped with pistachios and a rosewater syrup. Normally, I'm fine eating this without the syrup but this time I didn't say anything and tried it as is with the syrup. Not too sweet at all, as how it usually is. I absolutely loved it! I could seriously go for some right now.

I give Carnival 5 hearts: ♥♥♥♥♥. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant, the feeling being inside this restaurant, the servers and everyone who worked there were just so laid back and overly friendly, the service was fast and dependable, the food so satisfying, prices were extremely reasonable, and they had Knafeh!!

Thai Pepper Seconds

As part of my birthday festivities, my friend Jessica allowed me to pick a restaurant of my choice and I would get dinner on her! Good thing she gave me a heads up because I needed a day or two to think about where my heart desired to go. I was really leaning towards Thai Pepper so I followed my heart and told her where I would meet her.

My one concern with going here again was that I was worried it wouldn't be the same as the first. From past experience, there have been real good eats that I had thoroughly enjoyed the first time, but it would then lack the love I was feeling the first time when I went back for seconds.

So I decided to test this theory out to see if I could enjoy this wonderful hole in the wall again and feel the same love I felt for it the first time around.....the result--UNBELIEVABLE. It was just as good as the first time, if not better! I'm telling you, you are really missing out on this great hole in the wall in the middle of Old Town Newhall. Believe it or not, the SCV is home to plenty good eats that have been around for a really long time. I think this place is a true gem in the middle of somewhat nowhere and don't judge it because its location in North LA. I'd make the drive for it. Guaranteed.



I started out with Tom Kha with the Tofu Option. This time they remembered to add the lemongrass and it definitely brought the soup to a higher intensity. I love the citrus with the savory coconut kick. Gets me everytime.




My entree was the Panang Beef Curry. I love the dried chillies heat kick along with the lemongrass flavor, galangal, coriander, and shrimp paste. The flavor combination--just lovely. Quite spicy but not overpowering. The beef, again, just melts in your mouth.



Jessica got the Pad Thai with Chicken. Her stomach can't handle a lot of new stuff (I'm still working on this random path I'm trying to get her to go on) so I cut her some slack and let her order it. She enjoyed it.



Lastly, I convinced Jessica to get a dessert there and try something she has not had before. I settled with Khao niao mamuang- Mango with sticky rice soaked in a sweetened coconut milk. Hmmm, just might have to be my comfort dessert. The combination is so comforting, so satisfying, and just so sexy. I love it. Period. I just found out now, literally, that my birthday is being celebrated again, sometime this weekend, with a dessert run and well, I'm thinking I might just have to go back to Thai Pepper just for this. :)



My thoughts: I'm sticking to my rating of 5 hearts: ♥♥♥♥♥. It is rare to find a restaurant and hole in the wall that, I have a feeling, will just get better and better each time you go.

Chiayo! ไชโย

Year: 25

So yesterday was my 25th birthday. YAY! You know what this means: Only getting younger ;), losing my health coverage, losing money on my paycheck to pay for a health plan, and just another year has passed.


Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake With White Chocolate Mousse.

Black Forest Cake. One of the best cakes ever created. My favorite.

Made the number "25" instead of shoving 25 candles into the cake and ruining its beauty.

The Chocolate Bundt Cake Lacey made me and brought to work. She wanted me to write: "My besty made this for me." But I told her that she doesn't read my blog so she doesn't get that! Someone tell her that it is normal for people to blog about food! She just doesn't understand!

Yes this is all the weight-gaining sweets I've been given in 4 days. I think everyone secretly hates me and are trying to get me to gain some weight. I don't know why but I don't plan on doing that anytime soon! I'm planning on proving my hypothesis that there can be really amazing chefs that are thin! I'm tired of hearing the whole "only fat chefs are great chefs"! I'm a damn good cook and I will not get fat!

So things I have learned this year and plan on living by: Going with my gut and sticking to what I want, even if it hurts me.

I'm unfortunately not going to Morocco anymore, but planning a trip up to San Francisco to visit my Rararosa! I'm also planning on making a trip to my birthplace, Chicago, IL and visiting my friend Pam, whom I have not seen since jr. high. Wow, how time flies by fast! AND...BREAKING NEWS...It is official! Just got off the phone with my friend and not only have we made the decision to go to Puerto Rico in the summer (not Costa Rica because I don't think I want to be in the rainforest during the rain season), we are also going to my one dream come true, Guyana! I have been wanting to go there SO BADLY before it becomes a more developed country and a place where people start to travel to. I am so excited that words cannot express how ecstatic I am!

There you have it. My life so far as a 25 year old. Oh how exciting.

Work in Progress Pumpkin Bean Soup

So I finally started experimenting in the kitchen to recreate the most amazing bowl of soup I have ever had, which I ingulged in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil last year. I knew attempting this would be a long process because I, for some strange reason, did not take any notes on the flavor of the soup and relied on my tastebuds. A year is a long time to remember the flavors! Nonetheless, I loved the idea of trying to figure it out though nothing can match up to the bowl of soup I originally had.

After trying this, I realized it still needs work, different flavor, and new flavor. Of course I knew from the beginning that the flavor would probably be different from the original because of the difference in environment and produce. I need to adjust the ratio of the "thickener" agent in the soup. Mine ended up not looking the same and that was due to the blended beans and soup broth. I added too much, hence my soup came out thicker than I had wanted it to be. Maybe I shouldn't have added the thickener at all. I might also look into different beans, but I think I am happy with my choice of the Pinto Bean. I was thinking about adding the beans in at a later time so they have a soft yet firm texture to them. So for now, it was pretty good for the moment. I also went with Butternut Squash over Pumpkin due to the time of year and the similarities of the two. So this is what I have so far and I will continue to work on it and make it better and somewhat similar to the original...


The original bowl of amazing Pumpkin Bean Soup.

-Work in Progress-Pumpkin Bean Soup

By: Reima



2 T. olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
2-3 small pumpkins (or 2-3 small to medium sized Butternut squash), cut into cubes
1 t. cumin
3 cans pinto beans
4 c. vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Peel and cut pumpkins (or butternut squash) into cubes. Remove seeds.

2. Drain and wash 2 cans of pinto beans. Set aside.

3. In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until translucent.

4. Add remaining ingredients, except the remainder can of pinto beans. Bring to a boil.

5. In the meantime, drain and wash the remainder pinto beans and blend in a food processor or blender with 1 cup of the soup broth.

6. When the soup starts boiling, add the thickener and reduce heat to low.

7. Cook for 30 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender with fork. Adjust salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve warm.

Queso Fresco Parsley Biscuits

Queso Fresco Parsley Biscuits

By: Reima

2 to 4 large handfuls of Curly Leaf Parsley
5-8 oz Queso Fresco
1 egg
2 pkgs of biscuits (or homemade biscuit dough)

*Parsley and Cheese are eyeballed so it's up to you to make the ratio of Parsley to Cheese; use to your liking.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need ungreased pans (or for cleanliness, you can use foil).

2. Take the biscuit rolls apart and place each 1 inch apart on your ungreased sheet. Flatten each biscuit gently with the palm of your hand. Set aside.

3. Roughly chop parsley and place into a bowl. Crumble the cheese into the bowl.

4. Add the egg to the bowl and gently mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Scoop the parsley-cheese mixture onto the biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes. Enjoy warm.


I grew up on these and I just love them. The combination of the slightly acidic queso fresco with the flavorful crisp and clean parsley is flawless. I can honestly say these biscuits are one of the few things I can't have self control over. After you have one, you'll definitely find it hard to pass on another one or two. Try these out on family and friends. I know you'll love them.

Bring something new to the table.

So Kong Dong Korean BBQ

I checked out So Kong Dong Korean BBQ yesterday with my friend Alexis and what an experience I had! Let me just tell you...

We first started off with the condiments.



Clockwise from top left we have: Cucumbers soaked in Rice Vinegar, Glass noodles with Sesame Oil and Pepper, Kimchi, Mondu, Broccoli with Sweet and Sour, and Mashed Potato Salad. We loved every condiment and its different flavor that each offered.

We then started with Hot Jasmine Tea. Calming and soothing on a beautiful cold and rainy day.



I ordered the Mixed Green Salad with Watermelon Sesame Vinaigrette (added Tofu to it) and Pan Fried Squid with Spicy (SPICY SPICY) Sauce.


Mixed Green Salad with Watermelon Sesame Vinaigrette and topped off with chopped peanuts. I was able to get some tofu into the salad. I enjoyed this light salad. Very flavorful with that lovely Watermelon Sesame Vinaigrette. Not too sweet and well-balanced. The tofu was flavorless, so I just soaked them in the Vinaigrette.



Pan Fried Squid with Spicy Sauce. Sauce was made up of red pepper flakes and oil. Really, I did enjoy the flavors of this dish and loved the squid together with the rice. With that said, how spicy this dish was, was out of control! Not even kidding. The waitress said that this dish is very hot and that she would kick the heat down a notch for me. How much did she kick it down? Went from 10 T. of red pepper flakes to 9 T.? I am not a wimp and I do enjoy some heat but this was crazy! My mouth -inside and out, was numb! Literally. It did help having the dish with the rice because the rice did help to block some of the heat, but wow it was too much! I did take this home and had my sister try it (she loves heat), in which I was shocked when she said that it was mild! I don't know. But I plan on removing the spiciness before I finish the rest of this! I'm not putting this dish down because it was cooked to perfection and would get this again--minus the 9 T. of red pepper flakes! For fear of a numb mouth, Alexis passed at the offering of trying this out. And good thing because I really wasn't feeling well after this! But she said she respects me more for one, ordering a daring dish and two, eating this, even when I couldn't take it anymore! That is why I love my Alexis!

2/16/10 *Apparently I am a wimp after talking to one of my friends at work the other day after talking to her about this. :) It is "normal" for your mouth to go numb. Koreans rely on heat and don't really care much for salt. All I've got to say is...How is your esophagus? :) Love you Sandy!

Alexis ordered the Rice topped with BBQ Chicken and Vegetables.

I tried it and enjoyed it. She loved it too but wished that there was more to it, like the chicken or more flavor in it.

Overall, prices were somewhat reasonable and flavors were pretty darn good. I give So Kong Dong Korean BBQ 3 1/2 stars: ♥♥♥1/2. Only because there wasn't too many options to choose from off the menu, Alexis wished there had been more flavors/seasonings in her bowl of goodness, and me, for the simple fact that my dish shouldn't have been so ridiculously hot! I don't know if I would go back. I'd like to check out a new Korean restaurant to compare with. But at the same time, I take this as a challenge and maybe would go back and get the same dish again and see if they could make it with less heat. I'm not giving up yet.

Oh and I have one more quick thing to say: I just want to say I think it is genius that they have those self serving frozen yogurt shops! Not genius of me to eat it though, since I can't eat dairy anymore :( . But I had to. Alexis and I stopped for some frozen yogurt after our not lunch but not dinner meal.



Yes I KNOW! You can make fun of me for the ridiculous amount of marshmallows I put in my bowl! Sorry, marshmallows have ALWAYS been my weakness since the youngin years and I refuse to pass them up today! The only reason why I got frozen yogurt was because they FINALLY brought back my new favorite frozen yogurt flavor--Taro Root! Yes, I know what you are thinking, but oh goodness it is soo good! The end of the night, I wasn't feeling too good but everything was worth it! The things I do for some good food.

Next up is my own recipe for Pumpkin Bean Soup, Moroccan, and Greek. Maybe an update on my triathlon training as well. I'm currently in the process of looking for a new bike and they are so expensive, especially since I'm planning an out of the country adventure in April and saving for that as well!