The House Poet

The weather here in Stockton has certainly been interesting. A few weeks ago, the days were hot and vibrant with green grass and blooming flowers. Then, last week the weather took a turn for the worse and rain was falling almost every day, and the days were cold and slate-grey. Not exactly the most cheerful Spring week, let me tell you. However, this post and the pictures hearken back to the week where every day was a bouquet of sunshine and smiles. This particular Friday dawned bright and cheerful; Andrew took me out to our first favorite place, Le Kims! This restaurant is really special to us; we used to go all the time when we first dating and have loved it ever since. :) It was our haunt when the nights were cold and rainy~ We noticed we hadn't gone in a while, so we decided to go and get some good, homey Veitnamese eats! :) I got new glasses! The frames are purple and very cute~ I love this picture; it's so sweet! Of course we had to take pictures together at lunch, it wa...

Hey all! I am back in Stockton, having taken the train on Friday. Andrew picked me up and we have been having fun! :) I am starting to feel better, which inspires me! It was raining all day on Friday, which made the day seem rather cozy. I spent the morning getting my stuff together and trying to make my boxes seem less heavy for my dad's move this weekend. Yep, my family moved, but luckily they are still on the trail I love so much! Around 10:30ish, one of my best friends, Andi, came to pick me up with all my stuff and we went out to lunch. She offered to drive me to the Amtrak station, which saved me a lot of stress. Thanks Andi-girl! :) So, where did we go? Pho Saigon of course! ;D It is a tradition between us to always go out to Vietnamese food when I am in town. This new place is so good that we knew we had to go! She ordered the spring rolls with shrimp as a starter and scarfed them down! :)They looked very fresh! I, of course, ordered the egg rolls, which are my favorite, a...

When I was in elementary school, I had a special group of friends. We stayed friends all through middle school, all through high school, and now we are separated and navigating the choppy seas of adulthood and college. Two of those friends are still very important to me, and on Tuesday I was able to see both, albeit for a short while. Over the summer, we were all dealing with separate things and I was worried about them. Luckily, seeing them on Tuesday and hearing about their experiences this past semester has assuaged my worries. We are all growing and learning. :) I was having serious Vietnamese food cravings because my sister refuses to go out and eat it with me. Thus, my friend Andi and I went for Vietnamese food at Le Cheval. This restaurant is the third of three, owned and run by friends of my grandmother! The food is a bit pricey, but it's good Vietnamese food. I went over the summer with my grandmother, so I was excited to follow up on it. We got there a little before noon,...

My friend Jen has been having intense pho cravings this past week, so my friend Mary took Jen and me to try Mama Pho yesterday, since I was raving about it all week to them. Yay! Also, I am glad I was with with them because Andrew left for the Philippines yesterday and I miss him so much. It's good that I am spending time with my friends so I have fun and so I won't get too lonely. :) The place was still spotless and warm on this rainy and freezing cold Friday. Andrew and his family were at Mama Pho earlier, and I can't wait to hear about what they ordered! I ordered a small beef steak pho and a grilled pork sandwich. Oh my goodness, the sandwich was melting in my mouth, it was so utterly rich in distinct flavors....and the bread was warm and tasty! Just perfection! My little pho, which was tasty, filling, and warm! :) Mary ordered the Korean beef short rib plate, and she let me try a piece. It was very simple yet tasty and filling! A bit greasy, but delicious nonetheless. ...

Last Sunday morning, Andrew and I went to try a Vietnamese place that we couldn't ever find before. However, last Friday night we passed it in the car and realized it wasn't very far from his house or UOP! So, we decided to go on Sunday, since it was open. The place is small, but meticulously clean. It's run by an old couple who don't speak too much English but are nice anyway. The fact that our chopsticks and spoons were given to us in a popcorn bag is just too funny and awesome! :D Ahhhhhhh, finally, a delicious banh mi! This one has tasty grilled pork in it and the bread is warm and fluffy! I truly adore this sandwich!!! None of the ingredients are overpowering, and I always take out the too-spicy jalapeno slice. The Vietnamese mayo adds such a creamy and savory aspect to the sandwich~! So good for $2.50! Since I love cha gio (imperial/egg rolls, 4 for $3.95) we ordered those as well so I could try them. They were okay, very fresh and steaming hot! I was disappointed...

Hello my dear readers! I am so sorry that I have been lax in updating lately. Schoolwork has bogged me down more than I thought it would. In fact, this semester is INSANE. So much to do when all I really want to do is relax with my love. Hopefully next semester will be much better! Anyway, this upcoming Tuesday I go home for Thanksiving Break! Which means lots of food and cooking! Oh yes, I plan to take over the kitchen. I even told my father that I would be happy too cook our Thanksgiving meal all by myself! ;) Look forward to many blog posts about cooking and food from restaurants around where my family lives. :) My love is currently vacationing with his family in the Philippines and I miss him desperately. So, let's go back a ways, shall we? :) The day before our 9 month anniversary, Andrew and I went to In-n-Out for lunch since I had a coupon for a free burger. Soooo goooood! I find myself craving their burgers quite often now! Splitting an orders of fries is the way to go, we...

Hello all! Yes, I know it has been quite some time since I last posted something and I feel bad about it. I just got really busy for a while, you know how tough the life of a college student can be! ;) I have TONS of pictures to post up for various entries, so those will be coming up in the future! Also, for a while I was scared my camera was broken but then my friend helped me figure out what was wrong this morning, thus I was able to get the pictures from it! Yay! :D So, last Wednesday, I was invited to go to a Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) place near campus by a new friend, who is Vietnamese. I was so excited and happy that she invited me! She is really nice and we get along very well. I love making new friends! :D I ordered the #6 with the egg roll combo. The #6 sandwich had grilled pork in it, along with pickled carrots and a white veggie thing, cilantro, a thick slice or two of crunchy cucumber, and I think of mayonnaise. I enjoyed it, but wished there was more pork in it. Howeve...

Last Tuesday night, I was so hungry. Perhaps it was the fact that the day was pretty hot and stuffy, or perhaps I just wasn't feeling like school food. My friend Jen had been telling me we had to get pho together soon, and since I wanted to go out, we decided to go that night! Problem was, neither of us had a car and no one was free to drive us. So.....we ended up walking up the street to go to Pho Saigon Bay, which is the pho place Jen likes. It didn't take too long, maybe 20-25 minutes, and luckily it was cooling down. The road, which is a main road in Stockton, was so busy and full of cars! It made me realize how many people live here and have to commute. It would be so cool if Stockton revamped it's public transportation system, but we'll see.... When she and I got to the restaurant, it was cool and full of shade! We sat down and looked over the menus handed to us, salivating over the pictures of the various dishes. By that time she and I were so hungry!!!!!! First...

Hello again!! I am so sorry that I have been on lax about posting lately; I have been really busy since I came back to school! Ever since last week, I have been feeling like I am settling back in here and it feels good. I have been feeling better in general, and I have been spending lots of times with my friends, and Andrew of course! ;) We all have new schedules, which makes things interesting, so we are trying to deal with that. I think I need to be aware that change will always happen and I have to be strong enough to deal with it! Two Fridays ago, Andrew surprised me and took me to lunch at our favorite Vietnamese place, Le Kims! It was so sweet of him, and a very delicious lunch! I didn't feel like slurping down pho, so I ordered a vermicelli rice bowl because I was curious about all the other items on their huge menu. I ordered the barbecue chicken and imperial roll bowl! SO GOOD! I found it to be such a refreshing meal! There was a salad underneath the rice noodles, and the...

I can't believe its already July! Yay! :) Today, my sister and I took our grandmother downtown for some shopping and lunch! It's a tradition we have, so it was fun to do it again since I am back for the summer! My grandma gave us a bit of money to buy some clothes; we first went to Macy's since she said there was a sale going on, but we found nothing good. Then, we started walking towards H&M, but made a detour at Bath and Body Works for some lotion and body spray. I bought some special lotion with shea cream and then a body spray that smells like honeysuckle! It makes me happy since it smells so summery! :D There was a huge amazing sale going on at H&M!!! I bought two dresses, a nice shirt, and a cute denim short skirt for all under $40!! I am very happy about that! After clothes shopping, we walked down to Le Cheval, a Bay Area Vietnames restaurant that was started by my grandma's friend from Oakland! When we went in Le Cheval, my grandma knew the people worki...

Hello! First off, I just need to say that the weather has been so weird......tomorrow is the first day of June and for the past few days the sky has been cloudy and the temperature chilly. I'm not saying I don't like it, but I like sunlight in the summer. It's cheerful. I don't like the heat though. Hopefully Thursday will be sunny, since that is the day my love should be coming to visit me! Ooooooh, what to cook, what to cook! ;) Sorry that I haven't been posting lately, so lets get started! :) This was lunch at Takara, a Japanese restaurant in Japantown, on Thursday. There was a little bowl of miso soup, green tea, a bowl of kitsune soba, and a bowl of Tanindon. It was a lunch combination set that was only $10. Very delicious as usual; I usually always order this when I go there. It's my two favorite Japanese foods together: noodles and donburi! I highly reccomend Takara, as it is an inexpensive but high quality restaurant in Japantown. :) My family loves thi...