Orange County – Page 3

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Meals from THH, Kolache Factory(Tustin) and Johnny’s Shrimp Boat (West Covina)

December 9, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for once again stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes (like today) shows the events surrounding the acquisition of meals. Kirk (and His Missus) are still on vacation and Cathy is writing.

Less than a month before the Tournament of Roses and float decoration has begun. The Mister and I were awake early last Saturday and got to the Phoenix Decorating Company barn in Irwindale before 8:30. So did a few hundred other people. We were there to do 'dry' decorating (fresh flowers and other fresh products start after Christmas).

I've been showing you road tests of the 2018 floats for the past few months (prior road tests linked at the top of that post), so you know in general what you are going to see. You can see artist renditions of these floats at this link.

If you'd like to read more about the Tournament and all its activities, this link to The Rose Examiner, is an excellent resource.

The Opening Unit, displaying the banner of the Theme of the 2018 parade- "Making A Difference" will be the first float you see.
The statice, in three colors, was ready for cutting. (In the background is the End Unit; last float you'll see in the parade). The statice petals (as well as other materials) are then blended in one of these BlendTec blenders and the powder is glued on parts of the float-makes the product be used efficiently. All visible parts of every float must be covered with natural materials. The scaffolds weren't set up and people were working at the lower levels on the City of Alhambra's float, "Story Time"
This material is 'paper bark'- it is prepared using stainless steel scrubbers, to be smooth- the product in the boxes in back is ready for application on the float.
Even rice is put in those blenders. The powder covers much more on a surface.An excellent example of rice powder- the inner ceiling of this three-part Honda float,which looks like this… The powdered rice is applied to the backs of the 'clouds' on the bottom the float; if it is visible, it has natural materials.

Palm bark is also used for decorating. The useable product is in the small box on top of the table.
The design on the back of the "Armenian Roots" float is similar to the Armenian Orphan rug, woven by Armenian genocide victims as a gift to President Coolidge – the tassels are raffia grass.

If you can enlarge, the black parts of the butterfly are black beans. The edge of the hearts are covered with red straw flower petals, which were not powdered: texture.Enlarging this photo shows the orange parts of this unique butterfly are lentils.
These yellow with orange edged roses are being covered with powdered yellow straw flowers. There will be about 30 of these flowers on the City of Hope Medical Center float, "Transforming Lives with Hope".
Rotary International's float, "Sowing the Seeds of Service" was being decorated from the climbing scaffolding- the hat is covered with Pac-Pac, a braided straw (you can see some Pac-Pac on the top step).
Here is the front of "Armenian Roots", depicting Mother Armenia and pomegranates, a symbolic fruit of Armenia.
Shriners Hospitals, "Caring for Kids Around the World" will be filled with details.
Lions Clubs International, "Preserving Our Environment" has multiple details, like these cattails, partly covered in dried parsnip. The Oddfellows and Rebbekahs float, "Sacrifice to Serve" has pictographs on both sides of the float. Much detail work will be completed over the next few weeks.
Kiwanis, "Racing to Serve Children" is so cute!
These are the red straw flowers, mentioned above.
The Lutheran Layman's League float, "Bringing Christ to the Nations". The Mister and I volunteer with their group, the Petal Pushers and are assigned to assist on whichever float needs assistance; our volunteering helps pay for this float, the only Christian themed float in the parade, now for the 68th year.
Detail for the Western Asset float, "Oceans of Possibility".
The United Sikh Mission float, "Serving Kindness" depicts the Sikh Langar, the worlds largest free kitchen, which serves over 100,000 meals a day and is in line with the theme of this parade "Making a Difference"
This is a 'tag along' to the Trader Joe's float,
which was still undergoing some mechanical corrections last week…the title, "Hats Off"…you'll see.

On to the food portion of this blog.

Tustin, the same parking lot and indecision for breakfast. The Mister went to the business on the left, Kolache Factory and I went to the business on the right, THH Sandwiches. An apricot and a bacon-cheese kolache from The Factory. A chicken and a pork pate chaud from THH. Enough protein to sustain and some nice carbs to enjoy.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We brought lunch, enjoyed in the industrial park area surrounding the decorating barn, consisting of sandwiches brought from home…

Worked until about 5 p.m. and started driving South on Vincent, one signal light East. The street name changed at some point to Glendora and we were in West Covina. We had passed here a few times this year, but Johnny's Shrimp Boat doesn't open until 9:30 a.m.. Look at it. We had to stop.
The menu is simple- there are specials for $6.95, $7.95 and $8.95. All have the option of a side consisting of rice with beans, gravy, chili or fries (or just fries) (and pretty much any combination of those items). Menu items consist of shrimp, fish, hamburger steak, pork chop, short ribs and teriyaki (beef, chicken or shrimp).
You order, pay, have a seat. There's no tipping jar. The young man out in front as well as the chef are very nice and know the 'regulars'. Your food is handed to you over the counter.
We tried the two fish, four shrimp combo with rice and beans ($7.95). The beans were plain and needed to have hot sauce added (there were condiments on the counter).

Both the fish and the shrimp were a good size, and perfectly batter fried.

There was a window sign for a $5 shrimp cocktail. It had five large, plump shrimp, was in a nicely spiced sauce with cucumber, onion, tomato and avocado…a great deal.

Good food, nice people, a great find. (Trivia: A scene from Cobra, a Stallone film, was filmed inside the Los Angeles location of Johnny's Shrimp Boat)
Johnny's Shrimp Boat 803 S. Glendora West Covina, 91790 (626) 813-3818 Open daily 9:30-9

Thanks for reading!

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing. Small snack at Cream Pan-Tustin. Breakfast at BMC Pho-Hacienda Heights.

August 28, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog, usually has a story about how a meal or meals occurred. Today, Cathy is writing. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy with meetings and appointments and 'check off the list' stuff.

Saturday morning, leaving the driveway at 5 a.m., heading North. After about an hour, getting to the parking lot and stepping inside Cream Pan,

for the first time this year. It's mostly the same,

other than the slight (10¢) price increase for the strawberry croissant… …and the new, secondary check out area. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website
We purchased a ham and cheese croissant ($2.60) and a cheese crisp ($2.50) and jumped back on the freeway, heading to Irwindale and the new location of Phoenix Decorating Company, arriving before 7 a.m.. We passed the new Construction/Decorating 'barn' and saw some of the floats which were tested last month.

We noticed only three floats were lined up for testing this morning. "Story Time", the entry from the City of Alhambra features a bookworm reading the book 'Tales from the Alhambra', ladybugs flying, zinnias, leaves and lily of the valley.

The openings in the above photo are where the 'observer' and the 'driver' will be seated when the float is driving down Colorado Boulevard on January 1.

The colors are painted on the floats as a marking for the decorators and also in case of weather (in the event of rain or wind, the float might lose some of its natural decorations and people on the parade route will still see color).

The road test is for both mechanics and maneuverability of the float. Each float has at least three tests, the final test that everyone can get off of and out of the float in 45 seconds or less.
The Lions Club International entry to the parade, "Preserving Our Environment" will have a water feature- flowing around the rotating water wheel. The colors have not been marked yet.The third float tested on Saturday was this one from Trader Joe's- interesting in that there is a long hitch on both the front and the rear, which makes this a part of a multi-piece float.

Now you've seen floats in three stages of testing!

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706 Website

Since this float builder location and part of Los Angeles County is 'new' to us, The Mister and I began to drive South and explore, looking for breakfast places as well as possible places to eat after we decorate floats in December.
Noticing this at the corner of Gale Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard,we stopped.

So much is offered here, but the banh mi menu (to the far right, just behind the cash register) caught my eye. I'm always on the lookout for a good banh mi (nothing in San Diego satisfies me any more since the fire of August 4, 2015, destroying the now almost reopened K Sandwiches). We were very pleasantly surprised. BMC has a 'buy two, get one' deal, so all three sandwiches cost a total of $7.50. We chose the #2, #4 and #6-BBQ pork, shredded chicken and egg. Each was prepared on wonderful, fresh, crispy crusted light bread, a spread of mayonnaise and topped with pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro and fresh slices of jalapeño. We were impressed with the char grilled flavor of the (plentiful amount of) pork and flavorful shredded chicken…oh but the egg… Crispy whites, solid yolks and just a perfect breakfast sandwich.

We will be returning here at some point to try out other menu items.

BMC Pho 1104 S. Hacienda Boulevard Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (626)330-3765 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test #1 -Tan Hoang Huong (Tustin), Copenhagen Pastry (Pasadena) and Burger Basket (Corona)

May 21, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Banh Mi, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with contributions about food consumed from various places under various circumstances. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today. Cathy is writing about her circumstances.

Yes, it is that time of year again. The President, Theme (Echoes of Success), Marching Bands and some float designs for the 128th Tournament of Roses parade were announced not long after the 127th Parade ended on January 1, 2016. Floats are in the beginning stages of being built and a "T-1" (first float road test of mechanics and maneuverability) of floats built by Phoenix Decorating Company (who built 22 of the 44 floats in the 2016 parade) was held on Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

Listening to traffic reports, an accident had the North 5 with all lanes closed, so The Mister and I left home before 5 a.m. and stopped at Tan Hoang Huong (THH) in Tustin, since we were there before 6 a.m. (when Cream Pan (our usual stop) opens). Located just West (under the 5) of Cream Pan, it is good place to grab a sandwich and other treats. I knew about it because of several posts on CC's blog.

We ordered two egg rolls (@65¢) and a pork pate chaud (85¢) to eat while we waited for our bahn mi to be prepared. Yes, that's a 'spam' and egg sandwich ($4.25).

Fresh items, great tasting. Not the same as K Sandwiches, but very good. THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We detoured around the accident (which blocked the North 5 for more than six hours) and arrived at the Road Test just after 7 a.m.

Raymond Street is the place. The floats were lined up. The Rotary International float is in a very basic stage. You can see exactly where the driver and spotter are seated. They are communicating via headsets, as they will during the parade. The spotter on the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float is the lady to the left in the photo. She will be seated below the floor of that gazebo-like structure. The Kiwanis float is taking shape. The City of Alhambra float has a fire engine being driven by both a fireman and a fire dog… Lions Clubs International is celebrating 100 years of Service in 2017. I can tell this float will be even more magnificent once it is decorated.

There were more details, but you get the idea. We were off to our next stop, Copenhagen Pastry (again, I knew about it from CC's blog), located East on Colorado Boulevard. The truck (and a few cars) parked in front of the otherwise quiet street made the subtle storefront easy to find. The fresh selections were so tempting- yes, that's about everything offered- We bought a loaf of Rye bread ($6) the dense, chewy style, made with rye berries, sunflower and black flax seeds, a Spandauer ($1.95) flaky pastry topped with almond paste and custard and a slice of Kringle ($1.95) also filled with almond paste, custard and sugar. We will return.

Copenhagen Pastry 3731 Colorado Blvd Pasadena 91107 Open Tues-Fri 7-5, Sat-Sun 8-4 Website

This location of Copenhagen has closed

We began heading home, stopped at a Super H-Mart for some items and then hit another accident prone area of the 91 freeway, exited and decided to stop at
Burger Basket, which we have driven past during prior sidesteps from traffic. Order, pay, have a seat…watch the char grill happen. A double cheese burger- (charred to perfection)($5.49) Gosh, I haven't had such a great burger since Sima's. My semi-usual morning order of an egg sandwich with sausage ($5.89). Let me say, this was heavy and huge with unexpectedly large tasty breakfast sausages (skin slightly burned), a lot of egg and lettuce with tomato and mayonnaise. Burger Basket has been at this location since at least 2007 and again, wish we had stopped here sooner. We will be back.

Burger Basket 1058 West Sixth Corona, CA 92882 (951) 734-1331 Open 7 days 6:30-9:30 Website

It was a long morning and we were home before noon. I hope you are having a good weekend!

What’s Our Craving? Roadtrip Edition – Song Long and Lien Hoa (Westminster)

July 1, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

It had been quite a while since we headed out of San Diego on a road trip. Things had gotten hectic between vacations and various trips we'd taken. And yet, we really weren't satisfying some of our cravings. One of which was the Cha Ca Thang Long from Song Long. So last weekend we headed out, for the first time this year!

I don't think Song Long has changed much since we first visited a couple of years ago. But it had been long enough that the old menu had been replaced with a newer version and the Cha Ca Thang Long had gone up a buck to $17.95.

It's still more than enough for the two of us.

From the caramelized shallots, to the nicely fired fish to what we call the "gift that keeps on giving", the mam nem, which you keep pouring over your bun and greens, only to have it keep "returning" for the rest of the day! It's just a lovely dish, one of our favorites.

It's also good that they open rather early, since we could hit up places before they got busy on this Sunday.

Song Long Restaurant 9361 Bolsa Ave Suite 108 Westminster, CA 92683

Hours: Open Daily 9am – 10pm

Wanting to make the most of our visit, we hit up Lien Hoa, which had moved a short way since the last time I visited. It's been a while since I've had decent roast duck.

This was nice, not salty, could have used a but more bean paste perhaps, the skin is not the best, but the duck is meaty and it actually tastes better the next day.

It really hit the spot.

The place does put a lot of "jus" over the duck. In case you're wondering what to do with the last few pieces of duck and the sauce. Chop up the skin and what meat….little meat if you've done it right, and make fried rice. I actually made omurice with some of the fried rice I made……I was so hungry and the fragrance just took over, thus I forgot to take photos. Next time perhaps.

Lien Hoa BBQ
9311 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

This sure satisfied our cravings…..for now…..

2015 Rose Parade float decorating and a lunch at Brodard Restaurant

December 21, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog of food, events, events with food and other reasons to share what we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) eat. Today Cathy is writing about an event and also a meal, which did not occur on the same day…

Last Saturday, The Mister and I once again volunteered for "dry decorating" some of the floats which will participate in the 126th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. A variety of materials are used…
Covering every exposed part of every float with organic material is achieved with various glues… Really, the day is more "Detail Decorating"…

Peas, lentils, beans, poppy seeds as well as bark, pulverized dried flour petals and cinnamon are the majority of materials used on these decorating days-December Saturdays before Christmas Day.

Long day, with much accomplished by about 450 volunteers and yet so much more to do. Intensive decorating with live flowers begins December 26 and goes through until the morning of December 31, just before judging.

Of course this blog is about food, but this day was not very interesting… Stopping at Cream Pan in Tustin before 7 a.m., for some karaage, an orange cream roll, a cheese crisp and, of course, a ham and cheese croissant. Bringing our own lunch this time, we ate on the hood of the car… Getting ready for the drive home, we heard traffic reports on a major accident on the 210, another one on the 5, two on the 101 and others on the 57, 71, 91 and 15, so we tried to avoid it all and ended up getting home in about four hours after having not stopped for dinner, made grilled cheese sandwiches at home and slept deeply.

So, to have some sort of interesting food for this post, The Mister and I drove North during the week…stopping for a late breakfast/early lunch in Garden Grove at Brodard. When you walk in, there is an area to order 'To Go' items and snacks…
Along the side of this ordering area, you can see the ladies making the famous nem nuong…

Which we, of course, ordered after being seated in the already crowded restaurant…

"Mixed order" of Nem and Chao Tom- Two pork paste and two shrimp paste ($8) Spring rolls were brought out almost immediately.What makes these Spring rolls special is, that in addition to the fresh lettuce, cucumber, carrot, daikon, cilantro and mint wrapped tightly in rice paper, there is a folded piece of crispy fried egg roll skin in the center of each fresh roll. The 'house special sauce', served warm (I believe it is made with pork and pork broth and maybe some honey) also make these Spring rolls unique.

Another item ordered was the simple and tasty Gou du du bo kho, Gan Chay (papaya salad, $6). Made with both beef jerky and smoked pork liver, the version here is a favorite. The two sauces, one a spicy vinaigrette and the other more soy based, are served on the side and mixed to our preference when we eat the salad…

Again, we try a 'new to us' item at most restaurants and this time it was… Banh Hoi Chao Tom (angel hair vermicelli sheets topped with grilled shrimp paste and served with greens and a lime chili fish sauce) ($8.95)
This was a delightful surprise! The dry, delicate noodles were just the thing to go with the various wrappings and good amount of grilled shrimp paste. We could have ordered this with whole shrimp, BBQ pork, grilled beef or nem nuong, or (as we will do next time) order the Banh Hoi Brodard- the toppings are grilled chicken, BBQ pork, grilled whole shrimp, grilled shrimp paste, pork sausage and egg roll, for only $2 more.

Brodard Restaurant 9892 Westminster Ave Garden Grove, CA 92844 8 a.m.-9 pm. daily Closed on Tuesdays

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests: #1 Test #2 Test #3 Test #4 Test #5 Test #6 Road Test 7

Roadtrip: Pho Quang Trung 2 – Westminster (Orange County)

September 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Orange County, Pho, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

A few months back, I took a day off to meet some relatives who were visiting LA. I left quite early in the morning and hit Westminster at about 830 am. I decided to grab a bite to eat and it had been a while since I'd had pho in Little Saigon, so I decided to stop and get some. I checked out a couple of places and they were surprisingly busy, so I settled on Pho Quang Trang 2 which is in Asian Village Center right on Bolsa.

I hadn't been to this location of PQT, but I had been to the original location way back in the mid-2000's. From what I recall, they made a decent bowl of Pho Ga. I really wanted a obwl of Pho Filet Mignon, which is what I ordered. (small bowl – $6.45)

One of the main reasons being that I think I've gotten kind of used to the typical bowl of pho in San Diego, low in beef flavor, low in clove-scorched onion–anise tones, and high in salt/msg. I just wanted to get some bearings with regards to pho. First off, there was a bit less herbs than I was used too, but what there was sparkling fresh. The noodles were in the typical clump, but nicely done, still having a good amount of stretch to them. The broth looked darker than I expected, but was quite mild in the sodium department, at least compared to what I'd been having the last couple of months. Overall, a light beefiness, a bit too light in the fat department, but better than just about every place in San Diego. Not sure where it ranks within Little Saigon, wince I haven't had too many bowls over the last few years.

The only thing that I didn't enjoy was that the filet was still a bit too frozen, still stiff and solid, taking too long to get to the correct doneness and cooling off the broth too quickly.

Yes, I've had better….but god knows, I've had worse.

And the free little cup of che didn't hurt at all either.

The service, as to be expected was typical perfunctory Little Saigon, totally in character.

Pho Quang Trung 2
9211 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683
Hours:
0830 am – Midnight Daily

The Packing House, in the Packing District. A food centric road trip to Anaheim.

September 9, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chocolate, Orange County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are trying to stay cool. Cathy and The Mister went on a quick road trip North, stayed cool in the air conditioned vehicle and is sharing her one hour drive each way, just for lunch.

In an effort to run away from the stifling heat in our non-air conditioned home, The Mister and I jumped in the car one weekday morning and drove to see a place we had read about in the LA Times. The description reminded us of 'Food Halls' we each grew up with. We arrived around 10:30 a.m.See it? In the back, between the "P" and the "A". The Anaheim Citrus Packing House was rescued from demolition in 2000 and fully restored, opening to the public on May 31 this year. The two acre area just North of it, "Farmers Park", is used for a Farmers Market on Sundays, has an amphiteater and seating, a bocce ball court, public ping pong table and hosted outdoor film festivals this summer and will host other community events (a Fall Festival and Parade, Oktoberfest and a German Christmas Market) later this year. The rest of the 'Packing District' spreads over another five or so blocks, with various shops, stand alone restaurants, a small Food Court area and even a former library turned museum. There is public art, marked on the sidewalks within the District as part of Anaheim Artwalk, all 'Downtown' Anaheim, with City Hall in the midst. The entrance on the East side of the building. If you go in through the doors you see under the signage seen in the background of the second photo, The dual rooster greeters are on the inside on the second floor. Speaking of the inside…
This open central/atrium area, giving views of the first and second floors is just so beautiful. You'll notice so many different seating areas, some for each restaurant and many, like a Food Court, out in the open. The individual tabletops (along the railing) each with an accompanying stool, have a hook on the back/center area to hang your purse or other bags. Notice that seating area at the bottom? Under the Pendelton Wool pads, the whole seat area moves; it is part of the original scale used in the plant. There's a seating area surrounded by history- orange crate labels, photos of the original Packing Plant, the scissors used to cut the opening ribbon… Places to eat and drink here? There are quite a few. Overwhelming choices, as noted by each porcelain tile…

Adult beverages, behind that Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Fancy Frozens on a Stick, Coffee… Crepes, a 'comfort food' establishment that makes a variety of poutines as well as cheese curds, Southern Soul foods, even bulk foods, spices and seasonings (at good prices). There is a juice place, Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese, hot pot, another beer-centric place and a couple of not yet opened storefronts. Pick a craving; you can find a solution here or within a few blocks.

Then there was what we (finally) decided to order.
Chippy's opened when the menu appeared on the screens. The items were properly fried, crispy and not overly greasy and the fish was a very large, moist piece. The squid rings were just OK; not bad, but not great. The onion rings were heavenly. The Chippy Fish and Chips The menu at Wheat & Sons was being written and would soon be open. We knew what we wanted. The Porchetta sandwich, still warm, served on a grilled ciabatta roll with a sort of pesto-esque/herby sauce, rocket greens, pickled radishes. Plenty of fresh garlic -no rosemary- infused pork, as you can see from the cross section. We also indulged in less than a half pound of fresh rillettes. If you can only choose one place for a meal, this is where I'd choose. Wheat and Sons butcher shop
When we walked in, the first proprietor to speak to us was this nice young man who was chipping chocolate before his store opened. That's the whole menu. We ordered a small affogato with vanilla ice cream, regular chocolate sauce and the additional chantilly cream with chocolate shavings. This was THE best, ever. I don't care for chocolate and this was magical to me. Turns out the chocolate sauce is made from…chocolate, not cocoa, as other places use. Dark 180, another 'if you only can order only from one' place.

We will return. It was a fun adventure.

The Packing House in the Anaheim Packing District 440 S. Anaheim Blvd, Anaheim, CA Website

2015 Rose Parade float road test #3-(another) food road trip.

August 22, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. So many events lead us to food. Today's post is about one of those days. Cathy is writing; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are reading.

Saturday, we woke up around 3:30 and let the dogs out, made coffee, threw some laundry and dishes into their respective cleaning machines and by 4:50, The Mister and I were headed North in the cool darkness of the early morning. (Other 2015 road test posts here and here.

Our first stop was Cream Pan, six minutes after it had opened. We picked up a ham and cheese croissant, orange chocolate pastry and a loaf of walnut bread, all still slightly warm, from the filled shelving displays.

Cream Pan Japonaise Bakery 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 665-8239

Back on the freeway soon enough; arrived in Pasadena and the Phoenix Decorating Company barn, just before 7 a.m..

A few 2015 Tournament of Roses parade floats were lined up on Raymond Street, ready for mechanical and maneuverability testing.

The American Armenian Rose Float Association, from Pasadena, is sponsoring this very large, beautiful float this year. It's the first time an Armenian float will participate in the parade, 100 years after an Armenian (M.S. Pashgian) was chosen as Grand Marshal for the 1915 Tournament of Roses Parade. The various details of this 'Cradle of Civilization' titled float symbolize the 'Inspiring Stories' of the American Armenian community. (Theme of the 2015 parade is 'Inspiring Stories').Here's the 'Observer' seated in the City of Hope 2015 float. He doesn't control anything, but speaks to the driver (seated more toward the center) telling him how and when to turn, steer and if the speed needs to be increased or decreased. Here's a full length view of the City of Hope 2015 Rose Parade float- it will have various beakers and flasks, a DNA strand, and 'wishes' printed on the tags, all attached to hot air balloons. Seeing the bare outline now is as interesting as seeing the finished product. (The driver sits next to the red fuel tanks).The Shriners Hospitals for Children float, "A Million Stories of Hope and Healing", was also tested that morning. The Shriner Bear rocks from left to right and is just so cute! See the small rectangle cutout at the base of the green bookmark? That's for the Observer on this float.

When we were finished with the testing, we walked to cross the Metro tracks and this time stopped to check out the public art decorating the Fillmore Metro Station.The spire (top and bottom details in the above photos) is part of the entire work at the station and titled Geologica 42. (Link to a very detailed description)(Link to a less detailed description). There is symbolism in all of it, from the baseball (at the very top), weather vane, anemometer, Bell X1 rocket ( which first broke the sound barrier, designed at CalTech and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; locals), the number 42 (Jackie Robinson was a Pasadena Resident) …

…as well as the five bronze steamer trunks which are seats at the Gold Line stop (Harry Houdini was born in Pasadena). We walked over the tracks, to Arroyo Parkway and one block North, to Lucky Boy, for a quick breakfast.

This 24/7, drive in, walk up, American breakfast, burger and burrito joint has been here for decades and prepares quality, hearty food for a good price (without tip jars on the counter). Above, the bacon and egg platter ($6.80): 3 eggs, hash browns toast and…bacon(!) and my usual, an egg sandwich on rye ($3.35) with the included fixings of lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Served with the fresh made tomatillo based salsa, this was a great meal. Lucky Boy 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena 91105 (616) 793-0120 Website
We drove five miles East, to the parking lot of Pasadena High School on Sierra Madre Boulevard and stopped at the Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, which was already buzzing.

We try to only shop at Certified Farmers Markets and this one is particularly interesting, being in such a central location to attract local farmers. Pasadena Certified Farmers Market 2900 North Sierra Madre Boulevard, Pasadena Website

Back on the road, headed East to the 15, I wanted some coffee and yet another snack (or three) and we stopped at the Chino Hills location of 85C (a location is being built in San Diego on Clairmont Mesa at Genesee, but seems to be taking forever). This typical (grab a tray, line with paper, grab tongs and serve yourself, take to the cashier who individually bags each item for you) Taiwanese bakery chain is named because 85 degrees Centigrade is the perfect temperature for brewing coffee. There are two sets of cash registers, one dedicated to beverages (but you can order beverages from the other register also). Our snacks, a mini apple pie (puff pastry crust) ($2), Cheese bread (filled with a sweet ricotta cream cheese blend)($1.50) and a Calamari stick (which was round, filled with cheese and topped with garlic)($1).

Sea salt beverages are available here. Above an iced sea salt coffee ($3)and an iced sea salt (mountain green) tea ($2.75). There was no sugar added and each tasted wonderful, with the brewed beverage topped with a dollop of chilled steamed milk with sea salt crystals on the bottom, slightly blended in (swirling the container helps). The flavor meshing is amazing. 85C Bakery Cafe 12959 Peyton Drive Chino Hills 91709 website

We were home by noon. Hoping you have an interesting weekend!

Roadtrip: Ha Noi Avenue – Westminster

August 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Ha Noi Avenue has closed

Last weekend, the Missus really wanted to drop by Portola Coffee Labs…..She has become a real coffee nerd. She's got all the gear to make pour-over coffee…..

Anyway, on the way down to the OC we started getting hungry. This gave us the perfect chance to check out a place I'd been wanting to try for a while; Ha Noi Avenue.

We really don't get to this end of Westminster Boulevard very often and I was hankering for some Bun Cha.

As with many businesses, this was obviously some kind of fast food joint….you could still see the drive thru lane and speaker board outside. The restaurant isn't very large, but is quite clean. Most of the customers were in rather large groups…families. And all were eating just about the same thing; Bun Cha, Cha Ca Thang Long, and Banh Tom, all the trappings of Northern Vietnamese Food.

I read of some instances where service was lacking, but we didn't experience any of that….in fact, the guy serving us was kind of, well jovial in a way. When we placed our order, he smiled gave us the "thumbs up" and said, "good….good!" Apparently he approved.

Fairly soon our table was loaded up; three plates of bun, two large baskets of herbs and greens, the pickled papaya and carrots in fish sauce, mam tom, nuoc mam cham, Banh Trang Me…..

Just the fragrance of the bun cha took us back to Bun Cha Dak Kim in Hanoi. While it was not nearly as good…..it was good enough. All the base flavors were there; the ground pork patty was a bit on the large size and not quite as tender, but the flavors, salty-sweet-savory-porky were just what the doctor ordered.

On another note, the bun here was perfectly prepared….just the right texture for me; not overly sticky or mushy.

When I saw Nem Cua Bể (crab spring rolls) on the menu, I had ot have it.

While not nearly as flavorful as #1 Hang Manh, lacking in the amount of savory flavors (crab) and not as light as I prefer, this was still not bad. Crisp, molten, and lovely with lettuce and a dunk in the nuoc mam cham.

The only real clunker was the Cha Ca Thang Long.

The fish, while moist was very bland. We've gotten used to all the flavors from Song Long's version of Cha Ca, amking this seem puny and missing some parts we enjoy like the fried shallots and peanuts. The mam nem was really watered down and weak. We'll pass on this next time and go for the Banh Tom instead.

And yes; there will be a next time. Funny thing, even though the signs say "pho" not one single customer (all Vietnamese) was having it.

Ha Noi Avenue
8432 Westminster Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683
Hours:
Wed – Mon 830am – 830pm

It's kind of nice to have all these options if we want a breakfast/lunch, we can go with the Cha Ca Thang Long at Song Long which opens at 9, or some Hue favorites at Ngu Binh which also opens at 9, or if we're in the mood for Banh Cuon we can go to Pho Tau Bay which opens at 8……

In the end, the missus got Her coffee beans at Portola, I got a cup of Kyoto Drip cold brew. And we got a nice little trip down memory lane. To a place crowded wall to wall with people, steep and skinny stairs leading up to an almost communal dining area, at #1 Hang Manh…….

It was wonderful taking that trip in my mind, down the dusty streets, dodging motorbikes, and eating like crazy in edgy Hanoi…..

I think it might almost be time for another trip…..

2015 Rose Parade Rose Parade float road test #1-and a food road trip

June 8, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Stuff, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with posts centering around food, sometimes sharing the process which the acqusition of said food occurred. Kirk is busy, Ed(from Yuma) is busy and Cathy is writing.

More than a month ago, friend and fellow food blogger, cc, asked (another friend and food blogger) CAB and I to accompany her on a celebratory (beginning of vacation) food crawl 'Up North'. CAB unfortunately had a change in plans and couldn't make it. I discovered on Wednesday before our scheduled crawl that the first Rose Parade float road testing was also going to be held that Saturday morning. Checking out the road testing is something The Mister and I do and share here on the blog ( I also share decorating and other 'behind the scenes' posts about float consruction). I felt guilty, A) Because The Mister wouldn't be able to come with us and 2. For asking for a slight change in 'plans'. Except our plans included and lot of 'maybe here and maybe there' places to visit and eat..so I added one in. Of course it had to be the first thing we did that day, because testing begins at 7 a.m.. In Pasadena.

At the end of this epic day (I was at cc's home at 5 a.m. on the dot and got back to my home at 6:35 p.m.), I was exhausted, had driven 314 miles and had 327 photos on my camera (many were the same subject from different angles) and so this post is mostly photos. Details in future posts.

First the 2015 Rose Parade. The floats tested this day were all sponsored by service (volunteer) organizations. The theme of the Tournament of Roses parade is "Inspiring Stories". The Grand Marshal will be Louis Zamperini, WWII POW, Olympian and the subject of soon to be released movie, Unbroken. Each float is the interpretation of the theme by each participating organization.

Rotary International (the color coded float, depicting a wishing well and candles). Lions Club International (in it's rebar and partial coccoon stage)(can you see a wave of water and surfboards?).

Odd Fellows and Rebakahs, their float is depicting the Unknown Soldier Tomb.
Kiwanis International (being parked back into the Phoenix Decorating Company barn)(the doorway is the maximum height and width a float can be, or collapse down to, to be able to pass under street and signal lights along the parade route).
Lutheran Hour Ministries. This float is titled "The Bible, God's Story".

This will be the Donate Life float. It's in the basic stage of construction and testing. Those detailed butterflies are just so beautiful. You can see the float driver in this photo.

Now, to the food portion of this post. In order: what we ate and did. One photo from each place.

Yep. We did a LOT in a few hours. It was fun, educational, tasty and only slightly exhausting. The details will be revealed in future posts. Feel free to guess or ask questions. Hope you are having a good week!