Greetings! Right before Covid happened we were planning a trip that got derailed. Three years later, we finally made it. It's been four years since we've been "home". We're here to take care of family "stuffs", but of course we're getting our "fixes" in!
Man, how I missed my MIL's jiaozi!
We're mostly sticking to stuff we've been craving….
We managed to squeeze in a three-night stay….which we were planning on visiting earlier as well. Hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we last visited.
It was good to know that our old favorites are still good!
And perhaps it was fate as we were able to have what could be considered be a once in a lifetime experience.
Perhaps this was meant to be, or someone was looking out for us!
And we managed to find a new favorite "spot".
And squeeze in a wonderful meal as well.
I'd forgotten how much I missed the beauty, the warm and friendly people, and even the little things here……
We've got a few more days left and hope to do a bit more catching up!
Thanks for stopping by!
The 2023 Tournament of Roses with the theme "Turning The Corner" has concluded. The Rose Parade was held on January 2 (the Parade is never on a Sunday; the first parades in the 1800s had floats that were horses pulling carriages and horses were needed for church on Sunday; the tradition stands). Following the Parade, the floats line up at the end of the five mile Parade route, end to end, and are displayed after the Parade and the next day. This year, I drove up with my friend, 
The Sweepstakes Award, for the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment, went to the float sponsored by Donate Life, "Lifting Each Other Up". A spectacular asian street dragon is the centerpiece of the float. There were 44 memorial floragraphs representing those who had given the gift of life. Those were removed before the rain, so the families could have a memory. 
You can see the empty circles, where the floragraphs had been, in this photo. 
Trader Joe's entry, "Onward" won the Wrigley Legacy Award for most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The three piece float was magnificent and whimsical. 
Walking along the floats: an alligator, a shark and crested birds were some of the many details not seen during the television broadcast. 
The Kiwanis entry, "Catching the Wave of Service" was so beautiful.
The City of Alhambra entry, "Together We Rise" received the Tournament Volunteer award. 
Elks U.S.A entered "Elks Investing in Our Communities"- a magnificent float. 
More details- hummingbirds, snails and bees might have gone unnoticed during the quick TV viewing. Yet so much work was put into the design and decoration of each and every one of the 39 floats in the 2023 Parade. (I have photos of all the floats if you want any specific pictures).
"Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language". The float designs are being submitted and construction will begin. As an aside, each float always has recorded music while it drives down the Parade Route. This theme will have the floats designed and coordinated with the music. It should be fun. 
cc was looking forward to going to Portos after our morning of walking. 
She and I needed lunch. A cubano sandwich, cuban style black bean soup, turkey and cheese croissant and (to go, for The Mister) a rustic chopped chicken salad (which includes house candied bacon-yum!). There were, of course a few bakery items. However, we were here on January 3-just before Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas and the 'end' of the holiday season. 
Traditional celebratory sweets to celebrate Three Kings Day were for sale; however the Rosca de Reyes was already sold out. We each purchased a Galette des Rois.
Puff pastry filled with a layer of almond frangipane cream as well as a touch of guava jam (for a Cuban twist). The 'baby' could be hidden into a slice by us (if there were more than two of us sharing this tart) and whoever found it could wear the crown. The Mister and I shared wearing the crown. 
There were no Roscas, but the seasonal Rosquitas, a sweet bread topped with dried, candied fruits made some nice bites for us this year. 
Honda is a Sponsor of the Tournament and their float is not judged; that's why it is not completely covered in organic materials.
The former movie theater, now a Vietnamese Market, with the Cantonese restaurant in the former lobby has survived Covid-19. 
From the small Dim Sum menu, we ordered XLB-soup dumplings ($6.38). A nice bite and, as you can see, not quite perfect, but no soup was actually lost because of the creative steaming system.
From the 'appetizer' portion of the menu, we ordered the 'Double Delicacy' ($19.95) because we couldn't decide on roasted pork or roasted duck and this was a way to get both (there were leftovers) (both of these meats are really good; tender meat, crisp skin, not too salty.).
Lately, Chow Fun fulfills the craving I've been having for noodles. The wide, flat, rice noodles, stir fried to get that smoky 'wok hei' flavor always seems perfect. (This order was shredded pork with preserved vegetable chow fun ($14.95). I enjoy the briny 'pickle-ness' of preserved vegetables in any dish and combined with the smoked noodles, each bite was delightful).
Hot tea is always free. We did have to ask for chopsticks.
In the far corner, the former Sinjeon Food Sys (prior it was CDD Tofu and Grill) has turned into Krab Bros- a boiled seafood restaurant. 
A simple menu is always appreciated. 
The lunch shrimp platter ($14.99) with chosen flavors of original butter, garlic parmesan and Bros Cajun was an excellent choice. This platter has ten shrimp, a boiled egg, sausage, corn and tiny whole potatoes, all coated in the chosen flavors. The shrimp were quite large, very plump and had good flavor when I tasted a bit without any flavor coating. I liked the sausage, egg and corn and especially the small, skin-on potatoes; it was a well balanced meal and quite enough to share.
I walked over to Boba Bar and ordered a mango slush ($5) for us to share. We had already shopped inside the Zion Grocery store.
Now, the piano as well as the teddy bear are gone from the Food Court platform. Damn Covid-19!
In reality, The Mister and I shop here quite often and try to have a bite to eat before walking down the aisles. 
There is almost always some sort of sale/display in the center entrance area. The two main restaurants are to your left.
Hokkaido Ramen Santuoka is a favorite stop, especially on these chilly, rainy days. 
The display of the menu -in plastic form-is mesmerizing. All bowls are available in small, regular and large sizes. 
Shio, soy sauce as well as the miso broths (non-spicy; I like to taste ingredients) are each milky, rich and strong flavored. The thin, fresh noodles are slightly firm. Each ingredient is fresh and perfect together. (This is a small size basic miso ramen ($11) you can order char siu, tonkatsu as well as a variety of sides or sets).
The other restaurant, Musashiya, has an even larger display of Shokuhin Sampuru; an overwhelming menu and choice of items. Musashiya is owned by Mitsuwa. 
The #24, Chicken Katsu Set (the small food model photo is only 'off' by the color of the chicken breading) ($15) is large enough to share for a light lunch. Miso soup, potato salad, cabbage, pickles and omelet (tamago) along with a good portion of rice are each a compliment to the large piece of crispy chicken cutlet.
The tempura zaru soba ($12.80) has been a choice ever since I realized that soba noodles do not seem to affect my blood sugar level the way udon does. The two fritters (kakiage) of tempura vegetables with shrimp were very light and crisp.
The Sanzai soba ($12) is a bowl ordered when I don't want meat for a meal. The vegetables are Japanese parsley, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Really tasty, filling and a bit different.
When you walk in the front door of Mitsuwa, to the right is J Crepes & Cafe.
Which, of course, has its own display of plastic food models. 
Strawberry crepe ($7.50) add vanilla ice cream ($1)
Man, this was really good! Crisp, moist wings, perfectly fried and seasoned. Glazed with an umami-sweet salted egg yolk sauce. This as just heavenly to eat. It's also a great diversion from all of those "KFC" places that have opened up in the area.
We managed to get a high-top for two. And along with the standard menu, the menu del-dia was presented. There was a nice, easy going, yet joyous vibe here. Folks were having fun. There was a group of folks, it seemed like employees from a company having a "very" happy hour. They asked me to take a photo of them. Of course, being American, I told them to say "cheese"….perhaps I should have had them say "fromage"?
As you walk to the gate you can't help but notice the bust to the right. Who is this you might ask? It is the bust of 
One thing that is easily noticed as you cross the drawbridge into the city are all the formidable battlements and defenses. There's a huge metal gate to crush you, notice the curve as you cross into the city, that serves a defensive purpose as well; to slow you down as you attacked the city.
Which included the same salad, some fois gras, but much more. There was a nice cured duck breast and more importantly, what you see at the bottom of the plate in the photo above, Gesiers de Canard, duck gizzards. I had really enjoyed the version 
Man, this was not to our liking. It was super salty, the duck confit dry, the sausage tough and bland, and worst of all the beans were hard and undercooked. I did appreciate the piece of pork rind at the bottom of the pan. But overall, this was not very good.
The sisig had decent spice, balanced with some good sour tones. This might be the best I’ve had here in terms of seasoning and flavor. The lechon kawale was on the chewy and hard side; but still, I liked the flavors.
A very generous portion of terrine mi cuit, with a lovely apple jam. The accompanying sea salt and a touch of jam went well with the lovely, rich and buttery fois gras.
Not a big fan of this dish. The mussels were overcooked and on the tough side and there was a bit of grainy "sandy" bits. Also, we didn't care for the milky creamy flavors which really detracted from the briny – sweet mussels. 