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Showing posts from July, 2012

Oto-Oto Izakaya Japonaise- Monrovia, CA

Oto-Oto Izayaka Japonaise may be a large chain restaurant, operated by Ramla Inc., the third-largest chain restaurant in Japan, but the food quality was decent enough for a friend to recommend it to us. To thank him for a year's worth of mentoring, we decided to surprise him here, and as expected, the dinner went very well. Holding a corner spot in a strip mall, one may think that Oto-Oto is small, but it is actually quite a decent sized restaurant, with a large number of booth tables and stand alone tables.  They were able to fit our 20+ attendees comfortably that evening along with regular patrons and a birthday party! Throughout the visit, the employees made sure that we all had enough water, although by the end of the visit, they were slightly less enthusiastic as we spent more than three hours in their restaurant. It happened to be happy hour while we were waiting for our special guest, and so I ordered a small appetizer: spicy trio cones. These consisted of sp

UCI 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium + Noonerz

Back in May, I attended the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium , an annual symposium featuring undergraduate research. Although I only attended the afternoon session, there was still much to see and to learn--I was unable to visit all the presenters' posters or oral presentations! This research symposium featured undergraduate research from the entire university, meaning that one could find research in computer science, engineering, humanities, biological sciences, and more in the same spot! There were also two parts: oral sessions, where presenters discussed their projects with projected presentation slides to a small audience in one room, and poster displays, where presenters discussed their projects next to their posters outside. The research was quite diverse; a few of these topics discussed at the symposium include home automation, car security, dorm design, autism, solar stove, literature, autism, chemically powered modeled cars, solar airplanes, and rockets

Starbucks' Refreshers Beverages: Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus

On July 13, from 12-3 PM, Starbucks gave away Tall sizes of its recently launched beverage, Starbucks Refreshers. The new product comes in Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus flavors, and regularly costs 2.95 USD for a Tall Size. Starbucks describes the Cool Lime flavor as "a lively blend of lime, citrus and hints of mint and cucumber, shaken with real lime slices," and the Very Berry Hibiscus flavor as "a thirst quenching combination of tangy blackberry and hints of hibiscus." Notably, these drinks feature Starbucks' green coffee extract, which is taken from green (not roasted) arabica coffee beans and offers the "natural energy" of coffee but without the coffee flavor.  Unlike some free offers, each of these Refreshers were made by order. There was no special advertising at the store to signal a "free" Refresher; you just asked for it and the cost was deducted. Some customers shouted aloud to their co-workers about the deal as

Chia Seeds

"What is that in your water?" has probably been the most common statement I've heard about my usual water beverage (water + chia seeds) in the past two years. These seeds have been called a variety of names, including "tadpoles," "frog eyes," and "sesame boba." When they learn that the seeds are actually chia seeds, they say, "oh, so like the chia pet?" or "ch-ch-ch chia!" Yes, these are those seeds that form a chia pet.  Chia seeds mixed with water and organic honey Besides being cute or unusual, chia seeds are quite nutritious and are a good source of Omega 3's. They are also a convenient and cheap (a pound of organic chia seeds go for around 10 USD) option for energy in beverages; now, you can even see chia seed beverages in markets! Chia seeds also keep the body hydrated, with each seed able to absorb 9-12 times its weight in water. The taste? In water, hydrated chia seeds provides a slightly sweet ta

Sushi Imari- Costa Mesa, CA

Originally I had planned to visit California Fish Grill or Bear Flag Fish Company , but a friend's recommendation for Sushi Imari swayed my initial decision. Complimentary surprises plus a closer location to UC Irvine made this place more attractive to the other restaurants, and it also happened to be that Sushi Imari was positively reviewed on Monster Munching . Plus one indeed! Inside, waiters friendly greeted us and brought us to a table. We sat in an atmosphere heavily decorated with Japanese (and some Korean) ornaments, with elements of light and dark woods. A fusion menu was also in sight; besides the fresh fish, there was a whiteboard with various fusion rolls, of which some were already on the regular menu while others were new creations. Sushi Imari's complimentary miso soup, provided to us after ordering, was different compared to some other miso soups as there were a few enoki mushroom pieces in the soup along with the usual tofu and seaweed pieces. The