Cheap Chaya

Miracle of miracles, 10Years managed to find her way to Los Angeles on Friday. We met for happy hour at the newly opened Chaya Downtown.

This is my new favorite downtown happy hour. Incredible prices!


Mortadella bruschetta with caponata ($5). Simple. Good.

Calamari with jalapeño aioli ($5). Delicately fried and delicious.

Various rolls cost only $4 -- California, spicy tuna, spicy shrimp, shrimp tempura, and the daily special. The special when we visited was fried whitefish. Just four dollars, people! Perfect for hungry recessionistas!



Hooray for the United Colors of Benetton!

Babirthday

Giggles had a birthday last week.

We visited Babita (1823 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel) for this special occasion.



We started with fresh guacamole ($7.50).

The soup of the day ($6.95) was cream of mango. I'm told that it only had a hint of sweetness, and the flavor resembled that of squash.

D enjoyed her sauteed salmon over colachi with Sinaloa's classic calabacita relish and jack cheese ($16.95).

The enchiladas de pollo en mole poblano with cilantro, onion, cheese, and cremamex ($16.95) delighted Prim. That she let me have a few bites delighted me. Rich yet delicate. Creamy yet smoky. A beautiful mélange of textures and flavors.

Giggles and I ate Monkey-style (i.e., we traded dishes midway -- in case you didn't already know, this is how Mr. Monkey and I eat nearly all of our meals).

The arctic char special of the day didn't disappoint. Moist, flavorful, saucy.

But my favorite this time was the mixiote lamb shank marinated in spices, beer, and chilies and baked-steamed in beer ($18.95).

Behold that juicy goodness!

Rich. Meaty. Fall-off-the-bone amazing.

Sharing is caring!

We all loved the smooth complimentary birthday flan.

No birthday is complete, however, without Glam's famous cupcakes. Believe it or not, we took a break later that afternoon to stuff our faces further with Glam's fresh strawberry-infused labors of love.



Happy birthday, Giggles! It's hard to say what's more extraordinary -- you or the food at Babita!

At Least We Still Have Apple Pie

I had the pleasure of going to the semifinals and the finals of the World Baseball Classic last week at our beloved Dodger Stadium.

Korea demolished Venezuela. Japan trounced the U.S. It was pretty damn sad.

But the championship game between Korea and Japan was easily the most exciting baseball game I've ever witnessed in my life. American fans could learn a thing or two from Asian baseball fans. The stadium was just electric!

Here's a collection of photos from all three nights.

My boyfriend Ichiro Suzuki hit the winning two-run single in the top of the 10th inning. The Japanese crowd went completely insane. Rightfully so. Ichiro is amazing. Daisuke Matsuzaka (a.k.a Dice-K) was named MVP. He's cool, too.

Complete set of photos here. Crazy.