Korean

So, what best way to finish off the day after a good hike? With a meal of course. We were introduced to this Korean market that's furnished with food courts called Galleria. It's perfect because it's only 5 mins away from work also about the same distance from the trails.

We did this on Tue and Thu right after hike. It was a great treat to ourselves for the workout hehe Here's what we had. Don't remember what the names were... I love their food though, not salty at all and doesn't weigh me down. Best of all, they were reasonably priced as they give you a lot for what you paid.

Top: Mine: L: Tue, R: Thu
Bottom: JP's: L: Tue, R: Thu

Hikes

So, my co-worker and I made a pact that we'd try to stick on a new regimen. We did this last year and tried swimming (indoor), that lasted a couple of weeks or so hehe It was during winter I guess it didn't quite work out. This time around, we're trying hiking. It will be every other day, Sun-Tue-Thu after work during weekday, Sunday will be at 7AM. I've survived my first week so far.

First day always the hardest, it was Sunday and I woke up early, excited to take a hike! It wasn't that secluded as LA is way over-populated but it was nicely tucked in between developments. Here's a google satellite view. I didn't realize we covered quite a bit until I looked at the map and it's both ways! Quite impressive if I may say so myself haha not bad for a first-timer.

I really like the park, it's a gem in this housing jungle. It starts flat on a slow descent and there are picnic tables with nice big trees surrounding all over. Oh, the first day we came was Easter and the first thing I spotted was a little bunny! It was so adorable, quite tame too as it didn't run away until I got almost 5 feet close to it. It was quite chilly at around 51F but the walk/hike kept temperature at a comfortable level.

I thought I'd fuel my system with something good so while waiting for my friend to arrive, I chew on a protein bar. The first half is mostly cardio, going uphill I was barely catching my breath and panting like a furry dog on a hot sunny day. After we reached the end of the trail, going back down it was much much more tolerably and started to re-energnized, of course with the help of water to quench thirst. On the way back, I started to relax a little and took some pictures.

We took the Sesnon trail, I didn't see any Palisades trail. When looking at the map, the Palisades trail is another side of the street... will have to check that out some other time.

You're probably wondering why are most of the tree trunks all black or charred. This is the result of the Sesnon fire back in 2008. It was dangerously close to some of the houses surrounding it. As you can see, life goes on, flowers, bushes and other life starts flourishing since. Here are some wild flowers along the trail, quite colorful too... just it was a tad cloudy that morning and I was only using my phone to capture them.

There is also a small stream/creek all along the trail, not much water but enough to hear the trickling sound. It sounded really refreshing on a hot day.

There is an unfinished road along the trail that was wiped off during a flash flood. It's not too often to see streams or creeks around these areas so it's a nice change of scenery.

Today's Lunch

Sun-dried tomatoes Alfredo with Linguine from bottle, fresh mushrooms and pan fried hot Italian sausage. Still have half a pot of these for dinner and perhaps lunch again tomorrow :)

Lost in a pile of pictures, here's bak kut teh that I managed to cook up last month, bowls and bowls of awesomeness. I figured it was the type cut I've used before on a pork that made the soup oily, so this time I just stayed with the ribs and they were YUMMY! Of course lots of garlic and jalapenos to complement the soup on one of those cold days/nights.

Also, Jersey's Mike sandwich shop opened right by my work and I have a few coupons for it so decided to try it out since I've heard rave reviews about this place on their service and sandwiches... The were even featured on the Travel channel, but the particular branch was in MA, I think. Hate to say, was kind of disaapointed -- the sandwiches were not that great, maybe just the dressing that was good on the cold cut. They were kinda pricey and their service was way under-enthusiastic. Thumbs way down. Oh yeah, SALTY!

Finally, went out to friend's friend Thai restaurant, Le Basil at Valencia. It's a small but comfy place, very mom & pop's place. The food was not bad at all, somewhat modern twist of Thai cuisine. The shrimp and tangerine was really good. I also LOVE the tom kha soup which was served in hot pot. Since this was friend's friend's joint, we weren't shy to order a ton of food because of steep discount hehe

Queen of the Couch

Glimpse of March Madness

Went to SeaWorld in San Diego for the first time with my ex-coworker and her 10 year old daughter, it was so much fun. I absolutely loved the Shamu experience and we got soaked! It was incredible to see how smart these animals are and how well trained they are, despite the recent accident in Florida. The food was great too, we spent half a day there and it was so well worth the 2½ hours. We will definitely come back when it's warmer in Summer

There are other sea creatures too such as sea lion, walrus, penguins, dolphins, to name a few... they even have polar bears!

And other attraction at the park and a couple of aerial view from the skyride...

On a different note, spring is here! Planted baby heirloom tomatoes this year, keeping fingers crossed they will be fruitful. Winter seemed to lingered for a while, we just had another storm, unfortunately the rain didn't really hit us but elsewhere surrounding. Here are a few pics of blooms...

 

Just last week, went to friend's place for amateur poker, she stopped by at her part time job at a frozen yoghurt place that just re-launched with a new brand. The logos were superb but what's more fun was the petting zoo. It stunk but was a great opportunity to get close to these domesticated otherwise wild animals... hmm see the theme this month? There was one llama, donkey, chickens, ducks, sheep, donkey, ponies, etc... it was a warm day so you could imagine the smell...

Lately been going to a newly discovered Korean supermarket + food court and loving it! The market sells marinated Korean bbq meats that are so delicious and so easy to cook, not to mention quick too. They also sell an array of other yummy goodies like wasabi green peas, Japanese peanuts, pocky sticks haha I bought a bunch of those and some seaweeds, goes so good with just sticky rice. Planning to make spam sushi hehe