grace +

grace + halloween

>> Thursday, November 17, 2011 – 2011, Austin, earthquake, halloween, headdress, jonathan, native american, October, second bar + kitchen, Texas

It didn't feel right posting about my upcoming birthday weekend without talking about my last trip in Austin. I spent Halloween there due to a career fair and stayed the rest of the weekend to explore the city. I jumped on this opportunity to be some sort of hipster Coachella wannabe since I've been dying to wear a headdress/war bonnet (as you can imagine, it's really difficult to justify wearing one on any day besides Oct 31). The weather was beautiful, and it made me reminisce of my North Campus apartment that used to randomly quiver when it got super windy. That's possibly why when I felt the aftershocks of the Oklahoma earthquake a couple of weeks ago, I sat there gchatting through it like I'm from California.


Cowboys and Indians

Second Bar + Kitchen: brioche french toast, ginger snaps, blueberry agro dolce, vanilla maple syrup

Second Bar + Kitchen : braised beef short ribs, over easy egg, truffled grits,

grace + taiwan

>> Wednesday, July 6, 2011 – bape, dan shui, din tai fung, egg, fern, food, hot pot, korea, lanterns, love, noodles, scenery, shrimp, taipei 101, taiwan, temple, travel

(L-R: 1. MRT Station 2. LOVE sign in front of Taipei 101 3. Taipei 101 4. Wu Fen Pu Temple)

(L-R: 1. Din Tai Fung sesame buns / 2. Fried shrimp & soft shell crab/ 3. Fried shrimp rolls / 4. Egg cakes )

(L-R: 1. BAPE store logo / 2. Lomography storefront / 3. Design Ts sign / 4. Lomography wall )

(L-R: 1. Hot pot / 2. Baked fresh shrimp / 3. Beef slices @ all-you-can-eat hotpot / 4. Spicy cold noodles from Shilin Mkt)

(L-R: 1. Fern / 2. A vat of tea eggs / 3. Plum & mint ice / 4. Fried fish with jalapeno)

grace + korea

>> Friday, July 1, 2011 – 2011, food, korea, seoul, travel

Yes, you read the title right! My pharmacy friends and I figured that this would be our last free summer before we have to take the boards next summer, so we were on the lookout for a great deal to somewhere outside of the country. Miraculously, we came across cheap RT tickets to Korea. Since most of us are Taiwanese, we booked tickets to go fly over to our little island as well. Here's some of my favorites from my photo journal.

And I see you wondering, "could it be?!". Yes, that is a french fry dog. Stuff dreams are made of.

grace + fresh off the truck

>> Thursday, June 9, 2011 – 2011, asian, Austin, food trailer, fresh off the truck, pho, summer, Texas, vietnamese

This food trailer just opened on campus, and it's really the first authentic Asian truck I've come across now that I think about it. The owners Paul and Tova are super friendly and very open to any sort of feedback. My favorite hands down was the traditional bánh mi. It's ginormous first of all (as a sandwich should be), the bread is toasted but still chewy, slathered with homemade mayo, and dressed with picked radish and carrots to keep it light. I do like how accessible banh bot chien is going to be! I usually only see that appetizer in traditional Vietnamese restaurants in Houston and Dallas.