Moving, sushi, movie, brunch.

Kevin and I spent the weekend together finalizing some things in the old apartment. We had to drop off a few things at my dad's, and naturally while we were there, my dad had us help him with a couple of chores (Kevin helped my dad move in some things from the patio to the garage so they wouldn't get rained on, and I had to help my dad figure out why his new wireless mouse wasn't working...sometimes going back to basics and starting from square one really helps). Then we had to have a late lunch, which wasn't bad...paksiw na lechon (with lechon, or Filipino roasted whole pork, from last week's barbecue), pancit, and mechado, with saba for dessert. I also got to eat (and take home!) some fresh young coconut. It was cool, seeing my dad hack at the top with a cleaver and crack it open and drink the juice with the straw, just like back home in Manila.

After we finished up at my dad's, we worked on the apartment a little more, then headed out to dinner at Wann's, which, fortunately for me, is located right across the street from my new apartment. We had the Kobe beef tataki (cold seared Kobe beef, marinated in shiso dressing), yakisoba, and of course the sushi appetizer. The sushi was fresh, and I especially enjoyed the hamachi (as did Kevin! I love sharing great food experiences with him). I never had Kobe beef before, and this was exceptionally tasty! I wasn't expecting the beef to be chilled, but I think that the flavor of the shiso dressing was highlighted better that way, anyway. I wish we had a slightly larger portion of the yakisoba, because Kevin and I finished it way faster than we wanted to. But it did bring back good memories of food back in Japan, like during street festivals when we were kids. One thing we didn't get to try was the brie cheese tempura with raspberry soy sauce...but I'll be back soon, so I'm not too worried about it. ^_^

After that, we watched Forbidden Kingdom. Let's just say, its a really cheesy movie that better belongs in the 90s era of martial arts movies (3 Ninjas, anyone?), but I really, really enjoyed it for what it was.

The next day, we ate brunch at Macrina, which is just two blocks away from where the old apartment is. Let's just say, I really regret not going there more often. The food was amazing! We ordered the Salmon Scramble, which was scambled eggs, smoked salmon, and creme fraiche on a bialy with herb roasted potatoes and some greens, and the Brunch Cafe Special, which was scrambled eggs with trout, and potatoes and greens. Both were AMAZING! Went deliciously well with our OJ and strawberry lemonade. I think the clincher for Kevin, though, was the buttermilk biscuit with raspberry jam he had for dessert. I had the Italian plum roll, which was equally good though lacking in plum for me. You know me, big sweet tooth. :)

So after we cleaned up the old place a bit more, we took some time to take advantage of the internet, which is still activated till the end of the month. Kevin did some homework, and I got caught up on the latest episode of Top Chef Chicago. At the end of the show, I really thought Mark was going home. Good thing they sent Ryan home instead, though. He was a bit of a cheeseball, anyway.

I cooked adobo for dinner that night. I don't want to talk about it any further than that I don't know what I'm doing, but it never stays the same and I'm really unhappy with it. I think I need to find an actual recipe and start from there and stop experimenting too much. lol

New forages for today: The World Ends With you (game for Nintendo DS, by the same team who brought you Kingdom Hearts. Anyone who knows me will tell you that KH is probably my most favorite game of all time), and working on the hat I started knitting in Cali last month.

Today was a good day. (Think Ice Cube)

Actually, the title was meant for Friday, but I got lazy and didn't end up posting. Plus the internet was being wonky at Kevin's. I cooked myself some sukiyaki beef and pork for breakfast that I had marinated with pretty much anything I had on hand the night before: soy sauce, mirin seasoning, garlic, pepper, white wine vinegar, regular white vinegar...that, plus a couple fried eggs (is that what you call it when you crack the egg into the skillet and, once the white sets, add a little water and cover the egg so the top part gets steamed? or is that poached?) and a nice big ol' plate of white, fluffy rice...it was the best breakfast I had in AGES.

Then I headed over to my first shift at the Haagen-Dazs in the U-District. Scooping ice cream my first day was hectic (good weather means good business, usually...), a lot of groups came in, or just a bunch of people coming in all at once. The shop is really quite small (seats 6 customers), which can be nice. I learned a lot about maintaining the store, and making shakes and Dazzlers and such. I haven't learned everything just yet (Lois, my friend and manager of the shop, says she'll have me do ice cream cakes.. O_O), but it's exciting to learn new things and to be doing customer service again. I'm glad I get to learn another aspect of sweets, as well. It's too bad I didn't get a chance to really do any ice cream while I was at Dahlia.

Saturday was beautiful. We had a belated birthday barbecue for my brother (April 11) and me (March 30) at my dad's in Marysville. If there's anything I love about Filipino parties, it's how much food was there. Pancit, barbeque, fried rice, lumpia...so much food, and yet the highlight for me is always the grilled oysters. Cooked quick on the fire, and with a splash of lemon juice...mmm....After a long morning/afternoon of getting the run around Smokey Point and Marysville just to get two errands done, I definitely earned the two ice-cold Heinekens that accompanied my food binge.

Today, again, was a good day. What a difference the absence of one person makes, which makes me very sad. Not because said person is gone, but because I had such a limited amount of time to enjoy working at Dahlia since their dismissal. But, what can I do? I already committed to helping out Lois during her maternity leave (despite the cut in pay :( ), and I'm leaving soon as it is. Besides, I really don't like the idea of working my Sunday-Monday, 5am-1 or 2pm schedule until I leave, because it's hard enough to hang out with friends and Kevin before I move as it is, and I'm pretty sure they won't let me change my schedule for that reason alone (my replacement has the exact same schedule as me, with the addition of another day of work at the bread bakery). I know I'll have to suck it up later, but when later comes, then I'll suck it up. Right now, I want to just be able to enjoy as much of the remainder of my stay in Seattle as possible.

Tomorrow is my last day at Dahlia, providing Ellice (my replacement) or Garrett (manager) doesn't feel the need for me to be back again. Or unless they ask me to fill in if a morning person can't make it. It's bittersweet, it is.