Website

I have finally taken the plunge and created my own website, please stay updated with me by visiting www.annieysong.com

Thanks!

A Tribute to 2013

2013 was a year of self discovery, self love, letting go, live in the moment, embrace the unexpected, growing up, trust and all-consuming love.


I never imagined this is where my life would be at. I have accomplished so many in just 365 days and I am so damn proud of my accomplishments, physically, mentally, and career-wise.

Now that another year is ending, I would like to stick with the following resolutions:

 -Love myself more
 -Always love him the same and constantly work on our relationship
 -Be more patient
 -Budget
 -Cook more
 -Enter a fitness competition

Au revoir 2013, I am so eager to see my life unravel...

Inside a Mind of an Frustrated Millennial

I am that unique Gen Y-er who believes that there is no shortcut to success, hard work and dedication are a must and I want to be taken seriously. The typical phrase every Gen Y uses "I want to be taken seriously" and it is very frustrating that at 22, some older adults still treats me like a child and gives me no respect simply because I am 22.

My heredity is Chinese and Korean so I inherited the awesome youthful Asian look, just to give you an idea, I still get carded sometimes for Rated-R movies. (Yes, it's frustrating). And my voice is not the most commanding voice. My youthful looks + my soft spoken voice, to many people equals, she doesn't know what she is talking about. That is extremely frustrating in my industry, PR.

I feel like being an millennial, people often stereotype us as entitled, spoiled, crazy, selfish and all we think about is that next party. But we are more than those traits. We often get overlooked for job positions that we would succeed at because we are naturally good at multitasking, we understand the importance of social media and we are always thinking what is the next step.

So here is my cry out to all the seasoned professional out there, give US a chance, we will surprise you.

That Post-Grad Life

It's been almost one year since I graduated from college and I have to say that it has been the most challenging year in my life. In one short year, I have accomplished so much and learned that the post-grad life isn't all that awesome. I landed my first job at a private PR agency and quickly transitioned into the position I am at currently, which I love. I started living by myself, met an amazing guy in the most unexpected way possibly, moved cities, and mended relationships with long lost friends.

If I could share some "wise" advice to my college self, it would definitely ease the transition from my college sorority life to my post-grad working life. So here it goes!

• Enjoy your college years, don't rush to graduate early, take on every opportunity that comes at you and never close any doors.
• Find your #BFFL, because a girl without any girl friends is pathetic. In the post-grad life, keeping up with relationship becomes exhausting due to lack of time and different schedules but no matter how busy you get, your #BFFL will always be there for you.
• Take internships but make it relevant. If you want to work in the entertainment industry, make sure to seek those internships, don't jump around from internship to internship and still do not know what you want to do in life.
• Learn how to budget and not overspend. Pay every single bill on time. (I am still horrible at budgeting...it's just so tempting to buy whatever I want because I feel like I earned it)
• Find one thing you are good at and find ways to make yourself even better at it. When you are seeking your first job, it distinguish you from all the other 20 something job seekers.
• Read relevant books. Yes, it's entertaining to read Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey but you will be surprised that books about life and biographies are rather interesting and have good take-aways.
• Find a hobby and shopping does not count.
• Don't plan your life around "the one". One thing I realized in college that nothing is forever, one day you can not live without them, the next, you are living without them and perfectly fine. Your twenties are suppose to be spent exploring who you are and what you want to be. When the time is right, "the one" will be in your life in the most unexpected way.

Even though I miss my reckless college sorority years,hate paying bills and having more responsibility than I am used to but I am beyond content and anxious about what my next step will be, whether it's in my career or my personal life. Like what one of my best friend tells me "The best is yet to come."

Taiwanese Curry

Today, I made one of my favorite comfort dish, Taiwanese Curry. So what makes this curry "taiwanese"? Well, instead of cooking the chicken with the curry, I make the chicken separately. It's called 盐酥鸡 in Chinese which translates to "salty crispy nuggets". Using these fried chicken nuggets gives the curry a completely different dimension and tastes absolutely delicious! I always have to stop myself from eating the chicken when frying them or else there would not be enough left. You can even just make the chicken separately and eat it as a snack, just make sure to fry some basil leaves with it! The curry part of the dish is SO simple. I use a boxed curry called Vermont Curry. This dish takes around an hour or so to make but it's definitely worth it.

Curry

Ingredients:

1 Box Vermont Curry

3 Carrots

3 Potatoes

1/2 Onion

6 Cups of water

1. Cook the curry according to the box. Told ya it's easy!

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

3-4 Pieces of chicken (I like to use thighs, gives more flavor)

3 Tbs of Rice Wine

2 Tbs of Five Spice Powder

2 Tbs of Sugar

3 Tbs of Soy Sauce

1 Tbs of Black Pepper

2 Tbs of Cayenne Pepper (you don't have to add this in if you don't want it to be spicy)

2 Egg Yolk

1/2 Cups of Potato Starch
Oil for frying

1. Cube the chicken
2. Mix chicken, rice wine, five spice, sugar, soy sauce, black pepper and cayenne pepper together and let it marinade in the fridge for 30 mins
3. After chicken marinades, mix in the egg yolk and potato starch together.
4. Heat up the oil, should be around 1-1 1/2 inch deep
5. Fry the chicken nuggets in batches. Don't over crowd the chicken in the pot!
6. Take out when chicken is golden brown outside.

To serve, include some rice, scoop curry over chicken and enjoy! ♥



xoxo,
Annie  

The Perfect Chambray

I been searching for the perfect chambray shirt for since last fall season but could not find any that I liked. I was looking for a shade that is blue-ish/grey and loosely fitted. The ones I found were either too big or too denim colored, so I gave up after months of looking for it. However, this past weekend, I found the perfect shade of chambray!

This picture does not reflect the exact color of the shirt but it will do. I found it at Old Navy for $25. What a deal! There was a cold front this past weekend and I figured if would be the perfect opportunity to wear it out. I wanted to be casual since I was running errands around town. Sorry for the quality of the picture, it was taken with my iPhone.

Shirt: Old Navy | Tank: Banana Republic | Leggings: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Tory Burch | Jewelry: David Yurman & Kendra Scott

Can't wait to style this chambray shirt w/ some scarfs and boots soon!



xoxo,
Annie

Outfit :: Deep Red

Zara shirt, UO shorts, Tory Burch flats, Vintage necklace, Michael Kors watch

Homemade Panang Chicken Curry

My boyfriend and I love curry; but I like Thai curry which is more coconut-ty, while he likes Indian curry, which is spicier. When we are both craving curry, we can never decide which type to eat. It is because of this predicament that I ventured to create a mixture that contains both of the characteristics of Thai and Indian curry. Even though this is my first time making it, my boyfriend and I both were pleasantly surprised how well it turned out. I didn't use heavy cream this time but I wish I did so the sauce would be more creamy, which is why I suggested using a milk/heavy cream blend. 

Ingredients:

-1 Tablespoon of Ginger (diced or grated)

-1 Teaspoon of Paprika

-1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper

-2 Tablespoon of Panang Curry Powder (or which ever curry powder you can find)

-Sprinkle of Black Pepper

-1/2 Tablespoon of Salt

-1 Teaspoon of Sugar

-Pinch of Lime juice

-1/2 Cup Water

-1/2 Cup Milk & Heavy cream or half & half combined

-3 Medium sized Potatoes ( I used an organic potatoes blend, hence the purple/black potatoes)

-1 lb Chicken

-1 Onion

-2 Carrots

Directions:

• Sauté all the veggies together until onions are browned and potatoes are firm
• Combine paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, sugar, toss it with the veggies for a couple minutes
• Put in the chicken and combine more!
• Pour in the water & milk and heavy cream mixture
• Simmer for around 20-25 minutes, add the pinch of lime juice and stir!

The Healthy Clam Chowder - Using Fresh Clams!

I am a sucker for chowders, especially clam chowder. I could drink a cup, oh, even a bowl of clam chowder every day from my favorite super market - central market, if I could. Despite my love for this delicious soup, I try not to get it as much because the one from the store is so fattening. After thoroughly researching all the clam chowder recipes out there, I kind of got a basic understanding of the key ingredients that are used to make it and most of recipes call for the use of heavy cream and tons of butter. So I decided to come up with my own! Beware, it takes some time to prepare and cook, but it is definitely worth it. I highly suggest fresh clams instead of the can ones, it really makes a big difference in the taste.

Ingredients:

1-2lbs fresh clams
3 strips of bacon (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 onion (diced)
2 1/2 sticks of carrot (sliced)
2 green onion (diced)
2-3 potatoes (diced)
1/3 cup of flour
6 tablespoon of butter
2 cups of milk
Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Oregano to taste






1. Put the clams into a pot with water (enough to cover the clams), boil until the clams open up, save about 2 cups of the juice. Diced the cooked clams.
2. In a pot, put 3 tablespoon of butter and cook the bacon until crispy. (I suggest putting the fire to medium so your pot doesn't burn at the bottom)
3. After the bacon is crispy, saute onions, potatoes and carrots for about 15 mins (til the onions are transparent). Sprinkle, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano.
4. Pour in the clam juice saved up from cooking the clam. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer until the potatoes/carrots are tender. about 20-25 mins.
5. While the stock is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the remaining 3 tablespoon of butter, reduce the fire to low, and mix in the flour slowly and continuously for about 2 mins.
6. Scoop some of the stock and pour into the flour/butter mixture, once mixed, pour back into the stock and stir
7. Put in the milk and the cooked clams and bring to boil


Enjoy!
Annie

Braised short beef ribs

When I use to live with my parents, they would always make this beef ribs dish that satisfy my little tummy :) Feeling a little home sick lately, I decided to give it a try. Every time my parents would make this I always thought wow this is delicious, must be difficult! but let me tell you, this is SO easy and EXTREMELY satisfying! Give it a try and satisfy your little tummy too. 

Alter the recipe depending on how much ribs you buy!
-A package of short beef ribs
-a small chuck of ginger sliced
-1 green onion chopped
-1 clove of garlic diced
-a quarter of a onion diced
-potatoes
-2 table spoon of soy sauce (I eyed mine according to taste)
-Sugar (according to taste)
-Salt
-olive oil

-Bring the oil to heat, put in the ginger, cook until you can smell the ginger fragrance (about a min?)
-Put in garlic, green onions and onion, cook for around a min
-Put in the ribs, frequently turn it over -Put in soy sauce, sugar, salt, turn the ribs over frequently   -Put in about a bowl of water, set the fire on low, cook and cover for 20-25mins.
-After 20-25 mins, put in the potatoes, fire still on low, cover and cook for 10 mins.

and Tada!




xoxo, Annie

Egg-a-licious

Being a college student I am, I am always hungry and looking for something to eat all the time, especially at odd hours of the night hhehe. This is he best and easiest way to cook an egg other than frying & it is so delicious and filling andd cheap that I would feel guilty not sharing this.


Ingredients:
Egg
Bread (I used raisin toast)
Cheese (Cheddar, Jack or whatever you please)
Some pepper & salt to taste

1. Cut a hole into the bread using cookie cutter, or whatever you have
2. Crack an egg into the hole you just made
3. Shred cheese over it
4. Broil high for 5 minutes
5.Sprinkle pepper & salt.

oh hello there, deliciousness

Yummy in my tummy

♡Baked Tilapia
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 fresh/frozen tilapia fillets
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp of oilve oil
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 whole green onions - minced
1/2 tomato
1 tsp of lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 can of Campbell cream of chicken & mushroom soup
1/4 cup of water

1. Preheat oven @ 350F
2. Melt butter & oilve oil, lightly cook in garlic & green onions until garlic browns, season w/ a little lemon pepper
3. Line baking pan w/ foil, drizzle the garlic, green onion mixture.
4. Place tilapia on top, top with a thin slice of butter on each fillet. Bake for 15 mins.
5. While tilapia is baking, sauté tomatoes, pour in the campbell soup & water, simmer.
6. When tilapia is done cooking top w/ chicken & mushroom sauce & you are done :)

Benjy's Houston

It has been awhile but I am back to food blogging!

Benjy's is located in on the edge of Rice Village and another location in Washington, known for their modern American cuisine and delicious happy hour dishes and drinks. I went there this past week with two of my girlfriends for happy hour. Then again for brunch with my parents.

Benjy's happy hour is everyday from 4-7pm. $5 dishes & drinks, what a good deal :) I suggest you to go early if you don't want to sit under the burning sun & humidity of Houston, which is where we sat - the lounge. The feel of the place immediately change after we walked onto the second floor, hip music, good looking people in suits, and a rather relaxing environment to mingle.

Mushroom Pizza with fontina, pine nuts and truffle oil

Benjy's brunch is Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 2pm. A range of the traditional omelet selection, specialty sandwiches and salads, paired with mimosas & martinis. Not to my surprise, when we got there around noon, the place is packed, before we ordered they brought us cute salty mini muffins. The food is amazing and the serving is huge, but I personally think its a little too much for brunch. I was definitely a happy yet sleepy camper after my huge french toast meal :)

Crispy Calamari with edemame dipping sauce - I must say, this is so much better than Kona's

Crepe with mushroom and ricotta cheese, snow peas, pine nuts and carrot puree

Famous crunchy french toast w/ fruits, potatoes, eggs and chicken sausage

Crab and asparagus sandwich w/ forest mushrooms, eggs and smoked paprika hollandaise

BBQ short rib sandwich w/ pepperjack topped w/ fried egg













Benjy's Rice Village
2424 Dunstan

South Congress Cafe

I went to this Cafe a long time ago randomly with P because we saw so many people in there for sunday brunch. This is probably the BEST brunch place I been too. We have never eaten here for dinner before so we decided to give it a try. I was so sad when I found out they have 20% off dinner on Sunday - Wednesday, and... we went on a Thursday boo.

South Congress Cafe is a hip, modern and classy restaurant. Once I walked in, my mood is always immediately lightened up. Maybe because it reminds me of the places I eat at in China every time I go. If you want an table for dinner, reservations isn't really needed. But, if you want an table for brunch, better expect at least an hour of wait time. I been trying to go back to eat at this place every time I'm in Austin and I never get too because it is soo packed! Thats okay because South Congress Ave. is filled with unique shops for you to browse around while you wait.

What we ordered for brunch (a long time ago):
-Came with cute bite size corn muffins with whipped butter. I think I got half full from just eating these.
-I ordered my all time favorite breakfast:
Egg Benedict South Congress Style w/ Crab Cakes - served with smoked gouda potato pancake, seasonal fresh fruit and topped with hollandaise sauce then topped again w/ two crab cakes topped w/ homemade quiche and crispy prosciutto
*seriously, this is the best egg benedict I had. EVER.
-P ordered:
Wil Boar red Chile Pozle: spicy hot new mexico red chiles, traditional seasoning and tender wild boar. served with shredded cabbage, diced onions and orengano
*P didn't like it much, he said it tasted funny
-For dessert we ordered: Bread pudding
Kind of dry, didn't really like it after having the amazing white chocolate bread pudding at Ruggles

What we ordered for dinner:
Appetizer: Lamb Lollipop Trio - lamb chops, finished with cilantro aioli, mint puree, homemade habanero jelly and crispy onion rings.
*Usually lamb meat tastes really weird but South Congress definitely did an awesome job cooking it. The creamy cilantro aioli sauce is my personal fave, mainly because I like creamy sauces. The habanero jelly is P's fave, he likes spicy stuff. The mint puree didn't really taste like mint, it went weird with the lamb. On the other hand, the onion rings were amazing!! not too oily, just perfect.
Main course:
Goat Cheese & Bacon Stuffed Quail - quail stuffed with goat cheese, applewood bacon and grilled, paired with fingerling potatoes and brussel sprout hash and a balsamic blackberry sage gastrique
*I only ordered this because it has bacon in it, I LOVE loveee bacon. Better than a thought, the goat cheese and bacon kind of over powered the taste of quail. love the balsamic dressing, definitely toned down the creamy taste of the goat cheese
P got Duck something risotto (it was the special of the night) - risotto with butter squash, asparagus, shitake mushrooms, shaved parmesan cheese and simmered in white wine and white truffle oil, covered with pulled duck meat.
*He loves rice, must have it every meal haha. It was super gooood! the parmesan cheese made the risotto creamy, the veggies made it extra delicious, and the duck meat is just... perfectly cooked, not dried, just perfect :)
We definitely did not have room for dessert, we got most of the risotto to go because I couldn't even finish my quail so I made P eat one!

Now for some mouth watering pictures -

Best Herbed Butter ever!

The stuffing - Kind of looks gross, but its yummy! :)

Yums.

South Congress Cafe
1600 South Congress Ave
Austin TX
www.southcongresscafe.com

xo, A

Cheese Berry

Whats so unique about cheese berry you ask? Well! As an fobby Asian I am, I lovee Italian food, the cream heavy pasta, the yummmy thin or thick crust pizza with tons of cheese on top, the deliciousss mouth watering dessert. mmm! But sometimes, I just want some plain, yummy Asian food, and if you didn't know already, Asian people don't really make Asian pizza. Cheese berry offers an infusion of BOTH! the pizza with oriental toppings. Pizza toppings in the range of kimchi, black peppered beef and even curry. These yummylicious flavors will definitely tickle your taste buds. :)

This cute restaurant is located in the Golden Food market in Chinatown, Houston Texas. 

I ordered:

Sweet potato fries - came in like a cone shape deal its pretty cute, freshly made, super crispy, but there wasn't much of a sweet potato taste i feel like. 

Bleu Cheese Chicken Poppers - again you could totally tell its freshly made, it was steamming when I cut it in half. This small popper definitely has a kick to it, it is super spicy. Love it.

Kimchi Bulgogi Pizza - SUPER GOOD, lovee the thin crust, love the kimchi pieces, love the bulgogi pieces. A definitely must order if you are going there for the first time.

Time for picturess!

Cheese Berry

9888 Bellaire Blvd, # 102, Houston TX 77036

http://cheeseberry.com/

Thanks to Vivien for suggesting this place :)

xo A

Restaurant #2 - Tip Top

Pictures 1st, post later :)

TONS of yummy goodness - onion rings!

















Kracker battered butterfly shrimp/ cole slaw & mashed potatoes


















oye, loooks bigger than H's face :)


















seriously, the BIGGEST piece of chicken fried steak I have ever seen... H usually eats alot but he didn't even finish!!

Long Overdue. Restaurant #1. Niko Niko's

Helloo!

This entry is LONG LONG overdue, should've written this about 2 months ago, oops!
SO, let me recollect my thoughts and remember the yummyness of this amazing place.

A very special friend of mine decided to take me on a date, but little did we know that it was going to be in one of the restaurants featured in the show Diner, Drive-ins and Dive. Niko Niko's is located in the very busy and very modern center part of Houston, Montrose, I love this street, filled with cute vintage boutiques and unique restaurants. Well my first impression of this place is, it definitely does not look like a diner... veryy crowded, the menu looks delish, and the christmas decorations are making this small place sparkle! I absolutely LOVE it. (I am quite a decoration freak, the decoration usually makes the place). Soo we wait in line and ordered our food, we got Chicken Avgolemono soup, Opa Chicken, and Mousaka. It came with salad over vinaigreet dressing and a LARGE chunk of feta cheese. screamss yumms!

The pita bread is sooo yummy, i couldnt figure out whats in the dressing we dip the pita bread in, the salad is quite sour, definitely not my taste. Thinking about those pita bread is making me super hungry...
anyways, i encourage everyone to go try it, definitely made my first greek food experience an A+ :)

<3, A

Pilot

Hello blog world!! :)

Ever watch the show "Diners, Drive-ins, Dives" on the food network channel? Well, if you haven't you should at least watch it once! Every since I watched the very first episode of that show I kind of fell in love with diners and all these cutee old restaurant with a lot of background/history. This show is about this guy
Guy Fieri, going to all these amazing diners all around the country, eating their amazing looking food. :) SO what does this have to do with me? Well, I am determined to travel around the country and try EVERY SINGLE one of these diners :) Since I am only a college student I guess I will start with Texas first. I will post up the diners I have been to and with some reviews too, so PLEASE join me in my food adventure! :)




<3A