i like to eat.

It was Jason's dad's birthday last month (yes, I'm that behind) and he wanted to go to Taheri's in Walnut Creek to celebrate.

I've never been to this restaurant, but his dad was raving about the crab salad, so I was excited to try it. The four of us started with a Dungeness crab bruchetta with marinated tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Taheri's didn't skimp on the crab, it was a big pile of meat and worth several bites.

Jason and I split a plate of the famous crab salad. It came with huge lumps of fresh crab meat, tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and feta on a bed of mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette. The crab salad was worth its hype, light and delicious. I want to try to make this at home.

I was already full from the salad, but I still had an entrée coming. Jason and I again, split a plate of Mediterranean prawns in curry with spinach, garlic, basil and tomatoes. It was served on top of crispy Basmati rice. The curry sauce was slightly spicy, but still light and not too thick. It was another great dish.

I really enjoyed Taheri's and can't imagine getting full orders of everything. You'd have to roll me out! It was a delicious meal with Jason's sweet parents. Happy birthday!

     

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Seafood_Dinner_tag_food_greek_.zip (765 KB)

Kate was leaving for her usual Taiwan summer trip, so we had a goodbye dinner before she took off.

The dinner was filled with a ton of good food - bacon wrapped asparagus, artichoke shrimp (see original post), zucchini with mushrooms, chives and bean sprouts, roast beef, garlic broccoli, prosciutto wrapped dates and barbecued chicken (not pictured).

Everyone pitched in and made something (image 13 is cheesy, I know). It was fun cooking with everyone and helping each other make their dishes.

For dessert, we had a delicious, moist strawberry cake for Cocola.

And of course, sangria, served on a vintage cart - super cute. This time, we made the sangria with boxed wine. It tasted OK, but it gave me a nasty hangover. So, wine box, out.

As the night continued, we munched on Shrimp Flavored Chips. Yes, that sounds disgusting, but they're good. The taste is kind of indescribable since they do not taste like shrimp at all. They're extra crunchy and is a childhood memory. I used to eat them a lot when I was growing up.

The night ended quite late with our tummies filled with delicious food and wine. Good times.

Thank you Kate and Kai for having us, we miss you already!

                                   

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See_You_Soon_tag_dinner_americ.zip (4152 KB)

To celebrate my friend, Bruce's, birthday, a few friends and I gathered at Thirsty Bear on Howard x New Montgomery for dinner. This was my second time there and the previous experience was only so-so. It's a brewery and I thought their beers were not bad, but I thought their food was simply over priced and not worth it.

This time was a similar experience. It was great hanging out with my friends and sipping sangria [ I still make the best, in my opinion. haha. ], but I thought the food is still mediocre. Not bad, but nothing spectacular.

I took pictures of the dishes, but the lighting was way too dark and the pictures came out horribly. :( The only decent picture (before they started to dim the lights) was the one below, hama river oysters. I'm not a huge fan of oysters. The slimy texture turns me off, but  if they're small, I can eat them. These were fresh and good.

Other tapas we ordered were calamari fritos, flat bread with chorizo, empanadas, braised pork rib, grilled flank steak and garlic shrimp. OK food, not horrible, but in comparison to Cha Cha Cha, which is serves similar food, I would go there over Thirsty any time.

Even though I thought the food was mediocre, the most important thing was the fact that I got to hang out with my friends. It was great seeing them and enjoying each other's company. :) Happy birthday Bruce!