tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-328018122008-07-17T11:10:18.750-07:00Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-15391919892236312452008-07-13T20:31:00.000-07:002008-07-13T20:46:13.273-07:00

(Pictures for this recipe taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.) Congratulations to my friends, H & A, on their wedding this weekend. Shaadi Mubaarak! Summer may not seem like the best time to bake, but the warm, humid weather is perfect for proofing light, flavorful dough. These nutty, soft rolls are great toasted for breakfast or enjoyed with a bit of tea. If you start the recipe

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-52581441614263865522008-07-08T23:46:00.000-07:002008-07-09T12:57:18.213-07:00

(Pictures taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.) The blog has been pretty quiet recently, although I think I have some pretty good excuses. The past few weeks have been spent busy with work, my brother's graduation, a friend's bachelor party (Vegas baby!), and a trip Cat and I took to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. However, vacation time is over (*sob*) and there are new articles on the

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-28343990061721536012008-06-24T22:33:00.000-07:002008-06-24T22:37:51.415-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is.) Every so often you get tired of food blogging. Instead of searching out new places to eat, you want comfort food from your favorite (and often embarrassing) haunts. Lugging your camera out with you to take pictures becomes a chore. Even the good-natured ribbing from your friends as you pose their food for the perfect shot can

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-10986710707018546152008-06-09T20:40:00.000-07:002008-06-11T10:39:34.610-07:00

(There are no photos for this review. I refuse to promote this restaurant in any way. Bee of Rasa Malaysia has written about more congenial experiences at Belacan. To be fair to the restaurant, I include her articles here and here. Food Marathon also had a good experience, which she writes about here. I invite the owner to weigh in on this article and defend his behavior. I will post his

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-33419377136973822542008-05-27T23:56:00.000-07:002008-05-28T00:02:59.213-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100 and Canon PowerShot SD800is.) The clink of chopsticks against plastic bowls. The sweet sizzle of frying dough. Happy chatter. The dull grind of rickety chairs being pulled up to tables. The muffled roar of passing traffic. Gossip. Excited laughter. Street dining in Asia is unlike anything that can be experienced in the West.

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-86541803066767276182008-05-20T21:58:00.000-07:002008-05-20T22:16:36.900-07:00

Woot! What a weekend! This bad panda partied a bit too hard and needed a few days to recover. The week just keeps getting better too. Cat and Chubbypanda.com just got a nice mention in an article on BlogHer for my post about our wedding banquet. (I love my wife!) Tributes to Remarkable Women by Alanna Kellog. Thanks for the mention, Alanna! We love BlogHer!

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-29519294958618578662008-05-11T20:18:00.000-07:002008-05-13T10:49:19.368-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. Apologies for the image quality of my later photos. Several members of our party got lost and arrived over an hour late. By time our food arrived, the light had completely faded. Out of respect for other diners, I don't use a flash, so I did the best I could with a nearby candle. My little brother has submitted a t-shirt design

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-47749806086651974482008-05-04T23:50:00.000-07:002008-05-05T01:09:59.283-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. Read Elmomonster's review of Gen Kai here.) Kitty-corner from Irvine Valley College lies a small, darkened strip mall mostly abandoned once the sun has set. Home to an eclectic gathering of businesses that draw little foot traffic and shutter their doors early, the lifeblood of the center's surprisingly numerous eateries is a

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-29106948818013233492008-04-20T23:29:00.000-07:002008-04-21T00:37:11.867-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100 and Canon PowerShot SD800is. The first two introductory paragraphs are the same in all articles in my Dim Sum Series. Feel free to skip down to the first picture if you've already read them.) Dim sum restaurants are a hotly contested topic amongst Orange County foodies. Every person has their favorite, and defends it with an almost

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-30966175303375615412008-04-15T23:53:00.000-07:002008-04-15T23:57:42.343-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. Read the rest of Ton-Ton's Journey: Vancouver 2007.) When you think of Asians, do you think of coffee? Probably not. The regions that come to mind are most likely Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Even the United States has a place on the coffee map as the home of Starbucks, the largest corporate coffee chain in the

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-52341264821990322142008-04-06T23:24:00.000-07:002008-04-07T01:41:08.210-07:00

(Pictures for this recipe taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.) After I posted my recipe for Japanese Cha Shu, I received a number of emails asking me for a recipe for Chinese Cha Shao (BBQ Pork). Normally found hanging in the windows of Chinese delicatessens, cha shao (char siu in Cantonese) is a marinated, slightly sweet, slow roasted pork with a deep crimson color and radiant finish. Non-Chinese

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-86715528381705405712008-04-02T23:46:00.000-07:002008-04-03T00:55:30.606-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon Rebel XTi and Canon PowerShot SD800is. Read the rest of Ton-Ton's Journey: Vancouver 2007. You can read about another of our trips to Garry Point here. There are some great shots of the sunset.) As it's already 2008, I decided I should try to finish off the rest of Ton-Ton's Journey: Vancouver 2007. There are four more articles after this.

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-91816683221415531092008-03-30T23:42:00.000-07:002008-03-31T00:51:55.583-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. This is my monthly contribution to Orange County Food Blogs.) -=Begin Excerpt=- I'm a culinary skeptic. Whenever I hear about a new food fad, Sprinkles, Pinkberry, South Beach, or Atkins to name a few, my gut reaction is doubt. As the frozen yogurt craze that swept Los Angeles trickled into Orange County, I was determined not

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-19240276859409614602008-03-25T23:35:00.000-07:002008-03-26T00:42:38.875-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100 and Canon PowerShot SD800is.) It's hot. The sun beats down on my head like a smith in his forge, rhythmic hammer strokes sending sparks flying through my consciousness with each measured swing. The dry air wheezes through my parched lungs. I shade my eyes, soothing cracked lips with a tongue leathery from the lack of moisture. My

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-82071582753305312902008-03-23T23:14:00.000-07:002008-03-24T00:51:17.215-07:00

(Pictures for this recipe taken with my Canon Rebel XTi. I see a lot of strange and/or cool things when I'm out exploring. While some are food-related, most aren't. I've decided to start posting the more interesting or scenic of my non-food photos to my LiveJournal for anyone who's interested. Please stop by.) Happy Easter everyone! With spring finally upon us, all this sunshine has caused

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-35053047704862925002008-03-18T23:05:00.000-07:002008-03-19T01:16:46.361-07:00

(Pictures and video for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100.) (Taken December 2006.) Mr. Big has been my friend, comrade-in-arms, and sometime flatmate for close to ten years. His birthday is actually in December, which was when I first threatened to do this post. However, we were both feeling pretty down from the then recent collapse of our company, so I decided to wait. I

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-35053142335080694262008-03-10T23:15:00.000-07:002008-03-12T00:39:33.312-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. I'd like to thank my friend Jpathomas a.k.a. Stitch of Living in the Cloud for this great tip.) (A Black & Tan with Guinness and Bass.) The air is warm, thick porridge that oozes into my lungs with each gasping breath. In my head, a manic band of hobgoblins marches to God Save the Queen as a color guard of twirling pink

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-51469648205729231992008-03-03T01:09:00.000-08:002008-03-03T01:12:10.643-08:00

(Picture for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. I've been fighting off the flu for the past two weeks. Here's a little quick bite to ease me back into the swing of things. The first introductory paragraph is the same in all articles in this series. Please feel free to skip it if you've already read it. Read the rest of my Soul Pizza Series.) My wife, Cat, is a staunch

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-62221488846426012902008-02-15T23:59:00.000-08:002008-02-16T00:06:59.649-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.) Hey everyone! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day (or Singles Appreciation Day). Cat and I spent another wonderful evening at 6ix Park Grill in Irvine, which is our favorite special occasion restaurant. I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. They went above and beyond this year. I would have taken some pictures, but I was "

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-19248857680509234862008-02-11T00:00:00.000-08:002008-02-11T00:07:21.570-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is.) (Little Saigon after the Tet parade.) Hey guys! Happy Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year, Tet, or whatever you like to call it! I'm sorry it's been two weeks since my last post. My work schedule is busier than ever, so most of what I post is written during the weekends. Sometimes I have time to write more than one, other times

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-24386890167283995372008-01-27T23:33:00.000-08:002008-01-27T23:45:38.970-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100 and Canon PowerShot SD800is.) While the storms that were supposed to lash Southern California left me disappointed, they still put me in the mood for my favorite winter treats; grilled meat and spicy soup. Most Americans consider BBQ a summer activity. Not me. Why make a hot summer day worse by spending it hunched over a big pile

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-39495923785452198502008-01-23T23:32:00.000-08:002008-03-03T01:13:34.538-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is. The first introductory paragraph is the same in all articles in this series. Please feel free to skip it if you've already read it. Read the rest of my Soul Pizza Series.) (Cheese Pizza and Sausage Pizza.) My wife, Cat, is a staunch proponent of what she calls "soul pizza". It's her name for the type of unabashedly

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-70153303939781811922008-01-20T23:43:00.000-08:002008-05-30T16:30:37.725-07:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon Rebel XTi. The first two paragraphs are intended to be facetious. Elmomonster and I are friends on very good terms.) My little buddy Elmonster has a truly annoying habit. He scoops me, innocently and with intent to inform. Each time it happens exactly the same way. I make a new find, spend weeks or months gathering photos and information, and

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-8039784109273151782008-01-14T00:57:00.000-08:002008-01-14T01:16:00.026-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is.) (Sunset from my office window.) The new posting schedule seems to be shaping up. I'm not sure how well I'll be able to keep to it. We'll see. I'm starting to get used to the commute. New Year's day was surprisingly temperate in NorCal, given the freezing weather of the previous week. We'd been invited for osechi at the

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32801812.post-50076821732045647412008-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:002008-01-10T08:53:49.858-08:00

(Pictures for this review taken with my Motorola Q. Apologies for the image quality. This was an unexpected lunch stop, so I didn't have my cameras on me.) My new job up in the LA area is great. I love the people I work with, the atmosphere in the office, and the variety of food close by. The commute from Irvine, on the other hand, is less than stellar. On a good day, the round trip usually

Chubbypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12930326230203564199noreply@blogger.com