Radius

i had a Gilt City voucher for brunch-for-two at Radius. i hadn't heard much about the place and when i looked up their brunch on Yelp, the reviews didn't make it sound too promising. many people complained that the food was to sparse or that the service wasn't great. too bad for them. i'm happy to report that i had a pretty good experience there. while my coffee was never refilled, it didn't really matter because i didn't really need an extra cup anyway. i thought the service otherwise was adequate and the food was delicious. i really want to go back for dinner one day.

pork belly benedict

the pork belly was placed on the side. not really sure why that was the case, but it didn't bother me. also, the base of the benedict was a tasty biscuit rather than your typical english muffin. the potatoes were perfect and everything had a lot of flavor.

french toast with glazed quince, almonds and whipped orange butter

super buttery and just right. the choice of bread was nice. i think it was brioche. personally i'm not loving all of this quince that i've seen on nearly every menu lately. it's not bad, it's just not my favorite. overall it was a good dish though. 

the unusual shallow deal breaker

everybody has deal breakers when it comes to the opposite sex, right? they can be anything at the discretion of each individual person's needs/wants/likes. for some people it's the amount of money they make, whether or not children are involved, or whether they're divorced. a deal breaker can be that he's an asshole to his mom, or that she's too high maintenance. he's too nerdy. or she's too shy. or maybe he simply types "dat" instead of "that" (guys, do you know how obnoxious you sound at that very moment?). sometimes deal breakers can be nothing more than a shallow observation that turns a person off. maybe he's too short or dresses like he's twelve. maybe her pixie hair cut isn't doing it for you, or she's got a bleached mustache. or how about that Popeye eye. you know...one incredibly small, nearly squinting eye sitting next to a normal sized eye. who knows? to each their own. you all know i can't stand the not-smile-smile.

again, everybody has their deal breaker. but what i want to focus on here is the unusual shallow deal breaker. out of curiosity, i've had conversations with girl friends about what their unusual shallow deal breakers are. some people couldn't figure out an unusual turn-off. they just listed "bad teeth" and "too chubby" but those aren't unusual at all. of the responses i've heard, i have two favorites (mostly because i think they're funny):

1. thick thighs- her reasoning is that wider hips and thighs are a feminine quality. so basically if the circumference of a man's thighs equal more than x-amount (whatever the threshold is, i don't know...that's up to her) then they are considered to be too womanly and it's a massive turn-off.

2. baby nails- she said "short nails" but i quickly turned that into "baby nails." also, not nice hands in general. she didn't specify what exactly qualifies as gross hands to her. or maybe she did, but i decided not to focus on that because "baby nails" was too hysterical an image to take my mind off of at the time. anyhow, she said that if someone's hands weren't up to par, the thought of them touching her freaks her out.

so. wanna know what my unusual shallow deal breaker is? do ya? doooo ya? drumroll please!!!

it's...

permanent deep brow lines- know what i mean? i'm talking about those deep creases that form on a person's forehead over time from always questioning things. they might wonder "who? what? when? where? why?" about who-knows-what and their eyebrows raise, causing the skin at the top of their dome to crinkle into a number of folds. as this action is repeated throughout life, the folds become more permanent and eventually that person doesn't even have to be in a state of wonder for the excessive skin on their forehead to just stay folded. i'll give you the perfect example. click this link to see how Chef Gordon Ramsay's forehead is the ideal image of my unusual shallow deal breaker.

now of course if a person is an amazing being, then these "deal breakers" aren't really deal breakers. they're just for the sake of conversation. quite honestly, if someone is genuine, caring, loyal and the whole shebang, then a wrinkled forehead really isn't going to be the end all. but sometimes it's fun to ponder.

speaking of great friends...

Steph and Little Eddie (in her tummy), Kris, myself, Meiche, Bryli

i was fortunate enough to spend some time with Steph, Meiche and Bryli today. Steph and Meiche weren't able to make it to dinner the other night, so i was really happy to see them. Meiche is back from Hawaii briefly for the holidays. i barely get to see her and i'm sad that i'm missing out on Bryli's goings on as far as becoming a little person. the last time i saw her she was still looking like a little lump and now she's walking around and talking! Steph is currently growing our (and by our, i mean the group of girl friends i've had since highschool, if not before) second baby! a boy! it's so exciting to watch my friends grow up and follow the paths they've paved for themselves. whether it's starting a family, reaching career goals, or just finding ways to a life of happiness, i love that we are doing it together. supporting each other and encouraging our friends. we're lifers. all of our children are going to be "cousins" for sure. they're going to grow up and love each other as much as their mom's love each other. it's going to be amazing. 

Bryli loves hanging out with me. as you can see, i'm exceptionally good with kids. yep, they love Auntie Reg. 

"a very merry unbirthday"

my birthday has always been neglected due to the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Years. it lies on December 27th so it's very easily forgotten. but y'know what? it's okay. i mean, who can compete with the existence of Jesus and sparkly fireworks? not me(!)...i know from experience! but don't feel bad for me. this has been my lifelong story, so it's not as if i know any different. but i will say that because of this lack of celebration for my very own existence, i've never really grown too fond of my birthday. only once have i ever had a birthday party that was thrown strictly for me (i.e. no references to Santa or White Elephant exchange) (thanks to one of my ex-boyfriends). but truthfully, i don't particularly love celebrating it anyway. when loads of attention is placed on me, i get awkward and anxious. ask my friends, they've witnessed this.

so instead of having an annual celebration of my life, i've used my birthday as an excuse to bring my friends together to celebrate their friendship. i know, friends gathered on the day of your birth to celebrate. sounds like a birthday celebration right? but it's not. how so? my attention is turned towards them! on the day i was born i treat my heavily valued friends out to a meal of some sort (dinner or dimsum) to thank them for being awesome people in my life. you already know how i feel about my friends, remember? i love them more than i can explain. so annually, i like to show them i care because they know me better than the rest of the world does. they make me laugh, they are the only shoulders i'll cry on, and they've continued to be amazing people and a great assets to this world.

Kris, Ize, Helen, Eva, Maria, Lindsay, Natasha, Kim, Ciara, myself, Marjie, Ruby and Joanna

this year i really wanted to treat my friends to a nice dinner because 1) i felt like eating a good meal 2) i love them to no end and i want them to know it. so i took them to Absinthe for a three course meal.

you know what is awesome about my friends? a lot of these girls didn't know each other or vaguely know each other because i talk to all of them about my friends and my life goings on. sometimes when you throw a bunch of estrogen into one place at the same time, things get weird. but with these girls, everybody is easy to get along with and didn't have a problem making conversation. know why? because i wouldn't have un-awesome friends. they are all beyond awesome, so there was nothing to worry about.

when the lady asked if there was a header i'd like put on the menu and i said "Celebration of Friends," she didn't understand. "celebration of...friends?" "yeah. we're celebrating friendship." "hmmm...oookkay"

from this point on you'll see basically the same photo of me with a different woman friend strategically inserted next to me on my right side. this is because the left side of my face looks better than the right. i wish i were kidding, but i'm not. 

my friends, whom i happen to also work with. they make my time at work a f*cking blast! i'm sort of upset with myself for not taking individual pictures with them. sorry, Girls! 

Natasha! who is also my roommate. we robot. we laugh. and i think about her in the shower sometimes. i know what you're thinking...get your minds out of the gutter. i mostly wonder whether she can hear me sing while i lather. she's also one of the most thoughtful people i know.

Lindsay! sooo bubbly and white! crafty and beautiful. also, one of the strongest women i know. it's not often you don't see her with a smile on.

Ruby! she thought i was lazy as an x-ray student, but soon learned that she was wrong. and now we're buds...but mostly because she likes my mom. just kidding! also one of the strongest women i know. everybody likes her but they can't help it because she comes in this cute little package. 

Marjie! she's one of the most thoughtful gift givers. and you know what's great about her? when i said a really lame and unprepared speech at her wedding, she didn't hate me for it. she knows i'm awkward with attention. ten years strong, my friend! and forever onward! 

Helen! for my birthday she gave me a gift certificate for "Birthday Dinner at Restaurant of Your Choice." stellar! you know me so well, my foodie friend! and movie hopping friend. and when-it-rains friend!

Maria! she made her boyfriend drive her all the way from Sacramento just to spend two hours at dinner. i'm sorry i couldn't devote more time to a legit conversation. i love you for understanding. oh, and for being effing great as well, of course! you know she calls me when she's drunk to tell me how much she loves me? it's really cute.

Eva! friend first, cousin second. or vice versa. i can't decide. either way, i'm SO thankful to be so close with someone who is friend and family. she probably knows me better than anybody does and i'm excited to be one of her bridesmaids. plus, she's like...way gorgeous, huh?

Jo! sometimes we look similar. probably because we aren't super chinesey looking chinese chicks. one of the easiest people to talk to. try it some time...her life of travel is fascinating.

Ciara! everything about her is so heartfelt and full of life. there is never a dull moment with this one. you always say you take horrible pics, but you're lookin all pretty in this one. "giiirrrlll you and them teeth!"

Kim! one of the strongest women there ever were. i have so much respect for you, you don't even know. she's the whole package and then some. and humble to boot!

Kris! aka Special Friend! one of my most favorite people on this planet. she brings out my goofiness and her family treats me like family. there's no tearing us apart!

Izelle! you know what i like about her? she's fun and carefree, but smart as shit and funny as all hell. i don't see her nearly as often as i'd like. i miss the days when we'd hang out all. the. time. i just can't get enough!

i love you all to pieces! i don't know what i would do without you guys. some of you i see on a near daily basis, some of you on a semi annual basis...but all of you hold a place in my heart! you are all hilarious, honest, and awesome people. cheers to YOU my friends!

in another world (my trip to Asia)

so if you've noticed the halted flood of blog posts it's because i was in Asia. specifically Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau. i could write a long exhausting post about my travels but i'll just sum it up with a sample of pictures (captioned) and hope that you can get a sense of my experience. for reference, i went with my parents and we met up with my aunt and uncle for a majority of the duration of our travels. 

*these photos are from my iphone, a fancy pants dslr, and a really crappy point n' shoot with a fingerprint smudged lens. someone tell me why iphone photos with filters (via. instagram) look better than some photos taken with the dslr. i took over 700 pictures, so here are a few!

this, my friends, is where i spent approximately half of my vacation. we rented out a condo in Kowloon from a family friend and this is the outside of it. not the cleanliest of places, as you can see. the condos/apartments in Kowloon (which is the Hong Kong equivalent of Oakland to SF) are super small and cramped, yet cost a ton of money to live in. we stayed in a 500 sq. ft. condo with five people (which costs $500,000 USD to own!!). that should give you some perspective about my stay there.

this was the "double" that my mom and i shared. i guess Chinese doubles are not the same as doubles in America. i'm 5'2" so what exactly would a 6' 2" look like in a bed like this?

my aunt, uncle, family friends and cousin

more family

you can't go to Hong Kong and not visit with family from there. the guy next to my dad is my grandpa's brother. they are pretty identical.

the next day we visited with my grandma's sister

this is what it's like in Hong Kong/Kowloon all. the. time! it's ridiculously busy everywhere you go. the streets are covered in hurried people. i imagine this is likely because they are escaping their tiny condos.

the Apple store at the IFC Mall. it looked pretty cool floating above the street like that.

at the Avenue of the Stars

this boat was prettier in real life floating around the harbor

at the cultural center. i thought it looked pretty cool.

lunch was fished out from the water behind us. super fresh stuff. 

choose it. eat it. this guy was cooked up with some udon noodles.

funny ongoing question throughout the trip: one day our family friend, Joe, said we were eating "ga-roo-pa." i laughed and thought "bro means 'grouper' but is saying it super fobby." then while we were on the island eating this meal, i saw "garoupa" on the menu and thought "wow, all of Asia says AND writes it in a fobby way." so one day when i finally  found the all mighty magical  wifi, i looked it up and it turns out that the word "grouper" is derived from the word "garoupa." haha! they had it right the whole time! they're just old school with it!

the sunrise on our way to Singapore

the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. three towers joined by the 57th floor, where there is an infinity pool!

the "wall" was made up of shingles (can i call these that?) that moved with the wind. i can't explain how it looked, but it was friggin' cool.

the Singapore Flyer. tallest ferris wheel in the world.

the cabins fit like twenty people comfortably within them

as we were hopping on the Flyer these clouds rolled in and it was bananas! constant lightening and the loudest roaring thunder i've ever heard. this went on for a few hours and then the skies completely cleared up. 

so cloudy that we could barely see anything

the Marina Bay Sands from the Flyer

these are large structures from the Gardens by the Bay. but in the fog they looked like real flowers. i sorta love this picture because i feel like it's image trickery. 

after the storm of our lives past, we got some of Singapore's famous chili crab along with their black pepper crab. i don't typically eat messy things with my hands but this was worth it.

green tea eclair! hells yeah! and yeah, that's legit gold on it. that's why it cost a whopping $7!

the Singapore Flyer, the Art and Science Museum and Marina Bay Sands 

light show!

awesome, no?

when there's an infinity pool 57 floors above street level, it's imperative that you take a dip at least once.

the observation deck of the Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is apparently pretty high up there (if not #1) for import/export, as evidenced by the many ships waiting for their turn at the ports

taken on the plane on my way to Malaysia

rambutan

walking around Melaka

i saw giant monitor lizards in the Melaka River!! i love seeing wild animals. 

people come to take wedding pictures with that bridge in the backround. we saw like ten newlyweds scattered around this area

durian. "smells like garbage, tastes like heaven" MY ASS! smells like garbage, tastes like a foot.

the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. it was really hard to get a good, unobstructed picture of these towers.

the King's Palace

up high on the mountain side!

towers at dusk. they light up at night. quite a sight to see in the dark!

temple within a cave

i climbed a ton of steep stairs in hot humid conditions to get to a viewpoint. dripping (literally) with sweat, i was unimpressed with what i saw at the stairs peak, hence no picture of a view to follow.

these monkeys just hang out at the temple waiting for people to give them food

this is Marcel. i've named in honor of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. monkey

drinking out of bags like the locals. the coffee in Malaysia is hella good, btw. it's white coffee, roasted with palm oil instead of sugar.

perty

there are bikes attached to the back of these. the guys riding the bikes around town with two passengers kicking back in the front were soaked with sweat by the time we were done.

the only landmark in Macau

House of Dancing Water. this is like Cirque de Soleil's "O," Disney's World of Color and more, on crack! the story line itself wasn't amazing or anything, but the stage was awesome. people would dive from high up into the water and seconds later the stage became solid. there was a lot of precision in this show. i was pretty mesmerized. 

the Hong Kong skyline at night! SO pretty!

the light show between the Hong Kong side and the Kowloon side. nightly at 8pm. very cool!

the greatest part of this trip was experiencing the way my parents grew up and seeing the things that they saw. fortunately for me, i'm a spoiled American who can just visit that lifestyle and can escape at any moment back to my cozy cal. king bed and spacious home. it was a really humbling experience and i'm happy to have seen it. also, it was nice to spend some quality time with my parents!

where to next? hmmm...hopefully Australia!