THE COMFORT ZONE

Date: 8/30/09

Location: Choong Hyun Mission Church (Glendale, CA)

Event: Ray Comfort speaking engagement

Today was a very special day for us. Despite the smokey air due to the mountain fires some miles away,  it was a truly blessed time because Ray Comfort came to speak at my church. Yes, THE Ray Comfort from The Way of the Master TV show on TBN. I coordinated this event from 2 months back. This day has finally come, and I was super excited today!

I arrived to church at 9 am sharp. The first service started at 9:30 am, so I had 30 minutes to do some preparation, one of which included setting up my camera for recording the sermon.

The room was empty in the beginning. But it got filled up as time as the service started.

The praise team usually does rehearsal before the service.

That's EISENHOWER LEE. He was my cameraman for the event. Nice.

By 9:45, RAY COMFORT arrives! Yay! Here is PASTOR KYUNG setting up the mic for Ray.

Behind Ray is the book stand, with sermon CDS, books, and million dollar tracks. Oh, and you see that big book? That's Ray's Bible! Ha ha.

To the right is Ray's assistant for the day, GREG, who stayed behind the table the whole time. He monitored the sale of the goods.

Our head EM PASTOR HENRY LEE did the announcements and prayers before Ray came up to speak.

Ray goes up onto the podium!

Ray spoke at both the 9:30 am and 11:30 am services! His messages were very impressive! The main subjects he talked about were the issue of salvation as well as the importance of evangelism. Yep, so he did talk about God's Law, Hell, Judgment Day, true vs. false gospel, and all that good stuff! Wow, groundbreaking stuff for Korean churches to hear! We were all very impressed.

Ray with one of my friends, CHRIS KIM, after service.

Ray with me.

DANIEL KIM, his high school students from Young Nak church, Ray, and me again! Great times! Thank you very much, Ray. God bless your ministry.

For everyone reading, please pray that our evangelistic zeal goes up tremendously for all the attenders of our church. I guess I can say the same to all the Christians in LA as well.

LIVE FROM NOR CAL...

On Friday, I made a trip to San Francisco with some friends. It's the first time I've been to the Bay Area since I was in grade school. I guess you can figure that it's been a long time. We came up here solely for one purpose: to eat at French Laundry restaurant. Yes, THE French Laundry owned by reknowned chef Thomas Keller. Our meal was on Sunday, but we decided to head up North two days before for site seeing. What a fun time it was. The Bay Area looked so different than the way I recollected it as a child.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL TO BERKELEY

We left from Young Nak church at about 10:30 am on Friday morning.

DANIEL KIM drove.

Left to right: ROBERT CORDERO, me, PASTOR JOSEPH RAH, and Daniel. Great group!

Around 2 pm, we stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch. It was out in the middle of the desert. It was pretty hot out here.

It looked somewhat like a hotel resort.

The hallway.

Entering the dining room.

This restaurant is known for their steaks. I ended up getting a medium cooked T-Bone steak.

Me and Robert scoping out the menu.

Daniel: "Necessito carne grande! 30 ounces!"

Group picture at the end of the meal. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo of my steak. Oh well.

Our drive continued. Momentarily after taking off from Harris Ranch, we passed by a cow ranch that stretched on for at least half a mile! That's gotta be almost 10,000 cows!

We are about to enter into the Bay Area.

We arrived at Westin Hotel in Emeryville, CA, right next to Berkeley. We got here around 6 pm.

Unpacking.

It was a private lot where you need an electronic card key access to enter and exit.

The hotel lobby and receptionist. We checked in momentarily.

We got two rooms. Two shared one unit. Daniel and I got room 902, while Robert and Joe got room 802 one floor underneath. Good thing we were next to a staircase.

Daniel unpacks. We both had to share the bed. It was the first time I've shared a bed with someone in a long time. Seriously, I never thought I'd sleep next to someone until my future wife comes along.

The view outside. Nice! You can see UC Berkeley in the distance.

We drove to eat dinner in Berkeley.

It was close to 8 pm. This was my first time in Berkeley. Ever.

We met up with some of Daniel's local friends for dinner at this restaurant called Zachary's Pizza.

It was a very busy restaurant as you can see. Friday night!

One of two pizzas that we ordered on this night. It was fairly good. Very stuffing.

Group picture. That's Anna and Andrew to the very left, along with John at the center.

After dinner, the boys decided to smoke cigars (all except me). I don't know who thought of this crazy idea (considering we were all church people), but they all had fun. Especially Roberto.

Yes, these two smoked as well. They were just hiding their cigars. Anyways, the night ended around 12:30 pm. The end of our first, long day.

DAY 2: SAN FRANCISCO

We got up and left around 9:30 am. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep well the night before. It's always like that when I'm sleeping on a new bed. The drive from Emeryville to San Francisco took about 20 minutes.

Over the first bridge. And no, this isn't the Golden Gate bridge. That came later.

Into SF we entered, into the Embarcadero.

By the city, close to the Financial District.

We strolled towards one of the Pier buildings, where we planned to eat lunch at a very particular restaurant.

The inside. It's a shopping center that kind of looks like a train station.

This was the restaurant we ate at: Tsar Nicoulai. It's a shopping center booth restaurant known for its cavier. It's by far the priciest booth restaurant I've been to in my life.

Daniel peruses the menu.

My menu was next to a cardholder with my name on it! We came here under reservations, as you can probably already tell. The service was royal. It very much resembled the quality of service at a 5 star restaurant. I was impressed.

This is another one of their menus. A cavier menu. Some of them costed over $300!

Some champagne to start. It was pretty good stuff!

One of our orders. It was black pearl cavier with a wrapper bread underneath. Yes, it was very good. Rich, smooth, and not too salty.

My order. I forgot what it was called, but it was basically a toasted bread with sliced tuna on top, along with poached egg and salad.

A sampler dish, consisting of fish, cavier, and goat cheese.

A sample of red colored cavier. This was pretty good as well.

Since it was Daniel's birthday, the host above sang a happy birthday song in Italian for us! Wow, his voice was impressive. He sounded exactly like an opera singer. Everyone in the shopping center heard this performance, and gave a standing ovation afterwards. What a memorable moment.

Group picture outside the restaurant.

Afterwards, we went to the dock, where a farmer's market was going on.

They had some pretty good peaches there.

Afterwards, we went across the street to another outdoor sales area.

Pastor Joe ended up buying the cross necklace at the center bottom of the table. It was a $15 bargain for him. I believe the original price was $20.

In front of the Financial District.

The dock building on the opposite side. This is where we came from.

Back to our car.

We made a short trip to the Fisherman's Dwarf.

An interesting part of town. Luckily, we were able to find street parking, which costed about $6. The lots would have been $20! Yikes.

We were are.

We walked down the parking lot towards the pier.

Along the way we stopped to watch a break dancing show. Impressive.

We snapped a pose with one of the performers. They call this guy Little Wanton. lol.

The view from the second floor.

Roberto and Pastor Joe getting some clam chowder.

The weather was very nice. It was much cooler than in LA.

I guess Daniel pretty much agreed.

Shortly after, we left Fisherman's Dwarf and headed towards the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Bridge in all its glory!

Yeah!

A scenic view from a stop.

Our group pose by the bridge.

Afterwards, we drove up a hill and cruised down this one lane, single direction road. It's pretty famous. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of it.

But here we are on the other side.

We preceded onwards with the day. Only so little time remaining until dinner.

We stopped at Union Square, the shopping district of San Francisco. I guess you can call it the Beverly Hills of the area, or maybe the Ginza District of San Francisco.

We went into this tall Macy's building. A Cheesecake Factory restaurant was situated at the very top of the complex.

The marvelous view from the top.

A picture by the Cheesecake Factory balcony ledge.

Real, or illusion?

A fascinating pose by a very narrow pathway next to the window.

Afterwards, we took a walk deeper into the Union Square district. It started to look more like Europe now. In Pastor Joe's eyes, it looked much like Toronto.

Two sides of the same street.

After that, we went to attend a Saturday night church services, since we couldn't go the next day due to time scheduling conflicts.

The church was called CornerStone, in the Mission district. It's a pretty poor neighborhood.

The service started off with praise. We didn't recognize any of the songs, but they were great nonetheless.

For dinner, we went to this Cuban tapas bar called Cha Cha Cha.

It was very busy on this night, but we were able to get seated in about 10 minutes.

Fried plantains. The best plantains I've ever had!

Sauteed mushrooms. Pretty good as well.

Fried calamari. Another tasty dish.

Some kind of chicken dish. It was pretty good as well.

Black mussels in garlic broth. This was okay. The mussels were good, but the broth was a bit bland.

Buffalo wings. Awesome stuff.

Daniel and I with our sangres.

Roberto and a nearly drunk Pastor with his drink as well. Ha ha. And that concludes my night. I went back to the hotel to sleep while the other three stayed out with friends. It was a wise decision, because the were out until 4 am!

DAY 3: NAPA VALLEY

Day 3 was our big day! French Laundry at Yountville in Napa Valley! We left around 11:15 am. The drive was about 1 hour. It was enought time to meet our 12:15 pm reservation. And yes, the reservation is quite difficult to get at this restaurant.

Passing by them vineyards. Too bad we didn't get a chance to wine taste.

We arrived to Washington Street around 12:15 pm.

Here it is! The French Laundry!

Our walk towards the entrance inside the garden. Yes, we all dressed up in suits. Their is a dress code policy here.

The garden with seats all around.

The entrance into the restaurant. It's a two story facility.

Our walk in through the entrance.

A very nice waiting area in the front. Wow.

The first floor dining room. Quite small. There are only 9 or 10 tables in this section of the restaurant.

The upstairs dining room.

Back to our table. Nice elegant table indeed.

The house menu. It's basically only two course selections: one is vegetarian, and the other is mixed with meat. Of course, you can probably figure what we all got. Nobody at our table were vegetarians. Each course menu price was $240, including gratuity. Yikes, that's a lot. It was only a tad bit cheaper than Urasawa.

We started with Gruyere Cheese Gougeres- puff pastry stuffed with cheese, along with Salmon Cone Cornet-inside had creme fraiche, topped with a silky dollop of salmon in a sesame cone. The Salmon Cone was the bomb.

Roberto and Daniel really enjoying their meal.

As did I!

Course #1: HANASAKI CRAB (granny Smith apples, CA white sturgeon caviar and tarragon Creme Fraiche). The cavier was awesome.

Dinner roll. Even this was pretty bomb here!

Course #2: SALAD OF FRENCH LAUNDRY GARDEN VEGETABLES, with lemon condiment and blossoms. Wow, all this was grown in their "backyard" right across the street! How organic. Yes, it was pretty tasty.

Course #2B: MOULARD DUCK FOIE GRAS EN TERRINE (ginger honey glaze, Jacobsen's Farm Pears, Belgian endive relish, nasturtium and gingerbread "genoise"). This was Pastor Joe's additional order. It was unlike any foie gras I've ever had. It tasted kind of like creme. It was interesting. I liked it, although I kind of like the traditionally prepared foie gras a bit more.

These three salt selections came with the foie gras. Wow!

Bread refill!

Course #3: SAUTEED FILLET OF BLUEFIN TUNA (toybox tomatoes, eggplant, baby squash, nicoise olives, saffron and arugula). This was very good! The fish was tender and flavorful. The vegetables were a good complement as well.

Course #3B: FLORIDA EVERGLADES FROG LEGS (garlic, globe artichokes, tomato compote, parsley and Iberico Ham vinaigrette). I haven't had frog legs since I was in elementary school. All I remembered was that it tasted a bit like chicken. This was a pretty good dish, although I personally liked my tuna better.

Course #4: SWEET BUTTER-POACHED MAIN LOBSTER TAIL (candy stripe figs, vanilla soubise, pearl onions and scallion "emincee"). My absolute favorite dish of the night! The lobster was sooo good! Along with the onions and emincee. Mmmmm!

Yes, I'm one happy camper!

Course #5: FOUR STORY HILL FARM "CUISSE DE POULARDE." Sweet mustard mousse, "puree de pmme," swiss chard and bliss maple syrup. This was some kind of chicken. It was very good. It think the others around liked this alot.

Course #6: MARCHO FARMS NATURE-FED VEAL (cauliflower "a la polonaise," ris de veau, Chanterelle mushrooms and spinach). This was pretty awesome. I think this is my second favorite of the night. The veal was very tender, and the side vegetables were good.

Course #6B: KUROGE BEEF "SAUCISSON EN CROUTE." (Yellow peaches, celery branch and summer truffle "ravigote"). This tasted like a croissant beef dish. It was good, but I liked the veal better. This was pretty much the last entree dish before the start of the dessert menu.

Course #7: MONTGOMERY'S CHEDDAR (corn bread "financier," huckleberries, pecans and frisee). This was basically cheese with cake and nuts. The cheese was a bit too salty for me, so unfortunately I couldn't finish it. But I ate everything else.

Course #8: AMBROSIA MELON SORBET (compressed watermelon and basil "nuage"). This was basically melon sorbet with basil foam. It was very good! The basil foam was quite unprecedented.

Course #9: GATEAU SAINT NIZIER AU CARAIBE (mango-chili relish, mast brothers chocolate cocoa nibs, lime foam and coconut milk sorbet). This was another very good dessert! The chocolate cake was soooooo good! As was the sorbet. I want more now.

Course #9B: LEMON VERBENA "VACHERIN" (tellicherry pepper cream, lemon verbena sherbet and chilled silverado trail strawberry consomme). This was another great dessert! It's lemon sorbet with a strawberry-like syrup.

House expresso.

Assorted cookies. Not as impressive as the previous entrees, but still noteworthy. It's mostly because of the metal can with four compartments!

MIGNARDISES, composed of six kinds of fine chocolates! Wow, I was pretty stuffed by now. They were all good. And I even kept the French Laundry clipper shown above.

The bill came in a laundry ticket.

Final damage. Yikes. There's somebody's rent money right there!

The last to-go gift from the restaurant: cookies.

Group picture. The two at the center right are JASMINE & SOBY MATTHEWS, who joined us only on this lunch.

Afterwards, we crossed the street and toured the French Laundry "garden" where they grew all their produce.

There's the restaurant across the street.

Me amongst the fresh produce.

Along with the tomatoes.

Stealing some of the tomatoes.

Got some of the potatoes here.

Group picture in the garden.

Solo picture by the front sign.

Luckily we got to tour the kitchen, thanks to a run in with one of the chefs who offered to take us in.

Wow, in the kitchen of a 5 star restaurant!

The fresh tomatoes!

The group talks it up with the head chef, Devin. Too bad Thomas Keller wasn't here on this day.

Each chef had his own individual task in the restaurant. Amazing.

Final group, and vacation, photo with the chef. And yes, I changed my attire (in the restroom). It was for our drive down. Great times!

P.S. If I had to rate the taste of the food at French Laundry, it's an "A." Not "A+" but A.

THE FILM CRITIC'S TAKE...

PONYO

Genre: Animation/Comedy

Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle)

Cast: Frankie Jonas (Sosuke), Cate Blanchett (Gran Mamare), Liam Nesson (Fujimoto), Matt Damon (Koichi), Tina Fey (Lisa)

I saw this movie on opening day Friday. It was either this or District 9. Considering I’m a big Miyazaki fan, I couldn’t help but lean towards watching this instead, even if it was an animated film. This is Hayao Miyazaki’s 10^th feature film. Is it as good as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke? Well, I can safely say that it wasn’t the same kind of epic, dark, and action filled storyline as those previous works. It’s an intimate friendship tale more in the likes of My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. It’s a worthy addition.

STORY: The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father's magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo's father sends the ocean's mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo's dreams of becoming human.

PROS:

* The storyline is simple, but well played out. It’s cute and has a lot of heart. The themes of friendship and the beauty of childhood innocence are the crowd pleasing elements that add much of the strength to the film.

* As always, this Miyazaki entry is highly imaginative. Although it may not be as dark and disturbing as some of the images in Miyazaki’s previous three films, it’s still colorful and creative. It features much of the same animated ideas that have made Miyazaki films very intriguing to watch.

* The film focuses much on character development, which is why it’s so easy to identify with the character’s situations, as well as feeling the emotions of the scene. Kiki’s Delivery Service had this same sense of character exposition.

CONS:

* As previously mentioned, Ponyo is not as epic or as conflict filled as some of the Miyazaki’s larger films like Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky. For those coming in with the expectation of such a deep and original plot will be slightly disappointed.

* Compared with Miyazaki’s previous three films, Ponyo is slightly pedestrian in its nature. It’s not to say that it’s artistry and filmmaking is unsophisticated, but that the overall subject matter and dialogue make Ponyo a film more enjoyable for children that for adults.

* The water color pastille images are not as advanced or as visually pleasing as the work displayed in Miyazaki’s past efforts. It’s not such a big detriment to the film, but I would rather prefer the more up to date technology for more of an eye popping experience.

In conclusion: I give this film a good recommendation. It’s a great work by Miyazaki. Although not one of his bests, it’s not one of his worst either. It’s a fun, enjoyable, involving, and hearty film that anybody can enjoy. It’ll definitely be one of the choices for Best Animated Feature next year at the Oscars. Will it actually win though? I guess not if UP is in the competition as well.

Film grade: B+

25TH B-DAY DINNER, PART II

Presented in assocation with...

THE CONNOISSEUR'S CORNER...

NEWPORT SEAFOOD

Cuisine: Chinese (Traditional)

518 West Las Tunas Drive (Santa Anita St. cross street)

San Gabriel, CA  91776

Phone: 626-289-5998

Website: www.newportseafood.com

************************ A STEVE STAR CHOICE *************************

For the second part of my birthday, I decided to drive all the way to San Gabriel to eat some good old fashion Chinese food. I went on Saturday, August 15th (which is my actual birthdate!). As with the past four years, I held a birthday dinner with friends. If I remember correctly, the first year I went to Ahi Sushi (2005), then to CBS Chinese seafood (2006), then back to Ahi Sushi (2007), then to Ronin Izakaya (2008). This year it's Newport Tan Cang, a highly acclaimed restaurant which turned out to be quite amazing! Yes, it was probably the best Chinese seafood I've had by far in my life. Maybe I need to try more places, but the food here was fantastic. Yes it was a bit pricey, but the experience was priceless.

STREET VIEW...

Las Tunas Drive facing East. I arrived here at about 6:15 pm.

INTERIOR

Quite a big restaurant. Nice, but noisy and jampacked with customers.

Look at all them live seafood in the tanks!

Including the spider crabs.

As well as the prawns, sea cucumbers, dungeon crabs, rock cod fish, and lobsters!

More views of the restaurant.

Our table, which was all the way at the back of the restaurant next to the kitchen entrance.

The live lobster is their specialty. It's their most popular dish on the menu. Almost everyone ordered it. Thus, I had to order it as well. It looks so scrumptuous.

FOOD

Start off with RICE.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN. I know it's questionable to order this in an authentic Chinese restaurant, but I heard some good things about it. So I tried it. And it was good. It was much better than what most other Americanized Chinese restaurants cook up back in LA.

I guess I can introduce the guests. First off, PAUL KWON and SKOT CARRUTH.

CHRIS KIM and me. Now back to the food!

Their seasonal SAUTEED SPINACH, which was fantastic! Wow, I've never had Chinese spinach this good.

And now presenting the 5 pound NEWPORT SPECIAL LOBSTER! Straight out of the tank. This was soooooooo good!

Excited to be eating it.

The last dish: STEAMED ROCK COD FISH, also from the tank. Delicious! The meat was very tender, and the soy sauce added great flavor to it. And that concludes the meal.

Group picture. Big thanks to my boys who drove all the way to San Gabriel to feast with me. You've made my 25th birthday a memorable one.

ANALYSIS:

* PRICE: $30-$50 a person

* DECOR: Nice. It's clean, spacious, somewhat contemporary while also maintaining a traditional feel as well.

* SERVICE: Lots of waiter working around. They attend to you constantly. Okay attitude, but the staff number is quite impressive.

* PARKING: The restaurant has a parking lot. If it gets full, then the only other option is street parking.

* RESERVATIONS: The restaurant doesn't take them unfortunately.

* PROS: The wide menu selection, the lobster, the fish, the seafood in general, good for groups, authentic, and takes credit cards (which can be a problem in some Chinese restaurants, if you know what I mean).

* CONS: No reservation policy, which leads to long waits during the wrong hours. The food is also pricey. But other than that, no real cons.

In conclusion: I highly recommend this restaurant. Like I mentioned, it is by far the best Chinese seafood restaurant I've been to. The food here is fantastic, even the non seafood dishes. It's a great place for family and friends to eat lots of food. I'll definitely come back here again in the future.

Food grade: A

THE MASTER'S HOOD

Date: 8/19/09

Location: The Master's Seminary (Sunland, CA)

Event: Fall 2009 Semester Orientation

For those who haven't heard, I'm attending Master's Seminary (a Christian university) in a week to earn my Masters of Divinity. Yes, I am becoming a pastor. I never thought I'd see this day, but it's happening. God has definitely brought me a long way in my life. After opening my eyes to his glory a year and a half ago, I fervently started to serve his kingdom primarily through evangelism and various other church activities. Now it seems that I have moved onto a higher calling to shepherd God's people through teaching of the inerrant word of the Bible. Going from evangelism to preaching is indeed a major step. Hopefully, I can combine the two philosophies in my future minstries.

For those who don't know, Master's Seminary and Grace Community Church are headed by pastor John MacArthur, renowned pastor and author. Yes, the same MacArthur on 99.5 FM Grace to You radio show. And yes, the same MacArthur who went out on Larry King CNN Live and proclaimed Islam to be a false religion. Ha ha.

The information booth near Roscoe Boulevard.

Pictured above is the original Grace chapel built in 1957. They've had some renovations since then, but it's amazing to see what Grace Community Church once was to what it is today. Through the power of John MacArthur, the church grew to astronomical size. They now worship in another hall, which seats over 1000 people. Plus, they have a university, a library, and a book store on campus. Amazing how God worked through Dr. MacArthur. Imagine me ever accomplishing something like that.

The garden next to the old chapel.

Pictured above is the newly built worship hall. It's quite amazing inside.

Next to the main sanctuary is the building where all the classes are for Master's Seminary. It's three stories high. This is where I'll be for the next three years.

The bookstore. It's an amazing Christian bookstore that sells almost all the best modern Christian books as well as Puritan times book. A.W. Tozer, John Piper, Jerry Bridges, John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, R.C. Sproul, you name it. All here. Just no Joel Osteen. Ha ha

The Master's Seminary administrative office. The library is also in this building.

Cheers to my next three years!

DOCKWEILER BONFIRE

Date: 8/6/09

Location: Dockweiler Beach, CA

Event: San Fernando Valley Holiness Outing

On Thursday afternoon, the SFVH Church group and I went down to Dockweiler Beach (next to the LAX airport) for a casual, fun bonfire outing. This was the first time I've been to one of these, but it was an interesting experience. SFVHC is not my home church, but one of the churches that I visited in the past. Thankfully, I'm on their mailing list. 

7:00 pm arrival...

Finding the parking space along the coast.

And we found it! Yay.

The view from behind. Long stretch of road going North.

Nice coastline, huh?

Marching along the sand. The fire pit was pretty far from where we parked. And it was windy.

We finally get to the group. All my Japanese homies, right here!

ERIN YOKOMIZO helped with throwing the food into the pit. Along with all the nails attached.

The fire goes!

By the sunset. Almost like my Hawaii pictures.

With siblings KENNY TRAX and SARAH TRAX.

By the water.

The fire is pretty full blown by now. Time to cook!

The hotdogs on steel.

The fire was so intense that I literally had to use an extension to cook the meat. Yes, it was that hot.

The only one I remember from this group is AMY DATE just below me.

With some more of the women. Ha ha.

With AKI EMC.

Final picture. The night ended around 10 pm.

KOREAN BBQ MANIA

Date: 8/8/09

Location: The Summit Upper Lot (Los Angeles, CA)

Event: 2009 Korean BBQ Cookoff

On Saturday morning, I went to the first ever Korean BBQ Cookoff in Koreatown. It's kind of like those Japanese food festivals I went to in the past, but with Korean food instead. Wow, I was wondering when K-Town was ever going to have one of these. It turned out to be a popular hit, which was its advantage and disadvantage, which I'll explain later. I got to the Summit around 11:00 am to meet with Eisenhower one hour before the start of the event. The Summit is located on 6th Street and New Hampshire Avenue. As you can see from the picture above, the BBQ stations are situated on the second floor of the condo parking structure.

I paid $5 for parking (sucks), then I walked up to the event area. But first, I needed to walk to the Summit building with Eisenhower.

The entrance.

We were taken up to the very top floor because Eisenhower had his camera positioned in one of the rooms to shoot the event from a high view. It's part of the video that he's planning to make. I guess one of the scenes will incorporate the time zip effect from 12-8 pm in 20 seconds. Nice.

This is the room. I feel like a sniper. Ha ha.

The unit is empty. The Summit is a newly built complex, so figure.

EISENHOWER LEE to the left, and the front desk receptionist to the right who escorted us up.

The marvelous view.

Doing some adjustments.

Ha ha. Nice picture.

Back down we go. Above is the welcoming table, as well as the volunteers for the event.

Still pretty empty. But it eventually got packed within the next hour.

Eisenhower starts shooting with a second camera, which is my camera. Sony DCR VX 2100, which I had since five years back. I guess this was one of the reasons why I came to the event (to follow Eisenhower around with the camera).

The center stage was for the event's eating contest and final judging of all the Korean BBQ restaurant food.

The beer pen, an exclusive area (ages 21 and over) set for people drinking the Korean beer. I never got a chance to try the beer. But I didn't really care.

We walked by the stations as Eisenhower looked for stuff to shoot.

They had the Yelp booth.

And of course, the food stations. Many of the top Korean restaurants were represented on this day, such as Park's, Ham Ji Park, Beverly Tofu House, and Soowon. I've been to all of them. Ha ha.

The best one of them all!

Over a thousand people showed up to within the next few hours. Maybe even two thousand. The lines were crazy long. An hour and a half wait for every single booth! I was disappointed because I couldn't try any of the food because of the wait. That's the disadvantage. The only advantage is to the restaurants, because they're making the crazy dough! $10-$15 a plate for food.

This was the action going on behind the stations. Beef were grilling like crazy to catch up with the pace of the business, which never stopped!

The cooked beef of all kinds. One of the noticeable ones were the chunky beef ribs pictured above, marinated by a half Korean-half white guy from Hawaii. I guess in some ways it had a Hawaiian fushion taste to it. But people were going crazy over it. Too bad I never got to try any of it.

DJ in the house.

Even a Sprinkles cupcake truck came in. These people want in on the action as well!

Eisenhower shoots some final scenes before wrap up.

Final picture of the day. We left around 7 pm to have dinner somewhere else. It was a memorable day, but I got sunburned. But at least I got to evangelize. And see Sandra Oh right behind me. Ha ha.

 25TH B-DAY CELEBRATION

Presented in assocation with...

THE CONNOISSEUR'S CORNER...

SO HYANG

Cuisine: BBQ/Korean (Traditional)

3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 123 (Alexandria Ave. cross st.)

Los Angeles, CA  90010

Phone: 213-385-5600

Website: www.sohyangbbq.com

************************* A STEVE STAR CHOICE *************************

I had my birthday celebration with my family a week before my actual birthday, because I was planning on having my actual birthday dinner with friends. I decided to eat at this new Korean BBQ restaurant that I heard rave reviews about. It just opened last year, but people are already saying it's as good as ChoSun, Park's BBQ and the other high end Korean BBQ restaurants. I didn't believe it until I actually tried it. I was pretty blown away.

STREET VIEWS...

This is Alexandra Ave. pictured above. My dinner was at 4:30 pm, but I arrived thirty minutes earlier and looked around at the new shopping complex attached to the restaurant.

Up the stairs we go that leads to the restaurant entrance.

The restaurant from the side angle, deeper down into the shopping complex. It's very spacious and clean.

THE INTERIOR

The front cashiers desk.

I kid you not when I say this, but this is by far the most upscale, most beautifully designed Korean restaurant I've been to by far. It's so spacious and pretty elegant. Yes, even more so than ChoSun. Seriously, this is one of the most ideal Korean BBQ places you could hope for. I guess now we'll have to see about the food.

The table.

The menu. Yes, everything is pricey here. Exactly like Park's and ChoSun.

THE FOOD

The dipping sauces, composed of chilli and sweet soy sauce for the meats. The dipping sauce all the way to the right is for another dish which I will feature momentarily.

The garlic and jalapenos.

The BANCHAN. I think the banchan at Park's BBQ is still a little better, but this one is pretty good as well.

ROS PYEON CHAE, which is thinly sliced beef carpaccio served with assorted vegetables. Wow, I've never had this in a Korean restaurant before. I assume it's a little fushionesque. It was really good.

The beef is wrapped over the vegetables, then dipped into the dipping sauce (the third one I mentioned earlier) before eating. Yes, it was really good. It's one of the house specialties.

DONG RAE HAE MOOL PA JEON, which is seafood and scallion pancake. This came in a whole sizzling plate, but was sliced up by the waiter and given to us peacemeal, which is why only one sliced is featured above. This restaurant made this dish very well. Nice crispy texture, as well as soft and flavorful inside. Mmmm.

CHADOL GUI, thinly sliced beef brisk.

Away it grills, with its asparagus, onions, and pumpkin as well.

Completion. This was great as always. I can't imagine such a high end restaurant messing up on this dish, especially since it tastes so good in many all you can eat places.

PHIL, MOM, and GRANDMA. My brother and grandpa were sitting on my side.

And the birthday boy.

YANG NYEOM KALBI, which is marinated short ribs.

Large slabs on the grill.

This was sooooooo good! You definitely have to get this if you come here. This dipped into the soy sauce, eaten with their white rice (which this place makes so fantastically as well!!!!), it's heaven in your mouth.

STEAMED EGG, the Korean name that I can't remember the name of. This restaurant actually puts smelt eggs on top. How fancy.

DEON JANG CHIGAE, which came with the meal. Awesome stuff.

Crispy rice in hot water. Kind of like the ones served at BCD Tofu house at the end of the meal when they scrap the remaining rice off the stone pots with the hot water in them.

Dessert fruits, consisting of melon and watermelon. Nothing fancy, but sufficient.

SHIKE, which was very good. And that concludes the awesome meal.

Family picture outside the restaurant entrance.

ANALYSIS:

* PRICE: $30-$50 a person

* DECOR: Fantastic. One of the best things about this restaurant. It's elegant, clean, spacious, and upscale. If there were ever a time when you could take a date out to a Korean BBQ restaurant, this place would be it.

* SERVICE: Pretty good. The waitresses actually cooks the meat at your table most of the time.

* PARKING: $2 valet parking in the lot below, or street parking.

* RESERVATIONS: Recommended, especially on weekends or with big parties.

* PROS: Ambience, good for groups, good for parties, outdoor seating, premium quality meat, wide menu selections, the kalbi, and the white rice.

* CONS: No charcoals underneath grill. But other than that, this place has no real cons unless you think that all BBQs should cost $16.99 and under.

In conclusion: I highly recommend this restaurant. This is one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in LA, and I'm only judging it based on food taste and quality. It's very much up there with Park's BBQ, ChoSun, Soot Bull Jeep, and Honey Pig, but with the greatest ambience and location out of them all. If you don't mind paying the money, you will eat very well here. They have just about everything on the menu, even if you don't eat Korean BBQ. I definitely will come back here soon. I finally found a new Star restaurant.

Food grade: A

AFTER DINNER VENTURE TO...

We went right across the street to Paris Baguette because mom forgot to buy a birthday cake for me! How sad, but she made it up to me at the last moment.

The inside. For those of you who've never been here, Paris Baguette is a popular Korean bakery chain known for its good pastries, cakes, and even ambience.

The chocolate cake that I chose, which was fantastic! We all loved it.

Birthday wish...

Then blew out the candles!

And finally, cutting the cake for everyone. I turn 25 years old this year! Oh no, I'm almost 30! Anyways, good times.

THE FILM CRITIC'S TAKE...

HARRY POTTER AND THE
HALF BLOOD PRINCE

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Director: David Yates (The Order of the Phoenix)

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grant (Ron Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)

I saw this film on Wednesday morning. There was a decent sized line (as can be expected), but luckily the theatre I went to is known for its small business. So I didn’t have to worry about an overcrowded room. Anyways, I decided to watch this movie after hearing some decent reviews on it. I’ve pretty much seen all the past prequels, so might as well continue on in the series. As it turned out, I very much enjoyed this particular installment. It was very different than the past Harry Potter films. I don't mean it as necessary the best yet, but I've come to appreciate the mature themes and plot direction that this film put out.

STORY: Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

PROS:

* The cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel (A Very Long Engagement, Amelie) is by far the best photography work done on a Harry Potter film. It captures much of the vibrant darkness of the recent Potter movies, but adds a richer layer of beauty to The Half-Blood Prince by its epic scale, lighting, color palette, and more artistically cinematic look. The work looks pretty much like it came from an auteur director.

* Thankfully, the story doesn’t start at the Potter resident with the parents and all. I was getting tired of that pattern. Instead it starts in a much more exciting fashion: in the urban city of London.

* The installment is by far the most sophisticated, emotionally resonant film out of all. It focuses less on action and campy exposition, and more on character development and overall mood. It’s pretty serious, but still a fun film overall. It’s just very mature. It's definitely not the cookie cutter family film that the series originally started out as in the first two installments.

* The movie had a pretty big bang of a climax. The elements of conspiracy, betrayal, and tragedy reminded me very much of the climax of Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith. Yes, it was pretty sad and hefty stuff.

CONS:

* Although the film is an improvement over the last installment, The Order of the Phoenix, the script does not push this Harry Potter installment beyond what we can usually expect from the movies in terms of quality. The Half Blood Prince is a solid story that builds up to the last two installments of the franchise, but nothing much more. Yes, it's darker and more serious, but also suffers from some storytelling flaws as well. It's a bit slower, less humorous, more talky, and the romance subplots may also have been a bit cheesy.

In conclusion: I give this film a good recommendation. It's probably the best Harry Potter movie since The Prisoner of Azkaban. In some ways, I guess I’m saying that it’s the second best Harry Potter film in the whole canon. It may not be as funny or campy as the previous installments, but I believe that older audiences will get a good time out this installment. It seems like Harry Potter is getting closer to the sophistication of The Lord of the Rings films, in terms of its plot structure and more mature themes. The Lord of the Rings films are still better than any single Harry Potter film. But who knows? Maybe by the time we see the last two, we’ll watch something somewhat comparable in quality.

Film grade: B