Bangkok Joe's

Rumors had it that this weekend was the last time there would be beautiful warm weather in the district. Consequently, I made sure to spend a large portion of my weekend outdoors. On saturday, a few of us decided to spend our afternoon at the Washington Harbor. We strolled down the boardwalk overlooking the Potomac River and basked in the sun. 

Saturday Afternoon at the Waterfront

For lunch we decided to eat at Bangkok Joe's, a Thai fusion restaurant located at 3000 K Street NW, DC 20007.

The restaurant had indoor and outdoor seating - we started off outdoors, but ended up getting too hot so we moved inside. The decor inside was interesting! There were dark brown wooden tables, white chairs, and accents of the color red highlighted throughout the restaurant. Scattered along the sides of the booths were these twisty silver and gold metal embellishments that reminded me of Oompa-Loompas!

Interior Design of Bangkok Joe's

Oompa-Loompa!

There was a very extensive menu which caused me to take ages to pick what I was going to eat! I love having tons of options to pick from but at the same time it stresses me out because I am indecisive and each dish looks better than the one I read about previously. It took me a while to even start the decision-making process as I couldn't decide whether I was craving rice, noodles or dumplings! I ended up getting a noodle bowl - stir-fried lomein noodles in a teriyaki sauce with grilled salmon and vegetables. Ended up being extremely satisfying.  

Grilled Salmon Noodle Bowl ($13.95)

 My friends ended up eating:

Drunken Noodles with Chicken ($9.95)

Basil Chicken Rice Bowl ($9.95)

I obviously had to try everyone's dishes and they were all amazing. Each dish was extremely flavorful incorporating the five fundamental tastes of Thai food: salty, sour, spicy, sweet and bitter.

As a Thai food lover, I am always on the look-out for new good restaurants. I highly recommend Bangkok Joe's as the food is great, portions are large, value is good and location is fantastic! 

Lamblicious

New Zealand will always be one of my favorite place to travel to. My family has a small holiday home in Queenstown that is nestled away in the countryside. The five of us used to travel there either during our summer or winter holidays and would have the time of our lives. It was our home away from home with everlasting memories and moments that makes my stomach swirl whenever I reminisce about them. It is the place that bonded my family together whether we were learning how to ski, playing golf, wining and cheesing, bundling up altogether in a tiny space, jumping on a trampoline or even playing a game of tennis.
On average, New Zealand has about 40 million sheep. That means there are 13 times more sheep than people!

Consequently, I fell in love with sheep...literally SHEEPSESSED and would beg my parents to buy me sheep everything! My birthday is on December 31st so every winter break that we spent over there, my family would run around Queenstown buying me - sheepskin pillows, pajamas, posters, stuffed animals, etc.

 So obviously I never ate lamb. Refused and refused and refused... until a few years ago when I got a teeny bit curious...
Tried it, hated it. It had a bizzare stench and taste. Turned it down everytime it was offered to me again.

Then I moved to DC for college and began to eat a lot of Mediterranean food as kabobs, gyros, falafels, hummus, etc are all very popular here - except I made sure to stay away from the lamb. After my friends noticed my new-found love for kabobs, they told me about an amazing restaurant in Arlington, Virginia called Ravi Kabobs. We went and they made me order the lamb kabobs which are apparently to die for. I was nervous and pretty certain I would find them repulsive. To my surprise, they blew my mind and tasted DELICIOUS. There was neither a sewagy-moldy-rotten odor nor taste!

Ever since then I have been hooked on lamb. In the past when I imagined lamb, I'd picture cute baby sheep running around in the countryside in New Zealand.

Now I picture a skewer or chop of lamb sizzling on a plate marinated in a spicy blend of herbs!

Ever since my trip to Ravi Kabobs, I have always picked lamb over any other meat on the menu and scoffed it down like there was no tomorrow! I even started making my own lamb:

Yesterday I woke up craving the kabobs from Ravi Kabobs. So a friend and I drove down there and enjoyed our delicious meal. The lamb and chicken kabobs come with rice, a huge hot and soft pita and a side of lentils. The entire meal is unbelievably satisfying.

Lamb Kabob meal at Ravi Kabobs

Chicken Kabob meal at Ravi Kabobs (also amazing)

The restaurant is a casual, inexpensive and conservative place that has won the "Washingtonian Best Bargain Restaurant Award" since 2006.

The restaurant has been so successful so they had to open another restaurant across the street called Ravi Kabob II !

The address of Ravi Kabob I is: 305 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203.
The address of Ravi Kabob II is: 250 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203.

If you love lamb or even hate lamb, trust me and head down to Ravi Kabobs!

Eastern Market

Sunday mornings usually consist of a grumpy and lazy me... but this morning was different. I felt awake, alert and awesome. The smart thing to do would have been to channel these positive feelings into a productive day at the library, attacking all my homework. Instead, I obviously decided to spend the day exploring a place I've always wanted to go to - Eastern Market. 


After getting in the car with my boyfriend, I googled "Eastern Market DC" on my phone for directions. I foolishly assumed the first address that popped up was the right place. After driving all the way there, I started to get the feeling that we were at the wrong place. Firstly, it was located in the northeastern region of the District which means SKETCHY. In fact if you type "NE DC" on Google and hit the "news" tab, the top 3 stories that come up are:
1) D.C. teen sentenced in fatal shooting after funeral
2) Man charged in D.C. transgender shooting
3) Four Area Men Plead Guilty to Federal Narcotics Conspiracy Charges


I felt as if we were in the ghetto. We got out of the car and walked into the building complex called "Farmers Market." I thought to myself oh, farmers market / eastern market must be the same thing! I was wrong. So wrong! The place was kind of empty, filled with flies and clearly unsanitary. Each step we took was questionable. Should we proceed, should we not? I held my boyfriend's hand and we clutched each other oh so tightly. After walking around the entire area, reconfirming we were at the wrong place, I nudged my friend and said "lets go." He politely agreed with no-hestiation. He didn't say anything until we got back into the car but his facial expression was saying it all! I bet he was wondering why I dragged him out of bed on a Sunday morning to drive me all the way here to see THIS.

Sketchy market...

In the car he finally unloaded his thoughts and said, "well, there was definitely no FDA approved food in there." We laughed for a good 5 minutes and proceeded to google the CORRECT address.


The right destination turned out to be safe, kid-friendly and happy place! People were strolling around with their loved ones - family, friends, pets. It was heart-warming! Living in the District, you rarely see people enjoying their time outdoors or walking around in a laid-back manner. It was a lovely change!

Small portion of the market

There was a wide range of stuff being sold -  antiques, jewelry, furniture, fresh produce, beads, pottery, incense, clothes, bags, music, etc. The entire area was alive with vivid colors, crisp air and fresh flavors.


All the fruits and vegetables were so ripe and you could sample almost everything!

Juicy heirloom tomatoes

Apples & peaches

A few of the several vegetables

More vegetables!

Eastern market is definitely a place to visit. It is opened every Sunday from 10am - 5pm. Even if you don't feel like purchasing knick-knacks its a nice place to get away from the city buzz and relax...

Lady napping at eastern market

My only piece of advice...make sure you double check the address!!

Chow Away

When you think of a home-cooked meal, what do you think of? For me, its a chow. My family's definition of a chow is a combination of whatever is left in our refrigerator tossed in a wok and stir-fried together with a little bit of oil, chopped garlic and sliced onions. 


Somedays it would be a beautiful melange of colors- orange from the carrots, green from the brocolli and snow peas, yellow from the baby corn, white from the bean sprouts and tan from the chicken. 

However, on other days when our fridge was less stocked there would be a severe reduction in the colorful zest...

Sad stir-fry

As a college student, I find a chow to be a very practical dish to make. This is because I can usually dig up random bits and pieces in my fridge that I obviously forgot about and are about to expire. Thus, if you combine these odds and ends into a chow you can minimize your wastage!


Even if you don't have a wok, you can just use a skillet. However, a wok is best as it retains the texture and flavors of the individual ingredients without getting them soggy.


Its funny how when my friends are starving they will open up their fridges and throw together a sandwich. To me, a sandwich for dinner is dull, no matter how good the ingredients are. In the same time span required to make a sandwich, you can put together a stir-fry because the actual cooking is so fast (3-5 minutes maximum). 

Pre-washed & chopped vegetables at Whole Foods
Source: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com (youngandhungry) 

Grocery stores such as Trader Joes and Whole Foods Market sell pre-washed and chopped vegetables making it unbelievably easy to create your own chow. All you need to do is heat up the wok/skillet, add some oil and whatever seasonings you enjoy, and finally throw the ingredients in and toss them around. 



For those people who never enter their kitchens, let alone step into a grocery store, there is a restaurant that makes phenomenal stir-fries! It's called Penn Grill and is located on  825 20th St NW (between N H St & N Pennsylvania Ave), Washington DC. They give you an empty plate where you add whichever vegetables and meats you want and then pass it over to the chef who will stir-fry it to your specifications (mild, medium, spicy). You are then charged by the weight of your concoction.

Penn Grill, DC
Source: http://img.clubvibes.com/listings/logos/42090.jpg

I really enjoy a quick chow for lunch or dinner because not only is it healthy, its fun to make. The more you make them, the more you learn which combinations you like and which taste putrid. 


Beware that certain mixtures of ingredients can be nauseating!


However, the main reason as to why I enjoy a chow is because it reminds me of home which is 9,664 miles away <3
So go on, chow away...

Eschewing Meat for 7 Days

I decided to give up meat for seven days in honor of my grandfather who passed away this time last year. I thought to myself, how hard could this be? It's just one week.

I was wrong, very wrong.

Source: (http://thumbs.ifood.tv/files/images/Lady_Gaga_Meat_Dress.jpg)

No matter how much food I stuffed my face with, I was not satiated. I even found meat replacements such as Tofurky sausages and Morningstar veggie patties. But still there was a little, actually not so little, part of my belly that was still grumbling.

I kind of creeped myself out because I never realized how the carcass of an animal could bring me so much joy. It was to the point where I had dreams of my naked body covered in meat..GaGa style!

Tomorrow is my first day back to eating meat and its going to be absolute carnage. In fact, I have already planned out exactly what I am going to eat:
Breakfast: bacon, eggs, and toast
Lunch: sushi (spicy salmon, tuna, shrimp)
Dinner: lamb kebabs

I sound crazy but I just want to taste that meat in my mouth again..yummmm I can't wait!!