teddy, yoshi, daisy mint

i had a rather rough week at work, and i can't help but feel despite the long hours, i am underperforming due to a rather unnerving comment bosswoman made during my recent review. yep, i'm still not over it. the bear's poor ear is red from having to listen to me vent quite a bit. yep, i will have a follow up review where i can "answer," and i will definitely bring it up if it's still irking me this much. anyway, due to late nights at the office and hormone-induced fatigue, i am just now catching up on my usual internet haunts. whew.

anyway, onto the weekend! yesterday, i had to be at a client's place in pasadena at 3 and projected i'd be there until 4:30 to 5ish. i was so not looking forward to the drive back home in hellish friday rush hour traffic. luckily, cee was free for dinner, so she invited me over to her new pad to meet the new addition to their family, check the new place out, and then head out to dinner in her 'hood from there.

first, cee and her hubs' new place is great. so much space!

me with baby yoshi. he is so mild-mannered and sweet. he kept trying to lick my face.
such a cutie bear.

family portrait with the godchildren. recently-groomed teddy was so fluffy!

we then headed out to a new place that cee had recently tried with another friend. we were half an hour early for our reservation, so we took a detour to the new whole foods on arroyo parkway. i think it's even bigger than the el segundo location. it was quite the happy field trip for me. after all, i'm the girl who integrated a gourmet grocer into one of her senior projects. it definitely whetted our appetites for dinner.

daisy mint is a very cute, neighborhood eatery. the eclectic decor makes you forget you're in a strip mall in suburban-ish california. the friendly, uber-hands-on couple that owns the place are passionate about this place and food, and it shows. it also doesn't hurt that they wait tables themselves, chat you up quite a bit, and are quite enthusiastic when making recommendations. when i first "heard" that the husband-wife team was made up of korean husband + thai wife, i got all excited to try the brainchild of the inverse of the bear + me.

the space. i know you all love my dark photos. i'm so emo, whatever that means.

they offer a variety of authentic thai, authentic korean, vietnamese-inspired, and totally asian fusion dishes. everything is very fresh, tantalizingly flavorful, and mouthwatering aromas waft by your table as your neighbors' dishes are whisked by. most of the flavors and seasonings are on the thai side. the only cons are that since it is a cozy place, there are very few tables, and word has it that they're usually packed. also, while the place is cute, little consideration was given to acoustics. the tall, narrow volume furnished with all hard surfaces (gyp. board ceiling, gyp. board walls with minimal and all wood detailing, tile, concrete floors, etc.) makes the sound bounce a lot. cee's hubs felt a bit like he does after a concert during the drive back to their place. anyway, onto the delicious food!

to start, we shared the crab meat wontons. they were delish! the wonton skins were crisp and not overly greasy. inside each of the skins was a perfectly proportioned scoop of fresh crab meat, cream cheese, and bits of avocado. a totally kickass combo. we then decided upon three dishes to share, family style. we had the daisy noodles, which consisted of rice stick noodles in a panang curry-like sauce, topped with various veggies, peanuts, and fresh bean sprouts. we all agreed later that it would have been delicious with tofu, which the owner informed us can be added by request. apparently, you can throw in beef/chicken/pork/tofu to almost any dish, if you'd like. then came the waterfall pork "salad." i put that word in quotes because it was more a pork dish on a generous bed of baby greens rather than a salad with some pork thrown in. a generous portion of succulent, sweet, grilled "honey pork" cascaded over fresh, crisp greens lightly tossed in a thai-inspired kaffir lime dressing, reminiscent of the sashimi dip the bear's uncle made for his christmas party. the flavors were simultaneously citrusy, fresh, and sweet. alternating between this dish and the first was like a party in our mouths - they each stood their own on our palates and at the same time complemented each other really well. our last dish was a bit tardy coming out, but it was good as well. the daisy salmon was a rather traditional thai red curry with tender salmon inside. it was good, too, but we enjoyed the other dishes more and were getting rather full by the time it came out. last but not least, dessert!

fried ice cream

now this isn't just your run-of-the-mill fried ice cream. the batter is not tempura, as is commonly used. rather, it's a bready dough like that used for donuts. so you get fried bread, with perfectly still-frozen ice cream within. the blueberries were nice and sweet, too, and the raspberry sauce sweet and tart. we gobbled this up in seconds.

i am usually very, very leery of asian fusion that involves korean or thai food, but i give daisy mint the tater seal of approval.

driving through pasadena made me remember how much i love it. despite my urban-dwelling leanings and grumbling when not living in a city proper, i was born and raised in the suburbs as was the bear. i have a feeling we may one day return, especially if we ever decide to throw any tater tots in the oven. if we do, i would love it to be in pasadena, although i highly doubt we could ever afford it.

speaking of the bear, look at how fearsome he is!
yes, that's him tearing a phone book in half before chucking it into the recycling bin. he learned how to do it at a former job where his co-workers and superiors inspired in him quite a bit of rage.

and no, i am not known for being random. why do you ask?