Return to Mandarin Beijing

I'd only been here for lunch before...

They had their grand opening last December. Turns out that the yogurt place that we like, Tutti Frutti, appears to be closed for good...It was almost 9 pm and we had just gotten out of the movie theatres at the Otay Ranch mall.

Sofa what?

My my my...

Yes he is...gawd, what a hilarious poster!

Best JAWPORN ever! And Rob, you should wear a suit ALL THE FKG TIME!

(photos from last night's "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1" premiere, Los Angeles, CA/photos from various fansites including Robsessed)

One more gorgeous photo (this time from the Stockholm press conference last month)...Rob looking scrufflicious and sporting a old mannish sweater. He could wear pink lace with ruffles or a George of the Jungle leopard print loincloth. I don't care. He looks good in anything! Ha ha...

And even tho' I hated the book, I'm still going to see the movie with Astroboi this Friday and with the gals (TORC, Sis of TORC, D, MFH, and another friend) this Saturday! Let's see some of that headboard breakin' action! Ha ha!

Rainy Day Food - Part 2: Beef Nilaga

Here's the other Filipino soup recipe I made today.

Yes, I made TWO...

Robopolis part 2

Filming for "Cosmopolis" continued last night in Toronto...

They filmed the Pie scene...

Here's RPattz waiting for his close up...I like this clean cut look waaaay better than any of the Twilight movies. No lame wanna be James Dean bouffant or horrible thickass sideburns. The Hair is slightly longer than how it was for "Water for Elephants". Plus, he's in better company in terms of acting (Paul Giamatti and Juliette Binoche to name a few along with auteur David Cronenberg at the helm...). I hope his career echoes that of DiCaprio or Depp instead of falling victim to becoming another prettyboy actor. He seems to be making smart choices with his movie roles.

Season 4!

More Eric Northman please!

Aaagh! Sunday can't come soon enough!

Robopolis

C in Manitoulin Island, this is for you!

Go to Toronto now I say!

Pattz....R Pattz.

He can wear combat boots with a pink feather boa and those nasty onion skin shorts from the International Male catalog and still look good!

St. James Park

Okay, HOLY SHITBALLZ, RPATTZ is in Toronto filming "Cosmopolis" and looking all kinds of awesome in his suit!!! Mmmm, finger lickin' good. Ha ha!

The Drought is over...

The Rpattz drought that is...
The first official still from "Cosmopolis":
(photo credit: @caitcronenberg via Robsessed)
*Cait Cronenberg is the daughter of  David Cronenberg who is directing "Cosmopolis"

In the limo with RPattz as dotcom billionaire Eric Packer and Sarah Gadin as his estranged wife Elise Schifrin. "Cosmopolis" based on the novel by Don DeLillo, is now filming in Toronto and soon to relocate to NYC.  From what I've read in the book, this will be quite an "interesting" movie.

Especially the sex scenes. With three different women. But not all together.  Ha ha.

All I can say is, this better be rated R and none of that PG-13 crap!

Also starring in "Cosmopolis":
Juliette Binoche
Paul Giamatti
and Jay Baruchel

Can't wait for this movie to come out! This should kick ass on the "Twilight" movies  and showcase more of RPattz's acting skills. It looks to be a more superior production with better actors, a sexier wardrobe (suits and ties), and an intriguing story line.

PS
Happy Birthday Astroboi!!!

Robata-ya Oton and the BEST TOILET EVER!!!

Okay, had enough of my WFE post? I'm sorry but I had to keep up the beauty that is RPattz for at least almost a week. Wait, here's a few other photos...

From the WFE premiere in Berlin two nights ago

"Why, yes I can do Blue Steel..."

and the WFE premiere in Paris today....

"And I can also do a killer Magnum!"

Looking forward to more hawt pix from the WFE premieres in Barcelona, London and Australia!!!! Rock those Gucci suits Rob! (From left to right - "WFE" NYC premiere, "WFE" Berlin Premiere, "Eclipse" LA Premiere, and looking smokin' in Navy at the Golden Globes 2011)

(wallpaper from Robsessed)

I've just survived my first week back at work as well. It was quite nice having two weeks off but of course, all good things come to an end. During that time, I was able to try a different place for lunch or dinner almost every day. Last Friday, TC and I had a fun time here....Robata-ya Oton, the sister restaurant of Wa Dining Okan.

It's off Kearny Villa Road in an industrial-ish complex. We parked a few buildings down past the bird store. The parking in front was really limited.  What we liked about this place was how small and intimate it was. TC was enamored with the enclosed booths.

There was a group of older Japanese women in the booth next to us. One lady was quite animated and seemed to dominate the conversation (not that I could understand her, but I wished I could!)! I loved it! Maybe she had a bit of sake! She had a deep raspy smoker's voice and seemed to be cracking a lot of jokes with her friends.

Their lunch menu...



Loved the crackled glaze on the tea cups...I'm not a tea fan so I didn't really drink this. I noticed that they don't automatically give you water here either unless you ask. The tea is also boiling hot!

I ordered the lunch set with mizuna leaf, egg and fried tofu skin on top of rice. Instead of miso soup, I paide $2 extra for a bowl of soba noodles. I found the mizuna leaf to be a bit too stringy. Like, I'd chew it like a cow chews its cud, but sometimes, it just wouldn't go down. So, I ended up forming a few balls of the mizuna and "hid" it in the smaller bowl (once it was empty). I didn't really eat a lot of my rice either since I'm drastically cutting back on rice and bread.

There was also a small bowl of tidbits of konnyaku (the gray squares), tofu, and some round things. I want to say it was made out of potato but I'm not sure what it was. Dennis, please help me and I'll correct it! The cute little red barrel thing had Japanese chili powder. The black peg is supposed to be removed, then you can shake the powder onto your food. So cute! I want one!

TC's set was the ground chicken with quail egg over rice. Hers came with miso soup and the side dish of tidbits. Never had I had such finely ground chicken before. Even though it was a Friday and I was supposed to not eat meat, I couldn't resist and had to try a bite or two or six. I think I liked her food more than my own.

Oh, what are these mysterious ball things?

Ooh, I like this shot...Bert got me a new camera for my birthday too. It's the updated model of the one I had before but the newer one is thinner and the features are easier to work. I'm so happy I don't have to worry about wierd blue lines and the screen going black. I think my older camera was dropped one too many times by clumsy old me and it just about had it. It was time for a new one.

Before we left, we had to use the bathroom which is at the end of the hallway. This is the view outside the booth. You do have to remove your shoes before going in which was another reason that TC really liked this place. I think she is becoming a Japanophile.

This bathroom had everything! See that basket? Mouthwash, q-tips, Dixie cups, and more! Loved the faucet and sink too!

But what made this bathroom experience so memorable was this...

It was the control panel for the Toto Washlet toilet!

Look at those buttons. Yes, they do exactly what you see. TC tried the "rear" cleansing (I like how there are two buttons, one for regular and one for soft)and the dryer. And, sorry if this TMI, but I tried the "front" cleansing (Felt so wierd! Shut up!) and the dryer (nice!)! Not sure if I liked that "front" button but the dryer was cool! The air was warm too, not icy cold which probably would have made me jump up! Ha ha!  TC loved this toilet! I think we want to go here again so Bert and experience this awesome toilet!!!

And we can't forget this....

This here's the toilet that puts all other toilets to shame...When you lift the lid, it opens up automatically like magical winged unicorns in PooPoo (or PeePee) Land summoning you to make your, uh "deposit".  When you sit your ass/nalgas/puwet/arse/bum down on it (with a toilet seat cover of course, unless you want to contract ass germs), you will find that the seat is heated quite warmly!!! Ooh, very nice. This toilet did pretty much everything except physically wipe your ass but I guess you wouldn't need it to be wiped if it was washed and dried right? Technically, they would't have to even put toilet paper in there if they wanted to save paper and assumed everyone used the "wash 'n dry" feature! 

So if you ever go to this place, make sure you check out the bathroom!  Loads of fun! Pun intended!

Who else ate at Robata-ya Oton?

Dennis of course -  here's his lunch retrospective from January 2011, as well as Kirk who was first on the scene back in June 2009, Food Coma's post from  October 2010 and most recently Kirbie - April 2011.

Seafood Friday #6 & 7 but not really

This is one week late and features no photos.  Okay, just one.

I didn't post last week since I'm waay behind but to make my series complete since I'm really anal about this. I still plan to do full posts once I find the time, but this is Easter weekend and I want to relax.

#6 - Robata-ya Oton was my lunch destination with TC. I had a bowl of rice with deep fried tofu skin, mizuna leaf and eggs along with a side of soba noodles. Come to think of it, there was no seafood at all!

#7 -  (which was today) ad lunch at Pho Hiep in Eastlake after watching "Water for Elephants" with MFH and another friend. The seafood was represented as Shrimp in the Goi Cuon (I didn't eat the pork) and the Banh Xeo (again, I skipped out on the pork), and the Bun with Shrimp and Grilled Chicken. All shrimp for me.

OMFG, I've been waiting more than a year for this movie and it was worth the wait! In fact, I'm going to see it again tomorrow with TORC!!!

Two words:

Robert Pattinson.

I think RPattz should be in 1930's period costume all the fkg time. That, and a tuxedo! And he should always be brooding and smouldering and dirty  and sweaty and bloodied up in his movies not with white makeup as a lame emo vampire!!! But seriously, the acting was way better in this film. Full review to come later this week as well.

Seafood Friday was also at two places earlier tonight...It was a rare "date night" for me and Bert since TC was staying at a friend's for a sleepover.

Bert and I had the Seabass and the Fish Ceviche at Alchemy.
Part 2 of our dinner was at Farm House Cafe where we had the Pan Roasted Sheephead Fish.

This is basically my last weekday of vacation. I kind of blew my "diet" a few days here and there but overall, I have lost a few pounds, have leaned out a tiny bit and lost body fat! My smaller clothes are fitting again and I'm happy that I am eating healthier (for the most part).

So many posts, so little time!!!

Chocolate Cupcakes from scratch - kinda FAIL

TC wanted to bake something tonight so after getting our fish and squid from JNC, we headed on home to whip up some cupcakes. This time it would be different. And by different, I mean, NOT FROM A BOX.

I've never made cupcakes from scratch before (I know, blasphemy for those of you that are baking aficionados out there) so I had to do a quick search on the laptop. This was the first recipe I saw so here goes:

Chocolate Cupcakes
(recipe from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside. (I had TC do all this and I didn't sift it - I just dumped it all in and had her whisk it)

2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. (TC enjoyed cracking the eggs and adding in the vanilla, flour and milk while I did the mixing)

3.Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.

The recipe made about  1 dozen of the regular size and 1 1 /2 dozen of the smaller size. I also added some Ghirardhelli dark chocolate chips to the bigger sized batch. I don't know WTF I did wrong but they came out of the oven all nice and puffed up, then....POOF. They deflated quicker than an old man's limp...okay, I'll stopt here. It was almost comical to see but I was a bit dejected because I thought this would be a fool proof recipe. Whenever I've made cupcakes from a mix, I've never had problems and then I get these souffle looking things that collapsed upon itself like a black hole.

I ended up putting them back in the oven for a few more minutes. I think my mistake early on was adding the chocolate chips. They are bigger than regular chips and they probably weighed down the batter, making it a bit too wet and fudgy.

Since we were making cupcakes from scratch, I figured we'd do the frosting from scratch too. That's pretty uncomplicated...

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Pretty easy and it tastes better than the canned frosting.
 
I don't have any photos of the frosted cupcakes. TC frosted the mini ones and smashed some Skittles into wierd pieces then gave it to her friends across the street (the neighbor sisters). Kind of a strange topping if you ask me, but they love candy in any shape or form it seems.

The next day, I tried one of the bigger cupcakes and while they were good, they were waay too sweet. So maybe I should have held off on those chips.

On a totally different note, here's a preview of True Blood Season 4 featuring my favorite Swedish manmeat, Alexander Skarsgard:

If it follows Book 4 of the series, then I only hope we get to see his character in tight pink spandex.

VF Rob 2011 vs. VF Rob 2009

Yes, I bought my copy even though the cover was MoFUG.

Behold, the April 2011 issue of VF featuring the normally hawt RPattz:

One of my GBF's said he looks kind of "retarded". I expected more from famed photographer Annie Liebovitz. I'm not feeling this look. The hat looks Amish. I think I have that same belt. Ha ha, men's Banana Republic? The alligator is just plain gross and dirty. If it's possible for RPattz to take a really unattractive photo, this is it.

Compare to the VF cover from November 2009:

Bruce Weber should be canonized for this epic photo shoot.

Below: The 3 VF Covers, except the middle one is from Italy. Even that one is better than Rob wearing an alligator as a man scarf.

This is kind of a crappy scan from another blog - The obligatory RPattz at the "piano" pic (okay, not so bad). Can he play "Superfreak" by Rick James please?

Versus this one...Look the sex hair is in full force...

OMFG - WTFkg FK is this? Can they uglify him any more?

Annie: "Let's have him resurrect the old man shoes from "New Moon", wear an old "Barney Miller" era suit from Abe Vigoda's closet, top it off with an Amish hat, and sit cross legged in front of a dumpy shack next to an alligator infested bayou".

I half expect him to smile with his Billybob teefs and whip out a corn cob pipe and start puffing away on terbacky or start playing a harmonica or banjo or shit. Oh wait, he's an alligator wrassler, remember?

That awful cover shot reminds me of Crocodile Dundee but without the orange leathery skin. And the knife.  "Now THIS is a knife!"

Annie Liebovitz needs to take some lessons from the Bruce Weber shoot. Classic black and white. Do not cover the HAIR. Smolder. Include lots of Jawporn.

Even the papparazzi take better pix of RPattz than Annie Liebovitz.

Utter complete FAIL. I believe I just wasted my $4.95. Well, the article was all right but isn't as good the the April 2009 GQ.

On another note, here is an Aerosmith classic from the vault. I wanted to watch this video again because Steven Tyler's dance moves are fkg hilarious! How old is he now? In his 60's? He must have been in his  early 40's here!  And Joe Perry is so badass with his low slung guitar and the cig hanging off his lip...

As I watched it with TC, I had to shield her eyes from the practically nekkid chick in the high waisted thong as well as Steven Tyler's overly enthusiastic raunchy pelvic gyrations with his mic stand. Heh heh.

Meet the new Superman...

Holy hell.

British actor Henry Cavill was just cast as the lead in the Superman reboot to be directed by Zack Snyder ("300" and "Watchmen").

Cavill can be seen on Showtime's "The Tudors" as Charles Brandon, the  (hot) best friend of King Henry the VIII. He will also play Theseus in the upcoming "Immortals". Hmmm, toga anyone? Slay that minotaur Henry!

I recently did a post on Cavill last month, "I Live in a Cave" . Check out those London Dunhill fragrance ads. OMFG. Very Bondian.

Incidentally, Cavill was also a front runnner for the 2006 version of "Superman" (which sucked @$$) but that role went to Brandon Routh. Whatever happened to him anyways? I think that Henry Cavill can fill in those red boots and uh....blue tights quite nicely.












That is all.

I live in a cave...

Last week, Bert and I were watching a dvr'd movie, "The Count of Monte Cristo". I was half watching it while reading my book about wierd and wacky museums. Anyways, I noticed the dude who played Jesus in that great date flick, "The Passion of the Christ". Pause....Yeah, what a Debbie Downer of a movie. Never watched it. Never wanted to. We all know how it ends.

Back to my all important observation. Well, the guy who plays the son of his enemy (and turns out to be his own son but he didn't know he had a son) was played by none other than the uber hot British actor HENRY CAVILL. The Henry Cavill best-friend-of-the-king-in-THE-TUDORS Henry Cavill! OMFG!!! How did I not even know that? (Perhaps my disliking of swashbuckling revenge movies? I mean, I did read the "Classic Comics Illustrated" version, but...) He looks like a weak pussy here.
Now here he is in the Tudors as Charles Brandon...Oh yeah, now that's much better. (PPersonally, I watched the video with the sound off because the song playing in the background is all kinds of lame-a$$ shit. Just click on mute and enjoy the MAN CANDY:

Ooh, season 1, nice....loved that close cropped hair. Play some more sweaty tennis with the king, why don'tcha...

And ooh, check out this fragrance commercial (I spy the London Eye!):

This commericial is even better. Damn! He should be the next James Bond. He looks waaay better than that fugly Daniel Cro-Mag-Craig:

Trivia alert - He was Stephenie Meyer's first choice to play Edward Cullen in the movie adaptation of her novel, "Twilight" but wasn't considered because he was already too old to be playing 17! Time has been nice to Mr. Cavill. Now I need to rent "Tristan and Isolde"....

New Shoes

Payday was a few days ago so I went to my fave shoe store, DSW. Even though these weren't on sale ($69.95), I figured I'd be wearing these fierce ass bitches at least 15 or more times, so the price was worth it. These are by Nine West (forgot the style - don't have the box in front of me) which makes cute shoes in a moderate price range. The heels are not skyhigh. They are only 3" so at least they don't look frumpy. This heel height is pretty comfortable for me.
These heels are black and grey with faux fur covering the tiger stripe pattern. They are also very pointy, the way I like my closed toe heels to be.  They elongate the silhouette. Please forgive my toe cleavage!

I love how they look! Rawr!  When I brought them to the cashier, she pulled out the shoes from the box (they always check to see if the shoe size matches the one on the box) and said, "Now why am I not surprised?". When I asked her why she said that, she pointed to my hair. I thought that was kind of funny but I don't think it's wild or anything. I have an asymetrical 80's style haircut that may look edgy to some but to me, it's been my normal hairstyle for about a year or so now. Better than being bald like two years ago. Anyways, I thought that was pretty funny.

They also had black leather in the same style as well as brown for $10 cheaper.  I was nearly about to buy the black ones since I needed basic black heels but decided on getting these offbeat ones instead! I think they make the outfit "pop"!