Thai Food Orange

[Thai Food Orange is now Krua Thai as of earlier this year]

A few days ago, I had a training on the west side of Chula Vista. After going to a couple of bakeries, I passed up this relatively new Thai place on Broadway between "I" and "J"...

I remembered reading about it in the paper and even cut out the coupon thinking we'd use it eventually.

Bella & Ava Sweets Boutique

A few days ago my sis posted a photo of some cupcakes on her fb page. I was curious because the cupcakes were from the Otay Ranch mall (really, the town center) and I wasn't even aware that this place was there...

It's not an actual storefront, but rather a stand alone kiosk located in the Food Pavilion...

Thai Fresh revisit

Yesterday, Mr TJ and I went out to lunch and he suggested the Thai place next to Rubio's...

I was secretly happy because I'd been wanting to go back there again after nearly a year since my last visit...

Their previously unwieldy name and signage had changed to a moniker that was shorter and easier to remember...

Chico's, Lambers Chinese Bakery and Moreliana

Man, this past week's I've gone to four bakeries. That's so bad of me, heh heh. First, it was the old Chinese Bakery, now called Mexico Lindo.

Then I went to three more, starting with Chico's since I had an errand to run in that area...

Mexico Lindo Bakery

I had a training in the area yesterday and before going home, I thought I'd revisit a bakery I hadn't been to in years...

When we were in younger, my siblings and I would  call this place the Chinese Mexican bakery because a Chinese man used to be the owner (not sure if he is still there) but he spoke Spanish to all of his workers...

This used to be our go to place for fruit topped cakes until Lamber's Chinese Bakery opened up close to home (back when I used to live down South) on Third and Orange.

I wondered if it had changed all that much....

Empanadas de Calabaza, barrel men, black velvet Michael Jackson, wierd flavored Pringles, and more...

This is one of my post with random odds and ends from the past couple of months...

Below, TC's carved pumpkin project for her English class (this was a fake pumpkin). She carved out the face of Norman, the main character of the movie, "Paranorman".

Other kids in her classes ended up painting their pumpkins (stuff like Mickey Mouse or Clifford the big red dog, and Iron Man). She was the only one who carved, or rather, chipped off a design. She was also the only one with an animated character from a movie.  This was before she added his stand-up hair, which she fashioned from wire and felt. It looked pretty cool...

Anyhow, here's a few more photos that didn't quite merit a separate post...

Breakfast at Bon Epi

This past Saturday we had to attend Bert's neice's baby shower. This is the same young lady whose elegant wedding reception we attended three years ago and whose son's 2nd bday party we attended earlier this spring. Now she (noticed I said "she", not that "we" crap since we all know the WOMAN carries the baby), is expecting again and the shower would also serve as a "gender reveal".

To me, this baby shower was as good an excuse as any to have a FOOD ROAD TRIP...

Our first stop of that morning would be here, in the Diamond Jamboree stripmall...the same one with 85C Bakery, some revolving sushi place, H-Mart and a slew of other Asian businesses and restaurants...

Pork Ribs Sinigang with Guavas

With the colder weather coming on, that means it's time for me to make Filipino comfort foods...

in the form of sinigang, a soup that usess souring agent like tamarind, lemons, starfruit (which is hard to find here), or in this case, guavas!

These lovely guavas, obtained for free at my godbro's house, were so fragrant and ripe and I was dying to use them in a soup...

Paris Baguette, Boba Bar & Cocohodo Walnut Pastry Cafe

If you couldn't tell by the title of the post, or by looking at the produce below,

we were in Zion Market, where napacabbage and giant white radishes are DIRT CHEAP! This is definitely not Ralph's or Albertson's yo!

TC, Bert and I had a fun time showing my sis around Zion; I quite liked seeing her fill up her basket with assorted goodies (she's a good cook)...

Party food part 1

One thing about my godbro, he has a twisted sense of humor!

But I love it!

Our families plus their relatives were there at his house relaxing and reminiscing about Ninang. My parents brought a gripload of food, enough to feed an army, but of course, that is typical Filipino hospitality. Enough of this, on with the food!

Happy Day of the Dead - Sugar skulls from Vallarta

Today was actually a pretty beautiful day...

It was quite fitting for my Ninang's sendoff as well as for the Day of the Dead (a Mexican tradition celebrated on October 31, November 1 and 2)...

The view from La Vista Cemetery atop the hill overlooking Plaza Bonita. As for the cross in the previous photo, you can see it from the 805 freeway.

After my Ninang's burial, my sister, TC and I headed out to look for sugar skulls while Bert went back to pick up food for the reception...