return of the night market

one of the things we missed last summer was the 626 night market, so when we found out that it was returning this yearn we made sure to snag tickets when they became available.  you could only buy them online - no sales at the door - which would help in limiting entrance to a safe number of attendees.  we decided to go on the first night of the second weekend, which turned out to be a great decision based on the angry posts i read online from the first weekend.  apparently there were crazy lines for entry, long lines at every booth and vendors running out of food.  yikes.

tickets allowed entry in two sessions - from 4:00pm till 8:00 and then 8:00 till closing.  ours were for the earlier session on friday evening, which seemed like the better choice because the majority of complaints i'd seen were from those who arrived later.  when we arrived at santa anita racetrack, we found that there was no option for preferred parking this time but managed to score a spot that wasn't too far from the entrance.

it wasn't too crowded at that hour, which was nice.  the market opened at 4 and we've been there that early in the past.  it's a tradeoff - you either get there early with little to no lines for food but you're in direct sunlight, or you wait a bit till it cools off a bit but end up waiting longer at each booth.

we'd seen these noodles on the night market's instagram page, so we decided to give it a try.  they were good, but we were all glad we hadn't waited too long for them.

this was the bean's top choice for the evening.  she loves korean-style corn dogs, and we were both pretty intrigued by the unicorn version.  it was okay, but not nearly as good as the ones we get at a little shop just down the street from the racetrack.

the old lady and the fiance grabbed other tasty treats - tacos made with flamin' hot cheetos and hot chicken tenders.  they love spicy food way more than the bean and i do.

all that deep fried cheese made the bean pretty thirsty, and she picked up a giant baby bottle filled with mango juice.

by then the sun had gone down, bringing more and more people to the night market and making the lines for everything much longer.  the old lady made one more stop - to try some fresh pressed sugarcane juice.  she shared it with all of us, and it was as delicious as it sounds.

the crowds everywhere grew so big that it was uncomfortable, with about 70% wearing masks.  since we were still hungry we decided to head out of there and stop next door at the mall to grab some delcious xiao long bao at din tai fung.  as we made our way through the exit and back towards the car we were pretty dumbfounded at the sheer number of people waiting to get inside.  the line twisted and turned and snaked its way down practically to the main entrance, and we were even more glad to be leaving.

we ended up ordering din tai fung to go since it was too late to be seated inside, and we grabbed a table outside on the promenade level and stuffed ourselves full of those delicious dumplings.  we stopped at the bean's favorite boba shop on the way home and called it a night.

there are two more weekends coming up of the night market for this summer, but i think we got our fill of it with this visit.  i'm glad for their sake that they had such a great turnout, but we're totally fine with waiting to see how things are next year.

besides, that'll be here before we know it.

round foods for every mood

bonus points if you can tell me where that title comes from!

there were a couple of days when i randomly found myself making lots of round shaped foods.  i'd seen a tweet where IKEA had shared their recipe for swedish meatballs and gravy - or, at least, a recipe they were willing to release for them.  and even though it wasn't exactly a light summer meal, once i saw it, it's all i wanted to eat for dinner that night.

the meatballs were pretty easy to make, and cooking them wasn't as much of a pain in the ass as i'd imagined.

the gravy was a simple recipe too, and instead of serving them with mashed potatoes i settled on simple buttered egg noodles.

it was really good - just as good as the ones you get at IKEA.  definitely making these again.

and then i got a bug up my butt to try my hand at mochi donuts.  i decided to try the first recipe i found via google, which i later realized wasn't the greatest.  still, it was fun to try.  i mixed up the dough, rolled it into long ropes and then cut pieces to roll into little balls.

i put together the "donuts" by sticking some of those dough balls together and placing them on a piece of parchment paper for frying.

of course, when i went to flip the donut the balls all fell apart.  d-oh!  but i fished them out and dipped them into the chocolate frosting i'd mixed up.

texture-wise...not great.  but if i'd just been expecting a regular donut, it wouldn't have been as disappointing.  and i finally managed to get a couple of them to come out intact.

the next day, i decided to try my hand at making bubble waffles like the ones we'd eaten at the 626 night market in summers past.  remember the night market?  those were good times.  sigh.  anyway, i'd ordered this pan from a friend to support her online pampered chef party and was pretty excited to bust it out.  finding a recipe for the hong kong-style bubble waffle took no time at all and after i got my hands on all of the ingredients, i mixed up a batch of the batter and refrigerated it as instructed.  then i had to take it out and let it sit for about a half hour to bring it back up to room temperature, which the recipe writer admitted sounded like a pain in the butt but worth the hassle.  and when it was finally time i busted out that waffle pan.

while it preheated, i put the bowl of batter next to the stove along with the mochi bits we'd bought to recreate that night market waffle.  when the pan was ready, i placed one in each bubble and poured the batter.  i closed the pan and flipped it over and let it cook for a couple of minutes before flipping it again and waiting another minute or two, and then...

i scooped out some homemade cookies & cream ice cream i'd mixed up earlier that day and served it up to the kids.

OMG, that waffle was PER. FECT.  it was identical in flavor and texture to the ones from the night market, and everyone loved it.  that recipe is most definitely a keeper.

night market eating, 2019 edition

you know how we love to hit up the 626 night market, and we'd missed the opening weekend for 2019 because - oh, well, we were in hawaii.  cue the tiny violin, i know.  and it just so happened that the next date fell on the night we were heading to santa anita mall for the BTS movie.  we decided to hit it up right after it opened and have an early dinner before the movie, and while it was great because it was pretty empty at that time, it was blazing hot and i was sweaty in no time.  bah.

the bean made a beeline for this place.  like her mother, she sees "ribeye" and she's SOLD.

i'm a sucker for these pullapart waffles.  there's a little piece of mochi stuffed in each of those waffle bubbles, and it's just the right amount of sweet and chewy and delicious.  i'm pretty sure i get one every time we come.

the old lady's most favorite food in the whole wide world is pasta.  and cheese.  and so when she spied this booth, she was all in:

they take fresh, hot pasta, sauce it up and roll it around in this giant cheese wheel to soak up some cheesy melty goodness:

in this case, it was a gooey, rich cream sauce that was then topped with slices of prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes.

the bean stopped here for some boba milk tea to quench her thirst:

and then went big and ordered a korean cheese pull - a big ol' hunk of mozzarella cheese on a stick, dipped in batter, deep fried and then sprinkled with sugar.  she was quite the happy camper.

we ended up going one more time two nights later, this time with no time constraints and nothing to rush to.  the old lady was happy to be able to try some tacos topped with flaming hot cheeto dust:

while the bean was drawn yet again to a booth offering grilled chunks of ribeye steak, this time cooked on a himalayan salt block.  we've had this before and it's pricey, but so delicious.

i think we had some other stuff too, but it was so dark i couldn't get any decent shots.  the bean and i were extra happy to return because we'd wanted to try a booth that did taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles) using croissant dough with several different types of fillings.  i opted for custard, while she very predictably ordered the nutella.

we didn't actually eat here, but the 12-year-old child in me giggles every. single. time.  because come on...FRIED BUTT.

i think there's at least one more night market weekend, but we've come to the realization that we're kind of over it at this point.  it's always the same vendors every time, and we either have to go early which avoids crowds but is insanely hot, or head over when the sun goes down but end up dodging huge crowds and standing in long lines.  plus, most things are pretty pricey for what you get.  i'm not sure it's worth it anymore.

of course, by the time that last weekend rolls around i'll probably be thinking about that mochi waffle again and we'll totally end up going.  just watch.

photo ops and projects galore

we hit up the very last night market for 2018 this weekend, and this time we had the hub with us.  although i didn't take a lot of pictures because let's face it...we've been to the night market a ton of times.  heh.

but this time mcdonald's was there with a big ol' section of fun stuff.  you know i can't ever pass up a good photo op:

the old lady and i liked this one...because there are definitely days when we could use a giant cup of coffee.

the bean loved the huge box of fries:

...until she realized that she'd have to share it with her mom.

in the booth, you could grab a reusable bag and fill it with all sorts of fun stuff, like happy meal toys and playing cards and collectible pins.

and the only new thing that any of us tried that evening was this crazy ice cream cone that was touted as "the second best thing you'll ever eat."  i guess they leave it open for you to decide what the first is.  anyway, it's honey ice cream in this curved churro-looking thing that the old lady said tasted just like a regular cake cone.

in other news, both the bean and i have been sewing up a storm.  here's her latest felt creation:

and i'm going to just go ahead and say it:  she's kind of a badass, because unlike me who needs step-by-step directions for everything i sew, she totally wings it.  she sits down and sketches out her ideas, thinks it all through and creates her little stuffies all on her own.  she's working on a couple of other pieces right now too that look like they're going to be pretty awesome, and i love how proud she is of her creations - as she should be.

as for me, i worked on a couple of things for the old lady's upcoming hawaiian vacation with her special friend:

i threw in a couple of things for myself too, like this fun disneyland raglan tee that's made of super soft bamboo lycra.

and because i'm 6 and can't ever wear skirts without shorts underneath, i finally sat down and made a few pairs of new ones because my other ones are starting to get pretty worn out.

i've been hoarding this fabric for about three years, so i was happy to finally bust out a quick t-shirt dress with it.

and of course, the embroidery machine has been humming with projects as well.  like this cute set of coffee snap tab key fobs:

and a mickey pretzel key fob.  i think next time i'll choose darker thread so you can see the details a little better.

good times over here, people.  good times.