March 20, 2014

What I Ate: Chan Darae Hollywood

Last week, after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, Kevin and I decided to stop by local Thai restaurant Chan Darae for a late lunch/early dinner. About a year ago, my best friend Nisa left her job at American Apparel's web department to take over management at Chan Darae. The restaurant had been in the family for over 35 years, and she had a vision of revamping it with a fresh new look and curated menu. Last year, I had worked on the branding and menu redesign of their family's other restaurant Bamboo Thai Bistro in Redondo Beach and never had the chance to try out this one.

We started off with the Shrimp Toast which I totally forgot to take a picture of. We then realized when the Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad came out that we might have accidentally ordered too much fried food. (The Shrimp Toast was fried!) Luckily, the Shrimp Toast was served with a light & refreshing cucumber salad that help balance out the heaviness of the toast.

Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad
The Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad was a dish that Nisa was experimenting with that currently isn't on the menu. There's a possibility it might be added in the future.

The main dish, which we were splitting, was the Spicy Boat Noodles. The broth was a flavorful beef broth with a kick of spice. All the meat was tender and it had my favorite: beef meatballs (bò viên in Vietnamese). The best way I could describe this soup is that it's a good, solid Southeast Asian noodle soup. If you like Vietnamese phở, you'll most likely like this. In comparison to Vietnamese noodle soups, I would say this was like a mix of phở and bún bò huế.

Spicy Boat Noodles
During our meal, Nisa's sister Alisa came by and asked what we had for appetizers. She asked if we had gotten the "Spicy Fries" and we said we debated about it but ended up not getting it. She then replied, "You gotta have the Spicy Fries! They're so good! You gotta do it!" And next thing we knew, they magically appeared on our table.

Spicy Fries – tossed with Serrano peppers & fish sauce, served with Sriracha Ketchup (half order)
When it came time for dessert, we were really full but I just couldn't say "No" because I really love their Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas. It's the same dessert they serve at their other restaurant and it's just so perfect! The coconut ice cream is non-dairy so it's great for lactose intolerant peeps AND it doesn't feel super heavy. Together with the fried banana samosas, it's a nice balance of creamy and crunchy.

Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas
So if you're ever around the ArcLight or Amoeba in Hollywood and have a Thai food craving, I definitely recommend giving Chan Darae a try. They also have the best Happy Hour prices in the area!

Weekly Want: Wolverine X Samantha Pleet Digby Sandal

The weather has been in the 80s here in LA and it's not even summer yet! It's been so hot, I can't even think about putting on shoes. I've been wearing my Birkenstocks almost every day for the past year since we didn't really get any rain this year. But now that Spring is officially here, I've been shopping around for some cute new sandals. I fell in love with all the Wolverine X Samantha Pleet boots, but I just don't wear boots often enough to really commit. So naturally, their sandals are definitely need-worthy. These are the classy Digby Sandal with a nice touch of contrasting canvas.

Available from Wolverine for $222.

March 17, 2014

Eggs

Available here in the shop.

March 12, 2014

Falconwright Spring/Summer 2014 is HERE!

Yesterday, my favorite Canadian handbag makers Falconwright launched their new Spring/Summer Collection. I've been waiting for this collection for the past two months as they teased us all with sneak peeks on Instagram. And now it's here! (Now if I could only decide which pieces I want…)

Here are a few of my favorites:

White Grass Clutch

Reversible Shapes Clutch
Sprinkle Clutch
Eyeball Mini Pouch
Eyeball Card Holder
*all images from Falconwright

You can get your hands on the collection here.

March 6, 2014

New in the Shop: Pear Drawing

I've been drawing a lot of fruit lately as I look forward to all the Spring & Summer fruits. I'm starting to sell original drawings in the shop in additional to all the prints and greeting cards. All original drawings are one of a kind.

Now available in the shop.