I got to go to California last week, and can I just say, wow! After months of Boston’s chilling winter, it was really nice to get away to sunny California, even if just for a week. The food, the views, the weather... it was a much needed break from life’s worries.
As someone who loves to be in nature, especially by the ocean, I was in love. I went with my friend who lives in San Diego. Her house wasn't in the middle of the city, it was actually in the middle of nowhere... but it was perfect. Surrounded by mountains and bird songs, how could you not feel like you're in paradise. Plus you can actually see the stars every night! It was beautiful.
We went around San Diego, specifically to Coronado, Balboa Park, and La Jolla. For some reason, I always thought that a majority of California was like Los Angeles: busy and full of influencer-type of people. Not that they're bad things, but it's just not really my vibe. So I was surprised when I was greeted with a more laidback culture.
Spot the seals? For some reason I thought they were rocks at first!
Eating Around
Homemade Japanese Food
I’m not gonna lie, other than the weather, I was most excited to eat in California. I had no other plans than to find the best foods and eat (well, more specifically, I was on a mission to eat KBBQ). But before I get to KBBQ, let me tell you about the amazing cook that is my friend’s mom. She fed us like there’s no tomorrow, and for two college kids (one just graduated and the other about to), it was a real treat. I understand now why my friend is not a fan of our school’s dining hall... nothing can compare to her mom’s cooking.
Sorry for the low quality photos. I just got too excited by the food and didn't really bother to think about taking pictures (which you'll see is a common denominator throughout this trip) #oops.
She treated us with homemade sushi, onigiri, omurice, and even sukiyaki and takoyaki. The food was never-ending. And I was introduced to the beautiful world that is Japanese alcohol, specifically, Sake. I tried both the filtered and unfiltered versions, and they were yum... I've also never been a fan of beer, but Japanese beer is definitely something else. I actually liked it! So if you're not a fan of beer, but see a bottle of Asahi lying around, give it a try. It might just change your world :)
Here's a lil video of the takoyaki we made and had!
I mean, drool... <3
Out and About In California
Did we eat at In & Out? Of course. It was my last request (it was also our last meal in California as we stopped by on the way to the airport). I've had it before, but couldn't remember much about it. Ending thoughts: it was good. Not life changing. But it was definitely a good burger, considering it's a fast-food chain -- better than others.
Here were were some other spots we ate at:
George's at the Cove @ La Jolla
She's fancy. But it was my friend's birthday, so her family took us out to one of their favorite restaurants in the area. I tried mussels for the first time here (this trip came with a lot of "firsts" for me LOL!) If not for the food, definitely go for the views. Whether you eat at the rooftop ourdoors or indoors, you will get an amazing view of the ocean.
Cafe Gratitude @ Little Italy San Diego
This was a really cute vegan cafe where all the food items were called "I am ..." We didn't get to really do it because of COVID and contactless ordering and payment, but normally you would say, "I am ... dish you ordered ..." So et's say you ordered a dish called "I am Energized," that's what you would say to the waiter. And when they come with your dish, they will say "You are Energized." How cute! And so uplifting!
My friend and I are not vegan, but the food here was amazing. I genuinely wouldn't have known it was vegan if nobody told me. And they're drinks, highly recommend!
Raised by Wolves @ San Diego
I don't have any decent photos from here because it was so dark. But this was a really cute, hidden cocktail spot. On the outside, it looks just like a normal store selling bottles of alcohol. But behind the revolving fireplace is a whole bar. They have a long list of cocktails and non-mixed drinks, and they all sounded super unique and fun. The three drinks we ordered all tasted delicious, so if you're ever in the area, go and check it out! My friend said they had fun festive drinks during Christmastime as well.
Toko Rame @ San Diego
My friend's parents so graciously surprised me by taking me to an Indonesian restaurant on our second-to-last day in California. There aren't any Indonesian restaurants in Boston, so I haven't eaten much Indonesian food for over a year. I am seriously forever grateful to them. It was so fun to share my culture's food with others as they've shared with me their own culture's food.
And the food was really good too. One of my favorite desserts from Indo is Es Doger and I audibly gasped when I saw they had it on their menu. My friend's all decided to get it too when they saw my excitement. Honestly, the best part of eating there was just seeing how much they enjoyed the food too <3
Left to right: Nasi Rames, Nasi Bungkus, Es Doger
Kang Ho Dong BaekJeong @ K-town, L.A.
I mean... do I even need to talk about this one. Super yum, so worth it. My family and I would come here every time we visit L.A. (like twice LOL), so I was super excited to go back. We went during lunch time when they just opened, so it wasn't full and we didn't have to wait in line. I believe we got a package meal, which was perfect and reasonably priced for the 4 of us.
Here's the one photo I managed to get as we caught up with friends and devoured the food :)
Melo Melo @ K-town, L.A
My friend who's been living in LA for the semester encouraged us to try out a coconut pudding jelly spot right across Kang Ho Dong BaekJeong. She said, "It will change your world."
I don't know if my world was changed, but it was definitely delicious. They had all sorts of flavors from original, to matcha, to strawberry, and dragonfruit. It tasted a lot like santen, which is a coconut cream used in a lot of Indonesian dishes.
The jellies came in cute little jars, which I, of course, washed and took back home with me. Their spoons were really cute too, in case you were wondering :)
Somi Somi @ Santa Monica.
Y'all, if I had to pick a food that really did change my world, it was this. I've had taiyaki ice creams before -- in Boston and in NYC. But this. This. Was. AMAZING. I LOVE asian soft serve flavors like taro, ube, matcha, hojicha, black sesame, etc. And this had to be the best ube ice cream I've ever tried.
I'm the kind of girl that likes to actually taste the flavor, rather than just the sweetness (like when I order milk tea, I want to taste more tea than I do the sweet milk). And this was just an explosion of ube flavors <3 Not to mention the taro filling I got. Heavenly.
My friend got the matcha ice cream, and I tried a bit of hers as well, and it was really good matcha ice cream. She also said it was the best taiyaki ice cream she's had.
I know they have lots of locations around California, so if you ever drive past one, go in. Order something. Though, I do recommend getting the Ah-Boong upside down in a cup because it can get really messy if you're a slow ice cream eater like me.
Disneyland
The last time I went to Disneyland was the summer before senior year of high school... so I guess that makes it...5 years ago? I’m not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but Disneyland is the happiest place in the world, right? How could I not go to Disney while I’m in the area?! So many of my friends went to Disneyland over the last year, and I’ve been wanting to go after all the photos they posted on Instagram.
We got the park hopper tickets because the individual tickets to Disneyland alone were sold out. I don't know how we were going to fit two parks (Disneyland and California Adventure) into one day, but we knew we definitely wanted to go on the new rides in Star Wars and Avengers campus.
Fortunately, my roommate made me watch the Star Wars movies with her over the summer, so I actually understood and had a lot of context for what was going on in the Star Wars rides. I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Star Wars, but I did enjoy the series. And it was definitely very cool to see it come alive at Disney. The Rise of the Resistance ride was so good. Did we wait around 2 hours for it? Yes. But was it worth it? 10000%
We also made it into Oga's Cantina and bought three very pricey, but good cocktails. I guess we were paying for the experience.
We tried out the Spiderman ride at California Adventure right before the park closed, and that was definitely an interesting ride. Through technology, the ride was able to sense our moves as we shot imaginary webs out of our hands (you know, with that iconic Spiderman move). It felt like a workout, but I guess that's how Spiderman feels when he's off saving the world.
We didn't get the chance to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (not that I would, because it replaced the Tower of Terror--once was enough for me, thank you very much) because we didn't realize the park closed much sooner than Disney did. Because of that, we literally only rode on the Spiderman ride at Cali Adv. So that's something to keep in mind if you're going to Disneyland and California Adventure any time soon!
We honestly didn't get to go on that many rides because of the wait times, but I still had a ton of fun and we still got to go on the new rides. It was still worth it to me. And yes, I did get churros, of course, and a little meal at Star Wars land (not sure what it was, but it was good!)
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