MC Week: Day 4

MC broke the hairy news last week... Little Miss Plant has become a statistic.  A victim of bad fruit influence, and a neglectful father - LMP is now a Runaway.

Or is that really the truth?

This was the sight on that fateful morning when MC awoke.

"Slient mourning" - caption by MC

The good fruit were already mourning her loss by the time MC got there, and they were standing vigil around the empty spot on the counter where she once resided.

Noticeably absent were the bad bananas were that were hanging around her for weeks.

It was later that day he discovered the shocking truth.

~WARNING! Graphic Picture Ahead ~

Murdered, and tossed with the egg shells.

There in the garbage, face down and blending in with some broken eggs, lay the Little girl.

It was a sad day.

And you best be certain that Nancy Grace will hear of this.

MC Week: Day 3

H1 and I were looking for "No News Today" but could not find it.  The point is, we have no news today on MC, so instead enjoy the collection of videos.

Oh wait, here we go.  First four seconds in and then watch the rest of it too.  It's all worth it.

MC Week: Day 2

I wonder if MC will be surprised by his surprises?

No surprise there.  Or is it?

Curious.

Curiouser.

And curiouser!

MC Week

H1 and I are declaring this "MC Week" here at The HOchieS' blog.
This week, expect to find stories all dedicated to MC.

Stay tuned...

Back to Hatsuhana

A few weeks ago, H1 and I went to Hatsuhana on 48th for Restaurant Week.  After hearing it was good, Luuuiiiiisssss wanted to go to partake in the $35 share of awesome times as well.  We decided that on Friday, we would bring little Boohead in to the city for an afternoon of fun with stops made to the Lego Store and Nintendo World, ending it with dinner at Hatsuhana.

Having already had the samples of the Restaurant Week Menu, H1 and I opted to do something a little bit different.

Sadly, the Box of Dreams was not within reach because H1 was not that hungry.  The bento of nine sushi extravaganza offerings would have to wait for another time.

The one thing that sucked at our first adventure was that I did not feel comfortable taking pictures at the restaurant.  H1 and I used our camera phones instead and those pictures were not very appealing.  This time, I asked our cutie waiter (same as last time!) if we could take pictures of the food.  As long as we weren't spies, he said it was okay.  Funny!

Even though I assured him we were not, please do not expect great pictures anyway.  Ha.  Sorry?

For H1's pick, she had their regular pre-fixe menu.  It came with a choice of miso soup or salad, seven pieces of sushi with her choice of two rolls, and a choice of ice-cream for dessert.  H1 chose a spicy tuna roll and a yellowtail with chives roll.

The blurry bit is the soy sauce bowl.

Turn Off The Bright Lights

For their last tour, H1 and I had tickets to Interpol's show at Madison Square Garden.  Unfortunately, we missed it and it was one of our biggest concert-going regrets.

A chance at redemption to see the band at a nice venue for the new album and tour presented itself on Thursday last.

Interpol at Radio City Music Hall

But, there were potential snafus and reservations from the start.  With Carlos D. no longer a member of Interpol (as much as a jerk he appeared to be to me), it felt somewhat sad.  Sure he seemed an ass and some may claim, "he's just a bassist - who cares?".  Yes, that's a statement I do not agree with.  I've enjoyed their music for some time now and as a band, Interpol did not make albums without him.  Their sound is the sum of all parts involved, damn it. 

And how sad it was, as I have mentioned before, that on this their final album with Carlos D's involvement that it was the bass that should shine through the most.  The bass lines were heavy, prominent and really set the tone for the melancholy heart-felt sound of the album.

That said, on this album, there were some really great tracks but not the best work they've had.  And as much as I love Interpol, I know not to expect some crazy light show or incredibly exciting concert.  They're not a high-energy band but their songs are fantastic and heavy on emotion.

At the very least, I expect a concert of theirs to sound great and be relaxing with a bit of fun on the catchier tracks.  I especially expected them to sound superb at Radio City Music Hall being the venue that it was, right? Sadly, it was not entirely so...

Guinea Pigs, Part 3: Miniature Food

The Japanese make some amazingly ridiculous things.  Sometimes, I am thankful I do not have enough space or cash, to collect miniature food models.

Just think!

Sephiroth, Prinnies, Vicious, Aizen, Monokuro Boo and all other members of the Evil Army of Misfits in my room could sit down and eat ramen with a side of takoyaki together, if I had my way.  Oh the amount of berkshire pork and azuki beans they would feast upon would be staggering.

Oh, the good guys in my room like Link and Allen would probably eat crepes or natto beans, in case you were wondering.

Huh.

Do the Japanese make ridiculous things like that for ridiculous people like me?!?!

::clears throat::

Anyway, I do not have a lot of miniature food in my collection.  In fact, I probably have just one pot or something but I do have these fantastic erasers to show...

Test Subject No. 3 - Miniature Food Erasers, presents from Boohead to Or 2 for Valentine's Day

Guinea Pigs, Part 2: Peeps

With Easter and Spring soon here, I'm certain peeps will begin to overrun the house.

Heck, they have already begun popping up here and there.  Peep Pandemonium is almost upon us but luckily pest control will kick in in about a month.  Beetchie will be back for Spring Break afterall, and those peeps won't stand a chance.

Until then, look into their beady eyes and gaze upon their sugary coats!

Test Subject No. 2 - Peeps

 But don't gaze too long because they've got hypnotic powers.  It's all in that glistening sugar  Evil bastards!

Guinea Pigs, Part 1: Flowers

H1 and I are in love with the new macro lens I received as a present from Bunji.  You know, this combined birthday and Christmas present into one deal might work out for me from him.  Yeeeessssssss.  Yes... already I may or may not be scheming for this year.

There's a manual to read and things to learn, but we tested out the new lens this past Tuesday.  There were lots of items on H1's table, just waiting to be victims!

Test Subject No. 1 - Flowers from Boobey to H1 on Valentine's Day

This is a close-up?

et tu?

Now we're talking!

This Week: Killer Fritters, Fortune Cookie Madness, and Bathroom Blues

Did you want the unpleasant observation first, or the good one?

Let's just get the toilet talk out of the way, so we don't have an unpleasant smell in our mouths after reading.  Let's dispose of it, as you will!

Bathroom Blues

I am convinced that there is something written on my shoe that tells people upon entering the bathroom, to "please use the stall next to me".

Now, if people gotta go, then you gotta go but when there is one empty bathroom and I am the only one occupying one stall of ten, why do people think it is okay to take the stall next to mine? Are you lonely? Is my shoe directing you to do such thing? Because I know it isn't written on my face that you should join me since you can't see it.  It must be my evil shoe luring all like a Siren with its evil Siren song!

Killer Fritters

Earlier this week, we got wind (thanks to website midtownlunch.com) of something special being sold at Dean & Doluca near the job.  An apple fritter for $3.50 was the something special but not as special as it could be due to its not-hot-out-the-oil freshness, and warm goodness.

The Breakfast of Champions

A typical weekday morning breakfast of The HOchieS looks a lot like cereal.  Some days there may be nothing but wind pies to keep us full until lunch.

Then there are mornings that look much like today did:

Your eyes do not deceive you! Unless you thought it was a puffy white cloud condensed and trapped into a plastic container, then yes, your eyes are playing tricks.

That my friends, as I am sure many of us know, is a bao. 

In the many years of blogging, it occurred to me that I have no pictures of baos.  There are many instances where the bao has been mentioned.  There are even  pictures of bao heads dutifully protecting the faces of friends and friends celebrities but no clear picture of a meat-filled bao.

Why is that?

Well, for one, The HOchieS have been eating baos or 'pows' as we used to call them in Trinidad for as long as I can remember.

Therefore, taking a picture of a bao would be like taking a picture of my unflattering hand (incidentally a picture of that is forthcoming in the next blog I post! Stay tuned!) - something second nature that we have easy access to.  The fact is, we never even order them at dim sum because why when we could order all the other things we probably get only at dim sum?

Do not misunderstand, we love baos! What's not to love, really? It's a sweetish bread filled with char siu pork amongst other things.  We like our baos steamed and filled with pork but you can get it with chicken and if you're lucky, you can get one with custard.  Yum!

I've even eaten a pizza bao during my trip to Japan.  It was...odd.  I probably hated it at that time but you know, maybe I could eat one of those again.  Perhaps Cafe Zaiya might surprise me one day.

Always one to try to correct previous oversights, I present to you, Breakfast 2/10/2011.

As you will see though, I may have misrepresented or even misled some to believe they would be gazing upon a char siu bao.  No, no.  That's going to have to wait for another day because we did not eat one of those today.

Instead, we shared the behemoth you see before you - filled with pork in two varieties and half of a boiled egg.

It's bliss, I tell you! Anything filled with steamed pork, lapchongs and boiled eggs can be nothing but blissful.

So there you have it: the infamous breakfast bao.

Tomorrow there will be chobani yogurt for breakfast because as much as one would like to eat pork every morning and twice daily after that, sometimes a little yogurt is welcome as well.

Currently listening to: "The Life and Death of Kirby" by Insert Rupee (Benjamin Brigg, Halc) from the Overclocked Remix Album Heroes vs. Villains.  If I could listen to this song every minute of the day, I would be in the same situation as the pork.  I'd need to flavour it up by listening to something else.

Adventures in Restaurant Week, Part 2: It's "Brasserie", and not that Other Thing

Faux pas, numéro un: The restaurant's name is "Brasserie", not "Brassiere".

I'm sure there was so much wrong about my above statement that H1 will have a field day with me when she reads it.  I am intent on proving either one of two things: that I am obsessed with undergarments or that I have no qualms showing just how much I almost failed French.

The point is, when inviting your frenemies for a night out to a French Restaurant for Restaurant Week, make sure you do invite them for the right thing.

Adventures in Restaurant Week, Part 1: I Can Haz Sushi Again

I am apologizing in advance for the way that Internet Culture has affected me some because I am now quoting lolcats.  It's shameful, I know.

The point though is that after a three and a half year self-inflicted hiatus from the world of sushi, I can finally eat it again.

Before eyes roll signifying a questioning of my sanity, I have a perfectly logical and smug explanation for my misgivings.

About To Book Some Tickets

I received an alarming update from MC this morning regarding the status of the child:

"Mama has stopped feeding her and last night there was talk that she would not be joining us at our new house. This morning we woke up to this. I think she has gone mad "

H1 and I will be on the next flight to save her.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year, everyone!

It's Chinese New Year and just in case you haven't already heard, it is the Year of the Rabbit.

Are there any rabbits in your lives? Perhaps you were born in the Year of our cuddly, pest-like, yummy friends?

I myself, have two rabbits in my life!

Both Mama HOchie and H1 are rabbits and do you know what I have to say to them?



Ha ha! I only keed of course, lest there be some murdering going down of my being.  I was informed today that if I posted this video, sang the song, or make mention of any "killing of wabbits", that I would meet with an unfortunate end involving my body buried in one of our many snow banks from this snow-heavy winter, and no one would find my body until everything thawed out until May or June.

I have pleaded with H1 to turn herself in if that should happen.

I don't think she is going to do it.

In other Chinese New Year related news, being the good Almost-Asians that we are, H1 and I had char siu baos for breakfast.  We were served by some bitchy-ass Chinese ladies at our favourite breakfast spot Hing Won, and they thought I had no right saying 'bao', and 'corrected' me to tell me it was a 'roast pork bun'.  Apparently not being full-Asian gives me no right to say it properly.

They were in quite the mood today as apparently if you are full Chinese then you have no right asking for a 'roast pork bun'.  At least I wasn't that girl who got blasted out for asking for it in English and was harshly corrected - "CHAR SIU BAO".

I must say, I felt very sorry for both that girl and myself.

Bear with me because this is related as well but using my Insight abilities in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (which I am currently playing on the DS), I figured out that for a particular puzzle, the man below had a hankering for what I was hankering for these past couple days.

There's a bao over his head.

Again, I was insulted because I had to order the 'bun' for him from the local dim sum house.  Even the game questions me!  Couldn't they just call it a bao?!

Finally, I had a fortune cookie today and I am displeased by the knowledge it tried to impart.

I don't know what you're trying to imply there Cookie but I feel as though you're kicking a sister down.  I swear I can order char siu baos like anyone else!

Beetchie...please.  Don't you be questioning my abilities either.

So what if I have to ask for 'two' char siu baos because I don't know how to ask for 'two' in Cantonese?! Don't you judge me!

Currently listening to: "Hikari Planit B Remix" by Utada Hikaru, from the Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Original Soundtrack

Happy Birthday, Papa!

For your birthday, I have not much to offer.  Actually, I have to go get some money for you and you shouldn't be too surprised if I forget when I first wake.  How awful am I to you, Daddy?

What do you get on your birthday? An ice storm.

Psh, lame.

Happy 16th Birthday, anyway! Oooo, it's a big one.

We love you lots and lots.

Friday Fun: The Lengths One Will Go To For...

The length this HOchie would go to for limited edition two week run of doughnuts is a seventeen minute walk as part of a forty-five minute excursion.

I do stuff for doughnuts!

For the past week and a half, Top Chef - Just Desserts, Chef Zac Young has been churning out Pop Up doughnuts at Zócalo in Grand Central Terminal (click his Wikipedia article which I have referenced here! He did quite well on that show).

The options for the two week run were listed with choices of doughnuts filled with raspberry, spiced chocolate, and cajeta.  Also included in the line up were cinnamon sugar doughnuts and two surprise treats which were to change on a daily basis.

For two days straight, H1 and I attempted to make our way to Grand Central to taste what a lot of people were talking about.

However, each day brought another failure as it turns out, the doughnuts were already slated to be sold at a terribly inconvenient time during the day from 12 p.m to 6 p.m.  As if this was not hard enough for us as getting to Grand C. is a trek all its own from our office (do-able but at the cost of an entire lunch hour), we got word that the doughnuts were selling out by 4 p.m every day.

Finally on Friday, Alex and I decided it would never get done unless we just went for the glory! So we hustled to Grand C. and made incredible time! It's surprising what one can do when on a mission...

Would I be lucky enough? Would Friday be the day I was fated to eat doughnuts?

Yes.  Yes, I was.  Friday's doughnut selection, all ordered.  Twice.

Chef Zac Young, hard at work filling the doughnuts.

A wunnerful sight.

 Many people I know or read about were excited about the spiced chocolate doughnut.  Not being a huge fan of chocolate, I was less than thrilled.  But heck, you never know until you try and it wasn't just chocolate, it was spiced.  I had some faint interest.

Alex bit into her doughnut and there was an incident.  It was the kind of incident were liquid chocolate went flying all over H1's office and came dangerously close to destroying precious work documents.

This was Alex's unexpected disaster.  Messy.  Veerrrry messy.

I had my bit and there may have been a chocolate mouth going on which I will never admit to, less Beetchie feels revolted.

As I expected, I was underwhelmed by said doughnut.  The taste was not bad on the chocolate but it was not fabulous either.  The other problem I had with it was that it overwhelmed the actual doughnut.  I could not taste the doughnut and there was not a good balance.

Later on we had the regular cinnamon sugar, lime and blueberry passion fruit doughnuts.  Those were all very good, actually.  Well...I could see the appeal of the lime for people who like lemon or lime flavoured things.  It tasted much like a key lime pie filling and was very creamy.

A doughnut made for Luuuuuiiiiissssss.  He loves all things lemon or lime.

Hello beautiful blueberry passion fruit wonder.  It looks like you tainted Miss Cinnamon Sugar.  That's okay with me

H1 and I enjoyed the blueberry passion fruit on account of its tartness.  It was rather yummy, actually.

And then, there was the cajeta.

When I got wind of these doughnuts, that was the one doughnut I absolutely had to try.  If you mention 'goat's milk caramel' to me, then I will most definitely be intrigued being a fan of things caramel, flan or custard based.

The cajeta doughnut did not disappoint.  The trip out of our way to Grand Central was worth it after biting into that wonderfully flavoured deliciousness.  It was unique, creamy, sweet but not overly so and also brought out the actual taste of the doughnut which I am happy to report was a good doughnut.

If I could go back for you, I would, Cajeta.

If I could go back for you and eat you hot and fresh right there, so you pool caramel upon impact with my mouth (like you sort of did here), I would, Cajeta.

So, I'll probably never have one of those awesome cajeta doughnuts again but I am happy that I got to try its goodness.

And even if the doughnuts turned out to be a fail (thankfully not for the most part save the spiced chocolate, because I would have been less than pleased that I trekked for nothing), Alex was at least smart enough to buy the ever so awesome shrimp po'boy at The Oyster Bar.

Hey, we were right there.  And why not?

It was damned good too.  That shrimp is amazing but the other bread we had in the past was better.  Still, yum.

Currently listening to: "Lynne - A Targeted Redhead" by Masazaku Sugimori, from the Ghost Trick Original Soundtrack.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. Hare, Hare, Hare.

This seems awfully familiar... wasn't it just about this same time last year that I was home due to some snowy conditions? Today it's chock full of ice accumulation and sleet.  Ugh, it's the worst of the worst in many ways! There's still work to do, so that's good but in the meanwhile, here's wishing everyone a month of good luck and fortune.

The Day The Blog Almost Died

A tiny life was in my hands on Saturday evening.  It was a life full of words, emotions, funnies, woes and life experiences.

This dying ember of life belonged to five year old, Bloggie Boo.

The HOchieS Blog had suddenly found itself in a predicament, its life in the hands of its creator and knowing full well that I made it, and I could take its life back.

The problem with Bloggie Boo was that it exceeded its free 1 GB capacity for pictures.

I could do one of three things:

1. Continue the Blog without pictures thereby maiming it and making it half the Blog it used to be.

2. Buy space and extend the Blog's life for a year - it'd be borrowed time and a renewal fee would have to occur every year.

3. Kill the blog.  Make it D-E-D.

Long story short, I did not really see any other option so I paid the damned $5.00 and here we are.

Due to this sudden turn of events, I may as well lay this out here and now.

I have been toying with the idea of putting adsense on the blog for some time now, and this is just one more step for me to do so.  I'm not sure how much money Bloggie Boo will make but even though I may be merciful, The Great Znyx will only heed those who are trying to work things out on their own.

So Blog, you need to cover your own cost of the picture/video fee!

I'm a little bit worried as to what sort of ads will run but we'll just have to see.  There's no solicitation here but it's just a note to be aware that things will look different in the future and I'm not being spammed.

Thursday: Misadventures of the Snowy Kind, Part I

This story actually began on Wednesday with the start of a fresh new storm from the perpetual four day cycle of snow storms we seem to be stuck in.

This storm, however, was going to be one of the bigger ones with an estimated 8 to 12 inches.  At the end of it all on Thursday morning, it dumped 19 inches in NYC.  The buses were not running in the city, and our train was on a Saturday schedule with delays but being the brave little HOchieS that we are, we went to work.

Really what happened was, H1 kinda had to go in because it would more beneficial for her in the long run.  So away we went!

It was lovely out with all the pure white, fresh fallen snow.  It was also incredibly sunny too, as if nothing had happened as the sky was a radiant blue.

 

Breaking Into Song is Good Sometimes

I'm not sure why H1 had a moment the other night, but she broke into song and sang the following classic:


it came out of nowhere.  It's been forever since I've heard this one!

I bet she didn't remember this one though!



Seriously, it was probably for the best.  That is some morbid crap right there.

Nightmares for me tonight!

Stepping In

Last Christmas, we gifted Kimpossible and MC a friend.

At the early stages of her life, she was one fabulous little child.

Adorable, don't you think?

Both style and attitude with those piercing, lovely green eyes - it was clear to The HOchieS that Miss Ultra-Fab was destined for greatness.

Some weeks went by with no word on how the child was doing but sure enough, doting daddy MC sent a picture update along.

H1 insisted that the child's hair needing cutting.  I was initially unimpressed by the high top fade, citing parental abuse - who in their right mind wants their child to be looking like a by-product of the 80's? I mean, seriously...at least, you could do a braid or get her some jellies.  SOMETHING!

But you know, reflecting on this picture now, it's just all part of the super style this child obviously continues to have.

I mean, she made friends with an orange, as you can clearly see.

She's a popular one, that.

Obviously, when you got it, you got it.  And when you got it, you have to accessorize who your friends are.

Clearly that orange does not look like much now, but wait until you see it dolled up.



More weeks passed by and finally a new update came, with an alarming message.  Kimpossible was speaking the impossible - she wanted to throw the child away.

MC, caring father that he is, saved his child from certain doom i.e. the rubbish.

Though, I have to question, what sort of parent he truly is if he sits idly by and takes pictures of the child instead of properly maintaining her hair before snapping photos.

Of course the world needs to see such class but first, this child demands a stylist.

I mean, okay.  It's a pretty cute style.

But I think we're all missing the point here.  H1 and I are going to step in and re-claim the kid because this talk of garbage throwing is very disturbing.

Granted, I do not know how much longer the world can handle the hotness and it may very well be her time to bring that shine some place else but still...

She still looks as though she can do tons of damage here.

Her glory days are not over!

Obsessions of the Week(s): 12/25/2010 - 01/02/2011

Doctor Who

David Tennant, to be exact.

H1 and I have off and on been trying to watch Series 2 of Doctor Who. This week with TD5 coming for a visit, I thought, 'what better time to watch Who than to torture a friend'. So marathoning we have been on the 10th Doctor's season. We just finished Series 2 and started up 3 and I must say, I love Tennant. I find him cute. As a Doctor, I find him sweet. Do I love him more than the 11th? Hmm, it's hard to say or maybe I'll just say, they're both awesome in their own ways.  But Tennant? He's got nerdy rocker Zarnyx glasses going for him... 

I will also say of the show that I can see why people liked him and why they liked the Russell T. Davies series so much rather than this Moffat series. It's got more technical sci-fi bits going on, but I still really loved the latest season with the 11th and am totally excited for next year's new season. The 10th Season though was some excellent stuff. That Dalek/Cybermen battle, in addition to Rose's send off were competely fab.