On Food: Esan Thai

(from photostream)

Esan Thai, one of the few Thai restaurants in town. I started visiting Esan Thai mainly because I had a few friends who work there. The food is rather authentic to the taste of a South East Asian. Especially the fried rice and the Pad Thai, of course traditional drink such as Thai Ice Tea is also well made. With all of the above, however, the price is somewhat on the high end (with Lunch Menu a little cheaper).

Update: Some of my top choices at the restaurant:
- Khao Pad (fried rice)
- Pad See Eew (wide rice noodle)
- Aey’s Esan Noodles (Special Esan Sauce on rice noodle)
- Larb
- Tom Yum (famous Thai style soup)

(for explanation on the dishes, please refer to the menus on the website.)

On other topic, I watched Cloverfield (in Bloomington), and here’s my review.

Verdict for ‘Fortune Cookie’

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‘Fortune Cookie’ is a new Chinese restaurant that had opened in town by one of our own IU student (Obo).
It just started up late last December, and until yesterday, I didn’t have a opportunity to give it a try.

A gang of us Asians (mixing Taiwanese, Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean) went in and ordered four dishes that we had thought simple, and traditional – deep fried kan-lan, wu-xi ribs, salt and pepper chicken, pig’s kidney.

The final overall verdict was a 5.3 on the restaurant (4, 5, 5.5, 6 and 6).
One of the main reason we concluded is that its new and its shorthanded in many ways.
With bubble-tea that is suppose to be coming out soon, we hope for the best for ‘Fortune Cookie’.

Starting back to Worship

from photostream kai

After a 2 week long break, we are back on to worship God.

We are at Bloomington Chinese Christian Church (BCCC), currently using facilities in Evangelical Community Church (ECC). If you are interested in coming:

• Thursday @ 7:30pm – Prayer Meeting
• Friday @ 7:30pm – Fellowship + Singspiration
• Sunday @ 1pm – Sunday Service

The church’s website @ www.bcccbloomington.org [#]

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year to All!

Sorry I was away for as long as an irresponsible blogger can be away for.
But now I’m back as school resumes, I will keep y’ll updated about this small yet cosy town.

Weather Update: We have 68 F one day and 8 F one day in the past week. And that is just not normal.

Winter Storm

(from my photostream)

So the winter storm finally hit Bloomington. It’s not as bad as some of other areas in the region, we got about 3~4 inches of snow and a dozen Fahrenheit below zero (which is bearable). It’s interesting to see branches and fruits freezes up, although not yet as impressive as what mother nature did last year.

Finally. Have a good winter!

Pita Pit – new favorite?

(from my photostream)

A bite from Pita Pit’s breakfast “Chicken Classic” was totally fulfilling. The pit (if I may so call it) is a mouthful meat with freshly grilled flavor.

Very similar to burritos, its wrapped in a roll of wheat/white pita sandwich. It may look cheap at first, but it make sure the goodies are kept-in securely in the parcel. And at a price of below $6, its a good quick lunch anytime of the year. If you have 10 minutes before your next class and is craving for some food, Pita Pit might provide a good selection.

New Member of the Family

(from my Photostream)

His name is Sumo, a Russian champion breed. He has came to us as a surprise present for my friend’s girlfriend. Very adorable 3 month old puppy. This is a really wacko shot taken from above (excuse the background). He can do sit+handshake combo, but the only problem we have with him is potty training, which has frustrated the heck out of the owner.

We still love him to pieces SUMO!

(for more of Sumo, please refer to his set on Flickr)

Final is (almost) done, school is out.

(from my Photostream)

Kicking in, finally a break from the semester long of homeworking, exam-preping, coffee-drinking, late-night candle burning, document processing, papers reading, on top of graduate school application. Phew, its been a long semester, yet it felt as though it had just started yesterday.

3 more hours to end of Fall 2007. Then one more semester to end of my Bachelor Degree. I felt the urge to linger some more. Is this a strange thought?

Breakfast, the new gourmet

(from my photostream)

Last week, we went to ‘Michael’s Uptown Cafe’ for breakfast before sending our friend off – she’s heading back to Finland for good. A very pleasant meal, where I ordered the very delicious Smoked Salmon Benedict and tried one of the best French toast, and shared with my girlfriend her Popeye Omelet, a very comprehensive set of combination for brunch. It may be a little on the pricey end, as the check came up to $25 for two dishes (including tips and a cup of Earl Grey).

If you ever does visit Bloomington, IN, and need to seek out a place for brunch on the weekends, this is the place to go. And yes, lines should be expected, but not too extensively (we waited for just about 15 minutes or so, with 7 people in the group).

More sources:
- Official website
- Menus
- Reviews (Yelp seems to be a well-placed review site for all things alike. I have been using Yelp.com since this summer back in Seattle)

P/S: Welcoming Shawn Folie to the BPDs as an author/contributor! He is a co-worker and a friend of mine, and have a passion for both photography and blogging. Thanks to him, I decided to buy my D40.

Be back after the Last Stretch

Tomorrow is my GRE and then finals till December 14th. Should be back before that, but if not, WILL be back after!
Sorry for the lack of updates!

Bloomington is doing fine – nice sunny weather coming back to help with the chilly temperature (not as bad as Chicago though). It’s still considerably warm – 56 Fahrenheit expected today as top temperature. Students are buzzing in and out of the library for some last minute grabs to prepare for homeworks, quizzes and upcoming finals. In the mean time, the restaurants suffers (presumably), cafes boost (nice studying spots) and coffee demand tripled.

Happy November.