make a wish baby

Benihana- Beaverton, OR

Okay, so we're 8 days late for my bf's birthday. We were supposed to go on the 16th, but it didn't work out, so we finally made the trip today after my classes. I was very neutral prior to going to Benihana today. Don't get me wrong, this place is unique in that it's dinner and a free show, but people aren't actually paying for superb food or anything. Today, all that changed.

We were seated at a table of eight with six other people around this teppanyaki griddle. It was very cramped and my seat was very uncomfortable as there's only 2 feet between the back of my chair and the wall, and staff members kept walking behind me to get to the kitchen. I also felt like the service could have been better. Was it because my boyfriend and I are Asians whereas the other customers at our table are Caucasians that we were ignored by the old Asian waitress? I didn't like the fact she asked everybody else whether they wanted steamed rice or fried rice but ignored my boyfriend and I and automatically wrote down steamed rice (to which I had to request changed later), nor the fact she ignored his request for water (after he had finished drinking his Mango colada smoothie). I felt like she was very rude, and would not have tipped her well, but I tipped generously nonetheless because the Chef at our table was amazing. 

My bf ordered the Mango Colossal Shrimps (he's a mango guy, lol) and I ordered the Rocky's Choice, which is chicken and hibachi steak. After ordering our food, we were given Benihana onion soup, which was okay. Not great but not bad either, and onion breath is no fun. Then, the bowl of onion soup was replaced with Benihana salad. Afterwards, the chef came out and began to amuse us. He made this volcano out of onions, chopped up squash and shrimp as appetizers, then prepared out meals. It was very entertaining, and to my surprise, the food was actually good! I enjoyed their special house sauce very much this time around and thought it was the perfect complement to the lightly seasoned chicken and steak. Finally, our last item was dessert and I got the green tea ice cream while they prepared some special birthday ice cream for my bf. They even took our picture too :) Overall, I really enjoyed the entertainment and good food Benihana provided. Not happy with the Asian lady, but I'll survive.

flat shirley temple-- would not recommend

onion soup + oversized spoon

Benihana salad

you can barely make our the onion Volcano 

Fried rice

bf's mango colossal shrimp had asparagus in it

Rocky's Choice

By the time we left, my bf basically to-goed all of his food. He told me that he got full as a result of the long wait (we were there for 2 hours) and smelling all that food for 2 whole hours. Haha, I told him that he was very easy to feed! All I have to do in the future now is let him sniff food for hours, and he will be full! hehehe. 

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I know I'm not supposed to be buying anything online for a while.. BUT, a really good deal came up recently, and I couldn't pass up on it. There was a new $25 off $75 code, and I wanted to try the Creme Smooth Foundation plus I could also use another one of the Silk Creme Foundation too.. so $50+$42-$25 comes to $67. BUT get this, I also got a free full-size primer because I purchased two items from the flawless face category (retail $30). Additionally, I also got a 6 piece gift with purchase if I spent $85. The sugar on top came when I hit checkout and got to choose THREE deluxe samples. Hehehe. OMG good fricken deal. Why? Imagine how much all this would be had I not taken advantage of this deal: $50 + $42 + $30 + $80 (GWP) = $202!! Not including the three deluxe samples. OK, I know the GWP is most likely NOT worth $80, but that's what their website says.

EXCLUSIVE Full-size Bing Cherry Crème Lip Colour (0.14 oz.)

Deluxe Foundation Primer (0.5 fl. oz./14.7ml)

NEW Deluxe Charcoal Grey Tightline Cake Eye Liner (0.03 oz./0.9g)

NEW Deluxe Fresh Fig Hand Creme (0.42 fl. oz./11.8ml)

NEW Deluxe Repair Crème (0.4 oz./12g)

what I ordered

what I got free

order total

tojiii!

Toji Korean Grill House- Portland, OR

I've been wanting to try this place out ever since my friend told me about it, but chance has it that I've always missed last call. This place opens around noon and closes late if dining on their regular menu, but unknown and almost mythical is their so-called buffet option. I've heard about it from a friend, but an all-you-can-eat Korean restaurant is unheard of in Portland. There is just NO such thing. I googled and googled and found NOTHING associating Toji's to buffet. My friend assured me that there was such a thing, so I gave the place a call to affirm his suggestion. It was true! They indeed offered an all-you-can-eat option there, but the timing sucks! 11am-2pm Tuesdays to Fridays and 12-4pm on Saturdays. I missed last call three Saturdays in a row. When I say nothing can get me up in the morning, sadly, it really means just that. Not even the love of my life, food, can get me up. Finally, this past weekend, I managed to drag myself out of bed by noon and met up with my bf at 2 pm. We barely missed last call by 12 minutes! Traffic was terrible! It took us a whopping 40+ minutes after a detour just to get to Toji's.

taking the Hawthorne bridge to Toji's

  We made it into the store for the first time, a little apprehensive as to what they offered. My bf thought it was too good to be true, and that they probably already grilled the meat for us and we get at it buffet style, but to our surprise, the place was not a chowhound. It has a nice, dark atmosphere with grills attached to every table. 

We requested the buffet menu, and it came with three options.

Option A: 2 types of meat at $12.95/person

Option B: 5 types of meat at $14.95/person

Option C: 8 types of meat at $19.95/person

Not knowing what we wanted specifically, we opted for C. The waitress asked if there were any types of meat we wanted, and we said no, requesting a little bit of each. I specifically said a "little" of each as I wanted to try everything, and then order more of the stuff I actually liked. Even though this place is an all-you-can-eat, it isn't a buffet style place where you get up and select the food off a buffet table and put it on your plate. They bring the food to you, which isn't exactly my favorite thing in the world. 

grill in the center

As we waited, she brought out the side dishes (measly portion to say the least), veggies, and dipping sauce. This place gets 5 stars for presentation and cleanliness. Everything looked so high class for a Korean joint. She then brought out a plate FULL of meat. This thing was loaded to the full potential the plate can carry. I looked and saw there were four different cuts of meat, so I figured I'll wait until she brought out the next four. After a couple minutes of waiting, and the grill was heating up, we decided to just start with the first four. It was really good! I didn't knew that I was a fan of unmarinaded meat until that day. Their dipping sauce was the perfect blend for the meat! It was delicious, and my bf and I quickly became a fan of the thin, unmarinaded one. By the time we finished that plate, we were 3/4 full. Too full to ask for more, but a bit upset that we only got to try four cuts of meat even though we were paying for  8. As the first plate of meat was being cleared off our table, it was replaced by a SECOND plate loaded with meat! My jaw dropped. Out came marinaded gal-bi, spicy pork, chicken, and some other beef. Gal bi was my favorite, so I slapped that on the grill. At this point, my bf and I were just stuffing our faces. We couldn't taste anything anymore and didn't want to incur a fee for "leftover food." We ended up succumbing to the mountainous portions and left with the chicken untouched. 

Overall, we were very satisfied with our experience at Toji. Given the chance (which just means waiting til next Saturday), we will definitely return. Though, next time, we wouldn't order option C again. Our favorite meats were the first four that came out, so we'll go for option B, which is cheaper, and we can also order just the meat that tickled our fancy. 

After our meal, I was literally immobilized. I wanted to fall in a food coma. How my bf was able to drive us around after that was a miracle. I was so stuffed it took serious effort to keep my eyes opened. Needless to say, I didn't eat anything the rest of the day, as in, we finished eating at 4pm and I was done with food until 5pm the NEXT day. 

dipping sauce + side dishes

salad + meat

plate #1

grilling plate #1

plate #2

grilling plate #2

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Starbucks is having happy hour from 3-5pm from May 6-15 where their drinks are half off. My bf and   I got two grande caramel fraps for $4.25! 

may i get a c-2?

Pho Nguyen- Beaverton, OR

One of my most beloved joints to eat at is Pho Nguyen. I almost always order the same item on their menu every time I go there. I seldom stray from the C2 because it is SO bomb I don't even want to risk trying out other items. The C2 is a plate chocked full of food. You get a mound of rice planted right on the bowl itself, along with grilled pork, a skewer of grilled shrimps, some pork/skin stuff, veggies, AND a side of soup and house sauce. It sounds like a lot, and it is! I have always liked eating tinier portions of more stuff (hence my love for buffets), so this dish fits my needs perfectly. My bf got the C3, which is basically the same as the C2, except they switched out the grilled shrimps for fried tofu. 

What I especially like about Pho Nguyen is the staff. The owner and waiters are really nice and attentive. They always remember what I want (given I always order the same thing...) BUT still, it's nice walking into a place where they not only remember your face, but they also remember what you like! 

C2

soup

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Since last week's beach trip was so much fun, my bf and I  planned a beach trip for today because the weather was supposed to be 70 in the city (which comes out to ~60ish at the beach). The trip was supposed to be fun. We had prepared a picnic with food, fruits, and drinks, but it ended in.. well, it was just not a good time. It started with a speeding ticket. 77 in a 55 zone. Okay, I really can't defend my bf here because I can't possibly imagine what he was thinking! There were these motorcyclists who were tailgating him, and he wanted them off his tail, so what does he do in a passing lane? He speeds instead of moving over to the right lane to let the motorcyclists pass! Why? I have no clue since I was oblivious to the whole thing up to the point where he goes, "Shit." That got my attention. Quick. He was driving in my car, so the usual procedure goes, ID, registration, and insurance. I found my registration no problem, and whipped out a stack of insurance which I didn't have time to sift through so I handed them all to my bf, which he handed to the officer. She shifted through the stack and told me the most recent one EXPIRED February of this year. WTF! I searched through every crevice of my glovebox, every compartment in my car, and was unable to produce a valid insurance. She was nice enough to not cite us for not having our insurance on us, but she didn't let the 77 go. As if that wasn't bad enough, on our way to the beach, the road was under construction and there was some serious delay. Overall, not a good time. My bf said he's not going to Seaside again for a while. 

One last note- don't fall asleep on the beach. Uneven tan is the result. >___<