Cream Pan

May is almost over and I am nearing the end of my first year in MBA school. Where has all the time gone?!

Still over the weekend KL and I decided to check out a very famous Japanese bakery in Orange County. Very famous, because if you check out the bakery, Cream Pan, on Yelp, there's nothing but endless raves about their baked goods, especially their strawberry croissants. Needless to say, I had to experience the food for myself - what could be so spectacular about strawberry croissants?

The place is really nondescript, with no indication of the culinary treasures inside :P Coincidentally it's tucked away in the plaza next to Honda-ya. When I was there, I got the legendary strawberry croissants, an azuki (red-bean) cream pan ("pan", パ ン is Japanese for bread), a peach danish and a pork-katsu sandwich box.

Peach danish:

Pork-katsu sandwich, a little pricey at $6 but chock full of ingredients!

And the baked goods, the strawberry croissants and azuki cream-pan. Because of all the hype over the strawberry croissants, KL and I decided that we could not share and we each had to get one.

Close-ups- first, the heavenly azuki pan!

...and the delicious strawberry croissant:

Verdict? Strawberry croissants - GOOD! The crust's flaky and the cream sweet but not overly so, balanced nicely by the tangy sweetness of the strawberries. But the one that I enjoyed most of all is the azuki cream pan. In fact, KL did too, so much so that we ended up fighting each other to eat it. The sweet red bean paste complimented the fluffy light whipped cream perfectly, all encased in a crispy pastry shell. Definitely try out these two items if you ever stop by Cream Pan.

My outfit for the day, harem pants are perfect for pigging out:

Wearing American Apparel cardigan, complexgeometries top, H&M harem pants, Ann Demeulemeester lace-up sandals, Balenciaga clutch.

I have to say though, if you want to try out the food at Cream Pan, BE THERE EARLY.
These pictures were taken during our second trip there, the first time we went to Cream Pan was in the afternoon and their shelves were swept clean. Seriously, now I understand why!

In the upcoming weeks I will be holed up in a study room somewhere finishing up on group projects and mugging for exams, so expect slooooow updates :/

Cafe Blanc

I love love love sweets.

Cakes are probably the most wonderful type of food because not only are they yummy, but they look so beautiful as well. My favourite dessert place in Orange County has got to be Cafe Blanc at Newport Beach. KL calls the plaza it's located in a double trap because Cafe Blanc is right next to a bridal gown shop and I like to go there sometimes to drool at the gowns whenever we stop by. ;)

I believe the shop's run by a Japanese chef and his rendition of French desserts are so delicate, not too sweet and just perfect! Since Easter was just round the corner, Cafe Blanc offered a cute Easter bunny cake which was almost too cute to eat! It was really yummy though with a crisp white chocolate shell with a creamy lilac berry mousse. I almost felt bad destroying the cute bunny cake..but it was too delicious to be missed! The strawberry shortcake on the other hand was light and refreshing, amazingly its cream layer was light and fluffy...perfect fruity desserts on a sunny day! The raspberry gelato that came with the cake was sweet, but not overly so and even had chunks of raspberries inside..see, I am getting my daily servings of fruit!

My camera wasn't with me when we dropped by that day, but I am sure that KL and I will be back again and I intend to take a picture of Cafe Blanc's cake counter...each and every yummy cake that they make looks so perfect and beautiful!

What I wore:

Rick Owens gray leather jacket, H&M leopard scarf, Heimstone silk tank, American Apparel tank, Drop crotch pants from Etsy, Rick Owens mummy wedges, Balenciaga bouton d'or work.

Slowly but surely, I am easing leopard stripes into my outfit and my Rick Owens mummy wedges are the most comfy pair of wedges that I own. Someday I vow to own the ankle boots version as well!

Mini Road Trip

KL and I had something to attend to in downtown L.A last Friday. We hardly ever drive up to L.A nowadays because of the terrible traffic, but there are indeed wonderful places to visit up North, so we decided to make a day trip out of it.

First stop - can anyone name the area? Those of you who have attended college in LA should be able to recognize it.

After we settled our stuff in L.A, we decided on an impulse to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, instead of having lunch at Santa Monica. This has possibly got to be our favorite highway ever....we used to drive up North a lot along this highway to San Francisco in the good old days ;)

Lunch was at one of our usual pit-stop at a cafe in Summerland. KL and I much prefer to break at Summerland wherever we drive along the Pacific Coast, instead of Santa Barbara, because of its little-town quaintness and that the beach is literally minutes away by foot. The food here is simple home-made fare, nothing fancy, but it's fresh, hearty and delicious!

Pictures of the cafe:

Food! KL had steak and eggs with a side of toast, even though this was a late lunch..but he loves breakfast food, especially eggs. I had the crab cake salad...lemon juice over fresh greens is a genius move!

Their restroom doors - roosters for guys, hens for gals.

A better shot of my outfit in the cafe's restroom..yes I'm narcissistic and voyeuristic this way ;)

Ya Ya Aflalo vapor leather jacket, Zara blouse, AA leggings, Ann Demeulemeester boots

After the meal, KL and I headed to the beach nearby to walk off the lunch. It felt quite extravagant to be enjoying a leisurely lunch and beautiful stroll by the beach on a workday, but it's really the simple things like these that reminded us what we love about California and what made us decide to move here in the first place.
This day trip provided a much needed reprieve from the craziness of the office for us... next stop, New York City! (in 2 weeks anyway ;))

All bundled up

Elizabeth & James puffer jacket, KL's cashmere sweater, AA leggings, Ann Demeulemeester boots

So I figured that today might be a good time to wear my E&J puffer blazer before the rains in SoCal cease. This puffer jacket is so much fun to wear...there's a slight tuxedo shape to the front before it puffs out gloriously behind into a cocoon like shape. In the recent cold temperatures, it has the comfort factor of wearing a mattress topper and I cannot say how much I love its unconventional shape, though I have been called Kenny a few times while wearing it.
Maybe it's a good thing it's not orange ;)

A list of random things

Phillip Lim cardigan, AA white tank, Zara drop-crotch pants, Marni shoes

• Outfit post of the day: It was time to bring out the sandals again, it's been averaging 85 degrees or more in SoCal lately - what the? I'm not ready for summer yet, I still want to spend more time with my boots!
• But it might be time for a pedi.
• Sexy Beijing - I found this website courtesy of the girls from Fashion Nation. For those of you who have ever wondered how life is like in today's Beijing, this website is definitely worth a visit. My favourite part of the website is a section named Sexy Beijing, which contains short video clips hosted by American Anna Sophie Lowenberg as she chronicles her thoughts on love and relationships in Beijing, a la Carrie Bradshaw. The clips even begin with a melody and opening reminiscent of Sex In The City, and Anna Sophie even does a "Carrie Bradshaw" every now and then with scenes where her thoughts are voiced over as she purses her lips in front of her laptop. The episode "Lost In Translation" is a scream as she interviews Chinese people on the streets what their English names are, only to be meant with puzzling answers like Frog, Samanfar and Smacker.
• Net-a-porter is offering a further 20% off their sale items with the code "WINTERUSA", good till January 18th. On the same note, The Outnet is suppose to be the outlet outpost for NAP, where past-season offerings will be stashed. Might be a good time to sign up for the email list now to be sure you are not missing out on anything.
• Chinese New Year is approaching (26th January), but the lack of festivities here is putting a damper on my mood.
• I love shiny things like a magpie.
• I love writing like this without any need for continuity.

Balenciaga F/W 08 wedge boots

Courtesy of jakandjil.com

These hoof boots........

My take:

Junya Watanabe shrug, AA dress, AA leggings, Balenciaga wedge boots, Chanel baby cabas.

P.S. It's true they do make you stomp around like a horse!

Ann, please meet Junya

Ann Demeulemeester boots, Mary Meyer drop-crotch pants, American Apparel long-sleeve tee, Junya Watanabe shrug.

This outfit pretty much sums up how I dress, fashion-wise, nowadays.

A lot of black, and layers to keep me warm.
Oh and pants definitely, especially drop-crotch for that little extra swagger ;)

My favourite pair of boots from Ann Demeulemeester, the triple rows of laces, the slight faded black leather, it’s all a little goth-meets-mad Maxine! (kudos to luckyme@TFS for coining the last phrase ) These are so iconic and seem to make everything I wear it with, so much better to me. I would have never imagined that it would be possible to be in awe of a pair of boots, but with this pair, I most definitely am!

And my Junya shrug, it’s so incredibly soft and warm with a faux fur collar, which I am so happy with because I just cannot wear real fur. Mostly because of my bunnies and mostly because I am not comfortable with the idea of wearing real fur. It’s really a stylish blanket of sorts and I say this because the fluctuating weather in California has given me a bout of flu and it’s just so comforting to have something cosy to cuddle up to in the car, at the office, at Starbucks..you get the idea. In fact the shrug is laying on my lap right now and I am sporadically squeezing it and sniffing it as I type :P