Happy daylight savings!

Happy daylight savings!

At the end of yet another quarter, and I always wonder how we got here. Hard at work or hardly working? It's the same question, whether as a student, or as a contributing member of the work force.

Spring break is less than a week away. On the agenda: exploring Los Angeles. I always take my home city for granted, and I've decided to take advantage of what it has to offer: eats, drinks, the sights, the sounds.

Speaking of eats and drinks:

I decided to continue the trend of photographing my food with animals that are present... in this case: chickens!

I had a wonderful breakfast of oatmeal pancakes on Friday with Heatherrrrr: an incredibly relaxing way to usher in a weekend full of work. I'm more of a waffle person, but appreciate a good pancake... and these are good pancakes. First off, their appeal lies in how simple they are to make. Secondly, you can snack on whatever leftover oatmeal you make that doesn't go into the dough (me: always a fan of the snacking during meal making). Thirdly, they are perfectly sweet on their own without syrup, and go perfectly with a handful of berries on the side. Fourthly, these are just so comforting. The oatmeal makes them substantial and doesn't make you feel like you're eating just fluff (as they can sometimes feel). Confirmed: raspberries remain my favorite fruit.

Next, I visited Orenchi Ramen, a ramen place in Santa Clara, upon the recommendation of James (and Yelp). It opens at 5:30 for dinner, so getting there at 5:25 should be sufficient, right? Nope. Line out the door, and the entire waiting area is crowded. My name goes on the list, and we manage to miss the first wave of seating. Luckily, a Korean market is across the street, so I geek out over Asian goods, like kimchi, Pocky, and Botan rice candy (sadly, no kimpop to be found) while waiting to be seated. The service at Orenchi is quite prompt and friendly, so we were seated about 45 minutes after first signing up, and brought our beverages a few minutes after getting to our table.

Meet the best chicken karaage.

I felt mildly guilty that I was eating this chicken, since I had visited such cute ones just the day before... but this was too good to feel guilty. Hot, crispy, flavorful... with cold beer? Definitely. Paired with Yebisu, it was incredible. Japanese fried chicken and beer, mmm. Just about tied with my favorite combination of pizza and beer. I was sad to have just one piece and have to share the rest, but I figured I had another treat coming for me... and indeed I did.

Meet tonkotsu ramen.

The broth was thick-- so savory and not very salty (although I feel like I've been drinking gallons of water after the fact). But, the best part was the noodles: so chewy and relatively thick, which were very satisfying. The egg was perfectly poached, although I think my favorite still may be at Himawari or Daikokuya.

Verdict? The 25 minute drive is definitely worth it. Even if they didn't have ramen, give me a plate of karaage and a cold Yebisu, and I'm a happy girl.