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chef liu’s

It’s been far far too long since I’ve written about food on here. My time is getting ever more precious to me so it’s been difficult for me to take the time to write about food experiences over using that time to paint or do a quick outfit post. So here I am to remedy that, with my thoughts on Chef Liu’s.

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People come to me frequently for restaurant suggestions, but really.. I don’t have as many as you think. Yes, I’m adventurous and yes I love to experience new things and explore Atlanta. But I, much like you, have only a handful of tried and true go-to spots. It’s partly due to financial constraints and partly due to the comfort of convenience.

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Asian food is quite obviously essential to my weekly dining. I’m no expert on cooking Asian food myself (apart from random stir frying), so what ends up happening is I have a few key restaurants on rotation to get my fix. Though I’m more partial to Vietnamese food by nature (and childhood upbringing), every now and then I just neeeeed Chinese. Like… better than stupid takeout Chinese. So I’m always on the hunt for a good Chinese restaurant that can cook correctly and leave me feeling satiated without feeling like a grease face. Chef Liu’s is one such place.

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As you can see by these photos, we were hungry and ordered way more than we could finish. But of course that gives us the upside of leftovers, which is almost required when eating family style Asian. From what I can remember, we ordered pork intestines, jellyfish salad, cold spicy noodles, dumplings, beef stew, and some sort of chicken chow fun deal. Whatever, you can use your eyes. 

officially obsessed: tokimonsta

Back in the good ole college days, I used to fancy myself something of a good-music-finder. But since I’ve graduated and become busy with trying to stay afloat in the real world, discovering new songs and new artists has definitely fallen to the wayside. Now I only come to new music from happenstance – cooler friends, 88.5 wras, or a chance blog post. Well, last week I discovered Tokimonsta thanks to this feature by Refinery 29. And I think I’ve fallen in love.

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bánh mì love: quốc hương

Sometimes I find it quite difficult to explain how or why I love certain places. After initiating a restaurant into your regular rotation, you rarely think about those things anymore. It just becomes a part of you, a part of the things you like, and a part of your regular experiences. Remarkable things turn into habit, almost like eating a bowl of cereal. Growing up on home-made Vietnamese food myself, I took for granted how great it is until I left home and couldn’t have access to it anymore. Luckily, I ended up moving to a city that is more than plentiful of places serving the exact things my inner child craves.

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Quoc Huong has been my go-to place to knosh on the beloved Vietnamese treat known as the bánh mì sandwich. Its ingredients are so simple yet so satisfying; nothing really beats a warm crunchy french bread loaf paired with marinated meat and pickled vegetables inside, right? I mean, right.

skewers

There is a place on Buford Highway that Ben and I so lovingly nicknamed “skewers”. It sits in one of those random Asian-dominated commercial plazas, so conveniently next door to Quickly (where I get my regular taro milk bubble tea). At Bei Jing Kabobs, you can get a variety of clear-your-nose-water-your-eyes spicy kebabs.

Beijing-Kebab-Buford-Highway-Atlanta-1aUnfortunately my spice level tolerance is pretty much zero so I can’t enjoy about half the menu, but it sure does look attractive. You can get a variety of spiced meats and seafood on kebabs or submerged in this steaming and delicious-looking stew. I mean, look at it! Has broccoli and asparagus ever looked so delectably lethal?