Dec 22, 2011

Today I woke up because it's the last couple of days to be Mom's little elf. We start out by going to Costco around 11 and the parking lot was packed! I was somewhat dreading going inside but surprisingly it wasn't as crowded as I thought it was going to be. We picked up a lot of the food for Christmas day, like the meat, veggies and fruits. We also wanted to get wrapping paper (because Costco has the thickest kind) but they were SOLD OUT! I guess you can't wait to buy it only 3 days before xmas. hehe. As we were getting to the end of our list Mom wanted to go to the bathroom and she told me to go get another package of mushrooms, which meant we would have to split up. Not thinking it would be a problem, UNTIL I realized that I had her phone on me as well because the list was on her iPhone. So, when I went back to look for her, she was gone. O.o I think I lost her for about 15 min when I finally decided that I was just going to go to the front and check out. While I was in line she calls me, (I guess she found someone she knew and called her own phone) and we finally met up. O.o I was like OMG, it was like losing Popo in the store. haha. So, we finally check out of costco after being there for over an hour.

The next stop was Target! We really needed to get wrapping paper, especially since Costco ran out, so we head to the next store. And of course we grab some extra things a long the way, like some candy for our gingerbread house contest. :) Luckily, we do not spend more then a half hour at Target before I start getting a little grumpy because I'm hungry. Mom knew that it was time to eat after that so, we head out to her favorite Chinese restaurant, Yummys. We get salt and pepper flounder, string beans and their special "yummy tofu" everything was delicious and the price was even better. After getting some energy back, Mom and I head back towards Oakland, but we wanted to stop at the Golden State Warrior Store to pick up some more gifts. We were definitely on a mission to knock these gifts out...I guess you can say we are some last minute shoppers. :)

We finally get back home around 4:30, after being out most of the day, we were pretty tired. I had a dinner at 6, so I wanted to rest a bit before I went out. Luckily I got to sneak a little power nap while watching "Coming to America."

After my short power nap I head out towards Berkeley to meet up my friend Pearl at Kiraku. She was a little late, so I waited inside until she got there. It was nice to see her again and catch up on each other's life. She is such a married woman now...haha kind of funny. It was also cool because she told me the owners are her husbands good friend and she actually designed the restaurants identity (logo, menus, etc.). We got to try a good amount of food and everything was really really good. Because it was Izakaya style I was very satisfied after our meal.

Kiraku Salad

Fried Fish Cake

Tempura Corn

I think this was Seabass, it was good.

The Chef Diaske brought out a sashimi sampler, super ono

Buta Kim (Kim Chee with Pork and a boiled egg on top)

Ended with a dessert

Overall, everything was REALLY good and the funny thing was that the day before Mom was talking about this place. It is right by Norikonoko, so I always wanted to try it. I think the next place I will have to try is where Pearl and her husband Tada work, Ramen Parlor in San Mateo. I'm going to have to take my family there :)

After dinner, I get back home and finish being my moms little elf. We finish wrapping ALL the presents ( I think), so the next task on our list is going to be cleaning up the house! haha. Only 2 more days til' Christmas day, but Tsukahira Xmas is tomorrow! I can't wait for the 4 days of xmas to begin. :D