I recently read a post somewhere that incited quite a lot of comments from the readers. The author stated that the majority of bloggers' recipes out there are trash. I do not have the link handy to share but I am probably watering down his/her opinion a bit; I believe the actual claim was that all were worthless. Is this post of mine a retort to the claim? Not necessarily. I would have to agree that sometimes, there are bad eggs out there and not every single thing posted is perfect whether from a well-known or small-time blog. S/he also pointed out that the pictures are taken to draw the reader in but the recipe does not hold up a majority of the time. It's a pity, really, but I do have an example to share in today's post. Reference the picture above.

Restaurants updating their menus every season has become a regular occurrence these days as many start to focus on seasonal ingredients and giving their customers a change of pace every few months. However, how many do you know of change their menu every single week? Apparently, that is the case over at Tempo Urban Kitchen in Brea. Opened in late 2014 by veteran restaurateur Jorge Cueva, Tempo is a passion project that allows culinary landscapes to be explored. The menu has a heavy Mexican influence (appropriate for the region) but still manages to touch on a variety of cuisines in one go. So much experimentation makes a restaurant privy to successes and failures; we visited upon invitation to see what flavors could be cooked up then and what keeps the customers currently happy.

When is the last time you did something sultry and secretive for a night out with your partner? Planning can take a long time and not everything could be exactly as you want it. Enter Hush Experience which plans pop-up dates that have an element of secrecy to it - you don't know the details about the date until just 48 hours prior. That can add a little pizzazz into your relationship, no? I had written about their Valentine's Day-oriented event titled AFTER DARK not too long ago and was happy to give a reader the chance to join on in. In addition to this, we were able to attend the event ourselves and see just what a Hush Experience is like...and the verdict is that it's spectacular.

Sunchokes! They're so crunchy even after being steamed - it's amazing. This tuber is not all too common known as it has a reputation for causing a bit of...flatulence, to put it lightly. However, it doesn't affect everyone! If you want to experiment first, try eating it at home to save yourself any unexpected embarrassment. Aside from its funny little side effect, the sunchoke (also known as Jerusalem artichoke) is chock-full of vitamins and minerals that are good additions to your diet. Because of their crisp nature, they are fun to add for texture to dishes and the flavor is a mix between artichoke and perhaps a bit of jicama. I tossed it gently with some lemon parsley pasta purchased from Seattle but you can use it with other pastas as well. It just won't be as sour!

66-472 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa, HI 96712
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Coffee & Tea
http://www.okinacafe.com/

If you had an abandoned school bus at your disposal, what would you do with it? Strip the paint and turn it into a stationary food truck? I'm not sure if they necessarily had meant to operate out of a school bus but Okina Cafe rocks it pretty well now. We came across this cute little spot while stopping by a shrimp truck gathering at the North Shore in Oahu. When you've got your fill of tasty, sometimes salty seafood, you might find yourself craving drink; this spot's got your back. The easy to read sign with just a handful of options in addition to signs indicating their commitment to organic drew us in, and we were glad for it.

440 South Anaheim Boulevard #201, Anaheim, CA 92805
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Indian
www.adyaoc.com

With all of the food adventuring we try to do, it is often hard to go back to the same place twice even if we enjoyed our experience there. I attribute that to the vast amount of restaurants, new and old, that fill up Orange County. When Anaheim Packing House opened after much anticipation, we sampled a few vendors here and there but found ourselves falling a bit in love with ADYA. Something about the clean way the food tastes and the balance in each portion is appealing; there is also a freshness that you don't often find with the Indian food around. Lunch buffets dominate the landscape easily but ADYA turns in a different direction. I write this particular post with some photos from a recent meal but we have been here several times and enjoyed it every time.

When it comes to food, you cannot deny that Orange County has an addiction for two "meal" times: brunch and happy hour. As a restaurant in the area trying to make it big in every beat, you will likely try those both out to see what the crowd is like. Usually, these special timeblocks stay. We've tasted Del Frisco's Grille during brunch already and on other occasions but it was not until recently (January 19 to be exact) that Irvine Spectrum's newest major restaurant put out a Happy Hour. Apparently, their guests have been asking for a happy hour for quite a while now so with their customers in mind, the team at this Irvine location put together some specials that may even attract some new blood. This release marks the restaurant as having the first Happy Hour in the company's line which includes several restaurants in southern California, Texas, and more places.

Chocolate and peanut butter - who was the genius who came up with that combination? You, sir/madam, are a fine person and one whom we all must thank. Duc has an utter love for peanut butter but he also gladly takes it with some chocolate so since I recently replenished my cocoa powder coffers, I wanted to honor that. Chocolate peanut butter muffins sounded like a lovely way to start off a morning. These bad boys have a chocolate muffin base and peanut butter chips inside. They are definitely more of the breakfast variety of muffins which make them excellent companions to coffee. You need these in your life for sure so check out the recipe by reading on!

"Minerva, when will the Portland posts end?" Probably with this one. I'm pretty bad about getting updates out about places we've traveled too since there is so much happening around these parts too. One post that I have been meaning to get together is a round-up of some quick stops we made in Portland that don't necessarily warrant a standalone write-up BUT are worthy of mentioning. Surprisingly, most of these spots are also in the same area so you could, if planned right, visit every one of them in the same day! I do have to say that we really enjoyed being in Portland for all of the food we found there and the culture overall but if you could only do a few things, you might want to consider these.

Chinese fine dining - it's not a phrase you hear too often or if ever. The term "Chinese food" has been thrust into a connotation of greasy chow mein and ubiquitous fried rice in the American context for the most part, save for areas with significant Chinese background. To lay the ethnic adjective before the phrase "fine dining" is a tad irregular but it has happened in Orange County recently. With the arrival of Top Chef finalist Shirley Chung and her partnership with restaurateur Stacie Tran, Irvine is now home to TWENTY EIGHT, a foray into the world of modern Chinese cuisine. Opened in late December, the restaurant has gotten buzz from those curious as to how the chef would fuse her culinary background in French and Italian cuisines with her own heritage and nostalgic dishes. We were invited in one late afternoon to experience what the chef is proud to deem her first restaurant.

Making Chinese or Vietnamese food always has me a little nervous. I tend to veer towards more European dishes when I put something together because the standards are high for Asian cuisine. My mother cooked every single day when I was growing up and still does. As most people would say, no one can beat mom's cooking so when I decide to attempt anything Chinese or Vietnamese, I don't believe it can be anywhere near as good as mom's. Therefore, I opt for dishes that she has made before or just doesn't make often. I had a whole duck to play with one evening and decided to make something Teochew (my particular Chinese heritage). I saw a recipe for braised duck ("lo ack"/滷鸭) so wanted to work with that. My mom knew what it was but hasn't really made it before...and she approved! Huzzah! So below is the tweaked recipe that is Teochew mother-approved.

655 Keeaumoku St, Ste 109, Honolulu, HI 96814
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Casual, Dressy Casual | Cuisine - Sushi, Japanese

When you think Hawaii, you think seafood, right? Or at least, fresh fish. It's only natural, and with all of the buzz we had heard from past visitors, we knew we had to have sushi somewhere. The question became where. Suggestions were tossed around but when it came down to it, the first night we were on Oahu, I was craving the raw tastiness. A friend had told us about Sushi ii and how amazingly fresh and true to form it was. Luckily, our initial stop in Honolulu placed us close to the sushi restaurant so we walked on over. No regrets here. The experience was amazing, and though we didn't have a reservation at the time, I highly suggest you get one. We were just lucky that someone had canceled. We were also lucky to be in the presence and able to taste some sushi mastery.

If you're going to get dolled up for a Broadway show, you better doll up your plate too beforehand. With the start of this year's Broadway shows at Segerstrom Center for the Arts today, Leatherby's Cafe Rouge is releasing their season's set of inspired themed menus per show. It's an innovative tradition of theirs and one that puts Executive Ross Pangilinan's artistry to the test as he examines each of the upcoming shows to determine what to fill the set list with. The installment of three-course menus is usually based on the music and characters of the shows to get patrons into the mindset and mood of the storyline before enjoying the performances. The selections are quite carefully curated and after I was able to preview some dishes from this series, they proved to be masterfully executed as well.

2292 E Carson St, Long Beach, CA 90807
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To Go | Cuisine - Hawaiian
http://pokeetc.com/

We were in Hawaii not too long ago but there are aspects of it that we already miss. One of those dear things is the poke. I don't mean poke as in jabbing at someone with a finger. I mean the popular Hawaiian dish called poke (poh-kay) that is a raw "salad" of sorts usually made with ahi tuna. The chunks are tossed in inamona, sea salt, sesame oil, some kind of chile pepper, and soy sauce for starters; variations of it do exist. There have been several Hawaiian restaurants gaining notoriety in the Orange County/Los Angeles area lately for their fresh poke. I, for one, need to start seeking these out more. OC Weekly recently covered a spot that I knew I had to visit right away. Poke Etc. just opened in Long Beach as the second location of its company, and the feedback was high in praise. This was enough to pique my interest and justify a trip with some friends over to get ourselves some fresh, authentic Hawaiian poke.