Five Days at the Mall

Playing: Kids in the Street-The All American Rejects
Reading: Mr. Darcy Wikipedia Page

I've gone to South Coast Plaza five times in the last week, two of them with my brother, who is on the verge of killing me for forcing him to go to the mall so often. We decided to try AnQi, which has been called the best restaurant in Orange County by Orange Coast. The atmosphere and service were incredible. For instance, if you asked for water, they gave you refreshing cucumber water. Also, when asked where the bathroom was, they offered to escort you there. One waitress took this man's young son to the bathroom and even walked him back to the table that way the man didn't need to get up and could continue eating.

For our appetizer, we shared the Takuwan Roll with our mum. It's a basic roll with avocado, cucumber, carrot, daikon, and beet served on a bed of curry. I personally found it very refreshing and tasty, but considering, it's only veggies, it was too expensive for my liking. It was nice having a curry dipping sauce, though.

Whenever a restaurant has something they're known for, I always try that, so I ordered An's Famous Garlic Noodles with Beef. The beef was exceptional, but I found the noodles to only be average. It was extremely garlicky, which I liked a lot, but the noodles had a weird pasty texture as if the sauce had started to curdle or something. It really needed something like scallions to brighten up the whole dish. I also suggest making the sauce smoother. For me, this Californian-Vietnamese fusion restaurant could use some improvements and felt like it was a place for those unfamiliar with Asian cuisine to get a taste of it.

On another day, I went only with my mum that way I had a chance to look around, I came across this interesting display at Louis Vuitton for their collaboration with the Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. I love how Marc Jacobs is constantly having Louis Vuitton do collaborations with different artists like Takashi Murakami and Stephen Sprouse. Personally, I think the Murakami collaboration was the most fun and I'm trying to get my hands on a bag from the collection still. There was another Kusama window display with tentacles and my mum was wondering if they were inflatable, so I calmly walked in and jabbed one of them with a finger, while the security guard was giving me odd looks. Fun times, huh?

Then on another day with my mum, I went shopping at Zara for some new clothes. This is my first time shopping and buying something at Zara, so I have to admit, I found Zara so stressful! The clothes were in piles and there were Asian women and Persian men fighting over clothes, so I only lasted 45 minutes in the store. I however did find (ANOTHER) black sweater for myself, but this has an interesting cutout on the back for only $19! Since the sweater was inexpensive, I didn't feel too guilty buying this white collared tank with metal details to layer under the black sweater. It's dressy, edgy, and casual all at the same time!

Ooh, and I fell in love with Alexander Wang's Anouck boots at Nordstrom on the fourth day! Only four Nordstroms in the USA carry Alexander Wang. How lucky am I to have one of them so close to me? I'm tempted to use my employee discount and just grab them for myself! They only have two pairs left in my size and they're selling out quickly, so I don't think I'll be able to purchase them on sale. The decisions I face in my life are so petty sometimes. But listen to me, I missed out on my dream Marni moccasins, so I'm really debating if I should just grab these. I might end up regretting not getting them, but I also want to get sunglasses and buying both is way too much money.

Left to Right: Tina, Jessy, me, and Michael

Also, I started a collaborative fashion blog with Tina, Jessy, and Michael, which is called The Suburban Urbanites. We went to the mall again that way I could introduce the three of them to each other, so I hope you can follow that blog too. We hope to offer you advice on style, share outfits, and share opinions on runway shows with you. Hope to see you there!

PS Congratulations to Ryan Lochte, Kimberly Rhode, and Dana Vollmer for winning gold medals for the USA! Congrats to the rest of Team USA that has also won any type of medals. Keep on kicking ass at the Olympics for me, alright?