Photo-a-day 2015.12.31

Amy's Ice Cream

Austin, TX local favorite

This was the maple walnut flavor. Sweet and already pre-mixed with nuts. Noms.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.30

Curved building ceiling

Lakeline Mall food court in Austin, TX.

Step away for a few years, and this seems pretty cool. Sadly they took out the hot air balloon though.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.29

Cajun seafood platter

From Mulate's in New Orleans, LA

Clockwise from the 12 o'clock - Cheddar mashed potato, stuffed crab, coleslaw, calamari, fried oysters, grilled catfish atop grilled crawfish, grilled shrimp.

The catfish, shrimp, and potatoes were superb. Stuffed crab was pretty good too. The calamari was terrible. The unpictured fried catfish appetizers were pretty tasty though.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.28

Laura Plantation

The gallery in front of Laura Plantation, a Creole style plantation near New Orleans, LA with a very storied history

Photo-a-day 2015.12.27

St. Louis Cathedral

Jackson Square in New Orleans, LA

Photo-a-day 2015.12.26

Kiddie train

Photo-a-day 2015.12.25

Force Awakens movie posters

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Good movie. Way more satisfying than the prequels. And dare I say, Rey is a badass.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.24

Fried tofu

From New Fortune Chinese Seafood in Austin, TX

Sadly, these were not very good... but the rest of the dishes we ordered were very tasty.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.23

Christmas cookies

Photo-a-day 2015.12.22

Sand people gingerbread village

Sand people in gingerbread village form (as seen at Sheraton Seattle's annual gingerbread village)

All edible.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.21

Polar bear

Photo-a-day 2015.12.20

Snowy mountain

Photo-a-day 2015.12.19

Snowy forest

Photo-a-day 2015.12.18

Sweet Hello Kitty

As seen at the Hello Kitty Exhibit at the EMP Museum in Seattle, WA

Photo-a-day 2015.12.17

Carnation

Photo-a-day 2015.12.16

Moonlight

Photo-a-day 2015.12.15

Legacy of the Void

Ain't gonna lie, this will probably consume my life for the next few days...

Photo-a-day 2015.12.14

The setting sun

Photo-a-day 2015.12.13

Small potluck

Missing from this picture is the curry and spiced apple cider

Photo-a-day 2015.12.12

Cozy owls

Photo-a-day 2015.12.11

Retail center tree and star

Photo-a-day 2015.12.10

Liquidy lime tarts

Failed lime tarts. May not be easy to see, but these "tarts" are mostly liquid... the curd was too thin from the start. I thought baking would cure it, but nope I was wrong.

Been on a streak of failed baking projects lately. First it was flat macarons with this same runny lime curd, then it was burnt chocolate and greasy fudge, now this... sadface

Photo-a-day 2015.12.09

Lamplighter lampstand

Photo-a-day 2015.12.08

Rainy day

Photo-a-day 2015.12.07

Downtown construction

Photo-a-day 2015.12.06

Tidying Chinese

Snapped from The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy by Ursus Wehrli. Seeing this made me literally laugh out loud

Photo-a-day 2015.12.05

Lime macarons

Vanilla flavored macarons with lime curd filling.

These look great, but they have many disappointments behind them.

The lime curd was too runny and borderline too tart.

The 1st attempt at the macarons was actually a different recipe. I had to throw them out because they were completely deflated and burnt.

Thankfully I had all the ingredients for my usual macaron recipe, and while many of them stuck to the pan, they inflated properly enough to pour the (runny) filling in.

Photo-a-day 2015.12.04

Christmas decorations

Photo-a-day 2015.12.03

Smoke trails

Photo-a-day 2015.12.02

Dried mango slices

Photo-a-day 2015.12.01

Morning sun

Hmm... not the best exposure on this photo. I'm taking rather meh photos lately... sigh

Photo-a-day 2015.11.30

Burning incense

This is a terrible picture, sorry...

Photo-a-day 2015.11.29

Souvenir sarong

Photo-a-day 2015.11.28

Beef noodle soup

No one does beef noodle soup like Taiwan does it... man, I miss this already.

Photo-a-day 2015.11.27

Chocolate ice cream in a toilet

Chocolate ice cream served in a toilet bowl. From Modern Toilet Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan

Everything was toilet themed, and I couldn't help laugh as they brought a mound of poop shaped bread into their kitchens.

Photo-a-day 2015.11.26

Old family portrait

Photo-a-day 2015.11.25

Loy Krathong

Loy Krathong celebration at Lumpini Park

Photo-a-day 2015.11.24

Massaman curry

Massaman curry, from some generic tourist-oriented restaurant in Phuket.
This was pretty tasty, aside from the random bug I found dead in the curry... sometimes ignorance is bliss? =\

Photo-a-day 2015.11.23

Baby tiger!

As seen at Tiger Kingdom in Phuket
Tigers are like giant housecats - lazy, sleepy, occasionally playful, and cute

Photo-a-day 2015.11.22

Tak bat

Tak bat - almsgiving ritual in Laos
Monks walk quietly through the streets of Luang Prabang at the break of dawn, and locals offer them food to make merit and connect closer to the monks. It was quite a sight to see, unfortunately somewhat ruined by several tourists using flash and getting in the monks' way (I felt a little bad getting this photo, the first monk seems to be glaring at me...)

Photo-a-day 2015.11.21

Luang Prabang at dusk

Photo-a-day 2015.11.20

Elephant riding

From Elephant Village near Luang Prabang, Laos. Best experience of the trip by far. Elephant training, riding, and bathing, with a bonus trip to Tad Sae waterfalls afterwards.

Photo-a-day 2015.11.19

Kuang Si Falls

This place is amazing and fantastical. Totally worth taking a trip out to Luang Prabang, Laos

Photo-a-day 2015.11.18

Skewer buffet

In Luang Prabang, Laos
Pick several skewers and they cook it for you right there, roughly $1.25 per skewer

Photo-a-day 2015.11.17

Angkor Wat at sunset

Because, sunsets are always more awesome

Photo-a-day 2015.11.16

Angkor Wat

Technically the second visit to Angkor Wat, but today was so much more picturesque

Photo-a-day 2015.11.15

Banteay Kdei

Part of the Angkor World Heritage sites... this place was overgrown, in ruins, yet still walkable through. Extra bonus for the weather being cool (for once) as the rain was still falling.

Photo-a-day 2015.11.14

Fish amok

Fish amok - Khmer specialty of steam-cooked curry in banana leaves

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Hello from Southeast Asia!

I will be in the region for the next two weeks, sweating myself to death and wandering around aimlessly. First impressions-

• traffic signs and lanes are very very very loose guidelines
• crossing streets on busy roads is terrifying and also satisfying
• it is f*ing hot and humid. my easily heat-exhausted body is already unhappy
• tuk-tuk drivers are quite aggressive for business

anyway, without further ado, here are some pics from my first day in SE Asia!

Riverfront walking

Royal Palace building

Super sweaty selfie

Elaborate plant

Praying statues everywhere

Wat Phnom

Passion fruit soda thing