Eat, Drink, Man, 555 Girl

One of our favorite foodie movies!!

"Eat, Drink, Man, Woman," opening scene. 

"Eat Drink Man Woman" directed by Ang Lee. Video by YouTube. Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Pictures Corp. and Good Machine. 

Happy hour Mondays

Happy Hour* at Gyu-kaku in Tustin is available all day Mondays and has a great selection of food and drink specials.

Here are a few of our favorites: 

1. The garlic topping on the spicy cold tofu ($2) was awesome. (Editor's note: Order extra garlic topping on the side to eat with barbecue.)

2. The garlic fried noodles ($5.95) with ground chicken was served in a hot stone bowl and was delicious. 

The noodles were a little spicy and very garlicky. One of our favorites!

3. The cold sake ($5) was chilled and went well with the food. Other drink specials included Sapporo draft pitchers ($7.95) and wine ($3). 

Miso butter fish ($4.95): Cooked in foil and a 555 Girl favorite!
(*Editor's note 11/30/11: On a recent trip back to Gyu-kaku in Tustin, we found the miso butter fish was taken off the happy hour menu and is no longer offered at the discounted price.)

Avoid the New York steak miso and kim-chee. The steak was dry, kim-chee was salty and both were lacking in flavor.










Located on Newport Ave. in Tustin near the 5 freeway, we prefer Gyu-kaku during happy hour when its appetizer prices are up to 50 percent off.

Reservations help avoid any long waits and can be made by calling (714) 731-1719.

*All prices listed in this post are happy hour prices. 

555 Girl's Cream Pan brunch

The long lines at Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery and cafe in Tustin, are filled with customers that know they won't be disappointed. The bakery is most famous for their strawberry croissants. 

The Azuki Cream Pan - a little red bean and lots of yummy cream. 

The Cinnamon Roll was incredibly sticky and delicious!

The fluffy white bread and simple ingredients made for perfect little sandwiches .

Ham and lettuce (top), egg salad and cucumber slices, tuna and tomato and egg salad.

Cream Pan is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Monday and is located on El Camino Real near Old Towne Tustin where the 5 Freeway and Newport Ave. meet. 


Editor's note: Get there early to get the freshest baked goods. Items will run out. 

California girls love cocktails

We found these delicious three-ingredient Summer cocktails in the New York Times. Yummy, refreshing and easy-to-make, these recipes are perfect for warm California evenings at the beach.

1. Cherry Caiprissima* - Cherries, lime and rum.

Photos from The New York Times website. 

 2. Sumo Collins* - Gin, citrus and chilled seltzer.

3. Spellbinder* - Gin, dry vermouth and Strega

4. Guadalajara Sour* - Tequila blanco, lemon juice and chilled rose. 

5. Live Basil Gimlet* - Fresh basil, gin and lime juice. 

Check out recipes and the full story on NYTimes.com.

*Garnish and/or simple syrup recommended.

Summertime desserts

Up-and-coming chef Anahita Naderi's lemon curd and mascarpone tart with fresh berries made especially for a private dinner this weekend. The fruit tarts were served with a basil whip cream and strawberry basil ice cream. Yum!

Photo by Justin Veiga

For more on this creative and inspired chef, check out her website, www.chefanahita.com

"No - she's a criminal, I want to talk to her"

"Big Night" (1996) Starring Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub.

Video from YouTube. Rysher Entertainment and Timpano Production.

555 Girl's take on Scarpetta's spaghetti with tomato and basil.

Spaghetti good enough for Primo.

Link to Scarpetta's spaghetti recipe on SeriousEats.com.

Gnocchi Catanzaro from Roma D'Italia

A delicious homemade potato dumpling dish served al dente
in a creamy tomato sauce. 

Roma D'Italia is located at 611 El Camino Real next to the 5 freeway.