First Mentos gum.

Looking around my purse, I found a coupon. As a college student, I love saving money by using coupons and taking advantages of some offers. This coupon was for the Mentos gum that has been out for quite a while. I always wanted to try it out but always forget to get it when I go to grocery shopping. I was with a group of friends to rent a movie to watch, so I decided to get the gum at that second since I remember and the coupon was going to expire soon too.

I love chewing gum, even just for fun too. I guess I was expecting more from the Mentos gum because of all of the advertisements I have seen and heard. Yes, it was a blast of flavors when you first chew it, but it wasn’t really long lasting flavor. I was looking more for a long lasting gum, so I can chew it wherever I go for a long period of time. It was fun chewing it for five to seven minutes; afterwards it turns flavorless and gets a little soggy. I didn’t really like the soggy texture at all; I would stick to the Mentos candy instead. But if you want a quick freshness in your mouth, give it a shot. It’s always good to try something new once in awhile and since there are so many different flavors too. It’s good to have something handy to chew around for awhile or before a job interview. =P

Chestnuts.

Around this season, chestnut trees are starting to ripened. I’m not a big fan of chestnuts, but this is the only time that I will eat them.

I think that at this season, chestnuts have a sweeter taste and texture even if they’re just boiled in hot water. There’s also one dish that I eat once a year when my mom cooks it, chicken with chestnuts. It may sound bizarre but because of the chestnut’s sweetness, the chicken and chestnuts flavors interact pretty well and tasty.

My mom will remove the shells and peel the skin off from the chestnuts. After all the hard work of peeling, she will get the chicken prepare for the dish. The procedure to cook the dish is really easy as long you put the effort and time. First, you sautéed the chicken and add some salt too while cooking. Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly halfway, add the chestnuts, and let it cook together for approximately five minutes, depending on the portion size also. Then add water because the chestnuts will absorb all the water, and let the chicken and chestnuts broil for 15-20 minutes more or until the chestnuts are soft. After, try the test to see if it is needed for more seasoning, if so, add some more salt or soy sauce. Then it would be ready to serve.

Of course, it would be nothing like how the restaurants cook it, but I like how the flavors interact together when chestnuts are sweeter and fresher during this season. Even though I’m not a big fan of it, it’s a great homemade dish to enjoy once awhile.

First Japanese buffet.

This past weekend, my mom took my brother and I to a Japanese grille and sushi buffet called Nori Nori at Sandy Springs. I never been to a Japanese buffet before, so I was excited to go and try it out since I’m a big fan of sushi.

When I first walked in, it gave me an impression that it was clean and fresh. The hostess was really nice and the waitress/server was really friendly to us. Su, our waitress for the day, welcomed us warmly and introduced us the restaurant’s rewards program. All you have to do was apply and they will give you a card and you can collect points each time you go. Since it was the last weekend of August and it was also my birthday month, I was able to have a free birthday meal after I entered to their rewards program. It’s something great to take advantage of especially if you’re a college student. Need to learn to save how money and take advantage with the offers. =P

There were so many different variety of sushi; anything you can possibly think of when you’re there. Some of my favorites were: volcano roll, spicy tuna roll, and spider roll, but they were so many that are worth to try. There was also a Japanese grille and a Japanese cuisine buffet bar that was offer. What I liked the most from the grille was the Japanese udon noodles. The chef cooks it for you and put your desire ingredients, it’s hot, right off the stove, and ready to eat. I tried some interesting, unique food from the Japanese cuisine buffet bar such as tempura vegetables and tempura sushi. It was basically fried vegetables and sushi, but the fried coating was different from how the Americans fried food. I guess this type of frying was a little healthier than the American way. It was really nice to try more different kinds of Japanese food.

This was definitely an experience at a Japanese buffet restaurant, and I loved it. The service was great too. I would absolutely go back for the second time with friends or family.

Go to the website: www.norinori.com to check out the location and look around the menu to see what they offer!

Longan Addict!

It’s the time of my favorite season: FRUITS! I love fruits when it’s this time for the year. They are so sweet, delicious, and the perfect color shade to match up my mood. One of my favorites that I look forward to is longan. Many of you might think, “What in the world is that?” Everyone questioned when I was at the grocery store picking and sorting the longans that I wanted into my bag. Asians was just running toward to the special priced longans, squeezing their way in while others were confused and wanted to know what this mysterious fruit was. No one paid attention to the clueless people I had to take a break from all of the picking and sorting since it was so crowded and catch a breath. I was hugging the bagful of longans as I made my way out of the crowd, a lady came up to me, pointed at the bag, and said, “What is that?”

In the Chinese language, longans are called “dragon eye” if it’s translated to English. Longan is an Asian fruit that is really popular to majority of the Asians. It’s like a grape texture, but it has a shell that needs to be peel. Once the outer part is peeled, it’s a transparent, round fruit where you can see the seed located right in the middle. The sweetness is nothing compared to the grape.

I don’t know how else I can explain the taste until you try it!

Many liked it when I introduced the longans to them. I heard many positive feedback saying it’s sweet and juicy. It’s even mouth-watering mentioning about this yummy fruit.