California 2025 Highlights Pt. 2

Kitchen chaos

After Sequoia, it was inuman night. We had drinks, sang our hearts out, and stayed up until 4AM. Just like old times.

We had this one free day which wasn’t exactly a free day. We planned a surprise pre-baby shower dinner for Aryan and Hudas to thank them for hosting us, so while they were out and about (attending another baby shower), we were busy cooking. We only had 2 hours to prepare and so we were scrambling in their big kitchen, figuring out where the pots and pans and baking tools were.

Kenneth was cooking steak, Boris was making pasta and mashed potatoes, Bea was assembling nachos, and I was baking Oreo cheesecake cookies—all while Benson yells, “C’mon guys! One and a half hours left!” (He’d end up washing the mountain of dishes later since he wasn’t able to contribute to the cooking aspect of things 😆)

Just as I was taking the first batch of cookies out of the oven, I heard, “We’re home!” and saw Aryan walking through the door. Surprised by their sudden presence, we still shouted, “Surprise!!” Ideally, the plan was for them to walk into a fully laid-out dinner table, but instead, they caught us mid-chaos, in the middle of cooking. Nevertheless, they appreciated the thought behind it, and after a couple more minutes, we finally sat down to eat. Everything was delicious!

On our last night in Bakersfield, we once again decided to cook dinner. And just like last time, everything was délicieuse. Hudas cooked kare-kare and meatball spaghetti, Benson (for fear of washing the dishes again) made seafood boil, I baked some revel bars, merong puto, and Kriscelle and Asi brought Christmas ham. It was a beautiful spread. Then naturally, drinks and singing later ensued.

Sin City

En route to LA

Before heading to LA, we have to make an important stop. We have to try In-N-Out to know if it’s really worth the hype. I ordered a double-double animal style and animal style fries.

It was just okay. I thought the mustard was a bit overpowering and the pickles were too sour for my liking (not the perfect mix of sweet and sour that I usually like).

Before our Bakersfield friends leave us, we dropped by at Porto’s. Apparently, it’s a very popular bakery, and the long queue when we got there pretty much said it all.

I liked everything I tried, especially the coconut strudel and chocolate éclair. Kenneth and I wanted to come back to take home some baked goodies to Calgary, there was not much time unfortunately. Maybe next time!

California Highlights

Part I
Part II – You are here
Part III