Event – Page 3 – Insider Irene

Engaging in extreme gluttony at the OC Weekly Decadence in Costa Mesa, CA

Published on September 28, 2018September 22, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

Halloween is just around the corner so I’ve increased my exercise regime and returned to eating very lean meats and healthy, nutritious meals to prepare for my fall cosplay outfits. While I’ve seen positive results in these changes, I’ve incorporated at least one cheat day a week to balance my cravings. The OC Weekly Decadence event on Friday evening was nothing short of a self-indulgent.

This yearly event was hosted outside of the Segerstrom plaza in Costa Mesa and as a VIP guest I was given admission to check out all the glorious noms and sips at 6pm. I was also given a really sturdy tote bag and later found out was filled with tons of great goodies! As my friend and I wandered around the plaza trying everything, we both agreed that the steak over garlic mashed potatoes from Texas de Brazil and Bourbon Bread Pudding from Sweet Dixie Kitchen were the dishes of the night. There was also plenty of alcoholic libation poured and photo booth opportunities to pose for.

Like many food festivals that I attend this had a great variety of local restaurants; however, the swag bag was definitely one of the best that I’ve seen. The gave away an elegant necklace perfect for a night out on the town along with generous coupons to visit the participating restaurants in the future. My favorite swag item had to be the $20 gift certificate from Mozambique. Can’t wait to try their exotic flavors and see their dessert options.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

XOXO,

Rocstar

Enjoying Summer + Ultra Art Exhibit at Honey and Butter

Published on September 12, 2018August 29, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

My Hero Academia has taken the US by storm – so when Honey and Butter in Irvine hosted an art exhibit displaying local artists take on this hit show I was excited to see their creativity juices at work.

The macaroon store was also going to make macaroons of select characters, but I found out too late that it was only on the first day of their exhibit *cries* Regardless, there were some really great art pieces, which is a testament to our talented community.

There definitely a lot of Froppy artwork followed by Deku, Bakugo (no surprise), and Shoto. My favorite characters are Momo and Shoto and part of me is thinking about making some My Hero Artwork for myself perhaps with color pencils as my medium.

Who’s your favorite My Hero character?

XOXO,

Rockstar

Chun Li debuts at the LA Times – The Taste + launches new IG Handle @ChunLiStyle!!

Published on September 7, 2018September 5, 2018 by Insider Irene1 Comment

Cosplay AND Food Festival in one post?! Holy Cow! World’s colliding! and what better way to debut this pairing than in the backlots of Paramount Studios for the LA Times – The Taste ? Entertainment and food goes together like Peanut Butter and Jelly, right?

Shots from the LA Times – The Taste Friday Event

Over the Labor Day weekend, I along with other foodies made our pilgrimage to the annual event to sample some of LA’s best and kick off the three-day weekend with fun, food and flavor! Held right on the sets used for many movies and shows, this outdoor venue made a perfect backdrop to highlight the chef’s tasty bites. There was a ton of seafood options, which I loved including shrimp sashimi, an uni mousse, and scallops. But carnivores also had a wide selection of steaks and tartars. A number of the restaurants and guests asked me to pose for photos, which greatly reminded me of my geek convention days (See Power Morphin Con post, SDCC post, and LACC posts for photos!)

More photos from the LA Times – The Taste Friday Event

I had a great time wandering the streets sampling tons of bites, but my favorite part of this event was interacting with the sculpted characters representing Korea and Taiwan. We danced and did a bunch of videos to capture our memories, and of course ate delicious ethnic food at their booth. The boba from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau and Korean pancakes from The Korean Tourism Board were on point!

If you’re a fan of my Chun Li cosplay I recently launched a new Instagram handle with all things Chun Li. So all future videos and photos and videos can be viewed there- so to see all those content please Follow @chunlistyle

Would you like to see more cosplay/food posts? Comment below

XOXO,

Rockstar

Eating and drinking at the 1st Annual Brunch Life Fest in Long Beach, CA

Published on August 17, 2018August 19, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

Earlier this month I partnered with Trip.skyscanner.com to check out Southern California’s newest brunch festival – Brunch Life Fest!! Held outdoors at the Rainbow Lagoon Park in Downtown Long Beach, this one day event allowed everyone to enjoy some fresh beats, booze, and brunch!

With the sun shining brightly, many guests came dressed the part with floppy hats, sunglasses and hand with a glass of mimosa to complete the look. lol There were tons of bubbly drinks at the event so if you love your booze you won’t go thirsty here. Additionally, there were a number of fun backdrops for you and your brunch crew to strike a pose with your liquid encouragement.

As for food, Mussels and Pearls made some delicious fish tostado and La Traviata was pumpin’ out several different breakfast items including shortrib sammys, fried potatoes, and brussels sprouts! And of course you can’t end any meal without dessert! Sweet Nina’s chocolate chip cookies were so sinfully good.

As the inaugural event, I think this festival has a lot of potential and hope that next year they’ll invite a greater number of restaurants to come join the fun! One of which must prepare avocado toast! I mean brunch just doesn’t seem complete without this staple.

Whats your must have brunch food item?

XOXO,

Rockstar

I Like Laika – FREE interactive exhibit outside SDCC

Published on August 15, 2018August 3, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

While most of the San Diego Comic Con was up and runnin’ on Wednesday (SDCC Preview Night), I was among the first guests to enter the Laika Live Experience – a FREE exhibit in the Gaslamp District.

Upon waiting in line my friends and I were handed a fan with a character as well as a headband with the characters iconic headdress (I choose the helmet for Kubo) and we were seated to watch a short video regarding the movies. For my readers unfamiliar with the Laika, they’re known for handcrafted stop-motion animation and stunning visual effects. They swap out heads to mimic different expressions, but at the end of the day it takes hours to create a scene that lasts a couple of minutes. Whew!

They also recreated a few life-size versions of certain scenes, but don’t let this comfy lookin’ couch fool you, it’s as hard as a rock. So deceptive! And my hinny was in great pain, but anything for the shot! lol

I can’t say that I know the franchise all that well, but I am confidently impressed by the patience and care to detail these artists put in creating these features. During the exhibit the artist who worked on the movie showed us techniques and told us how they recorded people doing certain tasks and would emulate those actions with the characters. One artist informed us that his running style was used for one of the mother characters.

My friends who attended last year said that this was even bigger and better than last – who will check this exhibit out in 2019?

XOXO,

Rockstar

Macchiato’s Hacienda Heights Location Grand Opening – Potted Boba Drink!!

Published on August 10, 2018August 8, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

The weather has been extremely muggy, and the heat doesn’t make it any better. Yuck! But I guess at the very least that gives me a legitimate reason to savor some sweets treats and Macchiato one of my favorite Taiwanese dessert shops is opening another location in Hacienda Heights (15840 Halliburton Rd, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745)!!! WEE!!! To celebrate they’re giving away some goodies on Saturday August 11th from 11am-12am. See details below!

The First 100 People will get a free drink; Next 100 People will get a BOGO Promotion (Same Drink); and if you miss those they’ll be doing BOG1 50% off all day. EVERYONE will be entered to win a Nintendo Switch! Oh!! I love how that sounds!

They’re known for their Special Potted Plant Milk Tea ($4.50) and you’ve probably seen them all over Instagram or at the night-markets. In essence it’s crushed up Oreo cookies on top, with cream, and your choice of milk tea as the base. Super kawaii and a fun way to enjoy a cool beverage.

Be sure to pair your drink with some noms. These two are my top picks!

*Macchiato Sundae Waffle ($8.75) – Mochi style with strawberries, bananas, blueberries and three scoops of ice cream. Guests do have the option to order it crispy (which is a typical waffle), but the mochi style definitely gives the dish more flair. The chewy texture reminds me a lot of a traditional Chinese dessert and it’s beautifully presented. I ordered this at their Santa Ana location and the quality was consist here too! Loved it!

*Charcoal Waffle ($9.50) – A black waffle with strawberries and bananas paired with vanilla and Nutella ice cream and caramel sauce. I think this item is new because I didn’t recall a black waffle in the past. I wanted to order it as it seemed very Instagram worthy and to my surprise, it tasted really good as well! Photogenic desserts don’t always tasty as good as it looks, but this was the best of both worlds. It has a more cake-like texture with a charcoal aftertaste and goes nicely with the ice cream. Two thumbs up!

What will you be trying this weekend??

XOXO,

Rockstar

Macchiato Grand Opening – August 11th from 11am-12am – 15840 Halliburton Rd, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Dragon Ball Z at SDCC – 3rd Anniversary Mobile Game Debut + Movie Promotion!

Published on August 8, 2018August 8, 2018 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

San Diego Comic Con is MASSIVE and I felt that I didn’t do the mecca nerd gathering justice by spending just a couple days. So, this year I allocated more time to dwell in the summer nerd capitol and tried to do as many of the outside convention stuff. (See Conan Taping LIVE here.)

Dragon Ball Z life-size and miniature figurines

On Wednesday my friends and I ventured behind the convention to checkout the Dragon Ball Z area and considering it was Preview Night I was surprised at how many people were already waiting in lines! But those lines were no match for the My Hero Academia panel line (check out post here). Nevertheless, the setup was most impressive and there was a ton to do and see for the ultimate Dragon Ball fan! * Note * this area was within the sectioned SDCC Badge area.

The main line was for dedicated to fans who wanted a Dragon Ball Z backpack and lanyard, among other goodies, whereas the side lines were for fans who wanted to try and win freebies such as a t-shirt or hat. There were also photo opportunities as well as figurine replicas re-enacting scenes from the series all to promote the third anniversary mobile game “Dragon Ball Dokkan Battle” – I tried it and it’s super hard, but practice makes perfect right? Lol

Dragon Ball Z will also be premiering a movie later this year. No word on which theaters, but I hope it’s “Over 9000” haha… If you can have a private viewing of an upcoming movie, what movie would you want to see?

XOXO,

Rockstar

Seeing Conan LIVE at Comic Con with Aquaman Cast!

Published on July 26, 2018July 25, 2018 by Insider Irene1 Comment

It’s surprising to people that this is only my second time attending San Diego Comic Con and while I had a blast last year (Click here to read) there were so many things that I missed out on! This year a group of my friends and I entered the Invincible Conan San Diego 2018 lottery for a chance to see Conan, some VIP guests, and get an exclusive Conan Funko Pop! No luck on my end, but one of my girlfriends was lucky enough to score tickets for herself and friends! Woohoo!

Conan Store and Ticket to the Saturday Show!

The taping wasn’t until the afternoon; however, we were instructed to line-up bright and early in the morning to secure our tickets. The tickets all had assigned seats, but rumor had it if you got there earlier you could get seats closer to the stage. My friends and I arrived at Spreckels Theater around 6:30 am for the 9:00 am ticket distribution, and found that a huge line already formed. There were some people there as early as 4:30 am!

Once 9:00 am hit we walked through their ticket booth decorated with all types of nerdy artwork, grabbed our tickets and went on our way. Just an FYI, tickets were somewhat random, as two guys in front of us were given Orchestra seats and we were given tickets Mezzanine. So, I really have no idea about seat selection. *shrugs*

We returned around 2:30 pm (doors closed at 3:30 pm), and enjoyed the band play before Conan arrived on stage. Conan told a few jokes and eventually introduced the cast for Aquaman including: Director James Wan, Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Yahya abdul-mateen II and Dolph Lundgren. I think out of the interview Dolph Lundgren’s story about learning to swim for the role then finding out that he didn’t need to was the highlight of the interview. Though I think some would argue that the cast drink a can of Guinness was the best part of the show – to each his own!

After the show we were each handed a Conan HellBoy Funko Pop as a souvenir. I believe if you attended the showing on the other days you had to redeem their pop at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. I think as a Comic Con newbie attending a Conan show should be on everyone’s to-do list. I for one would love to attend again next year!

Who would you love to see as Conan’s guest?

XOXO,

Rockstar

Getting the latest scoop at the 2nd Annual Sino-US Cultural Industry Summit at the Beverly Hilton

Published on December 22, 2017 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend the 2nd Annual Sino-US Cultural Industry Summit at the historic Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. This non-profit organization and industry event brought restaurateurs and media alike to gain insight on the future of the culinary industry. Topics such as “Culinary Industry Trends,” “Cooking in LA’s Melting Pot” and the “Culture of Sharing” were shared in three collaborative panel discussions.

Panel Members: Lulu Powers, Alexis Readinger, and Theresa Lin

Guests checked-in bright and early on Sunday and were greeted with a spread of finger food and drinks. We then migrated to the main ballroom and listened to different members of the restaurant community on their perspective of how the cultural landscape evolved. Powerhouse Theresa Lin (Julia Child of Taiwan), Alexis Readinger (Hospitality designer), and Celebrity Chef to the stars Lulu Powers (Will Smith, Madonna, and POTUS Bill Clinton) spoke about their experiences and gave advices to other aspiring women on how to build an empire.

Panel Members: Amir Vahdani, Adam Fleishman, and Hannah An; Chef Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen and me

In another panel CEO of Umami, Hannah An of The District by Hannah An, and Director of Food/Beverage of Four Seasons explained how they utilize this new wave of marketing techniques and as well as the latest food trend to see for 2018. Both plant-based menus as well as a resurgence comfort food (such as fried chicken, milk shakes, home-made pho etc.) but with a twist, were heavily emphasized in this panel discussion as were a growth in fast fine dinning establishments – restaurants that give you a gourmet meal without the formal dinning experience.

What home-made type of comfort food would you be most excited to try when dining out? I’d love to see how restaurants will replicated BBQ shortribs!

XOXO,

Rockstar

Veterans Day Celebration at Hero’s Hall in Costa Mesa, CA

Published on November 12, 2017 by Insider IreneLeave a comment

This past Saturday I attended the “Salute to Veteran’s” community event held at the OC Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa, CA. The fun family friendly gathering had a great turnout and there was live music and entertainment, bounce houses and free food for veterans. Additionally there were 70+ booths with information on services for veterans including employment opportunities, health screening among other resources.Many veterans attended the event with their spouses and kids and I made sure to shake their hands to thank them for their service. Yet, not all servicemen and women were fortunate to attend, so I made a thank you card at one of the vendor booth stations as a small gesture to thank thank for their service. I had a great time looking at all the military vehicles and see our military men and women united with their families, but the moment that stood out to me the most was when I entered Hero’s Hall. There were so many powerful images and it reminded me on the sacrifices men and women make every day so that we can live freely. Thank you for your service and may God bless you.

Freedom isn’t free – how will you thank a vet?

XOXO,

Rockstar