ADVENTURES IN ORANGE COUNTY

If you have been contemplating on TEETH WHITENING … I’d say go for it!

BUT before you do, you need to do your own research first. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into, how you want it done, how much, what the risks are, etc.

I personally had my teeth whitened through my dentist  yesterday… it was the best option for me based on my research (asking around, reading articles).

Few months ago, I almost had Teeth Whitening in a mall! I’m glad I didnt. I dont mean to diss their business but this is my personal opinion and my personal experience and i just want to share with everyone what i went through…

I found out that for $99 I can have my teeth whitenened for 20 minutes. What they wont tell you is that … with 20 mins, it wont do much for your teeth (unless you have white teeth to begin with), so you’ll have to go back for another session or 2 which will cost you a lot more money that you intened to pay. Secondly, they are no dentist present .. they are not “allowed” to put the tray inside your mouth. I think because they dont want to be reliable in case something goes wrong. They are, after all, NOT dentists.  That posed a red flag for me. So I went on with my research…

Over the Counter Whitening, I heard, works well but it takes a very very long time to see the results.

There are also professionally dispensed Take Home Whitening Kits.  A gel is applied on a tray which you need to put in your mouth for an hour or overnight for how many weeks. Personally, I dont have patience for that.

The best choice for me was teeth whitening through my dentist. He used LED Whitening System. It took 1 1/2 hours for the whole session. No more take home gels. 1 1/2 hour on a dentist chair seemed forever plus my teeth’s so sensitive it hurts! Thats one thing you dont normally read about on the internet … after the session, your teeth would be extra sensitive that it will REALLY hurt. My dentist warned me about it and gave me prescription for the pain. If you guys can tolerate all that … then its worth it!

Anaheim Garden Walk is located at the heart of Orange County with outdoor retail stores, bowling lounge, fine dining and movie theaters.

( photo taken from www.anaheimgardenwalk.com )

The place officially opened June of last year and more shops and stores are currently being added … but you can still enjoy whats there now.  I have shopped and dined there on many occasions.

Personally I love going to their movie house - CINEMA FUSION THEATER.  Its not crowded on weekends and the place looks awesome. They have, what they call, SKY LOBBY SCREENING ROOMS where you can have beer and wine inside the movie theater ( for 21 and over), they have IMAX Experience, Screening Rooms CLASSICS where they show classic films and regular screening.

For Valentine’s Day, I may bring my friends there for some cool movie experience. See you guys there!

I wanted to see Santa Ana River Trail where my friends usually bike on weekends. On the way there from Anaheim, we stopped by Daphne’s Greek Cafe for lunch  in Costa Mesa. I had the Kabob. I rate it 3 out of 10. Its cheap but the food isn’t great. Ive had Greek food and this one fell short of my expectations. The baklava was way too sweet too.

We ended up between Santa Ana River County Beach and Newport Beach. It was  a beautiful day. The waves were calm and the weather was warm. Its like Summer all over again.

The houses were beautiful. Someday I’d like to live there. Particularly that gray house on the left. Haha!

I wasn’t able to take a picture of the trail  but its pretty cool Its starts from Corona - Prado Dam then heads south to Pacific Ocean, reaching Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.  Its fully paved all the way, I was told. I’ll take pictures when i get on the bike myself.

Come explore Orange County with me.

I mentioned in my first entry that I just moved to Orange County, California … ok fine, it has been over 2 months but I haven’t had time to go around and see places. But I should … so with every entry, it simply means I am finally going out and taking time off from work. I am sure when people say Anaheim, they think of Disneyland right away. Theme park, that’s it. They don’t realize that there is a hidden gem inside Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. If you don’t feel like going for rides and such, there is DOWNTOWN DISNEY for you to visit. It is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. It’s outside of Disneyland so going to Downtown Disney is FREE of charge.

I have visited Disneyland when I was a kid and another time in college. I didn’t feel like theme parks so my friends and I checked out Downtown Disney a few weeks ago. We ate at Rainforest Café. I was curious to see the interior of the place … and lo and behold.. the restaurant is decorated with wild animals, trees, flowers .. it’s like being in a jungle yourself. Its fun for entertaining your family and kids. The menu is ordinary but reliable … thank God they don’t serve exotic animals haha! Overall, it was a good treat.

Check out this website for a list of restaurants and stores in Downtown Disney.

I recently moved to Orange County and I know I have to try LEE’S SANDWICHES. I’ve always heard about it before from friends but couldn’t find a branch in Los Angeles. My first week in OC, I was prepared to hunt that place … only to realize that there are so many branches in the area. I didn’t really have to drive that far. Its like seeing Subway and Quiznos in every city.

LEE’S SANDWICH is a Vietnamese –French Deli. Asian with baguette, croissant, “Vietnamese style french press coffee”, pastries etc. It was odd.

… But Odd- good! Their popular sandwich is the BBQ pork. I don’t eat pork so I settled for grilled chicken served in a 10-inch baguette. Oh and it wasn’t disappointing. All their Asian sandwiches comes with cilantro, pickled carrots and jicama which makes the sandwich…er, very interesting! What makes it even more interesting is that its only less than $2.50!

( Picture taken from google images. Forgot my camera that time…)

So if you guys are looking for a quick cheap snack. LEE’S SANDWICHES definitely wont disappoint you.