Sara came by OC Product Photos for a little photo session with her CR S2000. Vu and I got some killer photos of her S2000 in our big studio.
Vu getting some video in for a Forza video thing he’s been doing.
A quick wipe down of Sara’s clean S2000.
Maybe, I’ll start posting again idk.
2020 has been a roller coaster of pain and emotions, so being able to go on a camping trip with the boys was what I needed. We decided to go back to Coyote Flats and it was a coincidence that it was the same weekend as our trip last year. This year we met up with Chivas and the Vegas crew and brought along the boys from Karuma.
I’m pretty much done with my GX, just going to enjoy her for now.
We got into Coyote Flats right at sunset and it was a beautiful drive through the mountains.
As soon as we set up camp, I decided I wanted to try to get some star photos. Thankful for Chivas for letting me use his 14mm lens, it gave me some great photos.
Full camp setup.
We got a great spot to setup camp with an amazing view of Funnel Lake.
David showing us how to setup a Tembo Tusk.
Damn this thing makes some delicious food.
The Karuma fam.
Angelo sad he didn’t bring steak.
The next morning we rolled out deep with everyone.
2020 feels like we’re drowning, but once in a while it feels good to breathe again.
-NGUMINH
Some photos of my time in Tokyo in January. Luckily, I was there before the corona virus hit, so my travel bug is definitely dead.
Udon in the mourning at Hanamaru.
Spotted a RWB Porsche in Harajuku.
Simon looks like a slut, but he’s a good boy.
Shibuya during the day feels empty.
Found a new viewpoint of the crossing. Only thing that sucked it cost $15.
Met up with Sara and we had to do a impromptu photo shoot.
Rodney took me to his favorite omurice spot and it did not disappoint.
Japan in a nutshell. Omucarbonara.
-NGUMINH
Every year I don’t plan on surprising my wife with a surprise birthday dinner, I just don’t tell her we’re having one. This year we went to Gem Dining in Fountain Valley and got to try some of their tasty fusion foods.
Bone marrow elote.
Egg yolk pasta and beef tongue fried rice.
Tomahawk steak.
My favorite was the beef tongue. I need to go back for this.
Happy Birthday Julia.
The next morning we went on the Pioneer Town to Big Bear trail to see some snow.
Rolling out deep from left to right Angelo’s 4 Runner, my GX470, Taylor’s Tacoma, Shavi’s 4Runner and Justin’s Tacoma.
All the snow seemed to have melted, but luckily we had some mud to play in.
We saw this big mud pit and wanted to get some dope photos.
We grossly misjudged how deep this mud pit was. Look how deep it gets!!
Angelo still sent it!
Moe’s license plate barely hanging on after driving through the mud lake.
Cheers to not getting stuck.
Thanks for a fun Saturday morning!
-NGUMINH
Our annual RO Christmas party hosted by the Wilkersons. Peep the good times below.
Christina very happy about her photo booth.
Until someone walks out of the bathroom…
Follow Nisha’s face in these photos…
10 years and we’re still up to the same old thing. Late nights, working on our cars until the police show up because of noise complaints. I needed to cut some holes on my GX470 for a snorkel and I knew the perfect guy for the job. Mr. Abbitt Grinder Wilkerson. He’s been on a cutting binge, making holes in his roof, cutting Nimo’s Civic fenders and springs.
Angelo came through to try and help, but all he did was lose some bolts.
Abbitt super happy that it’s done and now he can kick us out of his house.
The following weekend we headed off to Monache meadows and like always it’s a night run into the mountains.
We met up with Jason and his sick Tundra.
In the morning we were greeted with beautiful trees and sunshine. It made for some fantastic photos.
Derrick’s Montero now not overheating anymore. Check out that hood vent!
Our biggest hurdle of this trip was making sure Math’s RAV 4 would make it up the mountain. It made it up with no problems!
We met up with the Vegas crew who had already setup a base camp. Here we have Josh’s 4Runner.
Aaron and Meilani’s boogie camping rig GX460.
Attapon’s Tacoma on Stealth Custom Wheels.
The Dust Runner with a sick trailer setup.
The boys playing some Spike Ball.
Angelo’s 4Runner also on Stealth Custom Wheels.
Kiki and Moscow enjoying the outdoors.
Jason’s Tundra with a sick trailer setup in his truck bed.
Vince’s 4runner amazing what 4runners can do even at stock height.
The best part of camping is playing with your weiners over a campfire.
Last minute arrival, Stuart and his super sick 4runner.
My GX470 needs some wheels..
Derrick cooking up a storm.
Love our kitchen setup.
Angelo always coming through with the bomb steak!
The worst part of camping, packing up and leaving.. Good thing it’s super quick with a GOFSR tent.
On the way down, we had some fun in the river.
Chivas is the big inspiration, hopefully my GX will look this hard.
GX460s are so dope, I kinda wish I got this model.
Stormy destroying that branch.
#THERAV4MADEIT
So, when’s the next adventure?
-NGUMINH
I’ve been to Toyama many times, but I’ve never been here with Ryo. When we decided to go to Japan during golden week, Ryo offered us a place to stay in his hometown of Toyama. We didn’t want to miss the chance to live in the countryside for a couple of days and see the life of the Lowballers Japan.
Masao bought this Verosa for like dirt cheap. I think it was $500 because the owner thought it had a transmission problem. It ended up being an easy fix and now he has a 1jz equipped vehicle for $500.
Ryo’s Lexon GS430, so cool to see this thing roaming the streets of Toyama.
We made our way to a okonomiyaki(Japanese pancake) place where you make it on your own. This place is kind of like a Denny’s to the locals.
Hiroki and Masao showing us how it’s done!
Math and John mixing and laying out the pancakes to cook.
The finished product. Bone apple tea.
We slept over at Ryo’s parents spare house and it had a legit Hawaii theme throughout the house.
Woke up to Ryo starting up his Integra that he hasn’t seen in months. It still looks super clean.
We wanted to get some photos in before the day started of both of Ryo’s cars.
We met up with Hiroki and they took us to this amazing park with a river going through it.
This was rated one of the most beautiful Starbucks in the world. I’ve never seen such a long line for Starbucks before.
This was rated as one of the most beautiful friendships in the world.
Hiroki and his family.
For lunch, we went to a curry spot that is famous in Toyama.
I shit you not, this was the best curry I have ever had in my entire life. Seriously perfect in every way! I am literally drooling looking at this picture.
Next stop was Super Autobacs, we wanted to go to an Up Garage, but all of stores were closed for Golden Week. I don’t even know what kind of car this is.
Clean S13 on some Advan TCIIs.
Big boss Job Design LS460.
Julia so over this car shit.
Getting around in Ryo’s GS felt so cool.
For dinner, we got sushi and for the longest time Ryo has always said the sushi is the best in Toyama. He was not wrong.
We ended the night, Initial D style by going up the mountains, looking over the city and talking about fuck bugs.
Thank you Ryo, Masao and Hiroki for the hospitality! I can’t wait to come back to have more curry!
-NGUMINH
The Santa Ana winds have been terrible lately and it ended up affecting my blogging abilities and destroying the somewhat clean look of my SC400. My SC was in a pretty secure tent, but the Santa Ana winds pushed my tent against my car and rubbed out some parts of the wrap. Luckily, it’s a wrap because if it was paint, the cost to fix this would require me to take out my knee pads and work some night shifts. The homie Rodney aka Bruno Mars aka I wrap, but I’m not a rapper recently opened up a shop for wraps and tint. He offered to fix my SC door because he had some left over wrap and I gladly dusted off my knee pads in exchange.
When I got to the shop, Rodney was working on making this truck invisible.
You can see the damage on the top of my door, I started telling people I got it from drifting. I’m hardcore yo.
Rodney cut the wrap under my body line to seam it and so we would have enough wrap to cover the door.
On the other side of the room, Rodney’s partner Dan was installing a clear bra for this Lambo.
Master at work.
Just like that, my door was looking brand new! Disregard the mirror..
Thanks Evolve Film Concepts!
Find them here!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/evolve-film-concepts-los-alamitos-4
Rodney also just finished wrapping his Cressida, so I had to get in a quick photo shoot with the new two tone wrap.
Being old never looked so good.
Rodney on his new set of Kansei Tandem wheels.
I also had Rodney model in our new shirt that’s coming out soon..
Time is the only enemy. Available in black, white and yellow.
Coming soon..
-NGUMINH
Hello friends! I’m sorry these photos of our collaboration meet with JSpirit took so long! It’s because we submitted these photos to Stance Magazine and they decided to publish it for their November issue. Now that the magazine is out, I can finally post the photos online! 
It wouldn’t be a Royal Origin meet if we didn’t come late. The parking lot was already full by the time we got there.
Cruising around with Brandon’s S2000 has been the high lite of my trip. This thing is so clean!
Hawaii is flashy.
One of the things I wanted to see was the VIP car scene in Hawaii, glad I got to see some nice Lexuses out here.
Davin doing car things for once.
All types of cars came out like this lifted GMC with an underground light show.
Shout out to those who support us in Hawaii! It’s always a trip to see our stickers outside of our own group.
Brandon was helping pass out our collaboration sticker with JSpirit. I hope everyone got one!
The fun police finally arrived.
Super clean S13.
Her: Wyd?
Him: Installing my quarter panel.
Her: There’s a Royal Origin meet tonight.
Him:….
We were worried HPD would kick us out, but they were just making sure no one did anything stupid.
Nicole and her friend’s RX-7s. Very nice!
Another awesome VIP Lexus. I wish there was more light for me to see this thing.
Thank you to JSpirit for throwing this meet with us. Also a big shout out to everyone who came out! Ya’ll the real MVPs! Make sure you guys get the latest Stance Magazine for photos of this meet.
-NGUMINH
This post will be about some of the good food I was fortunate enough to try while I was in Hawaii for Aron and Meilani’s wedding. Shout out to Sara for all of the food recommendations!
The first stop we did was Yogurstory for their ube pankcakes. Which was really good! I thought it would be too sweet, but the pancakes were made to perfection and we didn’t get over the taste.
Afterwards, we went to Ala Moana State Park and it was our first experience of a Hawaii beach and it was perfect. The water was so calm because they put a wall out in the barrier for the waves to crash early.
After relaxing on the beach, we continued our exploration of Oahu. Hawaii is a great place to explore at your own pace, and thanks to Sara’s recommendations, we found some delicious hidden gems.
One option for getting around the island is to look into moped rentals. This can be a fun and affordable way to experience the sights and smells (and delicious food!) that Hawaii has to offer.
You can cruise down the scenic coastline, stopping whenever you see something interesting, or navigate the charming towns at a leisurely pace. No matter how you choose to get around, Hawaii is sure to leave you with lasting memories.
We also went to Cafe Musubi Isayume and got a eel musubi to enjoy on the beach.
For dinner we went to Tsurtondan Udon, Davin treated me out to a wagyu beef curry udon.
The funny thing about this restaurant is that me and Davin actually tried this spot 4 years ago when we met in Osaka. This restaurant happened to be a chain restaurant brought to Hawaii from Japan.
The next day was Aron and Meilani’s wedding. I didn’t get to take photos at the wedding, but I got a shot of the setup which was really nice. Congrats to the both of you!
We decided to actually go on on a hike to Manoa Falls. My wife used to hike as a hobby and go on all of these dangerous adventures. Now that she’s with me, I turned her into a couch potato.
This is actually my first time seeing such a big waterfall. California is literally always in a drought, so our waterfalls are just dry rocks.
Chivas out here filming for Animal Planet.
After the hike, we wanted to try Hawaii poke and stopped by Ono Seafood. We didn’t think there would be a big difference between Hawaii poke and the one back at home, but damn we were so wrong. Julia doesn’t even like tuna, but she loved it here. Wish the line wasn’t so long because we messed up not ordering more than one plate.
For dessert we went to the famous Leonard’s Bakery for their malasadas. Julia loves pastries, here she is with her babies.
Meanwhile, I saw that Konos was next to Leonard’s and I had to try their kalua breakfast burrito. Delicious!
While in Hawaii, you have to go to Giovanni’s shrimp truck. I never knew how much I loved garlic butter and shrimp until now. I literally can’t stop thinking about it.
I’m in the process of learning how to cook this. Wish me luck!
Papa Ole’s Kitchen for their loco moco. Julia’s new found love.
The Sunrise Shack was a spot we frequented often on the way to town since we were coming from Kahuku.
It’s such a beautiful place to start your morning and their papaya bowl is so good!
We met up with Brandon and Sena for breakfast at Cinnamon’s. You can see a rare glimpse of a local Hawaiian eating a basic hamburger.
The guava pancake and the kalua benedict at Cinnamon’s.
Julia and I decided to go to take a nap at the beach after lunch and found this little private beach.
Hot tamale.
Hawaii afternoons.
We got dinner with Davin and Brandon at Helena’s.
Helena’s is known for their home style cooking and it did not disappoint. It really felt like eating at someone’s grandma’s house except no one was saying you need to eat more. We really take those moments for granted because now if we want to eat more, we have to pay.
Portuguese sausage and garlic shrimp at Da Bald Guy.
Another food spot we had to try was Liliha Bakery for their mochi poi donuts.
Mochi donuts is a must get if you’re in town.
Ichiban special at Matsumoto Shaved Ice.
I wanted to take Julia to a romantic restaurant while we were in Hawaii and found Michel at the Colony in my research. I wanted a spot where we could eat with a beach view during sunset and this place was the spot! I really loved the view and service, the food however was okay to me. Julia loved the seafood though.
My hot date.
Found the china man hat.
We saw the sun setting during our drive home and we had to stop to try and get a photo.
Chivas also got a new Tinder photo.
Probably my favorite place to eat was at Aiewa Bowl The Alley Restaurant. On the way to LAX, our Lyft driver told us to go to a bowling alley to try the best loco moco he’s ever had. I thought that was weird, but when we went to go eat with Mei’s parents, they took us here for lunch. It was so good and probably the cheapest food I had on the island. I recommend getting the loco moco and the crispy chicken.
Thank you Hawaii for the beautiful memories. I wish I had visited Hawaii sooner. I will definitely be make a return soon! Shout out to Brandon, Davin and Barry for showing us around and taking us to eat. Also a big congrats to Mei and Aron for getting married! Thank you for allowing us to be apart of your wedding!
Also if you want a list of food spots that I was recommended to go eat at in Oahu, check out my spread sheet here!
-NGUMINH