July 29th 2006 - 8:15AM - Stow Lake

These photos were taken while at Stow Lake in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park...it was a cloudy day but very peaceful. Lots of people boating...here we see a guy having the girl row the boat. In another boat, we saw a guy rowing 2 girls around.

We rented a paddleboat for an hour. Went around the lake twice in that time. The gals asked to paddle first, which Jason and I accepted although it seemed surreal. Sitting in the back, it was the perfect opportunity to get some good shots in. I brought my new Canon zoom lens along, its the 70-200mm F/4 L lens. It cost a pretty penny but the quality is superb.

This bush was quite interesting as one side was green and the other was brown. I liked the juxtaposition of the brown and green in the back for this shot. Those leaves also were very pretty...unlike the usual dead foliage you see elsewhere.

Lots of birds around including ducks...didn't have bread though.

Emily took this shot when we were going around the lake the second time.

Look at the feathers on that pigeon head! Irridescent.

Sometimes birds look really awkward in flight...

Hehehe a cute fluffy well-groomed Maltese!

This picture could totally have been taken in Taiwan. You've got the grass jelly drink...all that would be weird would be the fleece jacket.

The dog on the right looks better groomed than the one on the left, that one has perfectly cut bangs.



July 23rd, 2006 - 11:25PM - DS Brain Age, Some more FOOD!!!

The DS has a few brainy games for people to exercise their brains. When I got the DS, I got a free Brain Age game. Among arithmetics, sudoku, and other mind-stretches...it has my favorite mode, called Exhibition. In it, you are asked to draw objects from memory. Sometimes, Emily and I both play it so it's fun comparing drawings. Can you guess what these are supposed to be?

For this one, we were asked to draw a particular imaginary creature...

...and that this object is supposed to be deadly not a common household object. Hehehe, these things can be trained though. I'm sure Emily has a better idea of how to draw these items in the future.

When Emily went to Japan a few years ago, she bought this Kameda assortment of rice crackers (senbei). She loved it so much she kept the wrapper. I looked online but it seems like they've changed the packaging and assortment contents now. If anyone sees a pack like that, please please let me know.

I think I've been calling this restaurant by the wrong name...instead of 五餅二鱼 (5 pancake 2 fish...not bread, pancake...although the Chinese pancake is not like Western pancakes at all), I sometimes call it 三餅二鱼 (3 pancake 2 fish). We came here again with Emily's co-worker Yi-Hui. This also happens to be one of my favorite dishes ever...pork with bamboo shoots...oh man, with this dish I could down 4+ rice bowls.

What kind of soup was this? Seafood Jook? Eergh...can't remember. (edit: It was the Lamb with Sour Fermented Vegetables...sounds good huh? Actually I love the Darda version...this one was not as sour and the lamb was definitely not as tasty)

The soup here was good but the dumplings weren't as good as that place near the Fremont 99 Ranch.

These were steamed buns made with corn...definitely forgettable. I think it's because it was so dry. Same reason, I don't like corn tortillas...make mine flour please.

Emily read the "Da Vinci Code" book before watching the movie. Consequently, there was a dramatic 90% reduction in "during-movie" questions and a 95% reduction in "hand-sweatiness". Personally I think the hand-sweatiness is kinda cute. haha After weeks of planning, we finally saw it with Yi-Hui, her bf, and Ted. It was a huge rush to get there but Emily and I were able to have World Wraps food while in the theatre. It was my first time actually having a MEAL in the theatre while watching a movie. Quite enjoyable actually. We had the whole row so we weren't bothering anyone. I love the Samurai Salmon...

We also made it to my old favorite, Sui Sui K for some food one time. Although my favorite remains their beef curry...this tofu isn't bad either. Just the right amount of crispiness (of the tofu skin) and the right amount of soy sauce.



July 18th, 2006 - 7:00AM - FOOD!!! Midori, 5 Bread 2 Fish, Tanto

Gosh, I'm sorry about the delay in posting...blame it on the DS Lite + Animal Crossing: Wild World

A heads up in advance, this is a food-centric post. Often I hear that my site is a food blog to which I have to reply that it's much more than that. I've seen the work that food bloggers churn out and I'm definitely not as dedicated as they are. I may have more than a passing interest in food...sorry, I'm Asian and being interested in food is a genetic trait. :-D I mean...in Chinese culture, people are counted in terms of mouths (to feed) and most introductory greetings are started with the customary "Have you eaten yet?"...plus it's the one activity that you do 2-3 times (and even more for some people) a day without fail. That and going to the bathroom (although I hear that some people are genetically predisposed to go only once every 3 days!!!). And oh yeah, sleeping...but pics of me asleep wouldn't make for a very interesting blog.

I watched a few of the World Cup Games and most of the final. I missed watching Zidane's headbutt live (Emily saw it) but it was just as shocking in replays. It's not a huge shock esp since the Italian admitted to insulting Zidane and Zidane has a history of such behavior. Still...you don't expect to see it in what's supposed to be the biggest game of the biggest sport in the world.

The new Naan and Curry in San Francisco now has a bunch of fancy patio sets outside. I really like them. Is N&C trying to be more upscale? As long as they don't raise their prices...for awhile, Meg/Priscilla and I have been making the pilgrimage here but I think it'll be awhile before we go again.

While I'm on the subject of Indian food, I'll skip ahead (in the timeline) and talk about it. Of all the food, I'm envountered, Indian cuisine seems to be the most undecorated stuff around. Granted, I've grown to love Indian food but visually, it's quite lacking. Granted I've SEEN garnished Indian food in my cookbooks but I've almost never seen garnished Indian food in restaurants. Unless I get something that's really different, I don't think there will be many more pictures of Indian food from now on...perhaps I'm just going to the wrong ones. This is from this Indian place near my home in Fremont which is open till midnight. It's good for a curry craving but it's not as good as Naan & Curry or Chaat Cafe. I'll try to put the 411 on it later...just a note, the fish pokras (2nd picture) are not worth it. They do have stuffed naan though. I read an Indian newspaper when I was there which was very culturally enlightening. They have these little ads in them that advertise sons and daughters for marriage. One of them was for a daughter who apparently was divorced for no fault of her own (how did they put it?....I think they said unjustly divorced...something like that)...another was for a "teetotaller" guy. I had to look that one up and found out that teetotaller means "a person who does not consume alcohol"...it's a British term which apparently the Indians imported along with colonialism (ha!). Newspapers are still useful after all! :-)

Went to a Japanese restaurant called Midori because we couldn't get into Tanto, another Japanese restaurant that had been recommended to Emily. During dinner, Dad called and said that they liked the photo mugs that I got them...I made 2 shirts for Emily and I too using a logo I had made for Jookwarrior.com sometime ago. I was impressed with the quality but the black in the logo came out not absolutely black on the shirt. Anyways, the food at Midori was so-so relative to the prices. Wasn't very impressed.

Midori
1066 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, 94087
(408) 985-1000

Nabeyaki Udon...eh...at least they knew enough to throw a fishcake on top. As a kid, I used to like them best of all. I'll have to remember that.

Their version of the Ahi Tartare...too small!!! Presentation was great...I liked how they put the sauce on the plate before the food. However, it didn't make up for the fact that the tuna was gone so quickly.

I have to say that my seafood curry is the bomb! It's been soooooooo long since I've bought meat at the store but I'm sure I could cook up a mean beef curry as well. These are my current main ingredients...less into Enoki mushrooms now though...I'm starting to like Shiitake more and more for flavor reasons.

The key is selecting the right shrimp and cooking it in just the right amount of time. Too little, and it's raw. Too much, and it's too tough. Finicky ingredient.

Japanese restaurants seem to be split on the proper way to serve curry. Personally I like the split method where you get the chance to mix the curry into the rice yourself. Next time, instead of enoki mushrooms, I'm going to try oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms.

Went to a restaurant called "5 Bread, 2 Fish" in Milpitas Square. It's an obvious reference to the old Biblical story about how Jesus fed a huge crowd with just those items. The name is very appropriate as I've never walked out of there not satisfied. This dish (with its creamy white sauce) is particularly "down-rice". "Down-rice" is a adjective for food that is great with rice. I LOVE dishes that are "down-rice". Typically, "down-rice" dishes are heavy in flavor thus requiring the blandness of rice to even things out. You end up eating a lot of rice that way (very bad for dieters).

I forget what this dish was....looks like it has scallops and enoki mushrooms. Also looks like it has a huge helping of Megan V's brown sauce. I say Megan V's brown sauce because my co-worker Megan V (who's from the Midwest) came to San Francisco not too long ago and at one point, complained that the Chinese food was horrible here since the rice dishes weren't covered in "brown sauce". Hehehehe

You can't go wrong with lamb...hmmm hmmm good.

I've been into cooking carp in many different ways. Carp is probably the one fish that I consider an acceptable alternative to sea bass. It has much of the similar oily texture and flavor. Plus it's much cheaper.

A few days after Midori, I made reservations at Tanto. The sushi salad was quite good but that might have been because we were so dang hungry. Tanto is a Izakaya-style establishment meant for people to relax after work. Too bad, that they don't have a happy-hour. I'd go everyday if they did. The table next to us just kept eating and eating...I wouldn't be suprised if the 2 "salary-men" ate at least $100 worth of food, although at these prices and sizes, it wouldn't be too hard. VERY TASTY stuff though...I'd say that I'd rather go here than a Spanish Tapas place. There are 2 branches of Tanto...one in Sunnyvale, the other in Saratoga. I hear that the Saratoga one isn't as good though. RESERVE well in advance although sometimes reservations aren't needed. It fluctuates wildly.

Tanto
1063 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 244-7311

Tanto
1306 Saratoga Ave
San Jose, 95129
(408) 249-6020

The sushi was fresh and tasty. Bit on the small size here, it's usually a problem when the slices of sashimi are about the saize of the wasabi ball. But after Sushi House, your ideas about price/quality ratios change...and I can imagine it'd be hard for all restaurants to keep up.

Hotate Butter Uni Nome...Scallop cooked in butter topped with sea urchin. Emily doesn't like sea urchin, so I get to hog all of it. Lucky me!

Braised Rock Cod with sweet sake-soy sauce. I think the sauce is just the Chinese BBQ Chicken Sauce. Emily's mom made some earlier and the taste was VERY similar.

Their Yamaimo Okonomi Yaki, Japanese style yam pancake. No katsuobushi (bonita fish flakes...they wave and move around when subjected to heat...VERY COOL)?!!! A travesty!!! Only place I see them now is on takoyaki.



July 5th, 2006 - 5:10PM - Green Stuff, Project Homeless Connect

Everytime I hear a Neil Diamond/John Denver song, it reminds me of my dad. And then when I hear a few 80's songs, it reminds me of my uncle. I guess I have those two to thank for my love of 70s/80s music. "Love on the rocks....ain't no surprise..." :-P

I used to hate avocado/asparagus/artichokes...basically a bunch of greens that start with the letter 'A'. I've pretty much gotten over my distaste with avocado/artichokes but I still have only a mere tolerance of asparagus. Avocados were easier probably because of its prevalence in sushi. By and by, I grew to love guacamole which I initially approached with great distrust. Artichokes are a much more recent thing since they pretty much just had to be cooked right (balsamic vinegar). I could never see asparagus as being a big part of my meal. Growing up, they were ALWAYS present whenever we had steak. Apparently, my parents thought that if you had steak, there was some rule somewhere (perhaps in the "Cooking Steak the Asian Way" guidebook) that said that aspargus were mandated. Never mushrooms or mashed potatos. I loved steak but I hated the fact that it was always accompanied by this limp green thing that tasted funny. Thus the huge internal conflict whenever it was announced that today was steak day. Probably the other reason was that for some reason, all I can remember is eating asparagus stalks...no tips! Where did the tips go?!!! I'm beginning to suspect that with my myopia, my parents were enjoying the tips while I was relageted to stalk cleanup. In any case, all health benefits went down the drain, as I'd always put mayonnaise on my asparagus to help down them. My attitude toward them has softened somewhat...mainly due to the amount that I've eaten in restaurants who've taken the time to make something out of them. I LOVE the mini asparagus that I've seen around (Los Gatos Brewery had them). The amount of stalk is minimized and in my opinion, that is a GREAT thing. My last food peeves are beans and squashes. I'll enjoy a squash soup now and then and I love Edamame (soy beans) but those are the only exceptions to the rule. Wonder when those phobias will go away...if they ever will.

A few weeks ago, a few of my colleagues and I participated in one of SF Mayor Newsome's initiatives, Homeless Connect. Basically every few months, the city's homeless are invited to come to the Bill Graham Auditorium to take advantage of a bunch of free services. The majority of us helped in the food area mainly guiding people from place to place. All the blue shirts are Deloitte & Touche employees. I even met up with Ananda there. Funny coincidences all around, I see him every so often.

It's not just the main auditorium but also the side halls were used for the effort. One of the halls for triage and the other for the food/music.

Ready to help out!!!

The Mayor arrived at the event wearing a cap and a tee. People seemed to like it better when he wore the hat to hide his plastic hair. hehe all the same, women were swooning...I won't mention any names.

The food service area...I basically guided individuals from this area to whereever they needed to go next. By the end of the day, there was a distinct oder in the air that you instantly recognize after living in the Bay Area for awhile. A few people had obviously not washed in weeks and there were a few people that looked like they had homes and were just looking for a free meal. You never can tell though. Anyways, a lot of the people were definitely characters...one even wanted to rebuild Tent City again.

Megan got in my opinion the best job of all...she got to sit down and pet the dogs! At first, we were afraid that she'd end up contracting something but actually it seems like almost all the dogs were very well taken care of.

A studio apparently had donated their services and was taking pictures of peoplt, obstensibly for the homeless to keep. All and all it was a great experience and I'll probably do it again. For more information about Project Homeless Connect, go here



July 5th, 2006 - 2:10AM - Charlotte Woo

A few weeks ago, William resigned from CMR so we had a goodbye potluck to wish him well. I'm going to miss him a lot as he was a real asset to me and to the rest of the people at CMR.

Charlotte is getting bigger and bigger! Last time I saw her was in February. She's must more animated now and VERY alert. She was very much interested in my camera.

See?!!! She really looks like William...

Hehe Megan likes playing with babies as well...

Charlotte can't walk yet but I think that it won't be long...

Charlotte was very inquisite and was really taking everyone and everything in...

Soooooooooo well behaved!!! It really is such an interesting feeling to hold a baby in your arms. Just the whole concept of someone who entirely trusts you to, as in this case, not drop them, or let them down. You'd do anything for them...

Babies make excellent photo subjects...

The pink hat is so cute!

Charlotte just kept those expressions coming!

I almost think she was enjoying having her picture taken.



July 1st, 2006 - 6:52AM - Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras

It was getting a little hot in South Korea the other day...this man just had to loosen up a little bit. Actually, he's protesting South Korea's loss in the World Cup to Switzerland (2-0). One fan even suggested that FIFA replay that match if 5 million Koreans complained. Not sure which one is more absurd.

Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras

Large crowds and lots of food/crafts around...

My new ride

Sure he did

Grilled mushrooms....hmmm...I'm very partial to them.

Chicken teriyaki

Impressive BBQ grills. Not as big as the MEGA-GRILLS I've seen on food network but impressive nonetheless.

Here we have stuffed mushrooms and grilled mushrooms. Stuffed was much better but more expensive.

Emily's first funnel cake. Not as good as Knott's Berry Farm's version but not bad.

This is how Ted eats corn.

This is how Ted feeds Ellen corn.

My first Mardi Gras Band.

Flying man

Pretty woman walking down the street...

Snakes will hide just about anywhere...scary.

My Seafood Mabo Tofu...ended up being too many ingredients in it so the spicyness was very light. Ended up putting in lots of Siriacha Hot Sauce and the flavor was very much improved.