Year of the Dog

Wow another year has passed! This past Sunday was the start of the Year of the Dog! Every year, I have a Chinese meal with the folks. This year was no different and earlier as my folks live in Southern Mass. They came up and it was myself, them, my sis and her beau along with my roomie HF. We had a nice meal at Chinatown Seafood in Coolidge Corner.

Last Friday, I went to a beloved friend's house to her party celebrating her new kitchen and Tet. The pho was great. It was good reconnecting with people and hanging out. I love how she chose her kitchen all courtesy of IKEA save the flooring from Home Depot. I tried some Vietnamese food and it was wonderful.

Saturday night, I went to Michi Kusa located off Route 9 in Framingham with my friend Vivian. She is a sweetie, she adores travel and food as much as I do. Plus she has alot of positivity and a cute smile. The menu was basic but the fish was fresh (got a sushi/sashimi boat) and ended with a scoop of red bean and green tea ice cream. I nixed the tempura ice cream she was craving. The atmosphere was nice and with low lighting and plenty of blonde wood around the dining room.

Sunday, New Year's Day I went with a bunch of friends to Shangri La in Belmont for Taiwanese Dimsum. I tend to like Cantonese dimsum more. But the spareribs, siao lung bao, and other specialties were still great. I got to catch two good Lee Byung Hun flicks Addicted and Secret. In the first movie, he plays a brother who takes on his brother's identity to be with his wife (while his bro is in a coma). The latter film has him playing a player who has an affair with a family of three sisters. Thanks to my friend who is another Korean/Japanese movie/drama aficionado. We also grabbed dinner at Hometown in Allston/Brighton on Harvard Avenue (not far from Color and Wonderbar.) The restaurant is family owned and we got the beef and pork bulgoki, beef cold noodles and kimchi chigae. It was a ton of food. Very satisfying though and a beautiful night --nice and warm despite the rain. Caught some gelato at Athans in Washington Square which also has some great European cakes and cookies to give a taste of Europe to the locals.

This was the most active Chinese New Year in a long time for me.