I am a lover of afternoon/high tea since my college days. Since then, I have been a woman on a mission. When I was in the UK last, I went to many places to satisfy my afternoon fix for clotted cream, scones, a great cup of tea and maybe some finger sandwiches or petit fours if I was lucky.
From Bettys in York, England (a great value time) to the reasonably priced Sotheby's afternoon tea on uber chic Bond Street in London, England to the St. Regis (though pricey an excellent value, service and you can get seconds plus a personal consultation with a friendly tea sommelier, Takashimaya (nice inexpensive East meets West tea in the basement of this famous Japanese department store nestled within NYC's Fifth Avenue), Tea and Sympathy (Greenwich Village this hole in the wall has loads of character and the staff is friendly wiht generous portions for the full tea service) and Payard in New York (a great French restaurant and patisserie) or "M" on the Bund in Shanghai, China overlooking the lovely Huang Pu river opposite the famous landscape of the Pudong District.
Of course, I have done the Ritz Carlton (both new and old plus celebrated a bday at one of them), Boston Harbor Hotel, Cha-Fahn (cute tea place on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain), and the Four Seasons as a few places I have sampled afternoon tea within Boston.
Now a new crop of places have sprung up (or more so existing restaurants) have decided to start afternoon tea. One great occasion restaurant is L'Espelier (on 30 Gloucester Street, Boston T. 617-262-3023) nestled in the Back Bay by Newbury Street. The executive chef Frank McClelland is nationally renowned for his stellar work, their almost weekly wine tastings with some food is a great deal for $55 (though I went a few times when it started for a mere $30 a head years ago).
I was a little late on this warm but sunny Saturday afternoon ( I was hoofing it from Park Street "T" stop with only 10 minutes to move it). I made it within 12 minutes! Debbie was waiting for me outside the restaurant.
L'Espelier only serves afternoon tea on Saturdays from 2-3pm (so your window is very small). There is a range of choices for you to choose from but opted for the middle of the ground- Red Riding Hood's Basket ($32 a person). There were the more luxurious choices of The Golden Goose ($50 a person) with champagne and cavier or the more affordable Make Way for Ducklings (Petit Fours, pastries and tea for $23 a person). Add $15 for a glass of the Westport River's "Cuvee L'Espelier" with fresh raspberries or a Malinois Champagne cocktail.
We were greeted efficiently and walked up the stairs to the second floor to be seated in a very cozy dining room with crisp white linens and very attentive and solitious service. Splurging was great getting the champagne and Red Riding Hood's basket. Our tea choice was the Jasmine Pearl which was fragnant and delicate in flavor (the waitstaff kept pouring our tea for us---no need to use a tea kettle/teapot). At first it was weird, but I liked the attentiveness of the staff. Plus this method ensured that I NEVER had bitter tea. The did ask us if we were celebrating an occasion, I was mentioning Debbie's past bday.
We were started out with the tea sandwiches (one per person) each made on homemade bread (in-house)--cucumber and cream cheese next to a smoked salmon, red onion and petits greens , toasted Niman Ranch Ham and Comte and the Canapes were Maine lobster salad and citrus, Herbed goat cheese and pistachio truffles and a sizeable Foie gras Terrine.
The Foie gras terrine was perfect and luxurious. The Maine lobster salad was great with the citrus and not too much on the mayo which I loved. The breads were all wonderful.
Next came the petit fours and pastries: blueberry madeleines, Swans on the Boston Common pastries, Coconut truffles, Chocolate dipped strawberries, a big currant scone (great clotted cream, butter or jams to spread on it) and an excellent Valrhona chocolate fondant cake (just warm from the oven and divinely decadent with excellent chocolate that tastes delightful).
The thoughtful waitstaff put a candle to blow out. Also when I needed to find the wash room, the wait staff person escorted me to the wash room. When I returned to the table, my napkin was not merely folded up (as some places do) or ignored but freshly replaced. I thought it funny as we were done with our afternoon tea. But I found it a nice touch.
When we left after an hour half of great decandence and pampering we reluctantly decided to part ways (I had a graduation party to go to but first head back to my apartment). Once we left at the foyer, we were given a cute send off present of two cocount macaroons with a recipe how to make them too!
Then we walked to Hynes Convention to split off to enjoy the rest of our Saturday.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Summer Boston Restaurant Week (AUG 20-25) #2
The three remaining restaurants to sample left for Boston Summer Restaurant week (August 20 – 25). I missed out on a all girl’s night out on Monday night (as I was flying back from my NAAAP Convention trip). I heard they all had a great time, loved the food and atmosphere!
I met up with my big sis Debbie (she is someone I treasure a lot). I met her at work and our work relationship has transcended into a beautiful friendship. I consider her a mentor and all around wonderful person. She is one difficult person to pin down. Luckily I got to see her at HARVEST (44 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA 617-868-2255). We opted for the half glass wine pairing with the restaurant week menu for a mere $45.06 extra. Corn and Scallop Chowder with basil butter served with Chardonnay Blend Hedges, "CMS", Columbia Valley, Washington, 2004 (Debbie loved this wine!) and Heirloom Tomato Salad with basil oil, Villa Manodori, Chives and Malden Sea Salt served with Sauvignon Blanc, Saint Clair, "Vicar's Choice", Marlborough, New Zealand, 2005. I found the chowder to be ok and the tomato salad to be very simple, bursting with flavor and refreshing (then again it is the month where tomatoes are in full season and bloom!
The entrees were Pan Seared Block Island Swordfish with black eyed peas and shoe peg corn salad, tomatillo relish accompanied with Pinto grigio, Forchir, Estate, Fruili-Venezia, Italy, 2005 and the Roasted Pork Lion atop nesenkeag braising greens and refreshing peach salsa paired with Pinot Noir, Kenwood, Russian River Valley, California, 2004. Debbie loved the interesting combo of black eyed peas and shoe peg corn as an interesting accompaniment to the Swordfish. The pork lion was delightfully moist and I liked the contrast of the sweetness of the peach salsa to the slightly bitter nesenkeag braising greens.
For dessert we both got the same dessert and wine --the delightful Chocolate Apricot Torte with almond dacquoise, fresh fruit and chocolate sauce served with a refreshing and my personal fave Brachetto d'Acqui, Castello banfi, Piedmont, Italy , 2004.
Overall, out of all the places I have checked out, not bad but not the best but not on the bottom either. We thought it a nice meal but not astounded by Harvest.
Then next night (WEDNESDAY) was with my sister. We wanted a repeat our our EXCELLENT experience with Excelsior the previous week. We went to Restaurant "L" in the Louis Boston building (234 Berkeley Street, Boston tel: (617) 266-4680) straddling both Newbury and Boylston Streets in the tony Back Bay. The main dining room was very simple, spartan with simple colors. We noticed some of the Asian accents here and there. Our roll was served in a bamboo steamer (usually filled with dumplings) and we were seated at a window seat facing Berkeley Street.
We both decided to have some drinks---the Aloe Vera Mojito and Passion Fruit Martini. Here there were a few more choices to choose from. The aloe vera added a weird taste to the mojito which was not my fave. There was a lot of kick in my martini where I tasted the vodka and not much passion fruit (I guess the way it should be). We were greeted with a small sampling of spicy tomato water to pique our palates. For our appetizers I got the tuna tartare over the aranci and my sister got the fried oysters, watermelon and pickled cucumber salad. The presentation was impeccable and works of spartan simple lines artwork. I got 4 small mouthfuls of my dish and my sister got three fried oysters nestled with the watermelon, salad in an oyster shell over a colorful bed of sea salt.
Next were our entrees---my sister got the duck "milanese" with red pepper, scallions, pineapple and cashews which was flattened and came in a generous portion. Very nice! I got the pan roasted haddock over fava beans, tomatoes which was nice.
Our dessert was not too memorable and we thought it was a nice place but not up to the standards of the other places we have previously been to--Rialto, Upstairs in the Square, Hammersley Bistro, Le Soir and Meritage to name a few.
My final restaurant outing was with my friend Minh. I ended walking to the restaurant (Great Bay (617) 532-5300 - 500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston not far from Fenway)--took me only 30 minutes on a nippy night. That thursday was cooler than it has been and we both felt that it felt more fall than summer. Imagine only a few weeks ago we were boiling with record heat waves and temperature highs in the 90-100's degrees!
We decided to get the one wine glass $5 extra and prefixe meal. The choices for appetizer--chilled gazpacho with crab, avacado and cilantro or the crisp calamari with sweet 100 tomatoes, french beans and orange. The entree choices were potato-crusted haddock with hand cut "chip", watercress and Great Bay tartar sauce. While the other dish was a sensational and mouthwatering braised boneless beef short ribs with Anson Mills polenta, grilled onions and lime.
We found we were partial to the calamari (we thought it divine) and my friend didn't care for the gazpacho. I love gazpacho but there was nothing to rave home about it. The spectacular braised boneless short ribs a usual winter fare fave shined with flavor and intensity. The fish was good but paled in comparison though.
For dessert we had the butterscotch pudding and the chocolate whoopie as perfect ending for our meal. Again one shined brighter than the other (main theme in this meal) which was the lovely pudding topped with carmelized pecans. The lightness and creaminess of the butterscotch pudding was heavenly with every spoonful. The whoopie pie was a bit too much and dry too. I ended up not finishing it. The portions were middle of the road and not overly generous or stingy. The decor is beautiful, spacious and interesting with high ceilings.
It is housed within the Hotel Commowealth right in the heart of Kenmore Square which is adjacent to Fenway Park. Overall a good meal but uneven at best but definitely ranked higher than Harvest for myself and Minh (he had gone there a few nights earlier).
I met up with my big sis Debbie (she is someone I treasure a lot). I met her at work and our work relationship has transcended into a beautiful friendship. I consider her a mentor and all around wonderful person. She is one difficult person to pin down. Luckily I got to see her at HARVEST (44 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA 617-868-2255). We opted for the half glass wine pairing with the restaurant week menu for a mere $45.06 extra. Corn and Scallop Chowder with basil butter served with Chardonnay Blend Hedges, "CMS", Columbia Valley, Washington, 2004 (Debbie loved this wine!) and Heirloom Tomato Salad with basil oil, Villa Manodori, Chives and Malden Sea Salt served with Sauvignon Blanc, Saint Clair, "Vicar's Choice", Marlborough, New Zealand, 2005. I found the chowder to be ok and the tomato salad to be very simple, bursting with flavor and refreshing (then again it is the month where tomatoes are in full season and bloom!
The entrees were Pan Seared Block Island Swordfish with black eyed peas and shoe peg corn salad, tomatillo relish accompanied with Pinto grigio, Forchir, Estate, Fruili-Venezia, Italy, 2005 and the Roasted Pork Lion atop nesenkeag braising greens and refreshing peach salsa paired with Pinot Noir, Kenwood, Russian River Valley, California, 2004. Debbie loved the interesting combo of black eyed peas and shoe peg corn as an interesting accompaniment to the Swordfish. The pork lion was delightfully moist and I liked the contrast of the sweetness of the peach salsa to the slightly bitter nesenkeag braising greens.
For dessert we both got the same dessert and wine --the delightful Chocolate Apricot Torte with almond dacquoise, fresh fruit and chocolate sauce served with a refreshing and my personal fave Brachetto d'Acqui, Castello banfi, Piedmont, Italy , 2004.
Overall, out of all the places I have checked out, not bad but not the best but not on the bottom either. We thought it a nice meal but not astounded by Harvest.
Then next night (WEDNESDAY) was with my sister. We wanted a repeat our our EXCELLENT experience with Excelsior the previous week. We went to Restaurant "L" in the Louis Boston building (234 Berkeley Street, Boston tel: (617) 266-4680) straddling both Newbury and Boylston Streets in the tony Back Bay. The main dining room was very simple, spartan with simple colors. We noticed some of the Asian accents here and there. Our roll was served in a bamboo steamer (usually filled with dumplings) and we were seated at a window seat facing Berkeley Street.
We both decided to have some drinks---the Aloe Vera Mojito and Passion Fruit Martini. Here there were a few more choices to choose from. The aloe vera added a weird taste to the mojito which was not my fave. There was a lot of kick in my martini where I tasted the vodka and not much passion fruit (I guess the way it should be). We were greeted with a small sampling of spicy tomato water to pique our palates. For our appetizers I got the tuna tartare over the aranci and my sister got the fried oysters, watermelon and pickled cucumber salad. The presentation was impeccable and works of spartan simple lines artwork. I got 4 small mouthfuls of my dish and my sister got three fried oysters nestled with the watermelon, salad in an oyster shell over a colorful bed of sea salt.
Next were our entrees---my sister got the duck "milanese" with red pepper, scallions, pineapple and cashews which was flattened and came in a generous portion. Very nice! I got the pan roasted haddock over fava beans, tomatoes which was nice.
Our dessert was not too memorable and we thought it was a nice place but not up to the standards of the other places we have previously been to--Rialto, Upstairs in the Square, Hammersley Bistro, Le Soir and Meritage to name a few.
My final restaurant outing was with my friend Minh. I ended walking to the restaurant (Great Bay (617) 532-5300 - 500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston not far from Fenway)--took me only 30 minutes on a nippy night. That thursday was cooler than it has been and we both felt that it felt more fall than summer. Imagine only a few weeks ago we were boiling with record heat waves and temperature highs in the 90-100's degrees!
We decided to get the one wine glass $5 extra and prefixe meal. The choices for appetizer--chilled gazpacho with crab, avacado and cilantro or the crisp calamari with sweet 100 tomatoes, french beans and orange. The entree choices were potato-crusted haddock with hand cut "chip", watercress and Great Bay tartar sauce. While the other dish was a sensational and mouthwatering braised boneless beef short ribs with Anson Mills polenta, grilled onions and lime.
We found we were partial to the calamari (we thought it divine) and my friend didn't care for the gazpacho. I love gazpacho but there was nothing to rave home about it. The spectacular braised boneless short ribs a usual winter fare fave shined with flavor and intensity. The fish was good but paled in comparison though.
For dessert we had the butterscotch pudding and the chocolate whoopie as perfect ending for our meal. Again one shined brighter than the other (main theme in this meal) which was the lovely pudding topped with carmelized pecans. The lightness and creaminess of the butterscotch pudding was heavenly with every spoonful. The whoopie pie was a bit too much and dry too. I ended up not finishing it. The portions were middle of the road and not overly generous or stingy. The decor is beautiful, spacious and interesting with high ceilings.
It is housed within the Hotel Commowealth right in the heart of Kenmore Square which is adjacent to Fenway Park. Overall a good meal but uneven at best but definitely ranked higher than Harvest for myself and Minh (he had gone there a few nights earlier).
Friday, August 25, 2006
Kim Sam Soon----on AZN (almost over)
I am watching "Kim Sam Soon" for the third time but on AZNTV. This version has some translations that the other versions did not have which I found to be cool.
I do really liked Hyun Bin (Sam Shik/Jin Hun) and Kim Sun Ah (Kim Sam Soon). Mi Joo was adorable---my heart ached when she cried and she had a bright smile!
I even got my sister into it! We both like the songs that are used and they seem appropo to the certain circumstances. This heroine is not perfect but it is her imperfections that make her awesome. I just caught episode 10 last night, Sam Shik says to Sam Soon----the reason you are attractive is because you don't know how attractive you are.
I made a Daniel Henney fan out of my sister. I think it is funny.
I do really liked Hyun Bin (Sam Shik/Jin Hun) and Kim Sun Ah (Kim Sam Soon). Mi Joo was adorable---my heart ached when she cried and she had a bright smile!
I even got my sister into it! We both like the songs that are used and they seem appropo to the certain circumstances. This heroine is not perfect but it is her imperfections that make her awesome. I just caught episode 10 last night, Sam Shik says to Sam Soon----the reason you are attractive is because you don't know how attractive you are.
I made a Daniel Henney fan out of my sister. I think it is funny.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
NAAAP Seattle Part 2 of 2
The final day of the convention was Saturday August 19. I hung out with my hostess Felicia and chatted with her til 3am.
I got up and was worried about catching a timely bus on a Saturday morning into the city from West Seattle. I was ok. The bus was EXTREMELY punctual (something I am not used to) I knew the schedule was 8:40am and I got there at 8:39am. I was well on my way taking Bus #22 for $1.25 (as it was non peak time).
This morning, I missed breakfast (but there was more fruit and baked goods). Leewa got me some stuff and we went to the first session of workshops. We chose "Planning for Passion" led by Curt Rosengren. He was enjoyable. He said a lot of stuff I have heard before but the there was a twist. When he mentioned to figure out what you were "passionate" about , then dig deeper and keep asking ,"WHY?"
When he asked, "Who likes cooking?" I raised my hand. Then he asked why to me repeatedly. So it became obvious that the "liking of cooking" opened the floodgates of a multi-layered answers.
The next session I did not participate in, I decided to go to the job fair. I had some buddies to say hi to and then went to the lunch session. I got to sit with the NAAAP Boston president's wife SeJung. She is a lovely woman and we had a nice conversation. Turns out the NAAAP National Board was debating the merits of the two candidates who I think are qualified.
Surprisingly, one of the candidates sought me out to discuss my role in the future of the National Board. I have to say I was a bit flattered to say the least. But I have to mull about what I want to do. I do believe in the mission of NAAAP and I have made many treasured friendships through the organization and met many great people too!
After lunch, I sat in a workshop "Motorola's Asian Business Council: Modeled for Leadership Development and Business Relevance" led by a top Motorola executive David Lum. I heard he led a morning session that was well attended on another topic. I sat in for a little bit.
Then it was time to chit chat with someone from San Diego and other friend JL about NAAAP and a NAAAP Seattle member too. We talked about the difficulties of organizing and starting programs and chapters in this case San Diego.
At 3pm, I met up with a close friend from college JLuo. It was a gorgeous day and we meandered around the city after meeting up. I needed some errands to do and visited Nordstroms (per recommendation from a close friend and Oprah) on some chores I needed to do. Then to Nordstrom Rack, I found two t's for others. I got a cute tee for my sis which is very appropriate----a cute pink cloud with a miffed look with the phrase--"I am in a bad mood, stay away." I HAD to get it for my sister even my brother agreed it was a great fit for her.
I enjoy looking around Pike's Marketplace and seeing this one fish market where the guys throw their fish and seem to have a ton of fun! Then we decide to rest our tired tootsies and have some iced green tea latte (at an original Seattles Best Coffee place).
Back at the hotel and change for the GALA night (big highlights are the NAAAP National Awards, Banana Republic Fashion show and Sex in Seattle (performance). I catch up and find out that John F. of SF won as the new National President. (CONGRATS!). We were chatting as he was writing his speech.
We hang out a little at the reception before the dinner and I took a few pics. (Later I accidentally expose the roll----UGGGH very klutzy move on my part). Rose asks me to sit at her primo reserved table. I have a blast! I do end up doing some photography duty for Em (Chicago). It was fun to help her out. Dinner was nice.
The award ceremonies was hosted by many people (from NAAAP national board) so this tag team approach was very different but cool. NAAAP Atlanta was the big winner of the night nabbing many honors but the top one (two years in a row) Chapter of the Year ===only NAAAP NY has done it before. NAAAP Toronto went home with two awards (not too shabby).
Onwards to the fashion show, it was great music, cute clothes and everyone who participated was not a model. But it seemed like everyone had tons fun! I wish there was more of an actual stage for the 'runway' which was more makeshift. For those who sat in the rear they could not see much of the models unless they went on the stage. Great job Nancy K! (She is event planner /model /events guru and I miss her in Boston).
We do the NAAAP Chapter pics (first time in a few years) which I think it is good to do. After the festivities there are choices of game night (games/poker etc), hanging at the presidential room (I got to hang out with Rose a bit more and party a bit on the outside terrace). I wore the NEW NAAAP Boston t-shirts and got some "thumbs up" for the design and style. I like it alot being a red T with a tasteful design and wording.
I head over back to my friends by 1am and Felicia lets me see a fabulous night view of Seattle from West Seattle (breathetaking indeed).
Thanks for hosting me--Felicia and Nien!
I got up and was worried about catching a timely bus on a Saturday morning into the city from West Seattle. I was ok. The bus was EXTREMELY punctual (something I am not used to) I knew the schedule was 8:40am and I got there at 8:39am. I was well on my way taking Bus #22 for $1.25 (as it was non peak time).
This morning, I missed breakfast (but there was more fruit and baked goods). Leewa got me some stuff and we went to the first session of workshops. We chose "Planning for Passion" led by Curt Rosengren. He was enjoyable. He said a lot of stuff I have heard before but the there was a twist. When he mentioned to figure out what you were "passionate" about , then dig deeper and keep asking ,"WHY?"
When he asked, "Who likes cooking?" I raised my hand. Then he asked why to me repeatedly. So it became obvious that the "liking of cooking" opened the floodgates of a multi-layered answers.
The next session I did not participate in, I decided to go to the job fair. I had some buddies to say hi to and then went to the lunch session. I got to sit with the NAAAP Boston president's wife SeJung. She is a lovely woman and we had a nice conversation. Turns out the NAAAP National Board was debating the merits of the two candidates who I think are qualified.
Surprisingly, one of the candidates sought me out to discuss my role in the future of the National Board. I have to say I was a bit flattered to say the least. But I have to mull about what I want to do. I do believe in the mission of NAAAP and I have made many treasured friendships through the organization and met many great people too!
After lunch, I sat in a workshop "Motorola's Asian Business Council: Modeled for Leadership Development and Business Relevance" led by a top Motorola executive David Lum. I heard he led a morning session that was well attended on another topic. I sat in for a little bit.
Then it was time to chit chat with someone from San Diego and other friend JL about NAAAP and a NAAAP Seattle member too. We talked about the difficulties of organizing and starting programs and chapters in this case San Diego.
At 3pm, I met up with a close friend from college JLuo. It was a gorgeous day and we meandered around the city after meeting up. I needed some errands to do and visited Nordstroms (per recommendation from a close friend and Oprah) on some chores I needed to do. Then to Nordstrom Rack, I found two t's for others. I got a cute tee for my sis which is very appropriate----a cute pink cloud with a miffed look with the phrase--"I am in a bad mood, stay away." I HAD to get it for my sister even my brother agreed it was a great fit for her.
I enjoy looking around Pike's Marketplace and seeing this one fish market where the guys throw their fish and seem to have a ton of fun! Then we decide to rest our tired tootsies and have some iced green tea latte (at an original Seattles Best Coffee place).
Back at the hotel and change for the GALA night (big highlights are the NAAAP National Awards, Banana Republic Fashion show and Sex in Seattle (performance). I catch up and find out that John F. of SF won as the new National President. (CONGRATS!). We were chatting as he was writing his speech.
We hang out a little at the reception before the dinner and I took a few pics. (Later I accidentally expose the roll----UGGGH very klutzy move on my part). Rose asks me to sit at her primo reserved table. I have a blast! I do end up doing some photography duty for Em (Chicago). It was fun to help her out. Dinner was nice.
The award ceremonies was hosted by many people (from NAAAP national board) so this tag team approach was very different but cool. NAAAP Atlanta was the big winner of the night nabbing many honors but the top one (two years in a row) Chapter of the Year ===only NAAAP NY has done it before. NAAAP Toronto went home with two awards (not too shabby).
Onwards to the fashion show, it was great music, cute clothes and everyone who participated was not a model. But it seemed like everyone had tons fun! I wish there was more of an actual stage for the 'runway' which was more makeshift. For those who sat in the rear they could not see much of the models unless they went on the stage. Great job Nancy K! (She is event planner /model /events guru and I miss her in Boston).
We do the NAAAP Chapter pics (first time in a few years) which I think it is good to do. After the festivities there are choices of game night (games/poker etc), hanging at the presidential room (I got to hang out with Rose a bit more and party a bit on the outside terrace). I wore the NEW NAAAP Boston t-shirts and got some "thumbs up" for the design and style. I like it alot being a red T with a tasteful design and wording.
I head over back to my friends by 1am and Felicia lets me see a fabulous night view of Seattle from West Seattle (breathetaking indeed).
Thanks for hosting me--Felicia and Nien!
Monday, August 21, 2006
One Day trip to Vancouver (8/20)
I woke up at 8am after having only 4 hours of sleep. I remind myself I luckily don't operate daily on this little sleep.
I call my buds who I am hitching a ride with to Vancouver for the afternoon as I plan to return at night. I confirm with my bro we are meeting up at the Renaissance hotel from 11-12am (as he does not own a cell).
My friends get lost finding me as I forgot to type one crucial "exit" on the directions to them that I typed at 2am earlier in the morning. Luckily for me, they were not mad at me. I felt very sheepish indeed. While they were lost and finding their way back to me, I did research on places to eat dim sum or get good chinese food in Vancouver.
We hit the road out of Seattle at 10:30am and decide to stop somewhere for breakfast and grab food at McDonalds. I got the big breakfast (I was ravenous.). Further down on the trip, I indulge in a very messy but good softserve cone dipped in chocolate as well.
The border crossing is a minimal wait of 20 minutes but the line heading back into the US was atrociously long (1:15pm). Another 30 minutes we drive towards Richmond and exit onto Westminster Highway exhibit, hook a left and drive down towards KIRIN. This Seafood Restaurant serves dim sum and is considered a gem. I have already eaten at Flouta/Imperial/ and Sun Siu Wah (the other three big Cantonese Sea Food and Dim Sum power house restaurants) in the local area. We did pass the restaurant and turned around again to find it.
We have a half hour wait and by the time we are seated it is 2:30pm and end of dim sum time. Our server informs us we have only one chance to order and then we can relax and eat at our leisure. Of course my buds John and Leewa let me order and put all their trust in me. I am told no "funky" stuff per John. I want to get some dim sum morsels not normally found in a typical dim sum menu.
KIRIN Mandarin Restaurant (Richmond Location) www.kirinrestaurant.com
2nd Floor, Three West Centre
7900 Westminster Highway (& No. 3 Road), Richmond, B.C.
Canada V6X 1A5
We noticed another table of NAAAP attendees and we chat with them later on. Turns out they work with EY and four of the three are from Boston and one is from North VA (she also happens to be a close friend of my friend Kit in Houston) such a small world. They found the restaurant by accident and asked some people in the parking lot where they should eat dim sum.
We head to drive on the main drag No. 3 road (where all the big Asian malls reside) before turning left towards the airport and catch the road into Vancouver using Granville Street. (My first time using this route into Vancouver but it works).
Then we drive towards Canda Place where Pan Pacific Hotel (our meeting spot) for me to get my ride back to Seattle. My buddies are staying longer in Vancouver. We walk around get some souvenirs and chocolates. I get my fave mint and dark chocolate aeros (not available in the USA). We walk around outside to look at the cruise ships docked at Canada Place. In the process, I lose my camera (which is my backup). I am more upset of losing the photos in the camera than the camera itself. Now I have no camera! Gosh when things happen to me (bad things) I notice it happens in twos. Last weekend did not get my camera back from TSA after examination of my hand luggage and this time through my own fault I lost my camera.
Leewa escorts me all over to try to locate it, I even talk to the duty manager at Pan Pacific but to no avail. In this day and age, no one really wants a film camera. But I LOVE my film camera. You could say it is a sign to get a digital camera but I don't see it as that way.
We meet up with JC and his family meet his wife Sue and two cute boys Cameron (5) and Cared (3). We hang out some more at Canada Place. I recommend we get food and go as we are all not hungry after a LATE dim sum lunch. I suggest FLOATA (in Chinatown touted as the biggest Chinese restaurant in the city). We get there and notice that there is a night market. We walk around the two blocks of it. Go to FLOATA to order take out and head about of the city in hopes of avoiding a LONG border line.
John C orders seafood and veggies, crispy chicken, yang chow fan and beef and broccoli. All are very good with the veggies cooked to the correct crispiness and the flavors are excellent! (I am relieved the place is a hit).
We leave at 9pm and hit the border by 9:45 but end up with only 30 minutes wait (a miraculously short wait) which I am psyched about.
I am able to meet up with my brother at 11:15pm!!! Thanks again to John C and family for letting me come back to Seattle with them! I had tons of fun despite losing my camera.
I call my buds who I am hitching a ride with to Vancouver for the afternoon as I plan to return at night. I confirm with my bro we are meeting up at the Renaissance hotel from 11-12am (as he does not own a cell).
My friends get lost finding me as I forgot to type one crucial "exit" on the directions to them that I typed at 2am earlier in the morning. Luckily for me, they were not mad at me. I felt very sheepish indeed. While they were lost and finding their way back to me, I did research on places to eat dim sum or get good chinese food in Vancouver.
We hit the road out of Seattle at 10:30am and decide to stop somewhere for breakfast and grab food at McDonalds. I got the big breakfast (I was ravenous.). Further down on the trip, I indulge in a very messy but good softserve cone dipped in chocolate as well.
The border crossing is a minimal wait of 20 minutes but the line heading back into the US was atrociously long (1:15pm). Another 30 minutes we drive towards Richmond and exit onto Westminster Highway exhibit, hook a left and drive down towards KIRIN. This Seafood Restaurant serves dim sum and is considered a gem. I have already eaten at Flouta/Imperial/ and Sun Siu Wah (the other three big Cantonese Sea Food and Dim Sum power house restaurants) in the local area. We did pass the restaurant and turned around again to find it.
We have a half hour wait and by the time we are seated it is 2:30pm and end of dim sum time. Our server informs us we have only one chance to order and then we can relax and eat at our leisure. Of course my buds John and Leewa let me order and put all their trust in me. I am told no "funky" stuff per John. I want to get some dim sum morsels not normally found in a typical dim sum menu.
KIRIN Mandarin Restaurant (Richmond Location) www.kirinrestaurant.com
 |  |  |
2nd Floor, Three West Centre
7900 Westminster Highway (& No. 3 Road), Richmond, B.C.
Canada V6X 1A5
We noticed another table of NAAAP attendees and we chat with them later on. Turns out they work with EY and four of the three are from Boston and one is from North VA (she also happens to be a close friend of my friend Kit in Houston) such a small world. They found the restaurant by accident and asked some people in the parking lot where they should eat dim sum.
We head to drive on the main drag No. 3 road (where all the big Asian malls reside) before turning left towards the airport and catch the road into Vancouver using Granville Street. (My first time using this route into Vancouver but it works).
Then we drive towards Canda Place where Pan Pacific Hotel (our meeting spot) for me to get my ride back to Seattle. My buddies are staying longer in Vancouver. We walk around get some souvenirs and chocolates. I get my fave mint and dark chocolate aeros (not available in the USA). We walk around outside to look at the cruise ships docked at Canada Place. In the process, I lose my camera (which is my backup). I am more upset of losing the photos in the camera than the camera itself. Now I have no camera! Gosh when things happen to me (bad things) I notice it happens in twos. Last weekend did not get my camera back from TSA after examination of my hand luggage and this time through my own fault I lost my camera.
Leewa escorts me all over to try to locate it, I even talk to the duty manager at Pan Pacific but to no avail. In this day and age, no one really wants a film camera. But I LOVE my film camera. You could say it is a sign to get a digital camera but I don't see it as that way.
We meet up with JC and his family meet his wife Sue and two cute boys Cameron (5) and Cared (3). We hang out some more at Canada Place. I recommend we get food and go as we are all not hungry after a LATE dim sum lunch. I suggest FLOATA (in Chinatown touted as the biggest Chinese restaurant in the city). We get there and notice that there is a night market. We walk around the two blocks of it. Go to FLOATA to order take out and head about of the city in hopes of avoiding a LONG border line.
Chinatown
| Address: | 400-180 Keefer Street, Vancouver, B.C. |
Tel: | (604) 602-0368 (604) 681-7123 |
John C orders seafood and veggies, crispy chicken, yang chow fan and beef and broccoli. All are very good with the veggies cooked to the correct crispiness and the flavors are excellent! (I am relieved the place is a hit).
We leave at 9pm and hit the border by 9:45 but end up with only 30 minutes wait (a miraculously short wait) which I am psyched about.
I am able to meet up with my brother at 11:15pm!!! Thanks again to John C and family for letting me come back to Seattle with them! I had tons of fun despite losing my camera.
NAAAP Convention-Seattle 2006 (first half) 8/17 and 8/18)
I have been attending these conventions for a bit of time especially for NAAAP (National Association of Asian American Professionals www.naaapconvention.org). It was a close call I was not going to attend. But last minute the stars aligned and I got great support and help from friends (thanks Felicia and Nien!) and my credit card company.
Convention Postcard:
On Thursday (8/17) I was fearful of having the same painful repurcussion of long delayed flights inthe Airtran terminal at Logan. (The prior week I had a painful ordeal and long wait as it is boring and small. (Not much fun at all). I got to the airport two hours early for my flight. I went over to the terminal with United and Jet Blue and sat down at their food court to stretch out and relax until I NEEDED to be at my terminal. I am glad I did. I got something at BK, sat down wrote some cards and post cards. I found it relaxed me and whiled the time away nicely.
I returned to Terminal C for Airtran and went through the security line without a glitch (15 minutes). The bins for banned items this time around was not as bad as last Thursday (the first day of the ban on all liquid, gels and other items of similar thickness. Surprisingly my flight was on time (I was counting my blessings as I needed to make a connection at Atlanta). I sat down on the last row 31D (requesting an aisle seat) and Rhi is seated beside me. Little would I know, I would have the second best conversation with another person on a plane ride up til now. The first person to get this honor is my bud Emo after the NAAAP Houston convention many moons ago.
Rhi is a biochem Ph. D. student in Washington and is originally from Michigan. She was in town attending a conference for school in NH. She is a very vivacious, pretty gal who loves trying new things, traveling (she just got back from living one month in Rome, lived a year in Germany while in High School and toured Granada and Morocco with her boyfriend earlier this year in the spring.
We proceed to chit chat for the next 3.5 hours and during our layover break bread together at the Atlanta Bread House ---I get the half sandwich and half soup combo (chicken specialty sandwich and chicken chili are more. Not bad for airport fare and under $10 (memories of my $9 Wolfgang Puck sandwich with nothing else came back to mind at Logan).
I decide to chit chat with friends and catch up with my lovely friend Hien. Being punctual was too good to be true, we end our streak being one hour delayed from Atlanta to Seattle. The reason was due to a loose screw (really I am not kidding). But better safe than sorry and the rest of the flight almost 5 hours I nap.
Instead of a midnight arrival I get in at 1am PST into SeaTac. Nien and Felicia are kind enough to get me at the airport. I felt bad as they both have to go to work a few hours later as it is still a Friday and work day. I do chatter with Felicia a bit more before sleeping at 4am (I cannot easily sleep so I email and catch up with friends since I have internet access). Now my friend Felicia and her boyfriend live in West Seattle and have a great view of Seattle from their new place. When I visited this past March, they were still residing in Downtown. In fact, they could see the apartment building across from them that was used for Naomi Watt's apartment in the thriller movie "The Ring".
Day One (friday 8/18), I successfully wake up in time to catch the #21 Bus at 7:40am ($1.50) within 20 minutes I am whisked to 1st Street and Marion. I walk up the 6 blocks uphill on Madison to the Renaisance Hotel (515 Madison Street corner of 6th) the site of the NAAAP Convention for 2006.
Seattle City by day from the hotel
(pics above are from Renaissance hotel website:www.marriott.com
The streets going up can get steep, I had to take a break and go to pharmacy to get chapstick and much needed rest.
I wanted to make the Day 1, opening speech and I did manage to get breakfast which was a breakfast buffet. I got fruit, sausage, eggs and orange juice. Our keynote was Deena Ebbert and she was very dynamic and entertaining while being full of energy. I got to say hello to some old friends I have made through the years and people I have seen around but got to konw better this time around.
JC who is a sheriff in SF has been someone I had a great chance of getting to know better this convention. Ted S. of Ohio, he is a very active member of the NAAAP team and formerly lived in NC and knows a good friend Leroy. Rose----I love Rose! She is a wonderful person both full of spunk and energy (I adore going karaoking with her!) Her roomie Emily S also from Chicago is a sweetie. JF the photographer galore and person to beat in terms of the most consecutive conventions attended and JL (has one on me) since I saw him at OCA and NAAAP as well.
The Texans Leewa and John C are there per usual. I am psyched to see New Yorker Frances L (whom I met at the SF convention and bonded with on the last day of the convention while eating dim sum that fateful Sunday). Fonda is a blast and Raytheon has a strong showing per usual. Always impressed with them and their unified presence at the convention. Mike M of CIA is also a great face to see. I heard our former NAAAP National Prez Edward Y of NC got engaged. Congratulations and I am happy for you and your fiancee!
I get to attend the first session and go to the FISH PHILOSOPHY which Deena is the speaker. She is great and the whole workshop is based on the fish market at Pikes Market (known for throwing their fish around). But the workshop is a bit more involved and informative than what I am telling you.I love her shameless ploys to get active audience participation (I did participate to get a fish -I freely admit to it!).
The second workshop I attend (though cut out early) is about entrepreneurs. Sam Kim (NAAAP Boston president) is the moderator. I meet him for the first time. I have heard many good things about him and under his brief leadership thus far many good things have happened.
I decide to head to the Career Fair. The convention cannot happen without the support of our corporate sponsors. I was happy to see that we had a robust career fair. I remembered a time when we did not have much of one. Those days are long gone. I do have to say, one complaint but it is more based on the structure of the hotel, the career fair was on three separate floors and very confusing to find. But I got over it.
Lunch was a good time talking to Mike M and reminiscing about OCA and when we first met and our friends in the Northern Viriginia Area. He has two cute kids and I cannot wait to see the pics he has taken of them!
The afternoon session, I pass on and decide to go with a small group of friends to visit the FUTURE OF FLIGHT --Boeing museum in Everett. John C has a rental and we all hop in to head north to the museum. Turns out there is major traffic and we are a snails pace to get to the museum. Luckily we get there just in the nick of time to participate in the last tour of the day at 3:30. There are strict rules for participation--no cameras, cell phones, electronic devices, purses, bags, cannot have anything in your hands).
the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour (http://www.futureofflight.org/)
The the NAAAP Seattle Scholarship Winners were presented and both were very bright, young students with a wonderful future ahead of them. Then a comedy group performed some skits by the Pork Filled Players.
Head back to the hotel to go to HEAVENS (located at the edge of Pioneer Square for clubbing). We are lucky to have the school buses drive us over (not originally planned) and there is free admittance with Convention badge (thanks to Nancy Ko and former NAAAP Boston member and even planner extraodinaire). I get in and hang out there for an hour. The music is good but all over the place for me and great to check out but I decide to hoof it back to the hotel (only done in 20 minutes). So from there I can head back to Felicia's (by 1:15am).
Convention Postcard:
On Thursday (8/17) I was fearful of having the same painful repurcussion of long delayed flights inthe Airtran terminal at Logan. (The prior week I had a painful ordeal and long wait as it is boring and small. (Not much fun at all). I got to the airport two hours early for my flight. I went over to the terminal with United and Jet Blue and sat down at their food court to stretch out and relax until I NEEDED to be at my terminal. I am glad I did. I got something at BK, sat down wrote some cards and post cards. I found it relaxed me and whiled the time away nicely.
I returned to Terminal C for Airtran and went through the security line without a glitch (15 minutes). The bins for banned items this time around was not as bad as last Thursday (the first day of the ban on all liquid, gels and other items of similar thickness. Surprisingly my flight was on time (I was counting my blessings as I needed to make a connection at Atlanta). I sat down on the last row 31D (requesting an aisle seat) and Rhi is seated beside me. Little would I know, I would have the second best conversation with another person on a plane ride up til now. The first person to get this honor is my bud Emo after the NAAAP Houston convention many moons ago.
Rhi is a biochem Ph. D. student in Washington and is originally from Michigan. She was in town attending a conference for school in NH. She is a very vivacious, pretty gal who loves trying new things, traveling (she just got back from living one month in Rome, lived a year in Germany while in High School and toured Granada and Morocco with her boyfriend earlier this year in the spring.
We proceed to chit chat for the next 3.5 hours and during our layover break bread together at the Atlanta Bread House ---I get the half sandwich and half soup combo (chicken specialty sandwich and chicken chili are more. Not bad for airport fare and under $10 (memories of my $9 Wolfgang Puck sandwich with nothing else came back to mind at Logan).
I decide to chit chat with friends and catch up with my lovely friend Hien. Being punctual was too good to be true, we end our streak being one hour delayed from Atlanta to Seattle. The reason was due to a loose screw (really I am not kidding). But better safe than sorry and the rest of the flight almost 5 hours I nap.
Instead of a midnight arrival I get in at 1am PST into SeaTac. Nien and Felicia are kind enough to get me at the airport. I felt bad as they both have to go to work a few hours later as it is still a Friday and work day. I do chatter with Felicia a bit more before sleeping at 4am (I cannot easily sleep so I email and catch up with friends since I have internet access). Now my friend Felicia and her boyfriend live in West Seattle and have a great view of Seattle from their new place. When I visited this past March, they were still residing in Downtown. In fact, they could see the apartment building across from them that was used for Naomi Watt's apartment in the thriller movie "The Ring".
Day One (friday 8/18), I successfully wake up in time to catch the #21 Bus at 7:40am ($1.50) within 20 minutes I am whisked to 1st Street and Marion. I walk up the 6 blocks uphill on Madison to the Renaisance Hotel (515 Madison Street corner of 6th) the site of the NAAAP Convention for 2006.
Seattle City by day from the hotel(pics above are from Renaissance hotel website:www.marriott.com
The streets going up can get steep, I had to take a break and go to pharmacy to get chapstick and much needed rest.
I wanted to make the Day 1, opening speech and I did manage to get breakfast which was a breakfast buffet. I got fruit, sausage, eggs and orange juice. Our keynote was Deena Ebbert and she was very dynamic and entertaining while being full of energy. I got to say hello to some old friends I have made through the years and people I have seen around but got to konw better this time around.
JC who is a sheriff in SF has been someone I had a great chance of getting to know better this convention. Ted S. of Ohio, he is a very active member of the NAAAP team and formerly lived in NC and knows a good friend Leroy. Rose----I love Rose! She is a wonderful person both full of spunk and energy (I adore going karaoking with her!) Her roomie Emily S also from Chicago is a sweetie. JF the photographer galore and person to beat in terms of the most consecutive conventions attended and JL (has one on me) since I saw him at OCA and NAAAP as well.
The Texans Leewa and John C are there per usual. I am psyched to see New Yorker Frances L (whom I met at the SF convention and bonded with on the last day of the convention while eating dim sum that fateful Sunday). Fonda is a blast and Raytheon has a strong showing per usual. Always impressed with them and their unified presence at the convention. Mike M of CIA is also a great face to see. I heard our former NAAAP National Prez Edward Y of NC got engaged. Congratulations and I am happy for you and your fiancee!
I get to attend the first session and go to the FISH PHILOSOPHY which Deena is the speaker. She is great and the whole workshop is based on the fish market at Pikes Market (known for throwing their fish around). But the workshop is a bit more involved and informative than what I am telling you.I love her shameless ploys to get active audience participation (I did participate to get a fish -I freely admit to it!).
The second workshop I attend (though cut out early) is about entrepreneurs. Sam Kim (NAAAP Boston president) is the moderator. I meet him for the first time. I have heard many good things about him and under his brief leadership thus far many good things have happened.
I decide to head to the Career Fair. The convention cannot happen without the support of our corporate sponsors. I was happy to see that we had a robust career fair. I remembered a time when we did not have much of one. Those days are long gone. I do have to say, one complaint but it is more based on the structure of the hotel, the career fair was on three separate floors and very confusing to find. But I got over it.
Lunch was a good time talking to Mike M and reminiscing about OCA and when we first met and our friends in the Northern Viriginia Area. He has two cute kids and I cannot wait to see the pics he has taken of them!
The afternoon session, I pass on and decide to go with a small group of friends to visit the FUTURE OF FLIGHT --Boeing museum in Everett. John C has a rental and we all hop in to head north to the museum. Turns out there is major traffic and we are a snails pace to get to the museum. Luckily we get there just in the nick of time to participate in the last tour of the day at 3:30. There are strict rules for participation--no cameras, cell phones, electronic devices, purses, bags, cannot have anything in your hands).
the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour (http://www.futureofflight.org/)
Admission Rates General Admission ........... $15.00 Senior Citizen (65+) ......... $14.00 Active Military (with ID) .... $14.00 Children (6-15 years) ....... $8.00 No ticket is required for children under age 6 Gallery Only (no Boeing Tour) ................. $9.00 Gallery Only Children (6-15 years) .......... $4.00 Boeing Employee (with current ID) .......... $7.50 Advance Ticket Convenience Charge * ... $2.50 *Applies only to advance tickets for guaranteed tour times. Tickets purchased at the Future of Flight Aviation Center are not subject to a convenience charge. All rates and times are subject to change without notice. Boeing Tour Information The Boeing Everett factory tours are conducted to showcase The Boeing Company and the Everett product line, the 747, 767, 777 and soon 787. As part of the tour, visitors walk through part of the largest building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet). On the Boeing flight line, visitors see airplanes in various stages of assembly, manufacture and flight test for airline customers around the world. ==================================================== We wanted to see the Salmon at the locks but we did not get enough time. Since this is Francis' first time we end up visiting Capitol Hill where Bruce Lee is buried. (15th and Prospect) We were there at dusk which was very pretty and it has a beautiful view of the water. A closer view of the grave site: Bruce Lee's grave and Brandon Lee's grave
(all Bruce Lee gravesite photos from www.allbrucelee.com) Our group makes it back to the hotel and miss the buses that take us to the ODYSSEYMaritime discovery buidling where dinner and the night's entertainment is held. We get there too late so we find no tables for us to sit down. We are served a buffet dinner salad greens, chicken in a cream sauce, potatoes, julienned green beans and carrots and some cookies, carrot cake and brownies. 
2205 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, the Bell Street Pier, on Seattle's central waterfront, between the Edgewater Inn and Anthony's Pier 66 restaurant.   |
Head back to the hotel to go to HEAVENS (located at the edge of Pioneer Square for clubbing). We are lucky to have the school buses drive us over (not originally planned) and there is free admittance with Convention badge (thanks to Nancy Ko and former NAAAP Boston member and even planner extraodinaire). I get in and hang out there for an hour. The music is good but all over the place for me and great to check out but I decide to hoof it back to the hotel (only done in 20 minutes). So from there I can head back to Felicia's (by 1:15am).
More Restaurant Week #1--BOSTON cont'd
So restaurant continues in Boston and I had two more reservations before heading out of town for a convention in Seattle (8/15 and 8/16).
I hit AZURE (710 Boylston Street, Boston Tel: 617.933.4800 website:/www.azureboston.com/azureboston) with my pal Trinh. It is her first time participating. Before I meet up with her, I was fortunate to see a great ole high school friend Jen H. She was up from DC at home on the Cape and decided to do a day trip to the city. We met up and relaxed in the food court at the PRU reminiscing, catching up and talking about food, life, making ends meet and being healthy. It was wonderful to see her.
Trinh is at Azure a bit earlier than myself for our 8:30pm dinner reservation. Since my last outing there a few years back with Ai chan it has changed alot. In place of the hushed, brightly light, big dining room is now a big bar in the middle of the room, low lit, loungy music piping through the speakers. Once we get the menu, we are surprised with a dizzying array of choices but no restaurant week menu (I find that you get a special listing for the restaurant week menu). After inquiring with our server, we found out that the WHOLE menu is available for restaurant. We are giddy with the prospect and all the choices we don't know where to start.
We are lured to order the seafood choices we find on the menu.
We get the flash fried squid, spicy scallop and shrimp tomato stew to start. We are served crusty bread to start and two slabs of butter. For our entrees, I get the seafood stew (fish, mussels, clams, shrimp). For dessert I opt for the pots of creme chocolate. The portions were very generous and we both could not finish our meals without feeling full.
The cooking, presentation and quality was top notch. We did feel that there was a lag in time waiting for our check and getting the check back. When we did have our server's attention she was fine.
Reservation number three was made at Excelsior (272 Boylston St, Boston, 02116 - (617) 426-7878) www.excelsiorrestaurant.com. I got my sister into becoming a restaurant week convert. She never really indulged or experienced fine dining until I dragged her to her first experience three years ago to Hammersley's Bistro in the South End. Since the meal, she has been smiling with culinary contentment everytime we go out for our restaurant week outings.
We decide to dress up for our dinner (not something we do together often). I see my sister in a skirt for the first time in YEARS and heels! (Not a word in her vocabulary--"heels" anyways). We do go to the restaurant with big anticipation for a good meal.
We opt for the wine and food pairing and get a dozen oysters while we are at it. Unfortunately not all the oysters varieties they usually serve are available so two of the dozen end up being clams. All are from the local area within Massachusetts. We are given three dippngs sauces--herb infused sauce, burgundy wine sauce and a cocktail sauce with fresh horseradish.
I am fuzzy on the exact wines but we had some from Italy (the moscato di asti), South Africa, Australia, Sonoma and a nice smooth port as well as a wine from Oregon. We are both not wine experts but we felt the wine selections paired with their food counterpart exquisite. I guess there is good reason Excelsior was giving an award from Food and Wine Magazine. The bread basket was attacked with gusto. The sweet cream flavor of the butter was brought out by the sea salt. We had a few choices of bread from a nice raison nut bread, bread stick and regular rolls. The 10 oysters and 2 clams were eaten quickly and we enjoyed the nice mix of freshness and the taste of the ocean. YUMMMMY! Then for my appetizer I had the green tomato gazpacho which was excellent with a big dallop of the blue fish pate in the center. My sister enjoyed her salad. For entree my sister had the natural skirt steak (cooked to medium rare perfection) with mash potatoes, which to her was a taste of heaven worth savoring every mouthful. I really enjoyed my fish dish.
Dessert was a pleasant affair, I had a chocolate cup with almond granita where as my sister had a ice cream over her dessert choice.
I hit AZURE (710 Boylston Street, Boston Tel: 617.933.4800 website:/www.azureboston.com/azureboston) with my pal Trinh. It is her first time participating. Before I meet up with her, I was fortunate to see a great ole high school friend Jen H. She was up from DC at home on the Cape and decided to do a day trip to the city. We met up and relaxed in the food court at the PRU reminiscing, catching up and talking about food, life, making ends meet and being healthy. It was wonderful to see her.
Trinh is at Azure a bit earlier than myself for our 8:30pm dinner reservation. Since my last outing there a few years back with Ai chan it has changed alot. In place of the hushed, brightly light, big dining room is now a big bar in the middle of the room, low lit, loungy music piping through the speakers. Once we get the menu, we are surprised with a dizzying array of choices but no restaurant week menu (I find that you get a special listing for the restaurant week menu). After inquiring with our server, we found out that the WHOLE menu is available for restaurant. We are giddy with the prospect and all the choices we don't know where to start.
We are lured to order the seafood choices we find on the menu.
We get the flash fried squid, spicy scallop and shrimp tomato stew to start. We are served crusty bread to start and two slabs of butter. For our entrees, I get the seafood stew (fish, mussels, clams, shrimp). For dessert I opt for the pots of creme chocolate. The portions were very generous and we both could not finish our meals without feeling full.
The cooking, presentation and quality was top notch. We did feel that there was a lag in time waiting for our check and getting the check back. When we did have our server's attention she was fine.
Reservation number three was made at Excelsior (272 Boylston St, Boston, 02116 - (617) 426-7878) www.excelsiorrestaurant.com. I got my sister into becoming a restaurant week convert. She never really indulged or experienced fine dining until I dragged her to her first experience three years ago to Hammersley's Bistro in the South End. Since the meal, she has been smiling with culinary contentment everytime we go out for our restaurant week outings.
We decide to dress up for our dinner (not something we do together often). I see my sister in a skirt for the first time in YEARS and heels! (Not a word in her vocabulary--"heels" anyways). We do go to the restaurant with big anticipation for a good meal.
We opt for the wine and food pairing and get a dozen oysters while we are at it. Unfortunately not all the oysters varieties they usually serve are available so two of the dozen end up being clams. All are from the local area within Massachusetts. We are given three dippngs sauces--herb infused sauce, burgundy wine sauce and a cocktail sauce with fresh horseradish.
I am fuzzy on the exact wines but we had some from Italy (the moscato di asti), South Africa, Australia, Sonoma and a nice smooth port as well as a wine from Oregon. We are both not wine experts but we felt the wine selections paired with their food counterpart exquisite. I guess there is good reason Excelsior was giving an award from Food and Wine Magazine. The bread basket was attacked with gusto. The sweet cream flavor of the butter was brought out by the sea salt. We had a few choices of bread from a nice raison nut bread, bread stick and regular rolls. The 10 oysters and 2 clams were eaten quickly and we enjoyed the nice mix of freshness and the taste of the ocean. YUMMMMY! Then for my appetizer I had the green tomato gazpacho which was excellent with a big dallop of the blue fish pate in the center. My sister enjoyed her salad. For entree my sister had the natural skirt steak (cooked to medium rare perfection) with mash potatoes, which to her was a taste of heaven worth savoring every mouthful. I really enjoyed my fish dish.
Dessert was a pleasant affair, I had a chocolate cup with almond granita where as my sister had a ice cream over her dessert choice.
Metropolitan Club (Restaurant week #1 rsvp)
http://www.metclubandbar.com/
The Metropolitan Club (1210 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 /tel: 617.731.0600) was my first reservation. I was ready to nosh on some great food. I took the "T" Green line "D" out to Chestnut Hill "T" stop. It was only a 10 minute walk away from the station.
My dinner partner was a bit late. I was getting hungry whilst waiting for him. Turns out parking amongst other things caused for the delay. The decor is muted dark browns, low lighting and the atmosphere was posh. Our server had a lovely accent and she was from Bulgaria.
We had the wine pairing with our meal (we ordered the whole menu) and sampled all the food and wines too. It is always helpful to dine with others who are willing to share. The conversation, company and dinner was a fun experience.
Chef’s Watermelon Steak pan seared watermelon, french feta (never would I have imagined grilled watermelon steak to taste how it did. Combined with the french feta this was a delight to my taste buds. The watermelon appeared to me as a good piece of salmon (if I hadn't known any better). Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon rustic horseradish potato salad (great crispy skin and cooked to perfection without being overly dry but had the right amount of moistness). Peach pineapple cake came out I was so stuffed. I couldn't even really finish my dessert but made a valiant attempt.
Getting the wine pairing was not that much more beyond the $30.06.
Salut!
The Metropolitan Club (1210 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 /tel: 617.731.0600) was my first reservation. I was ready to nosh on some great food. I took the "T" Green line "D" out to Chestnut Hill "T" stop. It was only a 10 minute walk away from the station.
My dinner partner was a bit late. I was getting hungry whilst waiting for him. Turns out parking amongst other things caused for the delay. The decor is muted dark browns, low lighting and the atmosphere was posh. Our server had a lovely accent and she was from Bulgaria.
We had the wine pairing with our meal (we ordered the whole menu) and sampled all the food and wines too. It is always helpful to dine with others who are willing to share. The conversation, company and dinner was a fun experience.
Chef’s Watermelon Steak pan seared watermelon, french feta (never would I have imagined grilled watermelon steak to taste how it did. Combined with the french feta this was a delight to my taste buds. The watermelon appeared to me as a good piece of salmon (if I hadn't known any better). Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon rustic horseradish potato salad (great crispy skin and cooked to perfection without being overly dry but had the right amount of moistness). Peach pineapple cake came out I was so stuffed. I couldn't even really finish my dessert but made a valiant attempt.
Getting the wine pairing was not that much more beyond the $30.06.
Salut!
Boston Restaurant Week (#1) Aug 12-18
I simply LOVE Boston's restuarant week. I have been a fan since I found out about restaurant back in NYC when I was visiting my good friend Susan in NYC and we had the three course prefixe lunch menu at NOBU before it came to Boston.
Since then, I was hooked. Once I discovered Boston was going to join in the band wagon, I have religiously made reservations to attend as much as I can afford and share these experiences with friends and family.
This year has been no exception with an added winter Restaurant week this past March. An amazing two weeks of restaurant week is in store for Boston (the usual time period is a week). I have made a whopping 7 reservations but I can only attend 6 of them (one of them I made not realizing I was going to be in the Pacific Northwest). I usually make less than that number.
My path to eating to gourmet bliss includes Metropolitan Club, Azure, Excelsior, "L", Harvest and Great Bay. You cannot beat the prefix price of $30.06 for appetizer, entree and dessert before tax, tip and drinks. You get top notch food, service, wonderful atmosphere and exquisite quality food without sacrificing your wallet. Some of the restaurants even offer a very affordable wine pairing too (a great indulgence worth having might I add).
*Metrop0litan Club (off Rte 9 in Chestnut Hill)
*Azure (housed in a hotel across the street from the Boston Public Library in the back bay)
*Excelsior (near Four Seasons facing the lovely Boston Public Gardens)
*"L" (housed in the tony and uber chic Louis of Boston)
*Harvest (Harvard Square)
*Great Bay (great seafood and great location in Kenmore Square)
Bon appetit to all the foodies out there!
Since then, I was hooked. Once I discovered Boston was going to join in the band wagon, I have religiously made reservations to attend as much as I can afford and share these experiences with friends and family.
This year has been no exception with an added winter Restaurant week this past March. An amazing two weeks of restaurant week is in store for Boston (the usual time period is a week). I have made a whopping 7 reservations but I can only attend 6 of them (one of them I made not realizing I was going to be in the Pacific Northwest). I usually make less than that number.
My path to eating to gourmet bliss includes Metropolitan Club, Azure, Excelsior, "L", Harvest and Great Bay. You cannot beat the prefix price of $30.06 for appetizer, entree and dessert before tax, tip and drinks. You get top notch food, service, wonderful atmosphere and exquisite quality food without sacrificing your wallet. Some of the restaurants even offer a very affordable wine pairing too (a great indulgence worth having might I add).
*Metrop0litan Club (off Rte 9 in Chestnut Hill)
*Azure (housed in a hotel across the street from the Boston Public Library in the back bay)
*Excelsior (near Four Seasons facing the lovely Boston Public Gardens)
*"L" (housed in the tony and uber chic Louis of Boston)
*Harvest (Harvard Square)
*Great Bay (great seafood and great location in Kenmore Square)
Bon appetit to all the foodies out there!
Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" on the Boston Common
www.freeshakespeare.org
The Wang Center for the Performing Arts presents Free Shakespeare on the Common - THE TAMING OF THE SHREW ~ July 22 - August 13, 2006
www.freeshakespeare.org
(pics from www.boston.com) Petruchio getting his bride Katherine/Petruchio trying to seduce Katherine
**I caught it on August 13 on a beautiful night from 7pm til 10pm. They have been performing for 10 years on the Commons.
(from the above website)
A classic comedy full of deception and disguises, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has always been one of Shakespeare’s most popular works. It is the story of a wealthy merchant and his two daughters: the young, kind Bianca, and the conversely fierce and forthright Katherine. Bianca, who has no shortage of suitors, is forbidden to marry before her older sister is wed, so the crude, fortune-hunting Petruchio is enlisted to court Katherine. With her father’s authority, the two are married and Petruchio is on a mission to tame his wild bride. One of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, it’s a romp through the war between the sexes with a lively and irresistibly witty plot. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has had thousands of stage productions, has been adapted into several feature films, and is the inspiration for the Broadway musical, Kiss Me Kate
I enjoyed the Boston references from the background using the historic traditional North End (Boston's Little Italy) to Revere Beach. Instead of using an Italian town name they used "Bostonia". I enjoyed the 1940's feel and the costumes were extremely colorful. The verbal sparring between Katherine and Petruchio was great. I did not care for the ending as it still doesn't seem to realistic how "tame" she is at the end caushing her beloved husband to win his bet withthe other men. (UGGGH! Maybe because of my upbringing I feel this way.)
I want to thank my pal CC for bringing his folding lawn chairs! They were great and it sure beat sitting on the lumpy grass (not all areas were fully seeded with plus green grass. Plus our snacks from the nearby Chinatown bakery and drinks were nice refreshment under a beautiful sunday sunset and cool breezes (not for a second reminded us of our hellish heat wave in July).
The Wang Center for the Performing Arts presents Free Shakespeare on the Common - THE TAMING OF THE SHREW ~ July 22 - August 13, 2006
www.freeshakespeare.org
**I caught it on August 13 on a beautiful night from 7pm til 10pm. They have been performing for 10 years on the Commons.
(from the above website)
A classic comedy full of deception and disguises, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has always been one of Shakespeare’s most popular works. It is the story of a wealthy merchant and his two daughters: the young, kind Bianca, and the conversely fierce and forthright Katherine. Bianca, who has no shortage of suitors, is forbidden to marry before her older sister is wed, so the crude, fortune-hunting Petruchio is enlisted to court Katherine. With her father’s authority, the two are married and Petruchio is on a mission to tame his wild bride. One of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, it’s a romp through the war between the sexes with a lively and irresistibly witty plot. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has had thousands of stage productions, has been adapted into several feature films, and is the inspiration for the Broadway musical, Kiss Me Kate
I enjoyed the Boston references from the background using the historic traditional North End (Boston's Little Italy) to Revere Beach. Instead of using an Italian town name they used "Bostonia". I enjoyed the 1940's feel and the costumes were extremely colorful. The verbal sparring between Katherine and Petruchio was great. I did not care for the ending as it still doesn't seem to realistic how "tame" she is at the end caushing her beloved husband to win his bet withthe other men. (UGGGH! Maybe because of my upbringing I feel this way.)
I want to thank my pal CC for bringing his folding lawn chairs! They were great and it sure beat sitting on the lumpy grass (not all areas were fully seeded with plus green grass. Plus our snacks from the nearby Chinatown bakery and drinks were nice refreshment under a beautiful sunday sunset and cool breezes (not for a second reminded us of our hellish heat wave in July).
OCA National Convention-PHILLY weekend (8/10-8/13)
I haven't gone to an OCA National convention since ATLANTA which is a bit of time ago. So I have been to a total of only 4. There were many I wanted to attend--Hawaii and Salt Lake City for examples but timing, finances and other events prohibited me from attending.
This was the particular thought I had for not going to attend until my kind "gah jeh" told me some great news when I was visiting DC area. Thanks to her kindness, idea and generousity I could swing Philly as a possible convention to get back into the OCA fold. I rejoined the OCA NOVA (Northern Virginia Chapter)- Go Dan, Jack and Thanitha!
The first day, I had to miss the reception and arrival into Philly was particularly hellish. (Blogged about that experience already).
Once I got into bed after chitchatting with "gah jeh" it was already almost 4am. I got up with "gah jeh" at 8:30am as she had to be ready by 9am. No breakfast was served so we (after meeting up with the newly enaged Dan and Thanitha (cute couple alert) for our breakfast options. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we were excited to be outside.
Reading Terminal Market Today
Today, Reading Terminal Market is once again the gastronomic bazaar that its original planners had envisioned. Many of the historic Market stands survived the reconstruction and are once again filled with local produce, fresh eggs, milk, meats, poultry, seafood, handmade crafts, jewelry, and clothing. The Market is home to more than 80 merchants, three of whom are descendants of the original standholders from a century before. Today, the Market is 100 percent leased. On any given day, except Sunday, when the Market is closed, one can find an eclectic array of fresh baked Amish goods, produce direct from the field, unusual spices, free range meats and poultry, flowers, ethnic foods, and much more. Eighty thousand Philadelphians and tourists pass through the Reading Terminal Market every week enjoying its exceptional products, history, and people.
source: http://readingterminalmarket.org/about.php
I suggested the Reading Terminal (which ended up being only a 20 minute walk away from the Sheraton City Centre Location we were located. All of us were excited and instead of dim sum or the usual breakfast we feasted on a variety of things. From the splendid pumpkin pecan muffin from Le Buse. to the Amish sausage on a bun, chicken pot pie, whole cream ice cream (very artery clogging but ooooooh soooo yummy goodness and creaminess), spectacular strawberry lemonade! (Later I did try "gah jeh's" raw honeycomb (very interesting) and turkey jerky (I enjoyed the slight chewiness and spiciness). This particular weekend marked a special AMISH Festival too.
So in the span of one hour, we really were happy campers. We enjoyed the ice cream even better when we saw how it was made via a hand cranked iold style ice cream making machine set inside a big container with ice. Very cool and the ice cream comes out a bit mushy and the peach ice cream I had sampled was fabulous with chunks of real peaches in a thick, rich vanilla surroundings.
Before heading back, we take photos with the LOVE statue by the fountain and it was fun. Then we headed over to the beginning of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway before scooting over to the hotel which was the site of the OCA convention.
From there, we meandered back to the Convention and had a chance to hear a workshop. Lunch time was good, there were some presentations and lunch was awesome with lasagna florentine style (veggies and cream sauce) with some julienned veggies. Dessert seemed some panna cotta concoction. The salad was plated and consisted of a mesclun mix with balsamic vinagrette. The OCA Chapter awards are given out and my friend JL of OCA-NOVA chapter won two awards. He was the chapter representative to receive the accolades. It is always great to see him and reconnect. I have the utmost respect for him, love his humor and he is astoundingly very intelligent. Plus a great I had a chance to reconnect and learn some NAAAP news, talk about the upcoming convention and decide who are the top 5 people who we met through NAAAP we thought were cool (local chapter NAAAP friends not included). I had a chicagoan, texan, north carolinan, new yorker as some of my choices.
After lunch, the workshop I wanted to attend was the Health Disparites of Asian Americans. I felt it is important for all people not just Asians to know of health issues especially ones that are preventable using preventative measures such as---getting a physical, eyes -teeth and ears checked, moving your body, eating a variety of foods etc. But also being aware of the current health policies facing the typical persons well as Asian Americans.
Then I went to the job fair. In the past, I always looked up to their job fair and thought it was always stellar. It was still good but not as to the gold standard I have come to expect as before. The convention was not up to the usual standards of what I have come to expect of OCA. I was a bit disappointed. I know OCA Philadelphia worked hard but some things are not the same from the last convention I attended. It was not as traditionally strong of a program. I then found out that the dates were originally in July had to change to August. So with that knowledge, it made sense why all the changes ocurred causing the many changes that did affect the quality of the conference. (Though I did enjoy the pockets of free time allotted to attendees which was wonderful to allow them to have a more pleasurable experience.)
Then I took a break and went upstairs for a nap. Woke up at six and changed to get ready for the dinner and entertainment festivities. We have a lovely buffet dinner. From awesome ribs, mash potatoes, hamburgers, salad (caesar), fruit selection, cookies and brownies (I abstained from them) were some of the food selection we had to eat.
The nights' entertainment was a big departure and very innovative and creative in comparison to times past. Alan Niu (Magician who also has been on tv with his own show), Yellow Rage ( a powerful, thought provoking spoken word female duo who rocked the house with their social consciousness and realistic look at issues) along with the talented and funny Comedian Eliot Chang (www.echang.com) closing out the night.
(Photo from www.comedycentral.com) Pic of Eliot Chang
(http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/yellowrage.html)
There was some music and dancing afterwards for some time. Eliot Chang was selling some great tshirts with some cool phrases and thoughts (personally I liked the tshirt in the shape of the USA, with Asian countries names written across it to create an outline of our country and ASIAN AMERICA written somewhere in the front.
After the dancing ended at midnight, we hit South Philadelphia to have the infamous Philadelphia Cheesesteak. Thankfully, John C. of Houston drove and we all went down near to Pats on 9th Street and Passyunk (215 468 1546) open 361 days and for 24 hours. It was between Pat's and Ginos. Since I have been to Ginos we opted for Pat's this time. Turns out Pat's was the first one to originate it and has strict ordering rules. Have the money out, say what you want, with our without (onions), cheese (if other than the traditional CHEEZWHIZ) and then pay. (The price list includes the tax so the customer can be prepared. Turns out both joints turnout cheesesteaks for 24 hours and both places have long lines. It is not uncommon to have to wait almost half an hour during the wee hours of the night. We waited for our Philly Cheesesteak experience for almost 20 to 30 minutes. We were pretty excited. I share with "gah jeh" (continuing the theme of the weekend of sharing great food) and we enjoyed it. The crispy Italian roll (made the sandwich with the right amount of crispiness coming from toasting, sauteed beef with cheesewhiz and onions was delicious.
www.patskingofsteaks.com
DAY TWO (saturday 8/12/06), we wake up for the breakfast (I end up with about 4 hours sleep again). I learned long ago Conventions are not great venues for getting tons of sleep. We eat our sit down breakfast (scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit) while a panel on Media Watchdog on various anti-asian slurs within the media nationwide, It as very disturbing of the many media cases that are occurring throughout our great nation still in this day and age. It is truly disheartening.
Then went to a workshop panel on State of Asian Pacific America Summit in regards to the current climate for API's in the USA. There was some great points and discussion during the Q & A and tons of pertinent and important information was available in regards to government, social and economic policies to access for basic privileges from immigrants.
Luckily one hour break is built in and "gah jeh" and I take a quick one hour nap. We head to lunch and enjoy the chicken dish. Today the interns and OCA scholarship winners are announced. I enjoyed the interns innovative media presentation to introduce themselves by scattering themselves all around DC to create their presentation.
Afterwards, I get my blood pressure checked 128 over 80. I am told I have to be careful and can be pre-hypertension. Nothing but diet and exercise would correct. I even check my glucose levels after lunch I am doing well. So I guess I have to be more vigilant.
Then I go with Dan and Thanitha to go to the Atwater Kent Museum (see within Blog a description). I got the DVD series on Chinese Restaurants (5 in all at 60 minutes a piece). There are some Normal Rockwell cover printings for the Washington Post during last century.
Back to the conference and with only one hour to spare before the cocktail hour and the gala night, I join "gah jeh" in taking another nap. I felt good when I was done and missed the open bar. (I am glad as I didn't need the drinks). "Gah Jeh" was bidding on some items and ended up winning two of them ---Esprit Wallet and a bottle of wine she wanted to win (to rebuild her wine collection at home).
We had a lovely surf and turf dinner for the Gala dinner. The petit filet mignon was lovely with the lump crab cake (light dusting of bread crumbs) made for a delicious meal.
Our table hostess SW (of DC) shared her Remy Martin Cognac with the whole table. As they say "Sharing is caring" it truly was in this instance. We all had a grand time and toasted a lot! It was such a convivial atmosphere. Later on we got a chance to dance to the live band and whiled the time away til midnight.
Afterwards I was chitchatting with a NY Long Island OCA member who was at his 10th convention (his contingent mainly his family consisted of 50) was pretty impressive. We put Dan under the spotlight but he skillfully eluded us on answering questions regarding his lovely fiancee. (BTW I want pics Dan of our Philly weekend!)
Repacking and figuring out what to keep and not keep as I had an early flight. I got into bed at 4am and up at 7am. Grabbed my breakfast buffet (thanks to the night manager on early Friday morning) and had eggs, sausage, fruit, yogurt and granola. I had a big breakfast.
I almost forgot my glasses (after putting in my contacts) and i did make my shuttle (every half hour) to the Philly International Airport. The one way trip only cost $8. The lines for security and getting my boarding pass were minimimal in light of the Aug 10 (THU) terrorist plot being foiled. Effiicient, pleasant and I had a great experience there plus my flight was on time. I got back into Logan to find a LONG LONG check in line snaking all the way to United's luggage carousel. I was glad I did not have to deal with it.
====================================
In the triad world, hugely dominated by men, where heroes are molded from blood, brawn and brains, are there any place to accommodate a defenseless girl?
This was the particular thought I had for not going to attend until my kind "gah jeh" told me some great news when I was visiting DC area. Thanks to her kindness, idea and generousity I could swing Philly as a possible convention to get back into the OCA fold. I rejoined the OCA NOVA (Northern Virginia Chapter)- Go Dan, Jack and Thanitha!
The first day, I had to miss the reception and arrival into Philly was particularly hellish. (Blogged about that experience already).
Once I got into bed after chitchatting with "gah jeh" it was already almost 4am. I got up with "gah jeh" at 8:30am as she had to be ready by 9am. No breakfast was served so we (after meeting up with the newly enaged Dan and Thanitha (cute couple alert) for our breakfast options. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we were excited to be outside.
 | | | ||
| ||||
Reading Terminal Market Today
Today, Reading Terminal Market is once again the gastronomic bazaar that its original planners had envisioned. Many of the historic Market stands survived the reconstruction and are once again filled with local produce, fresh eggs, milk, meats, poultry, seafood, handmade crafts, jewelry, and clothing. The Market is home to more than 80 merchants, three of whom are descendants of the original standholders from a century before. Today, the Market is 100 percent leased. On any given day, except Sunday, when the Market is closed, one can find an eclectic array of fresh baked Amish goods, produce direct from the field, unusual spices, free range meats and poultry, flowers, ethnic foods, and much more. Eighty thousand Philadelphians and tourists pass through the Reading Terminal Market every week enjoying its exceptional products, history, and people.source: http://readingterminalmarket.org/about.php
I suggested the Reading Terminal (which ended up being only a 20 minute walk away from the Sheraton City Centre Location we were located. All of us were excited and instead of dim sum or the usual breakfast we feasted on a variety of things. From the splendid pumpkin pecan muffin from Le Buse. to the Amish sausage on a bun, chicken pot pie, whole cream ice cream (very artery clogging but ooooooh soooo yummy goodness and creaminess), spectacular strawberry lemonade! (Later I did try "gah jeh's" raw honeycomb (very interesting) and turkey jerky (I enjoyed the slight chewiness and spiciness). This particular weekend marked a special AMISH Festival too.
So in the span of one hour, we really were happy campers. We enjoyed the ice cream even better when we saw how it was made via a hand cranked iold style ice cream making machine set inside a big container with ice. Very cool and the ice cream comes out a bit mushy and the peach ice cream I had sampled was fabulous with chunks of real peaches in a thick, rich vanilla surroundings.
Before heading back, we take photos with the LOVE statue by the fountain and it was fun. Then we headed over to the beginning of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway before scooting over to the hotel which was the site of the OCA convention.
LOVE Statue - John F. Kennedy Plaza
Robert Indiana, 1978
Kennedy Plaza, 15th and JFK
(www.philadelphia.about.com)
From there, we meandered back to the Convention and had a chance to hear a workshop. Lunch time was good, there were some presentations and lunch was awesome with lasagna florentine style (veggies and cream sauce) with some julienned veggies. Dessert seemed some panna cotta concoction. The salad was plated and consisted of a mesclun mix with balsamic vinagrette. The OCA Chapter awards are given out and my friend JL of OCA-NOVA chapter won two awards. He was the chapter representative to receive the accolades. It is always great to see him and reconnect. I have the utmost respect for him, love his humor and he is astoundingly very intelligent. Plus a great I had a chance to reconnect and learn some NAAAP news, talk about the upcoming convention and decide who are the top 5 people who we met through NAAAP we thought were cool (local chapter NAAAP friends not included). I had a chicagoan, texan, north carolinan, new yorker as some of my choices.
After lunch, the workshop I wanted to attend was the Health Disparites of Asian Americans. I felt it is important for all people not just Asians to know of health issues especially ones that are preventable using preventative measures such as---getting a physical, eyes -teeth and ears checked, moving your body, eating a variety of foods etc. But also being aware of the current health policies facing the typical persons well as Asian Americans.
Then I went to the job fair. In the past, I always looked up to their job fair and thought it was always stellar. It was still good but not as to the gold standard I have come to expect as before. The convention was not up to the usual standards of what I have come to expect of OCA. I was a bit disappointed. I know OCA Philadelphia worked hard but some things are not the same from the last convention I attended. It was not as traditionally strong of a program. I then found out that the dates were originally in July had to change to August. So with that knowledge, it made sense why all the changes ocurred causing the many changes that did affect the quality of the conference. (Though I did enjoy the pockets of free time allotted to attendees which was wonderful to allow them to have a more pleasurable experience.)
Then I took a break and went upstairs for a nap. Woke up at six and changed to get ready for the dinner and entertainment festivities. We have a lovely buffet dinner. From awesome ribs, mash potatoes, hamburgers, salad (caesar), fruit selection, cookies and brownies (I abstained from them) were some of the food selection we had to eat.
The nights' entertainment was a big departure and very innovative and creative in comparison to times past. Alan Niu (Magician who also has been on tv with his own show), Yellow Rage ( a powerful, thought provoking spoken word female duo who rocked the house with their social consciousness and realistic look at issues) along with the talented and funny Comedian Eliot Chang (www.echang.com) closing out the night.
YELLOW RAGE
(http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/yellowrage.html)
Together, Michelle Myers and Catzie Vilayphonh are Yellow Rage, a dynamic duo of Philly-based Asian American female spoken word poets. Both are part of the larger Asian American Philadelphia performance collective "Something to Say", led by Gary San Angel of Peeling Banana fame. Through their voices, Catzie and Michelle hope to provide an awareness that is not often heard. Exploring topics from fetishes to cultural appropriation to ethnic pride, Yellow Rage challenges mainstream misconceptions of Asianness.
Check them out at www.yellowrage.com
There was some music and dancing afterwards for some time. Eliot Chang was selling some great tshirts with some cool phrases and thoughts (personally I liked the tshirt in the shape of the USA, with Asian countries names written across it to create an outline of our country and ASIAN AMERICA written somewhere in the front.
After the dancing ended at midnight, we hit South Philadelphia to have the infamous Philadelphia Cheesesteak. Thankfully, John C. of Houston drove and we all went down near to Pats on 9th Street and Passyunk (215 468 1546) open 361 days and for 24 hours. It was between Pat's and Ginos. Since I have been to Ginos we opted for Pat's this time. Turns out Pat's was the first one to originate it and has strict ordering rules. Have the money out, say what you want, with our without (onions), cheese (if other than the traditional CHEEZWHIZ) and then pay. (The price list includes the tax so the customer can be prepared. Turns out both joints turnout cheesesteaks for 24 hours and both places have long lines. It is not uncommon to have to wait almost half an hour during the wee hours of the night. We waited for our Philly Cheesesteak experience for almost 20 to 30 minutes. We were pretty excited. I share with "gah jeh" (continuing the theme of the weekend of sharing great food) and we enjoyed it. The crispy Italian roll (made the sandwich with the right amount of crispiness coming from toasting, sauteed beef with cheesewhiz and onions was delicious.
www.patskingofsteaks.com
DAY TWO (saturday 8/12/06), we wake up for the breakfast (I end up with about 4 hours sleep again). I learned long ago Conventions are not great venues for getting tons of sleep. We eat our sit down breakfast (scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit) while a panel on Media Watchdog on various anti-asian slurs within the media nationwide, It as very disturbing of the many media cases that are occurring throughout our great nation still in this day and age. It is truly disheartening.
Then went to a workshop panel on State of Asian Pacific America Summit in regards to the current climate for API's in the USA. There was some great points and discussion during the Q & A and tons of pertinent and important information was available in regards to government, social and economic policies to access for basic privileges from immigrants.
Luckily one hour break is built in and "gah jeh" and I take a quick one hour nap. We head to lunch and enjoy the chicken dish. Today the interns and OCA scholarship winners are announced. I enjoyed the interns innovative media presentation to introduce themselves by scattering themselves all around DC to create their presentation.
Afterwards, I get my blood pressure checked 128 over 80. I am told I have to be careful and can be pre-hypertension. Nothing but diet and exercise would correct. I even check my glucose levels after lunch I am doing well. So I guess I have to be more vigilant.
Then I go with Dan and Thanitha to go to the Atwater Kent Museum (see within Blog a description). I got the DVD series on Chinese Restaurants (5 in all at 60 minutes a piece). There are some Normal Rockwell cover printings for the Washington Post during last century.
Back to the conference and with only one hour to spare before the cocktail hour and the gala night, I join "gah jeh" in taking another nap. I felt good when I was done and missed the open bar. (I am glad as I didn't need the drinks). "Gah Jeh" was bidding on some items and ended up winning two of them ---Esprit Wallet and a bottle of wine she wanted to win (to rebuild her wine collection at home).
We had a lovely surf and turf dinner for the Gala dinner. The petit filet mignon was lovely with the lump crab cake (light dusting of bread crumbs) made for a delicious meal.
Our table hostess SW (of DC) shared her Remy Martin Cognac with the whole table. As they say "Sharing is caring" it truly was in this instance. We all had a grand time and toasted a lot! It was such a convivial atmosphere. Later on we got a chance to dance to the live band and whiled the time away til midnight.
Afterwards I was chitchatting with a NY Long Island OCA member who was at his 10th convention (his contingent mainly his family consisted of 50) was pretty impressive. We put Dan under the spotlight but he skillfully eluded us on answering questions regarding his lovely fiancee. (BTW I want pics Dan of our Philly weekend!)
Repacking and figuring out what to keep and not keep as I had an early flight. I got into bed at 4am and up at 7am. Grabbed my breakfast buffet (thanks to the night manager on early Friday morning) and had eggs, sausage, fruit, yogurt and granola. I had a big breakfast.
I almost forgot my glasses (after putting in my contacts) and i did make my shuttle (every half hour) to the Philly International Airport. The one way trip only cost $8. The lines for security and getting my boarding pass were minimimal in light of the Aug 10 (THU) terrorist plot being foiled. Effiicient, pleasant and I had a great experience there plus my flight was on time. I got back into Logan to find a LONG LONG check in line snaking all the way to United's luggage carousel. I was glad I did not have to deal with it.
====================================
In the triad world, hugely dominated by men, where heroes are molded from blood, brawn and brains, are there any place to accommodate a defenseless girl?
The only exception to the rule is if you earn your respect as “Ah Sou” - the big boss’ wife.
Mob Sister tells the extraordinary story of an innocent girl who was appointed successor to Hong Kong’s ruling triad. This role becomes a double-edged sword for our young heroine, who is sucked into a maelstrom of vicious gang wars, hair-raising assassination attempts, ruthless power struggles and betrayals. Through numerous violent episodes and unexpected reversals, she discovers her own inner strength and re-writes the laws of the triad.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Saw interesting exhibit in PHILLY (8/12/06)
Have You Eaten Yet? (Interesting exhibit on Chinese Restaurants) in PHILLYHave You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America(from: http://www.philadelphiahistory.org/) $5 adult entrance (Kent Atwater Museum)
April 5-September 10, 2006
"Have you eaten yet?" is a standard Chinese Greeting similar to "How are you?" Through menus, souvenirs, glassware, scrapbooks and vintage radio commercials, Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America, organized by the Museum of the Chinese in America, tells the story of Chinese immigration and culture in the United States. The exhibition provides a national context with AKMP adding examples from the Philadelphia Chinese restaurant community.
This critically acclaimed exhibition has received national attention. In a September 22, 2004, New Your Times review, Yong Chen, history professor at the University of California, Irvine, and co-curator of the exhibition said "The Chinese restaurant has become part of our consciousness. It is quintessentially American."
The exhibition was organized and is on loan from the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA), New York City, and drawn extensively from the Harley Spiller collection. It is made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and MoCA members. Additional support was provided by MoCA benefactors Roderick G. W. Chu, Drs. Mary Leong and Peter Hong, Linda Sun and Jadin Wong. The AKMP exhibition is supported by a major grant from The McLean Contributionship, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative on American History.
====================================================
I was recently last weekend in Philly for a CONVENTION. On Saturday, I got the time to sneak out of the workshops to check out the at the Kent Atwater Museum (Thanks DW for driving). It was a great exhibit on Chinese Restuarants in America. I got in for free due to my Boston MFA ID. (Memberships has it privileges www.mfa.org)
We saw old post cards/matchs/menus that chronicled the Chinese Restaurant and what they sold. Some in the past had dinner shows with dancing and various acts. Many of the drawings and characters on the menus are the stereotypical "fu manchu" and "charlie chan" with the buck teeth, queue and squinty eyes. My friends and I were a bit horrified to see this on the menus plus some had examples of pigeon English. Not all did this, but it was a bit of a shock. My parent's had a their own business and have been involved in the Chinese Business. Funny how Asian immigrants do what they need to do to have food on the table from restaurant, laundry, taxi or other service industry jobs to support their families.
The exhibit had for sale the 5 DVD documentary about Chinatowns around the world (thanks LEEWA for telling me of them)-www.tissa.com It is an interesting look at various Chinese restaurants all over the world. From my personal 9 years of my parent's own business to subsequent helping out other Chinese restaurants (New Year's Eve is a popular time for Chinese American food for take out), I can say it is hard work. There was even a Chinese Restaurant board game/papers on the history of the fortune cookie and breakdown of the various Chinese cuisines and their locations in China as well for handouts. ==================================
*what I am watching now:
Synopsis: (summarized by Krystalheart)A story about Jung Suh (Choi Ji Woo) and her best friend Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo). As childhood friends, Jung Suh and Song Joo held a special bond within their friendship that blossomed into love. Song Joo leaves to America to study abroad, leaving a sad Jung Suh behind. Jung Suh is left alone to suffer in the silent cruelty of her step sister, Yuri, and new step mother. All the while, Jung Suh tries to be nice to her new step brother, Tae Hwa, who in returns mistakes this friendship for affection. Tae Hwa falls in love with young Jung Suh. The love that heaven forbids and a tragic love story that starts to unfold from here.
credit goes to this website for -Stairway to Heaven info http://www.krystalheart.com/heaven/
April 5-September 10, 2006
"Have you eaten yet?" is a standard Chinese Greeting similar to "How are you?" Through menus, souvenirs, glassware, scrapbooks and vintage radio commercials, Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America, organized by the Museum of the Chinese in America, tells the story of Chinese immigration and culture in the United States. The exhibition provides a national context with AKMP adding examples from the Philadelphia Chinese restaurant community.
This critically acclaimed exhibition has received national attention. In a September 22, 2004, New Your Times review, Yong Chen, history professor at the University of California, Irvine, and co-curator of the exhibition said "The Chinese restaurant has become part of our consciousness. It is quintessentially American."
The exhibition was organized and is on loan from the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA), New York City, and drawn extensively from the Harley Spiller collection. It is made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and MoCA members. Additional support was provided by MoCA benefactors Roderick G. W. Chu, Drs. Mary Leong and Peter Hong, Linda Sun and Jadin Wong. The AKMP exhibition is supported by a major grant from The McLean Contributionship, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative on American History.
====================================================
I was recently last weekend in Philly for a CONVENTION. On Saturday, I got the time to sneak out of the workshops to check out the at the Kent Atwater Museum (Thanks DW for driving). It was a great exhibit on Chinese Restuarants in America. I got in for free due to my Boston MFA ID. (Memberships has it privileges www.mfa.org)
We saw old post cards/matchs/menus that chronicled the Chinese Restaurant and what they sold. Some in the past had dinner shows with dancing and various acts. Many of the drawings and characters on the menus are the stereotypical "fu manchu" and "charlie chan" with the buck teeth, queue and squinty eyes. My friends and I were a bit horrified to see this on the menus plus some had examples of pigeon English. Not all did this, but it was a bit of a shock. My parent's had a their own business and have been involved in the Chinese Business. Funny how Asian immigrants do what they need to do to have food on the table from restaurant, laundry, taxi or other service industry jobs to support their families.
The exhibit had for sale the 5 DVD documentary about Chinatowns around the world (thanks LEEWA for telling me of them)-www.tissa.com It is an interesting look at various Chinese restaurants all over the world. From my personal 9 years of my parent's own business to subsequent helping out other Chinese restaurants (New Year's Eve is a popular time for Chinese American food for take out), I can say it is hard work. There was even a Chinese Restaurant board game/papers on the history of the fortune cookie and breakdown of the various Chinese cuisines and their locations in China as well for handouts. ==================================
*what I am watching now:
Synopsis: (summarized by Krystalheart)A story about Jung Suh (Choi Ji Woo) and her best friend Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo). As childhood friends, Jung Suh and Song Joo held a special bond within their friendship that blossomed into love. Song Joo leaves to America to study abroad, leaving a sad Jung Suh behind. Jung Suh is left alone to suffer in the silent cruelty of her step sister, Yuri, and new step mother. All the while, Jung Suh tries to be nice to her new step brother, Tae Hwa, who in returns mistakes this friendship for affection. Tae Hwa falls in love with young Jung Suh. The love that heaven forbids and a tragic love story that starts to unfold from here.
credit goes to this website for -Stairway to Heaven info http://www.krystalheart.com/heaven/
Flying has changed as we know it.....my day at Logan (THURS 8/10)
Flying has changed as we know it.....my day at Logan (THURS 8/10)
Flying as we know it has changed forever especially for those who live by only doing "carry on luggage" forever (myself included).
Everything started out normal on Thursday, August 10 and I was doing my morning routine when our dad called us. My sis who works at Logan, got a call telling us to watch the TV. Turns out that a terrorist plot was foiled and now there were NEW restrictions on what you could or could not bring onto the airplanes.
Prohibited items and information over the internet and TV constantly changed throughout the day. I myself had a flight (one hour on AIRTRAN) at 6pm expected arrival being 7:30pm and dinner plans with my friend Betty (whom I could not wait to see!).
I had to repack my bag and took out anything LIQUID, LOTION, GEL or similiar consistency and for safety precaution I took out sunscreen, lip gloss, deodorant and chapstick. Luckily I live close to home, thanks sis for getting my stuff at my work place.
I get to the airport two hours beforehand (I thought 3 hours was too much). I did not have anything to check, going through security took me 20 minutes. There was one machine and two lines. The trash bins was piled high with tooth paste, expensive lip glosses, cosmetics and creams, water and drink bottles were in the mix as well.
The AirTran terminal at LOGAN is sad and very boring. I got a seat at the UNO's (only food option there) and chatted with a Brit while we were watching the late breaking news. AirTran unfortunately does not have an TV Monitors so everything has to be announced by intercom (which can be a pain at times). Our gates were constantly switched and all flights were delayed (according to my sister I found out later any late day flights have a high chance of being delayed--not a great omen for me).
My flight seems to be on target to be on time til 5:30 and I see a sign change to 8:15pm departure. YIKES! I call my friends and try to while away some time. I read some newspapers and I meet a nice gal from the Bay Area. She is a student in Boston and I gave her some food /restaurant tips both on the cheap and affordable route plus good ethnic choices I tend to favor. We had a great chat. Turns out she is Filipina and was surprised I knew without going through a list of other ethnicities. (I did ask first without trying to guess first). She was bound to Atlanta (eventually she did leave before me but had many false alarms regarding her actual departure time).
My plane came in at 7:30 and was ready to be board etc for 8:15pm departure until we heard this announcement.... a first officer on our plane has an ear infection and is sick. So they are flying her replacement person from Chicago so that person will arrive at 10:15PM. So hang tight and you are lucky we are not canceling your flight. I am not too keen on hearing this as I was at the airport since 3pm.
The time slowly passes and the plane arrives with our first officer. But our plan is now dragged out from a remote area. The TSA has to do another hand luggage check on EVERYONE's luggage. Since there is no table, they use the AIRTRAN counter. My TSA person was nice . (Later to my dismay and chagrin I did not get back my CAMERA! Granted it is not exhorbitantly expensive or a digital one but the fact of the matter I never got it back!!! On top of it, I asked for Lost and Found ---not there. Luckily no photos were on it, I just had put in a new roll. On top of that, I had about 6 rolls of new film before heading to the airport (now useless to me). I found out this of course the next morning!!!)
I do finally get to Philly at 12:30AM (Fri AUG 11). Thanks Betty for getting me and we had a nice meal in Chinatown (David's Mai Lai Wah 1001 Race Street, Philly PA TEL (215) 627 2610/{215) 238 0818. I ordered a quarter soy sauce chicken, pork and watercress soup and singaporean rice noodles. With tip everything only cost $21 and we were satisfied! Betty never had soy sauce chicken (yummy!) Plus it was a packed house for Thursday night (possibly late night munchies for the local clubbers and college students. We did spot a group of guys who were noshing on many seafood dishes enjoying themselves! When you go to a packed house (even with other late night options) you know you are doing ok!
I got into my hotel by 3am. The clerk at the desk gave me a free voucher for a breakfast buffet (value $15-17 per person without tip) after hearing my 8 hours at the airport. A big thank you for the night manager on AUG 11 early morning at the Sheraton City Center Hotel (Race and 17th). BTW I adore their new beds (so comfy and inviting!).
**It was a pain to get to by driving because we had to circle a bit (all the one ways) near City Centre and The Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1776
------------------------------------------------
(I got this from TSA website today August 16, 2006)
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/new-items.shtm
Prohibited Items
Travel Tips to be Prepared for Enhanced Security
What to Know Before You Go
Due to enhanced security measures liquids, gels, lotions and other items of similar consistency will not be permitted in carry-on baggage. These types of items must be packed in your checked baggage.
Additionally, liquids, gels and lotions purchased beyond the checkpoint but must be disposed of before boarding the aircraft.
To ensure the health and welfare of certain air travelers the following items are permitted.
Small amounts of Baby formula and breast milk if a baby or small child is traveling
Liquid prescription medicine with a name that matches the passenger’s ticket
Up to 8 oz. of liquid or gel low blood sugar treatment
Up to 4 oz. of essential non-prescription liquid medications
Gel-filled bras and similar prostethics worn for medical reasons
You are permitted to bring solid cosmetics and personal hygiene items as such lipstick, lip balm and similar solids. Please remember these items must be solid and not liquid, gel or aerosol.
Only the items mentioned above are permitted in your carry-on bags. If you have questions or doubts on certain items, place those in your checked baggage.
We encourage everyone to pack gel-filled bras in their checked baggage. We recognize the sensitivity of the issue and we are reaching out to key women’s medical associations to assist passengers and make information available to them while respecting their privacy. Passengers with medical gel prosthetics will be permitted through the security checkpoint.
Please keep in mind, that while we can not provide an exhaustive list of items that covering all eventualities, all liquids, gels, or aerosols of any kind are prohibited at security checkpoints, in airport sterile areas, and aboard aircraft. You can pack these items in your checked baggage.
We ask for your cooperation in the screening process by being prepared before you arrive. We also ask that you follow the guidelines above and try not to over-think these guidelines. Please pack liquids, gels, and aerosols in your checked baggage even if you do not normally check a bag.
In addition to liquids, gels, and aerosols numerous other potentially dangerous items are not permitted in carry-on baggage. We strongly encourage travelers to read more about previously prohibited items to avoid complications during screening.
Learn more about our new security procedures
Learn more about the threat level change
Prohibited Items
To help you understand what you should or should not bring in your carry-on baggage, we have provided the following list of common items you may be traveling with. Remember, liquids, gels and aerosols are prohibited. Please leave those items at home or pack them in your checked baggage.
Makeup and Personal Items
Aerosol spray bottles and cans
All creams and lotions including Neosporin or first-aid creams and ointments, topical or rash creams and ointments, suntan lotions, moisturizers, etc.
Bug and mosquito sprays and repellents
Eye drops (See exceptions below)
Deodorants made of gel or aerosol
Hair styling gels and spray of all kinds including aerosol
Hair straightener or detangler Lip gels such as Carmex or Blistex Liquid lip glosses or other liquids for lips
Liquid bubble bath including gel or liquid filled bubble bath balls or bath oils or moisturizers
Liquid foundations
Liquid, gel or spray perfumes or colognes
Liquid sanitizers
Liquid soaps
Liquid mascara
Make up removers or facial cleansers
Non-prescription liquid or gel medicines like cough syrup and gel cap type pills (See our section on Medications)
Mouthwash
Nail polish and removers
Saline solution (See exceptions below)
Shampoos and conditioners
Toothpaste
Food and Drinks
All beveragesCheese in pressurized containersDuty free alcohol and other items
(Please see our section on Duty Free Items)
Gel based sports supplementsJellosPuddingWhipped creamYogurt or gel like food substances
Other Items
Gel-type candlesGel shoe inserts (See exceptions below)
Lighters (Read our section on lighters and matches)
Other Important Travel Tips
Exceptions
Under certain circumstances, some items from the list above are permitted. To help you understand more about these items and the circumstances under which they are permitted please read below.
Eye drops - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.Gel Shoe Inserts - Gel shoe inserts are not permitted, but shoes constructed with gel heels are allowed and must be removed and screened.
Prescription and non-prescription medications and other medical needs
Saline solution - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.
Flying as we know it has changed forever especially for those who live by only doing "carry on luggage" forever (myself included).
Everything started out normal on Thursday, August 10 and I was doing my morning routine when our dad called us. My sis who works at Logan, got a call telling us to watch the TV. Turns out that a terrorist plot was foiled and now there were NEW restrictions on what you could or could not bring onto the airplanes.
Prohibited items and information over the internet and TV constantly changed throughout the day. I myself had a flight (one hour on AIRTRAN) at 6pm expected arrival being 7:30pm and dinner plans with my friend Betty (whom I could not wait to see!).
I had to repack my bag and took out anything LIQUID, LOTION, GEL or similiar consistency and for safety precaution I took out sunscreen, lip gloss, deodorant and chapstick. Luckily I live close to home, thanks sis for getting my stuff at my work place.
I get to the airport two hours beforehand (I thought 3 hours was too much). I did not have anything to check, going through security took me 20 minutes. There was one machine and two lines. The trash bins was piled high with tooth paste, expensive lip glosses, cosmetics and creams, water and drink bottles were in the mix as well.
The AirTran terminal at LOGAN is sad and very boring. I got a seat at the UNO's (only food option there) and chatted with a Brit while we were watching the late breaking news. AirTran unfortunately does not have an TV Monitors so everything has to be announced by intercom (which can be a pain at times). Our gates were constantly switched and all flights were delayed (according to my sister I found out later any late day flights have a high chance of being delayed--not a great omen for me).
My flight seems to be on target to be on time til 5:30 and I see a sign change to 8:15pm departure. YIKES! I call my friends and try to while away some time. I read some newspapers and I meet a nice gal from the Bay Area. She is a student in Boston and I gave her some food /restaurant tips both on the cheap and affordable route plus good ethnic choices I tend to favor. We had a great chat. Turns out she is Filipina and was surprised I knew without going through a list of other ethnicities. (I did ask first without trying to guess first). She was bound to Atlanta (eventually she did leave before me but had many false alarms regarding her actual departure time).
My plane came in at 7:30 and was ready to be board etc for 8:15pm departure until we heard this announcement.... a first officer on our plane has an ear infection and is sick. So they are flying her replacement person from Chicago so that person will arrive at 10:15PM. So hang tight and you are lucky we are not canceling your flight. I am not too keen on hearing this as I was at the airport since 3pm.
The time slowly passes and the plane arrives with our first officer. But our plan is now dragged out from a remote area. The TSA has to do another hand luggage check on EVERYONE's luggage. Since there is no table, they use the AIRTRAN counter. My TSA person was nice . (Later to my dismay and chagrin I did not get back my CAMERA! Granted it is not exhorbitantly expensive or a digital one but the fact of the matter I never got it back!!! On top of it, I asked for Lost and Found ---not there. Luckily no photos were on it, I just had put in a new roll. On top of that, I had about 6 rolls of new film before heading to the airport (now useless to me). I found out this of course the next morning!!!)
I do finally get to Philly at 12:30AM (Fri AUG 11). Thanks Betty for getting me and we had a nice meal in Chinatown (David's Mai Lai Wah 1001 Race Street, Philly PA TEL (215) 627 2610/{215) 238 0818. I ordered a quarter soy sauce chicken, pork and watercress soup and singaporean rice noodles. With tip everything only cost $21 and we were satisfied! Betty never had soy sauce chicken (yummy!) Plus it was a packed house for Thursday night (possibly late night munchies for the local clubbers and college students. We did spot a group of guys who were noshing on many seafood dishes enjoying themselves! When you go to a packed house (even with other late night options) you know you are doing ok!
I got into my hotel by 3am. The clerk at the desk gave me a free voucher for a breakfast buffet (value $15-17 per person without tip) after hearing my 8 hours at the airport. A big thank you for the night manager on AUG 11 early morning at the Sheraton City Center Hotel (Race and 17th). BTW I adore their new beds (so comfy and inviting!).
**It was a pain to get to by driving because we had to circle a bit (all the one ways) near City Centre and The Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1776
------------------------------------------------
(I got this from TSA website today August 16, 2006)
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/new-items.shtm
Prohibited Items
Travel Tips to be Prepared for Enhanced Security
What to Know Before You Go
Due to enhanced security measures liquids, gels, lotions and other items of similar consistency will not be permitted in carry-on baggage. These types of items must be packed in your checked baggage.
Additionally, liquids, gels and lotions purchased beyond the checkpoint but must be disposed of before boarding the aircraft.
To ensure the health and welfare of certain air travelers the following items are permitted.
Small amounts of Baby formula and breast milk if a baby or small child is traveling
Liquid prescription medicine with a name that matches the passenger’s ticket
Up to 8 oz. of liquid or gel low blood sugar treatment
Up to 4 oz. of essential non-prescription liquid medications
Gel-filled bras and similar prostethics worn for medical reasons
You are permitted to bring solid cosmetics and personal hygiene items as such lipstick, lip balm and similar solids. Please remember these items must be solid and not liquid, gel or aerosol.
Only the items mentioned above are permitted in your carry-on bags. If you have questions or doubts on certain items, place those in your checked baggage.
We encourage everyone to pack gel-filled bras in their checked baggage. We recognize the sensitivity of the issue and we are reaching out to key women’s medical associations to assist passengers and make information available to them while respecting their privacy. Passengers with medical gel prosthetics will be permitted through the security checkpoint.
Please keep in mind, that while we can not provide an exhaustive list of items that covering all eventualities, all liquids, gels, or aerosols of any kind are prohibited at security checkpoints, in airport sterile areas, and aboard aircraft. You can pack these items in your checked baggage.
We ask for your cooperation in the screening process by being prepared before you arrive. We also ask that you follow the guidelines above and try not to over-think these guidelines. Please pack liquids, gels, and aerosols in your checked baggage even if you do not normally check a bag.
In addition to liquids, gels, and aerosols numerous other potentially dangerous items are not permitted in carry-on baggage. We strongly encourage travelers to read more about previously prohibited items to avoid complications during screening.
Learn more about our new security procedures
Learn more about the threat level change
Prohibited Items
To help you understand what you should or should not bring in your carry-on baggage, we have provided the following list of common items you may be traveling with. Remember, liquids, gels and aerosols are prohibited. Please leave those items at home or pack them in your checked baggage.
Makeup and Personal Items
Aerosol spray bottles and cans
All creams and lotions including Neosporin or first-aid creams and ointments, topical or rash creams and ointments, suntan lotions, moisturizers, etc.
Bug and mosquito sprays and repellents
Eye drops (See exceptions below)
Deodorants made of gel or aerosol
Hair styling gels and spray of all kinds including aerosol
Hair straightener or detangler Lip gels such as Carmex or Blistex Liquid lip glosses or other liquids for lips
Liquid bubble bath including gel or liquid filled bubble bath balls or bath oils or moisturizers
Liquid foundations
Liquid, gel or spray perfumes or colognes
Liquid sanitizers
Liquid soaps
Liquid mascara
Make up removers or facial cleansers
Non-prescription liquid or gel medicines like cough syrup and gel cap type pills (See our section on Medications)
Mouthwash
Nail polish and removers
Saline solution (See exceptions below)
Shampoos and conditioners
Toothpaste
Food and Drinks
All beveragesCheese in pressurized containersDuty free alcohol and other items
(Please see our section on Duty Free Items)
Gel based sports supplementsJellosPuddingWhipped creamYogurt or gel like food substances
Other Items
Gel-type candlesGel shoe inserts (See exceptions below)
Lighters (Read our section on lighters and matches)
Other Important Travel Tips
Exceptions
Under certain circumstances, some items from the list above are permitted. To help you understand more about these items and the circumstances under which they are permitted please read below.
Eye drops - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.Gel Shoe Inserts - Gel shoe inserts are not permitted, but shoes constructed with gel heels are allowed and must be removed and screened.
Prescription and non-prescription medications and other medical needs
Saline solution - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.
Deep Sea Fishing excursion (Sunday, Aug 6)
Deep Sea Fishing (first time) --friend's blog entry/my additional notes
==========================================================
(My friend JLin's blog entry of my first deep sea fishing outing) Date: Sunday, August 8, 2006 (5AM til 6PM)
"I once caught a fish and it was thiiiiiiiiiiis big." (24 inches, I swear!)
Stephen, Rich, Minh, AI, and I got up at 5 today and trekked out to Cape Cod for some deep sea fishing. (http://www.deepseafishing.com/) This was high on stephen's list of things to do before moving to japan (3 more weeks) so we were all pretty psyched. Hopped up on dramamine and endorphins, we marched onto Captain John's boat filled with visions of grandeur -- us reeling in mountains of fish, bringing home the bacon (er...fillets), kicking back with some beers and tall tales, and all to the background of dolphins jumping in perfect unison. It would be a rite of passage, from landlubber to sealubber, from clueless consumer to responsible provider. We would connect with the sea and nature and think about our role in messing with oceanic ecosystems. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the cold wind sneak past our collars, hearing the crank of gears and the put-put of the engine, and being surrounded on all sides by endless ocean... this was our time!
Captains Hu, Ow, Khuu, Ing, and Lin had arrived. Right. So 2 hrs later, with the boat ramming through big choppy waves and the engine on overdrive (ka-chunking instead of put-putting), I was keeled over and curled up in the fetal position, praying like hell I wouldn't barf up granola bars and bananas. The main cabin was filled with nauseated landlubbers, each in his own private hell begging God for relief, for the world to simply stop moving. I heard shouting, "Whales! Whales!" and then forced myself to sit up and look out the window. Fins and tails broke the surface as jets of water sprayed into the air. But in my delirium, all I could register was "Who the F cares?! MAKE THE WORLD STOP MOVING!!!!" And then I passed out. When the boat finally stopped plowing ahead and the engine muttered to a halt, there was a rush of activity as people ran to their stations. I gingerly dragged myself over to my stool, propped my arms on the railings, and put my head down.
Stephen: Jen, if you need to yak, go ahead. It's okay.
Jenny: No. I'll be fine.
Next to my reel was a cup of slimy looking bait - clams, I think. The thought of plunging my bare hand into the cup and sliding my fingers around clam guts made my stomach lurch. While everyone else eagerly baited their reels and dropped them overboard, I lay listlessly still, swallowing back the threat of upchuck, and mentally counting the steps to the nearest trashcan. Stephen took one look at my face and put his reel down: "Hrm, let's do yours first." He pierced a gob of slimy clam gut onto the hook and then stuck the reel under my armpit and over the railing.
We were instructed to put a thumb over the line and release a button on the side. The trickiest parts were: 1) not letting the line drop too fast such that the reel would tangle, and 2) not crossing lines with the other 38 "fisherman" on the 70-person boat (either next to you or completely on the other side of the boat, 2 people pulling back and forth screaming "I got something!" when in reality, all you had was someone else.) The two 10-gram weights on the end of each line sunk 230 feet to the bottom of the ocean floor, with the clam guts drifting about 7 inches upwards. Once the line went slack you were at the bottom and could flip the button back. The front and the back of the boat started catching fish pretty quickly, pulling up dog sharks, haddock, and bluefish. Everything pulled out of the water was easily over a foot long, but had to be at least 24 inches to keep. Dog sharks and bluefish weren't really edible so everytime someone caught one, the crew would throw it back.The 5 of us arrived too late for the 6 hr trip (sold out) and were the last ones on the 8 hr trip, so we were located towards the front but on the side. Thus the fishing chi was weak in our location. While the family to our right (closest to the front) pulled out fish after fish, the 5 of us had little luck. The crew asked us to pull our reels up, chartered the boat to a different area, and let us drop down again. By the time we got to the second spot, the sun was out, the waters were calm, and I was feeling much better. I baited my own hooks and improved considerably at dropping the line without letting the reel tangle.
After 4 hrs of fishing, the count was:
AI: 2 dog sharks + 1 haddock (too small to keep)
Minh: 2 dog sharks
Stephen: 1 dog shark
Rich: 0
Jenny: 1 24-inch haddock (yay, keepable!)
Or cumulatively, 5 fishers ($50 x 5 = $250) and 1 haddock to show for it. Terrible! But I was pleased with the process: 1) catching live fish, 2) freshly gutted fillet sitting in my cooler, 3) making it's way home to the cherry st freezer, and 4) eventually landing on a plate & in my mouth (when I figure out how to cook it). The biggest fish caught that day was 9 pounds and biiiiiiig. On the trip back, I slept on the roofdeck under the sun. We ate at Weathervane and called it a day. Deep Sea Fishing Pics (random set b'c I was delirious for about 60% of the time. And sadly, I didn't take a pic of the fish I caught cuz fishguts & digicams don't go well together.)
============================================================
My (Smithie95) notes for the weekend:
I definitely was open to deep sea fishing. I had grown up in the area and have never gone fishing. I love to eat fish so I figured when my friend Stephen wanted to go I was all aboard.
The night before, I had two events to attend so it was a busy Saturday night. I went to a cool BBQ at (Ke'ting's place) and the food was great. I met a college friend's best friend per chance. Fancy the small worldness of it all eh? I always wonder when someone says, "Oh you went to ______ (fill in the blank) College,but I know this person who went there, you possibly might know them....". Nine times out of ten I don't know them. But in this case, I had a pleasant surprise!
The food spread was great. From home ground burgers, cheese and crackers, ribs (yummy), buffalo wings, asparagus tips, hot dogs, and other goodies I filled up fast.
I then traveled one hour on "T" from Alewife (BBQ was in Belmont) back to my area of Boston "T" Coolidge Corner area to go to an engagement party for a great couple--Helen and Paul. I remember three years ago, before they met and started dating talking to them individually.
They are a great couple. Helen and I bonded wandering around Toronto before her flight heading back to Boston for the NAAAP Convention during the SARS year (lowest attendance for the conference). Lauren was the hostest with the mostest and she lives near me. I only could eat the delicious velvet cake with great frosting. I got a great care package of ribs, scallops wrapped in bacon, cake, mini quiches, mozzerella sticks (etc). My sister was over the moon when she got off work.
In addition, I got to borrow to Korean movie (My Tutor Friend with Kim Ha Neul) and drama with Kwang Sang Woo (one is Stairway to Heaven with Choi Ji Woo-a Kdrama classic).
She was shocked I haven't seen his dramas yet. But it was cool bonding on other actors and actresses. We both agree that "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" rocks. There is a reason it was rated TOP Korean drama of ALL dramas for 2005.
I ended up packing up so I could get up in time for fishing (4:30AM wake up call for 5:30 pickup).
Only addition I have to add to Jenny's commentary is that I did not feel sick. I took two long naps and it rocked. Waiting for the fish is alright. I tended to chat with people mainly Rich and Minh.By the time we got back, we were famished. In addition, cranking in the the rod is tiresome. Because the rod goes so deep, you don't have know if you caught something (happened a few times) until you reel in the rod.
We went to WEATHERVANE, I got the clam chowder (too thin broth and salty) and market value fried clams (with the bellies not bad). But unfortunately for me, our waitress dumped a big cup of icy soda onto my lap. Luckily Rich saved my baseball cap and wallet from getting wet by getting them out of the way. It was "splash of cold reality" when it my lap. Luckily it dried quickly as I wore those athletic dri-fit technology workout pants.
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(My friend JLin's blog entry of my first deep sea fishing outing) Date: Sunday, August 8, 2006 (5AM til 6PM)
"I once caught a fish and it was thiiiiiiiiiiis big." (24 inches, I swear!)
Stephen, Rich, Minh, AI, and I got up at 5 today and trekked out to Cape Cod for some deep sea fishing. (http://www.deepseafishing.com/) This was high on stephen's list of things to do before moving to japan (3 more weeks) so we were all pretty psyched. Hopped up on dramamine and endorphins, we marched onto Captain John's boat filled with visions of grandeur -- us reeling in mountains of fish, bringing home the bacon (er...fillets), kicking back with some beers and tall tales, and all to the background of dolphins jumping in perfect unison. It would be a rite of passage, from landlubber to sealubber, from clueless consumer to responsible provider. We would connect with the sea and nature and think about our role in messing with oceanic ecosystems. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the cold wind sneak past our collars, hearing the crank of gears and the put-put of the engine, and being surrounded on all sides by endless ocean... this was our time!
Captains Hu, Ow, Khuu, Ing, and Lin had arrived. Right. So 2 hrs later, with the boat ramming through big choppy waves and the engine on overdrive (ka-chunking instead of put-putting), I was keeled over and curled up in the fetal position, praying like hell I wouldn't barf up granola bars and bananas. The main cabin was filled with nauseated landlubbers, each in his own private hell begging God for relief, for the world to simply stop moving. I heard shouting, "Whales! Whales!" and then forced myself to sit up and look out the window. Fins and tails broke the surface as jets of water sprayed into the air. But in my delirium, all I could register was "Who the F cares?! MAKE THE WORLD STOP MOVING!!!!" And then I passed out. When the boat finally stopped plowing ahead and the engine muttered to a halt, there was a rush of activity as people ran to their stations. I gingerly dragged myself over to my stool, propped my arms on the railings, and put my head down.
Stephen: Jen, if you need to yak, go ahead. It's okay.
Jenny: No. I'll be fine.
Next to my reel was a cup of slimy looking bait - clams, I think. The thought of plunging my bare hand into the cup and sliding my fingers around clam guts made my stomach lurch. While everyone else eagerly baited their reels and dropped them overboard, I lay listlessly still, swallowing back the threat of upchuck, and mentally counting the steps to the nearest trashcan. Stephen took one look at my face and put his reel down: "Hrm, let's do yours first." He pierced a gob of slimy clam gut onto the hook and then stuck the reel under my armpit and over the railing.
We were instructed to put a thumb over the line and release a button on the side. The trickiest parts were: 1) not letting the line drop too fast such that the reel would tangle, and 2) not crossing lines with the other 38 "fisherman" on the 70-person boat (either next to you or completely on the other side of the boat, 2 people pulling back and forth screaming "I got something!" when in reality, all you had was someone else.) The two 10-gram weights on the end of each line sunk 230 feet to the bottom of the ocean floor, with the clam guts drifting about 7 inches upwards. Once the line went slack you were at the bottom and could flip the button back. The front and the back of the boat started catching fish pretty quickly, pulling up dog sharks, haddock, and bluefish. Everything pulled out of the water was easily over a foot long, but had to be at least 24 inches to keep. Dog sharks and bluefish weren't really edible so everytime someone caught one, the crew would throw it back.The 5 of us arrived too late for the 6 hr trip (sold out) and were the last ones on the 8 hr trip, so we were located towards the front but on the side. Thus the fishing chi was weak in our location. While the family to our right (closest to the front) pulled out fish after fish, the 5 of us had little luck. The crew asked us to pull our reels up, chartered the boat to a different area, and let us drop down again. By the time we got to the second spot, the sun was out, the waters were calm, and I was feeling much better. I baited my own hooks and improved considerably at dropping the line without letting the reel tangle.
After 4 hrs of fishing, the count was:
AI: 2 dog sharks + 1 haddock (too small to keep)
Minh: 2 dog sharks
Stephen: 1 dog shark
Rich: 0
Jenny: 1 24-inch haddock (yay, keepable!)
Or cumulatively, 5 fishers ($50 x 5 = $250) and 1 haddock to show for it. Terrible! But I was pleased with the process: 1) catching live fish, 2) freshly gutted fillet sitting in my cooler, 3) making it's way home to the cherry st freezer, and 4) eventually landing on a plate & in my mouth (when I figure out how to cook it). The biggest fish caught that day was 9 pounds and biiiiiiig. On the trip back, I slept on the roofdeck under the sun. We ate at Weathervane and called it a day. Deep Sea Fishing Pics (random set b'c I was delirious for about 60% of the time. And sadly, I didn't take a pic of the fish I caught cuz fishguts & digicams don't go well together.)
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My (Smithie95) notes for the weekend:
I definitely was open to deep sea fishing. I had grown up in the area and have never gone fishing. I love to eat fish so I figured when my friend Stephen wanted to go I was all aboard.
The night before, I had two events to attend so it was a busy Saturday night. I went to a cool BBQ at (Ke'ting's place) and the food was great. I met a college friend's best friend per chance. Fancy the small worldness of it all eh? I always wonder when someone says, "Oh you went to ______ (fill in the blank) College,but I know this person who went there, you possibly might know them....". Nine times out of ten I don't know them. But in this case, I had a pleasant surprise!
The food spread was great. From home ground burgers, cheese and crackers, ribs (yummy), buffalo wings, asparagus tips, hot dogs, and other goodies I filled up fast.
I then traveled one hour on "T" from Alewife (BBQ was in Belmont) back to my area of Boston "T" Coolidge Corner area to go to an engagement party for a great couple--Helen and Paul. I remember three years ago, before they met and started dating talking to them individually.
They are a great couple. Helen and I bonded wandering around Toronto before her flight heading back to Boston for the NAAAP Convention during the SARS year (lowest attendance for the conference). Lauren was the hostest with the mostest and she lives near me. I only could eat the delicious velvet cake with great frosting. I got a great care package of ribs, scallops wrapped in bacon, cake, mini quiches, mozzerella sticks (etc). My sister was over the moon when she got off work.
In addition, I got to borrow to Korean movie (My Tutor Friend with Kim Ha Neul) and drama with Kwang Sang Woo (one is Stairway to Heaven with Choi Ji Woo-a Kdrama classic).
She was shocked I haven't seen his dramas yet. But it was cool bonding on other actors and actresses. We both agree that "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" rocks. There is a reason it was rated TOP Korean drama of ALL dramas for 2005.
I ended up packing up so I could get up in time for fishing (4:30AM wake up call for 5:30 pickup).
Only addition I have to add to Jenny's commentary is that I did not feel sick. I took two long naps and it rocked. Waiting for the fish is alright. I tended to chat with people mainly Rich and Minh.By the time we got back, we were famished. In addition, cranking in the the rod is tiresome. Because the rod goes so deep, you don't have know if you caught something (happened a few times) until you reel in the rod.
We went to WEATHERVANE, I got the clam chowder (too thin broth and salty) and market value fried clams (with the bellies not bad). But unfortunately for me, our waitress dumped a big cup of icy soda onto my lap. Luckily Rich saved my baseball cap and wallet from getting wet by getting them out of the way. It was "splash of cold reality" when it my lap. Luckily it dried quickly as I wore those athletic dri-fit technology workout pants.
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