Sakura of DOOM

In LA! So far, I have had some really good 떡볶이 (ddeokboggi). I am not exactly sure what it was called, since the entire menu was in English, but the 떡 were cut into quarters and then glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, along with slivers of sweet potato. So good! I have also had an excellent dinner with rachelmanija, my sister, coraa, and Cora's SO at Street, in which the highlights included its famous version of kaya toast: sandwiches of coconut jam that you dip into an intensely salty soy sauce and egg yolk and eat with a bit of egg. The coconut jam is almost too sweet and the sauce is almost too salty, but together, they are perfect. All the sauces at Street were in fact amazing; Susan Feniger is really good at blending a variety of tastes that I don't necessarily think will go well together but do. The little snacks in the beginning were bits of puffed grain, and the progression of flavor from salty and a bit spicy to fruity reminded me a lot of Chinese salted plums.

I have also been watching lots of kdramas with both my sister and Rachel (Secret Garden with my sister, Capital Scandal with Rachel), along with the previously mentioned Peking Opera Blues.

Rachel and I also went to Hole in the Wall, a tiny burger place nested behind a random suburban-style strip mall. The burgers were so juicy my hands were drenched by the end, and they served homemade ketchup and ranch sauce. We also had Chego's for dinner, which is a tiny take-out place randomly located in yet another strip mall opened by the guy who did the Kogi taco truck. As with Kogi, the menu is a great fusion of Korean and Mexican, with items such as "kochujang-lacquered kurobuta with fried egg, pickled watermelon radishes, water spinach, cilantro, cotija, and peanuts." Also, the tres leches cake with tapioca pudding is to die for!

Alas, I am not in Shanghai, just months late in posting these.

I'd been to Shanghai once before, about six some years ago. It was on the same trip I'd visited Hong Kong on, but when I returned this year, Hong Kong was largely the same, very recognizable, whereas Shanghai had completely changed. Everything there is under construction: subway lines, department stores, sky-high apartment complexes, the next Tallest Building Ever. Everything is being torn down: labyrinths of courtyards and alleyways, old houses and neighborhoods. Things are half-done, like the maglev train going from the new airport to somewhere in the middle of Pudong, but the city is growing so quickly, that soon, it won't be the middle of anywhere anymore.

There are expats everywhere, lots of rich investors buying the newly-built apartments that many of the locals still can't afford. In many ways, it feels a lot like Taiwan did fifteen years ago, when you couldn't depend on clean bathrooms or toilet paper (and still can't always, but it's so much better now), when going to a US chain was still a status symbol (only in Shanghai, it's Japanese and Taiwanese chains as well).

My mom said that the city is trying to finish everything for the 2010 World Expo, and it's so odd to realize that visiting the city next year or two years later means visiting an entirely different city all together.

( Giant pictures of Shanghai )

I arrived on a red-eye and basically collapsed into bed for the next few hours. After that, my sister and I went out for lunch and some random shopping, except I was very grumpy because the sky was grey and it started raining on and off halfway through.

I think I'm officially Californian now; I was so baffled by the concept of rain in summer. I feel I shouldn't be, as I grew up with summer typhoons and the warm, wet rainy season, but I glared at the grey skies like they were a personal insult. It's summer! Skies should be vast and blue and sunny, the weather should be hot and dry, and the nights should be cool and refreshing. This hot, wet, muggy thing doesn't work quite so well.

On the first day, the food was good but not particularly spectacular, though I did get to sample cheddar grits, which are very interesting. My sister and I both agreed vehemently with each other that sweet, porridge-like substances (oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc.) are extremely strange, and that we prefer savory porridges (polenta, congee, etc.) intsead. Of course, this is because we grew up with congee. I remember being particularly startled when rachelmanija once told me that she couldn't eat congee because it weirded her out, as she has grown up with cream of wheat. On the other hand, I can actually eat oatmeal, but only with fruit or jam. Adding brown sugar makes my brain freak out a little.

I feel I should stop being shocked and eminently amused by small things like this, but it's like the first time I saw a non-Chinese kitchen and realized that... they had no rice cooker!

You may all laugh at me now! I am a bit obsessed with things like junk food and Twinkies and meat loaf and street food because I find different people's concepts of "normal" food extremely interesting. For example, I find tuna, ketchup, mayo and cucumbers on waffles tasty and normal but was completely surprised to see people eating waffles with fried chicken and maple syrup (I suspect that would be tasty, though I haven't tried it).

( Ratatouille and Korean food )

I blogged about Max Brenner and the Union Square farmer's market previously, so I'll leave that off. And I'll write up all my book loot when I get home.

( Park Avenue Cafe )

( Soup, peas, and Shoujo Manga Dark Angel (spoilers for DA 2x11) )

Wow, I feel like it's been a while since I wrote up a food post.

Food highlights of last week include meeting up with cofax7, laurashapiro and other people not on LJ, watching Buffy S7 (alas, the beginning of the long slogging part). Everyone brought food, mostly lots and lots of cheese and bread (yay!). One person made a Moroccan pie with filo dough and butter and chicken and spices and OMG it was so good except I don't remember the name of it. But it was tasty! And I brought over heirlooms (I cannot believe there are still heirlooms at the market), bread, praline spread, and jonquil's marvelous raspberry jam, which everyone agreed was quite divine.

At work, I discovered the joys of Hershey's Special Dark Truffles, which while not being fancy and Swiss are still very good. I also discovered that eating approximately five in a row makes me slightly sick to the stomach. On the other hand, this didn't prevent me from doing the exact same thing the next day. Truffles trump learning curve?

Today, I went to a little sushi/izakaya place with excellent sushi and izakaya food (rachelmanija, I will take you there next time you are in the area! You will like it!), in which I had kabocha croquettes, yaki onigiri, assorted sushi, roasted gingko nuts still in cracked and salted shells (really good), kimchi tofu soup, and something called age mochi. It's basically agedashi tofu, except with sticky rice instead of the tofu, and it's hot and flavorful and sticky and chewy and so good! I was quite happy.

Unfortunately, I seem to be getting sick (again), so my nose isn't working so well. Otherwise, I would probably be raving about the food even more than I am now.

Pictures from Ravello, Sorrento, and Capri and Anacapri!

( Giant pictures, and lots of them )

Pictures from Day 2 in Italy!

( Gigantic pictures )

(pictures behind the cuts!)

I spent all of Monday with my sister, since it was her birthday. We started out with ( pedicures. )

After this, we moved on to lunch at Le Pain Quotidien, an extremely cute, very organic bakery. They don't really have individual settings, just one, long table that everyone sits at. Also, they have the Best Bread Ever. We got a Tuscany platter, which had a tapenade, pesto, ricotto, parm and prosciutto, all of which were delicious on the bread, along with apricot preserves, 4 berry preserves, and a very, very delicious hazelnut praline spread. Better than Nutella! Also, I got Belgian waffles, since I've been craving waffles for forever, and they were extremely good. They came hot off the press, delightfully crispy on the outside and steaming and tender and soft and chewy on the inside. Mmmm.

Then we headed off to the Met to see Anglomania, but on the way, I was distracted by a ( fat pigeon perched on a ledge. )
I like pigeons. Well, I like scaring pigeons. Really, it's almost the same...

There was also a very stunning house with a ( nicely gargoyle-y gate-keeper ).
He was accompanied by a ( draconic gate-keeper ).
The dragon looked very dignified. Yay Park Ave.

I took some pictures of the door to Anglomania, which was an exhibition on tradition and transgression in British fashion, as exemplified by a bewigged mannequin in livery, paired with a punk rocker with torn livery and a very tall, very colorful mohawk. Sadly, my pictures were extremely out of focus, and we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the exhibit. chi_zu's description is quite nifty. I just wish that there were more of the exhibit, particularly since it ended after a few rooms. I think my favorite piece was the turn-of-the-century Worth gown, absolutely gorgeous.

We also schlepped through the arms and armor section (swords!), and I was particularly amused by one piece of ( samurai armor. )
The large noseguard rocks.

We also spent a good deal of time in a wing that sort of reconstructed an Egyptian temple rescued from flooding.
( Pictures )

This gallery of the Met is just lovely and relaxing, and you can look outside to see families playing soccer in Central Park. Though there is a completely random hole in the window... I kept imagining it was some bullet hole from some sekrit assassination attempt in the museum, which just tells you that I have been reading too many museum-conspiracy-theory-type books. Ok, just Da Vinci Code a while back, but that's enough for anyone!

I really loved the contrast between the old and the new, giant expanses of glass next to worn-down stone, shiny geometric planes next to curvy hieroglyphics.

( Random subway sign )
Random subway sign. I thought it was a Chinese surname with an Indian given name, which would have been cool, since it was the Canal St. station, but my sister reminded me that first names go first here. Duh.

The next day, me and the sister person ventured out to St. Mark's, which is an awesome little district. Sadly, the izakaya-like place we were going to go to was closed for lunch, as were many other interesting looking places. However, somewhere down the street, we saw a ( giant pink storefront )
It's this place called Bamn!, which is a ginormous vending machine/store for food! It is very awesome, very pink, very automated, and very Japanese.

Just for fun, we got a ( mac and cheese croquette )
It's basically deep-fried mac and cheese. How can you go wrong with that? Ah, Japanese takes on Western food, how I love you! After that, we wandered down further in the rain and ended up at Pommes Frites, a little hole-in-the-wall Belgian fries place that seriously has the Best Fries Ever. I say that lots of things are the Best Things Ever, but these really are the Best Fries Ever. Ever!

They are wonderfully light and crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside, and I could just eat them by the bucket. But they come with a multitude of sauces that you can pick from, from rosemary mayo to "war sauce" (peanut satay, mayo and raw onions) or mango chutney. We ended up getting peanut satay, since the mayo, raw onions, ketchup and malt vinegar are free sides, and oh, so good! I was also quite amused by the very Bavarian interior, and the fact that all the tables and counters had little holes in them for you to place your paper cone full of fries in.

After that, we headed off to run errands with the idea of maybe going to the Strand as well. But it was pouring rain, and my sister remembered that there was a Beard Papa's around the area, so off we went! Sadly, they were out of the green tea ones and the pumpkin, but they still had mocha cream puffs. We split one, and they were quite good! Also, rachelmanija, there's one or two in LA, and I am so excited because apparently one just opened in SF and one will be opening in Redwood City as well! So I will be able to get them without schlepping to NYC or Taiwan!

That was basically the extent of lunch. But even though I had delicious food all throughout my NY stay, this may have been the best fooding day, just for the randomness and the little hole-in-the-wall bits.

And on the other side of the continent, my rats were having fun with the rat-sitter. ( Rattie picture spam )

I am in New York! Yay! I took the red-eye in and managed to sleep the entire way through, despite being in the row in front of two extremely unhappy babies. It was also funny because I sat between two people who were just starting at the college I graduated from, and when I took public transport in to the city, it was the same old landscape from years ago. I haven't been to this airport since I graduated, and honestly, I don't miss much of it at all.

Due to extreme stupidity, I didn't bother to check the weather before leaving, and arrived to find that everything was grey and wet. Alas and alack, pretty much nothing I've packed is good for the rain, particularly not my open-toed shoes. Oh well. I find I missed California dreadfully, particularly when taking the train in. Things are too green! Skies are too grey! I am confused!

I went to Pala Pizza with an old high school friend, which has really good pizza (we got a plain tomato/buffalo mozzarella/basil one), very good carpaccio, and very good desserts as well. Mmmmm.

After that, I went up to coffeeandink's place, and we both decided not to venture outdoors, given the truly miserable weather. I am quite proud of myself; I didn't get lost once. (Of course, now that I've typed this, tomorrow is sure to be a disaster.)

I got to watch VVC 2006 vids, including several Supernatural ones, as that is Mely's obsession du jour (du... month?), and I stood to the side as she handily prepared a meal of roast chicken and potato leek soup. I need to write up more vids, but suffice to say, sdwolfpup's "Fix You" still makes me grin like an idiot and e^y's "Have You Heard" makes me miss Angel dreadfully. I sadly don't remember that much from the SPN vids except that there is a great deal of fire and that Dean slams Sam against a wall a whole lot. Oh! Except the fun Wincest-y vid (look! I even know terminology!) in which I learned that Sam has very nice abs indeed.

After dinner and much ogling at Mely's wall of books and wall of manga, Mely then had me watch an episode of SPN, which ended up with me cowering on the sofa, since I am a complete and total wimp when it comes to anything even marginally resembling horror. On the other hand, she has also convinced me that Dean is awesome, not in the least because he is utterly practical and not one for emotions. Except, you know, slamming his brother against a wall. I may end up watching very slowly, with the rats, in the daytime.

After that, I very much did not want to take the subway down by myself (dark! loud noises! it's exactly like a haunted asylum, really it is!), I made Mely put in several episodes of Yami no Matsuei to make things better. It's not exactly cheerful and fluffy, but the Pure and True Love of Hisoka and Tsuzuki cheers me up no matter how much angst they are going through. In fact, the angst rather cheers me up in an embarrassingly OTP sort of way. We fast-forwarded through all the Muraki scenes, since there was no real need for his complete and total insanity (not the good kind, either) to ruin Moments of Pure and True Love.

I am very happy and very full and on vacation! Tomorrow, lunch with Mely and chi_zu, and dinner with sister and friends, and maybe a movie, or lounging around, or whatnot.

My dad is here on his quarterly business trip, which means free food for me! We first went to a so-so Japanese place. I've now become the ordering person and tried very hard to persuade my dad that he wanted to get the beef tataki instead of a more boring bento combo of tonkatsu and yaki niku. Alas, no. I think we would have been better off with the beef tataki. We also had a very strange roll with something like General Tso's chicken on top. Again, quite odd. But I also got hirame usuzukuri, which I adore! It's very thin slices of hirame with a tangy ponzu sauce poured on top. It wasn't the best I've had, but I never get to have it much anyway. And agedashi tofu.

After that, I desperately wished that I were in LA so I could go to Furaibo and have real izakaya food, as opposed to a somewhat pale imitation of it. I need to find out if there are any izakayas around here, because for some reason, it feels more "real" than sushi places do. I also need to find a good Japanese curry place as well. It's just funny, because when I did homestay in Japan, we ate more of that type of thing than sushi, largely because we were trying to save money.

Then I complained to my dad for a good four hours about work! Poor dad.

( Weekly market run )

After that, my dad and his friend for some reason decided to have brunch at the new Four Seasons hotel around here, and I gladly tagged along (read: leapt at the opportunity). It was very tasty. ( More food babbling )

Then I went shopping and ended up getting two cute new coats (one is red crushed ... something that looks like fake fuzzy velvet) and a very girly short-sleeved fitted coat with a sort of deep, round collar, and a pair of pants. I can't decide if the pants are pajama pants, exercise pants, or just very trendy, because they are made of super casual material but flare out like a giant skirt. But it was on sale, so I figured for $9, it could work as any of the above, and I wouldn't feel bad. Everything was super on sale!

I have also discovered my deeply coveted item of the season: vampy red peep-toed stilettos like this (Nine West has a red suede-ish one that would go with my new jacket too!). They would be the most painful things ever to wear, but they are so cute! And I could actually wear them a lot, since most of my outfits are black and white, and a touch of red would be nifty and fun. Oh well! I shall wait till the new season comes in and see if any are left on the sales racks.

For dinner, I had carpaccio, some warm goat cheese salad, a bit of poached fish, and pesto pizza. And then pistachio and tiramisu gelato for dessert! Not all by myself, of course: I stole a ton of stuff off my dad's plate and his friend's.

So I am well-fed and happily imagining myself in black and white and red. For some reason, that is my new color scheme, though for a while I veered away from it to go more toward baby pink and grey (I am sure this is because of the subliminal brainwaves that the fashion industry has been injecting into my subconscious, but I will pretend it is because I am actually stylish). I still avoid the browns in general, for no real reason that I can fathom. Well, except for pretty brown fifties-style halter dresses with white polka dots. But then again, I will go for any fifties-style halter dress with polka dots. Fun!