When I read Karen Cheng's latest post, I couldn't help but recount my childhood. Although I lived in the concrete jungles in Malaysia, I spent a lot of my time hanging off tree branches, plucking fruits, swinging in the hammock tied between two willow trees and playing with my dogs. In that aspect, I had the most fabulous childhood. I didn't need the television or computer to entertain me. I had so much more fun climbing up the papaya (also known as paw paw) trees or the local Malaysian jambu tree (jambu is also known as 'water apple'. What a silly name. Jambu sounds better!)to pluck the fruits when they were in season. I even made a little "cubby house" for myself on the jambu tree. I would balance a couple of sticks between two branches and sit there for ages reading a book, doing my homework or munching on snacks.
I grew up with dogs. I had six dogs in total. I spend a lot of time doing my homework in the garden with the dogs in my lap. We had a wooden slide in our garden. I taught one of my dogs how to climb up the stairs and slide down it like a circus dog. How adorable. Afterwards, he would sit on top of the slide for hours on end, every single day. He must have felt like the king of the world.
I can still vividly recall my very close encounter with a bee swarm attack. Once I was climbing up the jambu tree to pluck its fruits. My fingers were up in the air, ready to grab the bunch of jambus, when I noticed a huge black rugby ball shaped thing hanging from the branches, only 2 inches away from my fingers. It took me about 5 seconds to realise the predicament I was in. I quickly jumped down from where I was (luckily it wasn't a very high jump) and ran back into the house. I reported my findings to my dad who then called the exterminator. The bee hive miraculously disappeared a couple of days later.
Friday nights were my most highly anticipated night. My parents joined a church cell group which congregated in alternate homes every Friday night together with about twenty other parents. You know what this means? 20 parents = 30 to 40 kids! Time of our lives! We played 'cops and robbers' (we call it 'police and thieves'), 'hide and seek', 'ice and water' and lots of other games. Dirt and grime didn't matter to us at all. I remembered hiding in huge drains, in bushes and the best hiding place was under a car. No one could find me for ages till I gave myself up.
Sadly, one day my mum decided to landscape the garden and all the fruit trees were cut down which included, one langsat tree, one rambutan tree, one jambu tree, two papaya tree and two banana trees. Needless to say, I wasn't happy at all but now, I can see how a nice landscaped garden looked better than a disorganised fruit orchard.
And to top everything off, one fine day, our two willow trees decided to give up on us. They died of some sort of infestation. It was like liver cancer - there were no symptoms for years. By the time we discovered the internal infestation, it was too late.
But my love of nature didn't end there. I started hiking and camping in the jungles of Malaysia. We bathed in rivers and when nature called, we gave our disposals back to nature. I learned how to build fires from using just matchsticks, twigs and branches without any fire starters. I learned how to put sulfur around my tent to keep snakes away. I've encountered a wild boar, smelt the urine of a roaming tiger (the guide told us that judging from the urine smell and temperature, the tiger was just ten minutes away), navigated through mountains using a compass. I slept best when I was in jungles. A soft mattress cannot compare to sleeping on the hard ground in the middle of the jungle, free from human pollution. The air always smelt so fresh that I think my lungs would burst.
If and when I have kids one fine day, I want to make sure they enjoy as much nature as they can before the telly, computer and game consoles rob them of their childhood.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Moment of silence
A smsed me the other day to tell me about the sudden passing of her uncle. It happened unexpectedly on a beautiful family vacation while they were hiking. C called me a month ago to tell me that her dad has been diagnosed with cancer. Yesterday, Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysia's most celebrated film director died of a sudden stroke. Last month, MJ, King of Pop, shocked the world with his passing. Five months ago, a friend died in the Australian bush fires. What do we make of all this? Sometimes we question where's God hand admist all the grief and sadness? The bitter truth of the matter is, we will never know. We can ask all the whys but the rhetorical question will only drive ourselves crazy.
When my paternal grandmother passed away, my dad did not cry at her funeral. He said it was because she once told him that tears were useless once a person passes away. Instead, give your loved ones all your love while they are still alive. Why release grudges only once a person moves on from this world. Why cry tears of regret. Why cry tears of pain. In one of the Terminator:Sarah Conner Chronicles episodes, Cameron (the good terminator, protector of John) asked John, why do humans cry when someone has passed away? He replied that it was a way to cope with grief.
We should cry all we want, to cope with our grief, but once we get through that phase, we should get out of bed, breathe in and out and try to make the most of our lives - in rememberance of those who have passed away, for your sake and for the people you love that are still living.
By Yasmin Ahmad.
Thanks Yasmin for all your great short films. You may have moved on but you left a legacy behind. You will be sorely missed by many. RIP.
When my paternal grandmother passed away, my dad did not cry at her funeral. He said it was because she once told him that tears were useless once a person passes away. Instead, give your loved ones all your love while they are still alive. Why release grudges only once a person moves on from this world. Why cry tears of regret. Why cry tears of pain. In one of the Terminator:Sarah Conner Chronicles episodes, Cameron (the good terminator, protector of John) asked John, why do humans cry when someone has passed away? He replied that it was a way to cope with grief.
We should cry all we want, to cope with our grief, but once we get through that phase, we should get out of bed, breathe in and out and try to make the most of our lives - in rememberance of those who have passed away, for your sake and for the people you love that are still living.
By Yasmin Ahmad.
Thanks Yasmin for all your great short films. You may have moved on but you left a legacy behind. You will be sorely missed by many. RIP.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Shitake mushroom
My mom and I were shopping at a Japanese grocery store when my dad texted me:
Honey dere,
Buy the shit somthing mush room. We need for hot pot toonight.
-Dady
From mydadisafob.com
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Goodbye San Francisco
Right after J waves me off at the airport, he scurries off to the car rental office and exchanges his rented car for a new one, Bumblebee, the Transformer car. Stuff him! So unfair =(
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Booklist
I go through a lot of books in a year because I buy at least one book every 3 weeks. The unfortunate part is that I have trouble remembering the books I read, especially if they don't leave much of an impression on me. So when friends ask me to recommend books, sometimes my mind goes blank. As such, I'm resorting to jotting down the title and author of every single books I've read, starting from today!
Off the top of my head, here's what I've been reading the past couple of months. I'm sure there's heaps more but as usual, my brain fails me.
The curious incident of the dog in the night time – Mark Haddon
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz
Marley & Me – John Grogan
The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
After Dark – Haruki Murakami
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
Leave Me Alone – Nurong
I'm still gnawing at the book, Lolita. From the title itself, one can guess that the content would somewhat controversial. I picked it up because it was listed as one of the Border's staff current favourites. I'm always slightly hesitant to trust the taste of bookshop staff. The last time I asked for a recommendation, I was refered to a book that had the crown jewel's of the protagonist chained to the floor of a dark dungeon. In short, heavy heavy S&M. Not my kinda thing. Surprisingly, this book Lolita wasn't as bad as I thought. I would have imagined that there will be more controversial details regarding certain explicit sexual acts but the author did not dwell too much on those aspects. Instead, he focused his writings on the complicated mind of the protagonist.
....
On a short note, today a stranger was very kind to me. I was looking for a spot at the cafe in Borders. Most of the tables were occupied. A stranger then walked up to me, from the other end of the cafe, and said that I could take his seat as he was leaving. What a kind act, I thought. He took so much effort just to tell that to a stranger.
I relayed the story to J later on. He said in response that the stranger perform that kind gesture because I was female. I was appalled and I said that I would like to believe he did that because he was kind. He wasn't even hitting on me. J asked me whether I thought the stranger would have done the same for him, a male. I said, yes, just to pissed J off.
I guess, being female helped but still, it was a very kind act all the same.
Post-edit: I read this post out to J and he said, "Haven't you thought about why most kind acts done to you are made by men?" I said, "Maybe because men are kinder!!!" Can't people be nice for the sake of being nice??? Surely there are such people out there, otherwise our world is doomed.
Off the top of my head, here's what I've been reading the past couple of months. I'm sure there's heaps more but as usual, my brain fails me.
The curious incident of the dog in the night time – Mark Haddon
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz
Marley & Me – John Grogan
The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
After Dark – Haruki Murakami
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
Leave Me Alone – Nurong
I'm still gnawing at the book, Lolita. From the title itself, one can guess that the content would somewhat controversial. I picked it up because it was listed as one of the Border's staff current favourites. I'm always slightly hesitant to trust the taste of bookshop staff. The last time I asked for a recommendation, I was refered to a book that had the crown jewel's of the protagonist chained to the floor of a dark dungeon. In short, heavy heavy S&M. Not my kinda thing. Surprisingly, this book Lolita wasn't as bad as I thought. I would have imagined that there will be more controversial details regarding certain explicit sexual acts but the author did not dwell too much on those aspects. Instead, he focused his writings on the complicated mind of the protagonist.
....
On a short note, today a stranger was very kind to me. I was looking for a spot at the cafe in Borders. Most of the tables were occupied. A stranger then walked up to me, from the other end of the cafe, and said that I could take his seat as he was leaving. What a kind act, I thought. He took so much effort just to tell that to a stranger.
I relayed the story to J later on. He said in response that the stranger perform that kind gesture because I was female. I was appalled and I said that I would like to believe he did that because he was kind. He wasn't even hitting on me. J asked me whether I thought the stranger would have done the same for him, a male. I said, yes, just to pissed J off.
I guess, being female helped but still, it was a very kind act all the same.
Post-edit: I read this post out to J and he said, "Haven't you thought about why most kind acts done to you are made by men?" I said, "Maybe because men are kinder!!!" Can't people be nice for the sake of being nice??? Surely there are such people out there, otherwise our world is doomed.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Beauty queen failure
Amongst many many other reasons, one reason I can never be a beauty queen is because performing the entire beauty routine takes too much effort.
This evening, I've decided to put in more effort in my washing up routine.
The routine went as such: Shower which included washing hair and body, towel drying hair and body, blow-drying hair, putting moisturizer on face, putting eye cream, putting on body lotion, flossing teeth, brushing teeth.
Normal routine goes: Shower which includes washing hair and body, towel drying body, let hair drip dry, put moisturiser on face, brushing teeth.
Activities usually omitted:
Blow-drying hair (I was cursing for the whole 15 minutes! It's sooo tiring. Holding up the hair dryer is tiring enough)
Washing face with facial wash (I forget quite often these days. My bad)
Eye cream (something I should do because of my very dry skin)
Body lotion (again, I should do because of my very dry skin)
Flossing teeth (more of a health rather than beauty thing. The dentist is going to kill me)
The entire routine this evening took one hour. And I didn't even put on any make up.
Being female is tough sometimes.
This evening, I've decided to put in more effort in my washing up routine.
The routine went as such: Shower which included washing hair and body, towel drying hair and body, blow-drying hair, putting moisturizer on face, putting eye cream, putting on body lotion, flossing teeth, brushing teeth.
Normal routine goes: Shower which includes washing hair and body, towel drying body, let hair drip dry, put moisturiser on face, brushing teeth.
Activities usually omitted:
Blow-drying hair (I was cursing for the whole 15 minutes! It's sooo tiring. Holding up the hair dryer is tiring enough)
Washing face with facial wash (I forget quite often these days. My bad)
Eye cream (something I should do because of my very dry skin)
Body lotion (again, I should do because of my very dry skin)
Flossing teeth (more of a health rather than beauty thing. The dentist is going to kill me)
The entire routine this evening took one hour. And I didn't even put on any make up.
Being female is tough sometimes.
Don't sweat the small stuff
Today I walked into a small local camera store with the intention of checking out the Canon 500D. Upon walking into the store, I noticed a woman standing behind the counter. I assumed she’s about 55 years old judging from the crow’s feet at the outer corners of her eyes and the streaks of gray in her hair. But the thing I noticed most about her is the lack of kindness in her eyes.
I stood in front of the glass window where the Canon SLR cameras sat for about 10 seconds when she asked me in a matter-of-fact manner, “Do you have any questions?”
I asked whether I could see the Canon 500D.
She took out the Canon 500D and told me that it was the latest model for its range. She then immediately asked, “Have you seen this online? What’s the price you saw online?”
I said that I’ve only checked the Canon official website and have not really looked around.
She said, “Well, I can’t show you the camera because many people check out the camera and then buy it online. Are you going to buy it today?”
I replied, “I’m not sure yet. It depends. Can I see it?”
She then acutely point to the camera, which is now back in its original spot, securely locked behind the glass window and said, “there, you can see it.” I swear I saw a smug look plastered on her face.
I stared at her with a I-can’t-believe-you-are-so-darn-rude look. Did your dog just die? Did your husband divorce you recently?
I said, “It’s okay. Thanks,” and promptly walked out of the store. What I really wanted to say is, “How would I know whether I’ll be interested if I can’t even have a proper look at it. Even if I’m interested, I would never have bought it from you, evil witch.”
Anyway, I was upset for like 5 minutes before I realise that it’s not worth it. She probably had a bad day/bad life. I always think that you can see that sort of thing from someone’s eyes.
Then I proceeded to Walgreens to get some lip balm. The person behind the counter was really nice. I asked her for the nearest post office and she gave me lots of details with a smile. Then I met a local artist on the street who was handing out his name card and trying to persuade passer-bys to buy his cds. I didn’t buy his cd but I told him I’ll check out his website. We had a small chat and then parted ways.
The point of this short rant is to point out that, for every single horrible person you meet, you’ll meet many more good people. We shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Otherwise we might miss the bigger picture.
I stood in front of the glass window where the Canon SLR cameras sat for about 10 seconds when she asked me in a matter-of-fact manner, “Do you have any questions?”
I asked whether I could see the Canon 500D.
She took out the Canon 500D and told me that it was the latest model for its range. She then immediately asked, “Have you seen this online? What’s the price you saw online?”
I said that I’ve only checked the Canon official website and have not really looked around.
She said, “Well, I can’t show you the camera because many people check out the camera and then buy it online. Are you going to buy it today?”
I replied, “I’m not sure yet. It depends. Can I see it?”
She then acutely point to the camera, which is now back in its original spot, securely locked behind the glass window and said, “there, you can see it.” I swear I saw a smug look plastered on her face.
I stared at her with a I-can’t-believe-you-are-so-darn-rude look. Did your dog just die? Did your husband divorce you recently?
I said, “It’s okay. Thanks,” and promptly walked out of the store. What I really wanted to say is, “How would I know whether I’ll be interested if I can’t even have a proper look at it. Even if I’m interested, I would never have bought it from you, evil witch.”
Anyway, I was upset for like 5 minutes before I realise that it’s not worth it. She probably had a bad day/bad life. I always think that you can see that sort of thing from someone’s eyes.
Then I proceeded to Walgreens to get some lip balm. The person behind the counter was really nice. I asked her for the nearest post office and she gave me lots of details with a smile. Then I met a local artist on the street who was handing out his name card and trying to persuade passer-bys to buy his cds. I didn’t buy his cd but I told him I’ll check out his website. We had a small chat and then parted ways.
The point of this short rant is to point out that, for every single horrible person you meet, you’ll meet many more good people. We shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Otherwise we might miss the bigger picture.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
San Francisco - Day 7 - Sears' Fine Food, Castro, Organic Market, Twin Peaks
Taken from private diary entry (written by Joanne from a 3rd person's perspective):
Wednesday 1/7/2009
Jason does some work in the morning. They then head to Sears' Fine Food for brunch. According to Jason, this place is quite famous and served very good breakfast.
#1
Sears' Fine Food. The Sears opened in 1938 at Powell and Sutter Streets. As legend goes, Ben Sears was a retired circus clown whose wife, Hilbur, inherited a Swedish pancake recipe.
The airy, dollar-size cakes quickly became the enduring certerpiece of Sears home-style menu.
#2
Joanne orders their famous pancakes with maple syrup and butter. Jason orders a big breakfast – consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash brown and toast. Their food arrives. Joanne’s pancakes taste alright. She loves the butter that came with it. It was very fragrant. The interesting thing about the meal was the maple syrup. It was heated up! She never had hot maple syrup with pancakes before. She also loved the maple syrup because it was not too sweet and just the right consistency (not too thick). Jason loved his food. Joanne found his hash brown interesting. Her idea of hash brown were the Mcdonald’s type. Small sized. However, this hash brown was huge – the size was an equivalent of two slices of toast. Jason said that this is how hash brown was originally cooked – the Mcdonald ones were imposters. The hash brown was very tasty. The inside was soft and the outside was crispy. The bacon was very crispy – tasted like beef jerkey. Joanne is not used to the bacon because it was hard and dry. Apparently, bacon in America is always cooked like this, unlike in Australia where the bacon is slightly brown but still soft and juicy.
#3
Jason with his meal
#4
Eggs, bacon and hash brown
#5
Pancakes
#6
Heated up maple syrup
#7
Overall, they had a pretty good experience at the restaurant. It's easy to see why the restaurant is popular with both locals and tourists.
They then retrieved their car. Joanne drives in America for the first time. It was a slightly daunting experience because she was not used to driving on the right side of the road and she didn’t really know her way around. Unconsciously Joanne always swerved close to the right because she was used to being on that side of the road. But they got to their destination, Castro, safe and sound.
#8
They didn’t spend too much time at Castro. Joanne expected the street to be longer. Castro was a very nice area though. They past by Twin Peaks tavern, checked out movie times at the Arthouse cinema, entered a couple of stores. Joanne also got coffee from a coffee specialist café. They had hundreds of different varieties of coffee in that store. They also entered a bookstore but didn’t stay too long because it was all gay-related books (nothing that is relevant to Joanne or Jason). They also tried locating Castro Camera – the shop that Harvey Milk opened and operated it (and was also used in the movie set ‘Milk’) but couldn’t locate it. Joanne thinks that shop has been converted into something else.
#9
Castro
#10
Castro Cinema. Shows arthouse films.
#11
Bought a coffee with this coffee specialist shop
#12
San Francisco's first openly gay bar
#13
Castro Camera shop used to occupy this blue building
They then stumbled upon an organic local market. Joanne is thrilled because there are not many good organic markets in Melbourne. Also, organic food in Melbourne always blow a hole in your pocket. On the contrary, the organic food here is relatively cheap. For example, a pallet of organic strawberries cost only 4 dollars. (In Melbourne, ONE organic lemon may cost $2) Joanne found many varieties of vegetables, fruits and fungus that she never knew existed. For example, she saw pink mushrooms. It looked so pretty. She bought a packet of salad leaves with flowers. She never knew flowers could be consumed.
#14
#15
#16
#17
Variety of salad leaves with flowers
#18
#19
#20
Trumpet pink mushrooms
After the organic market, they headed to Twin Peaks. Jason has been raving about this place and have been wanting to bring Joanne there for the past few days. They drove there and Joanne is quite enthralled by the view. From Twin Peaks, you can see the entire San Francisco city. They view was absolutely breathtaking. They took numerous photos including some star jump shots.
#21
Eating a flower on the way up to Twin Peaks. It tasted quite nice actually as the nectar was quite sweet. However, Jason hated eating flowers.
#22
View from Twin Peaks
#23
Photoshopped
#23b
Photoshopped 2
#24
#25
Doing jumps. There were many failed attempts. Either bad photographer or bad jumper. I blame the photographer.
#26
#27
#28
#29
After that they headed back to the hotel.
They went out at 8.30 pm for dinner at a Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant called Malaysian Singaporean restaurant near golden gate park (Clement Street, between 9th and 10th Avenue, off Geary Blv). They order a nasi lemak, roti canai and chah keoy teoy. Joanne found out about the restaurant through some food forums online. Theres lots of raving reviews on this restaurant (it suppose to be quite authentic). Joanne was slightly disappointed. It’s okay, considering that its not Malaysia – kinda like Malaysian food in Melbourne. Can’t complain too much as her expectations were not that high in the first place.
Wednesday 1/7/2009
Jason does some work in the morning. They then head to Sears' Fine Food for brunch. According to Jason, this place is quite famous and served very good breakfast.
#1
Sears' Fine Food. The Sears opened in 1938 at Powell and Sutter Streets. As legend goes, Ben Sears was a retired circus clown whose wife, Hilbur, inherited a Swedish pancake recipe.
The airy, dollar-size cakes quickly became the enduring certerpiece of Sears home-style menu.
#2
Joanne orders their famous pancakes with maple syrup and butter. Jason orders a big breakfast – consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash brown and toast. Their food arrives. Joanne’s pancakes taste alright. She loves the butter that came with it. It was very fragrant. The interesting thing about the meal was the maple syrup. It was heated up! She never had hot maple syrup with pancakes before. She also loved the maple syrup because it was not too sweet and just the right consistency (not too thick). Jason loved his food. Joanne found his hash brown interesting. Her idea of hash brown were the Mcdonald’s type. Small sized. However, this hash brown was huge – the size was an equivalent of two slices of toast. Jason said that this is how hash brown was originally cooked – the Mcdonald ones were imposters. The hash brown was very tasty. The inside was soft and the outside was crispy. The bacon was very crispy – tasted like beef jerkey. Joanne is not used to the bacon because it was hard and dry. Apparently, bacon in America is always cooked like this, unlike in Australia where the bacon is slightly brown but still soft and juicy.
#3
Jason with his meal
#4
Eggs, bacon and hash brown
#5
Pancakes
#6
Heated up maple syrup
#7
Overall, they had a pretty good experience at the restaurant. It's easy to see why the restaurant is popular with both locals and tourists.
They then retrieved their car. Joanne drives in America for the first time. It was a slightly daunting experience because she was not used to driving on the right side of the road and she didn’t really know her way around. Unconsciously Joanne always swerved close to the right because she was used to being on that side of the road. But they got to their destination, Castro, safe and sound.
#8
They didn’t spend too much time at Castro. Joanne expected the street to be longer. Castro was a very nice area though. They past by Twin Peaks tavern, checked out movie times at the Arthouse cinema, entered a couple of stores. Joanne also got coffee from a coffee specialist café. They had hundreds of different varieties of coffee in that store. They also entered a bookstore but didn’t stay too long because it was all gay-related books (nothing that is relevant to Joanne or Jason). They also tried locating Castro Camera – the shop that Harvey Milk opened and operated it (and was also used in the movie set ‘Milk’) but couldn’t locate it. Joanne thinks that shop has been converted into something else.
#9
Castro
#10
Castro Cinema. Shows arthouse films.
#11
Bought a coffee with this coffee specialist shop
#12
San Francisco's first openly gay bar
#13
Castro Camera shop used to occupy this blue building
They then stumbled upon an organic local market. Joanne is thrilled because there are not many good organic markets in Melbourne. Also, organic food in Melbourne always blow a hole in your pocket. On the contrary, the organic food here is relatively cheap. For example, a pallet of organic strawberries cost only 4 dollars. (In Melbourne, ONE organic lemon may cost $2) Joanne found many varieties of vegetables, fruits and fungus that she never knew existed. For example, she saw pink mushrooms. It looked so pretty. She bought a packet of salad leaves with flowers. She never knew flowers could be consumed.
#14
#15
#16
#17
Variety of salad leaves with flowers
#18
#19
#20
Trumpet pink mushrooms
After the organic market, they headed to Twin Peaks. Jason has been raving about this place and have been wanting to bring Joanne there for the past few days. They drove there and Joanne is quite enthralled by the view. From Twin Peaks, you can see the entire San Francisco city. They view was absolutely breathtaking. They took numerous photos including some star jump shots.
#21
Eating a flower on the way up to Twin Peaks. It tasted quite nice actually as the nectar was quite sweet. However, Jason hated eating flowers.
#22
View from Twin Peaks
#23
Photoshopped
#23b
Photoshopped 2
#24
#25
Doing jumps. There were many failed attempts. Either bad photographer or bad jumper. I blame the photographer.
#26
#27
#28
#29
After that they headed back to the hotel.
They went out at 8.30 pm for dinner at a Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant called Malaysian Singaporean restaurant near golden gate park (Clement Street, between 9th and 10th Avenue, off Geary Blv). They order a nasi lemak, roti canai and chah keoy teoy. Joanne found out about the restaurant through some food forums online. Theres lots of raving reviews on this restaurant (it suppose to be quite authentic). Joanne was slightly disappointed. It’s okay, considering that its not Malaysia – kinda like Malaysian food in Melbourne. Can’t complain too much as her expectations were not that high in the first place.
Friday, July 03, 2009
San Francisco - Day 7 - Chinatown, Financial District, Ferry building
Taken from private diary entry (written by Joanne from a 3rd person's perspective):
30/06/09
They both wake up at about 8 am and spend some time in the hotel. Jason does some work. At about 2 pm, they walked to Chinatown to grab some lunch.
#1
On the way to Chinatown, we dropped by a couple of hotels to check out the room rates. We also checked out the actual rooms. I wouldn't have guessed it but this is an elevator door. To my initial surprise, many hotels located in downtown San Francisco are housed in very old buildings complete with creaking floors and scary-looking elevators. Many hotels also have that old musky smell, probably from the carpet.
#2
Trapped behind metal bars, inside the moving elevator.
After their fruitless search for take-away tim sum (was searching for it on the wrong streets. Chinatown is huge) they settle at this very authentic looking Chinese restaurant that Joanne spotted.
#3
Sam Wo restaurant, 813 Washington Street, Chinatown, San Francisco.
Joanne thought that place was interesting because the open kitchen was located downstairs and the dining area was upstairs. They had to crawl up this tiny set of steep stairs to the dining area.
#4
Steep stairs leading towards dining area
The words “100 years old” is inscribed on the front of the menu. Joanne thinks, “the food must be very very tasty.” Joanne orders a dry wan ton mee with char siew. Jason orders a typical wan ton noodle soup. They also order a plate of fried spring rolls. As they wait for the food to arrive, Joanne looks around and observes the restaurant. For a split second, one can believe that he/she is in China – the old school glass shutter windows, little stools with wooden tables, creaking floors. But the thing that took the cake was the ancient-looking food elevator that Joanne have only seen in the old parts of Penang city, Malaysia.
#5
#6
Low stools with wooden tables
#7
Food elevator
The food arrives. Upon Joanne’s first inspection of the food, she was slightly disappointed. The wan tan noodles does not look like what she expected. She expected thin springy noodles. But this was thick yellow noodles with cabbage! For the life of her, she has never seen cabbage in wan ton noodle soup before (not even in Hong Kong) She thought, maybe it’s a San Francisco version. She tried it, and it turned out not too bad, as long as she does not compare it to her wan ton mee that she knows and love. Jason’s food on the other hand, was not so great. His noodles taste quite floury. According to Joanne’s cooking experience, this can only mean that the noodles has been cooked for a tad too long. Jason did not each much of his meal. Joanne shares her noodles with him.
#8
Joanne's fat wan ton noodles
The bill arrives. It was the cheapest meal they had so far. Only 8.50 for their meal. $4.50 for Joanne’s dish and $4 for Jason’s.
They both walked around Chinatown, looking for the famous Golden Gate bakery and tim sum shops. They finally found what they were looking for – all located on Jackson Street. They were a little full at that time. So they decided to come back another day.
They then head to the Financial District of San Francisco. According to a local, the Financial District is sadly quiet right now because of the recession. They walked to the financial district and found it to extremely quiet. They were not sure whether its because it’s not peak hour (3 pm) and everyone is still stuck in the offices or it’s because of the recession. They walked around and tried looking for the office building Jason worked at before a couple of years ago. They finally found it.
#9
Financial District
#10
San Francisco's icon, TransAmerica
They hung around for a bit and then headed to the San Francisco ferry building. The ferry building was San Francisco's main transportation depot before the Golden Gate bridge and Bay bridge was built. Jason does some work there (answer phone calls) while Joanne observes cargo ships carrying cargo. Joanne found the large ships fascinating. It was the first time Joanne saw so many large ships carrying full load of cargo. Jason thinks Joanne is silly.
#11
Ferry building
#12
Bay bridge leading to Treasure Island
#13
Cargo ship
After spending an hour there, they both headed back to the hotel.
#14
We passed by Union Square on the way back to the hotel. Some local artists were demonstrating their artwork
#15
#16
Union Square, a place to gather
#17
Love the animals
#18
We hung out at borders for a bit
#19
A couple of hours later, they headed back out for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown that they spotted earlier. They saw a newspaper clipping stuck on the door that gave raving reviews on the restaurant. As such, they both assumed that the restaurant served good food. Joanne ordered pho and Jason ordered rice with fried egg, pork chop and radish. They didn’t serve broken rice there but they served normal chinese rice instead. They were both quite surprised because every Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne served broken rice. Their food arrives. Joanne did not really like her noodles because it didn’t taste like the pho she normally eats in Melbourne nor Vietnam. It tasted very much like chinese soup with cabbage, pepper and msg. Further, the waiter who served them spoke to them in Cantonese. Not very authentic. Jason’s food was not too bad. Overall, the food was okay but not deserving of any sort of award.
#20
Pork chop, fried egg and radish with rice
#21
Pho
30/06/09
They both wake up at about 8 am and spend some time in the hotel. Jason does some work. At about 2 pm, they walked to Chinatown to grab some lunch.
#1
On the way to Chinatown, we dropped by a couple of hotels to check out the room rates. We also checked out the actual rooms. I wouldn't have guessed it but this is an elevator door. To my initial surprise, many hotels located in downtown San Francisco are housed in very old buildings complete with creaking floors and scary-looking elevators. Many hotels also have that old musky smell, probably from the carpet.
#2
Trapped behind metal bars, inside the moving elevator.
After their fruitless search for take-away tim sum (was searching for it on the wrong streets. Chinatown is huge) they settle at this very authentic looking Chinese restaurant that Joanne spotted.
#3
Sam Wo restaurant, 813 Washington Street, Chinatown, San Francisco.
Joanne thought that place was interesting because the open kitchen was located downstairs and the dining area was upstairs. They had to crawl up this tiny set of steep stairs to the dining area.
#4
Steep stairs leading towards dining area
The words “100 years old” is inscribed on the front of the menu. Joanne thinks, “the food must be very very tasty.” Joanne orders a dry wan ton mee with char siew. Jason orders a typical wan ton noodle soup. They also order a plate of fried spring rolls. As they wait for the food to arrive, Joanne looks around and observes the restaurant. For a split second, one can believe that he/she is in China – the old school glass shutter windows, little stools with wooden tables, creaking floors. But the thing that took the cake was the ancient-looking food elevator that Joanne have only seen in the old parts of Penang city, Malaysia.
#5
#6
Low stools with wooden tables
#7
Food elevator
The food arrives. Upon Joanne’s first inspection of the food, she was slightly disappointed. The wan tan noodles does not look like what she expected. She expected thin springy noodles. But this was thick yellow noodles with cabbage! For the life of her, she has never seen cabbage in wan ton noodle soup before (not even in Hong Kong) She thought, maybe it’s a San Francisco version. She tried it, and it turned out not too bad, as long as she does not compare it to her wan ton mee that she knows and love. Jason’s food on the other hand, was not so great. His noodles taste quite floury. According to Joanne’s cooking experience, this can only mean that the noodles has been cooked for a tad too long. Jason did not each much of his meal. Joanne shares her noodles with him.
#8
Joanne's fat wan ton noodles
The bill arrives. It was the cheapest meal they had so far. Only 8.50 for their meal. $4.50 for Joanne’s dish and $4 for Jason’s.
They both walked around Chinatown, looking for the famous Golden Gate bakery and tim sum shops. They finally found what they were looking for – all located on Jackson Street. They were a little full at that time. So they decided to come back another day.
They then head to the Financial District of San Francisco. According to a local, the Financial District is sadly quiet right now because of the recession. They walked to the financial district and found it to extremely quiet. They were not sure whether its because it’s not peak hour (3 pm) and everyone is still stuck in the offices or it’s because of the recession. They walked around and tried looking for the office building Jason worked at before a couple of years ago. They finally found it.
#9
Financial District
#10
San Francisco's icon, TransAmerica
They hung around for a bit and then headed to the San Francisco ferry building. The ferry building was San Francisco's main transportation depot before the Golden Gate bridge and Bay bridge was built. Jason does some work there (answer phone calls) while Joanne observes cargo ships carrying cargo. Joanne found the large ships fascinating. It was the first time Joanne saw so many large ships carrying full load of cargo. Jason thinks Joanne is silly.
#11
Ferry building
#12
Bay bridge leading to Treasure Island
#13
Cargo ship
After spending an hour there, they both headed back to the hotel.
#14
We passed by Union Square on the way back to the hotel. Some local artists were demonstrating their artwork
#15
#16
Union Square, a place to gather
#17
Love the animals
#18
We hung out at borders for a bit
#19
A couple of hours later, they headed back out for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown that they spotted earlier. They saw a newspaper clipping stuck on the door that gave raving reviews on the restaurant. As such, they both assumed that the restaurant served good food. Joanne ordered pho and Jason ordered rice with fried egg, pork chop and radish. They didn’t serve broken rice there but they served normal chinese rice instead. They were both quite surprised because every Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne served broken rice. Their food arrives. Joanne did not really like her noodles because it didn’t taste like the pho she normally eats in Melbourne nor Vietnam. It tasted very much like chinese soup with cabbage, pepper and msg. Further, the waiter who served them spoke to them in Cantonese. Not very authentic. Jason’s food was not too bad. Overall, the food was okay but not deserving of any sort of award.
#20
Pork chop, fried egg and radish with rice
#21
Pho
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