February 2011 – Page 2

I was made for sunny days…….

February 12, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days…… nothing serious, congested, a bit of tickly throat, you know….. that kind of thing. Today was such a nice day, it was kind of a bummer ot be sick. After all, I could be doing all those fun things I enjoy on sunny days…. like eating!

Usually, I'll crave some noodle soup, Pho, Mi, or ramen when I feel congested. But today, I just wanted, one, well make that two things…….

I guess because it was rather warm; I wanted the Spicy Cold Chicken (aka "Saliva Chicken") and the Cold Sichuan Noodles……

From Ba Ren, of course…….

From Ba Ren of course. In truth, it did cause me to cough a bit, but man did it clear my sinuses. Plus, this cold has got my taste buds in a bit of a fritz, so the strong flavors sure was comforting in it's own way.

During a recent wonderful dinner with friends, the subject of cravings when sick came up. I mentioned saimin, as it was what I always wanted as a child when I felt sick. Perhaps I'll have to amend that! I really want to feel better soon, since there's a wonderful bottle of sake in the fridge that's been calling to me!

To quote The Weepies:

"I say, I was made for sunny days.

I made due with gray, but I didn't stay.

I was made for sunny days……"

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Postscript: "Little K" sister of FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" is off on a wonderful adventure for the next six months. I wanted to drop by and wish you well, but I really don't think you want any part of whatever ills me. So I'll just have to tell you this way. We'll miss you, but we all know you're off on an exciting adventure. I can't wait to hear all your stories when you return!

Burger Week 2011- Elsa’s Kitchen

February 11, 2011 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Yep, you are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Welcome. Here is another of Cathy's favorite places to get a burger. A good burger. It's not a fancy place.

Hi again. Another place I frequent ( and have blogged about )(go ahead, look at that post; the prices here have not changed since I wrote it in October 2007) when I want a good, hand formed, coarse ground, fresh burger, is Elsa's Kitchen. It's in a plain strip mall at the NorthEast corner of 70th at El Cajon Boulevard, near SDSU.

It looks like a kind of hole in the wall…Really though, you order from a hole in the wall…

Elsa's has been here many years. Sometimes, there is a wait for the food to be prepared. The wait is worth it.
I feel the need to show you a size comparison. This, a side order of onion rings, the small size ($1.75). The burger is a half pound steak burger. I feel the need to mention that every single Greek restaurant which makes onion rings knows how to make them *so* wonderfully perfect. From scratch, sliced thick, lightly corn meal battered and fried just right. Always order the rings at any Greek place. They are wonderous.
The half pound burger ($4.50) is hand formed, coarse ground, flavorful and juicy. The bun is toasted and buttered. The toppings are standard, including thousand island dressing. Yes, my hand is small, but this is a very nice, large burger (in the back is The Mister's Gyros salad ($ 6.45)- The salad is made with mixed greens, Feta, cucumber, onion and tomato. Dressing is served on the side as is a side of tzatziki).

Eh, here's a photo of the salad. The gyros is good here. The portion is crazy large.
Here is a photo of the burger with a bite out. I let them cook it the way they think is proper, and it is cooked medium. Still, it has flavor and is juicy but not dripping. You can see more of the hand formed shape, and that the bun has sesame seeds on both the top and bottom. A really good bun.

You may have noticed the sign on the front for a 1/4 lb burger with fries and beverage for $4.49. This is the more 'average' portion size and affordable meal. Maybe not as exciting photographs, but excellent food.

I substituted fried zucchini for the fries. The zucchini is sliced into sticks, lightly breaded, fried to just crisp and is not greasy. This also technically is the small size.

Even this 1/4 of a pound burger is cooked just right and stays juicy and has great flavor. The toasted bun is the right size for the burger, has a good amount of the standard sauce and toppings and is so beefy flavored. I really like the burgers here.

Elsa's Kitchen Greek and American Food 7022 El Cajon Blvd (619) 464-6711Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8.

{Oh yes, they make breakfast. Gyros and eggs ($4.49) , breakfast gyro and a 2 egg gyros omelet for $3.99 are great choices.}

It’s Burger Week: A Bison Burger from The Cowboy Star

February 10, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Steakhouse

The Cowboy Star has been one of our favorite destinations for Happy Hour for a while. It's never been very busy when we've visited, which makes the whole deal pretty relaxing, in spite of the location.

We've enjoyed most everything we'd had in the bar, and in the restaurant…….

The Missus isn't a real big red meat eater, but She enjoys the tornedos and steaks at the Cowboy Star. They always seem to get it right for Her.

Perhaps one day I'll post on our dinners there; the sweetbreads, marrow bones, the Porterhouse!

When we finally decided to do another burger week, I looked forward to trying one of the burgers there. Since they still serve burgers during Happy Hour (it's on the lunch menu), why not? So on a recent visit, I ordered the Bison Burger ($15):

I love the flavor of buffalo and bison when it's prepared well. The meat is leaner, so it's very easy to overcook. The meat has a faint flavor that has a sweet tinge to it; not as sweet as say, horse or donkey, but just enough variance in flavor to know that, "it's not quite beef I'm eating tonight".

This looked like one beautiful burger. The roasted Anaheim Pepper tasted wonderful, but in my opinion it over-powered the bison. The wonderfully melted white cheddar went well with my burger, even though it was cooked a bit over the medium I requested.

Granted, Bison is more difficult to cook than beef, still, I was a bit underwhelmed with the burger as a whole. Even after removing the pepper…. which the Missus gladly gobbled up, the flavor was a bit too mild for me….. perhaps the grass fed beef is the way to go here.

The frites had a nice texture, crisp on the exterior, combined with a light interior. I once mentioned in a previous post, of the Missus love of salt (" the Missus has been known to body slam a Moose to get to its salt lick"). But man, on this day the fries were much too salty.

In truth, one so-so meal at The Cowboy Star won't deter us from returning since we've had some really fine meals there. But I do think it was telling that on the next evening, we also had meat, which I enjoyed even more. Stuff like this:

The Cowboy Star
640 10th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Jersey’s: Home of the 3 lb Burger in Yuma Foothills

February 9, 2011 ed fromyuma Burgers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Everybody eats burgers. Kirk eats burgers, Cathy eats burgers, vegetarians eat veggieburgers, and even ed (from Yuma) eats burgers. Today, he's posting about some that are yoso delicious.

Jersey's is gone but not forgotten.

Some things happen in threes. Right after my post on the Fortuna foodcourt in Foothills, Yuma, appeared here at mmm-yoso, three things converged. First, Cathy and Foodhoe wanted to know about the 3 pound burger at Jersey's; second, my gourmandizing friend Chip insisted we had to go there and try the burgers ASAP; and third, Kirk sent me an e-mail reminding me that Burger Week was approaching at the blog. That was a triple whammy, but I hardly needed three prompts to go to Jersey's:

In fact, the very next day, a bunch of us carnivores, Chip, Betsy, Light, Deb W, Tina, and I, gathered together to eat some serious meat.

After ordering sandwiches, we walked over to the refrigerator and selected some soft drinks:

While we were deciding between root beers and colas ($1.50), it was impossible to ignore that wonderful smell of beef being charred over coals on an open grill. Cue the saliva.

The tables contained a limited number of condiments and a whimsical paper towel dispenser:

The smaller burgers and Betsy's cheesesteak arrived first. I had ordered the most basic burger on the menu ($5.50) , which came with some iceberg lettuce and abundant mayo sauce:

The sesame seed bun held a handmade patty that had to weigh at least a half pound. One bite and I was in protein paradise. I cannot recall a more intense burger in my life. The whole thing screamed BEEF as loud as it could! The char from the grill and the sauce (mayo with hint of ketchup, I think), just made the flavor of the patty that much better and more intense.

By default, all the burgers come with french fries:

These were obviously homemade and full of potato flavor. While not greasy, they were also not especially crunchy. Not bad, certainly, but really just okay. Next time, I will follow Chip's lead and order mine extra crispy.

Tina opted for a blue cheese burger, which came with mayo sauce, red onions, hand cut tomato slice, pepper bacon, lettuce, and hand formed perfectly grilled burger patty:

In general, I am hesitant to order blue cheese burgers because many that I've had over the years have tasted more like blue cheese than like burger. Not the case here. The intensity of the beef flavor stood up to and was enhanced by the cheese. There was so much going on (in a good way) that the bacon seemed like an afterthought. Let me say that any time slices of bacon are not the most flavorful things on a sandwich, that sandwich has got to have full tilt taste. The only disadvantage of Tina's burger was that the bun disintegrated before the whole burger was consumed.

"Totally scrumptious," Tina termed it. It was so good that I think it's worth another picture:

Unlike my french fries, the onion rings Tina ordered were just about perfect. Clearly homemade, each crunchy ring had a sweet onion center.

Betsy's cheesesteak ($?) was also pretty darn good. She loved it. The beef was full of flavor, like good carne asada steak, the roll well grilled, and the cheese, onions, and peppers added tastes and textures:

And then it arrived, the 3 pound burger ($21 — free if you can eat it all in 20 minutes):
The genormous burger was loaded with lettuce, tomato, cheese, grilled red onions, pickle relish, and two 1 1/2 lb patties. For some strange reason, Chip had asked the mayo sauce be replaced with mustard. This close-up shows the wonderful grill marks that marked each patty with flavor:

We cut the giant burger into four wedges, letting us all see a cross-section of this flavorful concoction:

A quarter section of this giant burger was still a handful — actually two hands full:

It is rare for a restaurant, whether it be a posh fine dining establishment or a taco stand, to exceed my wildest expectations. After all, when it comes to food, I have some very wild expectations. Jersey's is everything it promises and more.

However, it should come with two important warnings.

After lunch, I had work to do. All afternoon I struggled to keep my eyes open and my mind on what I was reading. When I got together with Tina that evening, I was complaining about nodding off, and she looked at me and said, "you think you had problems. I lay down for a second – and woke up three hours later."

First warning: May Cause Drowsiness!

Second warning: Could Be Habit Forming!

Consider yourselves warned.

Jersey's, on the access road parallel to Fortuna between Walgreens and the Fry's Shopping Center, Yuma Foothills, (928) 920-6476.

Burger Week 2011- Anny’s Fine Burger, Santee

February 8, 2011 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! This is one of Cathy's contributions to the heck with your New Year Resolution Burger Week 2011.

At the Trolley Station in Santee (end of the Green Line) we have a Starbucks, Einstein's, Quiznos, Panda [something] and now, Anny's Fine Burger. It used to be VGood
and the cook/owner is the same, as is the CalTrans Orange paint on the walls. (Really. Click onto the link for the VGood post)
The menu, however has taken over one wall…It's right there as you walk in; you can't miss it. All the main items offered are served in a burger form. Hot dogs, chili and sides are also on the menu.

Anny's Fine Burger makes Burgers. Burgers of angus beef. 1/2 pound burgers. (But you can substitute chicken, turkey or veggie burgers). All are char broiled. All the sauces are home made.

I'll start out showing you The Mister's Pastrami Burger ($5.99), since it comes with cheese and the pastrami topping can be removed and eaten separately… Baked pastrami, not fatty, but nicely smokey flavored, piled on a hand formed, half pound burger cooked medium rare. Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato pickle and a smokey, house made teriyaki sauce topped it off. The bun is more of a Kaiser roll, fresh and toasted. Toasted in butter. The burger is very flavorful and juicy-but not so juicy as to ruin the bottom bun. Char broiled. Just enough char flavor without being overpowering.
Since, like Kirk, I also like the taste of a pure burger, here is my usual order – the Basic Combo. (#1 on the menu-$4.99) ($5.50 as the combo) the half pound burger (no cheese). Lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and a house made thousand island. The Combo comes with plain fries and a beverage. I like the simplicity and ability to taste the basic ingredients. Everything is fresh-and good. The burger meat has some seasoning which brings out the meaty flavor. The meat is coarse ground and a texture I enjoy. As with all the burgers here, the char broiling imparts just a bit of smoke flavor.

The fries are cut here from fresh potatoes and double fried. Pretty darn good and crispy. Above is a side order of sweet potato fries ($3.99). Cut from fresh sweet potatoes. Quite a large order. Good flavor, proper frying technique. I do appreciate proper frying.

Just for fun, here are some other choices from the menu. #10, The Blue Cheese burger ($5.99). Crumbled blue cheese as well as a house made blue cheese dressing. Again, excellent beef flavor. Cooked medium rare. Juicy and flavorful. They used a mold to form the burgers on this visit. The beef is not frozen and tastes good on its own.

#23. The Sand Dune Burger ($6.50). There are beer battered onion rings on the menu, but this burger comes with onion strings, which I like and can't get any other way. This burger also has bacon, cheddar, lettuce and tomato as well as a smokey teriyaki sauce. It is a nice melding of flavors and texture. (This presentation was about 6 inches high)

I like the coarse grind of fresh meat used for the burgers here. I haven't tried any chicken, turkey or veggie patties because when I get here, I am usually craving a 1/2 lb of beef. The sauces all made here- including lemon mayo, spicy mayo, sun dried tomato mayo, garlic mayo, ranch, bbq, honey mustard..in addition to the thousand and teriyaki are made from scratch and are very good. The fresh Kaiser buns are toasted and brushed with butter always; the optional whole wheat bun is very good also. Anny's is a really good choice for burgers.

Anny's Fine Burger 9862 Mission Gorge Road Santee CA 92071 (right at the Trolley station, near the Starbucks)(619) 258-8288 Mon-Sat 11:00-9:00, Sun 12:00-8:00

It’s Burger Week: Five Guys times two…….

February 7, 2011 mmm-yoso Burgers, Chains, Chicago

While driving to work this past week, I recall hearing that by February, 50% of those New Year's resolutions have fallen by the wayside. So I thought it was time for our Fourth Burger Week. I had my doubts at first because it seems that we've covered a good bit of ground. From iconic burgers served at places like Rocky's, Hodad's, and Nessy, to "pub burgers" at joints like The Waterfront, to newer places like Burger Lounge and The Counter, I wasn't sure I had it in me. But after trading emails with Cathy and Ed from Yuma, I realized that there's always another burger somewhere down the street.

A couple of months back, Five Guys Burgers opened up in San Diego…… part of a West Coast expansion of an East Coast favorite. This prompted a whole slew of Five Guys versus In N Out posts and articles. Some of my favorite Food Bloggers like The Catty Critic and Passionate Eater weighed in on the debate.

Thus I put a visit to Five Guys on my "list"………. then my trip to Madison and Chicago came up. An acquaintance of mine who had tried the San Diego location of Five Guys told me that for some reason, in his opinion, the burgers at Five Guys in the Midwest and back East taste better. He told me to check out one of their location in Chicago if I had the chance. And I did indeed have a chance, as I came across a Five Guys in Mount Prospect on my last morning in Chicago.

Even though I arrived right at opening time, there was already a short line. It gave me time to check out the decor, all of the declarations of the greatness of Five Guys plastered on the walls, the large sacks of potatoes, the peanuts for eating while you wait……

The menu, much like In-N-Out's is deceivingly simple; Four burgers, four "little burgers", hot dogs, two sandwiches, and two style of fries. The gimmick here is that you have the choice of up to sixteen free "toppings", everything from Ketchup to A1 Steak Sauce.

Those folks that know, realize that I like a pretty unadorned burger, just the typical veggies and maybe some mustard. Which is how I ordered mine. It all came wrapped in foiled lined paper. It's good that I was eating this here, as a burger would keep on steaming inside this wrapper had I waited too long….

I liked the look of the burger, the sesame bun was nice until it started falling apart. This was a fairly hefty burger, but I thought it over-priced at five bucks($4.99 actually)…… though I guess you could make up that difference if you got everything but the kitchen sink on it.

The meat itself wasn't seasoned, lacked any beefiness, and was on the "mealy" side. No wonder President Obama needed to order his burger with Jalapeno.

Five Guys Burgers
118 East Kensington Rd
Mount Prospect, IL 60056

This didn't turn out to be the burger I had expected. But I decided to check out the Liberty Station location in Point Loma, just to see if there was any difference. I arrived on a Sunday evening, and the place was packed.

Because I wanted to be boring consistent, I ordered the same thing as I did in Chicago. I even managed to score an open table. This is what my burger looked like when unwrapped….

What a mess……. that bottom half of the butt was pretty much a goner, just minutes after making.

At least the burger here had a bit more char to it, and was more moist than the version I had in Chicago. I still think the meat has a kind of mealy texture, and is under-seasoned. The meat here cannot stand alone, The packaging left much to be desired as well.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
2445 Truxton Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

So what about the Five Guys versus In-N-Out thing…… being that Five Guys' burger is larger, it's hard to compare. But I will say this about the burger…… For the price of one burger from Five Guys ($4.99)….. I got this at I-N-O:

Smaller, but dressed in a similar manner – two double meats, mustard instead. I enjoyed In-N-Out much more as well…..

There is one thing at Five Guys that I enjoy much more than at In-N-Out…… it's the fries. I've never developed a taste for the fries at In-N-Out…….yeah they're "natural" style fries; but just about every other place I have that type of fries have been head and shoulders above In-N-Out.

Saturday Stuffs: Honey Pig is now Old Village and Silver Ark is gone(or has been for quite a while), and would you hold it against me if I ordered a Ma-ka-ka Burrito?

February 5, 2011 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

Honey Pig is gone:

Man that was quick. I first heard about it from "YY", and saw that a new business had quickly moved in. It's now a place called Old Village… and the sign says "Korea's best Chef in twenty years!"

It makes me wonder what the saturation point is for Korean Tofu Houses…. well, I guess it's much higher than the saturation point for Korean BBQ's, huh?

Silver Ark has been gone for a while:

A couple of days ago, the Missus asked if we needed to do a revisit of Silver Ark after our last not so good visit. I told Her that Silver Ark has been gone for a while, and is now a Thai Restaurant. I then displayed photographic evidence. Which made Her ask me why I hadn't mentioned anything…..

She had a good point…… so here's a mention several months after I actually took a photo of what was Silver Ark and is now Siam Nara. I've heard that they are associated with Amarin. Anybody been there yet?

And finally…….

I've been waiting months trying to figure out when to do this post. And have come to the conclusion that there really wouldn't be a perfect time. It involves Vallarta Express on Genesee, a place Cathy has posted on. I really don't eat too much taco shop fare anymore, perhaps I'm still suffering from post tramatic shock from Howie's "Battle of the 'berto's", but I just have kinda stopped eating Carne Asada and California Burritos. But to paraphrase a much more interesting man then me, "I rarely eat Carne Asada Burritos, but when I do, I prefer Vallarta Express." Well kinda…… for some reason, when the carne asada is on it's quite good, I think they use soy sauce……but I've had my share of clunkers as well. The last time I stopped in at Vallarta Express was back in October. I was tired, on my way back home from a long day at work, and a trip to Henry's, and I just decided to grab a California Burrito….. I hadn't had one in a while. I even took a photo of Vallarta Express….which I think came out pretty peachy-keen and neato-rooney….

It almost says….. "aaaah Vallarta Express at sunset", huh? But on this day, the food was really secondary…and knowing me, what I eat rarely takes a back seat. I was in the drive thru, behind a Lexus SUV. The woman sticks her head out and orders a "Cho-rye-zo burrito". The disembodied voice blares from the speaker "so that will be a chorizo burrito?" The woman, using her best "outside voice" says "ummmm yes, and one more thing, can I get a ma-ka-ka burrito?" I'm laughing so hard I almost take my foot of the brake. The Lexus doesn't move, mainly because not an utterance comes out of the little speaker box. Perhaps they're searching for some "ka-ka"? Having worked in restaurants and fast-food, I can only imagine what is currently going on in that little shack…… Yes, one could only imagine……

The woman finally moved forward, puzzled look on her face and eventually made her way out of the drive-thru….. I hope she got her "ma-ka-ka", or reasonable facsimle.

In comparison, my CAB…. that's a California Burrito, not you CAB was totally anti-climatic.

OK, so I "set-up" the burrito by taking my photo of it leaning up against a container of brown rice…. perhaps it's a Jungian duality statement….. but maybe I just needed to lean my burrito against something.

This wasn't the best burrito I've had from Vallarta….too much sour cream in this one.

But just having that moment was, at least to me, worth $5.25………

Have you ever had one of those moments?

Vallarta Express
4277 Genessee Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Open for "Ma-ka-ka and Cho-rye-zo" 24 hours a day.

Roadtrip: Earthen Restaurant – Hacienda Heights (Los Angeles)

February 4, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Over the last couple of years, we've tried to grab a meal at Earthen Restaurant in Hacienda Heights, but never seemed to have much luck, and had usually ended up somewhere else. The Missus just didn't think that much of the menu, and was sure we could get better Dan Bing and Jiaozi elsewhere, so why wait in line? Still, having read posts on Earthen by Elmo and Pam, I knew I just had to make it there someday. And on this weekend before Chinese New Year, we were in luck.

We're very familiar with the strip mall where Earthen is located. We used to shop at the Long's Drug store that used occupy a large part of the mall.

Half of the problem was that Earthen opens at 1115, not 1100, or 1130……. so we had to adjust our schedule. We arrived at 11am, and were the second set of customers in the door.

There were just two items I was really interested in. One of them is the Shandong Chicken. A room temperature roasted chicken topped with a nice sauce…..slightly sweet, assertive but refreshing vinegar tones highlight this chicken.

While not quite in the class of Dazhou Pa Ji or Dao Ko Shao Ji, the famous roasted chickens of Shandong province, this was quite good. And since we saw a plate of this on every table (we actually checked), this is obviously the restaurant's signature dish. I'd gladly have this again.

We also ordered Dan Bing…… here they are thin and slightly crisp.

These are good piping hot; but get really greasy as they get cold.

The Missus decided to order some Jiaozi. We started with the Shrimp and Chive, one of my favorites.

The filling had nice pieces of flavorful shrimp in them, if a bit on the mild side. The wrappers were decent…. they looked pillowy, but were a nit too tough for my tastes.

When the Jiaozi arrived, something interesting happened. The Missus noticed that there was only white vinegar on the table. And worse, we weren't provided with bowls for our dumplings. Very un-Shandong-like. We noticed that the service here was a bit better than many of these types of restaurants….. and when the Missus asked for bowls, the woman smiled and asked Her if She wanted black vinegar as well. Both arrived post haste.

We also ordered some Pork Jiaozi.

The wrappers on these were better than the shrimp Jiaozi; pillowy with a bit of pull. The filling wasn't that great. Some folks may enjoy fillings heavy on the meat, like these. However, there wasn't anything to cut the rich pork, which was also on the hard side. Some celery, cabbage, or something similar would have been a welcome addition.

In the end, we thought the service here was good. Unlike many of the restaurants in the SGV this place is well staffed. The chicken is quite good and the Dan Bing was good, As for the Jiaozi, I guess if we were still living here, we'd have them every so often. But when you drive a hundred miles, you really don't mind driving a bit farther for something better.

Earthen Restaurant
1639 S. Asuza Ave.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Postscript: We're always curious to see how businesses that we remember are doing. Back in the mid-nineties, before the Missus met me, this was a regular stop for Her.

And while I hold no nostalgic memories of this place; I was happy to know that one of the Missus's very old favorites was still around…….

We interrupt my posts with an important word from the Missus…….

February 2, 2011 mmm-yoso Blog

After a hiatus of over fours years, the Missus has decided it was time for another post….. so here goes…..

This is a post for my husband on his birthday, Kirk, the man behind the blog…

Those of you that read the blog from the beginning know that I only posted once and it is a post about my childhood experience in China. Needless to say, I only post what is precious and dear to my heart.

First of all, I want to thank you for being my best friend. The most prominent moment was when we sitting by the shores of Mekong river after the walking tour of Vientiane designed by the "Lonely Planet" ( on this note, I appreciate you put up with my gruelling schedule during our travel. I know it is not easy to follow the city tour and end up eating at the crappy Vietnamese sandwich in near 100 degree humidity air in Laos, or landing in china at 10pm the night before and then hike the 10k Great wall the next day) all tired and drained, watching the river rolling by and the sun setting in the hazy southeast Asia sky. Sitting on the mat trying hard to get comfortable and drinking our first Beer Lao, the air filled with the smell of trash burning and falling in love with Laos. That is the moment I know that you are truly my best friend. Of course it is also about every day when I get back home from work, regardless of the time, I want to wake you up and tell you all about my day and you always listen patiently. I don't know how you do it but I dare you ever do that to me…

Second of all, I want to thank you for being so adventurous and together we enjoyed what different cultures have to offer, through food and travel. I'm always surprised and a little sad to hear that my friends have never had Peking duck or pho or dim sum or truffle oil on fries. We may not like everything we ate but we always give it a honest try. We meet so many wonderful people and through foods we understand the culture and the people just a little more… It also makes me realize that we are more alike than different. Yes, we may speak different a language and use different utensils but at the end, love always come through the foods they make. Food is life, love food, love life… and I hope I am becoming a better person because of this. I learned compassion and tolerance through the years and start to see life through a entirely different angle.

Last but not least, I want to thank you for being a great dad to our boyz and gr eat son-in-law for my parents and cousin and nephew for my family. We have no regrets with my boys. They may have been born in puppy mills but we give them the best life we know how to offer to them. And I know if they can talk they would definitely say to you " I love you daddy." My parents love you and you are deemed the golden standard son-in-law by my aunts. Even though the only chinese you know how to say is "let's eat, thank you, and I'm so full I'm going to die", they love you cause you love and appreciated the foods they made and they made everything with love… The kind of love that come through multiple generations cause cooking is passed from generation to generation. When my aunt made the Sausage it is like my grandma making it for you just like she made for us years ago.

Those of you that read this far, make no mistake of thinking our life is perfect. There are ups and downs just like everyone else. But as a whole, I would marry you all over again. Thanks again for everything.

Happy Birthday.

Suzhou: The Humble Administrator’s Garden and the best pot of tea I’ve ever had.

February 1, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Suzhou, Travel

*** My apologies, this is one of those really long posts, and there's not much food in this one. You may want to return tomorrow for more food!

After our we started walking to our first "destination". Suzhou is well known for their wonderful gardens, most were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties by retired scholar and business men. The largest garden in Suzhou is called the Humble Administrator's Garden, spanning thirteen acres it is anything but humble. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight, meandering on zig zag bridges and trails over and around water. I'm going to stop now, and just do pictures…… I could never do this place justice in one short post…….

Taking a close look, you soon realize that every space within the garden was carefully designed. I find the idea of creating a calculated aesthetic to match the randomness of nature somewhat fascinating.

I loved all the windows……

And for some reason, I could just sit and look out the moon gates…….

All of which seem to frame it's very own living portrait………

There are many pavilions along the way…..where you can soak in the garden view….or check your map to figure out where you were.

There are many buildings along the way, such as the "Hall of Distant Fragrance":

And the "Hall of Elegance":

But we found the tiny nooks and crannies like this quaint "couples retreat" most charming……

Another feature of the gardens are the large natural stones that represent different scenes.

It can be a bit overwhelming at times, and don't let the seemingly tranquil photos fool you. There are some pretty large crowds in the garden.

Yet, there are always those moments….. like this one, where I looked up at the ceiling of the "Listening to the Sound of Rain Pavilion".

I could almost hear the "sighing of the autumn rain" giving "great pleasure to all those who have noble sentiments".

Connected to the garden is the Suzhou Museum, designed by I.M. Pei, who drew much of his architectural inspiration from the gardens of Suzhou. For us, it was way too sleek and modern, but it also housed what was probably the cleanest public bathrooms we came across in China!

Also attached to the garden and museum is Prince Zhong House – Zhong Wang Fu. This was the orginal location of the Suzhou Museum.

Within the complex is a restored classic Chinese Opera stage.

Exiting the garden and museum, the Missus decided that "garden fatigue" hadn't set in, so why not try for another one. We headed off on foot, looking for the Couple's Garden….which took some looking for. We wandered past tiny streets that reminded us of the "hutongs" in Beijing, which turned into vast lots where the ever present modernization of China was taking place. We worked hard to find the garden……

We did find this well, though……

Which apparently is of some significance.

After going around in circles, the Missus asked for directions and we found the Couple's Garden. It was down a small side street.

This garden was built in 1874, and is located at the intersection of canals and surrounded on three sides by them.

This garden was tiny, quiet, and serene.

After about twenty minutes or so, we hit the wall. It was time for a break, and we headed out on foot, back to Guan Qian Jie.

We enjoyed walking down the residential back streets of Suzhou…….

Walking down one of the streets, we passed this building which really stood out.

It turned out to be a museum of Kunqu Opera, a form of Chinese Opera dating back to the 16th century. Having traveled quite a bit, even though we were tempted, we knew when to say when, and decided to take a pass on this one.

After a short while, we finally made it to the street that paralleled a canal on the other side of Renmin Lu.

Crossing the canal and Renmin Lu…. we were back within the hustle and bustle of Guan Qian Jie. The Missus decided to pick up some snacks….. and in spite of the heat and humidity, determined that we needed some tea, and found a tea house on the second floor of a tea shop right across the Xuanmiao Temple.

The Missus went over the list of teas, and decided we should have the Ti Kuan Yin. When I saw the price…. 70 Yuan, over ten bucks for tea! I refused….. but the Missus insisted, and eventually I gave in. And I gotta say; this was the most fragrant, wonderfully flavored tea I've ever had. Nothing before, nor since (I've had tons of tea from China) has even come close.

While the Missus had Her snacks……

I just kept pouring myself cup after cup of tea….which lasted a good long time, we went through a whole large thermos of hot water, and watched the crowds below.