Yes, More Food Please

Yes, more food complements of Ben Wong. The celebration continues. Tonight is family night. Ben prepared his favorite dishes to enjoy at home with Herman and Me, and also his brothers and sisters—Sam, Anita, and Hedie. Afterward, we were invited next door to my dear neighbors Keith and Lee for dessert. Happy Birthday Herman!

Chef Ben Wong doing his magic.

Appetizers - stuffed Jalapeños and Cuttlefish

Homemade Fish Head Soup with Lotus Root, Daikon, Carrot and Tofu.

Stirred Fried Tender Beef with Floretto Cauliflower.

Chicken with Pork Belly and Snow Pea.

Abalone with Winter Melon and Black Mushrooms.

Stuffed Fuzzy Squash with Vermicelli

Dessert at neighbors Keith and Lee.

Unfortunately, Keith is not doing well. His health has deteriorated and he doesn’t have much time left. It was therefore great to get to talk with him a last time. He is truly a wonderful human being. Happy to have known him for so many years.

Happy Birthday Herman, day 2

Our good friend, Ben Wong, treated us and several guests to a second B-day dinner at the Lai Hong Lounge. Everyone there, and they were all foodies, said this is one of the best Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. Indeed, every dish was incredible. This was a full-on Chinese Banquet with some of the finest cuisine anywhere. A massive amount of food, drink, and good cheer. 

We band of foodies, we happy few.

Crab Meat with Fish Maw Soup

Almond Shrimp Ball

Imperial Peking Duck

 

Sauteed Grass Fish with Green

Abalone in Oyster Sauce with Snow Pea Leave 

Prawn with Royal Soy Sauce

Pan Fried Seabass

Dry Scallop Egg White Fried Rice

Koi Fish Mango Pudding

Ben, you are an incredible friend and a generous human being. We thank you so much for a spectacular meal.

 

Visiting Family

This day was dedicated to visiting my family in San Jose. Herman and I started the day by picking up a mess of food at a Dim Sum restaurant in San Francisco, and also stopping in at a Lee’s Sandwiches in San Jose before showing up at my Mom’s house at 11:30. Mom, my oldest sister Gail, and my brother Richard were there to join us for lunch. Also present were my nephew Trevin and great niece Grace.  It was hot, so we sat out on my mother’s patio and talked for hours before unpacking all the food. I think everyone enjoyed the meal. Not sure if they have ever eaten Dim Sum before. My mother—age 92—is looking well and getting around the house rather well with the help of a walker. She still gets out in her garden to pull weeds a few times a week. We ate some of her tomatoes, and boy were they great. That's me in the brown shirt.

Happy Birthday Herman

Herman, my husband of 30 years, and I flew to San Francisco to celebrate his birthday with friends and family. Ed Chin picked us up at the airport and then gave us his car to drive while we were in the bay area. We drove over to Ben Wong’s house and settled in. Then we went out to dinner with Ben, Fred, Laurence and Kevin for the first of several birthday dinners. We went to Spiral Japanese Restaurant. It was an awesome sashimi dinner at a Japanese restaurant down the peninsula. Massive amounts of fresh raw fish. Including: Complimentary Fried Calamari, Sashimi Combo boat, Fried prawn heads, Hamachi Kama, washed down with lots and lots of wine.

Fried Calamari

Sashimi Combo boat

Hamachi Kama

Fried prawn heads

This picture is of myself, Herman, and our dear friend Ben Wong, taken one year apart. Can't believe I'm aging so fast. 

Book Review: A Season in Delhi by Scott Alexander Hess

 

Reviewer: Alan Chin

 

Publisher: Rebel Satori Press (Nov, 2023)

Pages: 129

Rating:★★★★★

Coming Soon - November 12, 2023 from Rebel Satori Press

 

New Yorkers Brant and Lloyd settle into a posh neighborhood in Delhi to live while Lloyd works a new job that transplanted them to India. While Lloyd travels the country for his business, Brant is left alone much of the time with only a servant to keep him company. During his solitary time, Brant discovers the diary of a former diplomat’s wife, which chronicles her torrid affair with an Indian hoodlum. As Brant reads Carol’s scandalous tale of daring and woe, he can’t help bonding with this lady because of his own infidelity. The more Brant reads Carol’s diary, the greater the attachment he feels with this woman, and the greater his curiosity grows to find out what happened to her. They become kindred souls, sharing feelings and emotions across time. His journey thru Carol’s past beautifully creates a bond that transcends time and culture, empathy and absolution.

 

This is a tale of temptation, infidelity, loss, and redemption. But ultimately, it is a taut story of crushing loneliness and the fragility of human connections. It also delves into the desperate need we feel to cling to anything that lessens that loneliness. The characters are brutally authentic, and Hess handles them with sympathy and honesty. The reader so easily feels compassion, even becomes them as they face morally difficult choices. 

 

The author asks the reader to delve deeply into the human nature of illicit love affairs, those complex feelings of yearning, guilt, excitement, pleasure, fulfillment, wonder, and possibly even regret.

 

With sparse prose, Hess describes the sensual feel of Delhi and Agra. I have visited these fascinating destinations many times, and I can justly say the author took me back there, so rich and true were his descriptions. This is a quick read, but one that resonates in the heart. I treasured each page of this story.

Spain Vacation Day 37 0f 40 - Barcelona

Our last full day in Spain, and we saved one of the best sites for last—Sagrada Familia. 

Sagrada Familia was an amazing surprise. The outside is unique, but in my opinion, rather unattractive, like all Gaudi’s works. But inside is breathtaking—modern and light and perhaps one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve ever seen. I was stunned by the stark beauty.

Spain Vacation Day 26 0f 40 - Cordoba

The Mosque is massive with incredible Moorish architecture and artwork that has been covered over by Christian garbage. In the center is a massive Christian cathedral, all very impressive. It only took just over an hour to visit and see it all. Quite remarkable. I would have loved to have seen it before the Christians raped it with their tacky, unimpressive art.