A Bit of Awe in 2023

I read this wonderful  article about how moments of awe can improve our health (How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health) and in it I came across quotes from Professor Dacher Keltner who I remember taking his class at Berkeley nearly 2 decades ago. I remember enjoying his class. The article also quotes Sharon Salzberg, a mindfulness expert. I contemplated my long list of things I should have done and all the painting and cooking I could have explored over the past few weeks. Then I had the sense of dread that my vacation was ending soon and 2022 had ended already without having done all the things I was supposed to do on my list.  But Jan. 1 2023 was just another day that came with more reminders of health. The big picture still being my well-being, health, and social and family relationships. I still have the opportunity to notice the smaller mundane things that take up most of our time. What a great reminder to pause and savor the smaller moments. I had forgotten that I missed exploring a new place in wonderment. That was one of the main reasons I loved traveling so much- to be in awe in a new place surrounded by unfamiliar streets and buildings. I had forgotten to just enjoy the minute for just a second. 

I followed a recipe on how to make gochujang cookies by Eric Kim for a cookie exchange and was amazed it came out okay despite the fact that I had not made cookies in a decade. Then I explored another Eric Kim recipe for lobster tails. It was very different from the way my parents prepared it. I found the perfect green ceramic plate to hold the  beautiful red crustacean shell that held the  plump slightly translucent meat where I slathered it with a scallion tobiko mayo creamy mix. Although there was no guarantee on how it tasted, it looked splendid and I reveled in the experience. It was a plus my parents enjoyed it as well. I want to make dishes here and there and reminded myself that I didn’t need to make all the dishes on my list in 3 weeks. 

I took a vinyasa class with Jill last week.  I hadn’t practiced in an in-person class in years and missed practicing in community despite no longer being as flexible or couldn’t do all the poses I once could do in the past. I enjoyed myself even though I struggled carrying myself through the 90 min class. There was beauty in pausing and just honoring where my body and mind was in the moment. The best part was that I got to embrace Jill, who I missed. I want to carry this sense of awe and wonderment throughout 2023.

Food Adventures with Grace

I took advantage of a Southwest Airline deal I bought back in June for about $180 rt down to Santa Ana from Portland with a caveat that I had to transfer in the bay area each way. I could always count on Grace to plan out my entire food adventure. She sent a detailed itinerary for each day and even made restaurant reservations a month ago especially for N/Soto, Lawry’s, and Majordomo. She even socialized the list with common friends. Even though it’s been a year since I last visited OC, we picked up where we left off exploring restaurants. Just missing Christina though. I will have to see her in Taiwan. I was very grateful as she was willing to drive to LA from Costa Mesa almost every night to hit up the spots on the list.

On Sunday, she took me to the Flea Market in Pasadena and then met up with Carrie at Smorgasburg LA. Carrie ordered Lobster Noodles and lobster meat cover fries from Lobsterdamus, Grace picked up a plate of crispy roasted pork, and I picked up a plate of grilled scallops. There were so many choices and vendors to choose from, but we were so full already. We were very lucky it wasn’t too busy and after we finished eating, we found a cozy shaded spot on the stairs and caught up. 

That evening, Grace fulfilled one of my wishes to dine at Park’s BBQ. They were closed for remodeling last year when I visited LA. I was super excited and we ordered a combo with a variety of meat dishes and then ordered a la carte beef tartare and seafood pancake. The entire table was covered with so many different types of banchan. The Korean restaurants in Portland often offer a very limited selection of banchan. Jeff also joined us for dinner. I hadn’t seen him in over 4 years. We ended the evening with patbingsu, Korean shaved ice at Oakobing and eating it over another set of stairs as the place was jam packed with youngsters.

Grace made another highly sought after reservation at N/Soto for Wednesday. Jeff, Eddie, Carrie, and JT also joined as well. It was definitely a treat yourself dining experience. My favorites were the ankimo, scallop crudo, octopus, the ikura and salmon donabe, bone marrow, and corn rice dishes. The rice donabes were rich with butter, kombu, and mushroom flavors. The servers did question as we ordered all the rice dishes available. We did acknowledge we did overcompensate a tad thinking the other dishes were much smaller portions. Then Grace bought an amazing beautiful black sesame, chocolate mousse cake with a caramel crunch from Domi as a belated birthday gift to me. I felt so blessed. We topped off the night with a stop at a nearby taco truck just because. I do tend to overindulge but it makes it all worthwhile with close friends who you can laugh uncontrollably with. 

On Thursday for lunch, we stopped by Paradise Dynasty for their limited offering of chili crab xiao long bao to celebrate their 1 year anniversary and Singapore’s birthday. Their daikon flaky pastry is also to die for. For the evening, Grace took me to Yangban, one of the top new restaurants. Their focus is on Korean and California infused flavors. We went back into the city again with a bit of traffic. It was just the two of us. Our favorites were the fried soondae sausage, signature chicken wings and abalone congee pot pie. The desserts weren’t too memorable so I wouldn’t order that again. 

On Friday we returned to Ichimi-An for a bowl of cold yuzu oroshi soba paired with tempura, the ultimate Japanese comfort food. In the evening, we went to Hanuman for delicious Thai food. The ceviche and pad thai were definitely favorites.  I got to meet up with Carrie, Tina, and Bell. I hadn’t seen Bell in so many years. It may have been almost 7 years since I last saw her. It was so good to catch up with my old college friends. Bell gifted me a beautiful light sea green porcelain vase that she made on the pottery wheel.  I used to be the “baby” of the group , but Grace has taken that spot now. 😀 

We also hit up Lawry’s, a classic joint and Majordomo over the weekend. The bings, the donabe and the massive beef rib was so rich and luscious. Definitely would order those items again at Majordomo next time. The salads weren’t that unique so I’d probably skip those the next time.  It’s been an odd learning to socialize again after several years of the pandemic. But it makes me even more grateful for these times to have opportunities to meet up with lifelong friends just like the good old days except for a few more white hairs and wrinkles. 

Exploring Kauai Through Food (Part 3)

I was determined to visit another farmer’s market. I found out that the market was being held at the Kapa’a Beach Park, which was super close to our listing. I did see the same vendor, Rosita, selling a table full of fruits. My sister and I were drawn to the first vendor, who was selling fresh young coconuts. I was still reminiscing about the coconut and fresh cut juicy pineapples we had at Wailua Falls Fruit Stand earlier in the day. Then I saw another vendor with convincing sales pitches and bought another coconut. My sisters and I sipped away at the refreshing treat and helped temporarily forget that it was still a very hot and humid afternoon. I gravitated towards another vendor and he convinced me to buy the largest soursop he was selling. After 10 minutes, I had purchased another bag full of fruits. We went back to the listing to drop off the fruits and rest. The fridge was now filled with pineapples, mangoes, avocados, papayas, dragonfruits, longan, and soursop.

I was excited for our early evening dinner spot, JO2. The early dinner special $35 for 3 courses was a steal. The restaurant was a 3-5 minute drive away from the listing. My sister and I each ordered a lychee flavored cocktail. We ordered everything from the dinner special and a few more add-ons. We were served beautiful ahi tuna, a heart of palm salad, miso hamachi kama, jindori chicken, and duck confit salad. The meal ended with a forbidden pineapple soup and a slice of yuzu cheesecake. Everything was delicious.  I would be very interested in returning to try the rest of their menu. 

Another highlight of the trip was going on a tour of Kauai Coffee Farm. I booked this a week ahead of time. It was a massive beautiful estate located in the southern part of Kauai. The guide showed us simple brewing methods and then took us on a walking tour. We were allowed to pluck a green bean and try it straight off the plant. She did warn that we shouldn’t try more than one as it was a strong laxative. We picked up a few bags of roasted coffee beans and headed to Hanapepe for lunch. I really wanted to buy taro chips from Taro ko Farm but it was closed. We stopped by Japanese Grandma’s place for lunch. The kauai shrimp bento with tempura and chirashi was amazing. The large piece of fried kauai shrimp was crunchy and covered with a light savory tangy sauce. It was so good that I even ate the heads. The chirashi was very fresh and vibrant. Although it was on the pricier side, it was worth stopping by for lunch.  

I’m not much of a strenuous hiker so driving to Waimea Canyon Lookout and stopping by all the different viewpoints in Waimea Canyon  is more aligned with my level of effort. I could soak in all the glory of viewing the majestic view of Waimea Canyon without breaking a sweat. I did look up a few trails but I noticed some of the suggested ones were not official trails and were blocked off by fencing. I noticed tourists not abiding by the rules and respecting local restrictions. *head shake* For sunset, we headed over to Poipu Beach and luckily saw turtles resting on the beach. It was such a special moment to be able to witness a dozen huge turtles just hanging out. We watched for 30 minutes from a distance. To end the night, we checked out the Stevenson’s Library at the Grand Hyatt. There was a bit of a wait. I thought the Japanese fusion food was mediocre and the drinks weren’t memorable for the price point. I would rather just sit at the beach and watch the turtles. 
Before our evening flight, this time around we managed to order ahead of time malasadas from Kauai Bakery. After our own in-house fruit buffet, we went to go pick up the ube malasadas and it certainly lived up to its hype. We headed to Costco to pickup gifts to bring back home. We also bought a huge sushi tray and fresh Kauai shrimp for dinner later. We swung by Hamura Saimin for another slice of lilikoi chiffon cake, the perfect treat to end our trip. Thankfully our red-eye flight was on time and we headed back to Portland.

Exploring Kauai Through Food (Part 2)

I was determined to wake up early to go see the sunrise. I checked the time and the weather app said that 6 am is sunrise time. I took my sister’s small basic grey Honda fit and drove it to Kapa’a Beach Park. I saw the shades of light purple and orange emerging from the mountains and ocean but the sun was hiding behind huge billowy clouds. I stood out there with the light ocean breeze for 15 minutes. I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t witness the dramatic rise of the sun and became a bit obsessed with either catching a sunrise or sunset during the rest of my trip.  Since it was still early, I drove to Pono Market since they opened at 6 am to pick up local deli treats and poke. I wasn’t sure what I was buying but I filled my arms with trays of rice and local sausage, fried chicken bites, and a bowl of tuna poke. I do tend to get overzealous and want to try everything even if I can’t finish it. Pono Market also opened a new coffee shop/bakery next door. I picked up a local macadamia latte but it was too sweet for me. I headed back to the listing and had a very hearty carb heavy breakfast with my sisters. We also still had tubs and tubs of poke we had purchased the night before at Foodland and took advantage of the July 4th holiday poke sale. Our spread consisted of spicy tuna, seaweed tuna, scallop, and spicy crab poke. It was a delightful and satisfying breakfast. 

After my sister ran a few errands in Lihue, our brunch spot was to visit this diner inside the Tip Top Motel. It was a bustling rustic restaurant. It was a mix of locals with tourists. We ordered their signature Oxtail soup and pineapple pancakes. I restrained myself and we shared the two items. I did naively order the passion fruit juice but it turned out to be the canned Hawaiian Sun POG drink. I couldn’t finish that since I already hit my sugar limit with the latte earlier in the morning. We ordered a large Oxtail soup and the huge bowl was brimming with large chunks of oxtail and rice noodles. It came with a plate of accouterments consisting of grated garlic, ginger, and cilantro. I poured the entire plate into the soup and with every sip I can feel the spice of the garlic and ginger dancing on my tongue.  We also had a huge stack of pineapple pancakes and I smeared a huge slab of butter. We devoured both rather quickly. Amy noted this as a go-to spot to return to.
We headed back up north to catch the Farmers’ Market near Hanalei. I was enamored with all the colorful tropical fruits. I loaded up on white pineapples, sunrise papayas,  red dragon fruit, 2 types of mangos, huge creamy avocados, and longans . It did cost me a small fortune but it was all worth it. I did intend to do a hike at the very northern tip, but I didn’t know I had to reserve in advance to park. Oops. Amy turned around and we decided to just take it easy back in Hanalei and stroll along the beach and try to catch the sunset again. We put our names down at this fancy restaurant called Bar Acuda . The wait was an hour or so. I found the dishes to be very pricey for very small portions. The beet salad with hazelnut, clams, patatas bravas, padrons, skewers,  and tuna were all fine but it was a bit generic and  spendy for me. It may be that I’m spoiled being in Portland, Oregon and have enjoyed better tapas home. I was more proud of my investment in the assortment of fruits I bought earlier from the farmers market. I laid out all the fruits and started to cut them up for our late night dessert and breakfast the next morning. I cheerfully slurped up the juices between my fingers  from cutting all the mangoes. I looked forward to my fruit buffet the next morning and visiting more fruit stands the next day.

Exploring Kauai Through Food (Part 1)

Jessie and I helped Amy move to Kauai during the July 4th weekend. After many hours of delays and flight re-bookings, we made it to Kauai and our Airbnb listing in Kapa’a by midnight. For weeks, I pinned over 100 places covering  food spots, beaches, farmer markets, etc. I wanted to visit.  It was a collaborative effort with my sisters to build out that exhaustive list. My host also provided a comprehensive list of places to visit nearby the listing.I decided to have at least one nice restaurant to try out so I booked JO2 ahead of time knowing that places get booked out early. JO2 also has an early prix fixe dinner special between 5-6 PM, $35 for 3 dishes. I wanted to take advantage of that!

I also set up a shared Note to outline rough itineraries, which I planned on the fly besides the 1 dinner reservation and 1 coffee tour. The rest was more or less impromptu.  I split Kauai into imaginary quadrants. Since I was there for 5 days (with half a day lost due to flight delays), each day we’d explore one quadrant with 1 extra day for “overflow” places we didn’t make it to earlier in the week.  The host reminded me on July 4 that fireworks were canceled and that we may need to check if places were open for dining due to the holiday.  I saw in the host’s guidebook that she recommended an organic noni farm tour and I saw they offered them for free on Mondays. I called and they had openings. The tour was 2 hours long and a beautiful farm to explore on our first full day. It was an eye opening experience to see, smell, and walk the grounds and learn more about their farming practices. The owner cut up samples of the noni fruit for each guest. He did give us a heads up that the taste resembled bleu cheese and wasn’t well liked. Noni is considered a superfood and is revered for its many healing properties. It was usually consumed in juice form or fruit leather. They also made skincare products to remedy skin conditions and achy muscles. I took my first bite of the fruit and it was a savory oddly pungent taste with a mushy texture. No one finished their sample and  the owner said we could feed the birds with it because they enjoyed it. I did buy some of their skincare products. 

Next, I found a fish market 10 minutes away. We stopped by Kilauea Fish Market  for lunch.  I knew I wanted all the poke possible during my stay in Kauai. The host also provided a tip that Kauai Shrimp is local and delicious. So, I ordered a garlic shrimp plate, fish tacos, and a poke bowl to share with my sisters. We also chanced upon Kauai Juice and saw they offered an amazing wide selection of different kombuchas with all of my favorite fruits: lilikoi (passion fruit), mango, lychee, guava  etc. My sisters and I spent a small fortune ($8 a bottle) consuming all the Kauai Juice kombucha that week and we should have done a growler!

Many folks recommended Hamura Saimin as a must-go. We went there for dinner on July 4. It was open relatively late for Kauai. Hamura Saimin is a no-frills destination. My sisters and I each ordered a different type of saimin noodle bowl. I greedily ordered the largest bowl with all the fixings. The huge bowl contained slices of fish cake, wontons, char siu, and some veggies. My sister got the tempura shrimp saimin.  I also ordered some meat sticks.The charming staff quickly served us piping hot bowls of saimin. The best part was the lilikoi chiffon pie.  We went back to just get lilikoi chiffon cake on our last day as well. It was worth going just to get the local experience and to dine at this beloved institution. I enjoyed my unconventional July 4 holiday and in my next post, I’ll continue sharing my food journey through Kauai.

Hot Pot and Back at the Seattle Office

Last week we had our leadership meeting for the Asians@ ERG I help lead at Airbnb. There were just a few of us who could attend, but coincidentally Cheng and Eeway, the co-leads for the Seattle chapter of Asians@ were in attendance. Also, Michelle, our lead for the LA chapter, joined as well. She shared that she would be in the Seattle office for the new Eat & Meet events the internal events teams were organizing as an effort to create optional lunch social events at the offices that were open. She was one of the organizers. Besides Eeway, I had not met any of them in person before.  Then I shared I had signed up to attend the Seattle lunch. Although I was associated with the Seattle office, I had not seen the office before. Michelle was like I’m there for two days and so let’s all meet up for dinner. 

Cheng volunteered to arrange dinner plans. I had initially booked reservations at Paju for Tuesday night but I said I could easily shift it to Wednesday night. Jessica was also coming up with me from Portland. I also included my sister, Amy. Cheng made reservations for the 6 of us at Haidilao, a Chinese hot pot restaurant across from the office. I was super excited because it was a place I loved going to when I lived in Shanghai. I have never been to any of their locations in the US. Haidilao is known for their over the top, above and beyond customer service. It was such a huge hit that it was a Harvard Business Review case study a decade ago. I highly anticipated this mini Asians@ reunion and Seattle hot pot gathering.

I arrived in Seattle Monday night. Jessica kept me alert by chatting with me for the entire 3 hour drive from Portland. Amy made delicious seed bread for us for breakfast. Tuesday morning Jessica and I both had to wake up super early for morning meetings. Tosh provided tips ahead of time on where to park downtown Seattle. It had been years since I’ve been to downtown Seattle. The drive was around 20 minutes from Columbia City. I easily found the parking lot. It felt surreal visiting the Seattle office for the very first time. I had missed the cheerful greeting from the front desk folks. He helped set me up with a temporary badge because I had no idea where my badge was after 2.5 years. Jessica, Tosh, and I booked working tables, but later learned that the office was still mostly empty. I met Cheng in real life and he took us on an informal impromptu office tour. There was a beautiful central installation that replicated the Cascades. The office consisted of two floors adorned with inflatable orcas that was a central cultural piece of the Seattle office. Later Michelle spotted me and came over to give me a hug. Although I was super glad that our office put in place a permanent remote policy, It was such a joy to see folks I’ve only seen in zoom boxes in real life. 

Cheng was hosting our quarterly Asians@ global membership meeting and I know he and Mia organized a fun surprise event. I was able to convince Tosh and Jessica to join as well. Michelle and I ran into each other and then proceeded to surprise Cheng and popped into the conference room Cheng occupied. Joe and Z got to share behind the scenes of the production of the internal video essay we made for the May heritage month and Z shared how she sourced and created all the creative assets. Then the secret event Mia led was an impromptu talent show. 10/30 folks immediately logged off. But we commended the remaining 20 who stayed on to come up with a talent within a small group in 10 minutes and showcase it to the group. It was nice to be silly and be outside of our comfort zone for 20 or so minutes. Cheng, Michelle, and I were the only group in person so we did a chaotic 2 minute tour of the 2nd floor of the office to share with the audience. It was cathartic to laugh and be awkward together.

At 5:00 PM, we met up in the dining area and walked together to Haidilou. One more person, Bella joined as well. My sister, Amy was already at the restaurant waiting for us. The staff had already brought her snacks and fruits as she waited. The restaurant was on the 2nd floor of a nice high-end mall but was also relatively quiet. Haidilou was bright and inviting and the design looked pretty nice. We sat in a large C-shaped booth and two spots to hold 2 hot pots. I saw robots with shelves of dishes delivering to different tables. The wait staff provided us with hair ties and an apron. She guided us to the sauce bar and told us to check out the snacks. We ordered through an I-pad. We ordered different fancy cuts of beef, the noodles (that come with a dance), various veggie platters, housemade seafood meatball pastes, mushrooms, lotus roots, pork, chicken,etc. On my end of the table, we went with a spicy mala (numbing spice) and pork bone broth soup. I know I can’t handle mala spice very well so I had to mostly eat from the pork bone broth side. Jessica and Amy focused on the mala whereas Eeway and I ate from the non-spicy broth. The other side of the table did a mushroom and mala broth. I saw piles of platters stack up and we were all eager to start putting in meats and veggies into the boiling broth. When the noodles came, the employee danced with impressive moves while pulling the noodles. It looked impressive and exhaustive and he was a bit of a tease when he tossed the noodles towards your face. It was quite the fun spectacle. He did have to do it twice since we ordered 2 plates of it. We spent hours eating and chatting even the music was a throwback to Chinese pop karaoke songs I sang back in the 2010s. Even though we all know there is still a risk, I was still very grateful to meet folks I chat with on slack on a regular basis, meet new friends, and get to hang out with my sister before she moves to Kauai for a year. I appreciate these rare moments. 

odo in NYC

I was very fortunate to be traveling with Grace. She is an amazing travel partner and she graciously helped plan out all the details of our NYC trip back in May 2022. One of the highlights was dining at Odo and experiencing their lunch kaiseki service.  I highly anticipated this meal. We walked back and forth in the vicinity and noted that there was no signage. Grace had to ask someone to help find the entrance to Odo. He pointed to the entrance to a discrete dark, empty bar. This bar was a speakeasy and was closed during the day. I saw a dimly lit wall of liquor bottles with just a few bar seats in the front. The speakeasy was the storefront of Odo.  We walked through the small, intimate speakeasy and a young woman guided us to the back room.  It was soft lighting with 12 seats surrounding the kitchen with 2 seats on each corner and 8 seats facing the kitchen. There was young woman as the wait staff and 2 chefs cooking in the kitchen. They were bringing out small bowls out of warmers and using tweezers to gently add garnishes. The kitchen was slightly larger than a home kitchen and they worked in coordination weaving past each other like a dance. The long table was a neural tan color adorned with wooden trays in front of each seat. In front of the tray, she gently placed a pair of chopsticks and a spoon.  I saw a couple already eating their first dish and felt the anticipation gain momentum.  Grace, JT, and I occupied the furthest corner and watched the 2 chefs delicately prepare the dishes. 

She handed us a warm towel and took our drink orders. I ordered a Yuzu soda and Grace ordered a hot cup of hojicha. She brought the drinks over in a tray. JT tried a sip of the Yuzu soda and decided he wanted one too. JT immediately went back to his game of Pokemon. Grace and I did not have any service so we didn’t scroll on our phones and used our phones strictly to capture the beautiful food. We also watched JT make animated sounds every time he caught a Pokemon. He rattled on names and how he battled them which is logic I didn’t understand. I diverted my attention back to the dish that was coming our way.

The first dish was a small bowl of chawanmushi, steamed egg topped with seaweed and uni. I loved the silky texture of the egg and the buttery taste of the uni.

The next dish was a Japanese sea bream soup with a milky texture which comes from the bones. You see a small white radish and a shiitake mushroom graced with a bit of shaved yuzu on top. The soup was light, nourishing with a tinge of citrus touch.

I saw the sizzling action as the chefs carefully plated the cubes of wagyu on a small plate then topped with white asparagus and sesame glaze sauce. Each marbled piece melted in your mouth.

Next came a mini chirashi bowl with otoro, ikura that bursted in each bite. It was sprinkled with micro shiso, ginger, and marinated mushroom bits.

The last dish was a small bowl of soba noodles made in house with slices of smoked duck breast. She shared that this was their signature dish. 

Our meal ended with dessert which consisted of milk cream soft serve strawberry foam and fresh strawberries paired with a hot cup of hojicha. The cost was around $125 + tax + service charge, which amounted to about $170. I was sufficiently full and satisfied. I highly recommend making a reservation with Odo as a treat if you are ever in NYC. 

Happy Campers

Nagahama Ramen in Portland

For our March monthly brunch gathering, we decided to go to Wu-Ron, a new ramen restaurant located on Water Ave. near Omsi. They serve Nagahama ramen which they described as one of the best tonkotsu ramen styles from Fukuoka prefecture. Originally, I was eyeing the Portland Dough Zone. I was very curious to know more about the announcement of taking over the former Lucier space which is a huge grand space along the South Waterfront area. I have tried their dumplings at the Seattle locations and am excited they are opening one in Portland. But I heard they haven’t even started to renovate the space yet. So, Wu-Ron was next on our list.

It was an indoor only space. Oregon had just lifted the mask mandate 2 weeks ago. One of the invitees, let me know that they were not comfortable with indoor dining yet. I told her that was perfectly okay and honored everyone’s comfort level so she decided to pass on this month’s brunch gathering. Four of us met inside the ramen shop. They had only 3 ramen items on their menu. I ordered the Nagahama Tonkotsu ramen. They used thin ramen noodles. There were 3 slices of fatty pork and a ramen egg with jamy yolk. The broth flavors were rich and savory. I finished my bowl rather quickly. I didn’t manage to finish all the broth as the salt levels were a bit more concentrated on the bottom and probably wouldn’t serve my high blood pressure. But I’m excited to see this new ramen spot and it was delicious. The only knitpick was the location where the chance of being caught behind a rail crossing with trains blocking you for 15-20 minutes can be a hassle otherwise I would return.  

My #VeryAsian Moment

Purple Yam Sesame Ball from Excellent Cuisine in Portland, Oregon

I love bringing a diverse group of friends together like my uninitiated co-workers, especially the folks who have not ventured or are familiar with the concept to a traditional dim sum restaurant. In Cantonese, we call it “yum cha” which literally means drink tea. The experience usually consists of ordering a tea to pair with small plates for breakfast or lunch. I usually order “shou mei” if it’s available or on the regular would normally be “bo lei” which is “pu’erh” tea. I especially love sharing the immersive experience of walking into a busy, bustling dim sum hall filled with large round tables with lazy susans, dim sum carts navigating through the crowded tables, and staff yelling out the names of the dishes. I hear the echoing sounds of “ha gow”, “siu mai”, and “fun gor.” I make a mental note of which carts to target once we get seated.  It is a very stimulating and engaging experience. I love extending this invitation and witnessing a sense of overwhelming sensation appear across people’s faces and yet feel the excitability of what’s to come. I tend to be the one who will order in Cantonese and navigate the different dishes being called out to me by the servers while translating and brokering what dishes we should keep and what to reject and not succumb to the server’s gifted salesmanship. The servers pushing the dim sum carts do aim to reach their 100% sell-through rate by dropping plates of tempting scrumptious morsels but sometimes it includes dishes that the regular dim sum goer wouldn’t normally order like roasted meats that are usually more expensive.  If I’m dining with the Chinese elders like my parents, I usually hand that task over to them as they are pros to the game, the sales pitches tend to fail and are met with poker faces.

Despite the nuanced art of filling the table with a diverse spread, it is a fun encounter to share this experience and see that it is a worthwhile endeavor. In return, you get an array of colorful dumplings, rice noodle dishes, steamed veggies, and sweet egg tarts spread across the table. My typical table spread would consist of “fun gor,” a chubby dumpling filled with jicama, pork, dried shrimp, and peanuts. Also, I’ll order shrimp dumplings, fried taro pastry, sesame balls, BBQ pork rice noodles, and a pineapple bun with an oozing sweet cream yolk. Sometimes I’ll add a wild card to the mix and order a special they are piloting like a fried purple yam sesame ball that was delicious from Excellent Cuisine. Folks can pick up a few essential Cantonese phrases along the way too and help spread the joy by evangelizing the wonders of a dim sum experience.  For your next adventure, I recommend going early like when the dim sum place opens to avoid the crowd and long wait times. If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, you can try out Excellent Cuisine. If you happened to be in San Francisco, you can try out an innovative take on dim sum at Beaux Dragon. Also, one of my favorite destination travel spots for dim sum is Vancouver BC, my go-to is Kirin and Chef Tony’s which I highly recommend making reservations. Cheers to “yum cha.”

Planning Bhutan

Druk Air plane amongst the clouds flying over the Himalayan mountains
Druk Air flight about to land at Paro Airport

I was very fortunate to get a referral from a friend who’s traveled to Bhutan. Gera recommended her friend Xinyi and sent me to Nima’s company, Best Bhutan. She had traveled with this company for both of her trips to Bhutan. It did take me a few months going back and forth. Originally 2 friends were interested in traveling with me but they eventually decided not to. I was still determined to go during my sabbatical and decided to book a 10 day trip there. I know the cost would be $200-250/day spend minimum mandated by the Bhutan Travel Bureau. This does include lodging, guide, driver, 3 meals a day, and entry fee to any sites. Visa is $40 and listed as a separate cost. There is also a surcharge ($30/each person per day)  if you travel with less than 3 folks in your group. I was able to move my trip to Dec. 1 which is the start of the low peak season and Nima gave me a slight discount due to a friend referral. It is a competitive market for tour guides since there are many working in the tourism industry for a country population of 700,000.

I advise folks to plan early because due to limited flights, the cost of flights can be very expensive. Another reason is that Paro airport in Bhutan allows only 17 qualified pilots who are authorized to land on a runway that is surrounded by severe 18,000-foot mountain peaks. The 6,500-foot runway only allows for arrivals and departures during the daytime. You can book flights out of Kathmandu, Bangkok, Singapore, and several locations in India. I read they added Tokyo as a new route as well. I knew that I wanted to fly from Singapore because I wanted to spend a few days in Singapore to visit friends. Initially since it wasn’t until November I committed to my trip to Bhutan, Nima told me that flights were all booked, but he would check to see if there were seats usually reserved for the royal family or government officials that go unused. Since I was traveling alone, it may be possible. It took him about a week to give me the good news that he was able to secure me a seat from Singapore to Paro by Druk Air. The cost was $1000 USD for this leg. Then I booked my flight from Portland to Singapore roundtrip, which was about $690 USD. I was able to score a last minute deal and used my Chase reserve points to redeem my flight. 

I did have to pre-pay all of my travel fees and wire it directly to the travel bureau after my flight confirmation. Nima did have me wire two different amounts at different times, one was for the flight to quickly secure it and the other amount was for the remaining cost of the travel package. The total cost of the 10 day package came out to be $2240. I would recommend next time to do one lump sum to minimize the wire fee, which was $45 each time for me. In my next post, I’ll cover how I prepared for my trip.