Have I mentione before, how the skies here are not like the skies where I grew up?
The sky here just seems so much bigger, even though it's limited by hills on each side.
It's absolutely beautiful right now. Gorgeous.
The sun's shining through the thick clouds in the west,
haloed through white wisps that rise high
like flowing veils or angels wings.
Full bodied clouds are hanging low through the valley.
Fluffy white yachts on a sky of blue.
Lazily billows thick with curves. Voluptuous.
In the east the dying light is grazing the tips of the mountains.
The snow capped peaks are winking pink above the dark shadows below.
The clouds that have moved beyond are bright yellow, fading in the horizon.
The moon shines brightly, low in the sky, not yet full.
So wanton and demure.
I'd paint you a picture if only I knew how.
A photograph can't capture this moment.
I wish you were here right now.
Mar 11, 2006
Mar 3, 2006
Schizophrenic
I walked outside and there were rainbows everywhere.
Well, 2 rainbows. And I'm not even in San Francisco.
Then it started hailing.
And 8 minutes later it was rainbows again.
Well, 2 rainbows. And I'm not even in San Francisco.
Then it started hailing.
And 8 minutes later it was rainbows again.
Feb 27, 2006
Procrastination Redux
I was just about to write an entry for this past weekend's tourist excursions, when I realized I need to write up the rest of February. Then it struck me that for the past while, a lot of things have gone by with little reflection. I think there have been moments in blogging, where the mere act of blogging forces some mental review of events.
Sometimes this brings out an appreciation that was initially missed, that only clicked in retrospect. Other times a lesson learned perhaps. Or maybe I'd simply reinforce my memory of a point in time by going over it again. Recently life's gone by without much reflection. I ought to set some time aside from doing stuff for thinking and reflecting. Later.
In February we began to expand our small group with new members from YAF. The YAF Snowtrip this year seemed almost like a reunion of older YAFers (myself being one). The face of the fellowship has changed drastically since it moved to Wednesday, with many of the older members gone, and all the new college grads in the mix. All the new guys that joined our group were at the lesser end of their twenties. It certainly reminds me of how long I've been here, and how "unstable" the dynamics of people are here, with a constant influx of new people trying to find their place, along with people leaving and moving on.
Although unintended, February did indeed end up being yet another food month. This started with Manresa in Los Gatos, a posh neighbourhood nestled in the hills southwest of San Jose. We drove down there on a cool spring evening with heightened expectations, wandering around the dark small side street of Los Gatos looking for the unassuming restaurant. The kitchen is visible through a small window by the entrance, buzzing with activity. The dining room looked clean but casual. No ties here, and you could probably would be comfortable even in a polo, but the conversations were quiet. Definitely not the Ritz Carlton, even though the crowd was a bit on the older side, which is pretty much expected for Los Gatos.
First disappointment hit when they said if we wanted the acclaimed chef's tasting menu, we both had to order it. I'm not a big fan of restaurants with prohibitive policies. We passed on the tasting menus and got a 3 course and 4 course meal. In my opinion, the highlights were the amuse bouches, and the fatty pork on risotto dishes. They were excellent, bordering on rave worthy. Unfortunately, the rest of the dishes were mostly unimpressive, and the sea urchin dish was particularly vile. All the details are in my flickr, complete with descriptions. The pictures themselves came out poorly in the low light though. Overall, the few hits were outweighed by the misses, which should not have existed at all given the bill. (2.5/5)
The other pictures in the set came on a trip up to SF, when Peachy's boy came to town for a visit. Lunch was at Koi Palace, which makes up for having long waits, being out-of-the-way, and being costly (but not unreasonable) by having the best dim sum without requiring a plane ticket. We spent the afternoon browsing the stalls at the Ferry Building (I think Acme Bread and Cowgirl Cheese will be regular stops in future visits to SF), and somehow Peachy managed to conjure up a reservation at this restaurant I'd never heard of before.
I must say, One Market certainly surprised me. Visually, it feels like a business lunch/dinner place, with a large dining room and an open concept kitchen. Although posh, it certainly didn't feel exclusive. It did, however, have what felt like the best New American I've had. That's to say, the best part of American food is bacon, and One Market certainly featured plenty of it. The majority of the dishes were accented with some sort of cured pork. Pretty much all were solid. Even the brussels sprouts (with bacon of course) was great, although the recommendations for sides were superfluous, since the portions themselves were a good size. Desserts were not outstanding, but decent, although the creme brulee came out a little too brulee. The only slight miss was the excellent bread, which simply didn't come often enough. (4/5)
Sometimes this brings out an appreciation that was initially missed, that only clicked in retrospect. Other times a lesson learned perhaps. Or maybe I'd simply reinforce my memory of a point in time by going over it again. Recently life's gone by without much reflection. I ought to set some time aside from doing stuff for thinking and reflecting. Later.
In February we began to expand our small group with new members from YAF. The YAF Snowtrip this year seemed almost like a reunion of older YAFers (myself being one). The face of the fellowship has changed drastically since it moved to Wednesday, with many of the older members gone, and all the new college grads in the mix. All the new guys that joined our group were at the lesser end of their twenties. It certainly reminds me of how long I've been here, and how "unstable" the dynamics of people are here, with a constant influx of new people trying to find their place, along with people leaving and moving on.
Although unintended, February did indeed end up being yet another food month. This started with Manresa in Los Gatos, a posh neighbourhood nestled in the hills southwest of San Jose. We drove down there on a cool spring evening with heightened expectations, wandering around the dark small side street of Los Gatos looking for the unassuming restaurant. The kitchen is visible through a small window by the entrance, buzzing with activity. The dining room looked clean but casual. No ties here, and you could probably would be comfortable even in a polo, but the conversations were quiet. Definitely not the Ritz Carlton, even though the crowd was a bit on the older side, which is pretty much expected for Los Gatos.
First disappointment hit when they said if we wanted the acclaimed chef's tasting menu, we both had to order it. I'm not a big fan of restaurants with prohibitive policies. We passed on the tasting menus and got a 3 course and 4 course meal. In my opinion, the highlights were the amuse bouches, and the fatty pork on risotto dishes. They were excellent, bordering on rave worthy. Unfortunately, the rest of the dishes were mostly unimpressive, and the sea urchin dish was particularly vile. All the details are in my flickr, complete with descriptions. The pictures themselves came out poorly in the low light though. Overall, the few hits were outweighed by the misses, which should not have existed at all given the bill. (2.5/5)
The other pictures in the set came on a trip up to SF, when Peachy's boy came to town for a visit. Lunch was at Koi Palace, which makes up for having long waits, being out-of-the-way, and being costly (but not unreasonable) by having the best dim sum without requiring a plane ticket. We spent the afternoon browsing the stalls at the Ferry Building (I think Acme Bread and Cowgirl Cheese will be regular stops in future visits to SF), and somehow Peachy managed to conjure up a reservation at this restaurant I'd never heard of before.
I must say, One Market certainly surprised me. Visually, it feels like a business lunch/dinner place, with a large dining room and an open concept kitchen. Although posh, it certainly didn't feel exclusive. It did, however, have what felt like the best New American I've had. That's to say, the best part of American food is bacon, and One Market certainly featured plenty of it. The majority of the dishes were accented with some sort of cured pork. Pretty much all were solid. Even the brussels sprouts (with bacon of course) was great, although the recommendations for sides were superfluous, since the portions themselves were a good size. Desserts were not outstanding, but decent, although the creme brulee came out a little too brulee. The only slight miss was the excellent bread, which simply didn't come often enough. (4/5)
Feb 18, 2006
Month In Review
It actually started before Christmas. We tried to throw a surprise birthday dinner for Billy after a snowboarding trip to Tahoe. We had a reservation for a large reservation at Chapeau! that evening, but a combination of lifts closing early due to winds, and clean roads meant that we were back in San Francisco over an hour early for our reservation. Calling the restaurant to push our reservation earlier didn't work, so it seemed like we'd have to wait. However, things turned our rather miraculously when 1) they actually had our table ready, early 2) the guys driving up from the South Bay actually arrived early 3) Billy was in a good mood, as we were able to distract him for a while by hanging out in Japantown before dinner. Overally, it was a wonderful evening. The food was solid; flavours were rich, but perhaps a little over-salted. Service was excellent. There was no snobbishness from the waitstaff, and there was plenty of staff. The chef personally went through the tiny restaurant greeting guests (and again at the door when we left, also giving me the recipe to us banana butterscotch sauce). We also had enough people to order every dessert on the table, resulting in a veritable dessert buffet. I don't recall the exact price, but it was very reasonable for the food and service. (4.8/5)
Next was Christmas. If you missed that part of the story, scroll down and check the previous post. That was followed to my secret for a girlish figure. Yes, that's right, the flu. There went the first half of January, and all those Christmas pounds with it.
Not to fret. With San Francisco's Dine About Town (aka DAT) rolling into town (very similar to Toronto's Winterlicious), the usually economical Peachy transformed into a voracious restaurant prospector. I managed to recover in time to partake in three of these excursions.
Bacar restaurant and wine bar, situated in SOMA, with a large bar with live jazz, a rather spacious main dining room with a large ceiling, and a quieter mezzanine was a happening spot on a Saturday night. Busy enough that they actually weren't offering the DAT menu. We should have called ahead and asked first, but we weren't the only ones suckered in, as we heard the exact same inquiry from the table behind us. Since we were seated with water already, we decided to suck it in and enjoy dinner. The charcuterie plate was fairly simple, but house-made and delicious. The smokey pork chop also stood out as a winner. Of the desserts, the blood-orange panna cotta was quite memorable. The server was friendly, and the cheese bread both yummy and abundant, So overall, a DAT loser, but a good meal (although costing us quite a bit more than expected). (3.5/5)
We went up to SF on a weekday to pick up some cheap snowboarding tickets, and as an excuse to try Aziza, a nouveau Middle Eastern restaurant way out in the Richmond district. I had passed by this place before and wanted to try it; it's directly across from Ton Kiang, the dim-sum place. Alas, like Bacar, we were thwarted in our DAT attempt, since at this place the DAT menu was only available if everyone ordered it (and that would have been 5 of us). Although the drinks from the bar were quite interesting and packed plenty of punch, the above policy, plus the fact that the waiter wouldn't let us take photos, put a huge damper on things. The food overall was pretty good. Not bad, but not rave worthy. I had been looking forward to the basteeya, but it came out rather bland and disappointing. The better dishes were the couscous Aziza and wild mushrooms in phyllo. I'd come back if either the food or service shined, but the first was not outstanding, and the latter was sorely lacking (2.5/5)
The best service of the three was at Azie, which didn't have our table available when we arrived, post-snowboarding. Instead we got a free calamari appetizer from the hostess while we waited at the bar, under the stairs to the mezzanine. Shortly after (basically before we got to dig into the deep fried calamari with shavings of green onions and chili), we were lead to our booth, complete with curtains for added privacy. Unfortunately, the asian-fusion cuisine met my asian-fusion cuisine expectations, which is to say, not very fantastic. Like most asian inspired western cuisine, the asian elements stood out, but never really fuses. For example, the green onions in the dish looked asian, but didn't add to the blandness much. The deep fried calamari with salt and black pepper you'd get at a chinese restaurant would easily put this one to shame. On the service alone, I'd recommend this spot, but alas the lackluster food doesn't warrant a return trip. (3/5)
Next was Christmas. If you missed that part of the story, scroll down and check the previous post. That was followed to my secret for a girlish figure. Yes, that's right, the flu. There went the first half of January, and all those Christmas pounds with it.
Not to fret. With San Francisco's Dine About Town (aka DAT) rolling into town (very similar to Toronto's Winterlicious), the usually economical Peachy transformed into a voracious restaurant prospector. I managed to recover in time to partake in three of these excursions.
Bacar restaurant and wine bar, situated in SOMA, with a large bar with live jazz, a rather spacious main dining room with a large ceiling, and a quieter mezzanine was a happening spot on a Saturday night. Busy enough that they actually weren't offering the DAT menu. We should have called ahead and asked first, but we weren't the only ones suckered in, as we heard the exact same inquiry from the table behind us. Since we were seated with water already, we decided to suck it in and enjoy dinner. The charcuterie plate was fairly simple, but house-made and delicious. The smokey pork chop also stood out as a winner. Of the desserts, the blood-orange panna cotta was quite memorable. The server was friendly, and the cheese bread both yummy and abundant, So overall, a DAT loser, but a good meal (although costing us quite a bit more than expected). (3.5/5)
We went up to SF on a weekday to pick up some cheap snowboarding tickets, and as an excuse to try Aziza, a nouveau Middle Eastern restaurant way out in the Richmond district. I had passed by this place before and wanted to try it; it's directly across from Ton Kiang, the dim-sum place. Alas, like Bacar, we were thwarted in our DAT attempt, since at this place the DAT menu was only available if everyone ordered it (and that would have been 5 of us). Although the drinks from the bar were quite interesting and packed plenty of punch, the above policy, plus the fact that the waiter wouldn't let us take photos, put a huge damper on things. The food overall was pretty good. Not bad, but not rave worthy. I had been looking forward to the basteeya, but it came out rather bland and disappointing. The better dishes were the couscous Aziza and wild mushrooms in phyllo. I'd come back if either the food or service shined, but the first was not outstanding, and the latter was sorely lacking (2.5/5)
The best service of the three was at Azie, which didn't have our table available when we arrived, post-snowboarding. Instead we got a free calamari appetizer from the hostess while we waited at the bar, under the stairs to the mezzanine. Shortly after (basically before we got to dig into the deep fried calamari with shavings of green onions and chili), we were lead to our booth, complete with curtains for added privacy. Unfortunately, the asian-fusion cuisine met my asian-fusion cuisine expectations, which is to say, not very fantastic. Like most asian inspired western cuisine, the asian elements stood out, but never really fuses. For example, the green onions in the dish looked asian, but didn't add to the blandness much. The deep fried calamari with salt and black pepper you'd get at a chinese restaurant would easily put this one to shame. On the service alone, I'd recommend this spot, but alas the lackluster food doesn't warrant a return trip. (3/5)
Jan 10, 2006
Gluttony
Shortly before Christmas, I went snowboarding up in North Lake Tahoe with a couple of other guys, taking advantage of a $15 a night at the Fitzgerald's hotel in Reno (the deal is gone, but it's been replaced by another one). On the saturday evening we went to a casino buffet at the Atlantis, where Billy commented that the excess of food was a demonstration in gluttony. I actually didn't eat all that much, considering buffet food is rarely all that great, and casino buffets are no exception.
I present the following however, as an answer to the common question "How was Hong Kong?", and as an exhibit of true gluttony. It's a list of our meals in HK with some of the highlight menu items (unfortunately, I can't remember everything I ate):
Dec 25th
Lunch: Chesa (the Penninsula Hotel)
- waldorf salad with smoked duck breast and duck confit
- filet mignon with foie gras ravioli and salsify
- cheese fondue
- blackberry charlotte
When was the last time I had a 3 course lunch?
Dinner: Lei Yu Mun
This is an area in HK known for seafood. Generally you peruse one of many stalls that feature live seafood (fish, shrimp, bivalves, lobsters, cuttlefish etc.) in large tanks. Many stalls also have a large (huge!) specimens of fish or lobster that are not for sale, but mostly to attract visitors. You select your seafood and tell them to deliver it to one of a number of restaurants, that will then cook your meal for you. You then pay at the restaurant, a combination of the seafood price plus cooking and service charges.
- shrimp
- fish "so mei" (parrotfish?)
- deep fried "pissing shrimp"
local delicacy that looks something like this, about a foot long and light green in colour. Tastes something like shrimp or lobster
- steamed abalone
- steamed scallops
- shark's fin soup
Dec 26th
Breakfast: at home
- noodles with hairy crab meat
Hairy Crab is a seasonal Shanghainese delicacy. The crabs are small, maybe 3-4 inches wide with small legs. They're desired for the tasty eggs, which are in season in late November/early December. My grandmother usually freezes some of the crab meat for our visits. Yum.
Lunch: Cuisine Cuisine Dimsum (IFC Shopping Center)
- fancy cha siu bao (with a sweet crust)
It seems to be a new trend to have baked bbq pork buns with some sort of sweet crust (if you're familiar with chinese "pineapple buns", or "mexico buns", it's similar). The traditional steamed rice flour buns are of course, still available.
- stir fried rice cakes with roast duck
Dinner: Amigo
I think this place was one of my introductions to fine dining, decades ago. It comes complete with candlelight, flowers, attentive waiters in bow ties and white gloves, and a seranading mandolin and string trio that makes its way around the restaurant, from table to table.
- Escargots
- Caesar Salad
- Lobster and Rock Clam Linguine
27th:
Breakfast: at home
- stir fried rice cake
I was gonna skip breakfast this day, but when it came out, I couldn't resist!
Lunch: Sabatini (Royal Garden Hotel)
- antipasti buffet
- Ravioli Amatriciana
- Profiterole cake
Dinner: AMC
My aunt booked a karaoke suite for dinner. Half the suite included a long dining table for our family, and a small dance floor. The other half had a living room type setup with couches, a front projection screen and a karaoke setup. Family Karaoke night! There is a house in New Orleans...
- garlic prawns
- sharks fin soup
- steamed abalone
- baked tapioca pudding with lotus seed paste
28th:
Lunch: Dimsum
Had lunch at some fancy new Dimsum place in Wanchai. Miss CoolBeans came along, but even she didn't remember which restaurant it was.
- deep fried tofu excellently crispy on the outside, velvety on the inside.
- crab meat xiao long bao
- fancy cha siu bao
Same concept as the ones at Cuisine Cuisine, but better here.
- drunken chicken
Dinner: The Wai residence
Miss CoolBean's uncle invited me over for dinner at their home, catered by a vietnamese chef.
- deep fried spring rolls
- stuffed crab shell
- soft-shelled crab (an entire platter of it)
- curry beef brisket
29th:
Lunch: Hugo (Hyatt Regency)
The hotel was closing at the end of the year, and apparently the 30+ year old restaurant's reservation list was filling up with nostalgic customers. Luckily my Dad's uncle got a lunch spot before the place closed its doors.
- appetizer platter
They have an appetizer cart (essentially a buffet they cart to your spot at the table, you select items and they put it on the plate for you) which features enough delectable items that the cart would suffice for a meal. The mangoes are always popular. I haven't quite decided whether it's a good thing or bad that there's an excellent prime rib to follow. It just makes it hard to decide what to save room for.
- prime rib
- fresh berry bowl for dessert
Dinner: hotpot at Aunt Lily's
I'm not a big fan of hotpot, but this dinner was good. It qualified as the best hotpot, ever.
- kobe beef (5 lbs of it!)
- top sirloin
- fresh shrimp
- various fancy clams, including baby geoduck
- mussels
- gourmet fishballs
- a variety of mushrooms
- ... too much good stuff
30th:
Lunch: Sapporo Ramen
- ramen
- gyoza
- deep fried chicken
The chicken was well done in terms of crispyness, but too garlicky for my taste.
Dinner: Shanghai Fraternity Association
Private club requiring Shanghainese ancestry for membership. Good food though, probably the best xiao long baio I had on this trip to HK.
- jellied pork, preserved duck egg, other appetizers
- sauteed shrimp
- "dee pong" braised pork leg
- sharks fin
- deep fried duck
- sweet glutinous rice with red bean paste
- crabmeat xiao long baio featuring hairy crab meat... yum!!!
31st:
Lunch: Maxim's (Hong Kong International Airport)
Had dimsum with my grandmother and my parents before my parents left
- dim sum
Dinner: Four Seasons
My grandmother treated the whole clan (sans my parents, plus Miss CoolBeans) to a fancy dinner and countdown at the Four Season's Hotel (as opposed to the AMC party we went to in previous years). I was quite surprised when it turned out to be the Hong Kong Dental Association's Annual Ball. I got a bad vibe from the speeches (in which all the Hong Kong Dental Association Ball Committee organizers praised each other), and the well-dressed hag that gave me a dirty look for not contributing to their raffle. After that though, we ended up having fun with my family. The unlimited (bad) wine was enough to get the whole family in a conga line by the end of the night.
- cream of forest mushroom soup
- braised beef cheeks
- many other courses, spread out over hours
Afterparty: Chapter 3 (SoHo)
All the cousins went out for drinks after the countdown. I only stayed for two rounds before Miss CoolBeans had to be sent home to bed, but I think we need to do this again sometime. Too bad none of my cousins took me out for underaged drinking when I was 17!
1st:
Lunch: "Mak's noodle" (Central), "Law's Congee?"
- wonton noodles
- congee with salted pork and preserved egg
- deep fried fish balls
- fresh samosas
- fresh roti
- fresh squeezed grapefruit and starfruit juice
Miss CoolBeans declined lunch at the Peak's Cafe Deco for some more down to earth delights as we hit up the best wonton noodle place in HK, as well as a nearby congee spot and some street food stalls for lunch
Dinner: "So jeet"
I don't know what the English name for this restaurant is. I think it was "The X and Y Residents Association", where X and Y were some unpronounceable Chinese provinces or towns. Another member's only place, but supposedly the best Shanghainese food on the island. The xiao long baio were a close second to the Shanghai Fraternity Assocation (they had a thinner skin), but everything else was probably better here, especially the "dee pong".
- shaghainese pork and vegetable wonton
- sharks fin soup
- "dee pong" braised pork leg
- fish in wine sauce
- crabmeat xiao long baio
- "tai koo choy" with bamboo shoot shanghainese vegetable resembling a flattened baby "bok choy"
I present the following however, as an answer to the common question "How was Hong Kong?", and as an exhibit of true gluttony. It's a list of our meals in HK with some of the highlight menu items (unfortunately, I can't remember everything I ate):
Dec 25th
Lunch: Chesa (the Penninsula Hotel)
- waldorf salad with smoked duck breast and duck confit
- filet mignon with foie gras ravioli and salsify
- cheese fondue
- blackberry charlotte
When was the last time I had a 3 course lunch?
Dinner: Lei Yu Mun
This is an area in HK known for seafood. Generally you peruse one of many stalls that feature live seafood (fish, shrimp, bivalves, lobsters, cuttlefish etc.) in large tanks. Many stalls also have a large (huge!) specimens of fish or lobster that are not for sale, but mostly to attract visitors. You select your seafood and tell them to deliver it to one of a number of restaurants, that will then cook your meal for you. You then pay at the restaurant, a combination of the seafood price plus cooking and service charges.
- shrimp
- fish "so mei" (parrotfish?)
- deep fried "pissing shrimp"
local delicacy that looks something like this, about a foot long and light green in colour. Tastes something like shrimp or lobster
- steamed abalone
- steamed scallops
- shark's fin soup
Dec 26th
Breakfast: at home
- noodles with hairy crab meat
Hairy Crab is a seasonal Shanghainese delicacy. The crabs are small, maybe 3-4 inches wide with small legs. They're desired for the tasty eggs, which are in season in late November/early December. My grandmother usually freezes some of the crab meat for our visits. Yum.
Lunch: Cuisine Cuisine Dimsum (IFC Shopping Center)
- fancy cha siu bao (with a sweet crust)
It seems to be a new trend to have baked bbq pork buns with some sort of sweet crust (if you're familiar with chinese "pineapple buns", or "mexico buns", it's similar). The traditional steamed rice flour buns are of course, still available.
- stir fried rice cakes with roast duck
Dinner: Amigo
I think this place was one of my introductions to fine dining, decades ago. It comes complete with candlelight, flowers, attentive waiters in bow ties and white gloves, and a seranading mandolin and string trio that makes its way around the restaurant, from table to table.
- Escargots
- Caesar Salad
- Lobster and Rock Clam Linguine
27th:
Breakfast: at home
- stir fried rice cake
I was gonna skip breakfast this day, but when it came out, I couldn't resist!
Lunch: Sabatini (Royal Garden Hotel)
- antipasti buffet
- Ravioli Amatriciana
- Profiterole cake
Dinner: AMC
My aunt booked a karaoke suite for dinner. Half the suite included a long dining table for our family, and a small dance floor. The other half had a living room type setup with couches, a front projection screen and a karaoke setup. Family Karaoke night! There is a house in New Orleans...
- garlic prawns
- sharks fin soup
- steamed abalone
- baked tapioca pudding with lotus seed paste
28th:
Lunch: Dimsum
Had lunch at some fancy new Dimsum place in Wanchai. Miss CoolBeans came along, but even she didn't remember which restaurant it was.
- deep fried tofu excellently crispy on the outside, velvety on the inside.
- crab meat xiao long bao
- fancy cha siu bao
Same concept as the ones at Cuisine Cuisine, but better here.
- drunken chicken
Dinner: The Wai residence
Miss CoolBean's uncle invited me over for dinner at their home, catered by a vietnamese chef.
- deep fried spring rolls
- stuffed crab shell
- soft-shelled crab (an entire platter of it)
- curry beef brisket
29th:
Lunch: Hugo (Hyatt Regency)
The hotel was closing at the end of the year, and apparently the 30+ year old restaurant's reservation list was filling up with nostalgic customers. Luckily my Dad's uncle got a lunch spot before the place closed its doors.
- appetizer platter
They have an appetizer cart (essentially a buffet they cart to your spot at the table, you select items and they put it on the plate for you) which features enough delectable items that the cart would suffice for a meal. The mangoes are always popular. I haven't quite decided whether it's a good thing or bad that there's an excellent prime rib to follow. It just makes it hard to decide what to save room for.
- prime rib
- fresh berry bowl for dessert
Dinner: hotpot at Aunt Lily's
I'm not a big fan of hotpot, but this dinner was good. It qualified as the best hotpot, ever.
- kobe beef (5 lbs of it!)
- top sirloin
- fresh shrimp
- various fancy clams, including baby geoduck
- mussels
- gourmet fishballs
- a variety of mushrooms
- ... too much good stuff
30th:
Lunch: Sapporo Ramen
- ramen
- gyoza
- deep fried chicken
The chicken was well done in terms of crispyness, but too garlicky for my taste.
Dinner: Shanghai Fraternity Association
Private club requiring Shanghainese ancestry for membership. Good food though, probably the best xiao long baio I had on this trip to HK.
- jellied pork, preserved duck egg, other appetizers
- sauteed shrimp
- "dee pong" braised pork leg
- sharks fin
- deep fried duck
- sweet glutinous rice with red bean paste
- crabmeat xiao long baio featuring hairy crab meat... yum!!!
31st:
Lunch: Maxim's (Hong Kong International Airport)
Had dimsum with my grandmother and my parents before my parents left
- dim sum
Dinner: Four Seasons
My grandmother treated the whole clan (sans my parents, plus Miss CoolBeans) to a fancy dinner and countdown at the Four Season's Hotel (as opposed to the AMC party we went to in previous years). I was quite surprised when it turned out to be the Hong Kong Dental Association's Annual Ball. I got a bad vibe from the speeches (in which all the Hong Kong Dental Association Ball Committee organizers praised each other), and the well-dressed hag that gave me a dirty look for not contributing to their raffle. After that though, we ended up having fun with my family. The unlimited (bad) wine was enough to get the whole family in a conga line by the end of the night.
- cream of forest mushroom soup
- braised beef cheeks
- many other courses, spread out over hours
Afterparty: Chapter 3 (SoHo)
All the cousins went out for drinks after the countdown. I only stayed for two rounds before Miss CoolBeans had to be sent home to bed, but I think we need to do this again sometime. Too bad none of my cousins took me out for underaged drinking when I was 17!
1st:
Lunch: "Mak's noodle" (Central), "Law's Congee?"
- wonton noodles
- congee with salted pork and preserved egg
- deep fried fish balls
- fresh samosas
- fresh roti
- fresh squeezed grapefruit and starfruit juice
Miss CoolBeans declined lunch at the Peak's Cafe Deco for some more down to earth delights as we hit up the best wonton noodle place in HK, as well as a nearby congee spot and some street food stalls for lunch
Dinner: "So jeet"
I don't know what the English name for this restaurant is. I think it was "The X and Y Residents Association", where X and Y were some unpronounceable Chinese provinces or towns. Another member's only place, but supposedly the best Shanghainese food on the island. The xiao long baio were a close second to the Shanghai Fraternity Assocation (they had a thinner skin), but everything else was probably better here, especially the "dee pong".
- shaghainese pork and vegetable wonton
- sharks fin soup
- "dee pong" braised pork leg
- fish in wine sauce
- crabmeat xiao long baio
- "tai koo choy" with bamboo shoot shanghainese vegetable resembling a flattened baby "bok choy"
Dec 28, 2005
Belated Christmas Blog
"This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger."
I had my Christmas thought of the year, sitting in my American Airlines economy class seat on the way from San Jose to Narita. I suspect the lady sitting in front of me (although it could have been the guy on my left) was lactose intolerant, given the fact that she kept ordering milk when refreshments came along, and the continuous farting whenever she was sleeping. And by continuous, I actually mean regular, like every minute or so.
At one point I gave up trying to hold my breath and hung out at the back of the plane with Heller's Catch-22, and considered how the manger must have smelled, and how far off it was from the lights and glitz of today's commercial Christmas.
Christmas is interesting in Hong Kong, because despite the rampant consumerism, it's still a visibly religious holiday. The political correctness here doesn't prevent people from writing "Merry Christmas" on big signs, or playing Christmas hymns in shopping malls. In contrast, Christmas in the States is highly secularized. Our company pushed hard to remind employees of the Spirit of Christmas, which mostly involved giving or family. Christmas themed stories, such as the book "The Giving Chest" and "Polar Express" also push a secularized Christmas morality. While it's certainly "better" than "buy buy buy", it's ironic how all these tales of the meaning of Christmas miss the true meaning of Christmas.
"This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger."
I had my Christmas thought of the year, sitting in my American Airlines economy class seat on the way from San Jose to Narita. I suspect the lady sitting in front of me (although it could have been the guy on my left) was lactose intolerant, given the fact that she kept ordering milk when refreshments came along, and the continuous farting whenever she was sleeping. And by continuous, I actually mean regular, like every minute or so.
At one point I gave up trying to hold my breath and hung out at the back of the plane with Heller's Catch-22, and considered how the manger must have smelled, and how far off it was from the lights and glitz of today's commercial Christmas.
Christmas is interesting in Hong Kong, because despite the rampant consumerism, it's still a visibly religious holiday. The political correctness here doesn't prevent people from writing "Merry Christmas" on big signs, or playing Christmas hymns in shopping malls. In contrast, Christmas in the States is highly secularized. Our company pushed hard to remind employees of the Spirit of Christmas, which mostly involved giving or family. Christmas themed stories, such as the book "The Giving Chest" and "Polar Express" also push a secularized Christmas morality. While it's certainly "better" than "buy buy buy", it's ironic how all these tales of the meaning of Christmas miss the true meaning of Christmas.
Dec 11, 2005
Whiners make for entertaining blogs.
It's true. The most entertaining blogs tend to be people who complain and whine a lot, especially if they do it with a flair. It doesn't have to be about anything significant, or even intelligent. It could be the most inane drivel, but I'll probably still read it for its entertainment value.
Frankly, I just haven't had much to complain about in the last while. I can recall one thing. It involved going to the mall in search of some costume for Halloween (I ended up spending a couple bucks on acrylic paint and brushes and making a papier mache mask, yes, my inert creativity was busting out). One of the stores (speaking of busting out, the very brand had a fashion show on TV recently) was playing Christmas music, at Halloween.
It doesn't really "feel" like Christmas right now here, given it's California, and either sunny or rainy. It certainly didn't feel like Christmas a month and a half ago, when every other store was decorated with pumpkins and skeletons. Corporate marketting does, in fact, amaze me every so often.
I haven't updated much lately, which most likely reflects the fact that I haven't been doing much reading, and thus haven't felt creative enough to write anything. I certainly don't have flair; when I'm lucky I can bite the style of some Pulitzer Prize winner that I have been reading. Hopefully, if you're interested, the photos on my Flickr (see the left sidebar) have been sufficiently entertaining. I can think of three updates worth mentioning.
First, I celebrated my birthday by being treated to the "best" restaurant in the United States, The French Laundry. Once upon a time, I was easily wow'd with food. In retrospect, it had a lot to do with novelty. The first time you experience a new food or preparation, you're blown away. It might still be good, but it certainly loses its ability to blow you away when you get accustomed to it. I still order foie gras and duck confit, and although it's often good at whatever new restaurant I try, it rarely has a wow to it.
French Laundry wow'd me at least four times. The cauliflower pasta was very good. Not "very good for cauliflower". Just very good. Wow. I think part of the trick here is, none of the portions are large enough for you to be satisfied. You want more of every dish that comes to you. This is a prime example. They did something to the apple served in one of the cheese courses. It was a brand new flavour, and that's not something I get often. Wow. The elements of the blue cheese course combined to form something entirely new. If you put the cheese in your mouth along with the watercress, candied walnuts, and grape jelly at in your mouth at the same time, it is a profoundly different experience than just savouring the cheese. Not something I had expected. Wow. Finally, I've had plenty of dried fruit, but I've never had compressed fruit. That's like, pineapple flavoured paper. Wait, it's real pineapple? Cool. Wow. The rest of the photos are here, if you haven't seen them already.
Speaking of which, at 27 you feel old. I think 25 sounds like you're still on the line. At 26, I was in denial. This year, I had to face the fact. I'm a quarter of a century old. Actually older than that. Can you imagine? Btw, thanks for all the birthday pics.
I don't feel like it. Except for my memory. Incidentally, I've had the word "biter" at the tip of my tongue all day, and it's just clicked minutes ago.
The second item is that I've realized I'm perfectly happy writing computer code for 80hrs a week. Really. However, tell me I'm in charge of people and my job is to go to meetings with higher ups and set schedules; I'm leaving work at 6 each day. Go figure.
Lastly, I've learned the joys of shooting my photos in RAW. You can recover a heck of a lot from a poorly exposed shot. It just takes a lot of time. I had a great time going to Death Valley over Thanksgiving. My highlight was definitely taking photos of the crazy landscape. The weekend up to this point has mostly been spent postprocessing and uploading the pics. There's definitely more there than you'd be interested to see.
Post-lastly, congrats to Toby and Clara, but you knew that already.
It's true. The most entertaining blogs tend to be people who complain and whine a lot, especially if they do it with a flair. It doesn't have to be about anything significant, or even intelligent. It could be the most inane drivel, but I'll probably still read it for its entertainment value.
Frankly, I just haven't had much to complain about in the last while. I can recall one thing. It involved going to the mall in search of some costume for Halloween (I ended up spending a couple bucks on acrylic paint and brushes and making a papier mache mask, yes, my inert creativity was busting out). One of the stores (speaking of busting out, the very brand had a fashion show on TV recently) was playing Christmas music, at Halloween.
It doesn't really "feel" like Christmas right now here, given it's California, and either sunny or rainy. It certainly didn't feel like Christmas a month and a half ago, when every other store was decorated with pumpkins and skeletons. Corporate marketting does, in fact, amaze me every so often.
I haven't updated much lately, which most likely reflects the fact that I haven't been doing much reading, and thus haven't felt creative enough to write anything. I certainly don't have flair; when I'm lucky I can bite the style of some Pulitzer Prize winner that I have been reading. Hopefully, if you're interested, the photos on my Flickr (see the left sidebar) have been sufficiently entertaining. I can think of three updates worth mentioning.
First, I celebrated my birthday by being treated to the "best" restaurant in the United States, The French Laundry. Once upon a time, I was easily wow'd with food. In retrospect, it had a lot to do with novelty. The first time you experience a new food or preparation, you're blown away. It might still be good, but it certainly loses its ability to blow you away when you get accustomed to it. I still order foie gras and duck confit, and although it's often good at whatever new restaurant I try, it rarely has a wow to it.
French Laundry wow'd me at least four times. The cauliflower pasta was very good. Not "very good for cauliflower". Just very good. Wow. I think part of the trick here is, none of the portions are large enough for you to be satisfied. You want more of every dish that comes to you. This is a prime example. They did something to the apple served in one of the cheese courses. It was a brand new flavour, and that's not something I get often. Wow. The elements of the blue cheese course combined to form something entirely new. If you put the cheese in your mouth along with the watercress, candied walnuts, and grape jelly at in your mouth at the same time, it is a profoundly different experience than just savouring the cheese. Not something I had expected. Wow. Finally, I've had plenty of dried fruit, but I've never had compressed fruit. That's like, pineapple flavoured paper. Wait, it's real pineapple? Cool. Wow. The rest of the photos are here, if you haven't seen them already.
Speaking of which, at 27 you feel old. I think 25 sounds like you're still on the line. At 26, I was in denial. This year, I had to face the fact. I'm a quarter of a century old. Actually older than that. Can you imagine? Btw, thanks for all the birthday pics.
I don't feel like it. Except for my memory. Incidentally, I've had the word "biter" at the tip of my tongue all day, and it's just clicked minutes ago.
The second item is that I've realized I'm perfectly happy writing computer code for 80hrs a week. Really. However, tell me I'm in charge of people and my job is to go to meetings with higher ups and set schedules; I'm leaving work at 6 each day. Go figure.
Lastly, I've learned the joys of shooting my photos in RAW. You can recover a heck of a lot from a poorly exposed shot. It just takes a lot of time. I had a great time going to Death Valley over Thanksgiving. My highlight was definitely taking photos of the crazy landscape. The weekend up to this point has mostly been spent postprocessing and uploading the pics. There's definitely more there than you'd be interested to see.
Post-lastly, congrats to Toby and Clara, but you knew that already.
Oct 4, 2005
I was about to have breakfast this morning (yes, you read it right, me and breakfast in the same sentence) when I was about to say grace, as I often do when I remember. Now instead of the usual "rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub" (although, since I was standing in front of the sink, it dawned on me that it was in the condition where it could use a good rub and scrub), I actually thought a moment about the whole act.
Now the popular belief is that religious people (ie Christians) say grace, whereas non-religious people are exempt. In reality, the 11th commandment, which says "Thou shalt say grace before thine meall; hors d'ouvres, coffee, tea, scones, desserts and alchohlic beverages are exempt when not accompanying an entree" does not exist. It is not recorded in the Bible. Believe it.
The whole point of saying grace is to express thankfulness and appreciation for the things we have (ie, food). It then occurred to me that this is something I haven't been doing much of lately. Perhaps it's fitting that it's the month for Thanksgiving. That's right, Thanksgiving is in October, when we can be thankful of the crops that are harvested. Although the Americans might have a point for putting it at the end of November, where there's a chance you can say "Thanks for the whistling snowstorm outside, and that we may go snowboarding on the morrow".
So as I tossed my curried turnover into the microwave, I was thankful for Miss CoolBeans, for picking it up for me with her spare change at the chinese plaza while some crazy lady was having her way with my hair (my attempts to grow it long never seem to work out). I was thankful that I'm living in a place where such asian delicacies are readily available. And I was thankful that God made the mystery meat thats stuffed into those turnovers. It then occurred to me that all those anti-Creationists are taking their cows for granted. What the heck.
Now the popular belief is that religious people (ie Christians) say grace, whereas non-religious people are exempt. In reality, the 11th commandment, which says "Thou shalt say grace before thine meall; hors d'ouvres, coffee, tea, scones, desserts and alchohlic beverages are exempt when not accompanying an entree" does not exist. It is not recorded in the Bible. Believe it.
The whole point of saying grace is to express thankfulness and appreciation for the things we have (ie, food). It then occurred to me that this is something I haven't been doing much of lately. Perhaps it's fitting that it's the month for Thanksgiving. That's right, Thanksgiving is in October, when we can be thankful of the crops that are harvested. Although the Americans might have a point for putting it at the end of November, where there's a chance you can say "Thanks for the whistling snowstorm outside, and that we may go snowboarding on the morrow".
So as I tossed my curried turnover into the microwave, I was thankful for Miss CoolBeans, for picking it up for me with her spare change at the chinese plaza while some crazy lady was having her way with my hair (my attempts to grow it long never seem to work out). I was thankful that I'm living in a place where such asian delicacies are readily available. And I was thankful that God made the mystery meat thats stuffed into those turnovers. It then occurred to me that all those anti-Creationists are taking their cows for granted. What the heck.
Sep 15, 2005
The summer's flown by. If this were high school i'd be quite disappointed by the way it's disappeared so suddenly. Haven't blogged much, but there's an assortment of photos from the summer on my flickr.
It's ironic that I'm on vacation and I haven't been this sleepy in ages. It's mostly because I haven't been able to fall asleep at a decent hour, and I've been waking up earlier than I do for work.
So far, aside from the fact that it's 30 degrees in September when I'm expecting it to be 15, Toronto's been great. I've enjoyed the familiarity of church here. I've missed the way everything's so accessible by subway and walking, the whole sense of bustling metropolitan liveliness.
On Sunday morning, I went to church service, then I went to a second service up the street, mainly to see some friends. After that I rushed and barely made it to my goddaughter's baptism. I wonder about the significance that Matt 22 appeared in both the sermons at the morning service and at the baptism.
I caught my first ever Toronto International Film Fest flick on Sunday night. "Mary", by Abel Ferrara was a thought provoking film, ultimately asking about the significance Of Jesus. The movie depicts Matthew Modine as an egomaniacal bad boy director who hopes the controversy generated by his movie of a gnostic Jesus would capitulate him to fame and fortune. Forrest Whittaker plays a TV talk show host with a series investigating the views of Jesus from people of various beliefs, and whose own beliefs, or lack thereof are challenged in the course of the film.
I enjoyed the way this movie presented a myriad of perspectives on Jesus. It's certainly not a Christian film, as it presents some very non Catholic views of what is commonly called the "historical Jesus" in some scenes. On the other hand, I also would not consider it an anti-Christian film; it argues strongly on the behalf of faith. The weakest part of the film was that it seemed to see Jesus as a significant figure, but could not recognize why.
This confusion, and the lack of any particular stance was reflected in the Q&A with Abel Ferrara, Matthew Modine, and the film's editor. Their different backgrounds came together to present a film about a contraversial film about Jesus (heh), but I think "Mary" will not raise much convtroversy in it's attempt to appeal to everyone's opinion.
2.5/5
Upcoming Reviews: "You Bet Your Life", "Bubble", "Everlasting Regret", "All the Invisible Children".
It's ironic that I'm on vacation and I haven't been this sleepy in ages. It's mostly because I haven't been able to fall asleep at a decent hour, and I've been waking up earlier than I do for work.
So far, aside from the fact that it's 30 degrees in September when I'm expecting it to be 15, Toronto's been great. I've enjoyed the familiarity of church here. I've missed the way everything's so accessible by subway and walking, the whole sense of bustling metropolitan liveliness.
On Sunday morning, I went to church service, then I went to a second service up the street, mainly to see some friends. After that I rushed and barely made it to my goddaughter's baptism. I wonder about the significance that Matt 22 appeared in both the sermons at the morning service and at the baptism.
I caught my first ever Toronto International Film Fest flick on Sunday night. "Mary", by Abel Ferrara was a thought provoking film, ultimately asking about the significance Of Jesus. The movie depicts Matthew Modine as an egomaniacal bad boy director who hopes the controversy generated by his movie of a gnostic Jesus would capitulate him to fame and fortune. Forrest Whittaker plays a TV talk show host with a series investigating the views of Jesus from people of various beliefs, and whose own beliefs, or lack thereof are challenged in the course of the film.
I enjoyed the way this movie presented a myriad of perspectives on Jesus. It's certainly not a Christian film, as it presents some very non Catholic views of what is commonly called the "historical Jesus" in some scenes. On the other hand, I also would not consider it an anti-Christian film; it argues strongly on the behalf of faith. The weakest part of the film was that it seemed to see Jesus as a significant figure, but could not recognize why.
This confusion, and the lack of any particular stance was reflected in the Q&A with Abel Ferrara, Matthew Modine, and the film's editor. Their different backgrounds came together to present a film about a contraversial film about Jesus (heh), but I think "Mary" will not raise much convtroversy in it's attempt to appeal to everyone's opinion.
2.5/5
Upcoming Reviews: "You Bet Your Life", "Bubble", "Everlasting Regret", "All the Invisible Children".
Jun 16, 2005
Under the Influence
I'm trying to finish off a bottle of Graham's Six Grapes I picked up at Costco that's been idling in my fridge for some time now. I think the taste is starting to turn; it's not sour, but it doesn't seem like the original flavour. I'm not sure how long port keeps, though I suspect this is safe. Back when we lived at Burbank, my mom had a bottle of port in the fridge for what seemed like years.
Speaking of Costco, they have San Pellegrino for close to $1 a bottle. This bubbly water reminds me of family vacations in Italy. I still fondly remember the trip to Rome I took with my sister. Next thing you know, I'm sitting in my room, downing glasses of bottled water with bubbles. Yes, that's right, I'm bourgeois.
This morning, er, afternoon, I woke up at 14:00. Now normally even when I work all night, I end up waking naturally to the sun around 10:00. I have no idea how I managed to sleep until the afternoon, but it's incredibly jarring to see the clock say 2 when you expect it to say 10, maybe 11.
As a result, I actually need to get in around 9 tomorrow, and it's now 2. Hopefully Graham will help me out, because All the President's Men kept me awake.
I was originally going to blog about the recent story about a Chinese man (Chinese, as in, in China) who killed an associate over some virtual property in an MMPORG, and the launch of WoW in China.
The last generation of Chinese grew up in the dying throes of Communist China. The next generation will grow up with a partially censored Internet where North American games seep through. We're not only moving towards a global economy, but a global culture of sorts.
In the meantime, I think I will try to make it to work by 9 tomorrow. Wish me luck, I haven't done that in weeks.
I'm trying to finish off a bottle of Graham's Six Grapes I picked up at Costco that's been idling in my fridge for some time now. I think the taste is starting to turn; it's not sour, but it doesn't seem like the original flavour. I'm not sure how long port keeps, though I suspect this is safe. Back when we lived at Burbank, my mom had a bottle of port in the fridge for what seemed like years.
Speaking of Costco, they have San Pellegrino for close to $1 a bottle. This bubbly water reminds me of family vacations in Italy. I still fondly remember the trip to Rome I took with my sister. Next thing you know, I'm sitting in my room, downing glasses of bottled water with bubbles. Yes, that's right, I'm bourgeois.
This morning, er, afternoon, I woke up at 14:00. Now normally even when I work all night, I end up waking naturally to the sun around 10:00. I have no idea how I managed to sleep until the afternoon, but it's incredibly jarring to see the clock say 2 when you expect it to say 10, maybe 11.
As a result, I actually need to get in around 9 tomorrow, and it's now 2. Hopefully Graham will help me out, because All the President's Men kept me awake.
I was originally going to blog about the recent story about a Chinese man (Chinese, as in, in China) who killed an associate over some virtual property in an MMPORG, and the launch of WoW in China.
The last generation of Chinese grew up in the dying throes of Communist China. The next generation will grow up with a partially censored Internet where North American games seep through. We're not only moving towards a global economy, but a global culture of sorts.
In the meantime, I think I will try to make it to work by 9 tomorrow. Wish me luck, I haven't done that in weeks.
Jun 12, 2005
Blue moon light
It used to be that I'd write blogs at some odd hour. In the starlit hours it was as if words would write themselves, bleeding onto the screen from my fingertips, bypassing my brain as they'd dance out of my head.
I've felt pretty drained lately. For the past two years I've been part of the intern program at my church. In the past few months, it's become somewhat of a struggle, living up to a responsibility of the past. On Friday morning I finished my last paper. On Friday night I got the PBC diploma over dinner with the other interns. It felt like a sigh of relief. For almost the past year, I've went to bed ever night with the sense that I still had something to do. It's a strange feeling, having it finished.
"Really?" you say, "studying God's Word is draining?". You bet. Is that an indication of my spiritual life? I don't know. I hope I can at least be honest about it. There are days when I am writing something so incredibily dry, just a bunch of words on the page. Scroll down some if you'd like an example. It is as if I can find a lot to write about God, but I'm not sure how much bears any relevence.
I just watched Mystic River. If you haven't seen or heard about it, it's depressing. It reminds me of Psalm 39. I don't have my head wrapped around it yet, but somehow it's so comforting.
The word cancer seems to be popping up at least once a week lately. My life is quite straightforward, but I don't know how to unravel some of the complications that I know of. Knots in lives that won't be undone. Aren't we called to minister to people where things are stuck? This is where we need to be relevent.
I will miss my breakfasts with Danny very much.
It used to be that I'd write blogs at some odd hour. In the starlit hours it was as if words would write themselves, bleeding onto the screen from my fingertips, bypassing my brain as they'd dance out of my head.
I've felt pretty drained lately. For the past two years I've been part of the intern program at my church. In the past few months, it's become somewhat of a struggle, living up to a responsibility of the past. On Friday morning I finished my last paper. On Friday night I got the PBC diploma over dinner with the other interns. It felt like a sigh of relief. For almost the past year, I've went to bed ever night with the sense that I still had something to do. It's a strange feeling, having it finished.
"Really?" you say, "studying God's Word is draining?". You bet. Is that an indication of my spiritual life? I don't know. I hope I can at least be honest about it. There are days when I am writing something so incredibily dry, just a bunch of words on the page. Scroll down some if you'd like an example. It is as if I can find a lot to write about God, but I'm not sure how much bears any relevence.
I just watched Mystic River. If you haven't seen or heard about it, it's depressing. It reminds me of Psalm 39. I don't have my head wrapped around it yet, but somehow it's so comforting.
The word cancer seems to be popping up at least once a week lately. My life is quite straightforward, but I don't know how to unravel some of the complications that I know of. Knots in lives that won't be undone. Aren't we called to minister to people where things are stuck? This is where we need to be relevent.
I will miss my breakfasts with Danny very much.
Jun 8, 2005
Today's Lowlights
- It's raining, in June, in California. This is not supposed to happen.
- The flowers are out. They should be dead by now. My allergies are killing me.
- I did not have my camera with me today.
Today's Highlights
- I poked fun at 4 pastors simultaneously.
- Generic Claritin costs $14.99 for 180 tablets at Costco.
- Free Haagen Dazs ice cream bar.
- Parked next to a black Ferrari 612 Scaglietti at work.
- It's raining, in June, in California. This is not supposed to happen.
- The flowers are out. They should be dead by now. My allergies are killing me.
- I did not have my camera with me today.
Today's Highlights
- I poked fun at 4 pastors simultaneously.
- Generic Claritin costs $14.99 for 180 tablets at Costco.
- Free Haagen Dazs ice cream bar.
- Parked next to a black Ferrari 612 Scaglietti at work.
Righteousness for everyone
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word "righteous" as "acting in accord with divine or moral law". In the 1950s through 1970s, the word was slang for something that was exceedingly good. However, that usage has fallen by the wayside as the current American culture's postmodern worldview challenges the idea of a single divine or moral law. The idea that any single definitive moral law may apply to everyone is repulsive to many. It appears discriminatory and intolerant of differences between people. To claim that one has the final moral law sounds presumptions. To claim righteousness borders on arrogance. It is no wonder that churches full of righteous Christians are unpopular with the less righteous public at large.
In Romans Paul discusses righteousness in the light of the gospel. Jesus Christ changed the entire framework of relating to God. Righteousness, as the state of being acceptable before God, gained a new meaning in this shift. Early in Romans, Paul introduces this new sense of righteousness, saying "For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17). Paul elaborates on this “righteousness by faith”, which in some ways were drastically different from the common idea of righteousness at the time. Much of Paul's address is to those accustomed to the Jewish paradigm. For the Jews, the symbols of their acceptance by God lay in God's covenant with Abraham and the Law bestowed upon Moses. The covenant is described in Genesis 17, where God says "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you... And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you" (Genesis 17:7,11). The covenant of circumcision represented the acceptable relationship between the descendent of Abraham and God. Later in Exodus, God says to Moses shortly before giving him the Law, "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). Hence the Law was the symbol of Israel's status as God's priestly nation.
In Romans 2 Paul criticizes the symbols of circumcision that was held dearly by the Jews. In Romans 2:25, Paul argues "For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision". Although a symbol of the covenant, righteousness was in fact attained by obedience to the Law. Having the symbol did not automatically include one in the righteous elite. Only someone who fulfilled the Law could be considered morally flawless and righteous.
Paul challenges these classic ideals for righteousness. He summarizes the gospel like this:
"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:21-24).
The latter half of this passage points out the problem with the Law. It defines the requirements for moral perfection, but in the process it effectively puts righteousness beyond the reach of mortal man. The old thinking considered Jews as the righteous chosen people of God. Paul quickly shot down that line of thinking, defining righteousness by moral perfection according to the Law. This leads to the conclusion that no man is righteous. Paul’s option is the "righteousness of God" which is "apart from the Law". This is the gospel message in a nutshell, that God has offered a new reconciliation to righteousness for all those who failed via the Law. This redemption is a gift by the grace of God to all who have failed to earn it. It is available to all those who believe; it is not only the Jews who are privy to God's grace. This is a gift made possible by the death of Jesus Christ. God had paid the price to reconcile mankind to Himself. The way to righteousness by the Law and circumcision are not able to reconcile people to God.
If anyone portrays themselves as the righteous elite, then it is certainly not this righteousness of God which is offered to all. Faith in Jesus Christ comes with the confession that one is woefully insufficient on ones own, and that one is no more righteous than his fellow man. God's intention was that mankind in general could be reconciled through his chosen priesthood. However, not only did they fail at proclaiming God's righteousness to the world, but they themselves routinely fell into following other gods. Throughout Israel's history, God routinely forgave the wandering Israelites and restored them after a period of punishment. God had set a precedent for grace through the books of the Law and the Prophets.
Now the church can learn much from Israel's history. At times Israel seemed to have taken their place as God's chosen people for granted, and fallen away into sin. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul says "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?". One cannot claim to accept God's righteousness yet turn around and mindfully act contrary to it. In Romans 6:17-18, Paul uses the analogy of being "slaves of righteousness", and likewise in Romans 8:12 he says "we are under obligation, not to the flesh". We are not to be obedient to God in order to achieve righteousness. Rather it is a response to God's love, obedience follows from having been made righteous.
In the end, the actions of the righteous speak for themselves. God had called the descendants of Abraham to be his chosen people, so that his glory on earth might be seen through them. Where the covenant and the Law did not succeed in redemption, God sent his Son. to make men righteous. He did not do this so that the righteous could stand above others, but rather that God's love might be expressed in the world through them. Jesus did not come to make disciples so that they could gloat above others, "so that all the nations might believe and obey him" (Romans 16:26). God's power is not expressed by the church's dominion over the world, but rather that his people act righteously, so that all men may share in his kingdom.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word "righteous" as "acting in accord with divine or moral law". In the 1950s through 1970s, the word was slang for something that was exceedingly good. However, that usage has fallen by the wayside as the current American culture's postmodern worldview challenges the idea of a single divine or moral law. The idea that any single definitive moral law may apply to everyone is repulsive to many. It appears discriminatory and intolerant of differences between people. To claim that one has the final moral law sounds presumptions. To claim righteousness borders on arrogance. It is no wonder that churches full of righteous Christians are unpopular with the less righteous public at large.
In Romans Paul discusses righteousness in the light of the gospel. Jesus Christ changed the entire framework of relating to God. Righteousness, as the state of being acceptable before God, gained a new meaning in this shift. Early in Romans, Paul introduces this new sense of righteousness, saying "For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17). Paul elaborates on this “righteousness by faith”, which in some ways were drastically different from the common idea of righteousness at the time. Much of Paul's address is to those accustomed to the Jewish paradigm. For the Jews, the symbols of their acceptance by God lay in God's covenant with Abraham and the Law bestowed upon Moses. The covenant is described in Genesis 17, where God says "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you... And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you" (Genesis 17:7,11). The covenant of circumcision represented the acceptable relationship between the descendent of Abraham and God. Later in Exodus, God says to Moses shortly before giving him the Law, "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). Hence the Law was the symbol of Israel's status as God's priestly nation.
In Romans 2 Paul criticizes the symbols of circumcision that was held dearly by the Jews. In Romans 2:25, Paul argues "For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision". Although a symbol of the covenant, righteousness was in fact attained by obedience to the Law. Having the symbol did not automatically include one in the righteous elite. Only someone who fulfilled the Law could be considered morally flawless and righteous.
Paul challenges these classic ideals for righteousness. He summarizes the gospel like this:
"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:21-24).
The latter half of this passage points out the problem with the Law. It defines the requirements for moral perfection, but in the process it effectively puts righteousness beyond the reach of mortal man. The old thinking considered Jews as the righteous chosen people of God. Paul quickly shot down that line of thinking, defining righteousness by moral perfection according to the Law. This leads to the conclusion that no man is righteous. Paul’s option is the "righteousness of God" which is "apart from the Law". This is the gospel message in a nutshell, that God has offered a new reconciliation to righteousness for all those who failed via the Law. This redemption is a gift by the grace of God to all who have failed to earn it. It is available to all those who believe; it is not only the Jews who are privy to God's grace. This is a gift made possible by the death of Jesus Christ. God had paid the price to reconcile mankind to Himself. The way to righteousness by the Law and circumcision are not able to reconcile people to God.
If anyone portrays themselves as the righteous elite, then it is certainly not this righteousness of God which is offered to all. Faith in Jesus Christ comes with the confession that one is woefully insufficient on ones own, and that one is no more righteous than his fellow man. God's intention was that mankind in general could be reconciled through his chosen priesthood. However, not only did they fail at proclaiming God's righteousness to the world, but they themselves routinely fell into following other gods. Throughout Israel's history, God routinely forgave the wandering Israelites and restored them after a period of punishment. God had set a precedent for grace through the books of the Law and the Prophets.
Now the church can learn much from Israel's history. At times Israel seemed to have taken their place as God's chosen people for granted, and fallen away into sin. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul says "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?". One cannot claim to accept God's righteousness yet turn around and mindfully act contrary to it. In Romans 6:17-18, Paul uses the analogy of being "slaves of righteousness", and likewise in Romans 8:12 he says "we are under obligation, not to the flesh". We are not to be obedient to God in order to achieve righteousness. Rather it is a response to God's love, obedience follows from having been made righteous.
In the end, the actions of the righteous speak for themselves. God had called the descendants of Abraham to be his chosen people, so that his glory on earth might be seen through them. Where the covenant and the Law did not succeed in redemption, God sent his Son. to make men righteous. He did not do this so that the righteous could stand above others, but rather that God's love might be expressed in the world through them. Jesus did not come to make disciples so that they could gloat above others, "so that all the nations might believe and obey him" (Romans 16:26). God's power is not expressed by the church's dominion over the world, but rather that his people act righteously, so that all men may share in his kingdom.
Jun 5, 2005
May 19, 2005
3AM Eternal
It's a little like that feeling when you don't get enough sleep. There's a fog on everything. People seem to talk too fast. Or not loud enough.
But I'm getting enough sleep, and I'm still walking around in that haze. I'm walking in it all day long. It's enough sleep if you count the hours.
They are strange hours. A few hours here, a few hours there. I'm awake at strange hours. Some hours here, some hours there.
The worst is 3AM. No one is on at 3AM. Except that girl in Thailand.
It's a little like that feeling when you don't get enough sleep. There's a fog on everything. People seem to talk too fast. Or not loud enough.
But I'm getting enough sleep, and I'm still walking around in that haze. I'm walking in it all day long. It's enough sleep if you count the hours.
They are strange hours. A few hours here, a few hours there. I'm awake at strange hours. Some hours here, some hours there.
The worst is 3AM. No one is on at 3AM. Except that girl in Thailand.
Apr 30, 2005
Mar 10, 2005
Awash
Awash
I must admit, I've been feeling rather swamped lately. Days and weeks crawl by at work, a never ending river of tasks. I'm trying to take a break here an there, going hiking at Mt. Tamalpais, or snowboarding in Tahoe.
There are days when I wish I am a professional snowboard bum.
I feel like I'm perpetually trying to catch up. Maybe, one day, when I'm caught up with all the things I'm supposed to do, I can do something I want to do.
Some days I want to regress, absolve myself from all responsibility.
It has occurred to me, what if I don't finish the to-do list before I die? I guess theologically, that won't happen eh? At least not if you believe in divine sovereignty and all that.
Maybe I've just got the wrong list.
Feb 17, 2005
Feb 16, 2005
Feb 8, 2005
Dr. Amazon.com
or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Impulse Shopping
This story starts a little ways back in history, or perhaps a long ways back, depending on your perception of time. It was the year 2000, the Internet was a different place than it is now. DVDs were still somewhat novel, as was online shopping. There were scores of online DVD retailers, all selling at losses in order to ramp up volume. Amazon.com had jumped into the DVD space, selling deeply discounted movies. Once in a while, they'd make a mistake, people would find out about them, and post about it on forums where collectors and bargain hunters would congregate. One day, the The Insider was released on Amazon for the bargain basement price of $0. Being a fan of all films Michael Mann, I picked it up, for US$7.95 shipping, which worked out to just about CDN$10.
Fast forward 5 years to 2005. It's probably been 6 or 8 months since I've bought something online. I get ads in my email from sites like e*trade, buy.com and amazon.com on a semi-regular basis like lingering STDs from a one-night-stand you've long forgotten about. I normally delete them without looking, as you should. But this one said something about a new 2-disc edition of HEAT, which happens to be one of my all-time favourite movies. How did Amazon know? Because, as their email said, they've noticed that customers who bought "The Insider" also bought "HEAT", and now, I can get it at 25% off if I pre-order. YAY! I already have the DVD (I did mention it's one of my all-time favourites), but I certainly don't have the 2-disc edition). I click on the link in the email. And what do you know, the $20 (post discount) set can be had with Free Super Saver Shipping on orders of $25 or more.
You know that thing about alchoholism, where you can be clean and sober, but that one drink throws you back in the mess. Or maybe it's more like crack. You can't get away from that Free Super Saver Shipping. So you buy more. You search for that last $5 of useless stuff so you can save the $2.98 shipping. But like crack, Amazon doesn't let you off easy, they hook you with ads on the bottom of the page. So down there, striking its sexy little pose, is the 2-disc edition of "Collateral". My, isn't it easier to click on that than to hunt for some $5 item you don't want? C'mon, you know you want more Michael Mann, like you need a kick in the crotch from a talking bear.
So now, after about 5 minutes of seeing email, I've clicked into Amazon, past the shipping and credit card pages (they've remembered my address and my credit card #s, so I wouldn't have to stop to think before entering them again... they even have the now expired credit card I used when I lived in Waterloo and bought "The Insider"), and dropped $40 on 4 DVDs that I liked but had no intention of buying 6 minutes prior. I should just go back to e*trade and buy in to Amazon.com.
Oh, for the record, I haven't given the crack or one-night-stand things a shot yet, so I'm not actually speaking from experience. You'll have to forgive me for the artistic license, but given how boring my blogs have been lately, I figured I needed some sex, drugs and rock 'n roll to keep people coming back for more. Or maybe I should just put up links for you to places you can impulse shop.
or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Impulse Shopping
This story starts a little ways back in history, or perhaps a long ways back, depending on your perception of time. It was the year 2000, the Internet was a different place than it is now. DVDs were still somewhat novel, as was online shopping. There were scores of online DVD retailers, all selling at losses in order to ramp up volume. Amazon.com had jumped into the DVD space, selling deeply discounted movies. Once in a while, they'd make a mistake, people would find out about them, and post about it on forums where collectors and bargain hunters would congregate. One day, the The Insider was released on Amazon for the bargain basement price of $0. Being a fan of all films Michael Mann, I picked it up, for US$7.95 shipping, which worked out to just about CDN$10.
Fast forward 5 years to 2005. It's probably been 6 or 8 months since I've bought something online. I get ads in my email from sites like e*trade, buy.com and amazon.com on a semi-regular basis like lingering STDs from a one-night-stand you've long forgotten about. I normally delete them without looking, as you should. But this one said something about a new 2-disc edition of HEAT, which happens to be one of my all-time favourite movies. How did Amazon know? Because, as their email said, they've noticed that customers who bought "The Insider" also bought "HEAT", and now, I can get it at 25% off if I pre-order. YAY! I already have the DVD (I did mention it's one of my all-time favourites), but I certainly don't have the 2-disc edition). I click on the link in the email. And what do you know, the $20 (post discount) set can be had with Free Super Saver Shipping on orders of $25 or more.
You know that thing about alchoholism, where you can be clean and sober, but that one drink throws you back in the mess. Or maybe it's more like crack. You can't get away from that Free Super Saver Shipping. So you buy more. You search for that last $5 of useless stuff so you can save the $2.98 shipping. But like crack, Amazon doesn't let you off easy, they hook you with ads on the bottom of the page. So down there, striking its sexy little pose, is the 2-disc edition of "Collateral". My, isn't it easier to click on that than to hunt for some $5 item you don't want? C'mon, you know you want more Michael Mann, like you need a kick in the crotch from a talking bear.
So now, after about 5 minutes of seeing email, I've clicked into Amazon, past the shipping and credit card pages (they've remembered my address and my credit card #s, so I wouldn't have to stop to think before entering them again... they even have the now expired credit card I used when I lived in Waterloo and bought "The Insider"), and dropped $40 on 4 DVDs that I liked but had no intention of buying 6 minutes prior. I should just go back to e*trade and buy in to Amazon.com.
Oh, for the record, I haven't given the crack or one-night-stand things a shot yet, so I'm not actually speaking from experience. You'll have to forgive me for the artistic license, but given how boring my blogs have been lately, I figured I needed some sex, drugs and rock 'n roll to keep people coming back for more. Or maybe I should just put up links for you to places you can impulse shop.
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