Congratulations!

What more can I say? The picture says it all. Beautiful weather. Beautiful venue. Beautiful couple. Congratulations H and P!

Wind Beneath Our Wings

We had a retirement karoake party for J at Boardwalk 11. Here is the pretty bar... on the other side is the stage, felt kind of bad for the other group that was there, had to put up with our "songs", especially yours truly's -- meow meow meow...wahwahwah... yep, that's how I sing.

So we did Wind Beneath my Wings... thank you J for being the wind beneath our wings. Happy retirement! After that we did a group song "Love Shack"! Love Shack Baby Love Shack!

World Cup, Octopus and Baby...

Oh my, what a whirlwind Sunday... Spain won the World Cup, courtesy of The Octopus, I love you Paul! Now, tell me the next lotto number, PUllleeeaze. Need to buy house. After the game, had baby back ribs at Lucille's in Long Beach (yummy yummy yummy), then went to C's place, and she is one day overdue having a baby... so when she started having symptoms, I went AHHHHH, to catch the baby. Alas, both mom-and-dad-to-be were perfectly calm, while I ran around like a headless chicken... at the end, this auntie-to-be got sent home :-) Oh, here is a Paul the Octopus sighting at the game... he is such a cutie!

Picture courtesy of Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Calbi Taco Truck

I was hungry the other afternoon and and my eyes lid up when I saw this cute little taco truck parked nearby...

Nice menu display...

Two beef tacos and a Korean rice drink... All for six bucks. My verdict: paws up!

Octopus Power

Paul the Octopus is said to possess psychic powers as he has correctly predicted every match involving the German team in the World Cup. Isn't he the cutest Octopus? Anyways, now he has predicted the team that will take it all... and he chose Spain over Holland... His keepers at the German aquarium better watch out for any clog wearing visitors...Hmm, Paul, which numbers should I pick for the next lottery draw. I will give you 1/3 of the winnings, Ok, 1/2... deal?

Contemporary Chengdu Dining

A local friend took me and C to Gingko, a trendy Sichuanese/
Cantonese restaurant. There are quite a few Sichuanese/Cantonese fusion restaurants in Chengdu, maybe they mix in Cantonese to balance out the fieriness of Sichuanese cuisine. We started out with a salad and a very refreshing drink, forgot the fruit they used... it's purple.

This dish doesn't look too appetizing but it tastes really good. It's actually slightly sour and spicy. The beef on top is really tender and the bottom is a bed of veggies. Do you see the chicken feet and tuna rolls in the background? Guess there is a bit of Japanese fusion going on here too.

This is a light dish... you mix everything together and get a delicious little tofu mix.

Dan Dan Noodles and Red Oil Fried Hands (haha, the English translation is so weird). What I like about this place is the flavors are so good and complex without being overwhelming.

I am not a huge dessert person but I loved the red rice cake, very light, not greasy at all.... and the purplish bun in the back is filled with egg yolk and a little butter... very creamy. Mmmmmm...

Chinese Haute Cuisine

It was M's birthday, since we loved Wide Alley, Narrow Alley so much, we went back there for dinner. Look at the beautiful entrance...

And even more beautiful courtyard...

And pretty girls playing traditional Chinese instruments, Pipa and Guzhen... The setting could not have been any better...

First course... chicken with chili sauce. But this is no ordinary chicken, according to the waiter, these chickens are released to the wild in the mountains near Chengdu, and after a while, the restaurant goes back, and if any chicken is still alive, they are caught for dinner... We were like WOW, then the waiter said, actually they release like a thousand into the wild, and they are cordoned off with a rope and stuff... so they are special, but not that special.

Very nutritious and well presented dish... lots of nuts, beans, shrimp, dragonfruit...

Sorry pandas, we didn't mean to compete for food with an endangered species... but bamboos are so delicious. Sneaky pandas, keep the secret all to themselves. Now I know what to do if I ever get lost in a bamboo forest, I am gonna chomp, munch, chomp my way out of it... yep, I shall blaze a trail out of the bamboo forest with my bare teeth. CHOMP!

This is a bit of fusion dish... it's foie gras with oyster mushroom, I would have preferred the foie gras with something more refreshing, altogether a bit too rich for my Chinese palate. But still very good quality foie gras, rich and creamy. Oh yeah, C is peeling the bamboo in the background.

Woo, another special dish. It is called Fuzzy Blood Wan (or Mao Shiu Wan do not know how to translate wan). Sadly most of the goodies are buried underneath: chicken blood, chicken kidney, inners meat, etc. etc. Mind you, this is single person serving, I was surprised how much was in this little pot.

Beautifully presented fish. The leaf is from a local plant. It is called Turtle Back Leaf.

And we finished the meal with an herbal soup... delicious and refreshing.

Ahhh... so beautiful. I almost bursted out in a Tang Dynasty Poem -- Bamboos so yummy, Pandas so sneaky, If Cat is lost, She'll chomp her way out!

Last but not least, we have the Longevity Noodles for M. Here, they put a fried egg on top to symbolize birth. Happy birthday M!

Can you believe this dinner only cost about $30 per person? But alas, we didn't have enough $$$ so I was left to play guzhen to pay for food... but I am a Princess, I don't work for food. Wah!