Shanghainese YuDan Family Dinner

In Chinese culture, January 1 (western New Year) is referred to as YuDan or round egg, I think... So, I went to a friend's house for YuDan eve dinner... it was a cold crisp day. Here is a veiw from grandpa's office, Shanghai is truly an urban jungle now.

Chinese family dinners usually involve at least a dozen people, so the tasks were split between various family members, here my aunt is the official food chopper. She is chopping the eel here (eels are standard Shanghainese fare)...

Now the two chefs are in action in the kitchen...

Stir frying away...

Shanghainese cold appetitzers: smoked fish (two styles), shredded jellyfish and daikon, shredded Lusun (I think that's what it is called).

Now all the dishes are here (except the eel dish actually) and the kids called grandpa to the table... see how filial Chinese people are?

View from grandpa's office at night...

Jaaaayyyyyyy!

Went to Jay Chou's concert, where I was a super VIP, so super I was actually on stage...

Jay and crazy kiddie fans...

Stage from above...

A toast...

Good wine, good conversation, here is to 2011!

Love Story in Taipei

On my flight back to LA, I saw a Taiwanese movie called Snowfall in Taipei (台北飄雪). It sucked. The guy and the gal stare and pose, and nothing happens. Argh. If I were the director, here is how the story would go...

Ah-Jen (阿珍)and Ah-Long (阿龍)are kind hearted but lonely souls... and one winter day in Taipei, despite the once in a millenium heavy snow, they wandered to Raohe Street Nightmarket (饒河街觀光夜市)in search of their favorite food, stinky tofu! At the entrance, they each took a sniff of that sweet stinky smell and suddenly their eyes crossed...

They continued to stare cross-eyed at each other as they passed a bunch of food stands...

Finally, they reached the peppercorn bin stall... But alas, there was only one bin left... so Ah-Jen gingerly looked up to Ah-Long and said: you wanna share? Ah-Long couldn't believe his luck and replied, sure!

And so, it was love at first bite. Chomp! What do ya think of my script? Shall I submit it to a Hollywood studio?

Prime Rib and Conan

Prime rib at Houston's, and guess who we bumped into -- Conan O'Brien! He looked exactly the same in person and his hair was super fluffy. Btw, I finished the whole thing.

Small salad, big salad...

Post-Asia trip detox... oranges, fennels, cured beef, arugula...

This salad looks, er, HUUUGE.

Happy New Year!

Loved Taipei so much, decided to open up my own cafe there :) Lots of food pics to come, see ya later!