Beach!

Beach season is officially here! Yay! Sigh, it was so hard enduring that one week of "Winter"... but alas, the gloom and cold (ok, like 50 degree weather) are finally gone and everybody was out on the beach today! Mesmerized by the sparkly water, we could even see Catalina Island.

Doki and Nabi: couple of the century!

Oh, it's been such a nice day. The weather was warm and toasty. When I got off work, even the heavens was smiling at me. The moon was a perfect little crescent, with one bright bright star to its upper left side and one bright bright star to its upper right, forming a perfect smiley face! Though after a few seconds, I noticed the star on its right was moving slowly in the direction of LAX... but anyways... before I reached the parking garage, my nose caught a whiff of delicious BBQ smell... it turned out one of the entertainment companies was having a dinner reception... hmmm I so wanted to crash it and if I ever get arrested for trespassing... I'll use the defense that my nose made me do it!

Alrighty, getting back to the subject of this blog entry: Doki and Nabi! Thanks P for emailing me the link. I just love this cartoon series... it's so cute and got a good message too -- love conquers everything, even if you are a bunny that falls in love with a kitty! Check it out!

Let's volunteer!

I volunteered at a soup kitchen today through LA Works volunteer network! It was really fun and rewarding. We served probably over 500 meals! Yep! Women and children first, then families, then men...I was the tray handler... once the trays were filled with food, I lined them up so other volunteers at the other end could hand them out! But with hundreds of people to serve, I had to be fast! Anyway, I am glad less fortunate people got food to eat tonight. It was so good to be out there helping others, instead of sitting on my butt and watching silly soap operas... Let's all volunteer and make the world a better place!
Picture courtesy of Teach Peace Foundation

The Chinese Invented the Lunar New Year!

Ok, we Chinese are a very generous people. But I am feeling a bit of consternation that other countries are proclaiming the Lunar New Year as the Mongolian New Year or the Vietnamese New Year or the Korean New Year... Ahem, the Lunar New Year originated in China. Long long time ago, when China was a powerful country, its Confucian culture spread to its neighboring states and hence many adapted Chinese characters as their written language and the Chinese Lunar calendar as their calendar... But it's misleading to call the Chinese New Year anything other than aka the Lunar New Year... It's like me writing a paper on Einstein's Theory of Relativity, making a few tweaks here and there, scribble a few Hello Kitty figures on the margins, and then call it Prof MeowMeow Cat's Theory of Relativity as if I independently came up with the idea and try to claim the Nobel Prize... It's just not right! Hmph. Btw, don't be deceived by her innocent looks!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Plum blossoms! One of the most beloved flowers in Chinese culture and a favorite motif for Chinese New Year. Unlike other flowers, they bloom in the harshest of environments, the middle of the winter. Their spirit mirrors the spirit of the Chinese: resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity. Happy Chinese New Year and may the year of the Ox bring you happiness and prosperity!
Painting by Artist Li Lin

Itty Bitty Biiiirrrdddy with Little Cast!

He has a little cast on his little foot and a collar to prevent him from chewing on it... Awwwwww. He is my friend's friend's birdie. Update: his name is Hoochie. Get well soon little fella!

There is something about Ma La...

Sichuan Cuisine is known for its Ma (numbness/tingliness) and La (spiciness)... they are clearly addictive flavors... I craved Ma La all week, so a few days later, I went back to Ghost Street to a restaurant called Hu Da... which supposedly had the best Ma La Little Lobster (i.e. crayfish)...their crayfish Ma La sauce is super... in addition to Sichuan peppercorn (which gives the Ma-ness) and Sichuan red chili pepper (which gives the La-ness) the sauce also had bay leaves, garlic and other herby looking stuff... though we weren't sure what seasoning (soy sauce?) they used.

But, as good as their Ma La Little Lobsters, I liked their fragrant chili baby hairy crabs even more... it was Ma La, but it had a different sauce that exuded a subtle sweetness... coupled with the slightly fried crunchy texture of the hairy crabs... simply divine!

Here is a closeup... look at the roe! Kind of looks like a big spider huh? Not pictured is the shell which also contained generous portions of roe... so yummy!

Massacre... we probably used up ten pairs of gloves.