Eger and Sirens Valley - Hungary: Floral? Fruity? Woody Notes? What Notes?

Everyone keeps asking if I plan to get drunk for New Year's Eve. Drunk? I don't get drunk, I just get really buzzed. ;)

I had my vodka and Red Bull/foam party/clubbing until 7 a.m. for a week straight in Ibiza moments. But that was quite a while ago. For the past few years, it's been a pretty quiet New Year's Eve at home with the usual assortment of family and friends. We do go through quite a bit of liquor though, largely wine and champagne.

I'll be the first to admit I don't have a very sophisticated wine palate. Those floral, fruity, woody notes you're supposed to detect in wine? Totally escapes my tongue. Most of my wine is bought from Trader Joe's, because they describe what the wine is supposed to taste like and because I can get some pretty good stuff for under $5. If the wine ends up being a miss, I just cook with it and I didn't waste much money trying something new. I like white more than red, sweet rather than dry. I even went really ghetto this year and bought a clearance $2 wine in a box from Target. I have high hopes though because it's made with moscato, chardonnay, and chenin blanc grapes. Heh.

So while stocking up my wine cabinet, I found this bottle of Egri Bikaver (Bull's Blood of Eger) at TJ's.


Bull's Blood is a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and several other Hungarian red grapes. But my all-time favorite is the super-sweet white wine Tokaji Aszu, Tokaj is the name of the town and Aszu the method for making the wine.

My favorite travel memories are the unexpected. I mean, if I said I had good wine in France, that's expected. I think in most people's minds, France = wine. But good wine in Hungary? A whole valley of caves where the Huns hid from the Turks and have since been turned into wine cellars? Now that's a story.

Cinnamon Rolls

Did a little baking this morning. This cinnamon roll recipe is adapted from the back of my package of Red Star brand yeast. It's a good basic recipe that seems very forgiving (I forgot about the eggs until after I had already kneaded and formed the dough and it still turned out fine). I substituted half the flour with whole wheat flour, omitted nuts, and made maple instead of coffee icing.

Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. - Alhambra

Butterfat makes ice cream rich and creamy. At Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. in Alhambra, they put 16% butterfat in their ice cream. That 16% means their ice cream is considered "premium." Butterfat gooooood.

Fosselman's has been in business since 1919, and at the Alhambra location since 1941. It is located off the main drag of Main Street, on the opposite end from the car dealerships, and next to a Wells Fargo. The third generation of Fosselmans have taken over the business. Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. still seems as quaintly old-fashioned as before. Ice cream is still made in the back. The owners are often in the shop, still scooping out flavors to customers. Signs are still hand-drawn and hand-written.

At any given time, there are about 50 flavors of ice cream, sherbet (only 1 1/2% butterfat), and sorbet (no dairy). The mango sorbet tastes like a ripe, juicy mango. Fosselman's has seasonal flavors such as date, peach, cinnamon, rum raisin, black walnut, pumpkin, and egg nog. The seasonal flavors are posted on the front windows in an old-fashioned sign, drawn by hand with a small picture. Fosselman's has also responded to Alhambra's largely Asian and Latino communities and features green tea, lychee, ube, taro, red bean, ginger, and dulce de leche flavors.

This night we indulged in dark chocolate, banana walnut, pistachio, and I can't remember the other two flavors. A single scoop (large!) is $2.35 on a cake or sugar cone.

Fosselman's also has malts, shakes, rootbeer floats, banana splits, and ice cream cakes. Select flavors can also be taken home in half-gallon containers. There's also a candy counter with various jelly beans, gumdrops, and homemade saltwater taffy.

Fosselman's routinely wins gold medals at the L.A. County Fair. And appears on the L.A. Times' list of best eats year after year. But trust me, 16% butterfat ice cream. Goooood.

April 11, 2007 Update:

So to make it up to lil' sis's friend for the bad dessert we had at NBC Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park, we went to Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. in Alhambra.

My mango sorbet was refreshing and not too sweet. $2.15 a scoop.

Lil' sis chose blackberry-raspberry sorbet. Sing it with me now! (Apologies to Prince.)

"She ate a

Raspberry sorbet

The kind u find in an ice cream store

Raspberry sorbet

And if it was warm she would eat much more

Raspberry sorbet"

Update: December 31, 2007

Just some photos I've had sitting around for a while. During the heatwave this summer, I bought a half gallon of the mango sorbet.


October marked the return of pumpkin pie ice cream.

And licorice! My friend was waaaay excited about this since she hadn't eaten this flavor in about 20 years. Her tongue and lips were stained black but she was in heaven.

Taro ice cream.



Other ice cream shops:
Bert & Rocky's Cream Company - Claremont
Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain - South Pasadena
Scoops - Los Angeles
Saffron Spot - Artesia (Little India)

Fosselman's Ice Cream Co.

1824 W. Main Street

Alhambra, CA 91801

626-282-6533
Open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sweet Corn Tomalito

Updated from the archives August 18, 2008: These sweet corn tomalitos are similar to that scoop of corn stuff you get on a corn husk at Chevy's. You know, the corn thing with the cactus-shaped tortilla stuck in it? Or you can serve them as patties and all fancy with salsa and sour cream sauce like the sweet corn cakes at Cheesecake Factory. Sort of like a Vietnamese corn che (dessert pudding) without the coconut milk. I think they're technically a Tex-Mex side dish, but anyway, if you like corn as much as I do, they're good. Sweet Corn Tomalito For an 8-inch diameter pan, or about a dozen patties, you'll need: 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) 1/2 cup masa harina (corn flour, not to be confused with corn meal) 1/2 cup cornmeal 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup milk or yogurt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 14-oz cans creamed-style corn or substitute one can with 1 can drained corn kernels In a bowl, beat together 1/2 stick butter and 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Masa harina on the left, cornmeal on the right. Pour the mixture into a round pie pan or 8-by-8-inch pan. I upended my bamboo steamer and placed the pan on top of that. If you don't have one, upend a bowl, wet a paper towel and place it on top to hold the pan in place and reduce friction, and then place the pan on top. This mixture looks a little thick because I only had one can of corn left. I guess I could have decreased the flour and cornmeal, but I had already dumped them into the bowl before I checked my cupboard. It still came out fine, so you could use only 1 can if you wish, but I like more corn. Steam for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until pudding is firm. Check water occasionally, and refill if necessary. May be eaten immediately spooned into scoops. Or leave at room temperature to cool down, then shape into patties and pan-fry until crispy. Or, a third option, is to bake it at 350 degrees for about an hour. Baking gives the pudding a crisp crust, while the inside stays soft and mushy. I've made about four batches of this stuff for Christmas and prefer the first two methods best. I barely got these off the pan before they were scooped up and eaten. Eating the sweet corn tomalito steamed is best when it's fresh and warm. Otherwise, pan-frying them gives a nice crispiness to the outside, while the inside stays pudding-like. I served these with drizzles of Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce) and chopped tomatoes. Let's take a look back at how bad my photography was in the early days, shall we? Eek! And yet, I still published this recipe anyway! Enjoy!

Cooking Christmas Colors: Insalata Caprese and Baked Goat Cheese with Pesto and Tomato Sauce

Merry Christmas everyone!

I made a very Christmas-y looking salad and appetizer last night. Or I guess any other time of year, it would be Italian colors. :P

Chili

Updated from the archives October 15, 2010:

Sometimes in updating new photos, recipes get tweaked just a bit too. Mostly, I hope that the directions are more clear now. My old picture of chili wasn't as horrible as some of the early pictures for other recipes. Nonetheless, both picture and recipe improved from a little updating.

 Previous commentary below the picture.

On British English, Spotted Dick, and Kalonji Seeds

J.K. Rowling revealed the title of book 7. Yippee. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

I've got both the American and British versions of the Harry Potter books. Why? Because the first few American versions changed some of the British English and foods to make it more understandable to American kids. Sigh. Really, does everything need to become Americanized?

As the Harry Potter books became more popular, the American version was released at the same time as the English edition so much of the British English stayed.

Isn't it more fun to read about "snogging" instead of kissing? And imagining a Hogwarts treasure trove of good eats such as treacle pudding and spotted dick? :)

P.S. Kalonji seeds are also known as black onion seeds. Although they're not really black onion seeds either.

Food Choices, Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant, and Burrito-sized Eggrolls in Salzburg

One of my closest friends enjoys visiting me because she says she always likes my "food choices." And she doesn't like other people's choices? Apparently we have the same taste buds and empty pocket books. So she always leaves happy with a full belly that she didn't have to pay much for. I didn't really understand what she meant until after I had several outings with another friend. I always left our meals feeling dissatisfied because I knew I could get much better for much less. That's the way it usually goes for restaurant recommendations. The tricky part is finding someone whose taste sensibilities are quite like your own. And so, upon someone else's recommendation, I decided to try Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant in Montclair. There were several reasons for this. I love quirky food stories and it doesn't get better than a Korean chef who was raised in China who opens a Chinese restaurant with a secret menu of Korean delicacies. It's easy enough to find good Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. Outside of it? That's another matter. Fu Lin is just southeast of Montclair Plaza, on the south side of the freeway, across from a Costco. Since the parking is in the rear, most people enter through the back. The interior was surprisingly spacious with an entrance area with the requisite large fish tank. There were red booths along the walls and tables in the center. With only three tables of people. None of them Asian. Uh oh. Not a good sign. I began to suspect very Americanized Chinese food. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I have my Panda Express moments. Although I have to admit, I haven't actually eaten at a Panda Express in several years. We were served a complimentary pot of tea, fried chow mein noodles to dip in mustard and sweet and sour sauces, and kim chi. The kim chi made me think maybe my suspicions were wrong. I ordered eggrolls, deep-fried garlic shrimp, and Korean sweet and sour beef (which is supposed to be from that aforementioned secret hidden menu). What I got was, well, Americanized Chinese food.

The eggrolls were mainly filled with cabbage, and a small amount of meat that was pretty much negligible. The sweet and sour beef had the standard cornstarchy sauce and was crispy when it was served, but became quite soggy by the end of meal. The deep-fried garlic shrimp tasted slightly sour, as if the garlic came from a jar. I wanted to like Fu Lin. Partly because someone liked it enough to recommend it. And partly because the waiters were very attentive and the service was very good. I felt like the stereotypical white person in a Chinese restaurant who misses out on the good food because they can't read from the Chinese menu. I perked up when I saw two Korean couples enter. They spoke to the waitress in Korean and I arched my neck to see if they somehow managed to get something from that secret Korean menu. But alas, their fried rice and soups didn't look all that remarkable.

The $23 bill came with orange slices and this very "charming" piece of gum.

It wasn't a total loss. I'm sure I'll eat the leftovers. And the dining experience at Fu Lin brought chuckles as my brother and I remembered our drive across Europe during the summer of 2002. We had just picked up our cousin from Hungary and stopped off in Salzburg, Austria, birthplace of Mozart and home to "The Sound of Music." Down the street from our hotel was a Chinese restaurant and my cousin insisted we have dinner there that night. Surprisingly enough, she said the Chinese food in Hungary is really terrible. Really? We didn't think Chinese food in Austria would be so much better either... As you can see from the picture below, the eggrolls were burrito-sized. We actually had to eat them with a fork and knife. And they were filled only with cabbage. The peking duck was breaded and fried. But my cousin was happy to have some semblance of Asian food. And our Chinese waiter was happy to see other Asians, even though we couldn't speak Chinese and my cousin could barely remember her high school German.

So thanks Fu Lin, for reminding me of some good times. Americanized or Austrianized, as long as I've got a food story out of my experience, I'm happy too. Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant

9645 Central Ave.

Montclair, CA 91763 909-398-1088 And if you're ever in Salzburg and want to try burrito-sized eggrolls, you can go to this restaurant ==>.

Banh Kem Dua (Vietnamese Coconut Flan)

Flan is a super-simple dessert that's very easy to make. There are only three ingredients, four if you want the coconut milk variation. And it's a good way to use up milk or eggs, whichever is closest to expiring. Banh Kem Dua (Vietnamese Coconut Flan) For about 10 ramekins but can be easily halved, you'll need: 1 13.5-oz can coconut milk 2 cups whole milk (Or 3 cups whole milk total if you want to omit the coconut milk.) 8 eggs 1 cup sugar for flan, 1/2 cup sugar for caramel You should set out your ramekins first. The hardest part is getting the sugar to caramelize. In a saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. Start the heat on medium-low so that sugar is evenly dissolved. Then turn the heat up to medium-high. Watch this closely because you don't want the mixture to burn. The sugar should start boiling and thickening. Once it becomes a frothy mixture like the picture, immediately take the pan off the stove and pour into the ramekins. If this step is too confusing for you, follow my directions for How to Make Nuoc Mau (Vietnamese Caramel Sauce). I really do mean immediate. The caramel is basically burnt sugar and will start hardening the minute it's off the stove. Pour into the bottoms of the ramekins. Set the ramekins into another pan that has been lined with paper towels. The paper towels serve to stabilize the ramekins. Pour water into the outer pan and fill halfway. The water will serve to "steam" the flan in the oven. In another pot on low heat, melt 1 cup sugar into the milk/coconut milk until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust sugar if necessary. This serves merely to melt the sugar evenly so the mixture should be lukewarm. Beat 8 eggs into the milk/sugar mixture. Then, using a strainer, pour the mixture into the ramekins. This will remove any bigger eggy chunks and leave a smooth consistency. That's it. Put the pan of ramekins into the oven for about half an hour at 325 degrees. The flan will be done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. You can also shake the ramekin to see if the custard has set. If it still seems too liquid, then it's not ready and you need to bake it longer. Allow the flan to cool down, then refrigerate before serving. If you don't want to cook flan in the oven, you can also steam it. No paper towels or second pan necessary if you're steaming your flan. Just put it on the steamer tray. Test for doneness after half an hour. Refrigerate. To serve, slide a knife around the outside edges of the flan to loosen it from the ramekin. Put a plate over the top. Flip. The caramel now becomes the top. My mom used to serve this with crushed ice on top and around the flan. Enjoy!

Kilt Shortage?

OK, I'll make this post slightly food related by first stating my deep love for Scottish chocolate whiskey, deep-fried Mars bars, and Shortbread Cookies with Lavender. Now that that's out of the way, did everyone see the article about a kilt shortage for Scottish soldiers? There's only enough kilts for one out of 15 soldiers. I dunno about you, but I'd have a hard time going commando in another man's fatigues. Now, I know these days most Scotsmen wear boxers underneath their kilts. But many also stick to tradition and wear nothing. Nothing. Heh. I feel like I should reveal why he felt so compelled to show me his Scottish lion tattoo. But I'll leave that up to your imagination. Now do ya'll know why I love Scotland? ;) Photo taken on the Royal Mile during the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2003.

Roughcut of Sushi/Dimsum Quilt

I laid out my quilt blocks to get a sense of what it'll look like. Not bad.

I can't do math so I used to just guesstimate how many blocks I could get from a fabric. Not such a good strategy when I'm using fabrics I got from thrift stores so there's no way I can run back to the store and get more if I run out. Case in point. Those longer side blocks? I needed 97 of them. I cut 90. Then with lots of strips about 1 to 2 inches wide, I managed to cobble together the remaining seven. But it's not gonna be a pretty sight.

So either be good at math, or use an online quilt calculator like lazy old me. :)

For a closer look at the fabric prints, click here.

Salt, Pepper, Lemon, Basic Baked Chicken

Look at the crispy skin.




And moist breast meat.

Pho Ha Vietnamese Restaurant - Pomona

Rainy weather = soup. And no other soup hits the spot like a steaming bowl of pho.

Apparently everyone else felt the same way. There was a small line of about half a dozen people waiting for a seat at Pho Ha in Pomona.

I was pretty surprised actually. I mean, this is the Inland Valley. Why would anyone opt for Vietnamese food outside of Little Saigon? But hey, not all Vietnamese Americans live in the OC.

There's a small cluster of Vietnamese restaurants, a fairly large grocery store, and other businesses around the intersection of Indian Hill and Holt in Pomona. It's been nearly a decade since I've eaten at Pho Ha. This used to be an occasional lunch spot when I worked out here a long, long time ago. I remembered it as bare-bones. And that the pho was so greasy that a dribble on the table had congealed by the end of the meal.

That's not the case anymore. The restaurant has now expanded into the shop next door to double its size. The walls are a warm, muted autumn orangey-brown. The customers ranged from a large Mexican family to a mixed group of mechanics to Claremont college students.

The best part was that my bowl of pho had a light, clear broth that was still very flavorful without being overpowering. So good that I even slurped the broth after eating what seemed like a never-ending bowl of noodles. Seriously, Pho Ha gives you quite a lot of noodles.

No grease dribbles this time around.

The regular bowl is $4.85, extra large $5.35. I have no idea why there's no size large. I ordered the #3 with rare slices of steak, well-done flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe. I love me my tripe, but was sad that there wasn't very much of it. The steak was thinly sliced and perfect. The tendon was nicely chewy without being fatty at all. Or maybe I'm confusing that with fatty brisket, which wasn't fatty either.

Maybe it was the rainy weather, or the morning of Christmas shopping, but this was a seriously satisfying bowl of pho. Not a drive out from OC bowl of pho. But definitely a coming back from Vegas along the 10 freeway, or coming back from outlet or mall shopping, bowl of pho stop.

The menu features 110 items from hu tieu (rice noodle), mi (egg noodle), bun (vermicelli noodles), banh hoi (steamed vermicelli noodle sheets), beef stew, rice plates, stir-fries, vegetarian, and specials. But when a restaurant is named after a particular dish, take their built-in recommendation and order that dish.

Pho Ha Vietnamese Restaurant

695 N. Indian Hill Blvd.

Pomona, CA 91767

909-622-7578

My Little Sister's Quilt and a Work in Progress

After I finished my apple tree quilt, my little sister immediately snuggled underneath, rubbed her hands over the flannel bits, and just nested. That's why I make quilts. My little sister then insisted, several times, that I show off her quilt. She made this when she was in high school. It's a Chinese Sunbonnet Sue pattern we modified from Sunbonnet Sue Patterns. Here's a close-up. Cute huh? Sooo cute. So ooh and aah accordingly and I'll pass along compliments to her. :) I've only made three quilts. All smaller lap quilts. So I like to leave them on my sofa and armchair for snuggling underneath when I'm watching TV or reading. So cozy. I don't much care for mustard yellow, browns, and other dark colors that are popular in country-style quilts. Most patterns are just too complicated for me. I like using up my scraps, which come from hemming various pants or covering photo albums. I love working with the small floral prints in calico. I like to vary textures and add in velvet or flannel. I gravitate toward pastels, mainly blue, pink, and lavender. But some fabrics make quilting just so much fun. Like this Parisville print from Michael Miller below. If I ever go to Paris again, I'll use it to cover my photo album. And then use the leftovers for a quilt. But for now, I just like looking at it. This sushi print is leftover from pajama pants I made years ago. I made dim sum pajama pants too. Are those the best fabrics or what? I've got enough pieces left over between the sushi and dim sum prints, that if I interspersed them with another fabric, I could make another quilt. I chose a cream-colored solid fabric with some flowers embroidered on it that's neutral enough the sushi and dim sum prints will stand out. But this project has been languishing for years so it may remain a work in progress for quite a while.

About This Blog

While I'm a completely open book in real life, somehow opening up my personal life to lurkers and strangers online wasn't comfortable for me. So when I decided to blog, I figured it'd be just about food and just that. But I was too lazy to take photographs because I was busy eating, darn it! So the blog languished for months but I still continued to look at other people's food pictures. Then I figured, OK, I can add in recipes and make it a chronicle of what I eat instead of an actual proper food review blog. Then I figured if people write about food, they must blog about gardens and I sure need gardening tips and ideas. And if people blog about food and gardens, surely they blog about their quilting?

And what did I discover from all my blog surfing?

Dude! That I mentally aged about 50 years.

Seriously, all I could think about was getting a little cottage where I'd plant fuchsia cosmos to spill over the white picket fence. And a brick-lined path in the back where I'd section off squared plots where I'd plant more flowers and vegetables. And then at night, I'd curl up and work on making quilts.

And when I told my little sister this, she laughed out loud and said, "Oh my god, when did you turn 81?"

Ha!

So I decided this blog would be dedicated to things that give me comfort -- food, gardening, quilting. One of my friends said I'm a one-trick pony. But it's a good trick. I introduced her to good eats. Before we became friends she had never tried...well, pretty much everything. And another long-time friend was so giddy to visit me a few months ago because she knew I'd feed her and feed her well. And while I like my food, and like taking friends to good restaurants, and like sending people my extensive list of restaurant recommendations, I didn't want to take something I like and turn it into a chore.

So the end result is this hodgepodge blog. No mouthwatering food descriptions. My mind doesn't think that way. If I say it's good, trust me, it's good. No obsessive chronicle of where and what to eat. I don't have the budget or energy for that. I tried keeping a separate gardening blog but I don't compartmentalize my life, so I didn't feel like sectioning off my blog. And because I'm Vietnamese-Chinese, I think all roads lead back to food and family anyway.

Which takes me to last summer in Vietnam. Now, being a South-Central Coast Vietnamese-Chinese I've got inherent biases in my food.

1. No com ga Hai Nam (Hainanese chicken rice) will ever taste as good as what I can get at home. Seriously. It's pretty much the only thing we Hainanese are known for. And while I know the technicalities of making the dish, it still doesn't taste like my mom's or my aunties'.
2. Banh xeo. Forget that wok-sized yellow crepe that comes by way of Saigon. In my neck of the woods, banh xeo is about six inches in diameter, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and a whole lot more flavorful.
3. While eggrolls are known as cha gio to Southerners and nem ran to Northerners, we call it cha ram and we only stuff it with shrimp and scallions. Anyway you called it or stuffed it, I was all over it.
4. Nem nuong. That grilled ground pork patty wrapped in rice paper that everyone clamors to Brodard for? Easy peasy. The secret is using honey instead of sugar. I've been at the restaurant when they get buckets of it delivered. The owners are from an hour south of my hometown in Vietnam. I've been making nem nuong since I was a child. That crunchy eggroll wrapper they put in the middle? That's just how we South-Central folks eat it. We toast our rice paper too. I can't figure out how to make their dipping sauce though.
5. And like a lot of Southerners, I think the food tastes a lot better down South. For example, every morning I ate pho for breakfast. (Pronounce pho as if it were a question because that's precisely what this ? accent makes it sound like.) In Saigon, pho comes with a plate of basil, sawtooth herb, bean sprouts, lime, chili paste, hoisin sauce. The only greens in a Hanoi bowl of pho would be some scallions. While pho originated in Hanoi, the pho that's served in America is heavily Saigon-influenced. That's because historically, the South has milder weather and a better growing season so herbs were more plentiful. These days many Hanoi pho restaurants will offer the condiments and herbs too. But many others feature traditional Hanoi-style pho, no herbs and a much, much lighter broth. So light that if I spilled droplets on my T-shirt, it left absolutely no grease stains.

I also think Vietnamese-American food beats any food I had in Vietnam. Basically because we're a rich country and can afford to put better ingredients in our food. The exception is fresh fruit. Oh man, that's a whole separate post because I went crazy taking pictures of fruit trees -- jackfruit, durian, rambutan, lychee, longan, green coconut, dragonfruit, and others that I don't know the names of in English.
And buying the fruit in a sterile market here is simply not the same.
The picture below is Ha Long Bay, in north Vietnam. You may recognize it from the film Indochine. Or in the more recent Amazing Race. Majestic limestone cliffs. Floating village. World Heritage Site. Pretty. Pretty.

The villagers are so at home on the water that if you look closely, you can see this woman row with one arm and one leg while eating a bowl of noodles with the other arm. Man, all that effort just to get to my junk to sell her wares. So, of course, I had to buy some fruit from her.

Below is the Can Tho floating market in the Mekong Delta in south Vietnam. If you look closely at the poles, you can see which fruits or vegetables the sellers are featuring that day. Man, if I could figure out how to upload my video of this it would be awesome.

Close-up of a boat with dragonfruit.

If you want to see what it looks like inside, I also grew dragonfruit in my garden this year but it sure wasn't a crop like that.
Anyway, while the fun part of traveling is the people I meet and the sites I saw, eating good food and seeing good food, enhances the experience greatly. So expect a smattering of food/travel-related posts as well.
Seems like I get the most hits from people searching for Vietnamese recipes, San Gabriel Valley Chinese restaurants, and doughnut bread pudding. Is this because, so far, that seems to be all I blog about? Or do I not have anything else to say?
And now that I've said a little more about me, please delurk and tell me a little about you. I'll make it easy and simple.
How did you find me? Why do you come back (ie. what do you like)?