In this series… San Francisco Carmel-by-the-Sea Seattle Los Angeles East Coast On our second childless weekend, we took a half-day trip to Monterey and Carmel-by-the-sea. We jumped into the car earl in the morning, took a nice drive down, had a cup of coffee on the Monterey boardwalk, traversed the 17-mile drive, and strolled through
Childless Summer Adventures 2021 (1/5) – San Francisco
Our epic plans for the 10-year wedding anniversary was forever cancelled like nearly everything else in 2020. What made them possible in the first place, which was Hong’s parents’ willingness to host the kids for a summer, survived. Shortly after the COVID vaccine became widely available, they offered again. With zero hesitation from any participant,
Tournament of Zero – In Search For the Best Sparkling Water
In the years since giving up Coke and other sweet beverages, I learned to increasingly rely on sugar-free sparkling water as a substitute. After exploring a dozen or so different brands and flavors from a variety of grocery stores, all I could say was that some options were much better than others. I began to
Meats I Eat – Part 1 – Mammals
I love meat. From a dry-aged Wagyu rib-eye steak to 7-Eleven hot dogs, meat is delicious in so many forms. My appreciation goes beyond the beef, pork, and chicken that are dinner table staples. I am passionate about trying as many animals and animal parts as possible, and my kids share this love with me.
Beef Noodle Soups of the San Francisco Peninsula – The Sequel
Last fall, I wrote about my quest to sample beef noodle soups as take-out lunch. I picked 10 restaurants from around me, including several of our all-time favorite dining destinations. It was the most comprehensive survey of a single type of food that I had ever done, and I was proud of myself. Upon learning
LEGOs of 2020
LEGOs are among the very few things that everyone in our family appreciates. For years, we’ve enjoyed flipping through LEGO catalogues together, strolling through the LEGO store whenever we went to the mall, and stopping to look for new LEGO sets in Target’s toy department. We have always considered LEGO sets to be some of
Beef Noodle Soup of the San Francisco Peninsula
Several weeks ago, I came up with a genius idea – to sample beef noodle soups (牛肉麵) as restaurant take-out orders and to rank them. Why beef noodle soup? It’s among my favorite things to eat since childhood, and the only thing I craved during my eight years of vegetarianism. I grew up next to
China 2019 (10/10) – Hanfu
We took a trip to Taiwan and China in June 2019. Like most of our trips, I began writing about it shortly after. However, I got distracted somehow and never gotten around to finish it. Over a year later, picking this project back up is providing me with a nice boost of vacation memories while
China 2019 (9/10) – Food in China
We took a trip to Taiwan and China in June 2019. Like most of our trips, I began writing about it shortly after. However, I got distracted somehow and never gotten around to finish it. Over a year later, picking this project back up is providing me with a nice boost of vacation memories while
China 2019 (8/10) – Chongqing
We took a trip to Taiwan and China in June 2019. Like most of our trips, I began writing about it shortly after. However, I got distracted somehow and never gotten around to finish it. Over a year later, picking this project back up is providing me with a nice boost of vacation memories while