NOLA {Part 2}

On to the best part, the food of New Orleans. The food did not disappoint; although the hubs was mostly looking forward to a crawfish boil, but crawfish was not in season!

Our first night there was Christmas Eve, and we went to Borgne one of John Besh's restaurants. Borgne is Besh's coastal Louisiana cuisine restaurant. They had a reveillon menu to celebrate Christmas.




The hubs had the Crispy Boudin Balls -- Duck & Andouille Gumbo -- Black Drum -- Citrus Olive Oil Cake


I had the Duck Poppers -- Alligator Soup -- Whole Stuff Flounder -- Pot de Creme


On Christmas night we tried another John Besh restaurant, Domenica, his Italian restaurant inside the Roosevelt Hotel (featured here. We had a Meat&Cheese Board (the duck liver pate was amazeballs) -- Clam Pizza -- Stracci (oxtail + fried chicken livers) -- Tagliatelle (rabbit + porcini) -- Banana Zuppa Inglese. The appetizer and pizza was great; the pasta was way over salted (they ended up remaking the hubs' tagliatelle)

(see that big fluffy pillow dough on the top left corner, they were pretty amazing: its Domenica's savory version of a beignet fried in DUCK FAT. so yummy with the duck pate. anyway..moving on before i drool...)

I think I'll stop here for now and do one more post of the more casual foods we had.

NOLA {Part 1}

I can't believe its been almost 3 months since our New Orleans trip! It was our "big" trip of the year; we were there from Christmas Eve through the 29th before heading off to LA for a wedding.

Most of the trip was spent walking, exploring, and, of course, EATING! This was our first time in NOLA (first time in the south - minus TX). The culture is definitely unique and enticing. It also felt quite familiar and comfortable, like easing into an old, comfy couch. There was a lot of old, mixed in with the new; and the rebuilding of the city was definitely felt, as well as the love of the citizens for their city.

The architecture was amazing; it really transports you back to a different era:






We also did a swamp tour while in Louisiana. The bus picked us up and drove us out about a half hour to the swamp. During the drive, our driver pointed out different areas where Katrina had hit and the damages that occurred. I wish I got photos of it, but I was too busy soaking it all in. In some places the water was 15-20 feet. Some buildings, like a movie theater, decided to not rebuild, and it still sits there - stranded and debilitated. Then some areas have rebuilt and come back strong. We also got to hear/see the damage on the swamp.





It was winter, so the expectation was that we weren't going to see much wildlife. We did spot a couple of little gators, including one whose jaw was busted open, saw a pelican, a nutria (giant rat). I was most excited about getting to hold a gator!


(Please excuse my ridiculous look, someone said something that made me laugh)

I'll end with one of my favorite scenes from the trip. This was the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel, dressed to the nines for Christmas:

(my photos really don't do this place justice)

長尾巴...

attack of the cute

There's a saying in Chinese "長尾巴" or growing your tail - which is a nice way to say "you're another year older"... My tail grew this week, and I was reminded again of how loved and blessed I am.

Here's a quick collage to summarize it all. Surrounded by family, friends, and food.

Thank you to all of you who are in my life and constantly remind me of how great our God is and how His love is all around us.

31 Days of Being Where I Am: BART

(Another catch-up post)

Bay Area Rapid Transit...

A lot has been and can be said about BART. I take it as my primary mode of transportation for my commute. Some days it makes me wish I had a job I could drive to in the comforts of my own car. Other days I appreciate that I can hop on and not worry.

You see and experience a lot of interesting (good and bad) things on BART. You see glimpse that humans are still kind and willing to help others. You also see d-bags who probably need a beatin' from their mama (who probably don't beat them which is why they are the way they are...).

There's also the entertaining... or amusing. For instance this guy I saw last Friday.

He was ushered on by a friend at embarcadero. Very inebriated. There were no seats, because by that station during commute hours its a miracle to find a seat. So he stood, then he started losing his footing and falling over. Finally, a few kind people gave up their seats and scooted to make room for him. He then proceeded to knock out in the position as pictured for the rest of the way (about 30 min). We get to Castro Valley and are held up, lo and behold, its because of our dear buddy. A passenger alerted the BART police to come check him out. Took a while for BART police to convince him to deboard the train -- he was one confused fellow! Not sure what happened to him, but probably for his good, he was not in a state to get in a car and drive.

That's it folks, have a great Friday! Hope I'll get a post in this weekend too

Catching up...

A few images from the past few months, mostly phone pictures. Will hopefully begin updating this regularly (as i always say...)



per diem


in'n'out


dinner w/ the Lu's


Father's Day Beef Wellington


Napa Trip


Dinner w/ the Ahn's