Where has the weekend gone?

Oops. The weekend's over already?

Panda had finally gotten his visa issues settled and flew back yesterday - hooray! That's after being away for more than 2 weeks, much longer than we had anticipated. But I was doing alright here on my own, thanks to my awesome friends, who kept bringing food and inviting me over for dinners. On Friday night, I decided it was my turn to host and did a simple dinner.

On Saturday, we made an impromptu shopping trip to Marina Square Centre, San Leandro. The Nike Clearance store was located there and it's pretty cool, carrying more variety than outlet stores. I had to exercise A LOT of self-restraint, telling myself I have enough sports gear and I don't need another set of top, pants and jacket. But the wall of defense sort of fell when we went to Gap. Jo and I each bought a puffy vest. Well, that I don't have yet!

Sunday's pretty much a Cupertino day! I finally had a chance to try Layang Layang, which everyone opined tastes better than Shiok, the other Singaporean/Malaysian restaurant. I was debating between Mee Goreng, Nasi Lemak and Hor Fun. In the end, Hor Fun won and I loved it! Also tried a little bit of their Char Kway Teow. It's not too bad.



I forgot to mention that the reason we were in Cupertino in the first place was KTV. The gang had been itching to go for some time but we decided to wait for Panda. So while he was still somewhat jet-lagging, he gamely went with us. The sound system at Music Tunnel KTV is nothing to shout about (well, compared to those in Asia) but we still had tons of fun. The best thing was that we could order bubble tea and other snacks from the counter! Oh yums. And we only paid $20 each for 3.5 hours of singing.

We requested a tour of Cupertino from Len after KTV and he dutifully brought us to see the Merlion statue and Cupertino Village, where one can find a gigantic Ranch 99 supermarket and all kinds of Chinese cuisine. We wanted to try the porridge place at the village but it was unfortunately closed, so we headed to another one at Milpitas some 20 minutes away, called The Porridge - Mei Garden. The food is pretty simple, but I absolutely love it for it's home-cooked taste. 菜圃蛋 (fried egg with preserved radish) is the best!

Before heading home, we checked out Milpitas Square, another Chinese shopping complex with restaurants and a smaller Ranch 99 supermarket. I didn't even realise we have so many restaurant choices near us. The next time I have visitors who love Asian food, I'll be sure to head down to Cupertino.

Great food + company = a blessed day!

We enjoyed ourselves so much last week that we decided to do another worship session today. Yiru, who's taking a break from work, also joined us in crooning some songs. It's so awesome to have a group that worships the Lord together!

We also popped by Safeway in the morning to get some sandwich rolls for brunch. The deli roll (all rolled up tray) was absolutely delicious, especially after we heated it up in the oven. 

Bb O also joined us at the brunch table, listening in to our conversations and grinning every now and then. She's so adorable that I couldn't help but take many, many photos of her. 



Met Panda for lunch because he said we should spend more time together before he heads back home to extend his visa. I heart the Earl Grey Milk Tea at Ocha Tea Café so we went back to try their small selection of food. We shared the Crispy Chicken Rice (ard $5.95) and Minced Pork Rice (ard $3.95). It's sooooo yummy!

Invited Jo to come over and have dinner with us because Vic is away on a short business trip. I only cooked three dishes - 风味可乐鸡腿、油菜 and 煎鱼. We ended the meal with coffee, ice-cream, and loads of chit-chatting.

Today is all about simple food and warm company. And it totally made my day!

Dim Sum: Trays of nostalgia

I feel extremely blessed to stay in a part of California where dim sum is readily available. There's no greater comfort than watching steamy little trays of goodness being pushed around in metal carts. I think I'd have died if there are no dim sum restaurants around.

My favourite is actually Hong Kong Flower Lounge (at Millbrae) but the queue is always unbelievably long, so we go to this hidden gem called China Village Seafood Restaurant (at Belmont) to get our dim sum fix. ABC Seafood Restaurant (in Foster City) is my nearest hospital if I go cold turkey.

马拉糕 is my all-time favourite! Love this sponge cake.

Also tried Koi Palace (in Daly City), which has a more 'atas' aka premium selection like scallop dumplings, but you will have to be early to beat the crowd. Zen Peninsula (in Millbrae) is sort of OK if not for the queue.

I actually owe my appreciation of dim sum to Grandpa. I stayed with him when I was young. Every morning, he would bring us to a cha lao (tea place) a few blocks away from his house to yum cha (drink tea). When we say yum cha, we really mean eating loads of dim sum. 

We'd drink tea, of course. He prefers the thicker 普洱 (Pu'erh) with his dim sum while I like lighter ones like 香片 (Jasmine) or 铁观音 (Iron Goddess of Mercy). Till this day, I'm quite glad I can still tell the server what kind of tea I like. I know friends who give a total blank face before saying 菊花 (Chrysanthemum).

Nothing wrong with Chrysanthemum... except that it's not really a dim sum tea? I don't know... there are no tea leaves inside and it's sweet!

Anyway, over the phone a while ago, I told Grandpa that I will go yum cha with him when I'm back in December. It has sort of become a ritual whenever Sis and I head back. It's more than just eating har gows and char siu baus together; it's a sign of respect.  

If I ever have children, one thing I'll always nag about is: "Remember to go yum cha with your grandparents!"

Samosas: a small taste of home

One of the things which I missed and am too lazy to make is curry puffs. Hot, chunky bits of curried potato + chicken meat wrapped in golden pastry skin like these from Old Chang Kee! There are so many outlets back home that it's almost like a 7-11. I used to buy one or two on my way home from work; most of the time the bag would be empty by the time I reached.

The closest substitute I can find in USA is samosa. Behind FC's post office, there's a India Cash & Carry - a small chain grocer in the Bay Area which sells all things Indian. I'm not a big fan of Indian food and the first time I stepped into the shop (just for fun), I was a little overwhelmed by the smell of spices and small flies hovering over the produce. It was only upon my second return (on Wini's recommendation) that I realised they sell samosas. Giant samosas at 75c each. A real deal!

Selling all things Indian

What's in a samosa?

The samosas are of course not as spicy as the ones back home but I suppose they cater to the local taste. They are also not sold hot, so you'll need to pop it in the oven.

Recent news has it that Charter Square, where India Cash & Carry is located, will be redeveloped. Retail space will be reduced so there might be a chance that you won't see this old grocer at the current location anymore. For those who wish to satisfy a samosa craving or buy Indian products, the nearby stores are in Sunnyvale, Fremont and Cupertino. Have fun shopping and good luck with that Indian dish!