Brunch at Barking Frog

My ex-colleagues from my previous firm got me a gift certificate to Barking Frog when I left Cali. (Thanks you ladies!)  After 3 years, we finally decided to use it in an ongoing effort to save $$ to make up for my recent purchases :p  Barking Frog is a well-rated restaurant located at Willows Lodge which is supposedly ranked #12 Best Hotel in the U.S & Canada by Travel + Leisure. It was indeed a charming little place.

We were surprised to find a Chinese vege “da dou miao” in the omelette!  It was too tough. They should’ve stuck to spinach.

 

Private outdoor spas..hmm….

Dinner at home

For the first time in recent memory, we had dinner at home on a Friday night – some simple grillin’ and more homemade rosemary lemonade.

 

“How to eat corn”

Will’s face when I told him to go take a shower after dinner.  Why do boys hate taking showers?!

Float down the Snoqualmie River

On the morning of the 4th of July, the 12 of us gathered for a slow, relaxing float down the river.  Spirits were high…weather was perfect!

The pumps on the other hand, were not so great. Took us probably an hour to inflate the 6 rafts.

Oh no!  A leak!!!

Will drove back out to civilization and picked up some duct tape and 12 much appreciated bars of Haagen Daz! 

  

Launch off!

 

 

 

 

 

    

 
   

   

That was so much fun!!!

July 4th BBQ

After rafting down Snoqualmie River in the morning, the troops headed over to our place for a traditional July 4th BBQ.  I think this was the biggest headcount we had – 20 people including 2 little ones.  The more the merrier! 

 

June Hike

For our June hike, we decided on Denny Creek which is a short 30 minutes drive from our place.  YC’s parents were in town and we enjoyed the hike with them.  They were quite adventurous , come what may along the way…

 

The 38th Annual Fremont Fair

The Fremont Fair is located in the funky Fremont neighborhood.  It celebrates the Summer Solstice with a parade and fair.  All donations collected at the Fair benefit the programs of Solid Ground, that provide shelter, food, advocacy and care for low-income families and individuals throughout Seattle and King County.  But the Fremont Fair is best known for a brave crowd of people who ride the route on their bikes, naked -- except, in many cases, for some strategically placed body paint. 

Crowd gathering to watch the parade

Jimmy and Mag lost in the crowd

Kelly helping out at her company’s booth at the fair http://www.alchemygoods.com/ 

 
Emil, our brave and heroic Red Cross Captain, volunteering at the fair

“Let’s go spin for a T-shirt!”

I didn’t win one but I asked for it :p  Kelly actually won it legit.

We don’t know what instrument this is but it was most hauntingly beautiful..

Earlier, we had chocolate covered strawberries and banana-strawberry shake.  Here’s strawberry lemonade, elephant ear and corndog.  Will is in line for a corn on cob.  Yum!

Some guy laying on broken glass.  The kid was about to step on him..

Clockwise from Left: Will, Finn & Emil ending the day with cheers

Walk for Rice

Saturday morning, we joined Nicole and Giles for the 19th annual Walk for Rice which raises money for the ACRS (Asian Counseling and Referral Service) Food Bank.  It was a very pleasant 2.5 mile loop around Seward Park.  The event was very well organized and it was great to see many young people participating and having a great time.

 
Our first greeter at the event

 
Performers performing double duty as cheerleaders

 

Will and his groupies

 
Check out his outfit! Rice bags!

Beautiful lotus flowers

Happy 1 month Yihong!

We were invited to a lovely party at KC and YC’s place to celebrate their little bundle of joy.  Yihong is such a cutie even at 1 month!

2009 Singapore & Japan Visit

After a 3 year hiatus, we finally made a trip back to Singapore during the last week of May.  It was very good to see my family and friends again and enjoy all the famous local fare.  I guess I overdid it as I was miserably ill from indigestion for a few days.  The doctor literally told me to stop eating and to give my stomach a rest!  How embarrassing.

We spent the next week in Kyoto and Tokyo.  It was our first visit to Japan and it was wonderful.  We liked Japan very much and would definitely want to go back again.  The most memorable part would be me getting separated from Will at Mori Tower Observatory Deck.  I went to use the restroom and we had a miscommunication on where to meet.  After an hour, I gave up and took a cab back to the hotel without a single cent or personal item on me.  Will on the other hand, spent 3 hours looking for me and alerted the authorities of the building who had apparently dispatched their guards to fan out and look for me.  Sounded pretty dramatic.  Will finally called our hotel room to check and was relieved to find me there safe and sound.  Who said what where remains to be debated.  All in all, it was a very nice vacation, definitely memorable…

 

Singapore – condensed version (150 photos) https://cid-866a3e857e238ccf.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Singapore%202009%20-%20condensed%20version

Singapore – extended version (250 photos) https://cid-866a3e857e238ccf.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Singapore%202009%20-%20extended%20version

Japan -  condensed version (170 photos) https://cid-866a3e857e238ccf.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Japan%202009%20-%20condensed%20version

Japan – extended version (380 photos) https://cid-866a3e857e238ccf.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Japan%202009%20-%20extended%20version

Happy Birthday Masaru-san!

We celebrated Mas’ birthday at Mashiko, a Japanese restaurant in West Seattle.  The guys ordered omakase style (leave selection to the chef) and they had some interesting servings….

 

May Hike

Wallace Falls State Park is within an hour drive from Seattle in the city of Gold Bar off highway 2.  There are a total of three waterfalls that make up Wallace Falls: lower, middle and upper.  We were blessed with warm and sunny weather.  It was a beautiful hike and very manageable.  We are rating this hike as one of our top 5.

Always start your hike with a little yummy in your tummy (in this case, Antje’s homemade spam musubi)

 
The happy hikers

 
The Lower Falls

 
See the Middle Falls up there?  That’s where we’ll be heading.

 
But first, let’s check out Lower Falls and beyond

The best part of every hike – lunch time!

 
Middle Falls – it was spectacular!

 
The leading ladies

The boys don’t look too bad themselves

Emil & his mom

 
You had to be there….

Bird’s eye view from the Middle Falls

Looking down from the Middle Falls to the Lower …

Upper Falls

 
Venturing out on the rocks

Antje is going to kill me for posting this photo but its so darn cute!

Will sifting for gold…

April Hike

For our April hike, we ventured to Boulder River Trail, an hour east of Seattle near the little city of Arlington.  The trail goes through an old growth forest along the river with several gorgeous waterfalls.  During the course of our hike, there was a little sunshine, a little rain and even a little hail.  Typical unpredictable northwest weather!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emil’s birthday

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Emil’s birthday at KC and YC’s newly renovated home (notice the beautiful cabinets, countertops and hardwood floors in pics!).  We had a delicious spread for hotpot and mango mousse cake for dessert.  Yummm…..

Emil, emil, what can we say about Emil?  Emil is probably one of our oldest (no pun intended :p) and dearest friend.  He was Will’s teacher in college, he recommended Will his first job out of college, he sheltered Will for 2 months and cooked noodles for Will every night when he moved out to California…Emil also attended all 3 of our wedding celebrations, he taught me many cooking tips and accompanied me shopping countless times. He has been there for us through it all.  Thank you Emil!  Here’s to many many more happy returns Emil!

Our first 18!

First 18 hole of the year. We were able to play Trilogy for $35 including cart thanks for our golf expert: Mr. Masaru Haruyama who hooked us up with some online discounts. It was a beautiful day for golf…sunny and warm. Mag scored 3 pars and was close to breaking 100.

After this game, we have decided to break the bank and get Mag a new set of irons to help her improve her game. (Mag: This proposed purchase is still under advisement).

Will getting ready to tee-off. Where’s my ball?!

 
I thought I made contact...

 
What are the girls looking at??

 
Fashion magazine (!) while waiting for the group before us.

Mas striking a pose. He is happiest when playing golf…of course not as happy as when playing golf with his ‘sweetie’.

Here’s Mas again with his ‘sweetie’.

My ball will go 350 yards…yes I can….yes I can

Oh wow! Those heels are to die for!

Dinner at SushiLand – cheap, fast and quite good!

Thank you for the thank you

Our friends KC and YC stayed at our place while they remodeled their home.  It was a pleasure to have them and upon their departure early March, they bought us these beautiful orchids that still grace our home today…

Fun in the Sun

It was the first weekend of abundant sunshine after a long winter.  Antje and I took our bikes to the Burke-Gilman trail after a big hearty lunch at ‘The Burger Place’ in the U district with Will (who then went to the office to work – boohoo).

 

“Hmmm….so this is what a veggie burger looks like….”

 

I had to take a conference call for work in the middle of our ride. Sigh...what dedication!

 

We rode all the way from Ballard to Fremont, to the UW campus to check out the cherry blossoms at their quad.  It was super crowed.  I guess everyone else had the same idea…

 
After biking, we went shopping at University Village, then made dinner and cookies (from scratch!) at Antje and Mas’ together with the boys. 

What a nice day….

March Hike

The timetable for our March hike was one from hell but the hike turned out to be just heavenly.  Will and I sprung up from bed at 3.30(!) in the morning and met Giles, Nicole and Emil at the Microsoft campus to carpool to Edmonds to meet Markus.  The 6 crazies took the 5.45am ferry from Edmonds, a small town 20 minutes drive from Seattle, across the Puget Sound to another small town called Kingston.  From Kingston, we drove 3 hours to the westernmost point of the contiguous 48 states to Lake Ozette (Marker B on map) to begin our 9.2 miles Cape Alava - Sand Point Loop hike.  We started our hike at 10.30am and there was no one else along the trail and on the beach but us.  It felt really special to have the whole place to ourselves.

 

 

Lake Ozette in the distance

 

 

First 3 miles of our hike was on this well constructed boardwalk. It was a piece of cake other than being slippery when wet.  We completed this Part 1 of 3 of our hike in less than an hour.

 

 

 

 

Emerging from the rainforest onto the beach.  The red and black sign marks the location of the trails from the beach.

 

  

 

 

Hey! Atop that ‘rock’ is a good spot for lunch!

 

We realized there’s another beach on the other side!

 

Emil prepared for the group, fancy smoked salmon and turkey sandwiches dressed with his famous homemade mayo of course.

 

 

We didn’t see any deers except for their dainty treks

 

 

Markus did spot some sunbathing beauties (click for bigger pic)

 

 

A souvenir Will insisted on bringing home.  ME bringing it home that is.

 

 

It was low tide so we decided to walk out towards the ocean.  Each step could be treacherous as it was covered with seaweed and kelp making it super slippery and the rocks could be loose as well.

 

 

 

See that teeny tiny little starfish?!

 

Wonderful colors of nature

 

Weather forecast warned of 60% chance of shower.  Turned out to be absolutely warm and sunny.  We couldn’t be luckier!

 

We finally found this marker for the last 3 miles of the loop.  The past 3 miles on the beach were much much harder than we anticipated – practically a balancing act with each step!  We were exhausted.

 

It was the longest hike we’ve ever embarked on and the longest day we’ve had (we got home past midnight) but it was so worth it!

February Hike

We squeezed in a hike to the Discovery Park on the last day of February.  Discovery Park is the largest city park in Seattle, situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, and offers spectacular views of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. Our friends Antje and Renzo joined us for the sunny winter hike (man in white golf hat not included).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Discovery Park Lighthouse

 

 

 
Renzo usually only takes Evian but he made do with Arrowhead as he got super thirsty halfway through the hike.

 

 

Making new friends

Home cooked meal

2 of our friends KC and YC are crashing at our place while they undergo renovations at their home.  The best part about having houseguests is we get to cook and eat together.  (Not to mention, there is an increased level of diligence in keeping the house clean and tidy.)  Last night, we had a simple, home cooked meal.  Not!  It was super fancy by my standards!  Emil came by to help KC with the sushi dishes.  I made the easiest ones on the table – tofu casserole and stir fried greens! :)

 

Its Valentine’s Day!

We don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day.  But this year, my dear colleague Sharon surprised the ladies in the office with a sweet trio of gerbera daisies and a box of truffles and Will and I ended up going night skiing at Snoqualmie, 30 minutes from our place.  We broke out my new skis and his new snowboard and pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.  It was a great time for me to practice without worrying about crashing into someone.  Turned out to be a v memorable V-Day after all.

 

Year of the Ox!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Aside from the dumplings, hot sour soup, fried yellow noodles, steamed and fried fish, eggrolls, abalone, chicken curry, new year cake and red velvet cake, this year we had traditional costumes to help get people in the mood.

Also new this year was Battle of the Bands. It was girls against boys in a classic Rock Band play off. The boys got our butts whooped. Not naming names here but I believe someone (!n*je F~ych3l) has been practicing for the past three months just for this night so the game was stacked in the girls’ favor!

Left to right: Finn, Giles, Nicole, Will

 

L2R: Dumpling skin, meat bowl, wrapped dumplings

 

Nicole, Emil, Yuan Chou’s back

 

Emil

 

Yuan Chou

 

Nathan, Finn

 

Evelyn, Marcus

 

 

Mas, Antje

 

Clockwise from the front: Mas, Antje, Nicole, Giles, Mag, Emil, Evelyn, Marcus, Nathan, Finn, Yuan Chou, Kuei Chih, Jim and Kelly (Will is taking the picture)

 

The girls celebrate after winning the battle of the band competition.

 

Mas sings “Roxanne” hoping to bring his team back from last place.

 

Will pours his soul into his drums hoping his form will help win his band some points.

Giles going for the high notes. You can’t see it in this photo but the veins above his right eye almost popped.

 

Antje gives the universal rocker gesture to show off her royal rockiness. Hard is the new easy.

 

Kelly was a virgin Rock Bander but she picked up the drums like she was born to rock!

 

 

January Hike

As with last year, one of our resolutions for 2009 is to hike at a new place every month.  On Saturday, we gathered to conquer Mt Si – but not quite.  We did not make it all the way up to the top though we are glad we tried.  Maybe next time we will…if we don’t sit around half the time eating snacks and taking water breaks…

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

We made it!  Halfway…

Carrot Cake

It takes a household and a little yellow step stool to help stir up that pot of daikon/turnip mixed with flour to make carrot cake (chinese style, not the western dessert!).   I forgot to take a picture of the yummy end product but if you don’t know what Chinese carrot cake looks like, I found an image from the web…

 

Eat, drink and be merry!

Celebrating 2009!

 

Emil playing with his food

 

Will’s first attempt at mushroom risotto.  Turned out yummie with a capital E! (‘y’ just doesn’t rhyme)

Mas and his booze

Happy New Year everyone! 

Red Lobster

After a day of shopping at the outlet mall, Will came up with the fresh idea to eat at Red Lobster for dinner.  Why not?!

As you can see, we are very simple folks.  A Red Lobster menu can entertain us for hours as we wait for our table.

  

Ski trip to Crystal Mountain

It was our first ski trip since moving to Washington state and probably at least 5 years since the last time we went skiing.  We woke up at 6am on Sunday for the 2 hour drive up to the ski slopes.  It was a beautiful place and there were still snow flurries throughout the day.  Best of all, it was much less crowded than the times we went skiing at Tahoe in California.  Even though I slowed the whole group down with several falls, I had lots of fun and we were very glad to get back to this winter sport.

Christmas at Mantje’s

Christmas Day was spent at Mas and Antje’s. What was the first thing we did upon arriving you might ask? Get our grooves on with Dance Dance Revolution!

 

While we all did relatively well, Antje stole the show with her grace and precision moves. (We think she is secretly planning on quitting her day job to audition for Soul Train.)

 

 

Not sure People magazine qualifies as appropriate two year old reading material. Look Sienna, shoes, bags, bikinis!

 

“iPhone is much more engaging. Natural gesture computing is so much more intuitive than clicking buttons. I’m two years old and even I can master page navigation. I wonder if licking my finger first will make the touch more accurate. Let me try…” - Sienna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Get your fat hands out of my way Uncle Will! I’m trying to see the next photo! Duh!” -Sienna

 

You can barely see this but someone is wearing a “I’m a PC shirt”!
Go Microsoft!

 

 

“That was pretty good if I say so myself,” thinks Antje after receiving a 97 on her singing.

 

“You were a little flat there Antje. You have to scream on that last note in order to get the bonus points.” - Will

 

SCREEEEEEEEEAM…Much better!

 

Mas explains to Sienna and Renzo, the proper mechanics of a good golf swing. It’s all in the hips.

 

“I can’t take this anymore.  I wonder how much I can get for a Wii Rockband on eBay…” - Renzo

White Christmas

On Christmas day, we woke up to more snow. It was our first white Christmas.

 

Will went out in the morning to clear the snow off our plants. The snow was so heavy that it was starting to deform the plants.

 

In the afternoon, we drove to the city to Mas and Antje's place in Capital Hill to spend the day. None of the side streets in Seattle were plowed so we were basically driving on compact ice and snow. Just 2 blocks away from our destination, we got stuck and was sliding around even though our 4 wheel drive was engaged.

 

A neighbor around us came out to help shovel the ice and someone else lent us their shovel. Mas also came to our rescue armed with his shovel. What a wonderful display of the Christmas spirit!

Midnight Mass at St Joseph

Well, it was at 10pm really and ended just before midnight.  We walked up a few blocks from Mas & Antje’s place to St Joseph in Capitol hill which is a neighborhood hit hard by the recent snow storm.  There are steep hills throughout and the streets have not been ploughed.  Many streets had to be closed as they were too dangerous to be driven on.  Mass at St Joseph was quite beautiful though we wished our regular St Ignatius Chapel at Seattle University was opened… …Merry Christmas everyone!

 

 

Where are we?!

Can’t believe how much snow has fallen and is sticking around.  We can hardly recognize this place.  I thought Seattle was supposed to have a more temperate climate with mild winters…but our past 3 winters here have been everything to the contrary! 

‘Taking measures’ Sunday evening…5 inches!

 

 

 

Our drive to work Monday morning, creeping down the plateau

 

  

 

Peering out from my office…

Can’t distinguish where the parking lot ended…the landscaping began or where the roads start!

Cabin Fever

Other than a quick run to our nearest grocery store on Friday morning and a risky escapade to a nearby restaurant for lunch on Saturday, we have pretty much stayed home for the past 4 days. So far, we have watched 3 old movies, completed 2 exercise sessions on our elliptical machine and had 1 deer sighting.  It is still snowing and temperatures are still in the 20s but I am actually, yes, I am hoping, to be able to go back to work tomorrow!

 

Tons of kids out sledding

 

Nice powdery snow

 

Stocking up

 

Sweet taste of freedom!

 

Snow, snow and more snow

 

 

Introducing Will's recent purchase. For me. So thoughtful.

 

First attempt at lasagna. Wrong pan. Totally mushy.

 

Winds picked up at night

 

Deer sighting today - there were 5!

Snow Day!

It's finally winter! Today the promised snow finally fell. We were bracing for the bad weather yesterday but ended the day with nothing to show for. Today is a different story.

During the wee hours of this Thursday morning, the snow flurries started falling and just didn't stop. The snow was all over the news and traffic was a mess. Before we knew it, Mag's office declared defeat and Will's co-workers all decided to play (I mean, work) from home. The snow is still falling as I type this entry. It is such a beautiful sight. We are thankful for a warm & comfortable home as we enjoy this weather. 

  

 

Venturing out for a walk...

 

Mag making a snow angel...

Weekend in the Bay Area

We scored really cheap tickets to the bay area ($49 each way!) and decided to spend a long weekend there hanging out and catching up with friends and family...visiting old haunts and favorite restaurants...

 

Breakfast at Judy's in the Marina

 

Lunch with the Yang family at Little Shanghai restaurant in San Mateo

 

Jeanne's farewell/Lunchi's housewarming/Meet baby Jon party!

 

Hanging out with Josie, Peter & baby James

Thanksgiving 2008

It was a rare occasion for the entire Yang clan to gather during Thanksgiving.  It was also my first undertaking of the big bird and other traditional American dishes.  Happy to report it all went successfully, thanks to the many helpful hands and guidance all around (including Oprah.com)!

 

Making rice dumplings (wrapped in bamboo leaves)

 

Will's frequent spot

 

Of course, "ow" is a word

 

Day trip to Mt. Rainier

 

Just hangin' out

 

Prepping for feast

 

Entertaining ourselves

 

Time to eat!

 

 

A rousing play

 

Bedtime stories

 

Seattle's Underground tour while the grandparents took the kids to the Science Center

 

 

Dinner at Ray's Cafe

 

Wii with grandpa

 

Visiting Will's office at MSFT

 

Decorating for Christmas

 

Birthdays in Seattle

When we got back from Shanghai, our friends got together to celebrate our birthdays (and our friend, Abe's birthday - Nov 1) at a restaurant in Seattle.  It was great to see our friends and we had a wonderful belated birthday dinner.

My party hat read "All hail the birthday princess" - needless to say...      I LOVED IT!

 

 

Last look...

Will visited the MSFT office located above this ultra modern mall

 

Bustling subway

 

 

 

Shanghai World Financial Center (WFC) on the left, Jin Mao Tower on the right.

 

 

The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower

 

The original plans for the WFC called for a 46 meter (151 foot) circular opening that would reduce wind pressure and also suggest Chinese symbolism for the moon. Many people protested that the design resembled the rising sun on the Japanese flag. Eventually the opening was changed from circular to a trapezoid shape.

 

 

 

Inside Jin Mao Tower

Jin Mao Tower was designed around the number eight. Shaped like a Chinese pagoda, the Jin Mao Building is divided into segments. The lowest segment has 16 stories, and each succeeding segment is 1/8 smaller than the one below.

 

 

 

On the last day of our trip, the sky finally cleared and we actually have a beautiful view from our room

 

 

 

The Bund

Shanghai skyline

Extended Family Reunion

Will has some distant relatives in Shanghai who were so gracious to host us for the day.  They took us out to lunch, invited us to their homes and then treated us to another elaborate feast for dinner.

 

The 3 siblings who are Will's mom's cousins

 

Zhouzhuang

While I was at work, Will went on a day trip to Zhouzhuang dubbed "Venice of the East" - one of the ancient water cities 50km (30 miles) from Shanghai. 

  

Snack Attack!

 

There were many street vendors (literally) peddling charcoal grilled yam.  The aroma was too good to resist.

 

We found these food stalls at the basement of a shopping mall which offer favorites from both my hometowns - Singapore's Bee Cheng Hiang barbequed pork and America's Fast Food Chains.

 

 

We got brave and decided to take a chance on the onion pancakes and some sweet fried doughy thingy from the street hawkers.  We tried to ignore the fact that the hawkers went from handling the cash straight to rolling the dough.  Glad we didn't get sick.

Our birthdays in Shanghai

Chocolate cake complimentary from our Grand Hyatt hotel at Jin Mao Tower

 

Generous birthday dinner treat from Auntie Lena and Uncle Henry who are currently working and living in Shanghai

 

My necklace is a birthday present from Will.  Yipee!

Streets of Shanghai

Its every man for himself on the streets of Shanghai.  Its amazing that we did not witness a single accident.  I guess there is some method in the madness.

What a fence!

Its all about the food...

In general, we ate really well in Shanghai.  Our day basically revolves around the 3 meals (and snacks in between) as reflected by our day 2 in Shanghai.

We had lunch at a cute little Japanese restaurant with good udon noodles recommended by a fellow customer at the nail salon I was at that morning :)

 

The above set lunch costs RMB 38 (about US$5.50)

 

While walking down Fuxing Road (one of many shopping streets) we saw many people in line for the egg tarts and joined in.  They were indeed yummy!

 

We needed a drink.  Might as well check out the local MikeyD's. Pretty modern interior eh?

 

 

For dinner, we decided on a very hip and artsy family restaurant called Cheng Cheng which serves Shanghainese cuisine, recommended by Faye, the owner of our B&B.  We had drunken chicken, lion heads (chinese meatballs), some tender leafy greens and fish stew.  The watermelon juice may be a strange complement to dinner but we loved it!

Something at the back of the restaurant caught Will's eye.  Don't know what the stain is but using mahjong tiles as flooring is a cool idea!

 

Oh, besides eating all day, we did stop by Fuxing Garden.  Here's the proof.

See that cute little old couple playing badminton in the background?

Seems like many people come here to read the daily newspapers....

 

Later, we took a cab to attend the 6pm Mass at The St Ignatius Cathedral.  We couldn't understand a word the priest was saying.  I think he was speaking Mandarin but he had a really strong accent.

Yu Yuan Garden

The garden was finished in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) named Pan Yunduan who built it for his parent's enjoyment. In 1760, some rich merchants bought Yu Yuan Garden and spent more than 20 years reconstructing the buildings. During the Opium War of the 19th century, Yu Yuan Garden was severely damaged. The Yuyuan Garden we see today is the result of a five year restoration project which began in 1956. The garden was open to the public in September, 1961.

 

Bazaar outside Yu Yuan Garden - a real tourist trap!

Inside Yu Yuan Garden...

Back out to the bazaar for lunch!

Waited ONE HOUR in line for take out of famous dumplings!

Was it worth an hour wait?  Hmm.....

Lanzhou La Mian (handmade noodles)

I've been dying to try some homemade "hand pulled" noodles on our trip to Shanghai. Tonight, Mag and I found a little noodle shop near our bed and breakfast that made a bowl of noodles to order. See the chef in action. The noodle was 6 Yuan for a large bowl of beef noodles. That's less than $1 USD. Not only was it ridiculously cheap, it was also extremely tasty. Mag said it was the best noodles she has ever had and that means its really good.




Here's me with my yummy bowl of beef noodles.


here's Mag


and here's the chef again

Breakfast at our Bed & Breakfast

The highlight of our mornings! Down the stairs from our bed and breakfast is a great little restaurant that prepares our wonderful breakfast.

Where to go? What to do?

Let's consult our handy travel guide to figure out where to go next. Granted, the book is a few years old and the streets in Shanghai have already changed. At least the photos look cool.

We are in Shanghai!

I have been so busy with work that I may have forgotten to tell EVERYONE that Will and I are actually in Shanghai this week for business and pleasure :) Our sister firm in China is holding their annual investor meeting/dinners this Wed/Thurs/Fri and I will be there with my boss.

Will and I landed last night (Saturday night) about 9pm and checked into a really cool bed and breakfast located in the French Concession neighborhood called Quintet. Guess what? The owner is a young lady, our age, and she had lived many years in the States, BAY AREA to be exact, and worked at DELOITTE CONSULTING the same time Will was a consultant there! We immediately hit it off with her and felt that we were definitely fated to pick her bed and breakfast for our first 3 nights in Shanghai.

The first order of business was to take a quick shower and head straight for the nearest massage palour! At midnight! Many of them (reputable establishments don't worry) operate until 2am in the morning! It was exactly what we needed - an hour of accupressure massage for US$12/hour. We were so impressed we bought a package deal from them! I guess we are coming back for the next 3 days!

We are off!




Sleeping area at Narita airport in Tokyo


Our room at Quintet B&B




Will posing before his massage. Check out his massage robe!

Renzo's refusal

Having worked for years on Broadway and TV, this is Renzo Haruyama's big debut on the big screen. Playing himself in a classic melodramtic struggle between freedom and oppression, Renzo is unwilling to compromise on the comforts of home. Sensing a night of restlessness and unfamiliar pooping grounds, Renzo refuses to obey his owner (played by up-and-coming actress Antje Frychel) who tries to get him into a friend's vehicle, taking him far away from home. As seen in the below clip, the struggle between dog and owner is palpable. It is the defining moment in the movie where love and fear collide. A soon-to-be classic, Renzo's refusal is highly recommended and Oscar material.