Monday, July 25, 2005
食 霸 王 餐
Busy weekend. Between hiking and dining, the time went by all too fast. Saturday started out with 飲 茶 (yam2 cha4) at 鯉 魚 門 海 鮮 茶 寮 (Koi Palace), which is one of my favorite tea houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have some unusual 北 方 點 心 (Northern style dim sum) that you usually don’t find at teahouses. My favorite is 山 東 菜 肉 餃 (Shandong vegetable and meat dumplings). The 竽 角 (wu6 gok3 deep fried taro puffs) and the 山 竹 牛 肉 球 (saan1 juk1 ngau4 yuk6 kau4 steamed beef balls with bean curd skin) were especially fresh and tasty.
After 飲 茶, it was off to the redwood trees south of San Francisco to beat the heat. This time, I chose a park that I had not been to before--El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve. What a great choice! Although I didn't really succeed in beating the heat, the redwood trees were huge and spectacular (see photo above)--much bigger than the ones I saw on my hike last week.
On the way home, I stopped at a restaurant that I previously had been to for 飲 茶--富 源 酒 家 Grand Palace Seafood Restaurant. Tonight's meal was 大 千 海 鮮 煲 (assorted spicy seafood pot), 黑 椒 牛 柳 粒 (black peppered steak cubes), 臘 味 蓮 藕 小 炒 (stir-fried lotus with preserved pork). Very fresh ingredients and great culinary skill (廚 藝, 夠 晒 鑊 氣).
Sunday, I decided to check out a place that I have been wanting to see for a long time--the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. They had a special Tibet exhibit on display, and I wanted to see it before it ends. The Tibet exhibit included some spectacular items, particularly gold objects and embroideries. But I was left with two main impressions: (1) many of the best items were made in China; and (2) almost all items related to religion (Buddhism). I actually enjoyed the Chinese exhibit more (especially the porcelain and pottery) because it had much greater variety in colors, materials, subjects, age, etc. Actually, the Chinese exhibit reminded me a lot of the one I saw last year at the Hong Kong Museum of Art 香 港 藝 術 館 in Tsimshatsui.
After walking around for hours in the museum, I was famished. First, to Chinatown to buy some food and vegetables to take home. Got 半 隻 燒 鵝 (half roast goose) at 文 仔 記, one of the few shops that has it in the Bay Area. Then it was off to a restaurant for a leisurely dinner. Ordered 腐 乳 蔥 度 羊 片 (lamb slices with scallions and bean curd), 密 汁 叉 燒 (barbecued pork), and 豉 油 皇 雞 絲 炒 麵 (stir fried noodles with soy sauce and chicken). The food was good but the service was a bit lackluster. Finally, after waiting a long time for the tab, I went up to the cashier and said: 你 0地 係 唔 係 想 我 0地 食 霸 王 餐? 叫 0左 埋 單, 等 0左 鬼 0甘 耐, 0個 單 仲 未 嚟! (Do you want us to eat free? We've waited a damn long time for the tab and it still hasn't come.) That got them into action. ¶ 5:38 PM
Busy weekend. Between hiking and dining, the time went by all too fast. Saturday started out with 飲 茶 (yam2 cha4) at 鯉 魚 門 海 鮮 茶 寮 (Koi Palace), which is one of my favorite tea houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have some unusual 北 方 點 心 (Northern style dim sum) that you usually don’t find at teahouses. My favorite is 山 東 菜 肉 餃 (Shandong vegetable and meat dumplings). The 竽 角 (wu6 gok3 deep fried taro puffs) and the 山 竹 牛 肉 球 (saan1 juk1 ngau4 yuk6 kau4 steamed beef balls with bean curd skin) were especially fresh and tasty.
After 飲 茶, it was off to the redwood trees south of San Francisco to beat the heat. This time, I chose a park that I had not been to before--El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve. What a great choice! Although I didn't really succeed in beating the heat, the redwood trees were huge and spectacular (see photo above)--much bigger than the ones I saw on my hike last week.
On the way home, I stopped at a restaurant that I previously had been to for 飲 茶--富 源 酒 家 Grand Palace Seafood Restaurant. Tonight's meal was 大 千 海 鮮 煲 (assorted spicy seafood pot), 黑 椒 牛 柳 粒 (black peppered steak cubes), 臘 味 蓮 藕 小 炒 (stir-fried lotus with preserved pork). Very fresh ingredients and great culinary skill (廚 藝, 夠 晒 鑊 氣).
Sunday, I decided to check out a place that I have been wanting to see for a long time--the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. They had a special Tibet exhibit on display, and I wanted to see it before it ends. The Tibet exhibit included some spectacular items, particularly gold objects and embroideries. But I was left with two main impressions: (1) many of the best items were made in China; and (2) almost all items related to religion (Buddhism). I actually enjoyed the Chinese exhibit more (especially the porcelain and pottery) because it had much greater variety in colors, materials, subjects, age, etc. Actually, the Chinese exhibit reminded me a lot of the one I saw last year at the Hong Kong Museum of Art 香 港 藝 術 館 in Tsimshatsui.
After walking around for hours in the museum, I was famished. First, to Chinatown to buy some food and vegetables to take home. Got 半 隻 燒 鵝 (half roast goose) at 文 仔 記, one of the few shops that has it in the Bay Area. Then it was off to a restaurant for a leisurely dinner. Ordered 腐 乳 蔥 度 羊 片 (lamb slices with scallions and bean curd), 密 汁 叉 燒 (barbecued pork), and 豉 油 皇 雞 絲 炒 麵 (stir fried noodles with soy sauce and chicken). The food was good but the service was a bit lackluster. Finally, after waiting a long time for the tab, I went up to the cashier and said: 你 0地 係 唔 係 想 我 0地 食 霸 王 餐? 叫 0左 埋 單, 等 0左 鬼 0甘 耐, 0個 單 仲 未 嚟! (Do you want us to eat free? We've waited a damn long time for the tab and it still hasn't come.) That got them into action. ¶ 5:38 PM
