Best Yogurt in the U.S.! July 30, 2007

Good yogurt is one of my weak points. My all time favorite yogurts are in China. They are rich, flavorful and drinkable. But after over ten years of searching, I finally found a favorite brand here in the U.S. two days ago! Straus is flavorful but light, organic and nonfat! Try it with granola and fruit, frozen, or simply by itself! So good!

And that next to my new favorite yogurt in the U.S. is of course, the cutest, smartest and most trouble-making kitty cat in the world. My miaomiao baobao!

Simple, Fresh, Delicious, Unpretentious, Pizzaiolo! July 30, 2007

Last night we went to one of my all time favorite restaurants in Oakland, Pizzaiolo. Although the name suggests pizza, and they do consistently have the best thin crust pizza I’ve ever had, they also have amazing appetizers and everything else. Speaking of appetizers, you’ve gotta try the avocado with beets. It sounds like a simple dish, and usually their stuff are simple, but the combination of flavors and the freshness of their ingredients are simply delicious!

Their pizzas also follow the same philosophy of simple, fresh and delicious. The Margaritas (both the regular and de Buffalo) are always available. Another 3 to 5 other topping choices change daily depending on the freshest available produce. One of my favorite summer selections is the summer squash pizza. The flavors are subtle, refreshing and flavorful all at the same time.

Aside from always using the best olive oils, they also have the best complimentary bread, the dark one, anywhere! Especially considering that I’m not a big fan of bread crusts, this is the only place where I do not let a single crumble go to waste.

Oh, did I mention that they are also very unpretentious and chill? I love how comfortable the place makes me feel. They always play different and cool music. All the waiters and waitresses have an ‘unofficial’ dress code of t-shirt, jeans and tattoo… Everyone, including the chefs, is young, energetic and happy. Apparently, Pizzaiolo is just the spot for both dining and working!

Thanks Benny for giving us an excuse to share this special gem with everyone! Happy birthday!

* heirloom tomato with fresh mozzarella & the best complimentary bread

* arugula with fig, almond and ricotta salata

* heirloom tomato and meatball pizza

* one of my favorite, summer squash pizza

* eggplant with ricotta pizza

* margarita de buffalo

* Yum yum

* no, i don’t like crusts, and yes, I did eat 6 slices of pizza all by myself. and if you look closer, the crusts seem to have a message..

* at last, the birthday boy himself, benny!

The perfect spiral & some soul food for the mind! July 28, 2007

It’s yet another beautiful Saturday in Berkeley, but this afternoon, I did something that I haven’t done for a long time, chill out in the park with a blanket, some watermelon, water, a book, a football and some friends (the last two in the list are not usually in my park routines).

I’ve always loved to hang out in the park on sunny days… But usually, I enjoy the quiet time that I get to spend with nature and myself. Today, however, was a little different than usual… I was active and social-able in the park. My proudest achievement of today, I learned how to TOSS a FOOTBALL!! This was super exciting for me. I was obsessed with mastering the perfect spiral. After an hour of practice, I was able to do a real fierce one. The next thing that I want to figure out is the technique for throwing it as far as boys can. I know I’m not as physically strong as most boys, but Alex said that there are techniques that professional football players know that help them with throwing the football really far. It just so happened that one of his co-workers used to be a serious quarterback for Columbia, so maybe I can learn some tricks from him one day!

Aside from my own accomplishment, the park is just a nice place to be. Everyone seemed so happy, relaxed and free! I always thought of time in the park as soul food for the mind. Children can play, men can become boys, women can get a tan, dogs can chase a ball, couples can fall in love, friends can have a picnic, and even the homeless can enjoy a peaceful sleep. Oh, yet another beautiful day in Berkeley!

* a pair of flip flops and a bottle of water, what else does one need to enjoy a great summer?

It’s annoying to be deceived July 28, 2007

Almost every time I buy a seedless watermelon, and I only buy them seedless, or at least so I thought, I find myself slightly disappointed. Why are there always seeds in the supposedly SEEDLESS watermelons? Just another little glitch in life I guess….

Children & Noodles…Life can be difficult! July 25, 2007

Coincidentally, Alex and I were sandwiched between two different 3 year olds on either side of our table at Noodle Theory, one of our usual local noodle joints. Throughout dinner, we were both thoroughly fascinated by the cuteness around us. The lively little blond girl with the tie-dye tank top to my right kept on initiating conversations with us. First about the “slug bugs” on the road, then about what kind of soup I had, finally announcing her opinion on my soup: “shrimps are yucky!” Like me, she had a bowl of soupy ramen, which she managed to keep mostly inside her bowl. Eventually she decided that her mommy’s udon was more desirable than her noodles and started to eat it one udon at a time with help from her fingers. She proudly picked up each udon, put one end to in her mouth, and sucked the rest of it in like a little snake. So much fun!

On my other side was a little hungry boy. He might be a few months older than the little girl. He was much more focused on his noodles rather than his next table neighbors. He was fully engaged with the process of getting the noodles into his mouth. Clearly, he’d much rather use his hands if his mommy hadn’t kept insisting on the fork. For each bite, he tried so hard to pick up the noodles with his fork, and most of the time, he succeeded. But the tricky part came next, when he tried to put the noodles in his mouth. It was always at this moment that the noodles would slip off his fork and fall, not only off of his fork, but also off of his plate. He’d quickly pick the noodles off his lap or seat with his hands and stuff them into his mouth, satisfied. At some point in the midst of this repeating process, his mommy decided that the problem was caused by the length of the noodle and suggested to cut the noodles shorter. This was when the little boy started to protest, half-crying, “its not too long!” “it’s not messy!” So cute!!

With the ever so evident noodle struggles facing both of my little table neighbors, I suddenly realized, it is difficult to eat noodles properly as a 3 year old. As an adult, we take so many things for granted. Sometimes it takes little reminders around us to appreciate the smallest accomplishments in life.

Just how did we learn to eat noodles anyway?

The Wonders of Berkeley! July 24, 2007

It is only in Berkeley that you can discover such wild and liberating wonders. This is not just any old school bus, this is a school bus that has been converted into a freedom bus where modern hippies live and cast their flower power. Groovy… Just another reason why Berkeley is so awesome!

Reminiscing Transformers July 24, 2007

I finally saw Transformers the movie last night. It was so good, and brought back so much childhood excitement. Although the last time I felt the adrenalin rush watching Optimus Prime transform from a truck into his robot body was almost 20 years ago and in Chinese, watching it again as an adult has not reduced the thrill a single bit. If anything, I felt anxious to find out if watching the same characters in English would take away from my fond memories of the cartoon as a little Chinese girl. It didn’t! Although the English names like Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumble Bee made little connection to what I had identified the characters with, the always reliable storyline of the good fighting the evil and the autobots’ mission of protecting the human at all costs were ever so familiar and got my blood pumping just like an 8 year old! I love Optimus Prime! Who would have thought such a big, mechanical and metallic robot could have so much heart and passion! Truly, transformers, more than meets the eye!

The Gap July 22, 2007

Between my last blog, artifactoflife.blogspot.com, and here, there has been a 2 month gap. Over this time, I did no work, and, honestly, nothing that I didn’t want to do. At the end, lots of happy memories were produced: I graduated from grad school, caught up with sleep and life, started working out again, cooked more, was a part of an amazing wedding in San Diego, went on a long overdue and action packed trip to the Big Apple, fell in love with Alex all over again, rediscovered the joy of girlfriends, read my first book for pleasure in 2 years, toyed with the idea of moving to NYC, sat in the park and simply smiled on life many times…

In fact, now thinking back, there’s no reason for why I should feel guilty about not having done any work that society would consider productive in the past 2 months. If anything, by reflecting back on all of the activities that took place, I feel a lot more productive and motivated than I have felt during some busier chapters of my life. Besides, after 2 years of grueling grad school and sleepless nights, I’m coming to peace with the new idea of allowing myself to do ‘nothing’ and drift in life, at least for a short while!

First Times in NYC July 22, 2007

During my recent two weeks in New York, I had many first time experiences!

My first Pinkberry! Yum

* with rasberry, blackberry, mango and mochi toppings!

First time Ethiopian food!

@ Zoma on 113th St and Frederick Douglass Blvd in Harlem

My first Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks in NYC!

*the sky was truly filled with sparks. the music pairing made the whole experience even more magical and emotional. tears almost came out of my eyes when “what a wonderful world” came on… it brought me back to my childhood memories of watching fireworks in Beijing…

My first time in Brooklyn!

*thanks to my friend liz, i had an amazing visit to brooklyn and saw manhattan from across the water. brooklyn reminded me of berkeley.. i like that!

First time in Queens!

*the night view of manhattan from queens was mesmerizing! having had the opportunities to visit the different boroughs of ny was also extremely refreshing and liberating!

My first Italian ICE!

*liz and i walked from union sq all the way to the very east side of manhattan, fdr dr, in search of a water view, but instead, we found italian ice!

Hello world Again! July 21, 2007

After a 2 month hiatus, I am back with a new blog! This time, with even more flavors and stories to share. An exciting day!