I have no words to say today

…Other than that I am deeply disappointed in the American electorate — for those who were too lazy and disillusioned to come out and vote, for those who decided that a convicted felon would be better to lead this country than an accomplished female politician, for those who voted with complete disregard for civil rights and for the rights of those with a uterus. I try to be optimistic because I have a female toddler who is inheriting what is supposed to be one of the world’s great democracies, but it feels less and less like that is something to be proud of and stand by. And for those who vote against their own self interest… I honestly just feel sorry for you, as many of you probably have zero awareness you are doing so.

Hope and dread today

It is scary to think that today, the United States of America could be electing a convicted felon to a second nonconsecutive term of president. Even after he denounced the 2020 presidential results. Even after he’s shown clear examples of blatant sexism, racism, and classism. I don’t have a lot of hope to be honest, especially given how close the presidential election was in 2020. But, I do have a toddler who is growing up in this very divided country where her rights are eroding every single day, so I have to be optimistic for her sake. Because… I am definitely NOT optimistic for mine.

God bless, America. Sort of.

2024 is coming to a close, and there’s so much more food to make!

I remember when I was young, and I used to think that each day, especially the crappy and boring days, were so, so long. And now, each year in my adulthood, I keep thinking time passes too quickly. It’s exactly as people say: the older you get, the quicker you think time goes by because so much has already happened in your life. The younger you are, the less that has happened in your life since you’ve lived fewer years, so time feels like it takes forever to pass.

I looked at the calendar late last week and was shocked to see that I have only four more weeks in New York for the remainder of this year. We’ll be in Europe Thanksgiving week. Then, we have barely one week left before we head to Australia for the Christmas season. My immediate thought was: What are all the things I need to get done before we leave for the Southern Hemisphere? And what else do I really want to cook before the end of the year? What do I want to use up in my freezer?!

For the last part, I know I wanted to make bread at least twice before the end of the year, so I started that process on Friday. I started my brioche dough, which I did 60% white flour, 40% whole wheat flour for variety/health (I mean, yeah... you CAN give brioche more nutrition by using whole grains, believe it or not!), on Friday night. I let it rest (and ferment) in the fridge until Sunday afternoon, when I rolled it out, proofed it a second time, then baked it last night. The house, as always, smelled like heaven, and for two weeks, we have fresh, homemade brioche to enjoy. I will likely freeze one loaf to either enjoy the week before we leave for Europe, or our only week here in December.

I also wanted to make shrimp scampi, so I have defrosted my wild gulf shrimp from Butcherbox in the fridge for tomorrow. I want to have some of our Borgatti’s porcini ravioli, and also make the Italian sausage from Calabria Pork Store in a pasta dish (with butternut squash?) before end of year. If I have time, I also want to try out a garlic knots recipe, maybe challah again if I’m feeling super ambitious with time. If I did that, I could freeze a challah loaf so that it’s ready for defrosting in January upon our return. So many possibilities!

Our freezer is stuffed. And I need to un-stuff it before we leave. A full freezer is always a sign of richness to me. So right now, I feel very, very rich. We’re very privileged to have a full freezer and pantry.

Not all gai mei bao are made the same: a taste test of Manhattan Chinatown bakeries

Gai mei bao (ji wei bao in Mandarin), also known as cocktail bun or coconut bun in English, and is literally translated into “chicken tail bun,” is one of the most popular types of bao in a Chinese bakery. It was originally made (according to Chinese food legends) from the scraps of leftover bread and dough at Chinese bakeries, where they’d mash together leftover scraps of bread with some sugar, butter, and coconut and try to sell them as actual bao the next day. It’s called “chicken tail” bao because of the shape of the bun itself, so there’s no actual chicken or tail in it. I always loved this bao, but I didn’t actually find out what it was called in English until several years ago. I’d try to order “coconut bao” in English and Chinese at bakeries, but I was not consistently getting the same thing handed to me. Sometimes, it would just be a plain milk-type bun with coconut sprinkled on top (ugh, so boring and plain). Other times, it would be stuffed with just coconut but nothing else. There wasn’t that buttery, coconuty, slightly sweet gooey filling on the inside that I really loved.

So the other day, I decided to do a side by side tasting of three ji wei bao: one from Nice One Bakery, one from Mei Lai Wah (famous for its long lines and pineapple cha siu bao that I think have too much fat pieces stuck in them), and one from Manna House Bakery. I always loved the Mei Lai Wah one, but I strongly disliked the lines. Plus, when I’d try to pick one up later in the day, they’d oftentimes be sold out of it, as they didn’t make as many of them as they do the bo lo cha siu bao. The Manna House Bakery one is my go-to since there’s no line or wait; it costs $1.75, the same as Nice One, which I’d never had before. Mei Lai Wah’s was the most expensive at $2.50 + tax, so $2.70. That’s over 57% more for the Mei Lai Wah one!

Well, I took them all home and sliced them to see their innards. I laid them all out side by side. The verdict? The Nice One was the worst with the least amount of filling. It was nearly pathetic and a sad excuse for a ji wei bao; that’s the first and last time I ever get one from there. The Manna House one had good filling and was tasty as always, but honestly, it could not compare to how much filling the Mei Lai Wah ji wei bao had: Mei Lai Wah’s was STUFFED to the brim with filling. Plus, the filling was just richer and had a stronger, more defined mouthfeel. The filling color for the Mei Lai Wah one was much more yellow, whereas the Manna House one was more white, which likely indicates how much more butter the Mei Lai Wah version has (for better or for worse… for taste or for your cholesterol…).

I will still get the Manna House ji wei bao out of convenience, but the best ji wei bao/gai mei bao in Manhattan Chinatown is most definitely the Mei Lai Wah one. I will always go there for the best version assuming I’m there earlier in the day and there’s no wait. I’ll never get the Nice One ji wei bao again, but I do quite love their baked cha siu bao and baked bo lo cha siu bao. Maybe my next taste test of Chinatown bakery items will be a true side by side of the bo lo/pineapple cha siu bao from Nice One, Mei Lai Wah, and Manna House next!

Chi Cha San Chen Taiwan tea in Manhattan Chinatown

Since I was going to be in the Chinatown/SoHo area for Kaia’s Halloween parade yesterday, I decided to book a 15-minute oolong tea tasting at Chi Cha San Chen Taiwan Tea, which opened last summer on Bayard off of Mott Street. I had never heard of them before, but they had lines around the block when they opened for months and months. I always wanted to go, but I refused to wait in the crazy line. Chi Cha San Chen is a high-end tea shop based in Taichung, Taiwan. They make tea drinks with pure tea leaves grown in Taiwan (no powders), and make all their own toppings, like tapioca, jellies, etc. They differentiate themselves with what they call a “teaspresso” machine that is supposed to brew tea to ideal conditions. I had never heard of them before (and definitely didn’t know about them when we went to Taiwan in June-July 2017), but I found out that they have won international taste tests for their oolong teas. Some have called Chi Cha San Chen “Michelin-star-like” tea in the tea community. Though I am an avid tea drinker and always intrigued by different, pure teas (none of the flavored garbage. Yes, I’m looking at you, David’s Tea, UGH), I always find it a bit amusing whenever I hear about tea “awards” since tea is pretty personal. What could be delicious for one person can be completely revolting for the next.

The tea tasting was a bit of a disappointment. I thought I would get to try several teas, but instead, they only let me choose one out of the five types of Taiwanese oolong they sell. They told me that if I came back with up to three friends, we could all choose a different one so we could taste four at the same time, one each. I was not happy with this, but I figured I’d just choose one and come back at a later time. I chose the medium strength oolong. They precisely measured out exactly three grams of tea, then poured in perfectly measured tea at a specific temperature and brewed for six minutes on the dot. They strained and poured it for me in a cup that is shaped like a chawan. They wouldn’t let me have any second or third infusions (what a waste!!). While the tea was very aromatic, almost floral, and not even the least bit bitter or acidic, the “tasting” experience put me off. Tastings are supposed to include more than just one, otherwise it just seems like a sad, glorified sample. Plus, the price was quite exorbitant: 15 grams of tea, or exactly five brewings, for $22. Ouch. I’ve bought plenty of premium tea before, but only one of them, the “Chanel” of green teas, which was a bamboo green, that I got while in Sichuan, topped this price.

I think I will stick with their tea lattes and made-to-order drinks, which are all made with loose leaf, instead of trying out their vacuum-sealed loose leaf ones. I liked it, but not enough to buy it to make at home. That just seemed a bit too steep for me.

The Malin SoHo co-working space

One of the perks I get as a remote employee of my company is 12 company-paid bookings at co-working spaces through an app called Gable. My company rolled out this offering earlier this year as a way to get employees who work in remote locations to work and meet with other employees in the same area. I hadn’t had a reason to take advantage of this until Kaia started at her new school downtown. I finally booked a space yesterday so that I could attend Kaia’s school’s Halloween parade, and it was an interesting experience to be in a workspace where I was surrounded by total strangers instead of colleagues.

The Malin SoHo co-working space is a short 10-minute walk from Kaia’s school, and from the photos, it looked like a very modern, poshly furnished space. There’s a kitchen that is stocked with a proper coffee machine (flat whites or cappuccinos, anyone?), a water machine with multiple settings/temperatures, a fridge, microwave, and real ceramic bowls, plates, and silverware. The space has couches, diner-like booths, long desks, as well as designated work desks that you can reserve (and pay extra for). There are also a good number of private, sound-proof phone booths, as well as beautifully appointed and different sized conference rooms that you can also book and pay extra for. The space has good lighting and lots of natural light (of course, the areas where there is natural light, you have to pay extra to sit and reserve seats there, but well, if you are willing to pay…). The whole space looks like it was made to be photographed and put on social media.

I understand the aesthetics are very important to them, but it wasn’t clear which spaces were “reserved” based on the way things were laid out because nothing was labeled. So in the morning, I worked at a reserved space without realizing it. When I tried to go back to it after the Halloween parade, someone let me know that it was reserved and I couldn’t sit there… even though that entire area was unoccupied.

The front desk receptionists were very nonchalant and barely said anything helpful. They gave me my Wi-Fi passcode and did nothing else to help me get acquainted with the space. It would have been courteous of them to have told me about the reserved spaces at the beginning.

The clientele here… was pretty much all White. I was the diversity of the space for most of the time I was there until I noticed later in the afternoon, a couple of Asian males walked in with their laptops. I also felt like people didn’t “see” me. At least five people walked right into me as though I didn’t even exist, even though I always walked to my right. Only one of those five people actually apologized. It reminded me of the period in 2020 when George Floyd was murdered, and all these Black people on social media started sharing these awful stories of how they felt invisible in the presence of White people. They said White people constantly walked into them as though they did not exist, and some even reported being *SAT* on, on benches in public parks and other public spaces.

It’s crazy to think that a drop-in day rate for this would be $75. You don’t get any guarantee of privacy via a phone booth or a room; there’s no sign-ups or reservations for a phone booth. It’s basically just Wi-Fi, a seat, access to water and coffee, and a bathroom.

I’ll definitely be using this space again in the future when I want to attend school events or pick up early, as it’s a nicer and more comfortable space than other co-working spaces that are in the Gable app nearby. But I still think it leaves something to be desired for the optimal space to work.

Halloween Parade at Kaia’s school

Kaia’s school had a Halloween parade today at 11am, so I decided to book a co-working space through my company and work in nearby SoHo so I’d easily be able to attend. The “parade” is basically just the kids and teachers walking a number of blocks around the school to show off their costumes. Occasionally, some businesses will have employees who will come out to cheer the kids on and even offer them trick-or-treat candy. A lot of parents showed up, and we had a lot of photos taken of the kids with the parents, as well as multiple group shots. It’s always so adorable to see the kids dressed up in their costumes. They’re always so proud to show off and be seen.

The parents were asked to wait outside the front entrance of the school for the parade to begin. As soon as Kaia saw me, she immediately tried to run out to greet me, but she was told to wait until she was told to walk out with the teacher holding her hand. She came out and was very clingy, but as the parade went on, though she continued holding my hand and hugged me when she had a chance, she was still eager to chat and interact with her friends. When it was time for the parents to leave and for the kids to go back into the classroom for their Halloween pizza party, she barely kissed or hugged me and ran inside, yelling, “Bye bye, mummy! See you later!”

This year, Chris got Kaia a cow costume, which Kaia was completely enamored with when we presented it to her last night. We made the mistake of letting her try it on, and she refused to take it off and had a huge melt down when we finally got it off. She was completely obsessed and kept admiring herself in the mirror with it on, constantly yelling out, “Mooo! Mooooo!” She insisted that she sleep with it as though it was a stuffed animal, and she continued to hold onto it and drag it everywhere with her. When she inevitably made it to our bed in the middle of the night, she dragged the cow costume with her and screamed and yelled when she couldn’t locate where it was on the bed (even though… it was usually just at her feet or beside her, and she just couldn’t see it).

We’re planning to let her do a little trick-or-treating in the building this early evening, so we will see how that goes with getting the candy out of her hands… As we know that mummy and daddy will need to “test” all the candy out for her to ensure it’s safe for consumption…

An unusually umami cucumber salad

On Monday night, a friend and I met on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village to have dinner and catch up. I chose a new Chinese noodle shop called Loong Noodles where you order and pay via a kiosk at the front. Then, someone comes out to your table to bring you your order. We got two orders of noodles, as well as a garlic cucumber salad and pork-and-cabbage dumplings as starters. The food was all delicious and toothy, and though my wan za noodles weren’t as notable and multifaceted in flavor and texture as the wan za noodles I recently had in the Bronx, I still enjoyed these and would come back to this spot.

The funny thing about coming to Loong Noodles was that the cucumber salad we ordered was likely the most unusual dish. When the salad plate came out, I noticed a ton of finely minced garlic, which of course would mean the cucumber salad would be extremely pungent. What I was surprised by was that when I took my first bite and chewed, the flavor was *not* what I anticipated. There was this strong umami, savory flavor, as though a chicken bouillon or broth was used. Or, perhaps they sprinkled in a little MSG into the salad dressing? Either way, every bite of the cucumber salad was a tiny explosion of umami savoriness, and it was hard to not notice it, especially since I’ve never even once had this flavor or sensation in my mouth with any other cucumber salad I’d had in my life.

We had a good amount left over, so I had it packed up to take home to enjoy. This definitely makes the list of dishes I’ve had this year that did not taste how I expected.

Meyers Iowa Pine Scented soap

The soap in our main bathroom had just run out, so I was excited to open and use the new Meyers Iowa pine-scented soap. As I dispensed the soap and started scrubbing my hands, the bathroom was filled with this rich, refreshing scent of… CHRISTMAS TREES. Our bathroom smelled like a Christmas village, or like that amazing scent I look forward to every time we walk on the streets of New York in the month of December, and there’s a corner guy selling tightly wrapped and coiled Christmas trees!

It seems a little silly that this scent excited me so much when I washed my hands, but I really do believe that it’s these little moments in life that we need to embrace and enjoy because all of life is made up of teeny tiny moments that quickly happen… and then quickly pass us by and end.

This perfume-like experience also reminded me that pretty much *no one* I’ve ever been alongside in a public bathroom washes their hands for 20+ seconds, as was recommended during the COVID-area of life in 2020-2021. I’m always the only person who scrubs her hands for over 15 seconds and still standing at the sink. That’s kind of gross, but alas, people can be pretty gross! This pine scented soap makes me want to scrub for even longer!

Holiday purchase at Costco this season: Meyer’s Limited Edition Holiday Soap!

On Sunday on our way back home from Albany, we stopped at Costco for our second time this year to stock up on household staples and produce. We picked up olive oil, avocado oil, a large jar of sun-dried tomatoes, toilet paper (of course), facial tissue, and a decent amount of fruit and vegetables. As for seasonal things we got, Chris got 1.5 pounds of peppermint bark, and I picked up… Meyer’s Limited Edition set of hand soaps, in four different holiday scents: pine, peppermint, snowdrop (who knows what this smells like, but I’ll take a chance on it!), and gingerbread.

I was telling my friend over dinner about this purchase. I said that this is how you know you’re really an adult and care about things that matter: you go to Costco and are inundated by all the holiday/Christmas seasonal items, from house decor to treats, and the one thing you “indulge” on is a bunch of holiday-scented liquid hand soap. Ten years ago, if someone gave me soap or toilet paper, I’d wonder what the hell kind of “gift” it was. Now, assuming it’s high quality, I’d think, ‘Wow, that’s so thoughtful (and practical) of you to think of getting that for me!’

So, here I am, admitting that what my mom says is true: with age comes wisdom, and wisdom says that Meyer’s holiday soap is a good and practical thing to buy at Costco as we approach the holidays.