Category Archives: Culture

Day trip to Malmo, Sweden

Posted on by
Reply

While looking at day trips near Copenhagen, Chris looked at the map and noticed that we could visit Sweden on a quick 40-minute train ride, so we decided to do this on Friday. Malmo is a coastal city in southern Sweden, and lots of people take the train across a bridge-tunnel running between Copenhagen and Malmo. Malmo is quite small and quaint, with a population of about 340,000 people. We spent the day walking around the city, visiting its single Christmas market, even buying several pairs of pants that were on sale for Kaia at H&M (since Sweden is H&M’s headquarters), and ending the day with a visit to the Disgusting Food Museum.

We walked through a large local park and made a quick stop at Slottstradgardens Kafe, which definitely evoked the “fika” vibe that Sweden is globally famous for. I learned about the concept of fika when a small chain of Swedish cafes opened in New York in the 2010s. Fika is like Denmark’s “hygge” in that it’s a concept for taking a break for a coffee/tea and snack, while also relaxing and enjoying time with friends, family, or colleagues, and having meaningful conversation. It’s considered an important part of the day (often happening twice in the day) that refreshes the mind and strengthens relationships. We came in when the cafe was not yet officially opened, but the manager was so warm and hospitable that she still invited us to sit down and order anything that was ready. We just wanted some hot drinks, so we got a flat white and a large inviting cup of mumma, which is a traditional Swedish Christmas spiced mixed drink. It’s traditionally alcoholic with a blend of a dark beer, light beer or ale, and a fortified wine. But the version the cafe was serving was non-alcoholic and made of apples, so it was like almost like a spiced, very thinned out apple sauce with some citrus thrown in. It was really soothing, especially since it was chilly outside. The whole vibe and decor, together with the warm hospitality of the manager, was all about the fika, and a very nice welcome to Sweden.

A highlight of our visit to Malmo was their public library. We’ve visited a lot of different libraries across the world, but this library definitely takes the cake when it comes to how warm and welcoming it is to young children and families. There’s a very colorful entry way for children, which even includes a (much lower height – watch your head!) entrance that Kaia happily ran through. It requires everyone who enters the area either remove their shoes or put on shoe coverings (so that the babies can crawl around and not worry about dirt). The floor is fully carpeted in thick, warm, brightly colored carpeting. And there are numerous rooms with books in a large array of languages, organized by age level. Age-appropriate-by-room play and reading spaces have been built, which include tunnels, bean bags, jumpy spaces, and endless stuffed animals and little friends. In the restroom, there is an adult toilet and a toddler toilet, with ample space for changing baby diapers. To really top it off to show how welcoming they are, there’s even a little kitchen area where you can prepare bottles and re-heat food. I’ve never been in a library where food and beverage were welcome!

For lunch, we stopped at a more locals’ spot for Swedish meatballs served with a rich cream sauce, topped with generous lingonberries and served with little potatoes. I remember having Swedish meatballs at Ikea and another restaurant and thinking that other than the lingonberries, this would be a pretty easy dish to re-create. But then I thought about how much heavy cream the authentic recipes use, and I wasn’t sure I’d be that comfortable having that much heavy cream-based sauce in the house; I’d rather have someone else make it for me. The meatballs are traditionally half pork, half beef (or veal); these were 100 percent pork, and they were dense and well seasoned, perfect for today’s wintery weather.

One funny thing that Chris was not very thrilled about was that all the “glogg” served at the Christmas market was non-alcoholic. Chris subsequently found out that Sweden does not allow alcoholic drinks in public areas. While it was not ideal and was likely the only Christmas market ever we’d been to where we’d had non-alcoholic mulled “wine,” the one cup we did get of hot apple must was topped with a really delicious vegan whipped cream that was made from a base of lentils. If you didn’t tell me beforehand, I never would have guessed that it was not real cream, nor that it was made from lentils!

Sweden is also the home of Oatly. Swedish people, as we were told at the Disgusting Food Musuem, absolutely love their dairy and all things like it. So when we were served lactose-free milk after tasting all the disgusting foods during the tastings portion of our visit, we were both shocked to taste how delicious and creamy it was… even without the lactose. If there’s a place that is very plant-based/focused and friendly, it is definitely Sweden.

Warm chocolate vs. hot chocolate in Denmark

Posted on by
Reply

One small thing I noticed that I found interesting at coffee shops and cafes around Copenhagen was that when you see hot drinks listed, and there is an option for chocolate, it is not listed as “hot chocolate” but rather as “warm chocolate.” I’ve never seen this before anywhere else we’ve ever traveled. And when you order it, it is exactly as the description says: it actually is warm and not hot. We had this a few times, and every time, it was most definitely warm, so an easy drinking temperature without the need to wait or blow on the drink to cool it down and not burn ourselves. This would not bode well for Chris’s mom, who loves her drinks nearly boiling hot, but it does work well for people like me who are a bit heat-sensitive. However, even for myself, I would say that I’d like the drinks hotter than “warm,” so that I could comfortably take small quick sips.

This is not the case for other drinks, though. When we’ve ordered coffee, they’ve either been hot or warm; this has not been consistent. All the glogg / gluhwein we’ve had at the Christmas markets has been piping hot with bits of raisins and toasted slivered almonds waiting to be eaten on the bottom.

A day at LEGO House in Billund

Posted on by
Reply

After a 40-minute bus ride from Vejle train station and less than a five-minute walk, we had arrived at the legendary LEGO House. Kaia cannot read yet, though, so she had no idea where we were going, and she whined and kept saying she was tired, especially when we said we wanted to take pictures outside of LEGO House. When we finally got in, it was like a LEGO lover’s dream come true; endless levels, rooms, and sections to live out all of your LEGO dreams. To be honest, I am not sure who had more fun — Kaia, Chris, or me! While it was originally meant as something to engage Kaia and keep her occupied, in the end, I actually think Chris and I built more things than she did because she kept insisting she wanted us to do all the building!

It was really amazing to see all of these huge structures that people built by hand, whether they were LEGO employees or just LEGO fans from around the world. The LEGO waterfall was particularly impressive, and the description said that if the average person were to build this by hand, it would take them over five years to build! I loved learning the history of LEGO on the bottom level, as I used to wonder where the name came from. It is an abbreviation of the Danish words LEg GOdt, meaning “play well.”

Personally, my favorite area was the LEGO botanicals. I loved seeing all the different flowers and leaves that people had put together. I also tinkered around and made my own purple and blue flower. If we had more time, I easily could have spent hours building endless flowers just in that area. The flowers that really got me were the ones that had not even “bloomed” yet, but were still on the verge of opening!

LEGO really has completed its mission, though: it’s made the world realize how important play is and how play gives way to creativity and problem solving. Adults really need to find ways to do more play, as it should not just be for kids. After all, there is an inner child in every single adult.

Den Gamle By and ableskiver in Aarhus

Posted on by
Reply

Since Denmark is the home of LEGO, we knew we wanted to visit LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. The only issue is that Billund pretty much just has LEGO House, Legoland, and a bunch of offices, so there really isn’t much for tourists to do there that is not LEGO related. So Chris decided to book us a day trip to Aarhus, have us stay in Vejle, and then we’d take a convenient bus to Billund Town Centre and walk a couple minutes to LEGO House. In Aarhus, we visited Den Gamle By (“The Old Town”), which is an open-air town museum focused on town culture across five centuries. They are all decorated in the original historical style, and given we came during Christmas time, they had a lot of festive Christmas exhibits on display. We got to see some displays of elves making toys, as well as see lots of vintage Christmas decorations that were of the time (early 1900s), including the tradition to hang cut-out climbing elves around the living room. There were also some fun indoor and outdoor play areas for littles to run and climb around, including some festive rides and games. Kaia really enjoyed these.

While at Den Gamle By, we also got to enjoy our first ableskiver while in Denmark. The one time I’d previously had these was when I was in Solvang, California, as a child. My parents took me there on a mini vacation; while my dad was not very interested in travel outside of California or the country, he did seem to know quite a lot about little towns all over California. He told us that Solvang had a large Danish population and was known as “Little Denmark” in California. And if you visit, you’d understand why immediately. The entire town looks like a little European village, complete with its own Danish windmill. And at every cafe and corner, you can get your hands on some freshly made, piping hot ableskiver, which are basically like “pancake puffs/balls” made in a cast iron pan. This results in the ableskiver having a really delicious, crunchy outside, with a hot, spongy, pillowy soft inside. They are usually served with jam and powdered sugar. I got some from a little stand inside Den Gamle By where they were making fresh and HUGE ones. I watched the workers fill the round ball-shaped pans over and over with more and more batter, constantly turning them to ensure a deep brown, crunchy crust. The ones they were making here were far larger than anything I could recall seeing in Solvang. And when we ate them — yum. It was so satisfying — crunchy on the outside and almost burn-your-mouth-hot and soft on the inside. I may never want to make them myself (or invest money into buying an ableskiver — or, banh khot/takoyaki — pan), but I will remember these balls of deliciousness as a highlight of our Danish eating.

Danish smorrebrod, pastries, and fancy eats

Posted on by
Reply

I’ll be honest and say that when we booked this Thanksgiving week trip to Denmark, food wasn’t really the first thing I was getting excited about. I was eager to see Danish design and architecture. I was definitely looking forward to the Danish Christmas markets. The canals always intrigued me and looked quite picturesque. But when it came to the food, my first thought was that I’d really look forward to trying Danish pastries (cardamom buns!), but given we’re traveling with a young child, any type of Nordic tasting menu (a la the former Noma) would be completely off the table for us. When I did ChatGPT searches on food in Denmark, the first result was smorrebrod, or Danish style open-faced sandwiches, usually made with buttered rye bread and a variety of different toppings. The most common toppings include pickled herring, roast beef, shrimp with egg, potato with mayonnaise and chives.

Just think about that: the first thing that came up was…. sandwiches. Unless it’s a banh mi, no sandwich is ever going to get me that excited — ever. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the food. I had zero doubt the freshness and quality would be high. But none of this sounded like food that I’d ever crave or dream about. Plus, smorrebrod is typically always eaten cold. I do not want cold food while in cold weather. That does not sound comforting or like the Danish idea of “hygge” (coziness) that I was envisioning.

Plus, eating, simply being in Denmark is expensive. A case in point for something simple at a Christmas market: it didn’t matter if we were in France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, or Switzerland, but when we’d get a mug of gluhwein (spiced mulled wine), it would usually be about 3-5 Euros. Here in Denmark at the markets we’ve been to, the cost of glogg (their version of gluhwein) is 60-80 DKK (or the equivalent of $9.20-12.43 USD). Smorrebrod you can buy can range anywhere from about $12-25 USD depending on how fancy the ingredients are. It’s fine for us to stomach it for a week given our time here is limited, but it was hard not to compare this to our previous European Christmas market travels.

The pastries we’ve had here have all been delicious and meticulously made, but I had that expectation in my head (and wondered how many pastries we’d end up eating by the time this trip was over). The cardamom bun was just as indulgent and delicious as I’d previously had versions of in New York; the chocolate scone Kaia enjoyed on our second day was light, airy, fluffy, with high quality bits of dark chocolate throughout. We’d also enjoyed an amazing pistachio cream croissant where the “cream” just felt like blended pistachios. And the spandauer, the most iconic Danish pastry, we enjoyed was airy and shattered on contact, with a vanilla custard that was deceptively light.

I will say that the first proper sit-down dinner we had at Kodbyens 2009 Fiskebar was very impressive, and definitely left us feeling Noma-esque vibes about the way the food was presented. Before the meal even officially began, we were presented with a plate of two massive, fat chunks of very crusty, freshly made sourdough bread, served with a little bowl of whipped seaweed butter (tinted green from the seaweed). We ordered a plate of mussels cooked in cream, “plenty of herbs” as the menu said, and Kaia devoured almost the entire serving on her own. The really interesting thing was that the grilled whole fish we ordered came with two sides that were pretty notable in their presentation. The “side of mashed potatoes” was whipped, then bruleed on the top. The side “salad” was injected with a bubbling white-tinted dressing, then drizzled with a herby green oil. Both of them looked like dishes that were inspired by Noma. The fish itself was perfectly cooked; overall, it was an amazing meal with some little surprises. But this meal definitely made me think about Copenhagen and how it’s become world renowned for “New Nordic” cuisine.

“Thank your body for being able to move in this way”

Posted on by
Reply

Since college, I have lost count of the number of fitness classes I have taken, ranging from pilates, barre, zumba, yoga, trampoline — it’s been a lot. After I got a range of these foundations down, I was comfortable doing workouts via apps, whether they were just audio and now video. The encouragement throughout the videos always helps, especially when they know, based on their teaching, when potential “breaking” points are and to “hold it, HOLD IT!” But I always notice, especially during yoga and pilates courses, when the class is coming to an end, and the instructor usually expresses similar sentiments around calming down both the mind and the body from this exercise/practice, and giving thanks for this time, for this mere ability and privilege to move in this certain way.

The more I have thought about it, the more I really believe and know it’s true: It really is a gratitude, a privilege to stretch, twist, balance, and move our bodies in all these different ways. Not everyone is able to do this. Some people have to work towards different levels of flexibility and mobility. Some people have chronic pain. Others have joint or muscle issues. As I was finishing my pilates video class yesterday and especially twisting my torso in odd ways and getting the most intense (but quiet) workout in my core, I just thought to myself that it really is a blessing I am able to move myself like this. And the feeling I get at the end of these workouts is always the best: I always feel more energized, more lengthened and relaxed. I also really revel in the “good” soreness that I feel after these workouts. It’s definitely not pain. It’s a feeling of, “Ooooh. I want more of this!”

Perimenopause and planning

Posted on by
Reply

Several of my friends, who are all within five years of age of me, plus or minus, have been talking to me about perimenopause. One of my friends who is several years older is already considering doing hormone replacement therapy and proactively looking for “perimenopause symptoms,” which I learned can come on as early as age 38. Another friend, who is health obsessed and tracks every gram of fat, protein, and carbohydrate she consumes, is trying to optimize her current exercise regimen (which is so above what almost any average human does!) to ensure that she is strong and doesn’t lose too much muscle when menopause sets in. I must have done a search on perimenopause to read about it on my own in the last few weeks because now, I am constantly seeing ads for perimenopause supplements and products, all of which I have continued to block. There’s marketing and a product for literally everything and anything out there!

Because I recently went to see my primary care doctor and had my usual bloodwork done, I decided to take my lipid panel results and throw them into ChatGPT to see what it says regarding the results and what they say about my perimenopause trajectory:

Quick Summary

During perimenopause, declining estrogen tends to cause:

  • LDL increases
  • HDL may decrease slightly
  • Triglycerides may rise
  • Total cholesterol and non-HDL increase

But:

Women who start with an excellent lipid profile—like yours—generally experience smaller, slower, or less concerning changes.

Why Perimenopause Affects Cholesterol

Estrogen has powerful, protective metabolic effects:

  • Raises HDL
  • Lowers LDL
  • Improves insulin sensitivity
  • Helps regulate fat distribution
  • Reduces inflammation

As estrogen fluctuates (and eventually declines), these benefits weaken.

How Your Current Profile Might Change

Here’s how each number typically shifts during perimenopause and what this likely means specifically for you.

1. HDL (Currently 77) — “Good” cholesterol

Typical change:

  • Can decrease by 5–10 mg/dL over several years
  • Some women maintain high HDL even after menopause

For you:

  • Even with a 10-point drop, you would still be in the very healthy range (60s).
  • Your high baseline gives you a lot of buffer.

2. LDL (Currently 76) — “Bad” cholesterol

Typical change:

  • Often increases by 10–30 mg/dL
  • Driven by hormonal shifts, not lifestyle

For you:

  • Even if LDL rose by 20, you’d be at ~96 mg/dL—still great.
  • You would remain well below the average levels seen in women your age post-menopause.

3. Total Cholesterol (Currently 166)

Typical change:

  • Often increases by 15–25 mg/dL

For you:

  • You’d still likely remain below 190, which is well within normal.

4. Triglycerides (Currently 45)

Typical change:

  • Often rise by 20–40 mg/dL, depending on insulin response, sleep changes, and stress
  • More sensitive to lifestyle during perimenopause

For you:

  • Even with a significant rise (to ~80), you’d remain excellent.

5. Non-HDL Cholesterol (Currently 89)

Typical change:

  • Often increases by 15–25 mg/dL
  • This is a key predictor of cardiovascular risk post-menopause

For you:

  • You’d likely still remain under 110, which is better than average even for younger women.

The Real Change: Body Fat Distribution

Estrogen decline affects where fat is stored:

  • More visceral fat around the midsection
  • Higher blood sugar variability
  • Slight insulin resistance

This can gradually influence triglycerides and LDL more than diet itself.

But women who:

  • exercise regularly,
  • maintain good sleep,
  • manage stress,
  • eat balanced meals with healthy fats,
    often blunt or even prevent these shifts.

⭐ Why Your Starting Point Matters

Your numbers are not just “normal”—they’re exceptionally protective.

This means:

  • You have significant metabolic resilience going into perimenopause.
  • You’re less likely to experience high-risk lipid levels even as hormones shift.
  • Genetics + lifestyle appear to be working strongly in your favor.

What Helps Maintain Good Numbers During Perimenopause

Evidence-supported strategies include:

  1. Consistent aerobic activity (biggest impact on HDL and triglycerides).
  2. Strength training (reduces visceral fat and insulin resistance).
  3. High fiber intake (soluble fiber helps curb LDL rise).
  4. Healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish).
  5. Stable sleep routines (sleep disruption increases LDL and triglycerides).
  6. Maintaining muscle mass (protects metabolic health).
  7. Limiting simple sugars and refined carbs (prevents triglyceride spikes).

Hormone therapy (HRT) also significantly blunts cholesterol changes for many women, but that’s a medical discussion for your clinician.

Based on the above, I suppose I feel comfortable about perimenopause, especially given I am turning 40 in less than two months. But the visceral fat point above is definitely frustrating. Hormones are definitely not in a woman’s favor as she passes her prime reproductive years, and it almost feels as though it’s nature’s way of saying, “hey, you! Your purpose in life is done, finito! Time to get a move on to your grave! Gain fat, especially around your abdomen because no one cares about you or wants to look at you anymore!”

Kaia, the voracious and good eater

Posted on by
Reply

I went to Kaia’s school for their annual Thanksgiving lunch today. All the parents pitched in money, and the teachers and staff put together quite a feast for us. The staff bought a delicious roast turkey with gravy and made numerous sides, including mac and cheese, mashed potato, mashed sweet potato, stuffing, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, creamed corn, corn bread, pumpkin pie, and cinnamon rolls. I didn’t realize that all the food other than the turkey would be made either at home by the staff and teachers, or on site at the school. It was really sweet to see that the staff went to all this effort just for us.

While the parents and kids were all sitting together eating, I was chatting with some of the other parents when I realized that Kaia had actually stolen all the broccoli off my plate as I was talking. One of the other parents also noticed this, and he exclaimed, “Wow, Kaia is such a good eater! Look at all the broccoli and cauliflower she just ate! She even just stole all of her mom’s broccoli!”

I smiled. My little Pookie stole all my broccoli. I was totally fine with that. Kaia had quite the appetite at lunch today. Of course, she indulged in her little treat, which were the “veggie sticks” that everyone likes. She dug into the turkey first on her own, then the broccoli and cauliflower, and then the mashed potato and stuffing. Unfortunately, Kaia wasn’t too keen on the sweet potato mash and told me to eat it. She cleared almost her entire plate, minus the mashed sweet potato, cinnamon roll, and some mysterious brownie-like thing that her teacher put on her plate. If you compared the plates across all the kids in 3K and 4K, you could definitely see that Kaia not only ate the most food, but she had the largest variety of food.

“It’s amazing that she eats so much, and she eats all her vegetables,” another parent said to me. “My kid basically just eats carbs, meat, and chocolate!”

I am fully aware of my child and all that she is and does. Even if I didn’t get comments like this as often as I do, I still feel very proud of my Kaia Pookie all the time. Since she was a baby, she’s always been very curious about everything, especially food, embracing new foods and digging in. I can only hope that it continues. I love that she eats a large variety of the same foods that Chris and I eat, and I never feel like I need to make her something different (what work that would be!!). It always makes me so proud. Today, seeing her eat this really well rounded meal on her own just made me feel like I was nearly bursting with pride. All the work I put into her baby-led weaning/early feeding days is most definitely paying off. I loved every moment of that work (when can we say that about any “work” we do?), and I still fondly (with an extreme amount of nostalgia) go back to my video memories of those days, encouraging her to eat and try new foods as a little wee baby. That little baby is not so little anymore.

Our neighbor friend also remarked the day that she stopped by a few weeks ago and saw Kaia eating dinner in her high chair how amazed she was at the sheer variety of food she was eating and what was on her plate. She said she could only dream of her son eating the way that Kaia did.

My Kaia Pookie is setting examples. I just love it.

Food waste and the problem of having plenty

Posted on by
Reply

A friend and I were at lunch the other day, and she was telling me how she was trying to re-mold her semi-new boyfriend into repurposing different foods and leftovers, and to stop throwing out perfectly good food. Like me, she loves cooking and is constantly intrigued by new ingredients and produce she comes across. And also like me, she’s very anti food waste and always trying to make sure she uses everything she has and doesn’t let things go bad. So, it makes sense that she was a bit disturbed when her boyfriend would cook, and he’d throw perfectly good ingredients into the trash bin without a thought. If a recipe called for one cup of diced potatoes, and he happened to have an extra half cup, without hesitation, he’d take the leftover half cup and toss it into his compost bin. He said he didn’t want to “create imbalance in the recipe” by adding too much potato. She immediately told him he was crazy and wasting food, and he could either add those remaining potato cubes into the pot, or just repurpose them for another recipe the next day or so.

“But I don’t have plans to eat anything with potato in it the next day or so,” he countered to her.

“Then throw the potato pieces into the pot!” she raised her voice at him, clearly getting exasperated. “Recipes are just guidelines, but you’re supposed to adjust and tweak as you see fit!”

When I was growing up, I was constantly told I had to finish every last grain of rice on my plate because if I didn’t, I was ungrateful and didn’t realize how hard my parents worked to provide this food. I was also told that when cooking, we should waste nothing — there was always a use for some food we had, and we had to make use of it before it went bad. Letting food rot was not an option. Food cost money, and money was hard to earn. We always ate all our leftover food; if Ed and I didn’t, then our parents would take the leftovers and eat them for lunch at work. I cannot remember a day when either of my parents went to work and actually bought lunch because I always remember seeing them pack their lunches for themselves the night before a work day.

That memory ended up influencing me as an adult: when I was working in an office, I rarely bought lunch out and always brought homemade food in, unless we had a scheduled colleague or team lunch, or at my last in-person company, where lunch was provided and comped by work through Seamless. So, this really ran deep with me. Plus, because I am passionate about food and cooking, I feel personally hurt when I hear about people wasting food thoughtlessly. It feels like money literally going into the trash or drain, which hurts my heart. I also think about all the real people who labored to grow that food, how likely underpaid they all were, and how their work just goes to waste when their perfectly good food is thrown out. That money could have been spent on something else, or that food could have fed someone who really needed (and would have appreciated) it. One friend said to me, “Do you really need to eat that a third day in a row? You make enough money to not have to worry about that and can eat something new.” I retorted back that it didn’t matter how much money I make or have; I am anti food waste. It is the principle that is bad, and food waste is a huge problem in our overly privileged society where food is seemingly plentiful. I don’t want to contribute to society’s problems more than I already inadvertently do.

Eating out is never quite the same when you’re a maniacal home cook

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday during our play date lunch, I chose a general Thai place that was walking distance from Dumbo Space Club because I wanted something that was walking distance and also had enough space to accommodate six of us. It would definitely not be a place I’d choose if it was for me, or for me, Chris, and Kaia, but I figured it would have something for everyone at the table. One of the moms chose a green curry with chicken, which I probably would not have ordered since I just made green curry last week and really liked it. When the green curry came to the table, I already had a feeling I wasn’t going to love it: it was more white in color and not very green at all. The chicken used was just white meat (ugh, less flavor and far less moist), and there was basically very little flavor other than coconut milk in it. This green curry made me sad because it wasn’t anywhere as vibrant as the green curry I had made earlier this week (with the best tips from Pailin from Hot Thai Kitchen!!), and of course, it wasn’t zippy or spicy in the way my homemade green curry was. In fact, I don’t think I can ever order green curry at a restaurant ever again because I know exactly how to make it just the way I want it at home.

I shared this with my friend who cooks a lot, and she told me she feels exactly the same way. And funnily enough, she also had the exact same experience with green curry at a lunch recently with another friend.

“I didn’t want to sound like an ass to (my friend), but that curry was so bland and boring,” she told me. “My curry at home was a hundred times better! It’s just the truth!”

Usually when I order food out, I want it to be food that is not food I know how to make and make well at home, or using ingredients that I don’t easily have access to, or that is so laborious that I just have to leave it to the experts. The other moms enjoyed the green curry, and I’m happy they did. But I’d never willingly order this dish at a restaurant ever again.